Miscellaneous Post

We are almost to one week before our move date!  Dale's last day of work was yesterday, so he is officially unemployed!  Though a new pastor has been hired here at the church, he has asked Dale to fill in when available until all the moving and transitioning has been completed.  I think I mentioned that before.  *blush*.

In case you all haven't noticed, my brain is a bit addled!

The packing has been going well, and we will be finishing up this week.  We still have to go through the shed, but that isn't as bad as it sounds.  I hope!  The last minute clothes packing will get done later in the week, and the kitchen we'll do over next weekend.  There are still a few odds and ends in the meantime to take care of, but we are in pretty good shape.

Speaking of getting in shape, I've been spending as much time as I can in the evenings at the gym.  My membership runs out later in August, but we will be gone several weeks before that.  In the meantime, unsure if there are any gyms near where we will be moving (whether north or south, I still don't know!) , I'm taking advantage of having the access to a gym now.  Elizabeth has been more serious about working out with me recently, and has been following my eating plan, and my workout plan quite a bit.  It is much easier to say "No" to treats when you have a buddy to do it with!  She doesn't need to lose weight at all, but she is doing it  to help me and to maintain her health.  Good girl!

Speaking of weight loss, I haven't really lost much over the summer.  I keep playing around with the same 3 to 5 lbs.  However, though the scale isn't doing a lot of moving, something is going on!  Last weekend, the interim pastor and his wife invited us to stop at their house on the way out of town.  They had been given a ton of clothes, and said we were welcome to go through them and see if there was anything we wanted.  We did, and several of the kids ended up with some nice pieces of clothing!

One of the sweater that Esther got was a beautiful cardigan, with a zipper.  It looks like some sort of Norweigian colorwork, on a smokey blue background.  Just gorgeous!  I fell in love with it, but it was a size Small, so I passed it to the twins who agreed to share it with each other.

Lo and behold, a few days later, Elizabeth was wearing it in the morning.  Seriously.  I about sweat to death just looking at her.  Now I know what my folks felt like when I would show up with sweatpants, a thick hooded sweatshirt on, OVER whatever else I was wearing.  Oh yeah, that would be in the summer.  Oiy.

After some good natured teasing on my part, she finally took it off and said she was getting too warm in it anyway.  Then Esther said, "Mom, why don't you try it on?  I know you like it."

"Honey, it's way too small," was my positive reply.

They finally convinced me to try it on.  Well.....

(You'll note that I put in a pic of the tag just for good measure!)

Now, wearing a size Small is highly unusual for me.  This was a VERY generous size Small, if you know what I mean.  But still.... woot!

Besides going to the gym, I like to knit to help destress.  Is that even a word?  Anyway, I started this tote a few months ago, working on it here and there.  I've spent the bulk of my knitting time finishing it up.  It was very easy knitting, perfect for the present season of life we are going through right now.  Here it is drying out, after felting it:

So, there is a brief, frivolous, and totally random update.  I'm thinking by tomorrow night we'll be getting a call from the head of the Pulpit committee to let us know how things came out in the vote they are supposed to take after the evening service.  

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

Let the Games Begin!

No, I'm not referring to the Olympics!  Still a few more days before those begin!

I am talking about a major declutter/packing spree leading up to our moving day.  Yup, that's right folks, I actually have a solid date... well, at least semi-solid.  Kind of more like "Jello" solid.

We were called back for a second visit at the PA church, last weekend.  It went very well, and it was even a gorgeous weekend, and not near so oppressively hot as it was a few weeks ago.  After the Q and A in the afternoon, the pulpit committee met and voted to recommend Dale to the members as Pastor.  According to their constitution, they have to announce the formal vote two services ahead.  The head of the pulpit committee told us that they would announce it Wednesday night, Sunday morning, and set the vote for Sunday night.  So, in less than a week Dale may be offered a new pastorate!  We appreciate your continued prayers for wisdom and guidance.


Meanwhile, the members here have voted in a new pastor.  He is a young man, with a wife, little girl, and a baby on the way.  They are moving from Ohio.  So, yesterday afternoon Dale a call from "Pastor John" as everyone is already calling him (he has a French last name that no one can seem to remember well enough to pronounce correctly) and had a chat about the logistics of all this transitioning for them and us.  Dale said he was very pleasant to speak with, and he hopes that all will go well for him here.


Anyway, we will be moving over the days of August 6th and 7th at the latest, if not sooner.  Pastor John asked if Dale would continue filling the pulpit, while he can.  He wasn't looking for a commitment, so if we want to leave before the projected moving day, then we need not feel like we can't go.  Dale agreed, and assured me that if we are ready to go before then, we have no responsibility here to fill the pulpit until August 5th, which is the Sunday before our projected moving day.


