Today's Laugh

A band director named Ravelli was having a lot of trouble with one drummer. He talked and talked and talked with the drummer, and performance simply didn't improve.

Finally, before the whole band, he said, "When a musician just can't handle his instrument and doesn't improve when given help, they take away the instrument, and give him two sticks, and make him a drummer."

A stage whisper was heard from the percussion section: "And if he can't handle even that, they take away one of his sticks and make him a conductor."

Alia Pictures

Because some of you aren't Facebook friends with Katie, here are a few pictures from recent months.


Drawing with markers in February


Just had a taste of bubble-wand


March








Easter

A Second Laugh for Today

Go read my daughter's tale of an interchange with some customers at work last weekend. I couldn't stop laughing as I read it!

Today's Laugh

The father of five children had won a toy at a raffle. He called his kids together to ask which one should have the present.

"Who is the most obedient?" he asked. "Who never talks back to mother? Who does everything she says?"

Five small voices answered in unison. "Okay, Dad, you get the toy."

Accurate Ears and Intuition

Sandy tells the story of how, when she was little, her uncle would play a game of asking the kids to "sing an A" or "what is an F-sharp?" Sandy has perfect pitch, and she could never figure out what the "game" was; somebody asks you to sing a B-flat and you do; so what's the trick?

When I was in school and the music teacher would have us listen to a concert piece, she would point out, "Do you hear what the oboe is doing in this section?" or "Aren't the violins beautiful here!" I didn't get it. I could hear music, but I couldn't hear individual instruments. Of course, I was the kid who drove my 1st- and 2nd-grade teachers batty when they tried to teach me to spell pen and pin, or are and our. "Can't you HEAR the difference?" Nope. Sure couldn't. (By the way, now that I'm grown up, I can hear the difference in the words, and I usually can recognize the trumpets and the cellos and the flutes in a recording of a symphony.)

When Gary was repairing the deck, there was almost nothing I could do to help during the day while he was at work. He had a picture in his head of what needed to be done, and he worked methodically at bringing that picture to life. But to explain the steps to me? Couldn't do it. He didn't have it all figured out; he just had something in his mind that he was making come about. Paul would do the same thing with Lego castles. They have a mechanical-spatial intelligence that I don't have.

People on the autism spectrum don't read faces well. They don't pick up on social clues so as to know what other people are thinking and feeling, or what's motivating the other guy. Then there are others of us who are pretty darn perceptive when it comes to noticing other people's feelings or motivations. When asked to explain how I know what somebody's thinking, I can't do it. But that doesn't mean I don't know -- just like Gary knew what he was doing with the deck but couldn't say why, just like Sandy can pull an on-key pitch out of thin air when other people can't even match a pitch as they're hearing it.

When other people can't see something that is obvious to me, sometimes I try to convince myself that I don't know what I know. After all, I can't explain why I know. I can't prove it. Other people don't see it. So am I nuts to perceive things that other don't perceive? Or is this just like when a 9-yr-old can't hear the difference between pen and pin? Some people detect things that others do not; some people have intelligences that are not as well developed in others.

Today's Laugh

For Eamonn --

A girl went out on a date with a trumpet player. When she came home that evening, her roommate asked, "Well, how was it? Did his embouchure make him a great kisser?"

"Nah," said the first girl. "That tight, dry, tiny little pucker. It was no fun at all."

The next night she went out with a tuba player. When she came home, the roommate asked, "Well, how was his kissing?"

"Ugh!" the first girl exclaimed. "Those huge, rubbery, blubbery, slobbering slabs of meat. It was just gross!"

The next night she went out with a French horn player. When she came back, the roommate asked, "Well, how was his kissing?"

"His kissing was just so-so. But I loved the way he held me."


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


and for Kara --

What's the difference between a viola and an onion?
No one cries when you cut up a viola.

John 21

In the story of the great catch of fish after the resurrection (John 21), when the disciples arrive onshore, they find Jesus with a fire of coals. When Isaiah was commissioned as a prophet (Isaiah 6), the angel touched his lips with [ta da!] a burning coal from the fire.

