Praze Daze

I've been a little punchy lately, probably because I didn't finish working Thursday night until 1 a.m. Friday. Didn't get to sleep until 2 a.m. And insisted on getting up at 6 a.m. to see THE WEDDING (2011), which of course will always be a reprise of THE WEDDING (1981). I did manage a nap yesterday and a refreshing walk, a run to the store, a few hours working at the computer...But when it came time to relax in front of the TV on Friday evening, I couldn't believe they were still showing THE WEDDING reruns. So I was in bed before midnight and slept until 9 a.m. Now, I feel so refreshed and looking forward to the day ahead. Sun tea is brewing on the deck. I think I'll take a leisurely walk over to Ryan's house and pick up the DVD I loaned him, then walk back. What a wonderful world. Praze a good night's sleep!

Praze a hardy heart

Have you ever seen your heart beat? Heard it perhaps, but have you seen it? I did today during my echocardiogram -- kind of like the ultrasound they do on pregnant women but the baby is a fist-full of muscle that's been working hard for 62 years plus. You can see all sorts of details, the little valves flapping open and close, the blood schussing back and forth like molten lava (thanks to a computer that colors the oxygenated blood red, the old blood blue, and I had a lot of yellows, oranges, and greens like an explosion of fire in my soul.) My heart did a lot of misbehaving, throwing in an extra beat about every third beat. At least the technician was excited when I managed to do four "normal" beats in a row. But even if she's being a little problematic, I couldn't helped but be totally amazed at this miraculous engine just chugging away. Thank you, little heart, I'll try to take better care of you.

Praze every beat of my heart

During a routine physical my doc noted an extra beat...a pvc -- premature ventrical contraction -- which isn't necessarily a problem for a healthy heart.But, just to be sure, I'm wearing a heart monitor for 24 hours. I keep wondering what the monitor is recording. Did it record that little flutter of excitement when I found Rhode's Frozen garlic-butter rolls on sale with a coupon? Did it warm with love when I spotted my little cat Baby typing on my keyboard with that "Who Me?" look? Did it pound with anger when I opened my Visa bill and found a charge for the Trend Micro automatic renewal which I canceled a month ago? And when I came back from my daily walk a little breathless, was my heart smiling and saying, "Gee, that feels good?" Does the monitor know when I'm happy or sad? Does it really know my heart? Do I? Or am I just thankful, that even when I forget it's there, it goes on beating? That little thunderstorm of lightning bolts in my chest. That great mystery that God created in every one of us. Thanks God.

Praze rainy days and Tuesdays

It's raining and all I can think of is an old Rod McKuen album I used to have with his poems set to music. "It's raining and the children splashing in the mud, and the old men darting in the doorways and the lovers underneath umbrellas don't seem to mind...." Such a bittersweet song, with the emphasis on sweet. "We can stay inside and just do nothing..." Or read old poetry. It's raining...

Praze Park-o-mat

Fantastic story in today's Press about a West Michigan company that's building automated parking lots...not two legged robotic valets that park your car but a mechanized parking garage where you drive into a slot, kind of like one of those bins in a vending machine, swipe your card and the machine lifts your car up and parks it into a spot. Come back, put your quarter in --- I mean your credit card---and the machine goes and gets your car like the vending machine retrieving your burger. Hopefully it doesn't drop like a coke in the bottom of the machine...ker plopp. I don't really mean to demean the park-o-mat by comparing it to auto-mat food vending, but the ideas seem similar to me -- and actually quite inspired. Cars are just things to be filed away as efficiently as possible until we need them again. The park-o-mat not only saves space but will save sanity too for drivers getting dizzy in those endless parking garages. Praze this innovative company. May they hire lots of people to build lots of Park-o-mats!

PRAZE CRAZY CATS

Well, it is a good Friday because I didn't have any trouble finding good news. Did you hear about the cat that swam to Governors Island between New Jersey and Manhattan? She showed up after a rainstorm with no collar and a lot of seaweed in her soaking calico fur. She's attracted a lot of media attention -- and good care from the staff at Governors Island.They are even looking for a name. They better choose well because this has the makings of one of those cat tales that becomes a bestseller. I mean if Dewey can put Iowa's Spencer Public Library on international news, and Oscar can predict who's going to die next in Providence, R.I., imagine what a swimming feline can do for tourism on Governors Island. I suppose they could name her Andie after the current governor, especially since politics is always a cat fight.

Praze the Pain

I awoke yesterday morning with such a stiff back I literally couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't roll over. I was stuck. I discovered that by pulling on my nightgown I could rearrange myself enough to get some leverage and push myself up. The pain and stiffness lessened a bit as the day wore on, but I was still uncomfortable. Even today, my back is complaining and I have to be careful how I move. I know this doesn't sound like the good news that I am committed to post every day, and I totally missed yesterday because I couldn't get past the pain to think good. But it hit me this morning, I'm moving better than yesterday. I expect to be even better tomorrow. I expect healing and Praise God it usually comes. Just like we need snow once in awhile so we'll appreciate spring, we need pain so the Praze can grow. Praze the pain and Praze the healing.

To Forgive is Devine

What a great story in today's Press about two Lowell families sharing a moment of caring and forgiveness in the courthouse hallway. Marilyn Sue Fitzgerald had just pleaded guilty to drunk driving in a Dec 15 accident that took the life of Caitlyn Baker, and yet Baker's parents were there to hug Fitzgerald and offer their forgiveness. How wonderful is that? Hate and anger won't bring their daughter back, but forgiveness will help everyone begin to heal. If we learn nothing else from Jesus, we must learn to forgive. Forgive our neighbors for a small sleight, forgive the confussed waitress, the distracted clerk, the angry politician whose point-of-view is beyond our comprehension. Even those who insist on posting angry comments when they read the heartwarming story of a forgiving family. We need to forgive them all and move on to a better world. Praze Jeff and Cathy Baker for leading the way.

Blowin' in the Wind

Everytime I drive down to Mom's I pass several wind farms along Interstate 55 in Illinois, which I read is one of the top 10 states for wind energy production. I know that translating the wind energy to the power grid has caused some problems, especially in Oregon and the Northwest, but the wind farms are so beautiful and peaceful. They just seem like a sign of a wonderous future ahead. Praze for the innovators, those willing to plunge ahead and take the risks. May they harness the future that is blowing in the wind.

Praze April Showers

Though April Showers, may come your way They bring the flowers, that bloom in May... Woke up to rain today in O'Fallon, Ill., where my Mom lives. She had bought some flowers to plant, so we'll have to work between the drops. We can fill the planter along her covered patio, but the ones out by the birdbath will have to wait for a break in the clouds. But, these April Showers will indeed bring May flowers. So, keep on looking for a bluebird, and listening for his song Whenever April Showers come along

Driving day

Today I'm headed to O'Fallon, Ill., to spend a few days with my mother. I always enjoy listening to a book on tape. In fact, I get so involved, sometimes I head the wrong direction or pass my exit. I never know where I'll end up. Being a ditz is part of the spice of life!

Basket Case Praze

Steve says my cat Cloudy is a basket case, and it looks like he's willing to pose for the title. Cloudy, who came to me from my late friend Mary Dinkel, is a little psycho. He's too big to be a lap cat but he loves to curl up next to me in a chair and watch TV. If my other cat, pint-size Baby, jumps up, Cloudy runs away with his tail between his legs. Baby definitely rules the roost. He never eats until she's had her fill, unless you move his dish several feet away from hers. And this same cat who wants to cuddle at TV time will suddenly turn around and hiss at you without warning. The other day he was out on my deck and spied a black cat a couple of condos away. No way Cloudy would come back in the house. Everytime I tried to nudge him in he growled like a dog. Crazy as he is, Cloudy has added lots of love to our house... and lots of shedded hair too! Praze crazy cats!

Praze books

Books, books, books. I love them. My walls are lined with them. And I'm constantly buying more...like that new picture book about the Civil War that I just read about. Gotta have it. So, I'm headed off to a dream day. I'm going to Baker Books to hear reviews of the latest Christian fiction and pick up a few for our church library--- at 30 percent off. And then it is lunch with Ryan and Angy. A perfect day. Praise God!!!

Praze perserverance!

Yes! I've been following a new lifestyle of eating less and exercising more -- what we used to call a diet but they say you have to change your lifestyle, not diet, so I'm trying to at least sound modern. Anyway, I have reached my first goal! (Which is way more pounds than I'll ever admit!) It's not a big goal -- I've lost about 6 pounds, but I've dipped into the next lower numerical range. A point I haven't seen in many years. So, now the trick will be to keep it there or below after going to visit Mom this weekend and eating all that good home cooking. Next goal? To get through the one-legged tree pose in my morning yoga without putting the other foot down a dozen times!

85! A new record!

I slept with the slider open last night, that's how warm it is. 85 degrees set a record for April 10 in Grand Rapids. Praise God for such a lovely weekend. Of course, today's winds remind us of tornadoes. Today is the 46th anniversary of the worst tornado series in US history, the weather story reminds us. But, we won't think of that. Just the sun glinting off the ripples in the lake. The tulips and the jonquils bursting through the soil. The promise of a glorious summer.

SHORTS!

Went walking at Meijer Gardens with Julie and couldn't wait to get home and change into shorts! It's really that hot. It was emergency sweating, I swear. Today is better than a good day, it's fabulous. Had lunch on my deck and the season's first jug of sun tea is brewing. Gonna hang my hammock and read my book! I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday because I went to Grand Haven with Marlene and walked the beach and the pier. That's as Prazy Crazy as it gets!

Coupon and crud angel

Steve is a coupon angel. If he cuts out a coupon he can't use, he leaves it on the item in the store so someone else will find it. And if he has one of those "$4 off if you spend $50" coupons that will expire before he spends $50, he looks for somebody with a full cart and gives it to them. This week he's been cleaning his book shelf and found a 1924 cookbook from a Lutheran church in Chicago. He emailed them and they are celebrating a centennial so they are tickled to receive the book he's mailing to them. He's also dropping off an 1892 physics book at the high school in Traverse City where he lives. He said the book was in a summer cottage his parents bought from a Creston teacher. He's also going to stop by the Metropolitan Life Insurance office and drop off a 1924 manual for Metropolitan Life agents that his mother, who worked for Met Life before she was married, must have saved. Isn't he an angel?

Here comes the sun!

Today's morning update email from The Grand Rapids Press is full of good news. First they say it will be in the high 70s, maybe even hit 80, on Sunday. Can't wait. And then there's a delightful story about Markell Barnhart, a 13-year-old boy from Wyoming,Mi., who just got a heart transplant and a new lease on life. Actually, it's his second new lease. He was born in Haiti but adopted by a West Michigan family. Hooray for Markell and the whole Barnhart family. Praze to the doctors, the donor and a gracious God. Ain't life great?

Praze the sssssssssnake!

Some stories are good enough to be told twice. There's a great piece in The Grand Rapids Press today about the capture of an escaped circus python in Walker in 1978. The retelling is inspired by a similar tale this week in New York. The modern day story had the world a-twitter, but in a less technical age it was a story of a bike ride, a prayer group, and a man who wouldn't let go. What a great story! Thanks, Ted Roelofs, another former journalist, for telling it again. You made my morning!

Blooming memory

I really miss the flowering tree that used to be right behind my deck. In a couple of weeks it would have been covered with pink flowers as it was every year around April 15. What a fantastic tree it was. And what fun, last Easter, when my daughter-in-law Angy and her neices and nephew climbed up in the tree for a picture. And then last summer, the condo association decided it was time to cut it down. Its roots were tearing up the yard and making it dangerous to mow the lawn. We were out of town that week, but Kym was staying here and when she tried to take a photo for me, her 2 year old grandson Gabe locked her out. Then it was panic time trying to get a key from Angy so Kym could get Gabe. Oh, I miss that tree. So I made this picture my wallpaper and I look at the tree every day. Can I hear a Praze for technology and trees?

Praze basketball!

Well, most folks would say you don't have to look any further than the Page One headlines to find today's good news. For the second year in a row, the unlikely Butler Bulldogs have made it to college basketball's championship round on Monday, up against the University of Connecticut. The sports writers say the Bulldogs are like a Disney movie, the little team that should, and maybe this year they will win the championship. And UConn is no slouch either, judging by Saturday night's action-packed 56-55 win. So it will be the good guys against the better guys, and only Monday's game can determine which is which. I've never been one for sports much, but I can see that in a world of earthquakes and radiation in Japan, violent protests in Afghanistan over a burned holy book in Florida, and continued fighting in Libya, sports is a good alternative. At least somebody always wins.

Praze chocolate!

I don't get most of what happens in the news, but this one I totally understand. Researchers have found traces of chocolate in Pueblo Indian pottery unearthed in the American Southwest. Problem is, the chocolate was a Mexican drink that comes from cacao plant that only grows in the tropics, about 1,000 miles south of Arizona. Which means even 1,000 years ago Mexicans were coming across the border, but nobody minded because they brought chocolate, the drink of the Gods. Think I'll go make some right now!

Hooray for April Fools!

Even electonics get snippy on April Fools! This morning when I tried to do my usual yoga routine on the WiiFit, the board teased that it wasn't working. This silly Japanese game knew what day it was and was playing a trick, for gosh sakes. It got me off on the right foot. How about you? Anybody play any tricks today or get a trick played on them?

Friendship flowers

A bountiful bouquet of roses on my kitchen table greeted me this morning, a gift from last night's dinner guest, Kym Reinstadler. Kym is one of the many talented journalists out of work these days. She's learning some new tricks, making a promotional movie for Holland schools and working on web stites, but mostly she's enjoying a break from juggling work and family resposibilities. Now she can spend more time with her mother in Midland and her father in a nursing home there. She's been able to enjoy vacations with her daughters and will spend the month of April in Newport News, Virginia, caring for her grand children while daughter Whitney trains for a new job and Whitney's husband is away on a Navy assignment. Unemployment is ugly but if it gives us more time for what's really important -- friends and family -- maybe it is worth it. Praze unexpected blessings!