thursday two questions

1) What would you most probably be wearing if I caught you in the malls?
A frown.  I am not a happy mall shopper.

2) What type of clothing do you mostly wear: jeans, dress, sweats, dress pants, etc?  I am so with you on this one, Self Sagacity!  Comfort is key.  In fact, I've been known to take that a little too far at times (see the post just before this one where I forgot I wasn't wearing my bra).  Oh - the answer is sweats!

Oh, duh - I'm supposed to ask my own two questions - it helps to read things thoroughly sometimes...

1.  I just saw X Men: First Class today.  Yes, I know that's a statement.  The question is, did you know this fact about James McAvoy (Professor X)?  "While filming The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Georgie Henley never saw McAvoy in his Mr. Tumnus costume before filming their scenes together.  Henley's scared reaction upon seeing McAvoy is genuine surprise."  It's a fact because I read it on the internet here.

2.  Could we please have more Michael Fassbender (Magneto) on screen soon?  Pretty please??

stream of consciousness while looking at potential places to rent

Yikes.  I don't know about this one.  Well, what do you expect in your price range?  At least this is in a separate building, not part of someone's house...Hello, are you the landlord?  Oh, he's over there?  I wonder if that's him walking to his car - which looks pretty nice, by the way...yep, that's him...oh how nice, he'll show me the place now, he's going to get the key...my hair's all greasy under this bandanna, hopefully he won't notice or care...oh good lord, Kerri, you're not even wearing a bra!...oh, this unit is actually nice inside, definitely a possibility...thank you for the unexpected showing (and you're welcome, ha ha)...now to this apt. nearby - hey, I found it, a miracle...peace back at ya', dude...those places look pretty nice...and peace dude and this lady with the baby stroller make it look like a nice neighborhood, but is it quiet?... I want to be as far away from multi-unit apartment living as possible, too; I'll have to think about it...where's this other place?...I see 1202 but where's 1203?!  It goes from 1202 to 1218 and they're shops, not residences!  I'll turn around here and check...yep, no 1203, where is- oh, duh, it's on the other side of the street - oh, whoops, sorry about that, guy behind me, no parking here, huh?  I'll just turn around...oh look, this place has handy shopping carts sitting on the grass out front...maybe I'll skip this place...yep, that overgrown alley confirms it, not looking further here...too bad, it's so close to my favorite bookstore....oh my word, I'm also wearing capri sweats with bleach spots and a hole in them, and below the hems I obviously need to shave!  If that 1st guy still rents to me is that a good thing?...heading back home...yes, I'm going the right way because this street heads east one-way...and I wanted to go east...no, dang it, I live WEST of here!  Grr...

lunch with grandpa 6/27/11

Lunchtime used to be noon (that's why Grandpa called it "the noon meal"), then he decided that it should be four hours after he had breakfast, then it somehow became four hours after he got out of bed, which usually makes it 11:00 a.m.  Now, at 10:45 or thereabouts, Grandpa calls out, "I'm getting faint!" which means "feed me, quick!"  Today:

Grandpa:  "I'm getting faint!"
me:  typing on the computer, "Okay," didn't move
Grandpa:  "Ohhhhhh..."  (fake faint)
me:  no time to respond, because less than a second later,
Grandpa:  "OHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"  (louder fake faint accompanied by drooping head and arms)

Sometimes the man has the patience of a saint, and sometimes he has the patience of a toddler.

After lunch, Grandpa banged his empty soup cup on the tray.  I rolled my eyes, beleaguered soul that I am, and asked him what kind of pudding he wanted for dessert.  "Lemon."  As I fixed his pudding I thought about writing this post.  When I handed him his pudding, I realized I'd given him chocolate instead of lemon.  He accepted the mistake graciously.  That'll teach him.

friday four fill-in

I enjoy Feeling Beachie's fill-ins; the questions are interesting and go beyond the "What is your favorite ---?" rut.  This week's statements:

1. If you would have ever told me years ago that I now would be renting one room in a relative's home instead of living on my own I would never have believed you.  And that's soon to change...

