Sometimes Life is Just Hard

So I've put some pictures up for you to see why I've named this post "Sometimes Life is Just Hard". When I moved into my new apartment there was a flowerbed on the right next to the garage on my way to the front door. It was full of white landscaping rock. Because my frontdoor along with my porch neighbor is an alcove that collects whatever the wind blows the white rocks collect that stuff and it looses it's attrativeness. Sooo, I advertised on marketplace for white landscape rock FREE for the taking. Not too many days after I posted there was a taker. He and his significant other were doing some landscaping and he wanted the rock. And he actually did come and get all the rock (or at least the white rock, there was more than one level). As advertised, he took both mine and my neighbors rock Well then what? I had no plan.So for the last several weeks the flower bed was bare dirt with the second layer of rock revealing itself here and there. So, while I was thinking about what I was going to do with the flowerbed, I raked the remaining rock into piles with kind of a design developing in the process. The second picture is the beginnings of the plan I came up with. This was after clearing it with the management of the complex I live in. There is no water access in the flowerbed. There use to be but it has since stopped working and the sprinkler heads have been capped, so absolutely no water. The plan is...artificial turf with islands and a water feature. Some potted plants and eventually plantings of ornamental, drought tollerant grasses and whatever else I come up with all which will be planted on the islands. I spent last eveing laying the artifical turf. Hopefully I got the nap of the grass baldes heading all the same way. Using 6' nails each cut piece is nailed to the ground. The heads of the nails show, so I'm going to have to figure out how to fix that. I did buy some play sand for the infill which will be sprinkled on the turf, after I brush up the blades of grass so that they are standing up straight. The infill is suppose to help keep the blades standing up, weight the grass material down, and help the turf hug the ground. The turf I purchased was 3'x9' and I knew it wouldn't be enough to do the entire area I wanted to cover. I'm not really good at measuring for such a job so I elected to order one piece, lay it before ordering the rest of what I need. Anyway. I got as far as nailing the pieces down on the dirt. The next step will be to brush the blades up so they are standing up intsead of laying down. Then comes the sprinkling of the play sand and then somehow camoflaging the nail heads. Maybe just painting them to match the turf will work. May need to tape the back side of the turf where there are pieces joined to help keep them in place. BTW, it's not hard to pull up the nails. The water feature is a small pond ground with some big rocks and fake greenery placed around. I checked it out before buying the turf and it worked well. Later I plugged it in and it didn't work. I purchased a water resistant outdoor extension cord and haven't tested it yet but have decided that if the pump doesn't turn on when plugged in, I'm going to replace it with a solar operated pump. I probably should have done that to start with but I had an electric pump already so I put it in place. ld Sometimes Life gets Hard and this project has tested my abilities to carry out the plan. There's more to come and I'll be posting next time on the completion of the project in a couple of weeks. To tell the truth, I love the challenge and at 80, I operate under the idea that if I don't use it I'll loose it...talking about my physical strength. So until then don't let difficultiy stop you from doing things. Just do it! This is Judy on a Friday night doing what I really enjoy doing and that's writing. Blessings to all who read what I share and please leave a comment. I really would love to hear from you.

I've Got Pictures

The following are pictures of some of the crafts I am making for the October Craft Fair in my community that will be open to the city. Another picture is of two little blue pots with neat bouquets which will sell as a pair or single and beside them is a writing journas which I made including sewing the signatures (smaller grouped pages that make up the whole boo). This style of journal is called "Junk Journals". Within the pages are little suprises of little pockets to hold anything you want, like cash or pictures, notes, movie tickets. I like to encourage journalling because is can have such a positive effect on the individual. I personally use my journals like a diary but also write prayers out. The next photos are of little books. I call the sall ones "Something to Write On.They are to carry in a purse These pictures are of the crafts I'm making for the October Craft Fair in my community. I', signing off to the sounds of fire works in the night because it's the 4th of July the anniversary of our great nations's independance day. Happy Birthday America. I pray for far better day ahead!!!

