Good Things From the Past Week

It's time once again to look back at the good things that happened last week.  I'm linking again with Susanne and friends over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five. 

😊 A water main break at our school isn't a good thing, but getting home over an hour early on Monday wasn't too bad.  Water had to be turned off to the entire school, so all students and staff were sent home right after lunch.  I'm grateful for a little extra time at home on a weekday afternoon.   I'm also grateful that the problem was quickly fixed and we were all back in school on Tuesday morning. 

😊 There is a pizza place nearby that has $4.99 pizzas every Monday night.  The pizzas aren't huge, but they are plenty for Charly and I to share. Since we both enjoy pizza and salad, and it is a super easy and economical dinner, $4.99 pizza is a win-win-win.  I am always grateful for delicious and easy dinners after a busy day. 

😊 We have tile in the downstairs bathroom!  It isn't finished, but progress is being made.  Our tile guy is a real craftsman and a super nice guy.  We are grateful for progress being made and having found a good tile contractor to work in our home. 

😊 Our new refrigerator was delivered Tuesday afternoon.  I am grateful that we finally have it in the house.  We ordered it in early June so we have had almost a three three month wait for it. 

😊 I am also grateful that the new fridge fits perfectly in the small space we have in our small kitchen, but inside it holds so much more than the old refrigerator. 

😊  After the fiasco last Saturday when the delivery truck driver insisted there was no possible way to get our old refrigerator out of our house and into our garage, our old refrigerator is out of our house and in our garage tonight.  It is old, but runs just fine and now contains, our "overflow" freezer items. Two new delivery drivers came to our house and took the old fridge out to the garage without having to remove the doors, which the first delivery guy said would have to be done, but basically could not be done.  I am grateful that this frustrating refrigerator saga is finally over.  

😊 We have now completed two full weeks back at school.  My classes are big, but not unmanageable and things have gone pretty well so far.  I can't take pictures of my students, so I look this picture of their first assignment, which was to design and personal flag showing things that they like and are interested in.  The students then had to write a paragraph explaining the design on their personal flag.  Most of them liked the assignment.  I have found that kids still like to color, even though they are teenagers.  The coloring part makes the writing part a little more palatable for them.  I am grateful that the first two weeks of school have gone well. 

There you have some of the best parts of the last week for me. There are good things that happen every single day. We just have to look for them. Thanks for stopping by. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Gratitude is riches. 

Complaint is poverty."

~ Doris Day

 

Currently on the last Sunday of August

 

As this weekend winds down, I am joining with my blogging friend Stacy over at A Mile in My Shoes, for a Currently post. 

The weather is 89 degrees and there are lots of clouds in the sky, although there also blue skies and sunshine.  We had some rain last week, but none today. 

I'm reading Do No Harm by Gregg Luke.  I am about 75% of the way finished.  It's super slow going.  It's a mystery but not my favorite book ever. 

I'm watching - Suits on Netflix. Charly and I have been doing a bit of binge watching of this very interesting series.  I haven't watched a series like this for a long time.  

I've been listening to - this audiobook, The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore, which I finished this past week. I've also been listening to the podcast, Be Bold - the episode, Freedom from Anxiety.  On my way to work last week, I listened to K-LOVE, a Christian music station, in my car. 

I'm working on new address postcards, most of which will go out in the mail tomorrow (Monday).

I'm loving these lace valance curtains that I put up in our kitchen/dining room. I got the valances at a thrift store last year when we were on vacation.  I wasn't sure we would like them, but when I put them up, both Charly and I were very pleased with how they look.  

I'm thinking about the lovely "day date" Charly and I had on Friday, when I was able to take a personal day and we went to the last day of BYU Education Week.  We were there a full twelve hours, attending wonderfully interesting classes on a variety of topics.  I had always wanted to go to this event, which runs for an entire week, but of course, I couldn't get a week off from school to go, so we decided to go on the last day.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I am so glad that I went and hope to be able to go again next year. 

