July 7, 2012
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My Humble Abode (Compared to Others)
Well, I suppose the Hat Party fizzled before it got started. That’s okay. We’re all so busy. I did put on my Angel’s visor the other day so that I wouldn’t come back from my walk with a sunburnt forehead. Hubby snapped a photo, but I’m thinking it belongs in the trash bin.
Tonight I feel like I’ve had a great week but it sure would be nice to be out somewhere…like at a party!
Our July 4th celebration was at a friend’s house. They live in a gorgeous, large home up on the hill, in a cul-de-sac. Their house is the only one in their cul-de-sac. (And yes, it’s THEIR cul-de-sac). Their view is stunning. The night sky was perfect with just the right amount of clouds and dropping sun. WHY oh WHY did I NOT take my camera? And I don’t have I ANYthing, therefore, a trendy little Instagram on an IPhone wasn’t going to save me from Photographer’s Lost Opportunity Frustration. It was a glorious night, however, with a bunch of great friends, plus my sister (she was thrilled to be invited). The host and hostess are loving, down-to-earth people who don’t care that we don’t live in an uppity up, hoity toity neighborhood. THEY are Jesus with skin on.
Hubby had a doc appointment yesterday in the snooty city of Scottsdale. We took our dear friends Mark and Cindi with us, as we planned to eat out and shop. We had SUCH a good time and I loved that WE got to be the ones to introduce them to Crate and Barrel. Also, Mark had never eaten at Cheescake Factory. And even though I’ve been bustin’ buns with exercise, I allowed myself a piece of original cheesecake. Glory be, was MY mouth ever happy! Yes, a great big celebration was going on with my tastebuds! We arrived home, full and content. We’d gotten outa Dodge and now, we were home where the air is cleaner and cooler and all the horses are good lookin’. (No, we don’t own horses. But, other people do.)
A Xanga friend asked how we like to express ourselves. My answer would be through Photography. It used to be through writing songs and poems. I thought it’d be through painting, but that was too hard, because I wanted beautiful, perfect paintings. Writing helps, but so many of my words are stuck inside. Some of you express so amazingly what I would want to say.
Another one of you wanted to know about bee stings. I honestly cannot remember. Most of my childhood is lost in a great haze.
Camping? I think the last time was when I was 16. There we were, a family of 7 in our tent in a KOA outside of Flagstaff. Thunder and lightening and drenching rain and flooding in the campground turned camping into something I decided I’d never EVer want to do again. As a married gal, I’ve never EVer camped. And now I want to.
My eyeballs are fried from lack of sleep and too much screen time. But, I am grateful. Grateful for the way things are, even though it’s not easy. Change is hard. But you never know when there’s a party around the bend or another person who really shows Jesus’s unconditional love.
Comments (30)
I’m so glad that you had a nice 4th — and a good trip to Scottsdale! My 4th was nice — also a dinner at a friend’s home on a hill where we could see one fireworks display up close, and 6 or 7 off in the distance. A nice post, Gail!
@slmret - Being up on a hill is the BEST place to view the fireworks, I think! It must’ve been fun to see the others in the distance!
@Richgem - Twenty years ago or so, when we first started visiting this friend on the 4th, we could see 12-15 displays, all around the Saddleback Valley. The trees on the slope in front of her have grown since then, leaving a hole (window) for the closest display and one other, and some we could see through the branches!
Love your mailbox…sooo cute! We haven’t gone camping for awhile, but when we did it was a lot of fun. We used to take my in-laws motor home, it was huge and electronic everything! I felt like we were cheating when we said we went camping, but it was MY kind of camping! They sold it a few years back so now we tent camp, still fun… but I miss the motor home
. Hmmm…I wonder if they sell air conditioned tents?? Just a thought. Blessings!
Don’t give up on the hat idea! I’ll post mine soon! Just gotta find a hat that I like!
@slmret - Oh wow, it’s amazing there were so many displays back then! And wonderful that you can still see… through the trees!
@AbidingontheVine - I love that; “huge and electronic everything”! LOL! Yes, that would be MY kind of camping, but I also want to try a tent experience. I bet there are air-conditioned tents. You park in a space with an electric source, hook up your box fan and hang wet towels from the tip top of the tent. ( 8 Blessings back to you! I hope you’re able to deal with the heat back there!
