Mary was already at church when I got there early – we both were gathering up the last few items we needed from the craft room to finish the lesson. Max and Gracie were really good; very engaged in the lesson of Putting Jesus First. They loved the paper plate clock that had moveable hands: Take Time for Jesus! To emphasize the theme, I took a plastic cup and put a big rock in it. Fit perfectly. Then I took the rock out, and had some green tinted rice. They each put spoonfuls of rice in the empty cup, saying things that they loved doing. But then — the rock wouldn’t fit in the cup! No room for Jesus! We dumped the rice back into the bowl, put the Jesus rock back in, and then poured the rice in on top – and it filtered around the rock and fit! They thought it was magic – but it did show that if you put Jesus first everything else will fit, too!

I finally got to the grocery store and bought what I needed except for the food for the bonfire on Friday night. It needs to be purchased fresh. I did stop at Gabe’s and bought two (Opps!!!) blankets: A fall one and a Halloween one. I had birthday money tucked away that I forgot about, and it was exactly the right amount. So now I’m excited for my new fall, cozy blankets. Especially with the cooler weather coming on.

After lunch I did a load of laundry and then mixed up cinnamon streusel muffins (with a few chocolate chips tossed in!). I found the kitchen curtain/shade that will match, but I need to get Kelly to help me finish the order. She’ll be up Sunday! Felt like a busy/lazy day!

I gleaned a few thoughts from Jerry’s message this morning. First is our quote for the day, listed below! Second I learned about redwood trees and the lesson they teach us. Redwoods can grow to be between 300 and 400 feet tall. But their root system only goes down about 6 or 8 feet. However to they stay UP? The secret is that their roots go OUT about 100 feet in all directions, and they intertwine with the roots of the trees around them, which makes them strong, tall, straight and steady. We need to take that lesson to heart, and realize that we can support and encourage each other and withstand anything that comes our way!

September 11 – Tell about the naughtiest kid in school. “In our one room school we had several who kept the teacher alert. Eugene Clowser got in trouble A LOT. Blain Cunningham was the one that ‘tormented’ Ruth Sink (Martin) and me.”

September 11 – We will Never Forget…

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TOMORROW September 12th is:

• National Chocolate Milkshake Day
• National Day of Encouragement
• National Hug & High 5 Day
• National Just One Human Family
• National Report Medicare Fraud Day
• National Video Games Day
• National Boss/Employee Exchange Day 

I love McDonald’s chocolate milkshake – and today’s sermon was on the importance of encouragement. Not a fan of Video Games (Don’t tell Logan and Chase that!!). I would not want to exchange my bosses. I really like them! I’ll stay put! Have a great week. God bless…

Today was an adventure! Before breakfast I changed bed sheets, did laundry, and got a shower and dressed. Kathy picked me up at 10:30am and we headed to Vanderbilt to the church down there. They were having a Rummage sale fundraiser – everything $1.00! Sounded like a deal to us!

We drove for about 25 minutes before we realized that the GPS auto-corrected Vanderbilt to Vandergrift! We ended up an hour away from where we were going! We laughed and laughed, and kept finding funny things. The little WRONG township was OKLAHOMA, so we said we went to the church by way of Oklahoma so it took us longer than we planned! But we re-routed and arrived a noon, having enjoyed the farms and fields and mountain views on the drive.

Kathy bought a few things, and I picked up 2 flat sheets to use as paint cloths since I ‘lost’ mine! And the bonus was three-fold: We got to visit with dear friends Lynn and Greg (minister and wife). We found some bargains. We met a tiny dog that loves shopping! That dog never made a peep!

I grabbed a ‘Snail’ (pastry) for a quick hunger-stopper and went down to Nate’s. I had a roaster to give them and I needed to pay Jen for a fundraiser ticket for the rescue. I stopped at Shop and Save on the way home and got Blue Bonnet margarine; one of the few places that has it these days.

The weather was cool and comfortable, so I tackled the weeds in the side garden plot by the driveway. Got it totally done! I even had time to cut the grass. I noticed a limb stuck in the maple in the front yard. It was about `15 feet long so I had to saw it into pieces to get it ready for the trash. If I remember I’ll take the 3 larger pieces to the bonfire Friday night.

