Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, dear Jennifer,
Happy birthday to you!
Curious George and I hope you have a good birthday. As you hear so often, "your card is in the mail!"
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
It's a mystery to me!
Yesterday, I got to spend a nice, quiet day at home. That doesn't happen very often, folks, despite the fact that I'm retired. The only thing on my agenda was a trip to the grocery store, since we had run out of bananas and were almost out of pop. (The bananas I could do without, but pop--that's a different matter.)
I finally got around to the place where I was ready to go to the store. When I looked in my purse for my keys, they were not there. I took everything out of the purse--every blessed thing. No keys. Nowhere, no how, no keys. My little suede pouch was missing, too, but I wasn't concerned about it. I only use it to hold nail clippers, and I had seen them on the couch. I went out and looked in the car, to see if by chance I had left them there. Nope. There was the slightest possibility that we might have driven to church with them in the trunk--nope, they weren't there either. Phooey.
I waited for David to get home from work to ask him if he had any idea where they were--like maybe he had pocketed them in the car, or he had seen them in some unusual location. Nope. We tore up Jack in the living room, even to the point of tilting back the hide-a-bed to see if they were there. Nope. I told him perhaps they were with the prescription I had filled on Wednesday, since I wasn't sure where it was, either. We located the prescription, out in the kitchen, but no keys. No keys on any flat surface, anywhere in the house. After walking around like beheaded chickens, I finally said, "Let's go to Orient Express and eat supper. I'm too flustered to try to cook." So we did. And no, we didn't find the keys there, either. (Of course I wasn't looking for them there.)
This morning I went out into the kitchen after David had left for work to fix my breakfast. I saw my purse sitting on the table, where I had left it. For some reason (now, I'm not sure what it was), I looked in the purse and saw the little suede pouch that I keep my nail clippers, mirror, and lip balm in. That was weird, since it had been missing the day before. When I picked it up, there were my keys. I was astounded. I had very carefully looked in that purse the day before, and neither the keys nor the pouch had been there. I figured David had located them before he left for work, and stuck them in my purse as a surprise.
With that in mind, I went to exercise class, to K-mart, to the podiatrist, and to the grocery store. Then I took home the small roast and au gratin potatoes I had gotten for David as a reward for finding the keys. I waited for him to come home.
When he got home, I asked him where he had found my keys. Here's the mystery, folks--he didn't find them. He figured they had been in the purse all along. I know they hadn't. Where they came from, I have no idea. I wish they could talk, so they could tell me where they went on their "explore". I guess I'll never know.
I hope all your mysteries have as pleasant outcomes, even if they leave you, like me, wondering what the heck happened! Love to all, and God bless.
I finally got around to the place where I was ready to go to the store. When I looked in my purse for my keys, they were not there. I took everything out of the purse--every blessed thing. No keys. Nowhere, no how, no keys. My little suede pouch was missing, too, but I wasn't concerned about it. I only use it to hold nail clippers, and I had seen them on the couch. I went out and looked in the car, to see if by chance I had left them there. Nope. There was the slightest possibility that we might have driven to church with them in the trunk--nope, they weren't there either. Phooey.
I waited for David to get home from work to ask him if he had any idea where they were--like maybe he had pocketed them in the car, or he had seen them in some unusual location. Nope. We tore up Jack in the living room, even to the point of tilting back the hide-a-bed to see if they were there. Nope. I told him perhaps they were with the prescription I had filled on Wednesday, since I wasn't sure where it was, either. We located the prescription, out in the kitchen, but no keys. No keys on any flat surface, anywhere in the house. After walking around like beheaded chickens, I finally said, "Let's go to Orient Express and eat supper. I'm too flustered to try to cook." So we did. And no, we didn't find the keys there, either. (Of course I wasn't looking for them there.)
This morning I went out into the kitchen after David had left for work to fix my breakfast. I saw my purse sitting on the table, where I had left it. For some reason (now, I'm not sure what it was), I looked in the purse and saw the little suede pouch that I keep my nail clippers, mirror, and lip balm in. That was weird, since it had been missing the day before. When I picked it up, there were my keys. I was astounded. I had very carefully looked in that purse the day before, and neither the keys nor the pouch had been there. I figured David had located them before he left for work, and stuck them in my purse as a surprise.
With that in mind, I went to exercise class, to K-mart, to the podiatrist, and to the grocery store. Then I took home the small roast and au gratin potatoes I had gotten for David as a reward for finding the keys. I waited for him to come home.
