I Can't Believe It!

I absolutely can't believe it. I knew Amy had a blog and I kept looking at it and only saw the first one she did. Now, when I click on Tim or Joey, their new ones come up, so I decided Amy just didn't have time to keep up with one. Since the first one always shows when I bring it up...I guess I didn't bother to look any further. This morning while I was waiting for a ride to Presbytery, I had the computer on and decided to check hers again. To my TOTAL AMAZEMENT, I discovered she has been blogging all this time and I did not know it.
Is that a horrible mother or what? I can't believe I am so silly I did not check it further or even ask her about it. I began to read and it brought me to tears to discover all these things had been happening to her and I didn't know it.
I knew she had been to WOF and as usual enjoyed it. But I didn't realize the impact it had on her. I was sad and happy that God had lifted the pain from her knees for a little time. I was sad that she has that pain and happy that she has the faith to ask God for help. I want her to take care of herself.
I loved the picture of the fireplace and can't wait for the day that she and Tim can enjoy it together. The picture of the bridge just made me cringe and I don't have a thing about bridges. But I know she does and to see what she went over made me glad she has Tim to talk her through it.
I am happy that she has Tim's ordination saved now and yes, I want a copy of it. Hopefully, she will be able to transcribe it sometime.
I knew most of the things she wrote about school, because we do talk. But, I am so proud of her accomplishments and that she is so open and honest with herself. She is my hero and I feel so bad that I have not been reading and responding to her blog. I will do better.
I love Tims and Joeys and now I cal watch for hers. Perhaps Becky and Rachel will honor us with one someday.
But, I can't believe that I missed out on those days I could have been reading Musings from the Moose.

Lent

Several years ago, I heard a sermon that inspired me. The preacher said we should do something that makes us a better person during the Lenten season. Give up something that would bring us closer to God and make us better. I reasoned that giving up stress over things I cannot control would be good for me and make me understand that I am not in total control of life.
It was quite successful and I learned to give to God those things over which I have no control. I also learned that not stressing out about those things was helpful to me and I felt better and functioned better. So thinking about today (Ash Wed) and what I would do to prepare for Easter, I have decided that I should give that stress thing another try. Because I seem to be a backslider in that respect.
So, as of now, I am admitting I cannot control the world and those things which seem to be out of my direct control, I will not spend time stressing out about. So I will no longer be wasting my stress time worrying about that which I cannot help. I expect to have a peaceful Lenten season and hopefully I will be able to carry that attitude past Easter.
Have a wonderful day and prepare yourself for Easter. It is a wonderful opportunity for renewal of the spirit. Shalom

Slumdog and all thos others

For a person who has not seen a movie in a long time (except on Turner Classics), I certainly enjoyed the Oscars. Kate Winslet's dress was stunning. In fact most of the clothes seemed in good taste and quite lovely. Feminine and charming, I think. The men looked reserved and stately and reminded me of Oscar night when I was younger.
Many tender moments, good presenters and a beautiful stage and well done. All in all, the only way it could have been better would have been a tie with Kate and Merrill. How exciting for the crew of Slumdog.
All in all, it was a good evening and I enjoyed it. It wasn't so over the top and raunchy as recent past shows have been. Back to a moment of civility. That can't be all bad.
And good for the Academy in recognizing Milk by honoring Sean Penn. The song I liked from Slumdog didn't win, but the winner was good, too.
Hope everyone had a good evening watching and hope you all enjoy the movies of '09. I depend on your critiques to keep me up to date and ready for Ocsar next year.

Too much

Here is what I have figured out about the economy. If you want to pass it on the the authorities in DC, be my guest!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am embroidering logos on some shirts and jackets for school sports teams. As I looked at the tags hanging on those shirts, I nearly had a small coronary. $85 for a girls shirt! $65 for a boys shirt! $80 for a windbreaker.....and on and on. Now the schools are not paying for all of these, some are donated by a supporter. Who pays for them is not the point. Since when did any kid need an $85 shirt to play tennis? Why would they think they needed that? I am not saying it is the kids that demanded them either. I don't know about that side of the question. What I am saying is that we condition children to expect the best there is and expect it now. Why not give them a $20 shirt in high school and in college let them have maybe a $50 shirt. When they are pros they can spend all they want, but if they just play on weekends, they could go back to the $20 shirt and spend the rest on saving lives in Darfur or saving for their old age or their kids college. We spend way too much money on things that are not important and unfortunately do not nurture enough spending on those who could use a helping hand. Just maybe we are making a generation that is only concerned with having everything now. I am sure it has been going on for awhile, but I am slow catching on. We just need to teach some responsibility.
Looking at an $85 shirt makes me wish I charged more than $5 for the logo. But I don't. I can sleep.

