Germs?

"Unless you're in a kissing relationship,

skip the dip."

- as said by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

on NPRs Splendid Table radio show this weekend.

Anyone needing me to explain?

Words and Nerds

Am I a geek or a nerd? What's the difference? I think I'm a nerd.

I wasn't feeling so well (or good?) yesterday so I was laying prone or prostrate (hmm, both those word's definitions say "laying face downward" - forget that) on the couch most of the day tho (though) I did get up to put wood in the stove since it was cloudy and raining/slushing/snowing off-and-on all day (maybe three days of gray [or is it grey - what do you use?] are getting to me!). I guess I was under the weather!

So what did I do all day? I've had this list I've developed of apps people like for their iPhone. I researched them and downloaded what I thought I'd use.

Words again ... when do we use the word download vs upload?

I'm hooked! I spent the rest of the evening into night playing Boggle on my iPhone and this morning I inputted what I ate: for tracking food calories, fat ... nutrients, and exercise. I can file any notes, help with grocery or any other lists, look for recipe ideas including my own I've input into a recipe box for when I'm not at home, identify flowers, birds, and stars, read various Bible translations, and secure important data and passwords, listen to the radio or NPR ... how's about Scrabble?

Story from Monte

Three men were hiking through the forest when they came upon a large, raging, violent river. Needing to get on the other side, the first man prayed, “God, please give me the strength to cross the river.”
Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs and he was able to swim across in about 2 hours, having almost drowned twice.

After witnessing that, the second man prayed, “God, please give me strength and the tools to cross the river.” Poof! God gave him a rowboat and strong arms and strong legs and he was able to row across in about an hour after almost capsizing once.

Seeing what happened to the first two men, the third man prayed, “God, please give me the strength, the tools, and the intelligence to cross this river.” Poof! He was turned into a woman. She checked the map, hiked one hundred yards up stream and walked across the bridge.

Historical Discovery

This is from Monte's brother:

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year,
New York scientists found traces of copper wire
dating back 100 years and came to the conclusion
that their ancestors already had a telephone
network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the New Yorkers, in the weeks
that followed, a California archaeologist dug to a
depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story in
the LA Times read: "California archaeologists,
finding traces of 200 year old copper wire, have
concluded that their ancestors already had an
advanced high-tech communications network a
hundred years earlier than the New Yorkers."

One week later, The Town of Hill Journal, a local
newspaper in Wisconsin, reported the following:
After digging as deep as 30 feet in his pasture
near Town of Hill, Wis., Ole Olson, a self-taught
archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely
nothing. Ole has therefore concluded that 300
years ago, Wisconsin had already gone wireless.

Cinco de Mayo

I just returned from the grocery store cuz I'm making a Cinco de Mayo meal for guests ... but not on thee day today, but tomorrow night. We've got house guests coming. If kids were coming I might have considered a pinata. In Arizona we often celebrated with pinatas, and I've made them.

Traditional pinatas are seven pointed stars, representing the devil and seven deadly sins. Inside are blessings, the devil is withholding. The blindfolding represents faith, and striking 'the devil' releases the blessings.

I posted this last year and just had to do it today! -

Most people don't know that back in 1912,
Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England.
In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment
scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico,
which was to be the next port-of-call for the great ship
after its stop in New York.

This would have been the largest single shipment of
mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know,
the great ship did not make it to New York.
The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise,
and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss.
Their anguish was so great, that they declared
a National Day of Mourning,
which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year
on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.
_________________

I grew up next to Mexico. I do know the real Cinco de Mayo story.
Though a small victory against the French,
it was a turning point for Mexico.
Lots of gaiety, color, and good food.
How is Mexico celebrating today I wonder?

Nursery?

Monte sent me this:

On my first day of school, my parents dropped me off at the wrong nursery.
There I was….surrounded by trees and bushes...

Home Happenings

For goodness' sake, what have I wrought?! What the Dickens have I gone and done? I've done the typical for me, unpremeditated thing. Though this be madness, yet there is method in it (at least I think so). Am I a madwoman? Chaos is come again to my house and home. But what's done is done. Now I must face the consequence of my actions. Are you waiting with bated breath as to what I've done? Am I a fool?

