Random Dozen #8


Hosted by Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee. Visit Linda’s to link up or find other participants.

1. Candy corn: Your thoughts?

Bleah. Not a fan. Don’t like the taste. If I am going to ingest calories of sugar, it needs to have chocolate.

2. Briefly, what was the first conversation you ever had with your spouse? (or best friend, if you’re not married.) (Or someone significant, like your librarian.)

“Hello, my name is Barbara…” We both worked in the library and introduced ourselves. Pretty basic, but at that time in my life I didn’t initiate conversations often, and I was surprised at myself that I did this time.

3. Could you ever become a vegetarian?

Nope. I love meat. And with low blood sugar, I need the protein. I suppose if it were medically necessary I’d have to see what I could do, but I can’t see myself ever becoming one by choice.

4. Have you ever dressed up your pet in a costume?

No!!!!!

5. Name something about childhood that you miss (like Clark Bars, Teaberry Gum, Malibu Barbie, cracking fake eggs on people’s heads with your fist and “It’s the Great Pumpkin” airing only once a year).

This question is the one that I have let sit here for hours without coming up with a definite answer. Probably half a dozen things will come to mind in the next day or so. Though there are many things that make me feel nostalgic about my childhood, I can’t think of a particular item that I miss. I do miss the carefreeness of childhood — even though there were some rough patches, overall I have more fond memories than bad ones. And I miss the family togetherness. Since we’ve all left home we don’t keep in touch as much, especially since my mom passed away. And of course, my mom would be the person I miss the most, with my grandfather and grandmother as well.

6. Have you ever won a trophy? If not, what do you deserve a trophy for?

No, I haven’t, and I can’t think any trophy-worthy accomplishments.

7. When do you think is the appropriate time to begin playing Christmas music each year?

Dec. 1.

8. What’s your favorite board game?

Scrabble, though I like Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan a lot, too.

9. How do you feel about surprises (receiving, not giving)?

I don’t mind them but they make me a little antsy because I’m so particular about what I like that often a surprise gift is not something I would have chosen. While I appreciate the thought and the effort and the care, it’s a little frustrating to know I’ll just tuck it away til the next yard sale. But when a surprise really hits the mark — well, I love that. And when surprise things are done — when someone unexpectedly fills up the gas tank or cleans something they’ve not been specifically asked to or offers to make dinner — well, I love that.

10. Is it easy for you to say, “I’m sorry?”

I think so.

11. What is your favorite candle scent?

Most candle scents give me a headache, so I don’t have them except for decoration. I even have to give candle stores in the mall a wide berth when walking by them. I thought I’d make a quick dash into one once to get a gift for my sister, but after a few seconds felt like I couldn’t breathe and had to leave.

12. October is traditionally “open house” time in public schools. If you had a literal open house in your home (like a reception) what light snacks would you serve visitors and what would you show them (as in art projects, graded papers) that would uniquely represent you?

Light snacks would probably include veggie pizza squares and pudding chip cookies. I don’t think I would have an open house to show people things that represent me — though in a sense our homes do that in themselves — but hypothetically speaking, like a school-type open house, I suppose I’d show the few articles I’ve had published, maybe print-outs of a few favorite blog posts, a few craft things I’ve made, family photos. My heart collection would be pretty obvious.

You can find more entries or join in the fun at Linda‘s.

A Thousand Words In Idioms: The Last Version

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If “language is the dress of thoughts” ( Johnson), then idioms must the wardrobe.

Jientje at Heaven Is In Belgium hosts A  Thousand Words In Idioms on Wednesdays wherein she asks participants to illustrate an idiom or two with a photo. This is the very last one, so if you’ve been thinking about joining in, this is the time!

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Staying on track.

If you’re staying on track, you’re keeping in line with your goals or you’re keeping within the parameters of your goals, e.g., “If I want to lose weight, I need to stay on track with my diet and exercise.” (I just finished watching The Biggest Loser, so weight is on the mind. 🙂 )

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Making tracks.

This usually means leaving one place to go someplace else. I’ve also heard it used to mean that one needs to go fast: “If I’m going to make it to the store before it closes, I need to make tracks.”

The top picture was taken by Jeremy, my oldest son, and the bottom one by my husband a few years ago, but they are all in our archives together as family pictures, so I hope it is okay I am not using photos I took myself.

No idiom to go with this one, but I just wanted to show what Jason made with his tracks:

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Awww! I could have used that one for warm fuzzies even though it was a cold day.

You can see more at Jientje‘s on Wednesday.

Microfiction Monday

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I saw at Thom‘s that Susan at Stony River has begun a Microfiction Monday wherein participants write a story in 140 characters, and she even shared a link to Design 215’s Character Counter to help count. More information is here.

I thought this would be an excellent exercise to stimulate creativity while at the same time learning to streamline our words. Normally I am not very concise, so this is something I need to work on.

