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When my mom was a young girl, she saved her baby sister from drowning while she herself did not know how to swim. Instead of taking it upon herself to learn how and avoid such situations in the future, she made darn sure she was never in or near the water again. She also made sure we stayed away from it, too. Thus, I spent the majority of my life scared to death of water.
\n\n\nI did venture into the pool a little bit when I was a teenager. But my fear of water kept me from doing so many things I later learned to enjoy. I have only learned enough to be able to (more than likely) save myself from drowning. I’ve kayaked on the Ohio River and in a reservoir. And I’ve been on pleasure boats and sternwheelers. I’m much more comfortable in and around water than I used to be. Which comes in handy when you have a pool in your back yard.
\n\n\nAfter my difficult day on Thursday, I needed a bit of a break yesterday. I slept in late. I fixed our favorite breakfast. Then Mrs. FixIt 1.0 came over in the afternoon for a visit. She needed a piece of plywood and Mr. FixIt fetched one for her from the “hardware store” we call the building out back. We made sure she brought her suit so we could swim. We spent a couple of hours out there till the sun was beating down on our heads and we called it quits.
\n\n\nI fixed us a nice lunch and we just had such a lovely time. I really enjoy her company. She brought me a birthday present, too! All kinds of different doo-dahs for knitting that will come in handy when mowing season is over. Many people are surprised that the former wife and the current wife are friends. It doesn’t work for all women, but I think it’s healthier and better for everyone involved…especially the kids. Even though they are grown, it makes life so much easier for them when they don’t feel split loyalties.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e19d6a0fa3.jpg\")
I’m enjoying this Ninja Creami. I’m experimenting with different recipes and ingredients. I had a chocolate ice cream last night that was very good, but I made it with coconut cream instead of dairy and there was so much fat in it, it coated the roof of my mouth and I don’t like that. It’s a work in progress and I’m bound to come up with the perfect combination for a creamy non-dairy ice cream.
\n\n\nToday is supposed be the last day of the heat wave that has gripped most of the country for the last week. The heat advisory is due to expire at 8:00 this evening and we may have storms tomorrow. That will cool things off a bit. And by a bit, I mean the high 80’s instead of the high 90’s. My friend Sharon’s funeral service will be held tomorrow afternoon.
\n\n\nLife is so precious and fragile and it goes by way too fast. Be sure to tell people you love them…early and often. We never know when it will be the last time and a missed opportunity weighs heavily on your mind.
\n\n\n🩵
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2024-06-22T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2024/06/22/loving-the-water.html", "tags": ["Family","Wisdom","Strength"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2024/06/21/a-challenging-day.html", "title": "A Challenging Day", "content_html": "\n“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
\nPsalm 4:8 ESV\n
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I woke up yesterday morning to the news that my dear friend Sharon passed peacefully at 3:30am. She was surrounded by those who loved her most. They took turns holding her hand, stroking her hair and face, talking to her. They stood around her bed and sang along with her favorite songs. They laughed and shared stories. And they ushered her along to God’s arms, just the way she wanted it. I am saddened by our earthly loss. I am heartbroken for her family that they had to lose her at the young age of 71. At the same time, I rejoice that she has shed this earthly body and she feels no more pain. I know I will see her again…someday.
\n\n\nIt was one thing after another yesterday and it ended with Mr. FixIt walking in from hauling branches to the brush pile. He was covered in blood from the middle of his forearm down over his hand. I jumped up and got him in the bathroom before he bled on the carpet. When I finally got him cleaned up, it wasn’t all that bad. One of his medications slows his clotting factor and any little cut or scratch looks like an ax murder. It’s always something when we’re of a certain age, isn’t it?
\n\n\nOn June 4th, my daily blog post talked about the goodness of God. I have long thought there is a bias in the algorithms on social media when it comes to the subject of faith. When I post my Sunday Evening Prayer Circles, they only get sent out to a handful of people. Then, on the evening of the 4th, I got a message from FB saying that my post that day went against the rules and it was removed. They said it was misleading and looked like a trick to get people to follow the link to my website. They gave me the opportunity to protest it and they would review their ruling. I sent in the request and waited. I didn’t say anything on the page till I heard back from them. They said their first ruling stands and it was misleading.
