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What a week!

The travel was riddled with fits and starts. I got cellulitis in my foot. My brother was admitted to the hospital.

Whew!

But things are looking up! My foot is much better. My brother was discharged from the hospital and is feeling much better. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Even with all this, we’ve had a wonderful week. We visited with family from out of town. I’ve spent time with the kids and grandkids. I’ve baked, cooked, and eaten yummy food. We went to my favorite BBQ restaurant last night. Dickie’s BBQ is wonderful, and the ribs are so tender that they fall off the bone.

Garden Flowers – Hail Storms – A Moon and Stars Watermelon – Crocheting a Baby Afghan

I’ve taken more photos than anything else, so I’ll just leave you a gallery of pictures I’ve taken. I’m enjoying my stay with dear family members, and I know it will pass all too quickly, so my posts will be sporadic.

Family first.

I pray that if you have the chance to visit family and friends this summer, you will walk away with wonderful memories that will carry you till you meet again.

💜

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5

***Gratitude Journal***   Today, I am grateful for the beauty and love surrounding me. I’d forgotten how beautiful the Colorado sky is and how wonderful it feels to hug my peeps.

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After taking two days to get here and thirty hours without sleep, I discovered that it was just the beginning of my vacation misadventures. The morning after my arrival, I noticed a small spot on my foot about the size of a postage stamp. Within two days, it was obvious I had cellulitis. I remember my sandals rubbing on my foot on the first day of travel. Then I walked what felt like a hundred miles through airports on those dirty, germ-filled carpets and got an infection. My foot was hot, red, and swollen by Saturday, so I went to a Quick Care. I was given an antibiotic and instructed to return if it wasn’t better. It was worse this morning. Another trip to the Quick Care and a different antibiotic with instructions to go to the ER if it wasn’t any better in 24-48 hours.

My brother, whom I will be visiting next week, was admitted to the hospital. They’re keeping him a second night, and he’s now agitated because he wants to go home. For those of you who are new, my sweet brother has Cerebral Palsy and lives in a group home here in Colorado. It’s about a four-hour drive to where he lives, and I’ve got this thing going on with my driving foot, or else I would have driven there Sunday. Please keep him in prayer. I hate that he’s going through this.

Argh.

The only upside is I’m forced to rest, with my foot elevated and warm compresses applied. Nothing to do but visit with family and crochet or knit. Naps are nice, too. I’m limited in my ability to do all the great baking I want. So, I have concluded… if we don’t listen to the whispers of God when He tells us to slow down, He’ll go further and whack you a good one. I hope you all are doing well. Please keep the folks of Kerrville, TX in your prayers.

💜

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 ESVText within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

***Gratitude Journal***   Today, I am grateful to be surrounded by family who love me and the ability to rest… even if it IS forced.

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We’ve been so busy this week getting things together before I leave for a month in Colorado. In the middle of it all, we had a funeral, the dryer broke, and the garden was getting out of control. I still had boxes of fabric in the family room that needed to go downstairs. We grabbed the bull by the horns and started working on the dryer. We went to a place in town that sells appliance parts a bought a couple of things to try. They didn’t work, and without giving it much thought, we put the darned thing back together. Mr. FixIt took the parts back yesterday and got the one we needed. He is so kind to let me help when we do these projects, and I learn a lot. YouTube is irreplaceable! We got the dryer working in tiptop shape, and I started catching up on the laundry.

It had been a couple of days since I was out in the garden, and I couldn’t believe my eyes! The tomato plants shot up at least two feet! Some were leaning way over, so I tied them up. I even had to tie them to the deck railing. I picked four tomatoes last night and more will be coming soon. They taste so good, but we aren’t getting very big ones yet. I try to keep the suckers trimmed but when they grow this fast and the foliage is so thick, I don’t catch them till the plant has already put a lot of energy into their growth. I’ve gardened most of my life, but I still can’t turn out stellar produce. Yet I keep trying!

Four more sleeps and I get to see my Colorado family. Other than video chats, I only get to see them in person once a year. That’s why I’m staying for a month! What will Mr. FixIt and I do without each other???

💜

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,”  Colossians 3:23 ESV

***Gratitude Journal***   Today, I am grateful for mechanical abilities and a husband who’s happy to show me how to fix things. And…that we didn’t need to buy a new dryer!

#HomeRepairs, #FixingThings, #Appliances

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We were in second grade together. I’d rarely seen a black child before. We met in the line to wash our hands before lunch. I had terrible anxiety, and our teacher didn’t much care for me. She sent my anxiety through the roof to the point I could not eat. And if I didn’t eat, she held back my tray to show my mom when she came to pick me up after school. Mrs. Alexander crossed her arms over her chest and scowled whenever she looked at me.

