tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90417670588841942322024-03-14T06:06:58.504-07:00Songs from the Synapsethe miracle of connectionsPam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.comBlogger344125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-82079977759528405212021-08-20T13:58:00.000-07:002021-08-20T13:58:12.761-07:00First on my block...<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> “Be the first…” </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I didn’t want to win this contest. It’s not “Be the first kid on your block to have sea monkeys!”</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0wTXC8zwstk4H9lV5bFfauEom4laXMkdUbCUSWOMgpjlmZ3my_6IX113JIfmLhg1UF-QEahPsR1ogjSge1S-qYRozA5-8cOHDT4rnrcXebmq2zf6yYMO4IQA-xpdsfkRK0P9neYmeDSA/s2048/IMG_0713.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0wTXC8zwstk4H9lV5bFfauEom4laXMkdUbCUSWOMgpjlmZ3my_6IX113JIfmLhg1UF-QEahPsR1ogjSge1S-qYRozA5-8cOHDT4rnrcXebmq2zf6yYMO4IQA-xpdsfkRK0P9neYmeDSA/w151-h201/IMG_0713.jpeg" width="151" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Being the first of my friends to hang a handicap permit did not carry a sense of excitement, but shame. Somehow I hadn’t cared well for the right leg. Ridiculous, I know.</span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Prior to the parking advantage, my husband accompanied me to a large department store. I knew I’d need him to provide physical support on my right side while I used my cane on the left. We joked about how pitiful I looked when young employees passed us and said, “You two are so cute. Thanks for shopping with us.”</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cute? Lurching across the parking lot at one-quarter of my former speed was not cute. At that moment I coveted a parking space close to the store.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’d resisted asking my doctor to approve the application required by the DMV because I wouldn’t accept that I’m old enough, or semi-able, and needed the accommodation. When a friend suggested it, I knew it was time. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I only went inside a drugstore if I needed a life saving prescription. For non-essentials I ordered online and personnel delivered to the car. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now the hurdles between parking and front doors are fewer. I’ll expand my outings to an occasional trip to TJMaxx. I can go to a Starbucks inside a grocery store. Getting inside the building won’t be the hardest part of an appointment. The walk from parking to Trader Joe’s won’t be three times the distance of the actual shopping.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Aging tends to restrict lives in unwanted ways. It's easier to give-in to a difficulty than find a way around it. The blue hanging tag is an adaptation which I will appreciate, yet hope to relinquish. </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-85624701840314948282021-06-16T13:17:00.001-07:002021-06-16T13:22:56.542-07:00Self-Publishing: What I Learned, What I Earned<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I’ve </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-weight: bold;">learned</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> some things since </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-style: italic;">Whose Fool </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">appeared on Amazon two months ago. It launched with barely a ripple. Then sales sank. I’d read enough to expect low numbers without a marketing campaign, and that most independently published books sold less than 1000 copies. I can tell you that despite the loyal support of friends I vastly underperformed. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">However I don’t count that a failure because sales are only one measure of success. I finished a project I’d begun years earlier. Re-writing and editing ad nauseam stretched my self-discipline. My husband had asked me to finish our story, and it honored him to do so. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I count it a labor of love and conviction. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In return, you readers gave me positive strokes. One said “I didn’t know you were such a good writer.” Our pastor said it was a whirlwind ride, which I took to mean the book was engaging. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With respect and surprise my grandson said “You are on Amazon?” For a moment, I earned cachet with him. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Many people wanted me to sign their copies. The requests affirmed me but I didn’t understand why they wanted my little personalized notes. I’m not famous, and not gonna be. </span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Remember, my goal is for you fans to give the book away to someone else. So tear out the title page I signed, or buy another copy to pass along to a front yard little library, leave at the laundromat, or give to the friend you thinks </span><span style="font-style: italic;">you’re</span><span> a fool because you are a Christian. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The two book clubs I addressed had lots of questions, and I enjoyed extending the conversation deeper into the book’s theme, discussing ignorance, vulnerability and faith.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPvoTcfrBl5qhvSoaCq9lF1ANZfyomFgraGqLJEdaJyMh_QnpCZ39UijvKDK_cTDvYIdQXxjlhzWHeamUW3X1DU81kDXVwWr1l0pnH5aK0BTjKuOJt5JOKoV7LwVa790YOE5Z3f3LRaE/s640/20210524_200406.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="640" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPvoTcfrBl5qhvSoaCq9lF1ANZfyomFgraGqLJEdaJyMh_QnpCZ39UijvKDK_cTDvYIdQXxjlhzWHeamUW3X1DU81kDXVwWr1l0pnH5aK0BTjKuOJt5JOKoV7LwVa790YOE5Z3f3LRaE/w640-h288/20210524_200406.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Read-A-Lattes</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>On</span><span>e friend made me laugh when she said “I’ve made some bad choices in my life, but not as bad as yours.” We could get t-shirts, one saying “Bad” the other stating “Worse.”</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’d be a fool again to count the writing, editing, and publishing process a fruitless endeavor because I hope that someone will be encouraged to depend on Jesus and have their poor choices transformed. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>What did I </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">earn</span><span>? Amazon charges the author a printing cost per book, and takes a 40% cut. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Kindle takes a larger cut because the cost per book is less. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I could turn it into a facetious formula such as </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(Your book club members -2) + (other friends divided by 3)=number of books sold.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It sure wasn’t a money maker, but covered nearly 50% of the preparation costs.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some fans have gone so far as to encourage me to publish others work. But I’d be a fool to gamble another thousand hours crafting a novel without a conventional publisher or professional marketer. If you know a whiz kid marketing major, send me her number, because I have characters I’d like you to meet, and whose stories I’d like you to enjoy. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you for your smiles, hugs, questions, and recognizing that Bill and I are not the people we were.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.1px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-61084207944386161872020-11-12T11:44:00.000-07:002020-11-12T11:44:53.087-07:00Devotion "I'm Clean"<p><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong. </span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">1 John 1:9 CEB</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMCciwoLvXjDdzE-53M-tRn5ogeOFRY3xs1k1I65rBQUn85l7EKaCvfYsWH7Eo4KdfsstL-udLDwqMy7_j6BFvCeQjti1xcxis18-31qyCedQ70xAvHKlh3yHNw4zx7WkU5wwU7C17eM/s640/dirt+magins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMCciwoLvXjDdzE-53M-tRn5ogeOFRY3xs1k1I65rBQUn85l7EKaCvfYsWH7Eo4KdfsstL-udLDwqMy7_j6BFvCeQjti1xcxis18-31qyCedQ70xAvHKlh3yHNw4zx7WkU5wwU7C17eM/s320/dirt+magins.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">When my children were small they loved to dig in the back yard. They would add water to the dirt and pat the mud into “cakes.”</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">At the end of the day they desperately needed a bath. Often their knees had brown dried, cracked mud on them. Their hands and arms were discolored from digging. Their was soil between their bare toes. They were too filthy to come inside so I would rinse them off outside.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">Eventually I noticed the creases of skin and hidden places where dirt stuck to sweat and their skin took on a grey color. We called it permadirt, (permanent dirt.) Only thorough and repeated scrubbings removed it.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I have struggled with particular sins for a long time—grumbling, giving in to a quick temper—I<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>sometimes feel like I am covered with permadirt. I chide myself for lack of progress in overcoming these unkind attitudes. I feel they characterize me.</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But the verse today reminds us that sincere confessions are followed by cleansing. There is no limit on how many times I can be forgiven, because Jesus did it once for all on the cross. Furthermore, I’m scrubbed clean.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>God does not look at me, check behind my ears, under my chin and see permadirt.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">PRAYER</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lord God, I thank you that you both forgive and cleanse me. You do not see me as soiled or defiled, and I should not see myself that way either.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Amen.</span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-14909752270028193692020-10-29T11:03:00.000-07:002020-10-29T11:03:35.983-07:00Voting Absurdly<p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Bill returned from in-person voting today and declared it “absurd.”</span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Not because he doesn’t value the right and privilege of voting or because he had to stand in a line looping around the block. </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span>But </span></span>because he went into a polling place fifty feet from a secure drop-off box, and had to re-complete the ballot which the state of Colorado mailed to us last month.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCFQqIKET6maoyysn9n7b-Gw1UnsJ2yyVBIkk3C_MV1AmglCKw_7A95AYBEMH2fzhtZ7f-zE60Mh1fHNENdvempX6b7XrpCKkgNyNm4GeoOhswKqpRtXc3RvP9gfWhmrCCrN1heRv9t8/s640/IMG_0221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img alt="drop box is in the yellow circle, the door to vote inside is in front of the tent" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCFQqIKET6maoyysn9n7b-Gw1UnsJ2yyVBIkk3C_MV1AmglCKw_7A95AYBEMH2fzhtZ7f-zE60Mh1fHNENdvempX6b7XrpCKkgNyNm4GeoOhswKqpRtXc3RvP9gfWhmrCCrN1heRv9t8/w320-h240/IMG_0221.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> (The yellow circle is the drop box, the door to vote in-person is in left of the tent)<br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">He’d listened to candidate X carry on once too many times about trashed ballots and voter fraud. He’d started worrying about vote buying, as if that couldn’t happen at the voting machine. So he decided he needed to vote in person.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUpNK-xAYqqO9Z9v0Y78BoLvoSp9S4aXZ6JqP4E318DpK0p7oG41qV9CV5-KW7iQJNaQCnckpl5MgtHIzT2PN0x69jZiyLI7hFgHPJ0l-jDr84jUhUqP1c0RK93oQm2shM9YatkC8fdA/s640/IMG_0222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">He carefully studied and filled out his paper ballot with at least fifteen presidential candidates, justices to be retained or not, eleven local ballot measures, and twelve state initiatives. The ballot is six pages long. He took it to the polling place. There was one other voter there.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">He expected to transfer his decisions to a computer.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Nope. The machines are only to assist people with disabilities. The poll worker handed him a fresh ballot, exactly like the one he held in his hand. He completed the duplicate, they marked the old ballot void, and he was on his way. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>He felt badly about the waste of paper. And he wondered why every state didn’t make it as easy as Colorado did. We have a choice of in-person, mail-in, or one of the </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">plentiful, secure ballot drop off boxes. He decided in the end, voting in-person voting was unnecessary, and under these circumstances, absurd.