A Room with a View

I finally made it back down to Richland Chambers to stay with my friends and former landlords, Ben and Lori. They have a beautiful house on a lake, which is a great place to rest. When I lived in Cowtown before, I only went once, and I was sick. This trip was much better. I made a new friend, Grace---a black Labrador.

Lori and I love to recount when I first came to her doorstep, in 2004, to look at the guest house for rent. Through the glass, I could see a black Labrador look up at me. Lori opened the door, and I said, "It's a sign."

She said, "But you haven't seen the apartment yet."

I replied, "I left a black Lab in Arizona. This is a sign."

She answered, "Well, we have two. The other one is a puppy."

Those were good years.

Richland Chambers

Winter bird

Old friends and a new one

Tea for Two

My first guest in Fort Worth was the lovely JS, age 8. We had tea last Saturday morning.

Then, we braved the chill and went to the botanical gardens.

New Old Desk

In May 2010, I decided that I was going to try to fix my grandmother's desk, which had been stored in my father's metal shed for nearly thirty years. My mother's best friend helped me start removing the chipped veneer. She was a little incredulous that the piece was redeemable, but I had hope that paint would make things all right.

Hope faded as the wreck and ruin proved to be to much for an amateur. I knew that the desk wasn't worth anything. To me, though, it was worth something, because it belonged to my grandmother. So I called a professional cabinetmaker, Al Martinez.

Al said that he could fix the desk. Two weeks after he picked up the desk, he had me go to his workshop in south Phoenix to choose a stain for the desk.

The desk in process at Al's workshop. He told me that his wife saw the desk and said, "You're going to refinish THAT?!" He explained to her that it meant something to me. 

Al repaired all nine drawers---some of them were falling apart, and now, they're all solid. He also cut a solid piece of alder to replace the top of the desk.

 

 The finished piece

Al was able to use the original hardware. I told him that I was going to sing his praises here. If you want his number, let me know. The work he did for me will last for decades to come.

You Will Leave a Mark

"I grew up with a Christianity that was predisposed against sorrow. To be sad was to deny your faith or your salvation. Jesus had made us happy, and we had an obligation to always show that happiness. Then Francis Schaeffer came along. He could not allow himself to be happy when most of the world was desperately lost and he knew why. He was the first Christian I found who could embrace faith and the despair of a lost humanity at the same time. Though he had been found, he still knew what it was to be lost."  
--John Fischer, from "Learning to Cry for the Culture"

Return to the Cape

Cousins John and JPS on July 13
Falmouth, MA

Peacefield, Qunicy, MA
The home of the Adams family from 1788 to 1927. President John Adams and his wife Abigail ended their days here. The house passed on to his son, grandson, and great-grandsons. The extended Adams family maintained the mansion as a museum for nineteen years, leaving the family treasures intact, and then gifted it and the granite library, which holds J.Q. Adams's magnificent library, to the National Parks Service.

Boardwalk over salt marsh
Sandwich, MA

Where the boardwalk led
Cape Cod Bay

On the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail
Wellfleet, MA
http://www.nps.gov/caco/planyourvisit/upload/AtlanticWhiteCedarcolor.pdf 

Pray for Us

Tonya and Bobby in Germany, Summer 2010

My cousin Bobby's wife died suddenly today. Tonya was only 57--and I would say a young 57--but she had some serious health problems in the past decade. We know where she is now. For us who are still here, prayers are appreciated.

Thrills and Chills

This NEVER ceases to amaze me.