I caught a picture of last night’s almost-full moon just as it was morphing from orange to bright white. It was a beautiful moon.

September 10 – Tell about who you thought was the dumbest kid in school and why. “In grade school it was Henry Leczner. He never tried to learn (we thought). He had a rough home life. In high school we thought Eugene Condolpha couldn’t do anything right except play basketball.” By today’s standards that would probably be ok. Sports are the THING!!!

Calendar inspirations – Some people make us feel special – thank them!

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TOMORROW September 11th is:

• National Hot Cross Bun Day
• National Make Your Bed Day
• Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance
• National Pet Memorial Day
• National Hug Your Hound Day
• National Grandparent’s Day

I make my bed EVERY DAY. I don’t have a hound to hug, but I will remember my Tazz. And after visiting the Flight 93 Memorial this spring I have a far different emotional interpretation for Patriot’s Day. I know quite a number of grandparents – and in fact I am one! God bless… And take time to remember 9/11…

I DID stay home all day – at least so far! I may have to run down to Nate’s later – or tomorrow afternoon. I’ll see what time I finish this.

I set up my over the counter order account with Aetna, and then ordered a few things. I also washed the windows – AGAIN – since the power washing made for a beautiful deck but messy windows. All good now! Then I spent the rest of afternoon pulling weeds, doing laundry, and working on my Flower Story for the SHWF bonfire at Beth’s. So it was a very full and full-filling day! Here are some hill pictures.

September 9 – Tell about who you thought was the smartest kid in school and why. “In grade school I always was sure when you got to 7th & 8th grade you knew everything. In high school I was among the top students in our class. We all studied hard to get good grades.” I’m so sad for mom that she didn’t continue her education. She loved learning!

Calendar inspiration – Plan ahead – don’t wait until the last minute to do something.

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TOMORROW September 10th is:

• National Swap Ideas Day
• National TV Dinner Day

I eat dinner with the TV almost every night! I’ll be doing that shortly. And tomorrow is Rummage Sale day – Kathy and I are venturing out. Have a blessed day …

Finally a sunny, mild day – and not too hot. I worked in Jeannette, then had a meeting at Hanna’s Town for the Fall Tea. There was a lot of ladies at the meeting; a lot more help this year! The flowers right outside the entrance where delightful as always. Greensburg didn’t need me to come in, so I dropped off an item at Goodwill then came home.

The full moon isn’t until Saturday, but last night’s sky was beautiful and the moon was bright and almost totally round. It was a nice evening.

After lunch today I went out on the hill and pulled a few more weeds. I think one more go at it will finish it off. There will always be weeds to pull, but the horridness should be over by then. I have a plan for next spring, and I think Kelly and the boys may be able to help! That will be good!

The ‘Paint Guy’ called me back and he’s stopping out to give me a quote on staining the deck. It really does look nice now that it’s completely dry. It needs protected for the winter. My cousin is stopping by in a few minutes to see if he can help with the loose post on the top corner. I’d like to get one major project under my belt this fall!

This just in! My cousin stopped and fixed the gap! Thanks Mark!

The plan is to stay home all day tomorrow. What do you think? Can I DO it? I’ll keep you posted….

September 8 – Did your parents ever make you wear something stupid to school? “We had to walk over 2 miles to Plumville so in cold weather we had to wear slacks under our skirts to keep our legs from getting front bitten. Girls didn’t wear slacks in those days.” I was never allowed to wear pants to school (Hempfield dress code); by the time Kathy got part way through, girls were wearing pants!

Calendar inspiration – Shortcuts are so sweet! Look for new time-savers.

Quote – Most quotes about short cuts were negative!!! Go figure!

