Posts Categorized: Joy

I’m Planting. I’m Reading (for Myself). I’m Reading with a Fourth-Grader.

February 10th, 2022 | Joy

Thursday’s been beautiful, with a high of 74°. Friday should be 77°. But Saturday, a high of only 57° and a low of 33°, with wind. And a low Sunday of 27°. So, I’m wrong to anticipate an early spring. And it is only early February, so I shouldn’t be putting away my woolen clothing. And, really, I don’t own any woolen clothing. Maybe I have one skirt that’s wool. Maybe.Thursday, I worked in the yard. I tidied up some beds. I pried up some weeds.The pieces of my neighbor’s tree that the tree guys had sawed off, and then brought over to our house, have now been moved away from the house and down to the edge of the grass, where I hope to make a nice barrier between the grass and the dirt. When Jeremy was here at Christmastime, he and April pushed and kicked all those pieces, which rolled pretty easily down.

: Running across the left-hand side of the back yard.

: They’re easier to see at this angle.

: These are my first two, upright logs. I’m using the shorter pieces, first. They are heavy, even at this size (well, heavy for me). The larger pieces will need a chain saw’s help.

This large log is inside our small shed. I’m not sure exactly why it got put in here. I think there’s a part of a limb on the back side, and I guess it’ll have to be trimmed off or maybe several inches will need to be cut off from the bottom of the quite large limb. It was a very large tree.

I am so glad to report that I have finally finished this book. The young woman that I first met in the beginning pages, has ran away, and didn’t reappear until the next to last page of the book. The two primary calligraphers have been angry with each other for pages and chapters, until one of them murdered the other one, and then went to prison. And I never learned the secret. Until the very last page of the book. And it was a very satisfactory ending.

Here are the open pages the above book and a couple of other library books I’ve recently checked out. I looked and those other books had more pages. But then, when I compared the size of the type and the white space on the various pages, I felt relieved. I think the eye strain from the small print and so closely spaced words and lines is going to be very much less, as I begin reading these books.

And here are the books I checked out from the library in the past couple of days. Two for me, and the rest for a girl I’m reading with at the elementary school where volunteers from my church go to read with kids at lunchtime. She seems to particularly ford of Pete the Cat. I like the Pigeon. We might need to take turns.

This is a Penny Plant. There was a nice spread, in a Sunday paper a couple of weeks ago, about interesting plants. I thought this one was charming.

The paper’s article said that they could be ordered and would be mailed.

I ordered one. It came, pretty quickly, in a plastic container, all wrapped in wet paper towels, and then in plastic.

It was in fine shape. I repotted it. I hope it lives.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Romans 8:28 (The Message Translation)

Following in Mother’s Footprints

January 27th, 2022 | Joy, Patience

When I was a kid, I’d sometimes use the smaller bathroom in our house, the one that my parents used. The bathroom on the hall, that JoAnne and I used, had a bathtub and a shower head. That smaller bathroom just had a shower stall. Peter has just recently begun to use that shower stall. He finds it fascinating, mainly because it has a shower stool (which my physician insisted I provide, in case, as a senior adult woman, I might fall, slip, or otherwise need to suddenly sit), as well as a shower head that can be unhooked from the wall, so that it can be used to spray one’s self at one’s discretion.

The larger bathroom has an overhead heater, which is nice to have during the chillier months. However, that heater is run from a switch that is either ON or OFF. It doesn’t have a variable switch. It’s either on, really on, or off, completely off.

The heater in the smaller bathroom is mounted on a side wall, and it has a switch that can go from barely on to seriously on. I can turn that heater on just a little, or quite a lot And right now, even though the weather has dropped quite a bit in the past few days, I can decide for myself how much or how little heat I need.

When, as a child, I did visit my parents’ bathroom, I noticed that Mother had a small shelf where she put her Bible and Sunday School lesson book. Right next to the toilet. I just assumed that she took advantage of her bathroom trips to catch up on Bible readings and Sunday School information.

