Mysterious Moving Magnets

Hello Friends!

I really do consider you friends. I think about you during the week and wonder how you're doing. I wish I could just travel the country and visit each one of you, stopping for coffee, conversation, and a big hug. I hope you're doing well.

I forgot to tell you I took Beth to the bowling alley last week to pick up her bag. She absolutely loves it! It's hard to be the only one without, and now she has the same type of bag as all her friends.

Okay, onto the story behind the title.

I like to collect refrigerator magnets. The rectangle ones are good, I've purchased some of those, but my favorites are the unique ones. Even our girls will sometimes bring one back when they've been traveling.

These tell the story of our lives. Places we've visited, adventures we've had. Sometimes when I'm waiting for the tea kettle to get hot I'll just look them over and reminisce about how we've had such a good life. And I've experienced many things others have just dreamed about.

These are just a few:

One day I come out to the kitchen and notice one or two of the magnets are missing. I can tell there are empty spaces where they used to be. Interesting. So I move them around a little to fill in the spaces and go about my day. 

A week or two later, same thing. Empty spaces. This went on for a while. And I notice the side of the fridge is becoming full. 'What in the world? How did they get over here?' And I'd put them back on the front. 

Then one day I see Beth taking them off the front of the fridge. When I asked her why she was moving them to the side she said it was too busy. "You have too many magnets." 😄

She Was So Caught Up in the Excitement

Beth's birthday is October 10th and she's been talking about it for months. Back in July, "My birthday comin' up!" She gets so excited about it!

She sends the family her birthday list, talks about what she wants, and when she thinks of something new she tells me to "add this to my list."  

We'll be celebrating on Sunday afternoon but she's been celebrating most of this week. On Tuesday she told some of her friends at All aboard that her birthday was on Friday. 

Then on Wednesday all the bowlers get to go up front and tell everyone their birth date. Then they sing Happy Birthday.

The DART bus was going to be very late so I took her to the bowling alley yesterday and she walked in at 9:59, just in time! I was parking the car and missed her telling her age.

I don't think she saw me because she flew by me and headed down the bowling alley so I followed her. I guess each person celebrating their birthday that month gets to spin the wheel. I don't know how they figure it but she got to spin it three times!

You can tell she's so excited about her cold-hard cash and she walked by me again! She was so caught up in the excitement she never even saw me!

You can see how close she is to me in the photo above but she walked right past me! I had to run to catch up with her and asked if I could get a picture.

She loves bowling so much. Can you guess what she said when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday?

Today at work she saw the Happy Birthday signs I had hung up, everyone was telling her Happy Birthday, and a co-worker gave her a small bag of gifts. Then on Sunday the celebrations will continue: we'll go to Red Robin for dinner, and then to the bowling alley. Then back here for cake and presents. 

Happy Birthday Beth! 

It's finally here!

Neighborly, Over Average, And, They're Baaack!

Beth texted me from the bowling alley last week:

'I have a pizza and sweets to' 

'That sounds good!'

'Yeah. i got my medal and first place'

'What?!? Wow Beth! Congratulations!!'

'Thanks. i will show you and dad my medal to when I get home'

She came in the door and showed me her medal and said she also got $5. I asked if I could take a picture but she said no. A couple days later I'm reading the bowling newsletter and I see:

'The most over average last week was Ms. Beth Anderson as she saved her high game for when it counted the most and it was a terrific 146! She beat her average by a whopping 62 pins!'

Wow, there's over 100 bowlers! No wonder she got a medal and some cash! She hasn't bowled regularly for over 2 years but she's starting out hot! I took these a couple weeks ago -

For quite a while now I've watched our neighbors try to navigate a street corner that was overgrown and dangerous. I finally called the city a couple months ago and was told they've been looking at this corner for a while but haven't been able to move forward due to a power pole that was in the way. Well, this week they showed up! The other corner is much worse than this one and they're fixing them both! I love my city!

 I saw the man out there talking to the workers, he was pointing at areas of the new sidewalk; filled my heart with joy! And I'm so glad the workers got to see exactly who they were doing it for and what a difference they're making in that man's life.

 

We began seeing those old familiar signs: twigs on the porch, tiny sticks, moss, and then one day, there it was. Mrs. Junko had come back to build her nest!

 I took those pictures on Tuesday and when I checked the nest again today...

