Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bits and Pieces

I awoke early, after starting late and then staying up until after midnight pulling together the scriptures, Psalms and prayers for the service of Morning Prayer for today.  Morning Prayer is one of several Episcopal Church services at which trained lay persons may officiate.  At 10 a.m., I led the service at the church, with three retired women and myself in attendance; the small number of attendees is not unexpected for a weekday morning when almost everyone else is at work. I've taken on the joyful obligation of leading Morning Prayer every Thursday morning during our church season of Lent.

After the service, I took care of some other church business, then came home for lunch, leftovers from last night's Soup and Salad supper at church. I had made a big pot of chicken-rice soup for the occasion and brought the uneaten portion home with me - enough for three generous servings. I can make a meal out of soup and a few crackers.

About two o'clock, that pesky Wan'tu, about whom I wrote a few weeks ago, sprang into action again and forced Can'du out into the yard to work at getting the leaves out of the front flower beds.  It was quite warm, 77 degrees F, with bright sunshine, and Can'du got hot and quit working after just over an hour. She may have received a light sunburn on her face, even with that relatively short exposure.

While watching Can'du sweating away, I observed that the Hostas planted on the north side of the house have pushed up thick, spiky new growth, leaves still tightly furled, and the three Heucheras and a Black-eyed Susan planted in front of them are growing like crazy. All it takes is a few warm days to get things up-and-at-'em. I didn't think to take any photos of my own emerging plants, but perhaps I will do so tomorrow.  Just to keep things interesting, I'm sharing photos of Hosta and Heuchera from the Internet.

Hosta, at least two varieties

Heuchera Southern Comfort
the leaves on my plants are not this large yet
but my plants are the Southern Comfort variety and
I love this color!

After a period of rest and re-hydration, I busied myself paying bills, a dreaded but necessary chore. Most of my bill-paying is done online, so it's not as onerous a task as it could be, but it still takes time.

I'm ready to wash up and turn in.  Tomorrow is also a day.

8 comments:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Pat,

Wow, what a productive day that you had today, good for you! 77*? It was snowing again here the rest of the day (good thing that I did catch that sunrise!).

That is so good of you to lead worship on Thursdays. In another life, I was a church secretary (which means I did a little of everything!). I'm sure that the ladies appreciated your efforts very much, and I know that God did.

Bless you, my new friend!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Pat, I think I've told you this --but George and I do Morning Prayer every single day. It's our devotions for the day. We love it --and have done it for several years now.. Haven't missed but a very few days in all of these years. Our lives are just not the same without doing our Morning Prayer.

Glad that Can'du didn't work too hard.... Sometimes we all "wan'tu"----but then we just 'cant'du'..... ha

Hugs,
Betsy

Arkansas Patti said...

You really do pack in a day don't you. Way to go.
My wan'tu had eyes on the garden but my can'du insisted that the yard needed mowed. First time this year and it felt rather good.
Today, the garden gets my attention. Don't ya love this weather?

rhymeswithplague said...

I love the hostas even if they're not yours. I mowed the front and sides of my house a couple of days ago. If the weather stays nice I will be forced to mow the back as well.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Hi Pat ... thanks for all of your great input on my posts today and yesterday; well, and always.

Regarding my last post, I don't worry about it either; I just felt led to make things easier on those who are just now awakening and thirsting for knowledge. I have been feeling full of joy and peace for around 6 months now, even amidst the sadness that I feel for all of the folks involved in the horrible national and world disasters. Go figure.

Elizabeth said...

I just adore the colour of that leaf, Pat. I do like Hostas but have never been able to grow them,so I shall gain pleasure from seeing yours grow. x

George said...

Is there any chance I can get Can'du to come out here? I'm getting behind in my yard work?
As Betsy said, we both enjoy Morning Prayer very much. Thank you for doing this ministry for your church.

StitchinByTheLake said...

My husband isn't a lover of soup but I am so I'm usually to be found making myself a pot of soup when he's away. Which is now. :) Just for a couple of days but tomorrow I'll be making some potato soup - I've just been "craving" it. I have to leave the flower beds to him because of allergies but I've been inspecting them and making him a list! blessings, marlene