Pygmy Puffs and Heffalumps

Not Much to Say (but I'll say it anyway?)

2012-02-16T09:30:00.000-06:00

Wow. How did it get to to be February already? And not just February, but *mid* February? It's a dreary, cloudy day, and both the philosopher and I are fighting bronchitis and a sinus infection. ::sigh:: At least we have a quiet weekend in front of us to rest and recover.

The big news of course, is Selling Brown: if all goes according to plan, we will close on our house in Alabama next Saturday. The buyers are doing a final walkthrough this weekend, so we are extremely hopeful that by the end of the month we'll no longer be property owners in Alabama! (And yea, verily, that is a Good Thing.)

In tasty news, I have discovered a crazy-sounding but absolutely yummy soup recipe involving red lentils, sweet potatoes, and an apple. Before you turn up your nose, you should try it. It's reminiscent of butternut squash, but with a savor and spice that is just delightful on a cold winter night!

In gardening news, I have finally transplanted almost all the plants I dug up around Brown. My grandma's roses, bulbs, irises, canas, hostas, and lily of the valley are all in the ground now. The only thing left are the sweet shrubs, and since I haven't quite decided where to put them they'll have to wait a little while longer. It's been so warm that the daffodils have already come up, so now we're hoping there's no deep cold that comes through to kill them off before they bloom. Crazy weather, indeed!

A Birthday Present

2012-01-17T10:26:00.000-06:00

Yesss, my precioussss..... it's my Biirthday presssent, yess it isss....

OK, enough Gollum channeling. Today is my birthday. I've decided to call this my "Douglas Adams" year, since I'm turning (of course) 42.

My dear philosopher cooked me *homemade* french onion soup this weekend, and tonight I will feast on shrimp and grits. (Nota bene: Ladies out there, if you plan to marry, here's my bit of advice.... marry a man who likes to cook!!!!)

But an EVEN MORE EXCITING present was emailed on Monday afternoon... a signed contract on our house in Alabama! (And there was Much Rejoicing... yaaaaaayyyyy) Now we're just waiting on the home inspection. Here's another tip - if you're selling a house, do not watch Holmes Inspection on HGTV. Even though our house is in decent shape, I'm having nightmares about having to redo plumbing and electrical and dig up the foundation and replace the roof and..... well... you get the idea. (sigh)

There is even more news on the horizon, too. You may know that I've been waiting since June for "my library" to be renovated so I can work at the campus on which I was hired to work. (I'm currently driving 2 hours a day.) My school just installed an interim president, and last week he sent an email listing the critical projects that needed to be done even before the permanent president is hired this summer. Number three on his "git 'er done" list? MY LIBRARY!!!!!!! And it may be that it is a bigger space than previously anticipated, and yea verily that too is a Good Thing.

So I have lots to be thankful for in this new year, and I'm hoping that my 42nd year is a good one. And on that note, I'll leave you with a couple of my favorite Douglas Adams quotes:

“We have normality. I repeat, we have normality. Anything you still can't cope with is therefore your own problem.”

and

“There is a theory which states that if ever for any reason anyone discovers what exactly the Universe is for and why it is here it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another that states that this has already happened.”

May the force be with you, my friends! ::grin::

Ringing in the new year

2012-01-02T13:20:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to my faithful readers (both of you)!

2011 was a good year, by most accounts. New job, new house, new city, new church. The philosopher has work for the spring, and while that isn't ideal, it is sufficient for now as we pray for direction in his career.

So, a few photos to sum up the year....

Good friends.

It's always good to spend time with friends, and a delight to have visitors from afar. Our favorite biologist came for the weekend, and much fun was had by all.

Interesting wildlife.

Our new feeder is visible from our living room, and we have lots of pretty birds come for dinner. This woodpecker is a new arrival, and we're a bit baffled why he prefers the seeds to the tasty bugs in the trees!

Challenges.

The year was full of challenges, indeed. But none quite so tricky as this puzzle the biologist and I put together on New Years Day!

Unexpected gifts.

For Christmas my father built us this beautiful mission style tv stand. He knew I wanted a new one, and he surpassed all expectations when he showed up with this on Christmas Day.

Christmas Bling

2011-12-06T13:01:00.000-06:00

This past Saturday we went to Coker Tree Farm and found ourselves a happy Christmas tree. Yay! We brought it home, and after a bit of struggle with the stand, we finally got it upright. The new stand we purchased is much deeper and more narrow than our old one, and for a change the cat can't get her head in it to drink all the water!

This is also the first year we've been able to put our tree in the front living room window so you can see it at night! The problem, we discovered, is that the light coming in through the window put the whole tree in shadow. You could see the shape of the tree, and the lights on the tree, but because most of our ornaments weren't shiny, you couldn't see anything else. So I toddled off to Walmart and bought some bling - pretty gold ornaments and garland to add some shine/reflection.

And.... voila!

(The philosopher was playing with different camera settings - can you tell? These pics were taken not two minutes apart....)

The Pinhoti Trail: Georgia Edition

2011-11-14T08:19:00.000-06:00

A couple of weekends ago the philosopher and I trekked to our beloved Pinhoti trail - this time in Georgia, between Rome and Summerville. We went to Taylor's Ridge, and parked at the Mack White Gap trailhead. Unlike many of the other trailheads we've visited, this one required no forest service road nightmares, or muddy bogs, or other things most unfriendly to small compact cars. Yay!

From the trailhead we headed south towards a side trail that goes to Sloppy Floyd state park. We didn't *quite* make it that far, but it was still a six mile hike in the back country!

We saw wild turkeys (though we weren't fast enough to get out the camera) and some rather creepy fungi:

Of course this one reminds me of Alice in Wonderland...

Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went, `One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.'
`One side of WHAT? The other side of WHAT?' thought Alice to herself. `Of the mushroom,' said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight.
Alice remained looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a minute, trying to make out which were the two sides of it; and as it was perfectly round, she found this a very difficult question.

I could relate to you the adventures we shared when we were three inches tall and descended into the rabbit hole, but I'd bet you wouldn't believe for One Second that we actually nibbled on a wild mushroom. My husband was a boy scout - he knows better! ::grin::

There were also some very cheerful late fall flowers, which were quite encouraging after the mushroom encounter!

But the ground did not hold a monopoly on beautiful things - late fall in the Georgia mountains is a gorgeous sight to see. Who needs New England foliage when we have the Blue Ridge Mountains and Piedmont?

The trail took us along a ridgeline, and we came across a mountain meadow . We stepped out from the trees and walked into this clearing. If the ground hadn't been wet from yesterday's rain, I would have stretched out on the grass in the sun!

So that's our first "real" hiking adventure since we moved to Georgia in the spring. (State park trails just aren't the same, somehow.) But I've added a new list to our hiking log, and on those warm winter weekends you may just find us venturing forth to find another trailhead!

Halloween Fun

2011-11-01T14:56:00.000-05:00

I'm a crafty kind of person, so of course I love the challenge of carving a halloween pumpkin "old school" style - no template, no pattern, no fancy carving tools. Just a steak knife (freshly sharpened) and a pencil.

This year I think I created my Favorite Pumpkin Ever.

In the afternoon....

And late at night...

Two weekends' hard labor...

2011-10-07T14:35:00.000-05:00

and we finally have ourselves a beautiful new front bed.

Way better than the ... disaster ...

it was when we bought the house. Yes, that is a multi-level pond (er... "mosquito breeding system") with no pumps. And pavers are being used for pond stones. And *retaining wall* blocks are being used for edgers. Oh, and did you notice all the lovely heat-retaining lava stone? Yeah. Ugh.

So we scooped out all the rocks. We used the pavers as pavers around back, and stacked up the retaining wall blocks for a future raised bed. And all the other medium river rock we spread out underneath the deck in back, so we could put a chair under there in the shade. (The lava rock? We created a drainage area under where the gutter downspout and the AC drip line come out, so it's not mushy and we don't have to mow it!)

Then the bed looked like this:

(Do you notice the appropriate use of retaining wall blocks?) Ahhh.... Georgia red clay. So we rented a tiller and chunked up the clay and roots and rocks (well, we raked out the rocks, anyway). And then we bought a cubic yard of "planter's mix soil amendment". And tilled the bed again!

To this result:

Talk about a clean slate!

We traveled to east Atlanta to Maple Ridge Nursery and bought a Acer Palmatum "Crimson Queen" - a lace-leaf Japanese maple. It's a high graft, and so should eventually have a nice umbrella shape to it. We also added a Camellia sasanqua "Yuletide" and a Gardenia jasmonides "August Beauty" as the foundation shrubs. And, finally, my grandmother's hostas, ferns, and caladiums have a home too.

I'm also planning to add some Heucheras and some Dinathus in the front, but since they're perennials they can wait until spring. ::whew::
Oh, and did you notice we also added proper edging stones?? We'll eventually extend those around to the bed on the side. Yes, the side bed is also full of river stones... and red clay and a bunch of sickly teeny-tiny azaleas. There's also some lovely Coreopsis and a Sweetspire (I think) - but moving all that is a project for another day. I really need to do some thinking about what will work well on the north side of the house.

In the meantime, I'm going to sit in my living room and relax, and admire my happy plants!

What Do Julie Andrews and Hiking Have in Common?

2011-09-16T15:41:00.000-05:00

"Do, a deer, a female deer"
While hiking at Red Top Mountain last weekend, we saw a doe! Our new camera allows us to take a much better picture of far-away things, but she wasn't *that* far away. And we didn't even faze her a bit!

"Re, a drop of golden sun"
The trail took us to the banks of the Etowah river, and the sun glistening off the water made a very pretty picture.

"Mi, a name I call myself"
Well, obviously it wasn't just me that went hiking - the philosopher went too. It was our first Georgia hike, and we had a great time.

"Fa, a long, long way to run"
Five-and-a-half miles, at least. So not a *long* hike. And really, it was a much easier hike than the Pinhoti. When I get my "hiking legs" stretched out, we'd like to try a longer run on the Benton-Mackaye Trail up near Ellijay.

"So, a needle pulling thread"
How about, erm, threading a needle? (Is there some way I can really stretch the metaphor here?) While on our hike the philosopher's cell phone rang. That was a surprise in itself - we usually don't have cell phone service when we hiked in Alabama! He's been trying to thread that "job needle" for a while, looking for a teaching position. So the phone call? An offer of two philosophy classes in the spring. Score!

"La, a note that follows so"
Hm. I don't actually sing when I hike (disturbing the wildlife is a no-no in state parks, you know)! But we do TALK when we hike. Most recently it's been about his book project, with subjects like transformation, classical philosophy, contemplation, liberal arts, and Werner Jaeger's Paideia. Erm... I do a lot of nodding. And sometimes I get distracted and say things like "Oooh - look at that tiny frog!" or "MmMMmm - do you smell that? It must be a sassafras tree!" or "Did you hear that - that was a bird, right?" But my completely random, distracted interjections keeps the philosopher on his toes, and that's just fine. ::heh::

"Ti, a drink with jam and bread"
And to top off the afternoon, we had a cold glass of good, old fashioned, southern iced tea when we got home!

The G.S.E., a happy ending

2011-09-05T08:46:00.000-05:00

For those two or so of you who read this blog, you'll know that we've been looking for a church now for a couple of months. (And that was after the two-year search in Alabama, where we moved 6 months after we finally got settled at a church there!)

I tried hard not to be pessimistic about our first two visits, but even though we're *close* to Atlanta, it still takes an hour to get to the city, and that's where most of the churches we'd be interested in are located. So we Googled, and perused various denominational websites, and scoured the phone book (anyone else notice how dated a paper phone book seems these days??!?) and came up with a church about 30 minutes away, in Douglasville. Way closer than our last church, so we gave it a try.

It's a storefront church, tucked away in a strip mall. I had visions of folding chairs and a folding table as the altar, and no communion rail... much like our church in Anniston was. We walked in the front door and folks greeted us joyfully, introduced themselves and introduced us to others. Straight back were what looked like offices and classrooms, and to the left were the doors to the sanctuary. (Yes! A sanctuary! In a church in a strip mall!) We walked in, and - wow - they had taken great care to do everything they could to make the space *feel* like a church. Beautiful shades covered the windows and other exterior doors - it looks like they have several small storefronts that they've merged into one big space. Unless you look carefully, you don't notice that at all. They even painted stained glass motifs on the high windows above the shades! They created a raised area for the altar, and yes, there's also a communion rail. (Here's a picture from when Bishop Beach visited recently, so you can see what I mean.)

Now, I know, this is all surface stuff. What's Really Important is the mission and the message. But having a space *feel* like a sacred space does so much to ease the heart and, well, I don't know about anyone else, but I feel more at peace, more able to hear that still small voice. So I can't say it's not important at all, at least to me. And they keep the service liturgical - they use the '79 prayer book (but not the "star trek" Eucharistic Prayer D!) It's funny, I've been in a '28 church for almost 6 years now, but the '79 language comes back in a hurry. I miss the comfortable words and the prayer of humble access, but I do enjoy the '79 version of the Gloria. I think we're using a Michael Card setting for it - I'll have to remember to ask.

