Tag Archives: Family Life

Random Memories of Virginia-Part 2

4 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

2.    There is an area along my journey to work in Williamsburg that is called Lee Hall.  Wikipedia explains:

Lee Hall, located in the former Warwick County, was named for nearby Lee Hall Mansion which was built in 1859 as the home of Richard Decatur Lee, a prominent local farmer who was not directly related to the famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The mansion was used as headquarters for Confederate generals Joseph E. Johnston and John B. Magruder during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War in 1862. 

Lee Hall Mansion

Credit Google Search and Lee Hall Website

I used to drive through Lee Hall often to get to U.S. 60 and on to Williamsburg.  But the funny thing about Lee Hall was that, if it was raining at my house  in Seaford as I started out – in winter at least – when I got to Lee Hall it was snowing!  And it was snowing all the way into Williamsburg!  I guess the elevation was just enough higher to make the rain turn to snow!  

Credit Google Search

3.   Also along the Colonial Parkway (as well as Jefferson Ave) is the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

Officer Housing on Yorktown Naval Weapons Station

Credit Google Search and YNWS website

It is an active Navy Base, and we occasionally would go there to shop at their facilities, as well as do some of our medical stuff there.  Most of our medical was done either at Langley AFB in Hampton, or Fort Eustis Army Base.  But we enjoyed the smaller, quieter pace of the Weapons Station.  If we happened to be driving along the Colonial Parkway, we could see where the original gate to the Weapons Station was…lovely brickwork. And further down the Parkway was a secondary gate – that was the one we usually used to enter the base.  However, following the events of 911/2001, this secondary gate was closed and barricaded, so that the only entrance was from Jefferson Ave (Virginia road 143).  By that time we had moved to Florida, and didn’t need to go to the Weapons Station.

4.   We used to drive the Fort Eustis Blvd to the Fort Eustis Army Base quite often.

Credit Google Search and Peter Hahn

We would go to that military post for shopping and occasionally some medical reasons.  As we drove along that road recently, we were reminded of a couple from our church in Seaford who moved into a retirement community that was built off Fort Eustis Blvd.  They were pillars of the church and we were sorry to see them leave this earth, but know they are with our Heavenly Father and are in no more pain.  Praise God!

5.   A fun connection with Fort Eustis Blvd is along U.S. 17 and Fort Eustis Blvd.  A McDonald’s eatery was built right on that corner while we were living in VA.  Nothing noteworthy about that, except they had a huge picture-window right on U.S. 17.  And right in front of that window – INSIDE the eatery – they placed a Ford ThunderBird convertible! 

Credit Pixabay

 Amazing!  Right there in the picture window!  It was an eye-catcher, for sure!  Unfortunately, I assume either they needed more eating space, or someone really had a hankering for that T-Bird, because it is no longer in the window.  Shucks!

We also found it interesting that there are now four eateries on that corner of U.S. 17 and Fort Eustis Blvd – the McDonald’s mentioned above, Bojangles, Wendy’s, and Arby’s.  No shortage of places to eat there!  Just whatever your taste buds need that day!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Perfume…Cologne…Whatever…

14 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Seems like I have always worn some kind of fragrance.  When I was growing up, it was most likely something from Avon – but I don’t remember just which one.  Occasionally I would wear something that my Mother had, or her sister, my Aunt Jessie had.  They had exotic fragrances that appealed to me.  

Not a very clear picture – but the glass shelves on the right held Jessie’s perfume bottles

I remember one time, when my brother Bill returned from one of his Navy assignments, that he brought back a HUGE bottle of Tabu for Mother.  I’m not sure she ever even opened the bottle, and it sat on her dresser from that time on.  I mean, that thing was enormous!  

Vintage Tabu – photo credit Google Search

Among her collection of perfumes, Jessie had a fragrance called Shalimar.  I really liked that one!  But it was definitely a PERFUME, not a cologne, so it was worn sparingly so as not to be over-powering, not only to the wearer, but to those standing nearby.  

Photo Credit – Google Search and Wikipedia

There was a time that I found a fragrance that I really liked – a true perfume – called Je Reviens by Worth out of Paris.  The liquid was actually blue.

Credit Google Search and Worth website

 I was told that, if it had been “watered down” the liquid turned yellow/gold.  So I could always tell if it was the true stuff or not.

Credit Google Search and Worth website

I still have some of that, but when I tried it one time recently, it didn’t appeal to me, so I washed it off.  I guess my body chemistry had changed.

