I didn't know THAT!

Checkin' Out for Christmas

2011-12-22T16:08:00.000-05:00

Trying to go simpler this year. Here it is the 22nd and I'm finished with shopping, decorating, and am full of peace. The kids' vacation started today, and my mom arrives later this evening.

God is good ALL the time. ALL the time, God is good.

But, if you need a little perspective on this whole Christmas stuff, check out this link:

I'll see you in 2012.

Contrast

2011-12-17T10:21:00.000-05:00

Today's Washington Post features two sections with photos. I thought them an interesting contrast.

In the Metro section, there are photos and a story about the Occupy DC protestors and how they're wasting away on their hunger strikes.

In the Real Estate section, there are photos and a story about Wounded Warriors who have chosen to stay on active duty and for whom (and others) the military has designed adapted housing designed to accommodate their injuries but also provide them dignity, i.e. the house does not scream from the outside "Wounded Warrior Lives Here".

I couldn't get the link to the photos to work, so I'll just leave it to your imagination or you can go to the Washington Post website to see them.

But I leave you with this thought. The Wounded Warriors have given arms, legs, and mobility in order to preserve the right of the Occupy DC protestors to starve themselves to death in pursuit of a political point.

Your thoughts?

Big, slow exhale

2011-12-15T06:05:00.000-05:00

Today is the day. At 4pm today, the buyers for my mother-in-law's house will meet with my brother-in-law, the Trustee, and all the other assorted individuals required to be there, and we will be finished with the sale.

The end part (this week) has been a real goat-rope. Lots of last minute stuff. It really sounded like Buyer's Remorse. They're first time buyers and very prickly about stuff, even though the house was marketed "AS IS". Some stuff we HAD to do -- like Radon and Termite remediation.

They had a home inspection and stipulated in the contract that it was just for their own information. Then they came back and asked for a price reduction. In my best lawyerly way, I responded via our agent for the family. "We accounted for the fact that it's a 40 year old house when we priced it as we did. NO." There was no more discussion about price reduction.

Then an issue arose with our Home Owners' Assn (HOA). The Design Review Board said we needed to remove some diagonal supports from the deck as they were not in compliance with HOA rules. My husband was all set to do it, but all I could see was liability in the future. I mean, supports are just that, right? The County laws require such braces on free standing decks (which this is and has to be because of the design of the house). So we had a deck designer come look at it. She said we could remove them -- that it wouldn't make a difference structurally. So I let him proceed. Then the buyers wanted a qualified engineer to certify that the deck is fine without them. Finally, yesterday at 5pm, we got that in writing.

So, perhaps, as of about 5 today, we will be free of the nightmare of selling a house in this economy. And my daughter will not worry so much about applying to out of state schools.

And I can get back to baking cookies and getting ready for Christmas.

Not Medically Necessary...Really?

2011-12-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

I don't usually get into annoyance zones, but today I'm having a hard time with this one.

Four members of my family wear eyeglasses. All of us wear them because we can't see without them! Yes, the kids wear contacts, but bottom line, we all need glasses.

Yesterday I took my daughter for an eye exam since her eyes were bothering her, and of course, she needed new glasses along with re-ordering contact lenses. I also needed new glasses because I had an exam on Friday.

Even with all the great specials and deals, I about choked on how much we had to spend.

Then I called my insurance company today about something else and said, "by the way, what is the reasoning behind not paying for eyeglasses?"

The clerk really couldn't explain it. Why not?

BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!

We don't wear glasses as fashion items. We really need them. Trust me, you do not want to be on the road with me if I'm not wearing glasses. I am functionally BLIND without them.

If I was minus a leg, my crutches would be covered. Why are eyes -- the predominant means of how humans interact with our environment -- not covered?

Now fortunately, my husband works very hard and has a really good job. What happens to people who can't drop over $300 when it's time for glasses?

And, by the way, the office exam that was covered? Only covered if it's every 2 years. Eyes change more quickly than that.

Some political mouth this morning on the news was blabbering about cutting military benefits, calling them excessive and overblown. Oh really? Where does he get his health insurance? Yes, while we were active duty we had our medical needs cared for. But after 30 years of serving his country (at a discount rate compared to the civilians do the same kind of work) and being deployed to war zones and being separated from his children, my husband's military health care benefit is that we are permitted to PAY for our health insurance.

Yeah, you're surprised, right? You thought we got it free for life, right? Nope. Despite what was promised to the military members of the 50's, 60's and 70's, that benefit was long ago cut.

Do me a favor, the next time you hear someone talking about military benefits being excessive, ask them if they want to pay for my glasses.

Mission Accomplished

2011-12-04T07:48:00.001-05:00

This is where we started. The shiny front of the base
cabinet on the right conceals an air flow intake.

Notice the gray strip -- that's where the wallpaper had to come down. Notice also that the carpet isn't...

After priming but before deciding to go with the light gray instead of bone.

Before priming but showing you the holes. Big holes. Sigh.

It was right down to the wire, but the projects are completed (well, except for still putting a few things away) and JH has joined our family.

Here are the photos.

This is almost finished. Everything patched and painted.
The outlets high on the wall are for the in-cabinet lighting.
An awkward place for lighting. The outlet covers on the right cover empty holes.

Ta-dah! These are not my first choice of paintings to hang,
but they illustrate the point that the outlets high on the wall
aren't completely useless.

My kids, left to right
LW, JH, and JW on the mall in Washington DC the day after
Thanksgiving. Notice my son in his shorts. The boy doesn't feel cold.

Color Matching Isn't

2011-11-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

So we decided to host a student from Germany for the rest of the school year. That meant we needed to create a bedroom. Our office was originally one so it seemed simple to do. Wrong. Would someone please remind me next time that NOTHING is that simple?

We were excited because it was prompting us to tear out the bar cabinets downstairs to turn that area into an office. The prior owners put those cabinets in. Nice, but we never used them. Of course, behind and atop the cabinets are a variety of paint colors. And some strips of wallpaper. Ick. Okay, the walls and the wallpaper I can handle. But the ceiling? We tried standard white ceiling paint. It looked white to us! But it made the original paint (in the rest of the HUGE family room) look gray.

So we took a quarter sized scraping and went to match it at Home Depot. It went on fine -- the color matched perfectly. Until it dried. Now it looks gray and the rest of the room looks white.

Sigh.

I decided to run a piece of painters tape along the ceiling in a straight line and paint the new color right up to the line. At least it will look like someone planned the pattern.

Here's what we are tearing out:

It turns out that our cable for our modem runs through the cabinets. It would be easy to fish out except (or course, there's always an except) that the connector for the cable is larger than the holes. One of our friends is an expert in the field so he's going to give us some new cable with a new kind of connector but my husband said, "no problem, end of the week is fine." Did I mention the student will be joining our family on SATURDAY?

Sigh...so this is what my family room looks like right now:

That's primer on the wall. Over green paint. The kind of green paint they used to use in military hospitals. I believe the color name is "Oh so unattractive." If you look closely, you can see the difference in ceiling paint. Sigh.

When Good Teens are Bad

2011-11-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

One more story of chaperoning. On Saturday night there was an optional social event. Of our 28, only 2 wanted to go. The rest wanted to:

1 - one group of boys wanted to hang out in the lobby to see if the girls from the other schools would notice them
2 - one group of girls wanted go to the candy store in Colonial Williamsburg, purchase chocolate coins and creme soda and play poker for candy money
3 - one group of boys had planned for the 10th anniversary of the release of the game cube and were prepared with the right equipment to play all night

And they thought they were being so B-A-A-A-A-D. No drinking, smoking, sneaking out or doing drugs. Okay, there was probably a little cussing with the gamecube.

And finally, when it was time to corral them, I went down to the lobby to call the last ones home. It was two boys, on their way back upstairs. As they were walking towards me one was eating cookies from a bag of Chips Ahoy. I teased him, "eating again?"

He said, "I can't help it. These girls gave me these cookies."

I asked, "Do your parents know the effect you have on women?"

He said, "I don't ask them to do it."

All weekend long girls had been sighing when he spoke and giving him their cell phone numbers.

He's 15 years old and one of his parents is from a South American country. He's charming, has a sweet accent and cute as a bug.

I might need to talk to his mom about his future...

Chaperoning

2011-11-20T11:12:00.000-05:00

I'm in Colonial Williamsburg this weekend with 28 really smart, articulate, amazing, exhausting teens. They're the Model United Nations club from our high school, representing our school as delegates. MUN conferences have many committees, loosely based on UN committees, along with crisis committees that can vary from fantastical (crisis in Camelot) to historical (Churchill's cabinet in WWII) to real world (Apple Computers management team). Crisis committees get scenarios sent in to the committee as they role play all weekend.

One of our students is Bombilcar of Ancient Carthage. One is the CFO of Apple -- now acting CEO. Some are in the Mexican cabinet dealing with drug wars. The country we were assigned for all the UN committees is Syria -- and almost no one wants to listen to our kids because the world is mad at Syria. Our kids LOVE being in that position; it gets their blood flowing.

While they're in committee, the other chaperones and I get to relax, sight-see or, as I did yesterday, geocache. The campus here is beautiful, and these are photos from it. Found 2 caches as well.

Unfortunately, one of our girls woke up sick this morning so I'm hanging back with her. I'm watching old movies on TV and catching up in a way I can't at home. At home, I'd feel compelled to do some laundry or something. Here, I can't, so I get to catch up on my blog!

It's been a wild 2 months, but we've had great progress. My mother-in-law's house, finally emptied, went on the market on a Sunday and we were offered full price on Wednesday. The closing will be Dec 15. This is great news as the suppressed market is still evident here. Wow. This is God at work.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving and be truly thankful in ALL things.

Owl Up Close

2011-10-12T06:12:00.002-04:00

A Little Wisdom, A Little Whimsy

2011-10-11T08:17:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been gone. I'll confess -- the elderly relative who passed away was my mother-in-law. We had a complicated relationship, and it has been good for me to serve her by helping clean up the years of accumulation.

The bulk of it is behind us. It took two weekends renting a box truck to haul trash to the dump, and to move furniture that each of the sons are taking into their homes. I was hesitant to accept anything, because the more I moved around in her house sorting and cleaning, the more I was convicted that I had not been a very good daughter-in-law. We never really "got" each other, and since she and her other daughter-in-law were two peas in a pod, I left them to their own devices. In other words, I didn't try very hard.

But in the mess, I've seen more of who she was when she was having good days, and I'm sad that I missed out on that, so convinced was I of her less admirable moments being standard. This process has been good for us and healing, so it's a good thing.

When my grandfather died in 2000, right after he passed my mom was walking by the little grassy area outside his apartment and saw a cardinal. It seemed to stay for a while and watch her. If you know cardinals, you know they're skittish. She took it as a sign from her dad that things were "okay." To this day, when we see a cardinal, we think of Grandpa.

Saturday morning my husband backed the box truck down our driveway and came inside to get us. "Come look!" he called. "Bring the camera!" This is what we saw, not six feet from the box truck!

This resonates on so many levels -- my in-laws were bird lovers, they spent a lot of time in Germany where owls are a symbol of wisdom, etc. Bottom line, I think this was God's way of telling me "it's okay." My mother-in-law died in her sleep, in her own bed, in her own home. No pain, no hospitals, as far as we can tell, no fear.

My son moved really close for a photo, and the owl fluffed up and then let loose with a ... well, let's just say his tummy was less full when he was finished. It didn't get my son, but we all laughed. That, too, was like my mother-in-law. When she'd had enough of your foolishness, she definitely let you know.

Rest in peace, Oma.

Cleaning Up 40 years

2011-09-29T05:48:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness. Our elderly relative who recently died left a huge mess for the family. She was a Depression era child, and never psychologically recovered from being put into an orphanage for a while. It was apparently fairly common -- at least there kids would get meals. It was the equivalent of the state taking custody of your children these days, except the parents had control. At any rate, it created such an insecurity in her that "things" became very important.

When she was a military wife, it didn't really manifest much because she had to move so often the accumulation would get sorted through frequently. Plus, they didn't have much money. But in her later years, after she inherited money, and they stopped moving around, things began to pile up. After her husband died in 2000, it really accelerated.

We would try to help take things out -- even newspapers and magazines -- and she would start physically shaking and tearing up.

So now we have the nightmare to deal with. On the other hand, God is using this to bring family members together who had been somewhat estranged because of the way the elderly relative had manipulated the relationships. We find photos of early occasions together and laugh and remember. It's very healing.

So...I will continue to visit sporadically until we get it under control. We can't even have the "pros" come in yet, mostly because there are some very valuable items in the house -- we just don't know exactly where they are.

Ciao!

Not Sure How to Feel

2011-09-25T07:35:00.001-04:00

Have you ever experienced that?

Yesterday an elderly family member passed away. She was a child of the Depression and had some very tough experiences as a little girl due to that, and it affected her whole life.

Someone summed it up like this, "she lived exactly as she wanted to and died the way we'd all like to." Still in her home, in her bed, in her sleep.

Her living exactly as she wanted had the unfortunate effect of making some of her grandchildren feel judged and lesser in the judging. In other words, she had favorites, and if you weren't the favorites, you knew it. She could be very generous, but there was always a price, which was to go along with her way.

As she aged, and became more fearful, she was less and less pleasant to be around. So the less-favored grandchildren stopped wanting to be around her.

Fortunately, we had a family dinner last week to celebrate September birthdays and it was one of her good days. She was pleasant and kind, and the birthday presents she gave showed real thoughtfulness. Maybe she knew, maybe not. But those who had experienced her bad days were given one last memory that was positive -- so I think that was God being kind to them.

Still, those grandchildren are struggling with how to feel. The favored ones are truly grieving. They had a close, loving relationship with her, and are very sad that she's gone. The others say things like, "I'm supposed to be sad because it's my grandmother, but I'm not really." They're a little bit sad that the situation never changed, and they're sad for their dad -- who even though he was often on the end of the same type of treatment, is still sad because it was his mother.

