Yucca's Health Properties

The leaves of the yucca plant have been used for many years by Native Americans for both practical and medicinal uses. Native to Mexico, the yucca contains saponins, and phenolics;one of which is resveratrol. Studies indicate that extracts taken from the leaves are both anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory. Information garnered from Zhion.

Come celebrate White Wednesday and enjoy the rest of your week! Take care & G♥d bless!

I will catch up on my reads after my mother in-law's funeral. I am scheduling postings ahead of time so I can visit with my family who have traveled in from out of state.

Read more...

Fall Harvest

I was amazed last week to learn there are five vegetables we can plant now, yes even in a seasonal climate like Michigan! The vegetables are:

1. Spinach
2. Beets
3. Leaf lettuce
4. Radishes
5. Tatsoi

All of these will be ready in no time. To learn more read: Planting a Fall Garden

This luscious ceramic tile was found on the counter at the take out in Subway.  See the red?

Doesn’t that make you want to grow your own vegetables? It does me.


Join us for Ruby Tuesday and have a great week!

Read more...

Life Completes the Cycle

This is my third time attempting to post this. Twice the words disappeared while I was trying to post to my blog. This time I will try through Window’s Live Writer. This morning I worked until 3:00 a.m. to publish my latest article at Triond and Firefox crashed and lost my content. I reposted using Internet Explorer.

Let’s see if I can remember… What did I write? I mentioned my fascination for sunrises and sunsets and my desire to visit blogs and write. I also mentioned Pastor Jeremy Hoover and his wife’s new addition and the passing of my mother in law early this morning...


When I got in from work last night I was tugged by an overwhelming desire to photograph the sunset, a red sunset to be precise. Sunsets and sunrises don’t wait. There’s no pause button so you have to catch them when they are there. 

My husband is coming in as I’m going out. He stopped me to find out where I was going and offered to go with me. He even let me drive! So we are riding off to find the sunset.

While I didn’t find a red sunset, at least I spotted the sun. A beautiful ending to the day. My mother in law lived a wonderful life. She had a rewarding career, raised 4 children and had several grandchildren. As the sun sets on her life and the light fades it leaves behind glorious memories for us to reflect on.

Join us in at James Weekend Reflections  by clicking on the link. See you there and God bless! and have a wonderful week end. Take care and God bless. 

Read more...

Plants as Purifiers

Icy, BC Doan wrote an article three years ago which immediately came to my mind Sunday when I saw this spider (airplane) plant at my sister’s home. It is one of the highly recommended houseplants to assist in removing toxins from our air. To learn more check out B.C. Doan’s article: Purify Indoor Air with Houseplants. She spells out the reasons you may want to add particular plants to your home and gives you an introduction to each.


The Fleabane shown in the collage above has been around for many years. It is one of many species of Pulicaria dysenterica, a member of the daisy family. Many of the daisies have a natural insecticide, secreting a type of chemical called thiopene. – Marjorie Blamey’s Flowers of the Countryside. It was burned in the 1600s to aid in repelling fleas. It’s hard to believe someone sold me this very plant as feverfew to aid in headache prevention. :-)

If you enjoy white pictures or have some you would like to share visit  the Faded charm cottage and enjoy!

Read more...

Macro Monday - Sedum

I
 

The macro shots of sedum make it look like several bouquets of miniature tulips. 

To have fun with your macro shots

join us at Lisa's Chaos and happy Macro Monday!

Read more...

Never Fear Shadows

"There is a time, when passing through a light, that you walk in your own shadow."

Keri Hulme

This shadow appeared directly above my computer monitor as I was typing. It caused me to think about how wonderfully the sun was shining through the window behind me. If not for the sun/light there would be no shadows.

"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light shining somewhere nearby."

Ruth E. Renkel

Perhaps you've been casting a little light yourself and creating shadows...:-)

Share them with us at

HeyHarriet.blogspot

Take care and God bless!

Read more...

Thankful Thursday - Individuality

God created these beautiful flowers with such intricate designs.

