Mary Beth says:
Happy Friday to you all! The sad news of Michael Jackson's untimely death has me thinking about music and its effects on us - individually, as cultures, as generations. Let's think about the soundtracks of our lives... 1) What sort of music did you listen to as a child - this would likely have been determined or influenced by your parents? Or perhaps your family wasn't musical...was the news the background? the radio? Singing around the piano?
I wouldn't say it was determined or influenced by my parents! By the time I was seven or eight years old, my little transistor radio was usually under my pillow at night. I adored the Beatles, of course...the Rolling Stones were a little scary...for some reason the Dave Clark Five were never really on my radar. A few years later, I used to stay up late listening to a disc jockey named Kris Stevens on WLS in Chicago (a clear channel station--it could be heard all over the midsection of the country, I suppose). By then I had moved on to Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and the Doors--and, oh yeah, the Monkees...
2) Going ahead to teenage years, is there a song that says "high school" (or whatever it might've been called where you lived) to you? Hmmm..."Stairway to Heaven", maybe (reminds me of a boy I was absolutely crazy about in 1972)? "Maggie May"? I think more in terms of singers and bands I loved than of specific songs, though. It was the heyday of Elton John, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Dan Fogelberg...such memories. I also discovered Dylan's 1960's music for the first time, and that was a huge part of my high school soundtrack.
3) What is your favorite music for a lift on a down day? (hint: go to www.pandora.com and type in a performer/composer...see what you come up with!)
See #2! All of the above! We do love the music we grew up with.
4) Who is your favorite performer of all time?
Answering this question is simply not possible. Dylan? The Beatles? I love so many. As far as favorite live performers, I remember awesome shows by Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Joni Mitchell...In Memphis in 1974 I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd steal an arena show right out from under Eric Clapton's nose. A great concert.
5) What is your favorite style of music for worship?
Traditional choral music. I love to sing Mozart, Bach, Handel, Tallis, Byrd.
Bonus if you include a video of any of the above!
This is what Elton and his band looked and sounded like the first time I saw them in concert, about a year after this 1970 BBC performance of "Burn Down the Mission" (Tumbleweed Connection forever!!). My best friend Joy and I had rushed the front of the stage along with everyone else, and I got to shake hands with Dee Murray, the bass player!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Beyond my powers
My coworkers and I are still puzzling over an unusual communique received today: a hastily scrawled note on a doctor's prescription pad, requesting,"Please evaluate ________ for speech and personality delay."
If I knew an effective treatment for "personality delay", I'd be a wealthy woman.
If I knew an effective treatment for "personality delay", I'd be a wealthy woman.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Unexpected guest
I opened the front door a few minutes ago and discovered this little visitor. About two seconds after I took this picture, I looked up in time to see an irate mama jay diving straight at my head! I got back inside in a hurry! According to our local wildlife rehab center, babies like this are fine right where they are; they are learning to fly, and their parents continue to feed and protect them. Cats beware!There are lots of babies around now. I wish we'd been able to get some good pictures of the five little barn swallows that have been growing up right outside my supervisor's office window. Some days we don't get much done, because we're all in his office watching the birds! Four of the five have been making short forays to the nearby telephone wires, so I think they may all be gone by Monday.
At last
For several years I have hoped and planned to phase out my part-time private practice, and now I'm in the process of doing just that. After nearly ten years, next Friday will be my last day to see private clients, and at the end of the month I'm moving out of my office. I do so look forward to saying goodbye to managed care hassles and wondering if/when I'll be paid, goodbye to sitting and waiting for people who don't show, goodbye to the isolation and, yes, loneliness that can be part of a mental health private practice. The enjoyment I've received there--for example, the pleasure of conducting evaluations that are like solving a mystery or an intricate puzzle--is available at my "day job" too, along with a steady paycheck and supportive coworkers. I had supportive officemates at the practice, too, but spending all day behind closed doors with one's clients usually precludes more than a quick hello on the way to the waiting room.
