Go Brown!!

 I ordered a computer from Dell this month and I was told it would ship NO EARLIER than 26 April and no later than 30 April. That was perfect because I was going to be out of town thru the 23rd with family responsibilities. The Dell rep promised it wouldn't ship any earlier.

Low and behold, I get a call on my cell phone on the 23rd from Fed Ex saying they had attempted delivery THREE times and now had my parcel at their Nashville location! So now I have to go pick it up SOON -- 40 miles away!! I told her I would go down and get it Monday, which she said was fine.

OK, I understand that it isn't FedEx's fault that Dell can't ship when it agreed to. (It had shipped on the 19th!!!)

However, when I got home there were three sticky labels on my front door dated 20, 21, and 22 April. Terrific. Just advertise I haven't been home to an intruder!

So Monday Himself and I head down get it. Couldn't find the location by the directions given to me by the person I spoke to earlier so I called the 800 number.

Uh... "Undercover Boss" producers, I have a suggestion for you of a company that NEEDS to have Boss Man see what is going on!

That 800 number is the worst I have EVER called. After almost 5 minutes of a computer telling me it did not understand my response, I finally get a real live human. Glory be! But my happy is very short lived because she tells me the office is closed on Monday and I need to go tomorrow.

Hissy fit commences.

She agrees to have it redelivered on Wednesday before 5:30pm... in consideration of the trouble they had thus caused me.

Now Wednesday comes. And my computer does not.

Checking the tracking number on the FedEx web site, I see it had been put on the truck at 6:30am-ish and taken OFF at 8:01am!!!!

I call the wretched 800 number again and speak in pig Latin until it transfers me to a human. Only took a couple minutes that way!

Had to talk to two people before I found out that the driver had taken it off the truck. Why? Who knows!

Another hissy fit is pitched. This one bordered on a conniption fit.

So the station manager promises to bring it to me personally on Thursday morning - early.

Next morning at 9:30 am-ish he phones and says he is "on his way" for the 40 minute drive up. Perfect! I have to leave the house by 11am for a lunch date and even if he pokes coming up I'll still have a half hour before I have to leave.

At 11am I tell Himself to go to the lunch date without me...

FedEx dude shows up at 11:30am-ish. Two hours to make a 40 minute drive.

Maybe I should rent him "Cast Away".

"First thing it's two minutes, then four, then six, then the next thing you know, we're the U.S. mail."

Then he presents me with a rather beat up box. Steam starts coming out of my ears at that point. I made him stand on the porch until I had started up the computer and made sure it was alright.

And I didn't rush.

Fortunately the computer was fine, I signed his delivery paper and sent him on his way.

In the future if I have a shipping option... I think I'll be asking for UPS!

Noteworthy Blogs

My favorite blog posts for the last week and a half:


After seeing this house, you'll never complain about lack of space again:
http://tinyassapartment.blogspot.com/2010/03/tah-little-house-of-toronto.html

Now it's Jeff's turn to bring tears with this bittersweet post:
http://sci-teach912.blogspot.com/2010/03/promise-kept.html

Very thoughtful:
http://landofshimp.blogspot.com/2010/03/without-glue.html

Wow! Who would have guessed how this project would turn out:
http://fearlessnesting.blogspot.com/2010/03/rainy-day-project.html

A real life example of the "butterfly effect":
http://blog.compassion.com/because-of-one-act/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CompassionBlogPosts+%28Compassion+Blog+Posts%29

Maybe you'll find your butterfly here:
http://kenyaskidsinneed.blogspot.com/2010/03/fridays-featured-student.html

This quick and easy recipe looks so good:
http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2010/03/butternut-squash-and-parmesan-pasta.html

Makes me wish I knew how to reupholster:
http://betterafter.blogspot.com/2010/03/enthralled-with-toile.html

A reminder not to forget the little things:
http://belladellasfarm.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunflower-surprise.html

My great grandmother had a large collection of postcards she brought back from her travels. Unfortunately they disappeared after certain relatives visited in her later years...
http://alittlebirdietoldmeso.blogspot.com/2010/03/lake-geneva.html

I've thought similar when photographing abandoned homes:
http://abritintn.blogspot.com/2010/03/house-with-nobody-in-it.html

Another amazing repurposing make-over:
http://allylaughingatthedays.blogspot.com/2010/01/our-apartment-therapy-kitchen-island.html

Double Vision

Well, I am typing this with... bifocals.

It was just too hard for my almost 48 year old eyes to read any more. A couple years ago I broke down and bought a small "business card" magnifier to keep in the truck so I could read the road atlas. If the light wasn't bright I just couldn't make out the towns with light grey ink. When it got so that reading a book was difficult I finally broke down and got the bifocals.

