A New Day

As we start this new day and this new week, lets us enjoy the beauty of it. Not only in what we see but with all of our senses. Below is another snippet from Smiles from Heaven, hope you enjoy.

A New Day

The early dawn broke quietly across the meadow. Dew was heavily laden bending the leaves downward toward the ground. As the sun crested the horizon, the flower faces turned towards it. They soaked in its warmth causing the dew to slip from the leaves. When it splashed to the ground, the sound awakened the sleeping chipmunks to another day of fun adventure. The first one poked his head out to see the beauty of a bright blue sky with the sun skipping through the branches creating patterns of shadow on the ground.

By the time the second chipmunk came to the surface, the birds were starting their symphony of song awakening anything else that was not yet awake.

They all knew that each new day was a gift from God allowing all of creation a brand-new start, a new chance to share kindness, a new hope that all is well. And a reminder that God’s love is always there.

May you have a beautiful new day surrounded with gentleness, love, and kindness. Share your kindness to make it even more beautiful.

Always Be Kind…to all kinds.

Lost & Found

February 6, 2024, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about something lost now found. Is it an object or person who is lost? How are they lost? What happens when what was lost is found? Go where the prompt leads!

I have seen some fun stories because of the prompts from Carrot Ranch and thought I would come play. I just happen to have a short story about lost and found so I just cut it down to fit. Hope you enjoy it.

Lost & Found

David turned to Laura. “I’ve read stories where people are visited by dead relatives.”

“Where are you going with this?” Laura asked.

“This was the walking stick that Mr. Cedric was using with Jenny. It looks like Dad’s. His stick is missing. He has been dead four years.”

“Seriously? His name was Jonathan.”

“Jonathan Cedric.”

“Jenny, do these pictures look like Mr. Cedric that you saw today?’

“Maybe. He is not that old. Maybe he is kin to us or something?

David looked at Laura. “Maybe, I am just thankful he found you and led you back to us.”

I close with my reminder of sharing kindness. You may never know if your kindness will be a light to help someone find their way home.

SOCS, Feb 10, 2024

Linda Hill challenges us again to have fun and be creative with Stream of Consciousness.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “heavy/light/dark.” Use “light” and/or its opposites. Bonus points if you use all three. Enjoy!

Another Day Done

I watch the sky as the day begins to fade

Daily burdens have left my mind frayed

The sun slips heavy from its warm bright light

To the dark silhouettes of another cold night

After each day, we have a reminder in the sky of the beauty of the passing day or the hope of a better tomorrow. Hoping you find peace at the end of each day and that you remember the beauty and power of kindness.

FOTD, Feb 10, & Poetry

What a great way to double dip – submitting to Cee’s FOTD and giving you another taste of my next book.

Last fall when I learned of my brother’s failing health, I went to Atlanta to visit him. While there, I took some pictures of his beautiful backyard. And yes, there were several lovely rose bushes.

We had had a small shower in the morning and the water droplets were still on the flowers. Since I won’t have photographs in my new book, Smiles from Heaven, you will get the pleasure here of a pretty picture and my attempt at poetry. I do better with stories.

Reflection

The beauty of a rose concealed within

A reflection of what has always been

It is not hopeful of what could be

But a timeless picture of what we see

A beautiful rose now concealed in joy

Is a timeless flower for us to enjoy

Below are some other pictures from my archives of roses. The dark pink with the white center one was named “Happy Star” and I thought that was appropriate.

Remember the smiles that flowers bring us and try to share a smile. Smiles are the easiest way to brighten someone’s day and a genuine way to be kind.

Writing

When I retired, I needed something to do, I don’t sit very well So I started blogging. Some of the writing challenges I participated in made me understand how much I like writing stories, so I started writing a book. I remember reading from a season writer/teacher that you should throw away the first three things you write because it takes you that long to hone your skills. Now looking back on it he was right to a degree. Keep the ideas but trash the work and start over.

After spending way too much money going through a publishing firm, I discovered indie writing. Thank you Susi Bocks. Now I can explore my writing without a huge price tag through Amazon Kindle Publishing. My goal is not to make mounds of money but to share my thoughts and encourage others. I buy my books and give them to my friends or anyone needing a little encouragement. In doing this I have found that short stories are the most fun, keeping you focus on just a few pages at a time, then on to the next idea. I have been so busy writing these little stories over the past year, that I have not been writing much here, so I thought I would share a few shorter ones with you.

Excerpts from Smiles from Heaven to be published Spring 2024.

Essence of Pearl

Alone on the bench, Joe twisted his cane missing his sweet Pearl. She has been gone nearly two years now. Across the park, he saw children playing. He smiled as he remembered how Pearl would laugh as she made up stories about each child, even when she didn’t know who they were. Sadness engulfed Joe as he remembered her joy in doing this. Then in the back of his mind, he heard Pearl fussing. Don’t you be sad, Joe. Our joy comes from the Lord that lives inside each of us. Feel the joy.

Joe could not feel that joy today. Some days he could, but not today, on their anniversary. Then he heard a gentle voice.

“Hello.”

Joe looked up at a bright-eyed little girl whose smile was as bright as her eyes.

“Hello,” said Joe smiling.

She pulled herself up and sat on the bench with Joe.

“It’s a pretty day,” she said.

“It is.”

“Today is special. Every first Saturday of the month is ice cream day. I get to sit here while my mom goes into that shop to buy ice cream. See, here comes Mom now.”

“Come on, Pearl,” called Mom. “I have your favorite.”

“I’m Pearl, by the way. It’s been nice chatting with you. Maybe I will see you next month. Gotta go, but remember to be happy.”

“I will,” said Joe. The joy he once knew was being rekindled again by a different Pearl. He knew in his heart that his sweet Pearl probably had something to do with this encounter today and he smiled.

