Please support the pork

I feel bad for the pig farmers. This whole "swine flu" thing has been hard on their already struggling industry. We are not supposed to call it swine flu anymore - it is now known as H1N1.

I heard this morning that China has halted the import of Canadian pork products into their country, even though there is no evidence that you can get the flu from eating pork. I didn't even realize we exported pork to China.

Some of our clients where I work are pig farmers/pig veterinarians. They have company names like "PigPharm" and "Swine Services Group". I kid you not! Funny names aside, they do have very stringent safety regulations. Our technicians have to shower before entering AND after leaving a barn to ensure that they are not causing any cross-contamination.

This is a big pork producing area, and I feel it is my patriotic duty to support the pig farmers in their time of need by consuming more pork products *grin*. (This despite the fact we are unable to produce a decent breakfast sausage around here. Why, oh why can't we have Jimmy Dean? It is a mystery.)

My family loves pork products of all kinds. Mmmm... pork chops, rolled ribs, schnitzel. Consider the triumvirate of bacon, ham & sausage. What would breakfast be without some sort of pork product?

I overheard Kirk tell Hope the other day, "I love you more than anything. Even bacon." What a romantic!

Around here we even eat pork hocks and pig tails. My mom makes wicked good pigtails. I'm not sure I would eat pig's feet though. I once saw a jar of pickled pig's feet. That was in South Carolina. I guess they are popular down there. Not so much here.

I also can't do pork rinds. Ewww.

My husband grew up on a pig farm. When we first started dating he took me into the barn to see the "weaners". That means the little pigs that had been weaned from their mothers. I misunderstood and though he meant "weiners". I wasn't so sure I wanted to know EXACTLY where my hot dogs were coming from!

Here is how I make schnitzel:

If you can't get schnitzel-cut pork where you are, use a pork loin roast. Slice the roast into 1/4 inch slices and then pound them thin. They will double or even triple in size when you pound them out.

Season both sides of the meat with a little salt and pepper.

Dip the slices into Catalina dressing and then into dried bread crumbs.

Fry the slices in a little vegetable oil. They cook quickly and you only need a few minutes per side (depending on how thin you pounded them).

You can serve these with sauce if you like - a mushroom gravy is a traditional way of serving them. My family likes them plain with mashed potatoes and red cabbage.

Guess what?

Well, I am going to choir practice tonight. A handful of folks at church have been harassing encouraging me to join the choir for a while now. I love to sing, but I am a bit self conscious about my voice. Finally last week our choir director asked what it would take to get Ken and me to join the choir, lol, so I gave in. Actually, I am looking forward to having this activity to do with my husband and with my church family.

My elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

It's how he shows his love

Came home today to find a paper sack full of bagels waiting for me on the front porch.

My dad must have stopped by...

At the laundrmat

**I'm blogging in real-time from the laundromat!**

Our washing machine crapped out last week and the repairman can't come until Tuesday. So here I am at the laundromat. I am a huge embarassment to Alli I'm sure, for its been so long since I've been to to the laundromat that I no longer know what to do. The machines are all different and not at all like I remember. Thankfully the man who works here has taken pity on me and showed me how they work. They are huge front loaders and you can cram a lot of clothes into them. He saved me a lot of money by showing me that - I wouldn't have known otherwise.

It is quite expensive too! One load is five dollars, but they are supposed to be triple capacity. (I think they're closer to double.). Still they are very fast...I've got four loads going and it takes 30 minutes for them to wash and another 30 to dry. Even including folding time we should be out of here very quickly.

Ooo, now they're spinning! They go so fast; just about time to put them in the dryer.
Ah, here's Alli with my coffee. There's a Tim Horton's in the plaza - convenient, no?

Back in a minute...have to throw the clothes into a dryer.

Back. I have three dryers going and about 30 minutes to wait. Alli and I are debating whether we should do our folding here or take it home and do it there. I think we should do it here because there's lots of room to spread out and fold but Alli is threatening to wave my "mom-pants" (aka my underpants) around to embarass me. She is an evil child.

There were only two other patrons whe we got here but another half dozen or so folks have come in since then. It's noticably warmer in here now, from all the machines that are going I suppose.

