I started out this week pretty discouraged. I woke up around three a.m. Sunday morning in afib. I had hoped that the ablation in January and the change of medicine would keep things regular at least for a few years, if not forever. I took some medicine and went back to bed. By the time I woke up, around seven, my heart rate was lower and more in rhythm, but still elevated. By lunchtime it was back to normal. I’ve been pretty much normal since then–just a few erratic moments here and there.

I’d had a long day Saturday, and was on my feet more than usual. Jim thinks that may have triggered the heart rhythm issues. That may be. I had felt okay at the time–tired, but okay. But I will pace myself better.

I’m thankful Susanne at Living to Tell the Story started this practice of looking for the blessings of the week. Sometimes the problems and frustrations can color our whole outlook. But God’s blessings are there, even amidst trials large and small.

1. A short-lived episode. I’m thankful the afib episode was short and didn’t seem to trigger a new round of heart rhythm trials, as I had feared.

2. A light cooking week. Jim got breakfast at Burger King Sunday morning since I wasn’t feeling well. Monday night, I just didn’t feel like cooking. So I asked Jim if we could get take-out. Then Tuesday, I took a nap and woke up past the time we’re usually eating. I thought, “Hmm, I should’ve waited til today to ask for takeout.” But Jim offered to get something out again. Wednesday, Jeremy called us around 5. By the time we got done talking, it was past our usual dinnertime again, so we decided to just scrounge around the refrigerator and pantry to find something to warm up.

3. My husband’s indulgence in allowing for the above. 🙂

4. Time with the kids. Jason and Mittu’s washer isn’t working, so they asked if they could come over and do laundry Tuesday. We’re glad to be close enough to help out with things like that. It wasn’t a regular visit–Timothy had school work to do, I had to dash out for an appointment, Jim had a short Zoom call, and Jason had work to do for a couple of hours while Mittu did the laundry. But in-between all that, we enjoyed some time to talk.

5. Rain. It’s been pretty dry here for a while. Rain is in the forecast every day for the next ten days or so. And thankfully, so far it’s just been a gentle rain. We had thunder a couple of times, but no lightning or storms. I hope the rest of the week continues in that vein.

That’s our week. How was yours?

It’s been such a busy week, I had to double check whether Mother’s Day was last Sunday or the Sunday before–it seems so long ago already. Friday’s Fave Five hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story helps me pause and take note of the blessings of the week.

1. Mother’s Day. Jim went out for breakfast sandwiches that morning so I didn’t have to cook. Then for dinner, he grilled ham steaks, Jesse made cheesy potatoes, and Jason made chocolate pretzel pie. We Face-timed Jeremy while I opened thoughtful presents and cards. It was a lovely day, and I am so thankful my family makes it extra-special.

2. Good results from scans. My mammogram and bone density scans were okay. A “little thinning” of bone density, with calcium supplements and weight-bearing exercise encouraged.

3. An okay visit with the cardiologist, a four-month follow-up from the ablation. My EKG was a little wobbly, but he didn’t seem to be worried about it.

4. Not one, but two craft store excursions. I needed something from Hobby Lobby, which is like a Grandma’s amusement park to me. 🙂 I enjoyed walking around. I had gift cards, so I didn’t feel guilty buying a couple of “extras.” Then, I’ve had a gift card to Michael’s that I’ve been trying to use up for months, if not years. But our local Michael’s is small and doesn’t have much. There’s another one near the cardiologist’s office half an hour away, so I stopped in while I was in that area. That store is so much bigger! I found some things I loved, and, as a bonus, I found at the cash register that they were marked down.

5. A visit with friends. A couple from church invited Jason, Mittu, Timothy, and Jim and me for dinner Saturday night. The man is skilled in archery and taught the guys some basics, letting them use his bows and arrows. They had fun. We enjoyed a tasty stir-fry of chicken and vegetables as well as wonderful conversation.

How was your week? I trust you can see God’s blessings sprinkled throughout.

Someone told me last week that my Friday’s Fave Five and monthly recap posts made my life sound so perfect. Let me assure you, we and our circumstances are far from perfect. 🙂 But one thing I like about FFF is that it gets my mind off the problems, inconveniences, aches, and everything bothersome and makes me look for the positives.

