Like a humming bird...

Perhaps that best describes what frustrates me so...I think I flit and flat and zoom around from one thing to another, never really landing long enough to have any kind of identity at all. I can add to my to do list much faster than I can accomplish one darn thing and I'm sometimes tripping over my own thoughts with the planning.

I have heard myself talking to someone about my next project as soon as I see the tiniest glimpse of finishing up the current thing. One day I sit feeling guilty for not feeling like doing a darn thing but bond with Dell, the next I am wanting to scold my driven self to just sit back a minute and take a deep breath. I drive my own self to craziness, so I can only imagine what it must be like to check in one day to something like Haiti and the next be reading about painting chairs.

But alas, that is me, at least for this season. So true to form...

The latest project on a budget.

Now I don't know about you all, but I think it is safe to say that I could quite possibly be the only person you know that would allow the falling rain to inspire you in such a way as to bring a chair to the middle of the family room, off white carpet and all and paint it, with of all things...real paint. But after the Deeds went home for a little nap yesterday...that is exactly what I did, all the while telling myself I am so glad D is at work today because I seriously am a nut and I don't want him to have any more evidence on that particular subject. I trust you all to keep that to yourselves.

I like this picture, because I can see the green I'm coming from in the chair to the green I'm moving towards in the lamp and pillows and the oh-so-worth-the-wait Uggs I got for Christmas, I love them so much, when I am not wearing them, I periodically wave to them.


It was just the very best place on earth to see the rain outside, hear and feel the fire inside and be entertained by my favorite talker "Bonny Hunt". Plus with the T & V on, if another tree got moved by the "severe" weather in our beach town, I'd be all up on the latest.

This was a garage sale chair ($3.00) last summer and I had a bunch, or 3 of those little cans of sample paint that Lowe's or Home Depot have now to try out colors before you invest in a whole gallon and got a hankerin' for some more color in the Pitcher's old room.

But in the meantime, I have been on a much "higher" mission. And by "higher", I mean upstairs. Remember the post with this picture of my kitchen table from last summer and me threatening to do something different, but what was it going to be and I was doing the cabinets in the kitchen at the time so I needed to wait and I was also looking for new chairs with fabric seats so I didn't really want to get anything going with the table until I knew about the chairs and I saw those great ones in Oklahoma at a thrift store, but D said they wouldn't fit in the suitcases so I had to leave them there? Remember that? oh Oklahoma, where the pitcher is...I need a moment.
ok, I'm better. I know, the suspense was totally killing me too, the not knowing and all! But then...but then...Craig's list!


Four of these beauties for (drumroll) $25.00, and not even each, $25.00 for the set!




So you know the drill...remove the pads, lightly sand...





Primer 1 coat...Paint 2 coats...

Staple new fabric pieces over vinyl...

Yes this fabric looks familiar because remember (and I totally believe that you remember every tiny distant detail of my decorating life, like I am that important. Ahh being completely disconnected from reality is so much more fun!)

Remember I couldn't decide which of about 5 different fabrics I wanted and so I ordered a yard or two of each, because I am so dang indecisive like that. Anyway, yes I used all of these on the pillows on the garage sale sofa redo...so I didn't even have to buy the fabric which is amazingly great since it is now 2010 and D and I are on a budget... (He's limiting his grocery purchases and I am limiting my decorating expenses, and its totally easier for him than me.)

Oh my word where was I? Table and chairs...well nearly done. The table top which gets lots of playdoh, glueing, and the occasional meal needs an extra couple of layers of polyurethane for protection. Hoping that doesn't yellow the color, but gotta opt for the durability.

Looking at those pictures...perhaps next Thursday when the furniture is cleared out but the blue tarp is not, well it might just be a Noah's Ark day with the Deeds!

And, since D just finished up a 72 hour stretch saving lives or buildings or flood rescues... I went ahead and used my extra time "saving" some old pillows for the family room with some recovering. How's that for a rescue? Uh ha, I see ya knoddin with gratitude and respect.

