More miles on the car...

..only this time, it's my car.

July 17 was the Flute Player's 30th birthday.  It was the first year that she and her hubby were not able to come home in July, where we would have a birthday celebration a pinch early.  My Sweet Babbo was in Missouri for the Royal Ranger Camporama and I got a wild idea to go down for her birthday and surprise her.  But her birthday present was a bit outsized so it wasn't suitable for flying and, as my last adventure driving solo was not great, I threw it out there to The Princess and my DIL The Dancer.  Welp, The Princess, being a Disney Travel Agent, got us a deal on a Disney Value Resort room and we were off Wednesday afternoon, stopping overnight in Valdosta and arriving Thursday afternoon before the Big Day on Friday.  We did a bit of poking around in Disney Springs, but missed the complimentary water park admission due to afternoon storms.

We had Friday morning in Epcot, then were joined by The Actor and his Little Red Haired Girl for lunch whilst the birthday girl had her fave cheeseburger pods in Animal Kingdom, then came over to hang out...she thought...with her brother and sister in law.  Only we were there too.  I totally got caught in the moment and botched the video of her reaction, but we got a great photo of all of us just a wee bit later:

We hung out the rest of the day in the park, spent most of Saturday together,  left our resort on Sunday to hang with them at church and have lunch, wherein the large present was presented

It was a hit, as The Flute Player's favorite princess is Rapunzel.

Then we hit the road to sleep in Albany GA on Sunday night and come the rest of the way home on Monday.  It was a whirlwind weekend, and I am somewhat stunned to think that this time last week we were pulling into the hotel in Valdosta.  Time flies...

But, hopefully I will get enough back in a routine to dive back into the Heart study on Friday!

...And the Crazy Continues...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi.

I thought I would get in that last post from the Old Testament portion of  the heart study before we left town for a week and a half...but there was just too much work to do, on too many fronts, to do it justice.  We should get that this weekend, though.  Hopefully.

But I thought I'd throw in a post about where we went.  The Actor, aka Number 2 Son, had a birthday the day before Mother's Day, and we had a carload of household goods that came from the grandparents' house in Elkhart to take down to them, so we headed down for that weekend, then checked into Disney's Caribbean Beach resort for four nights before making the return trip.  The kids were blessed with a couple of days off of work to hang with us in Disney, so we got an almost family vacation out of it (Thanks Pastor John!).

I will say, those long hot days are getting harder the older I get...but we had a good time.  My feet almost feel normal at this point, lol.

The Essential Photo...the Actor's wife, the Little Red-Haired Girl, had to work.  Different boss.

I will share one thing that struck me whilst we were there...we had several character meet-and-greet moments, some because we stood in line and some because we got a couple of major discounts on character dining.  And after the last day, something that I had kind of been subconsciously stewing on finally bubbled up into actual coherent words.

Every one of those character interactions involved a character who behaved exactly as if we were the folks s/he had been waiting all day to see.  And I watched them treat the folks before and after us in line the same way.  I'm not sure how that training goes, but it was clear that is a major priority.  They noticed details...even with the limited visibility out of the, um, outfits they were wearing.   I had a celebration button ("I'm celebrating a data base migration!")  and every character pointed it out.  I have had characters notice those little pins on my lanyard before.  I tell you, it's one of the charms of visiting the kingdom of the mouse...it's a real esteem boost, even knowing that it's the job.  It *feels* real at the moment.

I need to study that approach.  I don't think I need to immediately embrace everyone I meet, but surely I can learn the art of making folks feel like I've been waiting all day to meet up with them.  

Everyone needs a bit of that from time to time.

It's been 45 years...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

On August 16, 1980, My Sweet Babboo and I said our vows,  exchanged the rings,  cut the cake, and then took off on the first adventure as Mr and Mrs.

After the trip, we settled in The Rocket City, about an hour and a half out of Chattanooga.  

And for the next 45 years, we kept saying we should go to Chattanooga and do the stuff.  So, last weekend being the anniversary of that trip down the aisle, we booked a hotel near downtown and did...a lot of the stuff, lol. 

