A Friday of Ennui

1. Remember how I said last Friday that it was the calm before the storm? Well, that seems a remarkably apt description. I have a dear uncle who is very ill so several family members are traveling tomorrow to visit him and bring him cheer. Marshall's mother has triple-bypass surgery scheduled for next Tuesday so my sister-in-law and I are trying to plan ahead about how make sure Rick eats supper next week while MaryLee's in the hospital and how we'll organize meals for both of them when she is home. Several dear friends experienced various traumas this week. And the list goes on.... I did a lot of praying this week, which isn't a bad thing, but there was a lot to be praying about.

2. I finished another section of White Lilies on Red last night. Every time the confetti nature of the pattern makes me crazy, I look at the picture of the finished product and am amazed how well it translates into a beautiful image. Here's my progress pic:


I'm still very pleased with the emerging result.

3. Youth Group started last Sunday night with our introductory evening to 6th and 9th graders and it was a lot of fun. The first large group meeting is this Sunday night and I'm really excited to be back with some of my favorite people. Unfortunately, almost as soon as I left the house last Sunday, Miranda bounced herself off of our very small trampoline and smashed her face on the concrete, giving herself a very impressive fat lip and badly scraped elbow. She is healing but Monday morning I was apprehensive about putting her on the bus. My mother wanted me to take a picture so she could see the damage but I was hesitant to document the carnage. We'll get Skype up and running between here and my parents' house soon so Grandma can see all their boo-boos for herself.

4. I am still struggling to get all the necessary paperwork and other assorted items together for Alex and Miranda at their individual schools. As they are both in special ed. self-contained classrooms, the usual "need for school" items and lists published by the district don't apply and we get the lists for each individual class after school starts. And....

5. Unfortunately, yesterday, my "I'm so glad my children are back in school" energy departed. I am having terrible difficultly getting myself to do all the things I've been planning to get done out and about as well as at home since I am home alone from 8:42 - 11:50 am. I did get back to my Women's Bible study on Wednesday morning and committed to being their for the current semester. We will be working through Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. I've decided to stop trying to make myself do the homework in the evenings (it never happens) and plan to work on it in the mornings when I have the time and my brain is functioning.

6. I watched Flags of Our Fathers on Friday night and really enjoyed it, although I should have known it was a 5 kleenex movie. I even liked it better than Letters from Iwo Jima, although I do agree they should be seen together. Excellent movies. I'm still working my way New Tricks; only one episode left from Series 4 and then I'll move on to series 5. I'm even starting to think in English idiom; scary.

7. I also read 3 Georgette Heyer books this week (I love my library!) and I was in the mood for some of her mysteries. I read Behold Here's Poison, They Found Him Dead and Detection Unlimited. I enjoyed them, although the solution for the murder in that last book didn't quite work. But I read her books for the delightful character interactions for the most part, anyway.

And here's Jen.