Unplugged

My husband is tethered to his work phone and computer almost 24/7 every day unless we can get away to a place where there is no cell phone coverage.  He's been working long hours -- 50 - 60 hour weeks.  Even though he works at home, that is a lot of hours to spend in front of a computer dealing with problem after problem after problem.

This weekend we're going to Prescott to celebrate the 4th (not that I haven't mentioned that before) and he is leaving his computer at home!!!  Yeah!  He will take his phone but without a computer he really can't do anything but refer calls to the on-call person where they should have gone to begin with.  How nice is that!

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th and remember to give thanks for this great country  we are blessed to live in and for the men who had the foresight to lay it out for us and worked to bring it about.

Happy 4th of July!

                            

Boston Knows How to Celebrate

I'm originally from New England and spent 25 years in the Boston area.  When it comes to the 4th of July Boston really knows how to celebrate.  The Boston Pops concerts on the Esplanade are wonderful and the 1812 Overture is spectacular with cannons, church bells and fireworks accompanying the climax.  If you're in the Boston area for the 4th, make plans to check it out (go early ... the crowds are massive).  Check it out here:

http://www.july4th.org/

We're off to Prescott, AZ, for the 4th ... they have a wonderful old-fashioned 4th of July celebration complete with parade, street fair, rodeo, street dances, etc.  The crowds are upbeat and glad to be Americans and the weather is superb -- last year it was in the 80's and sunny.  That's some change from Lake Havasu where it's over 100 every day now and drops all the way down to 90 overnight!

Blessings on your day -- and make it a Happy and Safe 4th of July.

Feed the Spirit ... Choices

We human beings love to have the freedom of choice ... I want to choose where I live, what I do, where I go.  I want to decide how long I want my hair to grow, what color shirt or purse I want to buy, what I'm going to eat for dinner tonight.

One of the concerns of those growing older and requiring the assistance of another is that they lose their freedom of choice.  My Dad hung onto his license and his car as long as he could and he never did voluntarily give them up.  Even though he no longer drove, it was the idea that the choice to do so was still there.  We want the ability to go where we want to go when we want to go and with whom we want to go.

Throughout our lives we make many important and some not so important choices.  My choice of a first car was life changing but not life altering; my choice to have children was life altering.  The choice of the car changed my life for a finite period of time -- until the car wore out or until I decided I wanted a different one.  From the day my boys were born life was never the same again and never will be.  Becoming a parent is a radically life altering experience.

We make physically altering life choices and we make spiritually altering life choices.

All this leads up to what I've been pondering this week -- and that is -- God loves me.  I don't deserve it; I didn't earn it.  It just is -- because that's who He is.  It's a free unconditional gift.  We don't get many of those in life so they are special and meant to be deeply valued.

For the most part, others like me or love me because of how I treat them, what I do or can do for them, how I please them in some way or how they feel when they are around me. Generally speaking, if someone does not treat us well, respect us, or do something nice for us, we don't particularly like them ... they don't hold an interest for us.  If someone treats us nicely and we feel good in their presence we want to spend more time with them.

But God just loves me ... and waits to see if I will respond to that love.

God's love is unconditional; I cannot lose it -- He will not withhold it -- ever!  But I can refuse it; I can refuse to respond to it and thereby cut myself off from His love.  It is my choice and it is your choice.  Definitely food for thought ...

 Blessings,

Hmmm ...

We went to look at an older boat this morning -- I know, we're crazy ... it's over 100!  It turned out to be a piece of junk.  Then I spied this beauty:

What are these people thinking!!!  I asked the fellow at the boat yard if what I thought I was seeing actually was the real thing or did that RV just get dumped up there because there was no other space.  He said, "yep, somebody is going to strap that baby on and make themselves a houseboat."

My oldest son is in California for a few days and we get to babysit Serena, his adorable kitty.  She is so sweet and so funny ... keeps us laughing.  She lives in a little RV so there is not much running around room.  In this house she can run from the kitchen right through the house to the other end to the far bedroom.  However, when she gets to the hallway she has to make a quick turn to stop on ceramic tile floors.  It's hilarious to see her moves as she comes to a halt.

