Doing My Part

I feel 'my part' is doing what God calls us to do, to carry out His mission, which is found in Matthew 25:35+36.  "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."  Regardless of where we stand on "issues," we can carry out His mission for people by being His hands and feet in our communities, and seeing and serving Him when we encounter the least of these - Gwen Fotd Faulenberry.

We are instructed to be the hands and feet (and voice) of God.  It is sometimes difficult to do though, because we get so wrapped up in the issues of our home, city, and country... and we get sucked in by the hatred.  "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." - Ephesians 6:12
It is when we separate ourselves from God's love that we let the bad stuff start to own us, and we lose focus on God's mission.  I like R. William Ayres take on this - "What I refuse to do is let the bad stuff own me. The world is more than the bad stuff. There is nobility, and grace, and kindness, and simple acts of goodness all around us, every day.  For every racist fool whose video-recorded tirade goes viral on YouTube, there are a million decent people who held a door open for a harried mom, who helped a man in a wheelchair reach an item on the top shelf, who took the time to smile back at a child.  For every five minutes we spend reading some toxic spew on the internet, there are hours we spend with our kids, our parents, our spouse, our friends, our dog."

We need to stay connected to God and His love.  Romans 8:38+39  "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God."  Doing my part means to love God and love my neighbor.  I need to do what little I can, with what little I have, to make the world a better place.  I need to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  And I need to leave the rest to God.

Maggie's favorite seat in the SUV.

I had a bad coughing fit at 4 am Saturday and I got out of bed 40 minutes later, because I was unable to get back to sleep.  The moonlit morning was obscured by a thick, dense fog.  Later, after sunrise, I took a short nap on the couch.

Mid-morning I rode with Joe on his way to golf.  He dropped Maggie and I off.

A section of paved walking trail behind the Conference Center

We walked part of Stonehenge golf course and then continued home going most of the way on the paved trail.  When the woods are green with foliage, you can only see from one curve in the trail to the next.  This time of year you can see much farther, and I didn't realize how curvy and windy the path is in places.  We were out for 90 minutes, probably walking four miles.

After lunch I put on barn clothes and off I went.  It started raining lightly just as I was walking out to catch Amiga, who was way out in the back part of the pasture.  I had mucked my way through mud and water to get across a low spot in the field.  Once I got to Amiga, I decided to hop on her, using nearby fencing to get up on her back.  The halter and lead rope worked for steering and she walked to the barn keeping me out of the mud and water on the way back.  What a good horse.  Since it was drizzling and my pants were dirty and a little damp from Amiga's back, I decided to ride without a saddle.  No sense in getting it wet and dirty also.  But I did use a bit and bridle, necessary for better control out on the trail.

I rode for 40 minutes and Amiga did great.  But boy could I feel my leg adductors when I dismounted.  I got home about 3:15, quickly changed into workout clothes, packed my gym bag, took Maggie on a short, fast walk, and then jumped in the car to leave.  As I was backing out of the drive, it dawned on me that the Wellness Centered closed at 4 pm on Saturdays.  Now how lame is that?  To me, 4 pm Sat is prime workout time. Ugh.

Anyway, I pulled back into the garage, calling it quits for the day.  I did do some crunches, push ups, and leg stretches to justify putting on workout clothes.  But soon, after a hot shower, I was seated here in my PJ's snacking on Fritos, cookies and candy.  What can I say, it was all the gym's fault for closing so early.

Joe got home from golf, feeling sick, so it was an early evening for the both of us.  I did do a little interior decorating.  I bought this tiny light up birch tree at an after Christmas sale (1/2 price for $10).  Now I was trying to find a good location for it.  Stevie was supervising.

Sunday, right off the bat, I was letting the tragedies of life get me down.  I was feeling sad about the anniversary of the death of my eight month old kitty Maya, that occurred two years ago.  And then I read in Carol's blog about the death of one of her ewes that had just happened.  Next I saw that Sara (who worked at the barn) had shockingly lost her 21 year old friend to a fatal, accidental shooting.  And I was also feeling bad about Courtney's sorrow over the 2 year anniversary of the death of her best friend, at age 30.  So much tragedy.  And then there was the concern for a friend who had just been diagnosed with AML Leukemia and started chemo, and Britney's Costa Rican dad who was admitted into the hospital the night before with pancreatitis.  My prayer list was getting longer and the enormity of it all was almost overwhelming.  Zig Ziglar's quote helps: "Even in tragedy, God through His Word offers hope for those who seek and believe. It starts with the promise of a better tomorrow, of life everlasting, of eternal peace. It's called faith, and it offers hope where none existed."

