Good Morning!
The weekend has finally arrived. 🙂
Today’s header photo is from Kim.
This one is from Roscuro.
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On this day in 44 BC Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated by high ranking Roman Senators. The day is known as the “Ides of March.”
In 1493 Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after his first New World voyage.
In 1778, in command of two frigates, the Frenchman la Perouse sailed east from Botany Bay for the last lap of his voyage around the world.
In 1892 New York State unveiled the new automatic ballot voting machine.
In 1937, in Chicago, IL, the first blood bank to preserve blood for transfusion by refrigeration was established at the Cook County Hospital.
And in 1977 the U.S. House of Representatives began a 90-day test to determine the feasibility of showing its sessions on television.
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Quote of the Day
“But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.”
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Today is Todd Agnew’s birthday.
And it’s composer Eduard Strauss’ as well.
And Mike Love’s too. So here’s a rare recording studio film version of a classic song.
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Wandering Views 
I will try again.
You all are sleeping in or very busy today.
Have a restful Saturday.
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That is a BIG fish.
Is that Mr. P?
I had forgotten that this is the Ides of March.
We don’t celebrate that, but we always remember it.
I used to know what the “ides” thing was about, but forgot.
Other months also have “ides”.
Good evening Jo.
😉
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Mornin’ Jo and Chas. 🙂
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Phos has a ceramic pet?
That is for the fancy people.
What are those things beside it?
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chas, you are late tonight. Up and at em!
Good night
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Is that the pet that she said had the same name as her screen name?
Looks like a scene from Narnia.
Morning Aj
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She said Roscuro is her pets name too. I never made the connection to the Tales of Depereaux movie, even though I’ve seen it with my daughter. 🙂
Here’s a clip.
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Roscuro is a mouse? And others on this blog have cats?
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Good morning. I had one of my recurring dreams last night, the one where I am in college, it is well into the term, and there is a class I signed up for that I have not attended at all yet, and am (obviously)) way behind. Last night’s dream was worse — I hadn’t gone to ANY of my classes yet. Yikes. I was attempting to find all my instructors and get a plan for catching up.
I don’t like waking up with thoughts like that.
How about this for a QoD: do you have a recurring dream?
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Is that someone’s pet fish?
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6 Arrows, I had a very similar dream last night, only in mine there was only one class I hadn’t attended. The others I’d attended, but I hadn’t done any of the reading, nor looked at the syllabi to know if I had any assignments or if there were any quizzes or tests coming up. Further, I realized that I didn’t even know where my mailbox was, nor if my professors had sent me anything through it. And I suddenly realize that if I want to pass, starting today I have to take it all seriously.
What I have started dreaming when I dream about college is that I’ve already graduated, several years ago (which is true, as it’s coming up 21 years), but I’ve decided to take another year just because. And I haven’t figured out whether that counts as some sort of “graduate school” or what, but I find that I’m not taking it anywhere near as serious as I did before I got my degree.
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That is what Mr P was doing last Monday. It was a 30 lb Redfish. It was a catch and release because it was over 27 inches. You can only keep redfish if they are a certain weight and length. I was at work while he was doing that—Poor Kim— of course I wouldn’t have been fishing. I don’t have a salfwater fishing license, fish tend to eat the bait off my hook and not get hooked. He went with his Baby Boy and they had a great day together.
Those of you who love to fish come on down.
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Looks like Cheryl and I will be hitting the books today. 😉
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No, Roscuro is a rat. Despereaux is a mouse.
I think.
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That dream was my college life. I was there for a couple of months before I realized I was supposed to go find the lab and do something there for biology. I finally found the lab but everybody was busy doing “something” and I never saw a teacher so I never went back. And so went my college career. It ended shortly after that as I had similar experiences in all of my classes. And there was no way I could have spoken to a teacher. College is not for everybody.
Chas, did you read Rocket Men? I was thinking of getting it but the reviews were all bad. The discussion came up last night of the moon missions and their computer use and how the computers then, the ancestors of todays were not quite as ….hmmm…. what is the word…
Anyway, as I did a bit of research to show the children how that went, Rocket Men came up and sounded interesting until I read the reviews.
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I hear a rooster crowing, must be time to get out and get the milking started. Three children will be joining me in a few minutes.
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I have never even heard of Rocket Men. The computers we had were state of the art.
But there is more capacity under my desk than in our computer room in 1970.
One thing computers did, though was to make my math training in college obsolete.
