Last Weekend of April

 

Friday was another lovely, warm spring day. After dinner, Charly and I went out for walk.  I thought this tree was lovely with all of its blossoms, but it will likely only have flowers for a few more days. 

The tulips by my front door ar out in full bloom now. 

I also love these variegated purple tulips that are now open in front garden area.

After dinner Friday night, Charly and I went to our nearest Crumbl Cookie store and got cookies to take to our daughter's house on Saturday.  Our grandchildren think that Crumbl Cookies are a special treat. 

We went to our daughter's home Saturday morning.  Here is Charly with our three-year-old and eight-year-old granddaughters. 

Our three-year-old granddaughter loves playing with her dolls. 

She is always so busy. 

The eight-year-old is very musically talented and is teaching herself to play the Ukulele.  

Our oldest grandson, who is 16, works at AutoZone, so we took him his lunch.  He was busy with customers, so we just got to say a quick hello to him. 

Here's the birthday boy with his gift.  He had been out on a camping trip with his dad and the boys his age from church, and didn't get home until we had been at his house for a while.

He choose to have his birthday lunch at Chick-fil-A, and we all enjoyed chicken sandwiches and waffle fries.  

When we got home and I was working on this post, I realized that I didn't take a picture of our 15-year-old granddaughter, even though she was there during our visit.  I think she was in and out of the room while I was taking pictures of the other grandchildren, but here is a picture of her and Charly from the Saturday we took her out to breakfast for her birthday back in March.  She is a lovely young lady. She just got her learner's permit and is starting to drive. She also just got her first job as a soccer ref for parks and rec soccer.  We enjoyed seeing and catching up with our daughter, her husband and all of their children.  We always love getting together with them. 

Sunday morning, I woke up a little after 4 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep.  Finally, I realized I was hungry, so I got up, had a little breakfast, then did my morning Bible reading and scripture study.   By about 5 a.m., I was tired again, so I went back to bed and slept until about 7 a.m..

Charly and I took a lovely morning walk before the temperatures climbed to the mid-80s.   It was a beautiful spring morning.  

I went to church Sunday morning.  It has actually been several week since I have been to church due to Covid and just not feeling good last Sunday.  It was good to be back.  After church, I took a nap, did some reading and indexed immigration records from the 1920s.  

Our Sunday dinner consisted of thin sliced ham steaks, loaded mashed potatoes, stir-fry vegetables and ramen and fresh green beans.  It was very good.  

Tonight, I plan to exercise downstairs for about twenty minutes then relax and read a bit more and maybe watch a little of TV.   I finished two books on Saturday and I want to begin another good fiction book soon, but right now, I am in the "test reading" stage or determining which book I will stick with.  

Weekend Gratitude:

• Experiencing beautiful spring weather
• Spending time with our daughter and grandchildren
• Having a nice Saturday "day date" in Utah county with Charly
• Going back to church after an absence of several weeks
• Finishing two more books

Coming up this week:

Monday - The beginning of a new month!

Tuesday - Our granddaughter (Eleanore in Virginia) turns ten

Wednesday - Appointment after school

Thursday - Day #1 BYU Women's Conference with my daughter 

Friday -  Day #2 BYU Women's Conference with my daughter 

Saturday - Salt Lake Bees Baseball game

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Practice kindness seven days a week.

Spread kindness every time you speak."

~Charmaine J. Forde

April Reading Roundup

April has been a good reading month for me. During the month, I read four books and listened to three for a total of seven books completed.  Since the beginning of the year, I have read 31 books. In April, I finished two fiction books and five nonfiction books.   I gave three of the books 5/5 stars on Goodreads, three  4/5 stars and one 3/5 stars.  Here is a brief review of each of the seven books I finished. 

Hallelujah Anyway - Rediscovering Mercy ****

by Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott has been my favorite author since I devoured her earlier books, Traveling Mercies, Grace Anyway and Plan B.  I love her writing - she has a true gift.  Her words have spoken to me in some of the hardest moments of my life.  The Christian faith she writes about is raw, real and completely relatable.  Lamott makes her own life's story and vulnerability relate to scripture stories that come alive in a gritty, realistic way, and they are just as valid to us as the people who were actually in the stories millenia ago. There were some parts of the book didn't speak to me as much as others (hence 4/5 stars), but it could be that I am just in a different place in my life's journey.  Overall this book is classic Anne Lamott and I loved it. (Own hardbound copy).

