Sunday

My life as a dog bed… everyone should have a purpose in their life, and one of mine is to provide a comfortable place for a small black dog who has loads of personality.  Anyone who says that dogs can’t communicate has spent no meaningful time with them, and I’d give them a side eye… I actually trust Jerry’s judgment of people — if he doesn’t like someone, they’re probably untrustworthy.  But like many pet owners, I am cautious of him around new people and small children; I know that he’s not the biting type, but accidents happen, and I don’t want to be responsible for any injuries.  I mention this because the support worker managed to get into the building without calling and just showed up at the door… he did not approve of a stranger just walking into his house!  It’s all good; he just was loud in his objections and then went into the other room to wait for her to leave.  She was a bit flustered — apparently she didn’t notice the “Beware of Dog” sign on the door.  Don is in good spirits and is currently messing around in the kitchen.  I prefer that to him being in pain.

I heard this afternoon that my close cousin’s husband had a heart attack yesterday, and is now in hospital.  I ask for your prayers / to hold him and the family in your thoughts as he recovers.  He’s in the hospital’s ICU and receiving treatment; as of this afternoon his vital signs are steady, he’s awake and interacting with them.  We’ll continue praying for his full and rapid recovery.  I did talk with my cousin and her daughter, and I’m sorry that I can’t do more.

I’m not sure what my next steps are here… I’d ordered from Amazon a set of beading needles.  They’re very lightweight, about half the thickness and over double the length of a standard hand needle, with an eye that runs almost the full length of the needle.  The thinness lets me thread beads with small holes easily, but the challenge comes in when I try to add the thread.  What I’m doing uses a thicker thread than, say, embroidery, which still fits the bead, but it’s almost too thick for the needle!  I’ve already badly bent one of the beading needles trying to thread it, and now I’m wondering how I manage to thread the rest of the beads.  The hole of a regular needle is too small to accommodate the thread, and it’s marginally too thick for the beads.  I can’t thread by hand.  And I have all my equipment ready and laid out (away from the tiny disruptor) just waiting to finish.  Anyone have any suggestions?  And yes, T, I’m mentioning beadwork again! 😁  I’ll stop rambling, because I’m sure this is boring to all the non-handcrafters/beaders among you. 

I’m probably in the minority, but I very much love the idea of a weekly day of rest.  Having 6 days of activity and then one day that is not packed with chores is really fantastic.  When I was working regularly, weekends often devolved into a frenetic scramble to complete chores; now that I’m not, Sunday still has a “pause” function.  Some years ago, I was fortunate to have been in Jerusalem and we were there over the weekend.  That was my first experience of a “Sabbath function,” in which no work is done.  The hotel elevators, except 1, were all shut down, and the one that did work automatically stopped at each floor so you wouldn’t need to press any buttons.  Buses, taxis, etc, were also largely non-functional, with limited exceptions for tourists; there was no hot food available.  It was a moment of adjustment for me; I did wonder about the rostering of staff, as there continued to be services provided, although much reduced from normal.  I also remember when businesses closed on Sundays (and half-days Wednesday, although I don’t know why that day).  There were both benefits and drawbacks to that approach, but I rather think I like the idea of it.   Does anyone have a special “rest day” routine, or am I just demonstrating my advancing age?

That’s it for a mild, lazy Sunday where the time has jumped forward.  I really hope that we can bring this practice to an end soon!  There is no longer any meaningful benefit to doing this, and it just increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke, stress and car accidents.  So, NY state, would you please get with the program so we can stop the insanity?  Thanks much!  Good night!