Just a Little Trim: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

 
'Tis the season to be jolly....so are you? 

I'm working on it. When my mother died last year, I never really had the opportunity to properly grieve.  At the time, it was a good thing since my responsibilities were to my family, not myself.  Then there was the task of finishing school while working and dealing with "the thing" and all that came with it.  Just so you know, I will henceforth refer to the pandemic as "the thing," since I'm so done with it.  Then there was graduation and preparing for my new side hustle as an adjunct professor.  Plus, I'm still reeling from my recent visit home to Alabama (I'll talk about that at another time).  Now that I'm settling into the holidays, the grief mixed with SAD was so overwhelming that I lost heart and almost didn't decorate or do anything holiday related.  I turned on my Spotify Christmas playlist and started decorating.  If the tears came, I let them fall.  My goal is to take that attitude through the rest of the holiday season and look for joy wherever I can find it.

Do you trim a tree this time of year, and if so is yours all done? What's something in your home-closet-life that needs to be trimmed in the new year? 

My ornament for this year

Yes, I'm pretty much done with decorating (unless I see something cool to add to my collection).

Do you really want me to go into what needs to be trimmed in my life?  Let's see:

• About 50 pounds of body weight.
• The grief I spoke of earlier.
• As I upgrade some of my "make do" items, the old items need to either be thrown away or donated.
• Mental doo-doo.
  

Are you "dreaming of a white Christmas"? Is that a possibility where you'll be celebrating? According to this site the top ten places in the US you can count on for a white Christmas are- North Pole Alaska, Crater Lake Oregon, Yellowstone National Park, Winthrop Washington, Aspen Colorado, Ketchum Idaho, Mt. Washington New Hampshire, Whitefish Montana, Duluth Minnesota, and the Lake Tahoe town of Truckee California. Of the snowy spots listed which would you most like to visit? 

My first Christmas in Colorado (2017)

I know my Alabama peeps will be shocked to hear this, but yes, I am hoping for a white Christmas.  Just not a white Christmas Eve (I want to go to church). This year, I have thoroughly enjoyed having a real autumn instead of the early October snow that ruins all the colorful foliage.  We've only had one light snow shower this month, so we are a behind on precipitation.  A white Christmas would be phenomenal.

I live about 200 miles from Aspen, but I've not yet visited there.  Since I don't know how to ski, snowboard, tube, or anything else snow related for that matter, I'd rather see Aspen in the fall when the trees present their luminous display.

December 8th is National Brownie Day...will you be celebrating? How do you like your brownies-chewy or cake-like, frosted or plain, nuts or no nuts, a piece from the middle or give me the corner? As a child were you a member of a brownie troop? 

I don't really care for brownies, so I will be abstaining.  I think the problem is that I could never make any good brownies, so I really don't know what a good brownie tastes like.  All the brownies I've had tasted too done nearly burnt and extra chewy to me even if someone else made them.

I was a Girl Scout in elementary school.  I joined in third grade, so I was a brownie for a year before moving up to junior.  I quit just after I became a cadet the summer before I started high school.

Speaking of brownie Girl Scouts, does anyone know when their annual devil biscuit sale starts in 2022?

Share a favorite line or two from a Christmas carol or holiday tune.

This is my absolute favorite version of "O Holy Night."

Insert your own random thought here:

In case you missed it:  

*My last Hodgepodge post, "I Ain't 'Fraid of No Candy Corn," is here.
*My latest Five Minute Friday post "Purpose v. 2.0," is here.
*My latest Simple Woman's Daybook "A Buggy Full of Lemons," is here.
*My latest Auntie's Workshop post "Finishing and Fixing III," is here.
*My latest 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge review of Love Does, is here.

Five Minute Friday: "Summer."

 

 

Luke 9:25 (NIV) - "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?"  

