projects

 Last week a friend of ours semi-jokingly asked if there was anything we needed.  He will probably never make that mistake again!! 

Two years ago I told Bobby the boards on the ramp to the shed were going bad. He said they would last a while longer. Last summer I told him the ramp was not steady when I put the lawn mower up. When I went out a few weeks ago to get the push mower so we could have some repairs done on it before spring, one of the boards had a chunk missing out of it and several others were clearly rotting.  So I told our friend about it and told him that I could not drive a straight nail, but if he could rebuild it, I could demolish the old one.  He came over and looked at it, and thought he could do something.

So the next day, his family came over.  His wife and I alternated doing things with the kids while he and one of us held things while he worked. It took half a day, as the supports underneath were rotten as well and had to be replaced, which added to the time frame.  My cheeks do not hurt at all, but they are either wind or sun burned (or both). They are still red. But we have a nice new ramp. It's not been painted yet, and a small part of me is considering staining it a dirt brown, then getting an old tire and running it through black paint and up the ramp.  I think that would be funny. (And no, I have not told Bobby my idea; he doesn't read my blog; I don't think he'd go for it.) My friend suggested I paint caution lines on it as there's a drop between the ramp and the shed.  That's actually a possibility.

Our next very minor project is possibly replacing the light in our study/office. The insulation between the bulbs and the light base has slightly burned away, during the last 21 years and the cover is extremely difficult to get on and off. I like its simplicity, but I really wouldn't mind having something much easier to access when it's time to change the bulbs and that also gives more light. We've narrowed it down to two options at Lowe's, but not sure which one we will go with, if we change it at all.

Option #2:
I think this would be easy to change (no cover to remove or replace), would match the wood bookshelves, but I'm not overly crazy about the water bubble look in the glass, nor the overall look of the light.

Option #1:

I like the looks of this one much more, and it would also match the wood bookshelves, plus give it more of a timeless look.  I fear the one above would look dated in another 10 years.  While this one has a cover that has to be removed and cleaned when the bulbs need changing, it comes down with one screw located in the middle, not three screws against the ceiling like our current one does.

So this is our next "big" project.

family updates

 Jack came home today!! I'm so thankful his family can be at home together now!

And my niece Ellen posted this yesterday about my great-niece Lucy. The family has been anticipating a similar announcement for some time, but it's still not easy to read or hear. While I wouldn't wish anything like this on anyone one, different family members have said over the past year that Kevin and Ellen have been blessed with love and compassion for teens and children, and I can't think of a couple who would be greater parents to our precious Lucy. I'm posting their letter here today because it shows their heart and for our family's record of just a few of the things our family has encountered this past week.

and the insanity continues...

 If our world were a snowglobe, then I could correctly assume that someone was picking it up and giving it a good shake just to see everything fly about in the water.

This is Read Across America week, which honors/recognizes the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel and his contribution to children learning to read. The foundation that continues his legacy pulled 5 of his 60+ books from publication because of content in his illustrations that would now be considered offensive.

One of those six books is one I was introduced to in Kindergarten.

 

According to WRAL, the problem with this book is the illustration that depicts and Asian man with slanted eyes. I had to go and pull out  my copy of the book, and there I saw the real offense.  Asian art often depicts themselves with very small eyes or slanted eyes, so I was puzzled why they thought that would be offensive. I quickly spotted the real problem -what Americans call the Chinese pigtail.

During the Qing dynasty, the Manchu clan ruled China. Most current Chinese associate themselves with the Han people group, though there are 55 ethnic groups in the country. One of the emperors in the Qing dynasty required all the men to shave their heads except for the braid in the back. They said this way they could tell who was friend or foe of the emperor.  This was a violation of Confucius teachings, and thousands of Chinese chose death over the haircut. Those who did endure the "humiliation" saw the requirement as symbolic of slavery, as they were not free to do as they pleased with their own bodies. Most Chinese today, especially the Han, view that hairstyle as symbolic of slavery.

Ironically, in the late 1800's, San Franciso passed a hair ordinance requiring the Chinese immigrants, many of whom were Manchu/Qing dynasty supporters, to cut the braid, which created a lot of racial tension in the city.

Since there is nothing in the words in the book itself that would be offensive, I don't understand why the foundation doesn't separate Geisel's illustrations from his writing and publish the book with a new illustrator.  That could solve the whole problem.  

I'm not familiar with the other books they are pulling, so I don't really have an opinion about those. But I'm thankful I own a copy of this book, with its character who uses his overactive imagination to create an interesting story to overcome a boring answer, but in the end sticks with the simple and boring truth.

Jack update

 

Two days ago Jack was doing better on his breathing so they were able to start lowering his oxygen levels. Once the oxygen tube was gone they were able to move his feeding tube to an ng tube, allowing them to start giving him a bottle. The first time he ate very little. The 2nd try he ate almost half of what the goal is, but they were laughing because he would quit eating and just stare at them. When they arrived this morning, they came in to this!! Such an answer to prayer! 

Now he just needs to keep eating, get his body temp up to normal and keep it there without the heated crib, and get his bilirubin levels up.

Emily is exhausted. Some family members got a hotel room near the hospital so she doesn't have to make the 40 minute trip and back for feeding times nor sit in the hospital chair all the time. We'll all be glad when this family is all home together, and I know 2 sets of grandparents and a set of great-grandparents that can't wait to see him in person. Our family group texts have been pinging like crazy the last week (which is rare for us).  Jack's fan club is definitely active.