Six Months

More than 17 years ago, Gary had made the decision to leave Wautoma. We were making our first trip to the new home, to visit, to check out the parsonage, to meet the people at Triune. I remember driving down the highway as we approached what would soon be our new home. I remember thinking about this new-to-us landscape, this unfamiliar territory, that someday these farms and fields and roads would signal, "We're almost home!"

It didn't come fast. It took a long long time before that place felt like home. Even after five years, I still thought with longing of the previous parsonage, considering that village and that house to be "home." (We'd lived in the first parsonage for less than 4 years.) When we would go upstate to the annual Wisconsin homeschool conference, we'd swing by the old stomping grounds, and still feel very much "at home" years later. By the time we'd been at the "new" place for about 10 years, I began to feel at home. The roads and farms nearby actually were a sign that we were approaching HOME.

That at-home feeling is coming much faster here. Already there is that deep & comfortable acknowledgment within me that we're "almost home" when we've gotten to within 10 minutes of the house. There's already an "out of place" feeling when I have to go back to the area around the old house for an errand, like this used to be my home. (However, I still am very mixed up in how I refer to which house as "home," going back and forth.)

Anyway, last Thursday when the septic was installed, the previous owner stopped by. (She was the one who contracted with the company who did the work.) It was nice to chat with her and find out that those trees weren't crab apples but were cherries, and when she planted the tulips, and where the garden used to be. But I also thought it was interesting that she's not settled and comfortable in her new home. It's been six months since they moved, and she's still thinking of this place as home. She's wishing they hadn't moved after all.

A couple of hours later, Pastor stopped by. He is a neighbor to the realtor we worked with. Back in March, the realtor would mention how exciting it was that we were moving and buying a house. I was always a little leery, feeling that we'd sort of been pushed into this decision. And then one time she acknowledged the unsettledness that can come from moving. She admitted that it took her six months before she began to feel like their new home (15 years ago) was actually "home." She said it was a gorgeous house, and that it was a wise decision as far as family needs and finances and many other things. But it was still harder on her emotionally than she thought the move should've been. When I mentioned that to Pastor, he couldn't quite figure it out; he thought it would be miiiighty easy to get used to his neighbor's very-nice house. :-)

So maybe this is a girl-thing. Maybe there's something about women and their homes and the attachment they have to those places. Regardless, I feel like maybe I'm a little ahead of the curve on this one, feeling settled faster than these other two women whose stories came up last Thursday, and much faster than I was after our previous move! I think that's why the decision of where to buy groceries yesterday seemed so BIG to me.

New Grocery Stores

I have been trying to finagle a time to get to Woodmans, and it's just not working out. It's so far away, and the gas is so expensive. So yesterday I gathered all my gumption and decided to do the shopping locally. I went to Aldi and got the "real" food (as opposed to majorly processed stuff which is most of what Aldi sells), and then I went to Walmart (sigh!) for the whole wheat flour and the real (not powdered) parmesan and a few other items. I also did some scouting to find out how prices compare and whether the stores even carried a few necessary-to-me items. I know Walmart is more expensive than Woodmans. But is it so much more expensive that it would counteract $12-13 worth of gas to Oak Creek?

I feel disloyal to Mr Woodman. I wonder how long it's going to take before they get that store built in the Falls?

Kombucha Nutrition

Janelle brought to my attention that the nutrition-factoid page I'd linked to previously has been abandoned. The information is no longer there. Bummers. So here is a website that tells what acids are in kombucha and all the different B vitamins in it (along with their specific health benefits). If I remember correctly (and I can't make any guarantees about that), the website that I'd linked to previously claimed that 8 ounces of kombucha provided about 20% of the daily requirements for B vitamins. Another website hawking kombucha claims that a half-pint has traces of protein, fat, and sodium, and about 25 calories,
1/5 from non-sugar carbohydrates
2/5 from fructose
2/5 from glucose
Of course, with home-made kombucha, there's really no sure way to tell what the nutrient content is. But we do know it's heavy in probiotics, enzymes, B's, and all that stuff about acids that I'm not scientific enough to understand.

(This will teach me to rely on using the world-wide web as a file cabinet. You never know when somebody else may come along and purge some files you wanted!)

And for a side comment: while hunting up "replacement information" on kombucha nutrition, I found an article on nutrition and detoxing and eating REAL foods. I didn't read it thoroughly, and I can see there's theology in there that I disagree with. But the lady has some good points with regard to health and nutrition. I really should try making beet kvass. It sounds disgusting, but I used to think carrot juice sounded disgusting, and it actually turned out to be quite sweet. (The sugars in carrots was why Atkins had them on the no-no list.)

Oh, Katie, I just want to point out: the reason you're not supposed to detox while pregnant is because you don't want to loose those deep-buried toxins for your body to deal with. Your body is doing enough work to build a healthy baby. If you're already used to some kombucha now and then, that should be fine. But if anyone you happen to be living with decides to Get Healthy (ahem) you shouldn't be going whole-hog with him.

Visitors

Site-meter tells me that my 50,000th visitor was this afternoon. Wow! Thanks for reading, y'all. :-)

Online Bill Payment

Oh my goodness. Techno-phobe Extraordinaire (that'd be me, by the way) just signed up for online banking and paid a bill online for the first time ever. I got off the computer all shaky and nervous and flustered. But I did it. I bet I can do it again. Especially with the price of stamps these days. Oh, and the price of paper checks too.

Freeze-Drying

I know there are people who freeze-dry their clothes on the clothesline all winter. But I don't want to be one of them! Frugality only goes so far, y'know! It's 50 whoppin' degrees out there, and it's cold to be handling those wet clothes. (Good thing it's summer and we have global warming. Just think how cold it'd be otherwise!)

Maybe I'll look at the electric bill when I resume use of the clothes-dryer next fall and maybe I'll feel compelled to hang clothes on the line in spite of the frigid temps. But right now I'm wondering how long it's going to take those t-shirts to dry today, anyhow. And I'm justifying the use of the clothes-dryer in winter by thinking of colds and immune systems and arthritic hands and other things I want to avoid messing with.

I think maybe, in the ancient days before clothes-dryers, when people had to hang their clothes on the line ALWAYS, they probably didn't do as much laundry during the winter as we do now. Don't you suppose they postponed a lot of it for spring cleaning?

And WHY am I talking about this at the END of MAY??? Aren't we supposed to be reveling in the perfect weather of 70s and 80s -- not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.... Hmmm?

Whatcha Gotta Do

This morning, while jogging, a neighbor (who was out working in his yard bright and early) commented that I sure am a very hard worker, out jogging every day. It caught me off-guard. I smiled and said briefly as I jogged past, "It's not hard work that does it. I need this to be able to breathe." He smiled and said, "Well, good for you to keep at it." And I kept on joggin' down the road.

And I thought for my last 3/4 mile about the assumptions we make. This man thought I was jogging because it was a good thing to do to exercise, or whatever. And it's not. I do it because I have to. If I don't do my running, I definitely can see the ramifications in both my breathing and my mood. And it's cheaper and has fewer side effects than medications for the same problems.

And I thought about the story I read yesterday (and totally identified with) about the young moms admiring other young moms who have it all together, without a clue that the ones who "have it all together" really really don't and are just acting out of desperation.

And I remembered when my friend Laura thought it was so cool (and was maybe just a mite jealous) that I was all by myself in the house for a couple of days, kids and husband at Grandma's while I painted a few rooms and hauled stuff off to Goodwill. She thought it sounded like a great organization-break from regular life. And all the while I was falling to pieces, trying to figure out how I was going to cope with Baby#7 and where this kid's crib could possibly fit in the house. Thus the purge of belongings to Goodwill. And the early nesting instinct, knowing that there was going to be a LOT of work involved in making space for that baby. (Most of you know us to have six kids. The one in this story was my first miscarriage.)

I have had other homeschool moms make comments about how much catechism or hymnody my children and I have memorized. Sometimes I get the impression they think I'm a dedicated mother who is holy and spiritual and knows her priorities and all that stuff, and thus does [did] a great job of catechizing children. And it's not that. It's much more about being in a situation I can't cope with, neeeeeding God's word to see me through, and therefore devotions is born out of my selfishness rather than proper vocational duty.

I suppose it's nice that the neighbor this morning admired my supposed "hard work." I guess that's putting the best construction on things. And I think we all do that. We admire the hard work and the coping skills of others. The only danger is when we beat ourselves up with thinking, "Why can't I do that too?" Because sometimes things are not what they appear. Today's [3-year] Gospel: Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Maybe you don't want the conditions that impel somebody to DO the things you're admiring???

And All the Children Are Above Average

I was awed yesterday by the quality of work done by the guys who installed the septic system. They were fast. They were polite. They were hard-working. They explained everything that needed explaining. When they had to dig a trench up to the house for the electric wires, the guy set aside the tulip bulbs that were disturbed rather than just destroying them or discarding them. They had to put in dirt to make a "bridge" to cross the ditch, and at the end of the day they undid it and seeded it. They carefully smoothed all the dirt -- even the dirt dug up last fall for the perk tests -- and seeded it and threw out straw for mulch. This is SO awesome compared to the septic system we had done last fall at the old house.

