when the norm becomes strange

I did some outside work Tuesday afternoon. Add that to the frantic quilting taking place at my house, being at a computer 6 hours a day, and my hands and shoulders are quite sore. Last night one of my hands was really hurting, and I was afraid the muscle had knotted up. It's strange how you can look at your hands all your life, but once you start hurting you're suddenly not sure if that's how they've always looked. If I hold both hands flat, they look the same. If I tighten them into a fist, one has a small knot/bump on it. It's very possible it's just a big wad of fat, or that it's been there forever, but given the intensive work I've been doing with my hands this week and the pain I had yesterday and some today it kind of makes me wonder. I don't mind doing physical labor, but I don't want muscular hands.

And I find myself in the same dilemma at work. For example, I'm working on things for the Missions Revival at the moment, and after typing and seeing the word "foreign" umpteen hundred times, I'm suddenly not sure if it's spelled right. I've spelled it all my life and never gave it a second thought, but now I'm not so sure and it looks strange.

Now if I can just get to the point where eating chocolate seems strange, I'll be set!

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things we do for love

Saturday we had a baby shower for Bobby's niece. As I was making the mints, Bobby asked what else was on the menu. After I recited off the litany of items, he responded with "No peanut butter?! This shower is for Hannah! What's she going to eat?" (Hannah has had stomach problems over the years and has been unable to tolerate many foods, but peanut butter has been her staple.) Despite my assurances that she would enjoy the foods we were having, he was adamant that I needed to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the shower. Even though I protested that NOBODY took that to a shower, he persisted, and informed me I could make them dainty with my little cutter. And so I did. To my surprise all but 3 were eaten. Who'd a thunk it?

perspectives

A few years ago after a Bible study a lot of the group continued to sit and talk and simply relax. One of the ladies felt like she was being mistreated by her boss. She was always given extra tasks or asked to assume responsibilities that no one else was asked to do. She felt it was unfair. As she was listing off some of the extras (she worked in a cafe for a plant), I was in flashback mode. My last year of college I was a shift manager at a fast food place. One of my many duties was to ensure that certain cleaning jobs (extra duties) was assigned and done properly. We were inspected by company headquarters once a quarter, and 3 of their 4 visits was ALWAYS a surprise visit. When I handed out those extra assignments, I had three things in mind: Who will do this job without making a bigger mess? Who can quickly do this job so we don't impede serving customers? Who will do this without the most drama? In essence, I wanted the best person for the job. Use the teenager who griped and c...

fun...funny houses

We saw the above house in Pittsboro while on our way to the mountains. It was the strangest house I've ever seen. Evidently this isn't a modification, for Bobby remembers thinking it funny as a child. Evidently a governor lived here at one point. I think the sign said it's now a Masonic lodge. And if seeing one funny house wasn't enough, the latest issue of This Old House had a link to their website that had several galleries of funny (or strange houses). Here's my favorites from their collection: Szymbark , Poland This just makes me laugh, and I would love to visit this house in person. Created by a designer who wanted to demonstrate "wrong-doings against humanity". Visitors have stood in line for as long as 6 hours to tour the house, and many come out feeling "sea-sick". Kalambaka, Greece... This 1,000 foot cliff drop has housed monastaries since the 11th century. Six of them are open to the public, " assuming, of course, th...

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