Chat

pianolady831

Sorry to be so quiet lately. I sometimes get busier than normal and don't read or check in here. Trying to get better at that! I miss you all when I'm away.

Drew had cataract surgery a few days ago. Beth is on vacation in Germany, but she made him a chart to follow for all the eyedrops he has to use and he seems to be keeping up with it all pretty well. At his initial evaluation, his doctor said there was a lot going on in his eyes and didn't seem sure this surgery would be all that helpful, but she was pleased at his post-op visit. We continue to wait and see.

Big news is that Beth's husband, Daniel, has written a book about the faith of Richard Nixon that will be released on August 8. The publisher is Eerdmans, part of their religious biography series. The title is One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon's Search for Salvation. Daniel is a very good communicator and I've always found his writing easy to follow. While he and Beth were in Germany, he did some teaching in the American Studies program at Tuebingen that involved Nixon, which is how he got interested in the topic.

Cindy, I'm with you on the Trump assassination attempt. All this anger, intolerance of other viewpoints, desire to stay in power at all costs, and accusations of him tearing down our democracy has come home. And people posting things like "don't miss next time" on social media! I see all this with my own eyes, yet can hardly believe it's happening.

Connie, I had to laugh when you said that you kill silk flowers because it's the same with me. My grandmother was great with flowers, and so is Beth, but it skipped me. I'm glad you and Bill are settling in and love your new home. I want to hear more about it.

Kim, I'm glad you have air conditioning in your bedroom. I have a hard time with heat and humidity, so being able to sleep comfortably is a big help. This summer has been the hottest since we've been here so far, but still much better than Atlanta was. We're close to breaking records of 92 this week, then cooler with rain by Thursday.

cmsienk

I agree, Carole, it's hard to believe. I think I mentioned I was at a family function at the time. My one brother and sister-in-law are more liberal and she actually said (to another sister) that she thought it might be some kind of stunt. I wish she had said it to me so I could have questioned her on the plausibility of that being true.

Restfinder

It was shocking to watch, but not shocking that it happened. Too many really ugly things are being said about him that someone was eventually going to try and take him out. This is what happens when you remove God from society. I don't believe Trump's a Christian, but I do believe that God had a hand in keeping him alive (every good thing is from God!), and I'm very grateful for that. He is trying to accomplish the things that I believe will keep us safe and give this country back at least some of the things we've lost under Biden.

Connie, on hot days like these, getting under a cool shower really does feel good! I like to wash my hair in cool or cold water! I wish my shower was easier to get in and out of. I might look into that no-rinse foam! I have exfoliating wipes and then the bath wipes with lots of good things on it (Aloe, vitamin E, etc...). But neither does well in taking off the dry skin that is a problem because of my diuretics and lipedema/lymphedema. When I do get in the shower I use an exfoliating body wash and a loofa sponge! I'm so glad that your new home is feeling like home for you!

Wow, yesterday was so hot and humid here. Going back and forth to Church services felt like walking into a furnace - eek. I have rarely said that I am looking forward to winter, but this year I am!

I hope that y'all stay safe and well. Love you

cmsienk

I don't claim to know whether or not former president Trump is a Christian, but Dr. James Dobson referred to him once as a "baby Christian" saying he was relatively new to the faith and that he knew who'd led him to the Lord. He (the former president) is certainly flawed, as I am, but I think it says something that he acknowledged God's providential hand of protection.

pianolady831

Thanks to Beth and Daniel, I have a small - very small - garden spot and I picked my first tomato last Saturday! Daniel built the frame and Beth filled it with potting soil, 4 tomato plants, 2 squash, and 2 marigolds (to keep the deer away, she said). The squash did good, but kind of overshadowed everything else, so I might go with all tomatoes if we do it again next summer. Beth has about six raised beds like this one in her back yard.

So what do you all think about Trump's VP choice? I don't think there's anyone I wouldn't have liked, just want someone who can help him win. A lot can sure happen between now and November, though.

Cindy, I heard someone refer to what your sister-in-law said as a far-left conspiracy theory. And then there's those who think Biden hired him. Go figure! Thanks for sharing what James Dobson said, as I hadn't heard that. I hope he is, indeed, a growing Christian. Definitely flawed, but it's always surprising how God works, as Kim said.

connierandel

Our country needs prayer right now! This election has so much riding on it, and scares me. If Christians dont take what is happening seriously, and vote according to biblical principles, we are going to be in big trouble.

cmsienk

Carole, your raised garden bed is lovely. I have 2 raised beds - one with strawberries and one with 2 blueberry bushes. The blueberries are coming along nicely but something has gotten in to my strawberry bed and I haven't gotten a single one this summer!

