Too funny not to tell on myself

Earlier this afternoon I was in a hurry to get something eaten and get to a 6 p.m. meeting. So about 5:15 I was in the kitchen putting some shredded cheese on a tortilla to roll up for a quick snack.

I was going to put some picante sauce on it too and started shaking the jar. Then I discovered I'd already unscrewed the lid.

Yep, it came flying off the jar, landed on the counter, and picante sauce suddenly rains down on me, with the approximate velocity of the rain we had in central Oklahoma last week. It was in my hair, all over my clothes, on the counter and the floor.

So I took a quick shower, shampoo and clothes change before rushing out. I've got a lot of mopping, not to mention laundry, to do tonight.

Happy Birthday to ME!

It's been a good one. I've gotten many great cards from even greater friends, plus today is Palm Sunday. It doesn't happen often that my birthday falls on Palm Sunday or Easter, but usually it's around the same time.

I love Palm Sunday, especially watching the little kids waving the palms around the church sanctuary. It makes me cry, every.single.time. It's the good cry, of course, the kind that takes my breath away.

Good friends Anne and Cliff (plus Anne's son and his girlfriend) took me to lunch today at Chili's. We had an unusually long wait so we filled up on chips before we got our food and everyone wound up with go boxes for the leftovers. That's OK -- I got a free chocolate shake with sprinkles on it for dessert, which was shared all around.

This afternoon I had a delightful nap, so it's been a happy day.

The week coming up is Holy Week, so it will be a busy week. I'll be at church every day. Monday's a committee meeting; Tuesday is my Grief Share week (four more sessions!) Wednesday is choir rehearsal; Thursday is Maundy Thursday; Friday is Good Friday with the choir cantata. Saturday is the kids' Easter Egg hunt (I think I'll be skipping this) and Sunday next is Easter.

There's lot going on in the "regular" world this week, too. Some working, working on things for the auction coming up April 22, etc. I'll probably have to haul clothes to the laundromat too, because of the problems with the floor drain in the garage.

The weeds in the yard are getting pretty tall, too, so it's time to do the first mowing of the season. I'll have to wait for the ground to dry up some before I try to put the mower on it. I've got a neighbor a few houses down on the other side of the street who, for reasons unknown, removed all the grass from his yard and replaced it with a few large boulders with his house number written on them. Hm. It was real interesting (and "entertaining") driving through the river of mud after the torrential downpours we had this week. I wonder if I can find the city ordinance which requires grass to stop soil erosion -- new home builders are required to put down sod to stop it so mud doesn't get in the storm sewer.

Anyway, that's the news from Mount Pilot today. I wish everyone a wonderful April and an amazing experience this Holy Week!

As Dr. E.R. and E.R. head west

Know you are in safe hands out there in the wilderness. Yes, I bring you ...



Vigilante Peeps O' Justice!!

Just for ER, to show him I understand:

What's been going on

Tech posted a run-down of what he's been up to. What a busy guy! Out producing plays, writing novels and keeping up with work!

So taking a cue from him, I thought I'd post a run-down of some of the things keeping me busy.

There's the usual "trying to make a little money" thing. Trust me, I'm gooood at making little money. I'm working on beefing that up so I can pay my gas bill. (rolly eyes). Eh, that's another story for another day.

Most of my time is spent at church lately. I've been serving as a facilitator for a Grief Share group for a couple of months. There's another month or so left in this group. I won't be helping with the Divorce Care group this session -- after helping lead three series of Divorce Care, I'm taking a break.

It's a little hard to keep identifying myself as a "divorced person" 17 years after the fact. I don't feel "divorced" in the same way I did years ago. Sure, yes, I remember I was married for a brief time, but I more identify myself as a single midlife adult now. In all honesty, I cannot remember what my ex-husband looked like without going back to the photos. I don't know where he lives, what he does for a living or anything at all about his present life.

I'm also the chairman of the Care Team this year. We have a team of 12 members plus the associate pastor. Recently we have divided the congregation into "pastorates." Each care team member is responsible for their own pastorate, making sure everyone in the church has someone staying in contact with them, especially in a time of illness or loss. The care team also prays daily for those in their pastorates.

In my role I often make hospital visits and try to do followup care with those who have had losses (hence the implementation of the Grief Share course.) I had a hospital visit last night after the class ended, as a matter of fact.

I have a couple of other projects on my agenda this spring. The first is an auction set for April 22 -- the "Tie One On Chairity". I've challenged the congregation to rehab worn-out, old, ugly chairs into works of art and then bring them to be auctioned. They are limited only by their imaginations. I expect some fabulous contributions! Some of the men are being very secretive about their projects. I think some of them have some side bets going!

Even the kids in the church are getting into the challenge. Our preschool kids took one of the chairs, and one of the Sunday school classes took another. They have been working on sanding their chairs to get them ready to paint. I cannot wait to see what they come up with!

Besides the chairs, a second component of the auction is aprons! Yes!! Like my chicky apron in my avatar! I'll be making a few or 20 aprons for the auction myself. One will be made of men's neckties and I have some pretty interesting designs in mind for others.

All the money we raise in this auction will be given to a nonprofit group I'm familiar with that will use it to rehab housing for those who need affordable housing. I don't know how much money we'll raise, but I am optimistic and I know God will use whatever we raise and multiply it many times over. I'll keep you posted as things develop!

The other project is producing a couple of CDs with musicians in the church. One will be a CD of lullabies which we will give to new parents and grandparents. The other will be a CD of hymns which we will take to people in the hospital (along with a loaner CD player with headphones). I'll be working to find the right songs for vocalists, the handbell choir, a harpist, clarinet player and flutist. I may even be able to get the OCU brass quintet to help.

A story worth sharing

One of my very good friends shared this story with me this morning. It's one I think is worth sharing, although I have edited it a little. Yes, it's one of those "Pass this along the internet" stories, but the point is worth taking. I don't know where it originated, or whether the "facts" are as they are written. It doesn't matter.

Breakfast at McDonald's

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.

Her last project of the term was called, "Smile." The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.

I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.

I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.

As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling". His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.

He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.

The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted.

He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action.

I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.

I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting s pot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand.

He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you."

I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "God is here working through me to give you hope."

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me, Honey, to give me hope."

We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give. ; We are not church goers, but we are believers.

That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love.

I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.

I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it.

Then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?"

I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.

She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed.

In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student.

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.

Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.

To handle yourself, use your head. To handle others, use your heart. God Gives every bird it's food, but He does not throw it into its nest.

Time for fun

The little boy is now a wounded veteran

Great sadness fills my heart today.

The afternoon started out joyfully as I went out to the country to visit with some old friends. Actually, they were closer than friends; about 20 years ago I fully expected these would be the people who would become my in-laws. After a long relationship with their son, those dreams were shattered. We stayed friend for several more years before I moved on and made a bad marriage with someone else.

During those years, though, I was as close with them as with my own family. And at times, closer. I was friends with their other sons and their wives and we always joked about me being the "out-law" instead of an "in-law."

At any rate, I knew their grandchildren from the days they were born and considered them neices and nephews. They would stay with me for weekends and I would spoil them like an aunt should.

Unfortunately, over time relationships among the adults had to change. I had to step back -- how creepy is it for my ex to see me still involved with his family, after all? It wasn't fair to him or me.

Anyway, the kids I was closest to included Derek and his sister (I'll withhold her name because it's so uncommon.) Derek was always my little buddy. He was the one who was willing to wake up in the middle of the night for a drive to watch the meteor showers in the summers. He's the one who would borrow my dome tent and bring it back stinkin' like an 8-year-old boy. He's the one I helped pull out of the lake when he missed climbing on his uncle's sailboat.

