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“For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." – Romans 14: 9, 10, 11, 12

The first day of summer, a perfectly beautifully cloudless sky. What is so rare as a day in June.

This morning was so very nice. Ahh, Yes. One (or maybe the only one) of the perks of being an early riser. Going outside in the early morning, it is so nice, quiet, the heat of the day is not yet. The stars are out, the moon still shining, yes, it is worth it. It is nice, but it is getting dry.

Yes, to our way of thinking, we need rain. The grass is dry and brittle. The white clover seems to be thriving, though. I’m debating, do I want to mow and have a really dead-looking yard sans clover? Or do I want to look at clover?

I guess right now it’s plenty warm to mow anyway.

I’ve been watering the garden regularly. Sometimes I use the hose and soak everything, including myself. The nozzle seriously leaks and doesn’t shut off half the time.

Sometimes I just use buckets and pull them around with my mom’s little red wagon. That’s how I water my flowers. I don’t like to pull the hose all over the place. Last night I only watered the flowers. I wanted to trim back some roses. They looked awful, hardly had any leaves. I don’t know, was it a disease or insects? I sprayed them last week and some actually had new growth.

Anyway, I needed the wheelbarrow to put my trash in.

I was kind of naughty. We have pigeons that roost in the barn and really make a mess. Two pairs were sitting outside the barn, just waiting until I opened the door. I decided they can roost in the shed behind the barn. But how will I get the wheelbarrow out without them flying in when I open the door?

I slipped in the walk-in door. They almost crashed into the door, trying to get in.

I snuck out the back door into the lot. Then I had to go through a gate to get out.

Diamond thought he wanted to get out to forage on grass. I told him it’s probably not good anyway, it’s too dry and brittle. He wanted to be the judge of that.

Anyway, he didn’t get out. The pigeons were sitting in front of the barn, wondering when the door will open.

When I was done, I decided the wheelbarrow doesn’t have to be in the barn for the night. I left it on the outside.

And yes, this morning when I went out to roll the buggy out to go to work, there were the pigeons, ready to fly in. They almost took my head off going in.

Since the garden doesn’t need much attention right now and mowing is kind of at a standstill, I figured I could get some inside work done.

The sewing room is desperately needing attention. Too often, I just look in there, then cower in a corner and whimper. It is so cluttered, I have so much stuff. Am I a packrat, a hoarder, unorganized? Yeah, all of the above.

I did clean out, sort of, two drawers of the file cabinet yesterday, packed the stuff in boxes and put it out in the storage shed.

So now, maybe when I get this chore out of the way, I can have more mood to see if I can do something about the clutter.

In closing: Greet each day with a smile. It costs nothing to give, but, like the morning light, it scatters the darkness and makes the day worth living.

With this heat, I thought you might want to try these refreshing drinks.

1/4 cup DaVinci caramel syrup, if you prefer you can use sugar free

Cool Whip, for garnish, optional

Caramel syrup, for garnish, optional

Dissolve sugar and coffee in boiling water. Add caramel syrup and vanilla. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. This will be your iced coffee base.

To make one cup iced coffee add:

• If you use regular sugar, you may want to add more sugar.

Optional: Cool Whip and caramel syrup for garnish

Blend together milk cubes along with desired amount of iced coffee base.

Pour into glasses and garnish with Cool Whip and syrup, if desired.

• Best if you drink immediately

1965: The school is housed in the former Humble Oil Co. building on Route 45 on the south side of Mattoon. 

1950: Proof that flash photography has become a national hobby is the Mattoon plant of the General Electric Co. which manufactures flash bulbs almost exclusively. A few incandescent or regular light bulbs in larger wattages are made here also. 

1989: Pat and Rodney Williamson are ready to dine. Owner Leonard Losch looks on at Ellen Kay's. 

1992: A bicyclist pedals along East Rudy Street where a row of new duplexes were built, next to a subsidized housing project. 

1992: A group of children wait in line to challenge the winner to a game of tether ball at the E. Rudy Street housing project. 

1985: aerial view of downtown Mattoon. 

1977: Acquisition of the Douglas Nursing Center will complete another phase in Wesley Tower's total care package. 

1991: The CTA office is carpeted, air conditioned, well-lit and features work stations designed around employee needs. Telemarketers generated $435 billion in sales last year. For each customer who says yes, 99 say no. 

1959: The Eastern Division of the CIPS is completing a move into the new building in Mattoon. The structure has 36 offices and 23,000 square feet of office space. 

1988: Burtschi is the first store in Illinois south of Springfield to offer Hummel figurines. 

1963: A new line of paving equipment is exhibited by the Mattoon Blaw Knox plant at the Construction Equipment Exposition and Road Show, Chicago.

1959: In an effort to better serve the growing needs of the Midwest, Southwest and Far West market for flexible metal hose and tubing the American Brass Co. built its American Metal Hose Division plant in Mattoon.

Millie Otto of Arthur is a member of the Old Order Amish. Contact her by writing to 1584 CR 2000N, Arthur, IL 61911.

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See what's going on in Millie Otto's world in this week's My Amish Home column.

See what's going on in Millie Otto's world in this week's My Amish Home column.

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