Why is it that when your alarm goes off you turn it off?
When you dust your cake pan you are putting dust on it, but when you dust your house, you are taking the dust off.
Sometimes the quiet person gets overlooked, but from an overlook you can see everything.
Buckling your belt won't keep your knees from buckling.
Brer Rabbit could no longer run fast when he was stuck fast to the tarbaby.
Flammable and inflammable more or less the same.
Are reckless drivers more apt to be wreckful?
This could go on, but I'd better refrain. Ee-eye-ee-eye-oh.
February 12, 2016
February 11, 2016
Wheels
I have wheels! I have a new scooter, a nice one. Not the clunky kind they have in grocery stores, but one with plenty of speed, and nice wheels that can go over bumps. I wanted a silver one, and I would have taken a blue one, but I ended up with a bright red one, which is actually pretty fun. It is a three-wheeler, so it turns in a small space. It occupies our space in the parking garage where my Ferrari used to be. :P
I can get to the vegetable market or the plant store in no time. That might be a bad idea. Do you know how many kinds of succulents they are selling? I want one of each! I managed to limit myself to only five, one of which is a Haworthia, with no zebra stripes and no spikes of any kind. The other ones have no names, poor things, so I will have to name them. That will take some thinking. What do you name a plant that has very fat, pointed leaves? Tophy? Zolla? I guess I'll have to browse through lots of pictures of succulents and see if I can find their real names. I think one of them is a Cheiridopsis.
I might name the silver one Sylvia, but that reminds me too much of a cat we had that caused us a lot of trouble. On the other hand, "Who is Sylvia, what is she, that all our swains commend her?" Seems like my mother showed me that poem when I was quite small. In light of that poem, it's not a bad name. But I need something more original.
Throughout the summer I will be taking various routes to various places to see where my scooter will go. Some places have no ramps onto/off the sidewalks. Driving in the street is bad during rush-hour. Places where I used to walk often had stairs. Sometimes there are ramps beside the stairs, but they're pretty steep.
Besides my five succulents, I picked up three jade leaves off the floor of the nursery. If I'm lucky, they'll sprout roots. I don't know why they sometimes do and sometimes don't.
Besides succulents, I broke a stem off a Solanum bush and stuck it in water, and now it has lots of roots. I didn't know it would be that easy, or I would have chosen a Solanum with better flowers. But my purpose is not really flowers, but greenery. Next best thing to a cat.
I can get to the vegetable market or the plant store in no time. That might be a bad idea. Do you know how many kinds of succulents they are selling? I want one of each! I managed to limit myself to only five, one of which is a Haworthia, with no zebra stripes and no spikes of any kind. The other ones have no names, poor things, so I will have to name them. That will take some thinking. What do you name a plant that has very fat, pointed leaves? Tophy? Zolla? I guess I'll have to browse through lots of pictures of succulents and see if I can find their real names. I think one of them is a Cheiridopsis.
I might name the silver one Sylvia, but that reminds me too much of a cat we had that caused us a lot of trouble. On the other hand, "Who is Sylvia, what is she, that all our swains commend her?" Seems like my mother showed me that poem when I was quite small. In light of that poem, it's not a bad name. But I need something more original.
Throughout the summer I will be taking various routes to various places to see where my scooter will go. Some places have no ramps onto/off the sidewalks. Driving in the street is bad during rush-hour. Places where I used to walk often had stairs. Sometimes there are ramps beside the stairs, but they're pretty steep.
Besides my five succulents, I picked up three jade leaves off the floor of the nursery. If I'm lucky, they'll sprout roots. I don't know why they sometimes do and sometimes don't.
Besides succulents, I broke a stem off a Solanum bush and stuck it in water, and now it has lots of roots. I didn't know it would be that easy, or I would have chosen a Solanum with better flowers. But my purpose is not really flowers, but greenery. Next best thing to a cat.
February 1, 2016
A New Year
I can't believe I haven't posted since October. This has to stop. I mean, stopping has to stop, and posting has to begin. It's not as if nothing ever happens.
Spring is on the way. I sat in the sun for a few minutes yesterday and felt normal for the first time in weeks. I hope it happens again.
