Category: RRBC_Org

Welcome to #RRBC’s 2nd Annual “A DAY IN MY LIFE” 30-Day Blogging Challenge! @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA @pat_garcia

DAY 19, MARCH 19, 2024, HAPPY BACKYARD DAY!

Good Morning, Everyone,

When I first came to Europe as a United States Army soldier, I thought the world revolved around the United States. Imagine my surprise when I found it didn’t. The Europeans are different. Their differences lie in treasuring their time off from work, the public holidays they celebrate, and their summer vacations.

If you visit Europe in June, July, and August and maybe the first two weeks in September, you will find few Federal offices open. Some stores, doctors’ offices, and other medical facilities are closed too. People are on vacation or at home working in their backyards, and if they don’t have a house with a backyard, they have gardens and can apply to the city municipal office, where they are put on a list to rent one.

This is my shed where wood for the winter is kept. When you walk out of my front entrance, it is on the right, going into my backyard. It is already filled with wood that is drying.

Our space in Europe is small; we live close to one another, which I had to get used to.
I have a home, so my backyard is my garden.

I am blessed with a patio that goes from one side of my house to the other. At the moment, you can see images of things I’m decluttering. They will be picked up in April. We’re still on our way to the backyard.

Let me put a disclaimer here: I am not a gardener, but I like being in one. I am thankful that I have a couple who are very close to me, like a sister and brother. My brother does the heavy garden work, and his wife helps me at home while I write. I have committed to a few responsibilities that no one else can do, but I and I’m happy that God has sent me dear friends to help lighten my load.

We’re now in the backyard and in the corner is Lydia. She is a plumb tree. The green trees behind her are outside the fence, but they don’t scare Lydia. She gives up beautiful plumbs every year.

My brother, sister, and I looked at my garden last Sunday afternoon when they dropped by and decided it was time to clean it up sometime next week so I could enjoy the glass patio and look at my trees.

This is the bottom half of Moses, the walnut tree I planted myself. It was only a small tiny baby branch. People told me it wouldn’t live but look at him now! I want to show you how tall and stately he is.
Isn’t he a doll? Wait until he blooms. Then, Moses is magnificent.

It has been freezing here, so my cherry, apple, and walnut trees have not started blooming yet.

Here is Daniel, the cherry tree, standing by Moses.

I think they will bloom in April, and they will be gorgeous when that happens.

I gave each of them a name when I planted them and have written a caption with their name, like a name tag you get when you go to a conference. I took the photos this morning.

We’re now on the other side of the garden, and you can see a tree I haven’t named yet. I’m thinking about calling him Joshua.
Finally, we’re leaving my backyard from the other side, where my car is parked. The balcony belongs to my room, where I sometimes lie down and nap.

My backyard is looking forward to spring just as much as I am.
I hope you enjoyed the visit.

Have a nice day, everyone, and take care.

Shalom shalom

Pat Garcia

Welcome to #RRBC’s 2nd Annual “A DAY IN MY LIFE” 30-Day Blogging Challenge! @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA @pat_garcia

DAY 12, MARCH 12, 2024, HAPPY NATIONAL ORGANIZE YOUR HOME DAY!

Good Morning, Everyone,

I am smiling about this special day because I have been in the process of organizing my home since February 2024. I decided last year that anything I wasn’t using, regardless of what it was, would be going to a junk house, which in German is called Sperrmüll.

In our communities, one fills out a card and sends it to the people responsible for picking up old furniture, electric items, and small things, like flower vases, chairs, etc, to dispose of. We pay for the privilege to do this through our municipal taxes, which are paid yearly.

Therefore, I am remodeling my home, and the first step I am still doing is packing everything downstairs in a room in my basement so that it can be picked up after I have turned in my card requesting pick-up.

I am downsizing, and I want to. There are only so many glasses you can drink out of, coffee cups you can enjoy coffee in, or chairs you can sit in. Since I know you can’t take it with you, why should I keep it? Thus, I have promised myself to enjoy my home and not clutter it up.

By the way, the picture of my stairway that I showed on my blog on DAY 8 is the first part of my home I uncluttered.

