“While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats.” Mark Twain
Perhaps this is why I love cats?
I remember when I was in the 5th grade my teacher made us study evolution and claimed human beings had descended from apes. Her comments infuriated me! I went home and wrote a paper (not required – all on my own) telling her why I did not believe such a thing. God created people, and He didn’t need apes to help Him do so. He could have, but He didn’t. He used dirt. Later on, he used bone to make a woman. And we’ve been living with dust and bones ever since…
I wonder if Eve was a redhead…
Cats are funny creatures. Tiger has developed a new habit of being a ‘fraidy cat – of me. Not always. Just sometimes when I move too fast, he spooks. Maybe we grow more uptight as we age? When they sleep, you would never imagine cats as uptight, but oh well…
I got a sneak peek at Bathsheba’s cover last week and found out yesterday that it is now available for pre-order on Amazon! I can’t believe the book already has sales numbers since it won’t release until next February. (Amazon says March, but I think they’ve got it wrong.) Some of my readers have told me they are anxious – thank you to those who have already pre-ordered! I’m so looking forward to sharing this story with you all. It’s one of my favorites! I’ll get to share the cover around the end of June, so check back if you’re interested.
Later this month I’ll be taking on my first speaking engagement. It’s a private luncheon for a widow ladies’ ministry. I finished my speech (or my first draft at least) and took it upstairs to practice in the privacy of a cluttered bedroom. I say “um” a lot! Then I practiced what I could remember of it in my car. I do okay on the introduction, then I forget what comes next! I definitely need to make bigger notes in bold print so I’m not trying to find my place! A teleprompter would be nice…but seriously, I’m excited to do this. What fun! I wonder what God has in store…
I’ve been working toward eating more healthy foods of late. A friend told me how she cooks old-fashioned oatmeal at night and then heats it each morning. I thought, “What a good idea!” I’ve got some steel-cut oats that taste great, but take 30 minutes or more to cook. My mornings are already too full, so adding time to breakfast making isn’t going to get very far. So I’m cooking some ahead of time. This works with homemade waffles, cooked and frozen too. I love to eat them toasted – the oat ones are really good.
Tiger just jumped on my lap. Apparently, I’m not so scary after all…
Cats are strange, people are interesting. (Though perhaps by this rambling post, you will think me more strange than interesting…)
Dale Carnegie said, “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice, and motivated by pride and vanity.”
That could be true. I know the emotional part is, though at a heart level, I think most of us would admit to the rest as well. For me, I tend toward the emotion. I want to feel it in stories as I live it in life, with the bad parts reserved only for stories. When I run across people who tap into the difficult emotions, I’m not always sure how to deal with them. How do you act when someone is surprisingly rude? What do you say when someone mocks you? How do you feel when someone says things to you or about you that you know aren’t true?
I like to play armchair psychologist for my characters, which makes me do the same in real life as I try to understand people. What made them do what they did? Why do they seem so bitter or why do they smile all the time? How did they choose that profession or that mate? Do they realize that people admire them? Do they notice how they push people away?
We are interesting creatures, are we not?
Creatures made of dirt and bones. Definitely not descended from cats. Or apes…though some of us act like both! 🙂
Selah~
