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Tuesday, November 15

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Nancy messaged me a day earlier, saying she was in the mood for a sister day. 🙂 Now that is a great message to receive on a Monday morning.

She was originally going to stop in for me, but their car ended up in the garage, so I was the one who had the privilege of seeing the morning frost on the meadows as I made the two-mile drive around the block to their house.

The interesting lighting of frost and a light morning fog gave the meadow an ethereal glow.

After making a left turn, I passed an Amish neighbor’s meadow with the same frosty glow.

I wonder if frozen grass tastes as good as grass in the summertime.

We had a great morning. It’s interesting how sisters can spend an hour and a half talking – about almost anything. Hearth and Harrow is not far from us – with a great, relaxing atmosphere.

We shared a berry muffin from the Mill 72 coffee counter in the entrance area and ordered our own brand of coffee. I like black, hot coffee. Venturing out to a flavored coffee is a stretch for me – and she likes lattes and cold coffee. 🙂

She also wanted to tell me about a new project of hers – helping a lady in the neighborhood. The lady came to our church the other week and when church was over Nancy noticed tears and began a conversation. That’s when the lady asked for help in going through her husband’s clothing. Her husband died several months ago.

Nancy is skilled at this because of the work she and Marlin do in helping to prepare houses/properties for auctions. This turned out to be no small project because the woman is a hoarder, so Nancy is taking two friends to help her. We laughed at some funny things that happened, but also talked seriously about the privilege of helping people who somehow get in this kind of bondage.

Just before leaving the restaurant, we talked to Mary Lou, whose dad and my grandpa were brothers. She had just come from a Bible study in the small dining room. I think all eight (or nine) of them go to different churches. They started the Bible study before work many years ago and have continued it in their retirement. I asked what they learned today. She said, “We spent most of the morning praying for needs in their group.” One lady’s husband had recently died. I was blessed by this interesting mix of godly women.

From there we walked next door (Pleasant View Retirement Community) to visit her step-mother-in-law. Nancy has struggled to communicate with her because Thelma is very hard of hearing. When Thelma had trouble hearing something I said, I wrote my question on a piece of paper. That worked, so Nancy did that too and was pleased at how easy this made the conversation – instead of shouting in her ear. Later Nancy talked about taking a white board the next time she visits.

Our last stop was Esbenshade’s Garden Center. Nancy was looking for an outside, solar Christmas ornament – and found what she wanted. The decorations put me in the Christmas spirit. I guess that is a good thing because we have our family Christmas meal in two weeks. 🙂