I notice that they also offer laundry service here as well. They will wash fold and dry your laundry for $1.00 per pound. I think I would trust the man here to do that. He has been very helpful - not just to me but to everyone here - he obviously takes his work seriously. I admire that. Let's face it, working in a landromat is not exactly the most glamourous job ever, but this man does it with dignity and obviously takes pride in doing the best job he can. I don't know if he is a Christian but he is a fine example of Colossians 3:?? (Sorry don't know the exact verse or the exact words): "Whatever you do, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Well, I took a break to fold the laundry - can't do that and type at the same time - so I'm off to go home now. Thanks for passing the time with me. Pictures to follow!

Been a while since I meme'd

Thursday's Child tagged me for this probably a week ago. I'm really awful for remembering when I've been tagged and sure enough I forgot about this one until I saw another blogger who remembered and it reminded me.

What was I doing ten years ago?
Oh my. Why do they have to ask the hard question first? Hmm. Ten years ago was 1998, so I was at home with the kids. It would have just been Alli at home with me for half days because she would have been in kindergarten. The boys would have been in school all day. I remember I listened to a lot of talk radio during that time, Dr. Laura in particular. I didn't know about Issues back then. *grin*

5 Things on my to-do list:
#1 Call the repairman to fix the washing machine
#2 Take Alli to get her Social Insurance Number
#3 Menu planning and grocery shopping
#4 Take a few loads of laundry to the laundromat
#5 Clean the pool, then swim

What would I do if I were a billionaire?
Well, honestly, the first thing I would probably do is move. Or at least, I'd buy a second home somewhere warm and live there for the winter. I'm leaning towards North Carolina. I have really fallen in love with it! It's really a beautiful state. (Plus they have the coolest accent there. And, of course, Debbie and her family are there! )

Places I have lived:
I have only ever lived in Kitchener-Waterloo. First with my parents, then with my husband. I've never lived on my own though.

Jobs I've Had:
I've worked as a restaurant manager at Burger King, Pizza Hut, my in-law's restaurant and finally I bought my own place, called "Betty...Pick Up!" My best friend and I bought it together and we named it after an episode of Laverne and Shirley where the girls go work in a diner. Shirley is waitressing and Laverne is short-ordering and every time Laverne puts an order up, she calls out "Betty, pick up!" to Shirley, which of course drives Shirley nuts. I'll let you guess whether I was Laverne or Shirley.)

I've done temp work as a secretary/receptionist etc.

I've worked in the QA department at NCR, testing the software and hardware in bank machines. Not ATMs but the big, long cheque readers/sorters that they use in the bank clearing houses.

Later I worked for a company that wrote the software for those bank machines, but it was utterly coincidental. I didn't even know that's what they did until after I got the job. I was hired as an administrative assistant, but because I had experience in QA, they let me help with that sometimes too.

Now I work for an IT services company. I was hired to do admin, but because I've been around the tech industry for a while I've been able to help out in a (limited) tech support capacity too. Now I administer our antispam/mail hosting service and I handle all the software licensing issues. It's been interesting to learn how to do all that stuff. When you work for a small company you tend to wear a lot of hats, which I like. Most of all though, I consider my primary function to be making my boss's life easier.

6 people I'm tagging:
Oh, I don't know...would you be mad if I copped out and made it an open tag? I hate putting people on the spot...

Show Your Cow Spirit

If you are a cow lover (and let's be honest, who isn't?) then tomorrow your big day.

It just so happens that tomorrow, Friday July 11th, is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. And no one is more excited about it than Family Murphy.

The Murphy clan will be enthusiastic partipants tomorrow: dressing like cows; getting free chicken. Free chicken, people!

Alas, there are no Chick-Fil-A's in Canada so no free chicken for me. However, I will be with you in spirit, embracing my inner cow.

If you should have a hankering for chicken tomorrow (or just a hankering to dress up like a cow), then be a sport and get some pics, ok? And if you were inclined to share those pics on your blog, well then be sure to stop by the Family Murphy blog and and add your post to the Mr. Linky you'll find there. I'm hoping for lots of pictures, personally.

Now, I don't know if you guys have this in the US, but in Canada, tomorrow is Free Slurpee Day at 7-11. (On July 11, get it?) They're giving away 1000 Slurpees at each store. Plus, you don't have to dress up like a cow to get one. Free Slurpees, people!

Since we DO have 7-11 around here, tomorrow free sweet Slurpee goodness shall be mine! If we had a Chick-Fil-A around here, I could hit them both on the way home from work and I wouldn't have to do anything for dinner. That would be really sweet.

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

tidbits

I'm sorry everyone. I do not have a meatball recipe to share. I make them different every time.

~ ~ ~

I wish my camera was working! Just a few blocks from my house, the Mennonite farmers are plowing their fields with their old farm implements and preparing their fields for planting. Today I saw a little Mennonite boy, dressed in a button down shirt with suspenders, playing in the apple orchard while two ladies wearing long sleeved dresses and black bonnets sat under a tree doing some needlework. Peaceful.

~ ~ ~

I have to have some tests for a health problem I've been having. I covet your prayers.

~ ~ ~

Here's a post by Beth (Kuwaiti Beth) that I really enjoyed. Very insightful. (And with a very Lutheran perspective.)

~ ~ ~

My husband came home yesterday with 2 new-to-us bicycles! A client of his wanted to get rid of them and offered them to my husband - for free! Mine needs air in the tires and some WD-40 on the chain. I haven't ridden a bike in about 10 years so I am hoping not to embarrass myself.

~ ~ ~

I have some plans this for this summner that I am dying to share, but I can't yet. And, no, this time it does not involve a trip to North Carolina :) Hoping to let everyone in on the secret soon though!

I got a promotion

Yesterday morning we had a team meeting here at work. We were discussing our dispatch portal and how we could make better use of it to schedule our resources. My boss John had the program open on his laptop and used the projector to put it up on the screen for everyone to see. He was pointing out that each person's schedule for the day showed up in the portal beside their name. Under each name is their job position within the company.

I noticed that my job position said "Office Manager". Now, I've never really liked that title. I don't know, it sounds kinda stuffy and self-important to me. So at the end of the meeting I spoke up and asked if we could change my title from Office "Manager" to something else.

"What would you like to change it to?" my boss wondered.

"I don't know," I replied. "Maybe 'administrator'?"

Then there was some good natured discussion about what my title should be. In a small company like this everybody wears several hats and my job duties are all across the board. I do some administrative work, some sales and marketing, and some technical stuff. It's hard to find a single word that encompasses all that I do.

So my boss says, "I know!" and clicks open the page to edit our personal information. He quickly typed a few keys and then this flashed up on the board:

(Can you see that? It says "Office Queen".)

"Bow before me and tremble," I said and adjourned the meeting.

Because I didn't have enough excitement in my life...

What a week!


First off, I was in a minor car accident. No one was badly hurt and there was not much damage to either car, but enough that it will have to go through insurance. And yes, it was my fault. Dang. At first I was ok, but later in the day my back hurt quite a bit and then my arm started up again. The back resolved overnight, but the arm is still bothering me. Yay.


My Oma is back in the hospital. She has not been following her doctors orders and she has reinfected her feet. Her surgeon readmitted her to the hospital for possible emergency amputation of her toes, but they have since been able to stabilize her. But she obviously can't go back home alone so my folks will have to make some other arrangement. If they put her in a home she will be furious with them, but I honestly don't see what other choice they have. She doesn't take her meds and she been putting Noxema (of all things!) on her toes and that is how she reinfected herself. The situation is both frightening and infuriating.


Have you heard about the winter storm that came through this weekend? It started Friday around dinner time and didn't let up until after midnight Saturday night. It got so bad that we got a phone call saying church was cancelled - that has NEVER happened before. Even the buses and taxis stopped running. A friend of Kirk's got stranded a the university (University of Waterloo is just a few miles from us) and called us. His folks were out of town and the university was closing their doors. With the buses and taxis not running he was stranded in the snowstorm! We had told him before if he ever got stuck there to give us a call...so he did. Ken braved the snow and drove over to get him and he stayed the night with us. He is almost like a third son to us - he and Kirk met in grade 6 and have remained close friends - so an impromptu sleepover is nothing out of the ordinary.


We have the distinction of receiving the second highest amount of snowfall - 40 cm - in the country. Here is a picture:



I am really, really tired of snow. And it's 11 days until spring for goodness sake!


We've also been working on preparations for the big 50th anniversary party for my inlaws coming up next month. Their actual anniversary was in January, but they left for Florida immediately New Years so the party will be next month after they return. We've rented a hall because we're expecting 150 people to show up. Anyways, I've been working with the caterers and out shopping for decorations etc. It's getting exciting as the day draws closer!

I've also been quite busy at work. I am working on a rather large software sales opportunity - it's a company that needs 70 licenses of Office 2007 Professional Edition. I have been putting my newly acquired software licensing training to good use working out a program for them! We meet with the client on Tuesday to present the proposal. I'm a bit nervous because this is the first time I've had to go on a sales call. I don't know how my husband does it day in and day out.

All in all, an eventful week. How was yours?

A quickie

Woke up this morning and the pain in my arm is gone! SO thankful for this, it was really wearing on me.

Kirk is up and around and seems to be back to normal. We can rule out a concussion - again, SO thankful.

Saw that Debbie updated her blog - that sure made me smile!

Please, don't think I'm crazy, but we've taken in another stray. A friend of Brent's who lives down the street with his grandparents (his own parents are unfit) is staying with us until Monday. He got into an argument with his grandma earlier this week and in a fit of anger left home. Then, reality set in. With no place to go, he came to us and asked us if he could stay "for a few days". We allowed him to stay as long as he promised to go patch it up with his grandma by Monday. (We informed his grandparents of our agreement, so they knew where he was and that we were working towards getting him home.) Yesterday he went to talk to them and worked it out. He'll be going back tomorrow night. Sigh, *kids.* But, to be honest with you, I enjoy having a houseful. There's lots of drama, yes, but I don't know...having them around makes me happy.

The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated

Ahem. Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it? I had to check to see the last time I posted and it was back in December. Yikes, time flies when you're sick, doesn't it?

Actually, I've been back on my feet since New Years Day and we had a great New Years party that day. It is a tradition in my mom's family to have a New Years Day celebration and in recent years we've been having it at our place. We had a sit down dinner for 25! (Yes, I am bragging, *smile* because for a while I was afraid we'd have to either order pizza for our guests or just cancel the whole thing, but thankfully I recovered in time to be an unsick hostess.) I didn't have to do all that much anyways; my dad cooked a big, huge ham and brought it over and I made a bunch of casserole type side dishes ahead of time and all we had to do was heat 'em up in the oven. My Aunt Trudy was a HUGE help to me. This was her first time ever to my home - she lives in Australia and though she visits a couple of times a year she always stays with my folks or my Oma. It was a real pleasure to have an entire day with her and I enjoyed her visit immensely.


So. Does anyone besides me still have their Christmas decorations up? No? Just wondering...


Today I had to go to "Software Licensing Bootcamp" at Microsoft in Toronto. Oh man, I wish I had brought my camera! There was this one guy sitting across from me who looked just like Bill Gates! It was so funny. Actually, I know it's stereotypical, but there were a lot of geeky looking guys there. And about 95% of the participants were male - I was one of only a handful of women. Anyways, now I have to do some studying and write a Microsoft exam and then I will be "Microsoft Certified" as a licensing specialist. Are you impressed? (rolling eyes)


So did I tell you all that I am planning to meet a blog friend next weekend? You'll have to guess who it is - and it's not Debbie this time. I'm not sure if she wants it public or not. I'll let ya know.


Oh yeah. I totally missed my two year-blogging anniversary on Boxing Day (January 26th for you non-Brits/Colonials). Are you supposed to do something special for your 2 year anniversary? A meme or something?

Oh, speaking of memes, Dapoppins tagged me for one. I have to list 5 Material Wishes and 5 Spiritual Wishes. Then I have to tag 5 others. I think I might skip the tag others part since I'm kinda late doing this, but here are my wishes:

Material Wishlist

1. World peace, of course.

2. An unlimited supply of chocolate, ice cream and pastries (the good stuff too - not the cheap no-name brand stuff, but Lindt chocolate and Ben and Jerry's ice cream and Krispy Kremes hot out of the oven!).

3. A turbo-metabolism so I don't gain weight from all the chocolate, ice cream and donuts.

4. My bed is getting a bit lumpy, so I'm gonna say a new mattress. Preferably one with a pillow-top. In a beachside condo. Somewhere tropical. You know, just the basics.

5. A hopped-up, pimped-out laptop with all the bells and whistles and Internet service right on the backbone.

Spiritual Wishlist

1. World peace, of course. (Ok, now I'm just being silly.)

2. A Bible, translated into every language known, in the hands of every person on earth.

3. The Holy Spirit, working faith in the hearts of each of those people.

4. That the Lord would come.

5. That I may worship at the throne of the Lamb, forever.

If you'd like to do this meme, please go ahead.

I'm off to bed now, because clearly I need some sleep!

Everyone wearing a goofy hat say "cheese"!

Odds and ends

I'm doing something I almost never do - I'm blogging from work. I am waiting for a call to come in so I am taking a "coffee break" and typing as fast as I can!

Thank you everybody for your encouraging words re: the situation with Hope. Sara brings up a very good point, one that I had not thought of re: the kids "playing house" emotionally. I need to think this through more. In case anyone had any doubts, parenting teens is HARD! Still, I am coming to appreciate how blessed our family truly is - we simply don't have the parent-child conflicts that so many of our friends have. I LIKE my kids and we all get along well.

I am getting SO excited about leaving for vacation on Thursday! Just 2 more sleeps! I'm not sure how much I'll be around here for the next two weeks - I have a lot to do yet to finish packing etc. and we will not have internet access while we are away. I'll be living "offline"!

I am so spoiled! Guess what my boss got me yesterday? A brand new HP 2o inch widescreen pivoting LCD monitor! It is DA BOMB! I love it. I played with it all afternoon yesterday, checking out the features. Does that make me a geek?

Our family (me, hubby and the kids) decided not to give each other Christmas gifts this year. There's really nothing we want or need so we are each coming up with an idea to give something (time, talent or treasure) where we see a need. Each will write out their idea, with as many details (where, when, who, etc.) as possible and wrap it up in a box. Then we will open them up Christmas Eve. I am more excited about seeing what the others have come up with than I ever could be about another gift under the tree.

Oh! Break time's over. Gotta go. Catch you later!

If you came to visit me

In just 3 weeks I will be leaving for our family vacation, and as you may know, one of the most anticipated parts of the trip will be stopping to meet with Debbie and her family on our way home. I find myself thinking about it more and more as the time gets nearer. I also find myself thinking how neat it would be to one day be able to play hostess for Debbie. Or Sara. Or Beth, or Marilee, or Denise, or...oh heck, any of you!

If you came to visit me, I would really make it worth your while.

I would make up a bed with the softest pillows and the comfy-est blankets for you.

I would make sure that I had your favourite tea or coffee and I would bake some of my best butter oatmeal cookies.

I'd pick up fresh flowers for the occasion.

I would give you the BIGGEST hug when you arrived.

I would let you have the best seat on the couch - at the end that doesn't sag.

I would take you to all the little towns and villages out here in "Mennonite Country" so you can see for yourself how pretty the farms are and how industrious the people are. I would take you to the farmer's market in nearby St. Jacobs and let you pick out some local products to sample. I'd take you up to St. Agatha - not too far away, maybe a 15 minute drive - to Kennedy's for an authentic Waterloo County meal of rolled ribs, sauerkraut, pig tails, hot potato salad and apple strudel for dessert.

I would give you a crash course in the liturgy (though you would be surprised to find how familiar the words are - it is composed of Scripture you know) and take you to church with me where we would join together with all the saints on earth and in heaven to give praise to the Lord Almighty, who saved us and made us Sisters.

I would keep you up late into the night talking to you, getting to know you inside and out and sharing my heart with you because some things just can't be shared online, though I am dying to share them.

I would let you sleep in and when you woke up we'd have a leisurely breakfast out on the porch. (Assuming, you know, it's not snowing *grin*)

I would take all kinds of pictures of you and I would make others (our spouses, our kids, random passers-by) take pictures of us making goofy faces and silly smiles!

I would take you to see the sights: Niagara Falls is barely a two hour drive and the CN Tower is an hour away in Toronto.

I would introduce to you to my mom, who is a lovely, lovely lady. You would like her.

I would play lots of praise and worship music; I would play it loud and we could make a joyful noise together!

I would kneel beside you in prayer.

If you came to visit me I would cherish every single second of our time together and when the time came for you to go I would cry and promise to come visit you.

Because that's what friends do.

Ugh.

The ketchup post

If you say "catch up" real fast, it comes out sounding like "ketchup". Get it? No? Well never mind then...

Just to catch you all up on what's going on in my world:

• Talked to Debbie on the phone on Monday night. Oh my! I was so excited, I kept having to pinch myself! We are making plans to meet in December as our family passes through Debbie's home town on our way back from vacation. I. Am. SO. Excited!! It will be a whirlwind stop, but we are determined that we are going to worship together at her home church. According to Debbie it's a little country church - it sounds charming, doesn't it? Debbie sounds just like I thought she would too. She has a very happy, friendly, outgoing voice and she laughs a lot too. That didn't surprise me, because in my head that's how she sounded. The only thing that was different is I forgot that being from the South she would have a Southern accent! Isn't that silly? I guess to her I have a Northern accent. Anyways, it was so neat to speak to her and I can't wait to meet her family.

• I don't know what it's been like where you are, but the weather has been really weird here. We've had record high temperatures this September. Yesterday it was 31 degrees (that's around 90) and really humid - it was like a mid-summer day. It's so odd being out in shorts and a tank top, sweating like crazy - and having to rake the falling leaves!!! Still, I'm not complaining. Any day I can wear shorts is a good day to me, *smile*.

• About a week ago, my son Brent came home with bleached blond hair. He had a friend help him do it. I was not aware that he was going to do it, but I wasn't all that surprised - he's always been fascinated by people who use their bodies to make a statement - you know, tattoos, body piercing, freaky hair, that kind of stuff. He knows that I don't like that kind of thing - to me the "statement" is a big middle finger to the world - so I'd rather he not do it. On the other hand, my husband has something like 40 tattoos on his body (which he did when he was a teenager) and even though he's told the kids how much he regrets ever doing them, I think there's kind of a mixed message there. Anyways, I tried not to make too much of a deal out of the blond hair, reminding myself that I always said I wouldn't "sweat the small stuff". Except then on Monday Brent came home with purple hair. Then I freaked. That's just a bit too counter-culture for me. We have had to forbid all future hair colouring until age 18. And tattooing and body piercing as well, in case there was any confusion. Sigh. In the meantime his head looks like a big purple Easter egg. I'll have to get a picture and post it so you all can have a good chuckle. I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry, so I'm choosing to laugh!

• Well, I'm watching TV again. I don't know what it is, every fall I turn into a slug and start turning on the TV after dinner. It's not like I actually have time to watch television at night, but I keep getting sucked in. The last couple of years it has been Lost on Wednesdays. This year it is Heroes. My son Kirk bought the DVD of season one over the summer and told us that we should watch it, he thought we'd really like it. So we did, and now we are addicted! It is on Mondays at 9 pm, so don't try to call me during that time - I'll be glued to the tv. I think I'm going to have to give up Lost though. I have to exercise some discipline after all. (Sidebar: Speaking of TV, when I was newly married I got into the habit of watching soap operas during the day - I watched them for quite a few years before God convicted me of it. In "obedience" I stopped watching them...but I started buying and reading Soap Opera Digest magazine instead! Yes, really. Eventually I gave the magazine up as well - I'm a slow learner I guess, but a thankful-for-grace learner too.)

• Hey, have you seen the Canadian Loonie lately?? It's practically par with the US greenback. Now is the time to invite me for a visit, folks. There's so many places in the US that I haven't travelled to yet...