Now, I can sit on my stairway and dream whenever I want to. And that is an incredible feeling.

Have a lovely day and take care.

Shalom shalom,

Pat Garcia

Welcome to #RRBC’s 2nd Annual “A DAY IN MY LIFE” 30-Day Blogging Challenge! @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA @pat_garcia

CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION, RRBC WARRIOR BLOGGER AWARD 2024

Good Morning, Everyone,

I found this certificate of Recognition in my inbox this morning. I have made it through one-third of the Challenge.

Last year, I complained a little because I didn’t know what to expect. By complaining, I mean the work required to put into blogging sensible posts worth others’ time to engage with me.

I still don’t know what to expect concerning work output, but I now know that blogging imbues me with a sense of strength and reflection. It tickles my brain and my heart.


Therefore, I am thankful that I have made it this far.
Thank you, RRBC, for the Recognition Banner. I appreciate it.

My DAY 11 Article will be coming soon.
I hope you have a lovely start to the week, just as I had.

Shalom shalom,

Pat Garcia

Welcome to #RRBC’s 2nd Annual “A DAY IN MY LIFE” 30-Day Blogging Challenge! @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA @pat_garcia

DAY 8, MARCH 8, 2024, HOW I AM DISCOVERING THE MEANING OF MY NAME

It has taken me years to discover what my name means, and I am still searching. Learning the meaning of my name is a lifetime process. Early in life, I found that people who tried to define me and what I was supposed to be did not coincide with what I thought I should be. When I turned eight, I knew I would have to one day leave the land I was born in if I wanted to find my purpose, which means finding out what my name truly means. It might be easier to look it up, but I don’t usually choose the easy way or the way that looks simple. I am a Patricia kind of person who latches on to ideas that fascinate me, and I hang on until I find out why those thoughts find ground to grow within me.

Since the name Patricia has no biblical meaning, I sought to know why the name was so unique in ancient times. Patricia stemmed from Latin and led me to two words that got me looking into directions that would have been, at that time, impossible for me to walk in the deep South. Those two words were honor and noble. According to the content I googled, the name Patricia has deep infinity, and people with that name have power and charisma when expressing themselves, whether in speech or writing. They love to study and do research.

My love of research and study is an integral part of me. I remember discovering that Dwight David Eisenhower and I were born on the same day, October 14. Knowing that threw me in a tizzy, and I researched every book I could find about the man because I wanted to know how he had made it through life. I even contemplated writing him a letter, as he was the President of the United States, to tell him that we had a birthday on the same day, but I never did. I regret that now. However, whenever my birthday came around, it was a pick me up just knowing that we had the same day of birth, although it was not the same year. Knowing this gave Patricia (me) the strength to take steps that kept me going forward

I am always learning something new about my name; when I do, I write it down in my journal.

Finally, I learn about the meaning of what my name means to me by reading about other Patricias like Patricia Hill Collins, Patricia Cornwall, Patricia Highsmith, Patricia Neal, Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Patti Labelle (born_ Patricia Louise Holt), Patricia Hearst and many more and comparing some aspects of them to what I find in myself.
Am I happy with my name and what I have found so far?
Yes, Patricia is an honorable name, and there are infinite qualities that will propel me to become all I will become.

One last thought about a different topic–– the weather.
I woke up to a fantastic, sunshiny day. As I walked down my stairs, I looked at my stairway and saw how the sun shone through the glass on the stairs. I wanted to sit on the stairs all morning and stare out the window, but I didn’t. However, it was worth taking the time to sit there for ten minutes.

Have a beautiful Friday, and take care.

Shalom shalom

Pat Garcia

Welcome to #RRBC’s 2nd Annual “A DAY IN MY LIFE” 30-Day Blogging Challenge! @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA @pat_garcia

NATIONAL BE HEARD DAY
DAY 7, MARCH 7, 2024

This is one day that needs to be taken off the calendar.

The problem is that too many people speak, telling their side of their story, but no one listens. Thus, we have wars between nations, wars on the streets of our neighborhoods, schools, shopping centers, theaters, football fields, marathons, you name it, cause we feel we have a right to be heard. But who decides what is truth? I don’t know of any human being that can do that.
Instead, maybe we need a day to be silent, a day to think about what’s coming out of our mouths, a time to remember that the words we speak shape our lives and affect the lives of others around us.

