I Meant to Post This Earlier...

...But it is still good!

I very much enjoyed my Dad's sermon from this past Sunday. Before you decide to skip reading this because it is long, let me tell you it is very good.

And since I'm reminicing so much about my family lately, let me tell you about my great aunt. My Dad's aunt. Someone he sat in the pew with (or in front of or behind) in church every Sunday when he was a boy. When the pastor's sermon was getting too long she would raise her arm, point to and tap her watch (!!!) until she was sure the pastor saw her. Can you imagine seeing that when you're in the midst of preaching?

Anyway, I think that influence is the reason Dad's sermons are never too long. He gets all that should be in there, in succinct fashion. Now I hope you'll enjoy this one with no thought of looking at your watch.

Exaudi A DEVOUT WILL John 12:32

Let's give our attention to this morning's Collect, the prayer that come before the readings. We have come before our ascended Lord, and asked Him for a devout will. Do we really want this? Do we all understand the kind of dynamite we're requesting? Perhaps a few minutes ago the Collect was just words, but who is willing to take the risk that God might be listening anyway? St. Augustine is famous for praying, God, make me chaste, gradually. We can identify with that -- all pious pretensions aside. In that Collect there is no hint that we are looking for a slowly-developing devoutness. We want Jesus to draw us to Himself, and thus to draw us to the Father, conforming us always to His image.

One thing is clear; we don't think our wills are already devout. Hardly! Our wills are under judgment for their waywardness. In the Tenth Commandment God forbids us to want our neighbor's wife, servants, or animals. But we need to take this Law a step further. It is not enough to avoid wanting what belongs to another. Is there anything that is yours now which you are not willing to give up? Being devout means far more than being honest. What if Jesus asked you to give up your television set, your fur coat, your Corvette? Lest there be any confusion, I am not suggesting that Jesus would come to you looking as if He just stepped out of Leonardo da Vinci's painting, and asked you to give something up. He is far more likely to take the form of a person whom you could really help by giving up something that is dear to you. Could you make that choice? If God granted your petition from today's Collect, you would gladly part with it.

Does that sound unnatural? Think about it. Did Jesus come into this world to make us what we already were? The New Testament assures us that He came to redeem us from sin, to rescue us from death and the devil, and to make us holy. Our natural will delights in sin. Solomon the wise tell us, Folly abides in the heart of a child… It is far more than just folly. It is wickedness. Some people who call themselves evangelicals teach that children are not accountable to God until they reach a certain age. The New Testament says otherwise. St. Paul tells us in Romans 3 that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world held accountable to God. The Old Testament agrees. In Noah's day God said that the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, and David laments that he was conceived a sinner. God does indeed require more from those who have been given more, but that does not mean that nothing is required of the very young. If you want your children to be righteous, they must be born again of water and the Spirit.

But don't we have faith? Doesn't that make a difference? Dear people, it makes a huge difference. As long as that faith lives the Holy Spirit purifies the heart and sanctifies the will. Sometimes it happens very slowly, which would please St. Augustine. Faith has to hate sin, and there are some sins it has to learn to hate, corrupting sins, cherished sins that are our little pets. They may be nothing but a cut-down stump, but even a cut-down stump can send up suckers. We call it the Old Adam. In all of us the Old Adam is a cut-down stump, but the stump is still there. And what does it stir up? A smidgen of vanity, a slightly dishonest windfall - like a tip we know is too big, a wasted weekend, the wrong kind of company - all these things the flesh delights in, but we know they are wickedness. When we ask for a devout will, we are asking the Holy Spirit to uproot that stump, to cast away these evils.

You and I are saved. Even if our wills aren't perfectly devout, we are saved. We must not doubt our salvation because we still have the Old Adam. He is with us until we die. But so is the Holy Spirit. It is all right to be reminded that we are sinners because God's mercy is for sinners. Mercy is for us. Jesus told us that when He was lifted up He would draw all men to Himself. On the cross He said, Father, forgive them. In Confession we hear the pastor tell us, I forgive you all your sins. This is like reading a pardon to a condemned criminal. You have no reason to doubt that Jesus means you. He draws you to that cross. It was all about you all along. The blood flows for you. Peter had his moment of doubt, yet the eyes of Jesus drew him to the Fountain of Life. It is true that at that moment the rooster was a revelation of God's Law, but the look from Jesus was a revelation of the Gospel. Peter cried bitterly. Don't be too distracted by that. Peter was more emotional than many of us. Not everyone would react that way. Faith in a penitent has a whole orchestra of reactions that it can play on. For some it plays on the majestic pipe organ of the intellect, resulting in poetry and music. Or it can march to the drum of the will, prompting you to take some action. With Peter it played on the harp of the emotions, letting him cry it out. Whatever form it takes is spiritual in the best sense. We are all drawn to Jesus, but react to it differently.

