Friday, June 19, 2009

Woned, OE gewunod, ptp. of gewunian





Today was Washing the Car Day, a Smith family tradition which I am, thankfully, not usually invited to. (Except of course, in a purely advisory capacity.)

OR if I just happen to wander up with my camera, as I am wont to do.

And speaking of "wont" which I am wont to do (er, speak of "wont" that is), I looked it up so that you wouldn't have to. (Yes, I AM nice!)

Here's the definition:

Origin: 1300–50; (adj.) ME wont, woned, OE gewunod, ptp. of gewunian to be used to (see won 2 ); c. G gewöhnt; (v.) ME, back formation from wonted or wont (ptp.); (n.) appar. from conflation of wont (ptp.) with obs. wone wish, in certain stereotyped phrases

I especially loved the part where it said, "woned OE gewunod, ptp. of gewunian." Wasn't that GREAT stuff? Didn't it SPEAK to your heart? Didn't it SEEP into your soul? Didn't those words change your LIFE? Didn't they just MOVE you?

No?

Well, at least we all know what "wont" means, right? Or maybe we don't. Um, and maybe the reason we don't know is because I forgot to post the actual definition because I was so taken up with all that lilting, lively, life changing language UNDER the definition.

The definition for "wont" is simply, "Accustomed." Does everyone have that? (There WILL be a test. )

Okay. I think I have digressed.

As I am wont to do.

As I was saying (a loong time ago) Steve and Sarah washed the car and I took the pictures. An excellent partnership, to my way of thinking. It requires no Carolina humidity, sweating or wet hair on my part; all I have to do is snap a couple shots and run inside to the sweet coolness of the house and start typing. Ahhh. MY kind of job.

Since I'm in a sort of "wandering around in my writing" mood today, let me just mention that I posted another of my original songs in the upper left corner. It's got a sassy country flavor and is a song that just about every woman I know can relate to on some level. Enjoy! (And order the CD if you'd like!)

We're busy today getting ready for our trek to Charleston tomorrow. I have decided that Sir Snowy is just going to have to have a reality check on the trip and will have to move his cute little behiney to other locations in the car besides my lap. While I DO realize that I have the "fluffiest" lap in the Smith family, that is still no excuse! Sarah and I will come up with a plan to get him to spread his company around so I'm not stuck with him all day. (Don't know what that plan is yet, but we're thinkin'!)

Thanks to those of you who have been so encouraging about our trip and the fact that I will be singing in TWO Sunday services, back to back. Should be an interesting weekend; thank you for your prayers.

In closing, I just posted this picture of approximately 120 sheets of vintage music on Craig's List; however, if any of my blog readers would be interested in buying it all (it's mostly from the 1930's) give me a holler. Or better yet, an email! The price? Best offer.




It's about lunch time. I shall go down and have a little bite of lunch followed by a much larger bite of something chocolate.

As I am wont to do.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Plus and Minus

Steve got a call from a pastor friend yesterday with a last minute invitation to sing and preach in Charleston, SC this Sunday morning.

Okay. That's good. A chance to do what we're called and gifted to do. A chance to earn some income. (Which, in our present state, is a lovely thing.)

As you may recall, we sang in another church about a month ago and I was all nervous about it, since we hadn't done a concert in seven years AND I had no foggy idea what my voice was planning on doing. (It has a mind of its own. Just like my hair.)

But this time around when I heard about the invitation, I was feeling a little bit, sort of, quasi-confident because, hey, I'd done it before! I'd sung seven songs in a row before and I figured my chances were good I could do it again!

However, as I was getting all the details from Steve he casually said, "And by the way, they have two morning services."

I sputtered to a stop. Two? Morning services? I have to sing two services back to back? In one morning? Using only one slightly used, not-so-reliable, undeniably fragile voice?

Um. Hello? Is this such a great idea? Non-stop singing ALL stinkin' mornin'?

Let the butterflies commence their abdominal maneuvers.

The other difference on this trip is that we will be taking Princess Groovy Chick and The Dawg with us since Nathan is not at home to babysit the aforementioned family members. Sarah, of course, is a delight to travel with. Snowy? Not so much.

He seems to get it in his head that the ONLY Snowy-worthy seat in the entire vehicle is on MY lap. Or leaning on MY arm looking out MY window. Which is fine. Except I can't read or work on my computer when my lap is already occupied by six pounds of Snowyness. And we have to find a hotel that takes dogs and find something to do with him during the TWO morning services. AND it's eight hours, round trip. I'll definitely have plenty of "Snowy on my lap" time.

Sigh.

But with all that aside, I know it will be a great outing. Sarah has not heard her parents do a concert since she was six years old so I'm sure she'll be a fascinated audience member. In fact, the last concert she ever heard us do was on Mother's Day, 2002, five days before her cancer diagnosis.

It really amazes me that we can never really know when life is about to change abruptly. We had packed up our equipment on that Sunday so long ago and driven away from the church with a full calendar for the following year and cases of newly recorded Cd's in our truck. We were set to travel forever. And then some.

We had absolutely no way of knowing that that Mother's Day morning marked our very last official, "on the road" concert. Ever.

And now seven years later, here we are on the road again. For a weekend at least. Except with a thirteen year old daughter instead of a six-year old.

And minus one College Dude. (Of course, back then, he was an Elementary School Dude.) Minus one strong singing voice and one healthy set of lungs. Plus a lot more wisdom and maturity. Plus a pound or two. (Or three.) Minus the hundreds of pounds of gear and the semi truck. Plus an actual house to live in. Minus an RV. Minus the youthful certainty that we were in charge of our future. Plus the thankfulness that we still have the opportunity to sing and preach. Minus the knowledge of what our immediate future holds.

Plus the comfort that we know Who holds the future.

Even WITH the dog in my lap for eight hours? It'll be a great weekend.

_______________

I'm posting a video here that I will also post on Sarah Smith's Spot. I thought there might be a few people who come here that don't always go to that site and I wanted everyone to see the celebration of ten years of the special friendship between Sarah and Victoria.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Biscuits, Realtors and Faith


Okay. I think it's a record. I have now gone for three days without posting an update.

If anyone has noticed. Which you probably haven't.

Or I don't know. Maybe you have! Maybe your entire week has been filled with a sense of emptiness and sadness as you have trod mournfully to this site day by day, only to have a great expanse of "nothing new" sadly greet you.

In THAT case, today is your lucky day! Today is your day when your mopey mournfulness can be turned into gleeful, grand, and glorious giddiness! :-)


We had someone come and look at our house last week. When the phone call came, our family burst into the kind of action that is normally reserved only for classic Keystone Cops episodes. Snowy stood in the middle of the house, bravely holding his ground, as his frantic family ran amok, crashing into each other in our frenzied and agitated attempts to make everything as lovely, neat, appealing, and attractive as possible.

We all made it out the door with two minutes to spare and since none of us had had breakfast, we took ourselves off to the drive-thru at McDonald's. Snowy got so excited when we drove up to the window because he was fully convinced (in his very small brain), that he was at the bank and he knew that the bank always gave him a dog biscuit at the drive-thru.

But alas, it was not to be. The human biscuits came out but there was NO dog biscuit. I don't know if you're ever seen a devastated doggie before, but it ain't purty. I took pity on my crestfallen canine friend and broke up a couple peanut butter crackers I had in the car; he seemed greatly impressed with that culinary offering and inhaled them with his patented brand of furry fervor.

Nathan and Steve both ordered sausage biscuits and then did the most amazing thing. They put GRAPE jelly on them! Have you ever HEARD of such a thing? I was grossed out at first but when Steve offered a bite to me, I actually found it to be quite good. (Just what I need. Another way to ingest empty calories!)

Later that afternoon, Steve got an e-mail from the realtor which said, "The clients loved your house. However, they were looking for four bedrooms AND an office."

Um. Excuse me? Did they not look at the house stats on the Internet? Did the realtor not tell them how many bedrooms the house has? That there was NOT a fifth, office-esque room?

I guess not.

Oh well. I got a sausage biscuit out of the deal, and Snowy got a broken up peanut butter cracker. I'm really trying to count my blessings here!

Only two "house views" in six months. That may be some kind of a record in Non-Views of Houses. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the Guinness Book of World Records knocked at our door any day to put us in their record book!

Hey! Maybe I could sell them our house!

____________

You may recall that we've had some concerns as to whether we'd be able to send Nathan back to college this fall. Well, the answer is, "He's going!" (Hooray and hallelujah for college!) Steve was able to put some things together that have made it do-able. (And hooray and hallelujah for Steve!)

In the meantime, we continue to wait, wait, wait. And then wait some more. Have I ever mentioned that I'm not so good at waiting? That I like action? That I like to know what to expect? And how to plan? And WHEN things will happen? And WHERE things will happen? And HOW things will happen?

Is that too much to ask?

Hmmm. I guess so.

The Bible says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Since there seem to be plentiful plethoras of "evidence not seen" around here, I guess that means that we are getting plenty of practice in practicing faith.

I know that someday we will look back at this chapter of our lives and see how everything worked out. But looking at it all from this perspective? Truthfully, it seems just a tad overwhelming.

Steve and I work really hard at keeping each others' spirits up and saying encouraging things to each other. But occasionally those days hit when both of us run out of our supply of encouraging words at the same time. Have you ever been there? And as far as I can tell, Wal-Mart does not seem to have any "Encouraging Word" departments where we can go and re-stock.

So what do we do then? We just make it up as we go. We use our faith (that we're getting so much practice at developing) and we say uplifting things whether we feel like it our not. And eventually, our feelings follow our words and we climb back out of the Pitiful Pit of Pathos that we fell in and we just Keep. Going. On.

Eating biscuits and jelly.

Setting world records in Non-Views of Houses.

Practicing faith.

______________

I'll close with a few pictures of the lovely yard that I will miss seeing when we move. Would anyone like to buy a yard? (With a house attached?)





But a yard isn't worth much without some memories to fill it. Here are some precious memories.






Sunday, June 14, 2009

Picture Fun and 8-Tracks

Do you recognize this person? No?

It's ME! As a criminal! Who speaks French! And wears a beard!

Okay, Okay. I realize that that is a bit of an alarming sight to see when you are used to dropping by Smithellaneous to experience warm fuzzies and happy family-ness. Does THIS help at all?



WHAT? Seeing Nathan as a ferocious Jedi STILL doesn't give you warm fuzzies?

All right. How about this? It's kind of a nice quirky, Steve-esque picture.



And a few more . . .














There now. Wasn't that fun? (photofunia.com)

I'm actually trying to drown my sorrows in picture stuff because my eldest child took off for Florida this morning and will be gone Eight. Whole. Days. The church that Nathan attends when he's at school is covering the costs for Nathan and a friend to come and help them with a week long children's outreach.

So I really miss him! Already! It's a good thing I've still got Steve, Sarah, and Snowy (The Three S's) to keep me occupied while Nathan is out and about.

And speaking of Steve, I was going through some old papers today and saw a letter he wrote to me when I was nineteen years old. (It was right before we got engaged.) My sisters and I had just been in the recording studio and he wrote and said, "If you have your recording on
8-track, I would love to buy a copy."

And the funny thing? He was NOT kidding!

8-track!!

Does that tell anyone how old we are?

____________

Be sure to listen to the song I wrote that is posted on the top of the left column. It's on our "Like a Blanket" CD.