Families are so complex, aren't they? I look upon this as yet again, an opportunity to ask myself, "when it's my time, will anyone be sad? And if not, don't I need to do something about that now?"

I've been a bad blogger lately -- too busy and, as I approach the big 50 next week, doing some evaluating of priorities. This death is just sharpening my need to ensure that I choose a different path. Daily, hourly, consistently.

The Merry Go Round

2011-09-14T18:34:00.001-04:00

School has (finally) started. It seemed last spring that I kept saying, "When school ends, we'll be able to finish this project."

During the summer I averred, "When they go back to school, I'll ..."

Well ... now life has gotten busy again and I find myself only able to write and visit in short spurts.

So I'm trying something new. Each morning when my alarm goes off at 5:30, I spend another 10 minutes with my eyes closed and pray, 'Lord, order my day. Anything that doesn't get done, give me peace that all time is YOUR time, and help me see the things that you want me to do.'

So far, so good. Less anxiety and ... I haven't fallen back asleep in those 10 minutes either!

Man, I love Saturday.

If you want to read something beautiful, go here: http://aninchofgray.blogspot.com/2011/09/well-talk.html

Empty Tank

2011-09-12T21:52:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling kind of empty tonight. Today my daughter and I went to the funeral for the young boy who drowned last Thursday night.

We hadn't seen them since we left the school -- three years ago, but our memories of Jack were as clear as day. He was a pistol. He always had the next question on his tongue before the first answer was finished, and his energy was constant. He was amazingly intelligent, which put him at odds sometimes with the "norms" -- very much like my daughter, which is probably why she liked him so much. When he was little he had a way of looking at you with his head tilted, as if he was carefully considering what you had just said.

The church today was overflowing. There were boys in little league uniforms, people in boy scout uniforms, and many families in the Christian school uniforms that we used to wear.

Amazingly, his mother was able to stand up and tell us about Jack and his special gifts of the heart, and share so much of the joy he brought to their lives. Through Jack, she was also able to share her certainty of the Gospel of Truth.

Their grief will never cease although it may dull somewhat, allowing them to go on. Yet, their certainty that they will see Jack in heaven sustains them. I don't preach here very often, but praise GOD for people, who in the midst of tragedy, share their faith and their certainty that God is walking with them, carrying them when necessary.

Have fun asking all those questions, Jack. When we get there, you can fill us in on the answers.

Noah? Noah?

2011-09-09T07:24:00.002-04:00

So let's see -- in the last month in the Nation's Capital we've had earthquake, hurricane, and now flood. These videos are from the "peaceful" stream behind my house. The first one is directly behind our property -- usually a 1 inch deep trickle down to the creek. I'm sure all the geocaches formerly in our stream valley are out in the Chesapeake Bay by now. The noise of the water is intimidating.

And not to be taken lightly. Yesterday a 12 year old boy in the next town died when he was swept away by his neighborhood creek. Update: Found out this morning that the boy who died was a child from our old school. I remember him as a mischievous kindergartner with a great smile. My daughter babysat him a few years ago. Please pray for the Donaldson family to find comfort and peace ... it won't come quickly or easily, I know.

Where Were You When ...

2011-09-07T21:03:00.001-04:00

America was attacked on 9-11-2001?

Would you share, briefly, where you were? I believe this is one of those pivotal moments. My mother's generation all remember where they were when they heard the news of Pearl Harbor or the news about President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.. I remember some stark moments -- when President Reagan was shot, when John Lennon was shot, and 9-11.

We had just moved to Virginia and my husband wasn't finished in-processing at the Pentagon. However, he had been asked to come to a conference out in Maryland so was out of the building that day. My daughter was at school, my son was with me. We were sitting in the line to get the oil changed in my car. I had let him out of his car seat and he was bouncing around. I heard the news on the radio about the twin towers. Then I heard the news about the Pentagon. I ordered him into his chair, called the school and said, "I'm coming to get my daughter." I called my husband's widowed mother to tell her I absolutely KNEW that he wasn't in the building that day. I picked up my daughter, and we went home to wait. Praise God, we had just moved into our rental house and didn't have any TV service. My children never saw the footage until it was history.

My husband finally made it home about 8 hours later. Since then, we have a family plan, a meeting place, and a family member not on the East Coast who is the "check in" person.

We explained in simple terms to our children what had happened. The very next morning my 4 year old son prayed, "Dear God, please change the terrorists' hearts."

What about you? Where were you? How are you changed? This is not a place to rant, but to share some of the grief that many have carried since then.

My Sweet Girl

2011-08-31T19:53:00.000-04:00

We ran by a big box pet supply store today to get some food for our parakeet. While there we (of course) looked at the budges that need homes. We noticed something odd, so we took photos.

Do you see how the tail feathers are so ragged - and on one of them the feathers seem to curl? We weren't sure whether that was a different breed, or what.

Daughter was convinced it was a virus. There was a sign that said "if you have concerns about how we treat our animals, please call us." It had a number and she entered it into her phone.

By the time we got home, I'd forgotten all about it. Daughter did some research on her computer and then grabbed the phone. She talked at length to a man at the other end about her concern for these birds; that she thought it was a virus that was fatal and the birds would never be able to fly and people shouldn't buy them and take them home to their healthy birds, etc.

He listened attentively and is going to call her back after they check into it.

This girl doesn't use the phone often, and almost never to call a stranger, but when she gets upset about animals needing care ... don't get in her way.

Proud of you, L!

Not SOOO Bad

2011-08-28T14:53:00.000-04:00

I woke about 2:30 this morning, listening to the wind around us. It's a really awesome sound to hear the trees swaying, acorns dropping on the roof, along with chunks of branches.

At 2:38 (I looked), our power went out. This is not unusual for us because of all the trees around us. I went to unplug all the expensive electronics and returned to bed.

We got an e-mail (via my iPhone) that church was ON, so we cleaned up this morning and went. Lots of power and Power there (ha ha). I served in the nursery so my daughter could help with the worship music. It is such a huge blessing to be able to watch her share her voice and passion this way.

One little boy in the nursery cried the entire time. In my lap. In my ear, with occasional screams.

On the whole, I prefer the windstorm and things hitting the roof.

At any rate, we went out to lunch and the power came back on at 1:30 -- just short of 12 hours this time. Thank you Dominion Power and thank you God!

Thank all of you who sent prayers this way. The only mishaps we noticed are a LOT of branches down in the yard so lots of pick-up to do in the next several days. If only the mosquitoes had been blown out with the hurricane, it would be easy to do!

A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

2011-08-26T08:11:00.000-04:00

Yes ... we fully experienced the earthquake this week here in Northern Virgina. After the initial recognition of what was going on (ruling out plane crash and truck rumbles), it was really pretty cool. When I was a kid I lived in Japan and we experienced many earthquakes -- much more violent -- so I wasn't too concerned. My kids were a bit freaked out, but took their cues from me. There was no loss of electricity, no smell of gas. A couple of models fell off their stands in my son's room. What was strange was that as soon as it stopped, every dog in the neighborhood started barking, loudly. I wonder if it was the dog equivalent of all of us getting on the phone to make sure our friends and loved ones were safe.

So now, a few days later, we're staring Hurricane Irene in the face, and we're a lot more concerned about her. We were here in 2006 when Hurricane Isabel (what is it with these "I" names?) tore through Virginia. It was pretty scary. Lots of trees in the glade behind our house went down. You can still see many of their root balls high in the air.

Fortunately, hurricanes crawl slowly, so we have plenty of time to prepare. Yesterday we made sure the gas tanks were full and stocked up on water, batteries and staples. Today we pick up everything in the yard that might become a projectile and refill our second propane tank. (Last time we were without power for a few days, so a grill fest of everything in the fridge/freezer may be in order) We're charging everything that needs a good charge (cell phones, etc.).

And my husband ordered our son to clean up his "cave" in the basement, in case we spend an extended period of time down there during the worst of the winds.

So far, all of these preparations are good things -- especially cleaning the basement! Woo-hoo! And I'm making a list of things I'll be able to do that do not require electricity. On the plus side, one cannot vacuum or do laundry with energy. On the minus side, filing in the office and sorting clothes and preparing our household for the school year do not. And, writing by hand in spiral notebooks will force me to choose my words carefully. (By the way, at Office Depot, they have them for .01 each. Yep, a penny! I fulfilled all the kids' needs and bought several for myself. You might have to go in the store though and I know you need a rewards card. And no, I don't get any kickbacks for my blog. Office Depot doesn't even know I exist).

So, enjoy (?) these awesome photos from the International Space Station, say a prayer for safety, and be well. See you on the flip side!

She Did Love Dancing

2011-08-20T18:21:00.000-04:00

She was a beautiful little girl from birth. Most babies look froggy. This one's toes already pointed perfectly and her calves stretched out as if sensing their destiny.

As soon as she could stand, she twirled. As soon as she could run, she leapt. And as soon as she could put on a tutu, she refused to take it off.

The mother enrolled her in ballet. The little girl had an undeniable gift. She exuded elegance from deep within her core and it translated out to the tips of her delicate fingers, held just so, in her plie.

They decided to homeschool so she could dance every day, training for whatever opportunities might come along. She was a good student, but her brilliance showed only on the boards and at the barre, not in the classroom.

When she was in grade school her father started his own business. By the time she finished the grade school years, he had lost the business and all of the money they would have used to send her to college.

And she danced.

As her body matured she went from a beautiful elegant little girl to a stunningly elegant sensuous dancer. All the boys and men who saw her wanted to be with her. All the girls either hated her or wanted to be her.

She began to suffer stress fractures and injuries due to the dancing, but she danced.

She received scholarships for summer dance programs and made her parents proud. And she finished her high school studies early so she could go on to college early.

But there was no money for her to go to college. Only for her to dance. So she accepted a scholarship to dance.

And she hated it, but it was the only way to get away from home.

So she danced.

Making My Heart Sing

2011-08-19T07:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of the Children's Book Sale at our library. I don't think these photos need any commentary. The title of my post says it all!

On the Path Today

2011-08-17T13:30:00.001-04:00

Today my cleaning ladies were in the house so I made the kids come on a walk with me to the local Nature Center. Along the way we saw this:

We got within 20 feet of her. This is so frustrating. The deer in our area have no natural predators, so they are numerous and fearless. Despite our beautiful glade, our houses are too close together to allow a hunt. So during the early spring and fall, deer/car collisions are common, especially in the early morning hours. During the winter, many starve. During the summer, they're all over our yards dropping deer ticks wherever they go -- an invitation to Lyme disease.

Now some local folks want to spend bunches of money to provide deer birth control. Sigh.

It seems to me that it's inhumane to allow them to live this way (too many for the land to support) but all of the alternatives are pretty unattractive too.

Theoretically, I know they're pests and I bemoan their presence in such numbers. Yet, I have to admit, when we saw her today, I just marveled at how beautiful she was and how God perfectly designed her for the niche she has found herself in.

----------

On another note, I've been a bad blogger just because life is very busy here right now. Getting ready for school, seeing our friends on their way back to Austria, youth group stuff, and my friend's daughter getting married which means I have to go shopping for clothes and I HATE DOING THAT. Oh yes, the semi-annual childrens' book sale at my library (which I help with), geocaching, pop-up taking care of a friend's child, etc. It's never dull.

So ... what do you think we ought to do about the deer overpopulation?

Interesting Critique

2011-08-10T16:47:00.001-04:00

Last night was my writers group meet-up. I've been with this group for a couple of months now so I'm pretty comfortable with it. But, like all meet-ups, people come and go all the time. We meet every other Tuesday and last time we met there was a new writer with us. She listened to the reviews being given, but didn't comment much since she was new. A chapter of my book was being reviewed. My main character's father is an immigrant, and when he came to the US thirty years ago, he wanted to be truly "American" so he changed his last name to Jones. That's an important part of my character's identity as well. After the meet-up ended, this lady asked me if I ought to re-think the man changing his name because names are so important.

Okay.. I did. And I didn't change it because a) I know people who did something similar (so it's realistic) and b) it's an important part of the story.

Last night I offered one of my short stories. It is set in Kenya and involves a missionary reaching out to a young Kenyan girl, helping her see hope for the future when there was none for the girl before. After the others had given their comments, this woman said, "I have to say I have a hard time critiquing this. So much damage was done by the missionaries in Africa, using religion to justify slavery, and history shows how the continent was just raped, etc." She went on in this vein for a while. She was sincere, and trying to be helpful but said, "I want to encourage other writers, but I don't think I can be encouraging of this because of my views."

I replied, "I understand there's a body of thought that supports your view. Whether or not I agree with it doesn't matter. If you have anything constructive to critique about the writing, I'd be blessed to have those comments if you'll take the time to read them."

I've been thinking about this though. There have been other stories I've read that are a genre I don't care for, but I focused on the writing. I never told the writer that I thought the ideas underpinning their writing weren't worth considering.

Part of me thinks that anything I write will offend this woman. Oh well. However, I'm interested in what YOU think about
a) my story
b) this viewpoint

Should I do something different?

THE BIG LOVE

M’Bote began each day with a search for meaning. Before the sun rose above the horizon, in the false-light of early dawn, she climbed a small rise of land to look around the landscape and consider her day. Just as there was a monotony to the landscape, there was a sameness to her day. Still, the sameness was comforting. Knowing what was coming allowed her to go through the motions without concentration. Not having to concentrate on her tasks left her mind free her to engage in endless searching for a way to change her future. So far, she had not been able to see a different path.

As the dawn began to break this day, she murmured the little song that the missionaries had taught her in grade school, reflecting on a God who loved everyone.

Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world

Red and yellow, black and white,

They are precious in his sight,

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

“Even the men who take the boys to fight?” a girl had asked. “Even them,” the white missionary woman had answered. M’Bote remembered that young woman. Her hair was the color of spun straw and her eyes the color of sky. “Kim-ba-lee,” she had told them to call her. M’Bote mouthed those syllables now, still foreign to her pattern of speech.