\n\n\nI’ve read that post ten times and I cannot see anything that is misleading or is different from any of my other posts. I can’t repost it, because if you get too many dings, they can bump you way down in the algorithms. I can, however, put this paragraph in here and tell you that you can go to my website and reread that post anytime you want. Because only the first paragraph of my posts reside on the “book of faces.” At the same time, I reported a different page that purported to be about the beauty of WV. The photos they post are AI generated and don’t look anything like my beautiful home state. And their link takes you to a cheap t-shirt shop. The powers that be, ie a bot, reviewed my report and they didn’t find anything wrong with that page…they weren’t “breaking the rules.” Nothing to see here. Go figure.
\n\n\nThis is why I started my own website in the first place. We don’t know how long this social media mega-corporation will be around and I’ll be darned if I’m going to lose the sheer volume of writing that I’ve shared here. Sometime in the fall, I’m going to take a sabbatical for a few months and really work on my book. It needs to get done…time’s a waistin’. It never gets more apparent than when one of my dear friends dies. I’ll let you know when the time comes, but I wanted to give y’all a little heads up. I know you’ll wait for me here! And you can always go back and reread some of my earlier works.
\n\n\nI spent the day keeping my mind busy trying to update a very old GPS unit. “Mavis” has been with me and told me where to go since shortly after Mr. Virgo died. He was my navigator because I cannot find my way out of a paper bag with both hands and a flashlight. I’ve come to rely on “Mavis” telling me what lane to be in at least a quarter mile beforehand. I know I can use my phone’s navigation programs. But there’s something about that big screen that keeps me oriented. I’m a visual learner, so just listening to the directions without seeing where I’m going drives me nuts. I do run Waze on my phone at the same time because that has a setting to alert you when you’re over the speed limit or if there’s a hazard up ahead. She also tells you if there’s a policeman hiding up there somewhere. Add Mr. FixIt and his innate sense of direction and I literally can’t get lost! If it weren’t for “Mavis,” my solo traveling would have been a nightmare.
\n\n\nI think we’ve got all the mechanical bugs worked out on the vehicles now. Mr. FixIt had the tailpipe of his exhaust system welded back together yesterday. And Freida the Ford is running like a top!
\n\n\nCounting down the days…six more sleeps!
\n\n\n☀️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2024-06-21T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2024/06/21/a-challenging-day.html", "tags": ["Courage","Choices","Strength"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2023/11/29/the-first-flakes-of-snow.html", "title": "The First Flakes of Snow", "content_html": "\n“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
\nPhilippians 4:13 ESV\n
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We are in the midst of a little cold snap here in West Virginia. I’m still sleeping with the window open, even though the night-time temps are getting down in the twenties and last night was supposed to get as low as seventeen degrees. The house was toasty warm and I was so grateful for my new bootie/slippers. We cooked. We watched the History Channel and learned more about the Titanic and other historical mysteries.
\n\n\nRemember I told you I took a video when I was making the pie this weekend? I tried to process it and post it from my iPad and started getting the message yet again that it is full. I downloaded the video to a thumb drive and transferred it to my laptop and created a beautiful video. Only problem is, if you’ll also remember, our internet is powered by two possums and a squirrel and I’d say the squirrel has given up the ghost. There is no way I’m going to be able to upload videos from home. That leaves them to my trips to The Farm, and I am not quite sure when I can get over there next.
\n\n\nIt’s always something.
\n\n\nI got another little job finished. The cast iron griddle I seasoned last week turned out so nice, I decided to do my skillets over again because they were kind of gummy from where I wipe them with oil between uses. I’ll give it a second coat and season it again later in the week along with the third coat on the griddle.
\n\n\nAs it’s getting darker earlier and earlier, there have been many stories on the news about Seasonal Affective Disorder. I, myself, have had difficulties with it in the past. There are many symptoms of SAD. It affects your mood, sleep, and your physical body. Fatigue, depression, anxiety, loneliness, mood swings, sadness. You can eat and sleep too little or too much. Irritability and lack of concentration. Ennui. Winter Blues.
