Cold Blues

The sniffles have matured into a humdinger of a flu! I had a fitful night of sleep, rotating back and forth from fever and sweats. Yuck! Jeff has been taking very good care of me today. He made me chicken noodle soup and bought some Theraflu, the best medicine ever.

So now I sit with my laptop on the couch and watch youtube videos as entertainment or just snooze. I wish I could get back into sewing! The table skirt is draped over the back of the chair, beckoning me. Sigh.

Brown Bonnet

As promised, here are some photos of my new brown bonnet! I went on a sewing binge over last weekend, churning out this bonnet, two headbands (as gifts), some cloth pads, and a table skirt (still under construction, I’ll post pics of that later.) I woke up with a head cold today, most likely what Jeff was suffering from earlier this week. That will slow me down in the sewing department because I can’t think properly enough and make mistakes.

The bonnet is based on this pattern from King Pod patterns. This version is following the pattern exactly, except for the small pleat in the back I added to help it hug around my bun. The outer fabric is baby whale brown corduroy and the lining is a soft brown herringbone flannel. I’d rate the pattern between beginner and intermediate. The directions are a bit vague at some points so some visualization skills and sewing creativity are necessary.

The brim is rather narrow, I will widen it in future versions. The tie is an inch wide tan grosgrain ribbon.

You can see that the bonnet is floppy, because there is no buckram or other shaping element inside. This is fine enough for me!

Our First Ron Paul Sign Wave

Here we are, on a main drag in our town. We were out there with four other folks for two hours this afternoon. Gaging from the mostly positive response, I believe there are many Ron Paul supporters here!

Note the brown bonnet…I’ll blog about that sewing adventure later this week.

Vote Out Fear, or Why I am Voting for Ron Paul

If you click over to my 101 Things page, you will notice that I crossed off #31 which was to change over my voter registration to my married name. This was contingent on number 32, finding someone worth voting for. I have, as you may already seen on my About page, chosen the support Ron Paul.

In the 2004 election, I voted out of fear of the “other guy” winning. My interest was really in a third party candidate but I failed to choose according to my conscience. I believed the lie that my vote was “wasted” on someone who would most likely not win. During the following weeks, I made a firm resolve to never, EVER, do that again. My vote is wasted only if I choose to sit at home and do nothing. The lie is foisted upon us because the other candidates want to keep everything the way it is.

Believe me, the last few months have been a roller coaster of thoughts, research, and much prayer. Jeff and I weren’t even sure we would vote at all until about 6 weeks ago. No one seemed to be carrying a message that was bigger than their ego. Then these Ron Paul signs started popping up all over town, from July onwards. Who was this guy?  We watched several videos about the Federal Reserve, the IRS, and our monetary system that freaked me out. [Heh, in case you are reading this, Feds: yeah, I know we are on the List. You can move on.] But some of these videos were made over 10 years ago…and Mr. Paul was saying the same message then as he is today.

So here are some key points as to why we are joining the Revolution:

• As I said, Ron Paul has been consistent in his message and actions throughout his political career. This is a rare gem!
• He is pro-life for babies and for soldiers. And for other nations.
• The  ‘Revolution’ is not a cult of Ron Paul; it is a reborn idea of personal responsibility for liberty. Mr. Paul, God Bless Him, is a rather normal sort of gentleman, passionate and persuasive and honest. Somehow, I can’t see there being Paul Chicks in the manner of Obama Chicks.
• The people supporting him are a “rabble” of every sort. Toss out the stereotypes! Still have to research this, but I believe there is very, very little in terms of special interest money being donated. Who needs it? The people raised over 6 million in one day on December 16th, with the average contribution being $100.
• Because it is the Rabble doing the activism, fund-raising, and sharing the message, more Rabble joins them and it is a good infectious sort of politics.
• I pretty much agree with the rest of his platform, except maybe the Border security debate. Haven’t come to the conclusion on that one yet.

So there you have my political rant in a nutshell…or just the nut. We will be joining in with a Sign Wave this Sunday after church in front of Walmart(!), my first public political activism. And that is another thing I like about Ron Paul…so many folks are getting active who never had done so before. Will you join us?

This Can’t Be Happening…

You get the phone call….

…from a collection agency!

I’m still quaking from it. So far, in all my days of recent poverty, I’ve managed to stay on top of the bills and not get anything disconnected. One medical bill notice came early last month, saying that if I did not make a payment, they would turn it over to collections. I did write out a decent sized check right away and it was cashed. So I thought this settled it. Nope!

But I did not let the fear paralyze me. I kept the collections person on the phone while I checked my bank account to see if that check had indeed been cashed. I told her so. She reluctantly stated that she would call the medical office to check on it. I did not trust them to follow through, so I called over to the office right away.

It was a mistake!!! The billing lady was truly shocked and apologetic.

Still, this will probably show up on my credit report at some point, even if it were an oopsie. Thank you God, that it was not worse!

Book Review: Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God

[I finished reading the book at the beginning of December, forgive me for the lag time. You may purchase the book from Vision Forum here.]

To be honest, I had not planned to purchase the book on my own, but when there was a drawing for Ladies Against Feminism supporters in mid-November, I decided to enter. And, surprise! I won a copy! Mrs. Chancey graciously signed the inside cover for me. I already have other most-recommended wifely books like Created to Be His Helpmeet, Fascinating Womanhood, and the Excellent Wife, so I thought I would wait on getting Passionate Housewives for a while. I am glad to have it now.