As part of the schooling, Kim-ba-lee had taught M’Bote about caring for people, their illnesses and their broken hearts. M’Bote had loved learning how different medicines helped people’s coughs, and itches and even more serious diseases. But when the soldiers took M’Bote’s father, school had ended for her. She wondered where the missionary was now. She wondered whether the missionary wondered what had happened to M’Bote. “Does she miss me?” M’Bote asked herself.

The bleating of the she-goat wanting to be milked broke her reverie. She turned to go back to the fenced area that protected the goats, winding her way through the thorny plants that covered the terrain. It wouldn’t do to be caught by one on her bare skin. The missionaries and their medicines were many kilometers away, and any wound could become very bad, very fast. As she approached the goat, M’Bote heard her mother call, “Leave the goat! Your brother will take care of it. You must come to be washed so you will be ready.”

“Ready for what?” M’Bote asked.

“For your husband to come,” her mother replied.

“I do not want a husband,” M’Bote responded.

“You are foolish. You need a husband. If you do not have one you will have no one to take care of you and you will be alone. Now come get ready.”

After the goat was milked and the morning milk drunk, there was a call from the space outside their hut.

“I see you,” called a male voice.

M’Bote’s mother answered, “We see you also. Please come.”

M’Bote hung back as a tall man entered the hut. He was not too old. He had only the wrinkles of working in the sun, but not of age. He spoke with M’Bote’s mother and as he smiled showed strong teeth.

Her mother called her over. “This worthless girl is M’Bote. I have told you about her.” M’Bote looked at the floor.

The man said, “Oh no, this is not a worthless girl. She is worth very much! She is costing me two goats and three chickens!” His laughter boomed out. M’Bote was astonished. That was an unheard of price for a girl from a poor family. She risked a glance up at the man. He was smiling and looking straight into her eyes! She looked down again, confused.

“Get your things,” her mother said.

M’Bote and the man walked until the sun was straight overhead. Neither spoke. When they got to a place where there was a tree, the man sat down under it.

“We will rest here until the sun is lower,” he said.

She sat, saying nothing.

“Do you speak?” the man asked.

“Yes,” she responded.

“Tell me something about you.”

“What do you want to know?” she said.

“Tell me something that you are curious about.” M’Bote thought for a few minutes. No one had ever asked her a question like that.

“I wonder . . .” she trailed off.

“Yes?” he demanded.

“I wonder whether the missionary Kim-ba-lee ever thinks of me,” M’Bote finished in a quiet voice.

The man’s laughter caught M’Bote by surprise. It rang out with an infectious joy. M’Bote began laughing with him, unsure of why she did so. When his mirth calmed he said, “Young girl, that missionary is why I have just paid two goats and three chickens for you!”

M’Bote’s eyes widened as her eyebrows etched perfect dark arches above them.

“Miss Kimberly remembers you. She remembers that you have a very good mind. She remembers that you have very clever hands. She remembers that you have no father to care for your family. She remembers that you want to be a nurse.” The man paused for a breath. “Miss Kimberly wants you to come to live in Nairobi and study to be a nurse.”

M’Bote was confused. “You are not buying me for a wife?” she asked, suddenly ashamed that she was not what he wanted after all.

“No child, my wife would not want me to buy another wife. She is a Christian and I am a Christian and we have only one wife for each husband,” he said. “I am taking you to Miss Kimberly. Would you like to go there and help work in her clinic?”

M’Bote’s heart began dancing. The man saw it reflected in her eyes and laughed again.

“But my mother believes I am going to get a husband!” the girl suddenly remembered.

The man looked a little bit troubled, “We let her believe what she wants to believe. I told her that you would be taken care of, and that was enough for her to let you go. Come now, we must resume our journey.”

The next few days were a wonderful homecoming for M’Bote at the mission clinic in Nairobi. Miss Kimberly immediately put her in charge of assessing the young children who came for health care. Some were very sick. One morning M’Bote saw a baby who had died, but whose young mother would not or could not let him go. With compassion, M’Bote went to sit with the young woman.

“May I see your beautiful child?” M’Bote asked. Wordlessly, the young girl pulled back the scarf that covered the baby’s face. Even in death the baby was exquisitely formed, a miracle. M’Bote held out her arms, and the young mother placed the baby in them. M’Bote sang a soft song over the baby and handed him back. The girl began crying.

“Sh-h-h-,” soothed M’Bote as she rocked the girl back and forth. After a few minutes, the young mother allowed Miss Kimberly to come and take the baby away to prepare him for burial.

Later that afternoon, Miss Kimberly sat with M’Bote to take a little break. M’Bote noticed that Miss Kimberly’s hair was not so blonde as before, and her eyes were not so merry. “This is hard work, M’Bote,” Miss Kimberly confessed,

“But why…” M’Bote began, but stopped.

“Go on,” Miss Kimberly encouraged her.

“Then why, Miss Kimberly, do you come here to help us?” Miss Kimberly began to speak again of this God who loves everyone, rich or poor, African or not. M’Bote listened carefully, waiting to hear the exceptions, the things that would apply to her and exclude her from this big love. Miss Kimberly asked, “Do you understand, M’Bote?”

“I understand your words, Miss Kimberly, but I do not understand a love this big,” M’Bote responded. “This is such a big love, I cannot understand how many goats and cattle and chickens it takes to equal this love.”

Miss Kimberly smiled, “That is just the thing, M’Bote. There were never enough goats or cattle or chickens that could do it.” M’Bote marveled at such a love.

Soon it was time to begin the evening clinic. M’Bote handed out colored slips of paper to the mothers that indicated in which order their children would be seen. As she worked her mind started its wandering again. She reflected on a worthless girl from a poor family being worth two goats and three chickens. If this was part of the big love, it was very big indeed.

Suddenly, M’Bote stopped what she was doing and asked another girl to stand in for her. She went outside the clinic compound and walked among the people waiting for the evening clinic, searching for a particular face. Finally, in a dark corner, she found the young mother whose arms were empty, whose breasts ached with milk that her baby would never drink. M’Bote sat down with her, and began to tell the young woman about such a big love.

I Can't Be Funnier Than This

2011-08-08T13:55:00.000-04:00

From my local on-line newspaper:

ALIENS AND CONDOMS: NEW ROAD HAZARD

Update 12:30 p.m.: A hacker is responsible for the messages that appeared Monday morning on a portable work zone sign on Hunter Mill Road, said Virginia Department Of Transportation Spokeswoman Jennifer McCord.

"With the portable signs on site, it is sometimes possible to break into the locked control box and “hack” the sign," McCord said. "At the Hunter Mill bridge work, crews will be doing some more work over the next few weeks, but the sign will likely be removed and replaced as needed."

Unlike the overhead signs on interstates – which are protected and controlled remotely from VDOT's traffic operations center in Fairfax – many portable signs are controlled on site, McCord said.

The sign in the work zone leading up to the bridge was a contractor sign, McCord said. All signs were operating normally by the time crews arrived on scene just before noon this morning.

"We have had a handful of reports of this type with portable message signs over the years, and it is, of course, tampering with state property," McCord said.

Update 10:20 a.m.: VDOT Spokeswoman Jennifer McCord says the department is looking into the incident.

Original: Commuters traveling on Hunter Mill Road toward the Dulles Toll Road on Monday morning found some unusual road advisories.

The large electronic, portable road sign just past Lawyers Road — placed there last week to alert drivers of lane closures on the Difficult Run Bridge — instead rotated between messages advising drivers to "please use condom," and warning, "alien spotted."

Reader Louise Foreman passed the sign just past 6 a.m. on the way to Dulles Airport.

"That was a change from the usual detour or road closure message you usually see," she wrote in an email. "Certainly woke us up!"

Reader and blogger Cherie Lejeune also saw the sign around 7:45 a.m., she wrote in an email.

The Virginia Department of Transportation, who is managing the bridge project, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Trauma Followed by Joy

2011-08-06T11:11:00.002-04:00

I was working this morning in my office. I heard a "clunk" and actually felt the house shake. I figured something had fallen off a sliding stack in one of the kids' rooms, or a big limb had fallen. I went around to investigate, and in front of our front kitchen window saw a hawk lying on his side, with a small prey bird inches from his mouth. The hawk was still breathing so, following my normal routine with injured birds, I covered him with a big cardboard box.

I called all over the place, trying to find someone to come help this bird. Raptors are in a special category -- you can't just take care of them yourself, you need to have permits. I couldn't get any live people just answering machines.

The clunk against the house had been so solid, I was sure this bird would die. It was a beautiful Cooper's Hawk and I was really distressed. We figure he had been chasing the little bird, probably caught it, but grabbing it, lost his flight trajectory and crashed into the window as he made the turn.

After about an hour, my daughter went to peek at him to see if he had stopped breathing (because I couldn't stand the thought). She came into the house shouting, "He's standing up! He's alive!" We both jumped up and down. She added, "His wing is at a weird angle, so I think he's injured." We renewed our efforts to find someone to deal with him.

We called Raptor Conservancy -- answering machine. Wildlife Rescue -- answering machine. Exotic Animal Vet (takes care of our parakeet) -- they were willing to help if we could get the bird there. They suggested trying the Animal Shelter for someone first-- Called the shelter -- they had just opened (hadn't been when we called earlier) and they told us to call the non-emergency Animal Control number at the police station. SUCCESS! They sent an officer out.

He uncovered the hawk and said, "Oh, he's fine" and clapped his hands to get the bird to move. The officer said the bird was a full-grown, BIG, Cooper's Hawk. In reaction to the noise, the hawk scuttled along the front porch to the corner. He was still holding his wing at an awkward angle. The officer (who had leather gloves on) said, "You don't want to go where I'm going to have to take you. Let's see if you can fly." He picked up the hawk (making it look simple), and lobbed it into the air. The hawk immediately grabbed some air with its massive wings and flew up high into the tree tops above my neighbor's house. Daughter and I cheered!

I love happy endings. Watching a gorgeous bird recover and go back to what God designed it to do best is true JOY! He'll probably be sore -- like me after one of my bike accidents -- but perhaps he'll remember not to do that again!

Even though we think he is gorgeous, the officer told us Cooper's Hawks are the nastiest of hawks. He said he'd rather pick up an eagle than one of them! So obviously, beauty does not correspond to easy going temperament. Big surprise there, right?

I didn't get any photos - it all happened too fast. But there are many beautiful photos of Cooper's Hawks on the net, taken by wildlife photographers and I don't want to 'steal' their photos to illustrate my blog. If you want to see photos of Cooper's Hawks that look like the one in our yard, go to these sites:

Lloyd Spitalnik

E.J. Peiker

Quick Update

2011-08-04T09:15:00.001-04:00

While our friends were touristing and my dad hasn't quite arrived yet (this afternoon!), I ran to the courthouse in the next county with a friend yesterday. She needed to get copies of things from her divorce file, so our errand was not happy and the courthouse brought back many sad memories.

But, on the way in, I noticed an Indian gentleman using his iPhone to take a photograph of three other Indians, two women and a man, sitting in front of the building on a bench. I had actually pulled the door open and then told my friend, "wait a sec."

I went to the man and asked, "would you like me to take a photo of all four of you?"

They were DELIGHTED and grateful and sweet and so very happy.

People are not usually happy at the courthouse, so I'm not sure what the occasion was. Perhaps a marriage, perhaps something to do with citizenship, although it was a state courthouse, not federal, so I don't know. But it felt good.

On our way to the records room, we took a bathroom break. My friend was washing her hands and said, "oh my goodness!" And then started laughing. I looked over, and she had found one of those rubber bracelets (like Live Strong). This was black and said, "Watch for God." Then she started crying. It was as if even in the bathroom of the courthouse, He was giving her reassurance of His love.

I told her to take it with her, and when she felt the Spirit move her to do so, leave it somewhere else for someone else who needs it.

Isn't God amazing how He intersects with our daily, piddly details to reveal His presence?

On the way back to the car, we saw this. I think it's a clematis. Simply beautiful. Again, His creation sings His name.

Hey, Great Legs!

2011-08-01T16:25:00.000-04:00

When I was much younger, I dated a young man who was a "leg man". Good thing, because I was not endowed with a chest to inspire much adoration. His name was Lance (and yes, the first time I went out with him was because he had such a cool name and California blond hair). Despite my worries that my legs were too white, too skinny, too flabby, etc., Lance thought they were, in today's parlance, "hot".

And because he admired my legs, I've always kind of thought of them as my best feature.

But something happened on the way to 50. It turns out that riding my bike, geocaching through briars and poison ivy, and generally living life to the fullest leaves many marks. I had JUST gotten to where they were starting to look less . . . um . . . scarred and torn up. I could shave them without tearing chunks away from healing zones.

And then I wrecked my bike today. I was riding down a path that did a 90 degree turn and I wasn't ready. I had slowed down, so instead of a colossal spectacular, it was a slow crash to the ground. I ALMOST stayed on my feet, but at the last, I was overbalanced and went over on the right. My son was behind me and just about had a heart attack. A man in a silver convertible stopped and asked if we needed help. Very kind, but I felt really stupid.

I was going so slow it didn't break the skin (yay for my elbow and shoulder) and I was wearing my helmet (yay for my brains), but I can definitely see some purple zones popping up. Sigh.

Ah well ... at least we had a great bike ride before that, and found two geocaches. SUCCESS!

Much more importantly, our dear friends are visiting from Austria, and my father arrives to visit on Thursday. I might not be around for a couple of days. Well, of course I'll be HERE, but I might not on my blog.

Summer Stock Sunday

2011-07-30T08:22:00.000-04:00

One of the fun things about the slower pace of summer is that we have time to try new recipes AND we have yummy fresh things from the market to try them with. I tried this recipe a couple of weeks ago and it was very good. It's from Cooks Illustrated

Let me know if you want the recipe!

And here are two summer photos of the kids.

This pose is called "indulging your mother"

At the Air Force Academy

Yummy Yak

2011-07-29T06:56:00.000-04:00

When I was a pre-teen, we lived in Japan. Every middle school day that I could get away with it and afford it, I took the base shuttle bus after school to the BX. Next to the BX was a place we called the "Yak Shak". It was a Yakitori stand that served up the most delicious seasoned beef for what was an affordable price.

