Getting to know God’s presence in our lives.

We were up early and off to Asheville.  We stopped to use a coupon for breakfast at the Huddle House.  We proceeded to the location of the Women’s Aglow meeting.  It was in a church like building called the “Feed and Seed”.  It was not a feed store loaned out as I expected.  The interior was full of pews and a stage.  There was also a giant TV screen.  Pictures on the wall showed that there are bluegrass concerts there as well as worship services.  Our friend Karen was in charge of the meeting and introduced the speaker.  She was an anesthesiologist from Hickory but born in Egypt.  She had never been a Muslim but had been raised in Egypt and lived there until she was at least 27.  She was very inspirational and humble.  She gave all glory to God for her accomplishments and career.  She also said something I have always believed: God wants to have a relationship with us and will give us all of Himself we will accept.  “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” is one of His promises to us.  That is what we should be devoting our lives to: getting to know Christ as well as possible.  We worshipped for 2 1/2 hours and were blessed.  We left there and stopped to get some fabric and a padlock for our trailer.  We will be leaving our trailer full of gold and silver for a couple of weeks, and I don’t want someone breaking into it.  The padlock requires an aseceteline torch to cut through.  We went on to a restaurant for lunch.  Evelyn belongs to a club that gives her a free lunch in her birthday month.  We didn’t care for her selection and left to come home in time for the Purdue football game.  They won but left some questions about their defense.  We snacked and worked on tomorrow’s Bible study during the evening.

Non published couple of days

Tuesday we went to exercise at 9 and did some errands.  The leader of the exercise was a woman we haven’t cared for, but she really boogied this morning.  She is practicing for dancing at the Greek festival in Asheville Saturday.  We just sat around after lunch until Evelyn suggested we go on a walk.  I didn’t want to walk around the lake, so I talked her into walking around the golf course while I played 9 holes.  She agreed, and we went to Iron Tree.  It had warmed  up during the afternoon, and Evelyn could only walk the first 4 holes.  She caused me to walk 5 holes in the first 4 because she went to the wrong tee box, and I couldn’t find her without going back up the hill.  It is not easy walking the hills in North Carolina. I tried to convince her that it was foolish to drive 20 miles to walk as far as she could go.  We only  drove 5 miles today. 

Wednesday was “driving fun in the mountains”.  We had been invited to go hiking by a couple from our church.  They have a hiking group and were going on an easy trail today.  They wanted to meet us on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive to where Black Camp Gap Road intersected it.  We had friends who lived just off BCG road near Maggie Valley.  I decided to drive up to the Parkway via the BCG road.  We began driving on the paved road we knew.  It turned into gravel after a few miles and then to a dirt road with rocks sticking out of it.  We hit one slowly and continued slower.  We got to where Evelyn asked me to walk ahead to see what we were facing.  I did for about 1/4 of a mile and found a large water hole that we could never drive through in our little car.  It would have taken one of those trucks with the 5 foot tires.  We prayed for guidance and began to drive to a place that enabled us to turn around.  I had to drive even slower to avoid knocking a hole in the oil pan.  We drove back to the Parkway where we had originally planned to meet.  We found a ranger who gave us directions to BCG road that did intersect the Parkway.  It is just that people can not get from one end to the other.  We learned later that the Park service had dug the holes to prevent people from using the road.  We found our hiking group and walked 1 1/4 miles until we met then returning.  We walked back to the parking lot, making our trip about as far as walking around Lake Junaluska.  We went with the hike leader, Neil, to his mountain home where Elasa had prepared snacks for the entire group.  We had a nice time with them and will invite them to our house in the future.  We went home and spent the evening relaxing.

Cleaning up

Neither of us slept well last night, but we were up and off to Silver Sneakers at 9.  It was a good workout, and I sold 2 more tickets for the German dinner.  If things go as planned, I will have sold more than 20 tickets.  The money goes to 3 charities to help people in the mountains.  We had to run a few errands and  then came home.  It was yesterday that we spent much of the day driving on dusty gravel roads.  I promised to wash the car today.  I kept my promise and finished just before lunch.  The car looks better than it has for several weeks.  We are trying to clean out the larder and refrigerator.  We have only 30 days left before we leave for the winter.  We have completed our work at the hospital and have only 2 more days at the Open Door.  We rested most of the afternoon because we were tired.  The weather has been quite temperate lately although increasing the heat index slightly.  We are to have rain tomorrow and the temperature is to be lower.  We really enjoy the autumn temperatures.  This makes me wonder why we are driving to a warmer climate for the winter.  In fact, Evelyn has made a passing comment that she is tired of making this trip each year.  Perhaps she would change her thoughts after experiencing even the mild winters that we have in this area.  We may never know.

