Meanwhile, Walter had a frustrating morning. He learned that his doctor’s request for a PET scan had been denied—again. The cancer center said they would appeal—again. Then he tried to schedule the colonoscopy that his doctor wants him to get, only to learn that they can’s squeeze him in before August! (We are hoping to leave late August.)

Once I finished with my Bible reading I worked some more on our mailing list and then tackled attempt #2 and #3 for a prayer card. I am very slow at doing that kind of thing because I have no idea what I’m doing except through trial and error. I finally came up with something we can live with, so the next step is getting it printed.

This afternoon I ventured forth to the East Texas Sewing Center. All these months that I’ve been selling stuff bit by bit, my goal has been to save enough money to buy a new serger that I can take to Zambia with me. I expect that I’ll be doing a fair amount of sewing there, and I’m sure I can get a basic sewing machine once I arrive, but I want to have a serger to work with as well, because I am very spoiled and it really speeds things up.

So anyway, my current serger is 25 years old. I don’t want to take that because it’s already pretty unreliable and I have no confidence that I’d be able to get it fixed over there. So, what with selling those lanterns yesterday, I figured I had about half of what I’d need to get a basic reliable serger that I could run off a transformer. But to be honest, I didn’t actually know.

So I thought I’d go up there and talk to Petrina and see what she recommends. I figured if she could give me a number to shoot for then I’d know where I stand and how much more I need to save. When I walked in there were two ladies ready to help me, but this was a case where I really wanted to talk to Petrina (the owner) because I’ve trusted her advice for over 30 years and she knows what she’s talking about.

Apparently my request interrupted her lunch, but she came out to talk to me. I explained the situation—that I’m moving to Zambia as a missionary and need a basic serger that I will have to run off a transformer. She immediately called in one of the mechanics. The transformer issue is the tricky bit because electronics don’t always like that, and today’s sergers have a lot more electronics than my antique in my sewing room.

Anyway, after discussing it for a few minutes (and looking up some stuff online) they agreed that a model by Brother would be my best bet, because it is a proven performer and is widely available in many countries, which means there might be some hope of getting parts for it overseas. Up until this point, no price had been mentioned, so I had to ask. The suspense was killing me. The price was, as I had kind of guessed, about twice what I have saved so far. Now that I knew that, I knew how much more stuff I’d need to sell to be able to afford it. That was the whole point of my visit—just to get a ballpark figure to aim for.

But Petrina said, “Let me go crunch the numbers and see what kind of a discount I can give you. I can’t go to the mission field but maybe I can help you get there.” She also told me her aunt and uncle had been missionaries in Zaïre for many years. I talked to the mechanic while waiting for her, and he told me what size of transformer I would need.

Then Petrina returned and told me what she would sell me the serger for—the amount that I had already saved. I couldn’t believe it. I was in shock. I had not walked into that store expecting to buy a serger today. But I did. I left it there since I will be going back on Tuesday to learn how to use it. I’m sure it’s many steps up from my current one, which I also bought at that same store. I’m still just gobsmacked. I went in hoping to get some advice and an idea of what to shoot for, and I was shown great kindness and generosity. After I learn how to use the new serger, they will pack it back into the box for me to protect it when I have to take it in my luggage on the plane. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.

So I came home, still amazed at what had happened, only to find Walter dealing with more frustration. The insurance had denied his PET scan for the third time, saying he does not qualify. Kind of made us wonder what you have to do to qualify. Anyway, they said they might reconsider if he has a biopsy first.

So he called and was able to schedule the biopsy for June 15. He could have had it a week earlier except that we’ll be out of town for orientation then. These delays are very frustrating to both of us. We just want to know what we’re facing.

This afternoon I finished the book I’ve been reading. I don’t remember who recommended it to me, but if you’re reading this, THANK YOU. The book is The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, published in 1951. The premise is that a detective confined to bed due to an injury spends his time investigating King Richard III and whether or not he really did kill his nephews.

If you didn’t have to study British history in school as I did, you might not find it all that compelling, but I was so fascinated by it I could hardly put it down. It’s only the second book I’ve read this year that I rated at five stars. I absolutely loved it and I loved the way it was researched and presented. I’ll probably read more of her books.

But a thing that puzzled me all the way through the book was the title. There was no “daughter” in the book, at least not one that was a major player. So I looked it up, and found that my confusion was due to a lack of education. I like to think of myself as pretty well read, but I had never heard the quote from Sir Francis Bacon that states, “Truth is the daughter of time.” Suddenly the title of the book makes perfect sense.

Joy Spark: I had an online conversation with another childhood friend. I love it. And I have been touched and delighted by some of the people who’ve asked to be on our newsletter list.

Parting Shot:

The echinacea is just starting to bloom and has exactly four flowers right now. Many more are coming.

I had secretly hoped that my first child would be a daughter, making her at least the fifth in a line of firstborn daughters. We had some rough times in the early months, mostly due to me being a new mother and her being a new human. But eventually, we figured it out. Even as a baby she was so smart and funny.

Over the last forty years, she has brought me a great deal of joy.

I’m so glad we were able to celebrate with her over the weekend.

I tried calling her this evening but I assume she was partying with her friends. I did text her also.

We are so proud of her. She went to the mission field as a teacher at the age of 23. Nine years later, she came back to Texas and taught here for several years before transitioning into library work. She worked hard to earn her master’s degree and has made a fulfilling life for herself in Nacogdoches. This month has been a banner month for her and for us, because we’ve seen her five times! Usually we go months at a time between visits.

This rainy morning after the usual Bible reading and tea, I worked on our newsletter list and on writing some thank-you notes, because we have already received some generous gifts toward our outgoing fund. It didn’t occur to us to check our account at the mission until a couple of days ago.

Late in the morning Walter and Jasper went to Lowe’s to buy lumber and polyurethane, and I went to Walmart to get a few things before going back to work on newsletter stuff. Walter used some of the lumber he bought to make some repairs on the house exterior.

There have been some phone calls, but no movement forward on Walter’s medical stuff. They did schedule him for a colonoscopy—in August. We were hoping for something a little sooner!

Joy Spark: Well, I didn’t mention it yesterday, but yesterday’s was seeing Rhea. Today’s was a text conversation with a childhood friend that I haven’t heard from in years, and who wants to receive our newsletters. She sent photos of her kids and got me caught up on her life. I was so tickled to hear from her. And I miss my mother, because she also would have been so interested to know that I was back in touch with this old friend who shares her name—Donna.

Parting Shot:

Hydrangeas are still hanging in there.

I took a break from my cleaning frenzy to drink my tea and read my Bible, and then we set off for Walter’s doctor appointment, at which we learned nothing new. This is the internist that he saw a couple of weeks ago, that started this whole rollercoaster we’re now riding.

It feels like a line of dominos crashing into each other. The first appointment led to the emergency room, which led to the oncologist, which led to a request for a PET scan, which led to the scan being denied, which led to today’s appointment, which led to promises of a colonoscopy to come, in the addition to the PET scan and genetic testing and most likely a consultation with a urologist.

We are still waiting for the insurance company to approve the scan, which was postponed from Friday to??? Who knows. They didn’t recognize the authority of the oncologist so his PCP was going to call them this afternoon and see if she had any luck.

