Cabin Fever?

January has come and now the month is almost gone.  It came with a blast of winter weather having both the beauty and inconvenience of layered snow and cold temperatures in Eastern Oregon.  Folks were digging out and also digging in to combat heavy snow on the outside and keeping the house warm on the inside.  It was a time when you left water taps open to avoid pipes freezing and turned up the house thermostat.  Stacked firewood was put to the test to feed wood stoves in many homes  for a cozy warmth.  It was a time when a person thought twice about going anywhere because of the snow and ice hazards on the road.  It was a time for cabin fever! 

What exactly is cabin fever??  It is a term used to describe feelings of restlessness, boredom, impatience brought on by being stuck indoors for an extended period.  Most of us have experienced cabin fever at one time or another.  However, I was able to grab my camera, put on a heavy jacket and boots and take a short walk.  My goal was to look for a photo opportunity as a cabin fever therapy!!  I'd like to share a few pictures with you....

The below photo was taken of a herd of elk that had gathered on a distant hillside.  The snow and cold had driven them to a lower elevation in search of feed.  Yes, tough weather on animals as well.  I had to use the camera zoom for a closer view since they were some distance away, causing a little loss in picture clarity, but I was happy for the camera shot anyway.

This is one of my favorite photos of Jim as he is fights the elements in daily feeding chores, which is a normal winter occurrence.  Anyone with livestock knows that it is part of the job to keep animals fed and well throughout the winter season.....

As we move into February with warmer temperatures and a promise of Spring to come, 2017 rolls along unfolding days with its surprises as well as the familiar in our life's journey.

Until we meet again at The Turn-Up Patch on Monday, February 13, I leave you with an interesting quote by Steve Southerland... "I believe in process.  I believe in four seasons.  I believe that winter's tough, but spring's coming.  I believe that there's a growing season.  And I think that you realize that in life, you grow.  You get better."

 

Legacy of Carrie Young

I wanted to use this post to write about two sisters who have made a difference in the community in which I live.  It is a true story based on one who died and one who is living and a resulting legacy....

Carrie Young was only 32 years of age when her life was cut short in an auto accident in 1993.  Out of this tragedy, her sister Lucie Immoos, began a movement to honor the memory of her beloved sister.  A legacy began as the Carrie Young Memorial took shape, expanding through the years into a blessing of success - for the elderly and for the community.

Carrie Young  (July 13, 1961 - September 15, 1993)

Carrie's career was in health services, working for the local hospital and nursing home in Grant County particularly dealing in Alzheimer care.  In Lucie's words... "Carrie specialized in Alzheimer's and dearly loved the patients that she tended to each and every day.  After Carrie's death my family learned that she had been buying Christmas gifts for the patients that had no family or little money.  I wanted to do something to keep my sister's memory alive."

Lucie turned the loss of her sister into a legacy in the gift of giving to the senior community.  The small acts of kindness that Carrie demonstrated by her own giving to those patients who had very little has continued on.  With help from family and friends, Lucie began a project to raise money for the needy in the elderly community that range from residents in nursing facilities to helping seniors in their own homes.  A memorial benefit auction began at a grass root level with the very first year raising $175.  Now in its 23rd year, county participation has grown and last month, the Carrie Young Memorial raised $28,000.

Funds are obtained through a silent auction with baskets made up of donations from local businesses, family and friends.  The baskets are beautifully arranged with a variety of items, distinct in personality, appealing in a variety of choices to bid on.  The tables are set in a holiday mood with Christmas lights adding atmosphere to the large display of multiple baskets for auction.  The crowd of folks attending enjoy looking, socializing and having fun bidding on their favorite basket(s).  A spaghetti feed is held in conjunction with the auction, largely attended with rave reviews. 

The money collected is used to aid seniors throughout Grant County, including four care centers.  A wide range of needs are taken care of through the monies raised.  Gift certificates are arranged to handle heating oil or electric bills, groceries and delivery of firewood, just to name a few of the memorial's outreach.  There is even a wish list that Santa delivers in an array of brightly wrapped Christmas presents to facility residents.  They receive their own special bag containing items from their individual wish list.

Held the first Friday of December, the Carrie Young Memorial has blossomed and blessed both seniors and community alike.  It's essence hinged on the simple action of one young woman, Carrie Young, who gave out of her own heart and money to those she cared for and has now passed on through the heart of her sister, Lucie.  The old saying "it takes a village to raise a child" can apply to this benefit memorial.  Many helping hands have been involved to make this project happen and with a grateful heart, Lucie is thankful to all those who have made it possible....   businesses for their donations, shopping crew, high school students who wrapped gifts, the creativity of local talent in making such beautiful baskets and bows, the kitchen crew who fed and cleaned up after everyone, the local Elks Lodge, making their building available.  And Lucie would like to THANK YOU GRANT COUNTY for your generosity in coming out to this event and being a part of a community effort in the gift of giving for our seniors. 