Beginning a week of eating at home.

Friday was the culmination of eat out week.  We began the day by exercising.  I always try to sell German dinner tickets at the Rec center.  We followed that with the visit to the grocery.  We were able to rest in the beginning of the afternoon.  We dressed for the evening and left for Asheville to get some things at the Foam and Fabric.  Unfortunately, we arrived just after it closed.  We continued to our primary destination: Ruth’s Chris Steak House.  There was a deal this week called restaurant week.  Six restaurants in Biltmore village participated and offered meals with good prices.  I also had bought a gift card worth $77 but paid only $47 for it.  Strangely, our card was completely consumed by our meals, tip and tip for the complimentary valet parking.  I don’t like valet parking, especially when, as in this case, the car was parked within 100 yards of of the door.  We went back to Clyde to the monthly ballroom dance.  Karen and Dallas surprised us by attending.  The music was played on CDs rather than live music.  There was a greater variety in that format.  Evelyn received a framed photograph from Karen for her birthday.  We had a good time with them as always.  We will see them once again before we leave if they make arrangements to meet us for a day at the arboretum.  Oops!  We should see them at an Aglow testimonial meeting next Saturday for sure.

Saturday morning our neighbor Gary wanted to play a round of golf.  We usually had his friend Jimmy with us but not today.  We both broke 100 but not by much.  Gary beat me by 1 stroke.  The day was very pleasant but warmed up quickly.  We usually tee off on the first tee into a fog.  We can’t even see the first green and sometimes the 2nd from the tee box, but today it was clear.  We didn’t play much better, however.  I didn’t get much better.  I returned home right at noon, but Evelyn had finished lunch.  I usually get home much later.  We took a nap and dressed for the picnic for the hospital volunteers and went at 5.  We rarely make many connections with anyone there because we don’t know many others.  The meal was catered by a restaurant that we have never eaten in.  It is reputed to be excellent and lived up to the reputation.  We stayed only to eat and then left for the square dance.  We are not good dances but won’t get any better unless we continue  trying.  We danced until 8:30 and talked with our friends before returning home.  I had to practice my reading for tomorrow.

We went to Bible study, and I went into the sanctuary to check on the readings.  They were the same that I practiced.  Two weeks ago I had practiced the wrong OT reading and was embarrassed.  The choir didn’t sing today, so we sat in front because I have to read from the lectern.  I did better this time.  After worship we went to a widow lady’s house for lunch.  She was born in Germany and still has a heavy accent but is very friendly.  She served a delicious egg plant casserole and we aren’t especially fond of egg plant.  She also has quite a dilemma.  Her niece has a daughter who plans to marry another woman.  Our friend is a Christian and knows that this is an abomination to our Lord but doesn’t want to attend the wedding and appear to approve of the event.  It is a difficult decision, but she must follow the directions of God.  We will pray for her to be strong.  We were home by 2 and took our customary nap.  We also called Olivia to sing happy birthday to her.  She sounded appreciative and happy.  We had popcorn and walked around our loop several times.  During the day I had watched some football.  I continued through some of the evening, but we did watch a movie for some of it.

Monday was much cooler than it has been.  It was in the upper 40s when we left for the Rec center.  Evelyn went to the class while I walked around the outdoor track.  It was very refreshing to walk in the crisp air.  We went to the grocery to get a corn bread mix.  We had decided to invite Wanda, the woman whose husband died, to have lunch of chili soup.  I went to her house and pounded on the door many times.  Her small dog was going crazy, and she finally called to me from inside.  I told her what I wanted, and she implied she would come. We prepared everything and waited.  At 12:30 I pounded on the door again without any result.  We ate, and then I talked to our other neighbor who said she doesn’t get up until 2.  I saw her walking on the street.  She didn’t even bother to come to explain.  We did talk and left amicably.  Evelyn wanted to go for a hike, but I was able to talk her into walking around the golf course with me.  She agreed and we went to Iron Tree.  She walked 4 holes and then quit.  She is not strong enough to walk far, especially uphill.  I finished the 9 holes and then we came home for supper.  We had bought some large gowns for the pastor’s wife, Megan at K Mart earlier and wanted to give it to her.  We took it to the hospital for her.  She had had surgery for a bowel blockage removed Friday and will be unable to wear anything tight for a while.  She was appreciative and we delivered it to her.  Pastor and their children were there to and we had a visit.  We also found someone to substitute for us on Wednesday at the hospital so we can go for a hike.  We need someone to work for us on the 6th floor.

