Heard the funniest pun the other day. I needed milk for a nonfat cappacino, and I needed one of the sous chefs to open the fridge for me. I picked up a carton, and attached to it was another carton -- with no milk in it. Still sealed, guess some machine in a plant somewhere missed one. Anyway...I held it up to the cook and said "what on earth is this?" And he said, "looks like hole." Get it?

In a car wreck yesterday. $4,600 worth of damage to my car. Driving home from the wreck the hood of my car (which is no longer connected at the front) flew up and broke my windshield. Screwed up my back -- very hard to carry trays with fully loaded glasses. Have had 2 extra strength tylenol and 2 advil, still no pain relief. Ouch. Ouch Ouch OUCH

Had a date tonight...Jeremy took me to see Hello Dolly! at the PCPA theaterfest. He paid (wow!) and then bought me hot chocolate. I had a great time. The dancing was great, the singing sucked. After it was over, he walked me to my car...even though it was entirely on the opposite end of town than where he parked. That's it. It's final. I've become a Southern girl. Who would have thought that I would care? I happened to mention that Sweeny Todd (my favorite musical ever) is going to be in Santa Maria before I leave, and he has offered to take me! YAY! I've (nervously) offered to lend him my CD, so he can hear it before he goes. It's a little convoluded. I'll give it to him Sunday at work -- and then pray fervently that he'll only listen to it for my benifit. please.....

There is the most beautiful thing at the antique shop. It's a had carved wooden cross, about 3 feet high, with a beautiful Christ hanging on it -- carved out of a lighter colored wood. It was hanging on a door, but we took it down to display some old purses. It's hiding under the settee so no one will step on it, but she's planning on giving it to her son and his wife sometime. The same two people who are giving away her antiques away right and left. If I only had $480 to spend, I would buy it and bring it home. I don't think I could hang it in my apartment, although I'd love to. Another thought was to buy it for our youth room. Episcopals still put christ on the cross don't they? (hmm...maybe only catholics). Too bad -- it's wonderful!

Work was tense today. Not a bad day -- but Lynne (the owner) and Jayne (another older lady) were the only others on. Lynne was short tempered, and Jayne is a little....clumsy? clueless? I'm not sure what. She's the nicest lady alive, and she tries so hard to be helpful, but sometimes you just want to tell her to leave it alone and let someone else do it. She only has one spiel when anyone walks in the door way "Hi folks, lots of goodies to look at..big and small. If you have any questions we'll try to answer them for you." I found myself mouthing along this afternoon. I found myself getting frustrated with her "help" this afternoon, and then I realized, I will be just like her when I get old. I'm clumsy, and doggedly determined to do everything myself. When I'm older I'm sure I'll keep trying to be useful. And I'm sure I'll cause lots of younger people to shake their heads and wonder why I don't just go somewhere else and leave the work to the competent. So, keeping that in mind, I'm trying to treat her as a competent, and respect her as an elder. I'm ashamed to admit that I still got impatient a lot. One of her legs is an inch or two shorter than the other (the result of an airplane gangplank being removed while people were still on it). So she totters around the antique shop coming perilously close to falling on things. In fact she did fall down last week, breaking several lawn ornaments in the process, but mercifully not breaking her hip. Lynda launches tirades, wanting Lynn to not let her come back because next time she might seriously hurt herself, or break something more valuable. But, if I were in Jayne's place, I wouldn't want to be condescended to. I keep remembering the week that I danced a show on a broken foot because I was NOT going to lose the role. Well, anyway it's not my shop, and I don't have to make that decision. But I need to treat her with respect, even when I'm frustrated because I'm picking up something that she's knocked over for the dozenth time.

Time for an open forum for all of you out there. I walked the dog last night, and was thinking about Psalm 23 (thanks for the suggestion Teri) which is the only one I know front to back. Anyway. When I got to the last line "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" I started thinking about something C. S. Lewis had written in his Reflections on the Psalms. He reminds us that in our Christian application of Old Testament writings, we forget that the ancient Jews had no hope of "grace" as we consider it, and (and this had changed by the time Jesus was born) also had not yet begun to believe in "heaven." (or hell for that matter. They thought of an afterlife similar to the ancient Greeks) So, the above phrase must refer to this life, not the next one. I'm not trying to profound here -- I'm sure this thought has crossed everyone's mind. So, taken in the context that it was written, how does that phrase apply to your life? Aaron, Teri, Darryl, Drea -- lets hear it!

Nothing has been determined. Looks like Yakima for the moment, but they've been given a few more days to tell them definitly, although they have jobs. Dad will be teaching (I think) elementary music at Gilbert Elementary, and mother will be teaching SpEd at IKE. So...to pack, or not to pack. That is the question. ARRRRGGGGGhhhhh.

Well, today is the determining day. As of now, Dad has decided to move back to Yakima, lease a friends other house until either they decide to buy a house, or the current tenants are out of the one they own. The northern California job is supposed to call today at 3. The Christian academy is the best bet -- but the longest shot. They need a forth grade teacher now, but eventually they want to open a high school. My dad has his masters in curriculum development, and taught high school for 22 years. It would be perfect. They aren't meeting until Wednesday, which is too late -- he has to call Yakima back today. It would take a miracle. I'm holding out for one. 8 hours to go.......

My first work related injury...I cut my finger on the foil on a bottle of wine. Ouch -- sliced in up nicely. I don't think I have to report it officially. If, however, I contract tetanis or something, I can't make work pay for my medical expensis. I think I'll risk it. Too much paperwork

I finished Moll Flanders. It is the strangest book I've ever read. After countless lovers, a life as a professional and notorious thief, jail time (incidently, being writtin in the 17th century, they called inmates "penitentary birds" -- ever wonder how old that phrase is? There you go), a death sentence, and deportation to Virginia -- she meets up with one of her husbands (she had at least 3 living, one of whom they discovered to be her brother) in jail. After bribing the captain to set them free upon reaching America, they become plantation owners, repent completely, and live out the rest of their days in peace and prosperity. Very interesting. She makes a big point in prison that she was not repentant for what she had done, merely sorry that she was being punished. Only afterwards did she turn around, repent, and proceed to live the rest of her life on her ill-gotten goods. Hmmmmmm. I broke my cardinal rule and read the book AFTER I had seen the movie. The movie was good, but had (as usual) absolutely nothing to do with the original story. I may have to read the book again to decide if its worth keeping or not. It is the absolute antitheses of Tess of the Dubervilles.