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Showing posts from December, 2024

Practice Makes Perfect (or close to it)

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    “He who was not legalist at any other point, and who was ready without hesitation to pardon prostitutes and disreputable people, was nonetheless extremely strict upon one point: “ only one who practices grace can receive grace.” ― John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus: Vicit Agnus Noster   Hoping you have a Merry Christmas🎄🎅  

Looking in the Rearview Mirror

For seven years I lived in a tiny apartment on what was a quiet street in a decent neighborhood. It was cheap, they welcomed cats, and I'd rented from the owners the first year I was here. There was a front yard with trees and flowers, I was happy.  A very old two story, light tan peeling paint on the stucco and wood trim. There's a non-locking entry door to a tiny mail "room" and then an entry door into the apartments. My apt was the first one as you came into the building. At first most of the tenants were responsible but as time went on and people would move out, who moved in were caricatures that could've been  found in Mad magazine.  Living in that building was quite an experience. There was a "lovely" couple from Ecuador who had just welcomed a baby; one worked as a guard, the other in construction. Lots of fighting, and the man threatened another tenant with a knife because he thought the man had backed into his (horribly parked) car. Their favor...

Random & shallow

I like a clean, functional web site. The bells & whistles aren't important. Years ago when I was meeting with a printer he made a comment about the clean design and efficiency of the new site.  I didn't disclose that I was sleeping with the designer. A couple of decades later & I'm sleeping with the designer, who's now working on my web site. Launching in January Two cases of E.coli last month. "Let's go to Shake Shack" is all that's heard when we head out. We rarely eat out...not in the budget. Plus, home cooked food just tastes better, especially in your pj's in your comfy chair. Walked into Shake Shack, walked out a half hour later poorer and a fresh batch of bad bacteria rumbling inside.Mine was a mild case, my other half had an absolutely horrible case. Charlie talks more than ever and he thinks that we understand him. I don't know how to tell him that we're just not that smart, but somehow I think that he already figured it ou...

Construct, Deconstruct, Reconstruct

Took a tour of the neighborhood where we "ooohed" & "ahhhed" at the new graffiti on the back entrances of stores. Never heard a thing. Major road construction finished nearby. The streets were totally dug up, barricades all around as there was no traffic allowed. It's been pretty cool to watch. There's still a bit of the landscaping to finish in the spring, but the process has been awesome to watch. Now that the construction is over, the hangers out have had to move along. And sadly, there are no more mazes on our main streets; they made treks to the stores and banks interesting. Imagine being able to cross a normally busy city street anywhere along the way, traffic lights having become irrelevant. It's been a great adventure for the past several months.