The memories of that beef yakitori have carried me a long way, so when Allrecipes.com daily recipe dropped one for my childhood memory into my box, I had to try it.

The guys have been out in Colorado this past week so I haven't felt much like cooking, and my husband is the grill-meister anyway, so I planned it for yesterday evening.

I wish I had a photo of it but we ate it too fast. I made Japanese rice and heaped it in the middle of an oval platter, and then stripped the meat from the skewers on top of it. It was heavenly.

So, the photo above is not mine, and the recipe below is not original, but if you make this, I guarantee you will enjoy the result (if you're a beef eater!). Yummy Yak. The things I would change are in red.

Yakitori

First, double it if you have two men at the table! You don't need to double the sesame seeds, but everything else.

· 1/2 cup soy sauce

· 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

· 2 tablespoons lemon juice

· 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

· 2 tablespoons white sugar

· 2 green onions, thinly sliced

· 1 clove garlic, minced

· 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

· 1 pound sirloin steak, cubed

Directions

1. In a glass or plastic bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oil, lemon juice, sesame seeds, sugar, green onions, garlic, and ginger.

2. Thread the meat onto skewers. (If you are using wooden skewers, soak them 30 minutes first.) Don't use wooden skewers. Walmart has 4 metal skewers for $1.97. Place the skewers in a plastic or glass container just large enough to hold them, and pour the marinade over the meat, turning to coat well. Cover, and chill for a minimum of 4 hours. They're not kidding about the minimum. The longer they marinate, the better they are.

3. Preheat grill for high heat, and position grate 5 inches from coals.

4. Brush grate with oil, and place skewers on grill. Grill for 10 to 15 minutes, occasionally turning kabobs to ensure even cooking.

NEXT TIME -- I will cut 5-7 crisp green onions in inch long pieces and thread them perpendicular to the skewers, in between the beef. It's the authentic touch from the old days that was missing.

Serve with a nice light, crisp salad. I also had grapes and pluots (that's another post tomorrow), with the latter sliced up in wedges.

Labels

2011-07-23T12:37:00.001-04:00

I am so sad about what happened in Norway yesterday. No, I have no connections with Norway. It's just very sad.

And I really dislike the alleged perpetrator being called a right-wing Christian. Right-wing, fine. But no one who kills other people in this fashion is Christian. No one who spouts hate and fear mongering is Christian.

In Matthew 22:36-40, the Bible says:

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

If we could REALLY do the first, the second, and all other commandments would naturally follow.

And in case you wondered, yes, it makes me sad when there is killing anywhere. Unfortunately, there are some parts of the world where it's not a surprise or a shock when it occurs. Norway is the last place one expects it so it is jarring.

College Visits

2011-07-21T10:42:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we went down the road a bit to James Madison University. Daughter came back from an amazing Youth trip to Daytona Beach (Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin) with some new goals and observations. Now she has decided she wants to go far away enough from home that she can't be dropping in and making a mess here (hooray) but close enough that if she needs us, we can get there without too much delay. I'm not sure what all is going on inside her head, but at least she's thinking instead of running!

So ... JMU. All I can say is that it has come a LONG WAY from when I was contemplating a university education in Virginia. I absolutely endorse her choosing this one if it's the way she wants to go. Next Wednesday we'll visit another.

Here's a photo from JMU followed by a Louie Giglio clip that is fascinating.

Summer Stock Sunday

2011-07-17T13:30:00.000-04:00

Thank you, Robin at Around the Island, for encouraging me to "see" the summer around me!

And my Summer Stock Photo:

This is a cool house I saw on the lake when we were in the canoe. It has an octagonal shaped end that takes full advantage of the view they have. Lovely!

Canoe Canoe?

2011-07-16T16:43:00.000-04:00

With the days without children slipping away, we decided to take the canoe out Thursday afternoon. It was an absolutely perfect day (this was the same afternoon of the marvelous bike ride). Our community has a few (small) man-made lakes that were created years ago to manage the stormwater system. Two are pretty hard to get into (can you say portage?). I think that was deliberate -- the more expensive homes are on the shores of those. One of the great things about our lakes is that only electric power motors are allowed on them, so the wakes are small and the speeds are low. One of the mixed blessings is that there's no swimming allowed (except during the Triathlon).

At any rate, this is Lake Audubon and some of the views from the water.

Biggie this!

Perfect Weather

2011-07-14T13:40:00.001-04:00

We had a gullywasher, thunderboomer of a storm yesterday afternoon. During a lull I went up to get the mail. As I was standing there, I heard one of those cracks of thunder that sounds like the sky is ripping open. I sort of half expected to see Jesus descending on a cloud, but I didn't hear trumpets, so I scurried back inside.

This morning the storm detritus is everywhere, but the air is clean and cool, and I took advantage of it. I rode up to the post office to mail a package (the backpack was a lot more fun AFTER I mailed it!). Then I found three caches on the way back home. It was about 10 miles round trip.

One of them was in the lovely little garden where I met the snake last month. Today, no snake, but gorgeous scenery. My skills (and the iPhone camera) do not do justice to the beauty and tranquility of this little slice of our town. Enjoy!

This was a very cool bridge -- it had glass blocks
at child's eye level. One was engraved with this
poem, Water, by Emerson

Summer Stock Sunday

2011-07-10T18:46:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week getting the kids ready for the mission trip. They're gone now, so we had some time to sit down and work on my book together.

While we were sitting there, we noticed a squirrel perched on my son's bicycle seat. He is a squirrel with great ambition and no firm grasp of the realities of the situation.

So this is my summer stock Sunday photo/video. Thanks, Robin, for hosting. Hope you enjoy it!

Illuminate Me!

2011-07-05T22:01:00.000-04:00

Finally! It's finished! Well, the first draft is finished. Yep, my novel is ready for readers. Critical readers who will be kind but constructive. The title is "Nothing Yet" and it's about a girl from a family with traditional values who is anything but passive and weak. (And it's not pretty like this one)

If you're interested, let me know. I probably ought to limit this to people in the US unless you want it sent via e-mail. People in the US will get it USPS unless you ask otherwise.

Wow, now I can exhale again.

Summer Stock Sunday

2011-07-03T17:51:00.000-04:00

Robin, at Around the Island, hosts Summer Stock Sunday. I'm almost too late to call it Sunday, but I will anyway.

This is my summer photo from this week. Seen on a car in the parking lot at our favorite Thai restaurant. We couldn't figure out just what it might mean. If it had been on a Jaguar or a Cougar, we would have understood, but it was on a Suzuki!

It's a Friends of Tibet license plate, so Kathmandu is out ...

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The Wild Blue Yonder?

2011-07-01T09:29:00.000-04:00

These are the photos I meant to post yesterday with this title. They are from the Udvar-Hazy Center, the annex for the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum on the Mall in Washington, DC. Udvar-Hazy is near Dulles airport (about 10 minutes from my house). Admission is free, but parking is $15. If you're stuck at Dulles with a long time frame, take the shuttle for .50 cents each way to visit this museum. It's well worth it.

First, the SR-71. Featured in the new Transformers movie. They filmed here.

Next, the P-47 dressed for the D-Day Invasion.

My son tells me the markings were large and bright to avoid

friendly fire incidences.

An FW-190

The Nazis' fighter, scourge of the Russians.

For some reason, I don't retain the detail my son does about all these planes. Two hours in here and he's a happy camper for two days. Of course, he did try to hit me up for money for a snack. Usually he tries to get money for the simulators as well. The answer was: NO.

Mean mom.

By the way, there was a cache nearby. ha ha

Amazing Camouflage

2011-06-30T16:55:00.002-04:00

Spent this morning geocaching with my friend, K. We were 4/5 and all 4 we found were done by the same couple. They love their little town and they're so generous with their time and talents for the caching community.

One of the goals of geocaching is to get people out see things they might otherwise miss. While looking for one near a fence, I found this empty cicada shell. It reminds me of how beautifully complex God has made ALL of His creatures...but I'm glad no one was home anyway!

Sometimes in caching, you just need to look at things from a different point of view. This was on a traffic island in a sleepy parking lot. At the ends of the island were two planting areas with messy (hence good for hiding things) areas. In the middle of the island were two small leafy trees, and two huge oaks.

We explored the planting areas a bit but then reasoned that since one of the tenets of geocaching is "do no harm", it wouldn't make sense for the hide to be in an area where one would have to trample flowers to find it. Next we looked at the leafy trees. First, we knew that the cache had been placed in 2006, and these trees didn't look 5 years old. Additionally, they were deciduous, so any cache would stand out like a sore thumb once the leaves fall.

So we were stuck with the oaks -- but they were tall, and had no branches or anything around them! Nothing to conceal or hide a cache!

Well . . . are you aware of the concept of 'hidden in plain sight?' Yep. If it doesn't jump out at you, click on the photo. This is MASTERFUL, BRILLIANT camouflage.

Sorry for the blur on this -- but this shows it a bit closer up.

It's a small tube (called a bison tube) that the top bottom unscrews from and then you pull the paper log out and add your name and date. Later (or at the same time if you have wireless in the field) you log it via computer with www.geocaching.com.

This afternoon my kids went with me to a travel bug hotel. Nope, had nothing to do with bed bugs. It's where trackable items are stowed awaiting a ride to a new cache. This one is near the airport, so people who are visiting can drop one of from wherever they've flown in from, and pick one up to take to wherever the owner wants it to go.

There was only 1 TB in the hotel, and it wants to go to Australia! Here's a photo of it:

The Shark is the TB. The notebook is the

log book. The other things are just small

trade items for kids who get dragged along.
Seriously though, the kids usually love it.

Try geocaching. If you like hiking and seeing things

you'd never have seen otherwise, you will love this.

And wear long sleeves and pants.

Tomorrow, photos from the Udvar-Hazy Annex of

the Air & Space Museum.

See on the Roads Around Your Nation's Capital

2011-06-29T19:50:00.000-04:00

What do you think this one says?
And where is Thom when I need him?

Pretty self-explanatory

This one is funny. The woman walked up as I took it.
She said her husband (military) is from Michigan, and
she refused to put Michigan plates on her car
unless he let her have something with Texas!

And this is on the front of her car.
Apparently Michigan does not require a front plate!

Seen at the airport this afternoon.

And this is the entire back end of the car!

Another Day, Another Cache

2011-06-27T22:09:00.000-04:00

Woo-Hoo! Son agreed to ride with me again today to look for a cache. This one was in an area of our community where I don't like to spend a lot of time by myself. Let's say it's "on the edge of respectability."

At any rate, the GPS kept saying the East side of the path, and the clue was that it was magnetic. On the east side of the path were 2 big electrical boxes, a man hole cover, a metal drainage pipe and a not-quite-buried sewer pipe. ALL would be excellent candidates for a magnetic stick-on. Of course, he found it, and on the WEST side of the path, stuck to the ONE electrical box on that side. It was disguised to look like a bolt and completely blended in.

These things are amazing. This one was a "pico" -- smaller than a "nano." If you wear a size 5 ring, it's bigger around on the inside than this cache. A dime is bigger around. Here's a photo of the kind we were seeking:

Yeah - exactly. The top unscrews and there's a log rolled up tightly inside. This one had been painted the same color as the metal to which it was clinging. AUUGHH! Thank goodness I had son with me.

True confessions. I had shamelessly bribed him. With this.

Hey, it worked. He got out of bed and helped me. I love my son.

Right Between the Eyes

2011-06-25T07:58:00.001-04:00

. . . or maybe in the solar plexus. I was reading my devotions this morning and this really hit me. The Scripture is John 12:27-28.

:. . . what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'?

But for this purpose I came to this hour, 'Father, glorify Your name.'"

The commentary:

We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to accept and receive ourselves in its fires. If we try to evade sorrow, refusing to deal with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life, and there is no use in saying it should not be. Sin, sorrow, and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.

Sorrow removes a great deal of a person's shallowness, but it does not always make that person better.

I think that when we see friends and family members suffering, we do two things. First, we try to make them feel better. Second, we try to figure it how it happened so we can help them avoid it in the future.

But what if it's all part of God's plan -- a plan that says we will all be better for having been in His presence, for having allowed Him to carry us in our sorrows? It is through adversity that we grow and become stronger in our faith.

Are there people who miss this? Absolutely. The commentary also speaks to those who do not receive the sorrow in a manner consistent with what we know about God's love. They remain crippled, unable to help others or even themselves.

People who have suffered, and come out the other side with their faith intact, are equipped to nurture and nourish others. That is the beauty of the suffering.

Successful Cache Pass

2011-06-24T12:25:00.002-04:00

I've been working on a 3 stage multi cache for a couple of weeks. The way this works is that one uses the GPS to find the first cache. It has the coordinates for the second cache half the coordinates for the final cache. The first cache's hint was "Think Kohler." When I found it, I started laughing out loud. It was lodged in a bowl created by the way 2 trees grew together, looking like a TOILET. Hilarious, but I forgot to photo. Followed the second set of coordinates to another brilliant cache. This is it:

Click on the photo to see it up close. Brilliant.

So now I had the coordinates for the final stage, which was about 2 miles away and the boy was hungry and tired so we paused for the day. That was yesterday. Today we got on our bikes, remembered to take everything (except hand towels for wiping our faces - darn) and got moving. This, too, was a brilliant hide. Our GPS was saying it was another 44 feet "that way". My son climbed up on a rock to see where "that way" took us and said, "Oh! I see it!". It was nearly at his feet. GPS'ers bounce around a bit, so I wasn't surprised.

After we finished that one, we went to another one called "Magic Log." I had brought long socks to put on if we were to bushwack so I could avoid more Poison Ivy. Once they were on, it was short work to find it. Along the way though, I ran across these interesting little things. Son (the Boy Scout) says they're mushrooms or fungi -- and hallucinogenic. I decided to forego hallucinating and settle for a photo.

Again, click on the photo to see them up close.

