Rule #1 NEVER INVESTIGATE
Rule #2 The Bad Guy is never dead
Rule #3 Don't go into the basement
Rule #4 Don't go into the attic
Rule #5 Don't go into the bathroom
Rule #6 Don't go into the bedroom
Rule #7 Don't go into the woods -
Rule #8 But don't stay inside the house
Rule #9 If a door gets opened for more than 2 seconds, the Bad Guy is going to be standing right behind it when it gets closed again.
Rule #10 When the Good Guy breathes a sigh of relief, the Bad Guy is about to get him.
Rule #11 If the Good Guy is looking in a mirror and looks down, when he looks back up the Bad Guy will be right behind him.
Rule #12 The Bad Guy can move toward the camera faster than you think.
Rule #13 Creepy music = Bad Guy, either while it's playing or right after it's stopped & you relax.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Library Time!
My dad likes to tell my sister and I (and anyone else who will listen) that reading fiction will rot your brain. With 30+ years of brain rottage, we decided to start issuing each other summer break, non-fiction reading challenges. Mind you, we're still reading fiction. Right now I'm in the middle of the Nicolas Flammel, Fablehaven, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians series my niece assured me I'd regret not reading.
For the summer reading list, we just randomly pick out two or three subjects and read a book on each. Dad joined us last year, but refrained this year - I think my theology topics stunted his enthusiasm. Also last year my sister nearly killed me when the list included Jimmy Carter. "Geez...could you pick anyone more BORING?!?" This year when I said "Madeline Albright" I thought she was gonna cry! Just for her I switched it out with another topic. However, my 11 year old niece thought she would get in on the action, so she picked out a couple of subjects too. This year we've got archeology, tropical plants, starfish, self-sufficient living, folklore, and gardens. Folklore probably shouldn't count since by its nature, it's fiction, but still...
One of the amusing things so far is that Ang forgot I switched Albright for archeology, so she read an autobiography from her and ....LOVED it. She didn't want to admit it, but she told me I was allowed to laugh. However I've always made fun of Stephen King and anyone (like my darling sister) who liked reading him. I liked to say that if you painted his head green, he'd look like the Grinch. She finally talked me into reading The Green Mile and I had to admit that not all of his stuff was completely stupid. I even told her I should write him a letter of apology. I reminded her of this and told her I thought we were even.
I thought this year I ought to save time and read something from the Foxfire series, that way I could have gardens, self sufficient living, and folklore all in one book! That's what ya' call efficiency, but Ang would probably say that's what ya' call laziness! I'll probably save time with the starfish, because so far the only books I can find on the topic are childrens' books. I can find adult books with starfish in them, but not books wholly dedicated to the topic.
And all of these go on The List. I have several reading lists I keep up with - Mark Twain Nominees, Nobel Prize winners for literature - but my master list is seeing how long it will take me to read 1000 books. Since I've started keeping track in 1998, I've read over 425 books. It would be amusing to see if I could get to 500 by the end of this year, and I can't believe I've managed to keep track for the last 10 years!! Maybe I'll publish the first 500 on here...who knows! But I guess I better wrap up this journal entry so I can get back to my book!!!
For the summer reading list, we just randomly pick out two or three subjects and read a book on each. Dad joined us last year, but refrained this year - I think my theology topics stunted his enthusiasm. Also last year my sister nearly killed me when the list included Jimmy Carter. "Geez...could you pick anyone more BORING?!?" This year when I said "Madeline Albright" I thought she was gonna cry! Just for her I switched it out with another topic. However, my 11 year old niece thought she would get in on the action, so she picked out a couple of subjects too. This year we've got archeology, tropical plants, starfish, self-sufficient living, folklore, and gardens. Folklore probably shouldn't count since by its nature, it's fiction, but still...
One of the amusing things so far is that Ang forgot I switched Albright for archeology, so she read an autobiography from her and ....LOVED it. She didn't want to admit it, but she told me I was allowed to laugh. However I've always made fun of Stephen King and anyone (like my darling sister) who liked reading him. I liked to say that if you painted his head green, he'd look like the Grinch. She finally talked me into reading The Green Mile and I had to admit that not all of his stuff was completely stupid. I even told her I should write him a letter of apology. I reminded her of this and told her I thought we were even.