The Monkees "The Door Into Summer" was among my favorite songs when I was a teenager (this was their resurgence in the 80s--I'm not that old).  While I still enjoy the Nesmith/Dolenz harmonies, the great blend of the instruments, and of course, the prominent bass line I would love to learn, the lyrics (that I didn't understand when I was younger) speak of gloomy regret:

[Verse 1]

With his fool's gold stacked up all around him
From a killing in the market on the war
The children left King Midas there, as they found him
In his counting house where nothing counts but more

[Chorus]

And he thought he heard the echoes of a penny whistle band
And the laughter from a distant caravan
And the brightly painted line of circus wagons in the sand
Fading through the door into summer

[Verse 2]

With his travelogues of "maybe next year" places
As a trade-in for a name upon the door
And he pays for it with years he cannot buy back with his tears
When he finds out there's been no one keeping score

(Lyrics by Chip Douglas and Bill Martin.  Copyright 1967)

To me, the "door into summer" speaks of the fun moments and joys of life that were traded for "fool's gold" and "a name upon the door."  I can easily shake my head at such nonsense and lament over someone wasting their life on doing nothing but seeking riches and status while ignoring simple joys and the possibility of friendship and love. But what am I trading for a chance to step through the "door into summer"? I've never been rich or been important enough to have my name on the door (Ok, I had a name plate on my cubicle at work, but that's not the same).  The past 18 months have found me fighting the temptation to trade my soul (mind, will, and emotions) for following arbitrary, fear-filled rules and regulations; trading mental and physical health for vegging in front of escape entertainment; and trading loving friendship for depressing isolation and incessant scrolling through "anti-social" media.  

My "door into summer" isn't about a season, it's about an attitude. Even with the great things that happened in 2020 and the tragic events in my own family, I can't shake the feeling that the year was a wash and never really happened. I can't shake the feeling that I literally lost a year.  Joel 2:25 (NIV) says, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten." My "door into summer" is regaining the attitude of summer fun and joy, regaining what I lost, and keeping that "door" open all year long.

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In case you missed it:  

* My last Five Minute Friday post "Quiet" is here.
* My last Wednesday Hodgepodge post, "Salty Dog" is here.
* My last Simple Woman's Daybook post "Junior Asparagus," is here.
* My latest 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge review of Love Does is here.
* My latest Auntie's Workshop post "Finishing and Fixing II" is here.

Five Minute Friday: "Quiet"

 

I love the quiet of the mornings.  My neighbors haven't started stirring much, the trash truck hasn't bounced by yet, and the birds are even briefly enjoying the stillness before beginning their morning chorus.  I light a candle, sit in my prayer/reading chair, sip on my morning beverage of choice, grab a pen and paper, and prepare for my time with God.

Ah, such quiet bliss...

Until...

My mind does NOT know quiet like my body does. Even in the stillness of my morning fellowship with God, my mind runs like a wheel-treading hamster juiced up on Red Bull.  If you try to follow the track of my roller coaster thoughts, keep your hands in the car or you'll fall off the ride.

Anyway...

One my goals for the year is to learn how to better settle myself totally in the presence of God. Psalm 131:2 (AMP) says, "Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child [resting] with his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me [composed and freed from discontent]."  That is the goal.  But how?  "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you" (I Peter 5:10 KJV).  So, as I suffer through the discipline of trying to settle my mind in order to spend quality time with God, His glorious presence settles me so that I can spend more quality time with Him.

Cool, ain't it?

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In case you missed it:  

* My last Five Minute Friday post "Disagree" is here.
* My last Simple Woman's Daybook post "Junior Asparagus," is here.
* My last Wednesday Hodgepodge post, "Cutie Patootie" is here.
* My latest 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge review of Love Does is here.
* My latest Auntie's Workshop post "Finishing and Fixing II" is here.

Five Minute Friday: "Broken"

Mark 14:3, 6 (NIV) - While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head....“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me."

A while back, I wrote a post about the concept of beauty in brokenness. At the time, I honestly didn't get it.  Sometimes I still struggle with it. Since that post, off and on I've been racking my brain trying to find things that are more useful or  beautiful when broken.

Some things that are more useful when broken are: eggs, nuts, herbs
Some things that are a beautiful use of broken items:  Mosaics,  kintsugi pottery, art pieces and countertops  made with broken glass, sea glass jewelry.

So what's my point?  I still don't believe that Father God relishes in the brokenness of his children (that's child abuse).  However, I think that God looks at those broken pieces of my life and like an artist, finds ways to lovingly gather and put them together into something useful and beautiful.  Like kintsugi masters, God binds the cracks, chips, and voids in my life together with the strength and beauty of gold; making something more lovely and more valuable than before.

Ok, so I've come this far.  

Now, how do I allow these pieces to be reformed into beauty?  How do I not sweep these pieces into a dustpan and throw them into the dumpster to never be seen again?  How can I, like Jacob/Israel not hide my limp, but instead have an exciting story of meeting God to tell that makes others want to meet Him too?

