Friday:) Friends, Feathers, and a Fiery Sunset

“Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul 
And sings the tune without the words 

And never stops at all.” 

― Emily Dickinson

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The first Friday of each month is my volunteer day over at Towne Creek. My morning starts out gathering art supplies and preparing a project. Then, I go to the store to shop for feast supplies. I always provide a fun lunch with snacks and dessert. Today, the plan was hot dogs, chips, pizza, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream floats. While I was at the store, I texted Mr. Mike to see if he wanted any frozen pizzas on sale. He said sure. (He eats a lot of frozen pizza. I’m an enabler.)

I stopped by Papa Murphy’s Pizza next to Tom Thumb to say hi to Miss Karri, and then hugs and chats and laughing.

Walking through the parking lot, I found a lucky feather at my feet. A good sign. I like to think it’s someone up there saying, “Good job. Enjoy your day.”

I dropped off ten pizzas at Mr. Mike’s down the street. Hopefully that will last him a couple of weeks. When I got home, I was starving. I realized I hadn’t eaten a real meal since Wednesday, so I grabbed my left over burrito in the fridge and warmed it up in a pan. While it was heating, I finished gathering my art supplies. 

I do this all the time! I got so wrapped up with something else, and forgot the pan on the stove until my nose informed me something was burning.

Oh no! The good news is, I had more tortillas, so I scraped off the burnt part and warmed a new  tortilla, watching more carefully this time. I snarfed down my slightly singed lunch and scurried off to Towne Creek.

The ladies were happy to see me, and we worked on our project and I prepared our feast. Miss Eleanor played piano for a while, then we enjoyed ice cream floats and conversation. It was a good day.

I got home in time for my evening walk. My favorite part of the evening is capturing the fiery summer sunset.

Saturday:) Some Spectacular Sunsets

“A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east.” ― John Steinbeck

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It’s just past midnight, so it’s officially Saturday. I decided to write my Saturday post early. I won’t be able to write it later. I’m sitting on the sofa, my iPad on my lap, and my Black Russian by my side. In just a few hours, I’ll be going to my first CHRP Women’s Retreat at St. Gabriel’s. CHRP stands for Christ Renews His Parish. The CRHP retreat is an opportunity to rediscover, renew, revitalize or intensify your faith in Christ. It is also a time of prayer, reflection and fellowship with fellow parishioners from the St. Gabriel’s community. 

Instructions for the two day retreat are, no cell phones, iPads, books, or electronic devices. Leave your wallet and valuables at home, and get a ride to church. All meals will be provided. It’s kind of exciting and mysterious. I’m venturing out of my normal comfort zone. I don’t do unknown or change very well. Here I go. It will be great.

Here’s what I’d like to share today, because heaven forbid, I should miss a day writimg my blog. I don’t want to break my streak.

 I’m a big fan of the glorious Texas sunsets. Almost every evening, I scramble out the door for my walk and a chance to capture the sunset, my favorite time of day. 

Just a few of my favorites.

Sunday Sermon and Other Stuff

“The heartiest flowers thrive best amongst the weeds.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

“This garden is your life. Of course, there are the occasional weeds—but more than anything, this garden is filled with so much life!” 

― Seth Adam Smith

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Sunday again, another hot steamy Sunday, but it’s always cool inside St. Gabriel’s, and a lot of cool people, too.

Today’s Gospel was the story of Jesus telling the parable of the the kingdom of heaven being like the man who sowed seeds in his wheat field, and his enemy sowed weeds. His servants asked if they should pull the weeds as they grew. 

“He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”

My take on it…there are good and bad people in the world. In the end, God will separate the wheat from the weeds, the good from the bad. The weeds will burn, (bad people) the wheat will be safe in the barn.(good people) The heartiest flowers thrive best amongst the weeds.

A spectacular McKinney sunset.

Saturday:) A Sunset Stroll, Lucky Pennies and a Bunny

“A sunset stroll is strength for the soul.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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The late night storms passed, and the grey morning drizzle sizzled into a hot steamy afternoon. I was smart and stayed inside my comfortable air conditioned house until early evening. Hot or not, I needed to get out for a walk. 

I strolled around my neighborhood, bumping into neighbors and wildlife. I rescued a wiggly worm that was desperately wriggling across the dry cement sidewalk. I found a stick and placed him in the cool grass. A few blocks away, a happy hoppy bunny was also out taking a stroll.

