Something new under the sun

This was a week of new never-before things.

For one thing, I signed up Paul's mom for a Xanga site. She was wondering how to read our family's blogs via email. I have a Feedblitz blog feed but I didn't think there was any way for her to get the girls' posts without signing her up for her own Xanga. So I did. She is prayinggrandma. Don't expect her to post or even to check her site, but hey, it's there if she ever wants to share her life with the world.

Then, last night I went to my first high school basketball game ever.

Ok, this is really embarrassing to admit, that I had never attended a high school game, so you can all comment and tell me it's ok, you've never learned to ride a bike or something.

[And just a note, if you're going to send your kids to a public high school, please let them participate in something besides speech and yearbook, or at least go watch if they don't participate. But that is a rant for another day, and I have to admit both my speech and yearbook experiences have come in handy since.]

Anyway. Paul's nephew Justin, the tall and handsome redhead, is on Harrisburg High School's basketball team and they had a home game last night. Ben and Steven wanted to go. Unfortunately Paul was gone, the girls were gone, Matt was at the warehouse, and they couldn't reach any friends.

I got a brilliant idea. "Hey! Maybe I should take you!"

Ben looked dubious. "Well, maybe you could just go drop us off."

But no, I was warming up to this idea. "No, really, I'll take you! Yes! I will!"

Then I got all nervous and began to pump the boys. "Where do you go in? Where do you pay? Where do you sit? Do they play the national anthem? What if I yell at the wrong time?"

Ben said, "Mom, it's not the inauguration or anything."

Jenny said, "Just yell whatever Bonnie yells."

Well. Bonnie is Justin's mom and a seasoned veteran and she is famous for yelling her heart out--"Watch him, Justin! DEE-fense!"

I didn't think I'd better start yelling whatever Bonnie yelled.

Ben said, "If nothing else, just cheer when everyone else is cheering."

We went. My [adjective adjective] teenage boys scampered ahead so they wouldn't have to be seen with me, and they sat clear on the other side of the gym

I found my friend Regina and stayed close by her side. Love you, Regina.

Harrisburg played Santiam Christian. It was a nailbiter game and the final score was 34-32 Harrisburg.

Here were a few of my reactions:

1. Wait. What's with that?
There was this whole ritual thing before the game could start, a carefully orchestrated song-and-dance, with the teams running out at a certain time, and the fans lining up along the sides, and the team slapping the fans' hands as they went by. And a funny thing where each player would run in a zigzag slapping hands with various important people. Weird.

And afterwards the teams walked by each other and slapped hands. Slapping hands is an important ritual, I guess. Anyway, it was nice, like, let's not hate each other too badly.

And why didn't they shoot more? They would pass and dribble, dribble and pass [yes, I know these words], but they wouldn't shoot unless they were right under the basket in a tangle of arms and legs. Also weird.

2. Really now. I mean really now.
So what's the point of the contrived introductions? "Jus-tin SMUCKERRRRR!!!"
And the mega-micro-mini skirts on the cheerleaders. I don't get it. You shouldn't have to flinch when a girl bends over.
[I just thought of this. I once sewed a cheerleader skirt, back in the day, for my friend Sheila. I am sure it was longer than the ones I saw last night, but I still don't think I'd better put it on my minister's wife resume'.]

3. Awwwww
This year's seniors and their parents were introduced and the guys gave their moms flowers. Sweet.

4.Just play for goodness sake.
Ok, so the clock would start ticking, and they'd play for maybe 30 seconds, and a whistle would sound, and they would stop playing, and some people would applaud, or sometimes boo, although I'm not sure why, and then things would reshuffle, and maybe someone would shoot a freethrow, and then they'd finally play again. This happened many times. I wished they would just play.

5. Whoa.
Justin shot freethrows four or five different times. He made a bunch of them, I don't remember how many. But I was impressed by the pressure of having all those eyes on him and how he handled it. Surely this will come in handy when he's a preacher someday.