We had three days;  Day 1 was the Aquarium

Two pavilions and a 3-D Imax theater.  And lots of walking, especially since we walked over to it.  Definitely worth it.

Saturday, we had tickets for an excursion train.  

Three hours at an average of about 13 MPH, lol, but gorgeous views along the Hiwassee and  Ocoee rivers, with a stop for lunch at  a split town...Copper Hill, TN/ McCaysville GA. Ate some fantastic brisket, did a bit of shopping,  then hopped back on the train for the return trip.  My Sweet Babboo is already looking for tickets to do it again in the fall...

Saturday was our anniversary, and I woke up with 'The Top of the World' by Karen Carpenter stuck in my head.  But it was appropriate; we took the incline railway up Lookout Mountain.  

On the top of the world, indeed....

We  walked down to the historical sites and watched the multi-media presentation about the battle of  Chattanooga; lots of interesting things to learn.  The railway is a great way to get up the mountain...but it's a bit awkward to walk to and from seats in the car, due to the slant of the floor.

We didn't manage to see Ruby Falls or Rock City; maybe another time, lol.  

It was a great weekend away...but I still don't know how 45 years have gone by so fast...

A Weekend Split...what I did, but more importantly, what My Sweet Babboo did...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi.

Last week, My Sweet Babboo and I headed to Florida...for different purposes.

He was an instructor for a Royal Ranger ministry conference, which was held at the Florida State Royal Ranger camp/ conference center near Fort Meade...which was about 15 minutes south of the apartment of The Flute Player and her Hubby The Jokester.  So I planned to ride down with him and stay with the kids whilst he did the Ranger conference.  He had to be there on Wednesday, to prepare for the conference that began Friday afternoon.  The Flute Player took Friday off of work, as both her hubby and her brother (they are all on staff at the same church) have every Friday off, and the Actor's wife just rearranged her work schedule to have Friday off.  The plan was to spend the day resort hopping up at Disney, which is about an hour from the kids.

HOWEVER,  The Flute Player and her hubby up and rented a house about halfway between the church and their apartment and began the moving process on Memorial Day weekend.  So my visit with them was a lot of boxing up things and cleaning.  We did get everything done by the deadline, and we got an evening of poking about Disney Spring and the Boardwalk area, which was fun...despite being exhausted, lol.

But I really wanted to talk about My Sweet Babboo's week...or really, about the Royal Ranger program.

It began in the 1960's as an Assembly of God ministry to boys, modeled after the Boy Scouts, with a much greater emphasis on faith and Bible content.  It has expanded now to churches outside of the denomination, given the issues that BSA have had of late.  But it's so much more than just a ministry to boys.  I have talked a bit about the auxiliary to Rangers, the Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship, in which men and boys research the 16th and 17th century American History and build a character based

My Sweet Babboo demonstrating leather craft at the FCF 2022 National Rendezvous

 on that era (My hubby's character is a Long Hunter).  They camp, do hand crafts, etc., in ways that are true to the period, as well as develop their outfit and accessories/ gear.

And all of that sounds just fine, but that is just the surface level.  At it's heart, it is a true men's ministry, and the guys who commit to it are providing community, camaraderie, encouragement, accountability and prayer support to one another.  They have a motto... 'Mentoring Future Men' to describe what they do in teaching and training boys...but the benefit they get from it is of a nature that's difficult to cultivate in these crazy times.  

And this weekend was a rich one for My Hubby.  He has taken the class before,  but this year he was an instructor, even though he hasn't officially quite finished the instructor training for this level.  This was a national conference, and they had 35 guys there from all over...half a dozen came from New Jersey, several came from Missouri, and of course there were those from the southeast part of the country.  The instructors had some teaching themselves, going into the weekend, and the experience of working with the guys who truly wanted to learn how to reach and teach young men made a deep impression on him.

I can't begin to express how proud I am of him for digging into this...or how glad I am he gets to do it.

Even though my experience last week was completely different, lol.

Weekend ...questing....

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

In the fall of 2020, we braved the pandemic to attend the 25th Anniversary Heart of David conference.  It was a real blessing in the midst of the crazy, but I really connected with the talk from one of the speakers, Stephen Roach, who had begun an arts collective called The Breath and the Clay.  who spoke of creativity and faith.  I participated in an online writer's conference sponsored by them later that fall; ultimately, I joined the collective myself, just for the prod to continue creating faith-based work.

This past weekend, The Breath and the Clay sponsored another writer's conference; the first in-person writer's conference since the pandemic.  My Sweet Babboo gave me his blessing, and, since there was still space available after we got back from our Florida trip, I signed up.  It was a small conference, with about 30 folks attending, including the presenters.  It was in a lodge up in the mountains of North Carolina...Moravian Falls, actually, if any of you are familiar with the history of that area.

The conference venue

I drove myself, so you know I REALLY wanted to go, but it was totally worth the trip.  I left with a question I wanted to get answered...am I really a writer, or am I just someone who noodles around with writing?

I printed out a good bit of my writing...a lot of which I have published either on Beer Lahai Roi or my sewing blog, Sew Random, over the years.  Two things struck me as I was pulling the lot together...1) Most of my writing is derivative; it starts with something else, like a Bible story or a fairy tale or some other well-known (or not so well-known) source; and, 2) Most of it was really old.  Like, 10 - 20 years old.  Now, I have been blogging away and writing here and there...like getting the curriculum for my beginning Bible study class recorded...but the actual fever to sit down and write a piece hasn't hit me in a while.  I had attributed it to the fact that pretty much none of my writing has found an audience (not that I don't love you, my few and faithful readers, but there really aren't' very many of you, lol).  I kinda thought that, if I was a Real Writer (TM), I would have some...outlet...for it by now, other than the seeds sown at random on the blogs.  I had a long talk with myself over the whole thing and resolved that, if it did indeed prove out that I had the chops to write...maybe not spectacularly, but solidly, I would put more effort into doing it.

The whole weekend was amazingly affirming.  I left feeling like, yes, I AM a Real Writer...even if I don't have a lot of Real Readers.  And I realized my number one weakness is a lack of discipline.  Not just in writing...in life in general.  

It's hard for a Tigger to thrive in discipline; Tiggers don't do structure well. And I have gotten very...self indulgent...over the years since I HAD to have discipline going to keep four kids fed and in clean clothes and where they needed to be.  It was something of a come-to-Jesus moment.  I'm going to have to relearn the skills again.

Because that's the only way I can get the discipline to work on the writing again.  It may take a bit for that to trickle down to something that's visible to folks watching from the outside, but as long as I keep trying...it will get there.

The first step is...going to bed on time.  I'm something of a night owl, so that's going to take some work.  

And discipline. 

Here we go.

What do you mean Monday is Labor Day?????

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

It's been busy in...and out of...these parts.  Work like crazy, and head out of town for the weekend.

I worked Friday the...9th? Yeah, the 9th.  Then was gone the next two weeks.  Fridays are normally not a work day, as our church offices are closed, but there is a big project going down and I went in to get a jump on it.  

Then the 16th was our 44th wedding anniversary, and we repeated a trip from ten years ago and spent the weekend at Cheaha State Park...which includes the highest point in Alabama.

Pulpit Rock, from the lodge area

Gorgeous views.  And, according to my Strava reading, we walked 5 miles on Saturday. 

My Sweet Babboo at the top of the mountain.

 May have overdone it just a bit, being 10 weeks out from hip replacement, but I survived so I'm hopeful the upcoming family trip to Famous Florida Theme Parks will not be too rough on the hip.

Called my mother to check in with her on Tuesday last week and my dad, from the background, hollered, 'We have a lot of corn going to waste up here!'  ...long story short, I got permission to take yesterday and today off from work and did a spur-of-the-moment trip up to the farm, driving up by myself on Friday.

18 quarts of corn to put in freezers, from roughly 8 dozen ears we pulled on Saturday, was a good day's work.

