Monday, February 4, 2013

An Update on my Dad...



I thought I would do a post today about my Dad! :-) A very, very special man in my life!! He is one of the reasons that leaving Charlotte was a pretty hard thing to do. My mama passed away on Thanksgiving Day 2010. She had battled Cancer for a long time. (over 15 years!) She was a fighter and a trooper. And Dad was her courageous partner and caregiver the entire battle. He even had to fight off Cancer himself at one point of the journey. (Prostate) He is doing very well.


That is my Dad in the middle with my mom's sister and brother.

Dad has handled the transition of living alone so beautifully, and I am so so proud of him. I don't for one minute think it has been easy for him or without some really really hard days. I know he still misses his wife. But he has tackled life fully and stayed busy. He has many requests to speak and or preach and teach for his regular church and many other churches. (retired Pastor) I think he can be about as busy or slow as he chooses to be!!!

He loves to play golf. He is still playing in January and most likely in February, too, if the warmer weather continues to hold for NC.

Whenever any of my peeps over there have questions or problems or needs concerning their vehicles, he is always right there to help. That may mean doing the repair himself, or helping them find the best garage to do the work or getting parts online for the best price! He is very handy with automative repairs!!



And He does like to do woodworking projects. Just recently he took a load of lumber up to the barn in High Point, NC where my sister works and teaches riding lessons, and helped do repairs and build storage cupboards for the gear and saddles. They were very happy about that.

Here are two projects he has done in the past year. One was basically restoring the hardware off of an old Cider Mill Press, and then building a new frame for it.




*the piece of lumber standing here is just to show the wood he started out with to work it into each new piece.







I think it is AWESOME...and I know the gentleman who asked him to re-build it was ecstatic. It was finished just in time to be used at the end of a Bible School week making fresh apple cider for everyone!! :-)

The next one is his latest finished project for a man who wants to start up beekeeping.









Another Amazing project completed. The friend asked him if he wanted to take up the hobby with him, and my dad, having allergic reactions to bee stings, said he would just have some of the fruits of the labor. He does like Honey! :-)

So my dad is getting along well. I was concerned when he caught a nasty virus last year that had Vertigo accompany it, but he got through it. It was so very very wonderful to see him again in December.

Some of you ask now and again about my Dad, and I appreciate that!!! I just thought I would give you a little update. He's just the greatest!! I love him very much!

A closing note...I shared a photo on FB and thought I would add it over here to the E-journal Blog. Sunday morning, early (about 2 am- don't ask...insomnia!) I just happened to catch this little snow visitor coming up to our front porch. I think Bambi was out past his curfew!!!



At first, I thought he was just licking snow, but then it dawned on me later in the day that Kurt had spread SALT/Ice Melt on the sidewalks...So I guess it was like a Salt Lick. Hope it's not harmful...of course these deer here probably adapted to it long ago!!!!



Blessings to all dropping by my blog today. Hope you have a Merry Monday!!















4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe tonight Kurt will leave out some tequila, lime juice, and Triple Sec to go with that salt. Loved the exquisite woodworking projects by your dad. My dad was handy like that, too. Must be something about that do-it-yourself generation.
In Jesus, Paula

Theresa said...

Oh what a sweet post about your Dad! I know that you miss him and will see him every chance you get:) I love it that he is staying busy and enjoying life! Beautiful woodwork:) I am excited to see what all he does when the weather warms up!

Beautiful picture of the snow and the little visitor! I hope we will get at least ONE snow before Springtime:)

Have a blessed day dear friend, BIG HUGS!

Lisa notes... said...

Love hearing about your father! You sound a lot like him--very giving, loving, artistic. What a blessing it must be to be his daughter. I'm glad he has adjusted to widowhood. I'm sure he misses your mom every day. Thank you for sharing about him, Julie. xoxoxo

Sandy said...

Your dad looks and sounds like such a sweet person. So talented, too! My dad was a wood worker nearly all of his life and worked for Drexel Heritage Furniture. He made some of the most beautiful furniture.
The little deer is so adorable.
Hope the insomnia passes quickly.
Hugs!!