Uno Flip: The Weekly Digest

 

Looking out the window....

Saw this on a walk this week.  It's called Orange Carpet Creeping Hummingbird Trumpet

The hibiscus bush between buildings one and two at our complex is blooming despite the drought.

Yes, I know this zoomed in from the car window shot is just as janky as when I tried to take the same picture last year.  However, these planters on 1st Avenue and University Boulevard in Denver make my drive back from church so joyful.

 

A cool experience...

Our church periodically has a themed game night.  Usually these are held during the cooler months (ie:  when sundown is 4:30 p.m. and Auntie stays home).  Thank goodness Pastor Roman decided to have one during the summer.  This one was early enough for me to participate for a couple of hours and still have time to get home before dark.  Our table ended up playing Spades and the "Flip" version of UNO.  It was a fun time of laughter and meeting new people.   

Favorite quote(s) of the week... 

Before we can be a good host, we must experience being a welcomed guest, and before we can create a place of belonging for others, we must believe we belong.  For that, we must first know to whom we belong.  We are able to love because we were first loved. - Kristin Schell,  The Turquoise Table, p. 121.

The love from God is no sentimental slop  It burns away everything that is of a nature contrary to itself.  Nothing can abide if it stands in opposition to divine love.  Also, this love comforts, draws, nurtures, and inflames us with desire for the Beloved. - Richard J. Foster, Devotional Classics, p. 134.

I'm thinking about... 

I know that my full-time job at the university is year-round and I'm on indefinate hiatus from teaching, but the new school year is coming up for local schools and our in-seat undergraduate students.  Last year, I decided that I wanted to do something special to commemorate the new school year.  However, I haven't figured out what.  My coworker Marla takes a back-to-school picture complete with the new school year plaque and everything.  I'm not sure if that's the right thing for me.  Every time I pass the school supply aisle at Wal-Mart, I want to buy supplies for myself--but I don't need any.  

I'll continue to ponder it and figure out something...or not.

What I've read since my last digest... 

• On Loving God by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
• The Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell (A glorious reread)  ✮✮✮✮  
• Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarsen ✮✮✮✮
• Richard Baxter by Glenda Mathes and Joel Beeke ✮✮1/2 (Category:  Kiddie Lit)

I'm currently reading...

• The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers
• Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Stanton
• The Courage to Create by Rollo May 

My current "crock pot" reads (slow and steady reads that will take a while):  

• Diary of an Old Soul by George MacDonald 
• The Emotional Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero 
• Devotional Classics by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith

Recent blog posts... 

• My previous digest, "Artistic Chat Bots" is here. 
• My latest book review (revisited) of The Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell is here.
• Government Cheese:  The Weekly Hodgepodge is here. 
• Five Minute Friday:  "Lazy." is here. 
• My "2026 Baby Got Stacks" reading challenge is here.  (Updated regularly).  
• My "26 for 2026" challenge is here. (Updated regularly)
• My "26 for 2026" art challenge is here.  (Updated regularly). 

From the Workshop... 

See my latest Monday Mess Making post "Christmas in July 2026 - 01" is here. 

I am thankful for...

• 

  Chris and Michelle, our Creative
  Arts Team leaders with Pastor Ayinde

  Air conditioning: Yes I know I said that last week, but it was 99 degrees today.
• Our Creative Arts Team at church.  The team is composed of the worship team, choir, production team, and everyone else who makes each service's worship experience as smooth as possible.  It's not fancy Hollywood production that is overly distracting or focused on the wrong thing.  It simply helps us meet God in worship.
• I know I've ranted about my 7th grade Home Economics teacher, however, I am thankful that the one useful thing I did learn from her (that had nothing to do with sewing) was how to properly follow a recipe.  I'm having so much fun learning new recipes.  This week I learned to make Lemon Bars.  I got the recipe from the May 2026 Southern Living Magazine.  I cannot describe how delectable this recipe is, but wow.
• Friends who enjoy being my taste testers for new recipes.
• Someone at PBS finally got wise and made the Create channel available to stream.  Back home, I could watch Create over my antenna.  For some reason here in Colorado the channel is being overrun by another unrelated channel on my antenna.  My TV has built-in Roku options, and for years I've tried to see Create but it wasn't available.  About a month ago, I checked in again to the PBS app and low and behold, there it is.  Now, I'm not sure how long it's been available (maybe a year?), but it's there and it's shows are available to stream on demand. My favorite new-to-me show so far is J. Schwanke's Life in Bloom, a fun and informative show about flowers and flower arranging.
   

 

Artistic Chat Bots: The Weekly Digest

Looking out the window....