I’ve re-evaluated that idea of Mother’s. I’m also reading from a devotional book, in the bathroom, pretty much every morning. And then I read the accompanying Bible passages. I’m in there, in the bathroom, reading, because it’s warm in there!

And here is my new Bible. I’d purchased a new Bible a few weeks ago, but, as I’ve been reading through the passages, I was squinting and trying to read everything, and the words were just too small. So, I went and purchased a large print version of that Bible. It’s soooo much easier, now.

You have known the Holy Scriptures ever since you were a little child. They are able to teach you how to be saved by believing in Christ Jesus. God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. By using Scripture, the servant of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 (New International Reader’s Version)

The new Bible I bought is The Message translation, which I’m enjoying reading. But, I rather liked this translation of 2 Timothy 3:15-17, also.

I’ve Put Christmas Back in the Boxes, But My Mind Is Still Remembering

January 6th, 2022 | Joy, Love

It is January, which hasn’t yet seemed like winter. It’s been chilly today, and the temperatures have been in the 40’s and 50’s. There’s supposed to be a freeze tonight, and tomorrow night the temperature might be as low as 25.° Then, it’s highs in the 60’s again. There might be some winter in, maybe, February. For now, I’m still remembering Christmas.

Peter came for a few days, during the first days of his Christmas break.

I had very carefully asked everyone what would be the food they would need to be prepared for the best holiday experience while they visited. And these were the notes I made:

Jeremy-pimento cheese, Fritos, and White Chocolate covered Oreos. And, they’d had some great hot chocolate Bombs when he and Sarah celebrated Christmas, back in Brooklyn, and he thought that would be nice, too.

April’s choice for what she’d most like was chocolate cookies with cherries in them.

Kevin wanted the frozen cranberry salad that my mother used to make.

I was a little challenged by the cookies, but when I looked in the notebook where I keep all the recipes of things I’ve cooked/baked/prepared over the years, I easily found those cookies. And, I was pretty sure (and I was right) that Mother’s cranberry salad would also be there, also under the tab “Holidays.” The more challenging item was the White Chocolate covered Oreos. If there were any of those anywhere in Waco, they’d been sold out. And I searched at Target, Wal-Mart, H.E.B., Drug Emporium, and any other store that I thought might have them. No luck.So . . . when Peter came to visit, we baked those cookies that April wanted, and we made that frozen salad that Kevin wanted, and Peter and I opened up a package of mini Oreos, melted down a couple of packages of white chocolate discs, and we dunked those little Oreos in the melted white chocolate and made the cookies that Jeremy wanted.

We put all our holiday treats in the freezer to keep safe until the relatives came.

Peter also created a snack mix that he thought we (me) should make. I didn’t have the ingredients (except for the French’s onions), so I was going to have to shop later for the rest of the ingredients.

Feel free to make this delicious mix yourself. Or make your own yummy snack mix. The ingredients are easy to find. And, I made twice the amount and still have more cashews and golden raisins.

At Thanksgiving, we had crackers that had the regular snap when pulled open and they included the usual tissue paper hat and fortune and toy.

I’d gotten some Christmas crackers, too, which we really enjoyed. When you pulled them open, they had kazoos. And, there was a long list, in each cracker, of suggested songs. So, someone would “play” a song on the kazoo, and the rest of us had to determine what, exactly, that song was. It’s harder (and much more amusing) than you might imagine.

I bought, on Amazon, I think, a package of, basically, chunks of chocolate on sticks: two chocolate, two white chocolate, and two dark chocolate. The instructions said to heat up milk in a mug and then dip and stir the chocolate until it was completely melted. It was delicious. We drank the hot, chocolatey milk while we watched Claymation Christmas which we watch every year. We love traditions.

: Kevin got some snack mix with his name actually on it. I guess I should start searching now for gifts for other family members whose names are on them.

: We went to Homestead Heritage for lunch one day, and then Kevin and Jeremy played some checkers at their General Store.

: Jeremy was concerned about a piece of furniture in the room where he was staying at our house. He did a little shoring up.