Near the end of the chapter, Peter asks Jesus about John. What's going to happen to John? Will he be a prisoner some day too? Jesus tells Peter to "Follow Me." Interestingly enough, that was what Jesus said when He first called Peter to be an apostle (Matthew 4).

It's kind of comforting that even the great St Peter had to be told some things over and over.

Thomas Saw

Did Jesus show Himself to Thomas to get Thomas to believe in Him? (John 20)

That's what we usually hear.

But Paul tells us that faith comes by hearing, not by seeing. In the resurrection accounts, Luke (chapter 24) shows us that the Emmaus disciples did not see Jesus even though they saw Him. It was His preaching that thrilled their hearts, and it was the breaking of the bread that finally opened their eyes to see.

Thomas's seeing was not Jesus' scheme to get Thomas to change his mind about the stories the others had been telling him. Thomas saw because Jesus had said beforehand that the apostles would see Him. Jesus chose His apostles; they needed to be witnesses of the resurrected body of the Lord. Jesus had promised them on Thursday night (John 16) that for a little while they would not see Him, because He was going to the Father, but that after a little while they would see Him. And Jesus' word always always comes true.

Thomas saw in fulfillment of Jesus' word -- not because it was the only way Jesus could think of to convince Thomas of the resurrection.

Seeing is not believing.
Hearing is believing.

Too Much TV

Hemmed and finished the second dress on Tuesday while I was hawking CCA materials at the district pastors' conference.

Thursday I had a lovely day with a friend from Janesville who came to visit.

Been doing house-cleaning, bread-baking, soil-loosening, compost-spreading, and pruning. And I've barely made a dent in the yard chores.

There has been a lot of car-shuffling and bike-riding as we have been trying to have the green car repaired. Thought it was all fixed, but three times shortly after I picked up the car, the engine died going around a corner, so it's got to go back on Monday.

I got spoiled watching TV while sewing last week. I watched
Smile
Ballet Shoes
Man vs Food
10 Things I Hate About You
Kate & Leopold
Julie & Julia
Bedtime Stories
Shakespeare's Women
Ballykissangel

Bedtime Stories and Ballet Shoes were new to me and most excellent! 10 Things and Kate & Leopold are always fun. Shakespeare's Women was an actress's reflection on her Shakespearean roles, a little dry; the best part was Portia's speech on mercy from Merchant of Venice.

I started watching Ballykissangel near the end of my sewing stint and wish I'd found it earlier. It was a hoot! I wonder if it's such a crack-up for people who haven't lived in a parsonage in a small town and lived under the machinations of church bureaucracy? Now I'm wanting to watch all the episodes and dive into other seasons, but there's gardening to do and schoolwork to do.




Here's the picture of the winter dress. Don't you love the fabric?! I'm disappointed in the sleeve length; it's longer than anything I could buy, but still not long enough. This picture makes me look like allergies have swelled up my eye; I think it's just the lighting; I don't really look like I've been punched.

Garden Report

In a brazen theft of Melody's idea, I'd like to try a weekly farm report garden report.

One tulip has bloomed. The other should be lovely tomorrow or Friday.

Somebody thinks the tiny daffodil blossoms are a tasty snack. (Where is my huntress and why is this daffodil-eater still alive??)

Hostas are coming up nicely. I have to call Ann and tell her to come take whatever she wants before I start thinning; the hostas were quite overcrowded last summer.

Kids and I worked on digging some of last year's compost out of the box today. We loosened soil around the grapes and blueberries, weeded there, and then worked in some of that lovely compost.

The potatoes I planted on Good Friday have not even begun to poke up their little sprouts through the thin layer of soil over them.

Itty-bitty spinach and romaine and beets are beginning to peek through.

Rhubarb is beginning to leaf out.

We weeded out a lot of the parsley that made it through winter and started growing again. Some is still in the garden, and some of what was culled went into tuna salad for lunch. Mmmm.

