Today was a weird day for me. Walking Amos was hot and sweaty and rather miserable, so, of course, I thought I would keep up the sweating by putting together the fire pit that I got on sale yesterday. I had barely started and found damage on one part. So, reluctantly, I dragged myself over to Menard's to get a replacement, with the intention of putting it together there so there would not have to be a third trip.
What should have taken me about ten minutes, took me just over THREE DARN HOURS! All the while, I had Menard's staff watching me. I must say, the designer of the fire pit clearly never put one together. There is a safety ring around the body of the fire pit so that your legs won't touch it when it is hot. That ring is made of four pieces. You use four screws to put them onto the body and then four screws to hold them together. Eight screws. Three hours. ARGH!
If you look closely, the design around the barrel is lattice work, so it matches the top of the paneling of my haven. I thought that was pretty cool!
I bribed the neighbor guy with peanut butter Nutella cheesecake bars to help move the concrete bench. Strange that I once was able to move that myself. Now, my "help" was a bit laughable. However, being me, I just had to get that fire pit in place to see how my space is turning out. Once he got the bench moved and helped me with the table and chairs (and left with his sweets), I nudged the fire pit nine ways to Sunday, trying to figure out the best spot for it. Finally, I concluded that I really need a water fountain against the garage wall before I can find the balance that I am wanting. That will be rather hard since I have no real idea yet of why kind of fountain I want, other than I want to make it myself.
This is a pot at Menard's that I keep coming back to and thinking about when fountain thoughts enter my head. It is about two feet tall. There are smaller versions, so I could do one of those stacked-pots fountains.
I would have a different water spray, but I do like this example. Only I am to sure the pot that I like is the kind you would stack. I feel like that ... eventually ... I will know what I want. Hopefully.
Yesterday, I had my first meal out in my haven! Spicy Dr Pepper pulled pork tacos on blue corn flour tortillas. Mmmmm!
I admit that I started weeping when I realized that a lady bug had joined me for my inaugural meal. How auspicious!! I just adore lady bugs and sort of kind of maybe took this as a sign of good things for me in this space.
Anyway, today was a day without doctor's appointments and without nausea and without confusion and the hours and hours and hours of eye pain had finally ended. So, there I was, making my dinner (a weird salad of pulled poached chicken, cucumber chunks, goats milk cheese, dried cranberries, and maple chili roasted pumpkin seeds, topped by Briana's Blush Wine Vinaigrette) when the phone rang.
It was this pastor who is working with this Lutheran organization that is launching a campaign to get parishioners to start reading and sharing the Christian Book of Concord. He wants to use my booklet Dare to Read: The Christian Book of Concord as a central piece. No problem. It's free. Go forth and download! Only he also wanted a sort of poster layperson and thought I'd be good. HAH!
In our email correspondence, I disabused him of that notion. Then he thought to have a blurb about me in their materials. I really, really, really don't want the effort to read and share the BOC have anything to do with me ... with the spiritually terrified person that I have become.
He had wanted to talk anyway, to get to know me, and I did want to weigh in with my two cents on what I thought would be good messaging and to demonstrate just how comforting the BOC can be. It was a long (Of course! I was talking!!) conversation, during which I got to talk about things that matter to me. And I got to talk messaging for both the Psalter and the BOC. He suggested three books that I might want to read, one of which really intrigues me. And I said I wanted to end our conversation by reading to him.
I did.
A segment of Part V of the Large Catechism.
And my beloved Psalm 77.
I made my point!
My poor little "salad" was still there on the counter when I finished. I ate it, with a bit more peace than I have had in a while. Talking about the Psalter and the BOC, getting to share my thoughts, and give the gift of having that goodness in the ears of another ... well, that was just wonderful.
Whilst we were talking, Amos grew agitated, so I move to the kitchen floor and he curled up against me. After dinner, I went to the sofas and curled up next to him. But that wasn't enough. Amos whined and whimpered and shook until I scooped him up and put him on my lap and then smothered him with my large weighted blanket. He promptly fell asleep and soon started snoring. Later on, he climbed out beneath the blanket to stuff himself behind my back. Such an odd little Fluffernutter I have!
The evening ended with one of the ferocious storms that we have here in Fort Wayne. Six years in and I am no more accustomed to them than when I moved here. This was one of the torrential downpour varieties. We also have terrible thunderstorms and wind storms that boggle my mind. Sometimes I am amazed that my house and my garage and my tree in my haven are still standing. I love the music that comes out of my large pipe wind chimes during the storms, but I do find myself a bit frightened.
A weird sort of day ... but a good one.
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