Once upon a time, there was a funeral, and somebody gave the family a beautiful plant. The middle child in the family wanted to take the plant to her apartment, but that’s was several states away, and she couldn’t.
Then one year, she moved back to Oklahoma. The plant had grown and prospered…perhaps a little too much. Its leaves and branches over poured from its too small pot. So one mother dumped the plant out onto the cement outside the garage. She took the scissors and started trying to divide the plant, but it would not divide. Snip, snip. There went part of the plant. Snip, snip. There went more. Pretty soon some sad little excuses for branches were sticking out of a huge pot… without a single leaf.
But the middle child would not give up. She would rescue this plant, and so the plant took the 2 and a half hour drive to its new home. It would have been a good trip, save the fact the middle child hit the breaks and toppled the plant over in the car. And then she dropped the plant inside the door of her apartment, covering the nice clean carpet with potting soil. But still she would not give up.
Well, late last week a miracle happened. After constant watering (and one Sprite), the plant produced a beautiful, big, shiny leaf. Another leaf appear earlier this week, and today…. 5 leaves! Yes, 5 leaves. My plant is on the road to recovery.
As you can easily tell, I’m the middle child, but that doesn’t matter. The plant is beginning to thrive. I have it gently tied to my old Jael tent peg from my old Halloween costume (a sharpened dow rod), and it’s starting to look really nice. It seems to like my window. The carpet is clean again too, and everything is going to be all right. So now, I will open my blog up for discussion… What should a name my plant? (Anastasia and Lazerus are already taken.)
(posts)
JoeyGirl Says:
September 28th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
George? No, Bob. Or Ethelbert. I’m always good with Ethelbert.
Oooo…maybe Ignacious.
Or because there are two of them, you could name yours and Mom’s, and one could be Dr. Jekyll and the other Mr. Hyde.
John (next door neighbor) suggests Nero, since he apparently came back to life, according to legend.
Or you could call it Phoenix…or Athena who sprang fully grown….
OH! The possibilities!!!
Susannelein Says:
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:32 am
Oooh, that was a great Halloween costume. How about naming the plant Jael in honor of it?
jen_archaic Says:
October 5th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
We have a winner! I think my plant will be called Jael. That’s great. Thanks, Susan. Kinda a softer, sweeter Jael, but Jael none-the-less. And now there are 9 leaves!
JoeyGirl Says:
October 6th, 2007 at 6:51 am
Hm. With the peg stuck into the plant, it could also be Siserea (or however you spell it). Then you could water it with milk just to complete the metaphor…
Randomly, when I got to your page, to see if you had blessed us with another posting, I thought you had, and I thought it’s title was “My Planet.”
I am very sleepy this morning. Nevertheless, it could be an interesting blog!
jen_archaic Says:
October 7th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Okay, so Jael likes milk. (She has had a little.) But she would prefer Sprite. I would call my plant Sisera, but she is a she…. I think.
Susannelein Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Yay! I hope that you and Jael are having a good October so far. I missed my annual Labor Day/fall break visit with you this year
Hope school is going well for you. Joan says hello!
jen_archaic Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Hey Susannelein!
I’ve missed you too! Thanks for my plant’s name. It’s awesome.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Arr!
Oops. I almost missed it. I was too busy wallowing in a bad mood to remember that today was International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Well, forget the bad day.
So avast, me maties! Shiver me timbers! ARR! Ho, ho, ho. Where’s me bottle of rum?
(Joanna, can I be King of the Pirates of Wednesday? It in no ways conflicts with any pretty, pretty princesses.)
(posts)
JoeyGirl Says:
September 21st, 2007 at 6:32 am
I’m good with that. The Pretty, Pretty Princess coalition is always looking for bad guys with inherently good hearts to encourage moral development and a sense of adventure in some of our younger members, so a King of Pirates of Wednesdays sounds like a great idea (We can’t let them go off and get soft…all Pretty, Pretty Princesses must keep up with rigorous physical training and kung fu. Otherwise, we can’t help when Prince Charming comes along, and that makes us all grumpy). I’ll make an official commendation and proclamation next Thursday! I’d do it before, but it wouldn’t do any good…
Love, your Pretty Pretty Princess of Thursdays.
