The Light of the World...

"Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. " Isaiah 60:1

"A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." Luke 2:32

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. 4:6

~

May the glory of the Lord shine round about your heart this Christmas!

Sustained by Almighty God

This schoolyear has been flying by so fast, it hardly seems a week ago that nine shy and nervous four-year-olds walked through the door of my classroom to meet their equally shy and nervous teacher. We have just finished the twelfth week of school, and as I look back on the progress each student has made, I cannot help but rejoice in the One who is able to keep us from falling! (Jude 1:24)

It has been a long and exhausting couple of months, but I have been blessed beyond measure to see how God has strengthened and helped me. He has given me strength when I was weak, He has given me patience when I was on the verge of frustration, He has filled me with joy when my students were crabby, He has given me energy when I had thought I could not make it through the morning. How I am reminded of the verse in 2 Thessalonians that tells us "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."

Early Thirst

(Psalm 63)

The quiet light begins to dawn.

My soul awakes, as it is drawn

By silent thirst, with op'ning eyes

To cast off night and from slumber rise.

~

A soul a-thirst, all consuming need

To open Thy word and upon it feed.

As a droughted land, dry and parched I lay

'Till thus I awoke at break of day.

~

I long, not for water for a thirsty tongue ,

Nor yet for heart-soothing songs to be sung;

No! 'Tis more needful than all for me

To wake, arise, and commune with Thee.

~

Oh, with my thirsty eyes to see

Thy power and glory revealed to me!

--To know your blest presence nearer yet

Than when in Thy house with Thee I met!

~

More than life my Lord, my all!

Thy lovingkindness doth upon me fall.

I shall proclaim how great Thou art

With joyful lips and hungry heart.

~

While life is in me, I'll praise Thy name

And bless Thee, evermore the same

With greatful heart my hands I'll raise

And offer up my inadequate praise.

~

I come, and know that Thou shalt fill

My hungry soul, this morn so still,

As with a feast of extravegant things

Fit to be set before the richest kings!

~

Thus satisfied at last, I raise

My sated heart and lips to praise

The greatness of Thyself, and then

Begin to hunger, and to feed again!

Voiceless Rejoicing

The past 4 days I have been without my voice due to allergies. I naturally tend to complain when such things happen to me, but Ephesians 5:20 says that we ought to give thanks always in all things, so here are a few things I am (silently) giving thanks for.

*My K-4 class is learning to pay close attention to their teacher.
*I actually experienced silence in my classroom during a schoolday!!
*I am less likely to say something I shouldn't
*I have an excuse to sleep more. : )
*I got to enjoy listening to my church's choir sing during the cantata rehersal today.
*Tea, anyone?
*I have an excuse not to make phone calls. : )

Seriously, though. It is strangely blessed to be without my normal speaking voice for a while. I am learning to appreciate silence, and to listen to others.

Thought this was funny...

So there I was, finishing up the last few things at my desk after re-decorating my classroom for the month, when I chanced to look over and see this:

My first inclination was to be annoyed that the banner I had just worked so hard to hang straight was now falling off the wall, but then the irony of it struck me and I had to laugh.

God is so gracious! : )

The Birth of Autumn

'Twas a misty, quiet September morn

When the still and vapour-enshrouded world

Prepared its welcome as Autumn was born,

Wrapped in robes of clouds with dewdrops empearled.

The spiders wove delicate, sticky chains

Linked bough to bough, both to highest and low

And to these garlands clung drops from the rains

While the sun-warmed mist lent an amber glow

Then, as soon as bright Summer said goodbye,

Her son began to celebrate his reign

With a fearsome storm from the cloudy sky

With strong gusting winds and hard driving rain.

And all nature rejoiced to taste the end

Of Summer's long thirst, which the rains did mend.

A Sea-Song

Savior, on the sea of life

Be Thou my Beacon bright

To warn me of the rocks of strife

That lurk just out of sight.

~

Be Thou my Anchor, Lord I pray

That I may stady stand

Trusting in Thee by night, by day

Held firm in Thy steadfast hand.

