Memorial Day

Pausing a moment to remember that Memorial Day weekend is about more than the cookout and trip to the beach...

Three spirit-crushing stains...

...and how to lift them.

So reads the title of a little blurb in May 2010's issue of Real Simple magazine. On page 210 they give tips for the following three "spirit-crushing stains," and--in the spirit of 'this is as good a place as any for me to file something'--I post them here for my (and possibly your) future reference.

Let's hope we actually never need them!

Courtesy of Real Simple magazine, May 2010 edition:

A GUEST SPILLED RED WINE ON YOUR WHITE SOFA

1) Immediately blot and reblot with a cool, damp sponge until no more color comes out. (You can do the rest after the guests leave.)

2) Spray with a mixture of equal parts water and 3% hydrogen peroxide (first test of colorfastness).

3) Let sit for a few minutes, then blot with a solution of one part white vinegar to three parts water. Blot again with a damp cloth. (Linen, silk, velvet, and wool sofas should be professionally cleaned.)

THE CAT PEED ON THE LIVING-ROOM RUG

1) Layer a few cotton cloths over the stain, cover with a plastic bag, and top with a couple of heavy books to soak up the liquid. Repeat until the cloths are no longer wetting through.

2) Apply an enzyme-based cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle ($8.50, drugstore.com), to an area twice as big as the stain.

3) Let sit for five minutes, then blot. Next, spray with equal parts white vinegar and water and let sit for 15 minutes; rinse with water and blot.

THE KIDS LEFT A PERMANENT MARKER SPOT ON A WOOD TABLE

1) Using a soft cloth, rub in a lemon oil-based furniture polish, going with the grain. Repeat.

2) Spot still there? Use a cotton swab to dab rubbing alcohol onto the stain; rub with a cloth.

3) Wait five minutes; blot and repeat. Follow with furniture polish to restore moisture to the wood.

I really love this magazine! To get your own free preview issue, go here.

Kids bowl free!

Kids bowl free all summer!

For a one-time fee of $24.95, up to four adult family members may join them... two games per day, any and every day.

Of course, standard shoe rental rates apply -- and there are the snacks and food which are screaming at them from the snack bar -- but the bowling itself is free.

We haven't ever taken our kids bowling, but it could be fun to show them that they aren't quite as pro as Wii Bowling might make them think they are. I remember being a kid and trying to make that stupid ball hit those stupid pins without rolling into that stupid gutter.

Everyone should have to live through that. It is like learning to hit that stupid softball.... trying to get back upright on a flipped jet ski when there are two of you... learning to stay up while parasailing... trying to ride your bike with your hands down by your sides... figuring out how to catch the wave and ride the boogie board all the way to the shore... mastering Heelys... finding that sweet spot on the backboard so the ball actually goes into the net every time...

This list is endless. What did you have a hard time mastering, but finally got it? Or didn't - like me with the bowling thing - but had a lot of fun trying?

[http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/amf.php]

Do we really have time not to?

As my kids have gotten older and their scholastic workloads have gotten heavier, it has gotten increasingly difficult to fit into their homeschool days all the things I want them to be able to do. I have long said that overworking our students is a notorious problem of us homeschoolers, who don't have the built-in parameters and time limits of the typical public or private school day.

Even if you get special permission from the school for your child to skip lunch ("Now that's a healthy practice for efficient learning," she says sarcastically), high school students these days typically can only fit in between five and six courses per year, no matter how full they stuff their schedules. Once you've covered the "requisite four" of English/language arts, math, science, and history/social studies, this leaves only 1-2 spots for electives. All electives.

The foreign language required for 2-3 years to be able to graduate, and recommended for 4-5 years for college-bound students, usually takes spot five. This typically leaves one more spot, if you're not willing to stop eating lunch in order to take more classes.

One more spot. One.

Band? Art? Drama? Chorus? Home economics or "shop" (insert whatever PC terms they're using in any given year for these decidedly non-PC, old-school names)? How about the less traditional, specialized electives like marketing? fashion design? The specialized academies like the School for the Arts? legal academy? math and science academy? international baccalaureate programs? AP coursework? Dual-enrollment?

It is enough to make your head spin. And there aren't enough hours in the public school day to fit in all the things you might want to study. (As I said earlier, we homeschoolers have to make sure we don't overload our students, who have more scholastic time on their hands during our time-efficient days and who have no built-in parameters as to the number of courses they may take in a given year! But that is a subject for another post.)

This post is about the not-so-obvious omission from the list... so neglected these days by most high school students as to be completely void from most teens' scholastic days... Did you even notice its absence? PE. Physical education. Getting outside. "Working out."

