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 are some highlights from this week:

1. A belated birthday present. One of the things I had suggested for a birthday idea was this doily. I had forgotten about it, but it arrived this week. I think it is so pretty, and it fits this space so well.

2. A three-day weekend is always a nice thing. It was pretty quiet as all but Jesse were away, but we still did the traditional Labor Day burger grilling. 🙂

3. A good blend of rest and getting things done both Saturday and Monday. I love when it works out that way. Some weekends are more restful, needed some times, but I feel guilty if I don’t get something done. But full-blown, non-stop busy weekends are exhausting. It’s nice when there is a balance.

4. Some organizing in the craft/sewing room. I may show you next week. It’s nice when a better idea for how to set something up pops in one’s head unexpectedly. And then having time to actually implement it is a plus!

5. Taking some first steps towards fitness and losing 2 lbs already!

A nice week overall, and a pleasant day today (Thursday) as I am writing, with some cooler temperatures and gentle rainfall off and one. Hope your week has been good as well.

I can’t let this day go back without remembrance of the events of 9/11 and those suffered most by losing a loved one or suffering harm physically, emotionally, or mentally. My prayers are with them and our nation.

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 has been another wonderful week. Here are some highlights:

1. My birthday. I know I mentioned it last Friday, but it was just starting then. 🙂 My oldest son was still here for his visit, and everyone else in the family took the day off – not just for me, but so everyone could have the same day off to spend time together while Jeremy was here. I got thoroughly spoiled with lunch at a favorite restaurant on the river, Mittu making diner that evening, Coca Cola Cake from Cracker Barrel (did you know you could order a whole one? That’s a lot of chocolate – so good!), flowers, pink plates and cute napkins, and some thoughtful, loving gifts and cards. Best of all was having the whole family here.

2. Thanksgiving in August. Jeremy won’t be here for Thanksgiving this year – he traded that time to be here for Timothy’s first birthday last spring. So Mittu made Thanksgiving dinner one day while he was here.

 

3. Missions conference at our church the first part of this week. We only got to attend on Sunday, but I enjoyed hearing one of our missionaries from Croatia and hearing updates from some of the others. We’ve only been here five years, so haven’t met all of our missionaries yet, and it was very nice to get to know some of them a bit better.

4. Lunch out Sunday. We don’t often eat out on Sunday unless we have company, but we had to get up way early in the morning to get Jeremy to the airport, and, although I dearly love having all the family here, I was pretty well wiped out by Sunday. I asked Jim on the way home if we could get take-out somewhere along the way, and he indulged me. Then I took one of the best naps ever. 🙂

5. A safety bar in the bathroom. I have balance issues and usually brace myself on the closet door frame when getting out of the shower. My husband happened to witness that one day and not long thereafter installed a safety bar. Much better and more secure!

 After Sunday, it was a pretty quiet, routine week, which, as much as I love my family and get-togethers, was nice after a busy week. 🙂

Happy Friday!

2. Hospital discount. Forgot to mention this last week, but when we got a call for pregistration, we were told if we wanted to go ahead and pay our portion then, we’d get a 20% discount. Since we were still paying from our deductible before insurance kicked in, that helped quite a lot.

3. Nature’s Valley Protein Crunchy Granola with Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate.

Saw this in the grocery store and decided to try it. Normally I don’t care for dark chocolate, but this is good. The protein helps with those low late morning or afternoon slumps.

4. A new pastor. Some of you may remember that our pastor passed away last September. We recently voted on a new pastor, and he accepted the position. He happens to be our former assistant pastor! Now we will need to look for a new assistant, but I am hoping that is not as long a process. Even though the leadership has been doing a great job — the church hasn’t just been sitting on the sidelines, but has been engaging in various ministries along the way — it does feel good to have a designated senior pastor to take the reins.

5. Jason and Mittu’s anniversary. Hard to believe it has been six years already, and this year has been momentous with a new job, having a preemie baby who is doing great, and a new home. We watched little Timothy while his mom and dad went out for dinner, and he did well. He’s such a joy!

Happy Friday!

2. Kind people. I mentioned in my post after the surgery that there were several kind people along the way, some of whom I only interacted with for a few moments, who were a great blessing. I loved Susan’s comment about letting that inspire her to see and be kind to people. A good reminder to me as well.

3. My wonderful family. My son and daughter-in-law brought dinner over Sunday and then spent Monday afternoon at our house making dinner for both Monday and Tuesday and cookies. Plus they brought me pink roses in this gorgeous vase:

Timothy colored my first ever picture from him. 🙂

Jesse accompanied me to the store and has been doing things around the house requiring any heavy lifting, since I am not supposed to do that for a few days. And my dear husband patiently put up with my fears beforehand and my tears afterward, put Benadryl on my back where I had an allergic reaction to some adhesive, and has been doing a great job taking care of me in various ways. It was good to FaceTime with my oldest son, too, after getting home that night.

4. Timing. I didn’t set the date for this procedure–the doctor’s office did — but it was perfect timing. We had Jason’s birthday and move in the last couple of weeks and my oldest son’s coming for a visit and his birthday in the next couple of weeks, but this week there is nothing going on, so it has been a good time to take things a little easier.

5. My first ever chicken and dumplings. I don’t think I had ever made them before. A lady in one of our former churches used to make a great version and often brought them to potlucks and for meals when someone was sick. I think I was afraid mine would never live up to hers and I was afraid of the dumplings ending up totally mushy. But somehow this dish was just what I was in the mood for one night, and this recipe looked simple enough. I used frozen chicken tenderloins (love that I can cook them straight from the freezer), so that eliminated the tedious task of picking meat off bones. I thought it turned out pretty well, and husband and son seemed to like it ok. It hit that craving spot for me and was fairly easy as well.

My 9th blogging anniversary was at the end of July, but with everything going on, I didn’t really observe it except as a passing thought. Usually I do a giveaway or something on that day, but we’ll save it for next year’s 10th anniversary! Thank YOU for being a part of my blogging experience! Your kind comments have meant a great deal to me.

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 are some favorite parts of the last week:

1. Visit with friends. Some dear friends from where we used to live were in TN to celebrate their anniversary and asked if they could come visit our church Sunday morning and then have lunch with us. It was so good to see them again and fellowship over McAlister’s Deli wares.

2. Garden bounty. We don’t have a garden, but our neighbors have been bringing us some of their overflow. Most of what we haven’t been able to use we’ve passed on to my son and daughter-in-law and Great-Grandma’s caregiver.

3. Getting my son and daughter-in-law moved in to their new home. So far they are really enjoying the new place! I kept Timothy at our house while everyone else did the hard work. 🙂 He mostly did well. He wanted to be held while I made Great-Grandma’s breakfast – he had just been dropped off and was probably feeling a little insecure – and I did as much as I could while holding his 27 lbs. with one arm, but finally had to put him down and let him cry while I finished up. He cried again when I put him in the pack-and-play when I dashed off to the restroom, but other than that we had a great time.

4. Visiting with my daughter-in-law and grandson. I went to keep them company while some repairmen were there and enjoyed visiting and lunch.

5. A couple of days at home. I can’t seem to get grocery-shopping and other errand-running down to less than twice a week, but it was nice to have a couple of days to just enjoy being home and getting some things done.

Thank you for your kind comments about my upcoming surgery on yesterday’s post. You’re the best!

Happy Friday!

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 are some favorite parts of the last week:

1. Jim’s mom’s birthday was last Thursday, but we celebrated Friday since everyone had off then for the 4th of July. It was fairly low-key as she doesn’t have the endurance for a long, involved celebration, but I think it was enough to make for a special time for her: some flowers, a balloon, a new nightgown, several cards, a cupcake for blowing out candles but then a cream cheese/pudding/whipped topping dessert that she could eat for her birthday treat.

Of course, a visit from her favorite little guy always brightens her day:

2. Neighborhood cookout and pot luck for the 4th. One neighbor cooked some amazing ribs in a smoker, and everyone else brought side dishes and desserts. Good food and a good time to touch base with the neighbors.

3. Broccoli salad. I knew people would be bringing potato salad and baked beans to the cookout, and I wanted to bring something different so as not to have too much of the other stuff. We had a broccoli salad that we liked years ago at a banquet, so I searched a number of recipes. I ended up combining this one and this one, using fresh broccoli, bacon, red onion, sunflower kernels, shredded cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and sugar. Loved it except that it was way too sweet. If I make it again I’ll reduce the sugar a great deal. Unfortunately, even though it sounds light and summery, it’s over 500 calories a serving, so I think next time I’ll also try lighter versions of some of the ingredients.

4. Rain. Usually rain doesn’t make my list, especially two weeks in a row. But as I mentioned yesterday, we have some dry, dying trees and had some unsafe fireworks usage in the neighborhood, so I was really glad everything was soaked from rain that day and most of the week before.

5. Puttering. A small sewing task for my husband led to some straightening, cleaning out, and organizing in the sewing room. It’s nice to have a week with relatively few obligations so one can meander off at will into tasks that there’s often not time for.

Happy Friday!