I hate them.

First thing I noticed was it feels like I have smudgy fingerprints on the bottom of my glasses. Ugh! Then I realized I could no longer look clearly at my feet or anything else in about a 3 foot circle around me. If I drop something, I have to step backwards to get it in the "far viewing" portion of the lens. As I move forward to reach for it, it goes out of focus. And I'm having a very hard time navigating stairs - especially going down.

And to read, I can only see a quarter of a page at a time thru the bottom part!! I have to move my head up and down to read a page or view a photograph. I feel like a bobble head doll as I read. And that stupid line cuts right across my normal reading plane leaving me with "double vision" images until I raise my chin to bring it into the near viewing range.

Seriously?? This is how these things are supposed to work??

I have a 60 day "try it" return guarantee... if there isn't some major adjusting of myself to these things, I'll be going back for single vision glasses and a pair of reading glasses! Bifocals were supposed to improve my quality of life -- not decrease it.

We'll see how this goes... (No pun intended!)

A Note to "Tiger"

Your days of The Golden Boy are gone. You may play a mean game of golf but that's about all it seems you do well. Other than that, you're a self-centered control freak who is grasping to keep a house of cards from collapsing. The carefully manufactured persona in an elaborate role playing game has been exposed.

Your so-called press conference was such a sham. No... it was a SHAME. As in "shame on you".

Shame on you for timing it during the Olympics to take attention off of the competitors. It's been 2 and a half months of silence since your "accident". Couldn't you have kept you mouth shut for 10 more days?

Shame on you for staging such a contrived forum for your little press conference. Seriously!

Shame on you for even making an apology "to the world" for your infidelity. You're not that important. If you want to apologize to the world, apologize for dragging all this drama on for months and months by giving slow feeds to the media to keep it going.

Good-bye Eldrick Woods... you're no longer a tiger...

You have got to be kidding!!!

-------(CNN) -- There was no profanity, no hate. Just the words, "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 :)" scrawled on the classroom desk with a green marker.

Alexa Gonzalez, an outgoing 12-year-old who likes to dance and draw, expected a lecture or maybe detention for her doodles earlier this month. Instead, the principal of the Junior High School in Forest Hills, New York, called police, and the seventh-grader was taken across the street to the police precinct.

Alexa's hands were cuffed behind her back, and tears gushed as she was escorted from school in front of teachers and -- the worst audience of all for a preadolescent girl -- her classmates. -------


When I read this news story on CNN my first thought was that the world truly is going ever-loving mad. Or more aptly... ever-loving STUPID.

Seriously here - how can anyone start in motion the action that ends with a 12 year old being cuffed and hauled to jail for writing on her school desk. If this ignorance had existed when I was in school my senior photo surely would have been a mug shot!

Why not just give the kid some Ajax and a scrub pad? Really ticked off at her? Let her scrub the whole classrooms desks after school. But don't freaking arrest her!!! The ones who need to be cuffed and hauled off are the administrators and school board who implimented this brainless policy. But I guess there isn't a zero tolerence policy in that district for being an idiot... just for being young and thoughtless. It's bad enough that kids have to defend themselves from bullies their own age. It's just too much when the system becomes the bully.

Things like this are why good teachers are exhausted (check out this blog by one of my favorite bloggers http://sci-teach912.blogspot.com/2010/02/tired.html ). Some are even leaving public schools or teaching altogether. And things like this are why scared parents have started homeschooling or slashing their budgets to afford to put their children in private schools.


-------"There is zero intelligence when you start applying zero tolerance across the board," Clayton County, Georgia, juvenile court judge Steven Teske said. "Stupid and ridiculous things start happening."-------

No Disney for me!

One of the blogs I follow had a posting about Disney shows called "Why Does Disney Hate Parents?" http://sci-teach912.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-does-disney-hate-parents.html Oh that pushed some buttons on me.

I have always loathed Disney because of that... someone HAS to die (or be dead before the opening credits roll) for it to be a Disney. What sort of sick garbage is that?? (OK, it was pointed out that "101 Dalmatians" had both human and dog parents intact - but the whole show was based on the plan to MURDER the puppies. Great childhood memory, huh?).

My detesting of Disney reached a crescendo when I was 16. I was tasked to take my 5 year old sister to see "The Fox and The Hound". Opening credits - Mama Fox running with Baby Fox in her mouth. Hounds baying in the distance. I thought "Oh s***!" I look over at my sister. Kids aren't stupid...there were tears flowing down her cheeks already. I gathered my things to leave the theater but she wouldn't go. Refused. So there we sat. From Mama Fox dying off-screen to "Why can't we be friends anymore?"

