The Boy and His Daddy

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The boy and his daddy - - - daddy ever teaching, modeling - - - boy ever learning, copying.


And on Memorial Day, what could be more American than baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and daddies teaching sons the rudiments of the game?


Now, please excuse me while I wax a little emotional.


For you see, this isn't just ANY little boy and his daddy. No, this is our grandson and his daddy.

And believe you me, in this world today where so many little boys either don't know who their daddy is, or are afraid of the one they have, we feel grateful and blessed beyond words that our grandson has a daddy well worth his salt.

And little sister Piper is thankful for her family too!

Photo Credit: All of the photos in this post were taken by our daughter, Keri, who also created the mosaics.

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Remembrance Sunday in My City

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Memorial Day is a time set aside for remembering.

I will confess that I often forget to remember. That may sound like an oxymoron, but it isn't really.

I find myself guilty of allowing Memorial Day to be just another day off work - - - a great day of rest from a busy schedule.

But it is so much more.

This morning in church, we built a flower arrangement of remembrance.


First those who served in the military were invited to come forward and place a rose in the vase. Others came forward to place a rose in remembrance of family members who gave their all in service to our country.

They were followed by people who placed a rose in honor of a family member currently serving our country.

I was proud to place a rose in honor of my nephew, David Birky, who pilots a Coast Guard rescue helicopter in Sitka, Alsaka.


Those who are actively serving in law enforcement were the next to place roses.


And finally, those who had lost a loved one this year and those who lead a nursing home ministry and have lost people in the past year rounded out the roses in the vase.

What a precious reminder of those who have gone before, paving the way.

And what a great way to honor those who still serve to ensure our liberty.

Remember, your freedom is not free.

Joining Unknown Mami
For Sundays in my City.

Today my city is Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

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Rainy Night Frags

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We have been sooooo dry around here that my lawn gnome's beautiful green grass is now crunchy and brown!

Thank goodness it's rainin' out there tonight - - - wish it would keep it up at a nice steady pace for about three days.

But, while it's raining water drops out there, let it rain down some Friday Frags in here!!

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Two FF's ago I talked about getting this lovely piece which then had to ride around in the hatch of my car for the better part of a week waiting for us to clear the 70's dresser out of our bedroom to make way for the new, which in this case is of course much older than the old.


For a long time I've wanted to fill our bedroom up with antique pieces which I prefer over the70's stuff we bought brand new in our newly wed era, circa 36 years ago. I'm loving the transformation.

There will be a couple more transformers later in this list of frags.

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I got tired of my coffee table books just lying around all flat and boring. I saw this chest and thought it would make a perfect magazine "propper-upper."

And it does.

I believe someone must have made this as either a jewelry or silverware chest. All the little drawers are lined with green velvet.

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Now the coffee table top doesn't have to be flat and boring any more.

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I'm one of the few non-Miami, non-Florida people who actually WANT the Heat to win it all.

They are trying to eliminate the Indiana Pacers as I type this. By the time you read it, we'll all know whether they were successful tonight or not.

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Today was Fisherhubby's and my 37th anniversary. Our dear friends, Eloise (pronounced E-Lois) and Bill stopped by with a pack of very fun things for us to open.

This antique french fry cutter was in the mix.


They also gave us two antique egg beaters, two different styles. You can find one of them in the upper right hand corner and the other in the lower left.

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Transformer #2, a dry sink which is doubling as a bedside table.

I don't know WHY it looks crooked in my picture, it isn't really a crook at all.

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A few days ago Fisherhubby asked me why he couldn't have a roll-top desk on his side of the bed instead of a bedside table. He's been wanting a roll-top for more than twenty years.

I poo-pooed the idea because frankly, I thought I had OTHER things in mind to put on his side of the bed.

The very next day, when I walked into Cranberry Creek, THIS is what I saw inside the door.

It had JUST arrived and wasn't even priced yet. I told Jodi to mark it "sold" and let me know the price as soon as she could get it appraised.

Today, just in time for our anniversary, it came home with us!!!

Happy Anniversary to you dear Fisherhubby.


The roll-top is Transformer #3, and I'm kinda liking how "his side" of the bed is shaping up.


Isn't he so lucky to have my Kindergarten "Christmas Baby" on his side of the room???

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Poor Fisherhubby is in the middle of a 6 day stretch of working in the ER. He was SUPPOSED to have today off, but got called in for a couple of hours.

When he got home, he spent a good bit of time doing this, and I don't blame him.


In our pack of very fun anniversary gifts from Bill and Eloise today, we found this electric fly zapper swapper for Fisherhubby.

Right on the packaging there is a warning to NOT touch the mesh when it is on, or you will incur an electric shock.

Fisherhubby says he can't WAIT to zap me with it when I come out of the shower.

And that's all I'll say about that.

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Head on over to Mrs. 4444's place
And check out all the other Friday Fragments.