And now, while visiting his grandparents this afternoon, he's the one I've just learned was injured in Iraq last week. They tell me his injuries are not life-threatening. That's all the grandparents know so far.

Everyone else in his unit wound up with head injuries when suicide bombers tried to drive a garbage truck loaded with explosives into a building at their location. Derek's lieutenant shot the driver, then shot the engine to stop the truck and the explosion. Everyone in the unit was wounded; Derek had an injury to his upper arm and his shoulder, and a belly wound. At first, the story was that Derek was the only one who had time to get his helmet and flak jacket on, but the belly wound was below where the jacket ended.

I don't know where he is or if he is being sent home. I can't help but cry, like I did when his toe got stuck under the door at the post office. This is much worse.

Prayers for comfort for the E.R. family

Good friend Erudite Redneck has lost Mama E.R. Please keep the family in prayer.

You have those days when you run through Jell-o?

Today was one, I guarantee it! Needed to write a story before leaving to drive up to Guthrie, but it was two sentences forward, one sentence backward. I started getting ready to leave, and the phone rang time after time. I finally have everything ready to walk out the door at the proper time. I had printed out the Mapquest directions and everything.

I know I should have trusted my instincts and taken the route I knew was closer, but instead of taking the state highway (kind of the "back way"), I trusted Mapquest. Not always the smart thing to do. Certainly wasn't today.

All of a sudden I see that I'm going to be late. Can't figure out how in the world, but I pulled over and made a couple of calls so the photographer and the subject would go ahead before a speech started. I fully expected to be there within 10 minutes.

Oh what a fool! 10 minutes??? What a laugh.

The phone rang, and I couldn't find it. It had slipped between the console and the seat and I had to pull over to find it. Greeeat... I expected it to be related to my destination. But when I found the phone and listened to the message, it was totally unrelated. Grrrr.

I got to Guthrie and tried to find the destination. Hee hee heeeeeeee!! Yeah. Dear Old Mapquest led me to areas of the town that are frequently flooded. There are no through streets where MapQuest is sending me. Just muddy dirt trails.

I get to the railroad crossing and there's a train which has been sitting there for a good, long time. I figure better to find an alternate route. After all, these are supposed to be numbered streets and I can probably figure out a different route to the right cross street.

Nu-uh. No way. I counted streets, thought I was in the right spot, and wind up circling around the creek that floods, on the opposite side of town. OH MY WORD!!

Do you have any idea what time I got to my 1 p.m. appointment? Guess.

No, it wasn't 10 minutes. It wasn't even 20 minutes. I didn't even get to the location until 2 p.m.!! I wanted to hurt someone.

OK, I got there. And then the guard at the gate asked for my driver's license. No problem. No problem.

Are you kidding???? It took me another 5 minutes to find my card holder. Know why? Because it was UNDER MY PHONE!

Yes indeed, I missed the speech completely. But I had called the guy who was speaking before he went on stage and told him I would meet up with him after the event ended. All's well that ends well, but man!! I was so glad to go home.

Another snowy day

I've still been laid low by this cold/flu/whatever bug, for almost a week now. I sometimes think I'm better, only to be surprised again. The cough medicine I take at night has spawned a series of disturbing dreams.

For one, Tuesday night a local station had a first-person story from one of its reporters whose home was invaded by squirrels, and saying that the cold has driven them into homes by the truckload. Exterminators are getting rich, apparently charging $1,000 a pop to clear them and their dearly (stinky) departed out of the houses.

That just set me up for a lucid nightmare about said problem. I couldn't decide whether it was a dream or reality when I (either in reality or dream) sat up about 4:15 a.m. thinking I heard a squirrel running in my bedroom. I pulled the covers up and squeezed my eyes shut (maybe) as things quieted again. Then I felt that small shift in the bed that reminded me of my dearly departed poodle, Fefe, jumping up on the bed to get warm next to me. I even felt the pressure of her body against my back and thought I felt her fur brush against my arm. I was convinced it was a squirrel mimicking that coziness but I was so terrified I couldn't open my eyes or move to turn on the light.

When I woke up, it took me some time to convince myself that it WAS just a dream, but there was no evidence of a fuzzy visitor -- and I seriously doubt squirrels are into the "cuddle up here" thing like a poodle is.

Last night I was asleep by 8 p.m., simply wiped out and ready to have Valentine's Day end. I thought I could catch up on the sleep I lost during "squirrel night."

I can't recall details of my dream last night right now, but Dreamland was again a less-than-pleasant place to be.

I woke up to more snow this morning, and no way of getting out of going out today. I do not look forward to being out there again. I managed to avoid outings for almost two weeks during the last of the storms. If only I could pull that off again! I know, I know... the rest of the world has to cope, and so do I. But I donwanna!!

I noticed when I started this post that I've had 500 posts on my blog since I started this. No significance to that other than it's like watching the odometer roll over on the car.

Stay warm!

Happy Valentine's Day

No one has dropped by here for a while, but Happy Valentine's day to anyone who may happen along.

What browser do you use?

I've pretty much switched over to Mozilla Firefox from IE. There's quite a difference between the appearance of the two browsers. Every now and then I have to switch between the two browsers to see how the blog looks. So if my blog looks really goofy, let me know. Sometimes I work hard to achieve a certain look, but all the work is wasted if someone's looking at it with a different browser.

The opening ceremonies

A few photos from the opening ceremonies of the International Builders Show in Orlando last week.

There was a musical -- "Stand Up and Cheer: A Musical Tribute to America" starring Jimmy Osmond.

Many genres of American music representing decades of our history were performed, from the Gay 90s to Rock-n-Roll.


There was Dixieland jazz --


Elegant dancers with the Big Band era --











and an orchestra with a great drummer.

Where I've been

I have returned from the International Builders Show in Orlando. It was amazing! I'll start with the fun social part of the trip, which was a blow-out party at Universal CityWalk in Orlando. The park was closed to the public during the homebuilders' Spike Party. Tables loaded with food were lined up end-to-end for at least a half-mile. Among other things, I got to see a tribute to Neil Diamond at one club, then a concert by World Class Rockers, a band made up of members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey, Toto, Steppenwolf and Santana.

Following that concert, I spent several hours at Bob Marley, a Tribute to Freedom. All I can say about that is ... what happens in Florida, stays in Florida.

The group with whom I partied finally drove me back to my hotel, miles away from everyone else's places, well after midnight. After packing, I got a one-hour nap before my tax arrived at 4 a.m. My flight headed home left at 6 a.m.

Unfortunately, the trip started catching up with me on the flight home. Smacked down by a dang cold that seems determined to keep me down for a good long time.

More about the business portion of the trip later. Gotta get something to eat and then go back to sleep, so I can try hard to get up early Monday and get some work done. Lots to write about!

Gone for a few days

I'm off on a business trip for a couple of days -- I'll be back by the weekend. Good news before I go: Erudite Redneck's Mama E.R. is getting to leave the heart hospital here and go closer to home for rehab. Best news in months for the whole family so we can all celebrate that good news!

I just took a tumble in the garage. To explain what happened, I have to tell you I've got a 1950s house with washer hookups in the garage. The washer is supposed to drain into a floor drain, but just letting the hose drain usually causes the garage to flood. So I created a makeshift utility sink from a large rubber garbage can -- the water flows from the discharge hose into the garbage can. I've cut a hole in the can and put a length of aquarium hose in the hole and then down into the floor drain. This lets the water flow more slowly in a controlled manner.

Well, controlled unless the garbage can tips and barricades the door. When that happens, as it did tonight, the garbage can can become wedged between the door and a shelving unit, making it virtually impossible to get the door open.

