Fourth of July, fireworks and barbecue

The Fourth of July is definitively a day like no other and each year I am shown yet again new aspects of celebrating the independence of this beautiful country.

I like the parades, the picnics, the family reunions and the music! It is like no other celebration, it gives you a feeling you belong. The Fourth of July reminds you to be thankful you are an American, you live free and strong.

Like many families we share this special occasion with true friends and enjoy the bounty of this land. Even on our tiny island, there are fireworks, parties and lots of laughs. It is after all, a good day to be alive. We are very blessed indeed!


I love history and I enjoy reading the stories about the birth of this land as a free country. My favourite is the Boston Tea party (16th of December 1773) when Boston merchants refused to accept a shipment of tea in protest against tea taxes retained by the British. Dressed as Mohawks, several well known Colonials boarded British East India Company vessels and dumped 300 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

And let us remember that most important declaration of Independence (4th of July 1776):

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. "

Amen.

Homecoming, cats and dogs

Home at last! After some delays, a ferry ride to the island (sure to be a first for her!) Maira is home with us and gladly took to her new tree house as MacIntosh decided to let her know whose house she came to!

Sigh... It will take a little while for our Corgi to understand he is not a only child anymore.
Luckily for us, he knows her and has in fact visited HER house a few times in the past!

Our own island house, one bright (too smart for his own bloomers) Corgi, one beautiful long haired kitty and we finally have sun! We are blessed!

Faith, frienship and Jerusalem

We happened to be blessed with wonderful friends who never fail to amaze us with their thoughtfulness. We have learned many lessons from each one of them and we can only pray we in turn, have something to give them.

One of these friends will show up on the door steps, rain or shine, in good times and bad ones just to say hello, how are you, I missed you and bring with her the feeling we are family.
Families are meant to be there sharing good things and bad things. They will support you in your times of need, they make you feel you matter, they give you their trust and do not judge, they share their love, asking nothing in return. She is truly special!

Thus once more this friend shared her latest treasure: a wonderful set of DVD's produced by a man whose beliefs will reach out to you with no church boundaries. It matters little who you are for if you believe in Christ, you will hear Truman Madsen and witness his faith.

My family and I gathered each evening for 4 days to see and hear him speak. His eloquence and convictions, the locations he chose to speak of Christ as the Saviour enables any of us to follow in Jesus' footsteps.

I am an humble dreamer and I hope to see Jerusalem one day and the land of Israel. This tiny country who so often throughout the centuries was ravaged by wars has so much history for anyone to discover.

Truman Madsen shares with you the many years of historical research, the translations of precious manuscripts and allows you to see the many sites Jesus is believed to have walked through His life.

Throughout the DVD's we saw beautiful areas of Israel, wonderful still prints of the Palestine of years ago and felt the wonder of one man's awe for His Lord. A quick search engine allow me to find out that sadly this Christian recently passed away. But his legacy will not be forgotten.

It is said that to believe is to witness. I can honestly say this was a special moment in our lives.

If you wish to see for yourself, I recommend you check out the following:
http://Trumanmadsen.com

Note: I received no compensation for the above statement. I only wish to share with you the opportunity I received myself.

En Gedi Waterfall
(one of the many sites I hope to see someday)

The Heart Mender, a story of second chances by Andy Andrews

Anyone who is acquainted with me will tell you how much I love to read so when the opportunity came to review this book I jumped on the occasion.

Since the USPS took a VERY long time to deliver this latest tome to our mailbox, I almost psyched myself into believing there is a reason for everything after all and perhaps this one was not for me.
Then after checking again the mail (requiring a ferry ride each way since this is a private island and there are NO deliveries here) my husband came home waving the Thomas Nelson parcel and I just knew this one was meant for me.

Every so often you find a really good historical novel.
Written by best-selling author Andy Andrews, http://theheartmender.andyandrews.com "The Heart Mender" tells a story of love and loss in a time of war.

Albeit based on facts mostly unknown by most of us, namely the presence of U boats in the Gulf of Mexico during WW 2, this novel is about the many emotions experienced by people in times of trouble and hardship.

It is fast paced, well written and has all the ingredients which makes it a story you will not want to put down: love, hate, murder, intrigue, deception and survival.

This is indeed a compelling story of second chance, of forgiveness and real people (names were changed to protect their privacy) in a small town along the northern gulf coast faced with the realities of war.

I find it a wonderful read and I heartily give it 4 stars!

Please note in compliance with the news rules and regulation of the FTC commission I was provided with a free copy of this book, courtesy of Thomas Nelson.

Summer, bluebells and misletoe

Summer is here, according to the calendar at least... It does not feel much like it with all the "occasional" rains, the cool nights and the resulting dampness. Who would have thought we would still have the heat on even if "occasionally"! Let's count our blessings though as we have no tornadoes, hurricanes or wild land fires...so far!

