Monday, March 11, 2019

Monday musings


 The lovely graphic above is by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings.

 I didn't find time to do a Friday five post this past week.  I really missed it.  So  today I'm doing "Monday musings" instead, just jumping into what my friend Arlene calls The Stream (as in stream of consciousness).  The only streams actually running up here in New Hampshire right now are on the roadsides, as yesterday's snow melts in today's warm sun.  And I actually dipped a toe -- really, my entire foot -- into more than one of those on my walk this morning.  My socks and sneakers were soaked.

So, in no particular order, here are a few things from today and the past week.  No idea if I'll end up with five, six, or three.  This is the stream, after all.

1.Slow Cooker Clam Chowder

Photo from The Spruce
This is a delicious recipe that I have simmering in the slow cooker right now.  I had a dental procedure today, something that I hadn't been planning on.  A situation was discovered during a routine cleaning last Thursday and was repaired today.  I thought I'd play it safe and make a nice slow cooker soup for tonight's supper.  This chowder recipe is one that my daughter and I made one time in Nevada and it is SO good.  It tastes just about like the chowder at our local seafood place.

2.  Courage -- yep, my word for 2019 -- for the above-mentioned dental procedure. 
from Little Birdie Blessings
I'm a real wimp when it comes to the dentist.  Very bad childhood experiences with dentists have left their indelible impression upon me.  It takes music, headphones, prayer, and plenty of courage for me to face a procedure.  So thankful for my wonderful dentist and for God-given courage!

3.  Essaic Tea.   Link and photo are both from Amazon.

Mr. T and I have been taking this for a couple of months.  Essiac tea is a mixture of four different roots, bark and leaves used as a health tonic. It is used as an anticancer treatment, but is also used to treat other serious health problems. We started taking it just for general wellness -- one takes a capful a day.  One thing it is supposed to help a lot with is inflammation throughout the body.  And today I had proof that it's doing just that, when my dentist commended me for taking such good care of my mouth and noted that there was no inflammation or bleeding.  This has not always been the case.  I do try to take good care of my teeth and gums but some days I fail miserably.  I truly feel that the difference must be the Essiac Tea.


4.  A few (a very few) minutes for creativity this past weekend.  I enjoy using free printables to add a seasonal touch to a picture frame in our front hallway.  I wanted one with a maple sugaring theme and ended up putting together one of my own using Canva.  Not 100% sure if I will stick with this one or make another, but for now, this one, using an image from a vintage Christmas card, is framed and on the wall and I'm enjoying it.


5.  The opportunity to celebrate a birthday with two teenage grandchildren this past week.  They share a birthday -- March 5 -- but are three years apart in age.  We celebrated one after school on the actual day, when granddaughter Sarah and her sister came over for ice cream with hot fudge and a present with card.  The other was celebrated on Saturday night with grandson Sam and his family over cheeseburgers, chips, pasta salad and a truly decadent chocolate cake put together by Sam and his mom. (The image below is not Sam's cake,)


6.  The comfort God has given as we lost a dear friend early Friday morning.  We are rejoicing for him, but it's hard for those left behind, and his widow particularly needs our prayers.  However, we will see our dear brother in the Lord again some day!
Another from Abby

7.  Another free photo book code from Shutterfly that enabled me to make a second one of these:


My blogging time is about up and it's time to shift to working on my Sunday School lesson, so I'll get going.  Hope you are all having a good Monday!

6 comments:

  1. Two grandchildren share a birthday...now that takes planning of your part. 😉

    Oh I am sorry for the dental work today. Glad that you planned ahead with the crockpot chowder. I am the same way about dentists. I quake at the mere thought.

    Now how in the world did you go wading in the stream? Did you purposely do that or did you fall in? Yikes! Sounds terribly cold.

    Losing a friend is always a heartbreaker and life changing. Yes, you have lost his company in this world, but it is so good to know that you will see him again. I have asked The Lord to comfort and guide his widow. It’s rough. This comes to all of us one way or another and that is a scary thought. Still, I can say that He has Himself been my husband. He has always provided for me.

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    1. No idea why I never responded to these comments on this post, but I think it was probably that we literally jumped into assisting our friend's widow. These were friends we've known for years and more or less mentored since the time of their salvation in, if I remember right, 2003. They have lived in other states but just moved back to NH in December 2018.

      Yes, you are well acquainted with being a widow and I know it's not been easy. So very true that the Lord Himself has been your husband. An incredible truth.

      Wading in the stream came about when we had to step to the side of the road to avoid oncoming cars. There was literally a stream of water on the roadside.

      It makes me feel a little better to know that you are the same about dentists. My dentist is wonderful and I hope that he never retires, but sadly I know that he will.

      Sam was born 3 weeks early so we would never have guessed he'd end up sharing Sarah's birthday. It's been fun though.

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  2. Your claim chowder looks absolutely delicious! I haven't had that in years.

    Two birthdays to celebrate, now that sounds like a lot of fun.

    Sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, and his dear wife now on her own.
    What a praise that he is in glory with his Jesus!

    Yesterday we had some warmer weather causing the snow on our driveway to melt a little, but today we've been getting snow.

    My husband had a bad experience as a child with his dentist and he too has to prepare himself for his visits.

    God bless you ♡

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    1. That clam chowder is a really good recipe. I really like being able to make it in the crockpot!

      It makes me feel better to know that others also still bear the marks of their childhood dental experiences. Dentistry has come a long way!

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  3. I'm heading to the dentist later this week. I always dread my visits there. I think I'll have to use one of your go to's and take a headset along to distract me.

    Blessings~

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    Replies
    1. At my dentists' office, they have headsets and music CDs to use. There's always at least one classical selection. But I have taken my own at times. The Piano Guys drown out drills really well.

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