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I knew KQ was pretty young, but she's old enough to be the head of a royal family! I hope she's enjoying her birthday present.
I wonder if you can make skin treatments, facial masques, hair conditioners, etc. from ketchup. Wanna bet KQ would know?
* Tap tap *
Look, it's Punkin, & I think she wants to apologize to V for snitching the cream. V is asleep now & Annabelle is over there, so let's wait until morning instead of waking them. I already replaced the cream, & it's coming out of your sardine allowance. But I'm sure V will appreciate your apology.
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Ketchup is kind of acidic. I wouldn't recommend it for the skin or hair... My two-year-old, however, disagrees... Posts: 8186 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Today's been fun! There are groceries in the house and everything's put away!
I am watching the neighbor's dog. She has been good to take care of. Shanna has helped with her so it is getting my daughter outside. I can see it now, "Ms. Lucy, can Valerie come out and play?"
Well, I am going to retreat to my chair and watch TV. Space Rangers has been on since 7:00 and will be on til 11:00! Once in awhile cable is worth having! V.
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Good morning, Porchupines . I don't know who might show up today, but I brought ham, eggs, & pancakes. Here's a bottle of real Canadian maple syrup.
I put up our flag on the Porch in recognition of our veterans & present service members. I know they are in our prayers, along with our prayers for peace & for greater wisdom for the temporal leaders of the world. Someday a time will come when the world will not need armies, navies, or "international peace-keeping forces."
Look here, critters--this cat is busy earning her keep. & even helping out her employers. With all your charm, charisma, & talent (yes, Punkin & Pepper, I mean you), all of you could get jobs to help defray the cost of your epicurean lifestyle.
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* Takes KQ's share of the maple syrup & replaces it with ketchup packets *
* Focuses on my own breakfast. I'm not interested in seeing whether she puts it on the ham, the eggs, or the pancakes. *
Punkin, I know you have a sweet tooth. You can have just a bit of this syrup. Go easy on it, you need to stay svelte & healthy to start your new job next week.
Memorial Day put me in mind of Kipling's venerable "Recessional," which Kent posted on a different thread. I grew up in a day when English teachers still often asked us to recite poetry or soliloquies from memory. Anyone remember the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Marc Antony's "Friends, Romans, Countrymen," or "Breathes there a man with soul so dead"? Kipling's "Recessional" was not a required one, but it made such an impression on me that I did memorize it when I was 14 or so.
While earthly or temporal power has its place, it also has its risks. And there will be a day when all temporal power is meaningless. I sometimes find myself praying for that day when the Savior returns, & then second-guessing myself, wondering if I am trying to second-guess Heavenly Father. Then I have to add, "Thy will be done." I hope He realizes that I mean well & it isn't my intent to be presumptuous or blasphemous.
quote:"Recessional"
by Rudyard Kipling, 1897 (written for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria)
God of our fathers, known of old-- Lord of our far-flung battle line Beneath whose awful hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine-- Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget!
The tumult and the shouting dies; The captains and the kings depart: Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, An humble and a contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget!
Far-called, our navies melt away; On dune and headland sinks the fire: Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we loose Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe-- Such boasting as the Gentiles use Or lesser breeds without the law-- Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget!
For heathen heart that puts her trust In reeking tube and iron shard-- All valiant dust that builds on dust, And guarding, calls not Thee to guard-- For frantic boast and foolish word, Thy mercy on Thy people, Lord!
The Tabernacle Choir does a magnificent rendition of this on the "Great Thanksgiving" album.
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I love these verses. Beautiful and inspiring.
We spent the weekend with our family. It will be at least four years until we will all see each other again. One of our daughters read "Let the Circle be Unbroken." Does anyone know it? Then she stood in the middle of the circle, faced each member in the family including the babies and told them why she loved them. By the time she was finished we were all crying. Then we had a sharing and testimony meeting. It was good to get out of our comfort zone and share the things we feel but so often fail to say.
Monday we all went for a walk through the cemetery. It was cool and started to rain. This morning I got an email with my father's army discharge papers attached - - - something I had requested for a grandson. Our freedom to fly the flag, to freely congregate here on the porch and talk together was bought and paid for by countless men and women of the armed forces. Thanks are in order, but never adequate.
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quote:Our freedom to fly the flag, to freely congregate here on the porch and talk together was bought and paid for by countless men and women of the armed forces. Thanks are in order, but never adequate.
I'll second that. God bless the fighting men and women who have given their all to keep us free.
