Shine On, Grandma, Shine On!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words…

Let’s see just how true that is…

Oh the stories behind this picture…

First off, let’s start with the vintage toasters, which don’t show up very well in this pic.  There’s a cute little scroll mark on the front.

I found them at the dump, with the cords cut off, and quickly snapped them up – putting them in our truck.  As I write this, I laugh, thinking about the look on my husbands face.

Honest to God…he thought I was nuts.  You could just read his mind…”What on earth are you going to do with those!?!?!?!?”

Needless to say – I presented this vignette to him and said “See!!!  Don’t they look great up there with Grandma Shepel’s picture?”

Well, when I put it that way he couldn’t help but agree!

Which brings us to the second story…

My in-laws (lovingly referred to as R&B) recently decided it was time for Grandma Shepel to move in with them.  Her health hasn’t been good and she’s hasn’t been taking very good care of herself.  In the process of moving her in and emptying her apartment, they asked if there were things that each of the kids/grandkids would like.

Barb seemed to feel that I needed the old coffee grinder since I like antiques which was very sweet and I love it.  And I noticed no one was taking the embroidered saying above Grandma’s pantry, so I asked if I could have it.  Come to find out that Grandma had sewn it herself, so it’s even more of a treasure.  Well, it showed up on my counter one day while I was gone.  And the rest is history…I couldn’t wait to put it up!

The little old coffee pot was just a vintage find.  As was the milk glass teacup and saucer.

The forget-me-knot teacup and saucer are from my friend Marlene.  I know I wrote about her already, but I’ll tell the story here too.  She gave me these pieces one day telling me that she gave each one of her friends a set so that when we use them having a cup of tea, we would think of her.

This woman was incredible and I miss her dearly.  She helped numerous women (and men) in her time…taking them under her wing like a Momma bird…and when they (including me) were ready to fly on their own again, she was there to give them a gentle nudge.  And we knew we could fly back to her nest anytime we needed it or just wanted a wonderful hug from this incredible woman.

This story now brings me to another purpose of this blog…

I was recently nominated for a Shine On Award, thanks to another incredible woman and blogger – Meg from Australia!  And I believe the way it works is for me to now nominate 15 other bloggers and answer a few questions, so here goes…

These are my favorites (to date)…

http://athomeworkplaydotcom.wordpress.com  This woman is absolutely incredible…juggling 8 children, work and her own health issues.  Please say some prayers for this dear new friend of mine from Australia…she’ll be having surgery in April too.  Someday this lady and I may meet and there will be tears and laughter, lots and lots of laughter…and ps…she’s the one who nominated me!

http://morningstoryanddilbert.wordpress.com  I really enjoy this blog, they write some of their own and also share some wonderful, inspiring, thought-provoking stories.  Of course I loved the one entitled “Reggie” – I’m such a softie at heart.

http://5kidswdisabilities.com  Raising 5 kids with disabilities and remaining sane blog…This is a great blog too.  Read “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”.  It’s incredible.

http://mselenalevontraveling.com  Live Simply, Travel Lightly, Love Passionately, & Don’t Forget to Breathe.  This woman is not only beautiful, but brings her blog to life with her wonderful stories of her travels.  It’s my very own escape from my cold, cold winter here in Ely, Minnesota without the travel costs.

http://aflickoflight.com  A Flick of Light, Musings of a Minnesota Nature and Pet Photographer.  I really like Barb’s perspective in writing and photography.  I love her pet photography too – it’s amazing to me just how beautifully she catches the personality of the animals.  It doesn’t hurt that she and I met in jr. high!

http://longwalksanddarkchocolate.com  I really like this gal.  She lists her blog’s purpose as:  Life as a wife, mom, nana, friend and follower of Christ.  I just get a good feeling about her, like we probably have a lot in common.  And of course I love the name of her blog…anyone who includes chocolate in their name is ok by me!!!

http://kdcorner.wordpress.com  This blog offers hope in their little corner of the world, and I have to say…they also offer some incredible poetry.  I’m not much of a poetry person, but it’s very poignant and even I appreciate it!

http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com  LOVE this blog.  This woman does GREAT work!  Take a peek and get inspired!  And she’s funny to boot!

http://cancerkillingrecipe.wordpress.com  I love this woman’s spirit.  In my opinion, she kicks -youknowwhat-!

