Memorial Day Remembrance: Our Al, a Candid Message..And of Course, Niceties

All is well on the homefront.  The above is a photo of me the past year with our first grandbaby, our grandson, Asher when he was more of a little infant.  I'm wearing one of my MiMi dresses, this one is of space babies in a wonderfully delightful vintage print reproduction.  It has space ducks and little animals along with the hooman space babies..I had also made a pillow for each of our little grandsons to match.  Asher here is wearing his little nautical romper I also made, and now I've seen Elliott our next to be born little grandson wear it too!

  Elliott now

  Asher now. (Wearing the Charlie Brown and Snoopy shorts I made)

I've been very engaged lately sewing Little Dresses and Little Britches for Africa and just reading some good ol' books.

We've had Memorial week and it made me think of not only my dad but my precious, precious step dad, Al.  



The photo above was taken when we moved into the home pictured, he and the girls planted the tree there.  Al was a wonderful PaPa to our girls and was such a sweetheart.  He fought in WWII and gave unselfishly.  He had earned a medal and I'm researching that now.  He loved the girls so much, he would carry Baby Michelle around over his shoulder and she would sing in her baby language. Here he is with Lea and Marianna before Michelle was born, poor little Rebecca never knew him and Michelle doesn't remember him, oh that is so sad to me.  He and mother lived in a humble little house in the middle of Houston, he would walk Lea and Marianna to the corner store and he'd buy them little goodies to eat and drink...So cute.  Those were some precious times...   He was an extremely talented sculptor and sculpted Dr. Cooley's marker.  He would crack me up, he was from an old Italian family from the Bronx, New York and I would get so tickled because he did not like it when the southerners would joke about the New Yorkers!  He was so sweet, you would get tickled even when he was aggravated!  When a heart attack took him suddenly it really did me in.  The hospital sent my mom home in a taxi with his clothes over her arm that night.  Me, being home, my little ones safely tucked in bed already I was horrified, running out in the yard looking up at the stars as if I could call him back somehow, my cries were so hard that they were silent,  standing outside in the pitch dark in the very yard pictured above, in a big, long yellow Garfield tshirt nightgown...Horrified.  In shock.  I remember being in tears bringing his suit and tie to the funeral home, I was so choked up I about threw those beautiful clothes at the stone-calm (like water off a duck's back) receptionist before running out, two young men my age there for a loved one staring as if they were to say We're so sorry...I still remember all of the faces.  That was back in 1990.  Little Marianna said her best friend had died.  Baby Michelle would run to men at the grocery store with silver hair and put her little arms around their legs...  As you can see or read, I'm part of the Companionship of Brokeness and if you are of the Companionship of Brokeness  then you are probably a kindred spirit here.  ...And I really do miss Al many a day...many a day. 






I have lots of little goodies to show you, my pretty garden and such...I've been a little stressed, my mother fainted at the table again on Mother's Day so prayers are always appreciated for my mom and me.  My adult daughters are a huge help too as well as my loving husband.  

I'll be back soon with some eye candy.  I'm praying for our country and I hope you are too, our Victor's Wreath will be in the prayer closet.  And may we be that Watchman on the Wall and use words to warn if necessary.  I have what you would call a counselor or a healer personality, I have mercy and prophet both, so please oblige.  Do I sound like the book, Please Understand Me?  (smile).




Here's something I thought I would share, it's something a radio commentator played this evening:


A Warning from 1965 from Paul Harvey:





In closing:

One distant shot of my ivy gardens and Lilac tree last month...More to come.  I'm discovering my gardens are one of my happy places.



  Bethany.  I have restored her, repairing a fracture and a little hole in her poor little face, and broken pieces from a cruel fall... and then repainting her with her little child on her lap.  I think Bethany is so peaceful and represents motherhood so well.



   Elliott's little handprint.  This was our first art project!  Little Elliott presented this to his mommy, Marianna that very day.  So fun.  Michelle and I did one with little Asher the other day. 

  My little birds I also restored, one was fractured and missing part of his tail.  I made another tail with a tissue and school glue, repaired the hole in his poor little chest and touched up the paint so he is happy now.  They guard my window and tell each other little secrets through the day, they also guard my coffee stash.

  My pitcher of hibiscus tea...I enjoy drinking this iced through the day.   I still am using my cloth 'napkins'.   I still keep them in a shiny glass bowl there and grab those even before I'll grab a paper towel.  They are so much softer and there is somewhat of a comfort in my little 'napkins'...Who wouldn't love these little doggies on this one?

