our new excitement

When my sister-in-law was in high school, a boy once commented that the most exciting thing happening at Susan's house was when the family went to the porch to watch turtles cross the road. While my in-laws have never watched turtles cross the road, it's true there's not a lot of city excitement happening in or around the farm.

Our latest entertainment at our house has been: squirrels. Buster has finally discovered them, and at least once a day we see him freeze, creep forward like a cat, and then breaks into one of his "you're going to die because I'm throwing all 57 pounds of me in your direction at 150 mph" runs. The squirrels have learned to look before leaping, and flatten themselves against the ground even if they don't see anything around. But if they see him, it's an all out race.  Today Buster tried a new move and cut one off as it reached the pine trees by the pond. Except pine straw and screeching stops don't work too well, so he went sliding as the squirrel went around the opposite side of the tree and up. And then he does what any good dog does: he marks every single tree the squirrel visited. I'm thinking I may need to wash all the pecans before I start shelling this year.

I don't have time to download/upload pictures this morning, but maybe tomorrow I can actually saw you his "prize" that he shared with us from the one race he did win. :/ 

Happy Free Candy Day! :)

difference of opinion

A few weeks ago the News and Observer ran an article by a designer about the proper way to decorate your bookcases.  Included were two pictures, a before and after, (I think on the web you have to click on a thumbnail to get the before shot), and I like the BEFORE picture better.  Maybe that says I don't have good taste, but I just think that picture looks overdone and cluttered. That big vase on the right side? It's too big to be up there. It's almost touching the ceiling. And that picture from straddling the two cases? That's a collapse waiting to happen the first time a person starts to exercise or a wheelchair drives by at 45mph trying to get to the phone. And that bust sticking out in front? That belongs between the bookcase and the wall, and those pictures on the floor need to be hung somewhere or stashed inside a shelf. I put things on the floor because I don't have time to get to them. Trust me. That's not an artistic statement.

Granted, I don't think the before picture looks great. It does look bare. And I'm not opposed to have momentos or gadgets on a bookshelf. I have stuffed animals and ceramics and super cool bookends on ours (and for the record, our bookshelves in one room looked very cluttered because of too many books and need of cleaning time, but that's a different matter all together). I totally agree with the concept that it's okay to put other things besides books on a bookshelf, and decorative things give a focal point. But this designer went over the top the other way. She has more decorative stuff with books added to them, and there's no symmetry or unity (other than popping whiteness) in anything she's done.

And yes, a month later, this article still rankles. So maybe I'm boring. Maybe I'm too simplistic. But I'd choose that first before photo any day (except I would slide my books to the ends of the shelves and not leave them smack dab in the center). But I suppose at the end of the day, that's what makes a person's home theirs: they can organize the bookshelves however they desire.

unexpected blessing

I expect kids to act like kids. There will be times when they get upset, have hurt feelings, don't want to participate, argue over who is going to sit where. They are people, just with pint-sized problems, though to them those problems are bigger than the world.

But there are times when something happens, and it almost takes my breath away.

Last night as the kids were practicing Christmas music before church, we were in a different seating arrangment (again). One of my little precious ones was most concerned that we weren't going to have enough chairs. There's at least one natural administrator in every group; they worry about the schedule, what we're doing next, and then after that, and will next Sunday be the same format, and with a suggestion or two about how they would organize things. :) (Yes, children after my own heart!) So as I'm trying to assure my precious worry-wort that we still have three empty chairs and there are more stacked in the corner that we can pull out if we need them, we resume practice. And in the midst of a key change and reminding them of the words and missing a few notes on the piano, four more walk in the room. Without missing a beat, two boys from the 1st-3rd class jump up and start working together to unstack chairs. Then one of my smiley, wiggly 4th-6th grade boys gets up, and helps them out. Yes, my heart swelled, in a good way.

There's nothing that thrills me more than for any of our youngsters to rise to the occasion and show compassion, servanthood leadership, and wisdom. I saw it many years ago in the class we just promoted to the teen group, and I was excited to see a new group of little leaders stepping into place. Wes Mincy, Josh McLean and Jessica Reese will always have a very special place in my heart, but Gabe Ansley, Brandon Wells, and Jacob McLean just made them scoot over a little bit. In one swoop and silent action, three little boys reminded me that people and their feelings are more important than any job I could ever do. Teaching and playing with the kids always blesses and teaches me in ways I never dream, but when something springs forth naturally, I get a whiff of that sweet smell God smells when his children please him. And it's pleasing indeed.

luxuries

Last Thanksgiving my 9 year old niece introduced me to a catapault game on her Mom's ipad. It was quite intriguing, and a bit fun, though I had to ask for help quite a bit. When we went home later in January, they (my niece and nephew) were flabbergasted that I didn't get an ipad for Christmas "because I needed one so I could play that rock game".  This weekend while driving the 2 hours from my parents' house to the Huntsville area for the wedding, my niece again had the ipad, and taught me how to play Angry Birds, as well as showing me a few of her many other games. She still doesn't understand why I don't have an ipad.