When we left the theater it looked like I had been beating her. Tear streaked blotchy face. Swollen eyes. Bawling.

Must have been what my parents thought too because their first words as we came thru the door (she still sobbing) was "What have you done to her!?!"

My reply - "I am never taking her to another d*** Disney movie again!"

And I haven't.

My sister is now 36 and has a beautiful 6 month old daughter. And I will never take Hanna to a d*** Disney movie either!

Earthquake in Haiti

Folks, a 7.0 earthquake hit the capitol city of Haiti yesterday. The destruction will be unbelievable. If there was ever a place that needs a show of Jesus' love... it is here, it is NOW.

Franklin Graham is already on the move to get aid down there. http://www.samaritanspurse.org/ Please donate if you can. And pray.

Here is their news story.

>>>Catastrophic Quake Hits Haiti

Samaritan’s Purse sends team, resources to help disaster victims

Samaritan’s Purse is sending a disaster assistance team to Haiti after the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere was rocked by one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the Caribbean in decades.

Samaritan’s Purse dispatched a team just hours after the quake to help with water, shelter, medical care, and other emergency needs. We will focus on medical help, shelter, clean water, and hygiene supplies.

An initial shipment of emergency relief items including rolls of plastic shelter material, hygiene kits, and water purification kits are being loaded onto a DC-3 cargo plane to fly to Port Au Prince Wednesday.

Staff with Baptist Haiti Mission, our local partner, report severe damage throughout the area. Power is out, and there is no water.

The massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake was the strongest to hit the country in 200 years and was felt as far away as Cuba. The tremor sparked widespread panic as it brought down buildings including the presidential palace, hotels, a hospital, and the UN headquarters in the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince

“It's really a catastrophe of major proportions,” Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN.

Thousands of people gathered in public squares late into the night, singing hymns and weeping. Many gravely injured people sat in the streets, pleading for doctors.

The death toll was expected to climb into the hundreds, but no official figure has been released so far.

“Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken,” Henry Bahn, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official visiting Haiti told the Associated Press. “The sky is just gray with dust.”

The earthquake was centered about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. Some panicked residents in the capital of Santo Domingo fled from their shaking homes." <<<

So sorry I'm late...

I’ve noticed more and more a time shift is happening in the world. Actually, it’s not a shift in time but a shift in people being on time.

Movies, concerts, meetings, and even to church there are people traipsing in 10 to 20 minutes past the starting time. The other day someone came be-bopping into church service 45 minutes late! Please!! The service in only 60 minutes long!

You interrupt the event’s focus (and no sweetie, you’re not the focus). And folks who were there on time do not appreciate you crawling across them as you drag yourself into the middle seats that are now left.

Let me just put it out here.

People who consistently run late are rude and self-centered!

On a side note: event hosts – STOP asking the people who had the good manners to be on time to “scoot over to make room”. We set our alarms and got ourselves there on time. Why should we be the ones who have to make concessions? There were lots of seats when we got there.

Let these selfish, lazy, inconsiderate people be as ‘inconvenienced’ as possible rather than enabling their rude behavior.

Maybe they’ll learn to tell time…

Amazing elephants - Edie and Emily

Here is an incredible story of just how intelligent elephants are. The two mama elephants are wild living orphans rescued and brought up by the Sheldrick Trust.

When you look at the photos, remember they have been living in the wild for quite a while.


On the 18th Edie brought her calf back to the Voi Stockades, wise enough to know that she needed the assistance of her erstwhile human family to save her baby, who was growing weaker because she lacked sufficient milk to nourish it during such a difficult time. With her were Mweya, Mpala and Morani and Irima. Dairy cubes and other supplements were hurriedly sent down from Nairobi, to help Edie’s milk bar and save little Ella, who thereafter became visibly stronger by the day, her mother having enjoyed supplementary feeding.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to us and the Keepers Emily was trying to do the same, but her baby born last December, being older, was in a much more dire condition and, in fact, not far off dying. Therefore Emily’s journey from Ngutuni was painfully slow because little Eve was so weak, but finally she managed to make the Voi Safari Lodge waterhole, which is about 3 or 4 kms. from the Voi Stockades.

