Jeff, the Dysfunctional Fry-Cook

Last week I chose to use just six  of Wednesday's Words and used them to write a little story. This week I double-dared myself to use all 12 words and write a poem instead. This week's words are: normally, dysfunctional, mullioned, hurricane, fry-cook, viewing, whimper, projector, chef, knucklebone, bungalow, and unexposed.  Thank you, River, for providing such a menu of delectable words once again.



There once was a dysfunctional fry-cook named Jeff
Who normally dreamt of becoming a chef.
But he lacked basic knife skills and knew not how to fillet,
Nor could he stomach the smell of Old Bay.

Jeff remained unexposed to pan-seared salmon;
But he could make soup to ward off his famine.
(He had heard of bouillabaisse while viewing a cooking show,
but how it differed from bouillon at its best, he did not know.)

He thought if one salty cube would add great flavor
To the beef barley stew he was eager to savor,
Then surely five cubes from a mullioned cabinet would be better!
(Perhaps be just the meal he'd fix for "the one" if he met her?)

To the stewpot Jeff added a fatty knucklebone of cow
Then dumped a can of tomatoes in by the sweat of his brow.
He stirred the soup. Tasted it. Then let out a faint whimper.
(Because, unlike Chef Ramsey, Jeff had no hurricane temper.)

"Good thing there's Domino's," he said out loud to himself.
"I think I'll order pizza,  and invite friends to play Quelf
Or watch reruns of "Chopped" on the 50-inch projector
Because it's way easier than going to a stupid food lecture."

Jeff and his buddies gathered 'round the coffee table
In his battered blue bungalow to watch mindless cable.
The  dysfunctional fry-cook tipped the delivery guy just one buck,
Apologizing, like always, for being simply "down on his luck."

Take a Trip on the Hodgepodge Rail

It's Wednesday and that can only mean one thing.  Well, okay, maybe not the ONLY thing, but it's on my Wednesday mind. (Do you have a mind for every day of the week, too? My Wednesday mind has a Hodgepodge on it.) Thanks, Joyce, for jotting down a broad mix of questions that have sort of "corraled" us Hodgepodgers for "two hunnert and some odd" weeks, as they say around here.

1.  I recently read here about four secrets to happiness from around the world. They were-

Overcome your fears by facing them head on, allow yourself to relax and reset, work to live versus living to work, and find the good in life. Not sure if these are the actual secret to happiness, but which of the four do you struggle with most? Which one comes most easily to you?

I struggle most with my fears.  Anxiety is something I didn't struggle with or even understand, until about 10 years ago, and it is a kissing cousin to fear, so I have to really remind myself of scripture and God's great power over all things (real and imagined) and dwell on His love which "casts out all fear."   

Once I do that, finding the good in life comes easily!

2. How would you spend a found $20 bill today?

Call me boring, but I'd get a new kitchen gel mat to stand on when doing dishes.  

3. Ego trip, power trip, guilt trip, round trip, trip the light fantastic, or trip over your own two feet...which 'trip' have you experienced or dealt with most recently? Explain.

Ego trip, just a couple hours ago.  We had our friendly Comcast rep stop by again for a problem with our installation, and while she was standing in my foyer, she noticed a painting I had done a few years ago. It was my first "big" acrylic sample for a class I was teaching on painting cylinders and spheres. The rep loved the colors, the composition and said it would look great in her new place that she wants to do in a modern style .She said, "Seriously, if you were to say you'd sell it, I'd buy it!" 

I laughed. "You've got to be kidding!"   

"No, I'm serious. It reminds me of my mom who is a painter, and she's going through some health issues, but the painting itself is just great!"

"Well, thank you! Sure I'll sell it!"  (I was so flattered.)

"Seriously?  You would?" (I was nodding.)  "Then think about a price and when I come back on the seventh, you let me know what you want for it." 

"How about 25 bucks?"

"Deal!" 

It was so funny because just this week I was wondering if my paintings would ever grab someone's eye enough for them to pay for one. I'm still kind of "high" from her offer to buy it!

4. If you could master any physical skill in the world what would it be, and how would you use that skill?

Walking down a flight of steps without holding onto a railing for fear of falling.  I'm not joking.   (See question and answer 1.)  I would use that skill every day, several times a day ,to get from here to there as needed--much faster and more smoothly.

