Sunday Bullet List

Oh, such a day full of blessings… packed I tell you! In order of occurrence, and as nearly as I can remember, they were as follows:

My day started at 4:21am, and I enjoyed some quiet for a little while, until the rest of the house began to stir around 6am.
I got caught up on some reading,
then had myself a cup of coffee, in which I discovered honey works quite well in the absence of my usual dose of Splenda. Healthier too, without a doubt!
We were all off to church in our respective vehicles by 7:40, and convened at 9am in the Cathedral for mass (of course, receiving our Lord in the Eucharist is the most profound blessing possible — all others pale in comparison!).
After church, there was a brief time of refreshment with friends over doughnuts in Smith Hall — chatting, even a little, with a friend is a day brightener, and is a double blessing when it coincides with the relief of sitting down after a mass, which can sometimes strain my old back.
A stop for gas and cold beverages on the way home was another blessing (all the beverages, hot and cold alike, had run dry at Smith Hall by the time we got through the line).
We arrived home to find a house full of kiddos and Paul off on a mysterious errand, soon to be revealed when he walked in carrying 6 pizzas from Little Caesars. It was awesome to see the kids all gathered round the table and using the brand new benches that were finished yesterday afternoon!
As Paul and I relaxed in the living room nibbling on pepperoni pizza, we discussed the options for painting the benches. Obviously they needed to be treated in some way, since food and (likely as not brightly-colored) drink was bound to be spilled on them sooner or later. We decided that if colors were involved, I had better be the one to go to Lowes and to the choosing, so I took Laurent and set off to fulfill that joyful and somewhat stressful task. (If any of you are old timers, you will recall the strain of choosing colors for the house after the fire — so many factors are in play, it can drive me berserk!)
With my trusty wing-man by my side (can a girl be a wing-man? wing-woman? wing-gal? wing-buddy-ol-pal?) I began the arduous process of assessing which color would serve the overall theme of the house best. I have long been enamored of the idea of painting my table red and black, so those were the two colors that dominated my consciousness — until I reflected on the fact that the one color that is completely missing from my household scheme is turquoise. That really could not be allowed to stand! With the added strain of choosing the proper shade of turquoise (bearing in mind I had a previous failure with that color before the fire that haunts me to this day) I would have buckled, were it not for Laurent. She kept me focused! Lol! It took too long by Paul’s standards, but we did eventually make it home with brushes, a gallon of Valspar Sea Kiss, and a sample card for Autumn Fire, which will look absolutely splendid on the table legs beneath a shiny black lacquer top.
Having completed my task, I took the opportunity to catch up on my missing morning zz’s while Paul and Laurent set about painting the benches.
Meanwhile, Johnny decided, out of the goodness of his big, beautiful heart, to do some yard work and car cleaning with the kids. What a beautiful gift to wake up to – my Minty van and Paul’s old Blue now sparkle inside and out!
The benches were finished just in time for Paul to take the kids home.
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He got back and then we headed off the evening mass, after which Paul, Jacob and Beedo went to have a “guy’s night out” supper with Uncle Jeff and our friend Koos,
while I drove the girls downtown for something completely new and fabulous — open mic night at The Nash! Geneva’s piano teacher, Will, had suggested going and possibly joining the jam session, so we met up there and I have to tell you — what a classy, cool place for musicians to gather and make and enjoy music together. Geneva was a bit overwhelmed by the caliber of talent, which was totally fine – we had so much fun just listening! Will jumped in and played about 3 numbers, and being a phenomenal jazz pianist, he was a huge hit. I am sure we will be back again!
Finally, everyone got back home around the same time from their various adventures, and while Paul took a much needed relax, Jeff and I went and saw a movie together, which in itself was entertaining (because — seriously, Stallone and Schwarzenegger in a movie together — what more could you want?!) — but the driving to the movie and home again, doing that thing with my brother that only he and I do, that makes the kids shake their heads in mock alarm, that harmonizing on improvisational tunes that sometimes finish so precariously that, like tonight, one sibling says to the other “Good thing you resolved that, or I would have had to kill you!” Yes, it was a very fine way to end the day.