Monday morning

Monday morning doesn’t seem like the best time to post but I have some time and figured I’d better use it.

I did not have to work this Saturday, which was great, since the city had free yard waste drop-off on Saturday morning.  I dropped off four big bags of leaves & weeds and one big box of sticks and branches.  It took two trips in my little car.  It felt good to get that done.  I also baked some bread on Saturday but other than that did not really accomplish a whole lot.  I did start sorting through the 2 book-cases in my dining room.  I have piles of stuff on the dining room table, there because there is no where else to put them.  So in order to clear off the table I need to make space.  I found some of the kids’ writing samples from years ago, it was fun to look through them.  I even found the essays I had them write on the 5th anniversary of 9/11.  Very interesting to re-read their impressions of that day.  Of course, once I started reading everything I came across progress in the sorting stopped.

Yesterday I took Madeline and 3 of her friends to see a movie.  It was a bit of a drive and it was interesting listening to the kids talk– it was mostly the two boys a long, and those boys sure spend a lot of time playing video/computer games.  My kids are not big on that, mostly because their dad and I never bought them any.  No regrets on that decision, really.  Jacob plays sometimes now that he is in college, but he’s not real good at them so he doesn’t much enjoy it.  I suppose it would have been a way for him to connect with friends, but I don’t know.  He’s doing so well and has such interests,  and the games do seem to be a massive time-sink for many people.  This weekend, Madeline spent her time working at her job, or working on an animation project due this week, or just working on her drawing skills, or reading.   Jacob worked on an application for an internship, on campaigning for president of his flight team, on homework.  The boys in the car spent hours playing video games.  I repeat: no regrets.

I’ve been reading Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.  I’d never read it and thought I should.  I’m not too far in but can’t say I’m enjoying it.  I like the parts where he is traveling, but I’m at the part where he is in Denver with his friends and it is not engaging me at all.  I suspect when I was in my twenties

My eyes are tired

My eyes are tired because I finally finished reading The Robe, covering the last 200 or so pages in the last 24 hours.  I just couldn’t put it down.  It’s an amazing book and provided lots of food for thought.  I haven’t really processed it all yet.  In one review I read, the reviewer said the book had made him or her feel more confident about speaking out and practicing  the Christian faith.  It is definitely a book that does that, it makes me want to be more open about my own faith. I feel I practice my faith well, but I do not share it with people– I am reluctant to speak about my faith.  This book really challenged me to speak up!  I may write more later– or I may not.

I had asked a former teacher to write a letter of recommendation for me recently and hadn’t heard back.  It was depressing me, because she had always been very encouraging to me as a teacher.  I finally heard back– she had been busy, but would be glad to write the letter– whew!  This is for a scholarship, and they really want an instructor’s letter, and she was really my only option.   I am not only grateful because I need it, I am also grateful because I truly value this woman’s opinion.

Madeline and I took a bike ride this afternoon– it was a beautiful spring day today.  There was an intensely blue sky with white puffy clouds overhead, the grass was so incredibly, impossibly green.  Lots of trees are starting to bloom, and the daffodils and hyacinth and tulips are blooming and beautiful.  The violets ae coming up too, and I see rhubarb growing as I walk around the neighborhood.

Speaking of blooming plants– a little over a month ago I started taking a spoonful of locally produced honey everyday.  This is supposed to help with allergies– my parents do this and find it helpful.  I am not symptom-free, but I am much better than usual.   So I’m convinced.

Also– I am glad I set my goal to write everyday.  I wouldn’t have written tonight otherwise.

Equinox

It’s the first day of spring, but it felt more like summer– temperature in the upper 70′s and sunny.  In spite of having to work I got to enjoy the weather.  I dropped the car off this morning for an oil change so had a longer walk to work than usual.  Then after work I had a long walk to pick it back up.   After I got home I shoved a lamb roast in the oven, got the day’s dishes done (Madeline doesn’t have a lot of time to do them, especially on Tuesdays), then headed outside and spent the better part of an hour on yard work.  I raked enough leaves to fill three big lawn & leaf bags and did some more weeding.  I’ve got at least one bed cleared out, it looks muchbetter.  I’m on my porch now writing.  I love sitting on the porch, especially in the late afternoon/early evening.  It’s my favorite place to unwind after a long day.

One day last week a semi-regular customer came in– he lives out-of-town and comes whenever he’s in town.   He was reading a book and I peaked at the title.  I always do this, or ask right out, it’s fun to see what people are reading and I’ve gotten some suggestions.  He was reading a book called The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas.  He said it was his Lenten reading. I looked it up and it sounded intriguing, so I downloaded it to my Nook.  It has sucked me right in, I quite like it so far.   Next time he comes in I will have to thank him.

I’ve stayed strong with my Lenten fast from sweets, I’ve only broken it twice, once when I had part of a crisp I made for Madeline, and this Sunday when I had a piece of Jacob’s birthday pie– I kept it to one serving each time, which is pretty good for me!  I also have tasted a dessert once or twice at work, mostly because they were new ones and I needed to describe them well to customers.  Other than that, I’m doing well.  Today was torture, though.  The dessert case was empty and the 3 resident bakers were hard at work all morning to fill it. Pies: Lime meringue, chocolate cream, peach, peanut butter; a raspberry cobbler, two kinds of galettes, pavlova– it was incredible and oh, so tempting.  I’m proud to say I stayed strong, except for one small taste of cobbler– it was a new recipe.  Only a few more weeks to go!  I’ve made it this far, and I intend to stay strong.  It has been very, very good for me.