Thursday's Thoughts and Thanks - August 11

Yesterday Dave and I celebrated our 37th anniversary.  

It was an ordinary day... we had breakfast, he worked in his shop, I was in my studio, made a grocery shopping trip... made lunch and dinner and we went for a walk at a park in town with the plan that we would let our dog swim in the pond to cool off.

Nothing too exciting... yet knowing that 37 years ago (that's 324,120 hours and 13,514 days) we became Mr. & Mrs. Nolan we both recalled so many memories!  This is what I said on my private fb account...

37 years of "I do"... I STILL do and will love you until the moment I pass from this existence to the next, and then I will find you again and love you some more.

It seems as though it was just yesterday, yet, at the same time, an eternity. We have grown up together... and have soooo many memories. The good, the hard, the fun and games and even the not-so-fun times... all with the guidance of God, have shaped us and made us who we are. Let's make more memories! 

💝  I'm blessed to have such an amazing guy!  He never questions my purchases or choices for dinner. (Though some are preferred more than others. LOL!)

I have wanted to plant basil in my little herb garden for a few years... yesterday while in the produce section I found a sad looking basil plant that was marked down.  I felt the soil and decided that a little water would perk up the plant right quick.  It jumped into my cart and off we went. 

After picking off the wilted leaves and giving it a splash of water, it looks MUCH better!

When Dave saw it on the counter he asked, "are you growing you own salad?"  Haha.  Funny guy.  He also asked if I was planting it in the herb garden by his shop... Now he gets it!  He knows me well enough to know that I don't let anything go to waste.  He may not enjoy the pesto sauce that I have plans to make, but I will enjoy my personal chicken & pesto pizzas at lunch once again.  

💝  In my devotional time I was in Hebrews and came across this little phrase - "God had a better plan"... It goes along with Jeremiah 29:11.  I considered this phrase and thought of how we long for a church home that loves God, follows Jesus and wants to have an outreach to the community we live in.  Worldwide ministry is all good and much needed, but if you support only ministries around the world, what happens to your own community?  

Dave and I have been praying that our heart would soften toward our community.  And it is happening... slowly.  But it is easy to fall back in the pit of complaints... just like yesterday as we walked in the park and observed some children treating a volleyball net as a jungle gym and the Mom talking on her phone, ignoring all that they were doing, we said "and this is why we can't have anything nice in town."  

Obviously, we need to keep praying!  I have also added to our prayer that we could find a church home that is a good "fit"... all while reminding myself that God has a better plan... one that we can't see or understand just yet.

💝  On a completely different topic... I haven't purchased fabric for my stash, or "just because" for YEARS!  However, this morning while scrolling through Instagram I saw a post about using African Wax print fabric for clothing.  I am SOOOOOOOO, so tempted to purchase some.  I did a quick search on amazon and discovered a good selection of them... and they are a very reasonable price!

I haven't added anything to the cart yet, but I have the tab left open in my browser.  In my mind I need to have a purpose for the purchase.  Some of the yard goods would make another beautiful quilt... similar to the one I made in 2015.

The fat quarters could make a fun scrappy quilt... but again, I need to justify the purchase in my mind.  

Hmmmm... what's a girl to do?  

I better get distracted with a current project and stop daydreaming about the possibilities.  THAT's what I need to do.  I have plenty to do... like the Baby's first year quilt for Hanna.

What would YOU make?  

Give me your ideas... maybe some of that fabric will jump into the cart like my basil plant did.

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

Thankful Thursday at Not Afraid of Color

Overflowing with Thankfulness at All4Boys