Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you on this unseasonably warm day in Northern Iowa. We're tipping the scale into the last two weeks of November but we're still seeing temperatures mostly in the mid 50s.  Definitely a warmer fall. They talk about a bit of snow next week but it doesn't look like it all amount too much if anything. 

 Speaking of snow, Joel was busy putting Christmas tree lights on the outside of the house yesterday, which of course was complicated. He tested all the lights before he put them up and they all worked fine.   Then he got them all up, got the extension cords working and the lights did not work. He spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the problem and ended up with a few lights not working at all and the rest working fine. Sound familiar? iWhat is it about Christmas lights that tries our patience?  We will have some outdoor lights and for that we are grateful. 

Speaking of outdoors, our pansies are still hanging on for us to enjoy.  Our Maple tree has now given us brown leaves on one side and the other half the tree leaves are green and yellow! The geese are still gathering and the squirrels are still storing food. No deer around this week but maybe they are in hiding as it is deer hunting season.  

Speaking of hunting, Joel used to be an avid hunter until he joined the military.  The first time I went hunting with him and his parents, we were crouched down watching a big buck.....when the buck moved out of sight they talked about where it was now, so being "helpful" I stood up and pointed and said "there it is!"  Needless to say the deer took off and I learned about being quiet and invisible while hunting!  Of course no one ever let me carry a gun which was a good thing.  

This has been a quiet week here in our corner of the world.  There was not much going on and that is okay.Yesterday we made pumpkin bread and we'll freeze most of this batch and then make another batch next week. We send it home with the kids every year either at Thanksgiving or after Christmas. We are looking forward to them coming for Thanksgiving this year! They are taking over the kitchen as soon as they arrive, which is a relief for Joel and I. This year our energy has gone to other things. 

Speaking of other things I have an appointment 2 hours south of us in Des Moines on Monday morning with the retina specialist. We are hoping he can give me some insights into what's happened with my right eye and even suggest a glaucoma specialist if necessary. I try to be honest here with my readers.....needless to say my anxiety levels have been off the charts regarding the future and being told I will lose my vison. A million "what if's" come into my mind making it hard to breathe at times. Yesterday I read a devotional that talked about a woman having anxiety and God telling her to name the"what ifs" in a positive way. Like what if that never happens, what if your children grow up to be strong and healthy, what if this disease leaves your body, what if...... what if..... what if. Last night I woke to seeing the name Jesus in my mind and hearing, "Do what Jesus tells you". It's stuck with me and I woke up this morning thinking .....do what Jesus tells you. In my memories on Facebook came a post that spoke about anxiety and turning your worry into worship and when you do turn that worry into worship God can make the mountain of anxiety  bow down to Him. Yesterday a friend had suggested spending a lot of time praising God regarding my circumstances. Worship andn Praise.  I'm paying attention.  These are the ways God speaks to me and when I receive more than  2-3 verses, or words of wisdom that connect, I listen.

Joel has not ridden his bike much this week. I've continued to walk mostly inside and we've done the usual baking and cleaning and TV watching.  Homemade chicken and rice soup filled our bellies for a few meals.  Tomorrow Joel preaches again at two churches south of town.  Last Sunday we went to worship at the church Joel served for 10 years.  Nice to connect with some familiar faces.  

Speaking of familiar faces,  my niece Deb has created a video of old photos and a taped conversation she had with my mom quite a few years ago.  Listening to my mom share stories of her life was interesting.  AND I learned some things I never knew.  I am still blown away by the fact that my parents knew each other 2 weeks and 2 days when they got married.  Crazy.  So glad Deb took the time to create this 1.5 hours video/audio story of my mom's history.  

So after a week of "waiting" and resting, we continue to be grateful for the doctors who care for us.  Grateful for homemade soup, pumpkin bread, and a full flridge and tummy.  Grateful for Christms lights that are not quite perfect, memories of my one and only deer hunting expedition.  Grateful for warmer temps, our Maple tree rustling leaves, pansies that won't give up.  Grateful for phone calls, texts, a grand's 21st birthday, emails, and new adventures with online food ordering!  Ha.....Grateful I can still see..  Grateful for Deb's video of my mom's life in photos and stories.  Grateful for the love of family and friends.....and so much more.

