For some reason, the combination of cut and styling products result in me having fantabulous bed-head. I mean, Mad Scientist. Not all all "Hey, You Just Woke Up Next to Jennifer Aniston and isn't Her Toussled Head Sexy?!" I mean Einstein. Bride of Frankenstein. The good news? It "finger combs" quite nicely so it is presentable by the time my feet hit the floor.
I'm less thin than I look in person. Photos capture how I really am, but if you see me in person, I have it all contained and packaged in a way that it doesn't look too shabby. If there were a way to make this show in photos, I would bottle it and sell it.
I am so conservative that I am liberal. I am so opposed to the federal government that I think a lot of thing should be legal that usually only "the Left" thinks should be legal. Or maybe not "legal" so much as the government should have no opinion.
I don't believe in running. I wouldn't run if the house was on fire. If someone comes after me with a gun or a knife or a bat, I am going down. I. Hate. Running. I barely even tolerate walking. I admire all my friends who run and who claim they get some kind of "high" out of it. Thanks, but I'll just go shopping (at a nice LEISURELY PACE) for my good endorphins.
My confession about Happy Christmas(War Is Over) reminded me of the rest of the songs or things I misheard for years, which you also didn't know about me.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game:
Being that I was born in Chicago, we always sang this as "for it's root, root, root for the Cubbies." I'm not sure exactly why since I was born in Oak Lawn and therefore was not capable of being a Northside fan. Anyway, the line after that is, of course, "if they don't win, it's a shame." Until embarassingly recently, I thought it was, "if they don't win, it's the same."
I'm sure you can understand why I didn't realize that was wrong since it's obviously NOT wrong!
Sealing Wax:
Honest to goodness, I thought this was ceiling wax. I figured that they somehow got double use out of it in the Victorian era and not only sealed their correspondance but also made lovely sculpted ceiling decor with it. You know, like a Victorian version of the popcorn ceilings of the 1970's.
That's all I can think of for now. I know, nothing earth-shattering here. But now you know!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
(I posted this on MySpace ages ago, but since I am really going to kill my MySpace, I thought I'd preserve this here)
When anyone wants to start a new religion, it’s usually best to begin with de-deifying Christ. After all, if He’s not ’"THE Deity anymore then you can pitch most/all of what He said and start over as you see fit. Should a new religion’s founders wish to keep Christ around, the best approach is then to reduce Him to "A" Deity and elevate yourself to "A" Diety as well. By doing this, you can keep enough of Christ around that people will not think you are a cult, but insert enough of yourself into things that you can always switch to cult status down the road when you have enough members.
This brings me to women starting religions vs men starting religions. The Christ/deity thing doesn’t seem to fall on gender lines. From the bit of reading I’ve done, men and women equally take both paths when it comes to dealing with Christianity. Where men and women differ, however, is in the area of sex.
Joseph Smith, David Koresh and Warren Steed Jeffs all amassed for themselves child brides pretty quickly upon establishing their religions. The documentation I read says that 33% of Joe’s brides were 14-20 when he married them. The hundreds of kids they picked up in the raid on YFZ Ranch in Eldorado reportedly identify multiple women as their mothers. And that whole things was predicated on a call to an abuse hotline from a 16 year complaining that a "sister wife" would hold her infant while she (the caller) was beaten by her 50 year old husband.
Compare that to Mother Ann Lee, who founded the Shakers, and Anna Spafford who led the American Colony in Jerusalem after her husband (Horatio Spafford) passed away. Both of these women ran religions that required celebacy amongst the members. Ann divided everybody into to "families" and they grew their numbers through adopting orphans. The American Colony commited itself to public service and flourished because they did not evangelize in the heart of Jerusalem at the turn of the 20th century.
I don’t recall Ann Lee’s background off the top of my head, but Horatio and Anna Spafford are best known for Horatio’s writing of the hymn "It Is Well". If you have attended an Protestant church, you know the story. Anna and the four daughters travel by sea to England. The boat is wrecked and Anna is the sole survivor. She sends a telegram "saved alone" to Horatio. As he travels to England to meet her, he pens the lyrics over the spot where the boat is wrecked. Apparently, they got a little loopy after that and started the American Colony so they could be in the Holy Land during the turn of the century. They felt that Christ would return for the event and they’d be there to meet Him. But I suppose that if my four children died at the same time and that only one of my two children born after that survived, I’d be a little loopy and looking for the Kingdom too.
Which brings me back to when women start religions. Do women just ultimately not like sex and take the first chance they have to abolish it under the guise of holiness? Or is an aversion to what causes children just the byproduct of the loss of five of your six children?
I think I have to side with the women here as being the lesser of two evils. At least they can put the USDA stamp of "no children were harmed in the making of this religion", unlike the con-man Joe Smith and the rest of the pedophiles founding religious sects in the last 100 years.
When anyone wants to start a new religion, it’s usually best to begin with de-deifying Christ. After all, if He’s not ’"THE Deity anymore then you can pitch most/all of what He said and start over as you see fit. Should a new religion’s founders wish to keep Christ around, the best approach is then to reduce Him to "A" Deity and elevate yourself to "A" Diety as well. By doing this, you can keep enough of Christ around that people will not think you are a cult, but insert enough of yourself into things that you can always switch to cult status down the road when you have enough members.
This brings me to women starting religions vs men starting religions. The Christ/deity thing doesn’t seem to fall on gender lines. From the bit of reading I’ve done, men and women equally take both paths when it comes to dealing with Christianity. Where men and women differ, however, is in the area of sex.
Joseph Smith, David Koresh and Warren Steed Jeffs all amassed for themselves child brides pretty quickly upon establishing their religions. The documentation I read says that 33% of Joe’s brides were 14-20 when he married them. The hundreds of kids they picked up in the raid on YFZ Ranch in Eldorado reportedly identify multiple women as their mothers. And that whole things was predicated on a call to an abuse hotline from a 16 year complaining that a "sister wife" would hold her infant while she (the caller) was beaten by her 50 year old husband.
Compare that to Mother Ann Lee, who founded the Shakers, and Anna Spafford who led the American Colony in Jerusalem after her husband (Horatio Spafford) passed away. Both of these women ran religions that required celebacy amongst the members. Ann divided everybody into to "families" and they grew their numbers through adopting orphans. The American Colony commited itself to public service and flourished because they did not evangelize in the heart of Jerusalem at the turn of the 20th century.
