I think it was Hemingway who suggested we sit at the typewriter and bleed so to speak...So that's just what I'm gonna do here. I hope it's in a good way, something that will touch your heart and just make you and I notice life more. Here's some little petals from my heart... We could call this...Zuzu's Petals.
Written yesterday...
Today it's a blustery and grey day with hints of sunshine. These blustery days sprinkled with little raindrops remind me so much of when I was a little girl and attended our church mass. I attended a modern Christ-centered Catholic church then and I adored our priest, Father Laurence Connelly. Father Connelly had a way with people, he truly knew the Lord I do believe because it was so evident in his love and unbelievable care. He passed away over two years ago and people are still writing comments on how he touched their childhood and lives. That was back when there were decent people and I think there are still decent people in each Christian religion. Even back when I was a little girl, Father Connelly disappeared after one summer of our family being absent, he was moved to another parish most shocking to my little girl's heart. A horribly liberal and rude hawaiian shirt wearing priest who played john lennon's 'imagine' song in church (complete with print-outs of the song) took his place.
Tragically I never knew another Father Connelly. I now do more Bible studies and we enjoy this pastor and my son in love is a pastor a good distance away and I know he does the right things behind the scenes and is fighting the good fight, the real deal. I realize there are wonderful Christians in each kind of Christian church but in this day and age it's actually pretty rare to find the real deal. But that's okay, it certainly doesn't affect my relationship with Christ. I do me, I do Jesus and I certainly want to be the real deal.
The day was a blustery one and my mom and I attended the church mass, it was the Sunday we were to buy a special gift for a poor child. My mother and I would buy the most beautiful baby doll we could find...A big huge beautiful set-up. We wrapped the large box beautifully and my mother dressed me up in a kelly-green jumper she had made for me with a little Christmas tree pin on the strap. I had a white turtleneck on with white tights and black patent shoes. My hair was long dark brown hair down to my waist and my mom would usually style it some up and some down or a simple white hair band to match my shirt. Neat as a pin. That's how my mom was, she's 92 almost 93 and a little more easy going now..
The church played the theme to "The Little Drummer Boy" and us children marched up to the altar with our gifts and our beloved Father Connelly was stooped down eye level, smiling and received our gifts.
Father Connelly would come out to the public sidewalk in front of the church if my mom hadn't arrived yet to pick me up from Wednesday night ccd class. He would come and make sure I was safe out on the sidewalk and braid my hair like a nice uncle. (no weird stuff you hear about) until my mom arrived, then he would chat with my mom too. There was some very amazing things he did for our family that I will share another time.
After that mass on that blustery day we went to my dad's gas station on the bay. My dad owned a Gulf gas station for both automobiles and boats on the docks there, he also rented boat slips for the shrimpers and boaters to dock their boats...it was amazing. His gas station when you stepped into it had the feel of the place George Bailey was brought into in the movie after jumping off the bridge. My dad had quite a few, probably half a dozen or so wicker seats lined up on the wall for visiting fishermen and shrimpers, sometimes doctors from the city taking their boats for a spin and my dad sat at a desk in the corner with his coffee enjoying the chat unless he needed to serve someone's gas or ice needs.
I remember as a little girl looking out on the blustery bay from the front of that room over the vast pier...It was a dark grey sky over the grey bay...Enchanting I thought. You see, I'm an only child who lived in a very old neighborhood, our home was built in the early 30s, not a typical suburb with children running around, so I was a little thinking, observing, artist gal. My mom, dad and I ate our lunch in my dad's room there on the bay and I remember eating a little hostess chocolate cake wrapped in foil for desert...I liked the outside part but not the filling. ...I'm still of that bend...Although a person on a strict diet for health and humanitarian reasons these days I still love my chocolate moist cake but no filling please! Haha! Now-a-days my chocolate cupcakes are made with yard eggs, coconut oil, kerry gold butter and stevia, no sugar hardly at all...I made some chocolate muffins for Thanksgiving that were delicious if I may so so myself. ; )
But yesterday reminded me of that very blustery day and the Christmas season ushers in now at Advent time thoughts of those dear to me, people like Father Connelly.
May we be that Father Connelly. Do you have any Father Connellys in your life? Father Connelly people are like that light...They reflect the Light of the Lord and touch so many.
It's beginning Advent and I've done a little decorating to achieve a bit of wonder here, I just love twinkle lights and am trying to figure a way to keep more year round.
May I share?...
Reading: 'Watch for the Light'
Excellent devotional for Advent.
This is neat. 'It's a Wonderful Life Trivia Book' Written by Jimmy Hawkins who played little Tommy in It's a Wonderful Life. Do you know that Donna Reed was very similar to her caring character in the movie? Donna Reed was also raised on a farm, the oldest of five children, a fascinating story.
Listening to: The classic 'White Christmas' cd by Bing Crosby 
Nothing like this for the Christmas season...Beautiful songs and some very cute ones too, very old fashioned and sweet, sweet, sweet. A wonderful atmosphere. Father Connelly actually reminds me of Bing Crosby in Bells of St. Mary's.
Yesterday I listened and watched 'Bells of St. Mary's' as I made supper...Oh my goodness, oh my heart, what a precious, precious movie.
