These beautiful sculptures were in a hospital lobby where I had a meeting Monday. They were so gorgeous to me. I had to take pictures. They are life-sized and the water falling onto the umbrella makes it so life like. I couldn't really capture the beauty in a picture. The material picked up so many colors and they were just glowing. The artist must be so proud of their work. For folks coming into the hospital for tests or visiting loved ones it must be extremely soothing. The sound of the water and the children looking so sweet is touching.

These children were sitting on a bench with a puppy. I just can't tell you how striking these were to me. There was just something mystical about them. What a glorious gift to be able to make this much beauty to share. It's awesome to me.

Two Special Friends

I recently have had the most wonderful opportunity to find one friend from the past and I got to meet one I had only blogged with and never met. I thought I would take this opportunity to share about my friends.

Sher---we went to elementary school together and I was in awe of her writing skills. We would write notes during class and she would share her stories with me. They were so engaging. The characters were so interesting and I have never forgotten those stories. We lost touch for about 45 years and I always wondered what happened to her. I did that little thing with classmates.com and I never realized the joy it would bring me. Sher has been a syndicated columnist and has a blog over here. She is artistic and still is a fun, very loving person. Just a little freaky something-something: we have two common bloggers. One of them is on both of our follower deals. Now maybe you don't think that's big, but I do. There's tons of folks out there blogging it up and for us to have people in common is cool to me. Check her out, she's a doll.

Dustye---we met on the blog and have hit it off big time. She is a bubbly little spitfire. We both knew in our emails that we would connect. I was so thankful that she got to come to South Carolina. I got to meet her cousin, Brenda, and she is a sweetie, too. She has a gorgeous home and is getting settled here in the south. I look forward to our friendship growing and Dustye coming back for a visit. We laughed and ate good food and looked at antiques and cutsey little shops. Dustye and I have tons in common and even had the same wallet in our purses. Again, freaky. Dustye's blog is over here. You need to check it out. Dustye is the greatest cook and has a ton of recipes that she shares on her blog. You'll also get to see a picture of us together. I think if she gets some visitors she'll start posting more. You will love her.

One thing that is absolutely great about both is that they truly love the Lord. I have been so blessed and having these two wonderful women in my life is a huge thing to thank the Lord for everyday!!!

THANKFUL WEDNESDAY

Greetings from Atlanta! It was not nearly as hot as it's been around here at times. Where did global warming go? I can remember summers that were nearly miserable. It's not bad lately. Thank the Lord!!! I have been thinking a lot about some of the things I am thankful for. This, of course, is not a complete list, but I will name a few of the many things I am positively thankful for: My Lord and Savior
my loving family
my wonderful friends
my rewarding work
a Bible believing church where I feel very accepted
my bibles
books
art and making art
my pets
taking classes and learning
beautiful uplifting music
fresh food
purses
a comfortable bed
big pillows, lots of them
the smell of Burberry cologne
hot showers with fluffy towels
crossword puzzles
going to lunch with my girlie friends
coffee and tea (hot or cold for both)
watching ballroom dancing
giggles until I cry
The Honeymooners
State Fairs
pretty lamps
a clear night with a full moon
lightning bugs
This is just a small list. I am thankful for a zillion things. I'm blessed.

Thank you Lord for another day

Dear Lord,
Thank you for another day. As the sun goes down and I think about all I was blessed with today I just had to stop and think of all your splendor. You made the beautiful pink and purple sunsets and it's hard for me to believe someone could look at such beauty and not believe in You. Thank you that I can see the sunsets. Love, Patti aka Trish aka Nana
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I have been trying to make an effort to be more positive and thankful and it is really working. I had been getting in a habit of complaining, if not outloud so much, in my heart. I don't want to be a crabby old woman. I want to be a woman that people like to be around. If Christ lives in me, He should be shining through me.

When I think back about how many neat summers I've had, I am thankful. There were summers when I was a little girl in Indiana and we'd get up early in the morning when it was still dark. We'd carry all our supplies out to the old Nash and get ready to go while everyone else was sleeping. It was an exciting time. My mother would pack up some yummy food in wax paper and I'd take my books and off we'd go. The night before I'd helped my daddy catch 'nightcrawlers' or worms to those of you not into fishing. It's amazing that I could see those worms and grab them and put them in the bucket. I thought it was fun and he seemed so happy that I could catch so many.

It's funny how well over 50 years ago these snippets of my life have comforted me so much. What precious summer memories do you have?

I'm Back

Thanks for your patience. I have been taking a break and I will have pictures and lots to tell you. I needed a time to recharge and take a look at what is going on in my world. I have some ideas for some pictures and I have been reading and checking out what is going on with some of my friends from the 50's. Yes, I am old enough to have friends from that long ago. I got on classmates and found some friends that were so special to me and I just lost contact with them.

I have been so blessed to have such wonderful friends all through the years. I also have been blessed to meet some new friends, Dustye and Brenda (her cousin). We had the best time together. We went out to eat twice and then Dustye had to head back to California. We got to go antique shopping and Avery loved it. They are great people that made me feel like I've known them for years.

Our pastor is doing a series on Holiness and he is bringing out so many great points. He has stressed that "Right now I'm experiencing God's eternal love." Right now God loves others through me. There's such a freedom in knowing God takes care of us. I guess for a while I have kind of forgotten that. I needed to be reminded of that.

I have loved reading your sweet comments about my time off. It meant so much to me. I guess everyone sometimes feels like they don't have that much to say. I'm just so thankful for all the times that I have been uplifted by my blog friends. I wish I could visit with every one of you.

I thought the picture of Avery's eye was kind of neat. I got her freckles on the picture too. She likes to take very serious pictures and can't understand why people always tell her to smile in pictures. She's going to Hawaii for 11 days next month with her other grandparents. We are going to miss her, but it's a chance of a lifetime. She's really looking forward to it.

Have a wonderful week! I will be going to lots of hospitals this week and next for lots of meetings so I will be on the go. I pray you are having a great summer!

I'M TAKING A BLOGGING BREAK

I will miss all of you, but when I come back I hope to be refreshed and I hope to do some art and more reading. I'm just on hiatus. I shall return.