Eventually, we returned home and I went right back to cleaning the kitchen and also the living room—both of which desperately needed to be done, so I’m super grateful to Rhea for offering to come visit me, because it was just the motivation I needed.

Rhea arrived at about 2:00, having driven over from Lindale (almost an hour’s drive). Usually I drive to see her on her farm, but today she came to see me and brought me some beef! Rhea and I were classmates in Kenya back in the 1970s. I was thrilled when she moved to this area because none of our other classmates live this close. She is a sweet friend and I always enjoy visiting with her.

After she left I had time to get ready for my Zoom critique meeting, for which only one other person showed up, and then our regular Zoom writers group meeting, for which we had a few more people. I felt like tonight’s discussion went pretty well. At least I enjoyed it.

Parting Shot:

The zinnias are looking pretty good!

Today I started the day like I do every Monday, sorting out all my prescriptions and supplements for the week. Then I realized today was bread day. I don’t have a certain day that I make bread—just whenever the guys eat all of the previous loaf. So I hauled out the sourdough and made bread dough this morning. And also a cake, since I sent all of Saturday’s cake home with Lina and the Annas.

I also, of course, got my Bible reading done. Over the weekend I read through the book of Daniel, and I have to say that this book in particular has been a great comfort to me this year. I grew up on Sunday School stories of Daniel in the lion’s den, and of his three friends in the fiery furnace.

What struck me this year, on both the first and second reading, was that surely God could have arranged for Daniel and his friends to have avoided their deadly punishments. Instead, their sentences were carried out as ordered. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fire bound, and the men who threw them in died from the heat. Instead of getting out of it, they were accompanied through it by one whom most believe to be the Lord himself. Likewise Daniel, when faced with hungry lions, saw their mouths supernaturally shut. God never promised we’d get to avoid hardships—just that He’d walk through them with us. That is something I’ve clung to these last few years. Whatever I’m going through, I’m not alone.

Meanwhile, Walter hung the flag in honor of Memorial Day:

And then worked on the house trim painting project. Little by little, it is getting done.

Since today was a holiday, the Annas did not have to work so they both came over for supper to share Saturday’s leftovers with us (Jasper had plans with friends).

Afterward, we introduced them to the game of Yahtzee:

There was much laughter, and they caught onto the strategy element of it very quickly. We played three games and three different people won. After that it was time for cake and ice cream. Today’s cake was a lemon cake, because I know both girls love it. And we still had plenty of homemade ice cream.

Joy Spark: Yesterday’s joy spark was getting to see the grandgirls on Zoom for the first time in two weeks. Today’s was getting a hug from Joanna, also for the first time in two weeks.

Parting Shot:

I’m gonna keep posting photos of our lovely flame lilies as long as they’re in bloom.

How Can I Keep From Singing?

Pauline T.

My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentations,
I hear the real, tho’ far-off hymn
That hails a new creation;
Above the tumult and the strife
I hear its music ringing;
It sounds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Savior liveth

What though the darkness gather round

Songs in the night he giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that rock I’m clinging;
Since Christ is lord of heav’n and earth,
How can I keep from singing?

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear,
And hear their death-knell ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near,
How can I keep from singing?
In prison cell and dungeon vile,
Our thoughts to them are winging;
When friends by shame are undefiled,
How can I keep from singing?

I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smooths
Since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?

I spent the morning making cookies and getting chicken wings into some marinade and making deviled eggs. We were planning a big cookout for supper to celebrate Lina’s birthday, which is next Wednesday. She had said she would bring the cake. She usually likes to bring her own birthday cake—it’s a great chance to try a new recipe.

Well, when we hadn’t heard from her by midafternoon we were a little concerned. Then we did hear from her, and apparently she never got my message saying that this day would work for us (she gave us two choices). So here we were waiting for her, and she had no idea we were expecting her.

I was so afraid she wouldn’t be able to come. I was on my exercise bike and I pedaled so furiously I finished in record time and had noodle legs afterward. Then, bless her, Lina decided to go ahead and drive up anyway, which meant she’d get here right about suppertime.

I realized that since she hadn’t planned to come, she wouldn’t have made a cake, so I grabbed a cake mix and got a cake in the oven in about five minutes flat. Then I got the chicken wings already to go in the minute the cake came out. I did the wings in the oven because otherwise the grill would have been too crowded.

Walter got the charcoal going, and once the cake was out of the oven and the wings were in the oven, I got the bratwurst going on the grill before coming back into the house to whip up some strawberry icing for the strawberry cake. The icing was a weird color so I added to red food coloring in hopes of creating a pale pink. What I got was an eye-searing shade of hot pink. Oh well, I didn’t have time to start over.

I got Walter to go out and grill the burgers while I did all the inside work and got the table set. Cianna arrived about the same time Lina did. Joanna didn’t make it again due to a long day at work.

We sat down to quite a birthday feast. We had brisket, wings, bratwurst, and burgers. Corn on the cob, coleslaw, potato salad, chips and dip. It was so good to have Lina here.

After visiting a while, we pulled out the very vivid cake and the homemade ice cream. Lina had picked up some cupcakes on the way here so that was another choice.

After that Cianna left, but not before I gave her food to take back for both herself and Joanna. Everybody (including Lina) also got cookies to take home.

Lina stayed a little longer to visit and we gave her a gift—a bag with many pockets. She shares my love of a good bag. I have one that I got in the winter and really liked, so I wanted her to have one too.

We have been so spoiled getting to see Lina so many times this month. It has really been lovely. And it’s a big month for her—graduating with her master’s degree and having a milestone birthday also. We are so proud of her.

Joy Spark: finding out that Lina was coming after all!

Parting Shot:

The birthday girl with the last-minute cake.

It started off okay. I showered and went to Aldi, where I found myself in the vicinity of a woman I have often seen there. I’ll call her Nana because she is usually with her granddaughter (a toddler) and always refers to herself in the third person as Nana. Today she also had her teenage son with her. I always find her conversation amusing.

We both ended up in the “Aldi finds” aisle, where Nana was longingly holding a brightly-colored cutting board while on the phone with someone (her husband?) who was clearly trying to talk her out of it. The teenage boy was on her side. The cutting board was very cute:

(Lifted from Aldi’s website.) Eventually, with obvious regret, Nana ended the phone call and replaced the cutting board on the shelf. She said to her son, “I need to face the fact that I have a thing for cutting boards.”

I wanted to step up and say, “Same, Nana. Me too.” But I didn’t. I had a serious cutting board habit for years but have gotten rid of almost all of them due to my concerns about microplastics. I still have some wooden ones and even one metal one. But the cute plastic ones are all gone.

Once I returned home, I put some eggs in the instant pot before even finally making my morning tea. This is when disaster struck. I had to open a new bottle of heavy whipping cream. The lid was very hard to turn, so I used a device that helped me loosen it. Then, when my tea was ready, I gave the bottle a vigorous shake to mix the cream inside.

Turns out the lid was a lot looser than I thought. It went flying, as did a fountain of cream all over my face, chest, hair, the counter, the sink, and the carpet in front of the sink. Nothing in my previous life prepared me for this eventuality. I wiped off what I could before going to ask my husband to work on the mess in the kitchen while I tried to clean myself up.

The front of my shirt was covered in cream, as were my neck and chest. The right side of my hair was dripping with cream. I really didn’t want to take another shower. So I settled for a sponge bath and rinsing the affected hair out very thoroughly with the sprayer in the kitchen sink. Meanwhile, Walter hauled the rug outside and hosed it down until all the cream was gone. It’ll take a couple of days to dry—if it doesn’t get rained on.

Obviously, I should have checked the lid of the cream bottle before shaking it. You know, for years now I’ve had a secret hope that maybe the day would come when I would have completely used up my LSA (Lifetime Stupidity Allowance). I’m beginning to suspect that there are depths of stupidity yet to be mined.

After that excitement I was very glad to sit down with my tea and my Bible reading. Today I read the book of Esther. It’s one of my favorites because it’s just such a great story. The role reversal! The irony! “What should be done for the man the king wishes to honor?” I love it.

I got the eggs cooled and put in the fridge and then put the ice cream in the mixer to be beaten (after being in the freezer all night) while I washed out my cream-soaked shirt by hand. The ice cream has to be beaten for at least 10 minutes—sometimes more—until it doubles in volume and has no trace of ice crystals.

Then I realized that I needed to run some more errands. I’m going to need charcoal for our cookout tomorrow, and not having anticipated dousing myself in cream, I hadn’t bought any at Aldi, so I needed that too. I also needed some greeting cards for upcoming birthdays.

I’m not sure what possessed me, but I decided to go to the Hallmark store in the mall to look at cards. I hadn’t been to the mall in years—in fact it had been so long that I really had to think about how to get there. And I certainly haven’t been in a Hallmark store for even longer, because I always feel their stuff is overpriced.

I drove to the entrance I had always used in the past, which was at Beall’s (a large department store). I don’t think I knew Beall’s had departed. The sign over the entrance now reads L’Patricia. This irritates me. You should never put an “L” with an apostrophe in front of a word that begins with a consonant. It’s not quite as egregious as that store we used to have in town that was named “Le Femme,” but it still bothers me.

But I digress. I walked through the door expecting to find myself in L’Patricia, whatever that is. Instead my mouth hung open in surprise because instead of being in any store at all, I was at the beginning of a long hallway that led directly to the belly of the beast, as it were. The spaces on my right were mostly empty, and on the left I eventually encountered L’Patricia. It is a women’s clothing store with many revealing outfits for sale.

I emerged into the main thoroughfare of the mall, to find myself completely baffled. Almost everything I remember is gone. Sears is now a furniture store. The arcade is still there, though, and its décor is on point:

I strode confidently to where I remember the Hallmark place being, and it wasn’t there. I admitted that my memory might be faulty, and that perhaps it was down by Penney’s instead of Sears. So I went down to the center and then out on the other long “leg” of the mall. No sign of a Hallmark store.

However, when I got all the way to the open area in front of Penney’s there was another long corridor to my left, and it looked like the sign over the door at the end said “Hallmark.” It did. It is much bigger than their old store. Whew! Success at last. I browsed through the cards and found a few that I really liked, along with some wrapping paper.

Then I went to check out. There were two ladies at the register. As one of them was ringing up my purchases, the other one asked, “Do you still teach classes?” I looked at her. She did look kind of familiar—but then I’m at the age where almost everyone looks kind of familiar. Turns out her daughter took several of my classes back in the day. The mom raved about how helpful they’d been and told me her daughter found college writing a breeze thanks to me. I ended up chatting for a couple of minutes and explaining that we plan to move overseas.

Then I retraced my steps through the completely unfamiliar mall and exited through that long hallway I’d come in through:

So different! Very disorienting. From there I drove to a grocery store where I could buy charcoal and cream. I was very ready for tea when I got home.

I got supper ready early because I had planned an outing for us this evening. Walter and I drove to Marshall and met up with my friend Rosalinda to watch a movie—The Sheep Detectives. It was very entertaining and it didn’t bother me at all that I figured it out quite early. We all really enjoyed it.

Then a weird thing happened. We walked out of the theater just as a fire truck went racing by. The air smelled heavily of smoke. I have no idea what was on fire. But here’s the thing: a few weeks ago when we went to that same theater to watch Project Hail Mary, the exact same thing happened. We came out of the theater to find the air full of smoke. I can’t help wondering—is this our new creepy superpower? Every time we go to a movie in Marshall, something catches on fire? Frankly, I’m not a fan of it.

We said our goodbyes to Rosalinda and drove home through the sunset, with occasional flashes of lighting. We either are or aren’t going to get a lot of rain in the next couple of days, depending on which weather app you consult.

Joy Spark: Hearing that yet another former student has benefited from my classes! And also, receiving my new light bulb. I have been sitting in near-darkness for the last two days after the light bulb in my computer alcove died. I have failed to find a full-spectrum light bulb of sufficient brightness at Walmart, so I had to order one and wait for two full days to be delivered from darkness. I greatly prefer a well-lit workspace.

Parting Shot:

Flame lilies are now blooming at the front of the house as well as in the sideyard. And the daylilies are out in force:

Walter went out this morning to visit friends on campus and update them on our news. I serged a bunch of raw edges on fabric and then washed and dried it in preparation for my next two sewing projects. And also knit a few rows to get to the end of a pattern repeat.

Remember a few weeks ago when I was selling all those lanterns? I sold more than 20 of them. If you thought that was the extent of my lantern collection, you were sadly mistaken. Now I’m working on reducing my oil lantern collection. This afternoon Walter and I worked on cleaning all our oil lanterns so I can sell most of them:

These were used once a month for many years at our legendary chai parties. I will keep three of them “just in case” we end up back here in a few years and want to host a backyard dinner. (Two of them did not make it into the photo.) Tomorrow I’ll work on listing them.

The other thing I did this afternoon was to spend a couple of frustrating hours working on our prayer card design. If I actually knew what I was doing, I’m sure it would take maybe 15 minutes. But for me it’s a painfully slow process of trial and error.

This evening was our monthly ladies’ night out for erstwhile homeschool moms. I got to hang out with these lovely ladies:

Sharon, Sylvia (who is also my neighbor), and Wanda. I will miss our monthly dinners when I am overseas.

After our video tonight, I made the custard for this weekend’s homemade ice cream. Tomorrow after it has frozen I will rebeat it and refreeze it and it should be perfect by Saturday.

Joy Spark: Our ladies’ night out dinner.

Wednesday Word of the Day:

Apparently I was so excited about getting our work permits that I forgot to post his last night!

ecphonesis—an emotional exclamation or passionate outcry. A girl who resorts to ecphonesis on a regular basis will soon find herself ignored.

Parting Shot:

One of our vitex shrubs is now in full bloom.

So proud of her. That was success #1 of the day. I took her back to her apartment and came home to work on some of my own chores. Then I had a sudden urge to go to the tearoom. I haven’t been since before my trip to Dad’s, and I just found myself longing for a little interlude where I could sit and sip tea in a peaceful setting. Walter was working on house stuff so I went by myself.

Ah . . . To my delight, the owner Michelle was the only one working there. And I turned out to be the only customer. So I chatted with Michelle for a while and then sat in glorious solitude sipping tea and reading. It was a lovely and very welcome respite, and I had these gorgeous roses to look at:

All too soon, it was time to head back and haul the brisket out of the roaster. After 28 hours, it should have been falling-apart tender, but it wasn’t. In fact, once I got past the outer edges, it was still red inside. This is a distressing way to learn that your roaster’s thermostat is clearly defective.

So I cut away the parts that were done and put the rest back at a higher temperature for a few more hours.

Cianna came over at 5:00 with her bicycle, as she needed help getting the brakes set up properly.

It took longer than I expected, but they got it done in the end, and Cianna joined us for supper (brisket sandwiches, duh). She cycled back to her apartment before it got too dark.

And during our video this evening, I played a thrilling game of yarn chicken and won:

I really didn’t think I had enough of that green yarn. I had backup yarn, just in case.

Joy Spark: This morning I received a phone call from my Scottish friend Maggie, who is currently in the middle of a three-month camping tour of Europe with her husband (in Hungary at the moment). They had tried to send a contribution to our outgoing fund and it had caused some problems with their bank. Eventually it got sorted out and the bonus was that I got to talk to Maggie for a few minutes. I thought that was going to be today’s joy spark, and it is—but there’s more.

This afternoon we received word from Amano that our work permits have already been approved and issued—after only 8 days, instead of the 2-4 months we’d been told to expect. So that’s super good news—today’s success #2—but the work permits are quite expensive. As it happens, God clearly knew our work permits would be issued today, because the contribution that Maggie and Dave sent was almost the exact amount we need to pay for the work permits. So if you were praying about our work permits, thank you!

Parting Shot: This is a tale of two hydrangeas. The big hydrangea to the left of our front door is absolutely spectacular—but only every other year. This isn’t one of the years:

You can barely tell it’s even a hydrangea. On the right side of our front steps is a scraggly little hydrangea that has struggled to produce a bloom or two each spring. However, this year it is considerably more successful than its big sister:

We have learned through sad experience that trying to use the toaster oven when the roaster is on results in a roaster/toaster calamity due to the circuit overloading. This way we don’t forget and the brisket can continue its very slow roasting.

I drove onto the campus and then had to pull into a parking lot to text Cianna, because I realized I didn’t know where to find her. She moved out of the dorm on Sunday and into her summer lodging, which is a “fourplex” on the campus.

We soon sorted it out and were on our way to Kilgore. I had kind of wondered if Cianna needed more help with driving practice, but it turns out she had it sorted. She completed all her online course requirements and gathered all her paperwork together. So today I drove her to a modest little driving school, where she had a driving test which she passed with flying colors.

However, she learned there was one requirement she hadn’t completed—a one-hour video about the consequences of distracted driving. Her document couldn’t be released until she had watched it. Once I understood the situation, and learned that she had her computer with her, I offered to just stay in the parking lot while she watched the video in the car. I was so glad I had brought my Kindle and had a book to read! In fact I finished the book Lina had sent me for Mother’s Day and updated my reading record this evening:

Once Cianna had watched the video, the office was alerted to that fact, and she could go back inside and be issued a sealed document which must be presented to the DPS in order to have her actual license issued.

By the time she had her sealed envelope, it was after noon, so I took her to Dairy Queen for lunch. I had planned to treat her, but as it turned out she had a Dairy Queen gift card. She had never been to Dairy Queen.

Now she has. We had a nice visit over lunch and then I drove her back to the campus. She messaged me later to say that she has an appointment at the DPS tomorrow, so we’ll be going back out again and hopefully returning with a driver’s license.

Meanwhile, during the three-and-a-half hours that I was gone, Walter did yardwork and also some scraping on the house trim. And then, late in the afternoon, the rain we’d been promised finally arrived. We need rain. And apparently we’ll be getting a lot of it over the next ten days.

Now it’s late in the evening and the brisket is starting to smell pretty good. It should be done by tomorrow afternoon.

Joy Spark: Being able to help Cianna with her driver’s license process.

Parting Shot:

We felt we should memorialize her first visit to Dairy Queen!

They perfume the whole yard.

This morning we did our usual Monday morning chores—for me, that includes portioning out my prescriptions and supplements for the week. By the time I finished my breakfast and Bible reading, it was almost time for Kim to come over. Between my travels and her graduation preparations for Olivia, she hadn’t been able to come over for about a month. So we had plenty of catching up to do.

Meanwhile, Walter was outside scrubbing all the bug guts off the car and then waxing and polishing it.

We hit so many bugs on our trips! It’s that time of year.

Kim left at lunchtime, so I pivoted to doing a lot of little tasks like making phone calls (the worst), washing and drying our winter comforter so I can pack it away, writing a few notes, paying bills, etc.

We had an early supper because I had signed us up to go to a follow-up seminar to the grandparenting conference we attended in the fall. I was very curious about how I’d feel when we got there, because it was held in another church we used to attend. The church we went to on Saturday for the graduation was a church we only attended for about three years, I think, and we never felt at home there.

The church we went to this evening was a church we attended for longer, and a longer time ago—from about 1998 to 2003, I think. There were a lot of things we loved about that church, but as time went on we learned our kids were being systematically bullied by the other kids for being homeschooled. The youth leadership made no effort to stop it. It was so bad that some of our kids had nightmares about it for years afterward.

But while we were there, they let us have our homeschool co-op classes there, and the banquet, and the meetings. We were very grateful for that. And Walter also had the cleaning contract for that church, which enabled us to make ends meet for several years.

However, we hadn’t set foot inside that building for at least 20 years. We could see that they’d done some remodeling on the outside, but we weren’t prepared for the transformation on the inside. Everything was so different! The meeting was held in the fellowship hall, which had been built during the years we attended:

We also had many homeschool events there. So weird to be back again. And several church members were there too—believe it or not, they all looked 20 years older than the last time we saw them! We sat at a table with other couples from our church. The presentation was on applying the five love languages to grandparenting. I’m glad I went.

Joy Spark: yesterday’s was getting to talk to Lina on Zoom. Today’s joy spark came at tonight’s meeting. I was approached by an old friend from early homeschooling days. Phyllis taught science to Lina and Flynn in our very first co-op classes, held in that very church. Her daughter and my daughter were both in the first graduating class of our homeschool group. I probably hadn’t seen her in 20 years, although Flynn and I saw her husband (a doctor) during some toe troubles he had as a teenager. It was a delight to see Phyllis again, even just to chat for a couple of minutes.

Parting Shot:

A new lily in our front yard.

Albert B. Simpson

O how sweet the glorious message simple faith may claim
Yesterday, today, forever Jesus is the same.
Still He loves to save the sinful, heal the sick and lame
Cheer the mourner, still the tempest, glory to His name.

Refrain

Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same.
All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His name!
Glory to His name! Glory to His name!
All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His name!

He, who was the friend of sinners, seeks the lost one now
Sinner come, and at His footstool penitently bow
He who said I’ll not condemn thee, go and sin no more,
Speaks to thee that word of pardon as in days of yore.

Refrain

Oft on earth He healed the sufferer by His mighty hand
Still our sicknesses and sorrows go at His command
He who gave His healing virtue to a woman’s touch
To the faith that claims His fullness still will give as much.

Refrain

He who pardoned erring Peter never needst thou fear,
He who came to faithless Thomas all thy doubt will clear;
He who let the loved disciple on His bosom rest
Bids thee still, with love as tender, lean upon His breast.

Refrain

He who ‘mid the raging billows walked upon the sea
Still can hush our wildest tempest, as on Galilee;
He who wept and prayed in anguish in Gethsemane
Drinks with us each cup of trembling, in our agony.

Refrain

As of old He walked to Emmaus, with them to abide
So through all life’s way He walketh ever near our side
Soon again we shall behold Him, Hasten Lord the day
But twill still be this same Jesus as He went away.

Refrain

When my parents were still in college, my dad had a friend named Stan. As a child I heard stories of the hair-raising road trips Dad and Stan took driving to and from college, flying down the highway and changing drivers without even slowing down.

Stan eventually married a lady named Inez. In my early childhood, we lived in Michigan and they lived in South Carolina, so I never met them. I’m not even sure I knew that the Stan from the stories was married and had a family.

We moved to Zambia when I was eight years old. By the time I was fifteen, we were living at the Itimpi Conference Center, and although it was near a town, we were very isolated there. I was continuing my education by correspondence, having graduated from Sakeji. I had to wait for my name to move up on the waiting list for the boarding school in Kenya. My brothers were all still at Sakeji, and there were no teenagers around except my entertaining Scottish neighbors whom I rode horses with, so I was very lonely.

One day, Dad brought the mail back from town and there was a package for me. It was from a lady named Inez Koenke. I had no idea who that was. My parents knew exactly who it was, but they were also puzzled.

I opened the package. It was a very thoughtful collection of items aimed at what a fifteen-year-old girl might like (and she would know, because she had a daughter my age). There were some exotic American goodies, including Tang drink mix. Some accessories, a couple of books, some Seventeen magazines, and some embroidery craft kits. I could hardly believe that a total stranger would send me all this cool stuff.

The box also contained a letter, which was several pages long. In it, she told me a little about herself and her four children—three girls and a boy. And she explained why she’d sent me a package and written to me.

She knew I was at home by myself, trying to do school on my own while my brothers were away. (I assume this information came from my parents’ prayer letters.) She knew I’d be lonely, and she felt that it would be even more intense because I was the only girl and had no sister. She told me that she’d been praying for me daily for years because she thought I needed extra prayer because of being the only girl. Years this lady prayed for me and I didn’t even know who she was!

I read and re-read her long chatty letter several times before writing a thank-you letter in return. She had kind of a rambling, stream-of-consciousness approach to letter writing so it helped to read her letters more than once.

Because yes, there were more. During that time I was stuck at home, she continued to write to me and sent me a couple more packages. Each package was filled with items that seemed perfectly chosen to delight me. It was hard for me to understand how this stranger in the USA cared enough to send me these lovely things.

Then I went off to school in Kenya, and the packages stopped, although I still received letters. Halfway through my senior year, I went home in distress and my parents scrambled to find a different school for me. They decided on Bob Jones Academy in South Carolina.

You may not know this, but if your parents send you to another country and you are under the age of eighteen, you have to have a legal guardian in that country. The only people my parents knew well in Greenville, South Carolina were Stan and Inez, who lived within walking distance of the campus. My parents asked, and Stan and Inez agreed to be my legal guardians.

I couldn’t wait to meet Inez after exchanging letters with her for a couple of years. I pictured her as a kindred spirit with whom I could develop a warm relationship.

In person she was nothing at all like I’d imagined her to be from her letters. My mother and I stayed with them for a couple of weeks while my mom frantically sewed me a new wardrobe (I arrived in the USA with exactly one dress.) Inez took us shopping for all the things I’d need (including makeup!) and I was just so overwhelmed by it all.

My mother left soon after I moved into the dorm (my third boarding school). One big advantage of having Stan and Inez as my legal guardians was that it was relatively easy for me to get off campus to spend time with them. Going to the grocery store to buy tea, for instance, required written permission and three other girls to accompany me, all of whom also had to have written permission.

But since they were my legal guardians, Stan and Inez could have me over for meals and it wasn’t a big deal. I got to know their family well. Their oldest daughter Glenda was my age and in my class. A year below us was Melody, followed by Scott and Bonnie.

Their household was very different from my own—much more chaotic. Arguments were frequent and sometimes loud. The television was on all the time. After growing up without it, I found it annoying. And Inez and I got on each other’s nerves a lot. I think she was just as surprised by me as I was by her. I don’t think she realized the enormity of what I was going through, what I had lost, and how terrifying it was for me to be trying to integrate into American culture as well as the culture of a very strict school.

One of the funnier clashes we had was over tea. I was thrilled to discover that she was also a tea drinker, because that meant I could make myself tea when I was at her house. But this created conflict because right from the start, Inez saw me make myself tea and then throw the teabag in the trash.

Boy, did I get in trouble! Inez used the same teabags over and over again. There was a big pile of them by the stove and I soon learned that if I didn’t want to irritate her, I’d have to use the teabags from the pile. I often had to use three or four teabags in my cup to even be able to tell it was tea (and then return them to the pile). I’m not sure why she chose that particular thing to economize on. And maybe she didn’t know that after one use, the tea is decaffeinated. But I had to learn to do it her way, and the whole family made fun of me for my wasteful tea-brewing habits.

But despite these minor conflicts, she showed me love and hospitality at a time when I desperately needed it. I was suffering from severe undiagnosed depression. She didn’t understand my struggles, but she welcomed me into her home and sometimes would send a batch of freshly-baked cookies to my dorm room to cheer me up. And despite the chaos of their household, it was a refuge for me when I needed to get away from the oppressive rules at the school.

Perhaps that is one reason why as an adult I’ve had such a heart for international students and MKs who are far from home. Someone showed great kindness to me all those years ago, and I’ve tried to pay it forward.

I only lasted a year and a half there (one semester of high school plus summer school, and one year of university), but I’m not sure I would have made it at all without Stan and Inez. After I left, I looked forward to Inez’s long rambling year-end letters every year. I visited a couple of times and was welcomed with open arms.

Stan and Melody both died years ago, but I kept in touch with Inez as I was able. I was concerned when there was no Christmas letter this past winter. Last month, before I went to my dad’s, I contacted Inez’s daughter Glenda to ask about her, because I knew my dad would also be interested. Glenda responded that her mother had died last August.

I’m still coming to terms with that loss. Despite having personalities that weren’t terribly compatible in real life, I loved Inez dearly and have never forgotten the compassion she showed to a lonely fifteen-year-old girl in Zambia all those years ago. I miss her. And I wish I could have seen her again.

This is the only photo I could find of her—from her obituary page. I have none of my own.

Yes, today we had another graduation. This was a homeschool graduation, and we had been invited to attend on behalf of our neighbor Olivia, a former student of mine and also the daughter of my dear friend Kim. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

I held Olivia as a newborn (and knew her dad years before he even got married). I was thrilled when Olivia was born on my own daughter’s tenth birthday. So I’ve known her at every stage of her life, and have enjoyed watching her grow up. I loved having her as a student. She was so enthusiastic.

The graduation ceremony was held in a church that we used to attend, but hadn’t been inside for over six years, I think. That was weird, to be honest—walking back in there. This was the largest graduating class the homeschool group has ever had—24 graduates!

As I sat there waiting for it all to start, and picking out former students in the audience, I realized that this is almost certainly my last time to attend a homeschool graduation. It was kind of a full-circle moment for me, because our family happened to initiate the very first graduation ceremony for this same homeschool group back in 2004. Our daughter Lina was one of the first six graduates! Graduations are much larger and more tech-heavy now than that first simple ceremony, where each dad spoke words of encouragement to his graduating senior.

One of my other former students was among the graduates also—a girl name Khloe, who I still think of as being like eight years old! And afterward I got to see her big brothers, who used to hang out with Jasper all the time when they were kids and lived across the street from us. One of them is now married—and why shouldn’t he be?—but it still weirds me out a little.

They kept the ceremony right at one hour long, and then we could go to another room to congratulate the graduates and see their display tables. And of course I saw even more of my old homeschool friends. We spent most of our time talking to Kevin, Kim’s husband, whom we’ve known since he was a college student.

Then we drove home, and I did a quick tour of the yard because I had looked out the window and seen the backyard roses blooming again.

And then I continued on to the south side of the house where I found more flame lilies:

I retrieved the gift I’d prepared, and we walked across the street for Olivia’s graduation party, where we were eagerly greeted by Susie the dog. She’s my favorite dog. I got a hug from Olivia:

And an unsolicited comment to the effect that college writing has been easy for her thanks to my teaching. (She’s been taking dual credit courses for a while.) This was echoed by Zosia, another former student and neighbor who just finished her first year at university. Two more of my former students were there too.

I really enjoyed getting to sit down with Kim and get caught up a little bit. Between my travels and her involvement with graduation, we haven’t seen each other for a few weeks. Then I thought about those lovely flame lilies, and thought Olivia might like to have them, so I walked back over to our yard, cut the lilies, and took them back to her. I knew her dad would appreciate them because Kevin, like me, grew up in central Africa.

When Olivia saw the flowers she laughed and showed me a photo. She had already sneaked into our yard to take pictures of them! And why not? They’re gorgeous.

We came back to the house so I could pick the chicken and make icing and Walter could call his cousin Sonya who wanted to know all about his health situation. They talked for an hour and a half.

Oh, and I finally finished today’s Bible reading. I didn’t have time before we left for the graduation this morning. Then I made tonight’s dinner. Cianna rode over on her bike but hadn’t heard from Joanna. Turns out she was flying, so I sent food to her via Cianna. We had lots of food. If anybody ever goes hungry in this house, it’s not my fault.

And finally, today is a special day because it’s my granddaughter Eliana’s fourth birthday! We got to have a very brief video call with her this afternoon, in which we sang to her, but we’re hoping to see her for longer on the Zoom tomorrow and hear all about her birthday bash. The card and gifts I sent did not arrive today as promised by the post office, so who knows when she’ll get them?

Joy Spark: Seeing Olivia graduate and also so many of my other former students.

Parting Shot:

The tea I bought at that Turkish place in Houston on Thursday. How could I resist?

First of all, it’s Friday, and that meant going to Aldi as soon as I had showered and finalized my list. Sadly, nothing exciting happened there today. However, when I finished at Aldi I had to go to another grocery store on Highway 80, because it’s brisket season and brisket was on sale, and also because I needed more shrimp.

Something exciting did happen there. As I walked out to my car, one police car after another sped down the highway in front of me with sirens and lights going. They were in a big hurry. This evening I finally learned that someone got drunk and stole a truck from a nearby oil field and led the police on a merry chase before finally surrendering in the Sam’s parking lot. From what I understand, the chase went on long enough to entertain most of the town before it ended.

After lunch I went out again because I needed to get a couple of things for tomorrow’s graduation. And one of the places I went was Books-a-Million, which has once again been completely reorganized so I had to go through the entire store to find what I wanted. And since it’s right next door to Michael’s, I popped in there to get a couple balls of yarn for my ongoing dishcloth project.

The minute I got home I had to leap into action making a double batch of my much-loved sausage balls for this evening’s Sunday School social. And once the first batch was in the oven, I could make my own lupper because I knew there wouldn’t be much I could eat at the potluck. In addition to the sausage balls, I took a lot of shrimp cocktail because that’s something I can always eat but rarely indulge in.

Instead of meeting at the party barn this time, we met at the lakeside home of the same couple who own the barn. The view was lovely:

They had a large porch with plenty of room as well as lots of seating inside. Walter and I ended up eating in the dining room, which had a lovely view of blooming hydrangeas outside:

I had plenty of shrimp and also a couple of pork ribs that someone else had brought. Afterward, I spent quite a bit of time talking to my friend Rosalinda, whom I hadn’t seen for a couple of weeks. So it was a pretty pleasant evening.

Joy Spark: Getting to hang out next to a lake for a while.

Parting Shot:

These purple flowers were buzzing with bees!

Yesterday morning I got some sewing done before even taking my shower. I wanted to make a little mesh bag to hold one of the things we’re giving Ellie.

Then I had this bright idea that I could multitask like a boss and eat my breakfast, drink my tea, and read my Bible while also soaking my feet. The only problem was that our internet went out right then, and I do my Bible reading online most of the time. So that part didn’t work out. I did all the other things, though.

I spent the rest of the morning getting Ellie’s box packed and addressed, and then getting my stuff packed and the tea stuff packed. We were finally ready to go a little after noon—right about the time my belated Mother’s Day flowers from Flynn were delivered:

So pretty! I just had a few minutes to admire them before we left. And then of course we had to stop at the post office to mail the package.

Then we carried out my cunning plan. Nacogdoches happens to be literally on the way between here and Houston. And a graduation gift I had ordered for Lina had finally arrived—a book-shaped vase. So we drove to Nacogdoches, bought some flowers, then drove to the library, where we trimmed the stems in the back of the car, added water (that I’d packed) and then walked into the library to surprise Lina.

We did surprise her!

And we got to see the new paint in the children’s section and meet a couple of her coworkers that we hadn’t met before. So that was a lovely start to our trip. We didn’t linger long though, since Lina was working and we wanted to get to Houston before it was too late.

On the way we drove through Livingston, where I had my finger surgery many years ago—to remove a very large tumor on my right index finger. Thankfully, it has never come back.

We got to our hotel about 5:30 I think. Very basic, but not as sketchy as I had feared. I had chosen it for its relative proximity to the German consulate.

Then we had quite a splurge, as our son Flynn had sent us a joint Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gift of a gift certificate for Texas Roadhouse, and what better time to use it than in Houston when we’d have to eat out anyway?

So we had a delectable steak dinner and then returned to the hotel, where I finally caught up with my Bible reading on my phone. We never even turned the TV on, as we both had books to read.

This morning we were up at the usual time, as we seem to be incapable of sleeping in these days. Walter was as keyed up as I’ve ever seen him. He got a pastry for breakfast and I got nothing because there wasn’t a single thing I could eat among the offerings at the hotel. But I did make myself some very good tea and got my Bible reading done on my phone again.

We checked out at 9:45 and headed downtown. Everywhere we drove we saw vitex and crepe myrtles already in full bloom. The consulate turned out to be on the 18^th floor of a high-rise building, and fortunately there was an affordable parking garage attached.

There was a rather intimidating female security guard who made us turn our phones all the way off and then put them in a little phone prison they had hanging on the wall. So I was really glad I brought my Kindle and could read while Walter was wading through the piles of paperwork he had to submit to the very nice lady at the desk. (All the magazines in the place were in German.)

Just so you understand what’s going on here—this has nothing to do with our Zambia plans. At least not directly. You may not know that my father-in-law was a German citizen at the time that Walter was born (he later became an American citizen). And Walter was raised in Germany and went through the German school system. So once it became possible, he really liked the idea of getting dual citizenship. It’s a purely sentimental thing, but also something that costs money, so he kept putting it off.

This year when we realized that we’d be getting a tax refund, I told Walter to go ahead and pursue getting his German citizenship/passport. So there we were, finally getting it done. And a side benefit is that there are times when traveling overseas that a European passport is viewed much more favorably than an American one.

The process took a little less than an hour, but in the end he was victorious!

I was allowed to take this photo of him in the consulate after our phones were released from jail.

From there we headed to the Hobbit Café for a celebratory lunch. Now the story behind this is that back in 2005, a museum in Houston had a Lord of the Rings exhibit, featuring many of the props and costumes from the movies. And, being a rather Tolkien-obsessed family, we joined some other homeschool families in going to the museum to see the exhibit. I believe I took Flynn, Mary, Mercy, and Spencer. I think Lina stayed home with Lucy and Jasper.

Anyway, at some point in the planning for that excursion, I learned that there was a Tolkien-themed café in Houston, and I saved up for the museum fees and a meal out, which was quite a project, since we also had to pay for gas and parking.

The museum exhibit was amazing, and afterward we found the Hobbit Café absolutely charming. So I have always wanted to go back and take Walter, and today was my chance. They mostly have sandwiches, and all their menu items are named after something or someone in Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. So I had a bunless “Bombur” burger, and Walter had a “Prancing Pony” burger.

The portions are very generous and the atmosphere quaint and welcoming.

Then we had another stop to make, because this morning before leaving the hotel, we finally heard from Walter’s cousin Laura, who happens to live in Houston, and whom I had messaged before the trip. Walter hadn’t seen Laura since 1979, and I had never met her. So we drove to the north side of town (on our way anyway), met up with Laura and her daughter Sarah, and then followed them to a den of decadent Middle Eastern culinary delights called Golden Roastery.

This place was amazing. So many kinds of handmade Turkish delight, baklava, roasted nuts, and confections of every kind. Plus coffee and tea.

I almost never eat nuts anymore, but I broke down and got some smoke-roasted cashews and they were fabulous. Everything we showed interest in, we were offered to taste test, and the test portions were generous. That tells me they are so confident in the quality of their goodies that they know tasting will lead to buying!

Laura was kind enough to treat us to tea (for both of us) and pastries for Walter and nuts for me. You can’t really get “caught up” after 47 years, but we had an enjoyable conversation.

Before we left, I got some pistachio baklava for Lina and Jasper, because everything just looked so fabulous.

So anyway, we left Houston quite a bit later than planned, but for a good reason. We arrived in Nacogdoches at 6:30 and drove straight to Lina’s house. Then the three of us walked several blocks to a gelato place that Lina likes, and she and Walter got three sample-sized flavors of gelato to share. I drank water.

By the time we walked back to Lina’s place, I was really hungry. We said our goodbyes and then drove to Walmart as we needed to fill the gas tank. While Walter did that, I went into Walmart in search of food. I was hoping there’d be some warm rotisserie chicken or something left. There was nothing.

And you know, I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I had a quiet little meltdown then. It wasn’t just that I was hungry and there was no food. It was all the stress of Walter’s medical stuff over the last few days, and making it through Mother’s Day, and worrying about the consulate appointment, and then having a waiter at the gelato place who looked so much like a friend of mine when he was young—a friend that I was very close to and who has since died. So yeah, there were tears.

I talked Walter into stopping at Whataburger in Mount Enterprise so I could get some plain beef patties, which took a puzzlingly long time to produce. However, once I had them I was very grateful. I don’t normally get hungry at that time of day but the last two days have not been normal at all.

We pulled into our own driveway at just about 9:30 this evening. Whew! It’s been a very full two days. And, as I expected, I walked into a kitchen full of dirty dishes. I hate that. All taken care of now.

Parting Shot:

Some brave little lantana blooming in a crack in a curb in Nacogdoches today.

In fact, I finished in time to drive home and then go with Walter to his appointment with the oncologist. The appointment was at 10:30. When we got there, we were told that actually, the 10:30 slot was for filling out paperwork, which he had already done. So after he had some blood drawn, we were waiting around for the actual appointment, which was for 11:15. Except that we weren’t called until 11:35. By then I was so sleepy because I’d had a very bad night. Maybe anxiety had something to do with it.

Anyway, the doctor is a very personable Indian lady. She confirmed what we’ve known since Thursday—that Walter does have prostate cancer, and that’s what’s causing the enlarged lymph nodes. She admitted that it might be quite widespread, but she was still very optimistic about effective treatment, and even said that it shouldn’t delay our departure for Zambia. We will have a much better idea after he gets scheduled for a prostate cancer specific PET scan.

Still, it’s a blow. No one wants to hear the “C” word. Walter has been in robust good health in the more than four decades I’ve known him. It’s very hard to think of him being sick. I am not freaking out at this point. As an optimist by choice, my default strategy is to not freak out unless and until freaking out is fully justified. But the truth is we’re both kind of stunned at the moment.

The doctor also said she’d schedule Walter for genetic testing, given his family history of cancer. There are a couple of genes that predispose you for cancer, and if he carries one or both of them, that’s something our kids need to know. So the appointment was a confirmation of our fears, and yet more hopeful than I at least expected.

Afterward, we went to Walmart to get petrol and a few things that were on my list, including some bias tape that I needed for my sewing project and that I hadn’t realized the pattern called for.

I spent the afternoon catching up on my Bible reading and sewing and making a loaf of bread.

I have really struggled with this dress. The pattern’s not hard. I just have apparently become an idiot since the last time I made something. I have made so many mistakes. I’ve had to rip out my work and try again. I did just about the ugliest zipper installation I’ve ever seen, and it was not practical to rip it out. Grrr! And there is some color variation in the fabric which I didn’t notice until it was way too late to do anything about it.

I was facing being up till long after midnight finishing the dress, when I had a brilliant idea. I’ve been sewing the pattern in the order the instructions say to, even though I don’t agree with them. So they have the sleeves as the very last thing, after the rest of the dress is finished. Well, by the time I got to that point, I was used to the dress being sleeveless. And you know, I thought it was cute without sleeves. So I just bound the armholes and declared victory. I hesitate to show it to you, but I know you’re curious:

It’s definitely a “play” dress.

One very quick bonus project tomorrow morning, and I should be able to send off Ellie’s gifts before we leave for Houston tomorrow. So don’t expect an entry tomorrow night. Again, I don’t plan to take my computer.

Joy Spark: Learning that Walter’s diagnosis isn’t a death sentence.

