Outside my window… sunny. It was in the 70’s today and apparently is supposed to hit 90F on Wednesday.
I am thinking… about all I have to get done tomorrow housework-wise.
I am thankful… my friend Liz who entered the Carmelites today.
In the kitchen… I’m smelling my mom’s salmon and broccoli.
I am wearing… charcoal shirt from Old Navy and jeans from Kohl’s.
I am going… down to Gilroy tomorrow for a doctor’s appointment. I’m hoping my bloodwork isn’t too bad…
I am wondering… how the my parents’ meeting on Wednesday will go.
I am reading…Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber if I remember to put my e-reader back in my purse.
I am hoping… some of the books I requested come into the library soon…
I am looking forward to… Morning Prayer and Bible study starting back up this week.
I am hearing… a fan. It’s kind of hot in here. We’re trying to figure out how to break it to Daniel that “warm spot” is not an option tonight.
A Daniel story for today… little boy was having lower G-I issues yesterday so we kept him home today. When the alarm went off for us to get up to go to my meeting this morning, kiddo was fast asleep and was very drowsy until we left! He was so adorable.
Around the house… oiling the wood on the doors and cleaning before the meeting on Wednesday. Fun fun fun.
One of my favorite things… air-conditioning. I’m wishing we had it.
A few plans for the rest of the week: cleaning, my doctor’s appointment tomorrow, knitting/crocheting group tomorrow, Morning Prayer/Bible study/choir on Thursday, and whatever else comes up.
Bright Week.Bright Week is the week following Pascha (Easter) in the Orthodox Church and some other Christians use the term as well. Why am I using it instead of “Easter Week” or “the Octave of Easter”? No idea — I just like it.
Finally done! I took my last dose of Cipro today. Given how much nausea it has caused me in the last few days, I’m pretty thankful to be done with it. The bronchitis is wiped out as far as I can tell — I honestly didn’t realize how sick I felt all month until after the Cipro took effect and I started feeling *GOOD* for a change.
Interesting Easter song #1. I’m always looking for interesting Easter hymns to post at this time of year and this one is a flash mob Easter hymn from Lebanon.
Interesting Easter song #2. Here’s one from Serbia that seems to make the rounds on the pages of some of my friends who are Lutheran pastors. (I seem to have a fair number of Lutheran pastor friends who are closeted Eastern Orthodox.)
My favorite Easter hymn. This is an Easter hymn that has a special place in my heart because we sang it frequently at my high school church which is actually the church I am attending right now.
The prerequisite take on vaccination. Because, ya know, non-vaccinators don’t care if you die. I’m so thankful to live in a state that does not allow personal exemptions to being vaccinated and where many doctor’s offices are kicking out unvaccinated patients or requiring that they come into compliance with the vaccination schedule because of the risk to the vulnerable patients in the waiting room posed by kids with measles/mumps/rubella/pertussis whose parents were selfish enough not to vaccinate them or who listened to quacks online or on talk shows.
Mother Angelica. I was never a fan of Mother Angelica and I never watched EWTN other than during the Papal Conclave of 2013. However, she was quite a witty person and I found these sayings of hers quite humorous.
World’s Strictest Parents. It’s been enlightening to see how some of the parents are able to work with the kids that are sent to them. It’s further evidence to me of the need for very strong boundaries and expectations.
Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry Juice. The Cipro tastes foul and this masks the taste of it. Thankfully, I only have one dose of it left!
Three
Being able to breathe again. I didn’t realize how incredibly sick I was until I started feeling better. Last week was definitely scary on that front.
Four
Laura of Coptic Dad and Mom. Girlfriend mothered me by Facebook messenger and email all last week, making sure I was eating and getting medical treatment. Her title “tasoni” means “my sister” and she is truly a sister to me, which I appreciate more than she will ever know.
Outside my window… sunny. I think it’s supposed to get to 69F today according to Weather Underground.
I am thinking… about the wrap-up post on my Lent that I’ll be writing for Laura.
I am thankful… that Christ is risen and the world is different as a result.
In the kitchen… my dad will be making tenderloin tonight and we’ll probably have it with tater tots and caesar salad.
I am wearing… charcoal fitted shirt from Old Navy and khaki shorts from Kohl’s.
This morning’s Easter finery was a dress I got at Goodwill 6 years ago and have worn on a couple of other occasions. Don’t worry — I had a choir robe on over it for most of the morning so my shoulders were covered! (Pardon the messy room and unmade bed in the first picture.)
