My Mind's a Jumbled Mess

 I've been rather pensive of late.  I've had some repenting to do.  Some behavior goals I'm trying to achieve. Some inspiration I'd like to have.  And some (even at least a tiny bit) joy to find.  It's a journey for sure.

Lunch with a couple friends this last week was very fun.  Then a friend-couple  called last minute for a quick dinner out.  They're one of our favorites and we love to get together with them.

The ongoing 24/7 party next door continues.  Though they seem to be trying a little bit more to make sure the bright, bothersome lights are off at 10:30 per city regulations.  The noise level takes a bit longer to diminish.  But it's been a long time since we had teens and I'm quite sure ours never roared/laughed/screamed with such abandon in such close proximity to neighbors.  The times when they travel make our home seem unusually quiet.  😊 I kind of like the quiet.

I finished the baby blanket and my hands are enjoying a bit of a respite from the crocheting.  I've got other projects ready to kick-start but I'll wait just a bit. I'm enjoying the piano practicing.  I've learned how play for just the right amount of time and that has enhanced the pleasure without enhancing the pain.  

Today I knocked out the rest of two books that have been weighing heavily on me.  Library books that can't be renewed bring with them some measure of pressure to finish in a required amount of time.  I read with concentration today and thoroughly enjoyed the religious book better than the fiction one.  I'm finding as I age that I do less well with pressure than I used to.

On one walk last week we saw a total of 9 deer.  One set was a momma and her two spotted fawns.  That was delightful.  And I've been loving the flowers.  This purple mallow is one of my favorite.  We've had a cool spring and the nights are still cool.  Means that some of the flowers have bloomed longer.  Our strawberry harvest has diminished but I've been assured that after a bit of a rest, the blooms (and strawberries) will commence again.  The first few tomatoes have been delicious and we've had a few to share.  That seems to be the most enjoyable part.

July 4th will mostly be just another day.  It's just the two of us.  Our own private celebration will be just fine. The good hot-dogs we'll grill will be a first for us, haven't done a holiday with grilled hot dogs before that I remember.  

I've read a few quotes that I've liked.  "Patience is not just the ability to wait, it's the courage to endure the waiting without losing hope."   "In this life we are all just walking up the mountain and we can sing as we climb or we can complain about our sore feet.  Whichever we choose, we still gotta do the hike.  I decided a long time ago singing made a lot more sense."  I wish I knew who to attribute those quotes to; if I did, I would.  

And I particularly love this quote by Orson F Whitney via Spencer W. Kimball:  " No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure patiently, build up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God ... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire."

Elder Orson F. Whitney as quoted by Elder Spencer W. Kimball in the book Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972],page 98

I'm grateful today for air conditioning.  We've had it on for roughly 24 hours and I'm loving the cool, though the outside was around 90 degrees.  I slept better with the windows closed and the floors don't get quite so dusty.  I'm also grateful for uplifting things to read, for something to look forward to (even if it's only grilled hot dogs with buns) and hope for something new to wear.  I keep looking, but online shopping for clothes is tricky.  I should go to an actual store.  My tastes are a big "younger" than my actual age.  Wish there was a store for that: modest and classy but not old lady.  I remain grateful for the opportunity to fast and pray.  Lots to unpack there.