: I got some Mr. Rogers mints and this Rogers mug.

: His sweater actually DOES change color when the mug gets heated!

: I also got this egg cooker, which works very well. In twelve minutes, the little cooker made three perfect hard-cooked eggs. (It can cook six at a time, but that may be more than I can eat in a few days.)

When I was doing some of the cleanup after Peter and I had cooked, Peter was working on this math problem. I didn’t know what he was working on so hard, but, suddenly, out of the blue, he said, “Mimi, do you know what 24 minus 16 is?”

I thought a couple of seconds, and said,” Eight.”

And he was quite taken aback.

“That’s right,” he said.

I guess he’s working on “borrowing” in math class at school. And, I can see his careful work. He had to take a “ten” from the twenty to make the “fourteen” that he’d use to subtract the six, giving him the eight. And then, in the ten’s column, the remaining “ten” would give him a zero in that column.

So now he knows that, not only can I cook, I can also subtract.

In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created received its life from him, and his life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out.

John 1:1-5 (Contemporary English Version)

After all the baking, after all the traveling, after all the fun and joy and love, we stop to remember that this is all we need to know.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like, or, Rather Like, or, Somewhat Like . . . Christmas

December 23rd, 2021 | Joy

Where has the time gone? Yes, the tree is up, and lit, and decorated. The stockings are hung (up on the hooks where our jackets and coats usually hang). But that’s about it. And, as I look at the calendar, I see that Christmas Day is the day after tomorrow (as I write this on Thursday evening). However, we’re not actually going to see any visiting relatives for a few days. So, I’m not quite so concerned about the lack of delightfully wrapped gifts under the tree. There are some from my sister, and, well, that’s about it.

Jeremy will be coming to Texas a couple of days after celebrating Christmas with Sarah in New York. And Kevin and April and Peter will have holiday celebrations at home and with family, and then will come to Waco after Jeremy arrives. So, I have some time. Thank goodness!

: I described to Jeremy the chaos in the room where he will sleep. Ironing board, iron, boxes on the ironing board, other boxes on the bed. I should get started trying to clear off at least some sort of space for him to sleep in.

: The stockings are hung on the coat rack with care. (We had a mantle and some gas logs in our other house. There wasn’t exactly a chimney, but we made do.) This piece of wood came from my paternal grandmother’s house. It was part of some kitchen cabinets, and it was left over after some renovation. One of my uncles asked if I wanted it, and I said, “Of course!” I like pieces of family history.

: And, speaking of family history, this is a pole lamp that my parents purchased before I was born. I kept it because I had good memories about it. This year, I only had one of the large, flame-shaped bulbs left. I went online to Amazon, and, of course, they had them. Whew!

: This is the straw angel wreath that a friend, who was visiting Norway, got for us, the year we were learning about Norway. We really did used to learn about different countries’ Christmas customs, when the boys were growing up.

: The top of the piano display, with cute little kid photos of Jeremy, Kevin, and Peter. And an interesting Nativity scene. The figures are actually stamps.

: The music shelf on the piano, with the Christmas music books, and the sweet construction paper Manger scene that Jeremy made at church when he was a Kindergartner.

: My sister sent me a December calendar of teas. I’m down to the last two.

: When Peter was here earlier this week, I asked him to take a picture of me drinking some tea, so JoAnne could see that I was enjoying the interesting assortment.

: Peter gave a concert for me while he was here earlier this week. These are the signs he posted outside the living room door. I complied with the signs.

: The music shelf on the piano, with the Christmas music books, and the sweet construction paper Manger scene that Jeremy made at church when he was a Kindergartner.

: I tried SEVERAL times to take this photo in the dark. My phone declined, several times, to comply.

: Here is a close-up of the two arrangements on these shelves .

: I pulled the black rectangular boxes out of the arrangements to show that they are battery packs. I pushed the ON switch at 5:30 p.m. the first evening I used them. The small light sets will come on and burn for six hours, then they shut off, automaticaly. They come back on the next evening. Then, after six hours, they gently turn off, and stay off, until the next evening, when they come back on.

