If you’re a citizen of the USA, did you get your taxes in by today? I hope so. I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of the IRS. Yesterday we had church and Sunday School as usual, after breakfast with Janet in the morning. She went to church with Sammy, of course. In the afternoon we drove to the north side of town for a memorial service dedicated to the memory of someone whom we both greatly respected and admired—a man named Dan Larsen. We’ve known Dan and his wife Nonie for over forty years. When we were college students, Dan taught auto mechanics and Nonie was the cashier in th ..read more

This afternoon we went to a memorial service for a very remarkable man, and this is one of the hymns we sang. What a Friend We Have in Jesus Joseph M. Scriven What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our ..read more

I had a pretty rough night last night so as predicted, I started the day with caffeinated tea and Tylenol. My plan for today was to go to our local Renaissance Faire, not so much to see the faire itself (although I did that) but to meet up with my friend Carrie, whom I hadn’t seen for at least two years. Carrie and her husband Tim were among the first people the kids and I met when we went to our very first faire twenty years ago. They ran a weapons stall (a magnet for my kids) and Carrie was one half of the much-beloved nun show. And over the years, we became friends. I appreciate her so much ..read more

This morning I was so focused on figuring out this week’s menus and making my shopping list that I forgot to take my morning meds. Furthermore, I didn’t even realize it until it was much, much too late. It’s been a long time since I had a lapse like that. So anyway, I went to Aldi and guess what I found in their Aisle of Shame? Stasher bags! Stashers are one of my all-time favorite things for the kitchen, and over the last ten years I’ve amassed a pretty impressive collection. If you’re new to Stasher, they’re silicone bags that come in a variety of sizes and colors, and you use them like zip ..read more

Today was gloriously sunny and at times quite windy. Such a lovely break after all the rain we had! This morning I had my semi-annual doctor’s appointment. It was pretty anticlimactic. She was not interested in my joint pain. When I requested a prescription for a continuous glucose monitor, she said I wouldn’t be able to afford it, and gave me a website to go to where I can apply for financial assistance. I won’t be following up on that. I know how that dance goes. We are too “rich” to qualify for assistance but too poor to do without it! However, I have been saving up in hopes of getting a CG ..read more

Three years ago today, a sweet little wedding was held on our patio here at the house. The pandemic was still going on, so Lucy and Tanner got married over Zoom with just Walter and me, Jasper, Lina, and Mercy and Daniel here in person. The rest of the family joined in on Zoom. I hope Lucy and Tanner enjoyed their third anniversary and did something special! I lost a lot of time this morning because I was waiting for someone to stop by. I kept putting off my sauna time and shower because I did not want to have her show up when I couldn’t answer the door. This was Robin’s youngest daughter Mary ..read more

Turns out, that massive storm we drove through last night was just the harbinger of things to come. We woke up to more thunder and torrential rain. This morning at about 9:30, Jasper volunteered to go out in the rain to check the rain gauge, because we were both curious. The gauge had overflowed. It holds seven inches marked in increments, plus enough “headroom” to hold another inch. So we had at least eight inches of rain. However, it kept on raining well into the middle of the afternoon, so when it finally tapered off I went out to check the rain gauge again, and found three and a half inche ..read more

Well, what a day. Yesterday (Sunday) was mostly about getting ready for today. We did go to church, of course. And I set up an afternoon Zoom, to which no one came. I was sorry not to see anyone, but at the same time it freed me up to do other things, like finish sewing a little dress for Paisley: Walter went to bed at 8:00 and I went to bed at 9:15, only to toss and turn until we both got up at about 1:20 a.m. I made tea in thermoses and we loaded the car and pulled out of the driveway at 2:15. We had been warned repeatedly that traffic going into Dallas would be horrendous today, so we felt ..read more

Blessèd Be the Name by William H. Clark All praise to Him Who reigns above In majesty supreme, Who gave His Son for man to die, That He might man redeem! Refrain Blessèd be the Name! Blessèd be the Name! Blessèd be the Name of the Lord! Blessèd be the Name! Blessèd be the Name! Blessèd be the Name of the Lord! His Name above all names shall stand, Exalted more and more, At God the Father’s own right hand, Where angel hosts adore. Refrain Redeemer, Savior, Friend of man Once ruined by the fall, Thou hast devised salvation’s plan, For Thou hast died for all. Refrain His Name shall be the Counsel ..read more

I started writing an entry last night, then got tired and went to bed . . . Yesterday didn’t turn out like I’d hoped or planned. It’s funny how I’ll have a long list of stuff to do in a day, and I totally don’t take into account the fact that I also have a ton of stuff to do in the kitchen. Right after finishing my morning tea, I was ready to start grading research papers, and then I remembered I’d had bone brother simmering all night (the carcass of the chicken) and needed to do something with it. Then I remembered I needed to make sourdough pizza dough. And a dessert. And peanut butter fudge ..read more