In college, matrices were a curiosity because you could do nothing with them.
Computers made it possible to solve large equations with dozens of knowns and hundreds of unknowns. That’s the reason I went to Purdue. To catch up with what I was supposed to know
.
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We now know where “Roscuro” comes from.
Where did “Phos” come from?
Kim, it would break my heart to throw that back. It would provide dinner for a week.
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Nobody ever told me if that’s a ship model beside the mouse.
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I notice the Henderswonville Library has Rocket Men. I may check on it.
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How about Homer Hickam’s Rocket Boys? That’s the book on which October Skies was based and is lots of fun–everyone, all six of us, in my family loved it. Hickam is a Christian, though he doesn’t write for the Christian market. We’ve enjoyed all his books and love the movie.
Hey, I thought we were going to see Mr. P with his Lulubelle, that’s why I checked in. I wonder if Kbells is right? 🙂
(LOL at Kbells, as usual)
Tales of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is also a fun book, though aimed at kids.
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Provocative post from Sawgunner on FB this morning “When Two Lesbians Went to Church”: http://tinyurl.com/p8k43xw
I love this line: “After that, I realized God knows more about me than I know about myself,” Amy recalls, “and He wants to bring healing to these wounds, so I fully gave Him my heart and body—everything.”
What I like about this article is, if two Lesbians came into our church holding hands and kissing each other, I think we’d react the same way–welcome them and pay no attention, even though it probably would make some uncomfortable.
At least I’m pretty sure we would . . . old ladies and all.
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The college dream: I’m walking down Bruin Walk headed toward finals at UCLA, when I realize it’s time for a Spanish final and I haven’t attended the class all quarter and am not even sure what room it’s in.
The dream happens way too often . . .
Someone told me a dream like that is common and usually suggests we’re fearful we’ve forgotten something. (Yeah, like Spanish). 😦
Got Idaho Mike’s letter last night. I usually remember to pray for the Mumsee brood while I’m dancing in Zumba (Who knows why? It’s often Spanish music). I may have to boost those prayers to several times a day . . . Perhaps we need a Pray for the Idaho clan day, just like we have for Gambia. And should we be adding PNG, too? 🙂
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I tried to post a prayer late last night on the prayer thread but it got lost in transmission. God always hears though.
My dream that I had last night involved (surprise) cats! Bosley was in it as the size she is now, then there was a really big creamy colored cat with long ripples of fur, a most beautiful cat which was adopted. I was worried about it hurting Bosley, but it was really just a grumpy loner kind of personality that disappeared until I opened up a drawer in the dresser and found it asleep in there. But then somehow overnight a little kitten all scruffy and looking like a Siamese appeared in the house. Then I was at the vet’s with it saying I could not keep it and could they find a home for it.
Part of this dream is from having looked up Himilayan cats when that big cat held the family hostage. And you know where the rest of the dream is from.
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Reoccurring dream involves construction sites, office buildings, parking lots. Sometimes I have been out for lunch break from work and I am worried about getting back in time. Sometimes I may have to walk through construction site trying to get to destination, or find car in a multilevel parking lot. Sometimes I am taking a walk over to catch public transportation which is a futuristic kind of roller coaster and elevators combo.
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My dream about college involves being at a really large campus and it’s first day of class. I can not locate the classrooms where I am suppose to have class or else I have lost my class schedule and I am trying to ask people for help in finding where I am suppose to be.
Also have dreams about living in a dorm, either at move in or move out time. (This relates to what son went through with tight schedules like what 6 Arrows daughter has just been through).
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Another dream I have every so often has to do with the fact I was a traveling piano teacher for a while. When I was in college, I lived at home for all of those years except the last. I lived out in the country and went to school in the city, and taught piano in various locations: at a music store in the city, at home (rather, at my grandparents’ home next door) for some of my rural students, and, in a few cases, at the homes of families who lived somewhere between school and home for me. I would just drive to their houses on the way home from school some days and give the children their lessons in their homes.
The dream I have been having ever since I stopped traveling to people’s homes to teach is that I have enrolled students and agreed to go to their houses to teach, but I never go, and I can’t figure out why. Either I forgot I signed them up that way, or I can’t remember where they live, or I didn’t feel like going, and I feel guilty that I didn’t follow through, or some variation on that theme.
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Do any of you remember Burma Shave signs?
DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD
TO GAIN A MINUTE
YOU NEED YOUR HEAD
YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT
Burma Shave
There were hundreds of these. Each line was a separate sign. They were abut 100′ apart.
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Another fun day with the photos.
What a lota big fish! It must have been quite a struggle to bring that one in.
And, Roscuro is adorable and being pewter means no dust mites or shedding fur. Perfection in a pet for one with asthma. I had to put all my son’s stuffed animals away in plastic bags when he was young.
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Michelle mentioned Mike’s letter.
I’m confused about how somebody could mistake a carrot for a hot dog under any circumstances.
🙄
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Chas- That is a ship next to the mouse. I think it says “Unity in Christ” on the side. But I have to disagree with you. That is not a ceramic mouse. It looks like pewter to me.
I used to have recurring dreams of several kinds, but I don’t now. One involved going to teach a class and arriving late, or without any preparation. The only dream I remember vividly was back in 1985, shortly before the Lord finally got a hold on me. I posted a poem I wrote about it on the blog I used to keep. You can read it here: “Walking on Sand”.
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Sounds like Mumsee pulled a “mommy trick” to get veggies into young tummies. I am going to have to get back out there and feed those children soon.
PS, the chicken and dumplings have celery, onion, and carrots in the broth. A food processor is a wonderful thing. BG ate it for years without knowing.
An update on her. She has been hired to babysit a little boy. He adores her and the parents are quite happy. They are considering taking her to Disney World with them this summer. If IdahoMike is reading this—perhaps she will be more pleasant with them and take to travel better.
I have to say she has matured a lot in the last year. She is making better grades this year. She is more focused. It still breaks my heart daily that she isn’t with me, but I have to look at what is best for her.
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Thoroughly enjoyed Rocket Boys, just curious about Rocket Men.
As to the carrots in the chili: I was making some chili and happened to have a few extra carrots. As most of the children like veggies, I simply put them in. Never occurred to me they would mistake them for hot dogs. The hot dogs were just extras that were chopped to bite size and added to the concoction. But, apparently, after simmering in chili for a few hours, carrots can become hot dog like.
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She said it was pewter. I had a real rat get into my house a couple times (we have them in our neighborhood, tree or roof rats but we also get those big nasty wharf rats). I don’t like rats. That’s why I have Annie now. 🙂
The pewter kind is OK though.
That’s a very big fish. He looks scared. Kind of glad he got to go back. I’m a softie. I went fishing once on a date when I was in college (met the guy at a party, he was a friend of my friend’s brother and was born on a ranch in Ecuador but had been in the US for most of his growing up years — he was very cute, but I digress. 🙂 .) I spent the entire time hoping I wouldn’t actually catch a fish. I didn’t. Whew.
Computers are amazing — as Chas said, they’re now so powerful compared to what we had even just 10 years ago let alone a few decades ago.
But yesterday my laptop sort of flipped out and began ‘speaking’ to me in hieroglyphics as I was trying to add an email account to my iPhoto. When I asked our photo editor about it he initially said it sounded like something really bad had happened — something about the motherboard — but he was able to revive it, thankfully. I didn’t renew the extended ‘apple care’ on it recently so I would have been cooked if it had truly crashed in a serious way. t still need to take it into the apple “genius” bar this morning though because there are still things not working right.
And I might ask if I can belatedly renew that coverage. 🙄
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Did I get a letter from Idaho Mike? I haven’t checked my email yet. But if I’m not on your list, do add me!
Loved October Skies.
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Actually, looking at the fish pic again, he looks more annoyed than scared. 🙂 Maybe he’s been through this before.
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Peter’s poem is lovely. Just click on the title of it in the post and you will be blessed.
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Nothing is better than fresh-caught that day-fish. I am told tthat fish was too big and wouldn’t have been good to eat. I don’t understand fishing. It makes him happy and makes it easy on me to buy a gift for him. I just go to Bass Pro Shop and roam the aisles of the fishing department. It is also a lot more useful than buying one more thing with and “Alabama, Crimson Tide” theme. I will buy books about that. We are off in a bit to enjoy the Art Show and Crafts Festival.
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I have read more poems in the past year than I have since I “had” to in school. I find that when poems are written by people I know I really enjoy and understand them. Thank you, Peter, for that poem.
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Here is just a little bit about the show
http://blog.al.com/live/2014/03/fairhope_arts_and_crafts_fest_1.html
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I saw some of the photos on FB, Kim, looks like a fun event.
