Friday, November 14, 2008

Only the Good Friday and a Give-Away

Tonight, I'm doing my "Only the Good Friday" post with a little extra twist to it. A link to where you can -if you hurry -get in on a give-away for a $50 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble!.
Here's the link to the give-away, so hurry, go sign up and maybe someone will win that followed my lead to Oh Amanda's place! Not only is this a great opportunity to win a nice big fat gift certificate to one of MY favorite stores, but any one who purchases through B&N can be part of the Box Tops for Education program too which gives a percentage of your purchases back to your home school district! Isn't that a great idea too!

Boy, do I ever wish I would be the lucky person to win the $50 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble cause then, I could get more books that my oldest grandson would like to receive for Christmas along with some more books for both my daughters -and for me, too!

I really think this contest, the Box Tops for Education too, are something terrific and really deserve a mention as an "Only the Good Friday" type deal, don't you? Oh, and thanks to "Mrs. 4444" over at Half Past Kissing Time who is responsible for pointing me to Oh Amanda and this contest in the first place!

Yesterday -Thursday morning - I had an appointment over in Clearfield to go get smashed. Yeah, it was that time again for me to report in and have my annual mammography done. Lucky for me, it went pretty smoothly -didn't cause a whole bunch of discomfort even, just a tiny little bit of squishing -and now, I should be good to go for another year before I have to deal with THAT again! But you've gotta know too that this is such a very important thing that ALL women should have done -at least once a year and for all the women whose lives can and have been saved because of this test, it really ranks up there too as an "Only the Good Friday" type event.

On my way over to Clearfield -and on the way back home too -I had a cd playing in my jeep. No, not just playing but BLASTING, BLARING and I was singing along to some of the songs, humming along to others -on this cd, a really great Johnny Cash cd (sorry, but I don't remember now which one it was as Mandy has several of his cd's and we both love his music -a WHOLE LOT! The one I was listening to though -I think it was Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison though, yeah, pretty sure that was it. And it came to my mind as I was enjoying his great work what a good Only the Good Friday thing it is that we have CD players in vehicles and also, that someone with as much immense talent as Johnny Cash had could sing like he did and totally cheer me up as I drove through the cold rain, then mist along the highway. Music, just about any kind of music for that matter, tends to have the capacity to do that for me -changes my outlook, makes me feel younger, brighter, happier, able to enjoy the good as well as cope with the bad that sometimes creeps in too.

The other morning, while I was enjoying my first cup of coffee for the day -another thing to add to the Only the Good Friday feelings ya know -Mandy called to me and wanted me to hurry out to the kitchen. Well, hurry is not a word that has much use in my vocabulary as my speed is far from what it used to be, but anyway, I got out there as quickly as I could and she was pointing out the window on the kitchen door. There, in the backyard stood a lone deer -a doe (I didn't see any antlers so I presume it was a doe) and she was grazing down back in our yard! I went back and grabbed my camera, tried to open the inside door as quietly as possible so as not to spook the doe and took two pictures -neither of which turned out! Took me those two pictures to realize I was trying to take the shot on the inside, through the screen, so all that showed up was the mesh -a close up type view no less -of the screen! So I tried to quickly -and as quietly as possible -open the door and take a step out on the deck to get a shot but it was really too far away then to show up very well -therefore, I'm not posting it here today.

But, I ask you now, isn't that too an "Only the Good Friday" type moment in time -to see this beautiful animal, quietly eating grasss about 60 feet (give or take a few) from one's back door? We often see the deer in the back lot, a little bit further down, closer to the woods and the creek that runs along the back lot (no, it's not exactly the "back 40 acres -don't own but two lots with my house here) and it is so nice to feel that much closer to Mother Nature when they show up to feed. My son-in-law loves seeing them too but he just wishes he could either hunt from the deck and get his buck for the year or maybe, if he's really lucky, he'll find one of the deer that ventures forward, that close to us and civilization.

"Uncle Clate" was down tonight for supper with us and after we ate, he, Mandy and I were watching tv but Maya went down to the basement with her Dad, having some quality father-daughter time together there. Her dad drew two cars for her -not one time, but three times -and Maya then colored the vehicles and wrote (well, printed, ok?) the name of who she wanted to give her drawings to. One for Gram, one for Mommy and one that had across the top, printed so nicely, "Uncle Clate." She came upstairs and laid it on his chest. Now, you also have to realize two things there -one is that my son loves cars, volkswagon bugs in particular is a make he is extremely partial to and also, he is a total sentimental slob about Miss Maya, his only niece. As he was oohing and ahhing over her art work, you could see too the tears welling up in his eyes as he realized how much this little girl truly adores her Uncle Clate! And oh my yes, that is such an Only the Good Friday moment for me -for Mandy too! And also for Maya as he made her feel she was ultra special then for having colored in the two volkswagon bugs her daddy had drawn for her to color and present that then to Uncle Clate.

I managed to find enough time after I left the hospital lab today to do a bit of shopping too -nice, because some of the stores were having some good sales and also, because they weren't packed with frenzied shoppers looking for items to purchase with Christmas gifts in mind. My kind of shopping event there, for sure -and yes, another Only the Good Friday thing too.