And then there was a time when I wore something called Niki de Saint Ralle, by Jacqueline Cochran, Inc.  It’s a rather “potent” perfume, and that didn’t last too long.  Again, I still have a bottle of it, but haven’t worn it in many years.

Photo by Judy Wills

My very favorite fragrance to wear is Estēe by Estee Lauder.

Photo by Judy Wills

There is a bit of a story behind that.  We had been stationed in Wiesbaden, West Germany from 1967 to 1970.  During that time, our Karen was born.  Now, since we like to travel through Europe, we thought it might be a bit difficult to travel with a newborn or toddler.  So we found a lovely couple in our church there who took care of her while we traveled.

One of those trips we made was to England.  During that time, we took a bus tour to Warwick Castle.  There was a lady on the bus that smelled absolutely delicious!  And so I actually had the nerve to ask her what fragrance she was wearing.  She said it was Estēe by Estee Lauder, and what she had on was a “solid” cologne.  Something you rub on rather than squirt on.  When we returned to Germany, I checked in the Base Exchange, but they didn’t carry that fragrance.  So when we returned Stateside and went to our next base – Loring AFB, Maine – I checked the BX there, and they had it.  I snapped up a bottle, and have been wearing it off-and-on ever since.  

I told my Aunt Jessie about wearing Estee Lauder, and she gave me another of their fragrances – Youth Dew.  Well, that particular fragrance makes me gag!  If I’m in a group of people and smell something disgusting, it only takes me a short while to realize that someone in that group is wearing Youth Dew. (Actually, I’m thinking, what IS that awful smell?) After Jessie gave me Youth Dew,  I traded it in for my Estēe and was MUCH happier!

A few years ago, my best friend gave me a different fragrance as a gift, and I wore it for many years, as it is a light fragrance, and sweet.  It is Japanese Cherry Blossom put out by Bath and Body Works.

Photo by Judy Wills

However, recently I have gone back to Estēe, and am happy to be wearing it again.

Can you smell it from here??

And before I leave this, I must tell you about the fragrance that my Fred wears.  It is called Devin, and we both love it.  He is nearly out of his current bottle, and we are sorry about that, because we are unable to find it anywhere anymore.  It makes him smell sooooo gooood!  I love to sniff him!

Photo by Judy Wills

Did you have a favorite scent?

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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The Remote Control

7 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

The remote control has come a long way.  We usually take it for granted in these days – I wouldn’t even THINK of having to get up from my comfy chair to go and change the channel on the TV!  Outrageous!  And yet, I remember when that was the norm.

I remember when my family got our first TV when I was a child in Albuquerque.  Such a novelty!  And there were only three channels available.  It was only on during the day, and ended each day with a single picture on the screen, and the National Anthem being played/sung.

I remember on New Year’s Day, when all the college bowl games were being played – my Dad had one game on the big TV, another game on a small TV on top of the big TV – another game on the radio in one bedroom, and another game on the radio in another bedroom.  He would bounce back and forth among all those rooms trying to keep track of all the games.  Used to drive my Mother crazy!

But all of those TV’s had a manual remote – in other words, someone had to get up and change the channel manually.

1956 – Judy in our living room with the new TV – no remote control

Okay…fast forward a few years.  Fred and I married and moved to Fort Worth, Texas for him to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  One of our first purchases was a black-and-white TV set.  It wasn’t much, but we enjoyed it.  We took it with us when we moved to San Antonio, Texas for Fred to attend the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School (OTS).  We had it with us in San Jose, California while Fred attended San Jose State College (now University) to get his meteorology training.  But we must have sold it there, because we didn’t have any TV with us during the three years we were in Wiesbaden, West Germany.

Upon arriving back in the U.S., Fred’s parents gave us their old black-and-white TV, as they had purchased a new color TV for themselves.  It only had a manual remote, and Karen (only four years old at this time) would go and turn the remote – to the correct channel I might add – before we even turned on the machine!  How did she DO that???  It never failed that she had the correct channel.  And in northern Maine, on a U.S. Air Force Base, we had only just a few channels to choose from.  Amazing.  She’s a genius!!

When we moved to San Antonio, Texas, we purchased a new TV for ourselves – and it was in COLOR!  WOW!  What a difference that made – even the weather was better in color!  It was in a lovely wood console – but held only the TV – no radio…no turntable…no storage space contained therein.  Still – it only had a manual channel-change knob.  It was a great piece of furniture, and we carried it with us to Tyndall AFB, Florida, to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and then to Heidelberg, West Germany.  