JoeyGirl Says:
September 26th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Okay, so, I was going to wait until tomorrow to demand another blog entry, as would be my perogative as pretty, pretty princess of Thursdays. However, as I am currently also the Queen of Hearts of Wednesdays (a temporary position…I’m only filling in), I invoke my rights as queen to request a blog entry or I shall follow you around all day, twirling my long heart bespeckled tulle cape, waving my scepter topped with a foil covered heart, and yelling “Off with her head!!!”
I might even see if I can get a couple of those little card dudes to cause mishcief in the library or your house…
JoeyGirl Says:
September 27th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
You have forced my hand. I am now exercising my rights as pretty, pretty princess of Thursdays, throwing my proverbial princessy weight around, and pitching a princessy hissy fit until you write another blog. Or call me. I could handle a phone call. I’m really not picky…
So avast, me maties! Shiver me timbers! ARR! Ho, ho, ho. Where’s me bottle of rum?
(Joanna, can I be King of the Pirates of Wednesday? It in no ways conflicts with any pretty, pretty princesses.)
(posts)
JoeyGirl Says:
September 21st, 2007 at 6:32 am
I’m good with that. The Pretty, Pretty Princess coalition is always looking for bad guys with inherently good hearts to encourage moral development and a sense of adventure in some of our younger members, so a King of Pirates of Wednesdays sounds like a great idea (We can’t let them go off and get soft…all Pretty, Pretty Princesses must keep up with rigorous physical training and kung fu. Otherwise, we can’t help when Prince Charming comes along, and that makes us all grumpy). I’ll make an official commendation and proclamation next Thursday! I’d do it before, but it wouldn’t do any good…
Love, your Pretty Pretty Princess of Thursdays.
JoeyGirl Says:
September 26th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Okay, so, I was going to wait until tomorrow to demand another blog entry, as would be my perogative as pretty, pretty princess of Thursdays. However, as I am currently also the Queen of Hearts of Wednesdays (a temporary position…I’m only filling in), I invoke my rights as queen to request a blog entry or I shall follow you around all day, twirling my long heart bespeckled tulle cape, waving my scepter topped with a foil covered heart, and yelling “Off with her head!!!”
I might even see if I can get a couple of those little card dudes to cause mishcief in the library or your house…
JoeyGirl Says:
September 27th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
You have forced my hand. I am now exercising my rights as pretty, pretty princess of Thursdays, throwing my proverbial princessy weight around, and pitching a princessy hissy fit until you write another blog. Or call me. I could handle a phone call. I’m really not picky…
Thursday, September 13, 2007
A rose by any other of name….
Once I was in a discussion with a friend of mine. He suggested that there was a lot to peoples’ name, and that we should seek the calling that our name’s suggest. He had a name that was quite a calling: “gift of God” and “light unto the world.” That’s very honorable.
The conversation stuck with me, and another friend a few years back tried to find the meaning of my name. She arrived at “fair one,” “sparkling stream,” and “wise one.” “Wise one” was her translation for “Rempel,” and she spent hours trying to search for the meaning of that name. Rempel is not the most usual of names in the area. I was flattered with the answer, so thought no more about it. I want to be wise. I will be wise. Heck, maybe I am wise…..
Well, maybe not. Being the German descendent that I’m, I recently had a conversation with a German student in the department about my roots. She asked what my family name was, and when I told her she laughed. Why did she laugh? Don’t worry, I asked. She said that my name was a verb in German….just add an “n” to the end.
So, here’s a few definitions.
umkrempeln - to turn upside down
anrempeln - to jostle
aufkrempeln - to roll up
rempeln - to barge in
That’s about right. My family tends to rempeln where angels fear to trod. All of a sudden, it makes sense that when I’m nervous I burst into loud speach, or when I make up my minded, I charge into a situation and throw open a door. Perhaps, I’m not as wise as I thought, but I can always remember to “umkrempeln” and “change my ways.”
(Post)
big sis Says:
September 14th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Thank you Jen, you just made my week! How perfect could our birth family name be? We’ve been living up to our name and not even knowing it! I should have included the Rempel in Hannah and Hailey’s names because they sure inherited the tendency - go Hannah the Viking and Hailey the Hurricane! Love you muchly!