Now, at the time, I didn't have any complaints about the service at the old house when the septic was installed. What they did was good enough. But the Lietzau company is outstanding in comparison.

It made me think of schools. Everybody thinks their local public school is doing a fine job. Sure, there are bad schools out there. But ours is just dandy. They're all above average, right? But that's what I thought about companies who do septic systems. The one from last fall was just dandy. Until I saw Mr Lietzau's company in comparison. I think it's probably like that with doctors and mechanics and nursing homes and hair stylists and all sort of other things too, not just schools.

Minor Pick-Me-Up

Done with the editing job I was in the midst of. It's so nice to work on something I'm capable of instead of something that I'm always floundering at (this motherhood/housewife thing).

Today we needed to start watering the grass seed that was spread yesterday. I'm a little bummed because we had hoped to put strawberries in that nicely dug-up top soil. But a friend told us that mound systems get very dry on top. Since I'm not very good at keeping things watered [understatement!], I think I'd just kill the strawberries if I decided to go for it. So now I have to spread grass seed in the place where I told the workman yesterday to NOT put seed. And we struggled with leaky faucets and leaky hoses and leaky connections before Andrew managed to put together a working hose for wetting the soil & seed. (It's hard to go from working on something I'm adept at --like the editing-- to working on something that stymies me at every turn.)

So, bummed out, I went to town to do errands: copies from the library, laundry detergent because I ran out with ALL the laundry I've done today, and a little hand-held broadcaster for the seed. The grocery store had Newcastle Brown on sale, and I wanted some. No good reason; I just wanted some. So I picked it up with the laundry detergent. And I got carded. I wanted to laugh. I asked the clerk if she were looking for a tip. Maybe it's their policy to card everyone under 83? But you know what? As shallow as it is, it made me feel better for a few minutes, even in the face of leaky faucets and leaky hoses and way too much lawn to water.

Oh, vanity....

Pastors' Wives Music Video

Just in case you haven't seen it linked elsewhere, this is a riot!

And like my friends who also found it hilarious, I want to give the preemptive comment that, no, Gary does not talk about us in sermons. In over twenty years, it's happened less-than-a-handful of times, and he always tells me/us first and gets our okay.

Septic

There is a backhoe in my backyard!
There have been dump trucks coming and going!

Tonight I will be able to do some laundry in my house. My poor lonely washer has been resting for 11 weeks and is now going to be pressed into service once again. Bye-bye, laundromat.

And we will be able to flush. How's that for mega-cool? Y'know how the rule is always "Go to the bathroom before you get in the car" and "Go to the bathroom before you go to the store" and "Go to the bathroom before we leave for church"? Well, for the last 11 weeks, it's been "Hold it until we get to the library" or church or the store, places where we could flush. But now we can flush at home!

The glories of plumbing!!!!
I love plumbing!

In-

Working on some editing today, Pastor and I ran across the word "inchastity" in the Book of Concord. Everywhere else in the book, it was translated "unchastity." So we debated whether that was an intentional translation or a slip of the typing fingers. After all, I said, "in-" can be a prefix for negating. Pastor was skeptical about that one, and he spent a few seconds trying to come up with a word that used "in-" as a negation. He couldn't think of any, so he asked me. It took me about 1/2 a second to come up with ...

insane.

For some reason, a few people found that amusing.
(Of all words to come to mind.... sheeesh.)

Gas Prices

An excellent point heard on Mark Belling's show today:

The Democrats want the Saudis to increase the supply of oil. There isn't enough available; that's causing the price to rise. An increased supply would help keep prices from sky-rocketing so badly.

So why are they so dead-set against AMERICA increasing the oil supply? If we need more, why don't they change a few environmental policies and a few tax policies and a few OSHA policies so that we can GET the oil we HAVE instead of asking the Saudis for more?

Glory in Mercy

The antiphon for Sunday's introit was
Blessed be the holy Trinity and the undivided Unity!
Let us give glory to Him because He has shown His mercy to us!

And we go from the Introit (O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens!) directly to the Kyrie (Lord, have mercy upon us). Then we go straight to the Gloria in Excelsis (Glory be to God on high... We give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory... Have mercy upon us.)

And so it went throughout the service, in the hymns and liturgy, going back and forth, back and forth, between glory and mercy. It almost reminds me of the collect in summer:
O God, You declare Your almighty power above all in showing mercy and pity....

You'd almost be tempted to think that God's great glory is His mercy, wouldn't you?

Daily Doings

The computer connection has been pitiful the last few days. Each page takes a long time to load, and the connection to the Internet keeps failing.

We had a gorgeous day yesterday for a fieldtrip with friends. We walked around downtown Milwaukee, learning about the history of the city and observing the architecture from the 1850s to 1880s. I've begun to wonder, though, whether we spin our wheels planning educational activities for these get-togethers. The kids want to play play play. They see their friends seldom enough that maybe the socialization time is more important than the fieldtrip's academic value. (After all, we all know homeschoolers are in desperate need of socialization. LOL -- okay, all you homeschoolers, quit bustin' a gut and get back to skimming blogs instead of laughing uproariously after having fallen off your chair!)

Gary bought and connected the digital tv converter. Wow, that is one clear picture on our tv screen! And now there are two channels that look similar to TV-Land and some PBS stations that look somewhat similar to the nature and history channels on cable. I figured out how to work the answering machine last month. I can figure out how to work the tv too. (I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!) Hey, Rachel, Daddy says you ought to get a converter box so that you'll have a signal that comes in for you! (The government gives you $40 toward it.)

I was on Charlie's talk show this morning. He told me I made an excellent point. Cool!

Tomorrow is Andrew's final exam for drivers ed. Last classroom lesson. Only four more trips to go for behind-the-wheel lessons.

Almost done with the next CCA project. I'm done with my part on the next project after that too. Yee haw!

Rumor has it that the septic system may be installed this week. I keep putting off doing laundry in an attempt to save quarters, thinking that right-quick I'll be able to run my very own wash machine in my very own house. But we're still on the water-conservation routine. If Mr Leitzau doesn't come tomorrow, I may have to do a couple of loads so that we can squeak through for another day or so before doing laundry at HOME.

Desk

A friend gave us a beautiful oak roll-top desk this past weekend. He had built it once-upon-a-time, so it has special meaning that way as well as being a very practical place to store a lot of paperwork-stuff that I haven't figured out in the new house yet.

I spent the whole day today working through the drawers of the old desk, figuring out which things should go together in which new drawers and new cubbies and new slots. And then there was the paperwork all over the kitchen counter and the top of my dresser, all of which has a much better place to live now.

I found beads from broken necklaces that had been stored away for little girls' projects. I found 150 million pens. (Well, okay, not quiiiite that many. But shame on the person in my house who decides to pick up pens from a hotel or from a college open-house!) I found a 1990 phone book from the town we used to live in. I found all the old Christmas cards I had designed. I found catalogs and envelopes and erasers and Canadian money. I found bank statements for banks where we no longer have accounts (and haven't had for years). Y'know, when I got rid of the junk, I didn't need nearly as many drawers as I'd been using before!

Narnia 2

We went to see Prince Caspian last night. It was okay. Too many battles. Granted, this book is probably the most battle-intensive story in the series. But I can see why BBC put this story into only one hour. I'm glad we went to see it, but I have no desire to see it in the theater again. Dvd's will be soon enough.

There were two little things I noticed and really enjoyed. At the start, when Caspian and his tutor were hiding, they slipped into the wardrobe in his bedroom... and didn't quite close the door. After all, it would be very foolish to shut oneself into a wardrobe. :-)

And I noticed on the catapults and ballistas in the final battle-scene that the enemy's weapons had Tash on them. I thought that was a cool thing to do to unify the series.

And boy, did Lucy grow up since the first movie was filmed!

Narnia 1

Anticipating the new movie out this week, we watched Rachel's DVD of Narnia last night.

At the end, Edmund was crowned "Edmund the Just." Like, as in "justified." Cool.

And I never noticed before that it was the humans that reigned over the rest of creation. I always thought of it as the outsiders coming to Narnia, fulfilling the prophecy, and being kings and queens. But no; it was man having dominion over the animals and all the rest.

How They Embarrass Us

Gary was working in the yard yesterday morning. The wee children next door were looking out the window, watching him, waving to him, yelling HI. One announced, "We're going to a birfday party!" Gary asked when. "When Mommy gets out of the shower." And then the other one piped up, "Yeah, she's naked!"

And to think our kids (and your kids) told people the same kind of helpful information....

Home-Made Soap

I've been noticing how the real soap (not the bath bars that we usually call "soap") lasts until the bar is tiny. It doesn't fall to pieces. It doesn't crumble away. You get to use the whooooole bar and none is wasted.

I really need to make a few batches of soap. It's been over a year and a half since I last made soap, and I've only got one bar left. That poor lone bar sure ain't gonna last me until I get my next batch made and aged. Unless I shower once a week .... hmmm, might work....

Granola

Toss together
5 cups rolled oats (works better than quick oats)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans or almonds or whatever)
1/2 cup sunflower kernels

Stir together
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup honey
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla (or peach schnapps or black raspberry liqueur)

Mix honey into oats. Stir till all oats have been moistened. I bake it on a lightly greased airbake jelly-roll pan for about 20-22 minutes at about 360°.

