Something Strange Is Going On

It was an average day.  A normal day.  A stay-at-home day and I was moving right along getting some housework done.  Laundry was calling me and I had one load out of the dryer and the second one was started when something very strange happened.  I sat on the sofa to fold the clean towels but soon I was called away to the phone.  When I returned I noticed something that hadn’t been there before.  What was this?  What was going on?    Taking a closer look, I knew.  Mr. Joey had taken advantage of the situation.  A load of fresh, soft, warm towels just out of the dryer was the perfect place to snuggle down for a nap!  He had burrowed his way in and just his head was out.     When he realized he had been found he stood up and looked the other way!     Silly dog!  What was life like before he arrived at our house?  I know what it was like – it was more predictable.  Not so many funny, furry surprises!

Now, if I could only teach him to fold the towels!

We Will Not Forget

September 11, 2001

A day that will forever be remembered.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Under the shadow of thy throne,
Still may we dwell secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting, thou art God,
To endless years the same.

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come;
Be thou our guide while life shall last,
And our eternal home.

Song: ‘O God, Our Help In Ages Past'   
Words: Isaac Watts

Finds and Treasures

We arrived home from our vacation at the Oregon Coast today.  There is so much I want to share with you but first I want to share with you the greatest ‘find’ and the dearest ‘treasure’ God has given me.  My sweetheart is the most precious person on this earth to me.  Last weekend we celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the day we met.  It was a unique day – forty years ago on Sunday, September Fourth, the day before Labor Day - I walked into the church where he was the youth pastor.  I was the guest of dear friends – the parents of a childhood friend of mine.  When the morning church service began a handsome, young man stepped to the pulpit and welcomed everyone.  He prayed and then began to lead the songs as we sang.  Later, following the service, my dear friend’s mother introduced us.  It was an ordinary kind of hello, how are you, where are you from, nice-to-meet-you introduction.  There is so much more to the story - perhaps I will share it some day – but that evening I sat at the piano and sang a special song at the request of the music pastor at the church I had visited that morning.  After the evening service had finished, most of the people stood around talking.  As my friend and I began to walk out the door, the handsome, young youth pastor followed me to the door and invited me to go with him to get something to eat.  That, my friends, was just the start of something really wonderful!  It was as if we had always known each other.  Truth be told, we were in some of the same rooms and events through our lifetimes but never met each other!

Early last Sunday morning, before we visited a special, little church at the Oregon Coast, my sweetheart gave me the most beautiful gift my heart could imagine.  I’ll have to show it to you soon when I can find the best way to show it off.  His heart and mine celebrated the day – it was a Sunday again, September Fourth, the day before Labor Day.  Forty years!

A few days ago while fishing on a big river near the mouth of the Pacific Ocean my sweetheart called me and asked me to get my camera and come down to the docks.  Why?  He had a special ‘find’ he wanted me to see and photograph.  And so, without further adieu – here is my most cherished ‘find’ and ‘treasure’.  My best friend for forty years.  My sweetheart.

My sweetheart caught a thirty-six inch Chinook Salmon!  Lots of good and healthy eating ahead!  He’s a keeper.  My sweetheart, I mean!

A Quiet Vacation

We’re at the Oregon Coast again for a few days of much-needed rest and relaxation.  We have been here nearly a week and will go home tomorrow.  We had planned to head home today but we just couldn’t make ourselves leave and go back to the work waiting for us when we return!
Our time away began with a Labor Day Weekend reunion with my sweetheart’s brothers and sister and their spouses.  It’s an annual event – time to get away and be together.  The guys went crabbing on the bay and the girls went antiquing and thrifting.  Most everyone is home now but we stayed.  We moved north a bit from where we had spent the weekend.  Our little cabin-on-wheels is parked in a cute, little city-owned park with only four RV spots and a few tent sites.  Right now we are the only ones here except for the camp hosts.  We are in Space thirteen.    This is a tiny little town – it‘s very quiet here.  The park is nice and the neighbors are friendly.     Not far from our campsite, a little bridge crosses the creek and leads to a nice park that is filled with things for kids to do.     A skateboard park has recently been added.  It fills with kids shortly after school is out each day.     This photo was taken from the top where most of the kids ‘jump’ into action.     Nearby, a slide seems to call to passersby – even some of the adults!     From all angles – it looks like fun!     I was tempted.  Real tempted!     It doesn’t take long to tour the park and then we are back ‘home’ again.  There we are – number thirteen.     There is more to tell.  Another time.  Now I’m off to see what I can find.  There’s so much to see – I can’t miss a thing! And the beach isn’t very far away!

