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Turn on a Dime

29 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

This week has flown by. Three doctor appointments in a row can do that. Thankfully, they were all good. I was especially happy that my husband’s two week post op back surgery visit went well and he has been released to drive.

Yesterday my husband drove ( very excited about that) us to the grocery. On the way home we were stopped at a traffic light behind this truck.

Do you ever snap random photos for no purpose just because the subject sparked your imagination or curiosity? It was a gorgeous Florida day, breezy, chilly and sunny and the truck was loaded with outdoor gear. But this was different. Most of the time, the bikes are shiny, mounted with efficient mounts. These bikes had rusty handlebars and were attached by orange strips. The boat on top was not a sleek canoe or kayak as normally seen, but an old aluminum one.

I imagined a family in the truck excited to be going camping and boating. Not a rich family with shiny bikes but an everyday type of family, enjoying being together. It was a nice imagination. Then my husband noted the truck’s license plate…New York. My Imagination shift! The truck now belonged to someone down in Florida for the winter, and picking up used items to sell at a Flea market. Imagination is like that, it can turn on a dime!

Before returning home, I asked my husband to drive me to one of our riverside parks. The winds demanded a “wind fix.” I love wind. Not the hurricane, tornado kind, but wind that comes with a weather front pushing through. It makes my heart soar and I want to spread my arms and embrace it. Think Titanic.

The park has swings and I enjoy sitting there even without the wind. While I sat in the swing, my husband took a short walk. He’s working on building up his strength after surgery. We have plans. (And I have a list of projects for him)

This park is a favorite of mine for a picnic. I posted this video on Facebook to tease my friends who like to picnic but aren’t a fan of wind and cold.

Did I mention that on Wednesday it was 81 degrees and we were running the a/c? Temperatures, like imagination can turn on a dime!

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

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Plant Migration

23 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Since we divide our time between the Western North Carolina mountains and Florida ( 6 months each) people ask if we are snow birds. I don’t consider us snow birds as we are not fleeing the snow and cold of winter (which I love) but fleeing the Florida summer heat. I tell them we are blessed irregular migrants, wandering between both places.

The dictionary defines human migration as “physical movement by humans from one region to another” and ecology migration as”the large-scale movement of species from one environment to another;”

The ecology part came into play when we began bringing my dipladenia or mandevilla hanging baskets, cold sensitive plants, to spend winters in Florida with us. They flourished, and make the Spring journey back to North Carolina in full bloom.

Initially I had one plant that hung by the front door but a few years ago purchased another to hang in the back yard for the birds to enjoy. This year I retired an old one from rotation and it will hopefully live happily in Florida. We have had to bring it inside several times this year due to the cold but so far so good. I wish I had a picture before our daughter trimmed it up yesterday. It was huge!. I think the yellow leaves are the result of adjusting to a different climate.

Poinsettia are a long time favorite of mine. During childhood my mom grew them outside and they bloomed beautifully at Christmas. She knew when to trim them back for blooms. Christmas of 2019 I bought some small plants at a home improvement store in North Carolina. They were only 88 cents each so why not! I found I preferred the small plants as they were easier to create a grouping in decorative containers for the holiday season.

Of course I became attached to them and took them with us to Florida. They did well over the winter but I didn’t think they would flourish in the summer heat so we found room in the car and took them with us along with the dipladenia.

We didn’t plant them, simply sat them outside in their pots and let nature care for them. They grew and began to get “leggy”. When our daughter came to spend Thanksgiving with us, I asked her to take the plants to Florida and see how they would do. To my surprise they overcame the “leggy” look and made a beautiful plant.

Moving into the fall of 2020. I posted here about finding a farm that sold a myriad of pansy varieties. I planted three pots of them. Unfortunately, the time to leave for Florida arrived before they reached full glory. So… you guessed it, I brought them with me, but only one pot. I left one on a shepherds hook by the front door and one in a large planter that supports a fountain.

I also picked up 88 cent poinsettias again this year. I set a grouping on the outside stairs as well as some inside. It was tricky trying to remember to bring them in after watering them, but I only watered once per week. They came to Florida too and along with the pansies are now providing cheerful color` to the walkway. If the pansies survive the heat of Florida spring (which begins in late February) I plan to take them back to North Carolina where they should thrive until late April. And yes, there is a good chance the poinsettia will go too. I think maybe my plants are snow bird plants!

