Recipe for Chocolate Chip Muffins

Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with baking spray or grease and flour. (I used Pillsbury spray last time and the muffin sides were good.)

2 cups self rising flour
1plus teaspoon baking powder (I take no chances)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening (I use Crisco, butter works okay)
1 egg
3/4 - 1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mini Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup pecan pieces

Sift dry ingredient together in bowl. Cut in shortening (fork or pastry cutter). Make a hole and add egg. Beat egg slightly. Add milk gradually while mixing until batter is a thick cake-like batter. Beat well for one minute. Add vanilla, mix well. Add chocolate chips and pecans.

Spoon mixture into muffin tin. I fill cups to the top. Bake 15 minutes or until cookie brown on top. Remove. Let cool slightly. Muffins will overflow tops and you may need to use a knife tip to loosen them slightly.

Eat with butter while they are hot. Rewarm in microwave as needed. Or cut in half (top to bottom) and toast in toaster over for crispy outside.

Makes 12 fat muffins. According to the online recipe calculator, these muffins are 4 points each without the pecans. (I'd add a picture except that I ate them all in two days - not recommended.)

The Lord's Prayer

And, now in the words our Savior taught us, we pray......

Who is present at every meeting....

Let us open by saying....

...Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Different words, same meanings in various places. The first part is what Jesus said in response to the plea: Teach us to pray. The second part was added later.

This is a Hebrew prayer. Jesus was a Jew. Jesus was not a Christian. This is not a Christian prayer. This is a devout prayer of an ancient Jewish man.

Assumptions that everyone who says this prayer is a Christian are usually wrong. It is not a prayer said in temples or synagogues, I would guess. Though some might see it as rather presumptuous, I suspect that David or Solomon, composers of many psalms, might be comfortable with it - they spoke with familiarity about the daily woes and the not-so-daily trials and blessings of ordinary people, using some quite graphic language to do so.

If you are in a meeting, a worship service, a group gathering, or a retreat where this prayer is said, don't bother looking around to see who is Christian by watching who is really saying this prayer. You'd be wrong.

Some may be translating it in their minds to fit the God or Goddess or Higher Power of their understanding. Some may be saying it just because it's expected. Some may be saying it to be part of the fellowship. Some may be just saying words they memorized long ago. (That's why the changes in wording of the prayer in the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer cause such mayhem in gatherings of many generations.)

It is a prayer for the things that we need to sustain daily life - safety, challenge, food (clothing and shelter), and forgiveness. Recognizing what is necessary for our daily life is a basic assumption of this prayer...our daily bread, forgiveness, freedom from temptation and lack of evil.

But, what do I really need for my daily life - what is my daily bread? Brother Dave Gardner said, "Man does not live by bread alone; he must have peanut butter." And, some people don't live by bread alone, they "need" escargot, truffles, steak oscar, and chocolate surprise. But, back to the question: What is my daily bread?

I do need challenge - temptation is great when I can resist it. Baking a dozen chocolate chip muffins and eating them all in two days is not resisting temptation. It's a pound and half on the scales and a horribly terrific sugar high...and a stomach that balks at everything I put in it now. But, they were soooooo good, and I enjoyed every bite...even the ones of hard muffin - I just thought "cookie". I don't regret (at least not much) that episode. But, I do wish the stomach would get back to normal.

And, temptation to sit on my bottom when the treadmill is now ready to go. But, I'd have to move some rolling storage bins to actually plug it in. And, they have stuff stacked on top of them that needs to be put somewhere. And, that somewhere has not made itself apparent to me yet. I have successfully resisted the temptation of exercise. Doing laundry doesn't count as exercise since I have had a washer/dryer for many years now. Neither does loading the dishwasher.

I suspect that exercise is one of the parts of my daily bread. Just like wholesome food in reasonable amounts - with an occasional splurge.

Forgiveness. The more people you see, the more you're liable to need and use that.

