So, I don’t forget or lose it. And maybe it’ll give you a sorely needed idea too. Bon appetite!
1. Chicken Pot Pie with Green salad
2. Jamabalya Calzones with Sweet Potato Fries
3. German Farmer’s Breakfast with Peach Cobbler
4. Beef Stroganoff with green beans and bread
5. Buttermilk Grilled Chicken with Coleslaw
6. Hamburgers/Hotdogs with chips
Ever since reading Kate’s article, I’ve been convicted to try to find a way to put God first in my day. I’ve always struggled with making a proper prayer time and, even when I do, concentrating on it. And these days I’m spending more and more of any given day in front of the computer which is full of delightful and delectable distractions. Yet from there, I found my answer.
Hiding among the bookmarks on my homepage, I remembered that I’d bookmarked the daily Scripture readings for Mass. And with good reason. I’ve always enjoyed reading them. Whether aloud as a lector, at home in the quiet or once I attended a day long workshop done by Jeff Cavins where he presented a time line of the entire Bible and the faithful covenant God keeps with his people through it all. It’s where my heart is stirred. Go where you are led, eh?
So, my resolution is to put that bookmark to good use and go through the readings prayerfully when I sit down at the computer each day. There are a plethora of other things to poke at – news, the guild, facebook, twitter, email, friend’s blogs and the list goes on forever – but I make the readings one of the first things that I do so that I have his words in my heart while I do all the others.
An update on my ankle is due. Last week I had another checkup with the orthopaedic surgeon who stitched my bones back together. He’s always fun. He audibly winces every single time he sees the x-rays.
Good news though is that he says the tibia and fibula looked healed and it’s time to move into rehab! I have been free of the plaster cast for almost a week and am the proud owner of an aircast boot now. It was so nice to bathe and scrub off several months of dried skin. Yuck!
Another plus is that when I’m sleeping, stationary on the couch or at the computer for long periods, I can completely take off the cast and let my foot be open to air. Although, the first night I slept without it was quite a trial. I awoke several times during the night in a panic, terrified that my exposed foot was in imminent peril, almost like it was a being all its own and not attached to my body. Each time, it really was a surprise to find it still attached and not being crushed or maimed further.
Partial weight on that foot is all that I’m able to attempt at the moment, and so I’m fairly dependent on a crutch under my left arm still. Depending on my strength, length of distance needed to walk, how much I’ve been mobile that day and consequently how swollen and achy my foot is, I can support myself with whatever assistance necessary from the crutch. Occasionally I try to move around with the aircast cast off. That’s when the crutch becomes a literal lifeline!
The doc advised to walk on it and push myself as I am comfortable doing so. And when it swells, to put it up and treat it likes it’s still injured. I’ll be going to physical therapy soon – please pray that they get me in sooner rather than later as I have to be on a waiting list for the physio that will be covered by the province’s health insurance. Until then, I’ve started cooking a good bit more – albeit I was pooped out on Sunday, slept late *and* had a nap because of it. Ha! – and have tried not to feel like an invalid though I very much do.
There is some lesson in child-likeness here that I hope to find soon. Because as I walk down our halls balancing myself between the wall, a crutch, a hand, something, I recall the photograph of me as an infant first learning to walk off of the wall in my grandmother’s home. Sentimentality wells up to mix with my frustration, but into the mix I keep kneading in positive thoughts. Some certainly defiant and angry, while others hopeful and healing.
“… now for a little while
you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet you believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of faith, the salvation of your souls.”
~ 1 Peter, Chapter 1
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever Gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of Circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of Chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
~ William Ernest Henley
Sorry for all of the tweaking with my page design and layout guys. I tried to fix the old design once I was notified that it was completely crooked in Internet Explorer – even though it was just fine in Firefox – but I pushed the wrong button somewhere, lost my patience and reverted to a {gasp} premade Blogger template. I like this one much better anyway and have most things settled, except one quirk with the sidebar. But I am definitely much happier about all the thing as a whole now and so am not stressing.
Being happy got me thinking about how sometimes I get myself worked up and angry for no reason. Case in point: last night we were raiding with our guild in WoW, and there was a new healer in the group. Since my job is principally a healer and I’ve been in that role and in that particular dungeon many times, I’m more than comfortable and knowledgeable on what needs to be done and by whom. But our new healer was sort of a know-it-all with lower quality gear than mine, and he had the nerve to start handing out healing assignments to me!
To be truthful, he was – at odd and inappropriate times – questioning several other classes of players as well, acting as if he knew what stats or gear they should or should not have. I was really offended for myself and others but held back a) because I have a hard time with the backbone thing to begin with and b) he’s a veteran of our guild with several characters in it. We do try to help each other with valuable suggestions (not demands), but those are best done in a private message to the person so as to not bring down the morale of the group or point the finger in public. Confidence can a fragile thing sometimes.
Well, to the point, this guy really peeved me off and I wanted to grumble grumble the rest of the way through the night. But I refused to let him wreck our good time, focused on everything good and funny and quickly forgot our little annoyance. Any other night I probably would have sent private messages back and forth to my partner in {whining} crime and friend, but I cut those off short, making us both look at the positive side. I’m sure if I hadn’t, the fiasco would have ended in one of us contacting the guild master to complain which probably wouldn’t be the best way to handle the situation.
By the time I logged off from the game later, I was very proud that I didn’t let myself or my friend stew in the unsavory juices of misery – no matter how tasty they looked – because we laughed a great deal, reached our goal for the night and I learned a valuable lesson. Be happy!
Ps. Don’t worry – he’ll hear from me soon enough if need be. 
“ @SimcoeNorth snap a shot of them when you get a chance. :) in reply to SimcoeNorth 22 hrs ago
cecilia: "just omit the meat from your bean meals, like meatless chilli and spaghetti. we love lentils here, lentil soup, lentil curry over rice… I’ll put some more thought into this." (read)
Kalanna: "Amazing, eh?! I’m going to have to read up on what to do with them next. hehe But it is lovely to have a bouquet of lavender on my kitchen table in late November. They kept blooming!" (read)
Holli