2. Coke! is my beverage of choice.

3. The last time I got a tattoo was... 3 years ago?  It's the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, which represent God to me - the first and the last, my source and goal.  I wanted the letters smaller and closer to the inside of my wrist, just as a message to myself about what I live for, but the tattoo guy had a problem with jackhammering it right over my vein....  Now I feel a bit like a Wonder Twin - activate!

4. Travel the world is one of the items on my bucket list.  Right after "marry rich."

more "old" favorites

For today's "Tuesdays Gone" hop I thought I'd resurrect some stories of me and Grandpa and our hearing prob- I mean, opportunities...

Prologue:  Fun with my private student N:
Today I received outside confirmation that my trouble understanding Grandpa's speech is not entirely due to him. After my lesson with N. ended, he and his younger brother L. told me they were taking out a tree. What? Why? I wondered. And why do I care? But instead I used my great linguistic ability and said a more concise, "What?" "We're taking out a tree!" both boys said. "We're shooting!" L. added. I'm thinking, WHY are you cutting down a tree...it's too early for Christmas, isn't it?.....yes.....and HOW on earth are you going to get it down by shooting it? With an Uzi? What is wrong with you people?! Rather than confuse them with all my questions I modeled excellent verbal expression and scrunched up my face and said, "Huh?" Then L. lifted up his bow and N. said slowly, as if speaking to a....well, to me, "We're taking AR-CHER-Y!"


Fun with Grandpa:
My dad's dad is a 92-year-old, charming, sweetheart of a man whose picture is in the dictionary under "ornery". He's currently living with my parents, and on Sunday mornings I hang out with him, which has turned out to be a great time for both of us (or so he says). A few weeks ago, he had trouble reading the soap-opera-type comic he likes to keep up with, so he asked me to read it to him. Grandpa is a bit hard of hearing, although there is suspicion among some family members that his hearing problem is selective or he is just plain faking it. Anyway, I made the mistake of not pre-reading the comic, in which two guys were talking. So what came out of my mouth at full volume was something like this:

"HEY, JOE. HOW'S MIKE? I HEARD HE'S IN JAIL AGAIN."
"YEAH. I HAVEN'T GONE TO SEE HIM YET."
"I HEARD VALERIE WENT TO VISIT HIM."
"YEAH. SHE STAYED 45 MINUTES, AND WHEN SHE LEFT MIKE HAD A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE."

(Silence.) (Crickets chirping.) If you've never hollered at a grandparent about conjugal visits, I highly recommend it.

Today when I went into Grandpa's room/space at Mom & Dad's house, I was a bit groggy from a fitful night's sleep. Grandpa was extra perky. "That," he said, pointing to his book of word search puzzles, "almost fell out of bed." Grandpa likes to tell silly jokes, so I thought this was one of them. "It did?" I said. "How?"
"Huh?" Grandpa said.
I put the book on his tv tray. "Are you still working on #10?"
"Yeah. Can you count that high?" (giggles)
"Ha ha." I shove Grandpa and open the book to puzzle #10 and point to it, "So how did this almost fall out of bed?"
"Huh?...No, this," he said, holding up his mechanical pencil, "is almost out of lead!" My brain's so big it clogs up my ears. It's fun to make a non-senile elderly person wonder if he's becoming senile (eye roll).


The other day as I walked into Grandpa's I heard Dad say to him, "Kerri will get your pills." Dad left and a few minutes later Grandpa told me, "I need my pills." I was a bit confused, because he usually has his pills with breakfast.
"You need your pills?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Have you had your breakfast?"
"Huh?" (confused look on Grandpa's face now, too)
"You usually have your pills with breakfast. Have you had your breakfast?"
"Yeah, I had my breakfast," he said, still confused.
"Well, did you have your pills with it like usual? I don't understand what pills Dad was talking about."
"I need my PIL-LOWS," Grandpa said. Poor man.

