Susan & Other Popular Names

http://jezebel.com/map-sixty-years-of-the-most-popular-names-for-girls-s-1443501909


People still think of Susan as being too 'normal' a name to consider. Surely there are tons of Susans, so we'll name our child something modern and relatively unique..like..uh Jennifer, Lisa, Ashley, Jessica, or Emily!

The irony, as I have explained to people before, is that everyone continues to believe Susan is a popular name - and for decades it has been becoming relatively rare. Name your child Susan and she may well be the only Susan in any of her classes. This chart shows the last time it was a leading name for girls in any large-ish state in the US - 1960! (A couple of small states held out to '62) I blame those lazy lyricists of the early rock & roll era myself. Too bad Sue/Suzy rhymed with so many words. I can't blame parents of that era for not risking it. At least by the time I was born in the late 60's most of those songs had faded from public memory. Maybe the songs also reminded parents that the name had been popular in their parent's youth too?

So, Susan may have been referenced very often in public culture, but it hasn’t been used as an actual name for most girls for some decades. At least they were right about it being an old-timey wimey name. It’s so old it’s cool!

The name of Susan has survived for thousands of years. Susa/Susan was the name of an ancient city on a trading route where some lovely flowers grew. Those flowers were domesticated, and the seeds were exported many hundreds of miles by lengthy caravans wending their spice-laden way across the ancient world. Girls were named for those flowers and the name stuck around for millennia - because of those flowers.

So if Susans were named for a flower that was named for a place – what did the name really mean? This is not known. One guess was something about a town of inhumanly-skilled masons, and Susa was their leader. One source says that Susa was the name of the earliest civilization in Persia (Iran,) and it’s capital was actually near a wetland where a particularly lovely lily grew. The flower, in this version, named the capital and the civilization (later known as the Elemites or Elamites, who were destroyed by Babylonians in Old Testament times.)

Another legend, which I love, held that original city of Susan was far older even than this. This Susan was a special trading center at the end of a lovely fertile valley that backed up to stone cliffs. The town's leaders especially valued learning, humility, and generosity. That legend says that initially the town had no outer walls and banned anyone holding too many goods in the town, believing that if they were generous with those who met to trade in their streets, and didn't allow an accumulation of goods to tempt a distant army, they would remain at peace. Eventually, however, powerful and wealthy merchants insisted on creating tower strongholds to make their trading more efficient. The town then had to build walls and maintain a military presence. Happily for them, the valley passes were defensible and the city survived many attacks, until the slow desertification processes that changed the Middle East eroded the ability of locals to survive there. The trade routes moved and the trading center relocated to Elam/Persia.

The current translation of Susan as "lily of the valley" or "lily of the fields" came from differing historians’ guesses as to what the ‘Susan’ flowers were. If the original city of Susan was based in the green valley of a mountain rage, the original ‘Susan’ flower could just as easily been some kind of edelweiss as any kind of lily. Some, I read, were grown in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. I read a book that said old records complained that the Susa/Susan flowers preferred elevations to plains, and were delicate and tricky to grow in a flowerbed, but also that an irritated gardener could throw his remaining seeds at a cliff face or stonewall and find it had taken root there without him. That doesn’t sound like a wetland lily to me. lol

Note: the last major city named Susan/Susun/Susa on record, where Esther & Daniel lived, was most definitely a rebuild in another location. The original Susa (whether in a valley or by a wetland) was lost to the deserts. The one in the Bible – the oldest one for which we have clear records - may have been the 3rd city with this name. (The third may or may not have been rebuilt in the same area as the second.) This Susa was later renamed Seleucia. That city stuck around long enough to be destroyed by Muslim forces in 638AD. It was later rebuilt, but destroyed again by Mongols in 1218 AD

Notice that thousands of years of references still don’t offer any alternate meanings for Susan. If it was the name of a lily, then everyone’s been close to right all this time, but if not? I've noted some ancient languages in the fabled region of old Susa used sound clumps similar to Susan/Shushan to reference strongholds or fortified king's vaults. That would make sense for the name of a really early fortified trade town.

