Karey's Overflow

Mother Teresa

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:12:00 +0000

I'm really busy with company, but just had to write that I'm remembering Mother Teresa on this day. On September 5, 1997, God called her home.

My daughter Heather and I watched a movie on her. With Heather's love for the elderly and caring for them in their last days - from nursing homes, assisted living, day care, and home care - I often told her she reminded me of Mother Teresa. Heather's desire, like Teresa, was to see them cared for and smiling in their last days, serving Christ.

Chesterton Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:20:00 +0000

From the very quotable GK Chesterton -

"Paradox is truth standing on her head to attract attention."

The greatest paradox was Chesterton himself: a massive man whose nimble thought danced through his day, entertaining and enlightening millions, and on into the present. CS Lewis said that Chesterton was his mentor, as was George MacDonald.

Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:11:00 +0000

Been working like crazy around here landscaping and finishing things up for this year's season. My high-low thermometer last night registered below freezing for the low, but nothing looks hurt.

We had our neighbor's tractor again over the weekend, so still 'playing' with stuff (in fact, friends that come and spend the night with Dawson, like learning how to operate a tractor! and melt metal in a forge ...).

I had MOPS today and ran errands all afternoon, so I haven't checked my veggie garden. What will show suffering signs first would be the green beans. I'll see tomorrow.

I love nature's colors. I'm glad I'm not the Creator - I might have done colors that are 'tiring' to the soul. So often as I see wildflowers, I see color wheel complementary colors - like lots of yellows and purples. I'm posting a picture of my purple clematis, sunflowers- big (planted by chipmunks from birdseed) and small, lavender, and then there's the ripening crabapples (and grape vine, and borage, and russian sage, and ... I garden 'cottage garden' style - crowded!)

Monte and me got the plastic cover, like a mini greenhouse, put up for the tomatoes yesterday (The pic below shows the wood pieces up, without the plastic, which is on the south side of our greenhouse that's attached to the house). We do this every year and it extends the tomato ripening season at least another month or two. Then we pull them out onto a tarp, and pull it all into the garage to ripen more (getting red tomatoes into December). Monte says the broccoli is looking beautiful, so I'll be freezing it soon. Gotta make zucchini bread!!

We joined a 'local' family organic farm last weekend. Their growing season goes into December. So once a week we'll start meeting a truck for our 'family share'. We're thinking it'll have produce from here on out that we can't grow with our cool and short season. So, looking forward to picking up these 'surprise' boxes. Whatever is excess for us we'll share with our neighbors.

I'm posting more pics of Dawson's rock-beds I planted. A back bed of permanent bushes, some with a winter visual interest. Then a bed that's a designated herb bed. I transplanted lots of my scattered herbs from other beds and pots into this bed. Most are perennial, and the few annuals I'm hoping might seed.

Then there's a swallowtail butterfly Dawson captured while doing his rock work and posted on his photoblog. He's always got his camera ready, since he tries and post pictures daily - great practice - always 'seeing'.

Did I say we have more company coming? Monte's partner in geology, Stan, comes in tomorrow. Then two Norwegians come in Friday. They all fly out for Calgary Sunday morning. I'll be 'home alone' for 1 1/2 weeks (not really with Dawson still sleeping here).

French Revolution Martyrs vs the 'Lapsi'

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:16:00 +0000

September 2 is a day set aside to remember all the massacred religious people during the French Revolution. They stand together in the church's memory because they all gave their lives for Christ. The French Revolution wasn't just against aristocracy, but also against the church. Over 185 persons who refused to deny their faith were killed. "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" was the motto of the Revolution, but apparently only if you followed the fashionable national establishment.

This reminds me of another era. During the Decian Persecutions in the Roman Empire, many Christians didn't want to suffer torture and die for their faith. They were called 'lapsi', and later some of these felt remorse for their betrayal of Christ, who had suffered and died for them. They asked to be readmitted to the church. A schism developed over this issue with some saying that no lapsed person should be readmitted. This controversy lasted for awhile and brought about deaths too. September 1, 252, the North African synod voted with Cyprian to give grace to these people. Cyprian was martyred two years later.

Some commitments demand our whole selves.

Jesus is my example. Jesus willingly went to the cross for me, for all. And He too forgave Peter for denying Him before others. I wonder at times ... what would I do under such duress?!

