Looking For a House!

 OMG, it's been almost a full week since I last blogged - - but, just so you know, it hasn't been all that long since I talked to people and really, that's what matters. I know the title of the blog is "Jude's Almost Daily Blog", but there are just some times (years) I don't write that much online. I mean, its shouldn't be that way. I should keep anyone and everyone in the loop, right? I think I have 55 follows!! Two of you may actually care what's happening, and I think you deserve to know.  Thank you for sticking with me in the thick and in the thin of it. I truly do value anyone who takes the time to read my rantings.

    As the title says, I'm looking for a new house!  I've actually not purchased a house since 1997.  I've been in real estate hell a couple of times. I've tried to buy and couldn't. I've tried to buy and was successful until the boss thought I needed to part ways with the company. That never fares well with the lenders.  I've purchased horses, cars, and other expensive things in the past couple of decades, but not a house. I've been living in a rented apartment most of my adult life because I really don't do lawns. I am not a gardener, I am not going to plant a bunch of flowers and keep them going. I will repair the fences only because I don't want my dogs to escape.  When it comes to yard work there just isn't anything interesting about it to me, so I just don't put myself in that situation. 

    When we lived in Indiana I leased a house with land, 25 acres of land, and we were lucky enough to have enough livestock to keep it trimmed enough to remain in good standing with the city council.  It's amazing what one goat will do to a front garden! The goat was more upset that I wasn't into plants; but he got over it. When it comes to owning a house I think I would rather actually own a condominium so that I'm not doing anything whatsoever outside other than going to the mailbox to pick up my junk mail and petting a stray animal who will soon join the flock.  Maybe you're shaking your head thinking it's fun to dig in the dirt and mow the grass - - good on you! I don't mind making mud pies or throwing horse manure at you, but I don't want to worry about whether or not I need to pluck this or that weed and/or should I think about whether the sprinkler needs to be out overnight. God can decide if the grass needs to be watered. 

    Keeping in mind that I'm looking for a permanent place to roost, it should be noted that I have decided to live in America for the time being, and give up my hopes of retiring in Scotland. One, I'm not retiring, and two, with the way things are going I could be with this company for the long haul (or until Jesus returns) and if they keep their word about me being able to work from anywhere I suppose I could consider splitting my time between just outside Edinburgh and Oklahoma.  I may, I may not. I have a while to consider it. For now, I'm thinking I'll end up in the Greater Oklahoma City Metropolitan area somewhere; probably closer to the University of Oklahoma rather than the University of Central Oklahoma - - if I had to be honest. I love both schools, but yeah, Sooner born. I was (sadly) not Sooner bred. The parents were up in Denver at the time of my conception; God, I'm so happy they moved here!

    For me, and not, not everyone else, a house with only two bedrooms is sufficient. I'm more of a cave-dog than a big-house type. Like I said, a condo would be just fine. I need two bedrooms and one bath, one kitchen, one living area. I don't really need a dining area, so it should not be hard to find a place with a good price. I'm so not picky, if the place needed a few fixes that would be OK too. I'm going to have to insist on a good toilet, a deep bathtub and washer and dryer hook ups, but that's about all I really need. I mean, most houses here have central heating and air, so that's a given. I'd love a storm shelter or basement. The average house in the area I'm looking at now is higher than it was a year ago. It's about $135,000.00 for a 1150 square foot home with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, and with a one car garage.  In Oklahoma we pay down 3.5% and the interest rate is what it is, but the average payment will be about $725-740.00. I can do that. Craig will be happy wherever we end up, I'm sure.

    I'm so freaking spoiled, I will buy the warranty of course, and any extensions they can offer on the existing appliances and central air system. I would melt if I had to sit in front of a window unit all day. Not sure how my grandparents even survived, but they did. I'm proof of that I suppose.  For the most part I'll be creating a new space just for myself, my animals, and of course Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. They travel with me wherever I go. I'm thinking Mr. Remington may have to make an appearance as well, I'm actually much more confident with a long gun than I am a pistol. I'm really good with the dogs and cats! I'll just throw one or two at the bad guy and head for the next exit if I need to.  The only thing I may actually worry about is that if I live by myself I may not remind myself to blow out my candles. I should practice that now. Laura won't be there to do that. She may still text me to remind me. I can ask her to do that. It's the least she can do for her mom.