  Well, Loves, I hope you are all faring well.

Take care now, signing off from My Forest Cathedral.   ~Amelia

See No Evil Hear No Evil? Videos and My Little Story of an Angel Lady

 See no evil hear no evil?   I hope not.


Calling all ye thinkers!  *big smile*


Let's be in prayer, our Victor's Wreath will be in the prayer closet firstly.

Secondly, it's okay to question what is going on.  We cannot go to church but we can go to Walmart?  And of  course we should be able to go to Walmart or any store if we want to.

  
People are getting their license plate numbers taken for attending a church?  This should set off some alarms.


Be careful what you are espousing, even innocently.   I'm wondering if some people would enjoy living in a police state,  I grimace at what people are naively espousing.   


  Here are some videos that are showing some of the spirits operating in the country at this time.  Some people are just eating it up, as you will see a lady at the end of one of the videos.  Do they really want to live in a police state?









Last video but not least, this recent video;  Dr. Ron Paul has some wisdom on things, this is very educational and very, very informative:





It's interesting that none of the leaders are doing any kind of teaching on nutrition during all of this, the effects of sugar etc.

................................................................................................

Well, what you are you doing about it Mrs. Amelia?   My husband and I are praying over these situations and writing letters to our governor and state and county officials for starters.

Are you afraid Mrs. Amelia?  I'm concerned but not afraid.  I'm concerned with the naivete in people more than anything.



The Other Day at Walmart

I was in Walmart on the pet food aisle a couple of weeks ago.  Now if you want to meet nice people they are on the pet food aisle!  Seriously, that's where they usually are.  Yes, they are on the pet food aisle!

I do not choose to wear any mask, I was standing there in my "dog print" maxi skirt eyeing the cat food...   A delicately built lady with a homemade off-white colored cloth handkerchief type mask hanging down around her neck meekly said to me...

"I'll put my mask on if you're afraid...I don't have no fever...."

Her voice was so sweet, I just wanted to take a deep breath of her sweetness.  I tried to give a sweet and loving smile to her with as much love as I could convey, her humility had touched me deeply,  and I said quietly... "No, I'm not afraid."

She says, "I'm not afraid either, I've been through so much in my life, I'm not afraid of this, I pray."

I tell her, "Yes, we claim the blood of Jesus over our doorposts..."

Another working man without a mask comes by us and grabs a gigantuous bag of cat food...He boisterously says:

"I'm not scared!  I've been through so much in my life!"

I'm smiling hugely at this point.  The meek and sweet angelic lady says...

"I was in a car wreck and I flew through the front windshield and landed in a tree..." She quietly tells us wide-eyed...  Yes, she had been through it. 


Angels.  They are amongst us.  Even in this crazy world, the angels are amongst us.  Me in my dog and cat skirts?  Maybe I can bring a smile and a compliment will be given to bless my soul but the angels?  They are that sweetheart of a lady...  I think of her and pray for her daily.  An angel.

I pray for the boisterous character of a man too, he was endearing to say the least!  And I know that type has a huge heart...That's why he was buying the gigantuous bag of cat food.  Yes indeedie.

The salt of the earth.   Angels.



Have a good day, I hope you enjoy the videos and not get into fear.  Faith>Fear

We can use any concern as a channel into prayer!   God understands how we feel and our concerns, He listens and is moved  by our prayers.
  

I'm a homebody so life isn't that different for me, but I am concerned over the small businesses and I have mercy on those people and their families.


Blessings to all the sweet angels out there like that lady above,    Prayers at the Forest Cathedral,  ~Amelia

This is BEAUTIFUL and it's TOMORROW ON EASTER!

I can't wait!   ANDREA BOCELLI  LIVE AT DUOMO CATHEDRAL, MILAN, ITALY.  TOMORROW.  EASTER.  LIVE ON YOUTUBE.

My Italian grandpa, Vincent Oddo was an opera singer in New York when he arrived here in America as an immigrant with his cousin, Jerome Trapolino.  My husband is a musician and we both have a love of music so this is just very touching and exciting to me.  A Gift.  On Easter.



“On the day in which we celebrate the trust in a life that triumphs, I’m honored and happy to answer ‘Sì’ to the invitation of the City and the Duomo of Milan. I believe in the strength of praying together; I believe in the Christian Easter, a universal symbol of rebirth that everyone – whether they are believers or not – truly needs right now. Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will hug this wounded Earth’s pulsing heart, this wonderful international forge that is reason for Italian pride. The generous, courageous, proactive Milan and the whole of Italy will be again, and very soon, a winning model, engine of a renaissance that we all hope for. It will be a joy to witness it, in the Duomo, during the Easter celebration which evokes the mystery of birth and rebirth” Andrea Bocelli


Fall on Me, Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo Bocelli.  I think this is so beautiful...