I thought this year I ought to save time and read something from the Foxfire series, that way I could have gardens, self sufficient living, and folklore all in one book! That's what ya' call efficiency, but Ang would probably say that's what ya' call laziness! I'll probably save time with the starfish, because so far the only books I can find on the topic are childrens' books. I can find adult books with starfish in them, but not books wholly dedicated to the topic.
And all of these go on The List. I have several reading lists I keep up with - Mark Twain Nominees, Nobel Prize winners for literature - but my master list is seeing how long it will take me to read 1000 books. Since I've started keeping track in 1998, I've read over 425 books. It would be amusing to see if I could get to 500 by the end of this year, and I can't believe I've managed to keep track for the last 10 years!! Maybe I'll publish the first 500 on here...who knows! But I guess I better wrap up this journal entry so I can get back to my book!!!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
A Few Birds, A Little Snow
I have lived with the saying, “If you don’t like the weather in Missouri, just wait, it will change in five minutes.” Here it is mid April; on the 10th there was so much rain (for the second time in two weeks) that flooding became a problem very quickly. People around the lakes showed up to take pictures of the dams that had all their flood gates open because they’d never seen it before, while people “down stream” from them watched the water get high than they’d ever seen it and fill their houses with water.
Today I’m watching gold finches out of my window with their lemon yellow summer plumage while tiny little snowflakes swirl around them. We’re not going to have any accumulation, but that’s no the point! I know we’ve had some of our worst snows in March, but I just canNOT remember snow in April!!! Yesterday while we were having a few minutes of sleet, I was reminded that one of my cousins was getting married outdoors on horseback. *low whistle* Can’t wait to see the pictures from that one…
The birds don’t seem amazed at all. There are gold finches sitting in the grapevine; bright yellow dots against a gray sky. Occasionally they are joined by the odd sparrow, purple finch, or brown headed cowbird, but most are making perches on the bird feeder. The cowbird, grackles, and starlings grab seeds while they can before dad sees them and sends them bolting with a quick WHACK! to the patio door. They do tend to land in mobs and chase other birds off, but I still kind of like them.
We also have cardinals, titmouse, three kinds of woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, and occasionally a blue jay. My ability to identify birds is very limited. I can’t get the subtle differences between, for instance, song, crowned, and English sparrows. I still regularly get the purple finch and house finch mixed up. But even with that, I can’t imagine a house without a bird feeder and bird bath.
The snow has picked up and it’s time for church. I better fly…uh...I mean go now.
Today I’m watching gold finches out of my window with their lemon yellow summer plumage while tiny little snowflakes swirl around them. We’re not going to have any accumulation, but that’s no the point! I know we’ve had some of our worst snows in March, but I just canNOT remember snow in April!!! Yesterday while we were having a few minutes of sleet, I was reminded that one of my cousins was getting married outdoors on horseback. *low whistle* Can’t wait to see the pictures from that one…
The birds don’t seem amazed at all. There are gold finches sitting in the grapevine; bright yellow dots against a gray sky. Occasionally they are joined by the odd sparrow, purple finch, or brown headed cowbird, but most are making perches on the bird feeder. The cowbird, grackles, and starlings grab seeds while they can before dad sees them and sends them bolting with a quick WHACK! to the patio door. They do tend to land in mobs and chase other birds off, but I still kind of like them.
We also have cardinals, titmouse, three kinds of woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, and occasionally a blue jay. My ability to identify birds is very limited. I can’t get the subtle differences between, for instance, song, crowned, and English sparrows. I still regularly get the purple finch and house finch mixed up. But even with that, I can’t imagine a house without a bird feeder and bird bath.
The snow has picked up and it’s time for church. I better fly…uh...I mean go now.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
My own personal jungle
One spring dad asked Angie and I what our favorite flowers were; he thought it would be fun to have our favorites in the yard. I can’t remember what Angie requested, but hers got planted that summer; mine didn’t. I had actually thought about how neat it would be to plant my favorite flower; I even knew where I wanted to plant it - Honeysuckle, in the south east corner of our little lot. The breeze would come from that direction and the sweet, heady smell would drift all across the yard. To look at dad’s face, you’d think I would have just suggested Canadian thistle. “Well, sis, it will take over the yard…” I made several other suggestions, each one more apt to take over the yard than the next.
