Moonlight and Flashing Lights (Truly Grateful Series)

I went walking later than usual a couple of nights this week. So late, in fact, that it was already getting dark. It was nice to just walk along in the moonlight and enjoy the quiet. The moon was framed by some of the treetops at the park so I took a picture. It was a small moment of peaceful joy.

One of the nights I walked, I came up to the street that runs alongside of the park and noticed flashing lights over to my left. I took a look and could see a fire truck, an ambulance, and four police cars all parked together there just a short distance away. I'll tell you more about that in a moment, but first I have to give you a little background information.

Back in May, my younger son went to Chicago for a couple of days on a class trip. He took our camera along with him. Unfortunately, the camera did not make the trip back home again. He realized after his return that he had left it behind in his hotel room. Although we called the hotel to see if it might have been turned in, the camera was not found.

To make a long story short, my husband bought another camera at the time to replace the lost one. It wasn't a very expensive one, but it is different than the other one, and, of course, I had to start all over again trying to learn how to use it. This new camera also has a video feature on it which I had not yet tried. Since I was there seeing all those flashing lights down the street, I thought I'd try out the video feature to see if I could make it work.

So this is my very first attempt at using the video feature. It is just a few seconds long and not really much to look at, but I wanted to share it, so you can see the flashing lights that I saw.

Well, I warned you that it wasn't much to look at--HA! Anyway, it seemed to me at the time that there must have been something big going on with so many official vehicles there. I didn't go and investigate though and continued my walk in the opposite direction. I thought at the time that I would have to wait and check in the newspaper the next day to see what had happened that required so many of our little town's finest to be there answering the call.

So I did just that. I checked the police reports in the newspaper the next day and found out that the reason for the show of force from the police, fire, and EMS team the night of my walk was that there had been a "possible gas odor." Not an ACTUAL gas leak, not a fire, not an explosion, but a "POSSIBLE" gas odor was the cause of all those flashing lights. I have to admit it made me giggle a bit. It was just another slow night for law enforcement in my little town again after all.

I'm not saying that we don't have things happen here that require the services of the police, firemen, and EMS workers because we do, but it isn't often that I see so many of them in one place like that. That is a good thing, of course. I was also reassured to know that when we do need help from those folks, we can count on them to be there. Living in a small town definitely has its advantages.

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Lord, for the peace in my heart given to me from a walk in the moonlight and for the peace of mind given to me from knowing there are people who can help us in times of need behind the flashing lights of the police cars, fire trucks, and emergency squads, please let me be truly grateful.

Enjoying Some Art

This is one of my nephews. He is my brother's youngest son. Ever since he could hold a crayon in his hand, he has been creating pictures. He progressed from crayon art to pencil and ink drawings and on to oil and acrylic paintings. He is now 16 years old and his art is a passion for him. He hopes to make a career out of it in some way eventually.

He painted the picture below and gave it to his grandmother (my mother). It is hanging on the wall in her room at the nursing home. Yes, I know it looks like it is hanging a bit crookedly. Part of it is the fact that I had to take the picture from a strange angle because of the way the furniture is arranged there.

Because I think he did a wonderful job with it, I wanted to share it with you. Click on the picture if you'd like to enlarge it and see the details.

My nephew has been painting for several years now and has several other works that I love. I hope he continues to work on his art and to develop his talent.

Even the Animals Are Dancing!

The ostriches and the camel are my favorites.

First Morning Glory

My husband left very early Monday morning for his annual three day golfing trip with several of his friends. They go to a different golf course every summer at the end of July. This year they are visiting a golf course in Michigan.

Luckily for me, though, he left the camera behind for this trip. He will be too busy golfing to have time to take any pictures.

That made it possible for me to take this picture of the first bloom on my morning glories which appeared today.

(The half eaten leaf below the bloom is compliments of my dog, Max, who has been chewing on them whenever he goes past.)

