February, 2010

Thought for the Day — No Comments
28
Feb 10

Thanks Twitter for Yesterday.

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Yesterday I arose early. Nothing new.

I walked the dog and sat down to collect my thoughts as is my custom most every morning. Well, as much as anyone can collect their thoughts with cats and dog fighting.

Sitting down to read my bit of Romans, I first checked my iPhone.

Weather and Twitter updates (you know).

I saw this tweet from Canadian Twitter friend @MistiPearl posted at 6:09 Saturday morning,

 ”Major earthquakes have hit Haiti, Okinawa, and now Chile…Pray and listen to the Holy Spirit…The times are changing.”

Rats.

I hate it when that happens.

Then I started seeing a few tweets here and there about this 8.8 quake that hit Chile. 8.8 is rather large, isn’t it?

It’s hard to sit reading the 14 chapter of Romans when you keep thinking the apocolypse has begun. So I got up and checked Fox News and CNN. Darn, there had been this horrible thing.

The dog began wimpering.  I leashed him up and took him outside. Light began to outline Mrs. Hunter’s house. It was so clear, calm and peaceful.

The other side of the world, life would never be the same.

The earth ferociously opened and devoured.

Thanks Twitter.

Thanks for making me think about how Atlanta sits on the tip of a fault line. How my husband’s office is on the 19th floor of some high-rise. How I found myself praying that when the big quake hits the Southeast it is not in the middle of a workday.

Thanks Twitter.

Btw. I am really super, duper glad the tsunami was a dud. Right @daylilie222.

Life in Madison / Thought for the Day — 2 Comments
27
Feb 10

A 2×2 foot square of the floor from King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Or was it?

It’s cold here. It’s pretty much cold everywhere.

I don’t do cold. It’s not that I’m being flip, snotty or sarcastically flip and snotty. I can’t do extreme cold without  severe physical reactions such as weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Yesterday mid-morning, the house was cold. The thermostat read 62. I turned it up to 69 the minute I got out of bed.

PANIC!!

The heater had been running since 6 a.m. (a late wake up for me, since I waited up for son’s arrival from soccer game in some county in the state’s nether regions) and the house wasn’t warm.

I called a heating and cooling professional. The second time I called a repair person to our house in as many days. :)  

The nice gentleman from B&H came in with his flashlight looked at the thermostat. Then he went outside under the house. He went back and forth by my window. Then I heard the back door squeak…

“Mrs. Miles?”

Sigh.

I got up and prepared myself for bad news. The nice man that has been walking back and forth in front of my window held up a 2×2 foot square of the floor from King Tutankhamun’s tomb. A solid 2×2 square foot of black tar.

Okay, it was really an air filter, but it was unrecognizable. It looked like the lung of King Tut if he had been alive for the last 3,300 years and a 6 pack a day smoker.

GROSS!! (This wasn’t ours. Ours was far worse and I child might stumble upon this post.)

We forgot to change the filter and the warm air kept bouncing back so the heater thought it was toasty in our house.

Over time, grit and grime ~ layer upon layer of grit and grime built up and shuts down our heating system. Well, the motor still worked but it was getting completely the wrong signal. It wasn’t dead, it was just utterly ineffective.

We can’t let that happen to our heart or to our minds.

Don’t let layer upon layer of dirt slowly build up rendering you functioning yet completely useless and in no way fulfilling your purpose on this earth as a heater to warm a very cold woman’s house.

As I type this I am very warm, thank goodness. 

Just remember…keep those filters clean, y’all.

Life in Madison / Puppy Diaries — No Comments
26
Feb 10

He really didn’t want to go. But I insisted.

The other day I was running late for an appointment. I worked out and there was just enough time to slip into my house and clean up. 

At my backdoor, I heard something. I turned around and saw… 

 

This cute guy. Of course, at the time we met he had no leash. He was on the loose. 

Darn. There goes being clean and purdy for my appointment. I thought he might be from across the way, but need to check his tag which I couldn’t do because that would involve reading small print on his tag. 

I opened the door to get some glasses and he bounded in… 

It was so cute how he ran over to Tebow’s crate and they communicated. So cute until he marked the crate and my carpet. Dogs are funny that way.People just come into a room and act all loud and braggy or flirty and weird to assert dominance. 

Dogs teeter. 

Hi.

There he is right after teeter.  Terribly cute, but I leashed him up (cursing how stupid I was for letting him in our house) and took him to his home. I opened the fence and let him in.