Wouldn't it be ironic if one of the ultimate 'girly-girl' names actually meant something like "castle?" How about if it was originally the name of a powerful king? Both are possible, and would have been a real comfort to that “Boy Named Sue.” ;)

IMHO Some variant of Katy/Katie and Ann/Anne/Anna/Annabelle/Annabeth should have been on these charts too. I have never been anywhere that didn't have bunches of both Annes and Katies. I suspect that its the variant spellings that kept them off the chart. Katherine/Catherine/Katerine are recognizable as the same name to a person, but not a computer. When you add in all the Katys/Katies from Kathleen/Cathleen and those just given the short version, you get a lot of Katy/Katies! Since the Susan modern variants are also fairly rare (Suzy, Suzanne, Suzette), I don’t think this affected the Susan name as much.

btw - those names go way back into pre-history too. According to a book I found in the 80's, Anne is the oldest girl's name found in cuneiform records that is still in use. They believe "Anne" implied a delicate, especially feminine child. Now it's translated as "favor, grace." At least there's an association of ideas there.

Ancient names are bow-tie cool! - but probably not as cool as this duck...

Character Under Pressure

I both agree and disagree with this statement. Character is your integrity (internal values and how well you live them.)

When people are stressed they tend to show more of the internal workings (probably from being spread thin and frayed around the edges.) This is why we think that pressure brings out character.

Our true character is developed in good and bad times with every choice we make. Who you are when most everyone/everything goes your way, and what behaviors you consider acceptable when you think no one is looking, and how long you will stand for doing the right thing when all appears hopeless - reveal a lot about your values.

I believe (personal, financial, relationship) stress pressures us like a mold forms a tool, solidifying the good or bad choices we make into a more resilient form. All choices tend toward building or eroding our character, but the decisions we make under pressure imprint our ideas about who we are very deeply.

Minions of Habit

Another post FB is not sharing with anyone but me. Oddly, I got it from a friend's Timeline so it has gone through already at least once before.

As for the thoughts IN the piccy, it is so very true that we tend to do what we have done before. (Some sociologists/psychologists call that 'self-herding' behavior.) So, we would benefit from being more aware of what choices we are making, and which way we are trending.

Comes to mind that if a person indicates they were 'fooled' into supporting bullying once, but then you find them pushing agenda(s) on behalf of others - with one or more wanna-be 'queens' they seem to be appeasing in the background - you have identified a definite trend that equates to some quite serious flaws in character. Sure, there are some serious differences getting shared on FB about current events. Its understandable that people share their point of view, and reasonable for those who disagree - to say they disagree. However - going on to another's page and commenting at length solely for the purpose of discouraging others from expressing themselves is not cool at all. It stands out like a neon sign when this is the only comment(s) they have made to the person in weeks, months, years ...no likes, no friendliness and then ze jumpingz onze like ze tonz of brickz. (Ya vol!)  Seriously, trying to force everyone you know to share your political views is a form of bullying. Minions are only funny in cartoons (like Girl Genius)...and in Despicable Me movies

I do admit to liking Despicable Me minions... and bananas ...and DM minions with bananas

and both Despicable Me movies.  (So glad the second movie was as fun as the first :)

So - ahem - yes, back to RL (Real Life) where minioning is BAD (tm) and respecting the sincerely held opinions of others is GOOD (tm)

...and now I want a banana

Repeaters for the Devil's Radio

"Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see." old proverb

Malicious gossips wouldn't manage much harm if many others weren't complicit by being:

1) So Gullible (accepting accusations without evidence.)

In many places and times, a lot of innocent people have been killed because bad gossip swayed neighbors into believing someone was a witch/wizard with an 'evil eye' that's causing all the problems or 'must be the one who did it' when the only 'evidence' was a preponderance of wagging tongues . This is actually why trials were instituted in every civilized society (and mob 'justice' outlawed.) If there is no evidence that can bring the accused to trial, then the most common reason will be because the accused is actually innocent, no matter what 'everybody' has been persuaded to believe

The 'logic' doesn't have to be any better than this...



