Laughing at Homework

I'm taking an introductory class on libraries.  One would think that after 6 years of working at one, I would be able to handle that.  Right?

Chapter 2 study questions. 8 of them. I'm on question 3 which asks, "How did Gutenberg's invention of movable type change reading and printing in Europe?"

I started answering the question.  I typed the first sentence and then the giggles hit me so hard I could barely keep going.  I would never have written this answer when I was in college the first time.  I guess age makes you less afraid to laugh at yourself and at truly ridiculous things.  Furthermore, I'm older than the teacher and if I want to laugh at the class, I can.  So there.

Here's what I answered:

      "Handwritten books often took a year to copy and were prone to mistakes.  Gutenberg’s invention of movable type made it much faster to reproduce errors.  You could quickly make thousands of copies with the same error in each one.  I am thinking of the Wicked Bible published in 1631 by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, the royal printers in London.  It lists one of the commandments as “Thou shalt commit adultery”.  They lost their printer’s licenses over that one.  (Sorry, that question cracked me up.)

            (Okay, straight face.)  Gutenberg’s invention allowed more copies of books
             to be quickly printed...."

(Lifting a glass)  Here's to a more mature outlook on the hilarity of life and a good laugh in the face of it all.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Poison Ivy

I have been pulling the same weeds for 6 years now and, not until this summer, have I had to recognize what poison ivy looks like.  I'm on my second round.  The first time, it went away fairly easily.  This time, it went from the back of my right hand to my face, my left arm (I cross my arms when I sleep) and into my hair.  Needless to say, I visited a doctor this time.  I now know what the stuff looks like and am prepared to do battle.  Actually, I'd rather never go anywhere near it again, but that won't solve anything.

Wish me well.

Kathi

First Day of Class - in Ages

I had my first chapter read yesterday.  I finished my first assignment and aced the first quiz.  I love school!  Always have. 

Short but sweet tonight.  I'm going to start on the next assignment.  Chapter 2, here I come!

Don't you wish your kids had that attitude?

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Feast of Trumpets

While I know that Jesus can come back any time, any day, any year, and it's not mine to say when, I also know that there is only one unfulfilled Jewish feast.

The Feast of Tabernacles was fulfilled when Jesus put on a dirt body and "tabernacled" with us.  Jesus fulfilled the Feasts of Passover and Atonement when He died, and the Feast of Firstfruits when He rose.  The Holy Spirit showed up on Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks.

What's left?  Only the Feast of Trumpets.  When Jesus comes back, He will appear with a trumpet call. 

"For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words."  1 Thess. 4:16-18 NIV

Therefore, each year, while the news announces to me more loudly each day that the stage is being set, I watch for my Redemption to show up.  I especially pay attention during the Feast of Trumpets.  This year it will be on September 29th. 

I am NOT proclaiming a certain date for Christ's return!  I am saying that God is a God of order.  If He fulfilled each of the other feasts on the appropriate day, why would He change the pattern now?  But I am willing for Him to show up today if He wants to.  I'm in no hurry to wait another month and a half, or another year, if He has a different date in mind.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Abby's Perch

I caught Abby sitting in one of her favorite perches.  I just thought I'd share it with you.

She's managed to unzip two of the couch pillows from the back of the couch.  Oh, well.  It's pretty much the dogs' couch anyway.  lol

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

What Won't They Fry

'Tis the season for state fairs and local fests.  When walking around the concession booths, you wouldn't be at all surprised to find fried bread - also known as donuts or funnel cakes - and fried vegetables of various sorts.

Lately, I have noticed that no food is left out of the deep fryer.  Grab your cholesterol medicine and check these out:

deep-fried Derby cake

fried Snickers bar

chicken-fried bacon

fried avocado

spaghetti and meatball on a stick

hot beef sundae

fried pizza cones

Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich

deep-fried Twinkies

fried Coca Cola

fried lemonade

fried beer

Key Lime pie on a stick

fried butter on a stick

fried frozen margaritas

fried S'mores PopTart

fried chocolate

fried Frito pie

fried grilled cheese sandwich

fried banana split

fried Jelly Bellys

fried cookie dough

This list is not exhaustive.

Yikes!!!

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Joke

I got this joke from one of my aunts.  I'm not telling which one, because a couple of my cousins and one of my sisters might not think it's as funny as I do.

"I was eating lunch on the 20th of February with my 7-year-old granddaughter and I asked her, "What day is tomorrow?"
She said "It's President's Day!"
She is a smart kid.
I asked "What does President's Day mean?" I was waiting for something about Washington or Lincoln . . . etc.
She replied, "President's Day is when President Obama steps out of the White House, and if he sees his shadow we have one more year of unemployment."
You know . . . it hurts when hot coffee spurts out your nose . . . . . ."

Laughter is good medicine.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Fan Letter

Almost a decade ago, the picture book Chickens May Not Cross the Road and Other Crazy But True Laws came out in print.  In that time, I have received two - count them - two fan letters from children.  Today I received the second one.  The sad part of that is that it was mailed to me in April.  This letter, which was sent to Houghton Mifflin first, took four months to get from the child to me.  I answered it and had a response in the mail the same day. 

