I’m joining Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to pause, share, and be thankful for the blessings of the week.

1. Camp leftovers. Jim had some burgers, potato salad, and baked beans leftover from the guys’ camping trip last week, so we enjoyed those for lunches. Then he also had some teriyaki chicken leftover that he grilled for dinner one night.

2. A light cooking week. Besides the camp leftovers, Jim was away Wednesday night for a men’s get-together at church, so I didn’t have to make dinner. Then another night, I was tired at dinner time and asked if we could get something out.

3. Getting shower curtains and liners cleaned. I saw some time ago either from Martha Stewart or Hints from Heloise (remember her?) that you could wash plastic (or vinyl?) shower curtain liners in the washing machine with towels, and the towels help scrub them plus keep them from bunching up. I usually use rags rather than towels so I can use bleach without messing anything up. We have hard water here with lots of minerals which leaves a white residue on things that’s hard to get off. The spray cleaners only go so far. So every now and then I’ll toss the curtain liners in the wash, and then wash the shower curtains in a separate load. Two of my shower curtains need to be ironed. So all of that, plus stretching to get them all off their hooks and back on again, took a chunk of time. But it was satisfying to get it done.

4. Killing a bug on the first try. That may sound silly. 🙂 But I do count it as a blessing! When I walked into my bedroom last night, I saw a centipede scurrying across the floor. They move really fast, so I didn’t know if I’d have time to grab some tissues and then smash him. I thought about just letting him go, but then I’d wonder where he was and when he was going to come back out. Jim is usually the designated bug killer (it’s a subdivision in our marriage vows under “love and cherish” 🙂 ). But he was asleep. For some reason, the centipede just stopped as I walked past him. So I got a couple of tissues and aimed for him, thinking he’d take off before I reached him (which is what usually happens). But I got him on the first try.

5. Some productive afternoons. I had gotten discouraged after a few days of not getting things done that I needed to. One or two of those days, I was sleepy and took a longer nap than I wanted. But I had several productive spurts this week and got most of my to-do list crossed off.

How was your week?

Another week has gone by in a blur, but I like to pause for a few minutes to remember God’s blessings of the week with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Independence Day. We always enjoy having the family over for grilled burgers and hot dogs on the 4th of July. Jason and Mittu bring over some “pop-its” (they make a popping sound when you throw them to the ground) and some little devices that shoot confetti in the air when you pull a string. We’re not supposed to have fireworks where we live, so these are a fun substitute. I saw just a little of the coverage on TV about some of the big doings for America’s 250th birthday in New York.

2. Guys’ camping trip. Jim thought he was taking advantage of cooler temperatures this week to go camping, but the weather ended up being really humid. I think they had a good time anyway. When he first booked the camp site, the weather apps showed little rain. When the time came closer, the apps showed rain every day. But I don’t think they got any.

3. Good sleep. I often wake up after three to four hours of sleep, and then it takes me a while to get back to sleep. But I had several nights this week of sleeping five hours straight. It’s amazing what a difference that makes.

4. Air conditioning and ceiling fans. We were under a “heat dome” last week, and then, as I mentioned, it’s been really humid this week even though the temperatures have been a little lower.

5. Gas company relighting. The gas company was doing some work in our area and said when they were done, they would put a lock on our connection, and we needed to make an appointment so they could turn it back on and come in to relight whatever we had that used gas. I was envisioning not having hot water or being able to use the stove for a day or so. But the gas was only off briefly while they came out. And the relighting was more a matter of turning on the appliances til the air bubble in the lines seeped out. The guy said the hot water heater would relight itself, and it didn’t. Jim was miffed at that, especially since he had driven in from the camp site to be here when the utility guy was here. He called the gas company to ask them to send someone back out. But in the meantime, he found the manual for the water heater and restarted it, and that took care of the problem. But even with that, the whole thing was much less of an ordeal than I thought it would be.

I hope you’re staying cool in this muggy weather! Any special blessings this week?

It’s the first Friday of July, and I’m pausing with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to appreciate the week’s blessings.

1. Good medical news. My oldest son received some great news from a medical scan this week.

2. Dinner with the family. Jason and Mittu had a family over to their house for Sunday lunch. They had enough leftovers that they offered to bring them to our house for Sunday dinner. Plus they stayed and ate with us.

3. Dinner when I wasn’t feeling well. I struggled with vertigo for several hours one day (it usually only lasts a few minutes) and then had a persistent headache for a couple of days. Jim got takeout for dinner the first night and then grilled fish and made a salad and potatoes the next night. It was a big help not to have to deal with dinner during that time.