First stages of eat out week.

This week was a respite from golf. We went to exercise and then to the cosmetology school to make an appointment for a haircut for Evelyn. I had to go to the audiologist to have my hearing aids examined.  We decided to send them to Phonek to have them examined and repaired.  We returned home for the afternoon and waited for the promised rain that never came until late at night.  When it did come, it lasted most of Tuesday too and produced 2 1/2 inches of rain. 

Tuesday We went to the meeting for volunteers at the hospital.  We met an old friend who used to worship with us at OSLC.  She dates a doctor that lives more toward Asheville, so she now worships there with him.  She led the meeting emphasizing the need to really like to work there and transmit that feeling to the patients.  She did a nice job.  We went to the cafeteria for lunch before going home.  It had stopped raining in the afternoon, so we dug up and planted some hostas on our front yard slope.  Our neighbor wanted to get rid of some of hers and gave them to us for the taking.  We had to borrow a spade from the neighbor (sho called it an itty bitty shovel. 

Wednesday was our scheduled day to work at the hospital.  There is a nurse on 6th floor where we work who doesn’t like me.  We got off on the wrong foot years ago.  Strangely, today she was quite civil in using me to deliver refreshments to patients.  We really don’t have much to do, so we make beds that were vacated by those going home.  We have to get the linen, spray disinfectant to spray on the mattress and other surfaces in the room, wrap up the used linens, empty the waste basket, put the linen (fitted sheet, fly sheet, pillow case, blanket and gown) on the bed and leave.  The nurses really appreciate our doing that so they can give more care to the patient.  We left around 3 and went to walk around Lake Junaluska.  We talked with Hamels about meeting us at Wurstfest.  We also have been talking with Stacy the past few days about her children. 

Thursday was Evelyn’s Bible study day—and her birthday.  I took her to the church and drove around to get a card, some roses and token gifts as birthday gifts.  I also made a surprise for her to be used at the Folkmoot volunteer dinner in the evening.  I picked her up, drove home, changed clothes and went to walk around Lake Junaluska again.  We encountered Frances Monteith who lives in lakefront property.  We were somewhat close to them a couple of years ago but had lost touch.  We talked almost half an hour with her before finishing our walk.  The lake is beautiful this time of year when the leaves are beginning to turn color.  We came home and waited for time to go to the volunteer dinner.  Jo had volunteered to go to a grocery and buy a cupcake and candle.  The MC at the dinner presented it to Evelyn at the dinner and led singing happy birthday to her.  She thought Jo had done it but discovered it was my idea.  She doesn’t like public displays but took this one very well. 

The 3rd Sunday of the month.

We were up and off to Bible study early.  We were blessed with our discussion.  The group is small but sincerely hungry for God’s Word.  Our choir meets at 10:10 to rehearse our anthem for the day.  I had a quasi solo and always need to practice first since I don’t read music.  I must have done well.  We were blessed with Holy Communion this morning.  We were also blessed to have a young family with 4 small sons visit our church.  We made a point of talking with them.  A friend from church nearly always brings us some of his home grown vegetables.  Today it was some tomatoes and squash.  I gave ours to the young family.  One of the German ladies who worships with us invited us to lunch after church next Sunday.  We accepted.  The German dinner tickets were ready to sell, so we took 20.  The dinner is scheduled for October 7.  We also signed up to help with various jobs before, during and after the dinner.  It will be a very busy weekend.  We came home for lunch and rest.  I did get to the neighbors and sold 4 tickets.  We went to the monthly band concert in Maggie Valley where we met some friends from church who save seats for us.  The theme this month was movie music.  We always enjoy the concerts.  We have a big week coming up.  We will eat out almost every night.  We came home and watched the movie, “Ali”.  We had hoped to talk with Emily on the phone, but they are very busy.  They may have even been skyping with Andrew.