After reading Icy's blog and finding out her dianthus come back year after year I went back to Walmarts to see if they still had some. I really like this cheerful little flower. I wanted pinks like hers and as luck would have it they had them on sale. I got a tray of six for .50¢. That was a month ago and I still have some blooms. I love the way the flowers have intricate details that remind me of a tie dye skirt only the symmetry is so much better. We try to imitate God's patterns, but we just cannot come close. :-)

When I feel inadequate, I only have to look at the flowers.

When I feel totally inadequate in whatever I am attempting to do, or think that I am not as pretty, talented, successful or intelligent as someone else, I only have to look at the flowers, the birds, the sky and the many other wonders God has created. How can I doubt that I am special when He has taken the time to paint such beautiful detail on a flower which is smaller than the palm of my hand? Jesus told us to consider the lilies of the field. They are clothed in such fine rainment. Since He loves them, would He not love us many times more?


Fretting over our inadequacies is such a waste of time.

If you are any where near as busy as I am, you cannot afford to waste valuable time and why should we? He loves us as we are and created us to be the individuals that we are.

I read a beautiful poem the other day by Russell Kelfer. These words are so much more eloquent than mine. I hope you enjoy them:

You are who you are for a reason.

You're part of an intricate plan.

You're a precious and perfect unique design,

Called God's special woman or man.
~
You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,

You're just what He wanted to make.
~

The parents you had were the ones he chose,

And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind,
And they bear the Master's seal.
~
No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into His likeness you'd grow.
~
You are who you are for a reason,
You've been formed by the Master's rod.
You are who you are beloved,
Because there is a God!

Take care and God bless!

Read more...

Does this make you raise your Eyebrow?

I saw a pretty plaque the other day. It read:

“There’s a “Miracle called Friendship”
That dwells within the heart

And you don’t know how it happens

Or when it gets its start
But when the happiness it brings you

Always gives a special lift and you realize that

Friendship…is God’s most precious Gift!”

The last line caused me to raise an Eyebrow. Hey wait a minute! Friendship is indeed very precious, and I cherish Each friend that I have, but there is an Even more precious gift that was given us by God. He gave his precious son to die on Calvary's tree that you and I might share Eternity!


Join us and play ABC Wednesday! This week is Easy !

Read more...

Sagely Advice to Prevent Alzheimer’s

Sage is one spice we are familiar with at Thanksgiving and Christmas time, but then do we tuck it in the back of the cupboard until next year?


Planting sage in our garden can help repel bothersome insects, but that’s only one reason to plant it. There is a long list of benefits provided by this fragrant herb including protecting us from Alzheimer’s and helping to improve one’s condition if they already have been diagnosed with this disorder.


According to Jethro Kloss, herbalist, in Back to Eden “Red sage is a wonderful remedy for many diseases. It could be called a cure all.” His book lists these uses:
   

    *
      lung disorders
    *
      regulating menstrual flow
    *
      stomach remedy
    *
      measles
    *
      small pox
    *
      nervous headaches
    *
      nervousness
    *
      asthma
    *
      coughs
    *
      colds
    *
      fevers


Read more: here

Read more...

B is for Banana

Did you know that bananas do not grow on trees and they are actually the world’s biggest herb? Icy, BC Doan gives us those facts and more in her article titled Six Most Popular Types of Banana. Now that I know it’s an herb I will have to add it my sidebar. Thanks, Icy!


Click on Icy’s link and learn more reasons to enjoy bananas.


To join in
James Weekend Reflections click on the link. See you there and God bless!

Read more...

Meet the Mother of this Incredible 7 Year Old

Hear the Voice of an Angel

She is just 7 years old but with a tremendous talent. She has already become known world over for her angelic voice, has been on television and in the movie Machine Gun Preacher. She credits her mother as being her inspiration. If you want goose bumps, watch the videos. This is proof that God’s love knows no boundaries; it reaches beyond the grave. Hear it in their voices, see it their faces…

My five favorites for this Friday are:

1. Inspiring others
2. Inspiration
3. Beautiful Music
4. God's love
5. God given talent or talent used for God's purpose

If you had asked me to write a thousand word essay on what I am grateful for it would have been much easier than to ask me to limit my choices to five. :-) All the fingers and toes are not enough to count the many wonders He bestows.


