Our mountain get-away weekend!

We went to Asheville and Hendersonville this weekend and had a great time!

When we do this we stay at the Biltmore Park where we can walk to all the restaurants, the theater, and the greatest toy store, O. P. Taylors and other stores including Barnes and Noble.

Our reason for the trip was my aunt's 80th surprise birthday party. She and my uncle live in Hendersonville and the party was at The Cedars, a very old house in Hendersonville, where my aunt's mother lived while she was teaching school many years ago! It's a beautiful old home and now I wish I had gotten some pictures of it while we were there.

I have a "party picture" of my mom with her brother, my uncle and Aunt Jean, the birthday girl.

Also have a picture of my sisters and their husbands and then one with my cousins who live in NJ, VA, OH, and NY. One is a lawyer, another a librarian, another a museum curator and the other an author/homemaker. We see each other once or twice a year and always pick up where we left off! Much love there!

After the party my mom and my sisters and their husbands and Mike and I went downtown and browsed through the Mast Store! What a treat!

Think I've explained all the pictures now!

Video #2

Emma and Kylie doing the Varsity Drag!

"Grand" Delight!

Got Emma and Kylie yesterday and took them to the Main Street Grill for lunch. After lunch we shopped at Target...shopped and shopped and shopped. Grabbed bags of popcorn on the way out and came home to watch a Rapunzel movie. After that we visited Mrs. Ruth and the girls played with Diesel the dog! He entertained them throwing his little brown bear back and forth. They giggled and giggled and I loved listening to their enjoyment!

Home again for another princess movie, supper, and three puzzles. After cleaning up we retired to bed to watch "Scott Calvin" and after the movie, sweet sleep!

This morning we had a Bible story on the porch, coffee, bagels and cream cheese and then we made 2 videos. Now Kylie is on the treadmill with my supervision of course and Emma is playing a game after jumping on the rebounder.

All this and it's only 8:30 am!

Who knows what we'll do next but I'll take them home after lunch and watch Duncan play his computer game that I promised yesterday to watch today.

It has been such fun!

Love making those memories!

Too Darn Hot!

"It is a sultry day; the sun has drunk

The dew that lay upon the morning grass;

There is no rustling in the lofty elm

That canopies my dwelling, and its shade scarce cools me.

All is silent save the faint and interrupted murmur of the bee,

Settling on the sick flowers, and then again instantly on the wing."

William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)

"All conquering Heat, O, intermit thy wrath!

And on my throbbing temples, potent thus,

Beam not so fierce!

James Thomson (1700-1748)

Christmas Exhuberance!

Christmas exhuberance is a special, fairly rare gene that only some people have.

It, however runs rampant in the offspring of several Durham/Woods households and the symptoms it produces tend to manifest in the month of July.

I received a phone call just a little while ago from our oldest granddaughter, Makenna.

When I answered the phone she said, "Merry Christmas!" and informed me it was 5 months until Christmas!

She said that she and her mom, our oldest, had been working a jigsaw puzzle and she said it just felt like Christmas to her. So they did what any normal people who have this rare gene would do!

They put on Christmas music, playing it all over the house and dressed in red and returned to their puzzle...all in the spirit of Christmas!

They have now deemed this day, July 25th, to be their "Christmas in July" celebration!

Ahhh....kids and grands after my own heart!

"Damages"

For a while now we've been greeted with something very similar to this every morning!

First we thought it was a large dog. We ended up having to tie the top down but as you can see,

something worked its way around it and managed to get the top off.

Last night Mike discovered that our culprit was a ....yep! you guessed it...a raccoon!

Now today with all my other tasks at hand, I must come up with a solution to end this "damaging" situation!

Speaking of "Damages", seems to be the name of an upcoming Fall TV program. After viewing a few previews, ( and there are NO raccoons) and reading some info on it, in my opinion, it falls right in line with "refuse" TV. There is a character that is described as a "devout Christian" who is a liar, cheat, etc. shown praying in Jesus' name with his grandkids. (Read this in a review.) Bit of an oxymoron, don't you think?

Does this offend me? I must admit that it does...just like cursing and just like someone who professes to serve Christ but screams and yells and "beats" people over the head with their huge Bibles. Apparently they don't even know Christ! And they certainly don't really "know" the Word.

