Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you on this quiet day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  A time to reflect, to prepare. Joel has the front door open so we can see out the glass storm door.  No snow left here, just the brown that comes within the time between Winter and Spring.  The squirrels are very rambunctious and comical to watch and our resident ducks are back in the neighborhood.  There are still a few birthday flowers on our dining room counter to enjoy.  As Spring comes to stay I'm looking forward to a few pansies again!

Speaking of looking forward, the heaviness of Good Friday is behind us as we swivel our gazes off the cross and unto tomorrow.  I look forward to hearing and saying, "He is risen"!  "He is risen indeed!"  Joel will head out early for his first service which includes a baptism and communion and then head SW about 20 minutes to the second service.  There will be ham for his dinner, the usual trimmings and the mini pie he picked up at Target.  As is par for the course it will be the two of us.  I expect Joel will add a long nap to his afternoon. He will need it.

 Looking back I remember when we would boil up 3-4 dozen eggs to dye and decorate.  Easter baskets were filled with candy and books.  Everyone had a new outfit to wear.  Usually there was an early morning service among one or two others, depending ono how many churches Joel was serving.  

As a teen there were five of us singing in mostly different choirs at different services.  We would be up before dawn and heading out for 6 am services........usually all standing in a row before we left for an inspection to make sure we looked appropriate!  Even when I came home from college my Easter basket had to be found.....always hidden for us to locate after church.  Many years we spent the whole morning at the church.  I fondly called it our "second home".  Not a bad second home to have.

Speaking of home, we have been watching services this Holy Week from our living room.  Such a gift to tune in to services at our local congregation, and two of our daughters churches, our oldest son's church, even the Montana parish Joel served back in the early eighties!  We have also been able to listen and watch our daughter on keyboard and flute.  It always makes us smile and feel closer to our family who just seem out of reach for those hugs we all desire.  

In need of a distraction right now, I have been listening to the audio book, "Spare" by Prince Harry.  I decided on a book that was big and thick, one that I would not pay money for but was interested in reading and this one came up.  I have been pleasantly surprised to actually like it so far.  He narrates it himself and that has been helpful to keep my mind open to what he has to say.  I'm half way through and so far it is mostly on his early life.  Not surprising, I enjoyed the chapters on his training in the military and time in Iraq and Afghanistan the most.  I expect that has something to do with our 8 years of military life.  It took me awhile to get used to an audio book, but it saves on my eyes.

Speaking of eyes, my outpatient surgery is scheduled for April 14th and I wish that was yesterday of course.  Things are in order and all that is left is for me to stay healthy.  A daily prayer!  We have cleaned the house, I have baked two kinds of cookies for Joel, and we'll have a pot of soup waiting for us when we get home.  Being prepared gives us a sense of having some control over this situation.  

Grateful today for Jesus dying for my sins, our sins.  Grateful for Easter being the new beginning we all need!  Grateful for memories of Easters past.  Grateful for being able to watch services online and visibly see some of our children in the process.  Grateful for warmer temperatures, sqirrely squirrels!  Grateful for the porch chairs being back on the porch!  Grateful for a clean house, fresh flowers, a book to distract me, Grateful for texts, pictures, emails, and phone calls.  And so much more!

Have a blessed Easter!  He is Risen!

Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to  you on this first day of April, 2023.  The last day of March brought with it rain, a bit of hail, and then an overnight dusting of snow.  Nothing like north of us where once again some of our Minnesota family were dealing with blizzard warnings!  Good grief.  Friday it was 68 degrees here and today?  A high of 39 is forecast.  Mother Nature had one thing to say to the Midwest today...."April Fool's_!!  The roller coaster continues with weather, that's for sure.  But how can we complain when tornadoes have ripped through the south killing many and destroying so many homes.  Or how about northern CA where I read they have had over 800 inches of snow in the high mountain towns this year.  Not 80....800.  Yikes.  Unfathomable.  

Speaking of unfathomable, yet another senseless school shooting has taken the lives of sweet innocent children and those who cared for them.  You can argue both sides of this debate regarding weapons, and many do vehemently, but the bottom line is,  NOTHING HAS CHANGED.  Our country has an embarrassing over the top number of deaths from violence...and violence is the #1 cause of death in America's children.  Seriously, something has to change.  Someone....EVERYONE has to compromise....our children need to be loved first and foremost above every other love......every other belief........every other consideration.  We need to make our children our priority.  

