it's really happening!

This is the progress on my flooring as of lunchtime today.

Yesterday this time it hadn't even been delivered.

The installers are moving right along. 

I think the loud Mexican music really spurs them on.

I just really can't believe how fast it's going.

My excitement is out of control over this!

(as excited as one could get while feeling poorly)

The wood was delivered yesterday in this cute little red truck.

Do you think it could have been Santa?

c

 

my second post of the day

Read the second post first.

It has some good information.

I drove my poor, sinus infected self to my house just now and this had happened.

Not only was my flooring delivered, but they were installing it!

It is perfect!

I love it!

I couldn't believe what I saw.

It should be done by Friday.

Amid the loud and raucous Mexican music and the workers eating lunch,

it was a zoo...but

the flooring was being installed! 

And if the workers are happy that makes me happy!!!

Erika raced over with some of the kids and we rejoiced!!!

Closing is February fourth!

I think I can make that date!

I am so thankful and thrilled!

 

I found a few more Christmas pictures

Here we are bringing the Christmas gifts to the Cleland household on Christmas morning.

I have no idea where Amanda is headed off to.

I wonder who took this picture?

I got this information in an e-mail this morning.

My closing is set for February 4, 2022.

Looks like my new house will be my birthday present.

My flooring will be installed on December 30, 2021.

That's tomorrow I think.

Is this set in stone?

I do not know.

I have lost all trust in these people who are building my house.

I do trust Jesus though.

He will see me through till it is done.

All praise to the One who made heaven and earth!

My final departure date from #716 is February 8, 2022

🏡

 

Merry Christmas!

We did have Christmas this year.
It was different ~ it was perfect!
Amanda and I cooked a lot of food for various different celebrations.
We hauled it all to David and Erika's who did the hosting.
I managed to catch a little sickness which slowed me down a bit.
No one was disappointed.
It was a holly ~ jolly Christmas for sure.
There are a lot of stories to tell when I get to feeling better.
Not more pictures, just stories.

★There is still no flooring in my house.
It was supposed to be installed last week.
It didn't happen!

 

the day before Christmas

May all of the blessings of this season fall upon you this day.

💖

 

Merry Christmas from Cathy

Before things start getting really hectic around here,

I want to wish everyone who reads this blog a 

Merry Christmas!

"May all of us know the true joy which comes only from Jesus.

May we have that joy which His people feel

from a sense of Christ's love to their souls.

May we constantly rejoice in those things in which Christ rejoices."

jc ryle

Thank You for coming to redeem us, Lord Jesus.

The first time You came as a baby,

as our Savior.

You came to die on the cross.

You became sin for us.

You were resurrected by the power of the Spirit.

You are back in heaven with God Your Father.

You are preparing a place for us to go when our time on this earth is done.

The second time Your feet touch this earth, you will come as our King.

You will rule and reign the world in holiness and righteousness.

Praise God for what is to come!

Jesus says, "Yes, I am coming quickly"

Revelation 22:20

"Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!"

This is my prayer every morning!

Again...

Merry Christmas!

🎄

let there be light

You can imagine my surprise yesterday when Erika called and told me,

"I'm at your house and you have electricity."

It just warms everything up and makes it feel like a home.

There are two of these "beaded beauties" in the front entryway.

There was a beautiful glass shower enclosure installed also.

There is nothing to step over as you enter

I want it to stay clean like that with no hard water spots.

Any suggestions?

I don't know why that door is in the shower stall.

There was also a "fence of separation" between me and my neighbors.

My own little outside oasis.

There will be white lights strung on those boards for sure.

Flooring is to be put in next week

(I hope).

What a nice Christmas present that will be.

It's getting close y'all!

It feels like home!

🎁

I'm wrapping presents today then heading to the beach. We ordered a new mattress that was delivered in a box. Need to set it up and get it ready for my Christmas guests. We are having Summer instead of Winter in Savannah.

Yes, the beach is calling.

