Nostalgia and Melancholy

 Last night I decided to sort through my greeting card memory box. I wanted to make room for future cards, though I don't keep as many as I used to. 

I have some cards one of my aunts sent me when I was probably 6 or 7 years old and then decades of birthday, anniversary, and Valentine cards mostly from my husband.

It started out pleasantly enough, but about midway through I felt weepy. Where did all of the years go? Things and people did not always turn out the way I expected in some cases. Seeing all of those anniversary and Valentine cards from my husband reminded me how faithfully he has loved me through the years. I should have showed him more appreciation at the times when I received them.

There were some cards with notes from my twin sister that reminded me of our first separation when she went to Seattle for college. Also, some notes of encouragement when I first moved to Indiana and was homesick. Some cards from my mom and dad who are now gone. 

I found a card I decided to put in a frame to display during this spring. I have it sitting on the table in my sunroom. 

It was a nostalgic journey through my past.

Busy Happy Day

 We usually eat breakfast in a restaurant on Friday mornings; but since we no longer get a Friday morning newspaper delivered to us (it comes in the mail), my husband thinks he would like to switch to Thursday. That way he can go to the gym on Friday and not have 3 days of not going over the weekend. 

This morning we had the Super Imperial Omelet (to share) at American Table. By the time we left, it was raining slightly. A little before 10 a.m. we headed for North Webster where the Friends of the Library were holding a book sale. What great prices! 50 cents per item. I have never seen them have such low prices for hardbound books and DVD's. I bought Sense and Sensibility on DVD to replace our VCR tape copy. I can't get the audio to work on our machine. I also bought a DVD of Call the Midwife. 

My husband bought a few books for himself. Mostly he paid for some of my heavy decorating books and took them to the car so I could keep browsing and filling up my bag.

The Shaffer book is secular, and the author unfamiliar to me. At 50 cents, not much of a gamble. I can't remember if I have read any Tyndall. Fisher and Austin I have read before.

 The Francine Rivers book is a novel about Amos the Biblical prophet. I have a soft spot for Amos because of the connection to the weeks my husband and I spent in Israel as consultants to the Institute of Holy Land Studies on Mount Zion. I went out with the college students on some of the field trips. We were taken to Tekoa. The bus stopped next to the road, and the occupants found rocks to sit on scattered in a field that probably pretty much looked the way it did when Amos shepherded his sheep. We spent personal time in prayer and devotions. 

We had several stops on Indiana 13 today enroute to the book sale because of roadwork. We came home on some country roads that took us to Old Highway 30. The redbud trees burst into full bloom just this week. It was a very pretty drive.

It got to 80 this afternoon. I sat on the porch for a while. Our neighborhood pear trees are also blooming; my quince bush blossoms are just starting to open up. Tomorrow brings more rain and a drop in temps for the weekend. It won't be porch-sitting weather even next week.

The shadows of the day are the struggles of two friends with heart conditions, one in the hospital in Fort Wayne undergoing tests, the other having been told by his doctor that nothing more could be done to help him. I also learned that the sweet lady who moved with her husband into my former sister-in-law's apartment in July died this morning. She had a stroke several weeks ago; a valve was damaged, and the doctors offered no hope of fixing it. In a senior community, folks struggle with health issues. Death is not a stranger.

Feels Like Summer, Looks Like Spring

 It is 78 today. We will be crashing down to high 30's on Monday. That is the high for Monday, not the low. 

My patio daffodil blooms are drying up. I bought a little bouquet at Martin's for $2.99 using a digital coupon. The pear trees are all in bloom now.

It is that confusing time of year when you don't know what sleepwear to use nor whether to keep the electric blanket on the bed. Often that comes in May, but we are having this warm spell in April.

We got 90 cents per gallon off the normal price of gas today using the grocery rewards card. The price jumped from $3.55 to $3.75 early last week. The dollar amount of grocery purchases to earn points has not changed and with higher grocery prices, it doesn't take very long to reap the rewards.

Prices on non-food services keep going up. The Fort Wayne paper weekend subscription didn't go up, but there is no Sunday paper, just Friday and Saturday now. We get more things in the Saturday paper than we used to, but I do miss not having a Sunday morning paper. Now starting this week, we were told they can't find anybody to deliver the paper in our area. Our paper is being delivered by the USPS. Yesterday's came OK; today no paper with the mail. I hope the postal service doesn't think it is acceptable to deliver a Saturday paper on Monday. Again, I miss not having a morning paper on Friday and Saturday.

The New York Times has notified us that our monthly rate will go from $17 to $20 starting in May. The games module which is an add-on subscription will go from $19.97 per year to $30 per year. Our subscription is digital only. Being able to access those games during the pandemic when the public library was closed was a blessing. We only started subscribing in 2020. Before that, we photocopied the games from the library newspaper. 

I gave the book review Wednesday at Winona Literary Club. The book I chose was The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street. It is targeted for tweens, but I enjoyed it and think other club members will too. One lady took my copy to read; another said she would like it next. It is available at the public library and on Hoopla. The part of New York City in which they live is a charming multiethnic section of Harlem.

No Godiva Bunnies

I brought a few of my daffodils inside to enjoy this Easter weekend. They probably won't last more than a week outside anyway. The pretty card is from my sister-in-law who lives in Wisconsin.

I looked for the chocolate Godiva bunnies in 4 stores (3 that had them last year). I didn't get to Walmart so maybe they had them. All I could find were the Lindt bunnies which after my previous "taste test" I had decided were not as tasty. So this year we have Godiva candies in a bag instead. They were sitting in the Easter candy aisle at Walgreen's and were on sale. They will probably be more interesting than the chocolate bunny.

Usually, we have scrambled eggs on Sunday, but tomorrow I am going to bake an already-prepared quiche Lorraine. We also have some chocolate chip scones which were substitutes in my on-line order/parking lot pickup groceries. I had ordered vanilla scones. I also ordered strawberries which were out-of-stock re the Kroger employee. I debated whether to go to a grocery store today to find strawberries for tomorrow's breakfast but decided I don't want to be in a crowded store. We will have the Mandarin oranges by themselves. 

Have a blessed Easter celebrating our Lord's resurrection.