Friday bullets, January 24, 2019

Let's jump right in.

• It's cold, and we're due to be colder in the middle of next week. I've been pretty well-bundled when I've gone outside to take care of Emmy, so it hasn't been horrible. But, what is so tiring is just the sheer effort it takes to get everything on and then take it all off again multiple times a day. 
• This whole week has felt a little off. There was the excitement about bringing Emmy home, plus J.'s school closed due to weather for a day and a half. It was one of those weeks where you just weren't sure what day it was.
• We had spaghetti with pesto last night for dinner. It was pesto I had made with the last of the basil from the garden at the end of summer. It felt like a night that needed a little bit of summer. I want to be a little more diligent about picking basil leaves to freeze more pesto this coming summer. We ate the only pesto I had in the freezer.
• I realize I need to do some planning about next years garden, as unbelievable as it is right now that we will ever live in a land without snow and frigid temperatures. 
• I am really enjoying the study we are doing in my weekly women's Bible study. We are doing Numbers: Learning Contentment in a Culture of More by Melissa Spoelstra. Want an example? In discussing learning about how to live with contentment, she suggests we ask ourselves these questions:
• "Will this decision lead me to greater contentment?
• What are my motives for wanting more __________ (cookies, houses, clothing, muscles)?
• Will I be glad I made this decision in five years?" (p. 90)

I am finding it both challenging and interesting. I recommend it.

• I am still sore from my Monday riding lesson. I am possible more sore now than I was the morning after. I am thinking that being in my 50's makes it just a wee bit more difficult to bounce back to using unused muscles.
• We have received a couple of emails from P. She is doing well, though she did experience a day of seasickness. They have been in Dominica, where P. said she got to swim in a waterfall. (The picture was beautiful, though we all admit to a bit of jealousy at the moment.) Today they sail out of Dominica and begin to head to the Dominican Republic. P. says she likes the people she has met and likes the members of her watch group.
• I'm afraid that R. is starting to enter the terrible 3's. Currently, she is acting very much like a three year old these days. I always found three to be so much more challenging than two. And a 13 year old three year old is something new entirely.
• M. has worked from being a volunteer at a local animal shelter to a paid veterinary assistant. Only took about six months. None of us is surprised.
• Midnight, P.'s cat, had a bad few days, but seems to be acclimating to life without P. for a while. There were a few days when he wanted to sleep on my head and then would lick me in the middle of the night on the face. This is not restful.

And now, since I tend to write blog posts that night before they publish, I need to go bundle up (again) and make sure Emmy is settled for the night. Have a good weekend and stay warm. For those of you who don't have frigid weather, just keep it to yourself. We don't really want to know about it.