1. Having a freshly-made bed, a clean bedroom and closet (no more pile of lost little shoes hanging out in there...)
2. Seeing the top of my desk again. Hello, old friend - it's been a while!
3. Seeing the top of my dryer again. Amazingly, it was still there after I excavated a mountain of unfolded clothes and towels (which are now folded and ready to be put away.)
4. Seeing my laundry folding counter again. No more trays of leggy tomato seedlings desperately waiting to be planted. (Thank you sweet husband of mine!)
5. Taking care of all those pesky, easy-to-forget chores like emptied wastebaskets in out-of-the-way rooms and a clean air filter on the A/C unit.
6. Having a full-week's menu planned out, with some new recipes to boot..
7. Getting it all done while it rained, so I didn't waste precious daylight doing indoor chores. AND the deck plants got watered courtesy of Mother Nature.
Sun's shining...time to hit the grocery store!
Jun 6, 2010
Jun 5, 2010
A bowl of cherries
Life may not be the proverbial bowl of cherries, but June does bring the opportunity to enjoy a bowl of them. Savor the fruit, spit out the pits. Kind of sums up a lot of things in life, doesn't it?
Today was the second hurdle for our new Summer Bible Vacation program - a "sneak preview" day, where we invited friends and neighbors from the community to join us and see what we're up to this summer. A guarded success: we had just over 100 in attendance, we stayed pretty close to the set schedule, and the "Harvest Hut" had a big crowd for its grand-opening. Lots of wide-eyed children, clutching their first few blue Bible Bucks in their hands, eager to buy something. Anything. When the last child finally scampered out, proudly holding a handful of cherry Twizzlers, the remaining crowd quickly dwindled down until it was just a few of us finishing up and comparing notes on how things went. All in all, the day was very smooth, thanks in large part to the number of adults in attendance.
As pleased as I am about how well today went, it confirmed why I'm not a big fan of one-day VBS. For starters, it's totally hit-or-miss on everyone's schedules. Today there were many rain-out ballgames competing for space on everyone's refrigerator calendar. As it is nearing the end of the season for most youth teams, games won out for many families and I hope they all did great! But had this been our only opportunity to reach out to the children of our community this year, our efforts would not yield much fruit, mainly due to simple mathematics: it amounts to only a tiny fraction (1/365ths, to be precise) of the year. I don't know if we'll reach more families as the summer progresses, but I pray we do. At least we stand a better chance of reaching them if we offer them 25 more opportunities to see our sign out front or spot our listing in the Rutherford Parents magazine, or get a postcard from a friend or neighbor and decide to come check us out.
After I left the building mid-afternoon, I hit Sonic for a celebratory diet cherry coke, and ducked into my favorite little place for a quick cure (a pedicure, that is), then came home and cleaned off my desk. (Hey, there's my desk calendar again..guess I should change it to June, huh?) and snacked on that bowl of cherries as I cleaned and tidied all the way down to the desk's surface.
Before dark, I grabbed the leash and took the pooch for a walk, which she loved. On our way back, we stopped and chatted with the neighbors sitting on their front porch, then ambled home and snacked on some pizza for dinner. Bedtime will come early tonight, I predict.
Tomorrow is the third hurdle - the first actual class for the SBV program. After Wednesday night, we'll know if everything is indeed working as planned. If so, then we can shift into maintenance mode: making sure vacationing teachers and guides have a substitute, getting attendance and visitor information to send out postcards every few weeks, and making sure the classrooms are stocked up on everything they need for all four lessons. That also means it's time to gear up for our 2nd annual school supply drive. And get a jumpstart on some curriculum design work, so our fall-spring classes are every bit as up-to-date and cohesive as the summer "vacation" classes.
Now that the biggest push is over, it's back to other domestic dalliances...I might even try my hand at making a cherry pie, or at least a cheesecake with a fresh cherry glaze. Might as well enjoy them while they last!
Today was the second hurdle for our new Summer Bible Vacation program - a "sneak preview" day, where we invited friends and neighbors from the community to join us and see what we're up to this summer. A guarded success: we had just over 100 in attendance, we stayed pretty close to the set schedule, and the "Harvest Hut" had a big crowd for its grand-opening. Lots of wide-eyed children, clutching their first few blue Bible Bucks in their hands, eager to buy something. Anything. When the last child finally scampered out, proudly holding a handful of cherry Twizzlers, the remaining crowd quickly dwindled down until it was just a few of us finishing up and comparing notes on how things went. All in all, the day was very smooth, thanks in large part to the number of adults in attendance.
As pleased as I am about how well today went, it confirmed why I'm not a big fan of one-day VBS. For starters, it's totally hit-or-miss on everyone's schedules. Today there were many rain-out ballgames competing for space on everyone's refrigerator calendar. As it is nearing the end of the season for most youth teams, games won out for many families and I hope they all did great! But had this been our only opportunity to reach out to the children of our community this year, our efforts would not yield much fruit, mainly due to simple mathematics: it amounts to only a tiny fraction (1/365ths, to be precise) of the year. I don't know if we'll reach more families as the summer progresses, but I pray we do. At least we stand a better chance of reaching them if we offer them 25 more opportunities to see our sign out front or spot our listing in the Rutherford Parents magazine, or get a postcard from a friend or neighbor and decide to come check us out.
After I left the building mid-afternoon, I hit Sonic for a celebratory diet cherry coke, and ducked into my favorite little place for a quick cure (a pedicure, that is), then came home and cleaned off my desk. (Hey, there's my desk calendar again..guess I should change it to June, huh?) and snacked on that bowl of cherries as I cleaned and tidied all the way down to the desk's surface.
