Defrosting a freezer compartment and relighting a pilot light

This was a fairly interesting, though mostly routine housekeeping day, beginning with writing a minor rant to a few people about a church "bored" meeting last night. After that time pounding the poor keys of the laptop, I needed to do something much different so slid down the stairs into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and noticed the freezer compartment was mostly built-up ice.

This fridge is ancient, one of those with a small freezer compartment at the top, accessed only by opening the fridge door itself. The freezer doesn't hold a lot anyway, and so much space taken up by ice wasn't good.

I remembered my mom defrosting the freezer years ago and remembered she used a pan of boiling water inside. So, I unplugged the fridge, took everything out of the freezer, boiled a big pot of water, stuck it inside the freezer, and shut the doors. After about 8 minutes, I checked the progress. Sure enough, ice was breaking off and sliding into the plastic tray under the freezer. Perfect. Since there was still some stuck at the back, I boiled the water again and repeated the process. Oh, how beautiful! All done. I dumped the tray of water outside in my newly planted little garden, dried off the inside of the freezer, and stuck everything back in. And the whole process only took about 30 minutes.

Someone on a Simple Living Discussion Forum had this to say: "Enjoy, knowing a traditional freezer does not dry out your frozen food as a frost-free would, nor spend the energy trying to stay frost free."

I just want to be able to keep ice cream for longer than a day or so without it turning sloppy. It's a shame to have to eat it so fast. Right. Uh-huh.

Oh, and I also relit the pilot on the gas stove. Piece of cake. Next time I won't get so engrossed in writing a rant that I forget there are pinto beans boiling over.

Now back to reading Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures by Gibbs and Bolger. Good stuff.

Malware Warning

My mind is blank tonight for some reason, which gives me an excuse to pass along a warning I received today from a computer consultant. Having just found some malware on my computer a few days ago, I paid close attention to this one. Very important!

I have gotten several suspicious e-mails this morning that at first glance appear to be legitimate. If you have purchased anything on Amazon recently you might get sucked into opening the attachment. I’m not sure what the attachment is, but DO NOT open it. It contains an executable file which will almost certainly do really nasty things to your computer. The attachment is named WorldPay_TRANS_8651.zip and the body of the message reads as follows:

Thank you!

Your transaction has been processed by WorldPay, on behalf of Amazon Inc.

The invoice file is attached to this message.

This is not a tax receipt.

We processed your payment.

Amazon Inc has received your order,

and will inform you about delivery.

Sincerely,

Amazon Team

This confirmation only indicates that your transaction has been processed successfully.

It does not indicate that your order has been accepted.

It is the responsibility of Amazon Inc to confirm that your order has been accepted, and to deliver any goods or services you have ordered.

Whatever this thing is, it is so new that McAfee is not detecting it, and it is getting past the mail filters. Delete the e-mail immediately. DO NOT open it.

Armadillos and Turtles: Roadkill Cafe Specials

Today I drove about 45 miles south to Tulsa to meet with a minister friend about doing some volunteer work. I've only lived here since the middle of February, so there are still many things to get used to, things that are quite different from Southern California and Oregon. For one thing, the roadkill. My ex used to have one of those Roadkill Cafe t-shirts, but I guess I never paid enough attention to the various dishes served as I just don't remember armadillos being on the menu. Opossums ('possums) are the roadkill item of choice in Oregon and parts of California. Of course, California also has the skunk; there's never any question about what that black and white squashed critter is on the road. The aroma gives it away.

Possums are just there. I swear they make bets with each other about how soon they'll get on the menu. I've got a wonderful, true story about possums for another time; this blog is about roadkill in Oklahoma and Texas.

Armadillos, the state mammal of Texas,"make common roadkill due to their habit of jumping to about fender height when startled (such as by an oncoming car)." Before today, I'd never seen one other than in a zoo. Today I really didn't see any complete ones as they were all in pretty sad shape (read: dead) alongside the highway. Someone told me they kind of explode when hit by a car, but I'll withhold judgment on that until I actually see it for myself. I don't remember seeing so many when the weather was cold and rainy, so perhaps they come out when the sun shines.

I also saw a few turtles; at least they used to be turtles. Not as many as armadillos, though. I've never seen a turtle on a highway. Makes me wonder why they were there and where they were going. These didn't get very far. I'm sure they don't jump to fender height, like the armadillos. Just the idea of either of those animals jumping makes for a strange visual effect.