This is the picture we’re to base our story on, followed by my contribution:

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“Did I turn off the oven?”

“I’m sure you did, dear.”

“I wonder if I unplugged the iron.”

“I’m sure you did, dear.”

“Did I…?”

“Yawn..”

Poetry Friday: September

Even though this poem by John Updike is titled “September,” the first line or so has been running through my mind the last few days. And the last four lines seem to describe the rainy week we’ve had.

The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.

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An explanation of Poetry Friday is here. It’s being hosted today by Laura Salas.
Photo is from morgueFile.

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. A ladies’conference that a sister church invited our ladies to last weekend with the theme “Christ My Light.”

2. A relatively quiet week after several busy ones.

3. The Private Diary of Bella Swan, HT to Carrie. I haven’t read the Twilight books and only saw the film because my son and his girlfriend wanted to, so I’m not a fan, but I thought this was funny.

4. This video:

5. Not one but TWO food items! Both chocolate.

I’m on a quest to find a chocolate chess pie recipe that tastes similar to the one at Golden Corral. The first one I tried was The Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie. It was good – but not like Golden Corral’s. So the experimentation will continue. 🙂

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And I’ve been craving these Choco Peanut Butter Dreams for days and finally made them last night.

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Happy Friday!

Booking Through Thursday: Weeding

btt button The Booking Through Thursday for today is:

We’re moving in a couple weeks (the first time since I was 9 years old), and I’ve been going through my library of 3000+ books, choosing the books that I could bear to part with and NOT have to pack to move. Which made me wonder…

When’s the last time you weeded out your library? Do you regularly keep it pared down to your reading essentials? Or does it blossom into something out of control the minute you turn your back, like a garden after a Spring rain?

Or do you simply not get rid of books? At all? (This would have described me for most of my life, by the way.)

And–when you DO weed out books from your collection (assuming that you do) …what do you do with them? Throw them away (gasp)? Donate them to a charity or used bookstore?  SELL them to a used bookstore? Trade them on Paperback Book Swap or some other exchange program?

I “weed it” every now and then, but not systematically — just whenever the excess stacked in double rows on shelves starts to bug me…like it is now. We just don’t have room for any more bookcases, and I hate the thought of putting them in the attic where bugs or humidity or temperature extremes might damage them, though I do have a few boxes of children’s books up there that I hope stay in good condition for grandchildren. I love the idea of reading them the same books I read to my kids. But otherwise I’d much rather someone got some use out of them now rather than have them stuffed in the attic for years and then rotting.

When I do give them away, first I consider whether anyone I know would want any of them, then whether my son’s school library could use them. I’ve given some away via blog giveaways, but most of the time my giveaways aren’t books I’m trying to get rid of: they’re books I bought extra copies of because I liked them so much I want others to enjoy them, too. But most go to a charity like Salvation Army.  My mom used to live near a store that would let you trade in used books for store credit, but I don’t know if we have any bookstores that do that here — the only bookstore I am aware of is Barnes and Noble, and I am sure they don’t! I haven’t checked out online book swaps. I just don’t want to mess with listing them and then packaging and sending them, though I might think about that if I have a book for a particular audience that I think might languish away at a charity store.

A related question would be how one decides what books to get rid of. That is a very hard task. Some books are almost like dear friends that I have shared special times with: there’s something wistful or nostalgic about keeping them. Plus if I think I might use it again, it will cost more to buy it later, so it is more economical to keep it. But when “weeding” I try to ask myself these questions:

1. Am I ever realistically going to read this again?

2. Do I honestly think I’ll ever refer to it again?

3. Do I seriously think my children might want it some day?

4. Could someone else get more use out of it than it is getting just sitting here on my shelf?

It’s still not easy to part with them, but that last questions especially helps.

A Thousand Words In Idioms: The Rainy Version

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If “language is the dress of thoughts” ( Johnson), then idioms must the wardrobe.

Jientje at Heaven Is In Belgium hosts A  Thousand Words In Idioms on Wednesdays wherein she asks participants to illustrate an idiom or two with a photo. This is the next-to-last opportunity to participate as the challenge will end after next Wednesday.

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Into each life some rain must fall.

This means that every life will have its bad days…or weeks, or seasons. But just as the rain serves its purpose in the earth, so do those less-than-bright days in our lives, if we’ll let them.

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Come rain or shine.

This means that plans will go on no matter what happens.

Stop by Jientje‘s for more idiom illiustrations.

Whew!

I think this is the most time I’ve spent away from my blog since starting it three years ago: with the exception of a quick (but meaningful!) post of a hymn on Sunday, I haven’t posted anything since Friday. It’s been a busy weekend — a busy couple of weeks, in fact. As we were leaving for school this morning, I asked Jesse if we were sure there was nothing extra on schedule for today!

