Oi! Or is it Oy? Whatever it is, I am uttering it. The past couple weeks have been a mishmash of annoyance & confusion &, well, Oi! Or Oy! Or both!!!
Heart-related issues. I'm not sure where this is going, but there's talk of a third surgery : ( As Doris sang, "whatever will be, will be" ... but Oi/Oy! I have another followup with the doctor a couple days before Thanksgiving. I'm assuming that he will discontinue my medication again and we'll see what happens after that.
Tiredness is a major problem. I just don't get it. I'm pretty certain the majority of people in the world can get through their days without needing an afternoon nap for an hour or two.
Last week I had my credit card number stolen : ( I wouldn't have even known it happened if I hadn't looked at my online bank statement to check something one day. I was shocked to see a bunch of pending charges I did not make! I immediately called the bank. They asked me if I knew how someone got hold of my card number. How would I know? I purchase things quite a bit online but have never had any problems like this. The bank issued me a new card, refunded the questionable charges back into my account, & launched an investigation. I then changed my passwords to every password-requiring site I visit. I hope they tell me how this person came to acquire my number. I was told they could not have made charges with the number only. They would've had to have known the expiration date as well as the 3-digit code on the back! Very scary & annoying!
Let's see ... what else. Our mower guy kinda cheated us. One of our toilets has stopped working. A mouse (Ed) made his home in our garage, & his brother & sister-in-law (Ralph & Alice) decided to make their home up the road in our cable box where they chewed through a wire that controls our phone line. This resulted in an extremely loud hum on the line & we couldn't really hear anyone who called us for days. The phone technician shooed Ralph & Alice away & made his repairs. Hopefully the little fur balls won't try to set up housekeeping there again.
On a happier note, Christmas is just two months from today!!!
I absolutely cannot wait! I don't know why but I think I've been ready to start Christmas decorating since July! Sometimes I have to literally force myself to not bring the tree downstairs & start stringing lights! I guess the fact that John has been playing Christmas CDs for the past few months might have something to do with this ... or maybe it's just me : )
The temps have been a bit cooler ... sometimes in the 50s during the day & in the 30s at night ... but we're getting a revisiting of bad weather (known to some of you as warm/hot weather) in the coming days. It's actually predicted to be near 80 degrees one day! Ugh! Where's the barf bag? All things considered, we've had a pretty nice autumn. The photo below shows what is probably our favorite tree in the yard. Its autumn color is always so beautiful! Isn't it nice how God could have just given us plain ol' green trees all year round, but instead He makes the leaves have these gorgeous colors for us each fall?
What a beautiful prelude to the most wonderful, magical season of all!!! Yes, I'm talking about winter : ) I am, as you can no doubt guess, eagerly anticipating the arrival of snow! I will be so happy when the white stuff starts to fall!!! Think of me looking like this, but without such a thick beard & maybe with a little less hair on my head.
We were blessed with some cool weather earlier this week so I dusted off the hot chocolate maker & make myself a cup of yummy white hot chocolate using a Ghiradelli white chocolate bar! It's the nearest thing to heaven in a cup : )
And instead of a cake for my birthday, I got to eat this very huge, very yummy cupcake purchased at Fresh Market in Lexington! I could have eaten a dozen of them : )
I promised to share with you the gifts I received from fellow stitchers, which has always been the thing one does here in blogland, so here goes. All the gifts were very prettily wrapped but of course I only took photos after opening them.
From my buddie Michelle ... who also loves birds ... I received this pretty cut of fabric, bird-related charms, a cute little wooden hanging bird, & ribbon which says "Everything Stops for Tea" ... the "tea" being a little teacup. And it does! Also a lovely card.
This next gift is from my sweet friend Robin in VA. A pretty card & beautifully stitched pin pillow.
My dear friend Vicki sent me a beautiful card & three charts from my Wish List.
And last, but not least, my good friend Sally sent me the cute card, cross stitching magnet, & gorgeous little lamb ornament.
Thank you all again for remembering me on my special day : )
Hard as this may be to believe, I haven't done any stitching for the past two weeks. I sent a lot of things to my finisher to be finished & knew she probably wasn't going to have time to finish anything else for me before Christmas, so after stitching three designs at the beginning of the month, I decided to do a bit of knitting. I've always wanted/needed a shawl. I purchased some bulky yarn & tried the Basic Prayer Shawl pattern, but my yarn was variegated & the pattern of the shawl was totally lost in the color changes. I then un-knitted that bit & started again using a simple garter stitch pattern. I'm not real happy with the results ... I made a few errors & you know how OCD I am with myself regarding that ... so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. I haven't blocked it yet, but here's a photo.