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Sweet Morning Delight

I'm just a morning glory,
wanting to wrap you in vine hugs,
wanting to hold you close to me,
wanting to hold you tight.

Whispering my love for you,
through lips of soft pink petals,
wearing my hearts on my leaves for you,
sharing with you, sweet morning delight.

Music Monday--Wouldn't It Be Nice

It's summertime! Seems like an appropriate time for something from the Beach Boys.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

A Rake and a Hoe (Truly Grateful Series)

I've been working on hoeing the weeds out of the flower beds. I don't have a garden where I live now-- just a couple of flower beds. My parents kept a garden all during my growing up years though, and I have had gardens of my own at other homes where I have lived. My poor flower beds have been neglected of late, and the weeds are flourishing much better than the few flowers I have planted.

It felt good to go after those weeds with a hoe. It felt good to do some work, release some stress, and make the flower beds look neater all at the same time. It struck me that I was actually feeling grateful for those weeds growing there.

I know most people are probably not grateful for weeds, but having weeds to hoe is more than just a chore to me. Having weeds to hoe means that those weeds are growing in a flower bed that I take care of because it belongs to me. That flower bed is part of the yard that I own and in that yard is the house where I live. So having weeds to hoe reminds me of the fact that I am lucky enough to be a homeowner.

I have a home. That is certainly something to be grateful for, isn't it? I'm sure there are many people who are homeless who would love to trade places with me even if it meant that occasionally they would have to take a hoe to the weeds that are growing here.

I am grateful for weeds for another reason too. I happen to think there are lessons to be learned from weeds. I am always amazed at how weeds just spring up where no one has planted them. Their seeds have been blown to a piece of dirt by the wind, carried there by a bird, or their roots have come creeping under the ground from other weed plants to grow new plants all on their own. In spite of our efforts to pull them or cut them, the weeds still return. I have to admire their determination and tenacity.

Those weeds just keep on trying to grow no matter what tries to stop them. They don't give up easily. I think weeds can teach me a bit about being steadfast and unwavering when it comes to the importance of continuing to try to grow as a person. I think there is always room to grow--to be kinder, more compassionate, more patient, and more understanding.

While weeding the flower bed, the song below was playing in my head, so I thought I would share it with you.

Lord, for weeds and the home that goes with them and for the lessons they teach me, please let me be truly grateful.

Dearly Beloved, We Are Gathered Here Today!!

Now THIS is the way to celebrate a wedding! This left me feeling their joy and sharing it, and like most weddings, it brought tears to my eyes. Seriously, it did. Yes, I know I'm a little strange.

Thanks to Reenie for sending me this in an email. I LOVED it!!

Bits and Pieces

When it is closing time at the library, part of my job is to walk all around the library and make sure that everyone is out of the building before we leave to go home. Included in that sweep of the building, we are to check the restrooms, both the men's and the women's, to make sure they are empty.

When I check the restrooms, I always knock on the door first before entering. Rarely is there anyone in there, but we are still to check for stowaways. Not too long ago, I knocked on the men's room door and waited for an answer. There was no answer, so I opened the door and went on in. Unfortunately, there was a gentleman standing at the urinal when I entered. OOOOPS! I don't know why he didn't speak up when I knocked!

So this week, I was making the rounds as usual. I knocked on the men's room door and waited for an answer. There was no answer, so I cautiously opened the door. Then I heard a sort of yelp and somebody yelled "HEY!"

However, the yelp didn't come from inside the restroom. That room was empty. The yelp came from behind me. One of our regular patrons, a gentleman who jokes around with us a lot, was there looking through the movies we have. He was the one who yelped. He was grinning at me after seeing me jump. He had heard about the previous "incident," of course and wanted to give me a start. Wise guy! HA!

In the photo below you can see the movie section at the library. The open door back in the left corner leads to the men's restroom.

