Random Musings

It's funny how certain themes continuously come up in various areas of our lives. The last two months I've sadly witnessed the beginnings of someone's marriage fall-out and its aftermath. I've repetitively gone to I Corinthians 13 and thought through its practicality and how when practiced daily it makes a marriage stronger instead of weaker. And in the midst of all this, several devotions and books I've been reading have been bringing out some of these same principles, but with friendship. And it made me stop and think about the fact that while we as Christians always think of I Corinthians 13 in terms of marriage, the reality is, it was written for the church and the interaction of fellow believers. Sadly, I often struggle with applying these principles to other believers and friends. My thoughts/interactions/feelings toward others (and not just my spouse, should have these qualities: patience...that friend who doesn't catch on to life principles as quickl...

It seems like we made this photo yesterday. The parents of these kids are my cousins/siblings, and we played in this very yard growing up every summer and during holidays. The little boy on the end was the ring bearer in our wedding (though he was a year older at that point.) The blonde girl in the back on the far row, she gets married Saturday. The blond sitting next to her is my niece, and she graduates from high school  next weekend.  The brown-headed girl next to her is finishing community college. The others? Rising juniors in high school. And on the Bryan side of thing, we received word this week that Lord willing, by the end of the year we'll add two more to the great- niece/nephew total. Times like this make me feel like I'm stuck in a time warp while the rest of the world marches on.

Last week I excitedly and nervously took a quilt top to a quilting store in Cary. Last month I took an hour long lesson so I could rent their quilting machine frame. I was so nervous I actually had dreams about messing up the quilt. I arrived ten minutes before the store opened (don't want to be late and loose time I've paid for!), and was greeted with this peaceful scene: I've always loved water fountains, and as I was staring at this one, I realized what made it so awe-inspiring is the outward flow of water back into the fountain. The upward spout and drains of the side are cool, but it wouldn't look quite as impressive without the water pouring back in on itself. I find such trivial details interesting. And inside? It took an hour to fix the backing (I had measured incorrectly, but thankfully had way more than we needed so it could be trimmed!), attach the batting, and smooth the quilt top onto the frame, but once quilting it took a tad over 3 hours to qu...

 This year I purchased "dwarf" sugar snaps; supposedly the grow in a small bush and not the trailing vines. Well, they don't, and I've waited too long to give them a trellis. They are producing, but it's just a big, jumbled mess. Next year I think I'll stick with traditional snow peas and simply get someone to help me put up something for them to grow up on.  And above is my only cabbage that's getting close to an edible size. Of the five things I planted in March, the cabbage and snow peas are the only ones that survived.  Since I worked early voting, the rest of my garden became a hopeless mess. In desperation, I finally took the lawn mower to it, and put it on the lowest setting possible. The "farmer" who bought hay for the church kids hay ride last fall had still not emptied the straw from the trailer, so it's been out in the elements all winter. In other words, it's not good for eating nor bedding animals. BUT, it is good fo...

The stump of an iris (it looks like a miniature, wrinkled potato) is called a rizhome. It is "planted" (placed is probably a better word) where the top of it is even with the soil. Any attached roots should be facing downward. Bulbs, rizhomes, whatever you want to call them, should be planted about 12-14 inches apart. If you want excessive flowering, lightly fertilize in the spring. Otherwise, they just sit there until 4 years later when you need to thin them out. The long green leaves are left alone, even after the flowering stops, until the tops start turning brown (in Sept or Oct). Then you can cut them down to about 6". That's it. They're actually very easy yard plants. And our topic tomorrow? Straw bale gardening. With pictures!

 Iris  Iris plants - one of many sets that will need to be divided this fall. Anyone interested in some?  amaryllis...these normally bloom around Mother's day, but because of our exceptionally warm weather, they bloomed two weeks early and we were quite surprised to see two Canadian geese show up in the middle of the yard with five fluffy goslings in tow. They came for two mornings in a row. We're hoping they're back in their nest since it's been raining so much. We've lost 6 biddies in the last 2 weeks to a hawk, so I fear between the snapping turtles and the hawk these fluffballs may not have made it. :(

We take so much for granted. The last few years we've heard a lot about teenagers, kids actually, who have faced so much more than any child should have to face by the time they reach 18. Some of them are in foster care. Others are in group homes. Either way, at age 18, state funding stops. A few of the lucky ones are allowed to stay on with their foster parents, but most either don't or can't. Can you imagine graduating from high school and suddenly facing life with no finances, no car, and becoming responsible for everything - a place to live, a vehicle, food, living expenses - on a high school diploma? Most of them attempt to attend a community college, but the completion rate for such students is very low. There's no loving Mom & Dad to send a care package when the semester gets tough. No card with a check in the mail from a concerned person in your home church. When that car breaks down? There's no Dad to come fix it while you drive his to your part...