The good news is, they scored high on the Really Important stuff too! The rector is awesome. Great sermons, and truly a pastor's heart for his flock. He and the philosopher had coffee the week after our first visit, and by our second visit we were pretty sure we'd found our new church home. Sunday School has been awesome, and I'm hoping the philosopher can connect with a men's group too. Yes, you heard right. We actually found a church that's large enough to have two services, a Sunday School, Bible Studies, and small groups. Shocking!! 8-)

I even volunteered for the music ministry, which they're trying to grow. It's mostly praise music, with an AMAZINGLY talented worship leader, but there's also a pianist so we do get to sing some hymns too. The worship leader seems eager to start a more involved ministry, which is great. I did warn him, however, that I bring enthusiasm, not talent, to the mix. Heh. Hopefully when the Paulding campus library is ready, I will be able to participate fully, even in weeknight practices. And I haven't been able to do that since 2002. Wow. Time to pull out the guitar and see if I remember how to play, right? (Or worse, see if I actually remember how to sing!)

Anyway, thanks be to God for Trinity Anglican Church. It's always in His time that He brings us where we need to be.

The Great Kitchen Renovation

2011-08-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is the third kitchen we've renovated. Every house we've ever owned, we've made major changes to the kitchen. It helps when your dad is a cabinet-maker, of course. ::grin:: But I think this is my FAVORITE kitchen so far. I've always wanted white beadboard (even when it wasn't fashionable) and I love the mossy green color in contrast with the floors and the counters. But the coolest thing is the rolling cabinet - the kitchen is tiny, so my dad built another cabinet on wheels so we can move it around to use, and tuck it up under the window when we don't need it. It also added tons of storage, which was also a critical addition.

So without further ado, here's the "Before" - yeah, it looks all nice and pretty, but the philosopher pulled those off the walls with almost no tools. Cheap, crappy fiberboard and they weren't even put together correctly. We were afraid to put anything heavy on the top cabinets for fear they'd actually fall off the walls. Bad, I'm telling you... BAD.

So we started the disassembly on Sunday evening. We took everything out and stacked it in the living room and the dining room (making sure the toaster oven would be accessible, and moving the dish rack to the bathroom since we wouldn't have a kitchen sink for a few days!)

Oh, yeah - and the coffeepot - that was the LAST thing to be moved!

The philosopher finished up the demolition on Monday, while I was at work. Apparently he tossed the cabinets off the back deck, and they broke into lots of tiny pieces that he then had to go and clean up. (But really, that was probably easier than one guy trying to haul sections down the stairs, right? And it made large crashing sounds, which is always satisfying!)

What a mess. What a BIG mess. So this happened on Monday. Tuesday morning my dad and one of his guys showed up with a trailer full of cabinets. The philosopher actually worked for dad for a semester, so he was able to help do a lot too - dad's crew got the cabinets hung, leveled, and installed, then G and I hung the doors.

We also put on the knobs and pulls - which doesn't sound so hard until you realize that we also had to drill the screw holes in the right spot for each one. (I won't as you to look for the ones that may not be *exactly* even....). Then, finally, I added the new paint. Whew!

VOILA! And the first meal cooked in our spiffy new kitchen? A vegetable pot pie with a cheddar biscuit crust.... YUM.

A long time coming...

2011-08-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

This blog post has been a long time coming, that is! I just got back from a trip to Seattle (!!!) and boy oh boy - I gotta tell you... talk about weather shock! It was 72 degrees most day, sunny except for one cloudy drizzly day, and no humidity. I slept with my windows open (no screens, but no bugs bothered me either!)

I spent a week on the campus of Seattle University attending a library conference/educational program called Immersion 2011.

The campus was simply astounding in its lushness. Deep green beds of all kinds of wonderful plants, gardens and courtyards everywhere... and the lavender. Wow. So I'll just share some of my favorite pictures....

See what I mean?

And since it was Seattle, a group of us ventured out to the famous Pike's Place Market to witness some fish tossing, glass blowing, coffee grinding and cruise ship docking. It's right on Puget Sound, and (I'll say again) simply beautiful.

We also visited the Seattle Public Library, a wierdly famous library that is...goofy as all get-out. (Really - check out the photo at the link!!) They have one floor dedicated to conference room space. The rooms are pleasantly pastel and comfortable. The halls of the conference floor?

Red. Everything. Red. (And no, my camera wasn't malfunctioning!) I kept thinking of bad Stephen King short stories - is was CREEPY. The whole place is really industrial modern (*so* not my style) but I have to give them credit - while I don't like their form, the function was spot-on. The six floors of book stacks were arranges in a gradual spiral, so you didn't have to navigate stairs to move from floor to floor (and in the core of the book spiral was a large lime-green escalator, so you didn't have to wind your way all the way up if you needed to go to the upper floors).

All in all, the conference was fantastic, I brought home some fabulous Caffe Vida coffee and Washington State wine, and I enjoyed the weather immensely. But I'm a southern girl, and it was good to come back home to the deep south where mosquitoes thrive, the humidity curls your hair, and where folks know about sweet iced tea and grits. Yeah.

The Great Sociological Experiment, revisited

2011-07-11T09:58:00.000-05:00

For my long-time readers, (both of you!) you will recall that when the philosopher and I endeavored to find a new church, we visited quite a number of different flavors and varieties. I blogged about them in posts labelled "The Great Sociological Experiment", or G.S.E.

So two weeks ago we began again, in a new city.

Our first venture was to a church that bills itself as "Evangelical Anglican". It's a very well known church, with over 3000 members and a very visible rector. It's about 45 minutes away from our house, and G professed to want to visit "simply out of curiosity". So off we ventured! Our first thought was that the edifice itself brought to mind cathedrals of old, very beautiful and charming. The interior, once we got out of the parking deck (yes, a church with a PARKING DECK!) was also lovely, but disjointed. There was a large desk reminiscent of a 4 star hotel lobby, where a number of folks stood by to thrust brochures into your hands. As we walked down the wide hallway (think "airport-wide") we saw on the walls a beautiful illuminated manuscript page, a sheet of ancient shaped-note music, a (erm) Thomas Kincade-like print, and then ... a large flatscreen tv scrolling announcements. (??!!??)

The sanctuary was also beautiful, with NIV Bibles in the pew backs, but no prayer books, and the bulletin was all glossy announcements with no real order of service. The band was warming up, with drums and electric guitars and some brass. ::sigh:: Ultimately, the folks were incredibly friendly but the service bore no resemblance to any kind of Anglican service. Indeed, there was no liturgy at all. No communion. Lots of extemporaneous prayer and a firey revival sermon, but no quiet reverence. Definitely not for us.

This past Sunday we visited a local congregation which met in a community center. Of the ten folks there, we were the youngest there by 20 or so years. (The community center is in a retirement community, and I suspect that everyone attending lives there - not a bad thing generally, but not necessarily what we wanted!) The rector is a full time police officer, and very pleasant, and we were delighted to hear a sermon on Romans that wasn't Calvinistic in nature. But we need a church with more to offer folks our age - a place where we can connect with a community of believers and actually be part of that community. So that definitely won't work either.

Once the philosopher gets back from a visit to his family, and I return the following week from a conference in Seattle, then we'll try again and see were God is leading. So if you're so inclined, prayers for this new venture would be deeply appreciated!

What's in a name?

2011-07-05T14:01:00.000-05:00

We took a trip through north Georgia and the length of Tennessee this past weekend, and noted some... interesting... place names. So I thought they were worthy of comment (and derision, of course).

First:
Crane Eater Community Church (Somewhere in middle Tennessee.)
We couldn't easily tell if we were passing through a town called Crane Eater, but even if we were... really?? Crane Eater??!? We spent several minutes trying to determine if there was some theological basis for the name, but we got nuthin'.

Second:
Grinder's Switch Winery (Somewhere in central Tennessee.)
Now, I could come up with tons of great winery names (my favorite? Philosopher's Folly Winery!) The area has plenty of beautiful mountains, and gorgeous trees, and stunning vistas. Grinder's Switch Winery is what you decided on???? REALLY???

Lastly:
Bucksnort, Tennessee. (Also somewhere in central Tennessee.)
Yes. And the gas station where we stopped was the local big game check site when you're done with hunting for the afternoon. I believe the philosopher was the only male in the establishment wearing a shirt with a collar... no, wait. He was the only guy there wearing a shirt! We thought about purchasing a souvenir shot glass or camouflage coozie, but decided against it.

Q: When is a door not a door?

2011-06-27T21:11:00.000-05:00

A: (All together now...) When it's AJAR!

::snort, chuckle, snort::

Well, let me tell you a story about adventures in doors. When we bought Misty, we knew right away that the house needed a new door. (Those rotten jams and the fact that a good solid kick even from a wimp like me would've knocked it out of the frame were dead giveaways.)

So, we did our measurements (yes, twice) and did our research and found a great door online at Home Depot, on sale and with free shipping to the house, even! Woot!

Well, the door came in. And we toted it up onto the front porch. (Did I mention the door weighed about 150 pounds? And neither of us are weightlifters?) So "toted" might be too weak.... how about "lugged"? Or "Strained every fiber of muscle in our bodies"? Yeah, those are better.

Anyway, Greg got the old door out, and so we had a huge hole in the front of our house, perfectly sized for a new door. (Some installation required.) Except that when we got all the packing pulled off, the dadgum door was CRACKED. Unusable. Unsatisfactory. Unhappy!

(It's a lovely door, though, isn't it?)

So we called customer service and they said they'd ship us a new one ASAP. But we still had this Gaping Hole in our house. So we got permission to dry fit the door in place with two screws (probably more sturdy than the old one!) until the new one arrived. And guess what??

It didn't fit.

It was too tall. Whoda thunk that standard doors are different heights???

So we called customer service and cancelled the reorder. And hauled the &$%#* thing BACK down the stairs and into the back of the pickup so we could take it back to the store for a refund.

Now, about that hole.

We used plywood and lots of screws. ::sigh::

Then we started planning our next step - finding a door with a sidelite that WOULD fit. And guess what? Yeah - we got nuthin. So we went with plan B (or maybe this was plan F or V) and started looking for a door that was the right height, and who cares how wide it is! We finally found one, and thus began the philosopher's first experience in framing.

It wasn't pretty.

But after much cries of "drat", some sledgehammer usage, ripping the new framing out twice, and lots of blood and sweat, we have a NEW DOOR!

(Cue the applause)

We didn't want it to look like we had an off-center door, so we added wide trim to both sides, and I think it turned out fantabulously!

So kudos to the philosopher for *not* kicking the glass out in frustration, and for giving Misty a great new look. (All I did was the paint!)

Adventures

2011-06-08T15:14:00.000-05:00

My apologies. It's been a while since I've posted. I think I'll chalk it all up to adventures. Yeah. Lots and LOTS of adventures.

Adventures in the lat week of an old job.
Adventures in tornadoes.
Adventures in having no power, and getting it back, and losing it again after the tornado.
Adventures in packing and organizing (or is that supposed to be organizing and packing?)
Adventures in MORE packing, less organized.
Adventures in moving.
Adventures in the movers being very unskilled in Tetris and not fitting everything in the truck.
Adventures in plumbing.
Adventures in replacing front doors. And taking the new one out, and trying again. And again. And finally suceeding!
Adventures in going back to Alabama every week to mow and get more stuff the movers didn't load.
Adventures in starting a new job, and discovering they're still in the throes of renovation. So instead of learning all the stuff I need to learn, I'm moving books and disassembling shelves.

Adventures in stuff like this make me too tired to blog!

Facebook - the Virtual Lunchroom

2011-04-13T09:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, a blog post on Facebook. How.... unoriginal!! But I have some thoughts about social media, and figured I may as well get them out of my head and onto paper, as it were.

Now, I have never used FB for games, or applications, or quizzes, or any of that really distracting stuff. But I do log on several times a day just to see what folks are saying and posting about. It's like dropping in on friends in a busy lunchroom, and sitting at their table a little while before moving on with my day. I've reconnected with several dear friends, both from high school and college, and we've even managed to arrange face-to-face meetings when we've found ourselves in the same general location for whatever reason.

When I first signed up for Facebook, I did what most people do - I accepted friend requests from just about everyone as long as I knew who they were. As I thought about what I use FB for, I've actually unfriended a bunch of acquaintances. Not because I don't *like* them, but because I would never just sit down at the lunch table with them and have a chat. Is that rude, or draconian? Or am I merely being choosy with my online friends, just as I am in real life? And if it's the latter, then it's not a bad thing.

Over time, I've also locked down the security on my account more and more, and because they twiddle with their settings I check MY settings on a regular basis. Right now, you can't google my FB account, and only friends (not even friends of friends) can see what I post or share. This seems to be the antithesis of what FB - and most of its users - want from social media. They want people to be instantly accessible to everyone, everywhere, 24/7. But I'm an introvert, and I can't handle being with people all the time. I like lots of down time, and quiet time. (Which is why on the weekends I spend very little time on the computer - I get too much computer time at work, and I want to get away from that at home!)

My two faithful readers may know that I gave up Facebook for Lent (and so did a number of other folks I know). So I've been spending time in the lunchroom at a table for one - and that too has been a good thing. I've realized several things about myself and my habits, which hopefully will allow me to make some different choices when we move to Georgia next month. I've discovered that I deeply value some of the friendships I've rediscovered on facebook, and that I hope to keep in contact with those people, even if I give up facebook permanently. (I probably won't go that far, though!)

But I've also discovered that I don't have many Good Friends here where I live. And that is a sad thing. We've always said that where we are now wasn't a "permanent settling", so neither I nor the philosopher have made any serious attempts to become friends with folks. We have acquaintances, and folks we spend time with at work. But there's no one we call to say "Hey, want to come over for burgers this weekend?", and no one who calls us to see if we want to go to the park for a walk. So that was a good Lenten realization for me, and I know I need to be more intentional in seeking out friends when we get settled in Georgia. (Not easy for an introvert, but something the needs to be done even if it takes a while!)

