Rat poop

That isn't a very nice title for a blog post, is it? But that's what I dealt with this morning. Fortunately, I do not have a photo. Also fortunately, it wasn't at my house. But unfortunately, it was in the church nursery. If the size of the rodents was equal to the size of the traps they put out for them, then I'm glad the traps were empty! Besides the rat droppings, there were cockroach droppings too. It was church workday, and cleaning up after the vermin was my job.

A couple sweet Hispanic teens came in to help me, so I set them washing all the toys and highchairs with disinfectant. Is it eavesdropping when you don't tell someone you understand their language? I mean, I look about as gringo as anyone could look. But really, my Spanish isn't as good as it was earlier in my life, so I guess I didn't overhear all that much.

After the droppings were collected, I moved on to washing the window blinds. My teenage helpers moved to a different room and the silence was a good time to think about dirt. Some dirt is obvious and revolting, like rat poop. Other dirt is much more subtle, like the even-colored grime on the window blinds. And then there's the dirt on the windows, that doesn't show up at all until the sun shines. That made me think about sin, but I'll let you draw your own analogies.

Baseball and football

Sorry to say, the Texas Rangers are now out of the running for a spot in the playoffs. My rabid-fan son, who bought playoff tickets from Ethiopia, will have to try to get his money back. The tickets came in the mail just today:



I will certainly be following the playoffs and the World Series, but it won't be as fun without the home team there.

I suppose that means it is now time for football. But I don't like football very much. I came to the conclusion some years ago that I was just too stupid to like football (but when I look at some of the people who play it, I'm not so sure I'm the stupid one). I mean with baseball the action is pretty much linear. You just follow the action where the ball is. But football! Everybody is doing everything at once--how am I supposed to keep track of what is going on? It would also be easier if they color-coded the defense and the offense or something like that. There are just too many people doing too many things at once and WAY too many rules to learn about whether they did it right or not. No, baseball is a much more sensible game.

Sorry, Rangers. Better luck next year.

Top 10 places my cat likes to sleep

I suppose there comes a time in the life of every blogger when he (or in my case, she), writes a blog entry about his or her pets. With my nest being empty these days, my cat is getting more than her fair share of attention. Her reaction to all this fussing over by me: sleep.

1. Inside the dresser drawers - if you leave it open, she will come
2. On top of the dining room table - Bad cat!
3. On the telephone stand
   
4. In the car - one day I found the cat in the car when I returned from a meeting in the hot summer. We nearly had cooked cat for dinner.
5. On the bed
   
6. Inside the bathroom sink - this is when she's waiting for you to turn the water on so she can get a drink of fresh water
7. Inside the bathroom cupboard - snuggled behind the pile of clean towels
8. Inside the dryer
   
9. Inside a cardboard box
10. On top of one's laptop, near the polar bears
    

Fixing up my blog

I spent some time over the weekend remodeling my blog. I wanted to keep the images from the original site, but I didn't like the double commenting system and I wasn't clever enough to remove one of them. So I thought I'd try a new look. I don't know very much about HTML, but by slowly trying to figure it out, and getting a little help from G., I was able to add my images into the new template. Then today I decided to get even more clever and add a counter. This counter lets you customize it a little, so I chose for it NOT to count any of my own visits to my website. And I changed it from black to red. Whoo-hoo. Now to wait and see how long it takes to get to 2.

Compost

A few posts ago I told how I didn't like to waste things. One thing I don't like to waste is all the organic matter in my kitchen that we don't eat. You know, all the potato peelings and dead lettuce and apple cores. Several years ago we started a compost pile, and now it is a dandy. I make daily deposits of vegetable matter but I also include meat scraps and bones. Some people object to animal products in the compost, but I once heard a compost expert say that you could put anything in the compost pile that was once alive. As a side benefit, I've found that by not putting previously-alive things in the garbage, I only have to set the garbage can out once every two weeks or less for pickup, and it never smells bad.

