I have been MEME tagged by squirrelqueen2 of the meme. Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 6 people, more or less. And here we go . . .
What are your current obsessions? blogging, decorating & landscaping
Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often?Jeans
Last dream you had? It was too weird to mention... they always are!
Last thing you bought? 80 lbs of horse feed
What are you listening to? the rain and Hubby moaning
Favorite holiday spots?home! I love it here!
Reading right now? this... duh!
Four words to describe yourself. creative, laid-back, smart, over-weight
Guilty pleasure? Frappucino
Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak? my best friend Kim
Best spring thing to do? work on landscaping
Favorite drink? strong tea
Dream vacation? One Horse Gap - maybe next year...
Favorite ever film? Gosh, too many good ones - see my profile
Care to share some wisdom? use the stemware!
Song you can't get out of your head? nothing right now
Something you are looking forward to? getting Nekoda back in shape
What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten? mountain oysters
One wish? to be a published author, no wait! A best-selling published author!
And I am tagging ... Drum roll please!!!
Jessica at http://countryfamilyrobinson.blogspot.com/
Nina at http://newagegrandma.blogspot.com/
Charmine at http://charmine-myfavorites.blogspot.com/
and anyone else that cares for this kind of stuff.
I know some folk aren't into this sort of game so it's up to you to pass it on or not.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Election Day
I've had a little anxiety over this election. It's typical to have school levies on the ballot, and today was no exception. The local school district has been pushing to move the high school out of town and to combine it with the local YMCA... Yeah, no kidding! Seems the trend is to move everything out of town. Stores and restaurants have been relocating just a couple of miles away to bigger buildings. But you see, there is a large population of poorer families and senior citizens that live downtown and used to walk to these stores. Pretty soon it will be an all-day hike to get their errands ran. The YMCA is also smack-dab downtown. Lots of older folks frequent it.
And what ever happened to remodeling? They keep pushing for new buildings because the others need repair. The high school I went to for two years was falling apart. That was in 1970! Guess what? They remodeled. It's still there serving as the junior high. They did have to expand and built a new school in 1972.
The biggest news story for a while now has been the economy. Everyone is struggling. It's got the attention of the federal government. But what about the local government? If they raise our taxes much more, we will be forced to sell and move. And the more people they drive out, the more the remaining few will have stacked on their backs! When will it end?
OK, here's my pet peeve: We get to vote on levies for schools, hospitals, police & fire departments, the local library... you get the picture. But when did I vote for spending so much of my tax money on landscaping the downtown every year? It's beautiful sure, but in this economic downturn shouldn't we think about leaving last year's plants alone?
I just watched the local news and the levy failed by a significant margin AGAIN! Another pet peeve of mine... They keep putting the levy back on the ballot until the people opposed don't have a big enough turnout to defeat it. Shouldn't we only have to vote on a single issue one time? If we say we don't want it, why should they be allowed to keep bringing it up?
When I retired, I was forced to make some changes in my budget. When my benefits were slashed, I had to tighten the belt a bit more. Shouldn't our local government and school districts be forced to do the same? There are plenty of ways they could cut costs.
Sorry about the late-night ranting of an old lady. There is a funny side to this whole thing... I forgot to go vote!
And what ever happened to remodeling? They keep pushing for new buildings because the others need repair. The high school I went to for two years was falling apart. That was in 1970! Guess what? They remodeled. It's still there serving as the junior high. They did have to expand and built a new school in 1972.
The biggest news story for a while now has been the economy. Everyone is struggling. It's got the attention of the federal government. But what about the local government? If they raise our taxes much more, we will be forced to sell and move. And the more people they drive out, the more the remaining few will have stacked on their backs! When will it end?
OK, here's my pet peeve: We get to vote on levies for schools, hospitals, police & fire departments, the local library... you get the picture. But when did I vote for spending so much of my tax money on landscaping the downtown every year? It's beautiful sure, but in this economic downturn shouldn't we think about leaving last year's plants alone?
I just watched the local news and the levy failed by a significant margin AGAIN! Another pet peeve of mine... They keep putting the levy back on the ballot until the people opposed don't have a big enough turnout to defeat it. Shouldn't we only have to vote on a single issue one time? If we say we don't want it, why should they be allowed to keep bringing it up?
When I retired, I was forced to make some changes in my budget. When my benefits were slashed, I had to tighten the belt a bit more. Shouldn't our local government and school districts be forced to do the same? There are plenty of ways they could cut costs.
Sorry about the late-night ranting of an old lady. There is a funny side to this whole thing... I forgot to go vote!
a perfect fit
Never in the history of furniture has a chair had such a perfect fit. Let me introduce you to Mickey. She looked like a tiny mouse when she was born, hence the name. She is the only barn cat that comes inside. Being the runt, she was always picked on, so her place is in the woods and not the fields. She has a nice home there. She doesn't get wet or muddy. But when she gets hungry, she comes up to the door of my bedroom. She disappears, sometimes for days on end. She went out one day last week and didn't come back until yesterday. Hubby had given her up for dead. (He worries a lot!) But, as usual, she came back to catch up on her lovin'. I missed sleeping with her. So that's Mickey. I caught her sleeping today in one of the bedroom chairs. It seemed to be just the right size...
If God answered every prayer...
Yesterday morning I was reading through some paperwork I got from a seminar on improving your prayer life. (It was taught by one of the best prayer warriors I have ever known.) Somewhere in the midst of all the pages was this line: If God chose one day to answer all your prayers, how much of the world would be changed?
This sentence is still stuck in my head and it spoke volumes to me. As much as I believe in the power of prayer, I don't pray like I wish I did. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been at that seminar! I know some days my prayers concentrate on particular subjects. There are a couple of situations that I do pray for daily. The sentence doesn't warn me that God might pick a day I prayed for something else. No, to me, it speaks more of the lack of faithful prayer. I try to organize my prayer list (I have it on a database) so that I don't forget things. But I don't always make the effort to open the list. And even if I did...
I have lots of people on my prayer list. Some have lost a parent in the household, some a child, some need Jesus, some have serious health or emotional issues, etc. I also have groups on my list; I pray for our missionaries, our government, our soldiers. I am semi-faithful in my prayers for these people. But what I see lacking more than my prayer 'attendance record' are prayers that would really make a huge global impact. I don't often enough include the 'biggies' in my requests.
What if I, along with thousands of others, prayed daily for starving refugees, for peace in war-torn areas, for an end to ethnic cleansing, for an answer to climate change...
What if God decided to answer all the prayers you prayed in the past month... in the past year?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
slow down growing feet
While I'm recuperating from this sinus thing (no, it's not swine flu!) I thought I'd post a few more of my older writings that I enjoy reflecting on...
What a joy it is to wake up on a Sunday morning to Gracie! Papaw loves showing her off at church. She picked out her own outfit - a pale green dress, pink stretch pant and purple jacket. Very springtime.
Surprisingly, Grace decided she would go upstairs with the other kids instead of staying in the sanctuary with us. I found her class but only the teacher was there. A minute later a couple of boys showed up. I took Grace on a tour of the room, showing her the kid-sized toilet, the various toys including musical instruments, the cute doll house and the play kitchen. Some girls arrived. I asked their names and introduced Gracie. She grabbed my hand and turned toward the exit. She hesitated… went back for her purple jacket and drug me out the door.
Papaw was happy to have his little angel in the sanctuary with us during worship. Maybe next time she’ll want to go upstairs with the kids - maybe not.
After stopping for breakfast, she and I cuddled up in bed for a little Disney Channel and a nap. She is in a much better mood after her naps than first thing in the morning. She loves napping with me and even though I’m the one she needs when she is hungry, hurt, scared, tired, whatever, Papaw is IT! Her first words after her nap? Almost always, “Where’s Papaw?” We put on our shoes and go to find Papaw.
If only she got that excited when she spotted me! “ Papaw!” she squealed as he stepped out of the barn. I love watching the way she runs to him. Though, I’m not sure if she’s really that glad to see him or just loves the thought that within seconds she will be catapulted to over seven feet in the air.
Sundays with Gracie are the best. It’s pure playtime. She loves getting kissed by the goats. She loves scaring the cats and patting the horses. She finally quit calling my mare 'Puppy'; Now she says “Koda”. But in the midst of all the fun I realized something quite sad. She was no longer running out of her boots.