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It's me--Ivie.. I just woke up from a nap & realized no one is here. Annabelle is wrapped up in V's favorite blanket, & Hound is staring at the sky & wondering where Michaela is. Punkin & Pepper are just moping. I don't know what's wrong with them.
* An owl hoots in the woods, another owl answers, the scent of a skunk comes drifting in the breeze, & all the critters burrow closer *
We aren't hungry, we're just looking for some company. And those things out there don't seem friendly. Come over here, Dreyfuss. It feels safer when you're nearby.
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Oh, Curelom! I am sorry to have left you alone. Sometimes I don't get to the Porch late at night due to sharing my cyberspace time with Dd1. I am fighting a little depression, I think! I'm also showing little tolerance for "not in cyberspace" friends who have life better than they realize! No, sweet Annabelle, I am not talking about any of our humans in Nauvoo.
I was sharing with #2 daughter about how Crowgirl has known some of the contestants on So You Think You Can Dance. Boy is she jealous.
Hopefully a certain check will come in today as I have things I really need to do! My incentive check isn't due 'til the 13th.
I've left a pitcher of lemonade in the cooler and some chicken salad with grapes, apples and pecans. There are fresh croisants to go with the salad! to all and I will try to slip in later tonight. V.
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Hi, V! It wasn't me that was alone here. Ivie used my log-in. I think the critters were lonesome & got a little alarmed by the owls & skunks. You'd think after the years we've all been here in the woods at the Cabin & the Porch, they wouldn't be such chickens! Especially Punkin & Pepper, our big adventurers. I think the skunk spooked them.
Thanks for the delicious salad. It's perfect for this pleasant almost-summery day. Yes, Punkin, just a small bite of chicken, OK? Did you remember to apologize to V for stealing the cream?
I'm going to run out & do a few errands now. I bought gas yesterday for $4.09 a gallon & I certainly wouldn't want that big investment to sit idle in the tank. Posts: 13221 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Oh Boy!! That is one of my FAVORITE summertime lunches!!! I haven't had much of an appetite the last few weeks, but that looks too good to pass up!!!
Well, I think I could use some good uplifting. I know I put that conference edition of the Ensign somewhere...... I think I will do a little reading. That always lifts my spirits.
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QUOTE If, drunk with sight of power, we loose Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe-- Such boasting as the Gentiles use Or lesser breeds without the law-- Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget! UNQUOTE
As much as I love this song and hear the tune in my head as I read, I am uncomfortable with that view that any people are "lesser breeds", or were once commonly considered so.
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Wanna feel even less comfortable? Let's all squirm. Here is something more controversial, & I bet most of us haven't read it in decades, some never. Here is Kipling's "White Man's Burden." (gasp )
quote:Take up the White Man's burden-- Send forth the best ye breed-- Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild-- Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child.
Take up the White Man's burden-- In patience to abide, To veil the threat of terror And check the show of pride; By open speech and simple, An hundred times made plain To seek another's profit, And work another's gain.
Take up the White Man's burden-- The savage wars of peace-- Fill full the mouth of Famine And bid the sickness cease; And when your goal is nearest The end for others sought, Watch sloth and heathen Folly Bring all your hopes to naught.
Take up the White Man's burden-- No tawdry rule of kings, But toil of serf and sweeper-- The tale of common things. The ports ye shall not enter, The roads ye shall not tread, Go make them with your living, And mark them with your dead.
Take up the White Man's burden-- And reap his old reward: The blame of those ye better, The hate of those ye guard-- The cry of hosts ye humour (Ah, slowly!) toward the light "Why brought he us from bondage, Our loved Egyptian night?"
Take up the White Man's burden-- Ye dare not stoop to less-- Nor call too loud on Freedom To cloak your weariness; By all ye cry or whisper, By all ye leave or do, The silent, sullen peoples Shall weigh your gods and you.
Take up the White Man's burden-- Have done with childish days-- The lightly proferred laurel, The easy, ungrudged praise. Comes now, to search your manhood Through all the thankless years Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom, The judgment of your peers.
No intelligent person now would even think the words "white man's burden," let alone be so presumptuous & arrogant as to believe in it. But Kipling lived in another era. I looked up the background on this poem, & it was one of the choices (along with the "Recessional") for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, which was more than a century ago. Imperialism was not a bad word & folks WERE racist, even if it was manifested in benevolent fatherly concern for peoples they saw as inferior, primitive, or childlike. Kipling's stories of Asia & Africa do show that attitude. Those attitudes are historical facts. We can't change history by ignoring it, or by ignoring the literature or art that mirrors it.
