The weather has played havoc with our little church this year. It was so cold on Sunday (the 20th) that our elders decided to cancel church…and the potluck that was scheduled. We have many elderly people in the congregation, and it didn’t seem right to get them out in the extreme cold. And we know that if there was church, they would be there.
So this meant that Jim and I went to our neighborhood church which is just 3 blocks from our home. Our daughter and her family have been attending this church for some time now, and she even sings in the choir. They have been intending to transfer their membership to this church, but just haven’t found a time when the whole family was in church at the time of invitation. So during the invitation hymn, Robin looked at Chris and said, “Shall we do it today?” He said, “Yes,” and up they went. Naturally I got all choked up, and I couldn’t find a Kleenex. I felt so honored to happen to be present on the day they made this commitment. It’s another example of serendipity.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Rotels to the Rescue
How could I get this old and not learn about Rotel tomatoes? I have never noticed them on the shelves at the grocery store, and wouldn't have tried them yet if Jim hadn't found them at Sams and bought an 8-pack. Those things are great!
The first time I had them brought to my attention was an autumn party at daughter Susan's house. She had made a creamy dip and added a can of Rotels. Wow was it good!
I'm not fond of "hot" food, but the Rotels have the flavor of hot food with only a little of the bite. The other night I cobbled together some left-overs and came up with the closest thing to Jim's favorite Appleby's entre, "N'Orleans Skillet." Actually Appleby's has taken this dish off the menu, so it's a happy accident that I can now copy it here at home. The recipe couldn't be simpler: saute some green pepper and onion in a little oil, add a couple of cups of cooked rice, slices of smoked sausage and throw in a can of Rotel tomatoes. Yum! I've concocted similar left-over dishes, but only when I added the Rotels did I get the taste right.
So I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.
The first time I had them brought to my attention was an autumn party at daughter Susan's house. She had made a creamy dip and added a can of Rotels. Wow was it good!
I'm not fond of "hot" food, but the Rotels have the flavor of hot food with only a little of the bite. The other night I cobbled together some left-overs and came up with the closest thing to Jim's favorite Appleby's entre, "N'Orleans Skillet." Actually Appleby's has taken this dish off the menu, so it's a happy accident that I can now copy it here at home. The recipe couldn't be simpler: saute some green pepper and onion in a little oil, add a couple of cups of cooked rice, slices of smoked sausage and throw in a can of Rotel tomatoes. Yum! I've concocted similar left-over dishes, but only when I added the Rotels did I get the taste right.
So I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Teen Fashions
I can't get over how ugly teens' clothing is today. The colors are UGLY! They were ugly in the 70's and 80's when they were bright, and the same colors today are even more ugly because they're grayed down. Looks like everything has been washed with the jeans and rugs. I saw a girl the other day in one of those dresses with the points on the hem, and the background color was a dirty white. There were gray-orange polka dots about 2 inches in diameter, and then there was this gray-aqua trim around the neckline and sleeves. Talk about ugly!
And what's with the pregnancy tops? Those things with a full "skirt" that starts right under the boobs. They're usually made of filmy or slinky material in dull colors in prints that remind me of diamond back rattlesnakes. I hated that look when I was wearing maternity clothes, and I don't like it one bit more on skinny girls. On fat girls it is WAAAAAY bad!
And what's with the pregnancy tops? Those things with a full "skirt" that starts right under the boobs. They're usually made of filmy or slinky material in dull colors in prints that remind me of diamond back rattlesnakes. I hated that look when I was wearing maternity clothes, and I don't like it one bit more on skinny girls. On fat girls it is WAAAAAY bad!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Serendipity or the Holy Spirit?
Serendipity is a funny thing. Today neither of us elders nor Jim, our minister, got together on what we would say at the Communion Table. Jim did his meditation on feeling unworthy to be at the Lord's table, but because it is required of him, he does it. In other words, we all have jobs to do, and we just have to get busy and DO them.
I had written my Blessing Prayer last night, and it dealt with our unworthiness to sit at the table with the Lord, and yet we do it because he commanded it of us. That fit in so beautifully with Jim's meditation.
And then Larry, completely on his own, echoed our themes in his Thanksgiving Prayer! Now how can three people so completely mesh their thoughts when they haven't even talked about it? I don't think it's mere coincidence, because it happens all the time. If anything could convince me of the working of the Holy Spirit, this would do it.