~

Be Thou my Compass and my Chart

To guide me on my way,

For as Thou dwellest in my heart

Thy word shall be my stay.

~

And when my course is set, dear Lord,

Do Thou my mainsail fill

-For no sailing ship could e'er afford

To sail 'gainst the wind's strong will.

~

Yea, Savior, on the sea of life,

Be Thou my captain, crew,

Yea, every part command and be

my life, the ocean, too!

A Grand Adventure Part 4

Day 4-5 We never actually did succeed in getting enough sleep during our stay in Florida, so even though the sessions were extremely interesting and beneficial, the days did kind of blur together. Some highlights, though, were:

• Learning: In addition to the sessions, we had Ken Ham as a special speaker one night, (At which time Katie bought lots of books, and since she said I could borrow them, we were both happy!) and we also went to the planetarium. It was nice to go to a planetarium show again, especially since the shows on campus were not jam-packed full of evolution! Katie and I both enjoyed the show a lot.
• Eating: The food was very good! I even got to have cheesy grits, eggs, and bacon for breakfast! --My brother was jealous. : ) They also had real southern sweet tea... but more on that later.
• Music: We were able to borrow a practice room and play piano/penny-whistle duets to our hearts' content! We also took the opportunity to score out a song I had written. We had a game we played while we were on campus that had to do with keeping track of what brand and style each piano we saw was. (There were two Yamahas and the rest were Kawai)
• Being Amazed: by God's love for us as we heard each speaker bring up something that we had discussed in our morning and evening quiet times each day!

Day 6 We only had one session on the last day, and the rest of the day was spent rushing around to get all the last-minute details taken care of before our flight home. I had some sweet tea that morning, and again at lunch, which made me very jittery (And wide awake!) on our flights. Both our flights were bumpy, and that combined with the jitters made me rather on edge. The flights took longer, so I was very ready to be home! As we passed the mountain and the textured green of trees began, I was so excited that I was almost jumping up and down in my seat. (But it seemed like everyone else was excited, too, when the captain announced that we had begun the final descent.) It was all Katie and I could do to keep from cheering as the plane landed and we were safely home again!

A Grand Adventure Part 3

Day 3: We got up early that Monday morning, packed our respective bags for our outing, and ate a hurried breakfast in an attempt to arrive at the check-in desk for the seminar as early as possible. Our first session wasn't until late afternoon, so as soon as we were checked in we got into our rental car. Armed for the journey with Katie's GPS and the soundtrack from "Fiddler on the Roof", we headed to the freeway and made our way towards the general direction of the beach. Unfortunately, at a crucial T intersection I happened to have a decisive moment, and advised Katie to turn right. Of course, several blocks later we realized that I should never give directions when I haven't looked at a map.

We got going the right direction again after stopping in the Archaeological Society's parking lot to regain our bearings. Soon after, and almost by accident (Or was it completely by accident? The details escape me at the moment.) we found a visitor's center. The helpful and friendly man behind the desk gave us a map, highlighted the best beaches (and the fort I wanted to visit) and gave us directions. We were happy. : )

We drove along a long bridge, at the beginning of which we saw a sign that said "Check Gas. Long Bridge" and found ourselves in downtown Pensacola Beach. Following the appropriate signs, we found ourselves driving between two eerily white sand dunes, punctuated by dead trees and live sea oats. (I found out they were called sea oats at the fort's bookstore.) We drove for a while in this strange landscape, but still no fort. Katie was a little concerned, because she could see on the map that we were nearly at the tip of the spit of land we were driving on, at which point I had to laugh, because of the way she phrased her comments. ("We must be close, because we're running out of spit.") --Yes, we were tired. ; )

We finally found the fort, which was amazing. We spent hours exploring, and then went to the beach to dip our toes in the balmy water. We also gathered a few shells, which actually made it back intact!! I did miss the icy chill of the Pacific, though! Between the humidity of the air, and the temperature of the water, I almost couldn't feel the difference when we stepped into the water.