I am going… nowhere else today. I’m enjoying being home.
I am wondering… if Daniel is going to get my bronchitis.
I am reading…Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber. Calmness is being shelved for the moment.
I am hoping… that I’m DONE with this bronchitis. I had flare-up #2 while by myself with Daniel this past week and was panicking about what I would do if I had to go to the hospital. Thankfully, Symbicort and a monster dose of Cipro seem to be knocking this remnant out. I *NEVER* get as sick as I’ve been this month so it has been really scary.
I am looking forward to… not being this sick.
I am hearing… Enya on the stereo, Daniel playing some game with Enya on his tablet, and the dishwasher running.
A Daniel story for today… I came home from church to find my parents’ two cats “nannying” Daniel:
Around the house… renovation projects being completed.
A favorite quote for today…
One of my favorite things… Cadbury mini-eggs.
A few plans for the rest of the week: collateral services appointment tomorrow and games night on Saturday.
A peek into my day… Let’s just say that everyone is in agreement that I get to be the Easter Bunny again next year. (Yes, those are cans of Guinness in the Easter basket on the right. The recipient was over the age of 21 and allegedly doesn’t like sweets.)
It’s baaaaack!!! Apparently, my bronchitis from earlier in the month never completely left and after being just a lingering cough for a couple weeks, it hit with a vengeance on Monday night which sent me into respiratory distress on Tuesday. Thankfully, the receptionist at my provider’s office handed him the phone and he told me that they would see me the second I walked in the door. They handed me over to the PA student doing an internship there who was absolutely wonderful, came up with a good treatment plan, sat there with his hand on my knee while I sobbed because I was so scared and had no back-up person to watch Daniel if I ended up in the hospital (my parents were out of town), got me hooked up with a nebulizer, and tried to find something he could prescribe that *wasn’t* Prednisone which gives a fairly volatile reaction. (It’s like throwing gasoline on a fire — we’re talking the mother of all panic attacks that results from Prednisone with me.) I saw the actual PA at the clinic on Thursday who said that my lungs are clear and the fact that I feel like I’m being waterboarded is probably because I have pretty bad bronchitis. After excoriating me for refusing Prednisone, he put me on a heavy-duty steroid inhaler and some Cipro to knock out the infection that the Z-Pack seems to have missed. I still feel really weak and I spent much of the day in bed or on the couch sleeping, but it does feel like something is finally working.
The specialness of this day. This is the last time in my lifetime that the Annunciation and Good Friday will fall on the same day (March 25th). It presents an interesting situation in which you have both a fast (Good Friday) and a feast (the Annunciation) and the interplay between Mary learning that she will bear a child and then sees him on the Cross 33 years later. I recommend reading this post on it as well as Jessica’s blog post for today which includes the pertient John Dunne poem written in 1608 when these two events fell on the same day.
The question of Christian seder meals. Simcha Fisher writes thoughtfully on why her family has a seder meal but the rest of us probably shouldn’t do it. Short answer: cultural appropriation which is something that has only occurred to me in the last couple years. I also did something stupid and read the combox. Big mistake. It’s annoying to me when people ignore what is written and try to insert their own rationalization for things and I have to give Simcha some credit for not going in there and completely shutting some of the people down.
“If you want to engage your senses on Holy Thursday (beyond the foot washing, which let’s not even talk about. Feet feet feet. Lady feet, Muslim feet, more and more feet, twenty-four feet!), it would be fine to make some unleavened bread and some lamb and serve it with wine in your home. That will give you a small idea of what it felt like to be in that room on Holy Thursday, or what it felt like to be waiting with girded loins for the sign to flee Egypt.”
So, um… about that Lenten discipline thing… My modified Coptic fast ended pretty abruptly on Monday when I realized that large amounts of chicken soup were going to be in my future. In all honesty, it’s one of the few things I haven’t cough/vomited up from the coughing. I’ll probably write a post for Laura talking about what I’ve learned. After all, she mothered me from afar all week — it’s the least I can do to thank her. 🙂
Outside my window… dark. It was cloudy and around 71F earlier today. We had a couple sprinkles in my area and I think there was some rain in the hills.
I am thinking… that I’ll be happy with some more rain to tamp down the pollen. Everyone in the house who is awake is having to lie back propped up on pillows because we’re all coughing from allergies.
I am thankful… for a chance to be a reader for the Passion reading at the end of worship today. I did well enough that my priest is going to put me in the rotation to be a lector. Woohoo!!!
In the kitchen… my dad made steak tonight and it was incredibly tender. So good.
I am wearing… charcoal v-neck and black sweats. (I’m lying in bed in my jammies.)
I am going… to Target tomorrow for my prescriptions and some more cough drops!
I am wondering… when Jahi McMath’s family is going to accept that she is not going to wake up. I remember when her case happened in Oakland 2 years ago — there were pediatric intensive care specialists from all over northern California who were brought in to do tests (three who were not affiliated at all with the hospital) and all of them declared her brain dead. If they were to take her off of life support, she would be dead in a very short period of time. Her mom is arguing that her kid has the same rights as any other disabled kid and I understand her argument; but her “disability” isn’t the same as a kid who has cerebral palsy or Tay-Sachs or a kid who just needs oxygen at night. The machines are breathing for her and keeping her alive and at a prohibitively high cost of care. (Seriously, I don’t know how her family is affording that level of care.) It would be nore merciful to just her go gently into this good night… and I say this as someone who has had to sign paperwork for ECMO and who has watched their kid code.
I am reading…Calmness by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. I’m only at about 20% completion so my Holy Week is going to involve a bit of reading!
I am hoping… this bleeping cough goes away!
I am looking forward to… quiet tomorrow while Daniel is at school.
I am hearing… my dad knocking on my bedroom door. He just handed me a bag of Ricola and told me to start sucking on those because obviously my cough drops aren’t doing squat for me!
A Daniel story for today… Kiddo ended up with contact dermatitis as a result of playing on grass in shorts for a long time on Friday. The hives are better but I feel so bad for the kid that it even happened!
Around the house… people trying to go to sleep. So far, I think only my mom and Daniel have succeeded!
A favorite quote for today… “If you’d like to experience a profound #passionlive, please attend a local Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, or other church for the Triduum.” — a tweet from Rev. Laurie Brock while she was live-tweeting “The Passion”
One of my favorite things… my parents’ grey cat Homer who was asleep on my bed up until a few minutes ago. (He had appointments…)
A few plans for the rest of the week: errands tomorrow, collateral services meeting on Tuesday, Morning Prayer with Stations of the Cross on Wednesday, possibly Maundy Thursday worship on Thursday (I would have to bring the kid and it’s during his bedtime), Good Friday worship at noon on Friday, and Easter Vigil on Saturday.
A peek into my day… regardless of whether or not you believe in evolution, this is an interesting video.
Outside my window… rainy. It’s absolutely spectacular to have a rainy weekend here.
I am thinking… about some of the things that are happening this week. It’s not going to be as abnormal as last week but it will be relatively busy.
I am thankful… for the Dimetapp which finally helped get the kiddo to sleep at 1 a.m. after he woke up coughing. *shakes fist at all the pollen in the air*
In the kitchen… I think Dad is making steak tonight.
I am wearing… burgundy top from Old Navy and black sweats from Target.
I am going… to try and get caught up on my temperature afghan this week or at least get caught up with recording the temperatures. (My illness threw me off a bit.)
I am wondering… the structure of the readings in the Coptic lectionary. (Laura will have an email in her box tonight. :))
I am reading…Calmness by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. I still have Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber on my NOOK and got a little bit of that read this past week.
I am hoping… to get some walks in this week now that the bronchitis is (almost) gone and the rain should be going away. Now if only the bursitis would take a hike!
I am looking forward to… the games night on Saturday. Bob is making red beans and rice and someone else is bringing corn bread.
I am hearing… Coptic liturgical music (I’m keeping their Lenten fast so I’m checking out their music) and my dad drilling various things into walls.
A Daniel story for today… when I took the precious sweetling to Target on Friday to get his happy meds refilled, I was telling him “first shopping, then toys.” (First/then statements are an ABA thing.) Daniel’s response: “OK. Buh-bye.” I seriously need to record myself saying it the way he does because it was ADORABLE.
Around the house… Dad is attaching towel rods now that the painting of various bathrooms is done.
A favorite quote for today… I found this on Facebook and thought it was appropriate.
One of my favorite things… a fire in the fireplace on a rainy night.
A few plans for the rest of the week: catching up on things tomorrow morning, psych appointment for the kid on Tuesday, knitting/crocheting group on Tuesday night, morning prayer/Bible study/choir on Thursday, psych appointment for me on Friday, and games night on Saturday.
A peek into my day… I love this cover of “The Sounds of Silence” by the artist Disturbed. I’m a huge Simon & Garfunkel fan so I appreciate how he was faithful to the original song while giving it kind of a metal spin.