@SealedbyGrace - Oh, I don’t think I can give up! Once I get a sticker in my bum, I have to keep going! I’m going to get a do-over of the Angel’s visor. Hats don’t look great on me, but at this stage of my life, I don’t even really care anymore. Welllll, I guess I do care a little!
hi! somehow found my way to your blog. hope you don’t mind me visiting!–i saw in your profile that your husband retired from ups–mine too–17 years and i begged him to quit! pension should kick in next summer (fingers crossed)–have a great weekend!–karen
That disease you mention…..PHLOF…………I suffer from that on occasion, usually when grandkids are involved. I only saw distant fireworks this year (and heard them.)
Glad you had a good 4th. Sorry you didn’t take your camera. I thought you photographer took your camera everywhere you went so there was on PLOF
Aren’t you just as happy in your little house? I know I am. Maybe it is just this stage of my life, but I am very content in my little house (Pretty snug now with Uncle here but that is not a permanent situation)
Praying for your hubby’s back…….I can sympathize with him!
My house is also very humble . . . lol! I’m glad you had a good 4th of July!
The occasional piece of cheesecake won’t hurt! I made a stovetop pineapple upside down cake this week (my oven doesn’t work right now
)
but I still lost another pound. yay!
i missed the post about the hat party… sounds like fun. perhaps… rescheduled?
my home is humble… it’s about the size of a nicer apartment in our area, and has no insulation. since we hit a record of 107 last week, i’ll leave it to your imagination.
if you want any tips on camping well… as in… not eating peanut butter and jelly all week, showering, and frankly, living well in the out of doors, feel free to message me. we love to camp, do so without water in the site (there is a well in the campground) no electric hookups, etc.
@lifeontheWink - Hello! I’ve seen you on a couple of people’s blogs and wondered who you were….love the “lifeontheWink”!!! I’ll come chat with you on your blog! Yay! A kindred soul!
@ata_grandma - Well, I’m glad I’m not the only PLOF sufferer! I should know better by now, though!
@oldfatgramma - Yes, it has been said that we take the camera everywhere. In fact, my younger sis said, “I thought it was an appendage!” And yes, I know you can relate to the back trouble. Thank you for praying for him!!!! And yes, I am fine with my little house, even in spite of the work that still needs to be done. I just wish I could move away from the nextdoor neighbors.
@bethro78 - Yay! A stovetop pineapple upside down cake? I need that recipe! Hubby might LOVE it!!!! Losing a pound is a great accomplishment, I think. I bet I gained a pound or 2 or 3 by yesterday. Now, I need to sprint this chub off! We need to stay determined, right?
@ehrinn_l - The Hat Party should be continued, like a catalog party after the real party….they go on for a couple of weeks, sometimes! You are a hat making girl, so I would LOVE to see what you come up with! As for camping, your kind is roughing it! I think I could handle that if I had to hone my survival skills. I definately will contact you if the time comes that I can convince my man that we should do it. (bucket list). 107 with no insulation? I can almost relate. The insulation in some of our walls is nearly non-existant. And our single pane windows in the livngroom: one has a broken corner. The front door has a gap at the bottom. Lizards can scoot right through, not to mention ants and spiders. but, I’m used to all that. You live in a humid area and I feel your pain with that heat. (I lived in Mexico). I won’t go into any more details. Just know that I really care about your situation and feel for you!
So nice to share the fun of the 4th with friends. I missed that this year as we stayed home, but we do have the happiness of fireworks viewed from the deck. I have been content in this small space of ours because of the location and the view. The neighbors and their noise, especially late at night, are the down side.
I love camping! You get to stay some places that have the most beautiful sights and smells. I do recommend blow up mattresses for tent camping. I really need that now
I liked our little camper van the best. It was comfortable and had a stove, frig, and port a poti (so nice in the middle of the night). We found RV’s too big and cumbersome.
@Richgem - We have horrid neighbors that are behind us and next door, does that make sense. The corners of our properties meet. They are only here during the summer months. They go south for the winters. Just found out why………they work for the carnivals! Yeah, carnies!!!!
“Jesus with skin on.” I like that!
I enjoyed coming here and reading about your days.