The folks decided they didn't want to freeze again on Monday, so I came back a day early (shhh).  Spending today doing things I had MEANT to do over the weekend, lol.

But...I want to chat a bit about Sunday.  I had contacted one of my high school buddies that I was up for the weekend and would love to catch up.  We decided to meet at Culver's in Brownsburg, IN, for lunch.    

We hadn't seen each other for 2 years;  we hadn't had a long, just-us conversation in, well, a really long time.

We sat in a corner and talked for EIGHT HOURS.  It flew by.  I did mention once or twice that I should probably go, but the conversation clearly wasn't over so I didn't push it.  And I'm so glad I didn't.  The last hour and a half to two hours was some real, heart level conversation.  If we had stopped after four or six hours, we would never have gotten to the deep part.  

So, that's my takeaway lesson to share today, lol.  Don't skimp on the conversations, and don't quit before they're done.  But more than that, be intentional about keeping in touch.  

Hopefully we will.

Putting the Heart Study on Hiatus...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to  Beer Lahai Roi

It's been a busy month....

Just returned from a trip to Florida; My Sweet Babboo was teaching three sessions in a class at the Florida Royal Ranger camp, which just happens to be about 15 minutes from The Flute Player and her hubby; we had time share points to burn before the end of June and The Actor's birthday was just before Mother's Day...so we headed south for a week.  The classes were great, we got to do a belated birthday celebration for the Actor and worship with friends who are pastors of the church at which the kids are on staff (Berkely Chapel) and then we spent three nights at the resort that's next door to Animal Kingdom and crammed in all four parks before we headed north again.  We are tired and footsore but we had fun.

And, I'm telling you, scheduling a return from vactation on the start of a holiday weekend is PURE GOLD.

So that's why I missed last week's post, lol.  And the week before...well, I've been  spending my writing time working on a thing and I finally got a first draft done.  I've written up the curriculum I've been using for about 7 years to teach a very basic 'How to study the Bible' class.  I've already referenced most of the key info in the blog in past posts, but I had to get it organized into something like a workbook.

I have no idea what, if anything, I will do with it.  I've sent the 1st draft to a number of folks at church for their recommendations...we are revamping our discipleship programs somewhat and I'm not sure that my class will fit the new model but at least I have something put together.  If you clicked through the link, you'll know this is very, very basic...just to help folks get over the intimidation factor of Bible study.  I might just post the whole thing here, in installments... It's not that long.

But, having more or less finished that...at least, until I get some feedback...I should be ready to dive back into my weekly study here.  Except...in two weeks, I'm getting a new hip and EVERYTHING is going on hiatus for a bit.  So I've decided to make life easy on myself and I will resume the study once I'm off of narcotic pain killers, lol.  I may drop in with a couple of 'Here's something I've been pondering' posts before the surgery, but I do have a LOT of things I want to get done 'before the surgery', so I'll just see how things go.

I've had a few people tell me that, after I've healed up, I'll ' wonder why you waited so long to do this', but this is literally the first time I've had a big enough gap in the calendar to schedule it since the dr told me I needed it.  Even then, it's a squeeze; we've a family vacation coming up in September and it's going to be close whether I'm back to at least where I am now at that point.  The surgery is amazing; it's an outpatient proceedure that takes 45 minutes.  I'm told it's much easier than knee surgery...and, as I'm likely going to have to have the knee replaced too...I am really hoping the folks who are telling me I'll be up and going in no time are right.

Once I'm off the pain meds (which I hope to be Really Soon...I hate that stuff) I should be able to get back onto a fairly regular posting schedule again.

Just in case you were wondering, lol. 

The Heavens Declare...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I got to see my second total eclipse on Monday.

It was just as amazing as the first, even though my pictures are pitiful.

Both my sons had some awesome pics; I think I need to sit down and read all the photography tips I can find for my Pixel 7a.  I  just don't know much more than point and shoot.

All the family except one nephew, and the Jokester, who didn't have vacation time available, made the trek to my parent's farm, which was right in the path of totality. At about 30% we headed down the lane and across the road to the hill in the field for a 360 degree view.