Can't say I miss 'possums all that much, but I'm still trying to get used to seeing armadillos and turtles being "one" with the pavement. I wonder if any have actually made it to the top of someone's fender? Has anyone ever seen an armadillo as a hood ornament?

This is getting out of hand and, since it's late, I'm running the risk of becoming entirely strange so will quit. But, I do wonder what it feels and sounds like when a driver hits one. I don't really want to experience it first-hand, but if you've had the joyous experience, please let me know.

What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable

This afternoon I found this great parable on YouTube:

What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable

How many of us have seen or experienced this kind of treatment at our churches, club meetings, and so forth? I know I have. Perhaps the video might be a start in revising our welcoming of visitors.

Ads Removed

I just removed the AdSense ads from this blog. To me, $2.07 in one month isn't worth the commercial feeling they gave to the blog. Now maybe if I had, say, about 600,000 followers or something . . .

The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler

I just finished watching the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler," about a woman who saved 2500 Jewish children during the Holocaust. For more information about this courageous woman who was forgotten for many years, please check these links:
Irena Sendler Hallmark
Irena Sendler

Ms. Sendler, who died in May 2008 at age 98, is sometimes called "The Female Schindler."

Susan Boyle - "Cry Me a River"

Do you think I like Susan Boyle? Just a little! My good friend tangata just sent me this recording of her singing "Cry Me a River" on a 1999 charity CD. I could listen to her all night.

"Cry Me a River"

The joys of living in a real house

Finally! I took advantage of the weather lull today before more promised rain, spent some money at Lowe's, and planted the garden. Yes, it's pretty small, at least compared to ones I've had in the past, such as the one to the left in Portland a few years ago. Last month I dug this one completely by hand--I mean, with a shovel instead of a rototiller. I kept hitting tree roots, but pretty soon it looked pretty good. I mixed a few bags of compost with the topsoil and raked it all pretty smooth. No dance floor by any means, but it will do the job.


So, now I have two kinds of fledgling tomatoes , cucumbers, zucchini, jalapenos, parsley, lavender, and cilantro. If nothing else, I'll at least be able to make some pretty decent salsa. Wish I could claim these beautiful tomatoes in the picture, but, alas, they're from google.

To save money, I bought some eight-packs of small plants instead of the larger one-plant-per-pack plants, so had some tomatoes and cucumbers left over. My next-door-neighbors were tilling their garden last night, so I put the extra plants in a spot for them. The woman came over later and introduced herself, offering the use of their rototiller anytime I needed it. Hmmm. It's tempting to dig up the whole yard. No, not this year. Let's see how this small garden grows first.

Yesterday I spent a few hours opening some windows. This is an old house and they'd been painted shut a long time go. I like fresh air, so they needed to open. I first tried to do it with a paring knife - well, that was pretty dumb. Finally bought a nifty tool at Lowe's - a strong putty knife with a sharp point on one end - worked beautifully. I've now got to sand and re-paint the windows, but at least now they open. And the cross ventilation feels so good. The landlord is having a storm door installed at the front door next month. Because the door is an uncommon size, it has to be specially made. So, we agreed I'd pay the installation fee. Good compromise, especially since I'm the one who requested the door. The house has central air conditioning, but I'm partial to fresh air, especially since it doesn't cost anything. Cheapskate? Of course.

Time to do some reading. Ever since I moved into this house, my stack of books to read has kept getting larger and larger. I couldn't do that in the motorhome, so this is kind of fun. Let's see--what will it be tonight? Byron Katie's latest, one of my books about new kinds of small church, a Jeffrey Archer thriller I haven't read yet, or something else? Ah, decisions, decisions. So much fun.

Susan Boyle - Outstanding!

I might be just a little slow in seeing this performance but it was worth the wait. It just blew me away! Hope you enjoy it as much.

Susan Boyle on "Britain's Got Talent"

Who was killed?

Bart Campolo, a veteran urban minister and activist who speaks, writes, and blogs about grace, faith, loving relationships, and social justice, offered this story first told to psychologist Jack Kornfield by the director of a nearby rehabilitation program for violent juvenile offenders:

One 14-year-old boy in the program had shot and killed an innocent teenager to prove himself to his gang. At the trial, the victim’s mother sat impassively silent until the end, when the youth was convicted of the killing. After the verdict was announced, she stood up slowly and stared directly at him and stated, “I’m going to kill you.” Then the youth was taken away to serve several years in the juvenile facility.

