Discoveries

As I wrote yesterday, only a few days into my Lenten project and already I'm struggling with discouragement and self-doubt. The amazing thing is, right on cue...God shows up and starts His encouragement campaign. 

The first thing He did is shown in this the above photo that I took from my kitchen window...look closely...do you see it? A cross, glowing in the sunset at the end of the day as if to say "I did this for you, you can do this for me." 

Last night, wanting to make some headway in one of my projects, I went to a shelf where I've been storing boxes of memorabilia and chose one at random to look through. These boxes contain things my mother saved from my childhood as well as things I saved for each one of my children of their childhood. Awards, poems, artwork, cards, etc., all collecting dust and musty smells from the basement. It's time to sort, and find a better storage system until I can get the scrapbooks made. As I looked through the box in hopes of discarding some things, I came across two very special surprise items. 

My mother used to paint a lot of paint by number pictures. I know, there are all kinds of jokes out there about how cheesy paint by number are, but my mother had creative inclinations and no money or opportunity for training of any kind so she made art in the only way she could. She became very good at it. I remember being fascinated watching her paint so carefully and skillfully into those teeny tiny spaces and keep her lines so straight. I did it too a time or two and enjoyed it very much. I know she also did it to fill her lonely evenings and to keep her hands busy and her mind occupied. When we moved into this house I remember packing a picture she had painted of a girl in a large straw hat. It was always one of my favorites and I wanted to be sure it was saved. Since we moved in I have searched and searched for that picture and haven't been able to find it. I thought it was the only one of her paintings left until I found two in the box! They are both of Christ....one as the 'Good Shepherd' the other with the 'crown of thorns'. They are damaged slightly, but look fine from a distance. I'm so happy to have them and am amazed I found both of them this week of all times. 

My mother was also famous for writing everything down. She used to take scraps of paper, staple them together and put them in her purse for grocery lists or for copying down things she found while we were out and about. She wrote down everything from Scripture verses, to poems, to hymn texts. She would often scavenge scraps of paper that had something on one side but blank on the other for her supply. One such paper had the text to a hymn she had written down on one side and the remnant of a note from Gordon on the other! It said "Well I guess I've gone on long enough. I hope I've been able to encourage you to press on. Have a wonderful Christmas season. In Him and His love, Gordon K. Page." 

The tears came. All those memories flooding back again...the amazing way he always made me feel. I wish I had the rest of this letter...I don't remember it and I have no idea how it came to be in my mother's scrap paper file...GRRRR , but I'm glad I have at least this much. Once again, I'm tired, discouraged and beaten down and as if he reached down from Heaven and handed the note to me for the first time, it refreshed my spirit. Just when I needed someone to tell me to "press on", just when I needed some encouragement, it comes...from a most unlikely source...a dear friend, now in Heaven. What a special gift to me! 

I want to share one more picture with you before I close just because it makes me smile and I hope it will do the same for you. 

Have a good night all!

Friends Near and Far

In my last post I shared my Artist Trading Cards for this month and today was our trade - I was hostess. I spent the morning touching up the house and preparing snacks. The trade was at 1:00 but they were still straggling in at 1:30. We always have a good time when we're together, there is lots of laughing and great stories. It was fun having them in my home for the first time. Every month as I struggle to get my cards done in time, I consider quitting and then we have our trade and I know I would miss getting together with them so I soldier on. 

Today I shared with them my desire to be a Magnabilities consultant and I showed them the product and they were very encouraging. They all said they would come to a party and one of them said she would host a party for me. I'm still not getting anywhere with the company, even though I prefer to email (I like having things printed out for future reference), I think I'll call them next week.

My heart is heavy today as I received this email update this morning from Gordon's wife: 

Well friends, here I am again asking for prayer! We went to clinic at lunchtime today because Gordon was having such an awful time breathing. His oxygen level was very low and the oncologist had him admitted to the hospital. He was in his own room by 1:45 or so! Thank you Lord! 

She also had bad news -- the biopsy on the fluid taken from around the sacks around lungs (last weekend) had cancer cells in them. The miracle drug (pill) isn't working for Gord! 
She said she has a chemo cocktail for him to go on...Hopefully very soon!

