Another Month Just Went Whoosh!

Where oh where is the time going? How can it possibly be May 1 already? I'm beginning to understand even better our daughter -in-law's Dad's saying, "Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end the faster it goes." And with that, here's a photo of me in Galveston at Bubba Gump's Restaurant. Doesn't it sound like something that Forrest Gump would say? I forgot this picture was on my phone until Dennis took the one below this week.

Here I am, sitting next to Ronald Regan outside of Sheel's Sporting Good's store here in Omaha. We had gone to a nearby restaurant for lunch after our doctors appointments last week and Sheel's is across the parking lot. Dennis wanted to get prices on some things and we always like to look at camping gear, so we wandered around the store to get a little bit of exercise. I had a few biopsies and my leg was really hurting so I had sat down for a minute when Dennis surprised me with this picture. I don't like photos of myself at all.  Believe me, Dennis didn't need the exercise. Besides very, very physical work at the Open Door Mission, he goes to the exercise room here at the condo several times a week for an hour and a half. Right now he's out doing a full-moon hike with friends. They're trying to hike the first evening of a full moon as it gets dark during this year. They really enjoy it and I encourage him to go with them, even though my back doesn't let me participate.

I finished the granny square shawl and really enjoyed working with the two tones of purple. I made the border up by just doing some double crochets, single crochets and a scallop stitch for the border. It's nice and long, almost 72 inches. This will be donated to UNMC prayer shawl ministry.

I made both of these little pieces this week while waiting at different places. Very simple and easy to do and only 6 inches in diameter. It made me realize just how much I have always enjoyed embroidery and I just haven't done much of it for awhile. I may get a few flour sack towels and make some dish towels for the camper.

This bottom one was only made with five different colors but I love it.

Tomorrow we'll take a run to the storage lot and load some food and clothes into the camper. On the way home after church on Sunday we'll turn the refrigerator on and go pick up the rest of the food and anything else we may need from the condo. Then we'll be off to Pella, Iowa and the Tulip Festival. We're camping with our usual gang. Our minister Jeff and his wife Angie, Curt and Barb. Also Curt's brother Philip, (who is also Dennis' cousin) and his wife Terri will be joining us during the day but staying in a hotel as Philip has had some serious health issues and isn't up to camping yet. 

We have other friends who were in Pella a couple of weeks ago who told us that the tulips were already past their prime when they were there. Last year it was the end of May before they bloomed. The weather has been so strange this year. Warm, then cold. So we may not see the tulips, but I think that Pella has other things to offer. Everyone except me is taking their bicycles and kayaks so there will be lots of other things to do too. We'll be there until Wednesday and then come back home. We're both looking forward to being back in the camper. Fun times for sure.

I just thought this picture below was a cute photo I saw online. Even though our girls aren't long-haired chihuahua's, the sentiment is the same for Zoey and Lizzie. :-)

I hope you are all doing well. We've been busy, just doing doctor visits and this and that. A funeral this past week of a long-time friend who died at 68 of cancer. She was a bright spot in this world with a smile on her face until the very end. She will be missed, but oh, how she's celebrating in Heaven right now with Jesus! The memorial service was a fitting tribute to LuAnn, with lots of uplifting stories of her life and happy "Jesus Music" as she called it way back when we sang together in our 20's. We were in a group that traveled the midwest singing concerts.

I'm not sure if the campground we'll be at will have any internet, so I'm not sure if I'll be online. There aren't a lot of amenities there, so not sure how good cell reception will be for my hotspot. If I can get online I will be visiting with you all. Take care and I'll be back soon.