@ABAHM - Awww, my Jenny! I wondered what you’d end up doing for the Fourth! Give David a gentle hug for me, will you? I figured you were content in where you live, except for the noisy neighbors. We can’t have it all, I know, and doing without is good for the character. Camping… I saw a newer style VW camper van yesterday and thought THAT would be perfect for just me and hubby, scooting around the country! Several of our friends have big RVs and I’ve thought those would be too much to lug around and you can’t just whip into a spot. Also, I’d always be worried about passing a motorcycle on the freeway and having my RV’s airstream send the motorcycle over a cliff or something!
Fortunately, our kids have gone camping with friends, so they’ve had that fun experience. I’m grateful for that!
@oldfatgramma - Oh my! Well, at least they’re gone for a good part of the year. Ours took off 2 days ago, the first time in several years that the whole family left! It’s blissfully quiet and the oppression has lifted. I feel happy and free, just knowing they’re not there. Is that how you feel when your carnies leave?
@DanishDoll - Thank you, Mae! I need to read your posts more often!
@Richgem - Yeah, but they are gone in the winter! With the snow we get here in central NY, I don’t spend much time outside in the winter. I want to be out on my deck but their dogs bark continually when we step outside! Their language would make a sailor blush! Who needs that??? I told Will they must only speak in one tone……….LOUD!
Good Morning Gail! Here’s another one who has never been to a Cheesecake Factory! I’ve read about them/seen pictures from other ladies on here. We don’t have any in our area. Sounds like we live “in the sticks” doesn’t it! Before our chidlren were born I worked for a family who had a cabin in the mtns. about three hours from here. It wasn’t fancy whatsoever but lots of fun. That was our idea of roughing it!! Lots of fun memories there. Now our daughter, husband,and boys go to the very same place all these years later! We hiked – they go creek stomping as the boys call it. It’s really, really dry here. I’m wondering how much water they are going to find in the creek this summer. They go for three days. Each year the boys ask if they can stay one day longer.
I get so provoked when I forget my camera – know how you feel. There’s a man in our area who has a business with vans to take Amish away as they do not have their own cars. It is usually a day thing. If there are funerals in another state, he does that also. He is so busy he keeps his cell phone on a type of string around his neck!! Maybe we need to do that with our camera!!
I hope you have a good day – I was carrying some discouragement this morning…..didn’t have my quiet time with the Lord yet…..I need to unload it there. Let’s see if I can keep it there. Blessings, Cordy
Hello, wonderful Cordy! I needed the reminder to leave the discouragement load with the Lord! That load can really drag me down! The Cheesecake Factory we go to is an hour and a half away, but so worth the trip. We only go if we’re already down there for other reasons (doctor,etc.) and if we feel the need for something special. So, in a way, we do live “in the sticks”, too! ( 8 Another nice thing is, our friends bought our dinner (in appreciation for my photographing their new grandbaby). Hubby and I split a meatoaf dinner, and he didn’t order cheesecake, or any dessert for that matter. So, I felt like we were “good” in not spending a ton of money (which we didn’t have anyway). Then our friends surprised us with “we’re buying your dinner”. A pleasant surprise indeed.
I love reading about the camping stories, whether they happen in a tent, camper, trailer, cabin…. So sad that things are so dry! I’ve been watching The Weather Channel on TV and it seemed like PA was getting lots of rain. I’d say to my hubby, “Oh, my poor cousins. It’s raining AGAIN!” But then I called one cousin and she said they’d hardly gotten any. It’s extremely dry here, too. Our little lakes are pitifully losing water. The one looks more like a big, icky pond now. I need to get over there with my camera! Oh, and if I had a small camera, I would wear it around my neck! My 2 Nikons are rather heavy, though they both are on straps. Alot of times I do take one in my bigger purse. After I get the great shots, I do feel it was worth lugging it around! ( 8 Well, I need to go rake the front yard. It’s nothing but dirt and twigs and branches that the wind has sent down from the dry trees….not a pretty sight. And I prefer pretty; curb appeal, they say, is important. But here, it’s nearly impossible. And that is another source of discouragement! I do talk to Jesus while I work, so here I go!
Cute mailbox. Now you have me hungry for cheesecake!! Totally my weakness. Glad to finally have time to catch up and see what you have been up to.
@zanyzeal - It’s good to “hear” from you again! Cheesecak is my weakness, too. And oatmeal bread. And Breyer’s Chocolate ice cream, but I usually avoid all of that. Naughty, naughty foods! ( 8
I am on FB more than xanga these days. Your blogs are a blessing to read, your a wonderful writer. I like your hat picture of ya. Just wanted to say “Hello & God Bless”