~--~ the newly bloomed daffodils, nodding and agreeable in the sunshine
~--~ the green grass, emerging from brown nothingness
(ie. all things bright and colorful)
~--~ the roundabout between here and Montezuma. One important fact you should know about me is that I destest four way stops. I think thoughts in Portugese when I come to any of them. And I don't even know Portugese. It's always a thing of who's there first and what if I got there only .00000008th of a second before the other car? I know there's a rule to go by in such a situation but it always evades me at that point. So, yeah, roundabouts are just great. I think warm thoughts in English whenever I wheel around one of them.
~--~ the grins I weasled out of my young cousin, Jeremy, who I babysat today. When one chirps in baby talk and whistles and coos and in all ways looks ridiculous, it is nice when they do condescend to grin at you.
~--~ the fact that I didn't have to change a messy diaper. I got a sniff of something suspicious, and girded up the loins of my inexperience and reluctance, but thankfully it was just a *false alarm*. I was more hating it for his sake, see? :) I'm known for putting on diapers backwards and completely forgetting the protective rubber pants. I'm doing good to remember that they do sometimes need to be changed.
~--~ our big, airy bedroom in all it's blue and whiteness. Freshly cleaned up. That sentence was really the main point.
~--~ our creative old dog burying a piece of red velvet cake out by the fence. Well, it didn't exactly make me happy, more cracked me up.
~--~making taco rice that we are going to eat tomorrow. I. love. taco. rice.
~--~ the fact that nobody wrecked into Kelly on her way to the airport this morning, and that her plane didn't hit a bird and that she didn't get lost in the peanut sized Branson airport which has two gates and one baggage belt thingie. And that she's having fun with Melanie and Kenneth and Justin even though I really want to be there.
~--~ listening to my old Calvary Bible School 2008 chorus recording and remembering how it was to be 19 and at CBS. As all recordings from that dear place, the value is primarily in the fondness of memories, not the recording quality. Those were good times and good peoples.
~--~ the fact that the previously mentioned recording did not pick up the snorts and coughs of laughter coming from the back row of the soprano section. I can't remember what was provoking the laughter of me and two girlfriends but I do remember trying to pull ourselves together and stop. Because, after all, giggling on recordings is unheard of.
The last song we sang was "Homeward Bound" and today I couldn't help thinking of Casey, one of the guys there that term, who was taken Home two weeks ago by "the rough, restless tide". He had done a year or so of voluntary service at a nursing home and was in Puerto Rico on a mission trip. Minutes after taking a group picture on a cliff by the ocean, he stumbled on some shaky ground, and plummeted 70+ feet to the ocean below and after swimming awhile and fighting for survival, he finally drowned. It all seems too horrible for words, so freak and bizarre, so unnecessary. And yet we choose to believe God didn't make a mistake.
And since random is the theme of this post, I'll wrap it up with an informative piece about the difference between the North and South. It's not original with me but I did find it highly humorous.
The difference between the North and the South - at last, clearly explained...
The North has Bloomingdale's , the South has Dollar General .
The North has coffee houses, the South has Waffle Houses ..
The North has dating services, the South has family reunions.
The North has switchblade knives; the South has .45's
The North has double last names; the South has double first names.
The North has Indy car races; The South has stock car races .
North has Cream of Wheat , the South has grits.
The North has green salads, the South has collard greens ...
The North has lobsters, the South has crawfish .
The North has the rust belt; the South has the Bible Belt ..
FOR NORTHERNERS MOVING SOUTH . .. .....
In the South : --If you run your car into a ditch, don't panic. Four men in a four-wheel drive pickup truck with a tow chain will be along shortly. Don't try to help them, just stay out of their way.
This is what they live for.
Don't be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store.... Do not buy food at this store.
Remember, 'Y'all' is singular, 'all y'all' is plural, and 'all y'all's' is plural possessive
Get used to hearing 'You ain't from round here, are ya?'
Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed later on how to use it.
Don't be worried at not understanding what people are saying. They can't understand you either.. The first Southern statement to creep into a transplanted Northerner's vocabulary is the adjective 'big'ol,' truckor 'big'ol' boy. Most Northerners begin their
Southern-influenced dialect this way. All of them are in denial about it.
The proper pronunciation you learned in school is no longer proper .
Be advised that 'He needed killin..' is a valid defense here.
If you hear a Southerner exclaim, 'Hey, y'all watch this,' you should stay out of the way. These are likely to be the last words he'll ever say.
If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery store... It doesn't matter whether you need anything or not. You just have to go there.
Do not be surprised to find that 10-year olds own their own shotguns, they are proficient marksmen, and their mammas taught them how to aim.
In the South, we have found that the best way to grow a lush green lawn is to pour gravel on it and call it a driveway.AND REMEMBER: If you do settle in the South and bear children, don't think we will accept them as Southerners. After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we ain't gonna call 'em biscuits.
The North has coffee houses, the South has Waffle Houses ..
The North has dating services, the South has family reunions.
The North has switchblade knives; the South has .45's
The North has double last names; the South has double first names.
The North has Indy car races; The South has stock car races .
North has Cream of Wheat , the South has grits.
The North has green salads, the South has collard greens ...
The North has lobsters, the South has crawfish .
The North has the rust belt; the South has the Bible Belt ..
FOR NORTHERNERS MOVING SOUTH . .. .....
In the South : --If you run your car into a ditch, don't panic. Four men in a four-wheel drive pickup truck with a tow chain will be along shortly. Don't try to help them, just stay out of their way.
This is what they live for.
Don't be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store.... Do not buy food at this store.
Remember, 'Y'all' is singular, 'all y'all' is plural, and 'all y'all's' is plural possessive
Get used to hearing 'You ain't from round here, are ya?'
Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed later on how to use it.
Don't be worried at not understanding what people are saying. They can't understand you either.. The first Southern statement to creep into a transplanted Northerner's vocabulary is the adjective 'big'ol,' truckor 'big'ol' boy. Most Northerners begin their
Southern-influenced dialect this way. All of them are in denial about it.
The proper pronunciation you learned in school is no longer proper .
Be advised that 'He needed killin..' is a valid defense here.
If you hear a Southerner exclaim, 'Hey, y'all watch this,' you should stay out of the way. These are likely to be the last words he'll ever say.
If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery store... It doesn't matter whether you need anything or not. You just have to go there.
Do not be surprised to find that 10-year olds own their own shotguns, they are proficient marksmen, and their mammas taught them how to aim.
In the South, we have found that the best way to grow a lush green lawn is to pour gravel on it and call it a driveway.AND REMEMBER: If you do settle in the South and bear children, don't think we will accept them as Southerners. After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we ain't gonna call 'em biscuits.
~Vicki