Sunset at Tybee just now.

An absolutely beautiful sight.

Then as we were leaving the island,

the most gorgeous full moon was rising out over the ocean.

A heavenly show!

 

breathtakingly beautiful

This is what I have for today.

It pretty much sums up life as it is.

And life IS amazingly beautiful!

Wouldn't you agree?

 

landscaping is in

I have a carpet of grass but no flooring.

This strikes me as kinda funny.

It has been over a week since I rode by my new house.

(I've kinda lost interest because nothing is getting done but maybe not really)

It's Christmas time!

I have lots to do!

But anyway, I rode by today and sure enough nothing has been done inside.

Hopefully, the flooring will get here and be installed next week, and then they can finish up.

I got an encouraging e-mail from my lender today.

He assured me that my super-low interest rate is locked in,

(It can't go any higher),

and if they fall any more before we close,

I can snag an even lower rate.

 👍 

Christmas is coming on fast.

I am looking forward to cooking and partying and wrapping gifts and loving on my family.

I am so excited to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ with my favorite people

and with my church family.

These are beautiful days full of wonder and awe.

Thank You, God, for writing the Bible for us and giving it to us

 so that we have the story of Jesus' birth to read and enjoy and meditate on.

Worship the King born in a manger!

Laying on a bed of hay.

He came to die for the sins of the world!

Hallelujah!!!

 

they finally found my flooring

I cannot even begin to relate the saga of my flooring.

I just want to say...

They found it!

In these perilous times, this is a miracle.

It will be installed the week before Christmas.

Once it is installed the work can be done to finish my new home.

I will close sometime in January.

All praise and glory to the God of eternity who made this happen,

And to David who made some phone calls,

And to Erika who fought with me to the end,

and to Amanda and Mark who cheered us on from South Florida.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

 

this got done ~ that's all

In this long stretch of waiting for my flooring,

the post on the front porch got its brick base.

Everything else is still at a standstill.

The flooring that I chose back in February is hard to find.

I am supposed to hear good news this morning.

If I do, 

I will let everyone know later today.

In the meantime ~ I wait.

c

 

happy birthday sweet 16

How did this happen?

How can my Lu be sixteen years old?

How can she be almost able to drive me around?

This sixteen-year-old is on the fast track to becoming a pediatric nurse.

She knows what she wants and how to get there.

Saturday night we celebrated her here at my apartment.

She wanted my broccoli ~ chicken casserole

and my homemade pecan pie.

All favorites since she was a little girl.

We played the spoon game, opened presents, and ate pecan pie

Lucy, I love you so much.

You make me happy.

May God continue to bless your life.

You have a servant's heart and a kind spirit.

I am blessed by you.

Love, Gram

You are special every day!

 

apartment tree

I think this is the smallest tree I've ever had.

Living in my tiny apartment, 

I had to think about the tree placement very carefully.

Amanda and I went early on the day after Thanksgiving to beat the rush.

This Fraser Fir is six feet tall and kinda skinny.

I think it is perfect.

I put all 900 lights on myself...

never done that before.

All of my Fall and Christmas decorations are packed at the very back of the storage house.

There was no way I was going to get my hands on any of those.

I think I've mentioned this many times before.

I went to Big Lots and Wal-Mart to shop for the baubles on my tree.

Under the circumstances, I think it turned out pretty well.

I love the garland and the Star Of Wonder ornament.

And...

David and Erika and the kids gifted me with these wooden ornaments with the names of Jesus on them.

Best gift ever!

There will be Christmas in my apartment this year.

I was hoping I would be in my new home by now but that didn't happen.

My place looks cozy and warm and festive.

It smells so good.

I feel so loved and taken care of!

Thank you Lord for these blessings are a gift from you.

PS...I had my tree delivered.

It was a day late.

"Patience is not about the waiting,

It is about the attitude you have while you are waiting."

 

grief grips

I call them grief grips because that's what they feel like.