I know I posted the video above, 'Fall on Me' last entry, please oblige.   I've been enjoying this song in our kitchen as I prepare our evening dinner.  Our evening dinner is just Jem and I these days and my quiet time in the kitchen is my grandma's hands preparing our dinner...I see my hands and I see her hands.  I hear this song?  It is God speaking to my heart.  God the Father.  

Fall on me with open arms...Fall on me where you are...


He is there with us.


My daughter tells me the concert will be 12pm our time.  We are in the south in the U.S.    It's live, so please check your particular time in your part of the world.  



I'll close with Doctor's Orders, I recently saw:  
Micah 6:8
1.)  Do justly
2.)  Love Mercy
3.)  Walk Humbly


    
Me with Elliott, our secondborn little grandchild.   


In Christ,   He is risen.   What would I do without the Father?     ~Amelia

An Informative Video Plus a Heartwarming Bocelli Video. Thoughts and Memories This Holy Week and More

This is a very good video I saw on a fellow blogger's site.  I'm not a Libertarian but I must say, I so appreciate the Libertarians right now and am thanking God for them.  I especially appreciate Dr. Ron Paul at this time. 






I  was listening to Rush today, I so like and appreciate Rush and pray for his healing daily.  He too was expressing how shocked he is on the lack of empathy there seems to be by many on those unemployed, whose lives are devastated by some of these closures.  And of course we are praying for those very ill horribly affected  by this virus. 

"Fear being unmerciful"

It is very concerning though that Dr. Fauci is saying there needs to be a vaccination first before things open up.  There is not a vaccination for even the AIDS virus yet, there is not a vaccination for the flu virus.Vaccines are outdated before the flu season starts...Most flu shots are continuously out of date and therefore don’t work....This is not making sense.    We need to pray for the state of our country.  Our family is very concerned.

I know our Victor's Wreath will be in the prayer closet but it never hurts to gently but firmly stand up for what we feel is right. This is no time to tiptoe through the tulips.  That is the way I was raised, my dad was a city councilman and he was a leader even when a young man in military school.  Justice was paramount in our home. If there was a poor person, my dad helped, if there was truth to be told on something, he told it.  I have some wonderful stories to tell on that. 





It's the Holy Week and I hope you and your families are doing well.

Did you know Andrea Bocelli is doing a live worldwide concert on Easter?  I do believe it will be on youtube.   It sounds like it will be beautiful and in the Christian spirit.  Andrea Bocelli is such an inspiration, and what a testimony he has and is also a beautiful prolife advocate.

I love this song he recently did with his son...




Thinking of my Italian grandparents this week.  I remember when I was a teenager stuffing artichokes with my Italian grandma and it was dark and stormy outside...I made mention of it.  She said it was always dark like that on Good Friday.  And ya know?  She was right, she is right almost every year.  My grandparents were not even heavy church goers.  My grandpa always said his church was in his garden...He was one of the sweetest, most humble, most merciful men I ever knew.  When he passed away suddenly, he was sitting at the table at lunch.  He looked distantly toward the kitchen and smiled hugely...and simply passed away...  I miss my grandparents.  I've been missing my dad too and my step dad as well, a precious and sweet man we suddenly lost in 1990.  At the time, my stepdad, Al, was that special grandpa to my little girls.  I liked to have never gotten over that.




 A few shots from last Sunday... A lovely Sunday.




Our oldest daughter and my husband.






Be wise as serpents and gentle as lambs...

Let us lift our country up in prayer.   

Are You a Zombie?

Let's be prayerful and a thinker as well.  Don't just take at face value what any authority or anyone else tells you.  Do research and find out truth.  Very bad things happen when people mindlessly follow anyone or any authority without thinking for themselves.  Look at history.



Blessings to you, be safe and be sensible.  Be a thinker not a follower.

Psalms 91    

I Highly Recommend, Please Check This Out

The above, a must hear and see in my opinion.





 Joan of Arc, John Everett Millais (1829–1896)






 
Have a safe day, God bless.     -Amelia

Lots Going On. Thoughts, Creates, Prayers

Well, I'm making lemonade over here out of lemons right?