5. As July draws to a close, let's take inventory of our summer fun. Since the official first day of (North American) summer (June 20th) have you...been swimming? enjoyed an ice cream cone? seen a summer blockbuster? camped? eaten corn on the cob? gardened? deliberately unplugged? watched a ballgame? picked fruit off the vine? taken a road trip? read a book?  Are any of these activities on your must-do-before-summer-ends list?

Yes to swimming, ice cream cone, corn on the cob, gardening (though it's not fun in my inventory), deliberately unplugged, taken a road trip, and read part of a book. 

The ones on the "have not done yet this summer" list can stay there and I wouldn't be disappointed. 

6. The Republican Presidential candidates will debate on August 6th. What's your question?

What will you do to regain America's trust in the power of government against her enemies?

7. What's your most listened to song so far this summer?

I can't think of one. But I  can tell you that we were all ready to be out of country music land by the time vacation ended, though.   What's really creepy is knowing how OLD some of these guys are who are singing about the girl in shorts up to there and and gettin him all hot and bothered till daddy comes looking for him in the Chevy truck with a loaded 22. 

(Maybe I should write a country music parody and call it "Twang Ain't my Thang.")

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

As I write this, my husband's cousin is having emergency surgery for a brain aneurysm. She's in her 40s.  Please pray for her. 

Most Appealing Public Restroom in the South

I do make a habit of using restrooms, but not blogging about them. Especially not public restrooms.

This one in Kentucky, however, had blog fodder written all over it from the moment I walked in.  (Bloggers understand that anything can be material.)

We were at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky, a stop that my hubby really wanted on the itinerary. It's a  bourbon whiskey distillery, and while I'm not a bourbon drinker (and can only take it in "trace" amounts in desserts) we humored the hubs and went along. Not that we had a lot of choice; he was literally in the driver's seat.

I didn't take pictures of the distillery because :
a) I didn't feel like lugging my big camera around
b) you can find them online
c) I didn't have much battery power left on my cell phone

But I had just enough to shoot pictures of the most appealing, exceptionally clean public restroom in the South.  I daresay the most delightfully memorable restroom ever.

Did I just say that on the worldwide web? (I need a life.)

•  Beautiful wood doors with barn door latches
•  Earthy granite that reminds me of my own new kitchen granite
•  A whiskey barrel trash can
•  tile floors  in warm, pleasing tones
•  And a cheery yellow arrangement of roses and sunflowers 

When I finally emerged from the pretty bathroom, my son exclaimed, "It's about time! What were you doing in there, taking pictures?"

I chuckled and showed him my phone.

"Really, Mom? Really?"

We went on the tour led by a charming older guy named Jimmy. What were my take-aways from the distillery tour?

a. Limestone and the extremes in temperatures make for ideal natural element for brewing bourbon.
b. Bourbon is only an American concoction.
c. Buffalo Trace Distillery only uses oak barrels, and never uses one twice for distilling. "It's like using a teabag twice,"  Jimmy told us. "Not bad, but not the best flavor the second time around."
d. "Trace" is the old West word for "trail." Many bison resided here in the lush green grass, providing food, hides, and horns for tools made by the native tribes.
e.  Whiskey makes for some good medicine. During Prohibition, the only whiskey allowed by law had to be prescribed by doctors.   Wouldn't you know, people discovered quite a few things that ailed them during that time.  Some 20,000 prescriptions were filled.
f. At the tasting after the tour, I found a delicious beverage: bourbon cream. Great with root beer!
g.  "Kentucky" comes from several variations including the Iriquois word "Kah-ten-tah-teh,"meaning "Fair Land of Tomorrow" and the Cherokee  that sounds like "Keen-tock-AY"  and means "Place of Meadows." 
h.  That bathroom! People, I'm telling you, it was picturesque!

So next time you're blazing a trace through Daniel Boone territory (or following one already blazed), and find yourself wanting bourbon and a bathroom, you must check out Buffalo Trace Distillery.

You even have my permission to skip the tour. Just use the ladies' room (hubby said the mens' room was cool, too, but he wasn't about to stand there and take pictures). And grab some bourbon cream on your way out.

The Castle and the Sandbox (Wednesday's Words on Thursday)

Another "Once Upon a Time" story, inspired by Wednesday's Words, thanks to River over at Drifting Through Life.  

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

Once upon a time there lived twin princesses.  Hilda lived with the king and queen,  without a single pet, inside an opulent castle.  Their grand abode was surrounded by lush, green gardens and sandboxes filled with kitty doo-doo. 

