Seven of Nine
Yesterday morning I woke up earlier than necessary, expecting that Jasper would already be gone on his camping trip, because he had planned to leave at 6:00. Instead, I found him and his friend just loading the friend’s truck.
Turns out, Jasper had sprayed waterproofing on his tent Saturday evening, and had left it to dry out thoroughly overnight. Meanwhile, it didn’t even occur to Walter that the tent might still be up, so he ran the sprinklers. Jasper woke up to a tent full of water that had sprayed in through the open door. Once again, our tendency to save old towels more or less forever was justified.
He and his friend were gone by the time Walter got up, and they made it safely to their beach campsite on the Gulf coast.
We went to church and stayed for the dinner/business meeting afterward. As we enjoyed our meal, I noticed a girl we know was sitting at the next table. Two years ago, this girl was with our group on our first trip to Belize. At the time she was eleven, and she was quite chummy with Walter and me. We spent quite a bit of time talking to her.
Yesterday, I had trouble recognizing her at first, because she now appears to be eighteen and could easily pass as a college student. I haven’t seen her except from a distance for the last two years, so it came as quite a shock. I stopped to talk to her for a moment and she told me she has a scholarship to a music camp in Boston this summer. I’m still trying to grasp how she could have grown up that much in two years!
After church we went to the parking lot and Robin gave me her sewing machine to use until mine is fixed. I’m so grateful!
We had a nice Zoom with the kids—Flynn and his girls, Spencer and Jade, and Lina. Lina is still packing for her move. We’re planning to go down and help one day next week. The grandgirls were as energetic as always.
It was a pretty quiet evening with just the two of us. I got some more fabric prepared and set up Robin’s machine in my sewing room. It’s a good machine, just different from mine, so it took a little adjusting while I figured out where all the controls are.
And Walter brought down the suitcases:
It’s getting real, y’all. Thirteen days!
This morning I got some laundry going before heading out to Walmart for a couple of things. I still had to do my usual exercise, and hang clothes, but I did get going on the sewing too. What a relief to have a loaner machine, since I won’t even be able to take mine in until tomorrow morning.
We had a very quiet supper, and just as it ended, a sunburned and exhausted young man arrived.
The camping trip was supposed to go until tomorrow, but Jasper and his friend decided they couldn’t handle another night of being covered in mosquitoes. They did have a good time swimming in the ocean, but had to set up camp twice because the first place they picked was apparently not in the approved area.
So anyway, they came back and Jasper made a beeline for the shower to wash the salt off his body before even having any supper. I bet he’ll sleep well tonight!
Meanwhile, I continued sewing. I finished the bag I had started on Friday, and then got two more bags done today. This means I have finished seven of the nine bags I’ve committed to making before our trip—eight to take to Zambia, and one for someone local. I have several other things to make, however. I’m not going to be able to slow down.
Quote of the Day:
On the Zoom yesterday, Flynn was trying to get Paisley to tell us about her week.
Flynn: “What did you do this week?”
Paisley: “I licked you.”
This is hilarious to us because Flynn was a “licker” as a toddler and we had no idea it was hereditary!
Parting Shot:
One of our sunflowers is a bit of an overachiever. It’s well over twelve feet tall!