At the same time, I will continue to cherish my online friendships. I am happy that many people who were once part of my face-to-face life can still be part of my life virtually. I can talk about Scarecrow and Mrs. King, CS Lewis and 80s music, girl scout cookies and Disney, bad golf outings and gardening and outdoor adventures, with the same people I once shared those things with at the *real* lunch table. And in that sense, Facebook is a great tool for that. I've missed my friends during my Lenten fast, and I look forward to lunchtime again next week!

Divide and conquer!

2011-03-28T10:18:00.000-05:00

Last week was a busy week. Our offer on Misty was accepted, so now we're getting all the ducks in a row for all the inspections and such. We have a home inspection scheduled for this Friday, and we're both planning to go over for it. (Tip: if you plan to buy a house one of the most valuable - and free! - things you can do is go through the inspection with your inspector. Ask questions. Listen to what he has to say about everything. Take copious notes. You'll learn tons and have an even better idea of what your new house will need over and above what the inspector includes in his report.) The philosopher has his grubby clothes all picked out, as well as his boots and a small notebook. Me? I have a sketch of Misty's interior, and will go armed with a tape measure. Then when I get home I can take a piece of poster board, draw a scale drawing of the interior, and start arranging everything! (Yes, I'm a nerd. Haven't you figured that out yet?)

These measurements and arrangements are critical to the Divide And Conquer Plan of buying a house. We have some very talented folks in our family, and we will definitely be calling on them for help. My dad the cabinetmaker will work with us to build some additional storage for the kitchen, and my wonderful mother-in-law is a whiz at custom curtains. Since we have several very quirky windows, her help and advice will be invaluable. (For example, when you have a 5' x 5' window - not frosted - situated directly over the bathtub, what kind of curtains make sense? What kind of crazy exhibitionist designed this house, anyway????)

The yard is a different matter. If you recall, I transplanted tons of plants from my grandma's yard when she passed away. I want to take some of these with me, of course. So I spent most of yesterday afternoon dividing, conquering, and re-potting. Now I have several good divisions of green hostas, and striped hostas, and red cannas, and japanese ferns, and chocolate mint, and spearmint, and lemon balm, and sage, and rosemary. I already have my sweetshrubs in two pots, and in order to minimize the shock to the roses I think I'll wait to dig them up until we have a place to put them in the ground at the new house. My two japanese maples are still in pots, and may actually be large enough to plant this fall, and I've got two cuttings of our corkscrew willow rooting, too. I'm also going to wait until the daffodils and lily-of-the-valley are done blooming before I do any divisions there. What's really great about my plan is that I have a nice shady bed in the front yard that all shade plants will absolutely love, and at the far back, lower end of the property there's already a swamp willow, so our corkscrews will be quite at home. Now I just have to keep them alive until I have a new yard to put them in!

Play Misty for Me?

2011-03-22T15:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't think there will be any stalkers in this version of "Misty" - it's the nickname we've given our NEW HOUSE! ::insert cheers and clapping here::

We bought a bank-owned property, so we got an amazing deal. Our payment will be less than a (cheap) car payment, and when we sell our house in 'Bama, we'll have enough money in the bank to pay off Misty. And that, my friends, makes it all worth it, even though we'll carry two small mortgages for a while.

Misty continues our theme of buying Houses With Stone - we've decided that our liking of that particular architectural detail hearkens back to our Sewanee days, when we saw nothing but stonework buildings for blocks and blocks. Still, I like the look and layout of Misty much much MUCH more than Brown. There's a finished downstairs room with windows that will make a great study for the philosopher, a separate dining room, a deck, and a storage shed, all on just over a half-acre. We're about 20 minutes from Marietta, and about 45 minutes from midtown Atlanta... and 15 minutes from my new job. Gotta love that!

We never thought we'd buy a newer house, but this one makes sense. The only hard work that needs to be done is replacing a bathroom floor and doing a little outdoor drainage repair, and the handyman philosopher is all over those projects. And of course, some decorating needs to happen. There is actually new carpet in the bedrooms and new paint on the walls, so all we need to do is replace the flooring in the living room and find someone (you know who you are!) who can make us some beautiful new curtains. ::grin::

So next time you want to go to Six Flags, a Braves game or the Fox Theatre, you know where you can stay!

A Garden, a Job, and a Theory

2011-03-14T08:58:00.000-05:00

I've figured it out. If you want to get a new job, and want to sell your house and move to where that new job is, all you need to do is plant a garden! I planted our garden last week, and this past Thursday I got a job offer from Georgia Highlands College. I'm really excited about it - I'll be the Reference and Instruction Librarian on the Paulding Campus (in Dallas, GA, about 15 miles to the west of Marietta). It's basically what I'm doing now, but I'll be in a *librarian* position. ::Happy Dance::

So that was Thursday.

On Friday, I spent hours re-arranging the house and cleaning and boxing up stuff and organizing... We're pretty organized and neat folks most of the time, but the housing market in our area is like the rest of the country - very squishy. So I want to give our 40-year-old house the best chance possible of attracting buyers. I took a bunch of stuff to the thrift store, and that felt GOOD. Why is it that a pending move is the only thing that really prompts us to get rid of stuff we don't need? (BTW - anybody want to buy a weight machine??? Heh.)

On Saturday, we met with our local realtor. She was favorably impressed with the house, so after a couple of hours of poking and prodding and talking and telling stories and signing paperwork, we got the listing together. It should go up on Monday, and then the wild rumpus will really begin. (The cat did NOT impress our agent, tho. She coughed up a hairball just as Laura was taking photos. Anyone want to house a psychotic cat for the next two months??!?)

On Sunday, we drove to Dallas. We explored the town, ate lunch, and met with our Dallas agent Michael. The Atlanta area was hit hard by the bursting of the housing bubble, so we were hopeful that one of the seven houses we picked to look at would be at least "a possibility". Housing is pretty darn cheap right now, so that is good. Unfortunately, most of the first set of houses were Completely Unacceptable. One was terrific ("Brown 2") until we discovered standing water in the basement. One was interesting ("Purple with a Study in Blue") but the lot was terrible. Why is there a 2' diameter black pipe sticking up out of the ground in the back, with a screwed down lid and electrical outlets running into it??? "New Farmhouse" looks like the previous owners took hammers to the walls and fixtures before they left. The other four aren't even worth mentioning.

Today I'll be poring over the listings again, looking for houses that meet four basic criteria: location, price, a quiet place for a study, and an "interesting" quotient. At this point, even if it's not interesting we'll consider it as long as it meets the first three! We'll head back to Dallas on Wednesday, and go from there to see what we can find.

So thank you all for your prayers - God definitely works in mysterious ways, doesn't he? We didn't find a job for Greg, but being close to Atlanta will open up lots of avenues that our corner of Alabama could never offer. We're still only 1 1/2 hours from family, so close enough to be there if we need to be. And my dad can still come over for Football Saturdays in the fall. All good! Now we just have to sell our house (insert another plea for prayer here) and find a place to live in Dallas. Oh, did I tell my job starts in 8 weeks? So no rush! (ACK.)

And about the garden? Fortunately everything I planted can be harvested in late April or early May. And the seeds for the summer veggies will keep until next year.

Let the gardening begin!

2011-03-07T17:14:00.000-06:00

Over the winter, the philosopher and I built a 4' x 4' raised bed, with a trellis net on the north side and dividers marking each foot square section. Indeed, it looks a lot like THIS, only there's nothing growing yet, and we used conduit instead of wood for the trellis. (I know, I know - I'm a slacker using someone else's photo. If the sun ever comes out again I'll take a picture of ours!) We filled it with our very own compost, peat, vermiculite, and a little bit of bagged poo from the Big Box Garden Center. The theory of a Square Foot Garden is to have very loose, friable soil with lots of organic matter. You can plant things closer together, and don't have miles to hoe before you sleep. It seems like a valid theory, so I'll let you know how it goes! My only worry is that you have to water very regularly, but when you're only talking about 16 square feet, that seems awfully manageable.

This weekend, despite the rain and cold temps, I planted my early spring veggies: ruby Swiss chard, teton hybrid spinach, romaine lettuce, bibb lettuce, yellow onions, and sugar snap peas. In two weeks I'll plant a second crop. I mean really - who can eat 8 heads of lettuce all at once? So I'm spacing out the planting which means there will be a few bits ready every week, and we can enjoy a continuous bounty. If, that is, the rabbits don't figure out where the garden is. It's pretty close to the house, so I'm hoping the cat staring out the window will be a good defense (in place of the fence). ::snicker:: If not, then I'll have to escalate the battle. I have a plan, but I don't want to comment about it on the off chance the opposition reads my blog. Rabbits are devilishly tricky little blighters, after all. (Much like Cornish pixies!)

Anyway, towards the end of the month I'll add carrots to the garden, and plant our new herbs in the herb bed - chives, oregano, cilantro, and TONS of sweet basil to go along with the rosemary, sage, thyme, chamomile, and various mints we already have. Come early May, the peas, lettuce and spinach will be done, and I'll plant peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant in their places. I don't plan to start those from seed, so we'll pay a visit to the most bountiful Master Gardener Plant Sale at the end of April. When the last of the chard comes out, in will go the bush beans. And if it looks like we'll still be where we are in the fall then I will plant some winter squash and do another round of late-season chard and lettuce! And if I can talk the philosopher into it, I may even try to do a winter planting of kale.

So bring on the spring, and let the gardening BEGIN!!

The Door Opens ...

2011-02-22T18:16:00.000-06:00

At least it opens a little bit wider, anyway. Back around New Years I posted the sad announcement that the philosopher didn't get the position at the school where he's been adjuncting for a couple of years. I also posted about a possible job at another Happy Southern School, and told of our friends and my desire not to hope for it too much because the disappointment was so fresh.

Well, the philosopher has a phone interview tomorrow. We were laughing about it on our hike this past weekend, saying that we had friends there already, and we knew where we would go to church, and by golly there is even a 1920s Arts and Crafts house for sale that we would love to buy and restore. So really, all we needed was a reason to move!

We're not quite at that point, but yes, we are hopeful. It's been a long time wandering in this desert. I don't know if we've learned what God wanted us to learn here, but I'd like to think we've grown in ways we don't even realize. I do know that we are both ready to start on our next adventure and we pray that this path, which seems so clear right now, is the way we need to go.

Hiking in February

2011-02-21T11:16:00.001-06:00

It's a great idea when it's 70 degrees! Hurrah for a warm weekend!

For Saturday's adventure, we first had to actually gain access to the trailhead. This involved no mean feat - traversing 10 miles of rather alarming forest service roads in a small sedan. (In our defense, the Alabama Atlas and Gazetteer, as well as Google, said these roads were COUNTY roads. Not so much, I say!) Fortunately, we've been rain-free for a while so the roads, while terribly dusty and completely frightening to drive on, were passable. We ended up at the Pine Glen Campground, deep in the heart of the Talladega National Forest. It's actually a nice place, with toilet facilities and such. We parked next to another small sedan and noticed it had a flat tire - "A-ha, we proclaimed - they must have came the same way we did!"

The campground is sited next to Shoal Creek, a wide and deep waterway that is filled with fish and turtles.

We started out on the trail, headed for our turnaround spot at the Laurel Shelter, some 4 1/2 miles north.

Along the way, we hiked around the western edge of Sweetwater Lake. Folks were out fishing, and there was a boy scout troop setting up camp for an overnight.

The shelter was built by a small creek, and there were some really cool rock formations. As you can see, though, I was too tired to really appreciate the scenery! ::grin::

This marks our longest hike ever, over nine miles! And I just did the math based on our hiking log (I'm a librarian, remember - I keep notes of this kind of stuff!) and discovered we've hiked over 68 miles of the Pinhoti Trail. That's pretty darn good for someone who didn't own a pair of hiking boots until three years ago!

Re - re - do!

2011-02-15T12:01:00.000-06:00

Well, occasionally I don't win one. You may remember, back in 2008, when the philosopher and I renovated the main bathroom? It went from a horrid brown with pheasants to a slightly less horrid white with blue.

Hm.

Zana was never *really* happy with the white and blue combo, but she was loathe to admit she.... may have made a mistake on color. OK, Ok, ok.... I CHOSE POORLY. (Fortunately we're not talking about the grail here.)

So this past summer (yes, it's been a long time but what with this and that it was Labor Day and then Christmas and then February and then we remembered to take a picture) the philosopher went to a week-long conference. And of course, what do I do when he goes out of town? I paint something! I decided to re-do the bathroom, with a little help from my dad the cabinetmaker. We rebuilt the closet door and the vanity doors, giving them a beadboard look. I painted the white walls brown, and the vanity and medicine cabinet white. We already had dark blue towels and other accents, so - voila - bathroom 2.0!

What you can't see is the roman shade and valance, which is white with a dark blue and a mottled khaki stripe, and the lovely shower curtain from my mother-in-law, which is white with a dark blue stripe. And the hallway is no longer dark brown, but white. Bonus!

