What IS Normal, Anyway?

I once heard that "normal" is only a setting on a dryer--not on humans, and I'm beginning to believe that! None of us are untouched by trials or get through life without pain of some kind. Suffering is merely one side of a coin, we each get to experience the other side of the coin as well, if we so choose--peace and contentment.

And really, if you think about it, there's no such thing as a family that ISN'T dysfunctional in some way! Some just know how to function better with the dysfunction than others.

No matter how "normal" I try to act, I realize that I am NOT normal when it comes to my health. Someone called it "handicapable" rather than "handicapped." I don't care what you call it, but it is inconvenient! Today I tried going to the post office. A rather "normal" task, right? Wrong! I had three crates of pre-stamped packages to drop off. I got the bright idea of taking my briefcase roller bag, thinking I could put one crate on TOP of the case, and use the rollers as a way to get the crate inside, allowing my other hand to hold the cane.

Since I thought I was closer to "normal" I had let my temporary handicapped parking placard expire and so I couldn't park in the handicapped parking spot. But I needed that ramp to roll the crate up to the sidewalk. So, I parked on the other side of the parking lot and had to roll the crate across the uneven surface where the cars drive through, to get to the building. Of course in the middle of the busiest spot the wheel caught a bump and the entire crate toppled over, spilling the precious cargo all around my feet. Cars had to stop because of this crazy woman in the middle of the drive, with scattered white padded packing envelopes surrounding me like spilt milk. I dropped my cane to the ground and picked up the packages, placing them back in the crate, and thought I'd try once again to make it to the door, but the roller bag crumpled under the weight.

A Good Samaritan witnessed my plight and came over to carry my crate to the counter for me. What a gentleman! And the postmaster watched my crazy stunt, so when I confessed I still had two more crates of packages to bring in, he loaned me a hand-truck to use. So, I rolled it and the busted roller bag back out to the car, and again worked diligently to position the crate on the cart to roll inside. I forgot to mention there was police tape cordoning off the largest portion of the sidewalk in front of the post office due to the glass getting shot out this week, so I had to go the LONG way to get to the door. No shortcuts in life, right?!

So, each time I made it to the door, more Good Samaritans opened the door for me so I could make it inside. What a sight I must have been, me with my cane in one hand, the cart toting these crates in the other hand, and sweat pouring off the back of my neck.

All of that because I didn't want to admit I'm "challenged" and ask my husband or someone else to drop off these crates at the post office!

Maybe I need to readjust my thinking about my normal status after all!

Kathy Carlton Willis (copyright 2009)

SEATTLE: Personality

Some of the things I wanted to share about our Seattle vacation regard the personality and style of the town. It's like no other town I've been in: liberal politics, alternative lifestyles of every sort, eco-friendly, natural, multi-ethnic, vibrant, colorful, energetic, eccentric, etc.

Clothing styles like I've seen nowhere else in my travels--as ecclectic as the personalities, mixing function, message, and style. Women of all ages and shapes wore leggings under dresses or long shirts or under shorts. You name it, they had on leggings. Some with high heels to rival the space needle, others with tennis shoes that advertised a walking to work pedestrian. If not leggings, the skinny jean.

More dreadlocks, less deodorant. More walking, less driving. More coffee, less tea. More languages, less litter. More fresh, less canned. More entertainment choices, less church buildings. More Smart Cars, less SUVs.

The weather alone made me happy. The view...happier still.

And for this public relations gal, the palpable BUZZ was thrilling. Maybe it was all that collective coffee drinking (me withstanding).

Here are some photos to tell the tale of Seattle moods:

SEATTLE: Day One, Part Two

So, I realize that there's no way I can write about all the thrilling things we did in Seattle in the detail I'd like to give. I'm going through a type of "boot camp" physical therapy right now and so I'm not exactly riddled with extra time and mental focus after giving my clients first dibs to my brain and creativity. So, I'll have to do the Seattle: Condensed Version report.

The rest of Day One consisted of:

Eating at FareStart (a restaurant where they train jobless, often homeless individuals to learn the various jobs associated with running a 4-star restaurant).


Unfortunately, I had some sort of bug, and so I didn't get to enjoy my meal much. Russ had a BLT w/Haddock.

