memory lane

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 only half-way take, if at all. Needless to say, I was upset on my way home, and when I walked in the kitchen door, Andy looked up, stared at me for a minute, then went right back to studying. He never said a word. No electric current jokes, no forgot to use a dryer sheet joke - nothing. I knew then it was really bad. Even Dad said nothing when I got home. I simply had the worst perm of my life.
At least that's what I thought until Sunday night. Our Pastor mentioned in his sermon that he had always teased his daughters about their hair, but was learning that they could no longer do that. Maybe Mom simply had heard enough and put a stop to Dad and Andy. Then again, if BOTH Dad and Andy are in on something, I'm not even sure Mom could stop them.
Regardless, after my sophomore year of college, I refused perms. For the next seven years I was straight and happy. The year Bobby and I were engaged I got a perm so he could see what I looked like curly. He hated the smell anytime we got close, and I hated the little burned stubbles my fingers would find every time I washed my hair. It's been eleven years, and I've not had a perm since. And unless I go through some identity crisis, it's very likely to stay that way.

the "greats"

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!

Baby steps!

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 different matter.

Who knows? Maybe by 2010 I'll actually get around to getting Mary B teaching me how to knit!

simplicity...or not

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 and beauty of Christ's sacrifice. It also demeans the Resurrection. Granted, overcoming death itself is significant, but had Christ died a normal or pain-free death, I would still bear my sins. Without the cross there would be no Easter Sunday.

The crucifixion was and is a sickening thing. But it the very foundation of Christianity. Without the cross there is no redemption, no life, no hope.

The church where I work is doing a musical for Easter titled "My Chains Are Gone!" Someone complained today about the graphic being "unfriendly." I teeter between sadness and outrage. Yes, for many the cross is unfriendly. The thought of being chained in bondage and only the cross being able to break those chains is not friendly to our pride. The very admittance that we are all chained to sin is not friendly at all. But it is the message we are called to proclaim. I may not agree with everything MBC does, but I am very proud that its pastors are not ashamed to proclaim the truth of the cross and the power that entails. I'm thankful the cross does provide the power to break the chains of sin that we all carry, and I'm burdened for my spiritual siblings who find the very symbol of freedom offensive and embarrassing.

out of the loop

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 knowing that with a little more time and effort the picture will be complete. And I'm seeing the puzzle pieces of our future slowly coming together, looking more and more like the Guide. The acceptance and promotion of homosexuality across the globe, the increase of all roads lead to heaven and multi-faith religions, the dissolving of family units, the rise of economic and natural disasters demanding a global response, the capability AND the willingness of people to implant computerized chips into humans, the growing amorality..the puzzle pieces are coming together. It may not be complete in my lifetime, but the remaining pieces are becoming smaller. And it may be that I actually get to see the puzzle completed and hear the trumpets sound when it is. And that is exciting, indeed.

get up

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!