Simple Pictures Are Best

Anyone ever read that book as a child?  When I was thinking about writing a post about taking pictures last week, this book instantly came to mind.  My mom read this book to me and my brother many times when we were younger.  It's about a shoemaker and his wife wanting their picture taken for their anniversary.  Although the photographer keeps repeating the same thing over and over, "simple pictures are best," the couple continues to gather items and pets to put in the picture - cluttering up the picture, and the photographer gets very frustrated.  It is a really funny book with a good message.  If you haven't read it, you're missing out.

Can't we all relate to the basic principle of that children's book?  We spend too much time cluttering up our lives with unimportant items and even people that take our mind off of the real picture.

I don't like hearing anyone being called stupid, but the phrase, "Keep it simple, Stupid," is one I can imagine God might like to use on me every now and then...simplicity seems to apply to more than just a photo.

Although, I must say, cluttering up any picture of me with items that can draw attention away from my un-photogenic face is probably a good idea.

Baby oil & Dippity-Do

A while back Madolyn left her bottle of Skin-so-Soft baby oil in our shower.  This morning I decided to use it to shave my legs instead of shaving cream.  And the smell triggered my memories...

Grandma K always had baby oil in her bathroom.  Unless I'm forgetting something, I don't remember ever having baby oil at our house...so it kind of made me feel special to get to use it at grandma's house.  I can't even tell you what I would have done with it to be honest, but every now and then I would get out the bottle that was underneath her bathroom sink and use it.  I know this because I know that smell and it takes me right back to her house and that big bottle of baby oil.

Later on, she started buying the Avon Skin-so-Soft, but early on, it was just the plain ole baby oil that our local grocery store had in stock (because she didn't shop at Wal-mart at that time - and never really did that much).

That smell/memory then lead to another smell/memory from her bathroom - Dippity Do!  Oh my goodness, now that's a flashback!  If you are familiar with it, pretend to take a big whiff and you will smell it.  Oh funny, how I loved that stuff!  Again, I have no idea what I actually did with it...but it was fun to swirl my finger around in that cool, green gel.

 

Again, it was one of those products we didn't have at home, only at grandma's house.  I say that as if it were a treat - the green goo called Dippity Do!

I've talked about it before - how smells or a song are associated to specific memories.  I'm so glad.  It's good to remember things from way back when.  And you know, that oil sure does make my skin so soft...

Crazy Cat Lady

This past Friday, the world lost someone who contributed to society, wholeheartedly.  My friend, Anna O - double R- E- double L (as her ornery father, my teacher, would say) slipped out of this world leaving a 17 year old son and three beloved cats.  Anna was only 41.  She had battled cancer, at least twice, was going to be battling it again soon, and had the worst luck when it came to health issues.  The fight was constant.  Yet, she put up such a good front.

I met Anna back in high school when her father was a teacher and coach at MHS.  He was such a stinker.  (I wrote about him when he passed away a few years ago.)  It was a love/hate relationship with Mr. O, but he has a terrific wife and a wonderful daughter.  We weren't close friends by any means, but she was the type of person that you might see only every now and then but have the best conversation when we ran into each other.  I never passed up the opportunity to talk to her.

Anna & I 'fighting' at the wresting match.

I remembered this picture of Anna and I (the only one that exists probably) from a few years back when our high school sponsored a wrestling match.  She had bought her son front-row tickets and they were down there soaking it in.  There wasn't anything Anna would not sacrifice for her son, it was evident in every decision she made for him.

Anna was a cat lover, probably the biggest cat lover I know.  She had three cats and only one of them, it's my understanding, is friendly to anyone but Anna.  So sad.  Those kitties, I'm sure, are wondering where their loving mama went.  I cannot love on my kitties right now without instantly thinking of my friend, the Crazy Cat Lady.

She got me hooked on Downton Abbey and I loved running into her at the Yarn store (she lived right upstairs).  She was a knitter, which goes right along with the cat obsession, huh?  She always had a smile on her face and was so loyal to her close friends.

The day before she passed away, her Facebook post was all about finding a child in need to give her son's brand new X-Box to.  She and her son had talked and decided there was someone out there who needed more than her son.  Again, that was so Anna.

I once sent her a link to the song "Stronger" by Matthew West because when I heard it, I thought of her.  This is the opening verse:

You must think I'm strong

to give me what I'm going through.

Well, forgive me if I'm wrong,

But this looks like more than I can do

On my own.