As I stood in line to wash my hands that day, I prayed quietly. I asked God to please settle my stomach so I could eat and not get into trouble anymore. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and this little round chocolate-brown face met me with concern. Her name was Lisa.

“Are you praying?” she asked.

“Yes. Mrs. Alexander scares me, and I can’t eat. Then I get in trouble every day after school.”

“Well,” she said with a firm confidence I knew little about. “I’ll pray with you!”

So, she wrapped her little arm around my shoulders, and we prayed together that God would make me feel better so I could eat. After that, I knew God was always with me and I didn’t need to be afraid because my new friend Lisa would pray with me as many times as necessary till I got through second grade.

As it turned out, my parents bought a house in another school district, so I didn’t see Lisa again till high school. By that time, we had our circle of friends, and we didn’t really connect till many years later at high school reunions. Eventually, I moved back to my home state of West Virginia and started getting together with Lisa. She had become a pastor and worked with several churches in the area and with Urban Ministries in town. Lisa joined our Divas do Coffee group, and we all enjoyed her stories and warm presence.

Lisa was funny, yet she didn’t mince words. If you needed correcting, she didn’t care who you were or what the social norms were. You got corrected. She was also the humblest human I’d ever met. She never tooted her own horn. She always made sure those who were considered the fringe of society knew they were loved.

Lisa died the other day. She was diagnosed with advanced cancer in September 2024. Lisa chose to go on Hospice to maintain quality of life instead of quantity. Her beautiful family put a hospital bed in her daughter’s den where she could watch the comings and goings of her grandchildren and love on them all she could. Occasionally, her daughter would record a video at Lisa’s request. On it, she reassured us all that she was doing fine. She told us she knew where she was going, and it would be glorious to walk with Jesus.

Lisa never really had much. She worked hard and raised an amazing family, living in the same town where she grew up. She lived in an older neighborhood because that was home. Lisa didn’t put up with any shenanigans from folks who may not have had her best interests at heart. She wasn’t afraid because she knew Jesus resided in her house, so there was nothing to worry about.

Our friend was in a terrible accident years ago. She stepped out into the street in front of her church. The sun’s glare in her eyes blocked her view of the car that could not stop. She was gravely injured, and the family was called in to say goodbye. Lisa was a strong woman with a lot of fight in her, and she recovered… unfortunately, with memory loss, back and spinal pain that stayed with her the rest of her life. She worked and did amazing things in this town. There was a settlement after the accident, but she did something special with it that she didn’t reveal to anyone.

I spoke with her daughter at the funeral home yesterday. It turns out that Lisa, in her humble way, created an endowment that would help support the Urban Ministries in perpetuity. No one in her family had any idea she had done this. It was a lesson for all of us in humility, love for your fellow man, and living like Jesus. None of us was surprised by the generosity coming from our stout little friend. It just makes us love her even more and makes her family very proud.

Miss Lisa, you were a peach, and we’ll miss you! We’ll see you in Heaven!!!

💜

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 1 Peter 5:6 ESV

***Gratitude Journal***   Today, I am grateful for the friendship I had with Lisa and that she’s singing and praising Jesus in His presence…right…this…minute. I’m grateful for her gentle lessons in humility and the way she jumped out of her chair and danced around the room when I told her Mr. FixIt and I were getting married. “Perfect! A perfect match!!! This is exactly what I wanted for you two.”

The post When Your First Friend Dies appeared first on Marshmallow Ranch.

I sat down at my desk last night to write this, and the Ring camera at the farm sent a motion sensor notification. Even though I’m out there quite a bit, I like to keep an eye on the place since it was broken into last winter. I turned on the live camera feed and watched. I could see something dart in front of the camera, but it was too fast to identify. I kept watching and saw nothing, so I turned on the speaker and microphone to see if I could catch anything… or anyone. I called out a couple of times and didn’t get a response. Shortly afterwards, I got quite the surprise!

A snake stuck its head into the frame just long enough to identify it as such. Then it moved over the camera itself, and I heard the long rustle of scales brushing across the microphone. I was so shocked, I didn’t even think of getting out my iPad to record the live feed since I don’t have access to that part of the system. The snake was actually clinging to and traveling across the vertical wooden wall of the front of the house! Eeeks!