Yes, I’m Still Wearing My Mask

December 10th, 2021 | Faithfulness, Joy, Kindness, Peace

When I made my first do-it-yourself mask, I never dreamed that we’d be wearing masks for, what seems like, the rest of my life. Later, I ordered a couple of masks that have my college logo on them. I keep them hanging on the turn signal lever on the side of the steering wheel.

At church, we are still wearing masks during Sunday School and during Worship Service. The logo mask sometimes generates questions. One adult friend asked what it was, and I said it was my college’s logo. “Oh,” she said. “I thought it might be Hogwarts.”

When I go to the elementary school close to church, I’m part of a group of adults who, once a week, spend lunch time with children who need a little help with reading skills. I’m with a fifth grader who is reading a book about Venus and Serena Williams. I wear a mask, and she wears a mask, too, until she is eating her lunch, and reading sentences, between bites. (I’ve been reading with her since she was a first grader.)

Despite the months and months of mask-wearing, I often leave my car and get almost all the way into Target/Library/Grocery Store/Drug Store/and lots of other places, before turning around, going back to the car, and retrieving a mask from the turn signal lever on the steering column in the car, and heading back to Target/Library/Grocery Store/Drug Store/et.al.

But, I have begun to appreciate my mask more, now that winter is coming up. The temperatures in Central Texas aren’t usually extreme in winter. (Well, there was that EPIC February deep freeze last winter.) But it can be really windy, and combined with cold temps., the wind chill factor can cause folks to go racing to stores for heavier, woolier, outer wear.

And I am really glad, at this point in the year, that I actually have something that helps keep my nose warm. So, as I’m walking across a parking lot, on my way to Target/Library/Grocery Store/Drug Store/et.al., I’m much more comfortable than I ordinarily would have been, and am glad that I have my mask.

Give each other a warm greeting. I pray that God will give peace to everyone who belongs to Christ.

1 Pete 5:14 (Contemporary English Version)

There are lots of ways to be warm. I wish you all the warmth you need.

Don’t Let the Turkey’s Get You Down*

December 2nd, 2021 | Joy, Love

Those brightly-colored turkeys on our Thanksgiving table were, of course, chocolate filled. Usually, this sort of foil-covered treats are, while chocolatey, usually hollow. I purchased these at the World Market store. I knew when I picked them up that they were not at all hollow, but instead, completely full of chocolate.

Before Kevin, April, and Peter left to go back to Fort Worth, after our Thanksgiving days, Peter had peeled away the foil and begun to gnaw away at a yummy turkey. Who knew how long it it would take for him to completely eat it all up.

I did rescue the other two turkeys. I had a plan.

I was going to peel away the foil and grind up the turkeys and make my own chocolate chips.

I have a small food processor. I learned, quickly, that I couldn’t load up the bowl with too much of the hard chocolate. The chopper blades got stuck under the hard chocolate and made the blade part pop up. I had to chop the chocolate pieces into smaller pieces. And, too much chopping created very small pieces, smaller than mini-chocolate chips.

I got some chocolate-chip-ish sized pieces. And then I used this colander to try to shake out the much smaller pieces. I shook the smaller pieces down into that green bowl, and then used the long skewer to push some of the remaining small pieces through the colander holes. Now I had some chips, some very small pieces, and some chocolate dust particles.

Everything’s all cleaned up and there are a couple of bags of chocolate chip-ish things and much smaller chocolate pieces, just waiting to be part of some delicious dessert. Thanks to a couple of chocolate turkeys.

So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:15 (New International Version)

*According to “Answer” on my computer, “Don’t let the turkeys get you down,” means “Don’t let jerks get to you, maintain your good mood.” And, also from “Answer,” Chocolate can add some nutrients. And dark chocolate contains heart-healthy antioxidants. Good to know!

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come*

November 27th, 2021 | Joy, Kindness

And we were thankful.