I had written my Blessing Prayer last night, and it dealt with our unworthiness to sit at the table with the Lord, and yet we do it because he commanded it of us. That fit in so beautifully with Jim's meditation.
And then Larry, completely on his own, echoed our themes in his Thanksgiving Prayer! Now how can three people so completely mesh their thoughts when they haven't even talked about it? I don't think it's mere coincidence, because it happens all the time. If anything could convince me of the working of the Holy Spirit, this would do it.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
How Do You Keep House?
I have been trying lately to figure out what exactly my job is in the house. I know that sounds silly, since I've been keeping house for almost 50 years. It's just that I don't seem to be doing the minimum amount of house keeping, and I don't know why....other than I love the computer and my volunteer activities. So today I started a list of necessary jobs, and it's already longer than I want it to be, and I'm no where near finished. When the kids were home, I managed to keep up with the list and most things got done. I've got to figure out how to do it now. I may have to give up my "reading breaks," when I take my book and park on the sofa for "just a minute" that turns out to be an hour. Maybe I'll have to get started on housekeeping before I read the paper in the morning, or open my email. There must be a way to do this. I've just got to figure it out.
In the past I've tried many methods for keeping up. My favorite was "Sidetracked Home Executives" (SHE). I had a file box of 3x5 cards and I went through them every day. It worked (more or less) then, because my major job every day was taking care of the house and family. I never spent the 5 to 7 hours a day that would be needed to do a good job, but I kept up....thanks to my good buddy and partner in "crime" Sandy Du. I've tried to start the program up again, but I simply don't want to spend that much time on it. I can't imagine changing my life so that I'm doing housekeeping 5 hours a day! I'd be happier with 5 hours a week!
I know that one of the critical things to do is to get rid of clutter. Yup. I know all about it! I've bought a bunch of how-to books on that subject, too. I've even started out to do some of them. I usually stick with it about a week. Since I always start in the kitchen, that's the only area that ever gets scooped out. But then when I move on to the next place, the "clean" spot gets filled with things from the "newly clean" spot, and you can never see that I've done anything at all. It's downright discouraging.
In the past I've tried many methods for keeping up. My favorite was "Sidetracked Home Executives" (SHE). I had a file box of 3x5 cards and I went through them every day. It worked (more or less) then, because my major job every day was taking care of the house and family. I never spent the 5 to 7 hours a day that would be needed to do a good job, but I kept up....thanks to my good buddy and partner in "crime" Sandy Du. I've tried to start the program up again, but I simply don't want to spend that much time on it. I can't imagine changing my life so that I'm doing housekeeping 5 hours a day! I'd be happier with 5 hours a week!
I know that one of the critical things to do is to get rid of clutter. Yup. I know all about it! I've bought a bunch of how-to books on that subject, too. I've even started out to do some of them. I usually stick with it about a week. Since I always start in the kitchen, that's the only area that ever gets scooped out. But then when I move on to the next place, the "clean" spot gets filled with things from the "newly clean" spot, and you can never see that I've done anything at all. It's downright discouraging.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Losing Keys
If there's one thing in the world I hate, it's not being able to find my keys when I go to unlock the car! Therefore, I have this handy D-ring sewn into my purse right next to the cell phone pocket.I carry 3 keyrings with me:1) has the keys to the Historical Society, 2) has my flash drives, and 3) has my house and car keys. Each of them has one of those clasps like you see on dog leashes. I ALWAYS clip my keys to that D-ring when I get out of the car. Right.
This afternoon I parked at the end of the block where you can stay longer than 2 hours without getting a ticket. This evening we went to the Chanticleer for supper, and I left my computer stuff sitting out at the Hist. Soc., planning to come back after dinner to pick it all up. As we were getting near the place where my car was parked, I said, "Let me out here, and I'll drive my car up in front of the Hist. Soc." So that's what we did.
I went into the building, cleared my desk and got my computer all bundled up in its brief case, turned out the lights, locked the door and headed for the car. I reached for my keys. They weren't there. I checked my pockets. They weren't there. I dug in my purse. No keys. After a bit (it was cold and windy out there), I went to the van where my husband,Jim, was waiting for me and sat down to do a better (and warmer) search. No keys. I went back into the Society. No keys. I searched in my purse again, taking almost everything out of it. No keys. I went outside and searched in the slush around the car, but they were not to be found. I got Jim's set of car keys, and checked to see if I had left them in the car. Nope. So, sitting in the car with the overhead light on, I took EVERYthing out of my purse....including my keys! It leaves me dumfounded to have this happen, and it explains once again why I ALWAYS hook my keys to the D-ring. Yup.