From Grace to Charity ***

by Emily Belle Freeman

In this book, author Emily  Belle Freeman uses scripture and her own life experiences to show the connection between grace and charity.  When we truly show grace, as the Savior did, it leads us to be loving and charitable and meet others in their needs. This is a good book, with lots of good scriptural examples, but for some reason, it just did not make much of an impact on me.  It is probably just where I am in my life, but some of the stories actually made me a little depressed.  Maybe they hit too close to home.  I admit that I may listen to or read this book again next year and it would affect me differently.  I gave the book 3/5 stars on Goodreads. (I listened to the audiobook on Deseret Bookshelf Plus).

The Perfect Stranger ****

by Megan Miranda

Leah Stevens is a high school English teacher who used to be a Boston investigative reporter, until she made up a source to try and prove that someone she knew had committed a murder really had.  Fired and disgraced, Leah unexpectedly runs into an old roommate and takes her up on an offer to move to a small town in Western Pennsylvania.  Leah takes a job as a high school teacher and tries to start fresh, but when a woman who looks like her is murdered, her roommate disappears and her roommate's boyfriend turns up dead in her roommates car, Leah, and the police, begin to wonder who her roommate actually was and if she even existed at all.  This mystery/suspense book has a well-crafted plot that takes the reader right up to the last page without knowing exactly who is who and how the book will end.  As a high school English teacher, who majored in journalism and used to work for a newspaper, I related to the main character and the book had me from the very beginning.   The only negative was that I found myself confused about who was who during the much of the book, but by the end, I realized that was exactly what the author wanted.  This is a decent mystery with short chapters that kept me turning pages right up to the end.  I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.  (Own paperback copy - thrift store purchase). 

All My Knotted up Life *****

by Beth Moore

I have been familiar with Beth Moore as an evangelical author and speaker for some years, but I gained new respect for her when she was one of only a handful of Christian speakers who came out against Donald Trump.  She eventually left the Southern Baptist Church that she had grown up, over issues of mistreatment, harassment and sexual assault of women with the church.  Reading this book did not diminish my respect for Moore.  The memoir was interesting, insightful and seemed honest.  I loved listening to the audiobook and hearing the author tell her own story.  As memoirs go, this is a good one.   I gave the book 5/5 stars on Goodreads.  (Listened to audiobook from the library). 

Off the Deep End *****

by Giancarlo Granda

When I got this book free for my Kindle, I didn't really didn't know the details of the sordid story of Jerry and Becki Falwell and their  infamous "Christian" college- Liberty University.  I had seen some items on the news about the Falwells and their "pool boy" but I honestly thought it was like so many other evangelical ministers who fell from grace, like Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard and Jimmy Swaggart.  This book tells a sordid and disgusting tale of Jerry Falwell Jr., son of the famous Baptist televangelist Jerry Falwell,  who helped engineer the election of Ronald Reagan and both Bushes.  The junior Falwell was president of the Christian university his father founded when he and his wife seduced a 20-year-old employee of the Miami Beach resort Fontainebleau into having a three-way sexual affair with them that lasted for several years.  This book is written by the "pool boy" in the story, Giancarlo Granda, and it is a no-holes-barred account of not only of what was actually sexual exploitation of a young man, but also Falwell's involvement with Michael Cohen (Donald Trump's fixer) and his king-maker status which helped propel Trump into the presidency with overwhelming Evangelical support. The book was honest, detailed, well-documented and interesting.  It is a startling account of unchecked power and hubris entangled with religion and faith. I gave the book 5/5 stars and recommend it as an important cautionary tale about those who use religion to manipulate, exploit, and exert power over others. (Own Kindle version).

Life Goes On *****

by Philip Gulley

This is another in Philip Gulley's excellent Harmony series, which continues the saga of of Quaker Pastor Sam Gardner and his flock at the Harmony Friends Meeting.  These Harmony books never fail to make me laugh out loud, see another perspective, and the case of this book, shed a tear at the end.  I love this series.  I have read five so far (including Christmas in Harmony) and I am excited to read the last two in the series.  Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys good homespun storytelling with an uplifting, related message.  I gave this book 5/5 stars on Goodreads.  (Own paperback copy).  

Compassion The Great Healer's Art ****

by Ulisses Soares 

Ulisses Soares uses stories from the scriptures (especially the New Testament) and real life to instruct the reader how we can follow the Savior by being more compassionate, loving, forgiving and faithful.  This is an inspiring book with principles all followers of Christ should seek after.  I gave the book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.  (Listened to audiobook on Deseret Bookshelf Plus). 

What did you read during April?   What will you read in May?

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

“The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn’t know how to read.”