The early morning warm glow from within our house.

The morning was warm, but cloudy and gloomy (seen left).  My e-mail message from Prime Time With God (Root For Each Other, by Melissa Greig) seemed so applicable for this week's blog theme.  It was about doing our part to be uplifting.  In short, it said, "Whether your love language is words of affirmation, acts of service, or quality time, we can all benefit from words of encouragement.  Imagine if we took the time to notice the good in others, to thank each other, and build one another up.  Moments of sincerity and encouragement can go a long way.  Have a mission each day or once a week to intentionally tell someone that you’re rooting for them - friends, family, coworkers or whomever you feel led to encourage."

Bird and critter watching on a gloomy day.

I met Shirley at Church and Lisa and Nolan also sat in our pew.  It was a dreary day and I was feeling low energy again, and a little headachey, so spent a good part of the day reading and chatting here at my computer.

Maggie and Stevie playing with a Stink Bug.

The cat and dog did the best they could to entertain themselves, seen left and above.



Finally I got up and moving.  I hung three things up on the walls.  Notice in the right photo, the bare looking shelves, except for one safari theme cat. LOL








In the left photo you can see Stevie again, and the wooden totem artifact I had found 3/4 buried during a hike two years ago.  I had cleaned it up and applied several coats of polyurethane.  And now, finally have it hung on the wall.


In the right photo you can see hanging in the entry, the souvenir I had bought in Cozumel.  Also, the picture Carlos had painted and given Joe and I is finally on the wall in the dining room.  Joe was napping but Maggie had gotten restless so I took her for a three mile walk.

Then I went to Jan's to feed and care for her two cats.  I decided to put out an extra water dish because they had the two almost empty.  I hit the gym on the way home to try and extend myself a little more by lifting some weights.  It's then I realized how weak I still was.  Every day I feel better than the day before, but still have a ways to go to get to my old self, little by little.  I made a quick trip into Food City to mainly buy OJ, but I also got a bunch of other things.  It wasn't really cold enough to warrant a fire, but I built one anyway.  The glow and heat it emits into the room warms me up.

Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, there were lots of his quotes on Facebook and the internet.  At age 39, King died too young... but it has been said many times before, it isn't how long one lives, but how well.  Martin Luther King Jr. was not a man ahead of his time.  As he saw it, "the time was ripe to do that which was right and that which needed to be done."  He was a man who believed with all of his might, that the pursuit of violence at any time is ethically and morally wrong.  He was doing his part, and asks us, "What are we doing for others?"

It was trash day, so before sun up, I cleaned the cat's pan, emptied all our waste cans, and took out the trash.  As usual, we just have a half full, 30 gallon bag to throw out each week.  I do my part in reducing garbage by recycling as much as possible and composting all the non-meat waste.  I think this bag contained mostly cat and dog waste and dirty Kleenex... yuck.

Zorro peers under Amiga's neck and then
tries to come under it, to come see me,
as I am trying to lead Amiga to the barn.

When I had ridden Amiga Saturday, she showed no signs of lameness, and I  gave her Sunday off, so when I first rode out from the barn Monday, and she was bobbing her head a little, while stepping out on her front right leg, I was perplexed.  Did she hurt herself  slipping and sliding out in the pasture?  We were only out 35 minutes, and just walked, and she did seem to get better as we went.  So I didn't know what to think.  She seems too young to be arthritic.  I had Judy watch her as we came riding back into the barn and she noticed Amiga was short stepping a tiny bit on her back left leg.  Judy said she would not have seen it if she wasn't really looking for it.  Ugh.  What to do for Amiga?

I had spent extra time at the barn chatting with Judy, so the day (light) was about over by the time I got home.

I noticed this smudge mark, made from a bird that had hit the front window.  Its chest measured 3&1/2 inches across. You can see the mark of the head and wings as well as the feet.  I went out to look for a body, but none could be seen.  I just hate that our windows fool the birds into thinking they can fly right through our house.  Shoot.

Sitting here at my computer, Stevie behind me being playful, I watched the dog and cat interact when Maggie came over to join in on the fun with the cat.










It was a quiet evening at home except for Joe's hacking and coughing and moaning and groaning.  He really did feel crappy, and just when I was starting to feel sociable. 

It rained all day Tuesday.  And I thought, what better way to warm up on a gloomy, rainy day... than to make soup.  I thawed the ham bone Brian had given us, got all the meat off of most of the bone, cut up onions, carrots and celery, and put them in the pot with the one section of meaty bone I had remaining.

Then I added the cans of beans (even some black beans which isn't in the recipe, but I like them).  I set it to simmer on low in the crock pot for six hours.