Despite the crispier-than-normal summer we're having here in Colorado, blooms like this goldenrod are thriving. The lavender is also flourishing.  I saw many flower beds loaded with lavender on my drive back from church on Sunday but couldn't take any pictures (safety first).  Stunning!

A cool experience...

My birthday celebration bled over into summer.  Emily and her family took me to see Gaelic Storm at the Arvada Center's amphitheater.  The band and their opener Jigjam are (for a lack of a better way to describe it) sort of Irish Bluegrass.  It was such a wonderful experience.  I cackled at the humor embedded in some of the songs (one solo included the melody to Axel F from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack for example).  The talent of the musicians was mind blowing.  

Favorite quote(s) of the week... 

 

Prayer is like an automobile:  you do not have to understand anything about the inner workings for it to get you somewhere. - Richard J. Foster, Devotional Classics, p. 113.

 

There are some who believe that when we turn to God we ought to leave our brains behind us.  True, they will soon be left behind by necessity if we go far on the road towards God who is above all reason and all knowledge, for the Spirit swiftly overpasses these imperfect instruments.  But those whose feet are still firmly planted upon earth gain nothing by anticipating this moment when reason is left behind; they will not attain the depths of prayer by the mere annihilation of their intelligence. - Evelyn Underhill, qtd. in Devotional Classics, p. 96.  

 

I'm thinking about... 

Etsy:  I've been asked by several people why I don't sell my art on Etsy.  Here's my answer.  I tried selling on the website years ago when the listing and selling fees were reasonable.  However, because I could only produce a few different items at a time rather than being able to produce in bulk, I sold nothing and my shop gained no traction.  In other words, because my items were actually handmade and took time, neither Etsy nor its buyers were interested.

Fast forward to current day, and it's worse....

 
So now not only are the fees higher, but Etsy promotes the use of AI to "create" art rather than real human artists.

I just can't...and I won't.

In all honesty, those who keep suggesting I use Etsy don't purchase my art in the first place.  So they have no idea (or don't care) what goes into the creative process and that buying directly from me is cheaper in the long run.

I'm not going to go into a rant about AI, but I will say this.  AI is a vitamin, not pure food.  In other words, there are ethical ways to use AI to SUPPLEMENT your own work, but there is no ethical way to use it to REPLACE your own work. 

What I've read since my last digest... 

• Brother Andrew by Janet and Geoff Benge  ✮✮✮✮  
• Garden City by John Mark Comer ✮1/2 

I'm currently reading...

• The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers
• On Loving God by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

My current "crock pot" reads (slow and steady reads that will take a while):  

• Diary of an Old Soul by George MacDonald 
• The Emotional Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero 
• Devotional Classics by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith

Recent blog posts... 

• My previous digest, "Summer Staycation 2026" is here. 
• My latest book review of Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman is here.
• Government Cheese:  The Weekly Hodgepodge is here. 
• Five Minute Friday:  "Lazy." is here. 
• My "2026 Baby Got Stacks" reading challenge is here.  (Updated regularly).  
• My "26 for 2026" challenge is here. (Updated regularly)
• My "26 for 2026" art challenge is here.  (Updated regularly). 

From the Workshop... 

See my latest Monday Mess Making post "Christmas in July 2026 - 01" is here. 

I am thankful for...

• Air conditioning
• Fans (both manual and electric)
• Ice water.
• Coworkers who are a joy to work with
• Calming Sunday drives
• Vitamins
• Flowers 

 

2026 Summer Staycation: The Weekly Digest

Looking out the window....

The weather is hot and dry with the occasional clouds taunting us into false hopes of rain.  Yep, a typical Colorado July.

Some cool experiences...

Each year, I normally take the last week of May off for summer vacation (and to celebrate my birthday).  This year, I took of two weeks:    

Week One: 

Monday & Tuesday:  I made a few summer and Memorial Day themed cards. 

 

Wednesday: I made a box for my plastic canvas bobbins.  I had no pattern for this since the bobbins were also an improvised creation from years ago.  The top of the box is a slider-type lid.  I think I did pretty well since I made the whole thing up.  

Thursday: Diana and I made our annual trek to Castle Rock. 

First, we went to Oo-De-Lally Coffee Shop where I had my first iced coffee:  a Reese's cup cold brew.  The coffee shop was adorable with its rope swing seating and playful atmosphere.  The cold brew I chose was a perfect introduction to this type of coffee--it was very flavorful without being too sweet.

Next was the pièce de résistance: the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.  I did get some fabric and a quilt pattern. I'll share once I've made the quilt.  Stay tuned.