Hilda's twin sister Helga lived with five calico kitties in a sandbox at the edge of the east garden. Hilda and Helga played together every day in a courtyard between the castle gate and Helga's hideous, stinky sandbox.

One fine morning, Helga said to her twin sister, 

"The castle is so beautiful, Hilda,  but I daresay the aroma of antiseptic spray is one to which I could never become accustomed."

"Nonsense!" replied Hilda. "Anyone who enjoys feeling clean could become accustomed to the aroma of antiseptic spray. It's rather like perfume to me now, darling sister."

"Like perfume?  Good mercy!  Would you suspect that any boy would want to get near you if you smelled

like antiseptic spray?  I hardly think so."

"Try it," said Hilda. "It's worth a gamble."

Go Fourth and Sparkle

This year we got to be in Ohio visiting family for the Fourth of July.  Brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nieces, nephew, great-nieces and great-nephews, in-laws by extension.  I wish we had gotten a big group shot but I didn't think about it. (Not that it wouldn't have been a Herculean task to round up 24 people  into one spot at the same time anyway.)

What's the 4th of July if not great summertime eats?  Yummy hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad,  corn on the cob, baked beans, and even birthday cake to celebrate another year for a (very quiet) firecracker.

My brother-in-law's house in an ideal location for the 4th festivities: it's on a cul-de-sac that's perfect for kids to play in, ride bikes, twirl sparklers, and watch fireworks being shot off in the distance.  No driving, no crowds, no worries about where to find a bathroom. (You think about these things when you've lived through almost 50 "fourths." )

The youngest sparkler (and ever so serious)

 A warm, blurry glow from the sparkler

Don't let the sparkler fall on your bare toes!

A quintet of sparklers 

A sparkling birthday girl

 Notice the hand holding the boy's hand while he holds a sparkler. Unfortunately, 

after the sparkler was done, my great-nephew thought it might taste

like a lollipop.  Poor little fella burned his mouth!  (He's okay, though!)

That's right...hold the sparkler down so you don't get burned...

When will all the noise be over? Firecrackers and sparklers aren't my thing.

The dutiful dads getting worn out from keeping watch on the sparklers

My fourth's face sparkling on the fourth...love it.

I might have sparkled inside watching the oldest girl cousin with the youngest boy cousin.

Mr. Clean's wife? Sparkling teeth!

Watching the sparkler till its dying ember is finally gone.

Playing with kiddoes always makes my girl sparkle.

A mother-daughter moment amidst the sparklers

 My hot flame has made me sparkle a time or two in 28 years.

We all ended the evening by watching the comedian Tim Hawkins' video 

called "That is the Worst."  Oh, my word. That man makes me laugh till 

I wheeze. You've got to watch him! A great way to end a very sparkly 

Fourth.

                                                 

Heavy Air and Airheads in the Hodgepodge

Although the questions are light this week, I know that our hostess, Joyce, has a heavy heart. Her beloved old dog, a faithful Gordon setter, died suddenly on Monday.  I'm so sad for her and her family. The loss of a sweet pet is always very hard,  especially in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, life changes and upheaval.  Sometimes I wonder if maybe our animals can't bear to see our pain, or maybe when their world is so rocked by seeing their humans go away (by moving away, being hospitalized, going off to college), they say their goodbyes, too.   I don't know. But I've witnessed it personally many times. 

Anyway, that was a heavy start to the light Hodgepodge today, but pain has to be acknowledged and grief has to run its course. It runs more smoothly when pals are there to hold your hand and lend a shoulder to cry on, even if the hand and shoulder are only figurative. 

1. Is your home air conditioned? If it's not air conditioned, is that by choice? Did you grow up with air conditioning? If not how did you cope with the heat? Share about a time or place you remember as being too hot-the temperature kind of hot, lest anyone be confused.

Our house is absolutely air-conditioned! The heat and humidity of a typical Maryland summer day are unbearable for this spoiled chick.  

No, I did not grow up with AC.  We had fans, and I remember how my sisters and I would scrunch up together (not touching, of course--too sweaty!) in front of the box fan on the floor and say "ahhhh" into the motor and listen to the wonky vibration. Hey, it's what you did when it was too hot to do anything else!  

The last place that was too hot was actually this past Sunday outside, from the car to the church building. The air was so hot and muggy that it made talking difficult .  Yes, for me!  Whaddya ya know? 

