Golden Cottage Happenings

 

Greetings Gail-Friends!

We've been busy bees around Golden Cottage, so I have lots of good news and praises.

Jem and I celebrated nineteen years of happy marriage in May.  I am so thankful for my husband.  I know I go on and on about how wonderful he is, but he really is the best husband in the whole wide world.  I ask him sometimes, "How did I deserve such a good husband?"  He always says, "You said 'yes'!"  I often think how different my life could have been if I'd recognized his amazing qualities  way back when we dated fifty-plus years ago.   

I received a lovely bouquet of flowers that day and, here we are in June, and they are still giving me JOY!

My gift to him was a shopping trip to Ollie's (GOOD STUFF, CHEAP!) to pick out stuff for Golden Cottage Garden.  He found a nice ceramic pot the yellow-ish one with pink flowers and a flamingo wind chime. When we first married, we would buy a wind chime on our anniversary, but we ran out of places to put them (or they fell apart, etc.) So, we're starting a new tradition -- buying something for the garden. The flags were placed there for Flag Day.

 

We went out to an authentic Mexican dinner at a new place in Cocoa Village.  Jem really enjoyed the meal, but it was way to spicy for me, so never again!!! But we enjoyed our time together, and walked around the village shops afterward. We found a new business - an old-timey butcher shop called The Forgotten Block. They have fresh meats, cut to your order, as well canned preserves, salsa, jellies and jams. Jem bought this for his breakfast biskits.  

 We enjoyed our stroll because the weather was perfect that day - warm with a nice breeze off the river. 

 A perfect day in paradise!! 

Another part of our anniversary celebration was our vacation to the Florida Folk Festival and, as always, it was great.  It was really, really hot, but the festival always prepares for that.  Big fans are placed at each venue, and free ice-cold water is available in coolers in each area.  The stages are all covered by tents or shade.   But, this year I decided to be even more prepared for the heat.  We had neck fans!!  Wow - they are amazing!  And they are re-chargeable!

 

 

I also bought some new clothes - all linen or cotton/linen blend.  This makes a remarkable difference.  I had a good time shopping online for the clothes.  Had to return / exchange some, but I discovered a whole new way to shop.  And I love it!!!

Speaking of online shopping, we now order most of our food and supplies using our Walmart+ benefit.  They deliver for FREE if you sign up for the program. You do have to do a minimum order, but that's not hard to do for us.   It really is a help when we have to order heavy stuff like twenty-pound bags of birdseed and Black Cow for the garden.  It's helpful, too, for the heavy kitty litter jugs.  We love it.  

And...we're getting excited because Aldi is coming to our neighborhood in August.  It is much closer than Walmart, so we'll be using it a lot.  I like to order everything I can from them and then order the remainder from Walmart.

  Golden Cottage Garden is doing really well with flowers.  My peace plants are blooming, but again, the weather conditions are affecting them.   Our grass looks bad, but Jem's working on it. We'd bought some stuff that was supposed to help fill in the bare spots, but it only made it worse.  Gardening is hard in Zone 9 of Florida.  We're near the coast, too, so that plays into it.  And our soil is pure sand, so we decided to just do pots.  Jem works so hard in the yard and he amazes me with his strength.  He'll be seventy-nine soon and yet he keeps going like the energizer bunny.  I tell him he's a tough old bird.

 Here are a few pics - Jem had decorated with flags. 

 

The peace plants are doing okay, but not as good as in the past.  The heat is brutal.

 

The zinnias are so pretty.

I bought a package of wild flower seeds, and this is all that came up.  I don't know what it is, but it's so pretty.

 Veggies - not so much.  I picked my first lettuce harvest.  It was enough for a salad. But our other veggies have not produced - peas, squash, zucchini, and peppers did not work out.  I don't know if it was the seeds or the heat or the rain, but the lettuce is the only one that made it. :(

 Jem and I have started a healthy-eating plan and veggies are a big part of it, so we load up with those when we shop.  I feel so good when I stay away from sugar and prepared foods.  We are getting healthier and losing a few pounds at the same time.  

This is my favorite lunch these days - turkey, cheese, and pickle wraps with veggies on the side.

Well, Gail-Friends, I'm going to close out 'cause this post is getting long.  I've got more to share - like what we saw and did at the Florida Folk Festival, our grandson's concerts, and what's new with Toonie and Lucy. Oh, and I never did post about our Passover and Shavoat celebrations.  I'll be back soon.

Blessings to you all. 

 

 

Happy Flag Day and Happy Birthday!!

 

Saturday, June 14 is Flag Day in America.  It is also President Trump's birthday. He will be seventy-nine years old.  It is also the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.  A big celebration and military parade are planned for Washington, D.C., so be sure to watch it.  

Until I was married to Rabbi Jem, I'd never celebrated Flag Day, but boy has that changed.  Yesterday, he spent hours, in the hot sun, decorating the front yard of Golden Cottage with flags - 100+.  Flags are in the grass, in the trees, and in the flower pots.  Oh, and on our flag pole, too.  

 

These flags are faithfully put in place on Flag Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day. We love our country and hope to inspire our neighbors to follow suit.  We do have about half a dozen neighbors who put out American flags, too.  God bless them all.   

Let's all show our love for the flag, our country, and our president by sending him a message on Facebook, Instagram, Rumble, X, or Truth Social.  Tell him how much we appreciate his firm resolve to protect our families, cities, country, and our Constitution. And let him know you are praying for him.  He carries a heavy load of concern and care and seems to never tire in his work.  And he does it ALL for free.  He does not take the salary for his tireless attention to duty.  What a man.  What a president.  The most amazing one I've seen in my seventy plus years.  He deserves our respect and encouragement and even more, he needs our prayers

So, tomorrow is a big day for America.  I'm sad to say that there are those who want to spoil it all.  Protests are planned in 1500+ cities across the country.  They say they are protesting Trump's over-reach, mainly about the deportation of illegal immigrants.   If you watch the mainstream media, you will hear great sympathy for the riots in L.A.  They don't seem to grasp the truth - that entering this country without documentation is a crime.  They are criminals.  And, the state of California is aiding them in their lawlessness.  But I agree with this post on X:  "The truth is, these upcoming protests aren’t about illegal immigration, ICE, “Free Palestine,” or anything else. They’re about destroying our way of life, anti-cop sentiment, bringing lawlessness and anarchy to our doorstep, and bringing down the greatest President of our lifetime."

Gail-Friends, we live in a time of great delusion like the Bible prophesied.  Never did I dream that we would hear people defending crime, lies, abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, pedophilia, and other perversions.  Not only that, but when they're told THEY are wrong, we are called hateful and judgemental.  It's no wonder, really, because the modern-day churches do not teach on these things. Or, believe it or not, they defend and allow those things in their churches. These things are condemned in the Torah, and the New Testament (see the book of Leviticus, especially) and the world is suffering because WE have been told to sit down, shut up, and be nice.  

I understand Job's suffering like never before.  Like him, my soul is vexed every day as I see the lawlessness,  the hate, and the evil played out before me every day on the news.  I watched a video on YouTube of a "protest" in NYC.  It was night, and most of the people were dressed in black with black masks.  They were screaming and cursing and carrying flags and signs that spoke evil and perversion.  To me, it was like I was seeing the demons of hell filling the streets.  I was horrified to the point of tears. These people are lost, blind, deaf, and incapable of seeing the truth.  

Only God's power can set them free. Every one of us was in the same state. . . but God, in His mercy, caused His truth to shine like a light into our souls.  We saw that we were lost and without Him....and we had to make a decision. . . to turn to Him . . . or to turn to the evil one.  

I often read the story of the prodigal son Luke 15:11-32.  He went his own way, to do his own thing . . . and he wound up in a pig pen, covered in feces and filth.  But, he "came to his senses".  He suddenly saw his situation with new eyes.  And he decided to return to his father's house.  That is repentance, my friends.  It's realizing that our way had led to misery.  We had heard about the Father and Yeshua through preaching, teaching, or reading of the Holy Scriptures.  And we made the decision to go to Him and follow His Word and His Ways.

Oh, how I wish I could make people see the truth and turn to God, but I can't.  All I can do is share His Truth, which is love by the way, and pray.  And I do.  I pray daily for lost loved ones, friends, neighbors, leaders, lawmakers, and especially for those who share the good news of God's Word, His Will, and His Ways.  Turning to those things will make America great again.

  

 

 

 

Memorial Day

 

This Facebook post by Brevard County, FL Sheriff Wayne Ivey  says it all:

 

On this Memorial Day, I ask that you take the time to remember what this holiday is truly about and that you share with your children that while today may be a holiday filled with barbecues and beach time, it’s true purpose is to honor the great men and women who gave their lives for all of ours!!

 

In fact, on this Memorial Day, if you woke up in the United States of America, you owe the very blanket of freedom you slept under last night, to those brave and courageous souls who “gave it all” in the protection of their country!! Regardless of the uniform they wore, or where they came from, they fought beside strangers, all for the same cause, our freedom!! 

 

These heroes gave their lives for millions of people they would never know, and in return gave us our freedom, our safety, and quite frankly, our ability to celebrate birthdays, Easter, Christmas, graduations, weddings and so on!! 

 

So today as you have friends and family over for a BBQ, go to the beach, hang out by the pool, or just enjoy a day off from work, look to the sky and remember those who sacrificed their life for us to have the freedoms and security we have!!

 

Say a prayer for those we lost, those who were prisoners of war, those who are still missing today, and their families, while remembering that Memorial Day is about honoring them for their sacrifices and trying to live your life everyday as a proud American as proof that it was all worth fighting for!!

 

God Bless The United States of America and We Shall Never Forget Our Fallen Heroes!!

 

Sheriff Wayne Ivey