Gathering Graces 10/21/2017

*Today was everything I hoped it would be, regarding getting projects done.  What a blessing to have a day like today.

*Paul and I told my siblings that we would arrive at Bill’s house around 9 a.m. for “furniture moving day”.  We borrowed Everett’s pickup truck and first loaded it with a dresser, a bed and a few other smaller items.  We also loaded our car with some things to go to our house as well.  Paul and I drove over to our house, unloaded our vehicles, and then headed back to Bill and Debbie’s house to move a desk over to Christy’s house.  Mission accomplished.

*Paul then loaded up the pickup for a “Dump Run”. First he went and got rid of the cardboard at the recycling receptacles.  Bill had also given us some of their recycling.  In the meantime, Bill swung by our house, and picked up some items to be donated to St. Vinnies in Osburn.  Paul ended up making two dump runs, but got it all accomplished.

*Later in the afternoon, Bill had started emptying the storage closets upstairs in his house.  This was full of odds and ends, and Christmas decorations.  So I went over and got some more archival items, some Christmas items, and a few other things, and brought them home to be put away.  Paul also loaded up the pickup, once again, with some of the lawn furniture from the backyard, which now of a new home in our backyard.

*In the midst of all this, Paul gathered all my flower pots and put them under the benches of our beech tree so I could pull out the flowers and empty the pots to store them for the winter.  It was so sad pulling up the pots this year, as many of the  flowers were still blooming beautifully.  But the top of our compost pile looks lovely!!

*After getting all the pots emptied and stored, my worked turned toward my raised beds. This involved pulling up all the plants still growing in the beds, and emptying a bag of potting soil and a bag of manure in each of the five beds and stirring it in to the existing soil so it rests over the winter, and will be ready to use for planting in the fall.

*I was amazed at the harvest I got today from my garden.  I picked one small zucchini, some Swiss Chard, a few tiny carrots, one small red potato, some tomatoes, a sunflower, and a small bowl of raspberries.  I took all but the sunflower and raspberries and cut them up and stir fried them in olive oil.  I added some salt and pepper and garam masala seasoning, giving it a bit of an exotic Indian flavor.  At the end I added a dash of red wine vinegar to the veggies.  In another pan, I fried some cut up Andouille sausages.  I dished up the vegetables in two bowls, added the sausage on top, and it was one delicious “final harvest” meal. 

*After dinner, Paul suggested we go downstairs and tackle a couple of the boxes we had brought over today of Mom’s things.  So we unpacked and put away some dishes.  We added boxes of photographs and papers to the “Woolum family archives”, a closet in our house now dedicated to anything related to family history.  And I went through a box of coffee mugs and sorted which ones I wanted to keep to put up in our basement kitchen area by the Keurig machine.  The others will be donated.  Again, a very productive evening.

*We got all our outside work done before the rains came, and the rains came and didn’t stop.  Paul had chopped up a bunch of wood, and made a fire.  It felt good to sit by the fire, and listen to each daughter share about their day, and to feel the warmth of the fire on our achy muscles. 

*On so many levels, this was a really good day.  As I write these words, the words from one of my favorite songs from the musical Godspell keeps going through my mind.  It is the song All Good Gifts Around Us. The lyrics are below, and you can listen to the song here.

All Good Gifts Around Us

We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land..
But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand..
He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain...
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain...

All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above
So thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love...

We thank thee then, O Father, for all things bright and good,
The seedtime and the harvest, our life, our health, our food,
No gifts have we to offer for all thy love imparts
But that which thou desirest, our humble thankful hearts!

All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above..
So thank the Lord, oh thank the Lord for all his love..

I really wanna thank you Lord!