Ordinary Adventures: Aug 10 - 16

The Lord is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked. 
Ps. 129:4

We trekked around our new supermarket this week with my sister-in-law and her girls. Of course Henry took his older cousin's lead and wanted to get out of the cart and walk. This meant touching every item on toddler-level. This also meant much more fun than sitting in the boring old shopping cart. We love our new grocery store!

Later in the week we rescued our grapes from the wasps, who were literally eating the grapes right out of the skins, and made jelly.

The grape vine has been well established on our property for many years and we were thrilled when it produced grapes prolifically the second summer we lived here. The are concord, I think. Dark purple, so sweet and fragrant, with tough skin and a big seed in the middle. The flesh is not good for eating, but makes delicious jelly. 

My momma came for jelly-making and in an hour we turned a basket of grapes into nine jars of shimmery purple jelly. We smashed the grapes, boiled them, strained them, simmered them with pectin and sugar, and ladled them into steaming jam jars. Then we licked every pot, spatula, measuring cup, and funnel clean. Oh, yum, this jelly is good.

Friday marked our five-year anniversary. No exotic adventures for us. Some outlet shopping in the morning, lunch at the local pizza joint, an afternoon of paperwork at the dining room table, and finally appetizers and desserts at Ruby Tuesday while our sweet niece watched Henry for her first babysitting gig. What a gift these five years have been, this first chapter of married life together. Sure, we've both made mistakes, acted like jerks, hurt each other's feelings, and wondered if life might not be easier alone after all. But no matter the momentary struggles, we're truly glad not to be alone. We enjoy each other's company, love making the other feel happy, find daily opportunities for laughter, and have encouraged one another toward greater godliness. I'm delighted to belong to this handsome guy.

Grateful this week for: 
soup improvisations
bird songs in the morning
rainy Monday
vacuuming
smell of grapes on the vine
nostalgic TV
meatball sandwich dinner
cell phone calls
hot shower
waking up feeling rested
an answered prayer
Henry's growl
sleeping in
outlet bargains
Thai spring rolls
child seats in shopping carts