Chagrin

Chagrin [she grin'] n. embrarrassment and annoyance due to failure, diasppointment, etc -vt. -grined', -grining to cause to feel chagrin (Webster's Dictionery)

This is Chagrin Falls. It is also the name of a little town outside of Cleveland, OH. I assume the town was named after the falls. The falls were chagrin because this is it. A couple of friends and I were in Chargin Falls for the weekend attending the Truth for Life Conference at Parkside Church. The conference was most definitely NOT chagrin. It was a mountaintop experience to be fed from God's word via a pastor who isn't afraid to speak the truth even though it is very difficult to hear.

As for the little town of Chagrin Falls, it has a fabulous popcorn/ice cream shop. Yum!!

Sigh...

The Phillies road to the World Series has ended. The Rockies swept them to continue on to the National League championships; they will play the AZ Diamondbacks, who swept the Chicago Cubs. I'm not sure who I will root for now. I always root for the underdogs. In this case, I'm not sure who that is.

I am glad I was at the last game of the Phillies regular season to see them win the Division title. That excitement will stay with me for a long time!

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to going to Cleveland at the end of the week for a weekend trip to the church of my favorite radio preacher, Alistair Begg. He has invited his radio listeners to a "Truth for Life" weekend. I will be traveling with a couple of friends from church. It will be exciting! The Cleveland Indians are also in the playoff's, but they are in the American League. So, there's also lots of baseball excitement in that city!

They did it!

The Phillies won the National League East Divison! They actually made it into the playoff's! I am still so excited that I was at that last game of the season to witness this clinch! All the players celebrated along with the entire stadium of fans! For the first time in 14 years, they get to play more baseball and perhaps even compete for the World Series title. Of course, those New York Mets imploding helped out the Phillies a lot! The playoff's started today, for the National League championships. The Rockies are in town and they won the first game this afternoon. I think it's best out of 5. Keep your fingers crossed!

Baseball

This is the final week of the regular baseball season. Of course, living in Philadelphia, one automatically roots for the Phillies. This is also the team that is the most heart-wrenching to watch and follow. The Phillies are known for being "almost" there or "almost making it. Three or 4 seasons in a row now, they "almost" make it to the playoff's. They always seem to miss it by a game or two. Very frustrating.... This year is no different. So, in order not to get our hopes up and to have them shattered to tiny little pieces, it's best just to be indifferent. Maybe they'll pull out surprise. I'm not counting on it!

Winter Melons Galore!

These winter mellons popped out from nowhere in our veggie garden. They weren't planted, and were probably from the compost. They are quite huge, bigger than an average person's head and very heavy. Tasty!

Back to work!

With vacation well over, it is back to work! The students have mostly returned to campus. The university is coming to life once again. The freshmen class has orientation on Sunday. That's when we'll meet them for the very first time. Many of these students enter their freshmen year with all good intentions, but only about 1/3 to 1/2 will graduate with the major they had originally declared. How many 18-year olds really know what they want to do for the rest of their lives anyway? Classes will start on Monday!!

Sun!

Sunflowers abloom at the homestead! These are Russian Mammoths. They are so tall, about 10 feet! Third picture is sun setting from the perspective of a restaurant bench.

Vacation has been just grand! Today is the best day of all. I started the day with prayer meeting, than a 2-hour nap. I decided to get my hair cut since the long hair was starting to look unkempt and scary in the reflection. By the way, I only recently realized that I needed a full length mirror. I figured I should not only look more professional, but at least my outfits needed to match and the collars turned out correctly. So, off the IKEA where I found a really pretty mirror. Back to vacation, I took a second nap in the afternoon, on the sofa, dozed off with the TV on! Ahh... this is just perfect! Maybe I'll go meander through the woods tomorrow!

VACATION!!

I am officially on vacation!! It feels wonderful! I have even begun to prep the living room for a fresh coat of paint. It will be hot and humid for the first half of the week and suppose to cool down a little the second with lots of rain. We sure can use lots of rain here. At least, it won't be as hot as when I was on vacation last year during this same week in August. It was so dreadfully hot that I had to go to a friend's house to bake cookies; she has central air conditioning at her house.

Counting down to vacation!

5 more days! It's going to be the best kind of vacation, going to stay right at home... sleep in late, watch lots of bad TV plus some better movies, eat lots of ice cream, go to bed even later...

I might even finish painting the living room and start the dining room. The paint job really started in 2003! No flashy colors. Just plain white... at least the paint manufacturer creatively named it Vienna Coffee/egg shell finish.

Guitar

I bought a guitar as a birthday present to myself several years ago, but haven't played it for many months. I was very recently reminded of the song, "As the Deer Pants for the Water," from Psalm 42 and decided to dust off the guitar to play it...


As the Deer Panteth for the Water

As the deer panteth for the water so my soul thirsteth after You
You alone are my hearts desire and I long to worship You

You’re my friend and You are my brother, even though You are a King
I love You more than any other even more than anything

You alone are my strength and shield, to You alone does my spirit yield,
You alone are my hearts desire and I long to worship You


The lyrics and the music are so beautiful. As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for Jesus! Lord God, consume my thoughts with You alone!