Light And Darkness

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Things always look brighter in the light of day. When it is bright and sunny out you feel alive and regenerated and you want to get a lot of things done. In darkness things seem more foreboding and frightening. On dark and dreary days we feel like our battery has run down.

A Bright And Sunny Day

On a bright and sunny day I want to get a lot of things done. I work outdoors, go for a drive and do something with friends. I consider a sunny day a perfect day. Go out for a drive with your family or spend time exploring new places you have never been to before. You could take food along with you and have a family picnic in the park. Take a walk in the park and follow the marked trails and you will see a lot of wildlife and flowers and trees of various kinds. I loved walking in Lime Creek Nature Center located in Mason City, Iowa. The trails are marked and the various trees are identified.

Darkness

Places seem more scary when it is completely dark out. In scary movies it is generally dark out when the monster comes out to attack someone. On dark and dreary days I like to read a book or do things in the house that need to get done. It is a good idea to get together with a friend on a dark day as you will both feel uplifted at the end of the day. It seems a lot of severe storms happen in the middle of the night which seem to magnify their power. We do not have to fear darkness for God is always by our side.

Evil And Darkness

Darkness is a symbol of evil and fear. Darkness is like a scary monster that is waiting to devour you in the absence of light. The devil loves darkness as he seems to do his evil deeds in total darkness. Do not have dark thoughts as the devil loves to have you think about about  dark thoughts. Remember to always come out of the darkness and look to the light of God to guide you on the rights paths in your daily living. You always have a light to help you find your way out of darkness. We have lights on our streets, our homes, cars, signs and more so we will find our way around even though it is dark out. Jesus is the light that helps protect us from the evil one.

Light Illuminates Your Path In Life

Without light we would be in total darkness. Pray to God to let you always see the light that shines through him. God will be your beacon in the night for all of your days that you feel a little darkness in. Light  makes us feel better  and light helps our crops grow. Remember the song – ” This little light of mine I am going to let it shine.” Let the light in you shine upon those you love and the people you meet along life’s Hi-Way.

 

 

Scripture : James 4 : 7

We can have victory over the devil by knowing the word of God. God is light, in him there is no darkness.

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My Cats And Their Favorite Cat Toys

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Kohl continues to have a passion for toy plastic frogs. Yesterday the only cat toys out of my cats toy box was two plastic frogs. Kohl can occupy himself all day long by chewing on and tossing the toy frogs across the room. Conrad must have his toy mice to carry proudly throughout the house. Conrad also likes the toy birds. He carries them with his tail straight up in the air as if to say look what I caught for you today. Conrad loves to play with his circle game toy that has a ball that he can spin around in the track. Garfunkel plays with toy balls and toys filled with catnip and toy birds. My cats love to eat cat treats out of their cat treat dispensers.

Catnip Toys And More

Small beanie babies, toy balls, mice, catnip toys, toy birds and small stuffed animals seem to be what my cats next door love to play with. Everyday that I enter the house next door I see mice that squeak on the floor. One day there was a toy lion on the floor along with a catnip filled beaver for cats. Maggie likes One Fast Cat. Maggie figured out how to use One Fast Cat ASAP.

Cat Trees And Hammocks

My cats next door love their cat trees with perches that have built in scratchers and balls attached to them that they can bat around. They have scratchers that are on the floor along with cat hammocks that have rope that they can scratch away at to their hearts content. They also have a game that they press their paws on and small animals pop up.

What Cats Find To Play With

I used to have a Siamese cat that would gather up the old used small sponges. She would then toss the sponges up in the air and then she would pounce on them when they hit the ground. My house cat love to play with my old scrubbers that I used to scrub the dishes with. My cats also like to play with wine bottle corks and old wooden spools. My cats also like to play with medium sized rubber or plastic balls.

All cats seem to love catnip filled toys, toy mice, balls, cat hammocks and small stuffed animals and things that they discover on their own. I hope you enjoy watching your cats at play and relaxing as much as I do. God bless our feline friends.

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Reflect And Pause

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Think about your life in general. Think about things you have done and why the outcome turned out as it did. If you do not reflect on life now and then you will not grow as a person. never get stuck in the same old rut because it is familiar or feels safe at the moment. Branch out into other things and never be afraid to try out new ideas as it may be to your benefit for many years to come.

Take Time To Pause

Take time to pause. Stop from doing an action that does not seem right to you. Look before you leap into something you may regret. If something seems to good to be true it most certainly probably is as the old saying goes. Do not invest in something that seems to be a sure thing as you may lose all of your money very quickly. Pause your speech and think to yourself do I really want to say that. Do not speak in anger or send off a nasty letter as after you cool down for awhile you may throw that letter away.