Art Project

2011-02-07T12:09:00.000-06:00

Well, it's sort-of an art project. When we were in New Orleans this past December, we were browsing the antique stores (read that "junk shops") which have all manner of random ephemera for sale. From voodoo dolls to Victorian cabinets to cobalt and jadite glassware, there's something for everyone. We were visiting a place called "Greg's Antiques" (I kid you not.) What caught my eye were these... interesting... sculptures of birds made out of brightly painted bits of metal. My father collects flamingo statuary (again, I kid you not) and I thought one of these would make a GREAT Christmas gift. Alas, plenty of pelicans, no flamingos. (Sorry, dad!)

But they did have an astonishing array of architectural salvage... doors, windows, archways, all kinds of stuff. We saw some small stained glass windows that were obviously from the craftsman era - very simple and geometric. Some were in decent shape, some were cracked or broken, some had busted frames. They were selling them at a price we could afford (read that "cheap" - he's not kidding on his website when he says he has "the lowest antiques prices in New Orleans".) Later I looked up similar windows online, and they were selling for hundreds of dollars. So for about 50 bucks, we got a DEAL.

Anyway, we bought one. It was one of the few that didn't have a geometrical design, but rather an abstract flower. The window was loose in the frame, but the frame was reasonably solid and all the panes were tight to the lead. So we purchased it, wrapped it up and brought it home. The philosopher reset the glass in the frame and reglazed it, and we roughly sanded the remaining paint and gave it a topcoat. We tossed around a bunch of ideas on where to put it, and finally decided to hang it over the railing between the kitchen and the study. Voila!

This is looking down from the kitchen to the study (yes, our house has a crazy layout!) The window is about head-high.

This is a view from the study looking up, with the new track lighting beautifully illuminating the glass.

Yay, art project!

The Great Snow of 2011

2011-01-31T12:25:00.000-06:00

Well, it actually wasn't all that great. We were trapped at home for several days, and school was closed for a week. Fortunately, we had power and water and plenty of food, so the only negative was very cold temps and a deep desire to get out and Do Something. Unfortunately, the entire northern half of Alabama came to a screeching halt as everyone surveyed the snow-covered scene in stunned disbelief.

A day later, and the 4-lane highway at the end of our little street was still a mess. We would've walked down to get some barbeque (there's a place just before that curve in the road) but since THEY couldn't get to work, we were out of luck!

Thanks to the foresight and long suffering labors of the philosopher, he embarked on a major project: shoveling our Entire Driveway. It was a smart move, as our neighbor's driveway remained a solid sheet of ice for an entire week!

After he came back in for a steaming cup of hot tea, we toyed with the idea of shoveling our little street too. There are only three houses on it, and it's a dead end, so we knew the snow plows would never make an appearance. We decided not to, but later that day we did what we could to drive the truck up and down, hoping to melt away some of the snow while it was soft so it could evaporate before the deep cold settled in that evening.

Well, it kinda worked. Three days later we were able to escape!

What Not To Wear?

2011-01-20T17:30:00.000-06:00

OK, I admit to being a viewer (I don't think I will go so far as to call myself a "fan") of TLC's show "What Not To Wear". I've learned some things about how clothes fit, and why certain styles look better on certain body types. I've giggled at some of the hosts' jokes, and been horrified at some outfits. There are some "reality shows" that focus on getting a laugh by making fun and demeaning whatever regular joe is on. This one, I would like to think, really is focused on making the women (who is nominated by her friends) feel better about themselves and how they look and dress. Plus, the show gives them five thousand dollars to spend in New York City on new clothes. Bonus!

All that to say, I've been looking in my own closet a little more carefully these days. And I haven't been all that crazy about what I see. It's been a while since I've really purchased any new clothes, and many of my "work clothes" are showing significant signs of wear. So when my dad asked me what I needed for Christmas this year, I told him that I could use some new work clothes. He was amazingly generous, and Christmas Day I found myself confronted with a $300 Visa gift card and a mandate to "spend it all on clothes".

Did I mention I abhor shopping for clothes?

Sigh. Be careful of what you ask for - you may get it! My dear, long-suffering and patient husband agreed to assist me in the task ahead. I knew some of the basics that I needed, like khaki pants, a black skirt, and a new blouse or two. But beyond that.... yikes! Much to the surprise of our biologist friend (visiting us for New Year's), she got roped into the experience too. And we started the day in my closet, looking at what I already had and what I needed to send to the thrift store. She wasn't as cranky as Clinton and Stacy are, but it was stressful, let me tell you. (Did I mention I detest shopping for clothes??!?)

So off we went... to the mall. To the Big Box Clothing Stores that intimidate me in their vastness and befuddle me in their methods of organization. By the way, did I mention I have a bit of a snarky side, and it really comes out when I'm perusing current fashions? This personality feature was merely enhanced by the presence of the philosopher and the biologist! So once we got the snark out of our systems, we settled down to some serious shopping.

Did I mention I'm also a bit of a ... well ... penny pincher?

So I hit the sale racks. And came to the realization that the "sale racks" should be called the "tacky clothes no one else would buy racks" or the "clothes in completely unwearable sizes either tent-like or barbie-shaped racks". Nonetheless, I persevered. Since I had two watchdogs making sure I didn't bolt from the building, I had to try stuff on. And I had to try on stuff THEY found. And they cheered when I said "You know, I kinda like this." And that was affirming, so I wanted to hear it again, so I found another suitable garment. WooHOO! A breakthough!

Actually, no. I gave up the ghost after Sears, Belk, and JC Penney and ran away. Not empty-handed, but nowhere near done with my task.

So my biologist friend went home, and the next weekend we spent the day in Birmingham. At the Really Big Mall. No, the REALLY BIG Mall. The one with the hotel attached to it! ACK! There I discovered two things which surprised me greatly - there is actually a boutique store whose clothing I like and can wear (White House / Black Market) and a very snobby store that sells petite clothing that actually fits (Talbots). Hurrah - more success!

The following week we had a blizzard that shut down my employer for a whole week. By mid-week, unfortunately, I was stir crazy. The main roads were safe, and the retailers were back in business. So I escaped the confines of our house (leaving the philosopher to his philosophical musings) and went up the road to try my luck one last time. I had about $75 left, and wanted to maximize my value, so I hit Ross, and Marshalls, and TJ Maxx (These should be labeled STORES "With tacky clothes no one wants to pay retail for". Then I went to Kohls, and Dress Barn - and, miracle of miracles, I was FINISHED!

So, much like What Not To Wear, here is a catalog of what I got with my Christmas money....

1 black skirt
4 pairs of dress pants
1 pair of jeans (thrift store, I admit, but they fit great and look new!)
2 fine gauge v-neck sweaters
2 sweaters with oxford collars
2 cardigans
2 shells
1 camisole
2 dressy tank tops
1 oxford shirt
1 corduroy blazer

So top THAT, What Not To Wear!!!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T15:50:00.000-06:00

Wow - I hadn't realized how long it's been since I've posted anything... So here's December in review, and I'll try to get pictures up in another post later.

December came in with a fury, and heartbreaking news that the philosopher did not get the job at the Happy Southern School. (Lots of prayers needed for that one!) However, another door opened - well, let's say it unlocked, and we're hoping it opens further - for a position at a Slightly Farther North But Still Happy Southern School. This job would require relocation, and I would have to leave my job, but that's the only negative. We have dear friends who work there, and other dear friends in the same town. I don't want to get my hopes up, because they were so recently brutally bashed. Still, I'm an eternal optimist, and I *do* have hope.

After the semester ended for both of us, we left for a Much Needed Vacation in New Orleans. We stayed at La Maison Marigny, a delightful B&B on the residential end of Bourbon Street. We ate well, and we listened to live jazz and had drinks. (We were pondering that later, and realized that may be only the second time ever that we were in a bar and both had cocktails....!) We bought fun-but-inexpensive art, and enjoyed a trip to the World War II museum. We did a lot of walking and taking pictures, too. It's funny, but when we first were married we took photos of each other. Later we started taking pictures of places we had been, usually without people in the frame. Now? We're taking pictures of architectural detail!!!

Christmas day my sister-in-law came to visit, which was wonderful. We only live 2 1/2 hours apart, but there's so little time to actually get to spent time together! So that was a blessing, and a delight. Even better, we got over two inches of snow on Christmas Day, a first for our tiny corner of the world. Yay, snow! (Boo, bad road conditions!)

For New Year's, our biologist friend came down for a few days. She and the philosopher played a game of "What Not To Wear" in my closet, and then took me shopping to spend a generous gift card present from my dad. Most women in the world love to shop - for me it's emotional exhausting and definitely not something I look forward to. But I have some nice new clothes, and a dear friend to thank for it!

2010 will not go down on the record books as a wonderful year, but all is well for now. We're still praying, and watching, and waiting for the path. God's got a plan, we just have to wait until he's ready to reveal it to us. My impatient side fervently prays that in 2011 will see the way, but nothing can rush God. And all in all, that's a good thing.

Hiking at Camp Sumatanga

2010-12-08T10:44:00.000-06:00

I've lived back in my hometown now for going on four years. It's been a wierd time, in some ways, seeing things that have changed so dramatically since I was in high school. (But it's been good, too, being able to watch college football with my dad on lazy fall Saturdays!) The philosopher and I have visited parks and other places I used to haunt as a child, and he patiently put up with my never-ending stream of reminisces.

Once place we hadn't been, until a couple of weeks ago, was the Methodist church camp where I spent many an afternoon and weekend attending church picnics, retreats, and 4-H summer camps. (Yes, I was in 4-H. Please pick your jaw up off the floor!)

In general, things hadn't changed much. Some paved paths where they used to be stone, and upgrades to the cabin and lodge. The camp is on top of Chandler Mountain, and sits in a little valley below the peak. There's a steep, mile-long trail to the top, where there is a lighted cross that shines out over the valley. As a kid, I only made that arduous trek once - I always opted for the much easier stroll to the far side of the lake - so the route through the trees was less clear in my memory. We finally hit the upward trail (after doing a little accidental trailblazing of our own) and the steep climb began. We met a group of weekend campers coming down, full of enthusiasm after having defeated the mountain, giving us high-fives and saying "you can do it - it's awesome!" (Sigh. I didn't think I felt that bad, but we must've appeared weary and exhausted to the kids!)

When we arrived at the summit's cross, we looked down into the valley:

Alabama is a beautiful state and being atop a mountain, even in the early throes of winter, keenly reminds me of that. I have to say I was disappointed by the cross - it was probably the Coolest Thing Ever when I was 13, but after attending college at Sewanee and walking to this every weekend, a metal structure covered with neon lights doesn't do it for me. Still, the view was incredible.

We continued our trek back down the mountain, and instead of following our original trail we turned north so we would end up by the lake. Ahhh, the lake. I was permanently scarred on that lake when I fell out of a canoe. It took me decades before I would willingly paddle a boat again! The camp has created a paved walking path with benches and swings since I was there last, and it was a welcome relief from the slippery leaf-and-needle covered trail. We had our lunch on a swing, and the philosopher went to investigate the lakeshore.

So it was a good day, full of memories and philosophical discussion. It's getting too cold to go hiking these days, so we're planning our next foray for 2011, when Spring returns to these southern climes.

Christmas Prayers

2010-12-07T14:29:00.000-06:00

There are many things that need prayer these days, and there are many things to be thankful for, as well. So.... what's at the top of our Christmas thankgivings and prayer requests?

Prayer: The philosopher still doesn't have a full time job. Of the two positions he applied for this fall, he finally got a rejection email from the school in New York. (Would it be wrong to say that's a thanksgiving too??!?) We have yet to hear from The Happy Southern School, but he does know (through the grapevine, as it were) that he's still on the short list. They're calling references for other candidates, and I expect they'll do phone interviews with them soon. I hypothesize that if no one measures up to the philosopher, then they won't bring anyone to campus and their will be much rejoicing in our house. But if they do bring someone to campus, it could likely be late January before we know anything. So prayers for dealing with the stress and anxiety, and prayers that we can finally settle down to be Wherever We're Supposed To Be.

"Almighty God, who hast promised to hear the petitions of those who ask in thy Son's Name: We beseech thee mercifully to incline thine ear to us who have now made our prayers and supplications unto thee; and grant that those things which we have faithfully asked according to thy will, may effectually be obtained, to the relief of our necessity, and to the setting forth of thy glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

Thanksgiving: Even without a full time job, we're getting by. God has been good, and we're not in need of anything. I read so many stories every day of families right on the edge of losing everything and families that *have* lost everything, and I praise the Lord that we are comfortable, and safe, and warm. (Well, safe except for the cat, who likes to lie across doorways at night like a large fluffy trip-monster!)

"Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men; We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may he unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen."

A thought...

2010-11-18T10:58:00.000-06:00

And yes, it's a bit snarky. But I mean it in all seriousness.

In 2006 the left went ballistic that President Bush wanted to track phone numbers of suspected terrorists. They said it destroyed the Fourth Amendment, and some politicians went so far as to say, "What the heck - do you think millions of Americans are members of al Qaeda?"

Flash forward four years. If you want to fly, the TSA will scan you (and agents will be able to see completely nude images of you) OR you can submit to a pat-down that, if it occurred anywhere else, would be considered a sexual assault. Which seems to be just a *tiny* bit more intrusive than say, phone taps overseas. Moreover, the efficacy - and safety - of such procedures have yet been proven to be reliable. But no one on the left is complaining about personal privacy and the Fourth Amendment now. Why? The arguments are exactly the same. "What the heck - do you think millions of Americans are members of al Qaeda?"

