Friday and Saturday's Journey... Farewell, "Nick the Cat"

We took Nick to see a local veterinarian Friday morning. He said that Nick's heartbeat was muffled, difficult to hear. He ran a blood and urine test. He said that Nick's organs seemed to be shutting down.

Truth is that Nick hit a low health point last weekend. He was having difficulty keeping his food down and had vomited a few times. Throughout last week, Nick had no appetite; he vomited occasionally; and he did not want to drink water.

The veterinarian gave us an antibiotic for Nick to take for the infection he had. We were given some pureed cat food and a dropper for it. Nick just couldn't keep the food and the medicine down. He grew more lethargic. In the end, we just gave him water, dispensed from a dropper.

The three of us had a quiet evening at home. We took turns sitting next to Nick and then holding him. He quacked/meowed at us several times. We could tell he was slipping away. Praise God that He helped us to know that. We spent the evening telling stories about Nick, remembering all kinds of things about our times together.

This morning, we took Nick to see the veterinarian around 9:00 a.m. The doctor said that Nick's eyes were dilated; his heartbeat was barely audible. Charles and I had our hands on Nick as the doctor administered the drug that very, very quickly helped Nick to be released from the confines of this world. In a matter of seconds, Nick was at peace. We were amazed how quickly it happened. The doctor was amazingly supportive and tender towards us. It helped so much!

We brought Nick home. Charles prepared a special place in our back yard for him, directly under the bird feeder. Nick always loved looking out at his friends the birds. He delighted in their activities. He would often quack/meow at them.

Charles wrapped him in a white sheet, and then he placed him into the big box, in which he always stored his Navy "covers"/hats. We collected pictures of Nick, and placed them in zip lock bags, along with a note detailing Nick's name, birth and death dates and... praising God for the gift of Nick in our lives.

Charles placed Nick into the ground. And then he walked over to the rosebush in our back garden and selected a lovely rose, handed it to Belinda, and then she placed it over Nick. We said prayers of Thanksgiving for all the great memories of Nick, and then Charles completed the burial. We placed a special marker over where Nick is buried. It states: Cats Leave Paw Prints on Our Hearts... Loveable Tabby, You Are Always in Our Hearts.

Afterwards, we planted a chrysanthemum next to where Nick is buried. It had a lot of "spent"/dead buds on it and also loads of brand new buds on it. It seemed symbolic: yes, there were so many "dead" buds, but the plant still has so many new buds on it... more life to come. After we buried the plant, we removed all the dead/spent buds. We look forward to the new life that will spring forth from that plant. It is something to which we can look forward!

Nick is gone from this earthly realm, but now he is at rest; he is in a much, much better place! Life changes, rearranges and evolves... Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow... and one of those many blessings was the joy of knowing "Nick the Cat" Alkula!!!

P.S. Nick has started something. We plan to develop all along, up and down that side row of the back yard, i.e., landscape it and plant some special plants in it... come spring! Praise God that we can always look forward to spring!!!

Our "Nick the Cat" Enjoying Being at Home

This past Tuesday morning, we collected our sweet cat Nick from the wonderful folks at the Coastal Cat Clinic in Jacksonville, North Carolina. We had not seen him since the middle of February, just after we returned from our 3-year tour in England.

It was so good to see him again! His veterinarian, Dr. Crystal Smith, said that she could not tell how much time he had left, but that it was good that Nick was finally going to be home again with his family.

We drove to Raleigh-Durham Airport and caught the direct flight to Denver. Afterwards, we drove home to Sidney, Nebraska. Home... we were all together... home again! Praise be to God!

Here are some pictures of Nick relaxing at home. He really enjoyed himself on Thursday when he was able to hang out and sun himself on the deck. It was a beautiful afternoon, about 72 degrees, with a lovely breeze. We think he was happy to be home with us again. We know that we were very happy to have him back with us again!

Praise God for happy reunions!

At Long Last: Nick the Cat is Home in Sidney, Nebraska!

