Well, it has been a long time since I posted. There has been plenty going on though. The days have been busy and full.
I'll start with the events of last Tuesday and Wednesday. Last Tuesday and Wednesday were such crazy days. I’ll start here and tell as much about them as I can remember. On Monday we learned that the Workmans would not be going to Charlotte to the chiropractor that week as Allison wasn’t feeling well and they were getting ready to go out east to the Blueberry Festival. So, we took a walk up to our neighbor’s house and arranged for her to take me on Wednesday.
Well, Tuesday we got up bright and early and headed off to the dentist appointment, which was at 9:00 a.m. Then we went to Mighty Dollar and then to Crossroads and then to Treasures Thrift Store, and after that to Good Will. Was able to find two jumpers and an undershirt. Last we went to Aldi on the way home. When we came out of Mighty Dollar, I called and made an appointment with my chiropractor.
After we were done shopping at Aldi, it was pouring rain. We waited outside a while, but it didn’t look like it was letting up. Finally a lady offered us her umbrella so we could get the car. I took it and ran and got 2 big umbrellas out of the back of the car. The umbrella didn’t seem to help much as I was still pretty soggy by the time I got back and gave it to the lady. We put ours up and took the groceries to the car. There was a big “puddle” of moving water behind the car, but that was the only way to get the cart next to the car, so we got wet feet. :-) It was quite an adventure!
When I tried to put my umbrella down it would not budge. I pushed the button at the bottom and pulled harder. SNAP! The plastic piece that that held the spring broke, causing the spring to release. Since the umbrella was a big one, it had a strong spring. The force of the spring releasing was strong enough to break the handle of the umbrella, and it was a sturdy wooden handle. It split the handle right down the middle. The force of the spring releasing and the handle splitting caused an injury to my thumb. At first we wondered if my thumb was broken; but after I took some pain medicine and put ice on it for about an hour, it “popped,” and the pain and swelling went down. Now, over a week later, there is still a bit of a knot on my thumb, and it is a little bit weak, but otherwise functions normally. Thank the Lord. I wasn’t looking forward to cooking and doing housework with a broken thumb. :-)
When we got home, I showered and washed hair, got food ready for Wednesday, finished up the shopping list, called my friend to let her know the appointment time, etc. Then a friend called and wanted to come about 7:00. Later she called back as she had decided to go to the revival meeting at Victory Baptist. She asked if we wanted to go too, but we didn’t because of needing to get ready for Wednesday. Finally everything was done.
Wednesday a.m. – get up and get going early again. Around 8:05 the phone rang. It was the secretary from the chiropractor’s office calling to say that the chiropractor was sick. Could I come later in the afternoon or Thursday? No, Wednesday morning was the only ride I could get. So we cancelled it and rescheduled for next week (which was this week). I was rather disappointed as my back and neck were quite sore after lying on the bed (or whatever you call it) for the MRI for about an hour and then lying in the dentist chair for a half hour. Also, we were sad to miss getting certain items at Earth Fare and Trader Joe's. So much had gone on, and it had just seemed a bit overwhelming. Immediately my energy and enthusiasm just seemed to drain. (Please be praying that I will hear soon from the doctor about the results of the MRI.)
Spent some time just relaxing and writing a letter, etc. Got in touch with my neighbor, but she had a stomach bug. Also, some of the kids were sick, so they would not be able to take me to church. I ended up listening to Cornerstone Baptist Church as they livestream their service.
I tried to make Christy’s meal (using her old bread). However, it didn’t turn out as planned. The bread was too dry to roll up. Also, there was no more luncheon meat. The other meat was frozen and had not been soaked in its sauce yet. I finally decided to cook it without soaking it. It seemed to run out of water a lot faster that way; but it did get done without getting burned too badly. So, Christy’s bread “rolls” ended up being a sandwich with only sour cream, seaweed, cheese, and beef. Around 9:30 Christy came home.
One of the projects I was working on Wednesday was baby booties. I had crocheted one pair of booties, only to find out I had accidentally made both of them with the little fastener on the same side. Oops! Well, I guess I’ll have to make two pair. Got busy on that and finished another bootie. After that was done, I discovered I had made them right after all. I had just forgotten to turn the bootie right side out after hiding the yarn ends. Well, now there will be three pair of booties. :-) Actually, there are four pair because I made a boys’ pair to go with the baby blanket for a friend. They have beads on them for decoration – a lion bead and a giraffe bead. Also learned how to make adult slippers.
Thursday I had two blessings – 1. I found out I could run. 2. The Lord provided some yellow squash.
While I was out in the garden trimming kale plants, a dog came toward me barking and growling. I was armed with a pair of scissors but didn’t really have plans to stab someone else’s dog. Should I run? Yip, yap! Yip, yap! Yip, yap! Grrrrrrrr! Let’s try! It worked. It is only about 40 feet from the garden to the back door, and I felt like I was going to fall down when I got there; but I was able to run. It is the first time in almost 3 years that I have been able to run, so I was excited (in spite of the dog). This means there must be some healing and regaining of muscle and strength in my legs. I did go out and finish trimming later. There were spiders and lady bugs and such like out there. That is good. Between them and the birds, maybe they will take care of the bad bugs. I did pick off one worm and knock off a beetle.
Later in the day, there was a knock at the door. There stood a boy with a bag in his hand. “Mom sent these up to you.” Yellow squash! What a blessing. I had been looking at some in Aldi, but didn’t want to pay $1.49 a pound. Now the Lord gave some to me.
My cousin’s wife, Linda, passed away peacefully at 12:47 p.m. on Friday, June 1st, surrounded by her family. Thank you for praying for, and please continue to pray for her husband John and their four children.
Over the days of the first week of June our minds and hearts have been busy with special prayer needs, asking the Lord for help in making some important decisions and giving us guidance in redeeming the time that He has given us.
This past month I have had some rough days where I felt a bit “down,” and some good days where I had quite a bit of energy. It has been fun to work on a variety of things – the garden, sewing projects, crafts, and cooking. I tried a recipe for raisin bars (but cut the sugar way down), and they came out really good. I made mine with rice flour and Christy’s with oats.
We have also been looking into some business ventures and are praying for the Lord’s specific direction, guidance, wisdom, grace, strength, motivation, and a clear mind in these matters. Thank you for praying with us. Also, please pray that Christy will be able to get a job closer to home and one where she will not have to work Wednesdays or some weekends. Thanks so much.
Here are some pictures of some of the projects it has been fun to do lately. I learned how to do the little brown booties from this youtube video. I did add the little teddy bear heads myself. They are not in the tutorial.
Well, I hope you did not fall asleep while you were reading this very long post. Drop by again soon! :-)