2. What's something in your life right now that falls under the heading 'up in the air'?

A job situation. I've applied online for private tutoring jobs, as I like to set my own schedule and rate. I already have one with a little girl who will be in kindergarten. I'm so happy to report that after a year of c0-teaching her with my daughter (I'd go Friday and Sarah would go Saturday), the little girl was awarded Best Reader in the Head Start Program in her school! That makes my heart sing and worth all the effort!

3. Your favorite light and airy dessert?

Strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream on top.

4. When did you last feel like you were 'floating on air'?

I really can't remember.  

5. Airport, airmail, airtight, airhead...which have you most recently encountered? Explain.

Airheads! Hands down.  Lawyers, contractors, salespeople, drivers; I wonder if I attract them or what???

6.  Have you ever been to the Alps? If so where did you go? If not, is this a destination on your must-see list? If you were headed that direction this summer, which of the following would be your preferred activity...a gentle walk, a serious walk, a bike ride, a boat ride around one of the lakes, or summer snow skiing?

Never been to the Alps. I'd like to, certainly. If I were headed there now, I'd prefer to boat around a lake. That's always on my must-do list for enjoyment. 

7. What is one saying or phrase that was considered 'cool' when you were growing up?

"Respectable" was a term I remember from when I was about 16.  At the ocean there were respectable waves. Guys had respectable cars.  Friday paychecks put respectable cash into your weekend fun.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

My dear friend and neighbor, Bonnie, had to put their own 14- year -old dog, Buck, to sleep while we were away.  He'd been having digestive issues for a year, but since May, he had witnessed a lot of change in the home life he was used to: Bonnie's son got married in May and moved away, her older daughter is preparing to go away to college, which makes the parents grieve in their own way. I think Buck internalized it. An old man, a precious chocolate lab, Buck hung on as long as he could, and everyone got to be there with him when he breathed his last. 

My heart goes out to Joyce and Bonnie as the summer of 2015 will always be remembered with choked-back tears. 

Let the Vacation Begin!

We had the great pleasure of having our grown daughter along with us for this vacation. She is a full-time nanny, does part-time cleaning, tutoring, and dog-sitting, is active in her church's children and youth ministries, and yet she arranged her busy schedule to take 10 days away with us.

She'll be moving to Florida in August for at least six months. I'm soaking up all the time I can get.

This year we decided what was important was seeing family and seeing a few places we'd not been. We each had our priorities:

• for Paul, the NAAM festival for musicians in Nashville, seeing his brother, and touring the Buffalo Trace Distillery.  
• For me,  sister time in her log cabin dream home,  seeing the Smoky Mountains, and getting some boating time on a lake. 
• For Sarah, getting some sleep, seeing family,  and meeting Dave Ramsey, the finance guru who has had a tremendous influence on her, so much so that she can move to Florida with no debts and enough money in the bank that she could live for six months without a job.   
• For Joel, he only wanted water time--a pool and a lake. (We aren't ocean swimmers, especially after all the recent shark attacks on the East Coast.) And free Wi-Fi. Being disconnected is not his idea of fun.

A mere four hours into the trip, she started getting one thing accomplished 
from her wish list.   

The sight of sleeping children in the backseat never gets old.  Particularly not 
when it has been preceded by childish bickering over what constitutes 
"good music."

  

   To be continued...

Root Canal and Alien Teenagers (Wednesday's Words)

River posted two lists of six words  each to choose from for Wednesday.  I chose the first list and decided to try my hand again at creative writing with the prompt.  The words are:  satellite, bananas, unannounced, cherry, backtracked,  included.

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

Once upon a time, a baby cherry fell from the treetop, cradle and all, when the bough broke. Of course she was surrounded by other baby cherries who had fallen with her.  

Her Mommy and Daddy cherry had been eaten by two alien teenage boys the week before when they arrived by satellite unannounced. The boys had been given a list of must-eats and must-not eats upon arrival, much like Adam and Eve were told in the Garden to which they came as aliens.  (Methinks Adam and Eve were created as teenagers, but such fact is omitted from the Bible and unverifiable.)  

Anyway, to backtrack to the baby cherries and the teenage aliens...

The teenagers had been told by their alien parents to eat bananas upon arrival on earth, but as teenagers, whether alien or earthly, they didn't wait for the details, nor did they care. Food is food, and devouring it in mass quantities is all they care about. The teens didn't realize that cherries aren't soft throughout; they have pits included. 

Crunch! Crack! Yowsa! 

The boys broke all their mushy alien teeth in the feast. 

Serves them right. 

