Please Stand By...

I promise to get the blog caught up shortly. Here's a couple of pictures to show just one of the places where I was today.

(There's a Bible Conference in the area in which Pastor Dad will be preaching this weekend. Preaching appointment + short vacation = GOOD TIMES.)

And I understand that there have been terrible storms at home. Have I ever mentioned that Pepper is terribly afraid of thunder? Well, I'm telling you now.

I received the following from The Bear just a little while ago:

Yup! That's the cabinet under the kitchen sink.

Wednesday Wisdom: Learning A Lesson About Fear From Pepper

Our dog, Pepper, doesn't "speak" in the usual doggy way, meaning that we can't get her to bark on command. Who am I kidding? We can't get her to not bark on command either. And yet, God used Pepper to speak to me last week.

Pepper has a fear of thunderstorms. She desperately searches for places to hide or finds someone to hold her while she shakes uncontrollably. Neither hiding nor holding provides her much comfort, but it's all she knows. And being a dog, any attempt to reason with her is useless, although I do the best I can when circumstances demand it.

One morning as I sat on the couch reading I suddenly found myself holding the shaking Pepper whose alert canine ears heard the approaching thunderstorm moments before the tell-tale bass-throated rumbles reached my inferior human ones. She laid her head on my chest, her eyes pleading with me for comfort.

"It's okay, Pepper," I soothed. "It will soon be over. I know you don't understand what's going on, but it won't be as bad as you think. And I'm here."

About that time I felt an uncomfortable stirring in my soul. I have things that I fear, too. It isn't the storms supplied by the weather that frighten me as much as the storms of life.

Just like Pepper has a master that helps her through chaotic weather I have a Master who helps me survive the upsets of my life. At the moment that I was mouthing words of consolation to my dog I felt as though my Master was saying the same thing to me, "It's okay, daughter. It will soon be over. I know you don't understand what's going on, but it won't be as bad as you think. And I'm here," as He held me near His heart and looked into my pleading eyes.

My Master understands what I don't. He knows that nothing I encounter is ever quite as bad as I think it is and He is always there to help me through any difficult situation. I'm sorry Pepper had to be frightened by another thunderstorm but glad that He used her fear to speak to me about my own.

Friday: Grandchildren Fun, Part 2

(Part 1 is found here.)

After everyone finished riding their bikes (or "Freddy," as the original owner of that Little Tikes orange-haired "thing" that Lili was riding - picture can be seen in above link - was named by Lulu many years ago) they went to the backyard to swing and slide before Fen had to leave.

A very laid back Lili

Sweet Pea and Polly swinging

Sweet Pea is big enough to push herself now!

Fen belly surfing on the slide

Tigger getting ready to hit the slide waves

Pepper enjoyed playing outside with the children, too.

The next day it was raining so the girls decided to watch a movie in the morning while curled up in a chair or on the couch with a blanket for each. That's a wooden train track that Fen and I built the day before on the floor below them. They played with it for a while during their visit.

In the afternoon they had a tea party. I wear hats a lot so the girls borrowed some in order to be properly dressed for the occasion. They used my toy china tea set that I got as a Christmas gift many years ago from my own grandparents. I'm happy that I saved it (and that only 1 piece was ever broken and mended) so that my grandchildren can also enjoy it. They gave each other (and me) nicknames, but I won't tell you the given names because it would provide too much information. Instead, I'll just tell the titles they bestowed upon each other.  :)

The Duchess

The Lady

The Princess (I'm sure you're all shocked by this. Every generation has one. Lol!)

And the Guest-of-honor

Their "guest-of-honor" really wasn't too thrilled with the proceedings but she tolerated them as long as we kept her well supplied with food.   :)

I was dubbed the lady in waiting, which was appropriate because that's exactly what I was doing!

The Princess and the Lady having another cup.

Tea set in original box. It has a rainy day theme which was appropriate!

We had a wonderful visit and all were sorry when they had to leave to go to a friend's house so that I could go to church to do my job. Our playtime was over much too soon!

Not "Just" Another Boy and Dog Story

I guess most boys want a dog. I know The Bear just about drove me nuts a few years ago begging for a puppy. Granted,that's a short trip, but you know what I mean. The result was Pepper the Mega-Mutt, the dog who has hastened my arrival at Nutsville.

