All Over The Place

My mind seems to be going a million directions at once.  I'll try to make sense, though that's doubtful.

The Husband arrived home safely Friday evening, and that was the best sleep I had all week long.  I missed him.

I've been thinking about a couple oddities that occurred over the last few days.

Yesterday at church I was washing my hands before exiting the restroom, congratulating myself on my good fortune to have beat the rush, when I focused in on the conversation around me.  Apparently 2 of the 5 lavatories were unusable.  (I must have luckily chosen one of the working ones.)  The one was maybe an inch below over-flowing.  (This particular toilet has been problematic since the building was finished in 2001.)  The other just needed a flush and a watch to make sure the flush was successful.

This one works.

A sister (mother of four including a couple teenagers)  in our ward had peeked into both of those (only ones "available") un-usable stalls and was complaining.  She emphatically wished someone would come flush that one because she "just can't.  I need to use it but I can't flush it, I just can't!! I can't!"

By the time I'd finished flushing it for her, another stall was available and she no longer needed it.

I was privately grumpy (yes, I admit it, I was annoyed and judgmental when I shouldn't have been) and mulled over her attitude all day long.  Until...I gave myself a stern talking-to.

Service can encompass all kinds of things.  I should have considered that it didn't matter her attitude, when I watch out for someone else (sometimes even just being considerate), I'm serving Heavenly Father, maybe indirectly, but still I am serving Him.  Which is what I believe He likes us to do.

I was ashamed of my unspoken thoughts.  Yes, I realize it isn't a big deal.  Still, I was wrong.  I've got to do better. Standing up for what's right, choosing the correct path doesn't have to include condemnation of others, unspoken or verbalized.

And today I'm so grateful that I attended Relief Society yesterday.  It is often a difficult place where I rarely (all right, pretty much never) fit in.  My sweet (newly sustained teacher) friend is on her 4th go-round as a teacher.  With good reason.  One of her many gifts is that of teacher.  She has a wonderful manner that reaches each and every single person in the room and touches their hearts. Yesterday was no exception.  I hope to remember the wise words she spoke.

I love these words from Willa Cather (Death Comes For The Archbishop):  "Where there is great love there are always miracles."  I hope to recognize always the great love our Father in Heaven has for us through the miracles he showers down on each of His children.  And be found knowing great love for Him.

Forgiveness

I think about this often.  It can be difficult - both for the one forgiving and the one being forgiven.

Was reading Michael Gerson's editorial in the paper the other day.  He said:

"Forgiveness is not something soft or passive.  It demonstrates spiritual maturity, strength of character, depth, discipline and steadiness. It is the sign of a determined faith, fighting against every natural human inclination."

"Forgiveness is also a form of freedom -- a refusal to be ruled by anger. It is like laying down a burden."

I love his wording, his explanation.  I admire those who can forgive freely and let the Savior's atonement cover all their pain.  Small or large sins against us deserve equal attention in the forgiveness department.

Mmmm!! Yummy!

This mornings purchase:  the fruit.

This afternoon's gift:  the cruller.

The one that made my tastebuds the happiest:

Hands down, the cruller.

                                 

Out-Of-The-Ordinary Tuesday

I was up early to see The Husband off to the office in CA for the week.  I was lonesome for him before he even turned the corner as he drove off.

My new carrot friends.

My walk this morning included feeding the horses some carrots.  My carrot offering made friends of some other horses down a different street.  Wonder how long it'll be before they, too come running for their treat when they hear my voice?  This guy was practically pushing the fence over for more carrots - he was so sure I had more to give.

I spent the afternoon at Welfare Square for our ward's dairy assignment.  Since I never know how long it'll take to get downtown from here (traffic, construction, accidents) I picked up the other two sisters and left plenty early. Arrived half an hour ahead of schedule.  Then the dairy people were running on Mormon Standard Time (minimum of 10 minutes late for everything) so I felt like I'd wasted some valuable time.  My job today was checking the seal on the bags of nonfat dry milk:  they had us slap the bags really hard several times to see if any milk leaked out.  The result was that I was enveloped in a big puffy cloud of milk on more than one occasion, coming home covered in a film of white.

