a week of goodbyes

 Early in the week our pastor's wife received word that her Dad had suffered a massive stroke and they did not expect him to make it. Mr. Bowen has visited our church on numerous occasions throughout the years and was one of the friendliest and easy going people I have ever met. I think it's safe to say our whole church family grieves with the Bowen family and Nan as they prepare to say their goodbyes tomorrow.

The next day we found out that one of our neighbors had also passed away. Over the years he had been a tremendous help to Bobby. He was a mechanic and has his own shop behind his house. Before cars became so computerized, he did an incredible job of keeping Bobby's van running. Our prayers are with the Walls family, especially Betty Lou as she adjusts to life without her husband.

The next day we found out the wife of one WCA's earliest board members passed away. I never met her, but Bobby knew the family well. The Trumans owned a saw mill, and they would let you purchase a small truck load of mulch for a very cheap price.

My sister-in-law Amie lost a cousin this week. He was missing for several days before they found him.

And this is the week that the world will remember that Queen Elizabeth died. As much as I know her country and family grieves for her, her death does not have the same impact on me. My life and the life of those around me doesn't know change at all with the death of this very dedicated and important person. The older I get, the more I am reminded that I do not have to be important or well connected to make a difference in my world. Don't get me wrong, I watched the first memorial service for her and have watched some of the historical proceedings, but it's not with the same heart of prayer and concern that I have for the families mentioned above. I'm so thankful that our God is a god of comfort.

Summer Review

 I still can't believe we are already into September.  So what happened from my May post through now?

• We had a small garden. I canned 3 batches of tomatoes.
• Put up several pints of spiced apples (sugar free). Still have 1/2 a bucket to go.
  
• Made batch 1 of 2 of grape jelly. I might not pick any more.
• We've had three different hens hatch out biddies, and one more that wants to but we're not letting her.
• We put burlap around the pecan trees in hopes of stopping the worms from getting to the nuts. It's supposed to take 3-4 years of wrapping & spraying before they're gone.
• Spent 3 mornings fishing with Bobby's great-nephews.
• Worked a summer election, called a 2nd primary (essentially a run-off) and helped with the hand-eye count afterwards.
• We purchased a new van.
• New van went back to the shop the 2nd week we had it and we still do not have it back. It is now at the Chrysler dealership as the problem is not the lift or adaptive equipment. The company will "rent" us a van free of charge to go to Alabama in October if ours is not ready by then.
• I was rear-ended and only went to get it evaluated because my husband insisted. Found out there is a possibility they will total it if the frame is damaged as they fear. I like my car. I hope the end of next week I get a call saying it is fixable. (It goes in the shop a week from today.)
• My sister-in-law had someone back into her (while she was parked at the gym). She gets her car repaired the same time.
• My niece had someone t-bone her van and hers is an ongoing mess. Turns out the family doesn't have any insurance at all.
• The board and committee chairs for the quilt guild has met twice and we are running full steam ahead for our new guild year which kicks off two weeks from today. I am the program chair once again (my last year) and only have one more slot to fill for the year. Still need to create a contract and get those emailed out to speakers.
• Bobby had a routine colonoscopy and we have now followed up with genetic testing. We should get the results in another week. Neither of us expect them to find anything, but if they do, then his doctor wants us to consider a surgery. We both think that is excessively extreme for benign polyps.
• Bobby's annual urology visit did not go as expected. We were fully expecting to hear "Everything looks good. See you next year Bryans."  Instead we now have a visit with a specialist at UNC Chapel Hill to see what options are available for an x-large kidney stone in a bad spot. Since that stone was not on the scans a year ago, and he has had a previous sepsis infection from kidney stones, we mistakenly thought we'd have already had an appt by now. (We got the news the end of July.)  Our appointment is for the first week of November...right in the middle of early voting.
• In June I went to Sand Dollar Island with a friend from church for a day. I enjoyed it, even if the ferry ride and the island wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I think I might try and go again the end of November or the first of March when everything hasn't been so picked over.

 

And that is everything I can think of off the top of my head. It's been a long day, and tomorrow will be busy as well. Happy September everyone.