A Year Full of Death

If I had been able to see into the future when I selected my year word/phrase for 2017, I would have chosen "death". 

Another acquaintance died Thanksgiving night. This lady co-hosted the Winona Literary Club with me on October 4th. She sat next to me and commented that she was eating very little of the refreshments because she was having trouble swallowing. She had a doctor's appointment the next week. They discovered metastasized cancer. She immediately went on hospice; now 6 weeks after diagnosis she is dead. 

She makes number eleven of my acquaintances, friends, and a cousin that have passed away in 2017. Add to that all of the death in the Caribbean from hurricanes and flooding, those killed by terrorists, those who perished in earthquakes, all making the news headlines, and I can't help but think about my own mortality. 

Even the trivial aspects of life such as the death of my moss roses and the demise of my washing machine remind me of life's frailty and loss.

I do not grieve as those without hope of eternal life, but a sadness fills my soul. My 2017 phrase of "fill the well" had a very dark side. I am reflecting on a 2018 word; no matter what I pick, the events of the year probably won't match the word, but it does make me think of goals I would like to accomplish. Do you pick a year word to focus on?

They're Back

Remember the Lindt Lindor Peppermint White Chocolate Truffles I bought at the after-Christmas sales last year? They are in the grocery store again. I bought two bags with two coupons. Looking forward to indulging in these tasty bonbons. 

I finally defrosted the chest freezer in the garage this week. All kinds of odds and ends that either needed to be thrown out or eaten up soon. One of those was Mrs. Shubert's mini loaves which I don't think they even sell any more in my store. Normally, I would eat a loaf, sharing the other half with my husband. That is sort of like eating a large roll. But I baked both mini loaves, ate the whole thing one night because my husband has been in Texas, and reheated and ate the other whole loaf the next night. So delicious. The scale tells me I better cut back quickly in order to indulge in some Thanksgiving goodies at the restaurant buffet without too much caloric damage. 

I turned on the porch light a short while ago. Hubby will be home soon. He had a good time with his woodworking buddies, but now that he has a smart phone he sent frequent emails and called a few times. He never really separated from home on this trip like in the past. 

A Touch of Winter

I cut off my sole sunflower head and tore it into several pieces thinking a squirrel or deer might find it tasty. Nothing touched it. Yesterday I removed the seeds from the head and spread them around. So far, no takers. True there are bird feeders all around with seeds; but non-bird critters should find these easier to access. Maybe with the heavy frosts the next few days, more animals will start foraging. So far a bit disappointing for me. 

I finally put the mum and geranium out with the garbage bag today. No sense having to put them in the garage overnight when that would be every night in the foreseeable future. Our projected high for tomorrow is 37 degrees, quite a bit below normal. At least I can now wear my sweatshirts comfortably.

Saturday afternoon my husband and I are going to a Notre Dame ladies basketball game. We were given the tickets gratis. We will see Muffet McGraw in person. That should be fun.

I bought some yarn at Meijer and plan to try knitting a pair of slippers. I still consider myself a learner. This will be a new pattern for me. With the colder weather, things like knitting and reading books sound like nice inside activities. 

It seems a little early to cocoon in my house, but I am not a lover of cold weather. 

Operation Christmas Child 2017

All done shopping for my Operation Christmas Child box. I will go online and pay the shipping amount so I can have the box tracked to the receiving country. Last year my box went to Columbia, South America. I went to several craft shows today hoping to find more to add, but didn't buy anything for the box. The little net bag has a beaded bracelet I bought last Saturday at a craft show.

I will take the box to church tomorrow so it can join the other boxes to be taken to the area distribution place on November 12th. No candy allowed this year. I used to pack Tootsie pops or something like that so the child would have something to share. Instead I am including a package of combs. This box is for a girl 10-14 years old.

If you don't have time or energy to shop, you can go to Samaritan's Purse web page and for $25 they will pack a box so you can participate that way or you can choose what to put in the box fom options given. You will still be contributing to the happiness of a child and giving that child the opportunity to hear the Gospel. Don't miss out on a chance to share love.

The Big Book Hunt Continues

I went to 2 Friends of the Library book sales within a week; one at North Webster Public Library on October 26th and one at Warsaw Community Public Library today. I bought 12 books last Thursday, four of them Christmas books. I will put them in the library hall display after Thanksgiving along with a few other Christmas books that were donated in the past several months. The residents like having them displayed so they don't have to browse the shelves to find Christmas books, they can just take them from the display.

This morning I bought 10 books, none Christmas-related, but a few large print books and 7-8 that will fill the series gaps we have.

Of course the series desiderata list keeps growing. I bought a Maclaren book and a Blackstock book last week that are part of series we didn't have. So now I need to find 3 books to complete those series. Of the writing of books there is no end, and Christian fiction series proliferate like rabbits. I saw a few interesting books today that I passed over because they were part of series we don't have, and I didn't want to create gaps unless they were popular authors.

I spent $19.50 for 22 books, a pretty good bargain. A few of the books I bought today are quite worn (library copies), but overall most of the books are in good shape and by authors the Grace Village residents love to read. The library serves more and more readers it seems by the rapidly filling return box. This a book-loving group.

Book buying can be fun except I know that to add new books I will have to weed books from the collection to make shelf space, a task I don't enjoy. The residents are appreciative, however, and a word of thanks goes a long way to keep me going.