New wheels

Not yet, but as quick as I can put the scratch together.  Corinney and I went down to Sioux River Cyclery in Brookings.  This Bad Girl is as smooth as a baby's boom.  Pumped!

My Gary Fisher has a gazillion miles.  Might be time for a new ride.  I'll keep Gary and hop aboard for old times sake but mostly it'll be here for friends/fam who come to town.  We're always gonna ride when you come to town, don't ya know!

The question that's keeping me up at night:  Which color?  What say you?

the mindset difference between liberals & conservatives

Liberals, as a rule, rely heavily on the intellectual superiority of the ruling class; elites, if you will.  

Conservatives lean into the insightful experience of the man on the street.  

Observing young children offers this lifelong insight:  People figure out what works and does not work through their mistakes and re-adjustments.

Thomas Sowell has this to say: "...no one is smart enough to carry out social engineering, whether in the economy or in other areas where the results may not always be so easily quantifiable. We learn, not from our initial brilliance, but from trial and error adjustments to events as they unfold.

Science tells us that the human brain reaches its maximum potential in early adulthood. Why then are young adults so seldom capable of doing what people with more years of experience can do?

Because experience trumps brilliance.


"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn."
C. S. Lewis 

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell072710.php3

It does come back

After years of driving fuddy-duddy automatics, it was easy as fallin' off a log to drive Aaron's green Miata.  Just like riding a bicycle ~ you never forget.

When was I last behind the wheel of a 5-speed?  Our Mazda RX7 and, before that, a 911 Porsche.  Yellow she was.  

Thanx Aaron for trusting me.  Loved it!

staggering Reality

In humankind's quest for drama, we find ourselves manufacturing 'reality.'  The pitiful reality shows are one example of this quest for enigmatic drama. 

Let's talk about Reality so majestically wondrous that the revelation required God the Son coming to earth to reveal that Reality.  Yes, God's creation does long for drama of the God-kind:  the heavens declare His glory, the uncountable starry hosts are named and numbered by God as is each bird that drops and every hair that falls from the collective head of mankind.  The acute attention to detail on behalf of the Father's whole creation is staggering.

Here is a reality so dramatic that it cannot be comprehended this side of Eternity:  Jesus prays for us.  All the live long day - and night - Jesus the Creator, prays for me.  And you.  John 17:9

"Through Jesus all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made."  Given this fact, Jesus and His Father cherish their Masterpiece.  They uniformly hover over us with gentle concern.  Continually.  Nothing escapes the notice of the Triune Godhead.

Lord and Savior ~ Thank you that we never escape your thoughts.  You dwell on us in thought and deed; in prayer.  Make us aware.  We love you so

This is a song we sang at Daron's church in Leesburg.  It is my new hands-raised favorite praise tune:  Overcome by Desperation Band

Lift your hands to the King:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sjYWrpNoCs

'nough said

For some reason, the innocence of this beautiful child makes me cry.

Home again, home again jiggity jig

There is no place like it.  It was so breezy cool on the deck this morning, I thought I was in the Bahamas.  'Twas a welcome respite from the Virginia humidity.
I can wrap my arms around this community and it hugs back.
Glad to be home after a wonderful time with my girls and their beloveds.  Where were you Gee?  We did miss Gabriel, Elissa, Morgan and Isaiah.

This was the view from the plane from O'Hare to Fargo.  Looking like snow capped mountains, the puff marshmallow clouds were even more dramatic than this google image.  I was enraptured and said aloud, "(Wisdom) was there when (God) placed the heavens in place and marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep..."  Let us worship the cloud maker.

Anniversary celebration ~ belated

Joy and Nathaniel celebrated three years of Wedded Bliss on June 1st.  There VA Leesburg cycling outing commemorated the occasion, albeit a few days late.

Interesting note: They were able to fit snugly into DAron's cycling gear.  Only Nav could squeeze into Nad's stuff.  (My big toe wouldn't fit...never mind!)  The only thing that didn't fit was Danny Beth's bike.  Joy was a Struggler the whole 25 miles trying to ride her sister's road bike.  The Babe couldn't reach the dat-gum peddles.  She is, after all, 5 inches shorter than the MidBorn.
However, at the end of the grueling trek, Joy pronounced it "The most beautiful bike path I've ever ridden."
The black and white below is the W&OD bike path section called "Cathedral."  The summer smells splash your face as you float through this haven.  Glorious

Union Station, DC

"Your feet don't reach, Mom!" giggled Danny Beth.  "Story of my life," I replied.

DC by night

We booked a monument tour and as luck would have it, boarded the best tour guide's trolly in the place.  Lolleta was her name.  A real treat, she was.

 Iwa Jima monument

Leesburg out and about

German bistro ~ delicious mystery sandwiches - huge - accompanied by David Pepper's band.  The guy on the left played a mean funky looking fiddle/violin.

Aren't sisters the best

 Have mercy!  Aaron has been poring over this sci-fi novel like a man athirst.  Is it scary?  Not sure but his doo is.










D calls this "No buns."  Between the Big Buns and the Zero Buns, my grandBabes should come out about right.   

VA is for lovers ~ mothers, daughters and their beloveds

Some pictures of my July visit with Danielle and Aaron, Joy and Nathaniel.

 

Pic 1 ~ Wine tasting at Casanel's Winery.  We ate our nicpic lunch in the gazeeeb with a bottle of Viognier. 

 

A day in DC at the Smithsonian's:  Favorite installations were Julia Child's kitchen, First Lady's gowns, The Star Spangled Banner honoring Francis Scott Key and a marvelous gallery of Norman Rockwell originals on loan from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas's collections. 

This little doll plopped down beside me during our croissant turkey sandwich lunch in DC.
Glancing to my left, I was startled to see that little Pokie was nearly on my lap.  Is her name really Pokie?  Who knows, but that's what she told me.  Too cute

One can tell a lot about a person by the quotes they have around the house.   
Romans 12:9-12 is handwritten on Danielle's fridge:

Love from the core of who you are.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be best friends who love deeply.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.