Kevin, April, and Peter came late Thursday afternoon. At one point, Peter had a grilled cheese sandwich, and we snacked on some things they had brought from April’s family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Friday, we got out the tree and the ornaments, and decked the halls.

: The Christmas boxes are numbered, to help me find things quickly for decorating and for being able to store the boxes efficiently when the holidays are over. And, I have a list of what’s in the boxes.

: Boxes in the living room, getting everything out, ornaments for the tree, items for decorating around the house.

: Christmas is so much fun!

: Handmade Christmas ornament.

Peter, who sleeps on a sturdy, blow-up mattress in our living room, had a large, glowing, tree-shaped nightlight, all night long.

On Friday, for lunch, we had a dinner that is popular with the family members. “Boats,” is how we refer to them, and the title of the product is “Old El Paso Soft Taco Boats,” so you can look that up. I put out vegetarian refried beans, cooked ground beef, rice, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, melted cheese sauce, and salsa, so everyone can make their own.

: We usually have Christmas crackers to pull. I *have* Christmas crackers, for Christmas dinner, but I’d never seen Thanksgiving crackers. I saw them at World Market, where I don’t usually shop. But, I’d been at a store right *next* to World Market, and popped in, and didn’t pop out again until an hour later.

: Kevin had one of the more interesting “toys.” A full deck of tiny playing cards.

I had another plan, for a family project. Members of our church, in addition to several other churches in town, purchase items to donate to a local helping agency. That agency creates a store where families who have limited incomes can come purchase gifts for their children. They will pay a much lower price for these items, so they can have gifts for their kids and teen-agers. I suggested that Kevin could choose gifts for teen-aged boys, April could select gifts for teen-aged girls, David and Peter could find gifts for school-agers, and I would look for gifts for babies. And David and I would pay for all the gifts. Knowing that Friday morning could be really crowded, with all the post-Thanksgiving shoppers. I thought we should go to Target on Saturday morning. That was perfect. We were waiting at the doors at a few minutes before 8:00 a.m. As soon as the doors were opened, we got carts, fanned out, and shopped.

: I chose some toys for babies.

: We’re checking out, lots of Target bags with lots of great gifts.

On Sunday, local bikers come to the churches and gather up the toys and gifts that were purchased. They roar up to each church, along with a truck that is pulling a trailer. All the toys and gifts are piled in and the bikers go on to another congregation.

If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.

Romans 12:7-8 (Contemporary English Version)

*Hymn “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”

Maybe I’m a Little Bit Over-Excited About My New Top

November 4th, 2021 | Joy

I don’t regulate my body temperature very well. It’s a diabetic thing, I think. Or maybe a kidney problem thing. Or a combo.

I’ve always had somewhat of a problem with heat, which is somewhat easier to combat. I can down some really cold drink and feel better. Or, sit in front of an air conditioner or even a fan. It seems easier to cool down than it is to warm up.

And now that cold weather is approaching, I’m looking at my warmer clothes and thinking about how many layers of them can I realistically wear at one time. (Re: That kid in the movie A Christmas Story who has on a tight snowsuit and can hardly move.)

So, I was at Wal-Mart a couple of days ago, and found a great, warmish-but-not-too-hot garment.

I liked the colors, and, oh, my, it is so soft.

I’m afraid I like it so much that I will wear it out before spring.

Possibly I should go back and get another one. And, really, that’s been happening.

I bought a largish size, because I thought that I might want to have a shirt or thinnish tee-shirt underneath it. I got home and immediately tried it on. It was big. Substantially big. I could put on two or three shirts underneath the plaid one. (Did I mention how very soft it is?) So, I gathered up the shirt and receipt and went back to Wal-Mart the next day. I returned the soft, lovely shirt and went to the clothing area to get a shirt that was the next size down. And, because I do not live in a perfect world, there wasn’t an identical shirt in the next size down. And I thought, well, probably the next size down would work. I bought that one and took it home, put it on, and tried to pretend that it would be fine with another shirt underneath the soft, pretty, plaid shirt. I could wear it, but it was just not roomy enough. And I was sad.

