Gas sale

Every Saturday the gas station nearest my apartment has a gas sale. My roommate and I both plan to fill our cars up on Saturdays. The only reason I left my apartment today was to go get gas. I probably saved 37 cents. Hah! Was it worth it? Psychologically, yes, but I am not sure what its fiscal impact will be in the long run. I think it is a smart thing for the gas station owners to do. They probably lose less than a dollar per customer but gain quite a few customers and I would imagine that in the end they come out ahead. They get my loyalty by saving me 37 cents when I fill my tank about once every three weeks or so. In the course of one year if I put in 9 gallons of gas every two weeks I will save less than $10. I could buy myself dinner once with what I saved by purchasing gas there. In that light the whole thing seems silly, but I will keep going there for my gas. It's a smart business move, for sure.

Going to bed early

I am going to bed early tonight. Perhaps as early as 8:00. I came home from work and put on a pair of fleece pants and a long sleeved t-shirt and put a movie on the TV. It's raining outside (the drive home tonight took much longer than it usually would because the visibility was horrible - typical Binghamton area thunderstorm with pouring rain) and I am sick with a nice little cold, so I think there is no better time to get comfortable and go to sleep.

Picture time!

Nicole and I did some decorating around the apartment. We put up some photographs in the living room (Nicole's doing), rearranged a little bit in the living room and put up a sconce on the living room wall across from the couch (joint effort) and put some Renoir in the dining room (my doing). Here are some photographs of that stuff:

I also finished the afghan I have been working on for the past few weeks. It's a baby blanket that I made for my sister. Here's the finished product:

The first day

I had day one of orientation at work today and I am very excited about the new job! They really take care of their employees and encourage growth and upward movement. The benefits are really very good and there are a lot of perks to working there. They said today that each one of us in orientation probably represented about 100 resumes, so it is apparently not an easy company to get into. I am counting myself as extremely blessed today! God is so amazingly good!

All Creatures of Our God and King

All Creatures of Our God and King
Francis of Assisi, cir­ca 1225

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
Let them His glory also show.
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

And thou most kind and gentle Death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Extra hours and apples

I got a phone call at 7:30 am yesterday. It woke me up. It was a plea for help. They needed someone to fill in for the morning program at the school I work(ed) at in the afternoon. I was there on site within 20 minutes of the call, unshowered and barely awake. I decided to get my drug test for the new job while I was out, so I did that and picked up my paycheck for the first two weeks at the school and then came back home and went to bed for a few more hours. I am glad I was able to help out. It gave me one more hour with the kids and one more hour of pay, too. When I am done with my training I think I will let them know when I can work as a substitute, provided that my new employers don't have any problem with that.

Today Nicole and I went to the Endicott Apple Fest. It is basically a little craft fair in the three blocks that make up downtown Endicott. I found some jalapeño jelly in a candle store that was having a sale (probably to make the most of the increased number of people out today). It's the kind of jelly that makes good dip, especially when served with cream cheese and raspberry jelly. I thought it was fun to actually find something like that out here, so I bought it. I also bought a small jar of someone's homemade pear jelly. I love pears, so I thought I might try this stuff. Since it is homemade I am sure it is good, too. Since there was an apple theme, I got some apple fritters at one place (battered and fried apple rings with cinnamon and sugar - yum!) and Nicole bought some apple cider. I also picked up a few pounds of freshly picked apples and made apple sauce with them this evening. It would have been nice to have an apple corer/slicer/peeler, but I decided to go ahead and make it even without such a contraption. I did all the peeling and cutting by hand, figuring that if they did such things by hand for years, I can certainly do it now. The apple sauce is really good, so I am happy about that.

Happy Birthday, Lizzie!

Today, from what I can tell, is Lizziebennet's first birthday! I have been playing Puzzle Pirates for a whole year now. Where did the time go?

Issue: RESOLVED

Who?
Me

What?
Work - customer service, first line troubleshooting ("Repair")

When?
Sunday 2:30-11:00 pm
Monday 2:30-11:00 pm
Tuesday 12:00-9:00 pm
Wednesday 12:00-9:00 pm
Thursday 12:00-9:00 pm
(There are 3 days of orientation starting on Monday and 5 weeks of training, during which time I will work 8-5 M-F.)