These things are known to be crucial to our health, both physically and emotionally. They strengthen our bodies and our minds. They help us burn stress. They help us think better.

And yet they've been entirely eliminated from most high school students' days. They are no longer "required" subjects, and as such are not taken. Who has time with all those other things scrambling for the spot?

I just read an interesting article that has me thankful that my kids are still overloaded with PE in their days. Their grandfather, a real workout buff even in his sixties, faithfully comes over three times a week and works them out, hard, for about an hour. Recently I've pledged to join them. Why? Because as much as I've thought I need the time that they're occupied elsewhere for my teaching and housekeeping duties, I need the physical activity more. Just like they do, I need to burn some calories and stress and get moving in order to be more productive and fruitful throughout the rest of my day.

The next question raised by this article is whether we need to move it earlier in our day...

In His Pocket

My offering for this month's writing prompt at Poets Online.
You were to write from the perspective of a famous person's animal. I had a fun time with it.

IN HIS POCKET

I am famous, in a round-about way,
a fact that doesn’t square
with your knowledge
or your understanding
or your perceptions
about anything.

The things you think you know,
people told you,
or maybe you just saw them
from your own angle
and misunderstood.
Misinterpreted.

His hand in his vest,
for instance.

Baroque gentility from
a political genius.
Or so he thought.
As did you.
Unless you thought at all.
Then you would have called him a monster
with an ever-expanding empire.

Monstrous genius.
Brilliant monstrosity.

(Then, in the end,
after all the fanfare,
fighting every country you can find,
in wars named after you,
you’re known only for being short
with your hand in your vest.)

Gentility and war.
Such unusual bedfellows.

Like he and I.

The monster 
and the lizard in his pocket.

© 2010 Laurie Sitterding

The Firecrackers

Okay, so maybe I have too much time on my hands during this Spring Break, but this video was amazing, and I watched it from start to finish - twice!



These girls are a jump rope performance group of 4th-8th graders known as "The Firecrackers." (Seriously... this footage is from a US Naval Academy performance on April 3, 2009, and I thought they were college cheerleaders or something. Some of these girls are nine or ten years old?!!)

Amazing! And I can barely flip the thing over my head and jump out of the way more than twice...

A subtle call to deliberateness..

"A nice reminder of how valuable time is," creator Alan Dye has said of this screen-saver from Real Simple magazine. "The clock's numbers fade as the hand sweeps over them," notes the acclaimed graphic designer of his creation.

I just say it is really cool-looking... and I find that seeing it in motion is an ever-so-subtle call to deliberateness. Time is marching on!

Enjoy.

Unplugged

It is Friday, and that means it is the day that my friend Chris comes to help us with our "clean sweep." (See my previous post for more information about that.)

Basically, this means I don't have much time for Blogging this morning... but I figured I'd share a tip I read in this month's issue of Real Simple magazine. (This subscription was also a suggestion from my friend Chris, as she's found this magazine full of wonderful tips for keeping life streamlined, efficient, and free, while still taking thought for beautiful. I like it.)

At any rate, this month they were speaking of ways to make the most of family time in this crazy busy, electronic world of ours. One woman's suggestion? She and her family take one weekend a month and go "unplugged."

They make no social engagements. They watch no television, play no video games, skip the movies. They spend the time deliberately doing all those wonderful things that get lost in the normal busy-ness of life, even on weekends... they go outside to play together. They go hiking. Swimming. Boating. Fishing. They pull out the board games. Card games. Puzzles. They cook and eat together. They grill out. They play croquet. Badminton. Spontaneous kickball with the neighbors. They garden. They plant flowers. They take a bike ride together.

Anyway, you get the picture. To me, the idea sounds wonderful.

And - get this - when we went to plan it, we found only ONE option left - during the next two months - where the weekend was not already full of other plans and obligations!

So, we'll see how it goes. It sounds really wonderful to me.

"And I love her back..."

We are in the middle of a huge house reorganization project. I mean massive. It is as if we are moving out of our house and moving back in. I am not exaggerating. There are boxes and odd pieces of furniture and random pieces of artwork all over the floors and hallways and everywhere. Every weekend we take bags and boxes full of discarded household items and clothing to the thrift stores. We throw away multiple bags of trash every Friday. And Saturday.

It is wonderfully freeing, and simultaneously both incredibly exhilarating and exhausting.

I am learning so many things, about myself and about my husband and about my children and about the Lord. So many important lessons... but that's for another time, in another post.

For today, I am just shamelessly looking for a place to save the "letter" I just received from my sweet little OG.

Part of the reorganization involves getting rid of all the myriad of half-functional computers scattered about the house and consolidating down to one family desktop, downstairs in the newly-created "study." Each of my children had to scour through documents and papers and all such stuff on the upstairs computers, figuring out what to save and what to "trash," literally.

Today I found an email in my inbox that said, "I don't know when I wrote this, but you can have it." This is what it said:

I love my mom for so many reasons that I could not even write them all down. But, for a contest, I guess I might be able to capture the seven most important reasons that I love her.

1:) She stays home and home schools me.

2:) She buys everything I need to become smart and healthy.

3:) She is always there for me.

4:) She loves everything I make her.

5:) She cares about my thoughts and intentions.

6:) She thinks everything I draw is a masterpiece.

7:) Lastly, she loves me very much.

And I love her back.

Pain, the ER, and other yucky things...

The emergency room is probably very good in emergency situations. However, in "maybe emergency" situations, or in "not quite emergency" situations, or in "we're not sure if it is an emergency or not" situations, they're generally less helpful than you might hope.

They're good at what they do; however, they're not so good at figuring out what's wrong with you if you're not about to drop dead from a heart attack.

It is Monday morning, following a very interesting weekend involving - yes - the emergency room. iivo and I spent all day Friday in both the ER and the doctor's office. The details of what has transpired so far, and of what is currently going on (as much as we know) are below, for those of you who care to read about such things.

As for my part, typing it all out, now that I have a moment, will be helpful for my processing of the whole thing, and for my ability to accurately remember details as more time passes.

I am quite certain no one in the world will ever actually read this post in its entirety, but here it is, blow-by-blow:

WEDNESDAY morning - iivo and I were awakened by EV's calling to us from her bedroom, "Mom, I can't move my neck." She awakened with severe stiffness and pain in her neck, and a rope-like band of muscle tightness running down the right side of her neck. We did some massage, ice, heat, soaking in a warm tub, and ibuprofen, and she basically took it easy that day, wearing a neck brace for support and to prevent movement, which was painful. That night she slept in our bed with me so as to have the better mattress support and to keep her from rolling into a weird position while sleeping. iivo slept in her room.

THURSDAY - EV attended classes with us at our homeschool co-op, but needed the ibuprofen all day to keep full range of motion and to be without pain. She slept - with the support roll in her pillow - in our bed with me again that night, and iivo again slept in her room.

FRIDAY morning - iivo awakened at 4:00 am with chest pains and difficulty breathing. He went to the bathroom, then spent some time trying to stretch and move about and get into different positions to alleviate the pain, to no avail. He came into the room where EV and I were sleeping to awaken me about 4:30. We gave him four low-dose aspirins to chew, then got online and researched about his symptoms, concluding after several trips through several "symptom checker" checklists, that we really should go the emergency room, just in case. We took the dogs out, put them back in their crates, left the kids a note, and I drove iivo to the ER at about 5:00.

At the ER, they took us to an evaluation room. They put in an iv line to draw blood and get base-level readings at about 5:15. (They want to check blood levels initially, and then again six hours later, since by six hours after the onset of pain, certain blood levels will be elevated in a cardiac emergency situation.) They then hooked iivo up to a bunch of monitors - heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, etc. - and also did an EKG.

Soon after that they took him for a chest x-ray. I stayed in the room. They brought him back in a few minutes, but about a minute after the radiologist left from having wheeled him back, iivo declared, "I'm going to throw up."

"What?! Why didn't you tell the nurse before she left?"

"She was just a radiologist."

"Well, she might at least have known where a bag is, so you don't puke all over yourself!"

As I looked around the room for a barf bag, iivo's alarm monitors went off. I turned around, and iivo was a chalky shade of greyish tan (including his lips, which were the exact same color as his face). Needless to say, I was a little freaked out and surprised that no one was coming into the room to check on him. I went out into the hall to the nurses' station, asking, "Do we need to be concerned about those alarms going off?"

"Yeah, we're watching it," they said, staring at their screen at the nurses' station.

I indicated that iivo had said he was going to throw up, and a nurse sighed deeply and returned, irritated, to the room with me. She immediately walked over to turn off the sound portion of the alarm (wouldn't want the obnoxious wife coming out anymore, you know), then turned around and caught her first glimpse of iivo, who was still ashen and yellow-looking.

"OH!" she exclaimed, then said, "Just a minute!" and rushed from the room.

Hmmmm. Novel idea, to actually look at the patient, instead of just the patient's monitor screen at your nurses' station.

She returned with a doctor, and they did whatever-they-do for a while until he was normal-looking again. The obnoxious wife - that's me - was keeping an eye on the (silenced) alarm screen during all this, so I know that his heart rate dropped into the 30's, and his blood pressure into the 50's, during all this.

After this, they decided that the plan they had had - iv fluids and some nitrogylcerine under the tongue to see if that alleviated some of the chest pain - was unwise, since nitroglycerine will cause a lot of blood vessels everywhere to open up, a course of action unwise in someone barely hanging on to a normal blood pressure. So they simply got him comfortable (a scenario only possible in an upright position in the bed, and in which "comfortable" is loosely defined as able to breathe - however shallowly - without turning blue and able to manage the pain without wincing, grimacing, or actively crying, as long as I stay absolutely still.)

This "comfortable" waiting continued for four more hours, while they waited for it to be time to take the second blood draw. This second blood draw was normal, in that it did not have elevated levels of whatever-they-look-for, which indicate a heart attack.

The next course of action in the let's-eliminate-the-possibility-of-heart-attack protocol was to take him for a stress test. Yes, as in on the treadmill. So they got iivo up, made him put on his tennis shoes, and wheeled him away in a wheelchair. (I was not allowed to accompany him.)

When he got there, they indicated to him that they wanted him to get his heart rate up to 178. He indicated, in his usual humor, "Today is not the day for that, fellas... How about I just start out by walking without passing out?"

He walked - with the treadmill at an incline - until his heart rate was up to 150, then indicated that he couldn't continue. As soon as he stopped, he was very woozy and dizzy and lightheaded, couldn't really breathe, and was holding his very tight, painful chest. So the stress-test guys gave him some nitroglycerine - you know, the nitroglycerine he wasn't supposed to have - and wheeled him back down to his room.

As soon as he was brought back in, he had another turn-bluish-tan/sweat-profusely-and-be-unable-to-breathe episode, which the nurses handled by elevating his feet and dropping his head (which had always made him unable to breathe since 4:00 that morning) and patting him with wet cloths.

He was not yet hooked back up to his monitors, so I don't know what his blood pressure and heart rate actually did, but he went "greyish-white-without-lips" again.

I suggested they might raise the head of his bed, since being flat had made him go into breathing spasms since the beginning. Eventually they were able to get him a little better stabilized. At some point during all this, it came out that he'd been given nitroglycerine, which the nurses hadn't even realized.

{Really. At times, it was like watching a parody of a circus show.}

We were grateful, however, that the stress test, however wimpy for my run-several-miles-a-day husband, indicated that his heart was fine, and that he was not having, nor about to have, a heart attack.

So what was causing the pain and inability to breathe? "We're not sure. You'll have to follow up with your regular doctor."

"You mean, you have no idea what is wrong, except that it isn't a heart attack?" (Bear in mind that we've been there nearly twelve hours by now.)

"Well, at this point, there are all kinds of possibilities. It could be gastro-instestinal."

[As in indigestion. Oh, please! The man can't breathe or move for the past twelve hours over acid reflux?!]

"All of these symptoms could be associated with anxiety."

[Well, okay, I guess so. But generally panic attacks come on suddenly and last for a few minutes, never for an entire day. And this began in his sleep, at 4:00 am on a day off from work, before a three-day weekend of vacation at his folks' house, generally a place of great fun and delicious food and no domestic responsibilities of any kind. An anxiety attack in this context seems unlikely, don't you think?]

"It could be muscular."

[Well, okay, maybe, but he lifts weights and exercises and runs every day. He's done nothing out of the ordinary. He can't stretch or press his chest in any way that finds anything remotely resembling a sore muscle. The pain feels like it is deep inside. But, okay, having seen my shoulder thing several years ago, and having known people with terribly debilitating back pain, I guess we can try to buy this one. A little.]

"It could be an infection."

[He has no symptoms of illness and no fever at all, however. That'd be kind of weird, but certainly not impossible.]

At any rate, they sent us home with the suggestion that we take Tylenol for pain and follow-up with our regular doctor.

As soon as we started walking down the hall to exit the ER, he got slow and hunched over with pain; as soon as we walked outside and hit the cold air, his breathing became super-shallow and labored and he went into weird spasms during which he couldn't really talk.

I brought him home, gave him some Tylenol, and tried to get him to lie down in bed. He could not do so without being unable to breathe. He was agitated. He couldn't be still. Together with his parents (who had decided to come to us from NC when it became clear that we could not, in fact, travel there, and who arrived here about ten minutes after we did), I decided that we should do the "follow-up with your regular doctor" now, before they closed at 7pm on a Friday evening.

The GP on duty at the doctors' office was not iivo's usual one, but he was good to work with. He decided that he wanted another chest x-ray, concerned that the continuing severity and constancy of the pain, as well as the difficulty breathing, warranted another check on his lungs. He indicated that this second x-ray was warranted as things in the lungs can deteriorate very quickly, and the other one was done earlier that morning. He did not like some of what he saw in iivo's lungs, noting that there were indications of abnormality in the lower lungs that he wanted looked at more closely. He ordered us back to the ER for a CT scan of the lungs. (They have the necessary equipment and - I assume - the necessary personnel after 7:00 pm on a Friday night). He also gave us a prescription for vicodin, indicating that we should take that to alleviate pain over the weekend if the CT scan ended up being clean.

We arrived back at the ER for a CT scan (our GP had made arrangements with Heather, he said). They checked us in again the exact same way, gave iivo wrist bands again, and sent us to a room. (This time our "room" was a little alcove off the hubbub of activity, with a little curtain separating us from everyone else.) I had to go to the bathroom, so I excused myself for a moment, only to come back to find them sticking all the little monitor things all over iivo again, preparing to give him an iv and do another EKG. "What are you doing?" I asked, and was told of their plan. "Why do you need to do that, since we're only here for a CT scan of his lungs?" I asked. "His doctor arranged it with Heather."

"Well, since you are back with continued chest pain, we need to..."

"No, we're not 'back with continued chest pain.' Yes, his chest still hurts, but you have already ruled out that the pain is cardiac in nature, so we don't need another EKG. You sent us away from here, assuring us it wasn't his heart, and told us to follow up with his GP. We have done so, and he's sent us here for a CT scan of his lungs, based on some concerns he has. We would like you to just do the CT scan, please."

"Well, we'd like to monitor things while you wait," she responded, continuing to hook iivo up to the same monitors he'd been hooked up to all day. "You can certainly refuse the EKG if you'd like."

"I don't think he needs another EKG right now, thank you. We'll just wait for the CT scan."

At this point, the phone rang, and I was giving the director of our homeschool co-op an update for the prayer chain, when I realized that they were preparing to give iivo another chest x-ray. I excused myself from the phone call and asked, again, "What are you doing?" Again I was told of their plan. "He doesn't need another chest x-ray; he's had two already today, the last one just minutes ago. Here are the films, which they sent with us."

"I know, but we would like to do our own."

"You don't need to do your own. You may look at these if you'd like to see what's going on in his lungs right now. His doctor evaluated these films and is concerned enough to want a CT scan of his lungs. You can compare your x-rays from earlier today to these, if you'd like, or look at the CT scan when it is completed, but he doesn't need another chest x-ray right now."

"But we generally do a chest x-ray..."

"Ma'am, I appreciate that you are just following your protocol. I really do. But we are not here for you to evaluate my husband's chest pain. You have already done that, and assured us it is not cardiac in nature. You have also indicated that out regular doctor would have to do any further evaluation. So we are simply here for the CT scan he's ordered, which we'd like to have completed as quickly as possible."

The doctor eventually came along and looked at the chest x-ray films we had right there; she expressed concern that it indicated that iivo's shallow breathing was making his lungs "sticky," which was going to lead to pneumonia if he didn't start breathing more deeply soon. They gave him some morphine intravenously (they got to put in that second iv after all, this time in his hand), to try to ease the pain enough for him to breathe; the pain did not go away, even with the morphine. Eventually they did do the CT scan, which required a larger iv port than the one they'd put in his hand, so he was stuck for the third time that day and equipped with an iv port in his arm to handle the dye they had to administer for the CT scan. That scan was clear as far as indicating any life-threatening blood clots. (Blood clots in the lungs cause similar symptoms as the ones iivo is having.)

They once again released us, with only our GP doctor's prescription for vicodin for pain. We once again hobbled out of the ER in pain, once again went into breathing spasms upon hitting the cold air outside, and once again went weak and woozy upon trying to lie down. Finally, iivo and I got into a hot shower, hoping to rinse off the germs of the day and open up his breathing a little. He said it felt easier to breathe while we were in there, but immediately began the difficult breathing as soon as we got out. He indicated he would throw up after one bite of food, so I made him some hot tea and propped him upright in bed. He was only able to fall asleep with hot packs on his chest and 750 mg of vicodin coursing through his veins.

SATURDAY morning was no better, and we had to give him vicodin as soon as he woke up and tried to move, to ease his breathing spasms. He spent the day in bed, taking the vicodin as soon as it was time for the next dose. He did get up to try to eat a little something a couple of times, and to show his face. We opened Christmas gifts with his parents, with iivo sitting up in a chair in the den.

By evening, we got to talk to our doctor friend Matt, who advised that he add ibuprofen to the mix, since it is anti-inflammatory. Vicodin apparently has no anti-inflammatory properties in and of itself.

At any rate, iivo went to bed early, having taken a couple of doses of ibuprofen in addition to the vicodin. At 2 am he awakened soaking wet (as in I-went-into-the-pool-in-my-pajamas-and-then-got-into-bed kind of wet), and after he had changed and we were trying to go back to sleep, he said, "You know, my chest doesn't hurt for the first time since this whole thing started." I reminded him that he was regularly consuming over a thousand milligrams of pain killers, so we should be thankful but cautious about assuming we're out of the woods. He took advantage of a few deep breaths, and went back to sleep. (I had a harder time getting back to sleep, of course!)

SUNDAY: iivo felt significantly better than he had, so we spent the day trying to convince him to take it easy and not overdo it, as he was still masking all pain with pain killers. He was still pretty wiped out and lethargic, but clearly happy not to be in such horrible pain. He spent the afternoon in bed, but sat with us at the dinner table while we ate a celebratory dinner with his parents and mine for my father's birthday, which is today. iivo took his last vicodin at 9 am this morning, and his last ibuprofen at 3 pm. By the time he went to bed around 9 pm, he was in pain again, though not as bad as before.

MONDAY: iivo slept well through the night, though we were awakened at 2 am by the dogs barking at some policemen parked outside our house. Again, he was able to return to sleep quickly, while I had to move to the den. His breathing was still shallow and noisy and labored, and I was having difficulty getting to sleep with that going on. He slept until after 8 this morning, and awakened sore but not in excruciating pain. (He had had no pain killers overnight.) His parents left this morning, as his father is getting sick with some upper respiratory infection. So today, my father and I worked chauffeur duty around my mother's cataract surgery, my children's dentist appointments, and iivo's follow-up doctor appointment.

Our regular GP saw us this afternoon at 2:45. He wanted to draw blood again and do another chest x-ray (yes, that's three x-rays in the last three days, together with a CT scan) and indicated that he believes that it is most likely - given his elevated white blood cell count - that iivo has an infection in his lungs which has led to partial lung collapse and will lead to pneumonia if he continues to breathe in a shallow manner. (Apparently all the blood at the hospital they drew was checked for cardiac enzymes and stuff, but not for elevated white cell count, indicating infection?! Unbelievable!) He is unsure if it is viral or bacterial, but he thinks iivo should take antibiotics, just in case. He also thinks he should continue taking the iboprofen for inflammation and pain, since it has helped.

Basically, he indicated that, with chest pain, you rule out what it isn't, then take your best guess about what it is. We may never know for sure. And, as long as it goes away and doesn't return, that's okay, he says.

It is a little maddening to me, but I am glad that iivo is feeling somewhat better now. I would like to know for sure what was causing such significant pain and inability to function or breathe. But for now, steady progress toward improvement and feeling better will do.

That, and an early bedtime.

Computer Cretins, Unite!

Okay, so maybe most people already know this, but I decided to share this with any fellow computer cretins who sometimes have frustrating times with their printers but don't know it yet.

(That, and the fact that this is the handiest way I can think of to avoid an actual post-it note on my computer. If I ever need this information again, I'll be glad to have it in some other form than the scrawled, tattered, yellow document rapidly losing its adhesive power and irritating me every time I open my laptop...)

When your printer is frozen up, stuck with a document in queue in the spooler - which you've tried to delete, of course, but which will not go away, of course - this is how you can get rid of it and get things flowing again:

Control Panel
System and Maintenance
Administrative Tools
Services (at this point it needs you to grant it permission to continue)
Print Spooler
Restart the Service (link choice on far left on my computer)

This is assuming you've alreay tried selecting Control Panel then Printers, and deleting stuff there, and that you have tried restarting your computer.

Good luck!

Sweet Misery

The following documentary regarding the dangers of aspartame (marketed under several trademark names, including NutraSweet, Equal, and Canderel) is finally available for free public viewing online (see below). It is also pretty disturbing.

