Anxiously awaiting Spring...

I was so excited to awaken this morning to sunshine after two days of gloom and cold! Of course, I put aside my "indoor plans" and headed outside...Mom pittered here and there in between resting while I got down to some serious 'mosaicing"! Every now and again, a gentle breeze would rain down confetti upon us from the blossoming apricot tree. Our daffydils are still smiling from all around the yard and Moxie sprinted here and there while the chickens clucked and cackled. Speaking of our hens, one of the newest members laid her first egg today...well, her first egg since moving into our Hen House that is! I really should get around to naming these new banty hens...
I just had to stop for a moment and hop online...are you as excited as I am for Spring?! We have had some serious Spring Fever here in the Solomon/Davis household...we spent all of the past two Sundays outdoors and loving every minute of it!
Lying here in the dappling sunshine at the end of the day, perusing my garden magazine and Mary Jane's Farm simultaneously, I recall our short "vacation" of yesterday. Mom and I drove to the outskirts of town to the Fruit Stand and picked up oranges and strawberries fresh from the field and orchard. Just around the corner from there we visited Minetti's ANXIOUS ACRES. Truly a step back in time, we sampled four different kinds of grapefruit and three different types of tangerines, mandarin oranges. When we failed to see that the establishment did not take "Plastic" and we did not have checkbook or enough cash in hand, we were surprisingly delighted when told, "No problem...just drop a check in the mail when you get home."
How's that for good "country courtesy"!? When you come up to visit, we'll definitely have to drop by Minetti's! Tonight, we feast upon pork loin baked in a delicious sauce I purchased there as well...raspberry chipotle!
Yum!
My biggest frustration at times is attempting to find just the right words to convey to you, dear reader, the excitement and experience...the taste, the smell, the feeling of a "day in the country" here in Sonflower Valley!
May God richly bless your day as He has seen fit to have blessed mine.

kaleidotrash

I am very excited to share with you my new "creation." I got to thinking as I played with new program which enables me to kaleidoscope pictures, that these amazing and beautiful photos are just like what God does to the most ugly in our own lives...even trash, poverty and slums are made beautiful by His loving Touch! May you be blessed...

March already?!

It is March...already!!! With good intentions, although we all know where those often lead, I had planned to blog more often. "Many are the plans of a man's or woman's heart but the will of God prevails..." However, my time has been spent in a fulfilling manner taking care of my ailing Mom. She is recuperating from an Emergency Room visit which led to three days hospitalization and many tests. Discharged with a clean slate, she was back to the ER a week later dehydrated! This week has been a blessing though as she eases into a routine and is (finally) eating and drinking well. The pain medicine is (finally) doing its job and she is sleeping better and in turn, thinking and feeling better. Thank You, Lord!!!
I did carve out some time to work on a new media though and am excitingly uploading it soon for your perusal! I await uploading until I have heard from my good friend Lori, to whom I sent a copy as my tradition is to allow her to be the first to view my creations, aside from Chris and girls and Mom of course!
Spring is sprouting here in the Valley and a sweet scent floats upon the air...today is sunny but we have had a good share of rain and more is expected by tomorrow. "Rain in winter means water in the summer," as my Pop used to say. Looking about at the green hills which surround us, I pray that the local farmers are also feeling blessed.
My "daffydils" are smiling all over the yard from below the trees and out of mosaic sinks...Chloe our cat is looking slimmer as she sheds her winter coat...the chickens are clucking happily. We have six new additions this year, although we did not buy spring chicks. A coworker of Chris was downsizing their flock and gave us five banty hens and a huge white Foghorn Leghorn! The rabbits continue to co-reside with the hens and have added to their burrow, which now tunnels somewhere out behind our lot into the alley! A mouse family has taken up residence in the barnyard and can often be seen scurrying about to Chloe's growing frustration!
Kayla receives daily notices from colleges and excitingly awaits that bittersweet Graduation. Kylie is enjoying dance once a week, having found a wonderful instructor the end of December.
There you have it all in a nutshell! Thank you for your prayers for us and Mom and your kind patience as I get back to blogging...again!
Oh, before I end to work on webpage, let me tell you about the "Best BBQ" we have had in a long time...while my Mom was in hospital, she roomed with a lady who was opening a new BBQ place with her husband in the East Hills mall. It just happens to be in the old site where we used to get the "Best burgers" before Joe retired a year and half ago! Just inside the theater entrance. We dropped by last night and rejoiced to hear that "prayers are definitely being answered and business is booming!" If you are in town or up at the East Hills Mall, drop by Mississippi Ribs and enjoy a reasonably priced delicious lip smacking finger licking good meal!!!
And now I am off to tame the webpage for ya'll!