Friday, July 30, 2010

Garage Sale Finds

Hubby, Johnnie-Girl and I went a Garage Sale-ing for a few hours on Saturday.  Although we hit only a few sales, I am more than pleased with what we found.

Take a look at this great picture I found for the wall over looking our soaker tub in the master ensuite.  It's like it was MADE for the wall.  Perfect condition and only $10.




And this perfect-o lamp for a table in the living room.  For $3 it was screaming at me to take it home.  I should mention that when I saw this lamp, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out where to put it.  But again for $3, you can ALWAYS find a place.









This little 'urn' for $2.  It stands about 5" high and when you remove the lid,
there is a place to put a tea light.
Ingenious.







And finally these candle holders.  $7 for the three.  Not sure if I want to keep them black with their touch of red, or paint them.  For now they are good the way they are.


Friday, July 23, 2010

The Beauty of Mathematics & The Love of God

I was sent this little mathematical feat and thought that I would share it with you.
"Very interesting ... and smart"

Here is an interesting and lovely way to look at the beauty of mathematics, and of God, the sum of all wonders.

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 987
65
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
Brilliant, isn’t it?

And look at this symmetry:
 
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321
 
Now, take a look at this…
101%
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:
What Equals 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to
GIVE OVER 100%.
How about ACHIEVING 101%?
What equals 100% in life?
Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help

Answer these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
If:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
And:
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
But:
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close,
and Attitude will get you there,
It’s the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

God's Story - From Creation to Eternity

Hello all.  Life has been pretty busy lately and I will share more of that in future posts.  But for today I would like to introduce you to a evangelical tool.  It was presented to our church congregation on Sunday night, and theoretically should be a better tool than the Jesus film.  And the Jesus film proclaims this statement:

"Every four seconds, somewhere in the world, another person indicates a decision to follow Christ after watching the "JESUS" film.
Every four seconds... that's 21,000 people per day, 630,000 per month and more than 7.5 million per year! That's like the population of the entire city of Seattle, WA, coming to Christ every 27.5 days. And yet, if you are like most people, you may have never even heard of it."

Although I a totally behind the Jesus film, may I share with you
God's Story:  From Creation to Eternity.

A simple animated show / film that can be easily narrated in a new language without lip syncing trouble or need for many different voices.  Only a single narrator reading a story during the film.  Easy and inexpensive to produce for evangelical distribution and use.


Please check it out here on youtube (there are eight 10 minute parts to it) and then at the God's Story website.  Then prayerfully ask God how He can possibly use you using God' Story DVDs.



Friday, July 16, 2010

Doggie Kennels Gone

I am so happy.

About 14 years ago we purchased two Furrarri dog kennels to provide safe and secure 'dens' for our two miniature Schnauzers.

Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley 
went to Dog Heaven a few years ago and these two dog kennels have taken up room in Hubby's shop since then.


Today was the day for them to go.

Another two Craig's List ads and one young man venturing from Chilliwack.  Gotta give these people credit for driving almost an hour to get here.

Anyway, we had a nice chat, and he handed me $60.  As the price for both was only $55 (we put items on Craig's List with the intent of getting rid of them NOW), I offered to go inside the house to get him change.



With a "Oh keep it", I thanked him profusely and helped him load up the kennels into his monster truck.


Happy Day indeed.






Thursday, July 15, 2010

It Pinged ... It Ponged

It seems like I am on a roll with Craig's List.

I put a few more items up for sale, and today I received two phone calls within mere minutes of each other.  Both insisting they wanted my ping pong table.


At this point everyone knows that the 'First Comes, First Served' rule kicks in.

 #1 shows up with his friend in a sporty red Jeep equipped with roll bars.  My dogs are confused by such an open air machine and do their share of barking and 'herding'.
 

Once the man passes me five crumbled $20 bills, the canines sense my contentment, and lay down under a tree in the shade.




Somehow the boys strap the table on to the roof-less roof of their Jeep, and then with a wave from me, they head back to Surrey.

Probably a very interesting ride as they hurtled down the freeway!


Me?

I was left in the driveway
holding a cool fan of twenties.


What a wonderful life!



Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The End of Flinging Manure



It's the end
of an era.








 


No more
flinging manure
with the antique manure spreader.



It was time for it to go.


