the day after tomorrow we sail

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Day to day pours forth speech, 

and night to night reveals knowledge."

Psalm 19:1

🌞

This will be my last post for a while.

I will be taking a little vacation.

Going to soak up the heavens and the ocean in all their glory.

Will be praising and worshipping the One who made it all.

I will speak of His glory.

I will marvel at the wonder of this world He has created and sustains.

cathyc

 

countdown to the "Celebration" ~ 3 days

My favorite port of call is always ~ 

 Puerto Rico.

I've been there so many times it feels like home.

Can't wait to get back.

Think of me next Wednesday.

 That's where I'll be.

2020.

At the fort.

Flying kites with the fam.

I had to buy a larger suitcase today.

It is very lightweight.

It will be heavy when I pack all my stuff.

David just wrote this on our family text thread...

"They are going to accidentally drop that off at first class."

3 days!

I am so excited!

 

countdown to the "Celebration" ~ 4 days

My interesting news.

I wrote to Carnival Cruise Line.

Here is what I asked...

To Whom It May Concern: 

I have been publishing a blog since 2007.

I consider it my personal journal.

I always have a photograph to compliment each post.

It is chatty.

I keep it short, hopefully easily readable.

I tell about things I love,

things that I think are interesting.

I  just spent a whole year chronicling the building of my new home

from groundbreaking to the day I moved in.

Things like that.

I would love to write an article for a travel magazine 

expounding the virtues of a mother-daughter birthday celebration 

onboard your awesome new ship "Celebration."

I'm turning 75 in a few weeks.

What do you think about this idea?

The Senior Manager of Public Relations of Carnival Cruise Line

 got back to me almost immediately.

He was excited and thought it was an excellent proposal.

He has hooked us up with the Cruise Director on the ship for an interview.

I submitted several questions I would like to discuss with him.

The questions are mainly about the ship and its amenities...

things that would interest both the old and the young and entice them to jump aboard.

I want to concentrate on a young woman and an old lady

staying in a tiny room and having the time of their lives.

I am beyond excited.

I'm charging my camera and taking a notebook to write everything down.

We'll see what happens.

🚢

 

*I want to give credit to Mark for helping me with this endeavor.

countdown to the "Celebration" ~ 5 days

This is our "tiny house" for the week.

 It doesn't have a kitchen but that's okay.

We won't be doing any cooking.

I want to spend most of my time sitting out on that balcony.

I'll be

watching the ocean,

feeling the sun on my face,

breathing the "salt air."

Seems like a piece of heaven to me!

I haven't started packing yet.

I will have to switch my mind from winter mode.

We'll be chasing summer.

Balmy days and warm nights.

Gotta think that through.

🚢

 

happy birthday david ~ 49

There will be no party this evening.

David managed to teach Sunday school,

 preach his sermon,

 and even eat lunch at Panera with all of us

 before getting home and falling prey to the dreaded stomach virus.

The virus is cruel,

random,

awful.

He is better today but not ready for a party.

Our baby that was born 49 years ago today has almost lived a half-century.

How in the world did that happen?

We will celebrate when he feels better.

Thank You, Lord, for David.

Countdown to the "Celebration" ~ 6 days!

I am home today.

I've been working in the attic putting away my Christmas decorations.

At this point, it seems like a never-ending chore.

My attic is a disaster.

I'm telling myself the truth...

there is no hurry.

I'll have plenty of time to work up there when I get home from the cruise.

🚢

 

countdown to the "Celebration" ~ 7

W sail in seven days.

Amanda and I are celebrating my 75th birthday on the "Celebration."

She is a brand new ship.

 We have a balcony room on the 14th floor.

We will be going to Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 

with a stop at Amber Cove.

Several "Sea days" are included.

Sea days are my favorite.

You never stop sailing through the deep blue sea.

I have found my birth certificate with much relief.

Now to remember to take it.

This will be bittersweet.

Hopefully much more sweet than bitter.

Bubba was on my last cruise.

I have such good, good memories.

Lucy passed this note to me in church this morning.

I have to wait until I get on the cruise to open it.

💗

Hopefully, I will post each day this week as I countdown to next Sunday.

I have some interesting things to share.

🚢

 

sisters in Christ

My main support group minus Amanda.

I don't know what I would do without these ladies.

They love and listen unconditionally.

They encourage and admonish.

They tell me the truth and instill hope.

Always there when I need them.

💗

"My feelings are not God, 

God is God.

My feelings do not define truth,

God's word is truth.

My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives,

and sometimes ~ many times ~ my feelings are out of sync with the truth.

When that happens ~ and it happens every day in some measure ~

I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings,

but rather ~ I plead with God:

Purify my perceptions of Your truth 

and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with Your truth."

