Shadows and Laughter

I still try to put something funny on my door at work each day.
I often have my door closed while I am on the phone.
Sometimes I see shadows of feet under the crack of
my door and then I hear
laughter.
I like that.

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Ancient Liturgy and For King and Country

Earlier this week Mike and I went to a funeral at a Catholic Church. We were all there to honor the mother of one of our friends. We aren't Catholics but we recognize a lot of the liturgy they speak and sing, as it is from Bible verses. We sing much of it at our church services as well, although often to different melodies.

There was a young woman there who sang several solos as well as led us all in the congregational singing. She had one of those voices, one that I wished came out of my mouth as well. It was just so beautiful! She sang with such reverence; I could close my eyes and imagine it was an angel singing. I could have listened to her sing all day. I hope she has children and I hope she sings them to sleep sometimes. Her voice was that relaxing.

Two days after that angel-singing-liturgy experience, I went to hear a concert with my friend, Nicole. We loved listening to For King and Country as well as Building 429! It was loud and stimulating. We stood, we clapped, we swayed, we bounced on the balls of our feet a bit. I could feel the drum beats vibrate through my chest.The grandstands were loaded with Christians singing their hearts out. It was really an uplifting experience.

So, did I enjoy the angel voice or the bands best? I couldn't say one way or the other, really. They were both quite rewarding. What they both reminded me of, though, was how very powerful music is. Music makes you FEEL something that spoken words can't quite do, at least for me. It must be true for many others as well.

The more I thought about the power of music and how it makes you feel, I felt even more convinced that we need to be proactive about the music to which we listen. I listen to music that isn't necessarily Christian music and I don't think that is wrong. However, I think it is important to me to often listen to uplifting, inspiring music if I want to live my life in an uplifting way.  I want to FEEL the music, to really absorb its meaning into my soul. That is why I want to be careful what kind of music I am absorbing. While I enjoy many different styles, I want to be careful what kind of content I let into my brain.

That is what I was thinking about today.

Grandparenting is FUN, FUN, FUN!

Building 429: "Where I Belong" Official Music Video

Do you remember when I told you about my Life's Theme Song?

Well, by the time you read this I will be listening to this group, Building 429, singing it live! We will be having supper together and then they promise to sing it to me!

Can you believe that?

Really?

Hmmm...I didn't think you would be quite that gullible.

It is all true, in a sort of kind of way. I will be seeing them at the state fair and I will likely grab something to eat while there and I bet they will be eating while there as well (that's the supper together part.) Then, they will be singing to me and to all the other people who purchased tickets for their show.



I wish you could come along!

I Found Myself!

I found myself when I was snooping through Mike's phone photos.

These are all from over a year ago, when we went to St. Louis.

Apparently, I Don't Want To

Sometimes little kids say things that seem funny at first, but with more thought, actually prove to be rather profound. Cordelia said one of those things to me recently. Just look into her eyes here. You can see some wisdom there, can't you?

So, here's the story. I was driving with Cordelia in the car seat I have in my back seat. We have some of our best conversations in the car. She had just finished a week of Vacation Bible School and was bubbling over with enthusiasm as she told me all they had done during the week. 

One of the things Cordelia told me was that they had played games. She corrected herself then to say that the other children played games but she did not. Naturally, I asked her why she didn't play games. She stated, "Because I freak out when I don't win." I know this to be true and I thought she was pretty self aware and truthful. Still, I felt I needed to say something to encourage her to try to work on this problem rather than just accept it and let it keep her from having fun. I know her parents have worked with her on this so I don't know why I thought I needed to speak to it, but I did.

I said to Cordy, "Can't you work on that problem so you stop freaking out?" She calmly replied, "Yes, but apparently I don't want to." 

See what I mean? I laughed in my head because really, it was a funny thing for a "four-and-three-quarters" child to say. 

As I thought about her words, I realized they could apply to me, and likely most people. Here are some statements that would apply to me:

       I could be more faithful about daily exercise, but apparently I don't want to.

       I could keep my house shiny clean, but apparently I don't want to.

       I could always eat only healthy foods, but apparently I don't want to.

       I could give more of my time to others, but apparently I don't want to.

       I could clean out my closet, but apparently I don't want to.

I think you get my point, don't you? Cordy's simple answer just skipped right past all the excuses. She didn't blame her genetics or her environment or anything else. She just told it like it is. I'm thinking there is a lesson in that. The honesty is better than a bunch of excuses. 

Of course, as refreshing as such honesty is, it really is just a start. Of course Cordelia needs to eventually conquer her tendency to freak out when things don't quite go her way. She will, in time. 