 
 
For years we made use of her spreading ability, then we humbled her by sticking decorative plants in her belly and using her as a flower pot.  How degrading.

 
And today they took her away.











Strapped her with a belt and hoisted her body up.



And in a matter of moments,







she was on a stranger's truck ready to take the voyage to her new home.



And all because of small ad posted on Craig's List.
I sold our old friend for less than 30 pieces of silver.

A mere Fifty $macker$

And her absence frees up yet another patch of grass needing to be mowed.





Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Shiny and New

After the rather sad vehicular tale yesterday, I bring to you good tidings of great joy.  In fact, great gobs of JOY ... for our son, the Genius, that is.


It started with a simple thought ... zoom zoom

Half way through, it involved a simple piece of paper ... and some plastic money too!



Also the unfortunate, unplanned involvement of a small 'flu bug' and its big consequences of high fever symptoms.
(My poor first born!)
What should have been a happy, carefree day ... ended up being a day of sheer endurance.

But despite all the odds ...

- the heat of the dealership's office

- the delirium of the fever

- the literal hours of waiting for the insurance agent






 
Genius bought himself a set of wheels ...

With a sporty new Mazda 3 attached to it,
of course.















And as an added bonus: 

Two sets of Mazda 'switchblade' keys!








Monday, July 12, 2010

Mirror Mirror Off the Truck

A few weeks back, Dreamer was returning from a friend's home late LATE at night.  It took about 20 or so minutes for the drive and for most of it a strange car 'rode her bumper' and followed her every turn.  The further into rural-ville she drove, the more she wondered what was up.

Finally she turned into our driveway and breathed a sigh of relief that the gate had been left open for her.

Our two dogs bounded out to greet her and all was well with the world again ....

 


... but just to be sure, she checked around her to see what had become of the 'follower' behind her ....
 He had continued down the road, but Dreamer was left with a memory of that late night:
--A long scratch down the side of the truck
--A broken wheel well trim piece
and 
--A broken side mirror.

$278 for a 'used' mirror replacement and we will look into a repair and possible new paint job in the future.

Yet we were so happy that she was safe.


A truck ain't worth very much 
when compared to a priceless daughter




Saturday, July 10, 2010

Tubing at Cultus Lake

My son and his girl friend joined her church group and ventured out to Cultus Lake where they had a day tubing behind a speed boat.

Here Genius is suspended in thin air as he bumps along the waves.  Lucky that they have hand grips or they would have went flying into the 'drink'.
















An exhausting but exhilarating adventure comes to a quiet end as they are brought back to shore.
Oh to be young again!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Weeds Glorious Weeds

I LOVE living on our five acre mini farm.  It has served us well when we had the horses years ago, the quota of laying hens, our many many dogs and also, yet most importantly, the raising of the kids (children not goats!)

But with an acreage you also have the never ending work that it takes to sustain it. But we have been here for 15 years now and it has been worth the trouble.

One of the jobs we have now is the mowing of about 4 acres of it.  No horses to munch it down now, and living in the Fraser Valley of beautiful green British Columbia, the grass ... well it keeps growing.  We try to be chemical free for the most part, especially in the vegetable beds, but I believe that the time has come to spread some weed kill on the fields.


Johnnie-Girl often helps with the mowing of the fields, and last night she attacked the front field ... about one acre.











Look how high the weeds have progressed.  Almost as high as the front of the mower.

At this point I must give a bit of a confession speech ... About a week ago I accidentally ran over a rubber dog toy with the John Deere.  NOT GOOD.  What a clunk that made!  The mowing mechanism came to a complete stop and there I was.  I whimpered back to the garage, and readied my speech to the husband.

I am fortunate to report that I am married to the most patient and understanding hubby around.  Never an unkind ... even when deserved ... word.  Just patience and understanding.
$75 for a new belt and a few hours last night of hubby dismantling and then rebuilding the John Deere.  And it works like a charm.  Yeah hubby!

During the past week or so the weeds in the fields have multiplied and almost overcome the pretty acreage.  Johnnie-Girl and I shared cutting down half of the fields, and hopefully will complete the task tonight.









That taken care of we still have the large gravel drive way to deal with.  Lots of parking is a total plus when we invite the church family over for a picnic, but a major negative when it come to weed control.  We usually just pull them out, but I think after that we will have to do the chemical thing again.


How are your weeds?



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