Spring Fool

It is trying very hard to be spring. But I know better. Some of the worst winter storms I have seen have been in Feb and March. I remember one year I thought the winter was over and Amy and I were driving on hiway 7 (I guess going to pick up Bill from work or something) and it was snowing like crazy. I think I tried to stop at a stop sign and was hit from behind. Made a mess of the car, scared us both silly and left us stranded. A nice lady let us go in and use her phone. I had a messed up shoulder and Amy was just bruised and scared. Of course neither of us had on any proper clothes. She was probably barefoot as she usually was as a child and I know we weren't wearing coats and it was the end of March. So.....beware, if you see daffodils blooming and think of packing away your coat......Don't.
Spring will be along in its own good time. But that isn't now.

Pebbles are nice

I am really enjoying my Pebble. It would never work for my music critical grands, but it is great for me. I can't see what music I want, but Idon't care. I just put it on and let it play and whatever comes up is fine. Right now it is Ave Maria and five minutes ago it was Little White Cloud That Cried. It soothes my soul and satisifys my spirit.
How anyone can live in this age of technology and not take advantage of it is beyond me. I know I take some prodding and need lots of help getting up and going, but when I do it I enjoy it all.
I have often thought that taking a cd player with some good music to nursing homes and giving them earphones or under pillow receivers. I think that it would be so good for them. But then we are told that the machines get stolen and broken. Who cares. When I get old and senile and am living in some room with another cranky old person, please get me some music. It will save my life or at least let me leave it with some peace and a smile.
So thank you girls for shaming me into the electronic age. It is a great thing and I hope you youngsters have the biggest and best ipods available. Me, I am happy with my Pebble.

Easter

I know, it is still two months away....But valentines is over and I have to change windows so it is now Easter in our shop.
Easter is my favorite, saddest and happiest event in the year. It is the coming of spring, which I enjoy. (I started to say love, but then I remembered Tim's reproach about the word love and I agree that we overuse that word.) There are the spring winds that smell so fresh and the green shoots that bring promise of renewed life. The smells of lilacs and hyacinths and wisteria and the nodding heads of daffodils. It all brings images of vigor and newness and gentleness.
The Easter season is a time of sadness to me because it is unbelievable what the Lord suffered for us. It is unbelievable the suffering that is still going on in the world for religion today. But the joy and gladness of the fulfillment of the prophecy that gives us hope for our lives and certainty for eternity is the greatest joy there is.
So, I enjoy decorating the window for Easter. One window is for bunnies and eggs and flowers and the other window is for a banner of crosses and a vase of wisteria. That window has been a given for many years now. I just need to make something new for it, but don't know what yet. Anyway, the window is being finished and we look like spring.
And as this is Feb 16, Happy Birthday, Doug.

HAPPY VALENTINE DAY

It is that day of the year to remember who you love. Looks like I don't love anyone this year, because I didn't send cards.
Well, it isn't that I don't love you anymore, it is just that I didn't get out to get cards soon enough and that is due to a sluggish body. It is mended pretty much and the bruises are about gone, but I am still pretty sore. Anyway, I love all the people I loved last year and a few more besides.

Bill, who is part of my soul.
Douglas, who is my firstborn and a special person
Amy, who is my baby, my friend and the light of my life.
Tim, who is my other son and accepts my love and idiosyncrasies with grace.
Joey, who is my soul mate.
Becky, who is the sunlight in my life.
Rachel, who is my joy and source of delight.
Tom, who is my stability and defender.
Jason, who is new to my life but makes Becky happy and thus makes me happy.
Martha, who is the solid foundation of that which I know.
My friends, who are always there when I need them.
These people are all special gifts and I want them for my valentine.

Angels

Our Calvin discussion group tonight will focus on angels. That is the part of Calvin we are reading just now. I have never thought a lot about angels because I have never had a warm fuzzy thing about them. I have always understood that they were created by God to do his work and that they have jobs to do, just as we have our jobs. But their executive is on a higher pay grade than our earthly ones.
The notion that people are transformed into angels when they die always seemed strange to me. I think we are taken into a place we do not understand and I do not need to understand it. It will be revealed to me at a later time. Hopefully, much later.
I have never felt the presence of a guardian angel hovering around to do my bidding or get me out of scrapes.
As Calvin so aptly shows us, angels have jobs to do. They are messengers and protectors. But I don't think one is MY special protector...I think that if I have need of a protector and I happen to be in a situation that is important to God's work, perhaps I will be saved for the greater good of the kingdom. To think I am the special beneficiary makes it all about me and I am pretty sure that the world is not all about me. I am all for angels being there for me whenever it serves the Kingdom, but at some point in time, my life cycle will come to a close and God does not let anyone escape that. Perhaps escape is the wrong word. Perhaps 'miss out' would be better, because as Christians we do not fear death, but look forward to a new and better place with God.
I am patient and am willing to wait quite awhile for that to happen, just in case He is listening.

