Psalm 130

This is enough to get me back into the blog-o-sphere! Here's a new look at one of my favorite psalms. You try it!

Hiatus

Time for a blogging break...

Blessings!

Feist-y

A friend and I took K and 3 friends down the street to Memorial Park to watch Feist on Saturday night. The mayor told us that this concert was "for the young and the young at heart." Thanks, mayor! :-)

It was a fun concert, for the young and the young at heart. Feist had live video, even showing the inside of the upright while playing. Live flute and live trumpet. Good sound, but not too loud. And, it was fun to people watch before the music started, besides...

I just read that Feist recently taped a version of "1234" for Sesame Street. So those of you with youngers might see Feist pretty soon, too.

(The photo is terrible, but that seems to be what I get on the "night" setting. Alas!)

Worth and choice

From the dedication of The Chosen, by Chaim Potok:
"True happiness
Consists not in the multitude of friends,
But in the worth and choice."
Ben Johnson

and also from The Chosen,
David Malter speaking to his son, Reuven:
"Human beings do not live forver, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world,. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye?" He paused again, his eyes misty now, then went on. "I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning. That I do not think you understand yet. A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest. I want to be worthy of rest when I am no longer here. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Yes, I understand; something like this.

(and, if you haven't read The Chosen, oh! Such a good coming of age story and such a good illustration of friendship!)

Friday Five- 5 Summer Senses

This week's Friday Five: The Senses

1. Sight: Day lillies. Wet towels from swimming. Weeds to pull. Dusting to be done (who wants to be inside?). Nebraska sunsets.

2. Sound: Cardinal calls. Bats cracking. Splashing at the pool. Lawn mower. My new Summer Tunes ipod mix.

3. Smell: Sunblock. Chlorine. The dryer. Grilling. Always coffee in the morning. (always.)

4. Taste: Simply Limeade. Fresh brewed ice tea. Watermelon. Sugar snap peas. Kashi GoLean Crunch.

5. Touch: Smooth lotion on my legs. Hot sun on my face. Wind in my hair (thank you little car). Flipflops on my feet. Cool sheets when we go to bed.

summer.

One more...

How did they know...? :-)

You Are Likely a First Born

At your darkest moments, you feel guilty. At work and school, you do best when you're researching. When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often. In friendship, you are considerate and compromising. Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking. You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.

The Birth Order Predictor

A Quiz!

It has been awhile since a quiz...

You Are Flip Flops

You are laid back and very friendly. Cheery and sunny in disposition, you usually have something to smile about. Style is important to you, as long as you can stay casual. It takes a lot to get you to dress up! You are a loyal and true person, though you can be a bit of a flake. You tend to "play hooky" and blow off responsibilities a lot more than most people. You should live: By the beach You should work: At a casual up and coming company

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Girl Talk

I really appreciate the ladies over at Girl Talk. Their posts yesterday and the day before that are good reminders to me.

In the 'hood

Places we've been lately in the neighborhood...

We love Pulp. A cool paper shop in my own neighborhood! Nifty cards and paper and journals and a gallery with a new artist every month. The hard part is deciding what NOT to buy. When we stop by, owner Brigitte doesn't freak out that 5 kids and their mom are suddenly invading her clean and bright and orderly space, and even remembers that we were traveling last month. Go visit Brigitte at Pulp!

And then, once you have bought cards to send to your friends, cross Maple and visit Sweet Georgine's. We had tasty tasty donut holes and an awesome cup of dark roast coffee. Yum.

Last week, I needed a book to take to the pool and the library was closed, so I stopped at Friendly Used Books, and found a never read copy of The Grapes of Wrath for just $4. Score! Actually, the owners found it for me. That day, I didn't even have to browse. But, I'll go back soon and do just that.


Now, if there were only a drive-through with fresh brewed ice tea, I'd be set...

My hope

Psalm 130
Hope in the Lord's Forgiving Love

Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
If Thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord, more than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible:
"It is our unspeakable comfort that there is forgiveness with him, for that is what we need. Jesus Christ is the great Ransom; he is ever an Advocate for us, and through him we hope to obtain forgiveness. There is forgiveness with thee, not that thou mayest be presumed upon, but that thou mayest be feared. The fear of God often is put for the whole worship of God. The only motive and encouragement for sinners is this, that there is forgiveness with the
Lord."
"All that wait on God for mercy and grace are sure to have peace."

Like the psalmist, my soul waits.

Shakespeare on Saturday

We were at another great O! summer event this week- Shakespeare on the Green. We saw King Lear last week and Much Ado About Nothing on Saturday night. Oh how much happier do you leave from Much Ado! That King Lear is such a downer.

Thanks to our faithful tarp-putter-outer H, we had a great location for both shows. It was a surprise to look backwards and see how many folks were behind us.

There was a lot of overlap in the two casts, and it was fun to figure out who was in who in Lear, and then this week, in Much Ado. We are impressed that the actors learn two complete sets of lines, and perform both within a couple of weeks.

A lady with a camera took our picture, supposedly for the Shakespeare on the Green website. If you see us, let me know! Meanwhile, make a note to come with us next year.

Friday Five- Independence Day

The Friday Five has been on a brief hiatus, but is back!

This week, in honor of Friday, July 4th, are five photos from our Independence Day celebration. We got together with friends for a BBQ, swimming, fireworks, and lots of fun. Our friends' yard backs up to a field, so we had a terrific view of lots of fireworks, probably into the next county! And, we lit a few of our own, too.

Happy birthday, America!

Pool Fools

Here are some shots of the water kids at Club M. last night. A kid dream- they swam, ate, swam, played with vintage Legos, shot off fireworks, swam, ate... you get the idea! :-)

Phelps Phans

In the Aqua Zone

As part of the events going along with the US Olympic Swim Team Trials taking place in town, we visited the free AquaZone yesterday. What fun! It's in the Convention Center part of the Qwest Center, while the swimming events are being held in the arena itself.

Lots of sponsors of USA swimming have booths and activities and freebies to give away at the AquaZone. J did a screentrial for a Toyota truck commercial. The girls tried out a waterproof MP3 player that hooks to your goggles. We wrote postcards to give to US Swim Team members. The kids were able to test their start abilities on the block timer pad. We saw Speedos from 1920! And the LZR suit for today's races.

And, perhaps our biggest delight was free t-shirts from AT&T- so even though we were before, now we are really all "Phelps Phans"!

It's days like these when O! is a pretty fun place to be!

Under the Lights

"Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps parents off the streets." Yogi Berra

I don't know if Yogi really said that, but the quote makes my family laugh!

At least one group of parents were off the street last night, as J & the Cardinals played a late game under the lights. What a great game! It actually looked like a baseball game- which, those of you who have perservered through years of t-ball and coach pitch and young pitchers understand, is significant. A few of our Spanish-speaking friends showed up to watch, and even they left fans, futbol players though they are!

J. played an inning as catcher, and then moved to first base. He had a great play at 1st, a stretch catch, keeping his foot just touching the bag, to get the batter out.


And he hit too! A solidly hit single to center that moved two runners home. Yay!

The game was tied with two out at the bottom of the 4th (10pm!), and a speedster from the Cardinals stole home for the win. A dramatic, and exciting, finish.

These pictures aren't great, but I like them, the blur under the lights and all.