A four-foot strip of cilantro was planted today, with lots more to be planted later for the tomatoes.

"Who Are You?"

It is SO awkward when somebody comes up to you with a big smile and a buoyant greeting and a hug/handshake ... and you don't know who they are. And then you embarrass yourself and ask, and find out it's somebody you obviously should've recognized, except he's aged a LOT since you last saw him and that's why you didn't recognize him. When it happened today, at least I had the sense to bite my tongue and refrain from blurting out why I didn't know who he was.

Educational Standards

As Andrew and I prepped for his ACT, we were both initially intimidated by all the stuff that he was supposed to know about literature. I don't Teach Literature here. We read. We discuss. We enjoy. Sometimes we even analyze ... but NOT in the way we studied literature in school.

In light of those recent experiences, I found this article to be telling.

Now assuredly what these literary artists [such as Melville and Austen] hoped above all else was that a century or two from their own time students in high schools would be using their great works not better to understand love or honor or revenge or nobility or happiness, but to "analyze how multiple themes or central ideas in a text interact, build on, and, in some cases, conflict with one another"; as well as to "analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)." We know that this sort of innocuous thing is what the authors had in mind because that is what our teachers told us in school. We remember the drill: the plot graphs -— rising action, climax, falling action (or denouement) -— the cast lists of main characters and outlines of "main ideas," the possible literary techniques -— foreshadowing, alliteration, onomatopoeia. What we do not remember is one dad-gum thing about these stories.

I heartily recommend the rest of the article to those who care about education and how the government is undermining education. The article is also a good wake-up call to those of us who have been hearing the sirens singing as we waded into the public-school mindset which is inherent to ACT testing.


Thanks to Beth S who forwarded the link on FB.

Trial Dress

I had planned on spending one day sewing up a quick dress. It was more like one day just to lay out the pattern with all the adjustments I had to make. And there's a lining on the bodice; I haven't done that before. Then I tried it on and discovered that I needed to make some alterations (like raising the neckline and adjusting some baggy spots). Okay, so it was a week-long project and not a day-long project. This was supposed to be the trial dress, made with el-cheapo fabric, just to get my feet wet. Next I start the winter dress, hopefully with a lot more wisdom under my belt. The next one on the same pattern should be much easier. Right? Right????

Are You Having Fun?

Have you noticed how often that question comes up? When you're at the park or a concert or a museum or a skating rink, parents (or other kids) are frequently asking kids, "So, are you having fun?" Questions like that arise on vacations and other family outings too.

Why do we ask?

If somebody says, "No, this isn't fun," are we going to interrupt our bowling game and take the whole family home because one person isn't having fun? C'mon admit it -- if a kid says he's not having fun at the beach, you're not going to break off your week's vacation, pack up your belongings, and drive home. If he'd have more fun in the hotel with video games than at the beach, are you going to let him hole-up in his own little on-screen world and disconnect from the family, or are you going to stay at the beach and enjoy the sun and the sound of the waves and the smell of the saltwater?

So why do we ask?

I think the frequency of this question in our society encourages us to turn inward. Instead of enjoying (or not enjoying!) experiences, we are evaluating our response to experiences. We can't take an event for what it is, but we focus instead on whether we're having fun with it. I think the pervasiveness of this question leads to depression at holidays, where people are so concerned with how they feel about the enjoyment of their holiday that they cannot just take Thanksgiving or Christmas as it comes, however it comes. Frequently wondering "Am I having fun?" leads us to become fun-junkies, always looking for more excitement and a bigger high; it easily leaves us with disappointment when the new Lego set or the new car or the great vacation doesn't bring endless joy.

You know what? I have a whole lot more fun when I'm not trying to have fun.

Not Enough Time

Jane linked to an article about time-debt, and how we overspend our time like so many of us overspend our dollars. We plan to "pay it back" later, but we won't have any more spare time later than we do now.

