Tuesday, July 20, 2010

A Simple Woman's Daybook 7.20.10

Not that I am stuck for writing prompts, but A Simple Woman's Daybook helps to put a lot of them in one place outside my mind.

Outside my window...
it's dark and we saw no evidence of the tornado that threatened the northern part of our county earlier this evening. We hung out in the basement, anyway, and I thought of Kansas.


I am thinking...
of the sudden death of Paul's friend Bob last week. They had gone to school together as kids, and had run into each other many times in the past decade. We found out through a mutual friend that Bob died from injuries after falling off his roof.

I am thankful for...
life and breath, God's mercy, Dunkin' Donuts, spiritual fruit in all four of my children right now,
fresh garden veggies, that God woke me 15 minutes early one day last week to see the ambulance out front and put me in a position to minister to our neighbors; God's protection on Paul involving electric wiring and the AC unit and 24 hours without air on a 98 degree Saturday; a lovely girlfriend for Ben; when my parents ask to keep their grandson overnight; my new family room; and a host of other blessings. which I will soon consolidate into a Gratitude List post.

From the kitchen...
tonight--tempura veggies, shrimp cocktail, zucchini strips and chicken drizzled with Wegman's Basting Oil. Tomorrow morning with a friend: blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs, coffee, and OJ. I love my Friends' Day Wednesdays.

I am wearing...
a purple polo, tan shorts, enough hair spray to prevent a tornado from messing up my 'do, and pale pink nail polish on all 20 nails.


I am creating...sanctuary in my bedroom, little by little.

I am going...to schedule a cystectomy for Molly, my 10-year-old Golden. GOD BLESS VETERINARIANS who have the stomach for such things. I am still half wretching and half laughing at how cavalier the doctor was when looking at AND touching the ugly growth: "Oh yeah, it's a cyst with a wart on top, and it's oozing. An unfortunate combination."

I am reading... The Holiness of God, by RC Sproul, my favorite Bible teacher ever. Today I read something I'd never thought on before. It's a phrase from an old hymn that is not theologically correct, "God's grace, infinite grace..." Sproul admitted that he once preached a practice sermon on it in seminary, after which his professor asked him where the Bible says that. It doesn't. God is infinite. God is gracious. But His grace is not infinite. He sets limits on His grace. (I may expound more on this soon, and quote Sproul directly when the book is near me.)

I am also reading the book of Ezekiel. I have only ever read it once through in my life, but don't remember it. I hope to get through it with understanding, but I am at least taking notes this time. Recently I came to the part where God tells Ezekiel what do with his six-ingredient bread. Whoa. Betcha won't be coveting your neighbor's bread machine after reading this:

Ezek 4: 9 “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer, [2] and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels [3] a day; from day to day [4] you shall eat it. 11 And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; [5] from day to day you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.”

I am hoping...to get my eyebrows threaded again by Saturday. Threading lasts so much longer than waxing and is not nearly as harsh on the skin. Men just have no idea what they're missing out on. They just have the same old bushy eyebrows month after month, year after year. If you ever see that much hair above my eyes, please check for a pulse.

I am hearing... the dinosaur AC unit puffing, blowing, rattling and squeaking. It's like music, really. From a junior high marching band. With your kid on the trumpet. You appreciate the sounds it makes because you remember the day nothing was coming out of the bell except spit and hot air.

Around the house...I am experiencing the satisfaction of being part of completing projects and anticipating new ones.


One of my favorite things...
Petty as this sounds, I'll admit it's a small thrill. It's this new lip gloss I have that has little holes that the colored gel pushes up through. I am not sure why I get such a kick out of the twist-up ritual in the morning, but I do. It also thrills me that the seller was raising money for a missions trip to Kenya and so the "fun" money is going to a worthy cause.

A few plans for the rest of the week... finish cleaning my bedroom; clean Sarah's and Steve's, too; have a friend over for breakfast to hear about her trip (and calling) to Africa; maybe date my husband (???Honey, I know you are reading this!!!hint, hint); take Joel to my parents' for another overnighter filled with Monopoly, Parcheesi, and Master Mind.


A picture thought I am sharing... for Sarah, who loves penguins.

3 comments:

Laurie said...

Fun entry!
I could comment line by line (and make this comment even longer), but I'll spare you!
1. I'm in awe of God's Irresistible Grace!!! (John 6:65)
2. I understand the joys of good lip wear! (My new fave is Maybelline "Yummy Plummy" lipstick!)
3. We built our current house without a basement (gasp!)! I've lived all my life in Kansas and though I've been summoned to the basement by tornado warnings many times, I've never seen one touch down. (I've seen the effects of some that have touched down close by.) In case having no basement now sounds haughty, I add that we do have a storm plan in which we would go to the safest centerish place in the house.
And Rule #1 in our storm plan is: Pray!!!
I also remember as a kid that often many in our neighborhood would stand around outside gazing at the dark sky as if the impending danger was a thriller show! I thought they were a little crazy for not taking shelter, yet I sure didn't want to be in the basement by myself, so I tried to brave the storm with the rest, (at least until the adults thought shelter was absolutely neccesary!)
(I was pretty certain that staring at the sky instead of taking shelter would result in disaster or maybe an adventure like in the Wizard of Oz!)

Leanne said...

So, how was the basting oil? :)

I mentioned to one of my coworkers (who is a Wegmans addict) today that I'd picked up some basting oil for a friend, and she immediately perked up. "BASTING OIL! Best stuff ever! EVERYTHING is better with basting oil!" :) She recommended roasting potatoes and veggies in the oven with it.

zoanna said...

Leanne, thanks again for bringing me that bottle so fast! The oil tastes really good, but I don't think I was hungry enough for the chicken I basted it with. Paul didn't get home till almost 7:30 and then wanted to run before dinner. So what I made the rest of us as appetizers to "hold us over" were some tempura veggies and shrimp cocktail.

Since it was short notice, I used what I had from the freezer: thin, boneless chicken breasts. The result was okay. Next time I will try a roaster or bone-in chicken for wonderful flavor. But I did love seeing all those herbs on my plate.