The Soup Was Good

Warning: Squawking zone ahead!

A couple of weeks ago, my family and I went shopping for some new curtains and curtain rods at one of the local strip malls. Since this errand was just on the downside of the dinner hour, we decided to visit Panera Bread for supper. Now, I must confess, I have eaten at this restaurant several times and, each time, I walk away with the same question ringing in my head:

What is so appealing about this place?

As with most other issues in life, I am in the minority in asking this question. According to the company website:

Panera Bread is widely recognized for driving the nationwide trend for specialty breads. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Panera Bread scored the highest level of customer loyalty among quick-casual restaurants, according to research conducted by TNS Intersearch. Furthermore, for the fourth consecutive year, Panera Bread was rated among the best of 121 competitors in the Sandleman & Associates 2005 national customer satisfaction survey of more than 62,000 consumers. Panera Bread has also won “Best-of” awards in nearly every market across 38 states.

Also from their website:

Panera Bread is expanding quickly across America, currently operating 1027 bakery-cafes in 38 states. Among these locations, 391 are company-owned and 696 are franchised. 170-180 new bakery-cafes (85-90 company-owned and 85-90 franchise) are targeted to open in 2007.

So, everybody loves this restaurant and, because of that, new Paneras are popping up all over.

Well, forgive my lack of enthusiasm over this development in the “quick casual” restaurant segment, but being the daughter of a pastry chef, the sister of a line cook, the daughter-in-law of a career waitperson/server, a former restaurant worker myself, and a regular consumer in this market segment, I have a few Panera pet peeves:

- the print on the menu board describing the ingredients in each sandwich or salad is microscopic! I almost need binoculars to read it. My friend, Koalagirl15, is a Panera fan and she tells me that a printed menu sits directly next to the “ordering station.” Admittedly, this has escaped my notice every time I have visited Panera, possibly because their less-than-cordial employees have never directed me there.

- the menu board is located behind and slightly after the order counter, not before it, so new diners have two choices when ordering: clog up/slow down the customer order queue while reading the microscopic print in order to formulate their meal choices OR partake of the Gnostic menu enlightenment that the staff so clearly expects every customer to possess. Obviously, I am not blessed with this secret knowledge; else I would find Panera a more pleasurable dining experience.

- the “drink station” is miniscule, barely large enough to queue up more than 2-3 beverages at a time, causing yet another clog in the assembly line toward the “food pickup station.” Plus, my beverage of choice is hot tea, an order the staff rarely gets right. They usually try (repeatedly, I might add) to give me some sort of iced chai number; and, when they do finally understand that I want hot tea, I am greeted with a mug of hot water, which I must then carry away from the “drink station” in order to dig a tea bag out of the appropriate lidded glass jar on a shelf in front the beverage area. Even if the server had wanted to put a tea bag in my cup before adding the hot water (the proper way to make tea, I might add), he/she would need to walk completely around the counter to do so. Not horribly efficient.

- the do-it-yourself trash disposal system is tacky and, quite possibly, a violation of the health code when not properly attended by the staff. With such a trendy, comfortable, upscale décor, you would think Panera could devise a better parting image for their diners than an overstuffed bin of dirty dishes with half-eaten soup still in the bowls. Yuck! Is it really too much to ask for a restaurant to keep the “wet” garbage in the work area of their establishment? I don’t think so.

- customization of sandwich orders is impossible unless you want to wait twenty minutes (or more) for your order to be completed. If I intended to wait for my dinner, I wouldn’t be in a “quick casual” eatery; I would go to Olive Garden or Ruby Tuesdays or the local pizza joint.

- when I order soup with a sandwich, the employees never put them on the same serving tray, even though space is plentiful. I usually end up with at least four trays for two sandwiches, some chips, and a bowl of soup. This seems wasteful of serving paper, not to mention the dishwashing detergent required to wash all those extra trays. I thought the goal these days was to be environmentally responsible? Distributing my meal amongst numerous trays also makes it necessary to grow a few more hands in order to carry my entire dinner order to the table in one trip. On my last visit, it took three people (my daughter, a attitudinally-challenged supervisor, and myself) to transfer three sandwiches, two bowls of soup, and a few bags of chips to our table. Ridiculous!

Truth be told, the biggest problem with this place is ME. I eat out A LOT and, when I do, I like to be waited on. Panera makes me work too hard for my meal, and it makes me do so in a terse and surly environment. For the same price (or cheaper), I can go someplace else where I am personally greeted by a pleasant restaurant owner and waited on by cheerful, helpful servers. Sometimes, I even get to chat with the cook. What does Panera have to offer that competes with that?!

One kind word: the Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice soup was quite tasty. I would recommend it. I would just get it to go.