If I bake it on a cookie sheet that's not airbake, I have to shorten the time or decrease the temp. The boys like it baked longer so it's a littler browner. I do not stir it in the oven, nor while it's cooling. If I wait until it's completely cool before loosening the granola from the pan or removing it, I get bigger chunks instead of just oat-flakes. When completely cooled, store in a sealed container.

I used to try to make huge batches of granola so that I didn't have to do it so often. But then I was putting too much in the oven, and I had to bake it for so long, and I had to keep stirring it, and that was too much brain-effort and trouble for me. Sometimes I burned it; sometimes I underbaked it; I always ended up spilling some on the bottom of the oven. This recipe lets me mix it, throw it in the oven for 20 minutes, let it sit on the counter for an hour or more, pretty much ignoring it. That makes for success! LOL. Of course, this batch seldom lasts us a whole week, and would only last for a couple days if we didn't eat so many eggs for breakfast! But this recipe is easy enough to make that I can handle doing it more than once a week.

TV in the Kitchen?

I discovered something last night, and it may not be good for me! LOL!

About a month ago, we moved the computer into the breakfast nook so that the living room wouldn't be so crowded. Last night Gary invited me to sit down with him and watch a movie. Well, the poor little neglected balls of tortilla dough had been sitting for many hours, and it was high time they were pressed and browned. I knew that I'd be falling asleep by the end of the movie, so finishing the tortillas "later" wouldn't work.

Hey! What if we stuck the dvd into the computer and played it in the kitchen? I could watch with him and do tortillas, and then we could sit down in the living room together when I was done with the kitchen work. Ohhhhh, that worked well. I might have to figure out how to work this technology so I can pop a dvd into the machine all by myself!

And I'm betting that I can use the computer to listen to talk-radio online too. Maybe I won't need a radio in the kitchen after all....

Getting Rid of Smoke Smell

The people who owned this house before us smoked. They usually smoked outside, and they had scent diffusers to help neutralize the odor, so it really didn't smell bad at all. But every now and then we would notice, like when we closed up the house on a cold evening after the windows had been open all day, or when we opened the linen closet to put something away.

I discovered something this week. Since I've been hanging towels and sheets on the line, and then putting some of them back into the linen closet, that fresh scent seems to have absorbed and overcome and eliminated the smoke smell in the closet really well! It makes me wonder if taking couch cushions outside and sunning them, or washing the afghans more frequently (and line-drying them), would help get rid of the smoke smell throughout the rest of the house even faster than it's disappearing on its own.

Decks, Gutters, and Wasps (Oh My!)

I don't see what the attraction is in a deck. When we were house hunting, the ads and a variety of real-estate agents would wax eloquent about the beautiful deck on the house. I see a deck as something else to take care of. It needs to be stained and sealed periodically. The screws have to be tightened. It needs to be shoveled free of snow in the winter. What's so great about a deck? I could sit in the backyard on the lawn, and there's a lot less care needed for a lawn. Lawns are nice. Patios are too. Decks take work.

But, nevertheless, we ended up with a deck. Okay, fine.

We have wasps. Can't figure out where they're coming from. After some web-researching, I discovered that wasps often like to build their nests on the underside of wood decks. The only real solution seems to be to crawl under the deck (if that's possible) or take up the boards until you can discover the location of the wasp nest. Oh, good gravy! When we had wasps at the parsonage, you just had to keep knocking down their nests and destroying them. But when you did so, three weeks later you'd have to do it again. That's one thing when the wasp nests are out in the open, under the eaves of the house. However, if we have to take up deck-boards repeatedly through the summer, this is not going to be a happy thing! Another strike against decks.

However, today I think I may have figured out something. Maybe they're hiding in the gutters. We have the weirdest gutter-guards I've ever seen. After checking with my local home-owner mentor, I decided the gutter-guards were headed for the trash. Andrew eliminated a lot of them and we set them out for the garbage man today. Now I'm filling up the garbage can again from yankin' this weird steel-wool stuff out of the gutters. And I found lots of dead wasps. And then I found several abandoned nests. Then I found one very small new and growing nest. I betcha as more of the gutter-guards get pulled out, we find more wasps. (Note to self: do not give this job to the son who is horribly allergic to bug bites.)

One-Family Rule

I blogged the other day about how a few people in Wisconsin would like to homeschool other people's kids along with their own. But it's illegal in this state. As much as I think the government should stay out of education, the reality is that they don't. There are rules, and some of them even have some fairly decent reasoning behind the rules.

Jeff asked about whether it could be considered legal to homeschool someone else's kid because the statute says that the parents can designate someone one else to provide the instruction.

That sentence allows for the fact that homeschool parents are not required, entirely by themselves, to provide all instruction for the child. For example, many kids learn foreign language primarily by speaking with a person who is a native speaker. Even though the kid may study a book, the primary teacher is Grandpa Schmidt who grew up in Germany (or whatever).

In other situations, the parents hire a tutor to be the full-time instructor in their homeschool. I have two friends who homeschool their grandchildren.

So, is it okay "hire a tutor" who is also homeschooling her own children? No. The next sentence in the statutes makes that very plain.

Once upon a time, the government was enforcing all the school codes onto homeschools. In the state of Wisconsin, they asked homeschoolers to have separate bathrooms for boys and girls. They asked for "Exit" signs over the doorways. There were loads of rules. With a lot of lobbying by some committed homeschoolers and some help from a few people in Madison, the legislature (among other legal changes) came to see how ridiculous it was to have the same safety requirements for a building where one family was homeschooling. If the children were safe enough at home from 3:30-bedtime, then they were safe enough there from 8:30-3:30. And so the law that affects homeschoolers no longer requires that they conform to the building codes and safety regulations enjoined upon conventional schools.

But
if I want to start "homeschooling" other people's kids along with my own, should I be exempt from safety rules? (And let's not take up whether the government has the right to enforce such rules. The reality is that they make such rules and enforce them for most public building. For those who disagree with that, you'd have to change the whole system before you can properly address whether this particular instance of building code is valid.) If I homeschool one other child, that doesn't seem like a big deal. But if I homeschool 32 other children from 17 different families, doesn't that sound more like a school than "homeschooling other people's kids"? Where's the line? How many "other kids" makes it a school instead of homeschooling?

That's why the law says that "more than one family unit" does not constitute a home-based private educational program. Saying "Well, that homeschool mom over there is the person I designated to provide my kid's instruction" does not undo the next sentence in the statutes!

CAN I do this?

Getting old.
Less strength in the muscles.
Less mental acuity.
Tires more quickly.
Kinda stinks.

So you try to do a job involving physical labor. CAN you do it? You know you can do it. You used to be able to do it. You should be in good enough shape now that --of course-- you can do it. So you go for it! It is struggle. It is work. But you accomplish the task. See? You know you could do it!

Then the next day is the back pain. And the sore muscles. And days and days of back pain. And you end up making several trips to the chiropractor to get straightened out and interrupt the cycle of pain. And life is good again.

So... CAN you do it if the work (roofing the house, rebuilding the deck, dismantling the pool, running the marathon, carrying the salt for the water softener, whatever it may be) has repercussions that it shouldn't have? Hmmm. How do you decide when you CAN or CAN'T?



You know what else I think? I think our system of doing school just exacerbates this problem. We lock kids up with their age-mates from the time they're 3 until they're 20-something. We seldom saw our parents and grandparents struggling with aging. We were too busy with kids our own age.... kids who were immortal like us. (LOL!) So now we baby-boomers and baby-busters are shocked when we have to face the fact that our bodies can't do what they used to do. Hey, this stinks! It's not fair! I want to be young, strong, and immortal again! :-)

And then, I've got all these friends who are 10 or 20 or 30 years older, and they keep telling me, "You just WAIT. You ain't seen nothing yet." LOL -- oh, lovvvvvely!

Now, if only the mind wouldn't FAIL too recall the fact that my body couldn't handle this job last time, and it's not likely to be able to handle the job this time either. But no, the mind is goin' too....

Doubling Up Trips

I seldom go anyplace for just one errand. But I've been noticing that trying to do ALL the errands (gazillions of them!!!) while I'm out can get a little overwhelming. Maybe the stress of having to try to have everything codified on the list, the stress of having to put off the projects that you're working on for 3 more days (until you can do your one big errand-trip), or the stress of having to line up appointments back-to-back (and hope that the appts don't take longer than they're supposed to), ... maybe those stressors are worth spending $3 extra in gas money. Don't ya suppose?

Destroying the Law?

I have not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17

The accusation was out there. Jesus was destroying the Law. All that forgiveness running around! Forgiving tax collectors like Matthew. Absolving whores like Mary from Magdala. I mean, really now, like, you'd think just ANYbody could be forgiven!

The Pharisees didn't approve. It seemed to them like Jesus was destroying the Law, overturning it, doing away with it. Of course, He wasn't: He had come to fulfill it, to do it perfectly, both in doing what was required and by taking the punishment for man's breaking it.