The most important thing to remember is that Jesus has made peace with God for us. We are all spiritual welfare cases, totally dependant of outside help for spiritual food and drink. In Jesus we have the Fountain of Life. Do I mean the cross? Not the literal wooden cross, for that is long gone. I mean the work Jesus did onthe cross, the work that remians forever. Giving us devout wills in the work of the Holy Spirit, as He leads us to the cross. He visits the heart with truth, lights the fire of love, and arms us with the shield of faith. Make no mistake about it. When we pray for a devout will we want a will that is happy about being devout, not one that is resigned to being devout as if that were a consolation prize. Christ fights Satan to the death and remians the Champion. We are asking that he draw us to Himself to be His cheering section, then return us tot he world with a devout will. AMEN.

Last Monday in New Orleans

First a word about today -- My sincere thanks to all veterans for your willingness and sacrifice.

Last Monday my father, brother, daughter and I attended my grandmother's funeral in New Orleans. We had a grave side committal service and afterwards a funeral in the church followed by a luncheon. This may seem a little backwards. But the cemetery is very limited as to when services can be accommodated and we had to work around their open hours.
The cemeteries in southern Louisiana have these rows of tombs set up like a pattern of city blocks, and this one is surrounded by an outside wall which holds more graves. This cemetery did not look like it had too much damage from hurricane Katrina. Many of the graves on the outside wall, however, were missing their stone markers. Here is where my grandfather is buried and my grandmother will soon be laid to rest. There are many generations in the tomb. I didn't think to check the date, but it must be nearly 100 years old if not older.

The cemetery is located in New Orleans' upper 9th ward. The lower 9th ward is the area we in Ohio heard most about on the news as the "hardest hit area."

We were not surprised anymore by the numbers of trailers in the driveways. In fact there were fewer trailers in this neighborhood. I'm guessing that is because these were many of the folks evacuated to the Superdome and relocated to cities in Texas. Many of them have not come back yet. There are still large tree branches strewn about. There are piles of garbage (carpets, appliances and furniture) laying around treelawns as evidence that another homeowner has returned and begun gutting his house. I took these photos around the cemetery neighborhood.This house was most certainly flooded with at least a couple of feet of water. The black spray paint is closer to the ground so the rescue team was in a boat on shallow water or on foot. The car port roof is gone. I could see through the front window that this home is missing some walls. The interior has been gutted. Thought I don't read Spanish, the yellow sign posted to believe this home is being fixed up. I take a photo of this house every chance I get. It was where my grandparents lived when my dad was a toddler. It was not pink then! That only happened in the last ten years. It was not divided into apartments then either. It looks like the downstairs rooms were fixed, but the upstairs still needs work. And this one is an example of the spray paint code on every dwelling in the ward. We never did figure out what the three quadrants that do not contain the date signify. This is the building across the street from the cemetery where their offices are located. It was completely destroyed. I believe a copy of all the records are stored in New York or some place like that, so the information can be recovered eventually.

Now back to the North Shore -- This was taken from I-10 on our way to Slidell, LA. That is just across Lake Ponchatrain from New Orleans. We are still over the water and approaching the shore. The beams sticking up from the water are stilts. Before the storm they held piers that ended at houses built upon the stilts, over the water. These piers extended east and west of the highway. Now every pier and every house is gone. Just the pilings are left. These were not residences, mind you, they were camp houses. But the loss appears devastating. They have been there as long as my Dad can remember. This is a neighborhood in Slidell. Same problems, bigger houses and no spray paint. These folks have to gut upstairs if they had roof damage, downstairs if they had flooding, and everything if they got the worst of it. These suburban areas might have bigger trailers, but they also have bigger piles of trash to dispose of. You can see some of it here. In my cousin's home the downstairs had to be gutted. And he needed new electrical boxes installed. His jetskis were in the garage and they floated on the water that came in. But the wave action bashed them into his electrical boxes and destroyed the boxes. More trailers, everywhere....