Golden Compass Commentary

With the premier of this controversial film just a week away, I thought my readers would be interested in perusing a short, fairly even-toned commentary on the film by Dr. Joel D. Heck, a professor of religion at Concordia University Texas in Austin. My family is still praying about whether to see the movie. Thus far, we are coming down on the side of attendance so that we can be prepared to discuss both the film and the books should such an opportunity present itself. Unfortunately, to be prepared in this way, we will need to contribute at least $15.00 to the coffers of Philip Pullman and his producer friends. As I said, we are still praying.

To whet your appetite, here is a paragraph from the article. To read the entire column, click here.

If [C.S.] Lewis was able to steal past “those watchful dragons” through fantasy tales and convey much Christian theology, is it possible for the opposite to occur? Can one use the same style of imaginative writing to steal some anti-God ideology past watchful Christian dragons? Can an anti-Lewis do what Lewis did? Surely the answer is yes, which makes Philip Pullman Lewis’s anti-self.

Of course, my favorite quote from the article is this:

The Golden Compass still pales in comparison to Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the One who is at the same time compass, vehicle, path, and destination, the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Why I Haven’t Been Blogging

One of the reasons that I haven’t been blogging lately is lack of time...lack of time to read everything I want/need to read, lack of time to write about what I read, and lack of time to do the required Bible study in response to what I have been reading. You see, aside from attempting to trap a squirrel in my attic (the subject of a future post, I’m sure), my daughter and I have been doing a metric ton of reading on the Emergent Church and, after a few weeks of this, I am ready to declare that I am decidedly in the anti-Emergent camp. I am currently working on a post that will explain some of my reasons for that decision but, in the meantime, allow me to share this video with you from YouTube. I viewed it initially on Symphony of Scripture.

A Cool Tool!

I am forever explaining to my husband that his tools are different from my tools. Generally speaking, his are actual tools (like drills, hammers, screwdrivers, etc.) that are needed to complete some sort of specific task. For example, the last time King Richard repaired my Subaru, he informed me that our jack stands were unsafe for the job because they were too short. I saw his point and accompanied him to Sears where we purchased new and taller jack stands.

My tools, on the other hand, are appliances, organizational aids, electronic devices, and software that streamline work and make it possible for my forty-six-year-old brain to remember all the details of managing a home. However, unlike the obvious safe-unsafe criteria in the previous example, it is sometimes a bit more difficult to convince my husband of the need for my new tools. Case in point, about two weeks ago, we finally purchased a new refrigerator because the old one was, frankly, decrepit. Food froze in the back of the main compartment; items in the front of the freezer would partially thaw; the lower shelf was so difficult for me to reach when my sacroiliac joint flared up that science experiments would often materialize there. As I told a friend of mine, I reached a point where I disliked the appliance so much, I didn’t even want to open it to take food out or put food in. The grill on the bottom was secured on one side by high-pressure tape; the door gasket was split in a few places; plus, the door itself wouldn’t shut completely unless you pushed it gently with your foot. The need for a replacement seemed pretty obvious...to me. Yet, it still took a year (or more) to convince my hubby a new tool was in order.

Which brings me to my latest desire: the SmartShopperTM Voice-Activated Grocery List. Here is a description from the Sharper Image website:

Save time on errands and at the market with an up-to-date, alphabetical list that’s arranged according to errands and groceries. Press Record, say the places to go (such as Bank, Post Office or Dry Cleaners) and the items you need (such as Apples, Paper Towels, Wheat Bread and even brand names), click Print and the compact SmartShopperTM produces a printout, organized into errands and groupings such as Produce and Frozen Foods.

Specify quantities, add or delete items anytime using the library of 2,500 items, and enter your own custom items. The voice recognition software is state-of-the art, the thermal printer doesn’t require ink cartridges, and the LCD is bright and easy to read. Mount on the wall, stick on the refrigerator with built-in magnets, or place on a kitchen countertop. Includes two rolls of paper. Uses 4 AA batteries (order separately), measures 7 1/4” x 4 1/2” x 1 1/2” and weighs 1- 1/2 oz. One-year warranty.

Does this not look and sound like an awesome work assistant?! Ownership of this little gem would definitely streamline my planning routine and, therefore, my housework. It would also keep my brain on track. I could attach the device to my refrigerator and just tell it what I want it to know when I think of it, without leaving my other tasks. Plus it would save on paper! I wouldn’t be writing all the other lists I now pen just trying to remember everything I need to do or purchase.

King Richard, if you are reading this blog entry, please make note --- this tool is on my Christmas list. :-)

Note: Lest some of the women out there think I have no mind of my own, please be advised that I do not consult my husband on every purchase in our home. However, after twenty-two years of marriage, we have learned to consult each other on major purchases like appliances and auto maintenance hardware.

The New Breed of Holiday Film?