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TOMORROW September 9th is:

• Care Bears Share Your Care Day
• National Teddy Bear Day
• National Wiener Schnitzel Day

Kelly used to love Care Bears – she had several. Nate may have had one. I have a purple sparkly Teddy Bear my mom bought me. I think I was in my 50’s when I got it, but I still have it! Go enjoy a Wiener Schnitzel with your bear! God bless…

I was dressed and outside about 8am, taking everything off of the decks and front porch, and moving the little lawn décor away from the area. I was able to get everything moved and ready and have breakfast before Nate and Dave got there. It was chilly this morning, and by the time they finished they were both wet and dirty. But the decks look amazing! It will be ready to paint now.

While they pressure-washed, I cleaned and swept and scrubbed inside. The one ‘minus’ of the whole process was that I just washed windows on Friday – and now they need wiped again! Small price to pay.

Dave cleaned the deck box out of me, but the chairs were filthy. I hosed them down and stuck them on the fence to dry. I can soon put them away.

I still have Kelly’s corn in my freezer, and it was just sitting on trays which kept tipping over and spilling. I bagged them all and cleaned out the freezer so now I can get to what I need until she can get her corn. Probably next week…

September 7 – Tell about the playground equipment at your grade school. “We had NO playground. The farmer that owned the ground where the school was built tried to mow enough of his field so we had a place to play outdoor games.”

Calendar inspiration – Be ready for opportunities and take advantage of them when the time is right.

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TOMORROW September 8th is:

• National Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day
• National School Picture Day
• World Ampersand Day

Ampersand is such a nice work. Ampersand. Enjoy, and God Bless…

Cloudy early this morning, a little drippy rain here and there, but a comfortable day. I worked at both stores and helped Mike P out afterwards. Since it was sort of a light day, I stopped at church and changed the bulletin board in my Sunday School class room. Nothing amazing, but a nice change and can stay up until Christmas – and I won’t even have to change the background since it’s green. I wrote new names on bright cards and labeled the baskets for our current students and possible visitors. All in all it worked well.

I stopped at the bank on the way home, and struck up a conversation with a lady in front of me in line. She said she wasn’t there for banking business; she was there to give her friend a hug! The lady (Linda) was celebrating 2 months from having stopped smoking. We stood in the parking lot and talked for almost an hour – and she ended up buying LETTERS TO MARY! She has 18 grandchildren and great grandchildren! Wow! She bakes and sews and baby sits – makes me look like a slouch with everything she does. I hope I hear from her after she reads the book. The conversation really started when we talked about imprint tee shirts – I gave her PLC Design’s contact info (Kelly’s imprint business) and it just moved from there! She was so nice to talk to!

After lunch I cut the grass, pulled some weeds, trimmed back some dead stalks, cut the Rose of Sharon bushes that were encroaching on the hill between the fences, and pulled down some dead morning glory vines. Of course, then I had to shower, because I felt creepy! I went upstairs to turn on the deck lights and saw that the sky was very dramatic. The deep green trees, the red patio umbrella, the violet sky, and dark gray clouds — very striking. Next – food!

September 6 – What do you remember doing at recess? “Played outside in good weather. We all brought our sleds when it snowed. Played jacks when we had to stay inside.” Can you imagine kids taking sleds to school? That just doesn’t happen these days…

Calendar inspiration – Explore everyday wonders of your local area – the more to look, the more you’ll see!

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TOMORROW September 7th is:

• National Acorn Squash Day
• National Beer Lover’s Day
• National Grandma Moses Day
• National Grateful Patient Day
• National Neither Snow nor Rain Day
• National New Hampshire Day
• National Salami Day

THAT is a crazy list of things to celebrate. Hmmmm. I’ll go for the neither snow nor rain – but I’m thinking that has something to do with the post office. Maybe I’ll just see what happens. I think I’m getting my deck power washed tomorrow – so I’ll celebrate that. Have a great Wednesday! God bless…

I slept much better last night, but there was at least one major, compelling reason for that. I had just finished supper at a little before 8pm when a long-time friend called me. We see each other across the room at functions but seldom get together to chat or catch up. Well, we made up for that last night. It was well after midnight when we hung up, but there’s not many topics we didn’t cover! Some serious, some making us laugh, some shared interests. It was nice to catch up but I don’t think I EVER spent 4 1/2 hours on the phone at once in my life!