We bought this dipladenia in 2020 and look forward to several years of migration. I love these plants because they take care of themselves and yet give us beautiful flowers.

I hope January has been kind to you. We’ve had some medical challenges but remain thankful and confident in the love and care of our Savior.

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Helping Hands-Impromptu Cold Shelter

15 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Non-Florida readers don’t laugh. In Florida our county opens cold shelters for the homeless when the night temperature dips down into the 40s. For some reason, the cold shelter in north county is closed this week and the closest open one is 4o miles away.

A friend, Scooter Morrison, who pastors a small church located in a community center said his heart broke when he learned due to a temporary closure, the homeless would be left without shelter. As he related it to me, he felt God asking him, “don’t you have a building and heat? I will supply the rest?”

He put a call out on Facebook for donations of cots, blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. I stopped by on Wednesday to drop off a donation and was thrilled to learn the community had met all of the needs including hot meals. I apologize for the blurry photos, I had to screenshot them from a video

Folding tables were placed on their sides to allow privacy between cots.

As evening drew near yesterday, volunteers with trucks drove through local parks where homeless congregate, offering a ride to the church.

The news channels shriek anger and division. The antidote is kindness. There is good happening in every community. Find a way to be a part of it. In the Christian community we call it being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Scooter Morrison is the pastor of Lifepointe Ministries in Titusville, Florida.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

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Is This an Omen for 2021

2 Jan

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I’m late with my Happy New Year post. I even had a graphic made in advance..

The days since Christmas seem to have flown. We are heading to Florida for the winter so along with putting away Christmas decorations, I have been busily preparing the house for winter. Sadly, although I know I have cleaned bathrooms and floors, and picked up bits, the house doesn’t look tidy. Oh well, I still have some time before our move. I may even get around to tidying up the closet.

I hope this busyness isn’t an omen for 2021, unless of course, it is a sign that life in 2021 will be filled with happy, busy days, loving my family and my Savoir!

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

The Week of Christmas

31 Dec

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Six months out of the year we live in easy driving distance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and we visit the park several times per year. Usually we make day trips but for our trip last Monday, we decided to make it an overnighter. In our younger days night driving in dense fog over mountains didn’t phase my husband but. we are past those younger days!

Our daughter loves the park as much as we do and once she received approval to have time off work over Christmas we began planning a visit. We monitored the weather reports daily to choose two days with no rain or ice in the forecast. If you have watched long range predictions, you know how fickle they can be. Finally, we decided on the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas and snapped up a hotel reservation.

We set off Monday morning planning to have lunch in one of the picnic areas. To our surprise they were all closed. No problem! Almost as soon as one exits the park and enters Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, there is a Krispy Kreme restaurant. How convenient. We celebrate birthdays with KK doughnuts and our daughter’s birthday was coming up on the 28th.

Doughnuts and coffee make a fine lunch!

Our favorite place in the park is Cade’s Cove and we always snap photos. This trip we got some special pictures at two of the churches.

I think this is the Methodist Church

We knew December 18 was the celebration of Wreaths Across America but we didn’t realize the ceremony extended to small church cemeteries. It was moving to see wreaths on the graves of the long ago soldiers and know their names were still being spoken. We took photos of several and this is one of the oldest.

If you aren’t familiar with Cade’s Cove, it is a rural settlement that was retained for historical use when the Park service bought the land and relocated the residents. Driving along an 11 mile loop road you pass old homesteads and I like to imagine I can hear voices of the past. Speaking of imagining. I have been asking God to let me see an angel. I have no idea of the form and appearance of an angel but I do believe they exist. After taking this picture, I was surprised to see the rainbow arc. I have decided to call it an angel.

I think the best part of the day was seeing families exploring together and learning about our past.

The sad part of the day came when I realized the usual spirit of camaraderie among strangers was totally missing. Gone were the smiles and casual greetings. Have we become afraid to smile? I have noticed in myself that I tend to avert my face when passing people in stores. I know that masks cover our smiles but I purpose to work on eye contact and smiling so big right through my mask that my eyes can’t help but crinkle my laugh lines.

We did finally get a picnic.