After resting a bit at the hotel, we walked down to my first peak of Pike's Market. It is amazing. I could go there every day! If I lived in Seattle, I would rarely buy food in a grocery store. Can you imagine cooking with fresh ingredients every day. WOWZER! And this market has a little of everything. We went almost every day of our trip--so I'll share photos throughout the blog posts. Here's a start:





Then, we ate at a French restaurant called the Maximilien at the market. By this time I was hungry and opened with the best French Onion Soup I've ever eaten, then enjoyed the best filet mignon, with gourmet mashed potatoes and veggies and bread with the BEST butter. If we had dessert, I can't remember. The other great part of the meal was the view of the water from our table. And the waiter was French--his accent added to the ambiance of the entire experience!

SEATTLE: Day One, Part One

Waking up in Seattle is a vacation if nothing else happened all day. The view. The air. The weather. Did I mention the view?

Russ found a variety drug store across the street from our hotel while I was stirring, and picked up a Diet Pepsi Max for me and some packaged pastries. Starbucks Coffee in the room. We didn't want to load up too much since we had such a big day planned.

First off, we took the monorail to the Seattle Center to pick take the tour via land and sea on the WW2 Ducks Amphibious Landing Craft. Or Ducks for short. This was one of our favorite activities of the vacation, because the tour guide understood our kind of crazy. He gave us a great tour of the sites, but we also got to sing and interact and just be goofy.

It was during one of these goofy songs (I think it was YMCA, complete with arm motions), that an elderly pedestri-woman shook her head at us in disdain and asked us, "What in the WORLD do you think you're doing?" All the while scolding us with her pointed finger.

Oh well...I guess what sounds like fun to some people sounds like noise pollution to others!



One of the best parts of the tour was when we drove from the road, right into the water and toured the water's edge of Seattle. There are some parts of the town best viewed from the water.

And then, there's the water.

Sun rays warming the face. Moist air cooling the flushed skin. Slight waves rocking the boat. Nature alone is enough.

But there's more. Float planes. House boats. Floating homes (we learned the difference!) Fancy yachts. War vessels. Deadliest Catch ships.

We learned to be able to spot our hotel in the skyline of every tour, of every walkabout.

The tour guide showed us the home of Sleepless in Seattle.

Just so much. Before noon on Day One!

Back on land, almost sad to know we were headed back to headquarters.

Oh...and every time we drove by a Starbucks Coffee (almost every corner), we were coached to shout out "cha ching!" Fun, funny, and so true!

I highly recommend this tour, and suggest you do it early in your vacation so you can get oriented on the Seattle basics. A must do!

SEATTLE: Travel Day

Over the next few days I'm going to write about some of the highlights and insights of our recent vacation to Seattle. Russ and I have traveled many places, but never to the northwestern part of our country, so this was a real treat. We have been planning this trip for over a year now. It was originally scheduled for last August, but a series of events put our trip on hold. So, let's begin!

We flew out of Harlingen, TX around 5 PM Central Time, with a brief layover in Houston. No real time to get a meal there, and we weren't really hungry. But we often experienced the pit-of-the-stomach hunger while flying due to in-air snacks limited to nuts and soft drinks. Risking it, we boarded essentially foodless (a few cookies stashed, just in case). So we were pleasantly surprised when their "snack" consisted of a delicious cheeseburger and fresh green salad, and a chocolate bar for dessert.

We landed in Seattle around 10 PM Pacific Time, after being in the air about five-and-a-half hours total. One thing we realized is the older you get, the smaller and less comfortable those seats in the plane become. So, we walked off the plane a little bit like Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein!

The buses were about to close, and didn't sound all that special to take anyway, with our baggage and my wheelchair. We planned to take a taxi, but when we hailed one, he refused to take us due to my wheelchair, even though we showed him it folds up easily for stowing. He said he could call a van for us from the same taxi line, but it could take a while.



This limo driver kept bugging us to ride with him. Finally he quoted us a price just $13 more than the absent van, and after that long on a plane and desiring to get to our room, we succumbed. So this was our first ever limo ride.



The driver decided to be our first Seattle tour guide as well, so there was no glass window between us and the front to provide privacy for our ride to the hotel. That's okay, it was enjoyable to get a sneak peak at what we had in store for us over the next 8 days. And the city was beautiful at night!