Today he needed a paper clip. "Do you have some in your desk?" I asked, walking over to his desk/secretary - like a roll-top desk but not rounded.
"Yes, on the right side."
I looked around and eventually found them in a small jar on the left side. I took out a paper clip (but Grandpa didn't see that), held the jar up, and said, "Do you want me to put them back where I found them or where you thought they were?" (We can be very Type-A.)
"Huh? No, I need a clip."
"Yes, but do you want me to put the rest of them back here, or here?" I said, pointing.
"No! I want to clip these two papers together." (an article onto a piece of white paper)
"Yes, but what about the rest of the paper clips?"
Chuckling, but also trying very hard to remain patient with me, Grandpa said slowly and clearly, "PICK. UP. THE. JAR. AND. WALK. OVER. HERE. AND. PUT. THE. JAR. DOWN. HERE. PLEASE," as he pointed to a tray by his chair.
I laughed and said in the same way, "I. KNOW. I. GOT. THE. CLIP." I showed it to him and put it on his tray. "I'M. TALKING. ABOUT. THE. JAR," I said, holding it up.
By then we were both laughing, and I don't know where they ended up.

He clipped the papers together, then he asked me to cut off the extra white paper around the margins. (See? Type A.) He said, half-serious/half-teasing, "DON'T. CUT. THE. ARTICLE. IN. HALF. CUT HERE," he said, pointing, "AROUND. THE. ARTICLE."
"I'm going to go get the scissors and bring them here so you can watch me cut it."
Grandpa smiled, sighed with relief, and said, "Yes."
I returned with the scissors, picked up the article, and pretended I was about to cut it in half.
"No!!!!!!!!!!!"

We keep each other mentally fit.

a flash...

Even in the midst of these dark days that seem to roll on endlessly, regardless of how bright a future day might be, it is good to have a shock to the system that can call forth a blurt of unexpected, unfamiliar laughter.  A shock, say, such as logging onto hubworld.com to play Scrabble Flash and having the letters you are to arrange into words be "P E N I S."

oh bother...

Ugh. It's another Eeyore day.  Actually, it's gloomier than that.  I hate feeling this way.  The corners of my mouth sag.  My eyes are dull.  I don't want to do anything.  And when I do something anyway, I am only half-focused and completely apathetic.  I can't concentrate, I can't remember, I can't enjoy the things I know are good, such as this morning's sunrise, Grandpa, or having enough food and shelter.   
I pray.  I take medicine and hope it works.  I wait for the black cloud to lift.  I wait. 

If you got out of bed today, give thanks.
If you took a shower without a second thought, give thanks.
If you can write a sentence in under 20 minutes, give thanks.
If you have a desire for anything, give thanks.

And if you don't...give thanks. Often.  If you're having an Eeyore day too, let's ride this out together.  Even though we don't feel hope, let's not give up on it.  We are still blessed.

"Tuesdays Gone" hop

One of the things I miss most about teaching is interacting with the kids and the hilarious things they say sometimes.  For this "Tuesdays Gone: Breathing New Life into Old Posts" entry, I thought I'd bring back some of my favorite moments from last year:



I'm on the market  4/15/10
S, one of my 2nd-graders, has been asking me the past 2-3 weeks to give her a picture of me. I kept putting her off, hoping she'd forget, but she didn't, so the other day I gave her one of me at J&A's house, B. on my lap, he and I are looking at my dominoes and Z. is next to us with his dominoes. I assumed she was going to make me a card or something. She never said what she was going to do. Today, her classroom teacher told me she had put my pic on paper and drew a circle around it with lines coming from the center, like spokes on a wheel, and each line had a word or phrase:

"Miss Kerri"
"nice"
"sweet"
blah blah - I can't remember the others except:
"41 years old"
"needs a husband"

Now I'm waiting to see copies of the flyer posted all over school.



. ? !  3/9/10
Conversation with R. this a.m., who is 9 years old and more artistically gifted than I - I asked her to draw/write a cartoon that used the 3 punctuation marks . ? and ! I hastily sketched her an example to show her what I meant; turns out, I could have just recorded our conversation:

R: "Is that a chicken?"
me: "It's a person."
"Why does he have a beak?"
"That's his nose."
"What's wrong with him?"
"Nothing!"
"Where's the dog's nose? Do you want me to help you?"
"No!"



