Hope you all enjoyed your weekend, and are having a good start to the new week!  My weekend didn’t go as we had planned, especially on Saturday, when we were to go to my sisters for a day together in her new home, cookout, etc., etc..  We had some major car trouble … oh, no, that’s not my car up there, )  .. although we did own one of those back in 1984 … I love the old cars, and that one ran great, too!  Hmmm, wonder whatever happened to it once we sold it to my brother?!  Ya think … nah, couldn’t be!  This is one we see often … it sits out in the country on the way to hubby’s sister’s house.  Just thought I’d use it for effect!  Did it work?! Lol!  Well, anyway, here’s what really happened with our car over the weekend …..  

* Got a late start to my sister’s house on Saturday morning.

* Missed the exit for our turn … should have printed out a map  =(

* Went 40 minutes north of our turn … when we went to turn around, our brakes totally failed!

* Thank God for His protection over us, for cell phones, and for AAA … we had just renewed, too! 
   Called for a tow, not knowing where we were, exactly … and couldn’t see any mile markers!

* Waited 45 minutes on a highway with 80mph traffic whizzing by, shaking the car!
   We were wishing we had brought some snacks along, the raw hamburger in the cooler didn’t sound too appetizing!

* Tow truck finally showed up with another truck following … couldn’t put us both in the tow truck …
   only one extra seat belt, and they have insurance issues, so hubby rode in the extra truck with me, as we
   followed our car to their service garage.  They said they could probably get the brakes fixed within 2 hours.

* They looked at the brakes … yep, brake line broke … and much, much more!  They said something about the bushings, 
   and was surprised that the engine hadn’t fallen out!  They also mentioned an A-Frame, etc., (?) … it was all Greek to
   me, but I did know one thing … this ‘Greek’ sounded very expensive!  We would get in touch with a mechanic down near
   where we live.

* We had a few hours left, so we decided to have them tow it to my sisters house 40 minutes from where we were at their
    service garage, then spend a little time with them before getting it towed a second time … ALL THE WAY HOME! 

* From their house, hubby called a mechanic back home … he comes highly recommended by family members. 
   They told him to bring our car to their lot that night, and they’d get to itm and give us an estimate on Monday.

* While waiting to call for our final tow, we ate the best grilled turkey burgers (my nephew’s recipe), and delicious 
   salad.  Enjoyed their beautiful new home … I’m so happy for them! 

* We then put our ‘order’ in for the next tow truck.  Waited about 45 minutes.  
   Lewis rode with the driver as we started home.  The severe storms were rolling in, the temps were dropping.

* My brother-in-law and sister followed them, in their car, with me in tow!  I couldn’t fit in that tow truck, either …
   it would have been so cramped for that long drive back, and they didn’t mind taking me, then driving both of us home
   once the car was dropped off at the mechanics. 
  
* And it was a very long drive in extremely bad weather … storms, lots of rain, wind, lightning. 
   Semi’s flying by at 70+mph!  White knuckled, and praying all the way!

* We finally arrived, after those 2+ long hours, only to find that the gate on the mechanic’s lot was locked!!!!!

* Dilemma … no where to leave it, so we had to have him tow it back to our house, and we’d have to get it towed,
   AGAIN, on Monday morning.

* By the time we got home, and fell into bed, it was midnight … I was totally exhausted from the stress of the day!

* Went to church Sunday for a much needed time of refreshing!

* After church, we were invited to go to dinner at Kabuto’s … a Japanese style restaurant where they cook the food
   right in front of you.  That was so good … and cheap too … I’m definitely into ‘cheap’!

* Ran a few errands after that, and headed home for rest … I baked some pumpkin bread first …
   we needed some comfort food after all that had happened!

* Monday morning: another call to AAA … car towed, AGAIN, to the mechanic’s. 
   Lewis followed to see what all would need to be done to get it running again.

* He waited for an estimate, and we prayed. 
   We were very concerned as to how much ALL of this would cost us.

