50 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 7-19-19”

  2. Morning, Chas. We were all at school today working away to get ready. I am so glad for my aide Wendy who is doing a lot of the prep work. That allows me to focus on the new curriculum.
    Today I spent an hour or so walking around centre delivering a welcome to Kinder letter to my students and another letter to their parents. I have found that folks here don’t check their mailbox often so mailing them didn’t work. It was fun to meet parents and to greet the children. At one home I gave the letters to a brother whom I had taught. As I walked off my student came running out to give me a hug. and then followed me down the road to tell me that he was the fastest runner in his class! so sweet. This is also the little boy who had to flee the fire in Paradise.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  3. I found out that walking from home to home in the middle of the afternoon was not a good idea as it was very hot out today. I got back to school dehydrated and red faced.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Take care of yourself, Jo, and don’t overdo it!

    We had another thunderstorm/shower in the afternoon yesterday. Two days in a row for that, and it brought mosquitos back.

    I had a call from a friend whose mother passed away. She remembered Wesley loved her parent’s classical music when he was young so she is offering him vinyls, CDs and tapes. If he can’t use them, she will sell them. Wow! I could hardly believe she remembered that after all these years. Now I am trying to be in touch with him. That is the more difficult part since he is still in Switzerland.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  8. Good Morning All. I love being on Eastern time. I truly think I was born to it.
    Today we are going out to the beach. I haven’t been to/in the Atlantic Ocean in gasp 30 years. I am 20 or 30 minutes away so I want
    To go. The server in the restaurant last night told us where to go.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  9. The dragonfly is an eastern pondhawk, probably a female. Dragonflies, surprisingly, aren’t necessarily in their full adult color or sexually mature when they crawl out from the pond and leave their nymph skins behind, and within a species males and females usually are colored differently. There are often several similarly colored dragonflies, and adding different colors for males and females and for different ages can complicate it further! So I only know a few species. In this species, females and young males are green, and fully adult males are blue, almost a turquoise, a coloring they get gradually (almost a waxy coating, it’s called a “bloom”).

    Pondhawks are named that because they are large and they prowl by flying over ponds. All dragonflies are predators, and several of them will eat smaller dragonflies or damselflies.

    This particular dragonfly was quite cooperative. While I watched her, she flew from one plant to another several times, in each one striking an interesting pose, and staying long enough on each for me to get two or three photos and usually at least one good one. This was my last in a series of five or six, and one of my two favorites. This one doesn’t show the abdomen as well, but I like it because she matches her scene really well and because you can see the grass and her abdomen through her wings. It’s also a good look at her face, her legs, and the veins on her wings.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  10. Morning! Pretty dragon fly!
    Off to have coffee with girlfriends then grocery shopping. Tonight we will have drinks and snacks with neighbors on my neighbor’s back deck. A lovely way to wrap up a hot day in the forest! Hopefully the predicted cooler temps and rain will appear tomorrow.
    So thankful to our Creator for the gift of seasons ⛄️ 🍂 ☀️ 💐

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. I am headed to Tampa in the morning for the national convention of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Months ago I wondered who thought that Tampa in July was a good idea but now I’m thinking it may be cooler there than it is here. Not to mention that our geothermal heat pump, which provides our air conditioning, burned up this week. But that’s another story.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  13. Evidently Kim isn’t in Tallahassee today.

    The Glenn Beck program on radio has a segment today talking about the developments that occurred because of the Lunar program.
    But some things do not apply.
    The biggest example is GPS. GPS was a different project that has nothing to do with the Lunar program.
    The bad thing about GPS is that people don’t use maps anymore. And the Russians, Chinese, etc, could take GPS out if they wanted.
    That would cause war, or course.
    But we couldn’t direct our weapons.
    I was a radio operator in the days when every plane leaving continental USA had to carry a navigator and radio operator. Now they use neither.
    and they couldn’t find one if they needed him.
    We are dangerously vulnerable.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. Driving teenagers and working my job today. Tomorrow we’re taking them into San Francisco for the total tourist experience. The last time I did this was with Kim and BG. We’re doing a lot of this trip on foot.

