OK ... just one more political post

How would CNN have reported the D-Day invasion?

Have a look.

thoughts on spontaneity

After the last post, thought I should try and put something up that was at least a LITTLE less cynical. (Lest D. see it, be affronted at my over-the-top-right-wingedness, and never read my blog again). :)

I am the world's least spontaneous person. Truly.

Those who know me are completely aware of this, but I was considering yesterday how this quality enters into so many little decisions.

Yesterday in the car, I was in the right lane (of 3), in preparation for an exit about a half mile ahead of me.

I saw several people driving in the left lane, who turned their blinker on, and moved over two lanes to the right, in order to get onto the same exit ramp I was using.

It struck me how foreign that would be to me. The only reason I could envision myself doing this is if I had suddenly realized I was missing my exit.

There was no last-minute-panic going on with these folks. They just didn't bother to move over until they were ready to exit.

I'll bet if someone calls those folks to suggest an evening out that same day, their first response would be "yes, sounds like fun!" I always have to mentally go through my plans for the evening first ... important plans like, "I was planning to water the plants on the balcony and empty the dishwasher," before I'm able to tear myself away from the original schedule and adapt to the new idea.

I'm glad I have spontaneous friends ... otherwise I think I'd turn into one of those little old ladies who "can't go out on Monday, because that's the night I clip my toenails." :)

Bad Trinka! No biscuit!

The Midwest vs. New Orleans ...

Have you seen the pictures from the Midwest floods of the people looting the liquor stores, carrying away televisions from retail stores, sitting on the roof begging for someone to take care of them; collected in the stadium complaining about the food and shelter being provided?



Neither have I.


(stolen from an email forward ... I have no idea who originally wrote it.)

awesome, awesome, AWESOME video

I don't understand the talk about "investing" at the end ... but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the rest of the video!



God changes lives, when we box up the mess, and give it to Him.

Please note - I've been told that links to inappropriate videos are appearing after this one is played. Please hit "stop" just before it ends, so you don't have to deal with them. Sorry about that!

Chick update

I was taking a picture of this little fellow on the side of the nest, and he flew away. His brother is still hunkering down, taking advantage of the free worms.

angry chicks

I went out onto my porch this morning to water the plants. In the process I scared off Mama-Robin, and she flew away before feeding the chicks.

They were ANGRY ... they stood up as tall as they could in the nest, and protested with all their little might. Their little spotted-tummies were all puffed out in indignation. It was quite adorable. Here's a picture of them today, in more sedate moments.



Today is my concealed-carry class. I'm so looking forward to it!

We're not really here

No birds here ... just a pile of feathers ... move along please ... nothing to see here

People are organisms ....

People are organisms strategically placed in our days to remind us why
we are SINGLE!!!!!!!!

I received this one-line email from T. yesterday, just as VBS was making my frustration level reach critical mass. :)

It's not the kids who were making me crazy - it was the ADULTS!

One of the leaders got a letter from a mother who thought her precious little fellow had been "persecuted". Apparently he was trying to "fast" on Wednesday, and we "forced him to eat."

Um ... yeah. The oldest POSSIBLE child we could have had at VBS was 12. A LOT of 12-year-olds choose to fast. And with 280 children in the building, I'm sure we took the time to force-feed the little darling, if he preferred to not eat his lunch!

Sorry ... was that me? Did I say that out loud? Oops!

Just for something a bit more pleasant ... here was a robin picture from last night.

not the most attractive birds I've ever seen ...

I had a good trip home yesterday, even with a two hour delay at my layover.

I was sad to hear that my grandfather passed away Friday night. The visitation will be Tuesday and the funeral Wednesday.

The robins hatched while I was away. They're not very pretty just yet. :)

a sticky experience

I had such an interesting day today. Sunrise and I went and stalked the re-sale shops, looking for deals, and found some nice things.

Then I ran some errands with D., and then tonight, A. came over, and did acupuncture on my ears. It is supposed to help with losing wight. So I'm looking forward to seeing how that works out!

