I didn’t do a whole lot this weekend, but I did get the very large framed Asian watercolor that I picked up last week from Link Auction back into my car and took it over to daughter #1’s house where she successfully hung it on the wall. (Her father would be so proud.) Doesn’t it look great?
I went to church on Sunday with the boy and the twins. We heard a really good sermon on Joshua 6:1-27, all about walking and waiting, destruction and deliverance, trusting in God’s timing. Then we went to Sunday School and I chose the class on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which I really enjoyed. What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!
After that we went to the Sunny Street Cafe for our usual brunch and talked about our different Sunday School classes. We had a good time and everyone ate heartily.
And here’s some exciting news–Don reports his first flower of the season!
And we see some buds in our yard…
Finally, here’s a great Bob Dylan cover I hope you will enjoy:
Everybody has had the flu and now daughter #2 is sick, so our plan to go to the prairie this weekend is cancelled. The three kids were scheduled to be baptized on Sunday, but that will have to be re-scheduled. C’est la vie.
Well, I am nothing if not flexible, so we’ll see how things go.
Here’s a poem about “Disappointment” by Jane Taylor (1783-1824):
(Jane Taylor was an English poet and novelist best known for the lyrics of the widely known “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. )
Meanwhile daughter #1 returned from her successful business strip to Arizona and I picked up Mr. Smith from the kennel where he had a wonderful time and ate all his food like a champ. All is well.
How was your weekend? Mine was full of missions and missionaries. It got cold again, but the sun was shining most of the time. Hopefully the daffodils will pull through. I mean, this happens every year, so chances are, all will be well.
There were no good estate sales on Saturday but daughter #1 and I did hit an antique mall and found a couple of odds ‘n ends. I was more successful at the Link online auction on Thursday and Friday. Auctions are fascinating to me. One can usually find a few good bargains (I did) but occasionally there is a real surprise. One such surprise was when a geltone reproduction of Grant Wood’s Midnight Ride of Paul Revere came up.
It was estimated at $50-$100. I was interested in it as I have always liked it and I thought I might get it for $15 or so, but a bidding war took off and it eventually sold for over $800!
Another watercolor painting, estimated at $75-$100…
…went for $1800! Fantastic. Now that’s entertainment!
I hadn’t seen the twins in over a month, so I was glad they were able to make it to church with their Dad on Sunday morning. We heard a good sermon from a visiting missionary to Norway. They couldn’t stay for Sunday School (their Papaw was leaving to go back to Florida) so that meant no Sunny Side diner either. C’est la vie. Life is full of disappointments, right? But we are steadfast.
Daughter #1 came over later in the afternoon in order to bring Mr. Smith who spent the night with me. (I am taking him to the kennel this morning while she heads to Arizona for work.)
Later I will head down to the Link Auction House to pick up my winnings. It’s a new week! Have a good one.
How was your weekend? Mine was very pleasant, although it rained all day Saturday.
Between traveling and work, I had seen very little of daughter #1 over the last few weeks, so it was great to catch up with her…wine time at Glen Echo on Friday, estate sale-ing on Saturday and a late lunch at the Village Bar. All our favorite things. We took Mr. Smith for his weekly shampoo and then had wine time at my house.
We watched Bullitt (1968), which you will recall was the movie the OM and I always watched on Valentine’s Day.
Wasn’t that nice of her?
Of course, the movie was great as always, really cutting edge for 1968. We LOL’d as always during the chase through San Francisco as the Charger and the Mustang race past the slow-moving green VW four times. (Frank Keller won the editing Oscar for this movie!) Another of my favorite scenes is when Bullitt, Bennett, Chalmers, and Baker gather around the telecopier as the passport applications arrive. Only Steve can make watching the fax machine riveting cinema. This time we noticed that frequently during the course of the film Lt. Bullitt is asked a direct question and he gives no response. As daughter #1 commented, “He speaks with his eyeballs.” His lack of response has great effect. When he does respond, major impact–especially when he says, “Bulls–t” to Robert Vaughn’s face toward the denouement of the film. Perhaps this is a good lesson for us all.
I went to church by myself on Sunday (the boy has the flu now) and heard a good sermon on Joshua 5:13-15. Are you for the Lord? Our goal is not to conform God to us, but for us to conform to God. It reminded me of that time during the Civil War President Lincoln was reportedly asked whether God was on the side of the Union. He replied, “My concern is not whether God is on our side,” Lincoln responded. “My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Touché. He was probably thinking of Joshua, because he knew his Bible backwards and forwards.
We finished up our Intro to Covenant class, which I really enjoyed. It never ceases to amaze me how whenever I am sitting alone before class, someone always comes and sits next to me. When I first went to that church I didn’t know a single person there. Now I know lots of people. Praise the Lord.
And I’m with the Madcaps:
Have a good week! There are definite signs of spring if you look!
Daughter #1 has a big DAR event today–our annual George Washington Commemoration Event on President’s Day at Lafayette Park–so keep her in your prayers. I am serving as the chapter chaplain, so I’ll be giving the benediction–there’s a first time for everything!
Well, I had a swell time visiting the prairie girls (and boy). We stayed inside except for a quick walk around the block and a trip to church on Sunday. But I got to hold the bud a lot…
We read a lot of books…
…and we played with a lot of Magna Tiles (which can be very frustrating)…
We watched some of the Olympics and Katie and Ida think they would be good at snowboarding…
I was impressed that she included those slalom flags in her drawing.
