Random Musings

Before my parents and sister came a few weeks ago, I began the arduous job of cleaning a very nasty back porch. Between spiders and rain residue, it was a mess. I was pleased with the progress I was making:  Before  And after.   And then the crazy happened. I was outsmarted by my dog. He had been coming up, going side to side, then leaving. Then he came up and just sat down after I petted him. So I kept working, not thinking anything about it, until I reached for the paper towels and they were gone.   My own dog paper-towelled my yard. And that was the end of cleaning off the porch.

A few years ago I discovered the song I loved as a child was actually a harvest song. Pawpaws are a fruit that grow on a tree. After two attempts at planting the trees, we discovered Winston-Salem has a festival  every year where you can taste products made from pawpaws as well as learn about the trees, the fruit, and purchase seedlings. So this past Saturday we went. It was crowded. Lines were everywhere, and we headed inside where the lectures would be held. Once inside, we realized we needed to divide and conquer. Bobby claimed a spot to listen to the lecture while I waited in the food line and got us both a plate of samples. After the first lecture, we joined the tour of the garden, though the guide told Bobby where he could get an overview as the orchard was planted on a hillside.  I liked the concept of boxing in the trees (which I'm sure they did because the first two years and any non-wet summers they need an irrigation system), though with our chickens I'm no...

 Project #1: What was SUPPOSED to be a 3D tumbling block quilt quickly morphed into a star pattern as I placed different fabric into various positions before sewing. The only problem? How to connect them. Thanks to youtube videos and learning how to do a "Y seam", this quilt top has been folded and moved from a heap on the table into a "to be quilted" pile.  And yes, that is progress.  Project #2 comes from out of the chair. Two years ago I started this quilt as a dare and was going to enter it into the State Fair. I quickly realized I didn't have enough time nor the required skills (nor an adequate sewing machine) to complete the quilt. I am happy to say that even though I used this as a "skill builder" project, it is now quilted, folded, and awaiting it's owner.  Project #3 actually started in June when I took a class at the Sewing Expo in Raleigh. I was determined it was not going to sit in a pile for several years, so I simply sewed f...

About two years ago a young lady was going to come live with us until she could financially get back on her feet. I re-arranged one side of the house, pulling all my art supplies and sewing stuff into one room so she would have one complete bedroom to herself and we'd still have a guest bedroom for company. And then she decided not to stay with us.  Since that time frame, I have slowly organized, re-arranged, divided, and sorted that one room that became my studio (or sewing room, since that is primarily what I do there).  I still have several big projects I hope to tackle and then move out, but this year I've really focused on tackling some of the "smaller" projects as a way of creating floor and table space. And here's two of the results:  Um, well, obviously this picture DIDN'T turn clockwise. Anyway, we bought this rocker at an estate sale several years ago, and it desperately needed refinishing, something I've never done before. I'm not totall...

The last few days I have been bombarded with links to a news article , most of them from Facebook friends. When today I received this article in a GOP newsletter, I decided it was time for a reality check. One of the first things students in journalism class are taught is: present the facts, and when it comes to opinions, interview and quote from both parties. This article would have received a "rewrite" or an "incomplete" had it been in my high school journalism class. I'm also greatly bothered not just because it only presents one party's viewpoint, but also because I've sat on the other side of the fence. While the father may be reacting as any normal father would do, he's making an awful lot of assumptions and unfounded accusations. No one with a civilized mind likes a child molester. Courts almost always tend to go heavy in a child's favor. And I think that is where we often go astray. America's policy is "innocent until prove...

Last night I finished reading a book that many people have probably already read. Of all the books I've read the last year (and that's quite a few!), this has probably been one of the best, and one that I'll keep. Some of her reasonings/rationales reminded me so much of GO Conferences and prayer meetings with missions students while I was in college. (Why should dogs in America have better food and health care than people in other countries?, etc)  I was challenged by her constant use of Scripture and depth in the Word for not just her theology but also her day-to-day problems. And I was very thankful when she finally mentioned the hardness of it all. I was starting to think she was either very idealistic or was blissfully ignoring the reality of life. There are two passages that I actually wrote down the page numbers so I could go back and re-read later. The last one dealt with one of her younger girls who suddenly decided she didn't like to take a bath. (It remind...