Blessings on your day and keep cool ...

Two Great Fathers in My Life

This is a re-post from last year because it says it all about the fathers in my life.  


The first part of this blog today is about my own father, Ryland, and is taken from the eulogy I gave at his funeral in 2004.  He died at the age of 85.

"[My Dad] was a serious man but we had lots of fun times and Dad always enjoyed a good joke and a good laugh.

By today’s standards, Dad didn’t lead a very exciting life but it was long and it was full.  Paul said in I Thessalonians 4:11 that we should make it our ambition to lead a quiet life, mind our own business and work with our hands.  Certainly Dad did that … He was a good and honest man who always worked very hard to provide for us.  For over 20 years he worked seven days a week and yet he always found the time to spend with the family.  He would arrange his long days so that he could be available for family activities in the middle of the day, then go back to his job at night to finish up. His was a quiet kind of sacrifice that you don’t see so much in these days.

I spent a lot of time with my Dad in my formative years.  When I was little and we lived on the farm I would sit on his lap while he drove the tractor doing whatever he was doing that day.  I followed him around so much he called me his “shadow”. 

Then when I was about 10 or so I started riding with him on his rounds to the farmers and doing his “bookwork”.  I didn’t so much like housework so the deal was that if I went with Dad to help him I could get out of the house cleaning stuff.  Well, that was only the  “frosting on the cake” because I got to spend many, many hours with my Dad all to myself in all kinds of circumstances and we talked a lot – sometimes about trivial stuff and other times about the nitty gritty things of life.  It was a blessing that has lasted all my life.

Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t perfect – he was stubborn and opinionated and his way was always the right way (and most times it was) but he was a good man trying to do the right things.  Brenda and I were blessed to have him as our father and we will miss him a lot.  But he is at peace now and his worn out body is resting -- and  -- I look forward to seeing both him and Mama again in the resurrection.  Now that will be a real blessing!

Rest peacefully, Dad … I love you …"

The second part of this is about my present husband who has no biological children of his own, but for over 20 years now he has been the father my boys needed and loved.  George has stood by them through all the trials of their late teens, 20's and 30's.  We are blessed to have him as head of our family and his example of quiet giving is bearing bountiful fruit in their lives.  Without him in those formative young adult years I'm sure their lives would have turned out quite differently. He has truly been a blessing.

 Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there who quietly go about their business of being fathers and have such an impact on their families and ultimately on our world.  

Blessings, 

Sunday Lunch

We had lunch with our oldest son today at Shugrue's here in Lake Havasu.  Yummy food and what a gorgeous view from our table.  Looks like a vacation paradise ...

Nice way to spend a couple of Sunday afternoon hours.

Blessings on your day,

Finished

The house is done and on the market!  Yeah!

 All new windows ...

 All new tile, newly textured ceilings (no more popcorn) ...

 New neutral paint throughout ...

 All new stainless steel appliances, including a wine frig ... granite countertops and tumbled stone backsplash, rubbed bronze fixtures, granite composite sink ...

 And an island that glides to whatever position you would like ...

 Guest bath ... new vanity, sink, mirror, toilet, fixtures ...

 View from master bedroom ... looks inviting to me ...

 Master bath walk in shower with rainfall showerhead ...

 Just for relaxing ... and cooling off ...

Job well done, Jeff.  Ten weeks of hard work ... time for a bit of R & R.

Hope you all have a great weekend ... Blessings,

The fun stuff?

I don't get to blog very much these last few weeks.  The receipts of expenses for the house are taking over my office and have to be dealt with.  I thought I was doing a pretty good job keeping it under control until I visited the accountant.  Now this is what I'm dealing with --

and this lovely program!  It's changed a lot since the last time I used QuickBooks so I'm in a learning curve (not so much fun as you get older) --

On the bright side, the house is progressing nicely and hopefully will be on the market next weekend.  Here is a shot of the finished kitchen --

Blessings,