October 29, 2017

Autumn is in the Air

The temperature dropped to freezing night before last. It was the first freeze on the year. Last night was even colder. I had put my tender plants in the greenhouse, so they were safe.

I bought a wax leaf begonia last spring. It had beautiful red flowers and it bloomed all summer. It was my first begonia so I really didn’t know what I needed to do to keep it beautiful. It got quite leggy. I accidentally broke off a stem that had a flower so I stuck it in damp soil and forgot it. The next thing I knew, it was growing. Well, I cut off more stems and put them in the soil. They too, grew. Since winter was coming, I cut the whole plant back and and put most of the cuttings in soil. I gave all the extra plants to co-workers and anyone else that wanted them. I don’t know that I have ever seen a plant that stayed so beautiful all summer.

I also bought a purple petunia last spring that turned out to have the most delectable fragrance. It would fill my patio on a warm evening. Since winter was coming and I didn’t think it would last the winter and it too had become leggy, I cut off long stems and stuck them in soil. They also took root! I am hoping to have several plants come spring to set around my patio.

Several unusual things happened in my garden this year. Toward the end of the hot summer, when the temperatures cooled down some, my tomatoes set more fruit. I moved them to the greenhouse hoping the tomatoes will continue to grow and ripen. Next, my potted azaleas put on buds and one has flowers blooming. This is the wrong time of year for them to bloom. I am afraid it will affect their blooms come spring.

This year seems to be rushing to a close. I can hardly believe it will be November next week. It is just two months until the new year. It has been a good year but a stressful one. I am looking forward to next year being better.
I am hoping the protesters will be less destructive and more mature and responsible. I am hoping people will stop calling others racists and Nazis. I am hoping all the political controversy will settle down. I am hoping the citizens of this country will have peaceful productive verbal intercourse and stop finding fault with each other. We need to pull together as a nation or we will stop being a free nation.

September 17, 2017

Sweet Land of Liberty

Summer is almost over. It has been a wet, humid, hot summer here in Arkansas.It has cooled down some and the trees are starting to put on their autumn attire.
I love autumn. It is my favorite time of the year. There is more color and the air is crisp but not too cold and not to warm.

Just recently hurricane Harvey and Irma have devastated portions of our country. I am so sorry for what these folks are going through. I can’t imagine what it is like to lose your home and loved ones to such devastation.

I am also appalled at some of the statements made by those unaffected by this tragedy. Such callous statements come from a heart that is long seared of compassion. They are shameful words and I am sorry such people exist.

I am proud to say that the citizens of this great nation came to the aid of the victims of these storms. It will take a long time to rebuild from the destruction and will cost a lot of money. People through out the country sent money and aid. That is what this nation is about. We pull together when there is a need.

In 1973, Gordan Sinclair, a Canadian had this to say about these United States of America. Canadian Tribute to the Untied States
I have included it here.
________________________________________________________________________
This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it. When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped. The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans.

I’d like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don’t they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon?

You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times and safely home again. You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke. I can name you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don’t think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I’m one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those.”

Stand proud, America
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I copied this here because I hope you, my readers, will consider what is being said.

Another article about this great country was written in 2002 after the 9/11 attack. An Ode to America

Right now in this great nation , there are those within who are trying to change us. They want a socialistic government. These are folks that do not know history. There has never been a socialistic government that was a success. The only ones that benefit from that type of government are those in power. Most are too young to remember the Soviet Union. They had to build a wall to keep people in. The citizens had no freedoms. They tried to leave to come to America so they could be free. The great and powerful Roman nation was a success as long and its citizens had freedom, but when the government became powerful and took away freedom, the nation collapsed.

Folks need to understand there is no free lunch. When we expect the government to provide free stuff, it is paid for by high taxes. If the government pays our way, the government has the right to control our lives and it will. You will be told what you can study in school. You will be arrested and jailed for speaking out against the government. You will have no rights.

I hear the word Nazi being bantered around by young folks that are too young to know what the Nazis were like. There is nothing in these United States that even remotely resembles that evil regime. They gathered up Jews and put them in concentration camps and starved them. They took Jews to gas chambers and killed them by the millions. Even German citizens were not immune to being killed for even the smallest infraction. The people lived in fear. No, this nation is nothing like the Nazis. However, if this politically correct trend continues, if this violence continues, if the laws of this country continue to be violated, we very well may become a nation like the Nazis.

