catching up ...

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     I tried to get this post done for the past two weeks, but Passion Week was non-stop at church [not complaining at all!] and last week we had finished training and went live on phones so by the end of my shift my brain was just a tad fried and tired of computers.

     Where do I start... Passion Week ... Monday the 11th was really my only "free" day, and after I got off work, I used it to finish a WhenAreYouGettingMarried gift for a couple at church whose private wedding will be sometime this week.  He has several beehives and sells the honey from them (which is amazingly delish!), and they met when she reached out to him via a Facebook group for bee people and asked some questions about bees and honey making.  He gave her a tour of his hives, and introduced her to the events at [click link>] Yew Mountain Center where he works, and the rest is history ... or rather a love story.

     Tuesday the table I had ordered to support the very heavy $5 mirror I got at the auction arrived and I was able to get it together and with help got the mirror up before going to an amazing Praise and Worship hour at church.

     <I came home to be greeted by this.

     For reasons I will never understand, Mr. Charles has an unusual obsession with used kleenex tissues.  They are as tasty to him as the treats he desires in the cat litter boxes.  I was using an empty tissue box as a trash box for my used tissues in the office, believing (mistakenly) that he would not be able to get into them.

     Clearly, I was wrong.

     When he realized his head was stuck in the box, he must have panicked and both slobbered and chewed a hole in the bottom of the box to breathe.  We had, and have had to have, several discussions about his obsessions in the past two weeks.  I think that the amount of time I was spending at church that week caused him to act out and regress to some of his previous separation anxiety behavior of believing he was going to starve to death.  

     A CD I purchased last week to help, music to relax anxious and fearful dogs, works better on me than it does on him.  I'm not sure how to feel about that.  I finally found a full-proof way of keeping him out of the office, and have also gotten some hemp treats that may ease his anxiety.

     Wednesday night instead of our usual Bible Study, we prepped over 10,000 candy-filled eggs for the Easter egg hunt on Saturday!  On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we held the first services in the still under construction portion of the church building.  It was exciting to see how much God has blessed us with!  Saturday over 500 big and little people attended the Easter Egg Hunt.  It was insane!

     My walk home from the park included some beautiful Lenten Roses, and I want to get some to plant in my shade garden for next spring.  On a good note, the peony roots I had planted last year and given up hope that they would come up have made an appearance.  Four of the five survived the winter and have made an appearance.  It gives me hope that maybe more than the four (of 200!) bulbs I had planted in the front garden will also come up this year.

     I did some shopping in town and ventured into one of the vintage consignment shops where I found the perfect lampshade to redo my slide shade.  This one is more suited for the lamp, however, I now realize my lines are a little slanted.  Oh well.  I tend to look at things a little lopsided at times as well.

 

   The catio was finished, and of course, the cats hate it.  Lucy had a panic attack and was literally climbing the walls when the neighbor's dog began barking.

     I was hoping that it would not be as traumatic for them if they were out there a few more times, but the result was the same each time.  I'll probably take it apart and find some other way to utilize the screens.    I don't need to make Lucy any more fearful than she already is, and being able to quickly let them into the house without getting my eye scratched out is a priority.

    Instead, I will get let them out when I go out to listen to evening concerts or with Charlie.

     Easter Sunday was a full day of church services.  Son Rise service at sunrise, followed by our normal services at 11a and 6p.  I sing with the choir and we sang at the first service, and after that service, we had four creek baptisms!  It was an amazing week and day!

     My first week of calls was mind-boggling and stressful so I resorted to binge-watching television and crafts after I got off work.

    Thursday evening I did take a class in chalk drawings and Japanese floral arrangement style called Ikebana.  I kinda wish now that I had left the background black instead of shading it because the forsythia branch gets lost.

     Sometimes these classes just mean I get to go buy more arts and crafts supplies!  No complaining about that here!

     Saturday I spent the afternoon with a friend from church doing more fun art, talking, and laughing.  A lot of relaxing fellowship after a crazy work week.  I was finally able to make a barn quilt board for myself in the colors that I find comforting.  

     Yesterday, was another amazing day at church, and five baptisms at the creek!

     I hope that your week is wonderful!         Hugs, Ci