October 26, 2008

A week dedicated to Dad & Mother.   (camera still broken)	We were back at Barnwell for church again on Sunday morning.  Wendell Heatwole preached on "Sowing the Gospel in People's Hearts".   My wife was the designated hostess this Sunday.  We had Duane Banges, Mark Hochstetlers, Ms. Nettie Schrock & Ms. Katherine and Mrs. Odom.  Dinner of pork roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffed peppers,  spiced apples and mocha cloud pie.  We had a nice time visiting after the meal.  Mrs. Odom stayed until about 4:30 so we didn't get much of any naps but that was perfectly fine.  I had the devotions in the evening.  The service was an interesting service on anabaptist music.  Uncle Enos talked about the different song books and stages in the development of our modern music.  Robert & Elsie Yoder sang a selection for us from the Ausbund and a small group led us in singing about 3 selections from the Harmonia Sacra.  Very nice!
Writing a letter home to Mom.	Once again I was fasting on Monday.  I hate doing it but this new diet is working for me and spending the whole day without eating anything is almost easier to stick to than just trying to cut back.  My goal is to lose 1 lb. a week and so far I have been with it.   I found out this morning that my friend and customer, Mrs. Joann McNamara had passed away over the weekend.  I came home and changed clothes then went to her funeral in the afternoon.   I took Carolina Sue with me. Ms. Joann was a member of the Episcopal church there in Barnwell so the memorial and graveside service were held there.  The Episcopal church is pretty liturgical so the service was a bit different then I am used to.  I came home for an hour over supper then went back in to work until late/early.  Ina Sue said that Savannah was pretty restless in the night.
Off to work.... (Dad has been a carpenter for over 40 years)	I left and went in to work at 5:30 for an early morning service call.  I was trying to get a server upgrade done before the customer's employees all got to work.  It didn't go quite as well as I had hoped and I will need to complete it another morning.  I came home for breakfast at 10:00 then went back in to work for the rest of the day.   Ina Sue fixed us a super brunch of egg enchiladas and spiced apples.  It was a lovely fall day today but getting chillier.  In the evening I kept the children while Ina Sue went to a baby shower for Lois Heatwole.
Mother in our McBean kitchen with canning.	I spent a normal day at work on Wednesday but came home a little early to get started on the project with our small group.  Ina Sue made a big batch of potato salad for the evening.  Mary Korver with Gilbert & Erica stopped by for a little visit with tea and donuts.  Ina Sue hemmed up my suit pants for me again, trying to get all the length she could after the shrinking experience.  In the evening our small group (Ivan Skrivseths, Danny Heges, and Wesley Heatwoles) met at the Govan square, mowed the lawn, and cut up and carted off a big pecan tree that had split apart in the storm.
At Kent's birthday party.	It was a very big tree and was a bit of a job to get it to fall where we wanted it.  Ivan Skrivseth had his small tractor there and was eventually able to pull it down where it did no harm.  It was a very big job getting it all cut up and piled up to burn.  We had to work the last hour or so by the light of headlights.  After we got done we roasted hotdogs over a small fire and ate our supper together.  Then we just sat around the fire and visited for an hour or two.  A very enjoyable evening!
A roadside picnic	Thursday started with me heading off to work.   Ina Sue had a full day here at home.  She did a load or two of laundry and cut out a dress for Carolina Sue.  I came home at 1:00 and we dropped the children off at Patrick and Bethany's for the evening.  We took Savannah along with us over to North Augusta to go back to Nurseries Caroliniana.  They were running some fall sales and we picked up a variety of plants for the yard including two Japanese maples and some sweet grass.  We came back to Aiken and made stops at Hobby Lobby and Walmart then finished the evening with supper at the "Atlanta Bread Company".  Home with the children by 9:15.  A good day!
Their Japanese phase... :)	It rained all day on Friday.  I went in to work early at 6:00.  Ina Sue made the breakfast of egg gravy over toast and I came dropped by to eat with the them on my way back to the shop.  Savannah wasn't feeling very good today and seemed to cry a lot.  I had supper at Mi Rancho with an employee then delivered a new printer to Myron Brubakers on my way home.  I got home around 8:30 and we had some chips & hummus with hot chocolate for a snack.
Their family after 45 years... (Click to enlarge)	Saturday was a big and enjoyable day.  We left Govan around 8:45 and met Nevins in Winnsboro, SC (north of Columbia) for a steam engine ride.  The SC railroad museum is there and they offer steam engine rides only one or two weekends a year.  We enjoyed seeing the old trains and train cars there then got on for our ride.  The actual ride was about 2 miles long and enjoyable.  The children really enjoyed the experience.  From there we went out to eat dinner at TGI Fridays.  We had never been there before but were favorably impressed with the variety of the menu and quality of the food.  We got back to Govan around 3:30.  I planted panolas (a cross between pansies and violas) along our walk in the front.  Also mowed grass while the rest of the family napped.  After supper I washed and vacuumed the car for Sunday.