Aww…Monday’s Music Moves Me

Aww Mondays – Patriot Lucy

Happy Socks Part IV

Some of you already know the significance of my “Happy Sox”. If you are unfamiliar with the story then please scroll back to my March posts for the entire saga. The long story short is that in between March and September of 2019 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and there was a cancerous tumor in my abdomen that was blocking access to and preventing treatment of the prostate. In October of 2019 the tumor was removed and it weighed 31 lbs!!! After a brief recovery period, radiation treatment of the prostate began in December and continued until the middle of February.

Also in February I had my first post-surgery CT scan to verify that there was no evidence of a return of the tumor. The results were clear and I was scheduled to have my second scan six months later. In early March lab work indicated that my PSA level had dropped significantly, indicating that the radiation treatments were doing their job. In June additional lab tests showed additional reduction of PSA to the point of being insignificant so all I personally needed to do was have that second CT scan and if it was clear, I would declare myself in remission. Doctors will never declare you cured of cancer.

Fast forward to August 11 and my second post-surgery CT scan. The results would take a week to be sent of the surgeon in Little Rock for his review. Last Thursday I had a phone visit scheduled and the call came right on time. The surgeon informed me that he saw NO sign of anything suspicious…ALL CLEAR!!! I will have scans every six months for a couple of years, but it is all good and I have more “Happy Sox”.

God has answered my every prayer. He put an incredible medical team in my life. He gave me the best care-giver on the planet in the person of my wife and the Lord spent forty years recruiting an army of friends and relatives that were praying for my family through this whole ordeal. My prayer was the God be glorified regardless of the outcome. If He had chosen to take me to my heavenly home, I only asked that my life be a testimony to His love and grace. If He chose to heal me, then I would have a testimony of His healing power and that the Creator is still in the miracle business. To God be the glory!!!

Monday’s Music Moves Me

It’s a freedom of choice week at 4M and in light of my happy news I am going to focus on “Praise and Worship” and there is no better place to start than with “Praise the Lord.” There is only One worthy of our praise and worship regardless of our situation.

I have no idea why God has healed me except that He has a plan for my life and my work is not complete. I believe all of us are living on borrowed time and He expects us to redeem it wisely. All I can say is “It’s Good to Be Alive”.

Like everyone else, my life has been filled with unwise decisions, sinful acts, and activities that make me unworthy of God’s love, but the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ provided me with a pathway to eternal life through the mercy, grace, and forgiveness that is the living Son of God. The Cross has made me “Flawless”.

It is obvious that my life journey is not complete, so I only have one choice and that would be… “I Then Shall Live”. Have a blessed week.

Aww…some Mondays Music Moves Me

Aww Mondays

Higher Education

This past week we grilled steaks and shrimp for our two grand daughters as their farewell meal prior to heading off to college. The one on the far right will be a junior and she is on track to graduate a semester early. She already has plans to pursue a masters degree and possibly a clinical doctorate in Sports Training/Medicine. The other grand daughter will begin her college career tomorrow. She also wants to work in sports training and is our family athlete. She has a track scholarship and will continue her career as a high jumper. All of us are proud of the girls.

My wife and I usually make a trip or two to see the older grand daughter and now we are making plans to attend a couple of track meets next spring to see the youngest one compete at the college level. Let the adventure begin.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week is a free choice week at 4M so I think I will just settle into some of my favorite music, Gospel and Contemporary Christian and let the sounds soothe the soul. We live in a disturbing world and I find great comfort in inspirational music, but I find the most comfort in the One who is the inspiration for the music. Have a blessed week.

Aww…some Monday’s Music Moves Me

Aww Mondays

2020 Family Vacation

Last week the family met at Stillwaters Resort on Table Rock Lake, near Branson, Missouri for a vacation. Since the grandkids are now young adults with one married and two in college, schedules are getting harder to arrange so quality family time is cherished. We’ve been coming to this resort for over ten years and everyone loves it.

We almost always take one morning and rent a pontoon boat to go tubing. We also rent a couple of jet skis on a different day for those who are more adventurous. I am long past the age that a jet ski sounds like a good idea. Okay back to the pontoon boat and tube. I have always been the designated driver and my daughter becomes the family photographer for this event. Here are a few images from this year.

Our son-in-law and grandson prior to the start of their first tubing adventure of the day.

And this image would be just prior to the end of their first tubing adventure of the day. The family that tubes together stays together…kind of.

The youngest granddaughter and grandson. The sibling rivalry is in who can stay on the tube the longest.

The oldest granddaughter and her husband just prior to the start of their ride.

