Random Musings

The musical our church did had a song for the kids to sing, and it included the word "Zoom!" in it. The kids loved it (for that, and the fact it mentioned cell phones and eating Dads...go figure). But that word describes a lot of my feelings for 2015. Where has the time gone? It's been a good but hard year. A lot of political debates on Facebook have often left me questioning myself as well as why I even stay on social media (because it's the easiest way to stay in touch with all my family). I've been unfriended by a few people, and found that overall I was actually okay with that. While I hope to improve in how I express myself (that I'll speak with more clarity and kindness), I can't be untrue to who I am and what I believe. And I've been sadly disappointed to discover that arrogant disdain is found on postings by Christians as often as it is posted by those who aren't. My husband and Dad both had some serious health issues. Bobby was in th...

Last year I decided I would make quilts for my family as Christmas presents. Needless to say, they weren't finished. I was bound and determined they were going to be completed this year. I came close - finishing all but two.  Here's some brief snapshots of the 26th (the day we could all be together).  Mom was amazed by the cow print on the backing. Checking out what was in every jar. I think they were pleased and surprised. My nephew's quilt ( middle, standing).  My brother and sister-in-law opening their quilt. This is a distant shot of their quilt. Earlier this year they gave me a box of quilting supplies that had belonged to Amie's grandmother. In the bottom were some hand-quilted panels she had left over from quilts she had made. So I added plain blocks and a few other appliqued blocks to go with them and make them into a quilt. I felt bad for making her cry and taking her by surprise, but I knew that was something I would want. My brother...

We have a small window in our bathroom that overlooks the field beside us. The first five years this was a mowed field that had a small barn and for a while, horses. Eight years ago this section of the farm was sold to the county for an elementary and middle school. While we've not enjoyed the coyote, snakes and mice that come with an overgrown field, I have enjoyed watching the rabbits and deer and the small trees. This year the trees were big enough to change colors. We had a very late fall here, and the trees didn't change colors until first-mid December. I don't think these pictures do it justice. I'll miss this view next fall.

In the last few days we've driven by at least two houses that had trees or wreaths decorated with either blue or blue & green lights. I thought it was very pretty. I would have never considered blue a Christmas color, but blue is one of my favorite colors and I'm finding I like blue & white or blue & silver decorations when I see them. Growing up, we always had the huge, multi-colored blinking lights. I remember the first time I saw a tree decorated with all white lights (and bows, and candy canes...nothing else). My Aunt Grancis had decorated the tree for my Grandma White, and I thought it was absolutely beautiful. A few years after that I began to see more and more stores carrying strands of just red lights, or white lights, or green lights. When we were in high school, the old faithful lights we had had all my life died. My younger sister volunteered to pick up lights after school the next day. We did go and purchase the lights, and we got ...all white, non-bli...

Today we attended the funeral of one of the kindest people I've ever known. She had no problem telling you how she felt about something, but she was always gracious when she did. And if she later thought she was wrong, she apologized. My heart hurts for her children, who have now lost both parents, and even more for her grandchildren, who she loved dearly. And I found the words to the song sang at her funeral so very fitting, and so descriptive of her: Unfailing Love by Bethany Live and Jonathan Stockstill I see You hanging there, I see Your nail pierced hands For me, You paid the price for me I see Your wounded side, I hear Your lonely cries For me, You paid the price for me It was unfailing love Grace by Your blood Come and pour over me 'til all I see Is Your unfailing love I see the crown of thorns, I hear them laugh and scorn For me, You paid the price for me I see Your Father's eyes turn from His bleeding Son For me, You paid the price for me. As one of the chu...

Every year Wake County Public Libraries has a used book sale. Some of the books are culled from library shelves (meaning they haven't been checked out in a long time); the vast majority are donated. Over the last ten years the sale has grown and grown and grown to the point it's now held at one of the buildings at the State Fairgrounds. Between buying books for each other for Christmas and birthdays and the annual library sale, we've also purchased some books on vacations (museum bookshops have the best historical selections). And after seventeen years of that, our shelves are very close to capacity. They're so close, that books, like fabric, are on a "no purchase" list in our house (which means I buy 2-3 a year instead of an armload ;). Thankfully we had too much going on this weekend, or the temptation to head over to the sale would have been WAY too tempting. My goal for 2016 is very similar to this year's. Read what I have. If it's not somethin...

This afternoon I joined another lady from a local Quilts of Valor group to award a quilt to a veteran. This never gets old for me. Sometimes the task seem daunting (North Carolina currently has a waiting list of over 300 vets who've been nominated for quilts). Even with all of our group pooling our efforts each month and churning out a minimum of a quilt a month, we've still barely scratched the surface. And yet, when I go to a presentation and see the pride and humility of these vets, their joy, the tears, and their gratitude, a quilt seems like such a small thing. Our nation has many flaws, but the sacrificial attitude of most of our vets is certainly not listed among them. So from this quilter to all the other QOV ers out there...piece on!

Last night Bobby attended Garner's Town Council meeting. One of the items on the agenda was the building permit for Bryan Rd Elementary School.  NC DOT at this point is refusing to pave the road; Wake County BOE will pave the part in front of them (because they want to straighten out a curve) but not the rest of the road. Garner TC does not want to grant a building permit unless the road is paved, saying that their town should not have a brand new school on a dirt road. The matter was postponed until this next Tuesday, hopefully giving DOT and the county time to reach a consensus. Personally, other than the dirt created by all the construction vehicles moving on a dirt road, I think the state would cave and pave the road within a few months of the school opening. The monthly scraping and quarterly deposit of gravel on the road would not be sufficient to sustain the level of traffic they are talking about. And as slick as a dirt road is after heavy rains, it would only take a few ...

Recently I read an article about the transitions in food over the years, and how it could be seen through cookbooks. They were able to pinpoint when people started using processed foods and microwaves within a  few years by the number of casseroles. I couldn't help but think if we looked at group cookbooks now,  they'd probably have a lot of crockpot soups and freezer meals. I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with that, but I just found it quite interesting. And this morning as I was thinking through my favorite Christmas goodies over the years, I was a little surprised to realize it follows the trend as well. Growing up, making Russian TeaCake Cookies was one of my favorite Christmas baking events. They're really not Russian, and ours were always more cake-like (in hindsight, I'm wondering if Mom simply wanted the process to end and intentionally rolled the dough out thicker than required, of if she just really liked them fat and cakey). I loved e...

It seems once or twice a year there will suddenly be all these trailers for movies that I want to see. And this last month has been no exception. At this point we'll probably wait for most of them to come out on DVD or Redbox (which we've still never used).  But here's my list: Mockingjay2 : I must say I enjoyed the books so much better than the previous movies. Maybe because my mind can somewhat not envision the violence while reading. That's not an option in a movie. But I do want to see the ending of this series. I've come this far, might as well finish the race. 33 : I grew up in a coal mining community. I remember the strikes, the layoffs, the fear in people's eyes. I remember the stories, overhearing people talking to my father, their pastor, about their fears and nightmares, but feeling there was no other way to support their families. I remember when this event happened, and praying. It's every coal mining community's worst fear. Bridge of ...

Things get lost in translation, no matter how wonderful or educated the translators may be. There's just some things that don't translate culturally. For example, the Christmas story in Luke 2. Growing up, I always assumed Christ was born in a barn/stable. I don't know that I was taught that, but it's what Christmas cards and flannelgraph from Sunday School taught. (Yes, I know I just dated myself with that last sentence. Church kids today have NO idea what flannelgraph is.) When I was in college, I was surprised to hear a chapel speaker talk about the manger, and that in Israel animals were kept in one of two places: in a lean-to under or behind the house or in a cave. That was mind-boggling to me. It made perfect sense, but it was just so out of sync with everything I had ever thought. A few days ago we received a newsletter that included an article from Jimmy De Young, (an prophecy teacher who lives in Israel and speaks a lot in America). I had to read it several...

Today is/was my father-in-law's birthday. Some days it seems like he's been gone forever. Other days it seems like yesterday. But today has been interesting for other reasons as well. We have a new puppy. I woke up to find a rope and a fan belt on the back porch. No idea where either came from. Both dogs also got outside the fence line and began chewing the landscape fabric off of my garden pallet. What is it with dogs and landscape fabric? If it wasn't supposed to be raining tomorrow, underground fence line flags would be going up and training would be commencing immediately. And we had the big heron and three wild ducks at the pond this morning. As well as eight deer running through the field across the pond. The small trees in the field have finally started turning colors. When the sun shown before the mist and clouds totally covered everything this morning, it was absolutely beautiful. I snapped a few pictures. Come this time next year, that view from my bedroom win...