When I arrived home on Friday, December 22, I found that my passport had arrived. Horray!
We packed our bags and loaded up the truck (crew cab) for our trip to Grandma's house. We were able to get away before 10:00 p.m. This is pretty close to a record.
The trip over the mountains and through the valleys went well. The roads were just about the best we had ever seen in the middle of December. I think that partly because we got away from home right at bedtime, everyone (except the driver, which rotated every few hours) slept late into the morning on Saturday. We stopped about 1.5 hours before getting to Grandma's and ate brunch. As a result, the trip was one of the fastest trips we have ever made. It only took us about 16 hours to drive the 800 miles (and that included almost an hour for lunch).
We quickly settled in at Grandma's house. We have been visiting her at least once a year my whole life. We all know just what to do. These days my special task is working to cook-up meals to freeze for Grandma and Uncle to eat when we are gone. This year was no different. I cleaned-out the freezer and organized it so we could fit as much in as possible. I spent almost all of my days cooking, except for Thursday afternoon when I took time off to go swimming with Dad and my sister.
Happily Grandma and Uncle prefer simple meals. We have made more complicated things in the past, and have found them still in the freezer a year later! They are old-fashioned meat and potatoes people. I made dozens of containers full of potatoes and gravy (turkey and beef) and turkey or beef stew. I am happy to report that with my final efforts last night, the freezer is packed full with a few to spare that went into the kitchen freezer.
The kitchen fridge was not cooling things down properly. The milk we were drinking was bairly cool, so after fiddling around with the controls all week, I decided that drastic measures were called for. I spent a good portion of yesterday defrosting the freezer and cleaning out the fridge. I discovered that the back of the freezer was full of ice...and it is the type of fridge that gets its coolness from the freezer. Thanks to the liberal use of my Mom's hairdryer, I was able to get the freezer defrosted in one day. And thanks to the nice cold weather here, I just set the stuff from the freezer (and then the fridge) outside in boxes while I was defrosting it and they kept nice and cold. In fact, the stuff from the fridge hadn't been that cold in a long time. I am happy to report that following the complete defrosting and cleaning of the freezer and fridge, the freezer now keeps ice cream hard and the fridge keeps milk cold! PTL!
Today is the last day at Grandma's house. We will leave for home after supper tonight. We liked the leaving in the evening schedule so much that we have decided to try to do it each time (in the past we have left closer to midnight than supper). The nice thing about this is that we should get home tomorrow in time for New Year's Day football (which will make the guys happy).
Happy New Year's Eve!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
We're off to Grandma's house for Christmas! I hope you have a very blessed Christmas season and that God gives you a wonderful New Year!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Which Superhero Are You?
Your results: You are Superman
You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.
Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...
You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.
| Superman | 70% | |
| Spider-Man | 70% | |
| Supergirl | 65% | |
| Wonder Woman | 65% | |
| Robin | 65% | |
| Green Lantern | 65% | |
| Iron Man | 50% | |
| Hulk | 45% | |
| The Flash | 40% | |
| Catwoman | 35% | |
| Batman | 30% |
Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Passport
Today I will be turning in my passport application. I am very excited! Once it comes back I will be able to travel anywhere in the world (within reason), if I want and can afford to go.
Trips to Canada do not yet require a passport, but I hope someday to make a trip somewhere that will. :-)
Trips to Canada do not yet require a passport, but I hope someday to make a trip somewhere that will. :-)
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Why I've Been Too Busy to Post
OK, I know it has been a while since I have posted, but I have a very good reason...I've been too busy.
During the past four weeks I have coordinated about 11 events for work. I have been assigned full responsibility for managing and filling my boss' schedule. We have had a major project take-off. And I have worked instead of blogging while eating my lunches every day at my desk (when I took time to eat at all).
Now I can take a breath and get down to my normally busy life instead of an extraordinarily busy one. (grin) So maybe I'll have time to write once in a while.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
During the past four weeks I have coordinated about 11 events for work. I have been assigned full responsibility for managing and filling my boss' schedule. We have had a major project take-off. And I have worked instead of blogging while eating my lunches every day at my desk (when I took time to eat at all).
Now I can take a breath and get down to my normally busy life instead of an extraordinarily busy one. (grin) So maybe I'll have time to write once in a while.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Computer Crashes - Good News & Bad News
My computer hard drive crashed last week. There is good news and bad news.
Good news: I didn't lose any real "work" documents. Per office procedures, all files were saved on the server which is backed-up regularly. I can honestly say I practice what I preach! (I tell people on a regular basis that it is not "if" their hard drive crashes but "when.")
Bad news: I lost most of my favorites which are not backed up to the server. So if you know me and have a blog, please give me your blog address again. (Except QOC which I have memorized.)
Good news: I did have some favorites saved on the server from when I switched computers several months ago.
Good news: My replacement computer is faster than my old one.
Hopefully good news: Maybe this will motivate me to research how to get SBS 2003 to do keep a copy of My Favorites on the server.
Bad news: The server keeps restarting itself at various times in the day. Nothing consistent mind you, but it is getting annoying. (And who knows when it will develop into a serious problem.)
Good news: I have been authorized to purchase a new server.
Good news: I didn't lose any real "work" documents. Per office procedures, all files were saved on the server which is backed-up regularly. I can honestly say I practice what I preach! (I tell people on a regular basis that it is not "if" their hard drive crashes but "when.")
Bad news: I lost most of my favorites which are not backed up to the server. So if you know me and have a blog, please give me your blog address again. (Except QOC which I have memorized.)
Good news: I did have some favorites saved on the server from when I switched computers several months ago.
Good news: My replacement computer is faster than my old one.
Hopefully good news: Maybe this will motivate me to research how to get SBS 2003 to do keep a copy of My Favorites on the server.
Bad news: The server keeps restarting itself at various times in the day. Nothing consistent mind you, but it is getting annoying. (And who knows when it will develop into a serious problem.)
Good news: I have been authorized to purchase a new server.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Unlocking the Mystery of Life
Did you know that there is a little machine inside of each cell that untwists your DNA so that it can be transcribed using a messenger RNA which is then moved into the manufacturing part of your cell where it is put into a little two-part building machine which then matches the code with one of 20 specific amino acids to form a chain that is moved into a tumbling machine that helps it fold into a protein? (And that is only one part of the process.)
