Pie Making in the Church Kitchen!

Yesterday the church kitchen was the place to be!

Deloris Barnhart, along with Belinda Alkula and Marilee Rowan, took part in a frenzy of pie baking!

Our church secretary, Karen Larsen, took part for a bit, and Emily and Kristina stopped by to share in the bounty of fresh baked goodies!

What a treat to fill the Lord's house with the aroma of fresh baked pies and laughter on a Thursday afternoon!!!

Charles in Florida, day 4

Today was given to tending to some "at home" chores, well, sort of! First up was breakfast with Mom, Tom and Jackie. Then Charles got Tom's car cleaned up (Charles had done his mother's car the day before) and then he returned to the condo on Millstream Lane to clean out the storage shed (for his mom's condo). It is great to have the time and manpower to get these things done! Jackie lent a hand and Mom and Tom were on hand too, making sure things were just so!

Charles had a treat this afternoon/evening when a thunderstorm rolled through the Tampa Bay area. Great to see/hear nature and to know that this helps makes the area so green.

This evening, Charles joined the rest of the family at brother Joe's home in Holiday (just north of Dunedin in Pasco County) for supper. Joe whipped up a fantastic lasagna and his daughter Madison contributed a salad and garlic bread. Jackie brought some delicious pie and everyone shared stories about each other (much to the children's enjoyment!).

A full Sunday, part 1

We woke this morning to a delightful sound, a light drizzle!  Such a wonderful way to start the week in south Texas!

First for us this morning was attending the chapel service at the VA Hospital.  Chaplain Julianna Lesher, the chaplain service chief, was the preacher.  We wanted to worship there together and offer encouragement to a fellow chaplain.

Following that service, we made our way to Colonial Hills UMC.  Charles had visited there once before, but this was the first time we'd gone together.  It is a very friendly church!  Belinda is excited to learn that next Saturday, the 9th, the church is hosting its second annual "NativiTEA," a traditional tea gathering.  (We plan on going!)

After worship, we headed downtown, making two delicious stops!  First was at "The Original Donut Shop." We were not looking for donuts, but when we spotted a donuit place with TWO lanes of traffic backed-up, we just had to see what all the fuss was about.  Wow, it was fantastic!  Just might have to go back for their famous tacos as well.

We stopped for lunch at "Tip-Top Cafe," an eatery visited by Guy Fieri (of "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" fame).  We shared the biggest chicken fried steak we've ever seen, and a good thing we did!  We couldn't believe our eyes when the waitress brought a piece of coconut cream pie for us, it was huge!   And oh so good!