I Should Never Have Doubted Her, Part II

Rachel got word this morning that she passed the 4-8 Texas Teacher certification test that she took last Wednesday.

What a relief for her, since passing was an important step in keeping her job. Gary's algebra tutoring must have helped!

We are very proud of her. Thank the Lord with us.

I've Been Busy Birding

I spent a lot of today birding. Well, I"m just an amateur, so it was just bird-watching out the back door. But I did pull the vertical blinds shut to make a viewing blind. I was doing this for the Birdstack Birds of Solstice project. I only saw 11 different birds, all but one on my bird feeder.

I also just made an online photo album for my bird photos. The photos themselves are not that great, but you get the idea. I guess you need one of those fancy cameras to make good photos. Click here to see my bird photos.

White Winged Doves

I gave up trying to get my bird feeder fixed and instead just leaned it up against the deck. What do I have to do to get some help around here?? In any case, as soon as I put the bird food out, the birds arrived in, well, flocks. There were cardinals, tufted titnice, carolina chickadees, some sparrows but I don't know what kind, dark-eyed juncos, and these lovely white-winged doves. Oh, and one red-bellied woodpecker, too.



Tomorrow I'm going to participate in Birds of the Solstice. And I just now realized that the 24-hour period has already started. But I'll likely do my bird watching after church. Or maybe before church, since there's no Sunday School tomorrow.

A Bit of Birding

When my two older kids were in college, they took science classes that were taught by ornithologists. Andrew got quite interested in birds when he spent a semester abroad in Costa Rica and I enjoyed hearing all about the different kinds of birds he was seeing. Then Rachel had to do a bird observation project for her science class and she talked me into helping her (she doesn't have the world's best eyesight for birding). I do remember her insisting the the male and female Mallard ducks had to be different species--I mean, just look at them!

So I kind of got into birdwatching a little because of them. I'm strictly an amateur, but I do think it is kind of cool to find a new bird and do the work to figure out what it is. (I know I've blogged about birds in the past: here and here and here and here. Actually, I have lots of more bird posts and that reminds me, I should go back and take those birds and add them to my life list at Birdstack.)

Speaking of Birdstack, they are having a bird-watching party this coming Sunday. Which is also the winter solstice. I'm going to join them. (I think it is kind of strange to talk about birding and parties in the same breath!) It is easy, and you don't have to be a professional! Here is the scoop--why don't you join us?

The Good Life

This morning I was again reminded that the quality of life is automatically higher for those of us who do not have to commute to work.

Gary kindly joined me as we left at 6:05am to take Rachel to a location north of the metroplex. Traffic was bad coming home and worse going there. At least the temperature was above freezing unlike yesterday morning when the city was covered in a thin layer of ice. Someone said there were over 100 accidents yesterday in the area.

In other news, we enjoyed the GIAL Christmas dinner last evening. We could walk to that, too.

Christmas At Work

Today we hosted the annual department Christmas tea. As usual, it was held in the 2nd floor hallway, which isn't an ideal venue, but we make it work.

We are grateful to work with a bunch of great people who accomplish a lot with sometimes fewer than ideal resources and almost always cheerfully.

We even have some wise men around.

This year Joan found the mother of all poinsettias for the table--so big we almost lost Kathy back there.

I've noticed that my stats counter for this blog has suddenly increased--I think it is because this coworker mentioned that he was blog-buddies with me in a public attended by some of my coworkers. Now, I bet they are seeing themselves in these photos!

I Should Never Have Doubted Her

Tonight was the church's annual "Family Christmas" service. Rachel picked the hardest Christmas song in existence to perform as a solo. Sam moved it down several keys to better fit Rachel's range, added a lovely viola part, and Rachel sounded just great!

Those of you who attended David and Sarah's wedding might also recognize her dress. Nice to wear it at least twice!

White Elephant Gift

Last night we joined our old Bible study group for their annual Christmas dinner--yummy Mexican. I brought homemade guacamole. After dinner we had the funniest white elephant gift exchange.

Gary's number was toward the beginning and he got some almonds. Then they were stolen. Then he got some mixed nuts. Then they were stolen. Then he got a block of cheddar cheese. Then it was stolen. Then he got a cheeseball covered with nuts--nobody took that. But at the end he found someone willing to trade it for some Christmas letter paper.

My number was at the end, and I ruthlessly stole the best gift of the evening from some visitor--he will probably never return!

Mooove over Marble Slab Creamery!

Hi, Ma!

Sauerkraut continues to surprise me. First I learn that Ackley, IA, where my blogging friend Ma Hoyt lives, celebrates Saurkraut Days.

Then last week when I was at Sam's club, I discovered this at their food stand.

Yes, that's right. Single serve sauerkrauts sitting out for anyone to take. Of course, I noticed no one except me was taking. I guess some people can't eat a hot dog without kraut to go on top. As for me, I thought it would make some great blog material. On the other hand, Gary did actually open this package and eat the contents on the hot dog he had for lunch.

Gas Wars

Did I mention I filled up the van at $1.53 yesterday? *another little dance*

We saw it for $1.29 at two places on Sunday, but we didn't need gas then.

Christmas Flowers

Tonight we're having our first Christmas meal with friends. I haven't had time to make all my Christmas goodies yet, so this will be her Christmas present. The vase is a small "flower arranger" that my mother-in-law made. She's a potter and I love to give her creations as gifts.

Tomorrow afternoon we're driving to Grandbury, a cool little town an hour or so south of here, and will spend the evening there with three other couples with whom we used to be in a Bible Study. We don't get to see them often, so it will be nice to have a little Christmas party with them.


I'm taking them flower arrangers too, and we'll have a craft project to make flower arrangements--like this one, only better! I've bought the flowers, greenery, and candy canes and pulled out my corsage making kit from when I used it at David and Sarah's wedding last June. Good thing I did that, because I found the missing pair of needle-nosed pliers I'd been looking for.

Potty Report

A lot of today was spent talking and thinking about potties. No, no one has either diarrhea or constipation--this talk was about the replacement potties. Ya know, it aint that easy to pick them out!

I even got a phone call from the City of Dallas today about potties! They told me my voucher was on hold until I faxed them a copy of our water bill. I'll do that from the office tomorrow morning.

The contractor came today and we showed him our four drawings of possible floor plans. After getting his opinion, we have come up with a plan. The plan will include extensive plumbing issues, but he felt the plan was entirely workable and we think it will give us a very functional end result.

We've decided to rip the wall out between the two bathrooms, move both toilets, change both sinks, and put in new tub/shower combination in BOTH bathrooms. This is only barely possible in such a small space, but it is possible because we are moving the master bathroom sink into the bedroom. So technically the bath off the master bedroom will be a "three-quarters" bathroom, not a full bathroom. But there are many examples of dorm rooms, hotel rooms and even Rachel's apartment where the shower and toilet are together and the sink is in the main room.

So, if anyone wants to know what to get us for Christmas, Home Depot gift cards come to mind...

Gas Prices

Did I mention that I filled up the van this weekend at $1.58/gal? *little dance*

Does This Look Familiar?

Gary returned safely from his trip and brought us some dried mangos. Kitty was awaiting his return.

Thanksgiving 2008

I have a bit of spare time before leaving for the airport to pick up Gary and then to go to friends' house for dinner. I've made my yeast rolls and they are out on the countertop rising. Rachel is coming over soon to make her specialty, green bean casserole.

I was going to make a list of things I'm thankful for, and I still may do that, but I decided to make links all my Thanksgiving blogs of past years. Wow, I've been blogging for quite a while. It is always interesting to look back over one's life and see how things have changed (or not):

2004
2005
2006
2007a and 2007b

I do have a lot to be grateful for.

Math--Ugh!

Tonight I'm realizing that it was about 150 years ago that I used to know how to do algebra. I'm feeling sorry for Rachel who is spending at least part of her Thanksgiving vacation studying for a certification test that she's not entirely likely to pass (because it is over specific content stuff that she too studied years ago. I went over some of the math review questions--it seemed a lot like reading a foreign language! The literature review was brutal too--ugh! At least I knew the English grammar questions!

Anyway, pray for Rachel to do as well as she is able on the test (Dec 17) and then that she won't lose her job if she doesn't pass it! Yikes!

She loves the job and it has been a great thing for her, a perfect fit. It has been a learning and stretching experience, but she has done a good job with it. It would be so sad to lose it!

Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose, Part 4

I love to get rid of things by finding a new use for them. My niece, April, is spending a year in Atlanta with an organization which works with the homeless called Mission Year. Recently, when April heard of all my cleaning and throwing out, she asked if we had any old backpacks to get rid of. I collected a few (mostly bags Gary was given at academic conferences, so they have weird logos) and needed a way to package them up to send to her. What better container than an old cat food bag turned wrong side out??

I wiped off the cat food residue, and stuffed the old backpacks inside.
I sewed it shut.

And now I await April's mailing instructions.

My Husband Doesn't Like Tomato Soup

But I do, so I'm having it while he is away. I found a few leftover bits of ham and avocado in the frig to throw in for fun.

I'm still, still working on cleaning and sorting and throwing out projects. Yesterday's project was to gather together all the odds and ends of disposable dishes and cutlery and put it all in one spot--most were leftovers from two wedding receptions last summer. My goal for the day is to finish putting away the summer clothes and getting out some winter ones. And to throw a few away in the process.

Still to go: my desk and nearby bookshelves have been started, but they are a continual battle to keep under control. And then when Gary gets home, he promised me he'd do some cleaning in his office. Which is also my office.

New Throne Room

I'm very excited to say that we are about to embark on a remodeling project at our house. We've been saving the pennies since our kids finished college (not a penny to spare before then) so we could remodel two of our three bathrooms. Yesterday I called a friend who manages many rental houses and got the name of a contractor whom he trusts. Today this contractor, named Ernesto, came by and talked to me. I'm so excited--I've been wanting to get this done for a long time.

First order of business: order a voucher for $90 off each new throne. That goes in the mail tomorrow.

We are fortunate enough to have a third bathroom that we can use while the other two are being remodeled. And I'm happy that the plan is to turn the half bath off our bedroom and the main bathroom with a tub into two full bathrooms with tiled showers. The space is tight, but it looks like it can be done.

Update

Kitty tried to help Gary pack for his trip to the Philippines. I've heard from him (Gary, not the cat) a couple times. He seems to be doing well and had some funny stories to tell about desert at a fancy restaurant

And then the Filipina that I was sitting next to insisted that I should try "halo halo" for dessert. That's Tagalog for
"mix mix", and it is shaved ice with all kinds of things mixed in -- purple yams, green hard jello, jack fruit, corn flakes, coconut meat, and more that I couldn't identify.

I've made some good progress on my house cleaning, although I'd hate to have unexpected visitors yet. I've taken several more loads of Andrew and Laura's stuff over to the storage bin, I've recycled lots, and the computer department at work thanks me for the laptop cases if not the laptops!