John Piper,

Finally Alive

Sent my way via Instagram by another one of my sisters in Christ.

I'm reading currently 

*Feelings and Faith

Cultivating Godly Emotions in the Christian Life

Brian S. Borgman

*Life changing

 

frankie, teri, cathy

As we gathered yesterday to say goodbye to Aunt Jackie,

I was struck by a few true things.

1. Funerals have a way of bringing people together.

2. Sitting together looking at the casket topped with beautiful flowers you see your own end.

3. There is no escaping the fact that out time on earth is short.

4. Life is full of pain and sorrow.

5. This earth was never meant to be our permanent home.

6. Jesus Christ is our only hope.

He died to make it possible for us to live forever.

He shed His blood to save our souls from eternal damnation.

We do not have to fear death.

Our death is the beginning of the life God planned for us.

We can rejoice and be exceedlingly glad.

His word is true.

Thank You Jesus for who You are and what You have done.

Forever thankful!

💗

 

aunt jackie

Jackie Savard, aka Aunt Jackie, passed from this earth early Sunday morning.

She was my dad's sister.

She lived to be 92.

I was the flower girl at her wedding when I was two years old.

I was shocked and saddened to hear the news.

She was a very interesting lady.

She had lots of stories to tell.

(I guess I got it honest)

She will be buried on Thursday morning.

She always called me "darlin."

I will miss her.

😢

 

keep trusting Him

I 💗 this!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3: 5&6 

 

January light in my house

Light takes my breath away.

It does different things in different seasons.

January light is subtle.

It gives hope for longer, warmer days.

It hints at what's coming and makes us remember.

I love the month of January.

It runs at a slower pace.

I can breathe easy again because I made it through one more wild and wonderful holiday season.

No real pressing matters to attend to,

Time to relax,

read a really good book,

take a slow walk,  

enjoy the beach.

No deadlines,

no hassles in stores,

no feasts to prepare.

Just quiet, beautiful, chilly, days and long, cold nights.

Thank you, God, for the month of January.

I have these indoor snowballs.

They are really candles but I never burn them.

I sometimes wish for snow, 

dream of a winter wonderland right here in Savannah. 

The morning sun was coming in shining on my snowballs.

I ran for my camera as I decided on my blog for today.

I named this picture 

"Snowballs Under Glass on Table."

(haha)

But the really interesting thing is to the middle left outside of the glass.

The sun made an image.

It looks like a man with a perfect profile doing the high step in front of the fireplace.

I love what sunlight does!

It makes magic in pictures.

January bed.

Snowy town scene.

My bird keeping watch.

Early afternoon light in my bedroom.

Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

And God saw that the light was good.

Genesis 1:3

 

taking pictures and writing on a beautiful afternoon ~ my favorite

I'm waiting for the plumber.

His name is Curtis.

He was supposed to be here at one.

Yay, the doorbell just rang.

My hot water heater saga is complete with a good outcome.

Curtis found the problem quickly.

The condensation cut-off valve had been left off and the condensation was dripping out.

He replaced that and NO MORE LEAK!

Luckily I had left a gallon pitcher underneath and had been emptying it.

Thankfully, I found that first full pitcher of water before it overflowed through my ceiling!

No more problems are expected unless we have another deep freeze.

Now. I think I know what to do.

Oh, and he told me to go to Home Depot and buy some covers for my outside faucets.

He said that would protect them from freezing.

Oh, the things I don't know!!!

Only one of my plants that died in the freeze is showing any sign of life.

It's the one in the middle.

Close-up in a minute.

I don't hold out much hope for the geraniums.

I think this one was the hydrangea.

We'll have to wait and see.

Still got a while before the growing season begins.

The little hill outside of my bedroom window is almost gone.

A guy came with a backhoe on a huge flatbed truck a few days ago.

It has taken him two days to get this much done.

Such good black dirt.

There won't be any more Morning Glories to watch this spring.

Neither will there be any more Easter eggs hidden there.

I will miss it!

So will the boys.

 

the mission i mentioned

 

Both David and Amanda have decided that I need a new car. 

Not a NEW car, but a newer car.

The "tank" is getting old.

I can't get it into my garage without a lot of stress.

Walter is going to flip out
(he dearly loves his granddaddy's van)

but, maybe the time has come.

On Friday David and Erika and Lucy and I took the plunge.

First, we would go to Carmax and see what I could get for the tank.

It is a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country with 180.000 miles.

There is nothing wrong with it, 

just regular wear and tear.

David had floated a $10,000 return so that was my base.

While the mechanics took it for a test drive to make their offer,

We took a look at the cars on the sales lot.

Our first observations were sticker shock...

exorbitant prices.

There were very few models to choose from.

And,

they offered me $750.00 for the tank...

not  $7,500.00 but $750.00.

