Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Here it is Thursday already...where does the time go? It's been a busy week, filled with mostly good things. Yesterday, June 14th, was Flag Day, the day we celebrate the adoption of our American Flag on June 14, 1777.   (The two links above with give the history of Flag Day and the actual history of our American Flag.)  

We proudly display our flag every day, however we have noticed that this particular flag has faded a bit in the sun, so I have ordered a new one to replace it. Hopefully it will arrive before Father's Day so I can give it to my hubby as a gift.  He takes great pride and pleasure in putting the flag outside each morning. If he forgets or if I get to it first, I enjoy putting it out as well, and oftentimes you can hear me singing the Star Spangled Banner when I do.  The birds in the treetops get very silent and listen attentively until I am done. Then they start their own songs again. (well, maybe not really, but it makes for a good story! LOL).  Do you have an American Flag and do you put it out daily or just for holidays? 

On Monday evening I was pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from a couple of dear old friends, whom I have not seen in over 10 years, asking if we could meet for lunch on Tuesday.  What a blessing! These ladies are sisters, and they used to be members of a church we ministered in many years ago, but they have since moved away from that area. Since that time they have both lost their husbands and have also been through so many other sorrows. Within the past year the friend on the right has lost (to natural causes), her only son, her husband, her sweet puppy dog, and then just a couple of weeks ago one of her grandsons in a tragic accident. The friend on the left lost her husband several years ago, and then more recently her son, and she recently had a hip replacement and is still recovering.  But let me tell you, in spite of all that, they are still rejoicing in Jesus, and we spent such a beautiful time together giving thanks to the Lord for His love and faithfulness even in the hard times. I felt so blessed to be able to spend this time with them.  Sonny's BBQ in Palatka was beginning to think we'd never leave, but they let us just sit and talk and talk.  And then I grabbed a total stranger outside and asked him if he'd take our picture, and he was so gracious to do so.  I'm so glad to have this picture to remind me to pray for these very sweet and special friends.

If you recall I mentioned in a previous post HERE, about hubby hurting his back...and I thank you all for your kind and gracious thoughts and prayers. He is feeling much better now, and we are so thankful. Especially because yesterday he had a pre-scheduled appointment for a special medical test that was going to require him to lay on a table for a period of time, and he was really dreading that with his hurt back. When he came out to the waiting room to meet me (after two hours), he was so thankful that it wasn't nearly as bad as he had feared. Part of the test was sitting up while a special infusion of dye went into his body, and then the laying down part only took about 15 or 20 minutes, so it really wasn't bad at all and he was SO relieved! Now we await the results, which we won't get for a week, but we continue to trust God for His grace and healing power. Prayers are still appreciated...

Last evening when we got home this pretty neighborhood kitty was laying on our front deck, just making herself at home:

She took a little "catnap" out there and then went on her way. I guess the sunshine must have felt good.

Progress is coming to our little town. This building has been here for a long time, and used to be a bakery and deli/cafe'.  It's been empty since the pandemic, and finally someone else has bought it and is putting a "Burger and Shakes" restaurant in there. It is actually done by the same people who own the Hog Wild Country Cafe' BBQ place on the outskirts of town, and they are expanding their business to be known as "Hog Wild Burgers and Shakes".  We haven't tried it out yet,  but it gives us another option for a place to get something to eat around here.

And MORE progress is being made in town...this lot is being cleared to make way for a Taco Bell! Even though I am not crazy about Taco Bell, still it is another option beside McDonalds for fast food. I fear our little town is growing...and even though we like to see more amenities and food places, that also means more people and traffic, so it is a mixed bag.   However, I wish both of these places success and hope they will also mean more jobs for our local people.

Now here is a public service announcement.  I kept noticing that little triangle with the exclamation mark in it on our thermostat, and also that little battery diagram in the top right corner that looked like it was "empty".  Thankfully, so far, nothing had gone wrong with our AC system, but I was beginning to wonder what those symbols might mean.

Well, interestingly enough, one of my church friends mentioned on our church prayer warriors messenger page on Facebook that she had been having trouble with her AC and couldn't figure out why, and then someone told her to check the batteries in the thermostat. She did, and put in new batteries, and the AC started working again!  So, I looked at our thermostat again and couldn't really figure out how to get it open so I called our AC repairman (they are very good and helpful), and they told me how to just pull the front section off and the batteries are inside that section. Two AA batteries! So I replaced them and then put it back together and now everything is just fine!  It took a few minutes to bring the temperature back up to normal from when I took it apart, but soon everything was back to normal and we are cool as cucumbers! LOL.

So, have you looked at your thermostat lately? Does yours have a battery symbol showing? It only shows up when it is almost run out of juice.  They said the batteries should be changed once a year. I wish they would have told me that when they installed this new thermostat a year ago! LOL. But at least I found out about it before I needed a service call! I am very thankful for that!

Now, as I mentioned before, our son and DIL are vacationing in her home state, and here's a few pictures they sent us:

Do you know who this is?

Yes, this is Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

And this is Rose and the tiny fish:

And Benton and the tiny fish!

They are having a good time, as you can see. We miss them here, but are happy for them to have this time away with her Dad and family.

And here's her Dad...you can see who really knows how to fish!!!

Well, I guess I'd better close this post...oh, one more thing, last night at midnight my sister texted me to tell me that we were under a severe thunderstorm warning. I was sound asleep, of course. She was awake and watching the weather and saw our area was under that warning. About the time I heard my phone ding for the text, I also heard a loud crack of thunder and saw the lightning, and then a LOT of rain came down. Although we did not sustain any damages or have any problems, I am thankful that my sister cared enough to send me that text to warn me of impending danger. That's a good Big Sister! I was too groggy, however, to send her back a text last night, so I waited until this morning to thank her for being our "Willy the Weatherman".  (Does anyone remember him?) I am also thankful for the rain, as we needed it.  I pray no one else was affected adversely in that storm last night...I saw that it apparently went across Alabama and Georgia, so I hope our friends up there are all okay.

One more thing (again)...I will close with this picture.

Dawn sent this to me the other day, and I just love it, and the fact that she sent it to me. 

Thank you all again for your continued prayers for our grandson Noah and his fiance' Dawn, as they continue to seek God's direction for their lives.   Seeing this gave me hope and peace of mind.

Okay, that's all folks!!

Have a blessed weekend!