Jelly Bean Sisters
I think this knitted filter in Wombo is one of the coolest—or at least the most fun—filter I’ve used. With a few trials of different filters, one image was the winner until I looked more closely and noticed the wacky steering wheel in the car. I tried covering it up with the frame, and maybe you wouldn’t even notice unless it’s pointed out, but it was an excuse to put up the adorable knitted girls. But here, you can see for yourselves…
But, hey, why am I using this picture at all? You’ve got to be wondering at least a little, right? Simple: April 22nd is National Jelly Bean Day. While everyone else is busy talking about the earth, I was enjoying a memory of a day with my little sister; a fun day before stress manipulation words like “global warming” were even in our vocabulary. We were grown-up women, but we still knew how to be silly and make each other laugh.
I don’t even remember why we were in the car in the grocery store parking lot that day. Were we waiting for someone? Waiting for an appointment? Or just sampling some of the gourmet jelly beans we had just purchased? (Yes, those gourmet jelly beans! Yay for Jelly Belly®.) Whatever the reason for our being there, we were using our time to read the recipe card that comes with the jelly beans. Some of the tastes are wonderful, but some… Yikes! Let’s just say that if one of us made a face or a spitting sound from something we didn’t like, the other one started laughing about it.
And that’s where it starts. Something makes one of us laugh. 😂 Then, the sound of that laugh makes the other one of us laugh. 😂 And that sound affects the other one until we’re both totally doubled over with laughter until we’re crying. It’s an out-of-control moment that relieves stress and cements sisterly bonds. 🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣
Living miles apart means we don’t get those days as often anymore, but I’ve smiled through almost every word of this blog post because it’s such a wonderful memory for me. And, no, buttered popcorn jelly beans are not bad, but it is a weird sensation to taste butter and salt but be chewing something gooey at the same time. If you can eat sugar, go get yourself a mixed set with a recipe card and go crazy with experimenting. I wish I could still do that, but since I can’t, at least I have an excuse not to try those new game flavors like vomit and dirty socks. 🤢
Just a couple reminders from God’s Holy Word…
Psalm 126:2 BSB
[2] Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.126.2.BSB
Genesis 21:6 BSB
[6] Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/gen.21.6.BSB
Ecclesiastes 9:7 BSB
[7] Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine* with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
https://bible.com/bible/3034/ecc.9.7.BSB
*Note: Jelly Belly® even made some wine/champagne flavors, but I'm not sure what is available now. Here is a list of (possibly) all their flavors, including retired ones, at the Fandom website: https://jellybelly.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Flavors
And now that you know joy and laughter are found in Scripture, here’s two more about pleasant taste…
Psalm 34:8 BSB
[8] Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.34.8.BSB
Psalm 119:103 BSB
[103] How sweet are Your words to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth!
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.119.103.BSB
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With This Wing, I Thee Wed
Nope, that’s not a typo. It’s what either me or hubby said on our wedding day 35 years ago. I know I tried to put his ring on the wrong hand, though. Lol 😂 But despite starting with a few mistakes, today makes 35 years of being dedicated to each other in marriage.
Our first celebrations were a little bigger, like his showing up at my job in a suit and carrying flowers on our first anniversary. Health and age can slow ya down a bit, but we are still happy together, and a simple meal out while wearing more comfy clothes is just fine with both of us.
Hubby doesn’t know yet (until he reads this post), but I made a list of 35 special thoughts about our 35 years together. These are the things that stand the test of time in my brain, and they are the thoughts that keep me wanting to stay together (for another 35 years) as long as possible…
35 Thoughts on 35 Years
1. “My Valentine's Day was 2 days ago.” (See my post When God Plans a Meet Cute for the story);
2. Talking to my Aunt Shirley on the phone. (She knew I'd be moving to Kentucky after a few conversations with him.)
3. He started praying while driving through a scary snow storm
4. He made me a house key with "I ❤️ U" etched into it.
5. Taking me to meet his brother at his job when he first met me in person.
6. My wedding day with Esther (his family friend who knew him all his life) performing our ceremony and almost crying as she saw his happiness.