They immediately rushed back to the Stockades to get Keeper Mishak Nzimbi, who has known Emily since the day she came into the Nursery aged just l month. Mishak is, and always has been, the favourite Keeper of all our elephants, irrespective of age, and deeply trusted by Emily. Mishak walked straight up to Emily and her calf who was lying at her feet and was greeted by an outstretched trunk. He had come armed with the supplements provided for Edie, and when the calf managed to struggle to its feet to suckle, he and the other Keepers slowly accompanied Emily and her baby back to the stockades. It was a laborious journey that took the next 6 hours because the baby could only walk a few paces at a time and had to rest frequently, but in the end they made it.

For the next 2 days Emily remained at the Stockades, delighted to find Edie, her baby and some of the group already there, and embrace the newcomers newly arrived from the Nursery, namely Lesanju, Lempaute, Sinya, Shimba, Mzima, Wasessa, Tassia and Taveta. Mercifully, it had already rained in Voi, and the country was turning green, so fresh green grass and new shoots were also readily available. Once little Eve had regained some of her strength, being a wild baby, she took to giving the Keepers quite a run around, but soon understood that they were friends, rather than a foe. Other members of Emily’s unit have since begun to trickle in whilst yet others are still elsewhere. By month end both Emily and her baby along with Edie and hers were well on the road to recovery and were able to move further afield from the stockades.

Edie and feisty little Ella.

Emily and Eve.

Emily, with keepers Julius and Mischak working things out.

Emily following the keepers back to the stockade to bring her baby to safety.

The REAL spot...

One experience we had on the trip was both frustrating and hilarious at the same time.

In 2005 we went to MN and visited with a cousin of Himself for a few days. While there, Himself and ‘cousin’ shared genealogical information. For part of this, she took us to a cemetery where she said Himself’s grandmother, aunt and step-grandfather were buried. She told us there were no headstones for them. Once there, we stopped at a section with a big blank spot and she said that is where they were buried. We paid our respects and left.

Now…flash forward 4 years…

Himself and I had been discussing the fact that his grandmother did not have a headstone. Maybe it’s my “Southern” coming out… but that’s just wrong! So we decided to buy a stone for her and his aunt.

We drove to the St. Paul cemetery and went into the office. Besides running the cemetery they also sell monuments. Good deal!

The nice lady breaks out a map of the cemetery and starts looking up where the gravesites are. I vaguely remembered where we had been (it was next to the road) and pointed that area out to Himself. The lady gets a funny look on her face and slowly says, “Uh…no… that is not where they are at…”

She then continues on to say that not only are they not in that section… the grandmother and aunt aren’t even buried together… they are in totally different sections!

We burst out laughing! Yep… you guessed it. That wenchy cousin had no idea where they were buried. She just pointed to a big bare space and claimed it to be “the spot” so she would look like she knew something! I wasn't surprised...

The lady was very relieved that we were not angry. She said we wouldn’t believe the things she has had happen in her office. Oh yes I would!

Anyway, we got it all worked out. Himself picked a nice stone and we were taken to the CORRECT burial locations.

The REAL bare spot!

Worthless, pathetic person!!!

What am I so fired up about? Below is the open letter-to-the-editor I'm sending to our local newspaper about what happened this morning...

Dear Editor,

This is an open letter to the pathetic individual who dumped a ferret out along the river at 7:35am Saturday 22 August. You could have put a free ad in the Leaf Chronicle, or the Peddler, or on Craig's List. But no, you dumped this poor animal in my yard. Of course it won't come to me, so you have condemned it to a slow death of starvation. Perhaps it will be "lucky" and a coyote or dog will quickly end its misery. If I could have gotten the tag numbers off of your white extended cab GMC pick-up, you would have been turned in to the Sheriff. But you guiltily sped up that hill, didn't you? As it is, I hope the people who know you and wonder what happened to your pet will now realize what type of person you are.


THAT is why I am so angry...

Free up some time – quality v. quantity

My schedule was so full of things I “must” to do, that I had no time to do the things I WANTED to do. How insane is that?

So I pulled out my calendars for the current year and the two previous years and looked at all the activities & meetings I had been a part of. And I started listening to friends talk about all the things they had to do and how stressed they were over it.

That’s when I realized that so many people (myself included) had great ‘quantity’ of activities instead of great ‘quality’ of activities.

Of course I realize there are many things we must do. We must work to make a living & maintain the home (homemakers work too!). We must spend time serving the Lord. We must interact with our children. And we must have personal leisure time.

The problems arise when our calendar gets out of balance.

You become a Christian – you serve the Lord. You attend church. You go to a Bible study.

You are blessed with children – you spend time with them. You teach them about life and responsibility. You have fun with them.

You have a home – you maintain it. You clean it. You decorate it.

You join a club – you attend meetings. You work events. You participate.