We have now many fawns on the island and it is a pleasure to see doe and fawns wandering across the lawn!

And as we are counting our blessings (and not the shadows) we celebrate our son in law's birthday this week. Since his only request was for Chocolate mousse, I pulled out our all time favourite recipe to indulge him!

Before we will have a chance to go back to the cabin I think we will miss the bluebells. How sad! I love to see them even if they do not grow as prolific as in the UK! There you might see all carpets of them whilst we have only a few here and there!


Mistletoe also grows everywhere in our mountain hideaway. I think of it as a blessing for our land yet I hear it is considered a nuisance and should be removed from the trees...Sigh...

But what I like best about mistletoe is the Christmas memories it brings to mind! And since I was thinking about Christmas, I thought to look a bit more to discover what is behind the mistletoe tradition:

"The history and origin of the Christmas mistletoe can be traced back to the ancient Scandinavian custom as well as to the Norse myth. The Scandinavian people believed mistletoe to be a plant of peace. Even if enemies happened to pass beneath the plant, they had to lay down their arms and call truce atleast until the next day. Slowly and gradually, this custom gave rise to the kissing tradition that is still in vogue. However, Christmas mistletoe is also very much associated with one of the Norse myths, known as the myth of Baldur.

Baldur, the God of vegetation, was the son of Norse goddess, Frigga. When he was born, Frigga made each and every plant, animal and even inanimate object promise that it will never ever harm Baldur. Somehow, the mistletoe plant escaped the attention of Frigga and Loki, the enemy of Baldur, took advantage of this lapse. He tricked one of the other Gods into killing Baldur with a spear made of mistletoe.

With the death of Baldur, winters came into this world. To correct this situation, the Gods restored Baldur to life. After this incident, Frigga pronounced the mistletoe to be a sacred plant, which would bring love in the world, rather than death. From then onwards, whenever two people pass under mistletoe, they kiss and celebrate Baldur's resurrection. Apart from the customs and myths, the Christmas mistletoe has also been associated with kissing as it is regarded as an aphrodisiac."

"Kissing underneath a branch of mistletoe goes back hundreds of years, certainly to the early 17th century. But legends about the curious plant go back even farther, even to the time of Christ and earlier. One legend has it that the wood of the cross of Christ was made from mistletoe, and supposedly for that reason the mistletoe plant has been doomed to live as a parasite, and is so classified today, making it condemned to live on the goodwill of other trees. Shakespeare in Titus Andronicus called it “the baleful mistletoe,” no doubt referring to the fact that in large quantities the waxy white berries are toxic. On the other hand, ancient Druids thought the plant had healing, even magical, powers.

Because of the Druids’ use of mistletoe, Christians banned its use in their churches in England
and because mistletoe grows primarily on apple, lime, poplar and hawthorn trees in the Midlands and around York, it was a local favorite there long after the Druids were in decline. So in the famous minster at York, its use during the holiday season has always been retained.

In the York cathedral the minister placed the branch on the High Altar and proclaimed “public and universal liberty, pardon and freedom of all sorts of inferior and wicked people at the minster gates, and the gates of the city, towards the four quarters of heaven.” "

Christmas...dreams, dreams....

New look, Father's day and old books

I have been tempted for awhile to change a bit the design of my blog, I like changes (let me rephrase that, I thrive on it) yet nothing looked right. I think however this "new look" is just the thing!

I like the looks of old books. I like the feel of books, especially the smell of new books, that wonderful smell when you open the first page and discover yet another story.

But what I love the most is wandering around an old shoppe and finding an old favourite amongst the shelves. A tad faded with age, the pages perhaps perhaps even musty... I have a list I carry everywhere with me in a little book and I look for titles to add to our ever growing library!

For Father's day, my husband received a Dad's Bible to add to his selection of many, many Bibles. The happy look on his face tells me our daughter chose well. Each precious tomes is read and compared and studied carefully. Some become favourites, some are used for references only but each have their special place...

Books especially allows us to escape, to dream and imagine what could have been once upon a time...

Meet Chimaira, MacIntosh new friend

Sometime in early spring we decided to add a new member to our little island house: meet Chimaira! A long haired American cat with a beautiful tail, Maira for short, is just perfect for our quiet household.

Since we have been first in England, then to our mountain cabin we thought it better to wait awhile to introduce her to our house so Maira will be joining us sometime later this week. MacIntosh knows her as he has been visiting her and we hope everyone will get along well. A tree house has been ordered, litter box acquired and of course the usual litter, food and assorted paraphenelia to make the transition easier.

Maira will become a regular visitor on this blog as we hope to take lots of photos! As for MacIntosh, he does not care how often he has to pose... Just dreaming Folks!