Life's Blessings

Atonement - Forgiveness"And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." (Isaiah 32:17)

Autumn

Ahh... Autumn, a time to enjoy the serenity of cool air, falling leaves and a general well being.
Well maybe not yet! Actually as the first day of Fall arrives, I see the sun peeking out through the ominous rain clouds that have shadowed our fair State for the past week. In the last three days they are now guestimating that we have received 22-25 inches of rain.

The water came down so hard yesterday that the small lake in our backyard became a gushing river!
As I stood in about eight inches of water outside, I took a picture of my boots as the swirling tide surrounded them. This brought back memories from my teen years in Florida, wading barefoot in knee-high water after a hurricane.
Alas, I will have to wait a bit longer to see the sights of the Fall season and enjoy all the smells and sounds it brings, but it will come and it will be enjoyed by all!

A Tribute to David (1939-2006)

David would have been 70 years old today so I thought I would do a blog tribute to him for his birthday. Married to my sister, David was more like a brother than a brother-in-law. He was always helping us out of tough situations such as towing back my poor wrecked car across three states after my daughter (yes, that would be Kim) nearly totaled it while away at college.

I have wonderful memories of David. For example, when he was dating my sister I used to charge my friends a quarter to watch them kiss in the living room. I know, I was a naughty sister, but hey, money was hard to come by when I was 13.

David, who was dedicated to this country, joined the U.S. Army shortly before he married my sister. I used to make him brownies when he came home on leave and he loved them! He remained in the military, served in the reserves and eventually retired from it. Here he is with my sister and his dad.

David loved many things. He loved his family most of all and when I looked through my pictures, it was hard to find one of him without my sister also in the picture. She was the love of his life and they were married nearly 46 years.

Here he is at a family picnic on Mother’s Day in 1968 and yes, he loved to eat too.

David and my sister at their daughter's wedding

David and my sister both loved the snow and were avid skiers. On the few occasions that it snowed in Atlanta, he and my sister would come over to our house and we would go sledding or just play in the snow and then walk to the Waffle House for something to eat. Back in 1969, I called my sister to tell her that we had snow, and David drove his entire family from Florida to Atlanta over some perilous roads to enjoy it with us.

David spent a lot of time at the beach. I guess that's what happens when you are born and raised in Florida. He loved Jacksonville, FL especially and I believe moved there about three different times!

David left behind his wife, a daughter and son, five grandchildren, a sister and sister-in-law (me) and since his death, a beautiful great-granddaughter!

Happy Birthday David! We love you and miss you.

Life's Blessings

Rain..."Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its color appear" (Author unknown)

Rainy Day and Night in Georgia

The Southeast has been deluged with rain for the past week and there doesn't seem to be any letup. The water cannot drain fast enough so Sweetbrier Cottage is looking more and more like lakefront property.

It's drizzling now so I took this opportunity to snap a few photos and do a little yard cleanup.

Standing water, so there must be a clog somewhere downstream.
Nature is so artistic even in the simplest forms. Note the concentric circles that raindrops make.
This is flowing nicely now...
Problems at one of the gates...
Just a trickle now, but a river later...
Here's one of the problems. Leaves and grass had formed a nice little dam at the edge of the property - a slight reroute hopefully will work, but only time will tell.
I checked the forecast and it looks like our next day without rain is September 28, so I guess I'd better get our scuba gear out:)