Another hello from the laptop

Sigh... we were hoping to know for certain our computer is working by now but it has been delayed a couple of days. If all goes well, the new part is working and we can pick it up by the end of the week. There have been so many things I wanted to share each day but my son wasn't able to turn over his laptop before today (Wednesday).

I found a beautiful three-shelf bookshelf for my bedroom at Goodwill, only $7.99. I have never understood their pricing, I've seen junk bookshelves for many times that price. However, I came home with my treasure and it looks so nice in our room. It "inspired" me to start the process I have been dreading. I'm working about an hour a day going through my books in the garage and those stacked in corners to decide which I can part with, no matter how painful. It has actually been quite therapeutic. :)

My sister from Florida told me she couldn't leave her very large house because she couldn't decide which books to leave behind. She reads almost all fiction but they are like old friends to her and I can fully understand. This is a huge job but taking it a little at a time makes it easier. My biggest challenge has been with the allergic symptoms caused by dust and such. I don't have the allergies the others in my family suffer from but dust is definitely a problem. At least once I finish this project, there will be less dust here and the garage will (almost) be cleared!

I had one of those "okay, God...you win" moments on Monday. I was so frustrated that I'd forgotten not once but twice to purchase salt for our water softener last week. The Culligan dealer is on the way to the Community College and I shouldn't have forgotten it, especially since I'd written it on my grocery list for Friday. We have run out of salt only once since we have lived here and it took a lot of scrubbing and the use of chemicals (which I hate to use) to get the rust stains removed. Not something I wanted to go through again!

So Monday morning found me on the road very early, dropping my son off for his classes so I could run this errand. I'd berated myself for forgetting this twice. Do you ever do this? We really shouldn't put ourselves down anymore than we should use negative words on others! I find myself much harder on myself than my family...

Anyhoo, at the end of the day I realized what a blessing my mistake had been. If I didn't have the car, I wouldn't have stopped by Goodwill and found the bookcase which I've been praying for at least a year. If I hadn't been "in town", I wouldn't have enjoyed a long morning quiet time with the Nancy DeMoss book at Starbucks, sipping a Grande' Pumpkin Spice Latte. If I hadn't been "in town", I would have missed a very enjoyable lunch with my son... the pizza buffet at Pizza Hut... in between two of his classes. I must remember that what looks like a frustration and interruption to my "to do" list, can often be a blessing in disguise. :)

The hardest thing about going through the books is to keep from sitting there and skimming them. I finally took my copy of L'Engle's A Circle of Quiet and read part of it before going off to sleep last night. It's such a great book, I couldn't help myself!

I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to e-mails or comments since I don't have much time with this computer. I'll be so happy to get mine back and feel more "connected", again. I have taken down book suggestions and I can say that yes, it is "The Thistle & The Shamrock" that I was listening to on the NPR channel. If you enjoy Celtic music, do find when it is played on your NPR channel (if you have access to one). I don't know if it is Saturday morning on all channels or not. Our NPR channel is through the University.

I do hope to be back on a daily basis soon.