I am now project-less. I could start another knitting project, or a stitching project (I do miss stitching), but I'd best get after a few finishing projects I need to get done before Christmas. I farm out my "pretty" designs to an outside finisher who is way more creative & skilled than I am, but plain primitive stuff I can do reasonably well ... I think.
Well, just when you think things are looking up. Remember the non-working toilet I mentioned above? I planned to call the plumber about it on Monday. I mean really ... who wants to call a plumber on the weekend? We have 2 other toilets. No big deal. I did a load of laundry this morning, then decided to do another load. The washer started to fill for the rinse cycle, & when I went to pour in some fabric softener, the water was very soapy. Odd. I decided to put the washer on double rinse to make sure all the soap would rinse out. I then went into the kitchen & before too long something just didn't sound right. It sounded like the water in the washer was maybe overflowing onto the floor, but I had just been in there & it was barely full. I went into the laundry room ... no water running down the sides of the washer but I still heard the strange water sound. I then realized it was coming from the half bath across the hall. I opened the door & the water was flowing like Niagara from that toilet. I turned off the water for the tank & couldn't understand why it kept flowing. I yelled for John to bring towels. They barely sopped up the water which I now realized was soapy. Was the water somehow draining from the washer to the toilet? I turned off the washer & the bathroom Niagara eventually stopped. John & I got the floors all dried (we've now got a mountain of soaking wet towels in the utility sink) & then decided to look in the bathroom with the non-working toilet. It didn't look pretty. The toilet didn't overflow but it's very nasty looking in the bowl, & "stuff" backed up into the shower : ( I called & luckily reached our plumber who told me something about the septic tank & a snake & a D Box. Apparently if the snake didn't work, the D Box would have to be dug up? That didn't sound good ... but everything worked out well. He arrived, the snake did its job, & we were given the phone number of a septic company that we are to call to come "blow out" the tank. This is the first time in our lives that we've had a septic tank. Can't say I'm too fond of them after this experience, but it could have been worse. I often put clothes in the washer, then we go out shopping or whatever. Then when we get home, I simply need to take the clothes out of the washer & put them in the dryer. Won't be doing that anymore!
It is now mid afternoon & I am thinking about how I had planned to accomplish things today other than washing a mountain of towels, sanitizing bathrooms & floors, etc. Maybe tomorrow. Hmmmm ... reminds me of an old Iveys song from my youth. (The group Badfinger was called The Iveys before they changed their name to Badfinger.) The lyrics have no connection with the day I had today, but here's an old video for you to enjoy. Maybe Tomorrow ... lip synced by The Iveys.
Just doesn't have the same ring to it as Happy Birthday Sweet 16, does it? Of course I'm not 16 in the above photo. The card on the sideboard indicates that this is my second birthday. Oh, to be young again ... but to know everything I know now : )
I received some nice gifts which I will try to post tomorrow. If the truth be told, I haven't even opened them yet, but I'm sure they're nice : ) John & I left early this morning to spend the day in Lexington. We shopped here & there & then had a yummy birthday lunch at Red Lobster. We arrived home a little while ago. It's 3:45 now & I'm exhausted. Like I said above ... oh, to be young again!
I must ask for your patience while I lead up to the topic I'm writing about today. Please bear with me.
John & I have been enjoying Christmas music for a few weeks now. Not constantly, of course. He has been slipping in a Christmas CD now & then along with other CDs he's been playing. Some of these Christmas CDs feature one artist only. Others feature various artists. One particular song has been showing up on more than one of these various artists CDs. The title ... Driving Home for Christmas. The melody isn't really unpleasant, but the lyrics drive me up the wall.
I have my share of Christmas songs that I find annoying. I'm sure there are a few such songs that come to your mind as well. One person absolutely loves Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, but another person wants to cover their ears when they hear it. All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth fills one person's mind with happy memories, yet another person can't shut off the radio fast enough when this song starts to play.
I realize that song lyrics reflect the lyricist's manner of speech along with their own memories or idealization of a subject. We are most likely all familiar with artistic license ... "the distortion of fact, alteration of the conventions of grammar or language, or rewording of pre-existing text made by an artist in the name of art." Artistic license is used quite a bit, & typically it doesn't bother me. But sometimes ... sometimes ... it does.