We got ol' Pep for The Bear's birthday a few years back after he broke down sobbing while reading Where The Red Fern Grows, a classic boy-and-his-dogs story. I probably should've planned his literature studies a bit more carefully that year, knowing his heart's desire. Bad teacher! Bad, bad mom!{Sigh}

Anyway, I'm about to ask your help get a dog for a boy who doesn't just want one. He needs one. His dog will be a service animal. The dog requires extensive and expensive training in order to help someone who has Autism. The boy's name is Aiden and he is the grandson of my blogging friend, Karin Ristau. Aiden and his family need help obtaining the funds for the dog's training.

I've requested donations before for various ministries that I think MATTER. And I thank those who sent them. Most of the time the highlighted ministries use our donations to help people whose faces we'll never see this side of eternity, but you can see pictures of the little guy and the dog here. Look for the pictures of Aiden and Hiro and locate the nearby donation button link.

My recent donation will only cover one hour's worth of training but every little bit helps. I plan to make further donations as I'm able.

I want to help this boy get his dog! You sure didn't hear me making that statement a few years ago!

Thanks for any help you can give.

Did You Miss Me?

Or did you even notice I was gone?

Matters of life and death have kept me away from you recently.

The "life" matters have been a whole lot more fun.

• Three of our children had birthdays in May. (Oh, yeah. I blogged briefly about those.)
• One of our children and her husband graduated from college in May. (Oh, yeah. I blogged about that also.)
• I didn't tell you that I orchestrated a major church banquet for both men and women in honor of Mother's Day and the upcoming Father's Day.  And then I panicked when my planned guest speakers (a husband and wife team) cancelled 3 days before the event. :( Not to worry! The Lord worked everything out because He obviously had other plans. And His plans turned out very well indeed.
• Well, okay, then. Did I tell you that my father-in-law, son-in-law, and grandson have birthdays on three consecutive days in June? And did I mention those were last week? I thought not. We celebrated Fen's second birthday yesterday (and his other grandma hosted a fine shindig for him!) and we celebrated Fen's daddy's birthday today. Whew!
• Did I also mention our church had Vacation Bible School last week? No? We did. I taught a class of kindergarten age kids. I'm still recovering. :)
• I won't tell you about the Mother's Day lunch menu that . . ., well, I'll stop there. Let's just say that all of the guests were fed anyway. :)
• It wouldn't be right not to tell you that many hours during the month of May were spent downstairs because of tornados and major storms. You have no idea what it is like to be in such close quarters with a scaredy-cat dog in such moments!I'm not sure all the bruises have healed yet.
• Then we had a major, MAJOR rainfall of about 4 inches within a couple of hours this past Friday that turned just about every street within a 5 mile radius of home into raging rivers. I watched 2 or 3 cars sliding off "the hill" on loose gravel that had washed down from somewhere and onto the road. I headed my car in the opposite direction only to lose visibility within minutes due to bucket loads of water hitting the windshield. What I did see was a lightening strike to a nearby telephone/electricity pole. I didn't stick around long enough to see the fire department respond.
• My family and I participated in an event last week called "Cross the Bridge for Life" to benefit our local crisis pregnancy centers.

Yes, "life" has been busy. We had something going on every Sunday in May and most of the other days as well. Both June Sundays have similarly been busy, as have the weekdays.

But that "death" part was what really threw us into a tailspin. The departure of souls into eternity added actions that cannot be comprehended as mere dates on a calendar.

• Since Easter (which was 7 weeks ago: today is the recognition of the Day of Pentecost) Pastor Dad has preached 8 funerals. Not all of the dearly departed were members of our church, but all were somehow connected to it. Pastor Dad takes that "pastor" part very seriously and visits not only his flock but their loved ones as well, consequently he gets asked to participate in many funerals. These last few weeks have been very grievous one.
• I sang at a funeral for the first time. It wasn't my singing debut but it was my funeral solo premier. Oh, my! I thought singing solo in public in general was stressful, but it's nothing compared to that of singing at a funeral! And I'm aware that it isn't "about me." But I was acutely aware that it would not be a good time for a major mess up or melt down.

As you can see, a manic May is quickly becoming a jump-to-it June. I've been here, but I've just not been here much of late.

A Few Frugal Tips For Couponing & Grocery Shopping

I don't usually buy a Sunday paper. And I don't always shop with coupons. We won't go into all of the reasons why (I'm too lazy?) but we will look at a few ways that I coupon when I coupon.  And I'll throw in another hint at the end just for the fun of it. :)

It's true that we don't subscribe to the paper. We have in the past but found that it usually was recycled or composted unread. That's not a good value. However, if I happen to want a Sunday paper, I stop and buy one on the way home from church.

