One Black Shoe on the Street Curb

There is a shoe, a single shoe, sitting next to the curb on the street.  Just one shoe, not even a pair.  And, I had to wonder just how did one single shoe arrive at that spot.  Oh, I could come up with something practical – but that would not be nearly as much fun.  So….

Idea 1:

A tennis shoe wearing individual was getting ready to cross the street.  Suddenly, a giant bird swooped out of the sky and picked the person up.  The suddenness of the swoosh of the flight take-off caused one shoe to fall off.  Thus, there it is by the curb.  The giant bird delivered the individual to their car, minus one shoe, after they have had an aerial tour of the town.

Idea 2: 

A shoe seller had a pile of shoes to sell in a box and there were so many they were starting to wobble as if they would fall out of the box they were being carried in.  Perched on the top, swaying to and fro was a pair of black tennis shoes.  The shoe seller could not see the curb since there were so many shoes piled high and stubbed a toe and wobbled.  This caused the black tennis shoe to slide off the pile, bounce off the shoe seller’s head, and land on the street.  As the shoe seller’s hands were completely full of a wobbly pile of shoes, there was no care taken to stop and gather the lost shoe.

Idea 3:

Black tennis shoe, white tennis shoe, red tennis shoe, or blue tennis shoe.  Someone could not decide which tennis shoe to wear and decided to wear them all at one time.   The person came to the curb and when stepping up the black tennis shoe fell off.  However, a train was coming through at that time and the shoe wearer decided that they would try and catch a ride on the train.  The train could not wait for the shoe to be gathered and it was left there on the street.

Idea 4:

A person starting to walk across the street stepped off the curb and their phone rang.  They answered and heard such wonderful news that they jumped for joy.  They ran off excited, so excited that the shoe stayed behind.

Idea 5:
A shoe hoarding raccoon decided that it was time to clean out it’s burrow and rid itself of the summer shoes in its collection.  But, the raccoon could not decide which one to get rid of.  Sandals, flip flops, tennis shoes, and other shoes were carefully sorted through.  Finally, after hours of careful inspection of the summer shoe collection, the raccoon made a selection of one black tennis shoe.  The shoe was carefully placed near the opening to the sewer so that it would find a good home with another shoe collecting raccoon.

Those are my stories, and I’m sticking with them!

Just a Way to Occupy Your Time

   We had a blizzard and ended up with giant snow drifts here and there and, well – just about everywhere. After we tackled the driveway and cleaned around the car, there was time to come in and warm up. Personally, I have enjoyed the quiet day as work was even closed with the poor weather conditions. But, I understand that there are a few folks that were bored with everything being shut down.

   When I was a little girl, my mother had a cure for boredom. If I approached her and told her that I was bored, she would ever so sweetly send me off to dust. I didn’t have to dust that long, but any complaints of boredom it led to a dusting cloth in my hand. So, for any of you that might be having a quiet day and don’t want to dust, I thought perhaps I could provide a few ideas for something to do.
1. Dust – I just had to throw that in

2. Go play in the snow
3. Try a new recipe
4. Create something with an art project
5. Read a book
6. Play a game
7. Talk to a friend
8. Provide a neighbor with some snow removal assistance
9. Spend some time in prayer
10. Brush the dogs
11. Go take pictures of the wintry scenes
12. Take up sledding
13. Run a long hot bath with lots of bubbles
14. Take a nap in the sun
15. Write a thank you note – I’m sure you can find someone to thank
    Hope that you don’t have to spend a snow day dusting.

I Wonder

   When I come home from work at lunch time, there is a postman making his rounds. The regular collections of cars are parked at the school. I wave to my neighbors. I know the face of the people at the check-out at the store, the pharmacist, the UPS driver, and the lady who makes the great sandwiches at the Avenue Subs. I have a general idea of the different positions and jobs within the community, and know some of who make them up. In a smaller community, I can imagine that this network would be even tighter. So, this is really where my curiosity is presenting itself.

   We have the telling of how Christ was born into our world, His world, as a baby. But, as a community is born and lives, it is multi-faceted creature where connections have various levels of density and relations of linkage. Understanding though that things can happen in a community which creates a ripple effect, moving the links in waves of news and information, serves to fuel my curiosity. What did that community think, not only in the days of the actual birth of Christ, but in the months leading to it?
  What was the reaction to the silence of one man, the compassion of another, the obedience of a woman, the awe of another? What did the neighbors think; the shop keeper, the priest, the family, the people who moved through the lives of Mary and Joseph?
   I’ll kick off again trying to explore that concept and will continue to explore that in the days to come, but I just wanted to pause and think about how information moves through my own community. In many ways it is vastly different than the community of these parents, but in other ways very similar. We share news and ideas, we hear a broadcast of something that has happened and share the information. I wonder what our reaction would be, what the ripple effects would be.

Have you thought about?

   When things are humming along smoothly, it is easy to complete forget about how they got started. For instance, have you ever thought about how it was decided to have multiple branches of government and what each would look like? How did letters become shaped they way they were? Who first had the idea of a light bulb, a car, a computer, or a hot water heater? Who had the idea of the different inventions around us and then pursued it enough to either creation or the encouragement of others? Who thought of wiring or pipes or carpet? Trade, taxes, laws, and infrastructure – it all becomes something that we don’t even think about, just simply accepted. But, each of these had a beginning, a brainstorm and then action.

   There have been many inventions, decisions, discoveries, and designs made. It is easy to forget that each started from an idea. What idea do you have that could result in the next invention, decision, discovery, or design?

Small Towns Small Things

America is made up of small towns, lots and lots of small towns, with a few large towns tossed in for variety. Each small town has some commonalities, but they are all unique as well. Each has its own flavor and personality. There is an incredible cook, an artist, a story teller, playgrounds, schools, churches, and flowers. But, each one is a little different and each is special.

Life is also made up of many small things with a few big things tossed in. Remember that saying a few years ago which became so popular? Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – and its All Small Stuff. Well, they got it somewhat right anyway. It isn’t all small stuff, and some small stuff shouldn’t be sweated and worried over. There are some great big things thrown in there as well. The majority of my days go by with small stuff, little things, minute gestures, seemingly trivial and insignificant decisions and conversations. Then, you look back over years of the small stuff with a few big moments thrown in and realize, it was all important!
I watched the sky clear over the Mississippi River last night. The rain came and then went, the clouds parted and then gathered again, hanging lower and greyer. Sparrows came and watched from the eaves of the shelter, hoping that there was food to be shared. A light rain pattered onto the pond and was caught in the light. Ducks splashed in puddles and their muffled quacks rang just above tapping of the water rain onto the water pond surface. Small moments, but important - enjoy the small stuff, it’s important.

Spin a Yarn

I have enjoyed several activities with needle and thread over the years. Cross stitch leaves me with cute little designs on cloth, poked fingers, and I tend to vary from the patterns. Basically, I do that better if I can make it up as I go along. Crochet was fun, I made various odds and ends, scarves and some wraps. I tried to knit, my friend taught me a basic stitch, but it seemed that every time I would pick it up again, my hands would refuse to learn how to remember.

I found a loom that you can knit from and have been enjoying that thoroughly. A few blankets, wraps, and scarves later, I’m finding that it is very relaxing for me. Well, that and apparently everyone is getting scarves for Christmas. Ha!
The thing is, I found yarn several months ago on sale. I was very excited, it was the fluffy and soft kind and in colors I liked. I went to the checkout and I hear this guy behind me talking to his friend about how someone must really be depressed. Since when did yarn mean depression? Doesn’t a yarn generally mean creation of a story or creation of something else? What an odd thought that it means depression.
Anyway, I have been working on this scarf, a new style for me. The ends have a more finished look and everything else has a slightly rawer look. But, what I really like is that there are green glass leaves knitted into the whole thing. Nearly matching the color of the scarf, it should be a subtle effect, but kind of fun. I guess when it comes down to it; I need something in my hand to do, be it yarn or thread or a book, or even a laptop to write on. I don’t sit still well without something else to do. I wonder what else I could take up. Drawing perhaps or painting? I don’t think carving would work – I am much too much of a klutz for that. So many options, options that I could spin a yarn about.