Showers of Blessing

2009-01-26T22:12:00.001-05:00

Marion: Why did you moon my bridge club?
Arthur: Because your bridge club is stupid.
Marion: You think the democrats are stupid; why haven't you mooned them?
Arthur: I was tempted in '72.
~Newhart

2009-01-25T22:08:00.001-05:00

2009-01-24T21:38:00.002-05:00

So I've missed a few days again. Some days it's because I forget to bring my camera with me, and some days I just don't get a chance to upload any pictures.

Pictures of the twins for Monday and Tuesday...

This caught my eye on campus Friday. I have no idea where the hat came from.

And today I went to the park. There's a pine wood that has always creeped me out. It feels like the dark part of a story. They named the trail running through it, as if it wasn't bad enough.

2009-01-18T20:58:00.001-05:00

2009-01-17T22:28:00.002-05:00

"The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our encouragement, who will need our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt."
~Leo Buscaglia, "Born for Love"

These are my Firefly slippers. My sister wrote Chinese phrases on them for me. They say things like "Serenity," "little sister," and "explosive diarrhea of an elephant."

2009-01-15T21:25:00.003-05:00

So I've missed a few days of pictures. I'll have something for tomorrow, but today, I give you Garfield minus Garfield.

2009-01-11T23:01:00.001-05:00

Yesterday's picture.

This is a Christmas present from one of my Sunday school students.

2009-01-09T22:54:00.001-05:00

This is called pipkrake. Or needle ice, but I like pipkrake better.

2009-01-08T22:25:00.000-05:00

2009-01-07T21:05:00.002-05:00

A few pieces of my Liberian nativity set. It sits on an old trunk underneath my bedroom window.

I think I need to pick a time this week to sit down and actually focus on writing a real blog post. I've got a few things wandering around in my head, and it would do them well to get out into the air, as it were.

2009-01-06T22:20:00.002-05:00

My butterfly faerie votive holder. You can't see it very well in this picture, but she's wearing an acorn cap and sitting on a buckeye.

2009-01-05T23:31:00.001-05:00

Every time I come home, I accumulate more books. A few of these I got for Christmas, but most of them I found in the attic.

2009-01-04T22:53:00.001-05:00

My dad makes the best pancakes. Partly because he always makes them into shapes. This one is a bison. At least, that's what he said.

2009-01-04T00:30:00.002-05:00

Two pictures today--yesterday's and today's.

This picture doesn't quite capture yesterday, but I liked it anyway. My sister and I went with two of our friends from church to visit another friend at the coffee shop she works at. I got Gumby and Pokey for the white elephant exchange at the New Year's Eve party. Anyway, we had a splendid day of visiting and shopping (and enjoying Steak n Shake, which we don't have out in Virginia).

Yes, this is my sister vacuuming a Christmas tree. Trust me, if we didn't vacuum it, it would make quite a mess when Dad takes it up to the attic. Only the trees that get the plastic snow need to be vacuumed, though. Our aunt is here for the weekend, so we worked on taking down Christmas. Next week, Sarah and I are headed back to Virginia. I need to find out if ETSU has sorted things out yet. I'm wanting to transfer there this semester, but the weekend before Christmas they lost my high school transcript. Sigh. But I guess it's what I get for not sending everything off as early as I should have.

2009-01-02T09:43:00.003-05:00

One of the fun things I want to do this year is called Project 365. Basically, you take one picture every day for a year. Obviously, you can take more than one picture a day, and then you can choose which one you want to use for that day. Anyway, I would have posted this last night, but my internet was acting up.

I actually went to a New Year's Eve party this year. We had a lot of fun, and ended the night with a toast--using sparkling grape juice, of course.

1001 days

2008-12-31T09:53:00.002-05:00

I'm starting a new project in 2009. Actually, a lot of new projects. One hundred and one of them to be precise. Fortunately, I have more than a year to complete them. My goal is to start tomorrow, January first, 2009, and I will finish my list on September 28, 2011. One thousand and one days. I got the idea here. As for my list...