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In case you missed it:  

* Last week's Five Minute Friday post "Pressure" is here.
* This week's Hodgepodge post, "A Penny Saved...is Still a Penny" is here.
*My latest 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge review of The Five Love Languages:  Singles Edition  is here..
* My latest Auntie's Workshop post "Finishing and Fixing I" is here.

Five Minute Friday: "Pressure"

Proverbs 11:16 (ESV) - A gracious woman gets honor...

At least she SHOULD. 

I know that Mother's Day is a month away, but it's been on my mind for the past few days.  This will be our first one without mama.  One joy to which I look forward is that commencement is the same weekend.  My other joy is that on Sunday my Pastor will not be preaching a Mother's Day sermon.

The near decade that mama and I served together at Faith Temple were the best years of our mother-daughter relationship.  They were also the years that I felt less pressure on Mother's Day (I didn't say none, just less).  I could simply say "This is your day, mom.  Have at it." 

What was the first seminary that taught the pastoral formula for preaching Mother's Day sermons?  The formula goes like this:  Expound on a famous mama from the Bible--the top three are the Virgin Mary, Hannah the mother of Samuel, and Jochebed the mother of Moses. Now, pull out Proverbs 31 (always!) and use those wonderful feminine attributes to 1) commend the godly mother you chose from Scripture, 2) commend all the mothers in the church as being the finest things since sliced bread, and 3) hold this standard up to single women and married women with no children, and ask them what's wrong with them that they can't live up to this high standard of womanhood.  Be sure to ignore other passages that empower and commend all godly women regardless of marital and procreation status.  In the closing prayer, be sure to use beautiful flowery spiritual language to pray God's blessing over the moms, but ask the Almighty to fix these "wrong" women who are "desperate to become wives and/or mothers" (even if they are not--we're not BTW).  

Talk about pressure, embarrassment, and pain.

I've endured nearly 30 years of these sermons and thankfully, my Pastor at Colorado Community Church has bucked the trend.  Yes, the church acknowledges and honors the moms on Mother's day; and rightfully so. However, they don't do it in a way that degrades and alienates women who are trying to follow God, rather than peer pressure, in their choices about marriage and family.  Remember, NO IS A CHOICE.

I honestly wish I could send Pastor Gelinas a Mother's Day card thanking him and the leadership of the church for seeing the importance of all the members of the church, being sensitive to the pain of others, and following God, rather than ministerial peer pressure in the sermons he presents.

I know, it's too weird, but I wish I could.

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In case you missed it:  

* My last Five Minute Friday post "Savor" is here.
* Last week's Hodgepodge post, "Hoping for a Patio" is here.
* My latest Simple Woman's Daybook post "What Season is it?" is here.
* My latest Auntie's Workshop post "Finishing and Fixing I" is here.

Five Minute Friday: "Redeem."

Ephesians 1:6-7 (KJV) - To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

Redeem - save (someone) from sin, error, or evil.

Many people, including Christians, think the word sin is harsh and heavy. However, to me the word itself is freedom when fully understood.  Yes, sin is "missing the mark," a "defect of character," but most importantly it is rebellion against God--a rebellion against His perfect love.  When I tiptoe around sinful actions and thoughts by not calling them what they are, I leave Jesus out of the equation.  Instead of leaning on the sacrifice of Christ, I lean on my own power, which always leads to minimizing, justifying, or hiding sin--which isn't freedom at all, but more bondage.  Knowing what sin is (and isn't), openly exposing it to God through confession and repentance (I John 1:9), rather than it exposing itself to others and ruing relationships (Numbers 32:23) brings true freedom and spiritual renewal (Acts 3:19-20).

Job 19:25 (NIV) - "I know that my redeemer lives."

Cabbage Patch Kids: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

This week's Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday which signals the beginning of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? If so tell us more. Yes, this year I am reading a devotional for Lent and focusing on the meaning of this season.  Did you grow up 'celebrating' Lent? No, I didn't grow up in church. Is attending church part of your weekly routine? Yes.  Are churches open for in-person worship where you live? 

Yes, we are open to in-person worship with limited capacity in keeping with the rules of the county health department and CDC guidelines 😷.  And thank God we are.  We were closed and doing online worship for several months. If you've read my blog posts from last year, you know that it did not go well for me.  Online church is a great option when you can't attend due to illness or weather, but I would not want to do that long term.

