Yesterday's surprise!

Bambambambambam!
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Dingdingdingding-dong!
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Bambambambam!
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Dang!?
I folded up my text-book and headed towards the door...?
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There stood this guy, cap, sunglasses, little gray pepper, here and there in his beard. I looked beyond him to the unfamiliar car out in my drive, he'd had someone with him and they were just stirring to get out of the car. When I looked back again, he was smiling, and reaching to remove his cap... that smile gave him completely away - !!!
"Bobby!" I popped-off (surprise and pure delight)! Looking again to the car, I saw now another old, dear friend, Ronda, heading my way! =) =) =)
This is not the 'Bobby' I wrote about eons ago, that had taken some hard correction, courtesy of the state of Arizona, this Bobby and I go way, way, way back, as do Ronda and I, to that sweet time - post highschool graduation when we were all on the verge of what's next.
They came right on in and we all settledown for some story telling on ourselves and each other, of course!
They'd been driving by when Bobby pointed to the house and remarked, "'Dorko', used to live in the basement of that house."
Then Ronda, deadpanned a little FYI to him, "'Dorko' is living in that house right now. She's been working with my Mom up at the College."
Ronda said he gave one glance back at her and flipped a u-turn! Hehehee.
Apparently, no one had told him I was back in the area, and Ronda was just pleased as punch to rat me out. :D
The fools had been gallivanting around, not just yesterday, but the day before, when all roads were deemed impassable - these two were traversing the highways between Trenton, Culbertson and McCook... which (with saucer-sized eyes) Ronda testified, were in FACT, bad, bad, bad. "...especially between Culbertson and McCook!" she said.
"You know me," Booby chimes in, "If it's snowing, I think I gotta be out F____in' around in it." My turn to smile (-had I stopped since I realized who was beating down my door???) and I laughed, knowingly! Those old memories of experiences drifting clearly back into the view point of my mind's eye - just like the wind and snows had blown their drifts steadily forth in Monday's ground soirees.
He must have read memory from the look in my eye, b/c he began the story, of a time when He and I, along with my brother and another girlfriend of mine, had been out 'dinking' around in a blizzard "Out north on Q street, when I decided to be cute," he said, "and I took off-road over a cane field." He then got a little lost with some technical jargon, something about misjudgement of exactly where he was in relationship to that road vs field, (heh!) so I up and 'helped' his snow-drifter story along, a bit, by assuring dear Ronda, that getting his Blazer stuck was akin to driving a boat in - just that smooth... and then we sank! I still remember how both He and my brother had to jam their shoulders into the Blazer doors to get them open, shoving snow with the movement of the door panels and when they jumped out, they sank too! I remember all they had to dig us out with was one of those tinsy-winsy folding camp shovels! I also remember thinking this is one of those times when I'm glad I'm "a girl"!!! Heheheee. We girls stayed warm and dry in the back seat of the Blazer while those young men took turns digging. We told them if they could do it in an hour we'd go back to my place and bake up some Chocolate Chip Cookies for them. We were back at my place with-in the hour. lol. An amazing feat when I look back at it. That storm like this one just past produced drifts that were roof-top high. The one Bobby had "glided" into that night was a monster as well. . . and yes! We made them the Chocolate Chip Cookies.
(Here's some pictures of Sunday/Monday's storm posted on NTV's web site)
We talked long and laughed much in the short visit - I feel strangely renewed and refreshed by it, the combination of past memories and present company bringing about that joyful, celebratory feeling - true friendship's gift.
Priceless!
Love 2 all who pass this way today!
D. ~

Back to Blue

Back to Blue, blue skys.
I can see for miles and miles across the river valley and... I just saw another tracktor plowing up the highway. Lookie. There's actually traffic out there zipping past... better gather my in town to do list together. I'm sure shool's in session today! =)

White out!

White out conditions…
Travel is NOT advised!!!
….More than 100 schools closed across the state…
(my classes are among that number)
Zero degree visibility extends from the highway, to out most of the (snow packed!) windows here, at my home.
Power has been winking on and off
- NO TV for me - hehehee, those signals and my antenna are not strong enough to with stand the forces of this ground blizzard.
I will wrap myself up in blankets and text books and count my many blessings yet again!
Speaking of blessings, sometimes we can be the answer to somebody else's prayer. Check out this story from NPR - just click on the listen button there while you putter with other things.... I think you'll find it heartwarming - I did! =)
Cheerios2U all!!!
– hope all are warm and safe!
-Dorko

Whispering gears

The Virtual Tea Leaves site from dear Mona's blog over at Want Peace caught my eye today... I went to readings and this is what wisdom I found there for me:

The Higher Powers have provided you with all the gears.
It may therefore be as well to engage them sooner or later, otherwise you'll merely be making a series of attention grabbing, but ultimately futile, pooping noises. :)
Whisper "I love you! I love you!" to the whole mad world and get going.

So! Rather than sink to the level of fruitless emissions - revealing in a bounty of those attention grabbing, pooping noises, I do believe I'll engage some of those gears and gaining some altitude and some traction here... all the while, whispering, "I love you!"
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(You know there's quite a bit I DO love about this whole mad world! :D lol!)
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P.S.: I think "I love you!" could be my favorite thing to whisper - what's yours?

Untitled

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Just another piece of non-representational art. This one is an oldie, a combination of graphite, and colored pencil.
This is a majority of the work... the original is, again, too large to scan completely.
Wishing you all a good weekend - keep warm, will ya? =)
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Cheerios 2U!
Dorko

Back at home

Praise God. All slept well last night...
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and ... I am...
Back home again, safe and sound... if not still a little rattled by the sincere desire to do well at school and thus pressing the stress button every so often - rather like a lab rat desperately trying to figure which gizmo releases the tasty pellets this time. Hehehee.
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OMGolly! I just realized I gotta whip up an art piece for the blog, here - before the sun sets.. .... maybe on oldie again? heh.
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Aunt Dona called with information that Aunt Freda is not at her best, but perhaps on a more rapid decline than what I'd been impressed with last spring. Aunt Freda is in her mid-nineties. (That 92 year old Uncle Jim I wrote about in September is one of her little brothers.) JK, Freda's daughter, who happens to be in the same assisted living home as Freda, (JK used to be a university professor, has MS. "It" finally brought her back to this home state of ours and into an assisted life-style, 4-5 years ago) has passed along the news that Freda is most likely (the doctors say) suffering mini strokes, effecting memory and a slight aspect of speech, which has become softer than ever and a touch slurred.
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Aunt Dona's call was for the roadtrip to visit them.
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I SOOO wish they were here, in the "hometown" with 'everyone' else. *sighs* They are in Grand Island (2-3 hours away... & yes, Nebraskans often measure distance in time :P) because 'Roger' lives there. Roger is Freda's son. Roger has a mediocre reputation with some members of the family, swinging the wide swath from things he's done to stuff he doesn't do.
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Reading between the lines at the Thanksgiving table last night we see Freda, her friend and regular diner table mate May, daughter J.K., niece Dona, niece Dian (my Mom) and great-niece 'Dorko'. Roger, the single, solitary, living relative within a 150 mile radius - was no where to be seen or heard from - and it wasn't talked about either. *sighs*
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I can easily count a half - dozen or more people that would visit them on a regular basis if they were in McCook. Can't help, selfishly wishing they were here...
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It was a nice visit, albeit short - spent the day with them all. I helped J.K. activate a hotmail account. I'll send her directions on how to actually use the thing via snail mail this coming week. Aunt Dona had brought J.K. the most thought full gift, which we all took great delight in. Some one at a recent highschool reunion had been selling CD recordings of the local high school band and choir too, made during the time when J.K. had been a member of it and when it was at such a pinnacle of perfection, that they'd been honored and dispatched around the nation to strut their stuff! I must say! They really did sound professional! I've never heard a highschool band that 'spot on' - ever!!! J.K. was thrilled beyond measure. Heartwarming to see a gift, this early in the season of gift giving hit home so sweetly for the recipient and all present, sharing in the moment. =)
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Pictures were passed around, memories discussed.
Aunt Dona had come up with a journal in my grandmother's hand. She started reading from the tail end of it which were entries dated into the 1920's, "Praise God, all slept well last night" ... we had an enjoyable time celebrating our 72nd wedding anniversary ... Dona began to explain that this was a copy of a journal that came west from Stockbridge MA with our Pioneering grandparents. In Stockbridge they'd rubbed elbows with the rich and the famous - there were some surprising names dropped in a letter contained in the journal, one entry discribed the day the news litterally rang out along the eastern seaboard through the sounding of church bells tolling, of President Lincoln's death. The inscription on the inside cover said it was a copy of a copy of the original, which was my Great-great-great grandfather's journal. It was a treasure I'd like to have a copy of. I got the briefest glance at it - reading over the first few pages which were dedicated to our family's history and the storys of 'olden times' and a gentle admonisment that any person reviewing the book should not do so, unless they had at least a spark of interest in the family who's history it contained...
more discussion
- apparently my triple-great grandfather and many members of his family were diligent in keeping journals. My grandmother had been in possession of several - then in her zeal to gather more of the family history together (Grandma and Freda were loyal members of the D.A.R. or the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Family/History research/documentation is something that they do) she sent them off to 'cousins' out west and they, unfortunately, were never returned.
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I told my mother on the trip home that I thought that might have been one of the most important things discussed during the visit. I didn't know any such thing had ever existed before. I wonder now if those items can be tracked down and copied in a format that could be easily broadcast and shared with all interested members of the family!!?? Gives me something to think about, other than my current course of studies anyways.
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Mother just called... and we'll be off together once more now, this time to visit the next generation coming up, those beautiful nieces of MINE, and yes... praise God, still - all slept well last night.
(Thought I saw my cat, picking a pair of ear-plugs out of her little kitty head, this morning! :D)

PPT - Opie's idea...

I received this e-card from the Presidential Prayer Team.
I hope the link works - it was a beautiful card!
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A few of you out there may find this hard to believe, but it was Opie Outlaw's idea / suggestion that I start praying, (Hard!) for the President...
I thought about it for 2 shakes of a lamb's tail and realized he was right.
Since my understanding is that prayer is not only a commandment, but a very special commandment for me. .. . in relationship to my own, very personal, relationship with God - and that prayer is a pivotal principle in my spiritual walk, I realized that, I should be praying for my leadership, both religious and secular.
Big smile... that Huckleberry sure has some good instincts, when it comes down to the advice, he's dished out to me.
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Thank you Opie.
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Thank you PPT for the beautiful e-card.
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Thank you Bloggers for both your snarks (which make me lol!) and you're honest, heartfelt words left here, in commenting, and ringing out to all who dare pass your way - on your own blogs!
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Love to you all!
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Thank you, God, for the blessings and lessons of this year .... Thou art steadfast, good and merciful. 'Tis you, dear, Heavenly Father, that I love most of all... and so I pray, in the name of my brave redeemer, even the name of your only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

a.m. Skim

Perhaps I should change the name of the blog to Cheerios and Skim Milk.
That's a little truer to life these days. =)
Just hurried through a cup full of all that and set about compiling the answers to the last straggler surveys due in for the 'big project' for a Business Communications class. Class members teamed up to conduct a survey regarding our on campus food services and the final result will be individual papers analyzing/forecasting the results of that work. FUN! (snort.)
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I know I didn't write about this because things have been so so so hectic for me lately... but there was a grave concern raised with regard to my brother's pregnancy last week. (yah. I KNOW, it's actually his wife that's preggers - I just like to say it like this ...Twain shall become one... and all that, doncha know? anyways-) they'd had an ultra sound that showed a possible swelling around the baby's brain. So off to Omaha this passing week's end to natal specialist and then off again for the rendezvous child exchange, collecting his oldest 2 daughters from my former SIL. Word just in viva the family grapevine is they are back at home in McCook again, and all is well! All is well. (Insert happy dance here) Thanking God this morning, truly.
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Speaking of worship - the children's holiday program yesterday, then my gospel doctrine class with the youth were wonderfully engaging. . . however that last meeting of the morning was the best. Maybe I can find time for a few words on the discussion topic, Free Agency and Responsibility, later this evening... it was the type of lesson that's worthy of a review anyways.
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Right now studies call...
Starting out Thanksgiving week, very thankful, indeed. =)

Li'l Pink Dots...

I Found this site surfing blogs... said it was guaranteed to take my mind off studies for 3 minutes... read the instructions after you click here

No. 7

A Nonrepresentational piece. Which means it's not supposed to mean anything. But... then... artist just can't seem to help themselves sometimes... choices, conscience and sub-conscience choices, are made and the composition progresses, layer upon layer, line upon line, precept upon precept.
(The 2 'twirled' shapes are a light bulb and a pair of scissors. I used 2 brush tips on the painting layer: one brush was made out of Opie Outlaw's eye, and the other was a startip with a checkered flag texture, the question marks are actully text and in the proper font they spell out a word, ...so on, and etc, etc, etc... )
Of course all of those lovely layers needed to be compressed in order to display it - so the fullness, of this piece, is just a wee bit deminished - you can click on it, to enlarge it, if you'd like a closer looksie.
Meanwhile.... Hope everyone has a sunny weekend - inside and out!
Love and Cheerios 2U all!
D. ~

News Flash!

(c) FreeFoto.com
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This just in!
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Bananas are easier to peel ... from the other side!
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Also anyone needing a photo out there in blog-land might consider this cool and groovey site: www.freefoto.com their rules of use are easy enough to understand.

Go! Bison GO!

Yea! Team!
The 'Crimson and Cream' have, amazingly, done it again!
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McCook Senior High School's football team, The Bison, (12-0) are contenders for the Nebraska Class-B state championship!
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What an accomplishment! FOUR straight trips to the big game!!!? Their accumalative record over those passing four seasons, now stands at 51 to 1. UNDEFEATED, save for one match-up in four years! And what a match up that was; the 1 loss came in the last 15 seconds of a barn-burner of a game -in last year's state Class-B title match!
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The team has had to over come great tragedy, injuries, and tough opponents - to reach championship, in this season's journey to Lincoln.
(ALL High school state championship games are played out on the most famous football field in the state of Nebraska - the legendary Memorial Stadium, down east, in Lincoln. - Home of the Huskers!)
This year's trip has the feel of an against the odds scenario for the McCook Bison football team. They first had to over come the tragic, accidental death of a beloved assistant coach, coach Ron Coleman - a far reaching loss impacting many, many, many individuals within the community. Then, during the opening game of the year - the Bison lost two of the best players in the state, Brendan Liess and Jeff Klug, to injuries. They lost several other key players to injuries, including a defensive tackle, J.D. Stone, and his back-up, Daniel Schaffert.
Stone has returned for the final few games of the season, but the injuries have taxed the Bison's team and tested their depth.
They've overcome so much, those kids have worked their tails off. And, that coaching staff, the job they have continually done is unbelievably good and straight-forward... to championship they ALL go.
Yea, TEAM!

The Title of Liberty

I was going to dash off to the Mad Mac Lab early. Then I trolled a few blogs and you all got me thinking .... of the great debt.... of how tender my heart and feelings are for.... our veterans.
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Thinking of veteran's Day today this scripture popped into my head...
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John15:13
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Also, a story from the book of Mormon came to mind. It's a story about the courage of one man, an ancient, who rose to become a great military leader in defense of his family, his brethren and his homeland - despite his own distaste for bloodshed and war.
He is known as 'Captain Moroni'.
He stood in opposition to a wicked man seeking to destroy the church of God and to destroy the foundation of liberty - which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous sake.
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Moroni was the chief commander of the armies of a peaceable Christian people ...and when he'd heard of the dissention of this one man who was drawing many down with him into iniquity - leading them away to do evil and be the cause of great wickedness, so that he could devide the people, break them and rule over them - Moroni rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it -- In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children -- and he fastened it up the end of a pole. ...and he called it the title of liberty. and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessing of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land -- .
..... He prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored, ...when he had poured out his soul to God, ... he named all the land - a chosen land, and the land of liberty. And he said: Surely God shall not suffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own transgressions. And when Moroni had said these words he went forth among the people... the story explains a little history and Moroni's inspiration behind the title of liberty. In rallying his people he reminded them of their linage and that they were a remnant of the seed of Jacob and also of Joseph, who's coat of many colors was rent by his brethren into many pieces; 'yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.
. It was an anguishing time, for Moroni and his people looked upon their adversary and saw a fallen brethren persecuting them, for taking upon them, the name of Christ...
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.Sure. I know. You're probably thinking about all the horrible, horrible atrocities committed in the name of "Christianity" and that all who fight a cause may not be Christian at all... I'd say to that, let's not digress here, as I'm not quite done with telling my story, and I'll give you this; I'm always suspicious of anyone saying 'God told me to wage war with you'. However, the remarkable thing about Captain Moroni is his faithful, wise, and merciful heart - the story goes on to detail how, through prayer and the exercise of his faith, he was given over to extrodinary skill and knowledge in defending, the title of liberty shall we say, through fortification of the cities and the preperation of protective armerment for his men and strategic planning in gaining the upper hand over the adversary in selection and placement of his people on the potential battle fields - I say potential, because Captain Moroni is on record as giving the 'enemy' an opportunity to lay down their weopons and to covenant to never wage war with his people again. Those that did so, were allowed to leave the battlefield in peace, and return to their homes and their families. Those that refused were thus engaged.
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A heartfelt salute to all those who've answered the call to defend 'the title of liberty' and my ferverant prayers are likewise, thus engaged, for all those standing firmly on the potential battlefield this day and always - making those difficult and oft' times split second decisions between life and death - may they all find their peace....
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I am humbled and greatful beyond words for their love and their sacrafices.
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Now off to school on a wing and that prayer of mine.....

Heaven...

I'm gona get KILLED for this!
Butt... I don't care.
Check out my escort to 'the other side'.
Hehehee. =)
Say your prayers -
help keep those guardian angels ever near to you.
A Heavenly weekend to you all!
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Sweet dreams...
Dorko

Superlative!