 

He really didn’t want to go.

But I insisted.

 His owner pulled up right as I was leaving, so relieved that her pup was safe and sound. She had been so worried for we live on a very busy street. 

The dog didn’t have a care in the world. He just loved every teetering minute till I made me go behind the locked fence.Dogs are that way, so trusting. They often need the kindness of others to get them home. As a runner, I come across lost dogs quite often. I must smell a certain way when I run.They love the way I smell. It’s a curse, really. 

As one who has gotten many stray dogs home ~ get your dog a dogtag. It helps those of us who smell inviting to lost dogs get on with our lives instead of spending all afternoon trying to get this wayward creature home. 

But of course the most important thing is getting puppy home for they are dear members of the family. 

What lengths have you gone to get a stray pup home?

Columns / Latest Newspaper Column / Life in Madison — 2 Comments
25
Feb 10

Even My Daughter Applied to be Her Third Child. Not That I Blame Her.

Last Sunday, I sat trying to write a column on suffering through this winter’s iron grip. But staring out the window, blue skies and 60 degree temperatures beckoned. Continue reading →

Life in Madison / Old House Woes — No Comments
24
Feb 10

I think I smell something burning. And I don’t smoke.

Yesterday dashing out the door for an interview, I ran into the kitchen and smelled… 

Cigarettes and burning rubber. Strong cigarettes and burning rubber. 

That’s not good when no one in your house smokes (at least not often and we would never, ever admit to it publicly) and the nearest NASCAR racetrack is 60 miles away. It’s especially not good when you live in a house that is over 100 years old and electricians stare at your box and shake their head. So I cancelled my appointment and called Scott Branch of Branch Electric. Then I called my husband and he immediately thinks $$$$. So then I had to be voice of reason and calmly say, “Let’s be thankful that the house hasn’t burned to the ground…yet.” He had to agree. 

I opened the cabinet door and opened the door to the fuse box and this is what I saw. 

 

See, it’s really old. Pretty colored fuses that I have no idea about even after living with this box for 10 years. A fuse blows and I just stick one in. If I don’t happen to have one of the right color, I try anything. It usually  works till I can get the right color. Or keeps working till it blows because I forgot about getting the right color. 

You can see what it looks like, but you can’t smell it. 

Scott did the minute he came through the door. 

Here’s what he showed me. 

The nekkid fuse box. Not a pretty sight.

No it would be be a pretty sight, even if  in focus. He spotted the problem and fixed it, though it was a temporary fix. We’re going to have to get a breaker box soon, but shh.. we won’t talk about that now. $$$$ 

Thankfully all was okay, but when Scott was moving  those wires around I was just glad he knew what he was doing. Electricity is nothing you want to mess with if you don’t know anything about. 

I asked him what to do if there was a fire. He recommended a type of fire extinguisher, but reminded me — it had to be a chemical product. He showed me what to rip out if the thing started smoking. Of course, he didn’t say “rip”, but that’s what I would certainly do…while screaming. 

Thank goodness for good electricians. Thank goodness our house is okay and we won’t talk about $$$ spent on old houses anymore today. 

Except if you want to vent and old house $$$ story, please feel free to comment away. 

I promise not to remind your spouse about all the $$$$ they’ve spent on the old house you wanted but they didn’t. (Johnny dearest…that didn’t mean you. Okay, that did mean you, but you are a trooper. I think you kind of like this house now. Maybe a little bit?)

Family / Lent — No Comments
23
Feb 10

Money. Oh, how my perception’s changed.

Money.

My perception of money changed in the last few years.

Money doesn’t always appreciate, grow or result in multiple dividends.  In fact the opposite can happen. And it’s not very wise to charge things you can’t pay cash for in the present, especially at a usurious interest rates.

Though I’d still like to very, very much. It’s just not wise.

Or mature.

I’m trying to be mature with money these days. Wants verses needs. You know the drill.

This was what I saw yesterday out by our street.

All you want for $2.00.

All you want for $2.00.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
That is our dirty paper recycling receptacle. Which in a former life was a laundry basket. Since they were out on the street because Monday is our day, why not have a sale?
My kindergartner, set this stand up and  informed me that this sale was to raise money for next Valentine’s Day.
There were no takers…
 
 
 
Must have been a night for Jack Sparrow.

Must have been a night for Jack Sparrow.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And surprisingly no takers for these….
Remember Rubik's Cubes?

