FOR December 7, 2012
Outside my window... the live oak stands tall and green above brown grass and the street sits unusually quiet for a Friday afternoon after school has closed.
I am thinking... about my Nonni's story of December 7, 1941, and how the news of Pearl Harbor interrupted my grandparents' planning of a honeymoon at the Rose Bowl and "changed everything."
I am thankful... for newly cleaned teeth and support from husband and parents in a trying week.
In the kitchen... oops! my Candy Cane Lane decaf green tea is beyond steeped in my peppermint Christmas mug. Just a moment, and I'll take care of that.
Otherwise, the kitchen is quiet because we have leftover black beans and quinoa for supper tonight.
I am wearing... jeans, a blue-green t-shirt, and a long navy cardigan. If I were standing, I'd also still be wearing my walking boot.
I am creating... easy Christmas candy but sadly not "real" blog posts or the rest of the second sock on my knitting needles. As aforementioned, it's been a trying week. Some piano playtime Sunday afternoon did yield a few measures of progress putting accompaniment to a tune composed 6 or 7 years ago and set aside.
I am going... nowhere but church this weekend, as far as I know, but possibly to my sister-in-law's on Tuesday to visit with Amore's sisters and parents.
I am wondering... what to get my youngest nephew for Christmas. (He's 3 going on 6 and very active.)
I am reading... Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Advent devotional edited by Nancy Guthrie), A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz, and the special-issue magazine Jane Austen Knits...2011 (might be just a tad behind in my crafting magazines)
I am hoping... my blood pressure comes down after an unexpected spike all this week and subsequent increase in medication.
I am looking forward to... a healthy ankle so I can walk to the park again.
I am learning... that I am in control of even less of life than I thought and that it's very hard to relax when one tries very hard to relax.
Around the house... Ebony is making tunnels for himself in the blankets on the couch, the first batch of candy is bagged and ready to give, and toffee supplies are waiting until help is at hand for the long stirring process.
I am pondering... the gentle grace of God, how desperately I need it, and how utterly "gift" and His initiative it is.
A favorite quote for today...
"There is nothing in your life, Christian, that God cannot redeem for some purpose that will make you joyful, if you trust Him with it" (Andrée Seu Peterson, "Setback becomes shortcut").
A few plans for the rest of the week: rest, wrap presents, spend time with my Amore, and hopefully make toffee if he has time to help. (But really, this has been the "Plans? What plans?" kind of week in which nothing has turned out as expected.)
A peek into my day...
Sharing with Peggy Hostetler's The Simple Woman's Daybook today, and counting this as a What I'm Holding post as well