I was surfing around on Movies.com this evening to get an inkling of the holiday movie scene. Here’s one of the films (P2) already in theaters (see description below). I certainly hope this isn’t Hollywood’s idea of a more “honest” portrayal of Christmas, rather than one involving “fables and myths” like Santa and reindeer and elves...or worse yet, the birth of a Savior. If this is all that movie land has to offer this season, I will be curled up on my sofa watching something more uplifting and, dare I say, delusional...like White Christmas or the Nativity Story. As promised earlier in the paragraph, here is the movie description. May you have a more magical holiday than the poor girl in this flick.

It’s Christmas Eve. Angela Bridges (Rachel Nichols) works late before she leaves for her family’s holiday party. When she gets down to the parking garage, she discovers that her car won’t start. The garage is deserted and her cell phone doesn’t get a signal underground. Thomas (Wes Bentley), a friendly security guard, comes along and offers to help. After a failed attempt to start her car, he invites her to stay and share a small Christmas dinner in the parking office, but she laughs it off. Angela doesn’t realize this is no laughing matter --- Thomas has been watching her closely...for months. His dinner invitation is not optional. If Angela wants to live to see Christmas morning, she must find a way to escape from level P2 of the parking garage.

Note: Yes, I do realize that less horrific options are out there, like Fred Claus. Unfortunately, Santa’s somewhat irreverent brother is also a bit too non-traditional for my tastes. I guess I will be digging out that homemade hot chocolate recipe any day now, as it looks more and more like I will be staying home for a pleasant holiday film.

Generation Gap Quiz

Every three months or so, our church holds an intergenerational discussion during the Sunday School hour. Today was the last session for 2007 and the topic was “Bridging the Generation Gap.” As an ice breaker/discussion starter, the Director of Christian Education had us complete the following quiz. See how many you can answer and then post your score (and your age) in the comments section. I scored nine on the “older” questions and twelve on the “younger” set.

Older
1. 33 1/3, 45, 78
2. Saturday morning serials
3. Knickers
4. Chinese jumprope
5. Black Jack
6. Running board
7. Flat top
8. Polio
9. Pop beads
10. Carhop
11. Wild Root cream oil
12. Ed Sullivan

Younger
1. Nano
2. YouTube
3. Hoodies
4. Wii
5. Heelys
6. Texting
7. Blogging
8. HPV
9. X Games
10. Social networking sites
11. Google
12. IM
----------------------------
Though I do not know for certain where this quiz was first published, this information was printed on the bottom of our discussion handout:

One Church Four Generations: Understanding and Reaching All Ages in Your Church by Gary L. McIntosh, Baker Books, 2002.

"Zap the Gap: How to Solve the Multi-Generational Puzzle" presentations and notes from this presentation by speaker, Meagan Johnson, 2006.

50, 40, 39, 38, 37...

I missed the last two Christmas countdown articles, so here is the latest to catch up.

All my good intentions to follow the Holiday Houseworks Plan (HPP) have gone COMPLETELY astray. I got stuck on creating “Information Central” the first week, not because I am easily distracted, but because clutter and lack of organization have prevailed in my house for so long, some serious restructuring needed to be done. As I mentioned before, I will write a piece about that process when I truly have some results to post (complete with photos --- hopefully).

My essential Christmas tasks are moving forward, albeit not as rapidly as I had envisioned. The online ordering is nearly done; just a few more items for my daughter will complete the list. I am still waiting for inspiration on a few gifts, but have no concerns that something will come to mind shortly. I am somewhat astonished at the number of prepackaged “basket” gifts in the stores this year. If I were amenable to the idea of giving that sort of thing (plus the tried-and-true books, movies, and CD’s), my holiday shopping would have been done two weeks ago. I generally eschew those pre-formulated options, though, preferring to create my own personalized versions instead. For example, this year, I devised what I think of as a “charity” basket. Unfortunately, I can’t give any details because some of the people on my Christmas list read this blog. Maybe I will tell you about it after the holidays.

I have also been investigating Advent devotionals. I will probably use Radical Advent from Lutheran Hour Ministries, only because I haven’t been able to find anything else. So many of the options this year have forsaken the traditional in favor of the postmodern. Of course, this is occurring not just in reference to devotionals. Some folks in Sydney, Australia, are attempting to silence Santa and his “ho, ho, ho." Apparently, the jolly fellow’s statement of laughter is perceived as offensive to women because the singular use of the word “ho” can refer to a female of ill repute. And did you know that Santa is also an example of poor health habits because he is overweight? Yep, my grandchildren may grow up identifying with a slim, “buff” Santa. Santa as a Ken doll, even. Now there is an idea fraught with all kinds of psychological baggage --- Santa combined with Prince Charming. I think I will stick with Father Christmas or the Norman Rockwell version for now, thanks.

