My name is Katherine J. Krein. I lost my father in June of 2013, and then I lost my mother in November of the same year. After they both died I went through a mind-warping number obsession that has taken me years to control. This is my story. It is now 2026. I still use this site to post some poems and thoughts. My obsession has faded, however, I still notice the numbers. Faith, hope, and love is what guides me now.
Above is a link to an old post of mine dated 12/07/2019, and titled The Spin is all that Matters. Thinking about the wooden bus mounted on top of a Ford metal frame shown in my most recent post from yesterday, reminded me of this old post of mine about wooden spools and how they can be made into something new. I talked about God in this post. It is most likely considered a radical idea. However, I thought it appropriate to revisit it this Sunday.
I definitely believe in God. He has proven time and time again that he exists in my mind. The problem arises when trying to visualize him, and maybe this is why some religions believe God transcends our ability to visualize him.
("Many monotheistic faiths, like Islam and some interpretations of Christianity and Judaism, emphasize God's transcendence, making direct visual representation impossible..." This is an AI quote.)
My difficulty with visualizing God must stem from the fact that I was raised in the Christian faith. So, in my attempts to visualize him, I make him so large he controls Earth and continually remakes the female earth to advance with technology, and with him (since they are entangled.)
There is no way to be sure of any of my visualizations, so I am content with keeping him in my thoughts and my heart, and trying to live by his doctrine of good will towards all. He does transcend us all, and is larger than life on Earth.
As I was thinking about going back to work, and about the students coming back to school this year (2025), I wondered about the history of the school bus. It is interesting to see the yellow color has survived multiple upgrades of the American school bus. In American history 7th graders will learn about Henry Ford and his model-T car. Go to the museum link I have provided in the caption under the picture of the Blue Bird No.1., and you will be able to read more about the oldest surviving school bus in America.
Fortunately for students today the buses are much safer and more comfortable than back in 1927. I hope everyone has a good beginning to this school year 2025.
I know I have a picture of my daughter getting on a school bus for the first time, however, I could not find the picture at this time, though I did find a picture of her on her first bike with training wheels. I also found a picture of Ivan the giraffe from our visit to the San Diego Safari Park. I have added the picture to my post about date palm trees, and I found a picture of my daughter and my mother at the Anne of Green Gable house on Prince Edward Island, and I have added this picture to my last Sunday Reflection post.
The weather today is hot and sticky, even early this morning when I went out to run a few errands. I have not been going outside as much as I would like, however, I have been taking care of myself getting preventive medical exams and other healthcare appointments.
Today I want to spotlight the United States National Arboretum. Since I have been going through my old picture files, I found a folder of some pictures taken at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum which is located on the arboretum grounds. It was mid- February of 2009, and we took a car trip into D.C. to visit the National Arboretum. Winter is not as busy as other times of the year, so parking was easily available and the admission is always free. https://www.usna.usda.gov
I have shown only a few of my pictures that I took on this trip. I revisited the U.S. National Arboretum website to see what was going on there currently in 2025. I discovered the interactive map (ABE) which is very cool. It gives you a bird's eye view of all the arboretum grounds and where it is located within the district. It has a plant finder feature which is very useful if you love to discover new plants or explore variations of known plants. One thing I could not find on their site was a little history of how it all got started. I found this website: https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/national-arboretum-washington-dc/
If you have a child in school they will learn about U.S. history. One unit of study will be the New Deal which was a program to help the U.S. recover from the stock market crash (1929) and the depression that followed. The link above gives more information about this. I have taken a screenshot about how the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) helped to lay down the groundwork of the U.S. National Arboretum.
Thinking about the school year ahead, you might want to plan a visit to the U.S. National Arboretum during the winter break when your children are under foot, and you want to enrich their learning at no substantial cost to the family budget.
A collage of Swallowtail butterflies in my garden.The barn swallow also has the distinct forked-tail.
I found the swallowtail butterfly collage I put together long ago. I no longer do collages. Where does the name 'swallowtail' come from? I read somewhere that it is named after the barn swallow bird because they both have a forked-tail. I cannot vouch for the validity of this, however, I like this explanation.
I decided this post needed an audio addition. So, I went looking for an appropriate tune, and discovered the traditional Irish jig fiddle tune named, Swallowtail Jig.
After looking at the Ricola bag again I realized that I grew another edible and flavorful flower in my garden. The leaves of the mallow plant are eaten around the world and cooked in various ways, often stuffed and wrapped around meat and other foods. I found several foragers who wrote about being overjoyed finding mallow in the wild and harvesting it for food. I grew it because I thought it was a beautiful plant. There are several types of mallow. I grew the Zebrina mallow for its lovely flowers.
