To Know Me is To Love Me

Frankenstein Revisited

2012-02-12T14:15:00.000-08:00

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn't a second head. Maybe it's where the Frankenstein screw fell out of my neck and the doctor had to replace it with stitches. I still have the stitches. I'm getting them out tomorrow. They have become a little bit irritating. The cut is almost healed. I'm just hoping my original head doesn't come off when the stitches are removed.

There was a man who wasn't happy with himself and so he decided to have his arms and legs removed so he could be more streamlined and perfect. However, once he got used to having no arms and legs, he realized he still wasn't happy. He went back for more surgery and had the doctor remove everything but his head. He really liked living this way. He just rolled everywhere he wanted to go. Even if he rolled into the gutter, he could just roll right back out and get to a better place.

One day he decided he was going to go a step further in his search for the ultimate existence. He went back to the doctor and asked him to remove everything but one eye. He thought he would have the very best view of the world if he only had an eye. He lived as an eye for awhile. It seemed to be a pleasant way to live. He had few distractions and had clear vision.

One day while he was seeing the world, a man with big feet was walking near him. While the man was seeking his own clear vision of the world, a bird in the sky distracted him and before he knew it he had stepped on the man who was only an eye.

The moral of this story is...the man should have quit while he was a head.

When You Lose a Second Head

2012-02-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

For a number of months I have had a bump on my neck--some kind of cyst, I guess. It wasn't beautiful, but it wasn't terribly ugly either. A couple of weeks ago it became larger, and my husband (gracious man that he is) said it looked like a second head. It was very ugly and very painful. I decided it was time to go to the doctor and have it removed.

When the doctor saw my second head, she said I needed to be on antibiotics for a week before she worked on removing it. So I took antibiotics and it diminished in size and pain. Because it was still ugly, I kept it covered with a large band aid which had the added benefit of irritating my skin. So now I was sporting a second head and a skin irritation that made me look like I had been exposed to something like agent pink.

I went to the doctor again this past Thursday. After many little shots of anesthesia and after she worked on the head for about 50 minutes, it was all removed. Four stitches were added to seal the deal, and I was told to put cream on the site along with a bandage and to use paper tape to help the skin irritation.

Now three days later the whole thing is looking much better. The stitches aren't pretty, but they have reaped some sympathy for me here at home, and I think they'll do the same thing at work. The paper tape has not worked very well--it tends to migrate to other parts of my neck or onto the neck of my shirt. I think I will only wear a band aid when I'm out and about for just a couple more days.

I hope with the removal of my second head that I didn't lose any important brain cells. It didn't seem to know much anyway, so I think I'm good.

The moral of this story seems to be when you have a growth, have it taken care of before it morphs into something very painful and unpleasant. I probably won't learn that moral. I'm a great one to procrastinate. That's one of the rules I live by.

I Have a Dream

2012-01-29T15:36:00.000-08:00

Before my husband and I had been married five years, I had a dream that we would celebrate our 5th anniversary by going to Hawaii. I had the same dream for the 10th, the 15th, the 20th, the 25th and maybe for a couple of others.

Then my dream changed. I decided I would rather go on an Alaskan cruise for one of our main anniversaries. I hoped to do that for a number of years. Then my dream changed.

Next summer we will have been married 40 years. What I'm hoping for now is to spend several days and nights in Estes Park in the beautiful Colorado mountains. That's a dream that matches my energies and motivations. I've seen Hawaii and Alaska and the whales on TV. I know it's not the same as going for real, but it's certainly much easier and definitely less expensive.

When I was younger I wanted to learn to play the violin and to go back to school to get a MA. Later I changed my wants to learning to play the guitar instead of the violin, and I'm finished with schooling, although I do think about taking a class online.

I still have the desire to write a book. But I do wonder if I wait a few years to actually write one, how all the new technology will affect that enterprise. Besides wanting to say something, I also want to make money. In the future will this dream be worth anything?

It's good to have dreams. It's good to be realistic. I do dream about living to be 95 like my grandma did, although that may take too much work and it may take too long!

Skirting the Issue

2012-01-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

A true story

I was attending Bible college in Denver at least a few years ago now. Cinderella City, a mall in Englewood, was very new--probably a couple years old. I had gone to the mall by myself, and in the middle of the open floor space a petting zoo had been brought in.

What I remember the most were the baby goats. The were very cute and pretty active. I was bending over to pat some little guy, and suddenly I felt a tug on the back of my skirt. I turned quickly around. There was another little "precious" goat with the whole back of my skirt in its mouth. I yanked on it. It all came out very easily, but I was left with a very large (bigger than a frisbee) circle with a lovely green tint to it.

Of course I was embarrassed. If only someone else had been there with me--we could have smirked and laughed together. By myself I could only look around to see who was watching. There was no one as far as I could tell. I think I went and sat down to let the wet spot dry for a little while, and then I left the mall quickly like a prairie dog running for cover.

Good times and good memories.

The Lesson

2012-01-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

She wasn't sure why she had done it. She really hadn't done it since that time she had been in the tree in the backyard. A bird had landed on the branch above where she was sitting high above the ground. It had said a few chirpy words to her and then had made a deposit on her black sweater and flown away. When she wiped it it off, it had smeared on her fingers in a white streak. She had then wiped it on the front of her shirt.

After she quickly climbed down the tree and run in the house to tell Mama, her mama hollered at her and told her she should not have wiped the poo with her hand but should have come inside and let her clean it off with soap and water. Now she had smeared it and had to change her clothes.

Ever since then when she got anything on her shirt, she just let it stay there until she could wash it off and scrub it with soap or cleaner. The time however, when she dropped spaghetti sauce on her white blouse, she had immediately reached up and wiped it with her hand. There now was a streak all down the front and it was nearly time for her to meet her boyfriend's parents. Now they would know who she really was.

There was always the second impression.

The New Year

2012-01-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

So far, the new year feels pretty much like the old year. Same job. Same house. Save co-workers. Same family. Same me. I guess that's the main thing...the same me. I would like to make resolutions that, if kept, would change me for the better. Here's a possible list:

I will exercise everyday.

I will eat only healthy food in moderate amounts.

I will watch only television and movies that have good moral content with no violence, language or anything that would cause carnal thoughts.

I will vacuum something every day.

I will always do the dishes and wipe the counters after supper.

I will quit being a procrastinator.

I will witness to my co-workers weekly.

I will read my Bible every day and read it through every year.

I will paint my fingernails.

I will start writing my book.

And for good measure, I will strive to be perfect and not be satisfied with my imperfections.

But alas, that last one is the sticking point. For the most part, I'm okay with my imperfections. I don't expect perfection, and I don't even plan to strive for it. This is my life, and I'm okay with that.

Why spoil imperfection?

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

I have been on vacation since Friday, 122311. My vacation was supposed to start on Saturday, but the county commissioners decided to allow all county employees to have a half day of paid time off on Friday (saying "off on" disturbs me a little, but I'm leaving it in). It was a wonderful gift, especially just before Christmas. I had already planned to be off through January 2. My husband has been on vacation as well. We really haven't done much, but it's been nice to be home together.

We actually haven't had Christmas with our daughter Jen yet (she's in China). We had mailed a Christmas box to her on 121911,which was the last day for international packages to be delivered before Christmas; that is, if the box went through Customs alright. Well, on Wednesday, two days later the box came back to us--we had forgotten to sign the mailing statement. It wasn't just our problem. The Post Office person who originally took our box to mail it, did not notice that the label wasn't signed, even though she looked over the whole thing to make sure it was all filled out.

We had thought we were going to have to pay for the box all over again ($80), but when we mailed it the second time, the guy at the Post Office said we didn't have to pay that amount again. We just had to pay almost another $20 because we had added a couple more things to a larger box. Anyway the box didn't get mailed until Friday of that week. We were told that it was still possible that the box might arrive before Christmas. Well, this is the 30th, and we have not yet heard that Jen has received her box. I hope she gets it before we have to go back to work so we can still have Christmas with her.

Mostly this Christmas season has been great! We have enjoyed the time and the gifts. We are thankful that God gave the very best gift for the world, His only begotten son, full of grace and truth.

Starting Again

2011-12-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

It's been over two years since I posted anything on this blog. There have been many times since then that I thought about something or came across something that I thought would make a good blog. But today I don't really have anything in particular to say...just that I'm starting to blog again. I look forward to it.

Fresh Fruit and Veggies

2009-09-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

The end of summer is a wonderful time. I went to the open air market a week or so ago and got fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. At the store I got cantaloupe, watermelon, fresh green beans and corn. It's all so delicious. And one by-product of eating all these good things is that my cholesterol is down. Yay!

When I was growing up in Pueblo over by Morton Elementary School, we had a plum tree in our backyard. It was great to go out and pick a snack. My children always loved it when we lived in a place where they could pick fruit when they were hungry. God gave us all good things to eat and just happened to make them good for our bodies.

I still want to get more green beans, corn, cucumbers and tomatoes before they are all gone. It's a lovely time of year!

Bad News--Good News

2009-09-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

The bad news: our kitchen sink was backed up over the weekend. The good news: the plumber came by Monday afternoon and worked a miracle!

The bad news: Gary and Aaron both had a kidney stone at the same time. The good news: both are doing fine now (those stones may come back to visit if they haven't finished their work).

The bad news: Jen got bitten by something (maybe spiders) and has had an allergic reaction. Her eye was very swollen and so was her forearm. The good news: I haven't heard any more news yet, so I guess no news is good news???

The bad news: little Gizmo didn't want to go outside to go potty because the wind has caused the screen door to move and it scared him quite a bit. So he went a couple of places in the house. The good news: I think he's doing better on that.

This is good news as far as I'm concerned: Jen's extra special birthday is coming up on October 5. If you want to send her a card, let me know and I will give you her address or email so you can tell her Happy Birthday!! I know she would love hearing from you. If you know others who would like to wish her happy birthday, let me know. Gary, Aaron and I are preparing a box to send her. The largest regular Post Office box can be sent for $50--it's a little steep. It takes about 10 days to get to Jen.

Thoughts

2009-09-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

I just talked to Jen. We started talking about 5:45 her time. She was getting ready to have a busy day. If you haven't been reading her blog, you ought to. It's very entertaining. It's: oldmaidinchina.blogspot.com

Saturday was the ninth anniversary of my sister Gail's death--September 5. I still miss her so much. She was my best friend and a part of me and a part of my life. I would like to know what she has been doing all this time.

We are going to barbecue for supper. It will be good.

While I do enjoy my work most of the time, I'm always sorry when a holiday comes to an end. At least we only have a four-day work week.

God didn't make all of Creation for us. He made it for Himself.

Waiting

2009-09-01T10:45:00.001-07:00

I noticed that other day that I was waiting for something...not consciously thinking about it, but I became aware I was waiting. After I thought about it, I find that I have a sense of waiting for many things. They are not all the usual. Here are a few that I can think of right now.

1. For the people who share our duplex to get rid of their van. They only got it a couple of months ago. It is handicapped accessible, and I guess I don't think it will be there permanently.

2. For Jen to come home.

3. For Gary to change some things.

4. For the need for new technology at work to finally come to an end.

5. For my leg to get better.

6. To move to a larger place.

7. To have more freedom with our money.

8. To write a book.

9. To quit being so tired.

10. To move back to Pueblo.

11. For a change in the government.

I know there are many things I should be waiting for and I probably am waiting consciously for a lot of things: the Rapture, to lose weight and others. But I know and think about those.

Do you have any things you are waiting for that are kind of at the back of your mind? Do you feel like sharing?

Some Thoughts

2009-08-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. I would say he is getting old(er), but since I am older than he is, it might imply something about me!

Well, anyway for the first installment of his birthday, he chose the meal he wanted to have cooked. Actually he grilled the steak, and I cooked the corn on the cob, the baked potato, and the mushrooms and then made the salad. He was happy. Aaron had already given his gift along with his Father's Day gift. I gave him a book and gift card. Jen is giving him cash.

On Friday night or Saturday, he will have the second installment of his birthday. We will eat out and he will buy the gift of his choice with Jen's money. Good times.

At work we have changed some of our work processes which has made it more difficult/involved to prepare/release information--many little steps. The advantages of doing things the new way are 1) we eventually will use less paper, and 2) we can email reports. BUT it doesn't make things easier. I'm just saying.

There's a touch of fall in the air some days. I look forward to fall, but I'm sorry summer is coming to an end. The temperatures at night are getting down into the 50's.

Our two little dogs make us laugh a lot. Riley barks when he hears something outside (however, he gets in trouble for that so he is getting better), and Gizmo barks because Riley does. If Riley runs down the hall, Gizmo is running and practically putting his feet on top of Riley's as they run together. Riley is Gizmo's life; Gizmo is Riley's cross to bear..sometimes. Most of the time it's all good.

That's all for now.

Say What??

2009-08-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

I thought I might have something to say after I opened up my new blog page. But I was wrong. I got nothing.

Have a great day!

Random Thoughts

2009-08-08T08:23:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the last day for Neighborhood Bible Clubs put on by my church. We had a high day of 17 kids, and there were 7 children who asked Christ into their hearts. While the numbers we not nearly as high as last year's, the week was still a great success, and God blessed.

So today, I am tired. I suppose when you get tired because you are working for the Lord, it's a really good tiredness.

We talked to Jen this morning by Skype. It's so nice to see and hear her. She of course is really busy. We were able to sell her car yesterday, and she is really ecstatic about is. She had just made the current payment this past week.

I only worked 3 1/2 hours each day this week (except for Friday--I was off all day) because of the Bible clubs. I find that that is a schedule I could be very happy with!

The temperature is suppose to get down into the upper 50's at night this week. Wonderful. During the day it will probably be in the mid to upper 80's. Everything is still green because of the rain we've been having--very unusual.

Jen's in China!

2009-07-25T19:16:00.001-07:00

Jen left Denver Thursday night at about 9:00 for China. She finally arrived in Qingdao at about 10:00pm on Friday our time after a very long and tiring day. Praise the Lord she made it safely! God is good.

The time in China is 14 hours ahead of us, so she arrived there about noon on Saturday. She and some of the folks there walked to a restaurant for lunch. She says it is her new favorite place to eat. She says her apartment is big with a big living room and a very small kitchen.

At our house we are hooked up to Skype so Gary and I were able to talk to Jen and see her for several minutes this morning. It was great! This is a wonderful technology to have and use.

Even though Jen is way too far away, I'm very happy that she arrived safely and that she is happy with things so far. God is big and He literally has the whole world in His hands including Jen in China.

P.S. Jen shut down her blog and so I don't have access to any blogs that were listed in her blog list. I always went through her blog to read other blogs. Please respond to this blog or in email and give me your blog addresses. By the way she is setting up a new blog to tell of her adventures in China.

Revolution

2009-07-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

This speech was given by Sheriff James Alderden at a Tea Party in Estes Park in celebration of the 4th of July. I have his permission to use it in my blog. Please read it.

Revolution - Back to the Future

Revolution. The word has several meanings.
· An opposition effort to overthrow a government.
· A momentous or sweeping change.
· A circular movement around a point.

As I use the word today, just in case there are any federal authorities monitoring this gathering and composing a potential terrorist watch list, I mean a sweeping change in the direction government is headed.

I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers.... We must make our choice between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.

These are the words of our third President, one of our Founding Fathers and the author of our Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson.

As I speak today about our heritage and foundation – and contrast that with where we are and where we appear to be headed – I hope you’ll forgive me for borrowing liberally from Jefferson and others who were true visionaries and much brighter than me. Over two hundred years after they were uttered, the words of our Paternal Patriots are just as relevant today as they were then.

Some critics have denounced the attendees of these Tea Parties as Tea-baggers and nothing more than ignorant racists. I prefer to think of us as Patriots with deep respect for the principles on which this great Republic was founded.
America has been the country that champions individual freedom, not the land of government control leading us like a pack of Lemmings into the sea of self destruction.

America was founded as the land of opportunity - opportunity for all regardless of race, color, creed or religion. Opportunity to succeed or fail - depending on one's ability and initiative. The land of opportunity, not the land of entitlement.

The over-reaching of our federal government today can only be described as revolting.

We live in troubling times – a time when complacency has led to unrecognized or ignored danger. We must be vigilant from threats – threats both from abroad and within. We who are gathered here understand this and are willing to take a stand and be heard, just as the citizens of Massachusetts were in 1773 when they dumped 342 chests of tea from three ships docked at Griffin’s Wharf into Boston Harbor.

If there is one thing we should have learned by now, it’s that history does repeat itself.

What prompted the original Tea Party? It wasn’t that the colonials didn’t like tea. Indeed, tea was the coffee of the day and colonials drank an estimated six and a half million pounds of tea each year. The Governor of Massachusetts was appointed by the King and his pay linked to the tax on tea. One of the largest financial institutions in England at the time was the East India Company, second only to the Bank of England, but it was close to bankruptcy. To help the failing company, Parliament changed the law on how tea was sold and shipped, basically under-cutting American traders like John Hancock and creating an East India monopoly that benefited a very small group in Boston that included the Governor’s two sons and a son-in-law.

Government interference with free enterprise. Disproportionate taxation! Back to the future!

As dramatic as the events of that December night were, what is more relevant were the meetings which took place prior to the Tea Party and the efforts to have the tea returned to England. When the first ship to arrive had docked, posters went up urging citizens to gather at Faneuil Hall the next morning. As reported in the book Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution by A.J. Langguth, a crowd of over 6,000 gathered there in violation of the government restriction which limited the size of Town Meetings. The men gathered said that even though they didn’t own enough property to qualify to vote, their sons someday would and that they were entitled to protect their children’s future. -- So are we! Not only entitled to protect their future, but bound to.

So, why we are gathered here today? Join me in being heard!
· Are we concerned about the pawning of the financial future of our children and our children’s children? YES.
· Are we concerned about the Ponzi Scheme known as the federal budget? YES.
· Are we concerned about government taking over private business? YES.
· Are we concerned about draconian government regulation and interference? YES.
· Are we concerned about efforts to remove God from the public discourse? YES.
· Are we concerned about the erosion of our Constitutional rights to keep and bear arms? YES.
· Are we concerned about environmental extremism that offers carbon taxes or cap and trade policies that will add to the costs of goods and services for all Americans? YES.
· Are we concerned about a Congress and President ignoring Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution and the 10th Amendment by assuming authority that was guaranteed to the State? YES.
· Are we concerned about our national security and our national sovereignty? YES.
· Are we concerned about the march of our country down the rocky path of Socialism and Fascism? YES.

The following frequently used quotation is attributed to Scottish history professor Alexander Tytler. He made his observation shortly after the Revolutionary War, about the same time the Constitutional Convention was being held in Philadelphia.

A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.

Back to the future! Dr. Tytler continued:

The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
· From bondage to spiritual faith;
· From spiritual faith to great courage;
· From courage to liberty;
· From liberty to abundance;
· From abundance to complacency;
· From complacency to apathy;
· From apathy to dependence;
· From dependence back into bondage

The accuracy and source of this quote have been debated, but the observations seem to conform to our history. It does appear that history repeats itself. If you recall one of the definitions of “revolution” as a circular movement around a point, it does appear that we’ve come nearly full circle:
· from the figurative bondage of the oppressive taxes and duties imposed by various acts of the British Parliament
· to the spiritual faith and courage shown by the Son’s of Liberty
· to the Declaration of Independence and freedoms guaranteed under our Bill of Rights
· to the abundance our great nation enjoyed through much of the 20th century
· to the complacency and apathy that has slowly permeated our society over the past few decades
· and finally, to the dependency we see today.

I have a great deal of respect and admiration for our Founding Fathers – for what they accomplished and the risks they took to win our independence. Let me share with you some of their thoughts on democracy.

Thomas Jefferson expressed the same concern as Dr. Tytler but did so much more succinctly, stating:
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

John Adams observed:
…democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.

The question for us is this:
· Is it possible to move from this stage of dependence, by-passing the stage of figurative bondage and move back in time to a new era of spiritual faith, great courage, liberty and independence?
I would argue and pray that it is possible – that it isn’t too late – because our government is not a pure democracy. Our Founding Fathers understood the inherent dangers of a pure democracy, where strict majority rule threatens the inalienable rights of the individual. They understood the fundamental difference between a pure democracy which is equated to mob rule, and a Republic which is a representative form of government - operating under a Constitution that places limits on the authority of government and ensures the sovereignty of the individual.

As noted by Jefferson,
An elective despotism is not what we fought for…
It appears to me that our hope for the future lies in the fact that we are a Republic. But the path back won’t be easy and there is no quick fix. Our Founding Fathers fought for independence - risking everything. We who are gathered today can do no less.

So, what do we need to do to get back on track?
The first step is to recognize how we got here. We didn’t get here overnight. It was a slow and incremental deterioration fueled by a liberal media and by a liberal educational system. We need to restore balance to both.
We need to support media outlets that aren’t beholden to the government and which present all sides of an issue. We need to vigorously oppose such things as the “so-called” Fairness Doctrine.

We need to take back our educational system, from the elementary schools to the universities, holding teachers and administrators responsible for educating our children, not imposing their ideology. If our public institutions of learning can’t do that, then we need to home school our youth or enroll them in select charter or private schools.

We – WE - need to instill our values in our children, not cede this important responsibility to the schools or media.

Second, we need to stand up, shout and be heard. We need to continue to gather in protest instead of wallowing in apathy.

We need to actively push for a return to our national foundation – with an emphasis on our individual God-given rights and respect for State rights over federalism.

Third, we need to get politically active - not just by casting a vote on election day - but in working on campaigns of candidates who uphold our ideals.

We need to ensure that all of our elected officials know, understand and uphold our founding principles – from the school board members to the city councilman, from the county commissioner to the mayor, from the sheriff to the governor, from the state and federal legislators to the President.
Leaders who understand and honor the Declaration of Independence, the United State Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Leaders who will govern based on our founding principles, not polls.

Leaders who understand their responsibility under a Republic. Representatives who will truly represent us and our country - not their self interest. Leaders who aren’t in it for the money or to satisfy their ego.

I can’t let a speech on the Fourth of July go by without quoting my favorite actor. In closing, this is from John Wayne playing Davy Crockett in The Alamo:

Republic. I like the sound of the word. It means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose. Some words give you a feeling. Republic is one of those words that makes me tight in the throat – the same tightness a man gets when his baby takes his first step or his first baby shaves and makes his first sound like a man. Some words can give you a feeling that make your heart warm. Republic is one of those words.

Just Get Me to My Work on Time

2009-06-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I left work, I left a lot of details undone. All the crucial stuff was done, but there were probably another ten to twenty things that still needed to be finished. So yesterday, I thought to myself that I maybe would try to get to work by 5:00am. (my usual time is 6:00am). Knowing how I move in the morning, I knew this was possibly improbable, but I thought maybe I could do just this once.

Well, at 10:00pm last night when I was getting ready for bed, I suddenly knew for certain that I wasn't going to get up before 4:00 so I could be at work at 5:00. I decided instead to really get up at 4:20 when my alarm goes off instead of punching the alarm four times like I usually do (sometimes five times). I thought that I would then get to work by about 5:30.

I did pretty well. I only punched the alarm twice when it went off. I was ready to leave the house by about 5:15. That meant I might get to work by 5:40 or 5:45. Then I remembered--I had to get gas or I might not even make it to work, and since I was going a different route I could go through McDonald's and get something for breakfast to eat on the way.

The good news is that I made it to work on time, early even, at 5:59. This is about ten to fifteen minutes earlier that I usually get to work (I make up the time at the end of the day--it works). So I can say I WAS 15 minutes early. I am both proud of myself and mostly very irritated.

Living with me is hard. I think one of the reasons I look forward to Heaven is that I will be changed, and that will be pretty miraculous. And I don't think I will have to be on time for work.

Some Random Things

2009-06-24T10:59:00.001-07:00

Jen drove home last weekend from Florida so she could leave her car and dog with us. It was a long, long way to drive. Now she is in NY near Buffalo doing some intensive training with the organization she will be working with in China. She will be home for a few days after that and then again for almost two weeks later in July. She has had an awful lot of stuff to do and still has plenty more to do. Please pray for her.

Jen's dog Gizmo and our dog Riley are having a wild time together. They run and play most of the time even when they are both worn out. They are getting along pretty well. Life has changed a lot for both of them--and for us. Both dogs are cuties.

I am looking ahead and starting to work on the Neighborhood Bible Clubs with my church which will held the first full week in August. Work + good times.

We had a potluck yesterday at work. Our theme was "Stuffed Stuff." We had stuffed tomatoes, stuff celery, stuffed enchiladas, stuffed empanadas, stuffed kraut burgers, stuffed shells (mine), stuffed cheese cake, stuffed strawberries, stuffed ice cream sandwiches, stuffed spring rolls, stuffed deviled eggs, and some other things. It was all good. We had really different things than we usually have.

On Father's Day both kids were out of town, although Aaron arrived back home mid-afternoon. Gary wanted fried chicken for his day--homemade fried chicken. I cooked one pan full and then told him I could fry the other pieces on some other day so that I could make gravy from the drippings to go with the meal. He decided he wanted all the chicken cooked (he was afraid I wouldn't fix it later) and that we could eat later in the afternoon. So we ate at about 2:30. Aaron got home just as we were starting to eat. He doesn't really like fried chicken, so he had some veggies and potatoes and gravy. Usually I would have fixed him chicken strips or something else, but I didn't know he was coming home so early (he can stand fried chicken strips). Anyway, Gary's been taking chicken for lunch all week. He's been very happy this week, at least at lunch time.

Apparently I don't have too many thoughts today. I just found out I have to proof a paper for somebody in the building, so I guess I'm quitting with the writing.

200th Blog

2009-06-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

For my 200th blog I have 200 book titles. The list includes some repeats, but I'm going to leave the list as is. It's a good list.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

5 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

6 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

7 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

8 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

9 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

10 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

11 Complete Works of Shakespeare

12 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

13 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

14 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

15 Middlemarch - George Eliot

16 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

17 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

18 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

19War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

20 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

21 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

22 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

23 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

24 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

25Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

26 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

27 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

28 Emma - Jane Austen

29 Persuasion - Jane Austen

30 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

31 Animal Farm - George Orwell

32 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

33 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

34 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

35Lord of the Flies - William Golding

36 Dune - Frank Herbert

37Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

38 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

39 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

40 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

41Count of Monte Cristo - Aleandre Dumas

42 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

43 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

44 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

45 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

46 Dracula - Bram Stoker

47 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

48 Ulysses - James Joyce

49 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

50A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

51The Color Purple - Alice Walker

52 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

53 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

54 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

55Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

56 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Eupery

57Watership Down - Richard Adams

58The Three Musketeers - Aleandre Dumas

59Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

60Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

61Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

62The Æneid - Virgil

63Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

64Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

65Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll

66All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

67The American - Henry James

68Animal Farm - George Orwell

69Anna Karenina - Tolstoy

Arrowsmith - Sinclair Lewis

70Babbit - Sinclair Lewis

71Beowulf

72The Bible - God

73Billy Budd - Herman Meville

74Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

75Brothers Karamozov - Fyodor Dostoyevski

76Caine Mutiny - Herman Wouk

77Call of the Wild - Jack London

78Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer

79Complete Stories of Edgar Allen Poe - E.A. Poe

80 Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain

81Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

82Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevski

83Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton

84Daisy Miller - Henry James

85David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

86Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather

87Don Quiote de la Mancha - Miguel de Cervantes

88Dune - Frank Herbert

89Emma - Jane Austen

90Ethan Frome - Edith Wharton

91Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

92A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemmingway

93For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway

94Giant - Edna Ferber

95Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell

96Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck

97Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

98Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

99Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

100Great Short Works of Joseph Conrad - Joseph Conrad

101Gulliver's Travels - Johnathon Swift

102The Hobbit -J.R.R. Tolkien

103House of Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne

104Hunchback of Notre Dame- Victor Hugo

105The Iliad - Homer

106Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott

105Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

108Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling

109Kidnapped - Robert Lewis Stevenson

110Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper

111Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

112Look Homeward Angel - Thomas Wolfe

113Lord Jim - Joseph Conrad

114Lord of the Flies - William Golding

115Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien

116Main Street - Sinclair Lewis

117Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

118Moby Dick - Herman Melville

119Moll Flanders - Daniel Defoe

120The Morte D'Arthur - Thomas Malory

121Mutiny on the Bounty - Charles Nordhoff

122My Antonia - Willa Cather

123 1984 - George Orwell

124The Odyssey - Homer

125Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham

126Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

127Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

128The Once and Future King - T.H. White

129Pearl - John Steinbeck

130The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

131Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyon

132The Plague - Albert Camus

133Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austin

134Quo Vadis - Henryk Sienkiewicz

135Rebecca - Daphne Dumaurier

136Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane

137Red Pony - John Steinbeck

138Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy

139Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

140Sherlock Holmes, the Complete Stories - A. Conan Doyle

141Silas Marner - George Eliot

142Slaughterhouse-five - Kurt Vonnegut

143Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner

144Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

145Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

146Three Musketeers - Alexander Dumas

147Time Machine - H.G. Wells

148To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

149Treasure Island - Robert Lewis Stevenson

150A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith

151Turn of the Screw - Henry James

152 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne

153Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

154Vanity Fair - William Thackeray

155War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

156Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

157The Yearling - Marjory K. Rawlings

158You Can't Go Home Again - Thomas Wolfe

159Aesop's Fables - William Caxton

160Arabian Nights or One Thousand and One Nights

161Black Beauty - Anna Sewell

162The Call of the Wild - Jack London

163Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift

164Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates - Mary Mapes Dodge

165The Happy Prince and Other Tales - Oscar Wilde

166Heidi - Johanna Spyri

167Ivanhoe - Walter Scott

168Just So Stories - Rudyard Kipling

169The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irving

170A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett

171Little Lord Fauntleroy - Frances Hodgson Burnett

172The Lost World - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

173Peter pan - J.M. Barrie

174Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan

175Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi

176Pollyanna - Eleanor H. Porter

177Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm - Kate Douglas Wiggin

178Rip Van Winkle - Washington Irving

179The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

180The Swiss Family Robinson - Johann Rudolf Wyss

181Tales of Mother Goose - Charles Perrault

182The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Duras

183Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea - Jules Verne

184The Water Babies - Charles Kingsley

185White Fang - jack London

186The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

187Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein

188The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom

189Charlotte's Web - E.B. White

190Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

190The Indian in the Cupboard - Lynne Reid Banks

191James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl

192Little House on the Prairie Books - Laura Ingalls Wilder

193How to Eat Fried Worms - Thomas Rockwell

194Pippe Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren

195Stuart Little - E.B. White

196Sideway School is Falling Down

197The Black Stallion - Walter Farley

198The Cat in the Hat - Dr. Seuss

199Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss

200The Little Engine that Could

Amazing Date!

2009-06-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

June 10th. This is my 37th anniversary. It is also my husband's 37th anniversary. We were talking last night about this anniversary. When we got married we hadn't even thought about being married this long. It wasn't that we thought we would get a divorce...we just hadn't visualized the possible length of time a marriage could last.

Some of the events on our wedding day in 1972 included these special moments:

Gary's mom got locked out of the motel room before she had gotten dressed for the wedding.

My mom sat in grease in my dad's car on the way to the wedding and we had to rush down to the church kitchen to wash it out. Fortunately the grease came out.

When my dad and I were just starting down the aisle from the back of the church, he almost stumbled when all the people turned to look at us. I think he hadn't realized that was part of the fun.

Gary and I sang a duet during the wedding, "Day by Day." The pastor had told us we probably shouldn't plan to sing because at his wedding he passed out he was so nervous, and he was afraid we might have problems.

My sister sang a solo and so did our friend, Allen. Both did a wonderful job. Someone made the comment since we were having so many songs (three including ours), we should just have the choir sing. We didn't.

The ring bearer picked his nose up in front.

We had two flower girls, Kay (my cousin) and Jody (Gary's niece). We also had three attendants on each side (my sister was my maid of honor and two friends were the bridesmaids; Gary's two brothers and his friend Allen were the groomsmen). Our colors were yellow and white--very pretty in June.

As part of the postlude, the organist played "The Fight is On, O Christian Soldiers." The truth. I don't know what she was thinking!!!!

It was a great wedding. I loved it.

Gary has been a great husband and I'm so glad to have him. And he is glad to have me (or else). With God, we have created a unique life together.

I am hoping for another 37!

Respect your Mother

2009-06-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

A co-worker's mother can't keep her house clean. She was a lousy mother when my co-worker was growing up (she was/is an alcoholic), she needs to sell her house and move--she should be able to see that.

Another co-worker's mother doesn't know about or understand all the technology. When she asks her daughter questions, she tells her she's not going to use the technology and she doesn't need to understand.

Another co-worker's mother didn't fix food the right way and treat her right when she was growing up.

These women act like their mothers are foolish, unable, and not willing to do things the right way. I don't like to hear that kind of talk.

When I was a kid, I felt family loyalty. I might have thought my mom and dad didn't do everything right, but I didn't want other people to know their faults. I think no matter how fallible our parents are, we should be respectful and protective of them and their reputations.

My mother was a great mother. Not perfect, but great. Why we expect perfection from others when we can't be perfect ourselves is not reasonable.

My mother taught me many valuable things: ironing, laundry, spelling, sewing, driving, hair curling, shopping, cleaning, dishes, cooking. She taught me to read the Bible and pray and go to church. She provided a piano and piano lessons and a clarinet, and camp and library trips. She made me obey and taught me respect for my dad. She was a good example.

My son and daughter treat me with respect. I know they respect my opinion and my abilities. I think (and hope) they say kind things about me to their friends.

Being a mother wasn't always easy for my mother or for me. We just tried to do a good job.

Family Picnic

2009-06-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Brother, Sister-in-law, Brother-in-law, Nephews and Nieces ( some of these people have already been told about this, but if you read this blog, please spread the word),

I would like to invite you to a family picnic on Saturday, July 18. I don't know yet where it will be. Details will follow at some point, but I hope you will hold this date open for this event. This will be the last time we will see Jen for probably two years. I hope you can come. We will figure out food later.

Qingdao Demographics & Prayer Requests

2009-06-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

By the end of 2006, Qingdao was estimated to be the home of about 8 million inhabitants, of which around 3 million reside in the Qingdao urban area. Another estimated 5 million live in other cities under Qingdao's jurisdiction.

The annual birth rate is calculated around 76,507, with a birth rate of 10.15 per year per thousand, and a death rate of 6.32, both calculated on an annual basis.

Living standards are among highest of leading Chinese cities due to the strong export economy and relatively high family wages.

While Qingdao is home to 38 Chinese ethnic minorities they constitute only 0.14% of the city's total population. Qingdao boasts a vibrant expatriate community, led by the Korean community which comprised over 80,000 individuals in 2007.

This information all comes from Wikipedia--not my brain.

Please pray for Jen. She has had so much to do and she is worn down. Pray that she will find someone to take her little dog. The girl who was supposed to take him changed her mind. Also Jen still has to raise about $5000. Her church is taking an offering this Sunday, and some friends are having a gold party (people bring broken gold jewelry, and then it is melted down). I'm planning a barbecue for the Sheriff's Office and asking for donations. Anyway, she needs your prayers.

Qingdao, China

2009-05-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

My daughter will be going to Qingdao, China, this summer and staying for two years. I wanted to know some things about the place she will be staying and I thought you might too.

Qingdao is located on the south facing coast of the Shandong Peninsula. It borders three prefecture-level cities, namely Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west, and Rizhao to the southwest. The city's total jurisdiction area occupies 10,654 km². The populated sections of the city are relatively flat while mountains spur up within city limits and nearby. The highest elevation in the city is 1133 m above sea level. 15.5% of the total area is highland, while the foothill, plain and lowland areas constitute 25.1%, 37.8% and 21.7%. The city has a 730.64-kilometre coastline. Five significant rivers that flow for more than 50 km can be found in the region.

Qingdao's climate is monsoon-influenced and falls on the borderline between humid subtropical (Koppen Cwa) and humid continental (Koppen Dwa). Winter is cool to cold, sometimes snowy, and windy, with temperatures hovering around freezing. Summer is generally hot and humid, but very hot days are rare. Due to its proximity to the coast and being on a peninsula, it experiences a one-month delayed spring compared to most of central China. Conversely, autumn is much milder than inland areas. The water temperature peaks at about 25C (77F) in late August, with swimming possible two months on either side.

Weather averages for Qingdao, Shandong, PRC
----------------------- Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Ave high (°F)
------------------------(37) (41) (49) (59) (69) (75) (81) (83) (78) (68) (54) (42)
Ave low (°F)
------------------------(27) (30) (37) (47) (56) (65) (72) (74) (67) (56) (44) (32)

precip(inches)-----(.39)(.47)(.61)(.94)(1.76)(2.31)(3.94)(4.17)(1.80)(.91)(.92)(.32)

I will write more later. This info is quoted from Wickipedia.

The Garage

2009-05-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

Well, Gary, Aaron and I have worked for an hour or two on the garage. The other two have gotten more done than I have. I have mostly sorted through some boxes and re-organized them so they can be stacked along the walls.

We stopped to eat lunch and decided to watch a movie. After starting the movie, I decided it wasn't one I wanted to watch, so I have been reading blogs and writing this blog for the last hour. When the movie is finished, I suppose we'll go back out and at least straighten up the mess we've made in the garage. It's been very pleasant.

13 Thursday And Friday Thoughts

2009-05-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

A co-worker is having plastic surgery to remove a lot of excess skin after losing lots of weight with the stomach surgery. She will be out 4 weeks.

Gary and I will have 4 days off. We are taking off Friday and there is a holiday on Monday. Yay!

When Gary raises his voice while watching sports on TV, our dog Riley thinks he's in trouble and has to be loved on to know he's okay.

After being close to 90 degrees for a day or two, today it's supposed to be around 60. Spring in Colorado.

The lady next to me is using "God" as a curse word. Sad.

Jen leaves for China on July 24.

I made stuffed shells on Sunday for lunch. Gary said it was the best thing I had made in a long time. Humph.

Gary heard something about selling a loved one's body after death to have it squashed and processed into a diamond. I think he was trying to tell me he's ready to make the sacrifice.

Gary, Aaron and I are going to meet my brother and brother-in-law and some of the kids for lunch at Castle Rock on Monday. We plan to have the larger family get together in July when Jen is home.

Gary is planning on the two of us working on cleaning out the garage this weekend. The trouble is, I had planned a different list of things to do, and it didn't include the garage. Humph!

My mother's birthday is on May 25. Memorial day used to be a time the family would get together for Mother's birthday and have a picnic. We are not as faithful to do this anymore.

The Bible says we shall return to dust. I think someone in this house (I'm at home now, not work) has already started turning. Won't someone please dust this house?!

We have to get new tires on my car. There goes the vacation money! What could be better!

The Accoutrement of My Life--a List

2009-05-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Cough drops
Headphones
Recordings
Voices
Coffee
Food
Kleenex
Plants
Time-Calendars
Work
Glasses (on my face)
Cooking
Dishes
TV
Books
Reading
Bible
Church
Friends
Jen
Aaron
Husband
Riley
Feeding Riley
Laughing
Crying
Talking
Worrying
Depression
Advising
Bossing
Groceries
Piano
Music
Practicing with singers
Listening
Imaging
Typing
Being nosy
Children
Teaching piano
Griping
Emailing
Blog
Vegetables
Fruit
Hamburgers
Chicken
Mexican food
Chinese food
China
Happiness
Unhappiness
Deputies
Proofreading
Medicine
Water
Cotton (for the times of our lives)
That's about it for now. What things make up your life?

Christ First

2009-05-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

When Christ is first in a person's life (mine), it would look like this:

Eating habits will change.
Serving others will be a constant activity.
Bible reading will supersede all other reading.
Prayer for others will be a constant attitude.
People will hear words that will glorify God instead of self.
Love for others will be more noticeable to them.
Gossiping will be a cause for conviction by the Holy Spirit.
Time will be used more profitably.
There will always be a looking-out for opportunities to witness.
Sharing, helping, forgiving will all become a way of life.
Talking to the Lord about needing His help to live the way He wants will be a constant prayer.
There would be no attachment to sci-fi (most sci-fi does not exhibit a belief in the one true God. It's mostly humanistic.)

I can't do these things without the Lord's working in my life. He can't work in my life unless I ask Him to and then am willing to do as He directs. I believe if I ever truly live for the Lord, I will be a totally different person than I am today. I don't believe I have to change first on my own. I can't live like this on my own. Only God can change a heart and a soul. And it really would take a miracle.

But--we will only be perfect in Heaven. We have to live the imperfect, sometimes sad, life we have now that is hopefully growing and changing spiritually. This is done through prayer for help, reading God's word and applying it, being influenced by godly men and women, serving the Lord, and sitting under the preaching and teaching of the God's word in the local church.

Random Thoughts

2009-05-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

My husband went to the emergency room on Friday. He had a kidney stone that caused him much pain. He passed the stone on Saturday. He's much better now.

I attended a Mother's Day salad luncheon at church on Saturday. I was responsible for the music and I was the Emcee. It was fun. My salad was a pasta salad with noodles, cucumbers, tomatoes, bacon, orange bell pepper, onions, and low-cal Italian dressing. There were 3 or 4 other pasta salads there also. Humph.

My family was generous with me and so I get to go buy some clothes for Mother's Day.

Husband grilled hamburgers on Sunday. Very good.

Jen called and Aaron conversed with me on Mother's Day. It was all good. They are good children.

The dog hurt his eye on Sunday and could hardly keep it open some of the time. This morning it was much better. So glad.

The front lawn was aerated on Saturday, but the backyard didn't get done because the machine wouldn't fit through the gate.

When Jen gets home before she leaves for China, she wants to go fishing and on a picnic in the mountains. It will be great to have her home. She will be gone two years. That's a really long time.

We missed both of our mothers on Mother's Day. They were both wonderful women. No one else prayed for me like my mother.

The Genetics of Onion Eating

2009-05-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

My grandmother ate onions.

My mother ate onions a lot. She could take a bite out of a whole onion and enjoy it.

I love onions. Better than chocolate. There's hardly anything that isn't better when eaten with an onion--except for sweets. This is just a cross my poor husband has to bear. And my co-workers. And my son. And many other people. Onions help me to know if people are really my friends. They would avoid me if they weren't true friends.

Let Me Eat Cake

2009-05-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Kay, wrote some poems she entered into the 2009 Bad Poetry Contest. I entered the contest also. Here is my bad poem.

Let Me Eat Cake

I pant
I moan
I cry
I groan.

No more cake.
Bad, bad snake.

You ate
You stuffed
You chewed
Enough.

Where's my piece
Selfish beast?
Plate licked?
Got sick?
Good. Good.

Happy me
Plumpy you.

I don't write poetry. I just quote others who do.

2009-05-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash. ~Leonard Cohen

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary. ~Kahlil Gibran

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry.~Mark Strand, "Eating Poetry," Reasons for Moving, 1968

There's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money, either. ~Robert Graves, 1962 interview on BBC-TV, based on a very similar statement he overheard around 1955

Poetry is what gets lost in translation. ~Robert Frost

Imaginary gardens with real toads in them. ~Marianne Moore's definition of poetry, "Poetry," Collected Poems, 1951

A poem is never finished, only abandoned. ~Paul Valéry A Certain World, 1970, MBT p258

He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life. ~George Sand, 1851

Always be a poet, even in prose. ~Charles Baudelaire, "My Heart Laid Bare," Intimate Journals, 1864

Poets are soldiers that liberate words from the steadfast possession of definition. ~Eli Khamarov, The Shadow Zone

Poetry is the journal of the sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable. Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away. ~Carl Sandburg, Poetry Considered

Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted. ~Percy Shelley, A Defence of Poetry, 1821

Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history. ~Plato, Ion

Pugalicious

2009-04-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

We used to have a wonderful Chinese pug named Katy. She first belonged to Jen, but I fed and bathed her and took her to the vet. So when Jen went to college the dog stayed with us. I loved that little dog and I miss her.

Her tail was a cinnamon roll. Her eyes were very bulgy. Her mouth was bigger than my hand. She constantly snorted and made noise. She was very entertaining.

I look at the picture of the pug puppies on this page and I would really like to have another one. (Actually I would like to have her back.)

Our little Riley is a wonderful little guy. I guess I want him and a pug. We need a lot more room, though.

40 Facts of Me

2009-04-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

I saw this on another blog, and I enjoyed reading it. If you want to do this too, please just copy and paste and put in your own answers.

1. My uncle once: pulled my tooth with pliers. (Uncle Buck)

2. Never in my life: have I eaten dog meat (as far as I know)

3. When I was five: I was already in first grade and turned six in December.

4. High School was: a distant memory.

5. I will never forget: my mother's words--Didn't you even think about doing right? Don't look at me like that. Let's go do the dishes (my sister and me)

6. I once met: a crippled boy who was very good looking and had very strong arms.

7. There’s this girl I know who: can put her whole ear inside her ear so it pops when it comes out.

8. Once, at a bar: I don't think I've really ever been at a bar except maybe in a restaurant where they served meals.

9. By noon, I’m usually: ready to go home from work.

11. If only I had: a bodyshaper that would whittle me down to a size 12.

12. Next time I go to church: I will not stand up and shout "fire."

13. Terry Schiavo: was a sad case.

14. What worries me most: is the liberalizing of America.

15. When I turn my head left, I see: greener grass.

16. When I turn my head right, I see: Bella Lagosy

17. You know I’m lying when: I talk (NOT true) ( or am I lying about that too?)

18. What I miss most about the eighties: the childhood of my children.

19. If I was a character in Shakespeare, I’d be: sorry.

20. By this time next year: I won't be pregnant.

21. A better name for me would be: Always Right I Don't Care What You Say (ARIDCWYS).

22. I have a hard time understanding: people who don't try to understand motivations of others.

23. If I ever go back to school, I’ll: get my masters in English/Writing.

24. You know I like you if: you're where I can see you.

25. If I ever won an award, the first person I’d thank would be: Remington Steele

26. Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro: Bad, good, interesting, wrong.

27. Take my advice, never: eat cold cream. I made my sister eat it once, and then I worried what it would do to her. Apparently nothing.

28. My ideal breakfast is: cooked by IHOP.

29. A song I love, but do not own is: a song not yet written.

30. If you visit my hometown, I suggest: you visit Union Street.

31. Tulips, character flaws, microchips, & track stars: a favorite flower, in everyone else, come in a bag, are run of the mill.

32. Why won’t people: realize I do know better.

33. If you spend the night at my house: expect a dog attack, kiss, and a little dog food supper.

34. I’d stop my wedding for: the lack of a preacher.

35. The world could do without: is crime.

36. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: lick the belly of a rat.

37. My favorite blond is: probably not.

38: Paper clips are more useful than: false eyelashes.

39. If I do anything well, it’s: talk.

40. And by the way: don't trust anyone over 90--unless she is your grandma.

Thoughts on the Resurrection

2009-04-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

Without the birth, we would have no Jesus. Without the death, we would have no example. Without the resurrection, we would have no salvation. Without Jesus, we would have nothing.

He had to have obedience to begin the process.
He had to have patience to bear the garden and the disciples.
He had to have stamina to bear the beatings.
He had to have commitment to bear the cross.
He had to have love to take all our sins.
He had to have power to rise from the dead.
He had to have a view of the future to appear to the disciples and others.
He had to follow the plan to the end to go to sit on the right hand.
He had to be Jesus. No one else would have done.

"He is not here for He is risen. Come see the place where the Lord lay."

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

China or Bust

2009-04-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

JEN IS GOING TO CHINA! She just found out yesterday.

Jen said I could put this announcement in my blog. She will be leaving around the end of July. She does get to come home for 2-3 weeks before she goes. It has not been confirmed what city she will go to yet, but she should find out soon.

Remember the old saying, if you go into a barn, does it make you a cow?

Well, if you live in China, does it make you Chinese? Maybe in some small way.

And One Thing Led to Another

2009-04-08T11:21:00.001-07:00

Monday I accidentally left two reports on my desk under a couple papers. I thought they were "no tape" reports which meant no one else would be assigned those numbers by the computer. Well, one really was a report with an uploaded dictation. So one of my co-workers along with two others had to look and look for it and finally found it hiding on my desk (however unintentional the hiding was).

So the next day they gave me what for--off and on for about 3 to 4 hours. It was pure joy.

So yesterday I decided to do almost the same thing I had accidentally done on Monday with a few changes: I left all reports in plain sight and I confided in one of my co-workers what I had done so she could tell anyone looking for a report that it was on my desk--before everyone got up in arms again.

It should have been at least a little bit funny. Maybe it was, but three of the worker bees decided vengeance was needed. When I came in this morning, my bulletin board papers were upside down; my big calendar was set on a different month; many things on my desk were changed to the opposite side; my phone and mouse were taped so they wouldn't work, my short metal filing cabinet was taped so securely I thought it was really locked (and it was moved to the opposite side of the desk); and last and certainly the most irritating: my computer display was moved to the right so I couldn't see the right-hand buttons, and I couldn't find a way to fix it.

Well, everything got straightened out by about 0830. But I'm going to change my evil ways. No more jokes, even though my kidding wasn't personal!

Random Thoughts

2009-04-04T12:13:00.001-07:00

It snowed again last night and this morning. It looks like about 3-4 inches out there. Yay! But it's cold.

My husband had a sinus infection about 3 weeks ago, and now it has come back. He's pretty sick.

Riley, our dog, wet on my bed. I was NOT happy. I'm washing all the bedding today. I know he doesn't like to go out when it's cold and blowing, but yesterday was up in the mid to upper 50's. What's up with that?? And again I say--I was not happy!!

I am buying a used roll-away bed today. Aaron is going to help me get it from someone who also works for the county. The woman advertised on the county bulletin board. The roads are clear and things aren't too messy, so we should be good to go.

Jen has her crazy interview early this next week. Hopefully any craziness she has can be kept under wraps until after the interview. Seriously, please pray that everything will go well. The interview is in Michigan and she will be flying out of Miami on Monday morning.

Our church had evangelistic meetings last week Sunday through Wednesday night. The speaker was very good. We enjoyed the services and the music. My husband and I don't seem to have the stamina or energy we used to have. To be out 4 nights in a row while working full time through the day made us pretty tired. In the old days there were times when we were out over 10 nights in a row. I don't think we could do it now unless we absolutely had to. We don't.

I've already cooked twice today. If I make it to the store later, I'm going to try to have something for supper that I don't have to cook. I'm not allowed to cook 3 times in the same day!!

That may be all the random thoughts I feel like putting into writing. If you have any thoughts, random or otherwise, that you would like to share, please do it.

2009-04-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was assigned to answer the phone at work (along with many other things). Mid morning I received a call from someone who sounded like a young girl--maybe 14 or 15. She wanted to know what the results were on her DUI breath test.

So I asked my usual questions. "What is your name?"

She said, "Angela Jones (made up name).

I said, "What is your birth date?"

She said, "I don't remember."

I said, "You don't remember?"

I proceeded to tell her that the results of a breath test were public information and that she could have that information even if she wasn't Angela herself. I then turned into mom/teacher/preacher, and I said, "I can give you the information, but I need you to tell me the truth." I was pretty sure she wasn't Angela.

She said, "Okay. I'm just getting the information for Angela."

I said, "Well, the breath results were .107."