And apparently the TV sitcom people don't have dictionaries because a true "devout Christian" would reflect the character of Christ.

Is this programming done to make fun? Probably.

But there is something that we, as Christians, can learn from this. We are to reflect the character of Jesus, period! Some of us aren't very good examples. Some of us mistreat people, speak harshly, yell at waiters/waitresses, yell at drivers, bikers, etc. Some of us show hatred and anger more than we show love...scowl rather than smile, especially at those closest to us. We've all done it but it shouldn't be the "norm".

The solution is simple. Study the character of Christ. Allow the Lord to change us into His image.

Learn to walk in love. Grow "in" Christ. As we devote our time to developing a relationship with Him, He will change us. AND we will learn to reflect His love and react as He would react.

Will this change the opinion of non-believers? Maybe some. But that really isn't the point.

The point is that we will reflect Jesus and won't that make our Father proud!

He so wants His Son to be seen in us! That's why we're here...to be like Christ and carry on His work.

Gratitude

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday

epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever

how we experience life and the world."

Sarah Ban Breathnach

Christmas in July

Yesterday morning I was working in the "attic room" and came across our "replica" of an older Crosley player. Something in me went on, like a light bulb! Record player...Christmas music!

I picked up the player and headed downstairs. Then I looked for the old Christmas albums from my childhood. Do you remember those "Firestone" Christmas albums that came out every year?

That's what I'm talking about! Found a stack of the "old goldies"...Perry, Bing, Johnny... old orchestras, etc. and I just couldn't resist!

Played them on and off all day!

Think I'll do it again today! In my humble opinion it is NEVER too early for Christmas music! :)

Out of the mouths of "Grands"

Saturday, as April, Makenna, Anna, Kylie and Emma were leaving our house,

Emma, who is 7, ran to hug Papa good-bye. Of course she can only hug him around his waist!

She reached up to pull him close to her and as he bent down she wrapped her arm around his neck, pulled him closer and kissed him on the cheek. (Ahhhh...so sweet!)

AND as we enjoyed the moment, after her kiss, she said, "Papa, you need to shave!"

PRICELESS! :)

The Party!

Yesterday we had a jewelry party here and it was a smash!

Our daughter-in-law's mother makes amazing original earrings, necklaces, bracelets, etc., carries

unique handbags and her inventory is huge!

She transformed our home into a quaint boutique with Brittany's help.

We let the granddaughters come and they came in their dresses, acting like ladies...for the most part! They ended up commandeering Papa and had his undivided attention for a few hours and they all loved it, especially Papa!

It was a day of wonderful fellowship, seeing a special friend...Deborah B...who has grown up into a lovely lady or should I say business woman! Other special friends and family were here adding to the laughter and just sweet fellowship.

Making those beautiful memories!

Fabulous Friday!

What a wonderful day it was today! The weather was amazingly cooler with a few showers scattered throughout the day. Ran to the grocery store and Target; came home and put away most of the groceries, changed clothes and went to work at the church. Got home around 6:45 pm, worn out and quite sore. Got on the rebounder for 15 min. and then soaked in a lavendar bath...heavenly! After supper Mike and I relaxed on the porch. It was rather chilly with the fan and I loved it! I wrapped up in a blanket and shawl and snuggled with Mike while he worked his crossword puzzles and I just gazed into the lovely fire! Ahhhh! The promise of Fall!!! It's coming!

I'm hooked on...

REBOUNDING!

Here is Raggedy Ann on my rebounder. I was trying to get her to take my picture on it but she's all thumbs with the camera so she offered to pose in my place.

This is an amazing piece of exercise equipment! I've been doing some more research on it and all I can say is you need to check it out on the "net".

Have had it for years and would be on it and off and then put it away. Been using our treadmill

more. Have some friends in the neighborhood who are great researchers and a few years ago they expounded to me how the rebounder is so much better than a treadmill or about any other piece of exercise equipment. I finally did the research myself plus I've been using it consistently for the last two weeks and I can already tell and feel a difference in my body and my energy level.

There are way too many benefits to list here on my puny little blog but please do "Google" it!

