IN Carmel

 In some places the Sunday after Easter is called Low Sunday.  Some say because attendance is low.  I'm not sure if that's right but our attendance was low today.  Not unusually low but not the Easter Sunday numbers for sure.  But it was a good church day in my book. I was asked to read the first lesson for the morning from First James.  Reading scripture that came to us some 2000 years ago I call a high honor and one that I try my best to never turn down.      Another unusual gift for the morning was the participation in the service of the Purdue handbell choir.  That added a lot to the service.  They along with North's handbell players gifted us with an afternoon 2-hour concert.  Just an excellent way to use the afternoon, one that was cold and rainy.  Andrew and Noah Russell were a part of the afternoon concert. That made it even better.                     ...

A great sleep last night with a bit of help but I can brag about a 10-hour rest.  Whoopee!  Up and at'em this morning.  This was another Soup Kitchen morning having traded with another team.  So off to church at 8:30.   Some of our regular workers didn't come but we had some extras fill the void.  It was a great morning of preparing bread, desserts, vegetables, and pulled pork.  We prepared 45 carry-out meals and 27 meals were available for folks who wanted to eat their meal in the community room.  And the best part was that we had enough food for all who came with nothing but a few vegetables left over.  Now that must be a God count for sure.   To the left is the last visitor of the day who lingered while Brenda and Heidi finished washing the last table and then putting the chairs up for floor washing.   Back home and the afternoon was filled with a nap and then some garden fertilizing and watering.  The weather...

 Every day has an element of surprise.  What has happened overnight leads to seeing something new every morning.  How exciting God's world becomes when one experiences seasonal changes each year.  I have a sneaky suspicion that there are more surprises happening in the current season than in any other.  At least for me that seems to be the case.                                          The crab apple tree is ready to burst with flowers.  What a gift. A sleepy, slow day at home.  Super results with wordle and crossword. Well sort of, no really at the back of the pack with wordle, really!  Whatever it is, it is!  I spent a lot of the day watching the world go by on the patio.  That world is the world of birds.  The choice of something else is slim to none today!            ...

 This was a great day.  Of course, it started with a successful Wordle along with a great crossword puzzle.  I'm back to my two-egg breakfast and coffee on the patio.  I decided more edging needed to be completed and that happened.  There is a spot where there is shade from Red Bud trees that seem to be growing.  Last year's attempt at planting grass in the spot was successful and then unsuccessful.  This year the space is full of wild strawberries and creeping charlie.  So I just dug up that area and will flowerbed it which already had B. Eyed Susans growing along with the weeds  Maybe this is the year for a fairy garden in that space.  That intrigues me. I already have a cute little cupid in that space.  I'm not quite done with the edging part.  I'm seeing way too many curves but that's an easy fix.  The darker dirt shows a bit of expansion.  There are many ways to fix a problem.  Digging is one way. It was a w...

 I would call this a slow day.  A few aches are back I blame on the fall although I would say I have improved a whole lot. I'm back on a few miracle pills.  And I would say it was a perfect morning so I spent it on the patio drinking coffee and sending pictures to family with the agenda of nothing to do for the day.  I love that.   This little plant is an early bloomer.  It's a money plant that will develop white discs holding black seeds. .  I don't have a clue what another name would be for this plant.  I let them seed themselves where ever they want to. By the time the seeds appear this plant will be at least 2 ft. tall.   I did a little edging.  I did a little watering.  I watched a little TV.  I remembered I was retired.  I spray painted with black paint my little bunny, Budda and Cupid.  They needed freshening.  The two lettuce plantings are growing and I hope to spy the radishes soon. The asparag...

 Sandy Patty has a song I've listened to on Facebook.  It's called The Inbetween Times.  There are a lot of them in one's life and we manage to make it through.  It's those ordinary times between celebrations.  I call it common living with a little grind thrown in. Today was Mammogram/ Ultrasound Time, one the doctor ordered at my last visit a couple of weeks ago and on the 21st there will be another biopsy.  The real living will be between today and the 21st.  Some breast changes are obvious.  What action needs to happen.  I left the hospital with the closing song we sang Sunday morning worming through my mind.  It was a moldy older-than-dirt but a good song worth its weight in gold.  Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.  Because He lives all fear is gone. So the in-between living continues with my garden a place of energy filling my days. That's a wonderful gift.  But for some reason, I'm thinking that God might also b...

 I'm enjoying the day after just as much as the day of.  Today was a little of this and that.  One bit of news that I learned about last night involved Kat and Wordle.  When Kat was in highschool she was in a spelling club.  She learned all kinds of word rules.  How interesting.  Now I know there is little hope for wordless me.  She's been out in front and will continue that pace, I'm sure.  Good for Kat.  I'm proud of her.  Then there's the &^%$%^ Mother-in-law who knows how to do other things.   This morning started clear and crisp.  Beautiful beginning that went that way all day.  I decided to work on the pond.  Last summer I bought a water plant and held it over.  It was showing signs of growing again.  Back to the pond it went this morning looking very promising for another year.           It's finished...All finished...not a little finished...all finishe...