The Butter Churn and the Coffee Grinder

Brother Bart made it here for Bible Study.  It was mostly old ladies in wheel chairs.  We sang a few hymns and Antwenette our prayer warrior opened with a prayer.  Bart talked about three stories.  The first was called “Pardoned” the second was called “Cool as a Cucumber” and the third was called “The Butter Churn and the Coffee Grinder”.   The first story was about a man that was going to be hanged for stealing Federal mail in 1831.   The man refused the pardon, seemingly on the moral principle of it.  I propose a new beattitude.  "Blessed is the man who refuses a pardon.  For he shall go down to his grave with a clear conscience.    Cucumbers really are ten degrees cooler on the inside than they are on the outside.   Coffee grinders are only good if you've got good coffee beans to begin with.  You know, hand raised by Juan Valdez that are cultivated and nurtured with care and then properly cured for peak flavor.  You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, which is what the story would have you believe.   You don't take a process in God's tootelage that was meant for another person and try to apply it to yourself.    As to the butter churn, this is to explain the whippings and beatings some of us appear to get from God.  Maybe a little bit of whipping will give you whipped cream, if you put sugar and vanilla flavoring in it to make it taste good.  But this story indicates that too much whipping (from God) can be self-defeating.  In my oppinion. The study ran till about twenty after three.  (It got a late start)  I was the first to leave.  I went for a smoke and to watch the ABC network news.   We had a hot dog with all of the trimmings for dinner including coleslaw.  Then I got in line for seconds along with Patty, but the line wasn’t moving.  Then a lady with extra plates came and gave me a whole new plate so I got to the table ahead of Patty. 

At 6:03 already President Trump was in the Capitol building shaking hands.  He decided to be on time.  The speech itself lasted an hour and twenty minutes.  It began at six after six and went to about 7:26.  The speech would be a “ten” given the caviat that any of it is true.  I know a lot of things weren’t true, but the media pointed very few things out.  The one was that we’ve been in a steady economic recovery since mid 2009 but you’d think from listening to the president that we only had a good economy after he took office.  His administration has seen the lowest average unemployment of any presidential administration in history.  And in this he may be correct.  I don’t know about Calvin Coolege.  He got the loudest applause when he talked about deporting immigrants at the border and kicking people off food stamps and welfare.  He got quitter applause when he talked about how economically well the lower classes are doing now.  I don’t believe the increase in the lower fifty percent income salaries is greater than for the one percent.  He bragged about so much you lost track of it.  He had so many guests.  It was like a reality show, like an episode of Oprah Winfrey.  He had Rush Limbaugh on and mentioned his virtual death sentence with his lung cancer.  He gave him the medal of freedom award.  It took him a long time to get to Mideast affairs.  He ended his speech with some lofty lines.  He spoke of health care as though he were all for it.  He spoke of private school vouchers as a good thing and “failed government schools” as something children should seek to avoid.  The democratic response was weak.  It was already underway when I got back from my cigarette.  Coverage ended right at eight.  Then I had  KTLA on.  I guess it was an episode of the Flash.  It was one of these shows where they have multiple universes and there is massive death.   I started to doze off and roused at 9:07 and then went to bed.   Trump spoke of freedom of religion. . 

They broke in at two minutes to two to talk about the Iowa caucus results they had been having trouble with compiling.  It was a computer coding error in an application.  The results are that Budajudge came in first at 27% and Bernie Sanders was close behind at 25%.  Then there was Elizabeth Warren in at eighteen and Joe Biden coming in fourth at sixteen.  And finally we have Amy Clovichar in at thirteen percent, with 62% of the votes counted.   All Monday night I kept checking the TV stations to see is any votes were in and there weren’t.  The demise of Joe Biden is something I’m making note of.  Because I had thought of voting for Joe Biden but clearly the voters have indicated he isn’t as electable as we all thought.   [late note]   The democratic debate is tonight in New Hampshire with seven candidates.   Budajudge is still first by a small margin and Sanders is in at second in New Hampshire as well as Iowa.  Now we know who the chief leaders in the race are.  

.   Augustine came to the table and said he would finally get to our room this morning.   It wasn’t that much later after that that Augustine showed up in the room while I was out smoking and was actually fixing the closet pole.  He needed a new pole beause he said that the other one was too short.  After he finished he mentioned the bag of clothes.  I fished out a plaid jacket thing and also a tan short but I threw in the frayed tan long sleeped heavy shirt.  I told the housekeeper to take it today but she didn’t.  Augustine mentioned the emergence of bugs in the bed, but the housekeeper didn’t mention it.  I was afraid she would.  [slight break in sentence flow].  I was worried that I might have a dental appointment today but I waited till after nine when the dentist’s office was open and then I called Autumn and asked her if my authorization had come through.  She said that it would be another two weeks.  They have been running a day ahead of schedule in their cleaning schedule.  Our housekeeper showed up about 9:25 and said right off that she’d be taking a break.  I came back later and she was still in the room so I went and sat in the big room.   Our black and white kitty has been having sex repeatedly with that ugly brown cat.  At one point Augustine ran them both off with a broom handle when they were copulating in the fenced in area.  Now the kitty will be history because they won’t allow a kitten litter around here.  We know that from experience.  I returned a little before lunch and he housekeeper put a thin bedspread on my bed.  I checked and the blanket is also thinner.  That’s what I need the blue blanket for.