What I've Been Up To

So, here's your basic update on life since I've been neglecting my blog.

1. Family Camp. It was super fun, as always! I had two bad migraine days and one moderate migraine day. The weather was gorgeous except for one storm - see above re: migraine. The speaker this year is from the Milwaukee area and spoke about love. His whole week's worth of talks is summed up in this: Love. One. Another. 

2. Kids' Family Camp Stuff. We took Wild Man's girlfriend, J, to camp with us again this year. For the all-camp fun day, they did a bunch of station games with a talent show in the evening. Wild Man sang "America" while J did her flag routine. They were a rousing success! 

Wild Man, Rosie Girl, and J did a rap that I can't begin to successfully explain. Wild Man did the beat-boxing. Rosie Girl and J were Peter and Paul having the argument in Galatians 2:11-21. It was beyond amazing. And frighteningly theological.

Wild Man did music stuff (of course), playing bass one day and drums one day. And, he won the carpetball tournament!! They didn't have the archery tournament because of rain - if he had placed in that tournament (which he has for the last few years), I would have tried to get some of his ice cream!

3. Migraines. Yes. I still have them. No, I don't enjoy them.

4. Books. I have discovered the author Terry Brooks. I am loving his Word and Void series and am getting started on one of his Shannara novels. Friend me on Goodreads to see what all I'm reading these days. (I think it's mostly up to date!)

5. Knitting. The Waupaca County Fair is coming up! I've got two items completed and two yet to go. The hardest thing is remembering my form - due this week.

6. Pokemon Go. Are you playing? Rosie Girl thought Christmas had come early when she heard that I signed up. I love collecting the critters and evolving them. But, I'm a lover, not a fighter, so I haven't gotten into a gym. We'll see how that goes. We live right by a Pokestop, so I collect a couple of Pokeballs from my living room every few hours. And I got a Meowth while sitting in my rocking chair last night!!!!

7. Sophie. We took Sophie, Rosie Girl's cat, to live with her in Stevens Point last week. Sophie is undisputed queen of the roost, right where she belongs. On that same day, Rosie Girl, PWM, Wild Man, J, and I went down to the park in Stevens Point right on the river to hunt Pokemon. Some people had practically set up camp. Of course, I was kind of tempted to join them when I realized how many magicarp there were! 

8. Rhapsody. This is my new kitten. I got an adorable 8 week tabby from J's family. Rhapsody and Rory are still separated. Rory isn't too thrilled with having a kitten around. As soon as I clip Rhapsody's claws and put her claw covers on (hoping to prevent declawing), she should be ready to hang out with Rory. Rhapsody is totally adorable in all her kitteness! She plays until she's completely tuckered out and then goes back upstairs to the closet where she's been sleeping and lies down.

9. Rosie Girl. Started a full-time job!! And it's a job that will offer benefits after a certain period of time! And it pays tolerably well!! And she likes it! Yes, we're all pretty excited. Rosie Girl is feeling like her choice to not return to school was a good one. 

10. PWM. He's starting to feel the impending start of school. But, first, he does two weeks of training at Milwaukee School of Engineering. Yay! NOT! The training is important for the new class that he's teaching, but I'm not thrilled about him being gone for two weeks. In any case, he's getting lots of walking in with Pokemon Go.

11. Wild Man. He's working at a grocery store and can work some shifts at the same chain when he starts school at UWSP. Hopefully, he can handle a few work shifts along with school. We also have to finish up his school shopping. And, I told him he gets to make his own doctor and dentist appointments before school starts - his schedule is too complicated for me to sort out. Besides, as he likes to point out, he's an adult.

That's what's up in our little corner of the world. I've got lots of stuff in my brain that wants to come out. I'll try to let it out in bits and pieces that make sense. Fat chance!! Stay tuned for the crazy!

CCM

Sassy Hijacks My Blog

So, Sophie let me into Mama’s blog tonight. Cool, huh?