Restfinder

You're right, Cindy, only God knows our hearts, but the Bible says that we can know someone by their fruit (Mt 7). I hope he is just a baby Christian, and I hope that what happened makes him take a good look at his life and get rid of the things that aren't Christ-like in it. His strength is amazing, he wanted to go on with his speech! He wasn't thinking of himself but of all those people who had waited hours for him in the hot sun. I saw a 7 year-old interview with JD Vance this morning and what he had to live with as a young boy. He has come miles from that. He also admits that he, at one point in his life, didn't like Trump, and he believed the lies. But he looked deeper and found that Trump stood for a lot of the things that he stood for and he started backing him - and this was years ago, not just recently so he could get the VP nomination. I like him. I like Tim Scott better, he has a strong Christian voice, but JD Vance seems like a good guy too. One of the people running for Governor in NC has a strong Christian voice as well, and he's a republican - woohoo. I sure hope he wins! His opponent has an ad mocking him for his stance on abortion - he says that women wouldn't need abortions if they'd just learn to keep their skirts down. Kind of a crude way to say it - but it's true! I'm with you, Connie, it's a scary thought of Biden winning again!

Carole, what a lovely garden, and that tomato look yummy - but I know my taste buds wouldn't like it! LOL! The canteloupe are taking over our garden space. We have a fence around our little plot because we have deer, rabbits, and the occasional chicken that come into the yard. The birds usually take care of the berries and the figs, but Wade has kept a net over the blackberries so we have been able to get quite a few of those - although of the four or five I've had, only one was sweet. Wade brings them in and says, "Try this one!" My face screws up because it's so sour. "Okay, this one should be sweet." Nope, ewww. The last one he gave me was finally sweet! Knowing when to pick 'em doesn't seem that easy!

Prime Day - I've found a couple of things on sale, but have to think before I act. One thing that I eat all the time is on sale, $5.00 savings - Aussie Bites individually wrapped. You get 24 or 30 of them for $14.99, normally they are $19-20. I've had some points available so have been able to get them for less than that the last two months, and they are now on subscribe and save, so I also get 15% off each month! Love these for breakfast. I'm also looking for a shoe that I can wear to go shopping in and on Wednesday night Bible Study that is cooler than my sneakers. The pair that I wear are overall stretchy, nice for when my feet are swollen, but they make my feet hot, and that doesn't help with this overheating I am doing! I found a pair of Dearfoam mules that are more than 50% off, regularly $60 now $24 and some change. They are my top pick. I also found a pair of Croc-like shoes that are only $13.99 today and tomorrow, they are in contention as well. Fun!

Y'all have a great day. Thinking about you and praying for you!

pianolady831

Glad you're finding Prime bargains, Kim. I hadn't heard of Aussie Bites. I looked it up and they seem very healthy. I've started eating Thomas multigrain English muffins. They're real high in fiber. Half of one with a little peanut butter is very filling.

I let cable TV go because Dwight was the one who watched it. He toggled between Fox News and classic movie channels, often because he just needed sound in order to rest. I don't miss TV on the whole and can stream what I want to watch, but I do miss Fox news. For instance, I didn't have any live news when Trump was shot. So I searched to see if there was a way to get their news without having a cable provider and stumbled on a website where I can. I watched some of the convention last night and loved it when DeSantis referred to Biden as a "Weekend at Bernie's" president. That's my exciting news for the day!

Restfinder

We watch Fox News on YouTube. Not always reliable, but were able to get it to come up for just after the shooting and then we've been watching some of the RNC speeches. Wow, some powerful stuff, especially when the mothers of slain soldiers or slain children and family members from illegal aliens come on. What site do you go to to get Fox News, Carole. It would be nice to not have to search through a bunch of stuff to find someone who is posting it live. Often the ones who are putting it on live are from other countries, Arab countries especially. The only one we've found lately is by a lady who does live crocheting so she is in half of the screen! This is funny, I've gotten interesting in the YouTube shows that are by people who cut stones, agates especially! It's amazing what is in these stones and just seeing how they have so much inside of them and wondering how they become as they do. I guess I need to research that! Agate Dad is the one I go to the most. There is also a lady who does it and she's pretty good. Oh my, she ordered a bunch of stones from Temu, and half of them were painted glass, but there were some good ones, but definitely not worth it. We had a little machine that tumbled rocks when we were kids, that was a lot of fun. I guess it kind of stuck! LOL!

