The Fifth of July 2008

Even though it is not the fourth of July, I can still hear the "bombs bursting in air", so to speak. What a display of fireworks I viewed tonight! Wow! There were three towns going off all at the same time, and these were better than last night.

It so reminded me of the times I sat on my front porch in Runnemede and watched the fireworks that were at the ball field about 8 blocks away. It wasn't that I was too lazy to walk that far. It's just that the view from the porch was just fine and, well, I guess in retrospect, I WAS too lazy to walk down to the ball fields. But, and this is a big "but" I had a nice comfy chair to sit on when I view the fireworks on the porch, whereas if I had gone to the ballfield, I would have had to either stand for the whole extravaganza or I would have had to sit on the cold, hard ground, or lug a blanket to the field and sit on that. So sitting on my front porch had its benefits.

My daughter Becky and her children came over to the house after the picnic and we had hamburgers grilled on the stove, then after supper two of the three children went swimming. Dan decided he would rather play a game with Pop-pop (they played Cat-opoly) than go swimming. He loves playing games with his grandfather!

And shortly after 8 o'clock Becky left for Indiana. It's a shame she didn't stay just a little bit longer. The children would have loved the fireworks. But I understand. Tomorrow is a big day at her church. The whole mission team (that went to Arizona with them) will be in town and there will be a picnic on the grounds, and then her church is having a big fireworks display tomorrow night to celebrate the week of back yard VBS -- they have 12 separated Back Yard Bible Schools going on this week. Becky and her family are very excited about the number of people who wanted to have a Bible School in their yard.

So, I believe for Alan and me, anyway, the 2008 Independence Day celebrations have come to an end. But, we live in Kentucky, and one never knows. This is the land of fireworks!

Family picnic

Nothing to do with Runnemede. We had a family picnic to celebrate the 4th of July, albeit we had it today, the 5th of July, 2008. If you want to know more about what happened, check out http://www.thefatladysingeth.blogspot.com/. I put it on the Fat Lady BLOG today.

Here are some more pictures. David is singing -- he was singing Amazing Grace. A partial group photo -- Becky's family with Rosie in front; and tonight in the pool -- Grace. The water was freezing, but Annie and Grace went swimming for about one hour. Then mom (Becky) decided it was time to head home to Indiana. All in all it was a lovely day.

Fourth of July

Today is the fourth of July, 2008, and it wasn't a day like the Fourths of July that I remember. First, our picnic was cancelled because of rain, or should I say mud. We thought it would be better not to go to a park right after a half-inch or more fell in the morning, and the skies were still threatening to pour more moisture onto the already soggy ground. And sure enough, it did -- rain again, that is.

But tonight --

I was certain that any and all fireworks displays would be cancelled because of the weather. Well, it is foggy, but it's not raining and hasn't rained for at least two hours. So, I guess the surrounding communities decided to go ahead with their annual extravaganzas. From my deck I could see seven different displays (my deck is also known as the porch, sun porch, lanai, patio, outdoor room). What a show!

The trees are getting taller and the shows are getting less easy to observe. I can only see the high, blossoming explosions. When we first moved here, I could see some of the lower displays. But hey, I still get quite a view.

Then I noticed that there were a couple other displays going on in the front of the house and so I opened the blind in the library and was able to watch two other great displays.

I'm still hearing the boom, boom, boom of fireworks, so I know there are more people shooting them off. I live here in KY and a lot of people buy lots of fireworks and have their own little shows, so I also benefit from them -- they've been going on all week. It's been nice to see so many different displays. I especially like the light, airy, lacy, white-light ones. And I also like the ones that sort of implode upon themselves in a whole bunch of colors. You know what I mean?


I just love fireworks. They not only remind me of when I was young, but they do something that makes me just feel happy.

Oh, and did I mention the lightning bugs. They were out and about and I saw them as well. And remembered when I used to collect them and put them in a jar, or (gross) pull off the lighted part of the bug and push it onto my ring finger like it was a diamond. I do remember that lightning bugs had a strange smell, and that must have been because of their little tail light.