Closing my practice has been a goal for several years, but every change involves mixed feelings. Ten years is more than long enough to spend on something I haven't really enjoyed. However, I'm not sorry I did it, and I won't say I'll never have a private practice again. But even if I should choose to get back into private practice in the future, in a few years most of my testing kits and materials will be obsolete. I decided to sell what I could, and placed an online classified ad where other local psychologists would see it. This morning a young psychologist from across town came to my office and got a great deal on some of my equipment. I know selling this stuff is the wisest thing to do, but when I handed over my WISC-IV kit, which I've probably used about 100 times, I felt like I was selling a puppy. I hope she gives it a good home!
Closing my practice has been a goal for several years, but every change involves mixed feelings. Ten years is more than long enough to spend on something I haven't really enjoyed. However, I'm not sorry I did it, and I won't say I'll never have a private practice again. But even if I should choose to get back into private practice in the future, in a few years most of my testing kits and materials will be obsolete. I decided to sell what I could, and placed an online classified ad where other local psychologists would see it. This morning a young psychologist from across town came to my office and got a great deal on some of my equipment. I know selling this stuff is the wisest thing to do, but when I handed over my WISC-IV kit, which I've probably used about 100 times, I felt like I was selling a puppy. I hope she gives it a good home!
Friday, June 05, 2009
Moving and Changing Friday Five
Sally has moving on her mind, and wants to know:
1. A big move is looming, name one thing you cannot possibly part with, it must be packed?
Since Amie is not a thing to be packed, I would have to say, family photos. Some of our oldest photos, from the 1920's and before, disappeared in one of my parents' last moves...since then I've carefully packed and moved photos myself, so that I always knew where they were.
2. Name one thing that you would gladly leave behind...
Useless, outdated paperwork and files. Last November I moved from my office of nearly ten years to a smaller office, which I will be closing at the end of June. I have not really enjoyed private practice and am not sorry to leave it behind. I did a thorough purge of my file cabinet last fall, so there won't be much to shred this time around.
3. How do you prepare for a move
a. practically?
Cleaning out junk and things we no longer want. My mother-in-law will be moving to a nearby retirement community in a few weeks, and the process of cleaning out, giving away, or selling all the stuff that neither she nor her children want, has been going on for months. Condensing a three-bedroom house into a one-bedroom apartment is never easy.
b. spiritually/emotionally?
Entrusting the people and places I love into God's hands, and looking forward to a new adventure. Praying and trusting God to continue leading me as I move forward along the path that appears to be the right one.
4. What is the first thing you look for in a new place?
The Scientist and I have not moved in seventeen years, so I had to reminisce a bit while considering this question. In a new community, initially I just try to get the lay of the land, locating the nearby supermarket, drug store, dry cleaners, etc. In a new home, I'm most interested in the size and convenience of the kitchen.
5. Do you settle in easily, or does it take time for you to find your feet in a new location?
It depends on whether I'm already a bit familiar with the location and whether I already know people there. Moving from Memphis to San Antonio right after college was difficult, and I needed more than a year to really feel at home there. That's the only time I've ever moved to a place where I knew no one, and it was probably the toughest move I've ever made. (Having my first apartment burglarized when I'd only been there a couple of months didn't help.) When I moved to Houston to take my first job, it was with the encouragement of two friends, native Houstonians who were returning home. And when the Scientist and I moved to California a few years later, we found a whole new world--but we had each other there, and the pleasure of exploring together.
The bonus for today: a new opportunity has come up for you to spend 5 years in a new area, where would you go and why?
Five years is a long time. If it were only for a year or two, I'd say Boston, San Francisco, or New Orleans, three cities I would love to get to know as more than a tourist. Or perhaps beautiful Portland, Oregon, or Seattle, where we already have many friends. Maybe Asheville, NC; it's beautiful country, it's in the South, there are lots of Presbyterians around, and I have some lifelong friends there. But five years...I probably wouldn't go any farther from here than Austin, or the adjacent hill country. Come to think of it, five years in Austin sounds great!
1. A big move is looming, name one thing you cannot possibly part with, it must be packed?
Since Amie is not a thing to be packed, I would have to say, family photos. Some of our oldest photos, from the 1920's and before, disappeared in one of my parents' last moves...since then I've carefully packed and moved photos myself, so that I always knew where they were.