Despite the questionable weather (rain), Deb, Kath and I donned raincoats, umbrellas and suitable wet-weather clothing and headed to the Pennsylvania Arts and Craft fair at the Westmoreland Fair Grounds. It was not crowded; the rain was gentle and it was warm, so we were fine.

We enjoyed looking at everything, had lunch there, and each made a purchase of some sort. I bought one of my favorite things (second to blankets!) and also a tiny baby rubber duckie. My writer friend has one and when she goes on trips she take a picture of it in documenting her travels. I’m excited to have this little guy (or gal!) and will have to pick a cute name.

My favorite display was Silvis Landscaping. They are at all the local fairs and festivals, and their waterfall features are wonderful. That would be a pipe-dream for me. But we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed being together – we made our own sunshine!

I’m not sure where the afternoon went – except that I did spend several hours cooking (which is NOT my thing!). I made zucchini casserole and mixed up scones to bake tomorrow. The casserole is done so I’ll have some for supper once I finish posting this. Tomorrow is back to the regular routines – but only a four day week! 🙂 That means two work days for me so I’m happy.

September 5 – Tell about a school bully. “Blain Cunningham was always the one all us girls disliked the most. He was just plain mean & hateful.”

Calendar inspiration – Autumn offers a rich harvest of flavors. Enjoy old favorites and sample new ones.

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TOMORROW September 6th is:

• National Coffee Ice Cream Day
• National Read a Book Day
• National Another Look Unlimited Day 

I actually have chocolate mocha ice cream here now. I’m not a fan but it’s ok. And OF COURSE I’ll read a book. When don’t I? Have a happy, short week. God bless…

I could not sleep last night. I woke up at 3am and didn’t fall back to sleep. I ended up working at the computer for over an hour but that didn’t help. It’s a good thing no one else is here because I’m probably a grouch in real life!

When I looked out the door at church I saw a little blue button – but it wasn’t a button. It was a googly eye. I’m really glad about that, because it’s a good thing to keep an eye on the church… (I know, I know…)

It didn’t help that Sunday School was a little scattered. The two boys were excited, feeling like they got ‘promoted’ even though they were in the same classroom. They both moved up a grade in school, of course. We talked about rules and why they are important, but most of all we talked about how to find JOY (loving God with all your heart, mind, and strength). We’ll talk about JOY all month so we can reinforce the lesson.

Last night I was finishing my supper when I heard one loud boom. I went outside and realized someone down the street was setting off fireworks. They were hard to see over the trees and I didn’t walk down, but I stood there for a few minutes and enjoyed them. I love fireworks!

Today after lunch I went outside and worked on pulling weeds and cutting back plants on the hill. I still have one section to do – if it doesn’t rain all day tomorrow maybe I’ll finish it then. It’s looking better each time.

September 4 – Tell about your school year calendar. “The superintendent of the Indiana County Schools sent or brought one to the school. The teacher would make copies to send to each household of her (or his) pupils.”

Today is one year (Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, but it was actually September 5th) that Byron did the service and we said our farewells to Mom. I’ve thought about her a lot this weekend!

Calendar inspiration – Working with others will bring sweet rewards for all.

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TOMORROW September 5th is:

• National Be Late For Something Day
• National Cheese Pizza Day
• National Labor Day

Well – those all sound fine. It’s very easy to be late for something – or everything. And I can always eat pizza! Not sure if we should celebrate Labor Day by NOT doing work or by doing our work WELL! Anyway, hope it’s a fun day. God bless…

I accomplished everything on my list today but none of it is actually post-worthy. I changed and washed bed-sheets, studied my Sunday School Lesson and made some crafts for them. Wrote a review and posted for Liz’s book. Changed the Snoopy flag to one for the holiday. And I finally finished scoring the Flash Fiction stories and sent the results to Anita. The committee will discuss them when everyone has turned in scores. I concentrated on making that a priority in case Liz gets her NEXT book to me as a Beta reader – which means I read with complete concentration and without interruption! So THAT was my day – and it’s 9:00pm! I have LIVING BIG SKY (buying homes in Montana) on in the background.