Take time to pause during your week and spend quality time with your family. Life is too short not to spend time with those that you hold dear in your heart. Your children will grow up quickly and move on with their own life much sooner than you think. Time waits for no man.

Reflect On Your Life Often

Reflect on you life often and if you are not happy as a person only you can change the results. It is never to late to start a new job or go on that vacation of a lifetime. When you are tired of one job in your life go out and find a job that will fulfill you and bring joy into your life and the lives of others. Some people reach their full potential in life after they are retired. Great artist, poets and some new business’es have been started by people over 60 years old. It is never to late to find a new you and a more fulfilled you.

Share Your Experiences With Others

The older I get the more I want to express myself by blogging and sharing my experiences with you. I take more time to stop and smell the roses so to speak. I enjoy visiting with people in rest homes and assisted living units. I learn a lot from them as they have a lifetime of achievements and experiences to share with me.

Make Your Dreams Come True

Live within your means and make your dreams come true. If you think you will not succeed in life you probably won’t. If you want something bad enough keep working and reflecting on how you can accomplish reaching your dreams you have for your life. Always reflect on things and do not do things in hast. Pause because the minute words leave your mouth you cannot take them back. Do your very best at any job that you work at and others will know that you take pride in your work, Stop and reflect and pause often.

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Keep Up Your Pace In Life

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The pace of life refers to the speed of which changes and events happen in life. If you live in a big city you probably live a fast paced life. Small towns let you live the pace of life that you prefer to live. I like to keep up with a group and I am usually in front with the leader of the pack.

Covid 19 Has Changed Our Pace in Life

All of us have had to live with all the changes that Covid 19 has added to our daily living. Covid 19 is not a change in our daily routine that any of us saw coming. In march our lives changed drastically with the pandemic. All of us have to social distance and wear our mask if we want to get back to our old familiar pace in life.

Keep Up Your Pace While Traveling

I like to travel and keep up my pace with the rest of my tour group. I like to walk by the tour guide so I can hear everything that she is telling me about the area that we are looking at. I love to hear the history of the towns and what crops they raise in the area and why the people settled in that particular area. I especially loved my European travels and seeing where my relatives came from and walking down the same streets that they walked down so many years ago.

Surround Yourself With people That Have The Same Pace As You

I had a Personal Pace Toro lawn mower at one time and I loved that mower because it went as fast as I walked. The mower and I had the same pace. I went on one tour and the ladies roommate would always be the last one on the bus and she was always the first one on the bus in the morning. She kept apologizing for her roommate. One day she did not show up for 20 minutes and we had a full schedule of tours that day and the bus driver took off without her. She had to catch a train to get back with our group again. Our tour guide had told our group that we would have to catch a train if we were very late. She kept on being late but she did not have the ability to take over the pace of our entire group.

Keeping Your Pace In Life Is Very Important

Do not be late for appointments as it slows down everyone’s pace that comes after you on that day. Being on time is very important so the pace of life moves along efficiently and smoothly. Business people do not have time to wait around for you. Always think of other people and not only yourself. We want to all keep up our pace in life to the best of our ability. We all have a number of things that we have to get completed in one day. Do not be the one person that breaks another persons pace in life.

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Staying Busy & Relaxing With The Pandemic

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I like to stay busy weed whacking around my trees and keeping my yard mowed. I mow once or twice a week depending on the weather. I keep busy writhing blogs and posting them on my website. I  read from a daily devotion book and reflect on how what I read can and will effect my life today. I love to read history books so I have been enjoying reading about the past and how it affects my life now.

Gardening

I love to work in my garden. I have eaten one egg plant, potatoes, green beans, peas, lettuce and more items will be ready to eat soon. I put wood chips on the ground around my green beans, squash,  under the tomatoes and around my potatoes as the wood chips keep the dampness from giving your plants blight. I will definitely use wood chips from now on as my plants and vibrant and healthy.

Relaxing In A Hammock And Reading A Book

I like to relax and read a book in my hammock that I purchased years ago in a hammock shop in Boulder, Colorado. My hammock is very comfortable and I can watch my birds eating from my bird feeders which hang just beyond the hammock. I love to feel the gentle breeze while I am in my hammock as it is gently swaying back and forth. Relax and eat a wonderful ice cream sundae while you are outdoors.

Drive Around In An ATV

I like to drive around in my Honda Pioneer 1000. I have vents that open in the windshield that let a nice cold breeze flow through. I look at the corn and the soybeans in the fields and I notice that everyone’s yards are mowed to perfection. I have noticed wild turkeys and a few pheasants.

Watch Old Movies With Your Family And Have Quality Time

Watch some old movies with your kids and have some popcorn or a pizza to enjoy eating. Make some of your families favorite foods and sit around the table and truly share quality time with them and ask everyone how their day went. Do not text each other at the table and truly talk over news events and help each other with any concerns or problems they may have.