Finally, we have our boy "Nick the Cat" home with us here in Sidney, Nebraska. Praise be to God! We spent virtually all day yesterday getting him home.

We got to the Coastal Cat Clinic in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in the morning. We were greeted by Annie, whom you can see sitting behind the check-in counter. The next picture shows how we first saw Nick... sitting in his box behind Annie's chair. He has been serving as the official greeter for the clinic for this last year. Praise God for amazing people like Nick's veterinarian Dr. Crystal Smith and her fabulous staff members, one of whom is "St. Annie!" Nick has had THE BEST treatment and loving care this last year. We are forever in their debt for taking such good care of "our boy!"

Thank you so much, Dr. Smith, for getting all the paperwork done so we could fly Nick to his new home in Nebraska!

You can see Nick and his friend Charles at the Raleigh Durham Airport, getting ready to check in!

And you can see Nick in his new kitchen, relaxing on his new cat pad.... well, yes, in his new pad/home!

After all our travels, we should all get one amazing night's sleep!

Thanks be to God!!!

(P.S. You can double-click on any picture, and it will get a LOT larger!)

A Wonderful Saturday at the Storytelling Festival in Tennessee!

Here we are in front of the Washington County Courthouse, situated in downtown Jonesborough.

This Storytelling Festival started 35 years ago, with some folks sitting on hay bales in front of the courthouse and swapping tales.

Thirty-five years later, we enjoy popping from one large storytelling tent to another. There were five of them this year, dotted all around the town.

The whole town is decorated so beautifully! There are loads of hay bales and gorgeous flowers and scarecrows and all things autumn... all around the town!

Don't let the pictures of folks in the tents fool you! Every tent ... every session... was stuffed to the gills with people. We just had to get there early to get good seats and settle in before all the festivities started.

Belinda loved discovering the doll's house, where children could actually go inside and play!

It's a great experience to see folks relaxing and telling some of their stories and smiling and having fun... why, it really is a good time for all! Yea, God... for such a fun place to be this weekend!

Last Friday, October 5th: North Carolina & Tennessee

Last Thursday, after Charles finished playing his round of golf at Pinehurst, we drove to the western part of the state of North Carolina, just past Asheville, to a lovely place called Lake Junaluska. We spent the night at the Lambeth Inn there along the lake. It is a hotel at Lake Junaluska, a United Methodist conference and retreat center. We had visited there in February of this year, when the snow was on the ground and the lake was frozen. Now we enjoyed seeing flowers in bloom. It is such a beautiful place to visit!

Just days before, the brand new Bethea Welcome Center had opened. We were so impressed with it! The first picture is their "front desk," over which is hung beautifully decorated old organ pipes. At first, it looked like really pretty pencils, but they are old organ pipes that were donated for this special artistic feature at the center.

Outside we saw a lovely display of fall ornamentation, which really put us in an autumnal mood! We loved our room at the Lambeth Inn. Our room overlooked the lake, and it was great to be able to sleep with the window open, so we could enjoy all that great fresh air. Great sleeping weather!

Friday morning, we visited their amazing cross which overlooks the lake. It is a wonderful place for prayer and reflection!

We drove about two hours to Jonesborough, Tennessee, which is the oldest town in that state. AND ... it is the home of the National Storytelling Festival, which is always over the first full weekend in October each year. We quickly registered and hopped over to our first storytelling tent experience. It was just as wonderful as we had remembered it. It had been four years earlier when we registered for our first festival experience. It seems like there are more people at this year's festival. We guess that word has gotten out about what a fabulous weekend it is!

Jonesborough is a lovely little town. It is so easy to get around. All we have to do is look on the schedule and decide which one of the six tents we should visit.

More to follow...

Thanks be to God for such a wonderful weekend get-away experience!!!

Pinehurst at Last!

The time had finally come. Charles got to make the golfing pilgrimage that is Pinehurst!

