A Sip Of Tea...And Here's What Happened.....!

 (Cup of Tea & Biscuits Still Life Art Print by PTarlowArt)

       I opened my eyes yesterday morning to dark skies, a bad headache from a night of sleeplessness, and forecasts of rain...*sigh*...rain that I knew was coming, not because of the weather reports the night before, but because my joints and muscles were screaming at the top of their voice for sweet relief all throughout the night! O_o

      I decided, as I almost always do when I wake up to what appears to be the start of a bad day, to read my day's text and reminder (based on a Bible verse), read a chapter of the Bible (right now it's the book of Leviticus), say a prayer to Jehovah for endurance and for his help to use my life and situation to encourage somebody...even if it wasn't gonna be ME that was getting the encouragement yesterday!! :-))

      Honestly, that is my routine EVERY day, but it becomes especially important to do on days when all I really wanna do is breathe in a deep sigh, lay back down, and pull the covers back over my head! ^_^

      After this great start, I was sure I'd be able to push through the pain, and make something out of this day!!...Grrrr! GET BEHIND ME, PAIN!!!!...So, off I went to sip on my green tea, and grab my crocheting...*both shawls are about half way through now! :-) I'll try to show it to you later this week*...I figured I'd work on my crocheting while hubby was fixing breakfast, and then he and I could chit chat over some grits and eggs...or whatever he 'chef Jeff-ed together'. :-))

      Oh, but wait! I needed to check my email to make sure I hadn't sold anything overnight first!...One of the emails led me to Facebook...O.o...Apparently one of the people I follow on Facebook is now quarantined, due to chemo after cancer surgery. :-( WOW! I didn't know she had cancer...or had surgery either!

      That realization struck my head and reminded me that I haven't heard from one of my dear close 'real life' friends for a few months now!!! O.O ... Oh No!!!! How did I forget about her this long?!!!...She's been a dear friend for many years now. I actually taught her the Bible, and helped her to come to know Jehovah God. And her relationship with him has been a joy to watch all these years. :-)

      Well, I should say...a joy to watch when we were in the same congregation! Since hubby and I moved away we've been hearing that she's had all kinds of struggles! O_O Included in those struggles was a divorce. Not her decision. :-( But with her two young sons, and her relationship with Jehovah and the congregation, she got through it! And has been plowing right along, as have we all, for many faithful years!

      There had been about five years where I hadn't physically talked to her, when I got a phone call from her. We laughed and giggled, caught up on old times, and new times, and then told our 'sad sack' stories about the way life had been treating us. :-] She's very positive minded, like me, so it didn't turn into a weep-fest. We just sipped on our tea...and coffee...and got busy encouraging each other. :-]

    

 (Handpainted Chalkboard Coaster - set of 4 by StudioDhouse)

      Then, as if she was telling me she had a hangnail, she proceeded to tell me that she found out that she has a rare form of cancer. O_O She's been taking chemo for a few treatments...is feeling okay...and only had one more treatment to go!...We left our conversation with her saying that she'd call again in a couple of weeks, after she recovered from her last chemo treatment. I couldn't call her because she would be at her mom's, completely spent! Her mom would be taking care of her until she got her strength back, because her new husband would be working during the day.

      I have to admit, I was kinda sad that I wouldn't be able to talk to her for such an extended time. And that I wouldn't be able to go to her side, because of my physical disabilities now. :-( But she assured me she'd be okay, and that I'd hear from her as soon as she was able....And I did! ^_^ 

      We talked on the phone for weeks after this...through her last chemo treatment...through the news that the chemo hadn't done what they had hoped...through the knowledge that she was gonna have to travel out of state to a major hospital for a particularly tedious surgical treatment and monitoring. O_O I was very worried.

      She told me that she wasn't sure how long she'd be away this time, but that she wasn't that worried about it. She knew that Jehovah would be with her and she'd be able to get through anything!...and if not...she joked..."you and I both will be in pretty good health the next time we see each other!" ^_^ She meant that we would be back to perfect health, like Adam and Eve had in the beginning, when she woke up after her resurrection!  :-) Only another Jehovah's Witness would find comfort in a statement like that probably, but we 'WERE' encouraged!! :-]

 (Romantic Anniversary Card by DickensInk)

      Before she hung up she mentioned that, no matter what, she'd have her mom call me occasionally to update me. Cut to...yesterday morning. O_O That's when I realized how many months it's been since I heard from her!! O_O I had been on pins and needles, and in prayer for her, for at least three weeks straight, but hadn't heard any news from her mom!

     I had tried to find her online, but hadn't been able. She apparently is not a computer person. Her first husband had been, I think....Anyway!...I Google searched her name...*deep breath*...and up came an obituary for her. ;'_'; My friend passed away at the end of LAST YEAR!!!!!!

      I feel so bad that I lost track of her through all of my life's drama. :-( I spent yesterday crocheting and crying that I wasn't aware of just how serious a surgery it was that she was having. She played it down, giving me percentages of success!....SO SAD!!!! O_O

      But then, as the day wore on yesterday, I was able to smile...thinking about how much razzing I'm gonna give her for not letting me know how bad it really was, and for not letting me give her my USELESS 'pep talk' before our last conversation ended. :-) I can almost see her giggling about it now and saying: "It's probably a good thing I missed the pep talk. It might've killed me!" LOL...Sorry. Girlfriend humor....I miss her. :-(

      It's been a rough couple of years. I've had two dear, dear friends die. Another friend had a heart attack. And all manner of not-fun stuff in the middle!..*sigh*...It's a credit to my God and faith that I can still find anything to smile about every day!! But life is such a gift!! SUCH A GIFT!! Anybody who tells you different...punch 'em in the pinkie!!! LOL...Symbolically!!! ^_^

     Before I go, let me just say: I'm feeling better today. Still sad. But thankful. Thankful I had the time with her that I did. And thankful I have the wonderful Bible hope I have to see her again very soon. I can't wait!! ♥ Have a good day, Everybody!

I Am Thankful

I am thankful I can breathe
when I wake up every day;
I am thankful I have time
in which I can spend to pray.

I am thankful that my husband
is a good, hard-working man;
I am thankful I can write
with a steady flowing hand.

I am thankful for good friends,
who are always there for me;
I am thankful for my ears,
and the sunsets I can see.

I am thankful for the Bible,
`cause from it I learned the truth;
I am thankful for the rain,
and my sturdy rain-proof roof.

I am thankful for my life,
because without it I'd be dead-
and the dead can't serve Jehovah,
or even practice what he's said.

I am thankful for this poem,
writing it was not a chore,
`cause it made me stop and think
of all the things I'm thankful for.

      Of course, I had to leave you with a flower!! ♥

(Macro Yellow Flower Photography Pillow Cover by WorldPhotosByPaola)

WOW! How Quickly Things Change!!

 (Needle Felted Owl by feltjar)

      Yesterday I was feeling good...(except for a slight headache I woke up with...which is still kinda sorta here this morning....Wait! What was I talking about?! LOL)...I was nursing a 'feel good' emotional hangover from the U.S. Open men's match...WOOHOO!!!! How fun that was!!!....And again, congratulations to my 'baby boy'. ^_^ That's Rafa Nadal to those NOT in the know! :-)

     How quickly things change though. :-( And I'm not just talking about the headache...which I still have this morning, and which has moved to the middle of my forehead, and seems to be making my shoulders tighten up too!...And before I start getting diagnoses...Yes! I know what it probably is.....It's stress!

     Stress?!....Yes!!!!!...And I'll tell you why....besides the headache and tense shoulders I mean. :-)) ... One reason is because I woke up to a backyard full of fog! O_O Why fog, you ask?!...because the humidity is ridiculously high outside this morning! (Thanks for sharing, Cindy! ^_^)

     Thankfully the fog is suppose to lift later this afternoon...to be replaced by....yeah, you guessed it!.....HEAT!!! O_O It's suppose to get up to as high as 93 degrees!....in September?!....Yep!...And here I was...'silly me'...touting how great it was that it was almost Fall! :-)

  (Autumn Inspired Hand Knit Leg Warmers by RememberADay)

     I guess I have to kick away that idea for a while! ^_^ Whatever!!...It's still the time of year for good fruit...

 (Grapes Still Life 10x8 Print by VictoriaEnglishCharm)

      ...and for baking! :-) 

 (Ombré Purple to Lavender Hand Painted Measuring Cup Set by GrayDecember) 

       Ummmm...I can almost smell the banana and applesauce bread in the oven right now!! ^_^ But, of course, I have to finish up the bits of bread that we were given last week first!! :-)

      It's also the time of year for me to start exploring other hot sip-able drinks...teas!..besides my beloved green tea with honey and lemon, I mean. :-) Maybe I'll finally get that Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar that I've been dreaming of! :-)) Or some more mint chamomile, or some apple spice with cinnamon, or...or...Okay. You get the drift, right?! ^_^

 (Custom Made Art Gourd by PonyLegsStudio)

      And speaking about how quickly things change...my father just came home from a 4-day stay at the hospital. :-( He's having some kinda serious issues going on at the moment....I'm thankful for his positive spirit about it all, but he annoyed me a bit this time...in a loving way...because he didn't tell me he was going in the hospital!! He called me when he got home! O_O

      He said: "You have so many things going on yourself right now, that I didn't wanna worry you."...I said: "Dad!!!!!...what if you had 'popped off'?!!!"... (that's affectionately how we talk about death, he and I...Don't ask! LOL)...He jokingly said: "I wasn't planning to take it that far!! ^_^"...We laughed about it for a while, joking back and forth, and then we talked about it seriously.

      After that I reminded him that if he 'pops off' without me talking to him, because he thought it was too much for me to worry about, that when Jehovah wakes him up in the resurrection I'll be standing there...so I can 'pop him one'!!! ^_^ ... Ooooo! What happened to my docile, quiet spirit?! ^_^

(Felted Acorns by feltjar)

       How quickly things change!!! LOL...Have a good day, Everybody! :-)

Emotions

Frustration, excitement,
Great anger, Pure joy!
Deep sadness, elation,
intent to annoy.

Loving, disgusted,
triumphant, afraid.
Affection considered,
uneasiness weighed.

Cheerful, proud,
optimistic, despair.
Euphoric, in anguish,
gloom hanging there.

Emotions experienced,
the good and the bad.
Without feeling, sincerely,
what life have you had?!

You need hope and peace,
kindness and love.
An unemotional life is
Not much to speak of.