It says sad things about the state of our society that people have gone back to believing rumors as a primary source of news. Given the propaganda issues with some mainstream sources, and the way local news sometimes just seems to get ignored by the official newscasters, I understand why word of mouth is proliferating. Just make sure your local 'news' actually has credible eyewitnesses and evidence. For those who believe in God, I STRONGLY recommend praying for discernment as to what is the real truth - especially before you act on a rumor in any way! It could be a FrameUp

2) So Judgmental - so ready to internalize a bad word and turn on others, especially friends, family, neighbors...

Any accusation making the rounds effectively acts as a social demotion in most groups. It doesn't need to be all that credible for former friends to shun you. The real message (if your enemy has spread Malicious Slander far enough and didn't get enough flack back for it) is that the herd/flock is turning on you, which means your enemy has more social support and it's safest to dump you.* Since this is a kind of treachery, people feel best about themselves if they 'officially' believe the Demonising Lies. (Cognitive Dissonance) This is why even when you can prove it's a lie, you may have a hard time getting a fair hearing to Clear Your Name. If they accept the truth, then they have to choose between openly turning on you because it's socially expedient or championing your now unpopular position, becoming controversial, and risk being tarred with the same BS brush used on you. The most common compromise position is for a 'weak friend' to continue friendly communications, but only if you agree to keep their support a secret. Eventually most of these either make up their mind to truly remain a friend or stop talking to you, lest the others find out...

In this situation, the best you can be is a Hero With Bad Publicity

* [If you are ever fully ostracized, this enemy's next goal will likely work toward using the group's Moral Myopia to create a Torches and Pitchforks scenario (the virtual version often uses hackers.)]

3) So Ready to Become Repeaters for the Devil's Radio -

Those who are willing to 'back up' a lying jerk are the worst. In some cases they initially back such stories as just juicy gossip, figuring others are solely responsible for discerning whether there is anything to it. They usually tell themselves that since they didn't start it, they are just passing on what's going to go around anyway, but every repetition makes it seem more real to other listeners. This is what pushes incredible assertions past 'the tipping point' into a contagious social agreement - this is what makes even ridiculous hoaxes seem so believable. Not surprising that socially adept bad-mouthing persons/cliques push rumors enough times, in enough places (or just often enough from the same person), their rubbish tend to be accepted as truth. There's no Snopes to prove or disprove their accusations about private people.

The repeaters may even reason that you must deserve it, since Ole Crocodile Tears is a 'nice person.' Well, NO, O.C.T. is NOT a nice person if he/she is trying to get you to say ugly things you don't personally know are true. I don't care if Ole Crocodile Tears says they are 'warning' you about them. That's just a clever ruse to make their little drama sound less selfish/evil and make you feel like they care about you while messing with your head. SEE: Wounded Gazelle Gambit. All you Really Know is that O.C.T is upset with them/thinks they are bad/dislikes them. The result is always that they want you to do their dirty work. *rolls eyes*

God regards the repeaters as slanderers too

Being an easy tool of a slanderer doesn't say good things about you.

Be careful about who you let bend your ear.

Remember: "A clean conscience makes a soft pillow."

Dream Home?

When the subject of dream homes came up, I often haven't had much of an opinion. I think I liked French Provencal for a while as a tween, and leaned toward Neo-Classical for years, but only as an ideal. I have seen the inside of enough well maintained Federalist-style homes to realize that too much formalism is not something I'd want to live with daily. I loved the big Victorian-era mansion/farmhouse where I lived as a little one (with our friends), and for years I thought that's what I'd go for if I won the lottery or something, but I also loved that old log cabin mill-house in the country. I have fantasized about about cave homes, island getaways, hobbit homes in the hills, big tree houses... (but never that weird giant wasp ball in Riven ;)

I've been thinking about what kind of home I'd choose lately (if it was all up to me and I had lots of money) - largely because a FB friend has been exploring the idea for herself and sharing a dizzying array of photos featuring idealized settings in various styles. The stone and log cabin-y ones appeal to me most right now, with the tree-houses taking a close second. You know, like this one...