I'm feeling rested and relaxed after a tiring and stressful Saturday when we were supposed to get our new fridge delivered so we took all of our food out of the old fridge and freezer, but ultimately did not get the new one delivered.  The fridge made it to our house but the deliver truck driver refused to move our old fridge to our garage (even though we had paid extra to have him do this).  He got mad and drove the delivery truck away with our new fridge inside. After several calls to Home Depot where we bought the new refrigerator, and multiple conversations with management, we were given a $400 discount on our new fridge, which we are now told will be delivered on Tuesday.  That made the whole fiasco easier to bear.  After a frustrating Saturday, it's been a pretty good Sunday, that has included church, an afternoon nap, and an evening walk. 

I'm celebrating that a lot of progress was made in our bathroom last week.  That waterproof wall board is up in downstairs bathroom. That stuff that looks like red paint is waterproofing. The next step is putting up the tile. 

In the kitchen, for Sunday dinner, we had beef stroganoff,  potato gnocchi, steamed green beans and baby spring mix salad.  

Weekend gratitude:

• Going to the last day of Education Week.
• Getting a discount on our new refrigerator. 
• Have a positive phone call with Josh.
• Reconnecting with old friends at church.
• Evening walks and time with Charly. 

Coming up next week:

Tuesday - New refrigerator being delivered finally (we hope).

Friday - Our daughter Tiffany's birthday.

Saturday - We are taking our daughter out to breakfast for her birthday. 

All Week - More progress on our bathroom (we hope). 

That's all for right now.  Hope you had a good weekend and that the coming week is a good one for everyone! 

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

"This is the day the Lord has made,

we will rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

Favorites and a Little About the Weekend

I don't usually play along on Sunday Stealing posts, but I have several blog friends who do, so I decided to do just that on this Sunday evening. 

Name Your Favorite…

Place:  I love the mountains. The beach is nice, but I am a mountain girl.  I want to live that rest of my life somewhere near the mountains. 

  Color:  Blue and teal

Smell:  I generally love anything floral - especially roses and lilacs. 

Magazine:  I don't read or subscribe many magazines.  The magazine shown above is published by the church we belong to. It comes to the home of everyone who belongs to our church free or charge every month. I read an article in it just the morning. 

Texture:  Fleece. I love my little fleece blanket.

Thing to do when bored:  Read blogs, go for a walk, read, or walk around my yard checking on my plants. 

Precious stone:  Pink Rose Quartz, which is my October birthstone. 

Animal:  Kitties.  Years abot we had a tabby cat that looked very much like the one in this picture.  He was our favorite family pet.  It was hard when he passed, but we would like to get another tabby cat, but we aren't really sure when we will. 

Time in history:  I like to read and learn about the Civil War period, but my favorite decade of my own life was the 1980s.

Font:  I generally like san-serif or script fonts. 

Sound:  The voices and laughter of people I love.

Fruit:  Grape or cherry tomatoes.  Yes, tomatoes are botanically classified as a fruit!

    Vegetable:  Fresh green beans

Store/shop: Thrift stores like Deseret Industries or Goodwill which are the major thrift stores in this area. 

 

Quote:  "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.  Be kind. Always." ~ Robin Williams

Historical figure:  Jesus Christ.

Letter:  I don't have a favorite letter. 

Memory:  I have many good memories, and almost all of them involve my husband, children and grandchildren.  My wedding day was probably the best and most memorable day of my life. 

Dessert:  Carrot cake

Candy:  Dove Dark Chocolate

Restaurant:  We really like an excellent mom and pop Greek and American place nearby called The Olympian. 

Language:  English because it is my first language. 

Thing to learn about:  I enjoy learning about history, religion, politics and just about anything else interesting.

 

Thing about yourself:  I am pretty good about taking responsibility for the things I do wrong.  I apologize when I need to.  I am also forgiving. 

Now, here's a quick look at the weekend:

Friday, I received a very lovely surprise from my blogging friend and frequent prayer partner, Faith, over at Gold in the Clouds. 

I put this lovely scented candle, a house warming gift from Faith, on a shelf in my dining where I can see and enjoy it.  I am so grateful for the kind thoughtfulness of the wonderful people I have met through blogging. 

Saturday morning, I took a friend out to breakfast for her birthday, and when I came home, one of our contractors was already at work in our basement bathroom.  He was finishing up the framing of the wall so that the waterproof board can go in followed by the tile.  We are hoping that a lot of progress will be made on the bathroom in the coming week.

