Praise God for the “normal” things . . .

. . . waking in the morning to the sound of much-needed rain, sharing a breakfast at our local “good old boy” restaurant, stopping at the library and leaving with 2 heavy sacks of books, celebrating the progression of summertime in our gardens, sitting in ”our row” in church with 10 great grandchildren—ages 6 and under, gently stepping back in time [...]

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The Sweetness of Closure

It’s one of those Greek-owned restaurants with large platters of good food at a reasonable price.  We had not been back there since October 23, 2010 when Joe stepped in front of our empty van which he thought he’d left in “Park”—and the van moved forward pinning Joe to the ground, advancing over his left [...]

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The Dying . . .

“For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from [...]

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Don’t wait for the loft!

Recently I heard a woman of retirement age say that she was selling her large Victorian era home, and hoping to move into a smaller place.  Someone had told her of condos in our neighborhood—with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, and “loft” over the garage.  The woman replied, “Oh good!  If I bought a place [...]

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Kitchen Sink Ambience

For several weeks I have wondered if I would ever blog again!  Swamped with medical issues and the realization that Joe and I will be managing some of these concerns “forever”—plus the fallout of Joe’s accident and my two major surgeries, all in less than three month’s time—have decimated my energy level. Throughout these past weeks there [...]

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Great is Thy Faithfulness

  Three weeks ago today, Joe and I drove to a nearby city anticipating a hearty breakfast at a favorite Greek owned restaurant.  After letting me off at the restaurant door Joe suffered a serious accident, which has impacted our lives in making each moment we have on earth more infinitely precious even than before!  Life was always [...]

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More on the aspects of Woman . . . .

  As evidenced in the above 1960 photo of our son Eric and me, I thoroughly savored my early years of mothering—work-filled days and occasional sleepless nights notwithstanding.  Our family was intact and centered at home.  Life was good.  But drastic changes followed those years.  As our children grew. each child became his or her own person.  That is perfectly [...]

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The Mystique of the Swans

The first time I heard the swans in our northern bay, I thought I was hearing Canada geese with COPD.  The swans frequently hang out in the midst of an entourage of Canadas—but swans bark in a louder register, with a rusty twinge that reduces me to a pile of goose bumps whenever I hear it.  Like the [...]

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No Matter What, God Is Good!

Our praises never cease!  Our daughter Judy is out of ICU, and settled into a spacious single room on the cardiac floor at Waukesha Memorial.  She began eating soft foods today, and sipping coffee.  Even hospital coffee is better than nothing, although Judy prefers STARBUCK’S. Judy knows all of us by name (and there are a [...]

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Watching the dawn, and waiting . . .

For the first time since November, I am watching the dawn–and here is the reason.  Our large living room patio door faces east.  We are situated in an alcove, tucked away from views to the north and south.  From our patio we can look neither north nor south:  only straight ahead–east. Dawn seems to quit somewhere during November in our northern [...]

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