Josie Joy

We finally did it! We got a new puppy! I found her on craigslist and she looks exactly like Angie, our beloved 10-year old dog. It was a big step but after thinking about it for several months, I decided we might as well try it and see how it goes. The idea was to get another dog so that Angie can help "train" her. Angie is the best dog we've ever had and having another dog will hopefully lessen our pain when she dies. Her mother died when she was 10 years old.

Josie was in the northern part of the state so our daughter met her first, sent me video, and told me I would love her. She picked her up today and then our son came with me to get her.

She is so tiny! It's hard to believe that Angie was ever this little! Eva's puppy, Molly, and Josie played and ran all over the house. They had so much fun together. I was concerned about whether or not Angie would accept her because Angie is, after all, an old lady now. At first she was wary but after a few hours she warmed up to her. I think if we give her time, they will become good friends.

I'm not very good at picking out dog names and originally wanted to name her Happy or Joy, but in the end, I named her after my grandmother. When I looked up the definition of Josie or Josephine, I discovered that it meant "God shall add" or "God shall increase" so her name means "God shall add joy" and that is what I long for.

Carry Me

When I went after work to spend time alone with God, I cried but didn’t know why. When I prayed for my sons, it was dry … but I did it anyway. (I'm praying for them every day.) There was a song asking God to carry me. When I got home, our wonderful neighbor was clearing some more of our field and burning the debris, so I quickly changed clothes, hooked up my cart and began to trim the brush around the driveway. Until my wonderful neighbor saw me and told me he would do it later … with his truck and chainsaw. So I drove all over the yard and trimmed low-lying branches. Because it had rained this morning, the temperature was reasonable and it was actually quite beautiful outside, so I impulsively decided to mow the yard. It felt so good in so many ways! It was so peaceful on the mower. Whenever I get on that mower, I am face-to-face with God's love and care and provision for me. Two hours of physical labor and my depression was gone, I felt very productive, and ready to proceed with my day. God did indeed carry me.

Blessings

An Internet friend who designs cross stitch said she is sending me a goody box filled with smaller pieces of cross stitch fabric (that I can use to make ornaments and cards), variegated thread, and some charts. I'm so excited! People on my cross stitch message board have told about things like this happening to them but it's my first time. It will be like Christmas.

Our church met at the city park today for a service and then a fish fry. The service was fun because my friend and I were able to play tambourine during worship and the sound system was so loud that we didn't have to worry about offending people. The way we play is that we play certain "patterns" given to us and to other people by God - such as Faith, Covenant, Joy, etc. Each one has a scripture that it comes from. Mark preached on "greatness" and it was very inspiring.

Part-time

As of last week, my job has been cut down to part-time until next January, when the next tax season begins, and I am going to try to post more regularly. For some reason this year, this is a huge adjustment - probably because we are also adjusting to Phil being on disability permanently. The hardest part for me is never ever being able to be home alone anymore.

It's a relief to have more time to get the basic things done, such as grocery shopping and mowing the yard, but I also hope to get some other things done around the house too. I hope to eventually have some sort of schedule to help myself become more disciplined in order to accomplish some things. I would like to fit in two times of exercise each day instead of only one and I would like to write more. I have started to bake some and am going to try freezing things, such as dinners and baked goods, because I bought a sweet little chest freezer and I want to learn how to make good use of it before next tax season.

I saw something cool on the Internet the other day. You can take plastic Walmart bags and crochet them into sleeping mats. Evidently people are bringing these to third world countries where the people love then because bugs hate the mats and after it rains, the mats dry out quickly. I want to start one and work on it a little each week, as I obtain the bags. I love the idea of turning our trash into something useful.

Inspired by my daughter, who has a huge container garden, I decided to try some patio tomatoes. I had a 5-gallon bucket that someone gave me, drilled holes in the bottom, put rocks in it, then some newspaper (to hold the soil), and a mixture of potting soil and potting mix. I found really nice plants at Lowe's and got a cherry tomato and a Better Boy. I hope this works because there is nothing like fresh tomatoes.

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.