Still, though, they saw "too much forgiveness" flowing freely, and they didn't approve. Why? They loved the Law. Not in the sense that the Psalmist loved the Law (like in Psalm 119). They loved the Law as a way to curry God's favor. Oh sure, sure, of course they needed forgiveness and God's grace and all that jazz. But still, they knew God liked 'em because they tried so hard to be good and only had occasional oopses. Not like those sinners. So from their perspective, Jesus had indeed come to destroy the Law.

But in reality, Jesus wasn't destroying the Law itself. He only came to destroy their kind of love of the Law, their reliance on the Law, their trust in the Law.

Belief and Unbelief

John 21:12. It was the second Sunday after the resurrection. The apostles were out fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was on the shore and called to them. There was a great catch of fish. When Jesus called them to breakfast:

None of the disciples dared ask Him,
"Who are You?" -- knowing it was the Lord.

In Bible class last week, I asked why John would record this. It seems obvious to me that there must've been some desire to ask Him the question, but they didn't dare do it. They knew it was the Lord, and yet they still wanted to ask Him who He was, but they didn't.

Pastor pointed out how the disciples' faith was being strengthened through these weeks. On Thursday night they all ran away. On Saturday they were in hiding. On Sunday morning they didn't believe the women's message. And yet... Peter and John ran to the tomb. John saw and believed, for as yet they did not know the scripture that He must rise from the dead. Then Peter and John went back to Mark's house with the rest of 'em. Still hiding. As Pastor has said, "Not exactly pillars of faith!" Still, John "saw and believed."

Then that Sunday night, they were in fear of the Jews. When Jesus appeared, they thought he was a ghost. But He absolved them (Peace to you). "They were glad when they saw the Lord."

They tell Thomas the wonderful news. Poor guy doesn't believe them and spends the next seven days not only missing his Lord but convinced that his compatriots are whacked out. Jesus came to them again the next Sunday evening. He absolved them again. Faith grew. Unbelief diminished. But the unbelief was not gone.

The next Sunday Jesus comes to them again. Again there are doubts. But the doubts each week seem smaller. Jesus' word to them, His forgiveness, strengthens them in spite of their unbelief. He creates belief in the midst of unbelief.

And He keeps on doing it today.


In the midst of utter woe
when our sins oppress us,
where shall we for refuge go,
where for grace to bless us?
To Thee, Lord Jesus, only! TLH 590

Homeschooling Someone Else's Kid

The question came up again. "I'm looking for a homeschooling family to homeschool my kid for me. I'll pay."

I don't know about other states, but that's not legal in Wisconsin. More than one family "homeschooling" together actually constitutes a small private school. The administrator of that school needs to obey the laws governing private schools, including fire drills and kitchen rules and bathroom rules and all that jazz. In Wisconsin, homeschools are small, private, one-family schools and are known in the statutes as "home-based private educational programs."

If you don't believe me, look at Statute 115.001(3g). Don't lie to the government. If you want a tutor for your kid, hire a tutor. If you want to make money "homeschooling" other people's kids, fill out the stupid & invasive paperwork that the government will demand of you. But don't lie to the government. Homeschoolers have to sign a piece of paper telling the census-count of their private school and attesting to the fact that they are in compliance with the law. So comply already. Don't try to find loopholes. Just do what the law requires. God tells us through His apostle St Paul that we are to honor and obey the government, and Jesus Himself tells us to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's."

I Didn't Want to See That

We were watching Elizabeth tonight. It looked like a good history story, a review of the people we read about last fall & winter in one of our schoolbooks. And it might've been a very good movie ... except for about 3 minutes scattered throughout a few scenes that were just way too explicit or had too much nudity. Those scenes make me blush, and I don't want to see that. Furthermore, I don't want my kids seeing it either, the kids that I made watch the movie for the sake of reviewing kings, queens, earls, dukes, and political wrangling.

I want to say, "WHY do they do that?" in Hollywood, but I know the answer. I guess the real question is, "How do I know what's really in the movie before I watch it?" That's what ratings are supposedly for, but they aren't exactly helpful and consistent.

Update: A friend let me know about a site that gives detailed descriptions of things parents may want to know about a movie, whether there is smoking, tense family scenes, sex, violence, etc. You have the option to say "no, thanks, I don't want to join" and still check to see if there's a movie review available to non-members. When you click to see "all movies" or "all videos," you then click on the first letter of the title to check out the list of reviews.

That Short First Article

The other day I was editing. The section was from John 8. Jesus was telling the Pharisees, who claimed to know God, "If you had known Me, you would've known My Father also." That hit my ears oddly because I'd just recently heard the passages from John 14 where the passage is about knowing and seeing the Father. So I checked to see whether I was remembering right.

John 1 No one has seen God at any time. The Son has declared Him.
John 5 The Father has testified of the Son. You have neither heard Him nor seen Him.
John 6 The only one who has seen the Father is the one who is from God.
John 14 (to the apostles) If you had known Me, you would've known the Father. From now on [i.e., the Passion and crucifixion] you have known Him and seen Him. He who has seen Me has seen the Father.
John 15 (to the apostles, about the ones who are about to kill Jesus) Now they have seen and hated both Me and the Father.

So, basically, yeah, there was nothing in the Gospel of John about seeing the Father other than 1) we sinners can't, 2) except in the Passion of Christ. I thought that was interesting and something to wonder at -- how the seeing is added to the knowing, and that the seeing is to see a bloodied Jesus.

But then, about 15 minutes later, it was time for Bible class to start. The first article of the creed is so short: "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." That's it. That's the whole section. Not a lot there, just 12 words. Very succinct.

The second article, though, is a lot longer. It tells about Jesus and what He did. It tells stuff we can see. And it crossed my mind:
In the saving activity recited in the second article, we see Jesus. And when we see Jesus, we have seen the Father. What's in the second article shows us Who is in the first article.

Fence

Well, the guy who's going to take the pool off our hands (we think!) came on Tuesday night and Friday night this week. He and Gary worked for several hours each night. (Of course, wouldn't ya know, those were nights I was all organized and on time with dinner which then had to wait.)

A lot of the pool parts and accessories are gone. We have found that there is a LOT of gravel out there, surrounding the pool. A lot! I guess some of it's going to be used as fill-in for the deep hole in the center of the pool. We're not quite sure yet what's going to fill-in the rest of the low spot, but we'll work on that problem later.

The walls of the pool are still standing, as there was a problem undoing the seam where the two ends met. Gary thinks he's figured out a way to solve that without destroying the pool. But now we wonder if the guy taking the pool might've seen that problem as just too much to bother with.

Nicest at this point is that the ugly fence around the pool is down. It was rickety and not very nice looking and not even finished/sealed. It was adequate to its task -- keeping people away from the pool and drowning. But it looks so much nicer out back with that fence gone now! The fence posts are still there. They'll be slow in coming down as we discovered they were cemented into the ground. One or two fence-posts will probably be plenty of physical labor per day.

Just Read the Book

A pastor has nothing of himself to give. I don't care much whether he's smart or slow, whether he's handsome or ugly, whether he's a great guy or a jerk. I care that he speaks the WORDS which God wants spoken. If he thinks he's got cool things to give us, I'm skeptical. I want him to read the book to me!

When the chaplain makes a hospital visit, he better be using the Pastoral Care Companion. When the pastor teaches Bible study, he better be using psalms and the hymnal for opening devotions, and for the class he better be using the Bible instead of "relevant" stories. When the pastor leads worship, it should be from the hymnal, Agenda, and Altar Book. And he should read all those notes in the Altar Book, the ones that tell you how to conduct a Tenebrae service, or that the Service of Prayer and Preaching is intended for catechetical services, but may be used on Sunday morning if there's no communion. Pastors should take note of the rubrics and obey them. After all, they have nothing to offer their people except what God wants them to have ... and those words are written in the book.

Pastor recently mentioned the missal stand and its placement. In Protestant churches the missal stand is in the center of the altar because the center of worship is understood to be our prayers to God. But in the Lutheran church, the missal stand is supposed to be off to the side so that the center is open. This is because the Sacrament of the Altar takes center place in our churches -- God's gift to us being a higher priority than our prayers to Him. At this point in the class, one of the men (a pastor himself) asked about it. He said that wasn't how it used to be; that wasn't how it was when he got out of sem. But Pastor pointed out that that was what was written in the book even back then.

Too many pastors only look at the pew edition of the hymnal and wing it as to rubrics and ceremony and other aspects of conducting the service. The book (such as the altar book, or the hymnal's handbook) tells you what to do. Your parishioners need you to READ THE BOOK! Read the book yourself to know what to do and how to do it. Read the book so that you are praying the liturgy that has been given by God to the Church through the centuries. Read the book so that you are praying what needs to be said instead of what tumbles out of your own heart and mouth. Please READ THE BOOK!

Wheat Prices

I went to Woodman's today during Andrew's drivers ed class. Flour prices have gone up again. No surprise really. But the comparison of prices was what threw me. Flour used to be about 20 cents/lb and fruit was $1-2 per pound, and meat was $2-4 per pound. Now flour is $.86/lb. Pink Lady apples were $.83/lb and strawberries were $1.49/pound. Now THAT's weird, when fruit is cheaper than flour!