Where?
Time Warner Cable, Vestal, NY (it's about a 15 minute commute)

Why?
They need people, I need work

How?
By the grace of God

Speaking of the grace of God, I spoke to my father this morning and he told me about two people who were recently brought to faith in Christ Jesus through the ministry of my church in California. He taught the baptism class that they give a few weeks before each baptism for those interested in being baptized (class was two weeks ago) and then did baptism interviews on Sunday. There was one woman who put her daughter into a Christian school and then decided to go to church to find out more about what kind of school her daughter attended (she heard about "our" church through one of her daughter's friends who happens to be the younger sister of one of my best friends growing up). Apparently she was "mesmerized" by the service the first time she came to church in May and is now a believer and excited about growing and learning more. She is able to go to work on Monday and talk to one of her coworkers about what she learned at church. This coworker had been praying for her salvation and is now able to talk to her about the things that she is learning about God! There was also a young man in the baptism class who apparently before the class thought that baptism was necessary for salvation. My dad emphasized over and over again in the class that baptism is a command for those who believe and is not a vehicle of salvation. The young man met with a man from the church on Thursday night and he was led to the Lord, so now his baptism will be in response to his salvation and not in search of it. God is at work in people's lives, and He still actively saves souls when His people are faithful. How great is our God!

Anyway, about the perks of the job (perquisites, for those of you interested in expanding your vocabulary - good GRE word), since I think I promised more information at some point. They have very good benefits, which is something that I really appreciate. They have medical, dental and vision insurance for a very low (to the employee) price. They have a 401(k) program (retirement account for those of you unfamiliar with the finer points of US tax law). They also give their employees complimentary internet and cable television access in their homes. Darn. I'll have to get my internet for free. The bummer is that they do not allow you to use any vacation time for the first 6 months, but they do give you 2 weeks of paid vacation, 5 paid "personal days", and something like 3 hours of sick time every two weeks. Vacation and personal time has to be used within the calendar year or you lose it (you can accrue sick time, however), so I'll be "forced" to take vacations (anyone care to guess which state I'll visit first?) every year. They are open every day except Christmas, but do give employees holidays off with pay, asking that everyone work one holiday per year and only for part of the day (unless you want to work all day, in which case they'll let you). The holidays you work pay holiday pay plus overtime for the hours you work, so you get 2.5 times the normal pay rate for any hours you work on a holiday. That's nice. I think I'll volunteer to work some holidays! That's it in a nutshell. The pay is not spectacular, but it's a lot better than minimum wage and will be sufficient for my needs. I'm just glad that I have a job to go to on Monday, but once again I am forced to leave my children at work behind. I will miss that!

Still no word

This is starting to feel like one more thing that is dangled in front of me but not given to me. It could still happen, but time is running out. How many things that seem like they are going to happen have to not happen? Have I not learned what God is trying to teach me yet? I want the right job, and if this is not it, then I don't want it. It isn't perfect. Maybe God has something better for me. If that is the case, I will keep waiting, but how long?

Apropos

This is the verse that was on my blog's "daily snippet" (just added this week in the sidebar) today, which I found rather appropriate and comforting to me in this time:

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Waiting

I am still waiting to hear back from the company regarding my job interview. I am getting a little bit anxious for my phone to ring!

Psalm 104
The LORD'S Care over All His Works.

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks upon the wings of the wind;
4 He makes the winds His messengers,
Flaming fire His ministers.
5 He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled,
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
They lift up their voices among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the labor of man,
So that he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 And wine which makes man's heart glad,
So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And food which sustains man's heart.
16 The trees of the LORD drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds build their nests,
And the stork, whose home is the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the shephanim.
19 He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
21 The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O LORD, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the ships move along,
And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You take away their spirit, they expire
And return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the glory of the LORD endure forever;
Let the LORD be glad in His works;
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 Let my meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall be glad in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth
And let the wicked be no more
Bless the LORD, O my soul
Praise the LORD!

Tortured!

I am torturing myself right now. I have a roast in the oven and the smell is so amazingly wonderful, but it won't be ready to eat until I come home from work this evening. I love pot roast. The tender beef and onions and potatoes and carrots... My mouth is watering and I want to eat it now!!!