I hear there are lots of problems with having appliances replaced into a home and then being stolen the next day. Yikes!

I also found it strange to see hundreds of couches standing up on end in their factory wrappings like stockade fences around each and every furniture store that was open. A lot of couches will be sold there in the coming months.

On the way back to the airport Tuesday morning we realized that the space under the highway was crowded with junked cars. Blocks upon city blocks of cars with trunks and hoods open, crowded so close they were nearly touching. No doubt the wreckers that cleared the streets after the water subsided put them there months ago.

Last Sunday Evening

Last Sunday evening my daughter and I were in Louisiana with family. In my last entry I wrote about photos with the whole gathering of us and later I saw one I intended to post was accidentally deleted. So here it is.


Three years ago was the last time my household visited Louisiana. Since that time, my daughter has been itching to go and play at her uncle's gym. This was the day!

It was getting dark by the time we got there. I'm sorry to say some of these photos are quite dark, but as many of you know us I thought they would be fun to include anyway.

Here is Gymnastics Plus!



We got warmed up with some trampoline jumping and then moved on to some trampoline tricks. My brother and daughter are jumping and a cousin is recovering from her turn.






After all that jumping (or was it the influence of the trip my brother and I took to one of Louisiana's famous drive-through Dacquiri Shops) [yes, you read right, they have drive through dacquiri shops. I recommend the White Russian dacquiris.] my brother took a rest on the parallel bars.







I wanted to try to walk the balance beams, but I did not have the courage to try the four foot beam. Here I'm on the three foot. It was newly covered so the suede was very fresh and pleasant under foot.









Here I'm flying through the air over the pit. The pit is filled with six- inch- cubes of foam rubber. I thought I'd break my neck if I did flips from the uneven bars over the pit, so we all opted for the rope and for jumping from the springboard into the pit. The springboard didn't make it into my photos. That was my favorite.

My cousin and another cousin's daughter did spot me on the uneven bars. I gained a new respect for the difficulty of the routines I watch every olympics! I felt like a tomato trying to avoid a shish-kabob skewer.

After a couple hours of indoor play the girls all went out to the pool and had a night swim. It was 11 p.m. before we got to bed. We had to be at a funeral fairly early the next morning, so we slept fast. Next time I'll have some photos from the 9th ward.

Happy Anniversary

Today is a wonderful day! Fifteen years ago Dh and I were married. What a wonderful adventure. Fifteen years ago in mid-June we took a honeymoon. And this year in mid-June we are planning a weekend away. It will be great!

More about my trip to Louisiana...

When we got to my cousin's trailer my daughter and her cousin had a painting project waiting for them. They had a ball! That was it for Saturday night.

On Sunday morning we went to Lamb Of God Lutheran Church in Slidell, LA (sorry no link, there seems to be a problem with the website). With great joy we participated in a traditional Divine Service. As I later remarked to the pastor, it is such a relief to attend a traditional service when I'm traveling. Here we have my daughter and one of her cousins after church. There were lots of photos taken after church. Including several of these with many many relatives of the confirmand, and my daughter with the confirmand.








After the service we went to a Mexican restaurant for a reception. This lovely cake table was set up in the banquet room with a photo of the confirmand at her baptism included.




At the church, because there was a confirmation, a "confirmation quiz" was available to all who attended. The quiz consisted of the following questions:
1. List the 6 chief parts of the Christian faith.
2. What is the chief purpose of the Law?
3. Why did Jesus have to be true man?
4. Why did Jesus have to be true God?
5. How do you receive the forgiveness of sins offered in the Gospel?
6. What is the definition of a sacrament?

When the answers were reviewed I think many people realized that catechesis ought not stop with confirmation.

I did have little bits of time to knit over the weekend. I completed this Scallop Pattern dish cloth. It is definitely my favorite so far. I also started the last dish cloth pattern I had printed. But there is nothing to show yet. I misunderstood the directions and got myself way off track. Of course I did not realize how to fix the mistake at first. By trial and error I figured it out. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to show the last dish cloth.