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I found a new hole in the yard this week. For those who have been reading this blog for a while, you may remember about the bunny hole adventures from last summer. I'm not sure if this hole has already been a bunny nest or is going to be a bunny nest. I'll have to keep an eye on it and let you know.

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My morning glories are doing pretty well. No flowers yet, but the vines are growing and climbing. The biggest problem I have with them lately is that Max the poodle dog has taken to chewing on the leaves whenever he walks past them if he gets a chance. Sigh.

* * * * *

Oh, and speaking of dogs. I saw someone taking their dog for a walk in the park this week. Nothing too unusual about that, I suppose.

Send In the Clown--Don't Bother He's On Line Two

While working at the library yesterday, the phone rang. My coworker answered it.

"Williams County Public Library. May I help you?" she said.

After a pause, she said, "Sure, hold on just a moment."

Then she put the caller on hold and dialed the numbers necessary to transfer the call to the librarian downstairs in the children's department.

As she did this, she threw a quick glance at me to get my attention and see if I was listening. Her eyes were twinkling, and I knew something was up.

She now had the children's librarian on the line.

She said into the phone, "Ronald McDonald is on line two for you."

She was grinning big but managed to keep from laughing until after she hung up the phone. I joined her in the giggles.

Honestly, how often in your lifetime do you get to say a line like that and have it be true?



Yes, tomorrow, Ronald McDonald from the McDonald's restaurant is appearing at our library to meet the children at story hour.

It was amusing enough that she got to say that line into the phone, but it was even more amusing that he had represented himself as such instead of using his real name.

This is someone who takes his acting job very seriously! Talk about staying in character! He was calling to work out the final details about his visit tomorrow.

I just wish I had been the one to answer the phone. I would have asked him if he could bring along a grilled chicken salad and a diet Coke for me since he was going to be coming anyway!

Lake Vacation

My husband and sons returned safely from their vacation and brought home some photos for me to see on the camera. They went to a Cleveland Indians game, visited several members of my husband's side of the family, and spent some time at Marblehead, Ohio on Lake Erie.

The Cleveland Indians actually won the game that they attended. It was nice the team came through for them at a game they got to see. These are my sons standing in front of the Bob Feller statue at the Cleveland Indians Stadium.

They visited several relatives in Cleveland and then drove to Marblehead, Ohio.

Marblehead is marked by the pink balloon with an "A" on it on the map below.


Here is a closer view of the same spot on the map. It is about midway between Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio. While they were gone, I was in the town of Bryan, Ohio--that little bitty spec of a spot way up in the northwest corner of Ohio about midway between Ft. Wayne, Indiana and Toledo, Ohio. I was unable to get off from work to go with them on this trip.

This is my husband on the right in the photo below and his brother on the left. This brother is another one of my sons' favorite uncles that allow things that mothers don't allow.


My husband's brother has a boat in the dock at Marblehead. Here's a shot of the dock. My younger son is in the picture too. He's taking a look at the boats.

Another photo of the docks. I'm not sure if this is the docks at Marblehead or at Kelley's Island as they visited both places.

If you look closely in the photo below, you can see a tall building on the far shore. That is Perry's Victory and International Peace Monument, also known as Perry's Monument at Put-In-Bay, Ohio.

My sons enjoyed several rides in their uncle's boat on Lake Erie while they were gone. They also did some fishing (although they apparently didn't catch much worth talking about).






This is my mother-in-law. She and her husband own a small vacation spot at Marblehead in addition to their permanent home in Cleveland.

She was celebrating her 72nd birthday during the time my guys were visiting her.

They had fantastic weather the whole time they were gone. The bay looks beautiful in this photo.

My sons got to try their hand at kayaking.

Here they are in life jackets getting ready to give water skiing a try also.




They came home tired and with slight sunburns, but they had a great time. I'm glad to have them back home again.

Get Off Your Seat and Move Your Feet--It's Friday!!

