I know it’s kind of silly to blog about the weather, but I love it so much! Whenever it’s sunny and 70-90 degrees, I get so happy. No more snow, cold, heating bills, plows, or dead-looking trees.
So far this past week I’ve played frisbee with high school kids, ridden my bike to work, hacked with Jill, eaten dinner outside, and read on the porch. I love watching the leaves come in, soon it will be hiking time!
Have you ever called customer service for something? Did they make you go through 20 different menus until you got to speak with a representative? Check this site out:
It has hundreds of companies listed and how to bypass those annoying menus and talk to a live person. Now you only have to hope that you get someone who speaks English.
So the Sugar Road thing has been really fun – our excitement this week was that we got our first CD all put together and got to sell it at the performance on Saturday. It was the first show where I didn’t need to bring any drums, because NewSong (the church we played at) had their own for me to use! Moving from djembe to 3 part kit was one thing, and then from that to a hecka-huge set up was something else! A little intimidating, but fun because they were some NICE drums! 
Ben may call me “scavenger”, but really I’m just a gal who like to make use of everything and not have anything go to waste! Thus led me to the discovery of Shredded Wheat Bread. You know when you done with the cereal and there’s all the sugar left-overs at the bottom? Well, I had a big bulk bag with lots of sugary goodness on the bottom, and had the pleasure to turn them into loaves of bread!
Found this recipe on cooks.com and it was a hit!
SHREDDED WHEAT BREAD
3 shredded wheat bars
3 c. boiling water
3/4 c. molasses
2 tbsp. shortening
2 tsp. salt
2 yeast cakes (1 cake same as 1 packet or 2 1/4 t.)
1/2 c. lukewarm water
7 c. flour
Put shredded wheat in a bowl. Add 3 cups boiling water; let cool. Add molasses, shortening and salt. Dissolve 2 yeast cakes in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Add yeast mixture to the shredded wheat mixture. Add 7 cups flour. Knead; let rise then punch down. Knead and place into greased pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Yield: 3 loaves.
Some people cry in chick flicks, some people cry in cheesy feel-good dramas.
I cry in movies where there are martyrs – heroes that die for their faith. I got all emo in Amazing Grace and even Joan of Arc. Not bawling, mind you, just a manly “that hits you right here” kind of sniffling. I sometimes read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs for inspiration.
This week, we watched A Man For All Seasons (1966), and it’s one of my new favorite movies. It won six Oscars and 27 other awards. It’s about Thomas Moore, an assistant to Henry VIII and a lawyer. It’s well acted, and Moore is just a great character. He’s witty and funny and devious. Like so many martyrs of this period in history, he’s beheaded for refusing to take an oath that violates his firm beliefs.
Why do I like movies like this? It’s hard to explain, and I keep typing out things and deleting them. I guess part of it is faith – my martyr heroes “see” God so clearly that they’re willing to face torture and death for the sake of what they know is right, and look forward to things to come. They understand what is worth dying for.
The other part is that I identify with the “truth, no matter what” kind of attitude that usually goes against what everyone else does. Sticking to your guns when everyone deserts and even mocks you. I dig that.
A couple of nights this week I cranked up the new speaker (which is a 400 watt PA) with some dance tunes to kind of test it out.
Immediately following, a strange and feral creature emerges from its den. Wide-eyed and with foaming maw, it belches forth a savage cry and leaps into our living room – and starts dancing!
My wife had transformed into some kind of party animal who resembled those one frequently encounters at a junior high school dance. She started doing karate moves, dancing, giggling, and shuffling around in the queerest way.
It’s amazing what music will do to a wife. If you have one, and think you know her well, try turning on some 80′s dance music and see what happens! Unlike the modest, composed, and dignified specimen of female companionship with whom I had hitherto been well acquainted, Jill was going nuts and didn’t even care when I took pictures:
“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
That’s one of my favorite verses, it’s from Luke 16:9. Yeah, Jesus said that! I can’t imagine how this will play out or what it will look like, but it’s pretty clear to me. I find it so cool that, if I’m generous now, it will come back to me someday! I think about this a lot when I find myself being stingy with people.
What’s even more surprising is doing a study of all the verses that promise eternal rewards for Earthly deeds. I collected these and put them all together, and there’s so many of them I put it in a separate text document:
Also, if you’re interested in the subject, I highly recommend this book.
So I just ordered a pipe kit today. It comes with everything the beginning smoker should have and even a DVD tutorial.
Why start smoking? Well, it’s not like cigarette smoking, which is addictive and unhealthy. It’s just an occasional thing, like the old English guys in their armchairs relaxing after dinner while reading a newspaper. You know, like CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien:
And I guess it’s just cool; maybe it’s just a guy thing like cigars, beer, baseball, cars, etc. We’ll see what Jill thinks about the fragrant scent of pipe smoke in the house
