What I Did Saturday Afternoon

After a trip to our local Agway, I planted 3 spirea bushes, 20 tulips and 16 narcissus (narcissi?) in the new bed beside our new brick walk. It was beautiful fall afternoon, perfect for planting. I also planted a new PJM rhododendon on the other side of the granite steps, but didn't focus on getting into the photo. A neighbor built us the brick walk and the wall for the garden bed -it's really beautiful!

I love Saturday morning

I really like Saturday mornings. I'm generally up around 7 am which might sound early to some folks but is actually sleeping in for me. Weekdays that alarm goes off at 4:45. I get to relax with a pot of coffee, and read the paper, read my favorite blogs and email, and have time to blog. Even when I have a ton of stuff to do, there seems to be a wide avenue of time available. Of course once the day gets going, that window of time seems to squeeze shut pretty rapidly. . .

This weekend isn't too chockful of have-to's. I have to do the billing for my husband's company, and I have a bit of school work to do. And we're trying to turn our former TV/family room into an office for the business, and turning our "company" living room into the family room. We're also trying revamp our "flown from the nest" sons' bedrooms into a library/craft room and a real guest bedroom.

We've joined the 21st century with the purchase of this:

It's a 37 inch flat screen HD TV. It replaces a 1987 TV and doubles the number of TV's in our home. My 6th graders couldn't believe that I've never had more than 1 TV in my house my whole life.

On the knitting front, I'm still working on the SWAN LAKE stole, formerly known as MS3 and a pair of socks. I also started working on this:

It's a ruana designed by Sandi Rosner, for the Ann Norling line. It's going to be this:

I'm using Noro Iro color 43, and it's knitting up fast. It's a treat to knit on it when I need a break from the stole.

Well, the window of time is about ready to start shutting . . . . sounds like the rest of the household is up.

Challenges

It's gorgeous today -- sunny, brilliant blue sky, gentle breeze, warm but with a little nip. A perfect day to walk in the woods, or clean up the yard, or get together with a knitting friend! I've got an afternoon planned of winding skeins and knitting. I'm winding my Noro Iro (color 43) for a ruana I'm going to start soon. I have an Ann Norling pattern for a ruana designed by Sandi Rosner. I haven't been able to find a link for this pattern. I purchased it at yarn store in Norton, MA on my way back from Nantucket last spring. I bought the yarn at the WEBs tent sale last spring too. I'm still working on my Swan Lake stole (up to clue 4)
but need something a little less challenging for those nights I'm too tire to work on it.

On the challenging note, today we had a "supply" pastor preach. She's in the ordination process - all done with school, finishing up her ordination papers, and is someone who grew up in our church. It is always a delight to have her lead worship and preach. She speaks with such maturity, I forget she's the same age as my son (under 30!) . I love hearing her preach because her sermons require the listener to wrestle with scripture. Today's lectionary texts all dealt with wealth (Amos' warning to the rich, Luke's dishonest manager) and her sermon asked us to consider how to live in the tension created when we try to make decisions that involve economics and justice. Do you buy the cheap coffee or the fair trade coffee? Do you support he building of a factory that will bring much needed jobs to a community despite the environmental cost? Do you buy the cheap imported clothing at the local big box store, or the more expensive USA made (if you can find it) clothing? Do you buy a conventional gas car or a more expensive hybrid?

I Could Have . . . .

I could have accomplished a lot today . . . but I didn't.

I could have cleaned any one of a dozen cluttered and messy spots in my house.

I could have caught up on bill paying.

I could have spent an hour exercising.

I could have changed the sheets.

I should have been at work.

Instead . . . .

I took my husband up to the hospital for cataract surgery and spent the morning waiting with him and for him. I finished a book (Earlene Fowler's Steps To the Altar) and continued knitting on socks while he was in surgery. My knitting is also my praying at times.

Once we got home, I've been "babying" him --- he deserves it. I made him one of his favorite meals (corned beef and cabbage) and a pear crisp with pears from our overladen tree. I dropped drops into his eye every 4 hours. I napped in the sunlight on the porch. I read another Earlene Fowler, Sunshine and Shadow. I did a load of laundry. I didn't do anything I should have done. But I did what I needed to do --- to minister to my husband, and to take some sabbath time for myself. I only thought once about my classroom . I was where I needed to be today.

My Invite at last!

Hip hip hooray! I'm in Ravelry at last! I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about, but signed up anyway. It's been about 3 months, and I was thinking I'd still have another month to go. And lo and behold, I found my invitation this morning. I've already added a few projects and some of my stash. It's really easy, and addicting. I have to load photos to Flickr - I had to set up an account first.

My husband and some friends and I participated in the NH Memory Walk this morning. Our exercise class decided to combine exercise with community service and 5 of us raised nearly $1000 for Alzheimer's research. It was pouring, but we had fun anyway.

I have some school work to do this weekend, and bookkeeping for my husband's business. Plus a busy day at church tomorrow. It's church council meeting day, so I won't be home til 1 or 1:30. We're appointing a search committee for a new settled pastor, and we have some other issues to deal with, so it will most likely be an animated (friendly!!!) meeting. I love the way we operate --- not always efficiently, but always with Spirit.

I'm into clue 3 of the mystery stole which isn't really a mystery anymore. I still knit 5-6 rows without problem, and then knit, tink, reknit 3-4 rows. But it's still addictive.

This and That - No Particular Order

I finally finished clue 2 of the MysteryStole 3. At this rate, I'll still be knitting it in January. I am enjoying it a lot, although I spend as much time frogging and tinking as I do knitting.

School is in full swing. I really like my kids this year! They are kind, cooperative, and seem to be enthusiastic about school, and they even follow directions!! Every few years you get a class like this - and they make up for the ones that are really difficult. I've got 38 sixth graders that I share with another teacher. He teaches math and science, and I teach social studies and reading/language arts. So far, so good. Tomorrow night is Open House, which is REALLY early this year.

We've been having a time trying to get a new TV installed. I purchased a flat screen HD TV on August 13th and since then have been trying to get it set up. We've been customers of one satellite company for many years but decided to switch companies in order to take advantage of a $300 discount on the TV. The installer has cancelled twice on us and we spent 2.5 hours on the phone Sat. trying to find out why no one had shown up as scheduled on try #3. When we finally got through to someone, we were told that the installer had had an illness, and we were being rescheduled again, for another couple of weeks hence. We decided to take everything back to the store and start again. (We were worried that if the TV didn't work right, we wouldn't be able to return things since the 30 day money back guarantee deadline was looming). To make a long story a little shorter, we returned everything but the TV, were able to keep the $300 discount, and we're staying with our original satellite provider. Of course, now we have to wait and see how long it takes them to get out to us!!

Prayers Needed

Finally made it back to church this morning. I realized that it had been a whole month since I'd been in my own church during the communion service which we have on the first Sunday of each month. I am usually a VERY regular worshipper but we have been away often this summer and I haven't been in town. I've also been taking a vacation from church this summer, partly on purpose. Our church is in a state of transition. A long-time pastor left a year ago last August, and for almost 6 months my ministry team (Nurture) provided a variety of worship leadership: Lay leadership, supply pastors, and joint services with a neighboring UCC church. Then we hired a very part-time interim pastor who started in January. Along with this, we have been experimenting with different organizational structures for almost 2 years, going from a very committee/board heavy hierarchy to ministry teams. So we have been struggling with lots of things ---new structure, new pastor, new ways. As one of the church leaders, I've been involved with trying to keep things going smoothly. When summer came, I realized I needed a break and decided to take one! It's been good. I'm praying about what I need to do and what I need to let go of. I ask you to pray for me -- that I will stay open to listening to God's voice, that I will be able to discern the path I need to take. Pray too for my wonderful church. We soon will be appointing a search team to find a settled pastor, and we need to make some big decisions about the type of leadership we need and can support financially.