Oh, the squirrel in the first image was at the resort too. I named him Rocky and found him to be very fond of the Mountain Trail Mix from Sam’s Club.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The theme this week at 4M is Island songs. My first reaction was, “Say whaaaat?” After a little research I decided to have a little fun with this theme and post a couple of songs that you may have never heard. First up is a tune from Harry Chapin. His biggest hit was “Cat’s in the Cradle”. Harry was a master story teller with a great sense of humor and we lost him way too soon. When you think of Islands in the summer, generally your thoughts turn tropics, pineapples, and bananas, so here is a song about 30,000 pounds of bananas.

How many of you remember the 1986 Tom Hanks movie, Castaway? Tom played a Fed-X pilot who’s plane crashed in the ocean and he spent three years marooned on an island. His co-star was a volleyball named Wilson. Well the Zac Brown Band has recorded a song titled Castaway that has nothing to do with the movie, but I like the sound of this tune.

Another Island themed tune from ZBB is Island Song. Enjoy.

Alan Jackson tells us that the mood on any island vacation should be Laid Back and Low Key.

Okay, lets wrap this set up with a couple of songs from someone who spends a great deal of time living on an island. Kenny Chesney tells us about Life on a Rock and that the dress code on the islands is No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems. Have a blessed week.

Aww…some Monday’s Music Moves Me

Aww Mondays

Trying to Find The New Normal

The past three weeks our local Saturday Farmer’s Market has returned to the town square. Of course masks and social distancing are required, but it is an attempt to give some sense of a return to normal in Northwest Arkansas.

There are fewer vendors and the crowds are down from preCOVID-19 but good products still abound. One can find organically grown vegetables, meat, and eggs from the variety of vendors. Several crafters are returning and even a couple of street musicians have an appearance.

There’s nothing quite like a few brightly colored, fresh cut flowers to brighten your weekend. The first hour of the morning is supposed to be reserved for senior citizens, but the crowd isn’t large enough to cause much concern. I picked up some farm fresh tomatoes, snapped a few photos and then headed home since the temperature was supposed to soar into the mid-90’s.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

We have arrived at the final Monday in July with no end is sight to sheltering in place, masks, social distancing, closed theaters, no concerts, many pools and water parks closed or very limited activities allowed. So what are we to do with this year that has brought a whole new meaning to “Dog Days of Summer”? How about a few songs that remind us of the good ‘ol days and break these Summertime Blues.

Aww…some Monday’s Music Moves Me

Aww…some Mondays

Fun With Filters

A lot of people I know enjoy taking photos but they dislike the post processing. I actually enjoy both. I am by no means an expert in either phase of photography and there are a million things that I still need to learn about capturing and editing images. From time to time I like to take an image and just mess with it by adding filters. My photo editing programs of choice are PhotoShop Elements 2020 and On1 RAW. PhotoShop Elements does more than I am capable of doing and is less expensive than the subscription service to full blown PhotoShop. On1 RAW is a series of pre-sets and filters one can use to create unique effects without an in depth knowledge of photo editing terms like layering, masks, etc. Recently I took a walk around our local town and photographed some murals. There is a small restaurant/coffee shop that caught my eye, so let’s have some fun with filters.

This image is SOTC (Straight Out of The Camera). The mural is whimsical and I asked myself, “What happens if you close to that plant and shoot through the foliage?” It kind of looks like you are sneaking up on the cat.

After a few enhancements to clarity, texture, and adding a vignette, here is how a focused section of the mural. The image has been cropped to 8×10 proportions, the colors have been enhance slightly and the exposure has been edited in PhotoShop Elements (PSE). The texture has been enhanced with On1 RAW. Now let’s get funky.

Okay, now I have added a dark vignette and a “Cold Fusion” lens flare pre-set from On1 RAW. The yellow flare over the cat almost looks like an idea has popped into his head. The whole process took about 15 minutes and now I get to share it with you and my FaceBook friends. This is just one of the ways I entertain myself during these shelter-in-place COVID-19 days.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

Last week I got ahead of myself and posted songs fit for this week’s theme. The theme at 4M this week is songs that are about the moon or have the moon in the title. If you want to know what my original choices were, just scroll down and listen to my choices. I think I will freestyle this week, with one exception. My parents were members of The Greatest Generation and their favorite music came from the Big Band era. My mother’s favorite big band was the Glen Miller Orchestra because Glen Miller played the clarinet and that was the instrument my mother played in her high school band.

Now I’m going to switch gears and choose music from a different theme. I graduated from high school in 1965 and looking back it was an awesome year for music. The Stones released “Satisfaction”, the Beatles charted “Help”, the Righteous Brothers had their best year with “Unchained Melody” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”. Even the Billboard 100th ranked song for the year was Marvin Gay and “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You). So, let’s start there and listen to just how great 1965 was for music.

1965 was a very good year. Have a blessed week.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

A couple of weeks ago I posted an image of a floral arrangement that my wife created for a wedding reception. That arrangement was all artifical flowers. The arrangement above was created last week for a bridal shower and it is all natural blooms & foliage. I think she does professional level work.