If you randomly dropped Scrabble letters onto a table, what are the chances they would ever fall in such a way as to line-up and make one complete sentence? And DNA has millions of lines of code.
And some people actually think this all happened by some big cosmic accident or by chance. Ha! That's not science, that's science fiction.
I recommend you view the Unlocking the Mystery of Life video if you get the chance.
If you randomly dropped Scrabble letters onto a table, what are the chances they would ever fall in such a way as to line-up and make one complete sentence? And DNA has millions of lines of code.
And some people actually think this all happened by some big cosmic accident or by chance. Ha! That's not science, that's science fiction.
I recommend you view the Unlocking the Mystery of Life video if you get the chance.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Just Relax
Today I read an article on the importance of not being stressed out and relaxing regularly. The article then explained the physical effects of stress and relaxing. It explained that you can learn to relax with very little effort or time.
Several ways to relax were explained. Ways to relax include breathing deeply, laughing, meeting with a friend, singing, reading, and listening to music you enjoy.
While I was at the printer waiting for a print job to appear, I decided to take the few seconds to relax. I breathed deeply, laughed and sang a song in my head all at the same time. It was very relaxing. (grin)
(For those of you who know how busy I am and wonder how I could have time to read a magazine article, let me tell you my secret. There is a spot in every house and office where you sit for at least a few minutes each day and don't need your brain power. That is when I find time to quickly read an article or two each day.)
Several ways to relax were explained. Ways to relax include breathing deeply, laughing, meeting with a friend, singing, reading, and listening to music you enjoy.
While I was at the printer waiting for a print job to appear, I decided to take the few seconds to relax. I breathed deeply, laughed and sang a song in my head all at the same time. It was very relaxing. (grin)
(For those of you who know how busy I am and wonder how I could have time to read a magazine article, let me tell you my secret. There is a spot in every house and office where you sit for at least a few minutes each day and don't need your brain power. That is when I find time to quickly read an article or two each day.)
A Week in Review
Well, I can hardly believe I haven't blogged for a whole week. And I was getting downright regular at it. I can only credit such a lapse to the fact that on Monday I spent my lunch time on someone else's blog answering their questions about dishwasher use. The rest of the week I didn't have a regular lunch time.
The week has been busy, as expected. My fellow employees returned from their combination of vacation and conferences (except for two). Most importantly was the return of the two "top dogs" in our organization who create a lot of work for me when they are here. (Not that I am lacking in work when they are not here.)
Deadlines that could not be met early because people were gone had a heyday with my schedule this week. I know in theory that the best way to avoid the tyranny of the urgent is to get stuff done ahead of time. However, when people have their own deadlines that prevent them from getting you the stuff you need until you can't let them put it off anymore, what can a person do?
I'll just keep trying to get "ahead" when I can. Meanwhile, all these urgent deadlines keep my life from being boring!
And since I brought that up, what is it like to be bored? I really can't say from personal experience. If I was ever bored in my entire life, I don't remember it. I'm sure it didn't last very long.
The week has been busy, as expected. My fellow employees returned from their combination of vacation and conferences (except for two). Most importantly was the return of the two "top dogs" in our organization who create a lot of work for me when they are here. (Not that I am lacking in work when they are not here.)
Deadlines that could not be met early because people were gone had a heyday with my schedule this week. I know in theory that the best way to avoid the tyranny of the urgent is to get stuff done ahead of time. However, when people have their own deadlines that prevent them from getting you the stuff you need until you can't let them put it off anymore, what can a person do?
I'll just keep trying to get "ahead" when I can. Meanwhile, all these urgent deadlines keep my life from being boring!
And since I brought that up, what is it like to be bored? I really can't say from personal experience. If I was ever bored in my entire life, I don't remember it. I'm sure it didn't last very long.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Rain Drops
Last night I stayed up after I got home from my meeting to water the plants and cook some tomato soup stock. (I really wanted to get two batches done before my housemate returned this weekend.) As I went to sleep I thought I would need to jump out of bed first thing in the morning and move the garden hose from one section of the garden to another.
When I woke up this morning, I heard the pleasant patter of rain drops outside. Actually, it was pouring! I was delighted. The garden would be fully watered without my assistance. This left me enough time to finish the soup stock, clean-out the fridge, and empty the compost and garbage. Since my housemate has been gone for almost two weeks, and I have been gone all except for one evening, stuff that would normally have been eaten long ago looked more like science experiments than food. Fortunately there really wasn't very much that was bad (since we knew our schedules would be crazy, we didn't put a lot in the fridge to begin with).
Rain is amazing stuff. Water is amazing stuff. Praise God for His wonderful creation! One of the greatest arguments for creation is water. Without it there would be no life as we know it. It defies many of the "standard" rules for how things act, and if it didn't, we wouldn't be here to talk about it.
On another note, the mole pushed up another mound yesterday and a third one last night while I was sleeping! I called the mole man again and left another (more urgent) message.
While I find the mole to be another remarkable creation of God, (the amount of dirt they can push around is incredible,) I would really like them to stay out of our yard! I guess this is the "subdue and rule the earth" part of God's commandments for man.
Note for my more literal-minded readers: I consider a commandment of God to be anything He tells (or has told) us (as in man and sometimes more specifically Christians) to do (or not to do).
P.S. Did you ever think about the fact that God's very first commandment to us was to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." - Genesis 1:28
When I woke up this morning, I heard the pleasant patter of rain drops outside. Actually, it was pouring! I was delighted. The garden would be fully watered without my assistance. This left me enough time to finish the soup stock, clean-out the fridge, and empty the compost and garbage. Since my housemate has been gone for almost two weeks, and I have been gone all except for one evening, stuff that would normally have been eaten long ago looked more like science experiments than food. Fortunately there really wasn't very much that was bad (since we knew our schedules would be crazy, we didn't put a lot in the fridge to begin with).
Rain is amazing stuff. Water is amazing stuff. Praise God for His wonderful creation! One of the greatest arguments for creation is water. Without it there would be no life as we know it. It defies many of the "standard" rules for how things act, and if it didn't, we wouldn't be here to talk about it.
On another note, the mole pushed up another mound yesterday and a third one last night while I was sleeping! I called the mole man again and left another (more urgent) message.