1. Give ten “just because” gifts (0/10)
2. Write at least one letter a week
3. Send 5 postcards on PostCrossing (0/5)
4. Clean up the creek at the park
5. Donate 1,000,000 grains of rice (0/1,000,000)
6. Figure out better ways to help my kids learn Bible verses
7. Give away or release on Bookcrossing any books I no longer want
8. Find out when I can donate blood again
9. One day of each week, leave the TV off (0/143)
10. Don’t let the dishes pile up by washing them every night for a whole month (0/31)
11. Get rid of 101 things I don't need or love (0/101)
12. Make a house cleaning schedule and follow it.
13. Limit self to 2-hours a day TV for at least a month. (0/31)
14. Clean up for five minutes every day (0/1001)
15. Go through my things at home and get rid of everything I don’t love or need
16. Keep my desk organized and clutter free for a month (0/31)
17. Find a plastic cover for the table on the back porch
18. Limit myself to 2 hours on the computer every day (0/1001)
19. Make a prayer wall
20. Handwash laundry
21. Don't buy anything I don't need for a month (0/31)
22. Clean out my car every week (0/143)
23. Start using reusable bags when shopping
24. Stick to a budget for six months (0/6)
25. One day of each week, leave the computer off (0/143)
26. Replace the light bulb and the top of the stairs
27. Buy a new comforter
28. Get new bookshelves
29. Fix my desk chair or get a new one
30. Take a multi-vitamin everyday for a month. (0/31)
31. Don’t drink any soda for one month. (0/31)
32. Go on five picnics (0/5)
33. Lose 10 pounds
34. Don't eat in the living room for a week (0/7)
35. Don't eat in the living room for a month (0/31)
36. Make homemade marshmallows
37. Make cake in an orange peel
38. Eat breakfast every day for a month (0/31)
39. Bake bread 5 times (0/5)
40. Cut down on purchases of premade frozen foods.
41. Eat at least two servings of fruit every day (0/1001)
42. Make five recipes from my Redwall cookbook (0/5)
43. Read the rest of the Twilight series
44. Read all of my books
45. Find the last of the Five Little Peppers
46. Read all the Discworld novels
47. Win NaNoWriMo
48. Write for twenty minutes every day (but Sunday) for a month (0/27)
49. Journal every day for a month (0/31)
50. Rewrite my 2007 NaNo
51. Rewrite my 2008 NaNo
52. Write Corbin's story
53. Find a story for Rahab
54. Project 365 -- January 1, 2009-December 31, 2009 (0/365)
55. Make a Dr. Who scarf
56. Make a new Jayne hat
57. Make homemade cards
58. Make a patchwork blanket out of old clothes
59. Learn how to make a rag rug
60. Take pictures of everyday things that may get overlooked
61. Sell something on Etsy
62. Learn how to knit socks
63. Finish my hollow book
64. Take a picture every day from the same spot at the same time (as long as I'm
home)
65. Learn how to knit hats
66. Knit five hats for Warm Woolies (0/5)
67. Learn all the finger braiding patterns on Fingerloop Braids
68. Make a dorodango
69. Save each month – even if it’s only $20 (0/32)
70. Identify 100 things that make me happy (0/100)
71. Create a time capsule to be opened when I turn 50.
72. Put $0.25 a day in a jar. At the end of 1001 days, use it for some yet to be
determined purpose. (0/1001)
73. Create a morning routine and follow it for at least a month (0/31)
74. Create a before bed routine and follow it for at least a month (0/31)
75. Be thankful for one thing every day for a month (0/31)
76. Do Morning Watch at the park one day a week (0/143)
77. Daily choose something on this list to work on
78. Put $5 in savings for every completed task
79. Find a new job
80. Do the equivalent of three miles a day--either walking or some other form of
exercise (0/1001)
81. Get everyone to Minas Tirith in the Eowyn Challenge (0/2,557 miles)
82. Memorize a Bible verse every week (0/143)
83. Read the whole Bible
84. Go walking at least three times a week
85. Set aside travel money every month (0/32)
86. Organize my music in iTunes
87. Switch to the Dvorak layout on my keyboard
88. Upgrade to Microsoft Office 2007
89. Send a message in a bottle
90. Watch the sun rise 10 times (0/10)
91. Practice the penny whistle every day for a month (0/31)
92. Go to the Bristol Caverns
93. Learn to spot constellations
94. Relearn the stories of the constellations
95. Leave a note in a library book for someone else to find.
96. Learn sign language
97. Watch the sunset 10 times (0/10)
98. Watch a meteor shower
99. See a show at the Encore
100. See a show at the Barter
101. Watch all the Pixar movies again (0/10)

2008-12-20T19:36:00.000-05:00

"We will talk instead about your life. And how Gregory will save it, if you so desire."
"Why would you save me?" Despereaux asked. "Have you saved any of the other mice?"
"Never," said Gregory, "not one."
"Why would you save me, then?"
"Because you, mouse, can tell Gregory a story. Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light."
And because Despereaux wanted very much to live, he said, "Once upon a time..."

~From The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo

If you haven't read this book, you should. I say that about a lot of books, I suppose, but Despereaux is one of my all time favorites. It is very clearly a story about light and dark, and the choices you must make when you are faced with the darkness. And as such, dear reader, it is a story that can speak to every heart.

I took my little sister to see the movie today, and was quite surprised that I was able to enjoy it as its own story apart from the book. Well, except for a few small details. But overall, it was good. I didn't much like the ending, but I suppose nothing is perfect.