I am working on a family project. Around the time the farm went up for sale, I remembered a bunch of pictures my mom took home from Grandma’s house. Grandma was slipping into dementia and would often stand up all night long in front of the buffet…sorting through papers and pictures. She was actually ruining the photos by crinkling them and even tearing some of them up. So, one afternoon when her mom slept, my mom quietly took the important and irreplaceable pictures home with her.
Back in the ‘90s, Middleton Dolls were all the rage in my hometown. The Middleton Doll Factory was in Belpre, right across the Ohio River from Parkersburg. Daughter #2 was little so every time we went home for a visit in the summer, we had to go over and pick out a new baby.
The dolls were very lifelike. The did sell some porcelain dolls, but most of their babies were a soft, velvety vinyl that felt lifelike. Their little bottoms were filled with plastic beads to give them some weight and they were dressed in real baby clothes. Some had eyes opened, most were sleeping. There were even babies with little tears on their cheeks. You picked out your baby in the nursery, right from a bassinet, and were given a birth certificate. The baby had a real newborn diaper on, and tucked into the back was a tiny New Testament…the designer’s way of spreading the Gospel.
I love how the stop action in this shot froze the raindrops in the sunshine. It looks like glitter!
I told you yesterday about going up to Pennsylvania to sit with my besty Gail. You were so kind to say what a good friend I am…and I appreciate that. I love Gail to the moon and back. I love all my besties to the moon and back. But I can’t always pull off what I did Friday.
I am so blessed to have so many wonderful, loving friends who would do anything for me. My besty Gail needed me yesterday. Remember in Sunday’s Prayer Circle I asked specifically for prayers for her stepson who was in critical condition in ICU? Well, sadly…he lost his struggle this week, surrounded by loving family. He was only 32. So, when I woke up yesterday morning, I asked Mr. FixIt if he wanted to ride up to Beaver Falls, PA with me because I needed to go be with my girl.
Mr. FixIt was out doing something with the truck last weekend and dropped his phone. We all drop our phones. Almost always it’s pretty inconsequential…unless you don’t have a good case. However, there comes a time when that one drop knocks you out of the game. That’s what happened to Mr. FixIt’s phone this time. For some odd reason, it was turning Siri on and off…over and over and over. Sometimes you could get it to stop if you poked it enough. It got a little frustrating, to say the least.
I got up before my uncle yesterday and had the biscuits ready to go in the oven by the time he stuck his head into the kitchen. When they came out, I fried him up a couple eggs sunny side up and he was one happy camper, for sure!
My phone was in the holder. I drive with the camera on and when I see something I want to remember, I can press a button on the side of the phone and take a picture without ever taking my eyes from the road.
I personally believe God said, “Let there be color!” And there was autumn. Then He said, “Let there be heaven on the earth.” And there was West Virginia.
Mr. FixIt and I went to town yesterday. We had a lot of errands to run. While we were in Sam’s, an announcement came overhead. There was no waiting for flu shots in the pharmacy. We’ve said for the last week that we needed to get that done so no time like the present. We finished up our shopping and went for the jab.
I spoke to my cousin last week. She told me she and my aunt were out for a nice walk. It had finally “cooled off” and was only 84 degrees. They live near Las Vegas. Summer is 120! I can’t imagine living like that, yet that’s what’s coming with global warming, I’m afraid. I remember living in Colorado. There was always that moment when you knew autumn was coming hard. You get up and turn on the furnace. Then, mid-day…you turn off the furnace, take off your hoodie, and open the windows. Then, mid-afternoon…you change into shorts, close the windows, and turn on the AC. Then, the sun sets. You turn off the AC, open the windows to catch a breath of fresh air. Shortly after, you close the windows, put the hoodie back on…and maybe socks. By bedtime, you have the electric blanket warming up and maybe you can get by without the furnace for a while longer.
How do you keep hope alive when the world seems to be crumbling around you? I know people…people I love…who are really suffering right now. Suffering with health issues…mental and physical. Suffering with financial problems, family problems, relationship problems. Breakups. Loss. Grief.
I think we are all suffering with a collective grief right now and it’s not easy to find the silver lining in that sometimes.
