Scavenger Hunt Sunday - Books & Details

 

Back To School

On the last official week-end of their summer, the last thing on the minds of the grand crew was going back to school.  Swimming in a local lake and fishing is all that occupied the mind of the grand son.

 

Family

This is my wife and I with the grandcrew.  That's about as close to getting the whole family in the photo as we can get unless someone else takes the photo.  My daugher is taking this photo and her husband is assisting her.

 



Books

 

I have a collection of books that reflect my interests.  I have several translations of the Bible and numerous commentaries.  I have a number of books on photography and some day they may actually help me become a better photographer.  And, I have a collection of books that reflect the profession that I practiced for over thirty years.  These three books are special in that collection.  Architectural Graphic Standards was considered the bible of architectural details and information.  When I got my first drafting job in 1969 the 5th edition was the most current version.  Several years later the Sixth edition was released, followed by the Seventh.  I think that the Seventh edition was the last release that was widely used.  Computers became the method of drawing and electronic details became the source of information.  I believe that the 11th edition was the last printed version of the book, but you got a CD of the information with it.  I have managed to collect the 3rd through the 9th editions.

 



Details

Here is an example of the deatils in the 5th edition. They were hand drawn and lettered. They were actually a joy to look at. I would find myself just looking through the book for enjoyment.

Here is some of the same information from the 9th edition.  All of the details are computer generated.  I never opened this book unless it was absolutely necessary.  It was purely for reference.  While the computer drawings were clean and easy to read, somehow, they had taken the soul out of the book.

Portrait

 

Last fall my daughter asked me to take some "Senior Photos" of our oldest grand daughter.  This young lady is now a freshman in college and writing the next chapter of her life.  Love her to pieces.

Skywatch Friday

I never cease to be fascinated by the diversity of colors that God displays in sunrises and sunsets.  They can transform the most mundane landscape into a jaw dropping scene.  If you saw this location in the middle of the day, you would never give it a thought nor stop to capture an image.  But, wait until sunrise or sunset and the possiblities are endless.

Inspiration Thursday - Thank You Lord

As I look around this troubled world in which I live, I can only say, "Thank you Lord for the life that you have given to me.  Even though I am nearing the end of my sixth decade on this planet, and some things don't work as well as they used to, still, my life is blessed.  Yes, I have a pacemaker.  Yes, I have two bad knees and replacement surgery is probably in my future.  Yes, I have a couple of other medical issues that require monitoring, but I have access to adequate medical care.  I can do most anything that I want, deep knee bends excluded, but who really wants to do those anyway?  All in all, my health is good, not perfect, but good.
I live in the greatest country in the world!  I have freedoms that other people from other nations only dream about.  I may not like what my government is doing on any given issue and I may not like the choice that the people have made regarding some of our elected officials.  Still, the democratic republic that our forefathers established and the Creator of the universe has blessed, is the greatest nation in the history of the world and I am ever thankful to be a native born citizen of the United States of America.
As a citizen of this great nation, I am most thankful for our freedom of religion.  It is that freedom that is most responsible for the greatness of this country.  I am thankful for it because it is through the freedom to preach and teach the message of the Gospel that I came to know about Jesus Christ and my need for a savior.  When my time on this earth is over I will move from the greatest nation on the planet, to the greatest home ever created.  Christ has prepared a place for me in heaven so that I might live forever and worship Him.  As good as this life has been, it does not compare to an eternity without tears, without pain, without suffering of any kind.  Thank you Lord for this life and the one that I will experience some day.

Wordless Wednesday - Snake Eyes

 

Snake Eyes



Ruby Tuesday Too

Saturday Morning I got up early and headed into Rogers, AR for the car show portion of their Frisco Festival.  The city of Rogers is named after the vice president of the Frisco Railroad at the time of it's founding.  My dad worked for the Frisco for 42 years, so there is a bit of a connection for me. 

 

This little red & whithe Austin Heally 3000 caught my eye.  A friend of mine owned one when we were both much younger and actually able to enter and exit the car without making more creaking sounds than the automobile.  Getting down is easy.  Getting back up is another story.

Skywatch Friday - From the Balcony

 

If you find yourself fortunate enough to take a cruise, get a room with a private balcony.  There is nothing quite like the fresh breeze that comes off of the water and, if you have your camera, the photo opportunties are endless.

 



Inspiration Thursday - Wayfaring Stranger

The dictionary defines "wayfarer" as someone who travels from place to place, usually by walking.  While we utilize planes, trains, and automobiles to do much of our traveling today, we still spend a great deal of time placing one foot in front of the other, in order to get around the office, the house, etc.  To most of us the word wayfarer implies wandering aimlessly, without clear direction.  The dictionary doesn't really place the word in that context.  It simply states that the method of wayfaring is usually by walking.  Walking is an ideal methond of travel.  It doesn't cost anything.  It provides us with much needed exercise and it give us the opportunity to truly stop and explore the world around us.
All of us are wayfarers in this life and this life that we live on planet earth is but a milisecond in eternity.  As I walk through this life I have to ask, "Where am I headed?"  "What is at the end of this road that we call life?"  The day that I draw my last breath on this earth I will begin a new adventure that I have spent far to little of my life preparing for.  The instant that I step into eternity I will spend it with the Creator of the universe.  I am not going there because I am a good person, nor because I believe that everyone goes to heaven, because they don't.  I will spend eternity in a place prepared for me by Christ himself because I have admitted that my life is filled with sinful behavior, I believe that Christ is indeed the only Son of the true living God, and I believe that Jesus died on a cross to pay the debt for my sins.  I can never do enough to repay Him for what He has done for me.  Thankfully, I don't have to.
The Bible tells me that this earth is not my home.  My home is with my Lord.  Until the day that the Creator calls me home, I am here as a "Wayfaring Stranger."