And Monday D stripped the wallpaper I adored in 1991, (but completely don't in 2010), from the downstairs bathroom and I so should have a quick plan to put it right back together since it is the guest bath, BUT I DON'T HAVE A PLAN at all and so if you come over and you need to use the facilities, you'll need to use your imagination too. And I'll go ahead and leave some decorating magazines in there so you can mark your preferences.

So like a hummingbird yes, but after 5 pieces of fudge, a bag of popcorn and a constant intake of caffeine...not exactly or very possibly the explanation!

Another Thursday...

In contrast to everything going on in Haiti, nothing really seems blogworthy. Southern California is undergoing some "severe" weather, which again, when compared to anything Haiti, is an embarrassing description. But when a tornado pulls up a tree...yes people, a whole tree, our regular programming is interrupted and shazaam we are the top news story.


We don't know suffering like Haitians, we just don't. If you disagree, I give you 30 seconds with CNN ...'nough said.


But it's Thursday morning. The day which contains the 3 most heavenly hours of the week. "Deeds and DD day". He stopped by last evening for a quick visit and it just felt like we needed to get all the toys out, not just the one we were playing with for the moment, but all the ones we might want to play with next should be within reach. We had some cross culture activities going on. Legos were playing with cars, visiting animals and Pooh was appearing both in books and puzzles and it was wonderful and clearly the UN will be calling for tips on world peace.


We made a most "mommy challenging" decision before he left. "Lets leave the toys out for the morning when you come back". Both of their faces told me "against the rules", which made me even more determined to leave the chaos strewn around the universe otherwise known as the family room.


Anyway, Pandora offered us a little Raffi-genre background, fire in the fireplace and the continuing rain outside dictated our boundaries. Let the play begin.


After my second cup of "hot and bold" my focus sharpened to the scene and it dawned on me that given just a little imagination, and a floor level view and we could have some current events understanding.






Last Saturday the Deeds and I headed to a bakesale to benefit one orphanage in Haiti, so we talked on the way there about what happened and why we were giving money and what an earthquake is and how people were hurt and couldn't get food or their clothes because their houses fell down.

And yes I know these are awfully big issues for a 3 1/2 year old, but his mama and daddy are doing a great job of pointing out how to help others and that we all need to do what we can for someone in need. This was clearly obvious the other day when we drove by a guy standing on the corner waving a sign advertising a deal on pizza and the Deeds asked me if we had any "food" to give that man, because at 3 1/2 he can't read and thought this particular guy holding a sign was probably homeless and hungry and we should help him.

Anyway...back to the family room...is this still Thursday? Goodness the rain makes we wordy!

I suggested we play Haiti...don't get all uppity...I believe any Haitian reading the following would be grateful even the smallest Americans are trying to understand their plight. And he poured a bunch of change in a container for kids in Haiti, so he's already in the information loop, in a very appropriate "G" rated way.

Building Haiti...home with lots of family members doing all sorts of interesting things, like "cooking dinna, weading books, sweeping, watching a movie". Pretty nice home for Haiti, but I do believe from all news reports our engineering and building codes could be similiar. "Tell the story DD and I will do it"

Earthquake...

Spotting the people that are trapped. A few might have actually sustained injuries from the rescue efforts, since the racecar's tactics included pushing the blocks over the victims and they might have gotten run over in the process, several times or more.

A little triage and snoopy bandaids for this poor guy with two broken legs another with a "hurt head".






Bringing the only rescue vehicles we had...a race car/ambulance and firetruck.



I interviewed him at the hospital and asked if the people would be ok and he assured me they would be.

When I asked him how, he replied "Jesus will heal them." Why yes, little guy, he will and don't I wish we were closer to reassure the Haitians of exactly that. He quickly rebuilt our Haiti, put the people back to task and then reported that he would not like to do another earthquake please. Amen!

Yes rebuilding Haiti is an opportunity to offer hope and security to a city that has suffered so much. Please, Lord, from the heart of a toddler...no more earthquakes. Rebuild, restore their hearts along with their lives and remind them that in you, there is hope and life.

Sometimes I need a ...

Reminder...a little reminder.


2009 ended with so much family time and fun. Christmas and a subsequent vacation to the snow. I had set my mind and schedule on being so intentional about the month of December and have so many great memories of it all and by New Year's eve, my heart was overflowing. Everyone made the most of the Pitcher's time home from Oklahoma and we spent many hours playing a new favorite family game. Time, time and more time with my favorite people in the world.