The rain was pouring down, beating a brisk staccato on the old tin roof. The snake rested on the old glass insulators where the electric line went up to the cellar house. It stretched itself out as if to see if the rain was cold, though I’m sure it was just trying to find something good to eat. Some bats come out at dusk there, so it could have been after one.

I don’t think it’s the big black snake I saw out there in the past. This one looked a lighter color, but I can’t get a close enough look, other than its head didn’t look like a viper. Grandma’s mantra about snakes was, “The only good snake is a dead snake.” I differ with her on that. Unless it’s poisonous and living a little too close to the kids or the hen house, it’s doing its job by keeping down the rodent population. Mr. Virgo was deathly afraid of snakes. After time in the jungles of Vietnam and the verdant flora of Florida, he was “once bit, twice shy.” Mr. FixIt isn’t crazy about snakes either, so I’ve always been the snake wrangler in the family. To be totally transparent… I’ve never been close to a poisonous snake that I know of.

💜

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.   Luke 16:10 ESV

***Gratitude Journal***   Today, I am thankful for the example of Godliness that my beautiful friend Lisa demonstrated throughout her life. And I’m really, REALLY thankful that I wasn’t sitting on that chair on the porch right under that big fat snake!!!

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I am sure I read online that I could turn my smoker up to at least 350° to bake bread. I got the bread ready and went out to turn on the smoker. It only reached around 240°. In the meantime, with the temps hovering in the low 90s, my bread was going to run out of yeast pretty quickly. I was down to two choices… heat the house and bake there, or run out to the farm. Mr. FixIt looked at me, horrified, and I said, “Don’t worry…I’ll head to the farm right away.”

I grabbed my go bag that I keep pretty much ready to head out to the farm on a moment’s notice, gently carried the two loaves in their carriers, and hightailed it out of there. One good thing is that the air conditioner cooled down the truck quickly, and that slowed the rise a little. I only saw two deer on the way out. One of them was two houses away from the farm, and it walked out in front of me. I rested my hand on the top of those two carriers the whole way because I wasn’t about to lose my bread. This recipe turned out lovely. The only thing is, I think I’ve overproofed the dough again. No surprise there, given the timing. Baking with fresh-milled flour isn’t as forgiving as commercial flour.

As I write this, the loaves are cooling on their wire racks. They look and smell lovely. I considered spending the night here at Grandma’s house, but I thought about the nice air conditioning at home and decided to drive home. I’m running out of time before next week’s trip to Colorado, and there’s still lots to do. You know me…I always get down to the wire before I complete something. Still, it feels so nice to sit here for a few minutes… remembering a time I came to visit Grandma. She mentioned that she could never bake yeast bread. She said the best hot rolls she ever ate came from my Uncle Ernie’s mother, who was a caterer in Chicago.

I went to the store, bought the ingredients, and made a HUGE batch of bread for her. I think I baked two dozen hot rolls and 12 loaves of bread. We drove all over the countryside, visiting family and friends and gifting them some homemade bread. I think Grandma looked at me differently after that. I kinda proved myself to her in some way, and I was no longer the little kid who sat on her knee. That made me so proud!

Our pool is still hazy. This time last year, it was sparkling clear. The heavy rains this summer drew our attention away from opening the pool and onto things like keeping the basement from flooding and rescuing baby deer from the floodwaters. We’re trying to get it ready before the weekend so the kids can come out and swim. I hope you are all staying safe in this dreadful heat! Water is your friend, y’all!

🔆

Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. Psalm 37:24 ESV

***Gratitude Journal*** I am grateful I got another couple of loaves of bread baked before I have to leave for Colorado. I’d love to bake a great deal and leave it for him in the freezer, but ours is on the fritz. We’ll have to enjoy this batch, and he can buy bread while I’m gone.

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I finally got it together to bake some bread yesterday afternoon. I bought that Magic Chef Countertop Convection Oven last week and as it turns out… It’s really a first-generation air fryer. None of my pans would fit in it, so I tried my Ninja Foodi 10-in-1. It was at least big enough around to use my smallest glass pie pan. I mixed up my dough… not following any recipe, for sure. The resulting dough wasn’t my best, and I knew that even if I baked it in the oven, it wouldn’t be a great loaf. It rose to a moderate height. I preheated the Ninja, placed the plate of dough in, and hoped for the best.

After a while, I could smell bread baking. I was hopeful, but I didn’t want to open the lid and let the heat out, so I waited the requisite time. When the timer went off, I opened it up and was surprised I had a loaf of baked bread. It was about the thickness of a tall apple pie and much the same color. I let it cool a bit, and I cut it in half. I know, you aren’t supposed to cut bread when it’s warm. Bread continues to bake internally after removing it from the oven. If you cut it open, it won’t finish baking, and you can end up with gummy bread.