Just

We speak what we hear. If we hang out with people with potty-mouths, we will end up thinking/speaking profanity. If we live in the South where everyone says "y'all," we will end up with a drawl. If we listen to Christian radio, we will end up with the vocabulary of the fundamentalists and evangelicals. If we read Eastern Orthodox books, we will more and more speak and believe like the Orthodox. If a pastor immerses himself in Luther's Works, his preaching and prayers will sound more and more Lutheran.

"Lord, we just pray that You will ..."

"Just" means "exactly, precisely." Do we really mean to say that this petition is the only thing we want to pray? No. It's just the way some people pray, and if we hear it repeatedly, it is what we will say when we pray.

When a Lutheran pastor prays aloud during the Service, he should pray like a Lutheran and not like a fundamentalist. We have the hymnal. We have the Agenda. We have the Altar Book. If the pastor can pray ex corde ("from the heart," less reverently known as "winging it") and I can't tell, then he has learned to pray from the psalms and the collects so that what comes out of his mouth reflects what he has been praying all along. What the pastor is praying is faithful to what God intends for us to pray. But when the word "just" slips past his lips, he is revealing that his prayers have not been steeped in the catechism, the hymnal, and the psalter. His guidance in prayer has been from those with a different theology. And that does not belong at the altar as he leads his people in prayer.

A pastor has limited ways he can use the word "just" during public prayer. 1) As a surname, such as praying for Dr Just while he travels in Africa. 2) As an adjective, such as praying for wise & just rulers. But if he uses "just" as an adverb, it is time for him to strictly limit himself to READING the prayers -- reading them straight up -- from the hymnal.

Cast Iron

Lesson learned today:
Do not season the skillet with tallow. Lard works great. Crisco works. Even olive oil is kinda okay. But beef fat is not a good plan....

Don't ask me how I know. But if you come over, you may want to bring nose plugs.

Doesn't Jive

Why do I keep hearing about volunteer programs being canceled due to lack of funds?

For just one example, yesterday's paper had a headline about lack of funds resulting in the cancellation of some programs that require students to volunteer to do community service. (Hey, looky there: the previous sentence has TWO -- not just one but two -- examples of oxymoronic action.)

What COST is there to an organization (or the government) for VOLUNTEERS to do work? I think there must be some bureaucracy somewhere that benefits financially from volunteerism. Otherwise, this makes no sense.

My Old Shorts

It's been warm. Too warm to jog in my long jogging pants. I have two pairs of jogging shorts. (I think I do. Maybe I'm remembering something different. I never know any more, what with all the changes with the move, whether I'm remembering a plan that was or wasn't actually implemented. It is NOT time to re-watch A Beautiful Mind!)

Annnnyway, if I have two pairs of jogging shorts, one is AWOL. Maybe in a box. Maybe in a cupboard. Maybe hiding behind the milk in the fridge or under a lamp in the living room??? So in these warm days, I grabbed the blue shorts and started to put them on. OH, elastic, where have you gone? The waistband is shot; all sproinginess forever depleted by age. Y'know how old elastic crackles when it stretches, breaking and crumbling? I hate that sound!

So the blue shorts went into the trash. My good ol' shorts. My comfortable ol' shorts. How could they give up the ghost so soon? Wait! Soon? I started thinking. How old are those shorts? Let's see, I bought them at the end of junior high school. Those shorts were more than 30 years old. Granted, with the huge number of years I was pregnant and the great number of Wisconsin months where shorts are unwearable, those things could last a good long time. But I suppose even with those allowances, thirty years for an elastic waistband was pretty darn good. (What did it say in Deuteronomy about the Israelites' clothes and shoes not wearing out for 40 years?)

Good Shepherd Sunday

Oh, this is so cool!
(We were in John 21 for Bible class today.)

On Easter Sunday, we read the stories in the gospels regarding the resurrection of Jesus. Okay, we all know that.

On the first Sunday after Easter, we read the story of what happened on the Sunday after Jesus' resurrection -- the story of Thomas putting his finger into the wounds in Jesus' hands. Okay, lots of us know that too.

But the second Sunday after Easter we read John 10. It's Good Shepherd Sunday. That's not the story of what happened on the second Sunday after Jesus' resurrection: that day was the great catch of fish (in John 21). But that same Sunday, after the catch of fish and breakfast with Jesus, is the conversation between Peter and Jesus. "Simon, do you love Me? Feed My lambs. Simon, do you love Me? Tend My sheep. Simon, do you love Me? Feed My sheep." THAT must be why the Church celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday on the second Sunday after Easter. Those shepherd-stories from Ezekiel and John are placed there for a reason!

The Eleven

A few days ago our Bible story was the end of Acts 1 when the group of disciples had the first synodical convention and voted on a twelfth apostle, choosing Matthias for Judas's spot. In the past, Pastor Wiest had pointed out to us that Jesus didn't tell them to vote, Jesus didn't tell them to fill a vacancy, Jesus didn't tell them they needed twelve right away. Jesus told them to wait. They didn't wait very well. (Looky, looky -- they're just like me! Oh, wait, that'd be a tangent....)

Paul would be the twelfth. But it would be quite a while before God sent them #12.

Pastor pointed out something this morning in our Bible story from Acts 2. Luke (closely associated with Paul) was still talking about "the Eleven" even after Matthias's election. It's like Luke was making a point that, even though Matthias "was numbered with the Eleven," he was not #12. Luke continues to refer to "the Eleven."

I'd never noticed that before.

Yellow Lights

When I was growing up I learned that green means go, red means stop, and yellow means the light is going to change to red pretty soon.

So if the light is about to change to red, what does that mean? Some people think it means slow down. Some people think it means speed up. Others think it means go through the intersection so that you don't have to wait through a red light.

I think what Andrew learned in drivers ed makes loads of sense. A yellow means "Stop if you can do so safely." So rather than a yellow being "You're going to have to decide what to do," it seems like less to think about (and right now I neeeeed less to think about!) to remember "yellow means stop."

Wood Pile

One of the very best parts of my job is that there's lots of different stuff to do, and I get to be the one to decide when to do it. I can do loads of cooking on one day and then put it in the freezer for another day. The kids and I can have a reading marathon, or read one chapter per day. We can go for a walk or do laundry or hit up the library, as we decide would work best.

That's one of the things I feel bad about Gary losing. Now he has to go to work and be indoors doing his job, and can no longer adjust his days/duties based on weather or health or other needs.

Yesterday I had all sorts of things I wanted to catch up on, and I had no idea where to start. But the day was gorgeous, and back on Sunday Maggie and I had started cleaning up the pile of wood for the fireplace, getting rid of garbage and weeds and rotted wood. With rain due today, I wanted to get that project completed. So we spent the day outside, in the sun and the warmth and the lovely fresh air. We got a big chunk of work taken care of, and kept a nice little campfire going all day (and even cooked steaks over it for supper).

And ...
in the process of all that cleaning up,
we found (underneath the place where the woodpile used to be)

some very nice dirt already dug up and crumbly and black. So with relatively little work with a rake, we now have a tiny little bit of lettuce and kohlrabi planted.

Oh, dear. That's got me dreaming of asparagus and raspberries and strawberries. And tomatoes and beans and potatoes. And that stuff is probably still a long way away, what with turning lawn into garden (and not even knowing yet where we can do so, seeing as how we don't know where the new septic system is going to be placed).

Looking forward to fresh lettuce in 45 days! Oh boy!

Cooking Therapy

After three days of being away from home virtually all day, I'm tired. I want to be home resting. At Matins this morning (on the way to getting Zippy's blinker fixed... so why am I talking about staying at home to rest today???) a friend asked if things were slowing down and how it was going.

I told him about the recent running around, and that I was looking forward to a day at home, just making granola and raking the yard and baking bread and making a real dinner and stuff like that. He looked at me and said, "No wonder you're tired!"

Tired? Tired from making granola and putzing around the kitchen? Those things are therapeutic! Those things are calm! Those things are refreshing! Too many days away from my stove and mixing bowls, and life is just not right.

Responsibility Levels

I get so frustrated when people don't do what they say they're going to do. The man who's going to be putting in our septic system said he'd stop by last week to see how the soil-moisture levels are doing. He didn't. When I called to check with him this week, I keep getting no answer.

I took Zippy in to get her a new left blinker after a little bump into her fender. I was supposed to be there at 8:00 when they opened. The employees didn't show up to open the repair shop this morning until 8:25.

The guy who said he'd take our pool hasn't started on the work. It's been over two weeks since I told him he could have it, and 12 days since we called him and told him that the deck was out of the way and that he was free to come over and start dismantling. He's been over here. But the work has not commenced. I'm going to have to get a hold of another volunteer to take the pool off our hands.

The pastor where we were visiting on Sunday got creative. Not only did he not stick to the book, but he tried to tell us that he actually was using the liturgy from Service of Prayer and Preaching. Uhhhh, NO. It had no resemblance to that.

Why can't people just do what they say they're going to do? I think sometimes Pastor B doesn't know what to do with my editing because I tend to be more like Scotty on Star Trek: I'd rather set up low expectations and then actually accomplish what I promised (and maybe even do better/more than what I intended). But it seems like too many people in the workplace today will over-represent what they can do, and then let down the customers. And on another tangent, that's why somebody should hire Philip; he'll do what he's supposed to do.