For those of us who remember Jane Fonda (well, I guess that’s probably all of us here), this, I thought, was a gentle, sensitive and poignant take on her recent public comments:
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/24728
” ‘How come,’ she asks, ‘pretty things, kind deeds, sad stories, acts of courage, good news, someone’s [flash] of insight, all get me crying or, at least, tearing up?’ Her answer may surprise you. ‘I find my emotions are way more accessible than they were when I was younger and I’ve come to feel it has to do with age,’ Jane says. ‘I have become so wonderfully, terribly aware of time, of how little of it I have left; how much of it is behind me, and everything becomes so precious.’ Whatever you think of Jane Fonda, these moving words are a powerful reminder of our shared humanity, our longing, and our mortality. …”
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Donna,
For you. 🙂
“Fishing is boring, unless you catch an actual fish, and then it is disgusting.”
Dave Barry
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I couldn’t have said it better myself. That is why I prefer to deep sea fish. Someone baits my hook, the captain puts us on a school of fish, and when I reel it in the deckhand takes it off the hook. When we get to the dock they clean the fish, bag it, and send it home with me.
It is easier just to save the time and go to the seafood market.
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I love Dave Barry. 🙂
But Kim, with deep-sea fishing there’s the whole seasickness thing to suffer through to boot.
Blech.
No thanks. 😉 I like my fish from the market. 🙂
Reminds me, though, once years ago I did a story on our local fishing fleet and one of the boats presented me a big bag of swordfish to freeze (after I’d mentioned how much I liked swordfish).
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Kim I showed my Paul the photo of your Paul with his big ‘ol fish…envious…that’s what he was…and he moaned when I told him that thing was thrown back!!
Cute little mouse…I’ve always wondered about the monikers Phos and Roscuro 🙂
I also enjoyed seeing Chas’s pet rock yesterday….very handsome “it” is 🙂
I’m off to the market for fresh fruit and cheese…I am in charge of snacks for Sunday School tomorrow…it’s snowing now and I better get at it while I can still drive through it!
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So sorry, folks, but I’ve finished the Egypt section and moved into France–which means trenches. Particularly for the expert on the Schiefflin line, Chas, some of you may be interested in this sobering and fascinating article about trenches–with photos taken by British photogs from aerial balloons 100 years ago! Amazing, tremendously dangerous and oh, so very sad.
I’m reading Paul Fussell’s book The Great War and Modern Memory (“More light bedtime reading,” observed my long-suffering husband): and he reminded me the trenches extended from the North Sea in Belgium all the way to Switzerland–600 miles for both sides. Since there were usually several lines of trenches (increasingly farther back from No Man’s Land), Fussell estimates the two sides dug in the neighborhood of 25,000 miles worth of trenches over the course of the war–or enough for a tench to have been dug all the way around the world.
I don’t know why the Germans didn’t win, their trenches were considerably better than the Allies.
That same long-suffering husband said the reason was simple: Russia. The Germans had to fight a two-front war (see aforementioned Schiefflin plan which tried to avoid that–or ask Chas), which was simply too much. Their civilian population was starving by 1918 and young teenage boys were being drafted.
“So,” I said last night at dinner. “Are you saying the Russians in essence sacrificed themselves so the West could be free the last 100 years, while they descended into 80 years of Communism?”
“Something like that.”
Let’s not be hard on the slaves, er, Russian people.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581167/Aerial-images-horrifying-scale-trenches-WWI.html
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The reason the Germans didn’t win is logistics.
Their troops had to travel over a hundred miles by ancient means.
The French were already at their source of supplies.
I haven’t studied it much, but I’m amazed, when I think about it, how Grant did it. I know he lived off the vast agriculture of the South. But he still had to supply his troops
On the plains of desolation
Bleach the bones of countless millions
Who
At the dawn of victory
Sat down
To rest.
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It’s a poetry thread today!! 🙂
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Thank you, Kare and Janice,
from the bottom of my heart.
Writing decent poetry,
is a difficult art.
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That recurring dream you all have about the class you never prepared for is mine too.
Sometimes I lose things.
.
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I also dream that I’m back to school teaching (I was a music teacher) and I haven’t been given a schedule to know which classes are coming when, I don’t have the right materials for the right age kids that show up in my classroom, I haven’t prepared anything, etc., etc….
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Some of my dreams are about getting to class or work on time. So that goes along with all the deadlines faced in the accounting world. And the writing world has deadlines, too.
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Peter, you must have struggled for quite a long time to get that poem just so.
Do you ever read the poetry of Billy Collins?
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I used to have a recurrent nightmare from a young age until well into adulthood. It started in elementary school when I dreamt the class was supposed to build igloos. The school had filled the gym with snow and we had to go and build. The final test was that 2 polar bears were then let into the gym while you were in your igloo and if they could collapse your igloo, you failed 😦
I don’t think anyone ever failed, but the rest of the nightmare was of one of the polar bears following me all the way home. I could keep just enough ahead of it to get doors or gates closed before it reached me and could break them down. I think I usually woke up right after I got home and it was trying to get in the back door.
Needless to say, I hope Tim is never posted to Wapusk National Park. http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/mb/wapusk/natcul.aspx
Thankfully, I haven’t had that one in a while, but I tend to avoid watching wildlife shows involving polar bears. 🙂
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I even purchased a book of poetry written by my friend this last year. One of her poems is written from the perspective of an Alzheimer’s patient. Since my aunt had Alzheimer’s, the poem actually brought tears to my eyes (I’m not usually emotional like that). It really spoke to me.
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Peter, yes, thanks for the poem link.
I’ve had the classroom dream, too, but not in a while. Most of my dreams involve work, I’m always somewhere on a story of some kind — but not infrequently one of my former dogs makes an appearance, Ellie, who died in 2008. She was a dear, a big shaggy mutt I got out of the city shelter when she was probably about 2 years old and had been picked up as a stray. She was almost 14 years old when she was diagnosed with lymphoma and I had to have her put down a few weeks later. Up until then she was one of the healthiest dogs I’d ever owned.
And such a sweetheart. I’ve loved all my dogs, but some I’ve bonded with more closely than others. She was special.
So it’s fun to see her in my dreams — “Oh, hey, it’s you! Hi there, good friend” as she romps across the yard.
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When I was a kid I had a nightmare about being in a factory and being chased by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Seriously. I can still picture it in my mind. Horrifying.
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Donna, that is so sweet about Ellie that is just about puts tears in my eyes. It is an example of how God provides even in our dream life.
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I have had the classroom dream, too, with several variations. I also have one in which I realize I have not gone to any of my math classes and it is too late to catch up on the class. Since I will not catch up on the class and will fail, I will not graduate with my high school class. I realize my parents are going to be very angry and I try to rationalize all kinds of ways (such as summer school) to be able to graduate anyway. I hate those dreams.
I have to admit the igloo/polar bear dream is the most unique one I have heard about.
I forgot that I also have a pet rock. It looks like a frog and is in a pot with a plant. I usually forget about it unless I am watering the plant. It makes me smile and think of the grandson who made it.
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I keep having dreams about being in a third floor or attc area. It is cramped and I have to squeeze in or take a shakey ladder to get in or out. I don’t like it.
It rained today for thhe show. We bought a wooden vroom vroom car for the Cutest Boy in the World. So far he has that and a chirpy chick for his Easter “box”. I found him a cute “john-john” romper for Easter. It was a blue and white checked with a sailboat appliqued on it, but Grandpa nixed the idea.
I got a seagrass hat to wear when we go to the beach or I am getting my vitamin D therapy in my new sling chair. It is low to the ground, rocks and will even fold back into a mini cot to take a nap at which time I can put my hat over my face.
Mr P was happy with his “festival food” chicken on a stik and apple cinnamon funnel cake.
We saw some beautiful dogs. One quite handsome German Shepherd, two Great Danes (they were a matched pair) and a Napolean Mastiff puppy. She had the most beautiful coat. Her owner said she will reach 200 pounds! I can’t imagine having a dog that big.
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Kathaleena, it is possible to forget about your pet rocks. They don’t require much attention so you just ignore them. Neglected shamefully.
Seems many of us have the same type dreams.
I don’t recall ever having a pleasant dream. Some not distressing. fact is, I seldom recall a dream. Psychologists say everyone dreams every night. That’s why .I say “I don’t recall a dream” rather than “I don’t dream.”
The last dog I had was part German Shepherd. A beautiful and friendly dog.