What do I want to talk about? Ummmm. Food. food. food. food. And cuddles, cuddles, and more cuddles.

My favorite two people are Daddy and Wild Man. I like how they smell. And sometimes they give me cuddles. Wild Man brushes me, too.

I like Silver, but not so much Sophie. Sophie doesn’t groom me or Silver. And when she plays, she plays to hurt us! Silver and I just play because we’re bored.

Sometimes, when the whole family is gone, a really nice lady comes over and gives us cuddles, but mostly gives us wet, gushy food. I really like her!!!

Food and cuddles, food and cuddles, food and cuddles.

Sassy

7 Quick Takes Friday (Well, Actually, Saturday)–July 21, 2012

I’m doing my 7 Quick Takes on Saturday again, but that’s OK because I’m flexible – and I’m sure you are, too.

1. Lots of headaches this week . . . I have managed to only take Imitrex twice, but it was still a rough week on the pain front.

2. On Sunday, Wild Man found out that there was an opening for him to go to camp in Colorado with the church youth group that was completely paid for! (He had chosen in the spring to go to Hunter Safety camp this summer instead of the Colorado camp because of the cost.) So, on Wednesday, PWM took Wild Man shopping for some nice warm clothes since PWM has grown so much since the winter and on Thursday, I took Wild Man for his physical. And at 8am, PWM took Wild Man to church to get on the bus. And the group is now somewhere between here and the mountains of Colorado.

3. We didn’t do much celebration on my birthday because I wasn’t feeling really well, so we celebrated last night. We had dinner at The Menasha Grill, a Cajun restaurant on Main Street in Menasha, which is surprisingly authentic. Oh. My. Goodness. I had some wonderful blackened catfish, fried crawfish, fried okra, and hushpuppies. It was delicious. Then we walked by the river for a few minutes. And came home so Wild Man could pack for today.

4. My birthday gift is an ipod! Well, actually Rosie Girl’s ipod that I bought from her and she bought a new one. I am realizing that I’ll want a new one in an entirely too short period of time. I’m already spoiled to all the cool stuff this one can do – and the newer ones will do. Right now, though, I’m happy with the cleaner interface than my previous mp3 player and Rosie Girl is happy with having lots more space for more music.

5. My uncle passed away yesterday morning. I mentioned in an earlier post that we were able to set up a Skype connection at my aunt’s 90th birthday party so that he could see and talk to people even though he couldn’t be there in person. He passed peacefully, for which we’re all grateful.

6. Project Runway’s 10th season has started! Five years ago, I would not have given anything to do with fashion a second thought, but I’m learning to appreciate the art and skill involved in creating beautiful and functional garments. And it relates to knitting. Right? Right?

7. It has been entirely too hot this summer! We are used to having one or two hot weeks in the year, but the rest of the time, we keep the windows open most of the time. This year, though, we’ve had the air conditioning running far more than usual. And the cats aren’t too happy about it, either. They like to sit in the windows and keep an eye on the world, but nowadays they only get an hour or so of window sitting, if that.

So what’s up in your neck of the woods? Check out Conversion Diary to see what others are doing!!

Things I Will Never Understand

Technically, I should title this “Things I Will Never Understand Until I Get To Heaven”, but that is a little too long and tedious.  But, here at 2:17am while I’m having some impressive insomnia, I’ll list some things that I’ve realized I’ll never understand.

1. Why Sophie (Rosie Girl’s cat) steals socks.  She certainly doesn’t wear them!
2. The Boson-Higgs particle
3. Why Sassy (the long-haired cat) thinks it’s such a victory that she conquered a hair elastic.
4. Why PWM loves me
5. Why Silver (the short-haired grey cat) believes that the laundry basket of clean clothes needs to be her bed.
6. Why Sophie and Sassy are addicted to packing tape.
7. Why I can’t sleep tonight.
8. “The physics of the thing!”  (Sorry, Dad, I’m still a physics novice!)
9. Wild Man’s love of all things gun-like.
10. Anime and Manga (sorry, Rosie Girl)
11. Why I have migraines (although I’m pretty sure I didn’t cause them)
12. Twitter
13. IPhones (I guess I’m not as tech-savvy as I thought)
14. Why I don’t like fruit (and many veggies)
15. The grace of God.