    Spent yesterday arranging for a trip to LA in September for another big wedding. This time the older Adorable granddaughters will be dressed in white and carrying the bride’s train. They are extremely excited and will miss two days of school to rehearse and attend.

    My husband and I will fly with two of them to make the rehearsal.

    Only two more kids left in that family. Saving now . . .

    Like

    Reply

  15. Chas, the medical community has lost a lot of skills by being dependent on technology too. Before X-ray, physicians had learned to listen to the inside of the body through percussion, but that is a skill that few people know how to do anymore. I would like to learn it, but I have yet to meet anyone who is proficient in it – I did have one nurse up in Nunavut who was trying to teach herself the technique tell me what she knew, but that was it.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  17. I had a rough night — earlier this week I’d had a scratchy throat and some other ailments, nothing major, but when I went to bed last night I absolutely could not stop coughing. My chest sounded like the Exorcist soundtrack, dozens of faint demon voices every time I took a breath.

    At 3 a.m. I got up and rummaged through the cupboard, found a box of Mucinex that was good for another year so I took one of those and managed to at least fall asleep.

    When i got up at 6 to let the animals out, though, I felt awful, head pounding, no voice. Back to bed for another 4 hours and now I’m up again and feeling a lot better than that, but still not great. Neighbor called to see if I wanted to go out to lunch so I had to turn that down, but I’m also off on Monday so I told her maybe we could do it that day. I hate being sick on a vacation, even when it’s a staycation.

    I’m still going to start painting the bench today.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  20. Tiny Niece Tale: I always try to keep a straight face when dealing with children’s bad behaviour, as I do not wish to encourage a repeat performance, but today I lost it in spite of myself. Tiny Niece was in one of her contrary moods today. When she gets crossed grained like that, she tends to verbally contradict everything said to her, even if she physically obeys. My mother and I were keeping an eye on the little ones while Second was occupied. At lunchtime, I told Tiny to go and sit at the table to eat, but she was proving reluctant to heed my advice, contrarily insisting that she was not hungry. While she was demurring, my mother, wondered out loud about what to feed Tiny and Sixth (who was already in his chair, having no such pretended reluctance about eating as his sister). Tiny overheard my mother’s rhetorical question about food, and still truculent, replied in a defiant tone, “You can give me raw meat!”

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply

  21. From Veith today:

    Ancient Letter Shows the Life of a Christian Family in 230 A.D.
    JULY 19, 2019 BY GENE VEITH

    _________________________________

    The oldest Christian document from Greco-Roman Egypt, apart from the Bible, is a letter written in 230 A.D. It gives a brief but vivid picture of life in a Christian family in the days of the early church. In some ways, it goes against the conventional picture of Christians in the Roman Empire, suggesting some applications for Christians today. Including the centrality of vocation.

    The manuscript, written in Greek, is part of a large collection of ancient manuscripts in Basel, Switzerland. The letter is not a new discovery, but a Swiss scholar, Sabine R. Huebner, has studied it, along with related manuscripts in the collection, drawing conclusions about the social world of Christians in that time and place. Her book, to be released in August from Cambridge University Press, is entitled Papyri and the Social World of the New Testament. …

    … So what we have here is a devout Christian family of the Early Church involved in sports, politics, and business. In that, they were not much difference from Christian families today.

    Does that violate our idealized “saintly” image of the Early Church? It shouldn’t. Arrianus and his family were living out their Christian faith in their everyday vocations.
    ___________________________________

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  22. Roscuro, I don’t think I could have kept a straight face either. Despite better intentions I think I would have burst out laughing.

    How old is Tiny Niece?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  23. Twenty four hours to sign in. Will son be there? Husband is set to drive up to sign him in but no word if son plans to ride with him or make other arrangements.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  24. Roscuro – This isn’t the same thing, since Boy was not being contrary at the time, but there is a line of his that we mention and laugh about now and then.