Given the selfishness exhibited in so many areas of society (driving habits, waiting in lines, not showing up for appointments, etc) I suspect that this problem in the business world is just going to get worse and worse as the years pass.

Epitaph for a Home

I dropped Andrew off at drivers ed today, and then headed to the parsonage. The house had been emptied of all our belongings (except the refrigerator), but there was still quite a bit in the garage. During Andrew's class, I loaded the van with most of that stuff. When Gary got off work, he drove down, and one of the guys from church helped us load the big things into his trailer. So now everything's out, and we're done there.

It feels odd. On the one hand, it's good. That parsonage is mildew infested, centipede infested, and my bedroom window-sill is composed of wood crumbs and Asian beetle corpses glued together with too much paint. The parsonage is mildew infested [you think that's a mistake that I type that adjective twice? NO] and has rotten ventilation in the attic and a stupidly designed kitchen. It has not been infested with mice since we lived there because we kept cats (but it was plagued with mice for a couple of decades). The basement floods. Sizable wild mammals lived in the crawlspace at times. It was poorly insulated so that my bedroom was horribly cold all winter. The foundation is cracking. And by the way, it's mildew infested. Not a good house.

But still...
it's home.

This afternoon, after I'd loaded the van, waiting for the guys to show up, I looked around. I vacuumed that carpet thousands of times; I shampooed it dozens of times. Thousands of diapers flapped in the breeze on that clotheslines. I know the good hiding places on the lawn for Easter eggs. I painted those walls. My children picked those dandelions and brought me beeeeautfiul bouquets. Over there was my strawberry patch, and over here was Beau's pen and stable. The lilacs are late this year; I know because this is WPA weekend, and every year I prepped for my lectures with the perfume of lilacs. How many times did I hang streamers in this dining room to celebrate birthdays? The cutting board in this kitchen is where my children begged to help eat the apple peelings when applesauce was being made. This is where we got to know Matt and Nathan. That south patch of the lawn was where my children learned to make contact between a plastic bat and a whiffle ball, and which direction to head when you hit the ball. Those hostas that I transplanted and were so puny are now growing lush and full. That "weed" that showed up in my garden is now an aspen over 25' high. When I sit in the empty house and need to know the time, I look at the empty place on the wall where the clock lived for 17 years. When I sit in the empty house, killing time with my editing, and Fabrizius says something awesome, my eyes drift to the place on the wall where the crucifix is no longer hanging.

It may be a wretched building,
it may be a horrible house,
but it was my home.

Women's Suffrage

I happened to catch a portion of a talk-show on the radio this evening. The author of The Curse of 1920 was being interviewed. His claim was that women's suffrage was the beginning of feminism destroying American society. Now, that's subjective, and lots of people can have different takes on what's been happening in society. I have no idea what else is in the book, and if it's good or bad. But I found one aspect of his research very interesting:

In every country where women's suffrage is enacted,
the government suddenly grows rapidly,
the govt budget explodes,
and the "nanny state" takes over.

Wasted

Housing is hard to come by at the local public university. We put down a housing deposit for Paul early last winter, knowing that he stood no chance of getting a dorm room if we didn't, and knowing also that we could (on the off-chance he decided to attend a different college) get the deposit back.

I was sure I had put a note on the calendar for the third week of April to make sure we didn't need the housing deposit refunded.

But I hadn't. And Paul is pretty well settled on Bethany College. Today I remembered that the deadline for retrieving that dorm-deposit was sometime at the start of May. We checked. Deadline was yesterday. It's too late. This is the most expensive forgetfulness I've committed in a long long time (and probably ever).

Behind

Y'know, when there's "too much to do," sometimes you can keep your head on straight and just keep plugging away at the responsibilities. You may never whittle down the to-do list. Items may be added to the list faster than they're taken off.

But then there comes a point that the jobs and responsibilities pile up SO much faster that it seems entirely pointless to even try. And then any motivation to keep plugging away just flies right out the window. After all, if hard work doesn't pay off and things are still falling apart all around you, why put in the effort at all?

Mowing

The boys discovered something today. Mowing in the kettle-moraine area of Wisconsin takes a lot more physical effort than mowing in the flatlands of Illinois.

We were wondering if we'd be able to get by with a push mower instead of a lawn tractor. None of the neighbors pushes a lawnmower. We don't even have a very hilly yard compared to the folks in the area, but it's got gobs more "character" to it than the flat flat flat prairie we used to mow. I suppose a tractor could be used with a garden-plow in summer and with a snow-plow in winter. But as Gary pointed out, it would have to be a little tractor with some power or the rolling yard would be too much for the engine.

Another new thing to learn about....

Dried Apple Pie

Last time I mail-ordered bulk spices, I also bought dried apples. They're so expensive in the store, and we like them so much. When the box arrived, we discovered that the apples were not sweetened -- just dried. Up till then, I'd never paid attention to the fact that most grocery-store dried apples were laced with sweeteners.

But it was okay that these were unsweetened, because these were healthier and still tasted good. The one thing I didn't like, though, was that the apples were sliced and dried. That's it -- just sliced. Not cored. Stems still attached. I guess I'm too picky: I found that kinda unappetizing. So those apples have been sitting around for quite a while, not getting gobbled down at the rate I expected.

So I came up with a plan. Pie out of dried apples. I threw a big pile of dried apples into a saucepan, barely covered them with water, and then simmered them for about 20 minutes. Then I could use the rehydrated apples in any ol' pie recipe. The water for simmering was used the next morning for cooking oatmeal.

The pie tasted great. I'm not too fond of finding seeds in the pie, but I don't think that's a big enough deterrent to making another dried-apple pie.

In the Water

Bible class today was ostensibly on John 21. (Hey, we did get to it evennntually. We DID.) Earlier in the Gospels there is a story similar to the post-Easter catch of fish. The mini-version is in Matthew 4 and the fuller version is in Luke 5. Pastor was pointing out the differences in the story, and how those differences are important.

So as we're going along, I wanted to know why Peter jumped into the water when John told him (21:7) that it was Jesus on shore. I knew that it's not just a history factoid of who did what when in the story, but there's something theological behind it too. I just didn't know what.

Nancy and Pastor started talking about the story where Jesus walked on the water (Mt 14, Mk 6, Jn 6). Peter wasn't sure it was the Lord; he doubted. He wanted to go to his teacher, and said, "If it is You, tell me to come." Jesus said, "Come," but still Peter sank in the water because his eyes were not fixed on Jesus.

Now, after Easter, after the absolution and the peace of the previous Sundays, Peter sees his lord and does not doubt, but goes to Him straightaway. Like Pastor said, when a person comes to faith and recognizes the voice of his Lord, what does he do? He heads straight for the water.

I thought that was cool.

A Homeschooling Failure

There were several big reasons that we began homeschooling. Most of those became far less important over the first couple of years, while other benefits of homeschooling seemed to shine more brightly. One of the reasons I liked homeschooling was because I didn't have to give grades. Some people are just such unbelievable perfectionists, and from the educational materials I read, it seems that grades just feed right into that, making kids care more about their scores than they should. The learning should be the important thing, and the grades should be relatively unimportant. Self-worth should not be tied into the score on the top of an exam or term paper.

So Coral (a friend whose mom homeschooled them a lot like we homeschool) goes to college, and gets distressed over a 92%. And my Philip goes to college and thinks a B is a failing grade. And Katie goes to college and thinks the same thing. And Andrew goes to drivers ed and is distraught over any grade that's in the 80s, and deeply covets not only a 100% but wants a 104% from the extra credit.

It didn't work, did it? Homeschooling in a relaxed manner, focusing on learning instead of on grades, and not giving tests ... and still they think an A is acceptable, an A- is bad, and an A+ is where it's at! I consider that a homeschooling failure.

Curtain Call

Curtain Call is a pretty cute little movie -- romantic comedy for a modern couple, with a pair of scrappy ghosts (MacGonagall from Harry Potter and Victor from Miss Congeniality) thrown in. The ghosts get their marriage settled and fall in love again, and the couple (actually, the guy) decides that commitment isn't such a bad thing after all. Lots of laughs!

Sensitization

With Earth Day last week, all the local libraries had displays of "green" books. Being a new home-owner, and having just left a house that was a mess and a detriment to our health, I happily picked up Prescriptions for a Healthy House when I saw it.

It seemed that most of the information was more apropos to those who were building a house instead of those who are making repairs and improvements. Nevertheless, I found some helpful advice as I briefly skimmed various parts of the book.

But there was one thing that particularly clarified a few things for me. Some of the testimonials in the book were about people who seemed "too" sensitive to electromagnetic fields or certain chemical smells or mold or whatever. After all, there are people who scoff at allergies: "It doesn't bother me." "It's all in your head." "Why do so many people have allergies these days when they didn't used to? Is it a fad or something?"