I don’t recall Ann Lee’s background off the top of my head, but Horatio and Anna Spafford are best known for Horatio’s writing of the hymn "It Is Well". If you have attended an Protestant church, you know the story. Anna and the four daughters travel by sea to England. The boat is wrecked and Anna is the sole survivor. She sends a telegram "saved alone" to Horatio. As he travels to England to meet her, he pens the lyrics over the spot where the boat is wrecked. Apparently, they got a little loopy after that and started the American Colony so they could be in the Holy Land during the turn of the century. They felt that Christ would return for the event and they’d be there to meet Him. But I suppose that if my four children died at the same time and that only one of my two children born after that survived, I’d be a little loopy and looking for the Kingdom too.
Which brings me back to when women start religions. Do women just ultimately not like sex and take the first chance they have to abolish it under the guise of holiness? Or is an aversion to what causes children just the byproduct of the loss of five of your six children?
I think I have to side with the women here as being the lesser of two evils. At least they can put the USDA stamp of "no children were harmed in the making of this religion", unlike the con-man Joe Smith and the rest of the pedophiles founding religious sects in the last 100 years.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
This Year in Review
So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young
*Happy Christmas (War is Over) John and Yoko
I don't actually know all the words to this song. For whatever reason, my ear and my brain conspired to hear it as "another year older". At that point, I stop listening because I feel like John Lennon is personally pointing out that I have let another year go by and accomplished precious little in my life. And it doesn't matter if it's the John Lennon version, Melissa Ethridge, etc. I hear it the same way every time.
My ear perks back up in time to catch "I hope you have fun" and hears it as "I hope you HAD fun". Again, more accusation from Johnny. "I hope you had FUN, Sarah, this past year while you accomplished NOT. MUCH. AT. ALL."
My old response was to resolve to make the next year different. To accomplish everything that John reminded me I hadn't done. Well, as you can imagine, that just made it all worse. This year I am going to change my attitude and say, "one of these years I am going to...." So here goes:
One of these years I am going to...
... get rid of my pants and wear only skirts and dresses. I have dabbled in this from time to time and always gained a very peaceful spirit because of it, but I haven't ever really committed. I am going to do this one of these years. It's not religious in intent. It's more like wanting to connect with a deeper level of feminity.
... reduce my HFCS intake. I'm not going to go all "Hollywood" and stop eating anything white. I believe in everything in moderation. It's just that I need to moderate my High Fructose Corn Syrup intake a bit.
... learn to hand-write things again. I would love some pretty stationary, perhaps with an "S" on the top, so I can correspond. I'm not sure exactly who I will correspond with, but I feel it's a lost skill already for the next generation. Maybe I can preserve it for at least a little longer. I am starting this year by taking a moment to send Christmas cards to some dear girlfriends with hand-written notes inside. It's hard! Harder than I thought! I need to re-employ this skill before I lose it entirely.
... go a little more vegetarian. Not a major overhaul. After all, I come from a huntin' family and I firmly believe in hunting as the bedrock of a conservationist's lifestyle. And I like nothing more than a bloody burger. But I think I could be a tad healthier if I were a little friendlier with veggies. I enjoy cooking so this would also let me learn a new skill.
... read more scripture. I have been reading the Psalms entirely once a month lately. If you read the Psalm that corresponds with the day of the month it is, and then read the 30th Psalm after that until you run out, you'll get through all 150 in a month. Someone suggested I read the life of Sarai/Sarah in more depth and I think maybe I'll do that.
I think maybe that's enough for one year. Probably enough for ten, based on my current rate of accomplishing resolutions.
So here's to 2010. What will you have done?
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young
*Happy Christmas (War is Over) John and Yoko
I don't actually know all the words to this song. For whatever reason, my ear and my brain conspired to hear it as "another year older". At that point, I stop listening because I feel like John Lennon is personally pointing out that I have let another year go by and accomplished precious little in my life. And it doesn't matter if it's the John Lennon version, Melissa Ethridge, etc. I hear it the same way every time.
My ear perks back up in time to catch "I hope you have fun" and hears it as "I hope you HAD fun". Again, more accusation from Johnny. "I hope you had FUN, Sarah, this past year while you accomplished NOT. MUCH. AT. ALL."
My old response was to resolve to make the next year different. To accomplish everything that John reminded me I hadn't done. Well, as you can imagine, that just made it all worse. This year I am going to change my attitude and say, "one of these years I am going to...." So here goes:
One of these years I am going to...
... get rid of my pants and wear only skirts and dresses. I have dabbled in this from time to time and always gained a very peaceful spirit because of it, but I haven't ever really committed. I am going to do this one of these years. It's not religious in intent. It's more like wanting to connect with a deeper level of feminity.
... reduce my HFCS intake. I'm not going to go all "Hollywood" and stop eating anything white. I believe in everything in moderation. It's just that I need to moderate my High Fructose Corn Syrup intake a bit.
... learn to hand-write things again. I would love some pretty stationary, perhaps with an "S" on the top, so I can correspond. I'm not sure exactly who I will correspond with, but I feel it's a lost skill already for the next generation. Maybe I can preserve it for at least a little longer. I am starting this year by taking a moment to send Christmas cards to some dear girlfriends with hand-written notes inside. It's hard! Harder than I thought! I need to re-employ this skill before I lose it entirely.
... go a little more vegetarian. Not a major overhaul. After all, I come from a huntin' family and I firmly believe in hunting as the bedrock of a conservationist's lifestyle. And I like nothing more than a bloody burger. But I think I could be a tad healthier if I were a little friendlier with veggies. I enjoy cooking so this would also let me learn a new skill.
... read more scripture. I have been reading the Psalms entirely once a month lately. If you read the Psalm that corresponds with the day of the month it is, and then read the 30th Psalm after that until you run out, you'll get through all 150 in a month. Someone suggested I read the life of Sarai/Sarah in more depth and I think maybe I'll do that.
I think maybe that's enough for one year. Probably enough for ten, based on my current rate of accomplishing resolutions.
So here's to 2010. What will you have done?
An Open Letter to "Stuff I Don't Need"
Dear Stuff -
I charged you on the credit card, which I had no business doing. I was feeling blue for a variety of reasons, so I bought you. I am going to do the right thing and tell Lancer and then return you. At least, return what I haven't worn yet.
Leopard shoes: you are amazing, but I don't need you. Love you, but don't need you. Yes, I understand your versatility. You looked fabulous with the jeans I was wearing and would have looked equally amazing with a pencil skirt or dress pants. And your heel is the perfect height. Not too tall, not too flat. I could have walked all over NYC in you and been fine. But I really Do. Not. Need. You.
