I’ve experienced some tender mercies this week. On top of the plumbing problems and the oven going out on top of all the move and its expenses, our AC in the basement stopped working Tuesday. Tender mercy 1) when we had the plumbing problems, we signed up for a membership that offered free service calls for plumbing and AC etc. So we called them up, They came the next day (fortunately it was the basement so it didn’t get too hot). After an hour or so of work, he discovered there was a spider in the AC circuit panel that had shorted the AC and triggered the heat to turn on! The whole day, before the tech arrived, I was praying it would be a cheap fix because the AC is 20 years old, but with all the things we’ve had to pay for, we need to refill our coffers before another big expense… replacing an AC unit would be a big expense. Well, my prayers were answered! It was not just cheap, but free since we had signed up for the membership.
The next tender mercy was that though I’ve had a couple of headaches here and there, I have been migraine free for two weeks. I started getting one Tuesday, but with just some Tylenol and ibuprofen, it went away!
The last one I’ll mention, but probably not the only one, is that we have a gas stove! Friday morning, a car crashed into a power line, taking out power for our little area. We were still able to make our kids some eggs because we have a gas stove now. Also, my friend Krista gave me a big candle for my birthday, so we had a fancy breakfast by candlelight before the kids went to school.
I had a great birthday week. I felt loved by new friends and old and even had friends from almost a decade ago reach out and wish me a happy birthday. This always makes me feel extremely loved because I too think about my friends that I no longer keep in contact with and often wonder if they think of me too, but sometimes I feel too shy to pick up the phone and say, “hey, how you doin’?”
I went to brunch with some friends and followed it up with kayaking on our new kayaks in our new neighborhood down the Savannah river, or rather, up and then down the river. It was beautiful and fun, and obviously a good workout as my shoulders were sore afterwards. Andy had reservations for dinner, but I had him move them to Friday because I was asked to teach painting at church. We had a good time painting. My friend, Lindsay, really should’ve just run it as she had samples all ready to go and knew how to keep it simple, but hopefully I added some insight. Either way, it was fun and nice to spend time with my new ward members.
Friday, Andy and I went kayaking and that evening we went to our favorite special occasion restaurant: Cork and Flame. It was delicious. I got the trout with risotto and Andy got a gourmet burger. The prices are a little unreal, but you kind of pay for the experience as well as the food. They start you off with some warm towelettes, then an amuse-bouche. It had a tiny piece of meet and a blue cheese mousse. It was probably my favorite part of the meal. We got salads for our appetizers that were delicious, then a palette cleanser of a honey mango sorbet. By the time our main course came out, we were both pretty full, so it meant we could have a delicious lunch the next day. They brought me a “deconstructed” apple pie for my birthday dessert.
Life has been busy and a bit stressful lately, but despite it all, I am feeling very grateful and blessed. We are loving our new home, even with the issues we’ve had. It is so fun to cook in this kitchen. The kids are making friends fast and I really like our ward.