They swallowed not only pits but also their pride, and dug a canal into the roots of the cherry tree to backtrack home to their parents.  
  
And that is how we got the term "root canal."   



                                                                    

"On my Way"

Perhaps no other phrase is less definable than this: "on my way."

What exactly does a person mean when he or she says, "I'm on my way, "  or "he's on his way"?

What do YOU mean when you say it?

1. Gotta finish this sandwich and TV show, then I'll get in the car.
2. Done eating,  thinking about leaving, but I'm brushing my teeth.
3. I'm in the car, but I have five stops before I get there in two hours.
4. I'm sitting in the driveway, engine on, texting you. I'm coming straight there from here, so it'll take x number of minutes, barring traffic.
5. One more left turn, and I'm there.

When it comes to communication, I'm a junkie, and I'm a stickler for quick, accurate responses. Mean what you say, and say what you mean. (Growing up, we preambled everything and we were a house full of girls raised by midwestern parents who didn't always say things "straight out." A strong vocabulary and good grammar don't always equal good communication. But I digress.)

So, Tuesday, we settled on a house. On Monday,  there was trouble with the air conditioning. Although brand new, installed by the bank who owned it, it was on a cool setting blowing HOT air.
Our realtor, Cindy,  made calls and arranged for the bank's contractor to come fix it. When my husband went there  Monday after work to check to see if the repairman had been there,  clearly the answer was "no"; it was at least 120 degrees inside. (The thermostat only goes up to 99, which is where it was.)  Hubby opened all the windows, waited 45 minutes, and then had to leave.  The temperature inside was then 93 degrees--and had to close the windows because storms were brewing.)

Next day, we're set for closing, but at the walk-through at 12:15, still hot air was blowing. (Which really is a great metaphor for all we've received in the way of promises from the seller, but that's a story for another day.)  Cindy said we would put in a clause for a $500 withholding until it was fixed, and written assurance that it would be fixed that very day.

At the settlement table, Cindy hears from the listing agent. I'll call him Bob.  "The technician is on his way," says Bob.   Cindy writes on a Post-it note the contractor's name ("Randy Nicely") and number so I could call directly if I needed to."

Bob said Randy is on his way. Cindy says he should be there when we get there, if not before.

That sounds like assurance to me. "On his way" --to my mind--means he is driving to the property as the message is being delivered.  We have a few more papers to sign, a few hands to shake, a few people to thank, and then we're out of the lawyer's office and on OUR way. It's 2:30.

But again, that's only in my mind.  I am realizing my mind and others' don't work alike.

So we get to the house. Temperature: 98 inside. We have a fan. We use it, windows wide open. We're sweating, sweeping floors, sweating, repairing a hole in the basement ceiling, sweating, and texting,"he's not here yet, it's 2:48."  Sweating and scrubbing kitchen cabinets.

I call Randy Nicely.  "Hi, is this Randy Nicely?'
"Yeah, this is him."
"Hi, Randy, this is Zoanna...new owner at XYZ Court. We were told someone would be here to fix the AC when we arrived, or before, and no one's here, so could you please tell me when you will be here?"

He immediately was not Mr. Nicely.   He took a tone with me. You don't want to do that when you're really late, you've broken promises, I'm hot as a rotisserie chicken on an open spit, and you're giving me excuses.

"Ma'am, he'll be there."

"Who's he?  I thought you were the one coming."

"No, it's another guy. He's on another job. He'll get there when he--" (He stopped short of saying "he'll get there when he gets there.")  My pulse races.

"Well, he--or someone from your company was supposed to be here yesterday. We're burning up."

Then he said, "What do you want me to do about it? I can't get blood from a turnip!"


Uh-oh, buddy, you crossed the line.  I'm on my way.  On my way to spewing and losing my Christianity,  but instead I just clench my jaw and say, "Well, all I know is what I was told by the listing agent two hours ago ,that it would be fixed, so that's what's we're waiting for. Goodbye!"

Turns out, the listing agent's assistant needs a lesson in communication. The assistant, I'll call Skip (because he skipped several words that would help clarify his meaning and avoid conflict all around), had told Bob "he's on his way." But the REAL message, which Randy NotVeryNicely had given Skip was, "He's on another job and then he'll be on his way there."

Well, hello!!! There's a big difference between "on my way" and "after doing another job, he'll be on his way."  GRRRRRRR.

Anyway, the guy and his son (a teenager who looks just like him) came out in 40 minutes and had the wires fixed  in 15. Both house and owners began cooling down at that point.