Black peep-toes with the strap: I also don't need you. I work from home. It's a banner day when I change my underwear, so I really do not need any more dressy shoes. Yes, you were on clearance. Yes, I LOVE peep-toes and you'd have many friends in my show rack. Yes, you are very different from any other black shoe I own. Trust me, Black peep-toes with the straps, I already said all these things to myself and yet the truth remains: I don't really need you.
Black flats by Rocket Dog: I actually DO need you. You are replacing a pair I got from Target that are showing their age and their cheapness. Maybe you can stay. We'll have to see. If I can only keep one pair, I admit you are the only one I can justify. But frankly, you aren't much fun at all compared to Leopard or Black peep-toes with the strap.
Assorted cheap clothes from Old Navy: well, I've ripped the tags off you already and worn a few of you this evening, so I think you are staying. Along with the tights I bought at the shoe store. I atually do need the tights and the Old Navy stuff is just fun and was all on sale or on clearance.
I think this is a reasonable compromise. I got the thrill of buying each of you and the temporary relief from my blue-ness. You got the joy of my adoration for a bit. But I promise you this: someone else will re-buy you. You will not be back in the store for long. I just know it.
In you debt,
Sarah
I charged you on the credit card, which I had no business doing. I was feeling blue for a variety of reasons, so I bought you. I am going to do the right thing and tell Lancer and then return you. At least, return what I haven't worn yet.
Leopard shoes: you are amazing, but I don't need you. Love you, but don't need you. Yes, I understand your versatility. You looked fabulous with the jeans I was wearing and would have looked equally amazing with a pencil skirt or dress pants. And your heel is the perfect height. Not too tall, not too flat. I could have walked all over NYC in you and been fine. But I really Do. Not. Need. You.
Black peep-toes with the strap: I also don't need you. I work from home. It's a banner day when I change my underwear, so I really do not need any more dressy shoes. Yes, you were on clearance. Yes, I LOVE peep-toes and you'd have many friends in my show rack. Yes, you are very different from any other black shoe I own. Trust me, Black peep-toes with the straps, I already said all these things to myself and yet the truth remains: I don't really need you.
Black flats by Rocket Dog: I actually DO need you. You are replacing a pair I got from Target that are showing their age and their cheapness. Maybe you can stay. We'll have to see. If I can only keep one pair, I admit you are the only one I can justify. But frankly, you aren't much fun at all compared to Leopard or Black peep-toes with the strap.
Assorted cheap clothes from Old Navy: well, I've ripped the tags off you already and worn a few of you this evening, so I think you are staying. Along with the tights I bought at the shoe store. I atually do need the tights and the Old Navy stuff is just fun and was all on sale or on clearance.
I think this is a reasonable compromise. I got the thrill of buying each of you and the temporary relief from my blue-ness. You got the joy of my adoration for a bit. But I promise you this: someone else will re-buy you. You will not be back in the store for long. I just know it.
In you debt,
Sarah
Dear Quilting
My Dearest Quilting -
How did we never meet until now? I have been avoiding you for years, sensing deep inside that you were nothing but trouble. How could I have been so wrong? It seems we were made for each other.
Everything about you is tailor-made for me! In order to sucessfully quilt, I will have to build a stash of fabric. Hoarding? Did someone say hoarding? Why as a matter of fact, compulsive hoarding is a symptom of OCD. I wonder if reducing my meds would help me to be a better hoarder and therefore a better quilter? I get to save even the smallest scrap because it "could" be useful at some point.
Then there are all the skills that are required to make a beautiful quilt. I need to be precise in my cutting. I need to be perfect in my seam allowances. Don't forget the rules about color tone! If there is one thing I love, it's a rule that leads to perfection. If I can master the color rules, I can create a beautifully perfect quilt!
And most of all, above all else, UFOs are allowed. Apparently, UFO means UnFinished prOject. If there is ONE thing in this world I am good at, it is getting way excited about a new project, working hard at it initially, then getting really bored really fast and stuffing it into the craft closet half-finished to languish for years....nay, decades.
So, my dear quilting, I believe we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the near future. But don't get too attached. Felting has been batting her lashes at me of late and I can hear the siren-song of beading off in the distance.
Stitchingly Yours -
Sarah
How did we never meet until now? I have been avoiding you for years, sensing deep inside that you were nothing but trouble. How could I have been so wrong? It seems we were made for each other.
Everything about you is tailor-made for me! In order to sucessfully quilt, I will have to build a stash of fabric. Hoarding? Did someone say hoarding? Why as a matter of fact, compulsive hoarding is a symptom of OCD. I wonder if reducing my meds would help me to be a better hoarder and therefore a better quilter? I get to save even the smallest scrap because it "could" be useful at some point.
Then there are all the skills that are required to make a beautiful quilt. I need to be precise in my cutting. I need to be perfect in my seam allowances. Don't forget the rules about color tone! If there is one thing I love, it's a rule that leads to perfection. If I can master the color rules, I can create a beautifully perfect quilt!
And most of all, above all else, UFOs are allowed. Apparently, UFO means UnFinished prOject. If there is ONE thing in this world I am good at, it is getting way excited about a new project, working hard at it initially, then getting really bored really fast and stuffing it into the craft closet half-finished to languish for years....nay, decades.
So, my dear quilting, I believe we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the near future. But don't get too attached. Felting has been batting her lashes at me of late and I can hear the siren-song of beading off in the distance.
Stitchingly Yours -
Sarah
Sunday, September 6, 2009
One Friend, Two Friend, Red Friend, Blue Friend
I have been thinking a lot lately about Facebook and the weirdness that FB relationships can be.
I've been lucky - nothing really "bad" has happened to me through FB. I haven't dredged up any old feuds or started any serious new ones (just a little friendly banter now and then!) I haven't gone searching for old loves or anything that could have a lot of baggage. I actually do know all but maybe two of my "friends" and I keep meaning to delete the two I didn't know. They are just Mafia Wars family.
I have connected to an author or two whom I admire. Found an old teacher or two. Added a coworker or four. Built an additional connection to my closest circle of sisterwives.
The odd thing, though, is wondering if I would really even HAVE some of these friendships were it not for FB. Do they really exist outside FB? If I delete my page tomorrow, will we still keep in touch?
I had dinner last week with a friend I reconnected with through FB and with his wife who is a subsequent FB friend. As we talked, the question of when we last were in touch came up. Our best guess is sometime in 1993. I considered him a very good friend at the time and yet we fell out of touch 16 years ago. So was it REALLY that good of a friendship and I am just supremely lazy about keeping in touch (see my previous blog where I mention my love of sloth.....)? Or was it just a high school friendship that ran its course and that's it?
