Category: Holidays

10 Things of Thankful

April 10, 2026

My gratitudes are a little blurry (but not lacking significance)…life has been rather busy in the Upper Room–nonetheless, I have a list!

#1, Holy Week was very emotional, culminating in the joyous day of Christ’s Resurrection–I’m nearly speechless, still weepy with gratitude for ALL HE MEANS TO ME. 

#2, Both my churches/pastors did a marvelous job with their messages; at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC, the party atmosphere was perfect!

#3, Easter dinner was very nice–my neighbor cooked a banquet table full of traditional dishes, and I contributed my special brownies and ho-hum coconut bars.

#4, Many thanks to host Denise, and all the others who make 6SS a wonderful part of the week.

#5, And much gratitude to Hagar for graciously filling in for me.

#6, The tulips I received from my caregiver lasted ALL week long, amazing!

#7, I managed to take 2 Huge items off my to-do list, with the Lord’s help: moved furniture, a better arrangement; and scrubbed the kitchen floor on hands and knees.  This was not fun, but served an important purpose beyond cleanliness: my caregiver will now be taking over this task–I bought her a Swiffer today😊

#8, The 2 newest residents are settling in nicely–friendly, quiet and respectful…Mr Rogers would be proud!

#9, The A-Z Challenge is going pretty well so far–I’m enjoying it, and so thankful another blogger reminded me about it, lest I miss out.

#10, My feline nieces downstairs are “feeling the heat”, so there’s been a whole lotta yowling goin’ on–it’s not a bother for me, but my nabe isn’t getting much sleep…I’m glad and grateful I didn’t give in to temptation and adopt one of my own.😺

And a special thank you to all my readers–your comments bless me!😊

https://misky.uk/2026/04/10/ten-things-of-thankful-3/

Hello from Hagar

March 28, 2026

Hello, I’m Hagar, and I’ll be taking the helm here for a spell, in Cale’s absence.  She and I are close friends, and she has previously posted some of my poetry here–but otherwise I’m new to blogging.

She gave me a “to-do” list, and I’ll try my best–please don’t over-expect.

I’ve made a few changes in decor (with her permission), and I’ll get around to blogs, and write posts as time allows–this is Holy Week, so things are busy.

Thank you for your patience, may God richly bless all who visit during this interim gig.

Hagar

Ten Things of Thankful

March 22, 2026

Happy and thankful to be here once again!  I love weekends…there are no business calls to take, so I do regular stuff I enjoy: church, cooking/baking, emailing with my Bestie, movies, and visting my 2 cat nieces downstairs.  (We’ve concluded that slow and rhythmic waving of tail by Sammie as she stares at me, is feline version of human eye-rolling🙄.  I get it…I’m jibber-jabbering away, and she can only feign interest for so long.)

I’m beyond blessed and grateful to be using my cell phone exclusively.  The landline service became ridiculously/outrageously expensive–so I took a deep breath and downgraded to Internet only!  The first day was both scary and funny: I had to call a list of folks to update my records with new phone number…and more than several times I accidentally disconnected before people could answer the rings.  But I’ll get the hang of it before too awfully long–I have faith!

I’m thankful that although my corned beef was not especially successful this St Pat’s Day (I tweak recipes unwisely sometimes)–my caregiver was glad to take home all that I would have tossed!

It was a delight to celebrate her birthday this past week:  I baked a cake of course, and found 3 Russian versions of the traditional “Happy Birthday” song on YouTube.  She was so surprised.  The cake was absolute perfection (whew!):  Black Magic Chocolate Cake is very delish, and has a secret ingredient! (if you ask, I’ll tell you)

As always, I’m glad and grateful for blogging–so many wonderful people, and every day is different.

6-Sentence Story is dear to my heart–I’m thankful for new prompts each Sunday (and grateful the Lord drops an idea in my head)!

I’m beyond grateful the snow was fleeting…enough to satisfy folks who didn’t get a white Christmas, and not sufficient to freeze the parking lot into an ice rink.

I’m thankful for very old needle-nose pliers.  I’m no “Tina-the-Tool-Gal”, and the knob broke off the thermostat in the Upper Room…who knows when Maintenance will respond…so the pliers are ugly but handy.

Alright-y…I don’t know how many thankfuls that is, but you’ve probably heard enough of Cale’s world–so I’ll just tell the Lord I’m grateful He stuck with me another day, and sign off.  See y’all next week, if He doesn’t call me Home!

~ Cale

Happy St Patrick’s Day!☘

March 17, 2026

Almost everybody in the blog world knows I LOVE to cook & bake…and any holiday means I’m in the kitchen!

So, I don’t have to be Irish to fire up my crockpot for corned beef and veggies–and bake the real treat:  Irish Soda Bread.  I have 2 recipes, and make both: Traditional, and Savory.  

These recipes are so easy and quick–I should make them throughout the year, not just pine away until St Pat’s Day.

The traditional recipe is sweeter–with raisins and cinnamon, and a bit of vanilla.  But the “savory” bread is just as delish, if not more so:  you get the sweetness (but no raisins) and a little “bite” from red pepper, garlic and caraway seeds.

I’ve baked 4 lovely round loaves to share…mmm, slice it warm and slather with buttter…heavenly!  

~ Cale 

☘️♥️☘️

    

Mardi Gras/Zydeco Music!

February 17, 2026

My late cousin would never forgive me if I let Mardi Gras go past without a mention.  It’s the last party before Ash Wednesday (Lent begins), a wildly crazy and colorful celebration no matter where you choose to partake–you don’t have to go to New Orleans!  The parades are a lavish spectacle–and the food…well there’s just nothing like it. 

I’ve never been to Mardi Gras, actually–I don’t need quite that much wild and crazy jubilation.  However, I am half-Cajun (I can testify to the food), and I enjoy lively zydeco music (and watching couples dance to it).  There’s no way you can sit still–it will grab you, and your feet start moving without permission.

So Theresa, I miss you more than I can say.  And if you’re still watching over me–I didn’t make a pot of gumbo this year but I’m bringing the music, and my Cajun-side is dancing in the Upper Room!  Say “hi” to Aunt Lucy & Uncle Harrison–I hear tell they lived for “dancing to that French music”.💖

~ Cale

10 Things of Thankful

February 15, 2026

It’s been another blessed and thankful week, the Lord kept me well.💖

I made progress on the “bedroom mess project” (a.k.a. “storage room with a bed”): filled 3 18-gallon plastic totes with what was in 8 ugly boxes taking up space…a few more to go!

Enjoyed fun phone visits with 2 friends.

My caregiver–so kind and willing to help with anything I need; she does the shopping for me, and if my list includes a fresh pineapple she cuts it up, such a treat!🍍  And, although she doesn’t like to cook, she brought me a yummy Russian pasta dish–comfort food!

She also gave me flowers for Valentines Day (I made her homemade fudge)💐

Thankful for good movies to watch–most of them free.

Grateful that Valentine’s Day has a deeper meaning than it did when I was younger.

Thankful for my neighbor who makes the BEST gravy (& mashed potatoes and chicken)!!

And equally grateful her 2 cats still adore me…or at least make a polite pretense😺😻

Very thankful it’s only raining, no snow (though, silly cherry blossoms are budding early as usual, despite my annual warning about a cold snap🙄).

~ Cale