OK, I know the argument: Phone taps and airplanes are entirely different things. How else can you keep airlines safe from terrorist bombs if you don't inspect closely every passenger and crew member? I get that. But dontcha think that if we knew what the terrorists were doing by listening to their phone conversations we might stop them before they get within 100 miles of an airport anyway? Besides, I think the terrorists have proven that once they use a tactic and we discover it, they switch to something else. Cases in point: Richard Reid, shoe bomber. We have to take our shoes at the airport now. Terrorists tried to smuggle liquid explosives in by using water bottles. No more liquids! Abdulmutallab tried the exploding underwear theory, and now we get nude scans. So what will we do when the next guy hides explosives in a body cavity?

I think it's time to try something new. Political correctness has gotten so out of hand that we can't do those things that might actually be EFFECTIVE at stopping terrorists. There have been some good ideas proposed by some smart folks, so I won't bother to recount all those here. But if we *really* want to keep people safe in the air, and on trains, and in buildings we need to be smarter than the terrorists, and that's not happening right now.

A Trip to Charleston

2010-11-09T17:50:00.000-06:00

I went to a library conference last week in Charleston, South Carolina. Never been there before. Definitely want to go back and take the philosopher, and do nothing but walk around town admiring the architecture! Now, I could regal you all (all two of you) with amazing conference anecdotes, and recaps of some of the amazing sessions like Scholarly Communication! Google Books! Bibliographic Instruction! e-Readers in the library! Database Management! Patron-Driven Acquisitions!

But I won't.

Instead I'll share with you some pictures I took during a brief walking tour. I decided to skip out on one afternoon session, and try to see as much of the city as I could. I wanted to walk down to the Battery. I wanted to see some of the amazing historic churches. I wanted to walk right up and touch some of the buildings that were standing 200 years ago. So I did.. and this is some of what I saw:

Citadel Square Baptist Church: established 1854. It was actually across Marion Square from the conference hotel, and we could hear it (and many others around town) toll the hours.

On the other side of the square was St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, established 1874. You can't really tell in this photo because it was a cloudy day, but the edifice is a beautiful terra cotta color, and it had some wonderful stained glass. It's also interesting that for all the churches, the stained glass is protected by what appears to be lexan or some other sturdy outer layer. I suppose it makes sense.. you know, hurricanes could really do some damage.

Next was the French Huguenot Church, established 1845. The architectural detail was stunning.

This is the First Baptist Church. It is the oldest Baptist church in the south - the congregation was formed in 1682, and this building was constructed in 1822.

These are two of the Episcopal churches. The one on the left is St. Michael's (1752), and the one on the right is St. Philip's (founded in 1680). St. Michael's has the distinction of being one of the only churches that has not had significant changes made to its facade, so it looks today just like it looked 250 years ago.

And then of course I headed down to the coastline. The US Custom House and the USS Yorktown are visible from an awesome waterfront park and pier off of East Bay Street (on the Cooper River). When I walked down to Battery Park, there was a sailing ship out in the bay. I tried to get a decent shot, and the best one I could get also had Ft. Sumter just inside the frame on the left. Bonus!

I still may bore you with a post about some of the conference proceedings - we had a senior Google engineer talk about the Google Books project which was Just Absolutely Amazing. I also enjoyed some delicious food at Slightly North of Broad, Chai's Lounge and Tapas, and the Swamp Fox Restaurant. But I'll save that for later.... ::grin::

Fall Colors on the Mountain

2010-10-26T17:49:00.001-05:00

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

~John Muir

This past weekend the philosopher and I went on a hike in the Talladega National Forest. The Pinhoti, as I've mentioned before, is a really long trail extending from south of Birmingham to the Georgia state line near Cedartown. We're hiking all the parts of it nearby, bit by bit. This time we went from the County Road 94 crossing about 3 1/2 miles up the mountain and along Augusta Mine Ridge. It was a perfect day - upper 70s with a nice breeze and low humidity.

Wilson Ridge


This is looking east from Rocky Top, elevation @ 1850'

The trail cut through an ancient grove of cedars and pines - I kept thinking of Tolkien, for some reason.

Looking down into Piedmont Valley

Looking back to Oakey Mountain

It was a frabjulous day, all in all. And the best part? We didn't talk deep philosophy, or make plans about what we might do if the philosopher doesn't find a full time job. Instead we talked about where we might move to be closer to the (soon-to-be-his-we-hope-and-pray) job he will have next year. So we talked about houses, and where we'd like to live. And where we might live if we BOTH got a job at the Happy Southern School, and where we might live if I stay where I am. My friends, I have to say, that was the most hopeful and encouraging Hiking Talk we've had... ever. So keep up the prayers. We know for sure that one way or another things will be settled by Christmas. And ... hopefully! ... our yearly Christmas letter will bear happy tidings for us at last!

Hitchcock is Laughing

2010-10-19T09:48:00.000-05:00

Birds. Birds! BIRDS EVERYWHERE!! They're following me! ACK!

I've mentioned before about the long desolate journey I have every day to work. And I've mentioned some of the ...odd ... wildlife I've seen. So last night, driving home, I was swooped by a bird. (It may have been a bat, but who can tell when it's dark?) It was an omen, though, of my pending morning commute. (Cue the menacing "Twilight Zone" theme music here...)

This morning, I passed a rafter of turkeys. They were congregated in the large area around (I kid you not) the Etowah County Bow Hunters range. Maybe they had a death wish? Or maybe they were showing their machismo and daring the bow hunters to take the field? I don't know, but they were looking at me as though *I* might be Thanksgiving dinner, not them!

Later, I saw a murder of crows perched among the branches of an enormous dead tree. Can you say "creepy"? Just imagine - the skeleton of an oak, filled with large black birds silhouetted against the rising sun. Yeah. "Creepy" about sums it up.

There's a beautiful creek area on my way to work, too. It's a nearly mile-long stretch where the road crosses several creeks feeding into the nearby Coosa River. What did I see? Swans! Black ones and white ones! At least these birds didn't seem menacing in any way... but after my first two experiences - and the fact that Halloween approacheth - I'm staying on my guard!

Rose Identification?

2010-10-06T14:54:00.000-05:00

This will be boring to everyone, except those interested in figuring out what kind of rose this is. Feel free to ignore at your leisure! ::grin::

(The information provided is based on this data sheet from Garden Web)

STUDY NAME: "Mamie's Rose"

BUDS: round and smooth, with pointed sepals.

BLOOM: vibrant pink, 80+ petals, looks a little like a hybrid perpetual in shape and density

FRAGRANCE: very fragrant, sweeter smelling that the "old fashioned" rose smell you find in potpourri and perfumes

BLOOM DISTRIBUTION: clustered

REPEAT BLOOM: blooms at least three times a year (in fact it has buds on it now, in October)

HIPS: few, dark brown

LEAVES: smooth, medium green and glossy, usually 5 leaflets, no spines, each leaf about 3" long

LEAFLETS: uniform and medium-spaced

STIPULE: light green, no striping

THORNS: many, straight, strong and light brown (I actually like to call them "wicked and evil" when pruning!)

CANES: Upright and straight, stout

GROWTH HABIT AND FORM: 5-6' high shrub, upright

VIGOR AND HEALTH: fast grower, susceptible to black spot

HISTORY: Mt great-grandmother (late 1800s, it is guessed) moved the parent of these shrubs to Haleyville Alabama from Carrollton, Georgia. About 60 years ago my grandmother moved them (or propagated offspring) from Haleyville to Collinsville, Alabama. I transplanted these bushes to my house (about 40 miles away) two years ago. They were growing in part shade in very rich, loamy soil in Collinsville, and had been untended for at least five years. Before that they were very well cared for.

(new growth in October!)

A marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth

2010-09-30T12:09:00.000-05:00

That full phrase is actually "Nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity towards procrastination and sloth." What, you don't know what I'm talking about? It's an old radio announcer's test. When I was in college it was a "repeat after me" memory test (usually dragged out when the spirits were... heh.) You should try it sometime! But I digress - I actually am going to rant a little bit today. So if you'd rather not be bothered, you should hop on over to wikipedia and try to memorize "one hen, two ducks"... it'd probably be a lot more fun! 8-)

OK, let the rant commence. (Don't forget, I warned you!)

That old announcer's test came to mind yesterday when I read about the House of Representatives voting to adjourn before they voted on the tax cut extension. So that means all of us are sitting here waiting for the lame duck session to find out whether or not our taxes are going to go up. And it's going to affect everyone, regardless of your bracket. I'm not going to go on a rant against the Democrats, because that wouldn't be fair. But I am going to go on a rant against ANY politician who wants to put off a critical vote in favor of campaigning to keep their jobs. Your salary comes out of MY salary, remember? All those pet projects you want to fund? Again, MY salary pays for those. All those entitlements you want to keep funding without changing? I am one of those who's going to be stuck in the middle. You keep taxing my personal savings and investments to oblivion, and I'm convinced there won't be any funds left in Social Security when I finally retire at .... what ... 85? Geez.

And you know what? There's also talk that during the lame duck session that other bills will be voted on which will directly impact our checkbooks - things like Cap and Trade. And the EPA is off the reservation with its Tailoring Rule, which could make our power bills go sky high. And then we have the health care issue - with none of the promises coming true ("bending the cost curve down" anyone?) and a lot of the negatives starting to surface (premiums rising, doctors considering shuttering their offices). Which brings me round robin to "A marked prospensity towards sloth and procrastination." One of our House members actually said about health care, "we need to pass this bill so you can find out what's in it." No, ma'am. That's not the way it should work. You need to read the bill carefully, and give the American people time to read the bill carefully. Then you need to listen when we say what we think - that goes back to the fact the we pay your salary, remember? So to all our Senators and Representatives: don't be lazy and self-serving. It doesn't become you, and it certainly doesn't become the office you hold.

The Shrub Bed - Almost Done

2010-09-28T15:59:00.000-05:00

Well, for all intents and purposes it IS done... except for the colorful perennials which I'll add in the spring. But the hard part - the hard work - is all over. The holes were dug (and the digging bar was utilized - darn that Alabama red clay!) and the happy hummousy composty earth was mixed. Then the plants were released from their plastic bondage and set free to root deeply. They were all a bit root-bound, which is to be expected for a fall planting. I took especial care with the camilla. At the last minute I decided to go with the sasanqua instead of the japonica. The sasanqua variety is a little less formal, but more importantly it is more cold hardy. And seeing as I live in north Alabama, you can never quite be sure what the weather will do.

My biggest worry is the crape myrtle. The three main trunks were taped together, and it looks as though they'd been that way for a while. When we took the binding off, the tree didn't relax much - you can see in the photo how tightly the trunks are bunched together. If it doesn't relax this fall, over the winter I'll stake them separately (after pruning, but NO crape murder!) and see if I can gently encourage them to grow a bit more spaced out. In the long run it will make the tree happier, and prettier too.

So here's the whole bed - the picture was taken from the sliding glass doors facing the yard.

The row of hollies is probably close to 40 years old, as is the big holly tree in the back. It's hard to see, but at the far end of the bed is one of my grandma's rose bushes. All the rest is the new plantings.

This is a close up of the three gulf stream nandinas and the tea olive (osmanthus).

This is the sweetspire, the crape myrtle (see how close the trunks are?) and one of the gardenias.

Finally, this is the other gardenia, the camellia - and did I mention it already has buds? - and the barberries.

I am really proud of this project. I designed it, and we implemented it perfectly (well, I suppose I can't really say that until the plants survive the winter, can I??) So I'll pamper my new plants this winter, water and talk to them and encourage them to grow. As Tom Bombadil said, "Eat earth! Dig deep! Drink water!"... though I hope none of my trees grows as angry as Old Man Willow!

Laugh or cry?

2010-09-23T17:18:00.000-05:00

Back sometime around the first of the year, I blogged about starting to eat healthier. And generally, I do. I don't think I get my FIVE daily servings of fruits and veggies every day, but I get close enough to feel fine about my consumption. And I've definitely reduced the amount of fat and sugar and salt - (but I was doing that before, so can I count that as an improvement in my diet)?? Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good, and as I approach Middle Age (curses be upon it, ack-phtooie) I'm still managing to keep my weight at a constant level. Now of course the holidays are right around the corner - What? Yeah I know it's three months away, but have you been to Hobby Lobby recently? - anyway, we'll see how I do then.

Along those lines, I'm sure many of y'all have heard of Mrs. Obama's healthy eating campaign. So she's got to be a bit distressed to hear about a recent Gallup poll that asked 175,000 Americans whether they had easy access to fresh fruits and veggies (92% said yes) and whether they actually ate the recommended daily servings (46% said yes).

Oops. So the LA Times has a great (and a bit sarcastic!) article about what this poll really means. The author's conclusion? We don't wanna! ::heh:: I suppose I have a bit of libertarian streak in me - I don't want to be told what to eat, but once I decide for myself, it's a goal I can keep.

A bit of inspiration

2010-09-21T15:01:00.011-05:00

“Gardens are not made by singing "Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade.” - Rudyard Kipling

So this weekend we're planting our shrub bed. Or, well [ahem], we're going to START planting our shrub bed. With twelve large holes to dig, it might take a bit longer - especially when one of those holes will be for a ten-gallon tree. Yeah. Um.... SO! Anybody got a spare shovel and want to come to Alabama for a weekend???

Here's what we're planting....

Osmanthus fragrans (Sweet Tea Olive)
Itea virginica (Henry's Garnet Sweetspire)
Nandina domesticus x (Gulf Stream Nandina)

Gardenia jasminoides (August Beauty Gardenia)
Camilla japonica (Professor Sargent Camellia)
Berberis thungbergii (Crimson Pygmy Barberry)

And the centerpiece will be a Dynamite Crape Myrtle...