</span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgui5t1_6kGAS54LWDfl_E6K7R7UCa0aFajwzndipE2P3iKu2rA9jPrt-Lt8r_j_J8h6_AoYhihWr_Fyp7USaTpbJkABoY2Xy21g-fdO4-ukv1h1oEKMygD4w5kdWwZEac7XmoFkygdAJ0/s640/IMG_0222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgui5t1_6kGAS54LWDfl_E6K7R7UCa0aFajwzndipE2P3iKu2rA9jPrt-Lt8r_j_J8h6_AoYhihWr_Fyp7USaTpbJkABoY2Xy21g-fdO4-ukv1h1oEKMygD4w5kdWwZEac7XmoFkygdAJ0/s320/IMG_0222.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><br /></span></span></div><p></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-24389644596542426382020-10-21T09:50:00.001-07:002020-10-21T09:50:12.337-07:00<p> </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jesus asks “What do you want me to do?”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGj3A84oaM7CmzDPWz9Dzr6U25hc5R_eYGatFTTCZ0fKcG4MrtJy8P9wmGdtvVHCnvrKizj15CHu1Pw3uDUamCqR80MUT5l261ce-Lwf3Mxwso2y-yynoig-cs69aGnjQEmQDNsKfG8YQ/s622/Screen+Shot+2020-10-19+at+1.24.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="622" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGj3A84oaM7CmzDPWz9Dzr6U25hc5R_eYGatFTTCZ0fKcG4MrtJy8P9wmGdtvVHCnvrKizj15CHu1Pw3uDUamCqR80MUT5l261ce-Lwf3Mxwso2y-yynoig-cs69aGnjQEmQDNsKfG8YQ/w222-h121/Screen+Shot+2020-10-19+at+1.24.39+PM.png" width="222" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My eight year old students crowded around the low work table loaded with the ingredients to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Their job was to give me instructions.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Put the peanut butter on the bread” said the first student.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I plonked the unopened jar in the middle of the loaf, denting it considerably.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“No! You have to take the peanut butter out of the jar,” several said the while others giggled.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So (with a gloved hand) I scooped the peanut butter out of the jar and smeared it on the bread bag.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They erupted in laughter. “Mrs. Glover! Not like that.”</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“What do you want me to do?” I said.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Take the bread out of the bag and spread it on.”</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I ripped the bag, took out a piece of bread and smeared it on one side and set it on the plate.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Now the jelly” one student said. I reached for the jar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“No, use a knife and get the jelly out of the jar” a quick thinker added.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“We have to tell her exactly what we want her to do” said another.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now that they understood good directions are not general, but specific, I sent them back to their desks to write out step by step instructions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Matthew 20 a pair of blind beggars heard Jesus approach and loudly, urgently called out to him. The Greek word for “cried out”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is the word for croak, like the cry of a raven.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The crowd rebuked the pair and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Their request was general “have mercy.” They may have thought that was enough instruction, it was obvious they were blind.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But Jesus wanted more.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.” <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Matthew 20:30-34 NIV</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A careful study of the passage reveals several important elements of prayer.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>First, when in need, seize the opportunity to ask Jesus for help. Don’t put it off, don’t assume things will work themselves out.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Second, don’t be dissuaded by the crush of voices in your own mind — discouraging, dismissive voices that you’ve already asked for your need to be met. Instead, persist.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Third, be specific. The God who created you is asking “What do you me to do for you?”</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fourth, wait with faith.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What <i>do </i>you want Jesus to do for you today? Croak out your prayer right now. Ignore the naysaying voices, and tell Him what you need. He wants to know, and He will act in the way for your good.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-72485481791346805472020-10-05T14:29:00.004-07:002020-10-05T14:29:44.229-07:00Pickin' on the Banjo Picker<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: times;">Bill and I were a pair of sneak-ers. Not tennis shoes, but people who sneak new treasures home and hide them from each other. For years I stashed fabrics at the back of a deep closet and Bill hid books.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAkmtcz-IzurFOdgf8ZRjJun99sDH4hsgYdiH8OpelRMnyvOMHEX_PfQLemwMpkRnbu_-cnOvgA28NMrVzF_B5qBBobCQ-DFb0SwuE_xiskqrJTU9qxP1wnuDyKaTjw7TfZHKVipvUCM/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAkmtcz-IzurFOdgf8ZRjJun99sDH4hsgYdiH8OpelRMnyvOMHEX_PfQLemwMpkRnbu_-cnOvgA28NMrVzF_B5qBBobCQ-DFb0SwuE_xiskqrJTU9qxP1wnuDyKaTjw7TfZHKVipvUCM/" width="180" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br />My buddy can’t sneak in his new banjos, which he buys more often than I buy shoes. He already has five banjo cases leaning against the living room wall like soldiers at ease. His wife is certain to spot an addition. He buys on impulse, and then justifies it, saying he will “probably” sell one. Or he lends one out making a little room for the next instrument.</span><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">The other fiddler and I tease him about the lack of self-control. In the south we’d say we're just pickin'.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>His excessive attraction to banjos rivals that of some men and fishing poles, or guns, or cars. We tell him how patient his wife is, that her tolerance deserves to be rewarded because <i>we’d</i> never put up with it.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-FjuGusqLygYDiFGS3luwdx5pFAfI-7rWHzvlXf5VcL5pb0HoP1rQVOuslfgh8LUENKOrSJQK-tEq-2rTJ7LGZmLaTds2fpaQ6AXLNMHeROKUOj1MpRmtBUwe9OUnabI-bLQpPGZ5Fk/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="544" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-FjuGusqLygYDiFGS3luwdx5pFAfI-7rWHzvlXf5VcL5pb0HoP1rQVOuslfgh8LUENKOrSJQK-tEq-2rTJ7LGZmLaTds2fpaQ6AXLNMHeROKUOj1MpRmtBUwe9OUnabI-bLQpPGZ5Fk/" width="204" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He says he’s learned to wait for her to be in the right frame of mind before he announces a new arrival. When he told her about the latest purchase he offered her a substantial prize.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">I would have wanted a new fiddle, but apparently a new vacuum was on her wish list. </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">I told him that sucked as a consolation prize. Yes, indeed, he said. It sucks very well. </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">She came to rehearsal last week and thanked us for sticking up for her. I told her she deserved something that would give her pleasure, not an appliance. But she was delighted that it vanquished dog hair. A thrifty woman, she recounted that the bags were ridiculously expensive. </span><span style="font-size: large;">As compared to a banjo?</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">I figure he owes her at least 120 boxes of vacuum cleaner bags. </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-49676727656138528822020-09-10T15:47:00.000-07:002020-09-10T15:47:13.491-07:00Russian Lesson in the Pool<p> Floating, dawdling, Russian immigrants are a regular contingent at morning swim times in our senior community. Some speak English, but as a group they naturally revert to their first language.</p><p>One recent morning a swimmer smiled at one of the Russians and asked, "How do you say hello in Russian?" The other woman grinned and slowly said the word. The native English speaker tried it out. The Russian woman repeated, and the first woman tried it again. Apparently, from head shake by the Russian, she got close. </p><p>The friendly woman repeated it once more, thanked the Russian speaker, and said "My grandfather came to the United States as a three year old from Russia. But he didn't remember Russian. His family were Germans working in Russia, and they left when conditions became difficult."</p><p>A second Russian woman observed the interchange, and her friend turned and translated. She beamed too.</p><p>A fourth swimmer said she'd taken Russian in high school, but didn't remember it. And I chimed in that we only remember a language if we have to use it, preferably with a native speaker, not the disembodied voice in the language lab.</p><p>Did you have lab time as part of the required foreign language requirement in secondary school or college? I hated it. The large head phones clamped too tightly and messed up my hair. I felt stupid talking to a machine, and I didn't know if I pronounced words correctly or not. </p><p>Then one summer we hosted a foreign exchange student for a week-end. His English was better than my Spanish, but we spoke mostly Spanish. It was the first glimmer of hope I had that I could learn enough to speak with someone. </p><p>Teaching Spanish speakers and communicating with parents, then attending a (sort-of) bilingual church kept my Spanish skills alive. A few years ago I was riding the subway in Barcelona. I got on, and a young man offered me his seat, using English. In Spanish I answered, "Thank you, but I don't want people to think I'm old." A couple about my age, sitting nearby, laughed with me. I'd been slightly funny in a foreign language. It felt great.</p><p>In all these situations, a small effort to connect with someone in their own language caused a stranger to not feel strange. Somehow, the act of humbling oneself to be <i>bad</i> at the language, turned an outsider into an insider. What a marvel. </p><p>However, this strategy did <i>not </i>work when I learned a few phrases of Finnish off of a website. I used them at a wedding with the groom's family. They looked perlexed until one of the party unmangled my greeting, and burst into laughter, turning to fill in the rest of them. Ah well, I tried. </p><p>Have you had a chance to "cross the aisle" linguistically, and make a stranger feel welcome?</p><p><br /></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-33173226641076761632020-09-03T14:07:00.003-07:002020-09-03T14:07:33.300-07:00Bites and Peaces: When our Band Hit the Sour Notes<p><span>My weekly jam with four other musicians hit sour notes when our interpersonal dynamics got out of tune.</span></p><p><span><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp84XcZTTyQs12-I_IKOmmr6tervx7DsszmwTnHTMMWDCFkI7wPoY4XAP9DZ9SyVN5h3r63eZ6IxcL0u6ZBQ0NBHXzBHaCVQ7PRnLXpMZ_KSfdW_o-uEB_BP3-p6zMANd13S-fGTHtOw/s2048/IMG_2051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1265" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRp84XcZTTyQs12-I_IKOmmr6tervx7DsszmwTnHTMMWDCFkI7wPoY4XAP9DZ9SyVN5h3r63eZ6IxcL0u6ZBQ0NBHXzBHaCVQ7PRnLXpMZ_KSfdW_o-uEB_BP3-p6zMANd13S-fGTHtOw/s320/IMG_2051.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span><p></p><p><span>For three years we've met, chosen songs, worked to learn them, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. But a month ago we went on the activities calendar for a concert at our senior living community. We buckled down to choose a set of songs, and doubled our practice sessions to refine the arrangements.</span></p><p><span>The unexpected pressure revealed stress cracks.</span></p><p>Our musical perspectives vary widely over genre (folk, rock and roll, bluegrass). Sometimes our different styles of how to work together set each other on edge. The most experienced musician is a rock and roller with wide experience. He can hear a chord and it reminds him of the same chord in a different song. Next thing we know, he's zig-zagging down musical rabbit trail and I feel like Alice in confusion-land.</p><p> It drives me crazy, because my background is the high structure of a string orchestra where everyone is on the same page at the same time. Some of our band members are adept at improvisation, while I'm a prisoner to the notes on the page, and the same melody every time. (Thankfully, I'm learning to loosen up a LITTLE.) </p><p>I should have recognized the fault lines in our alliance when we couldn't agree on a name for our band. Thus we're still "fill in the blank" which doesn't look good on a T-shirt. </p><p>Ten days and (two practices) away from our concert date, we were running through a favorite, familiar bluegrass tune. Our banjo player, who never makes notes to himself about our plans, played all over the guitar player's solo. The guitar player, used to his previous bands that kept those details straight, hit his breaking point.