On the craft side here, I have both pillow cases done now -remember the one I showed you the other day when I posted the pictures of the 52x52 tablecloth I had completed -and I am almost finished with the matching dresser scarf now too. Anytime I manage to stay with a project as long as I have this embroidery kick I've been on now since early August is most definitely in the Only the Good Friday catergory for me!

Tonight too, I want to remember the many friends and family members I am able to keep in touch with via the internet -e-mail, blogs and such -a very nice fun Only the Good Friday remembrance for me.

And for the package I received today too -with two more fairly large tablecloths, two pair of pillow cases and two dresser scarves that I was able to find and purchase online last week and to add to my embroidery stash projects to keep me -and my fingers -very busy over the coming months -that really is, for me, a very good Only the Good Friday thing to have available to do now!

So many other things and not near enough time tonight -probably never for that matter -to think of and note that they are all Only the Good Friday things.

Life, being the best of them though.

16 comments:

Linda said...

Good luck with that B&N contest, I'm sure you would make great use of a $50 gift certificate!

I love the CD player in my car and use it all the time versus the radio. Though every great once in awhile I just don't want to listen to any music and all and shut it off just to listen the road and the world outside.

Now for this Only the Good Friday - is there some sort of number of times you have to use that saying in your post? I lost count!

Beth said...

OMG--- finally getting caught up with you here!

It is a much nicer day today-- but HOLD ON--- just wait another day! lol

PA-- ya gotta love her! :D

OHmommy said...

I have always wanted to get into embroidery. I have so many ideas floating around in my head.

Maggie May said...

Only time to comment on one thing that caught my interest today.
Mammograms ........ You are lucky to get yearly ones. In England we only get them once every three years till the age of seventy, that is.
After that you have to apply to have more screening.

Douglas Whynott said...

well it looks like you have been very busy....and having some fun whilst being busy....nice combination....hope you continue to enjoy the embroidery as much as you are...some one is going to be very lucky....

Those all all great Only the Good Friday thing ...

terri said...

How amazing to be able to see a doe in the back yard like you did. Our neighborhood is pretty well developed, but our house is positioned on the outer edge of the development, close to a stretch of farmland and wooded area. When I go out walking or running early in the morning, I'll occasionally catch a glimpse of some deer out in the fields. They are so beautiful. Being able to stop and watch them almost feels magical.

You pointed out a lot of things that I agree are things that make life good... music - especially playing it loud and singing along at the top of your lungs, seeing your family members showing their love for each other, simple pleasures like the hobbies you enjoy so much. I truly enjoy reading these posts.

Paula said...

Sounds like, besides the boob smashing, that you had an awesome day. What could be better than Johnny Cash blaring in the jeep, an uncle's sentimental tears, and a finished project. Perfect!!

Linda Murphy said...

I am rooting for you in the Barnes and Noble contest....$50 would get some great books! Good luck!

You really make me laugh every time I come for a visit. I love all of your family happenings. ;)

Kanani said...

Glad the mammogram --or as I call it, the boob smasher went okay. You'd think we could find masses without having to smash our tits in the name of science!

Hope you win the B&N contest.
And I love Johnny Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues" as well. I think it was one of his best LP's.

I've reviewed a book you might like to read when you win that gift certificate!

Travis Cody said...

I love that you still blast your music!

dr sardonicus said...

Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison, now, that's a classic. And the Box Tops were pretty good too ("The Letter", "Cry Like A Baby"), though they weren't around long.

Lori said...

Hi...I'm commenting back to the comment you left at my blog regarding the school plays.
Since we live in a very conservative part of the U.S. (and I don't mean that negatively, as I'm pretty conservative myself in some ways) we are very careful what types of plays we present. Though we put on the play "Grease", it was the high school version which left out a lot of the suggestive material, which I feel was a wise decision for this level of theatre. The arts, sadly, are not supported very well at our school so we have to keep everything as positive as possible to be able to keep our program. Though student interest is low, those who are involved love it and therefore, do a fantastic job.

Shrinky said...

Ah, such a heart warming post jenni! Yes, there is nothing more uplifting than hollering away to a good song in the car (so long as the windows are firmly up, and I have no hosta.. um, passengers on board. Thanks for putting a smile round my heart. It's true, there is always so much to be grateful for should we but only look.

Anonymous said...

I watched a movie this Fri and wrote a review and forgot about the GF post! Now I remembered and came and read urs n hv decided to write it on Mon instead...music changes my mood too,calms me down.Doe in the backyard? I have never seen one except in zoos!u r lucky :)T.C. Jeni
Teri introduced Mike so beautifully, nai?

Anonymous said...

Girl, you DID post an only the good Friday, didn't you? I like that! Johnny Cash is The Man, as far as I'm concerned. The mammogram, not so much of a favorite, but you balanced it out (and it WAS good to get it). I'm glad to hear that your day went well.
Thanks for posting.

Sandi McBride said...

I hope you win the 50 buck gift prize Jeni...I'm pulling for you!
hugs
Sandi