Trying to stay cool. Hope ya'll are doing well. So glad you chimed in Carole! Love y'all.

connierandel

I am on a big buying spree for the new house and keeping up with Bill's personal needs. I found a tube of meds, a shower head, and some light bulbs that were a bit cheaper on Prime. I had been saving stuff to my wish list for a few days, but basically none of that came up. I shop between Amazon Prime and WalMart+ all of the time. Sometimes one or the other will offer significant savings.

pianolady831

I'm sitting here, watching the most beautiful rain through my window. Much needed rain, I might add. Temps are back in the 80s with a decent rain chance all week.

Kim, here's the website: https://ustvgo.kissreport.com/fox-news-ustv247/#google_vignette

I am so excited to have found it! You can't record or watch previous shows, it's only live, but that's fine with me. I watched The Five and Brett Baier last night. Also watched JD Vance's speech and really like him. One opinion writer said that Vance will help the Republican ticket because he comes across so warm and friendly. And yes, the military families and others who have suffered loss have been great. Eager to hear Trump tonight.

I think Biden will bow out very soon, but what will happen them? Will they anoint someone or have a mini-primary? I can't imagine it not being Harris, but strange things can happen.

Spent a lot of time waiting with Drew at his eye doctor's office this morning, but glad to get good results. Eye is healing good after cataract surgery, and she thinks his retina doctor will be pleased that he can see further back into the eye. This is his left eye which is very bad, so that's a good thing. We see the specialist next week.

Connie, I hope you can take your time and enjoy fixing your new house up. Glad you are finding some bargains.

Cindy, hope all is well with you.

Restfinder

Connie, I do that too, check Wal-mart before I buy to see if I can get it cheaper. I found leg compression garments for quite a bit less on E-bay as well, so sometimes I check there. I found that the little envelopes for the Medicare cards were on sale during Prime Days! So I got that pack of them. I ordered a purse as well. Sometimes I just don't want to wear my hip purse and the other purses I have aren't any bigger than the hip purse! Here's the link to the purse I got (that color) and it was around $9.75. Not a great discount, but in the area I wanted to pay. Wade and I have found quite a few things at our Thrift Stores as well.

Carole, thanks for that link. I checked it out and will show Wade because he's smarter about these things than I am. He ordered an Ipad during the sale and that would be a good app to put on there. It's slightly larger than my 10.1" Kindle. I have several working Kindles (four that I use every day in different rooms) so I bypassed the deals on those this time. I heard this morning on the news that Harris is one of their picks and she is looking at VP candidates and there are three others, but they didn't name those. I think they are just going to wait until the DNC to make the choice, but I would think those names need to be out there beforehand so that the delegates can get to know who their choices are!!! Honestly, I just don't see how they can keep Biden in office for even five more months (a lot can happen in five months) when he is in such degenerated physical and mental health. I listened to part of Trump's speech last night. His demeanor is very different from before the assassination attempt. This Trump seemed to be less lambastic and he wasn't denegrating his opponents - although, if he isn't going to be an opponent then why say anything about him?

We had a strong storm last night, a bit scary (I don't like thunder and lightening so close together), but the rain was needed. I'm glad your rain was a nice rain!

Have a wonderful day. Love y'all.

pianolady831

Cooler temps and rain chances predicted for several days. I love it!

Beth has been on vacation in Germany for 10 days, reconnecting with dear friends in campus ministry and local churches. She is now on the way back, with some complications from the IT outage that affected airlines so much. What should have been a simple flight from Frankfurt is now by way of Paris, Washington, Charlotte, then Johnson City. If nothing else in cancelled, she'll be home late tonight. Prayers are appreciated.

I've dwelt so much on politics this past week that I wanted to share these lines from one of my favorite devotionals, The Valley of Vision...

Nothing exceeds thy power,
Nothing is too great for thee to do,
Nothing too good for thee to give.
Infinite is thy might, boundless thy love,
Limitless thy grace, glorious thy saving name.

Hope all of you enjoy your weekend.

cmsienk

I'm also dealing with flight delays and cancellations today. Not nearly so much as your Beth, Carole. My flight to Las Vegas was delayed twice today and then cancelled right before boarding. I overheard that an earlier flight to Vegas was 8 gates away and also delayed but getting ready to depart. I quickly went to that gate and was able to get on. Unfortunately, I'm tracking my luggage and it looks like it didn't make this flight but it might be on the next one.

Prayers that Beth gets home safely tonight.

Update: finally got here after many hours. Still no luggage. It's arriving on another delayed flight - around 9lm tonight (another 2 1/2 hours).

pianolady831

So glad you were able to get on the other flight and made it safely, Cindy! The only flight problems I ever experienced was when travelling home for holidays while in college, namely blizzards in my college town. I could not handle something like this now, for sure. Do you live close enough to the airport to make it convenient in going back to get your luggage?