The conversation stuck with me, and another friend a few years back tried to find the meaning of my name. She arrived at “fair one,” “sparkling stream,” and “wise one.” “Wise one” was her translation for “Rempel,” and she spent hours trying to search for the meaning of that name. Rempel is not the most usual of names in the area. I was flattered with the answer, so thought no more about it. I want to be wise. I will be wise. Heck, maybe I am wise…..
Well, maybe not. Being the German descendent that I’m, I recently had a conversation with a German student in the department about my roots. She asked what my family name was, and when I told her she laughed. Why did she laugh? Don’t worry, I asked. She said that my name was a verb in German….just add an “n” to the end.
So, here’s a few definitions.
umkrempeln - to turn upside down
anrempeln - to jostle
aufkrempeln - to roll up
rempeln - to barge in
That’s about right. My family tends to rempeln where angels fear to trod. All of a sudden, it makes sense that when I’m nervous I burst into loud speach, or when I make up my minded, I charge into a situation and throw open a door. Perhaps, I’m not as wise as I thought, but I can always remember to “umkrempeln” and “change my ways.”
(Post)
big sis Says:
September 14th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Thank you Jen, you just made my week! How perfect could our birth family name be? We’ve been living up to our name and not even knowing it! I should have included the Rempel in Hannah and Hailey’s names because they sure inherited the tendency - go Hannah the Viking and Hailey the Hurricane! Love you muchly!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
I Like Norman
Today, I took a deep breathe and enjoyed my surroundings. It is terribly fun to people watch around OU.
Point One. There’s diversity. American Indians, African Americans, International Students galore, second generation immigrant students, Hispanic groups. Two girls of indeterminable ethnicity walked passed me today talking excitedly in Spanish, and I saw two other girls wearing head-coverings.
Point Two. Not everybody is rich. OU does have its share of SUVs and so forth, but even the sorority girls don’t wear Prada. They totally can’t even pull off those silly goalashes like the scary girls at my last school.
Point Three. The professors actually seem to like me. The work is good. Class work is good. Aerobics is good… Okay, I can barely move, and apparently, the ibuprofen isn’t working, but that probably means that is good too.
At this point, I need to thank God for all the great opportunities. It’s truly been good.
(post)
JoeyGirl Says:
September 7th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Yea!
Celebrate by walking around Campus Corner and visiting their quirky shops. Maybe duck into Hideaway for slice of bbq chicken pizza while you’re at it. And then head down Main Street to my favorite 7-11 in the world (the one with the old school fuel pumps) and grab the world’s best Pepsi Slushie.
And think of me. O:)
I’m so glad you like it there…I did, too (although you seem to like the school aspect of the town much more than I did…que sara.). I’m happy for you!
Point One. There’s diversity. American Indians, African Americans, International Students galore, second generation immigrant students, Hispanic groups. Two girls of indeterminable ethnicity walked passed me today talking excitedly in Spanish, and I saw two other girls wearing head-coverings.
Point Two. Not everybody is rich. OU does have its share of SUVs and so forth, but even the sorority girls don’t wear Prada. They totally can’t even pull off those silly goalashes like the scary girls at my last school.
Point Three. The professors actually seem to like me. The work is good. Class work is good. Aerobics is good… Okay, I can barely move, and apparently, the ibuprofen isn’t working, but that probably means that is good too.
At this point, I need to thank God for all the great opportunities. It’s truly been good.
(post)
JoeyGirl Says:
September 7th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Yea!
Celebrate by walking around Campus Corner and visiting their quirky shops. Maybe duck into Hideaway for slice of bbq chicken pizza while you’re at it. And then head down Main Street to my favorite 7-11 in the world (the one with the old school fuel pumps) and grab the world’s best Pepsi Slushie.