Friday:  I reset my front "stoop" for summer.  I planted impatiens in the top planters and one of my spider plant babies in the lower planter.  I tried my hand at a little fairy garden.  It was cute, but I may not do it again:  I'm not sure I did it right.  My summer wreath still looks pretty good.  However, I noticed as I was putting it out that the mesh is starting to disintegrate.  This wreath gets the most heat and sun and I've had it the longest, so it's to be expected.  I have no idea how to stop that from happening so after the season, I'll take it apart and rebuild it with new mesh and ribbon. 

  

 

 

I celebrated my birthday weekend by having my friend, Jamie, over for Sunday dinner.  Hey, did you know that you can bake the layers of a cake in a bread loaf pans?  Me either.  My plan was to make cupcakes, but forgot that I'd ruined my muffin pans somehow and threw them away, so I had to make do.  Miss Jamie made a dairy-free butter pecan ice cream to go with our loaf cake.  So good.

 

Week two: For the most part, I hung out at home and rested.  The highlights of the week were:

 

Delivering all the baby items to Colorado Family Life Center
I've been working on for the past few years.  I also got to tour
their new facilities.

 

Hiking with Diana at Lair of the Bear near Evergreen.

 

Viewing the current exhibit at the Rocky Mountain
Quilt Museum.  It was stunning display of medallion quilts
by Cindy Vermillion Hamilton.  Out of respect for the artist, I'm only
showing a small portion of a much larger work.  Her work is all hand done and
intricate.

 

Favorite quote(s) of the week... 

 

...all you've got to do to be selfish is nothing. - Pastor Keith Moore, Video:  Being Given to Hospitality, 1998.

 

First, we see that Christ saved us from the power of Satan.  The seed of the woman has bruised the serpent's head, so that Satan's power is broken (Genesis 3:15).  Next, he also saves us from the guilt of past sin.  In one moment, as soon as the blood of Christ is applied to the conscience, every past sin is gone, and in God's sight, it is as if we had never sinned.  The next thing he does is kill the power of sin within and makes us believers new creatures.  And do not forget this precious truth of the gospel--Christ saves us from future falling.  He saves, not only for a year or for ten years and then lets people go--no, he finally and completely saves that which was lost.  We do not preach that Christ forgives sinners and then lets them live as before.  No, the moment he gives pardon of sin, he gives a new nature too. - Charles Spurgeon, The Risen King,  p. 89.

 

I don’t think age matters so much as people think. Parts of me are still 12 and I think other parts were already 50 when I was 12: so I don’t feel it very odd that they grow up in Narnia while they are children in England. - C. S. Lewis, Letters On Living the Faith. 

 

Nondiscipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil. In short, it costs exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10). – Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, p. 263

 

I'm thinking about... 

Why aren't all cans pull-tab cans now?  It's not deep, but it is what I'm thinking about currently.

What I've read since the start of the year... 

Please see my "2026 Baby Got Stacks" reading challenge here.

   

I'm currently reading...

• The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers
• Garden City by John Mark Comer

My current "crock pot" reads (slow and steady reads that will take a while):  

• Diary of an Old Soul by George MacDonald 
• The Emotional Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero 
• Devotional Classics by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith

Recent blog posts... 

• My previous digest, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is here. 
• My latest book review of Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman is here.
• Government Cheese:  The Weekly Hodgepodge is here. 
• Five Minute Friday:  "Lazy." is here. 
• First Line Friday post:  #43 - Looking for the King by David Downing is here. 
• My "2026 Baby Got Stacks" reading challenge is here.  (Updated regularly).  
• My "26 for 2026" challenge is here. (Updated regularly)
• My "26 for 2026" art challenge is here.  (Updated regularly). 

From the Workshop... 

 

I am thankful for...

• A new bird to enjoy:  the black-capped chickadee.  I heard the "phoebe" call of the male and was intrigued.  I must paint one someday.
• Another successful academic year at CCU.
• A new FitBit.  My old one died.
• Fun YouTube channels.
• Thriving house plants.
• An anonymous gift I received:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Thankful that nothing got caught on fire since some of my not-so-bright neighbors (I'm trying to be nice) decided to shoot off fireworks around the apartment complex over the holiday weekend.  Why would you do that during a period of extreme heat and crispy-low humidity?  Not to mention they are illegal in Colorado.  Y'all, many of the cities in Jefferson County cancelled their Independence Day fireworks shows because of the danger of fire.  Take a hint!
• The 250th anniversary of our country's independence.  Yes, we've got issues (lots of them), but we're still here.
• Colorado Community Church's jubilee celebration.  We are officially DEBT FREE!