While this book is geared towards those who have children, I found much value in their thorough presentation. The first chapter is a fictional vignette of a mother in the “before Passionate” state, illustrating all the negativity that can build up in a woman’s mind when she is focused on herself. Near the end of the book, the same family is revisited after the mother has resolved to be JOYfull (Jesus First, Others Second, Yourself Last) in her role as wife and mother. The intervening chapters are rotated between Mrs. Chancey and Mrs. McDonald. They cover many of the subjects I have read before in the earlier books, but they focus much more on the selflessness of being a Christian housewife and how this affects all you do and how the world perceives you.

There were a couple of times that I did feel convicted over my whiny nature, “oh poor me!” attitude. The Lord brought to mind a few specific patterns of speech or behavior that were not honoring to Him or Jeff. Phew, I’m glad I nipped those in the bud! If I had just gone my merry way, what sort of harvest would I have received?

My favorite chapter is perhaps the most practical or nuts and bolts of the book, number eleven. Mrs. Chancey shares about her amazing multi-talented mother and how much she learned from her. Then the chapter lists all the accomplishments the Bible lists as befitting a helpmeet and keeper at home. Wow, I was impressed with the magnitude of our influence!

I heartily recommend the book and for you to open your heart to their teaching as solid and trustworthy.

Copper Wiring is Tempting

This headline just came up in Yahoo…and I thought I’d add a fact that wasn’t reported.

One major reason why some folks are without electricity in Oklahoma is that poor people are stealing the copper wiring right off the work crew trucks! This slows down the process greatly because the electricians need to return to headquarters to fetch new reels of wiring. And copper is expensive and finite. There are regular public service commercials telling people not to risk stripping metals from housing or power substations.

Christ have mercy!

We are a very impoverished state. I am so sad to see folks in such desperate straits(for whatever the reason).

You Know You are Autistic When….

Three small tidbits that remind me I march to a different brain wave length:

1.  At home by myself last week, taking a day off work for physical health and mental sanity, I started a load of laundry. [We use quarters for the apartment laundro-mat.] Jeff had brought home $30 worth of quarters and dumped them into our change dish. Hmmmm….wouldn’t it be fun to sort out the state quarters? Even better, let me clear off my place mat, and arrange the quarters in the pattern of the U.S. map! Darn, drat, uggh…I don’t have all 50! I left out my impromptu quarter map for Jeff to see when he came home from work. Turns out, he had done the same thing already when I wasn’t at home! Boy, we were meant for each other.
2. I (voluntarily) attended a Christmas social put on by the university president’s office for all the staff and faculty. There were some folks I knew there…but they were busy chatting and I was hungry. So I positioned myself in a corner of the room where I could sit and eat [please don't make me stand, eat and talk at the same time!] The entertainment for me was people-watching…then a staff member with a seeing-eye dog came in. Immediately, I fixated on the dog (a black lab) and stuck with him for the rest of the time. He seemed rather bummed to be working in a room full of nice people with small plates who inevitably dropped half-eaten petit fours. We had a connection…even if I only spoke with 4 people in half an hour. I felt content.
3. Working in a library means I bring home lots of books, a regular rotating stack on our coffee table. I was sharing with Jeff how I was enamored with an astronomy book that had lots of charts of night sky observations and wishing I had the time to memorize the constellations for each month. “Did you check the book out?” he asked. Noooo….instead I brought home a book on wild edible plants! He got a great chuckle out of that.

Prayers for my family

Just got done talking with my dad on the phone. Some not so good news with a family member. He is pretty upset about the situation, but there is little he can do right now except surrender to God what is God’s. I can’t get into details so if you could please pray for us, we’d appreciate it. It also happens to be my mother’s birthday today, too, so the bad stuff happening was not so timely. [Is bad stuff ever timely?]

Proverbs 31 Queen Makeover

I heard nails scrapping across a chalkboard this evening as I was listening to the local news. They were reporting on a winner of a “Queen Makeover” contest who received some rather extensive “gifts”: a personal trainer for 3 months, botox shots, permanent make-up, laser hair removal, hair restyling (for the hair that is left), and some new outfits, including a set of Spanxs for body shaping, from a trendy boutique. ACCCKK! Is this what it takes to feel like a queen these days?!? Just fathom all of the unnecessary pain involved in becoming a Queen in the world’s eyes. Except maybe the personal trainer, all of those things are just plain old cruel.

How about a Proverbs 31 makeover instead? Here is what I would really love to have:

[Updated]

1. Services of a Professional Organizer to aid you in better lay out your home and de-junk.
2. A couple of lovely dresses and aprons from The Kings Daughters. (No shapewear required!)
3. Quilting lessons or whatever craft you would like to learn.
4. A gift membership to a Community Supported Agriculture Farm for a season’s worth of fresh vegetables, fruits, and eggs and possibly milk or meat.
5. A set of cloth diapers or Ergo carrier (if you have a baby.)
6. Small business consultation, if you would like to start your own.
7. A tea party hosted for all you, your lady friends and family.
8. A grain mill and a 50 pound bag of organic wheat.
9. [If I had a yard...] A professionally installed herb garden.
10. A “wildcrafting” tour with a knowledgeable person on edible plants and mushrooms.

What else would you like to receive if there was such a makeover?

[My husband heartily enjoyed this post as I read it to him!]