A Time to Read

I recently learned that March is Reading Month! I have not read as much as I like the past couple months, so I am excited about this special month. I am planning to read a lot during the next few weeks. So excited, I am!

This is a good time to remind you of my "2015 Reading Challenge" page. If you click on it today - March 9th - you will see that I have only six categories completed. This means I'm behind on my needed-average of one per week. Reading Month will give me a chance to catch up and hopefully get ahead! (I am about to start reading "a book with a one-word title.")

It has been fun looking for books to fit the categories. So far I have identified what I wish to read for these:

• A book with more than 500 pages
• A book of short stories
• A book based entirely on its cover
• A memoir
• A trilogy
• A book from my childhood
• A book set in high school
• A book that takes place in my hometown
• A book I started but never finished

If you are curious about the book titles, they will be listed on my "2015 Reading Challenge" page... once I've read them, of course!

What will you be reading this month?

"Water" Fingers

I have been very clumsy lately. Last Saturday I wrote about losing a pair of sunglasses. On Monday or Tuesday, I almost spilled an entire cup of hot chocolate all over the kitchen. (I did spill some of it, but it could have been worse.)

Then one night I was trying to stop a small leak in my water bottle. I thought that I needed to tighten it, which was actually true. But instead of tightening it, I turned it the wrong way and loosened it. And water went all over the place.

Spilling water usually isn't too bad, but it's not helpful when you spill it all over the bed that you are about to sleep in for the night. (And, no, it's NOT a water bed.)

My initial reaction was to tell Lew to grab a towel -- and make it quick! He did. He sopped up as much as he could off the bed and the covers. I changed into some dry pajamas.

Lew's efforts couldn't make the bed entirely dry, so I sat up a little longer in the guest bedroom. By the time my side of the bed was "sleepable", it was after midnight.

So my helpful tip for the week: Don't adjust your water bottle while settled into your bed. It is a terrible idea.

Don't Miss the Miracle

I'm not using a writing prompt today, but I'm still going to limit myself to five minutes!

 

I want to share one more thing from the women's pilgrimage.

 

One of the practices we encountered was "imaginative prayer." To get a sense for what this means, we used an application (free!) called "Pray as You Go". The application has a section called "Imaginative Contemplation Exercises". We listened to the story of Jesus and Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52).

 

During the exercise, I imagined myself as one of the disciples. Given my nature, I began to think about where we (Jesus and the other disciples) were headed next. I was so intent on helping Jesus stick to the schedule, the next thing I knew Bartimaeus had already been healed of his blindness. And I had missed it....

 

I had missed the miracle.

 

What God told me that night:

Slow down.

Pay attention to what He is doing.

Pay attention to the needs of others.

Don't miss the miracle!

A Path For Prayer

I had planned on sharing earlier about the women's event we held at church the first weekend of February, but then "life" happened. I took a blogging hiatus after my mother-in-law passed away and I've just been trying to get moving again the past couple weeks.

 

We got the idea for our event from the book Sensible Shoes by Sharon Garlough Brown. I previously wrote a blog post about the book. (Click HERE to read that post.)

 

The characters in the book learn several different spiritual practices, one of which is a prayer walk. They used a labyrinth, so I made one! (I wanted it for the mini-pilgrimage that I did with the girls, but I also wanted to use it for the women's event.) I made it with a no-longer-used king-size top sheet, duck tape, and stick-on letters. I put clear packing tape over the letters to keep the letters from being kicked off by the kids (or by me).

 

One way to pray while walking the labyrinth: On the way to the center, focus your prayer on releasing your sin, tension, frustrations, etc. to God. In the center, receive from God – His blessings, His guidance, His comfort, whatever He desires to give you. Then on the walk out of the labyrinth, focus your prayer on returning to the world and serving God.

 

Here are a few photos of my creation! (This counts as a "Throwback Thursday" post, right?!)

 

The overview. The center is large enough to put a stool or small chair.