Just for your information, the above italic words and phrases above are what we've adopted into our vocabulary from Shakespeare. Yesterday was his birthday. It's easy to find these expressions from the Bard in my Brush Up Your Shakespeare! book. 

But seriously, this home has got too much going on at once, and it's all my fault. My mother often told me I jump in and do things without thinking. But the point is, I do DO things ... and I've got a lot to do and wrap up. Should I paint a picture with words?

The greenhouse is full of flats and pots of seedlings, tubers, and bulbs. The dining room table is full of varying colored bolts of cotton weaving thread, cuz the kitchen table has a small tapestry weaving loom on it, in process. One couch has scattered colors of weaving loops for potholders. AND on top of that, I started painting walls! I guess, in one fell swoop, I'm going to have the downstairs clean, as I see the need to dust/wash everything before returning it to it's resting place or wall. 

BUT, I added more to that creative chaos. I've been so sick of the entryway color - the high up two story color. So I rented scaffolding. I'm not long-legged, and I get woozy at heights, and Monte's been too busy to ask, and I haven't wanted to add it to his 'honey-do' list, and he's out of town. And I want to surprise him. As the guy loaded the scaffolding into the truck yesterday, he asked if anyone was at home to help me set the pieces up. I texted Dawson and he thought it hilarious, and typical of him and me - jumping in and doing. Luckily he is home doing homework these next few days!

So, to work I need to go!

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow what will be? Hopefully no more snow! tho our altitude's forecast says "rain/snow showers" for the next few days - we'll see. I'm busy inside anyway, but anxiously awaiting to get my feet in dirt! Those little bulbs I planted in the grass when I aerated last fall with our hand drill, are blooming.

Later.

Weaving Potholders

While I await the snow's melting ...

I no longer have kids around to weave me potholders (almost 20 year old Dawson would if I asked him). My favorite over the years are these ones. I could go out and just buy some, but ... So after getting sick of the last dirty orange ones (Dawson one year wove a ton, using up my stash of loops, cuz he wanted to make a rug of them ... so I found it in the shed and have been using the usable ones ... but now they're all gone). I'm weaving my own. It's been fun.

Harrisville Designs has potholder kits and the best cotton loops. Don't buy the kits with nylon loops - useless for hot things, good grief! Harrisville also has the best colored wool for the felting I do.

I've been asked, so I'll post it here: My main source for felting wool and kits is from Halcyon Yarn. Halcyon sells some of the Harrisville wool and kits, like the potholders, too.

The Lord's Baseball Game

Freddy and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team.

The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate named 'Love.'

Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because "Love never fails."

The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.

The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass: Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked because he never swings at what Satan throws.

The bases were now loaded. The Lord then turned to Freddy and told him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Freddy said, "He sure doesn't look like much!"

Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen! But Satan was not worried; his center fielder let very few get by.

He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashin on the ground; the roaring crowds went wild as the ball continued over the fence . . . for a home run!

The Lord's team won!

The Lord then asked Freddy if he knew why Love, Faith and Godly Wisdom could get on base but couldn't win the game. Freddy answered that he didn't know why.

The Lord explained, "If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game, you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, Faith and Wisdom will get you on base but only My Grace can get you Home: 'For by Grace you are saved, it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast."

Psalm 84:11, "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Phil 4:13

What Art Can Really Do!

I'm smiling having watched this. What would be your response in this setting?

I'm remembering my mom and me watching "The Sound of Music" together when it first came out. Since as a young bride she joined her husband in Austria with war clean up, I was born there. During the movie, she'd say, "You were there. You were there." I'd like to go there - maybe this summer ... and see 1st-hand for myself!

Thanks for sending me this Beth. What art are you working on these days? Wish we could get together sometime, but now you're farther away (and busy with Grandbabies!).

Atheist's Day (April Fools)

Last year I posted about some April Fool's Day history so click here if you want to read that. But I remembered my sister Kelli had sent me something related to the day, so I found it and here it is:

The Atheist's Holiday

In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no Holiday to celebrate. The case was brought before a wise judge.