2. Name one thing that you would gladly leave behind...
Useless, outdated paperwork and files. Last November I moved from my office of nearly ten years to a smaller office, which I will be closing at the end of June. I have not really enjoyed private practice and am not sorry to leave it behind. I did a thorough purge of my file cabinet last fall, so there won't be much to shred this time around.
3. How do you prepare for a move
a. practically?
Cleaning out junk and things we no longer want. My mother-in-law will be moving to a nearby retirement community in a few weeks, and the process of cleaning out, giving away, or selling all the stuff that neither she nor her children want, has been going on for months. Condensing a three-bedroom house into a one-bedroom apartment is never easy.
b. spiritually/emotionally?
Entrusting the people and places I love into God's hands, and looking forward to a new adventure. Praying and trusting God to continue leading me as I move forward along the path that appears to be the right one.
4. What is the first thing you look for in a new place?
The Scientist and I have not moved in seventeen years, so I had to reminisce a bit while considering this question. In a new community, initially I just try to get the lay of the land, locating the nearby supermarket, drug store, dry cleaners, etc. In a new home, I'm most interested in the size and convenience of the kitchen.
5. Do you settle in easily, or does it take time for you to find your feet in a new location?
It depends on whether I'm already a bit familiar with the location and whether I already know people there. Moving from Memphis to San Antonio right after college was difficult, and I needed more than a year to really feel at home there. That's the only time I've ever moved to a place where I knew no one, and it was probably the toughest move I've ever made. (Having my first apartment burglarized when I'd only been there a couple of months didn't help.) When I moved to Houston to take my first job, it was with the encouragement of two friends, native Houstonians who were returning home. And when the Scientist and I moved to California a few years later, we found a whole new world--but we had each other there, and the pleasure of exploring together.
The bonus for today: a new opportunity has come up for you to spend 5 years in a new area, where would you go and why?
Five years is a long time. If it were only for a year or two, I'd say Boston, San Francisco, or New Orleans, three cities I would love to get to know as more than a tourist. Or perhaps beautiful Portland, Oregon, or Seattle, where we already have many friends. Maybe Asheville, NC; it's beautiful country, it's in the South, there are lots of Presbyterians around, and I have some lifelong friends there. But five years...I probably wouldn't go any farther from here than Austin, or the adjacent hill country. Come to think of it, five years in Austin sounds great!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Friday Five: Vacation, all I ever wanted...
Mary Beth has vacations on her mind, and wants to know:
1) What did your family do for vacations when you were a child? Or did you have stay-cations at home?
Summer was my father's busiest time of year, so we stayed home then. If we got away during the winter, we usually went to visit relatives--seldom more than a few hours' drive away. I can only remember a few big trips: a visit to Eureka Springs and surrounding areas for the Folklife Festival when I was in sixth grade; trips to New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (my first visit to the beach) a little later, and a trip to Nassau (my first airplane flight) when I was about fourteen.
2) Tell us about your favorite vacation ever:
Two years ago, the Scientist and I were blessed to spend three weeks in Italy. We were with a congenial, very small group as we explored Sorrento, Pompeii, and the Amalfi coast, followed by sojourns in Rome and Venice, day trips (not enough) to Florence and Siena, and a whole week of roaming around Tuscany. Wonderful scenery, interesting sights, and you can imagine the food and wine. I hope I am never so old that I forget the things we saw and did on that vacation.
3) What do you do for a one-day or afternoon getaway...is there a place nearby that you escape to on a Saturday afternoon/other day off?
We have lived in the suburbs for seventeen years, but we are urban creatures at heart. We love to spend an afternoon around our old stomping grounds in Houston, wandering through one of the museums or some out-of-the-way gallery, then having supper at one of our favorite restaurants, or trying out a brand new place.
Because Houston is so hot and humid much of the year, the office buildings and other public buildings downtown are connected by an elaborate tunnel system, full of shops, restaurants, and other businesses--a subterranean city. At midday during the summer, most people are underground, and the streets are nearly deserted! We keep saying we are going to take a day off sometime to explore the tunnel system--maybe this will be the year.
4) What's your best recommendation for a full-on vacation near you...what would you suggest to someone coming to your area? (Near - may be defined any way you wish!)
Anyone who enjoys city life and its amenities, including art, music, and good food, could have a great vacation in Houston. In October, November, March, April, and May, it's beautiful and the climate is pleasant. Take your pick of ballet, opera, symphony concerts, along with music and dance provided by smaller local companies too. There are a number of fine museums and interesting small galleries. Because Houston is such a multicultural city, you can probably find whatever you would like to eat, from mom and pop cafes of every description, to the finest of fine dining. And bring your swimsuit and flip flops so you can go and stimulate the Galveston economy!
5) What's your DREAM VACATION?
I dream of going back to Italy, with enough time and money to roam at will, as long as we wanted. To spend a week or two at an agriturismo in Tuscany or Umbria, or to rent a little apartment in the Dorsoduro district of Venice, or to see everything we wanted to see in Florence and Rome, and then wander north to areas we missed last time, like the Lake Como region. Maybe someday!
Bonus: Any particularly awful (edited to add: or hilarious) vacation stories that you just have to tell? ("We'll laugh about this later..." maybe that time is now!)
We laughed until we cried when this happened (you had to be there), and it still makes me laugh! In Italy we fell in with two couples about our age; one couple had deep-south roots, and the other couple was from New Jersey. The week we were in Tuscany, it rained--sometimes a little, sometimes a lot--every day. We didn't really care. But on our last night in Cortona, the six of us were walking to a local restaurant when, with little warning, the sky opened. We dashed for a nearby archway, where we huddled, drenched, watching sheets of rain blow across the street. No one spoke, until our Jersey girl, in her pure Joisey accent, muttered, "Tuscan sun--my ass."
1) What did your family do for vacations when you were a child? Or did you have stay-cations at home?
Summer was my father's busiest time of year, so we stayed home then. If we got away during the winter, we usually went to visit relatives--seldom more than a few hours' drive away. I can only remember a few big trips: a visit to Eureka Springs and surrounding areas for the Folklife Festival when I was in sixth grade; trips to New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (my first visit to the beach) a little later, and a trip to Nassau (my first airplane flight) when I was about fourteen.
2) Tell us about your favorite vacation ever:
Two years ago, the Scientist and I were blessed to spend three weeks in Italy. We were with a congenial, very small group as we explored Sorrento, Pompeii, and the Amalfi coast, followed by sojourns in Rome and Venice, day trips (not enough) to Florence and Siena, and a whole week of roaming around Tuscany. Wonderful scenery, interesting sights, and you can imagine the food and wine. I hope I am never so old that I forget the things we saw and did on that vacation.
3) What do you do for a one-day or afternoon getaway...is there a place nearby that you escape to on a Saturday afternoon/other day off?
We have lived in the suburbs for seventeen years, but we are urban creatures at heart. We love to spend an afternoon around our old stomping grounds in Houston, wandering through one of the museums or some out-of-the-way gallery, then having supper at one of our favorite restaurants, or trying out a brand new place.
Because Houston is so hot and humid much of the year, the office buildings and other public buildings downtown are connected by an elaborate tunnel system, full of shops, restaurants, and other businesses--a subterranean city. At midday during the summer, most people are underground, and the streets are nearly deserted! We keep saying we are going to take a day off sometime to explore the tunnel system--maybe this will be the year.
4) What's your best recommendation for a full-on vacation near you...what would you suggest to someone coming to your area? (Near - may be defined any way you wish!)
Anyone who enjoys city life and its amenities, including art, music, and good food, could have a great vacation in Houston. In October, November, March, April, and May, it's beautiful and the climate is pleasant. Take your pick of ballet, opera, symphony concerts, along with music and dance provided by smaller local companies too. There are a number of fine museums and interesting small galleries. Because Houston is such a multicultural city, you can probably find whatever you would like to eat, from mom and pop cafes of every description, to the finest of fine dining. And bring your swimsuit and flip flops so you can go and stimulate the Galveston economy!