After the first half-year the mother of the slain child went to visit his killer. He had been living on the streets before the killing, and she was the only visitor (in jail) he’d had. For a time they talked, and when she left she gave him some money for cigarettes. Then she started step-by-step to visit him more regularly, bringing food and small gifts.

Near the end of his three-year sentence, she asked him what he would be doing when he got out. He was confused and very uncertain, so she offered to help set him up with a job at a friend’s company. Then she inquired about where he would live, and since he had no family to return to, she offered him temporary use of the spare room in her home. For eight months he lived there, ate her food, and worked at the job.

Then one evening she called him into the living room to talk. She sat down opposite him and waited. Then she started, “Do you remember in the courtroom when I said I was going to kill you?” “I sure do,” he replied. “I’ll never forget that moment.” “Well, I did it,” she went on. “I did not want the boy who could kill my son for no reason to remain alive on this earth. I wanted him to die. That’s why I started to visit you and bring you things. That’s why I got you the job and let you live here in my house. That’s how I set about changing you. And that old boy, he’s gone. So now I want to ask you, since my son is gone, and that killer is gone, if you’ll stay here. I’ve got room and I’d like to adopt you if you let me.” And she became the mother he never had.

In these times, I'd like to think I was capable of showing that much compassion. How about you? What do you think of this story?

Chris

Somestimes You Just Have to Dance (II)

Let's not forget the critters, courtesy of Tangata Manu.


Critter Dance

Sometimes You Just Have to Dance

Thank you to James Ford for this one.

Dancing

Enjoy !
Chris

Handwritten letters

Last week I sent a birthday card to a friend in Virginia--a real paper card, not an electronic one. Several days earlier, I received an Easter card from another friend, along with a wonderful handwritten note and, because of who she is, a bunch of little paper Easter cutouts. Luckily I caught them all before they scattered all over the floor. However, that would have been okay--they were real, not virtual, and it was fun to have to worry about them.

I started thinking about how things have changed so much in the past few years, about how I used to write actual letters all the time and send real cards for holidays, birthdays, and "just because." Yes, it took more time than pounding out a quick email or clicking on an online Hallmark card. Yes, it cost a little more for the card, paper, and stamp. I also had to hand-write the address and stick the card or letter out in the mailbox to be mailed. But, I've always loved receiving actual written correspondence from friends and relatives and I've been known to hang onto them for a long time, perhaps even saving them in a scrapbook of some kind.

How many of you have received a real love letter from someone you care about very much? Have you thought about how much thought and care must have gone into that letter? Do actual birthday cards from friends make your day that much better, knowing someone cares enough to buy and send the card?

I'm as guilty as anyone else in taking the easy way out with e-mail and e-cards. For one thing, it's almost impossible to be late in sending a card: there are so many at the touch of a few keystrokes on the keyboard. I enjoy receiving fancy and entertaining cards with music and animation. I love the thought and care that friends put into selecting them for me, and I try to do the same for them as well. Sending email is very easy, and it's possible to write long letters quickly to friends and family in all parts of the world.

What's missing is a good way to physically save those cards and letters to read and savor many more times, perhaps at a time when you need an uplift or are feeling down or thinking no one cares. So many times I've appreciated reading letters again and again, feeling and experiencing the care and love that went into the writing of them.

It's a little late for New Year's Resolutions. However, I'm going to try to write more letters and send more cards. Who knows - perhaps mail carriers might even begin delivering things other than bills and ads. At least that's my wish.

So, if I have your "snail address," please expect a letter or short card soon. That's a promise.

Happy Easter!

To all of you who celebrate this day, I hope it was a very special one. To all of you who nibble on your children's Easter chocolate (who, me? Not anymore - they're now bigger than I am) - the ears are really the best part, right? Makes me want to head out into the pouring rain and buy up all the store has in stock tonight. However, I made brownies with peanut butter frosting instead.

Giving and Receiving

Yarntangler wrote about giving and receiving in her blog tonight, and I'd like to piggyback on that theme just a little.

I spent two days at a minister friend's community center, "A Third Place," and their "Living Room Church" in Turley, Oklahoma, about eight miles from Tulsa but seemingly many more miles away. It was a wonderful chance to see his/their Unitarian Universalist Christianity in action and become involved, with no worry about "how much can we grow this church," or "Can I really say 'God' or 'Jesus' without people thinking I'm weird?"