After listening to the long, passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and declared, "Case dismissed!" The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said; "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah ... yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!"

The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said; "Obviously your client is too confused to know about, or to celebrate the atheists' holiday!" The lawyer pompously said; "We're unaware of any such holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be, your honor?" The judge said; "Well it comes every year on exactly the same date---April 1st!"

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Psalm14:1, Psalm 53:1

Menopause

I just read this quote - 

"I have not lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere."

- unknown

Reminded me of a card I bought for myself more than a year ago and it sits on my desk. I'm posting a picture of the front of the card. When you open it, it says - 

"I think I'm going

through mental pause."

It's Peter Pan Day!

Starting in 1904 in England, everyone would wake up on this day and say "Peter Pan. We get to go see Peter Pan today!" The tradition of the play went on for years.

That's why Peter Pan movies periodically come out in December. The movie "Finding Neverland" came out for the 100th year anniversary in 2004.

I've been a Peter Pan fan for over a decade now. There's a message there that was a part of my pursuit that eventually led to my experiencing of God in a deep way.

I started with recognizing things missing in my life. I had become so rational, so "adultish". I wanted to regain my sense of wonder. So I started down a path of pursuing what it meant to be childlike.

My favorite Peter Pan movie is Spielberg's 1991 "Hook". The setting is Christmas, so he knew of the tradition of Peter Pan at Christmas time when families are gathered together seeking entertainment.

It's an "adultish" Peter in the movie. Grandma Wendy invited the family to England. Peter is forever on his cell phone. His wife is frustrated. His kids are enamoured with Wendy and the nursery window and are full of anticipation.

Grandma Wendy finally has to get in Peter's face and ask, "What do you remember of your story Peter?" Peter had forgotten his story. He didn't know who he was!

The rest of the story, since Captain Hook stole away his children, has Peter relearning how to be childlike to win back the hearts of his children. He had to relearn how to play, how to fly!

That too was my quest. Who was I really?

Watch the movie "Hook".

Watch "Finding Neverland" (with Johnny Depp!). It is so close to the real JM Barrie story in that it tells us why he wrote Peter Pan. Barrie wrote many stories inspired by his mother's Scottish highland tales. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Barrie saying, "I am a capable artist; but it begins to look to me as if you are a man of genius. Take care of yourself for my sake. It's a devilish hard thing for a man who writes so many novels as I do, that I should get so few to read. And I can read yours, and I love them."

In the movie you meet the family of boys who inspired the lost boys (the movie shows these boys' father as already dead, though in real life, Barrie nursed him through his illness.) When the Davies boys met Barrie, they said they'd found a childlike adult in the midst of stodgy Victorian England.

There's a line in the book that's central to Barrie's vision. Over the years his vision had been watered down, thinking it too dark for families. It's - "To die will be an awfully big adventure." This line is the heart of the story (as too in many stories, including the Gospel).

It's a looking for something good out of something tragic. Tolkein calls this 'eucatastrophy' - a victory of good over evil, but with a price to be paid - a redemptive sacrifice. So when faced with the possibility of drowning in Mermaid's Lagoon, Peter is going to make it an adventure.

Hmmm ... "to die will be an adventure"... Doesn't Jesus ask me to come to him as a child? and to die to self? and that in dying there's true life/living?!

Javalujah!

Javalujah!

For Fun !?!

Monte emailed me this -

Dorothy got lost in OZ because she had three men giving her directions!

I had forwarded a fun email to him earlier about all the dumb things guys do that would shorten their lives. He then added to the list by telling me a story of what his grandpa did ...

They were driving down the country road in Ogema and the ladder didn't fit in the vehicle. So Monte's grandpa drove with the ladder out the passenger window and the young Monte was sitting in the passenger seat with his head above the ladder, through a rung. They did hit a mailbox ...