~Benjamin Franklin

Best of the Week - Favorites and Gratitude

I was absent from this space of gratitude last week, so I am excited to be back sharing the things I am most thankful for this week.  I am linking up with Stacy at A Mile in My Shoes and Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for Fridays Fave Five. 

😊We started out the week with a cloudy, rainy Monday.  I don't mind rainy days and after the winter we've had, I am just grateful that it wasn't more snow! 

😊 Tuesday was also rainy until early evening when we saw the sunshine and a bit of blue sky behind the clouds.  I was going to exercise downstairs, but I am thankful that the rain stopped and Charly and I could walk outside, which is always good for my body, mind and spirit.  

😊 Wednesday was even a nicer day - warm and sunny - a perfect spring day.  After what seemed like a really long winter, I am so grateful that spring has truly, finally arrived. 

😊 Last Sunday, April 23, was William Shakespeare's birthday.  I got an email from the Utah Shakespeare Festival that they were having a special discount in honor of his birthday, on tickets for this summer's performances.  We went to the Shakespeare Festival in 2021 and saw A Comedy of Errors.  We enjoyed it and wanted to go back, but didn't last summer. After talking to Charly about it and telling him about the special deal on tickets for Shakespeare's birthday, I got right online and purchased our tickets for two performances on back-to-back nights.  We will be seeing Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The Shakespeare Festival is in Cedar City, Utah, only about 40 miles away from St. George, so we decided to book our time-share condo and head down to St. George after a couple of nights in Cedar City.  We are super excited about this mid-summer mini-vacation in Southern Utah.  I am thankful that we could get a smokin' deal on the tickets to the plays and get everything else planned and booked for a fun trip.  

😊 On the work front, I had conversations with both our English department chair and our principal about what has been going on in our department.  I came away with the feeling that I had been heard and that both the principal and department chair agreed with me and how I have handled what has been going on.  I am feeling much better about the whole thing, especially since my request to work with another team for the rest of the year was supported.  I am grateful that I was able to speak with leadership and that I will be able to distance myself from uncomfortable work drama and a couple of toxic colleagues. 

😊 It's "Teacher Appreciation Week" and I found these notes in my teacher box earlier this week from two of my students.  Because I know both of these students pretty well, I felt like the notes were sincere, and they made me happy.  I am grateful for students who say positive things and express appreciation. 

😊 We have been interviewing realtors to sell our condo this week, and I think we have found a realtor and company we can work with.  The tenants in our house will be out at the end of May, so we will start moving our things over and get this place on the market then.  I am thankful that we will soon be getting this process under way. 

😊 It was our grandson, Clayton's 12th birthday this week.  We texted with him and sent him a happy birthday Marco Polo video and he responded.  We are going to take him to lunch for his birthday this coming Saturday. We are so grateful that we have been spending more time with our Utah grandchildren over the past several months. We love all of our children and grandchildren so much.  Family is everything!

There is always more to be grateful for, but I will stop here for now.  Thanks for coming by to share this week's positives.  Have a good weekend. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” 

~G.K. Chesterton

Spring Weekend

 

The weekend was cold and overcast with rain off and on.  The good news is that at last,  the tulips by my front door are almost ready to blossom.   I love their color. 

I was off work both Thursday and Friday to get medical stuff (a routine screening colonoscopy) taken care off.  I spent all of Friday afternoon at the hospital.  After a long wait (the doctor was running behind), a bad reaction to anesthesia,  and a very ornery nurse, everything else went OK.  The doctor was very nice and seemed very competent and professional, and he didn't find any imminent problems, so it was an overall positive outcome.  

Friday night, we watched this documentary, God Forbid, on Hulu.  It is the basically the documentary version of the book I have been reading and finished on Saturday afternoon. 

Saturday, I was still very tired and not feeling myself.  We were home all day except when we went out to return a book to the library, gas the car and run it through the car wash.  Charly and I got sodas at the gas station, but I didn't drink much of mine.  My appetite is almost completely gone.  

I was still very tired and feeling out of it on Saturday, so in the afternoon, after packing a box and doing some laundry, I napped on the couch, and finished reading this book, Off the Deep End by Giancarlo Granda, which I will review in my April Reading Roundup post. 

For dinner, I forced myself to eat one slice of leftover pizza and some salad.  Nothing tastes good.  I was just getting my appetite back after having Covid, but now it is gone again. 

Saturday night, we watched this documentary, Leave No Trace, which is about child sexual abuse within the Boy Scouts of America.  This was hard to watch because both of my sons are Eagle Scouts and my oldest grandson is also an Eagle Scout.  I have talked to my boys about abuse and we don't think they were victims, but it still worries me.  Every parent or grandparent who had boys in Boy Scouting should be concerned.  I think there are some excellent aspects to scouting, but child abuse in any form is a disgusting, heinous crime.  

