Mon.-Rainy dreary cozy kind of day. Alli, Susan, and I drove about 7 miles and discovered the indoor pool we had seen advertised. What a wonderful treasure and wonderful people. $5 an hour. Open for parties and volleyball. I think I'll have my 55th birthday there come spring with a pile of women. There are plenty of chairs and a kitchenette. Came home and watched Monk and ate leftover chili. Alli went home to clean and Susan studied Anatomy and I did some paperwork and made corn bread to go with more chili for the evening supper.
Tues.-Rainy dreary cozy kind of day. Susan ran out at 6 in the morning and brought Lucy in during a down pour. Lucy didn't want to leave Susan's lap. Went out to Farmville at noon for Science and Drama co-op. I met Janelle for lunch at Country Cookin'. She is enjoying her teaching job at Longwood. Went to Walmart afterwards and then to Lowe's after picking up Susan. We both took a nap of sorts after putting groceries away. Guys had chili for supper again. It just gets better with age but tomorrow should probably be the last day it is served.
Wed.-Rough night. Right arm itching and painful. Finally took Benedryl at 2:30 this morning and then slept until 8:30. Dragging all day. Susan was full of energy and did all kinds of work-outs and school. She's feeling so much better. Wanted to order Civil War DVD's from a company and it was over $500. So I checked Amazon and got the same thing for under $22 shipping included. Ordered some SAT resources while I was at it. Susan drove us out to Calvary tonight. Phil will go pick her up. It will be her first time driving in the dark-if he lets her drive, which he will. (Which he didn't because he didn't think about it and apparently, neither did she.) For supper, we had fresh lettuce from our garden, NY venison chunk gravy, and real mashed potatoes. Rave reviews. Ollie was running all over the roof today. When I went out back, he was on the porch, waiting to be fed. Dog food. I think he was trying to tell me he was hungry. He also was knocking on the front door this morning, wanting to come in. It's time to power wash the front porch again. Ollie isn't potty trained. Oh, Annie called today. It was nice to hear from her.
Thurs.-Got lots of odd jobs done this morning and talked with Lindsay too. Always a treat. Ate our one and only watermelon from the garden. The tomatoes have revived and we have a whole other crop coming. Ate watermelon, cheese, and peanuts, and got very sick for awhile. Judy came with Sammy Jo for a photography shoot with Susan. It was great fun. We changed her outfit several times and for many of the pictures she held a little chick. Ollie and Angel hovered nearby, unwilling to be excluded. We left the gate open when we went down to the river and as we came up, the cows were pouring into the bottom field. Susan and Angel shooed them back in. It took some doing and Susan was barefoot and brave. Phil was home planting radishes as a cover crop. I ate some today. Really good. They're daikon radishes and as they grow down long and deep, they penetrate the soil and 'dig' it up. When they rot, they add nourishment to the soil. I read a little about pickling radishes. I think I'll try it. We have acres of radishes and the field won't mind if I borrow a few. Phil walked up from the fields at lunch so Ollie would come up with him. He runs right in front of the tractor and right alongside of it and Phil ran over his foot. The ground was soft so it didn't hurt him. Phil started his truck so Ollie wouldn't hear it start and come after him. Then he came in the house to eat and as I talked with Ollie on the back porch, Phil and Susan snuck out the front and Susan drove him back down to the field again. Phil said, "Ollie is complicating my life." I said, "All animals and rich women love you." He laughed a little. That was at lunch. Later in the day, Judy said, "I'll never forget the first time my mother saw Phil. She said he was the handsomest man she ever laid eyes on." We laughed and she went on to say, "He kind of looks like Pastor Frank." Phil is handsomest when he is driving a tractor because he is the happiest then. His tanned face glows and I wish I was sitting up there beside him. Ollie played tag with Sammy Jo today. She chased him and ran in circles and he stayed just out of her reach. SJ saw the little pigs too, and got her picture taken with a little calf. Read more of a George MacDonald Book-'The Quiet Neighborhood.' I wish it had been a quieter night. Hunting dogs were baying and I couldn't sleep. I write this at 4 0'clock on Friday morning. Perhaps now, I'll give it another try.
Fri.-Slept until 8:30. Read story in chapel about Moses going up into Mt. Sinai. He entered into the thick darkness where God was. Why does this thought always make me weep? Is it because in the darkness, there is only One we can see and hear, and in the light, there are so many things to distract us that we sometimes cease to incline our ear and heart toward Him? Perhaps we've had it wrong. We talk about mountaintop experiences with God where we can see Him clearly like the 3 disciples saw Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration. But Moses' Mountain top experience with God was in a dark cloud with no visible visibility to be seen. And this is where He stood closest to God-face to face-in the darkness. O dear hearts who are straining to see light in the darkness, don't endeavor to leave the thick cloud too quickly. Wait for the tablets of stone to be placed in your hands. Wait for the Word of the Lord. Wait until you have talked with Him face to face. You know not what awaits you when you leave the dark cloud. He never leaves us or forsakes us even if the behavior of others angers us so greatly that we are tempted to throw down the very stones etched with the finger of God. Thank God, for His mercy, and His willingness to write again.
I cleaned out the fridge today and made a flock of food-chicken breasts, salad, raw vegetables, rice and veggie stir fry, hummus, avocado dip, homemade mayonnaise, gluten free macaroni salad, regular macaroni salad, mushrooms and zucchini, beets, turkey bacon, and baked garlic. Some of these things I made to use up the odds and ends in the fridge. Susan worked on British Lit and mowed the lawn. Phil went to work nearby and Philip brought him home at lunch and then Phil planted more cover crops and Philip went back to work. Philip posted a video of himself on facebook. He filmed himself walking on a board and honestly, I broke into a sweat. Did I mention it was quite high off the ground. Later Michael posted a picture of a new airplane that he was going to fly. How is it that some of my kids love heights so much? I'm not real good with heights. ( I went parasailing in Cancun and that was as high as I want to get. Just as they were buckling me in and asking for a tip as they did so, the previous parasailer hit the beach hard. He was slightly overweight and it made quite an impression on me but there was no turning back at that point.) I fly in a plane if I must. But I'm drugged when I do so. It's good our kids aren't limited by my limitations. I do want them to soar. I just want them to land safely.
Sat.-I lost 10 pounds this past month by going gluten and sugar free. I'm starting to feel better. Phil said he can tell that I feel alot better. I am so thankful that God gave me an answer. The amazing thing is that I don't crave anything. I don't keep eating even if I'm full. I even have no desire for chocolate. And I ask God every day to help me eat in a healthy way. It is His mercy that gave me this answer and His strength that is helping me do it.
I noticed something in 11 Tim. 1. We often quote verse 7-"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind." But verse 6 says, "Stir up the gift of God which is in you"---and then--"For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind." Sometimes we are afraid to use our gifts and we let the good things of God settle down to the bottom of our life's pot. We need to stir it up-stir up the gifts, because God has given us the power to use them and the sound mind to use them and the freedom from being afraid of using them.
Paul's action words for chapter one: Stir up the gift; Be bold-do not be ashamed-Share in the gospel's sufferings; Hold fast the pattern of sound words; Keep by the Holy Spirit within you the good thing that was committed to you. This makes me think of Gil and Lindsay because they do these things in such a practical, intentional, honest way.
Got ready for Michael's party and then took Susan out to Liberty Baptist for drama practice from 1-4. I went grocery shopping and then to my favorite little shops in Appomattox. I found some pants for Micah and an LLBean bag for $6 at 'The Little Things in Life' consignment shop. I bought some Macintosh fragrance beads for the car at Country Charm. And then to B&L to tell Linda that my shore girls loved their jewelry but she had just left. I then bought 5 pairs of earrings there for $5.00. They're getting rid of their extra earring inventory. Two of them had no prices in the back. But three were marked 8.99, 5.99, and 9.99. The ones that Susan liked were the ones I had picked out for her. Silver long dangles with light blue beads. Also went to Salvation Army to look for props for Susan's photography business.
Came home and there were some kids here for Michael's party. More came as the night went on and there were at least 28 that I counted. It was a mix of old New Life friends, a few from Calvary, and many from Liberty. It was nice to meet Michael's roommates. Sweet Tea is not his roommate but said that Michael is his best friend in America. He is from Nairobi. He thanked us for making such a nice person as Michael. The fire was crackling, the volleyball set was getting a workout, hot dogs and s'mores were being 'cooked', hot chocolate mix was being stirred, stories were being told, friendships were being forged, stars were shining, pigs were being viewed, and everything was going along nicely. Hopefully, it still is. A few have gone home but the rest of the gang has gone for a flashlight-free walk down to the river. I can't imagine that they won't step in any cow pies. I mean, the odds are against them and it's dark. Phil and I are debating about hiding somewhere and scaring the living daylights out of them but there's probably enough crap out there already.
Sun.-RAIN! Church by the riverside cancelled and moved back to the building. Guest speaker spoke about Doubting Thomas. Good. Lunch served after church. Phil and I went to see 'Obama-2016' and Susan went with her brothers to see 'Taken 2'. The Gordon's were there and we visited with them a little bit. Came back home and snuggled in and watched Monk and drank hot chocolate made with dark cocoa and sucanat. Michael took the rest of the hot chocolate mix back to college with him. The kids were enjoying it last night. Recipe: 1 med. box of dried milk powder, 1 large container of powered creamer, 1-2lb container of Nestles chocolate quik. Mix well. Take 1/2 cup of mix and put in mug and fill with boiling water. Add marshmallows if you like. I saw some kids putting in caramel marshmallows. Yumm...Philip spent the afternoon/eve at the guys house. He told me this morning how many times and in what ways he scared the kids as they walked down to the river last night. One time, he dropped down from a tree right in their midst and snarled. I hope we don't get sued. Susan edited her pics of Sammy Jo and put them on facebook. It's a good night for snuggling.
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