Beth made it to Washington D.C. and is glad to be back on American soil. The other flights were cancelled and she has a voucher for the Hilton tonight. They promised to get her out tomorrow afternoon and home by 6 pm. Praying this actually happens.

Restfinder

Wow, I missed a lot! Wade used to do some flying for his work, mostly to California where the company is located, but we haven't done any in about three years. He's hoping to see his brother this Fall and that will entail a flight - but, Lord willing, nothing like what went on this weekend will happen again.

That was a very good devotional, Carole. When I pray about this country, I ask that God's will be done. He has a plan. He's had one since the creation of this world, and if the dems win it's because they fit into God's plan for this country - but, Lord, I sure would like a reprieve from all the garbage going on. There are no guarantees that Trump won't change while in office and take us deeper into the troubles we are facing. Doesn't appear that will happen, but you can't guarantee it won't - so trusting God and not man is the only path a Christian must follow.

I downloaded Brave onto my computer and am getting used to it. A friend said that they use it and the review sites said it does what it says it does, so hopefully I have a bit more privacy than using Google. If y'all have experience with it, please chime in and let me know what you think. I'm always nervous about switching something up.

Phew, my right hip and leg are weak today, and the right SI joint is hurting. I'm really wanting to get that MRI so I can know what is happening in there! My Medicare is pretty much set, I haven't heard about D yet, but the other things are good to go, so I should be ready for when it starts on Aug 1st. I have my Welcome to Medicare appt in September. I praise the Lord that I didn't have any major medical needs while I didn't have insurance, just my HSA, and what I had in there paid for the tests I took when I had pneumonia last year. God has been so very good to me!

Love y'all.

pianolady831

Kim, I greatly appreciated your thoughts about God and our country. I know that's true and I firmly believe it, but it's good to be reminded once in a while. Like many other conservatives, I had begun to feel that Trump could easily win against Biden, but now all that's turned upside down. So instead of worrying, I'm much more comfortable leaving it all in God's hands. All I can do is pray and vote.

I don't have to play tomorrow, so I can relax and enjoy Sunday School and church. My class is like a small group, it really means a lot to me.

I'm still hoping that Drew won't lose his eyesight in the left eye. Cataract surgery helped in some ways, but his retina specialist said the swelling is worse and he wants to do a repeat of previous surgery. Drew seems okay with that because it could help, so I am too. Have a good weekend, all. Love you.

Restfinder

A good Church friend just recently went through a bunch of eye surgery, I'm pretty sure for his retina. He is seeing much better than he had been, but it's not perfect. Praying for Drew. God knows the plans he has for him - that is a comfort. It may not be what we want, but it will accomplish God's perfect will and work.

Watching the news is confusing. Tell me, why does she get to be the nominee when the voters chose Biden and never chose her? Why do some delegates get to change their choice without the voice of the people in their state? This isn't Democracy, which the Dems cry about all the time! We'll save Democracy - but we have to steal the election before we can do that! Wade has been telling me all along, don't be surprised if the Dems win - and I wouldn't be, but it makes me sick that they are so outwardly doing the un-American things and no one is raising their voice against it. Just sad and it just makes me want to loosen the ties on my shoes so I can fly out of them when Jesus calls! I often told Mom that when Jesus calls her home she needs to let go and go home with Him - it was okay to let go. Two hours after we had been at the hospital, she let go and went home. I get sad sometimes, but then I picture her in heaven with a huge smile on her face, in her right mind and strength - I get a big smile on my face! I am waiting with bated breath for the time He will call everyone who loves Him home.

pianolady831

I think the rationale is that since she was on the ticket with Biden, it should naturally fall to her, especially with so little time left. But I agree, voters were cheated out of a natural process - which would have probably eliminated her. Now they're trying to erase her past and make her out to be a moderate. Really? But she's young, enthusiastic, and charismatic to some people. I think it will come down to how many people vote on the issues of economy and immigration.

I loved what you said about your Mom, Kim. We did something similar with Dwight on his last day. His heart stopped suddenly on Saturday morning and they brought him back because it was so unexpected. But he was on the ventilator and tons of meds, not really conscious and wouldn't have been able to breathe on his own. Beth, Daniel, me, two pastors and a hospital chaplain from our church gathered around his bed, read Scripture, told him how good a husband and Dad he had been, and assured him that it was okay to let go. He died peacefully about 30 minutes after the vent was turned off. So much to look forward to when Jesus calls us home!