The few times Bobby and I have been to a Civil War Reenactment, he's always laughed a little and commented that most of the soldiers didn't exactly fulfill the role of starving soldiers. And when we read the history books and see the photos, I understand his comments. The average southern male during the civil war would not have weighed over 125 pounds.  Many of them weighed much less.  And yet today's reenactors weigh well over 225. Yes, things have definitely changed during the last 150 years. This past few weeks we've been reading from Leviticus, and as we've read about the exemptions made for the poor (if they can't afford animals to sacrifice, they can use flour, etc) it makes me appreciate God even more for how much he pays attention to the tiniest detail. Working in the garden as a child, we were taught to check and double-check a plant before moving to the next one to make sure we didn't leave anything to waste. Yet during Biblical times, the Hebre...

I know the calendars do not say that summer has ended yet. I know that. But my brain disagrees. Violently. Top Ten Reasons Why I Know It's Fall: 1. Football.  (Do I really need to say more?) 2. Okra plants are as tall as me. 3. The fruit is gone from the trees. 4. Cooler weather (which I LOVE!) 5. Decreased daylight time (which means fewer eggs). 6. Pecans are becoming more pronounced in the trees. 7. Back to school sales everywhere. 8. Massive decrease in friends on Facebook (comes with being friends with too many teachers/parents/homeschoolers). 9. Bobby's already requesting t-shirts under his shirts. 10. Tree leaves are starting to fall. So say what you want. Follow your calendar. But in my heart of hearts and deep inside my brain, I know the truth. Fall is here.

The last few summers I've told you about my shock in going out to the fruit trees which were loaded, and finding next to nothing there. This summer we thought we were on top of things. My Dad picked pears twice for me while he was here (as opposed to waiting until the end of August, first of September), and I went out this morning to get one last batch before offering them to friends. We had decided we'd focus on the pears this year and tackle apples last. Well, turns out, we won't focus on either. I went out this morning to pick, only to find ONE apple left on the tree and about SEVEN pears, all small.  Bobby laughed when I showed him, shook his head and said "That's amazing!"  Three days ago those trees were LOADED! So I'm a little thankful to have less work, but it's also a bit of a disappointment. Maybe next year.

For the fourth time this summer, a friend on Facebook posted an article about the number of infants in America who have died (24) because their parents forgot them and left them in a carseat.  Invariably, a lot of opinions came out, many of them throwing out the neglect charge.  I will say this last friend has worked with foster children quite a bit, and has seen a large amount of neglect the last twenty years and knows all too well the horrors it reaks on a child's life. And yet, I'm not ready to hurl that charge someone's direction just because they forgot a child. Parents do forget children, especially young ones. I've seen it happen a number of times at many churches and schools. The first two times friends ranted about undisciplined partents forgetting their kids on Facebook, many of their friends immediately started sharing stories of times when they had forgotten their own children.  By the time person number six shared their story, the poster had to re-co...

It is Monday and the day is almost gone (at least my free time part of it is) and my to do list has not shrunk much at all. And for some strange reason, that actually doesn't bother me. It's been a bit of busy yet slow kind of day.  I took a friend to the doctor this morning, and while waiting I was able to finish looking at a quilting magazine that's been on my dresser for a few weeks. I was able to peacefully browse at two of my favorite stores after I took her home, which was nice. We've picked produce out of the garden, and thankfully I bought cheesecloth while in one of those stores so I can start a batch of sweet pickles tonight. It was nice to break our routine and be out of the house and not super aware of the quietness (my family was here for a few days last week, so the house has seemed exceptionally quiet since then). And I avoided the back to school section at Target when I went to pick up meds this afternoon. So I'm surviving, in my own way, t...