Catch-up Monday: Loose Ends

Happy New Year!

I hope and pray that everyone had a blessed holiday.

I am still healing. I have been told that it could take a very long time to heal because I have deep tissue bruising. There are still some things that I just cannot do without a lot of pain, but there are tiny victories every day. We started visiting a local doctor and she is concerned that my left leg still has some significant swelling and has sent for my old records. In the meanwhile, she ordered the routine battery of yearly tests: You know the ones. For the most part, I am fine, but I have some bone density and triglyceride issues, and I am looking into holistic/natural treatment for both of those. My biggest concern now is that my left knee arbitrarily decides not to support me. I appreciate any and all prayers for my health concerns. I will let you know what I learn.

At the time of my last post, Ed was still working in Independence. He was driving about three hours a day, and the trip was rapidly taking a toll on him and his truck. He found a cooking job closer to home for minimum wage, and took it, while still looking for something else. A few weeks later he was hired at a place walking distance from the house. Awesome! Well, it was, anyway. He was fired a week later for being too slow...I could write for days about that, but I won't.

Well now what? First, we prayed, and then, for the first time in his life, Ed decided to file for unemployment. It was approved, and so here we are. Ed, of course, is still looking for work, but the Lord has graciously took our little bit and made it go farther than we ever thought possible.  Phillipians 4:19 says: "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus". In the last few months, He has proven to us, over and over again, that His word is true.

Anyway, now that I've brought you up to date on all that, I'll show you some of the things I've worked on over the last few months. Remember that road side dresser we found? Well, here it is in Kat's room.

She loves it! I splurged (when Ed was still working) and bought a gallon of latex paint in one of her favorite colors. I painted her bed frame, bookshelf, desk, and this dresser with it. I covered the drawer fronts with scrapbook paper and added the ribbon pulls. There were some tense moments putting the drawers back in, because the dresser sat in the garage for a few weeks. The garage was not as dry as we thought, and the drawers swelled. We managed to get all but one of them back in, and Ed is still working on it.

After two years, I finally finished Ed's beaded hat band. Unfortunately, the hat for which it was originally intended doesn't get worn much anymore. Here it is on his "church hat". 

Before Christmas, I pulled out some projects I started last year, but never finished. Here are snow man necklaces made from old keys Kyle collected when he was little. 

This snow man and angel came from pieces of wood fence that we got last year. Most of it wasn't good for more than fire wood, but I had Ed cut off a few end pieces.  The wings and subsequent angel came about because a board just snapped in half. I stapled the halves on to another board using my staple gun. Yes, I know, my painting leaves a little to be desired, but I had fun with it. Kat says the angel is "creepy".

That's all the news for now.
Connie

Catch-Up Monday: Busy Weekend and a Roadside Dresser

Good morning! Welcome to Catch-Up Monday!

What a busy weekend! I missed my Sunday afternoon nap, so I took it this morning after Katheirne went to school. I was just worn out!

Friday morning, Ed got up and made his famous King's Ranch Chicken to take for the family meal after Betty's Celebration of Life. It was set to start at 11:00, and we went about 10:00 to help with any set-up. The service was beautiful, and our pastor did a great job. We knew it was as difficult for him as it was for us. He told us later that he knew the Holy Spirit was helping him.

Afterward, we went down to the kitchen to set out the meal, while the family made the short trip to the grave site. When they came back, everything was ready. Did I mention our church has some excellent cooks? By the time the meal was finished, we cleaned up and got home, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon. Katherine was home at three, and Ed and I both took a nap, and still went to bed early. Saturday was going to be another busy day.

Before Betty died, we already had our annual February spaghetti dinner in the church calendar for Saturday. Ed had to work during the day, but would be home in time for the dinner. Since I am on the fellowship committee, I had to be at church at 3:00 to help with set up, decorating, and food preparation. The committee was making the two entrees, salad and bread, and our "guests" were to bring dessert.

Since I was not about to bring a sugary dessert, I opted for those wonderful scones that I made last week. You can read that blog post here. For Katherine's benefit, I made one batch with mini chocolate chips, as well as the one with blueberries. Ed got home from work about 2:30, and I left for church shortly after. Katherine opted to come at five with Ed. The meal was a huge success, but once again, I got home and pretty much fell into bed. Oh, I did have one request for the scone recipe.

At 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning, our phone rang. It was a manager from Ed's work. It seems that the 4:00 a.m. guy didn't show up, and they needed Ed to come in. He was not happy. I wasn't either. Anyway, he got up and went in. I stayed in bed until eight. Katherine and I made it to church a little after nine, so I could make sure someone from Ed's Sunday school class would know that he wouldn't be there.

The rest of the morning went well, with two of our young people getting baptised. I know Ed hated to miss that! After church, I met with the young people to decide who is doing what for the special youth-led service we are doing in March. They are all excited about taking over the grown-up positions for a day.

Sunday afternoon is usually nap time, but I couldn't get wound down enough. I guess I was still annoyed that Ed had to work a second Sunday in a row. By the time he got home, he only had about an hour before we had to be back at church. He told me that he told the manager that if they want to see him on Sunday, they need to come to church, because that is where he will be!

When he came in, he told me that one of our neighbors up the road had set out a peice of furniture I might be interested in. Of course I had to go look, and after checking it out, decided to bring it home.

It isn't real wood, and the drawer pulls are a little corroded, but it is sound, and I can always use more drawer space...if I decide to use it for that. I'm going to let it sit a day or two and think about it. I told Ed, "You do realize that I will have to rearrange the entire house to make room for this, right?" He said, "Yes, and all the books will have to come off the shelves too. " to which I replied, "You know I've been wanting to do that anyway." He nodded "Yes". The poor long-suffering man! He knows that he will come home one day soon, and there will just be a path through the house!

Anyway, our Sunday evening service went very well with even more new people coming. It is exciting when the young people start becoming active participants! We were done there a little after seven,  Ed was in bed by eight, and after I talked to my dad, followed about ten.