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 woodpeckerMale 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! ❤️, Amy
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 🦋❤️!! 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. ❤️, Amy
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 plantOne 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
Sometimes I’m really proud of myself for being able to keep the rhythm of breathing going, such is the joy of MS fatigue.
In my last post I said I would try to write something about my MS, so here it is. Whew, this summer has been a challenge! I have had a smattering of a few good days here and there and even a few strung together in sequence, but more often than not I’ve been under the thumb of pervasive, domineering MS lethargy. Nope, it’s not the kind of tired that needs a nap and sitting to rest for a spell doesn’t shift it at all. Like having a bone dry fuel tank, no matter how hard you try to go, you end up getting absolutely nowhere. The engine won’t start, the wheels won’t go anywhere, the brakes won’t compress, the electric windows won’t budge… technically it’s a car, but it’s good for nothing. I still look like Amy on the outside but there’s no juice to animate me. The electrical wires of my nerves are stripped and the signals my brain tries to send to make my body move either can’t or only partially get through. As a result, I don’t walk right, my hands don’t work the way they’re supposed to, my bladder doesn’t know if it’s holding or letting go, my thoughts struggle to be strung into words, and my balance is all over the place making me stagger around like I’m drunk. Normal things like showering, getting dressed, eating, and even sitting up use inordinate amounts of energy because my nervous system is having to work 1,000 times harder than yours just to get the signals through. Some days, for some inexplicable reason, I spontaneously recharge fairly quickly and I get to do things other than basic human functions – these are my good days. Other days, most days if I’m honest, time passes from my favorite chair or lying in bed. I read, listen to audiobooks, put puzzles together on an app, watch TV, and snuggle with our cats.
MS and heat don’t mix, it makes all symptoms worsen, so I haven’t been on the patio taking pictures much the past few weeks. However, the past couple of days have been milder allowing me to snap a few pics of my feathered friends.
I’ve learned to love bluejays and all the sounds they make. Matchy, matchy red!I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, cardinals are one of the most beautiful birds of all!Male downy woodpeckerFemale house finchSweet lil’chickadeeMourning doves are another personal fav.The butterfly bushes we planted in the spring have more than doubled in size and smell wonderful!There have been 5-10 hummingbird moths around the butterfly bushes all summer.Oh, and the skippers love them too.Hubby has just a couple more days before he heads back to work. This chore has been on his list and he’s glad to have it done. It’s still hard to believe God has blessed me with such a perfect guy ❣️
It’s been a month of MS fatigue and quiet living. I’ve ridden my scooter a few times to the lake in our neighborhood and enjoyed the dragonflies and flowers always present. Here are a few of my favorites.
One of these days I’ll write more. God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Hello! The weather has been beautiful the last couple of days so I’ve been soaking up the unseasonal coolness by bird watching on the patio.
I got a couple of new feeders, they work a treat!YarrowVerbenaAmerican Goldfinch, maleCan you see the 💛?This female cardinal is a looker!American RobinI think this pair of House Wrens is moving in!He’s been singing all afternoon 🎶Red-bellied WoodpeckerCarolina ChickadeeWhite-breasted NuthatchI’ve named this little Chipping Sparrow “Chippy”, he is particularly friendly and let’s me get close to him.I’ve been learning how to get action shots. This one didn’t turn out too badly.This one isn’t bad either.Blue Jays are very skittish but I can occasionally get a good portrait shot.This is just a funny pic of Pip riding around the house with me while I’m on my scooter. I haven’t written much about my MS lately. Maybe I’ll do that some time soon. The abbreviated version is, yep, I still have it.
I hope you have a wonderful week. God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Have you ever done something that you look back on a bit further down the road and wonder just how you could have been so oblivious? Well, I’m there. I shot straight up at 4:38 this morning and thought, “Copyright! I’ve broken copyright to Merrill C. Tenney’s The Genius of the Gospels“! I was going to post the notes I took on John today, but instead I took down my previous posts on the first three Gospels. Perhaps you were quicker on the uptake than I was. All I can say is I’m really sorry. It was such a good study, I got carried away and shared before thinking things through all the way.
So, back to the regularly scheduled programming…
My nephew came and stayed with us for a while last month. He made his Aunt very happy when he took my camera and, with his artistic eye, took pictures like a pro. Just look at his gallery!
Pretty impressive, eh?!
Here’s the young man himself.
Playing some Thin Lizzy with Uncle Todd.
The weather has been somewhat mild for our area this time of year so I’ve been able to get outside and take a few snaps. Heat and MS don’t mix so summer photo sessions are usually few and far between.