We had gotten some difficult news mid-December, but honestly with all the fortitude we could muster we were able to call on our favorite coping technique "denial" and resisted facing it head on until after the holidays.


Then the day came...The Pitcher left to go back to the mid west, my house, though clean and put back together looks lonesome and empty without the red and green and sparkles and with all the distractions of parties, baking, wrapping, packing etc... gone...the inevitable began digging its nails into me.


DEPRESSION, not the sadness kind, the "I have no motivation to do anything but mope around or curl up in a blanket and take a nap until life is fun again" kind. The reality of December's news could change the whole direction of our lives and we have no control over or choice in that.


I'm not trying to tease here, it's just really not possible to lay it all out just yet. The point is, it is out of our control, but within God's and yet, I fret. I tried eating my way through one day, trying to satisfy something inside and woke up with so much nutritional regret, I needed to take a picture to remind myself there isn't enough junk in the universe to make me feel better.

Yep, truth...24 hours worth of self medicating. So me fretting? I'm a half-full girl, infact I border on 3/4's most of the time. I'm not normally a fretter,that is D's job. He frets, so I get to blissfully dance my way through life knowing its covered.

And yet here I am... fretting, lost in a fretting frenzy, fearfully fretfully fully forging forward to a fretting fiasco! Yes, I know Phil 4:6 ..."don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God".

I know it, but though He is a good God, wanting only the best for us, including a hope and a future. I also know that this world is not our home and that we are called to suffering here for the sake of others and our own growth. He doesn't promise a smooth road, but instead equips us for the ride. I know all that and I believe it, I really do. I have even surrendered my life to His plan, painful or not, knowing the time I spend here will be so short and faint in comparision to eternity with my God.

But sometimes I need a reminder. A reminder that He knows what's going on and is "ON IT", taking care, working out all the details.

I received a belated Christmas gift...perfectly timed. It is strategically placed next to the hot and bold that opens my eyes in the morning. And it tells me what I need to know, every day, first thing, reminds me of the truth and does not change with threatening evidence otherwise.

"Good Morning, This is God. I'll be handling all your problems today."

I love it. And as if that wasn't enough, I was granted a moment of dramatic evidence yesterday, that He loves us so, protecting us always and holds our lives in His hands.

We got a call about 11:50am yesterday that our Newlywed son had been in an accident. Someone else calling us, at the scene and describing his car on its side. Telling me he was out of the vehicle wasn't enough for this mama and after practically pulling D down from a ladder he was on and nearly making him run to catch up to the car to get in, we arrived to this scene. Two fire trucks, Batallion Chief, 3 police cars, ambulance......Both drivers walked away. A few small cuts on his arm and a college boy who felt so bad I needed to mother him just a little too, cars...not so good...but first born son? Gonna be just fine.

"Yes, Lord, I see you, protector, provider, savior" , but sometimes I just need a little reminder.

What to say, what not to...

The blog has been quieter than normal and I am wondering if all 2 of you that check in once in a while have been wondering how on earth I could have a period of more than 30 seconds with nothing to say.

The truth is there is ALOT to be said, its just somehow too big to blog about. Its a struggle sometimes to know how much to share with the likes of a venue whose name starts with "World Wide..." so sometimes my judgement errs on the side of silence, rather than downloading from a place is that isn't necessarily settled. Seriously the erring on the side of silence is probably very very rare, like mostly almost, never

Lets just say that there are a couple of really "life changing" things going on and as soon as I can I will spill it.


In the meantime, Haiti. The news coverage, the frustration, the fear...but the help, the hurry, the supplies, the donations, the doctors (800 arriving, another 1000 headed there) and that's just from Doctor's without borders. Some organization is sending 3 water processing PLANTS that can cleanse 10,000 gallons of water a day. I know there are thousands lost, and I know every single one belongs and is a huge loss to somebody, somebody real and feeling and whose life is forever changed and in a horrible dramatic, devestating way. But from this distant country perspective, there will be miracles reported, rescues, heroes and praise. Man, it appears, will tarnish in average, normal, routine, but in catastrophe and emergency, God stirs in us the ability to sacrifice, risk and shine for the sake of someone else.


