Celebrating Gary's Birthday

 

My readers may not think of us as "party animals," but in our own way, it's been a weekend of good times.

The cards have been coming in via snail mail and the Internet. 

This one created by Blue Mountain Arts came from a long-time friend who is currently on vacation in South Africa!!

I asked Chatgpt to come up with an old-fashioned arithmetic word problem to express how many birthdays Gary has celebrated, thus far. See if you can figure it out:

A teacher has 12 boxes of pencils, with 7 pencils in each box. She then gets 5 more pencils. After giving 7 pencils to a student, how many pencils does she have left?

You can leave your answer in the comments at the end of this post. And just so you know, I ran this past Gary to see if he could figure it out (of course he did!!!) and to ask his permission. He said it was okay.

One of the activities on this special weekend was our drive north about 45 minutes to Williston, Florida to visit the Annual Peanut Festival.

It was a typical small-town type of celebration that drew A LOT OF PEOPLE (as experienced when we were looking for a parking spot). We were each given a small bag of Florida peanuts, a bag of free popcorn, a free fan (much appreciated because the heat and humidity were pretty high), and of course, the advertised, highly-anticipated, free grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The sandwich was quite warm and the peanut butter was soft and gooey! Sooo good!

Vendors were selling all the usual stuff but nothing we didn't already have, didn't need, nor want.

On our way back to the truck, we stopped to take this picture of Spanish Moss draped from an oak tree -- a very common sight all over Florida. (very "southern")

We talked about going to a restaurant for lunch but the yummy meatloaf at home won the debate. After lunch we settled into our recliners to watch the Air Force vs. Navy football game. Gary enjoyed the game since he is an Air Force retiree and veteran. I enjoyed the scenes from the USAF Academy since I'm a former military wife (USAF) and lived in Colorado Springs twice for a combined total of about 10 years. 

High School years:
Gary is in the top row, on the left

A TV announcer described one of the players as one who "played with  his hair on fire." I asked Gary if he played that way on his high school team. His reply: "Nooooo ! I hid under the stands! You can get killed out there!" He was actually the co-captain in his senior year.

 

He's joking about hiding. From our very beginnings he has made me laugh. Every. Single. Day. 

Air Force was doing well, so after half-time I got busy in the kitchen to make brownies in my seasoned cast iron wedge pan. My secret to keep them from sticking is Bakers Joy, which is a combination of flour and cooking oil. I use my fingers to spread the lubrication into the corners.

While the brownies baked, somebody got to lick the bowl.

When first bringing the pan out of the oven, it's exciting to see how high the brownies have risen. They tend to deflate as they cool, but the taste is wonderful.

All of the above happened on Saturday. His actual birthday is today, Sunday, October 4th. 

All of our days begin with Gary bringing coffee into our room where we listen to instrumental music on the TV and quietly talk about plans for the day.

Last night I left a special coffee in the kitchen for him to discover this morning. It was a pleasant start to his birthday, and Gary even asked me what other flavors the store had to offer.

He opened the card from me and two packages, each with a jigsaw puzzle to feed our current hobby. 

and

I got these from Amazon after searching for designs with classic cars, since that is a subject Gary has loved all of his life. Also, these puzzles remind us of one of the first movies we watched together in our early dating days, American Graffiti. 

Link to the movie trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etGj_xQSKRM

My long-time readers remember that the same week of our first date, Gary bought a classic 2002 Ford Thunderbird. He likes to say he had to get the car to get the girl!

 

While that is not exactly right, it didn't hurt!! (for those of my readers who don't know, Gary and I were both widowed during the COVID pandemic and a mutual friend introduced us about a year later. It's been a "Hallmark movie romance" from the beginning and we've been married almost 4 1/2 years.)

On our second date I convinced him to let me take pictures of him with the car. While this gave him snapshots of the car, it gave me photos of HIM to dream over when we could not be together. 🥰 So that's the story of why I gave him puzzles of classic cars. 

Getting back to the birthday celebrations: birthday cards, phone greetings, and of course, the traditional make - a - wish - and - blow - out - the - candle rounded out the special occasion.

Only Gary and the Lord know what he wished before blowing out his candle but I hope all his dreams come true!

(Yes, I made him light his own candle so I could snap this picture!)

For it is by grace you have been saved,

through faith --

and this is not from yourselves,

it is the gift of God --

not by works,

so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Praying for you grace and peace, 

Barbara

P.S. If you're so inclined, figure out the answer to the arithmetic word problem and leave your answer in the comments. 😉 Please leave your first name if you are commenting anonymously. 

Moving Into Autumn Themes

created per my instructions to Chatgpt

Today I am responding to Joyce's Hodgepodge questions, concluding with more photos from our recent road trip to Kentucky and also a few words about dinosaurs. (!!) If you want to link your blog to Joyce's Hodgepodge questions, click here.