Our final cache was in a busy location, surrounded by restaurants. Easy find and just signed the log. We sat and enjoyed our Starbucks treats before starting on our further quest. We got as far as #4, and found it easily (it wasn't really even hidden). But as we started for #5, the geocaching app crashed and we couldn't get any updates, so we bagged it and came home. I HATE when that happens in the field. I need to figure out a work-around, but since we were 4/4 for the day, it was a good way to finish!

Somewhere along the way I made the mistake of asking my son, "Are you enjoying this or are you just indulging me because I'm your mom?" He said, "about half and half." I probably would have been happier not knowing. Be careful what you ask a teen, right?

Delicious Farmer's Market Fare

2011-06-23T14:53:00.002-04:00

I would have taken a photo of the "before" separate ingredients, but . . . well, to be honest, I forgot. But this is what our dinner looked like after I fixed it and before everyone dived in, and it was really good!

My daughter and I rode bikes to the Farmer's Market yesterday afternoon. Being on the bikes limited our purchases (no eggs!). But we picked up some green beans, grape tomatoes and fresh artisan bread made with sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan. Yum. Okay, so for photo purposes keeping it in the orange bowl wasn't the best choice. But everyone was hungry so I was lucky to even get to take THIS photo!

Flank Steak with Famer's Market Fare

Flank Steak
2 tsp olive oil, separated
Green Beans
Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs + 2 tsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Start salted water to boiling.

Trim the flank steak a bit -- not completely as you'll want some fat for flavor. Rub 1 tsp of olive oil on one side of the steak. Generously sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper on it. Repeat on the other side. Grill the steak for 3-4 minutes per side. Do not over cook. Let sit on the carving board while you do the rest.

Trim the green beans to your taste (size, etc.) and cut the tomatoes in half. Add the green beans to the boiling salted water, cook about 2-3 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water.

Mix the sesame oil, soy sauce and garlic with a whisk.

With a VERY sharp knife, slice the flank steak across the grain into thin slices. Add it, and any juices that accumulated while it was resting, to a big serving bowl. Add the green beans and sauce and mix well. Finally, add the tomatoes.

IF there are any leftovers, they're great the next day. And very low cal.

GORGEOUS BLOOMS AT THE MARKET

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

2011-06-22T07:08:00.000-04:00

First official day of school being out. They only had 2 hours each the last two days, but still had to go. Yes, it's crazy, but at least the legislators who decide these things aren't trying to TEACH! Yikes!

Letting the kids sleep in past 6am is such a treat. We're going to meet some friends for a bike ride in a little while, and then visit one of our favorite places -- Great Harvest Bread in Herndon!

Today is bound to generate some great photos -- we're caching as well. Check back later to see! (Right now Blogger won't let me upload photos. Sigh. Ah well, can't beat the price)

Muffed Target

2011-06-21T06:01:00.000-04:00

RULES

Thanks, Thom, for continuing this!

This is what happens when you're trying

to take a photo of a pretty flower

and a bee lands on your hand

that is holding the camera!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T09:58:00.002-04:00

"Absent or present, engaged or indifferent, living or dead, our fathers have the most defining impact on our lives."

I paraphrase that from a sermon I heard YEARS ago, given by Michael Easley, on Father's Day. I can't remember whether we even had our kids yet, but I know I was still carrying some resentment towards my father for not being the "Ward Cleaver" type that "everyone" else seemed to have.

Boy, have I come a long way. My dad is a human being, flawed and sinful, yet he has spent his entire life trying to overcome his "natural" man. As a young man, he experienced the abuse of his mom at the hands of his dad, the divorce of his parents (very radical in those days), the re-marriage of his mother, the sporadic contact with his biological father, and the difficulty in connecting with a step-father who was not equipped to take on a 12 year old young man who thought of himself as the man of the household.

My dad, because of circumstances that arose in his childhood, felt responsible for his biological father leaving them for good, and carried that guilt into his own marriage. The guilt, plus the lack of fathering examples made it very difficult for my dad to rise above what he had observed and learned and engage at a level that was like the TV dads we saw all around us.

YET, he really tried. My dad always made sure we were fed and clothed adequately. He worked hard at his military career so he could advance in rank, which meant advance in pay, to have the resources to care for his family. He was home as often as his military duties allowed, and in one idyllic 4 year period in Kansas, was the true "available" dad that we craved. He took us ice skating on a frozen pond, taught us how to work in the yard (a skill that sadly, none of us has really nurtured), created award-winning house decorations for Christmas, and did all the things that showed he loved us.

I'll be the first to admit, of the three children in my family, I have a special bond with my dad. I was the only child born while my dad was home from deployment. I am the one he held in his arms from the beginning. I am the only blond child in the family. I didn't know, until I was an adult, that my dad's hair had been blonde when he was a child. I was born with some medical issues that needed to be resolved, and my dad was on hand to help support my mom as she worked through the medical system to get me taken care of.

When I was halfway through high school, my dad retired from the military and announced we were moving. I was devastated, angry, and hostile. But when it was time to start school in our new location, and the house hadn't sold yet, I was the one who caved in and went to join my father. I was still angry, and carried that anger for years.

But becoming a committed believer in Christ and a parent gave me a completely different perspective. First, I understand that God is sovereign and everything that has happened within my life has been within His control and for my good...to draw me to Him. Second, as a parent I understand that sometimes you make the best choices for your children whether they agree with them or not. As a parent, I am not my children's friend. My dad could not be mine.

And now? My dad is an excellent grandpa. He teaches, nurtures, loves, and spoils quite a bit. I am shocked to discover that he will be 78 years old this August, because he sure doesn't act like an old man. (Well, okay the hearing has really gone downhill and he's a bit set in his ways, but most of the time he doesn't act like an old man!).

Finally, maturing in my own marriage has made me appreciate the difficulty in keeping a marriage alive, especially with a lot of separation. So if their marriage wasn't the ideal, it was intact -- still is. I appreciate the sacrifice that entailed. They did it for the kids.

Designed Plates & the Nature Center

2011-06-17T16:49:00.000-04:00

Some views from yesterday afternoon. Hope they make you smile!

Doesn't it seem weird that they need to TELL people not to do this?

A Book Worth Reading

2011-06-17T07:03:00.001-04:00

I am anti-trend. If everyone else is reading a book, I tend to put it at the very bottom of my list. For example, I just finally read "The Help" about a month ago. (That's another story)

Our County sponsors a County-wide reading opportunity each year. This year's book is "The Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Children of Nepal" and for some reason, this year I decided to read it. Maybe because a young friend of mine is getting ready to go work on the issue of human trafficking in Asia. I don't know, but I picked it up. Fully expecting another heart wrenching book about how the US involvement overseas ruins people's lives, I was prepared to hate it. BUT . . .

FINALLY, a book that lives up to its hype. This book is a beautiful testimony of how cluelessness and no sense of purpose can be transformed into a love that knows no bounds.

One might think from the title that this book is about children who have been taken out of the home country by nefarious means, and the author's quest to return them. The truth is worse. In the midst of the Civil War in Nepal, when parents were desperate to keep their children from ending up in the Maoist army, child traffickers promised the parents a future for the child in exchange for a lot of money. Once the children were in the system, the traffickers sold them to other Nepalese for use as beggars, servants, or worse.

Conor Grennan went to Nepal with no more than a vague idea that he would volunteer in an orphanage for three months and then get on with backpacking around the region. When he got to the orphanage, Little Princes, he discovered that these children were probably not orphans; instead, they were unable to be reunited with their families due to distance and war. The children at Little Princes were the lucky ones who had been rescued from the child traffickers pipeline. They were living in comparative luxury, with clothes and the opportunity to go to school.

In those three short months at Little Princes, Grennan was changed forever. In addition to caring for the boys at Little Princes, he was involved in trying to rescue seven more children whom he visited with and helped feed. Unfortunately, when the authorities went to rescue the children, they had been spirited away by the traffickers. Grennan left Nepal feeling he had been responsible for their fate, and resolved to return to make it right.

Grennan went from being a self-indulgent Westerner with little thought about the plight of others to a man determined to find out if he could return the children to their families some day. When he returned to Nepal with this goal in mind, the story he tells is gripping enough to stay up late at night turning pages.

Conor Grennan's writing is superb. He is honest about his humanity and selfishness, just as he is honest about the cold, the fear, and the joy. The way he writes about the interactions with the children conveys love and great respect for his little charges who had endured so much. A particularly interesting part of the book is the moral dilemma set up by his contacting parents of these children. This white foreigner was telling them that their children were safe, well, and getting to go to school but that it was wrong to have let them go with the child traffickers (who of course did not represent themselves that way). Although they missed their children, they were delighted that they were doing so well, and feared that Grennan would change that in some way. It must have seemed odd to them for him to say they should not have done something that had benefited their child so much.

READ this book, and then visit his website. If you have a little extra cash, throw some in his donation bucket. It's worth doing it to a) make a difference and b) reward good writing!

Censorship

2011-06-14T07:14:00.000-04:00

Recently, comedian Tracy Morgan made some statements during his act that were in poor taste and offensive to certain groups.

I don't like it when people say unkind things. About anyone. To anyone. Which is why I don't like a lot of what passes for comedy today.

HOWEVER, the reaction of the community that feels targeted, and all the suckers-up, alarms me. It's very McCarthy-esque, the way they are defining hate speech in this country and dictating, by social media, what is appropriate to speak in public.

The very people who look back in history and decry the accusations made by Sen. Joe McCarthy on his witch hunts for communists (or basically, people who didn't agree with him) are the same people whose very lives are protected by the backlash against McCarthy's excesses.

But if they (or we) start making the rules about what can be said in public, (they)we are no different or better than McCarthy. It is really sad to see the entertainment community go berserk over this, since their community (Hollywood) was a CHIEF target of McCarthy. They KNOW discrimination, censorship, blacklisting, and persecution.

Comedy has always been humanity's way of easing into talking about things that make us uncomfortable. The "fool" in medieval times was the safety valve for the nobility. He could say things in jest to get them out in the open, and was protected by not only the laws of the realm, but the dispensation of the religious authorities. Fools were SUPPOSED to be the ones to say difficult things, ask difficult questions.

About 10 years ago in this country, the forbidden subject was race. Now it's homosexuality. What will it be tomorrow?

Let me state again, I don't like it when people say unkind things. About anyone. To anyone. Which is why I don't like a lot of what passes for comedy today.

So I don't listen to Tracy Morgan. I won't buy his tickets, I won't go see his show. But I will defend to the death his right to say what he pleases. Because if it's not Tracy Morgan being censored by social approbation, it could be me.

Or you.

Just Keep Pedaling

2011-06-13T11:39:00.001-04:00

Today dawned as the PERFECT day for geocahing on my bike. I finally gave in and put the new seat on, and although it isn't like sitting on cotton, it, along with padded shorts, will be fine.

Headed out to my first spot and got within 30 feet of it, but two things happened.

1) I was wearing bike shorts and the area is really overgrown. I decided to wait until one of those conditions change

2) I lost my comm with geocaching.com. Yep, the app is having issues. I thought it was just because of the tree cover, but all of my e-mails nagging me about things I should have been back at my home office accomplishing came through just fine. I continued my ride, periodically checking for comm, but no joy on that front.

However, I did see a hawk -- very bad photo here because I was afraid he'd fly off. I also saw some pretty hydrangeas, another cool tree trunk hollow and some pretty yellow trumpet-like flowers! Also took my new profile pic!

Summer Stock Sunday

2011-06-12T06:53:00.003-04:00

Robin, at Around the Island, has challenged us to post photos that remind us of summer each Sunday. She's not looking for professional quality photos (although hers are), just something fun.

Daughter and I took a bike ride yesterday to geocache in a new park, Arrowbrook. We've driven by this place many times on the way to a favorite pizza place, and never registered that it was an "official" park (dedicated in Nov 2010, so pretty new). It was a puzzle cache and we were successful at the first 3 puzzles, but it was blasted hot so we came home to think about the others. We saw lots of dragonflies and damselflies, and learned about the butterflies that live there. Apparently the water portion of the park has been developed as an "Enhanced Extension Basin," a device that soaks up what would have been run-off from developed areas and releases it back into the watershed at a more sedate pace, consistent with a more healthy environment. Who knew?

and to demonstrate that we are ALMOST FINALLY out of school,

here is the Rube Goldberg project for Physics that

represented her final A or B. (A if it worked, B if it was complete, but didn't)

Assignment, to design and build a working contraption

a la Goldberg using a number of simple machines.

They had to include a pulley, lever and fulcrum, inclined plane, and wedge.

The way this one works:

The string on a pulley releases a hammer which hits the base of

a launching point, flinging the marble into a funnel.

The marble whirls around the funnel, drops down to nudge a

car, which goes down the ramp, hitting

a lever which knocks over a block.

The block releases the balloon, which as it rises,

makes the connection for the two circuits,

and the light goes on!

No Riding Today

2011-06-10T21:45:00.000-04:00

I rode each day this week so took today off. Instead I went with a young friend and his mom (also my friend) to Children's Hospital where he underwent a procedure. This sweet little guy has been diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy so he needs a little extra help getting weight on. Today they changed out the feeding tube for a button. He was a trooper.

That's a difficult place to be. As you can see from this video, he's a happy little guy who seems pretty healthy. Many of the kids there are not. The worry and anxiety on the faces of the parents is difficult to observe. It cuts right to the heart.

I was so impressed with the staff there. They were all kind, engaging and loving to our little guy.

Do You Geo?

2011-06-09T05:59:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of geocaching? It's the high tech game of taking a walk with a purpose. If you have a GPS device or a smart phone, you can do this!

The easiest place to start is www.geocaching.com and read the stuff there. Put in your address and it will show you all the hidden treasures in your area. It's up to you to read the description and hints and figure it out.

We've been doing this since 2004 but really slowed down after the first year. Our GPS device was clunky and the kids got very involved in other things. Then I got a smart phone and we're back on the trail. In the last few weeks, I've used my bike to get to the locations and try to find the stuff!

