Another Friday is here, the last one for February. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story invites us to pause a moment and recount the blessings of the week. Feel free to join in! Here are a few of mine:

1. My daughter-in-law’s birthday. It’s a joy to celebrate her coming into the world and into our lives.

2. Big empty cardboard boxes. One of Mittu’s presents came in a long cardboard box which then became a boat in a storm chased by a sea worm (aka the brown packaging stuff) and lured by a siren (MIttu). I think our kids have had more fun with cardboard boxes (ones big enough to climb in) than with most other things, so seeing Timothy do the same brought back a lot of fun memories.

3. Medical test done. This has been on the horizon since early January and had to be rescheduled several times. It’s nice to have it over with. Plus God took care of all my concerns about the preparation and test itself.

4. An unexpected gift. One of my sisters sent all the rest of us a cute plaque she had made which read, “Side by side or miles apart, sisters will always be connected by heart.” Then she had all five of our names and a big heart at the bottom. She also included a little book for each of us that had a ton of interesting facts about our birth year. How fun to get a surprise package in the mail with sweet and thoughtful gifts!

5. Dear Holmes club. For Christmas, my husband had enrolled me in the Dear Holmes mysteries. You get a letter every month with clues about a particular Victorian-era mystery and a challenge to send in answers before the reveal at the end of the month. Somehow in my first reading I had missed that it was a monthly challenge, so I had let a few letters pile up (when my husband brings in the mail, I’m usually finishing up at the computer and getting ready to start dinner, so I don’t usually open anything then that will take some thought or needs a response). I worked on them yesterday, figured out the culprit, but then saw the last was the letter from “Sherlock” with the mystery solved (and I was right in my guess!) Now that I have a handle on how it works, I’m looking forward to beating the detective next time. 🙂

Happy Friday! What’s something good from your week?

The days keep steadily passing by, whether seeming fast or slow, despite how much I do or don’t get done in them. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story invites us to pause a moment and recount the blessings of the week lest we forget them. So here are a few of mine:

1. Valentine’s Day is always a highlight at our house with “meat hearts’ (mini meat loaves made in heart shapes) as the main course and heart-shaped cupcakes and peanut butter cookies with chocolate heart centers for dessert.

I make Valentines for the family, which I usually share in my end–of-month post. This year Jason and Mittu and Timothy made Valentines, too! I love them.

Did you notice that Friday’s Fave Five made it in my card? 🙂

2. Saturday at Jason and Mittu’s. Jason had a leak in his downstairs ceiling, and Jim went over Friday night and Saturday to help fix the leak and patch the ceiling. They invited me over for lunch Saturday, and I hung out with Mittu and Timothy while the guys worked. We painted, colored, and watched YouTube videos of Ryan’s World science experiments—Mittu and I may have dozed during the latter. 🙂

3. Landscaping. You might remember that our utility company had to replace the lines in our neighborhood that go to this big ugly box in our yard. To do that, they had to tear out the landscaping we had there. Jim took a day off last Friday, and it was warm enough that he could work on this area. He dug up some bushes from the back yard along with a few daffodils, which for some reason a previous owner planted behind the shed, of all places. If those daffodils survive the transplant ok, we might put the others in the space between the sidewalk and street. Or we might just plant new ones—Jim said they were hard to dig up. The rocks were a part of the previous landscaping, and the utility people had left them piled up on the edge of the curb. Jim said the hardest part of this was bending over to pick up rocks and then bending over again to replace them.

At some point, he’ll put a removable fence in front of the big box itself, so they can get to it if needed.

You can still see some of their writing on the sidewalk. Hopefully it and the dirt stains will wear off someday!

4. Good timing. I placed an online order at the grocery store for a 4 p.m. pickup. But in the process of creating the order, that time period closed. The next available time was 5, which is when I am usually starting to make dinner. But I had dinner in the crockpot that day, so I figured that time would work out. Then the store called and said the order was ready at 3:30. Then my husband texted and asked if I had any prescriptions ready at the drug store: he was going to swing by there on his way home from a meeting. I didn’t, I said, but I did have a grocery order ready across the street from the drug store if he had time it deal with it. Thankfully he did, so that worked out well all around.

