Early Christmas Trip

We decided to get away for a few days of rest earlier this month.  We booked a five day cruise to Haiti and Jamaica on board the Independence of the Seas cruise liner which is owned by the Royal Caribbean cruise line.

The trip was a great way to relax and be pampered as only a good cruise line can do.  The ship was decorated for the holidays. On the fifth deck was a Christmas tree that was approximately four floors high.  Like many other passengers we had our picture made in front of it.

It turned out to be one of my favorite photos of our entire trip.

Formal Night Attire

In fact I included it in a few of my Christmas cards that I sent to family this year.

Now we are back home and fully immersed in trimming our kitchen tree, sending cards, planning the Christmas meal for the family, buying online gifts, attending parties and practicing words and music for our church musical presentation which will have a three-night run.

Now I know we took our rest at the correct time. We needed the time to refuel prior to all the activity awaiting us!

God is good.

Bowling Is Entrenched in the Family

I spent most of this day in one of two bowling alleys.  The major part of my morning was spent in the Franklin Community Center at the Senior Olympics for Greater Nashville.  Walter decided to participate a few weeks ago.  He signed up for bowling and horseshoes.  Bowling was today.

Walter Modestly Showing Off 2015 Senior Olympics T-Shirt

He bowled three games for a total of 552 points.  This was a really good score for him but not good enough to win either of the top three prizes.  But he got a neat T-Shirt and can now go on to the 2016 state level if he chooses.  I think the program is a way of promoting physical involvement in senior adults.  Although he knew no one there, he had a good time and bowled a good set of games.  He has every reason to be proud of his accomplishment.

And to top off the afternoon I spent more time at the Smyrna Bowling Center.  Grandson Kash is now part of the Stewartsboro bowling team.  He bowled his second time this afternoon. Walter had coached him some.  At eight years old, he had bowled 11 without the bumper rails for his first practice.  But today he bowled a 64 which was good enough to get to bowl a second game.  For that game he bowled 67!  With more practice he will probably be bowling really well soon.

So the game is passing on to another generation in our family.  I better get me a warm sweater and get ready to spent a lot of hours in the future in a bowling alley!

God is good.

Our Truck Goes to Good Use

We have been dirty girls and boys lately.  Here is the picture to prove it.  We were covered in mud and sweat after harvesting several rows of corn.

Parkway Corn Pickers

Our church has a community garden. Yesterday we gathered to pick the corn.  With the workers assembled above we were able to fill three truck beds with fresh ears of corn.  Our truck is the white one on the far right.  It held 620 ears which we delivered to the Smyrna LaVergne Food Bank.  The other trucks went to the Journey Home mission in Murfreesboro.  We estimated the three trucks held approximately 2,700 ears.  HALLELUJAH!

I am happy to be a small part of this mission into our community.

Fresh Corn Just After 6:30 am

We took home a few ears of corn, too.  I made creamed corn that was so tasty and not a diet dish at all! Fresh is best.  I also took a few ears and boiled corn-on-the-cob for a couple in our church. The husband is dealing with inoperable brain cancer but is still at home.  We had a good visit with his wife, one of their girls and him.  He never complains, says very little but still makes it known that he enjoys seeing us.  What a dear man.

When Walter wanted a truck he told me he would use it to forward God's work.  He has been faithful to that promise as he hauls pastries and baked goods to the Right Road Ministry that works with people returning to the community after time in jail or as recovering alcoholics.  He also delivers to the food bank as mentioned before.  He takes off trash for our neighbors who do not have a way to do that themselves.  He hauls lumber and other supplies when the church group Helping Hands builds a wheelchair ramp for a family.

Thank God for caring people.  God is good!

Gardening Woes

I had let my garden beds go too long neglected. Too many other activities have taken my time and energy. Yesterday I decided to prolong my weeding no longer.

Grass and Weeds Overtaking the Rose Bed

I surveyed the rose bed.  The weeds had virtually taken over the bed.  Although the weather forecast predicted rain, I got out all my weeding tools anyway.

I worked for about thirty minutes and when my back pain overtook me, I went inside to rest for a while.  When the rain did come, I went inside to rest until it stopped raining.  After three sessions of weeding in between rest bouts, I was able to step back and see the results of my hard work.

The bed had been spaded and all the weeds pulled. Most of the weeds came out with their roots intact due to the wet earth or mud that made the pulling easier.  Some of the weeds were just chopped off, so I know they will regrow and the weeding process will have to be repeated.  But that is how it is with gardening.

Groomed Rose Bed

Oh how I wish one work session would last all summer, but I know better.  Maybe this time I will not wait so long to manicure the beds.  That will make the gardening chores much easier next time.

The mums are also in this bed along with some purple morning glories behind the bird bath.  At the end of the gardening session, my gloves were black from the wet dirt, my back was hurting and I was a nasty mess!

A hot shower and a hot cup of lemon tea relaxed me enough for a full lay down sleep of about an hour.  How decadent for me!

Gardens are a good thing.  God is good!

Life of Christ Presentation

These are some of the over 100 costumes I have been sewing for the past few weeks.  Several ladies and I have spent many hours cutting fabrics, sewing and surging tunics and vests for the many characters needed for depicting the life of Christ from birth to resurrection.

Costume Room at the Church

They are for the Good Friday and Saturday drive through drama at Parkway Church.  We are planning eighteen scenes which will be along the sides of the driveway at the church.  Dozens of people have been planning and working on the scenes for weeks.

It will all come together for the April 3 - 4 pm to 6 pm and April 4 - 3 pm to 6 pm presentations.  The church members are pumped for the dramatic large production that it will be.  In doing the work for this presentation, many of us have learned more about our dear Lord and what the world looked like when He walked the earth.

God is good!  Happy Easter!

Senior Adult Luncheon

Today Walter and I hosted the Senior Adult luncheon for our church.  Last year we reluctantly accepted the leadership of this group of church members.  Our duties are to hold monthly luncheons and provide either a program or a speaker.  Sometimes an additional activity is scheduled.

Our theme this month was a continuation of celebrating St. Patrick's Day since it was only two days after the holiday.  We decided to decorate with silver and green balloons.

Room Dressed with Six Tables-Before Guests Arrive

Almost everyone, regardless of age, likes balloons. I was very happy to hear the "wow" and "pretty room" comments when people started arriving.  We meet in the Town Centre of our town for a buffet style meal.  It is always of good quality.  Our church subsidizes the meal so the seniors have a low cost outing.

Registration Table

We dressed up the room with a few simple decorations on the coffee table and the registration table.
The decorations were nice but the room looked the best when it was filled with the seniors.  We had a great speaker as one of the Sunday School teachers spoke on the constant and unrelenting love and presence of Jesus in the believer's life.

Following are some pictures of the group assembled.  Good conversations and hearty laughter was shared at each table.

I have a lot of fun when working and sharing with these good people.  God is good!

Iced In

Our first ice and snow storm of 2015 has been one for the record books as far as being stranded in our house.  When the first snow fell on Sunday night we awoke to much ice and some snow.  We live in a subdivision which is situated on multiple hills.  Having no four-wheel drive vehicles the decision to stay off the roads was easy.  We have been in for six days now!

We stayed in and did some cleaning and DVR watching.  I did a lot of cooking from scratch which included stir-fry, cauliflower soup, one pot spaghetti, pinto beans and corn bread and baked fish.  I also make fruit salad and strawberry sauce to put over some angel food cake.  Walter contributed coconut pudding.  We have eaten well!

The driveway and yard were too thickly covered with ice so Walter made a few pictures from the windows which will help us remember this icy year.