</p><p>"That's it. If you can't remember that ending, Dave, which we have done over and over for two years, I'm pulling the song from the concert."</p><p>It was one of Dave's favorites, and best-played. He didn't say anything but it was evident he was unhappy. Four minutes later he spoke up. "So it's okay if you make a mistake, but if I do, it ruins everything?"</p><p>It went from bad to worse. </p><p>In the past I have seen all of us extend grace to each other, accommodating one another's abilities and lack of knowledge, encouraging all.</p><p>But today some important strategies for peace-keeping and harmony were missing from their skill sets, such as negotiation, or letting it go. </p><p>I hoped their impatience and frustration with each other wouldn't over-ride the satisfaction we've had in the past. A schism would be a giant loss to all of us.</p><p>At the next practice, we held our breath when we came to the pulled number. Would the guitar player just skip it? substitute something else?</p><p>What relief when he said "We worked it out" and Dave kicked off the piece. Harmony restored, our concert went well. </p><p>Maybe we can fill in the blank for those t-shirts with "bites and peaces."</p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span><br /></span></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-49598138751602150642020-08-27T03:00:00.035-07:002020-08-27T03:00:06.951-07:00Blossom-end Rot spoils more than Tomatoes<p> </p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12.7px;"><span></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>This summer’s perfect tomato eludes me. A couple have come close. But </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>my winter dreams of ripe red globes nurtured, ripened and delicious are </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>ruined by blossom-end rot (BER). </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQTkQCCk1M3AA16Lbedn4AzJLzajIbMhArsrvaO5wX1p6DYhmO244FFsL1akbF57y_rRHN_4U5qnjWZnD-B8AxCe1-YUg68-Z8LR1TIy8PveYmEIuuoU7VIZU-_9DCcvkcHyN6o5H_Dc/s640/IMG_9405.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="602" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQTkQCCk1M3AA16Lbedn4AzJLzajIbMhArsrvaO5wX1p6DYhmO244FFsL1akbF57y_rRHN_4U5qnjWZnD-B8AxCe1-YUg68-Z8LR1TIy8PveYmEIuuoU7VIZU-_9DCcvkcHyN6o5H_Dc/w386-h410/IMG_9405.jpg" width="386" /></a></div><span><br /></span><p></p>
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<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>I dug in special tomato fertilizer to the planting mix. I switched to high calcium</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span> fertilizer mid-season. I relished the smell of the growing plants. I counted the</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span> pearl-sized fruit. And as the tell-tale spots began, I added dried milk to my </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>watering can. As a last resort, I crushed anti-acid tablets high in calcium and </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>dug them in around the plants. I hope they like the fruit flavors. </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>Oh, fellow gardeners, you know the keen disappointment when you are robbed </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>of the once-a-year gastronomic prize. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>Now I’m in rescue mode, picking fruit that shows signs of the rot. I let them </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>ripen just a bit more, and cut off the browned portion. At least I’m getting a </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>delicious sample if not the bounty.</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>I find that red tomatoes with flat brown bottoms make for apt analogies.</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>Consider these. </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>disagreement:friendship::BER:tomato</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12.7px;">You have a wonderful friend. Then some disagreement or disappointment </p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12.7px;">occurs to spoil it. Rather than give up, I try to put the conflict aside, and </p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12.7px;">rescue the good that's left.</p>
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<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>disease:body::BER:tomato </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A disease in a healthy body is like a rot. Preserving life may require </p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">bombarding it with medication, or poisons like chemo, or cutting out the </p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">sickness. Thus the organism can be saved, if not restored.</p>
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<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>cancelled vacation plans:summer::BER:tomato</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">We cancelled our summer plans one by one because we wanted to avoid </p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">possible corona-virus infection. We finally threw up our hands and declared </p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">we’d enjoy the pleasures at a later time. The hoped for trips are postponed, </p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">not eliminated. We rescued the dreams. </p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12.7px;"><span></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12.7px;">disappointment:life::BER:tomato</p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12.7px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>On a grand scale, life has disappointments the feel like bruises and look </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>like scars. But if I cut out the festering bitterness, some of the sweet </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>satisfaction can be preserved. </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span>What analogy could you write? Add it as comment on Facebook if you can. </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>
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<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12.7px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span><br /></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-25167826043626249172020-08-20T03:00:00.002-07:002020-08-20T03:00:01.055-07:00Theos Thursday: Guidebook or God's Book?<p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The guidebook for tourists advised it was best to ignore beggars, and warned of teams of pickpockets posing to rob do-gooders.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDa8W8YLzJpMtZiWb8jwJ7KOuwrIw4etU-F6vK-8wDUAJ5Bqn7msSDf0uxu-z7fuEVuqX-Jr66dIA0G_6W6sTD8ZWTzxSh2wzAoxx9PShDYnU6tF9SpHZ9iv4fFw5mxBc2k8zNbXSKz3E/s640/beggar-4891334_640+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="photo by 3centista, pixabay" border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="632" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDa8W8YLzJpMtZiWb8jwJ7KOuwrIw4etU-F6vK-8wDUAJ5Bqn7msSDf0uxu-z7fuEVuqX-Jr66dIA0G_6W6sTD8ZWTzxSh2wzAoxx9PShDYnU6tF9SpHZ9iv4fFw5mxBc2k8zNbXSKz3E/w198-h200/beggar-4891334_640+%25281%2529.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="2">photo by 3 centista, pixabay</font></div><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">But God’s book showed me that when Peter met a beggar he said “I don’t have any silver or gold. But I’ll give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk.”<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Acts 3:6, New International Reader's Version (NIRV)</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">While traveling in Spain I maintained my habit of daily Bible reading. The first morning in Barcelona I read the above account. Great story, but I failed to see that it applied to me.</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I closed my Bible, went out sight-seeing, and passed by two beggar women without even remembering what I’d read.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The next day I reread the passage and felt the Holy Spirit pinch. I confessed my self-centeredness and devised a simple plan for the next opportunity.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">On a street busy with foot traffic I saw a clean-cut middle aged man sitting in a doorway with a sign that said “I have problems. Help me.” He looked defeated. I stooped down to be on his level and using my barely-adequate Spanish asked him what the problems were. He said he was sick, and unemployed. I asked his name. After I dropped a few euros in his can, I told Antonio I would pray for him in Jesus’ name.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I walked away convinced God had caused our paths to cross.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Not ten minutes later another man, rumpled and needing a shave, approached me. He also needed help, and said his name was Antonio. Really, Lord? He looked as if drinking might be his biggest problem, and I didn’t want to be generous. I briefly pretended I didn’t speak Spanish, but the Holy Spirit prodded again. I promised to pray for him in Jesus’ name, and shared more euros.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The Antonios keep coming to mind and I have prayed for them many times.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">When I first read Acts 3:6 I was just completing an item on my do-list. When God opened my mind and heart to his word, I found I could give what I had—a little Spanish, a few euros, and faithful prayer in Jesus’ name.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Ask God to show you how he wants you to obey him today. Maybe he’ll send you an Antonio.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">This was originally published on christiandevotions.us, where you can find daily devotions.</span></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-59453925973946465502020-08-13T15:06:00.053-07:002020-08-13T15:06:00.250-07:00Private Trade War with China<br /><div><span> </span><br /></div><div><span>TikTok isn't the only nefarious plot against Americans by the Chinese. There's the less known underwear bait and switch. And it started my own private trade war with China.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I took the bait when an ad popped up for a bra that looked so comfortable I had to have it. </div><div><br /></div><div>I waited three weeks and contacted customer service. They assured me it had shipped, and sent the tracking number. Uh-oh. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJmAuSd5AiYibkzU4K81SuVnEyRUmSBYNCJNLjdYK4H2Z6wpmEJd_R1jS2wQin22F74AlBC6RtVGXgbUd2en-oXcxM72ti8uHjgNZjiOf6nfqA9EGDt-_H4cRAfkcg4LYvkPokeB9bWM/s1062/Screen+Shot+2020-06-23+at+8.18.47+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1062" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJmAuSd5AiYibkzU4K81SuVnEyRUmSBYNCJNLjdYK4H2Z6wpmEJd_R1jS2wQin22F74AlBC6RtVGXgbUd2en-oXcxM72ti8uHjgNZjiOf6nfqA9EGDt-_H4cRAfkcg4LYvkPokeB9bWM/w781-h554/Screen+Shot+2020-06-23+at+8.18.47+PM.png" width="781" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>First lesson learned, verify the location from which the item is being shipped. (When I saw another interesting product online I emailed that customer service center and learned that although the company was German, the product would be shipped from China. No thanks. )</div><div><br /></div><div>I waited another month and then asked to have the order canceled. Too bad, so sad, it had been shipped.</div><div>I found the translate-to-English button on the original tracking order which revealed that my item was in Chengdu China, 6,287 nautical miles from here. The package had been passed off to an airline transport center on April 28th.</div><div><br /></div><div>There it sat until May 5th when it was returned to the processing center for a <b>security</b> concern. I bet my US addressed was the trigger. A day later, it was cleared. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sounds like Chinese job security. Agent A says to Agent B "Ooh, look, a very tiny package. Very light. It's going to an American. It could be something dangerous." The next day Agent A gets it back with yet another official stamp on it and it's no longer a security issue. </div><div><br /></div><div>June 16th it arrived in Los Angeles. Perhaps the plane island hopped? </div><div><br /></div><div>A week later it arrived in my mailbox. </div><div><br /></div><div>I opened the package carefully. I didn't want to slice the garment along with the package. I should have because there is no way a senior woman with a filled-out shape could wear that thing without cutting it open. It wouldn't fit MY body. Labeled M for medium, it looked like M for minuscule. Perhaps they measured in centimeters, not inches. I couldn't even get it over one arm and my head at the same time. </div><div><br /></div><div>Whew, Chinese women must have veeerry tiny rib cages.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second lesson, confirm the unit of measurement and ask for the garment's circumference.