And the biggest "whoa" of the night was the coach. He and the team were right in front of us and I found myself mesmerized. He was so unbelievably tense that he would have made my Type-A BIL Rod look like a couch potato. Up and down, clenched fists, pacing the floor. [Oh and during the team huddles he crouched in front of them and I thought he was writing on the floor with his finger like Jesus with the woman taken in adultery. Later I figured out he had a white board he was drawing on.] And constantly, endlessly, this guy was shouting shouting shouting. It was too noisy for me to understand much but I did catch this:

Quote of the Day:
[to one poor singled-out kid who didn't burst into tears like I would have] "TRACY! Don't! let! him! get! there!"
[paces back and forth]
"YOU GOTTA SWITCH ON THAT!"
"I'M SO SICKA THAT!! OK???"
"We're gonna go down here, and go wide!"
[pushes up glasses]
"ONE! ONE!"
"GO!"
[stomp stomp]
"IS HE THAT STUPID?"
[draws on "floor"]
"Like this, right? We're gonna switch it after a [something something]."
[slight disbelief from students] "I don't care! You're Justin Smucker!"
"LET'S GO!"

Today

Happy Valentines Day to all of you.

And Happy Birthday to Oregon!

My Martha Stewart Moment

I don't expect you to remember this, but one of the first things I worked on at Emily's apartment was organizing all my buttons.

Today I was putting some stray buttons away when I was suddenly struck by how pretty and Valentinesy that little bag of pink buttons in the drawer was. Why not use them for decoration?

So I gathered buttons and goblets and doilies, and came up with this:

Poems by Jenny

["Dedicated to Mom. For praising me when I make poems"]

Ben
I have a nice brother,
My brother is Ben.
He's very smart.
And does write with a pen.

Hansie
Hansie is huge,
He also is fat.
He likes nothing more
than chasing a cat.

Emily
I have a sister named Emily.
We argue all the time.
She has moved to Redmond.
And she didn't do any crime.

Steven
Steven is adopted.
I love him anyway.
We adopted him from Kenya,
And he is here to stay.

Pigga
Pigga is Emily's.
She's a very big cat.
She's very friendly.
And she isn't even fat!

Peyton
We found Peyton on the road.
He is Siamese.
He doesn't know how to put his claws in.
And he never eats cheese.

Matt
I have a brother named Matt.
He has red hair like me.
I love him very much.
And so I gleam with glee.

Jenny
My name is Jenny.
It means white or fair.
I like to play outside.
And I like my hair.

Amy
Amy is my sister
and Amy is sweet
I like my sister
she is a sweet treat.

Parents
I love my mom.
She's not a bomb.
I love my dad.
He isn't bad.

Family
Now that is my family.
I hope you enjoy,
All the family things,
About every girl and boy.

Phones

The other day I was on my cell phone, talking with Emily, and the home phone rang. She said, "Does that phone ring all the time?" I said, "Well....yeah I guess it does."

Today, out of curiosity, I tried to keep track of how often I talked on the phone. I think it was 22 times from roughly 8:00 to 3:00. Maybe more. I made some of the calls, arranging for Stephie and Lisa to go to Emily's today, and also arranging the dinner next Sunday when Ben is baptized. But the phone rang a lot too.

I don't know how often normal people talk on the phone but to me that seems like a lot.

My situation could be helped out if I had a headset so I could talk without having one hand tied up next to my head. I bought a little gadget a while back that plugs into the phone and has this little earpiece and another prong that's supposed to pick up your voice. Well. Somehow my ears are not normal ears and I can never make these little gadgets fit. They flop around and fall out and just plain hurt.

What I really need is a headset like I use when I talk on Skype--a serious set of earmuffs with a mouthpiece that stays in place. The problem is that my Skype set won't plug into my cell phone, which in my children's eyes is not far removed from the old crank-and-holler style of telephone.

I've seen people walking around airports and such talking into thin air. They always give me such a turn until I figure out they're not talking to me. Anyway, Paul says I can't go with a wireless setup like that unless I'm willing to upgrade my phone.

Oh ye techno geeks, is there anything that would work for me without making me give up my precious phone? Where would I go to find it? And if you want to spell out exactly what I should ask for, that would be ok too.

I have a Verizon phone but the Verizon people in their little booth always look so young and intimidating and easily amused so I never get up the nerve to ask them.

Update: Oh people, I love you, I really do. I read my comments and there were answers, clarification, instructions, even links. I didn't have to go to town or talk to patronizing tech people. I clicked on the Amazon link and there was exactly what I needed. I ordered two. "TWO?" said Paul, Emily, and everyone else I told. Well yes. Think of the possibilities. One for the house, one for the car. One to use when the other is lost. One to use and one to make me feel like I am well taken care of and all bases are covered.

Quote of the Day:
[I found this in my file. After church one evening last summer I was listening to conversations around me]
Men: You sold any of your ryegrass?
I sold almost all of it!
Really? Leonard sold his?
Yup. They say the farmers in the south aren't buyin' it. Prices are gonna come down.
Awww, they say that every year.

Moms: I put him in the sandbox and he hasn't figured out how to get out yet.

Teenagers: Have you ever sent a text and you were talkin about a certain person and you sent it to that person.....and I was like whoa!

Updates

1. Emily finished writing her book and sent it off. She is about 5000 words over the suggested length, but as her editor says, it's a lot easier to edit down than up. Her friend Phebe read it and liked it, but I haven't read it yet, since I want both of us to be able to say that I didn't have any fingers in that pie.

2. Of the four lambs we got in that one batch, two died the first night. The remaining two, Thundering Typhoons (Ben's) and Cocoa (Jenny's) survived a bit shakily and were moved to the chicken shed.

Within a few days Cocoa started going downhill, eating less and getting weaker until he could no longer stand up. I had some conversations with the Ruler of the Universe about why in the world it had to be Jenny's lamb. I brought it back inside, made phone calls, researched, and finally on the advice of my BIL Kenneth, went to Junction City Farm and Garden and bought a bottle of penicillin. The two teenyboppers behind the counter insisted that this was the only stuff they had for lambs. The dosage was 1 ml per 100 lbs of body weight. Well, a ml is a fifth of a teaspoon, and the lamb weighed probably 8 lbs. I had no clue how to give such a tiny amount, but desperate measures were in order so I bought it and for four days gave Cocoa injections that were probably more in line for a midsize calf, but like I said, desperate measures.

Finally he got to where he could sort of lean on his front legs if you sort of propped him up, so Jenny convinced herself, but not me, that all would be well.

Then Jenny and I went to Emily's and the boys took over the feedings. One day I got a phone call from Ben, who wanted to talk to Jenny. Cocoa is standing on her own, he told her. Jenny leaped into the air, pumping her fist, a look of pure joy on her face. I silently and fervently thanked God.

Cocoa still isn't the most healthy specimen around, but he's alive and eating and improving. We are so grateful.

3. Amy is still at Bible school and doing well, I think. She's very very busy and a bit stressed so we haven't talked much lately.

4. I had a great time at the ladies' retreat Friday and Saturday. Since then I find myself chuckling at odd moments, but I can't tell my curious family what I'm laughing about. Oh my. So many secrets, so many stories. Maybe I'll have to work them into a future novel plot, thoroughly disguised of course. It was a very satisfying retreat. And when we went shopping I found warm fluffy pajamas for me and Jenny for $4.99.

Quote of the Day:
"Well, I'll have to remind her of the time I saved her life."
--Matt, when he found out how much Emily is getting paid for her book. [Not that terribly much, really]

February Column

This month's Letter from Harrisburg is about our lambs.

On Going to Emily's

After a few days at Emily's, Jenny and I drove over the mountains and home again today. That isolated stretch of Highway 20 that is nothing but curves and constant up or constant down, with virtually no signs of civilization, still feels like I'm following the Pied Piper into the evil mountain and will never be seen again.

However. By the grace of God the roads were nice today....again....only a few miles of packed snow, and the landmarks are becoming familiar: Sevenmile Camp, the sign for the Pacific Crest Trail. The top of Tombstone Pass makes a nice rest stop, since they keep the parking lot and restrooms open all winter. I listened to CD's of John Schmid and the KJV Bible and New Creation because I can't catch any radio stations. Jenny did her schoolwork most of the way. And that profound truth that I learned during our years in the North keeps being true: if you keep driving and driving you eventually get there.

This was probably my second-to-last jaunt to Emily's in Redmond. The next time I plan to go armed with helpers and Pine-Sol, and we'll help Emily pack up her stuff and schlepp it down all those stairs and then scrub the daylights out of her apartment.

Which means this whole Emily-across-the-mountains journey is coming to an end, even though it looked so nebulous and vague and desperate when we began. Which goes to show that God's grace is sufficient for the day, and if you keep driving and driving you eventually get there.

One of the many nice things about being at Emily's is getting restocked with Q'sOTD.

