Saturday, May 3, 2008

What's Been Going On

I've been busy catching up on some reading. I've had St. Frances de Sales book Introduction to the Devout Life sitting on my nightstand for what seems like forever. There are so many things to ponder that I was trudging, wanting to savor or reflect on what I just read, until I finally decided to just go ahead and read at a regular pace and just wait for something to really jump out at me. I figured the Holy Spirit would lead me to where I needed to concentrate. So I'm finally making headway with the book and should be finished soon.

Another book that I recently finished but want to re-read is Dressing with Dignity by Colleen Hammond. This book really opened my eyes about how the way we dress can be an occasion of sin for others, especially men. It's made me really think about modest dressing and whether I will be making changes in how I dress. I haven't sorted it out yet but I'm praying about it.

I'm still working on the Minnie Mouse afghan. I also started working on a knitted dishcloth, but I made a mistake, dropped a stitch and will have to do some ripping out of stitches. I've always had problems correcting mistakes in knitting because I don't quite know what to do. My knitting teacher, back when I was taking the knitting class, showed me what to do so I was beginning to recognize exactly what kind of mistake I made and make the correction. Well, I couldn't make heads or tails of my mistake so I think I need to rip out the stitches. I easily get intimidated when these things happen and end up just putting the thing away for a while. I don't want to do that this time. I will forge ahead!
I'm also still trying to finish watching Gone With the Wind. The only time I get a chance to watch it is when the kids are in bed. By then, I'm so tuckered out that I only get to watch about 15 or 20 minutes before I start dozing off! But, I'm enjoying it so far.
I think I have some sick, hopefully not dead, trees in my front yard. There's hardly any leaves on them and they just look so bare! All the other trees in the neighborhood look normal, but somethings not right with mine.



This is what my tree should look like right now. Nice and bushy, giving lots of shade.






This is one of my trees. It looks pretty sparse.



This is the other tree. Quite pathetic.

I called the city to come investigate, but of course no human answered the phone, so I left a message with the tree maintenance supervisor to have someone come out to take a look. I haven't seen anyone from the city around, so I don't know if they came around or not. I haven't gotten a call back either. I'll have to call again this coming week. I'm going to miss the shade this summer!

Well, I'm off to relax for the rest of the night. Shall I attempt to watch Gone With the Wind?

10 comments:

Jane (a.k.a. patjrsmom) said...

We have a few trees in our yard that I always wonder about, too. Although your trees are such nice big shade trees--much different from our little newcomer to the flat prairie land saplings!

I hope you get your movie in today!

God Bless,
Jane

Anonymous said...

Lisa I'm no arborist but your trees look alive. A dead tree would have no leaves and the branches would be brittle. What kind of tree are they? I had a one of the purple/black plum trees that lost all it's leave in the spring last year. We thought it was dead. But the nursery said it needed water. This year it's back to normal. You can take a sample twig to a nursery and they will give you a diagnosis. That's what we did.

see you soon.

Anonymous said...

I forgot to sign my name above.

Tracy said...

Your trees do look alive.. but I don't really know much about them :)
Everyone in my neighborhood seems to be cutting down their trees.. it is so depressing.. so empty looking!

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Knitting...I'm still working on "Baby Girl Keller's" afghan. She has 4 brothers anticipating her arriva; and I am so glad to be knitting in PINK! She's not to arrive until August and am about 1/3 done. When it starts getting warm, will have to sit with a fan on me...Have Grand day! Cathy

Shosannah said...

Awww your trees don't look to happy do they?
Maybe they just need a little pruning?

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day
:)
Blessings
Suzy
xx
By the way I'm back in blogland for a while! I 've just finished a little book project that has kept me busy over the last couple of weeks!

Lisa@UnexpectedJourney said...

Cathy - I just love crocheting/knitting for babies! The yarns are so soft.

Suzy - I'm so happy you're back. I'll be checking back at your site and checking out your book. How exciting for you!

Kim said...

Hi, Lisa; I left a comment on this post a couple of days ago, but I think it didn't go through, so I'll try again.....

The books you're reading sound so interesting. I love hearing about what other people are reading. I hope you'll blog some of your thoughts when your finished. :)

When we lived in Texas, we had ONE nice tree in our front yard, and it ended up dying. We finally had it chopped down right before we moved. But it was completely leafless. I'd say, don't give up on your trees until a whole spring and summer goes by without any green showing up.

BTW, I noticed on your sidebar that you've read Angela Hunt's book "The Elevator." I read a description of it that sounded fascinating. What did you think of it? I've love to know your opinion.

Lisa@UnexpectedJourney said...

Kimberly - I think I'll take your advice about my trees. Sounds like a good idea to wait and see what happens for a few seasons.

Regarding the books I'm reading, I'll try and put some coherent thoughts together about them and post something.

I wasn't too impressed with The Elevator. It's been awhile since I read it so my memory is fuzzy. Based on the description, it sounded real intriguing, but when I read it, something about it didn't capture my interest. I didn't have any attachment to any character. I wish I had the book to refresh my memory but it was a library book. I'm sorry I can't offer more specifics - I just remember that it didn't live up to my expectations. I see though that Amazon reviewers give it rave reviews. I guess you'll have to read it and see for yourself! :)

Kim said...

Thanks for your thoughts on the book. I know what you mean---I have read books that other people just loved, but for some reason I think they fall flat. I probably won't bother with "The Elevator" because I already have SO MANY books to read....maybe if I find a used copy at a thrift shop or something.....Have a nice weekend!