And think of me. O:)
I’m so glad you like it there…I did, too (although you seem to like the school aspect of the town much more than I did…que sara.). I’m happy for you!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Follow-up
Well, after some discussion with the sisters… I’m the new lead singer of the Three Weird Sisters. We’re all going to wear our hair like Emma Thomson’s character in the Harry Potter movies, and we’re going to have tattered robes with neon green and pink striped stockings with platform baby-doll shoes. This is disturbing…. Most disturbing of all is me as lead. But I was assured by the sisses that as the 3WSs that we would only screech at the top of lungs so vocal ability was not an issue. Plus they said that if I wanted to, I could resurrect my alto saxophone from its highschool graveyard.
In the meantime, I checked the 1950s bathroom on the fourth floor, and yes, it is still there. But the little, round, pink chairs have 4 legs, and not just three. However, I did get a weird look from a passing shelver who happened to see me just as I openned the door to peak in.
And in hopes of finding other portals to the unknown. I checked a woman’s bathroom in another part of the basement that had the promising room number of 42. Unfortunately, that bathroom was not too unusual, except for the old furniture and some standing water (from that flooding last week). Oh, it stank!
Well, that’s all for now. Until later…
(posts)
big sis Says:
September 4th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
It turns out that our homeschool playgroup is having a Halloween party at the Austin Children’s Museum on the 29th, and the parents are encouraged to dress up too! What are you doing that weekend Jen? Shall we make it our debut performance? We couldn’t ask for a more friendly crowd…. ; D! I think I have that pair of really awful glasses from when I was in 10th grade around here somewhere. I wonder what happened to my college graduation gown, the one I splatter painted for a Pine Cove costume…
On the novel front, I love Joanna’s suggestion for a protagonist, but who should our antagonist be? Maybe it should be the library itself and the plot revolve around multiple adventures in the different portals until the librarian solves the secret of …? Any suggestions? Could we make the womens bathroom 42 susceptible to the improbability drive? Please?
JIll
JoeyGirl Says:
September 5th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Or the library acting as an accomplict to its evil architect, out to force the world to read nothing but science textbooks and Milton? BOOO! BOOOOOO!
jen_archaic Says:
September 6th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Oooo. I love costume parties. I’m pretty sure I have at least one graduation robe still in my closet.
As for evil libraries, I like the OU library. It has a sense of humor. But maybe there could evil libraries too. Perhaps all libraries connect throughout time, so I can transport to Norman 1950 or Alexandria 350. And I also kinda like science textbooks, and Milton isn’t the end of the world. Wait. Maybe he is.
In the meantime, I checked the 1950s bathroom on the fourth floor, and yes, it is still there. But the little, round, pink chairs have 4 legs, and not just three. However, I did get a weird look from a passing shelver who happened to see me just as I openned the door to peak in.
And in hopes of finding other portals to the unknown. I checked a woman’s bathroom in another part of the basement that had the promising room number of 42. Unfortunately, that bathroom was not too unusual, except for the old furniture and some standing water (from that flooding last week). Oh, it stank!
Well, that’s all for now. Until later…
(posts)
big sis Says:
September 4th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
It turns out that our homeschool playgroup is having a Halloween party at the Austin Children’s Museum on the 29th, and the parents are encouraged to dress up too! What are you doing that weekend Jen? Shall we make it our debut performance? We couldn’t ask for a more friendly crowd…. ; D! I think I have that pair of really awful glasses from when I was in 10th grade around here somewhere. I wonder what happened to my college graduation gown, the one I splatter painted for a Pine Cove costume…
On the novel front, I love Joanna’s suggestion for a protagonist, but who should our antagonist be? Maybe it should be the library itself and the plot revolve around multiple adventures in the different portals until the librarian solves the secret of …? Any suggestions? Could we make the womens bathroom 42 susceptible to the improbability drive? Please?
JIll
JoeyGirl Says:
September 5th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Or the library acting as an accomplict to its evil architect, out to force the world to read nothing but science textbooks and Milton? BOOO! BOOOOOO!
jen_archaic Says:
September 6th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Oooo. I love costume parties. I’m pretty sure I have at least one graduation robe still in my closet.
As for evil libraries, I like the OU library. It has a sense of humor. But maybe there could evil libraries too. Perhaps all libraries connect throughout time, so I can transport to Norman 1950 or Alexandria 350. And I also kinda like science textbooks, and Milton isn’t the end of the world. Wait. Maybe he is.
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