I'm decorating a little more simply at this point, more maybe like my mom did but with a little more whimsy in the end. We shall see what I have the druthers to do, I'm just plodding along not rushing, trying to only enjoy.
One of the first things, first things first right?:
My sweet manger scene from Hobby Lobby near the kitchen and breakfast table.
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I'm loving my little tree purchased from Dollar Tree several years ago, I found these sweet vinyl placemats from Dollar Tree a couple of weeks ago and am happy. I love the vintage feel this set-up gives! I found the little cake stand at Dollar General last year.
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This is my little Mimi tree on my cedar chest that Mr. Jeske made for me when I was a little baby! I have little books under the tree for little hands to look at when our grandbabies come over.
This setting is called Mimi's Coffee Shop.
I may not be the hostess with the most-est but I do want to be that loving Mimi with plenty of little apples and cherub oranges to share and lots of arts and crafts coupled with warm hugs, care and love.
A children's version of 'It's a Wonderful Life' also by Jimmy Hawkins
Soooo....Pick up a book little ones, mommies...Enjoy yourselves with some Mimi Hibiscus-Peach tea or good ol' coffee... I have coconut creamer too!
In my living room within eye-shot:
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Another little four foot tree that is all lit up, I will probably add my sweet little doggy ornaments and some unbreakable pale pink bulbs and some silver bulbs from dollar tree, old fashioned icicles of course!....AND vintage Christmas cards from the 30s and 40s tucked in the branches here and there... So fun. The tree is situated on my childhood coffee table so that makes it even more special.
On our coffee table that Jem made from wood on the property:
Not only is this decoration but I'm reading this book too. 'It's a Wonderful Life, The Fiftieth Anniversary Scrapbook' another jewel from Jimmy Hawkins, little Tommy from the movie.
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Pearl Harbor Day is coming up soon...I cherish this original sheet music from the movie, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (a true story involving the Doolittle Raid) And there is my little greenhouse my daughter gave me a couple of years ago.
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They are having fun in there getting ready for the holidays!
This is the Advent book we used for our family, it is a very nice one. I bought three copies from ebay for my three married daughters who were wanting to know about that book we used to do! They loved it. So let's just say that our family recommends this book for the Advent season. We used this every year. Oh my heart! And they remembered and want to do it too!
I've started decorating my guest bathroom too, this little room is kinda fun because it's a smallish room and like a mini museum of sorts...
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George lassos the moon!
The three above...Me....
Our newest little grandbaby...A little girl... I think she's saying for all of you to have a sweet Christmas season!
One fall morning this year right outside my window... God's beautiful creatures...
Tonight for supper I think I'll make some baked potatoes in my instant pot and serve a vegetable soup from last night. I made a tomato basil type soup with everything but the kitchen sink in the way of veggies and even dropped some eggs and sliced black olives in it and served it with brown rice spaghetti.
I may put some of my Dollar Tree poinsettias out in the pots by the door...Maybe some Christmas garden flags. We shall see but first things first. *big smile*
May we be that Father Connelly kind-of-people. When we're at the store smile at people, smile at children, smile at the elderly. Compliment the checker. Give a sweet Christian tract to the checker or whenever else the Holy Spirit gives that nudge. Let there be no snark in us.
How many of us have already been affected by snark or an 'over-the-boundary' comment this season? We would like to give them a sucker punch right? lol (I'm speaking to myself here, because yep it happened. But not the sucker punch! LOL (Although I had to give them a solemn look and a comeback of wisdom shall I say.) We just have to pick up our toys and keep on going though right? Sometimes it may be one of those rascally relatives so to speak but we still have to pick up our toys in our hearts and keep on going. We can speak our minds with dignity but then just keep on going in life ministering to others, we can't let those kind of folks get us down. Many people will never change. I'm willing to bet that they have quite a reputation they have made for themselves.
And above all...Let's be so nice, so kind, so Christ-like that if someone says something not nice about us behind our backs that the person hearing the little morsel thinks to themselves....No, Amelia or (fill in the blank with your name) would never ever do that.
Let's be the Father Connellys in this world, those Light bearers for Christ. ...Let's reflect the Light of the Lord. The best way to do that is when we spend time with Him talking and walking with Him, reading our Bibles even if it's the same psalm over and over again....We can know Him so well, we act like Him too! : ) I think that's pretty good! We have to be oh so quiet too...We have to be quiet and not too busy to hear the Holy Spirit's voice.
Let's make people's day. Let's leave them better than when we first run into them...Let them go home thinking..."Wow, they made my day!"
God bless you. Be kind, be sweet to others. Let's build that reputation of being that very sweet and loving person.
The museum of my heart...
These two little ornaments remind me of Elbee one of our kitties and Liesl one of our doggies. Our oldest daughter, Janie just bought me the little kitty ornament recently. Blue eyes just like Elbee.
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This one opens up to this:
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...Simply adorable yet so poignant and so very truthful. From 1960. I highly recommend.
Do you know that when Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey cried at the bar in "It's a Wonderful Life" that he was actually crying unplanned, he had suddenly thought of humanity and how lost humanity was...He had returned from WWII. 