The free community center has a health clinic, library, donation room, internet center, meetings for the community, "Saving Pets of Turley," "Let Turley Bloom" community gardening, nutrition class, lectures, music coffeehouses, sewing connections, cable TV, daily newspaper, games, free meals, Oklahoma Food Co-op, Turley trash-off coordinating, holiday community paties, Turley talks and neighborhood projects, and much more. It is a place to meet new friends and help others. The Community Center gets no grants and relies on contributions and donations. All work is done by volunteers as there is no paid staff.

The community center and church is located in the poorest zip code in the Tulsa, Oklahoma metropolitan area. Life expectancy there is fourteen years lower than that of the wealthiest zip code, about eight miles away. Within a two-mile radius of the rented space, their primary service area, the population is 66% African-American, and the largest growing population is Hispanic.

We had a small Maundy Thursday service and then ate a very simple meal together: soup, salad, and bread sticks. Friday morning I sat around the Center, ostensibly talking but mainly listening to some of the volunteers and people from the neighborhood who arrived there early. One volunteer was watching a soap opera on the TV, another was fixing the computer internet connection, others took care of receiving donated clothing.

Later in the morning, I rode with the minister to the Good Friday service in the chapel at All Souls Unitarian Church, located in the richest part of Tulsa. This church has around 1600 members. It was a beautiful service. People dressed nicely. The church is located in an area of beautiful homes.

On the way back, we drove through the unincorporated part of Turley, where I saw burned-out houses, empty trailers, and closed businesses, as well as a little nicer part of town up the hill. There was such a big difference between the large church and beautiful houses in nearby Tulsa and smaller, poorer Turley, only eight miles away,

Although I'm still not exactly sure why I'm here in Oklahoma, reasons and ideas are beginning to take shape, beginning with volunteering regularly down there. I'm not yet sure what I'll end up doing; I'm going to ponder that for a few days. While doing my chaplaincy residency with the Center for Urban Ministry in San Diego, California several years ago, the director's main goal was "to take the church down from the hill to the people." I believe this is what the people are doing in Turley--and it's something I feel called to do as well.

During my years of lay leadership, seminary, internships, field work, and chaplaincy, the focus has always been on church growth, numbers, adding members and programs. For many people and churches, those are important goals. However, somewhere along the way, I found myself believing those things were most important to me as well while losing track of why I decided to become a minister in the first place: community outreach and one-on-one ministry. I'm not a Pollyanna. I realize things are not remedied overnight. But, one of my first sermons was about living in abundance rather than scarcity, about giving freely as well as receiving. And I feel that abundance in the community center and church in Turley. It is a small but active, loving community, one I'll feel blessed to become a part of.

Dutch Department Store, HEMA

A very good friend sent this to me tonight and I just had to share it with you.

"HEMA is a Dutch department store. The first store opened on November 4, 1926, in Amsterdam. Now there are 150 stores all over the Netherlands. Take a look at HEMA's product page. You can't order anything (it's in Dutch, anyway) but just wait a couple of seconds and watch what happens.
Don't click on any of the item pictures, just wait and see what happens.
This company has a sense of humor and a great computer programmer!! "

(http://producten.hema.nl/)

This is actually a placeholder

Just finished some delicious cream of chicken soup, breadsticks, salad, and cookies after the small Maundy Thursday service here at "A Third Place Center in Turley, OK. My internet connection isn't the greatest out here in my RV in the parking lot, so will write more tomorrow evening.

Short Road Trip in the RV

Picture shows the first frog in garden water of new season in Turley, OK.


I spent part of today cleaning the inside and windows of the RV, making the bed, and filling the gas tank, preparing for my first short trip since moving here in February. The little motorhome has waited patiently in the back yard for two months. It's not going to be a long trip - just 60 miles or so down to Turley, Oklahoma, near Tulsa overnight. I'm finally going to meet Rev. Ron Robinson, Executive Director of the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship. Besides that hat (or along with it), he and others have started a different kind of Unitarian Universalist church--the Living Room Church. I'm going down to attend their Maundy Thursday service tomorrow as well as the Good Friday Service at nearby All Souls Unitarian Church. I'm looking forward to experiencing the living Room Church and their Third Place Center very much as my calling in ministry has continued to morph into one of "taking the church down from the hill to the people," in the words of Sister Anita Lapeyre, my CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) supervisor at the Center for Urban Ministry in San Diego, CA.

