Chat with Vera: 2010

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon thee,
As thy beauty fills my soul,
For by thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

Circumstances abound in our daily lives that prompt us as Christians to face our need to trust in our Lord and Saviour more. Sometimes it is the need to have patience with our children as they try our patience or trouble our souls.

O how great thy lovingkindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvelous thy goodness
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in thee, Beloved,
Know what wealth of grace is thine,
Know thy certainty of promise
And have made it mine.

But have we considered how marvelous His goodness is and how it is so very much lavished all on me? The mavelous goodness to embrace us in His loving arms and to shelter us from the fiery darts of troubles and trials and even the evil one. All His goodness - the actual goodness of Him - is lavished on us.

Simply trusting thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold thee as thou art,
And thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed.

And we can find that our every need is met in Him. His love so pure, so changeless completes us and satisfies us even in our deepest longings. Even in the moments of our greatest need, He compasses us round with blessings.

Ever lift thy face upon me
As I work and wait for thee;
Resting 'neath thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
Sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with thy grace.

Facing our deepest, darkest trials we can rest in our Lord. We can savor His goodness. We can experience His love and His grace to keep us trusting, and resting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw29s9TJ1QI&feature=related May you love and trust Him and rest in Him completely.

Interview with God borrowed from www.InterviewwithGodsite.com

I am in awe at the beauty and majesty of God's creation captured in these photographs. The "interview" is real food for thought and each of us should pause and ponder.

Pictures of horses posted on ABC Local TV in the Raleigh, NC area by readers

When I started blogging, it was an exercise in "Can I do this?", "Can I learn this?", "Can I keep it going?," etc. Well, I just blog about whatever pops into this gray topped head of mine. It might be deals at a store or web site. It might be nifty coupons for the thrifty amongst us. It might be something on my heart that bubbles up that I wish to share with someone. It might be my frustration at the political scene. Who knows? Now I just checked the number of hits it has received, and there are now over 4,000. That is in about 2 years. Not many, but it is reaching out.

Recently I added a widget that would track who visits (doesn't identify visitor, just locale). I really find this to be interesting. There are people all over the USA that somehow have found Chat With Vera. In fact, I have found from time to time that Australians, Brits, Scots, Russians, Chinese, etc. have visited. It confounds and humbles me. Here is the latest listing:

A visitor from Greensboro, North Carolina arrived from blogger.com and viewed "Chat With Vera" 0 secs ago
A visitor from Walnut, California viewed "Chat With Vera: Vera is quoted online......" 2 hours 23 mins ago
A visitor from Woodstock, Illinois viewed "Chat With Vera: Vera is quoted online......" 2 hours 26 mins ago
A visitor from Van Buren, Arkansas left "Chat With Vera: Tidings of Comfort and Joy" via blogger.com 6 hours 11 mins ago
A visitor from Van Buren, Arkansas arrived from havecouponswilltravel.com and viewed "Chat With Vera: Tidings of Comfort and Joy" 6 hours 12 mins ago
A visitor from Walnut, California viewed "Chat With Vera: Vera is quoted online......" 15 hours 55 mins ago
A visitor from Dallas, Texas viewed "Chat With Vera: Vera is quoted online......" 17 hours 26 mins ago
A visitor from Kuala Belait arrived from google.com and viewed "Chat With Vera" 18 hours 54 mins ago
A visitor from Streator, Illinois arrived from havecouponswilltravel.com and viewed "Chat With Vera: Tidings of Comfort and Joy" 19 hours 59 mins ago
A visitor from San Francisco, California viewed "Chat With Vera: Vera is quoted online......" 23 hours 46 mins ago

Now, if you are as geographically challenged as I, you are wondering where in the world is Kuala Belait? So for your information and mine, I looked it up:

Kuala Belait is located close to the western border of Brunei with the Malaysian State of Sarawak at 114.18ºE longtitude and 4.59ºN latitude. The town center is bounded by the South China Sea to the north, the Belait River to the west and south and the suburbs of Kampong Sungai Pandan and Kampong Mumong to the east and south-east respectively.

Vera (that's me, folks) was quoted on www.mindfieldonline.wordpress.com - the blog for Mindfield Online Internet Panels.

