Admirable Combinations: Doughnuts + Where the Sidewalk Ends


Another delightful combination! Some sugary good Shel Silverstein poems and Mary Lou Donuts (my lunch embarrassingly). I am so delighted by the wit in Shel's poems and illustrations. Some of my favorites are Love, Sick, and Boa Constrictor, but there are SO many good ones. Which are your favorites? 


A Jolly Hour on the Trolley

  
We two turned tourist to Tour the Town on the trolley...


The ride was a lot less like Judy's and a lot more like a jaunt on a CityBus - that trolley imposter! But, still terribly charming to be shuttled around like a tourist in the city we've called home for more than eight years.

Then, chocolate-cherry cokes, sandwiches, and shakes at McCord's!

The food: OK. The shakes: wow!

I always shock Zade with how much sugar I can put down.


 What touristy things have you done in your hometown? 

Off and Away

Stephen,

"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose. 
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. 
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.


{Shoes for baseball, karate, golf, wrestling, and Boy Scouts}

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. 
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” 
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, 
you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. 
In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. 
It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. 
Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

{Swinging after wrapping up Stephen's Senior picture shoot}

Oh! The place you'll go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. 
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. 
Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. 
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.


Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. 
And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. 
And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. 
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. 
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! 
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? 
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? 
Or go around back and sneak in from behind? 
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race 
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, 
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.


The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, 
or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow 
or waiting around for a Yes or No 
or waiting for their hair to grow. 


Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night 
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. 
Everyone is just waiting.


No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. 
You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. 
With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high!
 Ready for anything under the sky. 
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!


Oh, the places you’ll go! 
There is fun to be done! 
There are points to be scored. 
There are games to be won. 
And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. 
Fame! 
You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. 
On you will go though your enemies prowl.
 On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. 
Onward up many a frightening creek,
 though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. 
On and on you will hike. 
And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.


You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.
 You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.
 So be sure when you step. 
Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. 
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. 
And never mix up your right foot with your left.


And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)


Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, 
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!"


Oh! The Places You'll Go
-Dr. Seuss

The Mini


The morning of the Indy Mini Marathon I awoke at 1:30 and then 4....mind alert but trying to slip back into slumber in order to steal the last few moments of rest before my alarm would sound at 5.

A quick morning ensued. Scurrying to grab a breakfast of bananas and granola bars, we piled into our cars with water bottles resting on our laps.

Down to Indianapolis we zipped.

Into our corral we slid.

10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - GO!

Well, we didn't really go until 22 minutes later. But that's what happens when you start in corral Q!

This was a tough mini, due to the humidity and heat. I passed five fallen comrades - eyes rolled back and shaking (all of whom were being assisted by medics) along the course.

After crossing the finish line I bumbled along in a daze, shuffling along with the other finishers.  I followed behind a man whose foot became stuck to a plastic bag. He glanced down - acknowledged the bag, but didn't seem to possess the energy to shake it loose. He just walked, dragging the bag along the ground with him.

I completely understood.

This was my sister Debbie's first mini and she did great!

Directly after the race I decided "I am not doing one of these again!" But wait six months. This resilient brain will forget the pain and believe "that wasn't so bad....I love running mini's!"

It's kind-of a love/hate type thing.

I'm sure that guy with the bag on his foot would understand.


He's a Senior Alright


Stephen and I traipsed around Purdue's campus for his first batch of senior pics. The rain would not - go away - so we will have venture out again for outdoor portraits later this week. The above are a few of my favorites.


After shooting we spent a little time catching up and sipping down some Potbelly's shakes. Stephen's first time. Mmmmm. 


Rockstars


We are really going to miss these two. 


Devin and Jessica joined our small group Bible Study about two years ago, and their move to Chicago marks what feels like the end of an era. 

We and they were the last of a small group that began four years ago when Zade and two guy friends started meeting for accountability the season before they all wed.  Once hitched, the wives got to join in the fun! 

Through this small group we've shared meals and "the hope to which we have been called" (Ephesians 1:18) with six fantastic couples who've moved in and out of our group along their journey following Christ.

Betsy and Ryan - a joyous couple who blessed our lives with their wisdom. 

Amy and Chip - an artistic couple passionate about truth. 

 Brent and Danielle - an athletic pair who knew how to be real. 

Chris and Jana - our go-to couple for questions about politics who demonstrated care through being active listeners. 

Dan and Darlene - a sincere, adventurous couple who have the cutest boys ON THE PLANET. 

I am so thankful to God for the way He placed these couples in our lives. We've laughed and sorrowed together. They've prayed with me, and cared for me, during the hardest period of my life.   

The official end of our small group causes me to look ahead in anticipation of our next step in life! 

We had Devin and Jessica over for a goodbye dinner this week. Because they are moving to Chicago, we grilled up some beef franks and served Chicago-style dogs! 


How do the Chicagoans like it? Drug through the garden! On a poppy seed bun add a beef frank, peppers, pickles, relish, yellow mustard, tomatoes, onions, and celery salt! 


Some fun facts about Devin and Jessica:

1. They were BOTH drummers in bands....we like to call them our rockstar friends.

2. Jessica is a MASTER couponer. She has shown me shelves of noodles and laundry detergent that she has managed to get for free. I am constantly amazed. 

3. Devin is passionate about theology. He speaks Zade's language. They have forever long conversations including words like Molinism, cessationism, dispensationalism, Christian hedonism, soteriology, and the like.

 

Goodbye dear friends! Keep rockin.

Eating Bugs


I ate a bug.

If we're counting, I actually ate three...two mealworms and one chocolate covered cricket. 

Last weekend we partook in an annual spring festivity - where bug munching is blase. You may recall that last year we competed in a little cricket spitting. 

This year I swallowed.




Any takers?


April showers proved true, but that didn't keep us away!


We sampled the local honey. 


 

And made friends with the fuzzy babes.

Spring, you are full of merriment.