I am disturbed that I was not able to give that child the benefit of a quick response.  What if the letter was written to me in order to complete a report on an author?  That opportunity is past and a new school year has started.  Children accomplish emotional and rational growth during a summer.  What if my book is now too young for that child and he's no longer interested in an answer from me?

In case you have ever written to someone you admired and didn't get a quick response, please understand that it might not be the fault of the one you wrote to but rather the staff surrounding that person.  Those of us who are not exactly overwhelmed with admiration are thrilled to hear from our readers. 

Thanks, Cody.  You made my whole week.

Kathi

True or Not True

I have had opportunities to discuss evolution with a number of people along the way.  I don't see how it holds up either by Biblical means or by true (proven) science.

The lessening of the earth's magnetic field, the finite energy of the sun, the dating of the Mount St. Helen lava dome (1986) to 350,000 years with some compounds dating 2.8 million years old, and the disproval of spontaneous generation, among other evidence,  refute evolution. 

Scientists who believe in evolution created the landing module for the first lunar mission.  Given billions of years, they expected somewhere around 6 feet of space dust to have accumulated on the moon's surface.  So they designed "camel feet" for the module so it wouldn't sink into the dust. Go to Google images sometime and search for pictures of footprints on the moon.  It may be an inch deep.

(If you argue that the "lunar landing" never happened, that it was all staged, why didn't they pile up several feet of dust for the pictures?)

My personal biggest reason for not buying the theory of evolution is sex.  Two unrelated animals cannot have viable offspring.  Either the gametes will be too different to begin life or the offspring will be unable to live in its environment.  Animals of more closely related kinds might have viable offspring, but they will not be recognizable to possible mates.  Their actions, voice, or appearance will not attact mates.  A donkey and a horse are close enough in type to have offspring, but mules are sterile.

Even more compelling, how in all of time and all the earth could a male and female, both fully functional and both very close in kind, accidentally find each other to mate?  What evolutionary benefit would male organs and female organs be, separate from each other?  How and why would sexual reproduction accidentally develop? 

The theory of evolution demands at least as much faith as believing in a creation designed by an intelligent Designer. 

I once sat in a college biology class and listened to the professor describe the intricate exchange of two chemicals in the nerves.  One chemical allows the electric signal from your brain to pass to the muscles.  The other chemical inhibits the electric signal.  If these two elements don't do what they are supposed to do, either you would not be able to use any of your muscles, or the electrical signals would be continuous and you would have constant seizures.  Please don't expect me to believe that this came about accidentally!  What creature could live through any experimental stage?

Bombadier beetles have two compartments in their bodies that store chemicals which explode when they come in contact with each other.  How would any prototypes survive without being fully formed in the first place?

One more point.  Some people try to combine evolution with the Bible.  They'll say that the "seven days" really mean "a very long time".  Or God oversaw evolution over a very long time.

If you decide that the first chapter of the Bible is not true or is inaccurate, at what point do you draw the line between the true and not true parts?  If you start ripping pages out of the Book, when would you stop?  What exactly would you have left?

Think about it.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

What Happens Next?

I want to give credit to my mother for teaching me at a young age to ask myself, "What happens next?"  It was her way of training me about consequences or, if you will, sowing and reaping. 

Her original lesson probably had something to do with the way I treated my baby brother. If I hit John, what happens next?  At first, the answer would have been that I would get in trouble.  But as John grew, the answer became "John will hit me back and then we'll both get in trouble".

Somehow that particular training attached itself to almost everything in my life.  For instance, if it's high summer, what happens next if I park my car facing south?  The seat and the steering wheel get very hot and I will be sorry when I have to drive with burning hands.  Solution: as often as possible in summer, park facing north or in shade.  In winter, I would want to park facing south in the sun so the wind won't blow right into the engine.  The car will be as warm as possible if the sun is shining and it will be easier to start the car. 

If store-boughten dog food isn't contributing to the health of my dogs, what happens next?  I can choose to keep feeding them convenient food and pay for vet bills and have them be less healthy and die younger, or I can improve the quality of their food and have healthier, happier dogs, fewer vet bills, and keep them with me longer.

Also since I learned to stop hitting my baby brother at a young age, we were able to become friends sooner.

Thanks, Mom, for the training.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Garage Sale, No Rain

It was supposed to rain both Friday and Saturday this weekend.  I held my garage sale those days and prayed for no rain during garage sale hours.  So far, no rain.

We succeeded in getting rid of some big things and some extra s-t-u-f-f.  We just didn't need all of the things we had.  What didn't sell will go to the Lutheran thrift store and the extra book will go to Friends of the Library.  Everybody gets something good out of the deal.

I'm not witty or even necessarily coherent tonight.  Too much not enough sleep.  I'll do better next time.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Garage Sale Tomorrow

I meant to hold this garage sale next week, but I can only walk around the heap of stuff in the dining room for so long and tomorrow is it.  The extra stuff is going!  Some of it is good stuff - even a few precious things.  But if I haven't used it and have no intention of using it, why should I keep it?

It has finally dawned on me that even if I don't have something that reminds me of a person or event, I'll still have those memories.  And if I lose the memories, senility or whatever, then having the thing won't necessarily bring the memory back.  I don't have to keep dusting the items to keep the memories.

The heat seems to have broken - at least a little bit.  For that, I am very grateful.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi