Saying Goodbye to Jacksonville

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There's nothing prettier then a little Victorian church set against a deep blue sky.

A few posts back I was telling you about the wagon we rode around town in while singing Christmas carols. Well this is it minus the cover, but if you look at the picture below you can see the skeletal structure that supports the canvas.

That was our driver who was filled with interesting facts about Jacksonville and the surrounding areas. Isn't the wagon so festive with all its Christmas greenery?

Here are the Dickens carolers who accompanied us on our tour of the town. The old guy in the middle of the two women...he was funny and sang several carols that he had cleverly re-written the lyrics to. I just can't remember what they were.

Here they are again. What a dream job that must be. To the right of them was a small fire where they roasted chestnuts.

These two guys are Kurt and Tom. Aren't they gorgeous! They're Belgium Horses from where else, but Belgium. Each weighs roughly two thousand pounds and lack the heavy long hair that you see on a Clydesdale. I think they're a wee bit smaller too. They were so sweet and allowed all the children to nuzzle them and tug on their forelocks when they could be reached.
We had such a relaxing time being pulled around by these two guys and were able to see part of the town we hadn't explored yet and forgot to go back to I might add. Next time.

I felt a tinge of sadness when it came time to pack and head for home. There's just something about these little Victorian towns that tug at the strings of my heart, but I don't know if it's the beautiful architectural details of each structure or if it's the idea of being able to wear layers of petticoats beneath beautiful long gowns and attend balls in lovely mansions. Maybe it's the idea of living in a time when things were slower and simpler where men were men and women were women and each one knew their role in life. Maybe it's just that deep down I'm a hopeless romantic or maybe, just maybe, I will never know why I love these little towns so.

I woke this morning to the sound of pouring rain beating against the window panes. I can't remember how long its been since its rained this hard or for such a long period of time. Usually when the weather man says, "There's rain in the forecast" it rains everywhere but here. On our drive to Jacksonville I was shocked at how low the lakes and reservoirs were.

As I lay there in bed listening to the rain beat against the windows I was reminded of one of my favorite scriptures and thought I would share it with you. It's from Isaiah 55: 9-11

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “ For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

I hope you all have a wonderful rain soaked day, but not too soaked.

And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

Mark 6: 31

In some ways this passage breaks my heart, for it exposes for all to see, an ailment that afflicts too many of us Christians. Somehow we can't seem to find time for sufficient fellowship with God and meditation on the Word; we shove communion with our heavenly Father to a back burner. As a result, hearts are hardened for lack of spiritual rest. A man who rarely takes time to breathe deeply-or who lives in an atmosphere where it is unsafe to breathe deeply-is not a truly healthy man. And the same is true in the spiritual realm. Just as the physical man must learn habitually to breathe deeply, so the one who seeks spiritual health must take time to make deep spiritual breathing a habit. While I cannot always "come away" to a lonely place physically, I can foster in my life a spiritual atmosphere that will favor fellowship with the Father.

Taken from the Book: "Today, LORD, I Will"

Gingerbread Cottages

White are the far-off plains, and white
The fading forests grow;
The wind dies out along the height
And denser still the snow,
A gathering weight on roof and tree
Falls down scarce audibly.

The road before me smooths and fills
Apace, and all about
The fences dwindle, and the hills
Are blotted slowly out;
The naked trees loom spectrally
Into the dim white sky.

The meadows and far-sheeted streams
Lie still without a sound;
Like some soft minister of dreams
The snow-fall hoods me round;
In wood and water, earth and air,
A silence everywhere.

Save when Some farmer's sleigh, urged on,
With rustling runner and sharp bells,
Swings by me and is gone;
Or from the empty waste I hear
A sound remote and clear;

The barking of a dog, or call
To cattle, sharply pealed,
Borne, echoing from some wayside stall
Or barnyard far afield;

Then all is silent and the snow falls
Settling soft and slow
The evening deepens and the grey
Folds closer earth and sky
The world seems shrouded, far away.

Its noises sleep, and I as secret as
Yon buried stream plod dumbly on and dream.

"Snow" Music and Lyrics:
Loreena McKennitt

Cottages of the Floral Park
Santa Ana, CA.

I'm dreaming of a PiNK CHRIStmaS!

My hubby and I were in Jacksonville Oregon last weekend and while window shopping I saw this darling shop and stepped inside. What to my wandering eyes did appear but a tree all in Pink that beckoned "draw near." My brain must have been on auto-pilot because my first thought was, "PINK SATURDAY! I'LL HAVE SOMETHING TO POST FOR PINK SATURDAY! Without hesitation I reached inside my purse to pull out my camera and started snapping away. Within a minute a nice woman walked over and offered me a piece of fudge then politely asked me not to take any more pictures.

Oops! In my pink delirium I had lost my manners and forgot to ask permission to take the photos. Was I ever embarrassed! I felt like a little girl who had just been caught stealing a piece of Bazooka Bubblegum and told to put it back on the shelf. I decided I had two options:
1. leave the store with my tail between my legs or,
2. apologize to the store owner.

My first thought was to quietly sneak out the door, but since I was standing there starstruck by these darling pink glittery stars I decided I better humble myself and beg for mercy.

I could tell it was an awkward moment for both of us as I put my treasures on the counter so I simply told her that I was sorry and explained about Pink Saturday. "What's Pink Saturday" she asked so I explained that there are about 100 women who post something pink every Saturday morning and then make our rounds to get our pink fix. She had never heard of anything like this and had just discovered blogging herself.
I decided that since I'd gone this far in the conversation I had better ask if it would be alright to post the pictures I had in my camera. I was relieved when she said yes.

She then went on to tell me that a woman had been in about a month earlier taking pictures and she had thought nothing of it until she opened a local publication and saw a picture of one of her displays on another stores advertisement. YIKES! Can you believe the boldness of someone to do something like that? Anyway, I left the shop feeling less guilty and even went back later to buy more pink glittery stars. Did I buy one of the cute PINK HOUSES? NO! Dumb...I know, but I walked away with a lot of cute ideas and a new sensitivity to those who own sweet little shops. Would I go back there again? In a heart beat!

For more pinkness please visit Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound. She's got a whole list of pink.