When he got home, I asked him where he had found my keys. Here's the mystery, folks--he didn't find them. He figured they had been in the purse all along. I know they hadn't. Where they came from, I have no idea. I wish they could talk, so they could tell me where they went on their "explore". I guess I'll never know.
I hope all your mysteries have as pleasant outcomes, even if they leave you, like me, wondering what the heck happened! Love to all, and God bless.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Rahab the Harlot
This is one of my favorite characters, probably because I like the feeling of saying something like that in church. Rahab the Harlot. Well, actually, this is not a photograph of Rahab, but of Miss Kitty (the actress Amanda Blake). I don't think it EVER occurred to me as a child that Miss Kitty was, in fact, a harlot! There was a reason she lived over the saloon, there was a reason she dressed the way she did, there was a reason the cowboys kept going upstairs, there was a reason there were a number of fancy bedrooms upstairs...
This is a busy couple of days for me in my retired day-to-day existence. I went to a hospital auxiliary meeting this morning, got there early to chat and trouble-shoot with the bizarre committee and stayed late to help a volunteer who was working the front desk by herself. Now, other than cooking supper and washing choir robes, I'm finished with today's stuff.
Tomorrow, I have to give the Bible study at WMU on poor Rahab. For those of you who aren't familiar with her, she was (according to some Bible manuscripts) an innkeeper in the ill-fated town of Jericho. She hid some Israeli spies from the Jericho militia who intended to put them to death. In reward for her hiding them and subsequently helping them to escape from the walled city by letting them down over the wall with a rope, she and her family escaped the carnage following the fall of Jericho. I'm not sure what my focus is supposed to be on the Bible study, but I've always admired the fact that God was able to use someone like Rahab to do His work. Her job was not honorable--we would consider her a major sinner--yet she was important to God's plans for His creation.
There are more appointments tomorrow afternoon--Retired Teachers' Association meeting, flu shot (and possible chest x-ray), and the Tuesday night English class. I predict tomorrow's supper will be nothing fancy, maybe even something at a restaurant.
Take care, folks, remember that God can use you no matter what your occupation or background is, love to all, and God bless.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Bittersweet
Without a doubt, this is my favorite part of fall. When I was little, my dad sometimes had to travel from one small town to another on banking business. Often on his way home, he would make a point of driving through the country and searching for bittersweet, this lovely orange berry you see in the picture. We had a brown pottery vase that had belonged to his mother, and he would put the bittersweet in that vase. Now that Dad has been gone over twelve years, it is memories like these that kept him here with me. On top of my refrigerator is that brown vase, containing bittersweet that David and I bought several years ago somewhere in Illinois. I have not been able to find it locally, and boy, do I miss it. Almost as much as I miss Daddy!
Love to all, and God bless.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Happy Birthday to You!
Well, if your name is Everett, an especially happy birthday to you! We tried to call you while ago, but you weren't home. Daddy and I decided that was a good thing. Daddy's off to bed pretty soon, so I guess we'll just wait and call tomorrow. Your card may get there tomorrow, too--at least I mailed it on your birthday!
My firstborn, or as Lois Lauranne says, "My starter child", is 36 years old today! This is hard to believe. I know he's been out on his own almost as long as he lived at home--maybe longer--with a few summers during college back at the house. His room is no longer his room--it's the computer room. Still, the stickers all over the door say "A boy once lived here." Actually, they say things like, "The Guard belongs", Wildcats, Hardee's is Smurf turf!, Support Sheriffs' Succession, 4-H Member...
There used to be even more reminders of this being his room, such as the posters all over the place, the official tack from Governor's Scholars...Now I have to look pretty hard to find anything (other than the stickers on the door) to find any evidence of his time here. Until I go to the basement, and see the trophies, books, toy soldiers, other wonderful evidence scattered around, even the special shirt that says something about having to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince charming! I guess somewhere a princess is wasting her time kissing frogs, because she hasn't found our boy yet!
It probably isn't very adult to call a 36-year-old man a boy, but that's the way we mamas are. We just refuse to accept the fact they've grown up. I guess I'm still waiting for him to ride his bike home from one of his "explores". Bubba, I love you. You're still my little boy.
Good night to all, and God bless. (And if you know Bubba, give him a holler.)
My firstborn, or as Lois Lauranne says, "My starter child", is 36 years old today! This is hard to believe. I know he's been out on his own almost as long as he lived at home--maybe longer--with a few summers during college back at the house. His room is no longer his room--it's the computer room. Still, the stickers all over the door say "A boy once lived here." Actually, they say things like, "The Guard belongs", Wildcats, Hardee's is Smurf turf!, Support Sheriffs' Succession, 4-H Member...