1. When you think of autumn what sounds come to mind? 

Autumn always reminds me of Roger Williams' piano version of the song, The Autumn Leaves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH0d7lgO0Js

2.  Is a trip to the mountains something you enjoy? What's your favorite mountain? 

I-70 heading west into the Rocky Mountains
outside of Denver, Colorado

Mountains will always hold a high place (😉 pun intended) in my heart since I've lived alongside Colorado's Rocky Mountains more years than any of the many other places in my life.

3. What's something that once felt like a mountain, but is now just a molehill? 

Taking on the financial bookkeeping after my first husband died was a mountain for me. My daughter and my second husband have been a big help to me, but the reality is that I've had to take on the responsibility myself. While I now (almost 6 years later) won't go so far as to label that responsibility as a "molehill," I am handling it with relative ease. I literally thank the Lord every day for getting me through that, one of the most intimidating, scary experiences of my life. God has been faithful to me!

click here  to listen to the song

4. Let's play this or that-fall foods edition. Yes, you have to choose. 

• pumpkin spice latte or chai latte 
• apple cider or hot chocolate  
• stew or chili
• sweet potato casserole or green bean casserole 
• butternut squash soup or creamy mushroom soup 
• cranberry sauce or gravy 

5. Sum up your September in a sentence or two. 

Weary of our summer's heat and humidity, we escaped to Kentucky and grabbed some cooler weather to bring down to Florida as we drove home. (My last post addressed part of that trip; #6 below will tell more.)

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

After we spent time at The Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky (40 miles south of Cincinnati), we drove Southwest to Hodgenville to visit the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, his boyhood home, and the Lincoln Museum. Pictures follow:

This is a reproduction of Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and boyhood home in Hodgenville. I say that this is a "reproduction" because the real birthplace house was physically moved to the Abraham Lincoln Visitor Center, a few miles away. See the next picture .....

This photo was taken at the Lincoln Visitor Center. The actual house in which he was born was moved to the inside of this awesome building. You see all of the steps required to see it -- we chose to observe from afar. 

The area is beautiful with lots of trees, manicured grass, and benches positioned periodically along that staircase.

Also at this location is a Visitors Center (with restrooms) and a gift shop area. Here Gary is closely examining one of the display cases.

We then drove a little farther into Hodgenville to visit the Lincoln Museum. It's located in a couple of store fronts on the downtown traffic circle ("roundabout"). We were easily able to park right in front of the main door. This picture was taken from the outside, looking into some of the several windows from the sidewalk.

My sister has a rich history with miniatures. Because of her, I know that here we are looking at "room boxes", one-room scenes depicting some of President Lincoln's life. The one on the far right is his deathbed.

Inside the museum, which is absolutely full of Lincoln-era memorabilia, this is a life-size scene of young Lincoln working as a store clerk. You may have heard the story of how at one day's end, he realized he had not given the correct change to a customer. He sought her out to make it right, validating the saying, "Honest Abe," as he was called.

A quote by Mr. Lincoln. The picture is dark and hard to read, but the quote is worth repeating:

"Better to remain silent

and be thought a fool 

than to speak out and

remove all doubt."

There were several life-size scenes from his life, but I captured only two of them. This is Robert E. Lee on the left with Ulysses S. Grant on the right at the McLean home at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, where they met on April 9, 1865 for the surrender of the Civil War.

My souvenir purchases: 3 refrigerator magnets, a book about Lincoln's four sons, and a bookmark.

Our last stop during this Kentucky trip was to Mammoth Cave National Park.

Unhappily, upon our arrival we were told the power had gone out. They did not know the cause yet, nor how long it would take to restore the power. They could not even allow us into the visitor center, and certainly not into the caves. 

After giving the matter some serious thought, we decided to head for home. While on the road we shared with each other our experiences of visiting other caves: (Gary) Luray Caverns in Virginia , (me) Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs, some mines in the Rockies, and Carlsbad in New Mexico. We have no plans to return to Mammoth but the pictures on the internet are very impressive.

The question was brought up in the comments on my last post about dinosaurs not being mentioned in the Bible and/or on the ark. Perhaps this explanation will help:

The Bible does not explicitly use the word "dinosaur" because the term was not invented until 1841. However, some Christians and creationist groups interpret certain massive creatures described in scripture—such as the Behemoth and Leviathan in the Book of Job (Job 40–41)—as descriptions of dinosaur-like animals. 

Job 40:15–24 (The Behemoth): God describes a powerful plant-eating land creature "which [He] made along with you". The text notes that "its tail sways like a cedar," leading some to suggest a large sauropod, though mainstream scholars and other commentators often identify it as a hippopotamus or an elephant. 

Job 41:1–34 (The Leviathan): A formidable, fearsome sea creature described with great strength and armor, which some connect to marine reptiles, though others view it as a crocodile or symbolic imagery. 