    I'll keep you posted as time goes by.  I have to save for the down payment and the closing, but if we can talk the sellers into taking more of a purchase price in lieu of me paying for the closing, I could be looking at a June closing! That makes me happy!  I won't post my address of course, but I don't mind saying in what general vicinity I've landed - - I think I'll probably be close enough to walk to Campus Corner if I was dead honest about it. The prices are great in Norman Town and you can smell and taste victory around every corner! No joke, most people wear the same colors nearly every day, and no one ever gets tired of seeing it - - nope! Boomer Sooner!

Photo Credit: Unknown (Pinterest)

Naked Bearded Man Has a Name!

 He has been given a name.  For over 30 years I have been pretend "married" to a fictitious man (albeit very sexy and handsome, around 50 I think, but ageless really) whom I never actually got around to naming. I mean, I figured his fictitious mum would have named him, but he really never speaks of her and when he does he's speaking in his native tongue of Scots Gaelic; I really can't understand much of what he says. He smiles a lot, and that's good enough.  Naked Bearded Man, or NBM, has been in my dreams, in my mind, in my heart and in my writings for so long now that whenever anyone asks me who I'm in love with I usually say "My husband" because when I say "Naked Bearded Man" it tends to cause a little confusion. 

    Really, who I am in love with, or whether I am in love at all, is no one's damn business. I can be absolutely head over heels with someone and the only people who would really know are my three closest friends, my kids, my dog, and maybe those who read my blogs. I do tend to let most of my secrets out of the bag and into the Blogdom that is Jude's Almost Daily Blog. Today, and it really was just today, I have decided to give the man I've shared my bed with for the past 30 years a real name. Funny story, I was actually married 25 years ago, so for about five of the last years I was married the bed was a bit crowded with NBM being placed quite nicely between myself and my then husband. To say I preferred an imaginary friend is rather revealing; wouldn't you agree?  Our relationship has lasted the test of time; the actual husband, not so much. 

    When I first conjured the man I wasn't sure what to do with him. I talked to him, took him with me on those long walks you take to get away from life. I held his hand. He remained silent for the most part, and just listened to my every complaint. He was there, just being there, and he was smiling. If he has done anything well, it is that he smiled throughout these many many years of our knowing one another. I don't smile anywhere near as often as he does. (Just so you know, his teeth are a little spaced; they're not perfect. There's even a chip on one of his bottom front teeth, but I've never asked him about it. I may do that.)  His mouth is hidden in his whiskers and when he even slightly moves it I am melted. He holds a very strong grip and yet, he is tenderhearted, easy going, and always a gentle soul.

    I needed to ask him questions, but I wasn't sure if I could accept his answers if they disagreed with my own. I gave him the language of my ancestors. He could say anything and I would fall deeper in love with him; the Scottish brogue is an amazing lullaby in an of itself. I'm actually learning the language now through an online program just so I can understand the man when he whispers to me at night; don't judge me. He's quite beautiful and he has not really aged that much come to think of it. I think he has a bit of grey showing in the beard these days.  The fact that he is naked most of the time could be why I called him Naked Bearded Man for all these years, but giving him a good look over this morning, I can tell you, he hasn't aged much anywhere on his firm strong and ever so muscled body. He has needed to buy a larger kilt. I'll say that. He has become a bit rounded as time has passed. 

    Today I decided that enough was enough. He has been my go to, my best friend of the evening. He is never far from my side, always willing to carry on a conversation or just listen to me as I rant about the goings and comings of the day. He has never once asked me to name him. He has never once asked me to call him by his name. As I said earlier, I'm sure he has one, but I don't know it if he does. I created him to be my friend and sound board; over time he has become my invisible journal.  I tell him everything and I think about what he would actually say to me if he were actually visual. He needs a name. I want to call him something other than "NBM" or my husband. 

