Goofy Gratitude

If, as Songs of Solomon says, it's the little foxes that spoil the grapes (2:15) , then it's the little perks that create a wonderful life.

Family and friends are counting down the days to Thanksgiving--thanking God for truly important and wonderful things. But as my family recovers from Sandy, as they pine for the big things: electric, heat, cooked food, I'm sure they've also missed the little things.

Here are my (not so) inconsequential little things that make life glorious:

1.  Light switches. Flip it up--voila. Snap it down--all gone. I love light switches.
2.  Remotes. I'm old enough that I remember getting off the couch, walking across the room, turning dials to change the station. Now I remain under covers, sprawled on the couch, channel surfing. (I actually do not know how to change the TV station without a remote).
3.  Car chargers. (Some are more lucky than I; I only have two, many have more). In the aftermath of Sandy, people relied on their cars--not to get down the streets. Those were blocked with trees. But to charge their phones and Kindles and Ipads and laptops. Isn't it glorious we can ride in a car, read our ebooks and never lose power?
4. Meat thermometers. Mine just broke and the new ones aren't very accurate. It's wonderful not to guess about that roast (especially with the price of roasts).
5. Paper Books. Without power, the ereaders die and then what do you do without electricity, TV, radio, video games, Words with Friends or whatever else distracts us? A good old fashioned book doesn't need electric. And reading by candlelight. How romantic is that?

Silly--but makes living in this century so easy. As we count in gratitude, think about the little things we've come to depend upon. We'll find we're more blessed than we can imagine.

What silly thing makes you thankful?

Worthy Words: Mnemonic Help

Confused between all right/alright? A lot/alot? I have mnemonic devises to help--not to be confused with pneumatic or pneumonia despite the silent first letter.

Word Processor (Photo credit: rahady)

Let the fun begin and the confusion end.

 1. a lot--(first of all, it's not a good word to use. Far too vague. But for facebook or emails--hey, have fun.) Remember that a lot is a lot of words.

2. all right/alright--since EVERYTHING's correct, not just one thing, the word contains TWO parts. all right. Alright is NEVER all right.

3. There/their/they're--

     a. There. We have no trouble with here. We know it's the location. Stick on the t. You now have   the location: there.

     b. Their. We know an heir owns stuff. Stick on a t. They now own it. Their.

     c.  They're. The ', AKA apostrophe, incdicates something left out. They're=they  are.

4. Can/may. Can is something you could do. May is something that is possible should permission be granted. Think mother may I.

5. Onto/on to: (mnemonic borrowed aka stolen from CMS) onto implies movement. I got onto the stage. If you can replace the to with up, you use onto. The two letter one is sort of like the preposition on and the infinitive to. But those terms (infinitive and preposition) is the subject of another blog.

Every Monday I'll share ways to remember your troublesome words. What words confuse you?
 



 

Date Your Husband

"Relish life with the spouse you love Each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God's gift. It's all you get in exchange For the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! Eccl 9:9, THE MESSAGE).

view from Elephant's Head

Marriage. If we've been blessed, we've been with our spouses many years. And many years together, tend to make us take each other for granted. But why endure when we can enjoy? And to enjoy each other, and thus our "precarious" lives, I advocate periodic dates with our spouse.

Hmmm. But he likes NASCAR and you like to quilt? She likes Mary Kay parties while you'd rather change the oil in the truck?

It takes hard work to stay alive--and harder work to keep a marriage vibrant. Here are Carol's Keys to Romance. (I have eight years experience!)

I did curl my hair

1. Compromise: Neil and I had a picnic. I love long walks and would have loved to hike to the top of Mount Marcy. Neil's arthritis makes those treks difficult. So we walked up Elephant's Head--a half-mile trail with a stunning view on the top. We both gave a little, we both gained a lot.
2. Dress up: I curled my hair and put on make-up suitable for a hike. I wore jeans (Neil's favorite pants choice for me). I'd never make it as a L'Oreal model, but I enhanced, at least psychologically, what God gave me.



not exotic--put novel for us

3. Do the unexpected: Everyone goes out to dinner or to the movies. Find something you don't usually do. In our case, we picnicked. Next week we'll go out on a photo shoot. We need to play, even more so as we age and our "precarious" life nears its end.

What are some of your favorite spouse-dates?

Bassoon/Writing: What's the Difference?

Bassoon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Playing the bassoon and writing equals the same thing. Note: I used the verb 'equals', not the weaker verb 'are'...totally different meaning.

Technicalities aside, how you ask? Glad to answer.

1. Lonely time. You spend hours alone, creating, honing, perfecting. And you know you are GOOD. (Until you hit rehearsal or receive the correct copy from your crit partner).
2. Never perfect. Your rehearsal/crit demonstrate your weakness, so you spend the next week perfecting.
3. Hit the wall. Your embouchure or your muse walks out on you. You threaten to walk out on the whole lifestyle.
4. Rehearsal (AKA Conference). You get to  celebrate with like-minded geeks who love nothing more than to spend hours practicing and sharing their craft.
5. Performance. When you're ready to quit, then the performance comes. You get to dress up, put on make-up (hopefully only if you're female). The house is packed. For writers, you get your contract.

Is any life better than writing or music?

Eat, Drink and Enjoy Your Job, Eccl. 2:24

line art drawing of carpe diem. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,  for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment"( NIV Eccl 2:24-25)?

I straggled into work at Franklin Academy. "Lord, I hate this job," I repeated my morning mantra as I searched for my cup of java. I then counted my years until retirement. Too many to offer relief. I stopped in my tracks as words of my students reverberated.

"I can't wait to graduate. When I have a job..."
"I can't wait until college is done, then I..."
"I can't wait..."

Intoning "I can't wait" ruins more lives. We're always looking for the next big thing. But what happens when you get it? Another big thing rears it's head: driver's license, graduation, college, career, retirement. What comes then? Death and the judgment. No one's counting the days to death! (Even though we Christians claim we look forward to it).

So celebrate your "hedonism:"

• eat--be it a gourmet meal or pizza (I'm redundant), savor the flavor. Enjoy. Even tofu. It's a gift of God.
• drink--obviously not in excess, but a good coffee, a cold glass of milk, a fine wine,  a home brewed beer or water from an artesian well, enjoy the provision of God.
• work--it's a gift. Instead of moaning, think what benefit your actual work gives you. Celebrate it. Once you retire, you're on your way to dying...may even do that before retirement.

Carpe Diem --this phrase may have been made famous in Dead Poet's Society, but Ecclesiastes' Preacher beat N.H. Kleinbaum in popularizing the concept. How can you eat, drink and be merry?