Grape Nut Teeth

I was enjoying a bowl of Grape Nuts when I heard a knock on our hotel room door, and when I opened it, there was a group of about five smiling people with this welcome basket, and me with a Grape Nut between every tooth.

And I was reading this book during lunch...

...and had just finished the section on smiling, where I read, "...look at the other person's face for a second. Pause. Soak in their persona. Then let a big, warm, responsive smile flood over your face...."

Evidently, some of the effect is lost when one has big grayish-brown chunks between one's teeth.

So I'm off to a great start with all these people here who don't know me, and who all know each other.

I know that some of you who know us would be hard pressed to believe it, but Mike and I are both natural introverts - we have just learned to act like extroverts. So situations like these make us very uncomfortable!

And that book hasn't told me what to do if NO ONE makes eye contact with you. How can I impress them with my lovely Grape-Nut-free smile if no one will look at me?

Not that this has happened yet - I'm just being pessimistic.

Because it HAS before.

I suppose I could fall down in their midst. That has certainly gotten everyone's attention at other times. Especially that time I pitched forward like a tree in the church aisle and everyone stared at me, speechless, until that guy a few feet away softly said, "Timmmber" and everyone lost control and nearly fell down themselves.

I hope that kind of thing doesn't happen tonight, though, because in a little while I'll be in a boat on the lake, and a fall may mean getting wet, and have you ever tried to get into a boat from the water? Even when I was skinny it was the hardest thing in the world to do, and how SILLY one looks trying to hoist a foot over the edge, and haul a hind end up and over, ten or twelve times, unsuccessfully...I'd rather fall like a tree onto a concrete floor any day.

Here's the view from our balcony window this morning, and the lake that we'll be cruising in a little while. It's a gorgeous place, with lots of beautiful sunshine, and good autumn smells, and I'm sure the company will be beautiful, too. I'll just check my teeth and head out smiling!

Cupcake Teeth

I don't know what it is about Greenville. It smells good. The air feels different. We get friendly service at fast food restaurants. Could it be some kind of Bob Jones aura? Or is it the proximity to the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains? Or maybe it's simply the pleasure of visiting with my mommy!

I've been referring to my husband as "Hubby" on the blog from the beginning, and it's time to get real! I'm just gonna call him Joe - kidding - Mike. It feels so much more naturelle!

So here we go:

MIKE was on a radio program with his good friend Winn Freeman (http://wisdominlivinglife.org/). They discussed the fact that the cure for addiction is transformation. That the power of God through salvation changes peoples' lives and sets them free from their slavery to sin.

I'd like to see Mike get on the radio in Virginia. Nearly everyone is affected by addiction in some way or another, and radio is a good way to communicate the truth about addiction, the truth about recovery, and most importantly, the truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We had a little party at Sissy's beautiful home last night.

We had yummy quesadillas - do you know about quesadilla makers? They're the coolest thing since the George Foreman grill. No flipping needed, which is where I usually run into trouble, flinging cheese and meat and tortillas all over the stove. I need to get my hands on one of those things.

We also enjoyed black raspberry pie and cupcakes.

The kiddos enjoyed them almost as much as the grownups did.

Both kiddos looked a lot like mommy last night:




Little Bro brought over a few samples of the kazillion children's books he got from the annual library sale. I told him that he should write his own books - he's got plenty of inspiration with his two kiddos, not to mention his delightful sisters, who gave him lots of fond memories of wedgies and noogies.

Again, we had a horrible night's sleep, thanks to Buddy, who sleeps all day and fusses and scratches all night. It appears that he picked up some fleas in Florida - so much for $20 a month prescription flea medicine. I was about to drop-kick him out the window at about 3am. Fortunately, I was too disoriented from lack of sleep to find the window.

Note to self: tomorrow, buy flea shampoo, flea powder, flea spray, flea collar, earplugs, small dog-sized straitjacket and muzzle.

Green Teeth

Let my words, like vegetables, be tender and sweet, for tomorrow I may have to eat them.
~ Author Unknown

When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

~Author Unknown


There’s not a whole lot of opportunity to grow things in a postage-stamp sized yard, sandwiched between tall houses and shaded by taller trees. But there are ways, and every spring I get the itch to play with dirt, manure, peat moss and seedlings. When the neighbor put up a 6-foot privacy fence, it was put to good use. Each year I add a couple of window boxes – they’re just the right size for herbs, lettuce and spinach.

(The white "snow" is the after-effect of a day of heavy wind, which blew the blooms off the tree that shades the entire yard except that little strip against the fence. As pretty as the tree is, I kind of wish it would blow over, too, so more sun could peek in!)

My all-time favorite herb is parsley – I can eat it like candy (I’m sure my teeth look real purty afterwards). Yummm!


Because of all the asbestos siding and lead paint in an old neighborhood like ours, I prefer to plant veggies in containers, and flowers in the ground. It’s a bit limiting, but greens and tomatoes do well (even when neglected, as I’ve previously mentioned!), and it keeps me from going overboard, since I don’t have much spare time.


Tonight I picked swiss chard and spinach for supper. Amazing how that stuff shrinks from a big pile of leaves to a tiny little portion in the pan! But it made a yummy side dish for our hamburgers and sweet potato fries.

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.
~ Lindley Karstens

That's exactly how I feel. Love the smell, love the feel of the dirt, and love the quiet peace that comes over me, after a long, hard day of busyness and noise. AND my lazy side is very pleased with the small, manageable size and ease of container gardening! Good feelings all around. I think I'll celebrate with a big ol' bowl of parsley.