There used to be even more reminders of this being his room, such as the posters all over the place, the official tack from Governor's Scholars...Now I have to look pretty hard to find anything (other than the stickers on the door) to find any evidence of his time here. Until I go to the basement, and see the trophies, books, toy soldiers, other wonderful evidence scattered around, even the special shirt that says something about having to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince charming! I guess somewhere a princess is wasting her time kissing frogs, because she hasn't found our boy yet!
It probably isn't very adult to call a 36-year-old man a boy, but that's the way we mamas are. We just refuse to accept the fact they've grown up. I guess I'm still waiting for him to ride his bike home from one of his "explores". Bubba, I love you. You're still my little boy.
Good night to all, and God bless. (And if you know Bubba, give him a holler.)
Monday, October 06, 2008
How do I waste my time? Let me count the ways...
1. I spend entirely too much time every day back in this room on this machine. That is my number one time waster. Half the time I spend checking emails, opening each and every one (well, on one account anyway), skimming it to see if I've already read that story, deleting, going to the next one...Not a lot of meat in very many of my emails. Just a forwarded story or Happy Sister's Day or some such thing--How often does that National Girlfriends' Week come around, anyway?
2. The second big time waster is playing games on this thing. I have found a very simple form of mah jongg on the AARP website, something ridiculous like Mah Jongg toy box, I believe, is the name. The game has the audacity to list the record high score (which isn't mine) of 15948. I have NO IDEA how anyone could score anything like that! My own high scores rank up in the 8000's. But I keep trying, not because it's that much fun, but because I can do it, and it's addictive. Enough said.
3. When I'm not playing that idiot toy box game, I'm playing either mine sweeper or spider solitaire on here. Not particularly brilliant, is it?
4. When I'm not doing that, I'm in the living room on my end of the couch, with the tube turned on (something with a plot, please, nothing educational or hard to follow), and all my paper junk spread around me. That usually consists of today's (and sometimes yesterday's) newspapers, the day's junk mail (which usually includes some sort of interesting catalog), one or two more important papers (such as the bank statement or a bill), half a dozen magazines, a couple of library books, at least two Bibles (the read-the-Bible-through-in-a-year version and the larger-type NIV version I got for Christmas last year), and a couple of puzzle books (sudoku and secret-word wordsearch). Somewhere in that mess is my knitting du jour, which right now is circular dishcloths. I'll knit a while, watch a little TV, do a puzzle, look through a catalog or magazine, start my Bible reading, go back to the knitting...not always in the same order--I'm not OCD, for Pete's sake!
And that's how I spend my days at home. When I'm out of the house, it's a different matter! I guess I ought to go back to work.
Love to all, and God bless.
2. The second big time waster is playing games on this thing. I have found a very simple form of mah jongg on the AARP website, something ridiculous like Mah Jongg toy box, I believe, is the name. The game has the audacity to list the record high score (which isn't mine) of 15948. I have NO IDEA how anyone could score anything like that! My own high scores rank up in the 8000's. But I keep trying, not because it's that much fun, but because I can do it, and it's addictive. Enough said.
3. When I'm not playing that idiot toy box game, I'm playing either mine sweeper or spider solitaire on here. Not particularly brilliant, is it?
4. When I'm not doing that, I'm in the living room on my end of the couch, with the tube turned on (something with a plot, please, nothing educational or hard to follow), and all my paper junk spread around me. That usually consists of today's (and sometimes yesterday's) newspapers, the day's junk mail (which usually includes some sort of interesting catalog), one or two more important papers (such as the bank statement or a bill), half a dozen magazines, a couple of library books, at least two Bibles (the read-the-Bible-through-in-a-year version and the larger-type NIV version I got for Christmas last year), and a couple of puzzle books (sudoku and secret-word wordsearch). Somewhere in that mess is my knitting du jour, which right now is circular dishcloths. I'll knit a while, watch a little TV, do a puzzle, look through a catalog or magazine, start my Bible reading, go back to the knitting...not always in the same order--I'm not OCD, for Pete's sake!
And that's how I spend my days at home. When I'm out of the house, it's a different matter! I guess I ought to go back to work.
Love to all, and God bless.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A hurricane? In Kentucky?
I've always felt reasonably safe from the threat of hurricanes way up north here, way west here--well, anyway, away from the coast. It takes us at least 12 hours to get from our home to the nearest beach, and many of the hurricanes that cause such havoc don't affect us, unless it's as rain. As a matter of fact, when we were in Chattanooga visiting with family and heard predictions for Gustav and Ike, I reassured my SIL that he was in no danger from hurricanes where he lived in Nashville. The nature of hurricanes was such that all the damage took place near the coast, and they pretty much "petered out" as they came inland.