I was surprised. The crumb looked nice. I cut a slice and slathered it with butter. It was quite good! I wouldn’t call it a successful loaf, but it was edible. What it means is… air fryers are not the best appliance for baking bread. I’ll keep looking for an affordable bread machine and/or a countertop oven that will handle one or two loaves of bread.

We finally caved and turned the air conditioner on yesterday. It was 87℉ in the house, and that’s before the afternoon sun hit the red brick on the west side of the house. The AC brought the temperature down to a “pleasant” range, and we sighed with contentment. Still, I wasn’t about to cook anything. I made some chicken salad sandwiches, chips, and sweet heat pickles and called it a day.

When it finally cooled down a bit at 8:00, we went out to clean and sweep the pool. My photo memories showed me sitting by a sparkling clean pool this time last year. I’m hoping it will be ready soon! I’ll miss the pool the whole month of July. At least the littles can come to play, and I’ll see them when I get back.

💜

For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.  Psalm 102:3 ESV

***Gratitude Journal***   Today, I am grateful for the chance to take a dip in the pool. And to have an air conditioner to turn on.

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We’re firmly planted in the rhythm of summer. Firecracker hot days…blessedly cool nights…and mowing our five acres under a golf umbrella. I have a history of heat exhaustion. Every time it happens, the next time it is quicker and harder. I’ve experimented with various methods to prevent it from happening and have finally figured it out.

Here are my secrets to keeping safe in a heat wave, even when working outside.

1. I don’t eat anything heavy before I go out. A piece of fruit or toast is plenty.
2. Get an early start. As soon as the dew has subsided, it is a good time to mow.
3. Wear plenty of sunscreen, a floppy-brimmed hat, sunglasses, and cool loose-fitting clothing.
4. Fill a water bottle with an electrolyte drink and ice. I use Drip Drop or Liquid I.V. I find if I drink some about fifteen minutes before I go out to mow and carry the bottle with me on the tractor to drink frequently, I stay well hydrated.
5. Here’s the thing that has helped me the most. I carry an open golf umbrella over my head to keep most of my body shaded. It’s been a game changer!
6. Take frequent breaks. It doesn’t have to be stopping the mower and going in. If you have a nice shady spot by a creek like I do, that’s my go-to place to cool off and have a drink.
7. Finish as early as you can. If you must, take a break during the heat of the day and go back out when the sun is behind houses, trees, or a hill.
8. When you are finished, sit down with some cold fruit like melon, apple, berries, or a banana. A popsicle hits the spot, and it’s a lovely treat to reward yourself for a hard day’s work.

Know the signs of heat-related illness:

   Heat Exhaustion

1. Headache
2. Nausea
3. Dizziness
4. Weakness
5. Irritability
6. Thirst
7. Heavy Sweating
8. Elevated Body Temperature
9. Decreased Urine Output

   Heat Cramps:

• Painful Muscle Cramps and Spasms, usually in the legs and abdomen, with heavy sweating

   Heat Syncope:

• Sudden dizziness or fainting can occur after prolonged standing or sudden rising from sitting or lying down.

Heat Rash:

• Skin irritation from heavy sweating during hot, humid weather

Heat Stroke:

• The most serious heat-related illness
• The body can no longer regulate its temperature
• Confusion
• Altered mental status
• Slurred speech
• Loss of consciousness
• Hot, dry skin or profuse sweating
• Seizures
• Very high body temperature

One wouldn’t necessarily think mowing in this kind of heat is joyful, but it’s all a matter of perspective. For me, mowing is a kind of meditation—a time to think without interruption and focus on what’s growing in the pollinator gardens. I discovered several turtle nests in the pathways and edges of the gardens. And I spooked a fawn that mama had hidden amongst the tall grasses. It very likely could be the same fawn I rescued from the flood waters a couple of weeks ago. If it is, it’s much bigger now, yet it still has its spots.

I was sure I would get to bake yesterday, but when I was finished mowing, I was finished for the day. A shower and ham sandwiches for supper were all I had left in me. I hope you are staying safe in the heat. It’s only going to get worse in the coming days, so be careful out there!

💜

For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.  James 1:11

***Gratitude Journal***   Today, I am grateful for this beautiful place that I share with Mr. FixIt. There is peace here. It is filled with the sounds of birds. Animals dart in and out of the pollinator gardens and the hedgerow beyond. And when it has been properly groomed, there is no comparison to its beauty. God lives here.

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