Lessons learned 12/3/09
When R. (one of my private, 4th-grade students) wants to give you "joy dots," marker dotted on your hand so that you have a good day, and she wants to give you LOTS of dots, don't choose red. Otherwise people will think you have a disease.

What not to say to a roomful of African-American students, even if you're just talking about markers: "The black ones smell, the white ones don't." (Got a great fake look of shock and then a smile.)

What not to say to your teacher:
"Those red dots match the ones on your face."

After she's ended a horrific class with the previous group, in terms of behavior (theirs, not mine) (I think), even when she admitted she'd been acting like the bad witch: "You're acting like the good witch now." "But I'm still a witch?" "Yeah."

How not to conduct a timed assessment: Start the timer and say "go" without giving the student the directions. "WAIT! WHAT ARE WE DOING?!"



My new bra  11/5/09
My students are writing/drawing something they're thankful for to put on posterboard in the hallway this month, and I had the 3rd-graders begin with that. Two of them said they're thankful for me (ha! I knew I could manipulate them!) :) and one said when he was done, "Miss Kerri, I drew a bra on your head." Shocked silence for a moment from me and the other 3 boys. "You drew a what on my head?" I asked. "A bra." "A bra?!" (Giggles now from the other boys.) "Yes, a bra." "A bra? Why did you draw a bra on my head?" "A bra! I drew you a bra." "A braaaaa?" (enunciating the phonetics, always teaching...) "Yes, a bra! That thing girls put in their hair and tie up! What is going on?!!!" (boys laughing now) I said, "Do you mean a b-o-w?" and held up a picture of one we happened to have on the wall. "Yes, that thing. What's a bra?" "Ask your mother," I said. One boy said, "I'll tell him," and went and whispered into the 1st boy's ear. 1st boy's response: "OOOOHHH! WHOA!!! YUCK!!! No no no no no no no....!"

guest post: Karen @ "Life with Karen"

Several weeks ago I discovered the practice of guest posting, where you host a writer on your blog and/or write something for theirs.  I liked this idea, and when Karen asked if anyone was interested in being a guest, I got in touch.  You can read my post on her website, Life with Karen .  I asked Karen to write for me as well.  Please give her a warm welcome, and congratulate her on her new Stylish Blogger award - woo hoo!  I'm so pleased with this post and its honesty as Karen talks about the changes, not always welcome, that come to us in life.  Her post reminds me of a quote I've posted before; one that Karen and I can both relate to:

"Carole wanted to organize every moment of the future to within an inch of its life, while Jude was comfortably content to let events come to her...." Simon Brett



Going with the flow has never really come natural to me. The last three months have taught me, though, that if you don't go with flow sometimes you get swept away. We can't always control the direction life is going, and to be flexible IS a certain kind of strength.

A year ago I started a blog called Karen's Healthy Lifestyle. I was beginning a new chapter in my life, and I was going to use my blog to stay committed and accountable. I started posting my eating and gym habits, and I started doing research on nutrition, weight loss, and exercise. Although my blog was somewhat personal, I wanted to stay focused on health.

One day I decided to share a little more personal information with my readers, and I started getting away from the strictly health blog that I had been writing. I found that I enjoyed sharing bits and pieces of me. I joined a meme here and a photo challenge there, and suddenly my blog took on a whole new look.

Then tragedy struck. Well, it wasn't quite that dramatic, but to me it was. I came down with shingles. I had extreme complications from that episode, and I've been sitting on my couch ever since. You can read more about that situation on the "About Me" tab at the top of my blog if you are interested. The short story is that I have nerve damage. The functionality of my feet has been affected, and I get headaches every day. To say that my body just doesn't work right anymore would be putting it mildly.

With nothing better to do, I picked up my laptop and started writing. Reading blogs has been a window into the outside world on days that I literally couldn't handle life outside of the four walls that make up my home. Writing has been a lifeline that has kept my spirits up.

My blog slowly stopped being about health and started being about me. I found a voice through blogging, and I was able to bust out of a shell that was holding me back. I took a huge leap of faith and shared one of my short stories with the public. When that went well, I shared another, then another. I found that I LOVE having people read my writing, even though it terrified me at first.