Finishing the week on the green

Friday was our day at the Open Door.  I discovered that one of the cooks, Terry, was having back surgery.  He has encouraged me to see a movie, “John Carter”, so we went to the library to check it out.  We couldn’t do it until next week.  There was a dahlia contest on display in the main entrance.  We were encouraged to vote our favorite, so we did.  We won’t ever know who won.  We had eaten lunch there and came home to rest before meeting some friends for dinner at a restaurant in Maggie Valley called The Moonshine Grill.  We thought the food was great.  We met some people that had lived in several places in Indiana.  They even knew one of our friends, Gene Dettmer.  They had belonged to the Gideon camp in Allen County.  We had a great time with the group: Jack and Judy Surfus and Bob and Judy Koch.   We knew the first couple from exercise class at the Rec center.  We wanted to go dancing at a local hotel, but they didn’t want to.  We went to the hotel but didn’t stay because the music didn’t begin until 9, but it was only 8:15.  We just returned home. 

Saturday Evelyn went to a Beth Moore simulcast.  She has been leading her study on the apostle John.  It started at 10 and lasted until 4:30.  I went off to play golf with Gary and Jimmy at our local course.  I played more strokes with the hybrids than earlier in the week.  I think they are great clubs but don’t want to spend the money for them.  If I could play with any consistency, I might keep them.  I still plan to send them back—at this time.  I was home by 1:30, started the grill, took a shower, and put the hamburgers on to cook.  I watched the Purdue/Eastern Michigan football game as they cooked.  About half way through the process, I realized that the small propane tank had been used up.  I changed the tank and continued.  After they finished, I took a nap and then got ready to go to our neighbor’s for gumbo.  He is a true Cajun and makes an authentic Cajun gumbo.  Evelyn will make some for our next football party that will be delicious but her roux will not be as burned as what we had tonight.  We were tired and went to bed early.

27 + 37= exhaustion.

We were up early so I could go play golf with Tom, Sam, Robbie and other friends.  They were all from Jackson County except a man named Howard.  He had lived in Sylva and knew all the others.  He now lives near Newfound Road near here.  I gave him a card in case he would want to play at Iron Tree.  We began play at Junaluska at 9:30.  Evelyn took me there and went on to exercise.  I began play quite well but returned to form.  At least I broke 100.  This group plays all day.  I mean all day.  They played 36 holes.  We walked the course but the day was not very hot.  I used to walk several times during the summer but have not done that for 2 years.  I made it through 18 holes and even continued through another 9.  I  began to tire and play poorly, so I called Evelyn for her to pick me up.  I didn’t want to take everyone’s time waiting for me to get to the ball which was normally farthest from the hole.  Evelyn was there around 2:30, and we went home.  I showered before going to choir practice.  I thought I would sleep solidly through the night but woke at 1 and stayed up until 2.  I slept well after that. Yesterday, the hybrid clubs I had agreed to evaluate had arrived, so I used them to play with today.  I didn’t find them very helpful but will try to use them more times. 

I had planned to meet Tom to play at a beautiful mountain course called Bear Lake.  We had seen it before when Tom and Melanie took us there.  It is the most difficult course you could imagine.  Most of the holes are par 3s but require hitting over deep weedy ravines and large ponds.  We rode in a golf cart.  The par is only 29 on the course, but I know few players could shoot par.  There are just too many ravines and sand traps, not to mention the water on hole 8.  It is difficult to drive the ball to the ponds, not to even consider reaching any dry land.  We played and played until we reached 37 holes.  We played a nemesis hole twice, making the 37th.  We began play at 9:45 and finished at 5:30.  I drove home to find Evelyn walking around the loop with the other ladies.  I had leftovers and showered before crashing.  I was really impressed with the hybrids today.  They were the most reliable clubs I drove across the ravines with.  They flew straight and got some excellent elevation.  The pro at the golf course likes the brand.  I wish I could afford to keep them, but I can’t.

Beginning a week of golf

Monday is geezer day at Iron Tree golf course, so I wanted to play.  Marty and Gary couldn’t play, so I played alone.  I could have driven to Smokey Mountain to play with the Jackson County group but didn’t.  I am thankful that I didn’t waste the time, money and gas because I could hardly hit the ball, certainly not in the air.  I lost several balls but found several too.  I think I probably came home with the same amount as I went with.  Evelyn had dropped me off at the course and returned to get me at 1.  We had lunch, and I cleaned myself up.  I had picked up the cans and bottles left at the T boxes on the course and had made myself dirty.  I scrubbed before lunch and then in the shower.  We took a rest and then planted the mums in our front circle.  One of the neighbors delivered a large amount of food to Wanda’s to help provide for the many family members coming to the funeral.  It was a quiet evening at home for us. 

