Gathering Graces 3/21/2020 Wood Gathered and Car Stolen

Earlier this year our friends John and Teresa let us come and get some wood on their property after they had cut down some trees.  John called Paul yesterday and asked if he wanted to come and haul some more wood out.  Paul said yes, so he borrowed Christy and Everett's pickup and went to cut, haul and load wood.

Once the wood arrived at the house, Paul would throw it out on the ground, and Zoe and I started stacking so Paul could store it later.

In the midst of stacking, Zoe said this reminded her of the show "Doomsday Preppers" and show I am not familiar with, but apparently they store all kinds of items and get a score on how prepared they are.  We are not even close to Doomsday Prepper status.

As we were unloading load #2, we got a call from our youngest daughter Cosette saying her car had been stolen from the parking lot of her apartment complex sometime between 6 p.m. Friday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday.  She had lost her only set of car keys about two weeks ago, and had been unable to use it since then.  She just told us this on Friday.  And then, all of a sudden, the car is stolen.  She notified the police.  We are hoping and praying it is recovered.  Join us in prayers for the recovery of her car.

Paul and Cosette on the day we delivered her car to Moscow.

I have various bones in the freezer that I have kept in anticipation of making bone broth.  Today I took out two bags of Prime Rib bones from the freezer and roasted them for about 45 minutes in the oven.  Then I put them in the Crockpot, and added onions, celery, carrots, herbs, spices, apple cider vinegar and some filtered water, and set it on low, and it will simmer for about five days.  The smell is wonderful.

Today some of my high school friends who are all apart of a group text were checking in with one another to see how everyone was doing.  Two of my friends live in Western Washing, one in the heart of Seattle and one in Lake Stevens.  They are both doing okay.  The rest of us live in North Idaho/Eastern Washington area.  The subject of toilet paper came up in our discussion, and how we can't understand the hoarding of the toilet paper.  The subject of using leaves came up, and I shared a post one of my friends had put on Facebook regarding the toilet paper shortage, and some natural alternatives.

We supported a local restaurant today by ordering Chinese food from Wah Hing this evening.  We enjoyed our meal of Pot Stickers, Hong Kong Lo Mein, General Tong Chicken and Kung Pao Shrimp, with Hot and Sour soup.  When I was looking online to see what options we had, it looks like one of the delivery trucks that provide restaurant with food will not be delivering this next week.  I hope these businesses won't totally be cut off from food, because, if they are still able to provide take out options, it can really help keep their business afloat for a while.

I did a tour of the gardens today, and I love seeing what is starting to bud out.  The forsythia, the willow bushes, the roses, all have buds.

I took Saturday and Sunday morning off from teaching my online classes because I thought Molly, Travis and Cosette were going to be here, as well as Paul's mom Pat and his sister Laurie.  All these plans were cancelled this past week.  They were all coming to see the final performance of the show I had been performing in at the Sixth Street Theater, "Church Basement Ladies".  I missed having them all here this weekend.  And I missed not performing our final three performances.

But spring has arrived, and is making itself known more each and every day.  Giving us the promise of hope, rebirth and blossom.