It is so hot here!

I am taking a break from weeding in the garden... This is our 19th day above 90 degrees, and no rain where we live at all. The runoff from the mountains is really good this year, though, or we would be in trouble. I know some of you would not think it is hot right now because it is so dry!

How are you all doing on your self control this week?? I feel like I have been partly successful and partly not. Probably a little less eating and a little more exercise, which is moving in the right direction. The only thing is, I have been trying to chew more gum as I deal with work stress (I can do that since no one can see me sitting at my computer here at home!), but since it is almost impossible anymore to find gum that does not have Nutrasweet in it, I am going to try to cut that out until I can find something more healthy. I'm going to go visit the health food store and see what they have.

The doctors I transcribe for are having a light week with vacation and stuff, so I have been working in the garden (that's the "more exercise" part!) Last evening I picked and froze some beans, and today I have been weeding the eggplant and peppers. We have the worst bindweed that wraps itself around the plants and up the stem and then on to whatever it can hang onto, so that is time consuming because you have to unwrap these annoying stranglers. If you just pull on them, they will bring the whole vegetable plant with them or rip off its leaves while hanging on for dear life.

I'm really glad for the very healthy environment around our house. The earth is dark and rich in the garden because of all the composting and so forth that Barry has done. Worms are everywhere. Daddy-long-legs, beetles, ants, bees, flies, and who knows what all scurry out of my way. What a blessing to have so many bugs! (Not that I am personally in love with them or anything...)

Do I have to go back out there? It is so nice and cool in here... but duty calls!

Thankfulness...

What a difference thankfulness can make! An 88-year-old friend who had Alzheimer's passed away recently. His family, and especially his wife, cared for him lovingly, and he was able to be at home until just before the end. At his funeral yesterday, so many wonderful things were said about him, and one of them was that he had a grateful attitude. He was always thankful and always satisfied with very little. As his disease progressed, he became more gentle. His widow told me she is so thankful that his long ordeal is over and even more thankful because she knows where he is now -- in heaven with Jesus who has been his focus for so many years. What a difference her thankfulness makes! For my part, I am thankful to have that family in my circle of friends and thankful that I was able to help with the music for the funeral.

Now I have to admit that preparing for the funeral has been hard because I am probably the princess of nerves! I won't claim to being queen, because I know there is room to be worse! I was asked to provide the piano prelude, accompany a young violinist for "Amazing Grace," and play the piano for and sing two hymns with Elaine (a near neighbor of mine). The source of my nerves is partly good and partly bad, the good being a desire to do my best and not disappoint anyone, the bad being that I have not been practicing the piano as I should! Thus, this week has been very full of practice, practice, practice, alone and with others. In the midst of this stress, though, what a difference thankfulness has made -- thankfulness that the family wanted me to be part of the funeral, thankfulness that I could actually do what they needed, thankfulness for music and for the irreplaceable beauty of the old hymns. And after it is all over, I am EVER so thankful that everything went well!

As I was hurrying out to practice with Elaine on Friday night, I forgot about some ice on our dark driveway, and...well, I think I might have been fodder for one of those funniest home videos! I said out loud, "Am I all right?" I seemed to be, so I got up and went on up the street to Elaine's. But in the back of my mind, I knew that if you are middle-aged and go wham! on the ice, there might be a price to pay, so I was praying all the time that I wouldn't wake up the next morning so stiff and sore that I could not play the piano properly. Yesterday, except for some slight tenderness when I set my right elbow on the table, I really did not notice anything wrong, and I can assure you my thankfulness was soaring! Today I am noticing that there is some muscle strain in my right arm, but how thankful I am that my prayer was answered!

Now tonight I am practicing being thankful again. Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with the dentist. He told me I have a cavity under the cap on one of my teeth as well as one on the adjacent tooth, so tomorrow he is "going in there" and will decide if he can fix it or if I need to have a root canal. Oh dear! So now I am practicing being thankful... I'm thankful that I live near a dentist, that there are pain meds available to me, and that I can afford to go and have my cavities taken care of. That is not the case for many of the people in this world. How blessed I am!

And as far as the weight loss goes...I will be thankful for any weight I show tomorrow morning...gain or loss!! It has been that kind of a week!