While I find the mole to be another remarkable creation of God, (the amount of dirt they can push around is incredible,) I would really like them to stay out of our yard! I guess this is the "subdue and rule the earth" part of God's commandments for man.
Note for my more literal-minded readers: I consider a commandment of God to be anything He tells (or has told) us (as in man and sometimes more specifically Christians) to do (or not to do).
P.S. Did you ever think about the fact that God's very first commandment to us was to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." - Genesis 1:28
Thursday, October 05, 2006
IT'S A NEW GAME!
(And it's the first time I've done one of these on my blog. Thank you QOC.)
Directions: Copy and publish on your blog; bold what you have done.
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins (I think any dolphin should count.)
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula (I may have and just forgotten about it)
07. Taken a candlelit bath
08. Said “I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten tipsy on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. *edited*
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business (I'm assuming lemonade stands don't count)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (homemade)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert” (in seagull calling)
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas (I had a plane layover there)
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. *edited*
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children (Does helping other people count?)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray (their skin is very soft)
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced (not for cosmetic reasons, anyway)
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol (all three)
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery (appendicitis)
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (I was sick)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (just so I could say that I had tried it)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (for many Septembers)
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you (if you count crafts)
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident (at least not as far as I know)
150. Saved someone’s life (I count leading them to Christ as saving their life...their eternal life)
Directions: Copy and publish on your blog; bold what you have done.
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins (I think any dolphin should count.)
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula (I may have and just forgotten about it)
07. Taken a candlelit bath
08. Said “I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten tipsy on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. *edited*
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business (I'm assuming lemonade stands don't count)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (homemade)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert” (in seagull calling)
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas (I had a plane layover there)
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. *edited*
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children (Does helping other people count?)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray (their skin is very soft)
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced (not for cosmetic reasons, anyway)
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol (all three)
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery (appendicitis)
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (I was sick)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (just so I could say that I had tried it)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (for many Septembers)
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you (if you count crafts)
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident (at least not as far as I know)
150. Saved someone’s life (I count leading them to Christ as saving their life...their eternal life)
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Driving Directions
My family has long held the opinion that my driving directions tend to be too complicated. This opinion was formed from experiences of many years ago when I wanted people to be comforted by landmarks along the way to assure them they were going the correct direction. (Makes sense to me.) Since those bygone days, I have acquired a better understanding of what level of detail people usually require and desire in directions. Although my family will now "admit" that my driving directions are good, (no one actually gets lost if they follow them,) they still enjoy teasing me about the way I gave directions in the past. (And I don't mind.)
Yesterday I e-mailed driving directions to my Tuesday evening Bible study to my sister, who was going to begin attending with me. She had never driven to that particular town before, so my directions were very carefully written. However, the computers and printer were not working where she was, so she asked me to fax them to her. I printed out the e-mail and faxed it to her.
Shortly after work I received a call from my sister on her cell phone. She had left the faxed directions behind and needed me to give them to her again. So I did...slowly explaining each turn (happily there were not very many of them).
Unhappily something was not written down somewhere along the line, because there was a turn missing...and something she was looking for on the right was actually on the left...and by the time she got there it was dark so that made it hard to see things.
She did make it, (although she was a few minutes late,) and was very happy she did, but it was somewhat of a challenge. I cannot help but wonder if "someone" was trying to keep her from attending. The Bible clearly teaches that we are in an unseen war with principalities and powers, and that there are two sides. If you're not with God, then you are against Him...and vice versa.
My sister's drive home was not uneventful either...she almost hit a deer on the road. Her first close call with a deer. So who thinks life is full of coincidences???
Not me.
Yesterday I e-mailed driving directions to my Tuesday evening Bible study to my sister, who was going to begin attending with me. She had never driven to that particular town before, so my directions were very carefully written. However, the computers and printer were not working where she was, so she asked me to fax them to her. I printed out the e-mail and faxed it to her.
Shortly after work I received a call from my sister on her cell phone. She had left the faxed directions behind and needed me to give them to her again. So I did...slowly explaining each turn (happily there were not very many of them).
Unhappily something was not written down somewhere along the line, because there was a turn missing...and something she was looking for on the right was actually on the left...and by the time she got there it was dark so that made it hard to see things.
She did make it, (although she was a few minutes late,) and was very happy she did, but it was somewhat of a challenge. I cannot help but wonder if "someone" was trying to keep her from attending. The Bible clearly teaches that we are in an unseen war with principalities and powers, and that there are two sides. If you're not with God, then you are against Him...and vice versa.
My sister's drive home was not uneventful either...she almost hit a deer on the road. Her first close call with a deer. So who thinks life is full of coincidences???
Not me.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Let's Go Fly a Kite
I can never think about kites without thinking about the song from Mary Poppins "Let's Go Fly a Kite." There is something about the (apparently) gravity defying kite that seems to speak to the very soul. Perhaps it is because the kite demonstrates the marvelous balance of God's creation. It is gravity that enables the kite to use the principle of lift to fly.
This is kind of like the relationship between the laws of God and the grace of God. Without the law we would not know that we had sin and needed God's grace to lift us out of sin (Romans 6-8).
Anyway, back to my story. The reason I have been thinking about kites is because our family decided to take a short family vacation this past weekend. We went to Ocean Shores (and stayed in the cheapest motel we could find near the ocean). By the way, the Huckleberry Motel/Inn was quite clean, and quite small. It looks to have 6 rentable units, with two being occupied by the daughter & family of the owner and two more occupied by us. We were the only guests during the weekend.
While there we spent some time flying kites. The ocean breeze (especially as the day goes on) gets stronger and stronger. It was fascinating to me to see the different attitudes of kite flyers. It is kind-of like dogs and their owners; they tend to reflect each other's characteristics.
My dad & sister bought kites at a local "Easy Kite" shop. The shop was opened up only the day before by a kite enthusiast who wanted a shop full of nothing but easy to use kites (he has another shop for more complicated ones). The most complicated of the kites in the store had only one rod that had to be put into place before flying the kite.
Dad went for ease, height and not too expensive. His was colorful and had 500 feet of string. My sister went for beauty. She bought a kite that has a colorful parrot design on it with 300 feet of string. Both of them wanted a kite that would soar up in the sky where they could lay on the beach and look at it away up there.