5) What's your DREAM VACATION?
I dream of going back to Italy, with enough time and money to roam at will, as long as we wanted. To spend a week or two at an agriturismo in Tuscany or Umbria, or to rent a little apartment in the Dorsoduro district of Venice, or to see everything we wanted to see in Florence and Rome, and then wander north to areas we missed last time, like the Lake Como region. Maybe someday!
Bonus: Any particularly awful (edited to add: or hilarious) vacation stories that you just have to tell? ("We'll laugh about this later..." maybe that time is now!)
We laughed until we cried when this happened (you had to be there), and it still makes me laugh! In Italy we fell in with two couples about our age; one couple had deep-south roots, and the other couple was from New Jersey. The week we were in Tuscany, it rained--sometimes a little, sometimes a lot--every day. We didn't really care. But on our last night in Cortona, the six of us were walking to a local restaurant when, with little warning, the sky opened. We dashed for a nearby archway, where we huddled, drenched, watching sheets of rain blow across the street. No one spoke, until our Jersey girl, in her pure Joisey accent, muttered, "Tuscan sun--my ass."
Friday, May 08, 2009
Friday Five: A Bug's Life
Sophia says:
As I was walking the beach today, I was surprised and delighted to find it swarming with ladybugs. The sweet little red beetles are one of my favorite insects and also my daughter's blogname--though as of this morning she was thinking of changing it to Butterfly. I'll keep you posted.
This got me thinking about spiritual insect trivia: Did you know that medieval mystics and theologians esteemed the bee for its dedicated work and transformation of ordinary ingredients into sweetness? That Spider Woman is an important creator Goddess to many Native American tribes? Or that Francis of Assisi was reminded of Jesus not only by lambs being led to slaughter, but also by worms (think "I am a worm and no man" from the Psalms)-- so he picked them up and took them out of stomping-vulnerable spots?!
In that spirit, this week's Friday Five is a magical mystery tour through God's garden of creepy crawlies!
1. Ladybugs or ladybirds? Pillbugs or roly-polys? Jesus bugs or water skeeters? Any other interesting regional or familial name variations?
This got me thinking about spiritual insect trivia: Did you know that medieval mystics and theologians esteemed the bee for its dedicated work and transformation of ordinary ingredients into sweetness? That Spider Woman is an important creator Goddess to many Native American tribes? Or that Francis of Assisi was reminded of Jesus not only by lambs being led to slaughter, but also by worms (think "I am a worm and no man" from the Psalms)-- so he picked them up and took them out of stomping-vulnerable spots?!
In that spirit, this week's Friday Five is a magical mystery tour through God's garden of creepy crawlies!
1. Ladybugs or ladybirds? Pillbugs or roly-polys? Jesus bugs or water skeeters? Any other interesting regional or familial name variations?
Ladybugs, roly-polys, and water skeeters. I probably would have been scolded if I had called them Jesus bugs. Can't think of any variations...
2. Stomp on spiders, carry them outside, or peacefully co-exist?
Either stomp, or peacefully co-exist, depending on my mood. An exterminator once told me that the chemicals required to kill spiders are so toxic that you really don't want them around the home--plus, after all, spiders do eat other bugs. I've never seen a black widow or brown recluse at my house, so I tend to leave the spiders alone.
3. Favorite insect?
Butterflies, I suppose.
4. Least favorite?
Roaches and silverfish!!
5. Got any good bug stories to share?
When my friend Joy and I were children, we often passed part of a summer day by staging roly-poly races on my back steps. Champion racers would race again and again, as long as they didn't roll up into a ball to escape!
Sophia's account of the ladybugs on the beach reminds me that one of my pleasant memories of California is of hiking in the mountains with friends and coming upon a fallen tree, covered with ladybugs. That was the only time I've ever seen such a thing.
Bonus question: share a poem, song, quotation, etc. about insects.