We arrived at the Westin, greeted by the valet. That is the last real memory I have of the night. I know we went to the registration desk. We struggled with our luggage up to the 39th floor. We performed the perfunctory oohs and ahs much like a fireworks display when we viewed our room as well as the room's view. But truthfully, that last 15 minutes felt like sleepwalking as if living out a dream sequence compared to the vivid memories of the days that followed.

We sunk into what Westin calls their "heavenly bed" and "lights out."

RECIPE: Quick Brown Rice Casserole

Okay, I invented this recipe last night when I didn't have the ingredients for a traditional rice pilaf, and didn't have all the ingredients for a baked brown rice.

serves 4-6

1 boil-in-bag Brown Rice (quick rice that cooks in 10 minutes)-cooked
(Brown rice is healthier and has a nice nutty taste perfect for this recipe)

Mix with:
1 small can mushroom stems 'n pieces
1/2 cup or so of frozen seasoning mix (I think its onions, peppers, celery, parsley)
1 tsp. butter
little shake of poultry seasoning, and garlic pepper seasoning, and sea salt
1 egg

Bake for 375 in a convection oven for 10 minutes. Or 375 in regular oven for 15 minutes.

Remove and add about 1/2 cup of grated reduced fat Mexican blend cheese-stir. Pat down with back of spoon. Then sprinkle about 1/3 cup of sliced almonds on top.

Go back in the 375 convection oven for about 5-10 more minutes.

It's all ready in just 30 minutes--most steamed brown rice takes 50 minutes so this is a good time saver, boosts up the taste AND the nutritional values.

YUM!

RECIPE: Spaghetti Sauce

I made a pretty awesome spaghetti sauce last night, if I do say so myself. I made it with just ingredients I had on hand.

This is a small batch since there are just 2 of us. I think it feeds 4.

1 15 oz. can tomato puree
1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
Italian Seasoning, crushed up in my hands first
Minced garlic
diced fresh mushrooms
Salt

Cook in large saucepan.

In a saute pan, brown ground beef (I used less than a pound) and towards the end, add chopped onion salt and pepper and cook until onions are transparent. Drain and add to the saucepan. Ten minutes before serving, add a splash of red wine vinegar and a packed tablespoon of brown sugar and let it cook in before serving over your pasta of choice.

Dedicatory Reading

Last July, Hurricane Dolly desecrated our place of worship, leaving our sanctuary in ruins. For the past nine months a rebirth of sorts has transformed the rubble into the awe-inspiring sanctuary we have today. In a previous post below are some photos.

Sunday was our dedication service. Part of the program was a responsive reading we all took part in, to commit together to use this building for God's service and for His glory. I wanted to save it here for us all to reflect on in days to come:

Congregational Dedication:

LEADER: Because we have purposed in our hearts to rebuild a sanctuary to the worship of the true and living God, and to the service of Jesus Christ our Lord, I call upon the congregation to stand for the holy act of dedication. To the glory of God the Father; to the honor of Jesus Christ
the Son; to the praise of the Holy Spirit¬–”

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House.

LEADER: Knowing there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved–

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House to the bringing of the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ to the unconverted.

LEADER: In obedience to the explicit command of Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature–

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House to the mission of world evangelization with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

LEADER: Realizing the obligation to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord–

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House to the sanctity of the home and the hallowing of family life; to the religious nurture and education of children, youth, and adults; to the grace of Christian character and the warmth of Christian fellowship.

LEADER: In obedience to the command of Christ to love our neighbor as ourselves–

CONGREGATION: We dedicate this House to the communion of the saints, to the refuge of weary restless souls, to the peace and hope of the oppressed, to the comfort of those that mourn, and to the happiness of all those of like precious faith.

LEADER & CONGREGATION: We, the members and friends of First Baptist Church, deeply grateful for the heritage that has been entrusted to us, and keenly conscious of those ties by which we are bound to the Lord of all life, and to each other, do covenant together in this act of dedication, offering ourselves anew to the work and worship of our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Photos of Our Newly Restored Sanctuary

Thanks to Sophia Trevino and Antonio Lovera for these photos:

Channel 4 Covers Our Return to Sanctuary after Dolly

Channel 4 News did a report of our Easter Service back in the sanctuary that was ransacked by Hurricane Dolly 9 months ago. We still have plenty of finishing touches, but this was a nice story.

Video is here after commercial:
CLICK HERE


Article on their site is here:
CLICK HERE

And photos of the before and after are posted here:
CLICK HERE

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