Sunday Sermon and Other Stuff

“He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses much more; He who loses faith, loses all.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

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We had a lovely rainstorm during the night. It’s been so dry, that the welcome pelting of rain and flashes of lightning were most welcome as I slept. I woke up around 4am because I was warm. I looked up and noticed that I had forgotten to turn on the ceiling fan. NOPE! The power was out, no electricity. That’s ok, I was happy for the rain, and went back to sleep. The power came back on around 9 am and I was more than happy to go reset all the clocks. Rain, glorious rain.

I took the dog for a walk in the park, had a little breakfast, and got ready for Mass on TV.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus told his disciples how His life would end with death and resurrection. Peter told Jesus that this should not happen, but Jesus declared that Peter was thinking like a human and not as God ordained…

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.

25 Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.

26 What, then, will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his life?

27 ‘For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his behaviour.

My take on it… this is a pretty old and well shared passage… You can have all the money, power, wealth, or status in the world, but if you lose your soul, you have lost everything. At the end of your life, wealth, power, and status mean nothing. You can’t take it with you.

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It was a lovely day. I decided it was a perfect bake cookies day. All the work was already done. I took out one of my rolls of chocolate chip cookies from the freezer. If you didn’t catch that recipe…OMG…Only Magnificently Great. I sliced the dough, placed some caramel bits on top and sprinkled with kosher salt.

I’ve done a lot of baking in my life, but I’ll attest to the fact that these are the worlds greatest cookies ever.

And when paired with a cup of green tea in my brand new “I ❤️ my Friend” mug that my friend Sherri Murphy gave me yesterday, that makes for a perfect day.

A Saturday evening sunset saying goodnight.

Saturday:) Sharing With Sherri

“Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.”

~ Charles Lamb

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I haven’t seen my old friend Sherri Murphy in eons. Oh, since the sunflower field excursion, many weeks ago. Sherri has been experimenting with all kinds of painting and art techniques in the comfort of her new home studio. It seems like every day she is posting a new painting or craft project on Facebook. I commented the other day that we needed a painting play day, so today was the day.

Sherri came over this afternoon and we rummaged through some folders, ideas, examples, stencils, brushes and paints in my well-organized craft room. We decided on a small canvas with her initials in metallic copper. Then, we worked on some cute cactus in flower pots drawn with watercolor pencils. A fun project.

Look how adorable!

We started out with a quick pencil sketch, then outlined and shaded with watercolor pencils. The neat part is, then you just blend and paint with clear water, it’s like magic.

I used a little blue pastel chalk for my background.

Sherri also painted two letters, S and M, with copper paint and painted a small canvas in shades of brown, that she mottled with scrunched up plastic for a leathery look. Then, dip-dotted copper around the edges to look like small copper nail heads. Very cute. Plus, the raised

letters could stand for Sherri and Michael, or for Sherri Murphy. Dual purposed.

We both agreed that it’s a lot more fun to play and craft with friends than home in our own little artsy world. Some people like to create alone. Personally, I love to share ideas and brainstorm and experiment and kick it around a little with other artistic friends.

Fun day, Sherri Murphy! Thanks for stopping over to play. 👩🏻‍🎨👩🏻‍🎨

Friday:) The Most Fabulous Talented Friends

“I’m inspired by artists and musicians. There are so many wonderful and talented people in the world. I love discovering new music, new writers, or new art.”

~Alicia Keys

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One of the perks of being an artist, writer, and all around busy-body, is that I’ve made friends with the most fabulous talented people.

A few weeks ago, my friend Krystyna Watson posted some adorable hand-made gifts and accessories for little girls. When I saw some pink princess patterns and Mini Mouse items, I asked Krys to save me a few for my granddaughters. I usually can pick up some great Christmas gifts at her booth at St. Gabriel’s Holiday Craft Show. It was cancelled is year…oh no!

Not only can Krys sew up a storm, but a few years back, she joined me volunteering over at Towne Creek a few years, and taught our senior friends many artistic techniques, origami, paper crafts, jewelry making, knitting, crafting and other cool projects that I have no clue about. I learned a lot. She also cooked and baked yummy treats for us all. Krys is KOOL!

We arranged to meet yesterday so I could pick up my little girl gifts and check out some new projects she’s been working on. Wow!

Here are some of my treasures…

A couple of back to school totes. My little girls will love these.

These little dolls are also little shoulder bags to store all kinds of treasures.

A few hats, scarves, scrunchies, and Kleenex pouches.

Then, she gave me about a dozen or more handmade scarves to share with our senior friends at Towne Creek this Christmas. What a special gift.

I’ll be sure to share more info on Krystyna Watson’s beautiful projects when she gets ready for holiday sales. (I’m lucky to be on the inside track, and have such a talented friend.)

Yes, I’m blessed with the best talented friends.

Cheers, my friends.

Quarantined Karaoke Thursday:( Somewhere Out There

“With time we learn that the things we’re better off without have the ability to lead us somewhere better than we were before.”

― Andrew Kendall

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Another Quarantined Karaoke Thursday. When will we be free to go back to public places to annoy friends and strangers with our off key singing? 😔🎤

This evening, I was treated to another awesome sunset. A fun and fabulous Thursday.

