That Deck Is Still Not Done

I love flowers. I have to tell you, I love them a lot. So among the mess on our back deck there is still beauty to behold .... Yes, I planted these, but God made them to grow.

Thank you God for caring so much about us that you allow us to enjoy the beauty of your creation.

But there is still beauty on our back deck.

Some of the carpentry work was not perfect, so Ken made them rip it up and do it again. Oh Dear!

The side deck is disappearing but there will be a new one soon.

We put the bromeliad out on the back deck and it bloomed this year. It makes us long for Hawaii. That is where we first saw these blooming in the Rain Forrest. I feel ready to take off right now. ....... Oh, did someone say that now that we are investing in home improvements, I have to stay here and work?

So there you have it, instead of a trip to Hawaii this year, we get a deck. So I will sit on my deck and close my eyes and dream of the vivid blue ocean, the soft warm breezes, I hear the birds chirping, the waves gently splashing as the tide comes in and goes out. Hawaii is wonderful on my restored new deck.

Yes, We Are Having the Redwood Deck Repaired

I had asked if anyone wanted to guess what was about to happen at our house.





OK, I get it, no one is really into guessing games right now so I will tell you anyway. Some of those wonderful redwood boards from back in the 70's have given up the ghost. And since I'm told we can not mix and match, we are replacing all of them with treated pine. Redwood is less available and very expensive so it is time to say goodbye.


Then once the deck boards were pulled up, there is a lot more work and expense than we dreamed. The clock is ticking and the cash register is pinging $$$$$ at Lowes as we go back for more supplies. Oh well, we don't want anyone tripping and falling on our deck.
Anybody want any of the good redwood boards for small projects? Some of them are still in fine condition.









A good thing happened. They were able to level our hot tub. The block it was sitting on had begun to settle and there was a two inch difference in how it set. Now it is level again.


Even though the deck is not finished, we can get in the hot tub again. Love it!


Anyone want to guess what is about to happen at our house

This is our initial purchase of wood supplies. Later we learned it needed to be doubled. Eeeeekkk.

Millie's Tribute

It's been two or three years now when Ken and I were visiting all our brothers and sisters. At Bill and Millie's home as we were leaving, we commented on how pretty the flowers were in Millie's front flower bed. Millie explained they were Mexican Petunias and they would take over a garden if you allowed.
Later, in the fall, we received in the mail from Millie a package wrapped in a heavy tube with wet newspapers around the inside and in a glass-like container. It was a start of Millie's Mexican Petunias. During the winter, I put them in a pot of soil inside the house and in the spring I set mine out in the front corner of my flowerbed just like Millie had hers. Each year they have spread a little more (though they have not yet taken over.)
Some of the plants are now as tall as me and stand erect and proud. Each morning there are a few blossoms and when the sun gets hot the flower falls off and the next morning there are more new blossoms. I have them in front of my elephant ears which also try to take over and grow as big as a baby elephant. (You will also see in the corner of this picture that Ken is starting his own Banana Grove. He started with one and kept it in the garage during the winter. Now he has four Banana Trees.)
I think the Mexican Petunia reminds me of the victorious child of God. We are renewed every morning, always growing, we are survivors. When life gets tough and we are bruised or knocked about, we bounce back. The beauty of God's wonder shines brightly in our faces as we share and reveal the love of Christ. We are winners, victorious and we continue to grow and spread God beauty with each passing year.
I'm not sure, some may call the Mexican Petunia a weed but to me, it is another testimony of our loving heavenly Father.

Fun, What Is It?

Fun: pleasure and amusement//gaiety, playfulness.

I was pondering about what fun means to different people. The thoughts were triggered this past weekend when we went to Branson and Silver Dollar City with some of our kids. Ken and I are now in our seventies. Ken has a bum knee which hurts all the time and his foot was cramping. I've got a stubborn heel which needs to heal. Then this weekend my right hip was not happy.

So, in 90 degree weather climbing up and down the hills of Silver Dollar City and experiencing the emotion of pleasure is worth pondering. Grant it, we were sitting down every chance we got to watch others do what they consider having fun.

When one is young, fun, often is when someone gives you something. You don't have to need it, you just want it and it gives temporary pleasure.....or even momentary pleasure. Then the standard aftermath is boredom.

By the teen years, fun can be the daring things you have and do with your peers.

When you're a parent, fun is watching your little ones display happiness. Of course, it can be many other things as well.

But when you are old, fun becomes the act of watching others have fun. But it is more than that. It is reminiscing on memories of the good ole days .... the expensive toys such as an antique car ... eating the foods you would never dare eat at home because you know they are not healthy. And fun is just being around those you love. Fun is about enjoying God's creation ... His beauty ... His love .... His peace. Those are the attributes that produce gaiety and we certainly had a wonderful weekend being playful and having fun filled with amusement. So a hot weekend in Branson is Fun!

Ever Had a Helicopter Land In Your Back Yard?

Well, believe me, they are very loud and stir up a lost of dust on a hot Oklahoma Morning.

Ken was on the back deck after a calm morning in the hot tub.

I was suppose to be there but I accidentally went back to sleep. So I was rushing to leave for an interpreting assignment at 7:50 this morning.

Ken said he had felt a strong urge to pray.....about what, he did not know but he prayed. He said within five minutes the police were there blocking off the street.

Neither one of us heard the crash, even though we have heard

the crash on that corner a number of times over the years.

And then here it came .... a helicopter lowering in what seemed our back yard. Actually, it landed in the street at our back yard. Life support was there and a young man was loaded into the helicopter and flown away. We stood there and prayed for whoever was hurt. I don't know if we will ever know who or what but it happened at our back door and we prayed.

Here is the helicopter at lift off taken from our upper deck.

There was a young man inside.

If you click on the take off picture to enlarge it, you can see that the web worms are alive and well in Oklahoma this summer. I have always hated web worms.

The bottom two photos I took with the little Fuji and Ken took the other shots from our deck. God bless America and have mercy on us .... may we ever have the freedom to fly our flag.