But.  Oh my gosh, so disgusted on the way businesses are being handled.  Many people who work for the government have no idea...I heard an epidemiologist yesterday say the amount of heart attacks and suicide caused by the way certain things are being handled with private business will be our worst problem.   I agree!  Oh how I agree!  And most people do not question things. Frightening.  I could be reserved on this but I'm too honest for that.

On the government officials who are receiving their paychecks and making these rules destroying people's businesses and lives;   Michael Barry on morning radio today was saying something to the effect of when speaking of government:   Many say we are in this together but no we are not.  No we are not.  Many people have no idea or even want to have an idea. 
 
I'm married to a realtor broker and have always struggled with the ignorance people have on being in private  business, you just would not believe what I have seen people do and not do.  But this recent situation with small businesses being shut down has really made me livid.  Not so much for us personally, for we've been through thick and thin (trust me) and are in those middle age years having made many short term sacrifices for long term goals but what about the private business owners or private ministers who are raising a family who are not in a good position financially?   We have renters who lost jobs who are scared to death, one young lady who rents from us texted my husband saying she doesn't know how she will live.  Hubs and I are George and Mary Bailey but many landlords are not, what is to become of those poor people who rent and have business that shut down or worked for those businesses?

Rules yes, common sense rules.  But this extreme control where it is not even needed in specific situations is frightening.

Our veterinarian had it right.  He put a sign on his door that says something to the effect of   If you have Covid symptoms please do not come in.  We want to stay healthy.   There ya go for commons sense.  We the People.

“As government expands, liberty contracts.”
― Ronald Reagan 



Okay, moving on.

Here's some fun stuff I did the past week or so.  I'm decluttering major getting things  cleared out for a happy middle-age here to live.  Let me live.  Yes.

I try to do something creative for at least 10 minutes a day.  Sometimes it's going for a walk in nature and spying a beautiful lavender wild flower and replanting it in my garden.  Sometimes it's taking up a blouse to get a better fit, sometimes it's all out-break-out- the paints or fabric.



 The view from one of my kitchen windows...We can decorate and create with fruit and veggies too.


To save on my paper goods, I've made some easy-peasy cloth napkins out of scraps of my fabrics.  I usually make them around 7 inches or so...depending on the size of  the scrap.  I didn't hem them because I wanted to get them out and running.  I placed them in a glass bowl, easy to grab.  Paper will be used for icky messes only.   I'm also using the smaller scraps for facial wipes etc.






I put this together for our kitchen table to bring some good cheer.  All silk flowers are from dollar tree and walmart.  No flower bush cost more than $1.50...  I had the floral foam already on hand and the flower tin from dollar tree.  I've never used the foam before, I usually just use a crumpled bag or whatever.  I also lined around the bottom of the flowers with green  moss from dollar tree.

All great change in America begins at the dinner table.    ~Ronald Reagan



I made this cheerful bouquet for my studio out of dollar tree silk flowers...I simply tied them with a cloth ribbon and lay them on this little table as if a maiden lay them fresh from the garden.   These florals are great, they have the wires in them and you can bend them to perk them up a bit.  Four little flower bushes were used.  $4.00



My little deer friend was out on my screen porch, the little guy makes me smile and he is so realistic I want to pet him.  I decided I would bring him inside for decoration.  I used my silk ivy from the dollar tree to make my own little sanctuary here on our woodburning stove.


It's very calming I think... I love the color, green.


More silk ivy from the dollar  tree as well as the 99 cent store...I keep things in our living room more deep rich jewel tones, greens, maroons...More like an old library or lodge.


There are some great people out there on youtube that I watch on my t.v. through my channel master.

One is Olivia's Romantic Home.  She's a cutie pie and a Christ follower, I get a lot of inspiration from her.    She is also very kind in responding to comments.

I've been listening to Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings, the ten hour version on youtube as well as the cd, Hidden in My Heart, a lullabye journey through scripture.  Vol.  I.  That is also on youtube and my husband put it on his phone.



My prayers go out to those who have been touched by any sickness, my mother is 90 years old so I get it.   My daughter has autoimmune issues, I get it.   Oh how I get it.  It breaks my heart what happened in Italy.


One good thing that has come out of all of this!?   No abortions are being done!  Innocent babies are being saved! 

“I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.”   

~Ronald Reagan

 In closing...


 Ready daily, Psalms 91.  Maybe twice daily or more.



And my husband reminds...

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  -II Chronicles 7:14




I am having a full day today so I better run,  *big smile*  Take care.  Be wise.  Be safe.  Laugh often and much.  Be silly, dance while doing chores and........... Think.  ...And Pray hard.



Love,  Amelia in the Forest