A fresh new week greets me this morning as I step into the sunporch. It is quiet out here this morning and our company has now gone home. We had a great visit , lots of conversation a bottle wine or two and pots and pots of coffee. It was just the way things should be among family members.

The big difference though between having company and sitting here alone is that I'm a morning zombie. I come out in the sunporch and sit in my silence and talk to no one other than a "good morning" to Ms. Kate. She does the same thing only she goes into her office and reads her email and Facebook. So,, we are both morning zombies. However, when you have company, being a morning zombie isn't very polite and you end up talking to people. It should be noted in the rules that waking a morning zombie only tends to dis-orient them further.

Mr. Buzzwing is back this morning. There were two more here late last week. When I was at Wild Birds Unlimited on Saturday, the store owner and a customer were talking about how they each so many Hummingbirds recently.  They indicated that they had heard that to be a sign of a mild winter because they had not migrated yet. Its probably only fiction, but it is a nice thought.

It is a beautiful 63°, sunshiney morning though. I have mostly Finches here this morning. It isn't quite time for the Cardinals and Doves to fly in. I'll need to fill some feeders later today and then again before we head off on our week of vacation. I have a lot of things to get done in the next couple of days before we go including visitation of parishioners and administrative stuff at the churches. I need to drop by and visit with my mother and I reckon, --- I ought to pack a bag. That generally doesn't take me long. My needs are simple and a pair of jeans will carry you a long way when all you are doing is sitting around, driving, and doing tourist stuff.

Attendance at services was slim yesterday. This time of year gives a lot of competition for church attendance. The harvet is in full swing, and yesterday was not only the Komen Walk for A Cure which thankfully brings out thousands of people but that is followed immediately bt the largest Craft Fair in the area and thousands flock to that as the official start to their Christmas Shopping. So, it is what it is. I'm grateful for the steady attendance we generally have. And, after all, I'll be absent next week too.

It is time to get my day started but not without giving God praise for the blessings I receive every day. It was so good to see Byron looking fairly healthy and to be able to have open conversations about what is going on in their lives with his cancer. It just isn't good to skirt around and tip toe away from things like that when reality is reality. If we love and trust one another, we should be able to share all of our lives and feelings not just the smiles and giggles.  So, this morning, I thank God for a great weekend. I pray your coming week will be a great one too.