summer daze

It seems as though we have gone straight from spring to August. We are part way through a string of 90+ degree days. On days like these it is best to get out in the garden early as well as get any canning and baking done in the relative cool of the day.

I've decided to take yet another break from blogging. There are so many things I want to accomplish this summer: canning, gardening, sewing, reading, studying.

I am also working on getting our fledgling children's ministry off and running.

Maybe it is just me, but I sit down in front of the computer to check a thing or two and before I know it a half hour has passed. Or an hour! Gulp.
Life is too short and too precious to spend it looking at a screen (unless of course there are pictures of grandbabies on that screen :).

I may pop in every few weeks if there is something I must share. And if you need to check up on me, any comments left here at any time will show up on my gmail.

I love to blog and I love the interaction, but just need a few months to get some other stuff accomplished.

I'm also deactivating my facebook account for the summer, but will still be checking my gmail every day or so.

Anybody else want to unplug for the summer? Try it, I think you'll like it!

See you in September, LORD willing!

hail to the leaf

We had a few moments of severe weather yesterday (nothing to complain about - especially compared to recent storms in other areas). Thankfully, we were at home and our one and only car was safely tucked in the garage. We know of many others who were not so fortunate.

The auto glass industry will be very busy over the next few weeks in our area.

Some of the leaves on our plants were shredded, but it doesn't appear that any were dealt a fatal blow.

The hailstorm lasted for a few minutes, it seemed, hail bouncing off the lawn like popcorn. I've never witnessed a hailstorm this severe.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but here is some of the biggest hail Pat found in the yard:

~~~~~~~

The local kids are out of school now. Hearing them in the evenings reminds me of my carefree childhood summers. I wonder if kids now have as much fun as we did.

This was floating around on facebook recently:

‎"My curfew was lightning bugs, mom didn't call my cell, she yelled my name, I played outside with friends, not online, If I didn't eat what my mom cooked then I didn't eat. Sanitizer didn't exist, but you COULD get your mouth washed out with soap. I rode a bike without a helmet, getting dirty was ok,… and neighbors cared as much as your parents did. Re-post if you drank water from a garden hose and survived"

~~~~~~

Pat and I picked two gallons of strawberries the other day (sweet!). I was planning to make jam yesterday, but was concerned about a power outage mid-jam session.

So today is the day I be jammin'.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend everyone!

tech no

I'm in one of those 'get rid of technology' moods.

This happens quite often. :)

So, you can imagine that I really appreciated this post.

Your thoughts?

weather

Last month tornadoes came close to my aunts and cousins (paternal side) in North Carolina.

Earlier this month my aunt and uncle and cousins (maternal side) spent the better part of a day sandbagging my aunt and uncles home to protect it from rising flood waters from the Ohio.

We spent a day without power as a result of several tornadoes touching down in our area a few weeks ago.

So when my sister Suzi called and left a message saying 'We are okay', I was not surprised to hear that her news was weather related. Suzi and Tim own a few homes and my niece and nephews live in two of these homes in North Minneapolis.

You can read more about the tornadoes that hit North Minneapolis here. The one death that has been reported was a man that lived two doors away from my nephew. The kids' friend Pete had just arrived at their house. He hadn't even gotten out of his car when this happened:

He was in the driver's seat and narrowly missed getting killed.

All of the trees in that yard are down.

We are so thankful that the kids are all safe.

Now the work begins. Today in Kansas and Missouri and Minneapolis, you will hear the sound of debris being chucked into dumpsters, tarps being nailed onto roofs and chain saws clearing downed trees. Add that to the cleanup work that continues in Alabama and Mississippi. Not to mention the flooding. And that is just in our country. Don't forget Japan and Haiti.

So many people without homes now. And on the flip side so many homes in various parts of the country in danger of being foreclosed upon.

Wouldn't it be nice if the two groups could come together? While I am waiting to rebuild my house, I could live in your house and pay rent to help keep you out of foreclosure?

Just a thought....

yesterday in the hood

Down on his luck, he said.

Couldn't find a job, he said.

His little girl has leukemia and he can't afford her monthly treatments, he said.

Do you have any work I could do for you, he asked.

A few kind and generous neighbors gave him some cash. One emptied his five gallon gas can into the man's car.