When I was a child I had the odd little book pictured above, by Edward Gorey (creator of the cheerfully macabre intro to PBS's Mystery!, among lots of other cheerfully macabre works). The Bug Book is a simple story of a group of bugs whose peaceful existence is threatened by the appearance of a large bully bug. They confer, drop a big rock on him, and celebrate his demise with a party. That's it. Pretty strange. What's even stranger is that the first edition of that book goes for about $885 now!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
BE memories
Coming a bit late to this post...Alas, I forgot my camera, but my memories will last.
*Joyfully meeting up with the DFW-area crew at the airport, where they kindly waited for me to eat lunch, and sympathized when I dropped tomato soup on my white sweater. (It came out.)
*Our shuttle driver, who seemed to be enjoying his passengers, but wasn't quite sure what to think about a van full of lady preachers.
*Sitting in the sun with old friends and new, amid beautiful healthy roses, watched over by a seven-foot statue of St. Francis.
*The joy of seeing RevDrKate so in love.
*The icons in our beautiful worship space, and the joy of worshiping God together there.
*Roaming around Old Town Scottsdale, following RevHoney and the Vicar on the trail of a geocache, then introducing Sue to fresh guacamole at a place called the Salty Senorita!
*Saturday morning with Mid-Life Rookie, walking the trails behind the retreat center, then sitting and gazing out over the desert as we talked. So different from gazing out over the beach at Cozumel, but just as relaxing.
*She thanked me for not mentioning the tarantula I saw, until after it was gone!
*Delving into the "begats" of I Chronicles and rejoicing to discover Sheerah, builder of cities (I Chron. 7:24).
*Singing with Sophia, Mary Beth, and Dogblogger. My longing to sing with the RevGals was satisfied by this, and by the singing we did at our final worship together.
*Hanging out around the bonfire together, then later singing and praying together some more, surrounded by the sounds of the desert night.
*Wil's gorgeous golden vestments, Mary Beth's reading, Mompriest's breaking of the bread: a few mental snapshots from our Sunday worship under the clear morning sky.
And many more...
*Joyfully meeting up with the DFW-area crew at the airport, where they kindly waited for me to eat lunch, and sympathized when I dropped tomato soup on my white sweater. (It came out.)
*Our shuttle driver, who seemed to be enjoying his passengers, but wasn't quite sure what to think about a van full of lady preachers.
*Sitting in the sun with old friends and new, amid beautiful healthy roses, watched over by a seven-foot statue of St. Francis.
*The joy of seeing RevDrKate so in love.
*The icons in our beautiful worship space, and the joy of worshiping God together there.
*Roaming around Old Town Scottsdale, following RevHoney and the Vicar on the trail of a geocache, then introducing Sue to fresh guacamole at a place called the Salty Senorita!
*Saturday morning with Mid-Life Rookie, walking the trails behind the retreat center, then sitting and gazing out over the desert as we talked. So different from gazing out over the beach at Cozumel, but just as relaxing.
*She thanked me for not mentioning the tarantula I saw, until after it was gone!
*Delving into the "begats" of I Chronicles and rejoicing to discover Sheerah, builder of cities (I Chron. 7:24).
*Singing with Sophia, Mary Beth, and Dogblogger. My longing to sing with the RevGals was satisfied by this, and by the singing we did at our final worship together.
*Hanging out around the bonfire together, then later singing and praying together some more, surrounded by the sounds of the desert night.
*Wil's gorgeous golden vestments, Mary Beth's reading, Mompriest's breaking of the bread: a few mental snapshots from our Sunday worship under the clear morning sky.
And many more...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Arizona bound!
Tomorrow, that is!
And because a few (very few) inquiring minds want to know: the pedi is OPI's Pompeii Purple.
My toes are ready for their closeup, Mr. DeMille!
Be back next week!
ETA: That picture has been up more than long enough.
Back from Arizona! Happy and tired! Good night.
And because a few (very few) inquiring minds want to know: the pedi is OPI's Pompeii Purple.
My toes are ready for their closeup, Mr. DeMille!
Be back next week!
ETA: That picture has been up more than long enough.
Back from Arizona! Happy and tired! Good night.
Friday, April 10, 2009
It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing, this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Prayer request
I've been asked to consider serving on the session again. I haven't been on session in years, always using my Presbytery activities as an excuse. But I'm not doing anything with Presbytery right now, and PNC is over. Please pray with me as I pray for discernment. Thanks.