* Finally, he called me, from the mechanics, with the estimate.  What seemingly would have cost us upwards to $1000 
   … miracle of miracles … is only going cost us $420 — $460!!  Praise the Lord!  They’re taking out the whole front      
   end, and redoing it, with some welding involved … like I said, it’s all Greek to me … they also have to repair the
   broken brake line, and then possibly, realign it, if it needs it.  Our car is a ’98 Buick LaSabre, and has been such a
   good car through the years, but, I was beginning to think that if it had cost us an arm and leg, we might have seriously 
   considered looking for another car!  If we were to buy another one, it would have to be the same, maybe a year 
   or two younger … the engines have long lives in those cars!  Some friends of ours have one, and it has 350,000
   miles on it, and is still going strong … we have 190,000 miles on ours!  Hmmm, must be some healthy Energizer 
   bunnies in there!  Lol!! 

* Well, after that HUGE sigh of relief … hubby drove down in his work van, and broke his daddy out of the
   nursing  home.  He used his car, and drove him to the north side of town so he could see his golfing buddies,
   and have lunch with him … they had a great father-son day together!  I know Lewis misses that with Ian.
 
* They may not get our car completely finished until Wednesday.  That’s fine … no plans for travel until Thursday.

* I made a pot of chili last night … more comfort food … it was very cool here yesterday, so it hit the spot.

* Well, that’s the recap of my weekend.  It’s been a long one, but God has been, and is faithful in all things! 
  
* I do hope you all have a terrific Tuesday!  See you soon!  Hugs ~ Deborah <><

 P.S.  I finally got back into the photo contest over on iliveinmycamera …
                       go take a peek at the new theme on ’BOOKS’, and vote for your favorite! 
                       And, if you like to take photos, get in on the next theme! The more the merrier! 

Three Points To Ponder:

(1) Zero Gravity

When NASA started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity.
To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside-down, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C.
The Russians used a pencil.

Your taxes are due again — enjoy paying them.


(2) Our Constitution

‘They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq.  Why don’t we just give them ours?  It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it’s worked for over 200 years and, we’re not using it anymore.’


(3) Ten Commandments

The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse is that you cannot post ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal,’
‘Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery’ and ‘Thou Shall Not Lie’ in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians!  It creates a hostile work environment.

Please don’t tell anyone, but today is my ___th birthday!  I didn’t really want to be reminded, and I was hoping he’d forget, but my hubby walked in the door with a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers, which served to soothe the thought of another year that’s gone by at break neck speed!  Why is it when we’re younger we want to be older, and when we’re older ……. well, you know!  Since I’ve reached my ___th year, I figure I’d best be about the whole business of eating healthy, and exercising!  We are to take care of the temple God has blessed us with, and I haven’t been doing a very good job at it, of late!  Today is a new day, a new beginning, a new start to another year in my life … yesiree, it’s time to detox, defat, declutter … all that good stuff!  Lol!!  I don’t know what this next year will hold for me, but I know I want to be firmly in His hand, and in His will for my life, in every area! 

Today, I am excited, though … not about the age thing, but, about going ‘museum hopping’!  There are about three museums here in the city … and the first stop will satisfy the little girl in me.  It’s the Indianapolis Children’s Museum!  I love the Planetarium there, and then there’s the miniature doll houses, and the model train town, and the merry-go-round … yep, the little girl in me will enjoy that!  Then, there’s the Eiteljorg Museum of American and Indian Art … we’ve never been there, and being part Cherokee Indian, I think I’d fit right in!  And, finally, if we have time, there’s the Indianapolis Museum of Art!  I love seeing the artistic talent of others!  I dabbled in pencil sketching for a season … maybe a trip there will inspire me to pick it up again.  It’ll be an ‘artsy’ kind of day that we both are looking forward to.  I’m blessed that hubby has the day off!  I wanted to spend the day outdoors, but they’re saying it’s going to be a ‘wainy’ Wednesday! Lol!  And, so, after dinner out, maybe we’ll catch a movie late in the day … that is if there’s anything decent to watch out there!  Anyone have a suggestion on that?  It will be a full day for us, but relaxing, as well!  Whatever your day holds, I pray it is a blessed one!  I hope to have pictures at the end of the day … providing they let me bring the camera in!  Have a great day in Him!