1979-1980 – The TV console in our unit at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

After we lived in Virginia for a while, we purchased a more up-do-date TV for our family room, and moved that TV console upstairs to our bedroom.  We finally sold it – or donated it – before we moved to Florida.  

And that’s where our remote controls came into being.  And we couldn’t live without them now – sometime we even have one in each hand!

What a progression.  And all this was prompted by a picture on FaceBook of an old-fashioned TV dial.

Credit FaceBook

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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I Created New Age Categories.

5 May

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

It’s been a few months now since I became a septuagenarian. I am not really sure how it happened. And don’t get me started on how my children are now the age I was as they began to leave the nest. Except for some aches, pains and less mobile joints, none of my friends feel as old as a septuagenarian must surely feel. 

Image by ❄️♡💛♡❄️ Julita ❄️♡💛♡❄️ from Pixabay

The word elderly is often used to describe septuagenarians. I have to dispute the description. We are not elderly. I am adding new categories, sub-elderly and uber-elderly. I would say this could be applied to those over 85 years of age. Although, I know some who defy the elderly image.

So, if according to my scale, 70 is sub-elderly and 85 is uber-elderly, then somewhere around 77 years of age would be elderly. I am certain I will reassess this conclusion in a few short years.

I have enjoyed keeping up with advances in technology but I am sure that one day I will decide to step off the train and park my brain somewhere. I do hope to hang on until teleportation becomes the mode of transportation.

https://ggwash.org/view/76340/would-you-rather-teleport-to-work-if-you-walk-or-bike-maybe-not

I am in a quandary about AI. It can do fascinating things. I bet if I asked, it could tell me the perfect Father’s Day gift for my husband. Imagine never having to decide on a perfect gift! One could type in the recipients name and it would produce an answer.

I tried it!

Here is an example: I asked Chat GPT: What is the perfect birthday gift for author Rebekah Lyn? Within seconds I had suggestions!

As an AI language model, I cannot know for sure what would be the perfect birthday gift for Rebekah Lyn. However, I can suggest some general ideas that might help inspire you:

  1. Books: As an author, Rebekah Lyn might appreciate receiving books as a gift. You could consider getting her a new release or a classic novel that she hasn’t read yet, or even a signed copy of a book by one of her favorite authors.
  2. Writing tools: If Rebekah Lyn is someone who enjoys writing by hand, you could consider getting her a nice notebook or journal, or a set of high-quality pens or pencils. If she prefers writing on a computer, you could consider a subscription to a writing software or a new keyboard.
  3. Personalized items: Personalized gifts can be a great way to show someone you care. You could consider getting a customized coffee mug or a t-shirt with her favorite quote or saying on it.
  4. Gift card: If you’re not sure what to get Rebekah Lyn, a gift card to a bookstore, writing supply store, or even a local restaurant or spa could be a great option. This way she can choose something that she really wants or needs.
  5. Experience: You could also consider giving her an experience, such as a writing workshop, a trip to a literary festival, or a book signing event with one of her favorite authors.

Ultimately, the best gift will depend on Rebekah Lyn’s personal tastes and interests, so try to think about what she might really enjoy and appreciate.

Not bad suggestions at all! I do think AI must be carefully managed.

I may be classified as a septuagenarian but I am definitely sub-elderly.

In my 70 years of life I have known joy and sorrow, people have disappointed me and I have disappointed people. Cultural values have changed drastically. I remember talking with my daughter during her teen years as she struggled to find her value standard. I told her something like values and morals change with the times but the Word of God is constant. Make it your go to when you are confused.

I have long loved this verse. It puts life into perspective for me;

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
Isaiah 40:8

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2022 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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High-Speed Fiber Optic Installation-Part 5

26 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

After the Christmas holidays, I was finally able to reach the contact person at the claims office.  This time she said they still didn’t have all the necessary information, and would I please send the photos and the estimate again.  I verified the email address and sent the information they requested again.  I was beginning to wonder if this was a ploy to keep from having to pay me, or just how many times I was going to have to repeat this process before they finally received the email information, I was sending them.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo. customer-service/clipart.  

About two weeks later, with no other word from the contact person, I was surprised to receive a check in the mail for the estimated damage claim amount.  Wow!  I guess they finally did receive my information and someone actually followed thru with my claim.  Will wonders never cease?  I didn’t waste any time contacting the drywall contractor and setting up an appointment to have the damaged area repaired.  That only took a couple of days to schedule, and the repair was completed without any additional problems.  

