Life Lessons From the Window Seat

S is for Seven. After today that's how many letters remain in the April A-Z Blog Challenge. It's been fun and it's been a challenge. Blogging with a houseful of people requires a bit of finagling. Onward...

S is for Sunrise 

'the apparent rising of the sun above the horizon; 

also: the accompanying atmospheric effects'

If you've been reading here for a while then you know I have a small obsession with the sunrise. We have prime viewing out of any window on the backside of our house, but my favorite place to watch it happen is from the upper deck. 

And I like to snap a photo while I'm there. 

Or ten photos. 

Or possibly 365. 

Hubs teases and asks me why I take the same picture every morning but I assure him I do not. One sunrise is not like any other and my pictures are the proof. 

Recently Joanne (Slices of Life) shared some of her favorite sunrises and sunsets and it got me thinking about why it is I'm so drawn to the early morning skies. Why all the sunrises? And why now? 

One of the reasons I'm more tuned in to the sunrise in this house is because it's hard to miss. I step quietly out of my bedroom in the early hours of the morning and there it is. Sometimes soft and dreamy brushstrokes in a pastel painted sky...

...sometimes awash with all the colors of the rainbow. 

It can, quite literally, take my breath away. There are things about the sunrise that speak to me in this season that feel almost sacred. 

The sunrise tells me it's a new day, with no mistakes in it yet. A fresh start. Blank slate. No regrets. 

The sunrise fills me with hope. Anything is possible at the start of a brand new day. 

The sunrise says slow down. Breathe. Be present. 

It also tells me time moves fast. If you're not paying attention you'll miss it. Life is like that too. 

The sun rising fills me with awe for the One who made it, for the staggering beauty of this world, and the power so evident in nature.

 

The sunrise reminds me of the value of stillness and quiet, things I'm always looking for in this too noisy world.

The sunrise reminds me of the faithfulness of God. Every single day the sun rises. He never fails. 

My favorite verse, which is in my blog header but worth posting twice...

'The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; 

they are new every morning." Lamentations 3:22-23

A Post-Holiday Hello Monday

Hello friends and happy Monday. 

I'm joining Holly and Sarah for a post-holiday weekend reap today. I took so many pictures of the beautiful sky this weekend I might just post them all. 

I have a hair appointment this morning which is going to throw off my entire day, but I had to take what was available. I had to cancel my normal appointment in order to go to my daughter's house a couple of weeks ago, so I'm overdue and my stylist is fitting me in today. Do you have to book your hair appointments three at a time in order to be sure you get on the calendar, because that's what I have to do?

So how was your holiday weekend? Ours was really fun with a lot of time spent in the water because it was HOT!

Hubs brother and sister-in-law arrived on Wednesday afternoon on their way home from the beach. They brought four pounds of fresh shrimp with them, which we promptly deveined and cooked to have with our dinner. 

They lived in the Chicago area three different times and know their Portillo beef, so they also treated us to dinner Wednesday night by sending a 'to go' order to the southland. If you're a Chicagoan then I don't have to explain, but for those who are not here's the 411-

Portillos beef is a slow-roasted, thinly sliced, beef served on baked Turano French bread. The bread is key. The standard way to serve the sandwich is to put the beef on the roll, splash it with some of their secretly-spiced gravy and then have a cup of gravy on the side for dipping. It's even better topped with their oven-roasted sweet peppers and the hot giardiniera peppers which we love. 

My neighbors joined us because they also have Chicago ties and I wish I'd taken a picture but it's a bit of a production getting it all put together. I'd made a cucumber salad and we all sat around our outdoor table and it was a low-key fun way to kick off the holiday weekend.

We woke up on Independence Day and had coffee on the deck, then spent most of the rest of the day in the lake. It was HOT! but the water temp was perfect. 

For our July 4th dinner hubs grilled ribs to perfection and I made baked beans, cole slaw, and a roasted corn salad, plus there was  more shrimp. 

I made a frozen strawberry pie for dessert, which doesn't actually contain any strawberries, but does have a strawberry topping so I guess the name fits?  I made the Alex Guarnaschelli's recipe linked here.

It does contain mashed raspberries which are what give it the pretty pink color, and the pie is really light and tasty. Also refreshing, which was the name of the game this weekend.

It was HOT!! 

My across the cove neighbor does a ginormous fireworks show and boats start coming to our cove and to the water just outside our cove about an hour before. A neighbor asked if they could tie up to our dock and we said sure and they asked if they could bring a few people as they had friends at their house, and we said sure and y'all!!!

They floated over on a boat filled with 28 people and a few more in a car and it was ka-razy! 

Fun for sure, but also ka-razy!

Kids peeled off that boat and scattered like ants. Adults too! 