Medicare

I am taking aim on wasteful medicare spending. Bill had an appointment for an aorta scan, a 6 month occurance. Then he went to find out what it showed. Then 2 weeks later he had an appt for blood work that was a 6 mo occurance. Then he goes back to find out what that showed. Now, why couldn't the blood and aorta have been done together and the two conferences combined? It would have saved the price of one drs. appointment. No only for the govt but for our co-insurance.
Then the clinic where we got his CPAP machine for his sleep apnea told us that it would be rented by Medicare (and our co-insurer) and that would be the simplest way to handle it. As it turns out, the machine which would have cost about $500 to buy has now cost the American taxpayer and our insurance company over $3600 for last year. And again for this year and the next and so on. There is no reason that a machine could not have been bought through Medicare and our Insurance...except that I don't think they do it that way. You can buy it yourself or let Medicare pay for it.
I am sure this is but a drop in the bucket when it comes to Medicare and Insurance Waste. But someone needs to do something about it. The worst part of this is that I can't find anyone to speak to about this and find a way to make it work better. If I could just improve our situation in this regard I would feel better.
If anyone knows how to address this nonsense to the proper authority, please let me know!!!

Perils of a House

This afternoon I was fixing lunch and turned around to put somethings in the fridge when I went from standing straight up to laying on my back. I am fine. But I learned something. I am very careful not to fall and went to great effort during the ice to stay on my feet. Nothing I fear more than falling and breaking something.
I have a hard time finding shoes that f it and that includes houseshoes. I have a pair of slide on slippers that have never fit, but they are about the best I have found. Well, when you turn around and your foot comes out of the shoe and gets all tangled up with the other foot, the only thing that is going to happen is that you know you are going down and there is nothing you can do about it. Let me tell you, it takes a long time to get to the floor when you know you are going down.
I have a cut elbow, black and blue, a sore head and neck, I think I did my broken toe a mischief, twisted my knee and bruised my hip ....... but I didn't break anything, so it is ok. I threw those slippers out and found something else to wear. Not very comfortable, but maybe I will stay on my feet.
So, watch what you wear on your feet.

Thaw

It looks like we may be having a thaw. Went without a coat this morning and Bill played golf yesterday. But in front of the shop there is an 18" wide band of snow and ice between the sidewalk and the street. So when you get out of your car, you expect it to be safe. Then you try to get up on the curb and BINGO, down you go. We cut a trench at one parking place in front of the store, so you can walk behind the cars and come up one parking space and find access to the sidewalk. It took over half an hour to cut that trench, so it is enough for me. Walk around. Several of us cut those openings. It will be nice when the thaw hits the south side of the street. Happens to us every time it snows and ices. Should be used to it by now, but it always surprises me that it lingers so long. Still, it gives the birds a place to drink.

Lunch

Well, well.. The Well across the street is serving free lunches each week (it seems to be Thurs) to anyone who wants to come in. They fix take outs and seem to happy to have anyone come and get food. This means that a lot of business people stop in for lunch. I haven't seen many poor and down and out folks going in, but apparently the people at The Well are glad to offer this ministry to one and all. In fact, this morning they stopped in and told us the menu. The girls went for lunch and it looked and smelled quite nice. Now, many churches would say, 'what is that getting us", none of those people will likely show up for church because most of them already have a church home. But maybe there is one, just one, that is without a church home or any spiritual life. Maybe there will be one person touched by the kindness and fellowship of those good folks. Maybe it will just touch the heart of one person who is in need of a kindness or just needs to know that not everything is done for gain. That will be the fulfillment of their mission. Good for them. We made them some aprons because I think we all need to affirm the attitude they exhibit. It reminds me a bit of Tim's work in the Mall Ministry. Sometimes just being there when someone needs you is as great as all the food and clothes and toys we distribute at Christmas. Just maybe they are on to something that we need a lot more of in this world.

Happy Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL
I can't believe she is 21 today...where has time gone. I was prepared to let the big girls be 21, but this is not right!!! I remember when that red head came into our lives. What a day. Big sisters who were bouncing around at the news...grandparents who were worried and excited and so happy to have a beautiful red head. Parents who were so proud and tired. Poor Mom, alone with the mean Dr and potentially bad news. A scary time, and then the great news that she is ok and all is well. And she has been nothing but absolutely ok for 21 years and for that we all thank God.
All of the grandchildren have been a joy and we are so proud of all three of them. They are the light of my life. There is something about the baby that tugs at your heart when it comes time to let them grow up. But, Rachel has always been grown up...so what is new?
Children that continue to let you be part of their lives are a great blessing and I thank them all for that.
So, Rachel....have a great Birthday...We all love you and thank you for letting us be part of your life.

Books

Rachel and I have been having a conversation about literature. She is taking a few lit classes this semester and I think I am going to enjoy them!! She mentioned a book they read called "My Antonia" written in 1918 and is apparently an American classic I am not aquainted with. I googled it and lo and behold, up it came up on a site that allows you to read the entire book. I am delighted and can't wait to find the time to settle down for a read. Isn't the internet wonderful? Here I am reading that book, reading the "Institutes of Calvin" and reading peoples blogs and goodness knows what else. The world is at your fingertips. No one has an excuse to be ignorant anymore. I am constantly amazed and I don't have time for anymore writing because I am going to go read awhile.