And The Winner Is..And Pomegrananetes...

We had two correct guessers in this installment of "Up Close With Val".   The first correct guesser was The Fair Colleen (from A Northern Childhood).  Here is your blue ribbon, Colleen!:

      

The second correct guesser was my Daddeeoo who actually gave me the object.  It was a pomegranate!!  It was mighty tasty, too!!!  For those of you who have never tried a pomegranate I highly recommend you go out and buy one and try it!  I think it tastes much like the juice of a dark grape and a cranberry.  It is a tiny bit tart, although very sweet, too!

Here is how it looks when it is whole, when it is on a shrub, and when it is cut up:

              

              

              

Yes, it was very, very tasty indeed!!  I did some reading on the pomegranate and found out it was a berry that grows on a thorny shrub that sometimes turns into a small tree.  It is native to semitropical Asia and was naturalized in the Mediterranean region in very early times.  It is used ornamentally, medicinally and is edible.  They are the size of an apple and the seeds look like corn kernels to me.  They pop in your mouth and are filled with juice.  There are tiny seeds in the kernel.  My Dad swallows the seeds.  I do not.  It is also used to make Grenadine syrup which is used in wines and cocktails and preserves.  So there you have the pomegranate.  They always bring back memories of the Fall for me and Thanksgiving.  My Mom used to buy a few and have them on the table during this time of year.   They are a bit expensive.  One costs about $1..00 - $2.25 from what I have seen in my area.  Perhaps they are cheaper or more expensive in certain areas.  Hope you enjoyed learning a bit about this tasty seed-fruit!!  Go out and try one!  Really!  Have a good day, everyone!!

"Up Close With Val"

Happy Hump-Day all!  Hope everyone is having a fairly decent day!  It seems everything is kind of quiet around J-Land.  Hmm... I am being kind of quiet myself.  Sort of slow-going.  I was sitting on my front porch waiting for a ride yesterday and I saw my friend yesterday.  Do you remember a few months back when I wrote about what appeared to be a homeless man picking up arm-fulls of weeds and throwing them away in a dumpster?  Well I saw him again yesterday!   He was walking up the street yesterday picking up trash!!  Cool!!  He had on a coat and hat so he wasn't cold, and he was eating something!  Seems he  isn't homeless after all!  I found out from around town that he is mentally ill and lives alone.  I do hope society is somehow taking care of him.  He is taking care of society in his own way.  His name is Jim.  He still has his beard and still looks a bit scary.  He was talking to himself.  I gave him a big, big smile and nod when he passed by me.  He did not acknowledge me.  I still hope he noticed anyway.  He picked up quite a bit of trash and carried it to the dumpster and threw it away.  I said a prayer for him as I waited for my ride.  It is really nice know that he is okay and has a home.  I read an article the other day that one mentally ill person in six is homeless!  One in six!!  But that is for another rant!  I get so sick to my stomach when I think of things like this!  I somehow have to numb myself when I think of the mentally ill and poor and sick and homeless or I think I will go crazy!!!  Yes, all for another day....

So, I have a new installment for "Up Close With Val".  Hopefully you know the routine by now.  Put your guesses in the comment's section.  Krissy, you should know what this is!!  Have fun with this and everyone have a good rest of the day!!  Blessings to all!

                         

Giving and Pictures of My Kitties!!...

Happy Monday everyone!  Krissy has a new Monday morning question today.  If you haven't ever participated in the Monday morning question, it is a lot of fun, so go give it a whirl!!  Tell others about it, too!!

Krissy asked today what volunteer work we have done in our lifetime.  I sat and thought about this for a long time.  I think I am a very giving person.  People certainly have given a lot to me, as well!!  Volunteer work should not always be thought of as working for or through an agency or company or group or cause, in my opinion (although I have).  I am someone who, when my friend is hungry and out of food, will share my last bit of food with if I am hungry as well, and then trust that I will find food somewhere later.  I notice when someone is down and smile at them.   I try and find the need in situations and fill it.  I pray for others.  I guess the list could go on and on... This is not to toot my own horn.  Oh no!!  I am writing this to let others realize that they, too, are doing so much good!  Since I had to go on disability about 12 years ago I had to find a "purpose" in my life, or atleast different activities that made me feel like I made a difference.  We all need to feel like we are important and making a difference in this world....that we are doing something to take away a little bit of the pain that is going around.  What do you guys think?

I wanted to share pictures of my lovely kitties today.  I haven't put a picture of Honey in here for quite awhile.  Here she is sitting in her favorite spot (shock!) getting some sunshine.

    

And here is Baby at his usual spot (the food bowl!).  He is getting bigger!  He basically stopped scratching me and eating me alive about a week ago.  Thank goodness!  He is about 3 1/2 months old now, I believe.  It is hard to know his exact age, because he wasabandoned.  He is a good kitty, except when he is destroying my home, which is a lot of the time, but that is okay, because I know he will grow out of it!  He is a bed kitty, too!  Yay!!  I just wish he would keep the litter in the litter pan!  Good day everyone!

    

And The Winner Is...

Apparently the two installments in this week's "Up Close With Val" were pretty easy.  Four guessers got both pictures correct!  The first to get both correct was Promise from No Promises No Demands.  The top object was a candle and the bottom object was a TV remote control.  Way to go, Promise!  Here is your blue ribbon:

                  

The other correct guessers were Rich, Shannon, and Becky.  Thanks for playing everyone! 

Now, if you are feeling a bit blue, or not so good about yourself, or just a bit curious, click HERE !!

Scavenger Hunt and "Footprints"...

I recently sent this out to a lot of friends in an email and got many wonderful comments back so I thought I would post it in my journal.  I think it is very beautiful.  I don't know who the author is or I would give them credit.  It is a "new version" of "Footprints"

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together.  For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace.

