Friend of God

"... Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God." James 2: 23 

A friend of God - what a wonderful way to be and great legacy to leave behind.

 

Happy Valentine's Day

Kirkland's Cow and Coyote

A Fun Rabbit Hole

 Recently I found the death record for Gabriel Cathcart. I decided to find his death place on Google Maps.

William Cathcart Holton/ Celia Cathcart & Caryl Ames Holton/ William Gabriel Cathcart & Anna Sconce/ John Marshall Cathcart & Sarah Alexander/ Gabriel Cathcart (1817-1902) & Hester Marshall 

This record* states that Gabriel Cathcart died April 18, 1902 at 19 Pakenham Street, Belfast, Ireland. He was a widower, 84 years old and a retired farmer. Cause "senile decay." His granddaughter Hessie Walker was present when he died. Gabriel was living with his daughter Charlotte Cathcart Walker and her husband Samuel Walker. 

Pakingham Street

In 1981 the row houses were not in good shape. 

Windows and doors were bricked up to keep out vandals. 

November 2020 Google Maps made these images. 

#19 Pakenham is the brown door to the right of the yellow door. 

#19 is the last "house" on the left before the building slants to the right

I can't find a construction date for the building. It looks like it might have been existing in 1902. What do you think?

*irish genealogy.ie/churchrecords

Swing Set

 

Sometimes when we’re bad, my mother goes downstairs and silently exits through the back door. We press our noses against the bathroom window upstairs, the one that looks out on the backyard, watching her. We turn to each other and say, “She must be so mad!” Then we watch, cannot help but watch, as she goes over to the swing set and sits on the black rubber seat. 

Her legs never leave the ground, she just pushes herself back and forth, straightening and bending those hourglass legs. And then, maybe it is condensation on the window or maybe something else, but we think we can see tears rolling down her cheeks. When she buries her head in the crook of her arm, it is over. Lisa Van Orman Hadley 

The author went on to say her mother was punishing herself after she'd punished her children. To me, it feels like this mother of six children was seeking solace and pulling herself together so she could go back and mother her children.