Coming to the End of July

Friday already?  I had good intentions of writing more blog posts this week.  Obviously, that didn't happen.  But here I am on Friday, being faithful to be thankful for all the wonderful things in my life this week.  Here are my Fave Fives. (follow the link to join in!)

1.  Our recently transported near us family/friends have been helping us this week with a house project.  We have been wanting to insulate our garage, so Y and The Professor have installed the insulation and hung almost all the drywall.  It looks like tomorrow we will see all the drywall finished and then it will be time for taping, mudding and painting.  How I appreciate their hard work.

2.  And while the guys are working in the garage, E has cleaned my house.  In California, they owned a house cleaning business, so she can get through my place and clean it up so fast.

3.  Today while Y and The Professor were working, we girls did a project, too.  I have been wanting to change the color of two really dark things hung on the wall by my front door-- a cross and a picture frame.  According to E, we weren't 'working'; we were doing 'artwork'.  I love the new look.

4.  There have been lots of coffee times this week.  Of course, we had our usual weekly coffee time with our friends.  But I also had coffee with two different ladies who have asked to meet with me.  I love coffee.  But I love the connection more.

5.  Weather.  This week the temperatures have moderated slightly, and we have had rain.  Perhaps because I am a native Pacific Northwest girl, I love rain.  The sound and smell of rain makes me happy (not TOO much rain...).  And, when it rains, I don't have to water the garden.

I hope you have had a week where you can find many many blessings.

Late July Hot and Humid Fave Fives

 Hello from hot and humid Willow's Cottage.  I don't love humidity (hmmm, I lived for years at the equator--still don't love humidity.)  And it's Friday.  I am joining my friends at Friday Fave Fives (hosted by Susanne) to look beyond the humidity and find the good.  Here are my five points of gratitude.

1.  Sunday evening, our church life group met at the local Salvation Army facility.  We cooked (well, The Professor did--he made all the fries).  We served.  I did the pulled pork and hot dogs.  Older Daughter and Tall Boy served cookies.  It was just the best time.

2.  Younger son has arrived here at the cottage and is burrowed into the basement bedroom (his choice).  I love having him here for an extended visit.  (no photos yet; can you believe it??)

3.  After a month of not meeting up, we met our friends T and S for coffee Thursday morning.  We talked for three hours.  And laughed.  And listened. And loved every minute.

4.  The Professor and I had errands to run near the big city.  Since we were passing right by Y, E, J, and S's apt, we popped in to take them some things the boys left at our house.  They are getting settled in and their neighborhood is lovely.  I love having them here!

5.  My garden is continuing to produce well. (Yes, I did post about this last week, but I am continuing to be thankful for all the produce.)  Tomatoes, snap peas, kale, lettuce, cucumbers.  Parsley, basil, spearmint.  Yum!  And the hibiscus is popping out a couple of huge blooms every day.

Bonus:  you can't have just five!  We attended a concert by the Columbus Symphony at our local Catholic church.  The acoustics in this building are great. And the stained glass windows are beautiful.  A perfect place to listen to Haydn.

Mid July Faves

 I am finally sitting down to relax this afternoon and focus my thoughts on what I have done this week and what has made me thankful and grateful.  I am sharing these with you to encourage you.  If you want to be even more encouraged, click HERE and read what other people have share for their Friday Fave Fives.

1.  Our friends (family, really!) have arrived!  The 'adopted' boys' parents, S and E, drove in on Friday afternoon.  The 'boys' had found an apartment and gotten the keys that morning.  Excellent timing.  And all of them have accepted jobs!  And their truck of furniture is due to arrive today.  They love it here already.

2.  We have been blessed with wonderful neighbors.  We swap things back and forth 'over the fence'.  We shared some basil with them; they tossed us some coffee to try.  We discuss everything from nasty garden pests to theology.  We are thankful for having neighbors like J and L.

3.  That basil?  Yeah, we have had so much yummy-ness.  I picked SIX cups of basil and made pesto.  And the tomatoes, snap peas and cucumbers are producing well.  I am thankful for an abundant garden.

4.  My garden has also displayed some lovely flowers.  I thought the hibiscus had not survived our crazy cold winter, but it is thriving.

First hibiscus bloom

The hydrangea is putting out lovely blue flowers

5.  The Professor and I celebrated our wedding anniversary yesterday.  We chose a low key day with S and E helping clean and do a couple of household chores.  Then we had take away Panda Express for dinner.  How many years?  Forty-nine!

We were a bit younger then.

And just for fun, here is a bit of 'butterfly life' from my garden.

A Week of Memories and Travels

 Wow.  What a week full of blessings this has been.  Some weeks are mundane and routine; others are full of adventure.  For me, this week has been the latter--full of adventures and of memory making.  Here are five things, Five Faves,  that stick out to me from this past week.  That Five Faves link will take you to Susanne's blog where you can join in with us to share your five best blessings from the week.

1.  The Professor and I drove to Orlando last Wednesday and Thursday.  There is always so much beauty mixed in with the boring miles of freeway.

2.  We spent four amazing days with former colleagues from our Indonesia days.  Some of the attendees at the reunion were people we had never met but had known by name and reputation; others were close friends.  For example, the doctor who spent a few months with us on the island of Java in Indonesian language school and who now lives just 1/2 hour drive from us!  (Yes, we are planning to get together!)  The pilot and his wife and son who have remained friends with us through the years.  We met an older man who was an MK (missionary kid) but before our children's time.  We just hit it off with him and his wife, having so many things in common (like she KNITS!).  Our hearts are so full!

3.  I don't know if anyone reading this blog has ever heard of or read the book Lords of the Earth by Don Richardson.  Don's son Steve was the host of our reunion, the president of Pioneers, a mission organization whose home headquarters is in Orlando, Florida (and where we held our meetings).  Lords of the Earth is the biography of several people who were killed or died in accidents which brought a very violent and antagonist tribe of Papuan people to become Christians.  Some of the people who spoke during sessions of the reunion had first hand stories of their experiences with the Yali tribal people.  I would encourage you to read Lords of the Earth; the stories in the book are true and riveting, and I know some of those people!

4.  After the reunion, The Professor and I drove over to a town on the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida.  My cousin lives there and we spent two days with her.  It was so lovely to spend that precious time with her.

5.  Of course, a visit to Florida needs a visit to the beach, too.  We enjoyed the drive to St. Petersburg and then from St. Pet's to Fort DeSoto on the gulf shore.  The weather was hot and humid so we didn't linger on the beach, but we did stick our hands into the fine white sands on the shore.

What a week full of blessings!  And now we are home, having driven through the Appalachian Mountains today.  What contrasts of terrain from the wet, mossy swamps of Florida to the the majestic heights of the mountains and valleys of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio.

Was your week blessed with routine things or crazy wild things?