OK, well, I did get the door open. But then the garbage can tipped completely over, flooding the floor. And then I fell flat on my knees into the water and on the concrete floor. My shoes are soaked, my jeans are soaked and I think I did some damage to my knees just before I have to walk all day for the next three days. Owwwww.

Well, back to the laundry and to packing. I have to be at the airport at 4:30 a.m.

Another new drug

I just saw a commercial for another new drug. Cute graphics -- little colorful cartoony things extolling the ways it will make your life better.

The name of the drug is what threw me, though. It's called "Enablex." Now I ask you, doesn't that sound like the name of something that would be prescribed to CREATE a problem instead of solving one?

Patient: "Doctor, I just saw this ad for a new drug called 'Enablex.' I'd really like some. Can you write me a prescription?"

Doctor: "Well, I don't know, but let me ask you a few questions to see if you would benefit. First, have you received any therapy for co-dependency in the past six to 18 months?"

Patient: "Why no, doctor. Nothing like that."

Doctor: "Mmhmmm... OK, do you have any family members or close friends with drinking problems, compulsive shopping, chronic unemployment, drug use or narcissism?"

Patient: "What?! No! Everyone I know is doing just fine."

Doctor: "I'm so sorry to hear that. Yes, I can write you a prescription. Better yet, let me call this in for you. What pharmacy do you use? We need to get you started on Enablex TODAY! STAT!"

(cue music.)

Well, now, Enablex really isn't a drug to create an enabler out of healthy people. If you haven't figured out what it's for, go ahead and guess....


OK, here's the answer:

Enablex is another bladder control drug. Yep. Don't leave home without it or your balloon may burst, if the commercial is to be believed. Ka-Blooey!

Not to be insensitive to those who do have bladder control problems -- I know it is an embarrassing problem that can derail daily living. But hey, all you drug namers out there: Couldn't you come up with something better, maybe something like "Peenomore?"

Busy day with a nice finish

Long and busy day today. I put about 120 miles on my car going all over my part of the state. But when I got home, I couldn't park in my driveway because there was a floral delivery van at my house! I couldn't see anyone on the porch, so I thought it was one of my neighbor's friends taking liberties. WRONG. I parked at the curb and as I got out, a delivery woman asked if it was my house and if I was so-and-so. Yep, that's me, ol' so-and-so...

Anyway, she let me go open the door and set my things down as she got a delivery out FOR ME!!! Whee!!! And looky: beautiful pink tulips in a vase that makes me giddy-happy! Aren't they pretty?

Also good today: My car and house insurance payment went down about $10 a month today. And I've gotten quite a bit of extra work just this week. Halleluyer! Whew!

Removing a post

I don't think I've ever had to do this in the time I've had this blog, but I'm deleting a post and all the responses to it. Too much pain.

1 Corinthians 13 (The Message)

The Way of Love

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

About #23

My answer to #23 in the meme below seems to have attracted some attention, so I'll spill a little about my strange life.

I am, by nature, a night owl. I knew this way back in high school, and I suppose as much as anything that led me into the first part of my newspaper career, first in college and then as a copy editor/obit writer/copy chief/wire editor/layout editor/page 1 editor at a large metropolitan newspaper.

Even when I held daytime state jobs (for a total of about 7 years), I couldn't beat that late-night habit. And eventually I did go back to working nights for several more years before working days again as a mid-level editor.

I tend to be gearing up just about the time morning folks are crashing and burning for the night. And being a semi-solitary type, it sometimes doesn't suit me to sit at home. So if I'm particularly antsy, and the weather is OK, I'll go outside. Once I close the door behind me I usually jump in the car and go on an adventure, just to see what the world is doing when most people are asleep.

Several times over the past decade I've found myself downtown in the middle of the night, at the site of the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. It is a peaceful place now, but there are still spirits there that I can feel. Sometimes I'll park a block or so away from the memorial itself. Even now, in the light from the street lights, I can see shards of glass on the sidewalks shining like diamonds in the night.

I've spent time sitting in the chapel on the east side of the memorial, and walking around First United Methodist Church on the same block. I remember the afternoon I went in with a photographer friend of mine and someone who had been part of the rescue/recovery work, before the memorials were held. We were working on a book together for a while and we got a very private tour of the church -- areas that were used as the early morgue; where triage was done; where volunteers were fed and came to rest after their super-human work.

We also went to the sanctuary, where the stained glass ceiling fell that Wednesday morning right after Easter. The pastor was supposed to tape his weekly radio show that morning at 9 a.m., but his secretary just called to him from the door to say the radio station had to reschedule. He went back to his office at exactly 9:01; where he was standing a minute before was covered with the stained glass that rained down at 9:02.

The rose window on the west side balcony also blew out, twisted in its frame, though the glass remained. A large cross carried in the Good Friday service still leaned across that window with its eerie drape.

In the memorial itself, a rectangular reflective pool now covers the point where evil exploded. For some time after April 19, 1995, NW 5th Street remained open to pedestrian traffic. The point where the truck exploded was apparent. You could stand there and feel the gates of hell beneath your feet.

The pool reminds me of the power of baptism: Water covers evil and makes us new again.

The memorial brings me peace. The cyclone fence surrounding it remains a "people's memorial." Visitors from all over the world still come to bring tokens of remembrance: Teddy bears of all types; car tags; key chains; photographs; poems; T-shirts signed by individuals and groups. It is fascinating to see.

Perhaps the area I find most comforting is the grove of trees and the play area that were created as the children's memorial. So many children over the past decade-plus have come to learn what happened and they are able to start processing it by drawing pictures on the sidewalk with the chalk that's been provided for that purpose. Others write simple notes.

Come back again and I'll tell you more ... next up, my international adventures in the wee hours.

Tagged! I'm It!

It's been a while since I've gotten tagged to answer a meme, so this is kind of exciting. Tech tagged me to answer this meme from Crystal.




CRYSTAL'S MEME

1. Which super hero would you most likely have an affair with? Mighty Mouse. We were engaged when I was 4.

2. What show do you watch that you would be embarrassed to be seen watching? The Simpsons.

3. You've got an hour to waste doing anything you want -- what do you do? So many choices... sew, knit, read, sleep.

4. If the townspeople gathered together and ran you out of town, what would their reason be? Probably because I bought all the yarn in town.

5. Of all your friends, who is most likely to have been abducted by aliens? Linda.

6. Someone is looking at your body and says, "What is that??" What are they looking at? A couple of well-hidden and yet unattractive surgical scars.

7. Which monster do you most closely associate yourself with: vampire, werewolf, Frankenstein, or zombie? Zombie. I just seem to be among the walking dead these days.

8. What movie title best describes your love life? Psycho.

9. If your life had a theme song, what would it be? "What Kind of Fool Am I?"

10. Do you have any body part pierced? I had my ears pierced in 1984, but they have since closed up.

11. Are you easily distracted by bright, shiny objects? What? Did you say something?

12. If you had to wear a costume instead of regular clothes, what would you wear? Ma Kettle.

13. Do you think it's weird I'm asking and answering myself these questions? What? Did you say something again?

14. Who's your favorite Star Trek character? Capt. Pickard.

15. What animal gives you the heebie-jeebies? Skunks!

16. Do you eat the stems of broccoli? If they are tender.

17. What was something you did that could only be described as "white trashy"? Oh! In college I went with some drunken friends to Norman's Denco Diner and had a Denco Darlin'. (Don't ask. It involved a weird combo of food topped with two eggs lookin'. It was a requirement to graduate from the J-school.)

18. Did you ever do anything while you were drunk and had to learn about it from others later? The first time I drank I kept a diary of the experience, which wound up in the hands of the guy I dated at the time. He brought it to me some time later so I could see it.