We are not perfect and have never been perfect. This nation is made up of human beings. Human beings are not perfect. Each generation is a product of their time. What was acceptable in one generation, may not be acceptable in the next. That is why we should be studying the true history of this nation. We should not be trying to rewrite history to please ourselves but to learn from history. We should not be blaming those who lived in the past for what is perceived as faults today. What will the future generations think about what is happening today. I can tell you, if these United States fall, the future generations will not look kindly on this generation.

There is wisdom in history. You learn what people have done and why. You learn from other’s mistakes. That is why we have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The founders of this nation were very wise men. They came out of oppressive nations and cultures. They wanted this nation to be one that the people who lived here would be the power, not the government. They gave a lot of thought and prayer to formulating those documents. They wanted make it impossible for the government to gain power over the people. And the government can’t gain power over the people unless the people give the power to the government. I am very afraid that this generation is going to do just that.

It doesn’t have to be that way. If folks would study the constitution and the Bill of Rights and see what rights it guarantees us and then fight for it. It is not out of date and will never be out of date. The needs of people will be the same generation after generation. Customs may change, the culture may change but the needs will not. Citizens need to be free to pursue happiness and prosperity. Every citizen needs to be free to practice the religion of his/her choice without fear of persecution. The needs of the people of these United State of America is to be free.

September 3, 2017

New Business

I am starting a new business. I am dipping my toes into something totally new. My friend is very exited for me.

I feel like I am in the dark. I am learning how to run an online business. I will be an affiliate for Amazon. Since I am a great customer of Amazon, it should not be too difficult!

Once I have this one up and running, my next plan is to be a copy writer. I have all the tools waiting for me to put it together.

My goal is to work from home. I am a single woman and I have reached the point in my life that I don’t want to work for someone else. I want to be able to plan my time. I want my income to match my efforts.

Once I get my site up and running, I will post my address here so you can visit.

Here is the address of my business.

Nora’s Super Store

August 16, 2017

I am Back

It has been a while since I have written in this blog.  Other activities have swallowed up my time, mostly work.

I still have a full time job, but I wish I didn’t.  I am taking steps solve that problem.  I hope to soon be self employed.

I love writing and I truly enjoy writing in my blogs…yes, I do have more than one.  I have posted the addresses in previous blogs.  If you read my history you will see them.  I will post them again in the future.

I am opening an on line store.  Once I get it up and going I will post the address here.

This will be short tonight since I am running short of time, but I will have more to say tomorrow.

September 20, 2014

Fall is in the Air

It has been a long hot summer here in the south of the USA.  Where I live, we did get a good bit of rain.  The grass stayed green and had to be mowed Fortunately, I have a person to mow it for me.  All the rain and high temperatures caused it to be quite humid.  I hate the humidity.  Five minutes is all it takes to be wet.  Not all places in the south got this much rain.  I have friends who live in central Texas who would have loved to share our rain.

The temperatures have cooled down.  It is comfortable on the patio in the mornings.  I go there to drink my morning coffee and then eat breakfast.  I love to listen to the birds as they wake up and sing their morning songs.  There was some fog this morning.  There was just enough to make the landscape look interesting.

Do your hummingbirds tell you when their feeder is empty?  Mine do.  I had one fly to the window to get my attention last year.  It just hovered there, looking at me.  I put food in the feeders yesterday morning, but was surprised to see them almost empty when I came home in the afternoon.  I was tired so decided to leave them until this morning.  I guess they emptied both feeders by the end of the day.   While I was eating my breakfast, one flew down in front of me and hovered, flew to the feeder, then back to me.  I am somewhat intelligent so I got the message.  I filled the feeders.  It is getting close to time for them to fly south, so they must be filling up their larders for the long flight.

I am looking forward to the trees putting on their autumn attire.  It is my favorite time of the year.  I love the colors.  They fit me.

I am an autumn person.  I have reddish blond hair, hazel green eyes, and a light olive complexion. I am a Heinz 57 person.  My fore-bearers came from France, England, Scotland, Ireland and the Cherokee Indian Nation.  There may be more that I don’t know about.  That is the thing about this nation.  They came from everywhere to build a place where people could be free and many came to experience that freedom.  We became one people.