7. Taking me downtown in my wedding dress to see his sister at the hospital where she worked as a nurse.
8. Taking me to my family in Arizona for our honeymoon.
9. When my Grandpa met him and then introduced him to a neighbor as his grandson. (Like he knew right away that he was right for me forever.)
10. Our first trip to Cave Hill Cemetery to feed the ducks (and see Colonel Sanders grave).
11. Our first Thunder Over Louisville.
12. My birthday gift of Oreos in a flower tube with a carnation on top.
13. My 30th birthday when he dressed up as “grim reaper” and took me to lunch at the downtown galleria.
14. Taking me to see the hospital where I was born. (And announcing on the video he was recording that the most wonderful girl in the world was born there.)
15. Big bunches of balloons for many special days.
16. A sign that says, ”I know what love is because of you.” (See it on Flickr.)
17. Lungs suctioned out joke: He had me believing his every word, so when he told me that people who move from dry climates to humid ones sometimes need their lungs suctioned out, it didn't seem impossible. They did it to my grandma due to cancer, and I was coughing up all kinds of yuck when he told me. But what made it funny was months later, on the phone with my uncle asking how I liked Kentucky, and I said, “Well, I haven't had to have my lungs stuffed suctioned out yet.” I'll never forget his laugh as he asked, ”What? You believed that?!”
18. Taking our nephews and me to see where I went to middle school and to meet some of my family.
19. Many scavenger hunts including one where the final clue was taped to a brick then wrapped as a gift. I still have the glider rocker it led to 20+ years later.
20. My 50th birthday party with friends and a scavenger hunt of clues to get my next clue by figuring out which guest was being suggested.
21. Being a cat man (and bringing 14+ new kitties into my life).
22. Letting me go to Arizona for my aunt and for my mom when they needed me.
23. Providing me a home (and painting the kitchen yellow as a surprise).
24. My door of Valentine's conversation hearts. (Flickr pic with kitties and the door in the background.)
25. Wonderful travels to places like Gatlinburg, the Ark Encounter/Creation Museum, Branson Christmas, World's Largest Rocking Chair, and more.
26. Supporting my writing (including a few conferences).
27. Supporting my singing (even if the album never got released).
28. Getting my DNA that let me find a brother I never knew I had.
29. Making the welcome sign for my brother and sister-in-law when they came from Canada for us to meet for the first time.
30. My butterflies on the ceiling and many other butterflies, including wind up ones that jump out and flap that he kept hiding in my laptop. (Flickr pic.)
31. My garnet birthstone ring specially made by our friend, Mark. (He's the one battling thru chemo & radiation now, so please pray for him and his wife Debbie.)
32. Singing hymns and gospel music with me. I especially love our travel games when we try to name (and sing) a song for each letter of the alphabet.
33. Flying to Vegas when my mom passed, and also taking me to Missouri for my dad's funeral. Oh, and weeks off for a trip to Arizona when my Grandpa passed.
34. Matching Proverbs 18 T-shirts and many Blessed Girl shirts.
35. Fighting to get stronger to stay with me longer... Forever and 3 Days!
HAPPY 35TH ANNIVERSARY to my husband and the love of my life! 💕✨💕
And there are so many more moments and memories in my heart and mind. Thank you readers for sharing my quick trip down a 35-year memory road (too long for a lane). Maybe you can make your own list of memories about someone that matters to you.
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Finally Submitted to Wergle Flomp!
I won! Yay! The beautiful silver “Poet of Merit” bowl was my award from poetry dot com, and it would only cost me $150 for personalization and shipping.
Yep, back in the early 2000s, many writers felt like their dreams had come true because they were officially labeled as poets of merit. It was proof we really were good writers.
As much as I wanted to just accept their “gift” and go to the ceremony to receive it, I couldn’t afford it. That made me research the validity, and I found out plenty of bad news. One group tested things out by having a class of first-graders submit their poems. Every single poem won the “International Poet of Merit.” But the folks who conducted the test decided to make this terrible thing into something good. They created a humor poetry contest called “Wergle Flomp” with free entries and real prizes.