Before dark, I grabbed the leash and took the pooch for a walk, which she loved. On our way back, we stopped and chatted with the neighbors sitting on their front porch, then ambled home and snacked on some pizza for dinner. Bedtime will come early tonight, I predict.
Tomorrow is the third hurdle - the first actual class for the SBV program. After Wednesday night, we'll know if everything is indeed working as planned. If so, then we can shift into maintenance mode: making sure vacationing teachers and guides have a substitute, getting attendance and visitor information to send out postcards every few weeks, and making sure the classrooms are stocked up on everything they need for all four lessons. That also means it's time to gear up for our 2nd annual school supply drive. And get a jumpstart on some curriculum design work, so our fall-spring classes are every bit as up-to-date and cohesive as the summer "vacation" classes.
Now that the biggest push is over, it's back to other domestic dalliances...I might even try my hand at making a cherry pie, or at least a cheesecake with a fresh cherry glaze. Might as well enjoy them while they last!
Jun 2, 2010
Now THAT'S a rain storm
Daughter and I headed to Smyrna about 6:20, thinking we'd catch a quick bite at Sonic, then head to Highland Heights for the Summer Bible Vacation open house. As we headed north, the sky looked really dark...even though it was clear and sunny no less than half an hour before that, when I came FROM Smyrna, after spending a day putting the finishing touches on things.
But we are plucky girls and we plowed ahead. Before our exit, the wind kicked up..a sign of things to come. Just as we exited I-24, the rain began pelting us. Big drops. Bad sign. But still, forward we went. I decided we wouldn't stop at the Sonic off the interstate, but go around to the on the other side of town, hoping to beat the rain. Bad idea.
A mile down the road, the rain was so heavy that it became difficult to see the road. A minute later, it was literally impossible to see the road. It was like being in a demon-possessed car-wash with hail thrown in for good measure. Cars slowed to a crawl, then stopped. On the road. In their tracks. We crept to the side of the road, hoping we wouldn't run off said road in the process, flipped on the emergency blinkers and waited it out. I called my husband to let him know where we were. (You know, just in case we pulled a "Wizard of Oz" meets "Twister" move or something.) I could barely hear him over the rain beating the car. In all my years of driving, I've pulled over a few times, because of heavy rain, but I'd have to say I've never had to pull over because I absolutely could not see the road for the rain. It's a scary thing to drive blindly and hope you don't hit anything.
Five minutes later, it was still raining hard, but at least there was enough visibility to make out the lines on the road as the wipers cleared the windshield.
We slowly made our way to the other Sonic, placed our order and then listened to the second wave of the storm pound the roof overhead. Wow. By the time we woofed down our food and made our way to the church building, the rain had almost stopped. Several people mentioned another front was approaching but we never heard it inside, if it did rain again.
What was I saying earlier this week about spring rains being a thing of the past? Apparently my prognostication skills are as accurate as ever. Four out of the last five days have brought showers - or storms. Tomorrow has a 40% chance of precip. I don't think I'll take up meteorology as a new avocation.
But the open house went smashingly well. People were overheard arguing over which room is their favorite. Teens and adults were bemoaning the fact they are no longer age-eligible to participate in VBS. Our teachers were glowing with pride, and our guides were grinning like possums, because they know they're in for a real treat this summer. I'm hoping that doesn't mean we'll have too many volunteers next year...but it might. (Then again, my prognostication skills are...well, sketchy at best.)
But we are plucky girls and we plowed ahead. Before our exit, the wind kicked up..a sign of things to come. Just as we exited I-24, the rain began pelting us. Big drops. Bad sign. But still, forward we went. I decided we wouldn't stop at the Sonic off the interstate, but go around to the on the other side of town, hoping to beat the rain. Bad idea.
A mile down the road, the rain was so heavy that it became difficult to see the road. A minute later, it was literally impossible to see the road. It was like being in a demon-possessed car-wash with hail thrown in for good measure. Cars slowed to a crawl, then stopped. On the road. In their tracks. We crept to the side of the road, hoping we wouldn't run off said road in the process, flipped on the emergency blinkers and waited it out. I called my husband to let him know where we were. (You know, just in case we pulled a "Wizard of Oz" meets "Twister" move or something.) I could barely hear him over the rain beating the car. In all my years of driving, I've pulled over a few times, because of heavy rain, but I'd have to say I've never had to pull over because I absolutely could not see the road for the rain. It's a scary thing to drive blindly and hope you don't hit anything.
Five minutes later, it was still raining hard, but at least there was enough visibility to make out the lines on the road as the wipers cleared the windshield.
We slowly made our way to the other Sonic, placed our order and then listened to the second wave of the storm pound the roof overhead. Wow. By the time we woofed down our food and made our way to the church building, the rain had almost stopped. Several people mentioned another front was approaching but we never heard it inside, if it did rain again.
What was I saying earlier this week about spring rains being a thing of the past? Apparently my prognostication skills are as accurate as ever. Four out of the last five days have brought showers - or storms. Tomorrow has a 40% chance of precip. I don't think I'll take up meteorology as a new avocation.
But the open house went smashingly well. People were overheard arguing over which room is their favorite. Teens and adults were bemoaning the fact they are no longer age-eligible to participate in VBS. Our teachers were glowing with pride, and our guides were grinning like possums, because they know they're in for a real treat this summer. I'm hoping that doesn't mean we'll have too many volunteers next year...but it might. (Then again, my prognostication skills are...well, sketchy at best.)
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