19. Name your top 4 fantasy vacations. Returning to Switzerland; Italy; an extended stay in New York City with unlimited money; a month in the Pacific Northwest.

20. Name your top 4 fantasy jobs. Writer; architect; home builder; director of a non-profit.

21. Would you move for the person you loved? Yes. If someone loved me enough to ask me, I would move in a heartbeat.

22. What's the ringtone on your phone? Uh, ring..... ring..... ring..... (standard ringtone).

23. Can anyone verify your whereabouts from midnight to 5 am? Never. And people would be so surprised if they knew some of the places I have been between those hours.

24. What's one thing you hope to accomplish in 2007? To hold an auction to raise money for a housing ministry. It is in the planning stages right now.

25. Make up your own question and send it around. What is blocking you from being completely happy with your life right now?

And now I will tag any of you who are reading my blog. Leave me a note here so I can check out your answers! Thanks!

I will apologize now

Hi my friends. I hate to admit this out loud and in public because I know some of you won't approve, but I just finished drining a whole bottle of Sutter Home Merlot (2000).

Yes dear readers, I am totally drunk at the moment. I just thought it would be funny to admit it publicly. I feel so very good and relaxed for the first time in a long time.

There is someone on Jay Leno who I do not recognize. Tomorrrow I will look it up. My hero Ty Pennington will be on tonight too. I think he is so great.

I will stop now to avoid further embarrassment later. Please forgive me. I don't do this more than once a decade.

A little cleaning, a little cooking

So it's been about 10 days since the ice storm first hit. I've been out of my driveway two times -- both times to go to the grocery store a few blocks away to stock up for the duration.

We were supposed to get a ton of snow starting last night, but there was a large warm-air layer below the snow. By the time the precipitation got to the lower levels, it had melted into rain or a tiny bit of sleet. The temps today have been warm enough to do a lot of melting. Yay! However, if it freezes tonight, what we'll have is another thick layer of smooth ice! One step forward? Two slides back?

I'm still stocked with enough groceries to last a couple of weeks, which is not a bad thing. I've enjoyed cooking big pots of things and using up the leftovers on other days.

You know, despite being at home for a week and a half, I didn't get nearly the number of domestic things done that I had expected. I had planned to go spend some time at a girlfriend's house out in the country the night before it all started, but I (wisely) decided to stay home. I'd say that was a good choice -- she just got out yesterday for the first time, and today she and her fiance spent the day sledding on their property with their dog.

She and I talked the first day of the storm about all the things we were going to get done: Lots of cleaning, reorganizing ... all that stuff. Yeah. We talked again today and neither of us got any of that done. I've gotten caught up on much of the laundry that's been bugging me, but ho hum.

This afternoon and evening I've decided to bite the bullet and so I've attacked my office with gusto. It's a big job. Things have been piled up too long.

My work area is poorly laid out, with my computers in a beautiful big armoire that I love, but hate to work from. It's got lots of vertical space, and I need horizontal space. I'm short, and I spread my work out to the sides.

I'd love to move this piece to another area and build a table that spans the entire wall, with long shelves on the wall above the table. It's so very annoying to need the phone or printer, which are on a table to the side of the armoire. Sounds handy, but the dang armoire doors block my access to the machines on the table. Instead of being able to roll my chair a couple of inches, I have to get up, step around the armoire, close the door and then stretch to reach what I need.

I'm hoping that this clearing project will eventually make it possible to remedy the design flaws in this space so I can work more easily. I'll definitely need help from some muscle-y people when the time comes to move furniture around. The armoire is actually two pieces that are stacked. I may be able to use it in the living room... I'll give it some thought.

Anyway, you can see how my brain is working... it's taking its own scenic route like we SHEs tend to do (Sidetracked Home Executives, for those who don't know the lingo...)

Back to the project.

Time to get another trash bag to finish clearing out the junk, then I'll get down to "cleaning," a whole separate task from "clearing." I might get the clearing part done tonight. I wish I could say I'd get the cleaning done too, but that will probably be tomorrow.

Aren't you glad you came back to check up on me? I'm trying to be good because I want to get this out of the way and start working on some creative projects. I'm trying to be good. Honest I am.

A brief outing on Thursday

Thursday was my opportunity to make a brief outing to restock at the grocery store. It took me a good 25 minutes to scrape the ice off the windshield, hood and roof. It was kind of fun sliding off the huge pieces on the hood and roof and hearing them shatter on the far side of the car.

Even with that, while the car was warming up, getting out of the drive was a struggle. Fortunately I picked a time when traffic was sparse before trying to back up. Good thing, too. Getting over the 3 - to 4 -inch hump of ice behind the car was like trying to drive backwards over a curb. Once out, I was able to drive almost 5 mph down my street to the major intersection a block and a half or so from the house. When I got there it was pretty clear sailing to the grocery store three blocks away. About half the width of the outer lanes still had piles of ice, but the center lanes were actually passable!

The grocery store parking lot was half-frozen, half-flooded and plenty full of the cars of other shoppers trying to stock up before the approaching snow storm.

Speaking of snow... I'm honestly scared of what's coming. The "solid forecast" for the weekend is snow, a lot of heavy, wet snow. The forecast is for 5 to 12 inches! YES!! And in poor Amarillo, Texas, the forecast is for 19 inches! YES!! You read me right!!

The snow is supposed to start here about 11 p.m. Friday, moving northeast. It is supposed to snow at least through Sunday, and I'm afraid it could be at least another week before I'm brave enough to sally forth again.

I may be able to get some photos once the snow gets here just to show you how deep it gets, but it will have to be what I can shoot from here because I promise you I won't be driving on it! Yeah, call me the big Snow Chicken if you want. Bwak! Bwak!

When this stuff passes, look for me at Starbucks. My coffee buddy and I have missed three weeks so far and we're both having withdrawal.

Brrr brrr brrr brrr brrrrrrrrr!!!

Just a quick weather update for those who are wondering...

I haven't left my house since Thursday because of the ice. I have a solid white sheet of ice that is about 3 inches thick and so hard that I didn't leave footprints when I took some trash out to the cart at the side of the house. Didn't even break the surface. You can't see any footprints from the mailman either. That's some tough ice!

I was well stocked for this round of bad weather, but I'm hoping to be able to get to the grocery story Thursday or Friday before we get snow on top of the ice on Saturday. I know it will be asking a lot of the grocery store staff to have things on the shelves. If it should happen that I can't get out, I will live, but I will certainly be happier if I can restock my Diet Coke supply and maybe get a little more chocolate. We have our needs, after all!

I think the world is happier that I am stuck inside this house. Believe me, I don't need to crash my car or break a bone, and I don't want to do anything that would cause anyone else trouble either. I can do some of my work by phone, so I'm taking advantage of this situation as much as possible for the duration.

Maybe I'll crawl out for Groundhog Day! Or spring.

The photo above is from my front porch tonight. I didn't get out when it was light, so pardon the blur from the night shutter. I can barely see the curb on the far side of the street.

Makes me wish I had skates.

Withdrawing for a while

Dear friends and fellow Bloggers,

It is with great sorrow that I tell you that I'll not be blogging for a while. I can't even give you an estimate of how long I must leave my blog behind.

I find myself in a deep, dark hole right now for several reasons, the main one being the realization that I have neglected a very important friendship to the point that I've lost it and been called on it.

I am heartbroken to realize what I've done. All I can do right now is to urge all of you to contact your own friends and let them know how important they are to you. Don't do what I've done, please. Don't be negligent. Don't take people for granted. Don't expect them to understand -- there are no reasons that will matter. And the price is too high.