Common grackleTitmouseFemale cardinal, almost fully adult (I think).Juvenile female cardinal. Can you spot the differences between the adult in the picture above and this juvenile here?I went to the lake yesterday for about 20 minutes before tiring out. It was super busy!The fire department showed up with lights flashing for a water rescue.Suiting upIn action!This common whitetail dragonfly watched the rescue crew at work too.AND, I got to see a purple martin being fed!Meanwhile, inside, Pip has learned to appreciate birds as much as I do 😉.Laudy, as ever, knows how to snuggle and relax better than anyone.
All my best to you and may God be with you! ❤️, Amy
Hello, friends, it’s been a while. I’ve tried to write a few times but my thoughts have been all over the place. It’s hard to write intelligibly when you’re being jostled every which way riding at the back of the MS Bus over rough terrain. I’ve had some smooth spots here and there but there have been plenty of pothole infested gravel roads that have caused the wheels to come completely off.
I think the worst day was when I had wandered out onto the patio to watch the birds and got stranded for close to three hours. I was home alone and knew I was tired but misjudged the severity of it and entered a sort of locked-in state unable to move and get back into the house. There were birds a plenty at the feeders that day to keep me company, as well as butterflies and bees visiting the then blooming lilac bushes. However, as I rounded into the second hour, my bladder started to send a signal that became a blur of non-stop, unbearable …—… It was a true cliffhanger! Would my legs recover enough to get me inside before I lost control of my bladder?!? I’m happy to report that thirty minutes later, at the end of my bladder’s tether, my legs kicked in and saved the day!
Per usual, I’ve been snapping a few pics of the birds around the house. I was finally able to put the feeders up again about two weeks ago with no signs of sick birdies. I sure missed my little feathered friends! A pair of house finches made their nest on the wreath on the front door. Their brood of six have all made it so far, as you can see below. Mom and Dad have been keeping the nest floor clean by putting the little nippers’ poo on the edges of the nest. That will be fun to clean up 😝.
Here are a few of my favorites from the backyard.
Thanks to many of you, I am thrilled to report that I came in first among the local MS Walk fundraisers! From the bottom of my heart, I am truly grateful.
The ride is getting bumbier all of a sudden and I am going fuzzy again. I hope you are doing well and enjoying the beauties God has made all around you. ❤️, Amy
If you’ll remember, we’ve had some sick birds at our feeders. I submitted photos and information to the Missouri Dept of Conservation and they told me they think it is salmonellosis, a common problem among birds at feeders this year. Our feeders are still down but my feathered friends are still coming by to visit, which makes me happy 😊.
A couple of weeks ago I went to the lake near our house and enjoyed watching the pelicans and purple martins. The martins were very chatty and were all paired off into couples and busy making nests in the boxes. I have no idea who the kayaker is but she took a good picture.
I could hear the squirrel nibbling on the nut before I spied him on the fence near the blooming bushes and flowers. A pair of house finches have built their nest on top of our front door wreath. We can hear them chirping and chirring at all hours.A carolina chickadee built a nest in one of our boxes for his lady love’s approval but, sadly for me, she chose another one of his offerings in the woods across the street.Our skink is back! He’s been sunning himself a lot on the grill cover where he has been hanging out on warm, sunny days.
I am so grateful my Dad is still in good health and is able to go and do whatever he wants. We went to Austin to visit my sister and her family for a few days. Matter of fact, he’s driving us home as I write this. One of dad’s friends has a golf buddy in Georgetown so he rode down and back with us. It’s great for this bladder troubled MS gal to take road trips with a couple of old guys, they need the loo as often as I do 😉. My nephew Andrew is so grown up at nearly 16. He loves photography too!My sister got a cake for all of the April bdays in the family. Hubby wasn’t able to come down with us to celebrate his special day so we each ate an extra piece of cake in his honor 🥳.
The wildflowers were in full bloom in Texas! What a beautiful and wonderful lasting legacy to Lady Bird Johnson, wife of the 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson. Evening primrose, bluebonnets, prairie verbena, and Texas thistle.
The grasshopper was a lucky shot but this scissor-tail flycatcher was a permanent fixture on the wire in my sister’s backyard. I saw him gracefully swoop down, catch an insect, and then resettle on the wire countless times. ✌️
My first Northern Mockingbird! He sang every song in the book all day every day of our visit and made incredible displays to attract a mate. Wow, he was cool to watch and hear!! I saw another mockingbird with him the last evening we were there. I hope he found “the one”. My sister took this pic of me being “such a nerd”.I’ve always wanted to try bubble tea and now I can say I have. I don’t need to have that experience again 😝.The chewy tapioca balls were… interesting. Fun fact: I bit my tongue off when I was in a car accident in 1987. Can you see any of the suture scars?
My sister is a master of smoked meats, especially pork butt. Hubby requested some of her pork to bring back. So what did she do? Made a whole one just for him 😋❤️!
Doesn’t everyone have shooting tourneys in the kitchen?