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our corner of Iowa on this second weekend of November. The leaves have pretty much fallen off many of the trees and the beautiful Autumn colors are now gone. Nature is preparing for winter.   

Speaking of nature,  today Joel went out on the porch to have his morning coffee and saw for the first time here a red fox making its rounds in the neighborhood. He was able to observe it for awhile.  You don't see fox very often and you certainly don't see them in town,  but we live close to the river and that makes a difference for the variety of wildlife that we see. We went for a brief walk the other day towards dusk and a large doe ran across just a few feet in front of us on our street.  The squirrels have been busy storing food and I often hear them in the morning running across the roof. Of course the geese are gathering too.  God always shows up in nature.   

 November brought with it a time change. I'm not sure why we do this to our bodies, but it certainly is hard to get things back in balance once they shift the clock. At 5:00 it is dark out and I don't like it! I'm grateful for every sunset but I wish it was later! 

Last Sunday we went to church which was nice. Monday I decided to call my retina doctor's office and get an appointment with him. We had not been hearing back from Mayo Clinic which is not unusual but I just was tired of waiting and wanted to get his opinion on what is going on with my right eye. Made an appointment for later this month down at his main office. Soon after that I received a call from the oncology nurse telling me I was on a wait list for Mayo Ophthalmology. A wait list starting in February 2025! Okay then, that's kind of a long wait when you've been told you're going to lose the vision in your only eye. It made me feel good about seeing the retina doctor. While she was on the phone I told her I'd been called to jury duty and with wondering if I could even manage that. She told me she'd look into it because she thought I had enough serious health concerns that I should be excused. The next day she called and I was excused.   So relieved.  God is working through people and I am so grateful.

It's good to see things starting to fall into place after finding ourselves in a holding pattern. It takes me back to when we first were flying into the Philippines after an 18 hour flight we were in a holding pattern and the plane had to reverse its engines in order to land on the short runway. Everything in that plane was vibrating including us. It was a scary and we didn't know  what in the world was going on but trusted the pilot who assured us.  That's how I have felt with our circumstances...we are in a holding pattern, things seem to be really really quiet or really really shaky and it's unpredictable and out of our hands.  After we've done what we can, we wait. God, our pilot will take care of it all. We need to trust Him.  

Speaking of trusting God, Wednesday we ended up in the ER for Joel. I wrote about it on Facebook. Tuesday night he had some symptoms that came up that were very concerning, and had us questioning if he needed to see a doctor. He called his nurse Wednesday morning and after checking, she said the doctor said he needed to go into ER....... where we spent hours waiting for a room and then seeing a doctor and going through tests. Turns out he's okay except for Vertigo. They ruled out stroke or heart. and even stress as the cause.   We are kind of are tired of all this for sure but grateful that he's okay. 

Joel did a little biking this week and I walked in the house most days.  Yardwork continues and baking for me.......some cleaning and even getting lights on the artifical tree stationed in the basement family room.  It's only 3 weeks until Thanksgiving and our children are coming this year. That's exciting for us. It's always a short visit but it certainly blessed us greatly.

Speaking of grateful......we are!  For Fall, for a fox showing up.  For a deer crossing our path.  Grateful for church worship online and in the pew,  a visit with a friend, Culvers salads, TV, biking and walking, Joel's good heath report. All the good nurses and doctors we encounter.  The oncology nurse stepping in to help me above and beyond!  Grateful for texts, emails, phone calls, and so so much more...

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to you on our first weekend of November here in Iowa.   Earlier this week temperatures were in the 80s but on Halloween it was a frigid 37° when the kids came around. Still, we gave out seven bags of candy and had to close the door and turn off the lights because we ran put!  Had at least least 135 kids. Joel likes to sit on the porch but this year it was a little cold so he sat inside and watched for them to come. Mostly he gets only children who are polite and grateful. There's always one or two who are defiant or want to grab handfuls of candy, but for the most part it's a very enjoyable experience and fun for the kids.