Happy New Year!

First, the greeting for the year: Happy New Year!

Second, a question for each of you. And I hope you'll share your answers here and discuss them.

The question: What makes you happy? Truly happy? I'm not talking about the moments that are absent of sorrows or troubles, but true HAPPINESS.

It seems so elusive at times, and each person defines it differently, so I invite conversation about happiness, how YOU recognize it, how YOU CREATE it.

Who's first? Don't be shy!

Saddam is dead

A little over an hour ago Saddam was hanged for crimes against humanity. This is one of those moments in history that we'll not forget.

It's a pity it overshadows the rememberances of former President Gerald Ford, who made his own history being the only man to serve as vice president and president without being elected to either office. His state funeral is tomorrow. It will be interesting to compare and contrast it with the services held for Ronald Reagan.

An Australian Miracle

As I have probably mentioned, I'm a moderator for a prayer group that has members all over the world. We've been together for just over four years now, and during that time there have been about 10,500 prayer requests made and/or answered. It's pretty remarkable to see what God can do in those times when things seem most bleak.

Recent examples include this note I received today from a member in Australia. I don't know if many of us in the U.S. have been following the devastating fires there, but please read this and see if you don't get a few goosebumps on top of goosebumps:

From the family in Australia:

"Today it is snowing and putting out the wildfires. Usually it's very hot there ... it is summer ... usually in the 110 degrees."

This family lives in the Australian bush country where the fires are so bad. Their son had totaled their car last week. Somehow they were able to get a bank loan for a new car over the phone and the bank drove the new car out to them so they could evacuate.

Here's the last part of their note:

"All is well with us, no smoke, clear blue skies and freezing cold winds off the snow - yes snow, it's snowing on the mt peaks above us, it's snowing on the bushfires and the firefighters, it's rained and it's freezing cold and Christmas morning bought the extinguishing of many of the fires - no better gift could be hoped for :-) ..... just so tickled pink that it's cold here, such a joyous treat, a cold Christmas, oh boy it's usually over 100 degrees!"

Here's a link to a news story about this snow storm. Can you possibly read it without giving thanks?

Bushfire Black Turns White

SNOW, and plenty of it, has doused the alpine bushfires in Victoria's east, transforming the blackened landscape into a brilliant white.

Christmas revellers - enjoying a sweltering 34C - took to Perth's popular beaches, and holidaymakers in Queensland intent on getting sand between their toes were not disappointed by the muggy 32C.

Melburnians, on the other hand, shrouded by smoke for the past fortnight, had their coldest-ever Christmas Day and were pelted with hail and chilled by arctic winds.

Just days after fearing deadly fires would destroy their mountain, residents atop Mt Buller, northeast of Melbourne, were hurling snowballs at each other and shaking their heads in amazement.

Likewise, in parts of Tasmania, and Thredbo, in the NSW snow territory, snowmen were the order of the day.

As much as 30mm of snow fell at Mt Baw Baw overnight.

"I've never seen snowfall before in my life, so I thought it would be worth it on Christmas Day just to go up there and have a look," 25-year-old Peter Tuffley said, gripping girlfriend Andrea Innes in the thick snow. "I loved it, it was great."

There is more on the way for Thredbo and Perisher in NSW.

Adelaide shivered through its coldest Christmas Day in 13 years. And Hobart hasn't had a Christmas quite as cold in more than two decades.

(Click the link for the full story!)

Another ongoing prayer request has been from the sister of a young man named Kendall.

Kendall's story begins at midnight on June 30, 2006, when he began having severe chest pain and shortness of breath. It wasn't long before he and his wife Andi knew further attention was necessary and headed to the ER. The next morning he was admitted to the hospital for a CT which later revealed a large mass in his right chest.

Just about daily since then, Kendall's sister posted an evening update and prayer request for Kendall, telling our group about how his day had gone and what his prognosis is.

I feel a little at ends tonight because this is the time when she usually posted, and I usually hurried to read the request and send it on out to the group. There has been no post for the past three nights.

Here's why, from her Saturday post:

Dear prayer warriors and family in Christ,

Kendall was home in time for lunch today. :-)

Now that Kendall is home I probably will not send out an update unless there is
a specific new prayer request. ...

I just can not thank you enough for your faithful prayers. Have a very Merry
Christmas!

Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans
to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

2 Corinthians 9:15 'Thank God for his Son—a gift too wonderful for words!'


All I can add to that is a big ol' AMEN!

Treasured gifts

I had an ornament exchange with some friends on a message board. Here are the ones I received from a pal in Iowa:


No girl can have too many shoes or purses. I would so wear those shoes if they came in a 6 1/2!

















Here's another purse:
























And a little penguin pal. "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille!" "Is this my good side?"

























And from another pal in Glenpool came this cutie:























But the two really meaningful gifts are these:



The angel is from my associate minister and coffee buddy. Saturday I had mentioned that my mom's dog had eaten the ornaments that had meant the most to me, including an angel that I had gotten when I was 4 from a neighbor man who had a greenhouse/nursery in his home. This angel had been on her family tree for many years. It was such a thoughtful sharing!









The little Christmas tree has a little secret. Open it up and you see the surprise -- a tiny little nativity! It was handmade in Belize and my friend got it when she was there on a mission trip with her son, helping to build a church.

My own tiny Christmas miracle

Sometimes it is hard to confess just how tight our finances are. It's a matter of pride for us not to let on that we're worried about where the next gallon of gasoline may be coming from, or whether we've got enough bread and milk to make it to payday.

In order for me to tell you about my Christmas miracle, though, I have to confess it, to lay it right out there in plain sight. Financially, it's a tight time for me. This whole year has been a pinch, no kidding.

I'm self employed, so I have no benefits that come from working for a company. Sure there's no doubt there are other ways I could make money. I admit right here also that I'd like to think I could still earn a living in my profession after a 30-year career. (Lord, yes, it also hurts to confess that 30-year thing...)

Anyway, my income has been less than minimum wage, to be perfectly honest. And from that I have to pay all of my business expenses, including equipment costs and all that blah-blah. Every penny that I earn is important and valuable.

This year I've had a summer full of expenses for my car as well as a big chunk of money spent to attend the funeral of an aunt, my dad's last surviving sibling. Those two particular things put me behind the 8-ball. And last month one of my editors forgot to pay me. Yeah, that was a real treat.

But the paycheck I get this coming week is supposed to include that pay, along with some extra bits and bobs I picked up last month. It will be a pretty nice check, if everything was handled right along the way.

Ah, but see, that check doesn't come until Saturday the 30th. And I'm flat broke. I've held on to $7 in one-dollar bills for the past two weeks to make sure I had money for my Saturday morning coffee meeting with a good friend and minister. A friend blessed me with a gift certificate that same week. I felt so blessed all inside and out for that simple, wonderful gift.

Last week I was doing some cleaning and stumbled across a little packet of folded up money. I figured it might be a couple of bills, but when I unfolded it, it was $5. OH my! I knew I could cut back to a small coffee and put the change in with my other $7 I was still pinching, and have enough for a coffee and a couple of gallons of gasoline. But then I saw a small cocoa was less, and it was a better substitute for my usual white chocolate mocha. I didn't miss my usual at all! (In fact I may switch to cocoa!)

I could give you more examples of those small moments where I've stretched a buck or found some loose change in a pocket, but the point is I've been blessed to have ENOUGH.

I wasn't so sure about Christmas eve and Christmas day, though.

It was important to me to celebrate my holiday alone this year. I NEED this holiday alone. It's hard to confess that too. We're made as social creatures and it's just peculiar to want to be alone at Christmas. But I have my reasons, many of them.