    Boy was about two or two-and-a-half, and his mama was teaching him some stuff about cooking. One of her lessons was that we must be careful about touching raw meat. So here he is, standing on a chair at the counter with Nightingale, “helping” to make breakfast, and Chickadee comes around the corner, into the kitchen.

    He exclaims, in his little boy voice and diction, “Auntie, det out! Eggs! Bacon! Raw meat!” 😀

    *******

    Starting today, we are having a heat advisory for the weekend, with temps possibly hitting 100*F, with high humidity. Thankful for air conditioning!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  29. Kevin, she recently turned three. She is the youngest of my four nieces, so I call her Tiny, but she actually very tall for her age, the same height as her four and a half year old cousin, Baby Niece (my third niece), and towering over Fifth Nephew who is only a week younger than Tiny. Tiny’s little brother, Sixth Nephew, is also very tall for his age, as he is barely 18 months and growing out of two year old clothes – it makes for some challenges as he is fearless, a natural born trouble maker, and his height allows him to reach things most 18 month olds wouldn’t be able to get at. Second is the tallest of my siblings and her spouse is over six foot, so it is no surprise that their children are so tall.

    The two of children are also whip smart, with Tiny having an advanced vocabulary with which to be sassy and Sixth a fast learner from observation, so they keep us busy. Standing in the corner was an effective discipline method for Tiny, but Sixth, being observant, developed what his amused parents labeled ‘corner solidarity’ with his sister, by going and standing in the corner with her when she was being disciplined. He’ll voluntarily take himself off to the corner now when he knows he is in trouble, so it is not very effective for him. He is going to be a handful. When he pulls a particularly bad stunt, like flooding the bathroom and upper hallway by turning on the sink tap (he did that a couple of days ago), Second in-law, who says his small son is just like himself at that age, will say to Second, “I warned you.”

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  30. It’s been very warm here, but clouds and sprinkles cooled it down a bit.

    I heard from Wesley. He does what the music collection my friend offered to him. He also said he got a job he had interviewed for to start for the fall semester. He now has three part time positions. Because he went into an accelerated PhD program, he and others in the special program. That means they do not have a master’s degree which is required for teaching positions. Although he had a guaranteed teaching position for the six years, now in the final year, number seven, he can’t teach. It is a glitch they need to fix either on the program side or the hiring side. One of those Catch-22 scenarios. Thankful he has found thirty hours/week of employment to see him through.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  35. Roscuro’s mention of Tiny being tall and smart reminds me of Boy. He has a great vocabulary, is a whiz at math, and is taller and bigger than all the other boys his age. He once asked Nightingale if he might really be a giant. 😀 (But as big and smart as he is, he is a bit immature for his age.)

    He had the last appointment for his autism assessment yesterday. The doctor said he is right on the borderline, close enough to being autistic that they want to assess him further in the future.

    That pretty much matches what I have been thinking. One day I’ll be convinced he is, but another day I doubt it. Whether he is or isn’t, we love him, and are doing our best to help him grow into a decent, responsible human being.

    Nightingale’s toughness with him impresses me, but also saddens me that she has to be the only real parent he has, and I know it causes her stress. I do what I can to help alleviate that as much as is in my power.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  37. Roscuro, when we were looking to replace the bathroom sinks in our condo, one of our requirements was that they have the overflow drain in case of a grandchild overfilling a sink. Alas, they pretty much don’t make that feature anymore (I don’t know why). But the hall bathroom, the one any guests will be using, has a very deep sink, so that should keep such problems at bay. But I’ve heard too many “child flooded the bathroom” stories!

    Like

    Reply

  38. Kizzie, the way you relish Boy’s “det out” reminds me how we (his parents and big sister) often intentionally mispronounce words the way Flyboy did when he was little. He is amused and enjoys it with us, though he rarely mispronounces the words himself.

