A really good book + unexpected news

I re-read Elizabeth Goudge's The Rosemary Tree and it was very nice.

***

Unexpected news ... my neighbour has (got tested for, the city knows etc) the virus;

is actually getting over it already; we have not seen her in many weeks.

Our city has a very low new case count of the dread virus right now... 

But YIKES that was a bit of a shock, the whole next-door neighbour,

shares a wall with the unit under us, etc. having it. 

***

I am having a hard time getting a lot done this week.

Just taking it as it comes.

***

May God have mercy on us.

One Step, then Another

I managed to take 2 walks.

Google Photos is still acting up but I did not have time

to deal with it today.

I made red lentil soup today!

It has been a bit cooler weather and the Apostle's fast just began

and I enjoyed the soup so much.

I told Mr Husband that this soup is so familiar and comforting to me

that it's like when I go to Aunt H's house and we always have the same foods,

a bread from Arnie's, a Dutch bread that starts with the word R,

Dutch cheese, a boiled egg, Jif Peanut Butter, a jam... 

I felt so happy making that soup! 

Mr Husband got the red lentils out for me, 

as they were on a high shelf in the pantry... 

I am feeling better each day...

the exhaustion was pretty bad and I was quite discouraged...

it's like I am coming back to life and remembering what I love about it...

***

I am having a hard time with the loneliness part of this ongoing 

pandemic... I am starting to see people a little more,

but most days it's just myself and my Husband and it can be hard...

I don't have a lot of interaction with others...

Well, we must take life as it is given to us...

I am trying to be brave and pray...

***

I AM happy about the Apostle's fast... something about the change in

liturgical seasons makes me feel hopeful... 

We had watermelon tonight with salad and that was really nice...

***

And we will have a new grocery order coming tomorrow morning...

so that's really nice... 

I am re-reading The Rosemary Tree By Elizabeth Goudge and 

am really enjoying this... I finished

The Baker's Daughter by DE Stevenson... 

***

I went on 2 walks today, so that is also good...

***

May God have mercy on us all! 

A Little At A Time

We had a couple over last night

for fast-free Friday.

We had burgers, Caesar salad, watermelon, grapes, lemonade and cookies.

For some reason google photos is not working so I am not able to

easily share those pictures.

***

I am slowly regaining energy and strength. 

***

This re-entry/re-opening process is not easy.

***

I am re-reading some DE Stevenson and that has been nice.

I re-read

Miss Buncle's book

Miss Buncle's Married

The Two Mrs Abbots 

The Four Graces

and now am re-reading The Baker's Daughter 

***

I am behind on emails, blog reading.

It's just taking a while.

I am so thankful for my home and life with Mr Husband.

Together we are a team and support to each

and I don't take that comfort for granted! 

***

May God have mercy on us all and save us! 

It Can Take A While

For various reasons, the rest I have been needing

did not come as quickly as I wanted it to.

Things seem more promising but today I was 

struggling and needed a lot of rest, after having a wonderful 

morning walk.

So tomorrow I get to order take out again.

I will rest and do the best to take care of myself.

My Husband was a sweetheart and washed dishes,

cleaned out of entryway 

(it was getting so incredibly cluttered)

and was really kind.

(I did fill the dish washer and did laundry.)

I watched a cheesy movie online 

Sweet Home Carolina. 

NJ is opening up more and church

will become a possibility again.

I sure hope my hair salon will have openings

as I am getting quite ready to have it cut!

Inches is what I want cut off! 

It's summer!

What a hard time it's been.

Lord, have mercy on us and save us!

To Restore

I told my Husband that I needed to be cosseted.

When I told my Mom she was not sure what that word meant.

What I knew it to be was the sense of being cared for in a very

intentional way.  On looking it up, it can mean to be

'over-indulged' or 'pampered' 

which, esp the first one, is not exactly what I meant.

Basically, I know myself well enough to know

when I am getting drained, depleted and generally run down.

Years ago I ignored that to my peril:

I ended up getting mono for 6 months and was

out of commission entirely.

The pandemic and personal unbloggable things that I 

needed to face have left me, even though

I have been able to take good walks etc, feeling depleted

and run down.  So this weekend

I am going to rest to replenish my reserves.

DV we are getting take out from a restaurant and I am going to 

do some "serious resting" for the weekend.

I know if I take care of myself now,

I will feel much better soon.

  To me this is part of being an adult; taking care of yourself

so you don't get sick.  It's a blessing to be able to rest,

at least for a day and I know it is a blessed thing to do,

as even our Lord Jesus at times withdrew from the crowds

for a prayer-filled rest.

I went on 3 walks, in the end, today.

The first one I saw lots of people out, it was morning

and people were quite friendly when I would say hello....

one lady, middle aged or so, when I said it was hot but I was trying to do 2 walks 

a day, was so sweet, she said, I believe in you, you can do it! you can lose those pounds!

It was really kind.  I am actually not trying to lose weight but to be healthy

stronger and be able to enjoy ice cream or sorbet all summer without gaining weight.

Losing is not as much of a worry :) 

And as you can see I saw LOTS of beautiful flowers. 

The roses are just stunning right now. 

I feel so starved for green after the grim winter we all had around here...

Well. Today was an intense day.

One thing is that my friend P. I found out is in the hospital; he is a dear 

older friend of mine in Ottawa who I have been friends with for many years.

Please pray for him.  I am guessing it is related to his heart issues. 

Well.  We live in hope.  We live in the hands of God.