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I waited three months for an undergarment that is ridiculously small and unwearable by any adult or child I know. </div><div><br /></div><div>I wrote again. Asked if I could exchange it THIS SIDE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. No, they said, and I would have to pay the shipping back to China. For crying out loud. Third lesson, sometimes it's just better to take the loss and move on. </div><div><br /></div><div> I wish I could hover around the ARC display bin to see who takes the bait the second time. </div><div><br /></div><div>Complaining to a friend about the experience, she recommended a sports bra. It came fast. Once I got it on, it was comfortable. But as I've said before, a garment that requires a ladies' maid just isn't practical. Maybe the next size up will be the ticket. </div><div><br /></div><div>What was your worst online shopping experience? What wisdom could you share with us? </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-66254073361249920102020-08-03T14:36:00.000-07:002020-08-03T14:36:15.819-07:00If I Were a Plant, I'd be a Thistle<p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font face="arial">One of the great pleasures of a garden is how it ties you to the current season and the cycles of growth for each plant. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Lacking a garden, I go out of my way to stay tuned to the natural rhythms of the plants around me. </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial">At the end of June, I tramped around a small wetland. The overgrowth was unsightly, but I was hunting for a prize—the thistle. While many people look at them as aggressive agricultural pests, I cut freely from neglected lots as soon as the buds are plump.</font></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I studied it carefully. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The geometry of the bud compelled me to look more closely.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFlTw1xzc6WxswQCNHJndpEsoK8hCibX5PhR7VfgM3wd4tYE5AgfyMYgll9nhYYl8jzxSx4cAK8mkC5dFhaEDpeuqG_9MFNw2j2dw_nt5N2gwJbprqvTqxC4N2r2MHDiHK4eDfM30cxRM/s640/thistle+markup.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFlTw1xzc6WxswQCNHJndpEsoK8hCibX5PhR7VfgM3wd4tYE5AgfyMYgll9nhYYl8jzxSx4cAK8mkC5dFhaEDpeuqG_9MFNw2j2dw_nt5N2gwJbprqvTqxC4N2r2MHDiHK4eDfM30cxRM/w205-h154/thistle+markup.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><font face="arial">Note the bud, how the thin green bracts spiral around the head. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(If you like the mathematical properties of plants, enjoy close-up photos <a href="https://www.boredpanda.com/geometry-symmetry-plants-nature/?utm_source=search.yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=organic">here</a> .)</font><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial">The thistle is Scotland’s national flower, and wherever it is found its nectar attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies. Painted Lady butterflies like to deposit their larvae among the prickles. Goldfinches like the seeds. And there’s even evidence it has medicinal value, as it contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></font></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial"><br /><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">The stems are edible if peeled and boiled. This speaks to the extreme and barren nature of the Scottish Isles, that prepping its spiky leaves and stem is worth the effort. Here’</span>s a link to <a href="https://northernwoodlands.org/knots_and_bolts/how-to-eat-a-thistle">instructions and a recipe</a> to prepare them. Let me know if you try.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="arial"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></font></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></font></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KYMH4RSOfBnjfUeNCQ_-lQ5orAzBk8H3bqWtjBeN2qaai5I7HtL8YRXISugjxpvzIXGX91I08VSzN7vOifvkqxztiagMh_Dt-nzVS7Gg5rxJQezaOzsghfPSFMYKR6CxeDv3jI01o1o/s640/thistle+bouquet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="arial"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KYMH4RSOfBnjfUeNCQ_-lQ5orAzBk8H3bqWtjBeN2qaai5I7HtL8YRXISugjxpvzIXGX91I08VSzN7vOifvkqxztiagMh_Dt-nzVS7Gg5rxJQezaOzsghfPSFMYKR6CxeDv3jI01o1o/s320/thistle+bouquet.jpg" width="320" /></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="arial"><br /></font></div><font face="arial">I enjoyed the cycle of bud and bloom in cut flowers and other years have gone back for the dried seed head for fall flower arrangements.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font><p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font face="arial">All parts of the cycle require leather gloves and sharp pruners.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font face="arial">I agree with this description of the plant (from scottish-at-heart.com)</font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: #fefffe; color: #444444; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b><font face="arial">Scottish thistles have:</font></b></span></p><ul><li class="li4" style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s2" style="color: black; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s3" style="background-color: #fefffe; font-kerning: none;">Delicately beautiful flower heads,</span></font></li><li class="li4" style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s2" style="color: black; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s3" style="background-color: #fefffe; font-kerning: none;">Viciously sharp thorns,</span></font></li><li class="li4" style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s2" style="color: black; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><span class="s3" style="background-color: #fefffe; font-kerning: none;">A stubborn and tenacious grip on the land,</span></font></li><li class="li4" style="-webkit-text-stroke: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s3" style="background-color: #fefffe; font-kerning: none;">The defiant ability to flourish in spite of efforts to remove it<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></font></li></ul><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: #fefffe; color: #444444; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 21px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font face="arial">I think it fits me, too. I recognize myself to be stubborn, and according to my family, I have a prickly personality.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><font face="arial"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font face="arial">I hope I have a bit of that defiant ability to flourish in the face of adversity.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font face="arial"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></font></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font face="arial"><span class="Apple-converted-space">All that from a "weed." What do you do with thistles, curse or enjoy them?</span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p5" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); background-color: #fefffe; color: #444444; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 21px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p></div>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-34352469114165717802020-07-23T03:00:00.002-07:002020-07-23T15:26:25.625-07:00Announcer or Friend: What’s your role on Facebook? <p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;">I don’t know which has done more damage over the last few months--social distancing or Facebook. The combination of the two have weakened my personal relationships.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;">I found I spend more time on Facebook, which has soured me on the medium considerably. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;">Allowing for the fact that FB is basically a system to share personal announcements or push an agenda, the recent monotony of “share this” has worn me down. Folks are yelling through megaphones to let me know they're "woke."</span></p><p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3LuYvYoXuOMmFFB9GdINxDDrtpCEDgPkZm1Q1rqpMNhI1p2L4fdYl2aQi_a1J6CTDhCLpMG6aGSGvo7TSvlY0lR9eBKhvgKmGwooxxD8rJ5sHQRmR-X9H-pDWO73Z43jIqMvd9rflrU/s1280/megaphone-1019756_1280+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="pixabay" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3LuYvYoXuOMmFFB9GdINxDDrtpCEDgPkZm1Q1rqpMNhI1p2L4fdYl2aQi_a1J6CTDhCLpMG6aGSGvo7TSvlY0lR9eBKhvgKmGwooxxD8rJ5sHQRmR-X9H-pDWO73Z43jIqMvd9rflrU/w320-h320/megaphone-1019756_1280+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pixabay<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Those posts don't feel like overtures of friendship. They don't sound like invitations to a conversation. Indeed they're no more personal than a wave from a nodding acquain</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">tance. The writers have become epassers-by, part of the parade driving through my livingroom with signs hanging out the window.</span></p><p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;">I realize too often I am just as annoying. My posts are all about me. I want your attention, your affirmation, your agreement. I want you to listen, AND to care.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;">I congratulate myself that <i>at least</i> I'm not seeking "followers," one step down in the degeneration of electronic relationships. (Did you know followers can be purchased? But some sites sell fake followers, so beware.) It's not new. R</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;">emember the girls who passed around their high school yearbooks to get the most “Be good” notes, assuring themselves of their popularity? </span></p><p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If Facebook has made me only an attention-seeker, I AM a low quality friend. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;">If I sound like a megaphone and I leave emojis instead of a personal note on one of your posts, I apologize. </span></p><p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Heaven forbid that I mistake it for friendship. </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">Be a friend and call me on it.</span></p><p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p>
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<p style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16.1px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 14pt;"></span><br /></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-21827959627678010362020-07-16T03:00:00.005-07:002020-07-16T03:00:02.913-07:00Theos Thursday: Today is Not the Last Word<p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;"><strong style="box-sizing: inherit; outline: 0px !important;">“Today is not the Last Word: finding hope in adversity”</strong></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">February 18, 2020</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEn8oU0WnHkImHSkK7OJ0vmKNkJ7Dmk7G8QCMb0mNVHEtVhln0AW5ARbrTWhGV5EMroKwxbXkUS_dTzfY6UgCmmpnmti_LemJcRVHPdBsIeN-M03hdznHJKkmq6ST8Qz5itC1nzVgXTA/s10800/IMG_0864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2364" data-original-width="10800" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLEn8oU0WnHkImHSkK7OJ0vmKNkJ7Dmk7G8QCMb0mNVHEtVhln0AW5ARbrTWhGV5EMroKwxbXkUS_dTzfY6UgCmmpnmti_LemJcRVHPdBsIeN-M03hdznHJKkmq6ST8Qz5itC1nzVgXTA/w625-h138/IMG_0864.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">In our early fifties, my husband and I moved out of congested Denver, Colorado to the countryside of North Carolina. We bought a small farmhouse and remodeled it into the charming cottage pictured above. I planned, planted, and nurtured flower gardens, fruits and vegetables. My husband and I had immediate access to state parks and the Blue Ridge mountains. Washington DC and other historic areas were an easy day’s drive away. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">I joined a group of fellow-teachers in a book club and soon had a solid group of friends. Through our church, we were engaged with immigrants in the community.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">I never planned to leave. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">Seventeen years later, in 2016 we faced double crises. My husband was diagnosed with late stage kidney cancer. Simultaneously I suffered from an undiagnosed malady that prevented me from standing, gardening, or driving.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">We couldn’t care for our property, and barely for ourselves. With an uncertain future, we decided we should put the house up for sale and see how God worked. Within three months, Bill had surgery, the house was sold and packed, and we headed back to Colorado. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">It all happened too fast. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">Although our health stabilized, we faced financial strain. We were shocked that the cost-of-living differences between rural North Carolina and urban Denver forced us into a retirement community. I’d given up a home I’d loved for a small, sunless apartment. I couldn’t garden, I couldn’t see stars. I grieved the loss of my happy life and blamed God. “Is this the best You can do?” </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">In earlier crises God had shown me special passages from he Bible which comforted me, and gave me peace. During this period I prayed and studied and neither felt His presence, nor His grace. Reading the Bible seemed a futile activity. Paul’s lofty promises seemed to mock me; I couldn’t rejoice in trials. Would I ever hear God speak to me again? I turned instead to contemporary Christian writers.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">I’d been telling myself I would never be happy again, strong again, my life would never be purposeful, I would never escape from the emotional cave which trapped me. John Piper, in <em style="box-sizing: inherit; outline: 0px !important;">Future Grace</em> identified those as some of Satan’s lies.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">If those were lies, what was the truth?</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">I changed how I read the Bible. I shifted my focus from seeking relief to discovering God’s character. I listed the attributes He used to describe Himself, and categorized His actions. Although I failed to see what He might be doing in my life, I resolved to trust that He was truthful, saw my misery, and was compassionate. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">Of course, I found comfort as well. Isaiah 61 encouraged me that God would anoint His servant to bring good news to <em style="box-sizing: inherit; outline: 0px !important;">me</em>, to bind up <em style="box-sizing: inherit; outline: 0px !important;">my</em> broken heart, to comfort <em style="box-sizing: inherit; outline: 0px !important;">my</em> mourning, and to replace it with gladness. (Isaiah 61:1-3 NASB) </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">Our circumstances improved. We found a church of fervent young believers who welcomed us and ministered to us. The second year Bill’s health screen indicated the cancer had not spread. God provided a group of musicians that joined me regularly to play traditional music. I helped start a book club. And we happily cared for our “surprise” sixth grandchild. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">Still, my emotions frequently descended into misery.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">From Psalm 13 I learned that our troubled thoughts and sorrow may persist. I would have to fight for joy by choosing to “trust in your faithful love; rejoice in your deliverance…sing to the Lord because he has treated me generously.” (Psalms 13:5-6 CSB) I made a list of instances of His mercy. I added relevant scriptures. I prayed over the promises and evidence, and I preached to myself. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">The despondency is fleeting now, but three and half years after the move, I still pine for North Carolina. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">Two recent incidents helped me purpose to eliminate grumbling. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">A missionary’s blog described how difficult it had been for her to transition from rural Kentucky to a megacity in Asia. She explained the truths God showed her to accept her place of service. I adopted her prayer list in order to let go of the home and lifestyle to which I felt I was entitled. Months later I went to a missions conference for our denomination. In a small group, I met her. I was stunned that out of thousands of missionaries serving overseas, and four hundred people at the conference, God brought us together.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">A Sunday sermon convicted me that comparing my new situation to my former life led to grumbling. And complaints led to bitterness. I went down to the alter and asked our pastor to pray for me, and how tenderly God spoke to me through him. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">I’m still not convinced that we didn’t make a mistake moving so quickly, seeing how well we’ve recovered. But even if it was a mistake, God knew what was coming.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">And He knows what’s still to come. “Despair forgets there are more pages to our story.” https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/to-great-things-that-never-came </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">Someday I will understand why Denver is better for us.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">What I feel and what I don’t understand now is not the last word. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #464646; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px !important; text-align: justify;">You can find other stories of hope on Deena Adams’ blog, deenaadams.com</p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-35679100468280842862020-07-15T03:00:00.004-07:002020-07-15T11:52:00.936-07:00Relieve my Monotony! <p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Restlessness is growing in me like water coming to a slow boil. Like a toddler who has been confined to the car seat too long, I’m kicking my heels against the monotony.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">I want out! Out of “safe at home” guidelines. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">I long for a new view, something unfamiliar to explore. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Surely somebody has something to say that I haven’t heard repeatedly.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Wait, three year old Willow does. Six months ago we crossed our fingers and hoped she would string more than two words together. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Now she’s a blond, earthbound, human version of a mynah bird. She repeats what she hears so well I can tell which family member she heard it from.</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">“Fine,” she says with a resigned tone when I asked her cooperation. That’s her 13 year old sister talking. Willow just hasn’t learned to roll her eyes yet.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">“That’s odd.” Odd? Does she even know what odd is? No, she doesn’t. But I chuckle when I hear her say it. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtA35G-fvHmOKIdkZtPm5PA6AaO0jU7CIGKBJm8sSnGwtezNMgNBWfPB4MMwmUuWLR5y0ODHJtiJEy-OumVW-daaXWUwhNFVfbSV71ROnWhVoUUxJvDFsGqJlQ1HApY8ouy-qWwDMje6s/s640/IMG_6235.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtA35G-fvHmOKIdkZtPm5PA6AaO0jU7CIGKBJm8sSnGwtezNMgNBWfPB4MMwmUuWLR5y0ODHJtiJEy-OumVW-daaXWUwhNFVfbSV71ROnWhVoUUxJvDFsGqJlQ1HApY8ouy-qWwDMje6s/s320/IMG_6235.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div>“I.Want. A birthday present. NOW.” The phrasing, crossed arms, and stamp of her tiny foot came straight from 7 year old Bo. The demand is cuter from her than it is from her brother. He’s also modeled, “It’s my favorite...” book, color, shirt. And “I love...” chips, ice cream, chocolate. <p></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">And Bo’s probably the source for “I don’t like you anymore.” </span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">“Chill, Dad.” That’s one of the teens.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">She doesn’t miss a thing. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">When she spent a weekend here plastic animals and Lego people were dying at an alarming rate. Apparently she listened in on recent conversations about her great-grandmother’s death. So I tried to segue from dead critters to the larger concept. I told her that because Frieda had died, we wouldn’t see her anymore and that made us sad. But who knows what a tiny person understands. Not much, apparently. After two nights here her siblings asked if she had a good time at grandma and grandpa’s.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">“Grandma Pam’s dead,” she announced. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">She didn’t hear it from me.</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">**********************************</span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">FYI Starting tomorrow, the third Thursday of each month will be Theos Thursday and I will share a meditation based on a short Bible Passage. Please join me for those, too. </span></p><p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br /></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-14381642387749758842020-06-29T11:54:00.006-07:002020-07-04T15:42:45.264-07:00What is your Best By Date?<p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-HZcuNGoenoDuBD_4XZfB3yKN11FDnum635YFXHXgJwxd2YosHZ4oNf6e4TQlM-YvrbODk_IrcX2eFGGiZ08uXvYnDmSnRLvzddxDJ19OQ25bwGJ06E2p_utAqolaGLjfSkk7uE9lFk/s640/IMG_9212.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-HZcuNGoenoDuBD_4XZfB3yKN11FDnum635YFXHXgJwxd2YosHZ4oNf6e4TQlM-YvrbODk_IrcX2eFGGiZ08uXvYnDmSnRLvzddxDJ19OQ25bwGJ06E2p_utAqolaGLjfSkk7uE9lFk/s320/IMG_9212.JPG" /></a></div><font size="5"><br /></font><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">The sugar bag stated that it was BESTBY 08APR2023. That was specific, considering sugar is a dry substance and can’t harbor microorganisms that would make it go bad.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">It made me wonder what <i>my </i>BESTBY date was. And that led to considering the various roles I’ve had in my life, each which had some kind of peak in quality.</font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">I was a roller skating whiz at eight. It’s gone downhill since then, and after a fall at the roller rink a few years ago, my skating date has expired.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">Likewise, my physical peak was long ago. Physical therapy is keeping me functional, but not optimal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">As a young mom I was impatient. With maturity I became more patient. Now, I’m just enjoying my adult children, and not actively parenting. So the BEST BY has expired.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">At twenty I was the best violinist I would ever be, so that’s a half century ago. I keep plugging away, but doubt I’ll regain agile fingers and quick bowing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">Mental acuity is deteriorating. Ten years ago I wouldn’t have forgotten the names of the flowers in my garden. Or how we got our first child home from the hospital without a car.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">2010, the year I retired from teaching, was probably the height of my career. I learned more about children and how the brain processes information after college than before. There was always some new skill to learn, or a conference to give me a new perspective.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">As a wife, I’m long past the ardor I had as a young woman, so romance is past it’s BEST BY date. But our marriage is less contentious and more comfortable now. Until one of us gets dementia, I think we'll stay "fresh."</font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">As a person of faith, I was more zealous and active before 50. However, more knowledge about the Bible, and more wisdom about life are of more value.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></font></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><font size="5"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5">Like any foodstuff, my degeneration is inevitable, but I won’t go bad all at once--until the very end. Gratefully, I don't know what that date is. </font></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5">A note: a young computer-savvy friend suggested you may not be able to leave a comment if you are using Safari for your search engine. Please try coming to my blog via Google, Bing or Chrome. Thanks. This tech stuff is giving me giant headaches. My BestBy date never happened with computers.</font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5">They keep jumping ahead of me.</font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><font size="5"><br /></font></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><font size="5"><br /></font></span></span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-50954372294376323762020-05-12T13:47:00.003-07:002020-05-12T13:47:44.735-07:00Prince Charmin<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Stay at home orders are taking their toll on us. I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary in weeks, except for light traffic. My library books are two and half months overdue. Bill's running commentary during the news is just as tedious when he's misunderstanding COVID science as it was when the topic was the presidential race. He misses the days I would go off somewhere and leave him in peace. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With the outside world so far removed, every little detail of life is something to pick at, exaggerated and out of proportion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mid February we were good for toilet paper. We laughed at the TP hoarders.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">About four weeks in we couldn’t find any in our usual stores, and the stockpile was running low. I stopped at Whole Foods. The paper goods shelves were nearly empty, but high on the top shelf were two packages of their organic, undyed, tan toilet paper. I only took one twelve-pack, conscientious citizen that I am. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Recently I put a roll in my bathroom, and Bill’s. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">It’ll do, I thought. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">But my grocery shopping hubby came home today with a prize of eight rolls of Charmin which he announced he would NOT share with me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">It seems he’s turned into Prince Charming with a tender tush and has to have the best. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Usually he’s not a keen observer of his surroundings. For example</span><span style="font-size: large;"> he carried in the apartment building’s yellow broom when the one we’ve had for three years is red. But he noticed and objected to my changing his sanitary product. He did not think the environmentally friendly TP was friendly to him. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> He said it was too thin, scratchy, and the beige color looked weird floating in the toilet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I should have known.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is not the first time he’s taken a firm stand on toilet paper. Our daughter prefers ultra-thin, single-ply, unembossed, good-for-septic-tank brands. It is so stiff and coarse, we take our own rolls to their house for our baby-sitting days. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">And past international travel has caused Bill no small amount of concern before-hand and distress once at our destination. On our last trip, back when TP was not an issue in developed countries, I thought he was going to fill every crevice of his suitcase with handmade mini-rolls. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">We didn’t know if Croatia leaned more to hearty, soft TP or harsh, thin Central American standards. As I recall it turned out okay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last trip to Target I noticed the paper aisle seemed well-stocked, but didn't do a brand name check. Our condo isn’t big enough to store more TP when I have eleven rolls of the WF brand. As the sole user of said brand, I admit it is thin and strange looking. And i</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">t’ll probably last up to the second wave of COVID and the next paper-product roundup. </span></div>
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Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-73405217209785421382020-04-30T13:59:00.001-07:002020-04-30T13:59:59.391-07:00Tough Days and Silver Linings<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I suspect you may have had some tough days in the last weeks. We have our “I miss…” lists, the events we’ve had to forgo for the time being. And I'm sure we all hope that “temporary” has a closer rather than longer end-date. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those of us living in high-density areas have to wipe down all of the door handles going to get the mail and back, and disinfect the shared laundry facilities. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKnro6mAE0VYIA6c6J0BaY-x3wRGcqdyZFeSSS0tGPUKbsqeYD-hrC1mcqoBwcdnMK4Qff6DstZvJzvEriP-tZhWXkjTWhGzztqQsKfxNsZH5yf-RkQgDCP5SyUQ8ZWFNHcVEuPXu29w/s1600/IMG_1927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKnro6mAE0VYIA6c6J0BaY-x3wRGcqdyZFeSSS0tGPUKbsqeYD-hrC1mcqoBwcdnMK4Qff6DstZvJzvEriP-tZhWXkjTWhGzztqQsKfxNsZH5yf-RkQgDCP5SyUQ8ZWFNHcVEuPXu29w/s200/IMG_1927.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here is the line we're waiting in to get into Trader Joe's. There are two people in front of us, and the rest behind us. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nobody I know can gather with their book clubs, or church congregations (although it is nice listening to a sermon whenever we feel like it, and I don’t have to act friendly on Sunday mornings). And I really, really, miss talking to Willow and getting hugs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">One the other hand, I don’t worry about getting laid off because I’m retired. The government could quit sending my social security checks, but that would take an act of congress and we know how hard that is to get!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve found my “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_lining_(idiom)">silver lining</a>” from a relaxed schedule and reduced responsibilities. (And did you know the phrase originated with John Milton, the brilliant, blind, and too hard-to-read English poet who lived nearly 400 years ago?)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">1) </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">I have large periods of uninterrupted time for writing. I set a goal to finish the third draft of our cult testimony. Instead of working on a chapter here and there, I divided the manuscript into chunks and made </span><span style="font-size: large;">revising</span><span style="font-size: large;"> my only goal for the day. Shazam, it felt like magic. This week I re-worked the order, cut some passages, and smoothed out awkward spots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m also building a website, and will move this blog to a new address by June first. The new address will allow you to easily leave comments, which has been a drawback with this site. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">2) Since my last blog I began physical therapy for the left arm. It's the outing of the week. I took my violin with me recently and showed the therapist what I could reach, and what I needed to reach. She adapted some stretches to gently move my left hand and arm in the direction they need to go. Now I can press down three fingers on three strings--that's 75% of the way to my goal. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since I could only practice with my bowing arm I've see improvement in bow control and tone. Wow, that’s huge, and I never would have focused so intensely on the right arm if the left hadn’t been injured. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">You might not relate to my goal-setting, but I know you can make a list of the silver linings from the COVID lifestyle change. Try to leave a comment, or send me an email, and I’ll make a list of the good things that have come from your quarantine, no matter how soft or severe it’s been. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hope to see you face to face sometime in 2020. That includes you in North Carolina, and other scattered locales. </span></span></div>
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Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-58505812497841164642020-02-10T13:02:00.000-07:002020-02-10T13:14:11.594-07:00Neuroplasticity: the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brain research suggests we all need to keep learning new things to foster “plasticity.” It conjures up images of flesh-colored silly putty being stretched, but <a href="https://sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/02/26/brain-plasticity-how-learning-changes-your-brain/">neuroplasticity</a> means that when neurons connect in new ways, the brain changes. </span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">We've all experienced that when we've had physical therapy, or learned a new skill. </span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">For a few years, I've tried to change my brain so that I can hear a tune and then play it on my violin. I've made some progress but</span></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"> a recent</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> injury has sabotaged my fiddling. I can’t press down the fingers of my left hand onto the strings. It’s like trying to roll pie crust with one good arm and the opposite elbow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve resorted to “practice” bowing (the right arm) on open strings. That only leaves me four notes, one for each of the violin’s strings. It</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> sounds awful, but it’s </span><span style="font-size: large;">a good thing to just practice bowing. And my brain is making new connections. </span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">My teacher told me to play in front of a mirror. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">Because I don’t have to concentrate on ten fingers, I see that the five on my right hand have very little control over the bow.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> My brain stumbles badly watching the bow’s path between the bridge and the neck and tries to make it stay on track. But the reversed image in the mirror makes the task much harder.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The bow is supposed to stay parallel to the bridge at all times, </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">but mine skews badly. It reminds me of a train derailing. The engineer (my brain) can’t seem to decide if I need to push the tip away from me or pull it toward me.</span></div>
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</span></span> <span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">It feels exactly the same way when I back up my car down a driveway using just the rearview mirrors. Maybe I’ll be able to do that better too, after this relearning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The teacher also taught me other exercises. This one, the “spider,” has been difficult. I watch my fingers taking turns to climb up the bow, but I’m having a devil of a time reversing. I can feel my tongue poking out of the side of my mouth as I concentrate. Watch the master (not me) do it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have new empathy for the narrator of the bluegrass song, "Piney Mountains":</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">“My hands can't fiddle and my heart's been broke</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">You damned old piney mountain...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Buddy sing a sad old song”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">-Bruce Molsky</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don’t allow myself to dwell on the doomsday thought “What if I can never play again?” I don’t know <i>any</i> musical instruments that I could play with only one hand, not even the spoons. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't know what new challenge age or injury have caused you, but there may be an upside when you learn the work around--a newly renovated brain. </span></span></div>
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Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-18221158918017483882020-01-27T16:58:00.002-07:002020-01-27T16:58:50.162-07:00Is the book you're reading worthy of a silver apple?<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I’ve found a new book worth of my silver apple. </span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The bookmark was a thank you gift for volunteering in a local school. It’s metal, substantial, and adds gravitas to the current read. I thought I’d lost it once, then remembered it was in a book from our condo community library. It had been reshelved with the bookmark still in place, and I was grateful to retrieve it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Recently I’ve chosen books recommended from online lists, but find they weren’t my style. After a lifetime of finishing any book I started, just because I “should”, I quit. Now if the style, the genre, or the topic don’t suit me, I snap the cover closed and move on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then I heard an author interview on PBS Newshour of <i>the other americans</i>, by laila lalami. (And yes, the title is uncapitalized.) It’s written from the viewpoints of characters both central, and seemingly tangential, to a hit and run auto accident. Even the deceased has a voice.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Although the main characters are first and second-generation immigrants, the dynamics between family members are familiar. The emotions are universal. Google filled in the gaps between my background knowledge and people and places mentioned in the text. In one instance a singer was mentioned and I listened to her on youtube, which added depth. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The writing is evocative: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"> “Then a woman pushed her cart past us, and in her wake I caught the</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"> scent of rosewater. Instantly, I was back in Casablanca with my sisters, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">putting our hair in rollers and trying on different colors of lipstick</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">...where a picture of Shadia was tucked into the frame, her hair in </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">an elaborate bouffant we were trying to replicate.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve never been to Casablanca, but I could relate to the scent of rosewater, and childhood friends exploring hairstyles and makeup.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">After weeks of poor choices, I latched onto this book like I was malnourished. And I had been, the previous five choices that lacked beauty and nuance. The first night reading <i>the other americans</i> I reluctantly placed the book mark because I wanted to keep reading. And I thought, this is a silver-apple worthy book. And it was. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you will, nominate a book you think would be worthy of my bookmark. </span></span></div>
