Enjoying Being Age 66!

Hello Daylily Friends,

On Thanksgiving day, my precious wife, Diana Rae, lost her mother, Margie Giessinger.  It was so very sad.  We went to South Dakota for Margie's funeral.  You may recall that back in January Diana lost her father, Willie.  It has been very difficult for Diana to lose both of her parents this year.  Now, there is so much for Diana and her brothers and sisters to do with their mother's property, and I hope the path for them is relatively manageable.

We're back at home, and this past Sunday, December 11, 2011, I became 66 years of age.  I admit that occasionally I read the obituary columns in the newspaper, and I see that many others have not lived to age 66.  Then, I also see that many have lived very long lives, late into their 80s and 90s.  Of course I do not know how many years the good Lord will give me to live, but I am eternally grateful for every day.  For example, this past Friday Diana and I went to meet Kelley Rae, Lily Rae and father Jeff at the Mall to see Lily Rae speak to Santa about her first Christmas.  I took a picture.  Lily Rae was wearing her red dress with her red slippers.  Later we all went to Lily Rae's home, and had our family picture taken.  Diana used these two pictures to make a Christmas card that she will soon send to many of our friends.

On Sunday morning, we all went to Church.  Little Lily Rae was wearing her Georgia Tech socks that have a yellow jacket stitched onto them.  After Church we walked through the door from the Sanctuary going toward Sunday School when we were greeted by our Preacher Sam Matthews.  Preacher Sam reached for Little Lily Rae, and amazingly, Lily Rae lost one of her Georgia Tech socks.  Can you see her face?  She seems so exasperated.  The question is this:  Did Preacher Sam remove Lily Rae's sock?  I must say that Preacher Sam is an ardent fan of the wretched dog team from Athens in northeast Georgia.  Aren't Preachers supposed to be nonpartisan in athletics?  It was all in good fun.  We love our Church, we love our Pastor, and we were so glad that Little Lily Rae came to Church with us and with her Mom and Dad.

After Church and Sunday School we all came to our house, and Diana Rae fixed breakfast for everyone.  The eggs were great, and Jeff particularly liked the deer sausage given to us by our friend, David Arthur.  After breakfast we all went to see the home of Governor Roy Barnes and his lovely wife Marie.  Roy and Marie built themselves a new home in Marietta, which is close to our Church, and there have been a few opportunities to visit the Barnes home.  We were able to visit because the Women's Garden Club sponsored the event, and we just wanted to see the new house.  We were warmly greeted at the door by Marie, and Lily Rae received the attention of a movie star.  I liked seeing the house, and I'm showing the Governor's desk where he works when he is at home.  The Governor is always busy, but he always has time to talk to everyone.  Thanks Roy and Marie for letting us visit your incredibly beautiful home!  At this point it was obvious that Little Lily Rae had had a long day.  She was tired, and she needed her afternoon nap.  So, Mom and Dad took Lily Rae home for her much needed rest.

Later Sunday afternoon we went over to visit with our life long friend, Jay Taylor.  Jay truly adores his two children, Reid and Morgan.  Jay sends cards to us many times over the year showing Reid and Morgan as they enjoy growing up with their Dad.  At Jay's house we were also glad to see Jay's parents, Jim and JoAnn Taylor.  It was such a wonderful visit.  I regretted that the time of our visit passed so quickly, but time always passes quickly when visiting with friends.  Thanks Jay for the invitation!

Did I tell you that I have a new camera?  It is a Canon Power Shot A3300 IS.  It has 16 megapixels, and 5 times optical zoom.  Do you remember when the Canon Rebel was first marketed?  I seem to recall that it had about 6 megapixels.  Now, I have a point and shoot that is almost three times as powerful as the original Rebel.  Diana wanted to make a purchase at Penny's Department Store, and I practiced using my camera as she looked at a black and white comforter.  I am really going to like using my new camera.

More news coming soon from the Greenhouse.

Bill