[ photo below is The old red grist mill, near Eminence Missouri
like>>>Most Amazing Pics in the World for more pic......]

or this... [image below taken from]

maybe with a waterfall like this nearby ^_^
[photo below from]

 

[image above from Ray Kellett Photography taken off FB from]

and the inside would be relaxing, spacious, inviting, sturdy, with plenty of textural interest... 

[photo below - Cottage
http://dreamdecorator.blogspot.com/2013/04/cottage.html

 

Dream Decorators ]

[photo above from

www.wholesaleloghomes.com

 

Teton Heritage Builders]

[image above from Loghome.com taken from ]

 hhmmm... I would so like a house like this, especially with less of the 2nd floor lost and a metalwork chandelier. (I'm not into hunting trophies.) I really like the stonework, the log cabin esthetic, and the backdrop of woods and misty mountains. Very relaxing! 

[photo below from]

Outside there would be flower planters like this...
[image below from]

and benches out in the lush yard...

[this bench image from New Funny & Amazing Pictures @ http://pics15.com/random

]

and a enclosed garden with walls of stone, where the herbs and roses grow...

[photo above from Old Moss Woman]

Fall Wreath

We made a new decoration for fall. Tom made the vine base, and Becka & I decorated it with silk leaves, flowers, little gourds etc. Came out great!



Just in time too. Suddenly it feels like Fall here! Temps dropped from upper 80's last week to upper 50's for today's high temperature. Its unlikely to stay so seasonable, but right now I am glad I stocked up on the good cocoa :D

B + (within wise limits)

Jeannie says "I'm glad God didn't have this attitude. I'm also glad that His resources (including Wisdom) are unlimited so that I can draw on them when I run out of "deposits" from people."

Me too! 

IMO This picture truly does represent the limits of carnal humans. You need more positive than negative input to remain more positive and giving yourself.  The only way to get beyond it is to ask & receive a replenishment on your 'account' by the Holy Spirit. You can keep giving and remaining positive even when your whole world is negative, if you keep your worshipful focus on Jesus. In fact, your cup of kindness can continue to overflow!

One note though, while God's ability to replenish us is unlimited, sometimes He does not choose to honor the request to keep being filled so we can keep on giving beyond our natural limits/means, especially to ungrateful, worldly people. He will always sustain us, but if you are abiding in Him and your ability to cope is still diminishing, its best to double-check in prayer that you are acting wisely. 

We do need to pray about how much we let ourselves be used when trying to be salt & light & a good witness etc. Sometimes what sounds like what we 'ought' to do - like draining ourselves into the red emotionally, financially etc - is 'casting pearls before swine' who won't see the sacrifice of love as it is - but as proof we are weak, meant to be exploited etc. If our gifts of kindness would only harden them in sin then we ought not to do it, even if we are trying to love them. 

There are times when Christ himself has told us not to pray for someone or told us to ignore what seemed like a reasonable request, even though He had given us grace to help before. God alone knows the all the reasons, outcomes, and balances on the ledger, so I listen. I will help and pray for people who have wronged me when He asks, knowing He will always abound in grace towards me -  keeping my inner balance positive - when He wants me to give this way. I won't need their friendship or gratitude to be fulfilled when I am acting with God!  However, I will also stand aside in obedience when I know that is what God wants from me. My ability to give of myself in love outside God's will is going to be distinctly limited anyway. This a truth Christians should keep in mind.

Always being available to be used in love sounds good, but its not entirely Biblical. Its like the injunction to be ready to give a reason for our faith, in season and out of season. Some have interpreted this as we should be evangelizing everyday, everywhere. To be ready to speak is not the same as we should always be speaking. Sometimes we are to be quiet about what God has done for us, like those Christ healed who wanted to publicly worship and were told directly NOT to tell those in the nearest town/priests/crowds. Those who disobeyed Jesus ended up limiting his ministry in that area, even though most meant well.