Walk In Parks And Enjoy The Great Outdoors

I love to walk around in the parks with one friend at a single outing and see ducks, geese and listen to the water that is gently flowing along. I also  notice the different kinds of trees and flowers in the park. The parks are a perfect area for family adventures as you do not meet many people at all in the parks. I like to eat in the parks and have a cold frappe, a fruit smoothie or an iced chai tea. Walking in the great outdoors is truly relaxing and you also get your exercise for the day.

Take Drives In Your Old Stomping Grounds

Take drives in your car and drive around any local lakes that you may have in your area as you can watch the people in their boats and people laying out on the small sand beaches. If you have been yearning to go to your old home town now is the perfect time to go for that short trip and see the old home place again. Drive around and look at houses for that are for sale for something to do. God bless you and your family and stay safe and enjoy each others company while you are busy or relaxing.

Things That Your Cat Is Scared Of

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All cats are immensely scared to death of vacuum cleaners. They must think the vacuum is a huge aggressive animal that is going to get the better of them. Cats are also afraid of turtles, cucumbers, bananas and apples. Cats do not like to take baths since are they are afraid of water. I use to give my Siamese cat a bath as it helps control pet dander and allergies. She would meow very loudly stating to me that she disapproved of taking a bath.

Cats Are Scared of Many Different Things

A cat that is afraid might loss control of its bladder, vomit or stop using the litter box. Cats do not like to be followed around by you as it must remind them of a predator stalking them. Let your cat lead you. Bad weather scares most cats and they will run and hide under something. Loud music, people arguing and someone ringing your doorbell will upset your cat. My cats think a stranger is coming when they hear a doorbell on TV and they get nervous and very upset.

Cats Pick Up On Your Body Language

Cats pick up on your body language quickly and if you are nervous or anxious your cat will be also. For a calm cat you must remain calm. Cats are nervous when a new piece of furniture enters the your home. Place something familiar on the new foreign object that has entered your home and then your cat will feel comfortable with the new item.

Cats Know When Your Are Going To take Them To The Vet

Cats know when you are trying to catch them and take them to the vet. They will hide, maybe wet themselves, possibly vomit and meow very loudly. One of my cats was drooling by the time he arrived at my vets office and my vet said he was extra nervous. I talk to my cats very calmly and softly while they are on the way to vets office which seems to help relax them most of the time. Spray Feliway calming cat spray on a towel and place the towel in your carrier if you have a very nervous feline and then they will be relaxed and calm,

Nicole Was Extremely Upset When Russ Died

One of my house cats by the name of Russ died in my house next door. Some of my other cats were traumatized by seeing Russ die. My other cats started wetting on their towels and vomiting. After about one month my other cats were acting normal again.

A Picture Of My Dear Cat Russ That Died Suddenly

Cats Never Forget Being Treated Horibly By Another Person

Cats never forget an abusive owner. They will stay away from that person as much as possible. Never harm or injure a defenseless animal. Some cats prefer men and other cats prefer women for owners. If they were abused by a man naturally they would prefer to have a woman for an owner or vise versa.

Cats Do Not Like Changes In Their Daily Routine

Cats do not like change in their daily routine and they are very upset when changes occur. Moving to a new home or the death of someone in your home can be very traumatic for your cat. They do not like to be left alone when you go on a trip. Cats will let you know they did not approve of you leaving them. One of my house cats used to have my paperwork all over the floor when I returned home from any of my trips. He finally stopped doing that as he got older.

All of us are scared of something at different times in our lives so why should our cats be any different from us. Be calm and patient with you dear feline friends. God bless you and feline friends.

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Let The Past Stay In The Past

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Do not relive moments in the past. The past will over take the present in your thoughts and you will not be able to live in the present. You cannot change the outcome of past events so why let them clutter your mind like a bag of garbage left on the curb.

Live in the here and now

To enjoy and get the most out of your life live in the here and now. Many of your past events will have pleasant memories that you may want to recreate but you will be unable to accomplish the task. Towns change and attractions you once enjoyed you cannot find any longer. Create new memories each day of your life so you have many found to look back on in your old age.

Enrich your mind everyday

Make sure you learn something new everyday. A stagnant mind has never helped anyone. Enrich your mind by reading books, attending lectures, going to museums, traveling, life long learning classes, plays, concerts and so much more. Stay busy and alert and you will not think about events that bothered you in the past. When you stay busy and your mind is engaged in accomplishing your work you will have no time to think about water that has gone over the bridge.

Keep busy everyday

I keep busy everyday with  projects that I want to accomplish and I generally get everything done that I have set out to do that day. I wish to live in the present and in the here and now and keep moving forward with my life. I like one lyric in a song from my past : Ain’t nothin gonna break my stride I have to keep on moving now. When your stride in life gets broken you are broken also.

