Happy Thanksgiving!

...just watch the seconds, thirds, fourths...helpings!

God says, "Have a Nice Day!"

How I needed this reminder a week or so ago when a large white truck slammed into my Yukon.

I had enjoyed my day immensely...shopping for toys & clothes & other items to pack into Samaritan's Purse Christmas shoeboxes. After filling the boxes & delivering them to our church for later shipment, I started my drive back home. It was dark as I started to turn back onto Highway 93. Bright headlights, appearing from between Black Jack's Casino & the Hayloft Bar across the street, within milliseconds zoomed towards me as I felt the impact of two vehicles colliding. I squinted to see if I could see the license plate as the vehicle backed up a little, but the headlights were still too bright. A white truck drove past me & I assumed was going to turn around so we could exchange information about insurance companies. I pulled to the curb & waited. After about 5 minutes, it was obvious no truck was coming, so I drove over to the truck stop where it had headed & started looking for a white truck. Perhaps the driver was waiting there for me. No deal. It was a hit & run accident. A saying of my military boss from Fort Leavenworth popped into my mind: "No good deed goes unpunished."

I called the police & reviewed the accident. The policeman, who came & surveyed the damage & scene, said the other driver probably either was drunk or didn't have insurance. Hit & runs were common in this area of the casino & bar. He thought I had at least $2000 damage to the left front side of my car. The appraisals I got the next day for my insurance company were both just over the $2000 mark. Sadly, I will be out the $500 deductible & without my car for 4 days or so when the parts arrive at the body shop. I am asking the Lord to help me respond in a way that will give Him glory.

Minutia of life

This photo is for Elli. Others liked the simple ghost costume, like you.

My life doesn't seem very bloggable at present. Yet, beautiful Fall days - even with the leaves blown from the trees after several hard frosts - & wonderful friends, make my life full to the brim.

. Above is my friend Jan, to whom we long-term loaned Glory, (one of our goldens shown in the photo with Jan), & later Glory's daughter, Genny. Genny returned to our home in September after Jan had been hospitalized with pneumonia & recurring symptoms of lymphoma. Jan never made it home again. She transferred to a rehab. unit to regain enough strength to walk with a walker. Her blindness was almost complete at this point. (She had been losing her eyesight over the last 5 years.) God kept placing her in my thoughts, so I prayed for her & visited her 3 times in the rehab. unit. Esther visited Jan as well, during one of her breaks at the Nursing Assistant Course. Jan passed from sleep in that rehab. unit right into her real home with the Lord in early October. We were so blessed to have known this gentle soul.

. Another friend, Janie, also has had the lymphoma diagnosis for about two years. She looks like she has a good case of the mumps on the left side of her face. Her submaxillary gland appears to contain at least 2 goose eggs. She asked me to accompany her to an oncology appointment this past week as she hoped to delay a surgery to remove this gland. After 4 hours of waiting in the oncology clinic & then arguing her case, she won temporarily. Strong antibiotics are being tried first. Janie teaches me so much vicariously. She's open with her Christian witness despite ongoing health problems.

. Today I reduced a huge Halloween pumpkin that Louis brought home from DirecTV into 23 cups of pureed pumpkin. I baked a couple of pumpkin pound cakes & froze the rest. Perhaps I should give out baked pumpkin treats for Christmas gifts this year ?!

. Although I turned in my resume, was interviewed & watched the current RN do an ultrasound at First Way Pregnancy Support Center, I have not heard yet whether I will be hired for 2 or 3 days a week as the next RN. Thursday evening the Center has a fund-raising dinner, which I plan to attend. Perhaps I will hear something then.

. Our hiking is over until Spring. I missed the last hike. Esther had moved into a studio apartment with her friend, Melissa & only hours later, up-chucked all over the nurses' station at work. She had a temp. of 102 degrees, so she called me 30 minutes before I was leaving on the hike to ask if I would come & spend the day with her. I did. So far I have escaped that virus myself.