Therefore, I’m all for getting rid of National Be Heard Day. We don’t need it. Let us replace it with a NATIONAL LISTENING DAY where we listen to our sisters or brothers struggling to build a better life for their families, to the women working at the cash registers and barely making enough to support their families.

We need to listen to five, six, seven and eight-year-old kids working in factories and will never have the opportunity to know what real childhood is like; listen to those kids who are recruited for wars at an early age and learn how to kill without learning that life is precious and listen to those children that are malnourished because of lack of food.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock


When we listen to the world’s heartbeats, our hearts will erupt into a change that brings a different kind of action, and the world will be a better place, and we won’t need to be heard.

That is enough for today. I need to move on. My two projects are calling me. I need to finish my reread, do some shopping, and relax. The European League is playing today.
A pic of my palm tree with a new tiny leaf is below to make you smile. The leaf has yet to open, but I’ll let you know when it does.

Take time today to listen to the heartbeats of the world.

Shalom shalom,

Pat Garcia

Welcome to #RRBC’s 2nd Annual “A DAY IN MY LIFE” 30-Day Blogging Challenge! @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA @pat_garcia

DAY 5, MARCH 5, 2024, HAPPY NATIONAL CHEESE DOODLE DAY!

Good Morning!

I don’t know what cheese doodles are, but I like to eat cheese, especially European cheeses from France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany. They are the best I have ever eaten, so I hope Cheese doodles are a food item.
As a child, one of my favorite cheese snacks was cheese crackers from Cheez-It. I ate many little boxes of them, especially when I was at the university. Sometimes, they were my breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

That hunger for them continued until I became an expat in Germany. I soon discovered that they did not have cheese crackers, and I broadened my taste by switching over to the different types of cheeses offered in Europe, which was even healthier.

Cheddar Cheese

Gorgonzola


However, whenever I visit my family in the USA, I slip back into an old desire hidden within me. I go out and buy a box of cheese crackers. They have become precious to me because I don’t eat them daily. They are a unique delicatessen that I delight in.

Now, I must work. We have a cloudy day here, and I want to bring in some wood for my fireplace before it starts raining and read one more chapter of the novella I am writing.

I wish all of you a lovely day.

Shalom shalom,

Pat Garcia

Welcome to #RRBC’s 2nd Annual “A DAY IN MY LIFE” 30-Day Blogging Challenge! @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA

RRBC’S BOOK CLUB FUNDRAISER #DoubleGoodpopcorn,#RRBC #RRBC_RWISA, @tweet4RWISA, #Writingcommunity,#amwriting, @RRBC_Org

Truly, I AM THANKFUL, JANUARY 5,2024,  @pat_garcia, #amwriting, #RRBC, @RRBC_ORG,  #RRBC_RWISA, #writingcommunity, #writingjourney, @tweets4RWISA

I woke up on this side of life this morning, still walking out my story. This side of life makes me aware that I’m still breathing. Looking out the window built into my roof, I saw rain. 

After getting cleaned up and dressed, I gazed out the window again; I saw sunshine. The weather had changed quickly in three-quarters of an hour, and I could perceive this change. I lifted my head toward Heaven and said Thank you! 

I was in my right mind. I could think; I wasn’t walking around with a wild look in my eyes. I knew where I was and what I was doing, and I could comprehend and contemplate. 

My awareness of my surroundings made me look out of my glassed-in patio doors as I read my Bible, and I smiled and thanked God for His faithfulness to me, one of the sheep of His pasture. 

Oh, the joy it brings my heart to say I am in my RIGHT MIND. Yes, and for that, I am truly thankful. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Shalom shalom,

Pat Garcia

DAY 30, JANUARY 31, 2023, A DAY IN MY LIFE…SNIPPETS OF ME By Pat Garcia @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA @pat_garcia #RWISA #RRBC #RRBC_Community #ADayinMyLife

DAY 30, JANUARY 31, 2023

I’m going to miss this Challenge. It challenged me.
Within me, it has removed reservations that I had pushed deep within the dark corners of my soul. After the first week, I thought I was going to buckle under. The possibility of facing weaknesses and being drowned in recriminations brought up good old Vincent Lombardi, who sits at my imaginary round table as one of my advisors.