Do you have any to add?  Isn’t insomnia great?  I get all kinds of crazy things coming from my head when I don’t sleep!

7 Quick Takes Friday

 

Ah, Friday!!  Now that we’re “doing school” again, we all look forward to Friday!

1. I have a cold.  As all of my Facebook friends are aware – and probably tired of hearing about!  I was the last in the family to get it, but it has hit hard.  Today is day 5, so I hope I’m on the down side of it.

2. My mother-in-law and her friend drove from the deep, deep South up here and arrived yesterday.  They actually drove into Michigan and then took the ferry across Lake Michigan, then visited Door County before getting here.  Wild Man is thrilled to have Grandma around again!

3. Fall has fallen around here!!  The leaves are changing, it’s in the 50s, and it’s windy.  A definite fall day.

4. Night before last, I had the front door open with the screen door window open.  The local neighborhood outdoor cat came by and started meowing at our cats.  And our cats when berserk.   Again.  This time, though, we closed the door and got Silver and Sassy separated.  Wild Man and I each sat with a cat and fed them canned food.  We were able to reintroduce them yesterday afternoon and all has been calm since then.  We will not be leaving the front door open anymore.

5. Wild Man needed a clean shirt for school the other day.  Instead of putting in a full load of laundry (and let me assure you, he had plenty of dirty clothes), he decided to wash 4 items.  4 items of clothing in one load.  Yikes.

6. PWM is making Zuppa Toscana for dinner tonight.  Yummy.

7. I’ve been knitting quite a bit this week, mostly because I’ve been feeling so icky.  One of these days, Wild Man and I will actually read his science book.  Maybe.

Check out what others are saying at Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday – 9/17/2010

 

Here’s what’s up!

1. This has been a rough week on the headache front.  Earlier today, I used my TENS unit on my neck.  The downside, though, is that the electrodes and tape pull hair from the back of my neck.  Ouch!

2. We went to Outback for dinner tonight.  And we can call it school!  Because we’re studying Australia!  I love their food soooo much – and we got a free dessert that the whole family shared.

3. I’m loving this cooler weather.  PWM and I took a nice, long stroll on Tuesday and enjoyed the coolness.

4. One of the advantages of having my kids take a class at the public school is that they can have school pictures done with the rest of the school.

5. Yesterday, Silver (one of the two gray cats), who is usually MY cat, acted like she wanted to get on my lap by jumping from the piano bench.  I tried to get her to come in front of my chair and jump up on my lap.  Instead, she went and got on Rosie Girl’s lap!  How dare she?!  Yes, I was hurt, but she made up for it later by sitting with me while I read on the sofa.

6. While we were watching the Top Chef finale which was held in Singapore, Wild Man shouted out, “Hey!  Did you see the statue?  The one of the lion just like in the book?”  So, he is paying attention when we read!

7. On Monday, we find out the results of Wild Man’s Vision Therapy testing along with the recommendations for therapy.  I really hope they have something that can help his dyslexia.

Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others have to say!

Talking to the Cat (Silver)

Silver jumped on my lap today in the millisecond that it wasn’t filled with knitting or a book.  I started to pet her and we had an “interesting” conversation.

Me: “Oh, my sweet Silver, do you wuv to be petted behind the ears?!”

Silver: “Woman, there is no need to use baby talk.  I’m 9 years old, which means I’m like 120 in human years, so I could be your grandmother!  (By the way, can you scratch a little more down by the chin?!)”

Me: “Fine.  Be that way.  But, remember that I buy your food, so watch the attitude.  Oh, and you’re purring.”

