Fall Stages Hodgepodge

This photo is from the last event that we wore costumes to and it is from this season of life.

Jo From This Side of the Pond has challenged our memories once again for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. What are your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. 

At my stage of life I’m one fall away from a nursing home. My priority is to end life well. I want to keep cooperating with the Holy Spirit in conforming my life to be more like Christ. I want to love Jesus more because my life and my future are all tied up in what He did for me on the Cross. For that I am so grateful. Thankful that I am not spiritually dead anymore because I’ve been born again. I thank God the Father, who has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered (rescued) me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-14

2. What’s one thing you wish you had more of? 

Retention. Being able to keep what I’ve read and or heard or studied in my memory bank.

3. Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, what are your Halloween traditions? Any special plans for Halloween this year? 

Some of our family in their costumes.

The only Halloween tradition that we have kept in the past was handing out candy to trick or treaters. I say in the past because here in our country setting we do not get any random trick or treaters. We do enjoy our grands being  driven over to show us their costumes and us treating them. That is the only plan this year, to have a treat ready for our Grands when they drop by.

4. Last thing you ate that contained chocolate? Last thing you made that called for chocolate? 

How is this for a complete Chocolate experience. On our Scotland trip we stopped at Highland Chocolatier and enjoyed some amazing world famous chocolate. I wrote about the experience here.

I haven’t made anything lately that has called for chocolate.

5. Do you prefer laid back weekends or do you like to have a lot of plans? Thinking back to this past weekend… which was it? 

I prefer laid back weekends with a touch of accomplishment. I don’t like to get to Monday morning wondering why I didn’t accomplish anything. Rest is important but laziness is not necessarily rest. This last weekend we attended our granddaughter’s basketball game in town on Saturday and then we had lunch out. Sunday, as usual, we attended our services at church and in the afternoon we had our ‘connection group’ and then had a quiet evening. That was the ideal amount of activity for me.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We are enjoying Fall and enjoying getting photos of our Grands enjoying Fall to the fullest!

And this is one of my favorite Fall photos of their Father’s property before he had any inkling he’d have a beautiful wife and two children of his own.

Scotland Travel Journal ~On the Road to Perthshire

On Monday the 16th of September we picked up our rental car and Josh began his excellent driving on the other side of the road. On this day our final destination was Pitlochry for two nights. From Stirling we headed out on the A9 northeast through Perth and onwards to Pitlochry with a side trip along the A827. At the last round about by Perth we pulled in a Service station to fill the gas tank. That Service station was loaded with cars and large semi trucks! Yikes! All along the way we were thanking our LORD again for such fine weather and his great care for us.

Our first planned stop for the day 10 miles from Pitlochry was Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier which was just 5 minutes off the A-9.

Iain created his special Chocolate Kitchen and magical chocolate shop in a small village in Highland Perthshire, an area renowned for its dairies, berries, honey, and natural beauty. It took 3 years and 120 variations of recipe and techniques to create the first Velvet Truffle. His team comes from local families that share the passion for craftsmanship and his apprentice chocolatiers train for over 3 years.

The Chocolate Lounge was fun and unique.

After being seated in the Chocolate Lounge it took some time to decide on what to order. It was not easy to make our choices.

Three of us chose the 4 piece selection of Chocolates.

I decided to go with the All Things Chocolate Experience! Thick dark hot chocolate, a Salted Caramel Dark Heart, Dark Chocolate Cake and a Coffee. I did share my cake.

After we indulged we enjoyed poking around their gift shop and chocolate shop.

We made a few purchases and it was time to head further out on the A827 to Kenmore. More on that journey next.