Saturday, June 1, 2019

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from here in our corner of Iowa where yesterday's temperatures reached 88 degrees (and 91 according to our car).  It was hot and sunny, but today we will be back to normal......low 70's.  Everything is so very green, but hazy.  The Canadian fires are sending smoke down through Minnesota and Iowa, filling our skies with a light smokey haze.  It is time for flowers to brighten our yard, so we purchased two geraniums pots this week to start with.  Last night I looked out at one pot, and half the flowers were on the ground.  Some detective work had us pointing a finger at a jack rabbit, who chewed the leaves and flowers off, and then left them on the ground.  Never have heard of any animal finding geraniums tasty!  That is one of the reasons we have them every year.  Sturdy, smelly, and beautiful, but unattractive to local wildlife.  Or so we thought.

Joel has another funeral next week.  Since taking this Interim position, he has had 7 funerals  in 9 months.  That is quite a few!  The two churches are getting close to interviewing pastors.  It is so important to find the right fit for a congregation and a pastor.

I have been off Verzenio for a while in preparation for the bi-lateral mastectomy coming up.  Boy, what a difference.  I am helping around the house a lot more, and walking 10-15 minutes a day in the hopes of building back up to my daily 30 minutes.  So nice to feel stronger and fully focused.  Verzenio has been doing a good job against the cancer though, so I am grateful for it.



Yesterday I welcomed a package from Amazon.  I had ordered some  sofa pillow covers that would bring color into the living room.  I love sunflowers and found them for a really really good price.  They arrived yesterday and we purchased pillow inserts from Hobby Lobby.  Our sofa and love seat now have a spot of color that make us smile.



We have a granddaughter who will graduate next weekend.  The plan is to be there!  Exciting times.
Our youngest grands are 11 and our oldest grand has left the "teens" behind.  The four oldest will be in college this fall.  I can remember so well their toddler years.

We had a few tornados in our area this week.  One 30 miles from us was quite large, and did damage at the county fairgrounds and to a few houses.  We have spent time over the years in our basements waiting for the "all clear".  One summer we were camping at a RV campground in South Dakota on our way home from a long trip.  There were many tornadoes sighted in the area that night so Joel and I spent several hours outside the camper keeping an eye on the sky.  Another time we were traveling from MN to Iowa for a graduation party when we found ourselves in a tornado warning.  Winds were blowing strong, rain was pelting down, and we ended up pulling up to the side of a building for some protection til it passed.  I don't know if we would ever live in a house without a basement for weather related reasons!

Yesterday Joel ran into a neighbor at the grocery store.  They visited quite awhile about the construction they are doing to the outside of their house.  Then the woman asked how I was doing.  As they talked she said, "Our children still ask all the time how your wife is doing."  It brought tears to my eyes.  I have never met their adult kids and I have only met the woman once.....but they are praying.  And last December they came as a family to our front porch and said Christmas carols to us on Christmas Day night.  We were here alone and I was trying to recover from that terrible disaster of a surgery.......needless to say, their caroling made our Christmas special!   So many nice people......so many praying.

Today would have been our son Kevin's 39th birthday.  He died in December of 2004 from a virus that caused congestive heart failure.  He has a son, Eli, who is going to be 17 soon.  We are in touch with him and his family.  His mom remarried.  Kev has a daughter too, but her mom wanted nothing to do with us so we have no contact.  She is in our prayers.  Heaven.  I wonder if they celebrate birthdays or if every day just feels like one big celebration!?!

Have a good weekend, enjoying the weather where you are.  Breathe in the fresh air, take in the wonderful colors that grace your landscape, eat something delightful and tasty, let laughter enter in, and give thanks.  Today is a new day, celebrate it.

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