It’s a little unnerving. This is my last post for 2015–so it’s one more, for the road. This year raced past me, leaving me a bit flustered. In many ways, it’s been my best year. We’ve celebrated several firsts, I accomplished a couple big things. We’ve had some family additions and victories.
So I can look back on 2015 with a full and very thankful heart.
And then, there were the losses. I thank God, His grace sees beyond our worldly horizons to what lies ahead for each of us. A beautiful friend left this life for her home in Glory. Another beautiful friend lost her soulmate on Thanksgiving Day. She’s still reeling a bit from the loss, but God’s grace is sufficient. She leans on her Father and her beautiful family for healing and support.
Many of my friends are fighting life battles.
“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” –– Isaiah 53:4-5 NIV
And so we enter 2016, imperfect in many ways, but striving, still. Some will make and keep New Year’s resolutions that will improve their lives. Others will make them and quickly forget them. I don’t usually make them, but this year, my plans include a few changes that are already in place. I know they will improve my life and help me get a better perspective on the coming days.
My prayers for you–yes, I pray for you–include a blessing on your life, that you will seek what your soul needs most. That you will knock on doors of opportunity and have them answered. And most of all, that God will grant you peace in your journey, wherever it leads.
Your Christmas may not look like this. Here in Kentucky, we’re experiencing a warm December. Our meteorologists are getting a workout, as the temperature falls into the twenties for a couple of days, then soars from the high fifties all the way into the low seventies.
I’ve had to turn on the Christmas music to keep my spirits up, because it really doesn’t look like Christmas outside. Though my garden is mostly exhausted, I still have one very confused petunia clinging to life.
Lights twinkle on houses up and down the streets. The malls and stores are overflowing with shoppers. Traffic is heavier than normal, everywhere you go. There is no denying–it is Christmas.
Here in our household, we celebrate in a traditional manner with all the family. It’s a joyous occasion that I love, a wonderful way to end the year.
Whatever the weather where you live, I wish you a very Merry Christmas season. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, I wish you Happy Holidays. If you’re traveling, may your journey be safe. If you’re alone, may you find peace. May the Spirit of this holiday season comfort you, if you’ve experienced a recent loss.
In the famous words of Charles Dickens’ beloved character, Tiny Tim, “God bless us everyone!”
I was offline for a few days due to computer outages. So sorry! Here’s an interesting post introducing the Writing Prompts Crew, complete with an opportunity for their readers (and now you) to enter a Christmas giveaway! You’ll find me over there, too.
Outside my window, the maple trees are putting on a show of brilliant colors. Their last hurrah. Winter comes close on the heels of Autumn here.
There are things about each season I love. And things I don’t like so much–no need to talk about those. I love the cooler temperatures of Autumn. The crisp air of a Fall morning is energizing. The smell of the burnishing leaves, their crunch beneath my feet, all add to the season’s ambiance.
As the trees shed their leafy cover, gaps open up, and the bright sunlight spills through the windows, lighting up our rooms. Thus, revealing summer’s deposits of dust and cobwebs. Oops! Fall cleaning scheduled.
Autumn is especially poignant for me this year, as a dear friend prepares to make her final journey. I remember the Spring of her life, when as a bubbly cheerleader, she spread joy and sunlight wherever she went.
We were so pastel…so…70’s…
I was a few years older, but we lived on the same street and attended the same high school. Later, we were both members of the same church youth group, and youth choir. At my wedding, she told me I was beautiful, and we (my husband and I) were like movie stars. It was all very romantic. She couldn’t wait for her day to come.
It did, several years later, when she married her best friend, another of our youth group and youth choir members. Still bubbly and outgoing, she had added a college degree and looked forward to a career in teaching. Soon she had a home classroom filled with three beautiful daughters. Blessed daughters, to have such a mother, who gave herself to their raising and training.
As she prepares to leave this life, her legacy of love and compassion lights our memories and warms our hearts. We’ll miss her, oh my, yes. But her light will never go out. As Fall’s glory fades into Winter’s chill, hope survives. Spring will come!
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. –2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
Recently, we spent a few days in Perdido Key, Florida, for some much-needed R&R. Four days and five nights, to be more precise. Some of the most visually perfect days I’ve ever experienced on the Gulf. And our first stay in Perdido Key.
We knew we were taking a chance, by going in October. The week before we arrived, it was rainy and overcast and cold. I watched the weather channel with bated breath. Would the weather warm up? Would Joaquin take a westerly turn?
Our first day there, it was sunny, but the wind held a definite chill. The first thing I noticed was, the sand didn’t burn our feet. A definite perk. However, the sun was quite powerful. We had taken the necessary precautions, so didn’t suffer any burns to spoil our fun.