Parting Shot:

Our very first flame lily of the season!

Since we were away on Saturday, the Annas came over for supper yesterday, and Cianna was on a bicycle! She had bought it cheap from a departing student, I assume. She and Joanna are both staying on campus for the rest of this month. Joanna in fact is staying all summer, but Cianna will be going home to India for a few weeks in June.

So anyway, I made pizza and cheesecake and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I normally fast on Sundays, and saw no reason to change that yesterday. After supper we watched the rest of Star Wars with the girls, having started it a couple of weeks ago. They no longer have homework so they don’t have to rush off right after supper.

This morning I overslept a little but eventually got going on my Bible reading and a couple other tasks. Then, a little after noon, I suddenly realized that today was the day for the ladies’ missions meeting at church. The lunch part had already started, but I drove over there anyway and was pressured to eat something, so I went for the only thing I could eat, and that was chicken salad.

During the meeting, it was mentioned that this was the last meeting until September. So I gathered my courage and asked if anyone would be interested in signing up for our newsletter. Six ladies signed up! So hopefully that means more prayer partners.

After that, since I was out and about anyway, I drove up to the health food store to restock my kefir supply.

I did treat myself to a steak for lupper—my consolation prize for surviving yesterday—and then got to work on my sewing project. I have not finished it, as I had hoped. I’ve had a couple of setbacks. And tomorrow’s gonna be busy. Walter and I both have doctor’s appointments in the morning. Mine is first, and when I finish I’ll drive over to join him because we’re not expecting good news. We’d appreciate prayers.

Joy Spark: Yesterday’s was the Zoom with the kids. Flynn had taken the girls to a hotel for the night to give Tiffany a break, and the girls were very excited about it. Ellie apparently had a hard time sleeping. She told Flynn, “I don’t know how to sleep very well. I don’t know how to close my eyes because you never taught me.” Ha! Today’s joy spark was the kindness of a couple of the ladies at the missions meeting.

Parting Shot:

Some of our daylilies have survived repeated mole attacks.

How Good is the God We Adore

by Joseph Hart

How good is the God we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend!
His love is as great as His power,
And knows neither measure nor end.

‘Tis Jesus the First and the Last,
Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home,
We’ll praise Him for all that is past,
And trust Him for all that’s to come.

Yesterday started with a very entertaining trip to Aldi. There was a grandmother there with her granddaughter. I have seen this two-year-old before. She’s hilarious. And she always catches my attention because her looks and coloring are very similar to one of my daughters when she was that age.

So the little girl was perched precariously on the railing at the top of the shopping cart—out of the grandmother’s reach. So the grandmother explained that the cart would not be moving until the little girl—we’ll call her Blondie—either sat down in the bottom of the cart or sat in the seat at the front which was designed for exactly that purpose.

Blondie refused. Grandma stood firm. “We’ll get in trouble with the store if I let you sit like that,” she said. “It’s not safe.”

Blondie’s response made me laugh out loud. “I want to call the police.” She repeated this over and over, with increasing emphasis. “I want to call the POLICE.” Grandma turned to me (they were blocking my forward progress) and explained that Blondie had seen some cop shows on TV and apparently believed the police would come to save her from having to sit down.

When Blondie continued to be intransigent and to restate her desire to call the police, Grandma lifted her out of the cart and said, “Well, now you’ll have to walk.”

The next time I saw them, Blondie had grabbed onto the end of the cart. She had her feet on the bottom rail and was hanging onto the top rail and leaning back as far as she could. Then her hands started slipping and she gleefully yelled, “I almost FELL OFF!” And her longsuffering grandmother said, “And whose fault would that be?”

I think maybe I need to pray for Blondie’s parents. She’s a handful! (But also adorable.)

After getting back from Aldi I had time to put the food away and have a late breakfast with tea before finishing the packing for our overnight stay in Dallas. We had originally planned to leave later, but our friends wanted to have a very early supper so we had to leave at noon.

We had a pretty uneventful drive to the Dallas/Fort Worth area and found the restaurant after only a couple of tries. Then we waited in the parking lot for nearly an hour before Don and Gwen showed up. Since we had to be in Dallas overnight anyway, we figured why not meet up with our friends?

As I’ve mentioned before, I have been friends with both Don and Gwen for 59 years. Walter has only known Don for 48 years and Gwen for even less!

We were especially eager to visit with them since they worked at Amano, the school we’re going to, for several years. We might have overstayed our welcome at the restaurant a wee bit. We sat there talking for four hours! And then we went out to the parking lot and talked some more.

Eventually, we said our goodbyes and Walter and I went in search of our hotel. I’d had a splitting headache all day and was very glad to lie down after having a much-needed mug of tea.

This morning, we were up at 6:00, making tea and packing up and putting on our “nice” clothes. Unfortunately, it being a weekend, the hotel breakfast room did not open until 7:00, and we had to leave before then. We hadn’t been able to get a hotel room near the campus where Lina would be graduating, so we had a 45-minute drive to get there.

We parked kind of far away, because we didn’t know if there’d be any parking spots closer. And hey, we got some walking in! We joined the line of people waiting to get in, because the building didn’t open until 8:00. Since we were there so early, we got really excellent seats. Then, of course, we had an hour to wait!

Eventually, the place filled up and then the band started playing and the students processed in:

It was a well-planned event that didn’t drag on for hours. The undergraduates went first. Then it was time for the graduate students, among whom was one of whom we are very proud.

Lina now has a Master’s Degree in Library Science! We are so happy for her!

After the ceremony, we had a bit of trouble locating Lina on the lawn outside. I got this photo of her with the university library in the background:

Then we walked to the library and toured it. This was Lina’s first time on the campus of Texas Women’s University, because she did all her coursework online. The library was gorgeous:

And they are currently displaying gowns that belonged to past first ladies of Texas. So interesting! I think this was my favorite:

After checking out the library, we reconvened at a barbeque place Lina had chosen for our celebratory meal.

Excellent brisket. We hogged the one table in the air-conditioned interior for two hours! But it was so wonderful to be with Lina on such a triumphant day. She worked so hard to achieve this.

Lina was eager to head home to her cat and get some rest, and I had arranged to meet up with yet another friend, so we said our goodbyes. We are hoping to see Lina later this month as she has a milestone birthday coming up.

But meanwhile, we drove north of Denton to meet up with my friend Sybil. When our kids were small, Sybil and I got together once a month to let our kids play together while she and I visited. We figured out today that we’ve been friends for 32 years.

So anyway, she moved away several years ago and it had been a long time since we’d seen each other. It was so great to see her again! She is in the Dallas area helping with her grandsons for a few weeks. This time we sat and visited in a Dairy Queen for two hours. So much talking! We had a lot of catching up to do.

Then it was time for more goodbyes so we could begin the drive home. We arrived just about at 8:00 this evening. We have seen no sign of Jasper, but we’re pretty sure he’s here.

After such a lovely couple of days, I am dreading tomorrow and would appreciate prayers. Mother’s Day is a very hard day for me.

Joy Spark: Well, yesterday’s was seeing Don & Gwen! And today’s was Lina’s graduation. And seeing Sybil.

Parting Shot:

Us with our girl. We couldn’t be prouder!