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Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-89235318006575906102019-12-16T10:05:00.000-07:002019-12-16T10:05:27.146-07:00Christmas in Berlin<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHw2iYToYio9xN2elDDAYUAw5v9115CxA0oPfvJKZ3xypZl1NVVUzkDWkC5YlcTo95q1WDrj4Fj8ZzxA1P0j6VH-Oj7f6qnFN6I2ga-lR42MpO6vK99yrPLS9lDAl_7JM6xfeNKDyztA/s1600/IMG_2753.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHw2iYToYio9xN2elDDAYUAw5v9115CxA0oPfvJKZ3xypZl1NVVUzkDWkC5YlcTo95q1WDrj4Fj8ZzxA1P0j6VH-Oj7f6qnFN6I2ga-lR42MpO6vK99yrPLS9lDAl_7JM6xfeNKDyztA/s320/IMG_2753.JPG" width="320" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We once observed Christmas being celebrated in Berlin, but in reality, we were in Barcelona, and it was early October. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">On vacation, we walked past an empty retail space </span><span style="font-size: large;">in the morning</span><span style="font-size: large;">. By evening, it had morphed into the Berlin Cafe, with new red awnings. J</span><span style="font-size: large;">ust inside the big front window, </span><span style="font-size: large;">young lovers sat at a table for </span><span style="font-size: large;">two</span>.<span style="font-size: large;"> Patrons filled the interior. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDA-OvFK7v6z8FYEeD_GmYgt8w2KN4TMCLiKrivNtypra6h-f0OCGIfqf32-54K_vx5A2pr1TtAIG6wU9y7QH0GmB2VIFSOkOivxR_f7LAmbXxFWc7r9FCG-eEymlqsW4LVptNRfu_vg/s1600/IMG_2751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDA-OvFK7v6z8FYEeD_GmYgt8w2KN4TMCLiKrivNtypra6h-f0OCGIfqf32-54K_vx5A2pr1TtAIG6wU9y7QH0GmB2VIFSOkOivxR_f7LAmbXxFWc7r9FCG-eEymlqsW4LVptNRfu_vg/s320/IMG_2751.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Colored Christmas lights surrounding the windows. Cables attached to men with cameras and big lights fed into a truck full of technical equipment. Food was served--</span><span style="font-size: large;">but it was a portable table on the sidewalk, for the film crew and actors.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> I</span><span style="font-size: large;">t only took a few moments for us to recognize artifice. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">We joined the crowd lingering behind the film-makers outside of the cafe and watched.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJS6-fzBAJWkqffENWy2ySDJr7EUahBEtS_Wal7Xxd_yzs-TEQVVuSW8bxgQLBFqrhzL4-h-HC2Jz8BMWWfq1ZMhzCwQ2gvN3KpSS4DoX67G-PBGLuznJygLzNNkWUdw4AXZmDpuwxrZA/s1600/IMG_2756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJS6-fzBAJWkqffENWy2ySDJr7EUahBEtS_Wal7Xxd_yzs-TEQVVuSW8bxgQLBFqrhzL4-h-HC2Jz8BMWWfq1ZMhzCwQ2gvN3KpSS4DoX67G-PBGLuznJygLzNNkWUdw4AXZmDpuwxrZA/s320/IMG_2756.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">The couple leaned in for a kiss, and drew back. But they didn't gaze into each other's eyes. Instead, the actress rolled her head to relax her neck. And the leading man leaned back and pursed his lips to release a big breath. An unseen director must have called for another take, about ten in all. Of course, it would be edited eventually, but in the making, </span><span style="font-size: large;">romance was transformed into</span><span style="font-size: large;"> tedium. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">It was hoopla without substance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That can happen to us at Christmas time. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">I love putting up the tree, and playing carols, and choosing gifts for my family. But that's all red-awnings, and I can let myself become the director trying to get the scene, and timing, and gifting "right." (You know how it is choosing gifts, this year may be a "take two" for the umpteenth time.) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">But I really don't want Christmas in Berlin. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">So I stop and review the gospel accounts of Jesus' birth. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Ultimately, I want my faith to be refreshed</span><span style="font-size: large;"> as I celebrate the baby who grew to prove Himself the Savior of the world. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">My prayer for you is that you enjoy both the temporal, and the eternal aspects of this wonderful season.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Merry Christmas! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-8696174231240527172019-11-23T11:40:00.000-07:002019-11-23T11:57:09.171-07:002019's Top 19 Reasons to be Thankful<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Even though there is snow on the ground, and the magnificent five-story pine across the golf course is naturally flocked, next week is Thanksgiving, not Christmas. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Since nobody reads the President's Thanksgiving Proclamation*, here are my top nineteen reasons to be thankful in 2019.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. We're well. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liam "seeks" Willow who thinks she is hidden.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. Willow, 2, is talks and makes us laugh. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">3. Bo, 6, can read well for a first-grader, and his vision is not currently deteriorating.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">4. Sam, 15, has turned into a wonderful cook. He recently grilled delectable moist chicken and performed magic with cherry tomatoes. He's also an interesting dinner companion.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">5. Liam, 11, has a knack for writing. The fifth-grade class is participating in NaNoWriMo, a month of writing a novel in one month. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">6. Keeler, 13, is a math whiz, and we're not worried he will get into any kind of trouble until he tries to learn to drive.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">7. Em, 12 going on 14, is tall, lovely, responsible. We've nicknamed her Em-I-A, as in Em missing in action. We hope she'll take a break from her social life soon so we can talk to her, preferably before the end of the year. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">8. This condo is FLOODED with morning light. Bill needs to wear a baseball cap to keep the sun out of his eyes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">9. T</span><span style="font-size: large;">he kitchen counters are installed,</span> <span style="font-size: large;">three months after being ordered. (And I am thankful that I stayed patient--until two weeks ago.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">10. I'm finding solid, encouraging relationships at our merged church.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">11</span><span style="font-size: large;">. I have a fiddling friend. </span><span style="font-size: large;">We practice Christmas carols and twin fiddle tunes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">12. Bill and I took three road trips this year (all involved bluegrass music): Dallas,</span><span style="font-size: large;">Westcliffe, Colorado, and North Carolina.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">13. In October I rejoined the bluegrass jam I used to attend in Mt. Airy. I've improved since my last time with them. Now I can play chords, thanks to my weekly as yet-to-be-named geezer group of musicians. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">14. We have been blessed with generous friends.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> One installed the new cabinets for us. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Another couple let us stay in their river house for a week this fall,</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8thAU_6VGm7KAOtrO6s4CrVAb6hB36E0RiM0SWQpcT49L4qWquKh_QsHlXbwZjbjBXHq9qiKHUAuYhCWaHI-NhLQYiuZ3KOSxKG8Kbg7N7o8axwy8C9RaQN-3b2MyxhBnOKPTIYJRI6Q/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8thAU_6VGm7KAOtrO6s4CrVAb6hB36E0RiM0SWQpcT49L4qWquKh_QsHlXbwZjbjBXHq9qiKHUAuYhCWaHI-NhLQYiuZ3KOSxKG8Kbg7N7o8axwy8C9RaQN-3b2MyxhBnOKPTIYJRI6Q/s320/IMG_0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan River, Kibler Valley, Va.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">now our favorite place since we sold Newsong Cottage. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Others hosted us during the trip east.</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">15. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Bill and I shared a delicious dinner at Harvest Table, Barbara Kingsolver's restaurant in Meadowview, Va. It was on my must-do list. I wish it was down the street from our condo.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">16. I turned an emotional corner, and accept that I will probably live in Colorado the rest of my life. I continue to look back over my shoulder to all I left behind, but acceptance is better than anger. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">17. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Bill and I continue to compensate for each other's crumbling mental acuity, and laugh about it. For example, thawed soup was actually spaghetti sauce which we didn't realize until we put it in the bowls. Had to cook some pasta.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">18. Last night my local book club chuckled over Wally Lamb's<i> Wishin' and Hopin'</i>. Even those of us who did not attend Catholic schools laughed at the familiar kid-antics and power struggles. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> It's the funniest Nativity play since <i>The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><span style="font-size: large;">( I'm sending a copy to both Dobson book clubs. Pass it around.) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span> <span style="font-size: large;">19. We will spend Thanksgiving with a family from Iraq. I am thankful they don't still live in Baghdad.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Happy Thanksgiving, friends. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">* Except for Christian Science churches which read the President's Proclamation at their Thanksgiving Services.</span>Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-49190188795942161462019-10-29T15:36:00.000-07:002019-11-02T08:29:31.014-07:00Isa (Jesus) and Diyaa Dance for their Brides <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x-rvUgSCeNw" width="459"></iframe><br />
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(If you only have a black box, and no <a href="https://youtu.be/x-rvUgSCeNw">video</a>, here is a link.)<br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve never attended a Middle Eastern wedding so I was honored that my friend invited me to celebrate her brother's wedding. </span><span style="font-size: large;">We put our heads together to watch postage-stamp videos taken by phone and zipped over thousands of miles in seconds. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the narrow space between the walled property of their family home and the neighbor’s, a three-piece band of trumpet and two drums blasted a traditional Iraqi wedding tune. She says the instruments are common between Muslim and Christian weddings there, although the tunes vary. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The thoroughly modern bridegroom wore a fashionable business suit with a white shirt and bright red tie and matching pocket-handkerchief. His groomsmen, also in suits, waited to join in the dancing. They took turns dancing, raising their hands overhead and clapping as they swooped and side-stepped toward the waiting car. At one point the groom and his friend clasped hands, arms held out like a T, and danced back and forth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the background, women in the family let loose the high, happy wailing sound called ululations. It was a two note-trill like a vocal eruption that added to the celebration.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The groom looked back over his shoulder at them and smiled. His white teeth gleamed between his mustache and the neat small beard.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">When the men reached the waiting car, they waved good-bye and drove to the bride’s home. She waited there for him to make good his promise and make his vows. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGP0HdCYKA6x_MRpS2giNyaV3W7sjVBEvsVutGEZyLMl-MNjhjKSRFZDAdmckkAqMP92MC417YMor2RHijUpjB8UWsOqI-AsTeMabEw-lVC2oDZKBVhGUI0i7xkNIkRBwRFbNwXl8df8/s1600/IMG_5377.