When is the last time you sat beside a 'real' fire?  Last year, I went to a church retreat at the Hideaway Retreat Center in Colorado Springs. Their dining area had a real fireplace that burned real logs, not gas.  It was nice.  Do you have a fireplace in your home? Wood or gas logs?  No.  Favorite thing cooked over a fire? Does barbecue count? 

Something that's currently got you fired up?  This song.

Yes, I know I'm sharing a lot of music in this post, but I've been on an old school Christian music binge lately, and Petra has been at the top of the playlist.  This one will get you ready for worship for sure.

February 17th also happens to be National Cabbage Day. Who knew? Do you like cabbage? Is cabbage on your menu Wednesday? Of the following cabbage dishes which is your favorite-coleslaw (mayo or vinegar?), sauerkraut, cabbage rolls, cabbage soup, kielbasa and cabbage, grilled cabbage, bubble and squeak, kimchi, or haluski? 

Cabbage is a take it or leave it food for me.  I don't hate it, but I don't just love it either.  I like coleslaw, the salad mixes that include cabbage, and as a kid I liked my mom's cooked cabbage.  I used to put sauerkraut on hot dogs, but haven't done that for years.  I've not really had any of the other cabbage dishes listed.  So, I guess I'm not that big into cabbage.

Do you hang on to pennies? What do you do with them? Last thing you purchased for $1.00? Last thing you purchased for $5.00? 

Oh yes.  I got that from my parents.  I hang on to pennies and other coins throughout the year, roll them, then either cash or deposit them at the bank.  Sometimes I purchase something with the savings or just leave them in the bank. The last thing I purchased for  $1.00 was cleaning supplies--I shop at the Dollar Tree on a regular basis.  The last $5.00 item I purchased was probably a fast food meal somewhere.

Insert your own random thought here.

An icon in Christian music and one of my absolute favorites has gone to his heavenly reward.  Carman passed away yesterday at 65.  His "Radically Saved" tour was the first concert I ever attended and I've listened to his music ever since.  Though it's hard to pick just one, this has to be my all time favorite song of his.

In case you're interested:

* My latest Five Minute Friday Post, "Once," is here.
* My latest Auntie's Workshop post Get 'er Done Art Challenge: Round Two, Phase Two" is here.
* My latest Simple Woman's Daybook post "A Better Normal" is here.
* My 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge is here.

Five Minute Friday: "Once"

 
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"You're once, twice, three times a lady."
Once in a lifetime.
Once Again (great praise song by Johnathan Stockstil and Bethany Praise--see below)

I once had this album...well cassette.  I first heard of Jerome Olds in 1989 when I was at a youth retreat in Montgomery, Alabama, but couldn't buy the cassette until I saw him again in Panama City Beach, Florida in 1992 when I was participating in Campus Outreach's Summer Beach project.

Well, why didn't you buy the CD?  Because I was a broke college student who couldn't afford a CD player at the time.  Is that OK with you? 

Anyway...

The day my tape recorder ate this cassette (which was more than 25 years later, I might add) was a devastating day for me.  Not only were there songs on this particular compilation that are not available on any of his available CDs, but the album itself holds great memories for me.  Mr. Olds didn't realize how God used him in my life.  During the youth retreat, he took to time to minister to and pray for me.  He opened up James, chapter 1 and explained perseverance to the fullest extent a tired, lonely, angry 17 year old could receive.  That encounter got me through college.  Even in the years I was away from God, I would still play that tape and remember.

Even today I still cannot find this on CD (they once existed).  I've tried every music service I can think of.  I even had a friend in Georgia try to find the church where Mr. Olds used to be the worship minister in hopes that they had the CD. No luck.  If you know Jerome Olds, or ARE Jerome Olds (not sure if the Facebook and Twitter pages I @'ed are really him) and have access to this CD or mp3 album (I don't have a cassette player anymore), I'm willing to pay a REASONABLE price for it.  Just contact me through Facebook messenger or auntiesworkshop@outlook.com. Please and thank you.

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Red Hots: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

Something little you are loving right now? 

