weathering weirdness

I just read the following in a Yahoo! news article:

"Last winter — when spring blossoms popped up all over the Austrian Alps, Geneva's official chestnut tree sprouted leaves and flowers, and Swedes were still picking mushrooms well into December — was Europe's warmest in 500 years, [says Christian Pfister, a climate historian at the University of Bern]. It came after the hottest autumn in a millennium and was followed by one of the balmiest Aprils on record."

And in Saxony at least, that balmy April has, in the meantime, turned into a rather chilly September. Today is nice, the sun is out, and the air smells fresh but not autumn-crisp. But we're supposed to have rain again starting tomorrow.

I think I'm ready to live in Hawaii now. ;o)

funny foibles and so forth

The following is part of a comment I left on Alisha's blog and considered worth immortalizing here:

I compulsively count stairs. In our stairwell, three of our staircases have nine stairs each, one staircase has ten stairs, and the one leading to the back door has five stairs. That's 42, which is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. I remain, therefore, convinced that counting stairs (and other things) is a worthwhile pastime.

And if I step on a crack in the sidewalk with my left foot, I have to step on a crack with my right foot, too. Otherwise, I feel unbalanced. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable psychological explanation for this, but I haven't found it yet. ;o)

In other news, I'm working on finishing ETM homework this week, so I might not be able to continue regaling you with tall tales of traveling. Day Three, however, *is* written, so if I can get around to working with the pictures, I'll post that sometime this week.

Generall overall mood: melancholy and lethargic because I have too much to do and have passed the point at which the workload is a motivating challenge. Instead, it has become an overwhelming task of monumental proportions, leaving me feeling drained and nearly unable to concentrate on anything that I actually need to be doing.

Part of the reason I've taken on so much and am procrastinating about it is that the workload and the procrastination are providing an escape from having to think about what's coming ( --> moving).

However, don't feel sorry for me, Gentle Readers. I'll be fine eventually. :o)

interlude: sweetness and haircut

Here are a card and flowers from my sweet husband:

The card is from sheepworld, and it reads, "I am always there for you!"


And voilà! The haircut. ;o)

Addendum: Just noticed that I posted something about sheepworld exactly one year ago today. How weird is that.

UK Trip--Day Two

Day Two
Tuesday, August 14

Today is the day of education! Patrick, Ed, and I take the train from Peterborough to King’s Cross Station in London. A brisk walk, and we are at the British Library.
Patrick is the Director of Studies at the British Bible School, and he will now show us and give us explanations of some of the most important documents in existence today.

Currently, the Library is putting on an exhibit relating to three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam... The documents that are of interest to us are not in the same places that they usually are, so Patrick leads us on a merry hunt, narrating as he goes. He has given us a pamphlet pertaining to what we are seeing, and I hastily check things off and make notes as we go along. (Unfortunately, taking pictures here is not allowed, so I have no accompanying illustrations.) We see:

--> London Codex or British Museum Codex (Oriental Hebrew Bible), ca. A.D. 950, which contains most of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). We see Exodus 20.

--> Codex Sinaiticus, ca. A.D. 340, the oldest “complete” manuscript in Greek (“complete” because some scholars question this). We see Mark 15 (I think) through 16:8 and Luke 1:1-18.

--> Codex Alexandrinus, ca. A.D. 450, which contains most of the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) and the New Testament.

--> P18, a papyrus fragment of Revelation 1:4-7 in Greek, 3rd or 4th century, from Oxyrhynchus, Egypt.

--> Old Latin Genesis 5:29 through 6:2, 5th century, also from Oxyrhynchus.

--> Lindisfarne Gospels, ca. A.D. 700, in Latin. Made by Bishop Eadfrith of Lindisfarne. In the tenth century, a priest named Aldred wrote an Old English translation in the margins.

--> Dead Sea Scrolls, Psalms 31 and 33 from Cave 4, A.D. 50.

--> Samaritan Pentateuch, ca. 14th century A.D.

--> The “Unknown Gospel,” 2nd century A.D., from Egypt.

--> P45, a papyrus manuscript from the Chester Beatty Collection, ca. A.D. 250. Luke 13:6-24 and 11:50 through 12:12

--> Gutenberg Bible, the first large book that Johannes Gutenberg printed on his moveable type press in 1454-55.


I am stunned by the historical magnitude of it all. The manuscripts I am seeing are merely a drop in the bucket compared to the total number of Biblical manuscripts housed in museums worldwide. So many documents confirming the age and reliability of the Old and New Testaments…and yet people refuse to believe in the Bible’s veracity. All over the world, children are learning historical “facts” that are based on only a few confirming documents. Bruce M. Metzger of Princeton says, “The quantity of New Testament material is almost embarrassing in comparison with other works of antiquity.” And yet, people choose to believe that these works of antiquity are reliable and that the Bible is not. I stand in the British Library, looking at these ancient proofs, and marvel at the blindness of man.

My only regret in viewing this wonderful exhibit is that I cannot photograph it.

As a fun aside, we enter the John Ritblatt Gallery, which usually houses some of the Biblical manuscripts that have been moved and are currently part of the exhibit we just left. The Ritblatt Gallery also houses, among lots of other neat things, original manuscripts of Beatles lyrics (one song is scrawled on a napkin); Mozart, Bach, and Chopin originals; and a letter from King George III to the American colonies, warning the upstart rebels against sedition. We smile as Patrick tells us that we are merely loyal subject who have finally come home to England. ;o)

Before leaving the Library, we encounter a most peculiar sight: an optical illusion picture by Patrick Hughes entitled (appropriately, I believe) “Paradoxymoron.” Looking at it from the front, we see what seems to be a perfectly normal painting.



Walking slowly past it, we realize that the picture is changing: following us not with “eyes” but with entire bookshelves! Every viewing angle gives us a different picture, but always one of extreme depth.


The sign beneath the picture read, “Please do not touch,” and I can understand why: The depth of the picture is so deceptively real, it seems we could reach right into that miniature library and pull a tiny book from its shelf.

 

Finally, a view from the side reveals the secret:



We spend about ten minutes walking back and forth in front of this painting. We attract a small crowd. ;o)

We lunch at what I think is the English equivalent of “fast-food”; and since the proprietors are of Eastern persuasion and serve quite a few dishes seasoned with curry, I conclude that this is an Indian establishment. Ed braves the curry and orders a so seasoned, very spicy baked potato, while Patrick and I content ourselves with “second breakfast”: eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns. Tea is, of course, a staple of every meal. And of every in-between, for that matter. ;o) Ed and I particularly enjoy the smoke-freeness and the fresh air blowing through from the open doors. It’s nice to eat a meal in public without having to breathe the unwelcome nicotine exhalations of strangers. I long for Germany to follow the UK’s lead.


After lunch, we head over to the British Museum. And here, I can snap pictures to my heart’s content. (I'll refrain from posting them here, though, as I'm not sure I'm allowed to display them outside of my home.) The Museum is hums and buzzes with human life moving in and out between and around exhibits of the lives of humans long crumbled to dust. The Egyptian exhibits draw a particularly large number of viewers, and we have to fight our way through the crowds in order to get to the rooms that are of greater interest to us.


I am thankful for Patrick’s guidance, for he can point out to us the special gems in this vast horde of archaeological wealth. Without his expertise, we would be lost, doomed merely to wander about, not really knowing what we’re seeing, unable to grasp the significance of even a minute part of what the Museum has to offer. Patrick can give us at least an inkling of the meaning of what he shows us and how it relates to our lives--and to humanity worldwide--today. We see:

--> Amarna Letters, 14th century B.C., from vassals to Amenhotep III, Akehenaton and Tutankhamun, kings of Egypt.

--> Clay Model of Sheep’s Liver, which priests used to tell the future and interpret prophecy. No wonder Nebuchadnezzar’s magicians couldn’t figure out his dreams! (see Daniel 2)

--> Human-headed Winged Lions, portal guardians from the throne room of Ashurnasirpal II, king of Assyria from 884-859 B.C. and the father of Shalmaneser III.

--> Black Obelisk (ca. 827 B.C.) of Shalmaneser III, king of Assyria from 858-824 B.C. Among other things, the obelisk depicts Jehu, king of Israel, bringing tribute to Shalmaneser (see 2. Kings 9 and 17).

--> Balawat Gates from the palace of Shalmaneser III.

--> Samaria Ivories, probably 8th century B.C., probably similar to what Ahab used in his ivory house (see 1. Kings 2:39).

--> Human-headed Winged Bulls of Sargon II, king of Assyria from 722-705 B.C. (see Isaiah 20) and father of Sennacherib. The bulls stood in Sargon’s palace, built around 710 B.C.