It's a game of physical and intellectual curiosity, and you can do as much or as little as you want. There's no cost for the basic entry to the website, and gets you outside! You see places and things you might never have known were there -- like the park the other day where I found the bunny and the snake! And yesterday morning my friend and I went all over the small town next to ours, following a history clue/cache. We even had to do some math to get where we were going!

Yesterday afternoon after caching in the morning, I went to the Farmer's Market, so here are three photos to make your mouth water!

Muffed Target

2011-06-07T07:02:00.000-04:00

I'm hoping Thom is getting around to doing this today because I've been saving bad photos instead of deleting them, JUST FOR HIM!

The idea is that we all screw up photography, and sometimes it's nice to share it and know that you're not alone!

Here are my muffed targets from the bike trips this week.

This is actually kind of surreal, don't you think?

I think I stuck the camera in to photograph someplace
I didn't want to stick my hand into geocaching.

Looks like water going over something,
but I have NO IDEA!

So, the little story. Well, sometimes I'm done with taking the photo before the shutter closes. Oops!

A New Friend?

2011-06-06T14:58:00.000-04:00

I've been doing a lot of biking and trying to combine it with geocaching. I'm cautious about where I go -- sticking with the urban caches and saving the woodland ones for when the kids are with me.

Today I went after one that is placed near the Fannie Mae building in my town. The street name cracks me up -- American Dream Way...

At any rate, there's a lovely little park next to the building and I saw all kinds of things there. Didn't find the cache -- I think it requires going under a bridge. I prefer to let my son do the stuff that requires crawling down where insects live!

The path was small rocks, so I got off my bike and started pushing through on the grass. As I came around a bend, I saw this:

A little later, around another bend I saw a chipmunk run off. I looked to the side of the path where he'd gone and thought, "oh, that's too bad. Someone has left some old rubber here. I wish people would pick up their trash."

Summer Stock is Back

2011-06-05T13:09:00.001-04:00

Robin, from Around the Island, has revived her photo meme -- Summer Stock Sundays. Each Saturday participants will post a photo that indicates "Summer" to them. (Sorry I missed the time -- I tend to think of Sunday as being on .. well, Sunday -- we'll see if I'm more successful in the future!)

One of the joys of summer here is that the youngest of the squirrels are out frolicking. They're a little smaller than their parents and a lot more headstrong. I can just hear the parents saying, "that won't work," and the little squirrel saying, "just watch me." Sorry to post three photos, but you really need to see them in sequence. Be sure to click on the third to see WHERE the squirrel has gotten to.

Click on the photo to see it more clearly

Yes, he is INSIDE the feeder. Incredible.

Don't Hate Her/Him Because She/He is Beautiful

2011-06-03T15:18:00.001-04:00

I went on another great bike ride today and managed to stay up on 2 wheels the whole time. The weather is PERFECT -- what we call "San Diego" weather (and we're on the East coast!) The nature photos are stops I made for interesting places. The ones with water are upstream and downstream from a nice bridge on the path. The entire area was restored a couple of years ago.

I thought the tree looked intriguing! Two views.

The mosaic on the tunnel entrance was done by local 5th & 6th graders as part of an "Artist in Residence" project last year. The kids helped design and install it. It's really cool when you move towards it -- as the light changes, different parts of the mosaic light up. I thought it was neon when I first saw it! Beautiful! You can read more about it HERE

Speaking of flashy, I'm in the part of the country where there are a lot of cardinals. I mean a LOT. I see them everywhere, and although the flash of the male's red wings is eye catching, I find the females just as compelling to watch.

Today I saw many of them flitting to and fro. It's the time of year when they have very hungry babies in the nest. We have some that come in and out of our yard -- to the suet feeders! The female perches on top and delicately takes what she wants. The male flies up and flapping madly, hovers for a brief moment. He thinks he's a gorgeous male cardinal with the superpower of hovering like a hummingbird. I think he probably burns up as many calories hovering as he gains from the suet. But whatever - he can do it his way.

One thing I noticed about them today was that they were flying in and out of low bushes. I saw this especially in neighborhoods and that prompted the thought that is the title of the blog.

These gorgeous, appealing, eye-catching, STATE BIRD of SEVEN states (including my own) is really STUPID. They nest low, near houses, where cats can get to them. Kind of reminds me of some of the beautiful women in Hollywood. They're really gorgeous and then do really stupid, pain-causing, bad-for-their-progeny things.

So what explains that?

Older than I feel

2011-06-02T14:50:00.000-04:00

Today it is at least 15 degrees cooler than the sauna we were in yesterday. What a relief! I decided to go to the library. Remind me next time to not do that when I have hard back books checked out!

You know how they say statistically you're more in danger within 5 miles of home? Well ... I found it to be true today. At the base of the path that leads out of my neighborhood onto the paved trails, I wiped out good. The only thing that saved me was that I was on wood chips. The dark gouge in this picture is where my front tire slipped sideways.

And here is my trusty steed, none the worse for wear. It told me, in its own declarative way, it is NOT a trail bike!

I love this bike. I've had it longer than my kids. I bought it in Germany in 1989. Back then it was an enormous expense -- I really couldn't afford it, but I wanted one so badly. Back in the day this was called a touring bicycle -- ideal for places like Holland. Flat places. Still, it has cycled all kinds of places, sometimes pulling a trailer with annoying children (faster, mom!) sometimes carrying me with my library books. It deserves to be treated better than I do.

Nonetheless, it and I survived the wreck. I have some bruises, including ones to my dignity (there was a man walking by with two little dogs). So perhaps tomorrow I'll go to the gym and take a class. It's air conditioned too.

Finally, I saw this cool place on my ride. Is that door slowly opening?

Salad Night

2011-06-02T07:03:00.001-04:00

Our visit last night with my husband's cousin and his wife was fun! They're very nice unpretentious people. The cousins hadn't seen each other since my husband was 9 years old! We grilled burgers and I made a few different kinds of salads -- it was too hot to use the oven. After all that yesterday, I didn't do the shrimp. I'm saving it for this weekend. I looked around and had so much food, it made sense to wait.

My neighbor gave me a recipe for a great salad that I made. Fortunately, the picky eaters on the other side of the family means there's plenty for us tonight! I started to take photos of the process but got distracted, so here's the recipe anyway. It's from a book called "Raising the Salad Bar." Yummmmm

Mexican Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad

Serves 6 to 8

4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾ inch chunks

2 Tbs canola oil

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chile powder

½ tsp kosher salt

2 cups frozen kernels of corn

2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained (canned is fine)

3 or 4 scallions, thinly sliced on angle

½ cup chopped cilantro

DRESSING

1 chipotle chile

1 clove garlic, finely minced

2 Tbs Thai Sweet Chile Sauce

6 Tbs fresh lime juice

½ cup canola oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato chunks with the oil to lightly coat them. Sprinkle with coriander, cumin, Chile powder and salt and toss again. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until they are golden at the edges and just tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large serving bowl, combine the corn and the black beans.

2. To make the dressing, in a blender or food processor place the chipotle chile, garlic and sweet chile sauce. Process until mixture is smooth. Add the lime juice and process again. With the machine running, slowly add the canola oil and process dressing until it is emulsified.

3. When the sweet potatoes are done, let cool slightly and add them to the corn and beans. Add scallions and cilantro; gently toss. Pour enough dressing over the salad to just moisten the ingredients and toss again. (You will have dressing left over)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my GIANT

2011-06-01T13:31:00.000-04:00

NOPE, NOT THIS GUY

and NOPE, not the nearly six foot son and over six foot day -- well actually, I do love them, but they are not the ones of whom I speak.

It's THIS ONE!

My friendly neighborhood grocery store! Why? Read on:

This evening we have family coming over. My husband's cousin and his wife. The cousins have not seen each other for 50 years! So I want it to be special and I received what looks like a great shrimp appetizer recipe from AllRecipes.com.

I took a look at the price and gulped, but then thought, it's for a special occasion and decided to suck it up. Hey, it was $5 off with my bonus card, so that was cheaper than I had anticipated.

I took my purchases up front, and went through the self-check. It rang up $3 off. Okay, $2 difference, but the point was that if it had been $3 off I probably wouldn't have gotten it. I'm just that way.

So I went back to the freezer case, took a photo of the sign, and brought it up to the manager. And he said, you're right, and guess what, instead of saving another $2 off, you get the bag of shrimp free.

WAY COOL!

Now, I know that $22 is not a big deal to them on the grand scale, but it's a huge deal to me, and more importantly, they showed EXCELLENT customer service!

So here's the recipe:

MARGARITA GRILLED SHRIMP

Ingredients

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons tequila
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes

Directions

Combine the shrimp, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, tequila, cilantro, red pepper, and salt in a bowl; toss to combine; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Drain the marinade from the shrimp and discard; thread the shrimp on the skewers.
Cook on preheated grill until the shrimp turn pink, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Signs of the Times

2011-05-31T11:20:00.001-04:00

Seen in my travels the last couple of days:

LOVE THIS ONE!

Seen at a local restaurant...

ahhh...the irony.

If only dogs could read.

Muffed Target

2011-05-31T08:03:00.000-04:00

RULES

Each Tuesday post a picture which is completely crazy, messed up, with nothing on etc, which normally you would immediately delete. It can be everything, like only shoes instead of the whole person, a blurred building or whatever you want. Then tell us the little story how it happened and what it should have been.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THOM @ TP4WW.COM
Now my friend Thom is a little distressed at the lack of participation in this meme. We ALL screw up photos, so come on, parade some humility!Thom is offering an incentive to playing, but you'll have to goHERE
to find out about it!
And now, my MUFFED TARGET:

The little story? Well...I was trying to get my hands, and the camera, inside the bird cage without getting bitten, and without freaking her out too much, so I could get a photo of our sweet bird. This was the first attempt.

Coaching Life

2011-05-30T11:09:00.000-04:00

There's been a lot of press lately given to the concept and profession of "life coach." I originally read these articles with disbelief, wondering why on earth someone would pay someone else to tell them what to do. Most of us go to great lengths to AVOID being told what to do!

Then my avaricious bone kicked in. I'll bet I could be a pretty good life coach, I thought to myself.

And recently I've seen a lot of press given to professional organizers, and the desperate ends many people go to -- including paying someone else to tell them what to do -- to organize their lives.

Again, I thought, I can do that.

Thinking about these trends though, I realize that the problems the people in both of those situations are struggling with are:

a. overcommittment
b. too much stuff

The pressure people feel to "keep up" either for themselves or their children's future is ridiculous. The idea of organizing or life coaching our way around it is a laugh. And the enemy of man is laughing all the more because we buy into his lie about needing to get "OUR SHARE."

Certainly, if you believe that your existence is ONLY in this life, and there is nothing beyond it, the desperation to do everything on your bucket list is great.

But if you know, like I do, that we are just visitors here, then activities, stuff, and achievement lose their grip on us.

Philippians 3:20 tells us "Our citizenship is in heaven" and 4:6 tells us "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, in thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount said, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" (Matthew 5)

So I guess if I become a life coach or an organizer, I'll root it in Scripture. I wonder whether anyone would hire me.

Truly Memorial Day

2011-05-27T07:01:00.001-04:00

Seventeen years ago today, a first time mom-to-be went to get an ultrasound since the baby was two weeks overdue. The ultrasound revealed, "oops, this baby is breech."

After a scary time of turning, cord getting wrapped, and emergency c-section, I woke up to meet my beautiful daughter.

5 months old

1st Grade

Today she is seventeen and all the joy and happiness she has brought us has made every minute of that scary time worth it.

Dec 2010

Dear one, we don't know what the Lord has in store for your future, but we are confident that you will meet it with grace and confidence and passion.

Now that's passion!

We love you!

Cache and Carry

2011-05-26T07:14:00.001-04:00

Met a friend yesterday in Herndon for a bike ride. We decided to do some geocaching to make it interesting. That's the one splurge app I've purchased for my phone and I love it. It makes caching so much easier!

We found two pretty easily. For the third, since we were on bikes, we had trouble getting to the park where it was supposedly located before we ran out of time (I had to get somewhere by 11:30). Still, it was a fun ride and fun to be with my friend.

What? You've never heard of Herndon?

Well, if you saw the photo of the Naval Cadets climbing the greased monument the other day, it is the monument for the same person this town is named for. From wikipedia:

Herndon was named for Commander William Lewis Herndon, American naval explorer and author of Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon. Commander Herndon captained the ill-fated steamer SS Central America, going down with his ship while helping to save over 150 of its passengers and crew. The settlement was named Herndon in 1858. In the 1870s, many Northern soldiers and their families came to settle in the area, taking advantage of moderate climate and low land prices. Herndon also offered a group of friendly and local native Americans who helped the town to prosper via trade and instruction.^[4]

Originally part of the rural surroundings of the Washington, D.C. area, the town of Herndon developed into a hub of dairy farming and vacationing for area residents, aided by its presence along the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad (later to become the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad).^[4] When the railroad was converted into a hike-and-bike trail, Herndon capitalized on history and small-town feel (in a major metropolitan region) by converting its train station into a museum and visitors center by relocating a Norfolk Southern Railway caboose to a nearby site and repainting it in W&OD livery.^[5]

Although the caboose does not resemble anything that ever traveled through Herndon, it remains an iconic part of the downtown area that both locals and tourists visit daily.^[5] The caboose and station offer a taste of the original town that has since faded into the suburban countryside.^[5]

This is from a google image site. They had it blocked off
yesterday preparing for a festival, so I didn't take a photo.

Destination, please

2011-05-24T19:18:00.000-04:00

I love riding my bike, but I find that I enjoy it a lot more if I have a destination with a purpose. If I'm just 'riding to be riding' I get bored. Sad, but true.

So, today I rode to the next town over to get my hair cut and highlighted. It was 8 miles each way and coming home was a slight grade the entire way. The path is an old railroad easement, so it's very straight and the grade is mostly gentle, but still...

