Random Musings

When I was in middle school, I gladly dispensed of those HORRENDOUS sponge rollers that Mom rolled my hair in every Saturday night and the night before any special event. I gaggingly joined the throngs of girls who got their hair fried to a sizzle (come on, surely you remember the perms of the '80s?). Every time we came back from Aunt Linda's, Kay's Beauty shop, (and we can't forget Mom doing it at home and Dad and Andy griping about the smell the next two weeks), my dear little brother and Dad would make some wisecrack about people sticking their fingers in light sockets. Until my junior year of high school. For some reason my hair burned exceptionally bad that visit, and even though Kay cut and conditioned as much as she could, it was still quite frizzy when I left the salon. And on Kay's behalf, she used the light perm for easily damaged hair and cut the time in half! It was the constant dilemma - too much time and my hair burned, one minute less and it would ...

Timothy Samuel Bryan, Jr. (aka Sammy), Timothy Samuel Bryan, Sr (aka Tim), and Timothy Samuel Bryan III (aka Trey) As of Sunday, March 29, 2009, we are now officially Great Uncle Bobby and Great Aunt Monica. Congatulations Sammy and Jess!

No, not the actual pitter -patter of feet, but the tiny leaps toward project completion! Today I deleted a project off my March list! This quilt still won't be ready for a June wedding, but at least all the pieces for the top are cut out. I think it's safe to say this is the most time consuming project I've ever tackled. I guess because all the other quilts I've done have been simple blocks or baby quilts that the cutting went fairly fast. I ignorantly thought I would keep track of my time put into this quilt (just for curiosity sake), but I despairingly quit counting when I hit hour 6 of cutting. Meanwhile, about half of the planted snow peas are popping up, and I do have straw around that aisle of the garden, but have only just started around the other rows. Meanwhile, thanks to Dottie, the fencing for the nesting area is up, but I still need to anchor in the bottom and fix a door. I know how I want to do it, but getting it done and the weather cooperating is a...

flour, water, shortening graham crackers, butter, sugar 2 different recipes...3 ingredients...that's it... Then WHY can't I make a decent pie crust?!? Edible they are. Delicious or pretty, they are definitely not. sigh

For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. ~Luke 9:26 Several years ago I had a pastor ask me to design a banner. The picture he wanted to use had poor resolution, meaning it would be blurry when enlarged. I found several similar pictures and let him choose the one he wanted. The final picture had an angle of the cross stretched out on the sand, the crown of thorns nearby, and there was some blood in the sand. Someone saw it later and commented that it was gory and they didn't think Christians should display blood, thorns, nails, or anything of that sort at Easter. I was dumbfounded. I don't like gore, and I don't handle violence very well, hence I don't watch war movies and I didn't see the Passion. But I think for any Christian to hide the facts of the horror of the Crucifixion is to hide the horror of sin and the pain an...

We're in the van, almost home, with the Q&A session of Obama's speech on the radio, when I hear a question that totally blew my mind: Does Obama agree with China's call for a global currency? (At this point he's not because he thinks the dollar is rebounding.) Somehow I missed that on the news. So I've googled it, and discovered that not only is China calling for a global currency, but so is Russia. There's also a group in Maine, founded by a Nobel prize winner, that's whole purpose is educating people about the need for a global currency and hopes to have one in place by 2024. Evidently several Muslim countries have consolidated their currency, as have a few African countries, and then of course the European Union. And with all the fiscal upheaval, I can easily see why it makes sense from a secular, economic viewpoint. So why am I blathering on about this? Because it excites me. It's like getting down to a handful of puzzle pieces and knowi...

Now I lay me down to sleep To hear the buzz before I blink If I can get my self to move Then one more day I'll make it through!

