So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.


psalm 90:12
a prayer of Moses



In regards to what fiddler wrote, The Last Lecture, man has been ponder his existance, usefulness and purpose for being here since at least the time of Moses. It isn't until we are older that it really hits us, what have I done with my life. We have mental snapshots of childhood and growing up and wonder why it all happened the way it did. We never have a plan for how things are suppose to be. Some may conclude that in the vastness of the universe we are insignificant and don't matter. But we do matter. God has made it so that we matter. That is the compass that will guide you through life if you ever get lost.

feel at peace

FEEL THE PEACE

Embrace the wonder that you are,
with a forgiving, respectful love
Have faith in your strenght to persevere
As you lay your head to rest each night
Be still in the darkness
Wait in peace and listen
Trust and believe
All you desire is on it's way
Awake with a smile
Greeting a new day
Feel the love and gratitude within
For this feeling is like no other
Treat yourself with compassion, reverence and empathy
Spread your wings
Fly free like a butterfly
Share kindness with the powerful energy of your "wing wake"
And may the light be your spirit
Shine upon the path of another
So they too may feel at peace

by tina marie

Last Lecture

I saw on the news that Dr. Randy Pausch died this morning of cancer. He wrote the book the Last Lecture. Question folks, why is it that our lessons for living usually come from someone who is dying? Maybe knowing that your end is more defined and not some vague dot on a time line is liberating.

Good Beer

If you have been to Hays, Kansas recently, then you have probably been to the LB Brewing Co. LB is a micro brewery on 11th Street, part of the historic Chestnut business district. The dining part of the brewery is Gella's. Customers can enjoy live music some evenings while nibbling their appetizers, or devouring a whole meal. Homemade potato chips are served with sandwiches. Gella's also offers two local favorites: Sauerkraut Soup and Green Bean Dumpling Soup. These soups are staples of the Volga Germans who settled in the Hays area many years ago. Every so often, a new beer is introduced to the public in Gella's. The newest beer is Double IPA. It is a full bodied beer with a rich color and an intense flavor. According to the menu, some beers pair well with bold flavors, others with fruit or dessert. I have not yet drank beer with dessert. Oatmeal Stout has hints of caramel, coffee and chocolate. The menu declares it is a meal in itself, but it is also great with rich desserts.

The LB Brewing Co./Gella's is in four renovated store fronts that were built during prohibition. The renovation was backed by local investors who wanted to revitalize down town Hays. Gella's is a comfortable, open place to dine. The exposed brick walls give it a warm atmosphere. Yesterday in Hays, Main Street was blocked off for the Blues and BBQ festivities. Doug and I sat on an empty sidewalk bench and listened to a Blues Band play. The music was ok but not great. The band was dedicated though. When a train went through the band just kept on playing. Doug held a red and white umbrella over our heads to protect us from the sun. When the sun's rays got too warm, we headed over to Gella's for a Double IPA. Good beer everyone!

Beer Haiku:

Double IPA
the dark rich bitter beer
quenches. HK

A couple of haikus

This summer I'm teaching a writing class for future teachers, so I've spent a lot of time writing myself (met my manuscript deadline, by the way--submitted the thing yesterday--wahoo!).

My first haiku is for Aunt Honor:

Honor's Stories

Comforting, care-filled
words span miles, generations
Smiling recollections


My second haiku is for my parents, who are celebrating 34 years of marriage today:

Anniversary

Eyes meet, fingers clasp
Step slide step, the dance goes on
thirty-four years strong

freecycle groups

Hey everyone, I know I have mentioned this before but we have joined a freecycle group in our area. This is where people can post things they want to give away or things they are looking for and it's all free. I found my group in YahooGroups. So far with this site we have given away a bookcase we didn't want anymore & Peter was able to get some bricks for his tomato cages. Today we acquired a lightly used weed eaater for free. We are pretty excited about this site. It's pretty much first come first serve so if you don't get the posts right away you miss our, but the posts are emailed to you, we got pretty lucky with the weedeater. Anyway, I thought you guys might be interested. Here is the link to my group, you could probably find your local group from there.

Click to join EmporiaKSFreecycle

Peter & I are going to a play tonight & I'm pretty excited about it. It's called "The History of America". It's the ESU summer theatre, which we have always enjoyed. With Jacob we haven't been able to go as much anymore. Peter is very much into American history so I thought he would really enjoy this. I'll let you know how it is. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

website

Hey Carol what kind of website business are you planning? Is there an exciting new venture on the horizon? Spill the beans sister. We want to know what you are up to. I will need to check out the Thomas the Web Master's site again. Those Kepkas are pretty talented.

Many firsts...

Hi Fiddler family, I guess I have been the quiet member of this blog for while so I thought I better contribute.

Jacob has recently had a couple of first experiences. Sunday, we took him to his first movie at the theatre, Kung Fu Panda. I think he was pretty unimpressed with the whole thing. He was OK for a little bit then got fidgety have way through. He finally just fell asleep, which was good otherwise we would have had to leave. We also took him to the wading pool at Peter Pan park on Sunday. For those of you unfamiliar, this is a little kid sized pool they fill up everyday & little kids can come and play. It's the only pool at this park & they had 2 lifeguards on duty. I was very thankful for they're presence when Jacob fell over & went under the water. One of the lifeguards was there instantly, though so was Peter so Jacob would have been fine. Jacob was alright, didn't even come up coughing, though it took me a while to relax. He stayed pretty close to us after that, but the fact that the pool was filling up with more & more children may have contributed.

The last first Jacob experience was last night. We were playing outside & Peter introduced him to lightening bugs/fire flies. He ran after them yelling "LOOK! Bug!"(this is his new thing, saying look before everything else he says). It was getting dark & we made him come inside. He ran from window to window yelling "LOOK" Bug! Where are you?" He certainly keeps us entertained.

Not much else in happening in the Leyva world. As some of you already know, The great city of Emporia has decided to do away with the 4th of July fireworks display this year. This has led to some very upset citizens. We weren't going to be around for it so we don't have to worry about missing it. I also understand that the BBQ festival has also been eliminated, which is disappointing since we just learned of last year, due to it being right by our home.

I am very excited to see the final results of Thomas's website. It's looking good so far, I can even understand it now. Maybe one day, I can bring you my business, Thomasina.

That' s about it from Cypress Drive. I hope all of you have a safe & fun 4th.

you say it's your birthday

Happy Birthday to you Trent! I hope you had a great day.
Say Thomas how did you make that web site? I'd like to do that too. Makebe you could help me and I could add a link from my site to yours so Jesse could get some business for her paintings.