Food, Pottery and beads, oh my!

September's meeting of the First Sunday of the Month Club began at approximately 4 pm. at the home of Erin Shea. Ms. Patrick was bedecked in a bewitching ensemble of purple tie dye. A mere 20 minutes later, she reappeared, transformed, in a lovely frock of lavender.Refreshments were created and served by yours truly, and included Guacamole, salad of tomatoes and onions in a light vinegrette, nuts, potato salad, and assorted fruits and cheeses. Desserts included fudge and petit fours purchased and lovingly arranged, by the lovely Bethloonie. Bethloonie had snapshots to share of recent family trips to Chicago, and New Harmony. Each member shared stories of children in their lives, including nieces, nephews, and friends of our families. Our presence was graced by the ever dilatory, Ashlawn, who supplied the components for our evening craft project. An assortment of beads, cords, notions, and findings were supplied for each member to create his or her own piece of original jewerly. Our hostess, a gifted semi-professional potter, allowed each member present to select a hand made pottery creation from her extensive collection. Your editor, picked a lovely lidded vessel with a wonderful patterned beige glaze and a "starry night" glaze within. Pictures were taken to commemorate the evening's festivities. Plans to meet again in the near future were discussed, and the meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30 p.m.
Your ever diligent editor,
Philbug.

In up coming issues, look forward to member recipies, including Bobbie Sues award winning deviled eggs. Also, check out an ingeniouis storage solution for all of those leftover styrofoam egg cartons you've been saving for a rainy day. No, you won't want to miss The Inconceivably Versitale Egg issue!!!

Random observations on my walk this evening

Random things that I observed on my walk this evening
(in no particular order or importance):
-I walked over 40 blocks round trip, in theory for exerise, but really just to get an ice cream cone at the South Bend Chocolate Company on the circle. And walking 5 feet to change the channels seems like an overwhelming burden.
-A plywood sign blocking an entrance at a construction site that read, "If you move this you put it back" Why did they have pink and green paint?
-"wink" written in chalk on a sidewalk in a completely ramdom place not near any residence.
-1 filthy paring knife stuck in a flowerbed with half of the white plastic handle missing.
-That no matter how PC I think I am, and that a person's worth has nothing to do with their skin color, sexual preference, national origin, etc... I still cut to the other side of the street if a big black man, homeless-looking person, or group of more than 2 non-white people are walking towards me. I am a very non-confrontational person, and am not the strongest/largest person in the world, so maybe that has something to do with it, but I still feel as if I have commited some act of racism or some sort of social injustice by just avoiding these people. Or maybe I just want to be left alone while I am on a walk?
-A newish house on Alabama Street that has 2 small windows above and one larger one below that make a face. They have even added a long rectangular box between the top two windows to form a nose. Every time I see this house it makes me smile.
-I love looking in the windows of people's homes. Not that I go up and just stick my face to the glass, (ok, not if they're home) but I just like to observe people and see if their houses' interiors, and owners "go" with the exteriors.
-I get jealous when I see an obviously gay couple enjoying each other's company in the home they share together. This makes me feel like I've just been on hold for the last five years waiting to move in with my boyfriend, and I get depressed thinking there's no end in sight.
-A beautiful sunset, and how I oh-so-much-love daylight savings time.
-I miss my boyfriend, who's in Florida, and it's only been 3 days since I've seen him.
-I can't imagine how much I would miss him if he were truly gone.

car and fsotmc

So, I finally got a new car. I am soooo excited and relieved. No more stress over that major inconvenience and source of more anxiety than I would care to admit. I am truely blessed to have parents that are generous enough to help me out of my formally, seemingly, hopeless situation. For the first time in my life, I have a new, new car, not just a "new to me" car.
FSOTC club met this evening. We had such a great time. I know of few things better than just sitting around eating and talking with my gal pals. MadGab has to be the most ingenious game ever. I won't take time to describe it, but just go out and buy it, and you'll see what I mean. Well, not much else to report. Life is looking better everyday, so I guess I should be thankful and just live it, and see where I'm supposed to go from here. Worrying and obsessing about it just makes life unbearable. I need to realize although I may be heading towards new things, that I'm where I need to be right now. Life if good, really good.
goodnight for now.