Evil. lurks everywhere. That's why a good review of the day before I go to bed is necessary to make tomorrow a better day. I can see behind me much better than I can see before me...don't even need glasses for the hindsight and they don't do much good for foresight...or even now-sight.

Our Father - Jesus said "Daddy". Doesn't fit for me, neither does Mother. But, God - ah, that's the word. Adonai. And, truly holy is the name - all nine million names of God. The goodness in that word, the purposefulness of creation encompass the "kingdom", the realm, the universe of God's dwelling place...and we ask that earth be included in that dwelling place.

When I say this prayer, I don't ask that all people become Christian; I just ask that they have the things they need for life, just as I have the things I need for life. A good argument against that is made in the book Illusions, but I'll take that up later. I don't ask what image or concept others have to fit "Father", I just say the word and translate it into my own soul's creator.

When we meet and say this prayer, I don't care what you believe. I do care that you show reverence for the holiness that I am calling to be present. I do care that you respect the intent of the prayer. And, I do care that you, whoever you are, are present in the fellowship that brings us together.

May God give you today your daily bread.

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Judgmental

Judgmental - doesn't that word have such a negative connotation? And, I am sooo judgmental. Today I was sitting in the Chinese fast food place waiting for a take-out order, and I watched some people walking across the parking lot to the sub place next door. One woman had her mouth open and a vacant stare. She also had a strange hairdo and was grossly obese. I immediately thought that she wasn't very intelligent. I don't know her, never will, but I judged her intelligence on the way she looked.

So, I began thinking about other visible characteristics that connote both good and bad things to me. Frizzy hair on a white woman says "ditzy" to me. Think of Phyllis Diller, if you can remember that far back. Punk dressed kids make me think of drop-outs.

The stereotyping game is alive and well in my head. I deliberately lost my Southern accent (for a while) so that I would be more respected. And, I dyed my hair so that my seminary friends wouldn't think I was old and stupid...just stupid.

And, I saw a bumper sticker with the Confederate flag on it and "Heritage not Hate". Yeah, maybe that's what it means to you. Indeed, the Civil War was fought over states' rights - but mostly it was the right to enslave other people. When I was growing up in the segregated South, the issue with most people was "You can't tell me what to do." Rebellious rednecks that we were. And, I still feel that way to a large extent. "Don't tell me what to do" - that teenage growth spurt that I never resolved.

Some stereotyping is hyper-intuition. Growing up in a home with an alcoholic father, I learned quickly to read signs and looks and sounds in ways that would protect me. I can make some assumptions about the woman in the parking lot. Perhaps her mouth was open because she can't breathe well because she is overweight because she has diabetes or some other disease. And, wild hairdos are not automatically anything unless other signals go along with them.

Nonetheless, all the signs taken together, I'd still say that woman was probably not terribly intelligent. So, how does that affect me now. Well, I certainly wouldn't confront her about much of anything. And, I'd not look her directly in the face. I have some fear of large stupid people. Frankly, I have some fear of large people...even as feisty as I am.

Christians probably ought not to do this kind of stereotyping, but survival instincts create certain images that we avoid. I wouldn't walk at night in some neighborhoods. For that matter, I no longer drive at night in certain neighborhoods. As I get older, I avoid groups of young people - maybe that's because we often made fun of old people when I was young and stupid. Maybe not where they could actively hear us, but they got the message.

I'm not sure what Christians ought to do and ought not to do. Stereotyping can help us identify possible dangers, but we can miss so much and be so wrong. Looking at me in the mirror, I see a very judgmental person, one who uses stereotypes, one who trusts gut feelings and intuition more than "facts". And, I accept that. God forgive me when I'm wrong.