It's Friday night and you know what that means---it's time to dance! See how many of these scenes look familiar to you.

Library Funding Update

The men in my family left this morning for a five day Cleveland Indians baseball/fishing/Lake Erie/visiting husband's relatives combined vacation. Of course, Max and Charley and the crickets (who are singing to me at the moment) are still here to keep me company. I stayed home because I have to work for three of those five days that the fellows are going to be gone. That's a good thing, though. It means I still have my job--- at least for now.

Our state budget proposal was decided upon this week. Although cuts in funding for libraries were not as deep as originally proposed, they were still severe. Our library is losing an additional 11% in funding instead of the original additional 32% that was proposed. Coupled with the 20% that we lost earlier this year, our funding has been cut 31%.

As a result, on August 1st, the staff at our library and our branch libraries which now totals 54 employees will be cut to just 28 employees. I still have my job, but many of my coworkers will not be so fortunate. My friend who did the droopy drawers dance for me recently was given notice this week that she is one of the ones who is being laid off. I will miss working with her and miss her sense of humor at the library.

Those of us fortunate enough to keep our jobs at the library are faced with changes as well. There is going to be a 5% pay cut for all of us across the board. The library will no longer be open on Saturdays and will be open in the evenings now on only two days of the week. The other three days we will close at 5:00. My hours have been cut from 25 hours a week to just 20 hours a week. Our holidays will no longer be paid days off. Part-time workers, like me, have lost other benefits as well.

I am grateful that I still have a job. Things could change again after November. A proposed renewal tax levy for our local funding goes on the ballot in November. If that is voted down, I am fairly certain I will lose my job. Time will tell what will happen next.

Thank you to those of you who have expressed your support of libraries. I appreciate it. I hope you also will let your local librarians know how much you appreciate having the library service that is available to you.

The fellows took the camera with them for their trip so I am currently without a camera to use. That is probably a good thing for you all reading this. At least you will be spared having to look at more pictures of flowers and sunsets and clouds here for the next few days. ;) If I want to share any pictures with you, I guess I will have to dig up some old ones or just paint some with my words.

Music Monday---Frank Sinatra

There are no links for Music Monday today, and I'm very late getting this posted, but here's my Music Monday choice for this week.

"I've Got You Under My Skin" by Frank Sinatra

Cotton Candy in the Sky

The males of my household traveled to Detroit for the day today to watch the Cleveland Indians lose yet again (gluttons for punishment), so I had the day to myself here at home.

This afternoon, I visited my Mom, did some reading, paid the bills, went shopping for a little while, and watched a little bit of TV (I had the remote all to myself!!). I also went for a walk, as usual. It was a quiet day, but it passed by quickly.

I have just a few photos to share with you from over the weekend.

Friday night the sky was filled with cotton candy clouds. Every direction I looked I saw pink spun sugar up above me. It looks like there must have been a carnival going on in Heaven and the cotton candy machine was running amok. ;)

Saturday morning we had some much needed rain that helped green up the grass and washed the dust off of everything. The flowers looked bright and clean afterward.

These honeysuckle are growing in some one's yard about a block away from me. Attracted to the scent of the flowers, the bees were humming all around them. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see a bee crawling out of the center of one of the flowers.
(Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

These are still wet from the morning's rain as you can see on the petals.

I saw some strange looking fungus growing on the trunk of a tree in the park.

What?! Is it Christmas in July?

Oh. No, it's not Christmas.

Someone is having a garage sale and using a giant candy cane to hold the sign for it.

I saw this fire hydrant leaking water. There was a large puddle around it.

I might have to let my next door neighbors know about this.

Their son is our town's fire chief. Have I ever mentioned that I live in a small town? ;)

Today, I saw this crazy looking bearded guy in the clouds.
You can see him too, can't you?

I think I've seen this guy at the library. HA!

Reasons To Smile---Truly Grateful Series

These are just a few of the reasons I've had to smile lately. If you look around today, perhaps you will find some reasons to smile too.