Now, to be fair, my honeysuckle did get planted. It didn’t do as well as one might have hoped, but I had it for a brief time. Evidently I’m drawn toward the dictators of the plant world. Dad has educated me on some I’ve considered. He has told me how they have been know to get started on the side of a house and work themselves under roofs, actually lifting tiles out of place. In their bid for dominance, they stomp over shyer plants while on their march across the yard. If you are gone for vacation, on your return you will find that they’ve moved inside, drank all your sodas, and hijacked the TV so that it is stuck on the gardening channel.
Honeysuckle, Euonymus, Wisteria, bamboo…they are all aggressive types, and naturally, I really like them. I think I like the idea of something that will take over and make its own space with little help from me; giant mounds and messes of bright and fragrant plants. I am also drawn to the bizarre – black tomatoes, white pumpkins, and purple cauliflower. (I hate cauliflower, but c’mon! It’s PURPLE!!! Of course, they also have purple potatoes, and if you don’t believe me, check out page 64 of Jung’s 2008 spring seed catalog!) I have all kinds of stuff I would want in my garden simply because you wouldn’t see it anywhere else. Cool ideas, absolutely no space…*sigh*
Now, to be fair, my honeysuckle did get planted. It didn’t do as well as one might have hoped, but I had it for a brief time. Evidently I’m drawn toward the dictators of the plant world. Dad has educated me on some I’ve considered. He has told me how they have been know to get started on the side of a house and work themselves under roofs, actually lifting tiles out of place. In their bid for dominance, they stomp over shyer plants while on their march across the yard. If you are gone for vacation, on your return you will find that they’ve moved inside, drank all your sodas, and hijacked the TV so that it is stuck on the gardening channel.
Honeysuckle, Euonymus, Wisteria, bamboo…they are all aggressive types, and naturally, I really like them. I think I like the idea of something that will take over and make its own space with little help from me; giant mounds and messes of bright and fragrant plants. I am also drawn to the bizarre – black tomatoes, white pumpkins, and purple cauliflower. (I hate cauliflower, but c’mon! It’s PURPLE!!! Of course, they also have purple potatoes, and if you don’t believe me, check out page 64 of Jung’s 2008 spring seed catalog!) I have all kinds of stuff I would want in my garden simply because you wouldn’t see it anywhere else. Cool ideas, absolutely no space…*sigh*
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Beating Writers' Block
I told Angie I was having a lot of trouble thinking of things to write, so she thought she’d randomly select a topic. This week’s topic is a book that changed my life, or at least the way I thought about things. There are actually two books that meet the criteria for topic, because they go hand in hand and have made the complete difference in how I think and the life I live.
In my senior year of high school, I was trying to figure out who I was and where I was going. I also felt like there was a piece missing deep inside me, though at the time I couldn’t define it. I was looking for something to give my life meaning. I had been to church, but it didn’t really click, and the Christian students I knew weren’t any different than the non-Christians. In fact, the Christians seemed to be the ones more inclined to be rowdy delinquents! There were other students, though, who didn’t seem to be judgmental and came across as very peaceful and centered. They were self-proclaimed wiccans and druids. I started studying Wicca and I liked what I learned; that it was a nature-based religion that had nothing to do with worshipping Satan. They celebrated the cycles of nature and practiced magick. I set up an altar in my room, collected spell books, tarot cards, crystals, and candles.
I don’t know if Angie was troubled by my choice or worship or not, but she asked me to read a book that she had found interesting. Frank Peretti is a Christian author who wrote the books This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. Angie had given me This Present Darkness and in the story there’s a girl who studies Wicca and has to deal with the demons unleashed by the practices. After I read it I decided Wicca wasn’t the way to go, and Angie and I made a conga line between my room and the trash can, throwing away everything I owned that had anything to do with Wicca. It was kind of a game – Angie was happy and that made me happy. I was a big, bad Christian and could flaunt that I had gotten away from Satan.