    For example, every weeknight at 7:30 it’s time to tune the TV to “Deoparby”. Sometimes I’ll ask if someone wants me to refill their glass of “nilk”.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  40. I have never heard of someone with a PhD being concerned about a Master’s. Some skip the Master’s programs entirely.
    Doesn’t make sense for a person with a PhD being concerned about a Master’s.
    I have a Master’s. It is not equivalent to a PhD.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  42. Cheryl, in this case, he didn’t fill the sink before flooding the floor. The tap is moveable and it had been swung against the wall behind the sink, so the water was running down the small space between the sink back and the wall, which is why none of us heard the water running until it was seeping into the hallway.

    Second in-law thought my father might be a bit upset about the flood, but my father took it calmly, merely remarking the next day to Sixth that he was a mischief. It wasn’t the first time for my father. Youngest sibling was four when she went into the house to get a drink of water on a summer’s day when the rest of us were working outside in the garden. She left the kitchen tap on, and although it was a double sink and it shouldn’t have overflowed, both sides of the sink had the plugs in. So, when someone else went into the house an hour or so later, the water had flooded the kitchen floor, the living room, and was pouring like a falls down the stairs to the basement. The living room was carpeted and although it dried out, it had permanent waves in it ever afterward. Incidentally, that carpet was only replaced earlier this year, when my father put down new laminate flooring on the main floor – the little ones enjoy the new floor, as it is a much better surface to drive wheeled toys over than the old wrinkled carpet. But it wasn’t that floor that was flooded this time, but the floor upstairs, and not nearly so badly.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  44. Educational institutions are quirky when it comes to who can teach. But I’ve never heard of someone with a PhD not being able to teach a class that requires a Master’s degree. It could be that there is a class he needs to take in order to qualify for the class that he would have gotten had he gotten a Master’s.

    Like

    Reply

  45. Janice, I assume you are saying that he is in a program to get his PhD, but he doesn’t actually have it yet (nor a master’s), right? Or are you saying that he has the doctorate but no master’s and somehow that’s a technicality that is stopping him?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  46. Just saw video of our little one (close to 11 months old) walking across the room this morning. 🙂 She looked a bit unsteady on her feet, but made it all the way across the room. Only when her mom spoke to her and she partially turned around did she fall down. (Our daughter was shooting the video from behind her.) And her mom’s “yay” with clapping happened after she went down, and she clapped too, FYI.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  47. I remember watching Third Nephew take his beginning steps over Skype. He was always a bit on the small side and he was well under a year went he started walking, but he was fearless. He was very unsteady on his feet and tumbled over at every second step, but he would just chuckle infectiously and pull himself up precariously to try again. There is four years between him and Second Nephew, who took it upon himself to teach his wee brother how to play rough and tumble. Second Nephew would stretch out on the floor and say “Come get me!” And Third would totter over and fall on top of him, giggling harder than ever. The two are still great comrades despite the age gap. Third is the gentlest and most sensitive of his brothers, but also the bravest, while Second Nephew is simultaneously conscientious and an irrepressible tease.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  48. I took a long nap today — I was going to go out to run some errands earlier but after pulling the empty trash cans up I was spent. I texted my friend to reschedule tomorrow’s planned visit to a Saturday in August, I really don’t want to spread this around and as worn out as I’m feeling (still coughing), I also wouldn’t have been much fun to be around. I owe my cousin a text, too, she was wondering when we’re getting together. …

    My mom’s company had a policy where if you were sick on your vacation your could swap those days for sick days, but I don’t know that we have anything like that as our time cards are all electronically generated in advance. But it does kind of stink to lose vacation time (of which I don’t have that much) to being sick (sick time I have loads of, more than I’ll ever have a need to use).

    Like

    Reply

  50. Due to the excessive and oppressive heat, power is questionable at best. So I’m posting early in case it goes out altogether.

    And we have a special treat too. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a reply to DJ Cancel reply