Calendar Riots

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Today, in 1752, Great Britain and her American colonies followed the Julian Calendar for the last time. The rest of Europe was already using the Gregorian Calendar. In accordance with this calendar, the following day, after today's date, became the 14th of September.

But we humans are so silly at times. Because people thought the government had cheated them of eleven days of their lives, there were riots in the street.

1988 Paul Hunt gymnastics comedy beam routine

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:38:00 +0000

This is 'Olympics' fun!

"Headless"

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Who is "headless" in the story of John the Baptist's death, which today, the 29th, commemorates. What could headless be a metaphor for? Like not using one's head? living automatically from emotions/feelings? more instinctive than reflective?

If we don't use our God-given capacity to observe, appreciate, evaluate, relate, and make reasonable conclusions about truth and life, we relegate ourselves to living as just an animal. We are of the animal kingdom, but how do we differ? Like I'm pondering ...

What does it mean to be made in the Image of God?

I posted earlier this summer on John the Baptist, the one who's heart was given to God, listened to the Spirit of God speaking to his heart, and courageously spoke words of condemnation or repentance, of salvation and truth. "No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven ... So this joy of mine has been made complete."

Augustine and Mom Monica

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:23:00 +0000

Since I started blogging here over a year ago, I thought I would have blogged about Augustine, but I didn't. The 27th is St Monica's day - she's Augustine's mother. One of my books calls her 'the nagging mother'. Why? Because for the conversion of both her pagan husband and her lusty heretic son to Christianity, she wept, she sobbed, she sniveled ... Augustine finally left his mistress and became a Father/Doctor of the Church. Rather than just nagging, I'd add that she was probably a prayer warrior.

The 28th is Augustine's day - Augustine of Hippo (not to be confused with other Augustines)(Hippo is in North Africa). His Confessions tells us of his life - "Like water I boiled over; heated by my fornications," is the way he put it. His innate passion is a character trait that would continue to dominate the rest of his life, even after he committed himself to a chaste and virtuous Christian life. (Innate traits can either be channeled for bad or good. Rather than trying to beat the bad out of me, I've seen it as "ME", and pray for it's transformation, desiring to live loving God and my neighbor.)

One of Augustine's main barriers to Christianity was his passion for intellectual pursuits. Augustine was attracted to Ambrose's secular scholarship, not his Christianity. Ambrose knew pagan philosophy as well as he knew scriptures. Augustine was affected by both Ambrose's head and heart. Augustine also had a 'mystical' experience of a voice telling him to "Take up and read" scripture. After a long tortured battle of the soul, Augustine was converted to orthodox Christianity under Ambose's ministry - much to the relief of Monica.

In 410, Rome was besieged and pillaged by barbarians. Jerome was in Israel working on Ezekiel and cried out, "If Rome can perish, what can be safe?" Though Rome was pestered by barbarians more, it was this ransacking that started Augustine's thoughts, like Jerome's, to write City of God. Though its been used more for its analysis of the great culture war between truth and error, it was written from Augustine's soul's passion, of the need for putting hope in God and not in an Empire/Government.

Aquinas tried to bring peace between Augustine's harshness and Aristotle's concept of a merciful shaper. Calvin learned predestination from Augustine. Augustine is one of Christianities' foundational persons. One of his most used books is City of God. As Europe was crumbling from barbarians attacking and destroying everything, St Patrick with a saddlebag of books, including City of God, returned to Ireland with its uninvaded tranquility, preserving literature until Europe was ready to take them back.

On his deathbed, August 28, 430, the Arian Vandals were destroying the city.

Women Suffragist End

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:56:00 +0000

Women gained the right to vote August 26, 1920; the 19th Amendment was formally incorporated into the US Constitution.

Secretary of State, Colby, as the last vote came in, finished his morning cup of coffee, signed the document and said, "I turn to the women of America and say: 'You may now fire when you are ready. You have been enfranchised.'"

Peter Kreeft Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:46:00 +0000

“The self is like a baseball. Throw it back to the divine pitcher who pitched it to you in the first place, and the game of love goes on. Hold it, and the game is over. That is the difference between Heaven and Hell”

Perichoretic relationship of humans with God quote, by Peter Kreeft.

Tornado?

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:15:00 +0000

We had a weird phenomena today. A mini tornado touched down on our back deck! I was setting up irrigation in my front bed, just about to walk into a bed, separating the raspberries to set another sprinkler head. I heard a loud wind sound. I screamed, "Noooo!"

