My Great-Grandma's Quilt

This is a beautiful quilt that my grandmother had on her own bed for a number of years:
It was made in two sections. The sixteen middle squares looked very old, and were made of what I now know is "mourning prints" and black-and-white "shirtings:"

Then, in 1972 (as the back of the quilt is marked), my grandmother put a row of squares around the outside in what I am sure was an attempt at matching, but were of [horrid] polyester prints:

I am very afraid I judged her. And I had only just begun to learn to sew, and didn't know much about fabric myself! Of course, all-cotton prints were quite rare in 1972, the new "age of perma-press" and, my grandmother's *other* favorite fabric: Polyester Double-Knit. Now I know that it was the very best "match" she could find at the time.

Here is a close-up of the older portion. As you can see, the fabrics are fraying (grandma let us sit on her bed, etc. and the quilt shows the ravages of heavy usage):

I have to show you the back, as well. Grandma loved "novelty" fabrics, and she gave that love to me, as well. I have one of her quilts that is backed with a fabric with the words Sneak-ease all over. Later, I owned a pair of sneakers that were lined with that same fabric!

Here we have The Jungle Book (from the original movie release era). This fabric is repeated all over the back:

I received this quilt from my mother, who got it when Grandma broke up housekeeping. This is what she wrote:

"center section made by Great-Grandma Lee before 1955 [the year of her death, and my birth]. Outer border made by Grandma Plasterer 1972."

I had no idea that anything survived that was made by my great-grandmother (for whom I was named, as well!) I was thrilled beyond words to have this heirloom.

When I laid it across our bed to show Charming, he wanted to keep it there. He really liked the geometric black-and-whiteness of it. But the center section was fraying, and I knew we'd lose it entirely before too many years passed. So I told him that I would reproduce it sometime.

Fortunately, by then, quilt shops were carrying many reproduction prints, and I was able to get a number of them that are literally almost exact matches to the originals. As is typical of *me,* I usually have more ideas "cooking" than I have time to do. The fabrics I bought have dates from 1996 to 2000. But Now is the Time for me to begin this project.

I'm piecing this quilt by hand, as the original is. I have finished two squares:

I am Extremely Pleased with the results. This is going to be Fun. I will piece these squares as I am able, at home or while "waiting" for kids. It will probably take me several months to finish.

One more thing I wanted to share about this quilt. I looked up the pattern, and it is called Barbara Frietchie Star. Do you remember the poem? "Shoot if you must this old grey head/but leave your country's flag, she said." Read about her here.

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My great-grandmother's name was Barbara. My name is Barbara. So I am going to name my quilt "Barbara Star." And I have let my children know that if any of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren are named after me, she will get the quilt.

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But no pressure, kids.

Makin' Rosebuds

I promised you yesterday that I would show you this top:

It is the Rosebud Quilt from Quilts from the Quiltmaker's Gift. I bought fabrics similar to one of the versions in the book, oh, about five years ago. Somehow, when I took them out last week, I was not-so-enamoured of them as I was when I bought them. Maybe it's because I have made a number of quilts in the last five years, and maybe my taste/style/whatever is evolving.

Not to say that it isn't pretty, and like I said yesterday, I have "takers" for this, if I don't keep it. Here is a little bit closer up:

And I'm doing a little-bit-fancier thing for the border, which will maybe be a little-more-exciting, as well.

(you're not looking too closely at my points-matching technique, are you? Remember, my Quilting Motto is Finished is Better than Perfect....)

More later on this one!

Is There Any Old Business to Discuss?

Finished: my little doll quilt inspired by the fabulous department store in our town when I was growing up,W&D's:
and, from the Unfinished Projects File, this apron:

I had bought the fabric, thinking I'd make an apron celebrating Violet's college graduation. Yeah, that was

1997.

I had decided at that time that I wanted to make an apron for moi instead, so I stored the cut-out pieces and the bias-strips for the binding. For. Twelve. Years.

And, as most things like that work out, it just took me a wee bit o' time to finish it!

I have also finished the squares for a quilt for which I bought the fabric about five years ago. After "finding" it again, I decided that I wasn't as enamoured of the fabrics as I was then. But naturally Forget-me-not told me that she would "take it off my hands," if I can't find another recipient. (Forget-me-not is always willing to take a quilt off my hands, whether I want it or not!) I'll be putting the squares together this evening, and will take a photo of the top tomorrow, 'kay?

Hmmm. What next? Well, I don't know, but fer sure, there are a Number of Old Projects from which to choose!

4/21 Club Meets Today

Quick: Are you ready for the meeting of the 4/21 Club?

Alas, I am not a member. I can only look longingly from the sidelines.

The 4/21 Club is my family's sort-of-exclusive "club" for people born on April 21st. That would be, first of all, Charming's sister Katie, who is 52 today. Next comes my brother Mikey, coming in at 48. Next is my own dear son, Joe Hardy, coming in at the magic ***30***. Next, my brother Mikey's son, also Mikey, at 24. Finally, my great-nephew Connor, turning 5 today.

If you happen to be eligible to be a member, let me know. I'd love to add your name to the roster.

and, by the way, happy, Happy Birthday to my dear ones!

(now, off to Facebook all of them!)

Rest in Peace, Chuck.

I heard yesterday of the passing of a dear neighbor and friend, Chuck Crockett. (and yes, he was a direct descendant of the Davy-man.)

He was one of the pillars of the church--he was into his sixth decade of teaching Sunday School. For as long as I have known him, he taught fifth-graders, including four of mine. I have several friends in their forties who sat under his wonderful teaching.

He retired as a vice-president of a local bank, then went back to school to do what he really loved, landscaping. He had many contracts around town, and also cared for a gorgeous orchard with many heirloom fruit trees. He gave garden space to a number of families every year. We were invited often to pick apples and make cider.

His only son was born when he was sixty-four years old. Andrew is seventeen now, and, because of the blessing of homeschooling, he has worked side-by-side with his father since he could walk. Not a moment was wasted; his father had a *lifetime* to teach him how to be a godly man.

We thank the Lord that He let us know this man, one of the Greatest Generation. Not so many of those left in the church. It is a great loss for us, but Chuck ran his race so, so well, and now is Home.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Edited to add: I found out that Chuck was out at the barn in his orchard, working. When he sat down for a rest, he just Went Home. When our pastor asked his son Andrew if he had spoken to his father that morning, Andrew said yes, at family devotions. Isn't that the way we'd all like to go? What a blessing!

Today's To-Do List

Today is quite an ordinary day, for the most part. School, laundry, church tonight. But one thing on my to-do list is Extraordinary:

Pay off the car.

We bought this car for cash, but several years later, we mortgaged it for a portion of its value to pay for "part" of our daughter's wedding and "part" of our son's college expenses. (We almost made it through that wedding for cash. But you know how people say, "a lot of unexpected stuff comes up at the last minute?" Well, it does.)

Oh, yeah. One more thing to do today:

Redeem that car from the mechanic's, where it's been since Thursday. You know the joke about the car breaking down just as you have it paid off...

Have a blessed day!

Good Friday--Old School Style

I have been thinking about the Good Fridays of my childhood. I think it is because thunderstorms are predicted for today: my father told me that it always rains on Good Friday, in honor of what happened on that day. Sure enough, there have been just a handful of sunny-all-day Good Fridays in my memory.

