Poor Amos. He suffers so when FEARSOME BEASTS invade his space. So defeated was he when writing on his blog today. I understand, though. My day was a mixture of ups and downs, too. In short, I spent most of it running away from my own mind.
As a result, the steak strips are now packaged up in their bags of marinade and waiting in the freezer for when I need to cook my next batch of beef jerky. I usually make up four at a time. When I was at the store, I thought of the four bags and mistakenly bought four containers of steak strips, instead of two of them. So, that means, at the present, eight bags of beef-jerky-in-the-making are lined up along one of my freezer shelves. I was disappointed, I admit, at the extra expense on this month's grocery budget due to my own mistake. I shall need to remember to shave $11 off of next month's purchasing.
The packet making came after the soil stew, the rock harvest, the scrubbing and polishing off the paint stripes that I made on my car, and sanding down the side of the closet door in the basement living space.
The latter meant that I actually wore my safety glasses for the very first time ... after getting sawdust in my eyes about a gazillion times as I worked. My face and clothing and the entire living space was covered with sawdust. However, the closet door can now be closed. So, some time between now and January, when someone might be coming to stay there for a month or two or three. I will note that this photo came after I chopped another inch off of my mullet, which, if you are keeping count, means that I have lopped off four inches of the back of my hair. Sadly, from the back, it is still looking mighty bad.The soil stew was for Sandra's raised beds. Whilst I vowed not to do heavy work anymore, I wanted to finish the project I talked her into funding. You know, the project where in she had Firewood Man lop off about a 12' x12' section of the GARGANTUAN deck, including this silly boardwalk from the steps to the garage entrance door, paint it the color of the trim on her house, and build raised beds on either side of the side steps. Of course, whilst there, merely overseeing the work, I ended up turning over all of her 2' x2' stepping stones and lining them all up. I also relocated some to connect the moved side steps to the walkway. Did you know that it is possible to "roll" square stepping stones? And, perhaps, a might pile of weeds might have been pulled. During that project, I bought all the ingredients for her raised beds, but with the mini-heat wave setting in, I waited to the do the mixing, lest I keel over in her yard. I lined the beds, open to the ground below, with landscaping cloth and then covered it with several inches of pea gravel, to aid with drainage. On top of the gravel, she now has a nice stew of soil, peat, and compost/manure mixing, with a light topping of mulch to keep things in place. I also finished laying the final two bags of her mulch.
Afterwards, I began the GREAT ROCK HARVEST. I managed just two buckets before petering out. It has dawned on me that creating my rock river might be something that takes a lifetime or two. Still, I am thinking I shall be a crazy old lady who loves gazing upon her rock river—with rock turtles, toads, and frogs in it—every time she awaits her puppy dog's fear-conquering-major-business-production process. We shall not discuss just what it took to heave the two buckets into the back of my Highlander.
Unfortunately, I was trembling so much when I pulled into the much-beloved-but-rather-miniscule-to-me garage door, I ended up adding rather significant "racing" stripes down the side of my car. SIGH. Weary beyond measure, I still, nonetheless, got out some Turtle Wax polish, some very fine steel wool, and some rags. I only did so because Sandra asked if I might get the paint off. She was right. That steel wool did the trick. It even did the trick on the paint from when someone borrowed my car last month and returned it with a rather impressive application of paint on the front left bumper. Steel wool, rags, and car polish, however, did nothing for the dent I put in the side of my car. DEEP, DEEP SIGH.
After the possum-fear-calming-down-session, since I was all hot and sweaty and trembling from head to toe, I thought it made perfect sense if I applied the borrowed orbital sander to the door of the basement living space closet that rather ungratefully refused to close once the season of air-conditioning began. A total, utter, colossal mess later, I am confident that the door will still close once I paint it again. Okay, I am fairly confident.
Then came the beef jerky preparation. After that a shower. And now much snuggling with Amos.
All of this was to try, rather unsuccessfully, to avoid thinking about tomorrow. My rather talented and kind friend Caryl advised me not to dread this take, but to take advantage of it. This day is free of whatever may come next. She also sent me a lovely chicken and lime recipe, but I confess that I rather ... wickedly ... had Honey Nut Chex for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with Gatorade, beef jerky, and Havarti cheese for a snack.
I am worried. I am afraid. I am both of these about enduring the additional testing and what might follow. After all, I do have rather a poor track record with medical issues and I have a significant family history of these particular tests turning out bad. Mix those two things together and I ... I only made it through this day by running away from my mind and heart.
My Good Shepherd has promised to care for the morrow for me. All things will be worked for my good. And He will be with me. These things I struggle to hold before me. Why ... why do the lies and the fear and the doubt so easily rise to obscure and even block the truth and the promises of Christ crucified for me?
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!
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