Silver: “Yeah, yeah, I’m purring.  I can’t help it.  Don’t start to think I’m weak or anything.  By the way, you’ve been slacking on the cat petting lately.  What’s that all about?”

Me: “Oh, Silver!  You know I love you!  I was knitting a pair of socks, and now I’m almost done with Mom’s sweater, and I have about a zillion books that I desperately want to read.  My lap is rarely empty.”

Silver: “And the problem is  . . .   You seem to have forgotten that I’m the center of the universe.”

Me: “Um, yeah, right.  Well, Miss Center of the Universe, do you think you could limit the shedding a bit.  This black skirt is quickly turning gray.”

Silver: “Hey, shedding is what I do.  I eat, sleep, use the litter box, sleep, and shed.  Well, and wait for the silly humans to get around to petting me.  (Oooo, a little to the left . . . perfect).”

Me: “Don’t forget tormenting the other cats.  You do that a fair amount.  And created quite the hassle a few weeks ago.”

Silver: “Not my fault.  (Oh, scratch right behind the right ear, yep, got it.)  Anyway, it was the crazy cat from “outside” that tried to start something with me and Sassy.  And then Sassy got freaked out which freaked me out . . . “

Me: “Which led to the two of you trying to kill each other and destroy the house.  Yes, I recall.  And Sophie wouldn’t come out of Rosie Girl’s room for several hours.  You two really got into it.”

Silver: “But, we got through it.  A few days of separation, a little canned cat food, and some good petting from the lady that came to feed us when you were gone.  I like her – can she come again.  She’s not too busy for cat-petting.”

Me: “Oh, hush.  You’re getting plenty of love right now.  And, you know, it almost sounds like you planned that little “outside kittie” attack.  You know, just to get canned food and a room to yourself for a while.

Silver: “Me, never!!  Perish the thought!  (Scratch just under my neck a little – there, perfect)  Although, I do know where the canned cat food is kept now.”

Me: “Silly cat!  And I even caught you drinking milk out of Wild Man’s cup that he left on the table the other day.”

Silver: “Well, the table is kitty territory.  Leave a glass of milk there and I can’t be responsible for the outcome.”

Me: “It’s sure a good thing you’re cute.  And I really need to find the cat brush.  You are quite the prodigious shedder.”

Silver: “Gotta be good at something in life.  Shedding and napping.  That’s what I do.  Now let me climb up to your neck – just to prove that I’m the dominant creature here.”

Me: “I think not.  My clothes are already gray from your fur.  And the phone is ringing, so off you go.  Try to find another sucker to give you as much love and affection as I do!”

 

(Note: this may not be a completely accurate transcription of the conversation, considering  that I’m writing it at 1:40am.  Nonetheless, it is an accurate reflection of the attitudes of both human and cat!)

7 Quick Takes Friday – July 16, 2010

 

1. I turned 43 on Wednesday.  My dear family got me books, books, and more books!!  And a Dairy Queen ice cream cake!  Does life get any better?

2. About a week before we left for camp this year, our cats had a little stressful event.  A neighborhood cat came up to our screen door and our two gray cats got all stressed out, but they started to take it out on each other after we closed the door.  They were screaming, hissing, and bowing up like we’d never seen!  We separated all three cats for several days, rotating them so that everyone got some time in the basement with the food and litter box as well as time in the other rooms where they could smell the other cats.  We also got a Feliway diffuser which diffuses “happy cat pheromones” into the air.  A good friend who is also a cat person fed them while we were at camp so they could also get some attention while we were gone.  Since we have been home, there have been just normal kittie tussles and no screaming fits!

3. More about cats – It does appear that Silver has reasserted herself as the dominant cat.  Sophie had been dominant for a number of years.  I think, though, that Silver is telling the other cats, “You don’t EVEN want me to go all crazy on you again!!”

4. I’m drying some of the herbs that I’ve been growing.  I said that the oven smelled herbacious, but PWM said it was herbalicious!  Either way, it smells good.