Create new adventures

Create new adventures everyday. Go for a drive, walk in the parks, go camping and get your RV out of storage and take a trip. We have a vast universe to explore so get out and explore a small portion of it today. Take short day trips and discover a new business, restaurant, ice cream shops, a tea room and an old hotel that still serves elegant meals. I love to look at the architecture of old buildings as they are more ornate and more detailed then the new houses today. I like looking at peoples flower gardens and vegetable gardens. I love looking at the farm animals that may be out and enjoying the great outdoors.

Never ever let the past rob you of the present

Never ever let the past rob you of what the present has to offer you in your life. I find and look for something new everyday. Farmers market has wonderful tasting fresh baked bread, sweet rolls, vegetables, honey , homemade soaps, organic meats, brown eggs and much more. I make the most of everyday that God has blessed me with. I let the past stay in a garbage sack by the curb and I choose to live in the present and make new memories. Do not let your mind stay cluttered with things from your past and enjoy each day that you are blessed with.

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Health Issues and Wearing Masks

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As a lay minister for a church I feel that we should do all that we possibly can to protect others from getting the Corona Virus. All of us are Gods children and we should show respect and care about each others health and overall well -being. Putting on a mask to save someones life is a small price to ask. One of your loved ones could die because someone did not like the sound of having to wear a mask. It is not that anyone is trying to control you all they want to do is prevent people from dying a horrible death and a death away from all of their loved ones.

Some people cannot wear a mask due to their health problems because they have breathing problems and other health issues. They are particularly vulnerable for catching the Corona Virus from others. Some people have health problems they may have inherited or developed late in life that would cause certain death if they contracted the Corona virus. Mask must be worn to prevent your death and the lives of those you hold most dear.

The Corona virus is real and is not a hoax as people are dying by large numbers from it everyday. We are losing are health care workers on the front lines and staff and residents at nursing homes. God gave us a brain so lets use it and wear our mask to save lives. Everyone’s life is important as we all have things to get done and family members to take care of. A man or a woman with small children should not have to come home and tell their children that Mom or Dad has died from the Corona virus and we do not know how we will survive now with only one income. Children need both parents as roll models and their lives will never be the same again after the loss of a parent.

All age groups are affected by this clever mutating Corona virus. Young and old can die from the virus. I would feel absolutely horrible if I caused the death of a loved one because I did not want to social distance, wear a mask and lay out on the beach packed in like a can of sardines. Remember to wear your mask so your parents, Grandparents, children, friends and relatives may have the gift of life that God gave them. Do not be selfish and think about your wants and needs only. God always thinks about each one of us equally on an everyday basis so lets not do any less for are fellow man. God died for our sins. Remember to love your neighbor as yourself and remember to love and respect the lives of people you meet along life’s Hi – Way. Wear a mask as God would wear a mask to save us and all of his children on earth. Lets make sure we have a long and healthy life by respecting each others health and well – being.

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Short Road Trips

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I like taking short road trips. I like to go to the small towns in my area that I have not been to for some time. It is interesting to see how they have changed so very much over the years. Most of the meat lockers in the small towns are out of business and the family owned grocery stores are few and far between. The old jewelry stores and small furniture stores, clothing and private family shoe stores are no more. I miss the service of the family owned stores from days gone by. I loved to visit with the owners of the stores and ask them what they might be getting in soon that I might be interested in buying shortly. The service of the department stores was top notch and the clerk would bring clothes to you to try on. I miss all of the small town malt shops that have gone out of business. I miss the old TV sales and repair stores. Unfortunately when a TV stops working now you throw it away and buy a new one. It is too bad that we are a throw away society.

I am thrilled when I revisit a small town store that is about the same as it was years ago. Some of the old hardware stores are still in business and they are very glad to help you with all of your needs. I loved to go to the old five and dime stores. Sadly all of them went out of business when I was about 10 years old. There is still an A & W in Forest City, Iowa. Stan’s Drive – in is still going strong in Osage, Iowa.  I still shop at a family owned appliance and furniture store in my area and they both offer excellent service. My hometown still has a family owned shoe store that is wonderful. Kalona, Iowa still has many of the stores that I grew up with and loved going to. Some of the small towns still have the same restaurants that I ate at as a child and there food is just as I always remembered it.

You can discover a lot of new and interesting things and places on a short road trip. I like to discover new parks to walk in and explore and new restaurants to eat at. Short road trips get you out of the house and back home again in just one day. You may discover a candy shop that sells the kind of candy you ate as a child or a toy you had years ago that will bring back fond memories to melt your heart. Get out and take a short road trip and see what you will find and discover today. You will be amazed by things that have stood still in time in the fast paced world that we live in today. With change comes progress and when some things remain the same we feel at peace and secure and young at heart again.

 

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