Looking Forward to Spring

Oh,  I am so looking forward to spring. There are so many flowers that I look forward to seeing again.

Soon we will have the yearly profusions of pansies and daffodils stretched down the village main-street, the farmer's market, and the roadside nurseries. They are the favorite flowers here. I especially love the way the yellow daisies seem to bring the fresh spring sunshine back into the fields, as if announcing the sun's warmth has returned from some long southern migration. I look forward to the rich sweet-smelling mulch we will need to spread again, and glorious velvet pink and purple petunias that will again brighten our backdoor. I love the pansies too, even if they do remind me of that Alice in Wonderland 'flower song' every time I see them, a brain worm that can wriggle around all day.
 
Marigolds are cheerful too, and I especially enjoy the way they discourage mosquitoes from guarding the backdoor!


My mother bought me one of those hyacinths in a dutch planter thingy as a kid. I loved that plant. I loved its beautiful spire. I loved the strong scents that covered the decidedly un-awesome scent of the bayou outside my window (my step-father had a good job in Louisiana that winter). I looooved its bright cheerfulness when all else was gloomy brown moss. That was the year I learned how much difference an indoor plant can make!

I haven't planted a hyacinth in the outside flower garden yet, but I keep thinking about it.

Closest we came was the gladiolas we planted last year. Unfortunately they fell over instead of standing straight and tall and blooming hugely. A heavy rain largely unburied them when they were still bulbs. We didn't notice until too late. I have to admit, their silly little flower faces planted square in the mulch gave me quite a few giggles, but weren't quite what I was looking for in a flower.



I love tiger lilies and day lilies. The most loving, most Christ-minded church I have ever attended was several hours west of where we live now. Sadly, I have been told they are now gone. But, when I was young,& they had glowing mobs of them all around their front porch, and even straggling off in pious lines towards the woods. This one is love by association, but it counts. To this day, seeing a tiger lily anywhere lifts my spirits and sets my heart singing those old familiar hymns.



I love buttercups, honeysuckle, daisies, violets, and dandelions. I picked many wild bouquets for my own mother. I wore them in sweet-smelling tiaras, long necklaces, and fragrant belts. I rejoiced when in my turn my young children brought their mommy-love bouquets to me from our meadow. I am looking forward to the wildflowers blooming again and bringing with them the sweetness and beauty of those memories.


 

I also love roses. 

I admit it. I especially love the ones my daughter has planted year after year in honor of

mother's day and my birthday. She has so faithfully tended them outside the house ever since. They have grown far more quickly than I expected! The scent on warm evenings lightly tinges the house with her kindness and dedication.

I remember too the time when my husband I were still courting. He wanted to get me a dozen roses but could only afford one. So - he brought that one....and when he could manage it again he brought another, and then another. Eventually he managed the whole dozen, and I loved every single one until the last petal fell... and I never forgot.



~ and now, thanks to you, I have written today's blog. Great post, Lorna!

Cloud Tree

Daily Weird has a neat one today :D

Russian Border Guards Protect....Mt. Ranier?

DH's contribution. He found this extremely amusing. Thinking about it, a gaffe like this was inevitable some day, given the way people randomly use stock photos for layouts.


In other news, DD has shared (on her blog) some pics of her lovely roses and a few thoughts about them.

And this week's word is...

convention....

Unwittingly, I have chosen one book after another that focuses on gatherings. The current mystery, Murder Makes a Pilgrimage, is set at a religious 'Holy Year' gathering...which turns out to be a lot like a con. Steve Jobs' bio before that discussed conventions too. The author used the special announcements for the Apple faithful at their yearly gatherings to highlight the changes at Apple & Pixar as the years went by. The mystery before that one, Stitch in Crime, was set at an 'arts & crafts retreat' (sure played out like a regular convention). Now the mystery before that one (Bimbos of the Death Sun) I knew was set at a sci-fi con....and it inspired me to finally dig Uhura's bio out of the TBR pile, but the others were a surprise. I am not sure whether or not I should count Auntie Mayhem, because the psychologists convention in London isn't where the major events take place. Its the English family reunion the cousins attend afterward that turns out to be dangerous. heh.