God bless America! 

The fireworks display was its usual fabulous happening which we all enjoyed, and then one of the adults who had come by car (and who we did not know) announced she had dropped her keys in the lake. 

Ruh-roh. 

Their car was parked at the top of our driveway, and there it sat until 4 PM the next day. It would have been moved earlier except her brother who arrived from an hour away brought the wrong key so...

All's well that ends well, right? Lol!

We had nowhere to be on Friday except the lake so it was just a funny thing to us. Maybe not so much to the person who dropped the keys, but we spent the day boating and swimming. Late afternoon the most delightful storm rolled in and we sat on the screened porch listening to it roar, feeling the humidity drop to an acceptably breathable level.

I love a storm on the lake, so long as we're all tucked safely indoors. 

Hubs grilled steaks for dinner and afterwards we sat on the deck and watched the sun make a perfectly pink exit. 

Family left Saturday morning, then hubs had some real estate-ing to do for a fair chunk of the day. I put the house mostly back in order, did five loads of laundry, cleaned out the frig, and took care of some paperwork that needed taking care of. 

We have a busy week filled with meetings and appointments and readying the house and the pantry for a big wave of family who will begin arriving this coming weekend. We can't wait to have all the grands here!! 

We also know we need to eat our Wheaties, fill our frig and our sleep tanks to overflowing, and get our steps in so we're in tip top form to keep up with the under six set. No grass grows under their feet when they're here and we gotta keep up!  

Hope your holiday weekend was grand! 

Five On Friday

Actually I have seven not all that important things to share but Seven On Friday isn't a thing in the blog world and Five on Friday is. Quite often you have to use your imagination here. 

1. It's been a really rainy day here and we've taken advantage of the 'at home' time to get a few things done that needed doing. We've been gone more than we've been home these past two months and it feels good to slow down (ish) and catch our breath before the holidays roll in.  

2-I'm so excited to have my whole crew here for Christmas this year and we got the very first bit of decorating done today. I don't put my Snow Village out every year because the set up/take down is a bit tedious, but I know the grands will love it so up it went. 

I love it too. Takes me back to Christmases at my momma's as some of these buildings used to be hers. 

We won't put up any trees until after Thanksgiving, but I'm doing bits and pieces starting now to get  ready for the holidays. I've got my card sorted, stockings ordered for the two newest littles, and a few gifts bought. Baby steps. 

3. Last weekend daughter2 and her hubs and the cutest little boy in the world spent the weekend at a college reunion in Charleston. 

We were on their route home Sunday so they stopped for an overnight visit. We loved the unexpected snuggles with this munchkin. 

I could eat him up with a spoon. We Facetimed with the cousins and I cannot wait to have all four grands in the same house at the same time. 

42 days, not that I'm counting. 

4-We started watching the new season of The Crown and I have to say I'm not loving it as much as I enjoyed the previous seasons. I think the Diana storyline is still too fresh, and it feels strange to see the current royals in the news, then watch them fictionalized on tv. I bet it feels strange to them too. 

5-I loved the Amor Towles novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, and I saw this week it's being made into a Showtime movie starring Ewan McGregor. I'm excited.

6-This was the entrance to our neighborhood just a few days ago-

I'm sure all this rain will mean the end of the gorgeous color but we have really soaked it up these past several weeks. We've had beautiful moonlit nights too and while I love summer, it's the autumn skies that are my favorite. 

7-Heading to a little neighborhood Veteran's Day recognition ceremony this evening. My heart is so tender towards all who serve and towards their families too. I grew up in a military family and am not sure I truly appreciated the load my mother so often carried in my father's absences due to wars and other responsibilities relating to his service. 

And now I have a son-in-law in the Army and their various postings have once again given me the chance to spend time around the military community. These men and women and their families give so much that goes mostly unrecognized and is very often under appreciated  I'm glad we have this day to acknowledge all those who have served. 

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation 

is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John F. Kennedy

Sisterhood Of The Traveling Hodgepodge

Welcome to another week in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. 

fyi-there won't be a Hodgepodge next week (Aug 10) because I have a few too many things happening and somethin's gotta give. The Hodgepodge will return the following week (Aug 17). Thanks for understanding! 

Now, here we go-

1. Do you have a sister? Tell us something about her. If you don't have a sister, tell us about a friend who has been like a sister. Or tell us about a sister-in-law if you have one who is extra special. 

I have two sisters whom I adore. Can't imagine life without them. And I have four sisters-in-law who are all pretty special too. Oh and I've birthed sisters who have been the bestest of friends from Day 1, which makes me so happy, and in conclusion let me just say sisters are my favorite. 