Blessings and hugs,

Betsy

What a Day That Will Be

By: Gaither Vocal Band and Jim Hill

What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
And I look upon his face
The one who saved me by his grace
When he takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day that will be (in the second person)

There'll be no sorrows there
No more burdens to bear
No more sickness and no more pain
No more parting over there
But forever I will be
With the one who died for me
What a day, glorious day that will be

What a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
When I look upon his face
The one who saved me by his grace (but when he)
When he takes me by the hand (takes me by the hand)
And leads me through the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day that will be

Oh, what a day that will be
When my Jesus I shall see
When I look upon his face
The one who saved me by his grace (but when
When he takes me by the hand (he takes me by the hand)
And leads me through the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day that will be

A Finish

Good Morning! It's a beautiful, pure blue sky and sunshine day here in the midwest. It's supposed to be 88F, so pretty warm for April but it will cool off again by Thursday. 

Yesterday was a morning of doctor appointments and then lunch at Cheddar's. Dennis had blood work for another appointment scheduled for next Monday. I had four spots removed at the dermatologist and am now waiting for the biopsies which I'm sure will be fine.

I finally finished the stitching on the birth announcement for Baby W. It took longer than I expected it to, but I do like the way it turned out. I still have to press it and frame it. I plan to go to Hobby Lobby today or tomorrow to find a frame. For privacy reasons I have blocked out the personalization part. All in all, I'm glad it's finished and I can get it ready to mail off to London.

Dennis did a small project last week here at the condo. We have been trying to decide what to do with this fireplace since we moved in. Neither of us liked the dark brown paint. Other condo owners have tiled theirs from floor to ceiling, others put granite on the entire face. We didn't really care for any of them and the expense was crazy. Finally we decided to paint it with paint we already have and see what we think. That could be easily changed if we didn't like it.

This is the result. We both love it. It brightens up that corner of the room a lot. It's hard to believe that just a little bit of paint made this much difference. What do you think? It was a lot less expensive than refacing the surface.

I have started and ripped out several crochet projects. I just couldn't seem to settle on anything. Now I'm making simple ten inch granny squares that will eventually become a prayer shawl for the hospital. I do love this purple color. Of course, I love anything purple. :-) I feel like I'm unsettled for some reason and I don't have a driving desire to make anything in particular. Have any of you ever felt like that?

The world is still in turmoil but I know that God is ultimately in control. Things will happen as He allows and as the timeline in the Bible lays out. I know that He loves me and wants what is good for me. He wants the best for you too. The world is broken and so are the people in it. But His love can overcome it all. I do hope you know Him too. 

I'll be back soon. I'm enjoying mornings on the balcony. Listening to the birds and reading my Bible. Spring is such a wonderful time. The earth is coming back to life and we get to witness it it all.

Blessings and love,

Betsy

There Shall Be Showers Of Blessings

Text: Daniel White based on Ezekiel 34:26

Music: James McGranahan

1

There shall be showers of blessing:
  This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
  Sent from the Savior above.

 

Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
    But for the showers we plead.

2

There shall be showers of blessing—
  Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
  Sound of abundance of rain.

3

There shall be showers of blessing;
  Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
  Come, and now honor Thy Word.

4

There shall be showers of blessing;
  O that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
  Now as on Jesus we call!

5

There shall be showers of blessing,
  If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
  If we let God have His way.

Monday, Monday

 Good Morning my friends. Life just doesn't seem to slow down does it? We have been busy around here since returning home. Dinners with friends, appointments, etc. I have been busy cross-stitching on our new granddaughter Baby W's birth announcement. I'm to the point where all I have left is the outlining and personalization but that will also take a few days. I've been staying up until the wee hours of the morning working on it. Mandy has knitted a sweet little hat and booties set for her and I want to get them all in the mail before little Baby W outgrows them.

I haven't picked up yarn and a hook or needles for days except during Sunday school yesterday when I was able to knit on my "take along" socks.

We canceled our trip to Salt Lake City next month. With the cost of diesel right now, we decided that going to Spokane later in the summer was more important to us than to a camping meet up of people we don't know at all. We're still plan on going to the Tulip Festival next month in Pella, Iowa and taking Piper to the Black Hills Memorial Day week. We're sure hoping that prices fall back to normal before the big trips. 

I thought I would share the four projects that I made while we were in Texas last month. First is a shawl for the hospital oncology unit. A simple granny stitch that I put a single crochet border around.