The sessions were wonderful and very helpful, and afterwards we went to our rooms, determined to get more sleep than the previous nights. (Which, of course didn't happen.)

And that was day 3...

A Shameless Plug

We interrupt the Florida posts for some breaking news... My mom just put up a blog! : )

Come and see it!
www.thefiberbug.blogspot.com

A Grand Adventure Part 2

How good it is to be home again! For those of you who would like to see pictures, you can get to them by clicking the Flikr link at the side of my blog.



There is much I could say about our trip, but I think the best way to tell about it would be chronologically. So... here goes!



Day 1 Saturday was spent mostly in traveling, though we had a great time talking and laughing our way through both flights and the navigation of unfamiliar streets to get to our hotel. Katie and I quickly found out that we are more alike than either of us had realized, which was good because we were going to be stuck with each other for 5 days. We found our way to the hotel with a minimum of confusion, and after checking in, we got into the elevator --at which time I found out that elevators make Katie a bit dizzy. Unfortunately, the stairs were outside in the 104 degree weather, so we opted for dizziness. Thankfully, she didn't walk into any walls during our time there. (Although I nearly did once without being dizzy!)



Day 2 After staying up entirely too late the night before, we got up early enough to have breakfast before walking what seemed like a very long way across campus to church. It was very strange to be cold in one's room, and then walk outside at 8 a.m. to find it warmer than a hot day at home would be! Once we found our way to church, we wandered around the huge building for a while, "happening" to find a doorway that gave us a good view of the orchestra practice. : ) Eventually we stumbled upon (but not literally, thankfully!) an usher standing outside a Sunday school classroom. After talking with a few people, who each reacted exactly the same way when we told them where we were from, ("Wow! You're a long way from home! Are you here for the seminar?" we went into the classroom and took our seats. When the teacher had all the visitors stand and say where they were from, we discovered that the person sitting next to us was from the same state as we were!

After Sunday school, we wandered a bit more before finding seats in the sanctuary with a sufficient view of the orchestra. While we waited for the service to start, we examined the hymnal to see if our favorite hymns were in it (At which time Katie decided we were both hymnal geeks.) and enjoyed people-watching --for which we had an abundant supply of subjects, as the room was ginormous! The sermon was very good, but we both missed our church's enthusiasm when one of the songs was "Beulah Land" (Praise God!) Over all, we enjoyed both services, and were blessed to discover that God had decided to tailor the messages to complement the very things we had discussed during devotions that morning!

After church in the evening, we went out to get some food from what the GPS said was an Albertson's, but which turned out to be a different grocery store on the same spot. (Go figure!) As we drove there, we could see flashes of lightning behind the clouds and hear thunder. --We felt right at home! : )

And then, after discovering that "cinnamon roll" pudding tasted just like oatmeal, we tried to get to sleep at a reasonable hour. (Failing miserably in the attempt.) : )

And that was day two...

Hyper-ness and Hilarity

I am writing from sunny (well, it was before the sun went down.) Florida! It is the last night of our trip, and I am writing this while Katie packs her remaining belongings. --I think she might be trying to pack most of it into her shoes... but I can't be sure.

It has been an amazing trip thus far! We have both been enjoying the seminar, while trying to cram as much of the knowledge that has been flooding over us into our brains as possible.

Speaking of cramming as much as possible into an inadequate space... we have spent much of the evening trying to make all of our ever-increasing stuff fit back into the bags that were full before we came. Thankfully, much of my accumulated "useful junk" is flat, and my bag looks like it will actually close! (Although it might be necessary for me to sit on it to make it do so.) It seems like every time we walk past the bookstore we end up buying something new...

Church tonight was a blessing, although we both miss our beloved home church very much. --After all, there's no place like home. (she says as she dons her imaginary ruby slippers and thinks of rain, chilly 85 degree summer days, and home-cooked meals.)