(I nicked the photo from my World's Best online nursery - if you live in the southeast and need to order plants, check 'em out!!)

And yes, I even have a garden plan. ::sigh:: Are you surprised?? As I played around with garden designs, I had the notion that I was actually pretty good at it - at least the layout. I'm still struggling with plant choices and what will do well in our soil and with our sun exposure.

This plan includes a couple of long-range projects (the arbor right next to the house and the patio with a pergola out by the hollies) but even without those two elements, I think the space will look really good come next spring. I'm still agonizing over perennials to plant around the shrubs, so I'm sure I'll inflict that agony on my hapless readers at some point. My colors for the bed are white and red, and that's only because I wanted to focus on sweet-smelling plants - which are mostly white. So the tea olive and the gardenia and the sweetspire are all amazingly fragrant, and they even bloom at different times. (I feel so gardener-ish!)

So that's what I'm sitting inside dreaming about today. And on Friday, we'll make the trek to the nursery, and the digging will commence! You'll be there with your shovel and garden gloves around noon, right? ::grin::

Fighting for the bed!

2010-09-20T14:11:00.005-05:00

Heh. And now I bet you're wondering what in the *world* I'm talking about, right? Did the philosopher make me sleep on the couch? Have we been overtaken by cimex lectularious? Or has the cat gone rabid and taken refuge in the master suite? Nope! None of the above!

You've read about our War Against The Pool. You've seen the results of the b attle. Now we have created a blank slate, and are working to install a beautiful new shrub bed and cobblestone patio in its place. So why is it a fight? Well, do recall that we live in Alabama. And you do know that Alabama is notorious for its red clay. And, if you glance at the pictures I linked to above, the new shrub bed is backed by a row of 40-year-old holly bushes. So... red clay plus holly roots plus no rain for three weeks make for... concrete-like dirt.

We've amended the soil with manure, hummus, and potting mix (bought in bulk from our favorite local landscaping supply store (and no, by that we do not mean "Lowes" or "Home Depot"). Two weekends ago I edged the new materials with plastic edging so it wouldn't wash away. We hauled in the dirt via truck and trailer, so after we got the dirt in place we could actually sow our initial grass seed. We opted for a cheap rye grass, again just to hold the soil in place until we can reseed with something better in the spring. I also re-planted all the perennial herbs... I had to dig them up when we removed the pool and they've been languishing in pots. Now they're in the ground again with a beautiful new layer of mulch to keep them safe over the winter. And they're right by the patio, so there's easy access from the kitchen!

The reason the herb bed's not finished is because there where you see the clay at the bottom of the picture is where the edge of cobblestone patio will run. Once that part of the project is done I can add the other border stone and finish out the mulch.

This past weekend I spent a large portion of Friday and half of Saturday building the stone border for the large bed by the hollies. It's about 40 feet long, and averages to seven feet wide. The stones came from the mountain behind the house, and are the same field stone that our house facade is made of. I really like the way it looks, and it ties the back yard into to look of the house.

I really, really had fun doing this. It's like combining Tetris and Lego and aesthetics all at once! You have to make sure the stones fit together, and find smaller stones to fill in the gap, and make sure it has a pleasing curve. Of course, after two days of hauling rocks around, I am ... sore. But it's all worth it! This weekend we're heading down to Wayside Nursery (a wholesale shrub and tree company) and we'll pick up our 15-gallon Dynamite crape myrtle, our Henry's Garnet sweetspire, our August Beauty gardenias and Doc Sargent camilla, our Gold flame nandinas and our crimson pygmy barberrys. And since we're watering the grass (it's still scraggly right now, but at least it's growing!) we can set the sprinkler to make sure it gets the new shrubs too. Then they can grow their roots all winter and be fresh and happy in the spring. Yay, plants!! ::happy dance:: Ahem. Sorry. I got excited there for a minute!

Yeah, this whole project is a lot of work - shrub bed and grass and patio and such - because we're doing it all ourselves. But considering if we had hired it done it would be well over 10k - and that doesn't include the pool removal - I'm quite happy getting this done for less than a thousand dollars. And having a beautiful back yard instead of a non-functioning pool will make our house more sellable... and that's looking more and more like something we'll be needing to do next summer. (!!!)

Two Cool Things

2010-09-16T12:07:00.004-05:00

It's been a very culturally uplifting September for the philosopher and I. Our little corner of Alabama doesn't offer much in the way of live theater or classical music performances, and occasionally we get the urge to partake in such things. So we look a bit further afield... not too far, not so far that it would require an overnight stay, but a day trip to get away from the "country" and take in a show or two. (Yes, that's one thing I miss about our five years in northern Virginia - there was always something wonderful going on in DC!)

So Labor Day weekend, we headed over to Atlanta to the American Shakespeare Tavern and saw "A Midsummer Night's Dream". It was superbly well done, (and the tomato basil bisque was fantastic, too). This is Shakespeare done like it was meant to be done - simple sets, talented cast, small audience, and just a bit of bawdiness (which goes along well with the English draft on tap!) Definitely not highbrow, but definitely a great time.

Then we went to other end of the spectrum this past Tuesday. The university where the professor teaches occasionally brings in concerts and performances in conjunction with local partners. This time they brought in the Tokyo String Quartet. They performed some Hayden, some Barber, some Schumann and a encore by Debussy. I enjoy chamber music, and we own some pieces on CD that are are auditorally stunning. But oh. my. goodness. To hear this quartet LIVE. In an acoustically superb recital hall. I wept. From the first notes they drew across their strings, it was a masterful performance. If you're interested, there are a few clips of them performing on YouTube. But that's nothing.... NOTHING compared to seeing them live.

OK, so now that I'm done waxing rhapsodic over our little burst of snobby culture (haha), I think I'll go back to digging holes for shrubs and planning our Christmas vacation. Disney was our first thought, but after some comments from a friend who's a seasoned Disney-goer, we (ok, "I") decided to hold that thought. Instead we're now considering a return to the city where we went for our honeymoon - New Orleans. A quiet B&B, some really good eating, and lots of browsing the antique shops would be a great way to round out 2010.

Late Summer Hiking Adventure (and a bit of an update)

2010-09-02T16:12:00.008-05:00

We braved the heat and humidity last weekend to go hiking again. This time we went north on the Pinhoti Trail, from the Salem Church Road crossing to the 1500' overlook (about five miles round trip, all told). It was great to get back on the trail again after our long, hot Alabama summer. Yes, I know it's still summer, but you know, September 1 is the first day of meteorological Fall so I'm sticking by my story!

This is Hawkins Hollow Creek, which had some beautiful red flowers.

And this is the view from the overlook on Indian Mountain.

In the foreground is Davis Mountain, then you see the Augusta Mine Ridge, then Oakey Mountain, then waaaaaaaay in the distance is Dugger Mountain. We've been to all four! How cool is that?

We still have our sights set on going up to the Walls of Jericho, if the fall doesn't get away from us too quickly. But given our schedules, we'll have to see. What with jobs, and yard reclamation, and other house projects, and college football games, sometimes it's hard to carve out the time.

A brief update on Other Things:
The philosopher had yet another phone interview with the Far-Away School, and he is encouraged. I think he would fit in intellectually very well there, but the whole Big City thing is a tough sell. We are also fairly confident that he'll get an interview for the full time job at the Happy Southern School, where he's already teaching adjunct. It may come to a decision between Two Cities (could that be the best of times and the worst of times?) so prayers for wisdom, and guidance, and patience are always appreciated. You know, it's funny - we talk about these deep things when we're hiking quite often. Maybe it's easier to listen for the still small voice of God when you're in the wilderness?

Are most librarians funny?

2010-09-02T09:05:00.004-05:00

My friend over at Billy Ockham asked that question recently, and I replied with an off-the-cuff (amusing) answer. I said we had to have a sense of humor because otherwise we'd go insane when someone (I'm looking at YOU, Google Books) tried to catalog Jane Eyre in Architecture. But I've been thinking about it, and wanted to actually comment with a little more thought and seriousness.

I read a lot of blogs. And one blog I find side-achingly funny is the Midwest Conservative Journal. He's got a rapier wit and can skewer a news story with awesome commentary, or write a bit of fiction that is worthy of Douglas Adams. And he's a librarian! I'm also on several library listservs - one for the Association of Christian Librarians, and two through the Association of College and Research Librarians. Now, most of the content is typical library stuff, but often we - ahem - digress. Stories about wild animals loose in the building. Wonderfully brilliant satire. Off hand comments leading to a treasure trove of one-liners and witty repartee. And of those many comments, it's not just one or two comedians making everyone laugh... it's most of the regular contributors!

I am part of other groups, and read lots of other blogs. But there's a really high concentration of witty folk out there in library land. So why is that?

Yes, I have a hypothesis - it's a vast oversimplification, but a hypothesis nonetheless. We can be funny because we love books. And we love books, in part, because we love to read. And because we love books and love to read, we're quite literate. (I mean that in a very broad sense - not just in the sense that we can read at a certain grade level.) So when we get to telling stories, we can do it well. And because we're literate, we can do it well in writing. And in my case, and possibly others, I tell stories *better* online than I do in person because I'm the quintessential librarian introvert! We can easily dip into Tolkien's vast "Cauldron of Story" and pull out bits that seem good because we've been steeped in that literary tradition. We've read good literature, and good history, and good writing on an amazing spectrum of other subjects, from science and engineering to philosophy and criticism. And we've read bad writing too, but because we've read *good* writing too we can tell the difference!

So when we write, whether about rogue wildlife or Anglican investigators, we tell our stories well. Because we've learned how to do it by reading so much of others' writing.

Of course, there are lots of people out there who are not librarians but who also love books and love to read and are also very witty... like the Joneses, for example. So that leads me to believe that anyone who loves books and loves to read .... can write well! So read, darn it, read! Yay, BOOKS! ::librarian cheer::

Five Random Things

2010-08-23T14:08:00.003-05:00

Number One.
Classes started today. It's been a zoo here most of the morning, and it has finally slowed down to a dull roar. So unless..... [five minutes later] what was I saying? Oh, yes, unless I'm asked to make another [another five minute pause]. Wait, what? Ah - so I was saying that unless I'm asked to make another student ID or activate a library card I can actually finish this post!

Number Two.
The professor has just applied for a full time job. At the school where he's already teaching on an adjunct basis. And I think they wrote the position description with him in mind. I'm trying to Remain Calm, but I'm praying like crazy!!

Number Three.
This week the average low at my house is predicted to be 66 degrees. Yea, verily, there was much rejoicing!

Number Four.
I am going to plant a red crape myrtle, two gardenias, a red camellia, three barberrys, three dwarf nandinas, a sweetspire, and a bunch of pretty daylilies and perennials in my new shrub bed - where the pool used to be. YAY! (And it's all going to cost less than $200!)

Number Five.
Did I mention I'm praying like crazy?

The Death of a Pool

2010-08-02T10:27:00.009-05:00

Yes, it is gone. Done. An ex-pool, if you will!

(In honor of that, here is my favorite Monty Python skit - and I quote: "'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!")

::snort:: ::giggle:: ::wahahahahahahaha:: ::snort::

Sorry. Where was I?

Ah, yes, the demise of the pool. We called a local guy - so local, in fact, that he *drove* his backhoe to our house rather than haul it behind a truck. He arrived about 9am, and by 1pm, he was driving off into the sunset.

So here's the before:

And then we did a little work with a sump pump. (The pool vinyl was so crunchy it was disintergrating as we cut it out!)

And then Snake showed up. (Yes, we live in Alabama. Yes, the backhoe operator's name was "Snake". Stop laughing!)

He did all that work in three hours. And we did not have to have any fill dirt brought in - he regraded the existing hill and smoothed it out and all that went into the hole. And I gotta say, he was a master of that machine. He was able to use the claw and pluck the fenceposts out of the ground without breaking them - and without breaking the holly bushes they were right up against. He broke the concrete skirt away from the patio slab perfectly, not even cracking the concrete we wanted to keep. And he did amazing grading work with the front scoop - you'd think we used one of those big grading 'dozers! I suppose there's something to be said for learning a trade early and keeping at it for three decades, huh?

(And in case you were worried, the bottom of the pool is not concrete, but a sand slurry mix that will disintegrate - and did actually start breaking up as soon as the concrete bits started getting tossed in. So we should have no drainage problems at all.)

Now, you are probably asking, how much did that cost? Well, one estimate we got from a professional landscaping company was upwards of three thousand dollars. ::shudder:: We wrote Snake a check for one-sixth of that. And for another couple hundred he's going to bring in a few tons of topsoil and his bobcat to spread it around. But that will be a couple of weeks, because we need to let the ground settle first.

So now that we saved all that money, I'm dreaming of landscaping and hardscaping and trees and shrubs and flower beds and arbors and pergolas. But the philosopher has us on a budget, so we'll see how far we can get in our Master Plan. I'm hoping at least for a crape myrtle and a camilla or two!

What do I want in my country's leaders?

2010-07-26T16:34:00.003-05:00

Honesty. Start out telling the American people what you believe and why. Don't sugarcoat it, or spin it, or try to make it sound better than it is. Then when we see what *all* the candidates really believe, we can make the best choice.

Commitment to the Constitution. Our founding fathers were wise men, and they created a document by which future generations could govern this country wisely. I want leaders who know and understand the Constitution, and are not afraid to defend it vigorously.