"Well, it looks like you're not much of an expert when it comes to couponing then," you say? Maybe not. Or maybe I've learned to maximize my time and effort. Here are a few tricks I use while living a frugal,lazy life.

1. Only buy the newspaper when there are coupon inserts. Here's one site that lists what and when.  No need to stop for a paper when no coupons are scheduled!
2. Start your own coupon swap between girlfriends, family, or church members. All it takes is one gullible, er, willing individual to keep the donations and to organize them into a usable fashion. In our family, it is my mom who passes her dissected coupon inserts down to me and my married daughters. We, in turn, share our own with each other before cutting everything out and passing on any we don't want to the willing coupon coordinator at our church who sorts and files them in a huge binder. We have access to that binder after church. (I stress "after" because there better not be anyone going through the book during the worship services!)
3. Besides printing additional coupons from Smartsource and Red Plum directly from a home computer you may wish to purchase popular coupons for a nominal fee from a clipping service. This site offers a review of some of them. More may be found via Internet searches. (When I did a search of my city I found that there is a service in my neighborhood! Who knew?!) If you find one in your area you might be able to pick up your selections saving the postage and cutting the wait time.
4. Once you've got your coupons there is the problem of organizing them. This is where my program always broke down. I hate searching through my folder or envelopes while in the store so I devised a workable solution for me. File the coupons by store rows. Then it doesn't matter that my store hides the toilet paper& in the same row as the cereal. Those coupons are in the same pocket. And I'm only dealing with one pocket at a time, moving my finger from pocket-to-pocket as I progress through the store. (If I go to a different store I need to remember that the toilet paper coupons are in with the cereal ones, but that's never been a problem for me.)

*I've got one more tip for helping to stay on track in the grocery store. Put the allotted grocery budget on a store gift card. I used to shop with cash (a la the Dave Ramsey method) but was astounded at the things that we might designate as "groceries" in a financial pinch. I might get to the store and find that the envelope money bought dog food at the pet store. (Hey! I thought we were trying to keep us from eating Alpo!) Putting the money onto a reloadable store gift card put a stop to that. And I'm especially careful with my purchases knowing there is a finite amount on that card. (Can you say, "No, son, there isn't enough on the card to purchase that big bag of beef jerky"? I can now.)

As an added bonus, since I shop at Kroger and our church participates in their Neighborhood Reward Program my reloads mean the company will make a 4% donation toward church summer camp for children who can't afford to pay their way. Check with your retailer to see if they have a similar program and then ask your church or charitable organization to participate.

Okay, I don't just shop at Kroger. But I do buy about 75% of my groceries there.  I reload my card 3 weeks out of each month and use the money for the 4th week to shop elsewhere. Someone else might need to put 75% and save 25% as cash each week for other expenditures, like dog food from the pet store or sales at other markets. Whatever works best for you. This is just how I budget to make sure only one "member of the family" is required to eat dog food. :)

The Anthropology of Genealogy

All of my worlds are colliding these days. And that's not always a bad thing.

I just finished reading the "She Reads" monthly selection and listened to the blog audio clip interview with the author. I was struck by how much local flavor colors the writing because the author is native to the setting. So while this book was not a genealogy per se, it was somewhat of a cultural, religious, and social anthropological discourse of the author's heritage. It reminded me of my own culturally diverse roots.

In doing research for the Ohio History class that I teach I've made some interesting anthropological discoveries behind my own family tree. This could prove useful for further research or for even understanding family traditions.

Most people are unimpressed when someone mentions that they are from Ohio - unless it is getting close to presidential election time and then suddenly everyone (including the media) starts treating us with respect. But in non-election years? Not so much. And who can blame them? We seem mediocre enough: just plain ol' plain.

But actually, we're anything but! We're quite a blend of anthropology. We are the example of the proverbial American melting pot. Nothing proves this more than my own lineage.

Some of my New England Anglican ancestors were the first to arrive in the newly formed Northwest Territory. In 1797 my southern Virginia Baptist ancestors appeared and settled in the same neighborhood. If you know any church or U.S. History you know that this was a potentially hostile situation. Somehow they overcame it because a son from one family married a daughter from the other. Perhaps their mutual hatred of the British united them. Both fathers were reportedly Revolutionary War veterans and their children married during the War of 1812. Or maybe their shared wilderness experiences made them set aside any differences for the sake of survival. One way or another, their bonds were forged and children were born.

