Thursday

 And everyone's going off to have fun.  I get to stay home, maybe I'll do a bit of "purging" of belongings.  It seems so wasteful to get rid of stuff.  But what's the point of having something if it just gets stored away, never used.  It's hard to let go of some things emotionally.  I always feel guilt when I discard something I received as a gift.  I've got a few loved ones who put a great deal of time, thought and expense into giving just the right thing.  And they're great at it.  So I feel somehow disloyal, ungrateful or even unkind when that gift is no longer beneficial to me.  And I am so concerned about having too much "stuff" around causing work and trouble for someone to sort through after I'm no longer on this earth.  

And wow, that was a quick turn of thought, from others having fun to cleaning out belongings.  Obviously it's on my mind a lot.  A friend at the Bishop's storehouse is having similar thoughts and while she's making more progress on her "getting rid of things" list than I am, I'm still attempting (again) to pare down.  All the while I'm looking for a couple new things to wear.  😬

Anyway, it rained most of the night, stopped just long enough for us to get in one of our shorter walks and now is coming down good again.  I love the rain, as long as it doesn't last for too, too long. Everything looks and smells so much better after the rain.  So, it's probably a good thing I'm in for the day. I did snap this picture of the iris.  So very pretty.  We've never grown them before.  But I love how pretty they are, even if they only last a few days.  So many of the spring flowers are that way:  we wait and wait and wait, they bloom for a day or two and then they're done for the season.   

I repotted my remaining orchid.  It, too, was a gift.  It bloomed for an entire year.  And it's been almost another year with no sign of blossoms.  So, I replaced the growing medium and am hoping for success.  On the rare occasions that the person who gifted it to me visits, he always checks it out to see how it's doing.  I killed another plant that he gave me, we just don't have the right environment for lots of those picky plants (not to mention I'm not the right plant parent) so I'm concerned about disappointing him again with the little mini orchid.  I looked all over for a ceramic pot just the right size- with zero luck. So it's in the same pot.  Which I could replace for $2.27 if I wanted to order another flimsy plastic one.  And I might, but shipping could probably be prohibitive. I'm too frugal/practical/analytical to just simply do something and enjoy it.  I guess I make things more complicated than they need to be.  Sigh....

And I enjoyed this article.  Don't necessarily agree with everything she says (as is typical) and I'm not sure that she and I would be close friends if we ever met.  But there was thought-provoking things to read here and I'm glad I read it.  Grace  I hope I haven't shared that article before.  I mostly include them here so I can remember and perhaps re-read them. 

This is a full weekend.  We've got birthday dinner with friends, are going to take some celebration donuts to the Bishop's Storehouse on Saturday, Father's Day on Sunday, going on a "birthday experience" train ride with kids on Tuesday and I'm hoping to set up a temple appointment for later in the week. I'm practicing in prep for accompanying Robert in another ward and the song has been going round and round in my head 24/7, every minute it seems.  Along with the song that I think I'm accompanying our daughter on her flute for Sacrament meeting next month.  She might choose a different song.  That would make three songs on rotation in my brain.  Variety is good. 😊

I'm grateful for the rain, it does help me appreciate the sunshine.  I'm grateful for prayer, prayers also are a constant in my brain. I'm grateful for a snug comfortable house.  And grateful right this moment for all the lawn mowers around the neighborhood to be done, the peace and quiet feels good to me.