A Little Monday This And That…

I’m late getting around to posting today. Ed and I had to go and have blood drawn first thing this morning. After that, the garden was calling our attention. It’s amazing how quickly those stray weeds and blades of grass can pop up! I only hoed a row and a half before I had to get out of the sun. I left Ed still hoeing, bless his heart. Speaking of “heart”, today marks six months since he had his heart attack. I’ve treasured each and every one of those “extra” days with him.

Our garden is growing quite well, at the moment.  I took some pictures, last week, but it’s grown leaps and bounds since then.  I’ll have to take some more recent ones, and share them later in the week.  We’re now eating fresh radishes on our salads–the first of our 2016 vegetables to get ready to eat.  Our next vegetables to get ready will probably be garden peas.

Last week was a busy one, and, as always, it passed quickly. Ed and I took two “road trips”, which took up the better part of two days. These days, our “road trips” mainly consist of out-of-town shopping trips. One of our “road trips” was to the Ford dealership, to purchase an extended warranty for our new van, which is now six months old, by the way. For some reason, we weren’t offered the option to purchase the extended warranty when we bought the van. After giving it much thought, we decided we’d invest in extended coverage, due to the van’s computerized navigation system, which can cost a fortune to repair, if it breaks.

Ed’s been busy mowing grass, again. It’s a never-ending cycle for him, once the grass begins growing. He has so much grass to mow, he divides the plots [to be mowed] into separate days. It usually takes four days to get around to everything.  Afterward, he takes three or four days off, then starts all over again.  I think we need some goats! Ha.

On Saturday, our family was finally able to gather together and have our postponed Easter egg hunt! Better late than never. Our daughter planned and hosted the egg hunt, and I think everyone had a very good time. I KNOW the grandchildren did! They played together all afternoon long.

In addition to the egg hunt, we grilled hot dogs and ate them outside. In fact, we spent the entire afternoon, from noon until eight p.m., sitting around enjoying the beautiful spring weather. The adults relaxed and talked while the children played.

We hid 357 plastic eggs in our adjoining yards. The four grandchildren had plenty of room to spread out, and plenty of eggs to find. As usual, we didn’t find all of the eggs!

I believe three or four eggs were unaccounted for, and three of those eggs were worth money! We looked and looked, but never could find the last of the “money eggs”. However, on Sunday morning, Ed found the five dollar egg! Two one dollar eggs still remain at large.

Sunday was church day. I didn’t feel well when I woke up, but managed to shake it off by time to leave for church.

I decided to try cooking a roast-in-a-bag while we were gone to church. I wasn’t sure how long to cook it, but the directions said two hours. For the first time in the three weeks we’ve been attending, the pastor preached overtime. As a result, Ed and I had to leave church, hastily! When we got home, the roast had been cooking 2 1/2 hours, but it was fine, and tasted delicious. I’ll definitely cook another roast-in-a-bag, in the future.

In addition to the roast-in-a-bag, I also made fresh strawberry pie for dessert.  Ed picked the berries at a farm across the road from where we live. How blessed we are to be living within walking distance to a strawberry field!

Speaking of being blessed, while I was at the doctor’s office having blood drawn, a wonderful thing happened!  Today was the first visit to my primary care physician for this year.  As I gave my new insurance card to the receptionist I told her I was sad because the doctor wasn’t a provider on my insurance, this year.  Upon further investigation, she called me back up to the window, and assured me the doctor is a provider.  Apparently, there’s been a mix up somewhere down the line.  (She said I wasn’t the only patient who thought he was no longer a provider.)  Thank you, Jesus, for this blessing, which will save us many dollars in healthcare costs!

As I sit here, thinking about what a “challenging” year Ed and I had in 2015, I can really appreciate the blessings 2016 has brought, so far:

Ed and I had our yearly termite inspection done, a few days ago, and we’re all good–no more signs of termites.

Although Ed and I don’t have a lot of money left in our retirement budget for “extras”, we have more than enough to meet our “needs”.

My back feels SO much better than it did last year!  Although I still have to be careful what I do, I rarely have to take anything for pain, now. I’m grateful I can sit on a church pew without much discomfort, and am very grateful to be able walk without pain!

While my face doesn’t look quite like it once did, I’m grateful the skin cancer is gone–and the scar looks a little better as time passes. Massaging has helped to soften the scar tissue a little.

Ed has done well in the recovery process, since his heart attack.  Although he gets tired quicker than before, he’s still able to do whatever he wants to do.  He’s tolerated his heart medications well, and should be able to wean off some of them, in a few more months.

And, last, but certainly not least, after several years of being without a church, thanks to our son’s persistence, Ed and I have discovered another church we both enjoy attending.  We’ve read our Bibles, watched sermons on television, and prayed at home, but there is absolutely no substitute for gathering with like-minded believers each week–especially when one of them is our son.  What a blessing, indeed!

Happy Monday!