Remember Rubik's Cubes?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I guess there is not a lot of business these days rehabbing 1980′s brain teasers.  But the point is, my children have more of an appreciation for money than I did.
It’s been another part of transforming my character. Ouch.
 
My daughter said the other day, “We don’t have any money anymore. And (insert name of her friend) doesn’t either.” Now thankfully, we do have money coming in, but we surely don’t spend it like we used to. We are hammering away at the debt and trying to save as well.
 
Have you thought of any creative ways to earn or save money? Other than selling Rubik’s Cube chips? (As valuable as they might be.)
Lent / WOF — 7 Comments
22
Feb 10

God Never Makes Mistakes. Or Does He?

 

On most Sunday mornings, I meet with a wonderful group of women in the Women of Faith Sunday School class. 

Ironically ~ WOF. I am not usually the “woofing” kind. But I love these gals. We have been working our way through What Happens When Women Pray by Evelyn Christenson. The book copyrighted in 1975 and some of her dated references are humorous.

But all in all ~ it’s a great study, that’s lead us on an amazing journey into prayer. Yesterday, we were addressing the chapter God Never Makes a Mistake. This was right on the heels of the chapter How to Pray in God’s Will. We asked ourselves the question, are we at the place where we can say and believe down to our tippy toes that God never makes a mistake? That in allowing suffering and accidents, can we ever truly believe that nothing is a mistake?

 Do we want to believe that?

Along with Romans, I am making my way through the book of Genesis. This morning’s reading was the Gen. 45: 1-28. The scene is when Joseph, by then a powerful man in Egypt overseeing the distribution of grain in a land in the grips of a devastating famine, confronts his brothers with his true identity.

Sure Joseph lived large now, second only to Pharaoh, but he had experienced a life filled with major suffering.  Being sold into slavery by his brothers. (And I think we have sibling rivalry around here.) Falsely imprisoned 13 years by accusations from the original cougar, Potiphar’s wife. Then the dude that said they would remember him to Pharaoh and remembered…nothing. Until the timing was right for God to use Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and begin storing grain for the seven years of famine.

So as the lightening and thunder rang out this morning…so did this reading hit me, especially in light of our WOF discussion on Sunday:

 

“Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!

And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. …. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. [a]

 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. “      Genesis 45: 4 – 8.

 

God sent Joseph into a situation that was filled with suffering to bring about a salvation plan during the famine not only for Joseph’s family ~ but for all humankind in the region affected by the severe drought.

I thought that was so cool. Not that I am volunteering for any big time suffering anytime soon ~ but God does have a plan and God doesn’t make mistakes.

But I do…did you know when I spell-checked this I misspelled Pharaoh…every time. (I think a different way each time.)

Day six of Lenten chips and sweets fast (I don’t skip Sundays.) Still strong. Though felt a bit weak about wanting something sweet after Sunday lunch. I guess a good portion of KFC salty grilled chicken might have that effect. But I had held fast.

What about you..do you agree or disagree about God not making mistakes? Not about KFC making you want something sweet.

Family / Food / Lent — 1 Comment
21
Feb 10

Dead Bananas? Sunday afternoon activity; bake Banana bread.

My six year old and I were home alone.

Joe cooks.

Now this is not some hip-mutation of Joe “rocks”. He really does like to cook. He dreams up recipes. None of which could ever work ~ yet. But he loves to be at one with the kitchen.

So yesterday, I spied these.

I think they're dead.

I think they're dead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But I knew they weren’t dead. They were just very ripe and pure sugar.

So we went to work.

1 3/4 cups flour

2/3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 mashed ripe bananas

Mashed bananas, not potatos.

Mashed bananas, not potatoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/3  cup shortening, butter or margarine

2 tablespoons milk

2 eggs

1/4 cups chopped nuts

 

In bowl combine 1 cup of flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add mashed banana, shortening (butter or margarine) and milk. Beat with mixer on low till blended, then on high for 2 minutes. Add eggs and remaining flour; beat till blended.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes or until the center of bread passes the old toothpick test. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely.

Now we never let the bread cool completely. For pity’s sake, why do that? 

Joe and I sliced that warm bread and slathered buttered on it. So after some flour and sugar and an hour in the oven, those black bananas turned into this…

Boo-ti-full!

Boo-ti-full!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that’s a Romans 12:2 transformation.

What is your favorite bread and recipe? Happy Sunday and Happy Baking.

Life in Madison — No Comments
20
Feb 10

Bravo Ya’ll! Once on this Island. You’ve got to go..tonight!