I'm enjoying a little more time.  I just finished up nearly 18 months of intensive theological study.  My evenings and weekends are now freed up for first rest, then artistic and other pursuits.  The study was well worth it, but I'm hoping that the wider time margins will enable me to devote more time to serving at my church. I don't like just showing up, listening to sermons, and donating money; I like involvement.

Red roses or pink peonies? Both. Red wine or pink lemonade? Pink lemonade. Red lipstick or pink polish? Yes. A cotton candy colored sky or a fiery red sunset? Both are gorgeous.  A book-movie-song you love with the word red or pink in it's title? I think the word love is a little strong, but the first thing I thought of was the song "Little Red Corvette" by Prince.  What?

What's something you currently have your heart set on doing-going-seeing-or experiencing?

When all the Covid crazy is finally done with enough for people to come out and play and budget allows, I've got my heart set on going home for a visit. I know I've said it before, but I'm ready to go home again for fun,  not funerals. Even if JSU doesn't have the Marching Southerners reunion, I still want to go home and see everyone, go to all of the haunts, and eat my way up and down Alabama highway 21.

Who would you most like to have a heart to heart with right now? Is that possible? 

I'm not sure it's possible, but I wish I could have a heart to heart with our Executive Pastor, Doug.  He's a couple of years older than I and like me, he's never been married, so he's the only one of our pastors who truly understands.  I want to know what his experience has been.  As frustrating as my experience with church people has been concerning my marital state, I'm sure him being part of the pastoral staff of a large church is much worse.  I wish we could compare notes (and gripes) and that I could get advice from him on how to handle possible hurdles to ministry I might face.  Plus, I want him to know that even if our experiences may differ, I understand and am in his corner. I'm not sure if it's possible since he is male.  I'm not sure what the pastoral counseling rules are at my church.  Some churches do not allow male pastors to counsel with women alone and vice versa (which I completely understand and am in agreement with).  Some churches do not allow it at all (which I understand, but don't agree with. But I'm not the problem; other people who don't know how to act are).

Write an acrostic for the word L-O-V-E. 

Love
Overcomes
Vitriol
Every time

Insert your own random thought here.

In case you're interested:

* My latest Five Minute Friday Post, "Design," is here.
* My latest Auntie's Workshop post Get 'er Done Art Challenge: Round Two, Phase One" is here.
* My latest Simple Woman's Daybook post "A Better Normal" is here.
* My 2021 Flip and Sip Reading Challenge is here.

Four Hundred Cinnamon Sticks: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

Congratulations to Miss Joyce--this is the 400th Hodgepodge!

I feel like episode 400 cannot go without comment. That's a whole lot of Hodgepodging folks. 2000 questions if my math is right. So, what's something you feel like you do 400 times a week? 

Smile.  I don't always smile because of something that's all about me.  Just bringing a smile to someone else makes me smile.  I also try to watch, listen to, and read things that, for the most part, are uplifting.  Those things make me smile.

Tell us where you were and something about what your life looked like in the year 2000? 

In the year 2000, I was finishing up my Master's Degree at Jacksonville State and starting my more than a decade's long stint as a preschool teacher.  The photo below is from my teaching days.

Do you like cinnamon? What's something you make and enjoy that calls for cinnamon? Of the cinnamon 'foods' listed which is your favorite-red hot cinnamon candies, cinnamon toast, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon toast crunch cereal, apple cinnamon oatmeal, churros, an Indian curry?

Yes, I like cinnamon.  I like to put it in oatmeal.  Two of my favorite recipes--wassail and granola--call for cinnamon. When I made French toast, I would use cinnamon, but I don't think I've had true cinnamon toast. I'm trying to think if I've had a genuine homemade cinnamon roll.  I don't think I have.  Hmm...I may have to learn to make these.

Um, I need to find a recipe that's less complicated...and metric..and expensive.

Does Christmas 2020 (or Hanukkah) look much like it has in years past, or is this year vastly different for you and your family? How so? How are you feeling about it all? 

I hadn't been posting to the Hodgepodge lately because the holiday questions carried my mind towards depression.  BTW--that's not Miss Joyce's fault; that's on me.  I've taken a lot of prayer time to get myself into the right frame of mind for this season.  With all the good that's happened to me this year, the extended isolation, plus losing my mom and my niece were just hard blows to take.  However, I feel like I'm in a good place not.  Not a perfect one, but a good one.

Yes, this year will look different. In a bad way because of the aforementioned losses.  In a good way because God opened up doors for me to provide joy to others, and in return He's given His gift of joy to me.  

Another good change is I'm fully celebrating Advent.  Yes, we celebrate at the church, but I mean in my daily devotional time, the meaning of Advent is in the center.  I'm burning the candles, saying the prayers, and reading the readings for myself and it has been so rich.  I'm so thankful for this season.

I finally got to the point that I didn't care if I was alone on Christmas day (I would enjoy it nonetheless), yet God has provided me friends to share part of the day with.

What's one thing you need or want to do before this year ends? 

I like to do my spring cleaning at the beginning of the year.  I want to get that done before my vacation is over. I have a few books I started this year that I hope to finish. I also want to take some time to pray and prepare for the new year.

I know Joyce said one thing, but hey, it's been a few weeks since I posted one of these. 

Insert your own random thought here.  

A couple of my favorite Christmas songs--one serious, one not even trying to be serious.  Enjoy!

 

In case you're interested:

* My latest Five Minute Friday post is here.
* My latest Simple Woman's Daybook post is here.

* My latest Auntie's Workshop post is here.

Five Minute Friday: "Help."

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (KJV) - "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."

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Did you know that no "self-help" book I've ever read has been labels as such?  In fact, the authors have said the exact opposite.  Effective books of this type are more "self-analysis" than "self-help."  They get you in a position where you understand yourself enough to know what kind of outside help you need.

So, what does one do in the midst of a pandemic and mandated isolation?   How does a person establish accountability that counts when they are alone?  That's my dilemma right now.  I had great accountability when I could work out at the community center on a regular basis (there were instructors and fellow patrons who were expecting me).  However, until they let us exercise without a mask, that's a no-go.  I really don't care what the "scientists" say, if I can't talk without getting out of breath wearing a mask, there no way I can exercise effectively in one.  I've tried setting up accountability with folks online, but they all play the mommy excuse pissing contest game and nothing gets done.

I hate this.  I hate having the flawed type of personality that requires outer accountability. This is the one time I wish "self-help" was actually a thing--where "pulling yourself up by the bootstraps" was actually a one man operation. 

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Be Nice and Get Off the Phone: The Weekkly Hodgepodge

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Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

Add caption

What's one part of your everyday routine you'd be better off without?

The inconsistency. I've been trying all year to reestablish healthy routines and failing miserably. Unfortunately, I'm one of those weak people who need outward accountability.  Even before quarantine, accountability was hard to find.  Now, it is impossible.  I thought about going back to the community center to work out and at least have that built in accountability.  However, they want patrons to wear a mask while working out.  Uh...no.  I get out of breath just talking with the thing on. There's no way I could make it through a workout without either taking the mask off to breathe, or passing out because I'm not getting enough oxygen.

October 5th is/was National Do Something Nice Day. So what did you/will you do? 

I know this sounds snarky, but why do we need a certain day to be nice?  I was raised to be courteous and kind, so I didn't need to do anything out of the ordinary.  If I can't be nice any other day of the week, a "special" day isn't going to make me any nicer.

What question do you hate to answer? 

 

It's a string of questions that always go together:  Are you married?  At your age, why aren't you married?  Do you have children?  At your age, why don't you have children?  I've been getting these questions since I was in my early 20s!

Do we have control over technology or does it have control over us. In that same vein, have you watched The Social Dilemma (available on Netflix) and if so what did you think?  

 

Do you mean the royal "we?"  It depends on the person.  If you mean "we" as in "us," I believe I have control over technology.  If I go off to the store and forget my phone, I don't break out in hives and hyperventilate. With technology, I use various forms of technology daily, so I'm not opposed to it.  Now, if you mean social media, the more human interaction I have, the less I use social media.  I did hear about the Social Dilemma program, but don't have Netflix (and probably wouldn't watch it anyway if I did).  I think if someone is at that level of addiction to technology/social media, they need to get help.

What are three small things that make your day better? 

1. A comforting cup of coffee or tea.
2. A good laugh or two...or three.
3. Making art, even if it just working on something for a few minutes.
   

Insert your own random thought here. 

Please be in prayer for my family.  My 43 year old niece, Lucretia passed away suddenly Monday. 

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We 80s children have lost another icon.  In honor of Eddie Van Halen's passing, I share a couple of my favorite Van Halen songs.

 

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In case you're interested:
* My latest Auntie's Workshop post is here.