Sunday, May 26, 2019

Sunday: Prayer Gathering and Lunch

I didn't sleep that well, last night.  At first, I couldn't fall asleep and then, I kept waking up every so often.  As a result, when the alarm went off at 9:00 a.m., I woke up with a headache.  I hit the snooze button a couple of times, but, finally, got out of bed a little after 9:30 a.m.  After a cup of tea and a hot shower, my headache felt better.  If not, I would have taken something for it.

It was a cold, drizzly day.  The type of day I'd have preferred to have stayed home, next to the heater, but, a member of the extended family was hosting the monthly prayer gathering to commemorate her father's first death anniversary, today, and I had promised cousin P (it was her paternal uncle's death anniversary; I'm related to her through our mothers who were sisters) and friend F a ride to the prayer gathering and back.  I had asked them to come to my house by noon and they did!  We left at noon and the drive took just over an hour, as I had estimated it would (we had been asked to arrive around 1:00 p.m.).  There was quite a bit of traffic on the freeway, as usual, but it was flowing. 

It was nice to see several members of the extended family and family friends.  After the prayers were said, we had lunch.  The hostess had originally said it was going to be brunch, but, I guess she was persuaded to change her mind as several friends offered to help with the cooking, and so, we had lunch, instead - yellow rice, curries, several types of salads, and a variety of desserts! Later, as I was about to leave, one of my cousins thrust a paper plate into my hands and said to serve myself a plate of food to bring home, so I did!  LOL. 

We got back to my house a little before 5:00 p.m.  Neither cousin P nor friend F wanted any tea, so I made myself a cup after they left. 

Later in the evening, I made myself a rice-filled neck and shoulder warmer:

Neck/Shoulder Warmer
I've been wanting one of these for a long time.  I used a piece of fabric from the stash, of course.  I heated it for two minutes in the microwave and used it, this evening, and it felt so good!  It relaxed the tightness I was feeling in my neck and shoulders.  I am planning to make another one.  Later, in the summer, when it gets to 90F+ inside the house, I can freeze them and use them to cool me off.  Having two will mean I can keep one to chill while I use the other and interchange them.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The rain for the garden
- A safe drive to the prayer gathering and back
- The car got a good run
- I was able to give a ride to my cousin and a friend
- My new neck warmer

I didn't do any file clearing or any other type of cleaning, today.  One of my friends has been telling me I've been working too much and she might be right!  Tomorrow, however, I need to do the dishes as they've piled up over the past couple of days!  Tomorrow is Memorial Day, here, in the U.S.  I called friend R to see if she wanted to get together, but, she said she has some shopping to do.  I think I will spend the day relaxing at home and attending to a few things around the house.  Today's joyful activities included attending the prayer gathering and making the neck warmer.

Monday's To Do List:
- Do the dishes/run the dishwasher
- Change my bedsheets
- Do a load of laundry
- Dust the living room & dining area
- Clean the fridge
- Take the trash cans to the curb
- 30 minutes of file clearing
- One craft project
(I don't have to water the garden, normally scheduled for Monday, since it rained, today.)

How was your Sunday?  What have you planned for tomorrow?

8 comments:

  1. Your neck warmer looks great. I was wishing I still had mine to soothe my stiff neck the other day. I'm not sure what I have done with it. X

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    1. Maybe you can make yourself a new one, Jules. It's fairly quick to sew one if you have a sewing machine, but, even if you don't have a sewing machine, it won't be that hard to sew one by hand. Then, if the other one does show up, you'll just have a spare!

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  2. A few years ago, I made several of those heat and cool bags. I gave them as gifts and made them several shapes and sizes for us. I love them.

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    1. I think they'd make great gifts! In fact, last night, as I was enjoying the heat on my neck, I was thinking that maybe I should make one for my aunt and one for my friend. Today, I want to try and make a removable cover for the one I made for myself, so that it can be taken off and washed as needed.

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  3. We also do death anniversaries in the Greek Orthodox Church. My second cousin who was also my godson died in a wreck on 8/2/2016. I hosted one year memorial at church on the last weekend of July, 2017. Last year though, the Santa Fe High School shooting had happened and I didn’t want to bother the priest with any requests. The school shooter was a member of the church, and the priest was being approached by the media a lot.

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    1. I'm so sorry your godson passed away; it was very kind of you to host a memorial on his first death anniversary. The first year death anniversaries seem to be the important one in my culture, with some sort of religious activity and a family gathering for a meal. After that, it becomes more of a privately remembered occasion.

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  4. Neck warmers are very useful. I don’t have a proper one though. When I have a headache I use warm towels around my neck and forehead. One day I should make a proper neck warmer. :)

    I’m glad you had a good time at the prayer gathering. Here, we are preparing for dad’s 3rd death anniversary alms giving. Just this morning I told mom how organized your alms givings are and how you prepare things in advance. :)

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    1. This is the first time I've made a neck warmer, and I loved using it, last night! I've used warm towels, myself, and frozen wash cloths in the summer. but the neck warmer is better, I think.

      I was wondering if you were going to have an almsgiving when you went back home. I remembered you had an almsgiving last year. Ha, ha, yes, I do obsess over the details when it comes to my almsgivings, don't I? Probably because, even with my friend helping me on the day of, I am usually doing all the preparations by myself. The majority of the food is cooked the day before and kept in the fridge; I'm not sure if your mother would approve of that, though!

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