Currently on a Wet Weekend

 

Hello and Happy Sunday. Here is what is going on in my world this Sunday before Thanksgiving. 

Outside my window it is dark now, but earlier, it looked like this. 

The temperatures were in the low 40s and it rained all day.  

We have had a wet weekend.  It rained almost all day yesterday and all day today.  The mountains are getting quite a bit of snow (up to 15 inches) and I understand that there may also be a little snow in the valleys before the storm moves one. 

I've been reading The Beach House by Rachel Hanna, a "chick-lit" book which I actually finished a couple of days ago.  I am currently reading some Christian nonfiction books that I have been working on for a while - Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen and Daily Discipleship by Chad P. Conrad. 

I've been listening to this audiobook, I Can Only Imagine, which I finished yesterday.  It is the story of the #1 hit song from Bart Millard and the Christian group, MercyMe.  It was excellent.  I will review in my end of the month Reading Roundup. 

I've been working on hanging the rest of Mixtiles pictures in our living room.   I decided to hang only the Mixtiles in the areas of our home that have plaster walls to avoid damaging them, so this is what our living room looks like right now, and probably what it will look like until we move from here. 

In the kitchen, I made some slow cooker chili for dinner. 

Here is the recipe I used, from my favorite, well-used recipe book. 

I also made some cornbread and cinnamon muffins to go with our chili. 

Everything was quite delicious.   It was a good dinner for a cold and wet day. 

I'm enjoying these garden fresh tomatoes that a friend gave us this weekend.  I had one in my salad Sunday at dinner. 

I'm loving that I am getting some of my Christmas shopping done.  I was able to find these Christmas gifts for two of my granddaughters this weekend.  The 8-year-old will get the cute dark green dress and her 5-year-old sister will get the sweet Disney princess dress. 

I'm also getting Amazon's help with my Christmas shopping, and I love the convenience. 

I'm grateful that Charly and I got some walks in this weekend (Friday afternoon and Saturday morning), even though it was so rainy this weekend.  I love walking through the neighborhood with my husband. 

I'm also grateful that we were able to meet up with friends for a yummy lunch and a good visit on Saturday afternoon.  We enjoy getting together with friends. 

I'm looking forward to having five days off for the long Thanksgiving weekend.  It will be a quiet Thanksgiving for Charly and I.  Our daughter is going to her in-laws in Arizona for Thanksgiving and Josh is going to stay in Idaho.   It will be great to have some time to get stuff done around the house, including putting up the Christmas decorations, and getting our Christmas cards ready to mail.  

That's all for this weekend. I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

Until next time,

🍁Deb🦃

"Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, 

but every day of your life. 

Appreciate and never take for granted all that you have."

~Catherine Pulsipher

 

Mid-November Favorites of the Week

This has been another busy week in my world, so I am happy to once again join with Susanne and friends over at Living to Tell the Story to recall some of my favorite things with gratitude.  God is good and this week has been full of blessings.  Let's get going with the good.

😊 This was a busy week with meetings and appointments almost every day after school.  I am grateful however, that Charly and I walked every day that we could.  My afternoon walk is often the best part of my day. 

😊 After a rainy Thursday morning, this was the view of our Mountains as Charly and I took an afternoon walk.  The clouds were super low and looked really cool.  I am so grateful to live in the midst of such beauty. 

😊 Because not only rain, but snow is in our forecast, I went over to a friend's house one afternoon and asked her if I could have some of the leaves that had fallen off of the big trees in her backyard. I wanted the leaves as winter compost in my garden.  She was happy to oblige and came out and helped me to fill five bags with leaves.  I am grateful for the help of my friend as well as the leaves from her trees. 

😊 I am grateful that I had enough leaves and that I got them spread out in my garden area before the rain started on Wednesday night.  I am hopeful that the leaves will decay and enrich the soil so that next summer's garden will be awesome. 

😊  I am super excited that my Christmas (or Thanksgiving) cactus is out in bloom.  I have been hoping it would bloom for at least a couple of years now. I love having plants in my home and I am grateful when they thrive and do well.  

😊 I came home from school this afternoon to more roses from my sweet husband. I am grateful for his love and thoughtfulness. 

😊  I received a lovely Thanksgiving card this week from my blogging friend and prayer partner Faith over at Gold in the Clouds.  I am grateful for kind and thoughtful blogging friends, of which I have many.  

😊 Our Operation Christmas Child boxes are all packed and paid for and they will be taken to the collection point Friday on my way home from school.  I am grateful to be able to participate in this wonderful service project to bless others with the love of Jesus. 