I was spending huge blocks of time dealing with my clutter of things. I was involved in groups that I had long ago lost interest in or never actually wanted to be involved with in the first place! Pretty bad, huh?

Because of what I saw in my life and my friends’ lives, I developed a personal time philosophy I call “The Rule of Three”. Jugglers can keep 3 balls in the air with relative ease. Good multi-taskers can handle 3 projects with little difficulty. So I divided my life into thirds.

First – always first – is God. Second is my home & family. Third is my leisure.

But then that needed breaking down to keep it under control.

In living my faith, my 3 areas are:
1. Study His Word.
2. Attend church and serve on Sundays.
3. Serve Him by doing mission work & mission support.

For my home and family, my activities are:
1. Spend quality time interacting with my family.
2. Make and maintain an attractive & clutter-free home (house and yard).
3. Nurture my interest in cooking and meal presentation.

And finally my leisure time. I divide this into 2 groups – Hobbies and Interests. Hobbies are hands-on, activity related. Interests are more studying and learning. This is where I really had to make some decisions and let some activities go.
My three hobbies: 1. Photography. 2. Bonsai. 3. Jewelry making
My three interests: 1. My sponsor children. 2. Landscaping. 3. Extension Homemakers group.

I can not tell you how much narrowing my focus has helped take stress off. I go to church every Sunday and Bible study every Wednesday. I have 3 regular monthly meetings. That leaves plenty of time to do things we want to do... mission activities, classes, day trips, time with family & friends.

The system is not perfected yet. I still am fighting down that clutter monster and disorganization monster but that battle is almost won. In itself that free up a lot of extra time for everything else (these long stretches of alone time while Himself is in AK has been very helpful to my “clutter busting”).

I challenge you to consider your calendar. What is it that you long to do? What is it that is keeping you from doing that? Make a plan to direct you on how to focus on what is important to you & your family. You’ll find once you have a plan, it is very easy to weed out those distracting activities that aren’t enhancing your life.

More freedom - removing toxic people from your life

Yesterday I wrote about the clutter of possessions. But that is not the only thing that can own you. Most likely even more than things, the people you have in your life can drive you nuts.

Long ago I realized that there are people who are just ‘toxic’. They poison your life with demands, negativity, put downs, guilt, back stabbing, criticisms, never ending personal drama and they might even steal from you (borrowing things or money that is never returned is stealing).

The sad thing is these people come disguised as friends. As co-workers. As fellow church members. Like the saying goes, “With friends like these… who needs enemies?”

My question is: Why keep them in your life?

Just as when we were a child we learned it’s not smart to touch that hot stove, we also must learn it’s not smart to have toxic “friends”. Why should a person allow someone to bring havoc into their life and soul? It’s touching that stove over and over and over. It’s insanity.

A toxic person will hurt you as long as you allow them into your life. YOU are the one allowing the pain and frustration to continue.

There was a time in my life I had so many toxic people around me I should have been living in a hazmat suit! It was depressing… draining (emotionally and financially)… and irritating! So I started cutting them away. For sure there were guilt attempts by them to continue the relationship – big time! After all, THEY were the ones benefiting from the relationship. But I knew in my soul there was no reason to be guilty.

A friend is supposed to be a blessing.

I learned to say “no”. “No” to doing someone else’s responsibilities. “No” to allowing criticisms, put downs and back handed compliments to seep into my soul. “No” to always being the giver in a relationship and rarely, if ever, the receiver. “No” to listening to complaints and negative comments that drain the joy out of life. "No" to the person who cancels plans at the last minute because she "wasn't feeling it". "No" to the chronic late arrivers who think their time is more valuable than anyone elses.

No – nein – nyet – la – hapana – non – nao! NO!!!

I can guarantee if you set a boundary and do not let a toxic person manipulate you… they will leave your life. When you stop giving them what they want, they are gone to find a new “friend” that they can control.

I’ve seen mushrooming of toxic friends with the advent of “social networking”. Facebook is amazing for that. People who actively dislike me (and the feeling is mutual) are suddenly requesting to be my “friend”. Why??? Hit that ‘ignore’ button! And by the way, it’s alright to “un-friend” someone. If you do and they try to ‘friend’ you again, ignore them. If they have the nerve to ask why you deleted them and you don’t want to be blunt (“I don’t like you”), then just say you are cutting back on your friend list… so sorry… but you can email privately any time you’d like. (Don’t worry… they won’t be emailing you soon enough).

Some people use Facebook to peek into others lives... just like that nosey neighbor who watches everything you do from their curtained window. Or worse...peeking into your window from outside! Not giving them free rein in your personal life is NOT being rude. It is NOT 'keeping the peace'. It's NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS!