Oh and we saw Elk as we were exiting the park!

This fella was the only one in a large field. By his expression I would guess either he was in “time out” or the rest of the herd weren’t in the mood for his mood.

Three days later we woke up to a rare white Christmas!

We will be staying home tonight for New Year’s Eve. There are a couple of specials I want to watch but I am sure I will be asleep before the new year comes in. Do you have any special plans to celebrate the new year? I have to see if I have any black eyed peas in the freezer!

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

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25 Dec

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

During the Christmas season, I’ve used a lot of photos from Pixabay and Canva to create social media graphics but this one is my favorite. I love the balance of the ages old Christmas story and modern decorations. I added the Merry Christmas message.

All of us at Old Things R New treasure our friends and readers and wish you a most happy and joyful Christmas!

PS We are having a white Christmas here in Western NC! Not a lot of snow but the ground is white and we are excited!

Luke 2:10-16

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

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Making Christmas Memories

18 Dec

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Whew! This has been a busy week! Tuesday we hauled the artificial Christmas tree down from the attic along with containers of ornaments, garlands and stockings. After we finished adorning the tree my daughter and I began our Christmas baking.

Christmas baking with my daughter, working side by side in the kitchen, is time I treasure. Making memories of laughter, tasting and collaborating to get the taste just right is one of my favorite holiday things to do.

My daughter made butter cookies in Florida and wanted to make them again for us and we were both craving gingerbread so we added it to the baking list.We follow a Keto eating plan so our deserts and treats don’t always look the same as traditional versions. For instance instead of a dark colored gingerbread, we made a gingerbread bundt cake with a lemon glaze. Without the addition of molasses, the batter lacked the trademark deep rich color and I didn’t want to sacrifice the flavor as well. To try to capture it I added some maple extract and a smidge of expresso powder. Next time I will add a bit more expresso powder. We decided to shave some sugar free pumpkin spice white chocolate on top, then sprinkle with a few whole chips, Definitely not the look of gingerbread but definitely good!

Wednesday arrived rainy and cold. Tuesday we ran out of almond flour, so a trip to town was needed to continue baking. While at the store, I picked up some vegetables to make a pot of beefy vegetable soup. Yesterday we ran out of energy before the Thin Mint cookies my daughter baked were dipped in chocolate so while she dipped, I chopped veggies for soup.

After our supper, (The soup was yummy) we relaxed with soft Christmas music and our TV fireplace. (Don’t judge LOL)

We also watched a livestream of The Little Drummer Boy by King and Country.

Covid has been horrid but an upside to the isolation is free livestream events. We aren’t concert goers so I am getting to enjoy music I would not have otherwise. One of our favorite Christmas traditions is attending Candlelight at Walt Disney World and that won’t be happening this year. A musician friend is recording “One Beautiful Night, A musical and narrated presentation of the Christmas Story. ” It will go live December 23, 2020 at 8pm. Our daughter, Rebekah is one of the narrators. She managed to work in setting up and recording in between baking.

Thursday the temperature only reached 38 degrees. Too cold for me to be anywhere but indoors. I took it as a sign to stop procrastinating and get the Christmas gifts wrapped. Finishing that, I took on sending out Christmas cards. The internet was down, but I refused to get involved with tech support horrors until I finished my tasks. While I worked on them, our daughter spent time doing rewrites on her latest novel and my husband finished a painting. It was a good day.

Now it’s Friday. I don’t have a plan for the day, but I am sure that will quickly change and I plan to enjoy it all.

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Oh Christmas Tree How Hard to Find You Are.

15 Dec

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Our daughter arrived at our home in North Carolina from Florida yesterday to spend Christmas with us. Due to watching way too many Hallmark movies, she wanted to experience the fun of cutting a Christmas tree. Monday we set out to do that.

I did some research on Facebook and learned of an “honor” tree farm nearby. I relished the idea of being trusted to cut a tree and mail them a check.

The Facebook post warned the sign for the tree farm was small and easily overlooked but our daughter’s eagle eyes spotted the sign. Feeling adventurous, we drove down the rutted track passing ramshackle abandoned homes, rusting cars, even decrepit earth moving equipment.

When we reached the trees we climbed from the car, not feeling impressed. We walked several yards down a muddy and slippery path without seeing anything one would want to take home. This little tree was the best one we found.