Aside: I've wondered who Kipling meant by "Gentiles." I don't think he was Jewish. Did he mean non-Jewish people, non-Jewish/Christian people, or people outside the influence of Judaeo-Christian teachings? He did say "lesser breeds without the law," which suggests not being of the covenant.
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Yawn!!!! It's way past bedtime! Glad the salad was enjoyed! Scootch over, Annabelle and let me in! How I miss the night sounds! V.
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Hi, Annabelle. V had to leave for awhile, but she'll probably be back tonight. Here, I'll give you a sardine (you can thank Punkin because she's forfeiting part of her share after swiping V's cream last week )
It's a bit overcast today, but still a nice afternoon to relax on the Porch for awhile.
* Punkin looks mournfully at Annabelle & her sardine *
Punkin, you know you were naughty. You aren't losing all your sardines forever, just a few this month. Remember, when you took that cream, Annabelle didn't get any of it, so don't look so "wronged" . Come on up here, you can sit with me & we'll watch the Garfield movie. I know you like Garfield because he's the same color as you. But when it comes to personality, he's no match for you. What? You want to watch "Chicken Run" instead?
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I think of Meadowbee and family so often. They continue to be in my prayers. I do wish there was more I could physically do to take away their pain..... I cannot imagine. It is one of those things that requires time..... and that is the difficult thing right now.... getting through each day, each moment, each memory! My heart goes out to them!! I pray that they will have increasing peace and relief from their heartache! Posts: 1070 | Registered: Oct 2006
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Sweet Meadowbee! I have such mixed emotions as I celebrate being alive after a year of struggles. Why am I here and sweet Jordan gone?
May 31st was the anniversary of my surgery. I still don't know if I'm cancer free but I have faith that God is in control!. V.
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Thanks, Jenna! I really am humbled at the blessings I've received since my diagnose in Feb. of last year. How much my church family supported me. All that my sweet husband has done to let me know I am loved and treasured!
Someone posted on one of my support lists that cancer changes everything. I can honestly say that it does change my priorities in this life. I see many things differently and have come to value each day that I can get up from my bed and move, even if I move slowly! I value my relationships more.
Curelom, Punkin is now out of the punishment zone! I forgive this sweet one for the cream! The little ones are so special to me!
I pray everyone has a good day today, filled with loving comfort from Heavenly Father. V.
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It's been wonderful to have you with us this year, V. I hope you continue to make good progress. I put you on the prayer roll regularly, along with other Nauvoo neighbors, as well as in my own prayers. You're one of the stalwart Porchupines & our humble abode has a special spirit from you.
Punkin, did you hear that? Our dear V has forgiven you, so you can come out of the "doghouse." Thank you, V! I hope you learned a lesson from this, Punkin. Here are sardines for you cats, & I brought warm beef broth to spice up Hound, Dreyfuss, & Pepper's kibble.
I also brought my revved-up potato salad. I know it looks like a casserole, but it's regular old cold potato salad with coarsely chopped extra pickles, olives, boiled eggs, & ham mixed in. And here is a jug of watermelon cooler--watermelon whirled in the blender with water, lime juice, & sugar to preferred taste & consistency, & some refreshing mint sprigs to top it off.
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I stopped by Meadowbee's blog, then came here just to sit by hound and have some hot chocolate while I look at the stars. I'm teary-eyed, it's just good to be among friends. Posts: 103 | Registered: Feb 2008
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Michaela, how are you doing, dear friend? I truly know how you feel. I am wearing my emotions on my sleeve lately and it's hard to explain to non-Nauvoodles why?
I just found out CrowGirl and Crow family are moving to the Tampa area and I am excited because she mentioned a meeting maybe in the fall! I relish the thought of meeting more Nauvoodles! I get jealous when anyone has a meetup!
Well, I need to fix Amber something before she heads out to her GED class at 6:00. V.
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I should be , but lately my only respite has been the middle of the night. Two or three a.m. has begun to seem routine.
Something has gone wrong somewhere in Ryan's meds. His Dr. is a specialist, probably the brightest person I've ever met, but everything that "should" be helping Ryan seems to be backfiring. His neurological chemistry is light years from the norm, even for people with autism. Life has become unreal here.
So here I am, watching the stars again, listening to the conversation of friends because it calms me down, helps me smile and get outside myself. Sometimes this place seems more real than reality.
I have been worrying about you!! I hope and pray for Ryan's doctor to have inspiration and guidance to know the things that might help. Hang in there!! Posts: 1070 | Registered: Oct 2006
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I'm sorry to hear that Ryan's meds are backfiring. I have a friend who has a son who has gone through a lot of trials with meds. When they get to working right, he has so much sparkle. I hope things will get more normal soon.