The ladies of our church were invited to a ladies’ conference at another church about 45 minutes away this past weekend. We get a smattering of such invitations, usually in the spring, and, you know, can’t just go running off every weekend, but a few of us usually do try to make this one. They only have it once every three years, and it is sponsored by a church where several of us have friends: it was my pastor’s wife home church as she was growing up, and the pastor’s wife there is a friend from college. Mrs. Beneth Peters Jones was the speaker, and the theme was “Christ My Light.”

I have to say, to my shame, that the theme itself did not generate much excitement at first. I think those of us who have been Christians for a while have to be careful in thinking, “Oh, I’ve heard that before.” Even if we have, we could use the reminders, but often we can learn something new or a new way to practically apply truth. There was much to ponder. I enjoyed the sessions very much, as well as the decorations, music, and food — especially the muffins between the sessions Saturday morning and the men serving dinner Friday night (several of our ladies said, “We ought to have our men do that at our next luncheon!) Seven of our ladies were able to go Friday night and three Saturday morning. The two of us who road together Saturday morning questioned what we were doing driving somewhere at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday — but we enjoyed the fellowship and the meetings.

The rest of Saturday was taken up with laundry, grocery shopping, and enough cleaning to keep the health department from condemning us. Sunday was a regular Sunday, then our ladies’ meeting was last night with more than the usual preparation throughout the day.

And now for the next two weeks there are no outside appointments or obligations that I can think of. It feels so luxurious! I have some catch-up cleaning to do today but want to really dig into the craft room this week. Melli mentioned in an earlier comment that she was still waiting on pictures of it. I said, “Me, too!” I’m still working in it/on it. In fact, we made cards for missionaries last night, and that part of the craft stuff is about all I have organized so far. I did wince at the thought of putting it all in boxes to take to the meeting and now having to put it all back again. But it was for a good cause, and it was a fun time.

I did get a call from the doctor’s office this morning about my knee x-rays. Apparently I do have bone spurs there, and she offered to refer me to someone about getting some kind of shots in them, but I told her they were tolerable for now.

My tendency, when it’s not busy or there are no deadlines, is to drift a little…or a lot…and lose my momentum and not get as much done. But I already have a to-do list for the day, so we’ll see how it goes.

Meanwhile I wanted to share this: I saw it on a friend’s Facebook this morning and thought it looked so fun!

Sweetly Resting

This hymn came to mind last week when I was writing about a quiet heart being one resting in the Lord, so I looked it up this afternoon. I don’t think I have ever sung it in a congregation: I’ve just heard it on recordings or the radio. Unfortunately the only recording I can find of it is instrumental.

In the rifted Rock I’m resting;
Safely sheltered, I abide.
There no foes nor storms molest me,
While within the cleft I hide.

Refrain

Now I’m resting, sweetly resting,
In the cleft once made for me.
Jesus, blessèd Rock of Ages,
I will hide myself in Thee.

Long pursued by sin and Satan,
Weary, sad, I longed for rest.
Then I found this heav’nly shelter,
Opened in my Savior’s breast.

Refrain

Peace which passeth understanding,
Joy the world can never give,
Now in Jesus I am finding;
In His smiles of love I live.

Refrain

In the rifted Rock I’ll hide me
Till the storms of life are past;
All secure in this blest refuge,
Heeding not the fiercest blast.

Refrain

~ Mary D. James

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. My semi-annual clothes switch. We have pretty small closets in this house, so twice a year I have to switch out seasonal clothes between the attic and the closet. Though I like my spring/summer clothes better, seeing the fall/winter ones again are like seeing old friends. It’s almost like having something new to wear.

2. Finding my purple dress. There was one particular dress I was looking for this week that’s just good for many occasions and isn’t strictly winter, but I couldn’t find it. It wasn’t in the back of my closet nor in the storage box for off-season clothes. Finally I remembered I had put some clothes in a separate box as there were more than would fit in the old one, so we found the box in the attic last night. I was beginning to be afraid I had accidentally given it away, so I was relieved.

3. Days off from school. Though school was cancelled for a bad reason — about 1/4 of the school was out sick — and that’s not a favorite thing, nevertheless I don’t mind not setting the alarm clocks for a few extra days. And thankfully we have all been well except for a couple of days of sore throats.

4. A mammogram is not a favorite thing, but the fact that it is done for at least another year is. I’ve been supposed to schedule it since last spring but just hadn’t gotten around to it. And since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let me point you to this post at Rocks in My Dryer, where she describes what happens for anyone who might be apprehensive of the procedure. Mine was a bit more uncomfortable that what she describes, but only for a few seconds at a time.

5. An order came in from Pale Pink and Roses, purchased during Make Mine Pink’s Friday Shopping Event.

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That little cupboard is just darling. I am going to use it in my craft room but I am not sure exactly how yet. And it is amost impossible to find pink linens in stores here.

That’s it for today — hope you have a great Friday!