Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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.

“Mom and the boys”

Birthday dinner!

Birthday bouquet!

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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.

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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!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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 a week overflowing with them, but here are five:

1. Jeremy (oldest son) coming to visit and the whole family being together. My husband took the week off and Jesse (youngest son) and Jason (middle son) were able to take a day off as well. And Jason brought Mittu (daughter-in-law) and Timothy (very special grandson 🙂 ) to spend a day at our house while he worked.

2. Jeremy’s birthday. Nice to have a special day to let people know you’re glad they were born to our family – and an excuse to have lasagna and Boston Creme Pie as well. 🙂

3. Fun despite being rained out of a couple of activities. We went to the Farmer’s Market Saturday and got thoroughly soaked but had a fun time. Then we were supposed to go to an outdoor jazz concert downtown one evening, and it got rained out as well, but we enjoyed dinner at a favorite local pizza place.

4. A fairly relaxed week. I was fretting about getting something done one afternoon and thought, “You know what? Everyone else is taking some time off this week, so I will, too.” Besides dealing with essentials like meals, dishes, and laundry, I decided not to worry about getting anything else done this week and just enjoyed relaxing and fellowship. And I even got “off” for a few meals when we ate out and dishes when Mittu did them a number of times.

5. Games. I love playing games with the family, and we pretty much only do that when everyone is here. Looking forward to more of that this weekend! Mittu and I ended up battling it out for first place in a Settlers of Catan, beating out the boys one night! She won. 🙂

Bonus: My birthday is today! Looking forward to celebrating with the family – everyone is off today! This is the first time since Jeremy moved that he has been able to be here for my birthday!

Happy Friday!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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 of my week:

1. Feeling back to normal after the “procedure that wasn’t” last week. I was thinking I shouldn’t have much to recover from since they didn’t actually do the procedure, but I guess poking around in my heart for a couple of hours takes its toll.

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!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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 a full week. On Monday I was supposed to have a procedure to correct a misfiring nerve in my heart that caused rapid and irregular heartbeats. After hours of their attempts to stimulate my heart into the abnormal rhythm in the OR, most of which I had to be awake for, they found that the trouble was in a different area than they thought and required a longer and riskier procedure, so they were not able to do anything that day. I am supposed to see the doctor in a few weeks to discuss treatment options, which will probably include a new medication. It was tremendously disappointing, after finally deciding to have this surgery after 15+ years of putting it off, going through all the mental preparation for it, and looking forward to finally being done with, to find I not only wasn’t done with it but had something else to deal with. But still, there were good things about the week:

1. Peace that passes understanding. I had written before the surgery of several concerns I had, and usually any kind of medical appointment has my nerves stretched pretty taut. But none of the things I was concerned about were a problem, and God gave me a calmness that floored me and could only have come from Him.

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.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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. Jason’s birthday. My middle son’s birthday was last Saturday, and we enjoyed celebrating him.

2. A phone call from a friend back in SC – a nice time to catch up a bit, plus to make plans to get together when she and her husband travel nearby. Can’t wait!

3. A new house – no, not for us. We had been looking for something to buy for Jason and Mittu to rent so they could get out of the higher rent apartment plus have more room. We closed on a cute little house yesterday. Whenever they feel like they need to move on (which might not be for 20 years or so – no rush. 🙂 ), we’ll probably either sell it, or, if we’re needing to downsize then, we might move into it. But that’s all way down the road – right now we’re excited for them to have a place that’s both bigger and less expensive.

4. Jim’s mom’s caregiver happily put in some extra hours so we could take care of closing on the house.

5. Safety knob covers for the oven. Timothy has gotten tall enough and curious enough to reach them, so I am glad someone invented these things.

Hope you had a great week! The next few are going to be super-busy for us, and then it’s hard to believe the summer will be over! It’s going too fast!

Happy Friday!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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. Squirrel-proof bird feeders. Since we’ve had bird feeders, we’ve had a squirrel or two come by and nibble a bit, and I had no problem with that. But this year we’ve had at least three who can empty the feeders out in a day. That gets a bit expensive. I found one squirrel-proof feeder in Wal-Mart, another on Amazon. They’re not entirely squirrel-proof, but they do slow them down a lot, and they don’t come around as often, leaving more for the birds.