Since the complaining & social politics are faithfully recorded AND because somebody croakers in each of the mysteries, it doesn't make me feel bad not to be there. Just the long arm of coincidence, I suppose. This is the time of year I would have been creating crafts, firming and finalizing details with the planning committee to prepare goodies for my fellow fans, though sadly this included a mouthy clique of ingrates who (even if catered to) wouldn't appreciate anything unless they took it over. Some of my best creations didn't even get shown in the last years. I didn't feel very appreciated by then, especially since I did a lot of the work in the Fall and someone always used it and took credit for it in the Spring. The final straw was when we took up the hat to buy special souvenir golf discs one year and I not only didn't get paid back, but I didn't even get credit for my generosity on the list of donors. I was finally given one disc by another planning committee member...as a Christmas present. Not missing THAT scene....but the fun ones I used to attend as a fan... yeah, maybe a little ;-)

Actually, even if it hadn't gone stupid, I wouldn't have been able to keep up working for free on 'fun' committees. Tom's health problems got serious in Fall 2004...and have only lightened up in recent months. I thought we were done completely the other day, but that one last spot opened up again so...saline bandages for another week I guess.... I am going to get him back on his Unjury protein powder, I think.

Last summer's hernia surgery turned out to be a lot bigger a deal than we expected...and after healing up from 7 major surgeries (and a dozens of other minor procedures), his endocrine system had already crashed (the previous year) which majorly slowed up his healing capacity. More months on the Wound-Vac followed his release last summer. There's just so much a body can take, and he was a miracle on legs even when it began. His insides have made medical history. His survival says awesome things about the power of God (and many good things about Dr. Shah) Yes, I have had 6 years of changing bandages, overseeing medicines, transporting Tom to and waiting with him through doctor's visits, check-up tests, and otherwise acting as primary care nurse. I just didn't have the mental concentration or physical energy to focus seriously on projects outside my family's needs...nor were the funds really there with DH in the hospital over and over. We did qualify for assistance but I have had to scale back a lot of things. At least he got a hospital bed out of the deal. Everyone still wants to play with it. ;)

& I did pick up my crochet, starting with a blanket made for Tom's hospital beds (I added a band around the outside afterward). (Yes, I know it looks like knitting. What can I say? I was a bit tense...)

I am still not nearly as good as my mother, but i have made major progress. These are the first 'craft-intensive' blankets I have made for the family since the 90's. (I had also made a few simple ones for friends and family from pre-printed fabrics.) Since finishing Tom's single crocheted blanket , I have made double-crocheted ponchos for the family & double-crocheted blankets. Crochet is great stuff. Its relaxing to do and relaxing to use.. Just ask our cat Louis...

We couldn't have made the 'fun' trips to these big cons either, though there are tons of get togethers in our area. Hardly a month goes by that there isn't a festival, Colonial re-enactment, Civil War demo, or a gaythering o' lords & ladies fayre ;-) Even Tom has been able to wander by several & play of an afternoon, so we haven't missed out completely..

Hard to say when we will be up for anything more again. Right now we are back to re-planning with the disability people. Its been good news lately. Looks like he qualifies now for retraining..and while he is doing that I can pick up my projects and see how that goes.

Pics from earlier this year

This is a much longer slideshow than usual. These pics are from late Spring of this year. You can see the archery lessons we finally got around to doing, pics from the flowerbed & one from the garden, roses from the bushes planted this year (yes the plants are kinda small), and more recent pics of our puppy, Jack. Pretty much all these pictures were taken by Becka, and all legal rights to them remain hers.

The next collection will at last move into summer. I was still busy with Tom, and Tom himself has stayed pretty much on bed rest from Spring til - well, he's still pretty much supposed to rest most of the time, but Becka continues to get a neat shot in now and then.

