Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly...

I have been struggling with how to write this post for well over a week. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to write about this, but the longer I put it off, the more I felt convicted that I needed to share. I even spoke to my pastor about what I was contemplating writing about and I asked for his permission to quote from his series that he just finished. He told me to go for it, that he trusted me.

 I am going to look at the past again; however, there is a purpose to it. This isn’t just a nostalgic stroll through my memories. This one is serious, so if you are looking for a happy trip down memory lane, then you might want to change the channel today. Please come back another day. However, if you have an open heart and mind, then I want to share with you what is on my mind.

About a week ago, I was listening to Pandora Radio. (For those of you that don’t know, this is a program that you can download onto your computer or device of choice. You get to pick the music. If all you want to listen to is Irish Folk music, then that is what you will be listening to). Well, I was listening to a category that I had set up that played folk music of the 60’s. A song started playing-If I Had A Hammer, sung by Peter,Paul and Mary. I have a feeling that some of you have no idea who this group is or what they did. You may even know that they were a folk trio from a long time ago.  Others of you know exactly who I am talking about.

Catching Up and Waking Up

I have a tendency to procrastinate and thus, have not posted anything about what has been going on in my life for the last few weeks. Here is a recap to bring you up to date. These are in no particular order, so don’t go psychoanalyzing why I wrote about one item before another. I don’t have these written down. They are just coming off the top of my head:

1. My insomnia- it is somewhat better but, I am still having issues, just not every night. I see my neurologist later this week and I am pretty sure that the medication he gave me is the cause of it.

2. I went through six hours of testing last week to get a better idea of what can be done for my brain in terms of occupational therapy. I got to the Hurley Rehabilitation building at the corner of Longway Boulevard and Dort Highway and I was promptly told that someone had climbed onto their roof and stolen the copper piping out of the air conditioning units.  They wanted to get me out as soon as possible before the building got too warm.

Shh, I Am Reading

Used book sales And Used Book Stores are heaven for me. You see, once I start to read a book in a series, then I need to complete the series. I carry a list of missing titles with me. I have also been known to buy the same book three or four times, forgetting that I had already read it. If you haven't noticed yet, the bookstores (they shall remain nameless.) in our area are carrying fewer and fewer books. If you are lucky, you might find the latest book by an author.

zzz...

Sleep is something that most of us take for granted. I know that I have. If I have been awake, I usually know that I have something on my mind, I’m sick; I’ve had too much sugar, too much tea, too much diet coke. Or, I am so absorbed in a book that I can’t put it down, or a movie is on that I can’t seem to turn off.

Now, I have no sleep again.  It is four something in the morning. I am awake. I am pretty sure it is the medication that my Neurologist prescribed. It was to help me stay alert during the day and help me with my energy level.

Sleeping as a child, I used to have issues. I had nightmares a lot. I walked in my sleep. My brother Jeff also walked in his sleep. I once climbed over the open stairwell railing and fell down the flight of stairs, landing five steps from the bottom step. When I landed, I broke the front of the step off that I landed on.I broke my tailbone and hurt my back. I think that I was in the third grade when that happened.

My Husband Is Doing Something That He Doesn't Want To Do

My husband is doing something that he doesn’t want to do. He is doing it anyway, because he loves me.

We added onto our house 12+ years ago, doubling the size of the house.  At that time, we had the builder paint most every room white.  And that is exactly what they did. Most every room is white, with stained wood trim.

In the past year (yes, we were kind of slow on the uptake) we noticed problems in the master shower.  Now, I will admit, that I am not a great housekeeper. Paul does most of it since he retired. I cook. I would describe my style as relaxed, very relaxed. Stains started to appear in the grout in the shower, mainly in the ceiling. I tried halfheartedly to make them disappear, but then grout started to crack and fall and tiles started to crack.

Every Book Is A Children's Book If The Kid Can Read-Mitch Hedberg

Every book is a Children’s book if the kid can read! - Mitch Headberg

One of my earliest memories was walking to the library in Lapeer. From my house to the library was ten blocks and it also meant crossing Nepessing Street, which was the main street in downtown Lapeer.  It had a lot of traffic and there was not light anywhere along the stretch to the library that was convenient to a little kid. I am probably talking about eight or nine years old when I first started going to the library without an adult. Of course, I usually had my sister (two years younger) to haul along with me. Sometimes I would have the wagon so we could haul our books home in it. However, my sister usually would want to ride in it and I did not want to pull my sister. I just wanted to go to the library. Almost every time we went, she would tell me that she was going to run away if she didn't get her way and I would have to chase after her or bribe her with a promise of candy from the North End Store; or I would threaten her with something awful like the fact that I would hide her doll, Flossie (named after "Big Grandma" as opposed to "Little Grandma", but that is another story). I could also threaten to hide her “blankie”.  My sister carried a “blankie” for much too long.  It was really just a rag of the original blanket.  On the way there and on the way back to our house, we had special spots that we tried to always s stop at.

Short? Sweet and Sour

I have spent a great deal of time working on my blog and I realized that since I am new at this, I need to take my time and learn the process as I share.  So I will attempt to post approximately three times a week.  This one doesn't count.  It is more of a "To whom it may concern" kind of notice.  My daughter thinks I am obsessing and she is probably right, my husband thinks that I am getting too frustrated when I can't figure something out and my son-I am not sure that he has even looked at it.  But I know that he realizes that I am getting frustrated. So, the learning curve will have to keep me in check for a little while. I also need to stop collecting blogs that help with blogs and just cull them and find a few that will help me in ways that I can understand easily.

I Admit I Am A Bibliophile (Bookaholic)

"A Room Without Books Is Like A Body without a Soul." - Cicero. I truly believe that books are as important as air and water to the human body. I also will warn you that this is longer than it should be. But, if you know me very well, or have known me for very long, you will know that books are important to me. I don’t mean, “Oh, I enjoy a good book now and then.” Or, “ Isn't it nice to go to the library occasionally. I so look forward to those visits.” No, books go way beyond that kind of thinking for me. You will also know that I am a little on the O.C.D. side when it comes to books.

If you were to enter my home, you would most likely find books in every room. Of course, if you look around, you will probably find some dirty laundry, dirty dishes or stuff that just has no business being where you see it too. I would call myself a casual or comfortable housekeeper. And to be honest, most of the housekeeping gets done by my husband. He is much better at it than I am. But, let’s get back to books.