At the end of our shift we left the area just in time to be stopped by a train that had to have been several miles long.  After nearly 15 minutes, we turned around and headed down another street, arriving at that intersection just in time for the RR X'ing arms to come down, blocking our path yet again.  Patience completely depleted, I gave in and headed home on a major surface street.  My suggestion:  they need to end the shifts at Welfare Square earlier than 5 p.m. so we don't hit rush hour traffic.

Growing baby robins

By 6:45 I was in my jammies (I know it isn't yet dark, but I was done with my clothes), my exposed skin thoroughly de-milked, slurping my smoothie in the recliner. Hauling my step-stool outside to the maple I climbed up to see how the baby robins are doing.  They are almost too big for the nest!  I'm so glad we didn't miss them this year.

I succumbed. 

I've been thinking all day of gentleness.  (Must have been all that pounding on the bags of milk.) We have several new R. S. teachers.  Recently attended a lesson taught by one of them, which I approached with some trepidation.  This sister has taught R. S. before and I'm always a bit uncomfortable in her lessons.  She's a lovely woman, and prepares with thorough diligence.  But she comes across as quite blustering.  She's loud and emphatic and nearly overly self-confident.  (Gentility isn't her nature and that's just fine, that's just the way she is.)  And I notice that.  It's difficult for me (must have been all that yelling through my childhood).  Now, I know I'm in the minority and this is my - and only my - opinion:  but I prefer lessons that are delivered in a softer manner.  With less thunder and lightning and more soft sunshine and light breezes.  Perhaps I'll get used to it.  But I think I'll likely always prefer a softer approach.

I'm grateful for The Husband's willingness to work so hard to provide for us.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve in small ways - even the small tasks at Welfare Square.  I'm grateful for reliable transportation to get me where I need to go.  For a comfortable home to return to.  For fresh apples. And texts from those I love.  And for welcome smiles.

Monday Again Already?

Such fun to do!

The weekend went way too fast and we didn't have near enough fun, although there was fun to be had.

Almost-spur-of-the-moment dinner with some friends at Cheesecake Factory was delightful! Nearly made up for the hours The Husband had to spend working on Saturday.  I'm definitely not complaining, just am grateful that he's willing to spend so much effort maintaining his "employed" status to provide for us, when I'm thinking he'd be just as happy to be retired.  Someday, maybe.

He'll be leaving for the office in the early morning - it'll be a long week without him. I'm already looking forward to Friday.

Father's Day found me once again befuddled for gift ideas.  I often spout my philosophy about how I think it's great to be content.  (And I really do believe that.)  But it does make gifting more difficult.  I ended up getting him some toiletry items he normally considers too expensive. Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy.  He did hear from all the sons and daughters which was nice.  He gets w-a-y too little recognition for all he does.

Was lucky enough today to spend some time stitching.  I received this particular design (complete with hand-dyed linen and floss) for Christmas.  It's slow going but I am so loving working on it.  Not to mention that the picture and words just "speak" to me.  It'll cost a small fortune to frame, but will look great on one of our walls.

I'm so grateful for some peace in our area.  My heart aches when I think of the strife and wars (and their consequences) that are fought across the world.  I'm grateful for people at church who are kind, recognizing that it's a place for all of us, kind or not (and sometimes we're not kind). I'm grateful that I can walk to the sunrise every morning, following my own schedule / whim / route.  I thrive on that. And I'm grateful for ready hugs that make me feel safe and cherished.  I like feeling that way.

I Still Like Thursdays

The Husband is back to work after his birthday / vacation days.  As enjoyable as the time off was, I think he actually is happy to be back to a routine; working at the work that he's been trained to do. Five straight days of our being together was sublime.