Financial Sanity. Most Americans understand what it means to live within a budget. You can't spend what you don't have. So don't ask me to give the government more of my hard-earned money - instead prove to me that you will use what I've already given wisely.

I could go on and on, but I think - at this point - I'll stop. No sense making my blood pressure rise again. ::heh::

Nothing a grenade can't fix??

2010-07-22T15:18:00.004-05:00

We have a problem. It's not a terribly important problem in the grand scheme of things. (You know, those BIG problems like "Will the philosopher find a permanent teaching position next year?" and "What kind of ice cream should I have for dessert?") But it's something we'd rather not deal with right now regardless.

When we moved to the southeast, we bought a house that has an in-ground pool. (Nota bene: we didn't buy the house because it had a pool - we bought the house despite the fact that it had a pool.) This pool is about 30 years old, and has now degenerated to the point where we must either replace the liner and repair the liner track, or remove the whole dadgum thing completely. The repair job will cost upwards of $6000 according to the bids we've received. ::shudder::

We're still waiting on estimates from a few landscapers to find out how much it will cost to remove it altogether - busting up the concrete skirt, ripping out the vinyl, filling in the hole, and regrading the back yard. (Now, before you start making suggestions - a grenade would actually be too small, and a small nuclear device might just be overkill. And the philosopher driving a bobcat with a jackhammer attachment scares the living daylights out of me!) So that leaves us with finding a contractor who does reliable bobcat work. We've called a couple of "official" landscapers, one of which came out to our place last week and one who's coming out tomorrow. I figure they're going to be on the high end of the bids because they're landscapers - they'll do the pool work, of course, and THEN they'll want to make some shrub beds and plant some trees and lay a fancy cobblestone patio (called an "outdoor living space" these days) and screen in the porch because that's really how they make their money. I don't mind someone doing the hardscape work - pouring and leveling a bunch of concrete is Not Fun. But I think I'd like to do the beds and pick the shrubs and choose the perennials and dig in the dirt.

Anyway, we're also making some calls to excavation and grading contractors. My dad knows a guy named "Snake" who does bobcat work, and someone at work recommended a company nearby called "Dirt Cheap". (You do recall that we live in Alabama, right?) I'm thinking if I can get an estimate from either Snake or the Dirt Cheap folks, they'll be the best in terms of cost. I'm just not sure I want someone named Snake working in my back yard! ::heh::

So if you couldn't tell, my vote is for removal even if it costs nearly the same as repair. (I don't think it will cost as much, but that might be just wishful thinking!) Why, you ask? I don't like the pool. Well, it's pretty to look at, but I don't swim in it, and I don't think it's worth the upkeep. And really, I don't think it adds that much value to the house as a selling point, either. I think a really nice area with a path and trees and shrubs and such would add just as much value, and cost a lot less for a homeowner to maintain.

Now if I can just convince the philosopher!

The Holiday Project

2010-07-12T16:06:00.005-05:00

Over the 4th of July weekend, the philosopher and I endeavored to improve a festering eyesore on the back quarter of our property. We have a workshop - a goodly sized one - that we use for all sorts of nefarious undertakings (like weed whacker maintenance, and woodworking projects, and dining room table refinishing, and lots of sundry storage).

The shop, though quite useful and watertight, looked pretty rough. Actually, that's an understatement. It looked like a heap. The small door was an interior door, slowly decaying from being exposed to the elements. The big double doors (the ones we drive the tractor through - yes, close your mouth - we have a tractor) are OSB. Waferboard. Pleh. We don't think it had been painted in at least 20 years, and some of the siding had actually turned to dust. We had a goodly amount of paint left over from when we painted the house exterior, so we undertook a Herculean labor. Replace the damaged siding slats. Kill as many of the mud daubers, spiders, paper wasps, daddy longlegs, and other creatures who un-naturally thought the shop walls were their homes. Sand the mildew off the trim, and then prime and paint the whole mess.

Here's the "Before" (but after we replaced the small door with a steel exterior door):

Then, after three days of hard labor and less than $150 outlaid, here's the after!

Now when you pull into our driveway, you don't see this looming hulk in the field and wonder whether or not it is part of this property. You see a nice workshop that, given the opportunity, would be fun to spend some time in routing a picture frame for a favored work of art. And the completed project also appeases my sense of orderliness and tidiness - it matches the house!

Blueberry Pie - it's what's for dinner!

2010-07-12T09:54:00.003-05:00

Well, ok. It's not really for dinner - it's for dessert. But you know what I mean. ::grin:: And it's - pardon the expression - easy as pie to make! It took me all of 10 minutes to whip together, and that included washing the berries and crumbing the topping.

Here's the recipe, for you adventurous souls!

Filling Ingredients
1 graham cracker pie crust
4 c fresh or frozen blueberries (fresh are better!!!)
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c granulated Splenda (not the packets, but the stuff found in the baking aisle)
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
7 T corn starch
3 T water
2 T lemon juice

Topping Ingredients
1/4 c granulated Splenda
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 c butter or smart balance margarine

As Alton Brown would say, let's assemble the hardware and software.

For the filling:
1. Place the blueberries (washed and drained, mind you) in the pie crust
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the liquids and mix well.
3. Pour over the berries.

For the topping:
1. Mix the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs.
2. Sprinkle over the pie, covering evenly as possible (yes, some blueberries will peek through and that's OK)

Bake at 375 for 1 hour. (You may want to put a cookie sheet underneath to prevent any possible bubble-overage.)

Here's the really, really, really important part. You Must Let It Cool Completely Before Slicing. I mean it. No, I really MEAN IT. Cool it on the counter for a bit, then cover it with foil and stick it in the fridge. Forget it's there for an hour or two. When it is COMPLETE COOL, then you can slice. If you do not follow this step, your pie filling will ooze out all over the place and the center will squish down because the filling is oozing into the space vacated by the illegal piece you just cut and it will be a disaster of epic proportions! So ... Don't Do It.

I would also think this would work in a regular pie crust. The filling is pretty tart, though, and the extra sweetness provided by the graham cracker crust and the crumb topping are a beautiful counterpoint.

Nota bene
Now, if you're really against sugar substitutes, you can of course use sugar in the same amount in place of the Splenda. I can't vouch for the tastiness because I do use Splenda and it is a raving success. And, if you use Splenda, then you've only got about a tablespoon of "real" sugar in each serving, which is quite diabetic-friendly in moderate amounts. And you get the added bonus of blueberries - the superfruit!

Tantalizing tastes of summer

2010-07-08T09:49:00.004-05:00

So, we had some volunteer squash come up in the compost bin. And to my chagrin, they're doing better than anything I planted. ::sigh:: I call them MobySquash. They're almost white with light green stripes, shaped like a gourd and just as big. But you can cook 'em up and they're Really Tasty. We're going to stuff them tonight with an Italian herb stuffing (sage and oregano and thyme from the garden, of course) and make some fresh bruschetta to go along with it. My Roma tomatoes are coming in, as well as multitudes of the Sweet 100s. My Big Boys didn't do as well as I'd hoped, but I have vowed to redeem myself next year - better garden, better soil. The red and green bell peppers are also coming along nicely - the greens are especially happy. (I'm thinking fajitas are in our near future!)

We had a catastrophe in the carrot patch, tho. Not the rabbits, but the caterpillars. I've been so happy that the hornworms and the squash vine borers hadn't taken over the tomatoes and zukes that I didn't even consider something might attack my tiny little patch of carrots! Nooooo-o-o-o-o!!!!!

And the blueberries. We picked a gallon last Monday at the local U-pick place (I apparently offered up the few berries on my two bushes to the birds this year, drat them all.) We froze most of them, but five cups are waiting in the fridge ... I found a recipe for a blueberry pie in a graham cracker crust with a crumb topping.... AND it uses Splenda. WooHoo!

Finally, completely unrelated to the summer harvest but equally tasty..... I will never purchase packaged granola again. I discovered a very easy recipe for a fraction of the cost. Rolled oats, chopped toasted almonds, sunflower seeds, honey, canola oil and cinnamon. Perfection. My new favorite breakfast is 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt sprinkled liberally with granola and some fresh blueberries. Can't get any better than that.

Oh, and eggplant! I completely forgot the eggplant! I'm not a huge fan, but the philosopher has come up with one sure-fire recipe... grill the eggplant and some onion with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Get some tasty cheese - mozzarella or monterey jack - and put it all on flat fajita sized tortilla. Cover with a second tortilla and grill until the cheese is melted. Presto - eggplant quesadillas! (You can add some chicken to the first grilling mix too, if you want some extra protein). And of course, I'll never, ever turn down the philosopher's eggplant parmigiana, either.

Sigh. I should never make these posts two hours before lunch.

Summertime, and the living is easy....

2010-06-22T10:38:00.002-05:00

Well, actually, in the southeast summer means it's 94 degrees outside with 85% humidity, and in my book that is definitely *not* easy living. It means the mosquitoes are out, and they're large enough to haul off a small chihuahua. It means that car interiors are hot enough to hardboil eggs, and you get third degree burns on your feet if you walk barefoot on concrete. It means that your AC runs non-stop 24/7, and the water in your plastic wading pool evaporates faster than you can refill it.

On the other hand, you have gardens exploding with fresh produce, ready to pick and so full of flavor it's criminal. (OK, yes, that is a rhetorical trope but don't blame me - I'm waxing rhapsodical over homegrown tomatoes, darnit!) Just think.... a fat red perfectly ripe tomato sliced thick with just a tiny bit of salt and pepper, laid out on Wonderbread with a thin coating of mayo. Heaven. Or consider Silver Queen corn, newly shucked, quickly steamed then slathered with salt and butter. Then again, there's the quintessential watermelon - eat it in huge slabs outside by the lake (or hosepipe) and let the juices flow where they may. Spit the seeds at the chihuahua (those the mosquitoes haven't carried off) and then pickle the rind so nothing goes to waste.

And then there's the zucchini, the crookneck squash, the peppers, the peas and beans and cucumbers and carrots, the cantaloupe and peaches and plums and blueberries and blackberries and pears... So much abundance and so little time! So I pull out the boiling water bath canner, and my trusty freezer bags, and set to storing the bounty. Freeze the blueberries whole on a cookie sheet, then pour the frozen balls into bags. Ditto the blackberries (and strawberries too, but they're more properly a spring crop around here). Blanch peas and beans and shucked corn and toss them into freezer bags too. Make pickles and relish out of just about anything, cukes and squash and peppers and cauliflower. Hot or sour or sweet, it's all good. Slice and can the peaches and pears, or make jams in a huge variety of flavors. Harvest all your herbs before they bolt - for basil my favorite way to store it is to chop it up and mix it with a tiny amount of water. Then put it into an ice cube tray and freeze. You'll have perfect servings are hugely aromatic basil (and oregano, and sage, and other leafy herbs) for soups and stews and pestos.

Then when you're done look at your pantry, and see all the wonderful things you'll have to eat this fall, when you're *really craving* a crunch of corn or some blueberries for a late afternoon bowl of ice cream.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a tomato sandwich and a couple ears of silver queen corn!

An Introduction!

2010-06-15T15:19:00.004-05:00

As you probably know, our 2000 Focus became an organ donor back in the spring, when the philosopher was run off the road driving down the interstate. (No one was hurt!)

So since then, we've been searching for a new vehicle. We have a really beat up Dodge Dakota, so it was decided that we should sell the Dodge and replace both vehicles with a single small truck. After much research (do remember ... I am a librarian!) we decided on a Ford Ranger, or perhaps a Toyota Tacoma if we could find one cheap enough. (Not likely, as Toyotas hold their value amazingly well.)

This weekend, we purchased Strider!

As you can surmise from the name, we were thinking that a Ford Ranger would be our only option. But to our happiness, we scored an AMAZING deal on this 1999 Tacoma. Still, the name had already stuck. Since "Strider" was merely a guise for Aragorn, then why should it not work for our Toyota?

Yes, we are nerds. Did you just now realize that?? ::grin::

Yes. I'm fiddling.

2010-06-15T11:14:00.000-05:00

I'm playing with the new layouts and designs. Don't be surprised. Do not adjust your screen!

A Good Sermon

2010-06-14T12:26:00.002-05:00

I heard a good sermon yesterday. It was on Luke 14: 16-24, the parable of the man who has a feast, and all his friends make excuses not to come so he invites the lame, the poor, and the blind. You know, the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday after Trinity!

Fr. Ed said a couple of things that really spoke to us. The first was "what excuses do you make not to come to the feast?" In other words, what excuses do you make not to come to church so you can partake of Holy Communion? The other thought was a bit tangential from the text, but equally provoking. The statement went something like, if you attend a church, then you should be able to say "I go to this church, and I agree with my church's teachings".

I won't go in to why we left our church back in 2004. But we did, and we did it because we really do believe that second thought. So that's put us in a situation where it's difficult to *find* a church where we can say "I agree with my church's teachings". They're out there, and they're multiplying, but in this Baptist-land they are few and far between. So, as you'll know if you've been following my blog, we've been considering going to a different, nearby local church. We don't agree with everything (for example, we are not five-point Calvinists!) but the fellowship is good, it's a large stable congregation with lots of opportunity for Bible study and small groups. We've been driving over an hour every once in a while to a small Anglican church where we can have communion, because the Nearby Local Church doesn't do that very often.