My brother got a drone shot of us all looking at the sky at about 50% (I am in the purple T shirt with my hands clasped in front)

The Artist elected to find a different vantage point; he's on top of the taller of the two grain bins, back up near the house.  The Princess got this shot; which is amazing considering how zoomed in she was from across the road.

I don't know if the Artist's spot was actually better than the hill across the road, but he did get some fantastic pics up there.

(Click on the above photo to make it big enough to see the actual eclipse...and, I think, Venus) 

The photo I got looks pretty lame compared to his...just didn't pick up the gorgeous colors at all.

It is amazing how the switch flips from 99.9% to  totality and again when the moon just beings to clear.  At the end, it was like standing on a dark stage, then suddenly someone hit us with a spotlight.

So many folks were content to see the 'almost total'...when a wee bit of driving would have gotten them to totality.  It's magnitudes more amazing.

And the next comparable eclipse in the US isn't until 2045.  I will be an old, old woman then.

So glad the weather cooperated.  It rained on the farm Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week., but Monday was a gorgeous day.

And, as it happened, my Father-in-law's internment  happened two days later, on what would have been his 99th birthday.  Since we were just 3 hours away on Monday, we all elected to stay a couple more days so we could attend that short service.  Which was far enough away that it didn't rain there.

No frou frou, and it was 99.9 percent immediate family. After the pastor spoke, and the, for want of a better term, boxing up began, someone said, 'We should sing something'.  

So we all sang 'The Lord Bless You and Keep You / Seven fold Amen'

Only half of us knew the first part, and we were all a little lumpy throated but...it worked.

And, appropriately, the columbarium that the ashes were placed in is labeled 'Harmony'.

So...a good trip.  A very good trip.

There was a lovely sunset Monday after the eclipse as well.

The heavens do, indeed, declare the glory of God.

Of Comfort and Sweet Memories

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We've known it was coming for a long time.  And yet...somehow, we had grace for still more years.   

 I remember their 50th anniversary; we didn't think we would gather like that again.  But we did for the 60th.  And the 70th. And even beyond that...most of the family was able to be on hand for the 75th wedding celebration last June.   How amazing.

But time marches on, and my Father-in-law fell back in October and couldn't get back up.  He went in to rehab to try and rebuild his strength but he had problems with hemoglobin counts and other things and just couldn't get back on his feet.  Christmas was a good day, but he began a serious decline right after.  He spent about a week on hospice care and passed away on Jan. 21st at age 98; he would have been 99 in April.

With family coming in from Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Alabama, it took a minute to get everyone organized and travel plans made.  My Sweet Babboo and I drove up to my folk's farm west of Indianapolis on Wednesday, picked up the Florida kids at the Indianapolis airport Thursday evening and drove up to Elkhart; The Artist and his wife arrived at the farm a couple of hours after we left and came to Elkhart on Friday, swinging by West Lafayette and picking up a cousin from Purdue on their way up.  The Princess was on a work trip to Florida (She's a Disney travel agent,  but was learning about Universal Studios), which she cut short, flying back home on Thursday and she and her hubby and the two wee boys made the entire drive up on Friday.  By Friday evening, everyone was in town. Only one granddaughter, who was ill with the flu, was unable to attend; the memorial service was live-streamed so she could see it.

The memorial service was Saturday afternoon, in the 100 + year old Methodist church all the siblings grew up in.

He was a member of the Greatest Generation...a Purple Heart/ Bronze Star WW 2 veteran.  He taught chemistry for years at the local high school, and sang Barbershop, in both quartets and a chorus, and in the church choir, for decades; the memorial service was full of music.  We sang his favorite hymns, and listened to recordings of his barbershop quartet and also of the family, including the special music we sang at church for their 70th Anniversary (I confess to wiping a couple of tears at that point).  But my Mother-in-law was insistent that this was not to be a 'sad affair'; she wanted us to sing and remember good things.  