Hugs,
          ~ Deborah <><

It is a glorious thing to get to know God in a new way in the inner chamber.  It is something still greater and more glorious to know God as the all-sufficient One and to wait on His Spirit to open our hearts and minds wide to receive the great things, the new things which He really longs to bestow on those who wait for Him.  ~ Andrew Murray

 Wow, I sure hope you haven’t forgotten me!  It’s been one week since I posted!  Well … I told you it was going to be a busy week for me here, and it certainly was!  I wanted to share a little blessing that came my way this past week.  My son had helped me purchase a camera before he left for CA, and I’ve always wanted to turn it into a small business with him, once I learned how to use all that it had to offer, and after having lots of practice … a whole lot!!  Well, I had an opportunity to go with a group of seasoned photographers to do a ‘photo shoot’ for some practice this past Thursday!  My husband and I both went to meet a friend who had invited us along.  Once we got downtown, met everyone, (a great group of people, and mostly wedding photographers) we just started walking, looking for places to ‘shoot’.  This practice was for ‘portraits’, and we all were taking photos of one another.  It really was fun … nothing like I’d ever experienced with a camera in my hand, and it was really good experience … I learned alot!  I must say, though, for me personally, I’d much rather be behind the camera than in front of it!  

After about 2 hours, and lots of ‘captured images’, we were all getting hungry, so we trouped to a really great pizza place downtown called, BazBeaux … it has such a quaint, cozy atmosphere … I almost felt like I was in Italy, or somewhere other than downtown Indy!  We all ordered our own personal pizzas (made with different kinds of fresh ingredients, and herbs) … it was fantastic!  We never knew that place even existed until then!  I think … no … I know we’ll be going back!  This group will be having more of these ‘shoot-arounds’ downtown, about once a month.  I find myself looking forward to the next one!  I want to learn all I can, and it was such a blessing to have been invited along with this group!  If you don’t mind, I’ll share one of the photos I took of my sweet friend, Vanessa … who, also, is an aspiring photographer, and the one who had invited us to this group!  She’s also an acomplished pianist, and a beautiful Christian young lady … and I might add, very photogenic!  I love the old buildings we found … they make really nice backdrops for the photos.

I have lots more photos from the shoot, but I really don’t want to bore you too much!  I’ve been working on a photography site, here on Xanga, where I’ll be sharing more as I go along … I’ll post a link to that soon!  Anyway, after all that excitement on Thursday, we had our show this past weekend, which started on Friday … we were extremely busy, and God truly blessed our sales!  The weather has been beautiful here, and that helped to bring out everyone who’s been couped up for so long!  It’s hard to believe, but do I think spring has finally sprung!  I hope you’re all having warmer weather, and clear skies!  I’ve really missed being here, and checking in with you, but sometimes life just gets busy!  It should slow down for us now, as this was the last show, until possibly the end of May, but we haven’t decided whether or not to do that one, yet.  Otherwise, we’re free until August!  Seems so far away, but I’m sure time will fly … it seems to be traveling faster and faster, the older I get!  Anyone else notice that, besides me?!  Well, I am hoping to slow down a little … at least for this coming week!  I really need to catch up with you all … it’s been far too long!  But first, I’ll leave you with an email that I received awhile back … this one kinda makes you go ‘hmmm’!  Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Monday!  See you soon!

Hugs,

         ~ Deborah <><

 

Only in America …. can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.

Only in America …. are there handicap parking places in front of our skating rinks.

Only in America …. do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of
the store to get their prescriptions, while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in America …. do people order double cheeseburgers,
large fries, and a Diet Coke.

Only in America …. do banks leave both doors open
and then chain the pens to the counters.