In my new book, Smiles from Heaven, I hope to make it a series of encouraging short stories that we all need to read once in a while. They deal with family situations, individual situations, nature, and of course dogs. I will probably always write about my dogs as they have been an encouragement to me with their goofy ways and their devoted love and kindness.

One of the easiest ways to be kind is with a warm smile. Try to always be kind regardless of the turmoil inside. It reflects your inner beauty.

CFFC: Green that Smiles

Green is the perfect color for February, especially when you have been surrounded by white for several weeks. What a wonderful reminder of soon it will think about being spring…just thinking about it make me smile. First we have proof of survival of 26″ of snow.

Then because it is still in the 30s we come inside and look at the green here. A favorite is the elephant tree. I have a thing for elephants, they are so cool.

Then the healing violet, hoping it blooms this year.

Last but not least is the variegated spider plant with many babies.

I hope my green made you smile and knowing spring is coming soon…or if you are down under, you may be losing your green before long. But smile for now and remember to be kind.

The Front Yard

I enjoy watching the birds in my front yard. While the sparrows are an aggressive bird that periodically run off others, until the cardinal shows. The cardinal pays them no mind and sometimes will leave when he is there.

Now that the snow is melting and the weather is more seasonable for here, they are a little more active. Here are a few shots from this weeks crew.

The sparrows come by the hundreds taking over the feeder and running others off. I am trying some tactics this spring to see if I can pull them to the other side of the yard leaving the main feeder for more interesting birds.

I have a suet feeder out for the woodpeckers and other suet-feeding birds and the Downy visits often.

Other birds often seen are house finches and the nuthatch. The nuthatch with his long beak is a fun bird to watch,

I am looking forward to spring when the Goldfinch returns. Their bright yellow is beautiful. Here are a couple of pictures from last year.

Until spring, we will continue enjoying what we have. In closing, I remind you always of the beauty and power of kindness. It is amazing what a little kindness will do that also helps you.

The Headache of Spam

Is anybody else done with the lucrative industry of Spam? They hit us by email, text and phone and I for one am done. To anyone who reads this and is a pusher of spam, shame on you.

I am retired but work part-time at my church answering the phone. For three weeks now, we have been bombarded with the same company with the same message and I think the same woman. Example:

“Hello. This is ___ Church. This is Anita, how may I help you?”

“Yes, I need to speak to your owner.”

“What? Ma’am this is a church.”

“Yes, I need to speak to your owner.”

“Ma’am, we have no owner. This is a church.”

“Okay, I will just wait for the confirming email.”

“What??” And she hangs up.

The next time she called, we were in a meeting so the answering machine got it. The answering machine even flagged it as spam.

The next time she called and asked to speak with the owner I told her that God was our owner and he was not available by phone. She said she would email him. Good luck with that.

So this weekend I sat down and came up with the silly poem as I know many of us deal with spam, have blockers against them so here I vent my frustration. Thank you for listening.

SPAM

My slamming the phone did me no good

An aggravation that many have understood

They hit us by email, text, and by phone

A vicious intrusion that makes us all moan.

So many are fake, not real companies at all

Their purposeful result pushes us to the wall

Their greed to make money regardless of cost

It matters not to them how many souls get lost

The enemy we refer to is the enemy of Spam

Not to be confused by the can of fake ham

It’s the onslaught of deception to get you confused

Where you spend your money to make them amused

There must be a way to make them STOP – GO AWAY

They prey on those who think they are a good way

For now, just be aware of their lucrative scams

Before they drown us all in the trickery of spam

It is obvious to me that these people do not know the meaning of kindness or else they would not be in this industry. Nevertheless, we are encouraged to be better than them and to always be kind.

Spoiled or Not Spoiled?

While that is a ridiculous question, the answer is all of the above. Daisy, as was all dogs before her, is on one hand spoiled and on one hand just lovingly taken care of. I am rewarded by such care as never being allowed to get too far from sight…

Do you know how hard it is to type with a dog under your arm? She didn’t care, she wasn’t moving. If we go to the sunroom, she gets to be in front of the fire and I don’t have a dog under my arm but I am carefully watched.

This has been a chilly winter – downright cold the last 3 weeks. So the fire feels good to all of us. Last week she had to go for her check-up and get shots. She is always good but gets a little droopy and lethargic afterward. When I realized she was not in the living room I found her in the bedroom…under everything.

Well, it was -10F degrees outside, so fair enough. She slept that way most of the night. I had to move her over to get room for me. Last night she was much better. It is still cold but a normal cold for us, 34F.

Stretching out takes up 3/4 of the sofa. While my dogs get spoiled, I don’t baby them or dress them in clothes. I understand they are dogs. However, as a responsible pet owner, she is well taken care of, even if she is somewhat spoiled more than some dogs. Tonight I chose to work at the dining room table, which she is not happy about, but she is remaining very close.

So we close out the night with a reminder to be kind to most of God creation. I say most because I am not being kind to the slithery creations – not being mean either – just not going near them, even at the zoo.

FOTD, Anthurium

It is a yucky, cloudy, dreary, melty, and foggy day here in the Midwest. Yes, thankfully the 26 inches of snow is finally melting after three weeks. Enough already.

I understand that FOTD is taking a well-deserved break but I needed some color today, so I give you the Anthurium that is growing in my office.

These are supposed to be difficult and fickle plants to grow so we will see how long it takes me to kill them. I really wanted some color in my office and while Poinsettias are wonderful this time of year, I know how fickle those are and the one in my office is really sad. So onward with the adventure.

Hope you enjoyed this splash of red for today. I really liked the one with the green edges.

Remember to always try to be kind. You never know when you smile or kind gesture may just make someone’s day.