Tonight the wee family will gather to toast the OM on the first anniversary of his passing into glory. We’ll play some tunes, including this one which Gary and Don sang at his funeral.
Well meet again on some bright highway
Songs to sing and tales to tell
But I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
Until I see you fare thee well
Another busy, but rainy, weekend flew by. The twins came over on Friday morning and we had fun hanging out.
Eventually we went down to the basement to poke around–a favorite activity of theirs. We brought up a box of ANCIII’s painted soldiers which the bud set up. He ended up taking them home with him and I was glad.
Lottie and I went through some old doll clothes and I promised her I would look for my old Chatty Cathy doll.
Later, after Mr. Smith got his shampoo, he and daughter #1 came over for wine time and music…
mostly 90s country classics…
On Saturday I crashed daughter #1’s date with the twins and we had breakfast/lunch at the Sunny Street diner in Wildwood…
…and then introduced them to the joys of going to an antique mall. (Not that different from going down to Mamu’s basement.)
Don’t worry, they found something to buy (and so did I)…
On Sunday the sun shone brightly and I enjoyed a good sermon on Psalm 30.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
–Psalm 30: 4-5
Then we had a terrific adult ed class on Prayer–this time focusing on Augustine, Luther and Calvin and what they had to say about it. Disordered loves, etc. You will recall that Augustine believed that unhappiness stems from loving things in the wrong order, prioritizing less important things over more important ones, particularly in relation to God and others. True fulfillment comes from aligning our loves correctly, placing God first and higher virtues above lesser desires. All you have to do is look around the world today to see how right he was! This week the class was led by a young man who is not a seminary student–he works for a software company–but what a good teacher!
Sunday afternoon I went to an outdoor concert featuring my friend Gary and his band Colonel Ford…
Nothing is better than wine and dips for dinner outside in the sunshine. Seriously, live music! What are you waiting for?
Happy Monday!
Today I am remembering my dear mother who died on this day in 1988. In this Polaroid, she is holding her adored namesake, daughter #1, who is wearing a dress she made. Truly her granddaughter was a newfound joy for her. But I always knew it was her own children and doing for them that kept her going. And so it goes.
Indeed, June has been a hard month as I am continually thinking back to the events of last year when the OM’s health was going steadily downhill. He died on the 30th.
Yes, June is a hard month.
Have a good weekend. Do something fun and spontaneous. Everything’s gonna be all right.
*Noel Coward
Happy belated Father’s Day to all the good fathers out there!
Good fathers are a blessing and should never be undervalued.
I had a busy weekend as usual, starting on Thursday. Lots of fun stuff and good friends. This balances out with the beginning of my summertime weeks when I mostly stay home and work around the house. This works for me. The best part about being retired is having my Mondays back.
I went to church by myself on Sunday where we sang “Behold Our God”, “How Great Thou Art” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”–as you can imagine, I was a mess by the end of the service. Our Music Director also sang this song at the Offertory with a teenage boy from the congregation which was likewise great:
It was a two-Kleenex service to be sure. The sermon on Psalm 29 (God’s voice is like thunder!) was excellent. Our adult ed class on Prayer was also excellent. The young men (mostly seminary students) who have led this class are impressive and give me hope for the future.
I would not miss church for anything.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
–Isaac Watts, 1707
Yesterday was also the Summer Solstice–the days will start getting shorter now!
Today we celebrate the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought on June 17, 1775, during the early months of the American Revolutionary War. The battle took place after New England forces moved onto the Charlestown peninsula and built defenses on Breed’s Hill, close to Bunker Hill. British forces attacked on June 17, 1775, and eventually took the ground, but the fighting was costly. The battle showed that colonial forces could stand against the British army in a major engagement, even when they lacked the training, supplies, and structure of a professional military force.
Today is also the birthday of my grandfather Daniel Herbert Hilton Cameron, who was always called Bunker. The nickname suited him.
He would have fit right in with those Sons of Liberty. As it was, he was too young for WWI and too old for WWII. He missed out on the opening of the frontier. Like a lot of men, living a conventional life was sometimes a challenge. But he loved his wife and three daughters and he did the best he could. We toast you, Bunker, on your 126th birthday!
Here’s tae us
Wha’s like us
Damn few,
And they’re a’ deid
Mair’s the pity!
How was your weekend? We had a very stormy Thursday here in flyover country.
You may have heard–tornados in Illinois and Indiana! DN sent this scary video he took from their backyard deck:
But it was a beautiful sunshiney, low-humidity day on Friday and we took advantage of it.
In the morning I went to an estate sale and got a new/old garden ornament…
I went down to the Link Auction Galleries and picked up the painting I won last weekend. Then I picked up lunch at Straub’s (chicken salad) and headed to daughter #1’s house. From there we went to her pool and sat out in the sun for a couple of hours. Then we headed out to Wildwood where the boy bbq-ed smashburgers and we indulged in daughter #3’s guacamole (from DN’s famous recipe). I was fairly exhausted by the time I got home!