Entering the labyrinth. Yes, those are my feet.

The center. I ran out of Es so I used upside-down 3s!

Leaving the center.

 

Dad 243: "B" Boy Beats Buzzer

(The game my father mentions was the Class B State Championship. I wish I had watched it. Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here! We have a fresh coat of snow this morning. I'm not about to plow as it is only a dusting (to 3 inches) and the temperature today is supposed to approach 40°. That should take care of the new snow. Did not have to plow last Sunday as the Saturday night snow was only about 2 inches. I have not plowed for a whole week. We seem to be getting on the right track for warmer weather and less snow. It is about time. I'm ready for April!

We have just completed the coldest February on record. Only one day in the month reached the average daily temperature. I can see why the "global warming" people now use the term "climate change". I guess the change in seasons is now considered a problem after working so well for centuries. Did anyone ever hear of the word "cyclical"? Weather and seasons do seem to happen in cycles. Not a new concept.

Well, we have our new pump to improve our water pressure. The old one still works but makes quite a noise. If all goes well it will be installed this weekend. I was going to attempt it but I have an offer from Lew that I cannot refuse. He makes sense as it will be easier to accomplish the task with two people as opposed to moi alone. I welcome the help. Now we hope the old pump lasts until Saturday.

Well, we watched much high school basketball last week to finish up tourney time. We enjoy watching high school youth playing ball. One game that especially held my interest was a game involving Cape Elizabeth. (I worked at Cape high school for 11 years. The coach was in a geometry class of mine as well as in my homeroom for four years. That was way back in the 70s.) Cape was down by five with 52 seconds left to play. A couple hoops and some opponent's missed free-throws tied the game at 23 seconds. Then an unsuccessful drive to the hoop by the opposition gave Cape the ball with about 10 seconds left. As the player started down the court he noticed a fellow team player leading the mad dash to the hoop. A better-than-average pass over the defense to the streaking player was caught and put in the hoop as the buzzer went off. Congratulations to Cape! And to think I was going to go to bed because I thought the game was out of reach. A great way to end my day.

I think my proofreader and editor will not appreciate any further writing. Sooo....

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Josh's CrossFit Debut

Debbie, Glen, and Josh came up to the house for a few minutes on Saturday so that Josh could play us a video of his first CrossFit workout.

 

If I understand correctly, there is a different workout every week as part of this competition.

 

The workout Josh showed us was – in a word – insane.

 

For the first part, he had to hang on a bar and kick his feet up in the air, high enough to make contact with the bar. He basically was folding himself in half while working against gravity. He had to do this 15 times.

 

After that he had to do a couple different weightlifting maneuvers, for a total of 15 repetitions.

 

Then he had to repeat the entire workout as many times as possible in nine minutes.

 

Then he had six minutes to lift as much weight as he could. (I don't remember the technical names of all the weightlifting moves.)

 

I was very impressed with Josh's performance! He inspired me to continue my own efforts to be in good shape. But I won't be doing CrossFit.... I'm not that crazy! Ha ha! Smile!

 

To do: Keep exercising. (It's a good habit!)

A Jolly Good Show

Unless you live under a shell, you know that the season finale of Downton Abbey aired last night. Even my father knows this. He told me he slept through much of it while my mother watched it this morning.

Like my mother, I also recorded it so that I could watch it today. I watched during my lunch time.

I enjoyed this season of the show much more than last season's. But I do wish some story lines would finally be resolved -- the top one being the murder suspicions regarding Anna and Mr. Bates. Enough already!

My mother finds Mary annoying. I tend to agree, but apparently all of the single male characters on the show do not. They tend to fall all over her. Maybe she can finally settle down again next season.

Other questions: Will Mary ever learn the truth about Edith's child? Will Tom really move to America? Will Mrs. Crowley change her mind and marry Lord Merton? Or will she end up with the doctor? Will Lord Grantham get a puppy?

The world will have to wait and see.