Cardinal Eating the Bird Seed Walter Laid Out

The birds gathered in our yard.  Walter had some bird seed that he put on our back concrete.  While the birds gathered to eat them, he took a few pictures of them.

Our Street From Our Kitchen Window (notice the screen over the window)

Our neighborhood sits atop a steep hill and while the main roads and interstates became clear, our street continued to not be addressed by the city.

The icing and snow fall have continued to plague our area.  We have made the best of the situation by working on craft projects we have in progress.  

No Fresh Water for the Birds

Our feathered friends have made their presence known by loudly chirping in the trees.  We have many types of birds in the trees surrounding our yard.  We have seen cardinals, robins, woodpeckers and many small brown birds.  They are so pretty against the white of the snow.

Bird Surrounded by Icy Tree Limbs

All the tree branches are covered in ice.  There is so much bird and squirrel activity around the house. Walter caught a shot of robins in a section of the trees where twenty plus birds were gathered.

Multiple Robins Sharing the Same Tree

Seeing the multiple of birds was inspiring.  I wondered how God had designed the birds so that they could withstand the cold continuous weather they were in.

Red Bellied Woodpecker Enjoying Suet Feeder

During the year we get to see numerous woodpeckers as we keep suet out for them.  We enjoy the rich color they bring to the yard.

Although the birds are mobile and able to fly from one yard to the next in search of food and shelter, we are not as lucky.  Thursday evening Walter took the car down the hill so he could go bowling with his league and was able to drive back up the hill to get home.  He said it was slow going but he was able to navigate it well enough.

Friday morning I had a doctor's appointment so we ventured out.  We slid some but were able to get off the hill again.  After the appointment we treated ourselves to a meal out and did a little shopping for a grandson's birthday gifts.  We had no idea what lay in store for us.  We approached the hill again and this time, after three attempts, we were not able to navigate up it.  We had to leave our car in a neighbor's driveway.  As we were walking up the hill, using the front yards, as the street was way too deep in ice to use for walking, a neighbor lady who works with the National Guard, offered to take us home in her four-wheel drive truck.  We gladly took her offer and were happy to be at our garage door within a few minutes.

She then went back down the hill and brought up two more neighbors who were also stranded with their vehicles at the base of the hill.  After watching us try the hill, they had stopped their efforts.

So here we are today, waiting on the rain and sun to maybe melt the ice that imprisons us within our home.  Out home is warm and we have ample food supply for several more days.  So thanks to kindhearted neighbors who have brought us milk, called to check on us and taken us home, we are content with our surroundings.

God is good!

Three Celebrations in One

On Sunday we had a great opportunity to be present while our grandson, Austin, was baptized.  He is thirteen. We are so proud of his decision. Before the month is over he will be fourteen.

So we went to the church and saw him baptized.  At such a young age he is already taller than his pastor.  After the service we went to his house to share a barbecue meal with him and the extended family.

Cupcakes Wait for Austin to Blow Out the Candle

Not only did we celebrate his birthday and baptism but also his father Chris's birthday is in February too.  So along with Austin's celebrations, we also celebrated his father's 42nd birthday.  As all of the family was together we saw this as a perfect solution to holding separate parties.

Several of the Guests Await Their Turn for a Cupcake

For Austin, we selected a nice key ring with a black cross charm on it.  It has a quality weight and a very classic design.  We also had his name engraved on it.  Our hope is that this key ring will stay with him for his lifetime as a constant reminder of his baptism day.

Austin Showing Birthday Card From Us Which Contained $50

Chris had recently bought himself a Corvette.  This is the second one he has owned and it is fairly new and really sharp.  A few months ago Walter and I ate at Cracker Barrel and while shopping the store, Walter found a history book on Corvettes.  We thought that was just the thing for Chris' birthday.  After purchasing the book we avoided any conversations which might tip him off that we had the book.

60th Anniversary of Corvette Manufacturing Brings a Smile to Chris

We also picked up a gift card to Hickory Falls, one of his favorite restaurants. He was happy to receive the gift card.  But when he opened the box holding the book, he was thrilled. 