In addition to our studies, we were able to do many "touristy" fun things on this trip. Monday we went to the beach, admired the blindingly white (but wonderfully soft and un-rocky) sand, dipped our toes into the balmy water (which wasn't actually all that refreshing, since it seemed not to be much cooler than the air) and collected shells, which I have packed very carefully in my bag. --I'm choosing to be optomistic about their future well-being during the course of our travels tomorrow.-- We also visited a great historical fort nearby, which was fascinating! Unfortunately, that was where I found out that it is possible for me to get sunburnt through a layer of sunscreen if the sun is hot enough.

Today we were able to go to a wonderful show at the planetarium here on campus. --We were especially impressed by the "specially designed" seats that automatically reclined. (Some people are so easily amused!) Seriously, though, the show was amazing, and so refreshingly free from evolution! It was quite an experience!

Our time here has been a great blessing, and it is exciting to see how the Lord is preparing us for the coming schoolyear through these few days of training.

Hopefully there will be some more posts about our trip, once I am home...

A Grand Adventure (Part 1)

Those of you who haven't talked to me recently probably don't know that I am embarking on a grand adventure tomorrow. At 6:05 a.m. a plane will be taking off, flying me and a friend to a training seminar in Florida. Not only is any sort of travel a rarity for me, this will be my very first flight --ever! I will be away from my home and my dear family for 5 whole days, but my hope is that I will be so blissfuly busy that I will not have time to notice how much I will miss them! --Besides, it's only 5 days, right?

I hope to take lots of pictures and gather enough funny stories for at least one interesting post while I'm away... but no promises!

For those of you who are believers, I would greatly appreciate your prayers, both for the time we will spend traveling and for the seminar itself.

Technicology

Sometimes when my mom or I are very tired, we unintentionally invent interesting new words by either trying to simultaneously say two other words, or by trying to say one word and failing miserably in the attempt. : )

Tonight Mommy was very tired, and instead of saying "technically", like she wanted to, out popped the interesting word that titles this post. I was very amused, and decided the word was a keeper.

I looked the word up on several Internet dictionaries, which, being Internet dictionaries (and free ones, at that) were not very helpful. It seems this very interesting word is one and the same with the word "technology". --Either that or the dictionaries just looked for the word that was closest and came up with technology. (I couldn't tell.)

Then I looked it up in my trusty Webster's, but, of course, it didn't appear on the pages of that venerable old resource. So, my mom and I were left to define it on our own.

My best guess at a definition would be the study of technicalities, but Mommy (still very tired) has decided that it most definitely is the study of technical colleges. : )

What do you think?

Evening Thoughts

Softly fades the light of day
As here alone I sit and pray
Yet, truly, not alone am I
For God Almighty who hears my cry
Is ever present in peace or strife
-‘Tis He who brings true joy to life.

And as the sunset casts on all
Its glittering golden glow, I call
To He who created all in my gaze
Which now doth cheer my heart and amaze
For the One who created all beauty and grace
Has gone to prepare for me a place!

Now as I hear the birds’ soft call
The trilling strains which rise and fall
I remember Jesus’ words, which said
Behold the birds, how they are fed.
They reap not, sow not, nor gather and store,
God feeds them. Doth He not value you more?

My eye doth on some flowers fall
And quickly then do I recall
Christ’s words again, from that same place:
Consider the lily’s pretty race
They toil not, spin not, yet beautifully arrayed,
By God, tho’ so swiftly they are decayed.

Yet God, who marks the sparrow’s fall
And paints the world’s bright colors all
Who provides each creature sufficient food
And rains down blessings, great and good
He sees my tears He knows each sorrow,
And His children are given a bright tomorrow!

Now as the light begins to fade
I think upon the price He paid
-For such a sinful wretch as I
Who so richly deserved for my sins to die-
Of His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane
And His suffering and death on Calvary.

Then through the twilight a bird’s call sounds
A bubbling chirp which with joy resounds
He’s alive! He arose from the grave again
And with Him hope and salvation for men
Who repent and believe, as I did that day
When Jesus’ blood washed my sins away!