I am afraid for my nation and I am not alone.  I talk to so many people who feel the same.  We have had such poor leaders in Washington.  The news media is so biased they cannot be believed.  They set about to destroy any who don’t agree with their philosophy and ignore worse in those that adhere to their beliefs.  I have watched good people maligned by the media and the movie makers.  I have seen reprehensible people glorified.  We have a constitution which was drafted by those who knew what it was like to live in suppression and they meant that to not happen in this new world.  They were wiser than any Supreme Court judge that we now have, wiser than those self seeking elected officials who have forgot the reason they were elected, wiser than any of the movie makers and most certainly wiser than what passes for the news media today.  If we followed the constitution in the spirit in which it was written, we would still have a powerful nation.  If the federal government would stay out of our personal lives and do what they are supposed to do, which is look to the defense of the nation, we wouldn’t have a problem with illegals coming across our southern border, we wouldn’t be in debt to another nation.  We are one nation.  We had better be under God.

If you don’t think God steps in when a nation gets too far from his principles, look at history.  Look at Israel.  When they turned from God, the Assyrians and the Babylonians destroyed the nation.  What was left of the nation of Judah was then destroyed by the Romans.  It’s not that those nations were so good, they were a tool.  Later they too were destroyed. We had a good start but there are those in this nation who are set on removing our individual freedoms.  There are those who call good evil and evil good.  They are going to cost us this great nation and there is no other place on the planet to replace what we once had.

There is one man that is speaking out for our nation.  His name is Ben Carson.  I am hoping he will run for president in 2016.  He cares for this country and what it stands for.  Buy his books and learn his philosophy.  The news media will start to crucify him once he throws his hat in the ring, but don’t believe them.  They do that to anyone they fear and they fear anyone who loves this nation.  Look what they did and are still doing to Sarah Palin. They don’t tell the truth and they do it subtly.  They don’t want to get caught.  If they do, they lose their jobs.  This country belongs to “we the people” and it is time we took it back from the media, Washington DC, and Hollywood.  I believe Ben Carson can help us do that.  I know he will have a fight with congress.  There are so many there that have become powerful and have no concern for the country.  Hopefully there will be enough new congressmen and senators that will help him.

Before you go vote, be sure you know who you are voting for and what that person stands for.  Lets get American patriots in the leadership positions in the country.  We need people who will work for the betterment of this nation, and not for their own gain.

I love my country.  There is no where else I would want to live.  Down through the years I have watched our freedoms being stripped from us by politicians.  One by one, they are taking away our constitutional rights.  Please join me and those like me to protect this nation.  You do that by voting for those who also love this nation and want to keep it as our fore-fathers intended.

Let’s take back our nation and make it a great again!

May 14, 2014

Morning Greeters

There is nothing that gives me more pleasure than sitting on my patio as the morning dawns and listen for the first bird to sing its joy for the day.  After the first one, another will join the song and soon the trees are full of bird song, lifting their voices in praise of God.  Each one has it’s own song and so I listen, identifying each one as I can.

I have a yard full of mockingbirds.  They are cocky fellows.  I have watched them chase squirrels, tease my cat and bully other birds.  They ignore me and come right on to the patio.  They believe they can out smart and out maneuver anything.  They imitate the song of other birds so I need to be sure which bird I am listening to.

There are some cardinals that hang out in my back yard.  I believe one has a nest in my honeysuckle vine.  I have not checked but I see a hen slipping under the foliage.  They are a bright spot of color any time of the year but are especially appreciated in the gray winter days.  Their bright color is like an ornament on a Christmas tree.

There are robins that stay around.  They must nest near by because they always seem to be present.  There are some rufus sparrows about, too.  They come in to the bird bath for a drink of water.  They are almost as pretty as a cardinal.  Occasionally I see a little yellow bird drop by.  I don’t know what kind it is but it is really pretty.  There are a variety of birds that pass through.  Each has it’s own song and special beauty.

I put up a bluebird box a few years ago and there have been several clutches raised in it.  I love the mellow song of the bluebird.  There is always a male and female together.  I have decided the male goes house hunting each spring and when he finds one he considers suitable, he calls her to come check it out.  She looks it over and they fly to a near tree and discuss it.  If she like it, they move in and begin building the nest.  She lays the eggs and stays in the nest overnight to keep the eggs warm.  He goes somewhere nearby to spend the night.  Come morning, he flies to a near branch and waits for her to get up.  If she waits to long, he will call her.  She comes out and they go look for breakfast.  They are back and forth during the day.  When the eggs hatch, they both bring food to the chicks.  He is very protective of his family.  Once I saw a mockingbird land on the nest box.  The little male came out of a nearby tree like a rocket and knocked the mockingbird off .  The mockingbird squawked in surprise.