One day I looked up and realized I hadn't written a diet or exercise related post in over a week. I noticed that I was telling my readers more about me because I didn't feel comfortable calling my blog a health blog when I wrote mainly about my illness. It seemed somewhat ironic to me that what had started as a health blog had evolved to the point I wouldn't have recognized it as my own.

The only logical choice to make was to follow the path I was being led to. I changed my blog name to Life with Karen, and I allow myself to write what comes to my heart. My hope is that I am reaching people on some level. Someone out there, somewhere, needs to hear what I have to say. I don't know if it will be through a meme or a challenge. It could be through a short story. What I know is that my writing is not just a way to kill time. It is a way to show others that life may not go as planned. It's up to each of us to decide how to handle that.

At first I was resistant to the changes life had thrown my way. I wanted to be in control, and I wanted to resume the activities I enjoyed. I have, however, given in. I've climbed into the life raft and am ready for the ups and downs of this journey. I invite you to join me as we see what's around the next bend.

panning for gold

Here I am again.  Third time’s a charm?  I hope so.  My shoes are killing me.  Oh no – did I remember to cut the tag off of this dress?  Will I find anyone worth a second look?  Hang on; who’s that?!  Oh, he’s the moderator…aaand…yep - he’s married.  Of course.  Oh terrific – Jay’s here again.  I sense a desperate need for a bathroom break coming on right about the time he reaches my table…and here we go……yikes.  Does this guy dress like that all the time?  What was his name again?  Oh good, there’s the bell; time to meet someone new……Come again?  You sell custom-made socks?  And you’re wearing a pair now- oh.  Okay.  Yes, they look very comfortable and stylish; maybe you should take your leg off the table now…thank God, the bell……this one doesn’t look too ba- hey buddy, my eyes are up here……I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mole quite like that before…...this guy, on the other hand, should date a mirror.  He’s been talking about himself for five minutes!  And again the bell.  Surely in this stream of testosterone flowing past me there’s at least one hunk I could take home……oh, here’s Jay…I wonder if I should get my hair cut?  Maybe shoulder-length with some bangs?  Molly got her hair cut like that and it’s really cute…I wonder where she had it done…maybe– what?  Time’s up already?  So long, Jay……EUREKA!  Who’s this Adonis?  And why on earth is he speed dating when he could be- wait, what?  Did he just say he lives with his mother?......Haven’t I talked to this guy already?……Do I look like I’d want to play World of Warcraft with you?.…. Is it over?  I guess so.

Sigh.  Another bust.

This week my Indie Ink challenge, "panning for gold," came from an artist named Amy at 3 to 9 Travels.  Go check her out!  I challenged Mare at Destiny is Deafening with, "A stranger approaches you on the street and says, 'I had to do it; I had no choice.  Help me!'  Be sure to read what she makes of it!

straight out of the camera

This weekend I'm helping dogsit Sadie (on the left) and Diesel for my cousins.  I stayed overnight with them and fed them, petted them, gave them treats - I enjoyed it as much as they did.  Later, after I'd returned home to my aunt & uncle's house, my uncle brought them over to play in the back yard, and they found me.  Does my heart good!

 

This week I began tutoring a cousin in pre-K skills (which were pre-1st-grade skills in my day!).  I haven't tutored someone at this level for a while, and I love it!  And this girl has the best focusing abilities I've ever seen in someone her age.

 

three picture books

This summer I'm tutoring a young cousin in basic pre-reading skills - letter identification, phonics, etc.  I bookended our first lesson (aren't I clever to use a pun?  eye roll) with these first two books:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault

Illustrated by Lois Ehlert

What's not to love about Chicka Chicka Boom Boom?   Fun story, witty writing such as "black-eyed p," rhymes, and a meter you can't help but bounce and read along to.   My cousin A. liked the mommy and daddy letters taking care of their children when they all fell out of the coconut tree.   Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

The Preposterous Rhinoceros by Robert Bender

I found this book in a used bookstore.  I was especially pleased to see it uses some of the same rhymes we work on in tutoring: snake/cake, goat/boat, mouse/house, etc., which makes it a great companion to that lesson.  Using the pictures as cues, the child can complete the rhyme:  "...and a goat in a..."  "Coat!"  This book can also be used to develop comprehension, fact/fiction, and prediction.  "Why is Alvin sad?"  "Do toads really drive cars?"  "What do you think might happen when Alvin goes outside?"

