Recent Scenes

It’s been a very good couple of weeks 😊. My MS has loosened the reins a bit some days and not ruled my life as such a tyrant every moment. I’ve seen a lot of family, especially this past week, and they have boosted my spirits immensely.

These little friends came to visit too ðŸĶðŸŠķ!

Downy woodpecker, male, wearing his bowtie.
American robin catching some rays.
American goldfinch sporting his full 💛 coat.
House finches on a lunch date.
Tufted titmouse – you can see it’s thoughts written across it’s face.
Female downy woodpecker – gorgeous!
This little chickadee posed so patiently as I walked around under the tree snapping away at it and it’s snack 😋. The chickadees seem to be really getting used to me.
My sister came up from Texas over the weekend (âĪïļ) and we hung out at the lake in our neighborhood one afternoon. This turtle was out for a swim.
Eastern redbud petals were scattered around the edges of the lake making a beautiful contrast of color to the mossy water.
Little minnows 🐟 and their shadows.
I think a starling has moved into the box at the lake 🙄
Blue violets fluttering by the lake.
Glorious spring!

My Hubby makes the best thin mint concretes – such a treat!

I hope you are enjoying your little slice of time in whichever corner of the world you call home. God be with you! âĪïļ, Amy

Happy Spring, Ya’ll!

It’s here! Sure signs of Spring are breaking out all over the Ozarks.

Red-winged Blackbirds all in a row by our neighborhood lake.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.


Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.


The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:


For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

– William Wordsworth
Ornamental pear tree, I think.
The first bee I’ve seen this year.
Just look at that face covered in pollen 🐝.
Stork’s bill, or at least that’s what Google came up with.
I love to see what grows around the lake.
That little dot of magenta made me so happy!
Though it took all of last week, I managed to finish a dress by doing a little each day. It has become a habit for Pip to climb into his little pouch and take a snooze when I’m at my machine. I’m not sure which slows me down more, MS or Pip 😉.

I hope you have a wonderful week and take the time to look at the world around you.

God be with you! âĪïļ, Amy

Cozy Days

Hello again, Friend. Below you will find some random pictures of things I’ve been doing to fill my winter days.

I really enjoy following several YouTube vloggers in the sewing world and wondered how hard it would be to take pictures of each step of garment construction like they do. I gave it a go and learned they have a lot more patience than me! Most of the pictures I took are in my camera’s trash and there they will stay. I’m sharing a few just to make myself feel like I didn’t waste all the effort it took to complete the experiment.

My notions and the PDF pattern.
The tail end of cutting it out.
I had enough fabric to make two tunics. I found the jersey knit on Etsy and loved the prints together.
Sewing the pocket on.
Finishing the hem.
It was my first time sewing a cowl neck.
The little pocket in the contrasting fabric turned out so cute ðŸĨ°.
I’ve learned to keep a stash of bandaids by my machine 🙄. Blood, sweat, and tears 😉!

My favorite Laudy pics of the past few weeks…

We had some really beautiful warmish days since my last post so, of course, I sat out in the backyard and watched the birds.

House finch pair with a goldfinch looking on.
Carolina chickadee
Downy woodpecker
💛

But, my favorite winter activity? Snuggling with Hubby!

Lord willing, I’ll write again soon. God be with you! âĪïļ, Amy

Hello, Again

Hello, again.

The last time I posted I told you I had a relapse of my MS and was getting ready for a few days of steroid infusions to try and hasten recovery. Sure enough, it happened and my symptoms have improved. My left eye stopped twitching and feeling numb, I can move my legs again and walk with less of a shuffle-stumble sort of thing. My energy level has improved to allow me to be up for more than 3-5 minutes at a time. Things are still not back to where they were before, but I’m hoping the trajectory continues to move up.

The IV was placed right where my wrist bends, not ideal. It was a long three days.
Hubby made me a “splint” to remind me not to bend my wrist. It worked a treat other than the fact I had a piece of wood there day and night. I cut a sock and used it to keep my splint in place.

Huge doses of steroids given in a short time creates numerous icky side effects – one of the worst for me is flushing of the skin. That being said, the side effects during the infusion are nothing compared to the slam your body takes when your last dose is done. Agonizing, insipid, catatonic-like fatigue reigns for about three days while your skin hurts to the touch and your muscles ache down to the bone. Slowly, the goo seeps out through every pore of your being and, around day four, you sense you are morphing back into feeling like a human.

I’m so thankful it’s all behind me now. It’s been four years since I had a relapse necessitating steroids. Yesterday marked four years since I completely retired due to MS and April will mark 32 years since my diagnosis. I’ve never felt bitter about this disease nor thrown my fist in the air screaming, “Why me?”. I think a better question is “Why not me?”. Everyone has some struggle to deal with in life. There’s no such thing as luck, good or bad. There is such a thing as attitude, though. As Philippians 1:27 says, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Though “whatever happens” here is in reference to whether Paul can come to visit the Philippians or not, he goes on, in the same verse, to tell them, “Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.” No matter what diseases, frustrations, difficulties, or unexpected troubles come our way, we are to respond with a Christlike attitude that brings honor and praise to the glory of God.

Nothing makes me think of God more than His creation.

Carolina Wren
American Goldfinches
Tufted Titmouse
Lucky shot ðŸ“ļ
Carolina Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Fisheye lens through our birch trees.
Hubby threw some eggs in the yard and some American Crows enjoyed them. I love all birds.
Blowing in the wind…
… beautifully.

I hope you are doing well. May God be with you. âĪïļ, Amy

Feathers, Flurries, Felines, and MS

Hello again, it’s been a while. I’ve been remiss in writing, distracted by other things in life. Well, actually, just one thing (drumroll)…my MS. Shocker, I know. The last couple of weeks have been simply outrageous. I’ll spare you the details, but I have IV steroids coming my way to try and get things under some sort of control. Yesterday, the day the home infusion nurse (yes, Bill 😀) was ready to come to the house and hook me up, winter storm Landon arrived covering the roads with ice. Today, Landon dumped 7 inches of snow before going on his merry way. Bill texted to say he will come over this weekend to get me going once the roads become traversable.

The snow has been beautiful to watch as it swirls and blows in frigid gusts. We’ve had 30+ birds at a time come to the feeders these past couple of days for an easy meal during the storm.

There’s a dark-eyed junco somewhere there in our lilac tree.
Bluejay
Cardinal, male
Cardinal, female
Buff tan dark-eyed junco
Slate-tan dark-eyed junco

As ever, the cats are keeping me company.

Gratefully, neither they nor my sweet Hubby see someone with MS when they look my way, they just see me – full stop. I feel so loved, and I know it doesn’t get any better than that.

God be with you. âĪïļ, Amy

Happily Ever After

Hubby and I celebrated 16 years of marriage yesterday 💕. He’s always been and always will be the best part of my life. God gave each of us to the other and not a day goes by without recognizing and giving thanks for such a love as this.

Christmas Day at my sister’s.
Hubby in deep puppy love.
âĪïļ
Sunrise in Texas
Same sunrise 5 minutes later.
Using my zoom lens with the fisheye effect.
Poor little jellyfish.
Chicken soup for the puny, I had the flu but am better now.
Typical of my life living with MS in 2021 – feet up. I suspect more of the same in 2022.

Thank you to all who follow or occasionally peruse my blog. I wish you a safe, happy, and healthy New Year! âĪïļ, Amy

December

I think the beginning of November and the start of December swapped their weather garbs here in Southwest Missouri. 70+°F today!?!

My Hubby took this photo while riding around Fellows Lake in Springfield, MO.

My sweet tooth took over my phone last month and before I knew what it was doing it had ordered TWO advent calendars!

McCrea’s Caramels out of Boston, MA. Look at this artwork… adorable! Caramel flavors include: Black Lava Sea Salt, Classic Vanilla, Cape Cod Sea Salt, Deep Chocolate, Tapped Maple, Ginger Fusion, Cafe Noir, Dark Roasted Mocha, Rosemary Truffle Sea Salt, Chocolate Peppermint, Cinnamon Clove, and Anisette.
This beautiful box of goodies is from Parisian candy maker Bossier. The website was full of beautiful handmade candies and I can’t wait to try each one. Chocolate covered almonds and hazelnuts, cocoa coated almonds, fruit flavored candies, honey flavored hard candies, caramels, jelly filled candies, almond puffed rice chocolate, bear gummies, strawberry candies, heart shaped gummies, fruit jellies, dark chocolate pearls, fruit flavored chocolate petals, chocolate balls, heart shaped chocolate truffles, calissons (French specialty candies), and fondants.
Ohhh, and I also got these little fruit flavored hard candies, they taste a lot like lollipops.

My MS has been very “assertive” over my legs and energy levels (among other symptoms) these last couple of months. That means lots of sitting and boredom. I’ve filled the time with some hand sewing and needlework. These little puffs turned out pretty cute.

We kept my Dad’s dog again for a few days. She’s growing on this die-hard Cat Lady.

