Pink Pajamas, Penguins on the Bottom

This is what we sing to the "Lion King" song. I'm fairly certain the words are African. But it's much more fun to sing, pink pajamas, penguins on the bottom.

Go ahead, try it. 

It's catchy.

I am finding myself singing it more often these days since I was given a pair of pink pajamas for Christmas. 

I may have picked them out, ordered them and let Bill wrap them.

The point is they are pink.

They do not have penguins on the bottom. But my slippers are black and penguins are black, so I could think outside the box and say my slippers are my penguins. It's a stretch, but it works.

Back to the musical. I'm fond of it not only because it came out when I was in high school, but we also played the musical score my senior year in band. Then, I went with the band as an adult chaperone on their New York City trip. We went and saw the musical, on Broadway. 

It was amazing. Actually it was better than amazing. Words cannot describe sitting in the theater, a theater on Broadway, as the orchestra played the opening notes. Needless to say I had goosebumps and tears. Then you have this movie that was a cartoon turned into live-action, costumed theater as only Disney can do and, again, amazing. Wow. I think I sat there for the entire show with my mouth hanging open.

I don't know if it's still playing anywhere, if it is, go see it. It's worth every penny whether you saw the movie or not. You might want to have a small interest in music, since it is after all a musical.

And remember to hum along to Pink Pajamas, Penguins on the Bottom.

Detroit, Motor City

The designs that come out of that city are beautiful.

If you like cars. Or can at least appreciate them.

Since Bill and I met, fifteen years ago (!), we have been to the North American International Auto Show many times. At least half a dozen, which doesn't sound like much until I point out that we didn't live in the midwest for five years (since we've been married). And, actually, Bill has been every year except for those five.

There have been good years and there have been blah years. Cars that didn't impress, manufacturer's displays that were bland, technology that didn't wow or impress. 

But the years that have been good, are really, really good.

This year was a good year. A really, really, really good year.

I appreciate the small details and when it's a good year the displays are superb. Every last detail is thought through. From the floors of the displays, to the backdrops, to the style of the information booths. It's all there and it's all impressive.

This year, we parked on the roof of Cobo. That was a first for me. We got there early enough, and as you can see, it was a good day to park on the roof (this of course was a completely different picture when we left the show three hours later).

No, this is not a concept car. Well, not for the 2015 year. It was back in 1962. It's the Mustang I. Remember your history, remember where you came from. That's forward thinking from Ford (I'm being serious, not sarcastic when I say this).

The badge. How American is that?

This is a 1932 Lincoln KB Deitrich Coupe (part of the collection from the Gilmore Museum in Kalamazoo, a trip that we need to take soon). Another car company remembering their past (yes, they're a part of Ford, so there's probably a reason they are both remembering their history, it's still an important lesson). 

Those white walls are gorgeous!

Again, it's all in the details, like the signage.

It's a show room for each car manufacturer. While Bill drools over the cars, the performance, the size of the engine, liter, etc. I am impressed by the big picture. That all of these small details work together to make up this uber impressive show.

 I realize these signs aren't giving a great perspective. They are on the display walls, and are probably anywhere from two to three feet tall, at least.

And there's always the Corvette. What a machine.

 I appreciate the technology, the artistry, the design, and the love of and for cars that Detroit has maintained.

the lake house

I'm thankful for our friends Jenny and John. While Bill works at his office in St. Joseph, I get to stay at their lake house. We've done this a couple of times since last fall. It's a lovely retreat for me. They have a dishwasher! It's wonderful. The above photo was taken from their front porch (from inside, it was -8 degrees) this morning.

Today it was actually warmer in Grand Rapids then it was here. But we had sunshine, Grand Rapids did not (according to the news). 

I opened up the curtains to let light in. It was so nice to see the sun. Then when Bill got home from work he told me to bundle up, we were going outside.

We walked over to the lake because it was quite beautiful. Now, I almost brought my camera to the house, but since I had several other bags, a cooler, two grocery bags and my work bag, I decided I didn't need to lug my camera with me.

My phone worked well though. Here are a couple of shots of the lake. We have sat here a couple of times and watched the sun set. Today was not going to be one of those days.

Can you see the piles in the middle of the picture, down at the lake?

Those are piles of snow, drifted into snow dunes.

Here's a picture looking north. The lake is frozen as far as the eye can see. 

This is me. Bundled up. We came right back to the house and warmed up with a chili dinner.

Forecast: snow!

Snow!

Every year I wish, hope and pray that it will snow for my birthday.

This year was no different, except that by the time I got around to the wishing, hoping and praying it had already snowed.

It hasn't stopped.

Something said in yesterday's sermon caused me to pause. I gave thanks for the snow that everyone else is tired of.

Why did I give thanks for the snow?

Because it is light.

Snow is white and we all know that black is produced by the absence of light.

The sermon was, "The Light at the End of the Tunnel." And Pastor Tish mentioned a couple of times that we all hope that light is not coming from a train.

But like we hope that the light isn't from a train, we have hope in the light.

Snow is my light. I don't know why I like it so much. Bill would prefer if I liked desert landscapes instead.

But I don't.

I like the snow.

I don't ski, or snowboard.

I shovel and make snow angels.

And I enjoy the quiet that accompanies the snow.

Snow gives me hope for spring.

I wouldn't mind if it melted a little.

my super hero

I don't know how many posts I'll write about being grateful for Bill. In one year, it will probably be a lot. I've already given him props a few times and I'm about to again.

He helped me around the house today. It was small, simple things. Nothing worth shouting from the mountaintops, or throwing a ticker-tape parade. He ran the vacuum, he took out the trash, emptied the litter boxes, and he cleaned the bathroom. I didn't ask him to do the last chore. He took it upon himself to do that.

I was busy cooking and baking. We delivered dinner (and breakfast) to a family. The mom is an amazing woman. She is battling breast cancer. Both of her youth have gone through our youth groups. They are amazing kids.

Our church put out a call to deliver them dinner and I signed us up. Since we were at the Auto Show yesterday, in Detroit, I didn't have a chance to do much prep. I hurried home from church (hurry is sort of a joke, it hasn't stopped snowing… since November) and got to work.

Bill came home later; he had stayed for a chili cook-off between mission groups. His chili had the most compliments, but since the cook-off is rigged (in a very good-natured way), his mission -the youth, did not come in first place.

He had sat down to read. I asked if he could help me do one thing, run the vacuum. That's when he sprang into action doing all the above mentioned chores. As I was waiting to put the last batch of cookies in the oven, he asked if we would have time to run by the bank. We also needed two gallons of milk. Looking at the clock, I realized the best thing would be if he ran out while I baked the last of the cookies and finished washing the dishes. As I explained all that still needed to get done, he suggested he do the errands, and off he went.

He deserves a super-hero cape.