Today was a good day to harvest the compost pile, and it's also a good way for me to get some exercize. So I took the wheelbarrow and shovel and got to work sifting the compost. I shoveled scoop after scoop of raw compost onto the compost sifter which sits on top of the wheelbarrow. This clever gadget was hand made for me by my dear husband for Mother's Day one year--isn't he romantic?? My work was made easier by the nocturnal visitor who has been coming for the last couple weeks--an armadillo who seems to like the compost pile almost as much as I do. He (or she?) has been digging around out there with its very strong and sharp snout, breaking up the clods and saving me the trouble. The pile is full of yummy grubs.

I almost gave up before my job was finished because I ran into the mother of all fire ant nests on one side of the compost pile. They came after me with a vengence for disturbing their massive array of tunnels. The gound was undulating with swarms of angry ants, each one trying to carry a white egg sack to safety. Luckily, I only got bitten two or three times.

The five wheelbarrows full of sifted, rich brown dirt were deposited on top of the flower garden by the front door. (This area is also the cat's favorite "box.") Times like this I ask myself why I don't have a vegetable garden. But I know why. Except for the dirt that comes from my compost pile, the rest of the ground here is made of white chalk.

"A triumph for globalization and the internet"

That is what A.'s email to me today said. I quote: "Are you having any luck with Rangers playoff tickets? I am in the virtual waiting room in another window on my internet browser now, hoping to get some. Wouldn't that be a triumph for globalization and the internet, if I could get playoff tickets in the virtual waiting room from Ethiopia!"

And then another email dated an hour later:

"Hi mom and dad,

The triumph of the internet is complete. I got eight tickets for the first Rangers home playoff game. They are in the third deck on the second row, two thirds of the way down the third base side. I really wish I was home to go to the game.

Why don't you invite *** and see if *** wants any of the tickets. I know he is a real fan. Maybe *** is/could be around and would want to go. You can use the tickets however you want. If there seems to be no one interested there is always eBay."

This child is crazy. He is a real fan. Anybody need tickets to the Rangers' playoff game 1? Wait, do we even know if the Rangers' are in the playoffs yet?

The Bible

Today my 80+ year old former coworker came to my office and told me to get myself over to the museum before the Bible exhibit closed. I'm glad I did. It was cool. The display, (completely unguarded and I admit it was hard not to touch*) included a cuneiform tablet, a snatch of scripture on papyrus, an OT leather scroll, a sheepskin parchment, an early Hebrew codex, individual leaves from the Gutenburg, Tyndale, Coverdale, and Geneva bibles, and a complete KJV from the early printings. There was also a working replica Gutenberg press.

Here's a little blurb about it:

The exhibit, entitled “His Enduring Word,”
contains numerous other biblical artifacts. An
actual first page from the first book printed
with movable type, the 1450 Gutenberg Bible, will
be on view. Manuscripts in Hebrew, Greek,
Ethioptic, and Latin, including early Christian
papyrus (AD 250-450), and a complete Jewish Torah
will be available for examination.


“Steps in the Story,” a collection of leaves
(pages) from actual biblical publications by
reformers such as Martin Luther, William Tyndale,
John Rogers, Miles Coverdale, and John Calvin,
will be displayed. The exhibit also contains
leaves from the first Bibles produced by the
English Catholic exiles at Rheims and Douay.


“Many people, including Bible scholars, do not
know the basic story of how we got the Bible,”
explains F. J. “Rusty” Maisel, exhibit curator.
“But, seeing it laid out and explained as a
simple narrative has helped many people gain a
better understanding of the book they have been
reading for years. They say that what they have
learned from the exhibit also helps them respond
when friends ask about the Scriptures.”


Maisel is a graduate of Dallas Baptist University
and pursued graduate study in ancient history and
archeology at the Center for the Study of Early
Christianity (now University of the Holy Land) at
Hebrew University in Jerusalem.


A recognized authority on the authentication of
rare Bibles, Maisel says that, for most of his
life, he has had questions about “The Book.” His
search for answers has led to over 25 years of
studying and collecting original documents
throughout America, Europe, and Israel.


“The Bible itself tells us that God will preserve
his Word. To say I believe that is still an
expression of faith. But the years I’ve
experienced investigating that subject have only
strengthened my belief in the validity of the
scriptural texts,” states Maisel.


*I guess they think Bible translators respect both the form and the meaning when it comes to Bibles.