A son produced from the union of this New Englander-Southern farmer alliance went on to marry a girl of Scots-Irish ancestry. They had children.

A daughter from the union of New Englander-Southern farmer -- Scots-Irish marriage went on to marry a German Protestant boy whose parents still spoke their native language almost exclusively because they had learned very little English in the 40 years since they had immigrated from the Old Country.

Okay, stick with me now! We're on a roll!

A daughter produced from this union of New Englander-Southern farmer -Scots-Irish -- German marriage went on to marry a man of English-Jewish ancestry. The English line had only been in America for a generation or so. The Jewish line had been in America (but not Ohio) for many years. You can imagine the fireworks when the Southern Jewish girl married into the high-brow English Methodist family a generation before and then moved to Ohio as a consequence!

And this is just my mother's Ohio line! When she, the New England - Southern Virginian - Scots-Irish - German - English - Jewish girl, married my dad another set of cultural, social, and religious aspects were introduced, including some inherited from his own first settlers of Ohio roots (although another part of the state entirely). Sometimes I feel like a walking Ohio History exhibit!

And on another note, perhaps it explains why sometime I feel so mixed up. I really am! I'm not religiously confused, but the cultural and social aspects can be daunting depending on the situation. It really tends to manifest itself in reaction to negative stimuli. Which culture comes into play? I'll-blow-them-out-of-the-water-after-I've-had-my-afternoon-tea English? Or shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later Scots-Irish? Hmm.

I guess I'm not so different from my dog, Pepper. She looks and acts a whole lot like her chocolate lab roots but also somewhat like the unspecified part of her lineage (which I suspect to be some type of hound). Her confusion manifests itself when she encounters a bird in the yard. First she points at it and then she haltingly runs for it. She seems to be saying, "Do I point at it or do I retrieve it? Point? Or retrieve?" Finally, she looks at me like I'm going to give her a command (which she wouldn't understand if I did). After a long moment she makes her decision, "Oh, never mind! Let's play fetch." And she picks up a ball and brings it to me.

I couldn't agree with her more. I find the study of my own anthropology to be very fetching indeed.

Who's An Animal? Pepper or Me?

It isn't that things are so slow around here that there's nothing else to blog about other than our dog, but then again, you must realize that I've been ill this week, we've been somewhat house-bound due to the snow, and I've spent a lot of time on the couch with the dog draped around my neck. Yes, literally. As long as my head and her body stay "just so" on the arm of the couch the situation is tolerable.

It obviously isn't her color that caused anyone to associate the name Pepper with our dog when we first adopted her from the shelter. It comes from the fact that she has lots of pep. "Lots" is an understatement. This dog should be on meds for ADHD. Due to her abundant energy there are times when situations are not quite so tolerable.

In the ten minutes or so that it took me to put together last night's post about her being a cross between a chocolate lab and a meth lab she destroyed 1 empty Amazon book box (the books were rescued), the bottom of my woven laundry hamper (if only this meant the end of doing laundry), and 2 or 3& empty food product boxes (the person responsible for taking out the trash was then told to get the job done pronto!). In other words, it took me longer to clean up after the dog than it did to write about her. Forget that post! She's not part meth lab. This dog is a cross between a labrador retriever and tasmanian devil!

After my exertion I sat on the couch to read. It wasn't long before the dog was on my lap. Really. All 55 pounds of her sitting squarely upright on my lap. This was quite a hindrance to reading so I moved her aside. This resulted in a pinching sensation. It was Pepper's teeth nipping at my arm in the manner that a human would use to devour an ear of corn: nibble, move, nibble, move; back and forth and up and down. It dawned on me that she thought my sweater-covered appendage was a stuffed animal. All such prized toys were moved long ago into protective custody, but once in awhile Pepper will go on a seek-and-destroy mission as though under contract by the mafia. Great wads of quilt batting or plastic pellets will be found on the floor to signal their demise. Sometimes there isn't much left to make a positive identification of the victim. Have you ever had to clean up the innards of a decimated Beanie Baby? It's a gruesome task and one I loathe, almost as bad as contacting the owner of the keepsake with the bad news.