Lord have mercy on us all. 

Encouraging

 

I had two walks today!

I am trying to up my heart points.

And the second walk, which was with Mr Husband, 

various neighbours were out and we got to talk with 3 different sets of people

and the first one let me come in to their 'before the porch but after the gate' area

to take a picture of the beautiful white rose in the last picture above.

It was really nice.  I felt really encouraged. 

Our neighbourhood is very mixed, so many different ethnicities and our street 

has always been pleasant and quiet and I am so glad that we can all talk 

to each other.  That's really nice.

I would love more friends and even just friendly neighbours is a great start.

And I like my walks at night with Mr Husband; a nice thing about summer,

that we can be out a bit later and it's not dark.

Thanks to all who read my last blog post and commented.

I have struggled with a lot of sadness about NYC and how much

NYC has suffered, first with the dread virus and now with such destruction.

And the stories I have seen on social media from sources I trust about

the wrongful treatment of so many is heartbreaking.

Lord have mercy.

My Husband and I are adding extra prayers every night

for protection for us all. 

I keep looking for all the beauty, and boy the roses this time of year 

are a great delight.

I took all of these pictures from my walks today.

PS: did you notice the words in the 2 windows of the house I showed you above?

CHRIST RISEN

Weeping over Ramah

“A voice was heard in Ramah,

Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

Refusing to be comforted,

Because they are no more.”

Matthew 2:18 New King James Version (NKJV)

***

I am not even going to touch much on the horror of

the death, the murder, of FG.  Or of what racism does.

I am pondering if very much but I am not going to speak about

what I have not experienced or what others can competently 

speak on.  

***

My friend Juliana describes her city and how 

it is the vulnerable who are now going hungry

because of the tragic scary horrific events there.

***

I am so grieved for what I hear happening in NYC.

Fires, destruction, looting (breaking in and stealing).

Who is this helping? I am not sure but I am not sure I would

want to know, as in it would make my heart break even more.

Who is this hurting? 

The poor, the hungry, the already ravaged NYC

with massive unemployment because of the pandemic.

***

Who is thinking of them in this?

Who do you think needs help even more?

Those who just lost jobs, homes, their only food source.

***

I was so troubled today.

Do you know the term 'Virtue Signaling'? 

The Cambridge dictionary defines it this way:

"Virtue signalling is the popular modern habit of indicating 

that one has virtue merely by expressing disgust 

or favour for certain political ideas or cultural happenings."

***

Why am I upset about this?

Because of what social media and news in general is like now days.

Here today, gone tomorrow.

Remember the huge outpouring for Haiti a few years ago?

Yeah, most of the huge amounts of money never got to help them.

I have contacts, I know.

Social media is really full of "lemmings" that follow whatever 

the rest are doing and to be honest they have no idea who

their leader is even is.  

***

Even now, how many realize that the same people who feel the 

brunt of racism and poverty are now suffering even more

because their grocery stores were destroyed, their houses burnt.

Even places that helped the homeless were destroyed as Juliana wrote.

***

Social media, in a week or two will have moved on to something new.

Who will remember the poor then? Or those who are still

suffering from racism, poverty and a whole lot of heaviness?

Who remembers Haiti? The list goes on.

And we can't do it all.

This post is not meant to be about guilt, as in to make 

my reader feel like a heel.  

We ARE all called to repentance.

And if we can, to help in whatever way we can.

I now we can't help everyone

or save everyone or even support every 'cause'...

***

Anyway. 

Today was a rough day for me on this front.

Thank God my own city is not in flames

and there were peaceful protests.

***

Repentance.

Prayer.

Examining our own hearts.

Tears.

Caring for others.

Not forgetting those who social media soon forgets.

How Lord, can we live? How can we love?

How can we respect each person as they truly are,

made in YOUR image, with unquestionable 

dignity accorded to EACH human being. 

***

Lord have mercy!

Lord have mercy on us!

Lord have mercy on the fallen!

Lord have mercy on the poor, the hungry.

Lord have mercy on us....

I pray for rain

Rain to heal the deep wounds and brokenness of our country.

For the fires that are all over this country.

To heal the source of it all.

***

Lord have mercy on us.

I cling to the fact that where there is life, there is God and where there is God,

there is hope.

***

I find the beauty of this song to be better than I can speak

on the hope, the healing, the love that is found in Christ. 

For a good part of today,

I had really 'hit a wall' as they say.

The many days of isolation, we can

count the outings we had had since mid-March

on one hand, and they have all been in the last weeks.

My Husband will probably work from home for the next many months.

The process of 're-entry' is much harder than I had anticipated. 

***

BUT.  I am going often on 2 walks a day.

I am trying to find beauty where ever I can.

I am so grateful for the people in our neighbourhood who

grow flowers.  That we have beauty to find.

***

I made Marion Cunningham's Rescue Biscuits again...

I follow the recipe but not the instructions to roll and shape

the biscuits but instead do the 'drop biscuits' way

and merely drop them onto the pan with parchment paper.

It's amazing that, while they bake into what looks like

one big connected pile of biscuits, they actually separate 

so easily.  And they are so light, much better than if they 

were worked more, pressed and shaped. 

***

I have bread with walnuts and craisins rising over night.

DV it will bake while we are watching liturgy online, 

and we will enjoy fresh baked bread for brunch after liturgy...

***

So, we keep trying in this long set of months...

***

May God have mercy on us, 

on our hurting world,

and save us.