Musing about the farm and its critters

This afternoon as I looked at the webcam of Zhen Zhen, the panda cub in San Diego, and pictures of Flocke, the polar bear cub in Germany, I was reminded of the dreams I had before arriving in New Bern. I dreamed that black bears were all over my yard and came into my house and just wandered around - not bothering anything. I was concerned in the dream but not very frightened. I tried to lock them out, but they just kept appearing. They didn't do anything except appear. The logo for New Bern (which means New Bear) is a black bear like Bern, Switzerland.

Then my cat made a plaintive cry and I remembered sitting on the bank of Coldwater River in Mississippi and watching several bobcat kits playing near a large pile of driftwood where their den was located. Mama Bobcat knew I was there, but I was very still and she didn't bother me. My smell was all over that area since I frequently spent large amounts of time there. Some of that time was on a bluff overlooking the river where I watched for the old gar to turn up - and I saw it a few times - huge and silvery on its belly. I often wondered that it didn't rob my Dad's trot lines.

We had pet cats, some outdoor, one indoor/outdoor, and a large pack of wild stray cats - some very large - began roaming our area. We tried to scare them off in various ways and make them leave the area. Some of our neighbors killed a couple of them as they attacked various farm animals. One of our outdoor cats disappeared. And, another showed signs of a great fight. Then, the cat food on the back porch began disappearing. We were poor and cat food was a luxury item. I worried about our cats. Night after night the dogs growled and the cats fought and the cat food disappeared. It was summertime and the windows were open. So was the back door with the screen closed to keep out the bugs. As we sat eating supper, I saw one of the wild cats come onto the porch and I shooed it off. This happened two more nights. The fourth night, I set my .22 rifle beside my chair at supper. When the wild cat appeared on the porch, I slowly lifted the rifle, aimed and fired through the screen. The cat flew off the porch and Mom would not let me go outside to see. The next morning, the cat was a few feet from the porch, dead.

I have never felt good about killing that cat, but I do understand why soldiers fight - to protect those they love. It's no cliche. And, no options existed in rural Mississippi for a pack of wild animals except death. The farmers and stockmen couldn't risk the threat to their livelihoods. And, youngsters like me didn't want to keep losing their pets. Cruel, yes, but I would do it again - and perhaps less cruel than a gas chamber in a shelter.

We were required to care for our animals, and, when the time came that their lives were over, we were expected to take care of that, too. Quickly, even with tears.

On the brighter side of farm life/country life, I've had the pleasure of petting raccoons, being almost bitten by an opossum, watching deer graze in our yard, seeing the bobcats at their den, being amazed at the size of that old gar in the river, digging for river mussels and finding ones with beautiful irridescent shells.

I've stripped bark from birch trees and written messages on it with sharp sticks. I've eaten fried catfish and hush puppies cooked in a dutch oven over a charcoal bucket at the river. I've walked from the river through the woods to our house at night, alone. I picked dewberries for the most delicious pie I've ever eaten. I've seen foxes slinking along the top of the levee. I've found rabbits under the shed out back, and I've dug in the corn crib for baby mice.

My brother, the hunter (ha, ha) killed a cardinal once. Mom told him that we only killed to provide food and to protect ourselves. So he cooked it over a fire in the back yard. Brave me tried to eat some of it - ugh. We were both sick.

I've been up close and personal with most kinds of snakes and never bitten. I've gathered moss and mushrooms and soft lichen and colorful leaves to take home as centerpieces for the table. I've leaned against a Jersey milk cow named Betsy and told her my troubles (just like Mom did every morning), I've fallen off a horse, I've stolen watermelons. I found my grandfather's and, subsequently, my uncle's still - fascinating mechanism. I lost a shoe in gumbo mud down in the new ground where I shouldn't have been. I've been chased by a bull and I've ridden a big sow whose name was Whitey. She didn't like me much after her babies were born.

I've shelled corn with a hand-turned corn sheller, which is probably in the garage. I've picked up pecans until I thought I was a permanent u-turn. And, I've snapped and shelled and canned every kind of bean and pea that will grow in Mississippi. I've eaten tiny ears of corn right off the stalk.

