Busy Weekend!

Hubby Home!

After a week in Knoxville, my husband returned home last Friday from his business trip.  It's never fun to be alone while he's away, but I manage to pass the time somehow.  I watched a few movies, went for a drive, and just stayed cool while the world outside sweltered.  I'm glad he's home now, though, and enjoying his company once again, and we had a busy weekend together, as you will see below.  Yay!

Craft Show

Saturday morning, we ventured downtown looking for a place called Gaslight Gallery.  While hubby was gone, I saw an advertisement for a craft and art show that they put on during certain Saturdays in the summer, and I thought it would be a great idea for The Sunflower Tree to get some exposure.  The ad said that interested people needed to go to the gallery to fill out an application, pay for space, and have your work approved for the show.  So I took a bunch of notepads and we finally found the gallery after a bit of a goose chase.  I was told that the stationery should do very well, and was therefore approved!  Most craft shows in Ohio require a vendor's license for tax purposes, which is why I have not pursued this avenue up to this point, but perhaps if I do well here, I'll apply for a license and do some sales that way.  Here's hoping!

My helpers for the craft show

Hog Roast 
Saturday evening, we were invited to a hog roast and party by one of my husband's co-workers.  It was out in the country, there were three houses involved, and it was a great time, despite only knowing about four people of the hundred or so that were there.  It was a hot day, but once the sun went down, it cooled off nicely and we enjoyed live music and a great view of fireworks that were being shot off in a nearby town.  We stayed out later than we were used to, but it was a lot of fun.

E.P. Jones House

The next day, Sunday, there was an open house here in town to raise money for the renovation of a post-Civil War mansion that has been owned for years by a reclusive woman who recently passed away.  She willed the mansion to a friend/neighbor, who is considering renovating and restoring the building and possibly opening it up as a museum or living history site.  I've wanted to see the house ever since we moved here, and so I had to take the opportunity to take the tour through a house that had no air conditioning, despite another 90-degree day.  I headed over there in the early afternoon, and there was a bit of a wait, but it was worth it.  This was an amazing home at one time: amazing plaster and woodwork, three-story spiral stairs with a mural on the third floor ceiling (visible from the first floor), gold leaf details, original gas fixtures that were retro-fitted for electricity, 8 marble fireplaces, 12' ceilings, a third-floor ballroom, wine cellar in the basement...the list goes on and on.  I was able to take a few pictures of the interior before being told not to, and I've posted them below.  As you can see, the house has some problems, but it could be beautiful again!

Gold leaf detail, plaster moulding in the informal parlor

Ceiling detail in the informal parlor

Leaded glass dining room window

Dining room ceiling moulding

Ceiling detail of the formal parlor

Formal parlor ceiling detail

Front of Jones Mansion

Movie Date
We rounded out the busy weekend with the final Harry Potter movie.  The theater was having a $5.00/ticket deal, and we hadn't had the chance to see the movie yet, so we took advantage of the discount prices and finally saw it.  Pretty good, and I think it followed the book well.  I read the books years ago, and have a somewhat vague memory of the story, but I think they did a pretty good job.  Hard to believe that this franchise has been around for over ten years!  It doesn't seem like that long ago.  Time sure does fly!

I have a hard time not getting wrapped up in the events taking place in my own life.  My own little world is so nice and cozy, but when I'm in it, I can't possibly see what plans God has for me that I might be missing!  I'm sure I'm not the only one to fight this, right?  So, despite what excitement, or lack thereof, I might be experiencing, I must try to remember that it's not earthly goals and treasures that I should be focusing on. Philippians 3:12-14 says: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."  That's certainly where my eyes should be!  Where might yours be?