The First Weekend of October

Here is what the first weekend of October was like in my world. 

We had much much needed soaking rain beginning on Friday night and continuing through most of the day Saturday. 

The rain in the valley was snow in the nearby mountains. 

 

We began our Saturday by walking at the mall before the stores opened. 

After walking at the mall, we went to our favorite nail place and Charly and I had pedicures.

I had to go to Dollar Tree Saturday afternoon to get some gift bags and a birthday card for my sweet Charly whose birthday is Monday. 

We watched our church's semi-annual General Conference Saturday afternoon and evening. The messages and music were uplifting, and inspirational.  All of the speakers bore powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and encouraged all to follow Him as true Christians!

Saturday afternoon, I made a batch of sloppy joes for dinner.  Here's a link to the recipe. I made a double batch with one pound of Beyond Beef and one pound of regular ground beef.  We also added chopped up red and orange peppers and it was delicious.   We had some of the leftovers on Sunday.

It rained overnight on Saturday and we woke up to a very chilly Sunday morning.  We turned on the heat for the first time this fall season, and I broke out my soft and comfy plaid flannel. 

We watched our church's General Conference again on Sunday.  There were no in-person church meetings for our church on Sunday. 

Sunday afternoon, I went for a walk.  We didn't have any rain, but it was still cool and cloudy. 

While most leaves are still on the trees, but as you can see in this pictures, some are starting to fall. 

After dinner, I got ready all of the gifts I have to give Charly for his birthday.

Weekend gratitude:

• Worshipping at the temple.
• Receiving much needed rain. 
• Exchanging texts with my oldest grandson. 
• Learning from inspiring General Conference messages.
• Enjoying cooler autumn weather. 

Coming up this week:

Monday - Charly's birthday and our oldest son Alex's birthday

Wednesday - Dentist appointments for both Charly and I

Thursday - My birthday

Friday - Our daughter-in-law's birthday

Friday - Worship at the temple

Saturday - Lunch with a friend and former colleague

Praying for:

• Those injured in the horrific church shooting in Michigan, and the families of those who were killed.  
• Family members going through difficult things. 
• Help with our upcoming retirement and move. 
• Unity and love among all followers of Jesus Christ!
• Our nation.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good week!

Until next time,

🎃Deb🍁

First April Weekend

Friday was my final week day of Spring Break.  I was tired after our trip to St. George, but there was a lot to do before going back to school, so I got up early and got busy.  

We started our Friday at our local Smith's grocery store to get a few things for the week.  I am always amazed, and dismayed, at how "a few things" at the grocery store now costs well over $100 each week! 

I decided to take the opportunity to visit my favorite stylist at my favorite hair salon on Friday for a trim and clean-up.  They were having a 20% off sale on their hair cuts, so that was an added bonus.

The salon is a good ways away from my house, but I love what the stylist I see there does with my baby fine, thin natural blonde hair.

Charly and I have been watching a very interesting series on The Daily Wire about the history of Communism in Russia.  It is interesting but very hard to watch because of the horrible, violent things that took place in Russia under the early Communist leaders like Lenin and Trotsky.   Friday night, we watched another episode in this series that our history major son Josh has watched and highly recommended to us. 

I have been wanting to start another puzzle for a while, so we got one out and started it.  It's going pretty slow.  It's quite a difficult puzzle - at least for me. 

This is the scene I woke up on Saturday morning.  Friday had been very windy and cloudy. The rain started Friday afternoon, then turned to snow overnight.  

The snow on the ground melted quickly, but by mid-afternoon on Saturday, it was snowing again. 

Charly and I went to the rec center to walk on Saturday morning.  We did over two miles and the exercise felt good.

I listened to our church's General Conference on my phone as I walked.  I love the messages that are presented at General Conference every six months. 

Even though Saturday's weather was more like winter than spring, I have begun to think about and plan my garden, so we visited this nearby locally-owned garden center and Home Depot for some tools and advice about the upcoming growing season. 

Because our church is having its semi-annual conference this weekend, there was no regular church services and we watched the conference on TV on Sunday.   The messages were so relevant and uplifting.  

Sunday dinner was spaghetti made with Impossible Beef in the sauce, Caesar salad, and french bread. I love spaghetti. Dinner was delicious. 

After dinner on Sunday evening, I went out for walk.  It was a little cloudy, but overall, a sunny, nice day.   There is lots of snow in the mountains, but lots of trees are out in bloom too. 

