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The Replacements

Posted on December 16, 2023December 16, 2023 by Pam

A lot of my recent writing has been on themes relating to food. We need food. What I also need are some replacements for old cookie sheets. They are so perfect upon purchase but then tarnish with time and it is a challenge to get the cookie remnants to disappear. Time for new and also some cake pans. All of these implements are on the kitchen counter because of Christmas. I just delivered more cookies to a neighbor who is moving their mom into another care facility. I noticed them heaving large things into a truck. They looked like they could use a cookie or two – especially with a group. At least the weather is good. A single word can put me thinking. Replacements is one of those words today.

I purchased a fairly new but used car over a year ago. I hope I will not need another because of the cost. How do you time the need for a car with when you will no longer need to drive? The car is replaced and I hope to be done with that. How long do cookie sheets last? Depends on how many neighbors need a sweet surprise. I’ve decided to pull the plug on the old ones. I’d like to break even on those too. As I glanced at what my friends were placing in the truck I realize, again, that mom does not need much. It is one room in a care facility. Eventually all of our rooms of the stuff we have accumulated, because we like our stuff, will be condensed to one room.

One thing that cannot be replaced is you. Downsize thoughtfully and spend more time with people than with the stuff we can’t keep anyway. Bake cookies to freeze for a future neighbor who might need a lift on a hard day. That’s all I’ve got today…downsize, call more people, send more cards, and bake.

"Thoughts from a genuinely evaluative mind."

Pam writes so that must make her a writer. Recently retired, she can now fill days with family, friends, missions, writing, creating, and showing up for whomever needs her. Pam loves the Lord and people. The Bible is God’s love letter to us (and who does not need more love) so she studies and writes some more.

Pam lives in the Pacific Northwest but was home-grown in Southern California. She attended San Jose Bible College and finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at UCLA. She became a teacher, then a Research and Development Chemist, then she built two successful real estate businesses in two states. Pam also pursued study at Fuller Theological Seminary and just completed six months serving in missions abroad.

Pam has two amazing children, married to two precious in-laws, and five sweet grandchildren. Pam is a gifted connector and communicator and the Northwest has the perfect climate for staying inside and writing – or baking! She has been writing since a wee one and is currently converting many years of blogging, by topic, into ten books. The first is a collection from 2011 titled, Beautiful Enough. The second is a yearly day-timer titled, Weekly Planner - Lessons in Life, Glory, and Grace. Number three is in progress with the working title, Christmas Today.

Ten facts about Pam in no particular order:

  1. On the team that developed an insulation for the Alaskan oil pipeline.
  2. Loves looking at homes, decorating, and has flipped five homes.
  3. Likes being tall.
  4. Films have helped define her vocabulary.
  5. Comes from Colorado tenement farmers with history traced to Wales.
  6. Was lost but now is found.
  7. Baking makes her happy – as does eating sweets with coffee, of course.
  8. She thinks mission work is the most important work in the world.
  9. The church started in Rome so she is learning Italian.
  10. Pam is a work in progress!

“I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46:4

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