He's BAAACK!

I got a phone call about 6 PM yesterday that Stuart was sitting on the front porch when Chelsi went to check on the other cat. Hooray and thank God for answered prayer. She said he seemed fine, but VERY hungry. I'm sure it was an adventure for this declawed indoor only cat to be outside in the "jungle" for 2-1/2 days! Anway, Hilary was thrilled to know her "baby" was fine and home.

Katie and Lindsey left today for Charlotte. Katie will fly home tomorrow and be back to work on Wednesday. I realized I won't see Lindsey for 5 months...that was hard. I am SO grateful she has good friends and a great church where she has made connections...I know she is not alone and school will begin again in a month. Speaking of which, in a month John and I will be empty-nest (sort of - they'll be home for holidays). Kate will be at Eastern University in PA and Hilary will be back at Eastern Nazarene in MA! WOW! They are ready...the question is...are we? Finally on and off sun today - hooray! Have a great day!

Stuart needs prayer...

OK - I don't know if you are a pray-er or not, but if you are I want you to pray for Stuart...our cat. Now I realize not everyone believes that you should pray about stuff like a cat, but I believe in praying about everything. We have been on vacation...workmen have been in the house and Stuart is nowhere to be found...so pray that he shows up SOON!

On another note...hail, hail the gangs all here. The girls have finished with camp, so are all with us now...at least until Monday PM. It has been 7 months since we were all together. John whisked them away for a trip - Cornerstone Christian Bookstore was the first stop - with our credit card I'm sure ;0). I am looking forward to games, hikes, "explores" and conversation with all my girls.

Mental...Pause and Foofaraw...Puff Daddy...

Well, I finally understand why I sometimes repeat myself or forget what I went into another room to do ...a wonderful article told me it was part of menopause...SOOO I have renamed this side effect MENTAL-PAUSE, because that is what seems to happen to me.

On another note, I am getting used to using my mac and PSE 4...I used two of my friend, ConnyB's, templates and things from Anita's Foofaraw kit for Katie's graduation layouts. FOOFARAW means excessive ornamentation; although I tried not to do that I thought the kit was cute and loved the name. We played Apples to Apples last night with my Mom and sister. I wish I'd had a video camera going when my Mom was the judge and while reading cards said, "What's a Puff Daddy?" We all were cracking up laughing...We have had rain for 3 days, but John managed to get in a 40 mile bike ride today...whew! Maybe we'll have some sun tomorrow.





Credits: Templates by ConnyB and Foofaraw Kit by Anita at Nana's Attic

Oregano...

I have been re-reading some of the notes I took while reading In A Pit With a Lion on A Snowy Day. Today's quote says," Do not acquire possessions; acquire experiences." I really like that. While I am "home" and especially in the Blue Ridge Mountains I realize how valuable those experiences are. Driving to or by a location in Boone will remind me of my Dad and things he did with me and with the girls when he was alive. Listening to the teenagers laughing and having fun at camp this week reminds me of all the wonderful years I experienced here as a camper and counselor. My sister will remind me of silly things I used to do and sounds I used to make while we were driving around the curves in the mountains. My girls have grown up at our mountain retreat and there are traditions and places we always go. It will be nice to have all three of them here for 2-3 days later this week. I love the mountains...not just any mountains though, the Blue Ridge and in particular a piece of land on top of the hill between Blowing Rock and Grandfather Mountain on very windy highway 221. It's a place where you begin to relax as soon as you walk through the door. Memories are made and family ties are strengthened...it is a place of peace and relaxation and I thank God for it. Today my Mom transferred this property to me and my sister. Yes, it was just signatures on a piece of paper, but it was also the transferring of a heritage to pass on to our chidren and some day grandchildren. Yesterday, while watching Rachel Ray I learned what the word "oregano" means..."joy of the mountain". SOOO, from now on I guess I'll be "oregano" because this JOY finds great joy in these mountains.

Sweet Surprises and God's Scrapbook...

I am so enjoying being in North Carolina and being with family. This will always be home. I have made one trip to the HUGE Christian bookstore...4 cds and 1 book when I left ;o). John was supposed to arrive late on Friday...my wondeful DH surprised me be coming in Thursday PM; it was so good to see him! It was a sweet, wonderful surprise!