Some of my Christmas decor will be going up this week, a bit earlier than anticipated (only by a week), as a longtime friend of my husband is visiting the day after Thanksgiving and I want to get some of those tasks out of the way before he arrives. The bathroom may even be transformed by tonight when I finish doing the daily towel laundry. The “everyday” decorative shower curtain is already down and washed for Christmas storage. The ordinary towels will be going into their seasonal storage box, too, as soon as they exit the dryer.

Yesterday, my daughter and I finished most of our planned charitable giving for the season: Operation Christmas Child, Warm Kids/Warm Hearts, and a donation of Thanksgiving dinner items to a local food bank. This is the third year (at least) that we have put together a Samaritan’s Purse holiday box for a teenage girl in a cold climate. The effort was so quick this year since I saved a contents list from last year and used it to shop for this year. We actually over purchased. One small notebook and a yo-yo wouldn’t fit in the shoebox. Rather than try to find a storage place for them until 2008, I took the former for sermon notes at church; the latter may go to our neighbor’s child or to the Toys for Tots Campaign.

Priorities for this week: start the Christmas cards, decide on the rest of the holiday decorations, and pack the distance gifts for mailing. If I can get the latter task finished by the Monday after Thanksgiving, I will be on-track for a relaxed holiday. Just pray I don’t get sick!

How are Christmas preparations going at your house?

DYK? Orange Pulp

Every once in a while, I receive a “Tip of the Day” from the RealAge.com website. This morning, it was about oranges. More specifically, the message opened with this question:

Orange peel, pulp, or juice: which one has the most vitamin C?

My husband guessed the peel. My daughter went with pulp. The winner was...my daughter! Quoting from the e-message:

Orange pulp wins, according to the authors of the book SuperFoods HealthStyle. The pulp has twice as much vitamin C as the peel and 10 times as much as the juice. And here’s what all that nutrition means to your body.

- snip -

Each orange packs over 60 flavonoids, 170 phytochemicals, and a healthy dose of vitamin C.

- snip -

And all that healthy stuff in oranges may help prevent a host of health conditions, including arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, blood clots, colds, and even cancer.

Years ago, when my husband was a cancer patient, I used to make homemade orange juice in my juicer every morning. Maybe I should restart that habit. Who knows, I just may avoid a cold or two.

Finally, Fall Photos

Over the past month, my daughter and I have been collecting some photographs of the fall foliage around our part of southeastern Connecticut. I thought I should share them before the snow starts to fly and fall photos are no longer applicable.

The pasture off Route 85 North in Waterford, Connecticut.










An antique home off Route 184 in Old Mystic, Connecticut.

Mail! Mail! Mail!

I just adore the amount of mail that comes to my home during the holiday season. It definitely requires more time to process than, say, during June. Yesterday, my mailbox contained the following:

Catalogs (10)
- Acorn
- Audio Editions
- Discovery Channel Store
- Duluth Trading Travelog
- Gooseberry Patch
- Jackson & Perkins
- Land’s End Kids
- Mindware
- PBS Home Video
- Wolferman’s

Bills (1)
- Sprint

Other Financial Items (1)
- Prudential investment update

College Promotions (1)
- Army National Guard

Advertisements (1)*
- J.C. Penney
- Lowe’s

Donation Requests (2)
- Salvation Army
- Samaritan’s Purse

Other Offers (2)
- Journal of Light Construction book offer
- Journal of Light Construction gift subscription

Credit Card Solicitations (2)
- American Express

Miscellaneous
- Thanksgiving card from State Farm agent

* these looked like catalogs

Size Perspective

A while back, I purchased a subscription to The Journal of Light Construction for my husband. When the monthly volume arrives, I rarely even page through it, with the exception of yesterday, of course, when I found this little tidbit of information:

Over the three-plus decades that the U.S. Census Bureau has been collecting data on the size of new houses, median square footage has increased fairly steadily, from 1525 square-feet in 1973 to 2248 square feet in 2006.

But the bureau’s most recent numbers show that between the first and second quarters of 2007, the median size of a single-family home unexpectedly declined --- by 73 square feet, or the equivalent of a big walk-in closet.

The last sentence is the part that amazed me: the average house shrank by 73 square feet, a size equivalent to a large walk-in closet…OR a size equivalent to the work area of my kitchen! I knew my house was small, but I didn’t think it was that small. After arriving at this realization, I looked at my kitchen and tried to imagine it as a closet filled with clothes, shoes, and the like. I don’t think my daughter and I together own enough clothes to fill such a space. How many clothes do people own anyway?

Books. I could definitely fill 70 square feet with books.

Oil Monitor

Sorry for the two week absence. I was crazy busy with homeschooling and church, not to mention some gigantic home organization tasks (the results of which will probably show up on Gooseberry Lane in the next few days). But now I’m back…and ready to keep tabs on the price of crude oil; hence, the addition of the oil monitor in the sidebar.