😊 We usually don't watch movies on weeknights, but this week, we made an exception to watch this excellent Christian movie - I Can Only Imagine, which is the based on the true story of Bart Millard of the Christian band, MercyMe.   This is a powerful film that I personally recommend.  I have loved the song I Can Only Imagine since it was released some years back, but I did not know the backstory of the song until I started listening to the audiobook and then watched the movie by the same name. Charly and I watched the film together and we both had our eyes water with tears a bit during this inspiring and touching movie.  I am grateful that my long-time blogging friend Susanne at Living to Tell the Story recommended the book and movie to me.  Bart Millard's story is an amazing testimony about the power of God to change hearts and heal relationships. 

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by to share the good from the last week.  Have a good weekend.  

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel 

to say your nightly prayer."

~Maya Angelou

This Past November Weekend

This past weekend had some nice moments. Here's what happened.  

Friday morning started with this beautiful sunrise.  I stopped and took a picture before I drove off to work.  

My day at school went OK. There were no problems, but it seemed to go so slowly.  That's probably because I wanted to get home and being the weekend.  When I finally got home, I worked out in our front garden area planting some tulip bulbs.  I had planted some tulips bulbs in the front garden area of our condominium, but dug them all up when we moved last summer and they are now planted here at this house. 

Saturday morning, I put our flag out for Veteran's Day.  I was very disappointed that only three houses on our block had flags out.  Patriotism doesn't really seem to be much of thing any more. 

I went to breakfast with a couple of good friends. We ate here at this place, Anna's Restaurant, which serves wonderful, delicious big breakfasts.  The food and conversation was great and I took half of my breakfast home to have for dinner.  After breakfast, Charly and I went to Utah county again to meet up with our realtor and look at a couple of investment properties.  We stopped at our favorite thrift store on the way home, but didn't get much.  While we were at the thrift store, I got a message from one of our good friends, whom we have known for many years, that their son has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, which has now spread to his liver.  These friends married just a few months after Charly and I did, and we were all having our kids at about the same time. Their son is only about 40 years old, so he is young for such a diagnosis.  We are definitely praying for him and his family.

We got home from Utah county just about dinner time. After dinner, I did some laundry, then packed up our Operation Christmas Child boxes.  I did one box for a boy and one for a girl.  We have been participating in Operation Christmas Child for more than twenty years now.  Our daughter got us started on this fun service project when she was in high school.  We have packed at least one box and usually two, almost every year since then.  

Sunday was church, as always. It was a beautiful clear morning, with blue skies and no clouds.  

After church I took a little nap then worked on indexing some immigration records from the early 1900s.  I got out of my Sunday indexing habit when we were moving last summer and I want to start it again.  

In the late afternoon, Charly and I took a walk.  It was about 60 degrees and sunny.  What a beautiful day it was! There are leaves all over the ground now, but some are still on the trees.  

For Sunday dinner, I made one of my favorites, slow cooker beef and mushrooms.  I had mine over mashed potatoes and Charly had his over rice.  We had salad and vegetables on the side. 

After dinner, I baked some gingerbread cookies from a mix. They were good and with using the mix, it was a quick and easy Sunday treat.

As the new week begins, I am reading this book, The Beach House by Rachel Hanna. 

Last week, I finished this mystery, Where You Go by Rylie Dark. 

I'm also reading and hope to finish these two nonfiction books soon - Daily Discipleship by Chad P. Conrad and Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen. 

In addition, I am listening to this audiobook, I Can Only Imagine by Bart Millard.  If you have ever heard the beautiful Christian song,  I Can Only Imagine, you need to read or listen to Bart Millard of MercyMe's story.  It is excellent, and the song is definitely one of my favorites. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Having a nice breakfast meet-up with two good friends. 
• Getting our Operation Christmas Child boxes put together. 
• Having a nice Saturday afternoon in Utah country with Charly

Coming Up This Week:

Monday - Faculty Meeting after school

Tuesday - Appointment after school

Thursday - Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes drop off

Saturday - Lunch with friends

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope that the coming week is a good one all!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Optimism is a happiness magnet. 

If you stay positive, good things and good people

will be drawn to you."

~ Mary Lou Retton

A Few Simple Things I am Grateful For

November is a month when traditionally we turn our thoughts to what we are most grateful for.  This week, nothing big or earth shattering took place for me, but there was still gratitude in some simple, yet wonderful things.  I am joining again with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story, to remember and be thankful for little things

. 

😊 I am so excited that one of my Christmas Cactus has buds!!  I have been trying to get to bloom for several years without success, but apparently the plant loves the south facing window it is in here at the house we moved to last summer.  I am grateful that the plant has little flower buds and I hope to be posting pictures of a fully blooming plant soon!