Here is the virus shawl I asked in a previous post if anyone knew the pattern. Cindy at "The Delighted Hands" blog sent me the link for the blanket. Thanks Cindy! I don't know why mine is a bit wrinkled but I'll try again sometime and hopefully it will be better. Notice it's the same yarn as the shawl. I was limited in what I took on the trip. :-)

This is the V-stitch baby blanket that my friend Terri at the "YarnJoy" YouTube podcasts made. Her's was just like this, ruffled too. I ripped this one out three times and started completely over before throwing up my hands and just completing it, ruffles and all.

And this one was using up all of my tiny bits of yarn I had left. I finished it just a few miles from home. 

The only one of these projects that turned out like I intended was the shawl. All three small blankets were a bit of a disappointment. My tension was right. The patterns were followed and they still look pretty wonky. 

On a happier note, we made it to a place we both love the second day we were in Galveston. Buccee's! It was lunchtime and Dennis had a brisket sandwich while I chose pulled pork. We had banana pudding for dessert and of course bought 2 bags of Beaver Nuggets. One for us and one for Curt and Barb who love them too. We're supposed to be getting the first Buccee's in Nebraska this fall right outside of Omaha, not too far from us. That could be dangerous. :-)

This bird was a metal sculpture between our RV park and Jamaica Beach on Galveston Island. It was huge and I have no idea what it is! I always find art works like this on our travels to be fascinating.

Oh my, we're missing this view. It was 33F here two days ago. Today it is supposed to be 89F and it's VERY humid. I ended up turning the AC on already because we were sticking to the floors when we walked across the wood. Paper and towels were very damp when we picked them up too. I'm thinking this means storms somewhere this afternoon, but I don't think they are predicted in our area. It's pretty early for this heat and humidity though. It's supposed to be much cooler again in a couple of days.

Miss Piper missed three days of school last week with some kind of bug. She went back on Friday and even ran track after school! We didn't see her over the weekend. She still had the sniffles but the biggest reason was because she had TON'S of homework from missing those three days. We did FaceTime for awhile with her and Mandy yesterday afternoon and she read me some poetry she had written for class. It was really good. That girl. She has my heart. I love her so much. It's wonderful to be part of her life by living so close.

I hope you all have a wonderful week planned. Dennis is at the camper this morning, remaking the bed after I washed the sheets. He had a few other chores planned there too. He enjoys going there and "puttering" around the camper, planning the next trip. Normally I would go with him, but I really want to get this cross stitch done, plus I needed to get a blog post up to say hello to all of you!

We have a funeral this Saturday at church for a 91 year old man that I've known my entire life. For many years he was the fire chief on the volunteer department in the small town I grew up in. My brothers were both volunteer firemen too and one was the fire inspector. Dennis and I will be working at the lunch where they are expecting around 300 people. That's a LOT of food! Carl's wife was my Girl Scout leader and I graduated with one of his daughters. We've stayed in contact with them over our 30 years in Spokane.

It's strange, after living across the country for 30 years, we came back and picked up our life almost as it was before, minus our kids being grown. Same church, many of the same friends. It's almost like those 30 years didn't happen. Then we go back to Spokane to visit and it's like we're still there. Strange indeed.

I'm stilling praying continually or all of those involved in wars and conflicts around the world and those being persecuted by evil men. I'm so glad that I have the hope of the Lord living in my and the Holy Spirit guiding my heart. I pray for each of you too, my dear friends. I hope you know Him. The giver of Life abundant.

Blessings and Love,

Betsy

ABIDE WITH ME

TEXT:

Henry Lyte, Justin Smith

MUSIC:

Justin Smith

1. Abide with me; falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers, fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, abide with me.

2. Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, though I oft left Thee,
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

3. I need Thy presence, every passing hour.
What but Thy grace, can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me.

4. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness
Where is thy sting death? Where grave thy victory?
I triumph still, abide with me.

5. Hold Thou Thy cross, before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, Lord, abide with me.