After a long walk, I sat in the park and called my sister-in-law, Ann. We chatted for a while. As I was heading to my house, I noticed the glowing sunset in the distance. I scurried down the street to capture the magic. I was just getting close to the perfect open spot when I looked down and found two, not one, but two lucky pennies.

Here’s the spectacular sunset. I got my two cents worth.

Another fine day.

Friday:) Furry Friends and a Fiery Sunset

“Never waste any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside that you should be sitting under!” ― C. JoyBell C.

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Back to my routine, back to friends, grocery stores, walking, lunches and visiting furry friends. I’ve always loved animals, but I’ll admit, it’s been VERY nice these past few years not having to take care of two big active dogs. I can travel whenever I want without kenneling, running around, and working my world around my pets. 

The good news is, having neighbors and friends with pets, I have the pleasure of walking a dog whenever I like, visiting with cats, and guess what? I get to go home or go out for the entire day. It’s like being a pet grandma.

Bella is Mr. Mike’s little dog. She is so cute and sweet and loves me to death. When I go out for a walk,I check   and see if Bella wants to take a walk with me. She always does.

Sometimes, my neighbor Diane goes away for a couple of days, and she asks me to stop in and check on her cat. He’s cute and sweet and loves me to death. (Are you seeing a pattern here?)

This evening, after I took Bella for a walk, then visited with Parcel, I continued my walk in the unbearable heat. The air was thick and steamy with a storm on the horizon. Hopefully it will cool off a little. But, it’s just the beginning of summer, AND it is Texas, after all.

A fiery sunset to end the day. 

“Never waste any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside that you should be sitting under!” 

― C. JoyBell C.

Tuesday:) Tunes and a Terrific Sunset

“Each spectacular sunset renews my faith in miracles.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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After a busy weekend, it was nice to lollygaggle around the house with Mom most the day. Oh yes, the Comcast cable guy came around 11 to fix her tv. We were without TV for THREE WHOLE DAYS! It was torture. I’m not sure how we managed without our three or four hour “Murder She Wrote” marathons each evening from 10pm to midnight or 1am. We compensated by watching YouTube videos of how to paint roses or make flowers from coffee filters on my iPad. Not the same. No murder to solve.

So, Jeremy fixed the cable, changed out the old box, and showed us how to switch from tv to DVD. But, we failed to check and see if all the channels were there. My sister noticed tonight that the movie channels and HGTV and other stations we had before were missing. OH NO!!! More calls to Comcast.

This evening around 7, a very sweet and talented lady came to The Greens of Elgin to play piano for the residents. Oh my, she was very talented, playing classical songs, Schubert, Debussy, etc.   She ended with three songs that she composed herself for each one of her children. I only captured a few seconds because my iPhone ran out of room…AGAIN. I don’t understand why. I only have 4,054 pictures on there. Yikes!

Here is a few seconds of the talented Lanette Calhoun.

After the concert, I went for an evening walk, just in time to capture the sunset. Marvelous music and a spectacular sunset. This is my thinking time. This is my thankful time.

Friday:) Friends, Fun and a Fiery Sunset

It takes a long time to grow an old friend. 

~John Leonard

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Another fun Friday. I had plans to meet Karen, Linda, MaryBeth and Mercedes for lunch at Silk Road. After we sat and ordered, I shared with them that I’ve been working on expanding my horizons and working on my bucket list. Ive never gone to a Thai restaurant, so this was outside the box for me. They asked what else have I done on my bucket list. I told them that I’ve driven to Oklahoma, took a trip to Santa Fe and Estes Park, and last year, on my birthday, I took a bath. What? They looked at me strangely until I explained that I’m petrified of water, I can’t swim, and baths are scary. Oh! Everyone has their phobias. I just happen to have a few strange ones. 

It was a very nice lunch and visit with friends that don’t get together very often. But, when we do, it’s a great time. 

A little prayer doesn’t hurt if you don’t want to get an upset stomach. It worked.

After lunch, I stopped at the store to get some snacks for my Towne Creek painting group. Then, I popped into Papa Murphy’s pizza next door to chat and get a hug from Karri. Scurrying home and packing up glass paints, bowls and brushes, then off to Towne Creek. We worked on painting bowls for the upcoming Empty Bowls Charity event.

We finished painting thirteen bowls. Miss Kathy said thirteen was unlucky. I said , “No, thirteen is my lucky number,”

While the paint dried, we had our snack, pepperoni pizza, root beer floats and brownie bites. Yum!

Now for the firey sky. We’ve had some amazing sunsets the last few evenings.