The whole song is great, but that first part was so Anna.  Thankfully, Anna was a believer.  She attended her Catholic church faithfully, and although she had some different views on things, I thought the world of her.  Her outlook on life was so positive all the time, even in light of the crud she was facing.  Her son meant everything to her (and her cats).  She had devoted this year to him as it was his senior year and she was going to do nothing but focus on him and his activities.  Then, she would take care of herself.  Unfortunately, her plan didn't work out that way.

That's the thing about this life...it's not about our plans, but His.  We can have all our ducks in a row, but it doesn't matter.   I will really miss her silly Facebook posts, kitty stories and proud mama pictures.  See you some day, Anna-Banana.

"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."  Proverbs 16:9

'Camping' with my girls

There are a few of us girls who hung out in high school that try to get together every now and then (as in every four years or so) and do something sort of special.  Our tradition started out with a meal out the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  We've had big groups and little groups.  It's always something to look forward and we have a great time.  In fact, that will be upon us shortly.  There is nothing better than eating and laughing with friends and family, is there?!

This past Saturday three of my girlfriends got together for a night of camping.  When this idea was proposed several weeks ago, the response I received was humorous.  Camping?  Uh, no.  In a tent?!  Uh, no way.  I explained to them that we had just purchased a pretty modern camper and they would survive.  At my dad's surprise party, I got the approval from 'Susan' and 'Danielle' after a tour of the camper.  They were all about it...especially Danielle.  'Brandi' would just have to trust us on this one.

The day came, and of course, life got in the way a little.  (This is what happens when you don't go far enough away from home.)  For a couple hours, I ended up at my son's playoff football game in Palestine and Danielle headed to Casey for her nephew's game.  Susan and Brandi were left behind in the camper to catch up.

I had warned the girls that I was hoping to be at a playoff game for Lane's football team, but I didn't realize it was also the conference tournament championship game for volleyball.  It didn't matter though because Jay was working nights.  Lane is 10 years old and in a contact sport.  Madolyn is a freshman dressing varsity, and as long as there isn't a major catastrophe, she shouldn't actually play in the Varsity game.  Of course, this made Lane and I laugh...(Madolyn is a walking catastrophe).  So there was no question that I would skip the volleyball game and go to the football game.  (I do believe that is the first volleyball game I have ever missed since Madolyn started playing - eck.)  I'm sure it won't be the last!

We didn't plan much of a menu and were going to keep things pretty simple.  But great minds think alike...I was baking a batch of Grandma Great brownies in the camper oven when Danielle showed up holding a plate of her delicious cupcakes with homemade icing (they were so yummy), then Brandi waltzed in with a package of Pilsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (oh, just like old times). And later on that night, Deputy Deb (Brandi's sister) brought us some homemade chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies that Brandi's mom had made us.  I had forgotten what a good cook Dorothy was.   They were soft and mouth-watering.  We had the sweets covered.

It was funny, right before I left to go to the game, I asked the girls if they wanted me to start a fire in the fire pit.  They laughed, "Uh, no, we aren't going outside.  We're going to sit right here."  That cracked me up.  But I had the furnace on, there were warm brownies, cupcakes, hot cheesy salsa dip, and a working bathroom.  Why would you go outside?!

The football team lost (boo) but on the way home, I learned that the volleyball girls had WON.  I was so excited, I almost (almost) teared up.  I was sooo happy for them!  Now I could quit stewing about it and get back to my girls!  I arrive at the camper and am filling Susan and Brandi in on the games, when I get a text from a mom that says the fire trucks are escorting the girls' bus through town.  I looked up at Susan and Brandi and without hesitation said, "I have to go!"

They wanted to go to Pizza Hut and Danielle was going to be heading back from her game soon, so the plan was for me to drop Susan and Brandi off at Pizza Hut, go to Martinsville and return.  Danielle would head over to Marshall from Casey and go straight to the restaurant.  Only, I started to panic that I was going to miss the bus and the escort, so what do we do?  We all went to Martinsville.

And just like old times, we got in line and escorted the Streaks through town behind the fire trucks with horns blaring and hazard lights flashing.  It was great.  Honestly, I was glad they came along so I wasn't by myself, and Danielle's car added one more to the fan caravan!  We talked and laughed reminiscing about our glory days, when we were the ones going through town with the fire trucks and the sirens.

