Celebrate

No picture on this post, just some random thoughts. We watched the inauguration this morning. Then I decided to make cupcakes - celebration cupcakes. DH wanted to know what we were celebrating. We were celebrating the process. We didn't crown a king today, nor did we rubber stamp a dictator. We did not hail an emperor in a parade and we did not have a civil war to decide our leader. We inaugurated a president. He may not be your choice or my choice, yet the process is the important thing and plenty reason to celebrate! So have a cupcake - they were carrot by the way.

Life with BunaB

Around 1985, we purchased a house in Houston. In the built-in desk drawer I found a small plastic case labeled BunaB. Inside was a set of instructions and a. . .well, the picture is better than a description. The instructions were rather detailed, but I could not figure out what a BunaB really was or what it was supposed to do. Even so, I moved the BunaB with me to Nacogdoches, through 3 houses there, then to McKinney and 2 residences. Yesterday I found the BunaB again in a desk drawer. Since 1985 a few things have changed - we now have internet and Google. So to Google I went for answers. Sure enough, there was an article on BunaB's. Come to find out, Al Crowder invented the BunaB in the 1950's. Apparently he didn't have enough to do, had a bunch of clarinet reed cases (he was a musician), and came up with a use for the plastic cases. You can read more about this on www.samueljohnson.com/bunab/index.html. Anyway, Crowder took the name Orville K. Snav and the BunaB was the flagship product of his company. Yes, he actually sold these. Bottom line: The BunaB does absolutely nothing. Yet the instructions are quite detailed, and again, really say nothing. It is kind of funny. And yet, maybe there is a lesson here. Are we carrying around something in our lives that doesn't do anything, complete with instructions that tell us nothing? Are we depending on the useless to bring meaning? I read these instructions many times before I figured out that it was all a joke. Now BunaB is my reminder about how critical it is that what we depend on for instruction is real. And the real, best instructions come from a book with a single title: Bible. My friend Christy would be much better at making the spiritual connection - she is so gifted that way. And perhaps I am making too much of this - nevertheless, I am hanging on to my BunaB!

Flower Arranging 101

After taking down the Christmas decorations, the house looked empty and boring. What would spark it up? A few fresh flowers!

Flower arranging should be an art that all good southern girls know. My friend Christy gave me a fabulous book years ago; it is like my textbook. So this should be easy. In truth, flower arranging requires a double Masters in Design and Engineering. I have neither. I do have a wonderful son-in-law who gave me a beautiful vase for Christmas. So after studying my textbook and the new Martha Stewart catalogue, I tried copying her January arrangement. Hmmmmm. I will try some more. Meanwhile, my brother looks, just looks, at an arrangement and copies it for his Christmas Eve dinner. Real horns and pine cones and stuff. It looks great! I will keep working and experimenting. And a little PS: one of my flowers was dead by the next morning. Oops. Won't use that one again.