And then, hmmm. There are other Wal-Mart stores in the Waco area. And, surely, all the Wal-Mart stores carry the same inventory. Right? I got in the car and drove straight to Belmead to that Wal-Mart. I parked, went into the store, got a cart, and went straightway to the clothing. I walked around and found pants in the same fabric, same plaid, same soft, soft fabric, and I wondered if the top/pants combo were supposed to be pajamas. But it didn’t matter, the tops weren’t there. I wandered a bit, and found a nice (not fabulous, but nice; soft, but not quite as soft) top. Gray with little stars on it. I put it in the cart. And, then, I went around another corner, and TA-DAH!!!! Yes!!! There were lovely, soft, plaid tops. Several of them, hanging up, just waiting for a shopper to notice them. I went through the tops and, more TA-DAH!! They had the size I wanted!

That was Wednesday. Today, Thursday, as I write this, I am wearing my wonderful, soft top. First thing this morning, when it was chilly, underneath the soft, plaid top, I put on a long-sleeved turtleneck top that’s a lighter version of the purple stripe. I wore that all morning, until things warmed up. Then, I spent most of the afternoon wearing just the soft, plaid top. Now, as I write this, I have put on a lightweight white knit top underneath the soft, lovely plaid top. I will probably wear it tomorrow. And maybe Saturday. I might wear it to church on Sunday.

You would think that I’d never bought a nice, new (soft) article of clothing in my whole life. And maybe I should go back to the Belmead Wal-Mart, or the big Wal-Mart in Hewitt, and get another, identical, soft warm top. It’s possible that I’ll wear this one out. It’s just now November.

“Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’

Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”

Luke 15:8-10 (The Message)

Sounds like I should wear my new, soft, plaid top to church on Sunday.

plants

October 21st, 2021 | Joy, Love, Patience

I’m trying to be a better plant caregiver. Soooo many plants have met their doom at my hands. I might give them too much water, but, really, I’m much more irresponsible about watering, and I forget about a plant (or, more than one plant). I sort of like the plants that wilt when they need water, so I know when I need to rescue them. But some plants are just stoic and try to put on a brave face when I walk by them, and I’m startled when they suddenly just give up and drop all their leaves at once.

The fine folks at the Wal-Mart gardening area have helped me solve one problem, at least a little.

In the houseplant area, there is a great variety of kinds of plants and sizes of plants. For many of the available plants, there are helpful labels that tell the less-than-knowledgeable plant purchasers how to make a reasonable purchase.

They stick little informational cards into the plant’s container that tells what kind of light the plant needs.

: This plant should be right next to a window, so it can get all the bright light that it needs to grow well.

: This plant, with the intriguing name, can stay, maybe, in the center of a room, if the windows aren’t covered with curtains all the time.

: This one has a nice name, too, and, most helpful, also can live in the less-than-really bright space.

: While this one shouldn’t be kept in a closet, its light needs are, well, rather dim, I guess.

: Another plant that needs medium light.

: And, this poor guy. It needs some brighter light, but, sadly, it doesn’t even have a real name. “My full name is HOUSE PLANT!!” Pretty distressing.

: I didn’t buy the other “beautiful home decor” plant, but I found another variety of “beautiful home decor” that I liked better, and it wasn’t at death’s door, like the other one. It’s much healthier.

: But what I DO have is a plant identifier app on my phone. I can hover my phone over a plant to get an identity. You can see that my plant actually DOES have a real name (instead of simply “houseplant”).

(Solomon) could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

1 Kings 4:33 (Contemporary English Version)

I know most of the names of the plants that are growing in our yard. And, through trial and error, I’ve figured out what kinds of plants that I can grow with a degree of competence. And which ones I simply can’t.