I threw away all the paraphernalia, but not my way of life. I still did things that I wasn’t proud of, played stupid games, all the while calling myself a Christian. It was much the same things that those kids in high school did, and that I was high-minded enough in my own esteem to recognize. Then I read Piercing the Darkness. It resounded truer than the first book did; again a girl in the book gave her life to Jesus. This time however, I was stopped. I had what some would describe as a mystical experience, though I know in my logical mind that there are many people who would roll their eyes at such a phrase. But I consciously thought, “If Jesus died 2,000 years ago for a girl like that, doesn’t that mean he could’ve died for me too?” At that moment I felt/heard a voice say, “Get on your knees and pray NOW.” I was overwhelmed with the need to do exactly that. I put the book down, went into my room, closed the door, and from somewhere of all my years of touch-and-go Christianity I came up with what I now recognize as the “sinner’s prayer”.
I can’t remember exactly what I said or how long I stayed there, but I knew instinctively when I was done. I stood up and looked out the window – never before had the sky looked so blue or the sunlight so golden. I looked at the world created fresh, just for me.
My daily spiritual journey has never matched the purity and clarity of that day; there are some days I don’t want to do what’s right, or be nice and forgiving, and there are also days I think God must look at me and wonder what happened. Sometimes God feels distant and my own journey stagnant and/or heading the wrong direction. But I always go back to that memory; it serves as my anchor and pulls me gently back on track. Even when I don’t feel it, I still remember whose I am.
In my senior year of high school, I was trying to figure out who I was and where I was going. I also felt like there was a piece missing deep inside me, though at the time I couldn’t define it. I was looking for something to give my life meaning. I had been to church, but it didn’t really click, and the Christian students I knew weren’t any different than the non-Christians. In fact, the Christians seemed to be the ones more inclined to be rowdy delinquents! There were other students, though, who didn’t seem to be judgmental and came across as very peaceful and centered. They were self-proclaimed wiccans and druids. I started studying Wicca and I liked what I learned; that it was a nature-based religion that had nothing to do with worshipping Satan. They celebrated the cycles of nature and practiced magick. I set up an altar in my room, collected spell books, tarot cards, crystals, and candles.
I don’t know if Angie was troubled by my choice or worship or not, but she asked me to read a book that she had found interesting. Frank Peretti is a Christian author who wrote the books This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. Angie had given me This Present Darkness and in the story there’s a girl who studies Wicca and has to deal with the demons unleashed by the practices. After I read it I decided Wicca wasn’t the way to go, and Angie and I made a conga line between my room and the trash can, throwing away everything I owned that had anything to do with Wicca. It was kind of a game – Angie was happy and that made me happy. I was a big, bad Christian and could flaunt that I had gotten away from Satan.
I threw away all the paraphernalia, but not my way of life. I still did things that I wasn’t proud of, played stupid games, all the while calling myself a Christian. It was much the same things that those kids in high school did, and that I was high-minded enough in my own esteem to recognize. Then I read Piercing the Darkness. It resounded truer than the first book did; again a girl in the book gave her life to Jesus. This time however, I was stopped. I had what some would describe as a mystical experience, though I know in my logical mind that there are many people who would roll their eyes at such a phrase. But I consciously thought, “If Jesus died 2,000 years ago for a girl like that, doesn’t that mean he could’ve died for me too?” At that moment I felt/heard a voice say, “Get on your knees and pray NOW.” I was overwhelmed with the need to do exactly that. I put the book down, went into my room, closed the door, and from somewhere of all my years of touch-and-go Christianity I came up with what I now recognize as the “sinner’s prayer”.
I can’t remember exactly what I said or how long I stayed there, but I knew instinctively when I was done. I stood up and looked out the window – never before had the sky looked so blue or the sunlight so golden. I looked at the world created fresh, just for me.
My daily spiritual journey has never matched the purity and clarity of that day; there are some days I don’t want to do what’s right, or be nice and forgiving, and there are also days I think God must look at me and wonder what happened. Sometimes God feels distant and my own journey stagnant and/or heading the wrong direction. But I always go back to that memory; it serves as my anchor and pulls me gently back on track. Even when I don’t feel it, I still remember whose I am.
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