Back-in-the-day, almost everything was closed from 12noon to 3 pm. All the stores closed. All the factories shut down for three hours. Almost everybody was in church. After church, we could play quietly or read, but we had to stay at home, and the tv and radio had to be off.

Contrast that with today. Johnny Tremain (our resident public-school teacher) says that this is the last school-year that public schools will even be closed on Good Friday. Stores are having last-minute Easter sales. Well, you know how it is today, I don't have to explain it to you.

We have been watching the seven-hour made-for-tv miniseries Jesus of Nazareth this week for school. At the time it came out (1977), there was a brouhaha about the possibility of the network sponsors pulling their advertising, because of the religious content of the miniseries. However, it was a smash hit, showing in two parts on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday nights.

Watching it over four days this week, I have been steeped in the Life of Christ. Seeing an actor saying the familiar words of the gospels has put them in my mind in a more vivid way. Some of the familiar sayings of our Lord got a new "punch" seeing them in the context of the scenery and people in the film.

We'll be going to our church service, and I'll pick up a few forgotten things for the weekend at the store (but Not between 12 and 3!). My kids will complain about having to be home for three hours With The Tv Off. But we will think about the Lamb without blemish, provided by our heavenly Father so that He could reconcile us to Himself. It is too, too awe-some to think about.

Hope you are thinking about it today, too!

New "Little" Project

I started a new, little project:

It's going to be a doll quilt. I love doll quilts--you can use a technique or pattern you might not be wantin' to execute in a full-sized quilt.

This little one was inspired by something from my past. (for my sister Janny: does this remind you of something?):

Do you see the little vintage jewelry box? It is from an old department store here in my town, Wolf and Dessauer (called locally, "W&D's.")

Now, maybe you are old enough to remember a store like W&D's. It was several stories high, in the middle of downtown. In those days, you wouldn't think of wearing pants to go shopping downtown. Ladies in their "street" suits or dresses, with gloves and hats. You may be sure that they had checked their stocking seams to make sure they were straight.

No need to push your own buttons in the elevator--there was an operator, who called out the "departments" as you went up: Second floor--ladies shoes, children's wear. Fourth floor--housewares.

If you went up the magic escalator, you would reach the Tea Room, with snow-white tablecloths and napkins. From somewhere below, pleasant music would provide a peaceful background to your lunch. Then, back to shopping!

Maybe you were getting saddle shoes and plaid school dresses. If you were lucky, your Mom would be stopping at the Hat department. So many elegant offerings, but you weren't old enough yet to try them on. Everywhere, even at the hosiery counter, salespeople would exhibit their wares to you--no "self-serve" here!

Perhaps you had such an elegant store in the town where you grew up. But W&D's was different in a number of ways. Each November, the "street-level" windows were curtained, and an air of expectancy began. On the night before Thanksgiving, the curtains were removed, and a Christmas Wonderland was revealed. Window after window with magical scenes. Mechanical figures of animals and people, each window its own Christmas vignette. People would line up on the sidewalk five deep, waiting to see the windows. Inside, lines were long, waiting to see Santa in his own WonDerland. There was even an area where children could shop--no parents allowed.

W&D's closed in 1971, a victim of the new Shopping Malls. Dress codes for shopping had relaxed. Food courts replaced the Tea Room. And, of course, hats were relegated to weddings and such.

Somehow, I don't think that we "progressed" all that much. A kindler, gentler time that we most likely will never see again. But I will have a little quilt to remember them by.

Edited to say: I don't know why my paragraphs all disappeared whenI posted. I went back to edit them, and it happened again. Sorry.

How to Do an Expensive Birthday in this Economy.

Blackeyed Susan will be sixteen in just a few days. We use this occasion to celebrate each of our children's decision to remain pure until marriage.

We make it a Big Deal: we buy a ring as a reminder of their promise to themselves and their future spouse. We take them to dinner for a Really Fabulous Meal at the restaurant of their choice. We use the time to talk about their decision, and our ongoing support as mentors and cheerleaders.

As you may have noticed, however, the economy is Different than the last time we had a sixteen-year-old (that would be, 1999). So, after talking it over with Susan, we are having the dinner at home ("all I want, Mom, is steak and mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms...). So here is how this Momentous Birthday is panning out, fiscally:

Pretty, pretty ring at Kohl's "60% off fine jewelry" sale:

Really good-looking top sirloin steaks at Kroger's for $3.49 a pound: $13.48
Broccoli (frozen, her preference) on sale: 1.oo
Grands biscuits: 1.33
Mushrooms (not on sale--errgghh): 2.79
Baked potatoes (I already have those, no cost): 0.00
Black raspberry/chocolate ice cream: 2.50

Total: $21.10

Compared to the $$$$$$$$$$$ we spent on the first six children....

Oh, well. (I will tell you that we did the Home Fabulous Dinners for our first six for their Prom Dinners--the boys loved us for it!)

When we decided to do this, about three weeks ago, I figured to spend about twice this much. I am thrilled! But most of all, I am thrilled at the fact that my little girl has reached this point in her life. That she has made two Great Decisions: one, to follow the Lord, and two, to keep herself pure for her husband. (If you'd like to read a little bit more about this, go here.)

I Found My Friend Again.

Let me tell you about my friend Winnie.

Winnie is my sister-in-law, Charming's sister. I have known her, of course, very nearly as long as I have known Charming. Winnie was 13 when I met her. We both had families of little stairsteps, and hers lined up between mine. We raised our children together for a number of years, until I moved a hundred miles away. For fun, we used to get together once a week for dessert and about four games of Scrabble. We were as close as any best-friends could be.

Winnie went through some hard, hard times. Her husband began to show signs of mental illness. Some of her sons got into trouble. Then her husband died, almost five years ago, and her family fell apart. Winnie trying to cope, her children so, so angry. Relationships deteriorated.

Every time I saw Winnie, it seemed she was further and further away. We couldn't seem to talk anymore. We even tried Scrabble, because when you're playing Scrabble, it's easier to be a little more vulnerable. We tried to find our way back, but nothing was working. I'm sure she felt the same about me. We prayed, of course, but at family gatherings we were polite and civil, and that's all we could do. I began to mourn the loss of this wonderful friendship, not seeing how it could ever be repaired. But our Lord is in the business of Redeeming Things.

Winnie's children are much more healthy, emotionally and mentally, and the last year has seen great strides in Getting Their Lives Together. Much of the credit is due to the fact that some of them have rededicated their lives to the Lord. Each report I received was more and more hopeful.

Fast forward to yesterday and today. I spent a good deal of time with Winnie, and we talked. and Talked. and TALKED. And the beautiful thing was, it was the Real Winnie I was talking to, and the Real Barbie she was talking to. God was there, and He was smiling. I have found my Friend again. Thank You, Father.

We were too busy to play Scrabble, though.

(But that's okay: we have two games going on Facebook!)

An Encouraging Word

Oh, my.

If you want an encouraging word regarding your homeschooling today, go see Leila at Like Mother, Like Daughter. She has condensed into two words what is necessary to be successful at this Homeschooling Adventure.

And those two little words have nothing to do with Curriculum. Or How Much Education You Have as the Teacher. Or Learning Styles.