These little paper shirts for both male and female are oragami and will hold a gift card or dollar bills of any denomination. They can even be hung on a Christmas Tree. The second picture shows one shirt folded up and the second is opened up so you can see where to put the gift card or cash in the folds then the bottom folds up and tucks under the points of the collar.

Crafting Again...YAY!

Everything's a big mess in my new craft room. I clean up and then mess it up! an ongoing cycle and I absolutely love crafting in my craft room. There's going to be a craft fair at my new apartment complex in October. I understand they do so every year. Apparently I get 2 6' long tables at no charge and I can sell my crafts and keep all the proceeds. So I have begun my planning as well as crafting. My list of crafts to be ready to sell includes, hand crafted jewelry by me, refreshed old jewelry collected, origami folded paper shirts that hold money or a gift Card, junk journals and small paper books for notes titled "something to write on" designed for purse or wallet, jewelry crafts like wall hangings and yard sale items renewed that haven't sold in the past like ceramic containers with floral arrangement included and various other renewed or newly adapted for new uses items. 

 Have already started making, selecting things, cleaning things, refreshing things and making display containers and adding to them. Don't know how much I will come up with from now until mid October but I'm gonna give it my best shot. Not interested in making Christmas decor mostly thinking about gifts and gift tags and cards with Christmas in mind the rest will be for gifting. I learned so much while I was into jewelry making about display and making my own display holders that while making the items I'm also making things to display the crafts I make on. All very creative. I don't really have any pictures to add here. 

Well, I think I'll postpone posting this until tomorrow when I can take some pictures of what I'm making for show and tell....yup, think I'll do that. Right now it's 3:40am so I need to turn out the light and go to sleep instead of keep writing. SO...nite nite and I take this up tomorrow and get it posted then.... Still didn't take any pics but before I say goodnight this Sat. night I want to mention what I'm amazed about and that is those of you who read my posts are from all over the World.

I mentioned Hong Kong where there are the most readers then there's Singapore, France and so many more. I just want to say thank you all for popping in and reading what I write. I'd love to hear from you individually and I can if you will leave a comment or you can just say Hi. Maybe I'll remember about the pics tomorrow...Goodnight all....

having trouble arranging the pictures but these are just a couple of crafts in the making. The reindeer are made of salt dough and they are bow ornaments to put on a Christmas gift.

Hello readers in Hong Kong

Every time I post I look at who reads my blog. Not really who but where the readers are in this world. The biggest or most readers are from Hong Kong so far for June. What a suprise and I just want to say thank you for visiting and reading. I would love to hear from you in the comment section if you want even just to say Hi. If you would like for me to write about something you want to know about leave your idea in the comment and I will write about your request. It would certainly be a pleasure to do so. This is a picture of my back porch at my new home.

Did I tell you I'm a great grandmother?

 Isn't it wonderful?                                                                                            So thankful for Mazie!

Mazie  7.11#'s

And she's beautiful. I've gotten lots of pictures thanks to my daughter who is with her daughter and her new baby daughter. Well, that's my big news. They live far far away but it's okay. When I was having my babies I lived far far away from my parents and grandparents. Technology may be frustrating sometimes but I'm sure thankful that I get to see her in real time on my laptop and hear the conversations  going on while I get to watch baby Mazie sleep. LOL, I think that's funny. It is actually fun and a treat to get to see her sleeping while life goes on around her she is all snuggled up sleeping.   

In the mean time back at the cottage, I've unpacked the last box and busy now organizing the closets and each room, one at a time. Some rooms, like the craft room, are a continual organizing and reorganizing but that's to be expected. 

I knew my life was going to change because of this move. Texas is big and it takes a while to get where you want to go no matter where you live. I moved across town and its like moving to a different town. The same stores I shopped at before have branches where I moved and I'm noticing they are each laid out just a little bit differently so things aren't in the same place in each store. The traffic is terrific here more than where I was and I was in a busy area. I'm using more gas going across town to church and friends and it takes more time to get across town from where I am now. Looks like my gas budget is going to increase considerably and I'm thinking I have to run errands and stay out longer by trying to take care of them in one trip. Kinda like living out in the country only not if you get what I mean. Other things are looking like change is gonna happen too like seeing friends less often and maybe even changing churches. Because there seems to be more traffic it's a bit more of effort to get somewhere because of the amount of cars and the speed limit is higher so everyone is moving faster. Not a problem really just different.

