August

Another month come and gone. Before I get into what we've been up to, I need to put in a plug for a life-saving cookbook, which I know I've done before, but here it is: What to Eat When You Can't Eat Anything. I've not been feeling the greatest lately, so it's back to a strict diet for me. One of the things I like about this cookbook is that it categorizes recipes based on how you're feeling - ultrasensitive, sensitive, and unsensitive. So I can turn to the ultrasensitive section and pick out recipes until I start feeling better, then add in the sensitive recipes, etc.

But enough about my food issues. I received an employment extension from the government, which allows me to continue working for a few more weeks at my current job. I'm not sure whether they will grant an additional extension if Jesse's visa isn't approved by then, however. This is still a matter for prayer, but I am confident that God will continue to provide for us/me, even if it's not in a way I'm expecting.

Our volleyball competition ended, and we were at the bottom of the A-grade at the end. Funny; we won the B-grade in our first "comp" (as they say here), and then lost the A-grade. The sports center is in the process of relocating to a new facility (which is not yet built), so in the meantime, we have freed up another weeknight. That's been nice.

The weather's been unseasonably warm for August. We're talking about trying to put a small garden in the backyard (those who've seen our backyard know that it could only be small!). Neither of us has a particularly green thumb (and I killed one herb plant last year by giving it too much sun in the sauna that is the back of our house), so I'm thinking of getting some plants that can grow in the shade of our tree. (Also, I don't want to necessarily be in direct sunlight while taking care of it in the hot summer sun.) I want to grow veggies or herbs of some kind. Any suggestions from the audience?

We had a great time at a birthday party for a friend yesterday. Jesse and I "designed" the card ourselves and I think we may have been more pleased with it than the recipient, but he seemed to enjoy it as well.

Well, off to prepare for church. Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to the gardening recommendations!

July: poof

Where has July gone? It was a busy month at work and church, that's for sure. It began with a celebration of my 26th birthday, which started with "presents in bed" (a few dvd's, books, and nice warm slippers from Jesse), ended with a friend's exhibit opening, Mexican food, and watching one of said dvd's, with "afternoon tea" at work in the middle. They were going to make me a sugar-free cake, but the woman who would've made it was sick, so they bought a spinach quiche and stuck candles in it. I think, along with the list I maintain of "places I've spent my birthday" I may make note of this unique "cake-replacement". :)

Friends came up to help celebrate the Saturday after my birthday, which turned out to be day 2 of the worst flu I remember having. I still participated in the "birthday game" (pinata) Jesse had so proudly put together. We have some great photos of our friends' poor daughter, distraught after her daddy knocked the pinata down from its hanging place on our clothesline. And also some great photos of Jesse decapitating the pinata. Its head currently rests on our mantle in triumph. (Said friends gave me a great tv series, called "Lost in Austen", for my birthday, about a woman who gets caught up in Pride and Prejudice. I loved it.)

The rest of the month saw year-end stuff at work for me, a work bee at church, the church annual meeting, a celebration of life at the passing of a young member of our congregation, and the start of a new/revived prayer ministry.

In reading news, I read My Seventh Monsoon by Naomi Reed, about time she and her family spent in Nepal, and loved it. I may post some quotes on my profile; she has an acute sense of the seasons of our lives, and had a lot to say about transition that meant a lot to me. I'm currently reading Jesse's copy of The Salmon of Doubt, a collection of writings by Douglas Adams. Of course, he's quite clever and funny, but it's also given me an interesting perspective on his atheism and how he, for lack of a better term, "wore" that.

All of this brings us to August. At the outset, it doesn't appear to be quite as packed as July, but we will see.