Plans

Maddie's scar is pretty much gone.  She's been faithful to add this scar cream to her forehead each day, and  there have been a few mornings where she has difficulty finding the scar herself anymore.  It's amazing how the body heals itself.  It's only been a few months since she was hit by that sword, and she's looking great now.

The weather is slightly cooler, and it's amazing how such a change can affect the mood:  we're all suddenly feeling hope, no longer tormented by the oppressive heat.  The front porch has been a wonderful destination.  Mom and I sit out there and do devotional time, and get some work done, and of course enjoy some nice coffee together. 

This has been my favorite flavor lately, "Army of Dark Chocolate."  "Frog's Breath" is my ultimate favorite though, so rich in flavor.  We both love the key lime pie flavor with the Loki coffee, and I've been enjoying the Darth Vader themed "Dark Side Chocolate Truffle."  I think we're hooked now!

Mom is putting out some fall decor, ready to push summer out the door.  We've agreed to keep the patriotic tree up in the dining area, at least until Election Day.  Although by then we might as well keep a Christmas tree up, right?  Anyway, she's shifting things out and moving on towards that theme.  Also, there's a good bit of cleaning up down in the basement, a lot of removing things.  We're getting things straightened up downstairs.

So we've made plans for another cruise upcoming, and it's sort of got us all excited, even though is is around nine months from now.  We'll be on a boat that none of us have been on before, which happens to be the first boat they made, the Magic.  We've been on the Wonder, the Dream, and the Wish.  The Magic was the first boat, so it is considerably smaller and older, but they've updated certain parts of it.  Additionally, the Magic is going over to a new destination in the Bahamas on the island of Eleuthera.  This is an island that is easily captured in the game of "Pirates."  There's a small lighthouse point on this island, and some interesting other things to see, from Junkanoo culture to amazingly blue ocean water.  Of course, there's also Castaway Cay and Nassau - we'll be on a boat for five days.  Plenty of time to settle in and relax, and in fact the longest cruise we've been on so far.  It'll be a celebration of Maddie's graduation, and it's something we're all looking forward to.

But we're making other more immediate plans too, including a visit this fall to Chattanooga.  Rock City and even my favorite aquarium are some of the destinations there we'll probably visit.  And of course Maddie will be happy to know we're stopping at Buc-ee's on the way up there.  That's the first one we ever went to, actually, the one along I-75.  

Another upcoming trip we're thinking about is an overnight stay at Stone Mountain.  We did this several years ago, but this time we're wanting to see the Pumpkin Festival down there on a Friday night, and then the next day go over to the Scottish Highland Festival, something we've been wanting to do for years.  We'll finally make it!

So yeah, there's a lot to look forward to.  Maddie's got homecoming on the way, and she's already ordered the dress.  That's a big deal, of course, because it's her Senior Homecoming.  And she's got Camp FCY soon too.  We're even marking down a Saturday in October for a return to our pumpkin carving event.  We've got a few plays upcoming, including "The Music Man" and "Frozen."  The Praise in Motion performance of "The Gift" is on the calendar now, as are plans to visit some classic Christmas themed events, like a return of the Pink Pig and a revisit to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" at the Atlanta Puppetry Center.  There are a few new things in the plans too, but we're keeping busy.  And of course, there is Free Chapel's Christmas productions right there in the midst of December.  Post-Christmas, I'm hoping we can head up to Pigeon Forge for a Pirate Christmas - we'll see if that pans out.

Back to the now, Maddie's day was good today.  She's continuing with her project in photography, and she's enjoying that.  She's got her calculus class and some other more challenging classes, but doesn't talk much about those.  Or really much about school.  But she seems to be doing well this year.  She's not obsessive at all about grades.

Tonight's feature flick was "Joe vs. the Volcano."  I bought this one with credits earned, and I can't believe it's been that long since I've seen this movie.  How long?  It's been 34 years since I've seen this movie.  But I loved it back then, not because it was terribly deep, but just a general vibe of the movie, and of course the theme to it.  It's a digital copy, but I'm glad I got it.  I might not wait 34 years to see it again.

We read tonight, starting a longer short story about a "Chronicler" in the Star Wars galaxy.  This is an individual who has photographic memory, not forgetting anything, and basically interviewing our Star Wars heroes before the last big battle.  It's been a different sort of story.  Anyway, we read that tonight, and then it was time for prayers, and some sleep.