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A Coworker With a Sense of Humor

There is a young man who visits the library where I work who always wears his pants sagging down and droopy so that the top of his underwear shows. I'm sure you've seen someone like this.

This habit drives me crazy. I have never understood this fad. My coworker knows how I feel about this fashion "statement," and she feels the same way. She decided to have a bit of fun with me.

She could see our saggy pants patron coming to the desk for me to wait on him. She was in our supervisor's office and was visible to me, but she was not visible to Mr. Droopy Drawers. She immediately pulled her pants down so that they were drooping just like the patron's. She then swung her backside around in a little swagger dance to make sure that I could see her.

Of course, I laughed. I had no choice. I laughed as I checked out his items without giving him an explanation and continued to giggle as I told him to have a nice day when I handed him his books.

The patron just said, "Thanks, you too," and looked at me as if I had gone around the bend.

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Ducks

Baby ducks swimming with their mother would make anyone smile.

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This Place Is Amazing!


A little girl came into the library with her father. She was a very cute, little curly-headed blond gal and looked to be between three and four years old. This was apparently her first visit to the library. She was bubbling over with excitement and quickly ran back and forth and up and down the aisles while her Dad returned some items to the desk. She appeared back at her Dad's side with this comment, "Daddy, did you see all the books?!! This place is AMAZING!"

Amazing indeed---too bad the Governor wasn't there to hear her and see her face. It might have been enough for him to think again about his proposed budget cuts.

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Flowers

The flowerbeds in the park were exploding with colors.

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Sons

My sons washed the dishes and cleaned the garage without being asked.

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Bless You!

I was sitting in the dining room of the nursing home with my Mom while she ate her lunch along with the other residents there. On the far side of the room, one of the residents sneezed very loudly. From the other side of the room, another resident called out just as loudly, "Bless you!"

For some reason, this little exchange amused Harold, one of the old gentlemen sitting at my mother's table. He began to laugh a quite infectious laugh. My Mom, seeing Harold's shoulders shake and hearing him laugh, began to giggle too, which turned into an uncontrollable giggle fit for her. Watching the two of them got me laughing as well. In an instant everyone at our table had joined in the chuckle fest.

It was just a few moments out of my day--moments of silliness over nothing, really, but they were great moments and were worth remembering.

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Sunset

I saw this sunset over the trees in the park and could hear James Taylor singing in my head.

"There ain't no doubt in no one's mind
That loves the finest thing around.
Whisper something soft and kind.
And hey babe, the sky's on fire,
I'm dying, aint' I?
I'm goin' to Carolina in my mind."

* * * * *

Good Kids

I went to the grocery store and bought about two weeks worth of groceries. A trip like that pretty much fills up my little Geo Metro that I drive. It had been a long day, and I was tired. I knew my husband and sons weren't at home, and I wasn't looking forward to having to carry all the groceries that I had just bought into the house. I had no choice, of course, because there were items that needed to be put away into the refrigerator or freezer, and I couldn't just leave them sitting in the car in the July heat.

So I arrived home and carried in the first couple of bags and set them down on the counter. As I went back outside to get more, I was met by two teenage boys (friends of my younger son). They were both grinning big and had their arms full of my bags of groceries and were heading into the house with them. They had been riding by on their bicycles on our street and saw me coming into the house with the first two bags. They stopped to help. They told me they'd take care of it for me. So I held the door while they lugged everything in for me. I thanked them, of course, and when they finished, I asked them if they'd like a pop or a bowl of ice cream or something because it was so hot outside.

They just smiled and one of them said, "No thanks, we're good." Then just as quickly as they had appeared, they were off on their bikes and gone again.

Good---yes. They were good. And they made me smile.

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A View of the Moon

I love seeing the view of the moon from my front porch.

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Lord, for giving me so many reasons to smile, please let me be truly grateful.