Farewell to the Final Friday

 

our front porch a few hours ago

Please note, with reference to the title of this post, this is not a farewell to blogging but it is bidding adieu to the last Friday of 2024.

I say that because so many times we skim-read and draw errant conclusions. My intention, Lord-willing, is to continue to spill my guts share my thoughts via blogging as we move into the New Year of 2025. 

And I say that because at this time of year, when many of us are more likely to assess where we are, where we are going, and considering course adjustments, bloggers may doubt their reasons for this writing platform. I've done that many times. But it's been nearly 16 years since my first blog post and I have no plans to stop unless I am led to do so.

Sister's Christmas dinner tables

Moving on, to finish up with Christmas this week, I want to share with you what comprised much of my Christmas gift-giving this year. If you're on FaceBook, you may have seen the ads from PersonalizationMall.com where you can order all kinds of items with the name of the recipients on them in artistic ways. 

I ordered 4 table runners this year for families with the names of all the children or grandchildren (see the white runner in picture above). I can just picture the youngest of my grands counting how many times they see their names on the fabric. 

For one couple that has cats and a mule(!!) instead of human kids, I sent personalized mugs and coasters. 

Even the man in my life got something special. All the gifts were good quality, fun to give, and well-received by all.

Since I've shared this much, I'll show you one more gift ordered from PersonalizationMall.com that I had made for Gary's birthday in October. The man doesn't lack for much, but I thought he should have a clock on his desk. I ordered this and inserted a professional photograph of us dressed in our finest. Above the picture is a small pewter plate that says, "Gary and Barbara," and below the picture is another plate that says, "Loving our life together." Yes, he liked it.

So much for the free advertisement. Moving on to other events of this past week: we made a short trip to Jacksonville. Our appointment would take us to downtown. 

one of several hotel trees

To avoid stress in finding the location on unfamiliar streets for a morning meeting, we drove up there the day before, checked into our hotel and then walked to a recommended eatery for our supper. 

suppertime

Our habit is to make lunch the big meal of the day, so we didn't want to eat a heavy meal. This place was very casual and as soon as we walked inside, I was reminded of the old TV show, Cheers. While this was more than a bar, it just had that "where everybody knows your name" feel to it. 

youtube link to theme song

Gary had the hamburger and I got chicken fingers. Lip-smakin' good, all of it. And a live Christmas tree in a bucket near our table:

Note, I've never watched an episode of Cheers but the song is catchy and tells what the series is about.

looking south from the 5th floor

The next morning a thick fog enveloped the downtown streets of Jacksonville but by the time our meeting was done, it had lifted. We were on the 5th floor with an expansive view of the St. Johns River. Had time (and Gary) allowed, I would have stayed by the windows staring out at this scene well into the afternoon. Such sights are mesmerizing to me. But alas, it was Christmas Eve and we needed to head back to Ocala.

Meadowbrook

We got back to town in time for the 3pm Christmas Eve service, which was our hope, wanting to get home before dark. As always, this church put on a wonderful program. We do not attend there regularly but for special occasions it is a wonderful place to be.

Christmas tree

Christmas morning began with our usual quiet cup of coffee and holiday music on TV. We opened our gifts in a peaceful atmosphere that is our preference in this stage of life -- and we are absolutely okay with that. We've done our time, so to speak, with the chaos and drama of young family life and now prefer calm and tranquility.

my niece and nephew-in-law

We did not have anything special for breakfast because we knew Nancy and Steve were cooking up a feast for later that day. Our usual Cheerios would probably run thin by the time that dinner came, but the temporary starvation would be worth it once we sat at their table. Both the menu and the company of extended family were very pleasant, a wonderful way to spend the holiday.

dish towels for "pretty" --
not to be used!

In our dinner conversation I remembered we had not yet driven to the town square to see the Christmas lights. On our way home, that was our destination. 

Ocala's town square

We also drove slowly past charming old homes in the historic district but I took no pictures of them, wanting to just enjoy what was before me. 

Ocala train depot in miniature

The next day, while much of the city was flooding the stores for returns, exchanges and spending gift cards, we drove to the local college to see a wonderful model train display.

The trains were running on their tracks, sometimes three passing each other at the same time. That was fascinating to me. 

The miniature scenes were intricate, very well done, and clever. 

While some scenes were very pretty, others were notable for their attention to detail and practicality in telling the story of real life.

This scene was so life-like that it looked like something out of a television show. I took this snapshot because Gary is a car guy and he can tell me the make and year of just about any car I see. This is a 1955 Chevy.

This scene was for me. While I do not drink, I come from Colorado, which is known in part for brewing Coors beer. I've been outside the brewery in Golden, a beautiful place to visit. 

And for the record, I did drink red wine for one solid year about two years ago, one small glass every afternoon, with the expectation that my cholesterol lab work would show an improvement. I developed an allergy to statin drugs after taking them for years, so I thought maybe the red wine would help. It made absolutely no difference good or bad. My numbers remained the same.

Truth be told, I'm one of those people that thinks wine tastes like vinegar and in spite of trying different kinds over that twelve months, my taste buds just put up with it for medicinal reasons. When my lab work demonstrated that was not the answer for me, I stopped drinking. No problem. 

I eat well, exercise and have no other contributing factors to the problem, so my doctor tells me I'm okay.

an oil change in 2024

With that personal revelation out of the way, I return to my summary of this week and real life. Did you know you can have a service person come to your home to change the oil in your car? We bought our Ford Maverick a little over a year ago and are diligent about keeping up with maintenance. The Ford dealership (that has our warranty) is on the far side of town, so when it's time for service to be done, they have come to our house several times, saving us the trip! Today was an oil change. Took only minutes, the fellas were pleasant and thorough and the only driving was to move the vehicle onto the street!

We decided this was the day to pack up the decorations. Carefully wrapped in tissue and plastic, just about all of our decor fits inside only two bankers boxes and is stored on a closet shelf.

A plastic bag is tucked over and around the two table-top Christmas trees and they, too, are stored on the same shelf with the boxed decorations. As I said earlier, we are enjoying the simplicity of our holiday at this stage of our lives. 

Quoting phrases from The Preacher in Ecclesiastes chapter 3:

                             There is a time for everything,

              and a season for every activity under the heavens...

              a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them...

                           a time to keep and a time to throw away ...

As we approach the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, may we forgive ourselves and others, learn from mistakes and regrets, do what makes for peace with others, and trust the Lord in all that comes our way.

Until next time, grace and peace.