Moving Right Along!

Well, well, here it is, almost the end of yet another week and things here -with the exception of the snake peeking in my dining room window on Tuesday -have actually been going quite smoothly.

Bet you didn't expect to read something like that from me, did ya?

But it's true, really it is!

Kurt has been to Vacation Bible School every day this week and with only one more day to go, he only had one meltdown and that was on Wednesday when he began to cry while the kids were watching a video of some type. When one of the teachers took him out of the room to talk to him and try to figure out why he was upset, she actually got an answer out of him that made sense! He told her the music was too loud and it bothered his ears. Now that was definitely one very big, also very positive step on his part since it required him to tell someone, using his words, speaking clearly too, what had happened to upset him. And the nice thing about this is that it was all something easily corrected too!

Maya had to miss two days of Bible School because she had play practice schedule on Monday morning and again today from 9 a.m. till 11 a.m. But otherwise, she was at Bible School Tuesday and yesterday though.

Yesterday also had another break through for both the kids too and this came at lunch time. The food yesterday was mac'n'cheese with raw broccoli, celery sticks, carrot sticks and ranch dressing plus jello wigglers. Initially I mentioned to one of the women serving the food not to go near Kurt or Maya with the jello as that has always been one of their foods that they wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. But surprise, surprise! Yesterday, they were each offered that and both took a jiggler and even ate 'em too! I was almost in a state of shock!

At supper last night, Maya was trying to tell us some of the things they have been learning this week in Bible School and one of the things has been that they have been learning sign language including a song which they can sing but also will be able to sign the song as well. Now that I really think is a fantastic thing to teach all these kids and both Kurt and Maya appear to have been paying a good deal of attention to the music and sign language aspect too as both of them were able to show us a few bits from the song.

Great job, Pastor Carrie and all the others helping to teach the Vacation Bible School classes along with the teens from our church and friends of theirs who are there helping with the younger kids too this week!

I've been trying since last Thursday to do a little bit of advertising sales work for our cookbook and thus far, while I haven't sold advertising in record-breaking numbers, I have made numerous contacts in the area and sold some ads in the process. Some are definites and have even been paid for too. A few are fairly definite that they will take out an ad but I don't have confirmation on them as yet but those who are in that status are pretty reliable so I think we will end up with a few more ads that will help to defray some of our publishing costs and thus allow us then to offer the cookbook we want to present for perhaps a little bit of a reduction in the sale price once it is done.

Yesterday, really made my day with the ad sales though as my first stop was at an assisted living home near here which is owned by a lady who I've known much of my life. Her older brother was a classmate for a number of years from first grade on through to high school -he sat directly behind me in first grade, that I remember quite well -and she is two years my junior. She and her husband have been running this assisted care home for 28 years now and I wish anyone who needs to have care on this level could have the option of living at their place! It is just beautiful! Inside and outside -lovely landscaping, beautiful interior, great, helpful staff, good meals -all of which makes it nice for their patients and gives them more a sense of being at home and not in an institution some where!

Anyway, when I met with her, within ten minutes of my showing her what we are trying to do, etc., she purchased an ad and it is for the inside front cover and she opted to get the entire page for their home!

And, to make things even better for me, as I was leaving I saw one of her patients who I know quite well and this particular lady just happens to have been a very important part of my life. She was my teacher for 5th and 6th grades and also, just it just so happens that she has, since that time, been my favorite teacher! She is now 90 and does have some mobility issues but mentally, she is still really sharp as a tack! And that, my friends, is what really made me feel great to talk to her and see that she recognized me immediately and also, that she knew my daughter, Mandy, who has been working off and on over the past month or so with her boyfriend, Ken, painting at the home!

It's days like that which really give me a wonderful glow as I go to bed at night, thinking about my experiences of that day and tying them back to things from my past -especially when they go way, way back to my childhood!

Today, I had to have my car inspected -one of those annual things, ya know -and when I went up to pick it up, I talked to the woman who owns the garage, along with her husband, about the cookbook and advertising, etc., and I came home having made an advertising sale to her too! Pretty good deal there, I'd say!

I'm sure you've all picked up by now on how psyched up I am about this cookbook but it's something I think will be a great thing for virtually anyone to have in that it is going to contain well over 500 recipes, for certain, plus it will be an attractive book to own and also, it will be a really great memento type thing too through which people can search through it and bring up memories of many, many people who have in the past or still are members of our church community and reminders too, the way some of these recipes have done to me as I've typed them into the data base of sights and even smells in my mind of so many things I know I've had served to me over the years -good food, no, not just good, but wonderful foods of many, many types!

And it is that, those memories that doing this brings back to me that really are making this project all the more interesting and all the more worthwhile to me -hopefully to those who will buy the cookbook when it is ready -too!

Happy cooking to you from me on what is yet another great day in Pennsylvania!