Some have the toothfairy. . .

We have the snowsuit fairy. She sends packages from Canada, where they make really warm snowsuits! Thanks Nanna!

It is October 30th

And I will be up with the sewing machine later tonight creating Robin Hood, Will Scarlett, and an Asparagus hat.

If anyone feels like chatting feel free to call anytime between midnight and 2 am.

The really exciting news in my life is that the cell tower at the end of my road is working now and I have 4 bars in my own home!!! YEAH! Now I can talk to 2 friends, on 2 different phones, AT THE SAME TIME!! Multi tasking has just reached new levels!

So call on either phone, eh?

They Say Stupid in Hell

Thaddeus has been saying "stupid" a lot. Not the worst, but not the best either. I have given him "funny" as an alternative. Usually he is using the word in the context of a strange behavior or object. E.G. "That plate of carrots looks stupid."

In discussing these words thaddeus asked "Do they say stupid in heaven?"

A quick check of my vast theologic knowledge bring me to no--stupid is not used in heaven. Since heaven is a place of perfection, and no wanting or sin, there is no use for the word stupid there. I tell Thaddeus as much.

"Can you say funny in heaven?"
"Yes, you can say funny in heaven."

A few days later I was with John and Thaddeus. Bringing the mail over to the table I said "This card is funny!"
Tadeu's quick response was "Yeah. Cause if it's stupid you go to hell."

ummm. Let me splain honey.

Anniversary

Six years ago today I gleefully moved from the yurt to the home John had built for us. The plumbers were worried about the threat of a hard frost. We needed to move in to keep the pipes from freezing. The walls were mostly naked drywall. The clapboards were not on--just typar. The floor was plywood. BUT, the toilet, bath, and shower worked. There was a BIG cook stove, and a little propane heater. There were rooms--even if the only one with a door was the bathroom.

Today I have oak flooring, a yodel heating stove, kitchen cabinets, and a door on my bedroom. Also some of the house has clapboards, and some of it is even painted!

Mostly I remember, from 6 years ago, waking up in a warm room. WARM! The upstairs of my well insulated house stays warm all night even if the fire goes out downstairs. Tears welled up in my eyes that morning as I enjoyed the comfort of slightly more modern life.

I resolve many times to not take it for granted. The I fail, and do take it for granted. But the running water, bathroom, and heat (or rather, insulation) are all such powerful gifts. My life was made less stressful in many ways by moving in. In other ways the stress was increased. With a water heater comes, eventually, a broken water heater. The stock pot on a wood stove never broke. With plumbing comes frozen pipes. The hand pump on the spring was thawed with the tea kettle every morning. I compromise, and give up some labor in exchange for ease and maybe a bit more worry. I'm still playing a balancing act between modern ease and good old fashioned dependability.

So I'll keep my computer AND my wood stove. My meat and egg ducks, AND my Yukon GMC. It's not either/or--but both/and. This is the cornerstone of my faith in Jesus. Suffering, and joy. Sin and redemption. Death and resurrection. Both. And.
With my faith I have good old fashioned dependability, and the ease and contentment that comes from knowing I am loved and valued.

John building this house for me is another example of how very loved and valued I am. Thank-you John. Thank-you Jesus.

Distracted

This is the ugly result when one does not pay attention. I was trying to dry the skillet and cool the bread. . .

I love the smell!

Going for an early morning Fall run is a great pleasure! I had many DEEP THOUGHTS during my jaunt through the woods yesterday, but Gerardsays it so well!

Spring and Fall: To a Young Child

MARGARET, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie.
And yet you will weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Not totally tuned out

I'm tuned in enough to find this guy.">