Saturday Night Review & Blessings...

If you read my previous post HERE,, then you will know the story of this rose.  This is how it looks tonight, August 6th. Tomorrow is that special anniversary date, and yes, it is blooming beautifully just in time. A very special "heavenly gift" indeed. 

So what have I been doing since the last time I wrote? Well, let's see, besides helping out quite a bit at Dixie Cottage, we've also been eating a lot of good food at  Dixie Cottage.  I know, it's not an eating establishment, but one thing about this community, people love to eat, and we don't have a lot of restaurants to choose from, so there are many food trucks and other unique food tents that pop up here and there, like this one:

"Wicked Good Hot Dogs"

We've seen this tent usually near our local Dollar General store on the weekends and some weekdays, and my son spoke to the ladies who run it and asked if they would like to set up their tent here in our parking lot on Friday for a change.  You may be asking yourself what is a "wicked good hot dog"?

Well, if you've ever visited New England, Maine in particular, you will know that one of their most popular slang terms to describe anything they really really like is that it is "wicked good".  So we knew when we saw this tent that the proprietors must be from Maine, and sure enough we were right.

Of course I had to try it for myself...they have many delicious options for the hot dogs...sauerkraut (which is what I have below), chili and cheese, peppers and onions, red pepper relishes, etc., etc.  Oh, and they also bake their own special hot dog rolls, New England style, with the opening on top instead of on the side. It is very difficult to find that kind of hot dog bun here in the south, so they make their own! That was kind of the "icing on the cake", if you ask me.

I didn't think to take a picture until I was half way through with my hot dog. It was that good. Oh, and the drinks! Wow! They freeze several different selections of drinks in that special sippy pouch, and they are also "wicked good". My choice was fresh squeezed real lemonade! I haven't had that in ages. (not since the last time I was at the Fryeburg Fair in Maine several years ago!)  

I no sooner had posted about this on Facebook than I had a message from a former school friend that she and her husband were on their way to Dixie Cottage! We had actually gone home for a little break when I saw her comment, and so we jumped back in the car and drove back over to the store to meet them! Thankfully it is only about 3 miles from our house.  This particular friend lives in a nearby community about 20 minutes away.  She's the same dear friend who brought me a whole big box full of a series of Amish Mystery books to read back in 2020 (just at the beginning of the pandemic) while I was recuperating from some major surgery.  What a wonderful surprise to see her again! She and her sweet hubby also enjoyed some "wicked good hot dogs" while we visited back in the little break room that Ben and Rose have set up in the back of the store, and then they had their little tour of the store and before they left I remembered that we must have a picture taken of us together:

I never dreamed that this store would become the "gathering place" for old school friends from my home town, but this was the second one this week! What a blessing! I wonder who will be next? Of course, you don't have to be an old school friend to come and visit.  Any wonderful friend will do! We are finding that we are making new friends already here! What a blessing!

So now, today was another culinary adventure! Unbeknownst to our son, there was another food truck coming to set up business for the day.  Apparently this BBQ truck has been setting up here every other Saturday for quite some time. The previous tenants of our building were not open on Saturdays, so  the BBQ truck could make use of the parking lot without any competition for space (except for the Barber Shop, which is on the end of our building).  However, Dixie Cottage is open for business on Saturdays, so the BBQ truck had to move over and share the space.  Really it wasn't bad...kind of a symbiotic relationship..."you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours", or something like that. One business attracts visitors to the other, so it's all good.

And of course, we had to sample their food as well.  They had smoked ribs, chicken, brisket, pork, etc.

So I picked up chicken and some potato salad and coleslaw for our supper tonight. It was also "wicked good". LOL.

However, hubby and I decided we can't keep eating all this food out all week long. One day when we were there alone all day we ordered take-out for lunch from Nana's Country Cafe' across the road. (Hamburgers).  Starting next week we will pack our lunches when we have to be at the store all day. Otherwise we'll be going broke from too much good food.

But it's all good. We've had a great week, and the store did surprisingly well for their first week of business here in this new location. This morning people came to pick up the large pieces of furniture that they had purchased earlier in the week, and the store was looking a bit bare.  So Ben and Rose are busily trying to get more inventory ready for sale before they reopen on Tuesday. It's a good problem to have, but it is also kind of stressful for them.  Hopefully things will fall into a good pattern and they will be able to maintain their stock a bit better as time goes by.

Meanwhile, here on Still Waters Pond, life goes on as usual.

This Great Blue Heron

and this White Egret are busily "shopping" for their supper from the waters of the pond this evening.

I don't think they have any worries about supplies running out or the prices being too high.

God provides for them and they are grateful for His provision.

And so are we...grateful for God's provision in so many ways. 

Lamentations 3:22-25

22 "Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“Therefore I hope in Him!”

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

To the soul who seeks Him."

Why not sing this beautiful favorite hymn along with us :

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (song above by Carrie Underwood and CeCe Wynans

1 Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

there is no shadow of turning with thee.

Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;

as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:

Great is thy faithfulness!

Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

all I have needed thy hand hath provided.

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

2 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

join with all nature in manifold witness

to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. 

[Refrain]

3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,

strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! 

[Refrain]

Thank you for coming along on this adventure this week. Tomorrow is the Lord's Day, and we will be worshiping at our church and hopefully taking some time to rest.

I hope you will be able to do the same.

Have a blessed SONday tomorrow! 

Good Night and God Bless.