Ah, some very good memories. And, for these memories I am truly grateful. Amen.

Oh, Dear!

You're no fashion victim because you Stay Super Stylish.

Bright tunics, soft sweater dresses, and tweed vests? Yes, please! From your driveway to the dance floor, you know that the world is one big catwalk. Whether you're dressed uptown or downtown, a style-setter like you knows that being up-to-date on all the latest and greatest looks is always a surefire way to make a big impression. Where you got your amazing style is a mystery, but the natural fabrics and clothes you choose are anything but.

What really sets you apart from the pack is knowing that looking great doesn't have to mean following every ridiculous fad to hit the streets. A savvy fashionista such as yourself can tell the difference between flash-in-the-pan trends and the real thing, which is why you'll never be caught in unflattering cuts, yesterday's looks, or mystery fabrics. Knock 'em dead!

Somehow this doesn't fit with my jeans and flannel shirts and hats.

This was easy!

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

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Temptation

Joanna over at the Geranium Farm wrote today about all the temptations that we face and rephrases the Lord's Prayer to emphasize that God lead us away from temptation - an interesting thought.

One of my favorite bits about temptation is a phrase from "Somebody's Knockin'" by Terri Gibbs -
Somebody's knockin' should I let him in,
Lord it's the devil would you look at him
I've heard about him but I never dreamed,
he'd have blue eyes and blue jeans. Thanks to Levi's for the picture!
Evil and Satan are undercover agents - literally and figuratively. I always wondered if the reality of what was under those blue jeans was as real as promised. Now, I recognize that temptation comes in all sorts of disguises, and they are seldom evil at first appearance.

eBay is a wonderful example for me. I began looking on eBay for an out-of-date coffee mug for my partner. Then, I realized that others things were available at the touch of an icon. I need only input my credit card number to PayPal and go shopping. Now, we all know that shopping is one of my weaknesses - my retail therapy, my way of stopping the pain. And, the thrill of getting down to the wire in a bidding "war" to the last few seconds - ah, me. The innocuous eBay was my own temptation. After dozens of packages arrived, I realized what I was doing. I have not turned my back on temptation, but I can look it in the eye and said, "NO." Most of the time.

Laughing. So temptation comes in all guises. Food is another of my weaknesses. Today, I was out after therapy. Spent $26 and almost two hours in the bookstore. Then on the way home, I decided I'd like to have a Coke from the Mexican store near the interstate. So, I purred over there and bought two Mexican Cokes - made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup - sooooo good. But, one of my favorite eateries is in the same area; so I sauntered down there - past the soon-to-be-open bakery where I used to buy cupcakes - and bought two cranberry muffins (probably just as many calories as the cupcakes). To make a long story short, I ate one of the muffins after I got home and automatically reached for the other one. God led me away from temptation right then. I put it down, folded the top of the bag and put it out of sight. For right now, I have had a reasonable amount. If I had eaten both muffins now, I would have been stuffed. If I eat it tonight or tomorrow morning, I will have done better.

Temptation. At therapy we talked about a problem I have contacting an old friend, who is dying of cancer. How do I tell her that just talking with her brings back memories that are more painful than I care to handle? I've been through therapy about these and I've forgiven and been forgiven, but the pain is still very real. It doesn't go away just because I understand it. I've left the situation with God and the pain still shows up with the memories. I know how I felt then. My therapist asked if I really needed to say that to her. The knowledge that her very presence in my life brings pain will not make her feel better, and I won't feel any better knowing that I have hurt her; so why say it to her? Let it be. Time will ease the situation and I will know what to do. But, I have been tempted to say, Just go away, Don't make me think of this stuff any more, Quit calling, I have nothing to say. So, if I have nothing to say, then I shouldn't say it. Temptation. Try to ease my own pain at someone else's expense. Giving in to temptation seldom works anyway - you're just miserable afterward.

How does your temptation appear? Blue eyes and blue jeans, speaking when being silent would be better, two muffins? eBay? Credit cards?

Lead me away from temptation - or at least help me to recognize it, Lord.

Bodies, thoughts, habits, and spirituality

Hmmmm. How to begin. I'm going to write this the way I'm thinking and then decide where my thinking has gone astray. After all, when I'm alone in my head, I'm alone with a crazy person!

I was supposed to go to a River Watch training session this morning at 9 am about an hours' drive from here. Sounded like a great idea when I signed up. Some mornings are good for me; some are not. Today was not. I had vertigo and stuffiness, some congestion. But, even last night as I sat cozily knitting in my favorite red chair, I didn't want to go. I didn't want to move. All I wanted was to sit quietly and knit my life away.

I went to bed at a reasonable hour, arose at 7 am, and literally stagged to the bathroom, holding onto my chest of drawers and the wall to get there - my head was decidedly not on straight. I perseved, telling myself that this would go away. I've had it for several mornings now, and it's gone away on its own. I drank lots of water, took my medicine, ate my breakfast and sat down at the computer. Then, I leaned over to pick up a tissue that had fallen on the floor. Wrong. Almost ended head first on the floor. Gently rose up. Called my partner and told her I couldn't go.

Guilt. This is something that we want to do together. She took the training last weekend while I went yarn shopping, rising at an early hour to drive an hour and half away. She spent that morning in a three hour training session. I was playing.

Okay, I've had a decongestant and an additional antihistamine, a nap and lunch. I feel okay but still a bit ditzy and a whole lot guilty. Why couldn't I do something for us that required getting up early, driving somewhere and spending time learning something I really want to know. I could get up early, drive somewhere and spend time shopping with other friends. So, why couldn't I do that for us this morning?

End of story.

First of all, using "supposed to" instead of "scheduled to" indicates a command or obligation - and signing up for the workshop was certainly an obligation. But, my mindset was that I should, ought to or some such idea - the presumption that I would be wrong if I didn't do this. My presumption. Taken to it illogical end, the thought of "supposed to" makes me unloveable if I don't do it. My mind knows that's not true. Not sure my guilt complex has gotten this idea yet, though.

Now, the "should have" part comes in several days ago when I really (for my own health's sake) should have taken care of the dizzy, congested feeling. I actually bought the decongestant a few days ago, but I didn't take it. After all, the dizziness went away - mostly. And, the congestion is something that I've lived with a long time and can ignore very well.

However, I did the right thing this morning. I did not drive when I was dizzy. I took the appropriate medicine and went back to bed. Feeling guilty for letting down the people who offered the workshop and my partner who is looking forward to our doing this together (and I am, too) is another story. Guilt is hard to give up.

Guilt is like resentments - they hurt me not anyone else.

So much for the thoughts. What does all this have to do with spirituality? Well, God doesn't make junk and didn't make me for junky thinking or acting. And, I've done a lot of both in my life. So much that it's hard to decide what is appropriate and what is junky. Right now, I'm feeling junky. Is the guilt appropriate? Did I do the right thing? What do I think/believe about myself right now? Failure - not just that I failed to show up this morning, but I am a failure. I never do anything right.

BS. Junky thinking. My body had warned me that it had problems. Junky acting that I did not take care of the problem when I got the signals. But, that's a bad habit of mine. I ignore signals that are important. I'm messy that way. Maybe I put most things back where they belong, but I choose to not see the signals until the body/ mind/ spirit is full of them.

And, the problem grows from a simple physical or mental one into a mess. A big mess. My spirit is somewhere besides with me or else I just can't feel/see/hear it. My God is off fishing apparently 'cause she's certainly not here either. Maybe they are taking a trip together.

Nothing is getting done today except that I did take my medicine, finally. Stress headache, lethargy, guilt, - what a mess.