And, once again, I told Alan how much I loved where we now live. I really, really love this place!

The fourth of July

If you're up late on the 3rd you will read this ahead of when you're supposed to. However, if you are reading this on the 4th, you are getting it right.

It's late on the 3rd so I figure not too many will read this homage to the 4th of July ahead of when it's supposed to be read.

I have a confession to make. I always cry on the 4th of July. The beginning of a 4th of July parade makes me cry. The fire-engines in the parade make me cry. The veterans as they pass in review make me cry. The sweet, sweet babies in their decorated carriages make me cry. I just am a cry-baby. But I love a 4th of July parade.

Then, there are the fireworks. I always cry at the end of the big celebration -- that last hurrah firework that goes boom, boom, boom, boom, boom -- ad infinitum -- well, it just makes me cry. Maybe I'm crying because the celebration of our nation's birth is over for another year, and I wonder what the next year will hold and will we still have this wonderful country to celebrate next year.

Oh, I didn't think of those types of things when I was a child -- and I cried even back then. Let's face it, I'm a crier.

If you want to see other writings on past 4th of July celebrations, just click on the 4th of July link on the side of the page and it will take you to those ramblings. Happy 4th everyone. Remember what we're celebrating. It's not just a day off from work, or a day to party, the day was set aside to honor our fore-fathers and what they did so that we can have the best country in the entire world. Think about that.

Going to bed routine

When I was a child, there was a routine before going to bed. And, I suppose most parents have a routine for putting their child(ren) to bed. I know Alan and I did. But this isn't about Alan's and my routine. This is about my mother's routine. My father was most often not home at bed-time because he was either at a church meeting, or a board meeting, or a Bible School teaching session.

(the picture is not of any family member).

When we were getting ready for bed, of course we had to be washed (bathing was only permitted on Saturday night -- I wrote about that before). If we were dirty we got a thorough cleansing, including the feet and ears and hair. Then we had to brush our teeth. I used to just suck the toothpaste off the toothbrush and call it a day. Then mom would have us kneel beside the bed and say our prayer -- always starting with:

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep,

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.

The would follow the God blesses -- God bless mommy and daddy, Debby, Markie, Diddle, Aunt Annie, Uncle Joe, Aunt Rita, Uncle Joe, Aunt Francis, Uncle Howard, and God bless the missionaries. Amen.

Noticeably missing from the "God blesses" was the cousins. Hmmm.

I don't recall any stories being read or told to me, but I do recall mom quoting some scripture each evening.

Sometimes the God blesses included one of my friends, but usually I was in a hurry to get between the sheets and get my goodnight kiss and hug from mom. She really did smell good. I remember her smelling of roses. And she was always smiling.

So, I now pray that God will bless those who read this BLOG in some way.

Through the years

I thought you might like to see a montage of pictures of my mother and father -- Rose Sbaraglia Drexler and Carl John Drexler. The black and white was taken in 1938. The one next to that was taken in the late 70s, and the other two were taken in the 80s. The one on the bottom left was taken about two months before my mom died. Enjoy.

Please notice dad's pockets -- the pens? Notice the suspenders? The two pictures on the bottom must have been taken in the summer because he wouldn't be without his jacket if it were winter.

Pestered

Here's a funny note. Every year my husband writes a letter to each grandchild when it's their birthday. Adam's birthday is tomorrow and Alan wrote him his annual epistle. He was mentioning Adam's heritage and just happened to say that he would be proud how Memom's father pestered a church for over 50 years. I think he meant pastored. We laughed over that mistake. Poor Alan, spelling was never his strong point.

BTW, my father didn't pester his congregation. I think it was just the opposite. The further removed he was from them, the happier he was. He hated conflict, and if something didn't get done, he wasn't about to pester anyone to get it done. Did he pastor? That's a matter of opinion. He did what he had to do to lead his flock. He believed that meant teaching, indoctrinating the people in God's Word until it became so ingrained in them that they were, therefore, pastored. He visited the sick, he gave communion to the sick, he had mom send cards to the ill and infirm, he listened to people as they told him their problems. But pester? I don't think so.

Get the difference?