If you have not attended the Carrie Young Memorial, make a date on your calendar for the next benefit in December.  That's just eleven months away!  Not far off, the way time quickly passes by and you will not be disappointed by attending.  I have enjoyed myself immensely - it's a lot of fun and I'm always impressed by the giving of this wonderful community towards any worthy cause.


See you next time at The Turn-Up Patch on Monday, January 30th.  Until then, I leave you with a worthy quote by Lao Tzu... "Kindness in words creates confidence.  Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.  Kindness in giving creates love."

A New Day in a New Year

As the tradition goes in New Year Resolutions, many are made and many are broken in the concept of "new and resolution".  What is that exactly?  Several definitions of  new is original and fresh.  Resolution simply stated is an expression of intention.  Another way of saying could be "a fresh purpose or goal".  I personally don't do new year resolutions as it can be a setup for failure.  Expectations can run high often short circuited with varying outcomes that run from procrastination to sincere commitment to indifference. 

One thing to remember is that every day can be a fresh day, when we are given the luxury to begin anew.  Problems may still exist in its many forms but we are promised with new beginnings to offset the challenges and changes we face in our life's journey. 

These are just a few of many scriptures relating to new beginnings:  Lamentations 3:22-23...  "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Isaiah 43:18-19..."Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."

As I post today's blog entry, my first in 2017, I am reminded that we do not have a guarantee of tomorrow. However, our today has constant aspiration and inspiration to access and utilize in the unfolding of new moments. I close with this great quote by Hal Borland as a reminder that the....
 

Blessings in 2017 ....  Come! Visit me at The Turn-Up Patch next time on Monday, January 19.
 
 

Christmas Reflection on Visible and Invisible

My friends, family and followers of The Turn-Up Patch....    Several years ago, I wrote this post and felt that this reflective message was worth repeating as we approach Christmas and the closure of 2016.  Christmas can be a time of celebration but for some, it can also be a time of sadness, depending on personal circumstances.  One profound event has and will remain a solid force despite circumstance and that is the movement of Light in the form of Jesus - the Visible and the Invisible....

The Visible - The Invisible - And Christmas

I begin this post with threads of thought that eventually leads to a pivotal event we celebrate known as Christmas.  The birth of Christ has impacted and influenced the world and its humanity that began nearly 2000 years ago.  I'd like to mesh Christmas and weave within, the dynamics we have of infrared and color, filter and illumination, the visible and the invisible.  As this occurs in our natural world, so it is spiritually.

There are complicated definitions of visible and invisible light.  Simply said, the visible light is an electromagnetic wave that the human eye can see.  It runs along a spectrum from short wavelengths of violet to longer wavelengths of red, which gives us color perceptible to our eyes.  There is another kind of light that we can't see.  This is infrared light and is a thousand times wider than that of visible light, but it is invisible to our eyes.

In photography, for an effect or artistic component, an infrared filter can be used either on the camera or in photo editing.  This filter blocks all visible light and can produce a dramatic look in transforming the subject matter in the exclusion of color to an infrared image.  The camera subject is illuminated  by infrared light and the every day scene becomes extraordinary in the absence of color.

Color -  visible light

Infrared - invisible light

 

Illumination!   A source of light that can brighten and make clear.  All of us have had an 'aha' moment when one has a sudden insight in awareness or comprehension in understanding.  It can also be called an 'epiphany', which is any moment of great and unexpected insight or intuitiveness.  Belief is also a component of illumination -  it is the Holy Spirit filter to see into the invisible that thrusts us beyond the visible color of  human knowing.  For some, the aha or epiphany moment can lead to belief; for others, belief can be the catalyst to revelation that occurs along the way in the walk of faith.

We are just a few days short from an event that changed the course of humanity - the birth of illuminating Light that came in human form - Jesus, the Son of God, the Light of the world.    We honor the mystery, significance and magic that Christmas brings and are humbled by the fact that God, the Father of Lights, so loved the world...

You can also view at this link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb1AsyltkpA


from The Turn-Up Patch to each and all ~

                                           Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas! 

 

 

Until we meet again in the New Year on Monday, January 2.....

What Really Matters

Hard to believe that we are in the final month of 2016.  As many people have wondered.... where did the year go??   The endeavor to 'catch-up' is lost in the 'way-behind' category.  To live in the moment is blurred by the constant having to do.  Many of us are consoled by the fact that we are still able to do but appreciation is lost in the piling up of busyness in preparation for whatever lies ahead demanding attention.  The below quote is quite significant when a person stops to consider what is important in a moment of time....

