Key Fobs and Gratitude: It's the Little Things in Life

I take things for granted until they don’t work.

Take for instance the under-appreciated key fab. I didn’t give it much thought until it didn’t work.

I pushed the unlock button, and there was no answering ca-chunk of the doors unlocking. I pushed the button harder because that seems to work with TV remotes.

Fortunately, the van unlocked, otherwise I would have had to actually insert the key and turn it! I nearly got carpal tunnel just thinking about it. I remember a time in the dark ages when my family actually owned a vehicle that didn’t have a key fab. If we wanted to unlock the van, we had to walk all the way over to the van and use the key. I know, first world problems. 

What’s Heidi been up to?

Lots of things. Summer vacation, then back to school, and writing.

I worked on some Bible homework that morphed into a lengthy word document, and then three blog posts for our church website. (You can read those posts here.)

I celebrated my birthday.

Problems Only Gluten Free People Understand

You can’t eat normal bread and baked goods.
You don't need to be reminded of the odd flavors and textures.

The Car Won't Start!

Wednesday, August 29^th, 2015

The day started out well enough. The whole family, (minus their dad, who was on a business trip) had been to the chiropractor and all felt much better after their visit. They had driven two vehicles so that Mom and the boys could go straight home, and the sisters could run errands. Yet that afternoon mom needed to go out-of-state for wedding reasons, plus she could stay overnight at her mom’s house and run errands in the bigger city stores.

The two sisters (including Yours Truly) went to Meijer for groceries, and managed to get in and out in good time. The girls needed to get home to fix supper and leave for church in a timely manner. They were feeling pretty good about themselves when they got in the tan van and started it up. The radio and A/C came on. They turned the A/C off and lowered the windows, to give the A/C time to catch up with the 90 degree heat.

The Car Won't Start! A True Story by Left and Write

But something wasn’t right.

Cooking Without Mom

I have an idea for a new cooking show: Cooking Without Mom.

We’ll send the mom on a weekend getaway at a bed and breakfast*, and watch what happens when her family tries to conquer the kitchen without her.

Cooking Without Mom - Left and Write
Meijer's rotisserie chicken

Perhaps it should be titled Man vs Small Appliances.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing

I am going to switch from the chronological narrative of my last post in order to discuss the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, or BEP for short.  Their ticket system is not logical, nor is it explained on their website.  It has government planning written all over it! I will spare you our confusing story, and stick to the fundamental facts.

D.C. Gluten Free

The primary focuses of this blog are eating gluten free, and writing, so I am going to combine the two and write about how I ate gluten free in Washington, D.C. I am also going to cover sights we saw, and things I wish I knew beforehand, and generally compile helpful tidbits from books, guides, maps, and websites I used.

We traveled to D.C. on Sunday, and got in to our hotel late in the evening. We stayed in Alexandria, Virginia (not to be confused with Arlington, VA, which is just to the north of Alexandria.)

On Monday, we took advantage of the free shuttle to the Van Dorn Street Metro. Several nearby hotels offer this service to their patrons.

The Declaration of Independance

“When in the course of human events…” the famous document begins. What  made it so potent and transcendent? Thomas Jefferson, representing the thirteen colonies, penned the powerful declaration appealing to God’s authority, logic, and pathos.

Image from http://www.founding.com/the_declaration_of_i/
Read the full text of the Declaration there as well

Wisely, Jefferson based his case on the Solid
Rock. “They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…” These rights are not removable because they come from God, not government. Thomas appeals to the “Supreme Judge of the world,” rather than King George, who has turned a deaf ear. Not surprisingly, God is also the author of Justice, order, and logic.

Continuing on, Jefferson piles up pillars of logic to frame his case. He explains that “Prudence… will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light… causes…” This is not a whimsical fancy. Thomas’ tone indicates he means business; he uses formal, serious words. Systematically, he lists the thirteen colonies’ complaints against the King. George III won’t listen to reason or representation. He set up puppet rulers and tore down proper ones. He required a standing army in peace time, forced colonists to quarter

What Keeps People Up at Night?

What keeps people up at night? Fears. Noises. Nothing in particular. Whether rational or laughable, strange things keep writers awake.

Everyone’s heard of writer’s block, where one cannot think of what to write about, or how to write it, but