Then there’s http://www.thistlewoodfarms.com/infinity-one – read this post too, it’s absolutely fabulous!  And I commented on it saying how much I relate to it as a wife to a math teacher, and Mom to a smartie…and I love her Mom math logic!

http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net  Craft talent, photography talent, and writing skills…I think we’d call that a triple threat in the blogging world!  Inspirational, fun to read and makes me want to get out there and create!

Ok, I know there are more that I like, but I’ll quit with that…now on to the questions.  I’ll be brief!

#1  How did you choose names for your children?  Honestly, you may laugh…oh well, here goes…I used to love Danielle Steele books – and that’s where their names came from!

#2  What are your moral guidelines or what is your religious faith?  This could be a lengthy response.  My moral guideline:  To love as God loves.  And in my eyes, he loves everyone – no matter of race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.  I believe in being a good “Christian”, not necessarily in a base religion.  Sometimes we get too caught up in a “religion” and forget what the bible says about love and judgement.  The bible states “Judge not, lest ye be judged” – it’s not our place – and I’m certainly not going to throw any stones – because God knows my past.

I have “faith” in my Lord, Jesus Christ and in His Father.  I also believe there is room for all of us to love each other no matter who or what we believe in, as long as it’s based on the premise of love and respect.

And I believe in being kind and helping others.  We’re all in this together.  We can make it hard or help make each other’s lives a little easier by sharing our gifts.  Another blogger just wrote about Erma Bombeck (love her too) and one of her favorite sayings:  “When  I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.”

Lifting Up, Pinterest

#3  What do you do in your free time?  I write posts.  I catch up with my nieces and nephews, friends and relatives “doings” on facebook.  Once in a while I create masterpieces – whether it be a fun new vignette in a corner of my house, wall or shelf.  I redo, I paint walls, I follow my inspiration to create.  And yes, I confess, I watch tv.  The shows like Bones, NCIS, Castle…and old reruns of Murder, She Wrote (my absolute FAV!)…yes, my dream one day is to meet Angela Lansbury and she’ll give me a hug and tell me everything will be alright…corny, I know.  But somehow I find comfort in watching Jessica Fletcher solve the mysteries.  Maybe it comes from those wonderful evenings sitting with Dad in the living room watching the show.  And Mom would be in her chair, crocheting away.

Murder, She Wrote…Pinterest

#4  What song, television show speaks to you and why?  Well, you know my television show from the answer above…and the why! The other favorite TV show of all time would probably have to be Designing Women.  A fabulous strong women show where Julia Sugarbaker knows how to kick a.., while Charlene is so sweet and kind.  Mary Jo is a struggling, strong, brilliant Mom, and then there’s Suzanne, the self-involved beauty pageant queen.  I obviously watched it so much that my oldest decided one year to be Julia Sugarbaker for Halloween, dressing up in one of my business suits and carrying my briefcase.  She was so insulted when people asked who she was supposed to be!  She looked them straight in the eye and said “I’m Julia Sugarbaker!” (with that look saying – well aren’t you just dumber than a rock?)!

Designing Women, Pinterest

As far as a song…there are so many.  For those moments of rebellion, kick-a.., need a strong woman example…there’s Pat Benetar!  Or Cher!  For those comforting, soul-searching moments it’s songs like:  Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) by Chris Tomlin, and the one that makes me cry…Blessings by Laura Story.  And of course there’s:  You’ve got a Friend sung by Carole King.  Oh there’s just so many wonderful songs to choose from!

#5  What is your favorite animal and why?  Hmmmm…probably a dog.  I’ve almost always had a dog…from my first dog – who I got when I was little and aptly named “Arfie”…to our 13 year old chocolate lab who we have again aptly named “Hershey”.  He’s the sweetest little old man who I swear can only show love.  We joke that he’d never attack anyone, he’ll just kiss them to death.

Hershey, our little old man.

But I truly love most animals…except snakes..and rats.  And things that don’t belong in my house…they must go…spiders, etc.  If they’re in my gardens then that’s fine!

But I love the gentleness of cows, the absolute beauty of horses, the sweetness of hamsters.  OK, not so much on the squealing of guinea pigs…Gabi’s been warned…we won’t be getting a guinea pig.  Now a real little pig, there’s a possibility!

———–

Holy COW!  This is by far the longest post I’ve ever written!  And it’s also taken me the longest to write it – an accumulation of three days.  Sorry readers…life’s been a little crazy lately.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my little tale.

So much for a picture being worth a thousand words, it looks like I’ve written 1,616.

Have a blessed day!

Patty O

(make that 1624) 😉