The funniest part of the ordeal was that when I got through searching the car after opening it with Jim's keys, I said, "I was at the bank and the Court House this afternoon. Maybe they fell out there." And Jim kind of gave a double take and said, "Yes, but you just drove it around the corner 5 minutes ago."
This afternoon I parked at the end of the block where you can stay longer than 2 hours without getting a ticket. This evening we went to the Chanticleer for supper, and I left my computer stuff sitting out at the Hist. Soc., planning to come back after dinner to pick it all up. As we were getting near the place where my car was parked, I said, "Let me out here, and I'll drive my car up in front of the Hist. Soc." So that's what we did.
I went into the building, cleared my desk and got my computer all bundled up in its brief case, turned out the lights, locked the door and headed for the car. I reached for my keys. They weren't there. I checked my pockets. They weren't there. I dug in my purse. No keys. After a bit (it was cold and windy out there), I went to the van where my husband,Jim, was waiting for me and sat down to do a better (and warmer) search. No keys. I went back into the Society. No keys. I searched in my purse again, taking almost everything out of it. No keys. I went outside and searched in the slush around the car, but they were not to be found. I got Jim's set of car keys, and checked to see if I had left them in the car. Nope. So, sitting in the car with the overhead light on, I took EVERYthing out of my purse....including my keys! It leaves me dumfounded to have this happen, and it explains once again why I ALWAYS hook my keys to the D-ring. Yup.
The funniest part of the ordeal was that when I got through searching the car after opening it with Jim's keys, I said, "I was at the bank and the Court House this afternoon. Maybe they fell out there." And Jim kind of gave a double take and said, "Yes, but you just drove it around the corner 5 minutes ago."
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Let's Fight
I realized today that I pass up really good chances for fights. I can't explain why I don't dig in and go to verbal battle once in awhile. Most people do. For example, I have a doormat at the back door. It's not one of those really heavy ones, nor is it light enough to crumple up. The other day as my husband was coming through that door, he kind of tripped and had to catch himself. He said, "Damn! One of these days that rug is going to kill me!" What did I do? I shrugged my shoulders and gave it no more thought. I figure 1) I like the rug there as a welcome, 2) it isn't a hazard if you pick your feet up, 3) I don't need to say anything about it because I'm not going to move it, and 4) if I decide it really is a hazard, I'll just take it up and say no more. Well, you can see that I passed up a chance for a really good fight:
He: That damned rug is going to kill me someday!
She: There's nothing wrong with that rug! You need to pick up your big feet!
He: I do pick up my feet! I just hate rugs. I hate this rug in the dining room, too!
She: You don't like anything I do, do you?...
You can see where this is headed.
I've witnessed lots of fights between husband and wife, and almost all of them quickly get off the subject and on to old complaints, gripes, mistakes, pet peeves, etc. I've seen quite a few where the battlers could not tell you what actually generated the first hot words. Somehow it would be nice if we could teach young people how to keep from falling into this trap. I know that my husband has taught me to "pick my battles," and so I don't get riled up unless it's a really important issue. I just don't let it bother me. I think about something else. I go my own way, and if there's action to be taken, I'll take it later when conditions are calmer.
So I probably miss out on a lot of marrital fun, if you can call fights "fun"...and some people do. My life is a lot calmer, and our relationship is unruffled. I think I'll keep it this way.
He: That damned rug is going to kill me someday!
She: There's nothing wrong with that rug! You need to pick up your big feet!
He: I do pick up my feet! I just hate rugs. I hate this rug in the dining room, too!
She: You don't like anything I do, do you?...
You can see where this is headed.
I've witnessed lots of fights between husband and wife, and almost all of them quickly get off the subject and on to old complaints, gripes, mistakes, pet peeves, etc. I've seen quite a few where the battlers could not tell you what actually generated the first hot words. Somehow it would be nice if we could teach young people how to keep from falling into this trap. I know that my husband has taught me to "pick my battles," and so I don't get riled up unless it's a really important issue. I just don't let it bother me. I think about something else. I go my own way, and if there's action to be taken, I'll take it later when conditions are calmer.
So I probably miss out on a lot of marrital fun, if you can call fights "fun"...and some people do. My life is a lot calmer, and our relationship is unruffled. I think I'll keep it this way.
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