A Random Visit

I love to sit on our porch and visit with family or friends. I love to eat meals on the porch. I have loved to hold my children while sitting on our porch till they have outgrown my lap. (Somehow that sentence sounds funny like I sat there while they grew, but it's late and I'm not going to try to figure out how to say it otherwise AND it does seem like they grew that fast!) The porch is a good place to relax and it's a good place to ponder life, the past, the present, the future. My thoughts, in my opinion, have a different perspective when" thinked" on our porch, than in our living room, or the music room or our closet. I sense a clear crisp essence to my way of thinking when I'm on our porch...

That is one of the reason's I named this blog, "A Romantic Porch". I love our porch. If I saw your porch I would probably love it too. Porches are places to catch up and visit or a place to relax or play. It can be a soft transition from the comfort of home and the harsh world beyond. I really believe this.

As I grew up, after a day of marking each item off an extensive list of responsibilities my mother would sometimes say, "Let's go out on the porch and take a little break and drink a Dr. Pepper and visit." I cherish those memories. We worked hard and my parents worked hard right along with us.

So I guess I need to take a little break and sit right down on my virtual porch and visit. It's been a while since I've written here and talked to you. Does that really matter? I suppose not. What matters most to me is that I make a positive difference in the lives of my family and friends and those of you whom I have never met, my virtual extent or presence or something like that.

So many people are hurting and searching for answers. Many times the road of life seems blocked or a door harshly and distinctly slammed to close a chapter of existence. Each person processes their pain in a way that is fitting for their perspective and life experience. We can't take the other person's journey. We can only come along side and say a prayer or lend a helping hand or extend encouragement.

HHmmm...I know I should laugh more. My mind never stops pondering and thinking deeper than the surface of life.

Many days I never sit...unless it is the driver's seat of the car or my chair at the sewing machine to fill a client's order. I love my family and friends. I'm rarely on Facebook and then I start feeling afraid that my loved ones will think I don't care about them because I'm not over there visiting with them. In my opinion, it's a sad situation, the balance we face between virtual living and actual living. I don't think my mother or grandmothers had to deal with this. No they were struggling with polio and typhoid fever and diphtheria. You know, those actualities of life that took grit and determination to overcome and sometimes it didn't turn out the way they wanted.

Our family is just like most of you. We are working hard, overcoming challenges, taking another step forward, pondering every angle to make sure we are making the best of choices. My husband says " Don't worry about what others think. Do your best with your circumstances. This is what we have been given to deal with." He's good at just verbally and mentally chiseling away the fog that wants to seep in and haze an issue. I'm thankful for him.

The other day we heard a guy say that when he was sad, he wanted a cheeseburger and when he was happy he wanted a cheeseburger. After a short pause our daughter said, "Well then that guy ALWAYS wants a cheeseburger!"

It's been cold and windy here but the spring foliage is glorious. Have I ever mentioned that my favorite season is Spring?

Oh and by they way the roses that I showed you in my last post, many of you have asked me, "are the roses real?" Yes, yes those absolutely were real roses. One of my commenters on that post left a great link to a tutorial for how to make them, so maybe you would like to check that out.

I have a friend who can tell me just about anything and I generally find it interesting. Like the other day she told me that when a rat breaks its' leg that you should leave it alone. ( I most likely would not have trouble with that.) The leg will heal by itself or the rat will chew it off and it will have a stump. She said she had learned that this was natural and normal for a rat. I found that extremely interesting and fastinating. Maybe I just illustrated to you how easily I am entertained or amused. However, I wanted you to know just in case you might encounter a rat with a broken leg in the next few days...just leave it alone.

Did you know that vanilla beans are the result of hand pollinating orchids? I found that to be of extreme interest as well. So keep up the good work and hand pollinate your orchids.

I often tell people if your life is busy and you're needing a little more time in your day, come spend the night with us...it doesn't take very long.

Is anyone else experiencing frustration with the way the blogger dashboard works, or as the case may be, doesn't work?

So yes, I suppose this is just a random visit on my virtual porch, but I want to leave you with this one thought. If nothing else I've said sticks in your mind, then I hope this will...

I receive a Bible verse each day through text message from a friend - actually a family member of a friend.

This is the verse I received today.

"He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor."

This is found in the Old Testament, Holy Bible, Book of Proverbs Chapter 21 Verse 21.

My deepest desire...to pursue righteousness and love. When the fog of life wants to seep in and haze an issue, it all comes back to this.

Thanks for the chat y'all. I am blessed by you.

Have a wonderful week.