Now if I had tried to come up with something completly random, I would never have been as successful as true life has proven. Mooch...


Trust me when I tell you I have never seen him watch television, ever. He's a DOG. He watches me, every move I make, well and the peanut butter jar, he's got a thing for the peanut butter jar especially when he sees a dog bone come out of the box and head for the peanut butter jar. The peanut butter jar? Well, it completes him. No question, no competition.


But yesterday, Bonny Hunt was on and I was wandering in and out of the room, which means the Mooch was wandering in and out of the room, except that he wasn't. From the kitchen I could see he was watching, well fixated really, on the television. So stuck was my d.o.g. that even my movements in and out and through the kitchen didn't cause a flinch. I called D in to see him because it was just such a sight, the Mooch in the zone with my favorite talker "Bonny Hunt".

I know you can't see the television, trust me, he's lookin' up at the TV.

As soon as I snapped a picture of him, I kid you not, I looked over to see what the topic or guest was and this is what I saw... Yep....Dog Adoption Day! I kid you not.
I can't really tell you I understand what he was thinking while he was watching. Perhaps, he was looking for a life mate, maybe wondering about litter buddies of long ago, or just checking to make sure he didn't see his own mug on the adoption rolls. It suddenly dawns on me, that I am talking here like dogs have thoughts. Well anyway, the Mooch! Couldn't have staged it, couldn't have been more hysterically random...Have a great Friday!

Haiti

We can't even comprehend or understand the devestation that has hit Haiti, nor the anguish of Haiti's people, BUT we can help Compassion's Haiti Disaster Relief Fund.

If you are able, do what you can. This tragedy has hit real people. Though they are far away, children have lost parents, parenst have lost children, homes, jobs, and in somecases someone may be called a survivor only to realize surviving is worse than death.

How old are you when you realize...?

How old are you when you realize that somebody leaving to go back to Oklahoma means a very long time of seperation? I guess 3 1/2 years because for the first time tonight as we celebrated our family by having dinner together, before the Pitcher heads back to the "child stealing state" aka Oklahoma, the Deeds laid down on the carpet and was sad when it was time to leave.

I can tell you, I am sad, Dann is sad, the newlyweds will miss him, Dot's "puddy pal" will leave an emptiness, but so far, when the Pitcher heads out, the Deeds treats the departure like he'll be seeing Unca Wyan tomorrow. Until tonight. And at 3 1/2 he is lacking in the sophistication we have that covers our sadness. At 3 1/2 when you are sad, you frown, sigh, cry and whimper about how long and how far and how much you are already missing a best friend.

So before he nearly caused us all to come undone, he suggested we all cuddle together, all us big bodies and his. I think he just wanted to soak in the closeness and hold onto it as long as he could. So we all laid down next to him, bellys to the floor, heads in a circle, all hands in the middle and started to tell him our favorite things about today together and the past few weeks. It seemed to give words to feelings and helped turn his sadness into a mind full of memories at least for the moment.

Spontaneous, tender, honest, transparent and thoroughly heart warming and heart breaking at the same time. If everyday could only be as sweet, and I wish we had thought of it before the newlyweds left because there was some firefighting play that happened before dinner that should have surely been part of our favorites.

I have to remember that if I didn't love them all so much, it wouldn't be nearly as difficult to say goodbye, again. But, they were not born to fulfill the whims of my heart and hours in my day. They each have their own adventures to experience and roads to travel, plans God has for them and dreams they have for themselves.

If 3 1/2 is the age you begin to understand and feel seperation from the ones you love, I hope I wake up tomorrow just shy of that age, because 10:30am will surely come and the truck will drive away and my heart will break just a little bit again. Ah, if it weren't so wonderful to be their mom, it wouldn't be so hard. But wonderful it is! Wonderful! Hard and wonderful!

Hidden treasure...

