Surprise!

We are blessed beyond words to be included in the family of our daughter's in-laws.  Today we went to a cookout surprise party for the brother of Amanda's mother-in-law.  It was held at the home place of Tommy's wife & her sister.

This is not Tommy in the below picture.  It is my husband, Bill.

We had a GREAT time.  Their family is a lot of fun with great personalities.  We have yet to meet a stranger in their family even on our first meeting with them.

Since Tommy was turning sixty and likes the music of that era, CDs of the popular songs played throughout the day.  Some of us older attendees sang along with the music which I am sure was appreciated by the younger generation.

I like what they did with these chairs.  Each was painted a different primary color with the cushions covered in old blue jean pants.  Pretty clever and they looked great.  This house had a large wrap-around covered porch area.  It's very relaxing and inviting.  As you can see, even the neighbor's adorable pup enjoyed the party.

When we left, my husband had another surprise.  He knows I have been wanting to go to the Fields of the Wood  and since it is in the area, he secretly got the directions from our son-in-law.  He told me when we got in the car.  It's pretty impressive to see the stone tables on the side of a mountain.  Each letter is five feet tall.  RoadSide America has a nice write-up on this, too.

You can climb the stairs to the top of either mountain.    Or you can do as we did, and take your car on the road to the top.  (It was too hot to climb and my left knee has been swelling the last 2-3 weeks.  It's arthritis and overuse.  I will start my physical therapy exercises at home again and pray they help.)

 

Here is a lovely area to relax and enjoy the view.

Pictures from the top.  The words, "Jesus died for our sins." are live-trimmed hedges.

Looking down from the top of the mountain at the Commandments.

 

The view of the mountains is incredible.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  Bill and I discussed that we need to drive back this way when the leaves have their color-show.  As for Fields of the Wood, it is a great place for a picnic or to take a church group.  There is no admission fee but donations are welcomed.

And if anyone is wondering, the storms this past Thursday night were quite intense again.  I will post pictures of the results next time.

 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them."  Exodus 24:12

What Goes Up . . . . .Sometimes has to be taken down.

I was almost asleep just before 11 pm on Sunday evening when I heard some strong sudden winds outside the window.  They were worse than anything we have experienced.  There were Straight-Line Winds in our neighborhood.  As a result, a few large limbs blocked a road.  Our neighbor had a tree across her driveway.  We had the top of a tree at the end of our driveway left with dangerous dangling limbs.

To give you an idea of the height of this tree, our house is shown below.  Our driveway is on the right-hand side of the picture.  The tree is out near the road.  

But we had a second tree - - a hickory - - beside the driveway at the garage door that was struck by lightening the same night.  That is a story for another blog.  Our understanding is insurance may cover that so we will file the claim before proceeding further.

So you are able to see in these shots, an idea of the height of our trees.  We aren't tree-climbers and don't have a bucket truck but were told by insurance the limbs had to come down - - - on our nickel.  Since we knew about the danger, we would be liable if anyone or their property (cars) was damaged.

Bill was on the phone a LOT trying to contact tree services.  Ronnie's was the first to give us an early scheduling date and to respond to our messages.  They had done previous work for us many years ago.

Safely buckled.

 

A large branch being lowered by rope.

As we requested, the limbs were lowered to the side of our driveway.  Our neighbors will help us cut them in cooler weather.  Then we will give them to others for firewood or take them elsewhere.

My sweet blogger/tree-hugger friend, Suzy, will be happy to know that we only "topped" the tree.  We were told it would be fine once it was trimmed.  As you will see in the next couple of pictures, we still are surrounded by a forest even with so much taken off of one!

Now that the chain saws have done their work from the bucket truck, Bill uses his brute masculine strength to begin clean-up!

He does help make my blog posts fun!

We are VERY THANKFUL that God once again protected us.  No trees landed on the house and damaged it.  (Actually one limb did do some damage to a gutter but that's no biggie.)  Also when lightening hit the other tree, it did not catch fire which also would have torched our house.  The area was dry as tinder before the rain began falling.

So - - - we had more education and entertainment - - - and 97 pictures of the process today.  Plus we got to visit with a neighbor or two while watching the tree guys work.

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.  Psalm 4:8

BUSY & Tired!

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit but this is the time of year when work overtakes my personal life.

You can go to the link for our library post so you can see the activity at our church last week.  Since the reading program started, we have not really had a "breather" until this week.  It's a great thing - - - - but last weekend was definitely a time to relax.

And if you don't go to the library link, it's fine but please go to our younger daughter's link and see her newest "pregnancy pic".  I really like it.   Grandson time is almost here!!!

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.  Psalm 127:3

Wonderful Weekends

Yummy!   Why all the delicious goodies?  Do you see the fabric around the flowers?  See the close-up below?  Looks like little boy toys - - - right?  That is because it was a baby shower for our grandson!  I have the best, best friends who love us and know how to celebrate an event.  I am fairly confident my daughter will blog more about this sometime this week.

 

 

During the Memorial Day Weekend last week, my sister, our brother and his wife, and my sister's granddaughter drove five hours to spend time with us.  They were in the car a LOT on Friday.

On Saturday, they, my husband, and our older daughter went to visit the younger daughter, who had the baby shower and who lives an hour away - - - - in the mountains near North Carolina.  This is a view from her front porch.  Her precious sweet husband cooked a delicious meal for us - - - items off the grill as well as homemade side dishes.   YUM again!