Vera says: Greetings, friends. Mindfield Online is a good company to participate as a survey opinion member. You have the opportunity to share your opinion about various products before they hit the market (or even after they are already on the shelves). You also get paid to share your opinions. Now you won’t get rich this way or earn enough to feed the family or pay the electric bill, but you will see a few extra dollars come your way. Enjoy.

Have you quoted Vera anywhere? Have you shared information you read here on Chat With Vera?

My daughter who is fighting breast cancer recently sent this email message to me. It puts into proper perspective good news and joy.

Recently I had my students do a vocabulary assignment using winter words that are familiar to us but foreign them. (Remember I teach special ed.) They were surprised that tidings simply meant "good news." This morning I was mulling over what we consider good news (negative results on Dad's bone marrow test, a new job, being cancer-free, graduation) and how that compares to the good news brought by the angels. My thoughts were that while it would be awesome to hear that I am cancer-free, that pales in comparison to the news that I have a home in Heaven should cancer decide to take over. Definitely tidings of comfort and joy! Merry Christmas!

Doesn't that perspective bring tears of joy to your heart? So when you sing about "Tidings of comfort and joy" remember the source of true joy in you own life. Focus on the certainty of having a home in Heaven in relation to the sorrows you face here on Earth.

There is nothing so great nor so wonderful as the prayers of friends on one's behalf and for your loved ones.

Life is a bit much these days in our household. So when I was cllicking through my favorite sites just to see who was there and what was going on, there at the tippy-top of OCH was the following......

Shouldn't you be going to bed soon, GrannyGodley?
The time is 10:37. Late? Yep. But some nights I'm up into the wee hours because my inner clock doesn't realize it is bed time.

So . . . . .

Shouldn't you be going to bed soon, GrannyGodley?

really grabbed my attention and tickled my funny bone. Here you sweet young things that manage this website are telling this ol' Granny that it's time to go to bed. Mommy, may I have a glass of water? Mommy, I need to >>>>> (you fill in the blanks). Tee-hee-hee.

Thanks for giving me a smile for this day/night. When life tries to create a little crack in the veneer of your life, it is good to find a smile to cement the pieces back together.

This is absolutely tremendous!

Actual Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

I just found a delightful blog "Morning Cuppas with Glenys." These are the writings of a Christian woman who delights in God's plan and purpose for herself. CLICK HERE. Read a bit and see what you, too, think. If you like Glenys' blog, leave her a comment that you found it on "Chat With Vera."

Check the July 31, 2010 blog post entitled
$25 Walmart Gift Card giveaway via General Mills
for details on how you may enter.

Deadline: August 31, 2010, 12:00 Noon

Summer is winding down. School has reopened. Kids are sporting new backpacks, new shoes, and new threads. So as we see the lazy, hazy days of summer decline into shorter and shorter bursts of sun and play, we realize that even though there is so much "newness" abounding around us in the stores, shops, various market places, it is also a time of endings.

The warmth of the sun comes to an end as the days get shorter and there is less sunlight to warm us. The leaves on the plants begin to dry and fall and annual growth plants die out. Soon the Fall winds will blow and with them will come chills and barrenness. Then Winter sets in. The winter of our year. And the winter of our lives.

We should all realize that there is a cycle never ending that begins and ends regularly. The cycle of the seasons, the cycle of plants, the cycle of growth, the cycle of life.

Facing the winter of our lives is most assuredly the most difficult that we are ever confronted with. Sometimes it is the winter and the end of our loved one's life that we watch. Sometimes our own season of living is beginning to cycle through toward that inevitable Winter. But there is a time for everything under the sun as is written:

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.... Ecclesiates 3:

So you see, whether it is the ending of the cycle of the seasons of the earth - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter - or the season of our own lives, there is a TIME determined that we should be born and that we should die. There is a time to plant a seed and a time to pluck up that which was planted.

Semi-annual Give and Get special at GAP, BANANA REPUBLIC, and OLD NAVY for the weekend of August 26-29, 2010. Shop using the coupon at this link and save 30% off of your purchase. The store you shop at will donate 5% of your purchase to Big Brothers & Sisters. So you can save a bundle, do some good works, and look good yourself!

Now how about a bit of feedback from this one. If you like this and take advantage of it, why not post a comment sharing what you got and the store you shopped.