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/ceiling+repair

Upon completion of the repair, I mentioned that it didn’t look like the new portion of drywall was covered adequately, but was told that it would all look fine when the plaster dried.  I really didn’t think it had enough plaster on it, but I didn’t say anymore because hey, who am I to question the guy that does this kind of work every day.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It’s a week later and really, does that look like there is enough plaster on the new piece of drywall to cover it adequately?  I was originally told that the new plaster might not match the original plaster, and I was ready for that, but the plaster on the replacement drywall just isn’t thick enough to cover the new drywall.  So now I have to get the drywall guy back out here to finish the job the way it was supposed to have been done the first time.  Bummer!

Image credit: yahoo.com/frustrated+man+clipart

I called the drywall guy and it’s hard for me to believe what he told me.  He said that it’s not that there isn’t enough paster, but that the new plaster and wallboard have to be painted in order to keep the paster from drying out and crumbling.  Not knowing anything about smooth  or skip trowel ceiling finishes, I was not aware that they had to be painted.  Well, whatever; he is coming by to take a look at the repair and do whatever needs to be done to finish the job to my satisfaction.  We’ll see how that goes.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/ceiling+repair

Well, as expected, the drywall guy never showed up, even after I called him several times.  I had the same kind of problem with sub-contractors back in the 1980s when I was building houses with my father-in-law.  The last 5% of any job is getting the “finish” contractor to do his part.  I ended up many times doing most of that “finish” work myself, when possible, just to meet the scheduled closing date.  So, I (not too happily) painted the repair area myself.  OK, so I caved.  I know I should have insisted on the drywall guy doing it, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of a tiny little bit of paint.  Besides, I had already had enough trouble with this project and just wanted to see it done.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Well, finally the job is done, and we love the new system.  However, this whole project has been what I call getting connected to a new high-speed fiber optic system THE HARD WAY!  What do you think? 

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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High-Speed Fiber Optic Installation-Par 2

5 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Because the houses at the end of our block are surrounded on two sides by a county operated wooded sanctuary, normal access was not available to the location needed for the telephone pole replacement behind our house.  I was informed that they would have to drag the new telephone pole around the back of our neighbor’s two houses (the heavy lifting I mentioned) and remove a portion of the field fence in order to gain access to the telephone pole replacement area.  They used the truck mounted Altec machine to lift the new pole off its trailer and position it behind the Mobil Altec machine where it was attached by chains.

 Photo Credit: Bill Lites

The Mobil Altec Machine was slow, and it took around twenty minutes for them to maneuver it thru the wooded area, around behind our two neighbor’s houses, to the area behind our house.  They removed the portion of the field fence and guided the Altec Machine into the area adjacent to the telephone pole replacement area.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Once they got the new telephone pole where they wanted it, the operator used the Altec machine’s crane to let the pole down.  They removed the chains from the large end of the new pole and went about making all the preparations necessary to set the new pole in place.    

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It took the operator some maneuvering to get the Altec machine into the proper position between, and around, all the undergrowth.  Once it was in the proper position, they set a pad under each of the machine’s four hydraulically operated support arms, and adjusted them, in order to level and then stabilize the machine in place.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Once the base of the Altec machine was leveled and stabilized to their satisfaction, the operator slowly raised the crane and extended the hole drilling auger over the selected location for the new telephone pole.  I was amazed at how fast and effortlessly the auger drilled that new hole. 

 

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Once the hole was satisfactorily drilled, the operator slowly retracted the drilling auger and stowed it under the crane.  Then the operator traversed the crane, back around, so they could attach a special cable assembly to the new pole in order to begin the lifting operations.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

They attached taglines and some kind of orange cap at the top of the new pole and the operator very carefully raised the pole.  This was a very tricky operation, as there were multiple tree branches in the way.  The operator very slowly and skillfully raised the pole, while he was maneuvering it around the tree branches with the crane, until he had it in the vertical position.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Once the pole was in the vertical position, the operator rotated the pole around to the designated new pole location (without bumping it into the power lines).  Then the operator extended a pair of jaw-like clamps (located on the end of the crane) around the upper portion of the pole and carefully positioned it over the newly dug hole.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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The Bearded Barbet

5 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

The Bearded Barbet – reblog  

We have lived in Central Florida since 1995 – our retirement dream.  We had originally thought we would retire here and “work” at Disney, doing something mundane, so we could see the theme parks to our heart’s content.  Well, it didn’t work out quite like that.  Within four months we had found the church where we felt God wanted us to be members, and so we joined it.

