Remembering when Dianne looked forward to receiving the next issue of Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazine in the mail; anyone interested in rescuing boxes of back issues from the trash?

Remember when Gourmet and Bon Appetit were source for many recipes?

   By the way, Dianne wasn't perfect... but, she was really good at a lot of things... including cooking.  Although in more recent years, we ate mostly salads... at one time, she was an ardent collector of new recipes and liked to try them out on me!  Of course, I was always more than willing to be her "taste tester".  When a meal was really great (which was quite often)... I would always say..."Put that one on the menu!"
   For many years, we subscribed to Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines... and for whatever reason... we held onto a lot of the back copies... which haven't been touched in over 10 years.
   I am now preparing to trash them, but thought I would check to see if there are any "old magazine" or "old recipe" collectors out there who would like to have several boxes of magazines full of recipes for culinary delights.
   If anyone has interest, let me know?

Dianne's prayer closet: it was a part of her daily life and her fiber art creations. "Prayer Closet III" going to Flint, MI

Dianne's fiber art piece, "Prayer Closet III", was displayed at Sacred Threads 2013 down in Virginia.  Next week, it will be on its way to Flint, Michigan!

   Dianne liked to pray!  Her personal "prayer closet" was her rocking chair situated right in her fiber art studio.  For as long as I can remember... unless she was very sick... Dianne was in that chair first thing in the morning after her shower and washing her hair.  She wouldn't like me telling this, but... she

This was Dianne's personal "prayer closet".
Unfortunately, no photos of Dianne in her
"prayer turban" were allowed.

wrapped her hair in a towel and let it dry while she was praying.  She indeed had a unique "head covering" as her prayers went up to God.
   She liked to journal her prayers... and when I read her prayer journals... I can see that her prayers often went up to God about all of our family, our church family, our friends, and our orphan ministry.
   Dianne completed three fiber art pieces in her "Prayer Closet" series.  The third was completed last year, and was juried into the 2013 Sacred Threads Exhibition.
   The First Presbyterian Church in Flint, Michigan, invited Dianne and others whose fiber art appeared in Sacred Threads, to send their creations out to Michigan to be viewed and enjoyed by their church members from September 7-28.  The artwork will also be included in the Flint Festival of Quilts September 11-13... and the Second Friday Art Walk on September 12.   
   When Dianne created "Prayer Closet III", she wished to depict the prayers "bubbling up" to God.  Can you see them going up in her creation?
    Daily devotions and prayers were an essential part of Dianne's daily life... and in her teachings, she often encouraged others to find a "prayer closet" and make praying a daily discussion with God.
   Do you have a prayer closet?

Walking through the door of grief: remembering how much Dianne appreciated a little box of coconut clusters

Remembering today... how much Dianne appreciated
those little boxes of coconut clusters!

To put it mildly, I have a passionate dislike for "going shopping"!

However, I have discovered during the past year or two how easy it is to order things on line... and have them delivered directly to our home.  Somebody does the shopping for me... and delivers it directly to my doorstep!

Dianne thought I was a little bit extreme when I started ordering our favorite coffee from Walmart.  The specific type we liked wasn't available in our local supermarkets... I could buy the coffee at a great price... and if I ordered enough... delivery was free!

I tried it ... and it worked perfectly... so that's how we started buying our coffee online from Walmart.

On the second or third order, I noticed that Walmart also had available the little Russell Stover coconut clusters that Dianne liked so much... so I ordered a box of the candy along with the coffee.  Of course... I didn't mention the candy part of the order to Dianne.

When our order arrived, and Dianne opened the package, you would have thought that I had given her the most expensive and exotic gift in the world!  She was so happy to get that little box of coconut clusters.

So, all future orders, included both coffee and coconut clusters!

This box (in the photo above) was still sitting on the shelf in one of our bookcases... and when I saw it today... I had to cry.

I have recently read several places that we have to go through the door of grief... we cannot go around it.  

Today's door was this box of Dianne's favorite candy.

Remembering Dianne as I return from my first trip away from home without her by my side

Dianne and I loved to travel together.  One of our most memorable trips was to Italy, where we were able to meet Dianne's cousins, the part of her family who remained in Italy when three of the brothers in the family decided to come to America in early 1900s.  Most of the family still lives in or near the tiny village of Pugnetto.

I just returned home from a very nice visit with daughter Angie and family in East Tennessee.  Also, was delighted to spend some time with my sister Kim.
Dianne and I always enjoyed traveling together... but always enjoyed coming back home.  Of course, this visit without her by my side was quite different.

What I missed most:

• Dianne's packing.  She was an expert, and I always knew that she would remember everything, and everything would be packaged perfectly for the trip;
• Praying with Dianne in the car before we started out to the airport;
• Holding Dianne's hand as the plane took off;
• Holding Dianne's hand when the plane hit turbulence;
• Holding Dianne's hand when the plane landed;
• Dianne by my side at family meals;
• Dianne by my side at church;

I was actually doing pretty well at holding back the tears until I came upon the first "down escalator" of my trip on the way back home.  Dianne could not handle "down escalators"... they made her feel dizzy... and so we always took the elevators in airports.  

There were no "down escalators" on my trip down to Tennessee, but I had to handle three on the way home.  Each brought back old memories of wonderful times traveling together with Dianne.  We will always remember the time when we were in Russia, and had to take public transportation (the subway) to get some of the children back to the orphanage.  The entrance area to the subway was jam-packed, and as we were hurrying along with the children all around us, we suddenly came upon the longest, deepest, steepest down escalator I have ever seen in my life.  When the children realized that Dianne was somewhat panic-stricken, they literally surrounded her like a huge human shield, holding her safely and securely until we reached the bottom of the escalator.

Coming back home, I was full of mixed emotions.  Glad to be coming home, but not glad to be coming home to an empty house.

I pulled into the garage, stopped the car, and proceeded to bawl my eyes out.  Then, I heard Shabby meowing from the kitchen... and it was time to stop crying and feed the cat.

Going through some difficult times? take 5 minutes to listen to this audio clip and be blessed!

I posted on Facebook today about how I was really blessed when I started my car to drive into town today.

God gave me the message I needed to hear at the exact time I needed to hear it.

Thank you, Lord!  Praise you, Lord!

Post by Kenneth Dockery.