The reason for her obsession with these playthings is not clear. We buy her toys of her own. Unfortunately, most of them come with at least one and sometimes two squeakers sewn into them. Pepper is also obsessed by these squeakers. She either produces the sound non-stop or removes the offending squeakers post-haste. I'm not sure which I find more annoying, the relentless repetitive noise made by a toy void of removable batteries or the destruction of a brand new purchase for which I've just laid out hard-earned cash.

I figured out last night that this was what the dog was doing as she nibbled her way methodically up and down my arm. She was looking for a squeaker. And she found it! I finally managed to escape to another room where I could put a closed door between us.

I pondered on what it was that made her compare my arm with a stuffed animal. It was probably the sweater I was wearing. This also explains the recent attacks when I've been wearing my fleecy bathrobe.

Since such clothing are standard cold-weather garb around here it's going to be a long winter! Most just hope to survive the season of cold and snow. I have the added worry of being chewed by a dog that mistakes me for stuffed animals. Somewhere out there are 6 other families who own Pepper's litter-mates. I'm thinking of asking the puppy rescue place for their names and numbers. Maybe they'd be interested forming a support group.

(The events told here are true but the telling of them are in jest. No people or animals are in any danger of being seriously harmed. Yet.)

Pepper's Heritage Explained

Isn't that puppy cute?  Yes, that's a baby picture of our own Pepper soon after we'd brought her home from the rescue center in April 2007.  The folks that ran the facility told us that she was a chocolate lab mix but they didn't know exactly mixed with what.  Her parentage has been somewhat of a mystery to us, too, until we started investigating the dog's genealogy.  (Yeah, we're really into family history around here.)

Anyway, I found a link that shows Pepper's family tree here.  The pictures of the two dogs on the bottom are her mother and father.

Go ahead and take a look.  I'll wait for you to return.

Are you back?  Explains a lot, doesn't it?!  Uh-huh.

Picture This

The verses for this week's Providence 365 project are I Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in every thing give thanks . . ." I hope that I'll be able to adequately represent them Saturday in pictures on a digital page. In the meantime, I've been considering a few things that have happened in the last couple of days that would fit these verses but probably won't be included in any photo collages any time soon.

Picture attending a baby shower that the mommy-to-be didn't due to pregnancy complications. This was originally scheduled a month ago and it became clear that if it was to proceed at all it would need to be without the honoree. But the fact that one month later the baby is still where he needs to be is cause for rejoicing!

Picture coming home last night to an email that one of the families in the homeschool co-op won't be there today because their house just burned to the ground! Rejoice that the whole family made it out safely. No, really rejoice!

Picture being awakened by the alarm and realizing that a fitful night of sleep was caused by a sick headache. Imagine having to teach an Ohio History class in less than 2 hours. Okay, I know you'll find this cause for rejoicing hard to believe coming from me, but here goes. Imagine being really thankful for a son with a learner's permit that can drive himself and his mother to co-op! (And imagine how thankful she was to awake and find she'd slept through his merge onto the freeway!  Just kidding. I was awake enough to talk him through it. And sedated just enough not to yell so I guess that makes two people in that car who were rejoicing.)

Okay, you've stuck with me so far so let's try one more. Picture that the "post-headache energy drain" leaves the impression of midnight instead of early afternoon of a basketball practice day. Then rejoice to find that practice is cancelled for the day!

And as a corollary to the above, picture that the "blah" feeling requires a cup of hot tea with lemon, honey, and Pepper. (The lemon and honey go in the tea. Pepper is the dog who hinders the drinking of same.) And there is rejoicing because no matter what the fashion police say comfy sweat pants and stained sweatshirt, which are now draped by the 55 lb. dog who decides she'd make a lovely living fur stole draped around the neck, didn't get thrown away after all!

It's all stuff worthy of thanks and rejoicing.  A little weird maybe, but part of the "in every thing" that God has brought our direction in the past few days. And this is only Monday!

Pepper's Opinion of the Season

What is a hyper dog supposed to do when she's not permitted to

• chew the ornaments?
• or eat the seasonal goodies?
• or jump on the UPS delivery guy or the mailman who bring packages to the door?
• or tear the wrapping off the gifts under the tree (which aren't for her anyway)?

Go pout on the couch and change Noel to just plain ol' . . .

Mind Games

When under stress the brain has the power to conjure up some strange scenarios! We've reached the stage where we can laugh about yesterday afternoon's "alarm." Actually, we'd reached that stage about the time the last slice of pizza disappeared an hour later. Over dinner I asked Pastor Dad and The Bear what went through their minds when they returned home and found me gone. These are their responses.

