One man pottery show

Obviously, I haven't blogged in a while. But, suddenly I felt it was time to get back in the groove.
The image here is of some pottery my brother made. I had been bugging him for a long time to bring pottery down for us to have a show and sale with all my friends. Well, he finally made it.
This photo is of only one table of pots, and this is about two hours into the show. Amazingly, he sold about 2/3's of his inventory that he brought, and it was all sold before lunch.
I invited former co-workers, current co-workers, Sunday school class, Bible study cohorts, just about everyone I knew. My friends and co-workers all came out on a cool, damp day to visit with Tom, enjoy some snacks and each other, and buy pottery. It was so much fun!
I am so appreciative that I have such good friends. They made our day, in more ways than can be counted.

Brotherly Love

I don't have any photos, as I forgot my camera this weekend, but I got to spend this weekend with my brother. That is something we don't get to do very much...especially without others around. And while having others around is great, having the one on one time together is even better.

The time was short, as I did not arrive at his home until Saturday afternoon, but it was good quality time. Saturday night we went into town to dine at "A taste of Asia", as I love Asian food. Pad Thai is one of my favorite dishes, so I ate it all...no leftovers!

We then returned home just to veg out in front of the TV. We watched one of my brothers' favorites, "Ratatouille". It was great fun.

Sunday morning we sat on the sofas and talked about many things that were on our hearts and minds before going to church. The Sunday School lesson covered many bases, one of which was not to be self-pitying, and a lesson on worry. Allowing ourselves to let go of our worries is a hard one, and it makes us relinquish control, which is not easy for us.

After church we went to Greensboro to Moe's (Welcome to Moe's!!!) for lunch before hitting Costco...one of our favorite places to shop. We not only shopped there, but ran into a few of Tom's friends, and talked for a while.

Then, it was back to his home, and more movie time.

Time was short, but we were able to accomplish a lot in a short time, and while we were not able to solve all the problems of the world, we were able to share time, our lives, meals, and love. And as Paul says..."The greatest of these is love".

kittens

I tried unsuccessfully to get a photo of a kitten that has been hanging around our house today. We are not sure if the mother ditched them, or someone dropped them off at the grocery store behind our house. Anyway, evidently there were at least 3 in the litter.
We had only seen 2, and at first thought we were seeing double as they were both solid white with vivid blue eyes. They would fit in the palm of your hand. We were worried about them as they were so small. They have been hiding out in our back yard among some leftover pieces of lumber. We moved the lumber around, and discovered there were actually 3, but one was dead and the other two were still snuggling with the one. My husband removed and buried the one, and yesterday we saw the 2 white ones playing.
Today, my husband said he had not seen either kitten. I went out to investigate, and they were there, but again, one was dead and the other was snuggling with the deceased.
So, now we are down to one. At this point, he/or she is not ready to make contact with us. He runs and hides under the shed when we come out. But, we have been feeding him to see if we can make friends. We're not sure if they were all diseased, and whether we will lose the last one, but we are trying. Today I bought some Goat's milk to supplement his diet.
Maybe soon we will be advertising a free kitten to a good home. Keep your fingers crossed for the little babies' survival.

Tonight I had a rather nostalgic supper...waffles. Growing up, Sunday's were sacred around our house. This was long before stores were open, and the only Sunday activity was church, followed by a nap or a Sunday afternoon drive with the family. Mom would usually get up early and get a big Sunday dinner going for us to eat when we returned from church. But, Sunday evenings, Dad was in charge. We usually ate cereal. But, occasionally, Dad would rise to the occasion, pull out the already ancient waffle iron, and make waffles for everyone. Other than grilling, I believe this was the only time I remember Dad cooking. How we looked forward to those special Sundays when something other than cereal was on the menu.
I still love waffles. I don't indulge often, but when I do, I figure I may as well go ahead and make up a few extra. They warm up nicely in the microwave, or the toaster oven. My preference these days is whole wheat waffles, but my whole wheat mix had mealy bugs in it tonight. Just goes to show you that I have obviously not been eating enough waffles. I'll have to refill my stock, and go ahead and make up a big batch. I can always freeze them for later use.
Now where did I hide the bacon from myself?