It is a little strange being in the church still, Dale preaching, but not the pastor anymore.   It seems awkward to me, but Dale is taking it all in stride.


Lately we have been having a rash of break downs here.  The Tracker (Dale's little car) is gone.  It didn't pass inspection, and the work it would have taken to get it to pass was much more than the car was worth.  So, we are now a one vehicle family again, and we've decided to not even bother with another car until after we move.  


Then our main computer started acting up.  I think we jostled something the wrong way while moving it to a temporary desk.  The desk it was on was a pickle to put together, and I figured it would take a while to break it down again.  It did.  I'm glad that one is done!  Anyway, while moving the computer around something got wiggled wrong and for several days we couldn't even get it to turn on!  Dale went through all the connections last night, and got it to turn on, but it shuts down on its own whenever it feels like it.  Well, if we can't get it to work, we are taking out the motherboard, wrapping it up good, and tossing the rest of the computer out.  We'll deal with a new one after we move.  At least we can salvage the info on the hard drive!


Then, last night, after a very hot and very humid day, the AC in the basement started to make some strange noises.  We had to shut that down.  Dale hasn't had a chance to look at it yet.  It sounded like something in the fan.  It could be some crud got in there, or the bearings could be going.... who knows?  


Maybe with all this stuff breaking down is God's way of helping me declutter!


So, we are in a feverish packing mode now.  Not sure how the timing is going to work out.  IF we are voted in at the church in PA, and we end up moving down there, we aren't sure when the parsonage will be ready.  If we have to, though, we'll just use those PODS, and maybe go on vacation while waiting, if they can't house us for a couple of weeks.  If they say, "come as soon as you can" then Dale said he may start making a trip or two ahead just to get the moving started.  We'll have to wait and see.


So, we are sort of in 'limbo' still, but only less than a week of that.  Then we'll know what we are doing.  Either way, we are leaving here on, or by, August 6th-7th.


"T" minus 13 days, and counting. 

Quiet on My Blog But Busy IRL

We have had quite a whirlwind of events, so I wanted to just do a quick post to update everyone.

The short of the long is that Dale candidated in a church in PA last weekend, and they have asked us back for another set of meetings!  So, we will be back in PA the weekend of the 22nd.

I will give more details on the church there later.  Right now we are in a time of prayer and seeking God's guidance.  We are very excited, because whether or not we are supposed to be there, they are a great group of people, and I will be glad to see them again.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, we are packing.  I had started packing more intently, thinking we would be moving out of here around the 21st, but with the church in PA looking promising, we are sticking around a bit longer to play that out.  Thankfully, no one here minds, and told us to stay as long as we wanted.  Dale fills the pulpit here when available, and we have a place to stay until we now for sure which direction we are moving in.  Anyway, the intense packing is slowed down and I'm finding, oddly enough, time on my hands.  Without school, or the garden, or the pool, or tons of packing to do at the moment, I'm actually finding time to work on a quilt that has been in progress for a year.  It was supposed to be for my niece's  wedding a year ago, but obviously I never got very far on it, as I just finished cutting out yesterday afternoon.  The fabrics in the quilt are gorgeous, if I may say so myself.  I love the colors and how they play off of each other.  This is one of those quilts where I'm battling myself the whole time.

"I want to keep it."

"You can't.  It's for your niece."

"But I WANT it!  It's going to be stunning!"

"No.  You have to send it to her."

"But by the time I actually get it done, it may be this fall.  Way too late for a wedding present, or even a first anniversary gift!"

"Not so.  She'll love it anyway.  You have to give it to her.  Besides you can always give it to her for Christmas."

Pout, pout pout.

And so it goes.  Either way, I'm loving it already, and I haven't even started the piecing yet!

The piecing is somewhat intricate, so this isn't a quick quilt.  However, I'm sure it will be well worth the effort and time.

I've been working on some easy knitting.   Mostly because we've been outside when it isn't too hot, and it is easy to watch the littles and do something easy.  I'm making a tote, that will be felted, and still working on my Cabria wrap.  My Azzu's Shawl is on hold for now.  I needed a break from it.

The weather has been hot, as one would expect in July.  I'm already tired of summer, and ready for those nice, crisp, cooler days of fall, but alas.  I can't speed up time, so I'll have to learn to just be patient.

There is a very basic update in a nutshell!  Have a great day everyone!

Something Lacey Shrug

I finished this simple shrug about a week ago, but have neglected to take a pic until today.  Sorry about all the junk in the background... no matter how much picking up I do it looks like the packing fairy threw up all over the place.  I also included a pic (again) of the blocked part, before I put the ribbing on (above pic) . Hopefully you can see the lace pattern better. Oh, and no sooner had I put it on for church this morning, than I heard "Mom, can I have it?" from the twins.  It is a good sign when your teenage daughters want your stuff!  

Have a blessed Lord's Day everyone!