I tend to think it's the former. I enjoyed my friend's company at dinner as much as I ever did in the past and his wife is really neat gal. She's someone I would definitely want to build a friendship with if they lived in the area. And I like them as a couple - they are good together.
I have reconnected with high school acquaintances, only to find now that they are people I wouldn't feel weird calling "friends" now. It's too bad those friendships couldn't have been deeper in high school. I guess maybe we were just too wrapped up in our own skin to make that connection, but I'm glad we've had the second chance.
Only one disappointment - that my partner in politics in high school has gone over to the dark side (he's the "blue" friend in the title!). But I can forgive him as his heart is truly compassionate and we really want many of the same things in this world, albeit via different routes. It's neat to see where he is now, on many levels, this many years later.
And finally, family..... To be honest with you, I'd have little clue what is going on in my family and extended family if it weren't for FB. I love my cousins, but what are the odds that with her four kids and his work and wife that we'd really talk that much on the phone? But I can find out within a minute or two what they did with their weekend, how their kids are growing, etc.
All in all, it is working for me and working well. I don't think I'm really to "tweet" any time soon, but I'll hopefully add one friend or two friends, red friends and blue friends.
I've been lucky - nothing really "bad" has happened to me through FB. I haven't dredged up any old feuds or started any serious new ones (just a little friendly banter now and then!) I haven't gone searching for old loves or anything that could have a lot of baggage. I actually do know all but maybe two of my "friends" and I keep meaning to delete the two I didn't know. They are just Mafia Wars family.
I have connected to an author or two whom I admire. Found an old teacher or two. Added a coworker or four. Built an additional connection to my closest circle of sisterwives.
The odd thing, though, is wondering if I would really even HAVE some of these friendships were it not for FB. Do they really exist outside FB? If I delete my page tomorrow, will we still keep in touch?
I had dinner last week with a friend I reconnected with through FB and with his wife who is a subsequent FB friend. As we talked, the question of when we last were in touch came up. Our best guess is sometime in 1993. I considered him a very good friend at the time and yet we fell out of touch 16 years ago. So was it REALLY that good of a friendship and I am just supremely lazy about keeping in touch (see my previous blog where I mention my love of sloth.....)? Or was it just a high school friendship that ran its course and that's it?
I tend to think it's the former. I enjoyed my friend's company at dinner as much as I ever did in the past and his wife is really neat gal. She's someone I would definitely want to build a friendship with if they lived in the area. And I like them as a couple - they are good together.
I have reconnected with high school acquaintances, only to find now that they are people I wouldn't feel weird calling "friends" now. It's too bad those friendships couldn't have been deeper in high school. I guess maybe we were just too wrapped up in our own skin to make that connection, but I'm glad we've had the second chance.
Only one disappointment - that my partner in politics in high school has gone over to the dark side (he's the "blue" friend in the title!). But I can forgive him as his heart is truly compassionate and we really want many of the same things in this world, albeit via different routes. It's neat to see where he is now, on many levels, this many years later.
And finally, family..... To be honest with you, I'd have little clue what is going on in my family and extended family if it weren't for FB. I love my cousins, but what are the odds that with her four kids and his work and wife that we'd really talk that much on the phone? But I can find out within a minute or two what they did with their weekend, how their kids are growing, etc.
All in all, it is working for me and working well. I don't think I'm really to "tweet" any time soon, but I'll hopefully add one friend or two friends, red friends and blue friends.
The Impossible Dream
It's becoming apparent that this whole "realign my life to match the poem" thing is not realistic.
Monday: it's a busy day at work and while I can *technically* step away from the desk now and then to throw a load of wash in, I just haven't found the rhythym yet.
Tuesday: I hate to iron. Simple as that. It's not about the day, it's about the hate.
Wednesday: This is the ONE day that is working for me! Only I'm not technically mending, I'm just sewing/crafting. We're not really that hard on our clothes and there's really not any mending that needs to be done on a weekly basis.
Thursday: I guess there are actually two days that work. I can ALWAYS find a reason to shop.
Friday: This is basically working, but mostly because of summer hours and the ability to be away from the desk in the afternoon.
Saturday: I baked macaroni and cheese last week, but that's it. The truth is that we really don't need baked goods around here. We're having enough trouble correcting our food habits lately and I don't need to make it worse on us.
Sunday: I'm pretty good at resting, thanks to "sloth" being my fave of the 7 Deadlies.
Well, when I look at it like that, I guess I'm not so far off as I thought! What really didn't work was the week I traveled for work. Maybe it's worth giving this another go before I say "impossible".
Monday: it's a busy day at work and while I can *technically* step away from the desk now and then to throw a load of wash in, I just haven't found the rhythym yet.
Tuesday: I hate to iron. Simple as that. It's not about the day, it's about the hate.
Wednesday: This is the ONE day that is working for me! Only I'm not technically mending, I'm just sewing/crafting. We're not really that hard on our clothes and there's really not any mending that needs to be done on a weekly basis.
Thursday: I guess there are actually two days that work. I can ALWAYS find a reason to shop.
Friday: This is basically working, but mostly because of summer hours and the ability to be away from the desk in the afternoon.
Saturday: I baked macaroni and cheese last week, but that's it. The truth is that we really don't need baked goods around here. We're having enough trouble correcting our food habits lately and I don't need to make it worse on us.
Sunday: I'm pretty good at resting, thanks to "sloth" being my fave of the 7 Deadlies.
Well, when I look at it like that, I guess I'm not so far off as I thought! What really didn't work was the week I traveled for work. Maybe it's worth giving this another go before I say "impossible".
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Week in Reivew
I did not have a great start to my week. I had Depression Fest instead. Fortunately, it was short lived and I got out of bed and back on track fairly quickly.
Monday - I didn't wash on Monday. I actually did the laundry last Sunday when I spent the day in my sewing room which is right by the washing machine. Since I was sitting right there it made sense to just do the laundry.
Tuesday - still no ironing. This is going to be a tough one to get into!
Wednesday - I didn't mend, but I did sew. I guess technically I did "mend" because I started mending my sleep schedule which had been thrown out the window for Depression Fest.
Thursday - I shopped! And it was the best kind of shopping! I have the CVS discount card and I have started matching their cardholder deals to my coupons to get a better price. I won't bore you with my entire receipt, but I will share one highlight:
With my card, Rimmel mascara was buy 1 get 1 50% off. I had a $1 off coupon and a $2 off coupon. So the price was $7.69 (or something) and $3.75(ish) for the second one. By using one coupon on each item, I got two mascaras for roughly the price of one.