My Grandmother never learned how to drive. After my Grandfather passed away, she had to rely on her children and grandchildren to get places. As a working teenager, it was a little frustrating that when I did make time to see her, all she wanted me to do was drive her places, often long distances, to see people and do things. As an adult looking back, I now understand how little freedom she had and how important those visits were to her. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate my visit, me skipping activities with friends or using a vacation day to come see her; it was simply that my (or others) visit was a small window of opportunity to do something. I was reminded of that today. A weekly volunteer who comes in to help at work was talking about another lady who would love to come work and do things, but has no way to come. It made me sad to hear that, and made me wish we had the freedom to leave work and go pick her up and take her home. I like to think that if I could go b...

Yesterday on my way to work, radio announcers Bill & Linda were discussing shoe sizes. Linda had been to Crabtree to get fitted for tennis shoes, and was mortified not only to be told what size she wore, but also to be told that one foot was half a size smaller than the other. I understand that it is normal for one foot to be half an inch smaller than the other. My questions is: WHY? I mean, think about it. We don't have one big eye and one little eye, or one big ear and one little ear (not that I've ever measured my ears), or one big...actually we do. I remember now. The ring finger on my left hand is always half a size smaller than the ring size on my right hand. The jeweler said it was the hand you used the most tended to be a little larger. So does that mean my right foot is larger because I'm right-sided and always put my weight on my right foot first? And if it's SOO important for us to be wearing the correct shoe size, then why don't they sell u...

May the words of my MOUTH and the MEDITATION of my HEART , be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. ~ Psalm 19:4 In the last two days, I have been challenged by three different friends during an ordinary conversation. Not an aggressive challenge, but just by casual conversation been emotionally lifted and challenged by what they said. And it's also made me stop and think about what I say and what I allow my mind to dwell on. I am SO blessed with Godly family and friends who (whether they know it or not) help me refocus on what is truly important and my role in this world. I hope what I say will be edifying to those around me and not the words of a despondent mudhole .

When I was five I wanted to be WonderWoman when I grew up. I thought catching bad guys and throwing a rope around them and pulling tight would be a neat thing to do. Plus, she had a shiny uniform with red boots. Who wouldn't want to wear red boots to work? And then when I was 8, Mary Lou Retton debuted. My dream of being an award winning gymnast was very shortlived . By middle school, I wanted to be a journalist. High school came and found me wavering between journalism and missions. Life after college found me teaching English in China. Teaching in America brought me grief and a three year sabbatical where I did some freelance writing and played housewife. Through all the curves and turns our lives took during those three years, I wound up back in school studying graphic design. If I had to grow up now, I'd still do graphic design but I'd be web savvy and flex between print media and the world wide web. Or I might be a hermit. Not a hippie hermit, but a stay at...

#1) Cheeseburger Pie Brown 1 lb of ground beef (add onions and peppers, if desired). Drain grease. Place in a 9" pie pan. Add 1 c shredded cheese on top of the meat. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix 2 eggs, 1/2 c Bisquick and 1 c milk . Pour over meat. Place in oven. ( I recommend putting a cookie pan under it). Bake 25 minutes or until center is firm when pricked with a fork. My mother-in-law found this recipe several years ago. I don't fix it very often, but I really like it! #2) the insanity of quilting I think quilts are beautiful, especially the ones with unusual designs. Normally my favorite part of quilting is putting together the quilt top. The actual quilting is okay, but it just seems to take forever. Unfortunately, this time I've picked a pattern that is more challenging than any I've ever done. I'm thankful I bought a kit containing the templates an directions, but as I rearranged pieces to decide on a color scheme last night, (which the patte...

If I were unemployed, here's what I'd fill my rainy days with: reading sleeping sewing other various projects eating repeat sigh...the only thing worse than spending a good craft day at work is having to spend a beautiful outside work day inside at work. It's a good thing I like my job or I'd have a very hard time convincing myself to go in.

Our teenage helpers not only helped clean up debris this past weekend, but their chief also did something the last ten years I've not yet find the time to do: create a special path. and at the end of this path is a small grill that Bobby's Uncle built during slow times on his brick mason job. His family (tobacco farmers) didn't have money or time for nice vacations, but they did take time for small things like fishing and grilling and picnics. This is the first time in many years that Bobby has been able to get to the small grill. The funny thing is that neither one of us are quite sure how his parents cooked on it. Perhaps one day we'll be able to clean up the remainder of the woods and debris around it so it can be used again.

