Ugh, had a crazy dream again this early a.m. which involved someone taking shots at my upstairs neighbor, Travis. Strangely, it took place at my family homestead in Manty, where he has never been. I remember being upset about it because the person doing the pot shots was not located, and it concerned me that my mom was at home all day with her doors unlocked. I ran around the house, locking the doors, both the screen doors and wood ones, but someone would go behind me and leave them unlocked. Hmmmm.....what does THAT mean?
Another part of the dream, in the living room, my niece had set up the old stereo on a coffee table in the middle of the room, and was trying to figure out how it worked. I remember looking at my desk, in the former family home where I had no desk in real life, and realized the calendar was out of date. Instead of taking it down, I was looking for scissors to cut the bottom off of it....then I woke up. Unfinished project in my dream!
It is not sunshiny here yet but it is also not windy like it was yesterday. In fact, the fronds on the trees are scarcely moving. When I went to the kitchen for a soda, I spotted the delicious looking chocolate cupcake in the fridge, topped with whipped cream and a raspberry. Travis had brought it down to me after Beckham's birthday party yesterday. I saw the grand- and great-grandparents leaving when I got home from church, and the young folk must have stayed. They were making the scrapbook pages I mentioned last week and I am excited to see what they have so far. Jessica wants to do more cropping and I am right there to do it with her!
Judy C., Mike, and I went to Sam's St. Johns Seafood for lunch after church yesterday. Believe it or not, I really like their fried pollack. My portion was so large, I could not eat it all. Judy ordered the same thing, only hers was broiled, but the same number of fillets. My side dishes were green beans, of which I ate about half, plus the fries, which I barely touched. I was full until about 6:00 or so when I had some cottage cheese with pears. Just not hungry hungry these days.
We are having a Listening Sunday coming up soon and after church Jim B. and Mike K. were discussing it. I heard my name mentioned, and said, "Oh, oh...." I can't help it---I listen every Sunday!! Later Mike came and asked me about the attendance sheets that I use each week I am there, wondering how he could get a copy of the one from yesterday. The leaders want to mail the notice about the Listening Sunday to those members not there Sunday to get the official hand-out about the upcoming event. I made a copy of the attendance sheets for Mike but he left before I got back up front with it. Instead, I took the copies home and scanned them for e-mailing. He got the sheets, almost instantly. E-mail is faster than me walking from the church office to the parking lot!
One of the things I have been thinking about lately is how important it is to know with whom you are standing on an issue. The mess overseas, the local and national upsets, how does one sort it all out? Many years ago, when my sister-in-law and I were both taking classes at the technical college, I was able to help her with her English composition class. She, being more capable, was able to help me with my bookkeeping class. Somehow, that did not work out! Helping cannot make me learn it, you know?? Whether my helping Marian taught her English comp. or not, I cannot say either. Anyway, she had to write paper on a certain topic, and she chose smoking. At this time, she yet smoked, as she did not have her first heart attack until years later. I asked her what exactly she was going to say in her paper. She told me it would be a pro-smoking piece, and when I was surprised, she said, "Well, I have to! I smoke!"
So, there you go! Because she was directly involved in the action of smoking, she had to defend it, in order to justify her behavior. Like the way I defend my lifestyle, because I like it so well. Of course, I could still enjoy the social aspect of dining out and simply order differently.....Or I could acquire a 'taste' for my own cooking, learn to tolerate standing at the stove and making myself food to eat. If I made enough portion-wise, it can feed me for several days! Perhaps gruel!
Another remembrance I have came to mind in looking through Timmy's scrapbook a week or so ago with Betty and Robin. There is a photo of him attempting to open the pantry door, which he dearly loved to get into and ransack. The lever-style handles allowed him ready access. When he figured out how to climb up the shelves like a ladder and pull stuff down, something had to be done. He was invited to help with a project. His father took him along upstairs to find a door with a locking door handle, using the electric drill to remove the hardware. Timmy was right there, enjoying being a helper.
Then they came downstairs and repeated the process on the pantry door, taking off the handle and replacing it with the locking one. This duo put the pantry handle on the door upstairs, working side by side, on this project. Oh, Timmy was so happy to be helping his daddy with the project. That is, until, he tried to open the pantry door which now had the locking handle on it! The project he helped with turned out to be his undoing! He didn't foresee the ramifications of his 'work', until later when the dust had settled. Sadly, sometimes we don't see the ramifications if we are too close to it, or are even participating in it. Sometimes there are none.....