Remember… your friendship is a gift too. Choose wisely who you give it to.

Free at last!

I knew I had too much “stuff”. But until I moved last summer, I never realized just how much over the top it was. It’s now one year later and I am still unpacking boxes. That’s just wrong. It has become so apparent to me that the more stuff you own… the more the stuff owns you.

It’s bad enough if you keep it fairly well organized. But if it has turned to clutter, you have sold yourself into slavery.

Why would I say that?

Think about the amount of time it takes to maintain a mountain of possessions. Just cleaning it (and cleaning around it) takes forever. Not organized? How many hours have you spent looking for something? How many dollars have you spent buying something you have but can’t find? How frustrated has it made you?

That is where I found myself earlier this year. My office piled high with boxes of stuff. Unorganized. Missing things I needed. Spending hours fooling around with “things”.

Enough was enough. I began to hate those boxes. And in that I found the ability to purge and organize.

There was an added blessing in that a Christian mission we sponsor a missionary thru (Africa For Jesus) is opening a thrift shop to support their work. That gives me the additional motivation I need to keep going when it feels like my head will explode from making decisions.

So I am sorting and boxing up a lot of things to donate to the thrift shop. Instead of a mountain of boxes full of ‘whatever’, I now have a mountain of boxes that are empty waiting for recycling.

My goal is to have the house box free and organized by the end of this month. That’s 10 days. I can do this!

Does that mean I will be done? Not quite. There is still the shed to deal with. But because the size and weight of the items out there – and all the shelves that must be built to hold tools and seasonal items – that will be worked on when Himself gets home AND the weather cools off.

A friend recently asked me what I will do with myself once I am done decluttering. I have to smile at the possibilities. I’ll finally have time to scrapbook, put together photo books, make jewelry, start experimenting with recipes again, garden, working on my bonsai or head off to a movie or class without fretting over what needs to be done.

Or I could take a nice nap!

Red Light Cameras

According to some of the "vocal locals" in Clarksville, the newly installed red light cameras at various high accident intersections are the first step towards becoming a communist city or getting "Big Brother" activated.

Please! Sounds like a lot of barking by folks who are guilty of running red lights.

As someone who has 3 times - by the grace of God - just barely avoided being T-boned in an intersection by idiots blasting thru a hot red light, I WELCOME the cameras! I wish every intersection had them. Maybe then you wouldn't have to sit at a green light waiting for people to stop running their red light.

Break the law - get a ticket. Works for me! And using 21 century technology to do it makes perfect sense.

Even sweeter... local cops are getting caught blowing thru lights on routine patrol.

TN Spring Leaves Much To Be Desired...

Yesterday (Tuesday) it was in the low 80s. 70s for several days before that... Flowers are blooming, trees are budding out...

And then...


...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR AREAS GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF A CAMDEN...

DICKSON TO CLARKSVILLE LINE. SNOW AND SLEET IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE WATCH AREA ON THURSDAY MORNING. THE SNOW AND SLEET WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY WITH POSSIBLE ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES. THE SNOW AND SLEET WILL TAPER OFF ON THURSDAY EVENING. A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...

SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS

No Virginia, there is NO Santa Claus

No Virginia, there is no Santa Claus. That well known letter from 111 years ago was not true. Its words shifted a miracle into a figment of the imagination. Santa Claus is a fantasy, a make believe story that dims the real meaning of Christmas.

But don't be sad Virginia, because what Christmas is really about is truth and miracles and joy. Christmas represents the birth of the greatest gift that has or will ever be given. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"Santa" only gives his gifts to those who have been nice... and those who can afford gifts. But the gift that Jesus gives is there for everyone Virginia, for we have ALL been 'naughty' and "fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23

Dear Virginia, those gifts you find under the Christmas tree where given to you by your family and your friends who love you. They are given on a holiday that is in remembrance for the birth of Jesus Christ.

Is that not more wonderful than a fantasy that disappears like a mirage in the desert?



****************************

And that is how I would answer that famous letter.

In our home, we celebrate Christmas in remembrance of the birth of Jesus. We understand that there is only a 1 in 365 chance that 25 December is the birth date of Jesus. But that doesn't matter, as it is only a date. We sponsor a little Maasai girl in Kenya and Jenifa's parents don't know her birthday. So we selected 17 September as her "birthday" (that is the day we started sponsoring her). The important thing is the honoring of her on that day.

And so it is the same with 25 December. It is the day we choose to honor the birth of Jesus our Savior.