Of course she did!
Yesterday the Scientist sent me a link about bravehearted Sophie Tucker, a stalwart and remarkable canine who fell from a boat in rough water off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Her grieving humans could not find her, and gave her up for dead. Meanwhile, Sophie swam five nautical miles to a nearly-uninhabited island, where she survived by hunting wild goats until she was rescued and returned to her humans, four months later! She has readjusted to suburban life and is doing fine.
Good girl, Sophie! You could only be an AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG!!
Good girl, Sophie! You could only be an AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG!!
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Road trip and retreat
Here's where we spent the weekend: in a luxurious cabin at a dog-friendly B & B that's fifteen miles from downtown Hip City, but a world away. Phones, TV, and wi-fi were all turned off.
We roamed acres of woods that opened onto a bright meadow where even old cattle dogs (and their people) can run free.
We sat in the swing on our screened porch watching birds that we seldom see in our area of the state, waded in the creek (well, Amie did), drove through miles of rolling hills and bluebonnets to visit dog-friendly wineries, ate sumptuous breakfasts prepared with local eggs and meats, and in the evening we grilled squash with locally pastured pork chops, right behind our cabin.
Everybody slept well.
We had to stop at a sporting goods store to buy a second cooler for all of the meat and wine we brought home! Now I'm already planning our return....
We roamed acres of woods that opened onto a bright meadow where even old cattle dogs (and their people) can run free.
We sat in the swing on our screened porch watching birds that we seldom see in our area of the state, waded in the creek (well, Amie did), drove through miles of rolling hills and bluebonnets to visit dog-friendly wineries, ate sumptuous breakfasts prepared with local eggs and meats, and in the evening we grilled squash with locally pastured pork chops, right behind our cabin.
Everybody slept well.
We had to stop at a sporting goods store to buy a second cooler for all of the meat and wine we brought home! Now I'm already planning our return....
Monday, March 23, 2009
Spring update
The sweet alyssum has almost completely gone to seed now, and I should probably go ahead and pull it out. But the pansies and the cyclamen are still hanging on!
Our azaleas are nearly gone now. These pictures were taken a week or two ago.
If you look closely, you can see that azaleas of three slightly different shades were accidentally planted next to one another--but I think it was a happy accident.
This bougainvillea might not look like much compared to some you've seen, especially the ones I remember, cascading over tall white adobe walls in southern California. But this one is magnificent to us. The Scientist has alternately coddled and threatened it for years, and this year it has finally burst forth, blooming all over.
Please bear with me when I post all of these pictures; this is only my second spring to have a nice garden!
Our azaleas are nearly gone now. These pictures were taken a week or two ago.
If you look closely, you can see that azaleas of three slightly different shades were accidentally planted next to one another--but I think it was a happy accident.
This bougainvillea might not look like much compared to some you've seen, especially the ones I remember, cascading over tall white adobe walls in southern California. But this one is magnificent to us. The Scientist has alternately coddled and threatened it for years, and this year it has finally burst forth, blooming all over.
Please bear with me when I post all of these pictures; this is only my second spring to have a nice garden!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tired and happy
Our new pastor preached his first services with us today. I am very happy. We worked hard yesterday and today getting ready for, then cleaning up from, the welcome luncheon for him and his family.
Our fifteen months of prayer and work on the PNC are over. We're having a last-hurrah meeting tomorrow night. I have loved it.
God is good.
Our fifteen months of prayer and work on the PNC are over. We're having a last-hurrah meeting tomorrow night. I have loved it.
God is good.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
If you've ever wondered...
...what I look like on a typical weekday when I head out to do battle with the forces of ignorance and sloth, well, now you know.
"My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure."
Or something like that.
(Hat tip to PG.)
"My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure."
Or something like that.