As dawn broke over the Carolina pines, he drove up to the clubhouse at the center of the eight courses that make up this mecca of American golf. With some hope, he went to the starter's desk and asked about the possibility of getting a tee time on one of the courses. He was told that not only were there tee times available, but that he could play Pinehurst No. 2 (the most famous of the eight courses) in 45 minutes!

Well, he jumped at the chance, and after warming up on the driving range, it was time to see what the fuss was all about. He and with another golfer from Chicago set off to face the challange!

Wow: Generous fairways, deep bunkers and some of the most treacherous greens he's ever seen were the order of the day. The course was in fantastic condition, and at the end of the round, Charles was thrilled to claim a 98!

Praise God for such amazing opportunities!!!

We're on our way to the festival!

We left our home in Sidney at 5:55 A.M.! We stopped at the Rooster Restaurant in a village off I-76, about half an hour before we got to the Denver International Airport. We had SUCH a good breakfast; it really put fuel in our tanks, so we could keep going today. Charles' mother loves chickens. Everything in this restaurant is so cute, complete with chickens on cafe curtains all around the dining room. We'll have to take Mom Alkula there some time.

We parked at USParking, long-term parking for the airport. Thanks, Rilla, for the tip to park there. They are so efficient! The signs guide you into exactly where they want you to park. Shuttle buses are waiting for you to board. A fellow even gave us a slip of paper detailing exactly where we left our car parked. The shuttle bus was comfortable and got us to the airport right away. Most impressive all around!

Once we got to the airport, we were processed through "the process" of getting to and on the plane. Shoes off; laptop out of its case; shuffle, shuffle, shuffle down the security lines! The 3-hour flight went by fairly quickly. And then we emerged into the warmer, more humid climate that is in North Carolina, at this time of year. After the dry air in western Nebraska, this humidity felt quite oppressive!

OF COURSE.... the first stop after getting our rental car.... was to dine at the nearest Cracker Barrel we could find. It was SO GOOD!!! Praise God for all good things... including Cracker Barrel stores and restaurants.

We decided to drive an hour and one-half south of Raleigh, to get to a hotel in Southern Pines, which is a stone's throw from Pinehurst, which is considered to be one of the world's premier golf destinations. The plan is for Belinda to rest tomorrow morning, while Charles gets out around 6:30 A.M. and plays a round of golf somewhere in Pinehurst. His dream realized. Her dream realized. What a great start to the vacation! Afterward, we will be driving toward Jonesborough, Tennessee, where we will enjoy the National Storytelling Festival.

Stay tuned for more info tomorrow.

And, yes, thank you, God, for a wonderful start to our week vacation!!!

A Wonderful Week in Sidney!

What an amazing week it has been! We had a very stimulating Bible Study last Sunday night with "The Wired Word" group, the group that meets weekly to discuss a current event of the week and relate it to Scripture readings and individuals' life experiences! Tuesday night's "Bad Girls of the Bible" study was a LOT of fun (as always)! Wednesday night's Simpson's Bible Study led to some very insightful and deep discussions about faith. Thursday night's study on The Book of Revelation was awesome; we are really learning a lot as we journey through that part of the Bible!

The church folks have been SO busy with preparing for and running the 4-day Rummage Sale Extravaganza, which concludes Monday, October 1st.

Julie Rowan gave us such a wonderful gift of fall vegetables from her harvest. Belinda arranged them in one of the baskets she bought at the rummage sale. It sits proudly on our breakfast nook table. It makes us smile everytime we see them! It reminds us of this great season/time of the year!

We got the October church newsletter out on Wednesday, and most folks received theirs the next day. Wow! Compliments to the local Post Office staff who do such a great job for all of us!

Belinda stopped by Tom and Vicki Millman's home, where she took a picture of their gorgeous multi-colored rose bush. It is absolutely breath-taking to see!

Charles orchestrated a wedding rehearsal Friday afternoon, and the wedding took place at 5:00 p.m. today in the church sanctuary. The bride was stunning! And, of course, the wedding couple seemed so in love and so perfect for one another.

Belinda mowed the lawn today (Saturday). Whew! It is a two-hour job to get that done!

