Thinking Out Loud

Are you like me - a constant dance of shuffling things, trying to figure out how to make it all work? If I'm already more than halfway done with this journey, how long does it take?

Let's see - what's topsy turvy right now -

I started a Bible study, only to decide it wasn't my cup of tea and I didn't want to spend my time that way. I have finally made it to Matthew in my 'reading through the Bible in a year' and man alive, was I ever tired of prophets preaching gloom and doom.

 I can't decide what to do with my hair. Grow it or chop it off. I took a poll of my daughters and am taking their input to the hairdresser this week. It's scary when you say 'cut a little', not knowing how they translate that. My husband is not loving how I wear it right now, I want to please him, but his idea of what to do with my hair doesn't work too slick, living on a lake in Texas (short and straight). Water, heat, humidity make it take on a life all it's own. I'll let you know how it turns out. Women always care about other women's hair, right?

I've started writing more seriously. Not here, but on my computer. After taking a class online, I decided to work through a book, 'Writing the Memoir', by Judith Barrington. There are exercises after each chapter and right now I'm writing 'Bear Essentials', the told-too-often story of our family's encounter with a black bear on a hike about 20 years ago. We're all still a little PTSD from the experience; one of my son-in-laws has to get up and leave the room when we start to tell it now, it's been told so many times. I thought it would be a challenge to try to retell it in a fresh, new way. Hopefully the exercises will get me started on my book. I learned memoir and autobiography are quite different, and I'm intrigued by the idea. Not sure if I can attempt publishing while my entire family is still alive. I've also joined a Writers' Group that meets twice a month an hour's drive from here. Better find some good music for that one!

Don and I have spent the last year heading up a hospitality committee for our Sunday School. It's been very successful, getting class members together often, and I see closeness growing between us. Now I've taken on a whole new ball of wax. Our neighborhood is quite remote, absolutely no social functions, no connections between people, so we started a Hospitality Committee that I'm heading up. Our first couple of events have been very encouraging and we've got all sorts of stuff planned. Ultimately the goal is not to be social, but to be connected. I'll let you know how it goes. So far, so good.

Our middle daughter, Leslie arrives in Texas this weekend, bringing along our 5 year old grandson, Landon. It's hard not to smile just being around Landon - he's a hoot and a half, and adores us so what's not to smile about? We're excited about being part of our newest grandbaby's dedication this weekend, having all six grandkids together for Halloween (even if some of them are too little to understand or eat candy without choking.) I hear rumbles of ballerinas and star wars costumes. We're also hoping to have the house busting at the seams with all of them here at one point or another.

The lake is down over seven feet, so right now we have a beach. Don has taken this time to completely revamp the boathouse and it's looking great! And walks on the beach are nice too. We're still praying for rain in a big way, and will be shopping for a pontoon boat this coming Spring.

Has anyone watched X-Factor? When my husband asked me about it, for some reason I thought it was a show with men shooting sharp things out their fingers, or sci-fi stories. Overall I'm liking it and am rooting for every single underdog to make it. I love, love that chunky little girl with the crazy hair who wants her own bathroom. Maybe because I can absolutely relate to that one. I grew up in a three bedroom house with one bathroom and there was never privacy. If someone had to go and you were in the shower, oh well. There was never any need for a teaching of the birds and bees - it was pretty obvious. So maybe she'll get her own bathroom after all - she sure can sing!

That's it for now - except that we're giddy over temperatures that have come down, and evidence of fall all around us. It looks different here than in Pennsylvania but then we aren't getting ready for months of gloomy days either. I'll take sunshine, every single time.

PS - reading right now, "Elegance of the Hedgehog"  Interesting to say the least.

PSS - I turned comments back on. Feel free to chat or read and move on.


Comments

Unknown said…
I thought the same thing when I heard someone comment about X-Factor....maybe I was thinking X-Files. I still haven't taken the time to check it out. You have me intrigued now, though.

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