Chris Lost in Reading His Book

We were so glad to see him peruse each and every page of the book while the rest of the party was going on.  He works so hard at his job that we are always glad if we can contribute anything to enrich his life.  I think we were successful with this gift.

Our family is special to us and we enjoy spending time with them.  These three celebrations were jam packed with fun.  We are grateful.

God is good.

Laser Tag - What A Rush

A younger couple in their mid-forties invited us to a birthday party.  Sounded great to us. Then they told us they had rented the entire laser business for the evening.  We were there with lots of people in their twenties, thirties and a few forty or above.

We debated whether we could run and shoot people without us falling and breaking a bone.  It didn't sound very good, at least not at first.  Then we started talking about how neither of us had even done laser tag and if we ever expected to do it, this would seem like the likely time to do it.  We were sure our friends could summon an ambulance if need be.

So we responded that we would love to come and try it out.

Well, I had a rocking blast!  We played six games of about 10 minutes per game.  It was a rush!  I shot every one I could find, even tiny little people being carried by their parents.  Everyone shot me.  It didn't hurt at all and only rendered your gun useless for about 5 seconds.  I did fair with places of 14, 22 and 24 out of about 29 other players.

Walter, however, did first place one time and 4th and 5th place in the three games that were scored and printed out.  When we left we had sweated through our clothes.  Walter was so excited about how well he did and how much energy he had that he said he would rather play laser tag than bowl!  He bowls 3 and sometimes 5 times a week, so that was really saying something.

Below is a partial picture of his scorecards.  They show his finishes.  He was on the blue team when he came in first place.  That is why team stats do not should where his number one ranking is shown.  He was on the red team for the other games.

Walter's First Place Ranking

My Gun Was Named Falcon

Walter's Fourth Place Ranking

Walter's Fifth Place Ranking

He got a large amount of respect from the other players.  If we had a bucket list, this would have been a good entry for it.  We both would like to have another visit to the laser tag game room. Maybe this would be a good night out for us in the near future.

God is good!

He's 64!

Walter turned 64!

The Cake is as Large as the Table

Look at that great smile.  We celebrated quietly with a lunch at his favorite restaurant, the Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse.  We like to eat at the Hibachi grill.  At the end of the lunch, the staff sang to him and presented a peanut butter cake.  He was thrilled.  He thought his celebration was over but there would be more in store for him.

That evening he went bowling with his church teams.  Walter had organized his church friends into four teams who are now part of a Thursday night league.

When he got there he was surprised by his good friend Kevin with one of his favorite desserts - a coconut cake.  And this one was large enough to feed 75 people.  Everyone in the alley that night was invited to share his cake.  Several people gathered round to sing and eat cake.  We still had enough to take home and eat for several more days.  I brought some balloons to the alley.  No matter how old you are, balloons will bring a smile.

When you are in your sixties, you no longer want to be given something that sits around your house requiring dusting or any special care.  You treasure your friends and the time you get to spend with them.  Those moments are the stuff memories are made of.

Walter turned 64 and had some golden memories made that day.  When we are in our rocking chairs near the end of our lives, I am sure we will turn to each other and say, "Remember the night we had that big old cake for your birthday?"  We will smile and share great contentment.

God is good!

Glad to Be Back

I am so glad to be back blogging again.  Several weeks ago, I lost access to the blogger.com access and after much individual effort to reconnect without success, I had to consult a professional.  This person was able to re-link me to blogger and now I can continue to document the happenings of my life.

I was surprised to discover how much I felt adrift from modern life when I could not connect to my blog to post new items.

Also in the correction process Walter and I decided to create a new email account and give up the one we have had for decades.  If we are able to complete that exercise we can give up the semi-annual bill that comes with their service.

Wee!  I am just glad to be back in the land of the living in blog land.

God is good!