After one week of really bad depression (Ha, had you fooled! I was outwardly cheerful and polite all the time, except I had to escape to my room every so often.), one week of terrible stress, and one week of total exhaustion--this week will have to be different. It's impossible to predict what kind of different it will be, but maybe I could apply this principle, Thank God for what he is about to do.
And you know that the stone cut out without hands is going to grow into a mountain that will fill the whole earth, so you know that praying along that line is valid.
They say not to despise the day of small things, or not to undervalue them. So even though they don't look like much, they are connected to the bigger picture, where Messiah saves to the uttermost those that come unto God by him, and he receives the nations for an inheritance. etc.
That said, it is possible to become more or less content with the present situation (which is not the same as having contentment in the present situation), and have some vague hope that things will get better eventually. It's true, they will, but they will also get worse, and in what way and in what order no one knows. And how will they get better if no one cares, no one prays, and no one works? Or how will we be effective if we propel ourselves with our own zeal and justify ourselves by our good intentions, and never stop to listen to what the Spirit is saying?
Asking for help is relatively easy, and you should definitely do that. But when you continue to focus on your own desperate condition, you can miss what God has already done, what He has promised, and what He is.
"All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
Spring is on the way. I sat in the sun for a few minutes yesterday and felt normal for the first time in weeks. I hope it happens again.
After one week of really bad depression (Ha, had you fooled! I was outwardly cheerful and polite all the time, except I had to escape to my room every so often.), one week of terrible stress, and one week of total exhaustion--this week will have to be different. It's impossible to predict what kind of different it will be, but maybe I could apply this principle, Thank God for what he is about to do.
And you know that the stone cut out without hands is going to grow into a mountain that will fill the whole earth, so you know that praying along that line is valid.
They say not to despise the day of small things, or not to undervalue them. So even though they don't look like much, they are connected to the bigger picture, where Messiah saves to the uttermost those that come unto God by him, and he receives the nations for an inheritance. etc.
That said, it is possible to become more or less content with the present situation (which is not the same as having contentment in the present situation), and have some vague hope that things will get better eventually. It's true, they will, but they will also get worse, and in what way and in what order no one knows. And how will they get better if no one cares, no one prays, and no one works? Or how will we be effective if we propel ourselves with our own zeal and justify ourselves by our good intentions, and never stop to listen to what the Spirit is saying?
Asking for help is relatively easy, and you should definitely do that. But when you continue to focus on your own desperate condition, you can miss what God has already done, what He has promised, and what He is.
"All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
October 24, 2015
October
It is officially not-summer in Israel. It has rained a couple times, and more rain is expected. Sycamore trees are starting to lose their leaves. When I walk down the sidewalk, I deliberately crunch all the fallen leaves.
Which reminds me of a sheep we once had named May. She got really sick and I found her in the woods by herself, too weak to stand. As she started to get better I brought her things to eat. But she wouldn't eat much hay, and she wouldn't even touch red clover. She liked white clover, but I couldn't find enough of it. Then I brought her some dry, brown sycamore leaves and she loved them!
The internet is useful for all kinds of things. It is good for answering questions like, "What is the difference between..." Or "Can dogs, wolves, and coyotes interbreed?" (Yes.) What about jackals and hyenas? (Jackals are related to dogs, but hyenas are related to mongooses.) What is the plural of mongoose? (Mongooses) And changing dollars to shekels, or finding an on-line guitar tuner, or automatic chord-naming, how to respond to rude comments, and more. Twice I saved myself a trip to the doctor by finding simple explanations of odd health issues. And of course it's good for finding recipes, how to unclog your sink, origins of words, language study --Duolingo is really good, the weather, e-mail, etc. etc.
Recently I have read quite a bit of the news, but I decided I won't do it any more. It is impossible to find a sensible news source. Most are extremely biased one way or another, and international situations are so complicated that it takes a lot of research to find the truth, and when I do, it isn't relevant to what I have to do every day anyway.
Psalm 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Daniel: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Isaiah: In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Which reminds me of a sheep we once had named May. She got really sick and I found her in the woods by herself, too weak to stand. As she started to get better I brought her things to eat. But she wouldn't eat much hay, and she wouldn't even touch red clover. She liked white clover, but I couldn't find enough of it. Then I brought her some dry, brown sycamore leaves and she loved them!