I wish we could say that in our home you would find no Santa objects, but you will find a few... however it will be a Santa made by a child and given to us as a gift. Other than that: none. Our decorations are nativities, winter/snow items, items representational of the birth of Jesus - such as poinsettias, stars and so on.

Our tree ornaments are little memories we hold in our hand for a moment before we hang it on that perfect branch. Or they are something that was so beautiful it made us smile when we saw it. Or they could be a gift from a friend that we will think of as we place it on the tree.

And that is how we celebrate CHRISTmas.


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Oh Holy Night!

Words by Chappeau de Roquemaure
Translated by John S. Dwight

Oh holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees
Oh hear the angel voices
Oh night divine
Oh night when Christ was born
Oh night divine
Oh night divine

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming
Here come the wise men from Orient land
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger
In all our trials born to be our friend.
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mary, Did You Know?

c. 1991 Word Music ( a division of Word, Inc.) and Rufus Music (admin. by Keeling & Company, Inc, Nashville, TN) Words: Mark Lowry Music: Buddy Greene

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You've kissed the face of God

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding
Is the Great I Am

Oh Mary did you know?


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Said the night wind to the little lamb,
"Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite,
With a tail as big as a kite."

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
"Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea,
With a voice as big as the sea."

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
"Do you know what I know?
In your palace warm, mighty king,
Do you know what I know?
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold--
Let us bring him silver and gold,
Let us bring him silver and gold."

Said the king to the people everywhere,
"Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere,
Listen to what I say!
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light,
He will bring us goodness and light."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Little Drummer Boy

James Pierpont. publ.1857

Come they told me
pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see,
pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring
pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King
pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
So to honor Him
pa rum pum pum pum,
when we come.

Little Baby
pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too,
pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring
pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give our King
pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
Shall I play for you!
pa rum pum pum
on my drum.

Mary nodded
pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time
pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him
pa rum pum pum
I played my best for Him
pa rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
rum pum pum pum
Then He smiled at me
pa rum pum pum pum
me and my drum.

Cruise: The cruising experience

We took our first cruise this last November, just got back on Sunday. I had decided I wanted to take a vacation where once it started I wouldn't have to be taking care of a thousand details. I wanted to be the Queen.

First thing you have to do is to decide WHERE you want to cruise to. At first we thought Hawai'i, but then discovered the Panama Canal cruises. Wow! Then you have to decide which cruise line to use. For us it was between Holland America and Princess. We picked Princess because of the ports of call. Besides going all the way thru the canal, you also stopped in 6 countries.

We boarded the Island Princess on 16 November, not knowing what to expect but very excited. Over the next 14 days there were ups and downs... mostly with the cruise line itself. But overall we had a great time as most things are what you make them.

The Good:

*We had a balcony mini-suite and it was wonderful. Lots of space. Queen size bed, sofa & chair, desk, 2 TV sets (so you could watch from the sofa or bed!) and a mini fridge. Nice size closet (and you could store your suitcases under the bed). Big bathroom.

*Our balcony. It was lovely to sit out and watch the ocean slide by and catch the sea breeze. And on canal day, it was fantastic.

*The food in the dining room was delicious!

*Free room service. Gotta love it!

*The server staff (dining rooms, pursers, our room steward) were people (mostly in their early 20s) from all over the world. Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, South Africa, Italy, Portugal, England, Wales, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, India, Thailand, Bali, Philippines, Australia, Austria, New Zealand.

*Crafts. The cruise line hires people to come on and do craft classes. What fun! I learned to watercolor. I'd always wanted to try it, but didn't want to shell out the $$$ to take a whole class. Here I was able to take 3 free workshops and discover that I do enjoy it.

I learned to throw pottery on a wheel. What a hoot! It's still fun to play in the mud!

And I also painted a ceramic mug.




*Room stewards. Now THIS I could get permanently used to! Go out for breakfast and come back to a made bed and fresh towels. Go out for supper and come back to a turned down bed with chocolates on your pillow and the schedule of the next day's events to peruse.

*The gym (this was a plus for Himself - I never went near the place! Hey, I was on vacation, you know!)

*Going thru the Panama Canal was awesome! There was a commentator brought onboard who told all about the canal over the speaker system and in-ship TV channel.


The Bad:

*The bed. Well, the bed wasn't fabric covered concrete as some had implied, but it was pretty hard. Two egg-crate pads made it OK. For me, the more annoying thing was the rigid metal framing and the way it sagged to the middle. It was uncomfortable to sit on.

*No towel animals! OK, I know this is silly... but I was looking forward to that!

