Showing posts with label Brevard Rocks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brevard Rocks. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

6 Tips for Painting Happy Rocks


I'm having so much fun painting rocks.  I'm enjoying writing positive, encouraging words on my rocks and praying for the person who finds them to be blessed.  Some of these are not quite finished, and then they have to be sealed.  When ready, I'll place them around town for others to find.


Did you know this is a growing phenomenan?  There are people painting and sharing rocks all over the country.  Adults and kids alike are having a blast with these happy rocks.  My grandson loves it.

This is his "potato" rock.
Here are some tips for painting rocks:

Source - I like the white rocks, and found mine at Lowe's for about $9.00 a bag.  There are probably thirty or forty rocks in the bag, some small and some large (see above).  Dollar General has a smaller bag of about a dozen small, dark rocks for a couple of bucks.  I've found these harder to paint on though. Some of the dark rocks have a coating on them, so I'm sticking with the white ones.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Thankful Thursday - Little Ones, Dogs & Rocks


I love being around children and am grateful for all the entertainment and JOY they provide. They are the best entertainment in the world and it's all FREE!  Our grandson delights us every time we see him or talk to him on the phone.  He's quite the jokester and loves to play tricks on us, like hiding.  He's easy to find, though, because he can't stop laughing.  When he comes over, it's Play Day with Jon-a-FUN!


We're still painting rocks for  Brevard Rocks each week, and here he is with his latest creation:


I've been busy painting a family of lady bugs for the Golden Cottage back porch:


I love watching and listening to the children at our synagogue.  Here they are under the tallit for the weekly children's blessing.


The little one in the pink shawl is hilarious.  Each week, she comes in and shows me her outfit, parading and turning just like a model.  Last week, we were getting ready to leave after the service and she said, "You can't go home, Miss Gail! Play the dreidel song." (It's her favorite.) She's pretty strong-minded for a three-year-old, but I'm sure you have to be with three older brothers!

Last week, we sang a song with a video called, "As the Deer Panteth For the Water", and one of the little boys said, "That deer better watch out for the alligators!"  I said, "No, don't worry, honey, the deer is in Israel, not Florida."  He said, "What's Florida?"   He also let us know last week that he wanted to blow the shofar, which we do each week to start the service.  Here he is, and if you've ever tried to blow a shofar, you will know this is amazing for a four-year-old.



Dogs are another source of great free entertainment.  Ours is a dachshund/Jack Russel terrier mix which is quite a combination.  Even though she's got little short legs, she can jump three feet off the ground.  She bounces like Tigger!  Here she is, ready for her bike ride, with her Minnie Pearl hat on.  (Oh, yes, that's another gratitude -- I got a new three-wheel bike with a big seat and a big basket.)


Zoe is blind, but she can run like Rin Tin Tin, and her middle name is Go.  She rides in our grandson's car seat when we take her for car rides.


Zoe is quite the actress.  Lately, she has learned to moan and groan to tell you she wants something.  She cracks me up with her drama because when we first rescued her, she didn't even bark for a couple of months.  Years ago a friend told me dogs can talk and I thought that was so funny.  Now I believe it whole-heartedly.

All of our tadpoles have gone to Golden Pond.  One morning last week I was sitting on the porch and saw this:




One of the last two tadpoles had grown his front legs overnight and escaped through the hole in the top of the aquarium.  They were both relocated to Golden Pond immediately.  So, now they're all gone...and I'm grateful.  One of them came on the porch for a visit the other day:


Jem was getting ready to feed the tadpoles, and this little guy was sitting on top of the food container staring at his long lost buddies in the aquarium.  Jem took him outside to the potting table and snapped this photo.  He (and all the others) are not frogs, but tree toads.  I'm grateful they're all gone now because if one of them got on me, I'd have a hissy fit for sure.  You can read more about the tadpoles HERE.

What are you grateful for this week, Gail-Friends?

Thankful Thursday is my day of the week to focus on and be thankful for all the good things in my life.


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I sometimes share my posts with these friends:


Spiritual Sundays     Kathy’s Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life     GRAND Social       The Beauty in His Grip Link-Up   
Modest Mom Monday Link-up         Growing Homemakers Link-Up       




Thursday, April 27, 2017

Thankful Thursday - Tadpoles and Rocks






Don't you just love this verse?

Always be joyful. Pray regularly. In everything give thanks, 
for this is what G-d wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. 
(I Thessalonians 5:16 - 18)

I like the verse because it gives me a check-up from the neck-up as Zig Ziglar used to say.

Am I full of joy today?  

Am I praying regularly?

Am I giving thanks in everything?  

A tall order, right?  But this is a recipe for happiness.  I've tried it and the results are wonderful.  


These are some of the  things I'm thankful for this past week:

Time with our grandson, daughter, and son-in-law love.  We enjoyed a rock painting session:

He painted a golden potato.

His daddy joined in. (Mommy had to go to Zumba)

He and PawPaw painted frogs.  I did a ladybug, but  I gave it to his Mommie and forgot to take a picture.

Recognize this????

You can read about the national movement to paint (and hide) encouragement rocks in my previous post  HERE.

The tadpoles are growing and some have all four legs:

Sorry for the bad picture. They don't still for long.  I had to snap fast.

Some have begun to climb up the side, so off to Golden Pond they go:


Freddy the frog was the first to be set free. Here he is swimming away:



Two more were ready on Tuesday, and our grandson helped them dive into Golden Pond:


I think I heard Freddy singing yesterday afternoon.  Or maybe it was Frank..or Fredrica.  Anyway, he/she sounded happy.  :)

Speaking of Golden Pond, I am so thankful for my gardener aka Rabbi Golden.  I call him Mr. Green Jeans.  As I've said before, you have to have grown up in the fifties to understand that.  You can Google it!!!


And just look at his handiwork:



The elephant ears are tall enough to stand under now 

No, that's not Freddy there by the pond.  That's a ceramic frog I bought recently.  His name is Ferdinand.  And there's Debbie the Duck, and Flo the Flamingo.  Oh, by the way, Gail-Friends, would you believe people are stealing flamingos from yards around here?  We're keeping ours in the backyard.


As always, I'm thankful for the birds.  I caught a short video of a male cardinal singing yesterday.  I don't know if you can hear it, but another bird is calling back from a distance away.  They sang back and forth for about five minutes.  I've been teaching our grandson how to identify birds by their calls and he's getting good at it.


I'm full of gratitude today, and I hope you are, too.  My favorite thank you prayer is this:

"I thank you, Father, that I can see, and hear, 
and walk, and talk, and think, and that I have strength to work for Your Kingdom." 

 I learned that from one of my gratitude mentors, Carmita.  You can read about her HERE.

What are you thankful for this week, Gail-Friends?

Thankful Thursday is my day of the week to focus on and be thankful for all the good things in my life.
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I sometimes share my posts with these friends:

Spiritual Sundays     Kathy’s Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life     GRAND Social       The Beauty in His Grip Link-Up   
Modest Mom Monday Link-up         Growing Homemakers Link-Up       


Thursday, April 13, 2017

Thankful Thursday - Brevard Rocks



Yesterday, hubby and I went to the lake to take pictures of the sunset and found this painted rock.  I looked up the Facebook page and learned that this is part of an artistic encouragement movement here in Brevard County.  The young woman who began the movement started painting rocks during Hurrican Matthew in order to deal with her stress.  I'm really thankful that she turned something very scary into a blessing for so many people.

Tomorrow, hubby and I plan to have a rock painting session with our grandson and his best friend. We'll talk about where to leave the rocks for others to find and I'll post pics next week. Don't you just love this idea?

Last week, my daughter and I were treated to a delightful luncheon at a local tea room.  Betty is Amanda's mother in law love and one of my dearest friends.  What a blessing it was to spend time with two of my favorite people.  We are kindred spirits and always enjoy time together.

Here are some of the delights we experienced at Tea World:




We were celebrating Amanda's birthday so green cupcakes with shamrocks were in order because her birthday is on St. Paddy's Day.  We were a bit late in celebrating because Amanda's been busy with auditions for a play she's doing at our local theater.

William, our son-in-law love (Amanda's husband and Betty's son), was honored for twenty years of service as an engineer with the UCF Solar Lab.
His tie is appropriate since he works in solar energy!
  The ceremony was inspiring with stories and videos of graduates of UCF, and afterward, we enjoyed a very nice reception with delicious food and drinks.  We're so proud of him and thankful for his hard work and commitment to his job and his family.

Jon was fascinated by the flags from around the world.
Here are a few things I'm thankful for around the Golden Cottage and Garden:

The magnolias and Confederate jasmine are in bloom, and they smell sooooo good.
I'm thankful that Bentley, our neighbor's cat, has not caught any birds. 
He's been trying hard, though.

The pollywogs are getting big, and you can see the tiny front legs formed under the skin. This is our grandson's science project, and we've enjoyed watching and documenting the process with him.

Just look at all the color in the Golden Garden!  Spring has sprung, and we had such a mild winter, it's felt like spring here since the first of the year.  That's why I love where I live!

The weather has been so mild, I thought the Golden Rain trees would never lose all their leaves.  About two weeks ago, they finally did and then a week later, the new growth began.

We have lots of sunflowers under the birdfeeders.  They're my favorite flower, and I'm always thankful to see them appear.


This is an ibis, but I call them the "funky chickens."  It's rare to see one perching in a tree.  They travel in flocks, hunting for bugs in the front yards of our neighborhood.

Passover** began at sundown on Monday, so I'm planning what dishes to take for our seder meal, which will be Saturday evening.  We're doing a pot-luck dinner, and I'm bringing a Mediterranean chicken dish and a sugar-free apple crisp. The younger women of the synagogue are doing all the preparation and decorating.  Now that is a big blessing, Gail-Friends, and my heart is overflowing with gratitude to them and to Hashem.  I'll post about it next week, with lots of photos for you.

Chag Sameach, and enjoy your matzah!

What are you thankful for this week, Gail-Friends?

Thankful Thursday is my day to focus on and be thankful for all the good things in my life.

** To read previous posts about Passover (Pesach), click HERE.
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I sometimes share my posts with these friends:



Spiritual Sundays     Kathy’s Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life     GRAND Social       The Beauty in His Grip Link-Up