I've been stretching the food budget all month, cooking at home and making things that will stretch for several day. Who can seriously say that grabbing something at a drive-through is better than having a pot roast with onions, carrots and potatoes? Or cooking a turkey breast or a ham? All of these things are great reheated or used in sandwiches and they make several meals. My crock pot and my oven are my friends!

Even so. My last pot roast is past its prime at this point (or Past the Point of No Return, I'd say), and the ham bone is ready to go in the bean pot. Tasty, but not festive enough for Christmas celebration, even if I am going solo. The cupboard isn't quite bare, but there's mostly small cans of veggies in there -- great side dishes, but we need a centerpiece.

Somehow, I still have $3 or $4 from that $7 that's been lasting all month. I knew that wasn't going to cut it, so I was delighted when I remembered I still had ONE PIGGY BANK I hadn't yet tapped. It was a giant Hershey bar piggy bank that was so full it wouldn't hold anything else.
I knew the Hershey bar would be stuffed with pennies, but I thought there might be enough other change in there to cover the cost of some ground beef and a bag of potatoes. I started shaking out my riches. The first handsful were all pennies. I moved down to the floor, where my cardboard cutting board from sewing last night was still unfolded. Makes a great counting surface.

I kept shaking and shaking. A few quarters -- wonderful! Tons of nickels and dimes. Things look good again! Ah, but something's cloggin the opening.

One dollar bill. Then another. Then ... $7. All in one-dollar bills.

I shook until there was no more rattling. Then I checked inside with my finger just one more time and felt another bill in there. Hmmmm... maybe I can get some real chocolate?

I pulled the bill out and started crying. It was $20. Oh my gosh. I started crying harder. Not because this meant a GREAT feast, but because of the many times in my life when I've been blessed by a $20 bill when I was in real need.

There was the time I was walking at the mall, penniless, and looked down to see a $20 on the floor in front of me, with absolutely not another person anywhere close to it. I did what I thought was the right thing and turned it in to a clerk at the closest store, figuring someone would need that enough to come back trying to find it. Yeah, the clerk thought I was a fool for sure.

Funny thing ... that same hour, I went home and walked my dog in the little park across from my apartment. Just the two of us among the trees as she did her business. And there, against the trunk of the tree in front of me, was a $20 bill.

I kid you not.

I started laughing, looked at the sky and said "Thanks, God. I get it. And I thank you."

That's exactly how I felt again today when the last thing in the Hershey bank was a $20.

I folded up those extra $7, by the way, and put them in the spot where I keep my coffee money. I'll make it through, for sure, until that check comes.

So then what? I jumped up, put that $20 in my pocket with the dribs of the month's money, and hopped over to the grocery store before it closed for Christmas eve. I got a 5-lb. bag of potatoes, some bananas and a couple of oranges -- one for tonight and one for tomorrow. Then I headed back to pick up some ground beef. And stopped in my tracks, when I saw the butcher moving around turkeys that had just been marked down. I had a $9 package of ground beef in my hand that I put back, and instead got an 11-pound turkey for $7.25. Yes indeed. A feast will be had here tomorrow.

I picked up a package of frozen yeast rolls, a $3 pizza for tonight, a half gallon of skim milk and a bottle of Diet Coke (on sale for 88 cents).

Guess what my total was? OK, I'll tell you. $20.84. I guess God made me pay for that Diet Coke myself. LOL!

Every time I have one of these events in my life, I remember the hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow." Let not your heart be troubled.

More than my petty budgeting issues, let's take tonight to remember the even greater gift given to us.

Luke 2:10-11:

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.


May peace and joy be yours this day.

Wow, you want more?

Hi there everyone, and welcome to Rave! Glad to have another local reader!

When I started to write today's update, I took advantage of the opportunity to switch over to Blogger Beta. I think they've gotten enough of the bugs worked out to make it worthwhile now to go ahead. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things work correctly.

Well, no, the hairspray and makeup stuff didn't really kill me, but it has been a pretty busy week or so since I last posted. That's usually a very good thing because it means more income, but more importantly it means I'm getting to meet new people. And most of the people I meet are incredibly interesting in some form or fashion. It's always a pleasure to be able to tell their stories about their lives and what they are doing.

And of course the holidays are upon us. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. My handbell choir will be playing for the morning service -- we've cut back to just one morning service for tomorrow only because we'll have three evening services with communion.

I've got a project in the works this afternoon. The granddaughter of my friend (associate minister at my church) is getting a baby dollie for Christmas. And I happened to have some fleece at the house, so I am going to make a no-sew blankie for the little girl, with one for the dollie to match, plus a matching pillow so they can all take their naps together. The fleece happens to match a prayer blanket I made for the little girl's great-grandmother last month. (see photo below)

I wish you all a very happy Christmas eve and Christmas day! May the joy of Christ's birth be in your heart! That's the best story any of us could ever tell.

What a night

I've been painted up and duded up tonight -- there's even HAIR SPRAY in my graying locks.

The fancy dress is back in the closet until there's another "occasion" and it's time to scrub off the extra makeup before my face cracks.

Yes folks, it was all for a Christmas Banquet -- a formal occasion for a professional association, which I was invited to attend when an editor/friend couldn't go.

There's a big ol' part of me that hates this stuff, being the unhitched person I am. I go to these things alone, which is in itself intimidating enough. And though I know many people in this particular industry, I'm still the odd person out, which can be mighty uncomfortable.

It probably was not as bad as I feared earlier. I had on my good-smellum and some shiny object hanging around my neck, to go with the ozone-depleting spray that lacquered my hair, so no one stared agog at me like I was some freak. I shared a table with six people, none of whom were actually members of this industry. They were "associate members" of the association, meaning they are in related fields and were invited to create even tighter business connections for the new year.

Dinner was great, I have to say. Prime rib AND lobster, with asparagus and doctored up potatoes and a great little chocolate mousse with berries. My companions and I were seated at the "undone" table. Silverware had been tossed on the table, sort of in place settings, but sloppily, and without napkins, centerpiece, glasses or drink pitchers. Yeah, the crew got distracted before they finished up our table, and I had to ask four times for someone to bring us napkins. But hey, we pretty much wound up with what we needed and we all enjoyed our meal and our conversations.

There were plenty of awards and installation of officers. That's where the people I know were -- at the numbered tables in the center front of the room. The new president of this group had his family and employees there, and they took up well over half of all the seats in the room. It was great fun watching them celebrate his installation.

I made my departure when the dancing portion of the program started. It was a good time to say goodnight to my table companions.

I'll feel better when the makeup comes off and I can brush the glue out of my hair. Getting fancy is nice, once in a while, but getting normal is even better.

What could be better?

My usual Sunday evening habit involves watching English comedies on OETA (PBS). I usually set aside "me" time to watch "Keeping up Appearances," "As Time Goes By" and "The Vicar of Dibley."

Well, imagine my delight when at the end of "Vicar" (the Christmas pageant episode, BTW, good to the bone!) OETA goes straight into "Great Performances: A Tribute to James Taylor."

Swoooooon! I was taken right back to 1973 when his music first warmed up my heart. How could it not when you hear Carole King singing "You've Got a Friend" as Taylor sat in the audience. My heart was beating faster, hoping against hope that he would leap up on the stage and sing with her.

And then, a voice cracked with emotion picks up "Winter, spring, summer or fall..." as Taylor walks onstage (from the back. Like the rest of us James is past the leaping on stage part of life.)

Now he's singing "Shed a Little Light" -- a song written to honor the birthday of Martin Luther King. Beautiful. Beautiful.

His final song for the night: "How Sweet It Is (to be loved by you). Taylor's brother, Livingston, his two youngest boys and wife joined the party onstage.

