Weekly Journal Volume 7

Monday December 5

Got up and worked at my desk for awhile before school. A typical day there, after which I went to pick up new spectacles, fill the car with gas, and do grocery pickup. Started chicken enchiladas and rice as soon as I got home and listened to The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street while cooking. I'm on a roll with Christmas-themed reading right now! Guess that's my way of celebrating the season. Could've/should've worked for Gehman Accounting again this evening, but going to bed early to read for awhile had a stronger pull.

Tuesday December 6

A miserable rainy day. This kind of weather makes it easier to be content at my desk though. Started the day off with a bike ride, followed by a long cool-down period of browsing the internet, wordle, and reading devotionals on my phone. Savored my morning cup of Earl Gray while driving to New Holland, listening to When Breath Becomes Air. Wow. This is proving to be a 5 star book, not to mention stoking my medical interests! Had to switch gears to the business world and face the usual Tuesday bookkeeping jobs. Team meeting today included accounting jokes/puns. "What do you call a liability without any friends?" A loan. (Get it? Alone 😄) was my favorite. I even managed to answer "What do you call really tall expenses?" (overhead) A bit of light-heartedness was good for the brain. Didn't leave work until after 6, then pulled in for another Walmart pickup to make up for all the things my local store didn't have. Grabbed a bite from Taco Bell and drove home in the rainy dark. Cliff was already gone, working on Business Bulletin. Ended the day with Sleepytime tea and a bath.

Wednesday December 7

Stayed in bed a little longer than usual, didn't have anywhere to be today. Put a meaty ham bone and navy beans in the crockpot to make soup with another evening this week. Started work around 9:00 and kept at it until a little after 1:00, then sampled the ham & beans for lunch. Yum. Wanted to go on a walk and thought maybe the fog had lifted enough by 2:00 to go for it. I got a little way down the road and realized it was still low visibility so turned back and rode the bike inside instead. It was truly a gloomy day - very overcast and foggy. SaraBeth and the kidders came after school to cut greenery from the woods, fun to be with them for a bit. The weather felt just perfect for napping, so I laid down for awhile and may have dozed a few minutes, but felt guilty because I knew I should be working! Put in a little more time at my desk before going to Phillip and Nancy's for a delicious soup supper with the teachers, Uncle Wade's, and Jaden & Tina. 

Thursday December 8

Didn't have the energy for both work and exercise before heading to school but decided exercise was more important than work. Good choice. Started packing up my stuff at school - I have to move into the music room so kindergarten can have my room. We are running out of classrooms! There has been lots of sickness going around school this week, with 14 students missing today. Cliff has had some type of cold ever since conference, but I've stayed well so far. Not sure if it's just luck or the flu shot. Left directly after school to put time in for Gehman. Worked most of the evening and Cliff had men's meeting. School is canceled for tomorrow to give everyone a chance to get better and hopefully contain the germs. I'm imagining all kinds of things I could do tomorrow instead. We'll see what happens!

Friday December 9

I must have been too excited about an extra day off, didn't even sleep late! Had plenty of time for Earl Gray and The 4:8 Principle, which really is as good as I was told. It's been very enlightening and encouraging. Knew I wanted to finish moving the stuff out of my classroom today so did that first thing before other things got in the way. Logged in to work for a little over an hour, then decided to take a deep dive into our finances and budget. As I suspicioned, expenses were greater than income. I want to get back on track with Budget Bootcamp and that involves spreadsheets and detailed recording, so I ended up working on that for several hours. Was ready for a walk and fresh air after all the number crunching. Today was wonderfully sunny and slightly chill. It was right in that zone where a coat is almost too much if you're exerting. I knew I was close to reaching 500 miles walked in 2022 and thought today's walk would get me there. When I checked afterward, I was rather annoyed to see I only needed 0.2 miles to make it! Started on supper while listening to Ben-Hur. Not sure why I've never read it before. It took me a little to get into it but now it's getting more interesting. Cooked up a huge kettle of ham and bean soup that turned out very tasty! Also made a batch of sugar cookies. Cliff took soup and cookies to the neighbors and stayed a while. I believe I was in the kitchen for 4 hours and that's more than enough for me! 

Saturday December 10

Today was the long-awaited day for Dad to knock out walls in our existing kitchen/living area. Cliff did a wonderful job putting plastic up to seal off the demolition area, which confined me to the back part of the house. The only way I could get to the kitchen was to go out through the basement and in the house through the back door. We'd prepared several weeks ago by moving most of the furniture to the basement and boxing up books and kitchen supplies. I was happy to be forced into (noisy) solitude and prepared by packing a few snacks and grabbing my tea before the action started. How grand to have another leisurely morning of devotions and reading without having to be somewhere or doing something! On the list for today along with weekly wash was to put away the stuff I'd brought home from school, clean 2 pairs of boots, and finish my budget project. I was successful in that, but of course there was more on the list I didn't have time for. In between tasks I warmed up soup for lunch and went on a walk. It's astonishing how much more space the demo opened up! I'm also getting a new, bigger closet in what was wasted space above the basement stairs. A HUGE improvement even though we're still in the mess of it all. Cliff cleaned everything up very nicely and I quickly washed the kitchen floor before going to Charles's for burgers and fries with the family to celebrate his birthday. Scrumptious and fun, except I was really tired and ready to leave early.

Sunday December 11

Got up early since we planned to go with folks and Derek's to NYC for Papa Tim and Mama Anne's farewell. Mom brought along food for lunch and supper and Charles's loaned their van so we could travel together. We arrived in the city just in time for church. It was a full house today with Poughkeepsie people, new houseparents Randy & Rachel Litwiller along with their daughter Christine and Shane, and Mifflinburg teachers with Ben & Sundaymar. Sunday school was spicy with several visiting ladies and different cultures! It's good to have something different than proper Mennonite church once in awhile. The service lasted awhile with all the testimonies and tears for Tim's and welcome for Randy's. We socialized most of the afternoon before deciding to walk downtown and see Christmas lights. It was raining and cold, but we had umbrellas and enjoyed the dark, rainy city and all the colorful lights and shop windows. We watched a short light show at Saks Fifth Avenue and looped through St. Patrick's cathedral and Bryant Park. Back to the unit house for supper and final farewells with Tim's. They are such wonderful, welcoming people and were fantastic houseparents! Felt sorry for the new houseparents. It would be quite overwhelming to take on that job in such a big, unfamiliar city, but I'm sure they'll find their place and do well. Got home just as Dec 11th ended. Bed felt incredible.