I saw my umbrella from the back deck floating through the sky above the pine tree height. I thought it was going to land in our neighbor's trees. But it plummeted to the ground. The mechanism that raises the umbrella is broken. Monte's trying to see if he can fix it, but we think it's a lost cause.

Freaky! We surveyed the scene. The back door rug, was across the deck. (When I went inside eventually, I saw things off the wall and the back door molding hanging, and papers strewn.) Outside, a little table was tipped over with it's flower pot down in a flower bed. One of the hanging pots was gone and we found it in a flower bed. I had some seed flats out to plant in a bed we're designating as a 'nursery bed' for the winter, and several flats were overturned and one was over on the ground by where the umbrella finally landed. Some plants looked bowed over. My garden wagon was tipped over.

That was weird. Monte asked what it looked like ... "like seeing Mary Poppin's umbrella floating up in the sky, and then quickly descending."

Monte observed a mini tornado touch down in our vegetable garden almost a decade ago. He was on the front porch working. He saw many of my white floating row covers, and black plastic go straight up in the air and disappear. We found some plants were ripped out of the ground as well.

Following that incident, if I saw 'white' when driving, we'd stop and look. We never saw where our floating row covers or black plastic landed!

In Arizona we called these small tornados "dust devils".

The Beatles at Red Rocks

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:43:00 +0000

Dawson went to a concert at Red Rocks Saturday night - a group that mimics the Beatles. I said, well that would make sense concidering the Beatles had been at Red Rocks on August 26, 1964 - I have it on my calendar! (I loved the Beatles! So I'd make note of it.)

What I was amazed at when I visited the 'history' room at the Red Rocks amphitheater gift shop, was that the tickets were just $6.60 back then. That's so cheap! considering Red Rocks tickets today!

We often take visitors to the Red Rocks Park. It is pretty impressive, with the red sandstone rock and soil, in the foothills of Denver.

The band playing Saturday was "1964" The Tribute group. They totally recreate the 60's era and the Beatles. Dawson took the picture at the concert and put it on his photoblog.

Family Time

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:43:00 +0000

Travis and Sarah just left. They live 1 1/2-2 hours away in Ft Collins. As a Worship Minister he gets Mondays off and Sarah asked to have Mondays off too. So we usually get together Sunday afternoons over to Monday. Dawson started school today, so we had supper together.

I got a new cookbook, a Webber Grill book. I tried a recipe out of it tonight that was fantastic and want to try everything in it! Monte wanted to try making 'Ices' - out of the Thompson seedless grapes hanging everywhere in our greenhouse, and the ripe red currants we have on bushes in my fenced in veggie/produce garden. In googling grape ice cream I found that most things are made with the purple concord grape. It's probably because the green isn't that appealing of a color.

Monte didn't use all the sweetening syrup I made for the ice cream, and it would have been better had he followed the recipe. So most of us mixed in store bought vanilla. It was good.

A good relaxing day together.

Gerard Groote, etc

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:40:00 +0000

There's things from this past week, things in history that I've wanted to post about. I saw Gerard Groote's name in one of my books and had to look him up to see why he was being talked about in mid August's timing. I guess he died August 20, in 1384.

If you read biographies of some people of note in Christian history you would read that they schooled in what was named "the Brethren of Common Life" schools. Famous pupils most known by me were Erasmus, Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, and Thomas a Kempis.

Growing up in a life of luxury, it wasn't until Groote was 34 that he was converted to faith in Christ. He was educated in Germany, Poland and Paris. Groote obtained permission to preach, teaching the word of God and decrying abuses prevalent in the church. So severe were his attacks on the church that his authorization to preach was revoked.

Groote gathered people who were dedicated to translating the Bible into the vernacular, caring for the poor, and establishing schools for the common folk. Groote's 'brethren' eventually formed households all over Europe. Their aim was to live the life of Christ while engaged in service.

Thus Groote's efforts were the seedbeds for every significant reform that took place in Europe over the course of the next two centuries. Luther praised him as the "Father of the Reformation."

Bernard of Clairvaux is the saint for the 20th, 1153. His story must have not been one to grab me, so I don't remember much about him. I think he had been a poet, declaring that "we can learn more from the woods, from stones and trees, than from teachers and books." But he became so austere in his faith, I wasn't attracted to him.