The lyricist who penned Driving Home for Christmas relates the story of a man who is, as the title suggests, driving home for Christmas. As he sets out for his destination, he decides to sing this little song to pass the time. He is excited about seeing his family, sharing old memories, etc. At one point he looks over & sees a man in the car next to him, & he sings "I look at the driver next to me. He's just the same." I'm usually not so nitpicky, but really? How can you look at the person in the car next to you & assume he's the same as you ... driving home for Christmas, looking forward to spending time with family, reliving holiday traditions, etc? Maybe that guy doesn't even celebrate Christmas. Maybe he's a Jehovah's Witness, or Jewish. Maybe he hates Christmas.
The most annoying line of this song, however ... for me ... is where this person is stuck in traffic but he knows the freeway is up ahead. The line goes like this ...
"Soon there'll be a freeway,
I'll get my feet on holy ground."
Later in the song he eludes to the fact that when he arrives home he will be on "holy ground."
I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I'm pretty sure that neither a freeway nor the home where we grew up is "holy ground." But what is? Is it the floor of a church? Is it the Via Dolorosa where Jesus walked, carrying His cross on the way to His crucifixion? Is it the hill where He was criucified? Is it the tomb in which His body was placed? It is the stable in which He was born? Well, God is so good! He knew that my little pea brain was looking for an answer, & He gave me one via a Joyce Meyer devotional. Yes, I'm sorry ... Joyce Meyer again. The devotional is titled Holy Ground. After citing the above scripture, Joyce writes ...
"You are God's tabernacle. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. He lives in you! Wherever you go, He goes. If you go to the grocery store; if you play golf; if you go to work ... He goes. Ordinary things & places are not holy in themselves, but when we go & do them, God has promised to be with us. And any place God is becomes holy."
After reading this devotional, God led me to do a little more research on the subject. I think David Wilkerson, American Christian evangelist & author of the book, "The Cross & the Switchblade," defines it best.
"Holy ground is not a physical place, but a spiritual one. When God commanded Moses to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground, He was not referring to a two-by-four piece of real estate. He was talking about a spiritual state. ...Moses had arrived at a place in his growth where God could get through to him. He was now in a place of reception, ready to listen. He was mature & ready to be dealt with by a holy God."
I pray that I will reach this spiritual state in my relationship with God. I pray that you will reach it too.
Nearly every morning, when I look outside the bedroom window, this is what I see.
The moon is on the left, & a bright star is on the right. It makes me think of Revelation 22:16(b) ...
"I am the root & offspring of David,
the bright Morning Star."
Jesus calls Himself the bright Morning Star. When I see that bright morning star out my window each morning, I smile. It sort of makes me feel like there He is, saying good morning to me. Of course I know that Jesus isn't a star. That star is not Him. It is, however, a reminder of how He is always with me. Always looking out for me.
Some mornings are cloudy, & when I climb out of bed & look up at the sky I can't see anything. Does that mean the moon & star are not there? No, they are still there. They are always there ... just like Jesus is always with us. It doesn't matter if I can see Him or not ... He is always there. Always with me. Always in my life.
I don't know about you but that makes me feel very happy : )
There are no women in my family who have or have had breast cancer, but I have quite a few blogging friends who have had breast cancer enter their lives. Gaynor at Stitchers Anon is one of them.
Gaynor works hard to raise money for breast cancer research. She is now working toward a goal of raising 500 euros by the end of this month. For every euro you donate (one euro equals roughly $1.26), you will be given a "raffle ticket" for a chance to win a marvelous prize! The current list of prizes can be viewed by clicking here.
I am donating two prizes. First, this Christmas ornament ... BBD's Noel ... stitched by me & finished by the talented Myra.
My second donation is this Yiota's X Stitch kit ... Country Cottage with a Snowman. The kit is sealed & includes chart, all threads, & evenweave fabric.
If you'd like to donate a euro or two via PayPal to help Gaynor reach her goal by October 31st, click on the link below.
I don't know about you, but I have a lot of regrets. Things I did that I wish I hadn't done, & things I didn't do that I wish I had done. If I were to write them all down, I'm sure I could fill a notebook with them. Maybe a few notebooks.
I used to compare myself to an elephant. You know what they say about elephants ... they never forget. In my mind I would relive various situations from my past ... beating myself up for having done, or not having done, whatever it was that I had or hadn't done. This is always a stupid thing to do. You can't change whatever it was that you did or didn't do in your past. That time has passed, never to return again.