    I thought about putting several folded up pieces of paper into a hat and literally drawing out a first and last name, but then again, he would need a middle name  too.  I didn't want to leave his name, which is something so dear and so intricate a part of who he is, up to chance. I looked at him. I held his hands and I stared into his deep grey eyes; eyes that both send me to the heavens and call me back to Earth.  I asked him to whisper to me and to tell me what I should call him.  He returned my stare with those amazingly soft and subtle eyes of his and so barely opened his mouth and said "My  name is Craig Allan MacKenzie. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."  I nearly died. What a perfect name for such a genuinely perfect man. He even said it in a clear enough tone that I fully understood him. That was a plus. He's been so patient.

    So there you have it. Craig Allan MacKenzie was a Highlander who was born sometime after 1250 and fought with the Scots before Bruce and Wallace.  He's never told me exactly how it is that he's living now and in my time, but I suspect that it has something to do with a glitch in the system. He has had many opportunities to leave me, to return to the wilderness somewhat north of Ayr, Scotland, but he has always been so very content to keep me company.  I am absolutely grateful for his worthy companionship. I honestly don't know what I would have done many many times if he hadn't been there to calm me down and to assure me that the world is never what we think it is. It's so much grander on the other side. We'll find out some day I'm sure.  Until that day, Craig and I have things to talk about.  After 30+ years we are still very much together and really, it's been nice to not have to worry about sharing my life with anyone else. I'm good.

    Bha thu ann nuair a bha feum agam ort, agus tha thu air fuireach còmhla rium, fìor charaid.Tha gràdh agam ort.

Something like this - - something very very close to this. 

Cheeky? Maybe.

 When people (and by "people" he knows who I'm talking about) decided to block other people...well, me, actually, they only detour the inevitable. Shall we play a game? I may not be the techiest person on the planet, God knows I am not, but I can wheel my way around making new and creative websites, users, etc., so that I may continue to observe when and who I damn well feel like observing.  I think the term is "Watch me!"  I love a good challenge and as I grow older, oh yes, say it, so very very old, I have become keenly aware of the experiences that I have yet to master. No worries. Until Jesus returns I have plenty of internet time. 

    I remember being around five or six years old; I know I couldn't fully read yet, but I was in school and it was hot outside, so that could have been November (if we're honest). I live in Oklahoma, always have really, for the most part, so the fact that it was hot outside only means it wasn't January or February. I was about five I suppose, long legged, and apt to go just about anywhere my feet would take me. I didn't own a bike of my own, so getting around took a bit of effort on my part.  I climbed over a wired fence. It was barbed wired, and it had a big orange diamond-shaped sign with words painted right in the middle of the sign. The sign was nailed of course, to the posts that had the wires wrapped around them. I guess I could have crawled under the wires too, but I didn't. At five I couldn't have weighed much, and the orange sign gave me some good leverage as I hoisted myself right up over the fence.  The sign, by the way, was placed there by the government. I found out later it bore the words "No Trespassing"

    Later that afternoon I found a big bone sticking out of the ground. I thought it must be a horse bone or something, so I used an old tree branch to dig it out of the ground. I took that bone right back home with me and showed it to my mom. Her face lit up all sorts of colors and my tail end would have ended up many shades of red had I not negotiated with my mother over the intel I had regarding the bone and where it came from. I flat told her if she whooped me I wouldn't tell her anything. She knew me. She knew I was stubborn and serious about not talking if I set my mind to it. I could take a paddling, but if I decide to shut my mouth nothing is going to get me talking - - except maybe Grandpa.

    She kept her promise and she didn't spank me.  I told her and I even showed her where I found the bone. That's when she read the sign to me and told me what it meant. That was all a bunch of nonsense as far as this girl was concerned. Trespassing, as far as she described it meant being somewhere that you didn't have a right to be. Who tells kids they can't be in fields, creek beds, tree orchards or such? That's not right.  I promised her I wouldn't climb over the fence again. I didn't promise her I wouldn't go back to where the bone was found. I just crawled under the wires from then on and no one was the wiser. I didn't dig up anymore bones; which by the way, that one was a thigh bone of a Native American who had possibly been buried there over a 100 years beforehand.  Mom had to turn it over to the police and they had a talk with me about that word again. Trespassing.  Whatever.

    I think my point is that I've always been one to do what I want to do. I really can't see why I shouldn't be allowed to do so if I'm not hurting anyone. That's why I became an investigator. I have a license now to go places others can't go. I have a license to sneak in and observe if I want to, or I can walk through the door. If the door is locked I can get in another way. Let me say that in INSTAGRAM terms; if you block me, I will go through another door. I'm not the best at it, but I am consistent. I'm also persistent, and I'm rather insistent as well. Some say I'm "uncomfortable" and/or "cheeky". I could be. But there is a reason behind the perseverance. If I don't know what I'm praying for I am not able to pray as effectively as I may need to. I am, if nothing else, a very keen prayer warrior. I insist on having God's ear when He and I speak, and I return the same. I listen. I always listen. I never NOT listen. 

    One more thing before I go; just because someone is not your cup of tea doesn't mean that person isn't the best damn cup of tea in the cafe!  Just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean they are wrong. When a command is given the soldiers comply. When a soldier doesn't comply the Commanding Officer has a bone to pick with them -- doesn't He? I am a very good soldier. I will never not comply. If I seem a bit over the top it's because I am over the top. It's always worked for me. You don't see all of the corners of the rooms they rope off when you go into a museum, castle, or showcase, but I do.  

    There was a time, and I'll leave the blog link here, that I actually spent the night in a museum in order to create, organize, and display an amazing exhibit that needed to be built but no one had the time to do it -- so I did it. Did they ask me to? No.  Did they give me permission? Hell no.  Were they pleased beyond measure that I did it? Yes, yes they were. Was it right? I don't know.  It needed to be done.  I suspect when I get to Heaven Jesus may giggle, shake His head a bit and swat me on the backside as He lets me in -- I'd deserve it, but I will be let in; that much I know.

    Not gonna lie. I am not gonna change. I am who I am. I am the only me I could ever be. Be that as it may, I may very well be the lunatic you're looking for. 

The link is also here:  CONFESSIONS of a WRITER:  https://judestringfellow.blogspot.com/2017/01/confessions-of-writer.html

Me in 1981 after writing my name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

"Hey, Jealousy!"

 Oh, the Gin Blossoms! I absolutely love that band. I tend to forget them when someone asks me what or who my favorite band(s) is/are. I say the Bee Gees, Boston, Kansas, Journey, and Nickelback for the secular stuff, and Celtic Worship, Mercy Me, and Casting Crowns for the gospel tunes. I do love me some individuals too, mind you. I can't go without Elton, Phil Collins, Stevie Nicks, Steph Macleod, or Daughtry. OMG,  I just realized I left out .38 Special and Creed. Who am I? I've done lost my mind!

    So, the blog is about jealousy, right? I thought of the Gin Blossoms because of their song "Hey, Jealousy".  What people need to realize, and some do, is that the word "jealousy" is not to be confused with or interchanged with the word "envy". I was absolutely upset with the www.thesaurus.com site when I queried the word intentionally, so that I could prove that my longstanding knowledge of the differences between the words is nearly polar opposite.  To be jealous, as God Himself is jealous at times, is to defend wholly what is yours already. YOU own it, it belongs to you, and someone else wants it, but you say NO. That is jealousy. Jealousy is not wanting what others have, or wishing we were what they are, etc.  It is simply NOT what people try and make it out to be, and that's when it hit me! Satan is behind that confusion.

