As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Friday, October 13, 2017

From Friday to Friday {And a Special Birthday!}




I am ever amazed at how quickly the days roll by. Just last Friday, Ron was off and we were preparing for a little dinner party. Now here it is Friday again. And there has been a lot of living in between! 



Setting the table for our dinner party.
This dough bowl is one of the treasures that I brought back from our trip to Lancaster.
(Of course, I had to move it when we sat down to eat dinner.)

Dessert was an apple affair!
Harvest apple cake . . .

. . .  and homemade apple butter ice cream!




Also this week, Pineapple House hosted its first piano recital!
It was a first recital for Bekah as teacher, and it was a first recital for each of her students.
Such fun!





This boy had a birthday!

Ben is 9!! 



And also this week, we hosted another Shakespeare Reading Day, this time reading Hamlet.
We have enjoyed many of these (six? seven? I've lost count!) over the years,
but this may have been our best one yet! 

It was definitely our longest one yet.
We began at 9:30 am, took a break for lunch, and finished Act V at 4:45 pm! 

Sound tedious? Sound like a l-o-n-g and dreary day? 
Not at all! The readers were fully engaged with the play.

~ From "Laertes" when her mom came to pick her up: Mom, I can't leave until I avenge my family!

~ From "Hamlet" when he needed a potty break: To pee or not to pee. That is the question. 

~ When "Ophelia" did not want to sing her lines, the group decided to quietly hum "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while she read to indicate that she was singing. 

~ When we heard a famous line from the play (i.e. "to be or not to be . . . ," "something is rotten in the state of Denmark," "neither a borrower nor a lender be," etc.), everyone stood up or shouted out.

~ Although we were reading, not acting, more than one reader fell dramatically to the floor when their character died.

No, it was certainly not tedious! 




Today is a special day: It is the day that my dad turns 80!



I am so proud of him! 

At age 80, he is still working full time! He started working the day after he graduated from high school and he hasn't stopped yet. He likes to be productive and keep busy. 

He has always been a good and faithful provider for our family.

My dad taught us to be respectful of our elders. He taught us to work hard and to be responsible.

I always knew that I could depend on him for care and protection. I felt safe.

And I have never doubted his love.

Today, I wish him the happiest of birthdays, with much love!!

24 comments:

  1. Love the dough bowl, fall decorations, and "fall apple cake". Sounds like your are one busy lady as always..how do you get so much accomplished? I would love to have some of your energy and ideas. The Hamlet "reading" sounds like so much fun. Proud of Bekah..that's quite an accomplishment for a young lady her age. She is very motivated..must take after her mom! Blessings and "happy fall", Sharon D.

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    1. Sharon, if you only knew! I have never been a high energy person, but I am full of ideas so I suppose I just get my body to follow along when need be. And Bekah is highly motivated in the areas that interest her. (I suppose that's the case with all of us.) She did a fine job with organizing her recital! All I had to do was get the house ready.

      Happy fall to you too!

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  2. P.S. And how does Ben sit like that..he must have rubber legs. If I tried that, someone would have to unbend me and help me up. Cute! Sharon D.

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  3. Happy Birthday to your dad!

    The dough bowl is perfect in your house. Your Shakespeare readings sound wonderful!

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement to buy the dough bowl! (Not that I was TOO hard to convince . . . ) :D

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  4. What a perfect week! You packed a lot into it and it was ALL good!
    Your dad still works full time? That is amazing! What does he do? Whatever it is - he must love it!
    You sure know how to make education FUN!

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    1. It was a busy week!

      Yes, Daddy still works full time! He has mentioned retiring several times, but he always decides to work a little bit longer. His first career was as a grocery store manager, but the company he worked for left our area and he chose to stay put. For the past 23 years, he has worked in retail at a home improvement store. He is a valued employee! His boss said he'd like to have a couple more of him!

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  5. Aren't we blessed to have our dads still with us?!?
    And once again, I'm so jealous of your Shakespeare readings...These HAVE to be memories that will ALWAYS be cherished.

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    1. Yes, we are blessed!!

      So wish you could come and read with us, Rebecca!

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  6. Happy Birthday to your dad! Amazing that he is still working; however, all the fun things
    he could do if he decided to retire! He must be one of those who finds work enjoyable.

    Congrats to Bekah and students on their recital. What accomplishments!

    Your home looks so beautiful in its autumn finery. Oddly enough, when I think of you, I
    “see” you in your former home. I obviously just need to see more photos of your current
    abode.

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    Replies
    1. Daddy finds work enjoyable and he also likes routine. He thrives on routine!

      More photos? I'll do my best! The dining room is a great room in person, but it's hard to photograph due to its lack of natural light. The kitchen is hard to photograph because it is long and narrow. So mostly I post pictures of the living room and the sun porch.

      Maybe I just need to hone my photography skills! I've been wanting to do that for years now . . . perhaps take a class at the community college, or just watch some YouTube videos!

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  7. Love your dough bowl. Lancaster is a great place to shop! What a full week you had. I would have loved to participate in your Shakespeare day. And I'm sure your heart was full as you listened to Bekah's piano students perform!

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    1. I would love to have had you come! And, yes, it was a special pleasure to hear Bekah's students (a couple of whom are our own grands). ♥

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  8. Happy Birthday to your Dad! He sounds like a wonderful man. The Shakespeare reading sounds like a LOT of fun!

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    1. He is most certainly a wonderful man! Reading Hamlet was LOTS of fun!

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  9. Happy 80th birthday to your dad! What an amazing man to still be working full-time! And Happy Birthday to Ben...how does he sit like that? lol!
    Love your dough bowl and your pretty fall table. My, what a busy week you had!

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    1. He is amazing! We have been expecting him to retire for years . . . and he just keeps going!

      Haha! Ben. It kind of makes you hurt to look at him, doesn't it? :D

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  10. Looks like you have been busy like me , Cheryl, though you seem to have been more so than me, and filled with so much more fun, I would love to have been there for the Shakespeare reading!

    I always enjoy seeing your home decorated, and apple butter ice cream sounds so yummy to me.
    That Bekah is one amazing young lady

    Wishing your Dad, a belated birthday, what a wonderful testament of his character! And what a wonderful heritage for his family! Birthday wishes for Ben too!

    Thank you for visiting me and for your very sweet comments, you are always so gracious.
    Blessings,
    Sue

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    1. Yes, quite busy Sue . . . but busy with good things! (Hoping to have a little slow down soon. Then I'll have time to reflect on all the good things!)

      Thanks for all of your kind words. It's always a pleasure to chat with you . . . either here or at Pear Tree Lane Farmhouse!

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  11. Happy Belated birthday to Ben and your Dad. What a sweet tribute to him <3 !! And your gatherings sound like good fun. That cake and ice cream tho, mouth waters!!!!!

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    1. Thank you! We have been having lots of good fun!

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  12. Cheryl your dough bowl is wonderful...I can understand why this would be a great find. As for your dad turning 80 - congratulations. Spend lots of time with him friend...I had mine for 83 yrs. He is with the Lord now but I miss him so much. Have a blessed day. Hugs

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Debbie! That is such good advice! ♥

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