Christmas Cards by Calicocarolj

Merry Christmas Fairy

Elving up Christmas

Santa Gator from Florida

Welcome to our home at Christmas..

Christmas Greetings

Started decorating for Christmas...here are our outside, patio decorations.  Quite pared down from the past.  At 71 I can't get up on the ladder for lights.  Heck, I didn't do that at 41!   We had 3 trees to choose from, and this year they all were looking tired, so we gave them to a thrift store.  Found a 4th little tree also, and put it on top of a little set of drawers.  Decorations  took 15 minutes.  Good deal!in the mean time, go to my Facebook page and see a few pictures.  I'll try to post new ones soon.

Google +

I finally have decided that in order to get anywhere on the internet blogging circuit, I must connect with Google +. Seems they have everything from social networking to photo sharing to advertising and more to offer me. So, in order to "share" more with my readers, and get more readers, i.e. followers, I am deep into trying out all of what Google+ has to offer. Hopefully, you will find my blogs faster, and have more input on what you read here.

TELEVISION PROGRAMMING

Is it just me, or does everyone else see that there is nothing much but junk on television anymore? There are a few exceptions, like NCIS (the original), Castle, Grey's Anatomy, Storybook and Neverland, Elementary and a few more. Unless you love sports, which have some merit, of course. And, game shows like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. HGTV is popular, also. I do like Antiques Roadshow, too. I guess some of television is agreeable to me. Why would I complain then of the programming on the air? Because the programs are re-run, and repeated, and in between the stations shove old shows from the ice age, without an end in sight. Nausea. I loved them once, and a few years later, once again, but not the same episode over and over. Another complaint I have to register is on weekends the line up is, well, you know, boring. Nothing new there. I would like to see a Saturday or Sunday with a new show or new people, or something. Guess all the T.V. executives have other ways of seeing something good with their family. This is just me spouting off. I'll admit I do watch many hours of the box. Maybe I should get out more, read more, do something to fill in the blank hours on the tube. But, I do pay a handsome price for cable, and think they could try harder to please me. Obviously, the people in charge do not care. Like the film makers who make their money showing automatic weapons in the hands of their characters. Guess I am showing my age. But, really can't the entertainment industry try to develop some sense of what improves our lives, and entertains us? What do you think?

Blessings

Thanksgiving is but a few days away, and I have searched and searched online for pictures of Thanksgiving meals, worthy of copying. No such picture nice enough to post here. I honestly don't know how people eat some of the foods shown on various blogs. Overcooked, blackened turkeys, pale, under cooked turkeys. Then there are the veggies, and potatoes they show online. Yuk! I immediately lost my appetite. After hours of searching the internet, and pouring through many resources, I find myself without a great picture for this holiday of a dinner. Praise God, however, I do have a great recipe for you all! Here it is. Hope you find it easy and delicious. Easy and simple are my two rules,if I cook. My sister, Linda, gave me this recipe a few years ago, and I love it. She swears by it for all family holidays. CHEESY HASH BROWN POTATOES Two pounds frozen Southern style hash brown potatoes, thawed Chopped onion to taste 1 stick margerine (optional) 1 can cream of chicken soup 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 16 oz. container of Sour Cream Mix thawed potatoes and all ingredients together bake at 375 degrees 1 1/2 to 2 hours until browned Serves 6 to 10 Double ingredients for more servings Serve warm. Optional: bacon or green chiles may be included I have made this recipe for holidays and found, like my sister, that everyone loves it as a change from other side dishes. Also, it is easy to assemble. Just mix them and bake. Gobble, gobble. Hope you all have a blessed time of thanksgiving!

