Every neighborhood has an office where preschoolers come for free checkups, children come for vaccines, where disputes or claims are made to the neighborhood chair (elected each year or two), and for other community meetings.
This is typical. See the small curb and the +1' (30 cm) hole? Someone has kindly put two more pieces of broken concrete into the hole. Not even little kids or grandparents will trip on the little curb or fall in the hold. Those are everywhere and we watch our feet.
We walk 1 mile around the neighborhood each morning. It's one loop ... though sometimes we make another round. Afterward, breakfast is yogurt and a refrigerator cookie.
Make it quick in any amount: 1/3 peanut butter, 1/3 oatmeal or other rolled grain, 1/3 seeds and nuts. Roll into balls and refrigerate or freeze until you're hungry.
Trader Joes in Seattle is selling a small staghorn fern for $16. Everyone's excited. I go to the yard to take a picture of ours. See the curly ferns on the lower half of this 10' wall? Those are staghorns in their natural environment. They make a pretty ruffle on the green wall. We keep dividing them.
I'd bring you one, but I'm not sure the 3' fronds would do well in the suitcase. (Oops, no plants allowed through customs.) Around them are birds nest ferns, with 3' (1 meter) fronds.
For one lunch, I mix rendang (spicy stewed beef) with a bowl of leftover chicken-veg stew, frozen beef vegetable soup, a can of Italian spicy tomatoes, and a can of kernel corn. No flavor adjustments. It's fabulous. I'll never be able to replicate it. Too bad. Everyone at the house loves it.
The mirror W puts atop the pitted and peeling bathroom mirror crashes to the floor in a spectacular way. It's the second attempt to put a new one over the old one. Hmmm. For now, I guess I'm painting on eyebrows through the haze and cloud.
I find this verse on my desk. It's a personal ongoing priority.
It would have been my dad's 90th birthday this week. He made it to 88, a man of integrity and godly character who loved his wife, kids, grands, and great-grands. His mantra to all of us was, "Be yourself. Don't let anyone put you in their box."
Yeah, Dad, what love we remember. What a risk-taking legacy you left us. The whole family constantly breaks out of other-constructed boxes, popping out as ourselves all over the planet. = Not always comfortable but we're creative, unafraid, and unfazed by failure or success.
On the Thursday walk, we pass a couple who are wood-cutters. They haul branches down the mountain in homemade carriers that straddle their shoulders. You have to be strong to do this, and they're no youngsters.
Since 2 years ago when I had COVID, my heart rate hangs out at 150-170 going uphill. Downhill or on the flat, it goes back to normal, beat by beat. I pick up energy once it's under 120 BPM.
W records the steep slopes and valley descents on a trail app.
Back in the city for lunch, we walk another kilometer (2/3 mile) to the Turkish restaurant. As you can see, curbs can be low or over a foot (25cm) high. Many are taller than our knees. We step down and back up the next,. Mountain trails are good practice for city walks here.
On the sidewalk, a man has set up a tire and repair pop-up for motorcycles. He'll wheel his shop home in the evening or when he is tired of fixing things.
The food is good at the Turkish restaurant - it takes an hour to order and eat, not bad timing for here.
A friend asks for a study of David for her group. It takes me 2 days to write the 8-week study. I print it out and send it to our admin for the printer.
Nope, I'm not done. It comes back. Apparently the printer wants a PDF; it takes me a few hours to align the font and set photos in place. (For whatever reason, the printer can photocopy a PDF but cannot copy copies.) By week's end, it's sent off to be printed. I'm not a fan of the cover but it's the painting that was requested. I paste on 2 text boxes. (Yup, I'm no book cover designer.)
The growing collection of studies includes Moses/Joshua, Psalms, David, Acts, and more. Topics are written when needed but we reprint them, too.
The next study is almost done: 30 Days of Belief - we may use it for Advent. It examines 30 core beliefs about Jesus and ourselves = for followers of Jesus and anyone exploring the Christian faith. I'll take that study along to finish next week. (And I'll make sure it's formatted as a PDF.)
We're packing for a short trip. The house will be full of people and the yard full of dogs as usual. It's "everyone's house" much of the time. W is teaching an in-person class so I'll go along.
Read more:
*Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. Psalm 102:1-2
*When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:2
*Why are you afraid, you of little faith? Matthew 8:26
*And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
Moravian Prayer: Heavenly Father, walk beside us today. Let us know and be sure of your love with every step. Then, by your grace, help us to reflect that love to a world in need.
You have promised, Lord, to be with us through flood, fire, and calamity. Today, we pray not only for those in need, but also for those who protect and serve people in need. Show how we can support the needy and help those who serve. Amen.
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