On Becoming More Unique

The Oneacrewoods is a unique property. I've thought that since my first glance down the drive back in the old days - that's when I fell in love with it and my feelings have not changed a bit!  To find such a sizeable lot with a double house and so many unusual trees within a 1/2 mile of a business district is not a common thing. And now, a new landmark, our own lion guarding the entry.  We needed this. 



Hello, welcome to the Oneacrewoods! Roar!



It belongs to the person next door, and the drive is one that we share. I guess since it is really his property and we just have access rights he can put anything there that he wants, so bear in mind (or lion in mind) that I did not go out and buy this lion. It just appeared yesterday while I was at work.  He's got a rather friendly face, for a lion, and he is about the size of a real lion... none of those trailer park yard ornament varieties. Kind of a red sandstone color.

My first thought was that he was a little ostentatious for the Oneacrewoods.  I can see him fitting in at Buckingham Palace or some large gated estate maybe. The truth is I think lions are a little ostentatious in front of gated estates too.  I mean, who are they kidding? We're to think they have lions guarding their gate? Is this Africa?  I even queried Facebook to see what my friends thought of this lion and got mixed reviews. Paint it, cover it, name it, cool, stately, needs a lamb - clearly there are many kinds of people in the world with different tastes. Thank you all for your opinions, but as I read them I was often thinking "really?"

So there he is.  I asked the husband what he thought of the lion and he said "where is he?" This is after he had driven past, within four feet of this life-size object.  Reminder to self: do not take this man on your next lion hunting safari.  Yes, so there he is and it looks like he's staying a while. I can use him as a landmark, telling my friends to turn in by the red lion and not having to worry about them saying "which red lion?"  That's the beauty of being a bit odd and more unique. I'm just sayin'...




Is that a little smile I see?



The Answer

...another verse, same as the first, bow to your partner.  Probably third or fourth grade, physical education class.  PE or Phy Ed as we called it in Wisconsin, was divided into sections over the school year.  We almost always started with calisthenics, played the sports in their seasons, had times when we were tested and measured according to the President's physical fitness standards.  I hated that part. There was so much competition to do the shuttle run faster than the next person and so much shame if you couldn't do the minimum number of sit ups or pull ups. I say shame but it wasn't like a long lasting shame - maybe till class was over. But a part of Phy Ed that I always liked, and never thought there was enough of, was the square dancing.  (Can you imagine how square dancing would go over in today's schools?) The songs and calls were played on a record player. We were forced to find partners, boy/girl if we could pull it off, otherwise girl/girl.  And the squares that really learned it well were chosen to be in the program at the end of the year. Parents came to watch. You got to wear costumes, skirts with puffy slips under them, and new tennis shoes.  It wasn't hard and it was just fun. Dancing is fun today too, but as much as I like line dancing which is probably the modern day equivalent, there is more camaraderie in square dancing. You get to dance with everybody's partners and you don't always know what the next call will be.

Another verse, same as the first...

Lots of rain again! I'm going to do something outside tomorrow even if I have to wear my boots and rain gear. Reminder to self: check for spiders living in boots before putting on.

Who remembers where they might have heard the quote in the title of this post? I remember.  Quote the next line if you do.
Answer in next post.

Wet

It's raining again.  It's not like a summer rain either.  It's odd, like a sad, crying, dripping rain with gray, subdued light that will just keep fading away until it's night. It's already dark in the house and I should put on a light or maybe some moody candlelight would be good.  It hadn't stopped being wet yet from yesterday so everything outdoors is very, very soggy, soaked even.  Moss in the trees is getting heavy with water and falling down on the ground.  I seem to be stuck here looking out the window, not enough energy to move away and do something. As time goes on, I think rain is going to be my new excuse for contemplation, cancelling appointments and taking it easy.



Rain barrels are full - water just runs off the top



In, Out, Onward

So, did you ever join a cult?  I did, although I wouldn't have called it that then.  Even now, I like to think of it more as a stage of learning that had some pretty positive points to it.  I guess for others it was a real nightmare and kind of wrecked their life. Today I had occasion to read some of the history of the church written by people who had different takes on it. It has been a bit upsetting and I don't think I can be sure who the bad guys were and who the good guys were - just that there were obviously some of both. I'm also thinking that whenever you put people and power together, you are probably going to get some corruption along with the package.

What is interesting to me is that, having joined the "cult" I really became quite busy applying it's teachings to my own life and didn't notice a lot of the disturbing stuff that was probably going on.  It wasn't like we were being prepped to drink kool-aid, or shave our heads and wear robes in the airport  - but we did do some things that were considered pretty odd to others.  But odd in a normal sort of way.