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Boxes in My City

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I've told you before about the free-clothing ministry, The Shepherd's Loft, which our church operates.

One might think that finding enough donated clothing items would be a problem for an ongoing ministry like this. That has not been our experience.

Many of our customers donate clothing when they are finished with it. Those of us who volunteer in the Loft and others who attend our church donate used clothing. There are even several consignment shops in the area which give us their items that didn't sell.


The other day boxed donations arrived in this trailer. LOTS of boxed donations.


"All hands on deck" to help unload the truck - - - even pastor, on the right.


This gal was busy shopping in the Loft, but she stopped the shopping long enough to be a BIG help.


The boxes just kept pouring in.


Some of us began trying to organize them out of the path of incoming traffic.

Some of us "worked" the camera.


When the entire load was brought in, we had a HUGE pile of boxes in the middle of our Loft work space - - -


Another pile on the left side of the back entryway hall,


Another pile on the right side of the back entryway hall - - -


And one last long pile going all the way down to the pastor's office door!

We have since moved all these boxes to less visible storage places and begun the long process of sorting through them and putting the clothes out for our customers.

It is a "good problem" to have our storage "bins" so full - - - but we don't want to be like the farmer in the parable who built bigger barns to store his crops only to have the Lord say to him, "Thou fool, tonight thy soul will be required of thee."

We are praying to find creative ways to share this bounty even with clothing ministries similar to ours but as far away as Texas.

Joining Unknown Mami
For Sundays in my City.

Today my city is Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

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"Cracking" Eggs and Other Fragments

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It's Friday, the day Mrs. 4444 has made fragmenting not only acceptable, but also popular.

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Sum - Sum - Summertime flip flop S&Ps that I found for a dollar this week.


They came home with me and moved in right on top of the pie safe with some festive Fiesta mugs.

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This is my little collection of all things violet, I am fragging it here specially for my cousin Dar to see.

Probably the most valuable piece in the set is the cheese dish in the center which belonged to our grandparents.

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Lots of people live on our refrigerator, how about yours?

Our children, grans, some of my former students, and even some bloggy friends have come to dwell here.

Right in the midst of this neighborhood, you will find - - -


Little Miss Viola.

Viola lives in Uganda, Africa. We have never had the joy of meeting her face to face but we have chosen to become her sponsors. We send $25/month which enables her to go to school and receive all the benefits that school brings into her life.

Last week we received our first letter from her. In it she said her favorite household chore was fetching water. Methinks few of us have ever had to fetch water, except in a glass right from our own kitchen sink.

We sponsor Viola through Forgotten Children Worldwide. The best part about this organization is that all their stateside workers are volunteers so when you sponsor a child through them, every single penny of your money goes directly to your child.

I know this to be fact for our daughter Keri is one of those volunteers and I'm so proud that she serves others in this way.

I share this with you today from my heart - no one at FCW asked me to advertise for them, nor do they even know I'm doing it.

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I found some robin egg blue eggs to add to the other bird eggs in the basket this week.

Loving the "spot" of color.


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Last spring when my Easter lilies died down, I planted them out in the landscaping. I told them, "If you're gonna live, you're gonna have to do it on your own."

They chose to survive the winter and are thriving.

Probably because I didn't try to "raise" them - - - we all know what MY touch does to plants.

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Here are the results of the craft project my class at church did this week:

Kayla gave her lion the feminine touch.

Chris made a camo lion.

He says he's battle-scarred, that's why one paw is missing.

Teacher's pet.

Guess which Bible story we studied.


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Head on over to Mrs. 4444's place
And check out all the other Friday Fragments.

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Quiet Star - Barn Charm

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This barn is just outside of Wisconsin Rapids on George Road. Isn't "she" a beauty?

Little aside about the name of MY town: When I tell folks from other states that I live in Wisconsin Rapids, they OFTEN say, "Don't you mean Rapids, Wisconsin???"

"Uh, no - - - I MEAN Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin."

Ha - - - I think I know where I live.

Now back to the barn business at hand - - -


Neat as a pin and definitely still a working barn - - - at least of sorts. I forgot to ask if the main barn houses cows or cattle, though I didn't see any about the place.


This end of the barn has horse stalls and is the work room of my friend - - -


Lori. Lori keeps her horses in the stalls and fashions her "magic" to sell later in her little shop - - -


The Quiet Star, one of the cutest antique and collectibles shops around. But, it is only open three times a year, so you gotta get on the mailing list if you don't want to make a wasted trip.

You can see MORE of this darling shop here and here, not to mention all of "it" that you will see if you follow me around my house - - - 'cause I've been bringing home the bacon!!!

Now, head on over to see the OTHER amazing barns at Barn Charm this week.

Linking today with "Barn Charm"
Please click over to Bluff Area Daily
To enjoy all the Barn Charm posts.

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