5. I think some of the recent headaches have been related to neck pain from the bad mattresses at camp, so I’ve been using muscle relaxants, ice, and my TENS unit.  Today, I finally felt better on that regimen.

6. We bought paint for the dining room today and I painted a little section of wall.  I’m going to love it!!  And the name of the paint color is “sensual”!

7. Grandma is getting her cottage next door all set up.  She has most of the furniture that she needs.  She puts some flowers in her front flowerbed earlier this week.  We’ve had her over for dinner several times this week.  I think this is going to work out well.

Check out 7 Quick Takes Friday to see what others are up to!

Domesticated Faith?

do·mes·ti·cate

–verb (used with object)

1. to convert (animals, plants, etc.) to domestic uses; tame.

2.to tame (an animal), esp. by generations of breeding, to live in close association with human beings as a pet or work animal and usually creating a dependency so that the animal loses its ability to live in the wild.

3.to adapt (a plant) so as to be cultivated by and beneficial to human beings.

4.to accustom to household life or affairs.

5.to take (something foreign, unfamiliar, etc.) for one's own use or purposes; adopt.

6.to make more ordinary, familiar, acceptable, or the like: to domesticate radical ideas.

Last night, two of our domesticated cats tried to become un-domesticated (if that’s a word).  They were standing up at the screen door (since it was a nice, cool night) when a stray cat came up to the door and started to get aggressive with them.  Rosie Girl got up and closed the door, but (from what we can tell from the incident and from reading some information about cats) Sassy and Silver were now afraid and were taking out their fear as aggression on each other, reverting to their wild state.  And let me tell you, wild cats are crazy!!  They hissed, screamed, cried, and bowed up and each other and then tried to kill each other, taking out large parts of the house in the process.  They spent the night separated and will now spend the next few days getting re-introduced.  (Deep Sigh.)

All of this made me think about how the Christian faith in our time and place has become “domesticated” and safe.  Not only is it safe to be a Christian, but in my town, it’s actually a pretty good thing.  When bad things happen, we’re all off to church, even people who don’t normally go to church.  Most funerals are still held at churches.  There are Christian bookstores all over the place.  As Christians, we get our self-help books from Christian bookstores. (I suspect they say largely the same thing as non-Christian books, just with a Christian veneer.)  Our family is going to a Christian camp for a week of relaxation and fun this next week.  It’s quite easy to be a Christian around here – or at least to say you are.  Go forward in church, fill out the papers, and you’ve joined the club.

That’s not how it is in other parts of the world.  “ . . . in China, India, and the Muslim world . . . there is no Christian subculture that allows a person to participate in a Christian life that amounts to little more than expressing a preference for a particular type of religious entertainment.  In those societies, if you aren’t willing to suffer, go to prison, or die, you aren’t going to be a Christian.”  (Mere Churchianity, p.192)  And yet, these are the places where the Gospel is taking off.  These are the people who want to be like Jesus.

When you think about it, what Jesus taught was counter-cultural and “undomesticated”:

• Seek peace before your own needs (Matt. 5:9)
• Give freely to others (Matt. 5:42)
• Love your enemies (Matt. 5:43-47)
• Seek first God’s kingdom and don’t worry about your physical needs (Matt 6:33)
• You must be willing to leave your family to serve me (Matt 10:35) (Talk about your “family values”)
• Jesus claimed to be the Son of God (John 3:16)
• Jesus claimed to be God (John 4:26)
• And much, much more!!

Yet, here I am, in 21st century USA, living a very comfortable, “domesticated” Christian life.  Do I give freely to others?  I’ve been to Caracas and seen the barrios.  I know the grinding poverty in which they live.  Is my hand truly open to those in my own neighborhood as well as the world?  Do I speak freely about the Jesus I say that I serve or is it easier to be silent?  Am I worried that people will think I’m some kind of Jesus freak?  The disciples certainly weren’t worried.  And I certainly talk a good game about making sure to not stay secluded in the Christian ghetto.

