Currently This Week

The weather has been cold but clear, until Friday.  On Friday, it got increasingly cold and gray.  I took this picture on an afternoon walk on Tuesday, and this is is pretty typical of what the whole week was like until Friday.  More snow is expected on Saturday. 

I'm reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. My daughter has been reading it to her children and we are all going to a theatrical production of the book in March.  On Friday, I finished a humor book by comedian Tom Papa called You're Doing Great!  

I've been listening to The House of My Mother by Shari Franke. It's sad, troubling and fascinating.  I finished it on Wednesday.  I am now listening to the audiobook of The Woman in Me by Britney Spears.  Parts of it are interesting, some not so much. It isn't very well written.  I'm about halfway finished. 

I've been watching a documentary about Winston Churchill called Churchill at War, on Netflix.  My husband and I both enjoy history and this documentary is well done and interesting.  Early in the week, we finished a true crime documentary called Homicide: Los Angeles. 

I'm working on a photo book of family pictures from 2024.  The company I have used for years to create and print my blog into books has gone out of business, so I have decided to print photo books with special pictures I take of my family each year. 

I'm loving the continued flowering of my Christmas Cactus.  

I'm grateful that the first week of the ACT Prep Class that I am facilitating, is over. I'm grateful that I can help students get ready for this important test, but getting up before 5 a.m. to be on time for the early morning study sessions has not been easy for me.  I've felt exhausted all week. The prep class will go on for two more weeks. 

I'm enjoying staying warm and cozy at home on cold January evenings. 

I'm celebrating a long weekend.  I have Monday off for Martin Luther King Day.  We don't have many plans for the weekend, so it will be very nice to have three days of downtime to rest and relax.  We will go to a birthday party for a 90-year-old lady in our church congregation Saturday after and I plan to watch the inauguration on Monday because it is a historic event that I don't want to miss.

That's all for this cold Friday night. Enjoy the weekend. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: 

if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, 

prosperity would not be so welcome."

~ Anne Bradstreet

A Cold & Snowy Weekend

Our weather this weekend has been cold and snowy.  The past week was not a warm one. We had a little bit of snow Friday night and Saturday, but the accumulations in the valley, where I live, were not great.  

After clearing the snow off of our driveway, we went to the mall and walked about a mile and a half before any of the stores opened. 

After lunch on Saturday, the roads were clear enough that we decided to drive to Utah County to take a look at the townhouse in this picture from the listing on Zillow.  Now that we have purchased a home in Southern Utah, we are considering buying a smaller condo or townhouse in Utah County to stay in when we come to visit our daughter and grandchildren.  No concrete plans yet.  We are just thinking and looking.  We liked this townhouse and it would be within our budget, but we aren't making any final decisions until I retire.   It was fun to go to Utah County and check out this little home, then go to a store we like there, and then stop for dinner on the way back home.  We had a very nice Saturday.  

We had more snow on Saturday night. Again, it wasn't a lot of snow - less than an inch at our house - but there was a layer of ice underneath. Charly and I went out before church to clear our driveway and sidewalk and also the driveway of our next door neighbor. 

By the time we got to church at about 10 a.m., the sun was out and the sky was blue.  It was still very cold and icy though.   We went to the main worship service, then stayed for the separate men's and women's classes afterward.  Later, Charly and I again helped with the worship service at the care center/nursing home.  We didn't get home from that until about 3 p.m., so it was a full and busy Sunday. 

I made lasagna for our Sunday dinner. I had not made lasagna for a long time and it was very good. We'll have the leftovers tomorrow night. We had a baby spring mix salad on the side. 

After church, I purchased the tickets to this production of Little Women which we are going to with our daughter and her family in March.  My daughter recently finished reading the book to her children and we thought it would be fun to get together and go see the play.  I'm pretty excited about this. We are going to the Hale Center Theater which always puts on an excellent, professional quality production. 

Before I end this post, I wanted to acknowledge the horrendous fires in Southern California. The picture above shows the proximity of the fire to the Los Angeles Temple, where our family worshipped on occasion when we lived in Southern California for five years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  We love that beautiful area and the people who live there.  We are praying for everyone who has lost so much.

Weekend Gratitude:

• NOT getting a lot of snow here in the valley this weekend.
• Having a nice trip to Utah County with Charly. 
• Seeing a townhome that would work as a "second home" for us.

Coming up this week:

Monday - ACT prep starting. I will need to be at school by 6:45 a.m.  This will go on for three weeks. 

Thursday - Doctor appointment for Charly.

Saturday - 90th Birthday Open House for a friend from our church congregation.

