Hodgepodge 126: Bike, Blech!, and Blessings

Short and to-the point will be my answers. No need to thank me; just send flowers.  Thanks, Joyce, for hosting this little meme, now in its 126th week ! 

1. It's National Bike Week...do you own a bicycle? When did you last ride a bike? 

No, I don't.  Last time I rode a bike was in the 1900's.


2. What's something you learned in school that wasn't part of the curriculum?

That boys don't always believe a girl's "no" means "no," even if they're just 8 years old.

3. What's a food you've never tried, but want to try? What's a food you've tried and will never try again?

I've never tried Beef Wellington, but want to try it.  A food I'll never try again would be oysters.  Tried them twice and hated them both times.  Really tasted like snot. Blech!

4. Have you been more demanding on yourself lately or less? Why? Do you think that's a good trend?

More demanding. I've set more daily goals down in writing for myself,  in terms of the mundane and the creative arenas of my life. Yes, I'd say it's a good trend; I've accomplished more cleaning, organizing, and decorating than I probably would have otherwise.

5. Who is your favorite book, movie, or TV show villain? 

Scar from The Lion King. I love his voice!

6. How concerned are you about identity theft? 

On a scale of 1-10? About a 7.

7. I saw this last question on Dawn's blog a couple of week's ago and asked if I could share. Everybody hop over and say hi, but first answer this...would you rather have an ordinary home in an extraordinary place or an extraordinary home in an ordinary place? 

Oh, I'd much rather have an ordinary home in an extraordinary place.  Location, location, location!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Testimony time:  Today in Bible study, one of the women asked prayer for a woman who is new in town (from Texas),  hasn't made any friends,  and is feeling overwhelmed by that and other things in life. Another woman asked, "Could we make meals for her or something?"  Another woman said, "You're not going to believe this, but I have a meal in the car that I made last night because the Lord told me to.  I wasn't sure who it was for--maybe Kim [our Bible study leader] but I went ahead and made it anyway. I'm certain now it's for this lady you're talking about!" 

Kim asked, "What did you make? Just curious."

Maria:  Tex-Mex Enchiladas!

Nescio

One art assignment for the ninth grade was to write a short explanation of the paper sculpture he or she created.  I found this one exceptionally well written, and downright funny with all of its dramatic, high school  vocabulary.  Before reading it, imagine trying to get about 100 tightly rolled pieces of paper to stick to a 12x18 sheet of construction paper. 

NESCIO

 This sculpture is a collection of tightly rolled strips of magazine pages arranged in a radial pattern to form a circle.  My original intent was to arrange the rolls at different lengths so that, instead of a circle, they formed a heart.

But the laws of physics, the bane of artistic freedom, intervened, leaving my envisioned artwork in tatters.  Even the title I had devised, because it had pertained to the heart, was ruined. 

So I was stuck with the exasperating task of finding a new title.  After a few days of fruitless thinking, inspiration struck. “Nescio,” a Latin word, translates to “I don’t know,” which seemed sufficient to describe my predicament.

This sculpture stands as proof that Latin class may actually be helpful in life.  

Daybook, May Edition: 5.20.13 or 5/2013

I decided I wanted to link up with...

The Simple Woman's Daybook  today.   It's a creative meme to help us capture the bits and pieces of our lives--pieces  large and small, practical and heartfelt, settled or confusing, ordinary or extraordinary.  If you're stuck in a rut or just want to convey what's going on in your here-and-now, please consider writing a Daybook of your own. Be sure to leave a comment and then link up in the neighborly  way by saying hi  to another daybooker or two.  

Because I like numbers so much, and words so much more, I will use today's date, 5/20/13, and structure my answers to have 5, 20, or 13 words each. Let's see if I can pull this off. 



FOR TODAY

Outside my window... a lawnmower hums, a robin sings, and the sun is graces us Marylanders with 79 degrees. Love this May weather!

I am thinking... "God, please give me strength."

I am thankful... for  my beautiful, godly daughter. 

In the kitchen... the floor shines and smells of Mop & Glo,  Chicken wings await seasonings: Old Bay, teriyaki, and BBQ.  Sound good?

I am wearing... rust top, black pants, glasses.

I am creating... tab top curtains using yellow tweed with a plaid pattern which makes cutting and sewing

a breeze with built-in lines.. 

I am going...to Joann Fabrics tomorrow with a friend who has generously offered to make my mother-of-the-groom dress--free! 

I am wondering... if you can spy what's creepy here? I nearly dialed 911 over this. 

I am reading... Child of the Holocaust.   Still. 

I am hoping... to  finish making the ringbearer pillow by tomorrow evening,  and present it to my  almost-daughter upon completion of finals. 

I am looking forward to... blogging the big reveal of my guest/craft room that I've been working on since my daughter vacated the premises.

I am learning... that pocket rod curtains are much less time-consuming to make, but lack the fun factor of tab-top ones.

Around the house...are dirty tennis balls, thanks to a certain Golden who refuses to carry them to the  basket in the garage.

I am pondering...how time goes faster when blogging than when doing laundry. Or dishes. Or ...

A favorite quote for today...

"Do you pray for strippers to get saved? ? Drug addicts?  Muslims?"
  --Pastor Crawford, Freedom Church Baltimore

One of my favorite things...  WAS our  convertible, sold Saturday. Loved to ride in it on days like this. But like me...leakage issues. :(

'

A few plans for the rest of the week: 

Prep for school art show, attend our 11-year-old's music performance, help our  soon-married son move out.  Cry,

A peek into my day...

After school, I was craving this. But my favorite local dairy  is closed Mondays.  Call it God's grace, not self-control !

Seaside Escape, Part 6: From Doubt to Trust, and a New Name

This part of the retreat was, by far, the most meaningful to me.  After taking this rock and throwing it into the depths of the bay, it was time to walk along the shoreline "thanking and praising God as you rest in His presence."  

Thank you, God, for the courage and grace to cast my fears on You.  I know I can trust you with 

my future. 

Thank you for taking my view of a little rock that I held with fear of the future,

and showing me bigger rocks that are each one unique. You colored each one,
textured each one, and shaped each one as only You, the Master Artist, can.
 .

The world is Your canvas and this itty bitty strip of Chesapeake shoreline is a breathtaking

mosaic. 

Thank You for the color blue.

Thank You for this quiet spot, for leading me beside still waters. 

Thank You for the singer who was sitting down on a bench, virtually hidden behind these trees
and outbuildings near the water. Her voice, so sweet, so pure, so clear, lifted my soul heavenward.

As I climb these steps, I am following the prompt in the Prayer Walk booklet. 

I say, "I will trust in You, Lord," emphasizing each word with 

each step. 

I will trust in You, Lord!

I will trust in You, Lord.

I will trust in You, Lord. 

I will trust in You, Lord.

I will trsut in You, Lord. 

The last stop was in the gazebo. Here we were to think about the

meaning of our name. There were baby name books available to

anyone who didn't know theirs. (I knew mine.) 

Then we were to choose any shell and write a NEW name on it

Click to enlarge this one and read the middle paragraph. It's so insightful.

"My beloved" is the name my spirit longs to hear. 

God cherishes me. I need to be reminded of that, 

so I wrote it on my shell.