We just finished celebrating Thanksgiving last month.... a time to remember and to thank our God for the many blessings we enjoy in these United States.  A time to reflect on what really matters.  It was Abraham Lincoln who set in motion an annual National Day of Thanksgiving in 1863 and proclaimed it to be....  'a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.'  Our 16th President goes on to say that it is... "announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord... But we have forgotten God.  We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, by the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of own...  It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people..."

Words that were spoken by President Lincoln cited spiritual ailments in his day that ring true today in the 21st century. Oh, that the human condition would evolve as quickly as the advancement of knowledge.... perhaps, time would then have a wonderful way of showing what really matters.

 Join me at The Turn-Up Patch on Monday, December 19th.... 



 

The Applause of God in Sunrise & Supermoon

I live in a land that has awesome sunrises and sunsets!  And I have used my blog to display some in photography.  Last week was exceptional in the privilege of watching a "super sunrise".  It seemed extraordinarily beautiful in color.   Earth's scenery was bathed in its light and I felt immersed, becoming one with the hues of God's palette of color. I felt applause well up within me as I took these pictures in delight of such a marvelous Creator. As my camera lens captured this inspiring sight, my heart and mind began to wonder.... does God applaud?    We are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).  When we are pleased or delighted, it can move us to applaud in a heart-felt appreciation.   I began to think about the 'what if'.... what if applause was two-fold and God actually was applauding too.   

The dictionary definition of applaud means to express approval through clapping the hands in appreciation and pleasure.  Applause also means to commend highly, to praise, to acclaim, to encourage and cheer.

His expression in living art of a sky painted with early morning light was awesome.  In His magnificent love for us, He wants to encourage and to cheer us on in the applaud or acclamation of a new day.  What better way to use a glorious sunrise, in a divine declaration to His own, that we are not alone and a reminder that He will never leave us nor forsake us....

Resident geese doing a fly-by

It is fair to say that applause can be a celebration between the Creator and His created in a shared moment of delight.  Here is a quote by Ezra Taft Benson..."To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts."

In closing, I'd like to share one more photo in God's diverse universe.  I did manage to get a shot of the supermoon.   However, it was waning, since this was taken on November 16.  Unfortunately, we had cloud cover and rainy skies for several days, including the actual supermoon date of November 14.  Sigh!  It is not the best photo but it was still great to take a picture and watch the play of moonlight and clouds.  I stood gazing heaven-ward in remembrance that such a bright supermoon caused by closeness of earth's proximity, will not occur again until November 25, 2034 - 18 years from now.  It was on January 16, 1948, when the moon was this bright because of the same closeness to earth - 70 years ago.  So many changes in such short spans of time from the past and now into the future.  It causes one to ponder what will enfold in the time to come.

Look for and enjoy the beauty around you in applause and appreciation........    See you again at The Turn-Up Patch on Monday, December 5th.

Peace and St Francis de Sales

I begin today's post with a quote from St Francis de Sales...  "Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.  Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset."   These are words of wisdom from a man who lived 400 years ago and these same words ring true today.  St. Francis died in 1622, at 55 years of age.  There is much to be said about this revered saint but I wanted to focus on this one quote out of many that was penned by him.
  Each generation has its own "upsets".  The difference in our world today, is that it is instantly known because of the advancement in technology.  We become aware of the news across the globe through a variety of media outlets, which include smart phones, internet and television to name a few.  Of course, in the years that St Francis lived on earth, those words were not around, let alone any understanding of what they could possibly mean in futuristic development.

What can be projected from the past to the present, using this quote as an example, is a common human malady in losing inner peace in upsetting circumstances.   There are all manner of upsets and they do not regulate themselves to time - they have been evident throughout the ages.   St Francis offered a solution as to not be in a hurry, do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.   That can be tricky when you are living in a raging upset.  Inner peace - a desired commodity!  It is a keeping power that relieves the pressing of anxiety and neutralizes the upset.  

I enjoy God's diverse universe - from the wonders of the sky to the amazing colors and forms of nature before our eyes.  It is calming to quietly absorb beauty, in sight or sound, and to take moments  to merely feel peace and allow it to grow.  I share a few photos that I took recently from resident geese that fly in and out of neighboring pastures - to glorious sun rays emitting from a cloudy sky - to sagebrush, barbed wire and an old post which stands before distant hills.

Use some moments out of your busy life and watch this beautiful time-lapse video called "Be Still and Know that I Am God (Nature and Earth's Beauty)" and enjoy peace....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Bx7exmRqtY

Come back to The Turn-Up Patch for another visit on Monday,  November 21.  Until then, here is another quote for you out of Philippines 4:7.... "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."