Along the way I smelled honeysuckle, and saw lots of cardinals. I also heard lots and lots of birds and frogs. The path goes along a creek in several places. It's called "Difficult Run".

The crossing point of the trail from the next town over to mine is a place that was hotly contested during the Civil War. It's called Hunter Station and you can read about it here. It is really quite interesting!

At one point there was a kind-of creepy guy on the trail. Have you ever had that experience where the vibes coming off someone just said, "not right"? I decided to cut my ride back short by going behind a school (a shortcut only locals know about) rather than press on through the more desolate part of the trail. As I turned around to go back to that turn-off, the guy was coming back up the trail, after having passed me going the opposite way earlier. He didn't follow me on the turn, but I was keeping an eye out and noting every yard I was behind that had people in it so I could yell.

I hate when that happens.

Anyway, I'm a little sunburned, a lot tired, and much more blonde than I was before I went to see Tyler.

A good day.

AMYAZING PART 2

2011-05-22T16:26:00.000-04:00

The First Ever Be AMYazing Reston Youth Triathlon was a HUGE success today! Wow! The kids were incredible, moving through the water, the bike course and the run without slowing down. The weather was perfect.

My volunteer table was near the end of the 6-8 year old run course and they came down that path as they entered the stadium. Those gap-toothed grins with sense of accomplishment were precious. I got teary as I watched the first ones run in -- a lot of hard work and prayer was behind this event being successful.

Sure, we had a few cuts and scrapes, and a few unpleasant parents (you have to feel sorry for a 6 year old whose parents are both wearing triathlon gear, and have him in a little triathlon gear suit, and are screaming at him to go faster), but overall, this was a FUN and ENJOYABLE day.

Kudos to my teens (mine and one of my son's friends) who got up at 6 to allow me to be on the course at 7. They were also AMYazing!

Now, because I was up at 4:30 thinking of more things to do, I'm tired, so signing off...

Simply AMYazing!

2011-05-21T22:51:00.000-04:00

You all know I'm up to my ears in youth triathlon volunteer duties. The big event is tomorrow morning.

But I wanted to take a minute to showcase the teens, who were friends of the little girl who died of brain cancer, who have set all this up in her memory.

We had so many volunteers show up to help (adult and teen) that we have almost a 1:1 ratio for tomorrow! COOL!

And here is the mom, handing out the T-shirts to competitors. Her daughter Amy inspired it all. I can't imagine life without my L-girl; I don't know how Hannah gets through every day.

I am NOT Woody Woodpecker

2011-05-20T09:22:00.000-04:00

We live in a forest so we have woodpeckers. LOTS of woodpeckers. We have downy ones, hairy ones and pileated ones. They love our suet, and they love to drill on our house. We try to maintain peaceful coexistence with them because they do eat a lot of bugs.

This has apparently inspired our parakeet. This is what she did to the roll of paper towels on our holder.

And this is the look of NO SHAME.

I am not a woodpecker, but I play one when they're not paying attention!

Interesting Neighbors

2011-05-19T17:17:00.001-04:00

I took my son to the medical clinic we use for his school sports physical for the fall. This clinic is in leased space but has been there for at least ten years. It serves ONLY military members, retirees, and their families.

The Saudi Cultural Mission

Across the parking lot is a new building that went up almost overnight. It is a beautiful building. It is the Saudi Cultural Mission in the US, the purpose of which is to help Saudi students get a good US education so they can return home to make the Kingdom a better place.

In their old building, they often hosted Friday prayers. I know this because if we had an appointment on Friday there were NO parking places anywhere around the clinic. This new building is bigger, and more people come, but now it's not just on Friday. They have classes there, so the parking lots are full all the time. And, the number of taxis double parked or just "pausing" is incredible. (many of the taxi drivers in our area are Muslims from a variety of home countries).

There has been some controversy over this Mission because it funds and runs a high school here in our county which has an openly Muslim curriculum. Some people object because they view it as anti-Jewish and anti-Christian. But having had my kids in Christian school at one point, I'm hard pressed to say "ban parochial schools." I've also lived in a place where Christianity was NOT the majority religion, so those who say we need to put prayer back into public school need to think about whether it is "their" flavor of prayer that might be the one chosen.

But I digress. As I said, I don't really care whether the Saudis have a mission in the U.S. to help their home country.

What does bother me is the lack of quid pro quo. When my father lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, they had to meet at someone's house for church because there was no public building (even one belonging to the US) where they could assemble in the name of Christianity. Of course, the Embassy couldn't allow them to meet there because of the way the US government flunkies interpret the separation of church and state, i.e., if it is going to offend the allies, we'll be politically correct. I know the Saudi Ambassador to the US -- I went to college with him. I'm sure he is quite amused by how easily they use our laws to benefit them and hamstrung us. And they don't even have to be very manipulative. The anti-religion forces (particularly Christianity) within our government are only too eager to hand over rational thought.

In this country, the Saudis exercise freely something they deny to us, and especially to their own people, in their own country. Seems pretty backward.

On the other hand, Dad says that every time the house churches got big enough to attract notice so they were told by the Saudi government to disburse, they did. JUST LIKE THE 1ST CENTURY CHURCH...

Acts 18:10 (New International Version)

¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

Parting the Red Sea

2011-05-18T06:04:00.002-04:00

Just had to jump on here for a minute and let you know God has parted the Red Sea again.

The Red Sea of my week. He has eliminated some things, moved some things around, and given me perfect peace about the things I will forego.

Now THAT is the kind of God I love to serve! And even if He hadn't done this, I'd still love to serve Him. He is just that kind of love!

Cross-Eyed

2011-05-16T12:43:00.000-04:00

This week is the week that EVERYTHING is HAPPENING. So if I don't get back before next week, here's why:

1. Daughter's IB Exam today (paper 1) and tomorrow (paper 2)
2. End of Community Bible Study Sharing Day for Leaders (tomorrow) (must bring food)
3. End of Community Bible Study Sharing Day for Class (Wednesday morning) (must bring food)
4. Annual Volunteer Appreciation Event for Library (must attend as board member) (Wednesday afternoon)
5. Son's big Science exam followed by sports/scout physical (Thursday)
6. Friday evening - friend for dinner
7. Saturday morning -- pre-race meeting for Triathlon on Sunday
8. Sunday morning -- Reston Youth Triathlon

Whew!

The kids' exams require me to do additional driving as their schedule at school changes.

NOW, add to this that

a. a lady who rides with me to CBS who suffers from Parkinsons made some statements last week about her home life that have prompted an investigation
b. our lead volunteer for the library is doing chemo and may not be allowed to come on Wed so I get to gather all the good wishes and deliver them to her.

Anyone else got anything they want me to add in? I have 15 minutes or so on Friday that aren't filled...

I just have to remind myself that when I can't do it, He can. Got to keep my eyes on Him.

See you when I can!

Welcome to My Front Yard

2011-05-15T15:06:00.000-04:00

Some of you know I live in a forest. Well, not really, but it does seem to be that way when we're raking leaves. The trade-off for the leaves is that we have lots of squirrels. Our job as humans is to help the squirrels evolve to higher thinking. Thus, the squirrely-gig. This is a contraption my husband built for entertainment value. The silver cylinders have mostly empty peanut butter jars in them. The entire thing sticks out from the tree about 8 inches, and the mechanism the squirrels try to sit on freely rotates. Biggy-it by clicking, and watch what happens.

Fun Drums!

2011-05-14T14:43:00.000-04:00

This is from the Pyramid Band Concert on Thursday evening. The Pyramid refers to our schools. We have 6 elementary schools and one middle school that feed into our high school through our pyramid. The concert is the Honor Band for all the elementary schools combined (auditions required), as well as the top bands for the middle school and high school.

My trumpet player

This is my son's last band season since he doesn't want to continue in high school. He played in the concert with the Middle School band. They did very well, but the real treat of the evening was a fun number by the High School drum line.

Boggled Blogger

2011-05-13T22:29:00.000-04:00

Blogger has been down for the better part of 24 hours. And now that it's back up, many of my comments are missing. Ah well ... the more we rely on technology the more easily we are disappointed by its seemingly human traits like unreliability.

Life goes on.

;-)

How AMYazing!

2011-05-13T20:38:00.000-04:00

I got hijacked. Yep, I said "yes" I'd help. So, two weeks before the event, I've been handed the job of Volunteer Coordinator after their original bowed out.

What event?

The inaugural Reston Youth Triathlon, in memory of Amy Boyle. Amy lost her battle with brain cancer in 2008. She was 12 years old. But to the end, she praised God and spoke of Jesus to her friends. Three of her close classmates have kept her legacy of fitness and fun alive, forming a group called Amy's Amigos to raise money for brain cancer research and to service for others. They are now high schoolers, and decided to establish a youth triathlon in our community.

It's May 22. If you're a praying person, pray that the event will be safe, and that God will be glorified. Two of the friends come from homes where God is a stranger to them. That part of Amy's legacy has yet to bear fruit...but I am confident that it will, in His time.

And pray for me that I will be God-honoring in my duties as Volunteer Coordinator. Even when only half the number we need are on the list yet.

Amy with Troy Palomalu

Christmas in May?

2011-05-10T19:10:00.000-04:00

This is a Christmas Cactus that sits in my kitchen window. It has sat there since about 2006. But for some reason, this year it started to bloom. In May. Perhaps it is confused. (On the other hand, I just read wikipedia that says it blooms in May in Brazil. Perhaps mine is just homesick?)

At any rate (you say) I SEE a Christmas card right next to it so of COURSE it's a Christmas cactus!

Well, yes, but that's part of our Christmas prayers that we do. If someone sends my family a Christmas card, after Christmas we tuck it into a drawer in our kitchen table. On Sunday evening each week, we reach into the drawer, and randomly pull out a card. We re-read whatever the person wrote, especially about big events coming up in the next year (weddings, babies, graduations, etc.). Then before dinner each night that week we pray for that person or their family. If you sent me a card, at some point this year you will be prayed for. Every night for a week. We even include you if we go out to eat!

This card happens to be from my son's trumpet teacher and his wife. It is a privilege to pray for everyone, and we especially love praying for young couples like them. Newly married (2 years), new home owners. He is a professional musician -- plays with the Air Force Ceremonial Brass and is a truly nice guy.

He encourages my son and yet firmly moves him along to greater expectations for himself. It's a gift.

So, Merry Christmas to Pat & Emily. Enjoy the flower.

Thank you, Moms

2011-05-08T13:16:00.001-04:00

Mother's Day is eschewed by some as a Hallmark Holiday. I know that as it approached, I once again had mixed feelings.

Don't get me wrong. I love my mother. She has been the best mom I could hope for, and if I'm any good at being a mom myself, it's because she taught me by example. (She's actually an amazing woman, but that's another post, another day).

But for those whose moms aren't here any more, or for the women who have been unable to become mothers, this day can be a difficult one.

In church this morning, our children's ministry director used the day, once again, to celebrate the women and girlss who work in our children's ministry. In that way, she celebrated not only the mothers in the congregation, but the spiritual mothers that many of the women in our church are to other people's children. I like this approach because it acknowledges that mothering isn't limited to actually giving birth or raising children in your home. Many women are mothers by the way they love other people's kids.

So, to my friends who have served in classrooms, helped direct a choir, listened while a youngster has told a story, or have in any way just shown love to children, thank you. You have been a spiritual mother to my children and many others.

I believe this verse is for you as well. (A particular shout-out to Quilly, Cousin Louise, and Dana).

Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹ “Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.”

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31

Floods and Impact

2011-05-06T16:00:00.003-04:00

If you've been listening to the news coming out of Memphis, and other cities along the Mississippi and its tributaries, you know that flood waters are at an all time high.

The story of Memphis particularly interests me because of my family origins. Back in the 1860's, just after the Civil War, life was very hard in Memphis for many people. My 3rd great grandmother (as in great x 3) lived there. Her name was Elizabeth Jane Petty Wright. Her husband, Samuel Creed Wright, died in 1860. Having lived through the deprivations of the war, Elizabeth Jane was doing fairly well by 1867. She had five children, owned a bit of property, and was both well educated for her day and frugal. We have a letter in her hand that she wrote to one of her brothers that year. It spoke of rising prices and many relatives. It was dated June 18, 1867. It is precious to us for many reasons, not the least of which she added a p.s. to her brother that said, Let the children go to school as much as you can for it is the best riches they can have

Later that year, August 3, Mary Amanda Elizabeth Jane Petty Wright (her full name) died from either cholera or yellow fever. In her Will, dictated when she knew she was dying, she named all of her children. She did not realize that two of her daughters would join her in heaven within a few days of her death. The three children who survived, Roxie (my great-great grandmother), Thomas Jackson (TJ), and Samuella (Sammie) would stay very close to each other throughout their lives.

They lived in Shelby County, and later, Germantown.

Elizabeth Jane Petty
1826-1867

The point of this is that Memphis, back then, was an easy place to die from the effects of high water. Mosquitoes carried yellow fever, and poor sanitation caused cholera. Now there are vaccinations for yellow fever (although it is considered a re-emerging disease). Our sanitation systems are very advanced, and simple antibiotics can stop the ravage of cholera.

With the advancement of science and 24 hour journalism, it is no mystery where the floods are coming. As the river floods, people have the ability to evacuate. And they have the knowledge that having all that water hanging around is really bad for their health.

Looking at the aerial photos of the flood waters, so many of the shots show Germantown Parkway and Shelby County -- our family's old stompin' grounds. Which right now, would splash back.

I-55 Bridge into Arkansas
Yikes

2011-05-05T13:07:00.001-04:00

1 Chronicles 16:34 ³⁴ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 7:17 ¹⁷ I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;

I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.'

2 Corinthians 2:14 ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.

Philippians 4:6 ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 1:3 ³ I thank my God every time I remember you.

1 Timothy 2:1 ¹ I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—

I just love how God's Word has so many answers to the same question, and I can always find an answer to any questions I have. The filter through which I need to see everything is:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

So, am I loving God with everything I have? Am I loving my neighbor the same way?
An easy filter; difficult execution

My Take on the Osama Bin Laden Story

2011-05-03T08:22:00.000-04:00

Proverbs 24:17-18 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him.

