Six mostly unrelated thoughts

Struggling for topics to write about right now, so here's a random collection of thoughts:


1. I had a post written on Friday, but it pretty much turned into a debate about what to use to clean my toilet. I don't think that's worth a full post, but here's my issue: I bought one of the wands and the disposable scrubbers because I hate toilet brushes. But now I can't find the refills to fit the wand, and I even checked two stores. I can't stand to have a toilet brush in my bathroom, but I didn't want Clorox to win by starting all over with the disposable stuff. So I'm back to the toilet brush but still disgusted, any other suggestions?


2. About the time we were wandering through the garden at Thomas Jefferson's home, my sister, who came to visit this weekend, pointed out that the theme of her weekend here was local food. And it's true, I took her to the city market, an orchard for some apples and cider and to restaurants that pride themselves on using local ingredients. But I feel like it is more than just a theme for the weekend — it's a theme of this town and of my life for the last few months. And I'd like for it to continue to be a theme and not just a passing fad for me.


3. My sister and I also did some shopping, and I remembered why I never buy anything when I shop by myself: I don't have my mom or sisters there to pick stuff out and be honest with me about what I try on. My sister found a cute dress and a good sweater for fall for me that I never would have noticed. Now I'm on a hunt for some black boots if anyone has suggestions.


4. I rediscovered my perfectionist tendencies last week when I was trying to finish this project for my niece's nursery:

As I was working on it all week, I was also reading about God's sovereignty in John Piper's Desiring God. Piper talked about God's narrow lens, where He sees and grieves over the hurt and sin in specific situations, but He also looks through His wide-angle lens and sees the way good comes out of those things and helps bring together His ultimate plan. God's sovereignty is something I've struggled with before, especially when things seemed difficult, and found this imagery very helpful. But I also used this theory in trying to get over the imperfections of this canvas I worked on all week — forcing myself to step back and realize the imperfections aren't as noticeable as I think they are when you look at it from a distance. So please don't look at the middle of the B too closely!

5. A lot of times when I go out to eat, I am still surprised at how my decision-making has changed and how many things I'm willing to eat on a menu. At dinner on Saturday, I was debating between a pasta dish and a steak but was struggling because I really wanted the asparagus that comes with the steak. Normally, the asparagus would prevent me from ordering the steak. I also realized it's been a while since I had a steak because I am so satisfied with veggies these days. I did get the steak, and it was worth it — for the meat and the asparagus.

6. My friends, however, reassured my sister that some things don't change: I still order a plain turkey and cheese sandwich at Subway and always ask places to leave off the mustard and/or mayonnaise. But I even broke that rule when I ordered a tomato sandwich for lunch on Saturday. Ordering the tomato sandwich alone was significant change for me, but I got it with the mustard/mayo on it. I not only liked it but think something would have been missing from the sandwich if it wasn't on there. (I did ask for the foie gras butter that came with my steak on the side, and there was definitely nothing missing by leaving that off!)


That's about all I've got today. I picked up some fresh okra at the market this weekend, so hopefully, I'll try some new recipes this week. And here's hoping that fall does actually arrive when it's supposed to and it cools down around here!