Little House On The Schoolyard

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way."  2 Thessalonians 3:16


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For years I've meant to show you something.

Here it is, on the back route to our movie theater. The Little House On The Schoolyard --

(From the other side of the street, this all looks odder.)

It's the only house on this side of two long blocks, in fact, another school, an older one, is at the left, across the street. (Can you imagine the congestion during mornings and afternoons?!)

Always as we drive past, this makes me smile. 

Why? Because--every time--I picture city men in suits, in 2006, stepping up to the door, then telling the owners, "Now, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We've mailed you many notices that a school is being built here. We've offered you a generous amount of money to move. Your neighbors are moving. What's the hold up?"

Which makes the couple scowl, and the husband growl, "We built this house and we're staying! I carried my wife over this threshold and we raised our children here. No one's forcing us off our land. Get it straight--We're. Not. Moving."

And of course, part of me admires anyone willing to go against The Man. It takes guts to do that, guts which, most days, I don't have.

Another part of me wonders what Tom and I would've done in that leave-your-house! situation. Knowing us, we'd, most likely, have snatched up the stipend and eagerly called the moving van. A new adventure in a blank-slate home--whoopee!

But of course, many people would've fought.

Many folks go all rabid-loyal about their homes, declaring, "You'll have to carry me out feet first!". And I understand that--I do. But, seriously, I can't imagine feeling that way, myself, in this temporary world. 

Yet one thing I know for certain. I must always ask God first how He feels. Why? Because if I do the opposite of that, my peace phhht! Floats away. And what a horrible thing to live without peace. 

What I've seen? If, in this case, God nudged us to move--and we did--we'd have peace in the new home place. And if He asked us to stay, we'd have peace there, too. Yes, and even much grace, as well, while living in a little house on the schoolyard.

But here's my confession: I'd really be hoping God wanted  us to move away someplace else.  😃

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Speaking of houses, oooooo.... Here's a mansion which was abandoned 50 years ago with its possessions left behind.

Which--in a way--reminds me of one estate sale Tom and I attended in a lovely colonial home. All of the beautiful possessions were still there! Clothes, dishes, shoes, furniture, cosmetics, books, paintings. Each room, including the two children's bedrooms, looked as though the family had simply walked away one night.

Eerie, really. But oh, other than that, this was the house of my dreams (down to the choice of wallpaper and paint) and I walked up the stairs, and down, as though inside a dream.

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Tom and Debra's Big Night Out 2017

Read here long? Then you know that Tom and Debra, normally, get one big night out a year. This time ours was Saturday.

Tom's company's holiday party was held in the lovely Delaware Park area of Buffalo where the neighborhoods turn you envy-green --

 Well, the party was pleasant, held in what reminded me of an old-fashioned pub, though the roaming violin quartet playing in my ears (literally) and the loud talk and high-decibel laughter did, at times, squeeze the will to live from me.  But other than that, we had fun.

But you know where we'd, earlier, gone to make good our reservation for overnight? The Buffalo Asylum for the Insane. Seriously.

Though now it's called Hotel Henry and mega millions of dollars have been poured into its restoration for its many uses for Buffalo tourists and townsfolk.

We parked here, at the back --

And this place was so huge that every time we left our room, we got lost! No big deal except just to get to the elevator we had to walk down this l-o-n-g hall and my new, pretty shoes hurt my poor feet like crazy. 

And yet, even after all the refurbishment of this asylum--still--you could almost feel folks from 100+ years ago ambling along beside you. (Or perhaps what I felt was all of you, my readers, for really, I bring you with me wherever I go.)

Our room's ceiling must have been 20 feet high and wow, the tall windows!

(My poor ol' aqua breakfast robe looked horrible and Daniel-snagged in this room.  I came home and ordered a robe online.)

