A Walk Down Memory Lane....

Good Sunday morning, my dear ones, 

     It is a chilly morning here in our little town; 45°F right now with a few clouds in the sky. It is only supposed to reach 49° by the late afternoon. Still, for February that is about the norm. I stayed home from church this morning and watched Charles Stanley, instead. I really love his sermons and the one hour version of the broadcast always includes a song and two sermons. I truly get a blessing from it.
     While I was watching I opened up a box filled with old greeting cards that I have saved over the years. I have several boxes of old cards; some that my mom saved, some that I have saved. There is just something so precious about greetings from friends and loved ones through the years. I just cannot bring myself to part with them~it seems such a shame to do so. I do try to keep them orderly and contained, however.
     This particular box is filled with beautiful cards from my younger life from around 1979 to about 1992. There are greetings from my High School graduation, my first wedding, cards from my first husband to me and our children, Christmas cards, and so-on. Some of them are really bitter-sweet to look at, especially given the sad ending our marriage went through. I save those, for the most part, for our children to have someday if they so choose. The cards from friends and the letters written by my now-gone loved ones bring memories filled with such sweet emotions to my heart. I have a few letters from two of my mom's sweet sisters who lived in Ohio that could never be replaced. The words written by them spark pure JOY within me!!! I have a couple with nice notes written by my best friend of 50 years, too! She and I are still "besties"! We have gone through a lot of changes over the years, have had our share of good and bad in our lives, but still have a bond that is closer to being sisters than just friends. We feel that our main bond is one of being Christian sisters and that is something the world cannot destroy. I really enjoyed looking over all of these precious memories!
     I wonder, sometimes, if I am alone in my keepsake collecting. Do you save greeting cards? Have you ever used them for crafts or bookmarks? Where do you keep them if you do? Let me know in the comments, sweet cottage friends. I hope that you are all having a wonderful Sunday and staying warm as we wait for spring to arrive!

Stay Cozy Dears,
Charlotte

 

Bloggin' on a Rainy Afternoon

Good afternoon, my sweet cottage friends!!!

     We are having a cold, wet Monday here! It is really coming down out there! The thermometer says that it is 50°F out there, but believe me~it feels much colder~BbbbRrrr!!! I had a doctor appointment in Charleston this morning and had to get a ride on our town's senior citizen bus. It is a wonderful service offered by our town through the amazing generosity and efforts of volunteer drivers. This morning the driver took me and one other lady to the same building and then had to take someone the opposite direction before coming back to pick me up. You just give him a call when you are ready and he comes to get you! Bless his sweet heart, he really runs the road for people that need the ride. I am what I would call a young senior; I am only 59 years old. I am so very glad for this service and especially now with us not having a vehicle at the time. We are saying many prayers that the Lord will provide us a way to get some kind of car or van as ours has a bad head gasket and we were told it would be too costly to fix considering the age and the mileage on the vehicle~SIGH! I know that God will provide a way in His time to meet our need. But for now, I am just so very glad that He has provided the Dunbar senior van service to get us to doctor appointments and to our local grocery store, if we need them.
     Yesterday was our 24th Wedding Anniversary! We were blessed with a visit from our good friends Pam and DeWayne who brought us pizza and stayed for a good, long visit! We love spending time with them!!! DeWayne had taken us to the grocery store the day before and we got a good portion of our monthly grocery shopping done. Tomorrow my sweet friend, Teresa is taking us out to SAM'S to get our prescriptions and do the balance of our shopping for the month. We mostly buy meat, cheese, dairy and baking supplies out there. We do love their frozen section, as well! I feel so very BLESSED to have good friends who will help us.
     I am sharing a pretty picture today that reminds me of myself. I love the wistful look on her little face as she admires the bird on the tree branch. The kitty beside her reminds me of my Mochi Kitty as he loves to sit on his window shelf and look out our kitchen window. I hope that you are all well and having a good Monday! Remember, we are only 38 days away from SPRING!!!! 😍 Sending you all much love, hugs and prayers! 💖💝💗

Stay Warm and Cozy!
Charlotte

Dreaming on a Saturday

Good afternoon, sweet cottage friends! 

    I hope that everyone is enjoying the first Saturday of 2020. We are having rain today and the temperature is dropping from 50°F this morning down into the 40s this afternoon. It is supposed to hit into the 30s tonight with some snow in the mountains. We are in the Kanawha Valley region and not expected to get any accumulation here, though.
     I am having a quiet Saturday and am just hanging out on my computer and Facebook today. I am stopping, from time to time to get some little house chores done, however. Lately I have been giving some thought to returning to work. No, not in the capacity I once enjoyed, rather just some form of part-time employment. I have looked into the idea of a receptionist position, but most of those seem to be full-time or located farther away than I care to drive. I also think a lot about how my Fibromyalgia and other health conditions would affect the way I work at the job. For example, I would have to get up much earlier than I do now, get a shower, do my hair and make-up, have a proper breakfast, put on (pinch-y) business casual attire and shoes and then face morning or afternoon traffic in order to get where I am going. Then there are the interactions with others; customers and co-workers, which tend to drain me now. Add to that the days when my Fibro takes a major flare-up causing it to be necessary to call off, and lay under a blanket on my sofa for a few days and I think you all get the picture by now~(sigh).
     I do think about doing some sort of work-from-home Tea Party type business with a friend or two. I think it would be fun to have a traveling tea party for showers, birthdays, ladies groups, etc. I would love to bring my pretty china and silverware for groups of no more than 20 or so, along with finger sandwiches, scones, petit-fours, clotted creme and specialty teas. If I had a couple friends in this along with me, we could all come together to make sure things went along smoothly. We could also limit the number of parties we would do any given month. I think this requires some prayer and research before it  would become a reality. We will just have to see.
     How about you? Do you have a dream for the New Year? Maybe you want to start a new business or return to work. Maybe you dream of leaving work for a simpler life like I did back in 2006. Feel free to share your hopes and dreams in the comments. For now, I hope that your weekend is lovely and enjoyable, dear ones. 😍💝

Stay Cozy,
Charlotte

     

Welcome to 2020

Good morning, sweet cottage friends and Happy New Year!!!!

     My hubby, our son, and myself all stayed home last night and watched a bit of the New Year's Rockin' Eve celebration with Ryan Seacrest and assorted singers. I remember watching it every year since the time when Dick Clark started hosting back in the 1970s! The music has changed, but it still remains a staple in our house. I love when the beautiful Waterford Crystal ball drops at midnight to ring in the new year!
     I am hoping that this year will be a very good one for our family and yours. While I no longer declare New Year resolutions; I now place everything into God's tender care and only ask that His will be done in my life by His grace and mercy. I do, however have things that I HOPE to accomplish and commit to in the months to come. I am hoping to become more involved in our church and community, I hope to find some type of little job or hobby income that I can make from home, I hope to become more physically fit (maybe by starting a light exercise program and eating more healthy), and I hope to enjoy more time with family and friends, too.
     My prayer is that the Lord will bless you all in this New Year! I also pray that He will help you all to realize your hopes and continue to answer your most fervent prayers, too! Much love to you all!!!
I look forward to writing many more posts for you here in the next few months. 

Stay Cozy!
Charlotte