Not to be deterred, I typed Christmas tree farm into our GPS and several popped up. Unfortunately, all but one were already closed for the season… really? On Hallmark movies one can always get a tree the week before Christmas and sometimes the man to go with it! I called the tree farm located an hour from us and they were not open but were making appointments. Yea. But… they were out of tree stands and so were the stores.

We gave up on the Christmas tree search and returned home to drink Holiday blend coffee and watch a Hallmark movie that didn’t have any Christmas tree story lines.

Image by Please Don’t sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay 

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

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Lottie Moon and the Children’s March

8 Dec

On the Porch

Onishe Ellis

Sunday, Baptist churches across the nation began their 2020 annual Lottie Moon Christmas offering drive. Each year a goal is set by the International Mission Board, then individual churches set their giving goal.

Here is an excerpt from the International Mission Board website

“Well over 100 years ago, a single missionary named Lottie Moon, while serving in China, began writing letters challenging the American church to send and support more workers to go there. After her death on the field, her challenge was heeded in the formalization of an offering in her name. Even if you’re not a Southern Baptist who has given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, her life is a reminder of why we must give to send and support missionaries serving among unreached peoples in unreached places.“

As a child, the stories of Lottie serving the people of China, facing depravation, even starvation, stirred my heart. I wanted to grow up and help children the way Lottie did.

Our North Carolina church has a sweet children’s tradition during December. It is called the Children’s march and each Sunday children even as young as toddlers are given small buckets to collect change from the congregation. At the end of the “march” they return to the front and pour the change from their buckets into a larger bucket. The pastor praises the children as he explains how they are helping share the Gospel to the world.

As the march began, the cutest little guy came toward me and I held out my hand full of change to him. With a sweet smile, he reached into the bucket and handed me some change! I thanked him and then suggested that I should now give him some change. He thought that was an ok idea and held out his bucket. I wish I had a picture of him to share.

I do have a picture from church, though. Due to my husband’s heath issues we have not been to services inside the sanctuary. Sunday was my first time for in person worship service and I got a kick out of this sign. “I have prepared a place for you” But not in this pew.

Thanksgiving 2020

3 Dec

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I hope you enjoyed yours as well. Since my mom’s passing in 2001 Thanksgiving has been bittersweet often accompanied by outbursts of tears as I worked in the kitchen. This year there were no tears.

Our daughter flew up from Florida Thanksgiving morning to be with us for the weekend. After picking her up at the airport, we drove for an hour and a half to a friend’s home to enjoy Thanksgiving together. Bringing in the side dishes I had spent two days preparing, reminded me of Thanksgivings past when my siblings and their families arrived laden with food.

The men were in charge of frying the turkey while the women enjoyed the comfortable conversation of old friends and shared memories. Quite a switch from the past where the men watched television and the women labored in the kitchen!

We spent the night with our friends as our home is a two hour drive away. Our husbands retired to the “man cave” while the ladies talked and shared laughter.

Monday arrived and our daughter’s short visit was over. She was booked on a 10 pm flight and the weather forecast was predicting snow so we decided to secure a room at a hotel near the airport. We are Florda drivers and not at all competent to drive over snowy mountains late at night. Plus canceling a late night flight was not unheard of from the small airport. Our daughter packed overnight clothes and her special memory foam gel pillow should the flight be cancelled.

Her flight was delayed by an hour but at least it did depart. She had left her pillow in the trunk of our car rather than have us haul it into the hotel unnecessarily. The following morning was very cold…18 F degrees when we went out to put our luggage in the car trunk. I reached in to move the pillow and my fingers couldn’t grasp it. The pillow was frozen!

We did a little bit of shopping before heading home. There were only patches of melting snow in the city so we decided to pick up some fried chicken and picnic on the Blue Ridge Parkway on our way home. We were a bit anxious about the parkway being open but were pleased to see the entrance to the parkway was open….except that less than half a mile away the barricades were up.

We didn’t see any snow but someone took this picture near Maggie Valley.

Photo credit Smoky Mountain News

We arrived home with sweet memories tucked in our minds and hearts. Tucked along side these memories is also sorrow for family and friends who have experienced the death of loved ones this year.

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2020 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

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