A "Find" and A "Bonus"

I got to check something off our household fix-up "to-do" list. As you stand and look at the lamp it looks great! But when you sit at the table the bare bulb is visible. It doesn't really bother us but it does give the appearance of an unfinished project. So I carefully measured the opening of our lovely hanging stained glass lamp - just over 4 inches. Then I put the tape measure in the car as I left for exercises as a reminder to make a stop on the way home at the nearby Goodwill.





I pass the Goodwill store quite often - so I figure if I stop by often enough I should be able to find a white globe that will screw in and hide the sight of the bare lightbulb. So that day I made my first stop and guess what?

Yup. There it was. A globe just sitting on the shelf, all lonely and pathetic. Even upon closer inspection I could see it was perfect, no chips, no cracks, no flaws at all. I thought it couldn't be this easy. I couldn't find the perfect thing I was looking for on my first trip to look for one. Not a chance.

I calmly walked back out to the car to get the tape measure. My mind said, "Yes that globe is the perfect size and in perfect condition and it will serve you well over the years." But sometimes aren't our eyes bigger than our stomach? Isaac usually had that happen when we went out to eat. You know - order the biggest meal and then struggle to eat it all? I was pretty sure about this - but a quick measure would confirm it. And as I walked out to the car I wondered if the globe would be on the shelf when I returned. Would someone else be looking for that exact item and buy it during my absence? Did someone see me inspecting it and in their own twisted way buy it just to deny me having it? So I hurried my steps. I retrieved the measuring tape and walked with gusto back to the Goodwill store.

I walked straight back to the shelf where I had left the globe. Would my "find" still be there? Yes! Yes, there it was - sitting all lonely and hopeful. I picked it up to measure. What was that? Four inches. Right, four inches! It would be a perfect fit. The price tag? $1.99. I'll take it! And I did too.




As I was walking out I veered over to the men's pants. Doug needed a pair of light weight hiking pants for our 3 day backpacking hike to the Paria Canyon in May. His heavy convas army pants would not do. So I started looking and within 4 pairs of pants I found some. Right size. Right material. Good pockets (always a must for guys and hiking/camping). And they were actual hiking pants with the legs that zip off into shorts! Wow! Bonus! I felt like I hit the jackpot. Two needed items and two finds!

So I hurriedly paid and brought the items home. I cleaned off the globe and inserted it into the lamp - perfect fit! What a find!







Later when I had Doug try on the pants - perfect fit! What a bonus! What a day!

Happiness

Happiness is seeing 4 hummingbirds eating lustily from my feeders -

together -

at the same time -

not dive bombing each other.

It made me smile.

Spinach

Our square foot garden experiment has mixed reviews. We tried a winter garden which under normal weather conditions should have been successful. However, we had 2 terrible cold spells - and I mean cold! All the bushes got frozen our hose froze and we took precautions to protect our water pipes - we hope the bushes and tree will revive and survive. Only time will tell.

We managed to keep the garden plants alive by covering them and putting a work light underneath to generate a little warmth. But the plants never really thrived. But finally and at long last we are getting a little production.

When Shanna posted about her orzo and spinach salad I decided to try it out. I went out to my garden and snipped some baby spinach leaves for the salad. The salad was yummy! And it even tasted better knowing the spinach had only been snipped a few hours before.

The pea plants look pretty pitiful right now but they are producing "dozens" of pods - make that "a dozen" pods. So I have harvested a few of those also. I take the peas out of the pods and freeze them. Once I get enough - I'll cook them up and hope for the best. I have about 1/4 cup right now so it looks like we'll be waiting for a very long time OR we will be satisfied with one spoonful of peas each. Either way we'll enjoy them completely.

On the Phoenix planting schedule for tomatoes - we are already way too late for them. But I am still hoping that I can get some plants and give it a try. I'll let you know if/when that happens.

So I went out today and snipped some more spinach and will cook it up for dinner.

Having finished eating dinner I can report that the spinach was super delicious! Wow!

That is all I have to say about spinach right now.