Haystacks

Happy 102nd Birthday, Grandpap!

 

This is my grandpa, Joe Hardin. Yesterday was his 102nd birthday.

I asked him what the secret was to living past 100. He smiled and said, "The LORD has been good to me..."

His secret is that all things come from The Creator and only by His grace and mercy are we sustained; be it for a few hours or 100 plus years.

Amen and amen

"Why do you seek the living among the dead?"

"Why do you seek the living among the dead?" The angel at the empty tomb asked this question of Mary and company. They had come to the tomb to visit the body of Jesus. The angel told them Jesus had risen, just as he said he would and instructed them to go and tell the disciples.

I may have said this last Easter, but since I pay the bills here, I get to repeat myself.

This is one of my favorite scriptures from the Easter story. "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" Although the angel was speaking specifically to the women at the tomb about searching for a living person among graves, I think of it with a modern application.

Why do you seek out the things that give  life (joy, goodness, security, happiness, significance) in a place filled with dead things (greed, selfishness, hatred, arrogance, emptiness)? Why do we search  the world, trying to find importance and self worth in others' opinions, bigger houses, more prestigious circles of friends? These are the graveyards of our Easter story.

The one true thing, the only life giving relationship is a living God. A risen savior.

Why do we seek the living among the dead?

Have a blessed Easter, Friends.

Flowers by color

I wish this website had been around when I was planning my wedding. Do you know how hard it was to find flowers with burgundy accents? Don't ask.

Plantwire allows you to search for flowers using a color palette. From weddings and proms to coordinating your center piece and tablecloth  at Easter dinner, try this site. Tags also allow you to narrow your search.

BTW, after an exhaustive search, this is the flower I chose for my wedding.

Torn Between 2 Love(r)s

You may recall, I've been rather excited lately about my trip to Charlotte NC to see Bruce Springsteen. I adore Bruce. His BORN IN THE USA album was the soundtrack of my high school years.  I bought tix to the April 27 show. It was all good.

Then AliJ called me. Paul Simon is playing in NY. She's going. Do I want to go? Well, heck yes, I want to go! It's April 27. Wait. What?

Choices had to be made.

I should explain to you that not only do I love Paul Simon's music. I love Paul Simon. I don't know the man. I've never met him, but somehow, someway, I love him. I expounded on these feelings to my young friend AliJ and thereby created (as Jason says) a disciple. We spend hours talking about PFS's music and lyrics. We randomly quote lines from songs and then sigh.  Paul Simon's music is a spiritual experience for me,  like a Whitman poem or a Degas painting. His words and music go beyond storytelling and songwriting.

I have 2 tickets for sale. Any Bruce fans out there near Charlotte on April 27?

Vantage Point **** out of 5

William Hurt plays the US president attending a summit in Spain to unite Arab nations and end terrorism. Dennis Quaid is a Secret Service agent back from an assassination attempt last year in which he took a bullet for the president. During the summit, the president is shot.  VANTAGE POINT is a 15 minute story told 7 times from 7 different perspectives. Some things worked. Some things didn't.

What worked:

*Great ensemble cast: William Hurt, Dennis Quaid, Sigourney Weaver, Forrest Whittaker

*Chase scenes: In a car, on foot, through traffic, up stairwells...all exciting and tense

*Perspective: I'm a huge fan of perspective, both as a literary tool and a life philosophy. I was fascinated by each character's reactions and perceptions. For me, this was the selling point of the film.

What didn't work:

*The 'GOTCHA' factor: 5 minutes into the movie, you make a decision. You're either hooked on the concept or you're not. If not, its going to be a long hour and a half for you.

*Formula: Actually this belongs in both categories. Formula plotting becomes a formula because it works. But, because it works, it is over used. Was this the most original plot line? No.  (But I do think the formula was well played.)

*The Twist: There were a few twist and turns along the way. Some caught me by surprise, most didn't. (I pegged the bad guy the first time he entered the frame.) The suspense builds well but doesn't deliver the punch it could have.