He said two simple statements. “Adversity is the first path to truth. Prosperity is a great teacher: adversity is greater.” For me, the adversity was the distress of having to change.

I like quotes from people who talk from experience. Lombardi built a winning football team, and they were the very first to win the Super Bowl.

So, I moved into the second week prepared to face myself.

Joy rose as I read the blogs from the rest of the participants. With some of their postings, I laughed, and with others, I was amazed, and then there were some posts where tears flowed and others that brought me into deep contrition, contemplation, and repentance. The articles were all that good and inspiring.

If you have read my postings during the 30-Day Challenge, you know I had doubts, frustration, and regrets. Yet through all of what I felt, I am delighted to have stuck with it. Vince was right. Facing my adversity is more remarkable than never having done it at all.

Would I do it again? YES! Undoubtedly. Not this year, but whenever I see it offered again.

Does this mean I am going to blog every week to prepare myself? NO! However, I have decided to blog on my author’s website once every two months to release some new SNIPPETS. 🙂

Therefore, on this last day of the Challenge, I leave you with another quote by Vince: I do my best to walk with this quote every waking day of my life.

“When we place our dependence in God, we are unencumbered, and we have no fear. In fact, we may even be reckless insofar as our part in the production is concerned.
This confidence, this sureness of action, is both contagious and an aid to the perfect action.
The rest is in the hands of God–––and this is the same God who has won all His battles up to now.” (By Vincent Lombardi)

My list of new and open items for this week includes the following:

  1. Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in.
  2. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
  3. Finishing the last revision of my first novel.
  4. Co-hosting the IWSG on Wednesday
  5. Releasing my new short story. (Na-Doo is still jumping for joy, and I’m laughing. She’s a sassy woman, but I love her the way she is.)

Have a lovely Tuesday, everyone!
Peace!

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

DAY 27, JANUARY 28, 2023, A DAY IN MY LIFE…SNIPPETS OF ME By Pat Garcia @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @pat_garcia @Tweets4RWISA #RWISA #RRBC #RRBC_Community #ADayinMyLife

DAY 27, JANUARY 28, 2023, HOW DO YOU SAY GOODBYE?

This morning, after my contemplation, I read Nonnie Jules’ blog posting for Day 26. After reading her poem, I went to the blog posting of Shirley Harris-Slaughter and read her Day 26 posting.

Shirley’s article is entitled How Do You Say Goodbye?
Her question, along with Nonnie’s poem, threw me into contemplativeness again.

John Donne and his Meditation 17 rose within me. Especially the line that says, “any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell toll; it tolls for thee.”

We are all a part of humanity, whether we accept that or not. No one can guarantee they will make it through the day or wake up the next morning. Yet, we treat life as something we dictate, which is sad.

How do I say goodbye is the question that Shirley asked.


I don’t have an answer to that question. Living on another continent, far away from my family and extended family, I do everything within my power to love them in the now with phone calls, text messages, video calls, and visits when I am in the USA.

I tell and show them that I love them every chance I get. Who knows if I will have the opportunity to say or show that tomorrow?

I want to know that whenever one of them leaves this world, if they go before me, and step into eternity, I will have given them the most precious gift I possess, which is to love.

Knowing I have loved them doesn’t take away the sadness or the pain, but it comforts me.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”*
(New International Version 2011, Zondevan, The Gospel According To John John 15:9-13)

(NONNIE JULES’ POSTING is linked to this posting, and Shirley’s article is linked. You are welcome to read both postings. The links will take you directly to their blog articles.)

My list of open items includes the following:

  1. Revising the first 10K of my new novel. It usually takes me at least four to six days to fix 10K. I like to send her my final draft so that she understands the direction I’m moving in. 
  2. Answering emails and text messages, Daily
  3. Finishing the last revision of my first novel. 

Have a lovely Saturday. 

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

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