The two little words are Order and Wonder. Now, go read it--I'll wait for you.

I kinda fall down on the Wonder part. As a person who still embraces her Wonder, as far as learning cool stuff is concerned, I usually want to share all that cool stuff with my kids. When they would probably like to find their own cool stuff to learn. I could do much, much better at stepping back and letting them take the lead.

And I REALLY fall short on the Order scale. Leila says, "Are you peaceful with your own duties?" Wow. She really knows how to phrase a question. As a "messie," (a person who is extremely challenged by the everyday chores others see as "no big deal") the physical part of homekeeping is, by far, my biggest struggle. Always has been. Maybe always will be.

Of COURSE I know that living in chaos is, well, chaotic. And that living in order gives an atmosphere of now-we-have-room-to-do-all-that-cool-stuff. I love Flylady, but don't always "do" Flylady. Still strugglin' there.

I am going to be chewing on this Order and Wonder thing for awhile. 'Course, since my youngest two are 15 and 14, it's none too soon. But, since four of my grandbabies live four blocks away, and the other two are within a five-minute drive, there's loads of Wonder yet ahead.

And loads of Order, too--I'm hopin'!

I'm Out of the Office Today...

You can find me over at Fresh Starts today!

You need to bookmark this site. Every Monday, Jen has a devotional for Moms that will enrich your week. It is always good, good stuff.

Working. Thinking. Waiting. Praying.

Working. and Thinking.

This is my "Cinnamon and Toast" quilt, made of post-Civil War reproduction fabrics. I've been working on this one for two or three years. I hand-stitched the squares, and machine-stitched the rows of squares together. Hand-stitching works well when you are Waiting.
Waiting at the dentist's or at ballet. While fellowshipping before Ladies' Bible Study on Wednesdays. I'm making a hand-stitched quilt as a legacy for each of my daughters and daughters-in-law. This one will be Lily's, but not yet. Alvin Fernald is looking forward to its being a "couch quilt."

I'm more than halfway done with the quilting, trying to do a square or two everyday. But if I don't get to it, it's okay. I've already spent two or three years waiting!

Others of us are waiting, as well. There is talk of getting rid of one of the managers where Charming works. How easy it is to "forget" that the Lord is our provider, *not* the employer. How easy it is to get used to that regular paycheck.

So many in the same boat. Unemployed or underemployed. We live in an area with higher unemployment than other places, due to the fact that factories here supply auto parts to manufacturers. One county in the area has 17% unemployment. Most of the people there work in RV plants.

A little glimpse of how the finished quilt will look:

Thinking. And trusting in the Only One worthy of my trust. And Hoping. Is it okay to hope we don't have to go through unemployment?

Like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, I want to say to God, "would it spoil some Vast, Eternal Plan," if You don't let this economic situation touch us?

Oh, well. I've lived long enough to know that this wouldn't even be CLOSE to the end of life on this planet. I have nothing to complain about. When we were very young-married, Charming was out of work for six months, but we never went without a meal. We had pb&j for three meals a day for a week (and the last two days, we just had the "j"), but we have Never Been Hungry.

Psalm 37:25 "I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or his seed begging for bread."

I found out yesterday that a homeschooling friend's home burned to the ground. So I'm done complaining. And hopefully, done worrying. God is good. All the time. If I pray "Thy will be done," I have to know that His will is "to conform me to the image of His Son." And whatever that takes is not too high a price.

Do You Really Think It's Fair...

...that Blackeyed Susan's very first layer cake (and a three-layer, at that!) came out wonderfully perfectly? Every layer raised to the same height, and perfectly flat into the bargain:
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I wanted to share a photo of Don Quixote's birthday quilt:

Don's favorite color is Black, so the color choice was easy. I had made a black-and-white quilt for a gift last year, and so I added just a very few extra fabrics, and I was "good to go."

The pattern is called Chinese Coins. You may not know that Don Very Nearly Completed a novel during his college years. In this science fiction/political thriller, a Chicago native becomes Premier of China, under the name of Omicron. So I named the quilt Omicron's Coin of the Realm.

Now, for a few details! Don asked for a "little color" in his quilt. I decided to place these few pieces in a Fibonacci sequence, one of our family inside jokes. So, there are colored patches in places 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21, etc. in the rows of "coins."

I chose a Chinese red for one of the colored fabrics. I also have a fabric with chambered nautiluses (nautili?), one of the places in nature where the Fibonacci sequence occurs. I also used a fabric with multicolored puzzle pieces, the symbol of autism. (You may know that Don has Asperger's Syndrome.)

In just one of the squares, I used this cute "Nerds Rock" fabric. The little boy on the fabric looks remarkably like Don, when he was ten years old:

I found this great "numbers" fabric, which I used in four of the squares. If you have read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe, you will recognize "42" as the answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything":

I quilted the quilt in black thread (naturally!) with "X's" in the black-and-white areas, and circles in the yellow bars. The Greek letter Omicron is a circle; the circles could represent "coins"; and, they *could* be kisses-and-hugs, with the x's and o's. It's all about the love for my darlin' Don Quixote, who turns 32 on the 26th.

(by the way, I knew that Don liked the color orange, and I considered it for the alternating bars. However, it looked Jack-o-lantern--ish, so I chose yellow. Which ended up looking bumble-bee--ish :) . I didn't know that Don dislikes yellow. He 'llowed as how he'll attempt to live with it! Don has already had offers to take the quilt off his hands by my two Yellow-Lovers, Charming and Alvin Fernald....

My family is just so darn Helpful, aren't they?

Literature Buffet

This has been a pretty strange week, here in our homeschool.

I had planned to begin Shakespeare's Henry V with the children this week. (thank you, Violet, masters-in-English wizard, for suggesting something "a little different!"), but was waiting for the audio version to come in to my local library branch. I had already secured three copies of the book, *and* the BBC dvd for a treat when we finish. But, as of Monday, the cds had not arrived.

I printed off some historical data from wikipedia. So, Monday was spent talking about the Hundred Years' War, and a "snapshot" of the Battle of Agincourt.

Tuesday came. I didn't really have a plan B, so I picked up an old, old book of literature readings and turned at random to a short bio of Tennyson, followed by The Lady of Shallot. Alvin Fernald thought it was funny to hear the entire poem, of which he heard a very short portion in the Anne of Green Gables movie.

I checked my computer Tuesday afternoon, and my stuff was finally in at the library, so I picked it up. Besides the Henry V cds, I had ordered Animal Farm. I realized just last week that, although my first six children and I watched the fall of the Berlin Wall together (didn't you just love Reagan's speech: "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!"), Blackeyed Susan and Alvin weren't even born yet. Besides, I'm thinkin' that Animal Farm would be a good place to start a conversation about the way our own government might be heading....

Wednesday. We had gotten to bed frightfully late Tuesday night, so I found two teens sitting in opposite corners of our sectional couch, under blankets with their eyes closed, as I came in to begin our day. I didn't want to fight them for Shakespeare, so I began to read Animal Farm aloud. I had forgotten how engaging the writing style was. By the end of Chapter 2, I had the kids asking for more...

So we are dining at the Literature Buffet this week. Not my usual way of doing things, but, as Charming tells this Extremely Linear Thinker and In-the-Box girl, "sometimes you need to shake it up a bit."

