The Catbird Seat

If, by chance, you have neglected to purchase a high-quality paint stripper for your long-delayed furniture refinishing project, you may have the necessary product in your bathroom closet.

Or sitting directly on top of your grandmother’s 70-year-old Lane cedar chest, as it were.

[remedial parenting: do not leave opened/unlidded products that spray sitting in reach of a preschooler. Ever.]

The product, in case you were wondering, is Target-brand continuous spray Sport Sunscreen.

When sprayed copiously across the surface of said furniture, and then spread diligently to reach all unsprayed parts [3-year-old hands are particularly effective for this step], the aged varnish begins to bubble and lift off (esp. when rubbed with a wet cloth intended for clean-up) as if one had used a very expensive and very messy paint stripper from a local hardware store.

According to the container, the product has a clear, rub-free formula (check), has fast and easy coverage (check), and is water resistant (check.) And, not that it is necessary or helpful in any way, my Mimi’s hope chest is now protected from both UVA AND UVB rays.

Good to know.

Guess what project we’ll be doing this weekend?

Filed under: General, Catbird, Tidbits, Elizabeth on May 27th, 2008 | 9 Comments »

Last night Paul and I watched “The Last Samurai” for the 100th time. This time two lines stuck out.

American Captain Nathan Aulgren has gone to Japan to teach Japanese soldiers how to use guns to fight the rebellion that has risen against the Emperor of Japan.

The “rebellion” is actually Samurai, fighting for what they believe is service to the Emperor, and on behalf of The People. Katsumoto is the leader of the Samurai, and the Emperor’s teacher.

The Samurai capture Capt. Aulgren, and during his stay as their prisoner-of-war, he realizes he is on the wrong side.

After a bloody battle between the Japanese Army (superior in man-power and guns) and the Samurai (superior in honor and in the art of war), Katsumoto dies along with virtually all the samurai. Only Aulgren lives.

When he takes Katsumoto’s sword to the Emperor as gift and final reminder of what it symbolizes [read:service to the Emperor], this exchange takes place:

Emperor, urging to Aulgren, “Tell me how he died.”
(pause)
Aulgren, “I will tell you how he lived.”

Filed under: General, Like a fire, Conversations with God on March 23rd, 2008 | 4 Comments »

There is no correlation between daffodils, long* hair, happiness and 1:00 a.m. except the evidence of all four in the following photos.

I think the dark circles under my eyes are especially telling. Still smiling, though.
Despite what the clock says, that’s almost always what I look/feel like after working on cut paper flowers. And that makes me smile even more.

And, in case you haven’t noticed, this is as good as it gets for blogging from me these days. Too busy with the aforementioned daffodils (and gerber daisies, and lilies, and dogwoods, etc.) I would say, “Sorry!” but I wouldn’t really mean it. (grin.)

Hope all of you are sleeping while I’m writing this goofy blog. And I hope I’m sleeping tomorrow when all of you are reading this goofy blog. (Very unlikely, though.)

*this is a relative term, of course, but considering the length of my hair a year ago, I felt it was a fairly accurate description.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Tidbits, Lillybeth on March 12th, 2008 | 6 Comments »

Aranciata by San Pellegrino.

It’s not too sweet. It’s got a little zing! to it. It’s orange-flavored sparkling water from Italy.

And it’s non-alcoholic. (i.e., no fear of consuming too much or becoming addicted!)

I love it.

And, possibly best of all, it comes packaged in these darling little glass bottles whose surface is textured like an orange peel. Niiiiice.

I fully intend to use them as vases for cut flowers when I finish off the six pack of them that I just bought. All 6 of them should be ready for flowers by, oh, I don’t know… suppertime tonight? (grin.)

Mmmm…Aranciata! Go try one!

[Photo courtesy Aaron Landry, seen here on Flickr.]

Filed under: General on February 7th, 2008 | 8 Comments »

I watched “Miss America 2008-Live!” last night on TLC. Is that so wrong?

(p.s. IMHO, Miss Virginia should have won, if only for the way she answered her question about religious freedom.)

Filed under: General, Catbird, Tidbits on February 4th, 2008 | 6 Comments »

This is my art desk.

This is a paper flower that I just made.

This is me being silly because I’m tired and it’s 1:00 a.m.

This is me laughing at the previous picture.

I am going to bed now.
Carry on.

Filed under: General on January 31st, 2008 | 11 Comments »

…for an update.

We have successfully moved into the house referenced in the previous post (written nearly 2 months ago…Holy Moses!) And though we have a few remaining items in the old rental house, we are considering ourselves “officially moved.”

We made the move a mere 6 days before Christmas, which is sheer madness, by the way. We managed to put up a tree (a cool white pre-lit one, courtesy of Target), buy presents, get the kitchen and living areas unpacked, and have family over for brunch on Christmas day. I’d say it was fun, (and I think it was) but truthfully, it’s all kind of a blur right now.

I am still working for Walgreens, though I am down to 2 days a week. It’s perfect for us. I work a Tuesday and a Friday or Saturday a week, depending on availability in the district. I am considered a “floater”, which means that I “float” from location to location in the Birmingham area, covering other pharmacists’ sick days, vacations, staff shortages and any other reason known to man that a pharmacist might miss work. It’s a good gig, and I still love my supervisor, Melissa, who is just my number one fan at work. And that makes me happy. So my work bottom line is this: I go in and do the very best job that I can for the 8 hours that I work, and then I go home and don’t think of Walgreens again until I get ready to work my next shift. It keeps me fresh and positive, and for that I am deeply grateful.

The girls are growing leaps and bounds. Jane is 4 going on 13, and trying (despite my best efforts) to drop her afternoon nap which is still desperately needed to stabilize her moods. And mine. She is learning-observing-playing-taking-in-and-enjoying-life so much that she just can’t seem to wind down enough to close her eyes and get that much-needed midday rest. And I have no idea what to do with that since for the last 4 years, 12 to 3pm has been my time. So we’re both a little grumpy in the afternoons these days. Our latest positive development is that Jane can now read. We’re working through “Dick and Jane” and each day she adds new words to her reading vocabulary. “Jane”, not surprisingly, is her favorite.

Elizabeth remains Elizabeth, in all her sweetness and spice. She has been in Speech Therapy since September, and we are really beginning to see the fruits of our (and our beloved speech pathologist, Carolyn’s) labor. Elizabeth is still incredibly resistant to describing actions and activities with verbs and in conversation, but her vocabulary is growing daily, with words like “ornament” popping up here and there. We are encouraged that her speech delays seem to be merely speech with a little dose of sensory integration issues, and not cognitive issues. Meaning, she understands it all, every last word! She just hasn’t gotten around to talking about it just yet. Her sense of humor is really emerging now, and much like her Daddy, she is subtle and quick. And she can say in one look what it takes Jane (and me!) 15 minutes of non-stop chatter to get out. Her independence and will are still both forces to be reckoned with, but I imagine they always will be.

Paul is doing well at St. Peter’s. In just 2 days he leaves for the AMIA (Anglican Mission in America) winter conference in Dallas, where he is on the national youth ministry team (YAMIA, just in case you were wondering.) He will be speaking there and attending various seminars and meetings, and will be back on Saturday; so if you think of me this week, say a prayer for us both. The youth group at our church is still small, which though sometimes discouraging, is ultimately a gift of God that allows Paul to disciple our teens the way he feels called. He is very supported by the senior pastor and children’s minister as well (actually, the whole staff), so we both feel like we have arrived in the Promised Land. I often wonder how we wound up here (at St. Peter’s); at the time Paul interviewed for the job it felt so random and a little strange. Now, I realize God chose this congregation for us, and us for them. What a blessing.

In other news, I have continued to create art from paper, and am preparing to visit a local art merchant to show my work this week. To see some of what I’ve been making, click here and/or here.

And, sometime before Christmas and The Move, I managed to take a trip to Pennsylvania to see MFB (Bonnie) who had a major birthday that isn’t in the 30’s and not yet 50’s. We had A BLAST hanging out and doing fun things in Pittsburgh…it was just what I wanted. Precious time with a great friend, revisiting old familiar places and people, and see new sights as well. If I didn’t think we were in the Promised Land right now, I’d move back to ol’ PA in a heartbeat.

I think that’s about it. At least for me. Oh, except for one other thing…Paul’s sister just informed the family that she is pregnant with another baby.

This one will be number 8.

And you guys thought I was the crazy one.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Local Color, Random Thoughts, Elizabeth, Jane, Lillybeth on January 20th, 2008 | 10 Comments »

As is appropriate, it is the time to give thanks to God for all the many blessings we all have: family, friends, health…you know, all those things that everyone says every Thanksgiving.

And then, after you do that, add this line to your prayer of thanksgiving:

“And thank you, God, for performing the miracle of giving the Martin’s their perfect home for what they could afford!” (or something like it!)

Yes, folks, that’s right.

We finally have a home. This home, to be exact.

Praise the Lord! God is good.

