Bouffant Blonde

Every person who is tired of the rain please raise your hand. Yes, that's most of us. I don't know what's with that person over in the corner calling for more but get the straight-jacket out now. Bouffant Blonde lives in an area that got eight plus inches of rain Friday night and Saturday. And we were blessed it wasn't worse. People in neighboring towns are scraping muddy muck from their kitchens and bracing for more rain arriving tomorrow. And that isn't even mentioning the poor folks in Fargo. I've been in a flood. I don't want to go there again. Ever. Originally we welcomed the rain. We were at a water deficit according to Rich Thomas and his storm team. It's getting into the planting and growing season. Water is a good thing. Well, any seeds already planted may no longer be in the field they were intended to be in. Our little garden patch -- which contains no seed until Good Friday per my father's rule -- is difficult to even walk through. One s...

Are we too quick to judge those around us? Are christians especially quick to judge others? There is nothing like a special book study on lent to bring questions and discussions about uncomfortable topics out in front of us all. Churches are supposed to welcome all people, just as Jesus welcomed all people. He reached out to everyone, be they tax collectors or prostitutes. Do we do the same? Or are we afraid we'll get a little dirty if we reach out to someone who isn't like us? A church should be a safe haven for all sinners. And we are all sinners. Do our noses lift up, even as we extend a hand to a visitor who might not be dressed as we deem appropriate? Do our eyes harden and shift even as we smile and nod at a visitor of a different color? Do we offer a degrading comment and laugh if someone new to our church family questions practices that might challenge the rule of the minority? Do we expect all christians to do and believe and vote exactly as we do and reject them publ...

Table and chair sets like this one may soon be history. The reason? A law that goes far beyond protecting children from lead and goes into the realm of ridiculous. Let me make one thing clear -- I totally support testing children's items for lead. We all know the impact of lead on children. It was scary and infuriating last year to realize that kids we love were playing with toys that had lead on them. Plus, the trauma of explaining to a two-year-old that Thomas had to go to the hospital. So this isn't about keeping lead away from children. Any reasonable person supports that. This is about protecting artists from being shut down. The law requires all items -- including hand-made items -- to be tested for lead. Since artists items are all hand-made that means each individual item would need testing. Some have estimated the cost at $150 and up per item. Who can afford that? And what customer will absorb that cost? Most artists are like me. I purchase my wood at local building s...

I love my dog. Well, I love all three of my dogs. But Ladybug is my hero. She knows exactly what I need, when. She is such a helpmate. I had to get the cows out of the rye field. They only need to stay in for an hour or so. Otherwise, they eat too much. I guess it's like what happens when a child eats an entire box of candy in one sitting. It's not pretty. So I went out to drive them through the gate. A simple task under normal circumstances. It isn't a big field and we only have 27 cows and calves, plus one large bull. Ladybug and Sunshine went with me. Little guy was too busy trying to find a rabbit or anything small enough for him to chase. That was fine. The girls and I headed the cows in the right direction. All was well until I realized the cows weren't going through the gate. Why? I asked them. I got no answer. They just stood there, eating. I finally got it. (Hey, I am blonde, you know!) The gate was closed. Someone (it wasn't me) hadn't propped it op...

Today dawned just like any other day. Fog blanketed the area. It's haze lingers. Somehow it is appropriate. The brilliant sun of yesterday is gone and only questions and sorrow linger. Yet we are reminded that life does go on, whether we welcome it or not. We can't turn back the clock. We can't fix what has happened. The bodies remain. The shattered lives linger. Long after the news reporters have moved on to another story, the peace and calm will allude us. Because now we know for sure that horrible things can happen anywhere, at anytime, to anyone. No more heads in the cloud denial. Not for us. Not for our children. Not for our sleepy communities. When the tornado killed nine people just over two years ago, that was horrible and unimaginable. But it was an act of nature. A freak event that destroyed a school that had withstood countless tornadoes and students. But the shooting rampage was a deliberate attack. Planned carnage. How does the mind of a seemingly normal perso...

Life can change in an instant. Our minds know that. Our hearts, however, want to believe that all is right with our world. That bad things happen to other people, in other families, in other towns. That diseases either don't happen or are always cured. That traffic accidents are minor and life goes on after a minor headache or two. Then a neighbor swerves frantically into the driveway with news. A gunman is heading down the highway, shooting everyone. Surely, not. This is rural Alabama where folks shoot deer not people. Law enforcement vehicles speed down the road with lights flashing. First one and then another. Sirens echo in the distance. An ambulance follows a different path, yet just as fast with its lights flashing and sirens sounding. It is not a dream. It isn't happening in a big city. It's real and it's right here. Early reports vary, depending on your preferred news outlet. Nine people are believed dead. Two are children. We don't know how many are hurt. ...

It is so easy in this land of plenty to confuse need with want. That's a question more and more people are asking themselves. It only takes a job loss or income reduction to put that in perspective. Let's be honest here. How many people really have six months' of living expenses in an easily accesible account? Not that even that amount would be enough right now. But you understand where I'm going with this. We think we "need" to go out to dinner several nights each week. Or we "need" a new pair of shoes for the kids or that expensive mocha latte with the girls. But what do we really need? We need food for our bodies. That doesn't mean designer pizza or ice cream with fancy names. Food can be basic. Meat (unless you're vegetarian), vegetables, fruit. We need shelter. Preferably, somewhere with a comfortable temperature and dry inside. A small trailer qualifies just as much as a 5,000 square foot house. We may need transportation to jobs and sc...

All is right with the world. At least the world that Bouffant Blonde inhabits. A new baby joined us last Wednesday at 11:21 p.m. He's a perfect miracle and a reminder that God blesses us again and again. There is nothing more peaceful or emotionally filling than holding a newborn in your arms, watching him as he sleeps. He is safe and secure and trusting. Evil and despair are far away. God is present and fills the space around you and this little one. I was never able to have children of my own. It was a great sorrow for someone who dreamed of five or six kids running around a huge house I would call home. But blessings have come elsewhere. From the friends who have shared their children with me. From the little ones in Children's Church who laugh as they learn about Jesus and art (hey, I am who I am!). And most especially God has blessed me with a niece and three nephews to cherrish and love. There are those who remind me that I will never know how deep is love that flows fro...

Cats are such independent creatures. I really admire them for that. I wish I could learn how to do that. Maybe that's why I've always owned dogs. I can relate more to them. They have a neediness to be loved. Cats, on the other hand, act as though they've done you a great favor if they acknowledge your presence. I've never been around cats that much. My grandmother had some when I was small. I know a few people who have cats and, thus, I know a few cats. They seem to like me okay. I mean, they don't hiss at me. Annabelle, especially, hisses at everyone. But not me. I suspect it's because she doesn't think I'm worth the trouble. I just talk with her like I would anyone else. I think she believes I've lost my mind. She's probably right. Cats never expect anything so I doubt they're ever really disappointed. They get mad sometimes, I'm sure. Humans always let them down. It's how we're made. But somehow I suspect cats expect it and so...

Recently a new commercial shows a dad preparing for a big night out. He's getting spruced up, complete with tie. His big date? With his little girl to play tea party. It's one of those commercials urging men to take time to be a dad but the same message could go to mothers. Children are only small once and the years go by so very fast. I know the message isn't new. Kids care about the time we spend with them. My young nephew doesn't run to me and ask, "What did you bring me." He runs to me and asks, "Will you play with me?" That's what he'll remember. Playing football with his clutsy aunt. Or learning to hit a ball with his Dad. Or reading his "Jesus Book" at night with his Mom. Those are the things that matter. This table and chair set was such a joy to design and paint. It was a special gift for three little girls from their aunt and uncle. I hope they enjoy playing tea party as much as I did when I was a little girl.

I wonder how many times we think our prayers have gone unanswered when in reality God just said no? We expect, in our own selfish human way, that God wants for us what we want for ourselves. But His perfect reasoning doesn't mean that we always get what we want. That's true of the big things or the small things. My little three-year-old cousin was diagnosed last week with leukemia. The doctors think she'll eventually be okay. Researchers have made great strides. After six to eight months of treatment and another two or so years, she'll be fine. We're grateful. Still, we pray. That all will be well. For strength for her parents and siblings. For comfort during the long journey ahead. For a healing that is far from assured. So many people are hurting right now. Solid jobs have vanished. Homes are lost. Medical issues are left untreated because insurance payments take a backseat to food and housing. Our world is in scary turmoil. So we pray. Because God controls it al...