Hooray! I suffer from "inadequate lashes" (Brooke Shields diagnosed me) but the idea of Latisse coloring my eyes brown forever is frightening so I suffer along as best I can with only mascara.
Friday - I cleaned. Sorta. I really just picked up my messes and no one elses. This was not very kind of me, but it was all I had in me.
For Bake on Saturday, I am kicking around making baked macaroni and cheese in the new oven. I am hoping that counts. It seems only fitting that a week that started with Depression Fest end with the best combination in the world: simple carbs and baked cheese.
(Coming soon - a blog about the fact that I was not, in fact, born on Thursday. Instead of having "far to go", I am "full of grace". I don't know about that....)
Monday - I didn't wash on Monday. I actually did the laundry last Sunday when I spent the day in my sewing room which is right by the washing machine. Since I was sitting right there it made sense to just do the laundry.
Tuesday - still no ironing. This is going to be a tough one to get into!
Wednesday - I didn't mend, but I did sew. I guess technically I did "mend" because I started mending my sleep schedule which had been thrown out the window for Depression Fest.
Thursday - I shopped! And it was the best kind of shopping! I have the CVS discount card and I have started matching their cardholder deals to my coupons to get a better price. I won't bore you with my entire receipt, but I will share one highlight:
With my card, Rimmel mascara was buy 1 get 1 50% off. I had a $1 off coupon and a $2 off coupon. So the price was $7.69 (or something) and $3.75(ish) for the second one. By using one coupon on each item, I got two mascaras for roughly the price of one.
Hooray! I suffer from "inadequate lashes" (Brooke Shields diagnosed me) but the idea of Latisse coloring my eyes brown forever is frightening so I suffer along as best I can with only mascara.
Friday - I cleaned. Sorta. I really just picked up my messes and no one elses. This was not very kind of me, but it was all I had in me.
For Bake on Saturday, I am kicking around making baked macaroni and cheese in the new oven. I am hoping that counts. It seems only fitting that a week that started with Depression Fest end with the best combination in the world: simple carbs and baked cheese.
(Coming soon - a blog about the fact that I was not, in fact, born on Thursday. Instead of having "far to go", I am "full of grace". I don't know about that....)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
A Rest in Development
Rest on Sunday. This one is going to take a bit to figure out. I haven't really any idea what to do with this one off the top of my head. The rest of the week is pretty easy. It's just a matter of rearranging what I am already doing on a weekly basis. Ok, ok....so I DO technically need to get a lot better acquainted with my iron, but it's not as if I don't know what the basic chores are.
Rest, however, has me a bit stumped.
True rest, as in sleeping in and napping and going to bed early, seems too much like sloth.
On Sundays I sometimes like to sew or shop, but those are chores on Wednesday and Thursday, so perhaps I shouldn't do them so as to better rest. But if I enjoy those tasks on Sunday and they don't feel like a chore, then is that rest?
I could go hardcore. I could take a cue from my inner Orthodox Jewess (complete with her dowdy black skirt and covered head) and tear off the toilet paper I'll need the night before so I don't do that work on the Sabbath. But that would be interchanging the Sabbath (Friday night to Saturday night) with Sunday and that would not be right. The Sabbath is its own thing entirely and you can't just say, "hey, I'm a Christian so we'll do all the same stuff on Sunday." (IMHO)
All this leads me back to the original question of what exactly constitutes Rest of Sunday. God rested on the 7th day, but again, that was Saturday, the Sabbath. Even so, it seems reasonable to at take a look at exactly what God was doing that do as a hint as to what I ought to do.
I have a Key Word Study Bible (NIV) by AMG Publishers. My Bible uses the Goodrick/Kohlenbereger numbering systemto identify key words of the original language. So anytime a word is numbered (Hebrew or Greek) you can look up the index in the back and find a more full definition of the word.
And away we go......
Genesis 2:1-2
Thus the Heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating he had done.
Rested: Sabat - to rest, cease; to come to an end; to keep or celebrate the Sabbath; to be ended; to sever; to bring an end; have an end; to destroy; to cause to rest; let rest; to cease to exist; to remove; take away. The most basic meaning is found in Genesis 8:22, where God declared that "as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat; summer and winter; day and night will never cease." The term is used of God's rest after He had complete the work of creation. Also used of men who cear from labor, land which lies desolate, travelers who rest from traveling and elders who "rested" from the gate (ie, did not go to the forums on the Sabbath). Other meanings include to put away, to put down, to be lacking and to eliminate.
That didn't help at all. I don't want to be like land which lies desolate (although sometimes spending a Sunday in bed with the TV and internets is not only appealing but probably looks fairly desolate).
So let's look at "doing" to see what God was doing that he rested from.
Doing: Asah - to do, make, work, create, accomplish, prepare, to obey, to offer, sacrifice. Essentially means to do or make in a general sense. Carries the connotation of ethical obligation.
Actually, when combined, I think this helps.
If my "doing" during the week is what I am obliged to do, what I do out of obedience, is made up of time that I sacrifice, then couldn't my "rest" be as simple as making the choice of what to do? Couldn't my "rest" be the same as my "doing" if my "doing" if I want to be doing it? I don't mean that Sundays should be spent being indulgent and only doing what my little heart desires. But in a more general sense, maybe "rest" just means to not be bound by obligation to the same schedule I have during the week. I *could* do some of the same things, but it must not be with a sense of obligation if it is to be restful.
An author I like is Lauren Winner. In Mudhouse Sabbath, she talks about how the scripture references the Sabbath. She points out that verses vary between "Observe the Sabbath" and "Remember the Sabbath". The point is that a person can "observe" the Sabbath that is approaching or "remember" the Sabbath they just experienced. The Sabbath is so set apart from the other days of the week that it really sticks out in your mind whether you are recalling the last one or looking forward to the next one.
I think maybe that fits in to all this too, although I don't see exactly how just yet.
This really is a rest in development. I do not have the answer yet.
Rest, however, has me a bit stumped.
True rest, as in sleeping in and napping and going to bed early, seems too much like sloth.
On Sundays I sometimes like to sew or shop, but those are chores on Wednesday and Thursday, so perhaps I shouldn't do them so as to better rest. But if I enjoy those tasks on Sunday and they don't feel like a chore, then is that rest?