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Kare, regarding your feelings about polar bears, I feel th same way about alligators/crocodiles. Don’t even want to go to that section of the zoo, or watch shows. When I was in Australia they had a large billboard on the beach saying this was a croc area and only to swim in the designated area which had a net around it. I skipped the swimming
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I sometimes have nightmares about lions or other wild cats. I also, though not for a long time now, have had dreams about crawling in tight places and getting stuck. Makes me wonder sometimes if I got “stuck” for a while when I was being born. It’s always my head that gets stuck in those dreams.
My most common bad dream (and one I had again recently, after the disappearance of the Malaysian flight) is of standing outside and watching a plane come straight out of the sky, nose down, and crashing in a neighbor’s yard or field.
I don’t know if I have that dream often because I’ve never flown, and don’t have any positive memories of air travel? Flying is not something I give much thought to, as I’ve never had any reason to fly anywhere. If I hear about it, other than people occasionally talking about flying somewhere for vacation or what have you, it tends to be bad news — plane crashes.
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I got over this afternoon (finally) to visit my writer/journalist/painter friend who has Parkinson’s and is in a convalescent place. He seems OK, but has had quite a rapid decline in the past year, unfortunately. There are plans for him to get out and have an apartment with assistance, but no word on how soon that could be. His sister and brother-in-law are handling much of that end of things, but they live about 50 miles south of us.
He wound up in the hospital shortly before Christmas — then went to this place for a while (all this time was when I was looking for him but could not find out where he’d been taken). They sent him home a couple weeks ago to his upstairs apartment but he fell, couldn’t get up, and wound up on the floor for something like 20 hours before someone heard him yelling and called the paramedics.
So now he’s back in the convalescent place which he doesn’t like so much (don’t blame him). I’ll put a prayer request on the other thread.
Janice, yes, I sometimes still so fondly remember Ellie, cutest dog in the world as my co-worker named her when I adopted her. And while I know there’s no hard-and-fast theological argument that can be made for seeing some of our beloved pets in heaven, I lean toward the idea that we “probably” will. Or at least I won’t be surprised if we do. 🙂
Pet rocks, I’m not sure about, however.
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Just in from a double Eagle Court of Honor at church. I cry at these events every time. Something about a boy crossing into young manhood with all these accomplishments (and knowing what the families have poured into their sons), chokes me up every time. One of the dads gave a lovely talk, mentioning that all this was important, but knowing Jesus Christ was even more important in making his son a fine man.
Lots of fun. Back to France–I’ve written two chapters today–7 to go!
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Your mention of Parkinson’s reminded me that Joel Belz (founder of World Magazine) said in his article that he has been diagnosed with it. 😦
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Janice, I saw that. We have a man in our church also who was diagnosed with it (finally, after many medical tests didn’t pin down what was going on with him — he was in his 40s). So sad as he was in the middle of seminary studies, planning to plant a new church. An RN I was talking to at the dog park today told me that the disease moves especially fast in younger people.
(My other friend is in his mid-70s, but it seems to have moved fast anyway).
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Peter, what a beautiful testimony to the truth of God’s Word and the truth He revealed to you in your dream.
Is the header photo of a college?
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Went out for a Mexican dinner with a friend. Now I’m absolutely stuffed.
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Thank you very much for sharing your poem, Peter.
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…guess I shouldn’t have taken that 15-minute nap this afternoon…
Anyone up for a “Jo and the Insomniacs” jam session? 😉
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sorry I missed our session. The internet was down here for a while. Almost morning for you all now.
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Jo, I was just rolling out when you wrote that.
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I am up. Puppy dogs are taken care of and I am having my first cup of coffee. I am to be the chalice bearer in church today, so I can’t be too lazy this morning. Friends are coming over this afternoon for corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and “hot dogs” aka carrots. Tomorrow is St Patricks Day when we are all a little Irish, but with a grandmother whose maiden name was O’Young I can claim a little more. She was English/Irish. My grrandfather was Scotch/English. What I really am is Southern Mutt because the other side of my family was English/German/Native American .
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Jo, I just typed that and went back to bed soon after, so I would have missed the jam session, too.
Four hours sleep last night…blech.
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I had the back in college dream last night and I had not read the thread until this morning. I showed for school and a lot of my supplies had been stolen. My Dad arrived and bought me all new stuff. He would never do that in real life.
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Migraine this morning, but it’s gone now – just the after effects. We’re having friends over for faspa (sp?) A Mennonite light lunch at suppertime. With the migraine, I now feel no pressure for my house to be “perfect” or the meal to be absolutely special. Sometimes migraines are a blessing. Go figure.
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Peter: loved the poem!