Home Again

We had a wonderful time visiting with family in Louisiana. But it is always nice to come home. I particularly missed my husband and son. They greeted us at the airport, and they had prepared this wonderful welcome for us when we arrived back at the house:There is to much to tell about the whole trip and I'm afraid I would forget something. So for now I will tell about Saturday. Waiting in the airport can get quite dull. My little one found an interesting ad for the art museum to draw in her sketchbook. We also saw a family of morning doves living on the jetway. One adult flew off before I could get a good photo of the family. We arrived in New Orleans without incident. The drive from the airport to the North Shore (of Lake Ponchatrain) was eerie. Many neighborhoods looked great. Others looked awful. I'd guess about 5% of the homes still had blue tarps over the roofs. In some neighborhoods every driveway had a trailer. Most folks are living in a trailer on their property while trying to make the house livable again.

In the evening we met up with my cousins and their families and had dinner. We ate at a Japanese hibachi steak house and sushi restaurant. The chef gave an impressive show to watch. Amelia enjoyed a shrimp dinner, and I had some wonderful scallops. My favorite was the salmon, my cousin shared some with me. It was most fun to watch the children watch the chef. I've searched for a home page for the restaurant, but all I can find on the web are reviews.

Many emails waited for me when I got home. One of the most interesting was this paper on Women and Scriptures.

Rainy Days

After days of rain cooping the kids up in the house they went puddle jumping in between the showers. The driveway is fairly smooth and does not give good puddles, but they made it happen anyway. Soon after I took the photos my little boy found some nice puddles in the yard!



Yesterday I made this Horseshoe Pattern. There are some mistakes near the bottom, but I don't think my dishes will mind.

It looks like I have lots of yarn left over and I saved my favorite two "easy" patterns for last. I'll show them when I am back in town.

I'll check in again next week.

Bits and Pieces

Here's the completed Ostrich Plume lace. Late last night when I finished it, it did not occur to me to wet and block it. I suppose that would have made a better photograph.

I finished the dish cloth while my daughter was at German School.

The grounds at the German Cultural Center are very nice.

After a solid week of rain, it, like everything else, was so lush and green.

Here are some photos of my daughter's classroom, the fish pond, and some of the soccer fields.






Not only did I have time to knit during the 2 and ½ hours of school time, I also listened to the Cavaliers beat the Pistons in a playoff game and I chose the pattern to use for my second lace dish cloth.

It is called Horseshoe Pattern. I expect to work on that today while I'm washing laundry and packing suitcases for a trip to New Orleans. So, with any luck, you can see a photo of that tomorrow. It may not be completed, however, because today we have day baseball again and that baseball sock project is begging for attention too.

With great joy, my Dad, brother, daughter and I are going to New Orleans to attend the confirmation of my cousin's daughter. While the plans for this event were unfolding, my grandmother, entered her eternal rest. At last, she joined her Lord in heaven and her husband who preceded her some 35 years before.

So we will attend the confirmation and, the next day, a commitment ceremony at the cemetery and a memorial service. With the conditions of the city after Katrina, burials are only available one day a week. I'm glad we can be there. We will be able to properly put my grandmother to rest.

It will be a eerie experience, I anticipate, to be in one of the most devastated areas of the city, where the family cemetery is located. My cousins tell me about the devastation that is still everywhere. I see that in the last month I have gotten back in the mail some of the Christmas cards I mailed out to family members. These people are all safe, but I no longer have addresses for them. I hope to update my address book while I'm down there.

Last but not least, I also received this package in the mail. In the photos I show half of the finger weight 100% wool dyed in shades of green with some yellow and blue. Altogether I have 2200 yds. I'm thinking of another sweater, maybe with a lace pattern worked into the fabric. You're right, Lene, I am hooked on lace!

Something is telling me I should be knitting for my son too. The only thing I've made for him so far is an acrylic scarf. I think this green is reminding me not to forget him because green is his favorite color. But this yarn may be too feminine with the color variations. Any ideas out there?

Lace Loops

Here is a look at my first work on a lace pattern. It is called Ostrich Plume and it will be a dish cloth when it is done. I still have not figured out why my camera is turning some close up images side ways. When I tried to get a photo of the entire cloth, it always ended up on it's side.

This pattern is not difficult and I'm enjoying the work. I have chosen three other lace patterns I'd like to try. That may be all I will have the cotton for, unless I make another trip to the store.

