Sunday, June 09, 2019

From church this morning

As we move through life, finding ourselves, 
always newly wise and newly foolish,
we ask that our mistakes be small and not hurtful.

Yes, yes, yes!


Sunday Stealing



1. Would you rather be able to detect any lie you hear or get away with any lie you tell? Detect any lie

2. Would you rather be a hopeless romantic or a hopeless unromantic?
Hopeless romantic

3. Would you rather have too many friends or too few?
Too many

4. Would you rather have no taste buds or be blind?
No taste buds

5. Would you rather never hear music again or lose the ability to read?
Never hear music

6. Would you rather find true love or be rich?
Since I doubt I'll live happily ever after with a man, I'll choose the money

7. Would you rather be the richest person or the smartest?
Smartest

8. Would you rather create history or delete it?
Create

9. Would you rather create a great piece of art and not get credit or get credit for a piece of art you didn’t create?
Create

10. Would you rather age from the neck up, or from the neck down.
Neck down

11. Would you rather see the world but live in poverty or stay in one place and live rich?
Stay in one place and live rich

12. Would you rather become famous or powerful?
Powerful

13. Would you rather be a creative person or a technical person?
Creative

14. Would you rather get a paper cut whenever you touch paper or bit your tongue whenever you eat something?
Paper cut

15. Would you rather wake up in the morning looking like a giraffe or a kangaroo?
Kangaroo

16. Would you rather speak “whale” or read babies’ minds.
Read babies' minds

17. Would you rather eat pizza every day or never eat pizza again?
Every day!

18 Would you rather stay forever at your current age or be 10 years younger?
10 years younger



 

Happy, happy, happy

My heroes in Cubbie blue have won three in a row, the last two against division rivals The Cardinals. 


The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world is watching Cubs fans celebrate within the Friendly Confines.

See you in September!

In 1922, a group of charity-minded neighborhood women, each representing a different worthy cause, pooled their resources and bought a house. A huge Victorian. They reasoned that they could hold "yard sales" all year around, not just when weather was permitting. Because, let's face it, in Chicagoland it gets cold, it snows and it rains (and rains).

During the Depression, the house meant even more to the community. When money was tight, families that once only came there to donate cast-offs found they needed to shop there, as well. For back-to-school clothes, for the flatware a bride needed for her first kitchen, for books and magazines, for fabric and sewing materials, etc.

Now it's beloved not only as a fundraiser, but as the ultimate example of recycling. The items that are sold, the hangers they're displayed on, the bags you carry your purchase home in -- none of it is new. All donated. All getting a second life before just going into the landfill.

I give you this preamble to explain why my visit yesterday left me wistful. June 8 was their last sale of the year. For the house simply too big to efficiently air condition and it gets hot in there on sunny, humid days. As of 3:00 Saturday, it closed until September.

I didn't really need anything, but I wanted to be part of the last sale day. In their efforts to clear as much out as possible before closing for summer, they marked everything down. Just about everything in the first-floor rooms was $1.* I ended up with a bright pink t-shirt, a black t-shirt, and a pair of sunglasses, all for $3.

I did see people leaving with those massive Bath Bed and Beyond bags filled with stuff, though. That made me happy, because the proceeds go to:

•  A daycare center that charges on a sliding scale, depending on what the family can afford (the organization was around back in 1922 and has benefited from these sales ever since)
•  A clinic that provides medical and dental care to children whose families can't pay for private health care
•  Senior services, especially transportation to/from medical appointments
And my two favorites ...
•  The food pantry
•  The animal shelter


*I didn't venture down to the basement, where books, hardware and small appliances are sold.