It's Been Quite A Week or So

Manti Temple

Last Saturday we drove to Manti for our granddaughter and her fiance to receive their endowments.  4 hour roundtrip drive (lots of waiting) as well as a meal made for a long (though nice) day.  Too hot for early June. 

The Husband's CPAP machine is finally here at home.  Last night we discovered that it hadn't been registered properly so he didn't get credit for the first two nights.  (It's a rent-to own if you meet their stringent requirements.  It'll be an interesting year.) Last night he did pretty well, though he doesn't remember when he took it off, it has to be used a minimum of 4 hours per night.  Learning curve for sure.

The granddaughter's wedding was nice.  We were glad to have our daughter and son-in-law with us.  My stress level this week has been off-the-charts, and it has affected The Husband as well.  He's been a bit out of sorts.  Again - we are in steep learning curves for so much of life.  But, the hubbub is over for now, we won't see any of that family again for quite some time;  maybe I'll calm down a bit. The flowers are always lovely at the temples but I particularly loved these dahlias.

So far this morning I've   a) been for a walk - saw the cute deer that was across the street from me    b) done two loads of sheets - washed, dried, folded and closeted    c) put clean sheets on our bed   d)  the second load of towels is in the dryer    e)  cleaned three bathrooms   f) drawn up the weekly schedule for posting on the fridge   g) vacuumed the entire house (except the basement)   h) gone through 72 emails from the last couple days - and the clock is just now striking noon.  I've only practicing the hymns for tomorrow, figuring out food for dinner and some deep breathing left to do.

I should be - and truly am - grateful for food, and plenty of it, to have.  It's just that I've been figuring out what to fix for meals for over half a decade and I'm weary.

I'm so grateful today that we were actually invited to the endowments and the wedding.  I'm so grateful for ibuprofen (still have that wicked headache), grateful for units that cool the air in our house, for appliances to help with the chores and for a couple books to read if/when I get a minute.  Grateful for medication that hopefully will help lessen the issues that accompany the shingles that are currently afflicting our daughter. More than anything though, I'm grateful for repentance - though I wish I didn't need to use it so, so, so often - and the hope for forgiveness for all that I've managed to muck up.  I worry that Heavenly Father will give up and me and find me beyond redemption.

Love the Flowers

So, the iris are in front of our house, a gift from our daughter's co-worker a couple years ago.  They have grown and actually multiplied a bit.  I love them. (As always, it's very tricky for me to add photos.  My tech skills are nearly nonexistent.  So the layout is lacking but at least the "pretty" part is shared.)

The peonies are from one of our morning walks.  Our peonies are lovely - and of course there's a story behind them.  But they are simple single peonies.  I love the double full ones.  

I came across a list the other day of quotes from A.A. Milne - eeyore, Winnie the Poo, etc.

A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.

A. A. Milne

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh 

I loved both of these.  So grateful for words, especially words that uplift and touch your heart.  

Hard Work

Holidays are strange these days.  Basically, they are just another day like all the others.  We try to find fun things to do, but mostly it's just the two of us doing the regular stuff we do every other day.  Yesterday's holiday found The Husband working hard.  The bit of land behind our fence belongs to the city.  We are, however, required to keep it clean, free from weeds (fire hazard) and not do anything permanent back there.  Yeh, it feels complicated.  Anyway, we walked back there the other day and I was sad that I'd not noticed or remembered to notice that it's cheat grass growing season and the weeds were enjoying the spring.  They were mostly less than knee high but still seemed out of control.  The Husband conquered them.  Tough work that will have to be re-done multiple times through the summer, but he did a great job.  The picture shows - off in the distance - how high the neighbor's weeds are.  Ours looks splendidly clean.

Our walk yesterday morning took us along the canal.  It's always filled with ducks and geese and lots of birds flying around.  We counted 21 tiny ducklings watched over by one female duck.  Wasn't sure if those were all hers or some were adopted.  She was keeping a close eye on them, even the stragglers over in the brush along the edge of the water.  Amazing to me that those teensy little birds can swim as fast as they can. Such a good momma.  I'm sure there's an analogy there, or several analogies. I was so entranced by them all that I didn't even think of getting a picture.  

The peonies are blooming so prettily.  The irises are not far behind.  This is a stellar year for the tricolor beech.  I've tried s-o-o many times to take a good picture but the cameras are just not up to the task of capturing the vivid colors of the leaves.  It'll be in the 90's later this week so I know the color will fade soon.  I'm grateful we've had such vibrant color for so long this year.  It is a beautiful tree.

New shoes!!  I finally spent the money I earned playing for the funeral.  I love them.  The color, the fit, the comfort.  Wore them to church on Sunday - even the walk to and from church found my feet quietly singing thank you with every step. 

I've completed a few books, every day I feel gratitude for the gift of good books to read and share with others. Is it wrong to feel sorry for those who don't enjoy reading?  I know they've other things to do that suit them just fine.  For me a life without books would be very lacking. 

We're off in a bit to see the latest Mission Impossible movie - watched the first part yesterday afternoon.  Tonight it's a surprise birthday party (80 years!!) for a dear, dear sweet friend.  She was happy as she showed off the bracelet I gave her at church on Sunday.  The very best part of giving anything is when the recipient welcomes and uses the gift.  I consider it a high compliment to give someone a gift that they actually like.  I'm so-so at gifting - perhaps that's why I love it so much when I manage to at least partially succeed.

Grateful today for a couple things to do this week.  For the units that will cool our house when it gets too hot.  Grateful for remedies to help relieve the symptoms of seasonal allergies that so plague me (and those I love!) Grateful for the chance to try yet again to be a better disciple of our Savior.  I'm counting on Him never giving up on me.

Cuteness

I'm not a fan of dogs.  Though I know how cute they can be.  Was on our walk the other day.  Heading toward us was a woman with 2 dogs.  One smaller one on a leash and the second one bigger, like a golden lab but with long hair (remember, not a dog fan). I mentioned to The Husband that I thought the leash on the bigger dog wasn't really doing any good as it was just dragging on the ground behind the dog.

The woman saw us, stopped and patted her thigh, saying something we couldn't hear to the dog.  He picked up the leash in his mouth and trotted alongside her, carrying his own leash.  I've heard of such a thing but never seen it in action.  He really was a precious sight.  Seemed so happy to be controlling his own leash.  Very cute.