Folks, I was wrong. If you don't believe me, check the news for Louisville and northern Kentucky. We had gale-force winds all day on Sunday, and over 100,000 people in Louisville are without power! I haven't tried to contact Louisville family yet, but I will...I am concerned, since a lot of the power outages seem to be in the Bardstown/Fern Creek area. I know that the family there will be watching out for each other, but you might want to pray for them. The latest I heard, it may be two weeks before power is fully restored.
Imagine this scenario: Your children are home from school on an unplanned vacation (this is the second day of no school in Jefferson County), and your electricity is out. Okay, during the daytime you can send them outside, but what in the heck are you going to do with them at night? And how are you going to feed those teenagers? Thank God that the infrastructure in this country is a little sounder than that in Haiti, where you see folks fighting over bottled water and whatever foodstuff that manages to get into the country, but still inconveniences are going to exist for quite some time. And help is not as readily available as it is after some storms, since this storm was so widespread. Utility companies from the tri-state area are really swamped, especially considering that some of their crews had been deployed to the coast.
No, we don't have near the damage that they had in Texas or Louisiana, but we are tasting a little of what those folks are going through. Georgetown and Lexington were spared the brunt of the damage, but even here in town--I was driving up town yesterday to attend a meeting and saw a tree that had fallen on a house on South Broadway. Not just a branch off the Bradford pear, but a whole tree. In Lexington, a huge branch broke off a tree near Henry Clay's home on Richmond Road and fell on a passing car, injuring the driver badly enough that she was taken to the hospital. And in Shelby County, a child was killed when a tree branch hit him outside.
Nobody told us anything other than to be careful when driving high-profile vehicles. Nobody told us to stay indoors until that danged hurricane blew through. Nobody told us to stock up on canned foods and flashlight batteries. The Louisville radio station that I listen to regularly was asking for folks to call in if they had seen a supply of flashlight batteries anywhere. You can understand that from now on, when a hurricane is predicted, we are all going to be watching the weather channel just a little more carefully, to see if it is going to "hit" Kentucky!
Take care--stay warm, dry, and fed. Love to all, and God bless.
Update: The Louisville folks are doing okay. They have power now; theirs was only out for two nights. Thanks for your prayers! We love you, and God does, too.
Folks, I was wrong. If you don't believe me, check the news for Louisville and northern Kentucky. We had gale-force winds all day on Sunday, and over 100,000 people in Louisville are without power! I haven't tried to contact Louisville family yet, but I will...I am concerned, since a lot of the power outages seem to be in the Bardstown/Fern Creek area. I know that the family there will be watching out for each other, but you might want to pray for them. The latest I heard, it may be two weeks before power is fully restored.
Imagine this scenario: Your children are home from school on an unplanned vacation (this is the second day of no school in Jefferson County), and your electricity is out. Okay, during the daytime you can send them outside, but what in the heck are you going to do with them at night? And how are you going to feed those teenagers? Thank God that the infrastructure in this country is a little sounder than that in Haiti, where you see folks fighting over bottled water and whatever foodstuff that manages to get into the country, but still inconveniences are going to exist for quite some time. And help is not as readily available as it is after some storms, since this storm was so widespread. Utility companies from the tri-state area are really swamped, especially considering that some of their crews had been deployed to the coast.
No, we don't have near the damage that they had in Texas or Louisiana, but we are tasting a little of what those folks are going through. Georgetown and Lexington were spared the brunt of the damage, but even here in town--I was driving up town yesterday to attend a meeting and saw a tree that had fallen on a house on South Broadway. Not just a branch off the Bradford pear, but a whole tree. In Lexington, a huge branch broke off a tree near Henry Clay's home on Richmond Road and fell on a passing car, injuring the driver badly enough that she was taken to the hospital. And in Shelby County, a child was killed when a tree branch hit him outside.
Nobody told us anything other than to be careful when driving high-profile vehicles. Nobody told us to stay indoors until that danged hurricane blew through. Nobody told us to stock up on canned foods and flashlight batteries. The Louisville radio station that I listen to regularly was asking for folks to call in if they had seen a supply of flashlight batteries anywhere. You can understand that from now on, when a hurricane is predicted, we are all going to be watching the weather channel just a little more carefully, to see if it is going to "hit" Kentucky!
Take care--stay warm, dry, and fed. Love to all, and God bless.