I didn't need a kite. I already had one. Many years ago I was introduced to controllable kites (two strings) by some friends we made during a conference. As a result of that casual friendship, I purchased a "Beetle" kite. It is controllable, but small enough to fly in fairly low winds. It is also very sturdy and can take the kind of punishment a beginner is likely to inflict upon it.
So our family set out for the beach. And here is what we did:
Dad flew his kite while laying on the beach.
Mom sat next to Dad reading a book.
My sister flew her kite while laying on the sand (with bare feet).
My brother sat next to my sister watching the kites.
I stood, flying my kite in circles, curves, trying to knock targets over on the ground, etc. the whole time. I even progressed to sky writing (sometimes more and sometimes less recognizable).
We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
Then we walked down the beach with our kites to see what other people were flying. There are lots of fun, pretty and interesting kites out there.
Some people fly kites like they fish (except their line goes up instead of down). Some people fly kites more like fly fishing; where it is an activity in itself.
This same scene was repeated the next day, minus the sister who decided that she wanted to take a nap.
All in all, we had a very relaxing weekend.
This is kind of like the relationship between the laws of God and the grace of God. Without the law we would not know that we had sin and needed God's grace to lift us out of sin (Romans 6-8).
Anyway, back to my story. The reason I have been thinking about kites is because our family decided to take a short family vacation this past weekend. We went to Ocean Shores (and stayed in the cheapest motel we could find near the ocean). By the way, the Huckleberry Motel/Inn was quite clean, and quite small. It looks to have 6 rentable units, with two being occupied by the daughter & family of the owner and two more occupied by us. We were the only guests during the weekend.
While there we spent some time flying kites. The ocean breeze (especially as the day goes on) gets stronger and stronger. It was fascinating to me to see the different attitudes of kite flyers. It is kind-of like dogs and their owners; they tend to reflect each other's characteristics.
My dad & sister bought kites at a local "Easy Kite" shop. The shop was opened up only the day before by a kite enthusiast who wanted a shop full of nothing but easy to use kites (he has another shop for more complicated ones). The most complicated of the kites in the store had only one rod that had to be put into place before flying the kite.
Dad went for ease, height and not too expensive. His was colorful and had 500 feet of string. My sister went for beauty. She bought a kite that has a colorful parrot design on it with 300 feet of string. Both of them wanted a kite that would soar up in the sky where they could lay on the beach and look at it away up there.
I didn't need a kite. I already had one. Many years ago I was introduced to controllable kites (two strings) by some friends we made during a conference. As a result of that casual friendship, I purchased a "Beetle" kite. It is controllable, but small enough to fly in fairly low winds. It is also very sturdy and can take the kind of punishment a beginner is likely to inflict upon it.
So our family set out for the beach. And here is what we did:
Dad flew his kite while laying on the beach.
Mom sat next to Dad reading a book.
My sister flew her kite while laying on the sand (with bare feet).
My brother sat next to my sister watching the kites.
I stood, flying my kite in circles, curves, trying to knock targets over on the ground, etc. the whole time. I even progressed to sky writing (sometimes more and sometimes less recognizable).
We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
Then we walked down the beach with our kites to see what other people were flying. There are lots of fun, pretty and interesting kites out there.
Some people fly kites like they fish (except their line goes up instead of down). Some people fly kites more like fly fishing; where it is an activity in itself.
This same scene was repeated the next day, minus the sister who decided that she wanted to take a nap.
All in all, we had a very relaxing weekend.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Early Riser
Usually I sleep soundly, only waking a minute or two before my alarm clock goes off (or when it goes off). There are some rare occasions where I wake extra early or even in the middle of the night. Last night was one of them.
I must have had a lot on my mind, because I woke up with lots of thoughts running around in my head. I lay there for a while, thinking I might go back to sleep. I didn't. I tried all of the normal things: praying, quoting Bible verses, etc. I still didn't fall back to sleep.
So I looked at the clock. It was 4:38 a.m.
Now the tricky thing about waking up early, but not actually in the middle of the night, is that you begin to think of things you might do if you actually got up early (instead of just laying there). Getting up an hour or two early is not out of the question (as opposed to the middle of the night where you have time to wait to fall back to sleep and will still get enough sleep to make the effort worthwhile).
So I thought it through. If I were to persist in trying to fall back to sleep I would either 1) get an extra hour or so of sleep in or 2) lay there awake till my alarm clock went off. I'm really not running short on sleep, but I haven't had very much time (awake) at home this week.
Then I thought about the garden. I had noticed the night before (in the process of mowing the lawn and watering the plants) that there were lots of tomatoes getting ripe. But it was full dark before I was done with the mowing and watering, so I hadn't picked any the night before. Then I thought about the fact that it would be at least Wednesday next week (probably Thursday) before I would really have time to do anything about it. As I thought about all of the effort that went into growing the garden, I considered allowing some of those tomatoes to get to the unusable stage as more and more of a bad thing. Wasteful actually.
So I got up, took a flashlight and picked tomatoes in the dark. Then I cooked one large pot of tomatoes and put another large bowl in the fridge (where hopefully they will keep long enough for me to get around to cooking them up). It was lots of fun.
Not that I didn't enjoy myself, but I do hope I don't feel moved to get up around 4:30 a.m. to pick tomatoes in the dark very often.
I must have had a lot on my mind, because I woke up with lots of thoughts running around in my head. I lay there for a while, thinking I might go back to sleep. I didn't. I tried all of the normal things: praying, quoting Bible verses, etc. I still didn't fall back to sleep.
So I looked at the clock. It was 4:38 a.m.
Now the tricky thing about waking up early, but not actually in the middle of the night, is that you begin to think of things you might do if you actually got up early (instead of just laying there). Getting up an hour or two early is not out of the question (as opposed to the middle of the night where you have time to wait to fall back to sleep and will still get enough sleep to make the effort worthwhile).
So I thought it through. If I were to persist in trying to fall back to sleep I would either 1) get an extra hour or so of sleep in or 2) lay there awake till my alarm clock went off. I'm really not running short on sleep, but I haven't had very much time (awake) at home this week.
Then I thought about the garden. I had noticed the night before (in the process of mowing the lawn and watering the plants) that there were lots of tomatoes getting ripe. But it was full dark before I was done with the mowing and watering, so I hadn't picked any the night before. Then I thought about the fact that it would be at least Wednesday next week (probably Thursday) before I would really have time to do anything about it. As I thought about all of the effort that went into growing the garden, I considered allowing some of those tomatoes to get to the unusable stage as more and more of a bad thing. Wasteful actually.