And Susan and Alvin reminded me of the wrestling game they used to play with their older brother Don Quixote when he came home from college. It was called "Berlin Wall," and would begin with Don on hands and knees shouting, "it's Nineteen Eighty-Nine!" and the little ones would come a'runnin to "knock it down." Sigh. Where did those little 2- and 4-year olds go?

Oh, yes. They're studying Shakespeare and Tennyson and Orwell. It's a beautiful thing.

Pajama-rama Update

I found some more flannel remnants from past Christmas pajama projects. After I cut them up, my new total is:

4998 squares.

I need to quick find another remnant of flannel, enough to make 2 squares!

Edge-of-Your-Seat Excitement!

These books were on our family bookshelf at home, long before I was born:
They were from my father's childhood. My father was born in 1922, and in the times in which he grew up, there was only One Thing: airplanes. Notice his drawing of "Lindbergh's Plane." The newspaper article, tho' not of interest to you, contains several names that have become part of the history of our town:

On the second page in, we find a...bread sticker? Also, in the corner, we find a Christmas seal with the inscription "Season's Greetings 1934." Don't your kids put stickers all over everything they own? (I m'self covered all the white space on my life-size David Cassidy poster with banana stickers. Charming covered the drawers of his boyhood dresser with same.):

Naturally, more newspaper photos of airplane-related news covers the back pages:

Inside the front cover of Uncle Tom Andy Bill, an inscription, "To Robert on his tenth birthday, from Uncle Bob." This would be 1932. The books are from the first decade of the 1900's, so the books may have been Uncle Bob's first. Both books have evidence of hard usage. I love that.

I always knew those two books were on the bookshelf at home, but never thought to pick them up and read them. My mother gave me the books about twenty years ago, so they sat on *my* bookshelf!

I picked them up recently. They are both set in Indiana in the 1820's, when it was a "baby state." I read Uncle Tom Andy Bill first. It may be the most exciting book I have ever read! I was on the edge of my seat every chapter. First the boys are chased by bears, then almost lost in a cave, robbed and nearly murdered by highwaymen, found Indian treasure. I kept asking myself, "are they going to make it?" followed by a little embarrassment, because the stories are narrated by one of the boys as an old man, so we can assume they survived every adventure. For us girls, there is also a little romance included.

The Bears of Blue River is a collection of bear stories. These are all "legendary" bears: one that glows with fire, one that "cannot be killed," etc. Also extremely exciting. The author points out that it was very necessary to hunt these animals, as their numbers were very high. He is very respectful of nature in general, and the boy characters are good role models. I recommend both of these books highly, for boys or girls of middle elementary age. (or girls who are over 50, as I am!)

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I just wanted to give you a peek of my project which is "almost finished." It is a gift, so I can't do a proper unveiling for a couple of weeks yet. I have been a busy little worker bee here in the late of winter....

p.s. You can probably get the Charles Major books in your library. I do have an extra copy of Uncle Tom Andy Bill, so if you would like to have one for your own, let me know!

Bitty-bits

You know how you sometimes do things wrong, but keep doing them, expecting somehow for things to change? (Charming calls this his Definition of Stupidity.) I had been reading the daily entry from my One-Year Bible after lunch. Now, not that that is wrong or anything, but the beginning of my day had Not Been Going Well for awhile. For instance, our budget is extremely tight right now, and I found myself worrying about things. A lot. Then trying to spout Bible verses about God's provision. And still worrying.

This week, I decided to put Bible reading right at the beginning of the day. (as I used to do for years'n'years'years...) The result was immediate. The very first day, I found myself singing worship song in the shower. (now, you may think I said "worship songS," but no, I didn't. I am famous for my 90-second showers.) And all week, I have *noticed* a lack of worry about money/whether the cars will break down/whether....

Simply put, I have put the Lord back where He belongs. I don't mean at the beginning of the day, necessarily (I do know people who do devotions at other times), but putting Him back in the place of Being Fully Capable of Taking Care of Me.

And, as so often happens, God lets me know that He noticed. I opened the electric bill, and the balance was $0.00 for this month. A forgotten deposit was applied to the balance. Then there is the water bill. We had an old-style 6-gallon toilet which a) would "run" from time to time, using water for who-knows-how-long; I had a fear of it running while we were away for the weekend or something, and b) it would fill twice when flushed: swirly water going down, then filling up to the top of the bowl and going down Again, and then filling for the final time. We always knew we should replace the innards, but who actually messes with the toilet till it breaks?

One night it was running, and when Blackeyed Susan checked it, she broke the floaty-ball thing. When Charming went to the hardware store, he brought home a newfangled (to me) set-up with NO FLOATY-BALL. He put it in, and we set the little screw to have a little lower level in the bowl. Well, we just got the water bill, and last month's bill was $85.50. This month? (drumroll, please) $45.25. I still don't believe it: I'm waiting till next month to see if the water company made a mistake.

So, with this little windfall of non-money owed, I called the specialty-shoe store to see if they had a pair of Charming's shoes in stock. He wears an incredible EEEEEE width, and so he can't buy off-the-rack. I've tried buying at Zappo's, but usually they are out-of-stock-we'll-email-you-when-we-have-them-six-months-goes-by-then-we-don't-have-the-money. The New Balances you buy for 50-60 dollars are $120.00 plus tax in Charming's size at our local Weird-Size Footwear. (not to disparage them--they do a great service for people with bad feet.) I could get the shoes the next day (today), but just on the off-chance, I checked Zappos. Only 2 pair left!! it said when I typed in the size. How fast did I type Put it in My Cart at $85.95? And of course you know that Zappos has no shipping charges?

So now I have enough money to buy a pair for *me!* Fortunately, I can buy your $69.95-on-sale-for-$39.95 at Kohl's.

I called this post Bitty-bits, because I wanted to post a couple of photos of what I'm working on and some other vintage-y things, but my camera won't work (and, yes, I flipped the batteries to see if they were in wrong). So you're stuck for now...

God is good. All the time. And I always knew it, but the Gloom-and-Doom guys are really loud, and God is really soft-spoken. So, if I listen to Him at the beginning of the day, I can't hear the other guys so well. It just makes sense, doesn't it?

Happy 200th, Abe!

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. One hundred years ago (1909), they changed the penny from the Indian Head version to that with Lincoln's image. I understand they are changing the penny this year, as well.

My own contribution to the celebration will be Lincoln's Favorite Cake:

1 c. butter............................ 2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. sugar...............................1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. milk.................................1 c. blanched almonds, chopped
3 c. cake or pastry flour......1/4 tsp. salt
................................................6 egg whites

Cream butter and sugar lightly.
Sift flour and baking powder together; and add alternately with milk to the first creamed mixture.
Add well-floured nuts, then vanilla.
Fold in stiffly beaten whites of eggs, to which salt has been added.
Bake in 4 layers (8 or 9" pans) in moderate 350 degree oven.
(Ice with boiled icing, to which 1/2 cup chopped, candied pineapple and cherries have been added.)

I just realized that no times were given for the oven. Oh, well, I think I can figure it out!

Thoughts: But Maybe It's None of My Business Anyway

Have you read this article?