We lived in the Philippines when there was a lot of unrest with Marcos.  Our maid was even afraid to mention his name.  We listened to gunfire many nights in the distance and guerilla warfare was all around in the jungles.  Our planes were shot at often when they took off or landed. Our kids rode a small jeepney bus with wires and bars on the windows to keep them from being snatched on their way to preschool.  When we were able to move onto the base we had guards in guardhouses surrounding the base to protect the 40,000 who lived there.  We seldom went down into the barrios alone and never left our home after dark when living off base as there was Marshall Law that prevented us from doing so without a Filipino guard escort after 10:30 pm.    We survived...we thrived.....but when we came home we felt safer.  Can we say the same thing now in America?  Are our children safer? 

As you can tell, my heart has been heavy with this.  If you made it this far with me today, bless you.  Soooo lets move on...............

I love to watch Steve Hartman on CBS when he has a short segment on Fridays that leave us with good news for a change.  This week it was about some young teenage boys who decided, after they talked about how their grandparents knew nothing about today's technology, to go to a local assisted living or nursing home near their school, and help seniors learn how to manage their phones and laptops.  They taught them how to send pics on their phones, get rid of emails, send emails, etc. etc.   The seniors LOVE having them come and of course the teen boys visit with them too which is an added benefit.   What a wonderful connection for all of them.  Just love those stories that focus on kindness in America.  A good thing.\

Today we made pizza....with cauliflower crust.  It was good!  Homemade bread is rising on the countertop, and Joel's cookie containers are full once again.  Smells good in here.

I keep walking 21 minutes a day and we stay focused on our Bible in a Year readings.  Still not liking the Old Testament God very much.  Sure glad Jesus came!  I have been listening to an audio book and sticking to our normal routine.  Joel will be biking again soon.  He is preaching at two churches on Easter Sunday.  His once a month commitment. Tonight Lutheran Church of Hope has a worship night that we will watch and of course tomorrow is Palm Sunday. Lent and Easter used to be our resident pastor's busiest time of the year which made it so for the whole family.  

Time to close out this week's Scribbles.  After living in a third world country I need to say I am still grateful for America, flaws and all.  Grateful for our freedoms.  Grateful for only getting a little snow this time around.  Grateful for all the good smells that fill the house.  Grateful for cauliflower crusts, homemade bread and Joel's cookies.  Grateful for phone calls, texts, emails, and little nudges from God to let me know He is on all the details of my upcoming surgery.  Grateful for the love and prayers of family and friends.  And so much more............

Enjoy your weekend!

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Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to you from our corner of Iowa.  We had more snow this week but it melted again when temperatures went up to 50 degrees!  Spring, you are soooooooooooo welcome  I know that way up in the North Country, they still had 12 foot drifts on either side of their vehicles on some back roads. Yikes.   Sometimes it pays off to live in the "South". Haha

Last Sunday afternoon my sister and her hubby came by for a birthday visit.  So good to see them.  Monday was my 75th birthday and it was a good day with phone calls, texts, Facebook greetings, and a fun dinner of homemade whole wheat French Toast, fresh strawberries, real whipping cream and bacon.  Delish!  I am so thankful to still be hanging around enjoying life.

This was also a "deep breathing" kind of week.  Tuesday we headed north to Rochester MN to Mayo Clinic to see the Ocular Plastic Surgeon for a surgery evaluation.  Before my appointment we went to Trader Joe's to stock up on our favorites.  The appointment went well, and required a lot of deep breathing, with so much information to process.  I will be scheduled for surgery and it looks like that will be the end of April.  It will be good to be on the other side of this.  Joel and I are both physically and emotionally tired from it all.  Friday I had my 6 month check up with my oncologist.  More deep breathing and surrendering (to God) .  The news was good.  The exam and blood work was great and I don't go back for 6 months.  Yippee!!  On Monday I see my regular retina doctor.  My eye and head have felt better and I am still sleeping well.  We think my balance issues at times are due to a couple of the drops I'm on that lower blood pressure...mine has been really low at times when we check at home.  Anyway, that is my health update for the week.  May I just say thank you for walking this journey with us...I look forward to when it is not all about my health concerns and more about new adventures!

Is God in the midst of it all?  Absolutely!  He IS making a way in the wilderness.  He is the voice we need to listen to telling us to go to the right or to the left. I lam going to share a story that God has brought to mind recently.  