But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turn-arounds, circles, departures, and returns.

For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's,soon paralleling His' consistently.

You and Jesus are walking as true friends!

This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His' steps.

This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change.  The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger.

Eventually they disappear altogether.  There is only one set of footprints as they have become one.

This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back.  This time it seems even worse!  Zigzags all over the place!  Stops, starts, and gashes in the sand.  A variable mess of prints!

You are amazed and shocked!

Your dream ends.  Now you pray:

Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits.  I was a new Christian; I was just learning.  But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You."

"That is correct."

"And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely."

"Very good...You have understood everything so far."

"When the smaller footprints grew and filled Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way

"Precisely."

"So, Lord, was there a regression or something?  The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than the first."

There was a pause as the Lord answered, with a smile in his voice.

"You didn't know?  It was then that we danced!!"

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3:1,4.

I hope you found that amazing like I did.  Now on to the Scavenger Hunt brought to you by Krissy from Sometimes I Think.  The subject was "cold".  We had a very sunny week here and most of our snow has melted in our town so it was hard to capure cold here.  I decided to take my camera along with me on my trip to Baltimore and see if I could find any "cold" subjects.  I give you these three pictures of "cold".  All of them were taken from a moving car window on a grey day so they aren't the clearest pictures, but I had a fun time.  There were so many missed opportunities as the car whizzed by frozen icicles and even snow falling that I couldn't capture.  That is okay, though.  Here you are:

The first are some kids playing in a school yard in the snow all bundled up!

    

The second picture is a small group of houses I found nestled in the side of a hill.  I thought it looked "cold".

    

The third and last picture is a mountain (I live in a very mountainous area!) that looks very "cold" to me!

    

I hope you enjoyed my pictures and I hope you all are warm and dry and taking time for yourselves and maybe even doing a little dancing!!  Take care all!

"Up Close With Val"...

Happy Friday afternoon to all!  Some of you asked me to report whether Phil saw his shadow or not.  Well he did.  Apparently, we are to have six more weeks of winter.  As I stated before, he is wrong two-thirds of the time, so perhaps we will have an early Spring!!  That would be delightful!! 

My appointment went just fine yesterday in Baltimore.  It was a very, very long drive home, however, as there was a lot of snow falling in both Maryland and Pennsylvania.  It was a 13-hour-day for an hour MRI!!  Phew!!  We got home safe and sound, but it could have been worse with all of the icy roads.  I will let everyone know the results of my MRI when the doc calls me back.

I have two pictures for "Up Close With Val" today.  It seems like I don't have a particular day to post these.  I was trying to do one a week, but it doesn't seem to be working that way.  Thanks for stopping by to play even though it has been sporadic!  I have a lot of fun with this game and enjoy reading your guesses as well as playing around with the camera and the pictures!  Please post your guesses to these pictures in the comment's section or send them in an email.  I will let everyone know who guesses them correctly in a day or two.  Have fun!!

        

        

Atleast I know everyone has heard and seen both of these objects, so those of you in the U.K. are not at a disadvantage this time!  Sorry about the past weeks.  I have really, really learned a lot about the differences we have as well as the similarities.  Now, I am off for a nap.  I can't believe how sore I am from taking two trips to Baltimore in just four days!  It is not good on the fibro.!  Have a good weekend everyone!!

Happy Groundhog Day & A Funny!...

Happy Tuesday everyone!  It is just a gloriously beautiful day here in central Pennsylvania!!  The sun is shining and the birds are chirping!  Could it be that Spring is coming?  Tomorrow is Groundhog Day.  I wonder if Phil will see his shadow?  He is wrong two-thirds of the time, so I guess it really doesn't matter.  Folk-lore.  Interesting.  My father was actually born in Punxsutawney.  I guess I am one of the few people who can actually spell the name of this town correctly without having to look it up!  Punxsutawney is an Indian word, my father told me...it means something about desert or sand gnats.  That is all I remember.  So, if Phil sees his shadow we have six more weeks of winter.  This tradition started with the Pennsylvania Dutch, in this country anyway.  I know it goes back even further, though.  My father is part Pennsylvania Dutch.  I found this early saying by the Pennsylvania Dutch on the internet:

     If the sun shines on Groundhog Day,
     Half the fuel and half the day.

Very few still believe Phil is a good prognosticator of weather and yet tens of thousands congregate at Gobbler's Knob every year - A fun tradition for an interesting, little town!         

                                         

So, I went to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore yesterday to see my neurologist.  My Dad and I did some calculating and it turns out that I have been making a trip to Baltimore about every five weeks.  I think I am on trip number 26, or something around there.  I was discussing my numb tongue with him.  It hasn't gone away.  Actually, it is just the right side of my tongue right now.  He wants to give me an MRI with and without contrast and a flow study to see how my cerebral spinal fluid is moving around my brain and around the surgery spot I had done where my chiari malformation is at the bottom of my skull/top of my spine.  I know, sounds kind of complicated.  What it means for me is another trip to Baltimore on Thursday.  These trips take on average 12 - 15 hours.  The day is such a long day.  Nerves get frazzled.  Bodies hurt.  I am so, so grateful that my father can take me.  He is such a trooper!!  Thanks, Dad, for all you do!!  He is 76 and is so much more energetic than I am and has so much more patience.  I don't know how he does it!  I will let everyone know how my tests turn out.  Oh, I am bringing my camera on Thursday and Krissy is coming as well, it looks like, so we can both take some fun and interesting pictures, so hopefully you can se what a day is like for me when I go!

I will leave you with a joke that I thought was pretty funny and now I am off to take a nap because I lost so much sleep and I am achey from yesterday's trip.  Be good to one another and Happy Groundhog Day!!