After I post this, I plan to relax and do some reading until bedtime. As the new week begins, I am reading a mystery novel, The Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison and We've Got Issues by Dr. Phil. The book by Dr. Phil is really slow going and I think I will have to return it to the library before I am finished with it.   The mystery novel is one I bought for .50 at a thrift store in St. George.  It is a book by a local author with a local setting that I am familiar with, and so far I am enjoying it. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Traveling safely to and from St. George.
• Seeing our daughter and her family in St. George. 
• Having a productive and enjoyable weekend.
• Watching our church's General Conference and enjoying the wonderful messages. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Practice kindness seven days a week,

Spread kindness every time you speak."

~Charmaine Forde

First Weekend of October

Here's a little about what was going on in our world during the first weekend of October. 

Late Friday afternoon, Charly and I had an appointment to get our annual flu shots at our local CVS.  We were both glad to get that done because now we have received both our fall Covid booster and our flu shots.   Josh texted me Friday telling me that he also got a fall Covid booster, and I am glad of that. Friday afternoon, I also went through the rather tedious process of updating all of my insurance selections with my employer. This is something the school district where I teach requires all employees do every October.  If the update isn't completed within a ten day window, there is a fine, so I am glad I got it finished!

I finished another batch of cards for Letters Against Isolation and mailed them to a care center in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

Friday night dinner was BLT sandwiches for the second time in the week.  We had some more large beefsteak tomatoes from our garden that have were a delicious addition. 

After dinner, Charly and I went for a walk.  It was a beautiful fall evening.  I liked how the flag looked blowing in the slight breeze. 

Saturday morning after breakfast and a walk, Charly and I went over to our income property home and did some yard work.  Some of the garden areas are overgrown with weeds, so we worked get the weeds out. We are planning to move back into this home next summer, and I am looking forward to getting the yard and garden areas back into shape.  

Our church denomination had our semiannual General Conference this weekend, with messages from our church leaders being broadcast both Saturday and Sunday.  While we worked in the yard, we listened to the uplifting and faith-filled messages using an app on my phone. 

Sunday morning, Charly and I went for a walk as soon as we were up and dressed.   It was a lovely, cool morning. The temperature was only 61 degrees!

When we got back from our walk, we watched and listened to the Sunday sessions of General Conference.  The messages were so inspirational and they were all focused on Jesus Christ, our Savior. Anyone can watch and listen to the messages here. Because of General Conference, we did not have regular church services, so we were home all day on Sunday. 

While I watched General Conference, I worked on drawing some Halloween pictures which I will be sending (along with another little surprise) to each of my grandchildren.  It was fun and relaxing to draw and color these pictures.  (I was asked if I traced the pictures and the answer is no, I did not. Same for the Letters Against Isolation cards I make - all my own work.  I looked at pictures online and made the drawings freehand and colored them myself.  I have loved drawing since I was a child, but I just forgot how much I enjoy it). 

Here is this weekend's harvest from my little patio container garden - a large Beefsteak tomato and several strawberries.  I had more strawberries this year than last.  When I picked the tomato, I noticed several other smaller tomatoes that are still green.  I hope that they ripen before we get our first frost - at least enough for me to bring them in the house. Everything home grown and garden fresh just seems to taste better than store bought produce.  I am looking forward to having more garden space, hopefully next year. 

Sunday dinner was French Oven Stew, a recipe I got over at Mari's blog, My Little Corner of the World. Mari posts delicious recipes every Thursday, and we have tried and loved many of them. This stew was excellent.  Charly said it was "the best stew we have ever had."  Thanks, Mari for another winning recipe!

Here is the recipe, which I printed off and will add to the Jones Family Cookbook. 

Sunday night was a time for a little indexing and getting ready for work on Monday. Charly watched a little TV.  I am sure that we will read before bed as usual. 

Coming up this week:

Lots of  birthdays!

• Today (Sunday) is our son-in-law Joseph's birthday. 
• Charly and our oldest son, Alex will both celebrate their birthday on Thursday, October 6. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Getting my insurance and benefit information updated before the deadline. 
• Getting our flu shots.
• Having gorgeous autumn weather.
• Getting some yard work done over at our other home. 
• Watching General Conference and loving the inspiring messages. 
• Enjoying an overall good and relaxing weekend.

That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by to visit.  Have a good week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