As you can see, life has been very exciting around here 😂. Of course, no post of mine is complete without a few photos of birds.

Male downy woodpecker
Male house finche

Carolina chickadee

I’ve been rereading through the Bible each day, great gulps at a time, two or three books per day. I’m overwhelmed at the scope, harmony, depth, awesomeness, faithfulness, mercy, loving kindness, and holiness of God. Everything He does is Right. Everything He says is True. In this season of Christmas, it is especially important to remember how all history, all time, all hope, all fulfillment of prophecy, all meaning and purpose is found in God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ. He is more than a season, more than an Eve or a Day. He is Creator, King, Redeemer, God with Us, Promise-fulfilled, Hope, High Priest Forever, and so much more. Come let us bow before Him and worship Him in His majesty! âĪïļ, Amy

Autumn Leaves and A Recipe From 1909

I rode my scooter around our neighborhood this past week.  Autumn is my favorite season and, despite a later than usual start, trees in our neck of the woods are glowing with color. 

Glorious yellows and oranges ðŸ’›ðŸ§Ą
Maple leaf aflame
Maple leaf in a sea of green
Maple leaf with scars and scratches
The last of our neighbor’s summer roses.
Our River Birch leaves in the throes of death.

A couple of obligatory bird photos because, well… I love birds âĪïļ.

I’ve been seeing a lot of this female downy woodpecker lately.
Friendly carolina chickadees are frequent diners at the feeders.

My Dad has slowly been giving me a lot of our family pictures and genealogy material this past year.  As I looked through the latest batch I found a small book of “receipts” in the Edmunds Cookbook, compiled in 1909. Edmunds is a town in Indiana where my great grandparents lived in 1909 as members of the local Quaker community. I thought it would be fun to try to make a cake from the scant directions provided.

I have no idea who Mrs. Henry Berg was but I chose this cake because (a) I had all the ingredients on hand, (b) it seemed seasonal, (c) my hubby would probably like it, (d) it looked pretty easy.
The batter seemed promising.
It baked up nicely.
And.. it tasted DELICIOUS with a moist, airy crumb. The mix of raisins and spices provided a pleasant spicy sweetness.
This is me sitting down at the kitchen table to go through the cookbook to choose a recipe. ðŸ˜đðŸūðŸ˜ŧ

I hope you have a wonderful day! God be with you. âĪïļ, Amy

Mallards and Monarchs

This beauty came right up beside me and let me take his picture. I think he knew he was a looker.
Although she was a bit more cautious than her male companion, she flashed several poses.
This little guy kept telling his Mom, “I’m playing with the ducks!”. I’m not sure the ducks saw it that way 😉.
It was a windy day and this cutie pie held her bangs back so she could watch her brother “play” with the ducks.
As I sat by the lake, I noticed this butterfly land on the side of my leg. It had a couple of injuries to it’s wings and seemed unafraid of me. Over the span of the next hour it made it’s way onto my fingers and then into the palm of my hand. It was incredible to watch it taste my skin with it’s long, bendy tongue. It had some visible pollen on it’s wings so I knew it had been out foraging. It seemed as if it needed a rest and I felt honored it chose me as a safe harbor. It’s been a little over a week since my encounter with this tiny creature, nevertheless, its memory has flitted across my mind numerous times.
The sun through the just changing autumnal leaves was glorious.
Sun on a single strand of a spider’s web.
I can’t get over how big a fiery skipper’s eyes are compared to it’s head. I could almost feel it watching me as it crawled over the flowers of our butterfly bush.
Joy of joys, the monarchs have found our butterfly bushes! We’ve had as many as eight at a time ðŸĶ‹âĪïļ!! The way the sun shines through their wings reminds me of stained glass.
AND, I think this is a spicebush swallowtail. What a neat little fella!

I hope you are doing well. God be with you. âĪïļ, Amy

One Singular Sensation!

One great place to enjoy a gorgeous Autumnal day.
One dragonfly sunbathing.
One candy-striped rose of sharon.
One beautiful blue sky.
One showy butterfly moth.
One ripple effect.
One white clover.
One breath from being blown away.
One tenacious water plant
One piece of grass near the lake.
One oblivious grasshopper.
One pollinating bee.
The back of my scooter with a new sticker telling all my one and only wish.
The one corner of our yard I can’t stop watching for fear of missing all the butterflies, skippers, and hummingbirds who visit.
One skipper on a butterfly bush stalk
One eye of a butterfly bush flower getting a right good going over.
One adorable carolina chickadee.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Timothy 2:5

One more post has come to an end. âĪïļ, Amy