I gave VANTAGE POINT 4 out of 5 stars because it did for me what I like a movie to do; it entertained me. I enjoyed watching the puzzles from the previous perspective come together in another person's story. I loved seeing Dennis Quaid as the hardened, but shaky, tough guy. William Hurt is always worth watching. 

VANTAGE POINT is a fast paced, not so gory, political thriller that leans heavily on the working tricks of a short story. A good, fast read...er...watch.

Puppy love

It all started with a little yellow puppy I called Piper. He lives across the road. The people there come and go in ever changing, often repeating waves of parole release, warrant evasion and your run of the mill laying low variety of undesirable neighbors. They are constantly bringing in dogs they then neglect to feed and care for. Piper was the first. I cried the day they tied him up behind their house. I can’t feed him if I can't get to him.

Then came Avril. She was a lanky black lab mix. She was young and excitable, unlike Piper who never did anything but walk to you with his head bowed. Avril did this beautiful leap off our front porch every morning. She would rear up on her hind legs and leap off the porch in a sort of canine prim Donna way.

She disappeared. I don't know if the people who brought her here left with her or if she was given away or killed. I only know she stopped coming around and I haven't seen her in months.

Now we have a rottweiler. She is absolutely huge, even as rottw eiler go. She favors her right rear leg and carries it off the ground.  Sometimes when its late in the day I see her walking, dragging the leg behind her. Her toes on that foot are scabbed and raw from rubbing the pavement. She has sweet brown eyes that betray her breed's reputation. She likes to lay her head on your knee when you pat her broad head. I call her Carmen.

If I had any sense, I would vow that this will be the last stray I get attached to. I'll vow it anyway.

If I had any sense, I would mean it.

Addendum: I thought you might like to see her. I snapped these pictures 3/23/08. (click to enlarge)

 

A few side(lined) projects

I have resolved not to purchase clothes while I am in the process of losing weight. I don't need a closet filled with size 14 clothes, when my intention is to pass that size and settle into a 10-12.  I have decided to make due with what I can (clown pants jokes aside) and to sew a few simple skirts to get me through the summer. I found this pattern in an archive search. I'll post pictures soon and let you know how it goes.

We're off on a road trip this weekend, but as soon as I return I have several sewing projects awaiting. My fabric headboard is in several pieces stacked up against a wall. I'm anxious to share that with you guys. From closet door to headboard in one afternoon. Call it shabby chic. Call it recycling. I call it 'a fabric headboard for less than $400'.  Pictures forthcoming.

And speaking of pictures, my friend and sometimes travel companion Jamie has started a blog. Jamie is a Third Day fan like me and enjoys taking concert pictures. She decided to post them on her own site. You can be amazed and awed at www.thirddaypix.blogspot.com . (As of this post it is a new blog and only the opening weekend of the spring 2008 tour. The content will grow by leaps and bounds in a matter of weeks. Go ahead and bookmark it now.) I'll be contributing to this blog from time to time. This weekend  Jason and I are hitting 2 concerts in Georgia. Look for my pictures on Jamie's site.

The non-list

I've been working on my Mission 101 list. I felt stuck so I went to read some others' lists. How can I say this without sounding arrogant? I'll quote my grandmother,  as I so often do, "I need for nothing and want for very little." 

As I read through some of the lists, I realized there isn't much I want that I don't have. Granted there are some grandiose dreams that are out of range. (Let's face it; I'll never get to thank the Academy.) But I've walked on the beach as sunrise. I've photographed Paris from the Eiffel Tower. I've fallen in love. I've written a novel.  I've been blessed to have so many wonderful things happen to me. 

As I struggle to add the last 40 or so items to my list, I will say a prayer of thanksgiving for every item that doesn't make the cut.

Mission 101

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
~From Day Zero

This is a great alternative to the New Year's resolution. The time frame of 1001 days allows for much bigger, more in depth goals to be achieved. I am committing to this fascinating journey. I will be building my list over the next few weeks. My start date will be April 1st. That pegs my 1001st  day as December 28, 2010.