Had occasion today to drive past our previous house.  Was compelled to take this picture.  That blue spruce is one of two (the other one didn't survive) we planted back when both trees were about 6 foot tall.  Looking at it now, I doubt there'd be room in that yard for two trees that size.

I love that those trees we planted are doing well.

Those honey locust trees in the back yard were maybe 8 - 10 foot tall when we planted them.  See how they surpass the house in height?  I think they're pretty happy.  We have planted multiples of trees at all our homes - I'm quite pleased with that legacy; we've tried hard to beautify at least our teensy part of the world wherever we've lived.

Went to lunch with a couple friends.  We've been lunching for pretty near 22 years, since we served as a R. S. presidency.  What a delight it has been to continue our friendship all these years.  I'm grateful.

I received a three sentence email from a friend today, thanking me for helping her out with something, oh, roughly 10 years ago.  What a sweet unexpected thing to have happen.  You just never know if/when/how your own actions can affect someone else.  What I did wasn't hard or huge, I just lent a helping hand.

I'm hoping today to notice opportunities to be of help, to get outside myself, think of others and be kind.  I'll be grateful if I can manage to accomplish that.

They're Not Eggs, They're Robin-etts!

Kind of ugly cuteness.

A Couple Of Vacation Days From Work

There are eggs under her!

The Husband decided to take some time off.  A rarity for him.  I think he just wanted to give himself a birthday present.  He wanted no: commitments, schedules, demands or deadlines.  Just wanted to take things as they occurred to him.  I think he's been successful so far.  1 1/2 days down 1 1/2 days to go.

Earlier this spring I kept asking him to check the maple trees in the back for robin nests.  None was always the answer.  Until Sunday evening.  Our grandson spotted this robin mama sitting on her eggs.  I keep trying to catch a glimpse of the nest without her, no luck so far.

Growbox #1 

Yesterday morning we managed to get one of the growboxes glued together.  This has been a multi-year project, being fit in when we can.  The vinyl fencing for the boxes was one of those tender mercies meant just for us when we really needed one.  (Each time we work with the vinyl I remember that Saturday evening and how my heart was warmed.)  There will be three of these boxes The Husband will fill with a sand / sawdust mixture for planting.  I'm hoping next summer will find us harvesting some vegetables!

Volunteer Maple.

This little area adjoining the soon-to-be-hauled-off-for-powder-coating-railing was filled a couple feet high with vegetation just 3 days ago.  This morning the roots of all the rosebushes were dug out and everything cut down to the dirt.  What seemed like an overwhelming amount of work (to me) The Husband accomplished in just a few hours.  And see there - that 3 foot maple?  That's a volunteer The Husband discovered a couple years ago.  He is quite protective of it.  I hope we're here long enough to see it give us lovely shade. We've loved those crimson king maples!

I'm grateful today for paid vacation days for The Husband.  (I think it does those brain cells good to have a change of scenery once in a while, to use them in a different way.) I'm grateful for yummy pizza (The Pie is a favorite of ours) for lunch, and enough to spare for a late dinner as well.  I'm grateful for plenty of good books to read and for reasons to celebrate.  I'm grateful for beautiful things that grow around us (sometimes in spite of my lack of gardening skill) and for late night thunderstorms.

Ending Saturday With a Feeling of Accomplishment

Before

After

So, after starting early, finishing late and only requiring 2 trips to Home Depot, we finally managed to get the wood frame around our front door painted.  This postponed-from-last-fall project feels good to check off the list.  I hadn't necessarily planned to do it today, but am glad The Husband was in the mood.

He also hung a couple ceiling fans for our neighbor.  It's a complicated situation; let's just say instead of phoning her electricians to come back, she chose to combine her efforts with The Husband to fix what they broke. One of the fans works great.  The other...not so much.  We had to get back to our paint before it was too-too hot outside so aren't sure what her next approach will be.  But he did his best for her.

This made me laugh - that's how I was yesterday!

He also cleaned up a bunch of roses and quince bushes so the railing is accessible for removal / re-powder-coating.  Hard work, that.  (The area is still overrun with the labrador viola, volunteer strawberries and the loathed morning glory. They'll likely be sprayed into the afterlife next week.)