DH has read the book IN A PIT WITH A LION ON A SNOWY DAY at least two times this year. He asked that I read it before he came down. Don't let the title or subtitle "How to survive and thrive when opportunity roars" throw you - it is a great book about experiencing life. I have a feeling I'll be posting about some of the great quotes and life lessons it shares. Anyway, in one section the author talked about God having a scrapbook of your life...Hmmm...I am a scrapper...a digiscrapper - wonder what kind God is ;0). I mean I've heard people say, "If God has a refrigerator your picture is on it..." as cutesie as that is the scrapbook analogy stuck with me...soooo... I did a scrapbook page of what I thought God might have on my life right now. I believe HE is proud of me and I know that HE knows the struggles of my heart and soul right now and that HE does know what my future holds, even if I feel clueless. More from the "Lion" tomorrow.

Credits: Kit from Life's A Journey by CafeDigi

Jam Packed Days...

I left Thursday for NC. To save my family a lot of driving I chose to take the bus from W. Ossipee to Logan Airport. It really is the best way to get to Logan, even though this trip had a few surprises. Surprise 1: There is another driver like my Grandfather - who was a trucker in the Worcester/Boston area and lived by the motto "I'm bigger than they are; they will get out of my way!". There was a lot of horn honking once we got to Boston. Surprise 2: A 22 year old can reek of moth balls and garlic at the same time (as did the young woman sitting next to me). Surprise 3: Shivalry and a Saroong can go together...let me explain - 2 couples in their 60's got on the bus to have a day trip to Boston. One of the women headed to the restroom on the bus and was still in their 45 minutes later - let's just say double catastrophe had occurred. When we got to South Station she needed to get off; however, there really was no way for her to do it - she requested an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance, one of the men on the bus offered to get a saroong from his suticase for her. As much as I speculated about the saroong, I thought it was very sweet of him to offer it. He got the driver to get his luggage and in a few moments reappeared with the beautiful saroong. The woman's friend took it to the damsel in distress. The rest of us passengers could not leave the station until she had disembarked. Her friend left, carrying a garbage bag and then this poor woman gracefully, and with more dignity than I think I could have mustered at the time, walked down the bus aisle wrapped in this gorgeous saroong and headed for the medic station. I don't know who the man was, but it was a very shivalrous thing to do. By the time we got to Logan I had a migraine coming. I grabbed some lunch and popped one pill. After an hour and no relief I headed for Starbucks (and a luscious Raspberry Mocha Frappucino) and did another codeine pop with a caffeine chaser. Once on the plane I tried to rest - we had a crew change and had to wait on a new first officer, so the place left 1-1/2 hours late...however, by the time I arrived in Charlotte the headache was just about gone. I had a delicious supper with Lindsey and my sister, Melodie, and after we visited quite a while - I headed to be to sleep off the codeine and caffeine.

Lindsey has a LOVELY apartment in a great location. I could live there, temporarily, without any problem. She has been afraid to hang anything on the walls, so we put up a few things and went shopping for more ;0)! That's what Moms are for, I guess. I don't know if you have ever eaten at Chick-fil-A or not, but it is my favorite fast food place. I begged to go there for lunch. What I didn't know was that Friday, 7/13, was National Cow Appreciation Day (so that you'd eat more chicken...) AND if you came to Chick-Fil-A dressed like a cow you would get your meal FREE! The place was MOBBED with lots of cows...old cows, young cows, black cows, white cows, gray cows, baby cows...);however, that noise and crowd did not deter me from enjoying my wonderful sandwich. Once again my sister made a wonderful supper and we enjoyed a walk through her neighborhood. Lake Park, where she lives, is like a small "Mayberry" town. I love it there and it is a wonderful place to walk.

Lindsey and I found a great mirror and a few Spanish looking pictures to hang in her apartment on Saturday and she attended her first Pampered Chef party. I will say I never thought about MY daughters going to Pampered Chef parties back in the days when I attended them. She had fun and did buy something...I wandered around Matthews and her apartment complex while she was away. I even got a tour of one of the larger apartments - very nice!

