Lest I Forget

Before: flat, builder's grade paint scuffs and handprints The access for the heating/cooling system is on her ceiling. Workmen with dirty hands don't really care about cleanliness. This little bookcase I bought years ago does not match the bed.  After: We moved her chandelier into her room from Jack's room. It is neutral, but clean and fresh! The ceiling, doors, and trim got a fresh coat of white paint. Her room is small, but everything fits. This room is also our guest room when family visits. The repainted bookcase It only took me two Saturdays to get this accomplished!

Sunday dawned cold and dreary. The forecast left little hope of improvement. In fact, the day turned steadily colder and wetter and windier. I asked Tony to go into the chilly attic and bring me the rosemary I had drying up there. With Anna an eager helper at my side, we sat together and stripped the branches of their leaves. We filled two empty spice containers and half a gallon ziploc bag. Having just finished "The Long Winter", I couldn't help thinking of the girls and Ma taking turns grinding the wheat in the little coffee mill while the wind and snow whirled around their little house. Those two spice bottles will be more than I need, so I am thinking about making little sache's of rosemary to freshen up the dresser drawers. This morning, with Olivia and Tony home for the day, I made a more hardy breakfast than I normally would on a Monday morning. Tonight's menu is chicken salad sandwiches, cole slaw, and homemade tomato soup. But there can be no sandwic...

I was awoken last night, or this morning, depending on how you look at it, at 4:30 am by some random noise. Tossing and turning, sleep was proving elusive, so I turned on the little lamp on my bedside table and picked up "The Story of a Soul". I am embarrassed to admit that I have been reading this for a year now and I am still not done. It is not that I don't find it interesting. On the contrary, I feel that I must digest what St. Therese has to say in small bits, so to better understand and remember. What a joy for me to come upon this passage last night: "The following morning, September 8, an outpouring of peace flooded my soul, that " peace which surpasseth all understanding" (Phil. 4:7), and in this peace I pronounced my sacred vows." You see, way back when I was pregnant with our little Therese, before we knew she was a girl, Tony and I were on a walk when the name Mary Therese filled my heart. Tony was not as in love with the name as I, but I ...

The shed before. It's such a, umm... bright color, isn't it? Our shutters, front door, and garage door were all this color when we bought the house. And after! So neutral, so...not blue! I've been waiting 18 months for this. Yippee!