Stories and other stuff

At the five hours left of 2013 mark, I am laying in bed watching a movie and waiting for my roomie to come home.  She's been tending kids. She's late. I had a visitor earlier today.  It was not a happy visit.  It was the end of something that started out pretty good about a week after the divorce was final.  It wasn't meant to be.  It's funny how little things come back to you.  One today is a stern talking to I got from said MIA roommate about saying "no". I said no a lot at the end of 2013. It didn't always result in a positive ending. This is how one went:  "You said no...so bye."  Curt and to the point. That didn't hurt. Much.  It's not like it was the first time I'd said it. There's nothing left from 2013 to carry into 2014.  Other than the immigrant, it's just me and the dogs and her pussycats.  The pussycats are not long for this address.  Saying no means saying no to unreasonable things in my own home. ...

I had a bit of a conversation about Scripture and homosexuality earlier this week with someone who goes by the name Xander.  Part of it was about love being a sin.  Well, sometimes whether or not we like it, love can be a sin.  It's not exclusive to homosexuals.  There are lots and lots of times that love between a man and a woman can be a sin. Here we go. One of the most famous examples of this I can think of is a romance between Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.  Mr. Tracy was Catholic and divorce for him wasn't an option.  And the rest, as they say, is Hollywood legend. But what about when that chicken comes home to roost closer to home.  Earlier this week, I found myself in that position. And I had to say no to something that I couldn't find a scriptural way to make right.  I found myself at that intersection of my own life and Scripture and I had to make a decision: "Do I love God more?" For me the answer was yes, I love...

Cooking for one isn't something I can do.  I'm not even gonna pretend.  That's why I'm putting in a shameless plug for my foodsaver gadget. I smoked a turkey for sandwiches.  I sucky-saved some.  I also sucky-saved what was left of the Christmas roast.  I have another turkey I roasted.  Both were very small turkeys; just for sandwiches and for roasting.  I got to try sausage stuffing in the turkey I cooked yesterday.  It's still in the fridge. Dinner tomorrow and Sunday.  I might make some rolls tomorrow for the sandwiches.  Or not.  There's always turkey clubs with the bacon left from Christmas breakfast.  Then again, open faced turkey sandwiches sound pretty good too.  I can still make gravy from the drippings I saved. The bones from the roast are in the oven now, covered in barbeque sauce.  They had lots of meat on them so I decided to cut the roast at the bone and save them for lunch or dinner.  ...

I'm not gonna let this Christmas thing go.  I mean that.  You shouldn't either. I know a little bit about what the world looks like with no Christmas because I had the good fortune(?) to spend a Christmas Day in a place where Christmas doesn't exist.  I was in a place where lots of things don't exist, like religious freedom, freedom of speech, and a lot of what we as Americans take for granted. Here were the rules for celebrating Christmas:  Small decorations were allowed but could not be viewed from a window.  No large gatherings for religious ceremony.  Small groups OK, but only at the compound and only small groups.  No liquor.  Period. Christmas Day, 1990 was spent in Saudi Arabia.  At the compound that housed American contractors.  We had a special meal.  It was called a special meal, not a holiday meal.  Other than that, it was just another day.  It came and went without carols, snow, hymns and songs about Jesu...

This isn't what you might think it is although when I spent $100 on a roast I think it's time to rethink a little bit of Christmas up around in here (we don't eat like that always, but still...).  This is for my non-believing friends. A friend of mine mentioned on Facebook the other day he likes some of the little memes I share because they're positive.  He also made a point of telling me he's not a believer. But you couldn't prove that by looking at his Facebook page. He shared a photo a few weeks ago of his Christmas tree.  Today it was a photo of his Nativity set.  I want to ask him, but won't, of course, how he reconciles the the latter with the former.  It kind of seems to me he believes in something.  Kind of anyway. This is one of them things where I'm not throwing rocks, by the way.  I was like this for most of my life so I have no room to talk and if I were to say anything to my friend (or to you dear reader) it would be simply that yo...