Only in America …. do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway
and put our useless junk in the garage.

Only in America …. do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting
so we won’t miss a call from someone we didn’t want to talk to in the first place.

Only in America …. do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

Only in America …. do we use the word ‘politics’ to describe the process so well:
‘Poli’ in Latin meaning ‘many’,  and ‘tics’ meaning ‘bloodsucking creatures’.

Hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend!
We’re having a busy one at the show … I am tired, but happy!
The Lord is good!
Please know that I haven’t forgotten about any of you!
I’ll be back to update and catch up with you very soon …
in the meantime, go and have a blessed day in Him!

 Hugs ~ Deborah  <><

Here we have our Miss Pookie
… yes, she really does have ears! ;o) 
I accidentally cropped them when I was taking the photo.
This is the best one I’ve gotten of her so far …
I’ve been trying to get more of her, 
but, she doesn’t sit still very long … always on the go!
She’s also known around here as, Pooks, Pooksie, or sometimes Missy-Girl.
Yeah, I know … I’m confused at times, too!
I’ve even called my hubby Pookie … or Mooshie!
She’s still very small, a lightweight, with big, bright golden eyes,
and I have no idea what color to call her …
‘mottled’ seems to come to mind! 
Someone said she is a ‘tortoise shell color’ …
she doesn’t look much like any turtle I’ve ever seen!  )
She has the most gentle personality, and she comes quick as a wink when I call her name.
Her tail wags more like a dog’s tail, back and forth,
whereas, Mooshie’s tail seems to ’float’ in the wind! 
With the warmer weather, she’s really beginning to shed, and the fur is flying!! 
Does anyone know if there is any help for that?
She’s definitely worse with that, than the Moosh has ever been! 

And of course, our older guy … Mr. Mooshie
{aka. The Moosh}
No confusion here!
Gray, thick fur, with bright lime green eyes
Loves to ‘romp and roll’!
Very independent … stubborn, you could say.
But you know that you’re loved by him.
Doesn’t seem to mind sharing toys, bed, and even food.
Sneaky critter, though … he’s always eating the ‘kitten’ food!
When I catch him at it, all I have to do is give him ‘the look’,
and he’s well aware that he’s done something wrong, 
then immediately makes a quick get away under the couch! 
He’s very solid, and strong, but he’s putting on the pounds … a heavyweight! 
He’s very ‘mushie’!  I think a diet is in our forseeable future! 
They are both such a joy to have around, and I’m blessed to have them! 

Okay … it’s been just a bit long since my last log-in & update, so I thought I’d better let you know that I’m doing better now … still working at getting my strength back, but the coughing is almost completely gone!  Yesterday was the best day so far for me, and I’m praying that by Friday I’ll be pretty much back to normal … we have a 3 day show this weekend starting on Friday, and I have to be there alone Friday to set up because hubby has to be away on a job then! 

Hugs,
            ~ Deborah <>< 

Thank you all, again, for your sweet thoughts and prayers!  I’m still under the weather and, unfortunately, didn’t make it to church Sunday, but as I’ve told some here, I’m hopeful … I think I may be at the tail end of this … at least I’m praying for that … it’s been a very long week+!  One blessing was that on Sunday, and Monday, I woke to crisp, clear, bright sunny mornings.  Morning sunshine always makes a body feel good!  The birds were singing, and they were hopping around the bushes by our porch, along with our resident squirrel!  I think he was wondering what the chirping was all about!  They’re just excited … spring is in the air … even though it’s cold, and there are still icicles hanging from the house, catching the sunlight!  My hubby went to church Sunday, and had a blessed time.  He shared with me about the first session of the John Bevere series, and he went back for the next session that evening.  Last night they repeated the ones from Sunday, but still, I was not up to going.  I’ve been told that I will be able to borrow the DVD’s, so I will still get to see it!  And thinking ahead to spring … they also had a meeting after church on Sunday, for those who are interested in planting a garden at the church this spring.  Those who do, will have their own garden plots, to plant what they choose, and each will be giving a portion of their harvests to a local mission house.  It will feel good to be able to bless others with fresh vegetables from a homegrown garden, and I’m also looking forward to doing some canning this year, with what we reap for ourselves!  So, how does your garden grow?  Are any of you planning one this year?  What are some of your favorite garden foods?  It doesn’t feel much like gardening weather here just yet … it’s in the teens here now, but we’re going to get spring like temperatures close to 60* by the end of the week.  I need to get some gardening catalogs!  Any suggestions on where I can get some good ones? 