Sights! Our condo was well positioned to view the sun’s path. Out on our balcony, I witnessed the sun rising out of the water. In the evening, we watched from the beach as it set. Breathtaking.
Gorgeous, translucent water with no apparent jellyfish. I liked that, though I barely stepped in. Calm seas that sparkled in the afternoon sun. I could sit and listen to the surf for hours. I did!
Sounds — the Blue Angels. For me, this was not a deterrent. I enjoy watching them fly. They were usually high overhead, until evening when they returned to base. We just paused our conversation until they’d passed over, slowly. I heard the roar for several minutes after they’d gone.
I’d expected smaller crowds, but the building where we stayed is evidently a popular one–and not only that–it was fall break in some area schools. And the shrimp festival was on in Gulf Shores, just down the road. But honestly, we still enjoyed ourselves. No, we didn’t attend the festival. Not really into crowds, or shrimp. But we did visit a few area restaurants.
The Shrimp Basket was having a problem in the kitchen on our first night in town. I don’t think they expected such a crowd. The wait-staff was helping in the kitchen, even washing dishes. It took over an hour to get our food. But they made it right by only charging us half price. Our waitress had worked so hard, we tipped her the full amount. We didn’t return there.
Typically, we like to have breakfast in our residence and sometimes lunch also. Then we go out to dinner. But we discovered a little jewel of a breakfast place called Triggers. They’re on Gulf Beach Highway, toward Pensacola. The parking lot held a lot of pickups with local Florida plates, so it seemed like a winner. It was. The eggs tasted fresh, were perfectly prepared (I’m picky!) and they can do grits and biscuits. Love. We made sure to swing by there on our way out of town.
On the second day, we had lunch at Tacky Jack’s. I think they’re actually located in Orange Beach, on the bay or the Intracoastal. The views were amazing and it was a fun place, very colorful. My husband got out of the car and a woman dashed over, getting into his face. “You’re from Kentucky!” she said, “I suppose you’re a Wildcat fan!” He was a little alarmed, since she was a complete stranger and had literally entered his personal space. But he recovered quickly and let her know he does bleed blue. She was a Louisville fan, married to a Wildcat fan. Yes, it happens.
The food at Tacky Jacks…was just okay. Not great. Maybe we’re picky, since we come from a city known for it’s restaurants. I judge seafood by the hush puppies. These were small and cooked just right, but not so much on flavor.
Small…and definitely done to perfection, but that’s a “hushed puppy.”
I’m a hush-puppy fan, and here again, I’m picky. The perfect hush-puppy should be small, so it cooks all the way through without drying out. If it’s too big, the center will be doughy or the thing will be a belly-bomb, dry and tasteless. I like them with onions and…flavor. I don’t really like them sweet.
We enjoyed the Perdido Key Oyster Bar, mainly because of the view of the beautiful Intracoastal Waterway, lined with high-end houses, and the Gulf State Park across the water. Lovely. The food was pretty good. Jellyfish (a restaurant, not the animal) was a fun place. It’s a sports bar. Hubby tried the sushi, but found it sub-par (in his opinion). I took a chance on the Jack Chicken Salad: bourbon-glazed chicken over greens with fried green tomatoes, candied pecans, blue cheese, bacon croutons, tomato bacon jam, and peach bourbon vinaigrette. So many wonderful flavors. It was delicious.
We saved one area restaurant until last. The guy at the deli counter in the local Publix (grocery) told us about a little shack of a place tucked up under the Theo Baars Bridge, called Fisherman’s Corner. Funky little place looks unassuming, but it was a winner. Not your run-of-the-mill seafood diner. They know how to do it right and I loved the New Orleans atmosphere and Creole flavors. I’m giving it four stars. Yum.
If you’re looking for a new place to go on your next Florida vacation, you might try Perdido Key. It is a very beautiful stretch of beach. And there’s lots to do in the area. It’s well-positioned between Gulf Shores and Orange Beach on one side, and Pensacola’s only about thirty minutes to the east. And if you’ve a golfer in the family, there’s an Arnold Palmer designed course in Perdido Key. I’ve heard it’s “not-to-be-missed.”
As the sun set on our final evening on the Key, I snapped a few pics and breathed in the warm, tropical air. In a few hours, I’d be back in the nation’s midsection, which was already experiencing low temps and bracing for their first official frost. The only bad thing about going to the beach this time of year? You can’t show off your tan when you get home. Every inch of skin is covered, trying to stay warm. 🙂
It’s a little unnerving. This is my last post for 2015–so it’s one more, for the road. This year raced past me, leaving me a bit flustered. In many ways, it’s been my best year. We’ve celebrated several firsts, I accomplished a couple big things. We’ve had some family additions and victories.
“Surely he took up our pain
Happy New Year!
Betty Thomason Owens 