“The RoseBouquet”

In case you are curious about Linux I’d like to drop a few helpful hints. There are probably over 300 different distributions (known as Distros) of this operating system kernel.

A linux system can be set up to run on your computer instead of your Windows 95, 98, or XP, or Vista, etc. It can also be installed on the free space of your hard drive to run alongside of your Windows system. (When you boot up, you just have to choose which one you want to enter this time).

Linux systems are free if you download and burn your own iso CDs or DVDs, but if you find that too tricky, you can buy them for just a few dollars. Or if you have friends you might even get them free.

DistroWatch.com is a good place to read reviews and find links to more info on each one.
DistroWatch has a page with the top 10)
LinuxBasis Lots of lists!

Oh there’s much more to say, but I don’t want to overwhelm you.

My favourite so far is openSUSE, but I’m trying out a bunch of new ones these days. Right now I like Feather, and Puppy, and dear ol’ Mandrake came to my rescue today too. I usually share my Linux Learning Curve experiences on my blog by that name, Linux Learning Curve.

[If you don’t have a romantic valentine for this week, consider sharing my Best Friend. He is able to be your perfect friend as well as mine, and treat each one exactly as we most need Him to be - the Ultimate Lover of our souls].

Allow me to rave and rhapsodize about my very best Friend in the universe!

My friendship with Jesus colours and affects every other friendship I have. Whether the other parties know it or not. If I did not have my intimate daily conversations with Him, I would not be the kind of person you’d even want to have around, never mind call your friend. Jesus gives me sanity. He gives me a calm acceptance of myself, and yes, even a caring interest in others.

He has never deserted me, though I’ve been driven to tears by His apparent silence. Then later I learned as I dig into the Bible, that it is His method of showing me I’ve wandered off the right path. It means I need to stop and consider where I’m going and make a decision to get back on the path. (He’s quite willing to help once I’ve made that decision of my own will!)

Which reminds me to point out that although Jesus loves me tremendously, and has laid down His life for me, He will never compromise truth and justice, or God’s own holiness, to pamper me or cater to my whims.

Truth is… well, it’s the essence of my dear Lord and Friend. It’s His very nature, mixed with love, joy and peace. So hanging out with Him has got me craving for truth at the core of my being. I want to know and believe the absolute truths He teaches.

Want to know why? Because those truths liberate me to experience His love, joy and peace to ecstatic degrees.

Example? Okay, once I really chose to believe God loves me and is carrying me on His arms (Deut.33:27) it took away all the doubts about whether or not I could really publish my book. When I saw Jesus’ commands to Ask, Seek and Knock, and the promised results as real guarantees, I got a great respect for praying very specifically, hunting for knowledge that I lacked, and knocking on certain doors of opportunity. The key turned in the lock!

It’s in these learning experiences, and unloading all my desires, ideas, and emotions, whether positive or negative, on Jesus that we have a lively relationship.

That same lively relationship teaches me how to care for others, and causes me to be the sort of friend to them that Jesus is to me. Now I know this is usually an unspoken, maybe only faintly understood sub-current in many other’s lives, but I’m being very transparent and direct here right now as I spell out this super-special friendship I have with my Best Friend of all.

Sometimes a good “honesty-session” is like the sun coming out on a misty, foggy day. May this frank Close up of Jesus be like brightening, healing, cheering sunlight to you. Reach out. He’s great enough to be the best Friend of everybody in the whole world.

In fact, that’s why He died on that Precious Friday some 2000 years ago - for every-body to get up close and personal with Him!

About three weeks ago I tried out a new idea to keep my feet warm. With some experimenting I’ve found it works fairly well. I put on small slipperettes of fleece that I made of remnants, then two pairs of socks, and over that I wrap a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil. Then I pull on my mukluks.

Foil? Yes, I pull out about two feet from the box in the kitchen, tear off, and fold over so the shiny side is facing out. That makes a square approximately 12 inches by 12 inches. (Adjust for your foot). I lay that square diagonally over my foot’s sole, and tuck up the corners, and press them around my foot. When I wear my boots for a while inside, the body heat warms up my feet and when I go outside the foil contains the heat.

Of course, if my feet are cold to begin with, and I go out in -36 or -41 Celsius weather, this doesn’t work so well. Shiny side of the foil turned in seems to hinder too.

This way I go through about 4 feet of foil each time I go out, which works out to a cost of about $3/week. Fortunately, the temperatures are warming up and tomorrow is suppose to be something like -6C. Hallelujah! Walking is better than sitting still in the car.

Ah, but don’t think the foil is wasted, even when I pick the broken pieces of foil off my socks and up from the floor. No, I ball it up and press it hard so the pieces won’t fall off, and then I toss the balls to Snowflake. She loves to chase them all over the floor! And when she loses them under my desk I get the flyswatter out and fetch ‘em into the open.

Wow! Did you pray for me after reading this spot last week? I’ve had blessings happen one day after another since then. A large surprise support gift came in for me at Western Tract Mission, I bought a new printer-scanner-copier for the office, my brother Ernie showed up for a visit on Saturday. I got my old computer which died in early December revived - at no additional cost!