We made it to Pizza Hut and sat there for almost two hours, talking away, and returned to the warm, cozy camper for more chit-chat.  It was a good time, even though it was heavily interrupted.  I wouldn't exactly call it a camping trip either.  I told them that theoretically, we could have done exactly what we did with my camper sitting in my driveway plugged in.  Ha.  Danielle got numerous texts and phone calls from family members asking her if she really was camping.  They seemed to be in disbelief.  I wonder if they realize we weren't really roughing it...ssh, maybe that is a secret.

Soon Brandi will be back home, and hopefully, we can have more nights like this one with our fellas and kids.  I think I've made 'campers' out of at least two of these gals, and we're trying to convince Brandi to live in mine temporarily.  I'm not sure that's going to fly though. She might have been the least impressed with it all.  That's okay, she brought the cookie dough and her mom sent cookies. (By the way, B, I ate that cookie dough the next day:)

Oh, and the exciting news, Danielle and I are planning to rent an RV and travel across the USA some day.  Now, doesn't that sound like fun?

Back in the day

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.  The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.  Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you.  Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.    Genesis 9:1-4 (NIV)

This weekend was spent running here and there with our kiddos and their friends.  It's exhausting, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  It was great family/friend time.  As we were dropping one of the extras off and near the area where the old slaughter house used to be, a conversation started.

Jay and I told the kids that when we were in 8th grade and taking the Intro to Ag class, we did a unit on the various cuts of meat and took a field trip to the local slaughter house, where we experienced the entire process.  From start to finish.

Like, everything.

Live cow.  Dead cow.  Skinned cow.  Cuts of meat.

I think back on that now and can't even believe that was a school-approved activity...but I'm thinking of it in terms of present day.

Back in the day, it's what we did.  There wasn't much discussion about it because, after all, that is the natural process of what goes on between the cow standing in the field and the hamburger or steak we eat.  Plain and simple.

We are meat eaters and accept that that is the process.

We are also Christians and believe that animals like a cow, for instance, were created by God to nourish our bodies.

I can only imagine what kind of chaos would ensue if this field trip were suggested today.  We must protect our kids from these horrific images - you know, the blood, the guts, the gore.  It could cause real psychological damage.

But it's okay if they watch gory movies and play bloody video games because they're only pretend.

Oh, how I wish sometimes we were back in the day...

Colored Pens

Funny, sometimes out of nowhere I get an idea about something to write.  Today is just an example of that. (And don't set yourself up for something amazing here, this one is pretty simple.)

I do a lot of proofreading with my job.  I have found that after making the correction on the paper, I need to circle it so I catch it when I'm flipping through my rough draft and making the noted changes on the computer.  But even circling it isn't always enough.  Sometimes I have to open my drawer and pull out the magic red pen.  Like today.

As I reached for my red pen, I was reminded of grade school and how much I loved those red pens the teachers used.  There were a couple teachers that would let us grade papers and use their red pen. I felt so special.  I loved pretending to be a teacher and making huge markings at the top of the page. Like an E or E+ with a big red circle...or an A+++++ for Ralphie (cue scene from Christmas Story).  You know what I'm talking about.

I prefer to use blue ink pens at work and when signing things so I can tell if it's an original.  I know that there are some that think colored ink is unprofessional, but seriously, there are times I have to hold a document up to the light to try to decide if it is a photocopy or an original.  It is so much easier when it's signed in blue.

The very first state's attorney I worked with in Lawrenceville was a little very disorganized.  He couldn't walk into the courtroom one time and be ready to go, it would take at least two or three trips for him to actually sit down and begin. Only to realize he had forgotten a writing utensil.  And then he would take mine.  (I often joked about putting a shock collar on him, with my hand on the remote.)

Although I do a majority of my note taking on my stenographic writer, I still make handwritten notes on my docket sheet to help me remember important points, or in case someone (like a very disorganized state's attorney) asks me an hour later what we did with so and so.  I need my pen.  I also bought all of my own supplies at that courthouse, including my ink pens.  I didn't appreciate providing ink pens for someone who had his own office budget.

I've been known to be a smarty pants a time or two (or ten thousand), and I came up with the perfect plan to fix Mr. C. and his pen-snatching ways.  I got colored pens.  I had red, purple, pink, green...and I don't just mean on the outside.  I mean the ink was colored.  It worked perfectly.  I pretty much cured him and anyone else from 'borrowing' my ink pens.  Not too many 'professional' men want to write in pink or purple ink :)

Colored pens, what a great invention.  And with that being said, I better get back to proofreading with my bright red ink pen!