The hardest weeks for me to come up with an FFF post are not the ones with something major going on. Rather, the everyday, not especially bad but not especially good, blah weeks are the hardest for me to find things to be thankful for. But when I look for them, I find them. Some people write gratitude journals; I participate in Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. 🙂

1. Surprise breakfast sandwiches. Jim was out early one morning and came back with some breakfast sandwiches from McDonald’s and Burger King. I used to get something out for breakfast once a week or so when I was taking kids to school, but I’m not usually out that early these days. So it’s a nice treat.

2. Primary elections and pool working. We had primary elections this week. I am always grateful we have an opportunity to vote in this country, and I was sad to learn that only about 17% of those eligible in our county voted this week. On Sunday, a man at church told us that there was a shortage of poll workers. Jim contacted the proper authorities and was able to work one of the polling places. He’s much more interested in politics than I am, so I was glad he had an opportunity to participate in the process. He said it was also a nice way to get involved in the community and touch base with neighbors.

3. Lunch with my friend, Melanie, with Red Lobster gift cards form my family. We hadn’t met for lunch for a couple of months, and had to reschedule this one a couple of times. So it was good to finally get together. The food was wonderful and our waiter was great. But we mainly enjoyed the conversation together.

4. Annual flower purchases and planting. Jim and I went out this week to get hanging flower baskets and plants for the front and back planters. They’ve gotten incredibly expensive, but we were able to find some good deals. Some of the wildflowers from last year have come back along the fence line, so we’re waiting to see if we need to do anything there. We’ve talked about placing bushes and/or perennials there, but haven’t quite decided what to do.

I’ll hold off on pictures of the planters until they fill out a little bit, But I always love these hanging baskets. I can see them from my desk and the dining room table.

5. Mother’s Day is this Sunday. I’m thankful for my mom year round, but especially this weekend. She passed away over twenty years ago, and I wish I had more pictures of us together. But I’m so grateful for her love for me, her influence in my life, and the many good memories I have of her.

Happy Mother’s Day to moms and mothering figures! May you have a joyous time remembering your mom and celebrating her.

It’s May! Wow, spring is going by fast. It’s nice to pause for a moment on Fridays and look back over God’s blessings from the week with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, who hosts this beneficial practice.

1. A mall shopping excursion. I have not been to a mall in years. But I had ordered something from a department store online that I wanted to return. I could return it for free at the store or pay a $12.95 flat fee to send it back through the mail. So I went to the store. 🙂 I was afraid they would give me trouble returning it,. because there was nothing wrong with it and it fit fine–it just wasn’t what I thought it was. But they returned it with no problem. Then I went looking around at the multitude of pretty spring dresses. Some of the racks had a sign that said “60% off with coupon.” I heard the sales clerk tell someone else that if they downloaded the store app, they could access the coupon there. So I did that while in the changing room. 🙂 It’s also been years since I tried on clothes in a store, since I buy mine online. I had forgotten how much fun it could be to shop and try on clothes in a mall.

2. Dinner from Sarku. While at the mall, I got chicken teriyaki from Sarku to bring home. Theirs is my favorite, but they only exist in malls, so I don’t get it very often.

3. A Jane Austen-themed Lego set finished this week. I shared about it and some other bookish projects here. (Those who read here regularly, forgive me for mentioning this three time this week. 🙂 Not everyone reads every post.)

4. Timothy’s birthday party with friends. The week of his birthday was a busy one at church and school, so they waited to have his birthday party this week. I think everyone who was invited came. His parents invited us over afterward to eat leftover nachos and cupcakes and hear about it and see pictures.

5. Family time. Jason and Mittu had asked us to watch Timothy on Friday. I had a couple of appointments, but Jim said he’d be happy to watch him. He found that the Oak Ridge science museums were free that day, so they spent the afternoon visiting a couple. They went to Chick-Fil-A, then came back to our house so Timothy could gather his things. I decided to join them to take Tim back home, them we were going to get some fast food for me, since Jim had already eaten. We ended up staying a while at Jason and Mittu’s house, and she put together a nice impromptu light meal. Plus she had some lemon blueberry bread–or cake–I think from Costco she wanted us to try. It was good! I felt bad about missing out on the afternoon with Tim. But I’m glad we had some family time together afterward.

Bonus: My peonies are popping! It had even more blooms, but I had cut some off to put in a vase. This photo reminds me not to cut blooms from the front!

Happy Friday!

It’s astonishing to me that this is the last Friday in April already. On Fridays I try to slow down and savor the moments with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Impromptu visits. Jason, Mittu, and Timothy stopped by to borrow my kitchen scale and stayed for a while. Then Jason and Timothy dropped in again later in the week. Jeremy had sent Timothy a surprise box, so we had a multi-family FaceTime session to see what it was (a radio kit).

2. Pre-ordering books. I’ve mentioned Gabrielle Meyer’s Time Crossers series here many times. I follow her on Instagram and saw that the newest in the series was available for pre-ordering at a reduced price and with free shipping. Publishers like pre-orders because it gives them an idea about how much interest there is in the book, so they offer incentives I am happy to accept. 🙂

3. Roads paved. I mentioned last week that preliminary work had been done to repave our out-of-the-way roads in our little neighborhood. The roads were paved the very next day! They look so much better, and I was amazed at how quickly the process went.

4. Finding a timely book. While looking for an older, previously read book on my shelves, I rediscovered one I had not read yet and had completely forgotten about: Life Under the Sun: The Unexpectedly Good News of Ecclesiastes by Hannah Anderson. I’ve read all of her other books except this and one other and enjoyed them immensely. This is in a Bible study format, unlike her others. Our pastor just started a new sermon series in Ecclesiastes, so I plan to use this book as a companion through the series.

5. Peonies blooming! Or at least beginning to open. We planted them last May, after their blooming cycle. I’d heard that it can take them a few years to flower, so I am delighted they each have several buds looking like they are ready to pop. I am excited to see them open more fully.

The roses are blooming, too!

Bonus: We saw the first hummingbird of the season at the feeder outside my kitchen window!

How was your week?

We’re halfway through April already! It seems like spring just got here but is in a hurry to pass through. We try to slow time down just a little by stopping to appreciate the good things of the week with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Timothy’s birthday was this week, but we celebrated a little early on Sunday with pizza and cake. It’s hard to believe he’s going to be a teenager next year!

2. More time with Tim. He stayed with us Monday afternoon while Mittu had a doctor’s appointment. We spent much of the time sitting in the camper van and chatting. Then I asked Jason and Mittu if they could stay for dinner after the appointment, and they did.

3. Cleaned front porch and back patio. Some little birds built a nest between the front porch light fixture and the wall. The baby birds already hatched and flew away, but they left a mess. So Jim hosed the whole porch off. Then I noticed Monday that a couple of different kinds of vines had entwined themselves in my hydrangea bush next to the back patio. Jim cleaned out the vines and pressure-washed the patio. It’s nice to have the outside areas ready for use again.

4. Mary Poppins. The school associated with our church puts on a play at least once, maybe twice a year. They always invite the church family to the last dress rehearsal for free before the regular performances start. This time it was Mary Poppins, which had to have been quite a challenge. I had wondered if they were going to have her come from the ceiling with her umbrella. They didn’t. 🙂 The kids did a great job. I’ve thought that a musical would be harder to do than just a regular play, but the musicals they’ve done have been some of their best performances. Maybe having a melody to remember the lines by helps.

5. Road paving. Our little street connects to another couple of small streets before reaching a main road. Plus we’re in the county rather than the city. So sometimes our streets are the last to get needed attention. I’ve wondered several times if there was a way to request someone to come out and fix potholes and repave the streets. But this week, workers appeared out of the blue to do some of the preliminary work for paving. I’m not sure how long the process is, but I am so thankful it has started. I look forward to freshly paved, pothole-free roads soon!

And that’s our middle-of-April week. How was yours?

We’re through our first week of April already, and it’s time once again to count our blessings lest they pass unnoticed. I join with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to share about our weeks.

1. Easter is a tremendous blessing, and not just once a year. What a marvel, that God loved us enough to send His Son to redeem us.

2. Easter with the family. We had a lovely meal together. Then the guys and Timothy had an Easter egg hunt with money in the plastic eggs. 🙂 We had to do it inside because the ground was wet from morning rain. I made a basket for Timothy and smaller spring buckets for the adult kids. We had a paper tablecloth with puzzles and picture to color.

3. An egg hunt for Mom and Dad. Jason, Mittu, and Timothy made up and hid some eggs for Jim and me! That was unexpected! And fun! His had a boy stick figure on the outside, and mine had a girl figure.

They filled the eggs with little slips of paper where they wrote things they appreciated about us. That touched my heart. I especially liked Mittu’s “You made my favorite man” and Timothy’s “Thank you for my Dad.” 🙂

4. My own Easter basket. This year, Jim made an Easter basket for me! That was also unexpected and thoughtful. Yes, that’s a lot of sugar! But it’s all packaged, so I can parcel it out over the next several weeks.

5. Peony buds! I’ve wanted peonies for a long time. Jim planted these last May, but it was past their blooming time. He thought they had not survived the winter. But he discovered they’re about to bloom!

That’s our week. How was yours?

Our April has gotten off to a good start. Temperatures were up into the 80s this week, but it looks like we’ll be back down in the 30s a couple of nights next week. It feels like spring has settled in a little more firmly.

I’m joining with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to share some highlights of the week.

1. Watercolor painting. I’ve wanted to dabble in watercolors for some time, but just never seemed to find time to do it. Mittu asked a mutual artistic friend from church if she’d come over for lunch on Saturday and teach us a bit about watercolors. It turns out to be a lot harder than it looks! Even our friend, with more experience than either of us, had sheets and sheet of practice flowers. So that was a little dismaying on one hand, but encouraging on the other–my lackluster beginning attempts aren’t an indication that I can’t do it, just an indication that it takes time to develop and eye and feel for it. Even more than the painting, we enjoyed the conversation around the table.

We used this video for the tulips and this tutorial for ten small flowers, but only got through the first five.

My results for the afternoon. I think the single tulip turned out the best.

2. Repairs. A few weeks ago, a spring in our garage door broke, making the door come crashing down. Thankfully, nothing was under the door at the time. It took several days for a repair person to come out and fix it. But then, the motor of the garage door opener made a grinding noise whenever we tried to open and close it. Jim tried a couple of repairs that didn’t fix the problem. So he ordered a new system. He had it installed rather than trying to do it himself. It took another several days for them to come out, but that finally got done this week. It’s nice to have it working again.

Then our kitchen faucet has been having issues, getting harder to maneuver, even getting stuck a couple of times. Jim got a new one and installed it this week. Much better! While he had everything out of the cabinet under the sink, he installed a couple of pull-out organizers, making it easier to reach items.

3. A good dentist’s visit. Even a simple dental cleaning is one of my least favorite things to do. But after one a couple of years ago that discovered a cavity under a bridge and several visits to take care of that, I’ve been a little more antsy about going to the dentist. It’s nice to get the all-clear there for another six months.

4. Dogwood blooms. I’ve seen some white dogwood trees blooming around the neighborhood, but our backyard pink ones are just now budding. It’s exciting to see the flowers come in.

5. Checking off a to-do list. I’ve almost completed everything on my list this week, and I should finish up today. Of course, there are always more things to be done. But it feels good to complete a list.

Bonus: Timothy’s birthday isn’t for a couple of weeks. But he has an orthodontist’s visit between now and then, so he wanted to have his birthday dinner before his mouth became sore from that. He chose Fai Thai Kitchen. I was a little apprehensive, because I have not liked any Thai food I’ve tried. So I ate a sandwich beforehand. 🙂 But I was pleasantly surprised. I got the Basil Fried Rice with chicken and the shrimp spring rolls, which were both very good. Some of the entrees were sent out on this robot, which had a cute little voice saying “Here I am!” when it came to the table.

As we commemorate the death of Jesus today, I am so thankful He was willing to suffer all that He did on our behalf. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:212).

Happy Easter to you!

Here we are at the last FFF of the month already. This has been a great week for me–I hope for you, too! I link up on Fridays with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, who started this edifying practice of sharing five good things, large or small, that God blesses us with during the week.

1. A much more productive week than I have had lately. I know life isn’t all about getting things done–but there are still things to get done. “A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul” (Proverbs 13:19).

2. A shelf expander and cabinet reorganization. I realized that I had serving platters in two different places. There was one shelf that had a little space, but I didn’t want all the platters stacked on top of each other. I found this expandable shelf that worked great. That led to cleaning out two cabinets, rearranging some things, and setting aside a few items for the thrift store.

Top shelf, before:

Top shelf, after:

3. Guys’ camping trip. Timothy wanted to take a camping trip for his birthday next month. But he has an orthodontist visit before then, and wanted to camp before that so he could enjoy it without his mouth being sore. 🙂 Jim, Jason, and Timothy went up to the Douglas Dam Camprgound from Monday through Wednesday. Mittu and I went up on Tuesday for a few hours and enjoyed burgers made by the guys. The weather was a little cold, but otherwise beautiful. I love that the camp sites are right by the lake. The view from were I sat:

Jason’s picture by the dam with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background.

A cute little duck couple came up to the camp site. The female, in particular, seemed almost totally unafraid of humans. The male was a little more wary. Jason and Mittu took turns feeding them some bread.

4. The Count of Monte Cristo on PBS Masterpiece Theatre, which began last Sunday night. I loved reading the book a few years ago, so I was excited to hear PBS was making a series based on the book. I was confused that IMDB showed this film having been produced in 2024, when the MT site said it was “all new.” But then I read something that indicated this was the US premiere of the series. And, because we have a subscription to MT, we have access to the whole series without having to wait for them to air! We’ve seen the first three episodes so far, and they are excellent. I hope the remaining episodes are just as good.

5. A light cooking week. I had an offer from Ruby Tuesday’s to buy one entree and get another for $3, so we used that for takeout last Saturday night. With Jim gone Monday night, I got take-out Mexican food. I ate out at their campsite Tuesday. Then last night we tried the brand new Culver’s that just opened near us. It took a while, because so many people are eating there for their opening week. But the food was really good. I had the beef pot roast sandwich and Jim had jumbo shrimp. Though hamburgers are their main thing, I like that they have a variety of options other fast food places don’t have.

Happy last week of March!

We usually celebrate Pi Day on 3/14. But I forgot about it until my Facebook memories reminded me. By that time I didn’t have either the ingredients or the oomph to prepare. We didn’t really do anything to observe St. Patrick’s Day, either, though we don’t always.

So it’s been a much needed quiet week. Here are some of the best parts, sharing with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Safety despite storms. This has been a wild weather week. We had some thunderstorms one night, which can lead to fallen limbs and power loss. But they didn’t this time. Then we got snow one day, but it didn’t even stick here. The kids had a slight accumulation in their neighborhoods, but it melted pretty quickly.

2. Recaps. Our church posts snippets from the Sunday sermon on Facebook and Instagram through the week, and our Sunday School teacher will sometimes email a recap of the morning’s lesson. I find them all helpful in remembering and meditating on what was shared on Sunday. It can be hard to take everything in at the moment. Plus, for whatever reason, I have the most trouble sleeping on Saturday nights, so sometimes I am fighting to keep awake and alert on Sunday mornings.

3. Financial paperwork is not a favorite, generally. But I am thankful my husband has a head for that kind of thing. I do not. And I am grateful he has taken the initiative in preparing ahead in order to make things easier on the kids when we’re gone.

4. The first day of spring! It’s nice to have it officially here, and bringing a bit of a warming trend with it.

5. Affresh. Our washing machine had kind of a yucky smell. The paperwork that came with it suggested something called Affresh, tablets to run through a cycle to clean it out. Our washer even has a cycle setting just for that. We hadn’t used it before, but found it at the grocery store. It took a couple of run-throughs, but the washer smells much better now. Sometimes it’s the little things. 🙂

How was your mid-March week?