When Life Doesn't Let You Get What You Really Want

"Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces patience."   ... James 1:2,3

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Remember how the Universe was against Tom's and my having our carpet replaced? Well now it won't let us hire landscapers to trim the hedges.

Uh-oh.

One company promised to tackle them last Tuesday, but we got a couple intermittent rain showers and the answering service lady said the guys don't want to get their electric equipment wet. But I say what's a little electrocution threat? Ol' Debra's been known to take her battery-operated trimmer out in the mist and lived to tell the tale.

Well, I called Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, spoke to two ladies who promised I was On The List, then gave up. This morning Tom called a company who worked on our neighbor's yard, but he said it would be 3 weeks before they could get here.

Three weeks? We'll have to machete our way out of the yard by then. 

Our helpful realtor friend, Cher, recommended someone who sounds terrific, but he's based quite a ways away (relatively) and ideally, we'd like to find someone local. But he's still in the running.

Anyway, after I got Tom's email about the 3-week-from-now company, I thought, "I'd better listen to a Joyce Meyer message since my attitude right now stinks." I just picked a random one and it was perfect, all about the importance of keeping a good attitude because 1.) God asks us to, and 2.) so the small stuff won't make us insane. 

Then--even though I've got packing and cleaning galore to do because our new carpet arrives on Saturday (and Naomi on Tuesday)--I unearthed the hedge trimmer charger from the bottom of a box Tom packed yesterday, went out to the garage, got the battery and charged it. Then I stepped out into the foggy mist and trimmed the longest hedge (and again, lived), raked-up the clippings into a pile for later**, then hobbled back into the house... 

.. where I am right now, picturing myself all grey and 92 years-old outside with my walker, drooling, shaky, and trying to hold that 4-foot long trimmer up high enough to clip the hedge tops. At this rate, who knows?

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.  :)

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."   ...Philippians 4:13

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"A cheerful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."   ...Proverbs 17:22


"This is only a test. This is only a test..."


"But He gives us more and more grace..."   ... James 4:6  
(What remains is for me to receive it rather than only use my own strength.) 



I'm guessing God thinks I'm more able than I believe I am since, four summers running, I'm still clipping these hedges. And that I'm not ready for such luxuries as landscapers.  (Oh, but wouldn't it be lovely...?)


** Eventually I clipped the other two hedges, the tops and outside sides, only. This was the most humid day of the year so far, oh dear, but it does feel wonderful to have those 75 feet of hedges back under control.




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So when did the royal baby grow up to be a little boy? My, my, my...

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When Ol' Debra Got Locked Inside Her Car (And Other Stories...)

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."  ...Ephesians 4:32

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Tom locked me in the car this morning.

We'd driven through some scary neighborhoods with tall, neglected early 1900's houses to find an estate sale while I complained about was silently concerned for our safety. Yet estate sales in those areas are awesome since elderly ladies tend to live in those leaning old places 60 or more years in Time Capsule-ish houses. Walking through those rooms turn my Saturdays into dreamy-eyed perfection.

We finally parked and I told Tom we'd better lock the doors considering where we were, so he quickly locked his, closed it, then took off across the street while, still in the car, I checked for my keys. 

Then I tried to open my door. Couldn't. Pressed the unlock button. Didn't work. Reached over to use the special King of the Car unlock button on the driver's side, but it did nothing.

Oh my! I was locked inside. 

I glanced back at Tom who'd been waiting at the corner across the street and made a "Help! I can't get out," gesture with my hands and arms, after which Tom turned away and walked toward the estate sale house.

What the ???. Well, I calmed down, figured perhaps if I place the key in the ignition the doors would unlock--and they did. I was freed! 

Of course, as I stepped up to the rickety porch, I determined to seek out Tom and give him a piece of my mind, but oh my. Once inside that 100 year old house which had zero updating and looked worn and tired the way a baby does after she naps--I fell in love. Forgot all about Tom (Tom who?) and instead, peeked into the coat closet (with silty dust along shoulder tops of wool coats) then climbed the stairs to the three bedrooms and a hallway, all with different 1950's wallpaper. And original windows and floors and two cedar closets with ancient dresses. And rows of old books and old dressers and linens everywhere.

My favorite kind of house, the kind that scoops me up and cradles me all the rest of the day and helps me understand why little old ladies in nursing homes escape to the 1940's in their minds. (I think I may grow up to be one of them.) 

And it makes me long to tweak my own house so that it feels Time Capsule-ish old, to think about 'things which are of a good report' and more determined than ever to forgive Tom, everything.  :)



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Oh, and it turns out that Tom was too far from the car to see me gesturing helplessly, plus, we have those dark windows. And he hadn't realized that locking his door would lock me inside. He'd thought I'd changed my mind about going inside that ancient house(!), so that's why he went without me.

Silly man.


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My favorite find today? This thick (heavy!), delightful 1943 cookbook:

Oh my. The woman wanted only a quarter, but I gave her a dollar, telling her, "I'll walk away feeling guilty if I don't." Wow, the many color photos like this one (forgive its sideway-ness, please.):

... and others like the one at the top of this post. We could have gone straight home after that sale: that book made my  day.

Other books I've found at yard sales recently?:

(Click to enlarge. The bottom center book is a 1960's gardening encyclopedia.)

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Oh! And this week our Brita pitcher went crashing, splintering and splashing water all over our stairs when I accidentally hit it while unfolding our ironing board. Gah, I was upset with myself for not being careful.

Anyway, I priced them at the supermarket this morning and eegads! They wanted $24. Ha! As if I'd ever pay that. 

Well, just three hours later Tom found a Brita pitcher at a church rummage sale for $1. Yes. I can drink water again without feeling like I'm risking my life. :)

Some of our friends laugh at yard sales (and us yard-sale-loving-folks), but clearly they just don't get it. And we'll see who gets the last laugh. heh. God's ways of provision are endless and how foolish to place Him inside tiny boxes!

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(My heart believes that, but my common sense wonders....)

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We Interrupt Your Regularly-Scheduled Blog Post ...

"Let your conversation be always full of grace ..."  ... Colossians 4:6

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Oh! Have you seen Ty Pennington's new show called American Diner Revival? I'm thinking my fellow all-things-vintage-lovers will enjoy it much. Here's a blurb:

"Ty Pennington and Amanda Freitag are on a mission to help classic American diners across the country in American Diner Revival ... Over six episodes, Amanda and Ty travel the country empowering towns to lend a hand in saving their struggling diners, using a combination of Ty’s design and carpentry skills and Amanda’s culinary expertise."

So encouraging and see? More than just a handful of us still love eating in vintage-style diners. Their day is not over and never let anyone tell you otherwise. I watched the first episodes this morning (thanks to our On Demand cable feature) and totally enjoyed each inspiring, heart-warming one.

Have you already watched this? I hope you'll tell me what you thought.

The people who say there's nothing good on tv nowadays? Phooey on them. Either they're folks with a basic television-hating personality (and therefore, shouldn't even be criticizing tv shows because it's rather like dog haters commenting on message boards for dog lovers). Or they just enjoy complaining instead of actively searching for the special stuff. Frankly (I confess) I have 0 patience with the second group. 

Yes, I said that. People who believe there's only one way to learn or who begin sentences with, "Nobody ever ____ anymore," or "The Good Old Days are gone because _____," are not my kindred spirits. And they tend not to like me or my positivity. At all.

But oh well. C'est la vie.

If you have a couple minutes, check-out my Pinterest collection of 92 shows I've thoroughly enjoyed at certain times of my 56 years. I'm sure some of them will shake your memory and make you smile.

Unless you're a die-hard all-things-tv hater, of course.  :)

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"Remember, if you are criticizing, you are not being grateful. If you are blaming, you are not being grateful. If you are complaining, you are not being grateful."

Rhonda Byrne

(Love that!)

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The new shows that Tom and I enjoy watching together?

Chicago Fire
Chicago PD
Alaska: The Last Frontier
Blue Bloods
Castle
Hawaii 5-0
Stalker
Running Wild With Bear Grylls
NCIS New Orleans
NCIS
NCIS LA (tho' not as much lately)
Major Crimes
Rizzoli and Isles
Rehab Addict
Cold Justice
The Middle
Person of Interest (not as much lately)
Flip or Flop
Tiny House Hunting/Nation
Restaurant Impossible
Wayward Pines
My Cat From Hell
Bones
Anthony Bourdain's various shows
Scorpion (sometimes. Tom likes it more than I do.)
Gold Rush


... and yes--that's certainly plenty!  :)  (See why I don't understand when people say there's nothing good on nowadays?)

And no, I didn't forget Downton Abbey. I'm just not a Downton Abbey kind of girl, I guess. heh.


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Chop, Chop