That's all for this weekend.  May the coming week go well for all. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

 

Currently on a Gray January Sunday

Outside my window it's dark now, but it has been a gray and cloudy Sunday.  We had some rain - not a downpour, but a steady drizzle.  I took this picture Sunday morning on our way into church and it's been about the same all day.   Our temperatures have warmed up and it has been in the 40s today.  

I've been reading these two books - What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, which I finished a couple of days ago.  Now, I'm concentrating on Shattered Identity by Betsy Love, which I am reading on the Kindle app on my phone.  Of course, I'm also reading my Bible and a couple of Bible study commentaries - one about the Gospels and another one about the Book of Revelation. 

I've been listening to this audiobook Building a Non-Anxious Life by Dr. John Delony.   I plan to finish it later tonight. 

I've been watching a scripture study master class after church every Sunday.  It is taught by a university professor and it is very interesting and enlightening.  Charly is watching it with me and we're learning a lot. Friday night, we watched a comedy called The Lost City with Sandra Bullock. It was good and a fun movie to watch on a Friday night. 

This past weekend we went car shopping again on Saturday afternoon. This time we went to two Ford dealerships and test drove the Ford Bronco Sport. Both Charly and I were quite impressed with it, and Charly really liked the orange one.  We decided we aren't quite ready to buy right now, but we are narrowing down our choices. 

In the kitchen we had slow cooker chicken and vegetables for Sunday dinner.  We had some whole grain LaBrea toast with it. 

I'm loving these new shirts I got, on clearance, from Love In Faith, a Christian clothing company based in Southern California.  I'm excited to wear these shirts, especially with Valentine's Day coming up. 

I'm enjoying using the Marco Polo app to message back and forth with my blogging friend Faith, over at Gold in the Clouds.  I find myself looking forward to these little daily messages and updates. 

I'm grateful for a warm, comfortable home and a good man to share it with.  

I'm looking forward to springtime and seeing more of the sun.  I've never been officially diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I do have some of the symptoms and know that I tend to have a lot more depression on gray winter days. 

Coming up this week:

Tuesday - Charly has a follow-up doctor appointment for his broken hand. 

Saturday - We are getting together with friends for lunch. 

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the coming week. 

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖

"Winter is the time for comfort, 

for good food and warmth, 

for the touch of a friendly hand and 

for a talk beside the fire: 

it is the time for home."

- Edith Sitwell

 

Thankful Thursday - Cold & Snowy Gratitude

This week was cold and snowy, but that is not unexpected here in the Intermountain West in January.  Here are some of the things I am most grateful for this snowy week.  As always, I am joining with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for this week's Friday's Fave Five. 

😊 Sunday we got some snow and I had to shovel the driveway twice.  My first time out to shovel, I was wearing some light weight gloves, they got soaked and my hands got very cold.  Later, before I went out for the second shoveling, I was looking for a pair of dry gloves, and I found these nice thick knitted mittens on the shelf of my closet.  I honestly cannot remember where they came from, but they were just what I needed to keep my hands toasty warm while I cleared the driveway for the second time.  I am thankful for finding these warm mittens just when I needed them.  

😊 We had a very snowy week.  On both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, we had snow squalls that dumped several inches of snow in a short time. There was also gusts of winds that, according to local news, got up 70 miles per hour.  This is the view from our front porch during one of the evening snow squalls.  I am grateful that these snow squalls came later in the afternoon and evening so I did not have to drive in them. 

😊 With all the snow, we decided to get some help with shoveling our driveway, so we bought a Toro Power Shovel, which is basically a mini-snow blower. It may be small, but it can sure throw the snow!  We don't have a super large driveway or a lot of sidewalks, and I am grateful that we were able to get this little machine to help us with snow removal. 

😊 With all of the cold weather, I am so grateful for a warm and cozy home, especially our family room, where we have a gas fireplace that we have going every night. It also has a fan so the warmth of the fire keeps the room toasty and comfortable.  

😊 There have been several days this past week when, because of all the snow,  we did not go to the rec center to walk on the track.  On days like these, I am grateful that I have some exercise equipment in my family room that I can use to move my body.

😊 Our next door neighbor is a retired teacher in her 70s and our driveways are conjoined. Thursday morning when I came out to get in my car to drive to work, about 6:45 a.m., our neighbor was out clearing both of our driveways from snow.  This nice lady also brings our garbage cans in sometimes.  I am grateful to have such a kind next door neighbor.  

😊 I am also very grateful for safety on some very slick and snowy drives this past week. 

Even when the weather is cold and snowing, there is always something to be grateful for. Thanks for stopping by.  Stay warm and enjoy the weekend. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