\n\n\nToo many people suffer silently with SAD. But, the last few years the press has been shining a light on this disorder. As we lay our beautiful former First Lady, Mrs. Rosalyn Carter to rest today, I am encouraged by her steadfast mission to raise awareness of mental health issues. We’ve come a long way toward accepting mental illness as just that…an illness. No different than heart disease, high cholesterol, or anything else.
\n\n\nIf you or anyone you know are suffering, please know there is not shame in admitting that and reaching out for help. Here is an excellent resource on Seasonal Affective Disorder. And remember, I am always a private message away if I can help in any way.
\n\n\n🎄
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
\nRomans 15:13 ESV\n
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
\n\n\nHis Mercies are new every morning. There is always hope…always.
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Photo Credit: 9/11Memorial.org
\n\n\nThose of us who were glued to the TV for days will never forget where we were or what we were doing that dreadful day. We must never forget. For those who forget our history are doomed to repeat it. Our world changed that day…one of those pivitol moments where you can never go back to the way it was before. A collective grief. And now, a place rebuilt from the ashes. A place to remember, but also a place to live…the way those lost would want us to live.
\n\n\nLet’s remember the camaraderie we felt toward each other in those weeks and months after the disaster. We can get back to that. Let’s make America KIND again. Let’s bring back HOPE, and LOVE, and PEACE.
\n\n\nPlease.
\n\n\nhttps://www.911memorial.org/connect/commemoration
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2023-09-11T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2023/09/11/remembrance-day.html", "tags": ["Faith","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Memories","Strength"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2023/02/26/when-grief-comes-calling.html", "title": "When Grief Comes Calling", "content_html": "\n“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
\nJohn 13:34 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/59f52c1097.jpg\")
After nearly ten years, the grief I feel over losing Mr. Virgo is vastly different than it was even five or six years ago. Almost always, when memories come…it gives me a warm, loving feeling. I am seldom struck with heavy sadness and it isn’t the kind that breaks my heart open anymore. It is such a relief that my road isn’t as rocky and painful as it once was.
\n\n\nThat doesn’t mean that I never feel grief. It still sneaks up on me and it always will. Moving forward in life didn’t mean I stopped loving him. On the contrary. When my heart broke open, it made room in there for more and more love. And that eventually allowed me to let Mr. FixIt in. Our capacity to love should be as limitless as the stars if we truly love as Jesus loves.
\n\n\nWe were watching a show yesterday that tugged at my heartstrings. A long time character that we enjoyed passed away. On this show, he had been a Marine and they gave him full Military Honors at the gravesite. I’ve seen this a few times since Mr. Virgo died and every single time, it cuts through my heart. Every shot from the rifles. Every note of Taps played on the lone bugle. Every fold of the American flag that was draped over the casket then handed so reverently to the family. I can still remember that handsome, young soldier handing me Mr. Virgo’s flag and thanking me on behalf of the President and a grateful nation. It picked at that raw place in my heart that will always and forever be there, even though it normally hides…wrapped in velvety feathers in a beautiful, quiet place deep within me.
\n\n\nWhen the show ended, I gazed out the window. The sun was shining through the chill of a false spring day. I needed to get outside and feel the sun and wind and do something…anything. This life I’ve been blessed with…this decade Mr. Virgo didn’t get to have…makes me keenly away how quickly and easily it can be gone. In an instant. When I am stung by the barbs of grief, I want to make the most of every moment and DO something.
\n\n\nI asked Mr. FixIt if he’d like to go for a drive to Athens to look for that caulking he’s wanting…and maybe get a little supper while we’re out. He never turns down an adventure, so we headed out for the afternoon, had supper at Miller’s Chicken, and stopped to visit with the Former Mrs. FixIt for an hour or so on our way home. It was nearly 10:00 by the time we got home and it was really a most beautiful day.
\n\n\nAs I got out of the truck and began gathering my stuff, I looked up at the stars and was again reminded where I find my help, my strength, my peace. I smiled as I thanked God for blessing us with another day together, then turned and happily padded after Mr. FixIt to the house.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2023-02-26T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2023/02/26/when-grief-comes-calling.html", "tags": ["Grief","God","Peace","Strength"] } ] }“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
\nPsalms 121:2 NIV\n