The Hunt for One More Yellow Flower

Yellow Flower #30

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. (Luther Burbank)

If you follow the conversation on my Facebook page, you know I've been posting yellow flowers. I started around the first of May when I spotted a pretty little mystery yellow flower. A mystery because I didn't know the flower's name. So I posted its picture and several chimed in to name it. Trouble is, some named it one thing and some another. But it was fun anyway. 

So when the next day I spotted another little unnamed yellow flower on my walk, I posted it. And I asked if anybody wanted to guess how many days straight I could find a different yellow flower. I thought if I made it a dozen days, that would be good. But the 12th day came and I stumbled across a new flower. And again on the 13th, 14th and on until I got to 30. Most were wild flowers, but some were in my flower beds and one in my sister's. A couple were at greenhouses. One was spotted at church. A few showed up in North and South Carolina when I traveled down that way. But most were spotted in our hay fields and pastures. Some I found in my flower books or on the internet and named. Some I didn't. Some my Facebook friends named for me. Some remained a mystery. 



And then came today and I went in search of elusive yellow flower #31. I went across fields of daisies and grass up past my knees. No new yellow flowers.

I went into the woods and braved the poison ivy and blackberry vines and spider webs. Tried not to think about snakes. Everything lush and green, but no yellow flowers. 

I walked past the thistles but spotted no yellow on their pesky blooms. Not even a Goldfinch that might have posed for a touch of yellow on the thistle blooms that make the seed the little birds love so well. 

Oscar waited patiently while I searched. But although I saw hundreds, perhaps thousands of yellow blooms in the hop clover and daisies and various other yellow flowers that I had already counted and posted in my 30 flower days, I found no new yellow flower. But that's okay. All good things must come to an end and the Black-eyed Susan up top made a great #30 to end the string of yellow flowers. 

Tune in next week to see how I'm going to try to somehow make a giveaway contest out of my collection of yellow flower pictures. Meanwhile, thanks for going on my yellow flower hunt with me. Hope it made you smile. 

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable. (Joseph Addison)

January - the Month of Dreary or the Month of Beginnings?

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary. (Edgar Allen Poe)

Can't you imagine Poe writing that on a January Monday midnight?Chilled to the bone and unhappy, but with pen in hand?

I hope you're not cold or unhappy. But let me ask you. Do you like winter? Do you like January? Or is it the month you want to slide on past and make way for February which can be pretty nasty on its own. But at least, February is shorter with Valentine's Day right in the middle to make for some fun times and a great excuse to eat chocolate and brighten our houses with red and white flowers. But January seems to go on and on. A full 31 days.  

Around here in Kentucky, January can be the month of dreary when the sun hides behind the clouds. When the announced wind chills make you shiver even while you're sitting by the fire. When snow can pile down, make travel impossible and cause you to fall prey to cabin fever. When the Christmas bills show up and the taxes loom. Are you depressed yet? Oh yeah, it's a good month for that too with its short days and frigid air that keeps a person inside even when the sun does pop out from behind those clouds. 

Nobody needs a smile so much as the one who has none to give. So get used to smiling heart-warming smiles, and you will spread sunshine in a sometimes dreary world. (Lawrence G. Lovasik)

You can find smiles in January. Snowflakes that cover the gray January ground and brighten the world. Sunshine sparkling on the snow and ice. Hot chocolate without guilt. Books to read by the fireplace or all snug in under a soft blanket. A perfect reading month. 

January is a time of new beginnings. A time to try over if we've messed up. A time to look toward the blessings waiting in the year ahead. A time to be thankful for the gift of another year. A time to smile even on the gray and dreary days. 

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation. (Paul Theroux)

We need winter. Well, perhaps I should say I need winter. You might want nothing at all to do with it and wish you lived in the Bahamas. But January can be a month for gathering thoughts, for thinking stories, for being ready because spring is on the way.

Seasons are necessary for me.

What do like best about January? Worst?

Thanks for reading. Come back Sunday. I'm going to have another of those "mystery pictures" games and give away some books. Are you ready?

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Do You Need a Smile Today?

Did that make you smile? It does me. Smiles are what this post is about. Some of you may check out my Facebook page. If so, you know that I have some regular features on my page on different days. Sunday morning coming down. Tuesday mailbag. Shaker Wednesday. Throwback Thursday. And Friday is smiles day. All day. Some Fridays we have a brief interruption for some bit of special news, but I try to stick to smiles on Friday. 

So tonight, I wandered back through my Facebook Fridays and pulled out a few of my favorite smiles. If you follow my FB page, you may have already read them, but a good joke can make you smile even on the second or third telling. And it's good to smile and laugh. The Bible says so in Proverbs17:22a. "A merry heart does good, like medicine." (New King James Version)

So here we go. A few of my favorite smiles from Fridays past on Facebook.

 Story One:

A nursery school teacher was helping a boy get his shoes on at the end of the day. After quite a struggle with the boots, which were a little tight, she finally got them on. 

"They're on the wrong feet," the boy said. 

He was right, so with a sigh, she pulls them off and manages to get them back on the right feet. All is well until the boy looks up at her and says, "They're not my boots, Miss." The teacher does her best to stay calm as she kneels down again to pull the boots off again. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asks. The boy looks at the boots. "These aren't my boots. They're my brother's. Mom said for me to wear them." At this point the teacher can feel tears coming, but she pulls up her teacher fortitude and gets his feet shoved down into the tight boots one more time. Then she helps him into his coat and wraps his scarf round his neck before asking him where his gloves are. "Oh, Miss, I always put them in my boots so they won't get lost!"