(knowing that this article will eventually "disappear" off the link because it is a newspaper article, I will give you the nutshell version):

A high-schooler with poor grades was made to wear a sandwich-board with his grades posted and had to stand on a busy intersection in his town for several hours. His parents, a pastor and his wife, were tired of their son making no effort, and not turning in homework even when they had supervised its completion. The article also mentioned that the parents each had "several academic degrees."

The "comments" listed below the article (for of course, we all can put in our two-cents' worth on everything on the internet, right?) ranged from "good for you, parents! if only everyone would do that" to "the ultimate in child abuse: humiliation--this is where C*lumbine killers come from." Let me put in my own $0.02, though I'm not sure it's even valid, you know?

We lived with similar frustration for sixteen years with our son Don Quixote. In first and second grades, he got straight A's, even if he didn't do his "seatwork," because, as his teachers said, "he get's 100% on every test, and that shows he knows the work." In third grade, the teachers began to clamp down: "Even if he knows it in his head, he still needs to learn to Do. The. Work. like everybody else." (homeschooling was in its infancy at that time, and I didn't know about it. Oh, the difference it would have made!) He always seemed to *not* be paying attention, but could give anything back to the teacher verbatim if asked.

Fast forward to high school. Though he could have been valedictorian easily, Don ended up somewhere near the bottom of the top 10%. He didn't care too much, even though I was frustrated at achievements missed. (one time, when he was about ten years old, my father congratulated him on a good report card, and Don said to him, "well, Grandpa, I could have done a lot better if I'd only APPLIED MYSELF." Guess he was listening at that parent-teacher conference!)

College was the most frustrating of all. We had talks with the academic dean and the head of the History Department (his major). Don failed several classes, by, you guessed it, not turning in any work. I don't know if all colleges work this way, but F's didn't add a "zero" to your average, they just didn't count them at all (in other words, they didn't work against you, you just "wasted" a credit). Don, brilliant in the extreme, had figured out just how many classes he could "blow" and still have credits enough to get his B.A. We were so angry that last semester, that we "strongly suggested" that he not walk in the Graduation ceremonies, as he had been a (disgrace? not the word I'm looking for. If I think of it, I'll edit this post) to his co-history majors, who had done all of the work.

I understand the frustration of the parents of that high-schooler. I scolded and cajoled and watched over many papers and assignments for Don, that maybe didn't get turned in anyway. At college, I had no way of knowing at all, a hundred miles away.

Later, as you may know, Don was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. This explained so many, many things. It wouldn't have made one bit of difference if we had made Don wear a sandwich board and stand on the corner by the mall. The biggest frustration with "aspies" is that, because they are wired differently, us "NT's" (neurologically typical people) can Never Understand How They Think. So, although the boy in the article maybe is "normal," and just doesn't try hard enough, maybe it's Something Else.

One more thought (because this is 'way longer than I thought it would be). WWJD? I don't see anywhere in Scripture where Jesus humiliated anyone (well, except for maybe the Pharisees) who was struggling. And I have to look at how He deals with me: Even when I should be called out for public ridicule for the things I do, He never, ever treats me with anything but love, dripping down like I was doused with honey. Why do we always forget that the way God treats us is the way we Should be treating our children?

So I said a prayer for the boy in the story. And two for the parents. Lord, show them the situation for what it is, and let Your love rule. If it was the right thing to do to help the boy "shape up," so be it. But if it was out of frustration, let this be an opportunity for learning on both sides. In any case, Lord, glorify Yourself.

A Normal Day

Today I'm celebrating a Normal Day with the Queen:

my Normal Day cake

Now, typical of a day where I just wanted to "make a cake," Something. Went. Wrong.

Don't know if you can see this sinkhole of a cake. It even "burped" all over the oven. I'm thinking maybe I used the wrong measuring spoon for the baking soda and baking powder?

I'm praising the Lord today for my end-of-a-cold, my out-o'-sight heating bill, and my kids' winter laziness. Because it is NORMAL.

Go on over and rejoice with the Queen, and thank the Lord your days are normal.

A Dreadful Anniversary

This is the thirty-sixth anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. I was a senior in a Catholic high school when this decision came down. We had been so sure that God would never allow such a heinous decision. I think it was my first taste of "legislating from the bench," the now-common practice of *creating* laws through judicial decisions.

I also think it's strange that Justice Blackmun (who wrote the decision) used the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause, in forming his opinion. This is the same amendment that Congress used to legislatively overturn the Dred Scott decision [saying that blacks, American Indians, and other "foreigners" were not citizens (read: "humans") and therefore not eligible for rights under the law.]

As the years went by, we wrote letters, marched, prayed. I was a counselor in a crisis pregnancy center for a few years. (There were no such places when I got pregnant at nineteen. I went to the Planned Parenthood place for a free pregnancy test. The woman asked my first name, and then asked, "are you planning to terminate this pregnancy?" I was shocked. I answered, "I don't even know yet if I'm pregnant!" She asked again, "if you are pregnant, are you planning to terminate?" GOD BLESS THE CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS. ) And, most of us were very sure we would not still be fighting this fight in 2009.

Now we have a president who, by all appearances, is not friendly to pre-born life. He has already pledged to fight for legislation to strengthen abortion "rights." He will, in all likelihood, be appointing one or more Supreme Court justices, as well as other federal judges. Things don't look very positive, looking from an earthly perspective.

So, we still pray. And, we fight for each baby, one mother at a time. We tear down the brick wall she thinks gives her no choice. We line those bricks up in a line--anybody can step over one brick at a time. We pray for God to send a revival--if God changes hearts, the need for even discussing this issue will be greatly diminished.

Lord, have mercy on us for this abomination. Forgive me for considering, even for a few hours, this awful thing. Thank you that you let my boyfriend (Charming) and me see it for what it was, and bring that baby to term (that's Violet!) Let the women who have made this agonizing decision find forgiveness and healing. Lord, heal our nation.

Fresh Start for Monday

Go check out my post today at Monday Mommies.

And check Monday Mommies (linked on my sidebar) every Monday for a new devotional to help you through your week!

Pajama-Rama Update

Wow. It's only been six days since I blogged about my new project. I have dug out a total of five large rubbermaid tubs, and reduced all of the scraps of flannel pj pants I have made over the last dozen years (or more!) to 4 1/2-inch squares.

Fortunately, the last two tubs contained mostly uncut flannel pieces, that I can use in the future for grandkid pjs. And--there are still flannel scraps out there *somewhere* that I am sure I will have to deal with later.

Drum roll please.

My new total of 4 1/2-inch squares is: 4586. Since it takes 396 squares to make a 72x88-inch quilt, I have enough for more than eleven quilts.

More than enough, I think, is Quite Enough.

The great news is that I get to put them away for awhile. But, when I'm ready later this year, the pieces are already cut! Lily has agreed to help me put them in some kind of pretty order for the quilts. The favorite quilt I've ever made for any of my children is Johnny Tremain's flannel quilt, now almost threadbare. So, I think this will be a popular project!

Pajama-Rama

I've been making my family flannel pj pants for Christmas for years.

YEARS.