Tomorrow will be a day of celebration, indeed! Two babies are to be baptized, and five folks are joining the church: Praise be to God!!!

The week that was in Sidney

Looking back at our diary for this past week it might look as though this was a quiet week. And still we find ourselves here on a cool Sunday morning tired, but excited at the activity happening here in Sidney.

We did a lot of work, Charles edged the sidewalks at the church and Belinda worked hard at getting the house ready for visitors on Sunday. This sounds easy, but we're trying hard to model hospitality both at church and home and it takes effort!

Thursday was a very special day, the first Thursday evening Bible study. This is held at the home of Jim and Evie Jones' and there were fourteen of us there to begin a study of the book of Revelation. Charles is leading this class and from the early reactions it is going to be a super group.

Friday morninig saw Charles conduct another funeral, this for a local resident who was without a church home. It was a challenge of course, offering comfort in a chuch setting to a family who is not religious and for someone not known to the congregation. Still, it was a good service and the family appreciated the time and the message.

Saturday was given over to the UMW and their meeting as the new district. We drove over to Chappell, about 1//2 hour east of Sidney, and had a wonderful time. There were woman (and a few men!) from all over the Great West District which covers nearly 1/3 of Nebraska. We enjoyed the fellowship and the fabulous casserole the ladies of that church served at lunch!!! When we arrived back in Sidney, we were tired but happy to have been around such wonderful people.

So much is about to happen here today, check back tonight to see how we fared!!!

Elva Lostroh's 94th Birthday Party!

The highlight of the day was our opportunity to attend the 94th birthday of a wonderful member of FUMC, Elva Lostroh. Her children and husband had invited the church family to attend the party at the care facility in which she resides. It was wonderful being there!

The Prayer Shawl ministry team presented her with a shawl, which turned out to include her favorite color, coral pink. A good time was had by all, and it made for a special day for all who attended.

Camp Comeca Retreat

Pastor Charles took a needed break this week and attended the 24-hour "Covenant Group West" retreat at Camp Comeca, near Cozad. This retreat is open to those who have attended a Five-day Academy for Spiritual Formation event. The purpose for this event is to provide its members with an on-going faith formation accountability group.

The attendees really enjoyed the special setting that is Camp Comeca, and Pastor Charles really found the time to set aside to "just be" especially rewarding.

On his way home, Pastor Charles took the chance to visit the Robert Henri museum in nearby Cozad. Henri was a painter whose father founded the town!

Belinda in the meantime enjoyed the much-needed quiet and enjoyed a personal retreat of her own! The pace is going to be really picking up here in Sidney and at First UMC. Keep looking for the latest news!

Church Youth Get-together!

Pastor Charles had a great time at the church youth get-together at Beau's farm this afternoon. About 30 fun-loving folks gathered for good food and fellowship!

Thanks, Beau, for inviting folks to your home and making everyone feel welcome!

A Visitor to the Parsonage!

Last week, Belinda looked out into the back yard and saw a critter enjoying the bird seed tower. Why, yes, it is a squirrel! That picture of the bird waiting its turn is SO cute!

More News About Our Church's Kitchen Renovation Project

See more info about the church renovation project at this web address:

www.sidneyfirstumc.blogspot.com/ !!!

Church Kitchen Renovation is Underway Now!

For more info... go to ...

http://www.sidneyfirstumc.blogspot.com/

Saturday at the Parsonage

After power-washing to deck yesterday, Pastor Charles is all about getting it stained today. It is hard work, but God has sent a lovely breeze to cool things down a bit.

And Belinda's home-brewed iced tea really helps him stay cool.

Pastor Charles Working at the Parsonage

Pastor Charles has been very busy lately. Last week, he painted the numbers to the parsonage a nice black color, to match the color on the wrought ironwork entrance to the house. Now it is much easier to see what is the address. The after and before pictures attest to that!

Today he power-washed the deck. It is looking SO MUCH better! Getting the dust, dirt and grime off it really does make a world of difference!

Praise be to God for the ability to make old things look new again!