After The Weekend

This morning's pretty moon.

I often like to get back to the routine when Monday rolls around.  This morning found me back on the trail, returning some things to the library (I also like to have a goal - returning library books is a decent one for me).  Had to take a picture of the moon - it was so pretty hanging above the trees.  Though I dislike how Daylight Saving Time puts me back in the dark when I leave the house.  I know it won't be for long.  But I'd just as soon keep the clocks set where they belong instead of all this back and forth.  (Only took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to set the clock in the new car. I'm doing ok.)

Mint chocolate chip

Whenever we take Trax, The Husband always says that one of these days we're going to go to that one stop by the Arctic Circle and have a milkshake. Don't know why he wanted to do that, but he's been saying it every time we ride Trax.  So Saturday (kind of a quieter day for us - no movies to see) was the day.  We rode Trax to that stop, shared a (not really mixed so sort of sub-par though still tasty) mint chocolate chip shake.  I was nervous.  That particular Arctic Circle is a bit "iffy".  But we're still alive and not sick so it was just fine.

That evening we went to dinner with friends.  Started out at Cheesecake Factory but the wait was at least 90 minutes (they wouldn't even give us pager for an hour) so we walked around the corner to Brio Tuscan Grille.  We had a wonderful meal and only had to wait about 7 or 8 minutes for a table.  But the impressive thing to me was the host.  Instead of standing at the desk and shouting out the name, he walked over and in a normal volume mentioned our name and said our table was ready.  I even remarked out loud how much more pleasant that was.  Manners. Seemingly disappearing.  I was grateful for his approach.

Sat. afternoon looking west, it was stunningly beautiful.

I burned my thumb on the curling iron.  I'm such a clumsy some times.  Immediately I snipped a leaf off the aloe plant and applied it to the burn.  The pain was gone. When it dried and started to ache again, I lathered the pad on a bandage with more fresh aloe juice (as well as directly to my thumb) and went about life.  I never even got a blister!  Though the skin at the burn site is slick and strange looking, no blister is huge because it really was a bad burn.  Interestingly, the frustration has been that I can no longer use that thumb to unlock my phone.  Makes me chuckle even to think about it.  I didn't think I was taking that "fingerprint unlock" feature for granted, but I surely am aware of it when I can't use it.

And in class discussion at church yesterday the word "meek" was brought up.  And of course they always have to (unnecessarily) define it as humility so everyone knows what it means.  I think people often think of someone that's meek as someone that's weak.  I looked up meek in the dictionary and was surprised to find this definition pop up:  "enduring injury with patience and without resentment".  I'm not sure I've ever heard that before.  And I love it.  Enduring something (no matter what it is) without resentment relieves one of the need to judge.  Frees us from having to think about the injury and it's consequences.  Places that burden squarely when it belongs, with Heavenly Father and the Savior of this world.  It was definitely a small lesson I needed (and apparently no one else even heard).

Blooming now.  Quite pretty.

I'm so grateful that I can still learn a few things at my "advanced" age.  I'm grateful that I was able to talk myself around some of the nervousness of accompanying the vocal soloist at church yesterday.  I did feel a bit calmer and my hands didn't shake quite as bad (at least until we were done). I'm grateful that I've children who are so good at sending me pictures of the grandchilluns.  I love to be in touch that way.  And, oh, I'm grateful that apparently our package is finally finding its way back to Utah.  It'll be either delivered to the intended recipient today or back to the sender (us) in the next day or two.  At least that's the plan.  So progress there.  Apparently.  I'm grateful to have gone to a luncheon for a ward sister and didn't feel totally uncomfortable, the hostess made sure I felt welcome.  And I'm grateful for the sunshine that gives us hope, that makes the crocus bloom.