Here it is still before 6.40 am and I already feel like I have had an adventure.
I got up around 4.15 as per usual and do what I do till about 5am.  It was then I realized I had left a sign up at the place we were last night.  The place gets used by a first aid group this morning so I thought I should take the sign down before they arrived.
Only one problem.  I could not find my keys.  I have a new system for them, and I reckon it is floored and will go back to the old way.  That is, I always kept them in the same spot and made sure I put them back there each time.  That way whenever I wanted them, I knew where they were.
But I now keep my payment cards and licence in a cover I have for my phone.  While I still take my man bag with me (it has the keys) when I travel, I do not always take it out of the car.  So last night I had my man bag in the car but not with me.  So the keys I got from it were isolated.
Anyway I looked and looked for the keys and could not find them.  I thought maybe I left them in the electrical cupboard door down where we went.
Here’s where I did things I do not normally do.  I went down to the place we gathered and the keys were not there.  I still could not get into the place.  So I came home again.  I then sent a text to someone I know is often there early at the pantry in the same building - only to find out they would not be there as it as their day off. 
We had done shopping after our get together and I was beginning to think maybe I had dropped the keys.  I then did something I should have done before.  I prayed.
I decided to retrace my steps from the night before.  I checked around the bins I had put out.  They were not there.  I then sat down where I sit to watch tele.  I checked the floor next to the seat in case they had fallen down.  There they were.
So I drove back to the centre and got in and took down the signs.
I feel better now and reckon I have learned a lesson - not for the first time.

I am constantly surprised at the way I think.  I get fixated on things.  One might say suddenly as that is the word I have been thinking about a lot lately.
To me there are both negative and positive suddenly’s.   I will never forget the guy in the Ukraine saying “at night we went to watch the soccer and in the morning we were at war.”  Recently I watched a person say that it took 51 days for Germany to go from a democracy to a dictatorship.  I also think of the financial crash of 1929.  The stock market lost 89% of its value and it triggered a domino effect of banks going under and people losing their savings and employment.
It seems to me there are a lot of personal suddenlys to.  Something not good happens and the world is changed.  It can be the passing of a loved one or a diagnoses that alters my life and the life of another.  I did not expect to be told a mass had been found in my head.  It was dealt with but my life was not the same.
To me there are also good suddenlys.  Someone wins lotto.  Suddenly financial lack is a thing of the past.  I watched a program last night about the Spanish women’s soccer team.  They had worked towards it but did not expect it.  Suddenly they were world champions.  
Getting the help we need in the yard suddenly changes everything.  Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the situation we feel we have got this.  Suddenly what had seemed like too much was manageable.
It seems to me no matter good or bad it really only matters that I am ready for the suddenlys.  By their nature they will always come out of the blue.  I do not take on a negative persona in readiness.
The best I can do is be at peace with myself and my maker.  Life is full of surprises.  I am happy to do what I need to do.  The best I can do is be prepared.  At times I am surprised by joy while at other times I am surprised by catastrophe.  Yet mostly things are somewhere in between.  For me that is ok as I know someone bigger and better than me has got this. 

I do not necessarily agree that “you cannot teach an old dog new tricks,” but I concede it is a slower process.
Merril and I have instigated a plan where she sets aside three four hour blocks for study, and I use that time for my own study and activities.  All I can say is so far so good.  We both definitely feel better for not only planning it - but doing it.  We are on our second week.
The other day we planned to go out early, then have breakfast with a friend, before collecting some brick pavers for laying.  Then a friend of mine was to visit.  After that was study time, sleep time, study time and veg time.
What we went out early to was a prayer get together we have with a few others of a Monday morning.  We figure that is a good way to start the week.  Not one of us there was not pleased to be there.  One works on yards and when they heard the showers they thought “showers of blessing” and came along.  Another had matters close to the heart we were really able to pray about and stand together with with the person.  Breakfast together at a new joint was enjoyable, and the discussion was as it usually is - really good.
That was where our plan diverged from what was intended.  The traffic was horrendous (school drop off time) so we went home instead of getting bricks.  Merril studied and I thought I would do that day some of what I intended to do the next.  Then my mate came over and we had an enjoyable time together.  Merril used it as study time.
After that we went and got the bricks.  We then had lunch and a rest.  After that Merril studied again and I worked in the yard laying the bricks as edging.  I was able to achieve a little more than I thought, and we are both happy with the result.
We have been inspired by someone who we pay, who is getting the joint to a level where we do not feel we need to do that before we can do anything else.  What has needed doing has gotten done and we have been able to take it further.  That is needed at this point.  Once upon a time we would have been into it, but now we are grateful for any help.  The desire is still there but the ability to make it happen has diminished.
So our plan is coming together.  What may be too hard for one or two, a team can achieve.  We all win.