Today was nothing like I had planned but there were blessings and gifts of friendship and family love just sprinkled all over the place. I started out with coffee on the patio, reading from the kindle app on my iPad. In the quiet of the early morning in my backyard, its a peaceful way to relax before anything happens, and anything often does. I decided I needed to scrub down my gas grill. Last night it looked a little more like a 3 alarm fire after I realized I had not emptied the grease pan since I bought it last year. DUH. The food was a little more done than we like, but it was eatable. Sort of. So I scrubbed that grill down, put the grill plates in my oven and turned on the self cleaning feature and the grill now looks brand spanking new. The only use it saw tonight were the 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts I grilled for the dogs to add to their rice. Poor John came over to discuss my car and has taken on the huge challenge of deciding that with Justin and me assisting, we can replace the rack and pinion steering in the Lincoln LS. We love the car and while the auto repair shop gave us an estimate of around $1400, John, who is basically a mechanical genius, decided we could do it for much less. He did the research, found the parts, examined the car and we all voted to go for it. I say poor john because as he was getting ready to leave, he said he would feel much better if he looked at my heat pump which had not had anyone look at it in a long time. We walked over there and sure enough, there was ice on the pipe leading from the unit. We then went into the garage and he climbed up to look at the other part of it and, sure enough, it was caked with ice up there and not draining. POOR JOHN!! I couldnt resist saying, You just had to go there didnt you? Like doing a huge and complicated auto operation wont be enough of a challenge, you went and found yourself another one. Acting as his able assistant, I fetched the wet/dry vac, the hair dryer and he went to work. Actually, AC is his specialty so I knew we were in smart hands. He managed to unclog the pipes, thaw the ice, replace the plates and screw them in tight so that the unit is now operating at a whisper. The whole event took about 3 hours and he worked like a man on a mission. I grabbed the silicon caulk gun and started plugging up bee holes in the cedar. The bees were not pleased. John was working away and taught me some important stuff on heat pump maintenance which may result in a certificate because John still feels as if I am completely certifiable. All of the ice melted, all of the pipes were unclogged and the unit is running smoothly, HOWEVER, he wants to come back tomorrow with his freon and gauges to see how my levels are. I felt bad - like he didnt have a thousand other things to do today that would have been far more fun than working on an heat pump but I appreciated his effort and generosity and his compassion for my current situation. As John was finishing up, Stephanie and Justin dropped in and brought me a taco. And a bike! Stephanie is lending me her ultra cool, awesome bike to enjoy while she is busy baking a baby. I was so happy! I love biking and we have some great trails around here. Its only been used a couple of times and it has a lot of gears I have to figure out but its pretty awesome. Thanks Stephanie! We retired to the pollen speckled patio on this fine sunny afternoon and we talked and spent a great deal of time discussing baby names. That was fun. Soon, the dogs let me know it was time for their gourmet meal to be served so our talk relocated to the kitchen as I grilled the dogs chicken and boiled rice while also scrambling eggs, pan frying ham and heating up garlic bread and sweet potatoes for Mom and Dads dinner to be served in their room. The kids had already had a late lunch and werent hungry. I wasnt hungry either so they kept me company while I worked in the kitchen. I love that. I love the photos of the ultrasounds (about 20!) that they brought over for me to oooooohhhhhh and ahhhhhhhhh over again. I love my little granddaughter to pieces and I cant wait to meet her! Stephanie looked absolutely elegant today - beautifully dressed and the little bump was quite the perfect accessory. It was a lovely evening. Im grateful to my friends (John, you saved me yet again!) and Im grateful to my neighbors Richard and Kathleen have been selected as first choice for surrogate grandparents - it was unanimous. Im grateful for my family who helps me shoulder this challenge - helps me serve meals and lends me many hands when they visit. I cant imagine handling all of this by myself every day. Im so grateful to my kids and I love them so much for being here for me, making me laugh, distracting my thoughts and pointing me in new directions of dreams. Im grateful for friends who offer their fine services to do messy and unpleasant jobs because they care and thats what friends do, as John says. Im a busy woman. Im an exhausted one right now. But mostly, I have a full heart of gratitude and many reasons to be thankful. Challenging times not only show us our own mettle, but they also point out the character of those who pitch in even when they dont have to, who stand by and share their talents and trades simply because they know you need help. Thank you to all of my helpers today. Im a pretty darn blessed woman.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 00:43:46 +0000
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