Sunday took us to another edible event.  It was held at a farm owned by one of our church members where we are invited to the annual church Memorial Day Picnic.

I would like to know who made these cupcakes.  They were excellent but the lemon frosting defies description.  It was wonderfully delicious.  I would love the recipe!

This is just the beginning of the food offerings.  There were two loooonnnngggg tables crowded with serving dishes.

This is only a portion of the crowd - - - and the crowd is about finished filling their plates.  What you don't see is the creek under the trees where the children spent 2 1/2 hours playing - - and the rides on the hay wagon - - - the music - - -- and the wonderful fellowship with friends.

Family - - - friends - - - two weekends in a row - - - - could life be much better?!!!

The righteous should choose his friends carefully . . . Proverbs 12:25a

Covering HIS World

Today there were 136 quilts on display.  These were made by the women who meet once a month to sew and fellowship together.

This sign tells the reason for the display.

This is the logo for the QWAP - - Quilters with a Purpose.

No comments necessary on the rest - - - - just a very few pictures of what I saw.

 

Summer Reading Registration officially began today.  We were soooooo busy that I didn't even get totals of today's circulation when I left tonight.  This morning we checked out 247 items!  Tonight was more than steady, too.  I will update those numbers on our library blog this week.

Lunch today was comfort food - - something we ate growing up at home.  It's potatoes, onions, and hot dogs.  VERY delicious!   I did use some butter for frying but also olive oil.  The onions are Vidalia and the hot dogs are Hebrew National.

Just about each night this week, we have finished washing, repairing, or painting in the guest room.  I will show you pics of the completion on another post.  It looks great and I have the best husband for all the energy he has expended in there.

Most of your posts have been read this week - - - don't know if I will have time to comment or not - - - but will try. . . . . . till next time.

 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . Ecclesiastes 9:10a

Happy Mother's Day to me and all of you, my Blog Friends!  Yes, that corsage in the above picture is mine!!!  My older daughter gave it to me.  It gave me great pride to wear it to church.  The interesting thing is there were less than half a dozen of us wearing flowers  - - - in a crowd of over 2,500.  How many of you remember when the majority of females wore flowers on Mother's Day?

It was a great day - - - got to celebrate with my favorite people - - - my immediate family and our younger daughter's in-laws.   We had a lovely and delicious time together.

So what do you think this is?

 

Are you thinking dessert of some sort - - - - strawberry or cherry flavored?  It does look luscious, doesn't it?  Well - - - it is actually not pink, it is more of a lavender  - - - and it's not food - - - - - it's this:

The cool thing about this product is it paints on light purple and when it turns white, it's dry!  Is that cool or what?  It sure doesn't take much to entertain me, does it?

The Spackling followed wall washing.  I think I mentioned to you before that Sherwin Williams said the surfaces should be cleaned with white vinegar because it leaves no chemical residue.

We are just thrilled to be back working in the guest room yesterday and hope nothing else major disrupts us.  This is what we were doing last fall before our foundation rebuild.

As you know, painting prep can take more time than painting.   This is how we have split the work - - - we both scraped the textured ceiling.  I wash walls and Spackle.  Bill does sanding and usually most of the painting - - which we will hopefully start this week.  In addition to it, Bill has worked a LOT of hours in our yard this weekend, too.

My hours this past week - - - along with ALL my co-workers - - - have been invested in final preparations for our summer reading program.  Last year we had 479 children enrolled.

If you're interested in seeing more of what's happening at work with me, you can go to our library link.

"Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her."  Proverbs 31:28

Been Very Busy

I have been AWOL.  This is a busy time of year at work - - - and at home, too.  As you can see above, the yard work is abundant.  (That is residual pollen on the deck railing that needs washing.)  The cute cars are for our grandson, Benjamin, to play with when he is  a bit older - - - and of course, he has to be born first!  I got those at the consignment sale.  I had volunteered to work on clean-up two Sundays ago - - and was there about five hours.

The next pic won't excite you but it does me - - - cuz those are new tires on my car!!!  It's amazing how "my" ride feels luxurious due to these additions.   A big "thank-you" to my husband for knowing it was time to purchase them and also for taking the car to the shop for the upgrade!!

Next week we have an associational library conference where we will be reviewing and learning information to make us better ministers in our individual churches.  I get to present the overview and our director will present questions, moderate answers, and challenge those in attendance to complete the material.

In one week, we begin early registration for our children's summer reading program.  Our prizes arrived from a couple of toy companies.  They were unpacked last week and put in clear plastic shoe-boxes.  Next week, they will be sorted by colors, and then numbered.  I'll give you an update as we have it.

This is also the time of year I have annual exams.  Friday was my appointment for my mammogram - - - you really wanted to know that, didn't you?!!  It was the first time I used the Mary Ellen Locher Women's Center.  They have three locations.  I went to Ooltewah and was extremely impressed with their staff and facilities.  It will be my preferred imaging company for future visits - - - as long as my insurance will allow.  We pay a bit more to have Memorial Medical in our network but they are well worth it.

Today was a very exciting and happy time as we celebrated our son-in-law's graduation from Cleveland State Community College.  Of course his family was there, too but I will let my daughter post those pics if she so desires.  The speaker was Larry Gatlin.  He was phenomenal - - - - was funny as well as serious; had great points to make; sang three songs; and included audience participation in all of the above.  All of us were in agreement that he was the best speaker we have heard in all the graduations we have attended in the last forty years!

 - - - so until next week or next time I write - - - - - see ya!

 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.  Proverbs 9:9