I hope to complete this dish cloth while dd is at German School tonight. But there is a parents' meeting to attend, so I may not get the dish cloth completed.

"Church Night" Out

Come on out for a late night snack and some entertainment provided by my Dear Husband and his Running in Circles cohorts. Enjoy the music, the dance floor, and some Lutheran Beverage or maybe a little rebuking juice of your choice!

Saturday, June 3rd Running in Circles will play at The Boneyard. The club is located at the corner of Broadview Road (Rt. 176) and Royalton Road (Rt. 82) in Broadview Heights. The show will start around 10 p.m. Check out the new Running In Circles link in my sidebar for photos, gig schedule, and the guest book.

I'll see you there!

Winter Wear

The Sunday night mis-steps with my first attempt at a hat are in the past. Here is the nearly finished hat. The ends still need to be woven in. My daughter is very pleased, it is exactly as she imagined. I think it is quite fluffy and it makes her head look big! She likes the way it matches the dress scarf I made for her last year.

I have decided on some lace dish cloth patterns to try next. My first forray into lacework. It will be fun. I got out my cotton yarn this morning. It feels so different from the eyelash and fun fur held alongwith a strand of worsted weight acrylic used in the hat. It will be very satisfying to work with the cotton again.

A Holy Man

Amidst great pageantry in St. John's cathedral downtown, a new bishop was installed over the Diocese of Cleveland today.

The diocese must have a well connected public relations department. The news of the former bishop's retirement and the new bishop's installation has dominated front page and soundbite headlines for a while.

I'm glad the Catholic church will not be thrown into upheaval. I'm glad they have someone in the position. Can the soundbites stop now, please! Now the reporters are interviewing people who came from Boston to Cleveland to attend a reception (the service, which included a procession of over 300! could be attended by invitation only). And what do these people have to say? "He is a holy man. You are lucky to have him." The emphasis was in the speaker's voice.

I'm thankful not to have my confidence in man, but in Christ.

By the way, the cathedral is beautiful. A nice example of English Gothic architecture, like some of the other denomination's churches in downtown Cleveland. I attended a choir concert there once. It was lovely.

Exercise in Futility

My dd asked me to make a hat for her. I have not made one before, but I found a pattern that describes itself as easy for beginners. So I began with a good degree of confidence. I carefully measured her head and made swatches. My yarn for this project is left over from other crafts and things, so there is none to spare. After making and measuring my gauge on the swatches they were wound back into the yarn balls.

It was time to begin. My measurements for this hat would follow the pattern with no adjustments needed -- hooray! "This will be easy!" I think to myself as I imagine her wearing it with her pale pink coat this coming fall and winter.

I cast on and completed the ribbing to the point where I am supposed to increase one stitch for every seven on the needles.

Here is what it looks like now. After all that effort to be careful with my swatches, I made a twist in the join on my circular needles. I was so angry. I am sure I made this mistake because I was too much involved with watching an episode of 24 (season 2) on the TV with my dh! The K1 P1 ribbing looked beautiful with the two white yarns held together. Too bad I had to rewind all my work. The colorful yarn will come in on the body of the hat to provide a few stripes and make it look "extra fancy" per the request of my daughter.

A Project Completed...

...And More onthe Drawing Board

Here I can show with joy one of the socks in my newest completed pair. They are a bit long for my 9yo, but they fit me well.

I completed the socks early in the evening yesterday so I had time left to play with the cabling.


I'm pleased with the results. In this first snapshot of the swatch I demonstrated to myself: doing the first cable twist, holding stitches to the front, on a knit row; doing several stockinette rows; then doing the second cable twist holding stitches to the front on a purl row would give the effect I hoped for. For some reason, my camera turned the image sideways. I could not figure that out. So tilt your head, or use your imagination!



I kept going to complete three twists in this pattern. Then I noticed that there could be more stockinette rows between the twists. I added two more rows of stockinette between the twists in the second set of three twists. The shape looks more oval and less circular that way. I think it is a little less busy, and a little less stress on the fabric too. Putting in two more rows might look even better. But I decided to find out another time.

Next I want to learn how to work with ore than one color. Then I'll have the tools I need to make that winter tunic I've been dreaming of.

I made a yarn purchase on eBay last night. Maybe a spring/fall sweater will be in the works first-- who knows? I'll have a better idea when I can swatch the new yarn.