So, I think that spirituality, honoring the spirit within me and the Spirit of God, is deeply connected to my body, my thoughts and my habits. Especially in this particular situation.

My solution to this is writing and doing. So, I'm now going to get up (carefully) and begin doing laundry.

Lent - What are you doing for Lent?

Seriously, folks, I'm interested in what your Lenten "discipline" is. Leave me a comment, please

My questions and thoughts about Lent

Lent. Lent. 40 Days not counting Sundays. The usual question from friends is "What are you giving up for Lent? The typical answers are chocolate, sweets, cigarettes, cussing, coffee (not too often). I once gave up Coca-Cola for Lent. Once.

Now we are three days into Lent and I have no Lenten discipline. We discussed this at dinner last night. One acquaintance is giving up some bad habits. That's a good start, but I'd just pick them up again after Easter the same way I did the Coca-Cola.

Traditionally Lent represents the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness (desert). More than two months of his 3 year ministry was spent in the desert, perhaps the same desert where Moses and the Israelites wandered. I wonder if he went in circles like they did. Anyway. In the early church, those who were to be baptized at Easter had their own fasting and discipline to follow during Lent.

The apostles had their own Lent, each one different. Peter didn't know he could preach until after Easter. Mark was mostly a scribe until he wrote down the words and works of Jesus, the Christ. Matthew, the bookkeeper, was mostly good at keeping accounts before he gave us accounts of events and miracles. And, what happens to John, the Beloved? Exiled on Patmos, someone named John writes the most beautiful theology ever. Their Lenten disciplines varied...and some lasted a lifetime after Jerusalem.

Now, we think of Lent as a time of purging, fasting, giving up things. Others say that we should take on good habits or good works or special prayer disciplines during Lent.

I'm not good at giving things up. I'm not terribly good at taking on a discipline, like reading the Daily Office or even getting on the treadmill. And, if I'm going to give up a bad habit, maybe Lent is the motivation to do it, but can I keep it up?

So, here I sit. Pondering what I should do for Lent. This desert is hot and cold. The desert is dry with only a few oases. The desert is lonely at times and comfortingly quiet at others. I'm used to the desert, but.......

I guess I'm a strange one, but the resurrection doesn't mean a lot to me, and I don't believe in sacrificial atonement. I believe that the Incarnation was sufficient. Perhaps we needed the passion and the resurrection to keep the faith alive all these needs, but I just don't think it was necessary for salvation. Heretic that I am.

So, back to Lent. Purple - the royal color. We consider it as a time of mourning instead of a time of seeking in the desert. Yes, Jesus rejected things, power, godness, but isn't the desert for seeking?

I'm still in the desert - and likely to remain there. I know Jesus is with me, and I fear no evil (except maybe the presidential elections and global warming and violence everywhere). I think I'll keep on seeking. God called me long ago. I've answered that call in different ways at different times. Now I'm just puttering along from one oasis to another, seeking the companionship of those on the journey, assuring them of God's presence, accepting their company as right and good. I like journeying.

Tell me what you're doing for Lent. Thanks.

May the peace of God, which may not be exactly what you expect, be with you always.