Ron recently wrote a series of three articles for "Small Talk," a newsletter for small UU congregations, describing his vision and ideas for this new type of UU church. Here is the first installment from September 2008. To me, this is a wonderful example of what church can be.

"Inside-Out, Upside-Down, Large-Small Church World: The Story of the Living Room Church, Part One

A Challenging Geocache

Some people have dogs as good incentives for long walks. For me, it's geocaching. One of the ones I found this morning was especially challenging. The hint: "No brute force is required. Use the most obvious retrieval method." Well, the thing was firmly attached to a large tree, about a foot above my head. It consisted of a dark green 2" tube about 2 feet long, open at the top, with a water hose contraption attached to the bottom. The most obvious method was to try and unscrew the hose thing - pretty tight but it did work. However, that really didn't help in any way. After pondering the state of the union for a while, I finally found a long, straight tree branch and inserted it into the bottom, pushing up. Gee, what do you know - out popped a small plastic pill bottle from the top of the tube. I had to give it a special shove because I couldn't reach it. It fell to the ground and I filled in my information on the log book. Hmmm. Now to get it back into the tube. The opening was way too high to just drop it in and I couldn't insert it from the bottom as the opening was too narrow. I finally took my life in my hands (or legs, as it turned out) and partially attempted to climb a thin, straight tree next to the cache. Grabbing onto the cache while attempting not to kill myself, I finally managed to drop the little plastic bottle back into the tube. Figuratively patting myself on the back, I started back down the 1/2 mile trail to the car. Halfway there I realized I'd most likely dropped the bottle in upside down. Tough. There's no way I was going back to go through all that again.



Are we having fun yet? Yeah, actually I am. As of today, I've found 36 caches in California, Oregon (well, actually my son found most of those since he kept the GPS from me), and Oklahoma, some challenging, some just plain weird, and some quite easy, especially the ones in shopping center parking lots, believe it or not. Think: light poles.





There was even one up here in the middle of the desert. However, it was just too windy to climb up to find it. Perhaps another time. Lots of great graffiti, though.

Vermont Legislature Makes Same-Sex Marriage Legal

From this New York Times article today

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Vermont Legislature on Tuesday overrode Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill allowing gay couples to marry, mustering one more vote than needed to preserve the measure.

The step makes Vermont the first state to allow same-sex marriage through legislative action instead of a court ruling. The law goes into effect Sept. 1.

Are we on a roll? I sincerely hope so.

Bolt

Just a very short one tonight. It's been a busy day and I wanted to relax a little with a fun movie. Every week I get a code for a free movie rental from RedBox, so tonight I watched the Disney film, "Bolt." It's about a dog who's lived his life on the set of his TV series, believing he has superpowers. He and his "human," Penny get separated. The story is Bolt's trek across country to be reunited with Penny. For more summary, check out Bolt on the Internet Movie Database.

I fell in love with Rhino, the hamster in his little plastic ball, especially when he talked Bolt into letting him leave his home with an elderly lady at an RV park and take to the road to Hollywood with Bolt and Mittens, the cat, to find Penny.

Rhino: Bolt! I can be a valuable addition to your team...
Bolt: I'm listening...
Rhino: I'm lightning quick, I have razor-sharp reflexes. Wha! And I'm a master of stealth.
[laughs]
Rhino: Plus, I'll keep the cat in check.
[Mittens rolls her eyes]
Bolt: [Gets down close to Rhino's ball] The road'll be rough.
Rhino: [indicates] I have a ball.
Bolt: There's no turnin' back.
Rhino: Guess I'll have to "roll" with the punches!
["surfs" his ball]
Bolt: Easy won't be part of the equation...
Rhino: Promise?
Bolt: I gotta warn ya, going into the belly of the beast - danger at every turn.
Rhino: [getting closer] I eat danger for breakfast!
Bolt: You hungry?
Rhino: [cracks neck] Starving!

Fun stuff.

Church, politics, music, and movies - all connected

It's been quite a day, one that began with an interesting church service this morning. Normally I'd complain about a service that turns into a political forum, but not this time. I'm used to Unitarian Universalist services in the Pacific Northwest - Oregon and Washington - as well as Southern California. Those places are already quite politically liberal in many ways, and so it wasn't necessary to fight so much for things that were already well understood, if not always accepted, such as recycling, the health hazards of coal-powered power plants, nuclear power plants, health care concerns, issues about bisexuals, gays, lesbians, and transgendered people (BGLT), etc. Here, in the only completely red state in the union, it's a constant uphill battle. It will be impossible to not become more politically active.













