Fridays at 7H

 

Breakfast this summer Friday morning outside on 7H porch, pint mug of ice coffee and a tin of sardines from Portugal, packed in olive oil with teriyaki sauce, tasty and sweet. The strong temptation, to which I may yet yield, is to sop the sauce up with a morsel of bread. 

Scattered thunderstorms at work over the Gulf to the south and west of 7H, as well as drenching downtown PC and the Cove and coming my way. Often the rain headed this way detours off to the south and over Shell Island and we don't get a drop. 

Rain and the sun shining: when we were small my cousin Ann used to say it meant the devil is beating his wife. Same source that taught Ann and me that if there's enough blue in the sky to make a Dutchman a pair of pants, the weather'll clear up. 

Raining on the porch here now. It'll pass. If it doesn't, we still have a beautiful July day, mild temperature and a light breeze up here. Life Is Good, Better, Best.

Four nice sardines, and now a small slice of whole wheat bread broken and in the sardine tin soaking up the sauce. 1/3 of my mug of ice coffee left to sip with it. These are thick plastic mugs that my mother had in her kitchen for as many years as I recall. Good for walking into your local pub and ordering "pint o' best"

Not sure, but seems to me that we've not been in History Class pub, got to do that one of these days, pint o' best and something to bite into.

Thunder, a loud clap. Still lots of blue up there, though.

Seven or eight little fast runners speeding past 7H, maybe to get out of the thunder and lightning. They stay in a line, in the wake of the leader.

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Phone call about six o'clock last evening, the countertop folks saying they'd like to bring the countertop out and install it this afternoon. Later: they arrived about eleven-thirty and left about one-thirty, a skilled, talented team of three young men. As two were finishing the installation one made the template for the matching backsplash. Maybe it will be as quickly and beautifully delivered and installed as the countertop. We have the plumber scheduled to come Monday, connect the plumbing and install the garbage disposal, then it will seem more back in service.

Linda has worked hard putting kitchen things in their new place. There's even a special cabinet for my coffee, and my coffee pots moved from the dining room to the kitchen countertop. Along with that, opening my new bag of Club Coffee, Evans Brothers organic Big Timber signature blend from Americas, Indonesia, "Named after our favorite Schweitzer Ski Run. Strong coffee to wake your ... up!" it says. A bit bold and sassy for a product label, maybe the coffee will be as well. The first cup is ready to brew early Saturday morning. 

Ray, Britany and Lilly are arriving from Virginia, today I think, and we're to meet them tomorrow morning at Pruitt then go somewhere for lunch as I recall; Linda and Britany are making the plans.

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A friend has warned me that Hershey's Chocolate have announced they're raising their prices. It's okay with me, I have a chocolate stash that Milton Hershey would envy. Speaking of, Hershey, Pennsylvania is the site of the annual Hershey Car Show. Here's how AI describes it: "The annual antique auto show in Hershey, PA, is the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) Eastern Fall Meet, taking place during the first full week of October. In 2025, the event will be held from October 7th to October 10th, with the car show itself happening on the last day. This event is known as one of the largest antique car shows and flea markets in the United States." 

Hershey is just east of Harrisburg, and the eight years we lived there I used to bundle up, drive over, and wander for hours. For me as a car person, it was entering the Pearly Gates. The first October I went, which would have been 1976, I guess, there was a slight drizzle, damp cold. Wandering in the muddy muck, I kept smelling warm hot chocolate and kept looking for a booth selling Hot Cocoa. Turned out it was the standard aroma of the town, wafting from Hershey Chocolate Company's factory there. 

A family of parishioners here go to the Hershey Show regularly and sometimes buy an antique car and have it shipped here. I've admired their car collection and driven several of their antique cars, including a Model T Ford, an early 1930s Ford phaeton, a 1941 Plymouth woody wagon, a Jaguar sedan model that was popular decades ago, maybe as far back as when I was in college, a 1935 Chevrolet Standard sedan, a 1948 Chrysler Town & Country convertible, their Packard as I recall, and maybe a few others. 

There's the standard question: which was my favorite? easy: the 1935 Chevrolet Standard sedan. Here's one:

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and here's our responsive psalm for Sunday, July 27:

Psalm 85

1 You have been gracious to your land, O Lord, * you have restored the good fortune of Jacob.

2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people * and blotted out all their sins.

3 You have withdrawn all your fury * and turned yourself from your wrathful indignation.

4 Restore us then, O God our Savior; * let your anger depart from us.

5 Will you be displeased with us for ever? * will you prolong your anger from age to age?

6 Will you not give us life again, * that your people may rejoice in you?

7 Show us your mercy, O Lord, * and grant us your salvation.

8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, * for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him.

9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, * that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together; * righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, * and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, * and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him, * and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.

The psalm opens with a desolating tone of despair, which pretty much carries throughout, though as it develops there's an attempt to be positive and hopeful. Here's what AI says about it: "The psalm is likely linked to the return of the Israelites from Babylonian exile, a period marked by both hope and disappointment. While they were allowed to return and begin rebuilding, they faced challenges such as ruined surroundings, hostile neighbors, and a lack of resources."