Theory 1:
That you (that would be me) had taken the dog for a walk, then had fallen and were lying somewhere hurt.

Hole in the theory:
Normally I can't stop while going about my daily chores without that dog bumping into the back of my kneecap, but yes, I can see your point. She's a female dog, but she's no Lassie.


Theory 2:
Your car wasn't here so we figured you'd parked it somewhere in the neighborhood in order to take the dog for a walk, something happened, and the dog made her way home.

Holes in the theory:
Um, our subdivision isn't that large so if I'm going to chauffer the dog around it kind of defeats the whole purpose of "taking the dog for a walk," doesn't it?



Theory 3:
Yes, but it is still possible that Pepper ran off, you were hunting for her, but in the meantime she'd found her way home.

Holes in the theory:
The dog was inside the house and the last time I checked, she didn't have a door key.



We've had a lot of fun talking about the scenes they imagined when they came home and found my purse and its contents nearby the dog who just happened to be catching forty winks across my pillow! But if I ever really do get hurt while walking the dog I'm glad I can count on my guys to come to my rescue since if I learned anything from this escapade (besides to make sure I have my phone with me at all times) it is that none of us has very much faith in the dog.




.

Cause for Alarm

Stressful events have been going on around here lately.

Last night several local fire departments battled an apartment fire a few miles away. And today an ambulance and fire truck zoomed past our house in their apparent need to get somewhere in a hurry. The alarming sirens were everywhere!

You know, just another day in the 'burbs. Not!

And I've been a bit "off kilter" the last few days. I'm blaming my hormones - or the lack thereof - for most of it. Due to my "nerves," as we euphemistically call my agitated state, Pastor Dad gallantly offered to take The Bear to basketball practice. I gave my assent and the motion was passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned.

Soon after they left, I also left. I took Pepper for a walk. I did this for several reasons. First, it gets her some exercise, which was really necessary today because . . . Second, I was going to be leaving for the library and this would require some of Pep's pep to be expended so that I could literally get out the door without her.

And third, I was being nosy. I wanted to see if there was any visible reason why an ambulance and a fire truck came careening past my house today. (There wasn't.)

Taking Pepper for a walk is not easy. And I'm not talking about the actual walk itself. I'm talking about getting her out of the yard. Our perimeter has an invisible fence and there are only two ways to get that dog past it. One is by picking her up bodily and the other is by putting her in the car and driving her. I always choose the latter for obvious reasons. I receive enough battle wounds without actually trying to manhandle a rambunctious canine who doesn't have enough sense to know when you're trying to do her a favor! So the first part of the walk was accomplished via car.

The walk being done, I took the dog back into the house and proceeded to load essentials like driver's license, spare change, and library card into the neck pouch that had just moments ago held things like doggy treats and pooper-scooper bags. The purpose for the library visit was to catch up on some volunteer work that I do for the local genealogy society. I don't like to take my purse with me because it is hard to keep an eye on it while preoccupied between the stacks and copy machine.

The free afternoon seemed the perfect opportunity to get this done. I expected to be home before the guys reappeared.

Things never go quite as planned. There were parts of the assignment that I did not understand so I worked a bit slower than usual. When I left I realized I had stayed longer than I anticipated which meant it was getting dark outside. There would be no dinner waiting for the guys when they got home. I discovered that I didn't have my cell phone to tell them of my delay but I didn't think it important because I still expected to be home before they were.

I was mistaken. And as soon as I pulled into the driveway I knew something was wrong. Pastor Dad's car was gone, both garage doors were up, all of the lights were on, The Bear was darting out the front door as soon as my car came to a halt, and Pepper was running around like a maniac. Okay, that last one is pretty normal, but the rest of the stuff isn't. I inquired as to the nature of the emergency.

It seems that I was the emergency!

When they got home, they found Pepper in the house alone and the contents of my purse tossed about on the bedroom floor. I suspect that Pepper used the discovery of this unexpected bonanza to search for spare mints or change. Whatever. The man, the boy, and the dog all know that I don't usually leave the house without my purse and certainly not without my wallet or phone.

No one remembered that I had stated my intention of going to the library but everyone remembered that I was going to walk the dog. They also knew that the car was involved. I'm not sure exactly why they thought I'd forgotten to actually take the dog with me but they did. Pastor Dad was driving through our neighborhood looking for me.

