Outside my window... Ooh we had some gully washers this morning! The bad thing about
summer rain is increase in my mold allergy. Achoo!!! I am thinking... I haven't put out a Daybook this summer. I had a couple of heartbreaks
over the summer. I learned that ma meilleure amie, Ms. Sophia that within the next few
weeks, she would be moving 5 hours away. Let me tell you that in my secret place that I don't
allow the world to see, I was being a 2-year-old. Mentally, I was throwing myself on the floor,
kicking and screaming, and resistant to all attempts at reason and redirection. In my
innermost being, I was being completely obnoxious, self-centered, and rude. I thought
saying goodbye to friends was over when Friend Hubby retired from the Air Force. I thought
civilians stayed put.
True to my nature, I started planning and calculating. I came come up with a plan for
us to meet at least once a month. It would be a 2-hour drive for me, 2-1/2 hours for her. I
have found a restaurant there that is comparable to our beloved La Madeleine. I hope they
have a table next to a fireplace. Of course, I can always use this piece of electronic equipment
that I carry in my pocket everywhere that I use to track my steps and find recipes as an
actual phone and CALL HER. Strange, but I guess I could get used to it.
I am thankful... We have also had some wonderful things happen this summer as well. In May we had a FABULOUS trip to Disney World. We were supposed to go last summer but everything was against it. Praise Yehovah for his "No" because sometimes it is protection. If we would only learn that when things are not going our way. We were divinely protected on the way back and spared from an accident after we hit something in the road in Mississippi, just a few days after a fatal accident occurred in that same place.
Abba blessed The Grand Duchess abundantly! While we were in DW (which always seems to signal a change of seasons in our lives), she got an email requesting her to apply for a map curator position. In just a few short weeks (they needed someone for this position right away), she moved from being the map curator for her alma mater to the map curator for our state! She is making 2-1/2 times what she was making before. Not only that, she moved back to our city! She's staying at the house for now, but next month she will be moving into a new apartment that is 15 minutes away. We are SO thankful!
I am thankful that the tuition bill for Crown Prince Sanban is manageable and he was able to get the all clear to move into his dorm with a minimal amount of stress. I think the bill is even less this year too! He is moving into a different dorm this weekend. He will have a kitchen so he won't need to depend so much on the dining halls. Last year, he said the food was causing him to be depressed. I am also so proud of him for not being lazy since he wasn't able to find summer employment. He painted the entire room in our house where we broadcast our services. It is beautiful!
Princess Butterfly miraculously was selected for Girls State by our local American Legion and then she got in there and was elected Lt. Governor! We are so proud of her. The following week, she attended a camp for accounting careers. She wasn't happy about the kids she was with, but she made a lot of great postgraduate contacts. She has also been working on her Girl Scout Gold Award. We are in the final stretch!
I am also thankful for a blessing that was over a year in the making. Waiting on it is what made us cancel our vacation last year, but as I said, that was protection from Yehovah, I know. It finally arrived last week so we have been getting caught up and doing more redecorating that had to be put on hold last year. What is also awesome about it is that this time last year, Friend Hubby got his new job and it is going to relieve a LOT of stress around here. HALLELUYAH!
I am thankful that first my friend Sister Charity (I don't know if I have given her a name on this blog before) was able to stop by and visit my great-aunt who lives two hours away, take her to the grocery store, and clean out her refrigerator. This past week, I was finally able to get out there and see her too and arranged for InstaCart to deliver groceries to her house. I am so thankful. My cousin, her daughter who is incarcerated is very worried about her and told me that she sometimes drives to what used to be familiar places and gets turned around and ends up 5-10 miles away from home. Knowing that all she has to do is call me on the phone and I can go to my tablet and have her groceries sent to her house within 2 hours is a GREAT relief. She is where the halfway mark is between myself and where Ms. Sophia is moving so I will have a full day when I go there.
All of our family's gratitude spilled over in our Shabbat service on Saturday, July 29th. It was a full testimony service!
I am wearing... Shorts and an old GS tee shirt for taking a short walk with the dog. I am going... To continue to shoot toward the goal of 10,000 steps per day. I had a week that I hit my goal twice and I lost 2 pounds that week. If 10,000 steps equals one pound, I need to keep walking! I noticed a difference in my midsection even though I haven't been doing any abdominal exercises. I am reading... I am still reading through the very boring Volume 1 of an anthology of American literature so that before this semester is out, I will be able to CLEP American Literature. I am watching... Miss Fisher's Mysteries on Netflix. The rose about this series is the gorgeous clothing and the period setting of 1920s Australia. The thorn is that this woman sleeps with every man she meets in the name of feminism. Ugh! The mystery part of it is really good. I loved Monk so I needed a good mystery. I need to start making myself knit through an episode in the evenings again.
I am looking forward to... Sukkot!!! I am SO excited. Yehovah has been so good to us in this last year. I have MUCH to be thankful for. Sister Elegant has a clever way of coming up with a Shabbat menu that connects to the Torah portion for that week. The week we were reading about water from the rock, we were visiting her and she made a fabulous watermelon salad! I was inspired. The Grand Duchess sent me an article about competitive table setting. I love a creative tablescape! I thought, why not have 5 Shabbat table settings throughout the year, one for each book of the Torah. We Read through the Bible in a year, but we emphasize the portion of Scripture that was in existence at the time the Messiah walked the earth. HIS Bible, the Torah and the prophets. We just started the book of Deuteronomy and we will complete it at the end of Sukkot, around the 2nd week of October and then we will begin again with Genesis. I am looking for things that will help us to focus on what Deuteronomy contains. I'll think of something. I want to take it with me to Sukkot and decorate the table in our cabin too and encourage the other ladies who are coming to do so as well. We don't camp outside for Sukkot, as we go with 80-year-olds and people with health issues that require them to be inside, but I want to bring all the joy of this season with me. I like these dark brown colors.
 |
| Rustic Glam Fall Tablescapes |
From the learning rooms... Princess Butterfly and I have a goal of her being 10 lessons ahead in Algebra 2 before the school year officially begins. My children have always done math better when they are within 5 feet of us, even if I don't say a word. Maybe if I walk through it with her (after having completed college algebra this past semester), perhaps some of the math anxiety will go away. From the kitchen... Because Crown Prince Sanban is leaving to return to school this weekend. Since for the first time in seven years, The Grand Duchess will no longer be on the campus, he will have a car so he will be able to buy his groceries and cook for himself in his dorm room. As our family does best, there was a throwdown in the kitchen on Sunday afternoon. Crown Prince Sanban brined some turkey thighs and I made an apple cider vinegar baste. The Grand Duchess and Friend Hubby threw down on collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and yams. Around the house... We are completely impressed with our sanctuary room's redecoration by Crown Prince Sanban. He has such an eye for detail. Every line is straight. I had to suck in a little air before he got started. Dancing Angel painted stripes on that wall along with The Grand Duchess and myself. I had to remind myself that I was blessed to have that child paint with me and I am still blessed to have another child paint for me.
Comments
Post a Comment