THE PATH TO HOME

Monday, April 27, 2009 THE PATH TO HOME by Carol Smith 2009 Reality was like a sore that never healed for Frank late on this day in July 1870. Sitting beside the dirt road, tired and hot for hours, he was hoping to get a ride. Very few horses had even passed by him today, mostly others like himself walking down the road toward the next town, or house. He had stopped standing, and stopped walking. He was tired. Overhead, huge ominous thunder clouds loomed. He could smell the rain in the air. It would be a wet, cold night. How long had he been without a home? Was it three years? Home had at one time been in Bavaria, Germany. His parents then had a small two room house with the out house behind it. But, the Bals family had been happy before the war. They had grown vegetables and grain and raised a cow and pig. The forest had provided wood for heat and cooking. He and his sister, Maria had been happy living at home with their parents, helping out. There was shelter, and food, and water and most importantly, there was family. Today, it all was a distant dream. His parents were dead from the hardships caused by the army burning their home. His sister, well, he hoped to find her alive someday. She had been taken by the Prussians, probably to northern Germany. At eighteen, she was vulnerable. More reasons that so many from their area wanted to remain separate from the north. He had been shot and left for dead, but had survived with the help of a friend. He no longer knew where that man had gone, or even if he was alive. Right then, the dust from the road blew into his face, and onto his hair, ahead of a wooden wagon pulled by an old, thin horse. The only hope of ever getting clean again would be to find a river or lake he could bathe in again. The old man driving the horse motioned for Frank to climb into the back with the potatoes. So he did, willingly. Where the man was going didn't matter. It just mattered he didn't have to walk another step today. Later, Frank awakened to a cold rain pounding him. They were pulling off the road near a wood building. Both men got out and ran into what turned out to be a one room building. Many others people were crowded, sitting around inside. A small woodstove was lit in the center of the room, and some were eating a vegetable stew. It smelled delicious, and the warmth felt good as he swallowed big gulps from a cracked dish. Someone handed Frank a blanket and he sat down against an empty spot on the wall. Others were already sleeping sitting up, leaning on one another. A younger man spoke to his father. "Papa," (Now, that was a good word.) Somewhere a woman was crying, and a baby was fussing. More families in danger of dying. At first light Frank awakened to the voices of men and women and children. Someone yelled to him to join them at the farm to pick vegetables. There was no pay, except the place to sleep and the free fruit of their labor at the end of the day. Suddenly, Frank had the feeling he was at home. Home where he could stop and eat and work and perhaps someday find the strength to look for Maria, and a better life. Perhaps after the war Frank might even start a family of his own. One that would last. Posted by Carol Smith (calicocarolj) at 7:10 PM

ANNA,S FRIENDS

ANNA'S FRIENDS by Carol Smith 2010 Originally posted July 23, 2011 Anna Marie, that was her given name, was christened in the Lutheran Church the day after her birth in 1623. Her surname, Bals, was the same as her father's last name. Usually everyone just called her Anna. Their family lived in Rheinphalz, Germany, near the great Rhein River. Anna's father, Johann, practiced medicine in their town. Her mother, Ursula, was never far away from Anna and her three sisters, and two brothers. They lived in a large home with enough sleeping space for the girls and boys to have separate sleeping rooms. There was a large cooking room at the back of the house, with a wood stove for heating water and cooking. A pine table was at one end of the room. It was the center of their home. There was also a spacious keeping room where the family would sit of an evening and talk or listen to stories told by their parents. A big fireplace was on the middle wall. It's field stone chimney rose to the roof through the second story, heating the upstairs on cold winter nights while they slept. Eight year old Anna and her sisters and brothers, who ranged in age from eighteen to one year old were never bored. There was always wood to cut, water to carry for cooking and bathing, or the vegetable garden to weed in the summer, or the younger children to look after. When Momma was sick, the girls helped out cooking and doing the sewing repairs to their clothing. When Anna did have time to play, she loved playing with her paper doll collection. She could sit for hours at the table in the kitchen dressing, and redressing the little flat paper dolls. She always made up stories for the "paper children" to play a part in. They enjoyed make believe celebrations and going swimming in the summer or sledding in the winter. Each paper doll had a name and Anna's family marveled at her imagination. One morning Anna was pulling on her blue dress and Catherine, who was twelve, noticed that Anna looked pale. She usually had rosy, pink cheeks, and was full of energy. But today she could hardly pull the dress over her head without sitting down she was so weak. "Momma, I think Anna's sick. She's vomiting," Catherine shouted to their mother who was busy dressing the youngest, Jacob. When Mama did get to Anna, she caught her up in her arms and placed her back in bed. "Anna, you must not try to get up today. You are so hot. Catherine, get a wet cloth from the bucket in the kitchen. I will clean Anna up and attend to her. Please tell Susanna to finish making the breakfast for the others. And, oh, tell Hans to run out to the barn for your father. Now! Go now!" When Papa looked over his little "Bunny", as he had nicknamed Anna for her constant hopping about, he came out into the hallway with a very sad face. He was shaking and pale. "Ursula, we must separate Anna Bunny from the rest of our family, except for me. I'm afraid she has the Black plague, like so many others have now." Johann was trying not to cry, to be in control for his family. "We must try to keep the others from getting sick, and pray that God will save our little Bunny. Go, bath the other children and sweep the floors clean." Ursula and the older children knew the meaning of these terrible words. They had lost many friends and relatives to this illness. A neighbor's child, one of Ursula's sister's, and others. How could they have imagined it would pass by their home? There was much crying and fear in town, and now it was present in their home. The doctor closed himself in the room with Anna, and wiped her down with fresh water to cool her. He tried to give her broth and milk from his cow, to no avail. Already she appeared somewhat bluish and had developed swellings under her arms, and on her groins. A most certain indication he had diagnosed her correctly. He only prayed he could stay well and care for his little one, and prevent the others from suffering. The death rate was high all over town from this evil. In the hours that passed, when she was able, Anna played some with her friends, her paper dolls. It was the only hopeful sign to her father that she might somehow live. The next day, Granmama arrived to help the family through this time. She brought with her a gift for Anna. She spoke to Anna through the closed door. "Anna, I have a new friend for you. Her name is Angela. She is a paper doll angel. I have made her for you. She has white wings, and several new gowns and new halo. See I wrote a little song for you and Angela. 'A-an-gels, watching over me, watching over me while I play; A-an-gels, watching over me, watching over me while I sleep and try to eat. A-an-gels, keeping guard over me, so nothing bad can ever happen. A-an-gels, ready to lift me up, lift me up and make me well,' sang Granmama. "Do you like the song, my little Bunny? Isn't Angela perfect? She is your Guardian angel. I love you Anna," said Granmama wiping a tear from her cheek as she left the door. Late on the fourth night, Anna took Angela's hand and fell asleep. Anna Bunny had a pink flowered nightgown on, that matched Angela's pink gown and halo hat. Together, Anna and Angela went to heaven, with Papa sleeping on the floor nearby and the rest of the family in the large keeping room, close to one another, lying on the floor. That night only Anna heard the Angel song Granmama had written being sung by the real angels. Posted by Carol at 1:13 PM 0 comments Reactions:

Oil painting of horse and rider by calicocarolj

I painted this several years ago for Marty and her love of Westerns.

GIRLFRIENDS NEED HUGS TOO!

     I am reminded today that even if you are with your girlfriends everyday,

sometimes it's nice to turn and give them a hug.  Love is transferred that easily.

Saying you love a girlfriend is nice, but up close and personal is personal.

Southwest Desert

Now this is great for creative inspiration!

CREATIVE SPIRIT

My "creative spirit" needs nourishment in order to survive. I cannot create anything, whether it be watercolors, ATC cards, or anything written without encouragement and food for thought, and heart. My head cannot see something great and then relay it to my hands or words unless there is a connection. The move we have made from Florida to California has drained me. Too many details and things to think about. What color should I paint the room? Should I join this or that? Which church should we attend? Doesn't sound earth shattering I know, but it's a process to get through the muck and find my inner self. One thing certain, I am happy to be home in Cathedral City, CA. From the first day, to the present (6 months later) I have felt at ease being here again. The streets are mine, the stores are mine, the people and the places and the mountains and desert are me. Me, me, me. For years I felt lost in Florida. Now I know I am found. Kinda like being saved. But, the creative process needs oil to get started. I am finding this oil in various places. I saw an HGTV show recently where the woman was looking for a home based on the right kitchen where she could photograph her blog photos. (Should've known it would be another woman that woke me up!) At first it sounded weird, but then I thought, "No, that's true." Blogging is an art and I haven't been blogging lately. I need to just do it, get into it, and GO! If nothing else it will make my brain, spirit and fingers all work together. Maybe next week I'll start my zentangling again, or paint something for our new house, or you never know! I might even encourage someone else. "Never lay down when you can sit up; never sit down if you can stand up; never, never stand still when you can fly with a creative spirit!" Carol

February Flirtations

Marty and I have been flirting with fate in this month of February.
Marty fell three times this month. The latest was today. In the kitchen. Earlier in the week, she fell in the livingroom, and before that in the guest bedroom. Fortunately, no serious injuries to date.
In the meantime, I continue to cough, losing my breath and tiring me out. Who said the 70's were great?

Opposite Coasts... by Calico Carol

Moving day looms nearby,
In mid-December, winter's sky;
Clouds float o'er, this Florida house,
And, clear blue heavens, await out west.

Here I sing of tropic pleasures,
Lakes, and rivers, gulf bay fishes;
Mountains surrounded by desert sands,
There,lift my voice in hallelujahs.

This peninsula, hot and humid,
Threatening hurricanes, and alligators;
While California shakes and bakes,
My songs praise God, everywhere.

Thanksgiving Day

Gobble, gobble all you happy people out there. Watching the Green Bay/Detroit Lions game and wishing it was more interesting.

It is great outside our door here in Florida, 75 degrees.

I am so thankful for my family, Marty and Lacey and the rest of my extended family.
Also, I'm grateful for knowing Jesus and a loving God.

We are so blessed here even with all the ups and downs. Right now we have shelter, food, family, friends and relatively good health.

I pray for those we know are ill, in trouble, without creature comforts and jobs.

God doesn't guarantee us a road without pitfalls, but he does come to our aid when we talk to him; he gets us through everything.