I am linking my post to Fav Five Friday and  Grateful Heart Friday. See you there! God bless!

Read more...

Thankful Thursday – Memory

I’ve been dealing with a lack of memory in my computer for about a month now. I have been organizing and transferring photo files and articles to flash drives, but apparently not fast enough.


It has been taking me an hour just to log on to my computer, and a painfully long time to respond to comments and emails....



I have been consistently moving and deleting files but two days ago I could not access any of my photo archive. 

I’m stubborn. I tried and tried. I have pictures of my family, pets, flowers, my stolen dog, memorable places and events …My camera program which held the files had begun to be organized. I could put my finger on a file in an instant, but now I cannot even open it. The photos display as white boxes with blue Xs through them.


Last night I intended to publish a post on all three blogs. There would be a white Wednesday and a watery Wednesday, but I only had a couple pictures I could access. I tried to use one from Window’s Live Writer. It was a beautiful heart shaped cloud. I would post this without a meme as it was not my photo. I wanted to use my own fluffy cloud pictures, but thought since I couldn’t open them, I would substitute. The picture from Live Writer did not carry over to the blog!


I had saved a sky photo taken earlier that day by pulling it out of my camera program immediately and placing it on my desk top so it would not get lost like all the rest that had been saved there had. I inserted it quickly and published. It was 1:00 in the morning. I still had to grab the rest of the 100+ pictures I took yesterday and place them in a folder on my desktop or they too would be eaten by the camera program. I then moved them to my flash drive and deleted it from my desk top.

Thank God for memory. While my computer is bemoaning loss of memory, my camera has a flash memory card. I’ve already filled three memory cards and downloaded those two to computer discs. I can still access my pictures that way. I have just filled another card and will get that one turned into discs too. I have not lost anything, but a LOT of time.


I will finish cleaning out the computer before I go through my cds though. When it’s not happy, I’m not happy! :-)  Be kind to your computer; give it good "memories", and you'll be rewarded. :-)

Read more...

Eat a Rainbow to Achieve Optimal Health

One way to be sure you are feeling mellow is to remember to include your yellow (red, blue, green, and brown) in your diet. These pictures were taken at Ive’s Country Market. One of the lovely things about this time of year is the availability of fresh produce. For more about the benefits of eating a varied diet read Over 25 Reasons to Eat Colorful Food.

I sliced 1 1/2 summer squashes and created this tasty dish with them:

Layer slices about 3 deep. Sprinkle with grated Italian cheese and a teaspoon Italian spices. Do this in layers until you’ve used all your squash. Pour 1/3 jar of Ragu over the mixture. Microwave on high for 7 minutes. Stir then microwave for 3 more. Enjoy.  


For more mellow yellow please join us at Mellow Yellow Monday and enjoy your week!

Read more...

Zinnia the Pug

  The saying goes “a rose by any other name is still a rose”, but what about zinnias? My friend Beverly’s dog and companion is named Zinnia. She is so excited when I stop in so it was difficult to get a picture of her. I love her enthusiasm and affection. She is a wonderful hostess and knows how to make her guests feel welcome, just like her “mom”. :-)


The center picture in the bottom collage has been made into cards at Redbubble and can be purchased or viewed at Redbubble. (At Redbubble your pictures can be turned into cards, mats, posters, t-shirts, etc. and the sign up is free.)



For more pictures of our wonderful critters please visit  Camera Critters and enjoy the rest of your weekend! God bless!

Read more...

White Blossoms @ Grand River

I have two favorite seasons, spring and fall, not only is the temperature just right, but nature is truly magnificent. The earth awakens from it’s winter slumber in the spring and nature “springs” to life. In the fall it begins to “fall” asleep again but not without it’s beautiful encore performance. For the last month or so I have been organizing photos so I pulled these out of my archives to share.


For more watery photos and white photos please join us at Watery Wednesday and White Wednesday and enjoy your week!

Read more...

Microfiction Challenge

She detested driving alone at night. A wrong turn sent her to a dark dead end road. Was that movement she saw in the window? Oh no!

Try your hand at the micro fiction challenge. You know you want to! :-) Enter at Stony River.

Read more...