When I was a little girl, I was in awe of my Grandmother and her many abilities. Grandma could do anything. She was a wonderful cook and she was packed with so many wonderful domestic skills. She could quilt, sew, embroidery, knit and crochet. I could only watch in amazement because I never mastered any of these incredible gifts, even though my Grandmother tried very patiently to teach me. My sister, on the other hand, was able to learn these crafts from Grandma. My sister is one of those women who can do anything, too. If I didn’t love her so much I would have to hate her.
Read More›We were celebrating my birthday at the beach in Cancun, Mexico earlier this year. Our bedroom overlooked the ocean and our unit had a balcony designed to assist us with breathtaking views of the beach. At night, we would open the sliding doors off the balcony, open the curtains and listen to the waves. The sound of the water and the ocean breeze rocked us to sleep.
During one particular night, a stream of fabulous, bright light woke me up. I thought, “What in the world is going on?” Was the resort using flood lights for something?” I jumped out of bed and headed for the balcony. On the way to the balcony I glanced at the clock. It was 3:00 a.m. As I got closer to the opened doors, I realized that moonlight was lighting up the room. Placed in the sky was the most beautiful, crisp crescent moon.
Read More›You may remember that I am an avid seashell collector. I have gathered many shells over the years and I have a very interesting collection from several places around the world. I have an assortment of big shells, little ones, polished ones and broken ones. Some are unique and rare. Some have lovely stripes and patterns while others are plain. Every time I go to the beach a shelling adventure is always at the top of the agenda.
Recently, our family took a beach trip. There were some powerful storms that occurred nearly every day of our trip. The storms would hit in the early morning or come ashore in the late afternoon. While the storms robbed me of a couple of sun-filled days on the beach, the storm’s inconvenience repaid with a contribution of fabulous shells on the sand.
Read More›Another sleepless night! Can anyone relate? With a thousand things on my mind, I surrendered to this restless, weekend night and simply got up and out of bed. It was a beautiful evening, so I went outside and sat on the back porch. I was soaking in the glory of the night: the breeze, the stars, the sounds and suddenly a little light caught my eye and then another. As my sight adjusted I could see that the back yard was sprinkled with light. God had sent me fireflies. Not a bad gift for a sleepless sister. In that moment I was taken back to my childhood. In my mind I could see myself racing through the country. My little sister was with me and we were both bare-footed with grass between our toes. We had little jars in our hands. These jars came complete with lids which we had beautifully designed with air holes. We had poked those holes in a very chaotic fashion to prolong the lives of our firefly friends. We giggled and ran and worked up a sweat as we chased for what seemed hours for a collection of little bugs that would bring our jars and our hearts lovely green light. They were fun to chase and a challenge to catch. The little creatures brought us so much joy. It was fascinating to watch them back in our bedroom as our jars became center stage for our entertainment. I heard once that a little girl collected fireflies and called them her little tinks, like Tinker-Bell in Peter Pan. Little Tinks. Little lights. Little jar-joy-makers. What a perfect description.
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