Twins! No, not really. The one farther away is a new cat. The closer one is our precious Lloyd.
And the gray cat here is also a new one. He has been named Smidge, for no apparent reason.
Friday, July 26, 2019
Cats
We live out in the country and we tend to attract stray cats. In the last week we've had two new ones. They probably belong to some neighbor, but we are always excited to see a new cat eating our food.
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Life
I looked up that trial from last week, the one where I was called in for jury duty but was NOT chosen for the jury.
The trial lasted only 2 days (instead of the 4 that the prosecutor said he expected) and the defendant was found guilty of the murder of his infant son.
I'm very glad I didn't have to be on the jury though again, I would have done it as a civic duty. But what a tragic situation. I can't get inside this man's head. I wonder does he grieve his baby? Or not? It was apparently not an intentional homicide but likely a shaken baby situation or something like that. Anyway, he is on his way to prison for a long time.
The trial lasted only 2 days (instead of the 4 that the prosecutor said he expected) and the defendant was found guilty of the murder of his infant son.
I'm very glad I didn't have to be on the jury though again, I would have done it as a civic duty. But what a tragic situation. I can't get inside this man's head. I wonder does he grieve his baby? Or not? It was apparently not an intentional homicide but likely a shaken baby situation or something like that. Anyway, he is on his way to prison for a long time.
On a lighter note, swimming and a froggy!
Tidying the Little Girls' Room
Our church had a giant rummage sale last week and our kids helped a lot. We got a few things and one item was a cabinet for the little girls' room.
I was able to put all the books in the cabinet, which was a better setup than a big bin on the floor. I did lots of organizing and putting away. The annoying thing was that as soon as I cleaned up one group of items, I would notice another group of items that stuck out in my vision.
I'm detail oriented and I see things that the kids don't see. Sometimes that is good but other times it is frustrating because I will ignore some toy in a corner for days because I'm too lazy to pick it up, but it ticks me off every time I see it. And the kids don't see it. Or maybe they are too lazy also!
ANYWAY, when I was working on the girls' room I kept reminding myself that "any little thing is better than nothing."
I don't always have time for a major clean up but if I collect all the Zoobs and put them in a bin and put them away and that is ALL I do, it is better than nothing.
I truly think many people with disastrous houses are so overwhelmed that they don't even start. It just seems like too big a job and they feel like a little dent in the mess isn't worth the trouble.
But reality is, most houses will degenerate into disaster status if they are left to entropy for too long. So I keep plugging away. The kids keep plugging away. And while the house is sometimes kind of messy and the bedrooms are often really messy, we can get them in order in an hour or so. That's not too bad considering how many people we have!
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Jury Duty
I got called for jury duty and had to report yesterday to the local county courthouse.
I am here at home, comfortably ensconced in my chair, which is a fine thing. I did NOT get chosen for the jury.
Still, it was, I admit, kind of an emotional experience. I have never even got to the point of being part of jury selection before so it was new and interesting and rather sobering.
They had the defendant in the courtroom and it was a murder trial. I was expecting each one of us to be interviewed separately but instead a bunch of random questions were asked -- not random, exactly. I mean, they were applicable about child care issues and third shift workers and whether anyone had been part of a murder case and stuff like that. I only opened my mouth once during the proceedings, to ask for the definition of circumstantial evidence.
After 5 hours and periodic breaks, the bailiff read out the jury names and I was not on the list.
I'm thankful as they expected it to last a whole week and that would have been challenging. We have a busy week ahead of us.
Still, I would have done it. Civic duty and with older kids, the child care issue isn't onerous. It would have been a hard trial to sit through as the victim was a baby.
I am impressed with the judicial process, though. I was listening to Exodus in the Bible on the way to the courtroom (just by chance -- I started with Genesis a while ago and I'm in Exodus now). There was a whole bunch about how to handle stealing and murder and seduction of virgins and stuff like that. It is way better for a man to pay 4 sheep for stealing another man's sheep than for the person who lost his sheep to KILL over it. And in many cultures, revenge can escalate and soon people are killing each other.
I don't know the evidence about this trial. It was a tragic situation, regardless of who is responsible. I'm glad we have a legal process in place to protect both the victim and the defendant.
And yes, I'm glad I'm not on the jury. But I would have done it because it is my civic duty.
I am here at home, comfortably ensconced in my chair, which is a fine thing. I did NOT get chosen for the jury.
Still, it was, I admit, kind of an emotional experience. I have never even got to the point of being part of jury selection before so it was new and interesting and rather sobering.
They had the defendant in the courtroom and it was a murder trial. I was expecting each one of us to be interviewed separately but instead a bunch of random questions were asked -- not random, exactly. I mean, they were applicable about child care issues and third shift workers and whether anyone had been part of a murder case and stuff like that. I only opened my mouth once during the proceedings, to ask for the definition of circumstantial evidence.
After 5 hours and periodic breaks, the bailiff read out the jury names and I was not on the list.
I'm thankful as they expected it to last a whole week and that would have been challenging. We have a busy week ahead of us.
Still, I would have done it. Civic duty and with older kids, the child care issue isn't onerous. It would have been a hard trial to sit through as the victim was a baby.
I am impressed with the judicial process, though. I was listening to Exodus in the Bible on the way to the courtroom (just by chance -- I started with Genesis a while ago and I'm in Exodus now). There was a whole bunch about how to handle stealing and murder and seduction of virgins and stuff like that. It is way better for a man to pay 4 sheep for stealing another man's sheep than for the person who lost his sheep to KILL over it. And in many cultures, revenge can escalate and soon people are killing each other.
I don't know the evidence about this trial. It was a tragic situation, regardless of who is responsible. I'm glad we have a legal process in place to protect both the victim and the defendant.
And yes, I'm glad I'm not on the jury. But I would have done it because it is my civic duty.
Monday, July 1, 2019
Naomi's Graduation Party
We had a shindig for Naomi on Saturday. It was mostly relatives and near neighbors, plus an adult or two who have had a big effect on Naomi's life.
It was very hot and thankfully we all (barely) fit on our porch.
It was a lovely time.
It was very hot and thankfully we all (barely) fit on our porch.
It was a lovely time.
Rose, just being typically cute
People
Cake!
Naomi with cake
More people
Cute kids
Naomi and our youth pastor
Isaac, with hat, and Kevin's mother
Fat cat
Photos by Kevin!
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