Over the last dozen or so years, I have been collecting the leftovers in three large rubbermaid bins:
That one was much fuller to begin with. I saved all of these, planning to make some quilts. Since my "stash" wasn't getting any smaller, I decided after Christmas just to cut all of the scraps into 4.5 inch squares. Here is a photo of what I've done this past week:

How many do you think? 1701. That is, one Thousand, seven Hundred, one. And I still have to finish the bin you saw above, and another bin stuffed to the rafters. I was beginning to think there would be no end, except I fer sure don't want this hanging around another year, waiting to be done, right? So I'll keep on, keepin' on. I think I'll put a little blurb on the sidebar with my progress.

By the way, a 72x88-inch quilt will take 396 squares. That means I already have more than enough for four quilts already.

I think I should have done this a few years ago, dude.

Update: I found two MORE rubbermaid tubs filled with flannel scraps. I have no idea how long it will take me now, to work my way through them!

I'll Be in the *Zone* Today...

...the Twilight Zone.

Today begins the annual New Year's Twilight Zone marathon on the Sci-fi channel, and buddy, We'll Be There.

When I was growing up, my mother deemed TZ as "too scary" for us young'uns. But my sister was older, and it was one of her favorite shows. And sometimes she let me watch it on the Upstairs T.V.

Now, this was a very special tv. My father was one of the original techno-geeks, and loved to get new gear early in the game. He purchased this tv on the very first day they were for sale in our town--my sister's fifth birthday, November 21, 1953. The story goes that all he could get on it was one station, with the Today Show, the Evening News, and a few prime-time things. Through the years I wondered if he had really bought it on the very first day, until a few years ago, when an announcement came on: "WKJG-TV 33, celebrating fifty years of broadcasting--November 21, 1953-November 21, 2003." So, there you have it.

Daddy bought a color television when there were very few programs telecast in color. I still remember the blurbs: "A CBS production, presented in Living COLOR." And, of course, you all know the NBC Peacock--his feathers used to pop out one by one, color by color. Our new tv was a beautiful maple console. Mother would put something on a doily on top. Daddy climbed on the roof to put the best antenna he could find.

Well, the old black-and-white found its way upstairs to the room I shared with my sister. And, come Twilight Zone/The Outer Limits/Saturday Night Creature Feature time, she'd let me watch with her. Even though she wasn't supposed to. Older sisters *are* good for some things!

I still remember the night we Got Caught. We were watching a movie called "The Killer Shrews" (this movie was actually on just last week on TCM, but I declined to watch it--it has barely a one-star rating...) and we heard Mother coming up the stairs. Jan told me to play like I was asleep. I thought it was going pretty well until Mom discovered I was still wearing my glasses.

Oops. Janet got the Cord Taken Away. This is the equivalent of taking your teenager's cellphone away. Mother put the TV cord up on the refrigerator for a week.

And Janet wouldn't let me watch the Twilight Zone with her anymore.

I've carried the scars ever since. So, today, the TV will be running the TZ marathon, at least until Alvin Fernald sneaks some football game or another in.

By the way, I still have a part of that television. The plate glass front of the screen sits on my dresser, keeping photos safe. But, alas, the cord is gone forever. But that's okay. I have a cellphone, and nobody can ground me from it!

I *Think* We Might Be Back to Normal...

...but I'm by no means sure.

The ice storm was a tad more serious than first described. First reports were that 2000 homes were without power--eventually 120,000 customers were in the dark. That, folks, is more than half of the people in our city. Many of those were "out" into the fifth and sixth day. This combined with windchills one day of thirty below zero. Shelters were opened north and south in the city. Many retailers were closed on the weekend before Christmas. Our church, which survived the first onslaught, succumbed on Sunday morning. It is on the same grid as a cluster of hotels, filled with refugees from their own homes--a double whammy. Some people, returning to their homes days later, found the effects of frozen water pipes. Happy Christmas Eve!

Yet, we all know how blessed we are. Though we did not lose power (and none of our in-town children did, either), we had resources throughout the city, had we done so. Neighbors and friends opening their homes. A really good chance to Slow Things Down.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve service at church, and a quiet morning at home. Johnny Tremain and Lily came over Christmas mid-morning, and Don Quixote, as is his custom, made cheesy omelets for all. Violet went home at noon, which was a good thing, as another freezing rain/ice episode followed. This slowed things down slightly, for the after-Christmas sales, but we were treated yesterday (Saturday) to sixty-three degrees! So now, all the ice is gone, and only the memory of our glassy-iced world to remember it by.

Today (Sunday) we had the Christmas choir/children's choir/dance thing scheduled for last Sunday. It was really quite nice, focusing on Christmas "after the fact," with nothing else to fight for our attention.

Tomorrow? Gathering up a couple of medical receipts to finish out our insurance account-thingy (where they take money out pre-tax for medical expenses) before the 31st. Planning menus (and throwing the vestiges of multiple parties that are "growing" in the frig away). Laundry. Maybe the library.

Oh, how I love Normal. When I can find it!

Ice Storm

My God is Awesome.

We are at the end of an ice storm, here where I live. The gorgeousness of iced trees and fences belies their danger: I see large branches over two of my near-neighbors' sidewalks, broken by their very heaviness. The news (which I can hear thanks to electricity) says that 2000 homes in our city are without power. I am safe and snug here in my home, coffee in hand, at least for the moment.

The temperature is rising, so it is only raining now. I went outside to see if I should salt the sidewalks, but it's raining too hard. I was meditating on the awesome-ness of the weather, when I saw a streak of lightning, followed, of course, by the rumble of thunder. A thunderstorm in the midst of an ice storm. In December!

The weatherman predicts, as is often the case on a day like today, Wind later on. The blessed wind that will dry much of the watery sidewalks, before below-freezing temperatures again tonight. All the schools are closed today, a day early for the Christmas break.

Just meditating on the awesome-ness of a God who loves us more than we could ever know. So He sent a little weather to encourage us to slow down, "look up," and say Hello.

Spoiler Alert: Forget-me-not and Lily, Turn Away NOW.

My grandmother used to make a thing called a puzzle ball. I found a pattern for it here. I never understood the "puzzle" part of the puzzle ball, until I started to put one together. Here you have twelve strawberry-shaped pieces, all alike:
Next, you have to put them together so they end up in a spherical shape. I have never put pieces together with safety pins before:

But, by golly, that means you have solved the *puzzle* part. When you sew the points together, you get this cute thing:

And won't they be just the thing for Christmas for eight- and nine-month old grandbabies?

MacGuyver Acting All MacGuyver-y

My son MacGuyver and his girlfriend Tiny Dancer came in from out-of-town yesterday, to do a little decorating. Now, I call him MacGuyver here on this blog, because he can fix anything with a paper clip and a rubber band.

Besides all of the fun Christmas stuff going on, he did something for me that I so, so appreciate: he fixed up the tv in the basement so that Alvin Fernald could put ALL of his video game stuff down there.

This was no small operation: not only is the basement tv analog (rendering it useless as of February 9, 2009, I'm sure all of you know), but it is also *not* what we used to call "cable ready," and, in fact, doesn't even use a remote. MacGuyver and Alvin went to Radio Shack to get this and that, and fixed it up, but Alvin has to *click* the dial to station number 3 to begin play.

Ah, the bliss of not tripping over control cords and the "guitar" from Guitar Hero. Not having to listen to the droning music on the "setup" modes.