 When I was deciding about going to Mayo for radiation treatments in 2019-20,  I seriously considered whether God wanted to me have proton radiation, which would require being in Rochester MN for 5 weeks of treatment.  I kept getting a verse that said, "Some people rely on chariots and horses but we will put our trust in the name of the Lord our God.  Psalm 20.  I pondered whether I was putting my trust in God or the mighty chariots and horses of Mayo Clinic.....While meditating one morning I saw Jesus come to me, take my hand, and lead me to the radiation table.  I laid down on the table and he came and stood behind me putting his hand on my shoulder.  I felt a deep peace that I hung on to throughout the daily radiation treatments.  It was not always easy.....You had to wear a mask that was literally shaped to your face tightly and it snapped down on the table so you could not move.  During the treatments I visualized Jesus standing behind me and they also let me play my "Treatment" Playlist of Christian songs..  This part of my story helps me remember that God is leading the way AND making a way when needed through the wilderness.

Did I mention that Joel just finished his second book, and is revising it some and having our middle daughter edit it for him.  He will self publish again and I am so excited for him.  The process takes time and a lot of effort.  Way to stick with it, Joel.  

Speaking of Joel, I am enjoying some flowers he brought home for my birthday.  A cut bouquet and also a Mexican flowering plant that is in the cactus family.  We hope to celebrate my 75th, Joel's upcoming 77th, and our upcoming 55th wedding anniversary sometime this summer when life settles down some.  We are believing it will~ 

So, ending this scribbles I am giving thanks for the snow leaving, temperatures rising, and our two favorite ducks are back in the neighborhood to nest.  Grateful for a good birthday celebration.  Grateful for us both "liking" the plastic surgeon.  Grateful for a good report from the Oncology appointment...grateful for memories that remind us to let God lead the way....He's got it.  Grateful for flowers that brighten the day, French toast and Bacon, birthday cards, texts, and phone calls.  Grateful for the love and prayers of family and friends....and so much more!

Enjoy your weekend!

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from the upper Midwest where winter keeps hanging on.  Woke up to 7 degrees today.  Thursday we had mostly rain though, so can't complain as winds were sustained at 30 mph and with snow?  That would have been bad.  Joel is getting restless to ride again, he does not like to walk for exercise.  I tell him, I do a lot of things I don't necessarily like, but I know are good for me but I'm thinking he needs a winter bike to ride.  I walk around inside the house and make my goal 21 minutes a day.  Strange number?  I had read that you need walk only 11 minutes a day briskly in order to decrease the chance of heart disease, diabetes, etc.  I thought, "I can do that!"  And more.............  With my body still fighting this "sick" eye, 21 is a good number. Can I just interject here that I am so sick of being sick?  Annoying.

Speaking of my eye, we head to Mayo Tuesday for a surgery evaluation.  Since last Sunday I have had and increase in balance issues and the pressure/pain in my head.  The "referred pain".    I am off the pain med but still on Tylenol and two eye drops.  I am still sleeping at night so am very thankful for that.  The doctor says the cornea looks good but still swollen and my eye is shrinking too.  I have been happy to report I have not shrunk at all height wise, but now alas....I have a shrinking eye! 

Joel and I are both struggling with the Old Testament readings.  It seems like so far it is mostly about, war, sex, and death.  Seriously not okay.  And we find the OT God  more than a little gruesome in His actions.  We head into the book of Ruth Monday so I am hoping for a more pleasant read!  Or "listen" as it is.  Give me the New Testament any day.....just saying.

I have really enjoyed looking at slides (on USB) this month.  So many memories come flooding back.  Today I am remembering my "Little Sis" Zita, who was assigned to me at Bible College our second year.  Her husband Mike died this week at age 73.  We remember them both back in 1967 and as Zita and the family grieve their loss now.  So many years ago and yet it can seem like just yesterday that we graduated from Golden Valley Lutheran College and left many friends behind.

We have had 15 major moves and a few moves from one house to another besides.  We left friends behind with every move...many we have stayed in touch with, like Helen and George although we have not hugged on them since 1976!  We will more than likely hug on them in Heaven!  There is something to be said for traveling and living around the country and overseas, but there is also something to be said for putting deep roots down in one place.  

I just put honey wheat bread into a loaf pan for a second rising.  I enjoy making bread for the most part.  Did it for years when the kids were young and our family was not so big.  I think it will be a French toast and bacon kind of weekend.  We try to eat bacon only a few times a year........why?  I guess because it is not so good for us.  I usually buy nitrate free and with the surge in prices we paid a whole lot of cash for 1 package of nitrate free bacon!  And yogurt?  Yikes....and lets not forget eggs.  Just grateful that even though we complain about the prices, we can still afford them.  Yes, grateful.