 Two tiny eggs! They should hatch and be out of the nest in just a few weeks. The Junko's have used this wreath for many years now and I look forward to seeing them every time!

Have you had any fun surprises this week?

Beth Got One Of Those Perfect Moments...

Thank you all for your encouraging comments on my last post. I'm doing much better this week, everyone is healthy, spring has arrived, we've had some blue skies and I feel like I'm starting to get my life back.

Chuck hasn't had any more episodes. He's extremely bored and can't wait to get back to work, once the doctors clear him. We see the neurologist tomorrow.

Sharaya is supposed to see a new place on Saturday. There were two of them, one was a single story, the other is two story. She saw the one-story a couple weeks ago but that was a little small. They'll see the two-story this weekend. This place has a pool, weight room, so many amenities! She's excited to see it!

We went to Diana and Peter's a few weeks ago. Had a fantastic dinner and then sat out by the fire to watch the sunset. They have a spectacular view from their back yard! Peter's sister is coming out from New Jersey in a couple weeks and we're planning a trip to the tulip fields. I'm excited to take some new Tulip Field Family Photos with Peter!

 

The girls pets continue to bring entertainment to us all. The cats run and chase each other and attack each other and fight and sleep cuddled up next to each other... they truly act like any human sisters I've ever known. We got to pet sit Poppy last weekend. Her first overnighter without mom and dad! She did great at night, had fun playing with us, went right to bed, but was a little skittish when she woke up. Came into the bathroom while I put on makeup... but overall she did great!

Before covid hit, Beth was part of a group that bowled every Tuesday. Since covid, they've decided not to start it back up again. But, we've learned there's a different group that now bowls on Wednesdays with a lot of the same people from the original group. So today we drove her to the bowling alley and as soon as she walked in people were yelling her name and coming up to give her hugs. Almost made me cry. We paid for her and were trying to find her a lane and she was getting her things organized when we hear the leader call all the new people out to the lanes. We were trying to hurry Beth along as she was changing her shoes and getting out her ball. It all happened so fast I didn't get any pictures of it. With microphone in hand, John said to the 100 bowlers and employees that all the new people get to throw a ball and try to get a strike. If you do, you get $5.00! There were 4-5 people who went first but no one got a strike. Beth tentatively went out there and I'm quietly praying, "Oh Lord let her get a strike! Please let her get a strike!" And she threw a strike! She did it!! The whole place erupted! It was just one of those perfect moments, you know? Something she'll probably remember for the rest of her life.

Just Breathe

I left work at 3:00 yesterday afternoon and haven't been back since. I think this is the longest I've been away in the last 3 weeks. I've got 3 people working today so I know things are in good hands.

I've been listening to a song by Jonny Diaz called Breathe. I keep hitting the repeat button:

Ready set go, it's another wild day

When the stress is on the rise

In my heart I hear you say

"Just breathe. Just breathe.

Chaos calls but all you really need is to

just breathe."

That's what I've been doing today. I spent some time with the Lord this morning, remembering His faithfulness to me over the years and I'm beginning to feel like a human again. I did a load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, mailed a card to a friend, filled the dishwasher... real human stuff! 😊 

I've still got some difficult things ahead of me at work but yesterday I trained two new people and I think they're going to be great! Two young guys who are strong and eager to work. Plus I've got two more applications on my desk from people who have applied so I'll talk to my boss when he gets back from vacation on Monday and get his thoughts on hiring them.

Until then I'm just going to breathe.

Whew. It feels good to breathe. 

Now on to other things ~

Sharaya gave me this card for Christmas:

  

When I opened it I heard my dad say, "Well hi sweety!" And of course I lost it. To hear his voice again was indescribable. She found a company that inserts a recording into a card or lets you insert the recording into a device that you can then put in a card, I'm not sure how it works to be honest but oh my goodness what a phenomenal gift for someone who's just lost a loved one!

We got Beth a bowling ball for Christmas. She's had two others but after a while they begin to crack and break apart. The guy at the sports shop told me that those were probably made of plastic and we needed urethane or resin. And this time she chose purple!

Measuring her fingers so they can drill the holes

 

Of course we had to bowl a couple of games when we picked up her bag and ball. I mean, what kind of parent would I be if I denied the family a good game of bowling, right?!

I honestly don't remember who won but I'm sure Sharaya or Diana could tell you. There's no competition in our family! Oh no, none at all! 😉

Have you ever been bowling?