I was surprised to see some folks I knew; it was good to see distant cousins and old friends we had not been able to contact for a while.

Memorial services are good for that.

My sister-in-law said it well, in a meal blessing on Friday: "We gather to comfort and encourage one another, and to honor the memory of our beloved Dad."

Yes.

Celebration

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi 

When the inlaws celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary,  we all go home to celebrate.

No big party or even a choir special at church this time.  Just all the kids and as many of the extended family as could make it.

Reading the congratulatory cards

But we did a few other things whilst we were in the area.

Walked around the botanical gardens...

Hung out at St. Joseph, Michigan, and the beach on the shore of Lake Michigan

Hiked around Shades State Park 

And even caught some pretty sunsets.

The trip went by REALLY FAST.  

Don't they always?

September is a crazy month...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So, yeah, been a bit out of pocket this week...

Caught a class reunion amongst the travels, too, so it had a purpose.  Worked the actual job from home today to try and not be so far behind next week; laundry tomorrow and then another full calendar.  Hopefully things will settle down a bit around the middle of October...  will likely be another two weeks before I can jump into John for the Friday Faithfuls.  

Life is definitely not boring...

A Bit of Travel...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

It's June 1st, y'all.  

Boggles the mind...

To be honest, I kinda feel like I lost May.  Got slammed with the ol' sinus infection the first week, and the second week the symptoms changed and...bang, it was Covid.  So another week working from home.  I got three days at work, and then My Sweet Babboo and I made the 3rd trip to Florida so far this year to deliver The Flute Players' kitty cat to her, being as how she and her hubby finally got settled enough into their new apartment to make it feasible.

I was really apprehensive about the trip; we weren't sure how well the kitty would tolerate it.

She complained for about 15 minutes, then seemed to accept the circumstances and settled down.  It probably helped that 1) we were able to borrow a kennel so there was room for her litter box, water and food bowls, 2) she got a dose of kitty Benadryl before we left and 3) the weather was cool and overcast, with periodic rain, for the entire 12+ hours we were on the road, so we didn't have to worry about the car heating while we stopped for potty breaks or meals.

She was much relieved to get out of the kennel once we reached our destination, though.  We pretty much dropped her off and hit the hay.  Since the kids had to work the next day, we drove up to Disney Springs...mostly because I wanted Earl of Sandwich, lol.  If I happen to have any readers from that part of the country...you have my most sincere condolences on having to deal with Interstate 4 traffic on a regular basis.  Yeesh.  Then, we took the kids to dinner, play miniature golf and eat ice cream.  The  Jokester had a bad cold but a negative covid test so...bad cold...we went.  Like a doofus, I didn't get a photo of us together or anything, but I did get a pic of the pretty sunset whilst we were on the mini golf course.  Wonder of wonders...I actually won.  Crazy.

We had breakfast with the kids at Perkins Pancakes, then headed up to Jacksonville to see the Number Two son and do a little belated birthday celebration.   At least I took a picture.  And we got a message that night that The Flute Player had felt really bad later in the day so she took a Covid test and it was positive.  Oy. (They are both recovered at this point).  That mild variant is all OVER right now.

After church and lunch with Number 2 son the next day, My Sweet Babboo and I did something we've been wanting to do for quite a while...we headed up to Savannah, Georgia for a couple of days.

So much interesting stuff there.  We walked...and walked...and walked...

Gave ourselves one 'fancy diner'...we ate at The Pirates' House, which is a really cool ancient (at least by US standards) building.  The part we ate in dates from 1734  and is the oldest standing structure in the state of Georgia.  (I did finally look it up)  The she crab bisque was excellent.

We might go back to Savannah another time; there's a lot that we didn't do. I'd like to do some of the boat tours, and maybe catch more museums.  

I might have purchased a few too many pralines than is strictly good for me, but, hey, it was a rare opportunity, lol.

So, now we're back.  My kitty seems to be happy that her people are home.  My laptop refused to speak to any of the hotel wifi systems, so I have no idea what awaits me at work tomorrow.  I guess I'll find out... lol.