The Lord Bless You and Keep You - John Rutter

 This hymn closed out so many services of my growing up at FBC in Monroe.  I just needed this today.  It's so beautiful but its words ring true.  Be blessed

Coffee

 Every morning, I get up and the first thing that I do is make a pot of coffee.  Before I feed the fish, before I take Squirt out, before I feed the outdoor cats....I make a pot of coffee.  And, usually before the pot is completely brewed, I have already taken a cup out for myself.  I sit out on the porch, if the weather is cooperative, and have my first cup and just sit and ponder my day.

I did not start drinking coffee until my late twenties.  I was working at the catering company and one day I just decided to have some.  I had a coworker who would make a fresh pot every time she wanted coffee, even if there was a full pot there, she'd make a new one and drink only one cup of it. I thought that was pretty wasteful, so I started having some so it wouldn't completely go to waste.  It did help give me that extra boost of energy and I discovered I actually enjoyed the taste.  I had always liked the smell of coffee brewing so enjoying the taste was only natural for me.

I don't know why it took me so long to start drinking coffee because it was a big part of my growing up.  Of course, antiques wise, I have always loved cups and saucers.  Grandmother had a collection of "after dinner" cups and saucers that I would constantly play with as a young kid.  I know that I did break a couple of them through carelessness but she still let me hold them.  And I loved seeing the table set for breakfast with the cups.

Coffee was almost always had after meals.  At our house, Grandmother would always want a cup after we ate.  If Mom did not want any, we had one of those one cup hot beverage dispensers for things like instant coffee and I would fix one of those for Grandmother.  Instant coffee was a big thing back in those days.  But, often Mom would brew an entire pot and many wonderful conversations would be had the dinner table over a cup of coffee.  Mom always had coffee in her office as well.  If I was at work with here, my job would be to take the empty pot around to the water fountain and fill it up for another round of coffee.  And Mom always had plenty of mugs around her office to share with other people in the building.

So, here I am, on a Saturday morning, sitting at the computer with my mug of coffee.  It is my ritual.  I love the smell and the taste of it.  I drink it black.  Michael uses cream.  But having it each day gives me a connection to people I love that have gone before me.  And I cherish that.  

That is all

The Continuing Adventures of Just a Waiter - the history left behind

 I did not sleep particularly well last night.  My body was very tired but I could not seem to shut my brain off.  There were lots of thoughts spinning around in my head.  It became a whirlwind of emotion every time I closed my eyes.  My mind was bringing up so many pictures of the past.  And, with that, comes so many different feelings.  I got up and turned my radio on to listen to some relaxing music, hoping that would help me.  Eventually I did close my eyes and fall asleep, even thought I do not exactly remember.

Why couldn't I shut my brain down?  It is because yesterday, at work, I started on a new project.  I am always starting something new it seems.  Many times I take on things myself because it keeps me busy.  Most days, I do not like just sitting at my desk.  I want something to do.  Otherwise, I feel that I am wasting my time and the company's money. Now, that's not all the time.  Sometimes I do relish just sitting for awhile.  We all need days like that!

Anyway, we had a resident move out at the end of last week to be closer to her children.  There were other factors involved in the move, but those are not for me to disclose.  Let's just say that this was the best possible thing for our resident.  Well, the family came and packed up things and got her moved.  Yesterday, I went to check on the apartment to see if it was ready for environmental services to come in and start working on it.  When I opened the door, it looked like she was still living there.  I had to go back downstairs and double check with Melissa that she was officially out.  I actually had to check several times with her because in my head I could just not believe that all of this stuff was left behind.  It looked like they took 2 pieces of furniture and some clothes.  That was about it.

There was lots of furniture left.  I opened up cabinets and drawers and most were full.  There were bags of "trash" all over the place as well.  It almost looked as if someone just packed a bag and left during the night.  Of course, that was not the case, but that's still what it looked like!  I opened up a drawer that was full of pictures.  Family pictures.  That's when I made my decision.

I decided that I was going to get this mess cleaned up.  It was obvious that the family friends who packed up things left too many behind as far as cherished family momentos.  Now, I do realize that not everyone is as sentimental about these things as I am.  But I truly care about my residents and have no desire to see their histories end up in the trash.  We had a resident who passed away several years ago and two family members came in and threw everything out.  She was a published author and kept records of everything.  I was working in dining services at the time and when I went to take out some trash one day, the dumpster was full...and I mean full...of her papers and family pictures.  Just from peeking inside the dumpster, I could see hundreds of photographs....wedding pictures, family vacations, etc.  I picked up several and they were all labeled and dated....and in the TRASH!!  That just broke my heart.  

And I was determined not to let that happen again.  So, started going through all of the drawers and cabinets and pulling out pictures and things like that to return to the family.   I'm not sure if the son of this resident knows that these pictures are here as they were in a rush to move.  And, just so that everyone knows, I have full permission from the family and Melissa to be in there.  They have confirmed that they got "everything" they were taking and have given up financial occupation of the apartment.  So, if they want to throw away all of these wonderful pictures, I will let them do it.  I will box it up and hand it over.  From there, it is their responsibility.  I just cannot personally do that, it makes me so sad to think of it.

It brought up a lot of feelings for me that I will discuss later in other posts.  But, as for today, I will go in and clean up more trash, get things organized and give this resident's life the dignity it deserves.  There are so many things that we will donate because they are in great shape.  As for the family pictures, what happens to them will be up to the family.  I will have done all I could to satisfy my own conscience.  I care.  And having peace of mind that I at least tried will help me to continue to care for my residents.

That is all.

Thought of the day - my daily challenge

 Almost on a daily basis, I will go through my day thinking that tomorrow I will do this, I will do that.  And normally it has something to do with change.  It's often something like tomorrow I'll start getting the house organized like I want it or tomorrow I'll start walking daily or tomorrow I'll cut back on my juul usage.  And then, inevitably, I wake up the next morning and start my day the same way.  I wake up with the best of intentions but then nothing happens.  I get too comfortable in the routine that I have developed.  

So, today I am going to make an effort to challenge myself to do something differently.  And it does not matter how big or small that change will be.  The important thing is that I try.  I may not succeed, but I even cannot fail if I do not try.  

I have noticed over the past few months that I have become more and more dehydrated.  I do not get enough water in my body.  I sweat a lot, even if I'm not being extremely active.  And, yes, there is always that thought in the back of my mind that the sweating may have some underlying cause, but today that is not the focus of this challenge.  Today, I want to see if I can drink mostly water throughout my day.  I have allowed myself to have my morning coffee.  Let's face it, that's not going to change unless under a doctor's orders LOL  And I am going to allow myself one non water beverage during a meal, but that will be it for me.  The rest of the day, I am going to drink water.  

I actually like drinking water. I did not like it much growing up, but now it is one of the things I will crave.  My body will tell me that I need it and it is time for me to listen more.  The downside of it is that end up in the bathroom a lot.  Oh well LOL Still, I enjoy it and need to have more of it in my daily diet.  That is today's challenge to myself.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

That is all

Song of the Day - Let There Be Peace On Earth

 

I know that I have posted this before, numerous times.  But, in our crazy world today, in our crazy country...I just wish that everyone would stop and take a moment to be kind to their fellow man.  That is what Jesus wanted and what is taught to us in Sunday School.  I'm not sure why it is so difficult now only in that labels mean more to people than the person standing next to them.  Show some compassion and consideration for those who are not you.  That is all.

Quote of the day

 After my blog about creative writing, I have been thinking about the stories, written by others, that have had a great impact on me.  Meaning, their words stay with me.  The images they painted, the characters they created.  There are a lot more than I realized.  This passage is one of my favorites. 

Charlotte was both!

Recipe of the day - Chicken and Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

 A few weeks ago, I took several ladies from HG out to lunch.  Our destination was a restaurant called Phoenix.  It's Asian cuisine.  I hadn't been there since before the pandemic.  Michael and I used to go fairly often.  The food was always good and this time was no different.  I ordered chicken and eggplant in garlic sauce.  It was wonderful and I decided to try my own hand at making it.  I was pretty happy with the result!

Chicken and Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

2 slices of red onion, minced

1 lb sliced mushrooms

olive oil

4-5 cups of diced eggplant (roughly 2 large eggplants)

1 cup water

1 Tbsp crushed red pepper

3 Tbsp garlic powder

10 tsp white sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

4 Tbsp soy sauce

4 Tbsp oyster sauce

Heat olive oil in a pan over med-high heat.  Saute chicken, onion and mushrooms until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are starting to soften.  Drain on a paper towel.  Add eggplant and more oil if needed to the pan.  Cook roughly 4 to six minutes so that the eggplant is getting soft.  Add water, red pepper and garlic powder.  Reduce heat to simmer and let the liquid cook down.  While this is cooking, make your sauce.  Combine sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce and oyster sauce.  Stir until the sugar and cornstarch has dissolved.

Once the liquid in the pot has cooked down (mine never completely evaporates), add the chicken, mushrooms and onions to the pot and stir to combine.  Pour sauce into pot and make sure everything gets nice and coated. Let this simmer a few minutes so that the sauce thickens nicely.

I served this over brown rice and it was quite tasty!

Enjoy!