Sunday afternoon, Charly and I went for a walk.  It was warm - 61 degrees but cloudy and overcast.  We are starting to see more and more spring flowers, including these bright and cheerful yellow and red tulips. 

This tree we passed on our walk was out in full bloom and very lovely.  I think it is some kind of crab apple tree, but I'm not sure. 

In the late afternoon, we watched an episode of The Chosen before eating dinner.  

Our Sunday dinner was slow cooker pot roast with gravy and vegetables, over white rice. It tasted very good. 

After dinner, I got some birthday presents ready for two of our grandchildren who have birthdays coming up soon.  One of our Utah grandsons is turning twelve this Tuesday and one of our Virginia granddaughters will be ten the following Tuesday.  Now their birthday gifts are ready to be delivered or mailed. You can see that we always like to give our grandchildren books (in addition to some other fun things) to send a message that reading is important.  

And speaking of books and reading being important, here are the books I am reading as the new week begins - Life Goes On by Philip Gulley. When Harry Became Sally by Ryan T. Anderson and Mars and Venus Together Forever by John Gray.  I also downloaded and began another audiobook, Compassion - the Great Healer's Art by Ulisses Soares.  I am hoping to finish at least one or two more books before the end of the month.

As soon as I finish this post, I'm off to take a shower, then I plan to read before bed and hopefully get into bed early.  I am very tired.  

Weekend Gratitude:

• Medical appointment over with good result
• Having sick time to take off for appointments
• Spring flowers
• Warmer temperatures

Coming up this week:

Tuesday - our grandson Clay's 12th birthday

Wednesday - appointment with realtor

Thursday - appointment with another realtor

Saturday - breakfast with our grandson for his birthday

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"The more you feed you mind

with positive thoughts,

the more you attract

great things into your life."

~anon.

Wednesday Daybook

Outside my window - it's a pretty nice day, although it is chilly and breezy. We have blue skies and sunshine tonight, but yesterday, it was cold and windy and we had snow in the mountains and a rainstorm that even produced some hail. 

I've been listening to -  this audiobook, All My Knotted Up Life by Beth Moore.  I am almost 80% done, and will be finished with this book later this week.   I am finding it to be a very good memoir. 

I'm reading - A couple of days ago, I finished The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda. Now, I have three books going, one fiction and two nonfiction. The fiction book is Life Goes On by Philip Gulley.  It's another book in his delightful Harmony series. The nonfiction books I'm reading are Off The Deep End by Giancarlo Granda and When Harry Became Sally by Ryan T. Anderson.  

I'm creating - more cards for Letters Against Isolation.  After I finish the last card (I always send out batches of five cards) these will be sent to a Meals on Wheels program in Florida.

I'm looking forward to - having some medical stuff I've had scheduled for a couple of months over with.  I am taking both Thursday and Friday off and will be spending some time at the Intermountain Healthcare Outpatient Care Center taking care of some routine but recommended things for "women (and men) of a certain age." It will be great to not have to think about it again for a while. 

In the kitchen - we got a take-n-bake deli pizza for dinner.  I will be on a liquid diet for a couple of days due to the medical stuff happening on Friday, so this is my last meal for a while. 

I'm loving -  that our school district arranged for two free tickets for every teacher to an upcoming baseball game of the Salt Lake Bees, a AAA minor league team for the Los Angeles Dodgers.   Charly and I loved taking our kids to baseball games years ago, so we are excited to get back to the ballpark on May 6.

I'm working on - more box packing. We will be taking back possession of our house in just over a month, so we can start moving some of our things over there, even though we will be doing some remodeling and renovations.  Josh packed up some of the stuff in his room when he was home, and Charly and I have been packing more boxes, so we continue to make progress.  Next week, we will be meeting with two more realtors to make the decision about who will be listing the place where we now live. 

I'm thinking about- ongoing drama at work.  Not fun.  I am stepping back from toxic work relationships, and some colleagues are not happy with me.  No matter.  I am going to stay the course I am on.  Teachers need to be professional in every way.  We teach students by example and I am not going to turn a blind eye to poor behavior and dishonest conduct in students or teachers.  

I'm grateful for -  having a husband who is also my best friend.  This guy is sweet and kind and can make me laugh, especially when I am wound up tight with stress and anxiety.  I am so grateful God told me to marry Charly all those years ago. 

That's it for this Daybook post.  Enjoy the rest of the week and have a good weekend!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Act as if what you do 

makes a difference. 

It does."

~ William James