I think she thanked me, and as I was hanging up, another young woman from the department came over and whispered to me, "It's Joann." Joann as in another worker in our department. She played an April Fool's joke on me, and it worked. I laughed and told other people in the department as she came walking down the aisle back into our department.

Earlier in the day I had played a couple of jokes on her since it was not only April Fool's but also it was her birthday. I had taped across the bottom of her mouse so it wouldn't work and I taped her phone so she couldn't hear or speak when she picked up the handset.

Usually I'm a little bit afraid of April Fool's Day, but a good time was had by all.

More Mostly Funny Puns

2009-04-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round
table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his
size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan
island, but it tuned out to be an optical
Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her
still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from an
algebra class because it was a weapon of math
disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and
got a little behind in his orders.

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll
still be stationary.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and
was cited for littering.

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France
would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a
tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a
banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall.
The police are looking into it.

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the
hallway. One hat said to the other, ‘You stay
here; I’ll go on a head.’

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting
bigger. Then it hit me.

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center
said: ‘Keep Off the Grass.’

16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was
taken to a hospital. When his grandmother
telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said,
‘No change yet.’

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in
motion.

18. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper
spray is now a seasoned veteran.

19. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a
taste of religion.

20. Don’t join dangerous cults. Practice safe
sects.

Snow

2009-03-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well, northern Colorado finally had a snow storm. When it was all finished, we had about 12" in our yard. Many offices and school districts in the area closed early yesterday, and the schools were still closed today.

I left the Sheriff's Office about 11:15 yesterday morning to go home. It took me about two hours to make a 25 minute drive. The problem wasn't the storm so much as the traffic. It was bumper to bumper going about 5-10 miles an hour through town. That part took most of the two hours. When I finally got on the open road of Highway 287, I was able to go about 25 miles per hour. I felt like a speed demon.

The roads were mostly snow packed, but they were also car packed.

We desperately need the moisture so the open fields will be green at least through spring and maybe into summer. There is plenty of snow in the mountains to provide water for living and for watering the lawns, but the forests and fields don't get water unless we have snow and maybe some rain. So I thank God for the snow...and for the half day off work.

My Dad--a repost

2009-03-25T07:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of my dad's death. Vernon Paul Horn, 77, passed away March 24, 1998. Father of Paula (Gary) of Pueblo, Gail (Bryan) of Colorado Springs, Keith (Rondii) of Pueblo. Also survived by his sister, Wilma of Lamar; brother Leslie of Springfield CO; grandchildren, Aaron, Jennifer, Caleb, Benjamin and Travis. Preceded in death by his wife, Margaret on December 5, 1997; parents Arthur and Goldie; brother, Calvin; and sister Alma. Born August 19, 1920 in Las Animas, CO.

Dad was a veteran of the U.S. Army during World War II and was a POW in Germany for more than a year. He also received a Purple Heart for being shot in the leg. He owned and operated Vern's Alignment Service until his retirement. His favorite pastime was fishing.

Dad's funeral service was on March 28, 1998, and he was buried at Mountain View Cemetery.

Dad was a wonderful provider. He was faithful to his wife and his family. He trusted Christ as his Savior when I was in 5th grade. He attended church after his salvation for a short time and for awhile sometime later. He read his Bible quite a bit and was faithful to tithe. My aunt made the comment that he talked a lot about Heaven and knowing the Lord after my mother passed away.

I didn't know he had a sense of humor until I was an adult, probably because I didn't understand it.As a mechanic with his own business for many years, Dad was scrupulously honest and fair. One time a man drove his own car up on the car rack so Dad could look under the car. Well, the man didn't have permission and ended up driving his car off the rack. My dad went ahead and fixed the damage for him.

Dad was a great fisherman for many years. Mostly he fished up and down the Arkansas River. He didn't really like to eat trout, so he ended up releasing them or giving them away to pleased strangers or friends.

When my mother passed away in December, three months before Dad did, it was a difficult time for him. The family, two caregivers and a friend stayed with him around the clock. I think at the beginning of that time he probably could have taken care of himself, but I think he didn't want to be alone in the house.

Just before Christmas that year, Dad went into the hospital to have a hernia corrected. At that time he was found to have lung cancer. He told me he wished he had stopped smoking sooner.On Sunday, 03/22/98, while my sister was staying with my dad, he told her to call an ambulance because something was very wrong. He was taken to the hospital that afternoon. Very quickly he lost many of his abilities until by Tuesday he was in a coma. He passed away that evening while several family members were there with him.

Dad was a good man. He always tried to do things right. I remember when some of us were out in the parking lot of the hospital right after he died, I told my uncle I wished I had told Dad to tell my mom hello. He said that by the time Dad got to do that, I would be up there myself. He meant that time is very short and even if I lived another 50 years, it would just be a very short time.Your time is short too.

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? Are you ready to go?

13 Thursday Dr. Seuss Quotes

2009-03-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

1."Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

2.“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”

3.“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

4. “Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

5.“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

6.“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”

7.“I meant what I said and I said what I meant.”

8.“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

9.“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”

10.“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

11.“I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities.”

12.“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own.And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.”

13.“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!”

Things I'd Like to Do

2009-03-14T15:17:00.000-07:00

Go hang gliding.

Go surfing.

Be a foster parent.

Write a book (this one is at least a possibility).

Go to both family reunions this summer (maybe).

Go on an Alaskan cruise.

Go up north to see the rock presidents (I really think I'll do this one).

Lose lots of weight.

Go camping in the mountains again.

But a new house.

Remember everything I want to.

Make two skirts with material I already bought (I hope to do this one).

Read all of the classics.

Get my garage cleaned out.

Go to Santa Fe.

Make my husband obey better (this one ain't gonna happen).

Ride a train again.

Be able to give away lots of money to missions, friends, church.

Exciting Times!

2009-03-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading my daughter's blog, you know that she is applying to go teach at a Christian school in China. She's so excited. And I'm pretty excited. Last night she called to say that she got a telephone call from China--from the principal of one of the Christian schools there. She wanted to share the joy with me, which was a wonderful thing. The only problem was that it was 9:00pm and I had had a long day (at work at 6:00am, came home and taught a piano lesson, went to church and taught a children's class, and got home about 8:30pm), so I'm afraid I was a little blah. Then she was disappointed that I wasn't more excited.

So I put on my excitement voice and shook my hands to indicate my excitement, which made her happy. Then I had to tell her that it was put on a little bit. She said she would wait till today and tell one of her friends and that she would be excited for her (even if I wasn't). I told her to call me this morning too and I would be more excited, but she said it was too late for me to show excitement. Maybe next time I'll be really really excited!

In a side note, when I started shaking my hands in excitement, my dog Riley who was sitting beside me turned to look at my hands to see what was going on. Apparently I was showing too much excitement for him!

Exciting times thinking about China and going to China and changing everything. I think God has been preparing Jen to do this for a very long time.

13 Thursday Puns--Very Sad

2009-03-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

What happened when the cow tried to jump over a barbed wire fence? Udder destruction.

When I was in the supermarket I saw a man and a woman wrapped in a barcode. I asked, "Are you two an item?"

What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fish.

I used to be a transplant surgeon, but my heart just wasn't in it.

I used to be a train driver but I got sidetracked.

I used to be a tailor, but found the work to be just so-so.

I tried working in a bakery, but was told I wasn't "bread" for it.

What musical is about a train conductor? "My Fare, Lady"

Old printers never die, they're just not the type.

What do you call a baby monkey? A chimp off the old block

Old cooks never die, they just get deranged.

What did the chimpanzee say when his sister had a baby? Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle.

A termite walks into a bar and says, "Is the bar tender here?"

What Makes the World Go Round?

2009-03-11T11:19:00.001-07:00

I have several ideas on what makes the world go round.

Of course it is truly God who makes the world go round. Hebrews 11: 3 says, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." I love that verse. It settles Creation.

But on a more frivolous note, there are some other things that I believe make the world go round. According to the song, it is LOVE that makes the world go round. I guess I believe this to a certain extent, but there are many people and cultures that don't have much love. So it must be other things that make their world go round.

I also believe that BILLS make the world go round. I pay bills; therefore I am. If there are no bills to pay, we probably don't own a house or pay rent; we don't have utilities; we don't have a car or put gas in a car; we don't go to the doctor or vet; we don't buy gifts; etc, etc, etc.

Since I've been working at the Sheriff's Office, I've come to believe that CRIME makes the world go round. It lets many people know they really do exist either because they've had things stolen or damaged, or they've been harmed, graffitied, or scammed, or they just read the newspapers or listen to the news about these things. Or the big OR is that maybe they commit these crimes. Maybe a crop of drugs grown in Brazil is gathered and sold to a middleman and to another middleman, and then put on a boat and sold to an American dealer who sells it to many other American dealers who sell it to our children and druggies, which ruins their lives and the lives of their families. This one isn't really very funny or frivolous.

But my last idea of what makes the world go round is SEEDS. Apple seeds, tomato seed, cucumber seeds, weed seeds, human seeds, tree seeds, and many, many more. Without seeds human lives would come to an end. I'm so glad God planned the seeds along with the completed fruit, veggies, etc.

And maybe God spun the world like a top several thousand years ago, and it's still spinning. And that's why the world goes round.

Pastor Shot

2009-03-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

I didn't see the news last night, so I didn't hear about the shooting of the Baptist pastor during church service until just a few minutes ago. My husband and I have been in the ministry for over 30 years. This event doesn't strike fear in my heart but it does strike a deep note of sorrow. Humanly speaking, this seems like a terrible waste and an awful hardship for his family and church.

But God sees all pictures and all sides, and He makes no mistakes. His Word says precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. May God give this pastor's family and friends the comfort only He can give.

Laughter

2009-03-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

There are two women who work in the department next to mine. That dept and mine are only separated by a wall about 5 and 1/2 feet tall, so we can hear a lot of what goes on over there. Those two girls (both under 35 yoa) often laugh many times everyday. I can't always hear what they are laughing at, but their laughter is very contagious and fun to listen to.

I often wish I could laugh that much. The problem is, I don't laugh out loud very often. I smile a lot and I laugh under my breath some. I enjoy a good joke or pun. I make silly comments and puns. It's all good times. But I don't laugh very much.

Here in the Sheriff's Office I hear men laugh quite a bit, especially the men in the Criminal Impact Unit. They laugh a lot. I really like to hear their laughter. Maybe they are laughing at criminals (criminals can be quite funny, you know).

For me, I find that men's laughter is more enjoyable to listen to than women's. Their laughter makes me happy. Sometimes women have high-pitched laughter that can grate on me. Sometime they make sounds like witch cackles or coyotes, but nevertheless I enjoy the laughing.

Have I told you that when Jen and I used to work together on her algebra at the kitchen table, sometimes we got to laughing and we would laugh on different pitches but in the same rhythm? It was like laughing a duet. And then that would make us laugh more. Good times.

So today, let's try to find something funny enough to make us laugh out loud. It activates the immune system and decreases the stress hormone.

Obituary of a Friend

2009-03-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

This obituary came from the London Times.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

..........Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
..........Why the early bird gets the worm;
..........Life isn't always fair;
..........And maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourselves from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled some in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.He is survived by his four stepbrothers:

.........I Know My Rights;
.........I Want It Now;
.........Someone Else Is To Blame;
.........I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

2009-03-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

This is a great recipe that I have used a few times. It's good for a potluck or at home.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
4 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 cup butter/margarine, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 (16 ounce) package frozen strawberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the pretzels, 4 1/2 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9X13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.

2. In a medium bowl beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Mix in frozen strawberries, and stir until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least one hour.

13 Thursday Hindrances to a Life of Perfection

2009-02-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

1. My sin nature
2. Food
3. I talk too much
4. Lack of motivation
5. Other imperfect people
6. Other people who think they are perfect
7. Television
8. Me
9. My dog
10. Me
11. Me
12. My location (not Heaven)
13. Valentine's candy

Random Thoughts

2009-02-10T10:48:00.000-08:00

The weather has been pretty good lately. It has had a slight drop in the temperature. Yay!

My husband has had the flu since Thursday. He was feeling better this morning but still not up to par, whatever that is. He did go to work today.

Last night I had my first ground chicken hamburger. It was really good. I flavored it with garlic, pepper and basil.

Speaking of food, it's on my mind quite a lot. Way too much. I wish I was one of those people who only think of food when they are hungry. But alas, food and I are best friends. Sometimes it thinks it's in charge of me. Bad friend!

I am getting information to write a paper about the Larimer County Sheriff "For Significant Contributions in Improving the Quality of Justice in Larimer County." I am nominating him for the Conrad Ball Award. The paper can only be two pages long, but before I started researching, I didn't know many details. Now I could write a five- or ten-page paper. It may be difficult holding it to two pages. You may ask, Queen, why is it that out of all of the personnel at the Sheriff's Office, you are the one to write the paper. It is because I think the Sheriff deserves to be nominated and no one else has volunteered to do it.

Daughter had a World's Fair with one of her school classes. I thought it sounded like a fun idea. Behind every fun idea, there is a group of parents and teachers who are working hard to help the students do what needs to be done.

