Not Quite Ordinary Observations

For Today...Tuesday, December 11, 2012

In the great outdoors...cold! Blessed, wonderful, real cold! Doug and I looked at the temperature this morning (28 degrees) and then at the wind chill (23 degrees), decided pneumonia wasn’t worth the walk, and stayed indoors. But, oh how excited I am about real cold!

Within our four walls...busy bees working to keep the house in order, finish Christmas presents, and tackle other projects that do not rest, regardless the season!

A heart of thanksgiving...for great insulation and a warm house.

A heart of prayer...selfishly today I’m praying for writing thoughts to flow. I have several projects due this week, one of them especially challenging. I smile even in the midst of the challenge, though, because I get to write! Oh my, what a blessing to be able to do something I love!

Random observations...my mug of Choffy emptied too quickly this morning.

My silly children...believe that “crock pot” and “chicken-n-dumplin’s” are synonymous. Steven informed me that when they all move out, I can use the crock pot for something else.

Thoughts from the kitchen...I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count. I’m off to get a hair cut this morning and will get home right about the time we should be getting lunch on the table. Crock pot to the rescue!

On my bookshelf...actually it’s at my friend Karlyn’s house right now, but I’m anticipating Fair is the Rose by Liz Curtis Higgs, second in her Scottish series based on the story of Jacob, Leah, and Ruth. I won’t let myself get it back from Karlyn until I’ve finished those writing projects. Great incentive! I’m aiming for tomorrow night so I can read some on Thursday during Olivia’s art class.

Projects...writing and Christmas stuff. Time is closing in!

Sounds of the moment...the clanking of dishes as Steven empties the dishwasher for me. So helpful! It will be my turn in the kitchen soon.

Last week we learned...that the Great Almyra Stomach Bug of 2012 was a picky one. One person per household, apparently. In ours, it was my husband. Sunday morning was quite fun for him – the nasties had ended, but he was so incredibly weak. He still can’t eat much, although his energy is coming back slowly.

A favorite thing from last week...decorating outdoors. We haven’t done that in a while, except for the lights nativity we made last year. This year we put the nativity back up, moved the yard flag and focused a light on it, lined the sidewalk with colored lights, and put greenery (some lit) and red bows on the front porch. Plus we have a tree in the big window of our front room, so that can be seen along with the rest of the lights. So much fun! Christmas lights are so cheerful!

The planner...hair cut today, church tomorrow night, Sunday school party Thursday night, but otherwise home this week! Well, until Saturday. We get to go celebrate a wedding in Monticello on Saturday!

Because visuals are fun...I never get tired of sights like this.