[I am often accused of being a big "conspiracy theorist," and as such I tend to keep my "radical" views to myself these days. I've pretty much decided that people are going to believe and do whatever they want to, and they don't want you complicating things by "being helpful" and sharing your counter-cultural views. The question, ultimately, is whether they're going to hate or continue to like you in the process, so it is easier with most people to keep your views to yourself... especially if you do things like give birth at home, breastfeed, skip immunizations, spank your children, home school, drink raw milk, skip mammograms, go out without sunscreen, and yes, skip the aspartame.]

You can always put your "wacko ideas" on your Blog. And so here we are.

I was first made aware of the dangers of artificial sweeteners many years ago through the research of my friend Gailon Totheroh, medical reporter for CBN News. [He also shed some light on the dangers of MSG consumption, on the importance of a healthy diet which avoids excess sugar, and of the dangers of vaccinations as well.] I went on to do copious amounts of research into these issues myself, and came to believe the truth of these claims based on all that I read and studied.

This documentary film, however, makes this information clearly accessible to average citizens who are just being exposed to the idea that aspartame might be dangerous to their bodies. If you don't want to read many books, explore original sources, and interview experts on both sides of the issue like I did, but would like a good, concise explanation of some of the most salient points regarding the aspartame controversy, this documentary film is a good place to start.

I have many friends who consume large amounts of aspartame - having bought the party line that it is healthier than sugar - and it grieves me not to be able to let them know (what I believe to be) the truth about the dangers. So, I'll post it here and let the chips fall where they may.

Please, nobody be offended! Of course you may eat and drink whatever you want to, with zero judgment from me.

You're even allowed to think I'm a moron for not joining you.

12 First Aid Skills

This is an important link to information everyone should probably know...

Although I may not agree fully with every single suggestion, I plan to have my children read about each skill, as a review of information learned in their CPR classes. (And the youngest one, who has not yet taken a CPR class, will benefit as well.)

Also available are online e-courses in basic first aid.

...the reflection of His face...

Deeply moved by Amy Carmichael's words this morning...

...The picture of the Refiner is straight from Eastern life. The Eastern goldsmith sits on the floor by his crucible. For me, at least, it is not hard to know why the heavenly Refiner has to sit so long. The heart knows its own dross.

"How do you know how long to sit and wait? How do you know when it is purified?" we asked our village blacksmith.

"When I can see my face in it," he replied.

Blessed be the love the never wearies, never gives up hope that, even in such poor metal, our Father may at last see the reflection of His face.

- Amy Carmichael, I Come Quietly to Meet You, ed. David Hazard (Minnesota: Bethany House, 2005) 31-32. See it.

Candidate for a Pullet Surprise

By Jerrold H. Zar

I have a spelling checker, It came with my PC. It plane lee marks four my revue Miss steaks aye can knot sea. Eye ran this poem threw it, Your sure reel glad two no. Its vary polished in it's weigh. My checker tolled me sew. A checker is a bless sing, It freeze yew lodes of thyme. It helps me right awl stiles two reed, And aides me when eye rime. Each frays come posed up on my screen Eye trussed too bee a joule. The checker pours o'er every word To cheque sum spelling rule. Bee fore a veiling checker's Hour spelling mite decline, And if we're lacks oar have a laps, We wood bee maid too wine. Butt now bee cause my spelling Is checked with such grate flare, Their are know fault's with in my cite, Of nun eye am a wear. Now spelling does knot phase me, It does knot bring a tier. My pay purrs awl due glad den With wrapped word's fare as hear. To rite with care is quite a feet Of witch won should bee proud, And wee mussed dew the best wee can, Sew flaw's are knot aloud. Sow ewe can sea why aye dew prays Such soft wear four pea seas, And why eye brake in two averse Buy righting want too pleas.

Title suggested by Pamela Brown.
Based on opening lines suggested by Mark Eckman.

By the author's count, 127 of the 225 words of the poem are incorrect
(although all words are correctly spelled).

Published in the Journal of Irreproducible Results, Jan/Feb1994, page 13. Reprinted Vol. 45, No. 5/6, 2000, page 20.

That really is my name, really...

What does it mean when you try to order something online, and the error message you receive reads, "Please enter a valid name"?!

I Bought Some Pear Nectar Today

Below is my offering for the January writing prompt at Poets Online.

Perhaps you might also care to try your hand at writing a poem about... fruit.

That's the prompt. Really. Write about fruit.