And now, after planning to submit for over 20 years, I finally decided I’d send a silly poem I wrote about a true event in my childhood. Here’s the poem…
Why Fish Should Not Climb Trees
If I hadn't seen it for myself,
I'm not sure I would believe,
That one could catch a catfish,
By fishing in a tree.
Though not a tree for climbing,
Mesquite brush on the shore,
Can grab a cast thrown near it,
To keep forevermore.
This bush, it doesn't grow alone,
Bad company it keeps,
Nettles that will sting the skin.
They give me the creeps.
Once I got a bit too close,
Knowing not what lay in store.
Blisters made a nice wide path,
And left my bare skin sore.
So when I cast my line that day,
A bit too far and wide,
And Mr Mesquite grabbed it up,
I snipped it and said goodbye.
I wasn't climbing down that hill,
With nettles and brush that bite,
Besides all that, twas dinnertime,
So I went in for the night.
But early in the morning,
Before I went to school,
I thought I'd do some fishing,
In the early misty dew.
I grabbed my pole with its new hook,
And weight and bait and line.
Then out the door and down the dock,
I went for some quiet time.
And then the sight that I beheld,
Made me think it was a dream,
There was a catfish in the tree,
That hung above the stream.
The tide had risen in the night,
And receded to morning lows,
So my stolen line and hook and bait,
Had spent some time below.
Below the water at high tide,
I guess the worm woke up,
And a big 'ol swimming catfish,
Decided it would sup.
I'm sure it swam and wrestled,
Till the tide went back sea.
Dangling there, it knew for sure,
Why fish should not climb trees.
And, yes, I did catch a fish in a tree when I was at my grandparents’ house on a river called “Taylor Slough” in the delta region of central California. The river had tides that would make the walkway of the dock really steep at low tide and almost flat at high tide. Early mornings were low tide, so it was a good time to fish. And it was a good time to catch a fish in a tree. Lol 😂. My only regret now is that I didn’t take a picture, but that wasn’t as simple before digital cameras and camera phones. My poem is my picture of it to share with the world
If you like poetry, remember that April is National Poetry Month so it’s a good time to stretch your poetic muscles. And in case you’re interested, you can read other humor poetry at the link above using the contest name. Maybe one of my readers will submit in the future, or maybe you already have and you’ll tell me about it in the comments.
Now, for your continued poetic pleasure, here is the other poem I wrote on the same subject. It’s a different style, but you can only submit one poem per year, so this one isn’t going anywhere but here for right now…
I Fished In A Tree
I've thought a few times,
How confused I'd be,
If I saw a fish
Dwelling in a tree.
Fish don't have wings,
And they don't fly.
So only birds,
Should be up high.
But this is true,
Trust what I say,
I saw a fish,
On a branch one day.
Nested snugly,
In the leaves.
Scales shimmering
In the breeze.
I got up early,
Near sunrise,
To do some fishing,
With sleepy eyes.
To make up for,
The night before,
When catching fish,
Became a chore.
Because my line,
With hook and bait,
Caught on a tree,
And there it stayed.
Too much nettle,
Around that shore,
So that clipped line,
Was gone evermore.
Or so I thought,
When I went inside.
I never considered,
The rising tide.
It came up high,
In the midst of night,
And the wormy hook,
Dropped out of sight.
Beneath the deep,
And watery slough,
The fish were swimming,
In green and blue.
A wiggling worm,
Became a meal.
And caught the fish,
No rod or reel.
And when the tide,
Went low again,
The fish was dangling;
I had to grin.
Hanging there,
For all to see,
Now I can say,
I fished in a tree.
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My Love for Weird History
It was an “udderly” successful flight that changed history. A cow named Nellie Jay (who was later renamed Elm Farm Ollie), made remarkable strides in flight on February 18th, 1930. No, she did not have red hearts instead of regular cow spots, but she was the first cow to be flown in an airplane and milked while in flight. The day is now known as “Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day” and is celebrated every February 18th.
