Can a blog take the place of a Round Robin?

Hi Everybody!

Karl, I want to thank you for putting this blog together. Just days before, Trale asked me if I thought it would work to do a Round Robin via e-mail. I replied that rather than having our turn to write be contingent on someone else writing something, we could assign everyone a particular week to write, and go around the Robin every six weeks. I can't think of a better way to do it. Can you? Of course, any of us can write at any time, and we don't have to write anything on our week -- but I hope this framework will encourage us to communicate at least once every six weeks.

Week 1: Trale, Michael, and Joy (8-31)

Week 2: Patty, Phil, and Steve (9-7)

Week 3: Ken, Gladys, and Marli (9-14)

Week 4: Ensign, Linda, and Miles (9-21)

Week 5: Becky, Jon, and Connie (9-28)

Week 6: Amer, Lisa, and Andrea (10-5)


It looks like I may not be able to keep my job at the hardware store, or maybe that they will offer me a position that pays less, instead of the one I've been doing. One of the things I have to do twice a week as the person "in charge" of the tool department is make a list of all the out of stock items (usually about 100 things). If there's an empty hook or shelf space, I'm supposed to scan around to see if the item was misplaced on another hook, or if there are any double tags. I haven't done very well at finding items that are missing. Mike told me today that they're looking to trim people out of the company anyway and that I'm the next person he's looking to trim because my accuracy is so poor.

It seems like my vision has been steadily and speedily deteriorating. I was having trouble on the job and at school because I needed my medium-range vision but my bifocals were only set for things very close and very far away. A couple of weeks ago I got a pair for close and intermediate range, which is actually what I need for almost everything I do, although it's weird to wear them because everything that's more than eight feet away is a blur. So I switch my glasses out a lot, or try to get by without wearing either pair. And that's okay, as long as I don't have to read anything.

Last Friday my truck and my bicycle broke down. First it was the chain on my bike. Then my battery died. The truck's okay now, but the new chain I put on my bike is slipping, and I'm thinking I'm going to need a new derailer.

I've been reading Hafiz lately, picking out the poems I especially like, and here's one of them:

TODAY

I
Do not
Want to step so quickly
Over a beautiful line on God's palm
As i move through the earth's
Marketplace
Today.

I do not want to touch any object in this world
Without my eyes testifying to the truth
That everything is
My Beloved.

Something has happened
To my understanding of existence
That now makes my heart always full of wonder
And kindness.

I do not
Want to step so quickly
Over this sacred place on God's body
That is right beneath your
Own foot

As I
Dance with
Precious life
Today.


Tell that to my out-of-tune guitar! But it does help remind me of what I want to feel, enjoying the ride even if it might be bumpy at times, and not to sweat the small stuff.

Love,
Stephen

hi from Ensign

My turn: I am thankful that Connie and Linda live here. I am included on their activities--swimming, biking, and socializing. Connie often cooks vegeterian meals for us which are varied and very tasty. Do you think we should eat more veggies and less meat because meat uses up lots of grain and water?
The pictures from Lake Geneva are great, both indoors and outdoors--an unforgettable time. Linda and I went to a festival at the home town of Patricia Mitchell (who was with us at Geneva.) Her family has had a food booth there with cat fish and chicken for 16 years, a jolly affair for the whole town.
I note we talk a lot about food. I'm glad for the nourishment of our minds and spirits which God sends our way (even at festivals like Patricia's where we felt the wonderful unity of family and neighbors. ) Love to each and all. Ensign

HOWDY!! Linda here!

Hi, this is a great idea to make sure we are in touch.
About Lisa and kids, the day before they left, the kids went to day camp (10:30 to 3:) then the 4 of us took the train to Chicago one last time. We waded in the water at Millenium Park, walked around, then went to eat at the Walnut Room at Macy's. It is a somewhat formal atmosphere, nice wood decor and the food is very good. They left on July 30, Wed., and the next day called to say they had made it back to Amman fine. The house is quiet now, we miss them very much!
Yesterday, Dad & I went to a concert at Millenium Park held outside. It was the final concert of the season. Different composers were played and sung, the choir had about 80 voices, including children. My favorite piece was one I knew--the Toreador song by Bizet who wrote "Carmen".
I am back to volunteering now at the Presbytery office. Two days a week are great. The people there are lovely to work with. Nice talking to you. Linda

Mama Mia

We (who can see movies for $3/person) saw "Mama Mia" and laughed at the far out antics of the leads and supporting cast. Having seen the play a few years ago, and listened to the music often, imposing it on the rest of the family as we travel, it was hard for me to stay in my seat and not get up and dance on the stage. I went with Nancy, a librarian and Chorallair member, who couldn't get her husband or her mother to go with her.

We keep the Olympics on every night, and cheered for Shawn Johnson from Des Moines.

wheat and zucchini bread, tabouleh, sweet corn and chocolate chip muffins are filling my thoughts and my tummy! ahh the fresh foods of summer!

