There was a space Where weeds were growing A promising spot Where neglect was showing.
So the Nursing Home Auxiliary Started a No-Show-Fundraiser And hundreds of givers Gave to hire the labor
Weeds were removed And a concrete pad was poured A pergola was built The residents and staff were floored!
The pergola looked bare So barn quilts were added Flowers in the flower bed Some benches (no, not padded)
The Lion’s Club bought the benches For a sprinkler system the MV Woman’s Club paid A resident’s daughters donated the flowers Amazing improvements were made
This inviting space brought joy To the residents and staff alike More flowers and colors were added It matched all the fundraising hype
This Friday there will be an Open House A Thank You for all the kind folks Who gave to make this possible Come have a look and share Rootbeer Floats
That’s as close as I could come to a rootbeer float!
Well, they won’t be THAT fancy!!
Ecclesiates 3:11
“He has made everything beautiful in His time.”
We are making everything beautiful in our time, too!
Come and visit our beautiful, inviting, peaceful space. We’d love to sit a spell and chat with you!
2:00 to 4:00 PM Friday, June 30 Madison Valley Manor 211 N Main St. Ennis, MT 59729 madisonvalleymanor.com
“You will find enough of the abnormal in the so-called normal to meet your needs,” Mrs Wilhelmina Harbert said to me.
A Country Living quote shared by Sue Newell prompted me to remember that advice from my college counselor. I was majoring in music therapy. It was my junior year. I was having sleepless nights.
Music Therapy jobs were few and far between. Most were in State Hospitals where severely disturbed patients were. The thorns in my dear music therapy patients at the Stockton State Hospital where I was interning kept me from seeing their beauty. I only saw their distress. And I cared too much. I couldn’t leave the thorns behind when I left. I carried them with me.
Mrs. Harbert wisely suggested I switch my major to regular education. “You love people. You care about them. Our public school classrooms need people like you.” So, in my senior year, I began the work of obtaining my regular elementary education teaching credential.
Smartest move I could have made!
Sure enough- there’s a lot of crazy in each of us! Sometimes it’s our most lovable part!
I used my music 🎶 as therapy every day in the classroom with countless so-called normal kids. It helped calm the abnormal in them. I helped them appreciate their uniqueness. (I’ll write more about how music therapy worked in another blog later that week.)
Music helped my students appreciate the fun in those outside the norm parts of us.
I hope you appreciate the parts of you that are outside the norm, too. They make you special. Do you know what some of them are?
Tell me!
It’s fun to know I have a lot of the abnormal in my so-called “Normal” self!
Porcelain dancers – Gift from Mom: “You’re forever these!”
She gifted me On my fortieth.
The Septolet is a poem consisting of seven lines containing fourteen wordswith a break anywhere in between the two parts. Both parts deal with the same thought and create a picture.
My porcelain girls are a 1979 gift from my mom for my 40th birthday. Created by German artist, Lorenz Hutschenreut, they are called “Ring Around the Rosie” – This 3 Girls May Day dance figurineis priceless to me!
Mom knitted my sweater, fixed my hair, arranged for the photographer, captured our love forever in this photo.
But, the real capture of love for me was more than just in my childhood… She continued to gift me with her strength, her optimism, and her encouragement for the rest of her life.
When I take out my dancing girls and decorate the vase with flowers, I am taken back to my fortieth, back to my childhood, back to time with Mom.
What a treasure!
Here Mom is with my sis, Sally, and me – – – and my daughter, DeDe. I like to think that we three are the “Dancing Girls.”
Ah, such sweet memories!
Do you have a special item of some sort that brings you back to your childhood?
Something that’s priceless to you because of the memories packed into it?
Tell me about it. Maybe try your hand at a septolet!
The scriptures and the devotionals that popped up this week all point the way to our preparation for spring. Get ready! Be prepared! Make way for the new!! It will come, won’t it? Eventually?
I am more than ready for our ice (used to be snow) piles to melt and allow the bulbs to wake up and begin to sprout!
Isaiah 43:16,18-19-
This is what the Lord says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing…”
But, I do remember those former things!!
These were the last of them from last spring.
I am ready to hang my spring wreath and I am ready to “Spring Up!” my clocks tonight in preparation for Daylight Savings Time.
I am ready to keep that time schedule all year round to give us more hours of daylight in our waking hours. How about you?
Get ready for a sunny Sunday! I am ready for more sunshine. How about you?
I love it when my friend, Lisa, sends me photos of her sunrises above the lake near her home in North Carolina.
I’m ready for a ride on “Lucille” (our redheaded ATV who is a “Ball”) into the springtime wildflowers on our mountain trails around here.
Right now, looks like that’s a couple months away.
This year we won’t have our TazE (our beloved Boston Terrier traveled over the Rainbow Bridge last December. We miss her!) to keep us company on our rides. She was sure a great trail companion!
We saw some mighty PURDY sites together on those rides! Sometimes we’d take the trail all the way over to Pony, Montana, the cute little town northwest of us where there is a cute little tavern. We’d meet our other ATV friends there.
So, get ready, my friends. Make way for the realization of those dreams once more when we can take that ride again!
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal (that’s my time right now); a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh (that’s ALWAYS now!); a time to mourn, and a time to dance (let’s do!!); a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace (let’s do that, too), and a time to refrain from embracing; …
May your storms diminish and your sunshine increase; May your troubles decrease and your joys abound.
May your eyes clearly see the beauty all around you. God bless you, my friends. Make way for those blessings! They are coming! Rest assured!!
Love and Lotsa Hugs, JanBeek
P.S. My eyes are healing after the cataract surgery last week. Thank you for your prayers. The farsighted vision is bright and clear – beautiful colors. Single lens replacement instead of the multiple variety was my only option. It has to do with the age of these tired 83 year old eyes and the shape they were in. But I’m not complaining. Another follow-up appointment is scheduled in 3 weeks. I’ll keep you posted. Thinking positively!
Today Denise (our son-in-law’s mom) took Bob & me on a walk in Sierre. Thirty years ago, when we first started coming here (when our first grandson was born), we would have jogged up the trails into the vineyards. Today we were content to take a leisurely walk on a relatively flatter terrain.
We walked up to the hospital where Mike was born. His grandpa was the chief executive officer there. André had been a chef in its kitchen before he came to California and married our daughter.
The grounds around the hospital are beautiful. Lots of trees and flowers and park benches where we could sit and take a break.
The leaves on the acacia trees are starting to show signs that autumn is coming. The grapevines are laden with fruit ready to be harvested.
Look at the base of this grapevine. It’s over 100 years old! All gnarled and twisted behind the protective wire fence.
I thought of Derrick & Jackie Knight and their beautiful garden when I saw these gorgeous rose bushes.
Beyond this water trough, with its constantly flowing fresh drinks for the cattle that used to come through this town, you can see the concrete sides of the round church. We went to mass there this morning with Denise. This morning I posted the sounds of the bells for you. Did you catch that blog?
I pray you had a beautiful Sunday, too, my friends. Tonight we’re going up to De’s chalet in Vissoie. We’ll be there all next week. Wait til you see it!
Oh, and tomorrow is DeAna’s birthday! Our DollyWolly will be 55. Can you believe it?
Our arthritic hands show our age – even if our active spirits deny it! Stay young in spirit, my friends. Thank God every day for the gift of another opportunity to live and play, breathe, and enjoy life. Live in the now! And stay vibrant!!
