Because, why not!!? I'll fill this out so that you will know 37 odd things about me! This list is a prime example of our unique and strangely irrelevant quirks. I’ll show you mine and then you get to show me yours!

1. What is your favorite cheese? Smoked Gouda or smoked Swiss, it really is a toss up.
2. Have you ever smoked? No. A pseudo-friend tried to get me to try when I was in 6th grade. I was not tempted.
3. Do you own a gun? I'm not a big fan of firearms for home defense. Discharging a gun indoors in a panic situation just begs the question - If I fire and miss, will this bullet travel through the wall and injure/kill the very people I'm trying to protect?
4. What is your favorite flavor of Kool-aid? I never cared for Kool-Aid. Do they make peach or mango flavor?
5. Tell about a time you were nervous before a doctor’s appointment? I had to go to the women's oncology center at the University of Chicago. I was really nervous about finding out if I had cancer.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I think there are many more nutritious foods but none more iconic than the "hot dog".
7. What is your favorite Christmas story? Hmmm. I would have to go with that original one - you know the one with no room in the inn, manger, shepherds and angels, three wise men and that star shinning bright...
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I generally go with Propel or straight water.
9. Can you do a push up? Are we talking one armed, military type, the girly kind or the ice cream ones? I can manage a pushup but don't expect more than one.
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding band (the one I lost). After that I'd have to say it would be a mother of pearl Buddha that was my grandmother's.
11. What is your favorite hobby? playing in the mud.
12. Do you have A.D.D? I don't think so unless ADD stand for the Additional Dessert Diet...
13. When did you get your first pair of glasses? 9th grade - it was eye opening!
14. Who was your childhood idol? Doctor Doolittle.
15. Name 3 thoughts at this moment. 1. I need to put the pea soup in the fridge. 2. I'm going to have to finish wrapping gifts tomorrow. 3. I hope Sparky is warming up a spot in bed for me.
16. Name three things you drink regularly. Propel (peach flavor), water, hot chocolate.
17. What is your current worry? That Sparky won't find employment before his unemployment benefits run out.
18. What do you currently hate? Hate is such an ugly word.
19. Where is your favorite place? Wherever Sparky is.
20. How do you bring in the New Year? Dinner with good friends and some good conversation!
21. Where would you like to go? Hawaii
22. Name your first boy/girlfriend and where are they now? Jeff Smith (not kidding). I think he is in Michigan somewhere - he's a minister.
23. Tell us about your slippers? I have 3 pair. My leather moccasins that are nearly 30 yrs old and starting to show their age. The lamb's wool lining is mostly turned to felt after years of wear. My fleece pair that are turquoise with a southwestern pattern on them. They are warm but not too comfortable since they have an indoor/outdoor sole. Then there is my latest pair - fake fur leopard on the inside that rolls down to form a wide cuff and black on the outside. They are supposed to have a no slip sole but the inside slips around and they are pretty treacherous on the stairs...
24. Describe your favorite shirt. Hm. It is a variegated fleece in teal and black with sleeves with a thumb hole in each cuff. The neck is a large cowl with a drawstring. Comfortable and warm in the winter.
25. Do you like sleeping in satin sheets? Nope. Had satin sheets once. My head kept sliding off the pillow and the sheets were constantly trying to spit me out of bed. Ended up tucking the sheets in and then sliding into bed from the top in an effort to stay in bed. Not ever again.
26. Can you whistle? No. I've tried and spent countless hours practicing to no avail.
27. What is the best thing about your house? It is paid for!!
28. If you were a pirate, what would you be called? Red Tide.
29. What song do you sing in shower? Comin' Thro' the Rye
30. What is your favorite sports team? Well it would have to be da Bears and da Bulls...
31. What is your favorite food? So many favorites: sushi, curry, fried squid, potatoes, and chocolate.
32. How much money is in your wallet/purse? 10 cents and a St. Christopher's medal.
33. What was the last thing that made you laugh? My latest purchase at Goodwill.
34. What's your favorite animal? Mice (and rats).
35. What was your worst injury? There was the time I went over the handle bars of my bike, and the time I slipped on the ice, but I think the worst was when I threw out my back reaching for the toilet paper. It was very painful (as in tears streaming down my face) and also embarrassing since I had to have help pulling up my pants...
36.How many TV's do you own? Two TVs and 5 monitors.
37. How many nicknames do you have and what are they? Murisopsis, Lollipop Lips, Peaches, Big Bird, Mom, and Pits. There might be a few more that I've forgotten over the years...

