~ A Moment of Special Thank You ... & A Little Love ... ~

And, you ask ... what did I do with this down time? I addressed our Christmas cards & wrapped some Christmas gifts... yup! All ready to go.

THANK YOU for all the wonderful flowers, cards, emails, e-cards & phone calls. You are all so very precious to me, I love you all.

It was not the kind of diagnosis one looks forward to but hopefully the MOHs surgery has remedied the cancer.

Now I am off & running (well sort of) to catch up with you all.

** For a little Love Is... join

Sherry @http://countrywingsinphoenix.blogspot.com/

&

Anne @ http://annesphamily.blogspot.com/

~ A Heart Full of Thanksgiving ~

Everyone needs someone to be thankful for,

And each day of life we are aware of this more,

For the joy of enjoying & the fullness of living

Are found only in hearts that are filled with thanksgiving.

Helen Steiner Rice

~ Wisdom of Erma Bombeck ... in Honor of Cancer Month ~

Passing the Purple Hat to Each of You
IN honor of women's history month and in memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer.

(Since I am the newbie with squamous cell nose cancer, & I love Erma with all my heart, I thought we'd close out this month with her special thoughts of ...)


IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.'

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute.look at it and really see it . live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what. I second her message ...
Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

I

~ BOO-TEA-FUL Halloween Wishes Pink Saturday ~

This gorgeous pumpkin arrived from Celeste @ http://larearose.blogspot.com/ for my birthday. I was stunned to receive such a beautiful gift from her, but she knows my passion for barns ... & created this awesome gift for me. THANK YOU Celeste, you are the sweetest!

This beauty sits in our bay window on a vintage white

milk glass cake stand.

The above pumpkin arrived all gifted in the most beautiful wrappings & bows.

History ~ The jack-o'-lantern evolved from a medieval Irish tradition of using, carved-out, candlelit turnips as lanterns. The turnips were placed on gateposts to ward off evil spirits. Irish immigrants in America began using the more easily carved native pumpkin for their jack-o'-lanterns.

THANK YOU Miss Beverly our wonderful hostess of PINK SATURDAY. Please visit all the other lovely ladies @ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Ansel & Tatiana planted their pumpkin seeds in our little garden patch ... Poppy delivered these cuties to them. There were some happy kid-lings.

Last year I bought a couple of white pumpkins to use this year ... I painted them PINK, of course, because the white just did NOTHING (see last porch picture before I painted it) on the front porch nestled in the basket.

I have to say that it sure 'popped' in the basket once painted ...

This is our other pumpkin touches for the front porch.

Thought it turned out pretty festive ...

This is a store we passed on our southern trip ... they were loaded with pumpkins of every size & color.

~ Green Fried Tomatoes Restaurant ... The Original Movie Site ~

Mildred & John @ http://yellanmildred.blogspot.com/

told us we 'had' to visit this place ... Harold loved it. Since I don't eat barbecue, I watched him eat this gigantic pulled pork sandwich ...

If you haven't met Mildred yet, you are missing

one of the most precious ladies amongst us ...

So wouldn't you know this was closed ... but we could barely 'peek' at it ...

Harold going inside the Green Tomato restaurant ... this is in the actual movie ....

It is not a fancy place, just a down home country spot filled with lots of antiques ... surrounded

by little shops down this tiny street ...

Memorabilia from the region ... very laid back personnel ... lots of local color ...

Lots of signed pictures from actresses & personalities ...

and that infamous bbq.

~ Cotton Fields & Barns ... Roaming Thru The South ~

These fields above were either in GA or SC ... they brought back many memories of the vast fields in Oklahoma, as we memory chatted.

As a child my husband's family would go 'home' to Oklahoma in the summer ... they would work the cotton fields with their families. Harold recalls how they dragged those long old bags 'that never seemed to fill up' in that heat of the day. It was back breaking work & he wasn't used to it.

When we took Pa back to his home place the year that he passed over, he & Harold went out into a local cotton field & picked tufts of cotton to bring back to our Joshua, as a memory keepsake of the Oklahoma fields of cotton.

~~~ I have preposted a few writes until I get back to feeling better ~~~

As you know I love to just drive up & down the countryside of any 'place' to capture the beauty of the countryside ...

the landscape ...

The simplest structure ...

The ponds & creeks ...

The awesome homes tucked here & there upon this beautiful land ...

The awesome fences travelling the boundaries of the beautiful barns nestled amongst the trees.

~ Southern Bell & Steeples ~

As dawn breaks in the south ..

(I have preposted several days ... enjoy! I hope I will be back quickly.)

These gorgeous steeples, domes & towers loom

mightily on the horizons ...

Many are on government buildings ...

Some are in churches ...

Many have clocks to tell us the time ...

Some provide landmarks for us ...

And some plaza's have awesome statues ...

Many adorn powerful structures ...

of breathtaking architecture ...

Many beautiful parks have awesome powerful trees draped in moss ...

~ Tacoma WA Home ... Floral Beauty ~ (Surgery & A Little Message of Love)

This awesome floral paradise is located in Tacoma, WA. The owner, shown below is very shy & doesn't speak English well, so communication is difficult. You will see his

Buddhist temple below in his gardens.

Enjoy ... (TY Cathy)

I have to have cancer surgery on my nose Tuesday morning. I will not be available for a few days but will be back as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued friendships & following ... each of you are very dear to me.

You will enjoy the other ladies that share their LOVE IS...

Sherry @ http://countrywingsinphoenix.blogspot.com/

Anne @ http://annesphamily.blogspot.com/

~ Come unto Me ~ ( Spiritual Sunday ~ Savannah, GA)

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah, GA

History ~ French Catholic émigrés established Savannah’s first parish, called the Congrégation de Saint Jean-Baptiste, shortly before the end of the 18th century.

The colonial charter of Savannah prohibited Roman Catholics from settling in Savannah. The English Trustees feared that Roman Catholics would be more loyal to the Spanish in Florida than the English. This prohibition faded shortly after the Revolutionary War and this congregation was reoganized around 1796. Construction began on the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in 1873 and was completed by the addition of the spires in 1896. It was almost totally destroyed by fire in 1898 and through diligent effort was rebuilt by 1899. Today the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah includes 90 counties in Mid and Southern Georgia

Please join Charlotte & Ginger, our wonderful hostesses for Spiritual Sundays @ http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

You will enter this majestic home of our Lord God, you will leave emotionally moved & refreshed.

Great peace have they who love God's law, & nothing

can make them stumble.Psalm 229:165

The Lord has done great things for us, & we are filled

with joy. Psalm 126:3

Bear with each other & forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

Bow before Him, in honor & love ...

A peace overcame me, I felt sad moments that have occurred recently lift from my heavy heart& forgave

those that know not what they have done ...

It is totally indescribable my emotion ...

that overpowered me so completely ...

my tears fell softly upon my cheeks ...

I pictured the pain He so selflessly suffered for

all of us, so hard to fathom He did it for US ...

I asked Him to hold me up, to forgive my sins

& apologized for having offended Him ...

As I am a sinner ...

I have been in many a cathedral, I am a Catholic, but this one particular church at this moment, so touched me deeply my presence within it.