The real question is, will I clean out my closet any time soon?

Wyoming Wildlife

I was snooping around on Mike's phone this week-end. OK, I wasn't reading his texts or checking his phone messages. I was snooping through his photos to see if he had any good ones. He did! Two that I found were typical Wyoming shots so I thought you might like to take a peek as well.

This one was taken from the front door of our church. We often have antelope meandering across our parking lot and munching around on the lawn. One day Mike came out and saw a baby antelope. That's not something you'll see in the city now, is it?

This other photo must have been taken last time he was in Yellowstone Park. By the way, if you've never been to Yellowstone, it is time to plan that vacation.  Here, take a look...

When you visit, just remember that you aren't supposed to pet the buffalo.

It is a really bad idea.

Last time we were at Old Faithful, waiting for the eruption, we noticed the

crowd along the boardwalk kind of moving and murmuring. Eventually we realized a bull buffalo was coming down the boardwalk and people were just moving aside only enough for it to pass.

When we saw it, we promptly got out of the area. Often the buffalo just ignore the people but sometimes they do not.  I discovered that YouTube is full of buffalo attack videos. This one was shot right by Old Faithful, near where we saw one wandering along that very boardwalk. Don't watch it if you think it will give you nightmares but it isn't bloody or anything. It will just scare you to see how stupid people can be sometimes.

Hmmm... I didn't know I was going to lecture about buffalo safety when I started this post. That was a surprise to me as well.

An Evening at the Isle of Palms

I suppose it is about time I wrap up my coverage of our trip to Charleston. It has taken me longer to write about it than to experience it!

I'm going to close by telling you about a night that occurred early in our trip. We'd spent our first day at the at the Citadel for the North American Lutheran Church Convocation. At the end of that day they loaded us all up into school buses and drove us out to the Isle of Palms. It was a pretty long drive in a very hot bus, but we survived.

Isle of Palms is a long, skinny island and we drove quite far out on it, I think. It is a barrier island and we passed many homes that were built elevated so as to let the ocean flow under it when a hurricane or something came through. It was all so flat, I could easily imagine the ocean flowing over it and making it all disappear. Apparently that hasn't really happened but it seemed like a pretty precarious place to build a big fancy house...beautiful but precarious.

We were told we were going to the Citadel Beach House. That didn't mean much to me but if you click here you will see where we stopped. What a delightful surprise! There were many different areas set up for eating as well as for entertainment. There was a group dressed in traditional African clothing singing spirituals. There was a place set up for a DJ to play music while teaching dances. I enjoyed observing these, especially the singers, but I think you'll see where Nicole and I wanted to spend our time.

We left with our skirts wet but it was so wonderful to get to play in the ocean!

Planes, Boats and Dolphins

 While in Charleston, we got to spend a good deal of time on the water. I liked that a lot.

This is not us.

We rode a water taxi across the harbor to tour the Yorktown, a retired aircraft carrier. That thing is HUGE! It is like a whole town floating around. There are aircraft on top of it and a big, BIG hanger inside it. It was quite interesting to tour...but very hot!

 There were actually two ships there to tour but I've forgotten the name of the other.

 Isn't it strange so see how they made planes foldable so as to fit more in the hanger?

 It was so large inside!

And, there was a wounded submarine there as well.

They want to raise money to refurbish it but it hasn't happened yet.

Another day we also rode a boat for a 90 minute tour of the harbor. We toodled past Fort Sumter, a site of a lot of history. In fact, Fort Sumter was the site of the first shots fired starting the Civil War.

My favorite part of that boat ride was that we saw dolphins in the wild. That was pretty exciting for this prairie girl! They were very hard to photograph. It turns out they didn't naturally bob around in an upright style waiting for me to focus and shoot my camera. I finally just started clicking when we saw several in the same area. It was kind of like my alligator photo; I had to blow it up to see what I had. 

OK, I just barely got the photo, but it was enough to make me happy.

Charleston Neighborhoods

As I told you, we went to Charleston with our friend, Chad and Nicole, to attend a North American Lutheran Church Convocation. After that ended, Nicole and Chad moved to a resort on Mount Pleasant (just across the harbor from Charleston) and Ben and Sara (our son and daughter-in-law) joined us for a  couple of days. The day after they left, Mike and I set out to see a bit more of Charleston on our own.

We decided to take a tour in a little van around the town.  They were just lined up, many vans, and they left every 30 minutes or so. We purchased our tickets and were directed to a van. We waited a few minutes and looked up to see Chad and Nicole getting on the same van! Of all the vans tours that day, we ended up on the same tour! It was really pretty funny.