We started watching a new series on Britbox which is a spinoff from Death in Paradise.  It is called Beyond Paradise and is really good. We like it better than the original series.   I have added in a few teachings by Randy Clark and Kris Vallotton to my week too.  

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day.  Joel and both had the Ancestry testing to see what ancestry we have.  Surprisingly Joel came up with a bit of Irish.....and I have a bit of Irish too but not as much as I thought.  He thought, due to family lore that he was part European Jew, but it is me who carries some of that one!  Add to those, Norwegian, French and English for me and Norwegian, Dane, and English doe Joel.  A melting pot, just like our family.  We represent many countries...besides the above our kids and their families add, The Philippines, Koralso ea, Mexico, China, Puerto Rico, Germany, Northern Cheyenne, African American, and probably more.  It is nice to be a melting pot of God's creation.

So today I am thankful, for rain this week (and no snow).  Grateful for sunshine and winds.  Grateful for the life of Mike, well lived.  Grateful for old friends across the country and world.  Grateful for good memories and slides that pop right up on our TV to make us smile.  Grateful for teachings that keep us focused on God.  Grateful for struggling with the OT as it stretches us, and the New Testament that inspires us.  Grateful for homemade bread, bacon, and being able to afford the food we want and need.  Grateful for riding bike and walking.  Grateful for phone calls, texts, Facebook friends, and so much more...

Enjoy your weekend!

 

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from snowy Iowa where we are expecting 2-4 more inches of the white stuff today, after Thursday's storm left 3 1/2 inches of new snow.  Winter is getting really old...come on Spring!  Joel's bike rides have been put on hold once again! 

Speaking of Joel, yesterday he did all the floors in our 5 level, 2700 square foot too-big house.  (the half down and half up levels are just bedrooms jutting out in the front of this unusual house) I love when the floors are shiny and clean.  The bathrooms too!  Most people don't really like cleaning bathrooms but I enjoy getting the chrome to shine, and the ceramic sparkle! I can't say Joel has the same enthusiasm for cleaning the floors,  but he gets it done.  Grateful.

It has been another quiet week here at our own "Lake Woebegone".  I am weaning off the Gabapentin because the side effects were too much. The pain and pressure is back in my head, but so far I am sleeping at night and managing to some degree the days with Tylenol.   I am not a person to even take over the counter pain relief.  Seriously, we don't usually even keep it in the house as it gets outdated....but....None of this journey has been easy. The only outing I had besides spending a few minutes getting fresh air on the porch at night was a brief trip to the grocery store.  

Speaking of outings, Joel has taken a "job" filling in one Sunday a month for a couple of churches south of us.  He starts tomorrow........just in time for day light savings time. I never do well with these time changes.  I am back to my same pattern of waking at 5:45 a.m. no matter what time I go to bed.  Ugh.  Lets pick one time and stick with it.  There is plenty of evidence that it is hard on the body....  Come on..............

Speaking again of Joel, he attended a meeting with the ELCA National Bishop Eaton this week.  A meet and greet with her and local ELCA pastors as she was in town for a meeting of some sort.  He is off to Gabby Grandpas this morning having coffee and getting his fill of conversation.  He is such an extravert, and is energized by people.  Are you energized or depleted by people?  I remember once Joel took a test for how extraverted he was and a high score was 15.....he scored 45!  He has mellowed with age some!.  

This week we decided to try bison.  Have you had it?  It really tastes pretty neutral. 

I still walk 20-25 minutes around the house inside.  This goes back, like I shared before, to when Holy Spirit whispered to me to "walk out your healing".  I was being treated for Lyme and the meds were not helping.  After Joel's middle of the night healing I began to persist for the same thing.  I could walk for only 5 minutes without being exhausted....but I bought myself hot pink tennies  and first of all just kept them close by me to remind me I would have the energy to walk again.  Soon I could walk 5 minutes and still have energy...then we celebrated when I could walk 10!  Eventually I could walk 45 minutes.  Cancer slowed me down but I NEVER have stopped walking because Holy told me to walk!  I was healed of Lyme and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and a cyst through prayers. alone.  I was healed of cancer and other things thorough medical interventions.  I will be healed again.  So, while on this journey,  the song below is on repeat here for me.  The words are powerful and speak truth.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  

So today I am grateful for music that soothes the soul.  Grateful for Joel getting the floors done.  Grateful for TV that distracts, podcasts that inspire, teachings that open my mind to new things.  Grateful to know that winter will eventually end~ and so will this journey I am on.  Grateful for phone calls from our son, texts from our 3 girls and family.  Grateful for YouTube videos that make it possible for us to see some of our family at church on Sundays.  Grateful for walking and an area to walk in.  Grateful for prayers, emails, my texting family group, and so much more. 

