Currently

Reading ... in the Bible, I'm in Jeremiah and Psalms. I find I like to read a Psalm everyday in addition to what ever else I'm reading in the Bible.

Thankfully I got caught up with my sleep since the last time I did a Currently post and I can actually enjoy reading without getting sleepy.

In fiction, I'm enjoying some older children's books. The Year of Miss Agnes is a delightful little read, and Feodora by E.M. Jewett is still every bit as good as the last time I read it. I'm searching for more books by her, and finding it extremely hard to find anything.

In non-fiction, I read Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl and thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that I want to get my own copy for our bookshelf. I may have to check it out from the library a few more times until I actually get my own copy. I have this thing where if I really like a book I enjoy rereading it, and I really, really liked this one.

From the stack of library books Steven and I enjoy reading ... Rodeo Red was our favorite this week.

Writing ... This morning it consisted of simply getting all the school assignments ready. We're nearing the end of another school year. It feels a little bitter sweet. Somehow these years manage to fly by surprisingly fast.

Watching ... the slice of moon shining in the darkness just before dawn. It's moving in and out of the clouds as it nears the end of its trek across the night sky.

Listening ... Having teenagers with their ever changing taste in music, I have listened to a LOT of different music. Sharon's current go to is classical music, especially Bach. Rosie Mae, on the other hand, has finally found something I simply can't stand listening to; praise/worship in Latin.

Eating ... We've been eating a lot of rice lately. There are so many delicious ways to prepare it.

Cooking ... I'm looking for something simple for tonight. We have an extra busy day ahead of us, and our next few days look to be filled to the brim, so the less time I have to spend cooking, the easier it will be to get everything else taken care of properly.

Wearing ... a maxi dress with flutter sleeves. It's one of my favorites. The only thing that would make me like it better than I already do, is if it had pockets. What is with the lack of proper pockets in women's clothing?

Playing ... lately it has been lots of dominoes and balloon volley ball with Steven.

Crafting ... I've not been doing much, other than some paper crafts with Steven. The girls on the other hand have been spending quite a bit of time in the evenings working on their diamond painting projects.

Later today ... It's been a while since the last time we washed and waxed our vehicle, but if it gets warm enough this afternoon we're hoping to get that done once again.

Uncle Earl's House

    The buildings were every bit as bad as the realtor had warned us they would be. Most of them looking as if it would only take one or two more gusts of wind to bring them down completely. The house was the best of the buildings, but it was crooked and leaning, several boards were missing on the upstairs wall and you could see inside. It must have been abandoned years ago, I thought, but then I noticed a thin wisp of smoke coming from the chimney and a woman stepped out on the porch and hollered for us to come in.
    The realtor led the way down the muddy hillside to the house. "Come on in," the woman said, "Uncle Earl would like to meet you. He lives here alone and doesn't get to see a lot of people."
    I hoped the house would be able to hold our combined weight as we walked up on the rotten, sagging porch. When she opened the door I could have cried at what I saw inside.
    The room was dark and tiny. There was a dry sink along one wall, a tiny table pushed up against the other wall where 96 year old Uncle Earl was sitting smiling widely at us revealing his three remaining teeth. He was happy to see us and talked for a while. Beside him was an ancient wood stove, on the wall behind it was an ancient clock so covered in dust and grime you could barely see its face. He had some battered old pots and pans hanging on the wall. The walls had been painted a weird green years ago. The floor had a 1920's style linoleum that was completely worn through in the most traveled parts. The entire floor slanted toward the middle of the house.
    The niece led us to the next room. His bedroom. An old lumpy twin sized bed was pushed up against the wall. Across the room was his long deceased wife's twin size bed. The pictures on the walls looked as if they should be in a museum, the furniture again was ancient, probably the furniture they had brought into the house back in 1842 when the house had been built. It didn't look as if anything had been cleaned since his wife had died twenty some years ago.
     She led us upstairs to see two little bedrooms, still made up like his wife had them, but now buried under years of accumulated dirt and dust. This side of the house had only two bedrooms. The other side had another staircase leading to three more bedrooms, one of which had part of the outside wall missing.
    This must have been an absolutely gorgeous home back in its prime, but now it was the saddest thing I had ever seen.
    Uncle Earl too stubborn to move sits at his table all day long with nothing to do. Clinging desperately to the past and what used to be. Refusing to embrace anything new. He doesn't have an indoor bathroom, no running water, no phone, no TV. Nothing at all really.
    As sad as I felt for Uncle Earl living like he is, I couldn't help but think of the spiritual picture it paints of someone who holds onto the past and can't let go of grudges or wrongdoings. The image of a "heart house" so overburdened by unforgiveness is sobering.

    Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me. Psalms 51:10

   Excerpt taken from my now closed, second blog. March 2017

Why I Stop Reading

    Before you get concerned that I have stopped reading, let me go ahead and reword the title changing it to: Things That Will Make me Stop Reading a Book.

    I try to select books with care so I don't have to stop reading, but sometimes one slips through and I'll have to abandon it. Here are the top reasons I don't finish a book after I started it.

     Fiction:

    Shortly after we were married we bought some books. One that I was particularly excited about reading because of its lovely cover was a huge disappointment because of all the swearing. Up to that point in my life I had never abandoned a book and so I kept powering through. It was awful. I never did that again. If a book has excessive swearing I'll ditch it.