Dan's clock

So, it was my birthday in November, and I recieved a clock as a present from my mother. Specifically, a clock that my Uncle Dan owned. A slightly odd present considering, it was let's call it "lifted" from his house after he died. Dan died in this past July, and we knew he had many antiques in his house. Just in case someone broke into his house, knowing he was deceased, my brother and I removed any obvious valuables: clocks, oil lamps, etc... My mother had asked me if I wanted anything from Dan's, and I told her that I had an oil lamp that I really liked, but there was a dresser that was also very cool. These may be someone's family heirlooms, but I don't know who's since Dan was so fond of going to estate sales and auctions. I just thought they were nice pieces and something to remember Dan by. So, back to the clock, of the 4 we removed from the house, I really liked one of them. It is a very simple gothic arch shape with a dark finish, with a simple face. It chimes on the hours and on the 1/2 hour as well. My mom took it to be reconditioned an put into working order and gave it to me as a present. The inscription said something to the effect of "when you look at this clock, think of Dan and how much he loved you". I think of this and weep, because I realise how much Dan loved all of humanity, including me. He, like this clock seemed pretty plain, without the frills and intricute carvings, but kept time just like the fancier designs of clocks. There weren't a lot of "bells and whistles" with Dan. BUT, he was one of the most giving and loving people I have ever known. You might not have recieved it in words, but definitely in the deeds he preformed. He often attended the many perfomances I was involved in. He was always there to help out when needed. My mom relays stories to me about things people have told her about Dan, and I am always amazed that he found time to do all the things he did for other people. We never knew that he always mowed his elderly neighbors yard, and shovelled snow for another neighbor, never asking for a dime of payment. He always brought something to every carry in or sunday dinner. Usually lots of something, be it dressing, potato salad, homemade pies, or maybe some vegetables from his garden. He volunteered at the American Legion in many capacities, held many positions at church, and was generally the guy who you could turn to for just about anything. If he didn't know the anwer or how to fix it, he knew someone who did. He was just one of those men. One of his greatest loves was for Merom Church camp where he spent many summers directing and co-directing summer camps. He truly was a man whose actions spoke louder than his words. Even when his words often times were used to taunt, they were out of love. I remember he used to make me so mad when he would call me Phillipe and say, "Phillipe that's french for big dummy." Now, it's one of the things I remember fondly. He used to call my brother and I "sawed off and short stuff" or "runt and rat". We never knew which was which, but I guess it really didn't matter. Unfortunately, I remained short, while my brother grew to almost 6 ft. tall. Oh well.
Every time I hear Dan's clock chime, I think of him and hope to emulate the way he helped others in his life. Thanks for the clock Mom. I really think it is one of the best presents I have ever recieved.

So, my posts are random, and have little relation to each other, but I never claimed to be predictable or have a cohesive plan for this blog. I guess it's just a way for me to put some of my ramdom thougths down, so I can go back and look at them in the future. They may give me insight into myself, or they may just seem silly, but that's okay too.
I'm working on looking at life from a different perspective, and so far that's working out great. I'm been looking for the postive, and trying my best to change the negative or at least use it in a postive way, so there's a start. Still not a lot further along in the life purpose category, but I'm working on it. I'm reading a book call "the purpose of your life" so there's a start! Praying and going to church is helping as well. I know I have to remember that even when I don't feel I'm doing anything, there is a purpose to it, whether or not I know what that purpose is. I've been starting to go through my physical inventory of stuff, asking, "does this serve a purpose or will it in the future?" if it doesn't, it's just stuff in my way and has to go. Now if I can do that on an emotional, mental, philosophical level, nothing can stand in my way. Now if I can just find out what that way is and what I'd like to do once I get there, I'd be set. well, it's getting late and I'm rambling more than usual. I'll close for now.
good night internet.
xophilbug