Friday, November 16, 2018

What a Week!

What a Week!  Yes, we're home.  Although there have been some fire flare ups on the hills above our neighborhood, we were able to return home on Saturday evening.  We are so thankful that our home is safe from the Hill Fire* and Woolsey Fire.  It hurts our hearts when we hear of people who have lost everything--especially so soon after the Thomas Fire which devastated Ventura in our county last December, and after the shootings at Borderline in Thousand Oaks which is the next town over from ours. So here are my heartfelt Friday Fave Fives.   This week I can link up to Susanne's blog!

1.  Saturday evening, we enjoyed a dinner out with long time friends before we 'repopulated' our home.  We sat there in the restaurant and chatted and laughed.  It was great.  Exactly what we needed.

2.  I was called for jury duty.  Yes. Again.  My report day was Wednesday and I did get called into the courtroom and stayed until 5:15 pm while prospective jurors were interviewed.  Because of the memorial service for the county sheriff who was killed in the Borderline shootings last week, we were held over until Thursday afternoon, so I had to report there again and sit in the courtroom until all the jurors were chosen and sworn in.  Then we who were not chosen on the jury were allowed to leave.  Hopefully. I won't be called again in the near future.  What was the fave?  Meeting a couple of other women who I really clicked with, one of whom noticed my felted bag and asked, "Did you knit that?  I knit, too."  Well, that obviously meant instant friendship.

3.  Meeting with a couple of friends for a morning planning session for our Mom to Mom group at church.  I am learning to love these co-mentor moms and appreciate their wisdom (and their humor).

4.  This is a funny thing:  when we left last Thursday, I had poured some hot water over dried chocolate mint leaves and left it to steep while we were gone for what we thought would be about an hour.  Well, when we returned Saturday night, there was the tea mug.  I decided to try the tea.  It was delicious!  Evidently leaving mint tea to steep for 50 plus hours makes excellent tea!

5.  We hadn't seen one of The Professor's sisters for awhile.  She texted and said, "Hey, I was missing you a lot tonight. Can I come over tomorrow to see you?"  So we had a wonderful visit with her and she stayed for lunch.  She even loved our usual lunch of veggies and more veggies with a bit of hummus thrown in.

I hope you are all preparing for a joyous and wonderful Thanksgiving!  Giving thanks is what we're all about here.

* The Hill Fire was named after the place the fire started:  Hill Canyon-- where The Professor and I hike on a regular basis.  It doesn't look like this anymore:


10 comments:

Karen said...

It's so good to hear that you are back home safe. We have been watching the news daily, in disbelief over what the west coast is going through. Further proof that being with family and friends is what it's all about. I have chocolate mint in my garden (well, I did, the snow has finished it off for the season). I'll have to remember to try your tea recipe next spring!

Mereknits said...

Such devastation near you. So glad you are safe but so sad for all of those who have lost everything including loved ones.

Jill Foley said...

I'm so glad you and your home have been spared of the devastation.

Barbara H. said...

So sad about the fires and shootings. I am glad you are back home and safe. Funny about the tea! I like to let mine steep more than the instructions say, but I haven't tried 50 hours yet. :-) Glad you had some nice visits with friends and loved ones and hope you don't get called back to jury duty for a while.

Gracie Saylor said...

I am thankful you are ok and able to settle back in your home, Willow. A Bible study stitching friend here near Portland has elderly cousins in Paradise, CA that are listed as missing. 2Corinthians 1:3-5 has come to mind as prayers are offered for so many difficult circumstances around us. Your mom's mentoring group kind of reflects the truth of those verses to me too...so glad you can be a part of it. xx

Faith said...

Linda, we prayed for you and i am sooo glad you and your house are safe. CA is really dealing wwit th a lot of tragedy these days. 😢

That's so neat that you met a kindred spirit in the courtroom!!

Lunch with family and dinner with friends are true blessings.

Have a safe and healthy thanksgiving!!

nikkipolani said...

Much too much eventful for your region. Thankful you are back home and having terrific connections with family and friends. And maybe a little juror community?

ellen b. said...

So glad your home was spared...again. So sad for all who have lost so much. How nice to connect with some other knitters at jury duty waiting room! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

The fires are so very sad and so scary. I'm glad that you are safe but my heart goes out to all who have been affected.

Susanne said...

So glad to hear that you were alright and that your home was spared. My thoughts and prayers have been with those who didn't fare so well. Neat that you found a fellow knitter during jury duty proceedings. I've been called a couple of times but because of the nature of my job and it putting up to 6 families out with no child care for an indeterminate amount of time I've always been excused.