This and that

I’m sitting in my living room watching Kody watch the birds outside. The windows are open (in April in Michigan) because it’s 78 degrees in the house. Unheard of. We put up a new shepherd’s hook (the wind broke the one from last year) and put fresh feed in the feeder, so the birds are slowly making their way back to visit. The kittens love it.

I say kittens, though they won’t be kittens much longer. In May they will be a year old. And my are they big! Kody is a little bigger than he should be, so we’re trying to watch how much he eats. They are now on wet food only and they definitely know the sound of the can opener!

I recently turned in my final edits to my acquisitions editor for the story of Noah’s wife. We have a title – coming soon! I can’t wait to share it, though newsletter subscribers will hear it first. I will also post it on social media. The cover won’t come until around June. I’m looking forward to seeing it.

I wrote my first chapter on my current book about Mary Magdalene today. I don’t think I’ve worried about a book at the start as much as I have this one because The Chosen has portrayed her one way and I wanted to explore a different way without detracting from the good work they’ve done. I don’t have a full outline yet, which I should, but I have an idea of where it’s going so I figured the best thing to do was to start. I get to know my characters as I write about them.

I’m also rather anxiously awaiting a delivery of organic whole grain berries so that I can make my first loaf of bread in ages completely from scratch. We bought a small mill so we can mill the grain and use it right away. I love the smell of baked bread, but I’ve never had a lot of success making it in the past. Then I saw all of these wonderful pictures from my friend Deborah Raney on Instagram of her baking creations and decided I wanted to try my hand at it again. I’d like to eat bread as close to the way God intended it as I can. We’ll see if I succeed.

The grain was supposed to come today so I hoped to bake tomorrow until…I smacked my left hand/thumb REALLY hard into a cupboard in an attempt to keep something from falling out. (Note to self – don’t overfill cupboards.) I managed to save the item from landing on the floor, but now using that hand hurts. Ice helped but I’m wearing a brace and hoping it heals fast. It feels like I bruised the bone. Of course.

In the meantime, hubby is hard at work finishing the subfloor in the basement. He’s on the very last row! We had a huge truck deliver more materials for the walls today, so tomorrow we’ve got some very kind helpers coming to carry it to the basement with him. Several young adults at our church have been so gracious to come over and help and it’s been great to get to know them.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe we’ve lived here for over a year. Last year we faced so many trials and losses along with the move. This year we are enjoying the area more and more and are grateful God made a way for us to live here. The sunset right now is blazing orange, and I’m ready to put the computer to bed and read. I’m in a book club for the first time ever and discovering books I would never have picked on my own. But it’s fun and the new friends part is the best.

Next week Michigan could get snow. Typical. But it won’t last. Our daffodils and crocuses and other flowers have already greeted spring. We can’t wait to see what pops out in the garden next.

Until next time~