Now thankfulness within me swells
To Him who now within me dwells,
The three in one, the Trinity
Who lavishes love and kindness on me.
And as soft breezes brush my face,
I thank Him for His bounteous grace.

As I hear the birds’ soft evening song
I raise my voice and sing along
Here at the closing of the day
The Doxology I sing and pray
“To God, from whom all blessings flow”
My heartfelt praises upward go.

And now has fled the light of day,
The light has faded clean away
The sweet-voiced birds are now at rest
And I sit and think how I am blessed
For God Almighty, Omnipotent, He
Is ever near to talk with me!

“By command…all excuses set apart”

That was the title Pastor gave his sermon last Sunday. The phrase was taken from the invitations sent out by Queen Elizabeth before her coronation.

“We greet you well. Whereas we have appointed the second day of June 1953 for the solemnity of our coronation, these are therefore to will and to command, all excuses set apart, that you make your personal attendance upon us, at the time above mentioned, there to do and to perform such services as shall be required of you.”

“All excuses set apart” That phrase has been ringing in my mind ever since I heard it. It seems like this summer is the time God has chosen to teach me about setting excuses aside. Every time there is something difficult or beyond my “comfort zone” to be done, I am tempted to put it off with another excuse, but then I am reminded of that phrase, “All excuses set apart”

I am reminded of Moses, among others, (including myself) who met God’s command with excuses. In Exodus 3-4, Moses is told by God to go back to Egypt, and speak to Pharaoh, and so deliver the Hebrews out of their slavery. Moses gives several excuses, which I so often find myself attempting to use when I am prompted to go and speak God’s word to others.

Excuse #1: “Who am I?”
Often, I meet God’s prompting to witness with similar thoughts. Who am I, that I should go talk to them? They don’t even know me! I feel inadequate and unprepared, and try to squirm away from the Holy Spirit’s leading. But there are no excuses with God! Here is His answer, to Moses, and by extension, to us.
“Certainly I will be with thee…” We may well ask, “Who am I?” if we go on our own, but we do not. We ought instead to ask “Who goes with me?” When we share God’s word with others, it is not by our own authority, but God’s! He is always right there with us. –We need never fear!

Excuse #2: “But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.” This, too, is another familiar page out of my book of excuses. How easy it is to put off speaking to someone about their need of the Savior simply because they might not believe or listen! Sometimes the people I am most sure will not be happy to be offered a tract are the most open! Often, there are common interests or connections that we have no idea exist with those to whom we witness until we begin to talk to them.
Here is God’s answer to this reluctance on account of lack of credibility:
“What is that in thine hand?” God is the one who gives us talents, abilities, and interests. He knows who to send us to speak with, and has uniquely equipped each of us to minister to those He brings our way.

Excuse #3: “O Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” This is the most often excuse I am tempted to use when convicted about my lack of witnessing. I never know what to say to people, and I always wonder what doors are closed to the gospel because of my verbal clumsiness. But God answers this objection as well, with an assurance that I always find most encouraging:
“Who hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.”

And He does, most faithfully!

Yet Another New Blog...

So, in case any of my few readers are interested, I have a new blog up.

www.buildingonfirmfoundations.blogspot.com

I started it primarily for my piano students, but the information in the blog might be interesting for others, as well.

Turning Around

I was on my way to church for visitation last Tuesday night, when my car suddenly started making a very odd rattling noise. Not knowing much about cars, I could not figure out what it was, but since I would have to drive the car home anyway, I decided to wait until after visitaton to do so. As it happened, there was a lady on my way home who was open to a visit, so off I set.

As I started to back out of the parking spot, I noticed that the noise got much worse when the car was in reverse. I decided to try to keep from backing up until I got home. I turned down the lady's street, only to get to the end (a dead-end, of course) and realize I had passed her house. There wasn't quite enough room for me to turn around, so I was forced to put the car in reverse. Grumbly thoughts were just coming to mind, when I looked up. There in the sky right in front of me was a beautiful rainbow! --I stopped grumbling.

