The month of May

When I was coming home from work a little bit ago, I was thinking about the month of May and what it has brought us.

The first day of May will be one that many Tennesseans will never forget because of the heavy rains we received which caused severe flooding. In Jackson the total rainfall was around 12 inches that day. The rains continued east Saturday night and Nashville took a pounding not only on Saturday but also on Sunday. The pictures I saw online and on television are still etched in my mind. Where homes, yards and streets once were, now looked like a river enveloping homes. Even Opryland Hotel's property received damage from the floods. In Jackson, roads would wash out and what resulted was a huge hole that looked as if a bomb had blown up a section of the road. One picture that I saw, taken not far from Jackson General Hospital, showed a big pickup truck in such a hole . . . the truck looked so tiny compared to the circumference of the hole. Another picture was taken at a used car lot that sits on the corner of Airways Blvd. and Highway 45 ByPass. The parking lot looked like a lake and some cars, trucks, and vans stood in water as high as their windshield.

We had two weekends in a row of severe weather threats for our county. Friday night would start out with our NOAA radio going off, telling us we were under a tornado watch. Then came the tornado warnings. When the threat subsided and we would just get to bed and fall asleep, we would wake up to the sounds of our tornado sirens blaring (and NOAA radio blaring). This happened both Saturdays around 1:30-2:00 a.m. People who have lived in Jackson over the past 15 years do not take tornado warnings lightly. We know from experience how a tornado can destroy a city such as ours. We always turn our television on Channel 3 or Channel 5 News as we know the weather guys are going to be there, tracking the storms paths for us.

It seems to me that we have had less sunshine and more clouds, rain, and soggy ground this month. I did manage to clean our carport and our lower deck with our power washer two weekends ago, while my hubby cut up a tree that fell in our back yard from the ground being so saturated with rain. We received another break this weekend, so my dear husband and I scrubbed the upper deck and the outdoor furniture Sunday. We still need to clean the front porch. Then comes the cleaning of all our windows. My goal is to have everything looking great for Memorial Day weekend.

I normally have annuals planted in all my flower pots and containers by the end of April or first of May, but not this year (because of rain). This is a job I am hoping to accomplish this week. As a matter of fact, I might just work until noon tomorrow and then head to the nursery! I love planting flowers!

Maybe I will get to enjoy the last week of May without the rain to interrupt my chances to sneak outside and sit on the deck. I love to watch the different birds swoop down on our bird feeders to grab a bite to eat! Then there are the hummingbirds who come by for a pick-me-up from their feeders. So peaceful . . . so peaceful, in fact, that I am headed out there now! Catch you later!

Spring has arrived!

Nature has changed since the first of March. What were once barren trees now have fresh new leaves bursting forth. The past two weeks we have been dealing with these little seed pods falling on our deck and covering our chairs. When you walk you would hear "crunch" under your shoes (or flip flops for me). Now we have these little squiggly things that are falling from our trees and covering everything. My red car and Hal's blue 4-runner have turned a yellow-green with pollen, along with everything else that is within reach of the falling stuff. Ah, the joys of spring and the new life it brings! We have had a warm spring -- temperatures have been in the high 70's and low 80's for the past three weeks. We have witnessed our dogwood trees and buttercups blooming at Easter, and now our azalea's and dark purple iris are blooming. I love the smell of iris -- they smell like a sweet candy to me.

A few weeks ago I was off for spring break. The weather was so warm and each day was full of sunshine. I took advantage of the warm weather and had our carpet cleaned. My days at home were so nice as I was able to accomplish a lot of spring cleaning, but I also accomplished sitting outside watching our birds and finches take advantage of the bird seed we provide them. Our mornings are filled with lots of singing . . . not from us but from the many birds that visit our yard!

When Tricia and John went to visit Michael and Ginny last week during their spring break, we had the priviledge of "cat-sitting" Graycie. We don't have any grandchildren yet, so when we get the chance to see Graycie we tend to spoil her. I bought her more "cat" toys, and several Fancy Feast meals. Why, one day, Graycie ate better than us . . . she had lobster! Graycie is so pretty. She is gray with some stripes of white on her fur. She has had all four paws declawed so she can't scratch or tear up anything, but boy can she bite. Graycie loves to play and one of her favorite things to do is to stalk a person. For example, if I were to go from the den to the kitchen, Graycie would sit by the doorway in the den and wait for my return. As I would walk through the doorway she would pounce on me with all four arms and legs stretched as far as she can get them! She is so funny and very entertaining to watch her little antics of play.

I can't say enough about spring time and the weather it can bring. We have lucked out this year for sure. I have seen rainy springs, cold springs, mostly cloudy days in spring, and even snow. A person couldn't ask for a better spring than the one we are having at this moment. The daylight is also wonderful. It is almost 7:30 p.m. and still light outside.

In Christ Alone

Words to one of my favorite songs, In Christ Alone:

In Christ alone my hope is found,

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My Comforter, my All in All,

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save:

Till on the cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied-

For every sin on Him was laid;

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain:

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine -

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,

This is the power of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I stand!

I have added this song to my Play List if you would like to listen to it. It is the last song on the list.

February, Work, and Hair . . . but not in this order!

