Lovely Things

The things we think are the things that feed our souls. If we think on pure and lovely things, we shall grow pure and lovely like them; and the converse is equally true.
(Hannah Whitall Smith in 100 Days Of Prayer For Women, p. 172)

******

We are both working on Fall yard work.  Yesterday we worked four hours cleaning out raspberry plants that grow in the flowerbeds and other weeds. Melva was busy transplanting some of the plants we dug up. I reset the scalloped blocks along the edge of the flowerbed along the south side fence. Today is yard debris pickup.  We have two trash barrels and four large brown paper bags full.

I created a FindAGrave account today.  I want to be able to quickly send messages to people who are posting.

Mr. Dickie

24 September 2014

Sooner Or Later

Melva's 2014 Flowers

Sooner or later unfinished business demands attention.

(Perry Tilleraas, The Color Of Light, 24 March)

21 September 2014

Celebrate Your Life

Mr. Dickie acting silly while celebrating his 75th birthday

If you can forgive the person you were, accept the person you are, and believe in the person you will become, you are headed for joy. So celebrate your life.
(Barbara Johnson in 100 Days Of Prayer For Women, p. 203)

******

I got a good workout yesterday.  I spent most of the afternoon working in the flower garden along the back fence.  I finished the project to clear out the wild raspberries and other weeds.  I didn't see any poison ivy this time.  I filled two garbage cans with debris, including one piece of pear tree root from the Bradford pear tree we took out several years ago.  Each time I find another piece of rotting root I think I've got the last one. The last project in this garden area is to set 13 red scalloped concrete blocks along the edge. The digging for this project is already done. We recently bought a straight edged shovel.  I wonder why I didn't make that purchase 30 years ago.  Interesting how having the right tool for the job makes things easier.

Dick Henthorn

19 September 2013

Celebration

Norfolk, VA

Photo by Mr. Dickie

Every day should be a cause for celebration. By celebrating the gift of life, you protect your heart from the dangers of pessimism, regret, hopelessness and bitterness.
(100 Days Of Prayer For Women, p.203)

******

The other day we went to the double thrift store on New Hampshire Avenue.  CDs at both stores were priced at $1.91.  I didn't discover until I got to the checkout that the second place had a sale, "buy four and get one free." I hope I didn't buy any duplicates.

I bought:

1. Corel Gallery Magic (2 disc of images)
2. Mary Chapin Carpenter - Party Doll
3. K.D. Lang - Invincible Summer
4. Patty Loveless - Dreamin' My Dreams
5. Washington National Cathedral - Centennial Celebration
6. Brooks & Dunn - The Greatest Hits Collection II
7. Brooks & Dunn - Hillbilly Deluxe
8. Nickel Creek - Why Should The Fire Die?
9. Chely Wright - The Metropolitan Hotel

I also remembered to download my weekly free music allotment from the county library Freegal service.  This time I selected Johnny Rodriguez - Desperado, A Decade of Hits.

I'm in music lovers heaven.

Mr. Dickie

15 September 2014

Look Hard

Azaleas at University Park, MD 

Photo by Mr. Dickie

Sometimes you have to look hard at a person 

and 

remember that he is doing the best he can.

He's just trying to find his way.

That's all.

(Ernest Thompson in Night Light by Amy E. Dean, 3 April)

14 September 2014

Question Everything

When attempting to learn how to deal with the things in your life 

or 

the things happening in your life.

"Question Everything"

(after Cindy Glovinsky, Making Peace With The Things In Your Life, p. 191)
13 September 2014

Attitude

Backyard Iris - photo by Mr. Dickie

Attitude is the mind's paintbrush; it can color any situation.
(Barbara Johnson in 100 Days Of Prayer For Women, p. 172)

12 Sep 2014

Values

Melva's African Violet - photo by Mr. Dickie

All we do and say should reflect our personal standards and beliefs - the values that affirm God's own life within us and within all other people and creatures; and that lead to the common good.
(The Christophers, Three Minutes A Day, Vol., 44, 8 May)

******

I was outside for a while today helping Melva clear the spreading grass from the large circular garden in front of the house. Lots of digging and pulling is needed to remove the long roots from the dirt. Melva shutdown the project when  about 2/3rds of the circle was complete.  The remaining part isn't so overgrown.  Another hour of work should complete the work.

