Sunday, April 14, 2019

Lately



It's been a couple of weeks since I did a post that wasn't a linkup and I knew that you, my readers, were wondering what I had been up to. Right?  Well, here's what I've been up to lately...........


While my youngest brother and his wife were here about 3 weeks ago, Hubby and I used their help to plant our big pots on the back porch and patio.  It's a big job and it was great to have their young, strong backs assist us. ~smile~



We love our back porch and always enjoy getting it decked out in the spring for the months ahead. And, we get to enjoy the beauty of the porch and patio from inside the house with all our windows. 


Our landscape crew readied all our beds for the spring 2-3 weeks ago.  They put out fresh pine straw and trimmed the plants that needed trimming.  They all look so good now. 


There is a sweet story about this piece of art.  My Daddy bought this from a street artist in Italy in 1950 while he was in the Navy.  It is an oil on canvas and it stayed rolled up in a tube for almost 20 years.  Daddy made a frame for it and stretched it across a wooden frame to put inside the frame.  It hung in our house for many years.  About 20 years ago Daddy took the outer frame off of it and just hung it as a stretched canvas.  He gave the piece to my youngest brother and Joel thought  that it would go in my house better than his.  So, he took it to a framing shop that specializes in heirloom pieces.  It was in such a fragile state and Joel knew it had to be handled very carefully.  Well, this is the finished product!  It turned out just beautiful.  Joel brought it when he came about 3 weeks ago and while I had planned for it to be in another location, the foyer wall just seemed the BEST place for it. It is truly an heirloom that has found it's home for now.  I am thrilled with the piece and love that it has such history.



I took a new bouquet of silk flowers to place on my Mom's grave this past week.  I take flowers each season and it really makes me happy to see how pretty it makes the grave.  I do not go to her grave any other time but I do enjoy the few times a year that I go to place flowers  And, I think that this is fast becoming a "thing of the past."  I don't think my kids generation will ever have the desire to visit or take flowers to our graves.  And, that's just fine, things change.  And, Hubby and I are even discussing being cremated and having our remains put in a mausoleum.  There is a mausoleum 20+ miles from us that has an area for vessels of cremated remains to be placed and it is so lovely.  Once placed, there is no maintenance to be done or no need for flowers and it's always neat and dry inside the mausoleum.  It's very appealing to me but decisions such as this are very individual.  I hope that Hubby and I will have all our plans made and paid for by the time our last breath is taken.  It will sure make it so much easier on our children.

Image result for Holy week

The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is referred to as Holy Week.  I hope that you will reflect on the difference the resurrection has made in your life as you prepare for your Easter celebration.  And, if the resurrection has not made a difference in your life then I pray that you will change that and accept Jesus as your Savior and experience the difference the resurrection makes in your life.  May this week be extra special as we all prepare for Easter. 


Lea @ CiCis Corner
Lea @ CiCis Corner

Hi there! My name is Lea. I've been wife to the best Hubby for 44 years....Mom to a son and daughter....CiCi to 4 precious Grans....lover of family and friends....enjoy laughter and a good time....shopper....picture taking maniac....maker of delicious fudge....organizational enthusiast....memory maker....Southern Belle...and most importantly.....a Child of the King! Welcome to my little corner!

11 comments:

  1. What a wonderful keepsake that painting is and I'm sure it will be special to future generations as well. That is precisely why Dick and I were thrilled when our church built its own colomarium. We were among of the first to purchase our spot that will be maintained for as long as there is a church there. I feel it is a gift to our children in a way. At least something they won't have to worry about. Your yard and patio look so pretty and welcoming. May you and T have a blessed Holy Week.

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  2. Happy Easter week! So glad you have that special heirloom in your home :)

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  3. What a beautiful gravestone your mom has. I'm 32 and I enjoy visiting cemeteries. We're visiting my hubby's grandparents and great-grandparents gravestones while visiting family during Easter weekend. It was so nice of your brother to gift you your dad's painting. Those kinds of gifts are priceless.

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  4. Love the sweet heirloom. How precious. You are so right Lea about the upkeep of grave sights. It's a lot of work unless you are a part of an organization that you can pay monthly to keep it up which there are some like that. My FIL keeps up my MIL sight and our County does allow for inmates to go and mow the property which honestly is a blessing for our family. I hope that you and your family has a wonderful and blessed Resurrection Day. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  5. Your porch and patio look beautiful, and I don't use that word lightly!! The painting is a treasured keepsake and your brother did the right thing to preserve it! It looks great in your foyer. Joe and I already have our arrangements made and paid for and we are being cremated. Our little niche is in a lovely area of the cemetery and there is a bench there in case anyone wants to visit. We know that it is only our earthly remains there and that our souls will be in Heaven. Loved seeing your pictures!!

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  6. Lea, this is a beautiful post. I love your landscape...just beautiful! I need your help!!! I work in the yard but I am pitiful at it. We are wanting to change out our front flower beds but due to a (cha-ching) upcoming (and expensive) project of all new windows (25 to be exact) the yard may have to wait until next year!!! I agree with you about the flowers at the cemetery. Things have definitely changed and many traditions of the past are going by the wayside. My hubby wants to be cremated but I am still on the fence!!! Like you I am hoping to have a lot of things settled before we both leave this earth. A dear, dear sweet friend lost her husband a few years back but before he died (of cancer) he had EVERYTHING taken care of. He left no stone unturned and my friend said it was the best gift he could have ever given her. I will be teaching Sun. Sch. on Easter and our lesson about the resurrection is going to be (I think) a very interesting one. It discusses the "evidence" of the resurrection through both science and history. I did a lot of study and research in preparation and I found it fascinating. Hope you and yours have a lovely Easter. And do tell your brother he sounds like a keeper:) Such a nice and caring thing for him to do.

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  7. It is always such a great feeling to get things all spruced up for the spring. I purchased 4 new ferns for the front porch last week and hope to get bedding and vegetable plants this weekend. How wonderful that lovely painting has been preserved...what a classic piece! Have a blessed Holy Week, Lea!

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  8. Your pots are so pretty and will be even more gorgeous as time goes on. I think that's one of the things that's so gratifying about planting big pots like that...watching them progress. How incredibly sweet of your brother to have that painting redone for you. Things like that are priceless and of course the sentiment behind it is even more special and thoughtful. I agree about the flowers in cemetery's. I don't think a lot of kids have any idea what that's all about. Everyone out here in CA is cremated...you can't afford to be buried. Hope your week is going great Lea!! XO

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  9. The planters look lovely. Everything look beautiful. That's a lovely story about the oil painting. The flowers look so pretty at the cemetery. Mark and I want to be cremated and have our ashes spread at Mammoth Lakes, CA.

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  10. Lovely photos! I've been a long time blogger and came over to follow you. Trying to stay away from social media. Blogging is so much more fun! I was out of the loop but enjoy my blog if nothing else to entertain a few friends while I journal for the grands to know about us . It is lovely to meet you here. HUGS xo

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  11. Your yard is beautiful. I enjoyed getting to see it in all its springtime glory. We enjoy springtime in the South because in Colorado the spring showers usually turn into snow after just a few short minutes! The blossoming trees get loaded down with wet, heavy snow, branches break, and the flowers get covered with ice. Then summer comes with hail stones.

    So, yes, spring in the South is a happy thing!

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So glad you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit. I love your comments and read each and every one of them and I always try to reply to them. Blessings to you this day!