You can read all about the cow and its history at https://www.holidaycalendar.io/holiday/cow-milked-while-flying-in-an-airplane-day and https://nationaltoday.com/cow-milked-while-flying-in-an-airplane-day/ which each have unique focus on telling what happened. I like that the Holiday Calendar site (first link) gives ideas for celebrating the day, and the National Today site tells what day of the week these special days and celebrations fall on.
If you’re not interested in flying cows, you can look up the history of how the (dwarf) planet Pluto was discovered on the same day. The day has a few other designations, but since I like the quirky ones, I’m pretty glad for “Thumb Appreciation Day.” 1,2,3,4, I declare thumb war. 👍👍🤜🤛
I’m not sure why I’m attracted to news of the weird, funny, unusual, or odd stuff in this world, but it’s a bit of comic stress relief even if it doesn’t create rolling laughter like animal videos. 😁 But, if we have a sense of humor, it’s pretty likely that God does too, and we get ours from Him. I mean, think about Elisha helping someone retrieve a lost axe head by making it swim to him. Or how about Jonah? The reluctant prophet not only got swallowed up by a whale, he got thrown up by it as well. And then God grew a giant bush over his head and later sent a worm to devour it, just so Jonah could face the silliness of his temper tantrums. And of course, there is also the story of the talking donkey. I wrote about that one back in 2014 on a post called “Donkey Talk Blues” that includes 2 fun videos; one by ApologetiX and one by Don Francisco. If you want to see them, visit https://crystal-writes.com/2014/06/23/donkey-talk-blues/.
Sure, all those stories have the element of being teachable moments from The Lord, but that doesn’t mean God didn’t find a little humor in things as He made them happen for whatever purposes He planned. He had Sarah and Abraham name their son Isaac to remember that she laughed at the possibility of having a son in her in old age–which is its own funny story when you picture a pregnant 99-year-old woman. He added joy as a fruit of The Spirit. And YahShua (Jesus) even told the disciples that He taught them commandments to make sure their joy would be made full. So, whether it be joy, laughter, or just a really big smile, join me in looking for all the gifts of “happy” shown to us by our Lord and Abba Father.
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International Squirrel Appreciation Day
In honor of this special day about squirrels, I had to share a Flickr gallery I’ve curated from real photographs taken by super talented photographers. I hope the pictures make you smile and send you to those photographer’s pages on Flickr to see even more masterpieces. (NOTE: I’m sorry about the giant size of the gallery slideshow. I couldn’t get WP to accept the Flickr embed code, and I tried putting the width and height in various places in the code to make it smaller, but nothing worked. I’m adding this note in case one of my readers can provide a helpful answer on this issue.)
And, for a little bit of light-hearted news, I found this video of a hero “attack squirrel” that protected his owner’s home…
And, for a final laugh, here’s a collage of 4 images created by Wombo Dream (aka dream.ai) that I made back in 2023 when I was fairly new to the app. My prompts were inspired by pictures of red squirrels, like those above, and some cute red pandas I’d seen. I asked for images of red animals with saddles and with smaller ones riding on the backs of larger ones. These include 2 cute successes and 2 utter failures that truly make me laugh out loud. Here’s to finding joy in the messy mistakes.
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Ideas and Titles and Brains, Oh My!
Come up with a crazy business idea.
by WordPress Prompts
I’ve never tried using one of the daily WordPress prompts before, so you readers get to join me on my first venture of this kind. You’ll see the prompt like a small subtitle above this paragraph, and it says to come up with a crazy business idea.
But here’s the thing, my mind does this on a regular basis. Ask my husband how many times I’ve asked him, “You know what kind of business someone needs to start? ” And then I’ve regailed him with all the aspects of whatever perfect idea I have at the moment.