Signs of Fall

Elk are bugling! It's a Fall thing we listen for. It's a 'rut' thing. Out of curiosity I looked up rut in my desktop dictionary: "an annual period of sexual activity in deer and some other animals, during which the males fight each other for access to the females" - that's it! That's what happens, sex education, from our windows' views. (Our houseguest was awakened last night by one bugling "by my window"!) 

The bulls bugle, beginning in late August, the females having hormone surges throughout Fall. They're trying to sound bigger than the other and see who can gather the largest harem. Sometimes we hear (and watch) the clashing of antlers, as they fight for supremacy. Then the rest of the year the big bulls are off in their all male fraternity clubs. (I might pull a picture from the internet Brian :-) (I don't have any pics in my computer photos, but I do think we have more pictures of elk than we have of our kids! I tease Monte.)

Like I posted last Spring, I used to make a Fall chart too, for the kids. Now it's just ingrained that we're aware of the Fall changes. Like the hummingbirds leave after Labor Day, and we look for the flocking of bluebirds or robins, as they're readying to leave for the winter. I always write the first frost on the calendar (last year's was Sept 3) - which we've not had yet this year, which is late (and very nice!). I love looking for the color changes. (We may see Wisconsin's and New England's colors this year!) I've got bear postings on my calendar too, like the time a bear had a well-rounded meal from our freezer!

Aha! I got the elk picture from Dawson's photoblog from last October that he titled "The Sacred Cows of Evergreen". I wish we could have captured pics of all the things we've seen in elk antlers: Christmas lights, hoses, clotheslines with dragging poles (that woke us one night!), our kid's big-wheel, and almost our dogs! We were awakened one night by the house shaking: the bull saw his reflection in our window and thought he'd 'fight' with it! It didn't break our "Hurd" window!! 

1988 Paul Hunt gymnastics comedy beam routine

This is 'Olympics' fun!

India Coffee Beans

Interesting story (or gross?) -

Somewhere in India, monkeys harvest the coffee beans. They eat the berries and spit out the beans. Humans pick up the beans and wash and roast them. Preferring the sweetest berries, means the ripest beans.

Hmmm....

Fun Calendar Stuff

I'm looking at a book I mentioned earlier today in a post, and I see some fun stuff. Some the book has, and some I wrote in it -

The state I live in, Colorado, became the 38th state, August 1, in 1876. And I wrote beside it that Dawson had suggested in celebration, "make a peak cake". And two national songs writers have birthdays in August: Francis Scott Key on the 1st - "Star Spangled Banner" (I cried when I read the story); Katherine Lee Bates on the 12th - "America the Beautiful" text, from having just been on Colorado's Pikes Peak.

Key inventors of television (the 13th) and radio (the 26th) have their birthdays this month. Boy, have those inventions changed our lives dramatically. And now we have the internet ...

The first week of August is National Clown week. PT Barnum once said, "Clowns are pegs used to hang circuses on." I'm posting this because it made me think of the original definition of the word 'clown'. I have the original 1828 Noah Webster dictionary, the first American dictionary. The word clown is just one example of how language changes. There is no mention of today's use and the image of today's clown (Like Ronald MacDonald - did you know that he's almost more known than Jesus?). Clown roots: a rustic; a churl; a man of coarse manners; an ill-bred man.

Travis, do you remember when a bat was flying around in our house? Landon was living with us then. We were all wondering how to catch the thing. Awesome Dawson adroitly caught it in his bug net! I wrote that in the book on August 7, but didn't write what year!

A.A.A.D.D.

This was on my sister-in-law Chris's family web page and I couldn't pass posting it to my sight. Several years ago I had checked out a bunch of books from the library on Home Organization. It had mentioned multi-tasking as good, unless you keep getting distracted. So if you know you are the type of person below, and you are wanting to get things done, stay put and accomplish the one thing or one room at a time. Sometimes I find it best to start a list for the next day's tasks the day or night before, so that when I wake in the morning, I don't forget what I wanted to try and get done that day.

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

the car isn't washed

the bills aren't paid

there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter

the flowers don't have enough water,

there is still only 1 check in my check book,

I can't find the remote,

I can't find my glasses,

and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....