I could go hardcore. I could take a cue from my inner Orthodox Jewess (complete with her dowdy black skirt and covered head) and tear off the toilet paper I'll need the night before so I don't do that work on the Sabbath. But that would be interchanging the Sabbath (Friday night to Saturday night) with Sunday and that would not be right. The Sabbath is its own thing entirely and you can't just say, "hey, I'm a Christian so we'll do all the same stuff on Sunday." (IMHO)
All this leads me back to the original question of what exactly constitutes Rest of Sunday. God rested on the 7th day, but again, that was Saturday, the Sabbath. Even so, it seems reasonable to at take a look at exactly what God was doing that do as a hint as to what I ought to do.
I have a Key Word Study Bible (NIV) by AMG Publishers. My Bible uses the Goodrick/Kohlenbereger numbering systemto identify key words of the original language. So anytime a word is numbered (Hebrew or Greek) you can look up the index in the back and find a more full definition of the word.
And away we go......
Genesis 2:1-2
Thus the Heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating he had done.
Rested: Sabat - to rest, cease; to come to an end; to keep or celebrate the Sabbath; to be ended; to sever; to bring an end; have an end; to destroy; to cause to rest; let rest; to cease to exist; to remove; take away. The most basic meaning is found in Genesis 8:22, where God declared that "as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat; summer and winter; day and night will never cease." The term is used of God's rest after He had complete the work of creation. Also used of men who cear from labor, land which lies desolate, travelers who rest from traveling and elders who "rested" from the gate (ie, did not go to the forums on the Sabbath). Other meanings include to put away, to put down, to be lacking and to eliminate.
That didn't help at all. I don't want to be like land which lies desolate (although sometimes spending a Sunday in bed with the TV and internets is not only appealing but probably looks fairly desolate).
So let's look at "doing" to see what God was doing that he rested from.
Doing: Asah - to do, make, work, create, accomplish, prepare, to obey, to offer, sacrifice. Essentially means to do or make in a general sense. Carries the connotation of ethical obligation.
Actually, when combined, I think this helps.
If my "doing" during the week is what I am obliged to do, what I do out of obedience, is made up of time that I sacrifice, then couldn't my "rest" be as simple as making the choice of what to do? Couldn't my "rest" be the same as my "doing" if my "doing" if I want to be doing it? I don't mean that Sundays should be spent being indulgent and only doing what my little heart desires. But in a more general sense, maybe "rest" just means to not be bound by obligation to the same schedule I have during the week. I *could* do some of the same things, but it must not be with a sense of obligation if it is to be restful.
An author I like is Lauren Winner. In Mudhouse Sabbath, she talks about how the scripture references the Sabbath. She points out that verses vary between "Observe the Sabbath" and "Remember the Sabbath". The point is that a person can "observe" the Sabbath that is approaching or "remember" the Sabbath they just experienced. The Sabbath is so set apart from the other days of the week that it really sticks out in your mind whether you are recalling the last one or looking forward to the next one.
I think maybe that fits in to all this too, although I don't see exactly how just yet.
This really is a rest in development. I do not have the answer yet.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Clean Sweep
Not exactly. I don't like to sweep. I love to vacuum because you can make cool rows of lines in the carpet with the Dyson, but I hate to deal with the hardfloors.
I didn't really clean much after all. I basically just put away some laundry and cleaned out the fridge. There was a bit of clutter to deal with and that's pretty much the extent of it.
It was a Pharisee cleaning for sure (just the outside of the cup for those who are wondering), but that is OK. Sometimes that is all you have in you. The cup can soak overnight and the inside can get cleaned another time.
During the course of my first week at this new chore schedule, I was thinking again about the fact that, from a VERY early age, I never understood the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible. The story goes that Martha had a roast in the oven, veggies steaming on the stove, a table that was only half set, there was an empty roll in the bathroom because Lazarus hadn't replaced the TP, and the floors definitely hadn't been swept. Mary was in the family room with Jesus with her feet up on the coffee table.
Martha asked Jesus to make Mary help her. Now, while I agree that tattling was not Martha's brightest move that day, I never understood why she was chided and why prissy Miss Mary got patted on the back for sitting with Jesus. If Mary had gotten up and helped, EVERYONE could have sat down and enjoyed time with Jesus AND a good meal in a clean house.
There was no need for Martha to have to do it all and "just don't do it" never seemed like a good answer to me.
Tomorrow is Bake on Saturday and I think it's not going to happen. I don't believe in microwave baking (it's sick and wrong) and I haven't found a crock pot baking recipe that doesn't sound like a mushy mess. I realize that EVERYTHING that comes from a crock pot is a mooshy mess (ie, mooshy stew, mooshy roast, mooshy Italian beef) but I don't think bready things should be mooshy.
Maybe I'll just Rest on Sunday AND Saturday. Perhaps Martha had it wrong after all.
I didn't really clean much after all. I basically just put away some laundry and cleaned out the fridge. There was a bit of clutter to deal with and that's pretty much the extent of it.
It was a Pharisee cleaning for sure (just the outside of the cup for those who are wondering), but that is OK. Sometimes that is all you have in you. The cup can soak overnight and the inside can get cleaned another time.
During the course of my first week at this new chore schedule, I was thinking again about the fact that, from a VERY early age, I never understood the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible. The story goes that Martha had a roast in the oven, veggies steaming on the stove, a table that was only half set, there was an empty roll in the bathroom because Lazarus hadn't replaced the TP, and the floors definitely hadn't been swept. Mary was in the family room with Jesus with her feet up on the coffee table.
Martha asked Jesus to make Mary help her. Now, while I agree that tattling was not Martha's brightest move that day, I never understood why she was chided and why prissy Miss Mary got patted on the back for sitting with Jesus. If Mary had gotten up and helped, EVERYONE could have sat down and enjoyed time with Jesus AND a good meal in a clean house.
There was no need for Martha to have to do it all and "just don't do it" never seemed like a good answer to me.
Tomorrow is Bake on Saturday and I think it's not going to happen. I don't believe in microwave baking (it's sick and wrong) and I haven't found a crock pot baking recipe that doesn't sound like a mushy mess. I realize that EVERYTHING that comes from a crock pot is a mooshy mess (ie, mooshy stew, mooshy roast, mooshy Italian beef) but I don't think bready things should be mooshy.
Maybe I'll just Rest on Sunday AND Saturday. Perhaps Martha had it wrong after all.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Churn, Baby, Churn......
There was no churning today. Scratch that. There WAS churning today but it was all internal. I'll spare you the details, but it appears that my "system" doesn't care to have me throw seared tuna at it three nights in a row. This is really too bad because I LOVE tuna served up nice and raw, preferably with some "Remi" sauce. That's a sauce that Remi McManus taught us to make with soy, sesame oil and that spicey red chili sauce that I can't spell or say. Srirachi???