Saturday was dark and intermittently rainy so I took that as a sign to stay home and take it easy. Mr. Smith did get a shampoo that afternoon and afterward he and daughter #1 came over to my house for a visit and a glass of wine. He kept watch while we talked. It’s his job and he takes it seriously.
I went to church on Sunday and heard a good sermon on Psalm 28—The Lord is my strength and my shield! We sang great hymns and I held it together until the last verse of the communion hymn–c’est la vie. We continued studying Tim Keller’s book on prayer in our adult ed class–excellent. Afterwards I went to Trader Joe’s to stock up for the week. Onward!
In other news, Katie lost her first tooth…
…and the boy shared this video of the National Anthem at the soccer game on Friday night–pretty cool:
That’s Dan and Shay (country artists) and, yes, that was Tom Cruise singing with his hand on his heart standing next to handsome David Beckham! I may have to watch some soccer.
P.S. Keep daughter #1 in your prayers this week as she is helping with her church’s VBS–every evening after work! They do get dinner, but, wow! That’s dedication.
Have a good week!
Drama on the prairie! How did Curious George end up on the ceiling fan? I-dah!
Well, there’s never a dull moment here on the prairie.
It has been raining most of the time, but we did manage to get our first swimming lesson in, so all is not lost.
Stay tuned for updates…
How was your weekend? Mine was pretty quiet and it was off-and-on rainy but c’est la vie. I did make it to my local electronics recycling event where I dropped off an old microwave and a printer. I felt such a sense of accomplishment! I stopped at the grocery store on the way back and made it home before 8:30 a.m.!
Later in the day I took a trip down to Ted Drewes (in the rain) for some frozen custard. Quelle treat! (I deserved it!)
As usual, I went to church with the boy and the twins, who are out of school and fourth graders now. We heard a good sermon on the end of the book of Joshua (Joshua 24: 1-33).
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15)
There is nothing you can do to save yourself. Only God can do that. So put away the foreign gods, and serve the Lord. Excellent exegesis by our pastor and we sang good hymns including “It Is Well With My Soul”. Adult Sunday School is one big class on prayer in the fellowship hall for the next six weeks. It was so good! It is based on Tim Keller’s book Prayer, which I have and will now re-read. As a recovering Episcopalian, this is all so life-changing. Everything makes me want to cry.
In the afternoon daughter #1 and I went to Lottie’s dance recital which was, as always, very special.
Another highlight of my weekend was daughter #2 sending me a video of 3-year old Ida singing her rendition of Jamie MacDonald’s song “Left It In the River”, while accompanying herself on the xylophone. Here’s Jamie singing Ida’s new favorite song:
Glorify God and enjoy Him forever!
Good weekend! How about you? I had to recover some from my windy drive back from the prairie in the speedwagon, but I did. I can report that the prairie is greening up nicely. On Saturday, even in the rain, daughter #1 and I ventured to an estate sale and did pretty well, finding something for daughter #2. We had lunch at the Village Bar and then we went to the dollar store and our favorite Presbyterian re-sale shop where we picked up some DVDs for $1.50. Score! Then we wandered around our local antique mall for awhile–always a fun thing to do. The simple pleasures.
That night I watched We Are Marshall (2006), the DVD of which I had bought earlier in the day. It is the true story of the aftermath of the plane crash in 1970 that killed the entire Marshall University football team, the coaching staff and a lot of fans. Matthew McConaughey is excellent as the new coach, as are all the actors, and the directing by McG is impressive. I cried through the whole movie. I love a good sports movie, don’t you? I remember watching it with the OM when it first came out. He played football in high school (All ABC League!) and that was important to him. Some of those relationships impacted his whole life. When he died and the email went out to his classmates, almost the entire subsequent thread was about football.
I really liked it and I recommend it.
I went to church on Sunday, sang some favorite hymns, heard a good sermon on Joshua 13:8-14; 22:1-6,10-34, and saw the assistant Pastor’s new baby, Asa, who is two weeks old. The Kindergartners also received their Bibles–always a highlight. I went to the bud’s last lacrosse game of the season. It was very hot!
Yes, it’s all-of-a-sudden summer in my neck of the woods!
And I guess you have to be pretty old to get this one:
Enjoy your Monday!
*Robert Robinson, 1758
I’m heading home from the prairie today. I had a super fun time with daughter #2 and her sweet family. We didn’t take many pics (and none where I didn’t look 100 years old) so sorry about that.
We hung up some pictures…
(The two Marys) and…
the American poets over Wes’s crib!
And we went to Costco…and picked up Katie at school three times…
I watched music videos on my phone with Ida and we sang along to our faves.
Best days or my worst
If I’m last or if I’m first
Sunshine or rain
The sky might fall but You remainIf the whole world’s in your hands Lord
And mercy’s always new
Then why would I be anxious
When it’s all just the same to you
Just the usual stuff. It was a beautiful week in flyover country.
dual personalities 