At church on Saturday evening, February 14, Gary and I will be going to a Valentine's Banquet. We are having lasagna and garlic bread. I'm helping prepare some of the garlic bread. That whole meal may put me under the weather. Oh well, into every life some rain must fall.

Michael Jordan

2009-02-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

We have Michael Jordan's distant cousin living at our house. It's our dog.

When Gary is sitting in his computer chair and Riley wants to get on his lap, he does a vertical jump that looks like he is doing a quick floating upwards with no effort. I think he really is an athlete.

Of course when he sits on the back of the couch and I'm sitting on the couch, when he jumps down on my leg, he feels like he's 50 pounds. He's really only about 13 pounds.

When he gets up on Gary's lap, he often tries to get on his chest. Gary holds him there and then he stretches out with his paws and kind of pets Gary and licks his ear. Riley is very affectionate and a little bit demanding. Good times!

Things that start with the letter "A" that I like

2009-02-04T11:04:00.001-08:00

My cuz Kay assigned the letter "A" to me on her blog. So now I am writing.

Arabia - Gary's brother Rick used to live in Saudi Arabia. He worked in/with/near oil.

Aaron - He is my oldest child, and I like him quite a bit.

Avocados - I love them plain with a little salt or in a guacamole.

Andes Mints - I hardly ever have them, but I like 'em a lot.

Appaloosa Horses: I love the look of horses, especially of appaloosas with their wonderful spots.

Ark by Noah.

Animal as in my cute little Riley dog.

Artichoke hearts.

Additional information from almost anyone at any time.

Ample space to exist in.

First Aid

2009-02-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night I was downstairs at church waiting for my turn to do the music and teach the Bible story at Master Club. One of the other teachers was talking about first aid and what you should do when a person isn't breathing. One of the little boys, probably about 5th grade, said it was "mouth-to-mouth participation." He said it several times and the teacher could not think of the right word. So while I was being very amused, I told her the word "resuscitation." Now my word was correct, but it wasn't nearly as interesting a term as the little boy's was. "Mouth-to-mouth participation" is probably not done during first aid, but it may be done at other times.

Black and White

2009-01-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

I know that the color of a person's skin is truly only "skin deep." If we truly are not prejudiced and we don't discriminate based on skin color, then we should only judge others on their beliefs, their actions, and their words. We can and should love everyone, but that doesn't mean we have to love everything a person says, thinks, does and stands for.

One time when I was in a state college, the English class I was in was discussing something about treating other people in certain ways. I made a statement to the effect that we could only treat others with love and kindness if we had help from the Holy Spirit. The professor said, "So if someone cut off your leg and beat you with it, you would still treat him with love?" I had to say I couldn't do it unless I had help.

I honestly don't know if I can love everyone. I only know I will need some help to do it. I do know that I can't overlook certain things about people even though I'm supposed to love them. I won't be able to support a person's wrong actions and beliefs even if I try to love or at least like the person. I think as Christians we are to be discerning--separate the person from his problems.

I guess you can judge me on that if you must.

13 Thursday Songs of My Childhood

2009-01-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

1. Goodbye Old Paint, I'm a leavin' Cheyenne

2. You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine

3. Catch a Falling Star and Put It in Your Pocket

4. Que Sera Sera, Whatever Will Be Will Be

5. Make New Friends But Keep the Old

6. Everything's Alright in My Father's House

7. You Can Smile When You Can't Say a Word

8. Jesus and Others and You

9. My Lord Knows the Way through the Wilderness

10. Tis the Land Where the Columbines Grow

11. High, Betty Martin, Tip Toe, Tip Toe

12. Ring the Bells of Heaven

13. Pony Boy, Pony Boy

My sister and I had a little red record player when we were little. Some of these songs were on the red records. Others I learned from camp, church, TV and Girl Scouts.

Biggest Loser

2009-01-08T11:02:00.001-08:00

So, at work we are doing the Biggest Loser along with the TV show. It will last about three months. Some of us have formed teams with someone else. The team that wins with the most lost weight gets 60% of the total amount of money (Each person contributes $10. So far we have about 11 people participating). That mean individually we would 30%. Then if we don't win the team contest, the highest individual gets 25% of what's left and the next highest person gets 15%. It's all good.

Our contest started on Tuesday. That night I was pretty sure I didn't want to participate in the contest because it's difficult to eat everything I want when I'm dieting. Go figure. The second night I was in the same sinking boat. Today so far I've got a fairly positive attitude...if I can just stay out of the stinking sinking boat.

Earlier my diet partner said she thought we should set a goal for the three months. We each are going to try to lose 25 pounds during that time period. That's a lot, but it can be done. If we lose a total of 50 pounds, we will have lost a small person between us. (Actually, it makes me feel a little sad to lose a small person, but it's not exactly murder! But it might kill us.)

I don't ask people to pray for me, but if you do, it might be good. But don't say too much to me about the diet, because I don't like to have people really minding my business. You could say, "How's the weather?" It will be code for asking about the diet. If I say, "Good," you'll know I'm doing pretty well. If I say, "I'm under the weather," you will know that things are going so-so.

If you don't want to ask me at all, that's all good.

The Daughter's Visit

2009-01-02T07:17:00.000-08:00

Jen has been home for two weeks today. She and I have had a good time. While she is used to having a lot of personal time and space, we have been able to spend a lot of time together. I have enjoyed the activities we have done.

We have watched "White Christmas" and several other movies (some with the rest of the family). We have cooked several meals together. We drove to Denver to go shopping. We went to Estes Park to see the mountains (they were wonderful and beautiful). We went to Colorado Springs to have a family Christmas dinner. We are going to Castle Rock today to meet up with friends from Pueblo. Tomorrow we are going to Parker to have a get-together with some other family members. We also have gone to church together and stayed for a potluck lunch.

So, all the time that we have spent in the car, we have talked. For hours. More talking than we have done in years. If you know us both, you know we can talk up a storm.

We have eaten at restaurants several times, and it has been great. We'll probably eat out one more time with all the fam before Jen leaves, probably at Consuelo's Mexican Restaurant in Fort Collins. It has really good food.

Jen has changed quite a bit in her philosophy since she lived at home. We have talked about some of those things, but because we see some things from different viewpoints now, we have tried not to dwell on the differences. We have mostly succeeded.

I have really enjoyed having someone to do things and go places with. Aaron and Gary are willing sometimes, but Jen is willing most of the time. I will miss her when she goes home.

Wonderful Christmas

2008-12-26T07:31:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful Christmas for many reasons.

The whole foundation of Christmas is the fact of the birth of Christ. Without His coming to this earth as a baby along with all the other prophesied events that happened, there would be no point to our lives--live, eat, sleep, procreate, die. But to have our Creator Who deserves all our praise and service gives purpose to our lives.

All my family was home for Christmas. It's been great to have them here. I've appreciated having Jen here to help with cooking and cleaning up. And everyone is so appreciative of my cooking and planning. We cooked, ate, unwrapped gifts, played games, watched movies, and talked. Good times.

Several of our church people and people at work were very generous to us.

I'm off work for 12 days counting weekends. I only have to use four days of vacation because the rest are weekends and holidays. Yay!

I get to buy some new clothes.

Momentous, Monumental Occasion

2008-12-22T11:09:00.001-08:00

Well, I had my 50+ birthday on Friday. At least that's what I'm calling it. A lady at work calls it a momentous birthday and my daughter calls it my monumental birthday. Humph!

I did have a wonderful birthday. The ladies at work decorated my cubicle and gave me a gift certificate to the Bible bookstore. My boss provided a cake (it was her birthday too). My husband brought me beautiful flowers in person (and gave me a kiss in front of other people at my request). That evening we couldn't celebrate the birthday any further (we had a wedding rehearsal in Denver and also had to pick up Jen at the airport), so after the wedding on Saturday, we went home and the kids had the living room decorated with great beauty (purple and black crepe paper, signs, balloons), and I got a necklace with the offending birthday number all around it. Humph!

After we got home, I opened the gifts--nearly everything I had asked for--all good. Then we all went out to eat at Chili's--my choice, and I got the fajitas. Good stuff!

It was a very memorable birthday. I think I will remember it for the next 20 years.

My family was and is wonderful. Very thoughtful, and really too good to me.

Christmas Program

2008-12-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

My church's children's Christmas program was last night. It was very good. The children sang mostly traditional carols plus a couple of others while a Power Point slide show of the drawings the children had done was presented on the screen behind them. It turned out really well. Between songs, the kids took turns reading the Christmas story from the Bible.

Everyone enjoyed it. The pictures were amazing: some were very funny and some were cute; others made you ponder many things like the length of camels and donkeys (there was a "stretch" donkey in one picture), turtles, fainted shepherds and sheep, a duck, the balancing of a large urn on the hump of a camel, alien-looking donkeys and camels, a large curlicue on the top of Baby Jesus' head. It was all very entertaining, and definitely a wonderful presentation of the truth of Christmas.

My husband and I are happy with the results, but mainly we are relieved to have it finished.

13 Thursday Christmas Favorites

2008-12-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

1. Christmas carols

2. 12 pounds of Christmas at work

3. Buying gifts for my family

4. Having both of my kids home for the holidays

5. Seeing other family members

6. Having the house all clean

7. Seeing Christmas specials/movies on TV

8. Hearing Christmas messages at church

9. Seeing the decorated Christmas tree with the gifts

10. Christmas Eve reading of the Christmas story from the Bible

11. Opening gifts on Christmas Eve

12. Guessing what's in most of the Christmas gifts for me and being mostly right (it kind of irritates the family)

13. Working on Christmas music for church in September or October

The Nitty Gritty

2008-12-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

You know, life is made up of the the nitty gritty, unimportant details and what appear to be random events.

We got a new dryer today. I had to take off work from 11:30 because it was going to arrive between 12:00 and 5:00. It came about 1:30. Yay! And we didn't have to pay for it. Another Yay!

We're still looking for a new pickup. Gary was looking at a BMW SUV. It was $2800. That seemed just wrong. G asked the seller by email if that was the real price. Return email said yes, that he was trying to get rid of it soon. Trouble is he lives in Scotland and we would have to send money to a third party. As has been said, if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Oh, well.

I went to Christmas party last night for the ladies in my church. It was very nice. I won a prize for a game about Christmas songs. I probably had an unfair advantage. Oh, well.

I have another party at work on Friday. It's a white elephant game and we have pizza.

Our Master Club for our children at church is presenting its Christmas program Sunday night. G and I have quite a bit to do to get it all ready this week.

I have a wedding to play for on 12/20 and a rehearsal on 12/19 in Denver. I still have to practice quite a bit. The bride wants a lot of classical music. Well, I don't practice much on classical music even though I really like it. So I really need to get busy on it.

At work we are decorating a door in the department to enter into a contest with other county departments. So I am working on that with several other ladies. It's kind of like doing a bulletin board. In most of the past years, the commissioners have come personally to judge the doors, but this year we have to send electronic photos, and I guess all county employees will vote.

I don't have my Christmas tree up yet, but I will, Jen. It will be amazing, or at least it will be pretty.

Secrets -- Memed by Julie

2008-12-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

1. When I was really stressed out (teaching) a few years ago, I tore a towel in half.

2. Once my mother slapped me when I was a teenager, and in reflex I drew up my fist as if I was going to hit her back. She didn't see me do it. I was horrified that I responded that way. ( I think my kids know about this one.)

3. When my dog growls, I am a little bit afraid of him. (G and A know about this.)

4. Even though I love/like a lot of people, I don't get close to very many. Maybe everybody knows this??

Moms

2008-12-05T13:54:00.001-08:00

My daughter Jen misses her mom, but she'll be home in two weeks.

I miss my mom. She's been gone for 11 years today. She's having a wonderful time. I wonder if she's in charge of anything or just praising the Lord.

Update on My Husband's Vehicle

2008-12-02T11:19:00.001-08:00

The truck that was in the accident a couple of weeks ago has been totalled. That seems to be bad news. The reason it's not is because the insurance company is giving us more money than we paid for it several years ago because of the low mileage. God is good.

Gary is now looking for a new vehicle.

We'll miss that little white truck.

Personals

2008-12-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

Jen, let's talk tonight if you can or tomorrow night.

Nathaniel R., are you doing alright? I keep looking at your blog. I know you have been having a hard time. I would like to hear from you.

Robin had her baby. I'm happy.

Victory!

2008-11-29T20:20:00.000-08:00

I had a major breakthrough today. With my husband's help I got the refrigerator and freezer cleaned out. I'm so very happy.

I accomplished another thing as well. Because our dryer went out on Thursday, I had to go to the laundromat today to get the laundry done. It's been a long, long time since I've had to go somewhere to do laundry. It wasn't too bad actually. Just glad to have things washed/dried for Sunday.