*The ship's officers were pretty stuck on themselves. 'Nuff said.

*Excursions. Whoever writes up the descriptions for each excursion package must have at one time written real estate ads. Only 2 of the 6 packages we went on met their description (although we did have good time on all of them - you know us!) Some of the bus drivers were pretty wild (one of ours, and ones we heard of from fellow cruisers). If we cruise again, we won't be doing any excursions thru the ship. At every port were companies offering trips (sometimes the very same ones as the ship at a lower price!) or a taxi you could hire. We did the taxi thing twice which I'll write about later.

*The spa. When you got there, you had to fill in a form that asked all sorts of questions about your aches and pains. They tell you the info is needed so they can take care during your massage. Baloney. During my "Relaxing Hand Massage with manicure" the girl didn't shut up trying to sell me things I "needed" - like a gel that would fix my ankle I twisted years before. I cancelled my back massage. Living commercials are a drag...

*The photographers were along the order of your standard no-name-set-up-in-a-mall-walkway variety. They didn't wait for you to get ready for the picture. Talk about some BAD photos. I didn't see a whole lot sold.

*"First run movies" were not so. All the movies had already been released to DVD or would soon be so. Example: The Great Debaters was released in theaters Dec 07, released in DVD May 08.


The Ugly:

*We were shocked by the 'entertainment' provided by Princess Lines. Every show (even the culinary demos!!!) where loaded with sexual references. And the "International Crew Show" where regular crew members could share their talents was made downright vulgar as between the real acts there were "skits" put one by the Cruise Director's staff. We had no idea that the Princess was one of Hugh Hefner's girls!

*There was an incident where we were unwarrently loudly verbally attacked by a member of the Princess crew who accused us lying about having permission from the Cruise Director for Himself to play a piano in the wedding chapel. I filed a complaint and said I wanted to see that person's superior. I was assured I would be most definitely contacted that day (Thanksgiving). Got the same assurance again on Saturday. Never happened, never got an apology. Now I write corporate.

*The boozing. I saw too many people who are going to have no memory of those 2 weeks except thru the DVD movie of them acting the fool. Oh my...

Halloween - NOT in this house!

I was asked yesterday how I was going to celebrate Halloween.

The answer is: I’m NOT. As a Christian, I loathe Halloween and everything it stands for.

And “Yes” I did do trick or treat as a child, and “yes” I decorated the house as a young adult.

But then I grew up… spiritually.

I don't care about the origins of the day waaaaay back when, tho that in itself is bad enough!

What are the symbols of Halloween TODAY? What are the “decorations” you see in the stores? Devils, witches, skeletons, monsters. Scenes of murder, death, torture, blood, … "Trails of Terror", "Murder Mansion" and other such attractions. These are terrible, evil images.

Oh yes, there are the cute little costumes for the little ones. Smiling witches. Dancing skeletons. Dapper devils. And it doesn't matter if the costume is a "not scary one". If you put gold leaf on dog feces it is still feces.

And Halloween is still a holiday celebrating Satan's influence on Earth...



3 John 1:11
Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

1 Corinthians 13:6
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

1 Thessalonians 5:22
Avoid every kind of evil.

James 1:21
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Can a Christian vote for either Presidential candidate?

As a Christian, I’ve had a lot of people coming at me with reasons I should or should not vote for a presidential candidate from a spiritual view point.

After looking into the core beliefs and actions of both candidates, it is my opinion that if you are voting on a spiritual basis… you cannot vote for either one.

Here is just one example of why I feel that way:

McCain states he is a Christian, a member of the Baptist church. However, McCain carries around a “lucky” penny, nickel, quarter, feather (given by a Native American shaman), compass and four leaf clover. He has a “pouch of sacred stones”.

He also brags that he is superstitious. He knocks on wood and won't put a hat on the bed (bad luck). He refuses to pass a saltshaker from hand to hand. He has lucky shoes, sweater, hat and even food.

Obama states he is a Christian, a member of the Church of Christ. Obama carries around a "lucky" poker chip, eagle pin, and a statue of a Hindu god. The only superstition I could find that Obama practices is playing basketball before a primary for good luck. ??

Charms are defined as: An item worn for its supposed magical benefit, as in warding off evil; an amulet. An action or formula thought to have magical power.

Both men have stated with their words that they have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

Both men have shown with their actions of carrying "lucky charms" and believing in superstitions that their faith in Jesus Christ is not strong enough to overcome believing they need to also have faith in a man-made object (called an idol in Biblical days) or ritual over the power of the Living God.

Isaiah 44:17
From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god."

1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.