Being an economics major, I am curious to see exactly when the price of a barrel of crude oil will hit $100. The market has been creeping toward this century mark for a while now, but doesn’t ever quite break through (not that I want it too). Oil-Price.net, where I found the crude oil dashboard, has a one-year forecast price of $122/barrel, as of today. The market believes the price will eventually push above $100/barrel. Some economists believe it will go even higher. As a consumer, I just get to wait for the proverbial price shoe to drop, all the while paying $40-$50 each time I fill my Subaru and attempting to make each tank last 7-10 days. I met the former limit last week. Ten days may elude me, what with commutes to music lessons and performances. I am up for the challenge, though.

The home heating oil season is also upon my family. The furnace has been on in the mornings for 2-3 weeks now. A few of the chillier days had it up and running throughout the entire day. Currently, the thermostat is set at 68º F during the day and 65º F at night. Being programmable, it shifts between the settings without much ado. It did, however, lose its mind this morning, heating the house to 70º F at 3:00 AM. I know this because I was too warm and woke my husband to check the furnace. Much to my chagrin, I may be shopping at Home Depot or Lowe’s this evening, if the thermostat has truly “given up the ghost.” Oh well, better a new thermostat than an out-of-control, oil hungry furnace.

So, how is your family coping with the high price of gas and oil? How many tanks of gas do you use per week? Have you changed your habits in order to conserve energy this winter? I am curious to hear what others are doing to address this issue.

Update on California Friends

Good news from the west coast! Our friends and their relatives are all safe and back home, or they were never evacuated because the fire steered clear of their communities. All their property is intact and life is returning to normal, whatever that is considering that large portions of San Diego County are still engulfed in flame. The current estimate is that ~1500 homes were destroyed in the San Diego area alone, with ~ 482,000 acres burned in total throughout the state. Residents will be cleaning up for a while.

If you would like to monitor the wildfire recovery effort, visit the San Diego Fire Blog. If you would like to donate to the cause, visit either the American Red Cross or Charity Navigator. If neither of those activities is possible for you, I would ask that you pray for all who were (and are) affected by the disaster. Thank you.

Still Counting: 60 Days

Ten more days have passed since my last banging of the Christmas-countdown gong. The holiday is definitely approaching and preparations have begun, not just at my house but in the stores as well.

This morning while I was waiting for my daughter to finish her combined piano/organ lesson (90 minutes in length), I studied in the library of the Episcopal church where this weekly event occurs. While there, I perused the shelves a bit and found an interesting little book entitled Advent Begins at Home: Family Prayers and Activities for Advent and Christmas. Tucked away in the back of this miniature volume was the following activity under the heading “Tree Decorating and Blessing.”

In order to bless a tree, you should remember that a tree can also bless you. For that to happen you need to come to know the tree. Let all members of the family gather around the tree, before it is decorated, and take a good look at it. If it is a cut tree, look at its trunk and try to tell how old it is --- one ring stands for one year. Count the branches; look closely at the needles; feel them, let them tickle you. Smell the pine scent. You could give the tree some water as one in the family reads this prayer.

O Father and Creator of this most special tree which has come to our family, help us to be ever-mindful to feed and give drink to each other as we now feed and give drink to this tree. Help us to know that we receive life from each other, that we need each other, and that we need most especially to remember each other at this season. Amen.

Next, while the tree is being placed in its stand, the following prayer may be said by the head of the household.

Father and Provider of our home, as we give this tree a home within our house, help us to remember the homeless and the poor at Christmastime. Help us to be ever thankful that we are together as a family and that we shelter each other. Finally help us to make our house a happy home. Amen.

When it is time to decorate your tree and as the first string of lights is placed, one family member may read this prayer.

Jesus, Lord of light, we stand in awe as we take our own part in bringing light to this tree. We know the meaning of you as the Light of the world, but we can never fully understand just how far that light can reach and into how many corners it needs to be brought. Help us this Christmas season not to hide our own lights under bushel baskets, but to shine them before all --- to be radiant, happy, and loving people --- showing forth your light in our very faces. Amen.

Now, I must admit that I have never blessed one of my Christmas trees; in fact, it never even occurred to me to bless my Christmas tree. I always just put it up and kept moving with my holiday preparations. I am also not completely comfortable with the wording of this particular “tree blessing ceremony;” it is a bit too sentimental for my tastes. Yet, the idea of remembering the Lord while putting up a Christmas tree doesn’t seem completely out of line, especially when the tree can symbolize the eternal nature of the Trinity. Whether I actually bless my tree in such a formal way is still under consideration. I may just put it up and say a prayer over it. Either way, the idea is now on my list of things to contemplate when planning my Christmas tree related activities.

How about you, what sort of tree traditions does your family observe?

