April was not a good month. No it definitely was not!
I was either sick, recovering from being sick and exhausted all month. Along with that I lost my inspiration for blogging at some point and our high speed Internet earlier in the month than usual.
Then there were the "other" things...
Sad sigh #1:
We found out that my Chef son is -- yet again -- moving south. I will really miss our conversations, hikes and drives together, his wonderful cooking...basically I will totally and completely miss seeing him. Sometimes it's really, really hard to be a mom.
Sad sigh #2:
Found out that my best friend of almost 30 years is also moving. She's been there for me through some of the hardest times of my life. And she's more than just a good friend, she's a sister-in-Christ...I already miss her immensely and the move hasn't happened yet. I just have to keep focusing on how grateful I am to God for blessing her with this wonderful opportunity.
Sad sigh #3:
A much anticipated trip to one of my favorite places in the US fell through--a place of many memories and lovely landscapes. Soooo disappointed.
Well, there's more---but I think that's more than enough sad sighs for one blog post,
don't you agree? :)
So, on a more positive note, here's some good things that happened this April...
#1)
Our furnace broke (thank you LORD for getting us through the winter, keeping us safe AND making me aware that there was a problem before something really AWFUL happened ). My wonderfully talented hubby was able to repair it for the total cost of about $10 (let me hear another thank you God!)...
#2)
I -- finally -- had the courage to stand up to one of the slithery ones and, wouldn't you know it, he didn't back down...But at least I lasted a few seconds before my retreat. Yea!
#3)
My Chef son promises to send me his gumbo recipe this month! Ever since Teresa started to post her photos from New Orleans and Louisiana, I have been totally inspired to work on my family lines from the South (especially making progress on extended New Orleans family--yippee!). And then, with all those great photos of southern food, I started getting interested in the cuisine of the south--hence my need for the gumbo recipe. Mmm. Now if I could just afford a trip south...LOL.
Maybe someday!
(And a BIG thank you to Teresa for sharing her trip photos and helping to inspire me)
#4)
Though technically in early, early May, I had the opportunity to try some new foods. The first, tendon, was -- well it was interesting. If you've ever had pho, you may have already had this. It doesn't taste bad at all...but the texture is -- well, the texture of tendon is memorable and stayed with me a long, long time. A very long time. However, the flavor of the pho was fabulous and I devoured every single drop of it - tendon and all.
#5)
Also in very early May, I had a most wonderful rhubarb hand pie at one of the most wonderful bakeries in all of Portland (Baker + Spice in SW Portland)...let's just say I will be making some of these soon God willing. YUM! Additionally, I've been munching on some yummy cardomom bread from a fav Scandinavian shop...
#6)
My Bible reading for 2015 is coming right along and I will most likely be done well before year's end. YEA! I've been much more disciplined and consistent about it this year...usually I have to play catch up:) And, speaking of reading, I was FINALLY able to located a beloved book I first started reading on a stay at Leirvangen, a Norwegian B+B years ago. Can't wait to immerse myself in the land of fire and ice again...oh, and pretend I am riding a Icelandic horse:)
Well that was April, but now it's May --
and May always brings some good, good memories!
By the way,
Feliz cinco de mayo a todos mis amigos y mi familia :)
Blessings,
Aimee
~ * ~
Photos:
Marquam Hill Trail, photo 1
Seaside Beach (access at 12th Street), photos 2, 3, 4, 10
Tryon Creek State Park, photo 5
Seaside Beach (The Cove), photos 6, 7, 8
Yummy pho, photo 9
Link to Teresa's fabulous LA posts:
http://teresakasner.blogspot.com/2015/04/new-orleans-part-deux.html
(this is part 2 of 3 parts; they're all wonderful!)
A special thank you to my son for letting me borrow some of his photos for the blog
and for forgetting the much loved and most wonderful "M" cookware here--tee hee!
Love you!
BAD HTML...oh well, time to do other things ;)
Link to Teresa's fabulous LA posts:
http://teresakasner.blogspot.com/2015/04/new-orleans-part-deux.html
(this is part 2 of 3 parts; they're all wonderful!)
A special thank you to my son for letting me borrow some of his photos for the blog
and for forgetting the much loved and most wonderful "M" cookware here--tee hee!
Love you!
BAD HTML...oh well, time to do other things ;)