Later we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner--yum. [and then shopped in the store and spent too much money...], then to Wal-mart for Christmas lights--somehow they disappeared since last year. I couldn't find even one strand in all of our Christmas boxes.

Later last night, we cut out fleece stockings for Mac and Tiny Dancer, and I whipped them up on the machine. I showed T.D. how trim them with a buttonhole stitch, which she will finish at home. It was a rich, full day.

Today: Put lights on the tree so we can decorate it! Hop on over to a brand-new Wal-mart where, rumor has it, they will have gasoline for 99 cents all day (I'll let you know on that one...though Joe Hardy bought gas there on Tuesday for $1.23...). Begin gathering patterns for handmade toys and dolly clothes for the grands. Mail a package for my sister.

Guess it's back to normal 'round here!

Update: Gasoline at the new Wal-mart was $1.39. However, gas went up all over town to $1.79 (from an average of $1.45 or so) OVERNIGHT. So I guess driving across town to save FORTY CENTS A GALLON was worth the trip!

Emergency Cleanup: Aisle 5

I have been putting off cleaning the "peanut butter" cupboard since summer. (do y'all call it the peanut butter cupboard? Everybody I know does...) On the top shelf is the baking stuff such as food coloring, sprinkles, birthday candles, and coconut. (okay, so I found three ancient half-bags of coconut up there--even when I clean this cupboard, sometimes it's only the first and second shelf....) On the middle shelf we find tea, dried beans, and jello and puddings. Bottom shelf: peanut butter (natch), sugar bowl, odd keys, and SPICES.

Spices crowding a two-tier twirly lazy susan thing. The ones that fall off and fall behind, keep it from twirling. Behind the peanut butter and sugar bowl, cans and jars that won't fit on the twirly thing, as well as baggies of "bulk" spices that I've accumulated.

Well, the situation had been critical since summer. Odd things would fly out at me when I opened the cupboard: I just shoved them back in and went on my merry way. Until two days ago...

...Avalanche. That's all I'm gonna tell ya'.

Here is a photo of what burped up outta there:

I stopped counting at 70 cans, jars, and baggies. SEVENTY.

Included in this array were four cans and three baggies of nutmeg. Hoarding for the next Y2K, I guess. Three cans of cream of tartar. Now, I make homemade play-doh like the rest of y'all, but Come On. But: the spices I use most, I had only the jar I knew about, half-full. Except for the cinnamon--I had to BORROW cinnamon last week from a neighbor. I did find two, Full, jars of that.

I also consolidated all the boxes of birthday candles. And, you know the "number" candles? Well, you could conceivably use two of the same number--Charming *did* turn 44 a few years ago. But I had three 5's--unless I'm planning for someone to turn 555, I can get rid of one of those, right?

So, what happened then? Well, I threw away some old stuff. Somehow, the cans that were so old that they don't have a barcode, I couldn't bear to throw away. Symbols of a kinder, gentler time, you know? (I promise, I WILL deal with those. Pretty soon.) I kept one full and one opened can of nutmeg, as well as one of the cream of tartars. I took all the extras (as well as Eleven Boxes of Jello I didn't know I had) and packaged them up for Forget-me-not and Lily.

So I put the cupboard back together, and, as you can see, it is still packed pretty full:

And, it wasn't a perfect job. I'm so jealous of Jen I could spit nails.

But at least I can begin my holiday baking 1) without the fear of flying spices hitting me in the head, and 2) knowing that I actually probably don't have to buy any spices!

Just my little contribution to a Frugal Friday!

Learned Around the Cottage This Week

--Learned the word "fugit" (run away) and "fUgit" (that's a macron over that *u*--meaning "ran away") in Latin. From which we get the word "fugitive" in English. Alvin Fernald got super-excited over that light-bulb moment.

--Railroad ties are four feet, eight inches apart. This is exactly the same width as the Roman chariot. *One*, awesome that the measurements are exactly the same. *Two*, had no idea chariots were that wide. I'll have to watch Ben Hur more closely next time.

--Saw Venus and Jupiter hangin' out together last night. You're not too late to the party if you didn't see them. Read about it here. Be sure and read the entire article. I love reading how people have seen these same astronomical "treats" throughout the centuries. It boggles my mind how I can see things 250,000 miles away (the moon), 93.2 million miles away (Venus), and 540.3 million miles away (Jupiter) With My Naked Eye. People: Only God could do that!

[ooh. I had a question, then I think I answered it myself. If Venus is 93 million miles away, and the Sun is 93 million miles away, and Venus is the next planet between us and the sun...But then, of course, it's the Elliptical Orbit thing, isn't it? I sometimes forget that the planets are not all lined up all the time, like the illustrations in the science books, and are truckin' around the sun at different speeds...]

--let four boys with guitars, who last year at Alvin's birthday sleepover were braggin' about How Good They Were (or were going to be), alone for a year, and they come back, a lot more serious about music, and playing for hours, finding their "groove." No need for braggin'. And an impromptu mini-seminar from "expert" Charming into the bargain!

By the way, only one of the above was actually learned during schooltime. I love, love, love, how homeschooling has made us love learning for its own sake!

Thirty-five.

Almost two-thirds of my life ago (okay, that is entirely TOO depressing, let's start again):

I was a college freshman. Now, my dating life had been pretty lean. I didn't get asked out until the middle of senior year. I had two dates with a nice guy (and he gave me a very satisfactory "first kiss"), but all he wanted to talk about was cars, so we went our separate ways. I went to the prom with a friend, and I had a blind date senior summer with an airman when I visited my sister and her husband on the airbase. That was it. Four dates.

I was sure that college would be a Fresh Start. I was at a women's college with 1,800 students, across the street from a men's college with 7,000. The odds were on my side, right?

I went to mixers and parties and such, and, though I had fun times, Nobody Asked Me Out. I was really beginning to wonder what was wrong with me. My mother continued to tell me that I was beautiful, and she even predicted that I would be married by the time I was twenty.

The Wednesday after Thanksgiving break, a friend of mine asked me to dinner at the Men's Place (okay, it was Notre Dame). We had reciprocal dining privileges there. She was going out with a guy who had three roommates, and he wanted her to bring three friends. We arrived, and were introduced to the four guys, each one cuter than the one before. The last to be introduced was...Charming. My first thought was, "this is the handsomest guy I have ever seen." Then I argued (inside my head)--don't be ridiculous, it's just a guy. My second thought was, "I want to marry him!" (inside my head--what is the MATTER with you???)

Dinner did not hold promise. Charming was talking just as much with the other two girls who came with us as with me. After dinner, walking across campus, I trailed behind Charming and the other two girls (the sidewalks at ND hold three-across comfortably). Somewhere along the line, his other two roommates disappeared. We went back to his dorm room, where Charming played his guitar for us for awhile. My infatuation was growing by the minute: in the '70's, *everyone* wanted to date a guitar player.

Charming excused himself a little later, saying he had a date.

I went home a little later, chalking up the experience as another fun time, but expecting little else. Until about 11:30 when I got a call. From Charming. I had accidentally left my purse in his room. It took him a good long while to ask me out the next night, but after he did, It Was All Over.

It is really hard to grasp the fact that thirty-five years have passed. Inside, I am still that 18-year-old girl that fell hard for the "handsomest guy I had ever seen." And, he is still that handsome! I know better than to say that Love at First Sight is real, but those feelings are still there, along with the real Love that came later. And, by the way, we were married at twenty.

