Week 34 - The Fragrance of Memory

Week 34 - The Fragrance of Memory

I was making dinner for my guys. I wanted to make a dinner that tasted more like home, thus it would include bacon and turkey stock. There's a quick side dish I go to, simple, easy. A dish my Grandmother would make when I came over. It's canned green beans, with sliced potatoes and a few pieces of bacon. As the food came to boil the fragrance started to fill the kitchen, and that fragrance had more memories attached to it than I thought. I didn't fight those memories, but let them unfold, and I missed her.

Week 33 - Delight to my Soul

Week 33 - Delight to my Soul

Last weekend my brother and nephew visited. My nephew makes coffee nervous, if you know what I mean. Yet, we kept him busy and it was an absolute delight to have my boys in the house. He's grown so much since that first time I held him nearly 6 years ago. His extrovert energy lights up the room and I have no idea how my brother and sister-in-law keep up with him. The visit left me with the mixed emotions of fulfillment and sadness at their parting. On Thursday, I received a letter with three drawings that I will likely keep forever and ever. These things, these reminders of love and experience sustain me through those dark days of loneliness. The knowing that there is a young boy who will become a man and that I get to be his uncle means the world to me.

Week 32 - Proverbs 27

Week 32 - Proverbs 27

My favorite proverb

  27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and the sand weighty,
But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.
4 Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood,
But who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
Than love that is concealed.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
7 A sated man loathes honey,
But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a bird that wanders from her nest,
So is a man who wanders from his home.
9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.
10 Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,
And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
That I may reply to him who reproaches me.
12 A prudent man sees evil and hides himself,
The naive proceed and pay the penalty.
13 Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger;
And for an adulterous woman hold him in pledge.
14 He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be reckoned a curse to him.
15 A constant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious woman are alike;
16 He who would restrain her restrains the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.
18 He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit,
And he who cares for his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.
21 The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And each is tested by the praise accorded him.
22 Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;
24 For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
25 When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
26 The lambs will be for your clothing,
And the goats will bring the price of a field,
27 And there will be goats’ milk enough for your food,
For the food of your household,
And sustenance for your maidens.

Week 31 - Hell’s Front Porch

Week 31 - Hell’s Front Porch

We’ve have nothing but 100° days for the past 15 days with no end in sight. The next few days are forecast to be 104-106°, with the coolest day (Wednesday forecast to be 101°. I hate this heat. Those who love summer should do a stint in West Texas before they go around boasting about how great it is *eyeroll.

So far this is the best description of the seasons of Texas I’ve ever come across.

Winter
Fool’s Spring
Second Winter
Spring of Deception
Third Winter
The Pollening
Actual Spring
Summer
Hell’s Front Porch (That’s where we are now)
False Fall
Second Summer
Actual Fall (This lasts about as long as it takes to order a Pumpkin Spiced Latte at Starbucks)

Week 30 - UGH! Summer

Week 30 - UGH! Summer

I hate the summer in Texas. Up until now, it has been rather mild, but as I've told everyone I come in contact with, August will have its revenge! We had a cold front come through and we were graced with a brisk 99 degrees, rather than 103. I hate summer!