Another Type of Prozac

Well, my spirits are out of the dumps today--
Two reasons:
I 'm listening to a wonderful CD, The John Rutter Christmas Album, featuring the Cambridge Singers and City of London Sinfonia. Music...another type of prozac, at least for me (not knocking medication when it's needed).
Also, tomorrow bright and early, I leave for a walking tour of Tuscany. My parents, as a gift, are taking me and my two sisters with them to Florence and surrounding regions. Bless them!
Anyway, probably won't be blogging for a few weeks. Wish me a good trip!

Somewhere On the Seven Continents

I'm feeling rather melancholy today. No huge reason. Except we don't know where we'll be a year from now...maybe still here in Germany, maybe in Oregon or one of the other fifty states, at least somewhere on the seven continents.
Right now there are no engineer job openings at Bonneville Power in Oregon where Jeff worked before--his boss would hire him back if any positions opened up but that's not an option at this point. There's a possibility some job might open up there before he has to start looking elsewhere, but no certainty.
I do believe we were meant to come to Germany for this time. But now, where? We could stay, and I'm trying to be open to that thought. But I've been awfully homesick these last two and a half years. My feelings fluctuate from day to day.
In Hebrews 11 where it talks about us being "strangers and foreigners on earth," yeah, I get that idea.

Smack, Smack, Smack

If there's a sound I hate, it's the sound of people chewing with their mouths wide open. Smack, smack, smack. It's not that hard to close your mouth and eat! Unless you need your tonsils removed or something. Ok, one or two members of my family are going to read this and groan. They're tired of me reminding them.

Now for sounds I enjoy:
* Christmas carols of all types, especially those sung by boy's choirs with high voices.
* A baby laughing and then hiccuping because she's chortling so hard.
* German church bells ringing throughout the day.
* Drums pounding out a danceable rhythm (it all goes back to my African childhood).
* Crickets chirping at dusk.
* Listening to someone who's really good at reading poetry out loud (think Dylan Thomas, for instance--love that Welsh accent on the recording).
* While we're on accents, I like an Italian accent too! Makes even English sound romantic.
* Listening to people scream on roller coasters.
* Waves rolling in on the Oregon coast.

That's all I can think of for now.

Murphy Monday

It's fall again and Murphy's coat matches the farm fields around us. All the tobacco and corn crop is harvested and the trees are bare. This is where we walk most of the time.

For Election Day

Had to share this poem by Daniel Berrigan. I found it on Journey With Jesus, included in Dan Clenidin's essay :

Credo

I can only tell you what I believe;
I believe:I cannot be saved by foreign policies.
I cannot be saved by the sexual revolution.
I cannot be saved by the gross national product.
I cannot be saved by nuclear deterrents.
I cannot be saved by aldermen, priests, artists,
plumbers, city planners, social engineers,
nor by the Vatican,
nor by the World Buddhist Association,
nor by Hitler, nor by Joan of Arc,
nor by angels and archangels,
nor by powers and dominions,
I can be saved only by Jesus Christ.

At the end of his essay, Dan adds,
I'd like to update and expand Berrigan's repudiation of false hopes and misplaced trust. I cannot be saved by George Bush or Jesse Jackson, by Hillary Clinton or Condi Rice, nor by their successors or opponents. I cannot be saved by Green Peace or the ACLU, by Focus on the Family or by Promise Keepers. Which returns us to the Psalm for this week: "Blessed is he whose help is in the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God" (146:5).

A Compliment

This evening, I sewed the sleeve back onto Anna's pink and brown coat. Grr, it's only a month old, and barely worn.

Just a hint--never buy a coat, no matter how beautiful it looks, if it has zip-on and zip-off sleeves. This feature will come back to haunt you.

Back to what I was saying. Anna ran inside, and I showed her the coat, now with sleeve permanently attached. She hugged me and exclaimed,

"Mom, you're so industrial!"

Hmm...Had to think about that one, since I haven't sprouted any smokestacks lately. But I am glad she sees me as industrious--at least the one time a year I tackle any sewing.

Cathedrals and Crepes Chocolat

Yesterday, I helped drive for a fieldtrip down to Strasbourg, France. Anna took a two-evening class in simple French conversation and the class ended with a day trip so that everyone could practice speaking and learn more about this region of Alsace Lorraine (which has alternated between German and French ownership through the years).

Anna took the cathedral shot--I like her perspective! Without a wide-angle lens, this captures some of the immensity.

A lonely gargoyle on the side of Strasbourg cathedral...and a little boy who wants a closer look.

The square in front of the cathedral is a great place to people-watch. I'm coming back to climb the steps to the viewing platform when it's open. Our guide said on a clear day you can see all the way to the Black Forest from up top.

The kids sampled tarte flambee and desert crepes for lunch. I snuck away in the afternoon for a visit to the boulangerie--had to take home some pain au chocolat for the family, after all.