Anyway, this little tour was really very informative. We learned all about the wall that once surrounded the city. We saw so many beautiful homes, many that were several hundred years old. It was absolutely amazing to me to see how they had been so well maintained. They took such pride in keeping them historically accurate, it was easy to feel you were travelling back in time.

I wish I'd been taking notes so I could tell you about each of these homes, but I didn't and I can't. Sorry. I can tell you that one of them had a cannon ball go through its roof and that that cannon ball is still in an upstairs room!

You'll see a pink house that was along the harbor. It was said to have been owned by a dentist who originally chose the color to be that of healthy gums. Hmmmmm.....

We walked along the battery. People kept telling me we should see the battery and I admit I didn't even now what they were talking about. Well, it is part of that protective wall around the city. Now it is like a boardwalk along the harbor, with beautiful historical homes along beside. 

When we were first talking about going to Charleston, Ben told me he knew I'd just love going through the neighborhoods, looking at the houses. He was so right! I think I will just let you browse through my photos of some of those homes. Sorry that I had to take them through the van windows, sometimes on the move. You'll get the feel for the neighborhoods, though, anyway.

Charleston: Charm, Treachery, Water

Our last morning with Ben and Sara in Charleston involved strolling through the downtown area.

It felt like a small town and to many I suppose it is, but there were many, many blocks of those small town charming stores.  I guess we didn't actually go into any of them, but I'm sure they were charming.

Even the alleys between the streets were charming.

I just want to let you enjoy a few photos.

We happened upon a place called the Old Exchange Building and Provost Dungeon. This place was oozing with history. It first was built as a meeting place, a place for debates and other exchanges of ideas.

We toured the "dungeon" art of the building and learned a lot of things. For one, I didn't realize how much Charleston had been traumatized by pirates. Some of those pirates were held there.

This particular jail wasn't all that big and it was all one big space. Men and women were just put down there together.

During the Revolutionary War the British took siege of Charleston and used this jail. 

At least 3 of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence were housed in this jail.

George Washington spoke from this building and attended a ball inside this building.

Later, slaves were auctioned off from the front steps.

I looked around at the place and thought the handmade bricks and prettily shaped ceiling were adorable. It was such a contrast to the stories we heard of all the suffering that occurred in and around that building.

One of the most prominent Americans to be executed for treason to the British crown was Isaac Hayne.  He was a man enjoying a comfortable and prominent life, a father of seven children, when the Revolutionary War interrupted his serenity.  Hayne became a colonel who eventually was tried for treason.  He spent his last night in this place.  One of his sons was allowed to come tell him good-bye and reported seeing his coffin sitting there prepared for him.

I wondered what that must have felt like for Hayne.

From The Execution of Isaac Hayne by David K. Bowden...

A contemporary of Hayne described the day: “The streets were crowded with thousands of anxious spectators . . . When the city barrier was past, and the instrument of catastrophe appeared full in view, a faithful friend by his side observed to him, ‘that he hoped he would exhibit an example of the manner in which an American can die.’ He answered with the utmost tranquility, ‘I will endeavor to do so.’ He ascended the cart with a firm step and serene aspect. He enquired of the executioner, who was making an attempt to get the cap over his eyes, what he wanted? Upon being informed of his design, the colonel replied, ‘I will save you that trouble, ‘ and he pulled it over himself. He was afterwards asked whether he wished to say anything, to which he answered, ‘I will only take leave of my friends, and be ready.’ He then affectionately shook hands with three gentlemen–recommended his children to their care–and gave the signal for the cart to move.”

If you are interested, go here to read a lot more.

We moved on to enjoy a nice lunch at a trendy restaurant, Blossom, then went down to the harbor for a bit. I like to look at water, you know. We were at City Park and it was a warm Sunday afternoon. I enjoyed watching people enjoying the big fountain there. I also enjoyed looking out to the harbor.

Sara and Ben, kids at heart.

 I am not really sure what a barnacle is but maybe these are barnacles?

 Water makes it a party, huh?

 I saw child after child try to suppress that flow of water.

The water always won.

 I told you, I like to look at water.

 I wish you could hear all the squealing and giggling!

 It was really, really hot but it was worth it to be by the water.

I spent quite some time at the end of this dock...or is it a pier?

What is the difference between a dock and a pier?

We had to say good-bye to Ben and Sara as they had to get back to their real lives.

I hope we can do something like this with them again soon!