Last Friday, while dining with saintvi and Sparky at Olive Garden, I overheard the couple seated behind me discussing baby names. They asked the server which name he preferred for a boy, Nolan or Hayden. The server indicated Nolan as his choice. The wife informed him that that was her choice too. They proceeded to debate baby names for the entire time we were seated. I was highly amused as I caught bits and pieces of their conversation.

The names the husband proposed ranged from ordinary to extraordinary: Justin, Cyprian, Ronald, Tygen, Constantine, Roman, Greg, Tyrell, Dallas, and the last one I over heard - Polan. His wife had comments about all of these suggestions. When the name Justin was shot down, the husband suggested that since it was "too common" that they spell it with a Y. The wife was not amused. Cyprian was squashed with a comment about saints and martyrs. Ronald was dismissed as ugly. Tygen was denounced as a made up name that was plain strange. Constantine was pooh-poohed as was Roman since they sounded like leftover names from ancient times. Greg was too short and Tyrell was too girly. Dallas was sneered at because "I'm not naming my baby after a really bad TV show!"

When the husband said "Poland" his wife nearly shouted that that was the name of a country not a child. The husband countered that it was without the D. She was not convinced and mentioned the difficulty of a misspelled name. I wanted badly to tell her that it would all work itself out and more than likely she would name her son Nolan. I mean, it worked out for me! Sparky kept saying that son#2 would be named Kermit. I shuddered. He is not named Kermit! It's not easy being green but it is probably easier than being named Kermit!

Pine needles gathered beneath the boughs
Pine patterned water washed bundles
Tossed into tessellations under trees
What use these brown and brittle needles?
Exist for my curious contemplation
Or a bed for bunnies and baby deer
Can’t they have simply occurred
For the amusement of the Almighty?

So often we have to know what the purpose is for objects. Perhaps it is because I went to the opening of the Student/Faculty Art Show and over heard more than a few people pondering, "What IS it? What does it do?" That mind set requires everything to have a job. If an object exists it must have some useful and utilitarian purpose. That spills over onto people. We reduce people from humans to cogs in the machine. If a part is broken you remove it and replace it with a piece that works. When something is damaged the most cost effective and expedient remedy is to get another one. Forget about the intangibles - knowledge, experience, loyalty, and devotion. Put aside the humanity of the workers and don't look too closely. Many times management tries to fool themselves into believing that all people are interchangeable. They want to pretend that there are no repercussions and no detriment to anyone who is "replaced".

There is a Scotch pine just outside the back door to my building. I pass it daily. I happened to look down to see that the recent rain had moved the pine needles into very artistic swirls and ribbons. All the needles were lined up and they snaked their way around and around the trunk. I hear a lot about "being", being in the moment, being present, being calm, being still... What if our purpose isn't to love and serve God? What if our main purpose is to simply be and in being become tiny masterpieces to be admired by our Creator? What if....

As of December 1st all the Thanksgiving leftovers were gone. That is a record. In years past I would end up freezing some of the leftovers since there was so much! Not this year. The turkey has been consumed as sandwiches and as turkey Manhattans. The green bean casserole and roasted veggies didn't last but a couple days. There weren't many mashed potatoes left to start. Sparky is not a fan of leftover mashed potatoes. So I made Loaded Mashed Potato Soup. It was quite tasty. So good that it is now just a pleasant memory. Last year I made straight up Mashed Potato Soup and it was good. This time I think it was a little better...

Ingredients:
2 T butter
1 T flour
1/4 cup diced onion
1 T parsley flakes
2 1/2 c 1% milk
2 1/2 c mashed potatoes
1/2 t. pepper
salt to taste
Shredded cheddar cheese
Bacon bits (or real bacon if your doctor will allow it)

Melt the butter in a soup pot and add the onion. Cook until the onion is tender and almost caramelized. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Stir in the milk and mix well. Add the parsley and bring to a boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Add the potatoes stirring until smooth. Add salt and pepper. Serve with shredded cheese and bacon bits as garnish.