Story Two:

   Little Jethro and his family were visiting the big city for the first time. In the lobby of the fancy hotel where they were staying, Jethro and his father stood marveling at the elevator with its blinking lights and shiny doors. After a couple of minutes, Jethro asked,       "Pa, what in tarnation is that thing?" 
   His pa replied, "I don't right know, son."
   Just then an old woman approached, pushed one of the buttons, and stepped carefully into the elevator. The doors slid shut and when they reopened a few moments later, out stepped a beautiful young blonde. "Boy," Pa said quietly. "Go and get your ma."

Story Three:

   A man finished reading the book Man of the House while riding the commuter train home from work. When he reached home, he stormed into the house where he pointed his finger in his wife's face and said, "From now on I want you to know that I am the man of this house, and my word is law! You are to prepare me a delicious meal tonight and when I'm finished eating my meal, I expect a sumptuous dessert afterward. Then you're going to draw my bath so I can relax. And when I'm finished with my bath, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?"    His wife thought a moment, then said, "The funeral director is my guess."

Story Four:

   A church was having a special program about marriage enrichment and an old farmer and his wife decided to go even though they'd been married for a long time. The old farmer was a little nervous about the whole thing, but he was determined to do his best. The guest speaker spoke directly to the husbands about how they should pay attention to their wives and thus know what they liked, such as their favorite flower. 

  The old farmer wanted to make sure he was right so he leaned over to whisper in his wife's ear. "It is Pillsbury, isn't it?"

So there are a few of my favorite stories over the years. Which of them made you smile?  Do you have a favorite funny story to share? Feel free to share the post with friends if the stories made you smile. 

 

Do you tweet on Twitter? You can click on the tweety bird to share the smiles.

Some Things Learned in Life

SOME THINGS LEARNED IN LIFE

...that one of the most fun things you can do is take a walk with a grandkid and a dog.
...that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

...that just one person saying "You've made my day" makes our day!

...that having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

...that being kind is more important than being right.

...that you should never say NO to a gift from a child.

...that sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

...that it's those small daily happenings, that make life spectacular.

...that even the Lord didn't do it all in one day. So what makes me think I can?

...that when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

...that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

...that love, not time, heals all wounds.

I found those in a pamphlet that has ideas for church bulletin fillers and I put them in our church bulletin a couple of weeks ago. All but that first one. That's new, one I added as something I've learned on my own but I think most grandparents will agree with me. There's just something about seeing the world fresh through the eyes of a young child. 


What are some that you would add? Things you've learned over the years? How about that life is short and that you really should "stop to smell the roses" along your journey?  
Or that the weatherman is wrong as often as he is right. 
Or that a merry heart really does work good like a medicine just like it says in Proverbs.

Now it's your turn. What are some things you've learned in life?

Smiles Make a Difference

What Sunshine is to Flowers, Smiles are to Humanity. ~Joseph Addison

 

Today was Mother's Day. A beautiful time to remember Moms everywhere. It was a sad day for some who were missing a mom gone on before them. I still have my mother, but she's not the mother I've known all my life. Dementia has stolen her memories and joy in living. It's hard for her to get up and down. Hard for her to walk. Hard for her to understand the confusing world she now lives in where people tell her she's at home when she knows she's not. She wants the homes of old, not this one where she's lived for thirty years but now can't remember where the bathroom is. 

 

My mother always enjoyed life. Whatever life threw at her, she managed to keep smiling and doing whatever needed to be done. The smiles are harder to come by now, but they can make such a difference in her day. To her and even more to me.

 

Nobody needs a smile so much as the one who has none to give. So get used to smiling heart-warming smiles, and you will spread sunshine in a sometimes dreary world. - Lawrence G. Lovasik  

 

Mom has gotten a lot worse the last few months. She's often unhappy, often agitated, often wishing to go home to see her mother who has been gone for almost forty years. The other day when Mom was having an unhappy time, my sister asked her how old she was and she said, "Sixteen." Well, no wonder she thinks her mother will be upset if she stays out all night. It's no wonder she looks at her hands and rubs and rubs them thinking they are "dirty." Those age spots and wrinkled skin are not supposed to be there. And no wonder she doesn't know me some of the time. She didn't have children when she was sixteen.

 

She doesn't always think she's sixteen. She jumps around to lots of different ages, but very rarely thinks about being ninety-three. Sometimes she wonders why her husband never comes home. Sometimes she worries about the children. She needs to be taking care of them. If I tell her I am her daughter, Ann, she will look at me as though that's the craziest thing she can imagine or perhaps say she means that "other Ann," the younger one.

 

Then there are times when she does know who I am, and we can find reasons to smile. Like getting our hair curled. Like watching America's Funniest Home Videos, one of the few TV shows that she'll watch. She likes the little children on there. Sometimes, we can watch Curious George because they have clips of kids doing things. And she'll watch golf. Not sure why except that Daddy used to like to watch golf.

 

So we take it day by day. At times, five minutes at a time in hopes that the next five minutes will be better. And we try to squeeze in a few smiles now and again.

  "The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions -- the little, soon-forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look or heartfelt compliment."  Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

Did you share some smiles with your mother today - in life or maybe in your memory? Smiles don't have to be hoarded away. The more we give away, the more we get in return.