For Father's day this year, I made a photo album for my Dad. It included photos of him from his childhood, and into adulthood, as well as lots of family photos.
One photo was of Dad in his scouting uniform. I tried to upload that photo here, but was not successful. At any rate the point of the story is to talk about Dad and scouting.
As the town we grew up in was very small, there were few opportunities for young people. Boy scouts was about the only thing in town. My brother was in scouts, and Dad was the scoutmaster. How I longed to be a boy so I could be in scouts, too.
I remember how they were able to go off on scouting jamborees. They went to scout camp. And, best of all, they went all the way to New Mexico! How I longed to travel, even back then. To get to go to Philmont...Wow. I was just in awe, and very jealous.
But, now I'd like to direct you to my brother's site. He shared a story about Dad, cooking, and scouting that I had never heard. I'm just amazed that I never heard this one before. Dad loves talking about his past, and for me to miss a story.... Of course, since this one is about Dad cooking, he may have been hiding that one. He may not have wanted to let on that he could cook in the first place.
So travel with me now to www.tgraypots.blogspot.com and get the story.

Here is another group shot of the women in my Bible study. They are such a fun group of women.
At this particular gathering, we all met to eat (we like to do that!), and swim. One of our members sat on the edge of the pool while the rest of us played in the water. The "sitter outer" decided that we all needed to participate in a competition of synchronized swimming. She divided us up into two teams of 4 each, and then we had to come up with a routine to perform for the "judges" that chose not to get in the water.
It's a wonder we did not all drown. We laughed so hard at one another, and ourselves. It was quite fun. Whoever said that laughter was good for the soul knew what he was talking about.
We are so blessed to have each other. While life has dealt each of us our hand, and not all the hands have been full of aces, having each other makes it all bearable. Thanks be to God for these women, and the impact they have had on my life.

Slate's 15th birthday

It's taken me all week to get around to doing this, but last Sunday was Slate's 15th birthday. Slate is my nephew. He has Cerebral Palsy, and a heart of gold. Everybody loves Slate...and he in turn, loves everybody.
My brother's entire church community, and even the town of Seagrove got together to give Slate a birthday party he will not soon forget.
Ever since Slate has been able to talk, he has loved firetrucks, and frankly, any large rolling thing. Tractors, semis, lawnmowers...if it has wheels and is large, he likes it. I remember when he was young, and just starting to talk, he loved garages. Everyone's house he went to, he asked...Do you have a garage? Can you open the door for me?
Well, the town of Seagrove opened the doors of the firestation for Slate on Sunday, and gave him a ride to his own birthday party in the big green firetruck. The smile on his face says it all. He was one happy kid.
The party was held at a friend's house, Bill. Bill missed church (a rarity for him) on Sunday to stay home and start cooking for Slate's party. He cooked ribs and pork loins on the grill. Man, was that some good eating! There were trimmings to go along with the pork of slaw, potatoes, and wonderful pinto beans. Desserts were several homemade cakes, one "storebought" birthday cake with a tractor on it, and 4 coolers full of homemade ice cream. It was hard to stay awake on the 3 hour ride home after all that good eating, but it was worth it.
But, besides the good food, it was just a wonderful gathering of people there who showed their love for Tom and Slate, just by showing up. Slate had asked that another member of their church, Bobby, come and play the electric piano and sing. He was gracious enough to do that, and had Slate join him for singing after dining. The rain held off long enough for everyone to enjoy the games provided, the food, and the fellowship. What a great group of people, and an outpouring of affection.
My husband, father, and step-mother had debated making the trip for the day simply because if was so long for us. But, after arriving, we were so glad we had done it. I just would like to say a big thank you to Bill & Sue for being such gracious hosts, and to the community of Seagrove, and Seagrove Methodist Church for sharing this special day with all of us.