Tumble Bumble by Felicia Bond

I think I found this book in a used bookstore, too - that's where I get most of my books.  I read this to A. at the end of our second session.  The animals in this book have an adventure which is told in rhyme.  The rhymes are not always in a regular, predictable meter, which gives the child a greater challenge ("a crocodile smile," for example).

picture book challenge

A challenge that involves reading picture books to children?  I'm SO in!

See http://www.theresabook.com/read-to-me-picture-book-reading-challenge/ for details.  I will be reading with a child, probably at the "Watering" level.  I read a variety of books, including picture books, to my private tutoring students.  I look forward to seeing others' entries and discovering some great new books!

friday four fill-in

Here's another fill-in meme (I think?) that I enjoy:

1.  When I reflect back upon my life, I regret fearing what others thought of me and acting accordingly.

2.  I really, really, really overuse the word really. 

3.  The first time I saw the beach/mountains was when I was two years old and we moved to California.  I only know I saw the ocean, though, because we have pictures.  I saw mountains, including Pike's Peak, in Colorado when I was about 7.

4.  My bright, happy niece Maddie reminds me of the color yellow.

http://feelingbeachie.com/

close encounters...

Every once in a while we run into a person, a stranger, who impacts our lives in a way that makes us think there was something more going on there...

Yesterday in Target my body went down the markers, etc. aisle even though my brain was screaming at me to keep walking and just get what I went in there for in the first place.  A boy who looked about 10 or so was standing in the aisle, alone, holding a pack of markers.  He was browsing, not panicking, so I smiled at him and browsed too.  He walked up to me - at first I thought he would pass me, so I moved over.  But he stopped in front of me and looked me straight in the eye; I could tell he wanted to say something.  I assumed that even though I was wearing blue I looked incredibly competent, so I asked him if he needed help with anything.  (Okay, I just read that sentence again.  What I mean is I wasn't wearing the Target red and khaki!)  He brushed my question off with a quick glance to the side, then looked back at me and said something, I can't remember what, but we talked about how we both loved this aisle and that he was a creative person.  Then he began a 2- or 3-minute monologue about his imaginary friends, all of whom have names that start with S.  He listed at least 10 names.  He had a facial tick as he talked that made me think this topic was very important to him.  He finished by insisting that since he created his friends, they can do whatever he wants them to do, and his mom and dad shouldn't get him in trouble when his friends do bad stuff.  Sounds logical to me.  Then he walked away...

I love it when that happens.

wish i'd thought of that...

Oh, to get those years back!

transformation: june synchroblog

In the early morning of June 3 I had a dream:

I am walking in a church yard.  The large yard and white church have an "episcopal" feel to me.  I am in a wedding dress, carrying a long-stemmed bouquet.  I delight in the yard's many trees full of their white, yellow-green, and pink spring blooms.  An image of a curly, gnarly tree limb flashes in my mind as an appropriate bouquet, but I think, "A dead twig?  That wouldn't work."  I look down the slope behind the church; in a small grove of cherry trees several young men and women are playing together like children, throwing blooms at each other, laughing, roughhousing.  They are my bridesmaids and groomsmen, and are also dressed for the wedding.  I smile, enjoying their merriment, and look up the slope and further into the distance.  I watch the wind blow showers of pink blossoms down the slope, trees in the midst of their spring-to-summer transformation, the death of the blossoms and the birth of the fruit, the leaves...it is the end of the season, after all...death and life, dying and living...I am happy, deeply content, complete.  I feel the wind and listen to it throwing blooms along with the others.  I have a quiet smile on my face; I feel peaceful and happy.  At rest.  It is complete.  It is finished?  Where is my groom?  I walk with the bridal party back to another church, the church where my wedding will take place.  I enjoy the sound and the feel of the blooms and grass crunching softly under my feet.  I look down; my dress is a faint rose color, my shoes are black - this strikes me as a very appropriate choice.  When I enter the church, I learn that my husband-to-be is dead.  I receive the news as right, appropriate, not macabre.  He is dead, but he is still with me, in a new way.  My smile, my faith, and my contentment do not waiver.  I understand.

