Weekend Reflections

 Wondering how everyone's weekend was?  Ours was pretty good, for the most part.  Saturday morning we went "to town" with the "kids" for breakfast and to visit a sale at a "warehouse" behind a vintage furnishings store...but before I get into that, I want you to see a couple of the interesting murals that are painted on walls of buildings in downtown Palatka.  This one below is a picture of that downtown street, judging by the scene it must have been in the 1800's...and there was a tightrope walker with the circus that had come to town:

This gives you a better perspective on where this mural is painted on the side of the building:

Here is another one on a building across the street from that one.  There are many such interesting and historical murals throughout the downtown area of Palatka. Sometime I will try to get pictures of all of them to share with you. They are fascinating!

We went to breakfast with our "kids", at the Magnolia Cafe'.  (Same place I went for my birthday a few weeks ago).  Sorry kids, I caught you with your mouths full...

Same thing, sorry hubby...He was trying to swallow his biscuit before I took the picture! LOL.

And here I am, sharing my cup of tea with you:

I thought the chandelier above our table was worthy of note:

As were these photos of an old truck on the wall...

From breakfast we walked into the store next door, "Urban Farmhouse", where our kids have sold several of these farmhouse style console tables that they build:

And from there we went into the "warehouse" that was having a sale of some old items that still needed to be refinished or repurposed...I did find something that I am going to be doing as a project, but I will save that for another post so I can give it more time and space...

It was a great morning...and then the kids went home and worked on building more tables because they had more orders! And later in the day they came to our house for supper...the first real "fall supper" of the season...I forgot to take a picture...but we had a delicious fall meal. My daughter in law provided baked acorn squash and mashed potatoes, and I cooked a pork shoulder roast in sauerkraut and apples in the crock pot all day long, which was perfect with the mashed potatoes and squash.  We also had some zucchini squash with onions to balance out the meal.  (Followed by a Marie Callender's Coconut Cream pie for dessert! I didn't want to heat up the oven since it was not a very cool fall day after all)  I was so happy when my daughter in law said she loved sauerkraut...I was a little nervous because I didn't ask her before hand if she liked it.  I mean, these kids are just about to celebrate their 2nd anniversary in a couple of weeks...so I don't know everything about her yet! But what I know I love. We are so blessed to have her in our family!

On a more somber note, I learned this weekend of the passing of a very dear friend in New Hampshire.  I have not seen this friend for several years since we haven't been able to get back up there, but our friendship goes back many years from when we served in the ministry there and she and her family were members of our church.  My friend has not been well for the past few years, but I was surprised to learn that she was in hospice care this past week and then passed away early Saturday morning. It really hit me by surprise and I guess I feel a little guilty that I had not been very communicative with her for the past few years. You know, we get busy in our own lives and sometimes distance and circumstances keep us apart...but her passing has hit me kind of hard. She is the second very dear friend that has passed away in the last few months, and they are both named Sharon, and they both have last names that begin with "W".  And they were both amazing Christian women who gave of themselves so much to others...never expecting anything in return.  Here is a picture of me with this friend, along with another  mutual dear friend. Sharon is in the middle:

This picture was taken in 2014, when our son was dying of cancer in a hospice house in Maine. My friend Nancy, on the far left, was my son's mother in law, and she was there with us as family. But my friend Sharon came to visit us, to comfort and encourage us at a very difficult time. What is interesting is, Nancy and I are grandmothers to our grandson Noah. Nancy and Sharon both share a grandson who is a week younger than Noah (and is also Noah's cousin!).  So we were all becoming grandma's at the same time...and that was 20 years ago!

If you are a facebook friend you have already heard about this, so I apologize for repeating the same thing.  Sharon used to send me little notes, often with a lady's cotton handkerchief tucked inside...and she would always quote the title to the song "His Eye is on the Sparrow" as a little word of encouragement.  I said earlier that when I learned she had passed away, I imagined I could hear her singing, "I sing because I'm happy! I sing because I'm free!"...as she is now free from her body of death and enjoying the joys of heaven (and reunited with her hubby after several years) in a brand new heavenly body. 

Years ago, when we moved away from NH, my friend gave me these special things:

She knew I liked dolls, and she gave me this sweet doll, who I named "Rose of Sharon". (Little did I know then that someday I would also have a daughter in law named Rose!) 

She gave me this plaque, which reads:

I have often thought of Sharon as one of those special "angels sent down to walk with me." A truer friend one could not ever find.

And last, but not least, when she learned that I was having some surgery many years ago, she sent me this very soft and cuddly bunny, along with a wonderful soft cotton nightgown. I wore the nightgown until it finally wore out...but the bunny continues to comfort me and has served me well through several surgeries. I call her my "Boo Boo Bunny", because she fits perfectly over any place that is hurting and keeps me from re-injuring myself...but also because she is a reminder of a very sweet, humble, compassionate friend that I am feeling very sad to no longer have the joy of seeing here on earth...

But praise be to God, through Jesus Christ, as believers we know that we will one day be together again in heaven for eternity!  There will be many happy reunions on that day...but most of all, we will finally see Jesus face to face, and sing the story, "Saved by Grace" by Fanny Crosby

Please treasure your friends and family...write that note, send that card...don't put it off...that is what I am learning the hard way. 

Have a blessed week...hug a neck and tell your friends and family you love them!