Thankfully, I arrived just a few moments after they did or more vehicles with sirens might possibly have made their way into the neighborhood today. Pastor Dad pulled into the driveway shortly after The Bear called off the (wo)manhunt.

Once we'd all settled down a bit (and ordered pizza) we discussed the events of the day. Perhaps I'm a bit too quick to blame my stressful feelings on hormones but I think Pastor Dad might just have been a bit too quick to blame my absence for his feeling of panic, too. It seems that he had allowed The Bear to drive to basketball practice today. On the interstate.

You do remember that the boy just got his learner's permit last Friday, right?

Mmm-hmm.

Thankful Thursday

I'm making an effort to count my blessings. It should be easy to do but some weeks it really does seem like more of an effort than what it should be. So in honor of counting my blessings I've declared today to be Thankful Thursday and it might be a permanent feature here.

We'll see. No promises.

So what am I thankful for on this Thursday?






Why, the Dog Days of Summer, of course! What did you think I meant?

Oh, and air conditioning, too. Definitely air conditioning!

What are you thankful for this Thursday?

(Rejoice! Comments have been enabled once more! Please leave one telling me what you are thankful for and why.) :)

A Busy June Monday

Not only was June busy, but July has been as well. Pastor Dad's birthday ushered in the month, followed closely by Independence Day which we celebrated on the 5th, and then a week getting ready for our church's Teen Week at camp. Camp is where I am now and is why I didn't continue my DC trip run-down. I haven't had much time to sneak to the computer.

Anyway, to return to events that took place almost a month ago. . .



Pastor Dad and I woke up Monday morning a bit sore from walking more than usual the night before, but we were prepared to resume our exploration of the city. But first, there were still more clothes to be purchased for the Bear.

We received a message asking for certain clothing items. I'll admit that I am partly to blame for this mishap. In my quest to make sure that he had all the required business clothes for his week at Leadership Training Institute of America, I forgot to put casual clothes on his packing list.

Well, duh!

I take back what I said about Santa having nothing on mothers. I should've made my lists and checked them thrice. A quick run to K-Mart remedied the situation and for a lot less money than the cost of the dressy wardrobe!

After dropping the purchases off at the dorm in Arlington we made our way into DC. The Daughters of the American Revolution website tells how to get to Continental Hall from two different stops on the Metro. Neither is extremely close to the building but we were not adverse to more walking. So that's how this Daughter found herself posing for this picture:


I spent a couple of hours inside doing genealogical research (some hints and how-to's coming in a future post!) while Pastor Dad graciously toured the museum and the period rooms furnished by various state organizations. He showed me around once I had finished in the research room.

Continental Congress convened a few weeks after our visit. I've never participated in one of our Congresses but hope to have that opportunity one day.

For my fellow-Ohio Daughters (Is it correct to call you "fellow" Daughters?) here is a picture of the Ohio room. Ohio Daughters might host a tea while "at home" in the room:

When we departed the DAR we wandered toward the White House. My, but things have changed since I was a kid and 9-11 (two events which were not contemporary with each other, obviously) because the views of the White House that I remember as we drove by are now seen by foot if seen at all.

Perhaps we missed an opportunity to party at the White House! We saw that there was a catering van in the drive:

When it comes to Presidential parties, I wasn't in the mood to discover personally if the staff is any better at "making a list, checking it twice" than I am so we continued our walk. We circled around to see the other side:

After leaving the White House district we made our way back toward the Metro. I was startled when I met a mouse on the street! We also saw the gigantic rat used for the strike at the American Red Cross headquarters, but what I narrowly missed touching was not a rodent full of hot air. It was an actual, live mouse that passed me on the sidewalk! As circumstances would have it, it was not the last mouse I would encounter face-to-face on my visit to our nation's capital!

"Busy June" Gets Ready for Traveling

After that week of VBS followed by the weekend of rain and celebrations, there were preparations to be completed in the following 6 days for the upcoming trip to Washington DC. I had my doubts as to whether we could do it or not. Time was tight and there was much to be done!

First, there was the shopping. Contrary to others' opinions, this was not a vacation. In our family a trip is defined by how many dress clothes one must take along. No dress clothes might* mean a true vacation. Several sets of dress clothes mean that Pastor Dad will be preaching as a visiting speaker and we will be attending each session. On such trips we add as many vacation elements as we can to provide some leisure. Sight-seeing might consist of brief moments seeing what the locale has to offer in way of amusement, cuisine, or historical significance. "Dress clothes required" trips are not to be spurned, but they're not technically vacations either.