So, remember, class, the next time you hear or say the phrase "on my way," make sure you understand what is meant by those three simple words.

Dyeing to be Grey is Dumb in the Hodgepodge

I missed the Hodgepodge last week because I was on a lovely vacation in the Smoky Mountains. We headed west to the south of Ohio and northern Kentucky and eastern Tennessee. That pretty much en-"compasses" our travel stops. I'll be blogging about that soon, or when life settles down a bit, whichever comes first.

1.July 15th is National Give Something Away Day.  What can you give away? Will you?

I can give away some items headed for the charity thrift store nearby, but will I? No, not on July 15th I won't. My day is too crowded.  We bought a house today, July 14th, as our first rental property (and maybe our last, depending on how it goes!) so my to-do list does NOT including itemizing give-aways.  I'll be giving away my time by waiting for the plumber and washer/dryer delivery truck. Does giving away time count? 

2. Do you have a mantra? Please share with the class if you feel comfortable doing so.

"Better do it now while I'm thinking about it."    

3. Who does the grocery shopping in your house? How many times a week do you shop? Do you make a list or pray for inspiration in the produce aisle?

My husband and I share the duty. He doesn't mind; I abhor, loathe, hate, despise, deplore the job.  I really do. All the planning, finding, comparing, loading onto the belt, paying, loading into the cart, pushing to the car, loading the car, driving home, unloading the car, loading the shelves and drawers, dealing with those ubiquitous plastic bags.  I've said if I ever become independently wealthy, I will hire someone to do all my grocery shopping, from meal planning to stocking my kitchen. Heck, if I were independently wealthy, I'd hire a chef to go ahead and whoop up a delicious home-cooked meal every night that I wanted.   Wait, you didn't really ask for all reasons why I hate grocery shopping, did you?  I make a list because I see it as a mission: get in, get out.  I also pray for inspiration because I'm burnt out from 30 years of doing this.

4. Is there a TV show you're embarrassed to say you watch? You're going to tell us what it is, right?

Modern Family.  I think it's hysterical, the best writing out there in sitcom land, the best acting, and such chemistry between the cast members. 

5. A recent article listed fifteen words we should eliminate from our (written) vocabulary in order to sound smarter-

that, went, honestly, absolutely, very, really, amazing, always, never, literally, just, maybe, stuff, things, and irregardless

 Of the fifteen, which word is your most overused?  It just might be just!

6. So apparently dyeing your hair gray (in your youth!) is a thing right now. It's called 'The Granny Hair' trend. Your thoughts? 

I think it's dumb. Come on, young'uns, save the grey for when you've earned it like the rest of us! For us it is a crown of wisdom; for you, it is a waste of money. Enjoy your beautiful blonde, brunette, red, black, whatever-color-of-the-month suits you, but please save that last remnant of grey for when you've matured into it.  

And (just) for the record, my hairdresser told me last month that she loves how I have a natural "ombre' in back. It's brunette on top fading to grey at the bottom . She says people pay good money for that and I get it for free. (Not that I want it, but I will be 50 next month, and my word of the year is "embrace," so I'll be embracing my free natural ombre along with my new natural age.

7. A while back Buzz Feed asked members to share the most beautiful sentence they've read in a piece of literature. A hard thing to narrow down, at least for me, but let's try. What's one of the most beautiful sentences you've ever read in a piece of literature?

Whew! That's tough.  How about two? One is from the Bible (Lamentations) "His mercies are new every morning."   ( I need new mercies every morning, and look forward to them! Such hope and if I've screwed up this 24 hours, or it has screwed ME up, there's always tomorrow to start afresh. )

  And the other line I like is from Shakespeare's Sonnet 116:

 "Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds..."

(I believe that love is only true when it doesn't go looking for a new and better model when the feelings wither and wane. Love is not a feeling, it's a commitment. Great when the heart flutters with the feelings, but if it doesn't, love remains faithful, steadfast, sacrificing.)
8. Insert your own random thought here.

We finally closed on our new house today. I should clarify we are not moving; this is a rental property and our first experience. What an uphill climb it's been to this point, but God has given us new mercies every morning to deal with lawyers (the sellers' lawyers, not ours) who got their degrees from the bottom of a cereal box. Just sayin.'  Today was settlement, followed by cleaning, changing locks, doing small repairs, and making a grand master list of stuff we need from Home Depot.  I'd rather go to Home Depot ANY day than step foot in the grocery store.  Maybe they should start selling food....