Blessings and Bright Spots in the Midst!

Aiii yiiiii....what a time the world is having, eh?  Yikes!  The pandemic gets more frightening by the day.  However, we have had some bright spots the past couple of days!

Birthday wishes for my husband and anniversary greetings for our special day have poured in over internet and phone. There have been cards in the mail and a couple of very unexpected financial gifts from friends.  Wow, how blessed are WE??  A friend brought us a bottle of wine the other day and we will have some of that with our dinner tonight.

We had a good SKYPE session with our son in NYC today.  He has overcome some of his depression and is having a better outlook recently.  He has been listening to some podcasts by a Roman Catholic theolgian that have ministered deeply to him.  We are going to listen to one of those podcasts tonight. 

Mom was able to exit her facility yesterday for her very important medical tests and it was no problem at all.  The taxis were lined up to take her because their business is starting to suffer somewhat now in her city.  She has permission for a trip to her eye injection appointment in two weeks' time as well.

My husband has been SO busy with preparing videos for his parish for the next few Sundays, as well as Zoom'ing with various mens' groups, that he has hardly noticed he hasn't left the suite in ten days. He is truly happy!

I realized how many good lessons I learned about being isolated from living in a small town some years ago where I had no real friends and there were no services in town to wander around to during the day.  So, I am feeling really good about this brand of isolation!

A friend from church is keeping herself from going crazy at home by going out for a 1 hour walk each morning on the deserted streets.  She comes by here almost every day, phones me from the sidewalk outside and then I put on my coat and go out on the porch to chat with her from a safe distance.  How cool is that????  Her life would be so busy otherwise that I would only see her at church for the most part.  She is lonely and so we have a chance to keep each other company each morning.  I love it.

We have been signing up for several online services that we have never bothered with previously, preferring to continue to be motivated to get out and take care of things in person. Well, now we can't safely to that, so we finally decided time for each of us to less of a Luddite and get with the technology.  YAY!

Penelope had her lumpectomy today.  The intial biopsy on the lump revealed nothing but calcium, so here's hoping that actually is all that is going on and thus end any more surgeries and worries.  Thank you Lord that she at least has some real hope here.

Our relative had rather a miraclous event yesterday during some lab tests.  He had to have a scan related to his recent cancer surgery, but some other issues that have arisen since then meant he was to have a different type of scan as well....AND the earliest booking he could get for that was April OF NEXT YEAR!!!!  Dear Lord.....  Anyway, while he was having his scan yesterday he asked if it was possible at all to have the other scan at the same time, was there ANY way this could happen?? Puleease????  Pretty please????  Well, unbelievably, the tech actually contacted the doctor who wanted the second scan, got that paper work faxxed over to the lab and our relative had that scan as well!  That NEVER happens!!!  Thank you LORD! Now he will get both sets of results together at his follow up appointment.  Again, THANK YOU LORD!!!  Amazing!

The sun has come out at the end of a rather gloomy day today.  It is just blazing out there and there are a few puffy clouds in the blue sky.  What lightens a person's dull mood more than some precious sunlight at the end of March?  So lovely!

Tonight I am going to invent some kind of yummy chicken dish for dinner.  All my husband wanted for his birthday yesterday was to make whatever he wanted for dinner: cheesy scrambled eggs with salsa, salad without lettuce and spicy falafal balls.  Yes, it DID taste good! It did so!! (AND BONUS: it wasn't lentils and rice! hahaha)

So, off to clean up the chicken and think of something really yummy to do with it for our meal.  I have some ideas that will work I think.  This will be a nice anniversary even though we are stuck at home.