The reality is, I don't see a need for one at this point.  Other than the two cool games she has on her computer, I can't sense that my life would be all that more advanced by yet another gadget to keep charged or keep up with. And the reality is, I don't have time to get hooked on any more games. I tend to keep myself busier than I need to be.

And the same goes for an iphone. I seldom text, and we tend to use our cell phones just for emergencies or when traveling. I can't see all the advantages on paying so much more for a smart phone when my "dumb phone" (as my nephew calls it) does everything I need it to do. There may come a day when I get one and wonder how on earth I ever lived without it. But I'm trying to simplify my life, not add more gadgets to it (which seems to be difficult in this day and age).

Maybe I've officially crossed the threshold into "old age".  Last summer when I responded to my nephew's question of "Why don't you have a flat screen TV?" with "Because this one still works fine." he didn't even bat an eye. It was almost like he expected that answer.

I really don't have an aversion to these luxury items. Sometimes we do talk about getting one or two items, but the reality is, at this point we neither need nor desire them. I'd much rather spend that money on a two or three day vacation or keep my $15 a month cell phone bill and spend the remainder of that excess on something fun or needed.

A kindle on the other hand...considering all the books we have on hand (and I'm frantically trying to read and sort into keep/toss piles), that might actually become a necessity. You know, they save space. ;)  That might not remain a luxury item.

strange tastes

Yesterday at the fair they were advertising the Krispy Kreme cheeseburgers in several different places. Evidently the new thing this year is bacon added. My mind still refuses to even attempt to wrap itself around the concept of two distinct flavors merging into one. I know longer feel my stomach tighten when I see it or hear it, but it still has no appeal to me. So imagine my surprise when I scrolled through my blog reader, only to see that one of the recipe blogs has this listed as their recipe of the day. These twins normally post things like soups, healthy stuff, cakes, gourmet breads, etc. So it was quite a bit out of their normal category.  But I still have no desire to try it, whether I make it myself or pay an astronomical amount at the fair.

But I did eat something tonight that twenty years ago I thought was disgusting. One of my healthy-eating friends did something unthinkable that evening...she smeared peanut butter on top of her apple slice. She offered me a bite, which I refused (politely, I hope!).  Several years later I tried it, and it wasn't much to my liking. But for some reason this year I tried it again. Maybe it was listening to Dad talk about his doctor telling him two graham crackers with peanut butter was the perfect mid-day snack for a diabetic; maybe it was the hunger I always feel when I start trying to eat healthy again and a plain apple not appearing too appealing. Whatever it was, I tried it again and actually liked it.

Tonight I did the unthinkable. For once, my husband actually said YES when I suggested we stop and get ice cream on the way home from church, and I sighed and said "Or we can be healthy and go home and eat an apple with peanut butter."  (Yes, I definitely need my head examined!)  He thought that was the craziest thing he'd ever heard, so we came home and he had his first taste it. I don't think he was all that impressed, but he did ask for a second bite a few minutes later. So it must not have been too bad.

I don't think I'll every try a donut cheeseburger. I prefer to keep those two tastes separate. But if you ever need something to dress up an apple and you don't want a sugary caramel sauce, peanut butter makes a great substitute.

and the fair starts today!





This is it! The front of my first ever NC State Fair Quilt!

I was SO excited the week before I started sewing through the sky panels to find Bernina World of Sewing sold material that transitioned from dark to light. (They also have it green and yellow and oranges..sound like a cool way to make a quilt that looks like crayons!)

So if you go to the fair, which starts today, now you know what to look for! :)

 

 

medical overload

This past week my Dad has several strange "episodes" that prompted in a visit to the doctor. There's a large possibility that the arthritis in his shoulder has spread to the chest (which other than pain would actually be a good thing). He's waiting to be scheduled for a stress test and is still experiencing rapid heart rates in the meantime.

His only living sister, my Aunt Pat, will be seeing a pulmonary dr tomorrow around noon to discuss a mass in her lung and other issues.

The wedding we're going to this weekend? The bride's grandmother (my aunt and my Mom's only sister) had a heart procedure today. After being at the hospital for 12 hours, they are now leaving, knowing that she has 6 blockages, two of them at 90%, and will have a bypass Monday morning. At this point it's anyone's guess whether or not she'll feel up to attending the wedding. Meanwhile her daughter is having health issues, as is her son-in-law and other granddaughter.

My cousin Rachel got AWESOME news today when her surgeon told her he never wanted to see her again and her oncologist said no more visits for four months. She now officially has her UAB "Breast Cancer Survivor" certificate (yes, the nurses actually gave her one), though she still has a some surgeries ahead of her.

And I spent the day at the hospital with my friend Mary. Her procedure went well, she received some news she didn't want to hear, but also some good news and some okay news. I'm praying she won't be as sore tomorrow as the doctor feared.

My husband spend the morning at the eye doctor with my mother-in-law, who is being treated with shots to the eyeball for macular degeneration.

I think we've hit our quota on medical stuff. And I didn't even list many of my church friends and family who are hurting/suffering.  I'm resting tonight in the fact that we know the Great Physician. His healing may not come in the form we want or the time frame we want, but I can rest assured in His competence. And that is comforting indeed.