Voice of Truth

This song spoke to me a lot when I first considered moving far away from home by myself. I did not want to go, but I knew that God was telling me to go, and to go in faith. His voice said to step out of my comfort zone because He had work for me to do that I could not do there. I chose to listen to His voice, and I am glad I did. I still don't know what it is exactly that I am supposed to be doing, but I know that I am in the right place!

Voice of Truth
Casting Crowns

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

(Chorus)

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

(Chorus)

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

I want to, but I can't right now

I want to travel, but I can't do it right now. I had plans to, but they were changed. Now I suppose I'll just have to wait until some time in the future! I love seeing new places and doing new things. I think that life ought to be lived, and travel is one way that I like to live mine. It adds something that I enjoy and broadens my understanding of the world.

I can say that my plans to travel went awry, as the best laid plans of mice and men often do.* I prefer to say that the mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.**

I have made any number of plans in my mind about what my life will look like and what I will do. Somehow my plans don't really unfold the way I thought they would. One thing remains the same whether the plans succeed or fail (and they often go awry!): God is faithful. If there is one thing that I have learned over the course of the past year and a half, it is that we serve a trustworthy God. God has me where I am for a reason. He will direct my steps. I can trust Him when I cannot see the path ahead of me. I can trust Him when nothing makes sense. I can trust Him when my heart is disappointed. I can even trust Him when my heart is broken. He is doing what is best for me, and if that requires pain, I will seek joy in my trials because I know that God is at work in me.

* See Robert Burns, "To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough"
** See Proverbs 16:9

Job update

No job offer yet, but I found out this evening that they are doing reference checks on me. That's one of the things that they said they did if they decided they wanted to hire someone. I like the sound of that! (It pays to work for friends who can tell you if someone calls them for a professional reference.)

General notes on life

Babysitting was a really good experience for me. I had the baby all day for two days, so I was able to see what it is like to have a child all day. I was tired! We went through really bad diaper rash, an upset tummy, multiple feedings (bottle and spoon both), and just getting through the day. She's a good baby, really, but even then there are moments that cause frustration. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I have not yet heard back from the company that interviewed me yet, so that's why I haven't posted any news about that. Even while not really employed as I would like to be, I was able to deposit $300 into my checking account today. That was all money that I earned, too. God provides for me faithfully.

I am beginning to deal with the reality that I may not be able to go home for Christmas. I can handle Thanksgiving away from my family. I did that last year, and it wasn't so bad. Christmas will be harder, though. I hope that three months will be enough to get me used to the idea. I know that I cannot always go home for Christmas, but the first time isn't easy. I have a hard time admitting just how much the thought hurts right now. Perhaps I'll have my first white Christmas. There's something to be said for that, I am sure, but the brown Christmases of California have suited me just fine for 25 years. I miss my family, and I think that the expectation of spending Christmas with them was something that has helped me avoid becoming too homesick. There are days when I ask myself why I ever moved so far from home, but the answer is always the same: I am convinced that this is where God wants me. There is real comfort in that and in knowing that He is catching my tears in a bottle.

The best of Divine Vinyl

I love Divine Vinyl, and this collection that Mark put together is awesome. Yet another gem from Purgatorio!
(Click on the picture)

Interview update

The interview went well, at least from my perspective. I will know sometime within the next week or so how well it really went. Thank you all for your prayers!

I also wish to apologize to my visitors whose blogs I have been ignoring for the past several days now. I will try to catch up at some point!

Mothers are underpaid

I arrived at my babysitting job just after 7:00 this morning and was there for over 11 hours before her mom came home. It was a rather long day. The baby was good for me, but she's learning to crawl very quickly. I had the option of giving her a bath or not today, depending on how brave I was feeling. We had a little incident involving diaper changing and what can happen after one diaper is removed and before the clean one is put on. That made the bath necessary, although I couldn't find the clean towels, so it had to wait until later and we made do with a sponge bath until I found out where the towels were kept. While I was cleaning up the baby and the bassinet, I discovered that one of the cats had caught and eaten a mouse while outside and then thrown the mouse back up on a white lace table runner. That was disgusting, but I had to clean that up, too. Bath time was fine. I had never done such a thing as bathing a baby, but these things are all good experience for me. I chose to view things in a philosophical light and decided that today was just a taste of life as a mother. Mothers are underpaid and underappreciated, but taking care of the baby has confirmed that it's a job I want some day!