We left early Sunday morning for I needed to give Sammy The Cat his thyroid pill and I snapped this photo as we left --

Very cool seeing all the lights. Beside this, though, is a section which is still abandoned and in the darkness looked eerie --

Anyway, how wonderful that they didn't simply raze this entire place (and put up a parking lot, as Joni sang) just because much of it looked like this --

One of the best things about Buffalo? They're never quick to implode history. They don't simply acquiesce to that just-give-up spirit. If it's possible to keep something alive, they will--and it shows. 

All over town it shows.




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If you'd like to read about the history of this enormous old asylum, you can go here (tons of old, old photos there) and here. 


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Oh, and after giving Sammy his pill, Tom and I went out for breakfast at a nearby place with just the right vintage mood then to an estate sale where I found these small Cherry Jeffe Huldah paintings for my collection, only $1 each.

Alhough, oh dear. The estate sale house totally stole my heart-- a 1940's 3 bedroom ranch where obvious kindred spirits had lived-----closets and pantries and wallpapered-bedrooms, oh my!

As for our entire weekend? Though it was wonderful to venture out into the big world, it feels awfully nice to be home within the quiet and simplicity.  💛


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Why Rudolph's World Scares Me

It just isn't the Christmas season in my blog unless I re-share this post from 2006. I need reminding of stuff like this. 

(And I'm not just talking Rudolph's World, either.)


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Does anyone else see this?


The movie, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer bothers me. My kitchen radio plays this song and I roll my eyes and frown.

I mean, think about it. Here's this adorably-cute reindeer who was born with a bright, red nose. As if he could help it! And suddenly he grows up, goes to reindeer school and gets ridiculed (dare I say bullied?) by his intolerant, bratty little schoolmates just because his bright, cherry-red nose isn't small, dark and boring like everyone else's.

And because of that one (tiny) difference, he's scorned. The majority don't take the time to discover that, really, Rudolph is a darn nice kid, uh, reindeer. He loves his parents, he's sweet and just wants to be accepted like the other deer at reindeer school. 

But no, that's asking too much. Even his teachers laugh at him (shame on them!).

But then, poof! Suddenly, Christmas Eve rolls in all foggy-like and since Santa can't see to drive his sleigh, Christmas is nearly cancelled. But then someone remembers that goofy little kid, Rudolph, the one with the red lantern nose, and Rudolph is whisked to the head of the reindeer pack. Christmas is saved, thanks to that odd reindeer who, just the previous week, was considered a royal loser.

Oh but now--now!--Rudolph is a hero. And then how the reindeer 'loved him' (if that's love, I'll take spaghetti). They even shouted-out with glee, because of course, now, Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer is going down in history.

But only after he proved himself a useful member of society. Only after his 'disability' saved Christmas for all of mankind. Only after Rudolph became a valuable asset, a famous reindeer and a credit to his family and the entire world at large.

Give me a break.

Right there is the kind of stuff which is stressing us out and making us appreciation-hungry nuts. The fact is, Rudolph was valuable before that foggy Christmas Eve. He was a creation of God, a son, a friend, a member of woodland society and just a sweet little deer. And here is the truth:




Today God would have sent Jesus to die for you, even if you were the only person on Earth.

Today God loves you just as you are, famous or unknown. For you are not unknown to Him.

Today, even if you overcame all your weaknesses, God wouldn't love you any better than He does right this minute.

Today, if Jesus dwells in your heart, God is thrilled that you are His child. He'd never trade you for all the perfect, got-it-all together, famous, Christmas-saving people in the whole World.

Really.

And I hope you'll remember that.

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"It’s important to know not only who you are, but who you’re not. If you don’t know this, you’ll spend your life trying to be something that you’re not. When you go through life trying to be something you’re not, you’ll be frustrated. There’s no grace; it’s uphill, always a struggle. Don’t compete, don’t compare; be you."   --- Joel Osteen

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Oh, and after my last post, it was said that sometimes we must push back. And yes! God does ask us to do that sometimes. But He wouldn't have us do it with sarcasm and snarkiness which only makes people mad and dig their heels in tighter. 

At least, that's what I believe.


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