I've fallen in love!

OK....maybe not, but I really really like my new fiddle. It just showed up at my front door yesterday morning. I couldn't believe it. We were just talking a few days ago how I needed to get a new violin. I'm thought to myself what a pain it's going to be trying to find one I like that matches the budget. And deciding which brand is better etc, etc.

A man who heard us at a recent mini concert thought we could use it. Was he right. It's way better than my old one, which sounds like it has a blanket over it. The new one, circa 1923 and made in Germany, has such a round clear tone. I can't stop playing it! All I need now is a new set of strings.

Praise the Lord!

Dentist. That word strikes fear in the wimps afraid of a little needle and the drilling, drilling, drilling. Bah!

I went to one today. I thought for sure I would be poked by one of those needles, thinking I had four cavities since I’d been feeling some pain while chewing. I got a cool looking x-ray of my bottom lower side. (Of course, x-rays are very bad for you and will probably cause you to compulsively eat a giant piece of Munster cheese infested with radio active milk which will make you turn orange, sing like a chicken, count to a google and die, or cause cancer. ) From that picture they where able to tell the discomfort I am experiencing is from my impacted wisdom teeth. Hip hip hurray. So of course they want me to get them out….ha! This is not good.

No, I haven’t died. Blogging just hasn’t been top a priority. I’ve been feeling a little guilty, I owe my readers, both of you, an explanation. Two words have dominated my life for the past few days. Bus and basement. I’m sitting here slurping my Sprite Remix slushy thinking about what has been done. The electrical room is looking good. At least we have a walk way now! The bus is looking sleek outside and a mess inside, but the inside mess should just be temporary. The wood in the bunks will be glowing in the soft summer sunset by next week with a new coat of polyurethane. Boy, I’m glad Sunday comes once a week.

A blog I was reading recently had a post concerning WWJD on the back of someone girls pants. Pretty sick. Reading the comments someone has posted concerning the WWJD phrase saying, "has never been a practical help for living the Christian life". I disagree. Paul said, imitate me as I imitate Christ. We should all be striving to be more and more Christ like. Asking what Jesus would do in situations seems totally in line with scripture. I do agree that the phrase has been 'overused' and may not mean a lot to nominal Christians. But, I don't think we should throw out the concept simply because people who have no intention of following it use it.

I like this quiz... leave me a comment with what you are!

You are a VIOLIN/VIOLA/CELLO.You are the epitome of richness and smoothness and
passion rolled all into one. Like the taste of
a ridiculously expensive European Dark
Chocolate bar, you satiate the soul in a way
that nothing else can. At times mournful, at
times blissful, at times tranquil, at times
burning with a fiery passion, your many facets
all share the same expressive colors as those
produced by the violin, viola, and cello.

What musical instrument are you?
brought to you by

Ah, what a lovely day it was today, at least in New England. I can't believe I didn't even leave the porch today. I was thinking about a nice little stroll around town but I felt too lazy. 'Sides it's no fun to walk alone, I would have gotten Bonnie but she was practicing and such. I feel so terrible for all those people in Florida and Alabama who got hit with the monster Dennis, so soon after Ivan. We were down there in October. Wow! What a mess they still had. From what I'm reading it doesn't look like it whammed them as bad this time.

On a different subject, I would like to use a gif as my signature when I use gmail. Does anyone have the code I need to do that? The code I was given doesn't work, maybe because gmail frown on jpgs and gifs as sigs? Any help would be appreciated!

We did an outdoor concert today. We thought we were going to have an hour or so to set up and sing. Turns out they had a ‘professional’ sound guy and he didn’t really want us to use our system. Problem is he’s never heard us before, he doesn’t know when we change mics or when we have little solos here and there that need to be turned up higher, etc. Plus I don’t think he’s ever mixed our kind of music. I think it would have been less stressful on us to have dad running the sound like always. We only sang for half an hour. We made it through though. Another day another challenge. The really good thing is it didn’t rain and there was a very very light wind, meaning the music actually stayed on the stand! We have found plexieglass works really well for those windy days. This sounds really boring. Sorry. All the performers had a ‘sing for your supper’ type deal so I could have tried some of that homemade root beer. But, nah. I didn’t try any after I heard it tasted like alcohol, dad thought it just tasted like yeast and he said it wasn't mixing well with his hamburger. Either way, it didn’t sound good. Anyone ever tried making homemade root beer? My dad has this thingy you attach to a plastic 3 liter soda bottle to make soda. He gets the syrup concentrates for cheap at a discount store. They also have the names of several dentists right on the box. Convenient. Anyway there is a hose on the top of this thing and it’s attached to CO2 tank. You shake the bottle up and down for a minute or two then you slowly release the pressure with a valve. You MUST do it slowly or else you’re end up with sticky carbonated drink on your ceiling and in your soup. (Long story.) Looking forward to Sunday….day of rest of the weary!

During a this time of trial my family seems to be going through I've been remembering this verse.

James 1:2 & 3
Consider it pure joy, my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

What else can you cling when the road gets rough rocky and steep? Praise God for His Word that is everlasting and more sure than the sun that rises.

Please pray for us.

We were in the paper yesteray. Kinda cool, they had a picture of us too; on the back page, but at least the article started on the front. :)

I was looking for a slow day to blog this pic, but I want to blog it now. I was born with a broom in my hand. :)

I was pouring through some old photo albums a few days ago, which is were I found this one. Wow, has our family changed in the past few years! It went from a little family to lots of little people, then more recently almost all big kids. It’s fun to see who looks like who. I've got a few cute ones of Bonnie… should I post them? : )

Happy 4th people! The day when most Americans celebrate independence from England. The MacDonald family spent a few hours this evening at a big field with a band and fireworks. The bus was the picture frame for a large flag handcrafted by the little (and not so little) Macs.


The fireworks weren't bad either....I got a great movie clips of the ending but I don't know how to post it.

Blue skies with a touch of puffy white clouds. A cool breeze blows and ruffles your hair. The smells of barbeque and cut grass mix together to form a familiar fragrance. Neighbors coming out of hibernation from their places of dwelling to share experiences, swap stories, discus recent events and troubles. The neighborhood sidewalk socializing group has met. A meeting as such can be called at anytime, morning, noon, after dark etc. We will continue meeting sporadically until a biting New England wind drives us back into hibernation. (We do meet during the winter but quite infrequently. And we usually bring shovels and snow blowers to winter meetings.) But, back to the here and now. An occasional car zooms past, and conversation is temporarily drowned out. Someone calls supper. Meeting adjourned! Summer is here...

Take a look at this page concerning the Supreme Court's recent decision legalizing taking land from private owners. This is rich!