Within another six months – much to my surprise! – I became the Church Secretary.  Fred wasn’t too sure about turning in my application for the vacant position, but it just “felt right” to me, so I did.  And was hired (I was Church Secretary for nearly nine years).  I think it helped that I was an older woman, and my last position had been a Financial Secretary, and had learned to keep my mouth shut.  Financial and pastoral stuff is just something one doesn’t blab about.  Within another nine months, Fred was the Church Administrator.  It was nice working together, and we made the distinction of working WITH each other – neither of us working FOR the other!  Even with our desks in the same room, we just worked together, as it should be.

In spite of all that “work” stuff, we found time to go to Disney, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios.  We especially enjoyed going to SeaWorld after a stressful day at work.

Credit Google Search and SeaWorld

 It just seemed like it was more restful there – not as frantic a pace as at Disney or Universal.  Perhaps it was the animals…I don’t know.  I just know that we enjoyed it and felt refreshed after spending a few hours at that theme park.

After we had been going to SeaWorld for a few years, we happened to go around a corner that we didn’t usually go around – and saw a bird “cage” along side one of the buildings.  We heard a strange sound coming from there, and stopped to see.  Inside the large cage were two of the most unusual birds we had ever seen!  And the sound was a raspy croak – called a “growling scrawk”!  WOW!

Credit Google Search and Wikipedia

 What were these birds??!!  The sign said “Bearded Barbet” – have you ever heard of that?  They, along with Toucans are mainly from tropical West Africa.

I rubbed my finger along the wire mesh, and one of them hopped right over to the metal frame, and took a good look at my finger.  The mesh was tight enough that I couldn’t be bitten – and it’s a good thing!  Look at that beak!!  But it did try to “peck” at my finger.  It scrawked at me a few times, before it flew back to its perch.

Every time we went to SeaWorld after that, we would make sure we stopped to see the Bearded Barbet, and were thrilled each time.

Imagine our disappointment when we discovered that they weren’t there any more – and had been replaced by Australian Kookaburras.  Nothing wrong with Kookaburras, but they just weren’t the Bearded Barbet!

Ah – the wonders of God’s world.  They never cease to amaze me!

Oh Lord, our Lord, how Majestic is Your Name in all the earth…

Psalm 8:1, 3, 8-9

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Christmas Memories-Recent Part 2

29 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Here are more Christmas trees from Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail:

101 Dalmatians tree (how appropriate for dogs!):

The Little Mermaid’s tree:

Sleeping Beauty’s tree

The tree for The Princess and the Frog:

The tree for Frozen:

Snow White’s tree

These are just a few of the trees.  I will post more next time.  We had such fun walking through Disney’s Christmas Tree Trail.  The detail on each tree was truly amazing!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Church-Part 12

8 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I’m going to digress a bit from “church” here – and yet, it is all related.  As I’ve mentioned in previous musings, church was a very real part of my life…ALL my life.  I have vague memories of our church in Dallas, Texas (First Baptist Church),

Credit to Google Search and FBC Dallas website

but just snippets – smells (Pine-Sol), 

Credit Google Search

the checker-board floor tiles (black and white), 

Credit Pixabay

and Miss Bertha, the nursery lady who would take me on her lap and read a story.

Scanned from the front of her book

But since we moved to Albuquerque when I was not quite four years old, my main memories of “church” was our church in Albuquerque (First Baptist Church, on the corner on Broadway and Central Avenue, also known as U.S. Route 66).  I literally “grew up” in that church.  I have fond memories of the friends I made there – some I still am in contact with.

Photo credit First Baptist Church, Albuquerque Google search

But in this particular posting, I would like to tell about a camp that both my brother, Bill, and I attended each summer when we were old enough to attend.  If you remember, my father was the New Mexico Sunday School Secretary for the Southern Baptists – that’s why we were in Albuquerque.  All of the “heads” of different departments of Southern Baptist life in New Mexico were headquartered in an office building in Albuquerque.