After a very brisk (read: colder than h---) walk home, I grabbed some lunch, read email, changed my shoes, and headed over to the Community Center for a performance of "Carmina Burana." I love living so close to downtown as it's possible to walk almost everywhere. The Community Center is down an alley, diagonally through a park, then across the street - a five-minute walk. No parking problems or traffic plus some needed exercise. I met a couple of friends from church and we sat together, getting to know each other better.
Although I've listened to the CD of the program, hearing it live was absolutely wonderful. especially the first and last parts, "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" (Fortune, Empress of the World.") The heavy bass drum and loud gong playing together made the whole thing an amazing experience. Performers were the Bartlesville Children's Choir, Tulsa Children's Choruses, Tulsa Youth Chorale, Signature Symphony Chorale, Tulsa Community College Choir, and members of the Signature Symphony, all conducted beautifully by Susan Mueller. It was the first time I'd been to any kind of performance in the Community Center and people were right: the acoustics were outstanding. The standing ovation was well deserved, not just a polite gesture. I'm looking forward to seeing the ballet "Coppelia" in a few weeks as well as the traveling, "Jesus Christ, Superstar."

After a short walk home (I probably could have spread my arms and flown the wind was so strong), I reserved the DVD, "Slumdog Millionaire" through RedBox, and drove over to Wal-Mart to pick it up. Needing some gas, I bought a $20 gift card at Walmart and used it at their pumps to receive a three-cent per gallon discount. Something to remember for the future.

I heated up some soup for dinner, sliced some of the whole wheat bread I made yesterday, and settled down in the living room to watch "60 Minutes." The main story concerned University Medical Center, the county hospital in Las Vegas, which recently closed its outpatient oncology services for lack of funds CBS Network Release It was a chilling report highlighting the terrible state of health care in the country and how the lives of the uninsured are at definite risk.

Finally, I sat down on the floor in front of the TV to watch "Slumdog Millionaire" because some of the important on-screen subtitles were just too small to read from anywhere else. Seeing this film about the lives of the very poor in India immediately after the "60 Minutes" report reinforced my "bleeding heart liberal" status. It is impossible to ignore the ways of life of the "slumdogs" in India, just as it's impossible to look away from the plight of the uninsured and poor with cancer in Las Vegas. As one who was finally able to obtain minimal health insurance after three years without it, I'm too well acquainted with the feelings of "what if something happens," and the thoughts about moving to Canada. And I don't have cancer or two young children to care for.

The day could have been a downer in a few ways. However, the uplifting music earlier in the afternoon provided a feeling of hope. The church service this morning helped me realize there are people here working their hardest to provide "justice, equity, and compassion in human relations," one of our Unitarian Universalist Principles. I'm now able to be counted among them.

Who Wants Plump Lips?

I was planning to write something entirely different tonight However, when I accessed my Yahoo email account, this ad showed up. Now come on---who in their right mind would want their lips to look like this? It looks like she's got some horrible disease that makes her lips swell up. Either that or she was stung by a huge bee. Maybe I'm just an old fuddy-duddy or something. But, I really do hope this is a fake. If not, she'd better not use too much - her lips might start dragging on the ground.

Slowing Down

I'm not sure when I began equating being fast with being good. Perhaps it was when I took piano lessons as a kid and thought that if I played something really fast, it would sound much better than if I played it at a more normal tempo. Of course, you've probably guessed that one of my favorite pieces was Chopin's "Minute Waltz," played in less than a minute, mistakes and all. Unfortunately, I still play fast - and make the same mistakes.

In junior high school, we had to take typing classes and the teacher always gave speed tests. I never did learn how to type the "correct" way, with the "correct" fingers. Nope, I figured out how to type with three fingers and my thumb on each hand, skipping the "pinky" finger entirely. It's a wonder it hasn't fallen off from disuse. Anyway, it was fairly simple to use the same passage for the typing test each day. Heck, the teacher never did check. All she seemed to care about was how fast we typed a passage. I got pretty fast with that passage, probably because I'd memorized it.












Fast forward several years to high school when I learned to sew and make my own clothes. People still did that in the 1960's. I always wanted something to be finished immediately so I could wear it to school the next day, so the faster the better.