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Kare2012: So sorry about the migraine! I awoke at four am with one, too. It’s better now–so I’m rushing to get ready for church. I, too, have the dreaded migraine hangover…
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Severe weather here. We were almost ready to walk out the door to church and decided the better course was to stay off the road. The Arts Festival is cancelled today and the police are helping the vendors pack up. I hate it for them.
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Migraines are the worst. I used to get them in my 40s, then they let up and went away (thankfully).
I’m mostly Scottish/English, but I did have a pair of pretty hard-core Protestant Northern Irish great-grandparents. When I was in elementary school, I still remember my mom pinning a tiny piece of orange cloth on my green plaid dress for St. Patrick’s Day. 😉
It’s sheep herding day for Tess so after I drop off my ride after church I need to hit an ATM (since I spent some of that cash I have to pay for the herding today on dinner last night) and fill up the gas tank.
I would have done that yesterday on the way back from the dog park, but I’d forgotten to take my wallet with me. Always a weird feeling when you realize you’re driving around without so much as a drivers license to show. Luckily the dog park is pretty close to home.
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We have no ‘weather’ here. 🙂 Sunny, 80-something degrees forecast for the day.
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All ready!!!
My recurring nightmare is that I am traveling with the girls in a third world country and they are both taken at gunpoint. Hubby isn’t in the dream. It’s so vivid, I usually awaken from it with a racing heart! I have it on an almost weekly basis. I’ve been plagued by nightmares my entire life. As a child, I had night terrors and walked in my sleep. I still do, occasionally.
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It’s a good thing I don’t talk in my sleep. There is no telling what would come out.
My dad routinely talked in his sleep. One night the phone rang. They had a problem at the mill. I went and handed him the phone. He talked to them for about 20 or so minutes, told them what to do and the next afternoon when I asked him about it he had not recollection of the conversation at all.
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Nice poem Peter. I was going to comment on the blog but it wanted a password and I’m up to here in passwords. I could use a common one I use for i’tunes, Amazon, etc. but some sites say they’re not secure enough.
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Replying to a couple of comments:
Janice- Yes I worked a long time on the poem. I think that version is the fourth or fifth version. And the header is a college that used to be across the street form our house. The college closed in 1929 and merged with another 30 miles away. An old timer told me the building stood until the 60s and part of it was an apartment building. The house in the picture of the river I sent AJ last week used to be a dormitory for the college. And, no, I have never read any poetry by Billy Collins. I’ll have to look him up.
Chas- You can use your WordPress id, or just post as anonymous. I have it set to send me all comments so I can moderate them, in order to avoid spammers.
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Hi all – Just minutes after I commented on Friday morning, and sent the photo to The Real, the internet went down and remained down until this afternoon.
In answer to Chas’ question, that is a model ship behind my pewter pet rat. The ship is actually a coin bank and the engraving on it reads ‘Always in Christ’. It was a gift this past Christmas from a friend who is actually not a Christian.
Recurring dreams: I used to have more recurring dreams when I was younger. There were the needing-to use-the-washroom-and-not-finding-a-place ones and the flying ones that everyone seems to have. Then there were the more unusual ones – in one of them, I would witness the end of the world, trying to keep my family together; in another I watched a terrifying person on a bloody killing spree and he would turn on me just before I woke up (and we weren’t allowed to watch violent movies); a third would appear when I was sick. That one was like movie depictions of an acid trip – I would hear voices talking, but not know what they were saying, I saw intricate patterns that expanded and contracted, and I would feel my body turn into a block of wood – it was a nasty dream and I never felt rested when I woke up. Now, I still have very vivid dreams, but they are usually different – some of the most vivid happen when I am having trouble breathing.
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Monday morning ere. Time to get ready for my class.
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Does nobody have a pleasant dream?
I don’t recall ever having a pleasant dream..
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I have pleasant dreams all the time. I particularly like the ones in which my late parents appear and when I spend time with friends who live far away. I wake in the morning and feel like I’ve had a nice visit–even if they look considerably younger than they are now! 🙂
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Lots of pleasant dreams though I rarely remember them because I am asleep. But when I wake up refreshed and warm and peaceful, there is generally a pleasant dream just leaving my thoughts.
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I have mostly pleasant dreams, I’d say. I dream a lot.
Tess had a mini-stress meltdown at sheepherding today — after a strong start in which she had the sheep going in counter clockwise circles, she froze and trotted off to the side of the corral and … laid … down. Done.