Quote of the Day:
Jenny[frowning at tuna can]: Why does it say, 'Chicken of the Sea?'
Emily: It's actually a misinterpretation. It's supposed to say, 'Chick of the Sea,' because it's really mermaid meat.
(as my sister says, Where does she come up with this stuff???

Hiking in the mountain's

Here's a short piece Steven wrote yesterday for an assignment. I repeat it here not to highlight the mistakes but to show how astonishingly far he's come--in expressing himself in English, in writing, and in being aware of the world around him and what is where and what happened when.

Hiking in the mountain's

Over Christmas vacation my family decided to go visit my aunt and uncle's house.

One day we decided to go hiking, while the girls went shopping. On the hike

We took plenty of food and water.

The hike up was splendid, we had to weight on some people because

They were kind slow. We got to a place where there were two trails. Some

People took the one while the rest went on .We finally got to the place where

We were going to eat lunch. Where we ate lunch there were lots of rocks.

Beyond the rocks we saw the Appellation Trail. The Appellation Trail is the

Trail that run's from Georgia to Main.

Going down the mountain was much easier; we didn't even have to stop.

It also helped that we didn't weight for the old guy's. I had to be careful where I

placed my foot or else I'd slip. I slipped about two times, by the time I got down I was exhausted, but I still enjoyed it.

25 Trivial Facts

The latest rage on Facebook is to list 25 random facts about yourself. Here's my offering:


I feel like a sheep doing this 25-things business, BUT I was tagged, so therefore I have to do it, because 1. I have the same curse as Ella Enchanted. If someone tells me to do something, no matter how stupid, I am compelled to obey. (Not that this is so stupid, you understand)
2. I am a bit ADD. Which is why you'll find 25 half-finished projects around my house at any given time. And I can't sit still in church.
3. I remember bad times more than good times.
4. I love going to other countries and have been to Poland, Yemen, Kenya, and Mexico. And I lived in Canada for 8 years.
5. If I had another life to live I would be a travel writer.
6. I am addicted to tea...black tea...especially Kericho Gold black tea from Kenya, although PGTips from England is good also. Nothing starts off my day like black tea.
7. I am also addicted to fabric. I like to fold it and feel it and look at it, even if I don't get around to using it. I have too much fabric but I can't get rid of it because it makes me happy just to have it. Oh, and pens too. Cool pens that are pretty and smooth and just the right heft make me very happy. If I don't have a pen with me I feel panicky and frightened.
8. If I had a third life to live, I would own a fabric store. Actually, I might be able to fit this into my current life if I live long enough.
9. According to this one test I took, my spiritual gifts are knowledge, teaching, and mercy.
10. I teach Sunday school and take in newborn lambs, otherwise I don't think I use my spiritual gifts much.
11. I love public speaking.
12. But I sometimes panic when I have to talk to people one on one, especially chitchat, like with the checkout lady.
13. I have a very soft voice. People cannot hear me, so often when I get up my nerve and say something to the checkout lady, she can't hear me. At least 25% of P.A. systems are worthless, especially if the audience is over 70 years old. Ordering at a drive-through is a trial for me. I have to lean out the window and holler for all I'm worth.
14. My sisters and daughters are my best girlfriends and I feel very sorry for women who have neither.
15. I have a lot of regrets and I don't do very well at forgiving myself.
16. I'm always surprised when people actually read what I write and I can't figure out why anyone would bother, but then when someone unsubscribes from my blog feed, I'm offended.
17. I am good at memorizing. The children say that I can pull out a Bible verse for every occasion, and that their dad can be reading scripture aloud and I will catch his mistakes from memory. I also know everyone's phone number. But I cannot remember where I parked the car at Costco.
18. I notice people's teeth first.
19. I like pictures and knicknacks of chickens and cats.
20. Sometimes I am oblivious to what's going on around me, and sometimes I sense so precisely what's going on, unseen, that it's almost creepy.
21. People always think I had an idyllic childhood because I was Amish. I don't get the connection. I actually had a sad childhood.
22. I like to be around people who make me laugh. I don't care how different they are from me otherwise--just make me laugh and I'm your friend.
23. I hate shopping at malls. I like shopping at garage sales.
24. I think my husband is the best--guy, preacher, husband, dad, teacher, the works.
25. I want to live to be 103 like my grandma.