Hi from Connie in Sunny California. Not a cloud in the sky today! Laurie and I, her son Joe and her sister-in-law Sarah (Jane's mom) went to San Diego and ate a leisurely lunch in a 50s diner. The waiter (who looked like the 50s) threw straws and bubble gum at us, and we played with the straws and ate a lot. We also went to Balboa Park, and the seaside where we saw seals and pelicans. I still love them.(pelicans).

This is my month off from work, As you know, I went to New York the first week of Aug then enjoyed a week home before I came west. I'll be in Cal until Mon Aug 25 when I'll drive back to Chicago with Jane's car. School starts after Labor Day.

This blog is great, easy and fun. Was it Karl who set it up? Thanks!!

Praying for wisdom for Ken adn Glad, scintillating phrases for Andrea, and physical energy for Karl.

Love to all

CONNIE

Steve here!

Dear family,

I, too, have school to contend with, and I'm hoping I can get an hour of studying in before I go off to a jam session. I bought two watermelons this summer, and this year, for the first time ever, I saved the rinds and juiced them. Sometimes I mix the juice with apple juice, but it's good by itself. You have to drink it up because it'll go bad faster than most other juices will. I had a half a pitcher from the first batch go bad on me. I've been able to make a couple of big batches of salsa with tomatoes, jalepenos, sweet peppers, and fennel from the garden, which I've been eating with everything. We've had a few successes in our garden here and a number of failures. It's time to dig it up soon and plant for the fall. My housemates have fallen behind on their rent, and it's motivated me to insist on more communication, especially from myself. I hope they get caught up soon. I'm only scheduled to work about thirty hours a week, and I have to make my money stretch. I thought about looking for other work today, but I don't want to sacrifice time I need for music and for school. I think I will look for another housemate who can stay in the back room, although the last person who stayed back there ended up stealing more stuff than he contributed in rent. Love, Stephen

Contemplating changes

Hello from Searcy! Just looked at some pics from Linda of the gathering at Lake Geneva! What a great group of people! We missed being there SO much. Gladys is doing better now, she is able to walk again though her leg is still not well, it is much better.
Ken is working long hours everyday...4 days and two nights. He is ready to make a change, and is actually contemplating movng to Chicago, but that will take a lot of planning and effort, and there is no definite decision about that. We have been established here in our little house for 12 years now and it seems like a LOT of work to move!
Jimmy is doing really great! He has a good job in Fayetteville, that he likes very much. He met a young woman there who was 2 months pregnant at the time. He took her under his wing since she has no parents, had no home and was staying at the Salvation Army shelter. He found a clinic for her prenatal care, moved her into his apartment and is helping her to get SSI because she was disabled from an accident at work. She had her baby on Wednesday of this week! A boy! She has named him Michael Lee Branson. (I'm not sure why she wanted to use Jimmy's last name but he says it's OK. There are no legal ramifications.)
He has been clean for ONE YEAR! and is doing very well.
They will be here on Wednesday for an overnight. Gladys can hardly wait to see the baby! His mother's name is Jaimie, and she was texting Gladys messages through her entire labor which went very quickly! The last text was sent at 9 cm! Both mother and child are doing well.
We are looking forward to reading everyone's entry, and hoping we will see everyone soon! Somehow!

procrastinating

this is me doing ALL i can to put off working on my application for medical school. not that i don't want to complete the application - I would love it if it were done! but there is so much pressure to create an exceptional one, that i avoid it more than I should. ahh, well. it will all work out okay in the end. :)

well, i just wanted to throw my two cents in and say that I am on board.
here comes school and being busy, i hope everyone enjoyed the summer!

ps, the picture at the top of the blog is AWESOME. i really enjoy the personal touch to the page, and Lisa makes the whole thing look VERY exciting. :)

Law school orientation

so I just got done with Orientation for school, and class starts up on monday. the orientation was good, I got to meet several new people with whom I will be spending a lot of time over the fall semester. There are 210 people in the full time class of 2007 at St. Louis U Law, so it is a fairly compact group. I had one class so far during orientation, but it was not a really good look at what it will be like, I feel. From what everyone has said so far, it is just really easy to get very caught up in the work, and forget to do other things than study. I am preparing myself to study as little as I can, which I am sure will still be a whole lot, so I can maintain a good mental condition.

I have also been working on the house that Trale bought here. It sure needs a lot of work done on it- everything from fixing some bad flooring in the bathrooms to patching walls and updating plumbing and electric fixtures. I am renting a place up by the school until I can get the permit to move into the place

Football In Clarion Iowa

Hey everyone, just wanted to kind of give a post example

I just got done with a week full of football practice. We had two practices each day that were 2 hours long for a total of at least 4 hours each day of football. Thankfully they decided to let us have Friday afternoon off and our family went to the Iowa state fair to get some delicious, artery clogging, deep fat fried everything. Now it's Saturday and I'm still sore from football and I have to work all day at the pool.

Just in case anybody didn't get the message, I'm excited for our exchange student Martin from Germany to come soon.