Another beautiful week here; listening and learning

Saturday morning again, and what a beautiful one!  Dick and I were out there doing a bit of mulching and then sat on the porch for a while, taking in the beauty and enjoying the breeze.  

Our poor rose bush is beyond sad.  The picture on the left was taken on June 4th two years ago.  I took the one on the right this morning.  Dick moved it further back from the driveway this week, because we realized it made it hard for people to get out of their car door on that side without getting pricked.  So moving it probably didn't help anything.  But the leaves are so holey from bugs, I guess.  Dick has sprayed it a couple of times.  There are a few blooms on it finally, but it just looks so sad.  

Last Saturday, after I finished updating my blog, I went over to Anthony and Lori's to take pictures.  The rhododendrons had really popped and I did not want to miss them!

My first glimpse as I drove up the road. 

Every year these bushes amaze us.  It never gets old.

I sat on a bench on the patio for a while chatting with Lori and Hunter and taking in the amazing view.  

Hunter was rediscovering the toys in his sandbox. 

It was supposed to have been our annual PA sister weekend here at my house, but due to COVID restrictions, Doris and Mary Ellen had to stay home.  So after I left Anthony and Lori's I went to the arboretum to take pictures for them.  I don't know if my pictures made them feel better or worse.

What a perfectly gorgeous place!  And all for free.  We are so blessed to have it so nearby.

The fountain pool has not been refilled for some reason, so there were no people sitting on the benches like there would usually be.   I walked down the path to the boardwalk over the marsh.  Doris and Mary Ellen and I always love sitting there to chat and supposedly "solve all the problems of the world."  That would have been quite a daunting task this year for sure!

I took this picture, pretending I was showing my sisters my new "gear."

I gotta tell this story!  I wanted a new workout outfit, because the one I got last summer is so comfortable.  That one had some orange in it that looked good with my bright orange Brooks.  (I'm on my third pair of those now!  The first pair I found at Ross about six years ago for $40, and each pair since I found on Ebay for that price.  They are normally over $100.)  Anyway, back to the new workout clothes.  At Walmart I settled on an outfit that had navy blue, turquoise, and green color blocks.   I had the outfit on when I went for groceries last Friday, but my bright orange Brooks looked out of place.  After I got groceries I passed TJMaxx and realized they are now open!  I decided to stop and browse, not even thinking about shoes.  But I did look at the shoes.  After a while I noticed a pair of turquoise walking shoes!  I tried them on and they felt great!  AND they were Brooks!  I looked all around at all the other sizes, and there honestly was not one other pair like them anywhere!!  I felt like God put them there just for me, hahahahaha!!!

On Sunday morning Dick and I had our two online church services.  Dick went over to Anthony and Lori's later in the afternoon to check his trail cams, and I just relaxed on the couch with the slider open.   I couldn't believe the beautiful view!

Anthony posted this adorable picture of Hunter on a Zoom visit with Calvary's children's ministry.  He was showing them some of his toys, lol!

One evening this week I realized we had not brought in the mail, so at 9 PM I walked across the street to get it.  My heart felt overwhelmed with delight that it was still not completely dark at that hour of the evening and that it was just the beginning of June, which means we have many daylight evenings ahead!!

Another evening Dick and I went for a walk around the community, and of course I took a few pictures.   How about these bright pink flowers on a big bush up the street!!  At one point we could see the control tower at the University Park Airport!  Of course I really zoomed in to take the picture, but you can see how close we live to the airport.  We're so spoiled.  

Dick did some mowing at Anthony and Lori's on Wednesday evening and took this picture of the rhododendrons.  Probably at their height that day.  He said that yesterday, when he was there to finish the mowing, a lot of the flowers were on the ground.   Aren't they incredible?

On Thursday morning I had a hair appointment!!  I was so excited!  I washed my hair before I went, and when I got there I called to let them know.  My stylist came out to tell me that she was ready for me.  We both wore masks, and she did not blow dry my hair, which at this point is part of their restrictions.   She was impressed at the job Dick has been doing with keeping the back of my hair trimmed, hahahaha!!

So I believe my "going natural" is pretty much complete.  From longer brown in December to short white and gray in June.  I miss my longer brown hair sometimes, but I do not miss the time or the money it took to keep it that way.  

On Tuesday evening Destiny will be graduating from high school.  She would have graduated a year ago, but did not have enough credits due to moving from one school to another in the middle of the year.  So this year she has been doing online school (just as everyone else has been doing now too, lol.)  Her graduation will also be online.  She received her cap and gown by mail, and she needed to make two little videos to send in - one of her waving as they introduce her and one of her moving her tassel from one side to the other after she has "received" her diploma.  Here's the one of her waving.  How adorable is she???

Of course, this week had even more sad things going on.  I think the rioting and looting is despicable.  But I also absolutely believe that our country can no longer get away with treating black people as less worthy than whites.  There are deep-seated prejudices and hurts that are often glossed over.  I know some of you read the story this week of the white woman in Myrtle Beach who decided to try having a conversation with her appliance repairman.  The stories he told, especially of the amount of times per year he gets pulled over by a policeman in his legitimate work van, and the questions they grill him with, are beyond imagination to us.  Her story was so powerful and beautiful.  She LISTENED!!  We all need to listen and learn.  

Here's a collage of things I appreciated this week, most especially Lisa's post on Instagram which she took from another coach.   If you can't see all of this, clicking will make it bigger. 

Anthony seldom posts personal things of a political nature on his business social media accounts, but this week he stuck his neck out.  He thought how most blues music has its roots in black culture.  He has thousands of non-black subscribers and followers from all over the world, loving this genre of music.  So he posted some things about his love of this music and its roots, his black wife and children, etc, and why Black Lives Matter is important to him.  Almost immediately he had a comment from someone who said he was "virtue signaling."  But almost every other comment was deeply appreciative and affirming.   By the next day his subscriptions had reached a new high.  

And on that note, I too deeply appreciate the influence of black people on the music of the church.  So I decided to record an African American spiritual that our choir loves - Wade in the Water.  When I posted it on Facebook one of my former students commented about the memories, and I realized it is one we did at Middle School Choral Festival years ago.  No wonder I love it so much!  Too bad I had to do it all by myself!

Lord, hear our cries!