Note: Kay, please save my coffee scoop for me till we get together again. (;>

Random Thoughts

2008-11-28T11:16:00.002-08:00

It was good to see family yesterday on Thanksgiving: my cousin Kay (she hosted the event) and her husband and two kids, my two aunts and their husbands, my nephew Caleb and wife Mandie, my cousin's aunt and uncle on her dad's side, two dogs Skiddles and Hairy (both girls). We laughed a lot, ate a lot, talked a lot. Kay and I got to go through some of my Grandma Rose's jewelry and pictures. I brought some of the stuff home. It's not really my style, but I may wear some of the pins. I mainly brought stuff home to be able to touch my grandmother's life.

I watched the most recent Indiana Jones movie this morning on pay-per-view. I liked it a lot. Yay for Harrison Ford and his being able to keep up with the action!

The dog is sitting on my foot right now. I like it.

I'm home alone today except for the dog. He's a good boy.

I know someone through a co-worker who was going to shop most of the night last night. I am mostly a non-shopper, so I don't understand shopping all night. I think that ranks right up there with the torture of water dripping on the forehead.

I wish I had some elves to put up the Christmas tree and decorate the house. I guess I do have elves named Gary and Aaron, but I think they are more trolls when it comes to Christmas decorating (although they usually will help setting the tree up and getting the boxes of decoration for me. I guess I shouldn't look a Christmas troll in the mouth ((or the ear, nose or eye))). Don't you like all those parentheses?

My husband has two containers of peanuts sitting on the computer table. He called me a little while ago and told me that I shouldn't give the dog any peanuts out of the jar but to give him peanuts out of the can. He doesn't want the dog to know there are peanuts in the jar. He doesn't want to get him starting begging when he sees the jar, but it's okay if he begs when the can is open. My husband is a dog whisperer.

I left my coffee and scoop at Kay's house. Humph.

Accident

2008-11-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

My husband and son were in an accident last Thursday on their way home from work. They were both yanked around, but so far they have only noticed stiff necks and/ backs. Gary noticed some pulled muscles in his arms.

My husband's truck was hit from the back and there was damage to the tailgate, the bumper, and the seat (broken). He talked to the other guy's insurance today, and a loaner car is forthcoming today. Yay! An appraiser is supposed to look at the pickup in the next day or two. If the chassis was bent, the truck could possibly be totalled. Can't tell yet.

At the scene while Gary was sitting on the seat with his feet on the ground, the dad arrived and went over to Gary and asked if he was alright. When Gary said he might have whiplash, the dad said sarcastically, "Oh, sure." Then he asked his son what Gary did to make him hit him. All Gary did was stop at the stop light. The young driver told his dad that Gary was just stopped. The driver said he was talking to someone on the phone. Anyway, the driver got the ticket, and Gary isn't liable. Later the dad came over and apologized to Gary about the accident. That was good.

And God is good. It could have been much worse.

13 Thursday Things I Love about Thanksgiving

2008-11-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

1. The smell and look of turkey (more than the taste)
2. Pie with whipped topping
3. Vegetable casseroles
4. Dressing, potatoes and gravy
5. Cranberry sauce and olives
6. Talking with family
7. Driving to someone's house
8. Or having the meal at my house
9. Having the Thanksgiving meal twice on the same day
10. Reminiscing
11. Talking to my daughter on the phone
12. Being off work two days plus the weekend
13. That God is so good at providing all our needs

Christmas Drawings

2008-11-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

For our church's Christmas program this year we are having the kids draws various scenes of the Christmas story. We will then photograph them and put them on the screen at the front of the auditorium to show while the children are singing the songs. We've done it before at other churches, and it's very fun.

The other day we had the kids draw a picture of the angels appearing to the shepherds. We had already discussed that the shepherds were very afraid. As the kids were drawing in their own inimitable ways, one child decided that the shepherds were "sore" afraid and that one of them fainted, so he drew him lying on the ground. Then he decided that the sheep were really afraid too, and so he drew several of them on the ground in an unconscious state as well.

Another little girl has drawn a turtle on nearly every picture she has drawn. She just likes it to be there.

Children are very entertaining. I think the adults will enjoy the pictures when the whole program gets put together.

Fiber

2008-11-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

The dog is hungry most of the time, but he doesn't always want to eat his dog food when it's served. He always hopes to get a little bite of human food, either accidentally or on purpose.

At various times of the day, when he really needs some that especially has fiber, he finds a Kleenex or several Kleenexes and has a little snack.

The other night I was sitting on the couch with a small blanket over my legs and lap. He got under the tent and was very quiet. I thought he was just enjoying the warmth and security. I was WRONG. He was eating a Kleenex.

The moral: Where there's a will, there's a way. OR Fiber is where you find it. OR If your master doesn't feed you properly, go scrounge for yourself. OR If you keep your yap shut, no one may see that you've done wrong.

A Good Lesson

2008-11-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

Quoted from the Bull Sheet from Larimer County Sheriff's Office:

Martha Cothren is a social studies school teacher in Arkansas and the daughter of a World War II POW. On the first day of school a few years back and with the permission of school personnel, Martha removed all the desks out of her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks. Looking around, confused, they asked, “Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?” She replied, “You can’t have a desk until you tell me what you have done to earn the right to sit at a desk.” They thought, “Well maybe it’s our grades.” “No,” she said. “Maybe it’s our behavior.” She told them, “No, it’s not even your behavior.” And so they came and went, first period, second period, third period. Still, no desks in the classroom. By early afternoon, television news crews had started gathering in Ms. Cothren’s classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, “Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.”

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned. Martha said, “You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don’t ever forget it.” If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you read it in English, thank a soldier.

Day Off

2008-11-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

It's Veterans Day. I salute the veterans including my father and my father-in-law.

I am happy that I am off work today. The thing is I've been off work three other days in the last eight days for sickness--a bad cold with congestion that makes me cough a lot and not sleep so well. So today I'm glad to be off and be able to do some things other than just rest. I'm still coughing but not as much. I've washed bedding and started the oven-cleaning cycle. I plan to do several other things as well.

Can anyone help me? (Read on before you say, there is no help for me.) I'm going to be playing the piano for a wedding on December 19. The bride wants some classical music along with some other types as well. One song I'd like to play is Sonata I by Mozart, but I'm missing the second and third pages. Does anyone have that music? Or can someone find it on the Internet? I know there are sites where you can print out music. If you find a site that has that particular song, please let me know what it is. (Nevermind about finding the music for me. I just found it myself.)

My son started a new job yesterday at the same place where his dad works. Right now it's temporary, but we're hoping it will become permanent. Yay!

I plan to go get Chinese food from Panda Express for lunch. It makes me happy.

13 Thursday Sayings from My Past

2008-11-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

1. Better dead than red.

2. Two heads are better than one.

3. Fools' names like their faces are only found in public places.

4. White man speak with forked tongue.

5. Didn't you even think about doing it right?

6. Don't look at me like that.

7. Where there's smoke, there's fire.

8.What the world needs now is love.

9. Anyone over 30 can't be trusted.

10.Two can live more cheaply than one.

11. If you lie down with the dogs, you will rise up with fleas.

12. It is better to give than to receive.

13.M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand.

Early Voting

2008-11-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day for early voting. I got to the voting place about 3:30, and I chose to vote electronically rather than on paper. What I didn't know when I chose the electronic vote was that there were only three computers. I could see that there were many, many places to stand to vote with paper, but the line was probably ten times as long. Well, I got in line behind about 12 people at the computers. I had to wait a very long time to get to vote.

Now it's done, and because I had to wait so long, I feel like I was tortured a little for my right to vote as an American. It sorta made me happy to pay that price.

I hope and pray that the outcome of the presidential election will not start America on a road of change that we will regret and that we cannot turn back from.

My Baby Boy

2008-10-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

On October 30 several years ago my baby boy was born. I had been in labor about 16 hours, and then the doctor decided to do a C-section. Aaron was a beautiful baby--no hair, no teeth, big eyes, beautifully formed. He and I stayed in the hospital for eleven days.

When we went home, my mother came to stay with us and help with the baby. I remember on the first night while my mom was in the living room taking care of the baby, I was being a baby in the bedroom and crying about the fact that I didn't think I could "do this" as in be a mom, take care of baby, stay up at night, have any brain or wisdom to do the right thing. The funny thing is, I had been a director of a day care for about a year by then, and during that time, I knew everything. After the baby was born, I knew nothing.

Those first few weeks that I got to stay home with Aaron were wonderful. I remember a pastor's wife and her friend came to see the baby. He was sleeping and I didn't want them to wake him up (new mom worries). One of the women mention that he was really "laid back." At the time I didn't appreciate that comment, but as it turned out, Aaron does seem to be laid back a lot of the time. Still he doesn't get very wild or loud.

When Aaron turned three years old we were living in Arvada. He got a fire truck for his birthday that could be filled with water. Aaron's grandma and cousin were there for his birthday. Once he got water into the truck, he started spraying the yard, including Grandma, cousin, and Mom and Dad. He had a wonderful time. The rest of us had a pretty good time.

These are some of the things that make Aaron the person he is:

He is kind. He has helped many friends with money and moving.

He helps his parents. He helps me with cleaning and bringing in the groceries and sometimes will run an errand. He helps his dad with computer stuff and with mechanical and heavy things.

He is a hard worker, and he is one of the faster workers around. When he was a kid, if I wanted the garage cleaned in a hurry, he was the one I called on.

He was good to his grandma. He stayed with his grandma for several months when he was in college. He helped her with many things. She took care of him and he took care of her.

My husband and I have moved 26 times. Aaron has made it a point to help us every time except before he was born and a couple of moves when he lived too far away. He has always been our strong back and right-hand man.

He makes it a point to talk with his mom and dad. Most of the conversation between him and me is a little bit goofy with a lot of teasing, but sometimes we talk about very serious things.

He plays with the dog. Aaron sometimes stands in the hall, and when the dog is near, he kind of jumps and startles the dog who starts to run up and down the hall like a bat out of a cauldron.

He enjoys his sister. Sometimes when they are together, they still wrestle while sitting on the couch or in the back of the car. Not actual rolling around on the floor, but teasing until Jen cries like a baby girl or Dad says, "Don't make me come back there," to which Aaron replies, "Come on, Dad, I want to see you do it."

This day, October 30, is a day of good memories. And they keep going on.

Geese and Statue

2008-10-29T10:55:00.001-07:00

The other day I passed by Loveland Lake which is next to the Loveland High School. There was a sculpture on the lawn between the lake and school of a football player in accoutrement dating back from the '40s. All around the football player was a flock of geese. Most were lying down. No one was touching anyone else.

I have questions. Were the geese just being companionable? Were they worshiping? Did they consider the man statue a friend, a leader, a team member, a god?

Later when I drove by again, the geese were gone. The man was still there, ready to throw the ball but never quite doing it.

It had been an interesting tableau.

13 Thursday Quotes from Colossians

2008-10-23T11:19:00.001-07:00

My favorite book of the Bible is Colossians. Here are some meaningful phrases and verses.

1.We...do not cease to pray for you and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. 1:9

2.That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 1:10

3. [The Father] who hath delivered us into the kingdom of his dear Son. 1:13

4. [The dear Son] in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. 1:14

5.[Jesus] who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. 1:15

6. For by him [Jesus] were all things created. 1:16

7.As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. 2:6

8. Rooted and built up in him [Christ] and stablished in the faith. 2:7

9. For in him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 2:9

10. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. 3:2

11. And [ye] have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. 3:10

12. And let the peace of God rule your hearts. 3:15

13. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. 3:23

To write or not to write

2008-10-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

I wish I had something to say. I really want to blog.

I considered writing something political, but that takes more courage and oomph than I have right now.

I've thought about writing down some random thoughts, but I don't really have any.

I thought about writing about mishaps I've been involved in, but I don't want to.

I don't want to write about sex, marriage, toes, wrinkles, the dog, my kids, or me.

I do want to say that so far today while I've been at work, I have spilled down the front of my shirt three times. Some people wear their feelings on their faces. I wear mine on my shirt.

13 Thursday Acronyms from Law Enforcement

2008-10-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

AFIS Automated Fingerprint Identification System

BAC Blood Alcohol Content

BOLO Be On the Look Out

DRE Drug Recognition Expert

DUS Drove Under Suspension

FTA Failure to Appear

FTC Failure to Comply

HTO Habitual Traffic Offender

ICE Immigration Customs Enforcement

PBT Portable Breath Test or Preliminary Breath Test

PIT Precision Intervention Technique or
Precision Immobilization Technique

REDDI Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately

SWAT Special Weapons And Tactics

A Found Friend

2008-10-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

Recently a person I knew back in high school and college made contact with me. He had found my blog and through it my daughter's email. He emailed her and asked her to forward some info to me from him. It was quite a surprise to hear from him since it has been forty, yes forty, years since I have seen him. He and his family had moved from Pueblo to Bemidji, Minnesota in the '60s, and after that he and his brother had come back to Pueblo to visit my family when I was in college. He and I are going to write to each other and talk about old times and old memories.