Rose of Lima is the saint for the 21st, 1617. I never was attracted to her story either. Some people seem to fit a local need, a seasonal demand. When there's ascetic excesses and seem fatalistic, it doesn't fit my image of God's message and call to me. What I wrote next to her was, "It seems violent societies need violent images to arouse them!"

Saint Bartholomew was yesterday, the 24th. I want to pull my thoughts together on a post surrounding history, with him a piece of it. It's going to take me awhile to compose and I don't have the time now.

Travis and Sarah are coming to visit any moment now. They're coming for the day. Dawson started his second year of college today. He'll be returning for supper, and then T&S will leave for home. I called them earlier wondering if they'd left home yet, reminding them that the Democratic National Convention was starting today and traffic was already bad.

There's no special saint for today, unless you want to know about a French Crusader king - St Louis, 1270. A question is - did he go with King Richard the Lion Heart?

Welding/Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:33:00 +0000

Dawson got a refurbished welder and built himself a massive work bench . A sculptor friend of ours taught him how to create metal things and Dawson has fixed several things around here, but really likes the free-form designing.

We've had several young people hanging about off-and-on over the days. Like the last couple nights I've made extra food for his friends to join us.

He's been wanting a forge. So one of my pictures shows what he created from an old propane tank, old iron pot and pipe; and a weed blower (which burned itself out by the end of the day) provided the air for the forge.

They found they needed tools with long handles - so Dawson welded rebar on to some pliers he had bought. Gary's holding this tool. Stumps with old metal pieces hanging around here have turned into anvils for pounding the heated metal. He's already raided an old dump at the ranch that wraps around us. (With Monte being a geologist, him and me have drug home all kinds of old rusted metal things from mining encampments and dumps - even an old forge and ore buckets.)

Dawson's making an address sculpture for the base of our driveway. (We have lived here for 23 years with people not knowing if they're coming to the right place.)

More paths and rock work are still being done around here. Dawson's finishing up another area tomorrow morning, so after I'm back from a women's brunch I have to leave early to set up for, I'll take pictures.

We saw deer prints inside our electric fence area. Since we've extended it out, there's an area we figure it got under, and then 'reading the sign', we see it trying to find a way out, and jumped out. So Monte's added more wire. All it looks to have eaten was a lone sunflower from bird seed that Monte had left when excavating.

iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:11:00 +0000

I'm waiting ...

Dawson got the new iPhone and I'm getting his old one. I'm thinking the hassle we're having in getting me hooked up on his old phone is: 1) I'm wanting to still use my old Verizon phone# (In my 'mental-pause' state in life, I don't want to memorize another phone# !**@!) and 2) AT&T (not apple maybe) is used to people buying new phones, not taking over old phones. But the new phones did not change that much and I can do fine on the old (I think).

Ahhh ... the download is complete! and everything is in sync with my Macbook! how cool is that?!!!!!

Hassle? Even the gal at the AT&T store today (after Dawson and me went to the Farmer's Market, Home Depot, and bought his textbooks for this semester) had errors come up thru the process we've been trying to do for awhile, both with store visits and phone calls. Over an hour later (and starving!) my phone was ready, pending connecting it to my Macbook after 5pm. And that 'connecting', done through iTunes, wasn't the easiest.

But now it's done! Now I explore and play. But to bed for now.

A Year Ago

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:35:00 +0000

I was just looking at my calendar -

I may be weird (or is it anal?), but I add things like "bear", and frosts and first snows and other weather tidbits. And too, things I harvest and freeze (with amounts), as well as spring plantings.

Just for your info -

I have several days starting around now last year of a bear that was bugging me, destroying my bird feeders. There's still a date from 2001 about "bear in freezer". It reminds me that we have to keep the garage doors closed! And I remember the well-rounded meal that bear got - from a ham, to bread, to peaches, and then the noise we heard from our bed: a gallon tub of vanilla ice cream he finished his meal with, licking it clean out on the driveway's gravel. Now we have the electric fence, as far as the birdfeeders go ... we'll see ...

And our first frost last year was Sept 3. NO!!! please! Not this year! That was early, but not by much. Then of course there's a couple months of Indian Summer, but still with cold nights and some snow flurries. I try and save as much as I can that first frost.

