Thursday, November 27, 2025
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, AMERICANS!
And the warmest happy birthday to our grandson Levi. We call him in the morning before our walk and ask what he wants in the coming year. "To know God better, not just to try to do what he says." What a great prayer for a pre-teen!
All the books come off the shelves today. What a mess. There are suitcases full - first garbage bags full but they're too heavy for the cheap black bags, which split and tear.
We empty the suitcases at the Project and then refill them at the house. We're looking forward to setting up a borrowing library for kids in their own area, too.
It's nice weather until about 2PM when it starts to rain. "When the clouds are like this, it won't rain hard," says PakG. He knows his weather.
The dogs get groomed today. Perfect for this labradoodle who loves to roll in the mud and mess up her coat.
I enjoy the view from the Porch while I can. One of the benches has a perpetual termite problem. I turn it over and sure enough. The floor is inundated with little balls of termite frass (product of eating wood.)
We've committed to attending a Thanksgiving dinner, which turns out to be a big "small group" from another church. We know 3 people. I bring fingerling potatoes and some banana breads. We have a wonderful time meeting new friends.
The yardman tries to trim the 1' / 30cm tall lawn that has been growing for a month. He's been busy transferring shrubs and flowers to the Project garden, so this is an urgent chore. Snakes and other critters like tall grass.. The weed-whacker, newly back from repairs in the shop, is not working. Apparently the repairman replaced the motor so that it spins the wrong way. It keeps flicking off the string reel. PakG takes it back to the shop. What a waste of time.
At the Project we're told that we have 2 good snakes in the front yard. "Please don't kill them. They're not poisonous and they eat rodents and frogs." Ok. As long as they leave the dogs alone, they're safe.
When we get home, someone comes over to try on the shoes - not a fit, sadly.
Friday
16 years ago we buried my sister-in-law, who died of skin cancer complications. Today we remember her laugh, her intelligence, and how she loved God, my brother, and their kids.
I skip the walk though by day's end I have the same amount of steps. We're up at 5AM, taking things off shelves in my office and the bedroom. I label a destination for everything and walk to the Project to label the rooms.
At 8, two movers arrive in their pickup. They're not thinking straight. Each time they load, they pile the shelves too high to get under the gate header. "We can't get this in," they say, backing up as far as they can in front of the Project.
Finally, I say something - but only to W. (Men don't generally listen to women's solutions.) "Have them put a few shelves on the driveway and put the tall thing on its back." It's an obvious fix.
Do they listen? Nope. After 30 minutes of discussion on the street, they arrive at the same conclusion. They take out some shelves, lay the tallest heavy cabinet on its back, and in they come. I stay out of the way and keep my mouth shut when it happens again.
After a few trips, they demand more money. "We thought we signed up for one trip," they said. Actually, we're paying them to work a half-day. They're driving 3 blocks but say they want pay paid each time as though they're driving a long-distance trip that would take all morning.
The friend who recommended them gets on the phone with them and protests. "You drive for me for a whole morning, going to -- and back. This is just around the block." No go. W increases the amount but no one is happy with them.
The library area gets the first shelves. Having books at the head of the stairwell will deaden the noise from upstairs to downstairs and vice versa.
W directs the guys to place things and screws on fan blades in the office. He sets the fan moving in the right direction for warm rooms (counter-clockwise.)
Across the street is a pasta restaurant where we drop in for a late lunch.
I order mushroom-chicken noodles @$5 (including tax and tip). It hits the spot.
PakG picks me up after a very quick meal. One of the "jolts" of the day is remembering I'm expected at the Bandung Book Group in the early afternoon. Apparently I'm presenting the book Everything Sad is Untrue. It is about Persian refugees who arrive in Oklahoma, and told as a child's memories of assimilation. Very good.
We sit outside at a cafe, having very lively discussions about the responsibilities of parents to their children. We talk about the ongoing refugee crises, including who gets returned to the danger of their homeland.
I've never seen this tree bloom - it has a 2' /60 cm strand of flowers where I walk back to the car.
The house looks like it's been hit by a tornado. Bags and boxes of bedding, books, and kitchen goods line the sides of the rooms, where they were pushed out of the way for the movers.
Saturday
Anton's actually learning to walk on the leash! What a relief. He briefly darts toward some cats (would have been a full-out sprint a week ago) but W hangs on and says, "Good boy" when we pass other cats without incident.
I find a "before" photo of the kitchen ... do you see potential or potential disaster? Those empty trim boxes on the ceilings had to go, right?
And (below) this is now - not yet done. But the second-hand library shelves are in, the shop lights are hung, and the tablecloths cover the windows. It's not a conventional renovation but a creative one, for which things have come to us for the past year.
In my head, the place is full of people. It's noisy around the tables, with art on the walls. People are laughing and talking to each other and there's a buffet on the kitchen "island" (2 library tables). Can you imagine it?
I spend all day unpacking books and sorting them onto shelves. My whole body is dusty! The 3 guys working today choose 5 books each for their kids/grandkids from the heap of children's books. We have only three more suitcases of books to move over.
Read more:
* [A prophecy about Jesus as Messiah] A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. Isaiah 11:1-5
* The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Psalm 138:8
* Having been made perfect, Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. Hebrews 5:9
Moravian Prayer: Saving God, you sent Jesus to us to show us what perfect love is. We ask for your divine guidance so that your love may unfold in us. Grant us this day, and every day, the strength to hold onto your promises. Amen.
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