Monday, January 1, 2024

From My Journal

 TODAY IS: 1 January 2024

AROUND ME:  We had a slight dusting of snow last evening but the snow is to continue through the day today.  It's coming down at a good pace at the present time.

I AM PONDERING:  this puzzle...


It was a gift given to me by a sweet friend for Christmas.


It was so beautifully presented in this blue bag inside the box along with a picture of the finished puzzle.


It is a laser cut wooden puzzle so there weren't interlocking pieces.  
It made for an interesting time of getting the edge pieces together because they basically just slid up next to one another.
But we are ones to persevere.
I have to say that this was a puzzle that was right up Strongheart's line.  
I'm guessing that's because of all of his work with the scroll saw 
and all of the puzzles that he's made 
because he could see much more quickly what pieces went where than I could.


And the really neat thing was that when you got the one end of the puzzle completed, 
there was a message for you.
Can you see it?  
Merry
Christmas

I know it isn't a very good picture of the words, 
but you get the idea.

AMONG MY FAVORITE THINGS: Coming into our warm home after being outside on a chilly day.

BOOKS I AM CURRENTLY ENJOYING: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs, which will take me a bit to get through. Puritan writers seem to do that for me...so rich in wisdom and knowledge...but this is a book that I make it a point to read once a year.  It's such a rich book!

The Invincible Miss Cust by Penny Haw was a book I found as a result of my friend Granny Marigold.  I've only just started it but already am enjoying it tremendously.  It is based on the real life of Aleen Isabel Cust who became Britian and Ireland's first female veterinary surgeon.  The book begins when she is six years old so I am looking forward to seeing how everything plays out for her to get her to the point of becoming a veterinary surgeon.

Refreshment for the Soul is a compliation of Richard Sibbes' works done in a devotional style, which is the devotional I will be using this year.  

The last book that I am currently reading is a bit misleading by the title on the front of the book...Karen Blixen Babette's Feast.  I didn't realize it at the time I ordered the book, but what this book actually is, is a compliation of Karen Blixen's (Isak Dinesen) short stories.  Babette's Feast was definitely worth the read, but there is also The Sailor-Boy's Tale, Sorrow-Acre, The Heroine and Peter and Rosa.  So far, I've read Babette's Feast, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and The Sailor-Boy's Tale.  I'm currently in the middle of Sorrow-Acre which is one full of principled living.  


I AM THANKFUL FOR the wonderful Christmas season that we had.  There was no scurrying about to get things accomplished but more time for both of us to just enjoy reflecting on the incarnation of the God Man Who came as a Babe with the sole purpose of going to Calvary to redeem us from our sin.  This season I especially thought more of what it must have been like for Mary and for Joseph and their faith in God.

NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN: I watched a video of how a lady made a pie crust and decided to use her method when I was to make a pie to take to a Christmas dinner that we were invited to.  Turned out what worked for the lady in the video did not work out for me.  I apparently overworked the crust because a saw would have made it easier to cut than the knife I was using. 😂 My sweet mother would have said, "Live and learn!"  

FROM THE KITCHEN: Turkey stew for lunch and sauerkraut and brats for dinner.

SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY:  


A good night's sleep between flannel sheets and under this wonderful Sherpa Comforter set that one of my brothers gave us for Christmas!

A QUOTE TO REMEMBER:  "Authentic Christianity is not simply doing mechanically what God says but enjoying God." Dane Ortlund pg. 82 of How Does God Change Us?

TO DO LIST FOR TODAY:  Launder the bed linens, take down the Christmas tree.  I think this year I am going to take my time when it comes to putting away the Christmas decor.  I need to sort through the two totes and do a bit of donating because there are things still left in the totes that I didn't use after I did the decorating this year. And of course, there's a puzzle to work on. :)

"So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."
Psalm 90:12







 

12 comments:

  1. How neat to have a message hidden in the shape of the puzzle pieces.

    I was surprised, too, to learn that Babette's fest was a short story rather than a book. I think I found a copy of the text online somewhere. I've not read anything else by Isak Dinesen.

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    1. I was disappointed that it was a short story but the theme is really good. I will share more about the book in its entirety when I do a book review.

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  2. A pretty puzzle. I've tried the wooden puzzles but prefer the interlocking ones. We always turn ours over and right a message on the back. :)
    Cool to have the message pop out.

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    1. I'm with you when it comes to preferring the interlocking puzzles but this one was still fun as a challenge.

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  3. What a lovely puzzle! Sorry to hear about the pie crust not turning out. It’s the thought that counts.

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    1. I was embarrassed... especially when one of the other guests, a man from our church, showed up with a Swedish Tea Ring he had made 😊😋. I told them I would make them a REAL pie one day.😉

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  4. I'm going slower on the Christmas totes with some re-evaluating on what to put where and what to get rid of. Your Christmas time sounded very nice. Sorry about the pie crust. My mom did not make American pie and I wasn't exposed to pie crust growing up and haven't attempted it in my old age, either. :) We have a puzzle going here, too. Happy first day of the year to you!

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    1. That's my job for Tuesday... going through the totes to see what I didn't use this year and donating it and then packing away the rest of the decorations. I can chuckle about the pie crust incident now but I was embarrassed at the time. 😊. The puzzle we are working on now is 1,000 pieces and the picture is library or bookstore shelves. I THOUGHT it looked easy when I ordered it. HA! But we are enjoying our time working on it together

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  5. I intended to take my time with putting away Christmas decorations as well but I woke up and said, 'today's the day'. I told myself I'll sort through them next year when I open totes. We'll see how that goes!

    What a neat puzzle! And yes, I see the hidden message. So pretty. It encourages me to try one myself but not a 1000 piece! I'm just not that brave.

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    1. If there weren't a lot of steps involved I would have done mine all at once too. Too many trips up and down them in a day make for a painful evening. I did the tree and Nativity on Monday and sorted through the totes for donations and went ahead and boxed them up. Then I took everything else upstairs and now have it all packed up for next year.

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  6. Hello! I too love a good nights sleep on a cozy bed! The puzzle is beautiful! I am doing the same with our decorations too. I do hate putting them away! Have a cozy afternoon, my friend.

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    1. Thank you, Billie Jo. I did accomplish getting the decorations sorted out and some set aside for donating. And then I packed the rest of them away. The house looks kind of bare and I do miss the lights of the tree but I have been thinking about how I want to create some other coziness for the month of January. :) xx

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