A Conger researcher claims that Abigail Adelia Grant, who married Charles Curtis Conger was the niece of Ulysses S. Grant.  There was no source citation.  I couldn't find any information on the Internet to indicate that either of the brothers of U.S. Grant had children.  I wrote a post about the challenge for my genealogy blog.

Dick Henthorn

9 September 2014

This Is What I Do Want

Elise Smithmyer of By & By singing lead

Photo By Mr. Dickie

It's OK to notice what you don't want, because it gives you contrast to say, "This is what I do want." But the fact is, the more you talk about what you don't want, or talk about how bad it is, read about that all the time, and then say how terrible it is - well, you're creating more of that.
(Jack Canfield in The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, p. 144)

******

Yesterday I finished searching all of the Notes in my Conger genealogy file for people named Conger who had the data tag "AKA:".  This is part of a project to put Nicknames into the Nickname field in RootsMagic.

I also remembered to download my "free" music from the county library Freegal service.  The weekly allotment of five songs is reset on Monday.  I selected some songs from The Essential Mary Chapin Carpenter album.

A few times lately I've been preparing my blog posts the night before I want them to post. Then I don't feel so pressured in the mornings to type something to post.

Dick Henthorn

8 September 2014

Doing Something Positive

Doing something positive toward another person is a practical approach to feeling good about yourself.
(Barbara Johnson, in 100 Days of Prayer For Women, p. 80)
7 September 2014

Good Books

Little Free Library at University Park, MD

Photo by Mr. Dickie

Good books are as friends, willing to give to us if we are willing to make a little effort.
(Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand A Little Taller, 16 January)

******

I'm working on a project to extract Nicknames from the Notes of my Conger genealogy file.  RootsMagic defines a Nickname field. It's a slow process.

Mr. Dickie

6 September 2014

Be True

Little Free Library at University Park, MD

Photo by Mr. Dickie

Be true to your convictions. You know what is right, and you know what is wrong. You know when you are doing the proper thing. You know when you are giving strength to the right causes.

Be loyal. 

Be faithful. 

Be true.

(Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand A Little Taller, 15 January)

******

Another repairman was at the house yesterday.  The air conditioner thermostat wouldn't turn off the furnace fan motor.  We got a new, simpler Honeywell thermostat and had the freon level checked.

5 September 2014

The Past

View from a window at the DC Convention Center

You can never fully enjoy the present if you're bitter about the past. Instead of living in the past, make peace with it ... and move on.
(100 Days Of Prayer For Women, p. 34)

Dick Henthorn
4 September 2014

I'd Better Do This

Artwork at Washington, DC Convention Center

Photo by: Mr. Dickie

I will think about one thing I really want to do and write down what I need to do to accomplish it.

To help achieve it, I'll then share this plan with another.
(Amy E. Dean, Night Light, 26 March)

Dick Henthorn
2 September 2014

What Makes You Happy

Latest Hibiscus, before planting - Photo by Melva

When we expect other people and material things to make us happy, we will always be disappointed.
(Perry Tilleraas, The Color Of Light, 7 February)

******

Today Melva and I attended the annual Labor Day event at the Catholic Church near the Hilltop Shopping Center in Bowie.  I looked for books and CDs at the book sale table.  Afterwards we went to the Bake Sale and Bingo in the church basement.  Our friends, Gary and Blandina Snellings and their daughter, Rosanna were in the basement when we arrived.  That was a nice surprise.  Melva played some Bingo and I watched the people.  We had a nice time even though it was very hot while we were outside at the book sale.

Dick Henthorn 

1 September 2014