Yesterday the director of the ministry which is my newest client called, and has promised me a bunch of lightly used computers and parts in return for some help in publishing his writings. I’m to go over to their place tonight. I think it is going to feel like Christmas.

This week I’m trying to be over at the office in the mornings, just as if I were teaching a course, and trying to get all my usual business work done here at home in the afternoons and evenings. I’m not quite on the mark yet, but I am excited at the thought of being able to start recruiting students in earnest soon. Maybe next week already?

You may have noticed that I’ve switched to publishing this RoseBouquet in the afternoon. I know once my computer courses start, that’s what I will have to do, so I’m switching to that schedule now already. Hopefully that doesn’t upset your schedule too badly.

Not everyone is a cat lover, so I’m trying not to dwell on the antics of Snowflake and my relationship with her too much or too often, but apparently some friends enjoyed my introduction of my new pet last week. Here is Janice’s enthusiastic response;

I love your dear Snowflake A very precious kitty… I was so wrapped up in the story that I was hoping for more It isn’t funny on your end I am sure, but the antics of the mouse (which I have gone through too) are kind of amusing. My former roommate & i had to deal with rat-mice & they are messy & gross… They got all over our clothes in our closets & messed on our clothes all over everything in the apartment. Not fun… I do hope Snowflake gets the idea of mousing & gets to enjoy you & your place too.

Hope to hear more about Snowflake sometimes & hope she catches that little mousey.
Janice…

The score in this war on the mice, is three dead mice last week, but I think I’m hearing some up in the attic. Hopefully we won’t have a plague of them when the roof is fixed. (No, I’m NOT going up to the attic. It is through a trapdoor in the very narrow basement stairwell). I’m thinking I should get that high-pitched sound gizmo you plug in that my friend Kathy showed me. Costs about $30!

I am taking back a few hours a week to work on my SBI site again, and looking forward to a very profitable one too.

In case you missed the Christmas 2 for 1 special, there’s another chance right now. It ends at midnight on Valentine’s day.

“I LOVE SBI! Special $100 Valentine Gift.” It’s the famous Buy One - Get a Second for $100 Special.

For details, please see one of the following…

SiteSell

BuildIt

WAHM.SiteSell

We should not compare others against our own standards and judge them in a negative way, but that comes very naturally to us. It takes a deliberate struggle to think respectfully of other’s ways and means of doing things.

Several real life instances have brought this together for me in a clearer way recently.

When cleaning up my Dad’s estate last year we came across many things that my brother and I saw differently. Ernie thought most it was junk and would not sell at the auction. To a large degree he was right. It didn’t, but as I continued the clean up by myself, I kept coming across things that I knew Dad had saved for when it might be needed. Some of them I recognized as things I would very likely need as I moved into a house of my own, so I claimed a number of them. Already some have proved very useful, including some tools and scrap lumber, and small rolls of carpeting.

Much as I’d like a spotless and attractively arranged home, I’ve resigned myself to the space problem. I do intend to dispose of some things, but when people come to see my home, if they don’t come out and say so, I can sense that they think I’m squirreling away stuff they would throw out. I have to work at forgiving them because they do not think in the resourceful way that Dad and I think. Some of those things will be turned into very useful things yet. Even gifts.

I confess, I have been in some homes, which struck me as hopelessly messy, and in need of a major cleaning - and carrying out. In fact, when I used to go north to visit my sister Elsie and babysit her children, I would try to tidy up and do it carefully so I wouldn’t lose for her anything she might be looking for.

There is a time factor to take into consideration too. When I had less career type duties, I would spend more time on cleaning up and keeping a place neat. Now I am finding that I have to give myself grace for times when I simply cannot take the time to clean because things of greater urgency have priority.

Last Sunday, because of major work that has to be done on the basement in church, the Resource Room that I have been looking after has to be moved and that quickly. Our new Sunday School Superintendent came into the room and said, “Everything on that side of the room looks like junk to me. It has to go.” It caught me off guard, although I tried to be polite about it, and suggested a plan to offer it in a Give-Away before it goes to the garbage. However, I confess it was a cut for I thought that stuff was resources for creative teaching sessions. Not everyone sees things the way I do.

In the next hour, a guest preacher spoke on how we should not compare others against ourselves. I knew that was true, but I didn’t see a clear application to that Resource Room situation, except to let go. It’s not really mine after all. (Of course, letting go thoughts can lead to other thoughts).

I’m concluding that perhaps I’m a messy person after all, and that instead of thinking of myself as superior to others who are worse, I need to accept the title and wear it without blushing. I also need to forgive those who compare my areas of housecleaning with their lovely show-homes and look down on me. Just because they are disobeying a Scriptural injunction, doesn’t mean I should return the attitude. Instead, I’m taking my first step in learning to defend my position - I am just managing creative resources, and I am fairly well stocked.

People used to come to Dad to fix things. He was able to do that because he had the right stuff on hand. I’m standing on his ground. Leave my resources alone, thank you!