Memories of the past are both changeable and set in stone. While we remember people, places, times and events, it's possible we don't remember them exactly right. Also I have a tendency not to want to meet up with people whom I haven't seen for a long time because I know that the memories they have of the young me are probably so much better than the reality of the older me is. I don't want to ruin the way people remember me by letting the "now" me interfere.

I guess when we meet old friends in Heaven it won't matter how much we had changed on earth because in Heaven "we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is." I look forward to that.

4 Things

2008-10-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

Jessican tagged me to do this. I'm afraid it's not very interesting. But that's my life!

Four Places I Go Over and Over:
1. Work at the Sheriff's Office
2. Church
3. King Soopers
4. Gas station

Four People Who E-mail Me:
1. Jen
2. Beth at work
3. Aunt Io
4. Iona S.

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:
1. A cabin in the mountains
2. A motel in Denver
3. In bed
4. A nice restaurant

Four Things I Have for Breakfast:
1. Eggs
2. Waffles
3. Coffee
4. French toast

Four Animals I Like Best:
1. Dogs
2. Baby elephants
3. Baby rhinos
4. Kittens

Four Beaches I've Been to:
I've only been to the ocean a few times. I don't recall names of the beaches.
1. California
2. Florida
3. The Great Salt Lake (not an ocean)
4. A huge lake in Georgia (not an ocean)

Four People I'm Tagging to Do The Four Things:
1. Ralph
2. Simone
3. Fredricka
4. Conan

Mrs. Brown, you have a lovely daughter

2008-10-06T11:03:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Jen, was born 29 years ago! I don't get how she can be this old when I am still a spring chicken.

After Jen was born while she and I were still in the hospital (8 days), Gary and I had thought about naming her Rachel Joy or Jennifer Christine. I did not think Gary and I had made a definite decision. My husband thought we had definitely decided. After Jen's birth, he went to make phone calls and told everyone that we had a baby girl and her name was Jennifer Christine.

When he came and told me what he had told the family, I said that I didn't think that we had decided on the name yet. He said, "Do you want me to go and call everyone back and change it?" I said no, I liked "Jennifer Christine". It was and is a good name.

Jen, as she is now known, was a wonderful, expressive baby. She was a little jewel. She is still a jewel.

Some of the qualities that make Jen who she is:

dramatic and expressive
tender and sensitive
godly
thoughtful
opinionated
bossy (she got the gene)
tall
joyful
beautiful
a small nose (When she was about 3 or 4, she said, "Mom, I hope I never get a nose like yours.")
deep
laughing to point of making everyone else laugh with her
smart
worrier
takes care of others

When Jen was about two years old, I gave her a perm because her hair was so fine and straight. I remember her lying on the counter in the kitchen while I followed the steps. I kept telling her that her hair was going to be beautiful--just wait a little longer. When we were finished, her hair was very frizzy but very cute. The trouble was that the frizz left after a couple of weeks. The smell stayed longer so that every time we washed her hair we could smell the perm.

When she was in kindergarten, she pinched someone because she/he wouldn't stay in line. Even in the nursery at church when she was one year old, she told the other little kids where to sit. There was another little girl who was also bossy, and they had a few conflicts.

Now Jen is a wonderful school teacher. She is involved in her church's praise team. She works with the school yearbook. She has many talents and uses them to reach people and to glorify the Lord. I am very proud of her.

Christian School Teaching

2008-10-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

I taught Christian school for over 20 years. I would have to say I tried my best to teach the truth of God's Word most of the time. I can't absolutely say always because I'm sure there must have been times when I didn't teach everything correctly...but I tried.

I taught students that we are all sinners and have no hope of Heaven except through the love of Christ as expressed in His death on the cross. We are all equal as sinners and cannot save ourselves. This means we are equal whether we lie, are proud, take God's name in vain, participate in sexual deviation, murder or steal a dime out of a purse. No one has a claim to righteousness on his own account.

I know that some people think that if a person hates a certain sin, then he also must hate the person who is involved in the sin. Now, because we are fallible humans, that may end up being the case for some people. They cannot separate loving a person from hating his sin. And yet parents have to do this very thing all the time. They love their children no matter what, but they they still punish their children for disobedience, lying, backtalk, etc. God tells us to love people but not to love sin...ours or anyone else's.

Through the Scripture that we memorized in class, I taught that we should be humble (not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought), to be submissive to one another (think on the things of others), to be kind and tenderhearted, to put God first (in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths).

I taught students to have the mind of Christ, to obey the laws, to be happy and joyful in the Lord, to follow God's will, to be involved in Church (the whole New Testament was written to and about churches or church members), to judge not lest we be judged, to respect other people, to witness and be a testimony for Christ.

I taught students that God's word says not to lie, steal, commit adultery, take the Lord's name in vain and to love God with the whole heart and the other commandments. Does these mean that I taught students to live and gain salvation by their works? Never! I taught that Scripture said that all our righteousness was as dirty rags. We are saved by grace and we are to live by grace, following the directions of God's Word for righteous, daily living.

From some of the things I've heard from various students, they claim to have been taught to hate others for their sins, to be judgmental, to live a list with nothing being taught about abiding and living by grace. I say those claims are NOT true at least from my perspective.

I personally do have trouble with pride and being judgmental at times. God still has to work on me all the time. Sometimes I think I would rather live as a hermit. It seems like that would be easier. But God does not have that plan for me. I wouldn't like it anyway.

I know I have been haranguing this morning. Please forgive. Remember God is always good and never makes mistakes. He always loves us in spite of our sin and problems. He is a wonder.

13 Thursday Finishes to Proverbs by Kids

2008-10-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

1.Don't change horses - until they stop running.
2.You can lead a horse to water but - How?
3.Don't bite the hand that - looks dirty.
4.You can't teach an old dog new - Math
5.If you lie down with dogs, you'll - stink in the morning.
6.The pen is mightier than the - pigs.
7.Where there's smoke there's - pollution.
8.A penny saved is - not much.
9.Two's company, three's - the Musketeers.
10.Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and - You have to blow your nose.
11.Children should be seen and not - spanked or grounded.
12.When the blind lead the blind - get out of the way.
13.A bird in the hand - is going to poop on you.

Home from the War

2008-10-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, Gary came home from the hospital this afternoon. There was a lot of unplugging, disconnecting, signing and explaining. He's glad to be home--better in some ways; harder in others. He still has a tube in his back coming from the kidney and draining into a bag.

The doctor gave these orders for going home. Don't lift or bend. Don't do dishes or vacuum for six months. And don't ever do lawn work again. Funny man.

The war has been won, but a few small skirmishes still have to be fought. It's good to have everyone home.

Hospital

2008-10-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

A place of healing
A place of noise
A place of movement
A place of frenetic activity
A place of talking
A place of walking
A place of waiting
A place of stress
A place of sleeping
A place of waking
A place of learning
A place of minding other people's business
A place of trying to do the exact right thing for a sick person and sometimes succeeding
A place of getting to know some hospital people after two surgeries and visiting for 25 hours
A place of finding the cleanest restrooms and eating cheap and sometimes tasty food
A place of hellos, goodbyes, kisses, hugs, laughing, joking, causing irritation and reminding many people of many things
A place of going from "bad to worse" to "okay" to "good" to "help" to "leave me alone" to "it hurts" to "why did she have to do that right now"

A place where generally things get better while being accompanied by pain--a good and necessary place

War Business

2008-09-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

Gary's surgery went really well yesterday. For the first procedure he was in the operating room for about 1 3/4 hours. For the breakup and removal of the very large kidney stone, he was in surgery over three hours. He will feel like he has had a knife stab to the kidney for a while, and he will be very bruised. The doc says he will be in the hospital two or three night.

Today our son Aaron is having a different procedure to remove a kidney stone that he has been trying to pass for a month. He will need someone with him for 24 hours. I plan to leave him for an hour here and there so I can go to the hospital to see Gary. Usually when a family member is in the hospital I stay all day there, but I guess I won't be able to today.

Thanks for praying.

Kidney Stone Wars

2008-09-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

My husband is having actual surgery tomorrow to break up a huge kidney stone that takes up the upper half of his right kidney according to the doctor. At 9:00 or so, he will have a wire put into his kidney through his back so later a tube can follow that wire into the kidney to be used to break up the stone. That actual surgery will be at 12:30 unless it is moved up, and it will last about three hours. He will come out of post op at about 4:00 when he will be taken up to his room. He will be in the hospital about two or three days. After that he will be out of work probably another week and maybe longer. Please pray for him.

Our son, Aaron, has also been trying to pass a kidney stone for about a month. He will talk to his doctor tomorrow and it's possible the doctor may decide a manual removal is warranted (possibly as early as tomorrow or sometime in the near future). Please pray for him.

In this war, I will be the negotiator, the go-between, the medical team, the guard, the military police and the cry baby. Please pray for me.

13 Thursday Things I Have Worried Over in My Life

2008-09-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

1. That I have cancer

2. That my husband will die before me

3. That I will die before my husband

4. That one of my babies would die

5. That my dad would choke to death

6. That I would be grounded

7. That my house will never get cleaned completely

8. That when people get to know the real me, they will be horrified

9. That I will fall in a hole

10. That a nuclear bomb will hit somewhere near Denver, or Toledo, or Springfield (or wherever we have lived)

11. That my dog will run and jump and hit me in the face

12. That my husband will get too irritated with all that I am

13. About where Heaven is

Keep in mind that I don't worry about all these things at once. Some of them I worried about a long time ago. Some I worry about often. If all these things horrify or worry you about me (and I'm not absolutely sure I'm going to actually submit this entry), then let's just say I'm talking about someone else.

The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth?

2008-09-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

I read an article recently that someone wrote about blogs. She was very negative about blogs and blog writers. She didn't like that bloggers could say anything and not be accountable or tell the truth. She also said she had found a study that showed that 89.9% of people who wrote blogs on media websites have an education level below the fifth grade. She said that some people who read blogs accept what the writers have to say as Gospel truth.

I guess I don't have an overall knowledge of the blog world. I only know about the few blogs I read. I read some nearly everyday. Others I just read once in awhile. And others I only read once, and then I'm finished with them. Personally, I don't believe something just because someone wrote it. Maybe if the majority of the people reading blogs only have a fifth grade education, it's not surprising if they believe everything they read. The people I know who blog don't believe everything. They have brains. I have a brain. And while I love fifth graders, I don't think most of the readers have just fifth grade educations.

And one aspect of blog writing is that people CAN make things up, tell distortions, lie and exaggerate. But that is the nature of blog writing. I can believe it all or not.

I could be wrong about these things. But I'm not.

And I'm not lying.

Duets and Trios

2008-09-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

We had special missionary/church anniversary meetings at church on Friday, Saturday and both services on Sunday. They were all good.

Part of my and Gary's responsibilty was to be involved in special music. Gary sang a solo on Friday; we sang a duet on Saturday; and the we sang in a mixed quartet on Sunday night.

When we practiced Gary's solo at home on Thursday, we started hearing a lovely, thin little high duet part being sung along with Gary's solo. It was our sweetly musical little dog. He was howling with a very delicate voice along with Gary. He was mostly on pitch. He sang with his eyes closed and his nose pointing up to the ceiling. It was a surprise. We didn't know we had gotten a musical puppy.

Then on Saturday Gary and I were practicing our duet. Riley sang with us again. It was really an enjoyable trio. We may have to take him to church someday to sing with us. He may, however, detract from the message of the song. Oh, yes, he rocks back and forth to the beat.

13 Thursday Free Things

2008-09-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

1. Perfume of flowers

2. Sound of bees

3. The view of the mountains

4. Interaction with some people

5. Headaches

6. Dirt

7. Leaves

8. The sound of crying

9. The sound of laughing

10. God's love

11. Doubt

12. Happiness

13. Salvation

Crime and Punishment

2008-09-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I remember hearing a sergeant at the Sheriff's Office laughing out loud every few minutes. She was down the aisle from me so I couldn't hear what she was talking about or who else was there. When she came by my desk I asked her what was so funny. This is the story she told.

She and another officer had been dispatched out to a call at a residence. When the older man came to the door, he was only wearing his underwear--nothing else. When the man saw who was at the door, he said he would go put something else on.

When he came back to the door, he had put something else on alright. It was a hunting cap with ear flaps. That's all. Underwear and a hunting hat.

While the other officer was trying to talk to the man, Cindy, the sergeant, started to laugh. She tried to hold it in but the laughter just kept getting louder and louder. After some explanation to excuse her, she finally had to step outside the porch--where she could still be heard by the man and the officer very clearly.

That's the story she told every few minutes at the Sheriff's Office while laughing rather hysterically each time. It was a good story.

13 Thursday Famous Quotes by Benjamin Franklin

2008-09-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

1. Money: Remember that time is money.

2. Achievement: Little strokes fell great oaks.

3. Success: God helps them that help themselves.

4. War: There never was a good war or a bad peace.

5. Planning: Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.

6. Wisdom: Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.

7. Teamwork: We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

8. Wisdom: Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

9. Money: A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose to the grindstone.

10. Time: Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.

11. Freedom: They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

12. Democracy: Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.

13. Success: A little neglect may breed mischief: for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost