Hooray! It's September!! Summer is coming to a close and Autumn is on its way! Of course, here in Florida, there is no appreciable difference in temperature or "color" as of yet, but we know that cooler temperatures will begin to develop hopefully toward the end of the month. Right now we are having one of our usual summer afternoon thunderstorms, but hopefully that will cool us down a degree or two.
So by now most schools are back in session, or they will be after Labor Day. Our school started back here a couple of weeks ago.
I love this picture of the old fashioned school room from my Country Seasons calendar, painted by John Sloane. I especially love that the chalkboard says "Every day is a gift". How true that is, and we should cherish every day as a gift from God. None of us knows how many days we are allotted on this earth, and we should treasure every one and every person who comes into our lives each day. I also love that this picture is entitled "Recess". How many of you remember recess time at school? I am sure for many of us it was the best part of the day! I loved getting outside and being free to run around and play and talk with my friends for a little while without the teacher telling us to be still and to be quiet. It was our time to socialize and make friends and get the " giggles and the wiggles" out of our system so we could go back inside and settle down and learn better. (well, maybe, lol.)
This picture reminds me of our 6th grade classroom, many moons ago:
I wonder if you can find me? I am in the next to last row farthest over, in the very back seat. This was actually 5th and 6th grade combination class. We more "mature" 6th graders were on the far side, and the 5th graders are closer to you. LOL.
Now here's our Thomas Kinkade calendar...and I love the verses on it:
"Blessed are the peacemakers", and "The peace of God...shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." I also see that Sept. 21st is the UN International Day of Peace. Truly, our world needs the peace of God that only He can give us. And even if the world itself is in turmoil, we can be at peace in our hearts and minds through our relationship with Christ. That is the only true peace.
Oh, another reason I love September...that circled date is my birthday!
So moving right along...did any of you have an amazing sunrise this morning? We certainly did. It was the proverbial "red sky at morning, sailors take warning" kind of sky:
It was so amazing!
I was singing this old hymn:
"When morning gilds the skies,
My heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer
To Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!"
It truly was a wonderful experience just watching the skies change every minute, and giving God the glory.
After this it kind of got cloudy and that was pretty much it. I'm so glad I happened to look outside when I did, or I would have missed it!
A cute little entry table...
And another accessory table
This fun fall gnome was created by our DIL Rose and her sisters. They had a little "craft day" last weekend and worked on some fun projects together. I'm happy for Rose to have two of her sisters living within an hour's drive, and they like to do fun stuff like this together every so often.
This hall tree is a new item, brought in just yesterday by one of our furniture vendors. We have several people who paint/create furniture items to sell on consignment in the store, and it is a big help to Benton, so he doesn't have to do all of the furniture.
Later note: Oh! I just got off the phone with Benton and he said a woman came in this afternoon around 3:30 and bought this hall tree!!!! I guess that last hour of the day before closing is the best hour of the day! Someone else called and ordered something and gave a deposit over the phone...
I just have to pause and thank the Lord for His kindness to our kids in this venture!
Now here is a bit of a miracle story. One thing we have learned here in our new location is that business can be really really slow during the weekdays, and it can be downright discouraging. Sometimes we sit there all morning and may only have one person come in the store, mostly just to "look". But then all it takes is one person to come in and see something they like and say "I'll take it!", and that can make the sales goal for the whole day! Well, yesterday was like that. When we left at noon nothing was happening. Benton came in to take over for the afternoon, and at first it was pretty slow for him too. About 3:00 a lady came in to look at a piece of furniture that she had seen online, but when she saw it she didn't really think it would do for what she had in mind. She needed something much larger, and with glass doors. Well, Benton told her that he had this huge china cabinet sitting in the back room that he wasn't sure what he was going to do with, because it was so big and he didn't have anyplace to put it on the showroom floor...and he hadn't had time to paint it or do anything to it yet. It was actually a free item that someone wanted to gave away, and Rose's family saw it and brought it to the store. He really didn't think it would sell because it was so big and most people aren't looking for big china cabinets these days. Well, this elderly woman is getting ready to move into a new house and she has a lot of china and silver and needs a very large cabinet to display it in, and when he showed this to her she said, "That's exactly what I want!" Although, she does want it painted to match another piece that she had previously purchased from us that Benton is getting ready to paint for her. And so they agreed upon a price and he will be painting this and the other item for her in the next few weeks before she actually moves to her new house! So we all rejoiced at this good news as it truly made the day! (and we can finally get this out of the back room where it is taking up a lot of needed space!)
Now if we could just get someone to come and buy these cute little dish towels that they've had since the other store over at the beach...beachy things don't sell as well here where we are now, so we are hoping someone will snatch these up at a good discounted price!
Other new items that came in today are some lovely quilts and seasonal wall hangings and table runners, that are hand made by one of our new vendors:
Aren't they all beautiful? I do hope they will sell well.
She also crochets these cute little pumpkins and gourds:
And you know you just never know who might walk through the door at the store! Just before we left at noon this lovely young lady came in, dressed in her full regalia as an honest to goodness beauty queen! She is on her way to a national competition in Tennessee this weekend, and she and her family were seeking donations for a raffle that will help fund her trip expenses. Amazingly her name is "Rose", and she is only in 8th grade! So we gave a donation to help her on her way, and we wish her the very best of luck. She and her parents gave me permission to take her picture and share it with you.
Oh, before I go for the night, one more thing...remember I told you about the "house" that was moved in across the street? And I asked you to pray for me to have a good attitude as well as pray for the new neighbors, whoever they may be? Well, yesterday I finally met the man who owns the house. I asked him point blank if he was going to fix it up and "flip it" and re-sell it or rent it? He said he has bought it for his daughter and her family, and yes, he is totally renovating the house. He will put new siding on it and redo the inside, etc., so it will look very nice when he is finished. It may take a little while because he is doing it on his own and is very busy, but he assured me it would be like a new house when complete. I thanked him very kindly and we had a very nice conversation. So I feel much better about it now and wanted to let you know that prayers are already being answered! So now we can continue to pray for this young woman and her family...he said she has young children. Yes, I think I will bake them some cookies when they finally get to move into their new home!