Here is the review for Liz’s SECOND CHANCES AT BRAMBLEBERRY CREEK: Amber Lee watches her cousin Morgan Jo’s life fall into place.  Morgan knows what she wants to do, and who she wants to do it with, and what has to happen to make it work.  And Amber is ready to throw herself wholeheartedly into the family project.  But when Amber’s life takes an unwelcome turn, she even starts to question whether Morgan Jo can really make this project a success.  There are secrets and failures and incomplete entries in their grandfather’s diary that seem to thwart their every move forward.  Will Morgan and Amber be able to agree on what direction to take to make the winery a success?  Will they have to compromise or accept partial defeat to make it work?  Amber pushes past objections and even tests Morgan Jo’s determination, but finds that second chances aren’t just the only choice.  They are most often the best choice.  Elizabeth doesn’t just write the story; she writes the lives that you feel part of.  You live each choice, disappointment and success.  And who wouldn’t find happiness in Brambleberry Creek? (Posted on Amazon and B&N)

So, that’s it! Hopefully more exciting day tomorrow! Though, truthfully I was very content with my day. Didn’t get outside but hope to tomorrow. Here is a picture of the moon! That’s pretty cool!

September 3 – What do you remember about your first day of school? “I visited school so often when I was 5 years old that Miss Mary Marshall told Dad if I got vaccinated she would let me be with the first grade class. I learned to enjoy school that year. I don’t even remember my ‘first’ day of ‘real’ school.”

Calendar Inspiration – A kind word or cheerful song can brighten your day. Share that with others!

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TOMORROW September 4th is:

• National Pastor’s Spouses Day **
• National Macadamia Nut Day
• National Newspaper Carrier Day
• National Spice Blend Day
• National Wildlife Day

So tomorrow is KATHY’s day! If you see your – or another pastor’s wife – make sure you thank them for all they do! Have a great Sunday — God bless…

I started early to focus on the windows but had a number of disruptions. Thankfully, they were mostly fun ones so I was OK with that. I finished up a little before 1pm and had everything cleaned and sparkling. Kelly called and warned me NOT to fall out the window. I didn’t so we’re all good.

Once I finished windows, I had a yogurt and then started on the white fence between my yard and neighbor Dottie’s. I use the ‘Totally Awesome Cleaner’ that you can get at the Dollar Tree. It does a great job on the fence and now it’s shiny white!

The Flash Fiction stories were playing heavy on my mind, so I spent a few hours reading and scoring some of them. I have several more to do but you can only take crazy stories about Mermaids, Selkies, and sea creatures for so long before your mind starts to frazzle. So I took a break and did errands. I stopped at Gabe’s for batteries – they had an entire new shipment of fall blankets, and I’m happy to say that I escaped out of there with NO NEW BLANKETS! HONEST! I just bought the batteries.

I got groceries at Walmart, and then replenished my Totally Awesome Cleaner at the Dollar Tree. Unfortunately I could not find any more fall or ghoul M&M’s – Walmart sold out and Target didn’t have them out yet – just Peanut ones. But now I’m home and I’ll finish this and get some supper.

I did forget to post yesterday that it was one year since Mom’s passing. I thought about it all day but just didn’t translate the thoughts to the Word Garden. We all miss her, and it doesn’t seem real that I can’t call or visit! Love you Mom!

September 2 – Do you have a memory involving V J Day? “We celebrated by calling everyone on our telephone line. Some people didn’t know as they didn’t have a radio and the news would be late coming to the news paper in our area. Our school held a special assembly. A day that had happiness along with the awful way (Atom Bomb) it came about.”

Calendar Inspiration – Peppermint Patty from PEANUTS.

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TOMORROW September 3red is:

• National Cinema Day
• National Welsh Rarebit Day
• U.S. Bowling League Day
• National Tailgating Day
• World Beard Day

Mom loved to bowl – had her own ball and shoes and bowled every week with her friends in Greensburg. I don’t think any Welsh Rarebits were involved…. And none of them had beards! Have a happy Saturday. God bless…