Sometimes there are deals that are just too good to be true. You get that email touting a 4 day/3 night stay in Palm Beach that is absolutely free. Sort of. You have to get yourself to Palm Beach on your own dime. You have to sit through a 4 hour presentation using every sales technique known to man including the "hard" sell. And you have to pay for your own meals except for that one that they serve during the sales pitch for the time share in Botswana. But I digress. This isn't about that kind of offer.

You see my neck of the woods is kind of depressed as far as the job market goes. Fewer employed people per capita translates to fewer consumers with liquid and leisure dollars. That means that the stores are in a fierce competition to get your remaining disposable income. So far I've cached in on several offers. I had a coupon for $10 off a $10 purchase at J.C. Penny's store. In addition I had reward points worth another $10 off any purchase. I bought gifts that were 50% off and then applied the 2 discounts. I spent $5 and some change. Then there was the Kohl's sale. I had a $15 off any $25 purchase and an additional 30% off along with $10 in Kohl's Cash. I bought some gifts that normally I wouldn't have considered because they would have exceeded the budget however when the dust settled I had to pay $2.11 for a big bag of goodies. I was being very frugal and Sparky was thinking I was some how scamming the system. He wanted to know if I'd lost my mind and had become a shoplifter. I showed him my receipts. He was impressed.

Last week Sparky picked me up after work and we drove to the next town over where there was a Carson's department store. You see I got $100 in coupons in the mail. I've never shopped at Carson's since moving from Michigan City (in 1990). The coupons were as follows:
$50 off a $50 or more purchase of clothing - bought 2 hoodies at 40% off paying $4.36 each.
$35 off a $35 or more purchase shoes/accessories- bought Men's Isotoner gloves and men's socks. Had to shell out $2.67.
$15 off a $15 or more purchase of cosmetics/fragrances - Got some Clinique blue eye shadow for $1.61.
We saved over $184. We left the store feeling like bandits but without the guilt.

When I got home there was another flyer waiting in the mailbox. J. C. Penny's had another offer - $10 off a $25 purchase. Sparky sneered at the coupon. He wants to wait to see if they will send an even better offer. It is kind of scary that the stores are actually paying us to buy their stuff. Not that I'm complaining. I keep thinking of that saying, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"...

Last Friday was the opening for the Student/Faculty Art Show at the South Bend Museum of Art. As usual there were some excellent efforts from both the adult and children's classes. Each year the number of entries seems to dwindle. This year there were markedly fewer entries than last year. This year they posted the winners on the name tags for each piece resulting in several people (myself included) not feeling compelled to stand around and applaud the award winners. We ducked out as they were making the awards to the adults.
Here is a sampling of the artwork displayed and my little critique.

This piece was the first thing you saw as you entered. It is titled "The Great White Growler" It was nicely executed but was done in low fire clay and painted with underglazes. I suppose that makes it a little lighter to heft...

This bowl was done by a classmate. She was very unhappy with the glaze job. She complained that it looked sloppy and uneven. I thought it worked well with the texture. She was awarded an Honorable Mention!

This was a pen and ink drawing titled "Confused Dreams". Unlike so many pieces that were matted and framed, this one was held up with magnets. It was pretty obvious that it was entered in the show but there was no intention on the part of the artist to ever display it in their home. It was awarded an Honorable Mention.

This is a nice painting in acrylics as a tribute to a friend who had died. The painting was titled "Max and His Cat: 1948-2016" It was well done and the colors brought it to life. It didn't receive an award.

This was one of the better children's pieces titled "Luna and the Thestral" As a ceramic tile it was again in low fire clay thus the bright glaze colors that are much easier to achieve with greater color vibrancy than high fire glaze colors.

This is a photo of me (taken by saintvi) standing next to my piece. I titled it "Summer Sustained". Although it was not a winner I did get to hear several women commenting about it. They were very impressed and they liked it!

But what you are all waiting for is the "Best in Show" prize winner. It was titled, "Main Coon Cat in Gold". Sparky was very impressed. I was less so. I think the execution was very good. The artist and her family were present and they posed for a picture next to her painting. It was obvious that it is a family portrait. Her daughter was even dragging around a stuffed panda bear though it was much dirtier than the bear in the painting. I just wish it hadn't been quite so derivative...

A painting by Gustave Klimt below, has almost the identical pattern and style... Her technique was excellent but I would have to mark her down in originality!

Last Sunday was the beginning of Advent. Advent is a time of preparations. Although it is important to clean and decorate the house, it is more important to prepare our hearts for the arrival of Jesus. This year I'm really trying to prepare for Christmas. I've been reading the Bible, taking a "prayer break" instead of a "coffee break" at work, and trying to focus on getting spiritually ready. It helps that I completed almost all my Christmas shopping by the end of October. As part of the preparations, Sparky and I went to Kalamazoo, MI to meet with saintvi and her husband to participate in the Messiah Sing. Sparky knows several parts and saintvi and her husband participate in the sing along every year. It was our first time. I sat with the altos and try my best to sing along. The church was gorgeous and the sound of all the voices made my heart happy. It was beautiful. Another part was the installation of the new liturgical calendar. We have a poster sized calendar that hangs in the entryway. The new church year begins on the first day of Advent so that is the first thing we do every year.

We are fast approaching the second Sunday in Advent - that marks the half way point to Christmas! The activities for week 2 include putting up the tree and displaying the nativity set. Usually we have to try to clear off a spot but this year there is a big open area on top the entertainment center. Perfect! The tree will be decorated this weekend. The other big event this week is taking the Christmas Card Photo! Without Ranger we have to try to come up with cute picture of, gasp, ourselves!! We'll figure out something...

As far as other preparations, we are committed to several Christmas parties. Well, actually it is more like 5 parties - my work party, my work luncheon, the Biology Dept. party, the Office of Research Party, and the choir party. So far. Who knows? We are such party animals that we might have another party commitment! But those parties come with the requirement of bringing some sort of dish. Sparky has already mentioned that I need to make Salmon Dip for the choir party. The work potluck has an Italian Food theme so I'm contemplating making Zuppa Toscana. It has the benefit of being served from the crockpot. Week 4 will be baking cookies. I know lots of people have already done their baking but the temptation to eat all the goodies is just too much. So I'm baking just before I need to bring them in - that way I limit my access to the sweet treats!

There are still a couple gifts that need to be purchased. I'm still looking for a couple kitchen knives for son #2. I've seen suitable ones at Goodwill and at garage/rummage sales for a pittance. I can't bring myself to spend exorbitant sums on new knives that range from $14 to $40 when with patience I can get them used. The same goes for son#1 when he requests obscure bands and hard to find anime movies. I looked online and it is just too expensive. Instead Sparky is going to the Disc Exchange, a sort of used bookstore for CDs and DVDs. I have wrapped all the other gifts except the ones for work. They've all been purchased during the summer but I still have to wrap them. Those will all be done by week 3 of Advent.

So there you have a break down of the next month of my life. I will not be going to the mall. I will not be chasing the latest "must have" toy or gift. Instead I'm going to spent time with friends and family. I'm going to prepare my heart through prayer, reading, and doing random acts of kindness when ever the opportunity presents itself. What are you going to be doing in December?

My sons went through a phase in high school where they used the word uber all the time. It probably had something to do with both being in German classes. The definition of uber is 'denoting an outstanding or supreme example of a particular kind of person or thing.' In light of the happenings in 2016, I don't think this year rates as uber in almost any category. It was not an uber-election, considering the only uber-candidate didn't win the nomination. 2016 didn't have uber-weather. The spring was non-existent with snow falling in April, summer was relatively short and fall was a flash in the pan with winter now upon us again. My projects at work haven't been uber-successful resulting in numerous do overs. And well, Sparky's work experience has been the absolute opposite of uber anything unless you consider it uber-sad or uber-bad.

Which brings us to this last couple of weeks in which uber has again been heard in conversations around the dinner table. Now that Sparky has lots of time on his hands, he has been exploring ways to make some money. Since he hasn't had any job offers he decided to give Uber a try. That is being an Uber driver. It is a kind of interesting set-up. The phone app let's him know when a fare is nearby. He then accepts or rejects the fare. Accepting the fare, he gives the person a ride from point A to point B. He gets credited with the money and the funds are transferred to a bank account. So the first time he did it he made about $30 in 4 hours. Now that isn't a very high pay rate but he had fun. Then he drove people on a football home game Saturday. He made a good amount of money and even got tipped. He spent a few hours driving folks last week. Once he figured out the "hot spot" and "surge" features of the app he's been making some money. By driving about 4 hours a day, he is averaging just under $100 a day. It is not enough money to support us but it is better than working at McDonald's.