According to the ad for the week of Aug. 22 and the Single Check Rebate booklet for this month, the following items will be free after your single check rebate. Of course, you have to either mail in your receipt or enter the receipt information into the Rite Aid Single Check Rebate online webpage. Check it out at http://www.riteaid.com/ for details on the program. Rite Aid also has a video that you can watch and it give you the opportunity to print some Rite Aid coupons THAT CAN BE USED WITH MANUFACTURER'S COUPONS.

Salonpas Pain Relief, On Sale $5.49 - Get $5.49 SCR - Final Cost: FREE after SCR
Cramp 911, On sale $6.99 - Get $6.99 SCR - Final Cost: FREE after SCR
ArthArrest Topical Analgesic Lotion, On Sale $14.99 - Get $14.99 SCR - Final Cost: FREE after SCR
Stopain Pain Reliever, On Sale $6.99 - Set $6.99 SCR - Final Cost: FREE after SCR
Backaid, On Sale $3.49 - Get $3.49 SCR - Final Cost: FREE after SCR
Royal Gelatin Dessert, On Sale 4/$1.00 - Get $1.00 +Up Reward wyb 4 - Final Cost: FREE after +Up Reward

(information compliments of http://www.kouponkaren.com/)

CoverGirl has a new mascara that is terrific. It coats the eye lashes and gives your eyes a bright look. The lashes separate very nicely, are wonderfully enhanced, and look naural with no clumping. Now for my personal use, there is a slight glitch - it seems to irritate my allergies. This doesn't happen every time I use the mascara, but enough that I am very leary of using it on a regular basis.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely! It is good. But if you do have allergies, use with caution because nothing is quite so irritating as irritated eyes.

A sample of CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion was graciously given to me for evaluation by CoverGirl and BuzzAgent. I received no compensation for evaluating this product.

Life in general is slower and more relaxed in the South than it is in the Northern and West Coast areas of our great land – USA! But you know, that doesn’t make us much different. We just take things a bit easier.

Now it is a “given” that it gets pretty hot here in the South. Well, today here in North Carolina, the actual temperature in our area is suppose to hit 97 F. That doesn’t indicate a little tiny bit just what the heat index is, folks. That heat index gets you every time! And it is a “Code Orange” day, too. That means each and every breath you take while you’re out in that heat is going to be a rough one. And the more you hustle and bustle and get in and out of your car, the harder it is for those breaths to get down in those two lungs of yours. Yes, it’s hot living in the South. And where the living is hot, the living is slower.

But you know, life is good in the South. Here in North Carolina, you can bask in the sun and dip in the ocean at some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Or you can drive just a few hours and you’re in the cool mountains. The Smoky Mountains are beautiful to behold in their smoky, blue tinged, mysterious majesty. Or if you just want to drive somewhere else, there are revolutionary war and confederate war museums and battlefields abounding across the state as well as peach and apple orchards and wineries.

But living the Southern life isn’t just about a place, it is an attitude. It is being genteel , lovely, gracious, giving, sweet, kind – you know, all those great adverbs and adjectives. It is about caring for one another and giving to each other. A hand raised in greeting to strangers you pass on the walk or ride through town. But living the Southern life is much more and you’ll only know if you experience it for yourself – then you can describe it if you can find enough adverbs and adjectives.

This is interesting. Turn your sound on, too.

CLICK PICTURE and watch for awhile.
I'm not saying it's good or it's bad. It is simply something interesting.
Different actions occur to indicate carbon emissions, births, deaths, etc.
Thot: Mind boggling to think of the blinks that would show
if every aborted baby was also shown.

I have written a bit about living frugally here on the blog. Many frugal life styles are actually good for the environment. So you help your pocket book as well as the environment.

Most of the years while I raised my family, I did not have a dryer so the clothes were hung out to dry in the sun or in the snow or in the house when it rained. With a large family, you were washing and "drying" all the time. However, when we were finally able to get a dryer, I found that MY ENVIRONMENT had changed in that I NO LONGER HAD A COLD/CROUP all winter long.

Something helped and we really think it was the dryer.