My adorable kitty, Pookie, is adjusting to life indoors!  She is so petite and small, and weighs less than a feather compared to the Moosh!  She is very loving, and wants to stay close to me, unless she’s sitting in the window watching the birds, and squirrels.  I’m falling in love with her more and more each day!  It’s fun having two, 4 legged fur balls to keep me company!  Which reminds me … my hubby is headed out of town for a few days to work on another Panera Bread Company store.  We’re thankful that work is picking up … it’s been a rough few months, with him being off with that broken ankle, and work being so slow.  God is providing for our needs, and we are so thankful.  His ankle is doing much better, and he got the all-clear from the doctor … although he says it is still a bit stiff.  He just needs to exercise it more, and working helps to do that.  He may be gone through Saturday, and I plan on working at decluttering all the ‘paper piles’ we have accumulated.  Do you find that piles of magazines, etc., can just walk into your house and grow overnight into small mountains?!  Well, I have a couple of mountains to ‘climb’ here, so keep me in your prayers this week!  I’ll be around on here as well, visiting, and catching up.  Seems like I’ve been away too long.  My sister and her family moved this past weekend … I miss her being close by already, even though they are still traveling back here every day to work … it’s still not going to be the same.  But I am anxious to get up to see her new house very soon!  She is even making up the extra bedroom so we can spend the night when we want to!

Ian called the other day … he’s going to be housesitting during the months of May, through August, and he’s asked us to come stay … for free … food included!  We’re not sure if we’ll have the money to go, but we’re praying that God takes care of it all for us.  It might be hard for Lewis to get away from work and his crew, for very long, but Ian told me I could stay with him the four months he’ll be there housesitting.  Not sure if I want to be away from my hubby for that long, though!  We’ll be praying about it all … I’ve even thought we could just store all of our stuff, and just move there for awhile … I shared that with hubby … he looked at me funny!  Like I said … we’ll just have to be praying about it!  I lived out there in California for a short time when I was younger … don’t think I’d want to live out there indefinitely, though … don’t think we could afford it!  Lewis has talked about living in Washington State … he used to years ago when he was a logger, before I knew him.  That would be a major change in our lives if God would lead us in the direction of moving out west!  Anyway, in the meantime, we’re working on decluttering our home now … we feel this is what God is wanting us to do … get our home in order.  Then He’ll take us from there, and we’ll follow, wherever He may lead us! 

Well, that’s about all for now … I’ll be around to catch up soon … I’m going to finish getting things packed for hubby’s trip later today … I will miss him this week.  I’m going to bake up some pumpkin bread for him to take along on the trip, too, with pecans and raisins!  A little extra treat, made with love, for him!  He walked in the door after work last night with SUNFLOWERS for me!  That brought such a glow to my heart!  I am a bit concerned for him, though … he’s going to be working some very long, overnight hours this week, so if you would, please keep him in your prayers for a safe trip later today, and also for strength, and energy to get through the next few days!  I know he would appreciate it so much, as do I!  Thank you, too, for keeping Marcia in your prayers as well!  (see previous post)  I pray that each of you receive a special blessing in your week, something that will bring a warm glow to your heart, too!  I’ll see you soon!

Hugs,
                     ~ Deborah <><

“May soft be the grass you walk on, May fair be the skies above you,
May true be the joys that surround you, May dear be the hearts that love you.”  
~ Old Irish Blessing