On Patrice's Porch Again

Is it still warm enough to sit on your porch, Patrice. I can tell you now that you wouldn't be sitting on our porch - even if we had one - this evening. We'd be well and truly inside, preferably sitting in front of the peat fire.

Once we were warmed up and had our cuppa and cake beside us, we'd begin our blether ...


1. Are you doing any crafts or DIY projects now?

No crafts, Patrice. 

That reminds me of, "No lace, Mrs Bennet, no lace!"

As for DIY, yes, we're doing some of that. We've repainted our hall, our kitchen/diner, and our main bathroom. We've also painted - not re-painted, take note - our en-suite, and the front porch.

(Our porch is nothing like your porch, sadly. Our porches are simply little areas between the outer door and the inner-outer door. A porch, here in the UK, is enclosed and doesn't have the wonderful feel that Virginian porches have.)

Last week, I sorted through some photos I want to frame, and so over the next couple of weeks (says she, optimistically), we'll hopefully have our rooms looking like home again.


2. If I could snap my fingers, I'd make  ________________  for dinner.

You know what, Patrice ... better than have dinner made for me - even the best of dinners - if I could snap my fingers, I'd have the decisions about dinner made for me.

I'm happy (mostly) to make dinner every night, but why is it that my brain shuts down when needing to decide what to make for dinner?

Is this a common condition amongst other mums? Is it normal? Should I seek treatment?

Any advice gratefully received.


3. What author would you like to have lunch with? (It doesn't have to be someone alive now.)

I'd love to have lunch with the author of the Book of Hebrews! Oh, the amazing riches in that book! The writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit had such a wonderful, intimate knowledge of the Old Testament and its true meaning, and it's one of my favourite books of the Bible. I would love to spend time with him, so he could open up the riches of the Old Testament to me, and show me more and more of Christ between the pages of Genesis 1 and Malachi 3. 

I know these pages are full of Christ. I've been blessed to be under the ministry of a man who preached Christ from so many of these Old Testament chapters; and recently, I've been enjoying a book (by that pastor's son-in-law, funnily enough) called Jesus on Every Page - a book dedicated to showing us how full the Old Testament is of our Saviour.

Other than that, I think I'd choose someone who wrote a fascinating biography. These biographers become so well acquainted with their subjects, and the intimate knowledge they have of the person of whom they were writing would surely guarantee amazingly interesting conversation. Who wouldn't wish to see into the mind of world leaders from the past or present? Or of lowlier men or women who fought for some great cause? Or of those who were persecuted for what they believed? 

In fact, the more you read - of any genre - the more you begin to realize the level of knowledge authors have of their subject. I love historical books - whether factual history, or historical fiction, and the skill with which many writers take you into the era in which their work is set is simply marvelous. 

Read Conn Iggulen's series on Genghis Khan, and you'll see a wonderful example of this. Now that I'm on the third book in his series, I am bowled over both by his incredible story-telling gift, and also by the detailed knowledge he has of the sights, smells and sounds of tribal life during Genghis Khan's empire.

I feel like I'm there! But I'm glad I'm not ...


4. I wanted to tell all of you folks at chats  ___________________  .

Erm ... simply that I love meeting up each week for our blether.


5. ____________________  has been on my mind a lot lately.

Beautiful little girls in India, and in other parts of Asia, have been on my mind a lot lately. So many thousands of girls are aborted, or abandoned after they're born because they are seen as a liability rather than as a gift.

My heart is sore.

Right now, I wish more than anything, that I was able to take some of them into our home and make them our own.

They are so precious, and it breaks my heart that they are unwanted simply because they are girls. There is plenty room in our home for some of these beautiful girls. And there is more than enough room in our hearts for them.

And so, yes, Patrice, they are on my mind. They are in my heart. And they are in my prayers. 

*       *       *

Tonight, I was able to sit in the Family Room and savour this sight ...

There are many more beautiful photos online of what we were able to enjoy tonight in Lewis, but this photo is taken from my family room. It's not altered in any way, and there's no fancy camera work ... I just ain't clever enough for that. The shutter simply opened for ten seconds, and that was that.

Let's hope this is the start of things to come this winter.

Once again, thank you for inviting us onto your porch. Have a great week!