What is your gift?.......................

I am reading a book by Susan Branch. I read her first book about her life "A Fine Romance" it was about a trip to England. Naturally I had to read it because, well, I am from England. Also she is a watercolour artist and she illustrates her books. I fell in love with that book and so I ordered and read the 2nd book "The Fairy Tale Girl" more about her life this time. Then when that ended she was writing a third book and I had to wait for that one. I am now over 1/2 way through it."Martha's Vineyard. Isle of Dreams". I am finding so much in this book that is so like me. It's very inspiring.
I love her life. At least the artist part and author part. She moved from California to Martha's Vineyard to begin over. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life but bought a small cottage and set down to work all that out. It makes entertaining and interesting reading.

"Neglect Not the gift that is in you" 1 Timothy 4:14
So what is your gift?
I sometimes feel guilty about that. I can do so many things but I don't know what to do with those things. I can draw, paint and sew among other things.
Those are the things I love most. In her books Susan talks about her own gifts. She loves to cook, decorate, paint, garden and most of the things I love to do. It took her a long time to realize what she wanted to do with her life.
Then she had to figure out how to proceed. Just having an idea does not make it happen.

So when Susan decided what she wanted to do, she got down to doing it. She did a cookbook, in her own handwriting and illustrations. She then had to find a publisher. It tells all that in her 3rd book. So, what do I do with my "gifts" I would love to do a book. A sketchbook with quotes. Like Susan I have collected sayings, quotes and poems since when I was very young.
The downside on that is I would NOT like the other side of things, book signings and travel to promote and all that. I have 2 friends who are published authors. I could not do what they do. One of them did a childrens book and she does talks at schools. The other did a book that came from our family ancestry work, she does lectures. None of that is for me. SO back to "my gift" what do I do with it/them. I must pray and pray. If God gave me a gift then He needs to show me what I must do with it. Maybe a book is not it. I will be 70 soon. Time runs out and I will end up in front of the Lord and when He asks what I did with my gift I will have nothing to give Him. The other thing is both those women have different lives to me. The first one is a widow with grown children. Her time is her own. The 2nd has a husband who supports her and they go on cruises and give talks on board ship (nice) so what's for me? I am married, I have pets, commitments, Tristen. I can't fully devote time to figuring this out. I feel like I am wasting my time and it is running out.
Meanwhile I will continue to draw and paint and do all the things I love doing. I just wont make any money doing it. Sigh!!!
Anyway. I recommend Susan Branch books. Including her cook books.

To the beach, Brrrrrrrr............................

I left a note on facebook to let people know that if I didn't show up, then they would find me encased in ice on Leland beach. What were we thinking? What was Laura thinking? She never volunteers to go out when it's cold, especially to the beach. So what? Well we not only have Cabin Fever, staying in all Winter practically, but also have been seeing people posting pictures of rocks. We just had to get to Leland and look for Blue Stones. Yup, just had to do it. So dressed in Winter coat and boots (that I had put away) we set out on our adventure.


Yes it was cold. Started out around 35 degrees, but the sun came out soon after we got there.

The water was high and there was still snow on the banks. Still the sand was very smooth and easy to walk on. It was beautiful and we the only ones there. We made footprints in the sand and the only competition was the little wading birds.

We thought at first we would not find anything. The water was rough and no stones. We walked half way to the Whaleback before we got a patch of stones, not much there but more stones came up. We started to find a few Blues.

By noon the sun was out and we were not at all cold except for our hands and Laura's toes.
It was so pretty,the colours in the water were incredible.


Laura almost got wet a few times, our feet got wet but the sun soon dried them. We had some giggles as we almost fell as the waves came in. They were pretty rough, they cracked like thunder as they slapped the shore shook the ground too.The power of water is awesome.

A heart on the beach

We both found some nice beach glass. Now I know you can go to Michaels and get a bag of sea glass but its not the same as finding your own, genuine beach glass.


The Blue stones are hardly ever big. That's OK they are much like Turquoise but are glass from the old iron smelting days. Once dumped out in the lake, they now wash ashore and being rare, they are a passtime a lot of us have. Many people make jewelry from them. I did buy a drill to do that some day.

We used to hunt for Petoskey stones, so it's sort of funny that now we say "oh no, not another Petoskey" I found loads today, my pockets were full. I must take a bag next time.

Yes, by weeks end it is supposed to be up in the 60s and then 70s. We will have to work in the garden because it usually keeps getting hotter after that. So most likely the next time we go there will be others out hunting.

Robins.................

The Robins came back to Michigan, poor things are having a cool Spring. The American Robin, so unlike the British version but maybe with some of its perky disposition. Today, they were looking most unhappy sitting shivering in the branches waiting for the snow to melt. It did, and I am sure they got plenty to eat. I did put out some Cranberries but the squirrels ate those.

This guy was up in the tree sulking.

HE hung around for awhile looking pissed off and hungry.

The American Robin goes south for the winter. Not all the way south but at least out of the snow. Robins eat worms, grubs and berries. They are not keen on seeds. He was checking out the bread with a beady eye but passed on that. I saw him running like crazy across the ally he must have spotted a bug of some sort.

The American Robin is about the size of an English Black Bird or Thrush. The English Robin is small by comparison. Maybe the size of a Junco when its fluffed.

The English Robin is the gardeners friend. If you are digging then the Robin is there.

Did you see the movie "The Secret Garden" well that shows the personality of the Robin, the English version. They are very different from the American Robin, who does not seem to have a personality. I can't tell. Maybe it's because the American version is not a territorial creature like the English one.The English Robin seems to get to know its people. They are not at all shy and they will buddy up with a fisherman or anyone where they may get a free meal. My cousin Robin (haha) is a fisherman and he usually has one hanging around, they probably like the bait. Anyway the American one does not seem at all social.
The English Robin does not leave for the winters, he sticks around and puts up with the bad weather, he guards his territory well.
Well I guess thats a rather boring post but I was thinking today because the poor Robin was just looking miserable. I do know enough ground thawed so that he could get lunch even if he did miss breakfast.