Friday Trifles

November 15, 2013 | My Jottings

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

C. S. Lewis

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Our sunrises and sunsets have been so beautiful lately! The other evening Sharon called and said, “Go look at the sunset!” and I went outside to the west side of our house to see the salmon and periwinkle glow all across the horizon, with purple streaks of clouds that made me draw a breath at its gorgeousness.

Yesterday morning when I silenced the early alarm and sat up to put on my slippers, I noticed the glow in our bedroom. Everything looked magenta. I went to get the camera so you could see it too. Keep in mind that the curtains you see on the windows below are off-white, and that will give you an idea of how deeply colored the light from the brilliant sunrise was.

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I got up close to the window (you can see the screen if you click on the photo) and took this shot of the sunrise over Lake Superior, which I think is astonishingly beautiful.

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Normally I would be watching Louisa today, but I woke up sick this morning. I have a sore throat, dry cough, and just feel a bit tired. So Louisa will not be coming over to sweetly run through the house pointing at seventy-four things and asking in her 16 month-old way, “Uh? Uh?” She actually makes two smooth syllables out of each uh with the last syllable being upturned like a question, and it’s adorable. Never has a child been so expressive with one sound!  🙂

I am hoping to lay low, to read perhaps, and if I feel good enough I’ll fold the clean laundry. I always fold laundry sitting on our big king-sized bed, while listening to some soft music, and I’m still on my Audrey Assad kick.

Our younger Schnauzer Mildred exasperated me last night. I was on the phone with my friend Denel, and right as I watched, Millie came strolling in to our bedroom, squatted nonchalantly six feet in front of me and peed on the carpet. And I had just let her outside. I cleaned it up right away but noticed that the spot didn’t show at all and didn’t smell either, which I suppose would be something to be thankful for, except that it sent my mind going about how many other times she might have peed on the carpet and because it doesn’t show and doesn’t smell, I haven’t known about it!? Ugh.

Also, we recently had our home care assessment/intake meeting with a registered nurse who works for a local agency. We learned what is available to us, and it looks like twice a week a home care attendant will come in to help Michael shower. I’m grateful for that, and am hoping the person assigned to him is a patient and kind man. They nurse interviewing us said we could also have light housekeeping done, a meal prepared for Michael, laundry done, and that they could also play cards with him. I don’t need the housekeeping part or the laundry, and Michael is no longer able to understand well enough to play cards, but the help with showering will be a blessing. I hope he responds well to it. When the nurse asked Michael (in a too loud voice — I know people do that when they know someone is impaired, although Michael’s hearing is excellent) “Would you like to have help with showering?” and Michael answered, “I like it when my wife helps me.” So we’ll see….

In addition, an Occupational Therapist will come sometime soon to assess Michael’s walking, and hopefully work with him on learning to use the walker. He has struggled with this because he can’t remember to keep the walker close to his body, which is important for maintaining balance.

Lastly, this morning our son-in-law Jeremy called to say that the group of men Michael used to deer hunt with contacted him to say they had an extra deer, and did Michael and Jeremy want to split it? Jeremy came to pick up Michael this morning, and they used the truck to go pick up the deer. Jeremy will butcher it soon and there will be some venison chops and roasts in our freezers, for our profound and long-lasting enjoyment this winter. If you’re good at detecting sarcasm, you caught that one. 🙂 Sara just came into the office where I’m typing and said with some alarm, “Mom, there’s a dead deer in the garage.” So I had to explain to her how it came to be, and remind her that Dad has lived a Minnesota deer hunting life for over fifty years now.  Although yesterday when Michael and I were driving, a huge 20-point buck with a thick neck and a majestic bearing crossed the road in front of us and we slowed down to admire him. Michael said, “I don’t ever want to kill another deer” and I understood what he meant. But if a former hunting friend offers one to you, the Minnesota Polite thing to do is to accept it, butcher it, store it in your freezer, and enjoy the clean, organic, grass-fed meat for the next ten years several months on your own table.

I think this is enough trivia for this morning. I am going to clean the kitchen now before I try to take a morning nap. Have a blessed Friday, my friends, and don’t forget to show someone in your life how much you care. Probably the ones who need it the most are the ones we see day after day and whose presence we might be taking for granted.

Looking up with you,

Comments

  1. Shari C. says:

    Hi Julie!
    Your sunrise photos are stunning!! Thank you for sharing those! It’s those fleeting moments of beauty that fuel our hearts for the day, and fuel our souls as we long for the eternal beauty in heaven.
    I hope you feel better soon! Sorry you got a bug 🙁 I made some pumpkin soup, wish I could pop over and share some with you!
    Must be that time of year, as I write, Bruce is off to get some venison, too. Wow – a 20 point buck! That must have been a beautiful animal!
    I pray that the help you get for Michael will be a blessing, and that the person will be trustworthy and and good to Michael.
    May God keep you in His loving care, my friend!
    xoxo
    Shari

  2. Just Julie says:

    Thank you Shari. Do you enjoy venison or have any good recipes you use? Your pumpkin soup sounds delicious…. Maybe I’ll “let” you cook something for us when you come and visit next year… 🙂 xoxo

  3. Ganeida says:

    Catching up. We have been busy & are now very tired. I love your sunrise but it looks cold. Brrrrr…… Be blessed. Oh, & cat pee stinks. I have one who hides his nautiness & all we get is the odour, drifting skunk like into every corner of the room. Very hard to eradicate!

  4. Just Julie says:

    Oh, I would not be a patient person with the smell of cat pee, Ganeida. Your kitties are fortunate to have you for their mommy. I look forward to reading how things went Sunday morning… xoxo

  5. Jessie says:

    Showing someone I care today:) thank you for the reminder!

  6. Just Julie says:

    Hi Jessie….thank you for stopping by. I like the reminders on your blog too. xoxo

  7. Pat says:

    We are blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world. Your pictures are amazing. I laughed about the venison. I actually love venison so I am envious! But I grew up with hunters and I understand how it can be. My mom tried disguising it in many ways (and pretending it was beef) but we always knew. Just think how good it is for you – a very healthy meat choice.

  8. Just Julie says:

    I know both things are true, Pat…beautiful place to live, clean meat provided. I’m saying thank you today. xoxo 🙂

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