The bed has clean sheets, the dishwasher is run, the entire floor vacuumed.  And I even managed to unintentionally swab the floor of the shower with the entire side / back of my body (falling in the shower not recommended, I'll have some fresh bruises for sure!).

Gift card to Corner Bakery with a coupon for a free treat finished off the day nicely.  Free treats from Corner Bakery are always nice.  (And I still have $9 left on my gift card for another day.)

Hoya flowers

Last night, walking past the hoya plant I caught a whiff of the flowers.  Had to dig through the leaves to find the blossoms, but yes, the blooms are there.  This plant was a gift from a friend who had rooted it from one of her plants.  I keep wielding the clippers on it, trimming it ruthlessly into a semblance of control.  But it seems to be happy and just keeps growing.  The blooms are really fun, but smell awful.  I will, though, gladly welcome their pretty flowers any time.  The blossom is just barely visible toward the bottom of the cascading limbs.

I'm grateful tonight that my arm seems to work fine (isn't broken) after my plunge to the shower floor.  I'm grateful for a day without schedules that enabled us to accomplish some much needed tasks.  I'm grateful for ibuprofen. And for the expectation of a really good night's rest.

Moody

I thought being moody was for teens.  Not ancients (like me).  Been moody today.  The Husband has patiently tried to outwait the mood.  I had to get a shot of this particular stance of his.  Thumbs hooked in back pockets with the fore-fingers resting on his hips, toe tapping, concentrated focus on the task at hand:  absolutely quintessentially Him.  I'd recognize it anywhere!

Steve finished up the repair yesterday on the garage wall.  With fresh bundles of insulation over-stuffed into the cavity we're hoping the freezing pipes in the powder room are a thing of the past.  We are grateful for his help.  I am, however, glad it is finished.  It's weird to have someone unrelated in your house all the time, I think it put me on edge.

My moodiness stems from an upcoming thing.  Am unsettled by even the thought of it.  And praying it will go well.

I didn't intend to take a picture of a couple ginormous weeds.  Just wanted to capture the pretty different shades of green on this tree.  I love how the new growth announces itself with a lighter shade.  This tree was large and beautiful, hard to get a picture of something so large with my phone.

Went visiting teaching today.  Twice.  (Our three sisters require three separate trips each month; sometimes it gets complicated.) I love this month's message:  the divine attributes of Jesus Christ focusing on virtue.  The whole message had individual concepts that reached out to my heart.  (Which makes my mood all the more puzzling.) I particularly loved these words by D. Todd Christofferson:

“Sisters, of all your associations, it is your relationship with God, your Heavenly Father, who is the source of your moral power, that you must always put first in your life. Remember that Jesus’s power came through His single-minded devotion to the will of the Father. … Strive to be that kind of disciple of the Father and the Son, and your influence will never fade.”

And because of my emotions today, I'm extra grateful for not only repentance but also forgiveness. Which I hope will be extended to me.

I Think We've Got It! (And I'm using way too many of these: !!!!)

Almost all fixed!

We pretty confident our friend/handyman Steve has finally figured it out.  Our powder room pipes will (hopefully) likely not be freezing this winter.  Rather than pulling up the floor tile, and after a bunch of discussion, he went through the wall in the garage.  And yep, there's a several inch wide gap through to the stucco covered outside wall that had no insulation.  And also, yep, there was insulation between the pipes and the inside wall (which is puzzling -why-ever would we want to keep the warmth of the inside of the house from those pipes?).

So, insulation between the pipes and the inside wall:  removed.  And lots of insulation has been stuffed in the open cavity.  What a huge relief this is to not only have the cause figured out, but also to have remedied it with as little cost as possible.  Yay! Another sanding and some paint and it'll be better than new!