So, join with us as we faithfully give God the glory for attending to our needs, both great and small, down to the very last detail.

A few interesting points of note:

The sellers…they have had compassion on us, because (like us) they had a buyer back out on closing day after tying up their house during the best time of the year to sell a house…and violating a signed contract in the process. Oh, and they moved to Orlando. (God is not just really cool, he also has a sense of humor.)

When our mortgage broker ran the final numbers, he discovered an error in his earlier calculations that ended up in about $100 reduction in our projected monthly mortgage payment.

In addition to that, the sellers are covering closing costs, so we will likely have the finances to do a few things in the house (refinish the hardwoods!) that otherwise would have had to wait.

The highly busy home inspector that Paul chose just happened to be free yesterday, so the home inspection is already done.

The sellers want to close earlier than we originally planned, so it is entirely possible that we will be in our new house by Christmas. (we hope!)

I could go on and on.

So, join with us as we give the credit to God for our future home.

Oh, and keep your eyes open for your invitation to our “Glory to God Party” to be held at our new home.

I expect it will be happening very soon.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Like a fire, Local Color on November 24th, 2007 | 14 Comments »

…on some kind of answer about the house. We haven’t heard a thing.

Our real estate agent says that every call she’s received seems positive. She’s talked to the seller’s realtor several times, who indicates that the sellers are seriously considering our offer, and [hopefully] trying to work it out.

Stephanie (our agent) has also spoken to the seller’s attorney; the poor sellers (much like us just a few months back) had a buyer that backed out after signing a contract, so they are dealing with that nightmare as well.

We’re hoping that what all this adds up to is sellers who appreciate our ability to buy their house now, and close on it quickly. Even if it’s not exactly the price they want. Stephanie continues to be, in her own words, “Cautiously optimistic.”

I myself am either completely convinced that we’re going to get it, or desperately trying to keep from being disappointed if we don’t, depending on the time of day. Afternoons are typically my low point. (weak grin.)

Meanwhile, we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And though it’s only been less than 48 hours since we made the offer, it feels like an eternity of waiting! (o.k., that was a slight exaggeration…maybe just a week.)

So, I’ve been forced to think about waiting for 2 days. Here are a very disjunct thoughts about the subject:

I really hate waiting! I am actually pretty bad at it, as well.

My least favorite phrase of Paul’s (generally given when I ask him a question like, “Are we going to do…?” or “Do you think we can…?” , etc.) is, “We’ll have to wait to see!”

I’ve also heard, “Wait and see!” many times from various sources, including my own mother.

And the one I say to Jane at least 10 times a day is, “Just wait!“, usually followed by, “I’ll help you in a minute” or “I am in the middle of something, but I’m coming” or “I will get that for you!”

Sometimes, I just say, “Just wait. You’ll see.”

All things that God is probably saying to me right now, even as I write this. (grin.)

Gotta love that about God. He’s a parent. He understands the value of waiting.

I did a keyword search on Crosswalk.com using the word “wait”: 89 verses in the NIV Bible. (For a little perspective, “trust” yielded 86 verses. Interesting, huh?)

Of the 89 verses I found, by the way, this one is my favorite: “Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (twice in one verse!)

Particular comfort for me today is this one! So out of context it’s almost funny, but when I read the list, it jumped out at me. Small wonder.

I’ve waited for a lot of things in my life. Almost none of them were disappointing.

The most important things I’ve waited for were (a) my husband (b) Jane and (c) Elizabeth. I also waited the longest for them. (9 months, twice, is a lot of waiting!)

I love them more than I love my own life.

There you have it. A perfect example of the value of waiting!

And now I have probably 6 loads of clothes that need washing, and a bedroom that desperately need cleaning. They’ve been waiting on my attention, so I’d better have at it.

We’ll keep waiting. Y’all keep praying.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Like a fire, Random Thoughts on November 17th, 2007 | 4 Comments »

This is the house that Paul and I made an offer on today.

It is going to take a miracle for the deal to go through, because what we’re offering is MUCH lower than what they’re asking…and it’s as high as we’re willing to go.

So, fellow believers, PRAY with us as we seek to see God provide for us a house.

And not just any house, but an AMAZING house.

One that is perfect for us.

Not just a house, but a home.

And not our home, but His home where we can thrive and help others to do the same.

When that happens, whether it’s this house or another, we’ll let you know just exactly how faithful God is to us. (Just as he has always been!)

And then we’ll have a “Glory to God!” party at the house that He chose just for us!

We think this is the one.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Like a fire, Local Color on November 15th, 2007 | 7 Comments »