A face in a fried egg?

Maybe I should have put this on e-bay?

When I looked down at my fried egg in the pan I saw what reminded me of the face of a baby in a bonnet!

Maybe I should have put it out for auction on the internet... but it was early in the morning and I had just finished chores, feeding the animals, and it looked good enough to eat!

Yum...

Just what does he really look like?

Somehow I agreed to give a talk at a Mother-Daughter Luncheon for three churches in the Cannon Falls area.

The topic was: "Growing up... do we ever stop?"

By researching it I figured I'd learn things that I'd be interested in too. But each idea I came up with didn't work out.

It was the day before the luncheon and I was still figuring it out. One idea was to use boxes - about 1 foot square - and draw a picture on each one. Actually, just a part of a picture. Then in front of the audience I would put it together like a puzzle.

They could guess what it was as I did this.

The only problem was that I don't know how to draw very well and it really looked pretty dorky!

My topic was to teach on various characteristics that we can grow into. These would include wisdom, humility, compassion, etc.

I have pictures from my stories as a photo-journalist to help describe these characteristics.

My "puzzle boxes" would be stacked up over six feet tall to present the picture of the person who showed us these characteristics: Jesus of Nazareth.

When drawing the face of Jesus I went to the internet. Many artists show their interpretations.

I don't really know which could be the right one. So I drew a head with hair and beard, but I left the face blank.

And then I decided to cut out the portion that would be the face.

My point was that God created people to be like his son, Jesus. And he promised to help us become like him.

I would then suggest that we take the cut-out picture of Jesus and look through it ourselves.

Not that we are him. But we are encouraged to become like him.

For us to look at life through his eyes.

Not to think that we are higher than him. But to follow through on the apparent plan of God to create more like him.

And some times, that may be the only picture of Jesus people ever see.

I had fun with my presentation and after the program was over I decided I wanted a picture of my six foot tall Jesus box puzzle.

I usually just aim my camera while using its screen to see the picture. When I get home I crop what I want on my computer.

But this time I looked through the tiny view-finder. This gives me a more intimate view because I only see the part I'm focusing on.

I closed one eye to concentrate and what I saw made me hold my breath.

There was an image coming through the empty cut-out face of Jesus!

I moved the camera away from my eyes and stared at it and then started smiling.

Behind my box statue was the altar and a painting of Jesus.

And part of that painting was coming through the cut-out face on my project.

It was the face of Jesus!

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You're as old as... what?

"You are as old as you think you are."

"How old would you be - if you didn't know how old you were?"

These types of statements have fascinated me over the years.

Did I believe them?

Not entirely.

But I have time to ponder on such thoughts while cleaning corrals or dragging the pastures on our little Ford 8N tractor.

And so I thought on these.

How much does what we "think" affect us?

And how much does how we "act" affect us?

If I thought I was younger, and acted like I was younger... would that really affect my physical body?

I decided to try it out.

There are ages that are fun to think about - like being a kid of 11 or so.

But being a bit older gives you more room to make your own choices. So how would I act if I was 30? (Not how did you act... but how could you act!)

Recently I was considering how the word "seventeen" sounded similar to "seventy", my present age.

Hmmmm... how would I act as a teenager?

Well, just going with my regular routine, I headed to the Mall of America (that sounds like a teen thing to do, right?). I was taking a class on our new Apple laptop... I'm trying to learn "Garage Band". (That's good - also probably something a teen might like to do.)

On the way home I picked up some paint at a building supply store and while checking out I was surprised by the cashier snickering at my purchase of Sweet Tarts candy. Is this for a kid? she asked. I replied, they were for me.

I was curious about her reaction but chuckled because maybe I'm really just a kid!

Then I got a quick hair cut and the stylist commented about the color of my hair. It's more of a cream color than white. Apparently the color has changed because of the rust in our well water! She explained how I can use some blue colored shampoo to get it whiter. I chuckled at the thought of the blue colored hair little old ladies used to have. But I have a purple colored shampoo that I use to get my pinto horses' tails white. I could probably try that!

On the other hand, it's kind of fun being a "blond" in your seventies!

Since I was in the shopping center I decided to pick up some wine for a party. While checking out, the cashier asked me my birthday. I looked at her confused, so she explained that she had pressed the wrong key and had to "card" me to see if I was old enough to buy the wine.

I smiled and complied and said, "It's pretty cool to be 'carded' when you're seventy!"

It's just some thoughts to ponder... what effects do what we think and what we do have on us.

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How can you live normally
when selling your home?

How do you live a normal life when you’re selling your house?

Paul and I got the opportunity to attempt this when we flew out to Oregon to help our daughter, Wendy, and her three children while her husband was checking out his new job in Ohio.

She was also teaching two college courses so we would fill in to take the kids to their various activities.

Their schedule was daunting. Besides delivering them to their schools and picking them up there was baseball, basketball, track and soccer games, (swimming competitions were on hold), music, taking care of the dog, etc. Of course we wanted to watch everything they took part in too. Then grocery shopping and other errands.

Because their house had just gone on the market for sale, we found that keeping the house clean and neat was another trick.
All personal pictures and mementoes had been removed as advised by the realtor. So it had the feel of nice motel rooms.

Clutter had to go or be hidden. “Clutter” is also another word for “necessities” to me but every time I used something it had to be put away.

Some of the furniture could be given away but they kept the couch for me to sleep on. In the morning I folded the blankets and hid them behind it.

The plan was that when the realtor called warning that she was coming with potential buyers we might have just enough time to vacuum a quick path, wipe down the bathrooms and turn on all the lights.
After one last look around we would grab our pack sacks, computer laptop, and the little 12 pound dog and stash them in the car.

I think we got pretty good at the routine! But after about two weeks we headed back home. Something I had eaten gave me an allergic reaction that made my body feel pretty toxic. The two hour drive to the airport left me thinking I’ll make it but I was looking forward to curling up in the airplane seat and ignoring everyone else.

Slouched down in the airport waiting area I heard our flight announced and Paul springing up and calling out, “Hi Keith!” Sure enough, the pilot had come out and Keith Smiley of Cannon Falls was smiling and waving back.
Paul hurried over to the counter and they were busy talking. Of course I was the only one following the rules- don’t leave your luggage unattended so someone can put some explosives in it - so I just waved.

But we got invited into the cockpit of the Northwest (OK - now Delta) plane, an Airbus 320, and checked out the controls and met Keith's co-pilot, Mike. (And I even felt perky enough to smile for the camera!)

The rest of the trip found me crunched up in my seat though. The flight was really smooth but when landing I took some video so I could tease Keith if it had been rough! But it was great!

And it just shows that no matter how far you roam, you just might find someone from home.

Thanks Keith!

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The cascading water

creates its own musical background

to the songs of the birds

and the emerging new growth

of unfurling buds. 

The Little Cannon River

from the city bike trail

in Cannon Falls, Minnesota.

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