Good

GOD is......all the time!
Without His donation of the weather, things would have been less-than-perfect.
As is was, the evening was wonderful.
We had 5 neighbors, 11 church friends, 3 strangers-to-us, and an extremely musical couple to keep us all focused on the Lord.
Food worked well and was appreciated.
People were congenial.
GOD is good...all the time.

Tuesday Night

Did shopping and oil change; made 2 pans of lasagna, washed some windows, waiting on bread until Thursday, since then it will be fresh. Of course, the lasagna took the longest...and I had just enough raw material left to make a tiny one for tonight's supper. Not bad. And I tried a couple of the cookies. They'll do. So there. Day is done!

Tuesday

Countdown to Thursday...Today I plan to get the oil changed in the car, go to the dentist for X-rays, get food for the get-together, bring it home, maybe make bread, wash windows, etc etc. Now that I've made all that public, we'll see if I come through! I do have the guest room pretty spiffy...just needs a once-through closer to the time. Off we gooooooooooo......

Preps....

Gotta get flour to make bread for the Thursday get-together. Will be preparing lasagna-type stuff with noodles (easier to serve) and meatballs (also easy to serve). Bought some cookies from a Christian organization, so dessert is finished. It's a walk-around event, anyway, so not terribly formal.
Howie and Debbie Campbell, our musicianary friends, will be playing and singing and entertaining and reporting. Have invited church and neighbors, so there should be an interesting mix. And I had not met some of our neighbors, so at least made the first step, albeit several months/years late.
We plant the seeds; God gives the increase.

Another Day.....

And it's humid and sticky.
Cleaned up the tree branch mess.
Tended to Facebook...as if that needed tending.
Had phone call from a "musicianary" about possibly coming our way to report.
Of course I said yes.
He and his wife have been traveling in a van since April.
They've gone from VA to WA and are now in NY.
He plays acoustic guitar and she does percussion and whatever needs to be done.
God has greatly blessed their ministry this summer.
We NEED some good news, and GOD's Good News is the best there is!

Verla and Ruth

Ladies I mentioned yesterday need more than a mention. Verla has worked hard all her life. Her husband passed away over 20 years ago. Her two daughters and a son take good care of her, from afar. She still lives in her farm home alone; son next door with his wife and family of, I think, 3 boys. She works for a family who is in the area in the summer; several days a week she cleans. I think now she is the "head cleaner", so she directs others in what to do. But she obviously still keeps her hand in. A strong Christian, she is stone deaf, but never misses church and Sunday School. Her faith is unwavering.
Ruth buried two husbands and never had any children of her own. She was a nurse. Her sister had 12 kids, so Auntie Ruth got to help take care of them and still reap the rewards of a quiet house at bedtime. She had a large garden and canned and froze most anything even remotely edible. And when she served it, it definitely was edible. She's in a nursing facility now, but was able to be at the church anniversary service and receive her "memory book". I'm sure she will enjoy it, as Verla will hers.

arrrrgh!!

I hate it when I don't proofread and thus publish misspellings.
Yes, I do know how to spell "believe".
I just don't catch the typing errors all the time.

40 Years

Our church is officially 40 years old now, although the actual signing wasn't until September. I was present, but not a member, so I beleive I remember spending the time for "business meeting" out on the schoolgrounds next door with a friend and small child. We discussed whether becoming a "church", as opposed to a "chapel" was a good thing. We were concerned about the small "family" feel. I don't think we're that much bigger today...just different people. So our fears were not realized. Yesterday we honored two ladies whose signatures were on the constituting document. They are both reasonably well, although one now resides in a nursing facility. The other still does housework in the summer time. She helped clean the church Saturday, and confided to me yesterday that if I needed help cleaning the church "I have Saturdays off"! They don't make them like they used to!!

Yes...

We did things we as a group had never done before.
We ate at the Beaver Den. (twice!)
We took a private Loomis Gang tour, arranged by our stellar classmate.
We decided to have class reunions every TWO years!

And we did things we'd experienced before.
We had a picnic.
We toured the school building.
We reminisced.

All in all, it was a great weekend. And now we will be looking forward to another one in just two years!

Making Memories

We usually think of reunions as times to remember....and I'm sure I will do plenty of that the next couple weeks, with my high school reunion this weekend and the church's anniversary next weekend. But, from the looks of the schedules, we will also be making new memories...and that is a very important part of these get-togethers. As much as the past was signficant, today is also special and needs to be addressed. Here's to Yesterday...and Today!

"Summer Reading"

Patriot's Reading List:
The Constitution of the United States
The Bill of Rights
The 5000 Year Leap
The American Classic Series:
The Real George Washington
The Real Thomas Jefferson
The Real Benjamin Franklin
Common Sense by Glenn Beck
Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg
American Progressivism by Ronald J. Pestritto
The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes
Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin

I got half-way through the 5000 Year Leap while we were in San Antonio. It's not a novel, for sure! I need to remember to get my own copy. I would recommend it to anyone who has gotten fuzzy on the beginnings of our country. It deals with the ideals, rather than the history. And that seems to be what our people in Washington need to be reminded of, so we need to have a good grasp of all this in order to be "reminders".

Let me know if you read any of these...or have already read them. There is no excuse for being an ignorant citizen!

TEA Party

Well, flinging it over the fence was not an option, since the fence appeared to be somewhat in disrepair and the grass on the other side of the fence was too high.
So, we attached the sheet to a small tent....but the wind was so strong we were afraid we would capsize that. So then we found another fence close to the festivities, and flung our sheets on that...with some wire. It was still windy, but the wind was now blowing the sheet INto the fence.
Oh, the slogans on our sheets were "Taxed to the Max" and "Change or Chains?"
The speakers were good; the information we collected was helpful; and the hot dogs were tasty.
Then I came back and sold some tickets for the copper heron to benefit the River Hospital. Busy 4th!

The 4th

Well, of course I have plans. Now. I volunteered to sit at the grocery and offer tickets on a copper heron to benefit the hospital. I will also sell tickets to the fashion show they are sponsoring. Of course, I don't believe in raffles or lotteries, so why am I selling tickets? Guess I'm just a mass of contradictions. I also am now planning to go to a TEA Party about 40 miles away. That will allow me to let my voice be heard, politically speaking. The sponsor replied to my question about making a sign with "Of course you can make signs, but make them big. We will be next to the Interstate, so use a bed sheet and we can drape it over the fence." I'm not sure I'm THAT patriotic...but it does tickle the imagination. Whatever would I say on a bedsheet?? What would YOU say on a bedsheet?