THOUGHTS IN THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST

 

Can you believe it is the middle of August already?  Where has the summer gone?  Time seems to be flying by so quickly.

I just realized this morning how fast the year is going.  Although looking back it seems as if a lot has happened this year.  But fall is right around the corner and then the holidays and then...  2023 is almost over.

I know it doesn't seem as if it is almost over.  There are four and a half months to go.  Lots of time to do lots of things.  But I am thinking how fast my life is going.

Maybe it's because in four and a half months I will be hitting a milestone birthday.  One I am not looking forward to.  One I thought I would never see.

Maybe it's because I have seen four dentists now and still have no answer to what I am supposed to do about my tooth with the cavity under the gum.

Maybe it's because my cardiologist keeps telling me how close I am to a deadly stroke and life-threatening heart attack.  Every time I see him he tells me how fortunate I am to still be alive because I am on borrowed time.

Maybe it's because I so want to move out of this house and into one where I can get around better.  Being hardly able to do steps and living in a three storey (four if you count the basement) house is hard.  Very hard.  And very, very painful.

I want my life back.  I want the year back.  I want all of my problems to go away.  *sigh*

I guess I'm just feeling depressed today.  Because I have so very much to be thankful for.

For instance, I have a house to live in.  Some people live on the street.  Some people have nothing to eat.  I can have just about anything I want for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I have a shower to use and clean clothes to wear.

I haven't died yet.  God is keeping me alive for whatever purpose He has for me.

I can teach Bible study, attend church, and even watch a live stream on TV if for some reason I can't make it to the service.

I have family and friends who love me and care about what happens to me.  I have a husband who loves me in spite of my defects.  And I have a God who loves me so much that He died for me and then chose me before the world began to be one of His own.

Sorry about this rambling.  I just felt that I needed to write all of this down and you were the perfect ones to spill my heart out to.  Thanks for being here to listen to me.  Or read me.  I do appreciate all of you so much.

Kathy

SISTERS VACATION TO LANCASTER COUNTY DAY TWO

 

 

Hello, friends!  I'm back to tell you about my second day in Lancaster County last month.  Beware, there are a lot of pictures to show you.  By the way, I put up Day One on my YouTube channel today.  Day Two will go up on Tuesday.  Then the things I bought will be on next Friday.  Hope you go to see them.  In the meantime, let me show you some of the pictures I have.

Our room was at the very end of a long hallway.  Let me tell you, that was agony on my sore knees.  But I made it.  This picture was taken from in front of the elevator.

There were some beautiful bushes right by the front door.  And a little garden which we could see from the window in our room.

The room comes with breakfast.  There is a little eating area on the first floor.  When we got on the elevator to go down, there was another couple there.  They had been on the floor above us.  We said good morning and then got off to go eat.  I grabbed a table (there aren't very many and they were filling up) while Elaine went to get her breakfast.  This couple was looking around for a place to sit, so I invited them to sit with us.  Their names were Sue and Paul.  They were from New Jersey, but Sue was originally from right outside of Philadelphia.  They were so fun and we had a great time talking together.  I love meeting new people.

We went back to the room and got our things together to check out.  It was a short trip, but so relaxing.  We wanted to head to the Bird-in-Hand area, so that's what we did.

The first place we went was to get some money from the ATM on Route 896.  We had a hard time finding it.  It used to be a PNC bank (where I bank), but now it is one I have never heard of.  But I got the money.  I needed cash.  We passed the Sight and Sound Theater while we were looking for it.

Then we headed for Kitchen Kettle.  I took lots of pictures along the way, but because we were moving, lots of them were blurry.  We started with the plant place.  It is all new and the owner was so friendly.  I bought basil and English thyme.  I planted them in the yard the other day.  They were in bad shape.  The basil came back and is doing great, but the thyme didn't make it.  Oh well.  I use more basil than thyme anyway.

I sat down by a fountain and Elaine went to the Jam and Jelly Kitchen.  She got some really yummy things.

When we left Kitchen Kettle, we took a wrong turn and were heading away from the Farmers Market.  Elaine made a turn into a road, and we were in the most beautiful little community.  Most of the houses were Amish, but we did see some with electricity, so they were either Mennonite or English.  I was snapping pictures right and left.  A lot of them did not turn out because we were moving, but many did.  We were finally able to turn around and head back to where we wanted to be.

We finally made it to the Farmers Market.  I got some chocolate covered pretzels, a loaf of raisin bread, a bottle of Shank's vanilla bean extract, some lebanon bologna, 6 ears of white corn and 3 tomatoes.  The produce was so good.

Then we went next door to the Bird-in-Hand Restaurant for Elaine's birthday dinner.  

Bird-in-Hand and Dienner's are our favorite places to eat in Lancaster County.  I had meat loaf, sweet potato fries (which were wonderful!) and corn.  Elaine had the smorgasbord.  I couldn't eat it all and took my fries home to Joe.  He loved them too.  Elaine also got a piece of cake for her birthday.

We discovered about a week after our vacation that we hadn't taken any pictures of ourselves or of each other.  Wow!  This is the only picture I got of Elaine and it was her birthday!

These beautiful geraniums were right outside of the restaurant.  They were so bright!

And then it was time to head home.  I always hate to leave.  Maybe someday I can live out there.  I hope.

Thanks for being so patient waiting for the end of the story.  I hope you enjoyed coming along with me.  And I will see you all soon.

Kathy