Serendipity

When I posted on Folk of the Fringe that I needed to learn Java, one of the posters there directed me to a free online book that is supposed to be excellent: Thinking in Java. She also linked what she has been told is an excellent tutorial. I really needed this information. There is so much out there, on the web, and it's so hard to sift through what's helpful and what's not. I need solid information before I write a program that will run "Hello, World!" (again). Explain to me: objects, classes, inheritance, syntax, etc. This books seems to do that, integrated with doing stuff. And it was free!

When I thanked Trillian for the info, she replied, "Right back at you, sistah! The universe answered your need, I was just the vehicle. Just like Judy helped me out when I needed a vacation."

Also on Folk of the Fringe was a strange thread about pig anatomy, that started with a picture of a jar of pickled pig's lips. Somewhere in there was a post to a recipe for pulled pork that sounded like way too much work. So tonight, we're having Mama's Favorite Barbecue Pork Loin. It looked simple to make, and it was. And any recipe that has the word "Mama" in it is something I feel the need to try. I've done some QC and it's quite tasty. I had thought it would need more sauce (and maybe it does), but my sandwich, with the pork, a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese, and some sweet relish on a kaiser roll, was very good. I had another half with just the cheese (and pork, etc.) and it was also very good.

In other web adventures, I did a search for kids spring crafts and found a frog life cycle craft and a frog paper bag puppet. Little boy and I made both of them today. DH, the lizard wizard, was pleased about the life cycle. Making these projects with little boy only took an hour or so out of my day, and it eliminated so many problems: my guilt for ignoring him, his frustration at having nothing to do, etc. That little investment bought me hours of focussed time to work and peace of mind about same.

A woman from my church has a little boy the same age who doesn't have kids to play with, either. She had suggested play dates, and I think I will try to set those up twice a week. Once here, and once there. That will also be good for the little boy. He gets lots of socialization and free play at school, but staying home with mom can be kind of isolating, even just twice a week.