As a granddaughter of a WWII vet, a daughter of a career military officer, daughter-in-law of a career military officer, wife of a career military officer, and a former military officer myself, (and if he has his way, mother of one too), my response to this news is tempered.

I rejoice that a very dangerous mission, that has been ongoing for many years, and that has undoubtedly caused much harm to military and intelligence people involved in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden (OBL), is over. We found him. Had he allowed it, we would have brought him back alive. He did not allow that.

I rejoice that the military personnel involved in the operation were able to get in, accomplish the mission, and get out, without casualties to the team. I rejoice that the loss of life among the enemy was very low. This was no indiscriminate 'kill em all and let God sort out the details' mission. Our military professionals are MUCH more honorable than that.

I mourn the loss of life because those who died lived in such darkness. They had embraced their own brand of evil, corrupted their own religion, and led many, many young people to deaths that dishonored the Creator of Life himself. OBL's encouragement of those young suicide-bombers is the thing that I find most reprehensible. His contempt for their lives, much less the victims, was sickening. He could have spent his millions helping those young people do something productive, to rise above the hopelessness of refugee camps. He did not.

He and the others chose their path. I would not wanted to have been in their shoes face to the face with their Creator in the instant after their death.

In Matthew 5:24, Jesus says, "but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

I wonder how many of us who call ourselves Christians embraced that about OBL.

Romans 3:23 says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

I figure that means that no matter how much evil he promulgated, OBL is no worse a sinner than I am. Which means I need to make sure I'm right with God in every thing I do. The only way to do that is to dwell with him constantly, to seek His face and His will, and to obey his commandments. The only way to do that is to first, surrender your life -- to ask Him to be your Lord and Savior.

On Sept 11, 2001, by the grace of God we were in the process of moving in to our new house, and did not have any TV hookup. Thus, my children never saw the footage until they were much older. We didn't even allow them to see the still photos for many years. Yet they knew what had happened. I explained it to my 4 year old son at the time like this, "some terrorists -- bad people who don't like the United States and Americans -- took over some airplanes and flew them into some big office buildings and killed many, many people. Some of the firefighters and police officers who went to help the people get out were also killed. It's a very sad day."

I think it was the next day, when we were ready to pray over a meal, that little boy said, "we should pray for the terrorists that God will change their hearts."

Out of the mouths of babes.

Gas Gasp

2011-05-02T08:11:00.001-04:00

Gas prices are high, we all know that. However, if you search for gas prices in my community, you'll see that they look like they're "only" right around $4 per gallon. To see who is MOST getting screwed, check out this map. (Sorry, the map doesn't show Hawaii and Alaska)

Now here's what bugs me. I know that the people who work at these gas stations don't make very much money. And the people who own them struggle to stay afloat. But Exxon just reported RECORD profits.

I took Economics in college, so I know that the price of commodities goes up based on supply and demand. If there's less oil available, or if the supply line is interrupted, it makes sense that there would be some rise. And I can live with the idea that a company has to cover that rise with a slight increase in price.

But then, I would expect the percentage of their profit to stay the same -- after all, they're "ONLY" covering their costs, right?

Yeah, they're laughing all the way to the bank. It really irks me that we have just rolled over on this and they're trusting that we're too addicted to our cars or too stupid to change. There's no thought of "we're in this together." It's all about their profits. The oil companies have conditioned us to EXPECT a price rise due to instability of the producing countries, oil spills, bad weather, sunspots, etc. So we gripe, but we STILL PAY the price at the pump.

Yes, I know they're a business and responsible to their shareholders. But an honest ad would go something like this:

WE ARE A BIG OIL COMPANY

OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO MAKE MONEY

FOR OUR SHAREHOLDERS AND

OUR UPPER MANAGEMENT

WE WILL DO IT BASED ON YOUR WILLINGNESS

TO BE FLEECED.

THERE IS NO 'TOGETHER' IN THIS RELATIONSHIP

UNLESS YOU ARE ONE OF THE PEOPLE

MENTIONED ABOVE.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING.

So while I drive a hybrid, and I try to be smart about combining trips, I think my bike is going to see even more activity than in the past. My own little personal protest.

But first, for Mother's Day, would someone tell my family I need a new gel seat for the bike?

Thank you very much.

My Heart Hurts

2011-04-30T12:34:00.000-04:00

No, it's not angina after my bike ride yesterday, but thanks for being concerned. It's something silly and trivial and yet big and hurtful.

Today when we pulled into the parking lot at the Fencing Academy, there was a big fat robin sitting along the curb where the cars nose in. I even remarked, "look how FAT that one is!" As I slowly pulled up, I expected it to fly away. It hopped a little bit towards another car, but it didn't fly. That was my first clue.

I waited until it moved away and after I parked I got out and went to look at the bird. Up close it was clear that it was big and fat because it was seriously injured and was holding itself all fluffed up. Because we are owned by a bird, I know that is the "stressed" position. Peering closer, I could see its eyes were cloudy. More telling, it didn't fly off or try to move away at all.

My daughter asked me to call some Wildlife Rehabilitators so they could take care of it. That's why I got the iPhone, right? So I could look up things like that and make phone calls at important times? But every place that showed up on the list in the surrounding area dealt with injured raptors. Robins are not on the list of birds that Rehab places want to use their scarce resources on. I told her to go in to class and I'd think about what next to do. By then the robin had hopped up onto the sidewalk. As the students went in and out, they walked within inches of the bird and it didn't move. Most looked down at it, but no one stopped.

I needed to go to run an errand, so I told myself that if the robin was still there when I got back, I'd try a little harder to come up with an idea. When I returned, the bird was gone. My hope is that someone else took pity on it and did something useful or merciful, but I really don't know what happened. I walked around a bit outside looking for it or a corpse, but didn't see anything.

Across the parking lot I did see some fledglings trying out their flying skills, and I imagine that is what happen to this one. Perhaps it zigged when it should have zagged. Better that it would have been killed outright though.

I know God makes plenty of robins, and one more or less will not endanger the population. And I know that animals get injured and sick and many die, especially wild ones who don't have humans to spend increasingly obnoxious amounts of money on them. What bothered me about this, and what still bothers me, is that the bird was so obviously suffering.

What bothered me more is that I did not have a clue what to do about it. This wasn't one of those situations where I could put money in a bucket or make a paypal donation to let someone else alleviate the suffering of a creature. I really, really hate to see animals suffering -- even if it's just a spider!

And then I started wondering. If some of those children with huge eyes and distended bellies were actually in the parking lot of someplace I frequent, rather than in photographs, what would I do?

Last night, we watched The Blind Side. This is the remarkable story about a woman who couldn't stand to see a young man suffering so she did something about it. If you haven't seen it, you need to get it from Netflix. Don't be put off by the football player on it -- it's a true story of one of today's NFL players, Michael Oher.

I really need to spend some time in prayer about this who issue of how I should be responding to suffering around me. You see, I get impatient with people who seem to lean into their suffering. Or those who complain about their suffering constantly. I am much more drawn to those stoics -- like the robin -- who are carrying their pain silently as they just try to get through the next five minutes.

In the meantime, I know that Jesus asked,

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care." Matthew 10:29

I'm pretty sure that includes robins as well.

Be kind to one another today. And be particularly kind to the small ones amongst us.

Perfect Riding Weather

2011-04-29T15:31:00.000-04:00

I was to meet a friend for lunch at Silver Diner at 11, so I got on the bike at 9:30 -- just to be safe. What a perfect day for a ride. It is just cool enough to be comfortable in bike shorts with a windbreaker jacket. My ears were even a little bit cold when I had some downhill speed!

It was 4.1 miles there and 4.1 miles back, and I had a salad with salmon. But will my daughter give me any Easter candy? Ha ha

Here are some photos of the ride.

My neighbor's azaleas -- the photo does not do them justice!

This tree was HUGE

Doesn't that look like an invitation to another world?

Irises at Silver Diner

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

School Lunches

2011-04-28T07:36:00.002-04:00

I read a story yesterday about a school in Chicago that has banned home-packed lunches. The children MUST take the lunches served at the school. Here's the story: SCHOOL LUNCH I think the photo is eloquent.

The first eight years of my daughter's and five years of my son's education, they attended a school that did not have a cafeteria service, so school lunches were the ONLY option. On occasion my son spoke enviously of friends whose moms brought fast food to them. I asked the principal about it and she said it was an occasional treat when that mom was pulling "lunch" duty. That made sense to me. If I had to take my children out for an appointment, I would similarly treat them to something exceptional like fast food. (Especially milk shakes).

But, because I packed lunches for years, I'm pretty familiar with what's available and what they will eat. Fortunately, mine are NOT picky. They are both hungry by the time lunch rolls around, so if I pack it, they eat it. Of course, they occasionally trade for food (strictly prohibited at their schools but I'm not stupid).

So, if the locals were to ban my kids' packed lunches, this is what they would be telling my kids wasn't "good enough."

Daughter:
Deli Meat (usually ham) w/dot of mayo and bigger dot of horseradish on wheat bread
Slices of red or orange bell peppers (she loves them) or edamame or celery
An apple, orange slices or grapes
Milk (those little long shelf-life ones)
Yogurt (if we have it) or a treat (this week it's two pieces of Easter candy. Small pieces. I send two because she always has a friend who needs a lift)
Often, pieces of seaweed. She loves it.

Son
PBJ on wheat (used to be Sun Butter) x 2 (he's nearly 6 feet tall)
Orange slices or grapes
String Cheese or Hard Boiled Egg or both, depending on late his lunch is that day
Milk
Yogurt (if we have it) or a treat (this week it's two pieces of Easter candy. Small pieces. I send two because he is the horse trader in the family. And he only gets a treat if he makes time to practice his trumpet before he goes to school. But I'm not legalistic about it. Today he skated.)

Sometimes they get those small packages of Pringles or a handful of crackers of some kind. But we buy those very infrequently.

Interestingly, my son says the item that is the most 'high value' for trading is milk. The water fountains are too far away, and kids hate carrying water bottles, so by lunch time they are desperate for liquids. He also says the only kid he knows who brings soda consistently belongs to a teacher. Whoops! They can purchase bottled water (courtesy of the school system with its own logo) for $1.25 each.

You might notice my son doesn't take a vegetable. The easy one to take is carrots, but they make his mouth tingle. At dinner however, I try to make sure he eats twice as many vegetables as anyone else. And we ALWAYS have a salad at dinner and they ALWAYS eat some. Okay, maybe not always, but 96% of the time.

There is the argument that the children in the story might live in a food desert, or without sufficient resources to make good choices. I don't buy that. The free and reduced lunch programs for kids in those situations are very generous -- we're only talking about kids who pack their lunches.

And that's the key. The reason my kids' lunches are healthy is because I still pack them (yes, even for high school kids). They would choose what was quick and convenient instead of what might take 3 extra minutes but would be nutritious. Why? Because they're human beings, and most of us default to doing what is convenient rather than what is the best choice.

So, I guess the lesson for me, too, in my struggle to lose weight is that the few extra minutes to put together a healthy lunch is worth it. Leadership by example and all that.

Final point: I can tell you having left private school for public school, I am often dismayed at the implication the public school sends that "they" know MUCH BETTER how to raise my children than I do. This policy in Chicago is an example. And I'm dismayed at the number of parents who don't think they have any authority to challenge it!

Atticus Finch Says ...

2011-04-27T13:39:00.001-04:00

I recently received an e-mail from my uncle. He is a retired English teacher, so his e-mails are always formal and you can just HEAR a teacher's voice when you read them. But this was even more stiff and formal.

The e-mail informed me that one of his children, one of my cousins, has just received a final divorce decree. I didn't know the cousin was getting divorced until December, when another family member told me. When my uncle heard that the family member had told me, he was incensed and hostile towards the family member, and then called me to warn me that this was PRIVATE and NO ONE'S BUSINESS and that I was not to pass it on.

Okay, fine. I think his instinct to protect his child's privacy is a little over the top, but I respected his position. I didn't tell anyone else in the family -- not that any one else would have cared.

So, I have to say this thing has been weird all along. But this is one of the paragraphs in the e-mail he sent:

This has been an arduous process for [cousin's name], and we continue to champion all of [cousin's name]'s decisions related to these events. Above all, we remain steadfast in respecting [cousin's name]'s privacy on this matter and the decisions [cousin's name] might make about sharing any particulars with us or other family members.

It sounds to me like the cousin was afraid of what everyone might think -- including the parents. What I find so heartbreaking is that IF we had known, we would have been able to pray, encourage the cousin, and be loving.

I believe in what the great philosopher Atticus Finch said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

I would never have condemned, judged or maligned my cousin. I would have asked, "how can I help you?"

Sad. Very Sad.

Muffed Target

2011-04-26T14:33:00.000-04:00

It's a good thing Quilly plays, because it always reminds me to play, too! Tuesdays are very busy for me so its nice to slip it in.

To find the rules for Muffed Target, go HERE.

Here's my muffed target from Easter. I have NO idea what was going on at this moment.

He is Risen, Indeed!

2011-04-24T18:01:00.001-04:00

The family is coming over in about an hour, so just a quick note to wish you all a Happy Resurrection Sunday!

For fun, this year I made these:

Italian Sweet Bread with Easter Eggs in the middle. I did a trial batch yesterday. NO PHOTOS of that batch. Today the yeast worked better, and I was more confident!

The recipe is easy, so let me know if you want me to send it your way. OR, you can go get it from theitaliandishblog.com

I also made a German Potato Salad. This is really yummy. No photos though because no time!

4 potatoes
4 sliced bacon
1 Tbs all purpose flour
2 Tbs white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes in skins for about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, peel if you want to, and chop.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.

Add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until dressing is thick.

Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Enjoy your day!

From church this morning. That handsome trumpet player is my son.

UPDATE: Google (picasa) or Blogger or Apple (iPhone) is jerking me around and the video won't play. My apologies.