 Last Saturday night after our online worship we watched the movie The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. It was depressing, it was sad and there was no happy ending. I really know how to pick them!  Sunday we headed off to church at Our Saviors where Joel was pastor 10 years. I had not been there for several years and it was enjoyable to be back in  familiar places and see familiar faces....well at least a few! Joel left there in 2006 so some faces are new!

It rained all day Wednesday with us getting over an inch of much needed moisture. On Wednesday night we went to Wednesday Alive at the church where we are members.  They have a meal and then they have a short program for an hour in different areas and for different ages. The last episode of ours was called the Zombies and Joel and I really didn't care for it. Zombies?  At the very end we did talk about death and if we were afraid to die. It brought to mind a quote that I heard recently, " I'm not afraid to die,  I just don't want to be there when it happens". That's exactly how I feel. I know where I'm going, I know that Jesus is waiting for me and my loved ones who've already died but I just don't want to go through the process of dying! Moving on...

Joel has not been able to get out and bike this week as it has been too windy. He has managed to do yard work, getting ready for winter. ....just like the animals around us. One of the days it was 80 so we had the back door open and I could hear the geese honking and flying overhead....Gathering Together and getting ready to go south! Love that sound. 

 Thursday we had a long visit with a friend then headed to the chiropractor in the afternoon. Friday we got our booster shot, this time from Pfizer and I have not had any side effects for the first time. Joel is off to Gabby Grandpa's for his Saturday coffee hour. So it's been a pretty normal week around here and between it all we're waiting for the phone to ring and it has not. It's almost 2 weeks since the referral went to Mayo Clinic.

This week we watched Matlock, High Potential, another Islands documentary and a couple of Northern Exposures.  And also 1 strange movie. Not too crazy about Matlock. There's so much lying and deceit that goes on and Joel and I both find that very disturbing. The show is intriguing but not very ethical at this point. It does show how big law firms can work. I know it's just a show but when the show does not make us comfortable we need to look at it and see if we really want to invest in it. 

I've been walking and I'm connectiong with audiobook mysteries at home but Im still missing Father Tim! Very few of Jan Karon's books are on audio in the free libraries.

 It is November and Thanksgiving will arrive the end of the month. We have much to be thankful for. A warm house, a long beautiful fall, visits with family and friends, Halloween with all the kids running around outside, good food good Fellowship good worship. Grateful for audio books and TV. Grateful for podcast and music. Grateful for the quiet that we sometimes find necessary. Grateful for all this and so much more.

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles om

Good Saturday to you on this last weekend of October 2024. It has been mostly a dry and windy week here in North Iowa. Our resident squirrel has spent time burying his winter food supply in one of our pansy pots! He's going to be surprised when he can't find his stash this winter. This dry weather reminds me of Montana. I remember one day Joel took the kids and drove out to the outdoor pump in the country where we could get nitrate-free safe water. While they were outside of the car Joel looked up and saw this huge wall coming up at them filled with dust and dirt. He yelled at the kids to get in the car and they quickly got inside, rolled windows up and sat as it rolled across the land and over them and kept going. He said it was fascinating to see.

Joel has been busy this week with yard work, a little wood working and fix it projects and yesterday he took me shopping, bless his heart! I am not the shopper in the family, he is. Especially now when it's difficult for me to see in the stores where they have all the bright lights. We were looking for a winter coat for me. I have two winter coats ...one is 20 years old and one is 25 years old but I still think they look pretty good! I figured I may need to get more in style.. haha.. we found two coats that we got on sale and now I just have to decide if I'm keeping them both or not! Everything is always too long in the arms for me to get it to go around my middle. I'm pretty short and round. I'm still thinking I like my 25-year-old cold the best! 

I have been walking and I finished At Home in Mitford, the first of the Father Tim series and found myself kind of sad to have it be over. I spent 19 hours listening to it and found it quite a comfort at this time. I'm now reading a mystery series that actually brings up God quite often and I am impressed by that. Ellery Adams is the author of The Hope Street series. 

We've been watching a couple new shows, Matlock with Kathy Bates,  High Potential and our usual NCIS original series. We also discovered some documentaries that we've enjoyed on the Pacific Islands and American Islands. Martin Clunes does them. There's so much Beauty out there to see and experience!