We are all tired of all of this, but especially Gordon! He has lost a lot of weight and finds it difficult to walk. Please keep praying for strength and healing and God's mercy and grace. Our spirits are low, but we rely on Our mighty creator God!! Thank you sooooo much!! We couldn't make it without your prayers!! Bless you! 
Please continue to keep him in your prayers. 

I also connected with my mentor, David today through email. I found out his procedure is supposed to be outpatient. It's scheduled for Thursday and he hopes to be home by Saturday if all goes according to plan. He encouraged me to email him if he fails to send me an update and that was nice to see.

Pastor Tony emailed with challenges regarding the music tomorrow morning - I will need to get there early to prepare and stay focused. 

I'll be busy making cards next week. A college friend saw my cards on Facebook and ordered 20! 

Well I think it's time to throw another log on the fire - I mustn't let it die out as Hubby will want to warm up when he gets home from the rink. 

Out Of Sorts

That's the only way I can think to describe the way I've been feeling lately. I was doing so well getting back into the "swing of things" after the holidays. I spent the week between Christmas and New Years cleaning the Turquoise House from one end to the other not missing nary a cranny. I was quite pleased with my work and quite pleased with my plans for the winter. I had begun my exercise program again - I started slow this time because I had gotten so far out of shape and I felt good about what I was doing, that was until this week. Monday I woke up with pain in my shoulder right blade...this is not new, it is a chronic problem that I've had for years, but now it seems to have escalated and decided to share the pain with my entire upper back. It hurts to turn my head, it hurts to put my head down and while working at the computer or practicing, I get an awful burning sensation. I wasn't too concerned, I'm still not too concerned, I've dealt with it before, it's just worse this time. Now lets talk hips. Again, I've had hip pain in the past and have been successful treating them with chiropractic, massage therapy, exercises and stretches. Yesterday I woke up with pain in my hips that I had never experienced before. The only way I can describe it is, I felt as though my body was not my own from the waist down. I called my chiropractor and was able to get in same day. Surprisingly, I did not need an adjustment but she said my hip flexors were very tight and so she did some soft tissue work and I was able to walk out of there without the limp that I walked in with. I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning and went about my chores and errands, by lunch time though I was starting to hurt again and so tonight I sit in pain. I'm hoping my stretches will help ease things so I can sleep. I'm discouraged. It's so hard to get back to an exercise routine when I'm in so much pain. I've been head-achy and tired and I just want to curl up by the fire and forget I have responsibilities. I think the pain is just getting to me. 

It's difficult to keep track of my students these days. Some are quitting, some want to quit but the parents won't let them, some want to increase their lessons, some take every other week, there has been illness, bad weather and deaths in families. I struggle to keep a consistent lesson plan going with any of them. 

Our recently graduated daughter has still not found a job and her car needs a complete engine rebuild. We are going to help her with that, but it will clean out our savings. Trusting God to provide for our needs. 

Nothing new yet regarding Magnabilities. I was hoping to have it all up and running before the 15th as that's the last day for half off the price of the kit. I'm just not sure why it is taking so long to get help.

Do you remember Gordon? He's still fighting his cancer...he's had a tough go of it lately, just getting out of the hospital again after having fluid drained from his lungs. He's been in a lot of pain and began slipping into depression, but praise God, he's home now and is more like his old self again. Please continue to keep him in your prayers for complete healing. 

I've also mentioned my mentor, David from time to time. He'll be having surgery on the 22nd. He has a bone in his neck that is poking into his spinal cord; it's been causing numbness in his hands and feet and we're praying that this surgery will restore that feeling. Please pray for guidance and wisdom for the surgeon - anything having to do with the spinal cord is scary business. I made him a card:

and while I was at it, I made some Valentines to sell: 

It's also ATC time again! This month the theme is "Ethnic Background". I wasn't sure how to interpret that, but one of my friends said she was going to just use some of her photos from her heritage album, so I decided to do the same. The meeting will be at my house this month so tomorrow I'll be making refreshments and getting things prepared. 

Until next time dear friends, 

A Project Day

My summer is consisting of moving from one project to the next - most of them are organizing projects and projects that prepare the house, yard or other projects for the coming winter. One of the things on my list was organizing my computer files. I always wait until they are a mess and it takes forever to get them in order. It's also very confusing as I have 2 backup hard drives and somehow or another the folders are labeled slightly different and it's so hard to tell if I have everything on one that I have on the other. What a mess! Then of course I have my Google Drive which is cloud storage. One would probably wonder why I need external backups if I have cloud storage...well...I don't trust technology, especially when I have no control over it. What is the cloud anyway...I mean, really? Besides, I don't know how much free cloud storage I have on this thing and so I back up...twice. All that to say, I finally finished...it only took all day!

I did take a little time to visit Retreat Design today - the store that opens only once a month, but I didn't find anything that interested me.

The wedding plans are coming along. I have secured a friend to make the cake and another friend to play the organ and I have arranged to meet with the woman representing the venue in order to give her the deposit check. The next thing for me will be to locate a dress. If any of you have any favorite online dress shops...please share.

Hubby is out working on the trails tonight - I'm kinda tired of being home alone. I hope I can talk him into going out for breakfast in the morning. Tomorrow will be a practice day and I'll have to find another small project to complete. I have some organ music that needs to be put in a notebook, so I might be able to get that accomplished.

I feel as though summer is going by much too quickly. I truly don't want it to end. I dread the coming snow and cold with every fiber of my being.

No pictures today...I think I shared them all yesterday. I do have some very good news to share! If you all will remember my college piano professor, Gordon...well here:

New News...and Its' All Good !

Regular Dr. appointments today.
My oncologist is VERY pleased with what she sees. Blood work indicates all systems are working correctly and well, AND the indicators show that there is NO cancer growing a this point !! Will see her again in a month after another PT Scan.
There is no change between the last two chest x-rays, indicating that there is NOT any fluid building up around the lungs !!
The Dr. caring for the foot/leg infection is also VERY pleased with the progress. She has totally released me - no further visits necessary.

How's that for Good News !!
God is sooo good. Your prayers are working and are so appreciated !
(please continue praying for my back pain - discs I think - and my spirits as I continue to recover from the 7 months of chemo)

All I can say is "YAY GOD"!! 

Well, it's been a long, drawn out kind of day. I'm feeling the need to unplug and maybe have a big bowl of popcorn and watch a movie. 

Goodnight friends! 

Cloud Cover

Yesterday I came home with a heavy heart. On one hand I was relieved that I finally was able to nail down which one of us is playing what music in the recital - at least for the most part, but at the same time I came away with a feeling that his heart is not really in this. I don't know if it's just because he has so much on his mind right now or if he is only doing this out of some sense of obligation. I was looking forward to planning this together, working on the music together and looking forward to it together. I don't know what's going on with him and I don't know if I should say something or not and if I do I don't know how to approach the subject. I'm afraid he'll feel cornered. None of this is turning out how I envisioned. I'm just hoping in the next week or two the chemistry between us returns.

After my practice time I stopped by the scrapbook store to see if my friend who fell down the steps and injured herself so badly was better and back at work only to find out she had to have another surgery, has been fighting infection and is back in the hospital until at least Friday.

Later I got online looking for something to cheer me up only to find out Gordon has also had a slight setback - his white blood cell count is low so he's got some strict orders from the doctor. I was afraid he was doing too much to soon and not allowing his body to heal. Please continue to pray for an all clear from the cancer report.

I went to bed last night with such a heavy heart - a dark cloud seemed to settle in and not go away.

I'm better today, but still struggle with disappointment on several levels. Tomorrow is another practice day - at least I have some direction now. Thursday morning early I have a much needed massage that I hope will begin to turn around some of the physical problems I've been dealing with. 

I think it's time to call it a day and curl up in bed with a favorite movie. 

Sharing Some Snow

I don't have a lot to say tonight - I've been teaching and practicing and working on this old, tired body this week and that's about all. I have another appointment with my chiropractor tomorrow. I did make a couple of special people some special cards and they both liked them very much. Thank you from the first friend:

Your card arrived yesterday and WOW is it ever nice/neat/cool !! You did a great job on it, and it couldn't be more appropriate. Thanks

Thank you from the second friend:

I have a feeling you knew how much I needed some attention.....  Well, it worked.  Everything about that beautiful card is perfect; It will be displayed and will serve as a reminder...

Thank you.. thank you. thank you.

