Okay, well maybe it didn’t almost burn down, but I’m so thankful that it was only smoke I came home to and not fire!! That, up above, is the culprit of my very long day. I put a pot of water on the stove this morning to boil my Norwex rag. Because it’s such tight microfibre, washing it in the washer doesn’t get the bacteria and smell out. So you have to boil it to get it clean and fresh smelling. Well normally I only boil it for 3 or 4 minutes. Today, however it ended up boiling for a little bit longer. Like over an hour.
After I put the pot on to boil I took the girls outside (I was babysitting the neighbor girls) to have a snack and play. Then I got a phone call and was distracted. Then we decided to go for a walk to a garage sale that Esther and Josie were having (as a fundraiser for bringing their new babies home from Africa). We spent a while at the garage sale and when it was time to go I really felt that it would be silly to go the long way home (the way we’d come) so I picked a shortcut. Thank the Lord for that. When we got home I went to put our garage sale bag in the house and when I opened the door, black smoke came billowing out. I freaked. Panicked doesn’t really begin to describe what I was feeling. I ran around opening doors and windows after I’d removed the pot from the stove. The smoke had filled every corner of our house. It smelled so bad. I can still smell it. I honestly didn’t think I’d get the smell out ever. It permeated.
Thankfully I spent the rest of the day cleaning walls and windows and floors and the front of cabinets and airing out drapery and doing laundry. I say thankfully because I was thankful that I had a house standing to clean. Thankful that our house had been spared. Thankful that I listened to the small voice that told me to take the short cut home and save me 25 minutes on my walk. Thankful that the girls behaved so well while I sorted out the whole mess.
Now I’m exhausted and weary from all the hard work and worry that I went through today. I had such a wonderful evening with a whole bunch of friends and it was such a good end to that day. I think I’ll sleep good tonight.
Alexis over at Ramblings from Life is having a summer reading challenge. It’s not a contest, it’s just to encourage people to read more this summer. It starts today and ends September 3. So this here is my stack of books that I’m going to read this summer. There are 15. I encourage you to join in the fun and make reading something you do more of. If you want to do this, go over to Ramblings from Life and tell her you’re joining and then post how many books you are going to read this summer. You don’t have to take a picture since most people don’t know which books they are going to read. I just happen to have way too many books and I keep buying more. So I need to make a dent in my stack of unread books. Good luck. Let me know if you join.
I went for my usual walk this evening and towards the end I turned the corner and this is what I saw. Coming up over the field and lake was the most beautiful moon. It was big and orange and so beautiful! I wish I’d had my camera to take a picture of it when it was just rising. This picture is about 20 minutes later. It was still gorgeous. It suited my mood.
Sometimes when I go for my walks, I get in this mood. I’m not sure exactly what it is. It’s something I never feel when I’m at home or when I’m with other people. It’s almost melancholic. In a bittersweet way. I heard this line in a song once about how sometimes we just want to ache. That’s how I feel. And I find I crave it. It balances out my usually happy, energetic self. Often a song will trigger it. There are some songs that I just love especially because they have that “feel” to them. You know when you long for something so much that it makes you want to cry? When you can feel somethin
g, but it’s just out of reach? It’s the time I feel the most vulnerable. The time when I just want to bask in the evening air that feels thick with the promise of something. Maybe it’s when I feel closest to God. Maybe it’s when I’m just me. Not a mom. Not a wife. Just Erin. Stripped bare and letting myself feel. Really feel. I don’t hide behind a smile or a joke. I don’t make excuses or talk incessantly. I don’t have to fill a silence. It’s the silence I crave. And a melody to fill my head. And I walk…
**According to Wikipedia it was considered a “blue moon” tonight. Maybe that’s why it felt special. Hmmm…
Okay, well maybe it didn’t almost burn down, but I’m so thankful that it was only smoke I came home to and not fire!! That, up above, is the culprit of my very long day. I put a pot of water on the stove this morning to boil my Norwex rag. Because it’s such tight microfibre, washing it in the washer doesn’t get the bacteria and smell out. So you have to boil it to get it clean and fresh smelling. Well normally I only boil it for 3 or 4 minutes. Today, however it ended up boiling for a little bit longer. Like over an hour.