I want to live a life completely directed by God.  And I doubt that’s going to be a domesticated Christian life, because that’s not the kind of life Jesus lived.  I may not be a homeless, itinerant preacher in 1st century Palestine, but I want to live the way Jesus would live if he was a 42 year old homeschooling mom in the Upper Midwest.  Hmmm.

What do you think of the concept of domesticated Christianity?  How can we “undomesticate” our faith and start to live like Jesus?

Get Me Out Of Here – 2 (From Xena, the Warrior Cat)

Yes, it is I, Xena, the Warrior Cat, who has once again “borrowed” the humans’ computer for a few precious moments.  I continue to plan my escape from this house.  As we enter into Spring, my need for fresh air and outdoors increases.  Yet, here I am, stuck inside with the humans.

 

Sassy remains as silly as ever.  She adores the adult male and whines and meows and jumps on top of him.  Depending on his mood, he will either throw her on the floor, or pick her up and pet her.  Silver is more restrained, but remains devoted to the adult female and has no desire to escape – something about being too “old”.  I’m seven years old and will never be too OLD to want the outdoors. 

 

Sassy occasionally makes a break for the outside, but she is so silly that she either stops dead on the driveway so the humans can pick her up immediately, or she runs under the bushes.  When she runs under the bushes, they spray water at her until she runs out and then they catch her.  No, an escape plan must be more subtle.  So, I rarely try to run out through an open door.

 

The adolescent female takes me out on a leash at times.  It is nice, but not enough.  And, now, she has been gone for almost a week.  She is the only human I can tolerate around here.  I’ve had to be nice to the adolescent male!!  And this morning, I allowed the adult female to stroke my head and neck.  Yes, I was desperate.  I need the adolescent female here if I am to survive my imprisonment.  She is the only one who understands and, I believe, loves me!

Oh, no, here come the humans.  I will send more messages as I can.  Stay free!!

Xena, Warrior Cat

7 Quick Takes Friday – May 15, 2009

Technically, it’s Saturday, but I feel like it’s Friday, so I’ll write my post anyway!

1. Wicked migraine today.  I ended up having to go to the clinic for medications.  The good news, though, is that the migraine started early enough that I got into the clinic while they were still open instead of having to deal with the Emergency Department.

2. We have onions and lettuce coming up in the garden!!  I’ll post pictures in a day or two.  Maybe we’ll have more than one carrot sprout as well!

3. Next year is 25 years since I graduated high school!  EEK!  Some of the alums have set up a reunion website already, so we can see what others have been up to.  Pretty cool.

4. I got Inkheart on CD from the library and I really want to listen to it, but Wild Man doesn’t want to start it until we finish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  We’re more than halfway through the Harry Potter book, so maybe we can start this week.

5. Sophie (Rosie Girl’s cat) loves ice cream and is right now licking the leftovers from my ice cream cup from earlier this evening.  Crazy cat.

6. We need to build a trellis for the garden to hold the pumpkin vines, but we were going to have to pay about $30 for the supplies.  Mr. Math Tutor, though, found that we have some very usable old pipe behind the garage that he can use.  Talk about saving money and being ecologically conscious!

7. I think we’re going to get our kitchen and dining room painted for us!  For free (kind of)!  The teens at church are trying to raise money to go to camp this summer, so they are offering to do work at people’s homes.  We would support them anyway, but would be thrilled if they would paint for us.  I’m all excited.

Check out Conversion Diary for more great 7 Quick Takes Friday posts!

The kitties are mad at me . . .

I locked them in the basement for the night to protect them from themselves. The kids and I spent all afternoon rolling, cutting, and baking pieces of gingerbread for our gingerbread houses (including put in stained glass windows), and I'm not sure the cats would survive if they broke any of the pieces while the family slept. It's only for a night, and they'll forget all about it as soon as someone starts to pet them again in the morning.