So I got up, took a flashlight and picked tomatoes in the dark. Then I cooked one large pot of tomatoes and put another large bowl in the fridge (where hopefully they will keep long enough for me to get around to cooking them up). It was lots of fun.
Not that I didn't enjoy myself, but I do hope I don't feel moved to get up around 4:30 a.m. to pick tomatoes in the dark very often.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Professional Help
Well we finally did it. We got professional help...with our mole problem that is.
The Mole Man did a good job. He came in, set-up the trap, and after the initial "new customer" fee only charges for each mole caught. He caught two of the little critters in the first week. I didn't know two could do so much damage.
Now if we ever spot an active mound again, we can call him and he will be back to render assistance. Hurrah!
I cannot tell you how this relieves my mind. It is hard when you have a tiny creature that is destroying hours of work overnight, every night. The runs will have to be filled in somehow, or else we will have a plethora of ankle twisting dips in our lawn. But just knowing that there won't be new ones appearing each night is so nice!
On another note, I see that my last post was about lawn mowing. Ironically, that is exactly what I plan to do this evening!
Curious. I wonder if there is any deeper meaning to be learned from that? Do thoughts of mowing the lawn make me want to blog? Very curious indeed.
The Mole Man did a good job. He came in, set-up the trap, and after the initial "new customer" fee only charges for each mole caught. He caught two of the little critters in the first week. I didn't know two could do so much damage.
Now if we ever spot an active mound again, we can call him and he will be back to render assistance. Hurrah!
I cannot tell you how this relieves my mind. It is hard when you have a tiny creature that is destroying hours of work overnight, every night. The runs will have to be filled in somehow, or else we will have a plethora of ankle twisting dips in our lawn. But just knowing that there won't be new ones appearing each night is so nice!
On another note, I see that my last post was about lawn mowing. Ironically, that is exactly what I plan to do this evening!
Curious. I wonder if there is any deeper meaning to be learned from that? Do thoughts of mowing the lawn make me want to blog? Very curious indeed.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Joy of Mowing
Yesterday evening I had the blissful pleasure of mowing all of the lawns where I live. There are three of them (well, four actually). There are the house lawns (front-small and side-big), the front field (very big) and the back (wilderness setting). Each has it's own characteristics.
I started with the well-groomed house lawns. We are fighting moles, so I began by treating each active run I could locate. (Note: I hate moles...they are so destructive to lawns.) Then I mowed the side and front house lawns with a medium setting and 1/2 bagged and 1/2 mulched.
Next I moved to the front lawn. We just planted it last fall, so we watered it this year to give it a good start. Previously it was just field grass. This lawn takes a setting one higher on the lawn mower, also doing 1/2 bagging and 1/2 mulching.
Finally I moved to the back lawn. Well, actually, calling it a lawn is a big of an exaggeration. It is a closely cropped field, all brown, with only weeds really doing any growing. Almost all of what I cut was the tops of brown dandelions. (How DO they survive?) I used a very short setting and mulched 90% of the clippings.
The whole process took me three hours of very active work. Our lawn mower is self-propelled, and I used the high speed setting whenever possible (front and back). The grass in the house lawns is so thick that I could only use the medium speed setting and still get a nice clean look.
We are getting ready for a party on Thursday. All the staff and volunteers (along with their families) have been invited over for our annual summer picnic. The current estimate is just shy of 60 people. It will be lots of fun!
And you now may ask why all that hot work was such a joy. Well I think mowing is fun! Not only that, but it is quality thinking time. There is very little thinking needed to mow a lawn, but you accomplish much. You get to see what you are doing (immediate results). And the job leaves your brain free to mull over more weighty matters. I always treasure time spent mowing the lawn.
I will also mention that the lady I live with also enjoys mowing the lawn (so I'm not totally strange). But she has some sort of allergy thing going on (maybe caused by dust) and so had to let me do it this time. I didn't mind.
I started with the well-groomed house lawns. We are fighting moles, so I began by treating each active run I could locate. (Note: I hate moles...they are so destructive to lawns.) Then I mowed the side and front house lawns with a medium setting and 1/2 bagged and 1/2 mulched.
Next I moved to the front lawn. We just planted it last fall, so we watered it this year to give it a good start. Previously it was just field grass. This lawn takes a setting one higher on the lawn mower, also doing 1/2 bagging and 1/2 mulching.
Finally I moved to the back lawn. Well, actually, calling it a lawn is a big of an exaggeration. It is a closely cropped field, all brown, with only weeds really doing any growing. Almost all of what I cut was the tops of brown dandelions. (How DO they survive?) I used a very short setting and mulched 90% of the clippings.
The whole process took me three hours of very active work. Our lawn mower is self-propelled, and I used the high speed setting whenever possible (front and back). The grass in the house lawns is so thick that I could only use the medium speed setting and still get a nice clean look.
We are getting ready for a party on Thursday. All the staff and volunteers (along with their families) have been invited over for our annual summer picnic. The current estimate is just shy of 60 people. It will be lots of fun!
And you now may ask why all that hot work was such a joy. Well I think mowing is fun! Not only that, but it is quality thinking time. There is very little thinking needed to mow a lawn, but you accomplish much. You get to see what you are doing (immediate results). And the job leaves your brain free to mull over more weighty matters. I always treasure time spent mowing the lawn.
I will also mention that the lady I live with also enjoys mowing the lawn (so I'm not totally strange). But she has some sort of allergy thing going on (maybe caused by dust) and so had to let me do it this time. I didn't mind.
Friday, August 25, 2006
New Blog Name
Thanks to those who made creative suggestions for a new blog name. I have decided on "It Happened to Juliana" for now...in honor of the very funny Doris Day movie "It Happened to Jane."
Monday, August 14, 2006
Adorable Apollo
Isn't he adorable? He was very good while I babysat, despite the heat.This angle on the camera makes my head look huge!
Blog Name
OK. I'm feeling more and more like my blog "name" is insufficient. The problem is that I just can't think of anything that "fits" me and what I blog about, which is (in typical fashion) about me and the things that happen to me.