It was then that I remembered that I have a powerful and loving God guiding my steps. He knew that I would drive right past the lady's house and need to turn around, and He also knew that my car would be all right until I got home. Perhaps He placed that rainbow in the sky right where I would see it at my most grumbly moment to remind me of His care and protection.

I'm Back!

Hello everyone out there in blog-land who reads my prattling posts! (Yes, all 10 of you.) If you have noticed that I have not posted anything on my blogs in a long time, well, I noticed that too, and an explanation will follow. --If you haven't noticed, you're not paying attention. ; )

Well, part of the reason I have not been posting is that my computer decided some time ago to start having "grumpy days" where it would not go on the internet. This was accompanied by extreme slowness and slight confusion. My computer was four years old, (which I have been told is very elderly in computer years) so perhaps it was to be expected. After all, people of advanced years do tend to be a bit grumpy, slow, and confused, so why shouldn't my computer?

Well, God decided it was time for me to stop borrowing my dad's computer and get a new one of my own. So yesterday, Mommy, Daddy and I went to the nearby electronics store (which is so large, I affectionately call it the Cabela's for geeks.) Once inside the store, we skimmed the aisles until a friendly "associate" pointed us to the "notebook" section. (By the way, for those of you who don't speak computer, "notebook" means laptop, not to be confused under any circumstances with "netbook", which is something like a baby laptop.)

After what seemed like a very long time walking up and down one aisle, debating the pros and cons and prices of each one, I finally made a decision, and Daddy went to find a clerk to help us. (Which I was very glad of, because I'm sure they all could tell that I was not a geek, and was therefore a bit out of my element.)

Daddy came back with the clerk, and the debates began. First he tried to convince me that a different computer "which is really a better system" and "for the same price" was really what I needed, but thankfully, Daddy knew better, and told him so. (Nicely, of course.) Then, just like Mr. Computer Guy in a previous post, he tried to get me to spend more money --this time by using all his powers of elequence and wit to sell me an extra-special warranty and a laptop bag and a new surge-protector. (Once again, for those not literate in computer-speak, that just means a plug strip.) Daddy was busy picking out a new mouse for me, (a pink one!) so that he could keep mine, which he had been using, so I was on my own. This clerk tried quite hard not to take no for an answer, and not until Daddy came back over did he yield and try to accept the fact that we had a surge-protector already, Goodwill had better laptop bags for cheaper, and the regular warranty would do just fine for me, thank you.

Then we meandered to the front of the store. (One can never walk directly anywhere in such stores, it seems. One member of the party or other is constantly walking off to look at something.) I paid for the laptop, and for the first time in my life, held a new computer of my very own in my hands.

And now I am sitting at said computer, happily typing away, listening to some music and using my pretty new pink mouse.

So, theoretically, there will be more posts to follow...

Escapades of a Travelling Pianist

It was raining.

It always seems to rain when I go out to do fliers, and this day was no exception. I was not looking forward to this particular trip, and as I stood in the doorway, in my best, most professional-looking outfit and with a briefcase in my hand, I could not help but sigh as I looked out at the grey, drizzly world into which I was about to step. As I sat shivering in the van, waiting for the engine to warm up, I sighed again, reflecting that one's best, most professional-looking outfit is almost never warm enough.

So, off I set to deliver flyers and to peddle my pianistic abilities at the senior living facilities in our area. The night before, Daddy had helped me (after much frustration) to print out some business cards for this new venture, so, theoretically, I was adequately prepared for the task. Reality, however, does not always go according to theory, and as I drove around, trying to find the first SLF, I felt entirely unprepared for what I was about to do.

After much driving and a little getting lost, I finally arrived at the first stop along my journey. Unfortunately, there didn't appear to be a office, just apartments, so I turned around and kept driving. A little discouraged, I decided to do some flyers on the way to the next SLF. --At least I was somewhat used to that by now.

The next SLF had one available visitor's parking spot, which was not easy to get into. As I jockeyed back and forth, trying to get straightened out, I could easily imagine the people in the office looking out their window, watching me try to park. I finally finished parking and tried to walk confidently to the door --in shoes that are hard to walk confidently in at the best of times. (Why do they even make such things? Why do I even own them?)

