Two Steps Forward....Part ONE

I began my week with an energetic bang.

The leaves from the paper white birch were rapidly shedding.

I blew and mowed leaves several times.

Now the sugar maple is following suit and I have my outdoor assignment for this week.

Laundry was done.

Ironing was done almost done (I hate ironing).

I got down and scrubbed my white grout with straight bleach and a toothbrush.

I treated myself to a new shower curtain.

It's one of those kind of ugly ones that needs no hooks.

But as often as I need to wash the shower curtain,

I am willing to put up with the lack of sophistication it offers.

I scrubbed down the kitchen, counters, appliances and floor.

It's lovely to peer out clean windows again.

Even the dog got his teeth brushed!

Dusting and vacuuming, completed.

Things were beginning to look pretty darn good.

And then, as usual, it began to happen.

Everything began to unravel.

Remember the new shower curtain?

It was much shorter than my older one.

I needed to adjust the shower curtain rod.

Look what happened.

Not only did the paint peel off, so did the sheet rock.

While dealing with this, I decided to throw another load of laundry in.

It seemed to be taking a long time for the buzzer to go off,

to signal me that the load was now dry.

Upon investigation, I learned the dryer door had popped open.

I restarted it and went about my business.

Once again, after the passage of much time,

I checked the dryer again.  Door had popped open again.

This was two days ago.  I'm STILL trying to get the same load to dry.

While sweeping the multitude of pine needles off of the deck,

I was summoned to the kitchen by Becky.

She laid the following out on the counter

I have identified the piece of wood as a piece of trim that came from under the kitchen cabinets.  I'm pretty sure I can fix that.

As for the screws and metal?  I'm guessing they are from

Becky's closet doors.  But it is only a guess.

I have no idea how to repair that mess!

I'm dealing with a teenage girl going through what I hope is a "phase."

Her poor choices, impatience and depression are of grave concern to me.

If you are the praying type,

please pray for Becky.

I have been volunteering/working at church for over three years.

I have been contemplating stepping down for quite sometime due to complications in my life.

Presented with the reality that my pastor is "phasing out,"

I've decided now is the time.

It's not an easy choice for me as I love to help and

I admire my pastor greatly.

This has unnerved me.

Arising each morning, I have put putting on my "brave face" and

trying to pull myself up by my boot straps as I don't believe in wallowing in self pity.  Two steps ahead, four steps backwards.

Often, the story of my days.

Anyone have a handyman they'd like to rent out? =)

Going to bed at 7:30-8:00 p.m. to read and pray has helped me maintain.

I find hope is so many places,

some you might find odd.

I TiVo my favorites shows now as I hate commercials

and often love to watch them in the early morning when all is quiet.

This is were I found hope this morning, with a good dose of tears:

OK...I am not smart enough.

This goes with the rest of my week.

I can't get my link on here.

So please, check out Part 2 of this blog after you read this.

In closing, let me just repeat myself:

There is always a new day and hope.

Thanks for reading.

And thanks...

for being a friend.