Do you know I have hardly seen Dad for a month? I have been away, of course, and since I have been back he has mostly been in Atlanta doing various landscaping jobs there - staying with Maryanne overnight...Amazing how quickly the days and weeks come and go...Our friend, Johan, called Tuesday, as he is again in our part of the country, fundraising. He wanted to know whether he could stat overnight with us as he usually does. With Dad away, that didn't seem entirely appropriate, even for two oldies...So we visited a couple of hours, then I left to spend the night with Grace and Justin...

Wednesday morning I spent at my favorite task - trying to figure out whether a couple who have been good tenants are now putting us on when they say they need this week's rent deferred for a few days...sigh...Then back to Grace's for a trip to indulge in my other favorite activity - shopping at the mall...Horror!...But I have such a large number of gifts that need tending to -birthdays for Andrew and Justin, wedding presents for Victoria and Emily, baby gifts for Susanna, Linda, and Elizabeth,,.

Yesterday, Calvert came over so we could pray together, the Jerry came to collect our car and do some superficial body work on it. I ended up speaking with both of them at length, so my day went quickly...Then yesterday evening, Katherine and I got together for our latest round of hilarity...A good day, all in all.

Today I will clean the church, get my hair cut, then -perhaps-go to collect Anna and bring her back for the weekend...

Sunday, I will go into Hopeline with Dad and get the lay of the land there, possibly signing up to work...

Monday, if Anna comes, I will return her and visit the Helms - haven't seen them for almost a month...

Thursday, Dad and I hope to leave for NYC to see Littlest...

And life goes on...

More Odds and Ends

Before I left for Rick and Susanna's, I went to the second-hand book shop and picked up three books to take with me - to wile away the hours between flights. One was about Ross Perot's springing of hostages taken from his company in Iran WITH HIS OWN EXECUTIVES! Very interesting.. The second was the first in the Father Tim series of "Mitford" by Jan Karon. I don't normally read things like that, but is really a lovely series. She is a southern lady whose hero is an Anglican "priest". CS Lewis said that the trick to writing a Christian novel was not how we relate to God, but how He in turn relates to us...Karon doesn't really take this on, but that is a plus, I'm sure...They are lovely stories, written by a converted woman who weaves biblical thought, even texts, into her story...Unique!...Then, I bought "The Three Edwards", by THomas Costain....a dramatized, but accurate (I believe) history of the three Plantagenet kings of that name. I read it as a child, and remembered certain elements. Is interesting to read it again many years later and see what I think. Mom and Dad - especially Mom - certainly presented us with contentful reading. No wonder I love history!

On the flight back from NYC, there was a large family of immigrants from Ethiopia on board. ( The jet was a Boeing 767 - a wide-bodied, oh-so-comfortable one.) It was hilarious to see them trying to figure out where they belonged...They simply couldn't read their tickets and match them to their seats...Just milled around for a good half-hour trying to figure it out - like something from John Cleese. Having said this, I know absolutely, I would do no better, not as well, if I were challenged with a north-African situation...In any case, the woman and her toddler ended up sitting beside me. She spoke rudimentary English, telling me she was brought up Christian, but converted to Islam to marry. How tragic!

I have been home for two days now, but havent' yet seen Dad. He has been working in Atlanta and should be back in a couple of hours...We will have to figure out when to go and see our new little granddaughter! THANK-YOU FOR HER, RICK AND SUSANNA!!!

Our friend, Cora, from Florence days, married Everett Koop today on Philadelphia. She is 69, and he is 93!...It was put on Tenth Presbyterian's webcam, so was able to see some of it live...Cora was just as excited as any first-time bride...Long, white dress, flower girls, etc...And now she has a family as long as life lasts, I imagine. The little children in the wedding were doubtless Koop's great-grandchildren. They will grow up never having known any other great-Grandma...I'm sure Koop himself will not be around for too many years, but God has, indeed, placed her in a family. Isn't that beautiful?

We will have a quiet Sunday tomorrow with ANdrew in Oakville and Grace and Justin with Maryanne...

I took Micah out for a couple of hours yesterday so that Susanna could have time alone with Ellie. We hit the closest park where he met up with a little friend from church - a special treat for him. We had lunch in a little coffee shop then headed home. After dinner, Susanna and I did some sorting of nameless bags and boxes in the basement and carved out a nice little niche for the baby's cradle. I bleached some clothes for her then headed to bed.

Today I will leave for JFK around noon.. I fly to Atlanta at 4:20, then to Chattanooga at 9:40. It will be a long day but I am fortified with a good book I bought before leaving home. I hope to have another stimulating seat mate on the first leg of the journey. God has amply answered those prayers on my last couple of trips!

So good-bye to Brooklyn for a few weeks. And hello once more to our "Little House on the Railroad Tracks"!

The beginning of another day in Brooklyn,...The kids are up and ready to go. So am I - almost...They are certainly little livewires...

God gave me another interesting seatmate on my way here, from Memphis - An immigrant from the Ukraine whose mom is orthodox and dad Jewish. He has attended a charismatic church for some time, but also hangs around with the Orthodox (Jews) in his part of town. He says they talk of rebuilding the temple. I asked whether this was fantasy or an actual determination. He said the latter - interesting....As with most Russians, he was pleasantly philosophical...

One of the first things Susanna and I did upon Mom-arrival was to buy a new vacuum - her old one is useless....Micah had mixed feelings about the noise it makes, wanting me to assure him that God would protect us from it...

Alicia came for the weekend, which was lovely. On our way to the market with the kids on Saturday, we bumped into Toni - hope to see her when Dad and I return after the baby is born....Yesterday, Sharon came into town so we could go out to lunch together. What a stimulating and interesting visit we had -as always...She has begun a group called "Just Listening", which she presents all over the country - a means of listening to especially poorer people without the lenses of a person's ow cultural values...We discussed spiritual issues of course, as they are what we both are most interested in..She reminded me of a time at the cottage - years ago- when one of you girls told one of her girls that she had a black heart. Needless to say, this was discussed by the family and the kids were told just to sort it out together...which you always did! In any case, I said to her, "Sharon, the Protestant response to that comment would be...."But don't take it personally..." We laughed and laughed. Amazing that we have such a good relationship with so much honesty and differences we honestly articulate.

Tom came for dinner and told us of his ongoing writing on his novel - sound quite unique...But must go as a little boy wants to watch the Wiggles...