5. A good CAT scan report. Nine years ago this coming Sunday, Jim had surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. He didn’t have to have chemo or radiation because we were told they weren’t effective for kidney cancer. He had a CAT scan this week which showed everything was fine, no signs of cancer. We are immensely thankful. We were told this kind of cancer doesn’t usually spread–but they couldn’t say it never would. And if it did come from the original cancer, chemo and radiation still wouldn’t work on it, even if it ended up somewhere else in the body. So a clean CAT scan is a relief in many ways.

Bonus 1: One of my sisters sent the rest of us and my brother packages this week, and I got mine Thursday! I can’t show what it is yet, though, until the others get theirs.

Bonus 2: Signs of spring! Besides the daffodils mentioned above, these mini ones are coming up in the flower bed by the front door. The mini tulips are starting to sprout behind them.

I hope your week has gone well, too!

Wow, we’re almost halfway through February already. Time passes so quickly, it’s good to pause now and then to appreciate our blessings. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story invites us to do just that.

Some of my favorite parts of the last week:

1. Thoughtful treats. When my youngest son, Jesse, was home, he enjoyed Lunchables as a snack. When he had one that included two Oreo cookies, he usually gave me one. Then my husband, Jim started doing the same thing. Though Jesse has his own place now, we still keep a few Lunchables on hand. I came to my desk one day this week to see that Jim had left his Oreos for me. 🙂

2. Repotting plants has been on my to-do list for a very long time, and I was happy to get to them this week. These had all been on my kitchen windowsill and needed room to grow.

We couldn’t get the little cactus-looking one out of its container. The little pebbles on top were glued together as one unit. I had thought this was a real plant, but maybe it’s a fake.

I’ve mentioned before that I am not good with houseplants. But I hope these thrive.

3. Catching up with friends. One friend and I had been trying to get together for lunch since before Christmas. We had to keep canceling due to illness or other things coming up. We finally met at Red Lobster one day this week. Then, I dropped something off at the home of my friend who recently had a baby, thinking I would only be there for a couple of minutes. I was hoping to talk with her, but wanted didn’t want to keep her too long. But we got to visit for a while. I enjoyed talking and laughing with both these friends.

4. Going out to dinner. My husband and I get take-out probably more than we ever have in our lives—with just the two of us at home, it’s not so expensive to do. And I love not cooking. 🙂 One night this week we decided to actually go to Cracker Barrel. That was nice in itself, since it’s not my husband’s favorite place. But as we discussed options, he said this was ok.

Though I’m a homebody and haven’t actually been too bothered by being home during the pandemic, these outings reminded me that I am not entirely ready to be a hermit. 🙂 It is fun to get out sometimes.

5. A long overdue haircut. In-between running errands and seeing friends, I was able to slip into the salon where I usually go. My regular hairdresser wasn’t there, but the lady who cut my hair did a good job. It’s nice not to feel unkempt.

And that’s a small window into my week. How has yours been?

Welcome to the first FFF of a new month. Susanne at Living to Tell the Story invites us to look back over the week and name five of the best things from it. It’s a good practice in counting our blessings before they pass by, forgotten.

Here, then, are a few of my favorite parts of the last week:

1. A fixed dishwasher. I’ve mentioned my husband’s ongoing attempts to repair our dishwasher. He had one last thing to try before giving up. Thankfully, he was successful. We’ve run the dishwasher a few times now with no leaks.

2. Dinner at Jason and Mittu‘s, which we hadn’t done since Christmas time due to Covid at their house. Thankfully, everyone is well again. We enjoyed grilled hamburgers with several sides and rousing games of Uno and Dutch Blitz.

3. A negative Covid test. I’d had very mild symptoms for a few days, but decided to use a home Covid test before the visit with the kids mentioned above and before Jim had to travel (his first flight since the pandemic started). Thankfully, the test was negative.

4. Two organizing projects done. The first one involved the kitchen pantry and one cabinet and drawer. I had three specific goals: I wanted to get either the air fryer or instant pot (or both!) off the countertop, to get some newly accumulated baking supplies together in one location, and to take the cookie cutters and pumpkin-carving equipment, which are only used once a year or so, out of prime space in the big kitchen drawer. I was able to do all of those except the instant pot. Plus I got rid of some things and rearranged what remained in better ways. I even found a couple of things I had forgotten I had (like Valentine cupcake decorations—good timing!

Then, I had two under-bed storage boxes in our bedroom closet–because they wouldn’t fit under out bed. I had some gift-wrapping supplies in them, but was consolidating all that stuff somewhere else. The under-bed storage units did fit under the bed in the guest room, and I’ll use them for some supplies from the shed that I want to bring in. The extra space in the closet provided a better place for my husband’s shoes and an extra shelf on his side. Then I dusted everything I could reach in there—amazing how much dust gets into a closet.

5. The Olympic games. I don’t pay attention to sports generally, but I do like the Olympics. I watched some of the figure skating qualifications last night and look forward to the opening ceremony tonight.

What’s something good from your week?

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week
with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

Here we are at the last FFF of January already. We’re almost 1/12 of the way through 2022! Here are some favorites of this week.

1. Take-out, always a favorite. We don’t usually get it all weekend, but it was nice to have the weekend “off.” I requested McAlister’s Deli Friday night—we hadn’t had it in a while. Then Jim suggested Chick-Fil-A Saturday night and wanted pizza Sunday night.

2. One organizing project done. I have four areas I wanted to work on even before Christmas, but then didn’t get to in the busyness of the holidays. I tackled one on Saturday. We have a short bookcase in our bedroom where I put books I’ve bought, received as gifts, or have read but haven’t decided what to do with yet. I sorted through and dusted all of them, filled one box to give away, found places on other shelves for some, and stacked the remaining unread ones in a more orderly fashion.

3. Dinner and a visit. Jason and Mittu brought dinner over one night when Jim was away.

4. Catching up with a good friend. One of my dearest and longest-known friends and I had a long phone conversation this week. It was so nice to have that extended time rather than a text or Facebook comment here and there (though those are nice, too).

5. Frito bars. The name may sound strange, but the sweet and salty combination was really good, and there were very easy to make. I halved the recipe for an 8×8 pan this time, but I look forward for making it for the rest of the family sometime.

Is it bad that three of my five favorites this week involved food? 😀

How was your week?

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week
with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

Time just keeps marching on, doesn’t it? Here are a few highlights from this week.

1. Visit with friends. Our church had set up a succession of ladies to bring meals to our pastor and his wife upon their bringing their new baby home from the hospital. I was prepared for the possibility of just dropping off food on my night–sometimes the new mom is sleeping or feeding the baby, etc. And with Covid, it would be understandable if the parents wanted people to keep a distance. But we were able to visit a little while (we wore masks just to be on the safe side and not bring germs in). I was so glad–these are some of my favorite people. We even got to see the new little one.

2. Snow that didn’t impede travel. Northern friends sometimes scoff over this, but Southern cities just don’t have the equipment to keep roads clear during snow and ice. When we were taking care of my m-i-l at home, often an inch or two of snow would keep hospice people from coming. We had snow this week that hung around for three days (unusual here–it’s usually gone within a day), but the roads were fine. Plus we didn’t experience power outages, another factor for snowfall here.

3. A handy husband–not only his handiness, but his willingness to deal with things around the house. Our dishwasher developed a leak that we discovered when the flooring in front of it started buckling. He was thinking dishwashers were only $300 or so, so he didn’t want to put too much money into repairs if buying a new one seemed a better idea. But he investigated—and dishwashers are considerably more than that. Last Saturday, Jim pulled the dishwasher out and took up the affected flooring. He was able to improve the dishwasher problem, but we have to wait on some parts to come in to fix it. He was able to salvage some of the flooring, plus the previous owners had some leftovers.

He put everything back together so I could still use the dishwasher this week.

4. Reading is always a favorite, but I don’t often stop to read (or listen to) a book in the middle of the afternoon. I tend to tuck reading into other times or listen while doing other things. One day this week, I’d had to get up early for a doctor’s appointment, then I went to the store afterward. Plus the day was cold and gray and drizzly. After lunch, I was wiped out. So I leaned back in my desk chair and set my audiobook for 30 minutes. I was close enough to the end, and caught up enough in the story, that I wanted to press on and finish. It was a nice little break in the week.

5. A visit with the kids is always a favorite, too. But just after Jeremy left to go back to RI, Mittu and Timothy contracted Covid, so we haven’t seen them in almost three weeks now except for a couple of Face Times via iPhone (they are still coughing, but overall better. Hopefully we’ll see them this weekend.) We hadn’t seen Jesse just from his being involved in other things, but he came over Sunday for dinner and a haircut. Though it’s nice to visit with everyone together, it’s nice sometimes to visit one on one—and especially after not seeing anyone for so long.

Hope you’ve had a good week!

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week
with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

This is one of those weeks where nothing horrible has happened, but neither has anything that stood out, at least at first glance. Those kinds of weeks are a little harder to come up with five favorites. But it’s always a good exercise.

1. Wellness and mild cases. Just after our last day all together when Jeremy was here, Mittu and Timothy developed fevers and coughs. Jason took them for Covid tests, and the place did not have any of the rapid kind. They were tested on the 4th and just got back results Wednesday of this week that Mittu and Timothy tested positive. It’s amazing that with all the time spent together the week before, none of the rest of us got it. I hate that they didn’t feel good all week. But I am glad that they didn’t have breathing problems or any of the more severe issues of Covid.

2. Healthy birth. Our pastor and his wife were surprised with an unexpected, middle age pregnancy. My pastor’s wife has several health issues as well, which put her in a high risk category. She safely delivered their little boy this week. They have some issues doctors are monitoring, but all seems relatively well.

3. Unpleasant tasks done. My feeling towards unpleasant tasks (no need to go into details) is to avoid them or put them off. But I was motivated to get them over with so I didn’t have to think about them any more.

4. Convenience foods. I know, they are often not the healthiest. But they are better than burgers and fries, right? And we all have those days when something runs late or we’re tired. I had made ham and potato soup in December with the bone from our Christmas ham. We had lots of broth left, but no more ham. I found some cubed ham at the store, which wasn’t quite as good as our glazed ham at Christmas, but it worked okay for another round of this good, hearty soup. Then one day errands ran late, the last of which was the grocery store. It seems every grocery run these days requires two store trips to get everything as each has shortages. I got a microwave meatloaf, loaded potatoes, and gave mashed cauliflower a try (the latter was runnier than I would have expected and tasted more like grits). I made a salad while everything was cooking. It was nice to have those often for a quick meals after a busy day.

5. Zaxby’s salad. One afternoon, I fell asleep in my desk chair until dinner time. My husband suggested getting a Zaxby’s salad for takeout. I love their grilled chicken Cobb salad.

It’s hard to believe we’re about halfway through January already. January is supposed to be my slow, unbusy month! Oh, well.

Hope you’ve had a great week.

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week
with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

This FFF button is particularly apt because we’ve had snow twice this week. Thankfully it wasn’t heavy and didn’t impact travel either time.

This first week of the new year ended up not being quite as back-to-the-routine as I was expecting. But overall, everything went well. Here are a few favorites.

1. Time with family and safe travels. We had one last weekend all together before my oldest had to fly back to RI. It’s always hard to say goodbye, but I so treasure those weeks together. Thankfully all his flights went as scheduled even though we heard of massive numbers of flights being cancelled due to staff shortages.

2. A hot water heater fix. On the last shower of the last day of Jeremy’s visit, the hot water heater went out. My husband cleaned out the motor area and took some things apart. He looked up the part he thought was needed, but it wouldn’t get here for several days. I began to think of all the ramifications of not having hot water for several days. He worked on it a good bit of the afternoon and got it going. My hero!

3. New calendars. One of my favorite things is setting up new wall calendars for the new year. I have two, one near my desk and one in the kitchen. I go through them and put all our birthdays and anniversaries in it before hanging it up. It’s such a pleasure to see those clean pages.

4. A good first doctor’s visit. I’ve had some digestive issues for a number of years which have steadily gotten worse. I saw a gastroenterologist when this all first started, but he was the kind of doctor who could only help if he found something he could cut out. When he didn’t, he referred me to the internet. We’ve moved since then, and I finally decided to ask my family doctor for a referral. I had my first appointment with the new doctor this week, and he was very easy to talk to and much more knowledgeable about the various facets of digestive troubles. He gave me a couple of things to try and scheduled a couple of easy tests. Then we’ll get those results and see what steps we need to take next.

5. A beautiful sunrise. Our house is positioned such that we don’t normally see sunrises or sunsets. Sometimes we’ll catch a bit of beautiful color in one window, but will have to step outside to see much more. And even then, we’re surrounded by so many trees that we only get what looks like a few feet of skyline before it’s gone. I had to leave the house while it was still dark one morning and was able to see the whole sunrise stretch across the sky while I was driving. It was so glorious and such a pleasure. I couldn’t stop to get a picture, but I enjoyed it immensely.