(*An exception to the definition: church camp is not a vacation even if we don't take dress clothes! There's always one brave soul who will ask me after I return from a week away at church camp if I enjoyed my "vacation." Sigh! I say "brave" because so far the looks I've given the person have not resulted in injury but I fear there's a first time for everything. )

This trip, it was not Pastor Dad and I that required multiple two-suiters. It was the Bear. And given the fact that the Bear has grown significantly taller in the past few years the pickings in his closet were less than he needed. (More like slim and none.) Therefore, for the price of what it would cost to be hooked up to an EKG machine in the emergency room we bought the Bear a new dress wardrobe. I'm kidding, of course. It's just that when I saw how pale Pastor Dad became when he paid the cashier I began to fear that we were going to be making a first-hand comparison shortly.

Okay, shopping done. On to the next item on the list.

Second, there was school to do. We're still at it. We've been blessed with several "dress clothes" trips this year and we think traveling with Pastor Dad is one of the perks of homeschooling. Therefore, the actual bookwork has to be done at more unconventional times, like summer.

Okay, school work for the week was done. On to the next item.

Third, there was Father's Day to consider. We're very blessed to have our fathers in this area. We were also very un-blessed in that we would be nowhere near this area on Father's Day this year. So that meant making sure greetings were made in advance of the actual day. Cards and gifts were bought and delivered. No dads fainted due to receiving their gifts early.

Okay, done. On to the next item on the list.

Fourth, there was my upcoming family reunion and the genealogy book that I've been writing in honor of it.

Uh, undone, on both counts. I would not be attending the reunion again this year, and the book would not be completed either. But I worked hard to get a partial prototype printed out for viewing. It was all I could do under the circumstances.

Fifth, there was Pepper to take to the vet for her booster shots so that she could go on her own little trip to the kennel.

Okay, done. Keep going...

Sixth, there was Pepper to take to the kennel. She hates this part. I hate this part. Our usual kennel was booked solid so we had to use one that is reputable but definitely not folksy like our favorite. This one treats her like it is their job or something. Our usual one treats her like she's a guest.

Okay, done on Friday afternoon. On to the another item on the list.

Seventh, there was the Bible reading schedules to put on the blog. Since I wasn't sure of the Internet reception at any of the places I'd be staying (or even where I'd be staying part of that time!) I typed them in advance and scheduled those schedules to appear on schedule.

Done! On to the last item on the list.

Eighth, there was laundry and packing to be completed. Making the lists, checking them twice. Santa has nothing on mothers.

Okay, done! The busy week preparing for the trip was complete at midnight on Friday! Time for some sleep before the alarm went off on Saturday morning . . . at 3 a.m!

(Still, to be continued!)

If Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness...

. . . then uncleanliness is next to dogliness.




Everyone in this house has chores. Pepper thinks she should have some also.

I'm all in favor of dogs working. The black lab we had prior to this chocolate lab-rat brought our newspaper to us each morning . . . and anyone else's if they didn't get it themselves before our retriever's first morning outing.

But we don't have a newspaper delivered anymore, and Pepper just isn't the type that could be trusted to bring the newspaper inside in readable condition anyway, so the unemployed dog tries to find any work she can. Her dream job is taking the trash out. Not out to the garbage can. Just out.

Fen Gets Around

We were gone only 5 days but in that time little Fen learned to synchronize his movements well enough to crawl. Now he no longer stays where I put him, as even poor Pepper was distressed to discover.

Oops! Lost a sock.

Better pick that up. Pepper might think it's something to eat.

Oh, who cares? Just leave it.

I've got more important things to worry about . . . like . . . emptying the DVD cabinet.

Things To Do At Gram's House

Stop and smell the roses.

Receive lots of kisses!

Master new computer skills.



Learn to drive.


Smile and giggle until it's time to leave.

A Dog And A Blog

Yes, Pepper speaks. Doesn't every dog? But now you know why there have been so many mentions of her in recent posts. Well, that and our favorite foil, the Bear, has been sick and it seemed heartless to pick on him when he's ill. Although, he ain't that sick, Praise the Lord, and should be back to being good blog fodder any day now.

In the meantime, I thought you might like to see my co-writer. Usually she dictates or leaves me notes, but as you can see, she decided to take things into her own hands er, paws the other day.

I'm sorry! But I couldn't read what she'd written! The copy was dog-eared.