Who am I? meme

1. What time is it?
2:40 pm
2. Of what are you most afraid?
Being useless
3. What is the most recent movie that you have seen in a Theater?
Been too long ago to remember
4. Place of birth
Clarksdale, Mississippi
5. Favorite Foods
Fried Pork Chop, Butter beans or pintos, slaw, cornbread
6. What's your natural hair color?
Born blonde (accounts for my ditziness), naturally turned dark, now mostly white
7. Ever been to Alaska?
Yes, and would go every year if I could
8. Ever been toilet paper rolling?
Yes
9. Love someone so much it made you cry?
Yes
10. Been in a car accident?
Yes
11. Croutons or bacon bits
On what? Croutons on some pasta dishes to give them crunch, bacon bits on almost anything salty
12. Favorite day of the week?
Tuesdays when I work at the yarn shop
13. Favorite restaurant
Locally – Captain Ratty’s, Other – The River’s End near Savannah, GA
14. Favorite Flower?
Nasturtium
15. Favorite sport to watch?
On TV, I will watch tennis, a bit of football, a bit less basketball, most Olympics.
16. Favorite drink?
Coca-Cola made with real sugar, get them from Mexico
17. Favorite ice cream?
Vanilla
18. Disney or Warner Brothers?
Huh?
19. Ever been on a ship
Yes, love it!
20. What color is your bedroom carpet?
Current rug is blue.
21. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
None, got my license at age 15, but I'd been driving for at least three years
22. What do you do when you are bored?
Knit or play on computer
23. Bedtime?
10-11 pm
24. Favorite TV show
Don’t watch TV, unless I’m really bored and it’s already on. Oh, but I will watch the Olympics.
25. Favorite time of year?
Winter
26. What are your favorite colors?
Red and blue
27. How many tattoos do you have?
None
28. How many pets do you have?
Pets or pests? Two
29. Dogs or cats or other?
cats
30. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
chicken
31. What do you want to do before you die?
Have lots more fun, get to know more people, and learn to set healthy boundaries
32. Have you ever been to Hawaii ?
No, and no desire to go.
33. Have you been to countries outside the U.S.?
Yes
34. Which ones?
Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala

Another me

I changed a couple of answers where I was ambivalent, and look what happened!

You are The Sun

Happiness, Content, Joy.

The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.

Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.

The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I credit Eileen the Episcopalifem

Eileen is the Moon however

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of
intoxication with success

The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

superbowl commercials

I don't watch much sports, but I did enjoy listening to the superbowl yesterday. And, I've picked my two favorite commercials

and

What's mine is mine! What's yours may be mine, too.

Check out this short paragraph that Lindy picked up from someone else. It hits home with me. I just bought a bright red luggage tag for my knitting bag. It has only one word mine! Aaarrrggghhh.

And today a friend told me about Koinonia Farm in South Georgia - amazing story - check it out on their website. They helped found Habitat for Humanity...and are still doing wonderful things.

Changes on the blog

I've found labels to be so handy when viewing other blogs that I've decided to add them to mine. And, I will go back and add them to previous posts as I have time.

Also, I've added links to places where you can click to give help breast cancer, literacy, hunger, and animal rescue without it costing you anything more than clicking on icon on that site. These are all linked on one website; so you can click on any icon and get to the website that has them all.

My goal with the blog is to have a mix of knitting, theology, memes, and personal stuff like depression, remodeling, etc. (not sure those two were very different, LOL).

knitting stuff

Went to a new shop today and found some interesting display ideas and lots more open space than we have at the shop where I work - but lots less yarn...and everything, almost, was on sale. Here's a picture of the stuff I bought today as well as some stuff that's hanging around my workroom.






And, here's the finished red cable scarf before it is blocked.


























And here's D's soft lavender scarf which is still packed in the box to be shipped - same place it's been all week. And, listen, kiddo, if you don't like it, you can't send it back - give it to someone else, okay. I have way too much stuff in this office.





So, yes to all to who have asked. I'm feeling much better, getting over a several day headache, running a humidifier and air cleaner and doing hot compresses and cold packs and pain killers, and..... well, you get the idea. But, basically, I'm good. Looking forward to a pretty day tomorrow when I have no responsibilities.

Southern dialect

Ah, Juanuchis, why'd ya hafta get me started on this? I know I talk Southern, but I thot it was only when I's tired. Now I discover

81% (Dixie). Did you have any Confederate ancestors?


And, yes, I did have Confederate ancestors, enough so that I could join the - what is it? - Daughters of the Confederacy. My uncle actually is a member of the men's form of that organization, and he has a framed picture and write-up about one of our most direct ancestors. Give me a break!

A Rebel at heart - maybe that explains my life. LOL