(Hat tip to PG.)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Moving along
Well, we had such a great weekend with all the Dogblogger crew...arrived on Friday just in time for the Alpha's fabulous barbecued brisket. On Saturday we enjoyed the Tutankhamun exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, then met the Vicar for an excellent Indian meal...then on Sunday we went to church and enjoyed hearing Mid-Life Rookie preach! A lot for one weekend, yes? The dogs mostly got along, although Amie did tell that young whippersnapper Tuesday to settle down once or twice. (Tuesday wasn't doing anything wrong; it's just that Amie is OLD.)
"I had a good time, but now I'm ready to go home."
Unbloggables at work are weighing on my mind tonight, so I thought I'd escape to the garden:
When the landscapers planted our caladiums last spring, they supposedly disposed of the previous winter's cyclamen bulbs. But when I started getting this bed ready for fall, I found seven dormant cyclamen that had been overlooked. They don't usually last more than a year, but I replanted them, and lo and behold, here they are. (Amie has nearly stomped the pansies into oblivion.)
The camellias have been wonderful, too.
After I recharge the camera, I'll get some pictures of the azaleas, too.
"I had a good time, but now I'm ready to go home."
Unbloggables at work are weighing on my mind tonight, so I thought I'd escape to the garden:
When the landscapers planted our caladiums last spring, they supposedly disposed of the previous winter's cyclamen bulbs. But when I started getting this bed ready for fall, I found seven dormant cyclamen that had been overlooked. They don't usually last more than a year, but I replanted them, and lo and behold, here they are. (Amie has nearly stomped the pansies into oblivion.)
The camellias have been wonderful, too.
After I recharge the camera, I'll get some pictures of the azaleas, too.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Friday five: Hasty Pudding Edition
Our regular poster, Sally, having been oppressed by Blogger today, I bring you a hasty Friday Five on the subject of pudding. If you are not a fan of pudding, then you will feel solidarity with Sally, except that you will be oppressed by pudding instead. ;-)
1) First of all, thumbs up? or thumbs down? Do you like pudding?
Yes, I love pudding.
2) Instant or cooked? (Does anyone make pudding from scratch?)
There are two from-scratch recipes in the old More with Less Cookbook, one for vanilla and one for chocolate, that are very easy. When we have pudding at home (very rare), that's what we have.
3) If you had to choose, would you prefer corn pudding or figgy pudding?
Corn pudding--yum. Great side dish. I think the figgy pudding of the song is actually something like a fruit cake. That's OK too.
4) Have you ever finger painted with pudding?
Probably, many decades ago.
5) Finally, what is the matter with Mary Jane?
Her parents don't yet know that she's allergic to rice--the pudding makes her tummy hurt!
Bonus: Share a favorite recipe that includes pudding!
Instead of vanilla wafers, layer vanilla pudding with sliced bananas and your favorite granola. Easy.
Now we're heading out of town!
1) First of all, thumbs up? or thumbs down? Do you like pudding?
Yes, I love pudding.
2) Instant or cooked? (Does anyone make pudding from scratch?)
There are two from-scratch recipes in the old More with Less Cookbook, one for vanilla and one for chocolate, that are very easy. When we have pudding at home (very rare), that's what we have.
3) If you had to choose, would you prefer corn pudding or figgy pudding?
Corn pudding--yum. Great side dish. I think the figgy pudding of the song is actually something like a fruit cake. That's OK too.
4) Have you ever finger painted with pudding?
Probably, many decades ago.
5) Finally, what is the matter with Mary Jane?
Her parents don't yet know that she's allergic to rice--the pudding makes her tummy hurt!
Bonus: Share a favorite recipe that includes pudding!
Instead of vanilla wafers, layer vanilla pudding with sliced bananas and your favorite granola. Easy.
Now we're heading out of town!
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Guest blogger: Amie
How do you like my new pants? You do? I'm not sure I do. Mama and Daddy say I have to wear them whenever I'm in the house. They said I have to get used to them now, because I'll have to wear them this weekend when we go to Angus and Tuesday's house. Please pray for us when we are riding in the car tomorrow (I'll probably go to sleep until we get there). I will be happy to see Aunt Typist and Uncle Alpha. I think I'll be glad to see Angus and Tuesday too. Mama says I have to be polite, and I will! See you next week!
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