Cleaning - - - Packing

I have saved about anything and everything over the years - - - because it can always be used again for something!  Well, I guess I have finally gotten to a different stage in my life because if I'm not using it, I want it GONE.  Plus, we need to empty out some of our basement.  If not, the kids will get to do it one day.  Ha. Ha.

The basement is my idea and on my schedule.  However, at my employment with the church library, we are working a plan with a definite timetable.  Our library will move the first full week in September. Currently the cabinets are emptied in one storeroom and already some boxes are packed.  The books will be packed September 1 & 2.  I'll give you more updates and pictures when that happens.

The cardboard boxes are empty at this point but the crates are packed and have already been moved. . . . . and that's all for tonight.  I did read everyone's blog but don't have time for comments until about Thursday . . . .

But God said to him . . . . Who will get it all?   Luke 12:20 NLT

Peppy & Upbeat? Not always.

When you are almost 60 years old, not every day is picture perfect.  In fact you can have a few gray days.  This picture was taken at 1 p.m. on Saturday.  It was so overcast that our security lamp came on in the middle of the day!

I'm not saying the weather didn't play a factor but I felt rotten until mid-afternoon.  The main culprit was the headache that began before I woke up.  My severe dry eye syndrome will occasionally cause a headache to begin in my eyes.  Aspirin will keep me moving but it makes for an uphill day.

A headache turns my schedule upside down but when I finally quit for a while - - take one extra strength aspirin and a short nap . . . . 

 . . often I can be up and about again doing my Saturday tasks.  The following work week goes so much smoother when I complete my list on the weekend.

One thing I had planned for the day was to make this.

Yes, I know it's the middle of summer but homemade vegetable beef sounded good and we're inside an air-conditioned house!  This is quite healthy.  I cooked the beef in V-8 juice.  What you don't see is a bunch of chopped celery and onions in the broth.  The macaroni is Barilla in the yellow box.  It is made from various grains.

The day got better as it progressed - - ending with being treated for dinner at Red Lobster by our son-in-law's parents and grandmother.  I think I have mentioned before that when our daughter married, we not only got a wonderful son-in-law but also some new friends.

Today we "partied" with some older friends.  There was an open house for someone in our church who turned ninety this weekend.  She is so sweet - - - very active and funny, too.  She says she has "some-timers" because sometimes she remembers and sometimes she doesn't!  A gathering like today reflects how blessed we are with friends.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine . . . Proverbs 17:22a

Shepherd's Heart

I'll not post what I am doing today - - but will do that tomorrow.  Today, I will link you to our younger daughter's blog that she wrote yesterday, her last day of work as a daycare director. . . . a difficult day for her because she has such a tender, loving heart for those God puts in her path.  She very eloquently expressed that in her post.  Her leadership there has been successful because she has reflected the Shepherd Heart of our Precious Lord.  Her future as a teacher excites her  - - - but it is always hard to say good-bye when we go a new direction in the road map of life.

Go ye therefore and teach . . . . . Matthew 28:19a

End of July . . . 4th!

I thought it might be a good idea to finish posting the rest of the pictures from our vacation.  These were still from July 5 at Callaway Gardens.  However, they aren't the best quality.  I had inadvertently reset my automatic settings so some of them are a bit grainy.

Virginia Callaway Discovery Center - - sort of like the Welcome Center with information about the Gardens.

Inside looking out

Trail leading to the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel

The six stained glass windows on three sides of the building depict the forest in a progression of seasons.

Does anyone watch The Victory Garden on PBS?  This is where episodes are filmed at Callaway.

Robin Lake beach - - 65 acres - - part of Callaway, too.  Bill is on the side with no lifeguard.  Over to the left of the picture you can see the public beach with lifeguards.  Notice the white sand.  Remember this is not coastal property but is inland.

And this is where we had supper that night.  It is within 5 miles of Callaway - - open only in the evenings - - and has delicious food for very reasonable prices.  We plan to eat there on a return trip.

When we were talking to the owner of Cricket's Restaurant, we found we had something in common - - - children who were graduates of Lee University where all the students recite this verse frequently.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.  Psalms 19:14

Callaway Gardens

On our return trip from Dothan, AL on July 6 and 7, we stopped at Callaway Gardens.  It is a place Bill and I visited frequently during our first few couple of years of marriage because it was about an hour from where we lived in Columbus, GA. 

Our original plans were to stop for just part of the day but the rates for overnight on the internet specials were only $99 and that included our $36 entrance into the Gardens.  This special is still in effect for at least a couple more months.  It is one of the most economical vacations available if you live in the area.