11:00 am tomorrow

I have a job interview at 11:00 am tomorrow. The lady who called last Thursday called me about 20 minutes after the baby went down for her nap, which was perfect timing since she conducted a brief interview over the phone. I will be sure to post an update sometime tomorrow. Right now I have a baby on my lap and she would like very much to help me type, so anything else will have to wait at least until I get home this evening.

The open window

I was using the computer in the office this evening when I noticed some noise coming from outside. It sounded like a small animal walking around in the grassy area between two apartment buildings. The windows in the back of the apartment are about two inches from the ground, opening to the aforementioned grassy area. The window was open, as it usually is, so I really thought nothing of the sound of an animal. There are squirrels out there all the time. I don't recall seeing too many squirrels out around 11:00 pm, however. I caught something out of the corner of my eye and saw that I really was hearing an animal and that the animal I heard was within an inch of the window. I saw fur and immediately thought of a squirrel's tail, but the fur was too long for that. The color looked at first like it could be an oposum, a creature for which I have a great abhorrence. That thought made me shudder. I looked more closely, however, and really hoped that I was not seeing what I thought I was seeing. An oposum would be preferable to what I saw. The fur was way too long to be an oposum, and I was seeing white fur on a tail. I saw black on the body and a white stripe down the back. I had a skunk directly outside my open window in such a position that if it got scared it would be spraying into the apartment. I wanted to close the window, but didn't want to startle the skunk. Fortunately it walked away and I quickly closed the window and made sure the other windows in the back of the apartment were also closed. I don't ever want to be that close to a skunk again!

At the fair

We went to the Conklin Fair last night with a group from church. It was a rather small fair compared to what I am used to, but it had funnel cake. I really like funnel cake, so I was determined to have some. I was not disappointed. We found a table where a little old man was selling fudge. It was only $1 for a bag of 5 pieces. My roommate and I each got two bags and ended up with chocolate peanut butter swirl, chocolate marshmallow, cookies and cream, and orange creamsicle flavors. It was all really good! They had a lot of other flavors there, too. They had a nice fireworks display. The pyrotechnics were not the best I had ever seen, but fireworks are always fun. We went back to the house where we all met (it was very close to the fair) and had a small bonfire and some of the guys tried to kill themselves with fireworks. Some of the things they do are just stupid! I am really surprised that at least one of them has not lost a finger by now. The night really impressed upon me how much of a divide there is in the group. There is a very large difference in maturity between some of the kids in their late teens and the rest of the group, and the older among us found ourselves trying to escape from the more obnoxious of the young. I had a good time. It was interesting for a people watcher like me. :)

Signs of hope

I had a rather late start to my day today. Once again I slept until after 12:30. I don't know how I manage to do these things, but that's the second time in not very many days. I went to the kitchen to make myself some breakfast/lunch and when I came back to my bedroom to get something my phone was beeping at me. I had a voicemail message from someone regarding my job application and resume, so I returned that call, but the woman who called was away from her desk and I left her a voicemail message. Unfortunately I was not going to be where I could have any sort of conversation for the rest of the day, so hopefully I will have a chance to talk to her tomorrow. This is a positive sign, and I do hope that it means that I will not be unemployed for a very long time. The money in my checking account will only last so long!

My roommate and I did a little bit of work on our living room this evening. She hung some framed photographs on the wall and we both did a little bit of rearranging to make the room look nicer. I moved the unit that holds all of my CDs and DVDs, so I put the DVDs back on it nicely (they were already alphabetized but had a few that needed to be put in their proper place) and finally organized my CDs (they were not organized at all). The room is really starting to look nice and homey now. We still have a few things left to do, but it is much better than it was.

How to make a large group of college students laugh

My last year of college I had a very kind and very gentle-mannered Bible professor. He taught my Christian Theology II class. Although he was nice, his class was rather dull. My friend and I would sometimes take other things with us to do during class (I wrote some thank you notes one day, for instance). Taking notes meant nothing more than filling in the blanks in the packets we got at the beginning of the semester. Our quizzes were done as homework on the honor system and we graded them ourselves in class.