There was no buying either, even though that is my substitute for churning. I decided that the last thing my belly needed was fiber so I didn't bother with spinach for a salad. And since our 30 year old copper brown stove finally died, I won't have an oven for "Bake on Saturday". No chocolate chips needed. I am thinking of experimenting with crock pot baking. Apparently you can bake some bread pudding kinds of things in them. We shall see what we shall see.
I've been thinking of a lot of old fashioned experiments I can try and use to fuel my blog. I read today about "no poo", which sounds really appealing considering the aforementioned tuna-induced tummy issue. It actually refers to not using shampoo. Apparently you rotate between baking soda scalp scrubs and cider vinegar rinses. After your scalp gets used to the idea that it doesn't have to over-produce oil because you aren't stripping the natural oil with shampoo, things settle down and you have fabulously healthy hair.
I'm not entirely sold yet, partially because some of the crowd that advocates this believe that shampoo is giving you cancer through your skin. I'm not so sure about that conspiracy theory. But it does sound intriguing and since I work from home, I could plan to do this when I won't be traveling anyway and can wait out the oil glands in my scalp.
Up for tomorrow is Clean on Friday. This should be pretty easy. I usually clean on Saturday and since everyone pitches in, it really isn't too bad to get this place into decent shape. It may take a little extra elbow grease this week since we're coming off of a bunch of houseguests last weekend, but all in all, it shouldn't be bad. I'm excited that moving my cleaning to Friday night should leave my Saturday wide open for more pleasant activities. It's not like I was doing much on Friday night anyway!
There was no buying either, even though that is my substitute for churning. I decided that the last thing my belly needed was fiber so I didn't bother with spinach for a salad. And since our 30 year old copper brown stove finally died, I won't have an oven for "Bake on Saturday". No chocolate chips needed. I am thinking of experimenting with crock pot baking. Apparently you can bake some bread pudding kinds of things in them. We shall see what we shall see.
I've been thinking of a lot of old fashioned experiments I can try and use to fuel my blog. I read today about "no poo", which sounds really appealing considering the aforementioned tuna-induced tummy issue. It actually refers to not using shampoo. Apparently you rotate between baking soda scalp scrubs and cider vinegar rinses. After your scalp gets used to the idea that it doesn't have to over-produce oil because you aren't stripping the natural oil with shampoo, things settle down and you have fabulously healthy hair.
I'm not entirely sold yet, partially because some of the crowd that advocates this believe that shampoo is giving you cancer through your skin. I'm not so sure about that conspiracy theory. But it does sound intriguing and since I work from home, I could plan to do this when I won't be traveling anyway and can wait out the oil glands in my scalp.
Up for tomorrow is Clean on Friday. This should be pretty easy. I usually clean on Saturday and since everyone pitches in, it really isn't too bad to get this place into decent shape. It may take a little extra elbow grease this week since we're coming off of a bunch of houseguests last weekend, but all in all, it shouldn't be bad. I'm excited that moving my cleaning to Friday night should leave my Saturday wide open for more pleasant activities. It's not like I was doing much on Friday night anyway!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ironing: No Flags. Mending: Six Flags.
You probably have the 6 Flags commercial in your head now. Sorry 'bout that.
Tuesday: I didn't iron. Not even a little. I hid behind the "Jaime is still here and we invited Dad to dinner too" excuse. Jaime is only here once a year, so I think that part was legit.
The truth is that I hate ironing. Hate. It. My husband likes ironing and even uses spray starch when he has the chance. But he learned pretty quickly that I hate ironing so much that it was worth it to have the dress shirts laundered and pressed professionally rather than wait for me to get to it.
I'm not sure where this started. It's not as if I was made to slavishly iron as a child or something. It's just SO tedious and because you are just going to put the clothes on, the are going to wrinkle right away. It's a chore that you undo as quickly as you do.
I'll try again next week. I usually have an ironing party once every few months when I really need my nicer clothes. Maybe I can get into a routine where I do a little every week rather than save it all for the "party".
Wednesday: I mended.
Now, before anyone applauds, I mended stuff that got ruined nearly a year ago. Lance crashed about 15 minutes into the Twilight Criterium of the Gateway Cup which is held during Labor Day weekend. He broke his collarbone, as injury he recognized immediately because it was the same collarbone he had broken a few years before. And I had that moment of race wife ESP and when the announcer said "crash in turn 3", I knew it was my Lance. "The Other White Lance", as my mom used to call him.
We spent the evening in a downtown St Louis ER, awaiting our turn behind the GSWs and car accidents. Lance was kind enough to sit by the crazy man so I didn't have to. Our token black friend came to see how Lance was and realized he really has become white after all these years and lacked the "cred" to sit in the waiting room. (BTW, Tim would laugh if he read this and recalled that night.)
Unfortunately, Lance didn't heal well and ended up having to have surgery in December to plate the bones. The recovery was slow and painful. He's still having some odd pain, especially in crummy weather.
The items I mended needed way less attention and yet it took me a year. The jersey itself was basically just really scuffed and had a few holes rubbed into it courtesy of the pavement. All I could really do was stitch around the holes in order to keep them from growing. He can at least train in the jersey, even though it's really not race worthy. The Craft base layer was simple to repair because I am the one who cut it. The ER folk always want to slice into your kit and you have to stop them and demand that your wife cut your kit off of you so she can salvage it. After all, the kit is expensive and isn't covered by insurance! A good little '50's wife like me can salvage your kit if you let HER be the one to cut it off you!
So that's my Wednesday. I did my husband's mending. And then I rewarded myself by working on a couple of aprons.
Thursday? Churn is traditional but I'm turning "churn" into "shop". We don't need groceries at all. In fact, we don't need anything at all. Oh, wait, we do need baby spinach. And chocolate chips so I can "Bake on Saturday".
Tuesday: I didn't iron. Not even a little. I hid behind the "Jaime is still here and we invited Dad to dinner too" excuse. Jaime is only here once a year, so I think that part was legit.
The truth is that I hate ironing. Hate. It. My husband likes ironing and even uses spray starch when he has the chance. But he learned pretty quickly that I hate ironing so much that it was worth it to have the dress shirts laundered and pressed professionally rather than wait for me to get to it.
I'm not sure where this started. It's not as if I was made to slavishly iron as a child or something. It's just SO tedious and because you are just going to put the clothes on, the are going to wrinkle right away. It's a chore that you undo as quickly as you do.
I'll try again next week. I usually have an ironing party once every few months when I really need my nicer clothes. Maybe I can get into a routine where I do a little every week rather than save it all for the "party".