You have probably guessed I also put out a hummingbird feeder each spring.  It is a pleasure to watch their antics.  They are greedy little fellows and don’t like to share at all.  One year I had about 20 of the little guys coming to my feeders.  It was amazing to watch them line up like planes in a holding pattern to get to the feeders.  I haven’t had so many in several years.  I find myself wondering if something has caused the population to drop, but I hear others say they have a lot of birds.  I have only had two or three for several years now.  The honeysuckle are in bloom now.  I have noticed they don’t come to the feeders as much during that time.  I suspect they are feeding from the honeysuckle and they could be nesting at that time, too.  A few days ago I was taking down the feeder to put in fresh syrup when one came and tried to feed while I was taking it down.  Once I got the feeder free, he came back again.  I held the feeder while he drank his fill.  On several occasions he has flown down to my eye level and looked me over.  Last year when a feeder emptied and I hadn’t noticed, one flew to my kitchen window and looked at me, then flew back and forth. I decided it was trying to tell me the feeder was empty and I needed to do something about it.  I filled it.

As you can see, I derive a great deal of pleasure from my feathered friends.  I can’t say they aren’t afraid of me, but they aren’t concerned about my presence.  I am just another presence in their backyard.

April 19, 2014

Today’s Musings

It is a beautiful day outside. It is 74 degrees with a very light breeze blowing.  I have been working in my yard most of the morning.  I came in for a bit, but I am going right back out as soon as I finish this.

I have added a new post to my http://fullfilledprophesy.wordpress.com/  blog.  I have been slow posting to that blog because I need to research before I post.

I mentioned before that I was using Weight Watchers to rid myself of some extra pounds.  I am so pleased with this program that I want to say I highly recommend it.  The cost is minimal.  It can be done from home, no meetings to attend.  It does not feel like a diet.  I can eat any food I want.  It is all about portion control.  There are meetings if one needs that kind of structure.  I don’t like meetings so being able to do this at home is perfect.  I pay attention to my points and most of the time I have a point or two left over.  I have steadily lost weight from the first day.  I lose about 2 ounces a day or a bit over a pound a week.  Weight Watchers told me I would lose between 1/2 pound to 2 pounds a week.  Someone with more weight to lose or if one loses weight easily, could lose faster.  I have had a terrible time losing weight.  It was easy to gain and very hard to lose.  I am very happy with the rate I am losing.  It is the only program I have found that works for me.  I spent BIG bucks with Metabolic Research Center and it did not work.  I have tried Atkins, fasting, Nutrisystem, and I can’t remember all the others.  Nothing worked. Weight Watchers was my last shot.  A friend told me his son lost a lot on WW and I thought I may as well give it a try.  I am so happy I did!.

The sunshine is calling me, so I am off to enjoy it.  I hope you are having a beautiful day, also.

Happy Easter to you all!

April 16, 2014

Winter Slipped In

We had freezing weather Monday night.  It had been comfortably warm for several weeks.  I planted tomatoes, peppers and fragile herbs. When I learned it was going to freeze, I covered every thing, in hopes of protecting the plants.  Then there was a frost last night.  The tomatoes and peppers suffered some damage, but I believe they will pull through.  I lost one basil plant, the rest did fine.  There are not supposed to be any more freezes for the rest of the spring.  One just never knows what the weather may decide to do.

My current employment petered out, so I am one of those unemployed that we are hearing so much about.  I have experience in a number of fields.  I have been a travel agent,  insurance agent, and customer service agent.  I have worked as a trainer in my field.  I was a reservation manager for Alaska Airlines.  I would like to find something where I can work from home.  Most of those positions are for computer gurus, which I am not.  I am proficient in most of the applications and take care of my own IT work here at home, but I don’t have the expertise for a profession.  I would like to obtain that expertise but it is not feasible at this time.

I am a starving artist.  I do have a web site at http://www.norasartcache.com.  Go check out.  Maybe you will see something you like.

My lilacs are in bloom.  I love how they fill the air with such a sweet fragrance.  The butterflies always come to visit when the lilacs are in bloom.  I have added a photo so you can share this with me.