I do try to tell my stories but often they're lacking because I don't take this particular piece of advice.  I tried it once and it was a really horrible idea. I actually stole this meme from a Christian post on Facebook.  I think it's OK to tell our stories but sometimes the equally important thing our mothers taught us when we were young should rue the day.  That gem is "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". Which of these is more full of wisdom, dear reader, is for you to decide. It's in the vain of the latter, as opposed to the former that the rest of this post is written. I figured out the whole KISMET thing.  Actually it was figured out for me by some legal papers I received in the mail the other day.  They, when final, will put an end to the saga of the last four years. The irony is that the same man's name I have on numerous sets of orders for the military also appears as the Attorney General for ...

I woke up this morning at six thirty for no particular reason.  Well, that I know about anyway.  I couldn't get back to sleep so I did what I've done a zillion times before in my life; I turned on the TV.  There was a short movie on from MGM from back in the day.  It was Scrooge in about five minutes.  I'm sure it was snippets of a longer movie they made.  Anyway, after the Scrooge bit, they went into an advertisement for the movie KISMET.  There's a word you don't hear every day, right?  Anywyay, the guy holds up a record album (for you kids that are too young, CDs used to be called albums or records or both) of the soundtrack of this particular film.  Then they cut to a scene from the movie.  I wasn't feeling it so I changed the channel for a minute then turned the thing off. I don't think too much of things.  I mean that. I can't help but see the things I do.  You never know what each day will bring.  Keep that in min...

Today's theme is about give and take. Saturday' post was a prime example of give and take.  I lost $320 in overtime wages.  I lost another $140 for parts and tools for my truck.  I gained a new battery and new tools.  I was in a place where that plan came together because God let the breakdown happen where I could easily take care of it. Today's devotional in Our Daily Bread is about the good and bad and how God uses them to mold our character. The example used was the story of Jonah. My pastor's blog today was a book review about how God transforms men.  The story of David and Bathsheba is a great example of sin, forgiveness, and redemption.  It's also an illustration of what God gives and takes away.  God took the child produced in adultery and later on gave them Solomon, who is credited as being the wisest man who ever lived.  Even he had his issues, though. The third thing was about what fire gives and takes in the Yellowstone ecosystem....

The immigrant is tending babies today.  When she does that and it doesn't happen here, it adds to the chaos and confusion of keeping things ship-shape here at Lark Circle.  When she's gone taking care of me falls to me and I don't do such a hot job of that sometimes.  I try but things never look as nice and clean when I do them as when she does. I did get a lot done today before setting out for work.  I mopped my bathroom and cleaned the carpet in my bedroom.  I washed the dishes I dirtied last night after work.  I swept which is a chore around here. And I went on a search and destroy mission to find the battery charger for my cordless drill.  It wasn't where I put it but I did manage to find it.  It's the beginning of the things I'm thankful for today. I have a lot to be thankful for today even though it won't sound like it as I tell the story.  Some of it was my own fault for not doing what I needed to.  Lessons learned the hard wa...

I really didn't sit down to write a blog post.  I am sitting through the credits of a movie that's just starting.  It's a favorite; Auntie Mame  made in 1958 and starring Rosalind Russell in the title role.  It's a great film. The film was introduced by a costume designer.  The same man who designed the costumes for my all-time favorite movie, and incidentally, although arguably, the best movie ever made; Casablanca.   The woman, whose name I forget, spoke the introduction in flowery prose.  She's creative.  She uses creative words.  For example, something a person like her might say may go like this: The ground was covered in a white blanket of snow, the flakes gently falling in the quiet of the night. Me, I would say "It's snowing out." I can't be flowery.  It's the mechanic in me.  I can use straightforward words, usually of the two syllables or less variety, and keep it "real".  It's the linear thinker in me. I ca...

I write often about my dog Bucket.  He's a character, to be sure.  Me and Buck.  Don't know what I'd do without him.  He's over there on his side of the bed, snoring.  He's quite content. When I got up this morning at seven to take care of some personal business, Katie was on the bed too.  I went out to the kitchen to get a drink of water and when I got back, Katie was in my spot on the bed, head on my pillow, and wasn't gonna move for nothing.  I moved her and she grumped and we got to sleep again.  But not without Bucket getting into the act. He's very jealous.  He wormed his snout in so he was closer and that's when I thought to myself that Katie will come up and hang out when she wants to but Bucket is different.  He's an "every down" kind of dog.  It's a football analogy.  Bucket plays every play.  He's always underfoot.  He's always right there whether I'm happy or not.   If I was gettin' too close to t...

