Scratches

I get scratches from Hanes on a fairly regular basis.

She does not scratch me on purpose; but sometimes she puts her claws on me when I unkonwingly startle her, or when she does not want to be picked up, or when she decides she is done cuddling and uses me as a springboard, or whenever she thinks more force is needed. I have had scratches on my stomach, my arms and legs. Some have never left any marks, but a few are still visible.

Oddly enough, although the scratches hurt (and some more than others), I would still rather have them than Hanes not letting me love on her.

I wonder what God thinks about the "scratches" we give him when we decide we are finished getting close to him, or when we do not obey Him, or when we try to run away from Him (or His plans for us). Would He rather us hurt Him (whether intentionally or unintentionally) than us not going to Him at all too?

If I, a mere mortal, care about a cat enough to not mind the scratches, how much more does God, who is immortal and the Creator of us all, care about us? During this Father's Day weekend, it makes me wonder.

Locks of Love II

Four years ago, I donated my hair to Locks of Love for the first time. To this day, I still remember how light I felt after the cut, not to mention the joy I had knowing it was not just another other haircut, but one that contributed to a special cause. Because of that, I had wanted to do it again.

Four years later, my hair had gotten very, very long. Hubby loves long hair so it took a few months before he said yes to my haircut. :-) He was very sweet to let me do it again. He also took my "before and after" pictures, so here we go:

Before

After

It feels so good to be able to do it again!

Washington DC

Two and a half months ago, we took a road trip to Washington DC, the nation's capital.

It came about when one of the few original copies of  "my map" (the 17th-century world map I worked with for my thesis), was featured in one of the exhibits at the Library of Congress. The LOC did not own the map, but made a rare exception to show an item on loan. Since this was the first time an original copy of "my map" was on display in America, I wanted to go! Hubby had a few things he wanted to see in the area, so it expanded into a vacation. It had been about 10 years since we had been to DC (separately).

A long road trip of course meant the license plate game! The goal was to spot all 50 license plates on the road (seeing license plates in the issuing states does not count). Usually we would get about 35-40 plates and it was almost impossible to get Alaska or Hawaii, let alone both. But this time, we got both!! We did not get all 50 plates, but we did have 45!

On the way there, weather was not the best; but while we were there, weather in DC was beautiful! It was sunny, pleasant, with clear blue sky! On the first day, we visited the Library of Congress (for my map, among other things). It was so great to see one of the few original maps in its original size (in 6 panels)!

While Hubby visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps, I indulged in more early modern history with a trip to the Folger Shakespeare Library.

We also visited the National Mall, several Smithsonian Museums (Air and Space, Freer Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History, American Indians, and American History), Chinatown, Arlington National Cemetery and Old Town Alexandria. It was a lot of walking, but it was a nice trip (and riding the subway daily certainly reminded me of home)!

Hubby got sick about half way through our trip so we cut our stay in DC half a day short and I did most of the driving on the way back. It was the first time I drove that much! To add to the adventure, on the way back, there was even snow - real snow - in our own state! Because of that, we changed our route but could still see - and safely drive through - some snow. Pretty phenomenal.

So, enjoy the pictures!