Tonight I celebrate the serendipity of stumbling across this program at the exact moment my spirit needed it. What a great way to bid goodnight to this weekend. And my memory flies back to that time in 1973 when several of my friends and I sat around on a Friday night at the Wesley foundation listening to a James Taylor album playing on the stereo, in candlelight. It got very quiet that night when "You've Got a Friend" played, until the chorus.

Through the dark, through the years...

you just call out my name, and you know wherever I am I'll come running to see you again.

Miserable weather

It's 10:21 p.m. Thursday and we're in the midst of a terrible, widespread winter storm. It is 24 degrees with a wind chill of 8 and it is still snowing. Ice has covered everything. The weatherman just said we have gotten 7 inches of snow. We'll see low temperatures tonight in the single digits. I dunno -- hard for me to tell that it's that much. I'd say maybe 3 to 4 inches here at my house, with some drifts much deeper around the car.

The weather is making it impossible for me to get some of my work done for this week. I got the "must haves" taken care of, but there were a couple of others I needed/wanted to work on. The people I need for those, though, have done like me and stayed holed up at home. I can't blame them and there's nothing I can do about it. That's the problem with newspapering though -- rare is it that a newspaper person in any capacity gets to take off because of weather. I've spun out at 2 a.m. on the way home more than once. At my advanced age, (cough), I have become more obstinate (is that possible???) and refuse to take chances that I once did. My work is not that essential or critical, and praise the Lord I can do so much of what I do right here at home.

Anyway, like I said, I don't have to get out, but I know people who must, no matter what. E.R. is one of those, so pray for his safe travel. Also please pray for his mother who has been brought to OKC for heart surgery from the Fort Smith area. That's a long way from home, in the worst storm in a long time, for a serious problem. I sure wish the weather was better for that family since they've already got more than they can say grace over.

I'm well prepared to stay inside with the doors shut for several days if I have to. The fridge is stocked and the laundry is sorta caught up, so I don't have to go out to the garage to wash clothes. I'll stay inside, wearing my long johns and wrapping up in a quilt when I need to. Until the sun comes out I'll be protecting the public by staying off the street.

Y'all stay safe and warm now, y'hear?

Silly thoughts

You know what it's like when you see people in certain conditions, without knowing the whole context? Like when you see someone talking to themselves before you realize they're on a blue-tooth phone?

That's what I thought of when I took these photos at my friends' Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know these young guys, but they were part of the friends' family.

Now, just imagine telling guys this age to go outside and make up a dance like this. They would tell you you're crazy! But put a ball in the air, and it all makes sense, in a ballet kind of way.





Dainty, aren't they?? LOL!

Yes, yes, yes! It is Thanksgiving

It must be Thanksgiving! Here's how I know: Time spent with very best friends and their families; standing together, holding hands as we say prayers of gratitude; tons of food consumed and beverages drunk; fun time spent in the sunshine enjoying a glorious record warm day; hundreds of photographs taken for sharing memories; sounds of football games coming from the TV in the living room where some of the guys were gathered; children playing all over the place.

And one more thing. The thing that PROVES this is Thanksgiving in Oklahoma: I just saw the B.C. Clark Jewelers anniversary sale commercial during the 10 p.m. news.

I've posted about this in previous years; it still brings me a moment of comfort waiting for that first airing each year.

This happens to be the 50th anniversary of the jingle, and since we're now just a year away from the state's centennial, here's one version of the jingle for you. This is the bouncing ball jingle:
Bouncing Ball

For other versions, you can check out Other jingles.

Enjoy!

Friends' kids enjoying the weekend

Playing follow-the-leader with the dog then throwing rocks in the pond to stir up the cattail pollen.

Happy 99!!

I cannot let this day go by without wishing my fellow native Oklahomans a hearty "HAPPY STATEHOOD DAY!" Today is the 99th anniversary of Oklahoma's Statehood Day.

Hang on folks, the next year sweeping toward 100 will be GRAND!

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A Oklahoma! OK!

A Simple Guide for Behavior

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults — unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

"Don't be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don't reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you're only being cute and inviting sacrilege.

"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get."

(Matthew 7 from "The Message//Remix: The Bible in Contemporary Language" by Eugene H. Peterson.)

This was one of two passages read this morning at the dedication of a home that was moved and renovated by Mustard Seed Development Corporation: A Partnership With God. This little dedication, which lasted maybe half an hour, was one of the most powerful examples of human flesh becoming the arms and legs for God I've seen in quite a while.

The house is now located in a comeback neighborhood in north Oklahoma City, just a stone's throw west of my former office. It's been blighted with violence, drug infestation -- and mostly, poverty -- for the past 25 to 30 years. It's near the neighborhood where I bought my first house; I moved out right after my house was hit during a drive-by shooting aimed at my next door neighbor's teen daughters.

The house that was dedicated Saturday morning originally belonged to an Edmond doctor and his wife. They donated the home to Mustard Seed rather than bulldozing it when they decided to use the property for a new office building.

God's hand has been all over this project from before the beginning. First, a woman familiar with Mustard Seed's work on another project contacted Santa Claus -- the executive director of Mustard Seed (see yesterday's post). The next day he was contacted by this doctor and his wife about the donation of this house they had. The NEXT day, a landowner in this blighted neighborhood called him and said he had a vacant lot he was interested in donating.

Before the first week was up, the agency's finance gurus had raised the money to make it happen.

Things like this don't just happen, not even in efficient organizations, without God's hand being on top of it in a big way.

I had the chance to visit with the new homeowner today and she told me all the ways this was a blessing to her. It's material that I'll use in an article, but I'll tell you it was a powerful testimony.

Ah, but there is something even more powerful, which will never see newspaper ink. And I think this is the REAL story about this deal.

The doctor and his wife attended this morning's dedication. So did the people who donated the first house that was renovated by Mustard Seed. So did two city council members. And several neighbors. And others who were instrumental in fundraising and the behind-the-scenes work that helped pull this together.

And so did Sherman, who lives across the street.

Sherman is a black man in his 60s who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years or so.

"I'm Uncle to a bunch of kids around here, kids who have grown up now and have kids of their own who call me Uncle too," Sherman said. "Most of them I don't even know their names any more, but when they call me Uncle I look at them and wave and try to remember them for the next time."

Sherman keeps an eye on his block, better than Gladys Kravitz ever could. He knows who comes and goes on the street and knows who belongs here and who doesn't. During the day he walks the block, visiting with his neighbors. At night, he keeps watch through his curtained windows like Gladys.

"I used to work security at night, so it's hard for me to get to sleep and I just keep watch," he said.

He starts pointing out where everyone lives on the street.

"I used to live in this house next door and I owned this lot," nodding at the new house. "Then I lived down there, and then over there, and now with my mom across the street there. I want to get her a new roof, because without a good roof you don't have a good house."

The doctor's wife touched his arm, her mouth open slightly.

"You donated this land, didn't you?" she asked him quietly.

Sherman just touched his lips with one finger. "It's better not to tell your secrets when you do something good," he whispered.

"But this makes us partners, doesn't it?" she said. Both she and her husband shook Sherman's hand. I felt like a sacred observer, being the only person who saw this exchange between them.

Sherman turned back to me.

"I came to Oklahoma City in 1968. I had been a poor black cotton picker before I got here and made 75 cents an hour," he said. "When I got here I got a job and they said they could start me out at two dollars and fifty cents an hour. $2.50 for cleaning rooms! I was going to get rich!"

Later Sherman and his daughter, who was 4, moved to Alaska. "We moved back here when she was 7, still intact," he laughed.