Wednesday: I mended.
Now, before anyone applauds, I mended stuff that got ruined nearly a year ago. Lance crashed about 15 minutes into the Twilight Criterium of the Gateway Cup which is held during Labor Day weekend. He broke his collarbone, as injury he recognized immediately because it was the same collarbone he had broken a few years before. And I had that moment of race wife ESP and when the announcer said "crash in turn 3", I knew it was my Lance. "The Other White Lance", as my mom used to call him.
We spent the evening in a downtown St Louis ER, awaiting our turn behind the GSWs and car accidents. Lance was kind enough to sit by the crazy man so I didn't have to. Our token black friend came to see how Lance was and realized he really has become white after all these years and lacked the "cred" to sit in the waiting room. (BTW, Tim would laugh if he read this and recalled that night.)
Unfortunately, Lance didn't heal well and ended up having to have surgery in December to plate the bones. The recovery was slow and painful. He's still having some odd pain, especially in crummy weather.
The items I mended needed way less attention and yet it took me a year. The jersey itself was basically just really scuffed and had a few holes rubbed into it courtesy of the pavement. All I could really do was stitch around the holes in order to keep them from growing. He can at least train in the jersey, even though it's really not race worthy. The Craft base layer was simple to repair because I am the one who cut it. The ER folk always want to slice into your kit and you have to stop them and demand that your wife cut your kit off of you so she can salvage it. After all, the kit is expensive and isn't covered by insurance! A good little '50's wife like me can salvage your kit if you let HER be the one to cut it off you!
So that's my Wednesday. I did my husband's mending. And then I rewarded myself by working on a couple of aprons.
Thursday? Churn is traditional but I'm turning "churn" into "shop". We don't need groceries at all. In fact, we don't need anything at all. Oh, wait, we do need baby spinach. And chocolate chips so I can "Bake on Saturday".
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Wash Day
My first "Wash on Monday" was a bust. There were a couple of reasons for this.
1) Because of having Kenda Procycling (presented by Spinergy) at our house for the weekend of races in Downers Grove, I had to launder nearly every towel and sheet set in the house. I never even got to washing clothing because of all the linens.
2) It was rainy and then muggy and then rainy so I couldn't put anything on the clothesline. I use the clothesline in the backyard nearly exclusively during the spring, summer and fall, but I can't use it when the weather is bad. It needs to be breezy at the very least and preferably sunny too.
It could have been worse, of course. I could have been washing down by the creek with a washboard the way the women who wrote the rhyme did their washing. I could be making my own soap.
Speaking of which, several friends of mine DO make their own laundry soap. I have been thinking that once I master this whole chores of the week rhyme that maybe I'll branch out into stuff like that. I'm not entirely convinced that homemade laundry detergent will work as well as the big orange bottle of Tide, but it might be fun to give it a shot. One thing I will NOT try, though, is hand washing anything. Homemade soap is one thing. Using the clothesline just makes good environmental sense. But hand washing? That's taking it too far!
Iron on Tuesday is coming up next. This should be interesting as I usually iron about once a quarter and have a bit of a backlog to catch up on.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Rhyme Time
I can't remember exactly when I started thinking about it. I think maybe it was when I saw the Julie/Julia movie commercial for the umpteenth time or read an article about the storyline. The story is that Julie decides to cook her way through Julia's cookbook and blog about it. For whatever reason, I thought about blogging about sewing but I don't sew quite enough for that. From there I free-associated to some sort of "structure" (like a cookbook) I could use as the framework for a blog. And from there I free-associated to the old "Wash on Monday" rhyme.
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday
I am pretty sure I first heard this in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books. I thought I'd see if I could find the origin of it, which I have not exactly been able to do. However, rhymes.org did introduce me to an old English version which is as follows:
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Bake on Wednesday
Brew on Thursday
Churn on Friday
Mend on Saturday
Go to meeting on Sunday
And so begins my task of reorganizing my life to follow this age-old pattern. I don't know if it will work better than my current routine, but there must have been some reason women did it this way for hundreds of years. Hopefully, I'll find out why they did this. Or I'll find out why we all stopped bothering with this structure. Maybe it doesn't fit well in the modern world.
I've opted to use the first and more familiar version of the rhyme for a couple of reason. The primary reason is that I haven't come up with a good substitute for "Brew on Thursday". For churn, I will substitute "shop". I do plan to make butter at some point, but I don't see it being a weekly event.
I picked "Wednesday Girl" because I like "mend" the best of the items on the list. That said, using "Wednesday Girl" could cause some confusion if you are aware of the rhyme about a person's disposition based on the day they were born. Here it is:
Mondays child is fair of face
Tuesdays child is full of grace
Wednesdays child is full of woe
Thursdays child has far to go
Fridays child is loving and giving
Saturdays child works hard for his living
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay
I don't want my blog to be about woe. I was actually born on a Thursday, but I don't like the idea of "far to go" or of churning.
So Wednesday it is.... Wednesday Girl stitching things together. The past and the present and the future. Hopefully, it all comes out in the wash.
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday
I am pretty sure I first heard this in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books. I thought I'd see if I could find the origin of it, which I have not exactly been able to do. However, rhymes.org did introduce me to an old English version which is as follows:
Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Bake on Wednesday
Brew on Thursday
Churn on Friday
Mend on Saturday
Go to meeting on Sunday
And so begins my task of reorganizing my life to follow this age-old pattern. I don't know if it will work better than my current routine, but there must have been some reason women did it this way for hundreds of years. Hopefully, I'll find out why they did this. Or I'll find out why we all stopped bothering with this structure. Maybe it doesn't fit well in the modern world.
I've opted to use the first and more familiar version of the rhyme for a couple of reason. The primary reason is that I haven't come up with a good substitute for "Brew on Thursday". For churn, I will substitute "shop". I do plan to make butter at some point, but I don't see it being a weekly event.
I picked "Wednesday Girl" because I like "mend" the best of the items on the list. That said, using "Wednesday Girl" could cause some confusion if you are aware of the rhyme about a person's disposition based on the day they were born. Here it is:
Mondays child is fair of face
Tuesdays child is full of grace
Wednesdays child is full of woe
Thursdays child has far to go
Fridays child is loving and giving
Saturdays child works hard for his living
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay
I don't want my blog to be about woe. I was actually born on a Thursday, but I don't like the idea of "far to go" or of churning.
So Wednesday it is.... Wednesday Girl stitching things together. The past and the present and the future. Hopefully, it all comes out in the wash.
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