Dear Reader:

I love Carole King’s vision of her ” Way Over Yonder” secret place.

” Yonder” is a word derived from the Dutch word-‘ ” ginder ” meaning ” over there” and the English ‘yon.’ ( same meaning-just connected together)

The Deep South and Appalachia adopted the phrase ” Over Yonder” and never gave it up in their daily conversations. ( used for directions)

As a child… I came to dread the words because mother used it … a lot …when looking for something and calling the closest ( unlucky) sibling to come help her.

” Becky, Look for my scissors ” over yonder” nodding her head in the general direction where to look. ” Over yonder” could be anywhere… the desk, the table, drawers… ” I would ask ” Over yonder…where mama… the desk… ? ”

” I don’t know… just look… sure they are over yonder.” I knew I probably had only a 50-50 chance of finding them before mother got frustrated. ( and no one wanted that!)

I could hear my brothers galloping down the steps and the screen door slamming… deserted again? They were hiding out in that vague ” over yonder” neighbors’ yard. Deserters!!!!

Country singers ( John Denver, Johnny Cash. and Willie Nelson -for a few) sing about country roads being their ” Yonder” roads and one does see a lot of country roads and mountains worthy of a song… like ” Country Roads.”

And one can bet if you stop for directions at a mountain country store and you are told … ” Oh yeah… I can git ya there… little lady… It’s just over yonder that next hill, then two bridges and one valley… nuttin’ to it! ”

Even though ” Over Yonder” is probably an accurate description … you can bet that getting there will be a memorable adventure.! Honey and I have gotten ridiculously lost but also experienced the most hilarious fun following ” Over Yonder” directions!!!

The slang expression for this dilemma is ” Get lost in a …wander …looking for yonder.”

In Matthew 17: 22-23 scripture reads: ” If Ye have faith … as a grain of mustard seed… ye shall say to the mountain- Remove here to yonder place and it shall remove… nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

My personal interpretation is that Yonder is a place where we can lay down our burdens ( if we have faith like a mustard seed) and ” nothing shall be impossible unto us.” ( A Heaven in itself)

It was at this point in typing the post that I stopped to listen to Johnny Cash sing When the Roll is Called Up Yonder. He knew where ” Yonder” was! We can find beautiful ” yonder’s” here on earth but that real ” Yonder” still awaits us!

So until tomorrow…

The famous soliloquy between Romeo and Juliette… as the sunlight filers in “yonder” window breaks…” and ,despite all their problems, Romeo is encouraged by the streaming light that their love, like the sun, will light up both their lives forever.

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

Thanks Mandy for coming over yesterday with everything I needed ( my personal individual blender) and great ideas how to get yummy nutrition in me and hopefully weight before next Tuesday! 💗😘👍

I went to get something out of a closet, found Winnie the Pooh ( the gardener Winnie from Epcot that Stephanie Ballard gave me from one of her Disney trips) and in taking Winnie out …the pumpkin and sign fell on my head… a reminder… fall is rushing in … September 23 and it will be pumpkin time again ! 🤗

+++ My Favorite September song was ” See You in September ” by The Happenings” …always made me cry-so of course I loved it… number 12 on the September Charts