Thanks for following along to the end of this post. May you go with God!
WARNING: The following is an extremely exaggerated, fanciful description of a much less exciting story. No one was injured in the actual exploit. Names are not used to protect the identity of those involved.
She opened the top drawer of her cabinet and paused thoughtfully. She ran her fingers over the neatly aligned collection of scissors of various sizes, thicknesses, brands, and purposes. Nothing there seemed quite right. Suddenly, I saw the flash of inspiration turn her usually dull, milky-garnet eyes into lustrous gems. She quickly closed the drawer, bent down, reached under the cabinet, and pulled out a large plastic case. I heard the release of two clasps as she opened it on the ground directly behind me. Strangely, I noticed a faint whiff of gasoline mix with the scent of hairspray, botanical shampoos, and foamy mousses.
With absolutely no warning and the simultaneous feeling of fight or flight that only true terror can create, the whine of a two-stroke, single engine weed eater filled the retail space. The din reverberated off the mirrors, tiled floor, and rows of adjustable metal chairs. A deafening “thunk-tunk, thunk-tunk, thunk-tunk” whirred into life and ramped up into a high pitched scream just over my right shoulder. It swiftly came closer until I felt the very hair on my neck begin to move. I could tell the length of trimmer string was too long and was flicking past the protective case, like the tongue of a cobra tasting the air. Instinctively, I pulled away from the droning sound and was nearly out of the chair when I heard the stylist’s voice filtering somewhere through the bedlam. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I’ve done this hundreds of times and you’re going to love it!”.
Was she like a chainsaw artist and could sculpt ordinary hair into a beautiful pixie cut with this outrageously deadly tool? After all, I’d shown her a picture of what I wanted. Wasn’t that her license hanging right in front of me on the mirror saying she knew what she was doing?
It’s strange how much faith we put in a little slip of paper with an embossed seal. It gave me the courage to sit back down. As I felt the first chunk of hair whacked off, I squeezed my eyes as tightly as I could and hoped for the best. Thirty minutes passed and I was still alive when she told me she was done.
Because it was a really tired MS day and I didn’t want to be out any longer than absolutely necessary, I got a wet cut without having her blow out my hair and style it. I don’t know if she was trying to cover up the mess, but she showed the back of my hair to me through a small hand mirror. The little bit I saw looked pretty short but okay.
When I was about 10 years old I remember my Mom telling the stylist to cut my uber thick, long, blonde hair into something more manageable. Somehow the lady translated that into a female mullet. I cried uncontrollably until Mom took me back an hour later and had the stylist rid all traces of Liza Minnelli from my head. I haven’t felt like crying about my hair for 40 years. I tell that story because this is what I saw when I got a closer, fuller view in the mirror at home…
Disast-hair!!!
Obviously, I couldn’t leave it like that and I certainly wasn’t going to go back and let her take another whack at it (😜😂). Though I’ve trimmed up my own hair before, this was way beyond my skills. Besides, it’s hard to see what you’re doing through misty eyes. So, I ended up going to my Hubby’s barber. Though I had to wait my turn for two hours, he was able to get me in on the same day as the disast-hair and, well, see for yourself…
Aft-hair Hubby’s barber shaped it up.
Ahh, much better! Hey, local friends, do you have any recommendations for a good stylist who can handle short hair?
Photos from the last few weeks.
Southwest Missouri got a lot of snow last week, about 5-6 inches in our backyard.All the snow had melted by the middle of this week. These are the last few water droplets draining from our gutters. Isn’t that a pretty piece of bark? It reminds me of a tunnel.
We have had some beautiful birds at the feeders this week. These are a few of my favorites.
White-throated SparrowEastern BluebirdAmerican Goldfinch and Eastern BluebirdA study in balanceI read that American Goldfinches weigh about the same as five teaspoons of granulated sugar.Female Northern CardinalMale Northern CardinalEarly in the week I added this corn holder to give the squirrels their own feeding spot. They still prefer to eat under the bird feeders. 🙄
I had a moderate amount of energy on Monday so I decided to squander it by going to the lake near our house. (And I do mean squander. I’m still recovering 😒.) Though it was still a bit cold, the sun was shining and it felt good to sit in it by the edge of the water. The lake was still frozen over but the ducks and geese didn’t seem to care.
There’s always one who doesn’t like to get in line.Mallard pairJust look at that patch of purple 💜!
I’ve been practicing using portrait mode with my camera this week. It’s impossible to take a bad picture of these two beauties 😻!
LaudyPip
I get the next dose of Ocrevus for my MS on Monday of this coming week. I have to wait three months after I get the infusion, but then I will FINALLY be able to get a Covid vaccine, Lord willing. I wish you health and happiness! ❤️, Amy
Amy's Axons 