 

April 4, 2014

Another Blustery Morning

You just never know when you greet the day what you are going to find.  It was warm yesterday… 75 degrees when I got up at 5:30 am.  The stars were peeking through the clouds here and there.  A lovely morning.  We had a storm last night.  The thunder woke me several times.  It startled some barks out of Belle, my Maltese pal.  This morning it was 42 degrees with a cold wind making it feel even colder.  The clouds are all gone.  It is another blustery day.

I have my small garden planted.  I have tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, lettuce, asparagus, and kale in.  It is really a salad garden.  Someday I will increase it to include other vegetables.  I do grow herbs, too.  I have lavender, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, sage, and basil.

I wrote before about slimming down with Weight Watchers.  I am still having great results.  I am losing a bit more than a pound a week.  What is really wonderful about WW is I don’t feel like I am on a diet.  I can eat anything I want.  I just need to stay within my designated points.  That is not hard to do.

I gave up drinking cow’s milk a few years ago.  I decided it was not really good for me.  I also stopped drinking soy milk because it interferes with my thyroid function.  I settled on coconut milk.  I like it to drink and to cook with but it is high fat so I can’t drink much.  I don’t really like it in cereal, either.  It does have a healthy fat even though the media gave it bad press.  (A lot they know!)  I also cook with coconut oil because it is a healthy oil…not like Canola oil which is made from GMO rape plants.  I said all that to say I have discovered goat milk.  It tastes like cow’s milk, does not have to be homogenized and it contains those medium chain fatty acids that coconut oil has that is so good for me. Goat milk is easier to digest than cow milk.  It is closer to human milk so therefore it is better for humans than cow’s milk.  I have a local supplier so I get the milk fresh from the goat.  After looking on the internet, I find that there seems to be goat farmers (ranchers?) just about everywhere.  I suspect there is one near you, in case you are interested in a healthier milk for you and your family.

 

March 20, 2014

Slimming the Body

Over the last decade or two, I have slowly added some extra pounds.  I have made several attempts to take them off but didn’t have any long lasting results.  I always said I would not pay money to lose weight but this year I decided I probably needed to do that.  I joined Metabolic Research Center in January.  That is a very expensive program.  I was spending a lot of money buying all the supplements and protein drinks they recommended.  The diet is very restrictive.  After 2 1/2 months I had lost only 7 pounds and had spent over $1000.00.  I had expected to lose 2-3 pound per week.  I decided that was not working for me.

I had looked at Weight Watchers on line a number of times but “I wasn’t going to pay to lose weight” so what did I do but swallow a camel. Weight Watchers cost a tiny fraction of the cost of MRC.  I decided to join.  I started losing weight immediately.  I was so surprised after what I had been through with MRC.  I just thought this would be a cheaper plan and that I would go on with the slow weight loss.  Weight Watchers said I would lose 1/2 to 2 pounds per week.  I lost a pound in three days!

Weight Watchers has been a pleasurable experience.  I was given 26 points per day plus 49 bonus points for the week.

 WW wants me to use all my points each day.  They cannot be carried over to the next day.  If I use more than my 26 points in a day, I can use some of the 49 bonus points.  So far I have not used any bonus points.  I really like that I am encouraged to eat fruits and vegetables.  Fresh fruits and vegetables count as 0 toward my 26 points.  Because I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, I stay comfortably full.  I have to work at getting those 26 points in each day.
There is no food that I cannot eat.  Because my goat milk is full fat,  I thought I might run into a problem there, but it doesn’t use up many points.  I checked out the points on things like fruit pie (7 points), ice cream (5 points), wine (4 points), pizza (5 points).  I don’t expect I will be consuming much of those, but it is nice to know that I can should I choose.
The recommendation is to eat fat free or low fat foods.  I am eating cheese made from skim milk but it is not considered low fat.  I do buy fat free cottage cheese and yoghurt.
Exercise gains points that can be traded for food points.
 I put the WW app on my phone so I can keep track wherever I am. There is a bar code scanner on the app so I can scan a food to see how many points it uses.  There is a calculator that I can input fat, carbs, and fiber for foods that I can’t scan.  They thought of everything!
This does not feel like a diet at all.  I just track all the food I eat to make sure I stay at my 26 points.  I eat what I like.  The way I see it, this is something that I can do from now on.  Once I reach my goal weight I can still track to make sure I don’t over eat and gain back.  I am sure my daily allowance will increase when I reach goal and go on maintenance but I could be happy at this level.  It has plenty of food and variety.