(Edited to add): Bonus: Help putting Christmas things away. The whole family comes over to help decorate for Christmas. This is our first Christmas without Jesse living at home, and I was not relishing putting everything away with just Jim and I. Thankfully, Jesse was willing to stay after Jeremy left and help, and Jason and Mittu also helped a bit before they had to leave. As tired as I was afterward even with help, I can’t imagine how wiped out I’d have been if we’d had to do it alone. It was also nice to get it done and not have all the totes everywhere for days.

I hope your first week of 2022 contained blessings large and small.

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week
with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

It’s the last Friday not only of December, but of 2021. My heart is full. Here are just a few blessings from the last two weeks.

1. Christmas, of course. We feel blessed to have all our immediate family with us. We enjoyed the food, presents, cards, and togetherness.

2. Family time. My oldest son is here for a longer visit than usual, Jim has been off for the last two weeks, and the boys have had some days off here and there. We’ve enjoyed lots of chatting and food and games.

3. Our 42nd anniversary was a few days before Christmas, and we went to a really nice restaurant because we had a gift card. I was amused that the waitress said, “We want to be your special occasion place!” Kind of an acknowledgement that it’s not the kind of place one can afford to drop into causally. We thought it was neat that they decorated our dessert plates with good wishes and a candle.

4. Rest. Christmas and the weeks before, lovely as they are, are also super busy. This week, I feel like I am getting a bit of vacation. We met the kids for lunch Sunday, Mittu made roast and potatoes and carrots Tuesday, we got take-out Wednesday, Jesse made lasagna last night. There’s talk of getting take-out tonight, and Jeremy offered to make a middle-Eastern dish tomorrow. It’s nice to give all of us a break by taking turns and then getting something out a couple of days.

5. Trying a new place for lunch. Jason and Mittu told us about a place downtown that’s like a food court, except without a mall. I guess all the restaurants in it had food trucks businesses and were asked to be a part of this. It has indoor seating with some tables outside. There were several options to choose from–I got a club sandwich, Jim got shrimp and fries, Jeremy got barbecue, Jesse got ramen (I forget the exact name of the dish he got). There is even a gluten free chicken and donuts place for Mittu and Timothy. It was nice to try a new place outside of our usual favorites, and it’s nice to know of this place for when we do things downtown.

My Facebook memories showed that I shared this quote a couple of times. I probably shared it here before, too, but it’s a good reminder.

“‘Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.’ I Samuel 7:12. ‘The word ‘hitherto’ seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet ‘hitherto hath the Lord helped us!’ Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea; in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation–‘hitherto hath the Lord helped!'” Charles Spurgeon

Just as He has helped in the past, so He will in the future as we rest in and trust Him.

I wish you a very safe and happy New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and 2022!

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week
with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

Another week has gone by, and we’re another week closer to Christmas. Here are some favorites from this busy week:

1. A 35% off coupon code. I needed more long-sleeved clothes, and visited the site of an online store where I have gotten things I liked before. They had a banner across the top of their web page advertising a 35%-off coupon, applicable to your entire purchase. That was a big help: their prices are a bit more than I usually like to pay, but their quality is much better as well. I know, I know—you get what you pay for. But it was nice to have this opportunity to pay a little less.

2. A 5%-off coupon. I rotate between three grocery stores—each has some things the others don’t. I don’t go to all three in one day, but which one I go to depends on what I need. The store where I usually buy our Christmas ham, and where I planned to get our weekly groceries plus supplies for our Christmas meal, sent though the mail a 5%-off coupon for an entire order.

3. A mailing envelope. I had to mail some packages this week, and I needed a 9×12 manila envelope for one of them. But I didn’t have any: I used the last one last week. There is a store near the post office, but it’s not one of my regular stops and I wasn’t sure whether it had mailing supplies. All the other stores were a distance away. I thought about saving that mailing until after I had gone to the store, but I really didn’t want to make another trip to the Post Office, especially during this season. I checked an old cabinet where I used to keep mailing supplies, and voila, there was one lone bent but unused 9×12 envelope. A small blessing, but it really helped simplify my schedule on a busy day/week.

4. Moderate temperatures. We’ve had some icy-cold days this month, but this week the daytime temperatures have been in the 60s.

5. Christmas cards and letters, though we’ve only received three so far this year. I understand some families have foregone Christmas cards in an effort to simplify the extra tasks this time of year. And maybe they are not as needed since so many are connected more online through the year. But I still enjoy them.

We won’t have FFF next week, with it being Christmas Eve. So I’ll wish you a wonderful, meaningful Christmas. I hope you’ll be able to spend it with those you love.