After lunch I worked on preparing the wooden duck house to be hung.  I drilled two 1/3" holes in the bottom so any water that gets inside can drain out.  And I reinforced the back board that was split part way through so it doesn't completely break when we drill the house into the tree.  In lower photo,
the front of the house is open (on nail hinges) and you can see the paint stirrer stick I glued over the split in the back board.  One of the holes in the bottom can be seen in the botom left of the photo.

I decided I better check on Jan's cats because I was concerned about the amount of water being drank.  And I was glad I had, because all three water dishes were empty.  Marvin was glad for the petting and water, while Russel just looked on from his bed.

From Jan's I went to the gym, and had a great workout.  45 minutes lifting weights, 45 minutes on the elliptical, and then the hour long stretch class.  By the time I had showered and got in the car, my body felt limp and I was so relaxed.

I had soup for dinner, but Joe didn't join me because he just wasn't feeling up to it.  Walking Maggie after dinner was the fourth time in one day, for both of us to get wet. 

Wednesday was another sleepless night for Joe, up coughing, which meant my sleep was also interrupted again.  It was overcast part of the day, but the sun did come out some of the time too.

At 9:30 I went to the Ballroom Aerobics class. 
After a quick snack when I got home, I took Maggie to Heatherhurst and we walked the back nine of the Brae.  Hole #1 seen below. 
During our walk, I noticed this pine sapling and holly, both growing in a dirt filled knot in a large oak tree (left photo). 
We finished our three mile walk in 60 minutes.

The muddy trail next to the bean field.

I changed into barn clothes as soon as I got home, grabbed an apple (that I always share with Amiga and Zorro) and I went to the barn.

The trails were still muddy, wet, and slippery in spots.  I wasn't sure if Amiga was favoring her one leg or not.  Sometimes it is so hard to tell.  I decided to just ride and enjoy her, and see how she did.

Amiga gets time to graze on winter rye, planted in this bean
field.  Notice the Wildwood barn in the background.

I rode for over an hour, even doing a little bit of gaiting in a few dry areas where the footing was good.  I did not notice Amiga getting sore or acting hurt, so remain confused, in that her lameness comes and goes.  I try to be hopeful that it isn't a major problem.  But in doing my part as a caregiver, I think I may need to have her legs x-rayed.   

I helped Ambrie bring in the horses before coming home, and then baked some corn bread, that went nicely with leftover ham and bean soup for dinner.  After computerizing, I watched two episodes of Fixer Upper, and then hit the hay, later than usual, at 10:00.

The creek and pond are full.

Thursday I took my time here at my computer because it was another lousy day outside.  The rain, gloom, and colder temperature made it undesirable to go out.  I didn't even have the motivation do anything inside.

I made a two hour shopping trip to town and a little later went to the gym, having another good workout.  Like Tuesday, I spent 45 minutes lifting weights, 45 minutes on the elliptical, and then did the hour long stretch class.  And again it left me feeling spent but relaxed.

It had rained off and on all day and I got wet a few times during dog walks.  Another fire was needed to dry us off when we got back from our after dinner walk.  Joe and I watched a movie 'The Impossible,' that was based on the true experience of a family's attempt to survive a tsunami.  It was a nail biter.

I did not feel well rested upon waking Friday morning.  Joe's coughing had woken me up a few times during the night and I got out of bed with a headache.










Maggie and I walked the 17th fairway and watched the sky change colors as the sun came up.  Dark rain clouds were moving quickly past, under whiter clouds higher up.  The sun did come out from behind the clouds for an hour or so, but it soon became overcast again.

Pulling into Terry's farm.

I went to the barn after an early lunch and got my tack loaded in the trailer and then caught Amiga and got her brushed and ready to load.  Then Joe came, hooked up the trailer and helped me get Amiga loaded.  She only hesitated and pulled back once, then she went right on.

Amiga tacked and ready to hit the trail.

Joe drove us to Terry's where I was meeting Jan to ride.

I let Amiga graze while Jan got Cash ready.

Terry took Joe on a tour of the farm while I got Amiga saddled.  Then he took the trailer back to Wildwood Stables.

Jan on Cash as we ride up Terry's drive.

Once both horses were saddled, we hit the trail, riding on the grassy back roads of Fairfield Glade.  It wasn't too muddy in most spots and we really enjoyed a quiet, relaxed, 90 minute ride.
What better way to spend inauguration day?

Cash and Amiga really seem to appreciate each others company, as do Jan and I.  We stopped, or paused, a few times, listening to and looking at nature, or taking photos of each other.