The book helped me realize part of the answer to those questions. People's bodies and immune systems can fight only so much. It's like when you get a cold after being chilled in the rain. The cold wet weather didn't make you sick; a virus did. But the cold wet weather sapped your body's ability to fight the virus, and then the virus could overcome your immune system. Likewise, people with good healthy constitutions can fight all sorts of attacks from pollens and plastics and molds and high-fructose corn syrup and so much more.

But when a person gets overloaded, he loses the battle. Those toxins or electrical fields or pollens just overwhelm the immune system. Maybe a person was exposed to too many chemicals on the job. Maybe a person lived in a mildewy house. Maybe a person was never tremendously healthy and just couldn't take all the average "hits" that Americans today throw at our bodies (McDonalds, vaccinations, white bread, Glade air fresheners, Flonase, etc) and that most people tolerate just fine. Once the person gets knocked down, once a person is sensitized, each little "hit" hurts worse and takes longer to recover from, even though the person could tolerate the annoyance the previous year. That's when people end up on whacky diets, staying away from gluten, or drinking carrot juice and kombucha, and avoiding pesticides on their gardens, and using wind-up alarm clocks instead of plug-in ones. The purpose behind those measures is to simply provide the body a rest, a "no-hit zone" for a while, to have a chance to recuperate from the abuse it took.

The encouraging thing I found in the book was that many of the folks in the testimonials WERE regaining their health and getting stronger, so that they weren't wallopped by every little thing.

Mommy Blog

For Katie,
for friends with large families,
and for us old-folks who enjoy reminiscing about when the kids were little,

go read Concordian Sisters of Perpetual Parturition. I'm so glad Glenda pointed it out a week or so ago, and figured I ought to share the fun!

Staying Warm

(Rachel is gonna hate this post.)

There's a scene near the beginning of Beckett that made a huge impression on me. Now, ya gotta realize that some of my friends (pastor guys) like the movie because of what it says about the honor of God, or what it says about the weight of the Office changing men. But me, cold little me, chilly little me -- I vividly remember the scene where Thomas Beckett was making Henry bathe daily in cold water because it would help him not to be too soft, would toughen him up, would make him able to endure the cold.

I haven't jogged daily this past winter. I was colder this winter. When I started a daily discipline of jogging nearly four years ago, I started when it was warm and sunny and lovely outdoors. I kept going when it got cooler. I kept going when it was downright cold. I even went out and jogged when it was well below zero. I didn't get the chills so badly that winter. Nor the next year. Nor the next. This year, however, there was a wicked ice storm and snow and more ice and more snow and so forth. And then illness and house-hunting and being out of town and other reasons conspired to aid my lazy nature in finding excuses to avoid jogging. And I spent my winter feeling cold.

Similarly I find that those who do not have air-conditioning do not NEED air conditioning. Being in the AC for the bulk of your day (like, at work) makes your body less able to deal with the heat and humidity.

So I think those of us who feel cold all the time [you know who you are] might find it easier to bear if you/we force ourselves out into the winter weather daily for 15-30 minutes. Come to think of it, I wonder if that's why little kids don't mind the cold so much -- because their mothers toss them out the door to play in the snow.

Congregation Update

Today was the last day at Triune. Three people said a quick goodbye to me. One tried to give a fond farewell, but it was hard to hear her say that 17 years was a good long time to have been there. (She happens to be married to one of the guys who wanted Gary fired, but she has never spoken for or against the situation.) I thanked her for her good wishes but also responded that 17 years is a whole lot shorter than 50 which is when I thought we'd be leaving.

And then there were the others. Many didn't say goodbye or anything. Granted, they may have been uncomfortable and unsure of what to say. Then there was the small group that is distressed about all this, the ones who were so upset to find out this winter what's been going on with regard to the pastor's pay and the upkeep on the parsonage, the ones who love their pastor and have been genuinely interested in how the kids and I are doing with the move and the changes. Those were the difficult goodbyes.

Then one of the guys in the congregation asked us to go out for dinner with him and his wife and his mother-in-law. That was nice. Then back home [old home, that is] to load up the car with more boxes, and the rest of the day spent doing more unpacking and more deck-undoing (for the pool removal).

We keep the people in Rockford in our prayers as they go through changes in pastoral leadership, desiring to hang onto the liturgy and faithful preaching.

I would guess (but haven't asked to verify) that Gary picked out today's hymns before he knew that this would be his last Sunday. (He usually picks out hymns about 2-3 months in advance.) I thought it was extremely appropriate that the final words sung with him as pastor were:

To them the cross with all its shame,
with all its grace, is given.
Their name an everlasting name,
their joy the joy of heaven.

They suffer with their Lord below,
they reign with Him above,
their profit and their joy to know
the mystery of His love.

The cross He bore is life and health,
though shame and death to Him:
His people's hope,
His people's wealth,
their everlasting theme.

As long as the cross is their hope, their wealth, their everlasting theme, then all will be well with the people at Triune. And the people at Reformation.

Cherish Your Pastor

Tell him "thank you." Pray for him. And listen when he talks.

A living wage is nice. Sharing produce from your garden or meat from your butchering is helpful. Cards on the anniversary of his ordination (or his arrival at your congregation) and Christmas gifts are nice too. But ultimately those things are not the "one thing needful."

What your pastor needs even more than your material support is your EARS. He can live with a miniscule salary if necessary. He can live just fine without the cards of thanks or the anniversary gifts (although those things may very well be an outward indication of a person who was receptive ears). Be there when he preaches -- Sunday and midweek. Come willingly to Bible class. Ask your pastor to give you Jesus, Jesus, and more Jesus. Do not complain when he smites you with the Law, but say "amen" and thank him for that too. And then be there to receive more Jesus, more absolution, more forgiveness.

Your pastor can live without a lot of things. But he cannot remain a pastor without hearers. Maybe he should. Jeremiah did. Elijah did. But your pastor is weak too; he's human; he can only sacrifice so much.

And if you haven't lived in a parsonage, you cannot know how very much your desire to receive your pastor's word enables him to continue to sacrifice so that you might have it. Don't take his ministry for granted; if it is spurned, it may not always be there. The more you receive it now with joy and a thankful heart, the more likely that ministry of God's grace will continue to be there for you.

Penne Rosa

Oh dear. I have a problem. We ate leftovers and fruit and sandwiches about 2:30 when Paul got off work. I had no clue what we'd be doing for dinner when Gary got home, but I was doing fine, feeling full, and not particularly desirous of another meal.

Paul, however, had an idea. When Jane took us to Noodles last week, Paul had penne rosa. He liked it. He really liked it. Today he started his job at Noodles. (I'm so glad we went to Noodles last week. That's how come we knew they were hiring. So multi-thanks to Jane!) Paul says he had penna rosa and stroganoff "under his nose" all day. Apparently those are two of the most popular dishes ... and I can see why! Paul thought we should whip up some penne rosa for supper. So he googled a few recipes, and we combined the ideas therein, and this is what we threw together ... and what we ate FAR too much of!! And that's my problem: I am totally stuffed.


Penne Rosa

Set pasta water to heat to a boil. Meanwhile,

Saute
1 onion, chopped
8-10 oz raw chicken, chopped into bite-size pieces
in a little olive oil
until onion begins to soften
and chicken is only slightly pink.

Add 4 small zucchini, chopped (about 16-20 oz)
Saute 3-5 minutes longer.

Add 1 lb of frozen chopped spinach.
Saute a couple of minutes longer.

Add
15 oz jar of garlic alfredo sauce
26 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
1 pint of cottage cheese

Water should be boiling now.
Add 1 tsp of salt and
1 tsp of red pepper flakes to water.
Boil 2# of penne noodles.

Serve sauce over drained noodles.
Try not to hurt each other as you're fighting over who gets the leftovers.

Cost was about $11-12. Served 6 of us with leftovers, so it's probably 10-12 normal servings. It doesn't look real pretty but it tastes awesome.

Freddy on Tape

We started reading another Freddy book recently. (Reading aloud good children's literature is one of my best defenses against depression. When the kids are all grown up, I think I'm going to have to volunteer in the schools, just so I can find somebody to read to!) Maggie wanted more Freddy than my feeble voice can provide, so she got an audio book and is eating it up.

It just crossed my mind. One of the manifestations of her vcfs is central auditory processing problems. She doesn't quite hear correctly. It's almost like she hears things backwards sometimes, and gets very easily confused with words like they're puzzle pieces strewn around. In fact, listening to books read aloud, or interpreting oral instructions, is supposed to be rather difficult for vcfs kids. And yet, Maggie LOVES listening to audio books over and over and over. She's going to completely wear out some Harry Potter audio books. In spite of the CAPD, she loves listening to the books. It's certainly easier for her than reading them to herself (something that she can do but doesn't enjoy very much, but which the "experts" said she'd never do).

The airwaves in this house are near-constantly filled with the sounds of Jim Dale reading about Harry and Ron and Hermione, or the sounds of Stockard Channing reading about Ramona and Beezus. It's nice to branch out to another series (although the reader of Freddy is not phenomenal as are the two previously mentioned readers). But for the mother of a vcfs kid, there's something to be pondered here about what's being learned from all this repetition of audio books, and what it might be a sign of.