I'm glad I made the move it's really good and I must admit I do like change. Brings lots of new things and new people and different experiences. It's really a good thing, kind of like an adventure.  My apartment is much more square footage and so I walk more just inside my home from room to room and up and down the hallway and that can't be bad. The neighborhood is much safer to walk my pooch. The streets are narrow and curvy and there is a no trespassing sign at the entry of the community. So most of the cars are residents or visitors so nearly no traffic. Milo and I walk safely and he is beginning to be familiar with the streets we walk in and the other dogs of the neighborhood. He's not real friendly with them though, just their owners. He likes them alot. I've done a little crafting  while sorting all the box contents since the first of May. I do have big plans in that aspect of my new residence.  Slowly but surely the craft room is looking better and less congested.

Life is good these days for me and I hope the same is for you where ever you are. I know, there's lots to complain about but I choose not to do that. I really am thankful for all this move has given me, even the gas and time  that has changed. That's it for this post. It's a little after 11pm so time to turn in on this 6th of June. God bless you and yours...keep looking up, it's just easier on the eyes and thoughts. 

Leave a comment, that's something I haven't had yet but I sure would like to know what's on your mind. I'm Judy, in my room at my new cottage...good night.

Something Happened and I must tell...

 Over the past few months I've been leading a Bible Study group of generally 4 ladies, 5 including myself. I say leading rather than teaching because that's what happens. We are using a book written by Dr. Jeremiah "The God You May Not Know". Our group meets every week at the home of one of the ladies and is always relaxed and always a cold canned Pepsi is offered. We are all Seniors and range from the 60's to the 80's.

My groups are usually talkers because I encourage questions and comments even small debates at times. The point is to learn from the material and each other. I truly believe Holy Spirit resides within each believer and He is our ultimate teacher and I like to hear what he has to say through each of the participants. Of course there must be constraints of sorts but that's to fit within our time limit and to stay on task. The Bible is on hand of course.

This study has changed me and I am surprised and totally in! I've been a Christian, born again, since 1975. Been in lay leadership in the church, home group leadership with my late husband, Officially a leader in the church as Co-Pastor after graduating from CFNI, Dallas, Tx in 1987. Official ministry ended in 2001. That means I was no longer officially licensed within the denomination that Licensed me. This happens when a licensed minister no longer holds a paying position in a church. Because God's calling is without repentance, I continue on without a church covering, in ministry. 

I do not consider myself to know the answers to life, about God, the church, or any asked of me. I do follow the lead of my God in daily life as much as I know how. I love my Creator more and more everyday and spend time with Him daily. And yet, I'm blown away at how much the study that is finishing up this next week about the Creator of all that is created and all that is, is created by the Creator, make no mistake about that. It is fact and has nothing to do with whether or not mankind believes He Is.

Certainly I cannot rewrite the book I'm finishing up, in the telling here. What I do want to say is I am thoroughly amazed by the explanation of who God is. I still don't know it all and no one can because we are limited. He is not. Only by His own Holiness and it's His choice.  There are certain words that I have decided are never ending. They are as follows:

Eternity, Omniscience, Love, Heaven, Hell, God's Creation...the universe, galaxies, space, never, always, more. 

To actually realize that all of God is everywhere all at the same time and involved in every human life in such detail that he even knows how many hairs on every head at every moment while knowing what we are all thinking, doing, saying, living and dying all at the same time world wide! And this is hour after hour after hour, day after day, and so on. He never sleeps or turns away from anyone...never. NEVER! He has no limitations, none, zip! He doesn't have a big toe! He isn't human! and yet he's emanuel, God with us.

