Follow Along on Our Journey

Fifty-five years ago, give or take a year, I had the privilege of accompanying my parents on their annual trip to New Hampshire.  Today, Hubs and I are taking off to retrace their steps, more or less.

Every year my parents went to NH for ten days.  It was the only vacation any one in the family ever took.  To be fair, my parents owned a beach house on the Chesapeake Bay and Mom and us kids went there the day school was out for the summer and returned the day before school began in the fall.  So in reality we kids had a three month vacation.  Dad only came down on Wednesday and Saturday so he did not have a vacation.  Mom did not like the beach, did not swim or relish doing without the conveniences of home.  (Think dishwasher, washer, dryer and maid.) So our days at the beach were not a vacation for her.

But every summer they made sandwiches and thermoses of coffee and headed out around 3 am for New Hampshire. I remember tales of Mom having to sing to keep Daddy awake as they crossed Hogback Mountain in the early hours of the next day.

They stayed in the home of friends in a little town called Newport.  Hubs and I will attempt to find someone who remembers them when we go to Newport,

So stay tuned and follow us on our trip down memory lane.

What kinds of vacations did your parents take?  Did you go with them?  Did you like them?

The Best of Times

"It was the best of times and the worst of times"...... Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities.

Those are such great succinct words; that will resonate forever in most of our minds.

It came to mind as soon as I saw this graphic on Laura Frantz's blog.

For Father's Day weekend, son Todd and fam came for the weekend.  Dad Dog took Michael to Four Hole Fishing on Saturday.  They each caught a bunch of fish....ream, red breast, war mouth, mud fish, catfish.

Four Hole is a lake in southern South Carolina.  Hub's grandfather bought one of the lakes and now C's cousin David owns it.  Hubs has been wanting to go fishing there, "one last time" for a couple of years.

A month or so ago the planets aligned and he was able to by an aluminum Jon boat and trailer for $100.  Two weeks ago he made his first trip....and loved every minute of it.  His granddad used to pay an old black man to take him (the FIRST grandchild on either side of the family) fishing in Four Hole almost every day.  So now the fourth generation is fishing in those murky swamp waters :)

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Enjoy this trip to Four Hole!

Good Friends, Good Times, Good Memories

 Last night we were invited to our good friend Elbert Warren's 72nd birthday get together.  He and Dianne (pictured) are some of our best friends.  Their children, Robin, Bert and Becky are the ages of our children and grew up playing together and vacationing together.  It was so great to be with all of them as they threw a great fish fry for their Dad's b'day. They retold memories of their escapades with our family ! 

 The second oldest granddaughter, Caroline, led the children in a song they made up to honor Elbert.

 She even got the older girls to participate.  The building we are in is a huge metal structure where they hold family gatherings etc.  All Elbert's children have chosen to build houses around a pond that was their grandfather's.  Each family has golf carts and the kids roam around on them like they are at a campground.

This is Robin's husband Robert.  My first time being with him; what a fun guy and he makes some righteous onion rings and french fries.

One of the perks of aging is getting to see your own children and your friend's children grow up and raise their children.  Elbert's children did all the cooking.........it use to be Elbert and Hubs frying the fish while Dianne and I made all the sides.....very nice to sit back and be the guests!

What have you been up to lately?

God and Nature

 Hubs called me out to see this cool tree frog  yesterday.  He (?) was sitting just a few feet from where I normally sit an hour or two each day.  I am just blown away by the way God colored him to blend perfectly with the bark of this oak tree.  The more I see and learn about nature the more awed I am by the fact God is such a fantastic creator.

 These are the first blooms on some new daylillies we set out in our yard last year.  The neighbor we bought them from hybridizes them himself.  Again this points me to God....not only did He create many wonderful species but He created them in a way so that mankind can have some fun hybridizing them.

I also heard this piece of science on the radio this week.  God made tomato plants so they release a chemical when they are attacked by an insect.  This warns other tomato plants to respond as well and eliminate the pest.  What an awesome God!

Lastly, I wrote about my favorite books last week and today a podcast on Chris Fabry Live (Friday June 3  www.chrisfabry.blogspot.com)gave a list of books for children and young adults to read composed by a Moody English Professor.  I printed it to pass along to my grandchildren to guide them into good classic books to read.  You might want to do the same and if you haven't read some of them.....check them out..... at your local library :)

Books and DVD's I've Loved Recently

I've been meaning to write this for a L O N G time.......so long I may have forgotten what books and DVD's I meant to recommend.....LOL

The DVD's were originally suggested on Midday Connection, a Christan Radio Program produced by Moody Radio.  Surprisingly, many were available from my local public library :)

Local Hero
Lars and the Real Girl
Freedom Writers*
Rabbit Proof Fence*
Entertaining Angels
Life is Beautiful
Gospel of John
I Am David *
Songcatcher (recommended by a friend)
A Dry White season
All Good Things

A caveat......just because they were mentioned on Christian radio does not mean there is not an occasional cuss word etc..... it means that the over riding message is thought provoking.

Now for Books:
The Butterfly's Daughter*
Unbroken by Lauren Hilldebran
Mennonite in the Little Black Dress*
The Nineteenth Wife
Half the Church (NonFiction)
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls**
The Wedding Dress by Virginia Ellis*
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Gordon**
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus **
The Room by Emma Donoghue **
In the Company of Others by Jan Karon***
Romancing Miss Bronte by Juliet Gael**
The Well and the Mine by  Gin Phillips**
In the Woods by Tana French **
Cutting for Stone by A. Verghese***

My library will keep a reading record, if you request it, so I just printed it out to help me remember the books and authors I have loved over the last 6 months. (It also helps me if I am not sure if I have read a book or not :)

I hope you have a readingful summer!!!