Just checking in... again

I am so ready to have my computer back again. Hopefully it will be ready on Monday. We're having a disabled man fix it for us. Since my husband is on S.S. Disability, he wanted to give him a chance to fix it. He has the ability to fix anything that hasn't completely crashed. It costs less for us and it gives him a source of extra income. I'll be able to answer e-mails then, too.

I will post a picture of the bookshelf when I can. It has completely changed the look and feel of my bedroom. I hadn't realized how much I missed having a bookshelf there, filled with old favorites. This has been a week of Goodwill finds (I just "run in and out" a couple times a week and I can go weeks without finding anything I need and at a good price). I stopped by the store near the Community College yesterday and found four very pretty lace valance panels for forty-nine cents each. Two will go on one bedroom window and two on the other... that should add some extra texture and interest that the sheers need.

I was in the check out line when I noticed they had brought another cart out. Being the nosey (um... interested in all things) person that I am, I had to check it out for teacups. There weren't any dishes but I picked up a beautiful Vera Bradley "knock off" and as I looked closer, I realized this WAS a rather large, V.B. purse. Inside was the original $68.00 price tag! It is in red/navy colors that I love and for $2.99, I figured it was another one of those amazing finds when one is at the right place at the right time (that bookshelf had just been placed out, too). I guess it was priced by someone who was unfamiliar with Vera Bradley purses because I've seen them for $29.99 at our local Goodwill.

Now, that is a "God thing". I still remember walking in the local Goodwill when they were placing the Royal Albert dishes for display (and the fact that I HAD the money to spend that week was another miracle). :)

The purse had very slight wearing on it, probably used just during the summer months. It reminded me of a book about dressing rich that I read a very long time ago. The author said "old money" people in America and especially in England, could often be seen wearing very high quality clothing but obviously well worn. Whenever I wear my "good but well worn" clothing, I think of that book and smile. I'm also enjoying my luxurious all weather coat purchased at a garage sale this year. It is ultra suede and SO beautiful but I could never have afforded it at full price, the $20.00 garage sale price was stretching my budget but well worth it.

There was a time I could afford to pay full price but even then, I always waited for good sales at department stores. My mother made it somewhat of a game, getting the best clothing for the least cost and I enjoy doing the same thing. I was looking around my home yesterday at all the things I've purchased second hand and realized how blessed I've been.

The search has been fun, too. I've also had to learn that just because something is cheap, doesn't mean I NEED it. Too much "stuff", whether (sigh) books or clothes, furniture or (dare I say)... dishes, cause me only concern and the need to clean even more. I am so much happier with fewer but well loved items. Learning that was not easy at first. I am, after all, a recovering Yuppie. :)

I now have two boxes of books to drop off at the library for the next sale. I'm chipping away at them slowly. So far I have only stopped to read A Circle of Quiet from the boxes in the garage. It reminded me how quickly time goes as it was written the year I graduated from high school and now I AM THE GRANDMOTHER. I do so enjoy the writing and her honesty about her struggles in life.

It has been a rough week on my own emotional home front... one of those when many challenges have come along which need emotional and spiritual strength. To add to them, our car had to be towed to the mechanic today. We had to beg to get a ride for Christopher to work this morning and he called at noon to say he'll probably do the same to get a ride home (a disadvantage of living in the country). How thankful I am that the "switch" finally stopped working when the car was parked here at home.

I promised him a great dinner when he does get home. I just took Amish Pumpkin Bread (with added chocolate and cinnamon chips) out of the oven. I was going to make a batch of cookies but they will wait until tomorrow afternoon. I searched my files and found a cranberry cookie I've been wanting to try. If it is good, I'll post it on my recipe blog. I'll have to do some dusting over there first, I expect the place has felt poorly neglected.

So for now, I'll "set the dishes soaking" and take a cup of decaf coffee to my room to read for awhile. I've been reading Joel Rosenberg's books and they have been great escape novels (okay, so I'm strange but those "end of the world as we know it" novels make my own problems seem small by comparison).

I just started the most recent of his novels, called The Copper Scroll. Besides a good nap (which I've already had) and a long quiet time this morning, this is just what I need to handle such a challenging week. I've reminded myself many times that I have had weeks far more difficult than this one and came through them just fine... mental altars of sort... reminders of God's faithfulness in all things.

See you soon, God willing and the creek don't rise.

EDITED TO ADD:

We received a call tonight from the man fixing our computer. When he went to put in the motherboard from Geeks.com, he realized it had been USED. Someone was trying to get away with a no-no (as in selling something as new that they had pulled from another computer). Thankfully, he spotted it right away.

So, we're being sent a (hopefully) new motherboard but this means another week posting only when I can borrow the lap top! I certainly wouldn't order anything from them in the future (this is not a company my son has done business with before, this was one the man who is fixing our computer found on the Net).

It has certainly been "one of those" weeks. However, compared to many others in the world, we are all greatly blessed.