This professor spoke in chapel one day and opened his message by saying, "Today we are going to talk about marriage." Seems like a reasonable thing to say, right? The professor happens to be from China and has a definite accent. What came out of his mouth was, "Today we are going to talk about mawwiage." The first sentence was barely out when a smothered laugh spread through the whole chapel. We did not laugh because his English is not perfect. I know very well that I was not the only one who was thinking, "Mawwiage is what bwings us together today." I think that exact quote is what most of the students were laughing about. I hate to admit it, but I think that is one of the few things that I actually remember from three years of chapel messages.

Stung to death?

So Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter himself, died on Monday. It was death by stingray for him - he got stung right in the heart. I suppose if one makes an occupation out of getting really close to dangerous animals one does run the risk of being killed by them. It is a sad loss for the zoo for which he worked, however. He really was good at caring for animals and was really nowhere near retirement age. I do wonder how long they will continue to run his television program. Animal Planet does not seem to be afraid of re-runs, so I am sure he'll still be on for a while. I guess this news seemed more interesting to me since I just saw him on TV on Friday as I was flipping through the channels when I was babysitting.

In other news, today was laundry day. I did 4 loads, which is more than I would typically do. The last load was primarily for the purpose of washing my winter coat. It's a very light color, so it was showing some dirt and I wanted to do it now while I had the time instead of waiting until I need to wear it. After laundry I started cleaning my room. That's newsworthy, which is just sad. Inevitably I did laundry on a weeknight for most of the summer and usually had to go somewhere that evening and had enough time to get the clothes washed and dried but not folded or hung up. I ended up with a large pile of clean laundry on my bedroom floor. That pile is much smaller now, and I am ironing things before I hang them up so that I can just pull them out of the closet to wear. So far I ironed 17 shirts. Unfortunately there's more to do still, but I'm down to just pants and skirts now. Once I finish that I'll start going through the clutter that's everywhere in the room. I really hate doing this, but I honestly do not like having a mess around me. Right now my bedroom looks worse than it did before, but it seems that sometimes it is necessary to make what looks like a bigger mess to get everything put away properly.

I'm going to say no?

I just got a phone call from the Boys & Girls Club. They need someone to help out from 3-6 every afternoon at one of the local elementary schools starting tomorrow. That means 15 hours per week of work, which isn't much, but is still better than not working at all! One of them wondered if I would want to do it since it is so part time, but every little bit of money helps right now. I have no job at all, so why would I say no to this? I get to be around kids again, too, although it will not be the same without the ones from my group this summer. I'm glad for even this job. Aren't you all glad that I am putting all of my education to such good use? ;)

Pleasant Surprise

I went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart last night and was meaning to buy tortillas. Tortilla selection out here is usually a bit anemic, and your best bet is often to buy the kind they keep refrigerated. Such a thing as refrigerated tortillas in a grocery store is unheard of back home. The tortilla brands out here are fine, but nothing spectacular. Wal-Mart's tortilla brands are usually nothing beyond ordinary (and a little bit hard to find, too - they don't ever seem to be in a logical place) and sometimes I will go without and just wait until it is time to shop elsewhere to buy tortillas. Last night, however, I was heading out of an aisle when I saw a small section of tortillas. They actually had Mission tortillas! I know this brand! I used to buy their tortillas in California! It was a pleasant surprise for someone like me who would be hard pressed to live without my tortillas!

So soon?

Last night I went outside around 10:00 to take out the trash and was greeted at the door by the night air. Though not cold, there was a chill on the air - an unmistakable chill that laughingly said that summer is ending and soon it will be time to add blankets to the beds and pull out those winter clothes. Fall is a lovely but very brief season here. The leaves will change next month. There will be apples everywhere. People will head to the local tire businesses to have their snow tires put on. The first snow last year was in October. It was early, but not unheard of. The winter was mild, however. I dare not hope that this winter will be as mild. Last year at this time everything was still new to me and I had never experienced the seasons. I managed to survive each of them in turn and was overwhelmed by none. I watched the leaves change to yellows and reds and then fall to the ground. Naked trees standing in the midst of snow marked the winter landscape. Spring came and trees budded in the warmer air. Spring is a much more gradual season than fall and it took a couple of months for the hills to be fully covered in green again. Summer came, bringing heat, humidity and rain, and I enjoyed dressing for warm weather. It is much more natural for me to dress to stay cool rather than to stay warm. Now I will have to prepare to stay warm for a few months. I know that soon the thermostats will all be adjusted in order to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature - the chill in the air told me so. I am just not ready for it to happen so soon.