Home Sweet Home

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:56:00 +0000

Got home from the short road trip with Monte last night. Today was full with MOPS in the morning (going to be a good year I'm sure)- then friend Marty came over and we vegged out on our back deck visiting over coffee/tea and watching the birds - especially the bickering noisy hummingbirds- then back to church with an overlap of two meetings. So I'm tired.

I'm excited for a few days of not needing to go anywhere. After traveling, tasting yucky water (and coffee/tea made with the yucky water), and other things ... We come home saying, "There's no place like home!"

Elvis

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 05:39:00 +0000

Didn't I say in my last post that I'm going to bed?!

My daughter-in-love's dad, on his Facebook site mentioned Elvis, but nothing to do with what it reminded me of ... I did want to post today that TODAY is the day Elvis Presley died in 1977.

Does my accentuating this make you think ... I'm weird; so what?; Elvis?

Ahhh ... Elvis, Buddy Holly (rock and roll pioneers) ... music/history ... Why I like to bring up Elvis, is just look at what's gone on with his Graceland - Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee.

I'm always posting about the calendar Saint Days. Think about it ... we visit places and buy souvenirs. People come by the thousands to Graceland. I read of Elvis's remains being removed from Forrest Hills to Graceland ... Probably thousands have bought souvenirs from the Graceland shop ...

Hmmmm ....... reminds me a bit of what I read of saints and their relics .......

Graceland is the second most visited site in the USA behind the White House (Elvis cult?). My souvenirs don't differ much from the relics of old ...

Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:51:00 +0000

I've been at a MOPS retreat this weekend and then to church tonight - Alisa Morgan of MOPS International actually was speaking at our church this weekend - coincidence. I am looking forward, hoping for a good MOPS year (Mother's Of Preschoolers, in case you didn't know), just like I'm looking forward, hoping for a good year for our church as well. God is at work, and I'm not wanting to miss a thing, nor miss being a part of that work!

I really need to go to bed! You know the joke or sayings about "slumber parties" - that they're actually "slumber-less parties". After lots of socializing/fellowshipping, and wanting to see the swimming part of the Olympics last night, we watched the movie "27 Dresses". I'd seen it before - I like it. But it meant we didn't get to sleep till about 2am!

But to carry on with my last weather report posting ... We did not get snow or a freeze, tho they closed part of the mountain freeway a bit because snow-removal equipment had to be brought out to remove hail ... but it's rained almost constantly for 2 1/2 days, which is so unusual! And the overcast sky has had me sleeping in, which is so unusual for me in my menopausal place in life (I prefer calling it "mental-pause").

So here I am at my computer when I should be in bed!!!! But there's things I need to read and write before going to bed. Tomorrow morning I'm flying out to meet Monte. He's been on a geology field trip. They're ending up at the Salt Lake City airport tomorrow for everyone to fly home from, so that's where I'm flying in to. The Canadian couple who were just at our home aren't flying out till late afternoon, so we'll be spending some more time together tomorrow afternoon. They were the people I referred to several posts back about being 'delightful'!

Monte's booked a couple hotels for our driving his rental vehicle back to the Denver airport. He didn't want to drive it home alone. So we'll be taking a little longer meandering back-roads together coming home. So I may not be posting for several days, unless I do it from his laptop.

The other tidbit of 'Happenings' info: Dawson's old iPhone is now mine. I've been trying to get my old cell phone# switched to it and am having problems. Too much company, and then needing Dawson and me sitting down together, and AT&T stores not able to help (old original iPhone to new iPhone differences), but doing it all thru iTunes ... and then the sign-in/password/other data ... What are my ramblings saying? I love this new era's technology, but am starting to wonder if the iPhone might be technologically too challenging for me ... We'll see ... But if I can get it functioning, I could do some blog postings from my phone! isn't that mind-boggling?!!!!!

I think that's enough! and off to bed. I am wanting to check my rain gauges tomorrow. I'm curious to our amount of rain. What seems like a lot, really doesn't amount to a lot. 'A lot' is what I've seen in ... Florida! And I've decided, after seeing Florida clouds, that our very dry climate makes for very vivid blue skies with very distinct cloud edgings!

Goodnight and goodbye for now (ta-ta-for now).

Assumption of Mary

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Today is the Feast of Mary's Assumption. The early church struggled with how to understand the mother of Jesus, the son of God. Could she have a sin nature?

I like to understand how other people think, so I 'listen' to what is said by the Roman Catholic Church.