I grew up going to a evangelical, protestant church where my family and most extended family had gone for years.  I knew about youth groups, church camp, VBS, and could find scripture references as fast as anyone could and it was okay I guess.  But other than the arguments at school between the Lutherans and the Catholics and us, I never had my thinking challenged in the areas of faith and personal philosophy of life.  Then along came the cult.  After my initial objections, which were more social than anything else, I found it very exciting that I could study the Bible and discover stuff I hadn't heard about or thought about before.  It felt dangerous, but good, that God could lead me to be different for reasons I really believed in. I think it was a good thing that I got excited about God at all and for that I'm thankful.

I'm not in the cult anymore.  I'm not saying it was easy to break away from 20 plus years of thinking and doing certain things. There was pain involved.  I changed but I don't really see that God did.  I appreciate his constancy more each time I survive another upset. The beliefs I hold about him keep getting more real, more central and more important to me.  I believe God has led me into, through and past a lot of different situations and has made something beneficial for me out of all of them.  I have no regrets and frankly, can't thing of anyone I'd like to trade lives with.  I also believe that God does this for anyone who decides to trust him to do it.

Bug Soup

I have been disappointed.  On the scale from 1 being least to 10 being greatest, this is only about a 2 but it is the most recent disappointment I've had so here it is...  (It's also slightly disgusting)

I'm making soup with my home canned tomatoes, a whole chopped onion, a bunch of celery, some white beans and as the final ingredient other than spices I'm preparing to cook some brown rice.  Thankfully I decided to cook it separately and add it later.  After rinsing it under running water as per instructions and putting it into the pan to boil, what do I see but a horde of little black guys floating to the surface, taking their last breaths I suppose.  This is long grain organic rice and I guess having used no pesticides, the bugs come with the rice, for the same price.  What a deal. 

Well, they're floating, so I thought maybe I could fish them out with a spoon. That worked pretty good but everytime I stirred the rice a few more came to the surface. Evidently, not all of them are bouyant - the more muscular ones are heavier? I don't know.  What to do?  I mean how dangerous could they be? They've been eating organic rice all their lives in this bag where they probably were born.  Couldn't we just eat them?

Now for all of you who have ever eaten at my house - rest easy.  I did throw them out.  I checked the bag and threw it out too.  I'm just sayin' I hate to waste things so this was disappointing. 

Deprivation

I went in search of comfort food in my kitchen (shortly after reading about fudge in someone's blog) and there wasn't any, unless you count grapes or metamucil cookies, and I don't.   There was nothing that fit my craving.  What a different life I lead than in the past!  Where are the cookie bakers, the hot chocolate drinkers, the brownie fiends? Instead I am left with the "disappearing husband" who can't eat any of that stuff and doesn't even dare have it around anymore.  Every once in a while - like this last weekend - one of my young, healthy family members comes home and blows the fat restricted cardiac diet out of the water.  We went out for pizza -  Dennis asked if there were any low fat pizzas on the menu and the waiter looked at him like he was from another planet.  We ate macaroni and cheese -  I had to have something for dinner for the aged guest who can't chew very well. (excuses?) There were cookies after church - I left before visiting the snack table but my daughter who stayed brought a cookie home for me.  We went to a birthday party and had ambrosia salad and cake from Publix, decorated in bright indelible colors. Twice I opened a can of soda, well, and drank it, of course.  It's been months since I did that.  I was even inspired to post my love of butter on my facebook page. Crazy things happen to people who restrict themselves over much.

 But now the weekend is past.  I'm back to eating cereal in the car on the way to work, in the dark, mostly at stoplights. I feed the cat better than I feed myself.  I let the refrigerator get almost empty of everything before I grocery shop. I don't want to cook so we have a salad almost every night.  I am imaginative as I throw it together but it still gets a little tedious. And no matter how hard I try to use it up, there is always some form of salad green rotting or turning yellow in the fridge.

All this is to report that the husband is indeed, still disappearing, losing weight and exercising.  Still motivated. Still in a good mood about it all.  He's going for another check up on the blood pressure tomorrow, but lately  it is often too low  rather than too high.  My day off tomorrow will have to include vegetable procurement which is our biggest grocery expense anymore.  Vegetables are good.  Fruit is good... hmm....  There are two bananas left and I'm thinking they are just right for some banana bread.  Oh yeah.