4. Easy treatment for vertigo. When I first started having trouble with vertigo some years ago, I was sent to a physical therapist who took me through exercises to help with it, which I could then do at home. I had not done them in ages since the vertigo episodes didn’t usually last long. But they’re happening more often and getting more severe. Then this week, the room-spinning feeling persisted. The exercises are a little disconcerting, because at first they bring on vertigo. As I was getting into position, I was borderline grousing to myself about having to take time out of the day to do them. But then I thought–it’s nice to have a fix to a medical problem that doesn’t take long, isn’t strenuous, and doesn’t involve medicine or an office visit or a medical procedure.

5. A Great Awakening film. I mentioned in my end-of-June recap the new film A Great Awakening about the friendship between Ben Franklin and preacher George Whitefield. We rented it from Amazon Prime. At first, I wasn’t conscious of the proximity to the 4th of July, but then realized the film was probably scheduled to release near that date on purpose. We thought it was very good.

Belated Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends! And to those of us in the USA, have a happy and safe Independence Day tomorrow!

(Graphic courtesy of Julie at Less-than-Perfect Life of Bliss.)

It’s the first official Friday’s Fave Five of summer–though in my mind, it’s been summer all month. And it’s the last FFF of June. I pause on Fridays with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to share the blessings of the week.

1. Father’s Day. We enjoyed having the family over, one of them via FaceTime.

2. July 4th decorations. I love my country and my flag, but I don’t usually have any special decorations for Independence Day–mainly because I don’t like red, white, and blue as a decorating scheme. But I went to Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago and found some I liked. They were 40% off, plus I had a gift card to spend.

3. Impromptu date. We went out to Olive Garden, anticipating that they might be busy on a Saturday night. But we were seated right away in a small area with just four or five tables. We really like the smaller seating areas there rather than the restaurant being one big, open, noisy room.

4. Having Tim over while his mom had a doctor’s appointment. After lunch, we just hung out together in the family room. I wondered later whether I should plan something special to do when he’s here. But I think we all enjoy just relaxing together at times, too.

5. Good conversations, one with a friend, one with the folks around our table at our Wednesday evening get-together at church.

How was your week?

Here we are more than halfway through June. I pause on Fridays with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to intentionally look at at the blessings of the week. Those blessings often pass us by almost unnoticed unless we make a habit to intentionally look for them and express gratitude for them.

1. A thoughtful gesture. We discovered a little bird’s nest in the planter on our porch.

Jim put photos on our family text thread, commenting that he’d have to be careful about watering that planter. Then the next time we saw Jason, he gave us a little device he 3D-printed to help water the planter without disturbing the bird’s nest.

2. Productive days. Every day this week has not been as productive as I had hoped, but I did get a few good days in. I enjoyed getting a number of little odd jobs done.

3. VBS video. I forgot to mention this last week, but the Sunday after VBS, the director gives a report and shows a video from VBS week. It’s so neat to see and hear a bit about how God worked in and through people.

4. Sleep. I don’t seem to be able to sleep more than about four hours at a time. Whenever I wake up, I almost always have to get up to use the bathroom. Sometimes I can get back to sleep, sometimes not until a nap later in the day. But sometimes I conk out arounf 9 p.m. on the couch. And even though I wake up in a couple of hours and have to get ready for bed, I can usually get back to sleep easily and feel so much more rested in the morning.

5. Intersections. Lately, what I’ve heard from the sermon and podcast from Ecclesiastes has intersected with the book on God’s attributes that I am going through with a friend. Mainly things like the limitations of being human, our lack of control over much of what happen in our lives, the need to trust God and rest in Him. I love when that happens.

That’s our week! How was yours? I hope you have a good time honoring your fathers on Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day to any dads reading here.

Another Friday (already!), another opportunity to stop and count the week’s blessings with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Vintage Market Days. This is where a number of vendors from all over come and display, and try to sell, vintage-looking items. There were a lot of clothes, craft items, furniture, and more. Jim and I went with Jason, Mittu, and Timothy. It seemed the best of these kinds of events that we attended.

Here’s my haul:

I didn’t intentionally look for a bird theme, but that seems to be what I found! Along with a giant chocolate chip cookie and a slice of banana bread. It was a fun outing.