Update: The Louisville folks are doing okay. They have power now; theirs was only out for two nights. Thanks for your prayers! We love you, and God does, too.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Friendship Thursday
We started our Friendship year off today. There were five of us who rode together to Lexington to take charge of the nursery. On our trip over, we speculated about the number of babies who would show up. Since most of our babies last year were about to start walking, we were pretty sure they would be "moving up" to the toddler nursery. As far as we knew, there was only one little baby who would be there--we had a three-week-old at our last session in May, so we figured he might be back.
I had hoped to take pictures of all the little ones as they got settled into their classes and to give those pictures to the parents at a later date. Our first little girl to show up was Yuna, who had been in our baby class last year. Yuna seemed a little shy, but I did manage to get a picture of her.
And then the bus from Shawneetown (UK student housing) showed up. Just like last year, all our Chinese moms came at once. And just like last year, all their babies started crying at the same time. Not just crying, screaming. It was bedlam in the toddler room. There was NO WAY to get pictures taken--we were too busy trying to get tags onto diaper bags, to convince mothers that their children would be okay, and to attempt to convince the babies that they would be okay. I think some of them bought into that, because a little later in the morning, there were actually times when you could hear some of the musical toys, or maybe even a word of conversation among the workers. Not often, mind you, but occasionally.
Across the hall in the baby room, nine babies showed up. As I remarked to one of the workers, I don't know where those babies came from! She was surprised that at my age, I still didn't know where babies come from and offered to explain the facts of life to me. Oh, the facts of life--I have those down pretty much pat, but the facts of life as related to babies at Friendship--I SWEAR, there was no more than one pregnant woman coming last year, and I believe she was the one who gave birth to the three-week-old who was at the last session! I don't remember one other bulging belly! Normal nine-month pregnancies I understand, but how the internationals can conceive and give birth over a three-month summer vacation is beyond me!
The new crop of babies are delightful. One little fellow spent his first hour in the nursery nursing. He finally decided to let mommy go to her class. After she left, a worker remarked that he seemed pretty happy. Another one said, of course he was--he had been eating for an hour! We call him Henry I Ate, sort of a take off on Henry the 8th--get it? Probably pretty weak joke, but I'm tired. It's been a long day.
I think all told, we had 22 babies and toddlers. They tell me at one time, they kept all the little ones in the same room. I know that would be absolutely impossible now, and I wouldn't even want to try. Oh, and lest you think the five of us handled all 22 children with no help, that wasn't the case. I'm not sure how many workers we had, but it was enough that each cryer had his/her own worker--it looked like there were almost as many workers as there were children.
I hope you had a good day, full of God's blessings, and that you're enjoying each and every one of them, even the ones that cry! Love to all, and God bless.
I had hoped to take pictures of all the little ones as they got settled into their classes and to give those pictures to the parents at a later date. Our first little girl to show up was Yuna, who had been in our baby class last year. Yuna seemed a little shy, but I did manage to get a picture of her.
And then the bus from Shawneetown (UK student housing) showed up. Just like last year, all our Chinese moms came at once. And just like last year, all their babies started crying at the same time. Not just crying, screaming. It was bedlam in the toddler room. There was NO WAY to get pictures taken--we were too busy trying to get tags onto diaper bags, to convince mothers that their children would be okay, and to attempt to convince the babies that they would be okay. I think some of them bought into that, because a little later in the morning, there were actually times when you could hear some of the musical toys, or maybe even a word of conversation among the workers. Not often, mind you, but occasionally.
Across the hall in the baby room, nine babies showed up. As I remarked to one of the workers, I don't know where those babies came from! She was surprised that at my age, I still didn't know where babies come from and offered to explain the facts of life to me. Oh, the facts of life--I have those down pretty much pat, but the facts of life as related to babies at Friendship--I SWEAR, there was no more than one pregnant woman coming last year, and I believe she was the one who gave birth to the three-week-old who was at the last session! I don't remember one other bulging belly! Normal nine-month pregnancies I understand, but how the internationals can conceive and give birth over a three-month summer vacation is beyond me!
The new crop of babies are delightful. One little fellow spent his first hour in the nursery nursing. He finally decided to let mommy go to her class. After she left, a worker remarked that he seemed pretty happy. Another one said, of course he was--he had been eating for an hour! We call him Henry I Ate, sort of a take off on Henry the 8th--get it? Probably pretty weak joke, but I'm tired. It's been a long day.
I think all told, we had 22 babies and toddlers. They tell me at one time, they kept all the little ones in the same room. I know that would be absolutely impossible now, and I wouldn't even want to try. Oh, and lest you think the five of us handled all 22 children with no help, that wasn't the case. I'm not sure how many workers we had, but it was enough that each cryer had his/her own worker--it looked like there were almost as many workers as there were children.