    I used to always, still do sometimes, read the ending of a book before I settle in to actually read it. It never spoils the enjoyment of the book for me. It's nice to know things will all end on a cheerful note and if they don't then I won't even bother trying to read it. Life is too short to read books with unhappy endings.

    Recently I read a book without doing that. I was in love with the setting, with the main character, and the writing style. I breezed through it until I got to the end at which point I felt like hurling the book out the window. I may have, had it not been borrowed from the library and I needed to return it in the same condition that I had received it. So it's back to reading the endings first again to keep a repeat of that from happening.

   The most likely reason for me to stop reading is if it's boring. It's the reason I have never, even with multiple attempts, made it through an entire Jane Austen book, or  Little Women. (I'll pause while you gasp in dismay.) I've also learned that the words cozy mystery are code for boring book and I now avoid them so I don't have to ditch them unfinished.

   Non Fiction 

   I'll stop reading if a book blatantly declares something to be a fact that I know can't be true. It destroys all credibility and I'll abandon it right there. Recently it was a book that said every American consumes over 400 gallons of fat per year. Hello! I don't even consume a gallon of food per day. There's no way I consume over a gallon of fat per day. Bye-bye book.

    I'll stop reading a book if it touts new age ideas, or anything that contradicts the word of God. That has actually taken care of a lot of books that are popular right now.

    Thankfully most books I read don't fall in any of these categories and I actually enjoy the entire thing. I'll have to write about some of those soon.

Privacy Invaded

    I have a decided aversion to public restrooms, and try to avoid them as much as possible. Every once in a while though I have no choice, but to use one.
    Yesterday, at church, I was faced with no other choice. I bravely opened the door and immediately went to the far end of the row of stalls and crept into the door closing it behind me.
     The stall door gives about the same amount of privacy as a hospital gown. I didn't have any scotch tape in my purse to fasten some toilet paper over the gaping crack at the right side of the door so I tried my best to simply ignore it.
     A little later the door opened and I could hear the sound of little feet approaching. They entered the stall right next to me and after some considerable grunting I heard the lock on the door slide shut. A little later the toilet flushed and some more grunting ensued, and finally the little girl simply scooted out under the door leaving it locked.
     Vigorous hand washing followed and then it was time for primping in front of the mirror that was hanging on the wall directly outside my door. I had full view of the goings on from where I was sitting.
     I was surprised that this little girl was in here by herself. She appeared to be around three years old. I watched in consternation as she grabbed both sides of the mirror and yanked at it. I was sure the whole thing would come crashing down on top of her.
    A few seconds later the door opened. "Barbara Grace!" said a no nonsense voice that belonged to a man. "Get over here right now!"
     Little Miss Barbara Grace ignored him and yanked at the mirror again.
     He marched in swiftly and grabbed her up in his arms, but not before our eyes met through that awful crack at the side of the door.
     I think I may need therapy.

Currently

Reading ... the book of Isaiah in the Bible.

I have several fiction books here to read, but every time I sit down to read I become overwhelmingly sleepy. That means I have two choices. Take a nap or find something more active to do. I always feel awful when I wake up from a nap, which makes my choice to find something more active to do an easy one. But it also means my stack of books to be read is not dwindling at a steady rate.

In non-fiction I'm enjoying several cookbooks, and a book on natural cleaning.

Writing ... sitting down to write is about as successful as sitting down to read. Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy.

Watching ... giant snowflakes drift lazily from the sky. I have nowhere I need to go today so I'm enjoying seeing everything get coated in a fresh layer of white.

Listening ... to a little sparrow chirping away in the tree in front of the house. The clock in our school room tick loudly as it counts off the minutes of another day. The steady hum of the furnace blower as it pushes a comforting heat through the floor registers and keeps the house cozy.

Eating ... avocado toast for breakfast. It's one of my favorite things to eat.

Cooking ... steak for supper tonight, as well as baked potatoes, and a salad. I have yet to learn to like steak, so I'll simply enjoy a lovely salad instead.

Wearing ... a green dress with white polka dots. I don't like wearing green, but guess what? When you order a lovely teal dress online and it arrives as green instead of teal you simply wear it anyway. Not out and about as I had planned, but it's okay for here at home.

Loving ... the houseplants on top of our roll top desk. I'm not sure how I'm doing it, but I'm actually keeping them alive and well. Up until a few months ago any houseplants we had always survived thanks to LV, but these new ones are thriving without his help.

Disliking ... when I waste card stock and ink. I had to print out several invoices this morning and forgot I still had the printer loaded with card stock from Friday when I had printed out some things for a class I'm teaching at our homeschool group. That meant I had to reprint everything on proper paper.

Thinking ... that words really matter. (It's a topic for another blog post ... someday)

Playing ... Steven received a box filled with special paper and instructions for making over 300 different styles of origami airplanes. We are folding one per day, and then trying it out. The flying of the airplanes is much more enjoyable than the folding. Some of them are quite difficult to make, but I'm happy to say my origami skills have grown by leaps and bounds since we started doing this.

Crafting ... other than those origami airplanes, nothing. We started our spring house cleaning which doesn't leave much time for things such as crafts.

Later today ... we will be spring cleaning the laundry corner which will complete the main floor of our house. That feels good, and almost cause for celebration before we head upstairs to do the bedrooms and storage room.