The Baptist Building – 1954 – main entrance

The Ministry Heads – 1954 – Daddy is on the left, standing

One of those departments was the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU).  That lady was Miss Eva Inlow.  Miss Inlow’s father had started a camp in the mountains East of Albuquerque, for young people (teenagers) from all over the state, and it was called Inlow Youth Camp.  I remember looking forward to going to Inlow Youth Camp each and every summer when I was old enough.  I don’t remember that Bill and I ever attended at the same time.  I suspect the camps were geared to specific age groups at different weeks.

I googled Inlow Youth Camp and this is what came up:

Credit Google Search and Inlow Baptist Camp website

Inlow Baptist Camp, started in 1941, is nestled in the beautiful Manzano Mountains of central New Mexico. Inlow is a rustic retreat from the distractions of everyday life. The woodsy surroundings offer a beautiful place to worship, fellowship, relax and learn. Summer at Inlow is a pleasant atmosphere for youth camps and family camping. Fall, winter, and spring each have a different flavor for church retreats, youth camps, staff training, picnics and meetings. Inlow is a ministry of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico.

I’m glad to see that it is still in operation, and has expanded it’s ministry.

We slept in cabins, on bunks.  I’m sure they had showers, but I don’t remember them.  I do remember quite well the latrines – outhouses with four or five “holes”.  A funny memory for sure, and none too pleasant when we had to clean them!  There was a “store” where we could purchase snacks if we had the money for them – we had a “bank account” set up by our parents with whatever cash they wanted us to have.  There was a dining hall.  But my biggest memory was the chapel or church building.  We had church services there every day, and Bible study times there.  We had counselors to lead those times, as well as to be shoulders to cry on, and watch over us in the cabins.

There were all kinds of outdoor activities to be held there, as well.  I remember running a race around the campground – and probably coming in last…I wasn’t a very fast runner!

But it was a wonderful time in my life.  Here is a picture of a group of us sitting by our church, waiting for our ride to camp.  I’m not in this picture, but I loved all these kids.

And here are more pictures of our time at Inlow Youth Camp:

Two of my best friends

That’s me…and my best friend

Some of the boys – not all from our church

Some of the girls and counselors

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Church-Part 10

11 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

I’ve written before about the “serendipities” that have happened in our lives.  I really enjoy them.  And a lot of them are related to church.  With the Air Force, we’ve moved around quite a bit, and so have been members of many different churches.  As result, we occasionally come across either someone we knew before, or someone we have known in common.  I really love that kind of thing!

For instance, just recently, I saw on facebook that some friends of ours from our church in Heidelberg were in town,

Heidelberg Castle

The building where Grace Baptist Church met – photo by Fred Wills

doing the Disney 

Credit Pixabay

and Universal parks

Credit Pixabay

I made the comment to her, after some of her pictures, that we wished we had known they were in town…we would have made an effort to meet up with them.  She replied they hadn’t known we lived in Orlando, and that they were in town for a few more days and their schedule was quite flexible.  And so, several days later, we met up at our favorite BBQ place.

Photo credit Judy Wills

They and their oldest daughter met us there – and we discovered it has been 39 years since we had seen each other!  WOW!  God is so amazing to bless us with friends that we have kept.

And another serendipity happened while I was Church Secretary at South Orlando Baptist Church here in Orlando.

This couple (Ted and April) came into the office one day…new to our church and community…and said they had just moved here from Virginia.  They had a lawn service here, but also had some lawn equipment they didn’t need, and thought the church might could use it.  I told them we had a lawn company as well that did the church’s lawn care.  And then I told them that we had moved here from Virginia, as well, and what part of Virginia did they come from.  They mentioned the Hampton Roads area – which was near where we had lived.  I mentioned we had lived in a small town, Seaford, just eight miles south of Yorktown.  They replied they also had lived in Seaford.  I mentioned we had been members of the Seaford Baptist Church, and they replied that they had been, as well.

Seaford Baptist Church as it was when we lived there.

Copied from the cover of a pictorial directory

I said that we had really enjoyed the Sunday School class, mainly because of the teacher, Larry Edwards.  Ted nearly fell on the floor and said, “WHO?”  I said Larry Edwards…and Ted said…(wait for it)…that’s my brother-in-law!  

Such a small world!  Larry and Janice came down to Florida at one time, and we met them at our favorite seafood restaurant for a visit.  When Ted and April arrived, they looked at the four of us, and said “it’s really strange seeing you all together.”  Again, God is so very good to bring people into our lives where we can become friends…life-long friends…and have the assurance of seeing them when we all get to our heavenly home.

And I doubt we would have had any of these connections without being part of the church.  God is so good!

WE….ARE THE CHURCH!

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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