Anyway, I do use my own shopping bags most of the time. I dump the coffee grounds in the yard. I do not really compost. I buy green cleaning products when they are affordable. I share my magazines with others. I recycle my printer cartridges and earn $3 for each. We recycle all that our recycle service will pick up (and we pay to have it picked up). We save and reuse containers. I save bread bags and roll them. They store better when rolled and they are convenient to use. Saves a bit on buying plastic wrap or plastic bags.

I do indulge in buying plastic baggies - aren't the zipper bags great! I do worry about the plastic and other debris in the oceans of the world. I love a clean earth and the beauty of it. But I do not believe that man has caused global warming. I do believe that man should not "strip" the earth of its forests (be sensible here, folks), nor do I believe that man should strip-mine the mountains.

I love a warm house and don't know what the best source of being able to maintain that warm house really is. I am delighted to live in a nice house and not a cave or a Soddy. We've come a long way here in the civilized world, we just need to know how to keep it nice without trashing it.

Chat With Vera's frugal posts: Here is one or you can "search this blog" by typing in frugal in the search box in the top right hand column.

If you have looked over my blog in its entirety, you have seen logos for websites of various types. I have encouraged you to investigate the areas where you can stretch your money a bit by using coupons when you shop. The coupon links are listed in the side bar.

I have also encouraged you to investigate the area of sharing your OPINION on various topics through confidential and dependable survey sites. Sometimes they want your opinion on how you shop and what you like to buy. They sometimes want your opinion on a new product that a company is about to launch. (This can lead to the occasional product-test which is nice and fun.) Those of you who have families at home will find that you are given the opportunity to share your opinion on more topics and more frequently than I am given.

Why not take advantage of it? You can do "your opinion sharing" while you are relaxing with that cup of coffee or tea, coke, or whatever you like. But do take advantage of the opportunity. Simply click on the links I have provided and have fun. You can have a "voice" in what is in the market place or simply what is going on on the economic and political scene. And while you are doing it, you can pick up a few dollars here and there. And who knows? You might get that product to test and keep.

Survey sites: SurveySavvy, MySurvey, OpinionOutpost, Buzzback,
Product testing: InHomeProductTesting, VocalPoint

Pictured is a lovely azalea that is the result of a "sprout" that came up from the roots of a large azalea bush in my parent's yard in Wilmington, NC. The home is no longer in the family and my parents are both deceased. However, a little history on the azalea. My parents were determined to have a beautiful azalea garden. (The Azalea Festival in Wilmington, NC is famous and long-standing as a celebration of the beautiful area azaleas and gardens.) Mom and Dad collected cuttings from specialty plants that area gardeners shared with them. They had a wide assortment and a show-case garden.

When we closed the home and sold it, I was determined to have a bit of their garden for my home. So I found two tiny sprouts and brought them to my own home. What you see is one of them in bloom. Isn't it lovely.

The lovely jonquils (or whatever you want to name them) that are pictured at the top of Chat With Vera are a family treasure. These were taken from my husband's home-place nearly 50 years ago. His dear mother wanted to share them with us and dug a cluster up for us to plant at our home. I moved them to our present home five years ago. They are lovely and bring back so many memories of a lovely lady.

How about sharing with me (comment, please below) your memories of home and flowers? I'd love to hear from you and will post your comments unless you designate otherwise.

Chat With Vera is really just a "bloggy" means of sitting down with this Southern Lady and chatting about whatever strikes our/my fancy. I'm a lady. I'm Southern. I love family and friends. I love America. I love bargains. I love coupons. I love learning about new things, ideas, products, and ways to do things. I'm a seasoned senior southern sweetie that invites you to grab a cup of tea or a cup of java and sit a spell.

How about becoming a "follower" (see the side bar) or grab a "feed." I'd love to have your comments back to me about any of the things you see on here. Just click "comment" and leave your comment for me. I'll get an alert to check the comment. As long as you don't leave a comment that I feel is inappropriate, I'll leave it for any and all to see. You don't have to agree with me, either. Though I do, like most ladies, like a little praise.

Be my frequent "flyer" follower and join me. See ya soon!

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land (Song of Solomon 2:12 King James Bible)

Here in North Carolina we are seeing the bulbs pop up and bloom, birds cavorting, trees beginning to swell with buds that will soon burst forth with beautiful spring green leaves. It's getting warm. Today it was 70 degrees here. A trifling breeze was reminding us that winter is not yet gone, but enough sun shine to tell us that spring is just around the corner. In fact, there are only about three more days before it is officially here.

