Dancing Seagull Thrift Find

I get inspired by some of you bloggers when you share great bargains you find in thrift stores and yard sales and here I share one of my finds. Every garden (well, my garden) wants a dancing seagull who does acrobatics on a ball, and now I have one. He cost $2.25 at a Goodwill store. Isn't he a cutie?

 

 This photo below shows him on our front porch; as you can see he likes to travel around in our yard as he gets acquainted here.

I like to smile in my garden and on our patio and this fellow brings me smiles.
What shall I name him?

My camellias in February

Here are some photos of our camellias on our patio in February this year.
One of our sons cut back the ivy and the camellia is happy and is loaded with blooms.

The camellia bush is about seven feet tall and I planted it maybe 20 years ago. We have several other camellias not in full bloom yet. To me it looks like each petal is hand painted with a touch of pink. I imagine God coloring each petal, they are so unique and pretty.

Lovely Watermelon Radish

Lovely Watermelon Radish
Originally uploaded by catchesthelight
Do you already have spring fever? I do, and I want to plant seeds. I bought some on impulse because the photo on the seed packet was so beguiling.
Do you ever buy seeds because the packet photo grabs your attention?
Watermelon radishes are fabulous looking, pink interiors, white exteriors with pale green shoulders. Yes, watermelons! They look like watermelons when sliced, which is so pretty and colorful and unexpected that it makes me smile.
They are round, large (3 inches round) and said to be sweet.
I bought a pack from Lake Valley Seed and aim to plant them soon. This pack is nonGMO. It is about 65 degrees here and they like cool weather.
They are new to me. Aren't they cute?

Prayers and a Heavenly Photo

mario's heaven
Originally uploaded by mRio
For a sometimes dark month, here are some of my favorite short prayers and a photo to inspire us.
Prayers

“The firmament of the Bible is ablaze with answers to prayer.” T.L. Cuyler

“Prayer is the key of heaven; faith is the hand that turns it.” Thomas Watson

“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” Corrie Ten Boom

“Restraining prayer we cease to fight;
Prayer makes the Christian’s armour bright;
And Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.” William Cowper

Random 3, hummus, ebooks and tv

ebooks
Originally uploaded by fishbrain.randy@sbcglobal.net
Sometimes I am in awe of the interesting posts you bloggers write.

I have gathered here a couple of my random thoughts since I don't have an idea for a big post.

First thought: Delicious and healthy lunch I had today: hummus, bagel chips and baby carrots.

Second thought: I wanted a Kindle Fire HD for Christmas and received it. Yay. I am enjoying reading books on it, this is my first ereader. It has the word Fire in the name which means I can also use it to surf the internet, read and send email, etc. I have two Jane Austen books on my ereader, one was free and one was $1.99. I like those prices but I do NOT like the average price of $9.99 for many new books.

The publishers must make a huge profit on that price. Their costs are so low, I think they should charge less. But who listens to me? Ebooks means publishers do not have to buy the paper and print the book and move it to a warehouse and retrieve it when ordered. A more fair price might be 3 or 4 dollars as far as I'm concerned. So far I have not paid that large price for a new book; I would rather buy a print copy in a local bookstore, new or used.

I still prefer printed books and everything about them. Still, ebooks have their usefulness too.

Third random thought is that my dh and I enjoy Downton Abbey AND Walking Dead. Does that make us well balanced? Or confused? Ha ha.

Martin Sheen and James Baldwin, Celebrity Encounters

Poster
Originally uploaded by Xacobeo - Camino de Santiago
Have you met a celebrity?

James Baldwin

One person I met was the author James Baldwin, in Istanbul, Turkey.

For my junior year in college I chose to attend a college in Istanbul, and James Baldwin came to my friend's 21st birthday party. I admired Mr. Baldwin's writing a lot, and don't recall a word I said to him, as I was a bit star struck.

Two of his most well known books are The Fire Next Time and Go Tell it on the Mountain.

Martin Sheen

My husband rode his mountain bike up a mountain trail several weeks ago, and there was an older man hiking down the trail, by himself.

My husband thought "that looks just like Martin Sheen" and when they met on the trail, they talked pleasantly for a few minutes and my husband said to himself "That IS Martin Sheen."

My husband refrained from letting him know he was recognized, and they were just two friendly men on the mountain.

We LOVED the recent movie The Way, starring Martin Sheen and directed and produced by his son, Emilio Estevez. This movie takes place on the centuries old Pilgrim Road in Northern Spain, as Sheen walks the holy way in honor of his fictional son. Beautiful movie and gorgeous scenery in Spain.

And I am a bit jealous my hubby got to chat with Mr. Sheen.

Who have you met? I am guessing Buttercup has met some famous people :)

Word for 2014

Simplify Your Life
Originally uploaded by Robert Benner Sr.
Like a lot of you, I chose a word to guide me in 2014, the word "simplify". It is connected for me with the word "de-clutter." Yes, I have too much stuff. Where does it come from and how does it multiply?

In previous years I chose "shine" and "listen."

Some words you, my blog friends have chosen this year:

Cherish

Believe

Intention

Strengthen

Life

Choose

Build

Forgiveness

Give

Simplify

Create

Abiding

Smile

Content

Inspire

Transform

Peace

Contentment

Abide

Smile

Confidence

Grow

Renew, refresh, refocus

One friend has two words: purge and organize

These make a nice word quilt or poem when listed together.

Abby at Abbey's Paperie Garden chose Simplify too, and she designed a wonderful lacy paper scroll to hold her word. You can see it at Abby's Paperie Garden

I want to organize my extensive papers and throw out a lot of them. I have boxes and file cabinets of papers so that is my aim, plus give away and throw out unused clothes and other items.

I think Simplify is in line with Scripture, including:

"Keep your lives free of the love of money and be content with what you have." Hebrews 13:5