One of my great ideas was for a talent show where the contestants first had to compete in brain games before they could perform. I figured it would limit those performers who were too ignorant to recognize that there wasn’t a talented bone in their bodies. Always beware when someone hits the stage with a promise that they are the best you’ve ever seen or heard before.
So this crazy business idea is to have a business where you collect a variety of business ideas, company name ideas, etc., and feed all those ideas to some kind of think tank to see if they really could make something profitable out of all of it. Sort of a “treasures from junk” kind of effort but with investors with multiple MBAs using a jumble of ideas instead of an artist using trash from the dump to create a masterpiece.
If you’ll look through a list of my blog posts, you’ll notice that coming up with titles is one of the most fun parts for me. I love twists and parodies of well-known ideas like my post about Time but using the spice and calling it, “There’s No Present Like the Thyme.” And many years ago, I had a hairdresser who was going to dental school to become a hygienist because she wanted to do both teeth and hair to prepare people for special events like proms and graduations. I thought it was a great business idea and told her she should call it “Style With A Smile.” She loved the name, but after she got married and moved to Kansas, I never found out if she created that business or used my title idea.
I read once about a woman whose actual job was to create titles and names for everything you can imagine. She not only named businesses, but she creatively named projects within the businesses, departments, and of course reports and books and chapters within the books. Back when I was a young person looking to create a career, that would’ve been the one I jumped into with both feet. Or with all the cells of my brain 🧠 in rapid fire mode. And on that note, if you are struggling to name a book or story that just doesn’t seem complete without a better title, drop me a comment and we can see if I can brainstorm something that works perfectly for you.
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Three Wandering Kings–A Fun Story with Christmas Carols and Songs
Merry Christmas, Everyone. Here’s a fun story as my gift to all of you. I wrote it as a challenge for our local writer’s group. I’ve also included it as an attachment at the end in case anyone would like to download and/or print it. Enjoy…
THREE WANDERING KINGS
(by Crystal A Murray)
We three kings knew we had a long journey ahead. We started on a silent night, but it turned out that many joined us along the way. We happened upon Good King Wenceslas, who asked us where we were going. Since we weren’t exactly sure yet (at this point we were just following the yonder star), I just hem-hawed around and finally answered, “Oh…little town of Bethlehem, I reckon.”
We continued on down the road when one of our road mates stopped and said, “Do you hear what I hear?“
I answered, “Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel; tell us what you heard.”
And then Melchior spoke up and said, “I didn’t hear anything, but I saw three ships come sailing in as we passed the harbor.”
“If you already saw the ships,” I said, “then it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”
“Well then,” said Melchior, “go tell it on the mountain, so everyone will know!”
“But who will tell Grandma?” asked one of our younger travelers.
“We will,” announced a group of teens who had joined us. As they ran out of sight, I heard them singing what sounded like, Hi ho, hi ho, to Grandmother’s house we go. It reminded me so much of my childhood that I could practically see our old homestead decked out with the holly and the ivy, and I could smell the chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Oh those memories of days spent rockin’ around the Christmas tree were so wonderful. I hate that it all had to end when Grandma got run over by a reindeer.
I was almost crying when someone broke into my thoughts. “I think I just heard the silver bells.”
“You mean you heard dinner bells,” I joked because I knew we were all starting to get hungry. Never-the-less, we trudged along until it dawned on us–well, it wasn’t morning yet, so no dawn, but it came upon the midnight clear that the star was leading us to a barn in the middle of a field.
As we approached the barn, someone shouted, “Bring a torch, Jeanette Isabella,” and we all sprang forward to view the baby who had been tucked away in a manger. At that, the little drummer boy who was traveling with us began to play a special tune that sounded more like sleigh bells or jingle bells than a drum. (I don’t know how he did that.) Anyway, it was magical and made me wonder, what child is this that can turn even the sound from a child’s toy into such beautiful orchestration. And that’s when I heard the bells on Christmas day, and then we all exclaimed together, “Oh holy night!” Continue reading
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Others’ Posts I’ve Liked
Crystal Writes A Blog 