I enjoyed visiting their church on Sunday which was packed. It is a very different vibe than my church–lots of U of I students. (They have an active RUF chapter.) We heard a good sermon:
(Katie’s sermon notes)
I drove home in the speedwagon on Monday morning after DN gassed it up and procured a Polar Pop for me. I listened to the Springfield country station and was a little shocked by the current songs–all whiskey, bars and loose women–but this one by Morgan Wallen had a clever twist.
Yeah, the night I said, “I’m leavin’,” I turned into Richard Petty Broke my heart, so I got even in my ’97 Chevy Now I’m walkin’ on this water mixed with Johnnie Walker Black There’s a lotta reasons I ain’t Jesus, but the main one is that
I ain’t comin’ back Oh, no, no, I ain’t comin’ back
When I got closer to STL I switched to Joy99.
Now it is Tuesday and I am discombobulated about what day it is. C’est la vie. Have a good one!
The sunrise yesterday was amazing! There is still a lot of snow on the ground from our big storm two weeks ago, but it is warming up and that’s a good thing.
I am heading up to Mahomet tomorrow to spend a few days with the prairie girls.
Hopefully I will get a chance to hold the baby.
Have a good weekend. Pray for travel mercies for me!
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
February is here, so can spring be (too) far behind?
How was your weekend? Mine was very quiet. Daughter #1 was out of town, laughing it up with the prairie girls…
…and the boy and his family were all down with the flu.
I had lunch with a friend on Friday, but otherwise I was on my own. So I was extra glad to go to church on Sunday–even when it was 8 degrees outside. I donned my vintage fur coat for the third week in a row and braved the elements. We had a hardy band of believers at the 8:30 service. I noted that there were more men than women in the choir! We also ordained and installed new elders and deacons.
But my reading glasses were not in my purse, so I had a challenging time. I managed, but I was definitely playing the trombone. Getting older is not for sissies.
This is a thoughtful post about doom-scrolling: “The internet gives us a false omniscience, presenting everything from everywhere to everyone at any time. But we are not God. We were not designed for omniscience. Not even the digital imitation. Yet here it is. Everything. All the time.”
And in memory of Catherine O’Hara, who died last week, here’s a classic scene from Best In Show (2000):
Today my women’s Bible Study group starts up again. We are reading I and II Thessalonians. Our study guide was written by Kathleen Buswell Nielson, with whom I went to school 50+ years ago. I am looking forward to it! (Not to mention the prospect of human interaction which I have missed over the last 5 days!)
I was very pleased when I heard that daughter #2 and DN had decided to name their baby after him.
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” — Proverbs: 22:1
Usually I watch Red River (1948) or another cowboy movie in honor of JWP’s birthday. We’ll see how I feel tonight. It is a whole new world not having the OM to watch certain movies with.
Well, onward and upward. This article about how the two ‘wills’ of God profoundly shape how we should pray was quite thought-provoking. “May we all pray more and may the Lord bless our prayers.”
Happy Thursday! The weekend is just around the corner.
Well, I got a few things done on Friday before the storm hit–like everyone else who was out and about buying bread and milk and salt/ice melt. I went to Trader Joe’s early and bought flowers and then went to church where I arranged them for Sunday, which I knew might be cancelled, but what the heck, I did my duty.
I will note that as I drove around and made my various stops, people were very nice and polite, even cheerful. Part of this is because I have gray hair and look like an old lady, so people are usually quick to assist me when they think I need help. I am always a little taken aback by this because I feel like a completely capable woman, but again, what the heck–if someone wants to take my grocery cart back to the cart corral for me in the single digit weather, have at it.
The boy came over in the afternoon to pick up some stuff and to have wine time with me since daughter #1 had many errands to run after work. Everyone was in a tizzy about whether various events would be cancelled. Well, I had no plans to worry about so I just concentrated on hunkering down…
Church was cancelled after all–I certainly couldn’t get out of my driveway. And this was the scene in Wildwood…
While admittedly there is no substitute for worshiping together in person, we were encouraged to watch a previously recorded service on our YouTube channel or watch the recorded adult ed classes.
Daughter #1’s church was also closed as was daughter #2’s. Central had already recorded their sermon to be viewed…
So Mr. Smith heard the word of God on Sunday morning.
All Souls suggested reading a book of the Bible and praying or watching a previous sermon. So many options. I listened to an old sermon given at Central by Dr. Dan Doriani last October on James 3:1-12, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
In the afternoon the twins had fun frolicking in the snow…
And so did the prairie girls…
Now it is Monday and I am waiting for the yard guys to come plow my driveway.
All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well…
I was going through some boxes yesterday and I found this photo taken in 1927 (nearly 100 years ago!) of my mother and her older sister and it reminded me so much of daughter #2’s two girls. I mean really. I hope their Mom gets their portrait taken together so that 100 years from now someone can find it and put it in a frame.
I also found letters my brother wrote to us in the fall of his freshman year in college (1969)–“Don’t worry I’m not turning into a hippie.” (Um, oh yes you were.) I am sending those letters to him so he can share them with his children.
I found clippings from 19th century newspapers and magazines, cut out by ancestors to keep.
I will keep those along with various ancient Valentines…
(Recognize the Peanuts gang from 1967?)
I found a lot of stuff from my Mother’s years at Middlebury College, including the bills. It cost about $500 a semester in 1946-47. Also lots of letters, sometimes with illustrations:
Quite a treasure trove…and I admit I threw away very little. The best I can do is get it all a little better organized/labeled for my children.
dual personalities 