February

Thirty days have September, April, June, and November.
All the rest have thirty one except February alone
Which has 28 in line and each leap year 29.

I am glad that February is a short month.
We have had too much snow. We have had too much death and I have had  too much to deal with that I didn't know how to handle.. It has really been snowing or too cold to melt snow since January 15.  We have had temps of minus 8 degrees several morning. Some days I don't even go out of the house. So I read or watch the television. We have so much snow that the piles of it are about 5 feet on the places they plow snow and put it into piles including my driveway.

ON the last week of January two acquaintances died. Both were named Tim. One was 36 and one was 76. Both had become believers. So one day I will see them in heaven. I drove to Kentucky for Tim's funeral and helped Jo Ann with a meal for Jane and for Tim's sisters. It was a small funeral and he had had a very large life but no one came but his sisters and care givers from hospice.  Tim Clark on the other hand had an enormous funeral and an enormous visitation. I only knew Tim when he was 13-15 years old so it was nice to learn that he had become a teacher and was a very good man who knew what God wanted for him in life. What devastation for his parents, children, and family! I can hardly comprehend it, the sorrow, the unreal feeling the questions.

Then this week was a week that I struggled not with death but with my own inadequacy as a home owner. On Wednesday I noticed water seeping up between the cracks in my floor. The water heater had sprung a slow leak, but I didn't know how or where the water turn off was or even how to deal with this problem. It was lucky Dustin knew and could tell me the steps to follow. I now have a new water heater with a pan that allows it to drain into the drain not to drain under the floor. The restoration people are stripping up the old floor. Giant heaters and dehumidifiers are blowing in the kitchen and I am going to have a new floor at some point.

I am going to have to work to build up my financial reserves. so out there job hunting.... I may have a job as a care giver to a blind man- cooking meals for him and visiting with him. I may have a job doing recess duty and cafeteria duty at Kramer.

My attitude? It is what it is. I am an overcomer and I don't have to walk through this alone. Two very kind friends have brought me food and the church gave me a Kroger card.
 My feelings? I don't know if I can be a single adult with house hold responsibilities. I need to look ahead and anticipate what could happen next.

My faith in God is growing because I believe that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I keep picturing a forty something Olympic skier out on the hill struggling to ski up the hill. The camera's focused on his whole body but I can see his face with snot running down his face. To the side of the track his coach out there telling him. Come on; you can do it.  Get up the hill. Keep up your speed keep up your strength. You can do it. I feel like that skier. I remember the God's words in Hebrews.
Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off every thing that hinders. And the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
I may be slow but show me where to go and I will try to get there!

Books # 3,4,and 5

This week I read a lot of books. One was The Silent Girl. One was Son of Hamas, and one was Heart of the Country. The Silent Girl was a thriller about  two detectives finding out who killed this woman. It takes place in Chinatown in Boston. The two detectives are Rizzoli and Isles  from the t.v. show. It is a pretty good story with a few twists at the end. The present day murder connects to one from the past and so there is that dimension.
Son of Hamas was a Biography of Mosab Hassan Yousef, a Palestinian who  became a Christian. He writes this book with an American and tells about Islam and the Jihad and his changing beliefs. This was gripping because it was about real people and a true story of a man who changed his mind about the way life should be. Some of his experiences were awful. Some were joyful. It helped me to understand events in the middle east a bit more and be thankful that I live in America.
And finally Heart of the Country was an easy read if for no other reason than it was written in Large print! This romance contains two prodigal son stories and is about two sisters and two brothers who chose two very different paths.
Today I will go to the library and get something new, if the roads get cleared and if I can get out my driveway without shoveling!

Saturday

Saturday makes me think of a song
Saturday in the park I think it was the Fourth of July.
Or even  Today is Saturday.  Today is Saturday is a song and children's book with pictures by Eric Carle.
I am sad today because Cathy is moving out. She is getting her own apartment so that they can keep the house in Florida and Jim her husband can come and visit her more.
So I am job hunting and praying the Lord will provide.

The week in progress

This week I read two books and watched several movies and watched many episodes of Scandal. We also had snow and I was very apathetic. I actually paid two sixth graders to shovel for me. I still am apathetic actually. the reason is this: the easiest thing is just to sit and watch t.v. because that requires that you actually do nothing.
Hopefully this attitude check will change soon.

Attitude Check

Lately I have had the I don't care feeling.
 I don't care about going outside.
 I don't care about seeing friends.
I don't care about doing things that require exercise.
 I believe the word I am searching for is Apathetic.
 I am Apathetic to every thing must be because it is January
.It is cold outside and can't make choices about what to do next.

Books # 2

This week I read a mystery called Gilt Trip by Laura Childs. It was about a Scrap book store owner who solves a mystery of who killed Jerry Earl. It takes place in New Orleans and the author often describes what the characters wear. It was an average read. I should have just stopped and gone to the end to see who did it. But I didn't; I read it all to the end. There are some good recipes at the end and a few scrapbooking techniques to try too.

Learning

YOU are never too young to learn to use a hammer. Yesterday 60 third fourth and fifth graders along with about 20 adults got together at Kramer Cafeteria and made bird feeders out of wood, wire mesh, rope, and of course nails. One of the students said to me, this is great I have never done this before. She was right! Making things like this with this tool is not something 8 to 10 year olds often do in school.

I recently learned that kids aren't the only ones who need to learn new things. I learned how to open the garage without the garage door opener working. You just pull a rope. I wondered what that thing hanging was!

When I traveled back from Washington, D.C. I learned some interesting things about art history. As a result my interest was drawn into discovering more. I discovered that the story of art travels much the same path as a child learning to draw. It begins with flat forms in limited colors and then develops perspective as they view the world in different schema.