"I married a woman I thought was the finest woman in the whole world and we lived here next door," he said. "She was so fine I felt like I needed to put her on top of the house to see her. But she done me wrong."

Sherman was down so low he was ready to die after that split. His heart was broken.

"I figured if I was going to die, I might as well die for something," he said. "So I joined the military and did my service."

He talked more about God's blessings in his life. He learned a trade and made a life he never dreamed possible during his young years as a poor, cotton-picking black man.

Today, though, Sherman got to see how he made a difference in someone else's life. He got to see the power of neighbors working together to change a neighborhood. And for the most part, he has gotten to keep his secret. I don't think it was an accident that I was privileged to hear his story or to see his secret partnership with the doctor and his wife.

Thank you Father God for Sherman and his goodness, and for the goodness of all the others who made today's blessing what it was.

What a fascinating day!

There are days, which follow weeks like this, when I start the morning with a prayer asking for the eyes and heart to see the wonder in my humdrum life. I have learned without fail that this prayer is always answered in abundance, in unexpected and delightful ways.

The first time I clearly remember saying such a prayer, I was on a four-wheeler zooming across a golden pasture an hour later. Completely unexpected, and totally one of the best days of my life. I still laugh as I remember how much I dreaded making a trip to a country development way south of the metro area. I flat did not want to go that particular day.

Not only did I have the thrill of driving a stranger's vehicle wide open across untouched prairie, but I learned so much from the man and how he conducted his business. He was the kind of guy who could dig a hole and make money selling the dirt. Literally! He had dredged out a lake on a piece of property he was developing in Colorado, and sold the dirt to landscaping companies in a five-state area!

He also had closed out some livestock operations and was looking for another way to make some money from the land. Well, he happened to discover that the hay made excellent bedding for apes, and coincidentally was an excellent food for giraffes. Zoos could not buy enough -- turns out his stuff cut down remarkably on the number of respiratory infections giraffes got.

Likewise, he had owned a horse trailer company, which he started to meet his own needs in transporting horses. After selling off the horses, he looked for another way to use the trailer company and before you know it, he was making specialized trailers for catering companies to use as party trailers at big rodeo events and other venues!

Seriously, I think the man could sneeze and make money.

It took a few days to pry the smile off my face, not just for all I saw, learned and did that day, but because it was such an obvious answer to the pitiful prayer I had whined that morning. Lord, help me see the good -- and boy did he!


And so it was with today.

First thing this morning, I returned to the home of a man I had interviewed a few weeks ago. One of the editors I sometimes work for had wanted me to make a photo assignment to go with the story, so we went back to Buck's home. Buck happens to be the uncle of my best friend's fiance, so I have sort of a familial feeling, like he's my adopted uncle twice removed or something. I think he's a great guy and he's got a fascinating story as a retired furniture maker.

Anyway, I enjoyed getting to visit with him again for a little bit and getting to play with his little dog, Penny. After the photographer left, we visited a few more minutes. I told him I was going out to his nephew's house to dog sit later in the day. We started talking about fishing in his pond and half-joked that we should get out there with a couple of poles this afternoon. I told him I'd be content to sit out there with a stick and not even mess with a hook.

Seeing Buck again put me in an even better mood and I caught myself smiling as I drove the few blocks to the next appointment. I was meeting with the leaders of a nonprofit housing group in the same area.

Sometimes, when I meet with people in this type of nonprofit work, I get the impression that there are some very big-hearted people with big visions and very small business plans. They often are underfunded and dream bigger than their purse will pay for.

When I drove up, the banker who is part of the leadership team was sitting in her little sports car, talking on her cell phone. I didn't rush to get out of my car -- I made a few notes, then decided to get out and look around, while she finished her call.

I heard another car down the block and it caught my attention. It was a ruby-red PT Cruiser, sparkling like a gem. Driving it was a chubby man with long, white hair and a long, full white beard. His deep blue eyes twinkled through his wire glasses.... are you getting the picture here?

Guess what his car tag said. Go on, guess!

SLEIGH.

He slammed on the brakes and slid to a stop right next to me, hopped out and called me by name. I shook his hand and realized my mouth was hanging open. I snapped it shut, smiled and said "Yes, I'm so-and-so. Glad to meet you!" He laughed and introduced himself by name.

We wound up talking for a very long time about the nonprofit's work, and a bunch of other stuff. He said something about being busy with his "other" job. Yes, indeed, he IS Santa Claus and has the pictures to prove it. He works during the season at a Christmas store called North Pole City. Honestly, it's one of my favorite places. Walking through it makes me feel like a young child again. Sometimes I make a couple of trips there during the season just to experience that joy that the holiday always brought.

Meeting Santa Claus was enough of a delight for the day, but wasn't really even the biggest blessing of our meeting. We had moved the meeting to the nonprofit's office space in a nearby church, and during that second part of our conversation I started realizing that I have done several stories on such housing ministries. Small clusters of houses are being renovated and rebuilt in formerly blighted neighborhoods all over this metropolitan area.

You know what? When I started with that thought, I realized exactly what I was witnessing. With each of these groups and their work, I am seeing God's fingerprints all over this city! YES! That's what they are!

Not any group can do everything, but every group can do something. And with each change that each group makes to improve housing for the poor and disenfranchised in our city, we're making life better for everyone here.

You've no doubt heard or read the statement: "If you want peace, work for justice." These ministries and non-profit projects do exactly that. They instill the pride of home ownership in parts of the city where ownership rates are miserably low. They treat people with dignity and respect. They bring neighbors together in areas where such contact has been unheard of.

Yes, I can see God's fingerprints on this neighborhood and this non-profit.

Security bars are coming off windows. Drug houses are being abolished and replaced with good, quality homes that are safe. People are able to sit on their porches again and visit with their neighbors.

And in this area, one of the neighbors is Santa Claus. He is so vested in his work and seeing this neighborhood improve, that he's actually bought a home there himself, so he can be present with those he's trying to assist. It's the best way to find out what their needs really are, he says. It also helps him see what the neighborhood resources are.

And who knows -- there may be some child out there who is writing a letter to Santa asking for a safe place to live. There's a good chance that's a request that would be granted.

It's been a tough week or two

I've been doing a lot more extra work the past couple of weeks, so I haven't had any time for blogging or even much blog reading. I've missed it!

Yesterday I worked hard and steady from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. -- I finally did get to eat about supper time. Unfortunately once I did, I started moving in slow motion.

All tallied, I wrote about 2,700 words, did three interviews, shot two photo sessions and I don't know how many phone calls during the brief moments I was home in my office. I fell asleep in my clothes once I sat down on the bed to take off my shoes and woke up about 4 a.m. still dressed, with the TV and lights still on.

Today's been a slower-paced day. Still productive, but fortunately not like yesterday.

There are crews replacing the water lines on my street, so there are heavy machines outside my window tearing up the streets and yards across from me. I don't know if my yard will be torn up too. They put notes on our doors yesterday morning, which, of course, went unseen until things down the block were already torn up.

I'm glad the lines are being replaced because we've had some water tests showing violations of water standards. See, I live near an interstate so the water lines in my area end at the interstate. That allows the bad stuff to build up in our water mains. In areas where the mains continue flowing, any bad stuff keeps moving.

Anyway, there's minor inconvenience while the work is being done. My poor yard still has never been the same since the tree fell a few months ago, and this certainly won't be adding any curb appeal for a while. They do come back and resod the torn-up areas, but they tend to settle over time and leave valleys. I'm so glad I was gone over the weekend meeting up with friends, because I had seriously thought about planting mums in the damaged area of the yard. Thank goodness I didn't!

Well, just wanted to stop long enough to wave and say hi! Hope all is well with you out there.