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 Last night our family took in Madison Community Theater’s production of Once on this Island. The story is one of star-crossed love set in Haiti.  The drama unfolds in the island’s vastly divergent socioeconomic groups, the peasants and the aristocratic grand hommes.

The heroine, Ti Moune, a peasant girl, falls in love with Daniel, a handsome grand homme, after catching sight of him driving by in his car.  What teenager hasn’t fallen in love with a good-looking driver or good-looking car for that matter?

Alas, Daniel’s car crashes. The wreck injuries bring Daniel to the brink of death. 

 

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Ti Moune nurses him back from death’s doorstep and when Daniel returns to his high life home to recoup, Ti Moune, who by now is very much in love  — insists she must go search for him. 

 

Ti Moune (Emily DeJarnett) and Tonton Julian (Carol Bozeman)

Ti Moune (Emily DeJarnett) and Tonton Julian (Carol Bozeman)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As you can tell, Tonton Julian, Ti Moune’s guardian and mother figure, doesn’t  think  much of this idea. But is there any thing stronger than young love?  Not much, to the dismay of parents everywhere.  So off Ti Moune goes and is reunited with her Daniel.
 
 
 
Ti Moune (so happy for now) and Daniel (William Prior)

Ti Moune (so happy for now) and Daniel (William Prior)

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Well, I won’t give away anymore of the story but it was a fabulous production. Everyone in our crowd loved it. My kindergartner just asked me if we were going back tonight. He sat thoroughly entranced the entire show.
 
 
 
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Until I started taking pictures of him.
 
 
 
 
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Go see it tonight at the Morgan County High School.
 
 
 
 
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We have so much talent in this community. You are sure to recognize many faces.
 
 
 
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As we were leaving last night my daughter, who has a part in the Junior Chorus said, “Mama, when is the next show? I’ve got to be in it. It was so much fun.” And it was so very good. 
 
To learn more about Once on this Island and upcoming productions including the MCT Summer Theatre Camp in July, go to MCT website.   http://www.mctheater.org/ 
 
Bravo! Ya’ll.
Lent / Life in Madison — 4 Comments
19
Feb 10

Waiting on a filling ~ got me to thinking about waiting.

Happy Friday! The sun shines in Madison, Georgia and the forecast looks lovely for the weekend.

Yesterday, my 16 year-old had an appointment here. http://pagettfamilydentistry.com/ He needed to get a cavity filled.

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It was early. It was  8:30. Now then, 8:30 is not early for dentists. The early birds of the health industry, if you want a 5:30 a.m. root canal, call your dentist.

To be honest, this was right after carpool drop-off so I was up and dressed.

 Fully dressed.

Most days, you only have to be presentable from the mid-bicep up for that is how much people see of you in your car in carpool.  Yesterday, I wore jeans, shirt (maroon turtleneck) and matching socks (minor miracle).

Patsy, Angie and Dr. Forest

Patsy, Angie and Dr. Forest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a picture of part of my favorite dentistry staff. Poor souls, I ambushed them with the camera.

But before this picture, while I sat in the waiting room, I pulled out some reading. I’ve tried to become very productive when waiting. Whether in the carpool line, car repair shop, dance studio or dentist office. I try to make the most of my time. So as I sat in the waiting room looking through People Magazine  (took a productivity break),  I got to thinking.

Waiting rooms. Do I live too much in the waiting room?

Now I don’t mean literally. You can’t be a mom of three under the driving age and not spend time in waiting rooms, but do I live in the waiting room?

Sitting there, reading and planning and watching till the door is opened and the nice hygienist calls my name. Am I always on the wrong side of the door from the action, waiting for my name to be called?

Heaven forbid.

In keeping with Lenten  manifesto Romans 12:2, I want to be transformed to non-waitee status. I want to move from the land of passive to action verbs.

No more — Jamie is running.

 More — Jamie runs. (Even when frightfully cold and windy.)

 Not, Jamie is caring.

 Jamie cares!

Not going to wait anymore. Now there are seasons of waiting on God, but waiting just for passivity’s sake is over. Done.

Angie Wells (pictured up top), started a blog when her family began adoption proceedings for their daughter from China. http://amothersplace.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html .

It’s been a long wait. But she hasn’t been sitting passively. Check out her blog. Angie’s a dynamite Madison lady living  outside the waiting room while she and her family wait on their daughter/sister.

The clock ticks. There is never a perfect time for anything.

What are you waiting for? Other than lunch.

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