Eventually we had to split up, and I turned for home, riding Amiga to Wildwood.  Our new trail was too muddy and needed more work so I snuck through along the power lines to get back.  I had been on Amiga for over two hours.  She did a great job and held up very well. 

I ate an early dinner since I was hungry and Joe was off playing cards.  Then I took Maggie for a 90 minute walk, getting home at 6:00, her super time.  It was a quiet evening at home, here at my computer and watching Fixer Upper.

Some days I do nothing for the good of man, but I do my part to take care of my own needs, which is also important.  If you don’t take good care of yourself then you can’t really contribute meaningfully to others or to the world.  Get a full night’s rest, exercise regularly, eat well, do yoga, meditate, take a walk, ride a horse, listen to music, snuggle with a kitty, or do whatever it is that rejuvenates and restores you.  What have you done recently to take better care of yourself and strengthen your ability to perform well in the other parts of your life?

R & Rrrrr

Once back from our two week vacation, and still feeling lousy, I really needed some R & Rrrrr (rest, relaxation, recovery, recuperation, restoration, and renewal).

Saturday, Carol sent a Ping of our current weather.  It looked like a good day to stay home, inside, and rest.  I didn't get up until 7 am, so slept over ten hours.  I had walked the dog, first thing, before Joe was up, but didn't go outside the rest of the day.  I decided it was best to hunker down indoors all day, and try to kick my cold.


I spent a great deal of time here at my desk, working hard to get the blog post from our week at the condo done.  My computer was really slow and on top of that, the internet went down several times.  This did not help my outlook on life.  I was glad to have Stevie nearby, whom I know was glad to have us home.  Notice the pile of mail I also needed to catch up on.





I was sooo far behind on my blogging, but it was hard to stay focused because I needed to unpack, had lots of laundry, and there was still all the Christmas decorations that needed to come down and be stored away.  I would take a break from my computer and work at some of these other chores.



I continued to cough my lungs out and had a headache, earache and puffy eyes.  I think the reason I felt so bad was because I had quit taking the cold/flu medicine I bought on our way out of Winter Haven.  I decided I should let myself cough to clear the gunk out of my lungs.  Well, sometimes I coughed so hard, I almost threw up and all the joint and muscle aches were back.  I had little energy, so just laid low and worked on my blog.  At least the sun was shining and it looked pretty outside.  



Sunday morning after I walked the dog and filled the bird feeders, I took this photo of mist rising from the pond, while the sun came up in the background.

I had woken up feeling R & Rrrr (rotten & raunchy, arrrgh).  It was another day of rest and recuperation for me, with again much time spent here at my computer.  I also continued with some Christmas clean up, laundry, and putting away everything that we had taken on our trip (even the rubber pig).

Stevie, the Queen of R & R. 

Mid-afternoon I made a big batch of chicken rice soup.  That helped to warm and soothe my soul.  Joe left to play poker before 2 pm and I continued to laze around.  Before dinner time I took Maggie on a 20 minute walk.  It did me good.  Finally I felt like maybe I was getting better.


Monday my body showed continued signs of improvement and I ruled out any need to go to prompt care.  I still had a few hard coughing spells during the day, still had a headache and fatigue, but it wasn't as bad.  A hot shower and getting dressed helped me feel more normal also.  But the thought of going to workout or go for a long walk outside just didn't seem doable.

This series of photos of the cat and dog enjoying time in the sun, on the floor together, is cute.  I was unable to decide which of these four photos to include, so I used them all. 

After lunch I drove to Jan's to get cat care instructions.  Once home, I took Maggie for a 20 minute walk, and it made me feel winded.  I planted the Amaryllis bulb Cathy gave me and then got both Christmas trees taken down and packed away.  After I vacuumed and moved furniture back to where it belonged, the cat and dog had more floor space and sunshine to enjoy and I felt good about what I had accomplished. 

I had leftover soup for dinner and went for fairly long walk with the dog.  I got out of breath and felt dizzy again.  Gesh, I can't wait to be back to my normal self.

I have started turning on the news, on TV, while I am in the kitchen preparing meals, and found it a good way to stay a little better connected to the world.  News of the flooding and snow storm in the Sierra Nevada's had me concerned for sister Jean and her friend Katie.








Jean sent the left photo a day later, when I inquired about how she was doing.  And then the bottom photo she sent Thursday.



According to the news, they got six feet of snow in 24 hours (which actually compacts to less).  But look how deep it was.  She had to shovel her car out from under feet of snow three days in a row.

Tuesday I woke at almost 4 am, couldn't get back to sleep, so got up.  I could hear the wind whipping through the tree branches outside, and was again thankful we didn't have any trees too close to the house.  Only needing six hours of sleep must be another sign I was getting better.  Having so much morning time gave me the opportunity to get my first week of vacation blog done and posted.




