They say time flies when you’re having fun–well, it ALSO flies when you’re coping with minor health issues and Murphy’s Law Unchained.   

We are still enjoying fantastic weather, and as I write this, in my new office, I can look out and see part of the pasture, where April, the Arabian mare, is in full view.  In the middle ground are my aspen trees and, just outside the window, pink magnolias are in bloom.  Beautiful!

Bernice hasn’t quite adjusted to the new work space; she has a bed in here and often hangs out while I write, but I see she’s wandered off to do other Yorkie-type things.  Whatever it is that Yorkies do, that is.    If she’s not asleep, she’s busy!

Plans for the weekend: I’m going to write, as I have some catching up to do after being sick, etc., and I plan to whip up a roast beef dinner for the crew as well.  I might make another batch of hummus, too, in my handy-dandy Vita-Mix machine–BEFORE I try out a recipe for dog treats I stumbled across in the 2013 edition of “Farmer’s Almanac”.  At 13, Bernice is a picky eater.  She occasionally eats Mighty Dog, but mostly she expects me to chop up some liverwurst or fry a boneless, skinless chicken thigh.  She’s not spoiled or anything.  I have some wonderful new soap molds, too–and I’m trying to think of ways to share them with you, at least visually.

Cha-Cha, one of the kitties, is off getting her spring haircut today.  When she comes back, she’ll have her lion-look going for her.    We call her Chach of the Jungle when she’s just had a trim.    It’s so cute–I’ll be tweeting a picture of her.

Earlier in the renovation process, there was a hole in the wall in the back of my bathroom towel closet, and Cha-Cha and Jitterbug both crawled in to explore.  Jitterbug, who isn’t the brightest penny in the piggy bank, would forget the way out, and I’d have to set a plate of cat food on the closet floor and, at the same time, call her repeatedly.  Now, the hole has been sealed, and both kitties have lodged complaints.  Me, I’m just relieved.

I sat in one of my rocking chairs on the deck this morning, after devotions, just quietly hanging out with God, and it was so lovely and peaceful.  No words, no worries–just Him and me.  And the tulips and the daffodils and the sugar-bowl blue sky….

I’ve begun journaling in the way suggested in “Write Your Soul,” and that’s doing a lot to dispell the last of the winter blues.  I expect the extra copies I ordered to arrive soon and, when they do, we’ll be setting up a giveaway right here on the blog.

Writing does heal the soul and, of course, so does reading.  I have a new Mary Higgins Clark on my nightstand; finished Joy Fieldings’ “Shadow Creek” during the visit to Point Roberts. 

Life is good, even when it’s challenging. 

Enjoy your weekend, my friends.  May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. 

(I was raised on the King James version, can you tell?)

I seem to be in the mood to quote songs today.

It is SO beautiful and sunny out, and the tulips and daffodils are frolicking in celebration.  Yorkie-Bernice got a much needed bath, since it’s warm outside, and this morning,  Larry the Canadian Wrangler found a quail trapped in the garage.  Ever so gently, he held the remarkably calm bird in his hands, brought it in for us to admire, then turned it loose again.  I have a special love for quail–that little top-knot is so cute I can’t stand it–even the tiniest, inch-high chicks have one.    Cousin Mary Ann and I have spent many a happy time sitting still in the truck while a flock dashes across the road.  Once, we saw three adults and about fifty chicks, I swear, and it reminded me of old time cattle drives.  One grown bird rode point (in the lead, for you greenhorns), one rode flank (side) and another brought up the rear.  The chicks made up the herd, and every once in a while, one or several of them would break ranks and double back.  The bigger birds would round them up again, and keep them headed for the other side. 

Murphy’s Law continues to rampage around here, but I’m feeling a little better, so it doesn’t bother me so much.    I’m settled in my new office, which echoes a little from lack of furniture but is a wonderful place to write, and though it’s been slow going, the story is moving along. 

My bathtub and beautiful new flooring have been installed, and the tub is in working order, Praise the Lord.  Still, we’d no sooner reached that milestone when one of my two waterheaters (it’s a big house) blew out, and there I was, with a glorious new tub and no hot water.  Arghhhh!  A new tank is being installed even as we speak–if it isn’t one thing, it’s your mother, as Mom would say–and all is well.  So far. 

The sun rises and sets, and the moon is full tonight, which probably accounts for some of the tensions around here.

Still, God’s in His Heaven, large and in charge.

And the beat goes on.