A Friday Wrap-Up

Let's see what's been happening around the house this past week. 

Monday marked Veterans Day, and this year, was the first time I chose not to attend the ceremony. My husband, as always, participated allowing me those moments of solitude to focus on my studies. When he returned home, he brought with him two offers for complimentary sub sandwiches, each requiring a $3 donation that would contribute to the annual Christmas wreaths adorning the Veterans cemetery. 

Today, after I finished my grocery shopping, we decided to redeem the coupons since it was the final day to use them. The place was bustling with veterans, both young and old and in-between! Their bond was heartwarming, a true testament to the camaraderie that exists among them. We have a close-knit community of Veterans here, and pretty much everyone knows each other due to the various Veteran organizations: VFW, CalVet, DAV, American Legion, AM-Vets, and more. 

As it was my first visit to this place, I ordered their classic pastrami sub sandwich. It was a generous mound of tender, flavorful pastrami piled high on fresh toasted bread, melted cheese, tangy mustard, and crisp pickles. Each bite was delicious, a perfect combination of savory flavors. However, a couple of hours later, I began to feel uneasy. It seems that my love for pastrami has come back to haunt me, as I realized it no longer agrees with my stomach. After months of peace from IBS episodes, I now find myself adding one more thing to the growing list of foods I must avoid. 😬

I know the cure! I finally bought some mint chocolate chip ice cream for tonight! Yep, yep, that will help me! 

We have a Baby Boy

Monday turned out to be quite an eventful day, especially for the ladies of my Bible study group. One of the women joyfully announced the arrival of her third son! He weighed a healthy 9 pounds and 10 ounces.

Christine, from my Bible Study, underwent a hysterectomy on Tuesday. Now that it’s behind her, she feels relieved and grateful. The pain she had been enduring for so long will now be relieved. 

Brenda, who lives nearby and attends the church Bible study, was feeling overwhelmed after her husband underwent two complex back-to-back surgeries due to his substantial midsection. He was finally discharged from the hospital this past Tuesday, and in an effort to ease things, Brenda asked her sister to pick up dinner and his medications from Costco. 

Later that evening, Brenda called me in a panic, realizing Costco was closing in 30 minutes and her husband's pain medications were critical. Although I usually dislike driving at night, I appreciated that my husband was already getting ready to help. Just as we were about to leave, Brenda called again to say her sister had arrived. I was feeling the urgency in her stress. I'm glad it worked out. 

And last but not least -

My husband went to the VA to pick up his new hearing aids, which were specifically designed to help him manage his service-related tinnitus. He called me from the appointment, all excited as he shared that these hearing aids come equipped with Bluetooth technology. It means he can now talk to me directly through the devices without needing to hold his phone! It warmed my heart to hear how much this new feature delighted him. Great but can you hear? 

So far, he has reported a significant improvement in his condition; he barely hears the tinnitus that has been a persistent annoyance for him over the past several decades. It's a relief for both of us to see him finding some peace from that constant ringing in his ears. Plus, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the VA not only covered the full cost of the hearing aids but also the batteries required for them. They’re really small and skin-toned, and I can’t see them in his ears.

Some maintenance issues came up unexpected - the kitchen faucet was loose and the garage door track was stuck so those were easy and quick fixes. 

We had a good rain on Wednesday. The kind where you can hear the pitter-patter on the roof and it continued all day. Thursday it rained a little in the morning hours and then cleared off, to display snow on all three mountain ranges- the north (Mt. Shasta) the East (Mt Lassen) and...

 the West 

(Shasta Bally and the Trinity Alps)   

And that my friends, means we are entering our beautiful rainy season, which is winter to us. It's getting off to a good start after years of a dry rainy season. 

We're looking at the next couple of days of no rain, followed by a solid week of rain! 

My trees are gonna  LOVE IT!

Have a wonderful Friday evening. 

Until next time,

Debby