Punctuation makes all the difference! One of the last things I do at night is read the evening portion of Daily Light on the Daily Path. I don’t usually take my little cheapie reading glasses up to my bedroom for that: the print is large enough that I can usually make it out. I misread the opening verse in last night’s section as, “What meanest thou, O sleeper arise?” I thought, “Hmm, I don’t remember that one.” A closer look revealed it was actually, “What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise” from Jonah 1:6. The former is what I might say in King James’ time if someone woke me up too early.

Excitement at Grandma’s. We had a tornado warning Tuesday afternoon, sirens going off and everything. I wondered how they handled that at the assisted living place. The next day I found out that they have the residents come out into the hallways: there is a hallway that runs around the building with residents’ rooms on the outside and the library, laundry, salon, etc. in the center. Then yesterday my mil said they all had to go out of the building across into the grassy area because there was “some kind of threat,” though she didn’t know or remember just what it was. I wondered what kind of threat they could have had and asked the med tech when she came around: turns out it was just a fire drill. Some of the residents get upset by a change in routine, but my mil thought it was an interesting change of pace, something to break up the monotony. 🙂

Sometimes she talks about enjoying a “life of luxury” with all the time in the world to enjoy her favorite pastime (reading) without having to think about cooking or cleaning, but other times she admits to getting bored and lonely occasionally. Yet still when they have any kind of activity, even a time yesterday of celebrating all the birthdays for the month with cake and ice cream, she declines to go except for maybe twice now in the past two months. One of the staff members popped in while I was there yesterday to discuss something else, and when she realized that Mom hadn’t gone down to the birthday celebration, she said next time she’d go down and encourage her to go. I think if one of them just pops her head in the door to let Mom know there is something going on, she’ll decline just out of habit: she says she’s “too lazy.” But this lady had the type of personality that seemed like she could cheerfully invite without being overbearing.

Orthodontia, take 3. Jesse had his evaluation yesterday with the same orthodontist his brothers had, Dr. Smiley (a good name to go with that profession. 🙂 ) Oddly enough, he has the exact opposite problem they did. They had overbites; he has an underbite as far as his jaw structure goes, but his bottom teeth don’t protrude because they have turned sidewaysand bent back in some cases. Dr. Smiley said with this particular type of problem, they could straighten the teeth but it could all go back since he is still growing, and it might be best to wait until his later teens when his growth has plateaued. They did all the diagnostic tests yesterday and we’ll go back in a couple of weeks to see what his recommendation is.

Decorating style. I saw a link at Lifenut‘s to this pictorial quiz to determine your decorating style. The pictures are lovely, though a little too small to see the details, so I just went by impression on some of them. My results, though, instead of saying “romantic” or “cottage” style, said “Lady of the Manor”:

When it comes to all household, interior design and decorating decisions, you are in control, you are in charge. Your house is your domain. Everything – and we mean everything – has been lovingly attended to, right down to the finer details. There’s no such thing as too pretty in your book, and probably never too much pink or pomp either.

Well, the parts about pretty, pink, and details are fairly accurate, but I am uncomfortable with the emphasis on “control.” I happen to be the only lady of the manor, and menfolk generally don’t care too much about decorating, so that’s my domain. My husband and I do consult together and shop for big items together. The boys aren’t terribly interested except they don’t like “all the flowers,” so I have made a concerted effort to have the bathrooms and family rooms not quite so feminine-looking. They also give you a little blurb about your style in each room. Here’s what they say about my living room style:

You love to indulge the senses, to pamper and prettify…curvaceous sofas and generously comfortable upholstery, and an eye that misses nothing. There’s no doubt who’s the mistress of the house! The countryside is frequently an inspiration, and country-style accessories work incredibly well. There’s nothing prettier than an earthenware jug or a simple slipware vase filled with fresh flowers. Pastel pinks and yellows give the room a fresh, feminine feel, while floral prints and textiles are pretty and perennially appealing. Curled up on the sofa with a good book, your living room’s the perfect place for some “me-time”.

Pretty accurate, again, except I don’t like yellow. Here’s my actual living room:

It was a fun exercise, though it didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t know. I was hoping it would identify what my “style” was — I’ve often said I am somewhere between country and Victorian.

Crafty giveaway! One of the craft blogs I read, Skip to My Lou, linked to a giveaway at a new-to-me family fun blog, Vanilla Joy. There is a giveaway for every day this week — a Cricut (today’s the last day for that, and that’s a big one!), and other assorted scrapbooking and craft tools each day.

Hmm…these little jottings have grown into a much longer post than originally intended! I could take all the decorating part out for another separate post later on — but I think I’ll just leave it as is. But I will stop now. Have a good day!