You can always tell if you're in danger of reliving your past in a negative way. Some of the telltale signs are thoughts that begin like this:
"Why didn't I ...."
"If only ....."
"I wish I hadn't ...."
Some of the regrets we have about our past have maybe impacted our present. Our lives are what they are now because of something we did or didn't do in the past.
"Why didn't Bob & I listen to our parents & go to college first instead of marrying right after high school? We both could have had better jobs, & we could have afforded a nicer house, & we wouldn't be having all the money problems we're having now."
"If only I had exercised & stayed away from junk food when I was younger, I could have avoided all these health problems I have now."
"I wish I hadn't let my sister be in charge of things after mom died. She took everything of mom's that had any monetary or sentimental value, & she didn't even like mom!"
If we allow them to, thoughts like these could ruin our present & our future. They can make us bitter & resentful & depressed.
I am not proud to say it but I had a lot of thoughts like these once upon a time, & they indeed made me bitter & resentful & depressed. I was especially foolish in that I would often relive the bad decisions I made in the past & this would of course make me relive the pain of what I had or hadn't done over & over & over again.
Can you imagine Paul thinking this way?
"I wish I hadn't persecuted the Christians. If only I had taken the time to look into what this Jesus had to say, I would have realized that he was the son of God so much sooner, & the Christians I had put to death could have been alive today! Why didn't I ask God to open my eyes to the truth instead of assuming I knew it all?"
Or Peter?
"I wish I hadn't denied Jesus three times. He told me I was going to do it ... if only I had listened to him! Why didn't I believe him? I could have asked him to help me not deny him!"
Paul & Peter probably regretted these things, but they didn't let them overshadow their present or future lives. They looked back, acknowledged their bad decisions, learned from them, & moved on.
The regrets I had/have, I was never able to do like Paul or Peter ... acknowledge my bad decisions, learn from them, & then move on. One of the things I often used to say was how it's not fair that you have to keep paying in the present for the bad decisions you made in your past. Yep ... I said that. I've grown up a bit since then : )
I learned a few years ago to not dwell on the past. The bad decisions I made, however, are not forgotten. Some of them have impacted my present & my future; some have not. I still have regrets ... I suspect I always will ... but with God's help, I will never again allow them to drag me down into a pit of despair.
I read a great little devotional from Our Daily Bread last month. It talked about Sarah telling Abraham to sleep with Hagar so that he would have the child God promised to him. Sarah was not pregnant, & she was getting a little tired waiting for God to give them a child. She decided that perhaps God meant for this child to be born of another woman. I honestly don't know where her mind was at the time. Anyway, when Hagar became pregnant, Sarah despised her. The devotional talks about how bitter Sarah was against Abraham, Hagar, & Ishmael when he was born. The last paragraph reads like this ...
"It may never have been easy for Sarah to have lived with the consequences of her decision to go ahead of God. It may have taken a miracle of grace to change her attitude, but that could have transformed everything. Sarah couldn't reverse her decision, but through God's strength, she could have lived with it differently & given God the glory."
This is what we all need to "get" way down deep inside us. The bad decisions we have made in the past can't be reversed, but we can live with them differently. God will help us. We just need to ask for His help : )
I wish you a very blessed Sunday!
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Note: The Our Daily Bread devotional I mentioned above is a devotional I read when I first became a Christian. Somewhere along the pathway of my life I lost touch with it. A couple weeks ago I was in a doctor's waiting room when I found one that someone had placed on a table as a giveaway. I smiled at the memory of the pleasure it had brought to me in my early walk with the Lord & I have been enjoying it every day since. I especially like that the devotions change from day to day, year to year. If you would like to have a copy mailed to you every 3 months, they are free for the asking. Just send a letter & ask for a subscription.
You remember Flat Phoebe & Real Phoebe, don't you? Well, that's Real Phoebe above with her brother Dante after a rough & tumble hockey game. Dante is in need of prayer. I do not wish to detail the reason why, but of course God knows the reason. If you could spare a few prayers for Dante, I'd really appreciate it.
I love God, spending time with my husband of 48 years, a hot cup of tea, a hot bowl of homemade soup, a hot fresh loaf of homemade bread (do you see a pattern here?), cross stitching & a few other crafts, early mornings before the sun is up, sitting by a burning fireplace, snowy winters, crisp fall days, peace & quiet, wearing jeans & sweatshirts & funky socks. There's probably some other stuff too : )