Theme and variation

I made my "special recipe" chicken (as I will call it now because I think it's going to be one of those things that will have my signature on it, and since the recipe is my own creation, I think I have the right to call it that!) tonight for a friend, and made some slight modifications to it. This time I prepared more of the orange juice mixture so that I could marinate the chicken. I marinated the chicken for about three hours. I put the chicken in a baking dish and poured about 2/3 of the orange juice mixture into the dish with the chicken and put it in the oven to bake. I took the remaining marinade and put it in a pan on the stove, bringing it to a boil and boiling it for at least a minute to make sure the meat juices that mixed in it cooked well enough to kill anything nasty that might be in there. I added more lemon juice and more Mexican Seasoning to it and a little bit of brown sugar, then cooked it down until I had a nice sauce. Here's the recipe as it stands now, in my terms (sorry, still didn't really measure anything):

Ingredients
Chicken breasts (or other chicken pieces)
Orange juice
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Mexican Seasoning
Brown sugar

Directions
Begin with the orange juice (1-2 cups or more, depending on the amount of chicken and size of baking dish you are using), adding to it lemon juice and olive oil (1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of each, to taste). Add Mexican Seasoning to taste, but do not be afraid of it (I recommend shaking some in, stirring and sniffing to get an idea of strength and adding more if necessary - you should be able to smell it without being overpowered by it). Pour the mixture over the chicken pieces and refrigerate for a couple of hours (I put mine in a gallon size freezer bag). Preheat the oven to 375. Place the marinated chicken in a baking dish and pour 1/2-2/3 of the marinade over the chicken. Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning halfway through cooking if desired (time given is for halved boneless, skinless chicken breasts). While the chicken is baking, put the remaining 1/3-1/2 of the marinade in a pan and bring it to a boil on the stove. Allow it to boil at a full boil for at least a minute. Lower the heat and add more lemon juice, Mexican Seasoning and a bit of brown sugar. Cook until reduced to a sauce, stirring often. If it cooks down to a sauce that is thicker than you prefer, simply add water to thin it. Spoon the sauce over the baked chicken when serving. May be served on a bed of rice (add chicken bullion to the rice for additional flavor).

Because He Lives

This song was sung at my grandfather's funeral 15 years ago. I can't hear it without thinking of him and I think that I have liked it so well because it reminds me of him. Now it means more to me because I understand uncertain days and the necessity of the assurance that He holds the future. (On a side note, is there anything Biblical about saying that we cross the river when we die? Sounds like Styx to me...)

Because He Lives
Gloria and William J Gaither

God sent His Son - they called Him Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon;
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river;
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He reigns.

Preview of coming attractions

This is a baby. She is somewhere around 9 months old. She was the focus of my day yesterday. I took care of her from 2:00-9:30 pm. Yesterday my total number of diapers changed in my lifetime increased more than two-fold (so babysitting is not something I have done often). I got to give her a couple of bottles (which of course I did not let her drink anywhere other than on my lap - that really is a wonderful experience!), put her down for a two hour nap, fed her dinner (she liked her diced green beans better than her apple & chicken pureed food, so I held up two spoons to her mouth, knowing that she would open her mouth for the green beans and then put the other food in her mouth - I felt so mean), put up with the cranky-but-not-ready-for-bed stage, got her changed and ready for bed and finally put her to bed at 9:15. This was all good practice for me, since I have agreed to watch her from 7:15 am to 6:15 pm two days in a week and a half and then for one morning that same week (the "coming attractions" to which I referred in the title). Her mom came home at 9:30 and I stayed a chatted briefly with her, then mom's grandparents came home and her grandma came up and talked with us for a while. My friend (the mom) went to bed and I stayed and talked to Grandma until almost 12:45. I came home and went straight to bed. I woke up and checked my watch around 8:00 this morning and decided I could sleep a little bit longer, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. The next time I checked my watch it was 12:35. I was shocked! I had slept for just over 11 hours. I didn't realize that I was quite that tired. I got up and made a pot of Cajun bean soup according to the directions on the back of the bag of dried beans. It tastes good. It is supposed to serve 14-16 people. I'll be eating it for several days, I am sure. I don't think the ingredients I used in the soup cost me more than $5-6, so it's a cheap way to eat!