Annual Bloodwork

Last Friday, I attended my annual physical and had blood drawn for some basic tests. What fun! Well, just as all seemed well at my exam, all seems well with my blood numbers, too. Here is the profile:

Complete blood count: normal
Glucose (fasting): 94
Cholesterol: 153
HDL (good cholesterol): 62
LDL (bad cholesterol): 80
Thyroid function test (TSH): 0.97

I am ecstatic about my fasting glucose number, as the last reading was 104 (in 2002). My cholesterol has gone up about 20 points in five years, 133 to 153. Of course, it was 140 when I was 24 years old, so I appear to be waffling within an acceptable range; I would just like it to be a bit lower. I was hoping my HDL would be a little higher and my LDL a little lower, but they are both within range as well. My thyroid number is especially pleasing (to me) since I live amongst the thyroid-challenged on a daily basis. Overall, I am at peace with the picture.

My biggest challenge for the year, which isn’t reflected in these blood work results, is my blood pressure. It tends to wander between 115/72 and 136/84, with the higher number manifesting itself as “white coat hypertension,” that phenomenon where blood pressure spikes in the doctor’s office. Since some physicians see this as an indicator/predictor of future hypertension, I feel I need to address this as aggressively as possible. Looks like a 30-minute walk should happen every day and not just on occasion.

So, now you know my health picture. How about you? Have you scheduled your annual physical and blood work for 2007? If not, I can recommend a great doctor.

Please Pray for California Friends

My family has been watching the news coverage of the San Diego fires quite closely the past few days as some of our friends, and the parents of some of our church friends, live in the affected areas.

Our friends, The Family R, live in Oceanside, a town that has (thankfully) escaped evacuation and fire…so far. We telephoned them yesterday to see how they were faring. Cheerful and upbeat, they informed us that the air in their part of town was clear. They couldn’t smell any smoke; although if they stepped outside their front door, they could certainly see smoke in every direction. My daughter checked a Google map of the fires this afternoon and The Family R is definitely surrounded. Their current flame-free status very much depends on the wind at this point. We are praying that they will be able to remain in their home.

Mr. & Mrs. S, the parents of our church friends, have not fared as well. They were evacuated from their home last night. At this point, I am not sure if they are staying with friends or if they are in an evacuation center. Their home is under much greater threat at the moment, so we are praying that their residence would be spared even the slightest amount of damage. That may seem like an unrealistic request/expectation at this point, but God is a God of miracles. Defying common sense is His business. He saved my husband from cancer; He can certainly save a house.

Any prayers that you could lift up on behalf of these families, and the thousands of others who are currently displaced, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

HPP: Calendar & Creativity

This is Week 2 of an 18-week Christmas organization plan from OrganizedChristmas.com. I am behind and trying to catch up, preloading my holiday stress so that I can enjoy Advent and the actual Christmas season.

The reading assignment for this installment of the Houseworks Holiday Plan was about decluttering and organizing craft supplies, and about organization in general. Since I don’t do a lot of crafts, I didn’t get much out of the first part of the assignment. The latter part, however, offered these principles:

- think function, not appearance
- think process, not product
- a place for everything (and everything in its place)
- get the family on board
- create activity centers
- think zones: hot, warm, & cold
- label, label, label
- store items vertically (when possible)

While none of these ideas was new to me, it was helpful to be reminded of them. Particularly helpful: a list of suggested activity centers. Unfortunately, Ms. Ewer recommended a one activity-one center plan, with supplies for the activity stored in the center if possible. Well, since I live in a small house, my activity centers have to overlap, a complication that forces a bit more thought about function and process than if I lived in a larger abode. Hence…

I am still working on one of the tasks from the first week of the Houseworks Plan: organizing “Information Central,” that wonderful desk environment where relaxation and planning are supposed to converge. Well, convergence in my home is taking bit more time and work than the Houseworks folks had in mind because my desk space has been a disaster for much longer than I care to admit. When the space is finished, I will post a picture (hopefully).

I did make one decision about my desk: I am no longer saving catalogs unless I have some pressing reason to do so (like Christmas shopping). Instead, I have created a shopping folder in my Internet browser. If the catalog has a companion website, the paper version goes into the paper recycling (unless, of course, I have a reason to save it). So, my “catalog procedure” is now:

1) look through the catalog
2) highlight any items of interest with a highlighter marker
3) dog-ear the pertinent page(s)
4) file the catalog in the bottom drawer of the desk filing cabinet

For more than ten years, I have limited my stash of catalogs to one file drawer near my desk, the result of a compromise I made with my husband over paper clutter. Well, by adopting this new “procedure,” I was able to fit my catalog stash into ~50% of the drawer. Not bad, especially in light of the fact that I live in a 900-square-foot house and I don’t really have the space to save every catalog known to man.

The holiday preparation checklist portion of this installment of the Houseworks Holiday Plan included:

- creating a holiday calendar
- planning holiday travel
- holding a scheduling session
- starting a tear file
- starting (and using) a shopping list
- inventorying craft supplies & unfinished projects
- making a “gifts to make” list

The calendar wasn’t a problem for me, as I always keep one on my computer and on my Palm. I prefer to add my Christmas events and activities to these “routine” calendars, rather than creating a special holiday version that will (inevitably) fail to reflect some run-of-the-mill activity. With my busy schedule, missed events on a calendar can wreak havoc on the time management system around here, not to mention the nerves of certain family members. My only challenge in this area is getting other people to commit to dates so I know the extent of our outside commitments. I am still waiting for a few confirmations. I am sure they will turn up soon.

As for holiday travel, with the price of gas and my daughter’s handbell concert schedule, no one is going anywhere. I was hoping to take a trip to Colonial Williamsburg sometime this fall, but I doubt that will happen. A few days off and a rendezvous with some friends from Washington, D.C. would be great (and very de-stressing) but we have too many projects and issues to address on the homefront this year.

I had to chuckle at the “scheduling session” idea and the suggested events that may need to be scheduled: carpet cleaning, chimney inspections, and furnace checks. I have no carpet, and to get a chimney or a furnace inspected or cleaned in my neck of the woods this time of the year would have required a call to the my oil company sometime near Memorial Day. Since that didn’t happen, I have no scheduling tasks to complete in that area. I am purchasing a new refrigerator this week. That delivery will be scheduled for early November.

Tear files. For those who are unfamiliar with these, they are idea files that contain pictures, recipes, and craft ideas that are torn out of magazines or catalogs. I really have to be careful with these. For years, I saved magazines in order to create tear files. All I managed to do was create a pile of magazines and catalogs. Lately, I only do this for Christmas (and for some current home improvement projects). I also try to cull through these particular tear files on a regular basis so they remain small and contained. My Christmas file is actually located inside my Christmas planning notebook, tucked inside protector pages organized by subject (e.g., gifts, food, greeting cards, etc.).

Start and use a shopping list. No problem here! I have been shopping for at least a week, maybe a little longer. My mail-away gifts are coming together. Hopefully, they will be finished by November 1st. My goal is to mail them just after Thanksgiving so I won’t have to deal with the crowds at the post office, and so I won’t have to pay an exorbitant rapid-delivery rate to get my packages there “just in the nick of time.” Fortunately, my friends and relatives have humored my early-bird shopping bug and given me some wonderful gift ideas.

The last two tasks on the holiday preparation checklist for this week are to inventory craft supplies and to make a “gifts to make” list. Neither of these activities impacts my family at this time. I am not making any gifts this year and if I haven’t worked on my Christmas craft projects by now, they have already been shifted to my 2008 off-season work list. The off-season is also when I plan to inventory my craft supplies. One great guideline here: the Rule of Four.

If you have more than four unfinished craft projects, or if any single project is more than four years old, don’t schedule any new crafts!

Using this principle, and given the number of unfinished projects that currently reside in my attic, I should be able to start a new project when I am ~80 years old. :-)

My progress is slow, but I am definitely making headway. How are you doing?

HHP: Planning & Paperwork

Late in September, I wrote an article about choosing a Christmas organization plan, and about which plan I decided to try (see 90 Days!). At the time, I was late to the process; but not to be discouraged, I decided to work steadily on completing the tasks as they were assigned.

Quoting directly from the Houseworks webpage:

Part book club, part organizing schedule, the Houseworks Holiday Plan [HPP] is an 18-week holiday plan designed to help you clean and organize your home in time for the holiday season --- and take care of seasonal preparations, too.

Each week, participants are given a reading assignment from the book House Works: Cut the Clutter, Speed Your Cleaning, and Calm the Chaos by Cynthia Townley Ewer. This is called your weekly focus. For week one, the topic was decluttering your home. I read through this information one afternoon while my daughter was in music composition class and found it quite helpful. Ms. Ewer began by outlining a clutter cessation method she calls STOP: Sort, Toss, Organize, and Put Away. She also discussed some declutter strategies, as well as some ways to keep the clutter from returning once it has been culled. The best part, though, was determining my “clutter personality.” Given the checklist and the descriptions in the book, I figure I am a deferrer and a perfectionist, with a touch of sentimentalist. The counterproductive part is that my husband is also a deferrer and a perfectionist, with a touch of rebel. Is it any wonder we got married --- common ground with enough opposite to attract? But I digress…

The week one reading assignment also covered the creation of “Information Central,” that place in your home where you perform essential household organizational tasks: menu planning, bill paying, event scheduling, and the like. For me (currently), that would be wherever my laptop happens to be; however, I know from past experience that if I have a space with a comfortable chair and a desk, I will sit there to complete organizational tasks, so long as I can plug my headphones into a movie or some music while I work. So, as I stated in a previous article, my house task for week one is to create “Information Central” by decluttering my desk, and by deciding which desk to use --- the one in my living room or the one in my family room. I have a comfortable new chair for each one, thanks to a great sale at Target and the repair abilities of my darling husband.

