Thursday Thirteen

When all the randomness of life needs a bottle to contain it, a list helps.


1.  I just heard this song for the first time; it's called Come to Me, by Jenn Johnson.  This morning it   washed over my scattered soul like warm bath water. I can see it becoming a favorite.

2.  Yesterday my principal called and gave me my class assignment.  It's a class that will be well suited for drawing and painting.  I am really excited! Mum's the word on specifics, but I am just so relieved that she didn't put me in my son's fifth grade class. Any mother will tell you that it's always hardest to teach your kid when he's in your class.  That was true from kindergarten to tenth grade, I found out. My high school kids were in a writing and SAT prep class I taught for homeschoolers  many moons ago, and they pointed out all my nervous habits on the ride home--or sometimes in front of the class. "Mom, did you know that when you're trying to think of the right word or way to say something, you stomp your foot? And you shove your hair behind your ear when you're nervous." Gee, thanks . How about being as observant of your schoolwork?

3.  Tonight we are settling, refinancing the house at a lower rate on our mortgage. Every little bit helps, right?  Funny how a whole number less in front of a decimal spells thousands of dollars saved over the life of a loan.  My hubby is very good at the details of such things; all I do is show up and put my Joann Hancock on a mess of papers.  Works for me!

4.  I visited a church a couple weeks ago and was really moved by a certain thing they do. Every Sunday after church, they serve the town's homeless people right there in the back of the sanctuary.
This church excelled in making me feel welcome, from the greeters to the usher to three or four ladies afterwards who extended a handshake and  seemed to take a genuine interest in me.

5.  Sadly, I have found that most churches I've visited are not that welcoming.  The official greeters greet, but in three of the four other churches I visited, no one except the greeters reached out to me, a newcomer.  My daughter remarked to me that maybe the pastor should be told that folks are coming and think the sermon is really good, but the people aren't friendly, so visitors aren't inclined to revisit a "cold" church.

6.  If you are doing a Bible study right now, and enjoy it, please recommend. For the record, I like Beth Moore a lot.  Not a big Kay Arthur fan. I need to get into a ladies' Bible study this fall. I have sorely missed fellowship of that kind.

7.  The other night I found a very good pork recipe.  It's intended to be grilled on hot coals, but I put it in the oven.  For each person: one boneless porkchop, a handful of diced green and/or red bell peppers, a ring of pineapple (or chunks), sliced red onion, a drizzling of teriyaki sauce, and some black pepper, and two pats of butter.  Lay the porkchop on a piece of foil and then layer on the rest, ending with the sauce. Then tightly seal the foil. Bake for 35-40 mins at 400.   (I made my own teriyaki sauce; who knew it was so easy?)

Top shot: before butter and teri sauce. I got 5 foil packets of chops to fit into a 9x13 pan.  The reviews from the family?  Harshest critic said it's all right. Hater of pork said it's  a 3 out of 5.  Another person said best pork she's ever had.  I said, "Verygood and will do again, maybe on the grill, but will marinate it several hours first next time."
8.  I found the recipe for both the pork and the sauce on a site called Big Oven, which I can't wait to check out.  It looks like it has everything I want for organizing, right down to creating the shopping list  by aisle! You can even scan handwritten recipes in, and it converts it to typed writing. How  DO they do that?

9.  Fundamentals of Drawing, or Watercolor Florals?  I want to take one of these classes at the local community college this fall. 

10.  My mom is having her second eye surgery next week. A corneal transplant. I get all choked up thinking about the donor's family. Did their loved one die of natural causes, or was there a horrible accident? What loss did one family have to endure so that my mom can regain her eyesight well enough  to be able to read and function normally? I am incredibly grateful and humbled.

11.  It appears our family will not be going on a  summer vacation this year, which makes me very sad. I don't feel like I've really been refreshed until I get away from these four walls for a week.  A melanoma diagnosis in the family has made my man rethink how much sun he wants he really wants in the name of relaxation.

12.  But we have had many, many great vacations in the past, while friends and extended family have not had the good fortune.  So I try to keep that in perspective. I'm not entitled to a vacation, I just think I am. Big difference .

13.  The other day my youngest (10) was troubled about something on his leg. "Mom, is this a zit?"  he asked.  I answered, "Looks like it, yeah."  To which he replied, "CRAP! Puberty!"