Although, now that I think about it, it is rather presumptuous of me to think that anyone would be interested in reading about me and the things that happen to me. But I do have some friends that ask me what is going on in my life and this is certainly a convenient way to let them know without imposing myself upon them through regular e-mails or anything like that. This way they have the option to read it or not.
Humm. All very interesting.
But back to my first thought. Any suggestions for a better blog name?
Although, now that I think about it, it is rather presumptuous of me to think that anyone would be interested in reading about me and the things that happen to me. But I do have some friends that ask me what is going on in my life and this is certainly a convenient way to let them know without imposing myself upon them through regular e-mails or anything like that. This way they have the option to read it or not.
Humm. All very interesting.
But back to my first thought. Any suggestions for a better blog name?
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Cathy's Wedding
Last weekend I had the joy of participating in the wedding of my dear friend Cathy. She was very happy, as was her groom, Brian. I am very happy for them both. They love the Lord and will serve Him with their lives.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Ambassador Choir
Last night we went to a neighboring church to hear the Prairie Bible College's Ambassador Choir (www.prairie.edu). They did a good job. I think they used their "conservative" church program (which was wise of them).
I was rather surprised by the changes in dress code since the days when my Mom & Dad attended...long hair on guys and even an earring (on a guy). I guess they tried to counteract that by putting all the guys in tuxedos. It helped a bit, but long messy hair is still long messy hair. What's with the 70's look anyway?
After it was over I chatted with a few of the students. We signed-up to host two of the team overnight, and got the choir director and bus driver. It worked great because the choir director knew my parents from their Bible school days and the bus driver knew my Grandpa (before he died). I'm sure they chatted about "old times" for as long as they dared before going to bed last night.
I was rather surprised by the changes in dress code since the days when my Mom & Dad attended...long hair on guys and even an earring (on a guy). I guess they tried to counteract that by putting all the guys in tuxedos. It helped a bit, but long messy hair is still long messy hair. What's with the 70's look anyway?
After it was over I chatted with a few of the students. We signed-up to host two of the team overnight, and got the choir director and bus driver. It worked great because the choir director knew my parents from their Bible school days and the bus driver knew my Grandpa (before he died). I'm sure they chatted about "old times" for as long as they dared before going to bed last night.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Last Night
In case you are wondering, last night's event went great! The turnout was great, the people were great and things went great.
The after-action report will only feature a few bumps. We have got to figure out a way to process last-minute auction items faster. My sister did an outstanding job of keeping up, but next time we need to get her more help.
Registration went very well and the lines were minimal. I wonder if we can figure out a better way to do name tags?
Many thanks to the great volunteers who pitched-in to help, either pre-planned or on-the-spot. We have the greatest group of supporters in the world!
It is comforting to know that God is ultimately in control of how an election turns out. You do the best you can, but the "heart of the king" is in the hand of the Lord. In our great country, the "king" is made-up of voters. They elect the leaders who will make laws. We are not at the mercy of someone who was "born to be king" and may or may not turn out to be any good at it.
On the other hand, we deserve nothing. As a country we have, in may respects, turned our back on God. If we get bad leaders, it is usually because we have allowed it ("we" in the general sense of the word). If we don't do everything we can to turn this country around, then we deserve what we get (and probably worse).
The after-action report will only feature a few bumps. We have got to figure out a way to process last-minute auction items faster. My sister did an outstanding job of keeping up, but next time we need to get her more help.
Registration went very well and the lines were minimal. I wonder if we can figure out a better way to do name tags?
Many thanks to the great volunteers who pitched-in to help, either pre-planned or on-the-spot. We have the greatest group of supporters in the world!
It is comforting to know that God is ultimately in control of how an election turns out. You do the best you can, but the "heart of the king" is in the hand of the Lord. In our great country, the "king" is made-up of voters. They elect the leaders who will make laws. We are not at the mercy of someone who was "born to be king" and may or may not turn out to be any good at it.
On the other hand, we deserve nothing. As a country we have, in may respects, turned our back on God. If we get bad leaders, it is usually because we have allowed it ("we" in the general sense of the word). If we don't do everything we can to turn this country around, then we deserve what we get (and probably worse).
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Busy Night & Day
Last night I went home to help my Mom get ready for a fundraising event. It was rather late before I went to bed.
Today I feel a bit tired, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Tonight is the big night, and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends and making some new ones.
Events are fun, but they sure are a lot of work!
Today I feel a bit tired, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Tonight is the big night, and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends and making some new ones.
Events are fun, but they sure are a lot of work!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Weekday Evenings
So, what do you do in the evenings after work? I have just about as many answers to that question as there are days in the month. But there are a few that predominate.
1) Yardwork. This is first on the list not because it is the most important, or because I do it the most often. It is first because it is what I did last night, so it is fresh in my mind.
I am one of those people that love to see a row of freshly cut grass appear behind me as I walk across the lawn with a mower. Last night I got to try my hand at using the trimmer (for the second time). It is not due to lack of interest that I have very little experience with those machines, but rather my brother's great interest in them. At our house he loves to get out his big trimmer, put on all sorts of protective gear, and wack away.
I'm not as fond of garden work. I enjoy it when I actually do it, but I prefer to mow the lawn while someone else plays with plants in the dirt.
This activity is restricted to evenings with at least some light and minimal rain. This means I rarely do yardwork several months out of the year. Either I get home after dark or it is raining.
As a side note, I need to get one of those face shield things. I'm very grateful for the protection my glasses provided me last night, but would like to spare them that particular job in the future.
2) Attend political meetings. Four nights a month I have a regularly scheduled political meeting. Other miscellaneous meetings pop-up from time-to-time to increase the number of evenings spent on this activity.
3) Do jobs around the house. I love to fix things, put together things, install things, etc. All of my "spare" evenings for several months were previously occupied by redecorating both bathrooms, replacing lights, etc. Most of the small jobs are now done and we await an opening to begin a "major remodeling project." This will require professional help. But I'm sure I'll be able to find ways to assist in the evenings.
4) Paperwork. Ahh, that 21st Century never-ending task. I usually use the paperwork excuse as a reason to sit on my bed, watching a recorded TV show or movie, while creating piles of sorted paper all around me. It's also a good activity if I am not feeling my best or want to be alone for some quiet time.