I hope you had a good day, full of God's blessings, and that you're enjoying each and every one of them, even the ones that cry! Love to all, and God bless.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Blessed all over the place!
Tonight was one of those nights when a person's blessings really become apparent. Those of you who know me, know that organization is not one of my strong points. I had recently panicked, due to a couple of fairly major tools being lost.
One was my address book. One year my sister-in-law Ruth gifted me with an address book, in which she had written all the family addresses and phone numbers. This was a terrific gift! Over the years, I had kept that address book updated. Then one day, I lost it. I was in a panic. I bought another address book and quickly wrote down everything I remembered and had in other spots. Then of course, I found the first book.
Within the last three or four weeks, I had mislaid the newer book, which had all the current addresses in it. That, in and of itself, was fairly serious, since I couldn't send birthday cards, get-well cards, and the like. It really became a problem for me, though, when my cell phone died for lack of a charge. I had many of the family phone numbers stored in the cell phone!
I had conducted several fruitless searches, trying to find that darn address book, all to no avail. I tried to go on with my life, but it was hard. I couldn't check up on the kids, for instance, since I didn't know their phone numbers off the top of my head--bummer. Then another disaster struck--I lost the check book! Of course, this was much more serious than misplacing the address book. For one thing, the phone bill was due, and I needed the check book to pay it! It had only been gone a couple of days, but all the same, I was really worried. I might actually have to clear up my mess on the couch, in an attempt to find it!
Tonight I was vainly searching through the paid-bills folder in an attempt to see if the check book was in there with the BOA bill I had last paid. No luck. I decided to attempt to separate and organize all the loose receipts, which I told David would be a lot simpler, if I only had some paper clips. He jumped up, took off for his desk downstairs, and came back with three or four. I needed more, so I suggested he look in the "junk drawer" by the refrigerator. He came back in, smiling. "I didn't find any paper clips, but maybe this will make up for it!", and he pitched me my address book. I was really glad to see it!
Then I commented, "I would imagine that the check book is with the BOA bill, wherever that is." Again, up he jumped, stalked out, and came back, smiling and waving the check book. "Wherever did you find that?" He replied he had seen the bill laying on a footstool inside our bedroom door, so he checked, and there was that pesky check book, hiding underneath!
So, like I said in the title, God is just blessing me all the place tonight! Now I'll go pay that phone bill, put those other papers away, address a couple of birthday cards, and get on with my life. Love to all, and God bless.
One was my address book. One year my sister-in-law Ruth gifted me with an address book, in which she had written all the family addresses and phone numbers. This was a terrific gift! Over the years, I had kept that address book updated. Then one day, I lost it. I was in a panic. I bought another address book and quickly wrote down everything I remembered and had in other spots. Then of course, I found the first book.
Within the last three or four weeks, I had mislaid the newer book, which had all the current addresses in it. That, in and of itself, was fairly serious, since I couldn't send birthday cards, get-well cards, and the like. It really became a problem for me, though, when my cell phone died for lack of a charge. I had many of the family phone numbers stored in the cell phone!
I had conducted several fruitless searches, trying to find that darn address book, all to no avail. I tried to go on with my life, but it was hard. I couldn't check up on the kids, for instance, since I didn't know their phone numbers off the top of my head--bummer. Then another disaster struck--I lost the check book! Of course, this was much more serious than misplacing the address book. For one thing, the phone bill was due, and I needed the check book to pay it! It had only been gone a couple of days, but all the same, I was really worried. I might actually have to clear up my mess on the couch, in an attempt to find it!
Tonight I was vainly searching through the paid-bills folder in an attempt to see if the check book was in there with the BOA bill I had last paid. No luck. I decided to attempt to separate and organize all the loose receipts, which I told David would be a lot simpler, if I only had some paper clips. He jumped up, took off for his desk downstairs, and came back with three or four. I needed more, so I suggested he look in the "junk drawer" by the refrigerator. He came back in, smiling. "I didn't find any paper clips, but maybe this will make up for it!", and he pitched me my address book. I was really glad to see it!
Then I commented, "I would imagine that the check book is with the BOA bill, wherever that is." Again, up he jumped, stalked out, and came back, smiling and waving the check book. "Wherever did you find that?" He replied he had seen the bill laying on a footstool inside our bedroom door, so he checked, and there was that pesky check book, hiding underneath!
