Day 16

A blow to the fast undercurrent of national sentiment towards aiding Darfuri refugees in any way possible was dealt yesterday in Congress when they voted down a bill that would syphon money away from Egypt and channel half of it to Darfur and the other half to AIDS prevention in Africa. That's $50 million dollars in aid to Darfur that just evaporated! Explanation from one congressman: "We would have been sending the wrong message to Egypt which is struggling to build a democracy." Oy.

Today I not only was able to till my 1000 sq ft vege garden (yes, one day I shall eat ), but also mowed the lawn. It totally exhausted me, but drafts of fresh-squeezed lemon juice in water refreshed me. Also, I had my first soda so far: ginger-ale with lots of lemon juice.

A dear friend called me today and she reminded me to fast AND pray. I was hoping to hear that from folks at my church but I'll take the admonition from wherever I can. So I'm stepping up my prayer time dduring the day.

The one thing I have noticed is occasional slips of memory or just plain old mistakes I would normally not make. I'm driving 10 mph slower than I normally do to make sure the mistakes don't ahppen ono the road.