Everything in this article is stuff I already know. But it's so hard to deny ourselves activities, socialization, duties, and other time-commitments. But the biggest thing that struck me was my consideration of a job. I cannot reduce any of my penny-pinching do-it-yourself ways if I take on paid employment. (Well, I could if I earned enough, but it would have to be a LOT.) But the reality is that my hours at a job each day mean I'd have to give up something else, and where would those hours come from? Probably do-it-yourself cooking, baking, and other frugality measures. So how much would I have to earn before a job paid off?

Bits from Vigil -- Bound on the Altar

In Genesis 22, when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son, he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

In Psalm 118, the passover psalm, the psalm the pilgrims sang on Palm Sunday as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, we hear: Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

Sometimes we see crucifixes or paintings that show cords binding Jesus to the cross. This is a bad thing if the nails have been left out so that people don't get the heebie-jeebies over Jesus' being nailed to the cross. But if the wounds and the nails are there, the rope isn't a bad thing. We hear both in Genesis 22 and in Psalm 118 that the sacrifice is bound. And Jesus is the sacrifice.

Repetitions in Musical Lyrics

The liturgical-type folks often complain about the contemporary-worship folks having songs that repeat choruses over and over, or repeat the same lines again and again. Contrary to those "on my side of the argument," I don't necessarily see that as a problem. I very much like "God the Father, Be Our Stay" which repeats the same prayer, first to the Father, then to the Son, then to the Spirit.

I noticed too that Bach's and Handel's pieces are often very repetitious. It only takes a line or two to write out all the words from a 5-minute piece from the Messiah or from an aria. Similarly, it can be repetitious to pray the Our Father or the Hail Mary or the Jesus Prayer over and over. People may differ on opinions of whether this is good or bad, but it would be inconsistent to say that the meditative repetition is good for the one kind of music but bad for the other kind of music. Maybe we need to admit that there really is a difference in theology between the two kinds of music, and not claim that there's a problem with the style.

Bits from Vigil -- Moses' and Miriam's Song

Your right hand, o Yahweh, has become glorious in power.

You stretched out Your right hand;
the earth swallowed them.
You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed.


I'd prefer to capitalize "Right Hand" because it is so often a name for Jesus, yet another designation for the pre-incarnate Second Person of the Holy Trinity.

The reason the Israelites passed through on dry ground,
the reason the Egyptians were destroyed,
the reason all enemies of God are defeated,
the reason He has safely brought His people through danger,

is
because Jesus was "stretched out" on the cross.
And that is how He has become glorious in power.
That death is how His enemies are dashed to pieces.

Bits from Vigil -- Noah's Animals

We hear in Genesis 1 about the animals being brought forth, each according to its kind.

And then in chapters 6-7, when we hear about the destruction of the earth and the re-creation of the new earth, we hear that God gathered the animals and brought them to the ark, each after its kind. And they were sent out after the flood according to their kind.

Bits from Vigil -- Questions to Consider

In the first chapter of Genesis, God gives every green herb, and every seed from the green herbs and from the trees yielding fruit, to man and the critters for their food. This has something (but I don't know what yet) to do with Jesus being the sustenance for all creation. It's not just about His feeding us earthly food, although it is about that too. Somehow, it's connected to the end of Isaiah 55 and that chunk of Colossians 1.

We kept hearing in various readings that So-and-so "lifted up his eyes and looked...." That "lifted up his eyes" probably means something. Not just that he opened his peepers and pointed them in a particular direction. But I don't know what it means.

In Genesis 22, after God stops Abraham from slaying his son, his only son whom he loved, we hear that "Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and there behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns." Interesting that he saw what was behind him when he looked up. I'm not sure what that means, either.

Oh, I do love the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. From our vantage point, we see how clearly God's people SAW the events of Good Friday in that story, even though they didn't realize what they were seeing. There are probably plenty of things we see, too, in the stories, truths that we don't realize we're seeing. But they will be clear enough one day when we no longer see as though in a mirror dimly.