WHOHOOO ! This weekend I finished a February project! YEAHHH ! In December Bobby and I found the CUTEST outfit for his nephew's coming arrival: deer slippers and brown pajamas with a hood and deer antlers. We got the slippers, but decided against the winter pajamas. Then a few weeks later, I saw material at JoAnns that matched the slippers! Of course that meant a baby quilt. I had wanted to quilt deer tracks in the green blocks, or at least antlers, but due to time constraints decided simple was best. and my favorite part: the farm animal inserts (since they didn't have deer). And while it's still not finished, the nesting area for the geese is much closer to completion. Two dividers are out, the fence posts are up, and I've got almost all of the fencing equipment. Even though I didn't get the fence up before the pond refilled (which now means wading out into the water), all the fence except the gate should go up Wednesday afternoon. I think the geese have already ...

Several years ago Bobby and I watched a series on PBS about three modern families who were sent somewhere out West to live life like our ancestors did in the late 1800's. They had training before they went, and had someone come out and check on them throughout their time (they had to do it for about three months, I think) and then after it was over they were rated on whether or not they would have survived. One family had a ranch to run, with college age kids for ranch hands; another family had a farm, and the third started out with just land. He was engaged and his father was helping him until he was married and his wife came halfway through. I think in the end, it was determined that none of the families would have survived the winter. I think about that show sometimes. I don't think I'd have fared too well. There's days like today where I work hard, but still don't get everything accomplished. But then I stop and think about all the time distractors they ...

crazy dream with 20 kids happily disobeying, chattering Russian. I am screaming to no effect, yelling like my mother times 10. obnoxious sound that pulses on, my body moves and fights to find that stupid little switch. the day begins and i pray for grace and wonder why on earth we should ever rejoice for this day that God has made; he must increase and right now i really wouldn't mind if i decreased to the size of a bug so i could crawl somewhere and hide. another day of crazy tasks and things that everyone must do to meet their deadline while the clock keeps ticking tocking taunting that we may not finish. i want to find that stupid book they call the simple church and put it on someone's desk and ask them if it's a farce. these projects are only paper; soon to be trash and yet someone somewhere thinks it must be perfect or that we simply cannot function without it. i bite my tongue and swallow the words. daring them to try it and see if they die -that might be a satisfyin...

6 chicken bouillion cubes 2 c water 1.5 c diced onions 1.5 c diced carrots 1.5 c diced celery 2.5 c cubed potatoes 20 oz pk of cauliflower 20 oz pk of broccoli 1 lb velveeta cheese 2 cans cream of chicken soup Dissolve the 6 bouillon cubes in the 2 cups of water. Add onions celery, potatoes, carrots. Simmer for 2o minutes. Add cauliflower and broccoli. Simmer ten minutes. Add cheese & soups. Stir until the cheese is melted. Do not cover after cheese and soup is served. Monica's notes: I cheated and bought a 3lb bag of California mix (the broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots), but only used about 2/3 of it. I also added more water to cover the vegetables, and chopped them up some before adding the cheese. And I used Mary Booth's advice and cubed the Velveeta before adding it to help is melt faster.

Friday, Feb 27: ABRO soup and sandwich fundraiser Mary Booth gave me Penne's soup recipe, and it was absolutely WONDERFUL! Even my husband, who does not like cauliflower, ate it and enjoyed it. I will definitely be adding this to my list of soups to fix again. Saturday, Feb 28: Beading @ Penne's (super fun!); brief appearance at baby shower; drive to SC Sunday, MARCH FIRST: Homecoming at a church Dad pastored for 5 years, where he was speaking and my sister and I were singing. The afternoon singing was cancelled due to inclement weather and we headed home. Today I called in to work and said I wasn't coming. One, it snowed. Two, DOT closed our road during the night. Three, I took cold medicine and went to bed. Four, Bobby was working from home today. Five...what, you think I have another reason?