As far as telling you something about my sisters, well...we are a part of each others hearts. We laugh, cry, sing, fight, forgive, share, and  remember. I can tell my sisters anything and they are always on my side even when I might be wrong. Ha! They may try to get me to see another side of things, but they are on my side from the start and that counts for a lot. 

I'm pretty sure my girls discuss me with one another, which is just one more great thing about having a sister. Moms can be a lot sometimes and it's nice to have a sister to vent with and laugh with and remember how much you both love your mom. 

2. Resister, assister, insister, persister...choose one and explain how it relates to you and your life lately. 

I guess all of these could be applied to me in some form or fashion. Much as I hate to admit it I'm a bit of a resister when it comes to trying anything new. I almost always end up being talked into the fun, but I like to dig my heels in first and make you work for it. Hubs is nodding his head. 

I'm extremely determined so will persist, sometimes longer than I should. And I'm a helper so happy to assist in whatever way assisting is needed. I volunteer in a local soup kitchen most Thursdays so assist is probably the one that fits best at the moment. 

3. Share a favorite song, book, movie, or television program that features sisters.

Song-Sisters, Sisters as performed in White Christmas. My girls loved to copy that act when they were small and it was too cute for words.

Book-The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Movie- The Parent Trap, both the original and the remake with Lindsay Lohan

No tv shows are coming to mind. 

4. August 3rd is national watermelon day...are you a fan? Do you like watermelon flavored candy? Besides eating the melon as is, do you have a good recipe made with watermelon? 

I am a huge fan of watermelon. Watermelon candy not so much, but actual watermelon is one of my favorite foods. I don't do a lot with it besides eating as is, but I saw this recipe the other day and want to try it.  (Chile-Coconut Watermelon crudo) Sounds like a lot of steps for what it is, but I'm super curious about the taste. 

Also, hubs makes a watermelon smash cocktail that is a bit of trouble, but really delicious. 

5. 'Tis August...what are three things you're looking forward to this month? 

A few days at the beach with Daughter1 and her family, a women's retreat in the NC mountains with some current and also soon-to-be friends from church, and a wedding in one of the prettiest places I know.

Actually called 'Pretty Place' and the name fits. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Cotton candy summer evening sky...

Also makes for a 'pretty place'. 

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Musings Of The Random Sort

Or you can call it a phone dump if you want. 

Periodically I jot notes to myself in the note section of my phone, things I might want to mention on my blog. And sometimes I read the notes back and think hmmm??? What in the world is this shorthand code for and why did I put it here? 

Remember Thanksgiving? I never mentioned ours here and this blog is a journal of sorts so I'm going to mention it now. 

After the fact, but that's okay because it's 2020 and time is blurry. 

My mother-in-law spent the week with us, has been back home for one solid week, and I still haven't finished the puzzle we started while she was here. This is one of those puzzles where every piece fits in forty different places, or at least seems to. 

We discovered about halfway through that each piece was lettered on the back so all the A's go in the A section, all the B's in the B section etc., and you can tell by looking at the back if you have them put together correctly.  My m-i-l tried working some of it from the backside and I told her she was cheating but y'all, since she left I've discovered we have about half of the pieces in the wrong spot (including some of the outline!) so now I'm cheating a little too. 

In other Thanksgiving week news, there was a boat ride on a blue sky sunshiny day.  

And thoughtful neighbors who give you sourdough starter and their go-to recipe. It was delicious even though I forgot to set the timer and had to make my best guess as to it's doneness. 

Honestly it needed another five minutes, but that didn't stop us from slathering the warm loaf with butter and later enjoying a sandwich. 

For the record, I did not murder the starter but have decided not to keep mine going right now. I don't have the time or the pre-wedding waistline for it and my neighbor says she'll happily share more later. I can try again in 2021.  

2021. We have heaped a whole lot of expectation on to the coming year, haven't we? I feel like everyone is hanging on by their fingernails with their eyes on a new year that will be filled once more with beloved old routines. I hate to say it, but that might be overly optimistic. The calendar page will turn to 2021, but it looks like we're going to be stuck in 2020 a while longer. 

Which is one reason I'm thankful the gift of Christmas lands where it does. 
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep....

Have you heard about the Christmas star set to appear on Dec 21st just as Saturn and Jupiter align? It's been almost 800 yeas since they appeared visibly this close to one another, a phenomenon known as conjunction (two objects in space appearing to be close to one another as seen from Earth). 

Look at me sounding all Bill Nye the science guy here-ha! 

But seriously, is this 'star' what the wisemen saw? Some people think what they saw was a triple conjunction-Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus but no matter, the heavens some 2000 years later are still a beautiful reminder of our great God, Master Designer of the Universe. The One who holds it all in His hands. 

2020 could use a little reminding. 

I feel like 2021 might need some too.