I love the feeling of knowing I was able to cheer someone up just with just some paper and glue.

Daughter came for a visit yesterday and the sun came out so I got outside to take a few photos of the snow.

This first one is our street; it's nearly impassable now...note the stop sign - standard height for a stop sign by the way.

 This is normal snowfall...by that I mean it hasn't been blown by a snow blower or pushed up by the plow or front end loader...it's just the natural snow accumulation in our back yard. Notice the neighbors van.

 This again is normal snow accumulation and natural blowing and drifting in our back yard. If you look hard you can barely see the top of the 6' privacy fence and that's the top portion of my clothes line pole.

 While Daughter was here she shoveled off the roof of her car. I wish I had got a picture of it before she had removed it all. There was quite a bit up there!

 I wanted to take a picture of my Daughter in front of this snow bank for a reference point, but she wouldn't hear of it so I had her take my picture. I'm 5' 4" tall.

 I'm wondering what the Little Turquoise House will look like by Saturday? Here is our forecast:

..BLIZZARD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH
FRIDAY EVENING...

HAZARDOUS WEATHER...

* SNOW WILL DEVELOP LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND BECOME HEAVY
THURSDAY EVENING. THE SNOW WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH LATE THURSDAY
NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING.

* STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 8 INCHES OR MORE IS POSSIBLE BY 
MIDDAY FRIDAY. 

* WEST WINDS GUSTING TO 45 MPH WILL DEVELOP LATE THURSDAY NIGHT 
AND CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY. THIS MAY PRODUCE BLIZZARD 
CONDITIONS WITH NEAR ZERO VISIBILITIES AND SEVERE BLOWING AND 
DRIFTING SNOW. 

IMPACTS...

* ROADS MAY BECOME SNOW COVERED AND HAZARDOUS THURSDAY EVENING.

* STRONG WEST WINDS WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE LATE 
THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. MANY ROADS COULD BECOME 
IMPASSABLE DUE TO THE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Somewhere I saw accumulation expected to be 8-12". UGH. 

Our son and his girlfriend are coming to visit on Saturday, hopefully the system will be gone by then and they will have safe travels. I'm looking forward to seeing him - I guess it's time to get to know her better...it's sounding serious. 

Afternoon By The Fire

It's not often and by that I mean it's rare that I get a chance to spend an afternoon leisurely enjoying the warmth of the fire and a cup of hot chocolate. Too bad I had to come down with walking pneumonia to get it. 

Yes, I've been sick all week. It came on suddenly during the pastors message at church on Sunday. As soon as I got off the organ bench and sat down in the pew my nose started running and I began sneezing etc. I could hardly keep up! It's a good thing my mother taught me to always carry tissues!! Then came the headache and by the time we got home, the body aches came. By nightfall I was on my back and the next day I did nothing but sleep and cough. Every time I cough I sound and feel as though I'm going to hack up a lung. Hubby did some research and diagnosed it as walking pneumonia and it seems he's correct. Tuesday I felt better so I got up and did up the dishes etc., by afternoon I was down again. Wednesday was spent watching favorite shows via DVD and sleeping and today I'm at least able to stay awake for longer periods of time. 

I have canceled all piano lessons for this week; I probably could manage to work on some cards this afternoon, but it's cold upstairs even though the sun is shining brightly today so I'm downstairs by the fire...spoiling myself just a little. 

The weather, like everywhere it seems has been cold and snowy...'nuf said.

Saturday a very special gift arrived in the mail!! My college piano professor...Gordon...the one who's fighting cancer, sent me a set of his music that he composed for organ!! I'm so thrilled and honored!! I can't wait to be healthy enough to practice again so I can try them out. Please continue in prayer for him if you would. Here is another pic of him that I just love. It's hard to see in the smaller image, but his smile here is priceless!

Before I got sick I spent several days working on cards. Some I'm attempting to sell, others I have made for the church ministry. One in particular I made for someone special. Here are a few of my favorites. Click for the larger image to see the details. 

 As I was typing this my son called. It was so good to hear his voice. He's been laid off from work again and is getting quite serious with his girl. They've moved in together...financially it was necessary, but I'm still not a fan. I don't yet know how I feel about them together, first impressions weren't the best. I pray...a lot. 

Well, that's about all for today...