Gardening

October 14th, 2021 | Faithfulness, Goodness, Joy, Patience

It rained again. I’m not complaining. We’ve run the sprinkler system about four, maybe five times. All spring and summer and into the fall. Everything’s still growing well. I’m grateful, to be sure, but it seems like the mosquitoes will not give up. It’s fall. It’s chilly. They should be dead, I think.

(Hmmm. I looked it up. According to: https://www.cmmcp.org › mosquito-information: Mosquitoes function best at 80 degrees F, become lethargic at 60 degrees F, and cannot function below 50 degrees F.)

Okay, when I was outside today, the temperature was in the upper 70’s. So, seems like I should keep on squirting the bug spray on, probably for another month. At least.

I spent a while yesterday and then some, today, too, cleaning up the thyme garden.

: This is what the thyme garden looked like in the spring. Lush and full and fragrant.

: This is how it looked, on many days last spring, because it rained so much.

: This is how it looks now. Scraggly and spare.

I did wonder, when rain was falling, more days than not, if it would be too much water on the herbs. But, there wasn’t really anything I could do. The water always dried up, or soaked in, in a day or so. But, then, rain would fall again.

And now, I’m not sure that too much rain might have harmed the thyme, or maybe this is just what a thyme plant’s life cycle looks like. Possibly, they’ll just hunker down during the winter and bounce back to life next spring. Some of the plants completely died over the summer. Others are making a small comeback. I’ve replaced a couple. The three better-looking plants at the front are three different varieties that I found at the end of last fall. They’ve thrived through the winter, spring, and summer. The big green mass at the far right is Creeping Mother of Thyme. I’ve had it for years, and it has grown and spread and been dependable.

I’ll just have to wait and see what next spring brings.

I’ve grown different kinds of mint for quite a while. I don’t cook very much with them, I just like the way they look and smell. One hot, hot day, last summer, I came home from church, walked through the patio, and went in the house. I didn’t think about watering the patio plants. (And I always water the patio plants.) Then the next day, when I went back out, the lovely curled mint and chocolate mint plants were dead, dead, dead. As was the pineapple mint plant on the shelf beneath them. I was horrified and really sad. The curly and chocolate mints were new to me, and the pineapple mint was a plant I’d had for years. I poured water on the hard, dry dirt and grieved. Then, about two weeks later, TA-DAH!! Really! a couple of tiny leaves were coming up. When I bought and potted the plants, the chocolate mint was on one side and the curly mint was on the other. Apparently, they have different root systems. The curly mint is now all around the edges of the pot, and the chocolate mint is in the center. I don’t care; I’m just glad they showed up again.

And, the plant on the right, with the red flowers, is pineapple sage. I planted it here when we very first moved in this house, and I was working on making a garden. When you rub the leaves with your fingers, they will smell strongly of pineapple. It’s amazing.

I was going to take a bit of a break, and went to the patio to sit on the bench there. It’s where I’ve been sitting to read in the late afternoons. I lean back on the pillows, balance a glass of tea on the arm rest, and enjoy a book. When I went to rest for a moment this afternoon, I couldn’t. We’d had a short, but significant, rainfall, mid-morning. I touched a cushion. It seemed all right. I pressed down, and, no, it wasn’t all right. The sun had warmed, and dried, the cushion tops, but quite a bit of rainwater had settled in the bottom of the cushions, and also to the bench. So I ended up on the concrete steps.

And, when I was out in the garden, I had the same idea. I could sit down for a moment. Nope. These cushions were really wet. Top to bottom. And, there was water on the bench’s slats.

No rest for weary me. I didn’t want to traipse up the yard just to have a seat on the concrete steps. Not all that comfortable. So, I picked up the rake and went to gather up fallen leaves.

What beautiful tents, Jacob, oh, your homes, Israel!
Like valleys stretching out in the distance, like gardens planted by rivers,
Like sweet herbs planted by the gardener God, like red cedars by pools and springs,

Numbers 24: 5,6 (The Message Translation)

A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself. – May Sarton (2014). “At Seventy: A Journal”, p.53, Open Road Media

As long as I can put on my overalls and my Crocs . . .