It was so lovely to be out on the trail again this morning.  Some of the things I saw:  a lone shoe.  And a lone sock. A mama and her three ducklets. This row of trees - first was the peach tree, next to a pear tree, next to an apple tree.  How fun to see the fruits in their just-recognizable-beginning-to-grow state, I'm more familiar with the finished product.

I have so enjoyed being able to accomplish a few things around here, i.e. re-grouting the shower, fixing the frozen pipe issue.  Next up - we're sending our metal railings off to give them a fresh powder-coat, ridding them of the rust that has occurred.  In order to do that (isn't that the way of projects:  one thing leads to another, or requires something else and it just balloons out of control?) we've got to remove the plants around the rail.  Lots of groundcover roses, a couple quince bushes (really menacing thorns on those!), some random volunteer strawberries (the robins love them!) and the ever-present-ineradicable morning glory. We've got our work cut out for us - it's gonna look just fabulous!

I'm so grateful for the ability to hire someone to do things we can't do ourselves around here.  And that we've found a conscientious, reliable guy who seems really decent.  I'm grateful for my glasses that let me see clearly.  And for the songs of the birds.

On Borrowed Time

My washing machine is making strange noises.  Has been for several years.  It's getting progressively worse.  I don't think my machine is going to last much longer.  I'm already nearly 5 years past the projected life of the machine.

So, I've been casually looking around at new ones.  Wow,  have things changed since our last washing machine purchase!  The options seem endless and a bit overwhelming.  I don't want lots and lots of fancy stuff.  And I'm not convinced that steam cleaning clothes is necessarily a good thing:  at my age shrinkage of clothes occurs even when they're just hanging in the closet.

Dying a slow death.

I just would like a sturdy machine that excels at what it is meant to do.  Clean our clothes.  The myriads of permutations of cycles and "extras" doesn't guarantee that. It just feels like that's more (expensive) stuff to go wrong.

Just because computers can do so much doesn't mean that they necessarily should.

I'm known to say something along those lines often:  "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."  I'm applying it here to washing machines.  But I often apply it to lots of areas in life.

Just because I can - make a wrong choice, ignoring the best one - doesn't mean I should.  Whether it's my language, my attitude, my obedience, my treatment of others...the "shoulds" should always take priority.  I need to remember the "shoulds", the better choices and make them.  Even when my emotions are screaming out for my own idea of justice.

I'm grateful for washing machines that so lighten my load (pun not really intended) even when they make lots of strange and alarming noises.  I'm grateful for cars that pass inspection.  I'm grateful for men who choose to not spit all over the place (IMO,  (and that's what this particular form is about: my own personal opinion)a truly disgusting habit.)

I'm also grateful that there's someone in this world who cares what happens to me.  I'm blessed enough to have one or two such people.  I love them all.

National Doughnut Day

We Succumbed / Indulged!  YUM!

Friday & Flowers

It's been a couple normal days - except that I really don't know what is normal.

Probably a weed, still pretty.

I've been for my walks at my favorite-est time of the day.  We've had sunshine and warmth and now rain and cool.  We've gotten the tire put back on the Charger and had the inspections partially completed on the Kia.  (It needed a bit of work and a new MAF (mass air filter - a sensor that signals the car's computer to help calculate fuel delivery and spark timing) sensor, and then a complete emissions inspection in order to renew the license.)

It somehow seems like the week has flown by.  Since I can't even remember Wednesday at all, that must mean that things were just fine.

Columbine & Foxglove

Heavenly Scented Honeysuckle

I love the flowers that are popping out all over.  Their bright happy blooms make me smile.  The Husband loves going outside by our honeysuckle bush - it's one of his favorite scents and seems happy enough in its spot to bloom most of the summer. We can even smell it in the house when the breeze is just right.  (And notice all the cotton from the cottonwood trees in the top picture - it's still coming down.)

I've been invited to play for a baptism tomorrow morning.  I'll enjoy it. I'll always remember how the piano has been my steadfast life-long friend.

