http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa recent pleonast.com entries by user lori_in_pa en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=600729 I have bridges on my mind, but I am missing one in my mouth. When I was fifteen, my beloved former dentist installed (is that the right word?) three bridges in my already-much-worked-on mouth. They were very expensive for the time and have served me well these nearly three decades. I lost one last week due to faulty cooking – I had made a lovely dish of sautéed fresh pineapple with maple syrup, but I let the syrup bubble two ticks longer than I should have and as it cooled it hardened. Actually, this happened as I was eating it and a spoonful of liquid caramel-y goodness transformed into very chewy caramel-y goodness right in my mouth and wrapped itself around my bridge and lifted it out easy-as-you-please from its spot. As good as that dessert was, it wasn’t worth losing the bridge. I visited the dentist today and found out that, no, I cannot have it cemented back into place because it twisted when it came out and no longer fits. They don’t even do Maryland bridges anymore. I ... 2008-11-18 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=595802 --Election: 1. See Eddie's blog for a healthy and godly perspective and some good advice. 2. Thing I'm happy about (even though I didn't vote for Obama): that the American black community now has an even more public example of a person of color who has appreciated the value of education, a stable family, and a strong work ethic and used those bedrocks of opportunity to his own advantage and to the advantage of his children. There is no question that our new president elect has been the generation in his own family who turned the tide from one mindset/mode of living to a more positive one. He reminds me in a physical way of what many "first generation" Christians have done in their family lines -- they have been the ones to turn from living for self (as their ancestors had done) and/or just following the status quo to living for God -- the contrast is striking, and it is a bright light to others. I hope Obama's example of using learning opportunities, marrying and staying ma... 2008-11-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=594110 This morning The Husband, the boys, and I spent a few hours helping to plant sugar maples and viburnum (is the plural of that viburna?) along the wonderful new bike/walk trail that connects our tiny town to the not-at-all tiny and even more wonderful Oakside Community Park. We did this because I volunteered us to do it when I was asked if we could help, which I felt I had to do because of the Mayor Thing. (She helped, too, and not because of the Mayor Thing or the Being Related to the Mayor Thing, but simply because she is an N.P. – Nice Person.) So anyway, there we were, about 12 or 14 volunteers: gloves on, dressed in layers, wielding shovels and rakes on a glorious autumn day, serving our community in a spirit of goodwill and selflessness. What could be better? Well, for one thing, the ground could have been easier to dig. Clay and rocks, rocks and clay – that’s what Adams County’s made of. Another N.P. had come earlier in the week and used his auger to do the main digging ... 2008-11-01 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=591071 My beloved brother and sister-in-heart welcomed their first baby this week, and for the past few days my head has been in Perth and in the past as my life here in Pennsylvania charges full speed ahead. In my mind's eye I worked through contractions, pushed until it seemed like I could not possibly push anymore, and felt the indescribable relief of the baby sliding out of its first home and into life on God's earth. I was not experiencing some strange telepathic phenomenon which allowed me to witness Melaine's labor and birthing from the other side of the world; no, realizing what was happening to her instantly transported me back to my own births, just as it does for every woman who has ever lived through those better-felt-than-told moments. I don't suppose any of us will ever forget, and why should we? We knew when it was happening we would never be the same again, never could be the same again. And even though we realize as we look into our babies' eyes that we aren't in Kansas any... 2008-10-24 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=590221 ...and once again I find myself amazed that eight people -- two schoolteachers, a cafeteria worker (our council president), a realtor, an auto-body business owner, a bank teller, a retired-from-something guy, and a decidedly non-political homemaker/homeschooling mom -- can run a town. Democracy works. It is people that care about their own and their neighbors' lives getting together and making the best decisions they can. It is people trying to be smart and careful and going with their guts and asking each other for advice and listening to each other and coming to a consensus. It is people who despise crunching numbers bringing their calculators and pencils and sitting around a table for four hours and figuring out how to compensate employees who regularly go above and beyond their job descriptions (because they do) and how to spend the citizens' money like it is their own (because it is) and how to fix the worrisome storm drain so the fire trucks can drive over it safely (because thos... 2008-10-22 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=588513 About 25 of us are off to the birthplace of the nation to see the sights and absorb some history. If my theory is correct that there is a direct correlation between time spent prepping for a field trip and the enjoyment/value of the day, this one ought to be the best ever. (Where is my chagrined smilie when I need him?) Truly, though, lots of glitches ahead of time often mean a smooth day-of, at least that's what I'm counting on. What are you up to on this glorious day? Remember to pray for Kelsey Harris, who has a follow-up MRI today, and love the ones you're with. "He who rises late must trot all day." Your buddy and mine, Benjamin Franklin 2008-10-17 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=587145 I love walking through alleys. Well, I must clarify: I love walking through the kinds of alleys that crisscross my town and all of the little towns in my orbit. I am sure there are alleys I would be terrified to traverse, but here in Mayberry, alleys are where it’s at. One never knows what one may see in the not-for-public-viewing side of houses. There may be a tangle of weeds or a manicured little kingdom guarded by soldierly rows of zinnias and marigolds. There may be a litter of children’s toys or an old-fashioned brick barbecue or a goldfish pond or even a stream with ducks. One side alley near my house parallels a backyard with a small, inviting vegetable garden. The soil looks so fecund I just know I could plunge my arm straight down well beyond my elbow. Even now, when the height of the growing season is weeks in the past, there are tomatoes and bell and hot peppers peeping out from under plants outgrowing their wire cylinder supports. Somebody spends time out there working... 2008-10-14 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=586238 I am SOOOOOOOOOO loving not doing soccer this season. I just wanted to tell you that. Yay for not for not being too hot, too cold, and/or too wet on the sidelines. Yay for not having to provide snacks for 12 sometimes-not-too-appreciative boys. Yay for dinners together at home instead of rushing to practices. Yay for boys being home so they can clean the kitchen after dinner, instead of me. Yay for Saturdays of pancakes, time to visit, and time for pleo instead of heading to games. If we were doing homeschool co-op AND soccer this fall, I would undoubtedly be dead right now, so yay for not being dead. 2008-10-11 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=584358 So much to think about, so much to express, none of it coherent and too tired to rein those ideas in and make them look smart and say, "Yes, ma'am" to me. Hscamp Gathering '08 was wonderful -- as always, the best week of the year. I feel funny saying that about a week that doesn't involve any of our blood relatives, but as absolutely terrific as our time with them is, it is so. I suppose it stands out because it is unique -- we have many weeks throughout the year when we spend time with our folks, and I know if we didn't have those the odd week with them would get the top spot. This was our fifth year to attend out of the nine the camp has happened. Our attendance has been spaced out -- we were at the very first one, skipped a couple of years, went a couple of years, skipped another couple of years, and got to go this year. Whenever we have felt it best not to go, because of not enough money or not enough time, I have kept myself from being too sad by downplaying the import... 2008-10-06 http://www.pleonast.com/user/lori_in_pa?l=5&entryID=583705 Tired. Some toilet paper in evidence. G'night, John Boy... Lori out 2008-10-05