Joy for Jamie Dawn

I'm always thinking of my friends' best interests.

My blogging pal-ette, Jamie Dawn, loves chocolate truffles. Guess what!?!. I just ran across this online video and immediately thought of Jamie. And it came from right here in The Big City!

For a Jamie Dawn bonus, stop by my Hats blog.

The Joy of Old Girl Friends

I had a friend here in the office who recently transferred to another department in another building way over there on the other side of The Big City. Let’s say her name is…uh…uh…Silvia. Yeah, that’s it: Silvia; spelled differently than most Sylvias. Anyway, Silvia is real smart with numbers and dollars and pie charts and that sorta stuff. She speaks perfect English although her native language is perfect Spanish. She was real helpful when I started on this job—introductions, how to make coffee, a crash course in office gossip, that sort of thing. And she even patiently taught me a little Spanish. I got to help her with a few computer things. We discovered a few other common interests.

Then one day about six weeks ago she left. Off she went on a three-week honeymoon to Mexico following her sudden decision to get married. Who coulda guessed? She came back for one day, packed her office into a couple of boxes; light-footed it around the office saying “See ya, it’s been nice working with you,” then—poof!—she was gone. We’ve exchanged a couple of e-mails, but I miss Silvia; she’s a good friend.

Then this week Cheryl, spelled like most Cheryls, moved into Silvia’s old office. She brought in a lot more than a couple of boxes. She slipped around the office saying, “Hi, I’m Cheryl,” and then started a little conversation per person. Well, come to find out, Cheryl and Silvia traded desks and traded jobs. Sorta. Pretty much.

I don’t know how good she is at her job, but Cheryl is way different than Silvia. She doesn’t speak Spanish, her hometown is in Kansas and she’s…well, older than Silvia. But I’ll work on being her friend, too. Maybe I can give her that important crash course in office gossip.

The Joy of Splendor

There are some things that are just too glorious for words. One of our delightful college students, Wenli, sent us this picture from her parent's home in China. It's a night-blooming flower and the "spider" you see is it's stamen. After seven years, this is the first year it bloomed.

I can just hear the Lord whistling while he worked on the day he created plant life. Please enjoy.

The Joy of Great Regrets(...sigh)

Mom once asked me, "Whatever possessed us to keep you kids from dating Mexican kids? Why, the Mexican girls I worked with were some of the sweetest Christian girls I ever met."

Both my parents passed away in the 80s. Occasionally I get to wishing they could see/hear/know something about us kids. There are times when I say, "I wish Mom and Dad could see this." or "Mom and Dad would be impressed." And there are some new and impressive things I'd like to show them. Home computers (PCs) for one thing. Other things:

• Our nine grandkids (their great-grandkids).
• Riverdance
• "Mater" from Cars; well, all those Pixar characters
• My First Wife's Bible IQ (!)
• GPS doo-hickeys
• The things I've written
• Where once stood the Berlin Wall
• Sarah Brightman
• Mexico today
  
• A few excellent restaurants we've discovered
• Digital cameras
• China the Beautiful
• Veggie Tales
  
• YouTube
• Wii
• Our Grandkids (again and again)
  

Unfortunately, if I showed them any of this, then I'm sure they would drop heavy tears when they discover our country's current immigration idiocy. Dad was an immigration officer and had a very soft spot in his heart for Mexican people. And Mom was always so kind to them...

There are no regrets over at my Hats blog. Take a look.

The Joy of Contests

Our local weekly newspaper, The Waddel County Announcer ran a pun contest the past ten weeks. Every week I submitted a pun, hoping at least one would win a prize. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.

The Joy of Fantasy Dinners

Note: This is one of my classics, which I originally posted in November 2005. Some of my favorite readers have already seen it and commented. Do it again. It's a fantasy so I guess it's okay to post it again. Hoss and Scarlett made me do it this time. See how twisted my arm is?

When…when…I can afford to host an expensive Fantasy Dinner, these are the people I want to invite.

• Paul Himes Nichols and Wilbur Shaw, my two grandfathers who died before I was born.
• Paul Thomas Nichols, my oldest brother, who also died before I was born. ("Hello. I'm Paul and this is my brother, Paul.")
  
