FUTURES PAST

While in Dillsboro I did some shopping too.... the most precious of the things I purchased was from a pottery shop and it is a...........

Crooked Cross

It is hanging near my desk at home so that I can see it every day. According to the little attachment it is "Inspired by God. Handcrafted and signed by Bruce Carey of Ingram, TX. It is made of Texas Mesquite.

"The Crooked Cross is purposely imperfect; handcrafted without use of measures or patterns to remind us how unique, individual and beautiful we all are. As our creator, God in Heaven made each one of us in His image, we are His children and perfect in His eyes, as He does not make mistakes."

Remember, take good care of the precious person you are; made in God's image and likeness. And love your neighbor as you love yourself and as you love your God. Be thankful daily for being you and share yourself with others freely. God bless you, john

The Great Smokey Mountains Railway Dinner Mystery Theater Train Ride: Another Excellent Adventure by the Marie, Dennis, Sandy and John....

Last Friday, early in the morning, as you know by now, the four of us took of for Dillsboro, N.C. Actually we did not fly, so we did not take off....we drove...actually Sandy drove... We got to Dillsboro and I immediately had to mail something I sold on EBay to someone in London, England...so I went to the post office and the guys hung out...... here they are....We could not check into the room at the Jarrett House until between 2:30 PM and 3:00PM so we parked the car and started walking the town..... of course, shopping was included for the ladies and the gents hung out on the many conveniently located park benches....we parked ourselves.........while sitting on one, we could watch this fountain....

A couple of other sights as we sat and they shopped....













Then we saw a TRAIN......... and stood by it........... very touristy....
don't you think? Well we continued on our way, ate lunch, and shopped, sat, and it became time to check into the Jarrett House, so we did..... After a little while, we went out on the deck and Dennis and I had some beverages (adult type) and the ladies went to the Christmas store....




Here we all are on the deck before the final shopping spree..................After enjoying ourselves hugely on the deck.... we changed cloths and headed to the train station....

Where we sat and had complimentary cheese, crackers, and wine......
And boarded our dining car.............................the Silver Meteor........
Where me met our waiter..........Sean,
ordered our drinks and food and......













Had dinner and a play on the Great Smokey Mountain Railway......

So, remember, take good care of yourself so you can take good care of someone else.... it is great to have friends like Dennis and Marie.... cheers, john

Not all bell towers have to be tall.... you can still get bats in them!! I think??

While in Dillsboro this past Friday Marie, Dennis, Sandy and I happened to see this church bell.... It is from a Methodist Church but currently sits outside of a Baptist Church - truly an ecumenical bell..... Coincidentally we stayed in the Jarrett House overnight....

Here is what I think....we should build our bell a little structure that looks like our bell tower and place our bell in the little structure in front of the church....since the bell is probably got a name attached to it already (and I should probably know, but don't), maybe we could talk someone into wanting to put a name on the little tower....of course, they would have to pay for the tower and the bell installation. In other words, it would be a memorial to someone..... Ok, I could morph a couple of pictures and show you what it would look like, but I don't want to, so you will have to use your own imagination..... It would not look like this........

but then again, we do not live in Dillsboro......

For sure, remember to take good care of yourself so that you can take good care of someone else.......... ding-a-ling, john

Lucky I got this shot before last night's rain..... This is a tree that we are blessed to have in our yard. Every year when fall arrives, we anticipate its bright, vibrant colors. Usually, it is red, I mean bright red..........this year, it is not so bright and not so vibrant....... so it goes.... However, by comparison to some of its neighbors in the picture, it is doing pretty good. I have so much to blog about, I didn't know where to start.......... so I started here.

and then of course there are Jill and Jack..................................

They were enjoying the day yesterday................

Dennis, Marie, Sandy and I went on a train ride Friday night......... It was a dinner, theater, train ride......... That will be the subject of my next blog, which will be coming at you later....

Take good care of yourself, so you can take good care of another....... cheers, john