While Charly was home with the contractor, I had to do a little shopping. One store I went to had a new shipment of mums, and I couldn't reside buying two pots of these bring yellow flowers. 

I repotted the mums and that now add a bit of bright color to our front porch steps. 

Meanwhile, Charly was home installing this rack to organize our mops and brooms.  Hanging anything on the wall of a house that was built with lath and plaster is tricky.  Most old homes like ours are built with lath and plaster as opposed to drywall which is the modern way that wall are built.  As I found out later on Saturday, while trying to hang something in another room, it is extremely easy to have the plaster chip and fall off, leaving quite a mess on the wall.  

Saturday evening, we went for walk, and managed to get caught in a rainstorm as we were finishing up.  No matter, it was fun to walk  in the rain with my husband, and the rain lowered the temperatures. 

Sunday after church, I had a nap, then made a super easy dinner favorite - bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches for dinner. We had tortilla chips and pico de gallo on the side.  It was quick, easy and delicious! 

After dinner on Sunday, we went for another walk. We didn't get caught in the rain this time, but we did pass the home of an elderly woman who has the most beautiful rose bushes.  I just had to stop and smell the roses and take this picture.

Coming up this week:

Monday - Carpet cleaner is coming to clean our upholstered furniture and area rugs. 

Monday - Electrician coming. Again.

Tuesday - Meeting after school.

Friday - I am taking a personal day and Charly and I are attending the last day of BYU Education Week.  I've wanted to attend this event for years, and I am excited that we get to go.

Weekend Gratitude:

• Productive weekend at home. 
• Breakfast with a friend on Saturday. 
• Good conversations with Josh. 
• Rain and lower temperatures. 
• Evening walks with my sweetheart. 

That's all for this weekend.  Thanks for stopping by. Have a good  week. 

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

• "Spread love everywhere you go. 
• Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."
• -Mother Teresa

Washington D. C. Part IV - The National Army Museum and Manassass National Battlefield

On the last day of our vacation to Washington D.C., we visited the National Museum of the United States Army.  We actually visited this awesome museum two different days. The first afternoon, the museum closed before we could get through it all, so we returned to see the rest of the exhibits the next day.  This museum is an great place for history lovers which Charly, Josh and I are.  There were life-size dioramas of major battles of all the wars the U.S. Army fought, using actual historic army equipment. Here are some of the cool things we saw there. 

We also went to Manassass National Battlefield.  It was another hot and humid day, but we enjoyed hearing the history of this site of the first battle of the American Civil War, from a young park historian.  Here are some pictures of Manassass National Battlefield, where the first battle of the Civil War was fought. 

This is our historian/tour guide explaining the details of the battle and where everything took place. 

This is known as Henry Hill, because it was the farm of the Henry Family.  It is also where much of the battle of First Manassass (Bull Run) was fought.  This is the battle that politicians took a picnic lunch to watch.  Many thought the war would be over that afternoon after a short skirmish.  The battle that took place here, with the resultant casualties, proved them very wrong. 

This is one of the original Union cannons. 

This is the Henry House, where the only civilian casualty of the battle of First Bull Run took place.  It was the elderly woman who lived in the house and refused to leave even though union and confederate forces surrounded the place. 

Canons from the battle. 

Memorial to the dead on Henry Hill.

This is a statue of confederate hero Stonewall Jackson. 

This is the Henry House and Farm. 

Another view of the Stonewall Jackson statue. 

This is a monument marking where Confederate General Bernard Bee fell mortally wounded on July 21, 1861.  Bee is the general, who, while trying to rally his troops, said "There stands Jackson like a stone wall."  It is from this quote that General Thomas Jonathan Jackson became known as Stonewall Jackson.  

This is view of the battlefield looking toward the Henry House. 

These are Crepe Myrtle blossoms on a tree near the visitors center for the battlefield.  I thought they were really pretty.  We don't have Crepe Myrtle trees around here, at least that I know of. 

With that, our vacation in Washington D.C. and Virginia came to an end.  We had a great time and hope to return again soon, maybe next summer, when we hope to visit more Civil War Battlefields.  

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

“Why should the peace of a true Christian be disturbed by anything which man can do unto him? 

Has not God promised to make all things work together for good to those who love him?”

~ General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson