This is Thanksgiving so far. Apples on the table for two pies, one blackberry apple double crust the other just apple but with half tart, half sweet, and vanilla ice cream with a hot buttered rum sauce. V brought the flowers when she came in  - she seems more grown up every time I see her! I had forgotten how turbulent the early twenties can seem ... she has a problem room mate  and a bestie who seems to be headed for trouble, derailed from a potentially brilliant career by a weird new boyfriend. Her insights were very comforting- I’m glad she knows what trouble looks like, but it’s sad that some things must be learned on ones own. She asked me to talk with the girl when she’s here at Christmas and I will if it seems right.
Those feet up on the table will multiply to a total of six pair this year. We are missing Two and her Sweetheart this year.

I am thankful for this time in my life. 60 has been great and I feel hopeful for good days ahead. It’s good to be healthy and at a low stress time.
Pictures from that hobby I picked up this year will be forth coming. I don’t think it has the staying power of a hobby, maybe a pastime.

I’m reading up on Enneagram  “stuff” lately. I don’t know really what I think of it yet but the popular characterizations may be too much of a short cut to understanding. What I’m really excited to write posts about so that I might better understand it are my notes on the Jewish Festivals. I’m still waiting on a few Zola booklets to help my understanding, but that Festival thing really should be part of  our basic knowledge.

Today I read an apparently well known Jewish parable  -

There once was a mighty king who owned the finest diamond in all the world.  People came from far and near to see the precious stone, which sat glowing in a display case.

One day the king passed the case and decided he wished to hold the stone that had given him such pleasure. As he stood gazing at it, a flash of sunlight happened to strike at a certain angle and the king noticed for the first time that his diamond had a flaw.

So precious had the jewel become to him that the ruler was distraught. He called for his advisers to tell him what to do. The advisers pondered and could arrive at no solution. Finally, by consensus they agreed the king should offer a reward to anyone who could come forward and ease the ruler’s pain.

The reward was duly posted and the amount was substantial. Word traveled quickly and soon jewelers from throughout the land lined up to offer their suggestions.  Each viewed the stone and shook his head. No, the stone was permanently flawed and the only alternative offered to the sad king was to cut the diamond at the flaw line and make two smaller stones. To this the king would not agree.

Finally, all the jewelers had been heard. Left standing was a poor bedraggled man who had been pushed to the end of the line by all the others. Eyeing him, the king asked if he, too, were a jeweler.

No, I am not, your highness. I do lapidary work. I see beauty not only in precious jewels but in stones from the ground, as well.

The king hesitated a moment and thought carefully. He nearly turned the lowly man away, but there was something that glowed in the lapidist’s eyes that caught and held the king’s attentions, some sureness.

Your highness, if you will permit, I can not only restore the jewel, but I can bring it to even greater beauty than it had before. Please trust me.

The king stood quite still, his hands behind his ermine-bedecked velvet robes.  Finally, after what seemed an eternity to all who listened, he ordered the lapidist to begin his work.

His advisors were aghast.

How can you trust such a man with such a jewel?

No! Sire, please reconsider.

But the king held firm.

You may proceed, he said, but be aware that if you fail you will die.

I understand, sire, said the little man.

He was given a special room in which to work, one that glowed in the sunlight from many sides. The king watched as the man examined the stone and began chiseling around the imperfection. Startled, the king demanded to know why the lapidary was furthering damaging the stone.

Please, your highness, he said, wait until I am done and you shall see I have not damaged the diamond.

A week went by, and then another. Frequently the king would stop into the workshop, and each time the lapidist would assure him and then reassure him that all was going well.

Finally, the great day came. With a look of pride the poor man entered the king’s chamber and, kneeling, presented the ruler with the finished jewel. The king loved his diamond so greatly that he actually feared what he might see.

Then, after saying a small prayer to his god, he looked down at the gem now glowing in the palm of his hand. What he saw brought such an aura of joy to him that it matched the happiness on the lapidist’s face.

What the man had done was to engrave a rosebud around the imperfection and in creating the rosebud he used the flaw as its stem.

The king was truly awed for the poor man had kept his word. Not only did he have his precious stone but it was now even more special as the flower glistened from every angle.

2 April 2011

Today Five and I will spend the best part of the day on a major University campus as she participates in several Science Olympiad events. This is her second year at "the big show" and she is very happy and excited. ... And she's trying to play it cool. This is probably my 15th visit to this particular event ... I am enjoying watching my daughter's joy. This is a special day for her ... The competitive buzz has empowered her to request her first cup of StarBucks. Yeah, seriously. She is cloistered in her event and I am on a coffee run. Starbucks opens in one minute ... 10:59 local time ... She says she wants plenty of cream and sugar ... Light and sweet, just like her momma.

Notes from 2011

"The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next."
-Michael Gerber THE E-Myth REVISITED

I think this is an accurate statement ... perhaps stated more emphatically then I "own" ... I think this attitude is part of a bigger picture. 
This is why I don't wait well ... I can see the value in "wait" (As in wait upon the Lord), but wait is not my default mode. 
Wait is a choice and I have recently learned that it is not necessarily a passive choice.  Wait upon the Lord makes perfect sense to me ... wait on who knows what to  ... what? rescue you? ... tell you what to do? ... dwindle your options down to one or two?  I have gotten myself in to a little life lesson in an airplane because I didn't think about waiting ... but I always remember that now ... wait can be a good choice when you know what you are waiting on, and how long you can wait (until wait is not longer viable).  Seems like you'd definitely want to be making some plans ... while you wait. 