I BOUGHT SOME PEAR NECTAR TODAY

God, how I love this store
It is too pricey, I know, but still it whispers to me
of provincial European bakeries
and of bloody butcher blocks
and of vineyards dancing with a world of bees
Things I’ve never seen
but have lived for a lifetime

I remember when your sister
said she loved the smell of our pantry
“Like a health food store,” she had opined

But I call the pungent smell of fresh herbs
and whole grains
and dried fruit
mingled heaven

Today I walked the forbidden aisles
like halls in a memory
and lusted
not for things I wanted to buy
but for a memory just out of reach
yet powerful
and nearly lost

The walls come down
just a little
when I think of him
and of the she that was me
that day

(How does it feel to be called “him”?)

Dancing around the discomfort
of feeling naked, fully clothed
I remembered
the feel in my mouth
(thick and full and sensuous)
and the taste on my lips
(sweet and voluptuous and urgent)
and I heard his words – your words – in my ears

And so, silliness of silliness,
I bought some pear nectar today

And thus she finds him in the halls of memory
and lets him in, with dim eyes
and hunger
and hope

© 2010 Laurie Sitterding

Earth Shots

Recently, we bought our daughter a camera. She is developing a love for photography, and a desire to study it, that has outgrown our little digital click-'n-shoot. She has a great eye, and I love some of the things she captures on film* precisely because of the way in which she captures them.

*[Well, actually, what do you call it now that it is all digital?!]

So I've found this website that I think will greatly interest her, and it might interest you, too. It has a daily photo that is usually a beautiful nature or landscape piece... something that is neat to look at... to reflect on... to force a pause in the middle of a busy day... to stimulate a moment to breathe deeply and pray briefly and smile...


This was today's "Photo of the Day" contest winner, entitled "Mesquite Dunes at Sunset" by someone named Chris.

You should go see it onsite at http://www.earthshots.org/ to do it justice.

Enjoy!

European Capitals

Nathan Stark is a teacher whom I do not know but wish I did. He reminds me of my husband, who writes these kinds of songs for our kids sometimes. Mr. Stark, it seems, has written a song to help his students memorize the European capitals. I'm reposting it here so my homeschooled sweeties can benefit from his generous sharing on TeacherTube. Thanks, Mr. Stark!



Here are the lyrics, to help you in your memorization:

Oh yeah, Lisbon is in Portugal
Madrid you’ll find in Spain
And London is the capital of jolly old England
And Dublin is in Ireland
And Paris lies in France
Edinburgh, Scotland
And Warsaw, Poland

You’ve got Reykjavik in Iceland
And Berlin in Germany
Brussels is in Belgium
And Rome in Italy
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Bern in Switzerland
Prague, the Czech Republic
And Kiev in the Ukraine

Sofia, Bulgaria
Tirana, Albania
Chisinau, Maldova
Bratislava, Slovakia
Vilnius, Lithuania
Riga, Latvia
Tallinn in Estonia
Belgrade in Serbia

Oh, Vienna is in Austria
Zagreb is in Croatia
And Budapest in Hungary
And Oslo, Norway
Sarajevo, Bosnia
And Skopje, Macedonia
Bucharest is in Romania
Ljubljana, Slovenia

Oh yeah, Copenhagen, Denmark
And Athens lies in Greece
Helsinki, Finland
And Stockholm, Sweden
Oh, Valletta is in Malta
Vaduz in Liechtenstein

Luxembourg in Luxembourg
Monaco in Monaco
San Marco in San Marco
And the Vatican’s in Italy

And that’s all the capitals there are!

As we bid farewell to another year...

Here is a link to an Estonian New Year's song. It truly is such a beautiful language.

In true Estonian form, the lyrics are deep... spiritual-in-a-nondescript-sort-of-way... reverent and celebratory concerning life and relationship... and strangely worshipful of nebulous ideas like "the new" and "the love we share."

Estonians, I think, are having to re-learn how to worship the God they knew before their Soviet occupation. They remain deeply "spiritual," yet they are fiercely proud and independent and Eesti-centric, and their spirituality is often not directed upward but inward.

So while I reject the idea to, "Let all the new be our guiding light," I love the idea that, "The mystery of the new is tender and gentle when we greet it with a warm embrace."

Who knows what this new year will bring?

But I know Him who holds my future in His hands, and so I can lean into my unknown future with hope and trust.

The day we see today is new
As we bid farewell to another year

We let our memories be good and true
Celebrating the moment, embracing the new

The bright light of the new shines for all of us
Filled with hope, promise, and the unexpected

The mystery of the new is tender and gentle
When we greet it with a warm embrace

A Happy New Year we wish you all today
Let all the new be our guiding light

Happy New Year!
The love we share will find a way
To fill each new day through dark and light