Happy Thanksgiving 2024

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we gather around the table today, we are reminded of the countless blessings in our lives—our families, friends, and the love that surrounds us. May we take this time to reflect on God’s grace and the many gifts He has given us.

Let us give thanks for the strength of our bonds, the beauty of shared moments, and the joy that comes from loving one another. May this season of gratitude inspire us to live with compassion, generosity, and faith.

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving filled with love, peace, and happiness!

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

— Psalm 100:4-5

Rosemary Flowers with Dewdrops

Here we are in the middle of November and the little Rosemary shrubs behind the RV drive (which goes around the house) are getting their little blue flowers. In this image (click to enlarge), the dew drops gather at the bottom of the petals to form little prisms/lenses.

The “dew drops” may actually be residual water droplets from the irrigation system that runs for ½ hour at 4AM to water the landscape flora.

We never have to shop for rosemary in the supermarket, since it is abundant and available year-round on our shrubs all around the rear of the house. Just look at the beautiful sprig in the photo. Image is from Bob’s Samsung S23 Phone Camera.

We’re still in “second spring” with day temperatures still in the high 70’s to low 80’s, but that will soon give way to our usual winter weather over the next few weeks.

Portuguese Bend in 3D

This is a repost of an old 3D photo that has been recaptured to get a better and larger view of the image. Both the 3D and 2D images shown below were taken from Google Earth™ and processed to produce the 3D and 2D images here.

It is tragically interesting to note that the landslide at Portuguese bend has taken out many homes and other properties in the area, most notably the Wayfarer’s Chapel which will be restored pending several complicated moves to another location.

Here’s the 2D image of the aerial view of Portuguese Bend:

Click on either image to enlarge.

Samhain – Cross-Quarter Feast

OK – We’re both descendants of the Irish/Celtic stock and we observe their cross-quarter feasts because – well, just because. This particular feast – Samhain – is the gathering of the harvests and stocking provisions away for the winter months ahead.

We will be celebrating this year with a feast of our own, namely a traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner with Low Carb Veggies. You can see the results of the feast on our Food Blog.

All Saints Day

Tutti Santi is Italian for “All Saints.” Today is the celebration of All Saints in some churches. Verna and I happened to be in Rome, Italy, on November 1, 2000 where we watched Pope John Paul celebrate a special Tutti Santi mass from St. Peter’s Basilica on television in our hotel room.

Today, we’re celebrating by having Lasagna Soup later today. Happy All Saints Day to you all.

Halloween 2024

Verna has the Halloween decorations up in our little house for us to enjoy. Since we’re located on a dirt road in a semi-rural area with no street lighting and the potential for nocturnal critters like Javelina and Coyotes to be present, we get exactly zero trick-or-treaters. So, the decorations are for us alone.

The (clickable) image above came from the Bing® AI Image Generator with the Halloween lettering overlaid with Irfanview™. I suggested that the AI generate an image that was “dark and sinister,” and this was the result. I assume it figured out that Halloween was nigh and this seemed appropriate.

So, for all who celebrate “All Hallows Eve,” we wish you a happy time of it. And watch your six. Be safe in these “dark and sinister” times.