Then I worked here on last week's blog (the second week of vacation), trying to get caught up from our 15 days of being gone.  It was back up into the 30's outside, but the house sure felt cold because there was no sun and the wind was howling and it just sounded freezing outside.



I made myself get dressed and rode to town with Joe who was taking my car in for another estimate.  He dropped me at Wal-Mart, went to TCAT (Tennessee College of Applied Technology) and was back just as I was checking out.

Once home and done with putting away all the groceries, I brought in all the outside Christmas decorations, which wasn't much, and got them stowed away.  Stevie thinks Christmas bins are great fun to hide in, and I think she is so cute peeking over the rim while trying to stay out of sight.



A man from the gas company came out, and put in a meter.  We are now ready for the gas fireplace insert and new gas line to this meter.  We have our old propane tank for sale and will have copper pipe to get rid off too.

I had wanted to go to the barn but the cold wind, dreary skies, and lack of energy was enough to talk myself right out of it.  I may have had a little relapse with my cold also.  At any rate, I decided I was done for the day and got back into my PJ's.  I thought I needed more R & R (time to recover & regroup).   Before dinner, I did manage a short dog walk and then Joe and I watched a Barbra Streisand movie, 'Nuts' to end the evening.

Lounging on a rainy day with my two fur babies.

Wednesday it rained almost all day.  It had started during the night, sometimes coming down quite hard.  The temperature had warmed up to almost 50 degrees, and the winds had calmed down, but the clouds and dampness made me feel cold, and want to snuggle.
 





I don't know if I felt bad because I hadn't gotten any exercise all week, but my weakness, feeling dizzy, and having no energy made it difficult to get up and go.




After some R & R (reading & review), I finished and posted last week's blog and then started on this one.

The sun never came out from behind the clouds and I remained a bum most of the day.







Joe left early for his 4 pm card game and eventually I had to take the dog for a walk.  As soon as I got outside, I realized it was actually kind of nice out.  So I walked for almost an hour, even working up a sweat because I was overdressed.  I think the air and exercise did me good.

A selfie attempt while on horseback.
It is hard to get both horse and rider in the photo.

 
Thursday I was a little more productive because I didn't sit here at my computer as long as I had been doing every day this week.  I got the rest of the laundry done, and finished taking down and storing away all the rest of the Christmas decorations.  I still need to complete more R & R (reduce and recycle) with some of this stuff.  Maybe next year.  I left all the kick-knacks off the shelves by the fireplace, and will wait to decorate these once our new gas insert is completed.

I finally made it out to the barn!  Amiga was filthy and required lots of brushing before saddling her.





I rode Amiga for 30 minutes, just at a walk.  She did great, listened, and didn't get all revved up.  Also, there were no signs of lameness.  I plan to go slowly, working her back into shape.

Next I brought Zorro in (seen above) and he too was a dirty mess.  After getting him brushed, I could take a closer look at his injuries.  They are all healed up.  I could barely see the one on his front leg and seen right, is the scar left on his back thigh.  There is dark hair growing over it and no signs of muscle damage.

I made pork roast for dinner, cleaned sticks out of the yard while it cooked, and then Joe and I watched Yentl before bed.

Friday morning we had a pair of Mallards in the pond, so I took a little extra corn down to near the water's edge.  I blogged and then finished vacuuming and putting the rest of the furniture back where it belonged.  This actually made me winded and dizzy.  Shoot.

After lunch I went to Jan's house to take care of her two cats.  This is Marvin, the more out-going one.

From Jan's I went to the barn.  Out in the pasture, looking back towards the barn, it looks like smoke on the mountain.  Zorro always tries to get between Amiga and I when I am leading her back to the barn.








Amiga required more brushing and then we were off on another short little ride.  Again she did well.  Once back to the barn, I rode past the stalls and out the front to work Amiga in the yard.  I was happy that she went so willingly and didn't get pushy or start rushing like she sometimes does out in the open field.

Riding Amiga around, inside the barn

But then, it started to rain.  So I rode Amiga back to the barn (as kind of a reward) and just as I dismounted, the skies opened up and it poured.

As I was leaving Wildwood Stables, I took the lower photo of the livery horses in the winter pasture across the street.  You can see mist on the mountain that looks like smoke.

It was a quiet evening at home with Joe off playing cards again.  The three times I walked the dog I kept it short and quick because it was sprinkling each time.  I also watched an episode of Fixer Upper while sitting by the fire with the dog and cat near by.