Lots of steps today. Yep, a good day.

Wednesday:) What Wonders I See On My Walks

“All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.”

~ Marie Curie

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I’m going to start with tonight’s breathtaking sunset. The big storm threatened with rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning. No rain, nothing, nada, zilcho. I was hoping for rain. (Sad face 😔) But, the clouds added to the amazing sunset.

On my walk this morning, I found some cute sidewalk chalk art and had to take a picture.

I walked about 3 miles all through the neighborhood. Some very pretty flowers brightened my route.

When I dropped off a little gift at a neighbor’s front porch, a striped lucky feather lay in wait for me. I am a lucky gal.

Every day is a wondrous adventure.

Toni’s Tuesday Time-lapse Painting-Watercolor Pencils

“Every day is an adventure in the imagination.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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I love a challenge, and every Tuesday I challenge myself to come up with a time-lapse project. It isn’t always easy. I look for inspiration in every day objects. Today, it was a placemat that I found at the dollar store.

Montage Monday:). A Week In A Peek

“Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Albert Einstein

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Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve ridden a bicycle. I used to ride the stationary bike at the YMCA, but that really didn’t get me anywhere, did it? Stationary gets you know where… keep moving. I agree that we have to keep moving to keep our balance. This was a good week for reflecting on moving forward and keeping balance. Sunsets, celebrations, cookies like crazy, painting and pictures of my adorable grand daughters. Life is good!

A week in a peek…

Sunday Sermon and Anniversary Celebration

“Each day offers a reason to celebrate. Find it and experience true bliss.”

― Amy Leigh Mercree

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Another lovely Sunday, and so much to celebrate. A morning walk, the warm sun, and a fine day to watch Mass on TV.

Today’s Gospel was the story of Jesus asking people who they thought He was. When He asked Simon, Simon acknowledged Him as the Son of God.

16 Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

17 Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.

18 So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’

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My take on it… faith is a very powerful force. Peter had such faith in the Lord that he was given the honor being the foundation and head of the church, the rock, the cornerstone.

Now, for the celebration. Today is August 23rd, which is one of my three miracle days. Six years ago today, I moved into my brand new house to start my brand new life. What once was a sad day and mournful memory, became a beautiful celebration. Forty-five years ago, what I thought would be one of the happiest days of my life, turned out to be an awful painful nightmare. My happily ever after turned into a dark disaster. I was rewarded for my faith and trust in God, just like Peter in today’s Gospel, and I started my new life on that same day, 39 years later. Now, I celebrate my new home Anniversary every year.

I usually have a huge party and celebration with friends, but with Covid and quarantine craziness, NO PARTY for my sixth anniversary. Hopefully, next year will be amazing and celebrated with twice as many friends.

Past celebrations…

Now, for a glass of champagne and some hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries. Cheers, my friends. Cheers to another wonderful year and celebration of life. Cheers to many more celebrations to come.

Saturday:) Seven Sunset Surprise

“Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they will be pleasantly surprised.”

― Marty Rubin

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Every time I get a chance to walk at sunset, I’m always pleasantly surprised at the brilliant glowing sun, the tangerine skies, the reflective water, and the miracle of the sky before the sultry orb slithers below the horizon.

I have such a collection of sunsets on my phone that I can’t bear to part with, so I’ll share seven of the most recent in my collection. I could share a dozen or a hundred, but then there wouldn’t be that alliteration with the word Sunday, would there?

I didn’t push my walking too much today. You’re supposed to rest on the Sabbath, right? I’m not Jewish, but I’ll take what ever excuse I can get. Just kidding. I walked a bit in the morning and a little in the evening and several short ones with the dog during the course of the day. I was pretty pleased by the end of the day.

Happy Saturday, my friends.

Friday:) From Here to There and Two Pennies

“Every day is your lucky day. It’s all in your perception.”

~ Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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A nice morning walk with a few fun encounters. I decided to extend my walk by going down some streets that I normally don’t venture down. I crossed in the middle of the street to avoid some sprinklers and found a lucky penny. Cool!

Because it’s Friday, I wasn’t sure if I was going to feel like an evening walk, so I decided to just push myself and extend my morning routine. Playing that little mind game, I said, ” Let me see if I can do 3 or 4 miles today. I don’t think I’ll take my usual sunset stroll.” When I finally gave up and arrived home, I had gone over 5 miles. I am AMAZING! (But, you already knew that.)

It was starting to get warm, but I trudged on, crossing streets occasionally to get on the shady side. Another mid-block crossing offered yet another penny. Two lucky pennies in one day.

Later in the day, I got a text from my neighbor, Allison, saying that she had a brand new outdoor rug that she couldn’t use, and would I like it? Why yes! So, she threw it in her truck and dropped it off on her way to the store.

I took this opportunity to sweep up the back patio, hose down the cement, hose down all the really dirty furniture, and water all the plants, before putting down the new rug. Butterflies and dragonflies were fluttering around me as I worked, as if to say, “Nice job. Keep up the good work.”

BEFORE.

AFTER.

It was a good day, a lucky day, a gifted day, and…. of course, a Black Russian Friday. Cheers, my friends.