Join me?

1. Watch the sunset and sunrise  at least once each season

2. Teach Hayley how to embroider 

3. See Paris again

4. See Phantom of the Opera on stage

5. Learn the basic guitar chords

6. Go whale watching. 

8. Lose 75 lbs

9. Relearn how to do a back bend

10. Write 101 haiku

11. Interview my 102 year old grandfather

12. Learn to knit

13. Get a henna tattoo

14. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy

15. Redecorate my bedroom

16. Learn to make a magnificent dessert

17. Expand my blog readership

18. Exercise at least twice a week for 3 months straight

19. Rid my heart of envy

20. See Paul Simon in concert

21. Celebrate my 50^th Third Day show

22. Master DreamWeaver and Photoshop

23. Learn more about wine

24. Develop my ASL skills

25. Build a snowman

26. Take ballroom dancing lessons

27. Take more pictures

28. Pray more

29. Learn to French braid hair

30. Buy a new wardrobe

31. Get limber

32. Learn origami

33. Go on a mission trip to an Indian reservation

34. Grow my hair long enough to braid

35. Take a yoga class

36. Expand my vinyl collection

37. Become known on a first name basis by the workers at our local used bookstore

38. Clean off my ‘to be read’ shelf by reading

39. Learn shorthand

40. Participate in A Day in the Life on Flickr

41. Write and mail at least one 'thinking of you' card each month

42. Learn how to make out of this world delicious fudge like my mother in law makes

43. Go to Australia to visit Jaci

44. Have bangers and mash on The Emerald Isle

45. Sell something I wrote (NPR doesn't pay)

46. Discover and fall in love with the music of 5 new bands

47. See The Alamo

48. Take an extensive tour of the western US

49. Have dinner prepared for me by my chef brother-in-law at his fancy restaurant

50. Learn conversational Spanish

51. Create a picture book of one of my travels

52. Write a children's book

53. Go on a weekend trip with zero plans and go wherever the road takes us

54. Attend a Shakespearean Festival

55. Take a part in a community theatre play

56. Talk Jason into selling his rare STAR WARS educational film

57. Go to Disney in Orlando

58.  Write it down!

59.  Spend more time with Ali Pope

60. Get over my abnormal phobia of penguins

61. Get over my abnormal phobia of dragonflies

62. Live in the moment

63. Throw a surprise party for Jason

64. Improve my typing speed

65. Learn The National Anthem in ASL

66. Read 5 books for historical/political/social relevance

67. Finish remodeling my house

68. Get away for a luxurious spa weekend 

69. Wear Jamie's Lucky Brand jeans (size 12)

70. Give up soda

71. Reach a $10,000 balance in my savings account

72. Participate in a charity walk

73. Complete NaNoWriMo again

74. Watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie marathon

75. Be debt free

76. Make biscuits and sausage gravy from scratch

77. Learn to identify 10 birds common to my geographic location

78. Be able to recite 50 states and capitals

79. Buy a new set of wedding rings

80. Listen to my entire iTunes library on shuffle w/o skipping

81. Finish all my unfinished embroidery projects (in some form or fashion)

82. Keep a dream journal

83. Take a picture with 10 people I love and write about our relationship

84. Find my theme song

85. Write a book review (no matter how brief) for every book I read

86. Develop regular features for my blog

87. Convince my family to forgo Christmas gifts, giving to a needy family instead

88. Find my signature scent

89. Visit the kangaroo habitat in Georgia

90. Become a better bowler

91. Memorize one chapter of the bible

92. Keep a digital journal of my 40th year, beginning on my 40th birthday and ending on my 41st

93. Blog every day for one month

94. Leave 101 blog comments

95. Learn to say "I love you" in 10 languages

96. Learn to play pool

97. Do a blog post for every item on this list as I complete it

98. Understand baseball

99. Fly a beautiful kite

100. Make a living will

101. Reorganize this lists into categories