This is not my first draft of Saturday scribbles this week. I had it all written out and was almost finished and it all disappeared off my new computer. I have searched and searched and cannot find it. I am more than a bit annoyed because once I write it down it's out of my mind pretty much. It is  a big enough challenge to be on a laptop.  Speaking of that, we continue on with the eye drama Journey and hope to hear next week fr om Mayo ophthalmology. It has been rough at times as it was two years ago now that the retina doctors were trying to save my left eye....and now here I am trying to hold on to the vision in my right eye. So difficult to accept.   For now we're covering it all in prayer and doing a lot of deep breathing. And thank you for your prayers.

Joel's cousin Luther sent him a manila envelope this week and inside was Joel's seminary graduation program and a bulletin from his ordination service in 1980.  Joel's Aunt Harriet (Lther's mom) had saved them for all these years and as they sort through her "stuff" they came across these items.  It was fun to look back and reminisce about those two important days and dates in Joel's life.  In all our lives.  

Today is our daughter N.'s birthday.  A big one!  Happy Birthday honey!  We love you so much and are so grateful for you in our lives.  Enjoy the next decade or two or three!  May they all be filled with joy and adventures.

Grateful this week for the trace of rain we had.  Grateful for the doctors working to get me help.  Grateful the urology report this week was good.  Grateful for Fall weather, squirrels so busy, and sunshine.  Grateful for Father Tim series.  Grateful for walking, bike rides for Joel, and good TV.  Grateful for our Na's birthday.  For our Na......   Grateful for new winter coats.  Grateful for phone calls with kids, texts, and emails....and so much more.  

Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to you from our corner of Iowa where the views are beautiful as Autumn show off..   It is a little warmer than usual right now but so many amazing colors on display. Again nature is giving us it's very best. 

Speaking of very best, yesterday as we were eating lunch Joel pointed out the dining room deck door and asked if I could see the bird outside in the bush.  It took me a little while to discover it but there it was,  an amazingly beautiful male cardinal all decked out in it's red finery. They say Cardinals are messenger from God and I'm going to take comfort in that. This bird clung to that bush even though the winds were in the twenties moving it all around for at least the 10 minutes that we watched it,  if not longer. Mr. Cardinal sometimes looked directly at us or so it seemed and I thanked the bird for sharing his beauty with us. Cardinals have always been my favorite bird. Always. This Cardinal encounter was a timely gift from God.

It was a stressful week....a bumpy ride. Tuesday I went to a medical appointment  where I encountered God showing up.  I shared that story on Facebook about the young woman who's battling stage 4 cancer with three recurrences so far. An ugly beast it is. Wednesday I saw the oncologist which was quite informational and at the same time overwhelming.She wants to refer me to Mayo Clinic regarding the eye and medication issue because they did find articles linking lack of hormones with glaucoma getting worse but is there a connection?  The medication I was on takes the estrogen out of my body at a high level.  So even though this is a possibility not a probability,,,,there it is. And my oncologist says this is outside her realm.......I dread going back to Mayo and going through tests and talking to doctors and just all of it.  We have had so many emotions surface.    I have longed for Heaven more than once.  Heaven has looked good!  BUT we have put this in God's hands and when I feel like I've had enough I just rest and keep telling him to take over. So now we wait for phone calls. And appointments - possibly. We are both working hard to stay in the "We have today"  place and believing that God will guide this journey.  

Friday Joel and I went on a little trip to just find some gourds and little pumpkins and also big pumpkins. First we stopped at the Dollar Tree for cards and then headed out to a market on the other side of town where most of their stuff was on sale. Then we came back to the local Lutheran Church it has a pumpkin patch this year. We also voted in between so that is done. It was wonderful to do something "normal".  And now we are looking at many good fun fall pumpkins and gourds in the house and outside. Joel says they are "gourdgous".......Ha   Thursday Joel went on a bike ride with members of the church. It was his normal route but it was so very windy. I think winds were sustained at 24 to 25 with wind gusts up to 35 that day. He did a slow ride with other members and they had a good time. He also has been doing some wordworking and yard work.  

I'm reading a new audiobook which I really enjoy. I waited on a list for it for 2 months.  It's called "At Home in Medford by Jan Karen and I think I mentioned it last week.  The book is 19 hours of listening and I only get 2 weeks to have it so I'm keeping busy taking it with me everywhere in the house! I do have the book here on my bookshelf if I run out of time. I've done some walking I baked cookies for Joel and I made quick bread for myself this week. The last surgery was 3 + weeks ago so I'm much better!

This book, this Father Tim series really warms my heart and calms my soul.  When I read it years ago I wished for a town that size where you ran into people you know, a place filled with characters bigger than life.  The quiet theme throughout is based on prayer and God hearing our prayers.  It is an amaziing series and I am so grateful I "found" it again.  Dont we all need the foundation of faith to be fueled by prayer!  Trusting God.  Communication with Him.  EVEN and ESPECIALLY when we don't understand God's plans.

So this is where I am leaving Saturday's Scribbles today.  Sitting in God's presence as we exprience His mysterious ways.  Gratful for all the Fall colors, smells, and sounds. Grateful for the Cardinal showing up at lunchtime and showing us how he could hang on while the winds were knocking him around.  A messenger with a message from God.  Grateful.   Grateful to vote.  Grateful for a normal fun adventure to find pumpkins and gourds.  Grateful for baking smells.  Grateful for God connecting me with the young woman on Tuesday who is fighting for her life....our promises to pray for each other.  Grateful for the cancer nurse who told me God must have a reason for me to still be here...... Grateful for all the phone calls, texts, emails. prayers.  And so much more..........

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to you from our corner of Northern Iowa where Fall is showing off in so many ways. The trees are turning all my favorite colors here.....browns and golds greens rust and oranges. What's not to like! The most beautiful tree in town is right here in our cul-de-sac so we can see it every single day. Nature and its best.

 Speaking of nature, we actually got to see the Northern Lights on Thursday night right from our front yard! They weren't vividly strong but they were there. I could see the pinkish color somewhat and Joel could enjoy all the greens and reds and pinks! After I went to bed Joel went back out and saw them again. He noticed our neighbors lights were on and knocked on their door and they came out and looked too . It was on our bucket list to see them and we're very thankful to have been able. Especially now.

It's been a rough couple of days here getting news that we were hoping not to get. I saw the eye doctor on Wednesday and after the testing she told me that my right eye, the only eye I have now, is only seeing half of the vision field. the top half is gone due to the glaucoma. She believes that since it happened two days after the first surgery on the 14th that I actually had a drop in blood pressure in the surgery which did something to my eye,  causing a stroke in the optic nerve. This happened because my eye is very fragile. For us it was very sobering to hear.  It is really not a matter of if I will lose my vision it is a matter of when I will lose my vision. Next week I see the oncologist and we decide whether the drug that I've been taking for 4 years to keep the cancer away is part of the problem . And so the journey continues and at this point we are trying to process it all and what it means for our future. For those who are open to prayer we ask that you remember us with the decisions we have ahead. 

Joel has been able to get in some biking and some yard work. Enjoying his conference pastors and coffee group.  He has ridden 1000 miles this summer so far,  We are very grateful that our next door neighbor  picked up four and a  bags of leaves for us with the riding mower that he has. So very nice!  I made pancakes for lunch today but have kept close to the house  and sofa in recovery mode.  Been listening to an audiobook and just startd a new one by one of my favorite  authors, Jan Karon.  "At Home in Mitford" is the first of a series about a small town and it's well loved Episcopal priest Father Tim.  Wonderful series!  Joel and I actually went and saw her in person at Luther Seminary and had some of our books signed....so many years ago. 

Giving thanks today for Fall, for our favorite cul-de-sac tree showing off, grateful for seeing the Northern Lights.  Grateful for Joel hitting his goal of 1,000 miles.  Grateful for moving forward in recovery, for good doctors, for God being in the future....whatever it holds.  Grateful for comfort food....pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. Grateful for phone calls, texts, and prayers...and so much more.

Enjoy your weekend