I read a daily entry from Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Hightest” every morning with my first cup of coffee and most usually from my wingback chair….these days it is in the corner of my sunroom.  When I’m travelling, I read from the recliner in the motorhome.  It has been part of the start of my day for nearly 12 years now and is that time of quiet - of settling my mind and thoughts at the start of the day.  I use the reading to quiet my head to “Be Still” (Psalm 46:10) and know that God is present and with me.  It is a time of thanksgiving, of worship, of peace and reflection.  I have been through all of the entries 12 times and still there are many days when I read something as if I’ve never read it before.  It is astonishing to me in it’s revelation and wisdom!  And the timing - it is sometimes SO timely as to feel like an angelic hand has rewritten an entry specifically to me to correspond with what is happening at that precise moment in my life.  Last week, these words were in the reading:

God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process - that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea.  It is the process, not the end which is glorifying to God.

God’s end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now.  If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious.

The journey - not the destination…  The time of NOW not the future or the past.  NOW is the blessed time whether it is a joyous time or in the most difficult and painful of circumstances.

A beloved cat, Sam, who belongs to my folks has been very ill.  Sam is special to me as well as to them.  He was the inspiration for me adopting my first cat, Gus.  Gus was my “angel cat” - a fierce and dedicated hunter but also a neck hugger and lover - with me for 9 years.  When Gus was a year old we visited my mother and Sam - Sam, who never liked another cat, took Gus under wing and taught him to hunt.  It was an incredible bonding between 2 male cats.  I lost Gus nearly 2 years ago - as far as I know to another predator.  It is still an incredibly painful loss and to this day I would gladly sell everything but my soul to have him back.

 Sam is approximately 15 years old - senior for a cat, but still an active hunter - also an affectionate cat who loves to nap on my step-Dad’s lap and have his whiskers rubbed.  Now, some mysterious infection - but as of yesterday he was eating and regaining strength - hopefully on the mend.  And it is not just concern for Sam, but also for my folks who love him dearly and have shared his life.  They and I are all well aware of the life span of dogs and cats and of the greater cycle of life that we are all part of.   That knowledge does not make a loss or the endurance of pain any more endurable - it is always just hard and exhausting.  And for me, a reminder that loss is part of life and there will be more loss in my own life - times of despair and sadness.  What brings hope is the sure knowledge that “He can walk on the chaos of my life”…

Job 12: 7-10

But ask the animals and they will teach you or the birds of the air and they will tell you

Or speak to the earth and it will teach you or let the fish of the sea inform you.

Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this.

In His Hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

…home/house stuff… not exactly 1 step forward 2 back… but along that line…

Air conditioner - WOW, in terms of comfort level - not so wow in terms of aesthetics but since I don’t “entertain” and this time of year don’t use the “living room” much - comfort level outweighs aesthetics… The A/C - sometime in May, I received a flyer form Costco and one of the items was an Air Conditioner - couldn’t order until 7/14…so I went to CO, came back and 14th approaching plus it was HOT so ordered the A/C on the 14th early in the day.  On the 15th when I went to the same A/C to get a link to send to a friend who asked - not available.  Anyway, it arrived several days ago, was a simple install and I am enjoying the cool!  It keeps the entire house at 72 (today was 94 at hottest) - not the most attractive thing but comfort level is improved - better temp, better air circulation and faster cool down for sleeping - we are happy!

 It’s on wheels so easy to move to another location in the morning (east side of house in the a.m. - right photo… west side in the p.m.-left photo)

For the step forward the subject is window treatments…I have no need of window coverings for privacy since I have no neighbors that I can see.  BUT, there is the sun issue - not in Winter, but with the Summer sun angle and my wish to keep the house cool and sun damage (fading of surfaces) to a minimum… when I left for CO, I “hung” sheets and fleece blankies - I thought I would live with that until Fall, but aside from getting a bit old, there was a sale on the flat Roman shades that I wanted, hence - new window “treatments”… and away with the sheets and blankies!

Most of my favorite tools were out for exercise:

You can see 2 levels and some measuring stuff in the photo above - truth is that I mostly “eyeball” locations - considering that there is very little in “this old house” that is square, level or standard - eyeballing does just as well or better than precise measuring.

The results:

And in the kitchen:

***Bob IS down to 19 pounds from 22!

The motorhome has been to the shop for lube-oil-filter and general maintenance check… AND for the hydraulic failure experienced on the way home from Colorado.  Shop, in tandem with HWH (hydraulics mfg) believe the problem is a bad pump and a new one is on it’s way from Iowa - scheduled to be installed on Mon, 7/30.  Too bad it wasn’t a fuse…  But, I want to document the fuse locations - for RV friends the Smith’s also Adventurer owners and an ORS member with a similar Winnebago hydraulic system. 

Some photos of the hydraulic pump/motor, inline fuses and what I think is the hydraulic fuse box (this post to document locations of fuses and hydraulics for jacks and slides):

Pump - looking down into the engine compartment, just to the passenger side of the middle, right against the front grille. 

Above - the elusive inline fuses - circled with white….  These were “buried” in amongst the wiring for the slide-out solenoids and jack valves.  I started tracing wires away from the pump to find them - once I had the description of what to look for. You can hopefully see the fuse I’m holding - I have the cap back to expose the actual fuse - others have their caps on.  The photo is taken from underneath - I’m on the ground looking up into the engine compartment at the underside of the hydraulic pump.

Above - looking in from the driver door under the steering column - behind the carpeted “board” is where the Above right “box” is.

You can just see part of the HWH (hydraulics mfg).

By popular demand…the outfit….

Day 2 was much less stressful - it was cooler by 10 degrees and my anxiety level was less due to the success of day 1 - there were no visible wasps - a second dose of the foamy spray, knocked down the remaining 2 nests and done.  I did do another walk around and found one mini-nest - stragglers from yesterday rebuilding??? Not sure but I will have to keep a watch.

Last night I went out with a glass of ginger ale spiked with maraschino cherries - all quiet…  spritzed some fresh hair spray - still quiet.  We’ll see - hard to believe there aren’t some colonies in one of the wood piles but maybe reducing the population on the house will do the trick. 

At the moment, the front porch is ours!