😊 I finally used a gift card I got for my birthday and ordered this cute "book love" t-shirt for school. I am grateful that I love books and now have yet another way to communicate that to my students. 

😊 We had a very rainy 24-hour period last week.  I am grateful for the moisture and also glad that we only got rain and that the snow stayed up in the mountains. 

😊 Charly and I have both been working out in the yard this week digging up some bushes that we don't want in the yard any more.  Next spring we will probably plant flowers in the area where we took the bushes out.  I also put the fall application of fertilizer on our front and back lawn.  I am grateful that we are getting our yard ready for winter, and that we have a yard this year to get ready for winter.  

😊 Charly has been going out in the morning while I am still getting ready for work, to make sure that my car is warmed up and that the windows aren't icy.  I am grateful to have such a kind and thoughtful husband. 

😊  I got started on my Christmas shopping and as usual, Amazon Prime is my Christmas shopping friend.  I am grateful to be able to find the perfect gift and have it delivered to my door within just a few days.  

That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.  I will see you all again soon!

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; 

but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, 

some heavenly blessings.”

~Henry Ward Beecher

November Weekend

Saturday morning, we got up early to go see our youngest granddaughter to breakfast for her birthday. She turned five a few days before Halloween. Our granddaughter wanted rainboots for her birthday, so we got her some.  I thought they were so cute.  We also got her a few other things - some little Arthur stuffed toys, a painting sheet and a puzzle.  

Our granddaughter wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A for her birthday meal.  She chose to have chicken nuggets and a vanilla milkshake for breakfast.  

Our granddaughter always has a smile on her face. She is so fun and precocious.  We enjoyed having breakfast with her. 

After eating her food, she enjoyed playing in the play place in the restaurant. 

She had a lot of fun. 

I love to spend time with my grandchildren.

When we got back to her house, our granddaughter opened her presents. 

She liked everything we brought her, especially her rain boots, which fit her perfectly. 

We visited with all of our grandchildren and our daughter for a while.  My daughter shared with me with Youtube music video that my nine-year-old grand daugther was in.  (In the video, she is the girl in the middle row on the right end. She is wearing a blue dress and is standing in front of a girl in a yellow dress).

After leaving our daughter's home, we stopped by a couple of thrift stores we like to peruse.  We didn't buy much, but this was my favorite find of the day.  

It is now on the top ledge of a cupboard in the kitchen.  

When we got home about 2 p.m., I decided to take advantage of a nice warm afternoon and do some yard work.  I trimmed down two bushes in the front yard. While I was working, a beat-up old pick up truck pulled into our driveway. At first, I didn't recognize the driver at all, but when he got out, I could see that it was Charly's good boyhood buddy, Craig.  Craig and Charly were best friends throughout school. They lived just through the block from each other and Craig's mother, now in her 90s, attends our church congregation. Craig now lives in Texas but was in town for the death of his uncle.  He came in and and we all had a nice visit, but I didn't get any pictures.  It was good to see Craig even though he was in town for a sad event.  We promised to meet up again when he comes back to see his mom at Christmas time. 

Sunday morning, I had hoped to get an extra hour of sleep in, with the time change back to standard time.  However, my biological clock woke me up at the regular time, it was just an hour earlier by the clock.  After my usual Sunday morning routine, which includes breakfast, exercise and scripture reading, it was off to church.  

Before we got to church, we took our ballots to the drop box outside of the County Clerk's office. Our Congressman resigned a couple of months ago and we are having a special election to fill his seat. 

After church and lunch, Charly and I took a walk. We have got to accustom ourselves to walking earlier because after dinner, it will be dark.  It was cloudy but not cold.  

Sunday dinner was one of my favorite meals, Red Beans and Rice made with Impossible plant-based beef.  We had Asian Salad on the side. 

I also baked some peanut butter banana bread because I had some ripening bananas I wanted to use up. The bread was excellent.  I  know we will enjoy it throughout this week. 

Here is the recipe I used.  I didn't put in the oatmeal, but did add more chopped walnuts than called for because Charly and I really like nuts.  We will enjoy this bread for the next few days.  (If you click on the picture, it should be large enough to read the recipe). 

Weekend gratitude:

• Spending time with our daughter and grandchildren
• Seeing our old friend Craig
• Getting the bushes trimmed that have needed trimming for a while
• Getting a start on Christmas shopping by ordering some gifts

Coming up this week:

Saturday - breakfast with some friends to honor and say goodbye to a friend who is moving to Arizona.

That's it for now.  Thanks for visiting.  Have a great week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, 

do not worry about the future, 

focus on living fully in the present."

~Roy T. Bennett