--> Sculptured panels of the Capture of Lachish by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, 705-681 B.C. Judah rebelled, so Sennacherib went on a campaign to destoy Judah’s fortified cities. This did not include Jerusalem, as Sennacherib’s army died before he could destroy the city (see 2. Kings 18-19 and 2. Chron. 32). Otherwise, these panels would probably depict the fall of Jerusalem, since Jerusalem was a far more important city than Lachish.

--> Sennacherib Prism, or Taylor Prism, on which Sennacherib recorded his first eight military campaigns. He writes of Hezekiah, king of Judah from ca. 715-687 B.C.

--> Phoenician Warship Relief of a ship built for Sennacherib.

--> Sculptured panels of Ashurbanipal’s Royal Lion Hunt. Ashurbanipal was king of Assyria ca. 669-627 B.C., and he was the grandson of Sennacherib.

--> Bethlehem Tomb Artifacts, from the 7th century B.C.

--> Royal Steward Inscription, from 7th century B.C., possibly of Shebna, steward of King Hezekiah (see Isaiah 22:15f, 2. Kings 18:18).

--> Lachish Letters, from before 586 B.C., and Figurines from Lachish, showing idol worship of the Judeans.

--> Cyrus Cylinder, on which Cyrus, king of Persia (549-530 B.C.) recorded his conquest of Babylon. He decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city and the temple (see Ezra 2 and 6:3-5).

--> Darius Seal, which belonged to Darius I, king of Persia from 522 to ca. 485 B.C. He made sure the decrees of Cyrus concerned the Jews were implemented (see Ezra 4-6).

--> Column-drum from the Ephesian temple of Artemis (aka Diana), ca. 320 B.C. (see Acts 19).

--> The Rosetta Stone, 196 B.C., inscribed in hieroglyphic and demotic Egyptian and in uncial Greek.

--> Other sights: Nebuchadnezzar’s Bricks; the Flood Tablet (Gilgamesh Epic) made for Ashurbanipal in the 7th century B.C.; the Babylonian Chronicle, 605-595 B.C.; and a Glazed Brick Panel from the palace of Darius I, father of Xerxes (Esther 2:16-23, Neh. 1:1).


Thoughts are still whirling like mad through my head, similar to those I was having at the British Library. My faith in God and in the inspiration of scripture is not dependent on these archaeological findings… But all of these artifacts do answer some of the questions that others have asked me and that I have asked myself over the years. God has allowed nature and history to leave behind these tantalizing clues, openly displayed on the other side of clear glass, pointing in the direction of truth and certainty. I examine Shalmaneser’s Black Obelisk, studying the image of King Jehu of Israel bringing tribute. This is the only known depiction of an Israelite king. I look at his bowed head, and suddenly I’m able to picture so much better the things I read in the Old Testament. If Israel had turned to God for strength instead of to the Assyrian king, how different our history would have been!

As we depart the Museum, we take a very welcome break in the "Friends of the British Museum" Room, courtesy of Patrick's "Friends" membership. It's great to know people in high places! ;o) My feet are very thankful, as they have now been throbbing their tired displeasure at me for quite some time. And a cup of coffee hits just the perfect spot.
*grin*

On the way back to the Boyns’ house, we take a train from King’s Cross again. Naturally, we must stop to admire “Platform 9 ¾” of “Harry Potter” fame. I’m disappointed that the “platform” is not situated in a pillar, as it is in the films, but rather in a blank wall. However, the half of a luggage cart, bolted to the wall and apparently “disappearing” into it, is amusing enough. Ed and Patrick tease me into following the example of other apparent HP fans: I stand at the cart, as though pushing it into the wall at a dead run, and throw an exuberant glance over my shoulder so that Ed can take a picture. I feel silly, but agree with the men that if I don’t do it, I’ll fly back home next week regretting it. ;o)

UK Trip--Day One

Day One
Monday, August 13

We arrive at the Stansted airport and immediately get in the customs line for those of non-European-Union persuasion. Foolishly, we think that because this line is shorter than the line for European Union members, we will get through customs and to the baggage claim rather more quickly than the EU people. Not so. Our line might be shorter, but the customs officials are scrutinizing each of us far more carefully than they scrutinize their fellow EU members. Rightfully so. Ed and I confuse the customs agent a bit when we explain that we live in Germany. Our American passports would seem to belie this. By the time we get through to baggage claim, ours are two of the few suitcases left on the carousel. Just as well, as this means we don’t have to wait for our luggage!

When we exit the gate area, the first person we don’t see is Patrick. We stand gawking for a few minutes, thinking that if he is here, he will be able to spot us, as we’re making ourselves somewhat obvious. Not so this time, either. We leave the airport and look for him outside. Oodles of people, and I’m sure most of them are English, but none of them are the Englishman we’re looking for. Ed rings Patrick up on his cell phone. Where are we? Suddenly, the cell phone has become a walkie-talkie, and Ed and Patrick are giving each other a play-by-play as we (hopefully) begin to move in his general direction. Finally, we spot him, and he spots us. Jolly good! (By the end of this trip, I will have picked up a few local words and phrases, and “jolly good” will have become a particular favorite.)

On to Cambridge, where we sightsee the university. Patrick’s daughter Shanae is a student here, so he’s well-equipped to give us a tour and a welcome explanation of the university system. Shanae belongs to Newnham College, which does not denote a particular area of study; rather, it designates the house she lives in. Patrick ponders trying to pop in for a look inside, but we decide it might seem slightly odd for a student’s father to be poking around during summer holidays. Ed and I offer to play the Confused American Tourists bit, but we decide to leave this particular adventure for another day.

At least we get to see the beautiful grounds of Newnham College, and I think that this would be the perfect place for an afternoon of reading in a sunny, grassy nook.

We also see Queen’s College, King’s College, Trinity College, and St. John’s College. All from the outside, you understand, as these college grounds are not open to the public.

Outside of King’s College, we find a Victorian post box:
a public mailbox still bearing the designation of Her Royal Highness, Queen Victoria. Most other post boxes carry the name of Queen Elizabeth II, so this one is special.

Patrick tells us that at least once per semester, each college has a formal dinner, complete with multiple-course meals. Shanae’s college, Newnham, is an all-girls college (they even have their own private library), so she and her fellows wear ballgowns under their formal university robes (gowns in England; and they are open to the front instead of covering everything the way American robes do). Of course, the girls are welcome to invite male guests to their dinners. But a ticket (which members as well as non-members of the college must buy) can run several hundred pounds. (I believe Patrick said that attendance at one dinner per year is required.) Some of the wealthier colleges, such as King's and St. John's, can even afford for well-known bands to play at their formals. I think that I could get used to the fun of the occasional formal dinner, but the price would be somewhat prohibitive!

Soon, we come to The Backs, which is the back of Queen’s, King’s, St. John’s, and Trinity. Along The Backs flows the River Cam, which is, of course, the namesake of Cambridge.

Patrick and Ed, with the River Cam in the background.  

Here, one can go “punting.” Punts are boats which are poled up and down the river. The punter drives a long pole into the riverbed and pushes the punt along. This requires strong arms and a good sense of balance!
The punter can get himself into trouble if he passes under a bridge and gets the pole stuck lengthwise between bridge and riverbed! Then he must make a choice: keep hold of the pole and be pulled off the boat as it continues to drift, or leave the pole behind, stuck, and stay on the boat without a method of propulsion. Either way, he must wait for rescue from some kind, punting soul. I regret very much that we don’t have time to try this out ourselves! (The punting, of course, not the getting-stuck part.)

Walking around downtown Cambridge brings us two highly memorable experiences: One, we encounter a fudge shop purporting to sell the best fudge in the world. Naturally, Ed and I must try some. This is also an opportunity for me to get rid of some of the UK change bequeathed to me by other Uk-adventurers of my acquaintance (a.k.a. my parents). The coins are unfamiliar; I stand there, counting them out into the hand of my mortified husband, and feel like a foreigner. Go figure. ;o) The shopgirl has a great attitude about it, though, even when my 50p coins prove to be the old kind only accepted by banks. We buy the fudge--three varieties turn out to be irresistible--and troop outside again. Much to Patrick's delight, our first English fudge experience is most excellent. (In fact, it's good enough that we will manage to make it last several weeks!)

The other new experience brought to us by irrepressible Cambridge is the street performer. Patrick calls him a "busker"; the name alone would have been newness enough for us. But this busker brings it all to new heights of "nouveau": His stage of choice is the interior of a litter bin! With the neck of the guitar sticking out one side and an elbow out the other, he's playing and singing as though sitting inside a garbage can were the most natural thing in the world.
I ask Patrick if this is normal behavior for British buskers, but even Parick is nonplussed. I give the busker points for originality, as well as some of my change (though I'm not obnoxious enough to give him the useless 50p coins). ;o)

We wind up our evening at the Boynses’ home in Peterborough. We walk in, and the first thing I hear is the music of KT Tunstall issuing from somewhere in the back of the house. June, Patrick’s wife, has dinner ready for us: lasagna with all the trappings, and real custard for dessert! We enjoy a great meal and fun fellowship with Patrick and June and their two teens, son Aubrey and daughter Rachelle. (Shanae is on a summer mission in India.) Afterward, Patrick shows us a video he has made, featuring some of the things we will see at the British Library and the British Museum tomorrow. I go to bed feeling at home.

Courtney and Ed at the River Cam

UK Trip--a few preliminary remarks

So. Due to popular demand (voiced to me by multiple people in person, if not on this blog), I'm gonna start "reporting" on the mid-August vacation Ed and I took to the United Kingdom. We'd been planning this trip for over a year, and it was my Christmas present from Ed last year. So by the time we actually got to go, I was as excited as Snickers when it's time to leave for her Sunday walk and the dumb humans can't find the leash. Getting to go to London and Scotland really swung my verge, if you will. ;o)

A few preliminary remarks about the vacation, or "holiday," as they say in the UK: This was the first real vacation that Ed and I have had since my parents took us to Ireland five years ago. Yeah, we've had a few trips to Oklahoma since then, and we've taken "mini-vays" (mini-vacations = day trips or weekend trips) to various places, but nothing like a real, frolicking, get-away-from-everything, see-something-totally-new, get-into-another-world kind of vacation. The trips to the States are never vacations because they're more "business" than pleasure. And four of my trips to the States have been for family medical emergencies or deaths. All in all, it would be nice to take a trip to the States that actually involved anything like a vacation!

Also, this was the very first vacation Ed and I have been on together, just the two of us, since our honeymoon (almost nine years ago!). So we've been rather overdue for something like this!

And a few prelims about my vacation "blopgost": It's gonna be a lot, it's gonna take me some time to finish writing it, and I seriously doubt that most of you will want to read all of it. However, I'll be posting it piece by piece, so maybe that'll keep it from being too overwhelming. ;o)

fyi

lifecasting: not for the faint of heart (i guess)

A couple of days ago, I saw a report on Yahoo! about a phenomenon called "lifecasting": People strap cameras to their heads and broadcast their lives over the Internet 24/7. In a way, this has been done before by those who set up 24-hour webcams in their dorm rooms, office cubicles, refrigerators, what-have-you. The difference here is that lifecasting is mobile; people are broadcasting their lives as they live them, outside of their homes, everywhere they go.

Call me antiquated, but I think this is kind of odd. The word "nutty" comes to mind. Yeah, I'm kind of indulging voyeurism by having a journal that is accessible to the world (see: blog) and by reading other people's blogs. However, I do not record every moment of my private life here, and I don't read every moment of other people's private lives. Lifecasters have no private lives.

The only time this one guy turns his camera off is when he goes into public restrooms, because otherwise he'd be breaking the law. Even when he's having sex with his date, he leaves the camera on, though it's turned toward the wall with the mic off. That's something anyway, I suppose.

Another lifecaster allows her viewers to give her direction on what to do. If they say, "Buy and drink a cappucino," she buys and drinks a cappucino. (She carries her laptop around with her so that she can remain in constant contact with her viewers.) So far, she refuses to obey orders to take off her clothes in front of a mirror, but I wonder how long this resolution will last.

Lifecasting, to me, is just a bizarre phenomenon. It's like "Big Brother" on steroids. I suppose George Orwell would be thrilled.

PLEASE......stop the madness!!!!!!!

Hidy-ho, friends and neighbors! This is yet another friendly public service announcement!

I know, I know, I've posted a lot of "check this out" and "do this" and "don't do that" lately. I'm sorry, but I just gotta. It's all relevant! It's all for your own good!!!!! ;o)

Anyway, today's helpful hint is, yet again, about those pesky EMAIL FORWARDS! Today, I am taking to task those who hit "forward" without checking their facts first. You know what I'm talking about. Those emails saying such-and-such a network is gonna air such-and-such a program that violates every ethical and moral principle that every sane and pure human being holds dear. The emails saying that Celebrity A has been talking trash about ______________, while Celebrities B and C just donated 10 years' worth of movie-made money to some liberal organization that supports killing infants and small fluffy dogs.

Yes, my sarcastic streak is showing.....but c'mon, guys, enough is enough! Imagine a friend comes up to you and says, "Did you hear about Person XYZ? Well, you'll never guess what he did......"

Do you believe every "fact" whispered into your ear?
Do you rush home, whip up a "fact"-sharing email and fire it away to everyone in your address book?

No. Of course you don't.
Especially not without checking to see if all these "facts" you just heard are true.

And why don't you do that?

Well, because it's called "gossip."

And that, my friends, is all a tell-all, tattletale email forward is. It's gossip. It's telling a story about someone you don't know, with facts you can't verify, all to rile other people's emotions up into a frenzy of email-forwarding busybodiness. When you forward an email like that, you're gossiping. And it isn't pretty.

Especially when other people can, upon receiving your gossip, immediately head over to sites like these to check on whether or not your gossip is true:

Hoaxbusters
Hoax Busters
Snopes.com
ScamBusters.org
Truth or Fiction? (thanks for the link, Alisha!)

Sarcasm aside, guys.....please check one of these sites before you hit "forward"! They all have search engines that pick up on key words from that email you want to send on to your friends.

You wouldn't gossip in non-Internet life. Don't be a gossip over email.

the squeaky nose gets the grease.....or something

The latest on The Epic Adventures of The Chronically Sinusitic (I don't know if the word "sinusitic" actually describes "one who suffers from sinusitis," but I'm gonna say it does because I just made that word up. I think.):

When I saw Dr. A a few weeks ago, and he revealed that I don't need surgery on my nose (?!???!???), I forgot to mention that he also prescribed me something new:

NOSE OIL.

So now, I have my nose spray, which I use once or twice per day, as needed. No, I'm not hooked on it. Chronic sinusitis means that one is constantly sensitive to all sorts of random things. For instance, the moment the weather starts to change (i.e. turn colder), my sinuses close up. One positive thing about this is that my nose is turning into a fairly accurate barometer.

Anyway.....so, I have my nose spray (once or twice daily); I have the ever-amazing nose shower that flushes gunk out (daily); and now I have nose oil, which contains a whole lotta stuff including citric oil (I smell lemony fresh now!), peanut oil, orange peel oil, and "terpinol," which I think is related to terpentine.

Smashing! ;oD

This concludes the lastest episode of The Epic Adventures of The Chronically Sinusitic. Thank you for watching!

procrastination gets a kick in the rear

Today, boys and girls, I'm pointing you in the direction of a place on the web that offers some helpful hints on how to stop procrastinating. If you've been putting off looking up the definition of 'procrastination,' then you've come to the right place: 'Procrastination' means 'putting something off.' 'Not doing something when you know you need to do it.' In other words, ' not gittin' 'er done.'

These people here have some great suggestions on how to turn not gittin' 'er done into 'gittin 'er done. No, I don't always care for their choice of words, but I can live with them. Besides their principles are excellent, and these are their ideas, not mine. I'm not into plagiarism simply to avoid resting my eyes on bad language. ;o)

All of that to say...go check out that link up there. Do an 8-minute dash on something. Git 'er done. I'm gonna go dash something now. :o)

stay away from tanning / beds

Here are a few things I just read on the website of the The Skin Cancer Foundation. Both of my grandmothers had skin cancer, and I inherited extremely fair skin from both of them, so my risk factor for skin cancer is way high. So I try to use sunscreen and wear protective clothing as much as possible. And keep in mind that tanned skin is damaged skin! I just burn and freckle anyway. ;o)

So here are a few facts I picked up from the site above and thought I would share for educational purposes:

--> More than 90 percent of all skin cancers are caused by sun exposure.

--> A person's risk for skin cancer doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns.

--> Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

--> Exposure to tanning beds before age 35 increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.

--> Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the U.S. annually; 2.3 million of them are teens.

--> On an average day in the U.S., more than 1 million people tan in tanning salons; 70% are Caucasian women aged 16-49.

--> People who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma.

--> Occasional use of tanning beds almost triples the chances of developing melanoma.

--> New high-pressure sunlamps emit doses of UVR that can be as much as 15 times that of the sun.

--> The indoor tanning industry has an estimated revenue of $5 billion.

--> Up to 90 percent of the visible skin changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun. These changes can be seen as early as in one's 20's.
(I can attest to that! ;o)


The Food and Drug Administration in the USA is starting a new labeling system for sunscreen: The labels will now show the protection factor against UVA as well as UVB. So look for SPF (or SBPF) of 50+ and 3-4 stars when you shop for suncreen!

tune in soon...

....for a report on our trip to the United Kingdom! Yes, in case my previous, late-night post about fermented oj didn't give it away, Ed and I are back from our wonderful vacation to England and Scotland. I'm in the process of journaling about it, and I will post part (if not all, I'm not sure yet) of my reportive ramblings here. So keep your eyes open, laddies!

(In the meantime, I think I've answered all comments.)

what's really sad...

...is when it's 1 o'clock in the morning, and for some reason you're craving orange juice, and you go to the kitchen, open the fridge, take out the carton of orange juice, pour yourself a glass of that delicious, golden sweetness, raise the glass to your lips, take a big swallow...

...and discover that the orange juice has been quietly fermenting in the fridge while you were away on vacation.

Blech, blech, and triple-blech!

And orange juice gives me heartburn anyway! *grumble*

;o)

out-of-office reply

You have reached thegermanygirl.blogspot.com. I am currently unable to take your call. Please leave your name, number, and a short definition of cheese relating to the meaning of life, and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for calling!

*click!*

i am so confused......

So this morning, I had an appointment with Dr. Adler, the premier ear-nose-throat specialist in Chemnitz. He shares his practice with Dr. Kopp, who diagnosed me with chronic sinusitis in February and told me it's time for surgery. But Dr. Adler ist the one who actually does the surgery, and he likes to meet with each patient in person at some point before the surgery takes place. So this was my pre-surgery visit, even though I'm still on the waiting list and the surgery isn't actually scheduled yet.

Well, Dr. A looked at my X-rays, did an ultrasound / visual exam of my sinuses / nose, told me that there is some swelling of the tissues in my sinuses (which I already knew), and pronounced that there's no need for an operation at this time (which floored me) as long as I keep using my nose shower.

I was so surprised that I totally forgot to question him on why his diagnosis is so different from Dr. K's.

But in retrospect, I don't think I need to know. I've decided that, since I've gotten two conflicting opinions here, I'm going to postpone the whole kit-and-caboodle and get a third--deciding--opinion from a doctor in Oklahoma. I'm quite perplexed about the whole thing and really wish that I didn't have to deal with this. But, as we all know, if wishes were equines, I wouldn't have to ride my bicycle everywhere, either.

So there ya have it, folks. Modern medicine strikes again. Strike three, yer out! ;oP

fyi

destroyed for lack of knowledge

When my parents left the European shores for the Americas, they also left behind a copy of the magazine Gospel Advocate (GA). So I picked it up and read it. Just for the record, this was the first GA I've ever really perused, and I have discovered that I do not agree 100% with what the magazine presented in this particular issue (see issue # below). Or perhaps it's better to say that I don't agree 100% with the methods and the attitudes reflected in some of the authors' writings.

That said, however, I found the following to be accurate, illuminating, and disturbing. The trends which Renfroe (see below) presents in his article are realities of which the church today needs to take note. If we don't, we're in for some rather nasty surprises in the very near future.

"...I can't help wondering, in the midst of the current [technological] craze, if any room is left for God. Do the movers and shakers of the technological revolution have any place for a 2,000-year-old book? Indeed, does anyone even read anymore? In our quest to gain academic prowess through tech savvy, have we failed to instruct regarding the most important knowledge our children will ever need to acquire--the knowledge they need to save their souls (John 8:32; 1. Timothy 2:4)?"

"Parents naturally want their children to succeed, obtain advanced degrees, and secure high-paying jobs believed to ensure not only financial security but also the ever-elusive happiness that evades so many...

"During Old Testament days, parents were to teach their children about God and His marvelous works at every available opportunity (Deuteronomy 6:7; 11:19). Today, some parents are asleep at the proverbial wheel. We clamor for our kids to be in the best schools and taught by highly qualifed professionals. We expect them to play sports--the big three, at least--and would not think of their missing practice. (They might get a scholarship, you know.) But are we failing them where they need us most?

"If we could muster the same enthusiasm toward our children's spiritual education that we do for their secular activities, it would be far less likelly we would see a generation that, in many quarters, is 'destroyed for lack of knowledge' (Hosea 4:6 ASV)..."

--Brandon Renfroe
"21st Century Kids Are Wired"
Gospel Advocate, June 2007, Vol CXLIX, No. 6


Some of my thoughts as I read this:

Why is it so important to us that our children Get A Good Education?

Do we really believe that it's more important for our children to become Christians than it is for them to Get A Good Education?

Are we teaching our children to spend at least as much time studying the holy words of God as they spend studying textbooks written by humans?

We hear kids say, "When I grow up, I wanna be a teacher/rock star/fireman/astronaut/vet/police officer/etc."
We encourage them in these dreams. And rightfully so.
But how much encouragement do we give them in developing a dream that when they grow up, they "wanna be a faithful servant of God"?

I've never heard a kid say, "When I grow up, I wanna be what God wants me to be."
Why is that?

Are we studying the Bible with our kids and worshiping God with them at home? Every day?
Or are we leaving that part up to the "Sunday school teachers"?

When did Sunday morning Bible Class replace parental responsibility?

Renfroe says that we make sure our kids never miss sports practice.
Are we making sure they are present every time the church assembles to worship God?

Are we ourselves present every time our Christian family is together for worship?

Or are we ourselves skipping worship because this or that activity "is only this one time," which just "happens to be" during worship time?

Are we ourselves skipping worship in favor of attending secular activities?

Are we teaching our children to "go to church" because that means they're being good?

Or are we teaching them to be the church because being the church is the only scriptural concept? (After all, where in the Bible do you find the concept of "going to" church?)

Where are our own priorities? Yours and mine?

Is God truly the center of our lives?
The apex?
The only constant reality?

Or are we lying to ourselves?
And are we raising our children on a diet of these holy-seeming lies?

Are we teaching our kids, by our example, that God's word, the Bible, is not binding?


What do you think?

i need to get on the blogball...

...and answer comments and read other people's blogs. Haven't been doing much of either lately. Too much else going on.

In other news, I think I like Nickelback. I keep hearing these songs and liking them and then finding out it's Nickelback. The latest song this has happened with is "If Everyone Cared." Google it, the lyrics are really good.

I like Nickelback. That's so weird. When it comes to Nickel-anything, I thought I was a Nickel-Creek-only kind of girl. ;o)

/random

art genius

Hey, just thought I'd point everybody in the direction of Phil Hansen, whom I heard of for the first time just today. Really cool art, and I figure he must be a genius the way he creates his pieces. Absolutely amazing.

Check out the link here and be sure to watch the video: Phil Hansen.

reality is setting in

On Wednesday, my parents boarded their flight from Frankfurt to the U.S. I think I still haven't quite started to process that they have moved to Oklahoma. To them, Germany is home. To *me* Germany is their home, too. That new house that they build is gonna have a pretty solid German cornerstone to live up to.

Another bit of unpleasant reality..... On Wednesday, Ed and I let our landlady know that we are moving out by October 31st. She was really upset to hear this, and I thought she was going to cry. Which made me almost cry. And we haven't even been close to her, though I'd describe our "professional" relationship as a good one. It was still a sad moment, and all three of us agreed that there was no "good" time to break this news. At least she understood our reasons for leaving.

But telling her that we're moving...it's just one more step toward making it all seem real.

And I don't like it. I don't want to think about it.

___________________________________

*Addendum: Ed and I have been watching a lot of "Quantum Leap" online lately. At another time, perhaps I'll blog about how much I love this show and how I wish they'd make a movie of it or something. Anyway, I've been trying to figure out why my non-TV-loving self has been wanting to veg out in front of the tube so much recently.

And I think I've figured it out: I'm watching because I'm avoiding. I'm watching because I don't want to think.

this has *not* been one of those weeks...

...and even so, *twice* in the last five days, I have had to stick my hand down a toilet to retrieve an object that shouldn't be flushed. I wish I could turn this into an amusing blopgost about how everything that could go wrong *has* gone wrong...but other than unexpected double-WC-retrieval, I'm having a good week.

So...sorry for the lack of amusing material. Just picture me standing in the bathroom of the church building, wearing nice clothes, while pitching a fit about having to stick my hand down the toilet to retrieve a hapless toilet bowl freshener. For those who know me personally, this should strike you as rather funny.

(The other incident involved a 1 Euro coin. Just FYI.)

TWICE.

*sigh*

book comments 3

This'll be somewhat general instead of specific to one book. In my effort to decide which books to move with us to Oklahoma and which ones to leave behind, I've been re-reading quite a few novels in order to determine their move-worthiness. So far, I have a pile of about 50 books to give away (I haven't re-read *all* of these, only the ones I really wasn't sure about) and counting.

Included in all the re-reading are all of my Dean Koontz books. Yeah, I've decided to give away a few of his novels...but I find myself keeping most of them. The ones I'm giving away are those to which I haven't had a strong emotional reaction, or those which have left me feeling like this-has-been-done-before. Some of his earlier novels have left me feeling this way, so those are the ones I'm giving away.

I'm keeping all of his later stuff, though, plus a few older ones like "Dark Rivers of the Heart"; "Lightning"; and "Servants of Twilight," to name a few. But his more recent works are the ones I really enjoy. In my opinion, Koontz has been reflecting a great deal of spirituality in his works of the last 6 or 8 (maybe 10) years. Hints of that have always been there, but now he has moved from the hinting stage to pointing directly at the fact that there is something more than this world that we perceive with our physical senses. I highly recommend Koontz to anyone who is looking for serious philosophy and broadening spirituality packaged within the heart-pounding, stay-up-reading-under-the-covers action of an incredibly good read.

As a writer....if I could write like Koontz, I would be satisfied.

Here are some of my favorites of his:

Dark Rivers of the Heart
Watchers
Mr. Murder
Twilight Eyes
Fear Nothing
From The Corner of His Eye (might be my favorite; this is also the origin of the phrase "brighten the corner where you are," which I consider to be a very Godly concept)
Hideaway
Strangers
By The Light of the Moon
Odd Thomas

my "political" opinion

Two prefacing thoughts:

1. I don't enjoy politics.
2. I don't usually pay attention to the political opinions of celebrities.

That said, I'd like to comment on a brief interview with Ben Harper that I watched a few minutes ago. I have one album of Harper's and enjoy it quite a bit and have considered purchasing more of his work but haven't gotten around to it. Anyway, in the interview, he said something that I have thought for a long time. I can't quote him directly, because I don't remember his exact wordage, and I'm in too much of a hurry to go looking for the interview online again. But roughly paraphrased, this is what he said:

We shouldn't think in terms of Republican or Democrat. There is neither Republican nor Democrat. There is only the person who is right for the job. The labels are just meaningless buzzwords. And the person who is right for the job is the person who is willing to take the little American flag pin off his lapel, put on a T-shirt, and get his hands dirty.

That's the person we're waiting for. That's the person I'm waiting for. And that's all I have to say about that. ;o)

ruminations of the sleep-deprived

As I write, it is Saturday morning, 5:04 a.m. Even if you don't know me well, you probably do know that I am rarely awake this early in the day. Even as a new intrepid jogger, I do not get up this early. Just on general principle. Please note that this is 'principle' not 'principal.'

Anyway...so there I was, fast asleep and minding my own business, when I suddenly realized that I was wide awake. Instead of fighting it like I usually do, I decided to give in and get up.

Hear that wailing? That's night owls everywhere screaming, "Noooooooooooooooo!"

;o)

So here I am, blogging just after five in the morning. And rather slowly, too, as I'm sitting at Ed's desk, using his Mac and his Mac keyboard. (Would that be a MacKeyboard?) Just for the record, I love the Mac, but I hate its keyboard. I have to pound each key with something like vehement fury in order to get it to produce anything. I fIjust tyoe the wayI usually do, i get something like this. Oh,a nd didi mention that the keys are space somewhtdifferently than on my laptop?

In case you haven't already noticed, I have no particular reason for blogging at this time. Meaning, I have no particular subject in mind. I am simply awake at 5 a.m. and needed something to do but didn't feel like doing anything that actually needs to be done. Besides, it's Saturday.

I have a zit on my chin, and it hurts. When I was a teenager, I thought that adulthood was supposed to be free of such things. (Zits, that is, not chins.) Well into adulthood now, I have discovered, to my dismay and disappointment, that this is not the case. I feel somewhat hoodwinked by this.

My parents, who are living with us for the month of July, are currently in Greece. Part of their trip is a cruise, and I guess they must be on it now, because yesterday evening, Mama called and left a voicemail: "Hi, we just wanted to call and let you know that we're having fun," etc. I was amused, even through my envy. ;o)

Although I suppose that I shouldn't be too envious......considering that I get to go to Scotland in less than a month! Wahooooooo!!!! I am so excited about this! We were supposed to go with Clint and April when they went last year, but it didn't work out. So Ed gave me this Scotland trip as my Christmas present. Brief and very vague itinerary: One day in London/Corby with our friend Patrick; one day of fellwalking with Patrick in the Lake District (and maybe with Kevin, too???); then head to the Dundee area and see Dundee, Stirling, Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Glasgow?, and hopefully drive to the highlands for a day. And we hope to see our friends Tristan and Leslie in Stirling! I have no clue if this is all possible in a 9-day trip (5-day, if you don't count London/Lake District/travel), but that's our current inkling of a conceptual hypothesis. I haven't had the time or the brains, so far, to study all the travel materials we've collected and look into specifics. However, Ed and I are going to sit down together sometime this coming week and figure it all out, so I'll keep you posted.

Yaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy, we're going to Scotland!!!!!!

Oh yeah, speaking of voicemail messages... Over the last month or so, Ed and I have received two phone calls to our Skype number in the middle of the night. Both times, neither of us woke up in time to get to the phone--although we *were* woken up--so both calls left messages:

Call #1: 4 a.m. Rustling, music somewhere in the background, then talking as though from a distance. No words distinguishable. More rustling. Then, a new voice talking, but this one sounds like a toy. And it sounds like several toys talking at once, overlapping each other: "I need a hug!" "What are we going to do today?" "(something-something-indistinguishable) hooray!" "I need a hug!" "What are we going to do today?" "(something-something-indistinguishable) hooray!" "I need a hug!" And so forth. More rustling. Then the toy voices start up again. The voicemail message continues in this vein for five minutes before stopping abruptly.

Call #2: 1 a.m. Rustling. Talking in the background. A kid's voice (real, not a toy), or maybe a toddler's. More rustling. An adult's voice, words indistinguishable. Then the adult says what sounds like "No, no, no!" More rustling. End.

Ed and I can't figure out who in the world is leaving these weird messages! The voicemails sound as though the person didn't know they had called, like they'd accidentally dialed the number or something. It's gotta be someone we know, but we can't figure out who it could be. Both times, the computer has been off (which is why our regular phone rang), so we haven't been able to see the number that was calling. It's just all very weird.

The first message reminds me of the time Ed and I (before we were married) used his talking Alf toy to leave a message on my roommate Tamara's voicemail, and she thought she was getting an obscene phone call. ;o)

Okay, it's now 5:45, and I think that's enough for one blopgost. If you read all of this ramblingness, you get a cookie. Enjoy.

Me, I'm gonna give the keyboard a rest from my vehement fury.

yay, i'm phoenician!

Your Score: Phoenician

You scored

You are the Phoenician Alphabet! Teacher of the Greeks and Etruscans, you are the one all languages bow down to. That is, until the Romans decide to wipe out your civilization. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

Link: The Which Ancient Language Are You Test written by imipak.

Got this one from Patricia, of course, who takes care of all my online random test needs. ;o)

Q & A

Q & A Procedure:

1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song. Or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random. Whatever you like.

2. I respond by asking you five personal questions (in response to your comment, so check back!) so I can get to know you better.

3. You WILL update your LJ (aka blog) with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in the post.

5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.


My answers to Patricia's Qs:

1. If you were to have the chance to adopt a sibling, would you pick a brother or a sister?

Oooh, that's a hard one! I've always liked the idea of having a big brother to stick up for me, and there have been a couple of guys in my life who have been like brothers.... Not to mention most of my guy cousins who are definitely like my brothers....and girl cousins who are like sisters......and girl friends who are definitely like sisters..... As you can see, I definitely have trouble pinning myself down to a concise answer here! I guess I'd probably have to choose a sister, just for all the late-night girltalk. ;o)

2. What is your favorite memory of us from college?

Do I have to pick just one?!?!??!!!? ;o) Okay, here goes, in random order:

(a) All the time we spent in Honors together. You made it fun and interesting and lively during the times my attention started to drift. All the craziness we had together just really made that time something special to me!
(b) The note you wrote me at the end of our freshman year, in which you told me how much you appreciated my friendship. At the time, I had no idea that my friendship meant so much to you, and it was good to hear that in spite of all my difficulties that year, you still liked me and accepted me.
(c) Doing artsy stuff together! I know we didn't get to sit down and draw together as much as both of us wanted to, but at least we had a few times of getting to do stuff as "art buddies."
(d) Getting to go home with you at the end of freshman year. As an only child, I was pleasantly amazed at how such a large family could actually work! ;o) You all made me feel more welcome than I thought I had a right to be. Even though I wasn't there very long, it's a time I'll never forget. (Don't tell Bec and Bradley this, but I still think of them as being the age they were when I visited!) ;oD
(e) Can we say 'Medieval Fairs'?! :oD

3. What book heroine do you relate to the most?

You do know how to ask the tough ones, don't you. ;o) Okay, the one I think of off the top of my head is Kit from "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare. Kit grows up in Barbados and moves to Puritan New England to live with her conservative aunt and uncle. The book chronicles her adjustment from one culture to another. She even seeks out the other 'misfits' in Puritan society to try to find her niche. Classic TCK behavior! Since that has basically been the story of my life, I can relate to Kit quite well, even though the book is written for a young reading level. (I've read this book every few years since I was 9 or 10.)

4. What Honors quote will stick in your memory forever?

Again, it's impossible to choose just one!

"Don't ask stupid questions!"
"She was all bust absent from history."
"Moses' Little Bake Shop."
"Nietzsche is bad for you anyway. Nietzsche will rot your teeth."
The essence of scarfness.
Dead Peasants Aren't Much Fun.
"Did I date your mother?"

Hmm...I might just have to do an all-Honors blopgost! ;oD

5. What is the funniest thing you've heard or read recently?

(a) Three-year-old Velony telling her parents in all seriousness: "Ich hab' geschwitzt wie Sau!" ("I was sweating like a hog!")
(b) Once again, I amused myself by watching the guy who webcammed himself dancing to "Dragostea Din Tei". In my opinion, this is one of the greatest videos ever made.
(c)Honors quotes. ;o)

weird...just weird

So sometimes, as I'm getting ready to "close up shop" at the end of the day (i.e. shut down the computer, because the last thing I usually do before getting ready for bed is check email), a peculiar feeling creeps up on me. It's one that seems to be of the melancholy variety...but it's always coupled with this sense of anticipation. I feel melancholy and almost as though I need to stay online *just a few more minutes* because I'm waiting for something. And then I find myself piddling around the Internet, looking at blogs and other similar sites and wondering about people.

I dunno. It's just weird. If you know me at all, you know that I don't like to read too much into feelings; meaning that I don't believe that just because I'm experiencing a certain emotion, it means that some cosmic event is afoot. I don't know why I get this weird feeling sometimes, but I won't claim it's because I have some kind of spiritual extra-sensory perception that something momentous is imminent.

Maybe I'm subconsciously hoping for something I know won't happen.

Or maybe I'm just tired.

Or maybe I'm just losing my mind. ;o)

a funny little cultural interlude

Earlier, as Ed and I were walking home from the Sullivans' (for those who are interested, please note apostrophe usage ;o), we heard a wedding party approaching. In Germany, the custom is to drive from the wedding to the reception in a long procession of cars, honking all the way. So wedding processions are always audible from quite a distance.

Ed and I decided to stop at our gate and wave at the cars as they passed. Pretty soon, we saw the lead car bearing the married couple. We waved at them as they drove by honking, and they waved back. The bride gave us a big smile, and we could tell that she was pleasantly surprised that we stopped to wave. (Very few people stop to wave at wedding processions nowadays.)

So we kept waving at the other cars as they passed, and everybody waved back and honked. Then the procession started slowing down as they stopped for a red light, and we turned to go into our building. As we reached the door, we heard a single loud honk behind us, and we turned around to wave again.

A older couple was leaning out their windows to wave at us. The man called, "Watch out! You two will be next!"

We both laughed, and I yelled back, "We already are!"

The two of them laughed, then kept driving. It was a cute, funny moment.

:o)

a great movie, and reminders

This week, I borrowed "Nicholas Nickleby" from Karen and watched it twice, once with April and once with my parents (who are here now, but more on that at a later date). This is the one that was filmed just a few years ago. I won't go into detail, but I have to say that I highly enjoy this movie! I shall purchase a copy for myself. Here are a couple of the fantastic one-liners I remember from having seen the film twice:

John Browdie to Wackford Squeers: "He said thee weren't fit to live with pigs. I said thee were!"
Wackford Squeers: "Thank you!"

Mrs. Crummles: "Let us use our bodies as instruments and quiver together until music comes out!"

I love that music line. ;o)

Change of subject:
Note to self:

--> blog about 'Jekyll & Hyde'.
--> blog about Scotland.
--> blog about parents.

health

So, guess what? I'm at home with a cold today. Actually, I've been mostly at home with a cold for the last two days. I'm feeling a lot better today, but I stayed home from worship anyway, so as not to contaminate the church. Since I have such a weak immune system and am susceptible to pretty much everything, I always get frustrated when others come to worship when they're sick. So when I'm the one who's sick, I suppose the least I can do is follow my own advice. ;o)

And this time, at least, I can pinpoint exactly why I have a cold: On Tuesday, Ed and I went to Dresden and hung out at the waterpark with the Dresdner Carrolls, the Oklahoman Andersons, and Jed the OCer. And, of course, I got water up my nose. But only twice! The first time, I forgot to hold my nose while going down the water slide. The second time, I was holding my nose on the slide but hit the water so hard that it knocked my hand away from my nose. The rest of the time, I managed to retain my vise-like grip and avoided anymore unwanted chlorine flushings.

Also, my whole system was weakened by a Tuesday-Wednesday middle-of-the-night bout with diarrhea. And, if you're at all familiar with my history of digestive and circulatory issues, you won't be surprised to learn that this middle-of-the-night incident was complete with an episode of almost passing out on the Carrolls' bathroom floor. Since these episodes no longer seem to be connected with any sort of heart arrhythmia, I'm starting to develop other theories about what might bring on the passing out or nearly passing out. But more on that some other time. Suffice it to say that Tuesday night, I had another episode which left me pretty weak for the next 24 hours. And made me more susceptible to cold germs.

I'm just thankful that it isn't a sinus infection this time! Wahoooo! Do you have any idea what a relief it is to have just a general, run-of-the-mill cold? ;o) Not that I'm relieved to be sick; but if I'm sick, I rather just deal with a regular ol' cold than a sinus infection complete with fever, dizziness, and achy joints.

For now, I'm stuffing myself with vitamins, flushing my sinuses three times a day, and sleeping a lot. April's gonna get onto me for not scheduling my surgery yet. ;o) I plan on getting it worked out soon, though! I'm aiming for the end of August, after Ed and I get back from Scotland. (Have I mentioned Scotland yet?) Either that or the end of the middle of July, i.e. after the 15th. But I doubt my doctor will be able to get me in that soon. We shall see. Updates shall follow!

bloomin' plants!

My aloe aristata are blooming!
I didn't even notice those nifty stalks growing until, suddenly (it seemed to me), there were these nifty bloomy thingies at the top.

Why is this event blog-worthy, you might ask? Well, because I, Faithful Readers, was once in possession of a rather black thumb.

Over the years, I've had steadily more and more success in keeping plants alive. But flowering plants have always been the bane of my existence. Especially succulents (of which the aloe is one). I also have a jade, which I nearly killed; and the aloe barely scraped by when I first got it. (It started life as a single plant and eventually grew into seven.)




I've known for a long time that the aloe were propsering (the growth from one plant into seven was a pretty good clue), but I had no idea they were doing well enough to bloom. I didn't even know that these plants could bloom!

So, I'm excited. It's official: I am no longer a bane to the plant world. I don't kill plants anymore. I have a green thumb! Yay me.







Yay for my aloe aristata! Aren't they beautiful!

the singing campaign

Last week, the Chemnitz church finished up our annual two-week campaign with the singing group from OC. As I mentioned in a blopgost from a few days ago, this is the campaign that originally led Ed and me and "a horn-shaped container filled with fruits and grain emblematic of abundance" (aka a cornucopia) of people to full-time and part-time work with the church in Saxony. When we were still living stateside, Ed was part of this campaign group for 8 summers in a row, starting in 1994; and I was part of the group 5 summers in a row, starting in 1997.

And, as I have also mentioned in previous posts, it's interesting to see how God's plans are often so very different from humans' plans. When Ed and I moved to Chemnitz, we thought our work with the singing campaign was done. Oh, we knew that we'd still be working with this group every summer, because Clyde and Gwen and their successors would continue to put the group together and come to Saxony every year. But Ed and I thought that from the time of our arrival in Chemnitz, our role would be solely a "native" one: helping coordinate and organize and encourage on the Chemnitz side of things; introducing the group to the church and to the city every year; offering our car (when we still had one) for transportation needs; bringing drinks and snacks to the gospel meetings at which the group would sing; things of that sort. We thought that as far as being part of the group was concerned, that chapter of our lives was closed.

But God had other ideas. Apparently, he still considers the Singing Campaign Chapter of our lives to be very much open, and he has been proving this to us over and over again during the past few years. I guess it started when in 2002, we innocently stood up with the group to sing with them a few times. Just for fun, you see. But that started a pattern of singing with them "just for fun" a few times every year. Shades of things to come!

Then, in 2005, for various reasons that would be too long to explain, the group wasn't able to come to Germany. Suddenly, the Saxon churches in Chemnitz and Oelsnitz were without a yearly summer campaign team. Chemnitz chose to focus solely on Let's Start Talking that year; but Oelsnitz wanted to go ahead with their gospel meeting, and they asked us for help.

And so, the "Chemnitz A Cappella Singers" were born. ;o) At that point, the group was an octet consisting of April and me (soprano); Amanda and Karen (alto); Alex and Steffen (tenor); and Ed and Larry (bass). Since then, we've added Jan on tenor, which makes our group a...what? A nontet?

Anyway, our Chemnitz group sang in Oelsnitz in 2005, and we've been singing together ever since. In 2006, Chad and Stefanie Anderson brought the singing campaign from OC, and they asked our group to sing with theirs. While they were in Oelsnitz, we sang with them as often as schedules permitted. While they were in Chemnitz, at least part of our Chemnitz group sang with them every day.

This year—as in, starting about two weeks ago—our Chemnitz group did the same thing as last year. So, in essence, we were part of the campaign team: not just in our “native” roles, but also as “full-fledged singers” in the OC group. And that’s why I say that the Singing Campaign Chapter of the Cantrells’ lives isn’t as over as we originally thought it would be.

Not that we regret this. It’s a lot of hard, challenging work and requires tremendous amounts of flexibility, but we consider it an honor as well as great fun to be able to sing with the OC group. :o)

Anyway…all of this leads into telling of some of the thoughts about the future that Ed and I have had recently. Recently, as in, during the course of the last year. In considering our move to Oklahoma, Ed and I have been very clear (I believe) in telling people that even though we are leaving Germany for now, this doesn’t mean we aren’t coming back! Either on a temporary or on a long-term basis. Yes, we are keeping our opitions open…and our hearts open to wherever God might lead us when. If he leads us to Africa or Brazil or Denmark, then that’s where we’ll go. Suffice it to say that we’ll go where he wants us to go, wherever that might be.

But as far as Chemnitz is concerned: We do plan on coming back, if it’s God’s will. At this point, he seems to be pointing us in the direction of……you guessed it……the OC singing campaign! It’s too soon to tell, of course, and I don’t want to count any unhatched barnyard fowl…but there’s a possibility that Ed might get a job in OKC which would allow us to have summers off. And if we had summers off, then we would be free to join the singing campaign and come back to Saxony with the group every summer.

NOTE: All of this is SPECULATION. We’re making no guarantees, and at this point we’re not going past the stage of merely hoping. We’ve talked with Chad and Stefanie about this, and they’re all for it. Ed and I are all for it, too, if it works out the way we hope it might.

My point in writing this isn’t to make some big announcement regarding our future plans. Although it probably seems like I’m standing on a corner, blaring out the news! ;o) No, my point in telling this long, epic tale is merely to show that once again, God is showing us so many more possibilities than we ourselves ever thought of originally. He always has something different and something more wonderful in mind than we do.

Yes, it’s an uncertain life we live, in the sense that we never know what’s around the next corner. BUT! it’s a *wonderfully* uncertain life, a grand adventure with the Lord as our guide, our protector, and our encourager. We have faith in him and trust that no matter where this grand adventure might lead us, it is all within the confines of his perfect plan, and his loving hand is sheltering us every step of the way.

My hat is off to you if you've read all of this. I don't believe in cutting my thoughts down to bite-size simply to satisfy a world with an ever-decreasing attention span. ;o)

all comments answered

Let me know if I missed any.

catching up

So, in a shell of nut, the posts that follow are some of the things I've been thinking about recently but haven't had time to write about. These aren't the only things; I have a whole list of items to check off; a plethora of topics, if you will (or even if you won't); but these will do nicely for starting my catching-up. So here ya go. ;o)

Will try to answer comments soon.

joggers are happy people

This is the conclusion I have come to over the last month. Recently, I took up running. Sort of. I do a fast walk from our house to the park, which takes about 8 minutes. Then, I run around the pond and back home the long way around, which takes about 15 minutes. I haven't done this during the last twelve days, simply because our schedule was so full while the campaign was underway. But for about 3 weeks, I was in a really good rhythm of running at least 5 days a week. I plan to get back into it over the next few days (provided I don't get another sinus infection, which currently seems to be coming on) and start working my body up to running longer.

'Cause yeah, I know that 15 minutes of running doesn't sound like a lot. But for a former heart patient who has never EVER been a runner in any shape or form, 15 minutes is a major breakthrough.

Anyway, about the happy joggers. I have noticed, on my morning runs, that the 'other' athletic people (I put 'other' in quotation marks because, while these people are actually what one might call 'athletic,' I am not.) always make eye contact with me as we pass each other. And not only do they make eye contact, they actually smile.

Why is this significant? Well, it's significant because these are Germans. At least, I assume that they're Germans and that it's not only we foreigners who get out early in the morning and go do something exercisey. ;o) But one thing about German culture: In general in Germany, strangers who meet each other on the street rarely make eye contact with each other, and even more rarely do they smile. This is not a right or wrong thing, and it doesn't mean that they're unfriendly. It doesn't even mean that they're unhappy, which the flippant title of this post seems to imply. Eye contact and smiling simply aren't ways that Germans connect with strangers on the street. Which is why I was surprised to find it happening with my 'fellow' intrepid exercisers on my morning runs.

And there are several that I see on a regular basis. And we even say "guten Morgen" to each other. I cannot describe how this just makes my day.

I figure that maybe worldwide, people who exercise are just happy. It's probably adrenaline, endorphins, and sweat. Who'dathunk? I never knew that working out could feel so good. Outside and in. :o)

Jesus doesn't have a blog...

...or a Myspace page. Or a Facebook page. Or anything online of that sort.

Recently, I've been seeing blogs and homepages and whatnot that purport to be written by Jesus. As in, the administrators of the blog or page write their entries in first person singular (that is, from an "I" perspective), as though Jesus were the author of the words that appear in the text.

A lot of people are going to call me an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud, but I don't care: I have a problem with this.

If it were only a matter of scripture quotations, that would be one thing. Actually, I think that would be a great idea, provided the scriptures were being quoted in the context in which they originally appeared in the Biblical canon. However, the websites to which I'm referring all contain explanations of scripture (read: interpretations) that are penned by an "I"-narrator, as though the interpretations were the direct word of God.

In my opinion, the people who are writing these interpretations are going against what God has always required of us humans: that we not speak as though we know the mind of God; that we not claim to speak for him; that we don't add to the words he has given us in scripture. I think that the authors of these blogs and sites are in direct violation of those commands.

Some will claim that in the paragraph above, I am "speaking for God" in the same way as the website authors I'm talking about. Well, my answer to that is that I say quite openly that these thoughts are *my understanding of scripture*; I am not claiming that these are the words of Christ himself.

The scripture that comes to mind most readily is Proverbs 30:5-6: "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar" (English Standard Version).

The Good News Bible also has an apt translation of verse 6: "If you claim that he said something that he never said, he will reprimand you and call you a liar."

I understand that most of the authors of these blogs and sites have good intentions. I recognize that they are only trying to spread God's word and increase people's understanding of Jesus's teachings. But the ends do not justify the means. In the very least, I think the authors are putting themselves in a spiritually dangerous position. For them to respond to readers' comments with "Yes, I am Jesus" and "I am the Son of God" is akin, I think, to walking a tightrope with no net and no tightrope.

I fully support sites that quote directly from scripture; but the authors who write as though they were Jesus himself...these are another matter entirely. The words 'presumptuous' and 'disrespectful' come to mind. I'm not angry at these people; yes, I am slightly offended on a spiritual level, but mostly I am afraid of what the consequences for them might be.

my parents are leaving europe

So, the Big Move is finally taking place. Last week, the military sent movers to my parents' house in Mörfelden. They arrived on Monday, packed for two days, and took the containers away on Wednesday. Mama and Daddy stayed in the house a few more days; then, the owner told them that he would like them to leave *now* in exchange for not having to clean and paint the entire house over the course of the next week. So, though this initially caused them quite a bit of extra stress, they went earlier than planned to the home of a friend in the Wiesbaden church. They will stay there until this coming Monday, when they plan to travel to Chemnitz and live with us for the next month, minus a 10-day trip to Greece.

I have to say, I don't think the magnitude of it all has hit me yet. Since I didn't see the move take place, my brain is still telling me that the Mörfelden house is still as full of their possessions as it has been for the last ten years. I feel like I usually do at this time of year: My parents will go to Oklahoma for the summer and then come back to Germany to start the new school year / opera season. I feel this, even as I know it's not true. Possibly, my feelings won't catch up to my knowledge until fall rolls around and my parents are *still* in Oklahoma, without return tickets.

Hence, I haven't really started to be sad yet about their move. A little, but the rest of the mourners are still waiting in the wings, I suspect.

Mama and Daddy have lived in Germany for 27 1/2 years. Originally, they only intended to stay for five! Recently, as I hadn't heard this story yet, I asked Mama how they made the decision to stay past the 5-year mark. She told told me the following, to me highly amusing, anecdote:

When we had lived in Germany about 3 years (so this was sometime in 1983), the three of us were at the Woog, a small lake in Darmstadt. Mama and Daddy were watching me play, when Daddy suddenly turned to Mama and asked, "If we were to leave Germany now, what would you miss the most?"

Mama thought for a minute and then answered, "The Autobahn."

Daddy nodded and said, "I'd miss that, too."

And until retirement came around, that's the last time they ever talked about moving. ;oD

On a more serious note, I'm concerned about how they'll adjust once they're back in Oklahoma past the "vacation-period" time span. Twenty-seven years is a long time. Germany is their home. They are not "coming home" to Oklahoma; they are moving to a foreign country. (The same applies to Ed and me regarding our move in November, but that's another post and shall be blogged another time.) Mama used the right word when she described leaving Germany and leaving their jobs as "bittersweet." I imagine that their arrival in and adjustment to Oklahoma will be much the same.

signs of life

Yo. I thought I'd give a quick run-down of the goings-on around here.

Last week, finished up our yearly 6-week Let’s Start Talking campaign.
Had a great team this year: Bekah, Erin, and Greta, who are/were students at Pepperdine.
Lemme tell ya, they rock the LST world.
They really swing the LST verge, if you will.
Or even if you won’t.
;o)
I won’t say too much here about the positive, encouraging effect the three of them had on me while they were here.
They already know. :o)
But they were part of helping me through a rough spot a few weeks ago.
God showed himself to me through them, right at a time when I needed it.

During the last five days, toured Chemnitz schools and marketplace with singing campaign from Oklahoma Christian.
This is the campaign that led Ed and me to Chemnitz.
And April and Clint.
And Karen.
And Stoltes and Carrolls and Martins to Dresden.
And a plethora of other people to other places in Europe.
And a whole kit ‘n’ caboodle of other people on short-term missions worldwide.
All thanks to two amazing people, Clyde and Gwen Antwine, just serving God where and when and as they can.
I can’t describe how much these two people mean to me.

Anyway, Clyde and Gwen (aka Dad and Mom/Queenie) are in Dresden for a few weeks, and they came to hear the campaign group (with us Chemnitzers) sing last night.
155 in the audience.
80 guests.
Clyde and Gwen led a standing ovation and made me cry.
We had two encores.
It was great.
People told us that they could see our love for God in our faces when we sang.
He definitely had the hearts and voices of our whole group in his hand.

Trying to keep up with the campaigners has shown me I am no longer 20.
This is a rather disturbing realization.
But I wasn’t too bright when I was 20.
So I still think 30 is pretty cool.

I’d like to write more, because a lot has been going on in my head/heart, but I don’t have time.
This is a weird blopgost.
But it was fun to write.
Gret’s “staccato” email inspired it.
I’m looking forward to some downtime this coming week.
But I’m also enjoying all the hullabaloo of late.
:o)

ten ways to destroy earth

You will need: a big heavy rock, something with a bit of a swing to it... perhaps Mars.

This is number three on the list of Ten Ways To Destroy Earth, which I found here. Though my personal favorite was actually the giant black hole of method #5, I thought the description of #3 was catchy.

Go check it out. It's kinda fun. ;o)

just for today

Father God, just for today
Help me walk Your narrow way.
Help me stand when I might fall.
Give me strength to hear your call.

Here I am just for today.
Live in me, have Your way,
For my desire when this race is run
Is only to hear You say, "Well done!"

May my steps be worship.
May my thoughts be praise.
May my words bring honor to your name.
May my steps be worship.
May my thoughts be praise.
May my words bring honor to your name

--by Marc Schelske

a moment in the life of a germerican ;o)

I got this list from Allison's blog. I've seen it in various forms through email forwards over the years, but this one seems to be a little more up-to-date. Nearly every single one of these (please forgive the redundancy, but I'm trying to emphasize something here) applies to me. Read this, and you'll get a glimpse into my life. ;o)

You Know You've Lived In Germany Awhile If...

1. You refer to other Americans as "they" or "Amis".

2. You REALLY think AFN (Armed Forces Network Radio) is quality entertainment.

3. You realize that Ausfahrt isn't the biggest city in Germany.

4. You forgot how to use round doorknobs.

5. 100 MPH seems like you're really driving slow.

6. You start converting prices from euros to dollars in your head (Yeah, but that cup of coffee is FIVE U.S. DOLLARS!!)

7. Even at home you don't put ice in your drinks.

8. You never leave home without your keys, ID card, license, and passport.

9. You answer the phone "Hallo" instead of Hello.

10. You need a power drill and sledgehammer to hang a picture on the wall. (Or, if you're in the former East, you can't hang any pictures on the walls because the walls crumble at the slightest touch.)

11. You're used to the fact that there's a crane outside your house.

12. Sunshine actually becomes a topic of conversation.

13. You play "guess what town" the driver in front of you is from (HD, MA, KL, PS), based on their license plate.

14. You are incredibly careful about being loud during the "quiet hours" of 7 p.m. – 10 a.m. and 12 – 3 p.m.

15. You don't drive anywhere that you can take a bus/tram/train to.

16. You get excited about the great deal of paying under $4.50 a gallon for gas.

17. When visiting the States, you think that if you want to buy something that costs $0.99, it'll actually cost that exact amount.

18. For you, pay toilets mean there's another woman standing outside the "public restroom" with a change dish, glaring and demanding her 50 cents.

19. You know David Hasselhoff was a singer, and you think "I've been looking for freedom" is quality music.

20. You can wear black socks and nothing else that's black… and it's okay.

21. The only contact you have with other Americans is through Myspace.

22. Nature becomes its own entity for you (I went out into "the nature").

23. Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Presidents Day fade in favor of Tag der Deutschen Einheit, Nikolaus, Erster Mai Tag and Heiligen Drei Königen.

24. You start writing the number 1,000.25 as 1.000,25 and your ones look like sevens and your sevens are a molestation of a 7 and a T.

25. Finger food ceases to exist. There's a utensil for EVERYTHING.

26. You know the lyrics to American Oldies in German – i.e. the Beatles' "Komm gib mir deine Hand".

27. You start to refer to hip hop, rap and R&B as "black music".

28. You've gone back to calling clubs discos.

29. When you think of fast food, Döner comes to your mind quicker than a burger.

30. The sauna doesn't scare you anymore.

31. You start introducing yourself with a German accent to your name.

32. You refer to your friends with the word "the" in front of their name. As in "the Valerie" and "the Leah".

33. You catch yourself putting verbs at the end of sentences in English.

34. You watch German T.V. and GET the jokes.

35. When people come to visit you, and you start telling them historical facts about the things you drive by.

36. Meeting people from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East is a normal daily occurrence.

37. You crave cake and coffee at 4:00 pm.

38. You start saying things like "I'll meet you at sixteen o'clock".

39. Bread, cheese and cold cuts constitute dinner.

40. You can name more German politicians than German actors/actresses.

41. When purchasing presents, you prioritize them as useful over being enjoyed.

42. You heat each room in your house separately.

43. When you talk about a two room apartment, the living room counts as one of those rooms.

44. Everything you eat needs to have nutritional value and you justify fatty things with "it's healthy".

45. Driving half an hour to go somewhere is a hassle.

46. $1,000 a year tuition seems like a lot of money.

47. You think soccer is the best sport ever invented.

48. Aldi satisfies all of your shopping needs.

49. All of your shoes are sensible.

50. You call your cell/mobile a "handy".