Tuesday we went to Silver Sneakers and broke a sweat.  We then went to the Go grocery for milk and other supplies.  We have one more party scheduled in October, and I needed more beer.  We returned home for lunch and computer work.  I received the hybrid clubs I had ordered today.  The deal is that I use the clubs and send an evaluation back with the 2 clubs but can keep another club and a putter.  If I don’t return the 2 clubs, I will have to pay $133 each.  I will try to get Tom to use them tomorrow morning when we play at Lake Junaluska.  I went to drink a beer with Gene Ford, our neighbor.  He has a huge bulldog named Dory.  I remember the name because the dog has a twin that I speculate its name is Hunky.  I also took one of the soap dispensers we were given at the Tourists game last week to the little girls that live up our road.  They are Page and Alley.  We tried to get them to our VBS in June but were unsuccessful.  They are really cute and remind us of our girls.  After Evelyn walked, we went to the Pride Resort to check out the square dance.  It was obvious that the calls were too fast for us.  We did watch for a while and talked with Tom and Melanie before returning home.  I searched for one of our credit cards so I could pay the charges.  We couldn’t find it for a couple of days, but God’s grace saved us again.

New neighbors and a death.

Friday Evelyn went to exercise and then shopping while I did the dusting and vacuuming for the party.   She arrived home in time to go to the Bible study at church.  We were home by 1 and took a nap before going to the baseball game.  We were there by 6 waiting for Dallas and Karen.  They were very late, arriving just before the first pitch.  As a benefit, the first 1000 people got a soap dispenser molded after Mr. Moon, one of the Tourists mascots.  The game was really good, and the Tourists won.  It was a playoff game and by winning they tied the 2 of 3 series.  They play again tomorrow night.  We had a great time with our friends, discussing what we had been doing in the summer.  They have been attending many baseball games in Pittsburg and Denver.  They can’t come to the party tomorrow because they are going to stay at a local winery they visit each year. 

We wakened and went to the farmer’s market for some mums to plant in our front yard circle.  We brought them home and continued our party prep.  We set things out on the tables and put the chili on the stove to heat.  I also loaded some ice cubes I had made into a cooler and put the beer inside to cool more.  We took a nap and waited for the guests to arrive at 3:30.  We had eaten a light lunch of quiche Evelyn had brought home yesterday.  Everyone arrived about the same time and the game was very good.  Purdue played well but lost to Notre Dame.  I was concerned that I would not have enough beer cold for us.  I put a few cans into the freezer to keep up.  The cans were 24 ounces, making it actually 2 beers in 1.  We just put them into our Purdue cups and shared.  The guests included Phil Loyer, Bill Laughridge, Gary Tollefson, Pastor Crume and me.  To insure enough beer, I began drinking wine for a while.  We all had some delicious chili during half time.  The ladies had been playing Phase 10 and joined us.  They had planned to play and eat on the deck but had succumbed to the precipitous drop in temperature and increase of wind.  We cleaned up the kitchen in quick order and went to bed happy.  Earlier in the day, our neighbor nearly died.  First the fire truck came followed by the EMS.  They took Robert out and to the hospital.  In about 2 hours, they brought him back.  I went over to talk with Wanda for a while.  She is concerned whether has done all she could do for him.  She will be very lonely despite having a large family.  They don’t live very close.  We had taken a casserole to her early in the week and she returned the Corning Ware.  I love to share the love of Christ with people who need to be reminded.

Sunday we sang with the choir again and had a meeting about the German dinner in October.  We will have to have a lot of help since Phil, the man who ran it for several years has left the church.  We will do many things in service to the Lord.  We had nachos for lunch before Evelyn finished making the fruit salad for the dinner tonight.  We have a new couple that moved into the neighborhood, and we wanted to welcome them.  It was a carry in, and we had a good visit with them.  The bad news is that Robert died this afternoon.  All of their family has gathered there, so we didn’t try to interrupt them.  We will try to find something to do for them later.  They don’t have a lot of money for a funeral, so we will likely have to help financially.  We will also offer some food later.

back to normal?