Blessing and Praise

Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forever.

From the rising of the sun
to the going down of it
and from east to west,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!

The Lord is high above all nations,
and His glory above the heavens!

Psalm 113:2-4   

Beachcombers

We’re at the beach again.  The Oregon Coast has called us back.  Last weekend I shared that we were there for the memorial service of our dear friend – and I shared that I was leading worship at the church where her hubby is the minister.  He’s taking time away and we are there to help a bit.  We will continue to be there often – because God has touched our hearts with the need to be there!  In the process, God is giving us a precious gift.  The gift of time away.  Together.  At the beach! Just being beachcombers. For awhile.    Enjoying the tide pools. . .     Walking in the sand. . .     And finding a few surprises along the way.     Our little cabin-on-wheels is parked in a quiet spot beside the church where we can smell the salt-sea air and, if we’re very quiet, we might even hear the sound of the waves at night.  I won’t have internet access there – I’ll just be relaxing and waiting to tell you all about our weekend away.Look who’s going with us!  He’s very excited.  He loves the beach and he can’t wait to go back again!

Friday Finds and Treasures

It’s time to go back to something I started quite awhile ago when I first began to blog.  My plan is to share something I  have found while out and about or a treasure, new or old, each Friday.  If there is a story that goes with the item, I’ll share that with you, too.

This week I want to share the décor on one wall of my dining room.  My dining room is a ‘strange’ little room – not very big with openings on each side – but I really love it. There is only one wall!  On that wall I have a piece of framed artwork that is very dear to my heart.  There’s a story behind it.  Quite a few years ago my little town had a wonderful antique/collective/craft mall that was a place I loved to visit.  One day when I walked by the front window my heart was captured by a large, framed picture that I wanted to buy.  I knew exactly where I would put it – it belonged on my dining room wall.  And it was by one of my favorite artists, Sandy Lynam Clough.  I often stood at the window to study every detail of the painting and I wished – oh, how I wished – I could buy it and take it home for that one spot that seemed to need it.  The price was more than I could pay so I looked and wished and walked on.  Often.  Then one day the picture was gone.  Not in the window.  I hoped it went to someone who would treasure it as much as I.  A few weeks later, on Christmas morning, there was no package under the tree for me from my sweetheart.  That seemed strange and I thought maybe he had forgotten to shop.  All of the gifts had been opened and I have to tell you my heart felt so sad.  Had he really forgotten me?  My children and grandchildren didn’t know how terribly disappointed I was but I decided to make the best of it and not ask questions.  All of a sudden my sweetheart jumped up from his chair and said, ‘There is one more!’  ‘Where is it?’, I asked.  Out the door he went – when he came in again he had the biggest present I think I’ve ever had.  His eyes danced with joy as he placed it on the floor in front of me.  One rip of the paper and I knew!  And the tears began to pour down my face.  HE was the one who bought the picture.  I was the one who would hang it on my wall and treasure it every time I looked at it!  Of course I had to tell him he shouldn’t have spent so much.  Then, I loved the story he told.  He went into the shop and asked the owner what her best price was on that picture in the window.  When she told him, he pointed out that part of the picture had slipped out of the mat and it wasn’t quite straight.  She looked at it and agreed – and gave him a nice discount.  Then she told him exactly how to fix it so it would be good as new.  And there it was!  Now it was mine!

This beautiful painting has hung on my dining room wall ever since but I’ve always thought it needed something more.  Should I hang something above it?  Plates, perhaps?  A little shelf?  Nothing seemed to be right – until a couple of weeks ago.  At the first yard sale of the day I found it.  And I knew this was what I needed!  Three framed pieces of artwork – by the same artist.  It didn’t take long to put them on my wall.

Every time I walk by or look from the kitchen or the living room I smile.  It’s just right! And I love it even more than before.