recovering from Hurricane Irma. We live with marshland in our backyard that is off the Forrest River and as the waters rose from the storm surge from the Hurricane the tides, then, brought in the surging waters and, then, hiding the marsh grass that normally blankets the area just beyond our tree line. The water rose into our yard, into the barn built by Jeff and the boys, covered the legs of the picnic table raised on slab pavers. Jeff walked into the waters with hip waders until he could walk no more without the water getting into the waders. This was our backyard after the brunt of the storm was well to our west, although we were still gusting, winds into the 40's.
repopulating our home back to status quo after the storm. We hadn't decided not to evacuate yet so we packed up everything we were planning on taking with us, which included safes, important papers, and our scrapbook albums, into bins. We transported things we didn't want to get wet that might be irreplaceable or simply painful, difficult, or expensive to replace and moved them to our second floor room away from potential flood waters rising. These included quilts and books. Once we decided to ride out the storm (mostly because I had to work during the storm), we left things - just in case - but now we are repopulating book shelves with books and quilt racks with my beloved blue and white quilts. Getting rugs put back down and finding some semblance of order again.
reading, slowly, The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. Slowly because it is C.S. Lewis and I have never known anyone who could read anything by C.S. Lewis anything but slowly. Except maybe, and I stress maybe, The Chronicles of Narnia. Even then one reads The Chronicles of Narnia slowly in order to savor every word. But, I am reading The Four Loves. Therefore, slowly is imperative to glean any understanding of his lofty yet wealthy insight.
drinking water. Occasionally, coffee. No sugar. Plus, creamer. No sugar is a grand endeavor and I have succeeded since July 10, 2017. I am consuming water insatiably, unreservedly. And, I love it. Just water. Plain, water. Of course, the drawbacks for someone my age drinking pretty much non-stop throughout the day, especially when I wake up and before bed, is that I drag myself out of bed in a deep stupor multiple times a night to use the bathroom. On the plus side I stay hydrated and can quickly tell when I am de-hydrated.
studying the book of Esther with Ashley. When Ashley was last here she asked if we could do a Bible study together. In particular, a Beth Moore study. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to do a Beth Moore study and a study with Ashley. We'll individually watch the videos and individually complete the weeks homework then we'll face time our discussion of the lessons. I'm totally siked! I'm going to try and continue my study of Genesis on my own as I'm not ready to abandon it.
hanging the last three pieces of artwork I have recently acquired onto the walls of our bedroom. I am almost done decorating our room, yet, they say a well-decorated room is never truly finished. This wood sign is one of the pieces. I also picked up two pieces from Hobby Lobby, both made of wood, too.
planning a bit of craftiness this weekend. I haven't crafted in quite awhile but since I'm visiting Jeff this weekend - so, while he is at work I will play. I have two projects planned, one pretty simple and quick, and the other might take a couple hours - of fun.
binge-watching The Blacklist. I haven't seen Season 4 and it has been so long since I've seen Season 3 I decided to start at the beginning. I was watching Grey's Anatomy and got through half of season 2 and decided it was bad for my mental and emotional health. Years and years ago I purged books from my shelves for the same reason - they were bad for my mental and emotional health. It is just the way it has to be.