If I've heard it once from our little visitor, I've answered it a thousand times in the last 24 hours. So what IS that noise? the fish tank's filter the dishwasher the sound of Mr. Bobby scratching his head (and she was most disappointed to scratch her head today and find it didn't make the same sound) a bird the rooster (who has been told to "shhh!" repeatedly, though he doesn't listen) the kitchen table's creak as Mr. Bobby leans on it (or leans away from it) a car on the road an airplane thunder the washing machine the microwave a clucking chicken a honking goose a wooden slat under the bed the beep of a finished dryer the scrunch of wet shoes on hardwood floors the clang of pots and pans the beep of Mr. Bobby's wheelchair as it turns on or off the scrunch of Mr. Bobby's tires on the floor the lift on his van my sewing machine and last, but certainly not least, and always asked with excessive laughter...Mira's bur...

Last night Bobby's coworkers and their families came over for a cook-out. I grilled hamburgers and hotdogs (Disclaimer: the above photo is not my hamburgers; the lines on my patties only went one direction, but I did have flame-seared burgers like above!) and I think everyone had a very good time. I was still tired and hot from working at bedtime last night, so I didn't close all the windows. I think someone froze last night, and I must admit I'm a bit chilled this morning myself. It's a bit crazy to be wearing 3/4 sleeves and have cold toes when this time last week we were donning no sleeves and begging BOE to bring fans to the non-airconditioned gym that was hosting an early voting site on our two 90 degree days. Someone remarked that in the south we don't have seasons; we have days. I think that's just another phrase for spring. And in the midst of all the happy chaos, my little garden which I was going to keep small and in check this year, is out of cont...

The bad thing about the blog world is the abounding creativity and designs. Yes, I recognize that is actually a GOOD thing, but for people like me who love the thrill of starting a new project, it can also be detrimental. For example, I have one completed quilt top that needs to be quilted by the end of July, and a quilt top that I've just started assembling that needs to be completed and quilted by the end of May. Gasp! Yes, as in this month. (How did it get to be MAY already?) 3 weeks to work, which also involve an election, hosting Bobby's work party, babysitting, serving at a wedding reception, and a trip to Alabama for a wedding. Yes, my adrenaline is pumping this morning (and that's a good thing!) So I'm off to my sewing room to put back together all the little fabric squares and triangles I cut up last week. (A quilter friend's husband says that's the essence of insanity.) And I'm just going to keep in the back of my mind that next week when all t...

Working at early voting...It's been great. I've been blessed with awesome supervisors and great co-workers this week and that makes all the difference in the world. We finish up tomorrow, then Sunday afternoon I switch into normal election day mode. I am thankful for people who work with the elderly/mentally handicapped who truly care about the individuals, their wants, and desires. Yes, there are one or two who attempt to take advantage of them and their votes, but thankfully they are the exception to the rule. It makes me appreciate the others even more. I am aghast at our college generation. So many of them are not registered voters, are ignorant of their addresses, what county they live in, and how our democracy works period.  But at the same time, it's neat to see those who come in prepared, are patient with the lines, and who have that fear and trepidation in their eyes as they try to figure out this "adults only" thing we have called voting. We sometime...

This week, 14 years ago, was our first date. It lasted ten days. On the way to the hotel from the Beijing airport. Bobby's first taxi ride. The train ride to Yinchuan, Ningxia where I taught. We took the "express train".  It took 23 hours instead of 26. :) Outside the apartment where Bobby, his sister Susan, and brother-in-law David stayed (it belonged to a teacher on home leave). Here we were having a picnic lunch outside in the courtyard (so we didn't have to haul him up 2 flights of stairs for just an hour) that three of my students helped prepare. And having a yogurt snack at Wu Bo's side street yogurt stand. WB was one of my students and friends. Beside me is his nephew. Later we would talk and discover we were both a little worried that he would arrive and we wouldn't get along or really like each other in person. (We had been e-mailing for 8 months.)  Instead, it was as if we had known each other all our lives, and it was REALLY har...