100 yr old photos

(from Shez)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/214585

The pics in this link are all color photographs that were taken 100
years ago in Czarist Russia. I was blown away at the color and
definition. they look like they were taken yesterday. The
photographer used a technique using red, blue and yellow glass plates.
he took 3 separate photos of his subjects, one with each glass plate.

How they were made....
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/making.html

Okay..so a little bit photo-shopped..but the data was really there! Very, very cool to see these scenes so clearly from a 100 years ago!

Cute as a Speckled Pup....

He's getting more speckled-y all the time too ;)

Meet our new pup, cute as a button but full of mischief - yips, nips, chews, and cat chases. Jack is allegedly half chihuahua, half terrier (His dad is definitely half terrier-half Chihuahua, but we think his mom is really a Chiweeenie.) He's a fun pup, but definitely more of a challenge than you'd think when he enthusiastically licks your face and snuggles up to you. We will have to watch him around strangers, as he definitely will bite, especially when very excited. Mind you, right now that is not a big deal, with his little puppy teeth - and we're working with him, so hopefully we'll have him well socialized before too long!



We weren't honestly planning on getting a dog. Came about like this - a longtime fiend of DH kept bringing up his wish to give us a puppy when his Chiweenie grew up, as he was sad we didn't have one anymore. DH hubby said sure, that'd be great, knowing said friend was really wanting to offer an olive branch - and was letting him know he understood that. Its a Christian thing. We really should allow people to apologize and make amends when they sincerely want to do that. We were sure that is how Tom's friend meant it. We were also aware that it was going to be a long time before such a promise could be kept - who knew if she would even have puppies? She was a nice dog, and our friend was expressing a nice sentiment. That was the end of it for a long time - and then we get the news in late winter that she was expecting so we would soon have a puppy! (This was a surprise in two ways. Known him for over 20 years and I believe this is the longest this friend has ever remembered a promise. He keeps them when he remembers them, its just that his memory hasn't usually been this good.) Whee! Four pups were born, but the littlest one didn't make it. All three survivors were cute little males. A few weeks later we were asked to come and pick one. We chose the friendliest, which happened to be the biggest, while stressing that he didn't really have to do this...it was okay if he had other friends who wanted one.... etc. We spent some time praying about it, but decided to leave it in God's hands rather than reject the well-meant gift. I think my last prayer was, if you really want us to have this puppy, then let our friend give the pup to us directly. He showed up a week or three later (we usually go see HIM!) and handed the little guy over.

So now we have a companion while we work in the gardens, a little one making mornings come way too early. lol On the whole we like Jack very much. Even the cats like him, when he isn't too much in their faces. Usually he enjoys chasing them a small way, and then backs up when they turn around. Occasionally L & K chase Jack! LOL

Spring Sights

March ~ local road trip

This was in March, when the clover was indeed just beginning to peek its cheerful way through area lawns...

I feel it shows the parkway & bridge area nicely in early spring. Becka took these pics while I drove. If all continues to go well, soon I'll be taking some pics heh heh heh

belated holday pics

Meant to share this MUCH earlier... still...better late than never. Kids had a pretty good Christmas. Relatives all sent money to them. Becka used most of hers to get little presents for the rest of us. William used most of his to buy an ipod. Our toys to him tended to be more traditional - ran across a shop with old tin toys. He loved them, though the Wii Nerf Blast game from my biological father was the biggest hit of the day. He's won it already! As for the rest of us, we mostly got each other ...books You'd never have guessed, right? LOL Well, Becka got some 'pretties' too. Didn't take many pictures, but here's a few for you.



William did a GREAT job on the gingerbread house this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well- Happy Thanksgiving weekend anyhow. :)

Hope yours was nice. Ours was quiet and full of tasty treats which we were able to eat - a little. Colds weren't completely gone, nor are they now, but at least I didn't have to set the box of tissues and a candy bowl of Ricolas next tot he cranberry sauce, as I joked. Mind you, they weren't far away...