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Prayers for Ryan, Michaela. I wish there was something we could do for him, & for all of you.
I wish this big stuffed horse could help. I remember that Ryan likes horses. Equine therapy is used with a lot of disabilities, physical, mental, & emotional.
Prayers also continue for Meadowbee & family, Shane's wife, & palmetto_gal's family friend Bo.
Psst, V, are you asleep? Punkin wants to come over & give you a <hug>. She's delighted to be back in your good graces, cuz you're one of her favorite humans. Go on over & get under the covers, Punkin. V always has room for another fur-ball.
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Mmm, mumble, oh, hello Punkin! Come on in! I am going to snuggle with hubby but you're welcome to snuggle too! Night, Curelom! V.
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Anyone got some spare good wishes and prayers?
KPC (Jeff) takes part 2 of the EA exam at 8 am. This is important for his job; he will be making more money and have higher job status (as well as more future employability if he ever decides to leave this firm, though he does not plan to.) He's taken it 3 times before (all this year) but it was tax season and he had had no time to study. The test is 3 parts and this is the hardest part (he's already passed part 1.) He gets 5 tries to take it before he has to wait a year. So if he doesn't pass now, he only has one more chance (and he stresses out at tests to begin with, that will NOT help him do well to have it be his last chance.)
He's been studying hard and he feels confident he's done the best he can with the time he had to do it (he has also been helping care for three little girls and working full time and doing a lot of cleaning, cooking, and laundry while I focus more on the baby.) He deserves to be blessed with the ability to remember all the stuff he worked so hard to learn and comprehend, but I know he has self-confidence problems with tests that undermine him. So prayers would be appreciated for him to relax, have confidence, and retain all that he's studied so hard to learn.
In other news, Emma is in her last term of preschool. In September, she will stop going, and we will start unofficial homeschool (in CA you don't have to enroll your child until age 6.) *sigh* It's both sad (she loves it there) and exciting (I have big plans as we begin our homeschooling journey-- we're going to put that $300/month to good use, I have been looking into dance schools, both inro tap/ballet at a studio walking distance from us and Irish dance at a studio a little ways away that offers it on Saturday. I have bought some workbooks, we'll be working on reading, writing, math flashcards, basic kindergarten skills-- she'll be 4 1/2, so no high-pressure stuff, but learning to make learning fun, and beginning to introduce self-discipline in sitting down to do school and figure out how to do this together.)
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Definitely will say a prayer for your husband, hope he does his best on the test and feels relaxed. And best wishes to all of you as you begin the homeschool stuff for your daughter! It sound like you'll have lots of fun together!
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There must have been a reason I came here so early on Saturday.
I don't know what an EA is, but this will mean more opportunities & options for Jeff & the entire KRF, so I'm all for it! The Lord must have wanted me to add a prayer for him to be able to use the knowledge he's gained to do well on the test.
Sorry, V, we had no idea we were interrupting! Don't blame Punkin, all she knows is that she likes to snuggle with you.
Punkin, V will play with you later. Why don't you join Ivie & enjoy listening to the early morning sounds. I'll be gone much of the day, but the food for all of you is in the fridge. Just ask one of the Porchupines to nuke whatever you want for about 20 seconds to take the chill off. These critters live better than most people...I have to nuke my own food!
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He didn't pass. *sigh* He says the studying helped a lot but he just got hit with a combination of questions (they're randomly selected) that were not what he had seen before so not as much what he had studied. In good news, though, I miscounted, and he has 2 more chances to take the test.
The EA exam is to become an Enrolled Agent with the IRS-- basically, certifies that you know Federal tax law inside out. If he does that he will be able to prepare taxes under his own license instead of his employer's. It's like a CPA but only based on tax accounting, not auditing and bookkeeping and all that.
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I think a lot of people have to take those test multiple times if they are anything like a bar exam or CPA.
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V.
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Once in awhile cable is worth having! V.
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Hi, Porchupines!![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
No, sweet Annabelle, I am not talking about any of our humans in Nauvoo. ![[Group Hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
to all and I will try to slip in later tonight. V.![[Taunt]](graemlins/taunt.gif)
Especially Punkin & Pepper, our big adventurers. I think the skunk spooked them. ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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V.
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I really am humbled at the blessings I've received since my diagnose in Feb. of last year. How much my church family supported me. All that my sweet husband has done to let me know I am loved and treasured! ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
I forgive this sweet one for the cream! The little ones are so special to me! ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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Sorry, V, we had no idea we were interrupting! Don't blame Punkin, all she knows is that she likes to snuggle with you. 