I'll be doing just fine and then all of a sudden my innards will seize up.

There is actual physical pain.

Bubba's been gone from me for 21 months.

I miss him like crazy...still.

The death of a spouse is hard...

unrelenting.

Holidays are worse.

Life without Bubba is just not the same.

💔

a much-anticipated taste

This boardwalk goes down to a little island behind my apartment.

After our Thanksgiving feast in my cozy apartment,

After a short rest time,

Before we went to see my new house,

we went for a walk to explore the beauty out over the marsh.

This was our group selfie.

A new pillow on an old, old sofa that abides in my apartment.

It, the sofa, is probably forty years old.

It may or may not be transported to my new house.

I haven't decided yet.

We had turkey and dressing,

Sweet potato souffle,

Green beans,

Macaroni and cheese,

Corn casserole,

Cranberry congealed salad with fresh orange dressing,

Yeast rolls,

and,

Mark's famous pumpkin pie.

It was all delicious.

We drug it back out yesterday and enjoyed it all over again.

Then, the rest of the leftovers went home with the Hollingsworths.

The Thanksgiving food is a much-anticipated taste.

Tablescape...

Sculpted Daisy.

My wedding dishes.

Fifty-One years later they are still being used and cherished.

The smallest group ever, 

but very sweet fellowship.

I loved every minute of our "cozy" celebration.

It is so healing to be thankful.

I think I love Thanksgiving the best!

 

happy, happy day of thanks

It was one of those beautiful, magical days.

Thank you, Lord!

 

happy thanksgivng everybody

Just be thankful!

Honor God with the joy of a grateful heart.

He has blessed us so abundantly.

Never forget!

Remember,

 God is always good.

 

shades of gray

I waited a month.

My closing date was pushed out into January.

My move-in day was delayed indefinitely...

All of this for them to order, receive AND start to install the WRONG Flooring.

Thankfully Erika found this happening yesterday.

She called me immediately.

I called my go-to person.

It was human error.

Somebody ordered the wrong flooring.

Lots of it.

Enough to do my whole house.

Silverstone Chestnut.

Several different shades of gray.

I would never choose gray flooring.

 This is the flooring I chose...

This is the flooring I got.

Silverstone chestnut.

Thankfully they had only installed it in my bedroom.

So,

It all has to be taken up and taken out of the house.

It will have to be ordered again.

Then I wait for it to come in again.

Then I wait for it to be installed again.

In the meantime, I wait...

Patiently.

Give thanks in EVERY situation; 

this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

God's timing is perfect!!!!

 

new chairs ~ no more pews

This is our church.

We recently got new chairs.

They are so much more comfortable than the pews we had before.

This is the view from the pulpit looking toward the front of the church.

There is plenty of room for you to come.

We would love to see you.

A change of plans...

I was scheduled to spend the week of Thanksgiving down at the Hollingsworth house.

It was to be a return to summer for a few days.

I had written out each day's projected temperature on a slip of paper.

It was to be beautiful weather.

Sandals and linen and no sweaters or coats.

but...

Last Monday I came down with a really bad sinus infection

which rendered me useless for a few days.

I got sick soon after that meeting with my designer on Monday afternoon.

The bug hit me quickly.

I didn't expect it.

It came anyway.

When I was still not well on Thursday, we called the trip off.

The Hollingsworth family is coming to Savannah.

We will have Thanksgiving at my apartment.

That's okay!

I'll travel down there to see them soon.

I need to get well.

I rarely get sick anymore.

This change of plans is clearly God-ordained.

ALL of my Fall and Christmas decorations are packed away in the storage place.

I was supposed to move into my new house in October.

I never even processed last February that I would need any of that stuff before I moved in.

The holiday things were packed first and put in the very back of the huge holding area.

I am making do...

living simply!

It's okay.

God is good all of the time and I am thankful!

 

yesterday's surprise

Garage doors!