The stock market is up.  There is no earthly reason for it.  Here's my point:  Holiday shopping is down 3% over last year.  Last year sucked.  And what were people buying?  Clothes.  Apparel items led the charge for sales.  That's not good because people are buying necessities to give each other over luxuries.  That's not a happy start to the shopping season. I say all of that on top of this:  roughly 3/4 of all economic activity in this country is driven by consumer spending.  And folks are buying clothes which we don't make anymore.  No more looking for the "union label when you are buying a coat, dress, or blouse."  There are still small companies that make textiles in America, but they are few, and small. Black Friday used to be a retail industry term for the day company books made it into the black.  Now it's something I'm pretty sure Jesus would frown upon.  Fights, crowds, avarice, greed, you name it, ...

I put the tree up about four days early this year.  I'm not anxious.  I just know that there's a better than fair chance I'm going to be working 12 hour days starting Tuesday.  Maybe even as early as Monday.  Rumor has it, anyway, so I took what day I had to do this kind of stuff and did it.  I'm glad I did.  I found a beautiful tree for a really fair price at Home Depot. I am 6'4" and I like my Christmas tree to be taller than I am.  It necessitates purchasing a larger tree than normal.  I found just the one.  I actually bought the first one I saw because it was as close to perfect as I've seen in years.  It appears to be fresh, too.  I like these trees because when you trim the branches you don't put huge holes in your Christmas tree.  This one doesn't even have an ugly side.  That's a blessing. Putting up a Christmas tree can be an ordeal.  I purposely bought the "Swivel Straight" tree stand the first time I sa...

Well, they're up!  And they're finally on! I finished hanging up my Christmas lights this afternoon.  It took a lot longer than I thought but they're up.  I only had fight with lights for about three hours. I did something this year I always wanted to do.  I went around the street side windows with white lights.  I think it makes the house look neat.  I always wanted to do it but was told no.  Instead I just wrapped the 7 wreaths (one for each window) with lights; four in white lights, three in red. This year, I found some lights we had.  I strung them around the windows instead of plugging in the wreaths.  It looks really neat.  I didn't stop there, though.  I did the garage door too.  And the electric post light in the front yard.  I thought maybe my neighbors might be a little tired of the same old same old so I mixed it up some. You can't be grinchy.

Thanksgiving at our house this year was a bit different.  We ate on borrowed dishes.  We sat on folding chairs and ate at a table the folks at church were kind enough to loan me.  The plates used to live here and I'm grateful to Wendi for loaning them to us.  It was a small touch of what home used to be.  The tablecloths were clean but well worn and stained. The turkey was lovingly cooked in a pan that has seen better days.  We lined the pan with foil and dinner came out well.  The table was a hodge-podge of dishes because Wendi has most of them still packed up.  There are orange and red mixing bowls and baking dishes here that were my favorite pattern these days (on clearance at Wal-mart!).  It beats cool whip and sour cream containers we've been using for tupperware around here.  We had no turkey platter this year, either, so I used a cookie sheet.  June bought drinking glasses on clearance at Wal-mart as well, so we have matchi...

A couple of things happened today that told me I needed to write this blog.  I've been trying to for about a week now without much success.  It's tough enough to think about, but writing about it has proven extraordinarily difficult.  Mostly because I had to deal with some stuff I didn't even know I was carrying around. First off, for clarification, my NO! has a name.  It's Tami Jo.  Actually, she has a new name these days because she's the one that got married.  The title might suggest and after reading what I'm writing, you might be thinking I'm thinking she's the one that got away.  Tami Jo didn't get away.  She wasn't the one for me.  I could, and have, come to think of it, tell lots and lots of stories about broken things, scratched cars, lost jobs, and any number of disasters we faced when we were seeing each other.  Sometimes even talking about seeing each other would result in disaster for either or both of us.  For His re...

This was on my Facebook page just a few minutes ago: Which is just perfect for tonight. My "No" got married. Congratulations!

The interweb is kind of cool for some things.  Like trying to figure out how that last software update screwed up your computer. This is the first kind of issue I've found with a mac that things weren't backward compatible.  Turns out though that my all in one fax copy scanner didn't like the last upgrade to Snow Leopard.  After playing with it off and on for a while, I remembered the little oddity with Apple:  The plist file. I don't exactly know what the plist is for but I do know if something ain't right, the plist file has to go.  After several attempts to re-load the software from HP that's supposed to work with the scanner, I got the scanner to work.  But not with the software that came with it. Apple has two functions that make the scanner work, Image Viewer and Preview.  Both work for scanning and to upload what I had to scan, it actually worked pretty well.  It took a lot of research to find all of this out.  My old friend the ...

I've been very blessed to do a job I really enjoy for the last 30 years.  Granted, the fuel tank gig wasn't exactly my favorite thing, but I was always grateful to have the job.  Lately, though, I've had the opportunity to reflect on a lot of things and in the examination of things that have gone wrong over the last four years, it seems to me that the wheels came off the tricycle shortly after I started at Hill field. In just the last two years, this job is taking it's toll on the body.  I've had bursitis in both elbows at the same time and now I'm laid up with the same thing in my knee.  My right knee and ankle are a mess at any given time and still ache from past surgeries.  By the time I get home from work, I can't hardly move some days.  Those some days are getting more and more frequent. Last night, I went to see the Dr.  After reviewing my chart, she was convinced that I was having a gout attack.  I haven't had too many of those since I ...

I'm such an idiot, but in my defense, it's not my fault sometimes.  In those sometimes, God in His wisdom chooses the right time to show me the error; usually after learning a lesson.  That happened to me this week and I didn't see it until this morning. Since Wednesday, I've been meaning to write a blog post about ignoring lesson eleven in my class "Caring for God's People". I mentioned it in passing the other day.  Last Saturday, the instructor for that day wrote something down on the board.  It's a saying that reads something like "The worst reconciliation is better than the best divorce." Ouch! I met a man on Sunday at church. After we talked a bit, I promised I'd pray for him all week.  I've been faithful to that promise but it wasn't until listening to a classmate give her report that I realized what I'd been doing is using lesson eleven on reconciliation all week. What I'd been praying for, in a very real wa...

I talked about money the other day.  I mentioned that the big check isn't coming.  But I did ask God what I could do with what I had.  Apparently I can do a lot more than I thought I could.  I need to share with you two items taken from my Facebook news feed earlier this morning to set the stage for the story I'm going to tell. The first is a meme: The second is a status update: Walk with Jesus “Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4 Click >>  www.worksoffaith.com  << to make an impact! Like  ·   ·  Share  ·  525 10 57  ·  10 minutes ago  ·  Just as an aside, dropping these li...

I'm having a pretty blessed day.  Me and Bucket are hangin' out on the big comfy bed.  We slept really good last night.  The house is kinda empty and quiet but I got Buckey and we're hanging out watching war movies on TV. The Christmas lights I can put up are hung.  Wires are run.  I'm gonna turn them on once when it gets dark, just to make sure the whole thing works, and then they're off until the day after Thanksgiving.  It was good to hang them up just wearing a shirt.  It was a beautiful day today. The leaves were rounded up into piles.  I used my leaf blower to do this for the first time since I've had it.  And then I decided that just mowing the lawn was easier.  The mower made quick work of those piles of leaves, though.  The size of my compost pile doubled today.  The lawn is mowed for the final time this year and the mower is almost out of gas.  I need to drain the string trimmer and that will be that. I get...

OK, this starts off with a confession.  I did not vote on Tuesday.  Mostly because as far as I know nobody was running for me to vote for.  The elections board always sends out a card telling me where my polling place is for the election.  I did not receive one, nor do I recall seeing campaign signs or mailers for anything.  I didn't take the time to investigate. My councilperson isn't due for re-election until next year if memory serves me, so I didn't vote. So this morning, I had a conversation with a young man, but before I tell you about it, I need to say this:  The verse I shared from 1 Timothy carries an admonition about arguing over words.  Arguing was not what I had intended but the young man in question kind of interjected into a conversation I was having with another person.  The woman I was talking to and I are both federal workers and had some common concerns about the on-going budget discussions.  They young man made some comme...

I hear this about once a month.  It's not mean-spirited.  Actually, the person to whom the check gets written has been quite understanding about the furlough thing.  Still, writing that check hurts.  It's someplace between 20-25% of my monthly take home pay (before overtime).  It's hard to write that check sometimes, but necessary.  Sin has a cost, and the sin of divorce in my life has cost me plenty of treasure.  That treasure may be significant but it's small when compared to the incalculable damage done to my children because of it.  You could never put a price on what I lost with my kids. I was at a mens' conference and one of the speakers said something there that I was really holding onto.  Following the ways of the world, when I was a bigger fool than I am now, I let the evil one take a lot from me.  God allowed me to keep some things but the evil one took the things that mattered most, along with a great amount of treasure alon...

Few things are as constant in life as change.  That little sentence sounds stupid, I know.  But change is happening here at Lark Circle. I was rudely wakened earlier than I wanted to be by two things:  the call of nature and Bucket.  Buckey loves the snow and he was wagging to go outside.  When Buck gets really excited his whole body wags.  It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's quality entertainment. More changes are in store, besides the weather.  Things are happening around here at a hectic pace and in the midst of it, among the noise and chaos, there is something that's been missing: Peace. And an admonition. I was really compelled to open up the Bible this morning and I turned to John Chapter 5.  The passage of scripture that caught my attention was the admonition to the paralytic that Jesus healed when He told the man to stop sinning or something worse would happen to him. And then there was the next passage of Scripture I...

For once, I am ready for my weekly Wednesday meeting before hand.  I spent some time this morning reading my book and completing the corresponding lesson in the companion workbook.  I won't have to do this tomorrow.  I did this before getting ready to leave for work. I had all of my things together for work.  My shields for my glasses, my badge, my toolbox keys, and my wallet.  What I forgot was that there was a car parked behind me and my roommate and I are now even.  I called my insurance company and my boss.  I didn't want the night off.  Turns out I would need it. This week started off with some thoughts about how things would go.  Crazy but good crazy seemed to be the thought.  Monday went all right.  Tuesday though; well you can keep this day.  I had to deal with issues with each of my roommates. I mentioned about the car.  That was all on me. On Monday morning, I will be without one roommate.  S...

I'm writing it all down.  I'm not rounding it off.  It's every penny and every day I'm accounting to God for each one spent. That might sound a bit ridiculous but after the week I had where God let me know He's here, I'm not taking ANY chances that I heard that still, small voice tell me I was to do that.  Everything else I've tried with moolah hasn't worked over the years.  This one is. I spent $8 yesterday I probably didn't need to.  I bought some seasoning salt and some wood chips to use when grilling up some steaks the roommate bought for dinner last night.  It was a thoughtful gesture and boy, they turned out great.  There is plenty of leftover wood chips and seasoning for another day, too. Today I spent almost $11 for a new dryer belt.  I used glue I had left in the house to try and fix the furnace instead of going to buy some more JB weld putty.  I had JB weld steel epoxy in the cabinet in the garage and that's what's holding the...

I had an opportunity to share the story I told you last with my friend from work.  We had a good laugh about it but it so impressed him that he actually took pictures to show people. I think he thought it cool to be a part of that story.  The whole thing kind of reminds me of the opening sequence of It's a Wonderful Life.   Remember, the movie opens with a heavenly discussion of George Bailey's crisis day? Things written long ago were placed in front of me to send the most powerful message of all.  God loves you!  It's a message worth sharing.  If I thought that was all for me, that would be arrogant thinking, of course.  I am saying God used those things to help me see something I needed right at that moment in my life! Today's post, though, is about how sharing that story also furthers God's kingdom. Caring is not an option.  As I told my friends at church, I was concerned about not caring about the things that were happening around me. ...