Balloon busted! 🎈 

We sulked away from the dealership with our heads bowed low in shame

as the sales reps commented,

"What were those people thinking bringing that hunk of junk in here?"

"Have they no dignity?"

Next stop,

just down the road a little bit, 

The Honda Dealership.

We hadn't taken ten steps before we were accosted by an overzealous used car salesman.

He looked to be about Harry's age.

He was punked up and thought I would be impressed with "all the tech bells and whistles."

He ensconced me into the driver's seat and started his sales pitch.

When he told me that the car would stop itself if I got too close to the car ahead.

I freaked out,

got out of the vehicle,

 and declared I was done looking at cars for the day.

I needed to get home to rest and process what I had learned.

Here is what I came up with...

1. We will definitely sell the tank ourselves.

2. I want a "smaller" SUV because I like to sit up "high."

3. I have to have leather seats and air conditioning.

4. I do not want anything complicated on the dashboard.

5. It needs to be powered by gas only.

6. Color? Gray with a very light interior.

Erika has done so much research for me.

We will continue to look.

I may want to wait till the prices come down a little bit. 🠟

at the beach with my babies

Memories🠝

Whatever is scaring the bejeebers out of these sweet babies is not bothering me a bit!

Just wanted to share the latest on my tree.🠟

She sat there on the lawn in front of my house all week...

forlorn and shriveled to a mere fraction of her glory.

What a terrible ending for such a glorious beauty.

My last post chronicled my hopes and plans for her speedy removal.

None of those plans worked out.

Every time I glanced out of the window she was still there,

laying on her side,

shedding,

 and turning browner and browner.

🎄 😢

Yesterday I spent a good part of the afternoon on my phone.

I texted my HOA.

No help there.

I have no idea why they receive monthly payments from me.

I called the City of Savannah.

They do not publish phone numbers.

I finally found a number for the utility payment department.

I got a real, live person who was completely clueless.

After much ado about nothing,

she said that they didn't service my area.

Evidently, I don't live in the city of Savannah

She gave me a number for Chatham County Sanitation Department.

They were sorry, but they didn't service my area either.

Plus, she said, "We don't pick up from duplexes."

Oh really?

Then what do people like me do who live in a duplex?

I texted Erika and we made plans to drag the tree to the woods behind my house.

There she 

(the tree not Erika)

 could die a peaceful death and go back to the earth.

No more shameful laying by the side of the road until she finally disintegrated away.

I was pleased with this plan.

Today I went on a mission with David, Erika, and Lucy.

I'll tell you about this in my next post.

We had a fabulous lunch at a great little Mediterranean restaurant.

After our mission,

I drove home to find...

my beautiful Christmas tree was gone.

Only a few pine needles remained.

I don't know who took her or where she went.

I was elated.

Some kind soul knew my dilemma and stepped in to help.

Thank you to whoever you are.

You are a blessing.

*Maybe the workers in the house across the street put her in that dumpster.

I'm not going over there to see.

.

 

Happy New Year ~ 2023

Moving right along.

Time doesn't stand still.

Grandkids don't stop growing.

So here we are on the cusp of a brand new year.

What does it hold?

No one knows.

But I know the One who does know and I trust Him unequivocally.

We had Morning Glory Sparklers.

They produced a lot of smoke.

When that smoke combined with the dense fog,

my front yard became a movie set.

So much fun!

Beautiful!

Boys were running through the streets carrying fire and shouting

Happy New Year!

David was in charge of keeping the firesticks coming.

It was a wild and crazy night!

I have no idea what happened here,

but that's me standing in front of my Christmas tree.

My tree did weird things this year.

Very strange.

I took the ornaments off yesterday afternoon.

Erika and the boys came this morning,

took the lights off,

and hauled it to the front yard for the trash to pick up tomorrow.

If they don't take it I will have to go to Plan B.

I don't know what Plan B is yet.

Will let you know what happens.

A neighbor gifted this Edible Arraignment to the Cleland family on New Year's Eve.

This is what was left when the evening was over.

Evidently no one like honeydew melons.

David went to Bella's and brought pizza and a big salad and breadsticks for our New Year's Eve meal. 

Lucy made cookies.

I made coffee.

It was all quite delicious. 

Such a fun evening!

We welcomed the New Year together doing the things we love.

A quick update on the tree that is laying by the street in front of my house...

The trash pick-up was this morning.

They ignored it.

The landscapers came this afternoon.

They ignored it.

That was my plans A and B.

I don't have a plan C.

I can always drag it into the woods behind my house.

Or like Bubba was known to do...

I could burn it.

Hmmm...

Maybe I could drag it across the street and put it in the Dempster-Dumpster.

I'll have to do that in the dead of night though!

Discarded Christmas trees make me so sad.

☹