• After a lot of prayer and thought I have resigned my seat on the LC-C East District Department for Outreach. I really loved serving on that board, but I don't have the time to devote to it that I once did, so I resigned my seat when my 3 year term ended this month. I will continue to teach Sunday School at our church as God has confirmed that call for me. It doesn't always work out this way, but this is one of those times that I clearly see and hear His will for me. Having my service to Him confirmed brings such peace and I am thankful for that blessing.

• Last but not least, this weekend is Lutheran Open House weekend. It's a national initiative - something like 90% of the Lutheran churches in Canada are holding open houses this Saturday and Sunday with special events and special worship services planned. The idea is to invite our communities in to explore our facilities, programs and ministries and learn about our confession of faith. Hubby and I are Greeters this Sunday so I am looking forward, God willing, to seeing LOTS of new faces!

So, how was your week?

Read this!

Oh! Came across this post over at Pastor Cwirla's blog where he references a commentary on Romans written by Jon Grothe. Dr. Grothe was my New Testament prof - small world, huh? I thought it was neat seeing a reference to him, although I guess it's not surprising as he's a pretty well respected Lutheran professor. The guy is like a whole other kind of smart. Incredibly insightful. Anyways, if you've got a sec, take a peek. It's a short piece.

30 years tomorrow

My cousin Brad is a HUGE Elvis fan. He'll be remembering Elvis tomorrow for sure. I'm not sure why Brad likes Elvis so much; he was only 10 when Elvis died, so Elvis and his music couldn't have made that much of an impression on him. That doesn't seem to matter though. If you want to get along with my cousin, you don't dis' "the king".

When I was in high school there was this song by the Dead Kennedys called "Elvis is Dead". We used to sing it to Brad and it made him crazy. They were pretty rude lyrics, I have to admit. But it was so funny. They sang the song in an Elvis voice, to a rock-a-billy beat:

Elvis is dead.

Yeah, Elvis is dead.

The big, fat GUY

is dead, dead, DEAD.

Elvis is dead, Elvis is dead.

The big, fat goof is dead, dead, dead.

Well, Elvis may be dead, but his memory is alive and well in Collingwood, Ontario, where they have an annual Elvis Festival. It's an entire weekend of Elvis events; a lot of the events are centered around Elvis impersonators. The impersonations run the gamut from early hip-swinging bluegrass Elvis, to later sequined-jumpsuit, bloated, drug-addled Elvis. The whole thing just cracks me up.

I do remember when Elvis died though. I was pretty young and Elvis already seemed old to me. It's hard to believe that 30 years have passed, and I no longer think of Elvis as being "old" when he died. Pretty tragic, really. No matter what you think of his music, he was an incredibly talented guy.

I guess tomorrow I will be listening to Elvis music and wondering what might have been.

Things I forgot to tell you all

1. I am on VAY-CAY-SHUN this week!!!!

2. We have a new cat. His name is Fibby and he is about 8 years old. We took him in from the vicar's family who were unable to take him back home to New York. Up until now, we have always been a one-cat family, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Dexter, our resident cat, is quite put out by the new arrival, but despite his obvious jealousy it is going quite well so far. Fibby has been exploring his new surroundings and so far there has been no catfighting.

3. This year our pool water has been cloudy and grey right from day one. I couldn't figure it out and no amount of adjusting the chemicals and cleaning, filtering, vacuuming etc. made it better. About 2 weeks ago green algae began to grow. I finally had enough and emptied and cleaned the pool and started all over again. I have been monitoring the water vigilantly and now it is fine. Last night I was discussing it with my husband and I discovered that he (who had been taking care of the chlorine levels, etc. this year) had only been adding enough chemicals for a 10,000 L pool - ours is about 18,000 L. It's such a shame we wasted all that water.

4. Back in the spring I finally got around to decorating the living room and dining room. I meant to post some pics of the finished product but never got around to it. Here it is:

Living room - Before and After:

Dining room - Before and After:

5. My mom was nominated for Kitchener-Waterloo Woman of the Year. Woman of the Year is a HUGE deal around here. My mom, who has known about this nomination for a while now, mentioned it in passing last week. That's very typical of her - she is very modest and humble. She was nominated for the Community Service category for the work she does as the coordinator of a local school breakfast program. She's been running it for 8 years now. She's a bit embarrassed by all the attention.

I am off to the pool now!