So, like I said in the title, God is just blessing me all the place tonight! Now I'll go pay that phone bill, put those other papers away, address a couple of birthday cards, and get on with my life. Love to all, and God bless.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
English lesson
Tonight we were discussing tools and their purposes. It was a lot of fun to try to explain some of the things that were there. For instance, there was a toilet plunger. Some of you know the Shel Silverstein poem that makes reference to a plunger. Need I say that the students thought I was really funny when I acted that out?
Another thing that got a lot of laughs was the duct tape. Garnett said it was one of the most important things in a US tool box. Of course we didn't have enough Spanish (or Japanese or Ukrainian) to explain the old US maxim, "If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape." But we could show them a few things, and Garnett was able to explain a little bit of stuff, like how her guide in Ecuador had used duct tape to keep Garnett's too-big shoes from sliding around on her feet. I told them people even made dresses out of duct tape (note to self, try to find a picture for next week), but that it was really good for loud kids and illustrated how you could put a piece of tape over their mouths.
Like I said Tuesday, I love ESL. Good night to all, and God bless.
Another thing that got a lot of laughs was the duct tape. Garnett said it was one of the most important things in a US tool box. Of course we didn't have enough Spanish (or Japanese or Ukrainian) to explain the old US maxim, "If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape." But we could show them a few things, and Garnett was able to explain a little bit of stuff, like how her guide in Ecuador had used duct tape to keep Garnett's too-big shoes from sliding around on her feet. I told them people even made dresses out of duct tape (note to self, try to find a picture for next week), but that it was really good for loud kids and illustrated how you could put a piece of tape over their mouths.
Like I said Tuesday, I love ESL. Good night to all, and God bless.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
She's still a teacher
My friend Garnett called me last week about "helping" a friend with her ESL (English Second Language) class for adults. I told her I'd be glad to help, as long as all that entailed was sitting in the classroom while the other woman taught. Okay. That lasted one night.
Tuesday, I taught a class solo. I have the very beginning students, those who know enough English to tell me their name and where they are from--maybe. Other than that, their English is still better than my Spanish (which is the only second language in this particular class). Last week we worked on "Hello, my name is_____." We also worked on the alphabet. Again this week, we worked on "Hello, my name is_____." And the alphabet. Only this week, I kept getting more students.
We started out with 4 or 5, but by the time the class was over, there were 9 in there. Class started at 7 (actually a few minutes after that). A supervisor came in for a few minutes and seemed to wonder why I hadn't started yet. I told her we were on Hispanic time. She understood perfectly, laughed, and left. Like I said, several others came in as the class went on. About 8:10, a second supervisor brought in the 8th student and said, "I promise, no more new people." This fellow had been in another classroom, but the instructor had quickly gathered that he wasn't ready for her class yet. The supervisor said, "He needs to be in your class." I said, "Are you sure?" He replied, "Oh, yes, he needs to be in this class." Do I need to tell you I loved it? It wore me out, but I LOVED it.
By the end of the evening, I had committed to teaching on Tuesdays all the school year, I guess. Tonight at church, my friend Macy caught me and asked me, "Do you want to help me teach ESL tomorrow night?" I didn't hesitate very long before I told her sure, as long as she was doing the teaching and I was just sitting in the class...Maybe I should have thought that over, since that was what I did the first time.
A few of my family members who read this blog are going to recognize the person in this next little bit about ESL. Garnett told me she was going to teach a combined class on Thursday night, since Gary had been pestering her for quite a while to bring his tools to class and teach the students the names of all the tools. She and I both looked at each other and laughed--let's just hope that Garnett is the one who actually teaches the names of the tools. Otherwise, I don't know if anyone will be able to understand a word they say.
That's enough for tonight--Goodnight to all, and God bless!
Tuesday, I taught a class solo. I have the very beginning students, those who know enough English to tell me their name and where they are from--maybe. Other than that, their English is still better than my Spanish (which is the only second language in this particular class). Last week we worked on "Hello, my name is_____." We also worked on the alphabet. Again this week, we worked on "Hello, my name is_____." And the alphabet. Only this week, I kept getting more students.
We started out with 4 or 5, but by the time the class was over, there were 9 in there. Class started at 7 (actually a few minutes after that). A supervisor came in for a few minutes and seemed to wonder why I hadn't started yet. I told her we were on Hispanic time. She understood perfectly, laughed, and left. Like I said, several others came in as the class went on. About 8:10, a second supervisor brought in the 8th student and said, "I promise, no more new people." This fellow had been in another classroom, but the instructor had quickly gathered that he wasn't ready for her class yet. The supervisor said, "He needs to be in your class." I said, "Are you sure?" He replied, "Oh, yes, he needs to be in this class." Do I need to tell you I loved it? It wore me out, but I LOVED it.
By the end of the evening, I had committed to teaching on Tuesdays all the school year, I guess. Tonight at church, my friend Macy caught me and asked me, "Do you want to help me teach ESL tomorrow night?" I didn't hesitate very long before I told her sure, as long as she was doing the teaching and I was just sitting in the class...Maybe I should have thought that over, since that was what I did the first time.
A few of my family members who read this blog are going to recognize the person in this next little bit about ESL. Garnett told me she was going to teach a combined class on Thursday night, since Gary had been pestering her for quite a while to bring his tools to class and teach the students the names of all the tools. She and I both looked at each other and laughed--let's just hope that Garnett is the one who actually teaches the names of the tools. Otherwise, I don't know if anyone will be able to understand a word they say.
That's enough for tonight--Goodnight to all, and God bless!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Medals in perspective
Like several of you, I've been watching Olympic coverage this week. Today while blog browsing, I found a reference to this chart that puts a different slant on who is ahead in the medal count. I know we are all rooting for our own country to be ahead, but after watching the opening ceremonies and seeing all those countries with only a handful of athletes and a coon-dog's chance of winning anything, it's NICE to see the big powers down toward the bottom of the list!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
And yet another picture...
Grandpa David and Granny Susan are enjoying some bonding with their new grandson. We just wish they lived a little closer, so that we could hold and rock him a little more!
Did anybody want to see pictures?
This is Cohen, about three hours after he was born. His granny really does love him. He didn't have a lot to say about her, though. The red hair and eyes in the background belong to Cohen Preston's Papaw, Preston.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Somebody new
Thought you might like to see Cohen Preston Brown, 7 lb 10 oz, 19.75 in long--born this morning at 8:23 am. Mother, Cohen, and all concerned are doing fine. His picture is on the Brown Famile blog. Every good and perfect gift cometh from above. Thank you, Lord! Love to all, and God bless.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Praise God
Praise God for answered prayers! I just spent almost 40 minutes talking to Ann over the internet. She is safely back in Hyderabad. Her adventures in Bangalore can be read on her blog. Thank you all so much for your prayers and love for her. We do appreciate them!
Love to all, and God bless.
Love to all, and God bless.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Update on me
Aaarghh! It's Popeye Susan, back for round 2 of piratehood! Only noticeable difference between this time and last time is that someone forgot to put Miracle Grow on my list, to try to grow some decent veins for IVs, and I had to have five sticks. So you might say it's Popeye Susan the Porcupine! Anyway, the sedation was effective, and I'm in a completely laid-back mood, ready to spend the day relaxing. From what I could see before he got the patch on my eye, things are probably going to be really good in this eye, too. Thank you for your prayers!
Love to all, and God bless.
Love to all, and God bless.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Update on Ann
As of 5 am on Sunday morning, Ann was all right. We haven't heard anything since then. They were scheduled to stay in Bangalore (or that area) until Tuesday, I believe, so, as far as I'm concerned, there is still some danger for them. Thank you for your prayers so far, and please keep them up! Love to all, and God bless.
Prayer Requests (at this time, 3)
1. Right now, my baby Annie is in Bangalore, India, with her husband, Daniel, visiting Daniel's great-uncle. If you have been keeping up with the news, you may know that there have been a number of bombings in Bangalore this week. Please keep Ann and Daniel (and their family) in your prayers.
2. Tomorrow morning, at 8:00, I am to check in to the Surgery Center in Lexington for my second cataract surgery. I am not particularly anxious about the surgery, probably because the news from India is occupying my mind, but I would appreciate your prayers for a successful surgery.
3. On August 4, in the morning (I forget the exact time), our daughter, Lydia, and her husband, Geron, will become the parents of their second child, a son. Lydia had some life-threatening complications with the first delivery, but the doctor does NOT expect the same thing to happen this time. (As they say, forewarned is forearmed.) Please pray for them and for little Cora, who will be going through some big changes!
Thanks to all of you, and God bless.
2. Tomorrow morning, at 8:00, I am to check in to the Surgery Center in Lexington for my second cataract surgery. I am not particularly anxious about the surgery, probably because the news from India is occupying my mind, but I would appreciate your prayers for a successful surgery.
3. On August 4, in the morning (I forget the exact time), our daughter, Lydia, and her husband, Geron, will become the parents of their second child, a son. Lydia had some life-threatening complications with the first delivery, but the doctor does NOT expect the same thing to happen this time. (As they say, forewarned is forearmed.) Please pray for them and for little Cora, who will be going through some big changes!
Thanks to all of you, and God bless.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
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