• Rahab of Jericho, history's most famous hooker, who is listed in the Bible's "Hall of Faith."
• David, the King of Israel. He lived about a thousand years before his great-something grandson, Jesus Christ. (David is the great-grandson of Rahab, by the way.)
• The first and the last Mayan Chiefs
• Quanah Parker and his mother, Cynthia Ann Parker
• Any American Pioneer Family that crossed the prairies
• Victor Borge
• Mother Teresa
• Chief Joseph
• Albert Einstein and Muhammad Ali

My Keynote Speaker is Joseph, the first person in the Bible who was called a Hebrew.

The menu will include caviar, roasted lamb, and chocolate—lots of chocolate. Baked Alaska for dessert. But that's not all, of course.

Dinner Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Or Wolfgang Mozart. Or The Second Chapter of Acts. Wait a minute…what about ABBA? Yes, ABBA! Or there's the Academy of St. Martin's in the Field…

Entertainment: Riverdance? Hmmm, maybe the Alvin Ailey Dancers? Would The Muppets be a good act for such sophisticated people? I'm open to great suggestions...like Sarah Brightman.

Caterer: Jamie Dawn (She asked first; I'm sure she'll be hiring soon.)

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. I can't even get my fantasies straight. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir? Veggie Tales?

Now if I can just fantasize up enough money to pay for this...

If anyone wonders why Jesus isn't listed, it's because when I sit down to dinner with Him, it won't be no fantasy.

The Joy of English--and Spanish, too

Our church hosts ESL classes on Wednesday nights. This year I was invited to teach a beginning English class. I’ve been nervous about it for two weeks. Finally, the big night arrived last night. I tell you what: I’m a blessed man.

In my class are cinco mujeres y dos hombres, all of them anxious and hungry to learn English. We had a great first evening together and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.

After all these years, I learned two new beautiful Spanish names. Yuri (pronounced “Yudi”) and Yesenia (“Pleece say me ‘Jesse’. ”).

I think I’ll schedule a "noche de sombreros locos” and then post pictures of the class on my Hats blog. I also want to give the class a reward for una noche sin Espanol (a night without Spanish). Maybe go out for something sweet or something. We’re gonna have fun this year. I’m a blessed man and in my heart I'm Salsa Dancing.

There are three heart-warming new pictures over on my Hats blog. Stop in.

The Joy of Labor

My First Wife and I had an intimate relationship with a couple of paint brushes on Labor Day Weekend. Part of it was in our dining room.

Ah, the lovely "Before" pictures. Can you say "regular old off-white?"


And the "after" pictures.




The cool color above the chair rail is called "Clay," as in terra cotta. It's really pretty good looking. We used the second brush to paint one living room wall "Sage Green." It's cool, too.

Remember to visit my Hats blog.

The Joy of Ballet

I was in the park today and found this delightful little lady dancing in color. Part of her tail is missing, but she's fit enough to flit among the flowers. Look at her delicate little legs. Her name is Amarilla, and she's a famous ballerina.


As our curtain opens, Amarilla receives a beautiful ovation.


Today's ballet is "The Flight to Naranja" (Orange)


Naranja Ballet


Amarilla's Ballet Delicado


Finale! A Perfect Landing!


Amarilla Gracefully Bows

The Joy of Relief

Praise the Lord! We had a major break in the temperature around Pancake Flats. Today was twenty-five degrees cooler than yesterday’s low. Whew-eee! I know it’s still hot in some places of the country and we’re all praying for you, but I tell you it’s a wonderful thing when relief finds its way here. July and August were hot, I tell you. How hot was it?

• "What if I get knocked down and end up on the pavement? Will I cook to death?"
• The birds used potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
• The trees whistled for the dogs.
• The best parking places were determined by shade, not distance.
• We steered our car with just two fingers.
• Hot water came out of both taps.
• The temperature dropped to 90 degrees and we felt a little chilly.
• The potatoes baked in the ground, so all we had to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.
• Chickens laid hard boiled eggs.
• The corn popped right off the stalk. The cows saw it all coming down, thought it was snow and stood there till they froze to death.

It was hot!

For something a little more refreshing, visit my Hats blog.