It was a very interesting experience. The needles hurt a little bit going in, but not horribly so. Then I sat with them in for a half hour. It was actually quite a relaxing feeling, if you can believe it. Then she put some little beads on my ears stuck down with tiny round band-aids, and I'm supposed to pinch them periodically.

We'll see what comes of it. :)

a disappointment and a delightful surprise

Today we drove down to Glen Rose, Texas. It's an area that has a lot of dinosaur tracks, and other interesting fossils and such-like.

We discovered online that there was also a creation museum, and were looking forward to seeing it. Their web site looked interesting, and the entrance fee was only $2. We were quite anticipating it, and made it our first stop. It was obvious they had construction going on, and so you expect a certain amount of disorganization.

However ...

The exhibits (which may have been interesting) weren't labeled ... not at all. So you had no idea what you were looking at. We asked the man at the desk if there was a way to know what things were, and he said, "it's all in the video."

There WAS a video playing on the back wall, with a man preaching. But he was dwelling SO long on the theory that the flood was responsible for the conditions that create the perception of an old earth that you lost interest before he ever got to the point where he explained the exhibits.

It could have been interesting ... if only they had typed up a few labels and explanatory paragraphs ... instead, it was just ... well ... kind of pathetic. I hope that it was just a result of the construction, and that if I were to go back again in two years, things would be a trifle more impressive.

The delightful surprise was finding a lovely place to relax at a park there in Glen Rose. There were enormous boulders scattered around a wide, shallow river. It flowed about 10 inches deep over solid rock - so you could walk around, and sit in the water, without walking in mud, or worrying about snakes or creepy crawlies. We spent about 2 hours there, just enjoying the place. There was even a blue heron down-river keeping an eye on us.

By the way, I want to put in a plug for the Answers in Genesis creation museum in Cinncinatti. It is excellent!

enjoying my time in Dallas

So far, the time here has been a real treat. I've gotten some great visits with D., and the retreat went very well.

She was speaking on Atonement (becoming one with) God, and Atonement with Others. So we got some great visits about what it means to know God, and forgive those who have wronged us. The ladies who were there seemed to almost all have a lot of hurts in their life, and so it was a blessing that this topic was discussed.

The camp was beautiful, and I really had some great visits, also, with D's friend A., who came along too.

Today, I visited D's church - St. Philips Episcopal. They are a neat congregation - there is a real desire to learn their Bibles, and be involved in missions work. And folks are very friendly. I always enjoy visiting, even though Episcopal worship is QUITE different from what I'm used to. I guess new cultural experiences are always good!

Then this afternoon, I went along with D., and she did a Bible study on the HIV ward of Homeward Bound drug treatment hospital. There were about 7 people attending, and I really enjoyed meeting all of them. One fellow had the neatest comment. We were talking, in general, about how God can restore a person's innocence, but at some point Joshua marching around Jericho was brought up. This fellow mentioned that it was God asking them to have faith in Him, when He had the city conquered by this strange pattern of marching. The man said, "He could have just as well asked them to hop around the city on one leg, wearing a chicken mask." The image just popped into my mind of this big army hopping, with chicken-heads. I think I won't ever read Joshua 2 again without remembering that! :)

Tomorrow we have a surprise planned for D.'s friend Sunrise. She has been wanting a shed built in her back yard, and has the foundation started. We're hoping to buy some lumber and build the floor supports while she's at work.

Hope your day was a good one!

ahhh ... vacation

I had a good flight down to Dallas yesterday. Why are airports so kind to me when they're so nasty to others? :) I arrived 10 minutes early, and enjoyed basking in the sun until D. arrived to pick me up.

It has been a blessing to have a good, long visit with her already. She's been to a program called Pathways that has been a blessing to her, and I've appreciated hearing how God has used it.

Some neat plans on the horizon for this ten days ...