We kept trying to get her interested again, but she was going her stress-painting and acted like she does when something just sort of makes her mentally shut down. She’s highly sensitive. And I’m thinking maybe it’s my fault, maybe I’ve made her neurotic. 😦
The instructor is pretty hard-core, based on a ranch near the border and she does a lot of herding trials. She said Tess was “extremely” overweight, which I don’t think is true. I can feel her ribs just fine, which they say is the test … I’ll ask the vet when I take her in next.
Maybe that’s what made her so suddenly turn off, she felt insulted. 🙄
Well!
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It was also 89 degrees out there today. A tad warm for all of us, people-sheep-and-dogs alike.
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Guess what Mimi and Grandpa are getting next Fall?
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I have had similar pleasant dreams like Michelle’s. Once I dreamed of going to the coast with a friend. Soon after that another friend called and invited me to go to Charleston with her over Easter weekend. That was probably 35 years ago.
I also enjoy some of the various modes of travel I experience in my dreams. In real life I don’t like roller coasters but in a dream I tolerate things like that quite well. 🙂
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Yeah, a lot of people show up in my dreams, including my (deceased) parents and various work people & friends and dogs, present and past. It’s always an interesting mixture. 🙂 So often my first thoughts upon waking up are “Wow, THAT was a strange dream …”
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Jo–
If you’re around, what town are you in? H is having a dinner party for friends, and one is heading to PNG next year with Wycliffe. Garumpa is the town?
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Kim, I dunno? Boy or girl?
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Donna, once I took Misten in to the vet and her regular vet wasn’t there so a different person (a woman) examined her). Whereas her regular vet had taken several minutes just to make friends when she was a puppy (letting her lick all over his face while he petted her and sweet-talked her) and she adored him, this woman put a thermometer up Misten’s rump without bothering to pet her or give her a kind word. Misten was highly insulted, and I don’t blame her. In fact, she wet the floor, which wasn’t her usual action there! To add insult to injury, the vet commented (incorrectly) that collies aren’t a very smart breed, since “there isn’t much room in that head for a brain.” Misten never was subjected to that vet again! I couldn’t imagine why a person would choose to be a vet without any better sense of animals than that. She might have just been having a bad day, but it really is necessary to be nicer both to animals and their people!
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We don’t know yet
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Kim, is that a shark tattoo on your husband’s arm?
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This trainer had a very thin bc, told me to look at her dog, that’s how they should look. But it was a rough coat (short-haired bc), Tess has LOTS of fluff.
Thinking back, I do actually remember her doing the same thing the first time I took her herding several years ago with a different trainer — she just *stopped* for whatever reason. The next couple times I took her, she did much better. But it’s not really a hobby I can afford, either in scheduling/time or money, regularly. The first trainer only does training on Thursday mornings — this one I went to today (much better in terms of training) is a l-o-n-g ways a way and at least twice as expensive.
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smooth coat, I meant, I think. ?
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Tess is considered a semi-rough coat border collie.
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Loved the Tess photos on FB.
We’ve just had a lovely dinner with four friends of Hillary, our missionary on furlough house guest. These five women discussed their faith in the Lord, their ministries (one is married to a Ugandan and preparing to return to help plant churches, one is going to PNG as a Wycliffe Bible translator, Hillary is looking for funds to return as a missionary to Sicily and the other two are sweet and involved in ministry jobs–to the mentally disabled and I don’t recall the other).
It was such a joy to listen to these women talk about service to God, their compassion for others, and then leave them to pray together. Four are unmarried . . . all in their thirties. That grieves me.
Unless of course, that is God’s plan so they can serve better . . .
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During the past few years I have know several older ladies who were missionaries who never married. They have all led quite fascinating and from my perspective full lives. One of them died this past year. Such dear ladies. Since no one will be married in heaven, maybe they had a taste of heaven on earth. 🙂
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Perhaps serve not so much better but just differently …
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Michelle, who did you have over that is joining me here? or that has already been here?
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Ukarumpa is our missionary base. Anyone coming with W will come here and then they may go to a regional centre or to a village
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Looks to me like Kim got 100 and didn’t even know it.
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The posts aren’t numbered so you have to notice where you are WRT wveryone else.
I usually miss that.
Good evening Jo. I can’t wait until the 3/16 thread comes. I need to leave as soon as Ol’ Slopoike gets ready.
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100!
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