LOVE-FAMILY-LAUGHTER

Last night I was doing something and got excited and wanted to share it with Bob - I had actually risen from my recliner and was mid-step towards the back room where he always watched TV, when I realized he wasn't back there anymore.

That was a freaky moment!

I am glad I could not see my expression. Feeling the shock and loss all at once was tough enough.

Nothing like THAT has never happened before; I am sure it happened because I was so tired. I have put in two 9 hour days outside getting my gardens in.

I hope it doesn't happen again.

It is not a good feeling ...

Today I drove up the hill to go to Keenager’s (a Senior Christian gathering) after doing a bit of shopping in town – and I am glad I did; I needed to be there even though I didn’t realize I needed to be there until I decided to get in the car and go there ;-)

Some Wednesdays, I don’t go: it all depends on what I have going on around the home-front.

But my garden is in now and I needed to give my hands a break … I knew if I stayed home, I’d have my aching hands busy; and they really need a break.

I got there about half an hour early, so I got a cup of coffee and asked what I could do to help, and was given the light “task” of setting the hymnals on the tables. After that was done, Sandi told me to help myself to one of the colorful roses she had brought for all the mother’s for upcoming Mother’s Day:

People started arriving …

  

… and several asked me how I am doing. They know Bob is in Heaven now, but they remember us as a couple devoted to one another, so they are gathering the Friendship Wagons around me and helping me learn to fly solo with my broken wing. They are Christian ‘family’, and their kind and thoughtful inclusions are love in action. Four of them got up from their usual table and came over to keep me company in my corner table – I always sit in the corners at gatherings; and in the back pew when I attend fellowship: I am by nature a people watcher, more than a people gatherer ;-)

David, Dennie, and Charlette were cut-ups and I laughed a lot.

I needed those moments of light-heartedness.

After Keenager’s I called Bob's youngest and tallest brother, Kerry, to see if he was going to be at his town place this weekend – he is – and I asked if he could come over and help me hang my hummingbird feeders; he can. Sunday. I am glad – I hate getting on ladders and my arms are too short anyway: he is at least 6’7” and has long arms. Perfect to hang the feeders :-D After we chatted some and hung up, I finished up my shopping in town:

I am a short person (5’2”), so I bought some chain, bolt snaps, and key rings to bring the feeders down to my level for easier hanging. I put this together as soon as I got home. Even before I put groceries away – I wanted to put it together while thinking about how I wanted it to hang. It may not look pretty, but it will do what I need it to do :-D

I wanted the hanging apparatus’ to be strong enough to safely hang the feeders heavy with hummingbird nectar, and sturdy enough to withstand the sudden gusts of river winds when they blow through here: I think this set-up will do – the single bolt snaps will go up by the porch roof, and the double bolt snaps will go down by the feeders for easy peasy off/on actions. Kerry will hang the chains from the front porch plant hanger hooks already in place, and I can take things from there ;-) I hope this chain length will be long enough so I do not have to use a ladder … but even if I do have to use a short ladder, I should be able to reach the lower end of chains to hang the bird feeders without getting hit with a wave of vertigo.

Then I bought a dehydrator – I had to go to 3 different stores before finally finding one! Every store, but Fred Meyers, told me they “do not sell in-store, but of you go online …” Well, I did NOT want to shop online! I wanted to walk into a store and be able to buy a dehydrator off the shelf >:-P There was ONLY ONE in Fred Meyer’s, so I snatched it up and thanked Yeshua all the way to the checkout line ;-)

This is a very nice dehydrator. It has 4 racks and 1 jerk/fruit leather round. And it has different temperature setting too: that is a very good feature!

Last, but not least, I bought a little grill. Again, there was not much to choose from.

My George Foreman tabletop grill died a decade ago and I have not been able to replace it because no one is selling them anymore – or anything even remotely close to an actual tabletop griller. This Panni Grill is the closest thing I could see that resembles what I am wanting, so I hope it will grill hamburgers and steaks as well as sandwiches …

And those 2 counter-top additions pretty much limited the counter-top space. LOL