Light

 

Tonight it will be just a little darker in my house since the window candles have been stored away.  

On January 1  sunrise was at 7:57 am and sunset was 5:26 pm.  Today sunrise was 7:14 am and sunset will be 6:26 pm.  It  feels like time to put away the candles that brought a little extra light into the darker days.  

Just because it amuses me, I like to look back and find that it's 66 days past the winter solstice.  Sixty-six days prior to the solstice it was October 16.  If my math is right.

Looking forward, Daylight Savings Time starts on March 9.

Enough of that.  You may be looking at the Christmas quilt in the background and thinking that it should be swapped out.  You would be right.

The Work Remains

 The work will remain the work.  To love your neighbor.  To be generous with a stranger.  To protect  the water, the air, the soil.  To heal old wounds.  To not make new ones.  The work remains the work.  In fact it has all become, suddenly, even more important.

Clergy Coaching Network

 Finally, yesterday, I made the pizza I'd been planning, and putting off making, for days.  Mushrooms, black olives, tomatoes.  I had plans for green olives too, but I couldn't open the jar.

After a long, cold and snowy week, I'm looking forward to getting out this afternoon for a grocery order pick-up.  It's been hard lately trying to figure out what sounded good, and healthy, to cook.  This order has things for a stir fry, a fruit salad, and an Impossible meat  noodle casserole.  And a few things for my college granddaughter.

Burpee seeds has a buy one get one seed special today, so I'll be putting in an order.  I want something pretty, something that can be planted early, and that basil that promises to go into late summer.  Certainly that yellow squash that grows on a bush, that was awesome last year.  And maybe a small watermelon, new this year, also on a bush instead of a vine.

I've been dreaming lately of spring walks up the hills in my neighborhood.  At this point, a dream is what it is, but I plan to be ready.  Just in the past week I've been able to cut way back on the pain meds, and that's an indicator that I'm healing well.

Snow on Trees

 

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This isn't yesterday's snow, but a lovely snow last week.  Lots of snow clinging to the trees, then melting later in the day.  It's going to take a long time for yesterday's snow to melt, we're in for a cold week.

Friday I drove to PT, on what turned out to be my last day.  I've graduated and have the sticker to prove it.

On the way home I went to the quilt shop and got a pattern and fabric that may work out well for a worship banner, plus a couple of those little white mystery scrap bags that I love.  I always end up enjoying the small fabric pieces and finding a good use for them.  Someone else's scraps are always better.

I dropped off a Valentine package for my friend in the nursing home.  They are still on lockdown because of flu and Covid, and the days confined to the rooms are long.

Saturday I went to TJ Maxx with my daughter to get some moisturizer.  First time in a store since November.

And yesterday I'd planned to make my return to church, but it was snowing once again so it wasn't the day.

Piecing Again

 

Encouraged by yesterday's two loads of laundry and several trips upstairs, I went up into my sewing room and worked on piecing the rest of this table runner.  Time went by as it should, and tomorrow I'll go back and quilt it.

It had been a long time since I'd turned on that machine, but it nicely told me what to do, as it does.  

My nursing home friend emailed me this morning that she and the other residents are on lockdown.  No one is telling them just why, but I'm guessing it's the flu.  My heart hurts for those older people, confined to their rooms, meals brought to them.

She was looking forward to a Valentine party this week - there are three days - maybe the lockdown will be lifted in time.

It's snowing this morning, but not very seriously, folks south of here are getting more.  Ours will be gone by tomorrow.

Miscellaneous Sunday Food

 My lovely neighbor just dropped by and brought this plate of Super Bowl food.  She's having company.  It's veggie pizza and snack mix and bread with dip and two cookies.

It was a cooking day for me - strictly miscellaneous unrelated things that I've put off making.  Banana bread - I'm always hopeful that I'll eat bananas but there are always some left over.  Honey mustard salad dressing for the romaine lettuce that's been in my refrigerator.

Cornbread dressing from the cornbread I made earlier in the week.  And Chex mix, lots of Chex mix, because it is Super Bowl Sunday after all.

For the first time in weeks I visited my friend in a nursing home.  I took her two new bananas from my grocery order yesterday.  I'd been wanting to bring her bananas since she mentioned - we email every morning - that they hadn't had bananas in weeks.

She said they had black beans at lunch today and would be having chicken chili for dinner, more beans.  I feel pretty spoiled to be able to choose the food I want.

I'd meant to make pizza tonight but I'm finished with cooking for today.  My fitbit has 2500 steps, not much for you but a recent record for me.

Best Kind of Morning

 This has just been the best morning.

I went to PT and was able to do the sit to stand exercises on a bench that raised and lowered.  Starting next week I'll be going just once a week for two weeks, and if things are still good, I'll be discharged at the end of the second week

My car is coming home this afternoon with a new battery, under warranty, and a replacement fuse.  I so appreciate my dealer.

The news tells us that starting Sunday the bridge between Ohio and Kentucky that has been out of service for three months will reopen a month ahead of schedule.  It has caused headaches for so many commuters and others.  Seriously, who decides to just catch a playground on fire and in the process warping the bridge steel beams above it?  By the way, not homeless people, not immigrants, not people of color. 

They've been indicted by a grand jury on three counts of aggravated arson and one count of arson.  Maximum sentence would be 38 1/2 years.