Family

Making the most of Summer

by michaeltefft

While Fall doesn’t officially arrive until September 23rd I have noticed that it is getting cooler in the mornings. So I am making the best use of the final month of summer. The city of Portsmouth was visited last weekend by the USCGC Barque Eagle. The Barque Eagle (WIX-327) is a 295-foot barque used as a training cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. While I missed its entrance and docking, I did get down to have a look. There was only one open house, which I missed, so I couldn’t go on board. But I did take quite a few pictures. It is a breathtakingly beautiful ship and I would love to have the chance to sail with her one day.

This weekend, there were two events that occupied my days. The first one was the Seawall Art Show at Portsmouth waterside. There were many vendors with some fantastic art to view and buy. There was one photographer there whose work was wonderful. I should have gone back and bought one of his photos. I think I took one of his business cards so I might go to his gallery yet and buy something. There were different live musical groups there and I listened to the Top Hats Orchestra while I was there. They play mostly big band music and they were very good. One of the vendors was selling fish with all the trimmings but I wasn’t really hungry although the smell was trying to convince me otherwise.

Sunday I attended the annual Tefft family picnic at Red Wing Park in Virginia Beach. It is one of my favorite parks and we have had a lot of picnics there. I have 5 brothers but two of them couldn’t make it. But the rest of my brothers and their families were there. The weather was beautiful and as always my brother Jon, who is a great cook, made it a big success. It is always amazing to see how fast the young ones grow up. I need to spend more time with my family. After I left I stopped at the beautiful Japanese Gardens which are a part of the park to take some photos.

So I have had a great summer so far. The weather has been great, the pool as always is relaxing, I have gotten to see my family, and enjoyed several events. The only downside to my summer has been that my Golden Retriever Max has been diagnosed with cancer. He has been on chemo and prednisone and is doing OK, although the chemo has its side effects, the main one being that it is affecting his vision. He will be 12 years old soon and I hope he will be around for a few more years, God willing.

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Hope everyone has a wonderful summer. Take care.

May Day

by michaeltefft

It is a rainy May Day here in Chesapeake. Don’t know what I will do with the day yet other than go to the gym. I have a couple of good books to read, one being Holy Fire by R.T. Kendall. I have been pretty busy at Church. Yesterday I went out with our Board Chairperson and her husband to buy a new TV for the Sunday School/Nursery. We ended up with a 42″ Sharp LED model. It was on sale for $399 which was a good deal. We also bought a new blu-ray DVD player to go with it. The equipment we currently have is very old and outdated. Hopefully the kids will enjoy it. The DVD player even allows streaming media so that is a bonus.

Our planned family picnic was cancelled due to lack of interest. Everyone seemed to have something else to do. I was very disappointed. I was really looking forward to seeing my son. We had planned on going to a Norfolk Tides ballgame but the weather put a stop to that. He has told me he will find something soon for us to do together.

The rioting in Baltimore has been very disturbing. Baltimore is not all that far from where we live. There has even been concern of possible protests/rioting in Portsmouth, a stones throw from us, over the recent killings of two black men by the Portsmouth police. Hopefully it will all be resolved peacefully.

I am writing this post on my new laptop, which is turning out to be a nice machine. I am also using it at Church for our PowerPoint presentations as well as my Bible Study class. Now back to my devotions and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of this rainy but beautiful day. I hope everyone has a nice, peaceful, May Day.

God Bless


Garden

 

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

by michaeltefft

NativityChristmas if my favorite holiday and Advent is my favorite time of the year. As a child it was all about Santa, the Christmas tree, decorations, cookies, and the anticipation of Christmas Day and presents. It really was hard to sleep Christmas Eve as the excitement and anticipation was more than a child could handle.

Over the years Christmas has become less about presents, Santa is gone, and my son is all grown up. Now Christmas is more about family and the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I still enjoy decorating the tree, the food, and I wouldn’t mind getting a present or two. My family has grown in some ways and shrunk in others. My Grandparents, Mother, Father, and most of my Aunts and Uncles are gone. But my brothers, my son, and my Church family have made Christmas as joyous as it was when I was a small child. But the biggest joy of the Advent Season and Christmas is God and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As a child, Jesus was not on my mind during Christmas. There was only Santa, presents, and my family. But today, I have so much more to be grateful for. Looking back over the many Christmases of my life, I can truly say that I have been blessed each time with so much love and happiness. I pray that you and your family will experience the same joy and happiness that I feel every Christmas. Just as long as you remember the real reason for the season, all your Christmases will be joyful, no matter your circumstances.

Merry Christmas and A Blessed New Year to all…

Now if only it would snow.

 

4th of July Weekend is upon us

by michaeltefft

I spent as much of the day as the weather would allow me cleaning up the yard for the 4th. My mother and my son will be coming over on the 4th for a cookout. As my mother is living in a nursing home I will have to pick her up but she lives in Chesapeake so it is not far. It will be nice to have them both over to enjoy a nice day together. I don’t get to see my son Jason very often as he seems to work all the time. When I talked to him the other day he told me he had been working in West Virginia setting up a disaster recovery center for the U.S. Coast Guard. He works for a contractor and most of their work is with the Coast Guard and their financial centers.

I got out to Kroger’s to pickup the necessary supplies for tomorrow. The menu consists of hamburgers, hotdogs, brautwurst, potato salad, baked beans, watermelon and all the fixings. There will be soda to drink as well as Dos Equis beer. For desert we will have Louisiana Crunch cake. Sounds pretty good to me. The weather promises to be hot which is perfect 4th of July weather. We have a nice pool to jump into, food and drink, family and maybe some free fireworks later. Who could ask for anything more.