We didnt take many pics, but maybe you'll like these. Also bday ones & latest cute kitty



I don't do the Black Friday thing. I'm out in the country, and the local ads did not inspire extreme efforts, especially given I'm still recovering from aforementioned bug and end of the month sales on after 2 birthdays & a holiday are always poorly timed for our finances anyway... We spent a little time talking about it and I am not all that happy with the whole concept. I admit this upfront as I am not so sure my negative opinion hasn't been affected by the fact that these events have never even been remotely convenient for us. So you can take these ruminations with that grain of salt.

It seems to me that planning these big sales events on the next morning past Thanksgiving would tend to cut into the holiday in several ways. There would be those who are visiting from out of town who would lose those hours to visit while this shopping goes on, unless they belong to that select minority who enjoys chit-chatting in crowds and queues. There would be those who would at least be tempted to end their visits early on Thanksgiving (or shoo away relations) so they can rest up for these early hour sales, and may be surly if family stays 'too long.' They might excuse it by saying they want to get these Dear Ones even better presents at that half-off discount, but wasn't the present thing all about enjoying and appreciating each others company? If you are the type to dread shopping but can only afford what X wanted when its dirt cheap between 5-9am (supplies are limited) - you might spend the whole day dreading that next morning. Will I manage to get one? Will it get ugly at the store? How early do I have to be there to ensure they don't run out (its so WRONG of merchants to brag about a huge sale of an item to THOUSANDS and then only send like 3, 5, 10 to the store! The limited early hours thing is bad enough!)

Why on Earth do these merchants insist on pushing into our holiday? Why couldn't they wait until Monday at least? Okay, thanks for your patience on my latest growl.

Tune in next time while I wonder why no one is considering a possible connection between the Somali pirates who attacked the Indian Navy last week & the 'unknown terrorists' who are using the same sort of weapons & arrived in the same sort of speedboat in Mumbai this week....

Working things out

We did get that half-off leather kit, as it will be a few weeks until we know if DS's necessary orthodontic work is covered. He has made his first set of moccasins. We bought a little extra leather so his older sister could also make a pair, and those came out reasonable well too, despite interference from the kitties. They stole laces, and hissed at the finished products, until they'd been worn enough to pick up some people scent. Its hard to make 'craft' moccasins tight, the pattern is very generalized, but you do get that sense of - hey, I can make what I need! Once you've made your simple shoe, you feel less intimidated about working out what tweaks or embellishments might improve your basic model. You start to see yourself as a 'can do' type person. That's what DH & I found so freeing when we did these crafts as teens. Glad to see the both of them get that same experience. DS will be making a belt soon, learning tooling. Tell you how that goes.

Both young'uns are being very good about keeping up their Wii fit exercise. Becka, especially, is getting some results. DS balance is improving noticeably! Mom was a bit discouraged that several of the games need her to move quicker than she can, but she still putters with it now and then.

Math arrived and DS dove right into it. He's quite enthused, thus far. Shifted to World History readings for now. We can get back to the Middle Ages later.

We're still getting some nice veggies from the garden, though its begun to slow down in this unusually dry summer. We didn't even get that much rain from T.S. Hannah. We're not at drought level, but this is usually a wetland, and all the drainage ditches (many are more like moats) are built with that in mind.

& I did get some Wisteria pictures uploaded. So...here they all are!


(click to see larger versions)

Finally! some pics

This is a very small smattering of the photographs we taken this year, but the delay and small selection hasn't been entirely my fault.

Every service I have ever seen online has been glitchy sometime, and I ran into a snag the last time I seriously tried to upload everything. Some pictures I know I added just didn't stay up. I was disappointed that one of them was a spectacular shot of a wisteria 'waterfall' in the nearby woods - which is probably why I didn't bother to post then, figuring I'd make some time and fix it soon. This decision seems to have resulted in sharing nothing for months - so - now that I've teased you sufficiently about the one that got away- here are some of the others. lol

These are mostly from this spring.



Seriously, I will make an effort to upload the wisteria picture soon. :-)