Missing

When your kids get to be teenagers, they start to get “a mind of their own”!  Erin baked this pretty pumpkin cake to take because of a funeral!  She went to bed with a beautifully baked cake and awoke to a slice missing!  I chuckled but I know Erin did not!

 

Shot 1 Shot 2

Got my Covid and flu vaccines today. Whoop whoop.

This morning when I walked this is how Galla Lake looked.  I thought it was all lovely.  This is my second week of exercise class.  It’s at 10 each morning and lasts an hour.  Similar to silver sneakers but just a local program.  Today was weights.  I needed that.  My muscles have weakened.  Tuesday is balance and Wednesday is cardio.  Thursday is dance class.  I’m not much of a dancer but I may try dance.  I still walk each morning.  Laura thought I needed this and paid for it so I want to make the most of it.  It’s close to my home too—3 miles.  I used 6 pound weights today.  It’s harder than it sounds.

Ada is going to come home with me Saturday and stay until Monday. Laura and I are going to check on Sister Fleta and fix Larry a fresh bouquet.  Then we’ll go by Erin’s.  I have gifts for Greta.  She will soon be 14.  Laura got my gifts for me.  Greta wanted clothes for cooler weather.  Ada made this picture at school.  I see a ghost and fall leaves.  Acorns falling.  I like it.  

 

Charlie Hustle

Got this  book at my favorite Pope County Library!  I grew listening to baseball on the radio with my Dad Cotton Powell.  He was a Cardinals fan, but Pete was an opponent!  Charlie Hustle was born on the wrong side of Cincinnati with baseball and gambling both running in his blood!  ⚾️🏟️⚾️

Ever read a book and wish you hadn’t.  Pete Rose still holds the record of MLB's all-time leader in hits (4,256).  He played in 3,562 games. He won three World Series championships, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Glove Awards, and the Rookie of the Year Award.  He was not a man of character.

Princess

My princess wore her crown to church today!  She’s a child of the King🫶🏻

 

Flowers for Richard

Barbara and her girls put new flowers on Richard’s stone for his birthday.  He passed so young.  He was a farmer.  The dust from the chicken houses caused him to develop emphysema.

Laura and I are taking new flowers for Larry’s vase next Saturday.

My father did not believe in decorating graves, but Momma did.  After he passed, she wanted flowers on his grave.  Richard thought it was important too.  I’m a middle roader. I see both views.  

 

Mount Petite Jean

Today Laura and I went to the top of Petite Jean Mt. and met Ingrid.  The coffee here was really good.  But the best part was seeing Ingrid.  She’s loving her job with the heart doctor.  Justin has a new job at McCarty Nissan selling cars. He works Saturday.  I’m hoping once a month we can meet Ingrid and visit.

In the 1700s, a young French girl named Adrienne disguised herself as a cabin boy named Jean in order to follow her beloved to the New World. Because of her small size, the other sailors nicknamed her “Petit Jean,” French for “Little John.” At some point after arriving in Arkansas, Petit Jean became ill, although the exact nature of her illness remains unclear. One source implies that she contracted swamp fever while nursing her lover back to health from that disease; another lists symptoms—“fever, convulsions, delirium, and finally coma”—but only says that her malady was “strange to Chavet and his sailors.” Whatever her illness might have been, her identity was revealed. Unfortunately, she succumbed to the illness, died, and was subsequently buried atop the mountain now called Petit Jean.

 

Keeping Busy

I’ve been busy!  Everything is dead outside so I have to find projects indoors!  I made these for my Grandgirls to give to friends of theirs who are expecting a blessing💙

 

Animal Farm

Astrid and Logan had someone come and take pictures of them and some of their menagerie.  She couldn’t get the donkeys to cooperate.  My favorite is the one above as Logan is clutching a chicken. Astrid loves animals and Logan loves Asti 💛 The purpose is their Christmas greeting!

Skylark

 

Fleta’s out of surgery and Helen said it went well.  She’ll call me later with more.  I had nervous energy so I cleaned my stove.  Helen said, “ oh, scrub the floor now”, but I made me a cup of coffee instead.

My friend Kay and I take turns treating each other to a meal out.  One month she picks and treats and the next, my turn.  I picked Skylark Cafe at Leslie, AR.  She’d never tried it, but it sure made her want to eat there again.  Dessert is their specialty.  We each had cheesecake.  Kay’s was called Mardi Gras Cheesecake.  Skylark Cafe is a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5 star eatery.

New Path

 Yesterday Helen took Fleta back for a checkup on her leg. Sister’s fibula has slipped apart.  Surgery Thursday and she’ll have a plate and screws.  She had planned to return to work today, but now she’ll be off 6 weeks or longer.  Sister is a tough old bird.  We’re hoping for the best outcome.

Holy, Holy

My friend Kay Lou loans me books.  Saw her yesterday and she showed me her new book.  I begged to read it first!  Being like a sister, she relented.  Wow, a history of the “Word”.

Bible is Greek for books—plural!  The Bible one reads depends on what books your belief accepts.  The first books were written on scrolls.  Most were on parchment, with the exception of a few written on papyrus. The scrolls survived as pieces- only a handful were found intact. Nevertheless, scholars have managed to reconstruct from fragments approximately 950 different “books”. 

The King James Bible is most widely-known edition of the Bible. It was printed in 1611, this edition of the Bible was commissioned in 1604 by King James I, but only after feeling pressure from Puritans and Calvinists.  James called a conference at Hampton Court Palace, during which it was suggested there should be a new translation of the Bible.  Early versions commissioned by earlier monarchs were felt to be corrupt.

King James eventually agreed and decreed the new translation should speak in contemporary language, using common, recognizable terms. James’ purpose was to unite the warring religious factions through a uniform holy text.

This version of the Bible was not altered for 250 years and is credited as one of the biggest influences on the English language. The King James Bible introduced a multitude of words and phrases now common in the English language, including “eye for an eye,” “bottomless pit,” “two-edged sword,” “God forbid,” “scapegoat” and “turned the world upside down”.

I have a need to know and learn.  I’m going to learn about ALL the versions of the Bible.  This  book is authored by Bruce Gordon of Yale Divinity School.  

 

Desert Life

 On my  morning walk, I pondered—is Arkansas turning into a desert?  Morning in 50’s, but by afternoon it’s above 90 degrees.

My family doesn’t own expensive heirlooms to pass down.  Laura passed these two keepsakes to Astrid.  The little dish was in her Grandparents Powell’s house hanging near the kitchen sink.  Larry’s mother,  created the cross-stitch especially for Laura. Pop made the cedar cross for Astrid.   Some of the most precious heirlooms are the stories passed down about our ancestors. They were just ordinary people, but extraordinary to me.