We played with vectors and masks today! =)
The second pix is actually 2 photos masked together.
The river is one mile north of me.
There is a park built in around the sandpits there.
The place holds many happy memories for me.
Right now this pond in the pix is holding a bunch of trout!
They release them, for kids to fish out. COOL, huh?
You might say it's s u p e r l a t i v e !!! Heheheee

Mooncity

Ah.
Here we go.
=)
...Let them with eyes to see, see ....
A little amazing, isn't it? This is the exact, same, pix that I posted on Friday....
Except for now, you might say we are no longer looking through the glass, darkly.
I converted the file to a jpeg which is web-friendly, now we get the fullness of all the special effects woven in the design of things here.
Hope you all have a blessed-eyes-wide-open week!
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Cheerios 2U!
Dorko

Orbs

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This was NOT the finished product.
This was my artful play with the first step in a tutorial on how to use the 'shapes' tool. We learned how to 'constrain' to obtain the perfect circles. I just HAD to toss in a few ovals (to suggest floatation - I can't help myself - beaming smile!).
I WANTED to post the finished version which had blending options engaged. I learned a valuable lesson in paying attention, here!
Yesterday I left class with this (pix) on my zipper and a lesson about how not all data files are created equal, freshly floating in my mind. The lesson text was careful to point out that some details just will not transfer, manifest, nor be received fully and properly - if the media you are crossing over - is not recognizable by the receiver, or in a format the receiver can grasp. (un-huh, got it - sure I do! Insert embarrassed blush, here -> x)
The above 'creation' has much more to it than you can see here. It has embossing. It has inner glows. It has outter glows. It has drop shadows. It has a richness, a depth and a texture - yet, we cannot see it .... because I forgot to make it a 'jpeg' before hopping along my zippidy do da day, yesterday.
Perhaps I can weddle into the Mac Lab today and get the file right for my use here.
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Ironic how this little thing echos a spiritual prompt recurring just lately.
That would be the thought for me on how the Lord stands ready all the day long to bless, exceedingly and yet, for me, due to my own unpreparedness, and my own short-sightedness... I've called his blessing cursed ... hope, hope, hope those days have gone by. I'm getting better at realizing opportunity in adversity, really I am!
I have, still, failed to receive all that I could have had, under His direction and merciful guidance. Why? Pick anyone of the human frailties and I'll have a short-comings, Dorko-story I could tell you. heh.
Add another oopsy to the pile.
The good news is that "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
So a lesson I skimmed has now been driven deeply 'home' for me...
Of course that sends my mind reeling in several other passages that are demonstrative of that love. Like the one in the book of John which plainly entreats, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
I'll leave that turning over in my mind for now...
Love is flowing out to all of you today! =)
May Peace attend you this weekend...
Cheerios,
from the Dorko!

Life is good

I saw an article today that I think I'll cut out of the newspaper for my Graphic Design swipe file. The teacher warned us all, again, last night, that we'll be graded on such... and another warning from the Chapter we were reviewing (13! of all things, heh!) ... against looking to advertisers for inspiration. So, that in mind, I'd like to say that while admiring the design here, it's not about swiping their art - not at all; rather it's the philosophy reported on, which I'm seriously drawn to....

The headline "Life is Good" caught my eye. <-(That link goes to the 2005 Pumpkin Festival at their web site. I loved the photos I found living there!)
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"Do what you like. Like what you do."
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It's a philosophy that 2 regular, nice guys - John and Bert Jacobs, have embraced in life to become successful in business.
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Their 2 man mobile T-shirt business has evolved into a 152 person staff in Hudson N.H. (pop. 7,814), nad a 15-person design center on Boston's Newbury Street -- just across from where police used to run the brothers off for peddling shirts without a legal permit.
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"The media are tremendously focused on what's wrong with our world," Bert says. "Nobody has an opportunity to focus on what's right. You wouldn't think our clothing would be so different than what's out there, but it is. People are drawn to it."
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(Insert big smile here, & my thought: 'Just like I was to the article about them, no doubt.')
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Things got even more interesting when notations were made about their teaching background and their determination to "give back".
As soon as profit margin would allow the 2 established a charitable division to raise money for children's causes.
The company created 2 annual outdoor festivals that raise money: Project Joy and Camp Sunshine.
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Knowing stuff like this is going on in the world just makes your day a little brighter, no?
Put your lights on...
Life IS sooo GOOD!
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Peace, love, and grapenuts people...
Have a great week!