Birthday Weekend

 We spent the weekend celebrating, before the world turned upside down.  It began with a day out, which was SO nice after the months of staying home.  We visited an estate sale, then an antique mall, and ended up near the entrance to Sequoia National Park for lunch.

 We sat riverside and watched the Kaweah flow by.  It is much lower than I've seen before, but it could be time of year.  It was hot - 91 - and a bit muggy, but, still, getting out to eat was a treat.

 They had a unique avian scavenger, in addition to the usual sparrows.  This one waddled onto the deck, just as we were getting ready to leave.

On Saturday morning, I went to the Farmers Market.  It was a shadow of its former self, but I came away with fresh flowers, eggs, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, apricots and fresh tomatoes.  I hope that they are there again on Saturday, because I want to make it a habit to shop there.

My sister came to visit for the weekend, bringing a cake made from scratch.  She'd asked what my favorite cake was, then found that none of her bakeries were offering lemon cakes in their limited inventories.  She baked the cake layers, made lemon cream cheese frosting, and homemade lemon curd.  Oh, yum!!

Our sons and their families came for dinner on Saturday.  Two of them came back for breakfast on Sunday.  They gifted me with these beautiful flowers.

 My sister thought I needed some succulents in my house.

 Can one have too many plants?  I don't think so.

 Yesterday was my actual birthday.  The day was quiet, spent at home, listening with horror to the reports coming in from around the country.  So much can change, literally overnight.  I remain hopeful that good will triumph over evil.  God is in control of all things.  Perhaps we should look to Habbakuk:

Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe if you were told.

He always has a plan, whether we can see it or not.

And with that, I will leave you with my birthday picture, taken before the world turned upside down.

May God have mercy on us all.