Passover celebrates the Israelites' freedom from enslavement in Egypt.  Shavuot, the Jewish Pentecost, celebrates Yahweh's giving of the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai not long after their release from Egypt.  The Jewish Virtual Library says, "Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavuot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality."  From these events emerged Christian Pentecost, which celebrates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Christ and marks the beginning of a new way to know and worship God.  These holidays might be seen as:

     Passover:  freedom to worship Yahweh
     Shavuot:  how to worship Yahweh
     Christian Pentecost:  freedom to know and worship God in a new way,
            life from death, new communion with God


Does my dream foreshadow a transformation in my own communion with God?  Regarding Shavuot, the Jewish Virtual Library says:  "It is noteworthy that the holiday is called the time of the giving of the Torah, rather than the time of the receiving of the Torah. The sages point out that we are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, that we receive it every day, but it was first given at this time."  My knowledge of God, not only cognitive understanding but also the ways I experience him in my bones, in my soul, in my senses - and the ways in which I sense only his absence - is continuously evolving, always in creation.  It looks like we have entered a new season of life together.  It is time to celebrate.



This month's Synchroblog topic is "FAITH, FEASTS AND FORESHADOWING:

"The Jewish festival of Shavuot (or Pentecost) is a celebration of the giving of Torah....The Christian feast of Pentecost celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the book of Acts, ushering in the beginning of the church....For the June synchroblog we invite you to reflect on the foreshadowing that the Jewish celebration of Shavuot brings to the Christian feast of Pentecost.   How does the Torah foreshadow the Holy Spirit?   What can we learn from our forefathers that will enrich our faith?   What are the parallels?   What are the differences?   These are some (but definitely not all) of the questions that might be explored in this synchroblog."

Here are the other participants' responses. Please consider joining us in July!
Kerri at Earth’s Crammed With Heaven… – Transformation
Sarita Brown at Gypsy Queen Journals – Pentecost: A Poem
Jeremy Myers at Till He Comes - The Incarnation of the Temple, Torah, and Land
Tammy Carter at Blessing the Beloved - Random Biblical Calendar Thoughts, Unity & Love
K. W. Leslie at More Christ – Pentecost
Liz Dyer at Grace Rules – We Cannot Capture The Wind
Emma Nadine at Life by List - An Outpouring of the Spirit
Marta Layton at Marta’s Mathoms - Shadow of Things to Come?
Abbie Waters at No Longer “Not Your Grandfather’s CPA” - Spiritual Gifts
Bill Sahlman at Creative Reflections - A “Wild Goose” Festival at Pentecost

Earth, Wind and Fire

Karen Scovill

friday fragments

Signs that make me wonder:
A pet store's LCD sign advertizing "ant water bowls" for sale.  Yes!  I must have them!  My ants deserve the best!

A gym offering "3 months free tanning this week."  You mean I can get three months' worth of tanning done in a week?  Great!  Where can I get some cancer insurance?



Just plain witchiness:
A neighborhood cat hissed at me the other day when I walked into the back yard.  Hey buddy, this is my yard.  I hissed back; he jumped and ran off.  Yes, I am the queen of catty.



Check out others' Friday Fragments and add your own at http://www.halfpastkissintime.com/2011/06/friday-fragments-episode-147.html!

goofiness with Grandpa

Somebody ate his (Cream of) Wheaties this morning:

Grandpa: "You know what?"
me: "No, what?"
"That's what I'm wondering. I don't know what either."


Grandpa doing his word search puzzle: "'Payroll.' I can pay you now. I found the payroll."
me: "It's about time!"
(fake pitiful voice): "Well I'm sorry, I looked and looked and looked..."


Grandpa, looking at high school girls' soccer honorees in the paper: "I can't find you...where's your picture?"
me: "Huh?"
"You're not in here."
"Imagine that!"
(Grandpa giggling): "I'm so disappointed!"