My Little Engineer

My Dear Son has created a curved pyramid here. One of his newest favorite activities is to build various towers and walls with his blocks and then knock them down. I had to be quick to get a few photos. This is the first time I remember him building a pyramid.

It is no accident that in this photo all the stamped letters and numerals are on their sides. All the relief letters on the upward face of the blocks are oriented right-side-up according to where my son sat as he built the tower. He was also particular about which block went in which place.




The green and brown socks are almost done. Here the one just needs to be grafted at the toe. I am very happy with the way the slanted toe fits on my foot. The ankle could be a bit looser to push me heel through, but I am not going to rip back to the ankle and re-work this pair of socks. It was not easy, but workable to put the sock on with only the two needles, so that is the way they will stay.

The second toe is ready to have the decreasing begin, but the pattern leaves it to me to reverse the directions from the fight sock to make a left sock. I think I will need to write it all out long hand because of all the interruptions that usually accompany my knitting time. It is best if I can check off each row as I go.

Rail Road Fun

The children I baby sit for on Mon. and Tues. are two and one years old. Today I left out my children's train set while my guests were over for the first time. They had a ball.

All afternoon the track was made and remade and the trains were chug chugging all through the living room. All four children had fun with the pieces that make noise and the engines that run on batteries.

After they actually had a track put together, they made a giant train for the engines to pull around.

Some of the pieces of this set are left over from when my brother and I were little. Others have come over the years as gifts bit by bit. Trains still have their magic!

Knitting Helps and Knitting Help

The slow pace of my baseball sock and the tight fit I'm getting on my brown and green socks have me a bit discouraged. So I finally opened the instructional video I had ordered from the library. (Basic Knitting Techniques by Bobbie Groome; Wool Shop Video, Inc.). I was pleased that I learned some new things:
cable cast on
making a button hole
a method to m1 in ribbing
some invisible m1 methods
knitting seams together. (Looks neat --Can't wait to try it! It looks much less bulky than the mattress stitch I used on the summer sweater which I happen to be wearing today.)

The video gave an example of how to do cable knitting, but it only showed one row, on the knit side. I have swatched and swatched for the past three days and I cannot get a decent looking cable. I think what I don't understand is how often I am supposed to put stitches onto the cable needle -- every row?, every other?, every third? Also, do I only cable on the knit side, or should it be done on the purl side too?
Here is my best swatch, as it went along.
CO 14
row 1 K, row 2 P, row 3 K, row 4 P

row 5 K2, P2, put 3 sts on cable needle to front, K3, load held sts back on left needle, K3, P2, K2

At this point the first photo was taken.


Now what in the world do I do next? Here are pictures of my best guess.

row 6 P2, K2, P6, K2, P2
row 7 K2, P2, K6, P2, K2
row 8 Rep. row 6
row 9 Rep. row 7
row 10 Rep. row 6

Then at this point I decided to try the cabling again in the other direction. I decided to do it here because this row (number 11) is the 6th row after the first time I used the cable, and there are six stitches in the cable pattern. I don't know if I lucked into this or if there is a formula to follow, but I think the length and width of the pattern on the swatch turned out okay.
Row 11 K2, P2, put 3 sts on holder to the back, K3, load 3 sts from holder back on left needle, K3, P2, K2. This second photo shows through row 11.

Then I continued the pattern some more.
row 12 Rep row 6
row 13 Rep row 7
row 14 Rep row 6
row 15 Rep row 7
row 16 Rep row 6
row 17 Rep row 5 (the one where the sts on the cable needle were held to the front)
row 18 Rep row 6
row 19 Rep row 7
row 20 Rep row 6
row 21 Rep row 7
row 22 Rep row 6
row 23 Rep row 11 ( the one where the cable sts are held to the back)
row 24 Rep row 6
row 25 Rep row 7
row 26 BO
The last photo shows the entire swatch.

After spending the last few days with much inferior results I'm pretty happy with this. But It doesn't seem quite right. The vertical wave is nice, but the same set of sts are always on the top. They do not braid or weave up and down. Can someone help me?

Another thing the video did not explain was how to read the grid patterns I see in so many pattern books. When I look at one my eyes glaze over and I'm overwhelmed. I have no idea what all those little symbols mean, and in the books I have borrowed I cannot seem to find any keys. There is so much more to learn!