In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21



Proverbs is pretty much loaded with this idea ... make your plans,but the Lord ... .  This seems to me to be a call to engage.  Religion sometimes makes this idea hard ... from my prospective.  But, it's really pretty simple.  I see it as a raft ride ... I love rafting.  I love dragging White Russians in the cold stream ... for later ... those are for days when you just want a leisurely float.  And then there are other days when the roar of the water calls out and you squint your eyes and laugh out loud wondering if you'll ever have to really grow up.  Maybe you chose your day in advance ... way before you put in. Sometimes, it seems like you are presented with a choice (either in the planning stage or if you are not a planner ... on the fly, so to speak) and later find that either route empties into the same pool  ... downstream.  I can start at many different points, there are many different experiences offered ... everything from Texas Gourmet (Uhhuh ...    http://www.crumpetsa.com/rafting.html  ) rafting all the way down to a  little pink blow up floaty ... the  Rio Grande emptys it's muddy flow in to the Gulf of Mexico ... I've seen it from a fishing boat off South Padre Island.  I would like to raft the Big Bend area. 
I think that is how it is with God.
We chose the route, He already sees the destination. 
I love that expression Vaya Con Dios for this very reason ... Go with God ... always a good plan.



I have been busy while I wait. And there have been a few days when I didn't wait well ... . I am starting to hope that I have heard the songs that this downtime has sung in to my soul.  I need a break from myself!

From 2011 - in the mood for a bad mood - just goofiness.

Okay here's something kinda funny: well, first the background, it's certainly not my intention to hide this.

Last year that professional hero who I talked with about this blog said the very least I should do is make an attempt to record visits to this site somewhere ... Somehow. There are a few whacks out there he said. I said some goofy blog of a housewife who happens to love flying ... Surely the voltage here would be way too low to charge a whacko. Just do that stat counter thing he said.
So I did.

The statcounter ... Well, for one thing, it's free ... and I am reminded of the old adage, "you get what you pay for" ... Of course, I've been on the planet long enough to believe that one frequently overpays ... and is then expected to tip!
The stat counter feature records some "hits" ... And gives the possible location for the cellular tower that is pinging the site. If apple devices are used it may or may nor capture the visit. If it does, it's documented as "service provider" and basically says ... USA. Whenever I have asked friends to open my page it never records their hit ...and this is strange: it might show several different pageloads, but record the time spent as zero ... It's just not good data. It is fun to see the page maybe being openned up in other countries ... and it is a lot of fun to see the words translated to foreign languages ... very cool for a little country mouse like me.  But as far as who is actually reading the blog ... who knows, and who cares for the most part.  The free level of data that is collected is unreliable ... and doesn't even agree with the blogger stats ...and the time range is very limited.  My good friend who is down in South Texas ... never ever shows her looking in on me ... but she does. Okay ... We all know South Texas is the armpit of the world ... perhaps reception is poor there.   So ... My daughter was recently visiting in Los Angeles. That would seem to be an area that would record a hit.I asked her to open the page on her phone and on her laptop ... she did ... her visit wasn't captured.  Seems like it works best with hits from outside the US ... maybe ... it doesn't matter to me.
Why am I writing about this? This is why ... All of a sudden statcounter is lighting up with "Google queries" ... What is meant by "this quote" ... What about true north funeral something or other.  Weird little arteries that dead end on a blog ... questions that will find no answers here.  This is what kinda has me going tonight ... these google queries. Maybe I am just in the mood to be in a bad mood.  Someone wants to know what has changed on the FAA written exam

I have a few pet peeve ... .  One is the toilet papar roll/wall dispenser. Seriously, I'm not even kidding around here, in our home ... and every home I have ever lived in ... okay including the only outhouse I've ever visited and the job site type porta-potties ... That spring loaded dowel that attaches itself to a handy little t-paper dispenser ... If you use the last bit on the roll ... for the love of all things lovely ... please freaking reload the roll holder! It would be so extra credit to "point" the tip of the roll, but never something one would count on. Every freaking day in my house ... I pick up new rolls and hang them in the appropriate location ... that pisses me off.  And has absolutely nothing to do with the google search ... they are related only as pet peeves.
So here is the other thing ...

Flight training/testing gamesmanship. Okay ... That is not right. Gamesmanship I get. Gamesmanship is actually appropriate ... perhaps expected ... perhaps even admirable. The slackerness is what zings me ... Some google search recorded by the statcounter asks "what are the written test changes?" I would really like to ask ... where in real life are you ever given all the possible questions and all the correct answers in a multiple choice format? If your goal is to score well ... memorize the answers. I'm not even being judgmental with that remark. There are all kinds of reasons why people who want to be pilots just memorize the answers. I think it's stupid to leave yourself exposed like that ... Cramming for a test and "understanding" pertinate info are two different things ... But surely a person who puts a plane up in the air gets that. Here's the deal as I see it ... The written is an opportunity for you to see if you "know" the stuff you really should know before you fly yourself and your buds around. There is a ton of stuff and it takes quite a bit of effort to "get it" ... It's impossible to know everything ... Someone said aviation knowledge is like a block of Swiss cheese ... No matter how big your chunk, there are still going to be holes in it. So ... The written might be an instrument to indicate weak areas.

Now it is the next day ... and I see that this little post is just a little rant.  I see that I really was in the mood to be in a bad mood ... as I suspected.  This may be about the pre-dinner dirty martini ... looks like I might do well to stick with ice cold water ... .   I'm going to go ahead and post this so I can see how ridiculous I sometimes am.