A Little of This....and a Little of That

Some "this"....Willie came in the other day carrying what was left of my dill plant.....and believe me, there wasn't much left...but there were a couple of these little suckers devouring what WAS left..

...so no more dill for this summer!  Thank goodness my parsley and basil are still producing....I do like me some fresh herbs.

Now for some "that"....last Thursday night we followed directions (VERY well I might add...could be 'cause they were excellent directions) to southern Chesapeake and a visit with friends from years gone by (oh, how that hurts to say that....makes us sound soooooo old).  Carol and Carl Burroughs

invited us to join them for dinner at their home....can I just say, "YUM, YUM"?  Oh, yeah....it was definitely that, and when she brought out the pecan pie....well, it was so much more!   It was a great time of reconnecting and fellowship....and sharing stories of life.  Isn't it wonderful to know that no matter how many years go by, the love of our God keeps us as family?  Thanks, guys, for a wonderful evening....and we look forward to a repeat in OUR humble abode!

And some more "that"...Friday was warm....okay, it was hot...but not as hot as Saturday and Sunday!  This area tied the all-time record for high temps two days in a row....105!  And on Sunday afternoon the thermometer OUTSIDE our motorhome registered a whopping

....in the shade, no less!  Whew.....and the temps INside the motorhome were close to 90!  (Yes, the motorhome AC is working, but there is no shade where we are, and our motorhome is NOT designed to deal with this extreme temp on an extended basis.) So we decided it was time for a drive in the airconditioned confines of our car.  I had just read that the lotus' were starting to bloom out in Sandbridge, so we made our way there....and I just HAD to get out of the car to take some pictures.  Yes, even in the heat....after all, a lotus pond....I couldn't resist. 

But I think what I enjoyed most....it's gotta' be the dragonflies!  If you look closely, you can spot one in the above picture....left hand side, a little above halfway.  See it?  If not, here it is....up close...

...love the striped pattern on the wings.  One really cool thing about dragonflies is the variety of colors and patterns...

...wings of gossamer....

...and wings of blue.  But I have to admit....this guy with the tiger-stripe wings was my favorite of the day.

Isn't it amazing the variety and intricacies of creation that God has created for our enjoyment and entrusted to our care?

 BTW - It cooled down considerably yesterday...by 20 degrees...and we thank you for it, Lord!

Challenges.....

When we sold our house nine years ago and put all of our earthly possessions (other than those that found homes in our RV) into a 5x5 storage space, I don't think that either of us thought that we would be paying on that same storage space for that long.  Willie regularly reminds me how much money we have "sunk" into monthly fees.  He's right, of course, but how do you put a price tag on things like my mom's silver or some of my dad's books from his ministry or on items that Willie's dad brought back from WWII?  Hmmmm....makes it a little harder, doesn't it? 

Well, we know that at some point in the not-too-distant future we are going to be looking for a "home" - or a stick house, as some of us full-timer's like to call it.  So.....we thought it was about time that we started going through some of that "stuff" we have stored.  Only problem is....over the last nine years, we have continued to add to the collection of  "stuff"...and now it looks like this!

Scary, huh?  Very, very scary!

Well, after three hours of sorting, reboxing, re-stacking and throwing away on Monday, it does look better.   But I'm not quite ready to show it to you yet...'cause, as our time started running out, we started just stuffing some things back in!  Will we ever learn?  I do promise you, tho', by the time we head out later this summer, that it will look considerably more organized and a lot less chaotic.  Til then....well, you'll just have to take my word for it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAILA!

Today is our granddaughter Kaila's sixth birthday....wow, time really DOES fly!  I remember being in the room when she arrived into the world...such a little thing....and look at her now!  

...and look at that concentration!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAILA....

we love and miss you!

Look to the sky!

When I saw these clouds, I had one of those "Awwwww...." moments, but when I looked at them on the computer today...well, the thought came to mind...."Look to the skies....He's coming soon!"

I'm so glad that not only do I have a "now" relationship with the One who created the beauty of our world that gives me lots of those "Awwwwww...." type moments, but I have the promise of an eternal future!  WOW!!

THE REST OF THE STORY.....

And now for the rest of the story...or rather...pictures...from our day at Busch Gardens.

The Griffin.....newest roller coaster....

....and Matt, Jenn and Willie on the front row of the Griffin...

Here are some odds 'n' ends, and yes, there are some shots of flowers.  Did you expect anything less?!

Thanks, Busch Gardens, for a great place to visit...

.....so long 'til next time!

Birthday Celebration!

Friday, July 9th, was Brandon's 6th birthday, and along with his mom, Matt, Mimi and Papa, he experienced his first amusement park, Busch Gardens, in Williamsburg in celebration!  

He rode a "real" roller coaster, the Loch Ness, and survived...actually, he came off smiling, but said he wasn't ready to get on it again any time soon!

See, that yellow coaster with the loop?  Well, THAT's the Loch Ness....way to go, Brandon!!!  Later in the day we headed over to the Forest of Fun,

 and Brandon rode the coaster there....all by himself.

(He's in the fourth car from the back for those of you that don't have eagle eyes!)

He rode several of the other rides...

...but I think he looks more interested in the cute little girl in front of him than the ride! 

Even though we dodged the rain on several occasions, it was still a great day....and it was so neat to watch Brandon enjoy himself....and to watch him interact with Matt and Willie...

Guess reading maps begins early....

It was a very happy Happy Birthday kind of day!  Thanks for sharing your birthday celebration with us, Brandon!

(I did take more pictures of our day, and will post those later.)

Another week......

IT'S BACK!!!   

 

And this time, the Beast actually had some work done on it, thanks to Cummins in Chesapeake, VA.....what a great bunch of people they were to work with.   We took the motorhome in on Monday, with the premise that it would probably be done on Tuesday.  Well, Tuesday came, and no, it wasn't done.  It almost felt like deja vu, especially since we didn't get it back until Thursday.  Don't you just love it, tho', when a business or individual admits that THEY made a mistake, and then not only makes it right, but cuts you a deal in the process for your "inconvenience"?  Well, that's what happened!  We will certainly use them again if we need that type of work when we are in this area and will definitely recommend them to others.  That particular chapter of the motorhome saga is now complete.  Now on to replacing the seal for the front roof-top air conditioner (Willie and assistant work) and then getting the compressor for the dashboard air conditioner installed and making sure that that particular cooling system is "up and running".  Okay.....enough of the technical talk....it's on to more fun things now that the necessary things are getting taken care of!

Friday afternoon we had lunch with Ashley and Gloria Taylor, fellow volunteers (they are with MMAP and worked with us at Shocco in February) who are from NC.  

It was soooo good to see them and spend time laughing and sharing, and we look forward to making a day trip to visit them "out in the country", as they say.....Gatesville, NC here we come!

Then on Saturday we left fairly early to head up to King William County (northeast of Richmond) to visit with SOWER friends, Emmett and JoAnn White.

We had worked a couple of projects with Emmett and JoAnn, and are looking forward to working with them again later this fall.  But in the meantime, we sure did enjoy our day with them, including lunch at Subway (yum, yum.....thanks, guys).  Then we were treated to a tour of the sights of the county, including two Indian reservations (Mattaponni and Pamunkey), and a model settlement, where I had fun taking pictures...

I know, I know sometimes I take strange, weird interesting pictures!

To top it all off, JoAnn fixed a delicious supper which we enjoyed on their screened-in porch (Willie and I have decided that we HAVE to have one of those).  Oh, and her squash and onions were beyond scrumptious!  All in all, a wonderfully relaxing day with good friends....only problem was, my tummy was a little too "satisfied"...but it was worth it!