china and the war prayer

A rainy morning, just the right background for finishing my current book, Factory Girls, From Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie Chang. I learn so much about the world from reading non-fiction. Here's a paragraph from page 289:

Almost everything was done communally. The children got up together and stood in a line at the edge of the yard, brushing their teeth and spitting into the neighbors yard below. Every meal was eaten together--vegetables, rice, and always pork, since a family typically slaughtered a pig in the autumn and dined on it all winter long. Bath time was also a group activity: In the evening, the women of the family would heat a basin of water. One after another, they washed their private parts and feet, without changing the water in between. Then the men would refill the basin and do the same. Every so often, the family members took a sponge bath, but that was usually different from the once in many days they washed their hair. Eventually every part of the body would be clean, although rarely at the same time.

On another subject, because this month has been the bloodiest so far in the Afghanistan war, I offer this prayer:
Dear Jesus,
This war is like a puzzle that does not make sense. The pieces are strange and ugly and will never fit together. We need your help and guidance to allow our leaders to use their wisdom to bring this needless war to an end. We need a rainbow for us all.

it could happen to anybody

Two things have happened this summer that caused me to become more careful and aware of my surroundings.

1. Several weeks ago I fell in my shower. I was alone at the time. No broken bones but nasty bruises that kept me from my regular walking routine for a couple of days. Also caused a great deal of embarrassment when family and friends noticed them.
2. Last week a real low-life tried to walk off with my Antonio Melani bag while I was in an aisle at Target. She thought that I wasn't paying attention but because all good teachers have eyes in the back of their heads, I was able to see her as she sided over to walk away with my empty cart and bag. It made me feel uneasy all day but did teach me a valuable lesson about stowing my bag in the shopping cart.

bike lane

 Construction has started on a new bike lane crossing the bridge to the KATY. It's been very controversial here in River City as many people think it's a big waste of money and the bikers do not need or deserve it. MY feelings? How narrow-minded can some people be!!

claysville store

It's actually a restaurant. The best fried chicken, country ham, and the coconut-cream pie is from heaven. We visited last night, that means I will eat very light today!

missing kids

I obsess over missing children. Poor Kyron Horman, is he locked away in some stranger's basement? Did someone take him to a foreign country? Or more likely, did his evil, demented, step-mom Terri murder him? I think about him and wonder what happened?

I lost a kid once. It was in the summer and I was teaching a group of  fifteen pre-k kids. I had an aide to help me, a college-age kid named Kirk. One student was Andrew, a brilliant little guy who thought he was a bird and acted like a bird. One afternoon at recess close to dismissal time, Andrew was missing from the end of the line. I was frantic. It was a flat playground and very easy to see that Andrew was not there. While I watched the class, Kirk went up on the adjoining soccer field and found him squatting in the tall grass. Like I said, he actually thought he was a bird!!

banking and baking

Today I did my banking and baked cookies. They are for my husband. He eats them for breakfast!

capitol shots

Sometimes I walk downtown which takes me by the state capitol, isn't it beautiful?

what's for breakfast?

Lately, I have been restricting my diet to all-fruit in the morning. A teacher friend shared with me that he has been doing this for years with very positive results. I do not wake up hungry so cantaloupe, oranges, berries, cherries, peaches, bananas, grapes really appeal  (no pun intended!) to me.

the rose police

I have been feeling somewhat guilty lately. It concerns my roses which I have neglected to the point of not even seeing them while I'm taking care of my other container plants. The Japanese Beetles have had their way with them again this summer and I just got tired of mixing up poison, like the old witch-queen in Snow White. This morning I took my shears to them and lets just say--gave them a summer haircut. I'm sure they will start blooming again, after all, this hot/humid weather is just what they strive on. Maybe by that time, the beetles will be on their way back to Japan.
I'm starting The Girls of Room 28 Friendship, Hope, and Survival in Theresienstadt by Hannelore Brenner. I'm on page four...

Repotting plants and book review

I always try to accomplish at least one industrious thing during the day and by the way, I consider laundry to be industrious. Today, I repotted a couple of my plants. Earlier this spring I found an ornamental pepper plant in the clearance aisle at Walmart. I brought it home and made the mistake of putting it into a container that was too small. It loves full sun. I have it sitting next to my rock garden and it has doubled in size. I also purchased a small African violet (half price, again at Walmart) so it went into the pot that the pepper plant was in. My grandmother used to raise African violets, I will keep it in a special spot and watch it like a hawk. I have tried African violets before; in fact she used to give them to me but I guess I had other things on my mind...
I also wanted to spend some time reading Country Driving by Peter Hessler. This is the third book that I have read by him and I am absolutely fascinated with it. Here is a Chinese factory boss explaining why he likes to hire young female workers.
"Girls have more patience and they're easier to handle," he explained. "Men are more trouble--they start fights or cause some other problem." When I asked about the ideal worker, Boss Wang said that she should be young and inexperienced. "If she's already had other jobs, then I'll just have to pay her more." he said. For the same reason he preferred a candidate to have little formal education. It was a bad sign if she dressed well or had a distinctive hairstyle. Pretty girls were a risk. "I want a person to look average, " Boss Wang said. "I don't want anybody who's too complicated. I don't want somebody who thinks, 'If I feel like doing something, then I'm going to do it.' That's no good for me." One of Boss Wang's questions in job interviews was to ask about hobbies. If a candidate said, "Playing cards" or "Spending time with friends," that was a negative--too frivolous. "Reading books" indicated that an applicant was lazy. Worst of all was a job candidate who said she spent free time on the Internet. "I like it if she enjoys being with her family, or caring for her mother, or something like that," Boss Wang said. "That's what a simple person from the countryside should be like. I want somebody who can eat bitterness."

the pencil skirt

I use this skirt more or less as a scale. I step into it every day or so, it fits me well, I look at me in a mirror--both front and side view. I do this every time I try it on. Everyone should have one article of clothing that they can slip on in front of a mirror and get immediate feed-back. For me it's better than standing on a scale which only gives a number. Maintaining a healthy weight is a wonderful thing.

The Fourth etc.

I spent the Fourth with family and friends, enjoying fried fish, Rocky Road ice cream from Central Dairy, and River City's meager fireworks display. As a teacher, I have always considered July my favorite month. Not yet into worrying about bulletin boards or new classroom supplies or class lists. Now that I'm a sub, July has lost some of its luster, but the holiday is still fun, I'm glad about that.

I'm halfway through another good book, The Devil's Rooming House, The True Story of America's Deadliest Female Serial Killer by M. William Phelps. This is the story of the legendary serial killer who inspired the Broadway sensation and classic film Arsenic and Old Lace.

It's true, I am exclusively a reader of non-fiction. I love animals and little children. I am a Christian and I consider it my duty to take care of this earth as best I can. I also love true crime. Is that warped?

sweet treat

Okay, it's summer and it's hot and you need something cool, sweet, and (if you're like me) chocolate; then you need to grab a Fudgsicle. No sugar added and at 40 calories per pop, hey you can have two! Look for the yellow box that says Original Fudge Bars on the side.

5.15 miles or 11,686 steps

The weather today is gorgeous; however my butt could not take another 14 mile bile ride so I walked this morning on the green way. Later I will pick up some new reads at the library and check out the sales at the local mall. Oh, the basket is in my front yard, enjoy!