We have limitations and we die! God does not! We cannot, don't have the ability to limit Him. He is and will always be who he says he is and mankind cannot change him in anyway. Lack of belief in Him does not make him small or powerless or disappear in anyway. He is and was and will always be. The theories about how the world began without God Himself are nothing, mean nothing and accomplish nothing except rob mankind of the truth. And, further more like it or not, God is in control, in charge and man cannot change that. God is! Above it all! Is Power! and there is no other. He is the only one. Satan lied to Adam and Eve in the Garden and he is still lying.

I have known that God is bigger than I can even think and this study enlarged that I know that today without doubt but more, I know how more about the how much more which tells me there's so much more that I don't know. He's amazingly more.

God is known by many names and each one describes a part of his character. If you don't have the faintest Idea what I'm talking about, One of His names is Jehovah, and Yahweh, or Abba. Pick up a Bible...a New King James or a Living Bible and start with the Book of John in the New Testament. Let the author of that book in the Bible introduce you.

It's Friday evening before Memorial Day. Have a great weekend. Milo is somewhere asleep. I think I'll wake him and we will go sit on the back porch and enjoy the late afternoon. Blessings, I'm Judy and I'm glad.

Draft, another Draft and I'm fixin to write another....Oh No!

 

Draft, another Draft and I'm fixin to write another....Oh No!

 Wull...who kew. I just pulled up my blog to write a new post and found 3, maybe even 4 drafts that I had not pushed the publish button on!

So, I just published my last which is about the move and "I'm in" story. But right now, this post is about finally....all the unpackable boxes are unpacked. Wa-Hooo!

And there are wall hangings up in every room, curtains are up where they should be and a couple of windows with 2" blinds only ( I love the look and the light). I'm taking a couple of days off and then I'll be straightening and organizing the closets one by one and the rest of the rooms as it goes along. My car is finally in the garage every night and on one side of the garage inside is a row of empty boxes and on the other wall has a few opened boxes with stuff to be distributed still inside...small boxes. There are now 2 shelving units in the garage on the inside wall where the door to the kitchen is that are almost full. Actually I could use another one and there is room without impeding movement from the car to the kitchen door.

Hopefully this time next week all the empty boxes will be gone. I don't mind saying I'm tired and ready for a couple of days off from what I've been doing for months now.  Milo and I walk most mornings around the complex but in the evenings we just walk around the back yard. Also sit on the porch in the late afternoons around 6pm and enjoy the breeze.

The one thing that has stuck out in all this moving process is that I went from my 70's to my 80th Birthday last month.  It's the first ever age change number that has noticeably ddchanged how I feel. On the inside instead of thinking of myself as in my 30's it changed to now thinking of myself as being in the 60's. Honestly it's quite odd that there should be such a noticeable difference from last day of the 70's to the first day of the 80's.  Kinda funny I think. Instead of getting up out of a chair I now unfold out of a chair. Instead of rising out of bed and move along, I rise up and stand for what seems like a long time just to adjust to the vertical position from the horizontal position...odd. Then there's the act of unfolding after sitting for a while. That never use to be. Seems like when I wanted to get up out of a chair, I got up out of a chair. Now, not so much. When I'm ready to get up out  of a chair, it's a skoot to the edge of the chair and with great effort finally rising up on my two feet and then stand there for just a little bit. WHAT? You're Kidding, right?

Nope...not kidding! It's different and it happened all in one day! Don't get me wrong...I'm glad to be 80. Feel like I've earned it and frankly never thought about being 80 and what that might look like. I've got the picture now and it's not too bad, so far. 

Gonna turn out the light now. It's 12:32am March 24th Saturday Morning. So sorry about the drafts not posted. I'll post another one as I leave tonight. They will just be out of line that's all. Oh, and Milo seems to be feeling better, not so jumpy so I guess he's beginning to settle in too.

Good night and until next time have fun every now and then...This is Judy sitting on the edge of the bed typing on my laptop with Milo laying up against my back asleep. Sweet dreams....

Hope to lure the Hummers