As for the Christmas preparation half of the Houseworks Holiday Plan, those tasks are known as the “holiday prep checklist.” For week one, they included:

- making a promise to spend some time each day preparing for Christmas
- setting up a Christmas notebook
- completing a family values worksheet
- creating a Christmas planning activity center
- establishing a holiday budget
- considering a Christmas savings plan
- beginning a master gift list

So, how am I doing on those, you ask? Not bad. I work on some Christmas-related task every day. I already have a holiday planning notebook. I completed the family values worksheet. I have a Christmas club account into which I have deposited $200/month since January 2007, so funds for early shopping are not a problem. I also started a master gift list. The only task not yet tackled is the creation of a Christmas planning center. In my house, that is much the same as creating “Information Central.” Looks like I should be/will be working hard on my desk space.

If you would like to find a Christmas organization plan to use for your holiday tasks, check out OrganizedChristmas.com for some great ideas.

My Annual Physical

After taking all three of my cats to the vet for their annual physicals, today was my turn. Yippee. I hate going to the doctor. Every time I walk through the door of a clinic or an emergency room, my pulse quickens, my blood pressure goes up…my body exhibits all the classic signs of a fight or flight reaction. Truthfully, there isn’t much “fight” involved; it is just flight. My instinct is to flee. What exactly I am fleeing from, I do not know. Fear of the unknown, I suppose. Ah, well…

I started the day with my actual physical exam. Then, because I had fasted for seventeen hours, I headed straight to the lab for blood work. I won’t have the results for a few days. Hopefully, they won’t indicate any major problems (like elevated glucose). My other test results will be back in about two weeks. My physician didn’t indicate that anything was amiss, so I am assuming that all is well (at least for the moment). My other appointment for the day was an annual mammogram. Again, the technician who took a preliminary glance at the film didn’t indicate that anything was amiss, so I am assuming all is well in that department, too.

As much as I stress over this annual ritual, I am always relieved to know that I am in reasonably good health. Recommendations for the year: lose some weight, exercise more, and make sure I consume plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. In other words, behave myself.

NEA Dislikes Homeschooling

Wow! Shocking news. The National Education Association recently passed this resolution/statement on home education. Not surprising, they favor government regulation of this educational lifestyle:

The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used.

The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

The Association further believes that local public school systems should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-entering the public school setting from a home school setting. (1998, 2006).

Being a faith-based homeschooler who desires as little connection as possible with the public school and little (or, preferably, no) government regulation of home education, I have a problem with the implication that my daughter needs to study a state-mandated curricula and take state-mandated tests, and that I need to be licensed by the state in order to teach. I also disagree with the idea that homeschooling cannot provide my daughter with a comprehensive educational experience. Just examine our 2007-2008 instructional plan.

Beyond that, I am ok with their point of view. I, too, believe that parents should teach only their own children and that families should carry the financial burden for their educational choice. No government payments should be given to homeschoolers and no hired tutors should be permitted to do all the teaching while both parents maintain full-time employment. As for the school, I believe that if each state is to retain their authority under the Constitution per education, then local school districts are certainly within their rights to determine graduation standards for their students and to set rules for participation in their extracurricular activities. Let government schools be governed by the government and homeschools be governed by homeschoolers.

Apparently, what was more upsetting to some home educators was the NEA resolution/statement on diversity:

The National Education Association believes that a diverse society enriches all individuals. Similarities and differences among race, ethnicity, color, national origin, language, geographic location, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, age, physical ability, size, occupation, and marital, parental, or economic status form the fabric of a society.

The Association also believes that education should foster the values of appreciation and acceptance of the various qualities that pertain to people as individuals and as members of diverse populations.

The Association further believes in the importance of observances, programs, and curricula that accurately portray and recognize the roles, contributions, cultures, and history of these diverse groups and individuals.

My guess is that these words were disconcerting because they did not recognize educational choice as one of the similarities or differences that “form the fabric of society;” nor did the choice to homeschool come up to the NEA standard of “appreciation and acceptance of the various qualities that pertain to people…as members of diverse populations.” This was aptly demonstrated by the aforementioned anti-homeschooling resolution.

Personally, I don’t much care if the NEA recognizes or validates my educational choice, or if they are blind to the fact that educational choice does contribute to “the fabric of society.” In the end, the NEA is nothing more than a labor union. It is not a regulatory body of the United States government; it is an employee organization. Knowing that, why should I, as a homeschooler, be concerned with their policy platform? And, really, that is all their resolutions constitute…a policy platform.