Peer to Peer

The following is some peer-to-peer Q & A/Instruction that I overheard in the 1st and 2nd grade Sunday School class:

How do you get it that loud?

You just....

Any idea what they were talking about?

Job Titles

Is there an official job title of "removes dead animals from roadways"?

And who decides who gets to drive the giant road sweeper?

You Speak, I Listen

And did you notice that the kitchen is actually clean?

Finished: Caddie Woodlawn

Spunky chick who doesn't want to act like a lady. I look forward to reading this to daughter-dearie, and hope that she is eager to learn the lesson at the end - that now is a good time to grow up and be a lady.

Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink

Break It To Me Gently

Please, leave an anonymous (or not) comment. Do I need to change the color of my kitchen walls?

It's True

The Duponts and the Rockefellers get junk mail, too.

Finished: Dombey and Son

Another Charles Dickens...

This one took me longer to get through than the other ones, and it doesn't have one of the delights of Dickens, which is the twisted plot that brings all relationships together in the end.

Dombey and Son contains more of an in depth study on the hardness of a proud man and the steadyness of constant faithfulness.

Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son

I Think I Like This Song!

On-line Grandma

My grandmother just sent me an e-mail. For some, that's strange enough. But what delighted me most was that she said in it, and I quote, "more power to him". You go, girl!

Chick Flicks and the Glory of God

Here's another great link from Tim Challie's blog. This article, entitled "You've Got Lies" expresses (far better than I could) the essence of what I struggle with regarding 'chick flicks' and Jane Austen.

Why I Don't Practice:

Music to a music teacher's ears?

Got A Fixin' To Be Fixed With The Right Fix

Our sliding screen door has problem. Or does it?

Actually, I determined that the problem is the frame of the door. I came to the conclusion that the top of the frame was bowed, so that the screen door would come off of the track when it was closed. This has happened many times over the past 7 years. We've gone through 3 screen doors. I have tried many things to compensate for this bowed upper frame. None of them have worked.

But then along came Dad. He determined the cause to be different. He determined that the problem was caused by the bowing of the frame at the bottom, not at the top. This explains why all of my efforts to compensate for the gap at the top didn't work. I was so close. I had the general idea of where the problem was coming from, but without an accurate assessment of the situation, all of the energy kept going to fix the wrong area ... which was a temporary, at best, fix.

My solutions would keep the door on the track for a few openings and closings, then it would fall off, and I'd have to replace, retighten, and repeat: replace, retighten, repeat...

This reminds me of my efforts to fix my own problems. For instance: I have a temper when it comes to people infringing on my agenda. Usually, these "people" are my children. I could begin a discipline where I count to 10 and take a deep breath before I speak to them. But I'll tell you right now, that screen door's just gonna come off the track again.

The point here: you've gotta be fixin' to be fixin' with the right fix or it ain't gonna be fixed.

Hopeless?

When the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ occurs, hope becomes irrelevant.

Breakfast Eggs

What are you saying? A Cadbury Cream Egg isn't a breakfast food?

It's an egg!

The Banana Splits

I don't like bananas.

The following is amazing information I recently learned about that which I do not like (thanks, G.S.)

A banana divides into three equal parts, lengthwise.

I don't like bananas.

I have been tearing apart bananas with my bare hands just to experience this phenomenon.

And I don't even like bananas!

(Did I mention that I don't like bananas?)

My Friend(?)'s Insights

My friend Megan has a new post up on WorldMagBlog today. I say my friend, because she has, at times, responded to my comments on her personal blog with en e-mail, and so I consider her my friend. We could dispute that...after all, I visit her blog regularly and know her family by what she posts, but she knows absolutely nothing about mine...

Regardless, her insights were appreciated today.

Finished: Mark Twain In Hawaii: Roughing it in the Sandwich Islands, Hawaii in the 1860's

If you want a description of Hawaii in the late 1800's mixed with caustic wit and a good dose of wry humor, then this is what you'll want to read.

If you're not into that type of thing, don't bother reading it.

Mark Twain In Hawaii: Roughing it in the Sandwich Islands, Hawaii in the 1860's

Now, I'm Not Complaining, But...

Think back for a moment over your conversations of today.

Is it just me, or is there a whole lot of complaining going on in the world?

Finished: James and the Giant Peach

I was disappointed with this, by "the world's most scrumdiddlyumptious storyteller", whereby the boy James is charged "Marvelous things will start happening to you...and you will never be miserable again in your life."

I am a huge fan of imagination, of which this book overflows. The story unravels well, and the adventures encountered during the grand peach flight are real in an incredible sort of way. But I was dismayed from the onset, and perhaps this tainted my view of the book.

I think it a true test of an author's imagination to create a story where the plot does not involve killing off the parents, bringing misery into a young boy's life and having him be raised by 2 mean old ugly aunts who beat him and make him work all the day while they indulge themselves in selfish pursuits...and the peach rescues him.

Start the story with imagination, and I'm a fan. Maybe I'll rewrite the beginning, just to enjoy the rest of the story...

James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl

Aboutface Facebook

I'm not on Facebook. I'd never make it there. There's just way too much sin involved.

I went "on" Facebook Saturday evening.

Mind you, I wasn't on Facebook, I was just "on" Facebook. And you know what started it? Someone commented to me about how an old friend looks now, and I thought I'd see for myself. STUPID!

I was compelled to click on people whose names I knew, just to see what theylooked like now, what they were interested in, were there anymore "friends" on there pages to link to...

Here's what happened: a foray into my brain... "Does he really look like that? I wonder if that picture is her daughter. She got married? Why did she do that to her hair? She looks happy, finally! Is that what he's doing now? Oh, look at the politicians listed under 'favorites'. Go figure."

YUCK! I don't want to be like that. Facebook does that to me.

No, I guess I do that to me.

But if that's what Facebook brings out in me, I'm not going there. My motivation is all wrong. I know it. And I'm cutting the right hand off. It's just not for me. I made a brief entrance and discovered a me I didn't like...a gossippy self-absorbed coveting mess of being. I know that's there without Facebook, but I'm not going to encourage it. I can't handle it.

No, Facebook's not for me.

At least, not until I can approach it with the right motivation: a compassion and desire for people's good.