David is often very creative in his gift giving. This year, part of his gift was that he gave the whole family mugs and united us all through well-known actors! Not that we are very big fans of Hollywood but it was unique. He also gave Mike and I a bag of coffee from the local coffee-house – it’s called their Christmas blend. It was really good. Today we got to put the final beans through the machine and enjoyed the cappuccino in the mugs…
Today has been a very relaxing day. We woke late and lazed about until eventually we got up to get some exercise. The days between Christmas and New Year certainly are chilled.
I did do the laundry. I seldom go into the back garden to hang the washing out without reflecting back on our burglaries last year. You may be surprised at my thoughts. They are not fearful – quite the opposite – they, believe it or not, are amused. Now that time has passed, it is very clear the thieves lacked a decent strategy. They were absolutely determined to see if they could get more stuff out of our house. I don’t know if they thought we were oblivious to their actions. We stole the screwdriver they were using to chisel the cement out of our back wall. We tracked their footprints. We knew they were watching us. When we built a wooden barrier to prevent them from getting in, that should have been a clue that we were increasing our security.
I am bemused and somewhat amused when I think of them spending hours chiseling away at the vibracrete and getting it loose enough to eventually bang out two panels. All that hard work in vain. They went on to enter the property in broad daylight and have Mike see them as soon as they arrived. They spent possibly 15 seconds in our back garden before fleeing in fear of being caught. We suspected they would come back. And they did. This time they sacrificed sleep arriving at about 3am or earlier. A long attempt, chiselling away at our back door lock, expecting to just walk in. When that didn’t work, they tried our guest room window. That didn’t work. In frustration, they tossed a brick through Mike’s study window and with great excitement, pulled open the curtains only to find three ancient humpback monitors laughing at them. Failed again. They have never returned. We are still cautious but feel safe and happy.
The last few of my 1000 thanks come down to relationships.
#998 of my 1000 thanks is for my friends. They prop me up when I’m feeling down, pray for my needs as they arise, make me laugh, keep me grounded and make me happy. We pray, eat, learn, talk and laugh together and my life would be 1000 times poorer without them.
Philemon 3
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Amen!
These are the days.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂
Gym:
- 35 minutes walking on the treadmill.
- 20 minutes cycling
- 5 minutes cross training
- 20 minutes super circuit
- 10 minutes on the stepper
Braces:
Day 45.