Within a few hours this man and two others were arrested in the top loop of our subdivision. They were trying to break in to a home - the owners were not home at the time.

~~~~~

These are desperate times. Unemployment is high. Prices are high. And according to an area detective, drug prices are on the rise.

We are blessed with great neighbors. We have an unofficial neighborhood watch and believe you me, they are watching.

We know of two people in our area who have been robbed. They live a mile or two down the road from us. One is my piano student. The other is our insurance agent.

Thankfully our riches are in heaven, so there is very little on earth that man can do to us.

But still, we are keeping our eyes open.

categorically speaking

My mind is running in a lot of different directions these days.

I'm still mentally processing all the information I gathered at the conference we attended last week. As director of children's ministries, I need to choose the curriculum for our fledgling church.

In one of the seminars we learned that there are three types of curricula:
1) Biblically based
2) Values based
3) Entertainment oriented.

Of course, I will be choosing the Biblically based kind and have narrowed it down to two possibilities:

1) Generations of Grace
2) Harvest Bible Chapel Children's Curriculum

I want to make this decision by the end of the month and begin recruiting teachers.

AND
Now that we know grandbaby #3 is a girl, I can start making a quilt for her.
I'm undecided between a patchwork type quilt or this one. Any advice? Particularly from the baby's mama?

ALSO
There is a wedding in our future. Daniel and Laura have set the date of March 31 of next year. While as the mother of the groom I have limited responsibilities, I am collecting ideas to make the rehearsal dinner fun and enjoyable. And I might try to lose 10-15 -pounds. :)

PLUS
The garden didn't weed itself while we were gone. Strawberries are now in season and I need to go pickin' and jammin'.

Lots of categories to concentrate on! What's on your mind these days?

home

2, 150 miles.
3 handsome and talented sons
2 beautiful daughters-in-love
2 cute and fun grandchildren
4 different beds
5 amazing worship services
4 thought provoking workshops
1500 brothers and sisters in Christ

My head is stuffed full of knowledge. My heart is stuffed full of gratitude and love.

I'll gradually share info over the next few days, but for now - my house is full of dust bunnies and dirty laundry.

Much to contemplate, but for now, I'm missing these cuties:

These two really love each other!

pensive and still

such a little doll, with a sweet personality to match and a cheerio corsage

Did I tell you? Grandbaby #3 is a girl!

onward

Wonderful times of worship.








Informative and motivational workshops.

Great time with Nathan and Michelle and Daniel (no pics...uncooperative subjects ~smile~).

Now onto to Jon and Kristi and the grands!

while I'm in class...

please enjoy these pretty flowers:









We are currently at Nate and Michelle's enjoying their wonderful hospitality.

We are also taking classes at Harvest U.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Love you!

Happy Mother's Day....

to my beautiful Mom!

journey

Last year we headed up north the day the city of Nashville flooded. We barely made it through.

We are heading north again. Today's adventure? Well, we will be passing through Fort Campbell - where President Obama will be meeting with the Navy Seals who got bin Laden.

Shortly after that we will cross the Ohio River which is at flood stage and expected to crest today.

Earlier this week, Dad had an *ahem* episode. That's all I'll say about that, except to mention that my mom is a rock star and my hero.

All is well now, and several neighbors will be keeping a close watch on the folks. And if our neighbors are good at anything - it's watching. Wonderful people, but very good watchers. If Dad so much as hiccups, the 'hood will descend. lol

We would appreciate your prayers.

prep

It was a week ago today that tornado after tornado after tornado devastated many towns here in the southeast.

Over three hundred lives lost; many more changed forever.

The weatherman started warning us of severe weather on Wednesday a few days earlier. We are weather watchers - especially since Pat is a fisherman. When he was a fishing guide, it was critical that he know what to 'expect' weather-wise.

Wednesday morning I ran a few errands and picked up a movie from redbox. Even if we lost power, I figured we could watch the DVD in the dark on my laptop. Pat had been at Malwart the previous day and replenished our supply of little propane bottles so we could either grill or cook on our camp stove or grill. I think he also topped off the gas tank in the car.

According to the noon news that day, storms had already begun to pummel Alabama. I charged the laptop and my cell phone. The crawl across the bottom of the screen mentioned that school would be closing at one. I texted my piano student's moms to see if they would like to have lessons earlier (so glad I did - the girls would have been here at the height of the first storm!).

I got our lanterns out, decided what to have for supper, we moved our back porch furniture and grill (just a small coleman camp grill) up close to the house.

I set a few chairs and some blankets and the battery powered radio in the laundry room. We were set.

If we still lived up north and were on a well, I would have filled buckets, pots and pans and pitchers full of water so we would have water for flushing, washing, cooking and drinking. Here, though we live out in the country, we are close enough to have city water.

We waited and the storm arrived as predicted. A few hours after the beginning the power flickered, then went out.

We listened to the radio, looked out the window and when the weather man said there were tornado warnings in our county (7 times), we sat in the laundry room for a spell.

We watched our movie (in and out of the laundry room. And made the best of things.

Everytime we have a storm, I learn a few things - things I should do differently or additionally.

After the storms were over, but while the power was still out, I went back to Malwart and bought and inverter. Now I could charge my cell phone and my laptop when necessary. I could even run the tv (it will power a 27" or less tv) and I could probably vacuum or iron if I wanted to (I didn't lol).

Now that we had the inverter and a bag of ice, we could have gone a few more days without power with no great inconvenience. But the power came back on shortly after these purchases.

Many towns in Alabama were without power and phone rendering credit and debit cards useless. It is always good to have cash (and change) on hand during situations like these. I could not make calls during the aftermath, but texts were sent and received without trouble.

Do you have any tips for emergency preparations? Do share!

The best preparation of all? Faith and trust in GOD. No matter what happens - we are in His hands.


When I am afraid,
I will put my trust in You.

Ps. 56:3

to go

Spring hurtles on. We have gone from daffodils to tulips to lilacs to roses. Now the lavender is coming on strong. Plus, we have already eaten a whole row of radishes.

Life hurtles on as well. So much to do, so little time. I have several blog subjects churning in my mind, but no chance to sit and put pen to paper, so to speak.

The picture above, however, reminds me that I need to stop. And smell the roses.

Have a wonderful day everyone!