Heading to Uganda in April with Unchanging Truth Ministries means I need to get on a disciplined schedule of studying and preparing for the teaching sessions. And get on it NOW. I believe God will leave me just short of feeling prepared, so he can do "his thing" and I am counting on him taking a heart willing and fill in the shortage on knowledge and polish.

I am so excited and yet also so humbled by the idea of encouraging women from the village of Kakira who work so much harder, walk so much further, have so much less, and so will not be able to relate to any cultural examples from America.

When I am speaking I exhale word pictures, descriptions, examples...I just do. This explains why people are often glazed over & nodding long before I am at all finished with the museum worthy piece of masterpiece that is rolling off my tongue. It's probably why every blog post I write contains twice the wordage it really requires...and 127 lines before I get to the topic at hand! I like to flower it up, make it bloom, I'm a gardener like that and completely not the other kind at all.

So anything having to do with tangibles or material-things-Americanwomanish will be completely inappropriate for Uganda, like most of what I have in my closet, which is why, my perspective and my wardrobe need a makeover of sorts. So I've got to get on it...which lead me to a most amazing discovery the other day when a 5 car hour post-snow adventure, allowed me to happen upon Joshua 22 where the chapter title "offensive altar" jumped out at me and I had to dig in because for heaven's sake I do not want to ever accidentally or otherwise find myself anywhere near such a thing.

If I understand the drama of Joshua 22, a couple of tribes and a 1/2 tribe were sent on their merry way to return to lives in the promised land after completing some other mission. Given instructions and reminded of their commitments to the Lord, they set off.

After crossing the Jordan and still on someone else's land, they stopped and set up an altar. Somebody spotted them and reported that the travellers had already forgotten the rules of life and worship and were bowing down to idols. The Israelites "the WHOLE assembly of Israel" gathered at Shiloh to wage war against them.

Ok, points for being willing to wage war for the sake of their LORD. But....But...BUT... first.....

Enter Phinehas, son of the priest of the travelling clans......a.k.a. PK with an established relationship with the"accused".

And get this...listen...they send Phinehas with a lot of other really important leaders to check out the rumor and they ask them "How can you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now?..." which is code for "You idiots, you just left us and you're already getting us in all kinds of trouble!"

Pregnant pause...LOVE IT!...The travellers responded "The Mighty One, God, the LORD!...He knows! ..." and they told them the altar was to honor God, not for any other offerings. Which is code for "You thought wrong, don't believe the rumor, the truth is we are honoring God only!"

Apparently, back in Deut 13 starting at verse 12, the Israelites were given instruction to destroy any city, anybody that might lead the rest of Israel astray, but...but...not before the RUMOR was proven true.

In other words, it has always been possible to see not-clearly and no action should be taken until the truth was known. So God, knew we were likely to make judgements on bad evidence or appearance and he set up the guidelines for the accused to have an opportunity to right things up.

Joshua and Phinehas knew the law, knew the drill and followed through. Return to the end of Joshua 22 and verse 33 records "They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them..."

Love it...Love it!!! LOVE IT! Why? I've been on both sides of this scenario. Been the accused when nobody came to ask about the truth and I've been the distant accuser. And the devastation? my word sometimes there is no end to it and even if the truth comes out at a later time, the hurt caused during the delay has felt near fatal.

Phinehas, my hero of the week and the weak. I have seen 10 follow an accuser, holding the accusation as fact and allowing the damage to fly, but I can't for the life of me remember a moment when someone lead a group to the suspiscious and gave them opportunity to explain before war, albiet, secret or silent or behind the scenes war.

Leading the leaders, 10 of them on a mission to find out the truth and then listening, taking the truth back to all of Israel allowing the restoration of both peace and the reputation of the travellers. That's my Phinehas!
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Don't you just know the talk among the Israelites going on while P was on his fact finding mission was about tactic and plunder and God's defenders were mightly worked up for a riotous fight. Phinehas could teach a Sunday school class I say on turning down the drama and accepting the truth even in the face of appearance to the contrary.

A hidden treasure I say. Don't know if the women of Uganda will get a taste of battling the rumor mill, God's way. My assignment is Women of the Bible. But boy if we get anywhere near the way women work, I believe my hero, Mr. P, shall make a polite appearance. Truth...Treasure...Love it!