Texas sized giggle from Fran

Three men married wives from different states.

The first man married a woman from Washington . He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.

The second man married a woman from Wyoming . He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn't see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done and there was a huge dinner on the table.

The third man married a girl from Texas . He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything. But by the third day, some of the puffiness had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher.


Guess where Fran is from? ;-)

peace.

Dayenu

I read this post today from www.naomimunn.blogspot.com and I wanted to share with you.

Hope it touches you as much as it did me.

Listen, I have to tell you something that you might not know if you're not Jewish:

Jews wrestle. We wrestle with God, we wrestle with ideas. We wrestle with angels and most of all, we wrestle with ourselves. We're supposed to -- the very name Israel means literally -- he who wrestles with God.

It's a wonder we don't have our own federation cage matches.

I'm wrestling (!) with a song tonight. It's a 1000-year old song from our Passover Seder entitled, "Dayenu" (It would have been enough.) In the song, we sing that if only God had just delivered us from slavery in Egypt -- it would have been enough. If God had then delivered us and gave us the the sabbath, it would have been enough. If God had delivered us, gave us the sabbath and then gave us the Torah, it would have been enough.

I've been thinking how humble, how hard it must REALLY be to live that concept. Imagine if you knew what you were missing, but understood that you just can't have it all. If only you'd been just dropped off at the curb instead of led to the promised land, it would have been enough. If only you'd been dropped off and then given some time off to recuperate, it would have been enough. And maybe, maybe if you'd then received some guidance about what to do next well, that's CERTAINLY enough.

Right?

Honestly, I can't say that. I can't say that if something or other had happened in my life, and not another, it would have been enough. Because it's taken everything to get me here -- I don't think I could have done without a thing; even the horrible things carve out the wellspring of joy I contain.

BUT, on the other hand (and I'm thinking as I type, dangerous, that) maybe the song is about being grateful for what we have NOW, instead of wishing for more. Maybe the song was written (and it was) in the spirit of thankfulness. Maybe it's written with the thought of not knowing what's ahead that we can have or cannot have -- maybe we're just supposed to contemplate on what's passed instead of what's ahead. Coveting, after all, doesn't just belong to material things.

If God has helped me to forge this writing career and I don't ever go any farther than this blog --Dayenu.

If God had only given me this beautiful family -- Dayenu.

If God had only given me the number of days I've used and no more -- Dayenu.

--Naomi

peace.

pictures as promised

hang on to your hats!!


the firepit and main entertainment area.


the front of the compound.


this is the bathroom and kitchen building. the washer/dryer building is over to the right.


here is the 1980 Winebago and tents compound.

so like i've said, i would have done this differently. i hope they make progress soon, july is coming.

peace.

weekend at Lake Wister

i will start off by saying that Lake Wister is very nice, the cabins are clean and sufficient and there are mountains to be seen in almost every direction. not bad for Oklahoma.

now on to the other stuff. went to see my dear friend and got exactly what i expected. 2 parents, 4 kids on top of a hill living in a 1980 Winebago, 2 tents and 2 out buildings-1 with a washer/dryer and tools in it and 1 housing the bathroom with an outdoor sink attached for washing dishes. they've been up there since february, running water, septic and electricity have just been run in the last couple of weeks. outhouse is still standing, but avoided by all!

they are readying their property for the dream house. the view is amazing, the location is great and they have a nice firepit and grill. personally, i would have rented a little place in town, built my dream house and then moved. but then i'm kind of high maintenance. i like running water, in-house facilities and walls around me. picky, picky, i know.

i hope they actually see it through to completion. i must admit, i have my doubts. they are always great dreamers, to-date, not great follow throughers. maybe this is their time. i hope so. time will tell.

and i do have pictures that i will post shortly. i know you can't wait.

peace.

challenge from a friend & weekend to remember

so today is my friday. i've taken off a couple of days for a 4 day weekend, total decadence.

but before i go, i received a challenge from my dear friend ellen. she basically told me i need to be writing every day. i do, but not here. for work usually, not just for me. so i'm going to try. maybe too much of a good thing, you let me know.
:-)

anyway, on to the weekend to remember. i have a dear childhood friend. she has always marched to her own drummer and i love that about her, but i think someone has seriously shaken her castanets this time.

long story made short, dearie and hubbie and four of their seven children have packed everything they own, bought 20 acres and a 1980 Winnebago and moved to Oklahoma. sounds a little liked they "loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly, Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars..." you get the idea, and you aren't so far from wrong.

anyway, no running water, electricity, etc...they are basically squatters on their own land with the idea of building their own home on this piece of heaven or Heavener to be exact. that's the name of the town.

and i'm going to visit. good news, there is a state park within minutes of their land and they have cabins. looking forward to the time away and i'm sure in my quest to write more, this weekend will give me lots of fodder!

who knows, maybe while i'm there i'll do a little huntin' and see if "up through the ground came a bubblin' crude. Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea." couldn't hurt.

i'll say hello to jed and grannie too.

peace.