Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to you on our last weekend in October.  A beautiful day here in northern Iowa with temperatures forecast for 55-60 degrees before a cold front moves in.  There is a chance of seeing the Northern Lights tonight here due to a solar flare.  Having lived so many years in six different places in Minnesota where the lights are more common,  we have missed the beautiful Aurora borealis, and are hoping tonight is the night for us "southerners" in the upper Midwest to get a glimpse of them.  

Speaking of glimpses, deer have been coming through this week.  We had one yearling settle down right outside our living room window one morning for a half hour rest.  This morning Joel watched a buck meander on through the neighbor's yard.  We have noticed a lot more geese flying in formations too.  Fall.......

Speaking of fall, this past Monday Joel was able to accomplish his long time goal to ride the trails around Lanesboro MN again.  He drove 2 hours to his destination and then rode 35 miles enjoying mostly a solo ride, as few riders were out on a weekday or this late in the year.  He then drove the two hours home, tired but happy.  He has managed a couple of local rides, and a lot of wood project work this week. Once a month he meets with his colleague group that has been together for 24 years.  Pretty amazing that that many pastors have stayed in the area churches....a couple pastors are retired now and Joel is the oldest.  He has thoroughly enjoyed the group...it is a safe place to go and share and encourage and be encouraged.  Just the same 5-6 guys getting together to nourish their souls and of course eat lunch at their favorite places!  A good thing.

I have had a week where my body has demanded more rest.  Not where I want to be, but trying to be ok with it.  This morning I did make some homemade honey whole wheat bread with our Sunrise Mill "special" flour. I seem to digest it much better than regular whole wheat.  Joel grew up with homemade bread as a staple, and during the early 80's I made all our bread with a Bosch bread mixer making it a lot easier.  Now, it is more of a treat, although it is quick to put together with a mixer and dough hook!  I do enjoy the crust/heel of the loaf warm from the oven with a little butter and apricot fruit sweetened jelly!

I wrote a post this week on breast cancer awareness and my own journey.  My sister Janelle sent me a site that talks about research that shows that those women with dense breasts benefited much more from an abbreviated MRI's than mammograms.  An abbreviated breast MRI can see the dense breast tissue in ways a regular or 3D mammogram cannot, making detection earlier.  I believe it would have made a difference in how soon I was diagnosed the second time around.  Prevention is the best cure of all.

Joel and I went shopping this week at a Christmas Open House in a local store that carries all kinds of fun and unique decor.  lt was nice to get out and of course we found a good deal on a Fall decoration (40% off) and a Christmas decoration (20% off your highest price item).  Always like a good deal!  We headed to Joann Fabrics too, where I purchased a new mask to "match" anything navy or denim that I wear, cuz that's important to accessorize and for me a mask is just a necessary accessory right now.

Picture of new Fall tin I purchased.

BTW:  the wooden walking cane behind

 the chair was purchased in the Philippines 

in 1975 and has caribou bone inlays.  

Harvest blessing!

My sister Jan flew to her and her hubby's winter home today and I found myself praying for them to be safe.......not unusual..........but to be safe from any people who get angry quickly over the littlest things.  This week another flight attendant was injured when a man punched her in the face and broke bones......yes broke bones in her face.  People like that need to be banned from flying.  Period.  No excuse.  So, like I said, I not only pray for Jan and Lanny to have safe travel with planes but with people.  Sad state of affairs we are in.  Warning bells are going off every day for us in malls, in work places, on airplanes, etc.  How disappointed Jesus must be at times. 

We had planned to get our Moderna boosters later this week but realized we were heading to Mayo on Monday so thought we better wait.  Last time I had a fever and flu like symptoms for a few days and we don't want to have to cancel my appointment.  Looking forward to what Mayo has to say........well, mostly. 

The past couple of weeks Joel and I have been watching the show "Castle" on the Lifetime channel.  We had forgotten how much we enjoyed the show and how much humor was in it.  A detective show with humor?  Always a good thing in my way of thinking.....I actually try to avoid the beginning which will often show the murder or victim....and just watch the solving part.  We have tuned in to an Amazon Prime show on Britbox also.........kind of like a British House Hunters, but better.  You get to see alot of the United Kingdom's countryside and landscapes, which is fun.  What have you been watching?

So this week I am grateful for Joel's bike ride in MN, a cozy sofa when needed, new decorations for the house, good "deals", the show Castle that makes us laugh, walking 20-30 minutes most days and fresh air while walking, sweatshirts on a cool morning, homemade bread, deer visiting our yard, phone calls, texts, and pictures of grands,  warmer weather holding on, the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights, and so much more...........

Enjoy your weekend!