dakota land

today i painted my grandma's laundry room, transforming it from a bright yellow to "dakota land." although it took me most of the day to tape/paint the joint rooms, i enjoyed the time to think, listen and even spend a little time with grandma.

a few happy moments of the day-

i ate lunch with grandma today. she was so appreciative, as always, for my help. i brought a few bars to hold me over until i got home, but i could tell she really wanted to make me lunch. i was so glad i agreed to our meal. she set out placemats and two table settings for both of us. we ate costco pizza and i realized how lonely she must be in such a big house all alone. i got more details about the gopher tails. she told me that although her brother would choke them to death (and never once was bitten!), the easiest way and also her favorite was to obtain gopher tails by waiting until it rained and the gophers were drowned in their holes. then it was rather simple to walk around to all the gopher holes with the dead gophers lying there and break off their tails. i also learned that she saved most of the money she got for school, but did spend a portion of it for ice cream while they were in town. i was reminded of our shared love of reading and thought to ask about her favorites growing up. she said that if she was in the middle of a book and didn't want to be disturbed (espcially by her mother) she would go into the dark hall closet to read. she most enjoyed 'little women,' 'tom sawyer' and 'aladdin.'

i listened to prince caspian and was given lessons that i so easily forget. lucy is reunited with aslan but only after the others are asleep. she saw him earlier in the day and knew that he wanted all of them to follow him, yet she was unable to convince her siblings and trumpkin the dwarf that it was the right path, since none of the others were able to see aslan. aslan gives lucy instructions that are quite unlike what he gave her on her last visit in narnia. she is a bit surprised and makes the comment that she expected him to "come bounding in and frighten away all my enemies-just like last time!" i think i often expect jesus to do things "just like last time." i like the comfortable and familiar. how often i forget that he is "not a tame lion." he reminded me today not to limit him with my own expectations and previous experiences, but to simply follow where he leads. but even with the idea of the unknown, i found this to be exceptionally comforting since i will be the follower. i will be quite unable to go anywhere without the view of the lion's tail in front of me.