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGP0HdCYKA6x_MRpS2giNyaV3W7sjVBEvsVutGEZyLMl-MNjhjKSRFZDAdmckkAqMP92MC417YMor2RHijUpjB8UWsOqI-AsTeMabEw-lVC2oDZKBVhGUI0i7xkNIkRBwRFbNwXl8df8/s320/IMG_5377.JPG" width="180" /></a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span> <span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Congratulations to Diyaa and Fatima. I pray God will bless your marriage and that you’ll have beautiful children. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The scene lingered in my memory like a delicious flavor lingers on the tongue. A couple of days later I connected the contemporary example with what I’d read of <a href="http://blog.adw.org/2014/08/what-were-weddings-like-in-jesus-day/">marriage customs</a> in the Bible.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Isaiah the prophet foretold that the anointed one would clothe his followers with garments of his righteousness, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Jesus told parables about weddings. Like Fatima, the bride waits for the bridegroom to come for her. Jesus referred to his bride, the church.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I can imagine Jesus in the heavenly wings. He's as eager as I am, passionate, and joyous because He cherishes me as a groom does his bride. (Isaiah 62:5)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Does Jesus dance while He waits for the hour to come for me? Oh, what a wonderful picture. I look forward to that not-soon-enough day. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">for </span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31009N" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31009N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">the marriage of the Lamb has come,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Rev-19-7" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31009O" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31009O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>his Bride has made herself ready;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="indent-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">And the angel said<span class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-ESV-31011a" data-link="[<a href="#fen-ESV-31011a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+19+&version=ESV#fen-ESV-31011a" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #b34b2c; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</span> to me, </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="indent-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">“Write this: <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31011R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31011R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>Blessed are those who are invited</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="indent-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="indent-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> And he said to me, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-ESV-31011S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-ESV-31011S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>“These are the true words of God.”<span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"></span>Revelations 19:7,9</div>
Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-65828092551567380872019-10-24T14:56:00.000-07:002019-10-24T14:56:56.938-07:00Antonio on Your Corner<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">How do you respond to the folks standing on corners with their sad signs? </span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">This week I had a short piece of writing published online, my experience of responding to <a href="https://christiandevotions.us/viewblogentry/3982">beggars in Spain</a>. (Read it from the link, if you haven't already.) Many of the readers left me comments.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">One friend shared that a homeless person advised she’d do more good handing out snacks than to give the person money. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Another said their church assembled homeless care packages. She keeps several in her car to hand out the window when someone approaches her at a red light. That’s a great idea, one I keep meaning to do. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">You have encouraged me that it is time to dump my good intentions and act. Here are some suggestions for <a href="https://foodlets.com/2017/12/15/what-to-put-in-care-packages-for-the-homeless/">care bags</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2yt610o"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;">Granola bar</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2Sa5hpb"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35);">Fruit snacks</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2q6jw1p"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35);">Applesauce</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Crackers with <a href="https://amzn.to/2yuux0W"><span style="color: #f05123; line-height: normal;">peanut butter</span></a> or <a href="https://amzn.to/2SdPMfV"><span style="color: #f05123; line-height: normal;">cheese</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2yqRQZy"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35);">Water bottle</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2S8tRGK"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35);">Warm socks</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2D3QZlm"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35);">Hand wipes</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2q7G6Xf"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35);">Lifesavers</span></a></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51); color: #323333;"> or <a href="https://amzn.to/2q3DcTA"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35); color: #f05123;">sugar-free gum</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2SenmCd"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35);">Chapstick</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Deodorant (<a href="https://amzn.to/2yt6Cza"><span style="color: #f05123; line-height: normal;">Old Spice Fiji scent</span></a> works for men or women)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2q8HR6z"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; line-height: normal;">Hand lotion</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(50, 51, 51);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://amzn.to/2q9P3zv"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(240, 81, 35);">Dental floss</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hand written note</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Good book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>List of free resources in your area for addictions and veterans</span></span></div>
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Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9041767058884194232.post-18757162133543608322019-09-05T13:51:00.002-07:002019-09-05T13:51:42.940-07:00Almost Home<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think we're here--the last stop before assisted living. (May it be many healthy years from now.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">After a six-month delay in buying the condo, </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">I hit the phase-one remodel plan with a vengeance. W</span><span style="font-size: large;">e </span><span class="" style="font-size: large;">refloored</span><span style="font-size: large;"> to be ready for the cabinets. (Good riddance disgusting carpeting.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">While waiting, I added my personal touch, paint, to the 1960’s bathrooms. It lifts my spirits to open a door and NOT see white (except for the retro four-inch square tiles on the walls.) </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tPdXvvbZXWQECqv_0lb2zsYfhhjjas4JcR1ENhPACwxrWnY_jHXejbVDjSBdJCuajFw_BiYsf9AU16amaoCLikqMDBm2AtvgQDvhsXUQqJJPXqwA73lgaK-5-GZudcS712CpRnmvvbo/s1600/IMG_8109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-tPdXvvbZXWQECqv_0lb2zsYfhhjjas4JcR1ENhPACwxrWnY_jHXejbVDjSBdJCuajFw_BiYsf9AU16amaoCLikqMDBm2AtvgQDvhsXUQqJJPXqwA73lgaK-5-GZudcS712CpRnmvvbo/s200/IMG_8109.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS1TNCE0kUmC3dR3NxIZC8dGSNMynXC0WW29Qfxh53aVWIUAX5-lMCJgpH_NUkl-q5FYsAhwzHw1aVDN7qN_XaZZ3kzceiWeV1PKvRMOOtHyS9D4mK0bRLpkK6GJKB0RJPkjEUE9lsHk/s1600/58810828941__F2E94A35-67B8-415A-A942-BD1D0ED6560B.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPS1TNCE0kUmC3dR3NxIZC8dGSNMynXC0WW29Qfxh53aVWIUAX5-lMCJgpH_NUkl-q5FYsAhwzHw1aVDN7qN_XaZZ3kzceiWeV1PKvRMOOtHyS9D4mK0bRLpkK6GJKB0RJPkjEUE9lsHk/s200/58810828941__F2E94A35-67B8-415A-A942-BD1D0ED6560B.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I turned ugly brown sliding doors into faux barn doors. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYE6oeTElTV6FkXGR4_8-oaRQgvsChfzPK5QkzYU6wvbwjRGDrXpnkO3G4uG4_D4GCBFrRi6J_TN6RgqoxCgSOMhr0AhhSK1fKw1gXYjYITJSeJr1YHouEf1Ck2u0CUPUTOdusnx7WyCE/s1600/mural.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYE6oeTElTV6FkXGR4_8-oaRQgvsChfzPK5QkzYU6wvbwjRGDrXpnkO3G4uG4_D4GCBFrRi6J_TN6RgqoxCgSOMhr0AhhSK1fKw1gXYjYITJSeJr1YHouEf1Ck2u0CUPUTOdusnx7WyCE/s200/mural.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before<br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The bedroom has a kitschy wall-papered mural resembling a fifty-year-old movie set from southern California. Bill liked it but I didn’t, so we asked all visitors to weigh in on it. One </span><span class="" style="font-size: large;">craftsman</span><span style="font-size: large;"> pointed out that it tricked the eye to look beyond the wall toward an imaginary distant horizon. His brother could paint it into something really striking, he claimed. But his brother wasn’t in the budget.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, that comment ignited my imagination like a match to a sparkler. I poured out my thwarted gardening desires and “planted” some of my favorite flowers in the mural. I'm pleased. More importantly, I enjoyed doing it. For now, it’s a keeper.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Z6ZF61Mx9T_C69kJJxtBfUbFMTHSVuwMNukVFeno8_aUdsWOZsbqM_NLQiO1Q5HofmbEaqyhKM9cOzFwi6jE4mrv6XT5Eu8nssbdYfl7R7fO_fIfVcaCdI9P5eUbhlebQkat_eGmt3Y/s1600/58810832481__26E89F06-6847-42A0-8D07-3EA068B4981F+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Z6ZF61Mx9T_C69kJJxtBfUbFMTHSVuwMNukVFeno8_aUdsWOZsbqM_NLQiO1Q5HofmbEaqyhKM9cOzFwi6jE4mrv6XT5Eu8nssbdYfl7R7fO_fIfVcaCdI9P5eUbhlebQkat_eGmt3Y/s640/58810832481__26E89F06-6847-42A0-8D07-3EA068B4981F+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> My dad would be glad to see that my college art class got put to use. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The cabinets I chose eight months ago were hung last week. Which meant I could unpack <i>again</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Twice in the last three years I packed away our kitchen and art and home library. Both times I </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">gave away bits of my history. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Conversely, I’ve had fun unpacking happy memories—a teapot I bought at an open-air market in Turkey, the china tea strainer I bought in a small village in France half a life ago. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Having my “stuff” in the cupboards makes me feel like I’m almost home, and I have desperately missed that sense of refuge. I grieved the loss of our perfect little place in North Carolina. While I don't embrace living in Colorado, I acquiesce to it.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMUA_SPeFHRag25E63DuUllVwOt530ijnzoLgS1FgLT8rSj_d_-8KyPxu-s1l2DwILHbgoHINAkQiezVW-MsgDt7nav7FZX2qPeXpd6iXnzrM7U8tcznzZkEnM8jLCzRYcWD_ZEL6jRY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-09-01+at+6.54.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUMUA_SPeFHRag25E63DuUllVwOt530ijnzoLgS1FgLT8rSj_d_-8KyPxu-s1l2DwILHbgoHINAkQiezVW-MsgDt7nav7FZX2qPeXpd6iXnzrM7U8tcznzZkEnM8jLCzRYcWD_ZEL6jRY/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-09-01+at+6.54.55+PM.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moving to the larger, sunny condo has helped. As have the changes to reflect my personality and taste instead of the former condo’s perfect, but sterile, remodel.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">The project is like a sliding puzzle with one empty hole. It's impossible to move the second piece until you move the first. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once the kitchen is complete we'll have room for new bookcases. Once those are filled I can rehang familiar art in new configurations. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">And when we get a bed for the study, you must come visit. Help us fill the space with conversation and laughter. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: large;">Then it will feel like home. </span></span></div>
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Pam Gloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15299762633768768470noreply@blogger.com0