Today was a real treat in many ways. I got to go to Lindsey's church - Elevation Church. It is amazing what God is doing there - Lindsey works with the 3-4 year olds. After the 10 AM service (they have 3 there and 1 at a satellite campus), I took her car and went wandering all over the place. I eventually ended up visiting my other "family" in Monroe. They are people who love you, warts and all, and are always there for you - we've been gone 15 years, but it is like we never left when we are together. I LOVE them!

This area has changed quite a bit, but I can still find my way around; however, on the way home I ran into 3 roads that had detours...let's just say I took the scenic route to Walmart and then to grab a late lunch and go home. I don't like detours, they are time consuming; however, I got to see some things I would never have known were in the area. I don't like it when God sends me on detours either; I feel like that is what my life has been about the past few years. I guess I need to remember He is trying to show me things too. God also has a funny way of turning what seems to be an annoyance to us into a blessing. I had stopped at one Walmart to get a few things and some peanut M&Ms for Melodie (her favorite). When I got home I realized the bag I had grabbed only had a newspaper in it. I headed back to Walmart...muttering all the time about going out again...only to meet up with a friend I had not seen in 15 years at the entrance of Walmart. God's timing is SO much better than ours - it was a blessing to visit with her and her husband. Lindsey went to SC with friends for the day, so I'll pick her up in her car tomorrow and we'll head to our mountain retreat tomorrow night. HOORAY!

MacBooks and Life..

Well, I've spent today trying to get things transferred to my new MacBook...I love it and am surviving the learning curve from PC to Mac...mac is MUCH easier. Below is a layout for my oldest daughter, Lindsey. Lindsey, I know the past few days have been rough with cars and dental issues...life is a journey and the bumps in the road are part of it. I am proud of you for continuing to believe that God is in control and through the tears enjoying life.



Credits: Life's A Journey Kit and QP by CafeDigi

Wings and Bathrooms and Nieces...

Not much new today...I got the wings done in time last night, but only made 3 pounds since only four people showed up...grrr! I've been waiting for the trustees to finish may bathroom since 11/4/06...today I got a wall behind the toilet...woohoo! On a happier note here are my lovely nieces. Erin is 20 and starts a brand new job on Monday and Alison is 10 and a jabber-box and I dearly love them both.

Credits:
Summer Sorbet Quickpage

Credits:
Alice's Girlfriend's Quickpage

Pirates or Gangstas?

John and I went to CT to see his folks over the 4th of July. Katie met up with 2 of the guys from International Toast in Wolfeboro before she went to work. The photos below are what happened...so are they pirates or gangstas? (haha)...Well, I just discovered I did not hit the right button to turn on the big fryer so that I can do 10#s of wings for the church dinner tonight...so I'm praying the grease gets to temp really fast or that everyone is late...Have a great night!

New Cap...

John never wanted a cap on his truck. He said..."if I need a cap I might as well have a van..." Well, after needing two car to get all of Hilary's things home from ENC in May, plus transporting out two kayaks, he decided it was time to bite the bullet and do it. He ordered one that had sliders and a Thule rack on top. It was supposed to take 2 weeks; however, 6 weeks later it arrived and was installed today. It looks pretty good, don't you think?

Credits:
QuickPage made by Jan Burkhart with ALW's Poppies kit

Caffeinated Impressions...?

Not much new is happening here. John and I are still pondering and praying over the things he heard and took to heart at the Conference in PA. We're still seeking what it is God really wants. I much prefer it when God speaks LOUD AND CLEAR...the soft voice and/or impressions of what we are to do with our lives are much harder to sift out. SOOO...we talk and we pray 'cuz we can't really plan on or for anything right now...except that God knows the way...how does that old camp song go..."My Lord knows the way through the wilderness...all I have to do is follow..."

We had hoped to go kayaking after church; however, it was windy, cloudy and only 65 degrees for the first day of July...geesh! So we went and browsed in a few antique shops in ME and came home, where John proceeded to collapse on the bed with the cat and I came to the computer to pay bills...what a thrill...

Lindsey has started a new blog...I love reading her writing - especially when she gets philosophical. You'll have to check it out - she called it Caffeinated Impressions. She loves coffee, so the title fits. Today's post is about leaving and also shares about a book...go check her out. Have a great evening!