My Week

Let's see....my week in review. Last Saturday I met with SSS at Smitty's and talked to her about their work in the West Bank (Palestine). Sunday I heard a sermon that spoke directly to what I'd been wallowing through (self pity). Then on Monday I struggled with that again for a good hour before God spoke to my heart and gave me a great suggestion for working through it.

Tuesday I didn't want to be home all day again so I went to the bank and a different branch of the library. (Just to go somewhere I'd not been in a year or so.) I was looking on the bulletin boards to see if there were any clubs or meetings of interest, but all I saw was something for gay guys and I qualify for neither. I found 3 books while there and have read two of them already (one about Kabul and the other about an Arab Israeli citizen). They are written by the same author - an Algerian man who uses a feminine pen name to avoid army censors.

That evening Andrew and I went to supper at our friends' restaurant. Yesterday they shut it down so I'm glad we were able to visit Mayberry's one last time. It was good talking to Sam and Pam for a couple of hours.

Wednesday I picked up Michael and we visited my parents' and grandparents' houses. I made some fudge (all the ingredients - chocolate chips, condensed milk, walnuts [which I omitted] and vanilla - are within the box except the 2 tablespoons of butter) and my grandparents had KFC. I'd already eaten so I just ate a biscuit and gravy and skipped the chicken, mashed potatoes ... oh, I did eat a few bites of cole slaw. I just remembered that.

Thursday I went to Monterrey's with Teresa. That was a nice treat since I don't see her very much any more. She's a busy nurse at a local clinic! After lunch and a quick look at Cato's, Teresa was off to work some more and I headed over to JC Penney since I got a $10 off coupon in the mail recently. Found some New Balance shoes that were on sale. I go through tennis shoes fast because I walk a lot in my neighborhood.

Friday I picked up Michael and we visited my youngest sibling at his work. We took Berkie to lunch nearby. Well, Berkie likes Japanese food so I gave him money to get that and then he met us at Moe's which is what Michael preferred. (Btw, my brother's name is David, but it's hard to switch to saying that when I've called him Berkie for over twenty years! His middle name is Berkley so ... )

Yesterday I went to ALDI and bought about 28 lbs. of carrots for our juicer. I also bought about 6 or 8 packages of broccoli (for the juicer), a bag of spinach, 2 pints of blueberries, 16 oz. of strawberries, bananas, a few canned goods and a small laminator that Stephanie needed for Michael's school supplies. I spent the afternoon and evening trimming the ends off the carrots, washing them and letting them air dry on the counter top. A couple of years ago my brother Daniel came by when I was doing this and saw three kitchen towels spread out with carrots all over them, plus more carrots waiting in the bowl. He walked into my house and exclaimed in mock horror, "What is this? A carrot slaughterhouse?!" Ever since then I have used that term 'cause I thought it was funny and fitting!

So that was my exciting week in review. Also this week marked 6 months since we left Damascus and I think I can finally say I am over that place. It took 6 months, but I think finally I am free of longing to be there again. It's about time, eh?

Better get ready for church now.