Genesis 1:21 (Great Sea Creatures): Mentions that God created great sea monsters (tanin in Hebrew, sometimes translated as "dragons" or "serpents"), which some believe encompasses large aquatic reptiles.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara

A High Seas Adventure

The Ark Encounter,
Williamstown, Kentucky

In the nine days since my last blog post, Gary and I have been on a (figuratively speaking) high seas adventure. The Ark Encounter (click on that for their website) is a recreation of Noah's Ark, as described in the Old Testament book of Genesis, chapters 5-9. This amazing attraction is located in Williamstown, Kentucky, about 40 miles south of Cincinnati.

link to purchase this book:
click here

For those who may not be "Bible buffs," I'll give a quick digest of the story: God decided to flood the earth due to human wickedness, preserving Noah, his wife, their 3 sons and their wives. Over some 75- 100 years Noah and his sons constructed the ark per the instructions given to them by God and then a representation of the animals entered the ark with the family of 8 humans. A catastrophic flood covered the entire earth while the people and animals remained entirely safe in the ark for a total of about a year. At the end of the storm and after the waters began to recede, the ark rested on a mountain. As the occupants of the ark departed, God promised to never again destroy the earth by flood, confirming His promise with a rainbow.

It is a fascinating (and I believe TRUE) story that my synopsis falls short in explaining. This recreation of the ark is a graphic re-telling of the story and an absolute marvel to see.

I took a lot of snapshots (a real photo-dump, as we bloggers like to call it). I will label some of the pictures but will TRY to keep my commentary minimal. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." You will see that I was fascinated with the size of the ark. 

Our first glimpse of the ark from the parking lot: note the tan, one-story building on the left of photo. Beyond that is a dark structure -- that's the ark.

This picture taken from inside our truck, looking toward the entry area where tickets are purchased (if not done previously on-line). There is a metal-detector. We were told if we were carrying an umbrella, to hold it above our head while walking through security. At this location we boarded a shuttle bus that took us to the ark area.

the tower on to the right of the ark
is a part of the zip lines

If you check their website, there are different options for tickets. One could easily spend several days at this attraction both due to the enormity of information and exhibits inside the ark as well as to take advantage of the zoo, the zip lines, the shops, and eateries. We chose the one-day senior pass which cost us $60 each. Prices vary by date and age.

We thought this was a good time to go, when public schools are in session and fewer families are on vacation. But as the day wore on, we still saw a lot of people, including home-school families. There were many seniors, like us, and I can't tell you how many tour buses were in the parking lot, there were so many. 

Again, a snapshot to prove we were really there (I can still hardly believe we got to make this trip!) and to illustrate the size of the ark, which is some 150 feet LONGER than a football field.

Approaching the entrance to the ark. We walked underneath it, past the fence. We walked up many wide, gently sloping ramps throughout the ark, including at the entrance area. Everything is very user, handicapped, wheelchair-friendly. We saw some elevators, too, but the ramps were comfortable enough for us. There is a great deal of walking involved, but benches were conveniently stationed throughout (and we used them!).

My photos will not be in chronological order according to the story. There were many exhibits like this one, which is Noah with his family praying, thanking God after the flood. 

Huge, true-to-life cages with detailed animal statues of all kinds, and sound effects, filled the lower levels. It was like a zoo (but without the smells!! 🤭)

Gary looks into the cages of the animals. As you can see, while giving the impression of being dimly lit, the entire area is easy to navigate and has a wonderful ambience without the animal scents and motion of the sea.

There were the animal cages, posters, and all kinds of illustrative exhibits on all 4 levels of the ark.

In the very center of this picture is one of the ramps to get from one level to the next. 

A large wall was devoted to the names of donors who contributed to make this project possible.

I think my favorite part of the ark were these rooms depicting the living areas where Noah and his family resided. This particular one is what is imagined to be the living quarters of Noah's son, Japheth and his wife. Each scene illustrated some assumptions that have been made about the personality or preferences of the different individuals. 

More of these life-like rooms:

This scene depicts Noah and his wife as he releases a dove to the outside, in an effort to determine if it was time to leave the ark. He did this a couple of times, with the bird returning. On maybe the second or third time, the dove returned with an olive twig in its mouth. Eventually he sent out a bird that did not return, indicating they could go outside onto dry land.

I did not take pictures of the snack areas and gift shops inside of the ark. There were also many displays focused on creation, how animals have developed from the days of Noah, and so many other really interesting subjects having to do with the Bible, all very well researched. There was more to see and read than our energy would allow, and also as time wore on, the crowds greatly increased. We were very glad we were among the very first to arrive that day.

For our lunch, we chose to order a burger and French fries outside and ate at one of these tables. 

While there were snack concessions and shopping kiosks inside the ark, outside were more of the same, including even a sit-down restaurant. The above wood sculpture is a purchase I made at one of the gift shops.

And of course, if you know me, I found refrigerator magnets to remind us of this wonderful adventure. 

These are our tickets. Souvenirs.

This is a map of the entire area. It is a very family-friendly attraction with something for everybody.

This is a diagram of the ark. If you go, be sure to wear comfortable shoes!! 

After our lunch, we had seen all our minds could absorb and needed a rest. We rode a shuttle bus back to our truck and headed south and west to our next adventure, which I plan to share in my next blog post.  

From Matthew 24: 38-39, 42 and 44:

For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man…..Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara