Vintage Steam Engine

An old steam engine came to visit our town yesterday. I believe it was built in the early 1940's and is one of the last of its kind. During lunch, a friend and I went to see it. It was huge and black and produced a lot of steam. It had lights and a bell on the front and wheels as tall as a man. It was a thing of beauty.

Grateful

Well, it looks like Phil will have to go to the hospital again, this time to be treated through an I.V. for MRSA. The oral antibiotics aren't working, which is no surprise. He will go back to the doctor tomorrow and probably go into the hospital soon after. It's frustrating but there is a lot to be thankful for.

I am grateful for the timing - tax season basically ends tomorrow. I am grateful that MRSA, while not common, isn't all that unusual and the treatment is clear. There are no unknowns to deal with. I am grateful for an excellent hospital and an excellent wound care specialist. I am grateful that his life isn't in danger and that this is not an intestinal issue. I am very, very grateful that God kept him from returning to work yet.

I have peace about this. It's frustrating but it will be OK.

A Relaxing Saturday

I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself now that tax season is basically over. When I got home yesterday I mowed … and it was so much fun! It was simply gorgeous outside and I had a good time working in the yard. I found out that I can hook the little cart to the mower all by myself! I picked up a few pieces of wood, took them to the burn pile and then I poisoned everything that I want dead, including clearing some areas to plant weeping love grass (an ornamental grass that grows in clumps which only get a certain height and never taller).

Here is the great news - my leg didn’t hurt!!! I ended up walking all over the yard instead of riding and noticed that my leg didn’t hurt! I think that God has healed it completely! The other great news is that, even with all that activity, my arm is doing really well. As long as I don’t pick up Gabe, maybe it will heal too!

The yard looks great, laundry is done, the tub is scrubbed, and 10 lbs. of hamburger is cooked and frozen. I reinforced the buttons on 5 tops, applied online for some kind of group lawsuit (I might get $75 some day just because I own a John Deere), made a small cake, ate a salad (with spinach) for lunch, and found a small freezer that I might buy. What a nice, relaxing, fun day!

I got to talk to my neighbor down below when I was outside yesterday and he said he would come in a few days and drag a fallen branch away to the burn pile. I felt like God sent me an angel! He said he has a tiller and will help me prepare to plant the love grass on the hills so I don’t have to try to mow there anymore. I can’t wait!

The best part of the day was when Jesse came over to eat spaghetti with us and we ended up watch “Saving Private Ryan” because it was on and I had never seen it (due to reading and believing a bad review of it). He comes over almost every Saturday for spaghetti and I love catching up on each others’ lives.

A co-worker is holding classes on couponing and she has inspired me to get back into it. It’s a different world now because when I used to do it there was no Internet. I spent some time the other night printing and cutting online coupons and looking at different sales circulars. I am praying that God would teach me how to do this again because it’s fun to get good deals. Yesterday I bought a carton of oats for $.57. I saw on the circular that it was on sale for $1.50 and found a $1 online coupon! I don’t want to go overboard and get obsessed with this but I do want to have fun with it.