with Vickie Ellis
Hello to all!
I hope everyone is doing well and that Father’s Day was a good experience for those who could celebrate. I hope sweet memories helped for those who could not. There are good, bad and exceptional parents, I think; there are those who do not share the load of parenting. I used to think when I was young that I did not ask to be born. I did not, but I was wanted. Life is hard sometimes, and we have to take the good with the bad, and we, hopefully, learn from it all. If mistakes are made, own up to them. It takes a BIG person to apologize. I do not want to get to the end of my road with unspoken regrets. No one is perfect. We had a good, stable home. My daddy worked, and mother took care of us, daddy and our home. We were raised with chores as we grew and respected our parents or wished we had. Our parents did not discuss money or personal things in front of us. We had food, clothing and shelter. We went to church, and sometimes on Sunday night, we would go by the Dairy Queen afterwards – what a TREAT! Now, all we have are memories but praise the Lord for them. Everything was not good from a child’s viewpoint, but looking back, we had a good life, and we were protected. Talk to your children. Put the phones down and have “US” time. Hug them, boys and girls. Boys like hugs, too. Dads, hug your children. One day you will not be here to do that. Tell them how much they mean to you. At some point in time, it will mean the world to them. I miss both my parents and our youngest son, Nicholas. We just keep putting one foot in front of the other, one day at a time and keeping our faith in God. He has never failed us yet. Every day, tell the Lord how thankful you are for another day – good or bad. There are those who would love to be able to say that.
We mowed the yard Saturday. The weather is so nice. The temperature was 82 degrees, partly cloudy, and we had a nice breeze blowing. Our flowers look very pretty, and the birds continue to delight us. Not sure if I mentioned, but we have a swamp rabbit that comes to our backyard. He is bigger than our seven pound poodle. It was hot Sunday with rain Monday. The temperatures are supposed to slightly lower the rest of the week. We had a visitor Saturday – a BIG, LONG (six foot) chicken snake. Although, we did not know what type it was at the beginning. It was headed straight for our birdhouse on our back deck. In fact, it had its head and part of its body in the house. It sure was scary, but chicken snakes are supposed to be harmless from what I hear.
Happy birthday to Jackson Sanford, 6-26.
Happy anniversary to Jeremy and Misti Ellis, 6-22.
Please continue to remember these in prayer Denise Armstrong, Sheila Berry, Charlie Brewer, Robert and Joyce Brewer, J.T. Butler, Jackie Chambers, Walter Cooper, Wood Deming, Rachel Ellington, Nancy McCaskill, LaVelle Page, Beth Plunk, Pam Priddy, Jesse Pugh, Logan Rencher, Donald Rowlett, Randy Sells, Dalton Seratt, Missy Seratt, David Tucker, Tony Tucker, John Webb and Jo Willis. Also, please pray for our military, law enforcement, our country and its leaders, those affected by COVID and first responders. There are many sick and hurting. Please say a prayer for those; even if you do not know their name, God does. Prayer is not an obligation; it is the greatest privilege we have. Pray yourself through each day.
WATERMELON JAM – You will need two cups pureed watermelon, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, two cups white sugar and six tablespoons (two packages) powdered pectin (labeled as “low sugar or “no sugar needed”). Put pureed watermelon, lemon juice and sugar in a pot. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the pectin and whisk with a handheld whisk or fork immediately, so it dissolves without clumping. Bring the watermelon jam to a boil again, then reduce heat to a simmer, stirring every minute, for 20 minutes. Pour the watermelon jam into a mason jar. It will set once completely cooled. This can be canned or stored in a refrigerator for up to a month. Do not use the peach or strawberry recipes, or you will end up with watermelon syrup. Prior to making jam/jelly, wash jars, boil water and pour into jars and when cool drain. In a small pan, boil enough water to cover lids. Place lids in hot water after removing from stove . Be careful not to scratch the rubber part on the lid or it might not seal. Finally, put rings on snug and wait until you hear popping, then they are sealed, Enjoy.
I pray you all have a wonderful week, and may it be filled with love, joy, peace and blessings. Remember: if you have news, please email me at mimmiepots@gmail.com. I would truly appreciate any news. People from here and those who have moved from our area but still want to keep in touch through the newspaper are hungry for news from home.
Until next week, Happy Trails to You.