Evelyn slept through the night unlike last night when she couldn’t go to sleep for 2 hours.  I slept well to, but, when I lay on my left side, I felt a stiffness develop.  I wonder if that is how I injured it in the first place.  We went to exercise: Evelyn to the class and I to the indoor walking track.  10 times around is a mile but I jog on 2 opposite ends.  While walking I carry 4 lb weights and do arm exercises with them.  I was able to do that without intense pain like I had a couple of days ago.  We went to town for some shopping after that and dumped some recyclables on the way home.  After lunch I called XM radio again to get a new radio but was cut off.  I expected a return call but waited in vain.  I showered and then worked on the computer while Evelyn ironed.  I tried to register us for our cruise.  I had to record our passport numbers and had mine done, but Evelyn couldn’t find hers.  We both searched the place and finally, through God’s Grace, found it.  We are closer to having ourselves ready now.  We will need them for our cruise in October. 

Thursday I was up and driving to Whittier to play golf with Gary at the Smokey Mountain Country Club.  He had never been there and I had a Groupon for 18 holes and a cart for 2.  It was a nice clear day and we had a good time.  We played a terrible first round.  He beat me by 1 stroke.  Neither of us was hungry, so we just played on.  I had brought a couple of beers, so we drank them.  We both played better the second round, and I beat him by 3 strokes.  The course offers beautiful vistas and is very challenging—especially for poor golfers.  It is fun and challenging to drive the cart up and down the steep, twisty paths.  Evelyn led her Bible study this morning and was blessed as usual.  Last night she wakened with a terrible charley horse.  I rubbed it with ice until it settled down.  She was resting when I returned but didn’t have a another cramp.  I grilled hamburgers for supper, and Evelyn made some peanut butter cookies.  In the evening we watched “Big Daddy” starring Adam Sandler.  He gets the most positive roles, but this movie was a bit more gross for my taste.  We failed to watch the speech by the most trusted, honest, true American in the country.  He is a Christian who believes in the principles presented in the Bible. Not!  He is the pied piper leading our country off the cliff of financial ruin into the sea of Islam and Communism.  His party even had an avowed Communist—Van Jones—speak in his favor at the convention.  He is surrounded by sodomites, abortion supporters and Muslims (working in homeland security).  What a tragic mess our country is in.  I pray that God will wake up the voting population in November.

My strained muscle?

I neglected to mention my ailment.  Sometime last week, I began to develop a pain in my right upper arm.  It was somewhat slow in developing but reached a painful level on Friday.  I had trouble sleeping that night because I like to sleep alternating side to side due to a bursa in each hip.  My arm inhibited my turning over.  It got worse on Saturday.  I could not raise my arm in a pretend flapping motion.  It was very painful to raise it above my shoulder or reaching above my head.  I had to twist my body to make my right arm do everything.  I could not even use my left arm to turn the steering wheel and had to slide my right hand up the wheel to make the turn.  This continued while Tom, Stacy, and Olivia visited and hurt more Sunday evening as well.  When they left Monday, things began to slowly improve.  By Tuesday morning I was back to about 50% efficiency and was at 90% during exercise class.  I did have some slight pain but stopped doing anything that gave me even slight pain for fear of reinjuring myself.  The mystery is what caused it.  I think I injured the arm during an exercise at Silver Sneakers a week ago.  I just hope it healed on its own and stays healed.

Fun with family

Saturday was the day for the monthly flea market at the nearby fairground.  We visited with Laurie, the daughter of the friends who introduced us to this area.  She told us she and her brother were shocked and disappointed that her parents had sold their cabin.  We didn’t buy much and went to the local farmer’s market and bought some dahlias for a center piece.  We came home for lunch and a nap.  We then made the futon into a bed for Stacy and Tom.  We also enlarged the dining room table.  Evelyn then baked a chocolate/peanut butter cake and assembled a chicken casserole while we received a very strong drenching rain.  We made the obligatory trip to 2 groceries before going to the block party downtown Waynesville.  Then Tom and Stacy arrived.  They brought 4 half growlers of beer—32 ounces each.  We began 2 of them and had a good discussion while enjoying them.  Stacy had brought several types of cheese which go well with beer.   We didn’t stay up as late as we usually do.  Olivia slept on the air mattress they had brought because Peter had not come with them.

