Darth Vader

Meet Darth Vader, Sam's new rooster. Sam "discovered" him while doing chores out at the "Big Farm" while Grandpa was away at the state basketball tournament. Darth Vader appears to be a Jersey Giant, and although Sam is terrified of roosters, he was clearly impressed by his size.

I had thought it a bit early for Sam to be identifying and collecting phallic symbols, but perhaps not. After all, Kody has firearms, Ansen has a Mustang, Jesse has the biggest, coolest headphones ever, so why not a rooster for Sam? Besides, Sam cannot yet afford a lifted, diesel 4x4 complete with brush guard, winch, and rubber scrotum hanging from the hitch. (Is it just me, or does anyone else secretly desire to emasculate one of those trucks?)  I digress...

Darth was hatched and raised in a closed coop, so he is currently in quarantine getting acquainted with three of the four basic elements--earth, water, and air.  (No fire yet, but if he turns out to be aggressive, he may become acquainted with the stew pot!)

I imagine that going from a closed coop to the open air must be like dropping acid for a chicken (not that I would know!), but if Darth manages to survive the transition without experiencing a complete psychotic breakdown, I think he will make a fine addition to the flock. In fact, the "ladies" are already suitably impressed!

Favorite Phrases

I have recently begun a list of favorite phrases--phrases that make me smile, phrases that hit the mark, phrases that are just too good not to incorporate into my personal lexicon.

The first phrase to make the list was time optimist. I first heard this phrase during a conversation with a friend in which we were lamenting our mutual inability to manage time.  I had stated that I am the queen of the last minute task (like throwing in a load of laundry at the exact moment that we should be heading out the door), to which she replied, "I, too, am a time optimist!", and I fell in love--deeply, instantly, irrevocably in love! 

The second phrase to make the lexicon was rage accumulation.  This phrase was stumbled upon as a result of  Favorite Uncle's attempt to construct a comment to one of my blog posts using Google Translator.  Upon receiving his comment (in German), I plugged it into Babel Fish for deciphering.  (I do not speak German--a little Spanish, a little Amharic, a little Japanese, but no German).  Babel Fish spit out a poorly constructed sentence that made absolutely NO sense, but it did contained the precious gem of a phrase "rage accumulation".  Apparently, Favorite Uncle had been trying to incorporate the German equivalent of the word "tantrum" into his comment, but upon translation from German back to English, "tantrum" evolved into "rage accumulation".  AMAZING!

The third phrase of note actually came from a blog that I follow (OMSH) and identifies a concept that I had not been able to get my family to grasp...until now.  The author was writing about a particularly lovely Saturday morning which included sit-and-stare time.  Sit-and-stare time...YES...YES, YES, YES!  Finally, someone who understands me! I NEED sit-and-stare time.  It is crucial to my sanity as as a stay-at-home mother of seven!  I need it!  Do you hear me?  NEED IT!  Please, if you love me, just let me sit and stare!

Photo Credit

No More Mugs!

I went thrift store shopping this weekend with some of my favorite people in the whole world and had a marvelous time. I even found a few treasures (a Nike windbreaker, 10 pieces of matching crystal stemware, 4 complimentary pieces of crystal stemware, an Italian leather pocketbook), but what struck me the most about this particular round of thrifting was the abundance of glassware, coffee mugs in particular, and I got to thinking. What if, in an effort to conserve resources, we (they?) said no to the creation and manufacture of new, non-consumable goods, particularly coffee mugs?  I'm sure that someone has a ridiculously complex answer to this question that involves the economy, the stock market, and supply and demand, but does the world really need more coffee mugs? I think not.

What started as a good-natured, anti-stuff rant with my brother-in-law may actually have some merit.  Why do we (they?) continue to allow the production of coffee mugs?  Go to any thrift store in any town in any state of this union, and you will find more coffee mugs than you can shake a stick at (whatever that means...).  If you need a coffee mug for your office, for your classroom, as a gift, or just because GO TO A THRIFT STORE!  You will most likely pay less than $1 (more lattes for you!), and you will not be contributing to the manufacture of the detritus that ultimately ends up in the donation box.

I know that we are just talking about coffee mugs here, but let's take a look at the bigger picture.  Why do we (they?) keep manufacturing stuff--stuff that ends up in the trash heaps and thrift stores of the world?  You have a mug.  Why do you need a new mug?  You have a purse?  Why do you need a new purse.  You have a (__________).  Why do you need a new (__________).  People lament about the deplorable state of the environment, but they are unwilling to curb their consumerism.  I propose that, while saving the environment is a noble pursuit, perhaps we should be more concerned with saving ourselves from our insatiable desire for more, newer, bigger, "better"...

One of the things that I love the most about thrift store shopping is that I never really know what I "need", but God does, and on every thrift store outing, I find that He has tucked away little things just for me--abandoned things, forgotten things, things that no one else wants...except for me.  My thrift store finds are among my most cherished possession.  They are tangible reminders that while others are casting of the old in favor of the new, God is gleaning on my behalf and storing up treasures for me in the most unexpected places.

Now I want you to understand that I am not entirely opposed to the purchase of newly minted items, but I feel a deeper sense of satisfaction when I acquire something that has been "gently used", and when it comes to glassware, especially coffee mugs, I implore you for the sake of all that makes sense, please, please, please GO TO A THRIFT STORE!