What can I say that poets and gloriously gifted authors have not already said and said it much more eloquently than I can even begin to express? But let's do say that spring is a glorious time of the year. It is a time of new beginnings. A time to burst forth with joy and newness. A time of color and warmth. A time to smile. A time for your heart to dance and your soul to rejoice.

Solomon says simply that "the flowers appear" and the "singing of birds is come." Simply said. But profound in impact and implication. How many flowers appear and in how many colors and how many shapes and sizes? How many different types and sounds of song come forth from the birds? We can not humanly imagine how diverse these two are - flowers and birds. The variety simply goes on and on and on.

But what we can as humans do is to rejoice at the sight of a beautiful flower as it unfurls its petals or feel in our heart the joy that resounds with the lilt of bird song wafting on the air.

Recently I was wondering about the possibility of using the peels of nice oranges to make orange marmalade. You know how it goes... "waste not, want not." Well I love orange marmalade and sometime in the far, distant past I heard that you could save the peels (after you've used the inside fruit of the orange for other purposes) and make orange marmalde with basically peels, sugar, and water. So I Googled orange marmalade in search of the magic recipe. Well, I really couldn't find one, so I thought perhaps I could simply put it together on my own.

O.k. guys - here is the low-down on how NOT to make orange marmalade.

I used the peels of 4 large navel oranges, plus 1 whole orange

I put them all in my small food processor and chopped it all up.

I then added 2 cups orange juice (out of a carton) and 4 cups water.

I cooked this for about 1 hour. Cooled. Refrigerated overnight.

Next afternoon: I measured the mess and put an equal amount of sugar in the pot with it. Cooked it for about 1 hour. Cooled. Refrigerated overnight. (First I tasted it before refrigerating it and thought, "My this has a 'bite' to it!")

Today, I took it out of the fridge and tasted it. I intended to perhaps add a cup of water and another cup of sugar and cook until it thickened. However, after this taste "treat" I decided that my tongue and my stomach would not be able to tolerate the "bitters" this much. So now I have a syrupy mess to dispose of.

Now I want all of you good jamming cooks to get your chuckles out of this for I have learned my lesson - there just isn't anyway to use those orange peels and make decent orange marmalade. Folks, I'll stick to the good store-bought stuff any day over the mess I conjured up.

Well folks, we just got to go back to school today after a winter storm that deposited a nice amount of snow on those of us here in North Carolina. And now, they are telling us that North Carolina is about to get socked again - this time with snow, then ice, then snow, and maybe some rain somewhere in there. At first they said the stuff was coming with no appreciable accumulation. We can deal with that. Of course, some of the first snow is still hanging around waiting for some new snow friends to play with.

Then earlier today they (the forecasters of things dealing with the weather in general) said, "Oh yes, yes sirree! There IS going to be some accumulation of the stuff. We're speaking 2 to 4 inches of snow, then 1/4 to 1/2 inch ice, and then a wee bit more snow on top of that. Well, that is enough to scare those of us here in North Carolina who are already trying to recover from a case of cabin fever or "snow-drip-mess-up-the-house-itis."

Now it may be that our part of North Carolina has just been "granted" a slight reprieve. They (again the aforesaid prognosticators of things dealing with the weather) are now prognosticating that our particular little wedge of North Carolina is lying betwixt and between the area of "you gonna get a lot" and "you just might get spared a bit on this one." So we're waiting tenuously for the outcome and trusting that we'll get spared this time.

Today's Bible Verse:
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15 (King James Version)

Through the years, we have held to this verse as a declaration for our household - we will serve the LORD. Raising our children, we taught them and led them in the ways of the LORD. God is important. Jesus, the Son of God, is important as our Redeemer and Saviour. This we declare.

So "choose ye this day" if you, too, will serve the LORD.

Categories

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Monday, December 27, 2010

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Monday, December 20, 2010

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Monday, November 29, 2010

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Monday, August 30, 2010

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Monday, May 3, 2010

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Friday, April 9, 2010

Monday, April 5, 2010

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

When play is the work of children and imagination the fuel of discovery, the longings of a child's heart become fantastically real to them enabling them to engage in a world of wonder.