What a joy it is to wake up on a Sunday morning to Gracie! Papaw loves showing her off at church. She picked out her own outfit - a pale green dress, pink stretch pant and purple jacket. Very springtime.
Surprisingly, Grace decided she would go upstairs with the other kids instead of staying in the sanctuary with us. I found her class but only the teacher was there. A minute later a couple of boys showed up. I took Grace on a tour of the room, showing her the kid-sized toilet, the various toys including musical instruments, the cute doll house and the play kitchen. Some girls arrived. I asked their names and introduced Gracie. She grabbed my hand and turned toward the exit. She hesitated… went back for her purple jacket and drug me out the door.
Papaw was happy to have his little angel in the sanctuary with us during worship. Maybe next time she’ll want to go upstairs with the kids - maybe not.
After stopping for breakfast, she and I cuddled up in bed for a little Disney Channel and a nap. She is in a much better mood after her naps than first thing in the morning. She loves napping with me and even though I’m the one she needs when she is hungry, hurt, scared, tired, whatever, Papaw is IT! Her first words after her nap? Almost always, “Where’s Papaw?” We put on our shoes and go to find Papaw.
If only she got that excited when she spotted me! “ Papaw!” she squealed as he stepped out of the barn. I love watching the way she runs to him. Though, I’m not sure if she’s really that glad to see him or just loves the thought that within seconds she will be catapulted to over seven feet in the air.
Sundays with Gracie are the best. It’s pure playtime. She loves getting kissed by the goats. She loves scaring the cats and patting the horses. She finally quit calling my mare 'Puppy'; Now she says “Koda”. But in the midst of all the fun I realized something quite sad. She was no longer running out of her boots.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
if tomorrow never comes...
This is an excerpt from a blog I wrote in April of 2007 and had originally posted on MySpace. I was looking through some old writings and came across it. It brought back such bittersweet memories that I had to share...
...I picked up my mom and went to visit the grands. The almost-three-year-old decided she wanted to come home with me – first time in weeks. Papaw would be pleasantly surprised. All the way home she chatted. When my mom asked her what songs she knew, she replied “Tinkle Tinkle Star.” I asked her to sing it for mom. She said “Not yet. Tomorrow.” That’s her latest thing with us. Mom asked if she knew Jesus Loves Me. She said yes, but when we asked for a solo she replied “Not yet. Tomorrow.” The conversation went pretty much like that all the way home. Of course, it’s cute when they say stuff like that. But then you think about how they learn it. How did my daughter learn to say “Not yet. Maybe tomorrow.”?
Suddenly it hit me… the way I felt when she promised. I wondered if she really would tomorrow. Did she really mean “Wait and see, maybe I will, maybe I won’t…” the way we sometimes mean it when we say it to our kids? Do our kids take it as “Forget it. Ask again some other time…”?
It was almost bedtime. We were playing in the living room when Gracie suddenly climbed up on my lap, sat on her knees facing me and sang “Tinkle tinkle wittle star…” I guess just in case tomorrow never comes.
...I picked up my mom and went to visit the grands. The almost-three-year-old decided she wanted to come home with me – first time in weeks. Papaw would be pleasantly surprised. All the way home she chatted. When my mom asked her what songs she knew, she replied “Tinkle Tinkle Star.” I asked her to sing it for mom. She said “Not yet. Tomorrow.” That’s her latest thing with us. Mom asked if she knew Jesus Loves Me. She said yes, but when we asked for a solo she replied “Not yet. Tomorrow.” The conversation went pretty much like that all the way home. Of course, it’s cute when they say stuff like that. But then you think about how they learn it. How did my daughter learn to say “Not yet. Maybe tomorrow.”?
Suddenly it hit me… the way I felt when she promised. I wondered if she really would tomorrow. Did she really mean “Wait and see, maybe I will, maybe I won’t…” the way we sometimes mean it when we say it to our kids? Do our kids take it as “Forget it. Ask again some other time…”?
It was almost bedtime. We were playing in the living room when Gracie suddenly climbed up on my lap, sat on her knees facing me and sang “Tinkle tinkle wittle star…” I guess just in case tomorrow never comes.
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