Bloggers in Pajamas

The TIME magazine that arrived today did not have obscene art on its cover. But it did have an editorial about how blogging is changing the mainstream media. Rather thought provoking. I guess bloggers will make the professional journalists a little more careful.

Of course, my blog isn't likely to challenge much of anything since I neither express many political thoughts nor explore many revolutionary ideas. No, I just talk to myself because my nest is empty.

p.s. It seems like Blogger.com should update its spelling dictionary to include the word blog and its deriviatives. Is that a revolutionary idea?

The Most Powerful Woman in America

is Condoleeza Rice. (At least that was the answer to the question given to the top five Miss America contestants last Saturday night.) D. called on Sunday to say he shook hands with her after church on Sunday. (And also with Bill Frist.) His impression of Ms. Rice: "She's pretty short."

My Chickadee in Ethiopia

We recently got letter from A. in Ethiopia. He enclosed his new business card:



Cool, huh?

I don't think the email address shown on the card actually works yet, but the phone number does. But it can cost up to $1 a minute. I did find a cheaper phone card for about $.21 per minute. He does have email access from some internet cafes for $10/hour and I think it is dial-up, so pretty slow. He said there is not one ATM machine in the whole country, and no place to use a credit card.

Back Home

I made it safely back from OKC. Thanks to anyone who prayed for me. I did get pretty drowsy after the first 50 miles, so I stopped to buy some lime diet coke. I got back on the road, took one drink, and proceeded to knock the rest of it over on the floor of my car. I guess the shock kept me awake until I got home.

G. was mowing the driveway when I drove in. That is his way of raking up the leaves. He stopped and gave me a sweaty kiss and then went back to mowing.

My time with R. was pretty good. A couple little disagreements, but not too serious. She is working very hard on her project, and over the time I was there she finished three-quarters of the part that has to be turned in Sept. 23. I helped her find stuff in the 25 books we had, then I photocopied them. After she read them and highlighted them, and summarized them in a written document. I punched holes in them and put them in a binder. We both worked on the bibliography which has to be in APA style.

R. has a nice little printer which cost less than $100 last fall. Not only does it make b/w and color copies, it also scans and, best of all, it makes b/w or color copies. So all those 25 books we were able to photocopy right there in her room. I was able to refill the ink cartridge, too, so that made it fast and cheap to make the necessary copies. And she has a nice, heavy-duty 3-hole punch (thank you, K :-) which served us well in getting the copies into the required binder. I also reformatted her flash drive and made backup copies of her working files, so now she is set. She still has a lot to do on the project, but not so much to do before next Thursday.

Looks like she may try in late November to take the last of 3 standardized tests toward her teacher certification. If she fails, there would be time to retake it in February so that she could begin job hunting during spring break. Yikes! that sounds soon! Lord, guide her clearly and give her wisdom about the choices surrounding future employment.

Dorm life

I spent last night in R.'s dorm room. This year, her 5th and Lord willing her last, she has a private room. So that means there is an empty bed where I can sleep. Sure beats trying to sleep on the floor like I've done in years past.

I've been trying out the dining hall food too. Way too many choices, IMHO. And way too expensive and wasteful. They have a decent salad bar, which I like.

I'm helping R. with a project for her Contemporary Social Issues class. She chose a good topic for an Education major: literacy. Really, it should be called illiteracy. I was able to bring a bunch of books to her from our library at work. I'm also doing motherly things like her laundry, vacuuming her floors, changing the sheets, and giving her advice about all the cute boys.

Diving to OKC

If anyone reads this today, please pray for my safe travel to Oklahoma City. I'm driving back home Saturday evening. I don't like driving by myself, but, alas.

I'm a Conservative (take 2)

I bet you thought I meant a political conservative. What I really meant is more like "I'm a conserver." I don't like to throw things away. No, I'm not a pack rat. I don't like to throw things away if they can be reused, or better yet, repurposed. I don't like to waste things

My favorite cookbook has a section in it called "Gather up the fragments." This, of course, refers to Jesus feeding the 5000. He didn't want to waste things either.

Here is a list of things I do or have done to not waste things. Can you add others?