Looking through my files looking for the mallow I remembered growing, I found this good picture of a soldier beetle also known as a leather wing beetle. It is considered a beneficial bug in Virginia. It is a pollinator. The flower that the soldier beetle is enjoying is a peony.
Black Lace Elderberry's scientific name is Sambucus nigra. The picture on the left is from my garden in 2009. It needs more sunlight than it had in my garden to achieve the beautiful dark, maroon-colored leaves. My picture was taken before its bloom time. The picture on the right is from the Proven Winners website. They are well-known in the garden business world.
In the nightstand next to my bed I keep a supply of Ricola cough drops. You don't have to have a sore throat to enjoy one. I had one this morning. The reason I mention this is because one of the medicinal herbs used to make the Ricola drop is Elderberry flower. It is a well-established medicinal plant.
Evidence of Ricola consumption this morning.Ricola website picture.
On the package you can see the elder flower shown as one of the ingredients. On the wrapper the elder flower is the white one in the bottom left hand corner. I do not have a sore throat. I simply enjoy the flavor.
I did not copy the whole WebMD article because you can look it up if interested.
The elderberry is not only used medicinally, it also can be made into wines, cordials, and other food items.
The website The Spruce Eats is full of information and recipes.
I found this picture in my files. Here is my Black Lace’s flower.
My daughter likes to watch the Anne of Green Gables collection of movies based on the books by L. M. Montgomery. The picture I have featured here is from a Canadian government website. This house is a National Historic house based on the book. We visited this house on Prince Edward Island when my daughter was young. Her love of this story is still strong today.
Recently I overheard Anne ask Mirella if she can imagine being in the depths of despair. Mirella responded, "No I cannot. To despair is to turn your back on God." Hearing this got me to thinking about whether I agree with this.
Curiosity got me to thinking about other famous fictional characters' ideas about faith and belief in God. The Charles M. Schulz comic strip titled Peanuts came into my mind. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the whole gang are so famous that they have their own museum. https://schulzmuseum.org/ It is well documented that Charles M. Schulz, the creator of this iconic comic strip, did not shy away from including faith, spirituality, and theology in his comics. Here is one that I think is appropriate when thinking about Mirella Cuthbert's quote that is mentioned above.
I admire his open-mindedness and willingness to discuss religious beliefs. I think many people want to be considered “good” religious people. The trouble arises when we all have differing opinions about how “good” should be defined.
My personal opinion is that there are many roads that can lead you to God and salvation. Religions set-up their own system of beliefs and theories to point us in the direction they think we should follow. Reflection is all about considering your beliefs compared to other beliefs. This opens the door to modification if necessary and it can help foster a peaceful co-existence among us all.
(Today 8/09/25) I found the picture of my daughter in the carriage and my mom standing beside her. You can see the Green Gables house behind them. This picture was taken around 1995-1997.
A thorn bush generated using AI. I have never seen one like this in real life, however, it captures the essence of what thorns can do if touched or carelessly handled.
This morning I made some hot tea to soothe a dry throat. Attached to the tea bag string was a label with the quote: “One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.” – James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)
I decided to look this poet up at Poets.org. Here is one of his poems that I thought captured a small child's delight with finding golden yellow dandelion flowers scattered in the grass. *Innocence and a wise appreciation of all God's creations. I remember as a young child being told to blow the feathered tops and make a wish, unknowingly spreading seeds for future golden flowers (considered weeds by many.) 🙂
Very prolific flower. Easy to grow. No problems. Honeybees love its scent.
Above you can see a black swallowtail butterfly and carpenter bee enjoying a blazing star. The middle picture shows my pond in its heyday. The third picture shows a clearwing moth enjoying a butterfly bush. The screenshot of the significance of hyssop according to E-Bible taught me something new today. I grew hyssop in my garden for many years. I loved it, and many butterflies of all sizes loved it. Interestingly, I saw very few hummingbirds around it, and this possibly was because the red cardinal flower held their interest (not pictured here.)
Old songs continue to be on my mind. My parents were not album or music collectors, though they did enjoy music. So, when I received as a birthday gift in 1971 a Sugarloaf Green -Eyed Lady 45 rpm vinyl record from my friend Judy Moreau, it was a big deal to me. Above you can hear the song. I will also post the lyrics here.
I did not get the album as a gift. I only got the small record of this particular song. I was floored when I just read above that Jerry Corbetta wrote the song about his girlfriend, Kathy, who had green eyes.
The heat wave has been broken. Today is overcast, a lot cooler, and damp. I now plan to get outside and get some work done. Until later…
movingforwardslowly 