• A ladies' retreat where D. will be speaking
• Bungee jumping (hush mom ... just pretend you didn't read that line) :)
• Visiting the Bible study that D. does in an indigent HIV ward on Sunday afternoons
• Some Goodwill shopping ... I just love scrounging for bargains.
• Maybe a floating-down-the-river-on-an-inner-tube afternoon
• (If I decide I can stay awake long enough), going to observe the work being done with the Dallas Prostitute Initiative. This is a wonderful program where they reach out to these ladies, and instead of just arresting them, help them get drug treatment, and job and housing help. Though it runs from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. ... so I want to be sure I can stay conscious, if I DO go. :)
  

Robins-to-be

There has been a robin sitting on eggs on my porch. Today I took my camera out and held it up over the top of the nest and snapped a picture.

Looks like there are three potential bird-lets up there. :)

Things went fine in the nursery yesterday ... nobody died, and there was a nice grandma-type lady who took responsibility for anyone who cried.

I'm leaving Wednesday for vacation! Yippeee!

a picture for Kristen

I tried taking a picture today to show the highlights she put in my hair. I'm afraid it doesn't show up very well ... but it was the best I can do. Remember that any fashion choice I make must have "subtle" as one of the key adjectives, so even in person, most people can't quite figure out what's different. :)

more violets, and a persistent robin

I think these grow lights were well worth what I paid for them. :) My persevering robin is back, and has re-built his nest. I hope this one makes it -- I don't mind doing a little extra cleaning to be able to watch some babies grow!

a bit of stretching ...

I just volunteered to work in the nursery at church one Sunday/month.

Everyone who knows me just went into shock. :) I'm not good with children. I didn't "play" well when I WAS a child, let alone now. I was figuring it out yesterday, and it has been almost 20 years since I last changed a diaper. Babies tend to cry when they see me. But I'm going to give it a try, and see how it goes.

It seems like it's always the same people doing all the work in the nursery, and I ought to at least attempt to help out before deciding I'd be a miserable failure at it.

So ... if you plan to visit ...you might not want to bring small children on the 4th Sunday of the month, just to be safe. :)

My nieces seem to like me. I'm holding on to that as my one straw of hope that I might be able to serve without seriously traumatizing any of our little ones!

what twelve activities do you most enjoy?

A friend asked me this question today, and I found it very enjoyable putting my answer together.

Here's what I came up with!

1. watching the sun set or rise
2. training a dog or horse
3. learning a new skill or subject
4. conversations with trusted friends about what's happening with our hearts and souls
5. encouraging someone who's hurting
6. reading a riveting book
7. editing
8. cleaning / organizing / getting rid of un-needed stuff
9. travel to interesting places with non-stressful companions
10.watching a thunderstorm
11. finding bargains at thrift stores or garage sales
12. wandering museums

Give it a try, and leave your answer in the comments -- what 12 activities do you most enjoy?

a little light-headed ...

I had my hair highlighted last night, and she put a little bit of red in it too. (I love red hair.)

So now I've become horribly-vain-woman and keep looking in mirrors at my hair. :)

Unreasonably proud of this

The gun class last night was great! There were only 4 of us, and the teacher had a nice balance of making things very basic without talking down to us.

He set out all different kinds of hand-guns and explained how they worked, showed us how to hold them properly, load and unload them, and told us there was no live ammunition in the room.

Then he would use dummy bullets, and hand us each a gun, and ask us if it was loaded or not.

It was a very good experience -- gave me a lot of confidence that I understand how they work, and can handle them safely.

And I discovered in the end-of-class practice session that I really enjoy shooting. I brought my target home, and am quite proud of how I did! :) (Though I'm NOT proud of the fact I can't figure out how to rotate a picture on a Mac. Grrrr!!!! ... I can do it in a half dozen different programs and fashions on a PC. There's an obvious educational deficiency waiting to be addressed! The bottom of the target is actually on the right of the above picture.

The teacher said that if I practiced between now and then, I shouldn't have any problem with the CCW class, so I'm looking forward to that also!

Of course, the untold story of the target picture is that the instructor was really setting us up for success on our first try. He only put the targets about 10 feet away. :) But, it gave me the opportunity to try it, and I could see how I can improve with practice.

I just love learning new things. I wish I could make a living taking classes. :)