Author: anitashope

Retired Quality Manager but still have the "Why" curiosity drive so I am turning my love for Christ and nature into my new why chase and am trying to discover more of His word as it relates to His love for His creation.

Word of the Day Challenge, Clown

Cranny’s Cove word challenge for today is something I miss, the fun of clowning around.

The word clown brings to mind images of silliness to the extremes of horror. But to a few of us, we were Christian Clowns, and we had a specific purpose…prior to Covid.

Before we were no longer allowed to get close…we had hospital duties where we tried to bring a few smiles to those who sometimes forget to smile. We had nursing home duties where people needed the goofiness of clowns to help them forget where they were or help them remember to laugh. Then there were those of us who were face painters and even the adults would join in on that fun. Yes, clowning was a fun way to share in the goodness of laughter than now the fear of closeness seems to squelch that activity. But maybe one day…

These shoes may again get to share in some laughter. But even if they don’t, we can still share in the kindness of what they use to represent.

Always Be Kind

FOTD, July 7

Thank you Cee for the fun in sharing our flowers with everyone.

Today I post the picture of my first sunflower of the season. This particular one was planted by the birds from several of the sunflowers that bloomed in that area last summer. The bloom is not as large as some I have had but the color is a yummy lemon yellow.

It stands about nine feet tall and has multiple blooms forming for future openings this summer. The twelve footers I planted this year are not ready yet. I was late getting them planted, so we will have warm smiles all summer long.

If you get the opportunity, share the warmth of kindness with others this summer. Kindness can alleviate a lot of sadness in our lives so spread it around.

Speechless

I try as best I can to be kind. I signoff all posts with a reminder of the power of kindness. But sometimes I am just speechless and no kind thought comes to mind. And the culprit is no longer around to get a good ___ slapping.

Let me give you a little history. Since I bought this house, and I know all houses have history, I have managed to repair multiple issues that the owner(a contractor) did to this house. The gutter system on the house was improperly installed and caused flooding of the basement twice before we realized what the problem was. I should have asked better questions when I saw the store rooms flooring had been removed but it was a storage room, concrete is fine. Wrong thought. Then two winters ago when it was excessively cold even for here, the pipes froze and then ruptured and flooded the basement a third time. Solution, improper insulation for the pipes. Corrected. Then we wanted a new heater unit as the current one was well over 12 years old and not heating adequately. New system put in and discovered that the original wiring to the unit was done with an extension cord. It is a wonder we didn’t burn the house down. Surround sound(which I don’t use) was wired all through the upstairs. When I had an electrician remove it all, it was a nightmare of crossed wires and excessive wiring – nearly 200 feet of unnecessary wiring.

Today’s fun reveal was in the downstairs kitchen where all I wanted to do was replace the overhead fluorescent fixture. Simple task, right ?? Oh yee of little expectancy!!! When the electrician TRIED to pull the fixture from the ceiling, he had to use a hammer first to remove the excessively large ‘nail’ holding the fixture to the ceiling. Seriously??!!??

Not sure I would call this a nail!!!

I just get amazed at the corners people will cut to get a job done…poorly at that. Well, we now have a nice fixture, properly installed by a trustworthy electrician. So I guess for now all is well. I can honestly remind everyone of the power of kindness and truly mean it.

Six Word Saturday Finally it Rained

Coming from the south, triple digits during the summer are generally a norm especially considering the heat index. But here in the midwest, it is not a norm but is this a sign of the times? Global warming and such? Don’t know, I am just glad we got a break from this three week oppression and temperatures of relief. However…

My petunias did seem to catch the brunt of the deluge. But I am sure they will bounce back in better form.

Come join in with Debbie’s Six Word Saturday and share a smile with all of us.

In closing I remind everyone of the relief we receive from Kindness. It is like a cool wash of relief on a hot summer day.

FOTD, June 21 Petunias

Cee Neuner gives us a great way to share the beauty of nature around us with her different challenges. During the summer, I love sharing my flowers. Today I share my many colors of Petunias.

These purplish ones look blue in the shade

The white ones have a majesty all their own.

The creamy yellows ones have a softness to them that reminds me of yummy frozen custard.

Then we get into the fun ones. Candy cane petunias can make anyone smile.