If I don't have a paperwork night every month or so, I start to get into unsorted paperwork overload. I have an idealistic goal of properly reading and filing all the paper from that week each weekend. However, maybe sometime I'll discuss my weekends and you will see why that rarely happens.
5) Shop...as in grocery shopping. I enjoy doing the household grocery shopping. By the time I get away from work, do the shopping, get home and put the stuff away, and eat dinner, it is usually time to get ready for bed.
6) Work late. Ahh, another 21st Century affliction. Well maybe not. Think of farmers who worked sun-up to sun-down. Think of slaves. Think of mothers who have traditionally spent their evenings serving their families.
I have several good excuses to work late. I'm not married and don't have a family that will suffer. I enjoy my job and it is for a good cause...we're making a difference in this world. I often get things done that I don't seem to have time to do during the day.
If I ever get married, my job will suffer...without me actually. (grin)
OK. That sums up most of my evenings. Various other evenings are spent with things like Bible studies, visiting friends, working on campaigns, etc. But I think the majority of regular activities are summarized above.
1) Yardwork. This is first on the list not because it is the most important, or because I do it the most often. It is first because it is what I did last night, so it is fresh in my mind.
I am one of those people that love to see a row of freshly cut grass appear behind me as I walk across the lawn with a mower. Last night I got to try my hand at using the trimmer (for the second time). It is not due to lack of interest that I have very little experience with those machines, but rather my brother's great interest in them. At our house he loves to get out his big trimmer, put on all sorts of protective gear, and wack away.
I'm not as fond of garden work. I enjoy it when I actually do it, but I prefer to mow the lawn while someone else plays with plants in the dirt.
This activity is restricted to evenings with at least some light and minimal rain. This means I rarely do yardwork several months out of the year. Either I get home after dark or it is raining.
As a side note, I need to get one of those face shield things. I'm very grateful for the protection my glasses provided me last night, but would like to spare them that particular job in the future.
2) Attend political meetings. Four nights a month I have a regularly scheduled political meeting. Other miscellaneous meetings pop-up from time-to-time to increase the number of evenings spent on this activity.
3) Do jobs around the house. I love to fix things, put together things, install things, etc. All of my "spare" evenings for several months were previously occupied by redecorating both bathrooms, replacing lights, etc. Most of the small jobs are now done and we await an opening to begin a "major remodeling project." This will require professional help. But I'm sure I'll be able to find ways to assist in the evenings.
4) Paperwork. Ahh, that 21st Century never-ending task. I usually use the paperwork excuse as a reason to sit on my bed, watching a recorded TV show or movie, while creating piles of sorted paper all around me. It's also a good activity if I am not feeling my best or want to be alone for some quiet time.
If I don't have a paperwork night every month or so, I start to get into unsorted paperwork overload. I have an idealistic goal of properly reading and filing all the paper from that week each weekend. However, maybe sometime I'll discuss my weekends and you will see why that rarely happens.
5) Shop...as in grocery shopping. I enjoy doing the household grocery shopping. By the time I get away from work, do the shopping, get home and put the stuff away, and eat dinner, it is usually time to get ready for bed.
6) Work late. Ahh, another 21st Century affliction. Well maybe not. Think of farmers who worked sun-up to sun-down. Think of slaves. Think of mothers who have traditionally spent their evenings serving their families.
I have several good excuses to work late. I'm not married and don't have a family that will suffer. I enjoy my job and it is for a good cause...we're making a difference in this world. I often get things done that I don't seem to have time to do during the day.
If I ever get married, my job will suffer...without me actually. (grin)
OK. That sums up most of my evenings. Various other evenings are spent with things like Bible studies, visiting friends, working on campaigns, etc. But I think the majority of regular activities are summarized above.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Minutes Done
If you have ever been the Secretary of an organization, you understand about "minutes." Getting them out in a timely manner is always an important, but sometimes difficult challenge.
This time I think I set a record. Our convention minutes have been typed, approved by the Chairman, and sent out to the delegates. Hurray!
I must confess that being at home alone last night was key in getting this done so quickly. There is nothing like a quiet evening to motivate you to get the stuff done you know you need to get done. Besides, I have no idea when I'll get another quiet evening. I was afraid that if I didn't get them done ASAP they might get put-off too long. There were quite a few timely things in the minutes that needed to be reported right away (like the list of delegates elected to the state convention).
Oh, did I mention that I am now a delegate to the State Convention? Not only that, I was elected to the Rules Committee. That means I "get" to go over to the convention a day early to sit in the Rules Committee Meeting. Oh well, someone has to do it. I guess it is best to have someone do it who has an idea of what to do.
Although most people consider the Rules Committee to be boring, if you understand rules, you realize how vital they are to a good convention. I have been at conventions with bad rules which lead to a bad convention. Easy to understand rules allow people to participate in a meaningful and orderly manner. When the rules are unclear or poorly written, it leads to frustrations by the delegates, which often leads to "incidents."
There you go...if you haven't thought about the importance of rules before, maybe this will be your day to think about something new. (grin)
This time I think I set a record. Our convention minutes have been typed, approved by the Chairman, and sent out to the delegates. Hurray!
I must confess that being at home alone last night was key in getting this done so quickly. There is nothing like a quiet evening to motivate you to get the stuff done you know you need to get done. Besides, I have no idea when I'll get another quiet evening. I was afraid that if I didn't get them done ASAP they might get put-off too long. There were quite a few timely things in the minutes that needed to be reported right away (like the list of delegates elected to the state convention).
Oh, did I mention that I am now a delegate to the State Convention? Not only that, I was elected to the Rules Committee. That means I "get" to go over to the convention a day early to sit in the Rules Committee Meeting. Oh well, someone has to do it. I guess it is best to have someone do it who has an idea of what to do.
Although most people consider the Rules Committee to be boring, if you understand rules, you realize how vital they are to a good convention. I have been at conventions with bad rules which lead to a bad convention. Easy to understand rules allow people to participate in a meaningful and orderly manner. When the rules are unclear or poorly written, it leads to frustrations by the delegates, which often leads to "incidents."
There you go...if you haven't thought about the importance of rules before, maybe this will be your day to think about something new. (grin)
Monday, April 24, 2006
County Convention
Well on Saturday we had our Republican County Convention. Since I was heavily involved, it was a relief to see it go fairly smoothly and to have it over with. I was Secretary, on the Convention Committee, on the Rules Committee, and am the President of the YR club that provided all the food for the day.