2. My oldest son’s new job. My oldest son got a call from a recruiter from a resume he had posted online ten years ago. As they talked and then my son went for an interview, all the boxes seemed to tick favorably, so he decided to go with the new job opportunity. I don’t want to say much more than that, because it’s not my story to tell. But we prayed for him through the decision-making and are happy for him. It seemed the hand of the Lord was obvious in a number of factors.

3. Timely books. Just as I’ve been pondering over a particular issue for the last few months, I discovered a book written on the subject by someone I know of and have reason to trust.

4. New Wednesday night church activities. Over the summer, instead of our usual Bible studies, the church has smaller prayer meetings. They’re attempting to do something different this year–still having prayer time, but also food and other activities, sometimes meeting all together, sometimes just men or women. We had the first such meeting last night with food catered by Salsarita’s (I’m not sure, but I don’t think it will be catered every week). We really enjoyed the conversation around our table and the prayer time together.

5. Moderate weather. Once again, the forecast showed rain and thunderstorms most of the week. We got a little rain, but not as much as projected, and no thunderstorms. Seven of the next eight days show a forecast of rain and thunderstorms again, so I hope that forecast is as inaccurate as the last week’s 🙂 I don’t mind some rain, of course. But, living in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, where there are hills, there are also low spots which flood when we get as much rain as was in the forecast. Then when the ground gets that soaked, sometimes tree roots loosen and trees fall over. And thunderstorms and lightning can cause fallen tree limbs and power outages. So it’s a blessing when rain is mild and limited.

How was your week?

We’re almost a week into June already. I’m pausing with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, where she hosts an opportunity for folks to share some highlights or blessings of their week.

1. Winning an Amazon gift card from Susan for a drawing she was hosting. I used it to buy this mini sewing room kit. It doesn’t look as easy as the Lego bookish sets I did! We’ll see how it goes.

2. Lunch with Melanie. I enjoyed the conversation as well as the food at Cracker Barrel with the gift cards my family gave me.

3. An impromptu dinner date. Jim and I went out to Olive Garden one night this week. It’s a little further away than most of the places where we eat, so we don’t get there often. But we both love that this one was divided into smaller areas instead of being one big room. The noise level at some restaurants takes away from the enjoyment of them, but Olive Garden didn’t have that problem.

4. A “retirement” schedule. I joke that even though my husband is retired, I don’t get to retire. 🙂 Someone still has to cook and clean and do laundry. 🙂 Not that I mind. The load for that kind of thing is a little lighter now, though. And Jim does help with cleaning and dishes sometimes, and he does the grocery shopping now. But what I most appreciate about our more relaxed schedule this week is that, most of the time, if I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep, I can take a nap as needed. I’d rather get all my sleeping done at the designated time and place. But when that doesn’t happen, I can make up for it.

5. VBS (Vacation Bible School) for our church is this week. We donated some supplies for the crafts and decorations, but we’re not able to be there every night to help. Mittu is helping, though, and Timothy is a helper this year instead of attending as a kid. Our VBS director has more love and enthusiasm for this ministry than anyone I’ve ever known. It’s been fun to see the decorations going up, and we look forward to hearing how it all went. They’re using Answers in Genesis Emerald Crossing curriculum based on Psalm 23 this year.

That was our week. How was yours?

Welcome to the final FFF of May. I’m not really ready to go from spring to summer. I know it’s not officially summer for a few weeks yet, but I’ve always felt that summer was June, July, and August. And whether I am ready or not, summer is coming! So I’d better gear up for it.

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story invites us to share what blessings the Lord has graced us with each week.

1. Memorial Day. Though I am sorry for the cost of life, I am thankful for those who gave their all that we might have the freedoms we enjoy today. I always like to watch the National Memorial Day concert on PBS the Sunday night before and hear stories of people from various wars.

Then we enjoyed having the family over for Jim’s grilled burgers and playing games.

2. A new camellia bush. Jim had gotten it for me for Mother’s Day, but it arrived late. He planted it this week. It’s not supposed to bloom til later in the summer, so I hope it will be established by then.

3. New flowers. Jim cut back the spent daffodil foliage and planted some annuals by our front sidewalk.

4. Mild weather. The weather apps have been showing rain every day for almost two weeks. We’ve not gotten nearly as much as predicted. And, thankfully, we haven’t had any storms. The rain that we have received has been pleasant and gentle.

5. More impromptu times with the kids. Mittu brought dinner over when they came to do laundry, then they stopped in later this week as well. We went out for lunch Sunday after church, too.

How was your last week of May?

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.