Oh, by the way, if you have kids and you haven't discovered Walter Brooks's Freddy books, you need to find out about them. I'd never heard of them until Katie spent the summer at the Scotts' home, and they informed us of a Not-To-Be-Missed series. Freddy is definitely some of the best children's fiction available!

No Stress

Andrew and I briefly tooled around the neighborhood -- not taking out any mailboxes -- yesterday afternoon. Today while the clothes were at the laundromat, we went in circles around the quiet neighborhood near church, in a downpour no less. I did the driving on the busy roads between home and the laundromat and church. But as we approached home with our baskets of clean clothes, I realized that I was not stressed. Not at all! I'd just spent 20-25 minutes in the car with a brand spankin' new driver, and there was no stress.

Andrew suggested that this is a sad commentary on just how stressful life is for me these days, that teaching driving is SO easy compared to the other four times I've done it.

I prefer to think that this is a happy commentary on what a good driver Andrew is. (No offense, R, Ph, K, P. It's just that he's got a different environment to do his initial driving in -- at 20 mph instead of 45 like y'all did.)

Too Much Computer

With moving there has been so much need to spend time sitting at the computer, reading. And that seems to draw a person away from Real Life and be kinda sorta depressing (in spite of the fact that I enjoy the computer time). There's setting up online accounts for banking and mortgage. There's finding new stores and directions to them. There's hunting up information for drivers ed and making appointments online for behind-the-wheel. There's all the research and study to learn how to fix the sump-pump discharge (and which fixes to avoid because of freezing temps in winter), and how to fix the pool, and how to fix the fridge and the stove and the water heater and all the other things that have been needing repairs over the last several months. There's researching water softener and water heater possibilities. I probably ought to ban myself from the computer for a few weeks, but then how would I get the information to do what needs done around here? The big problem is that self control seems to be the best answer to computer time ... and I know how that tends to go.

Polar Bears

Somebody brought a picture to Bible class this morning. Before prayers, it was passed around with the "explanation" that it was a scene deleted from Al Gore's movie. If you want a giggle, it's worth clicking on the link!

And do you remember the picture of the soldiers asking Sen Kerry for "help"? Well, check out a photo of needy polar bears (about 1/3 of the way down the page).

President Bush

Although I am not happy with the level of socialism promised to us at the 2004 Republican Convention (and too much of which has been enacted), there is one very good thing about our President. In the last 6+ years there have been no more terrorist attacks within our borders. And that's something that couldn't have been achieved by his opponent. Will we have the same level of security after November?

Family News

Paul starts a job tomorrow at Noodles & Co.

Andrew got his permit this afternoon and is ready to try driving around the block.

Scary

Between using our soil to grow ethanol and drought/war conditions in parts of the world, the price of food is going up. (Oh! You may have noticed that??) Some stores are now beginning to ration rice. Now I'm pondering what the neighbors would think if I grew wheat instead of grass. And would I know how to harvest and thresh it if I did?

Ethanol to prevent global warming -- when we're having news reports of an impending ice age. (Good grief! If that's true, we're just making things WORSE with the whole "fight global warming" trend!) Ethanol running up the cost of groceries here and causing starvation in poorer nations. WHY is it so hard for politicians to stand up for what's right and let the oil companies start drilling for all that oil in Alaska and North Dakota and the Gulf??

What Is a Cow?

Andrew reported on his drivers ed class: the kids are supposed to remind their instructor, when they first go out driving, that he is supposed to show them a cow.

You see, people need to know what cattle are, so that they can recognize a cattle crossing. One of the students in the class reminded Mr Fischer that, uhhhh...., they live in Wisconsin [hello!!!] and they know what cows look like [duh!!!]. Mr Fischer agreed, but said that the government does not recognize that the kids know what a cow looks like, and it is incumbent upon him to teach them. So he will comply with the government's rule. But there are important things to teach a kid in drivers ed: braking, turning, driving defensively, checking your mirrors, etc. With all those silly distractions, the teacher isn't sure he can remember to point out cows. So he told the kids to be sure to remind him. Wouldn't want to neglect government regulations, now, would we?

I think the ideal response from the kids would be to get out in the country (after their first lesson or two of driving around and around and around a city block) and point to a cow and say, "Look, teacher, a camel!" or "Oh, Mr Fischer, there's an elephant!" And then he can TEACH them, "No, dear student with a head full of mush, that is a COW."

Just think. The same government is in charge of the entire public-education system. Makes ya wonder....

Insurance

When we bought the house, we were given the option of buying insurance that would be essentially a home warranty. Because so many things had just been repaired and so many appliances were new, because the house was in such good shape, we figured we'd save several hundred dollars by not getting the insurance.

Bad move.
Lesson learned: No matter how great the house appears to be, ALWAYS get the warranty!

(In February we learned how to fix a stove. In April we have to learn how to fix a refrigerator.)

Nine and Ten

I always wondered why the differentiation between the ninth and tenth commandments. Why not just "You shall not covet"? Pastor explained last week that the ninth commandment covers your neighbor's stuff, and the tenth commandments covers the things that can have loyalty. Your neighbor's dog or your neighbor's wife loves your neighbor, but your neighbor's car does not love him. Once he explained it, it seemed like such an obvious distinction.

Fashion and Modesty

Okay, I'm standin' in the check-out line at the grocery store a few minutes ago. You know what's on the covers of those magazines: "bedroom" advice (and I don't mean about matching your curtains to your throw-pillows), and women in low-cut slinky dresses and too much make-up, and aliens impregnating earth-women, and everybody's scandal. So my eyes are scanning the covers, and [shock of shocks!] I see a pretty dress. I need a winter dress and haven't been able to find anything; for two years I've been trying to convince myself to find time to sew a nice warm long-sleeved pretty winter dress. And there, smack-dab on the cover of a magazine in the check-out line (!) was a picture of a pretty dress. My eyes scanned further: it was People magazine. My eyes scanned further: it was about the polygamist cult in Texas.

Does that say something frumpy about me that I like that dress?
Or does that say something about how far society has slid?

Ahhhhhh! Woodmans!

I guess this is what you call real customer loyalty: I am so happy to have gone grocery shopping today.

I love Woodmans!
I love Woodmans!
I love Woodmans!

(Laura, it was only 12 minutes from when I waved at Mt Zion as I drove past until I took the keys out of the ignition in the parking lot of Woodmans.)

Does this show how much a creature of habit I am? Or how unsettling moving is to me? Or is everybody like this? It just felt so soothing and comforting to be in a place where I knew where the food was and didn't have to hunt the aisles, where I recognized the little signs on the check-out screen, where I didn't have to stand and read labels and figure prices because I knew which brand and which size was the good deal. And I even saw familiar faces, with some of the folks from the Janesville store over here helping with the opening of the Oak Creek store. Oh! And the prices! At the moment, I no longer have this dread that we'll be lucky to see meat once a week for the next few years ... because I have a Woodmans to shop at! Not close, but do-able. And the bananas are 37 cents instead of 57. And the sausage is 89 cents instead of $2.59. And the mangoes are 50 cents instead of being a humongo "sale" item for "only" a dollar.

And joy of joys, they want to open a store in Menomonee Falls. Of course, that's in the distant future since they haven't found a suitable location yet, and they usually open stores at the rate of one every 30 months. But still, I've been asking at the main office about Waukesha or Pewaukee or the Falls, and I saw today on a news release that those cities are high on the priority list. Yeeehaw!

Rachel and Laura -- go down 94 past the airport. East on Rawson, aka County BB. Right/south at the light for Howell. Go a little bit past the light at Drexel, and it's on your right. South-side door is the 24-hour entrance.

This morning's grocery shopping was a little oasis of the familiar in a sea of newness, and it's wonnnnderful.

Today's Voters Meeting

The congregation agreed to give Gary a peaceful release from his call as pastor. Next Sunday is his last Sunday there. They will pay him for May because he has not taken his 2007 or 2008 vacation time. They agreed to swap us our stove for their fridge -- because we can't use a propane stove here, and they could use a spare, and we need more fridge space at the new house. So that was nice.

Gary said there were three woman at church who expressed their sorrow to be losing him.

The circuit counselor used to be pastor at Triune. So when the parsonage problems (particularly the serious flooding of the last few weeks) were raised at the voters meeting today, the circuit counselor could verify that there were mold and mildew problems and flooding in the basement way back when he was their pastor 25 years ago. In other words, it's not our family's fault that there are serious flaws in the parsonage. I'm glad the CC knew what it was like to live there and could thus deflect accusations of our "mistreating" the house.

We were told they do not have the money to pay April and May's salary as well as the last nine months of mileage reimbursement right now. They may have to pick away slowly at paying those obligations to us. I'm dumbfounded. Between Gary's pay-cuts and their not being responsible for health insurance premiums any more, they spent $5800 less for Jan-Apr this year than they spent last year. And yet they still don't have the money to pay 2007's mileage reimbursement. Where would the congregation be financially if they were still trying to support a full-time pastor???

Pool Decision

It's going to have to go. The costs is just too high for us to get it up and running after the harsh winter. There is a lot of work ahead of us, removing and moving fencing, dismantling and disposing of the pool, doing something with the landscaping to fill in the hole, and changing the deck. Sorry to those of you who were looking forward to bringing the kids to play in the water!