Praise the Lord for my great sister who coordinated the YRs and actually did most of the work for the food. Everyone raved about how great lunch was, and we only ran out of mayo and diet pop.
I love the fact that we live in a country where we can disagree or agree with each other peacefully. Losers in elections don't worry about being assassinated. We can speak our minds in relative security. I love America!
In order to preserve these freedoms for the next generation, we must be involved in our political process. These freedoms will not continue on their own. There are people out there who want to define free speech as "freedom to speak as long as you agree with me." There are people who want to define any belief that excludes them as "hate speech." There are people who believe government should tell us what to do, or at least limit our options, from the time we are born until we are no longer "useful" to society...and then they don't think we should bother them anymore...literally.
I hope you are involved at some level in keeping American free. At the least, each one of us should be an informed voter, so we elect people who will work on our behalf to protect our freedoms.
Praise the Lord for my great sister who coordinated the YRs and actually did most of the work for the food. Everyone raved about how great lunch was, and we only ran out of mayo and diet pop.
I love the fact that we live in a country where we can disagree or agree with each other peacefully. Losers in elections don't worry about being assassinated. We can speak our minds in relative security. I love America!
In order to preserve these freedoms for the next generation, we must be involved in our political process. These freedoms will not continue on their own. There are people out there who want to define free speech as "freedom to speak as long as you agree with me." There are people who want to define any belief that excludes them as "hate speech." There are people who believe government should tell us what to do, or at least limit our options, from the time we are born until we are no longer "useful" to society...and then they don't think we should bother them anymore...literally.
I hope you are involved at some level in keeping American free. At the least, each one of us should be an informed voter, so we elect people who will work on our behalf to protect our freedoms.
Friday, January 20, 2006
New Year's Resolutions
I was reading some friends blogs and noticed that some people talked about their New Year's resolutions. Why does it take a New Year to resolve to improve your life?
Oh, I know the arguments, but it is still a mystery to me. If you need to improve your life you should start doing it when you think of it, and not wait for a New Year to do it. If it is worth doing in a New Year, it is worth doing now.
Besides, what if you realize that you should be doing something (or stop doing something) in February? Are you really going to wait 10+ months to start (or stop) doing something you should be doing now? Wouldn't people have a better track record of keeping their "resolutions" if they resolved to do it now? If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right, and it's worth doing now.
So there. That's my opinion.
Oh, I know the arguments, but it is still a mystery to me. If you need to improve your life you should start doing it when you think of it, and not wait for a New Year to do it. If it is worth doing in a New Year, it is worth doing now.
Besides, what if you realize that you should be doing something (or stop doing something) in February? Are you really going to wait 10+ months to start (or stop) doing something you should be doing now? Wouldn't people have a better track record of keeping their "resolutions" if they resolved to do it now? If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right, and it's worth doing now.
So there. That's my opinion.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Reflections
During my life I have had a lot of exposure to dead people and their relatives. My father is a pastor and I have attended more funerals than most people my age. However, very few of these funerals have been for people I dearly loved.
Last night I had the honor of sharing a couple of hours with a freshly grieving widow. She was surrounded by caring family and friends. We all sat there comforting each other with our presence. From time to time a comment would be made or a story told that would make us laugh and/or cry. Silence was not a burden. The peace that passeth understanding was present.
It is times like these that you really see and understand some of the great benefits of being a child of God. To see this young widow rejoicing over the six months of memories she has to cherish; to know the loved one is not really dead, but is now at home in heaven; to be able to thank God for what you had and not curse Him for what He didn't give you; all this and more proves that God's love is greater than we can imagine.
Other cultures have long and elaborate rituals that must be performed when a loved one dies. Some of these are to protect those still living; many more to help the dead one in the next life. How sad to realize that there is nothing anyone can do to help a loved one once they are dead. We need to prepare them for the next life while they are still in this one. Once you are dead, it is too late for you or anyone else to change your situation in eternity.
Are you ready to die?
Last night I had the honor of sharing a couple of hours with a freshly grieving widow. She was surrounded by caring family and friends. We all sat there comforting each other with our presence. From time to time a comment would be made or a story told that would make us laugh and/or cry. Silence was not a burden. The peace that passeth understanding was present.
It is times like these that you really see and understand some of the great benefits of being a child of God. To see this young widow rejoicing over the six months of memories she has to cherish; to know the loved one is not really dead, but is now at home in heaven; to be able to thank God for what you had and not curse Him for what He didn't give you; all this and more proves that God's love is greater than we can imagine.
Other cultures have long and elaborate rituals that must be performed when a loved one dies. Some of these are to protect those still living; many more to help the dead one in the next life. How sad to realize that there is nothing anyone can do to help a loved one once they are dead. We need to prepare them for the next life while they are still in this one. Once you are dead, it is too late for you or anyone else to change your situation in eternity.
Are you ready to die?
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Shocks
There are times in life when you simply sit in shock. Today is one of them.
Darrin is dead. He simply collapsed on the floor and they were unable to revive him. His wife Tiana called 911. They came, they performed CPR, they took him to the hospital, all to no avail.
Darrin & Tiana are young, younger than me. They have been married for less than a year. To all outward appearances Darrin was a very healthy, active young man. There was no warning. Our one comfort is that he was a Christian and is now in heaven.
However, he has left behind a grieving young widow. Please pray for her. One of my dear friends Marsha (who is Tiana's best friend) is with her now. Please pray for them both.
Darrin is dead. He simply collapsed on the floor and they were unable to revive him. His wife Tiana called 911. They came, they performed CPR, they took him to the hospital, all to no avail.
Darrin & Tiana are young, younger than me. They have been married for less than a year. To all outward appearances Darrin was a very healthy, active young man. There was no warning. Our one comfort is that he was a Christian and is now in heaven.
However, he has left behind a grieving young widow. Please pray for her. One of my dear friends Marsha (who is Tiana's best friend) is with her now. Please pray for them both.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Two days in a row
Horray! I have blogged two days in a row.
The problem is, I can't remember why I went to all that effort yesterday and what I was going to blog about. Oh well, maybe I will think of it later. Probably tonight in the shower.
The problem is, I can't remember why I went to all that effort yesterday and what I was going to blog about. Oh well, maybe I will think of it later. Probably tonight in the shower.
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