I'm grateful for noticing the small blessings that come our way.  For senior discount at the movies (it's a rare movie worth full price).  For new recipes to try. For being able to laugh at the eggs that ended up broken all over the floor (it's nice to know I'm not the only klutz!).  For gelato.  For loved one's birthdays to celebrate.  For a knowledge of our true purpose.  For contentment.

Working Out

I know that things often, if not usually, work out.  Often, if not usually, while things are working out, I'm a bit anxious.

Was anxious this morning about heading to the dentist.  My teeth are a big issue with me.  But, yay! no cavities!  At some point, I'll likely have to address the issue of that molar (and it will be pretty much my choice what to do) but not today.  My teeth feel happier knowing that at this moment they're just fine.

They said it's all fixed and ready to go!

The phone call came that the wheel/tire is ready.  Already?  Off we went at noon to retrieve it (with a quick stop on the way back at All Truck & Car for an additional thanks for the amazing treatment we received yesterday).  The wheel looks great.  As soon as The Husband gets a minute or two it'll go back on the car.

Was driving over to the grocery and did a double take:  three smallish moving vans were barely rolling down the street looking for an address.  The last one had something hanging from the panel just behind the cab door.  The second look confirmed my suspicion:  it was a brassiere. Pink. Large. Flapping like a flag.  I surely would like to know the rest of that story.

Ran into a friend at the grocery.  I always feel so inadequate around her.  There I was in a nice blouse, grey pants, comfy shoes and crossbody bag for hands-free shopping.  These days I'm more about comfort than fashion (I haven't had the funds (nor the desire to spend any money) for the trendy fashions others wear).  And there she was:  totally put together in "an outfit". Coordinating blouse, capris, sandals and jewelry, expensive purse.  She was kind enough to stop and say hi, even though it would have been easy for her to just walk past, I hadn't seen her.

(Reminds me of the gal the other day who said I looked stylish.  Makes me laugh - she's close to my age but dresses completely different.  Her idea of style is nowhere near mine.  Can't decide if I like it or not when she says I look stylish - which has happened exactly twice in 14 years.)

I need to work on that sense I've had since I was a child that somehow I'm "less" than others.  It causes mental discouragement to think that I'm not as good because of .....there are any number of reasons that could be listed.  I dislike feeling that way.  That stuff doesn't matter.  My head knows that.  My heart-the-seat-of-my-emotions struggles with that concept.

I'm grateful today for the way things have worked out so far this week.  For the apparent fix of the wheel/tire at a small fraction of the $545 quoted by the dealer.  For a quick lunch out with my bestest friend.  For cavity free teeth and a dentist who treats me with great kindness (knowing as he does my dentophobia).  For a free M&M filled cookie to munch on while I grocery shopped.  And for hope that we'll be ok no matter what life/the world throws at us.  Things work out.

Mondays Are Rarely Boring

The Husband got right on that bent rim first thing this morning.   Dealer cost to replace $545.  Finally found a matching wheel out at a car recycling place. Rough cost $250.  We were ready to pay and load it up for mounting the tire when the employee says, you know you can fix that instead of replacing it.  Really?  Fix it?

We follow the kind young man into the store while he calls a neighboring business for a fix estimate. Gives us the address and we're on our way.  Yes, they say, we think we can.  We won't know for sure till we get into it, it'll take about 2 days.  If fixable $75.  If not, no charge.  Really?

We are pretty much speechless.  That guy had a sale in hand.  $250 for his company.  And he did something pretty much unheard of - at least to us. He offers to save us some money.  A kind-hearted soul with enough integrity to do the really right thing.  We will for sure recommend this company to whoever will listen.  A sweet unexpected blessing.

The lawn is again mowed.  Our mailbox is intact.  Y-e-s!

I've seen lots of strange left-behind things on the trail.  This morning's walk yielded this pair of boots. I didn't touch them, this is just the way they looked, as though someone simply took them off and set them aside for later.

I'm grateful today for blessings that come our way.  We always hope for them, but never take them for granted.  Each blessing warms our heart.  We are truly grateful.