    Satan is the master liar, the confederate of confederates. You'll never see a confederate or fake $4.00 bill because there isn't a REAL or genuine $4.00 bill. In the U.S. we have $1.00 bills, $5.00 bills, $10.00 bills, and so forth, but we don't have a $4.00 bill, therefore, you'll never see a fake one out there being used. We actually do have a $2.00 bill in circulation, I'm not sure if it is still being minted. It shouldn't be. Satan wants to ruin, and have you ruin, your life. He throws lies at us and he tells us to be envious of this or that, but he sort of put it into our heads that the word should be "jealous" or "jealousy" because that way we can then later say "Oh, but God is jealous at times, so it's OK if we are."  NOTHING could be further from the truth!  We should be jealous, yes, but we should NEVER be envious of someone or what someone else has. That is also known as coveting and it's one of the Top 10!  Do not do that. Be JEALOUS if it is yours. You have that right.

    The Bible tells us that God is a jealous God. (He's the only God, too) It also says that what is His no one can take from Him. It didn't say no man, no woman, it says NO ONE, because God is including Satan in that equation. What is God's is God's. He has sealed it. He has placed the Holy Spirit over it, and it will never be taken from God. Now, we do not do ourselves any favors when we walk away from God, or when we turn our backs on Him, but trust me, and you can trust the Word even more of course, that God has sealed us. We are not going to be able to strip His hand from us even if we tried, not after we have been sealed. Not going to happen. Don't do it, that's stupid.

    What is mine? What can I lay claim to? Well, that's an interesting thought isn't it? My dog is mine. It wouldn't matter how many days you spent with her, the second I walked back into the room she would abandon you and follow me. I don't have to worry about it. It is what it is. I am not even jealous of it. Now, if I thought she were apt to run away and cling to another, I may become jealous of that fact. She is mine, I am good to her.  She should realize this fact, shouldn't she? Why would she want to seek attention from someone else? This is (on a much smaller scale) how God must see it when we venture into and onto internet sites about other religions, gods, cultures, etc. When we put into our minds that a little spell here or there can't hurt, it's for love! WHAT ARE WE THINKIING? The God of all, the King of Kings is our only refuge and when we venture, wander, stray, you call it what you want, when we even explore or become curious about something - - this is when He is jealous. He has that perfect right!

    Can you imagine the peace in our souls we would have if we just stopped being so mindless, so thick? We could have nothing but goodness, nothing but glory, only tranquility if we would just stop seeking that which is less. We have it all already! We don't need riches and fame to be complete. We don't need material possessions to know the truth. These things are distractions. We do want them. I want things too. I'm not going to stand here and lie about that. I want to be more or the best I can be. I think what we need (I need) to focus on is how we make that happen, and what lengths we will go to or what we may compromise to get the goals we think we just have to have. Putting first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness comes with a HUGE promise. He said if we do that He will give us the rest. I'm good with that. 

    So, next time someone asks you if you're jealous of this or that, remember the true definition of the word. Maybe you are. Maybe you're not. Maybe you couldn't be jealous if it (whatever it is) wasn't or isn't yours. Maybe you could be if it was. It's just something to think about. Be blessed.

Photo Credit:  www.recapo.com

Raku (A Poem)

 Raku 

 

Choosing to love him was not my choice 

The fire broke everything I believed I controlled 

The air that surrounded me disappeared 

I was left to smother in the coals 

 

Formed, I was. Treated as mere thick clay 

Never giving my consent, only shown the end 

Told, more than asked. I was led, I was worked 

Milled and shaped, pounded even, hardened 

 

Why me God? I beg to know Your mind 

Why should I continue rolling in searing flame 

To become the pot, the vase, the urn? 

Will You use me then? Will I hold? Embrace? 

 

You are the Potter. I am your clay. I know this 

You choose, I listen. You will, I bow 

The prayers, the time, the years, the faith 

I understand You’ve planned, I follow 

 

Until the last pyre I remain incomplete 

Knowing there will be blessings, I agree 

Knowing he needs me to continue  

To lift his soul through the pain of my own firing 

 

You are the Potter. I am your clay. 

My destined colors will forge with time 

Your strength is given in my making  

I am who You have decided to create  

 

If my mission is to pray, I bow my head 

Your command is well within my power 

Power given by the One and accepted in whole 

Raku me. To be the vessel You desire 

 

Jude Stringfellow 

April 9 2022 

Photo Credit: Rbfinearts.com