Garage doors make me "feel" like my house is ready to move in,

but it's not.

I spent a good amount of time talking to the building supervisor yesterday.

She was very upset about the delay in the flooring.

If not for that, she said, I would be moving in mid-December.

I assured her that I was fine.

Waiting patiently is a good testimony.

She told me that they would brick the driveway this week.

And, they will be bricking the front porch post.

Also, the landscape may be in at the end of the week.

It was so nice to speak with her.

They are continuing to work on everything else as we wait.

At the end of last week, I got an e-mail from my designer.

"Hi Mrs. Cleland, unfortunately, the countertops that you chose have been discontinued."

What?

A sentence beginning with "unfortunately" is never a good sign.

"Not to worry!"

"This won't delay you much at all if you can choose one that is in stock and ready to go."

Erika and I met her yesterday and after much ado, we found one that would work.

A call to the vendor assured us that it was available.

She got out all of my choices and it looks great.

The piece of quartz pictured above is not the one we chose, but it is very similar.

I love how it blends so well with the backsplash.

I can't think of one more thing that can delay things now unless the workers start falling out.

Most of the solid wood stair treads are in.

Below is the landing.

They have not been stained yet.

Everything is so dirty.

I have the blackest dirt I've ever seen in my yard.

It has been tracked into the house.

Will need a thorough cleaning.

🧹

 

"let not your heart be troubled"

I've been mulling over this post for almost a month.

When I write about the things of God I feel inadequate.

Spiritual things are weighty and personal.

I just can't do them justice.

With that said, I will move on.

Bubba's death on so many Saturdays ago was a bellwether time in my life.

It was as if all that happened before was leading me to this era of widowhood.

Now, nothing seems more important than what is happening in my heart.

I am drawn to prayer and the reading and studying of His word as never before.

David has been preaching through the gospel of John for some time now.

We have made it steadily to chapter 14.

The opening sentence speaks...

"Let not your heart be troubled."

That drew me in.

It's one thing to read your Bible.

It's another thing to study it in depth.

The word of God is how Jesus communicates His truth to us through the work of His Spirit.

I'm using the two commentaries above to help me learn the truths contained in this chapter.

Jesus was speaking these words to His disciples on the night before He died.

He was going to the cross but He was comforting and teaching His friends.

Early in the morning before the sun comes up.

Curled up with a cozy, warm throw in front of a fire.

Soaking up the truth and then praying for everybody I know.

It is a glorious time ~ the best part of my day.

I would encourage you to read and study the words of God. 

Start with the Gospel of John.

These two commentaries are worth whatever you have to pay for them.

I will use the word thrilling.

The things I'm learning are thrilling.

I want all of us to be together one day in heaven rejoicing.

All sin will be gone. 

We will be free.

No more tears.

No more separation or estrangement.

I cannot wait for that day!

💗

 

house news clip

 

So much progress on my house is happening.

The finishing touches are moving quickly ahead while waiting for the flooring to arrive.

This is the master bathroom shower.

Love the bench!

 

A little touch of my favorite color in the shower niche.

This will be the accent color throughout the house.

Turquoise beach blue~green.

The fireplace bricking is done.

I really did pick various shades of white for my predominant color.

I absolutely love this fireplace.

Picking out shutters and shades. 

The driveway has been poured.

Everywhere with gaps will be bricked.

Maybe that's when they will do the front doorpost.

I love this beautifully curved sidewalk along the side of my house.

The boys will love riding their scooters here!

Side entry in the garage.

There will be a little enclosure here for my trash container.

I think the air conditioners will sit here as well..

Small back patio.

There will be a fence between me and my neighbors.

I love this area and can't wait to make it beautiful!

This is the door to the kitchen pantry.

It has frosted glass.

It looks lovely with the light on behind it.

What a blessing this journey has turned out to be.

Wish I was sharing this home with Bubba but it wasn't to be.

I am so very thankful for everything God has provided.

I can't wait to move in!