Sunday was a blessed day.  We were blessed by being able to worship with our nearest family.  I was the reader of the first scriptures and had misunderstood the reading assignment.  I really messed up the first reading from Deuteronomy.  I don’t know how anyone got anything from that one.  I did better with the one from Ephesians.  We had missed Bible study because we slept a bit late and enjoyed a big breakfast casserole.  But that didn’t stop us from going to Asheville for a big lunch at Frankie Bones.  We had a good time and I had discounts that covered most of the bill because Evelyn had received her birthday club discount card.  It is nice to have discounts at upper class restaurants.  We left and went to Harbor Freight Tools before going downtown Asheville.  We had thought Tom and Stacy would enjoy walking around, but the rain began.  We went to a bed and breakfast where they spent their anniversary this year.  They really liked the place and the owners were very nice and accommodating to them.  We also saw a Winnebago Lesharo along the street for sale.  We came home and we called the listed number on the unit, making a plan to look at it tomorrow.  We all took naps in the afternoon.  Stacy and Tom had worked hard all week and needed the rest.  We had hotdogs and watched the movie “Awakenings” about some people who were catatonic.  It was a very moving picture that had a theme similar to “Flowers for Algernon”.  We went to bed fairly early.

We were all up early, and I prepared omelets for us.  I ate the leftovers we had from yesterday’s lunch.  We all enjoyed it and were finished so our guests could leave by 10:30.  I had to call them just after they left and tell them to return to get the hair dryer they had left.  I had paid Tom for the growlers I had ordered from the Blind Murphy bar in Roswell.  He had left the money on a table, so I had to attach it to the hair dryer.  They took everything home.  We just relaxed and skipped lunch.  We left for Asheville around 1:30 and drove in a rain to look at the Lesharo.  We found it to be very unappealing as well as overpriced.  The owners were quite nice but had priced their 1984 model with just under 200K miles at $5500.  I don’t understand how people can think anyone would pay such ridiculous prices for ancient units.  We had a similar situation last summer with an ancient Chinook priced $5000 above the Kelly Blue Book price.  We went to Harbor Freight after leaving and got a couple of free items before going to a Mexican restaurant for  lunch at 3.  The meals were too salty for us, and when I told the owner, he wouldn’t take the full price for our meals.  I finally tried and convinced him to accept at least half of it.  We returned home and Evelyn worked on her ladies Bible study while I wrote this.

Preparing for Labor Day

Thursday was carpet cleaning day.  The man was due at 10 but didn’t arrive until after 11.  Evelyn baked a chocolate/peanut butter cake while waiting.  The man was from Africa and an exciting Christian man.  He was very polite and gave us a reduction in the prescribed price because we bought some carpet preservation product.  I had a groupon but the cost was more than that.  I would have thought we were being stiffed had it been anyone else.  We also had our picture taken for the hospital directory.  We will receive a directory containing other volunteers and an 8X10 portrait of ourselves.  This makes 5 in the past 2 years.  I don’t know enough people I want to punish with a portrait of us.  We will have to take it but won’t know what to do with it.  It has been scary to think of the terrible rain flooding the state of Louisiana.  We have some good friends who live there.  We have been praying for them.

We went to the Rec center this morning after we went to the GO grocery to buy some “used meat” (meat out of date) that has been marked down.  One of our dear friends coined that term.  We found some and bought some other items.  I had brought our cooler and freezer blocks to preserve things while we exercised.  Evelyn went to class and I went to the indoor track to walk a mile and use some of the exercise equipment.  After finished, we returned to 2 grocery stores for other needed items for the weekend visitors, the Georges.  We were home for lunch.  Then Evelyn and I prepared casseroles with the items we had just brought home.  We shouldn’t have to make anything while they will be here.  Well, I may have to make omelets on Monday morning.  We have also been asked to be a prayer couple for a man and wife going on a marriage encounter weekend.  They have entered the weekend, and we have begun to pray.  We went to listen to some bluegrass music this evening but couldn’t hear any because we didn’t want to pay $12 each to hear it.  We have heard almost all of the performers before in other years.  It seems it is always the same performers year after year.  We just left and went to Bo Jangles for a chicken sandwich.  They are really good.  We then went home to watch Mitt Romney’s speech we had recorded last night.  All of the speeches have been inspiring but also reasonable.  I pray that the public can appreciate what this country needs to save it.