But my favorites this year are ones I have never seen before. Each bloom is spotted differently so as they grow all summer they will change. And being purple, that puts them on the favorite list anyway.

Awesome

In closing as we enjoy the beauty of flowers, remember the beauty of kindness.

always be kind

Even a flower can feel the beauty of kindness.

FOTD, June 20,Dahlias

I have not posted in awhile as I have been burning candles on both end and in the middle. Since the church community garden did not have a host this year, I took it own. How hard can it be, its not that big. GOOD GRIEF!!! Alas, it is growing and producing vegetables for any who come to pick. Then there is my yard…my flowers which is a must as I do love my flowers.

Cee’s Flower of the Day today is dahlias and I have several types of those so I will share my dahlias with you as well. I am partial to the smaller ones with varied colors.

Then there are the mediums sized ones that remind me of small mums with their rich dark reds, reds with yellow tinges and bright yellows with touches of orange.

Since I feed the birds as well, I usually end up with various mystery plants in my yard and this years mystery plant I am sure is some type of vegetable, possibly in the squash family. Its not very tall, has leaves shaped like a fig leaf and tiny yellow flowers. It could also b e a weed, lol. We will see.

I will let it grow until it proves to me it has to go. Flowers bring me joy and remind me of kindness and if we can be anything, we should at first be kind.

Always be kind

FOTD, June 2, No Flowers Yet

Cee always gives us such wonderful ways to share the beauty we see. And while this is Flower of The Day, we don’t have flowers yet but the greenery is growing, finally. I give you beginning pics of our community garden sponsored by our church. Its small but enjoyed by those close in our neighborhood.

Raised beds

We have eight raised beds the boy scouts built for us two years ago. The chain link fence is to keep the rodents out…good luck. But we have a variety of bed vegetables growing. Beside the raised beds we have the larger vegetables growing, like corn and potatoes. You cant live in Iowa and not grow corn…just sayin’.

As we enjoy the growing season, let us remember the kindness of us sharing love like we do with our garden.

Always Be Kind

FOTD, May 31, Peonies and Weeds

Its the perfect time to show off Peonies in the Midwest. My bush grows huge flowers but its location is not the best. It catches all the wind as it zooms up from the river. So, if it gets in full bloom and a storm happens, the delicate limbs can not hold up the huge bloom and they fall to the grown. My buds are showing and thunderstorms are comin this afternoon. So, I have one open bloom to share with you today.

Before
After

I placed the bloom in my blue spruce to give it some pretty background before bringing it into the house. The ants love these but they have not found them yet.

The other beauty I want to share today is probably a weed but it is quite lovely. In my opinion a weed is just a flower not recognized for it beauty. However they are some weeds I pluck immediately to keep them at bay. See if you can help me identify this creation. I have let it grow because of it lovely flower.

Full Plant
Close up

You can see that it is really nice with many clusters waiting to open. If you recognize this, let me know. If I need to get rid of it, let me know.

I have not been posting much as I have been knee deep(literally) in the churches community garden. It took us planting it twice this year due to a crazy spring to get it going but it seems to be doing well so far…

But I do want to remind you of my root cause – kindness. Kindness has a power and beauty that can change the world if we use it correctly and often. And in keeping with the flower / garden theme, I give you similarities of how we can become gardens ourselves, so garden of kindness.

Remember to always be kind

Encouragement from Youth

Good Sunday evening friends. Today at our church we had an amazing day. Normally you hear encouraging words form me to help you understand how wonderful we are and I hope you understand God ALWAYS has a plan for each of us. Below I am sharing today’s message from one or our youth, a 14 year old young lady that has more understand of our worth than some adults that I have spoken with. I hope you take the time to open the link and hear her encouraging words. You can fast forward though the talking and singing if you just want to hear Jaylynn’s message. I truly believe you will be encourage on how very much God loves you. It is at the first part of the service.

https://fb.watch/dayXo9LIKd/

Then if you care to listen to the entire service, you will be encouraged by the Global Servant of Health, Kristy Engel as she gives a brief summary with her Mission Moment sharing her work across the world that she has been doing.

I truly hope you understand how very important all of us are because as Jaylynn reminds us, we are all made in the likeness of God.

As you begin to understand the beauty of your creation, remember also the beauty of kindness and always be kind.