• My son wanted to throw away a hooded sweatshirt that he had torn. I washed it, repaired it, and will add it to the winter coat drive when the weather gets cold.
• The boys in this house are too lazy to use their coins, so I counted them and put them in rolls, and deposited $22.50 into R's account "for free."
• I save the broken tortilla chips at the bottom of the bag, then use them to top Mexican casserole.
• If I accidently take too many napkins from McDonald's, I bring them home and use them.
• I aways tear the dryer sheets in half so a box lasts twice as long.
• A few years ago, I found a discarded evening gown so I remodelled it into a prom dress for my daughter.
• Today I spent the afternoon refilling ink jet printer cartridges.

Done with my editing

Finally I finished my second set of pages to edit. I found it went faster by wearing one of G.'s pairs of glasses over top of my own. Then it was both in focus and big enough to read. G. is in his office doing statistical comparisons of how many errors were found per page per editor. Each page was independently read by two different editors, and amazingly the overlap in mistakes found by the two different editors was not very great. This does not inspire confidence in how error-free the final product will be. But the nature of this book is one of tiny detail, which comes from many different sources at many different times, compiled by many different people. It is no small task to make it error free in either content or presentation.

I learned five new words while editing:

• swidden
• massif
• canton
• riverine
• transhumance

Editing continues

Today was the due date for the 30 or so people to turn in their editing assignments. I got my 33 pages done by 10am. Lots of people did turn them in, but not everyone has yet. And one person gave up on it, so now I have 20 more pages to do :-( That is NOT what I wanted to be doing this weekend. But G. has been working like a dog on this, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Son D. phoned this morning from DC with good news/bad news. The good news: he gets a pay raise before his first week of work is over. Apparently he gets $2,700 per year more than they told him because he has good grades. "'Bout time those A's did you some good," I told him. The bad news: "I don't get my first paycheck until October 10. Can you send me some $$?"

Yay! Copy Editors!

They came. Lots of them. G. was so happy because many colleagues responded to his plea for copy editors. We may get this thing done by Friday yet. I myself haven't gotten very far on my section, but I will keep plugging away. All 32 sections were claimed. Thank you, Lord.

The evocative nature of music

I'm thinking particularity of church music here, but of course any kind of music can cause one to be reminded of an event in the past, a feeling, a happiness or a sadness. Two Sundays ago I wrote in my blog about a song that was sung at church that evokes lots of bad memories for me. Today it was different. The music was "Shout to the Lord." The song is kind of worn out from overuse, but really this song almost always makes me cry because the first time I heard it my girl was standing in front of our little church, doing sign language to this song. That may not sound like such a big deal, but it was for her: she was never that good at performing in front of others, and she was never any good with things that involved physical movement. But she was beautiful and graceful in this performance and it blessed me when she signed and sang this song. I will always remember that feeling of pride and joy in her and feel drawn to the Lord whenever I hear that song.

Copy editors needed

I keep mentioning personnel needs for my husband on the off chance that somebody reading this will decide to become a missionary when they grow up. Or, failing that, at least give a few spare hours to the cause.

Today he's looking for copy editors. Well, proofreaders, really. Lots of them. He has 558 pages of minutia that needs to be close to perfect by Friday Sept 10. Not just read once, but read twice (that is, each page needs to be edited independently by two different people. This is for the Ethnologue, our flagship publication that comes out every four years. It is a detailed listing of the 6,911 languages that exist in this world. And it is easy to make tiny mistakes when telling all the details about these languages. So we need help to get it right.

He is passing it out by geographical area, finding a colleague who worked in Colombia and begging them to take the Colombia section. We have a friend from Indonesia whom he's trying to get me to call and beg. I guess he thinks that as long as he doesn't have a life, so one else should do anything fun over the long holiday weekend either.

Well, I've taken the first 33 pages of the Africa section, so I'd better get started.

Update! I had barely pushed the "Publish" button when the phone rang. Somebody came and took 34 more pages of the Americas section. Yay!

Whoops!

One tow truck--$50
One new battery--$100
One new alternator--$200
labor to put them in--$200
learning to turn the headlights off--priceless