Janet's Blog

Vacation Bible School has been a summer tradition for over a hundred years. Fifty years ago, we called it Bible School.  Now, in this age of acronyms, it is simply referred to as VBS. When I was a child, nearly every Protestant church in town conducted its own version of Bible School, which was held every weekday morning for two weeks, or sometimes all day long for one week.  It was a special treat to be able to take a sack lunch to Bible School during those all day sessions. In the past, children were divided by grade, with ten or fifteen, or even more children, grouped together in a tiny room, or perhaps crowded into a small space that was divided from the other groups with a curtain or some other form of temporary partition.  The teacher, assisted by a teenage helper, taught the lesson via a workbook format, and helped the class work on their crafts.  Each child was given a commercially-produced cardboard box containing everything that was needed to create a flimsy craft that re

As I was pulling the pillowcase off a pillow a little while ago, there was a sudden eruption of feathers.  Feathers billowed everywhere, all because the side seam of the aging pillow had split open.  So, I spent a few minutes gathering up the feathers and stuffing them back into the pillow.  I'll have to sew up that seam before I put on the clean pillowcase. Feathers are wonderful in their place, on the back of a goose, or safely inside a feather pillow, but I don't really appreciate them when they are floating around my bedroom. I've also spent a good part of this morning swatting at flies.  We have far too many of those annoying creatures buzzing around our house this week.  It's too early in the season for flies!  Let's face it, anytime is too early for flies.  I hate flies! I suppose the flies are here because of our abundance of rain.  So many insects seem to be more prolific when the weather is damp and rainy.  I just wish that the city's mosquito