The Week In Review

This has been a rough week. I intended several times to sit down and post, but I couldn't think of anything to write about. Or rather, I could think of plenty to write about but nothing I wanted to write about.

My ex-brother-in-law passed away on Thursday. He would have turned 49 next month. It was not a surprise; he was diagnosed with brain cancer last December and had been given 3-6 months to live. They tried surgery, chemo, and radiation, but none of these stopped the growth from coming back. The last month and a half he spent in bed, unable to walk, talk, eat, or move. Everyone knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. He died two weeks after the first anniversary of his father's death. His mother, my children's grandmother, is absolutely devastated. He leaves behind a wife, a 5 year old son, and a 22 year old son from a previous relationship, along with 5 siblings and a multitude of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. 

It was a reminder to me that our days are counted. Everyday we are closer to the day when Jesus returns, or when we meet Him in heaven. We've been studying Jesus' parables in our ladies Bible study group. We've done the parable of the two builders (Matthew 7:24-27), the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), and last night we studied the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). Each of these parables point to the fact that Jesus' return is imminent, but no one knows when He will return. Therefore it is important to be ready. Our hearts need to be fully dedicated to the Lord and His Kingdom, even in the smallest details of our lives. 

Last Sunday I began painting my daughter's bathroom vanity, and Monday I completed it, sealing it with Polycrylic. It turned out so well, and my daughter was pleased with it which is what matters most.

It's a dark greige, which works beautifully with the tile floors that resemble wood. The vanity was in good condition but the finish didn't match all their new fixtures. Paint is a great option whenever you want something new but it's out of the budget.

My son completed his astronomy class in 8 weeks and got an A in the class. I'm very proud of him, because this class was not an easy one. He worked hard and was rewarded well for his effort.

 I put gas in my car this week. Not a big deal, except that I hadn't put gas in my car since August. With this pandemic still hovering over us (though much of Florida has been reopened) I don't get out a whole lot, which saves on gas. What's even nicer is that I spent $28.10 to fill up my tank. That's because gas is $1.97/gallon. Looks like the pandemic has been good in that respect.

Another bit of good news is that my son and new daughter-in-law will be in town tomorrow night. We'll be taking them out for a celebratory dinner, though I haven't decided where yet. I'm so happy that we'll be able to spend some time with them since we couldn't be with them for the wedding. God is so generous to allow this time together.

There is more to this week's happenings, but I'm going to leave that for another post. Till then, God bless y'all and keep y'all safe.

Where Have I Been?

I just realized I haven't blogged in over a week.  What the heck?! I was supposed to be blogging more often, not less!  I've got some catching up to do.

The reason I didn't blog last weekend was because I was barely home.  Saturday was grocery shopping day.  It was also fair/concert day.  One of the local county fairs in South Florida had Danny Gokey and Brandon Heath in concert, and my best friend IV was dying to go.  She's a concert junkie more so than I am - I usually tag along with her, though I have to admit I love the Christian concert scene myself.  She'd gotten some really cheap tickets too: $5 per person, when the regular price is $18.  That's to get into the fair, but both concerts are free once you're inside, so we got to enjoy a really great evening.  The weather was perfect too, neither too hot nor cold.  There was a nice breeze, and a chill was in the air but nothing uncomfortable.  That's a big change from the fair concert last year.  We went to see Matthew West and SonicFlood.  We got a sonic flood all right: it poured like crazy!  We were thankful that didn't repeat itself this year!  Our kids went on a gazillion rides while we sang and worshiped with these two incredible artists and lovers of God.  We got home at midnight but we had a blast.

Then Sunday I got up early for church - barely got any sleep - and my friend DS asked me if I had any plans for the afternoon.  "Yeah," I said, "sleep."  She quickly protested and explained why: she managed to get tickets to see Third Day that evening, and the tickets were $15!  We hadn't planned on going because ticket prices were $45 and up, and the $45 tickets were not very good seats.  I was sure we were getting lousy seats at such a low price, but DS insisted we should go and make a girl's night out of it, her, IV and myself.  We agreed.  I went home, took a 15 minute power nap, then got ready.  When we got there we were all shocked: third row seats!  I couldn't believe it!  None of us could, really.  And who opened for Third Day?  Brandon Heath!  We got to see him two nights in a row!  We were so tired, but so incredibly blessed by the worship, that it didn't matter if I didn't sleep for another two nights!

Monday started our school week again, along with preparations for spring break for work.  There was plenty to do and finish up, so it was a crazy hectic week.  I'm glad to have this week off, so E and I can get caught up on some of his school assignments - not that he's far behind, but especially his PE class has been put on the back burner in an effort to get all his other assignments in on time.  We'll be focusing on that.

Wednesday our Awana group was blessed with a visit from a missionary!  This young lady is 20 years old and attended the school that is affiliated with our church.  She is now a missionary in Argentina, and she talked to the kids about her experience.  They were really interested and asked lots of questions, though the boys were mostly concerned with what kind of food is served in Argentina, LOL!

We had our Good Friday service at 2:00 in the afternoon.  I don't know why we continue to have Good Friday services so early.  Unfortunately, gone are the days when folks had Good Friday off from work.  We had a good amount of people show up, though, and I was thankful.  We had communion, then Pastor gave a lovely sermon based on Isaiah 53:1-6 and how Jesus was misidentified and misunderstood.  He did an awesome job; we left feeling grateful for the sacrifice our Lord and Savior made for us.

Friday morning I got an email from New York and Company, my favorite clothing store.  They were having a huge sale, but we had school to do, and Good Friday service to attend in the afternoon.  I went ahead and took a look online, and found some cardigans on sale for $15.  I have one of their cardigans, and the quality is outstanding, so I ordered 3 more, along with a couple of tank tops ($7 each) and a pretty top ($15).  I don't mind buying from New York and Company because everything I buy from them lasts me a good long time, but I especially like getting stuff cheap!

Today was designated Floor Cleaning Day.  I love our dog Molly, but she is a slobberer and a shedder.  I cleaned the floors recently, and they looked like I hadn't touched them in months.  I got to work mopping the hallway and living room, then looked at the red wall in my living room.

Don't get me wrong, I love the red wall.  It's a great accent wall.  Except for one thing.  My living room faces west.  I get no morning sunlight in this room, and in the afternoon I only get sunlight for a short amount of time while the sun is going down.  With dark brown floors and dark green furniture, the room looked dark.  And I don't like dark.

I'd been thinking about changing the wall for some time, painting it the same color as the rest of the walls to brighten up the room.  There's a red wall in the dining room and another in the family room, but those aren't anywhere near as dark looking because the back of the house faces east, and these rooms get lots of sunlight.  I decided to check and see if I had any paint left; after all, I'd painted the house back in 2010.  Lo and behold, there was a little less than half a can of paint left.  I made up my mind and got to work.  Here is the end result:

That is one bright room!  It's much more cheerful, and that's what I wanted.  Now I'll have to schedule a trip to Kirkland's to get some artwork for that wall.  It'll have to wait, though.  I have to take my car to the dealership on Monday to have it checked out.  The steering wheel is making a rattling sound, and it kind of sticks.  I hate car problems.

That's it for now.  I pray everyone has a blessed Resurrection Day.  He is Risen!  Glory To God!

Has It Been That Long?!

I knew it had been a long time since I'd posted anything on my blog.  But I didn't realize just HOW long it had been!  I wish I'd come on just to add a few little tidbits here and there of what's been going on - remembering everything will be a task! Let's see what I come up with...

Since September of last year, I've been very busy - too busy to sit down and get things put in writing.  October is, of course, Halloween.  My son and his best friend dressed up for our church's Harvest festival.  My son was dressed as Robin, again.  His best friend made a Minecraft costume that was the hit of the festival.  What an original idea!

November was busy because it's when I finish my Christmas shopping, and it's also Thanksgiving.  We were blessed with my sister and brother-in-law spending Thanksgiving with us for the first time.  It made the holiday less lonely having them with us.  Of course it made the thought of Christmas even lonelier.  God knew how I was feeling, so He surprised me:  my sister and brother-in-law came back down for Christmas as well!  It made for a very busy but very joyful time for us.

December also marked a huge milestone for me.  I've now officially lived on this earth for half a century.  Ugh.  It doesn't sound very glamorous, does it?  I didn't have a party (too close to every other holiday), but I chose to do something different, and that was in my home.  I love decorating, moving furniture, choosing new things and shaking old things up.  My choice for my home's new look:  something with a Northern feel.

I'd always wanted one of those media fireplaces!  I thought they looked so cool, giving the home that warm, cozy feeling, even though we rarely need a fireplace in South Florida.  However, when I saw this media fireplace by Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart for $249, I didn't care what the weather was like - it was just what I was looking for!  Add 2 matching bookcases at $60 each, and I was able to give my living room a newer, more contemporary-while-still-traditional look for under $500.  It made turning 50 a little more tolerable ;-).

That was completed in January, after all the Christmas decorations were put away.  February brought new decorating challenges, this time in the form of the outside of the house.  Our house was in desperate need of a paint job.  Before that could be done, however, the roof tiles needed to be cleaned.  I hired someone to do that - no way was I climbing up on the roof with a pressure cleaner! - and not a moment too soon.  Our town was sending letters out to all the residents who hadn't cleaned their roofs, giving them a deadline to get it done.  I was glad I didn't have to be told my roof was disgusting!  Once the roof was nicely scrubbed (it turned out even better than I'd expected), the painting began.  I started with the dividing wall in my backyard.  It's a cement wall that our old neighbors behind us had put it.  At one point it'd gotten full of ivy which peeled the paint off.  The difference after painting was night and day.

That's a glimpse of the before and after, after being on the left.  It looked like a brand new wall!  After that was done (it took a total of 4 days), painting the actual house was next.  Yes, I painted it.  Me.  Why yes, I am insane.  Why do you ask?

The color on the house had faded to the point that it was peach colored - not what I wanted at all.  Besides, our dog Molly had gotten into the habit of rubbing herself against the wall, leaving a long dirty mark all along the back of the house.  I went with a brown color, Country something-or-other, to create contrast with the roof which is lighter and has terracotta and light grey tiles.  The difficult part of painting the back and sides of the house was 1) the sun burning down and roasting me, and 2) getting up and down the ladder.  This was a piece of cake, though, compared to doing the front of the house.

Before

After

Getting good pictures of the front of the house is hard due to some trees that block the view.  Still, I think the contrast is noticeable.  The trim went much lighter - the color is called Milk Toast - and it set off the color of the house and garage/front doors beautifully.  The garage door was originally white.  It was painted some 7 years ago in a brown color that, like the walls, had faded to peach.  It was hideous.  Now the doors are dark chocolate brown and they look clean and sophisticated.  I'm very pleased with the results.

Of course, getting that done made the area next to the front door stand out in a bad way.  Because of the way the roof pitches, the area in front of the living room window would get flooded, causing mud and dirt instead of a nice planting area.  Anything I planted there died or was stunted because of the excess water during the rainy season.  There was only one way to fix it.  Get rid of it.  How?  Pavers, that's how.

And once again, I did it myself.

 I had to start with clearing the area, laying down sand, then installing Brock Paver Base.  The hardest part was working in a tightly confined area - just 9' by 6'.  It made putting everything down level a challenge.  In the end it did work out very nicely.  My daughter helped me with the design.  There are some pipes that stick out of the ground that had to be left that way, and getting around them was yet another challenge, but she did a great job.

The end result is neater, cleaner, drains well and No More Mud!!!  It looks great, and the feeling of accomplishment at having done it myself (another project costing about $450) is beyond words.  I'm thrilled with the look!

So, what have I been up to lately?  Gardening.  I've started a veggie garden in my backyard - small, just a little corner by the patio.  I've planted butter crunch lettuce, spring mix lettuces, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, cilantro, basil, and oregano.  Along the edge of the house we have blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.  For the kids, of course.  I'm allergic to berries.

I started my cucumbers from seed.  They sprouted in less than a week.

I saw how my cousin was growing lettuces in bags, and decided to give it a try.  They are progressing nicely.

This is my green bean plant the day it sprouted. Just barely noticeable.

And here it is, the very next day.  I was so excited!  It's continuing to grow and thrive.

Well, that's my recap.  I hope I'll be more diligent in keeping my blog up, especially now as I become Arlene the Gardener.  Thanks for sticking around, if you have.  More fun to come!