There is something to be said about finding a new hair stylist and love what she does with your hair. I have found such a person. Her name is Deana and she works at Elements Salon on Vann Drive. My stylist retired last August and I have been struggling since then on who to go to and what to do with my hair. With desperation I called my dear daughter last week and asked her how she would like to have a "hair cutting party". She eagerly accepted, so with brush, comb, and scissors tucked in my purse, off I went to her home. To me it is fun to cut hair. If I thought I could be like that doll, when you push a button on her back, you can pull on her hair and it grows, I'd probably cut mine out of pure joy every week! Today, I went to Deana, though, and with her suggestion, had highlights put in. She did a fantastic job and encouraged me to keep my "white" streak that is in the front. Deana was right about my white streak disappearing and blending in with my highlights. I am pleased, well pleased in fact, that I have made another appointment to see her in five weeks. By the way, can you believe that in five weeks it will be April 1??!!

Speaking of April, where has February gone? My life sometimes feels like a cassette tape or a VCR tape that someone has pushed the fast forward button and then forgot to stop fast-forwarding me and my life. It just seemed like a week ago that it was February 3 and spring semester began at Union.

The Music Department at Union is having their auditions beginning today and again tomorrow, then again on March 5 and 6. For those who don't know, if you are planning to major in music or have a minor in music, you have to audition to be accepted into the music department program. This also opens the door for a scholarship. The better your performance and knowledge of music, the better the scholarship. Most of our auditions are voice; however, we have some piano, flute, trombone, clarinet, etc. students.

It is so enjoyable working with music students. You get to see them almost on a daily basis. The chair of the music department at Union is Chris Mathews and he is who I work for. He is so young (at least to me he is). He is only 35 years old, has a wife who is just as beautiful in looks as she is personality-wise, and has three lovely daughters. Dr. Mathews is a joy to work for. I have been blessed with this job and my desire is to do the best I can each day I am there. I will share at a later date on all that I do during my work hours, but I do want to share this with you . . . I have been working very diligently on our new Music Department website since November and it is finally up and running. So, when you have a moment and would like to check out our website, please visit http://www.uu.edu/dept/music/ .

I am hoping when my dear husband arrives home from work he will think I look too beautiful to have to cook dinner tonight (with this new hair-do of mine) and will offer to take me out to dinner!

A Beautiful Saturday

Welcome to my blog page! What tempted me to begin this adventure, you might ask? Well, the blogging idea came from reading an article this morning in http://thejacksonsun.com/ about Coach Wooden. Coach Wooden will be 100 years old on October 14th this year and he just recently published his ninth book -- "A Game Plan for Life". (the book was released in the fall and is now available in bookstores) I thought to my self, "self, if Coach Wooden can write a book at age 99 then I surely can write a blog on my daily life and happenings including the ones I love." So, without futher ado, here is my first blog entry!

A Beautiful Saturday

What a beautiful day we had! Temperatures were in the low 60's and Mr. Sunshine decided not to hide all day behind the clouds. Today was just a small taste of what is in store for us soon . . . springtime!
Hal took advantage of the great day by cleaning out a flower bed that is by the top of our driveway. There is this old, old oak tree that stands at the corner of our neighbor's yard and each year that dear tree sheds its leaves on this "spot" of ours that is host to lots of snowdrops, dark purple and yellow iris', an azalea and orange day lillies. The little white snowdrops are blooming as well as these little yellow flowers to which I do not know their name. ( I can remember going with my mother into the woods next door to her home and digging up these little yellow flowers.) Since our property runs downhill, we have a small ditch that carries any water from the top of the hill to Meridian creek, which we try to keep the leaves from stopping up the waterflow.
I, on the otherhand, stayed inside on this beautiful day, doing the normal house chores that needs to get done on a Saturday after working all week. One thing I accomplished was the cleaning of our bathroom. Now, I love most of my house chores, but the one thing that I dread, that I always keep putting off, putting it on the "back burner", is our bathroom. I just despise cleaning bathrooms! I love clean bathrooms, however, and the fact that the sink and counter top is free of dust, soap residue, hairspray residue makes a person feel good. And I spend most of my time getting ready for work or church in our bathroom.
Hal came to the back door and he asked if I would get him a Coke. I went outside and sat with him on our side deck while he took a break from raking and picking up leaves. I said, "Honey, I am going to do the 'unthinkable'." He then responded, "What, clean our bathroom?!"

A Sunny Sunday

We had another beautiful day today with highs in the 60's. I love when the weather permits you to open a window just enough to get some fresh air into the house. Such were the days of yesterday and today. Rain has settled into our area as I write this and attached to the rain is a little thunder. I don't mind the thunder and actually like hearing the rumbles when I know there isn't a threat of severe weather following it.

A Blogging Thought

I don't have any little babies or small children to blog about and share their cute antics with you. I suppose if I had a scanner I could dig into our many photos of our now grown children, scan them from their baby years, then share photos and memories of them. Oh, I can hear my two grown children now, praying that I don't go out and purchase a scanner! Maybe that will come later if this blogging gets off to a good start.

I will close my blog this evening with a few verses from Philippians: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God." --1:9-11