2. Grilled ham. Hadn’t had it in ages, and it was so good. I didn’t take any pictures: just imagine pink ham with grill stripes. 🙂

Marinated Ham Steak

1/2 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon margarine, melted
1 to 2 teaspoons mustard
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1 ham steak

Combine first six ingredients and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Cut ham steaks in half or in smaller pieces and add to bag; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate at least two hours, turning occasionally.

Drain marinade and grill ham, uncovered, over medium heat. If the ham is fully cooked beforehand, grill only 3-4 minutes on each side; if the ham is raw, plan on 10-15 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 140-160 degrees.

The original recipe called for pineapple juice, which we didn’t have on hand the first time I made it, so I used apple juice and liked it well enough that I’ve stuck with it ever since. It made for a nice Sunday-after-church meal because we put it in the marinade in the fridge before church, and then it didn’t take long at all to grill afterward.

3. VBS week. Our Vacation Bible School coordinator has been sending emails out every evening with a short summary of how the night went plus some photos. Everyone’s done a great job with decorating and planning and such and it seems the kids are really enjoying and benefiting from it.

4. An uneventful dental visit. Seeing the dentist is never my favorite thing to do, but my visit Thursday went relatively smoothly. Since my last dental cleaning resulted in having to have a tooth pulled and a bridge put in, I was very glad there were no surprises this time.

5. This, seen at Reading to Know:

Happy Friday!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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. Lunch out at Cheddar’s. Most of you know we usually have to bring take-out in rather than going out because we can’t leave my mother-in-law home alone. But last Saturday morning Jim and I were out while her morning caregiver was here, and it was lunch time and we were near Cheddar’s, so he suggested we go there. Jason, Mittu, and Timothy were with us and Jesse joined us. That’s one of my favorite places, and we usually only go there once a year for my birthday, so it was a treat in many ways.

2. Cooler temperatures. It was overcast the first part of the week and rainy the latter part, providing a welcome break from the summer heat. The rain has been watering my plants for me as well.

3. Hershey’s miniatures. Chocolate sweetness in small portions. 🙂

4. Jim’s mom’s 87th birthday was Thursday, but we’re celebrating Friday when everyone’s off for the Fourth – Jason and Jesse work different shifts, making it hard to do things on week nights.

5. Friday off. With Independence Day falling on a Saturday this year, everyone has Friday off. Love 3-day weekends.

Happy Friday, and Happy 4th of July!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Barbara Harper

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. Surprise breakfast. Jason and Mittu had surprised us on Mother’s Day with breakfast and wanted to do the same for Father’s Day. Only this time they brought it on Saturday, for a number of reasons: so it would be even more unexpected; because they got Chick-Fil-A biscuits, and that restaurant is closed on Sundays; and so that the time would be more relaxed and open-ended. Besides the biscuits and some sausage links, Mittu also made these pineapple-upside-down muffins/cupcakes:

2. Father’s Day: Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to the computer on Father’s Day weekend to make a post for that day, but I do enjoy the time of celebrating and appreciating the fathers in my life, including my father and father-in-law in heaven, my stepfather, my husband, and my middle son. It was fun, too, to see the tributes and photos friends posted on Facebook that day.

3. Wednesdays. I mentioned that we had started hospice care for my m-i-l, and the first couple of weeks involved having a host of people coming by. I admit I was getting a little frustrated tending the (seemingly) revolving door and not being able to get anything else done or even think straight some days. But it looks like things are settling into a routine now, and it looks like Wednesday will be the day no one comes (besides weekends. They don’t come then unless something comes up). It felt so blissful this last Wednesday. I do appreciate their services, but it is nice to have a day with no visitors.

4. Different colored hydrangea blooms. I had mentioned before that my hydrangea bush is finally blossoming well this year, and I was delighted to find both blue and lavender flowers on it recently.

5. Air conditioning. It’s that time of year when a trip to Wal-Mart or 15 minutes outside watering plants leaves me drenched in sweat. It’s so nice to come into coolness at those times – and to stay in it most days. 🙂

What are some favorite parts of your week? If you’d like to fellowship with some other bloggers counting their blessings, join us at Susanne‘s.