There are biblical stories of persons being 'assumed' into heaven: Enoch and Elijah and Jesus; Joel alludes to Moses being taken or buried by God. So such things can happen. But what about Mary?

There is a story told: Mary died in the presence of others, and later when they checked her tomb, her body was gone. It is called the "glorious assumption" of Mary, assuming she was taken up to heaven. Revelation 11:19-12:1 is a scripture used to help this premise.

Mary was a virgin. The Church had a belief that normal conception through sex was 'dirty', too much 'matter'. They couldn't believe that God could choose to have Jesus born from a woman conceived in 'sin', so they developed the idea that she was immaculately conceived and thus sinless. And because sin's consequences are disease, aging, and death, then Mary's end must have been abnormal.

The idea that Mary had to be sinless is where I have problems. God loved me before I ever 'cleaned up my act' for Him! In Jesus' genealogy (I've posted on this) God chose to include four women of questionable reputation, and we see Jesus reaching out to just such 'outcasts' - loving them into the kingdom!

I'm posting a lot of art depicting the assumption of Mary.

Maybe it's been something to hold on to - that we too, will be received into paradise. Jesus told Martha, "Your brother shall rise again." "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." And Jesus continued, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

India Coffee Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:30:00 +0000

Interesting story (or gross?) -

Somewhere in India, monkeys harvest the coffee beans. They eat the berries and spit out the beans. Humans pick up the beans and wash and roast them. Preferring the sweetest berries, means the ripest beans.

Hmmm....

Fun Calendar Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:47:00 +0000

I'm looking at a book I mentioned earlier today in a post, and I see some fun stuff. Some the book has, and some I wrote in it -

The state I live in, Colorado, became the 38th state, August 1, in 1876. And I wrote beside it that Dawson had suggested in celebration, "make a peak cake". And two national songs writers have birthdays in August: Francis Scott Key on the 1st - "Star Spangled Banner" (I cried when I read the story); Katherine Lee Bates on the 12th - "America the Beautiful" text, from having just been on Colorado's Pikes Peak.

Key inventors of television (the 13th) and radio (the 26th) have their birthdays this month. Boy, have those inventions changed our lives dramatically. And now we have the internet ...

The first week of August is National Clown week. PT Barnum once said, "Clowns are pegs used to hang circuses on." I'm posting this because it made me think of the original definition of the word 'clown'. I have the original 1828 Noah Webster dictionary, the first American dictionary. The word clown is just one example of how language changes. There is no mention of today's use and the image of today's clown (Like Ronald MacDonald - did you know that he's almost more known than Jesus?). Clown roots: a rustic; a churl; a man of coarse manners; an ill-bred man.

Travis, do you remember when a bat was flying around in our house? Landon was living with us then. We were all wondering how to catch the thing. Awesome Dawson adroitly caught it in his bug net! I wrote that in the book on August 7, but didn't write what year!

Maximilian Kolbe

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:09:00 +0000

I was just looking at my kitchen calendar and saw Maximilian Kolbe's name on today's date. I just recently posted about a Jewish lady turned Catholic who died at Auschwitz. Maximilian was a Catholic priest who died in Auschwitz on this day in 1941.

Kolbe was a Polish Franciscan priest who actually volunteered to die. The man to tell his story was a family man, and was at the beatification of Kolbe. Kolbe was "a martyr of charity", not martyred out of hatred for his faith, but because of his love- willing to sacrifice his life for another, a stranger.

Ten men were to die in the prison camp. The commandant walked randomly picking out people. Maximiliam stepped out asking, "I would like to take that man's place. He has a wife and children." "Who are you?" "A priest." No name, just number 16670.

There's more to his story: having lived as a missionary in Japan and in India, and running a magazine and radio station, and housing refugees, many of whom were Jewish.

I simply remember his willingness to lay down his life for another. Do I have that much love?

Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Karey) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:00:00 +0000

The radio is on in the distant and do you know what I keep hearing about? Sure there's the democratic convention soon to happen here in Denver, and there's the olympics, and then the Russia-Georgia conflict (didn't know there's an oil pipeline at issue - heard several stories with world-traveled geologists talking at meal times).

SNOW in mid August! Tonight a cold front is supposed to move in. The temperature is supposed to drop at least 20 degrees. That means the night temp could freeze. There's talk of snow dusting in some places in the Colorado mountains. I'm hoping it doesn't freeze here!