Enjoy your weekend~ 

Saturday's Scribbles

 

Good Saturday to you on this the first weekend of March.  We are seeing signs of Spring as the temperatures rise and the rain this week melted a lot of the snow.  We had flood warnings and our East Park was closed due to flooding.  Yesterday it was 43 degrees and Joel went for a 10 miles bike ride.  The path was wet in places, but no ice anywhere. 

This past Monday I saw my regular retina dr. and let him know about my appointment with a Mayo plastic surgeon coming up now in 2 weeks.  I did not realize I was seeing a plastic surgeon until I looked her name up.  I'm a bit apprehensive but am trusting God with this process.  The cornea is looking good and my eye is not so red anymore or painful.  But of course I am on tylenol and pain meds. I am certainly ready to get off the pain med which is causing me a few too many issues.  Low blood pressure.....balance......and brain.  I took a stick of butter out of the fridge and needed to grab something else too.  When I shut the fridge door I couldn't remember what I did with the stick of butter....and found it in my tunic pocket!  What??  I melted butter for bread the other day and put it by the mixer.  Then a minute later went to the microwave to take out the butter and was so confused because it was not in there.....I did not remember I had just removed it! Those kind of things keep happening.   Joel says I talk and move slower, but I feel like things are moving faster.  You know, drugs given to help a person should not make you feel worse in other areas.  Ugh...I am sleeping at night, though. Yay!

I have started listening to books instead of reading them and find it fascinating that I get right into the characters and story that is being read aloud.  I am careful what I watch on TV too but did not expect my body to respond so strongly to an audio story......must be my vivid imagination.  But, anyway, isn't it amazing how easy it is to have such things like audio books at our fingertips!  It is great that we can connect to a book, to another country, to our loved ones, to every area of life so quickly and easily.  When we lived in The Philippines we called home once in 2 years because we could not afford the cost.  $40 for 5 minutes.  I remember calling on Christmas and having to end every sentence with "roger" in order to have the overseas call!  And today?  Just pick up your 24/7 attached to the hip phone and punch a few buttons and talk or facetime!  So blessed.

Our oldest daughter is celebrating a birthday this week.  I still remember the day she was born of course.  she was 3 1/2 weeks late and weighed 8 1/2 lbs.  Such beautiful skin for a newborn.  We were in the military then and I was given a saddle block so I could not help push either.  She had little marks on the side of her head where they pulled to bring her out.  We had to stay in the hospital 5 days, we had to strip our own beds and put our own clean sheets on and only saw our babies during feeding time~!  Good grief.  I still want to shake my head when I think about her on our narrow table on her tummy as we took pictures of her.  She was only a few weeks old and lifted herself up and rolled over.  We yelled and rushed to the table as she almost fell off.  Yikes!  At three months you could stand her up leaning against the sofa and she was stay there.  I also remember was how scared we were.  We knew so little about parenting, and unfortunately she was our trial and error child!  Happy Birthday Bethany.  So blessed to call you daughter!

The house smells like homemade chicken and rice soup today....and just a couple of days ago honey whole wheat bread filled the house with a bakery smell.  I also made myself Paleo Almond Butter bars for a treat.  I do like to bake....and I am better at baking than cooking!

Our favorite show, All Creatures Great and Small on PBS has finished it's season already.  Dang.  We have turned to a new season of Death in Paradise, and watch Murdock on Britbox or ACORN.  We both like American Idol (most of the time) and that has started up..  Still watching NCIS (original) and So Help Me Todd which is really stupid and unbelievable at times....and yet we watch it!  Ha.... We both enjoy Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy too.  Do you have any favorites?  

Expect it is time to close this scribbles.  Thankful today that I am back on my laptop more without issues, grateful for TV that distracts and entertains, grateful for our oldest daughter, her hubby, and the grands, grateful for warm weather so Joel can bike some again.  Grateful for homemade bread, homemade soup, an appointment at Mayo, memories that make us smile or shake our head!  Grateful for how easy life is regarding conveniences and luxuries.  Grateful for texts, phone calls, emails, prayers and praises, and so much more...

Enjoy your weekend!