Incandescence

It's hard to believe that July is almost over. To me, that signals the end of summer. Perhaps it's a little dramatic, but here in AK that's not too far from the truth. But to cheer me up, my best friend is here for a visit! It's nice to have something good to look forward to this summer after some of the more difficult things that have happened. I don't have anything profound to write about tonight, so I'll leave you with a few things I've learned this week: - never pick your coffee based on how cute the packaging is, especially when it's a 2 pound bag. - never wait three weeks to weed your garden. Also along those lines, it's probably a good idea to mow the lawn more than once every two weeks or the grass 'might' grow tall and be that much harder to mow. - never leave brand-new clothes with the tags attached sitting in the front seat of your (unlocked) car or they might be stolen. - Always drink coffee before answering calls from c...

The last few months have been rough in some ways. I've been so tempted to feel sorry for myself, to wallow in the frustration of doctors visit after doctors visit, (almost) none of them planned. After three ear infections in several months, I finally went to the doctor this spring, only to be referred to an ENT specialist, who then sent me to get CT scan. I found out I have a benign tumor in my ear requiring surgery. But until I have the surgery, I'm partially deaf. It has been so humbling to have the Lord take away the things I take for granted, like my hearing, and to be reminded that my health is a blessing, as I've now had two visits to an urgent care in less than four weeks, and had blood work, labs, and two rounds of antibiotics. I don't tell this because I want to, or to make you feel sorry for me. In all honesty I almost deleted this post. I tell you because all of these trials started to make sense a few days ago. Because if I'm honest, I haven'...

Rain is dripping from the eaves, a steady staccato background as I sit and type. Peonies are nestled in a bowl of water on the table, buds opening a little more each day, and perfume the air around me. Thanks to a really awesome boss, I was able to do all of today's work (aka pay people) Friday afternoon/evening and did not have to work today. It a blessing to be able to not worry about setting an alarm, savor my coffee over breakfast, and spend a few hours playing piano, reading, and catching up on projects I've been putting off for months. For those of you that know me, you know that I'm a procrastinator. I'm not proud of it, but my philosophy is often why do today what I can put off until tomorrow? Or a recent favorite, a definition of tomorrow that made me laugh ...I definitely put that on the company newsletter, which I realize I never mentioned here. A couple of months ago my boss found out I have a technical writing degree and I could see her eyes light up....