When I started working in an office, I wanted everything to be finished almost before it was started. That led to speed filing, speed typing, speed phone calls, and so forth. When I began walking and biking long distances, the faster the better. Who cared for the scenery or the birds. It was more important to get from one place to the next so I could do something else.











Since I began quilting many years ago, I concentrated on that and hadn't really sewn any clothing since my kids were small. Today I decided to make a dress. I started to do my usual "let's get this thing done now" act but then stopped. Why did it have to be done immediately? Why couldn't I just take my time and enjoy the process? Gee, what a novel idea. So, I tried. Instead of trying to sew as fast as possible, I slowed down. It seemed too slow but I persisted. Pretty soon I started having fun, taking my time, making sure the pattern matching and sewing was done correctly instead of slapdash. You can probably guess the partially finished dress looks pretty decent. It's still sitting on the table, half done, waiting for me to work on it again tomorrow.










Later on this afternoon I took a long walk, ostensibly to do more geocaching. However, instead of a power walk down the trail, I took my time, stopping occasionally to listen to the birds, to appreciate the blooming red bud trees, which I'd never seen before, and to check out how high the water table is here. I did find a geocache, but took my time doing that as well.










I'm still typing fast, using the same six fingers and two thumbs. However, I'm enjoying that also. Maybe that's part of growing up - slowing down and appreciating things more.

One of my favorite Simon and Garfunkle songs is this one:

The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the mornin' last.
Just kickin' down the cobblestones,
Lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy.
Ba da da da da da da, feelin' groovy.

Hello, lamppost, whatcha knowin'?
I come to watch your flowers growin'.
Ain'tcha got no rhymes for me?
Doo it doo doo, feelin' groovy.
Ba da da da da da da, feelin' groovy.

I got no deeds to do, no promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morningtime drop all it's petals on me
Life, I love you, all is groovy!
Ba da da da da da da ba bap a dee...

Guess I should listen to it again, huh?

Flowers in the Desert

Last week I spent three days in the desert near San Diego and El Centro, California. Wildflowers bloomed profusely because of heavy rainfall during the fall and early winter months, and we gave our cameras good workouts. The hard part was deciding which pictures to prepare for the website and for emailing. I hope you enjoy these.

I took this first picture in Thing Valley:
a field of yellow all around.


Closeup of Ocotillo
One of many blooming Ocotillo bushes
We'd never seen white lupin before.
Usually it's the more common purple variety.

Time to Stop Stalling

Okay, it took the NoBloPoMo challenge to get me to start posting to this blog again, but I'm going to try my best to write something each day this month. I understand this month's topic is "Growing Up, " so I'll start with a little experience that took place at the San Diego Airport yesterday morning at 6:30 a.m., really too early for anything.

It was the first time I’ve been almost made to feel like a crook for trying to use cash to check baggage. Because I was bringing back a full suitcase of my own containing clothing for two different climates: Portland, Oregon and San Diego, as well as another case full of Focus Knobs for a friend's online business, I needed to check the bags. After standing in line for ten minutes at the outside check-in area for United Airlines – no signs posted letting people know they only accepted debit or credit cards – I got to the head of that line. They got as far as labeling the suitcases before finally informing me they didn’t take cash. There was no way I was going to put what I considered an exorbitant amount to check baggage on my credit card. So, I had to go inside and stand in a much longer line. Got to the head of the line and an employee motioned me to a check-in machine. When I told her I was only checking bags, she told me I needed to use the machine for that. So, I took care of that, up to the end when it asked me to insert my card. Geesh. I had to find someone to let them know I was paying with cash. She looked kind of flustered and had to go find someone else. Finally told me I had to go to a particular clerk. I put the bags on the baggage spot and waited. She finally told me I could use the machine. I told her I had already tried that but was paying with cash. She then did her thing. So, after twenty minutes of stupidity, I now was free to stand in ANOTHER line, this time without my shoes or jacket, with the laptop case open, with my small container of lotion out of my purse and the purse placed flat in the plastic bin. It was so much fun. Remind me again why people continue to fly.

How does this relate to growing up? Perhaps I should have let the first clerk inside know I had been sent inside so I could pay cash to check my bags. That might have saved all of us a little hassle. Growing up at age 62 is interesting, though, especially when some things just seem so stupid. Patience, Chris, patience.