I found the office easily, but unfortunately the lady I needed to talk to was out. I left my card, took hers, and walked back to the car, now imagining the conversation of those in the office.

"Well, you don't see that every day here."

"I wonder how old she really is? She was dressed up nicely, but she looks very young."

"I wonder how long she's been driving. Did you see her try to park?"

"She was trying so hard, though. I feel sorry for her."

Sometimes one's imagination can be terribly disconcerting.

Well, on I travelled to the next stop, with several flyer stops in between. I had been to that SLF before, so it was a little easier to find, and much easier to park. I even almost knew what to say once I got inside. The ladies there were very nice, and took my card, although, they said, their budget did not allow for such things very often.

By the time I came to the last stop, I was very much looking forward to going home again. I went to the office, only to find no one there. I could hear voices in around the corner, but upon a moment's reflection I decided that barging into someone's inner office would not make the best impression.

So I stood there, waiting, until finally someone came out. Unfortunately, it was not the person I needed to see, so I waited awhile longer. This time I knew what I needed to say, (having practiced it in the car on the way from the last stop) and the lady was nice. They were in need of pianists, and she told me what they would pay, and inquired as to my scheduling availability, and I left with the promise of receiving a phone call soon to schedule a time to play.

And then it was at last time to go home. I felt I was not going empty-handed, and was no longer discouraged.

It was raining.

I love rain!

Please Don’t Eat the Violets!

Today I solved a great mystery: I found out what was eating my violets. Ever since the first violet began to bloom, the plants and flowers have been riddled with tiny holes. Well, today when I was tending the plants, I noticed a tiny worm at the center of one of the frayed and tattered blossoms. The first white violet had suffered a similar fate, and next to it I found a much bigger version of the same kind of worm. Hopefully now that I know what to look for, I can rid the plants of these nasty nibblers.

Spring's A-Comin'!

Tuesday afternoon Mommy and I were out taking pictures for our etsy shops, when all of a sudden, I happened to look down at the patch of newly-sprung violet plants, and to my surprise, I saw a pretty pink violet, all bloomed out! : ) Since then, it seems like every time I go outside, there's something new beginning to bud. --And you know what that means:

Spring's almost here!

Happy nearly spring, everyone!! : )

Pretending

Maura, this one's for you. --an episode from our childhood. : )


Once upon a time, three young girls walked along a wooded path, pretending. They walked quickly, for they were imagining that they were sisters, on the run from the wicked schoolteacher and his wife, who had persuaded the orphanage they had been left at a month before to give them custody of the three young girls, who were orphaned when their parents died tragically, --though none of the girls had decided yet what the cause of their tragic fate had been. The schoolteacher and his wife only wanted the girls because they had inherited a large mansion, and lots of money, so of course the poor sisters were sadly mistreated, forced to be servants to the terrible couple, until that fateful morning.

They had escaped the house early, before anyone was up, taking with them a small bag of provisions, which they had snatched from the kitchen on their way out of the house. As they walked, they discussed what they were to do, now that they had escaped from their dreadful guardians. The oldest, Rose, led the way through the forest, looking for some shelter where they could hide. All sorts of dangers lurked in the shadows of the forest, and it was as the girls were discussing which of those dangers they were to encounter on their journey, when something unexpected happened.

Rose was forging bravely ahead, saying, “Be careful, girls, and make sure you keep close. There are bears in these woods,” when, all of a sudden, with a great and terrifying roar, something came crashing through the woods towards them! The three young girls, being young girls, screamed loudly and ran as fast as they could. One fell over, and as the others stopped to help her up, they looked up and saw what it was that had been chasing them.

Shocked out of character, and rather upset, the three girls turned, and saw the familiar friendly face of the man they had taken for a bear, who looked somewhat embarrassed and very amused. He explained that he had thought they were trespassers, and decided to teach them a lesson by scaring them.

~And so ended the saga of the three sister’s daring and dangerous escape.