So, Happy Anniversary to my darling. Let's do another thirty-five, okay?

Ridiculous.

What Barbara Means

You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. hmmm. Someone doesn't know me. AT ALL. I am probably the person with the *least* energy you know. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Wrong-o. I'm the one in fifth grade you couldn't talk into playing hookey because I was sure I would be the one who got caught. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. Again with the high energy? Now, I'll give you the bad temper part. My temper isn't too bad, but I can fly off the handle with no warning whatsoever faster than you can say "Jack Robinson." You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. Yeah, I strive for perfection. But I always give up 'way before I even get to "adequate." Again, I'm Not Type A. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. I don't know. Maybe you would think so. I certainly don't. You have the classic “Type A” personality. If you change that "A" to a "B" or "Q" or "V", you'd be closer. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. I may appear that way. Except for the "rebel" part. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. Where did I lay my energy? I'm sure it's around here somewhere. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. There. Something that Charming would agree with. I. Am. A. Handful. Do you think these tests just spit out random answers? "We're rotating answers A through H today. You are "F" in the rotation. So here it is... If you want to know the truth, my name means "stranger" [think Barbarian], and my family will tell you that I am Stranger Than Most.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Fourteen

My baby, Alvin Fernald, is 14.

F.O.U.R.T.E.E.N.

For his birthday, he gets to drink coffee.

We bought him a razor.

His Dad is letting him play his $$$$$$$$$$$$ Taylor guitar all day today.

Whatever happened to Thomas the Tank Engine?

Sigh.

Almost in the No-Cavity Club!

I went to the dentist yesterday, after three years. (Don't lecture me, it was really only a little over two-and-a-half years, because when I called for the appointment, I couldn't get in for more than four months...) I didn't know what to expect, because, I have Figured Out, dental health is a cyclical process. I had bunches of fillings when I was younger, then a few years there when my reports were "clean." Then, in my 40's, my fillings either started falling out, or otherwise deteriorated, and needed replaced. For the past few years, I'm back in the "monitoring" cycle.

Ten years ago, I had a bad experience with a crown. Everything was going well, until the dentist put the Permanent Crown on. I had to bite down on a cotton wad for thirty seconds until the cement set. As I bit down, the tears literally rained down my face. It. hurt. so. bad. I mentioned it, and the dentist apologized, saying something like "it was probably because we had messed around in there so much" or something. I figured a couple of days would take care of the discomfort.

People, it was TEN MONTHS before I could chew on that side. I cancelled my next six-month checkup, but, after the ten months was over, I decided to give dental health another go-round. In the ensuing years, I let him do anything except Go Near That Tooth. However, I have had a lot of gum issues in that area. He warned against Bone Loss, and, three years ago, suggested that we Re-do That Crown. (sound of "Psycho" music with stabbing motion--eee! eee! eee!)

I said no, thank you.

You know about Pockets, don't you? The hygienist sticks a probe into the gum around the back, middle, and front of each tooth. 1's, 2's, and 3's are acceptable. I hear her going around my mouth: 2,3,3. 3,2,3. 2,2,2. 3,3,2. 2,1,2. (what?? I have a ONE?) Then, the Dreaded Crown Tooth: 6,7,6. People, Seven is not healthy.

I love the times in which we live. She took a little syringe thingy with anesthetic (no needle!) into the gums in the area. Then she took an sonic-wave thingy to remove the plaque. (no scraper--though it did "zing" me a couple of times. (Don't worry, though--the circulation in her wrist where I grabbed her, has probably come back by now.) Finally, a laser treatment to kill all bacteria. She said, "You may smell a little burning. Maybe see a puff of smoke. Hear some snap, crackle, pop sounds." As I smelled the acrid odor (how often do you get to use the word "acrid?"), she said, "that's just the laser, killing necrotic tissue." I felt like I was on CSI!

So, the end result is that I am starting with a Clean Slate. With good dental care, I should be maybe seeing some 5's by my next visit.

Then Dr. Bob came in. He said my only "cavity" was an old silver filling which had started to deteriorate. He'll just clean that one out in a minute, he said. But. We really need to talk about Replacing That Crown. It's Not Doing Well.

Yeah. Tell me about it.

I got out to the front office to check out. Which dentist would I like for my next appointment?
Gotta be Dr. Bob.

We have a History of Pain together.

A Cool Giveaway

Wow! Julie over at Red Hen Studios is having a giveaway. She is doing so, in order to advertise all of the great, great stuff she has in her Etsy shop.

I can never decide whether I like the handmade stuff or the vintage stuff better. (well, I already know. I love it all. But you get it all-in-one over at Julie's place.

So, go check it out, and put your name in for the giveaway. You'll have a difficult time deciding what you like best!

Big Week Ahead

Mostly, I'm posting this so I won't forget anything. There is a lot to do each and every day.

--I need to sign up for all the insurance *stuff* for next year for Charming's work by Thursday.

--I need to Not Forget to go to the dentist on Wednesday. Of course, I made the appointment six months ago. Used to be, the dentist sent a reminder postcard about a week before. Now he sends them for the whole month on the 1st. So I've had almost three weeks to forget.

--Our Thanksgiving meal will be this Friday, since Thanksgiving Day is the busiest of the year for Charming (can you say Cr*cker B*rrel??) and Nobody Gets Thanksgiving Off. Now, if all of you people would quit going out to eat on Thanksgiving, he could stay home. (okay, off my soapbox now--I *know* that there are older people and others who can't or do not desire to make a mess that takes three days to clean up.) It's okay. We're going to have a great time Friday. Charming's Dad and his wife are coming, as well as (I think) all my kids. Long about twenty in all will be here. Which leads me to...

--I need to make desserts on Thursday. Need to thaw the turkey starting 'bout Wednesday. Need to BUY a turkey before that.

--Pay the car payment by Thursday. Check already written, in my purse, to be dropped off at the bank today. Check this one off.

Guess it's not so bad. Adding, of course, cleaning and schoolwork and grocery shopping, but that is an everyday thing. Oh, yeah, one more thing:

--Remember to have a Good Attitude. Every day.

workin' on it.

Have a wonderful week!

Election Day

You Should Be Allowed to Vote

You got 15/15 questions correct. Generally speaking, you're very well informed. If you vote this election, you'll know exactly who (and what) you'll be voting for. You're likely to have strong opinions, and you have the facts to back them up.

Should You Be Allowed to Vote?

Well, I didn't take the quiz until *after* I voted, but it's nice to know that a random internet quiz thinks I'm ready-to-go.

I take voting very seriously. It is all-in-one a privilege, a right, and a responsibility.

A privilege, because we live in this country that is unique in all of civilization.

A right, because so many have fought for my right to vote.

A responsibility, not only because of the above two reasons, but also because of all the places in the world that voting is not available to its citizens. What happens in the U.S. affects so, so many other places in the world.

As always for the past 17 years, (since we've lived in this house) I walked just one block to my voting place, and cast my ballot. Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald accompanied me, as they have every election since they were born. This time, since it was Charming's day off, we were privileged to vote at the same time. An added bonus was that Lily and the children showed up at the same time!