And when I have the money I'm going to get one for our girls.

I heartily recommend it!

Oh...and 30 minutes on the rebounder at a good consistent pace equals about 60 minutes of jogging. Read that in several places and in a health magazine.

Sure is better on your joints!

But don't take my word for it....check it out and get one!

"Tepid" Tuesday...NOT!

Saw where the high today is 99...

I'm trying to have a good attitude about this heat and humidity.

Thankfully I woke up very early this morning and was out cleaning the porch at 7 am after I watered plants and fed the "beast".

Even then I was "glistening"...so much that I looked like I had sprayed myself with the hose.

Porch looks great and is clean and free from those unsightly cobwebs. Would love to stay out and enjoy it but it's already too hot.

Back inside for the rest of the day. Have plenty to keep me busy!

Am sure Miss Darcy will need to come in this afternoon for she doesn't like the heat either-that black coat of hers really warms her up!

This is the time I wish we had a pool!

Stay cool!

Getting ready for Baby Woods!

We just got back from the hospital tour with Bill and Brittany and Brittany's parents!

Very nice and the nurse who did the tour was great!

Saw tiny babies in the nursery, the new labor/delivery rooms and the new post delivery rooms.

Everything was so nice!

We were the only grandparents in the first tour. As we were leaving we saw the second tour and there were lots of grandparents in that group. At least we knew there were other grandparents doing the tour!

We then headed to celebrate with Baskin-Robbins ice cream!

A day to remember! Making those special memories!

Poor, poor baby!

What do you do when the "hand" you feed bites you back? Guess they have never heard that you don't bite the hand that feeds you!

My deer friends have eaten my lovely yellow climbing rose bush minus the thorns!

(guess they have an aversion to thorns)

And they have eaten much of my two hibiscus plants! YIKES!

Right now I plan to cut back the rose bush and move it to safety but not sure how to protect the others.

Heard I could use "something" of a coyote...may have to resort to that.

"Cool" Thoughts

Those of you who really know me, know that I am not a big fan of Summer. I do think I would like it better if there was little or no humidity and if the temperatures didn't go above 72! Only in a "dream world", I guess.

However I do enjoy all the fresh vegetables and the beautiful flowers and luscious plants!

And that helps me put up with those "lazy, hazy days of summer".

Another thing that helps me is air conditioning! It is especially cool in our den and most times I have to use a blanket. How I enjoy that! I can almost forget how hot it is outside until I have to go out in it. I tend to hibernate, if I can, in the afternoons and go out after the sun goes down.

Early mornings are quite nice...most mornings unless that nasty humidity monster is out!

And I must say that I have the above picture, one of my absolute favorites, right in front of me when I get on the computer. It reminds me that Fall and Winter are coming...it's a promise!

Helps me think "cool thoughts" and knowing "this too shall pass" and we will go into my favorite season of Autumn! And then the wonderful anticipation of that beautiful, magical, white "stuff" known as SNOW!

And yes...I am already "dreaming of a white Christmas"! Isn't everyone? :)

Our weekend visitor!

We kept Christian's puppy, Oscar for the weekend!

Needless to say I am smitten!

He is SO adorable!!!

Free!

Today in our nation we are celebrating the birth of our nation, celebrating freedom; freedom from tyranny, freedom of worship, freedom to make our own choices, etc.

True freedom, to me, comes from Jesus.

John 8:36..."...if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Galatians 5:1..."Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

Some bondages...religion, being a "slave" to anything or anyone-anything or anyone that makes you feel worthless, that" beats" you down, having to "keep up with the Joneses", addictions, self-centeredness, etc. ( for there can be many)

Christ died to make us free from all that. Yes, freedom isn't free.

And many men and women died to make and keep this nation free...choosing to lay their lives down so that others could live in freedom.

We have much to be thankful for in this dear country of ours.

May God's mercy and His great blessings be upon America!

A Porch Morning!

Ah! It feels wonderful out there this morning! Mike's off and we sat out there with our coffee and the newspaper and just enjoyed the coolness of the morning.

He's off to work at the church and I'm staying home!

Heading back out there now with my journal, Bible and devotional!

Love it!