The internet is useful for all kinds of things. It is good for answering questions like, "What is the difference between..." Or "Can dogs, wolves, and coyotes interbreed?" (Yes.) What about jackals and hyenas? (Jackals are related to dogs, but hyenas are related to mongooses.) What is the plural of mongoose? (Mongooses) And changing dollars to shekels, or finding an on-line guitar tuner, or automatic chord-naming, how to respond to rude comments, and more. Twice I saved myself a trip to the doctor by finding simple explanations of odd health issues. And of course it's good for finding recipes, how to unclog your sink, origins of words, language study --Duolingo is really good, the weather, e-mail, etc. etc.
Recently I have read quite a bit of the news, but I decided I won't do it any more. It is impossible to find a sensible news source. Most are extremely biased one way or another, and international situations are so complicated that it takes a lot of research to find the truth, and when I do, it isn't relevant to what I have to do every day anyway.
Psalm 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Daniel: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Isaiah: In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
October 15, 2015
Old Electric
As it turned out, the "oil truck" was a fire truck parked nearby. The smell of heavy oil was actually due to a fire at a nearby grocery store. Odd though is the fact that the grocery store on the opposite corner had an electrical fire a couple years ago. Both of the fires were in old buildings. Not much wood is in these buildings, so they don't fall down. Steel and concrete withstand a fair amount of heat.
Old buildings here often stand empty for a long time. You can't tear them down because they are classified as buildings to be preserved, and renovating them is an expensive process. Sometimes they take the building down, block by block, with all the blocks numbered, and then they reassemble the blocks, adding mortar and more support from behind. This sounds like a fun thing to do. But I wonder if it would be easier, and not any more expensive, to just build a new building in the old style.
Old buildings here often stand empty for a long time. You can't tear them down because they are classified as buildings to be preserved, and renovating them is an expensive process. Sometimes they take the building down, block by block, with all the blocks numbered, and then they reassemble the blocks, adding mortar and more support from behind. This sounds like a fun thing to do. But I wonder if it would be easier, and not any more expensive, to just build a new building in the old style.
October 6, 2015
City Life
A big oil truck parked outside my window for several hours last night, with its motor rumbling. The smell was terrible. Well, actually, it was a nice, rich oil smell, which is not a bad smell in itself, but not nice when it's filling your bedroom. I kept dreaming about old, leaky oil heaters.
And then the cleaning crew left their mark in the hallway--not a nice clean, fresh smell, but one that smells exactly like a cat litter box. I'll have to live with it for a couple days till it subsides. They rotate their air fresheners, so some weeks it's a decent smell, and other weeks it's catbox odor. I keep my door shut tight, but I can still smell it. There's no way to get rid of it and I can't think of any way to cover it up except by cooking cabbage, which would be only a slight improvement.
Maybe some berry pie? But I don't have any berries. Boil some Kool-aid? Don't have Kool-aid. Burn candles? Don't have any. Sprinkle laundry detergent on the floor? Put a bag over my head? Go for a long, long walk? Buy a disposable barbecue and burn it in my living room?
And then the cleaning crew left their mark in the hallway--not a nice clean, fresh smell, but one that smells exactly like a cat litter box. I'll have to live with it for a couple days till it subsides. They rotate their air fresheners, so some weeks it's a decent smell, and other weeks it's catbox odor. I keep my door shut tight, but I can still smell it. There's no way to get rid of it and I can't think of any way to cover it up except by cooking cabbage, which would be only a slight improvement.
Maybe some berry pie? But I don't have any berries. Boil some Kool-aid? Don't have Kool-aid. Burn candles? Don't have any. Sprinkle laundry detergent on the floor? Put a bag over my head? Go for a long, long walk? Buy a disposable barbecue and burn it in my living room?
October 5, 2015
September Holiday
Most of September is a holiday or observance of some kind. Rosh HaShana, Gedaliah's Fast, Yom Kippur, Succot.
Today, October 5, was Simchat Torah. That is all the holidays till December 7, which is Hanukkah.
Psalm 98:
Today, October 5, was Simchat Torah. That is all the holidays till December 7, which is Hanukkah.
Psalm 98:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4H79WfGAWY |
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