Carolina Wren?

Carolina Wren 

Actually, I don't know for sure if this is a Carolina Wren or a Brown Creeper. They both are brown with a white eye streak and they are next to each other in the bird book, so I guess they are similar. I think the coloring is more like the wren, but it was acting like a creeper as it climbed the tree that holds up my clothesline.

It has been a slow day here, I think I'm ready for Gary to come home. I did get some reading done and a project caught up, so I haven't been lazy the entire day. And I talked to two out of three kids, and they seemed like they were doing well. Maybe the third one will call tomorrow.

Cancer

I'm home alone tonight. G. is out of town on a business trip. If you look at the top of this blog, you will see that its point is so I can talk to myself. So that I am doing.

I just got an email from a relative, a little younger than I, saying the tumor they cut out of her leg was indeed cancer. Treatment options are still being explored, but range from radiation to amputation. I just phoned the parents of this relative to tell them to check their email.

And besides that, I just got the results of this. It said there was a "questionable area" and would I please phone for an appointment.

I feel a little sad. Good thing I've got this blog to talk to.

Too Rainy for Birds Today

Uncle Martin and Aunt Helen visit Texas 

After work today I drove to DFW to meet good friends who were having a 4 hour layover on their way to Guatemala. They were our very first supporters and have stuck with us for many years. They had never been to Whataburger, so that is where we went for lunch. The weather was terrible today, lots of heavy rain, so my drive home along IH360 was slow and crowded, but it was worth it to be able to see our friends (and their friends too). During lunch I explained to them what blogs are, so if they don't lose the URL before they get to a computer, they might see themselves here.

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove 

Today's bird is a mourning dove. I should have saved that one for a day when I'm sad. I'm not sad; in fact, I'm happy. The weather has been lovely, I enjoyed a visit from a friend today, and Rachel's email today said each day is getting a little easier than the day before. I'm thankful to God for helping her get off to a good start with student teaching.

Cardinal

Male Cardinal 

The weather was so beautiful here today, warm and sunny. Soaking up the sunlight on my afternoon walk feels good.

I've just about completed my house rearranging that started before Christmas. Today I added a CD player to "my room" and reengineered the futon to make a lovely reading spot (except the cat seems to have taken it over).

The Robins and My Chickadee

Mr. and Mrs. Robin, with cousin Charlie--no relation to Big Bird 

Today was Rachel's (she's one of my chickadees) first day of being Miss Rachel, the Kindergarten teacher. Well, she's not a real kindergarten teacher, but she's getting close! She started student teaching a private Christian school called School for Children (doesn't that seem like an odd name?) This assignment will go for 6 weeks I think, then she will switch to 2nd grade at a public school for 6 more weeks. She has to be there at 8am and gets off at 4:30 pm, except for Tuesdays when she has to stay until 5:30pm. She called me briefly this afternoon to say she had gotten through the first day OK, and she sounded happy but tired. She said her day might go smoother if she figured out the night before what she was going to wear. She also figured out why teachers wear sensible shoes :-)

We are so proud of her to reach this step, and we continue to pray that God will strengthen and care for her, and guide her regarding decisions for her future.

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Chickadee 

I'm pretty sure I couldn't tell the difference between a black-capped chickadee and a Carolina chickadee, but my bird books tell me that only the Carolina ones live in Texas.

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We have a new pastor at our church. Today was this third Sunday and he talked about greed, which got me thinking about the opposite: generosity. Generosity is not so easy as just being physically generous. It is harder to be generous with your love, mercy, time, compliments, and interest in others. The point the pastor made was about being generous with one's privacy or private space. In other words, the willingness to let others take up the time one has to themselves.