I took BUNCHES of pictures but have whittled it down to just a few to give you the flavor of the area.  And it will still take about 3 or 4 posts for the rest of them.  The first are from the butterfly atrium.

My question - - who counts them?  How do you get them to stop flying and stay in one place to count them?  And you will notice that I only have one picture of a butterfly.  My camera settings got switched and the pictures are grainy.  That's okay since we will visit the butterfly atrium at the Chattanooga Aquarium again soon.

The next pictures are from the Horticultural Center.  Again, I have LOTS of pictures of individual plants but will show you a basic overview.

One of the plants I liked the most was this Chenille Plant.  I had never seen one.

And I will finish with some waterfall fun.  The last picture was taken on the backside of the waterfall looking to the outside.

These pictures can't begin to even show you the "tip of the iceberg" of over 10,000 acres in this attraction that contains biking trails, a golf course, and white sand beaches on a lake.  Posting the pictures is good for me because it takes me back to the wonderful relaxation of our vacation there.

Then the Lord God planted a garden . . . . Genesis 2:8a . . . He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there . . . Genesis 2:9a

A Day in the Mountains

Today we went to visit our younger daughter and her husband at their lovely home.  They are in a cabin on top of a mountain - - - so peaceful and with great views.  We were impressed at how much work they have done inside and out.  Plus we got to see the gardens instead of just pictures of the plants.

Our plans were to have lunch in Ducktown.  Yes, that is really the name.  According to Wikipedia, it was named after the Cherokee leader, Chief Duck.  This is where we ate:

The food was very, very good and the environment and personnel were very welcoming.  We would definitely enjoy returning there on our next trip.

Also on our agenda was a trip to:

Mercier Orchards is in Blue Ridge, GA.  It is 2,100 feet in elevation.  The elevation in Cleveland, TN (our home) is 980 feet.  It is 685 feet in Chattanooga.

Their orchard has 100,000 trees.   It is a fun place to visit because they have so much to see . . . and buy if you are in a shopping mood.  There is a deli sandwich shop where you can eat breakfast, lunch, or supper.  Included in food choices are homemade baked goods, fried pies, apple cider slushies, homemade ice cream (yum!), and fudge.  Then you can shop for canned preserves, sauces, fresh produce, gifts, or souvenirs.

Look at their fun lighting.  The lamp shades are bushel baskets.

It was another great day with family who are also friends.  It is wonderful that we could enjoy it inside air conditioned buildings because it was a horrendously hot day today.  It was one that just sucks the energy out of you.  We came home and took a short nap before starting on housework.  Now the car has been washed, the laundry done, and even a bit more of the weeds and volunteer trees have been trimmed outside.  I am just glad this is not our field.  We saw it during our travels today.

It is the infamous Kudzu - - - - the vine that ate the South - - - and and can grow up to a foot a day.  It clings, climbs, and can obliterate from view anything in its path.

"Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?"  Matthew 13:27

Friends

No pictures tonight - - - just words about friends.  Aren't they the best?  God truly blessed us with a bit of heaven on earth when HE gave us friends.  My cup runneth over with the people HE has put in my life - - and this week my time with most of them revolved around food!

Today I shared lunch at Monterrey with my girlfriends who are just a few years older than me.  We all have enough age that we are treated with the respect given senior citizens - - - even if we don't feel like it.  However, when we end the meal by showing each other crooked fingers from arthritis and laughing at the different angles and directions our finger goes when pointing - - - I guess that makes us up there a bit in age - - - let's say we have all passed the half century mark.  These girls are precious, precious, precious and we started as co-workers in our church library.  That is the best part about "working" there.  We all love being with each other.

Earlier this week, there was a lunch meeting at work with more girlfriends.  I work with some wonderful women and some of us have been privileged to be together now for almost 15 years!   Now where did that time go so fast?!!!

Tonight we took some young friends to Ocoee Dam Deli  for their first visit.  They, like many others we know, declared the wraps and burgers some of the best they have ever tasted.   Again, it was wonderful, wonderful fellowship with great conversation and laughter.  The food in this place is well worth the 20 minute drive from downtown.  Whether your first trip or a repeat - - have you read the back of the menu?  They care about quality food.

And I would be remiss if I did not include my family in my group of friends.  Bill and I are both fortunate to enjoy our siblings, our sweet daughters, our great son-in-law, and his family, too.  (Have I left anyone out?)

And the point of all this rambling is your time on earth flies by faster than you ever imagined it could.  ENJOY your time with each other - - - every minute. Great memories are made in those minutes.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends:  With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  2 Peter 3:8