So Fr Ed's sermon hit us on two fronts. Why are we attending a church where we don't agree with all the "first order" issues, and why are we making excuses to NOT regularly attend a church where we can receive communion *and* have a common theology? On our drive back yesterday from the Hour-Away-Anglican-Church (I've blogged about it before), we talked about the sermon we'd just heard. If you go back to the post I just linked to, you see the excuse - it's so far away! And really, is that any kind of excuse at all?

Now where does that leave us, you ask? We're starting to talk about transferring our membership. The philosopher still wants to visit some other little-over-hour-away churches that we hadn't considered before because they were, well, Too Far Away. But based on several things Fr. Ed said yesterday (and not just in his sermon) I think it likely that this is where we'll end up. And that, yea verily, would be a Good Thing Indeed.

Why do I garden? Let me count the ways...

2010-06-08T10:12:00.012-05:00

You know, I actually don't even *have* a garden (yet) in the traditional sense. We have a patio container garden and an herb bed and some volunteers out by the compost bin, which to my joy and pleasant surprise are actually thriving!

Of course, our life is transitory right now, so we haven't been committed enough to actually till and dig and work an in-ground bed. So perhaps that's why. I don't garden because it "saves money at the grocery store". My yields aren't nearly enough to significantly lower our produce purchases...well, maybe the cherry tomatoes and basil. (Heh. We call that our bruschetta pot!)

I don't garden because I have a brilliantly green thumb. I think of "Green Thumbers" as those who garden instinctively and confidently - I actually fret over our little plants, always hesitant and uncertain about doing the right thing to make them thrive. I have a bag of bonemeal and a bag of bloodmeal and a bag of sulphur pellets we bought for the holly bushes. But I always have to run to my Vegetable Gardener's Bible and look stuff up... definitely not the hallmark of one with a green thumb! Still, this summer is shaping up to be more successful than last summer (blast those tomato hornworms and squash vine borers of 2009!) so I am taking that as a positive sign. And my flower / shrub beds are doing even better.

So, again, why am I so drawn to gardening? There's a satisfaction to it, and a heritage, too. I am so proud that I've successfully transplanted many of my grandmother's (and by extension, my great grandmother's) plants: hostas and callas and roses and lily-of-the-valley and daffodils... seeing them grow makes me inordinately happy.

There's an aesthetic quality to gardening, too. I detest "manicured" gardens - those whose shrubs are forced into boxes and balls and other unnatural shapes. But I like tidy gardens, on the other hand. Garden plots where plants grow in their natural patterns but complement their bed-mates with color and smell and texture. But... how do I square that with the idea of raised bed gardening? I delight in the idea of several neat and orderly raised beds with walkways between them and a cute (but functional!) garden fence around them... with a gate, even! Something like this, or this, or this. Maybe it's because I like the plants to look natural but I like order in terms of beds and layout? Hmm. I think that's the librarian in me transferring to my garden design...

With that mind, I've talked the philosopher into a single raised bed for next year. We're going to use the Square Foot Gardening method, which involves raised beds dug really deep and an intensive gardening style. Basically you divide a 4' x 4' block into 16 squares, and each square gets a crop according to its spacing needs. (ie: one tomato per square, but 24 carrots!) Then when you harvest one square, you can turn in some compost and plant another crop. We're going to put it out by the well house, so there's easy watering and a nice flat space. I really think I talked him into the project by agreeing that we should rent a tiller for an afternoon. He got oddly excited about that! ::grin:: Anyway, we'll prep the space and start amending the soil this summer, and (maybe) plant a late crop of lettuce before the weather turns cold in November. Then we'll be ready to go next year with a REAL garden. And that, my friends, will be a Happy Thing Indeed.

16 Years and Counting...

2010-05-26T16:20:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday was our 16th wedding anniversary. He spent it in South Bend, Indiana, attending two conferences (one on, erm... open theism, I think, and the other celebrating Alvin Plantinga). I spent it here in Alabama, madly painting the bathroom and building new vanity doors and sewing a new shade.

Something to ponder - why do I always take on a huge project when he goes out of town?

So we are in the process of purchasing him a new vehicle. Our 2000 Focus became an organ donor after the wreck (no one was hurt, and that is a Good Thing), and now we're looking for a early 2000s Ford Ranger to replace it. And yes, I've already named it.... "Strider". ::grin:: Anyway, since we're paying cash for the truck, I didn't want us to spend money on fancy gifts. So I got the philosopher a salad spinner. Nerdy, you say? OF COURSE!

But I digress. He actually spent nearly 14 hours in a car on Sunday, driving home. He didn't have to do that - he had an offer of a place to sleep at about halfway. But he wanted to be home, and I am Very Glad. That was the best present he could've given me. (Well, that, and he's promised to cook some tasty meals in the next few days!) Actually, what's even better is that he returned from his weeklong trip renergized, mentally recharged, and ready to get back to work on The Book.

Sometimes the care and feeding of a moody philosopher can be tricky, especially when their batteries are drained. So this past week was really a blessing for both of us, even if it meant we'd be apart on May 22. And even though we're still in a place of uncertainty in our lives, and where we should be, and what *exactly* we should be doing, right now All is Well.

Cracking me up (and speaking boldly)

2010-05-25T08:50:00.004-05:00

OK, I live in Alabama. And I'm sure y'all have heard the many jokes about Alabama, and its backwardness and redneckness and... well. Yeah. (For example: "Hey, we're Alabama - at least we're not as bad as Mississippi!" and the Application to Live in Alabama)

Well, Alabama's in the news again, and it's not about the Gulf oil spill. Apparently several candidates running for office in the June primaries have caught the attention of some "big names" and bloggers out there. Like Tim James (on Bill O'Reilly). And Rick Barber. And then there's Dale Peterson (interviewed by Glenn Beck, no less). I mean really, who even KNEW that Alabama elects its Agriculture Commissioner? Amazing.

Now, I have friends and family on both sides of the political spectrum, and this isn't meant as a slam on either side. But my goodness, if all our politicians spoke forthrightly about the issues and what they *actually* believe, do you think there would be as much craziness in DC right now? Do you think we'd all still be thinking "will those folks we elected actually look after *our* interests, like they're supposed to?" Would we be wondering "what does that Senator actually believe", and "what does that Congressman actually want for our country"?

So whether or not you vehemently agree (or disagree) with Mr. Peterson or Mr. James or Mr. Barber, at least give them props for speaking boldly and letting us voters know what they *really* think!

Another Hiking Adventure

2010-05-10T10:40:00.008-05:00

This weekend we trekked back to Cheaha State Park for an eight-mile loop hike. We started at the Cheaha Trailhead and took the Cave Creek Trail south to the Pinhoti Trail connector, then came back to the trailhead via the Pinhoti. It was a glorious day, a bit windy, but beautiful nonetheless. What's really cool is that we've hiked from a southern trailhead north to the same connector, so bit by bit we're visiting entire trails!

We had lunch at McDill Point, an absolutely stunning overlook about a quarter mile off the main trail. And even more interesting, there are the remains of a plane crash there. Being the librarian, of course I wanted to know the details. Surprisingly enough, there have been at least a dozen crashes that have happened near Cheaha since the 1940s. There was one in 1991, one in 1986, one in 1967... and the list keeps going. After researching on the NTSB site with the small bits of info I had, I believe this (2003) is the crash. It's in the right place (near Hernandez Peak) and it's a two-seater. So, my prayers go out to the families of the two men who lost their lives. I took a photo of the debris, but I don't think I'll post it... and actually, I'm surprised that the park left the debris on the mountainside. There's a forest road not too far away, and what's left is mostly aluminum.

Anyway, back to our hike. Here are some photos from McDill Point...

There was a pair of hawks riding the thermals just below us, and that was amazing to watch. We hiked the Pinhoti part of the trail back last November, and the difference in the landscape is something to behold. Six months ago it was barren rock and leafless trees, and this weekend it was lush with spring flowers and all kinds of green undergrowth. My favorite is by far the many, many sassafras saplings. You can't transplant them worth a darn (and I speak from personal experience), but they smell So Good!

I'm hoping for at least one more spring-like weekend, because once summer rolls around in Alabama, it's just too hot and humid to hike!

Flowers and a thought

2010-04-26T10:53:00.003-05:00

This is a flower off one of the rose bushes my great-grandmother brought from Carrollton, Georgia to Haleyville, Alabama. My grandmother later brought them from Haleyville to Collinsville, Alabama when she married my granddad. When we had to sell the family homestead last year, I brought the bushes to my house. And now they're blooming!

I've been trying to identify them - they're definitely Old Garden Roses (yup, that's an actual classification), and I think they're of the Bourbon variety though they could be Hybrid Perpetuals. I'm confident that far because of how old they are - the modern roses weren't even available back when Mamie was gardening in Georgia! I'm thinking they may be either "Louise Odier" or "Anna de Diesbach" but I don't have enough information yet to be certain. Still, isn't it amazing that roses from the mid-1800s are now growing in my yard?

My Nannie passed away last week, but I have a little bit of her living in my garden. And I think that's just how she'd want it!

The G.S.E. - church "F"

2010-04-15T12:05:00.002-05:00

Heh. And you thought we were done, didn't you? You thought we'd finally settled on a non-Anglican church and decided to call it home for the duration of our stay in northeast Alabama. Fooled you!! (And if you're wondering what this is all about, which would mean I have more than two faithful readers now - woohoo!, then you can read about what I'm talking about here.)

A couple of months ago we traveled about an hour south to visit the nearest Anglican church. We were desperate for a 1928 liturgy and eucharist! It was a small congregation, meeting in an old, historic, Baptist chapel. They are a CANA church, with a 1928 prayerbook and the Alleluia III songbook (Yes, they used a guitar. Please don't fall over. Those of you who know me also know I used to play guitar in a praise team many moons ago!) We were warmly welcomed, and experienced a wonderful service. So we've been back a couple of times, most recently at Easter. And it was glorious! We sang "Alleluia, He is Coming" and I nearly wept.

And it reminded me, deeply, that I am an Anglican. We've decided to try to make it down there for church a couple of times a month, if we can. It is, alas, too far away for every Sunday, but I can put up with the TULIPs if I know there's an Anglican eucharist in the near future!

(And how's that... TWO POSTS on the same day!)

Children and stories

2010-04-15T11:43:00.004-05:00

A dear friend of mine (who is homeschooling her two boys) posted the following quote on her facebook page not too terribly long ago.

It is through hearing stories about wicked stepmothers, lost children, good but misguided kings, wolves that suckle twin boys, youngest sons who receive no inheritance but must make their own way in the world and eldest sons who waste their inheritance on riotous living and go into exile to live with the swine that children learn or mislearn both what a child and what a parent is, what the cast of characters may be in the drama into which they have been born and what the ways of the world are. Deprive children of stories and you leave them unscripted, anxious stutterers in their actions as in their words.—Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue

It struck a chord with me, and harkened me back to some other posts I’ve made about children’s literature. I’ve been looking for a good topic so I could *finally* include one of my blog’s namesakes in a post! I’ve written about Pooh, but Harry Potter hasn’t fit in to any of my “literary” thoughts, until now.

There’s a lot of angst over Harry Potter, if you hadn't noticed. Witches! Magic! Evil things! Rule-breaking! And then you have the arguments in favor of the stories: Friendship! Self-sacrifice! Loyalty! Compassion! But Harry Potter is not the first, nor the last, to juxtapose good and evil. You see it even our earliest fairy tales:

The realm of fairy-story is wide and deep and high and filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are found there; shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is an enchantment, and ever-present peril; both joy and sorrow as sharp as swords. --Tolkien, On Fairy Stories

So really, maybe the point of having kids read Harry Potter, and Tolkien, and Lewis, and fairy tales, and parables, and… well, you get the idea…is to get them to THINK. To exercise that gray matter so they can learn something about the world in which they live. And what they’ll learn is that life isn’t always fair. Sometimes there are kids without parents. Sometimes there are difficult choices to be made. Sometimes people make the wrong choice and must live with that mistake. Sometimes there are wicked and scary things. And sometimes people find themselves in a moment of grace and peace and perfect Joy*. But if you don’t expose kids to these kinds of ideas when they’re young how then will they deal with life-changing, or scary, or even ordinary events as they grow older?

*Joy, in my sense, has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with [happiness and pleasure]; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again. Apart from that, and considered only in its quality, it might almost equally well be called a particular kind of unhappiness or grief. But then it is a kind we want. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But then Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is. --C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

Turkey Trot

2010-04-05T09:57:00.004-05:00

I've been beset by turkeys recently. And no, I don't mean "turkeys, as in folks who are slightly gooberish and driving me nuts". I mean Turkeys. Gobblers. Living, breathing poultry destined for the thanksgiving table. THAT kind of turkey.

A couple of weeks ago I was driving past one of the many cow pastures on my way home. I saw a large mass shoot across the road in front of my car. I didn't panic (thank you very much) but only because it cleared my front bumper with space to spare. I mean, I always keep a lookout for deer, and groundhogs, and bats. And even the cows themselves. But I wasn't too sure what that smaller mass might've been (having rejected the aforementioned creatures as being too large, or too small, or too "on the ground").

The next day, passing the same farm, I slowed a bit and inspected the fields beyond the road. I saw some large birds, and thought to myself "A-ha! Turkeys! Mystery solved!" Life went on, and All Was Good.

Then, this past Thursday (I have to agree with Arthur Dent about Thursdays, you know*) I was driving in town and saw, sauntering down the breakdown lane of a the major highway.... a TURKEY! Tail-feathers spread as if to say, "yeah, what's it to ya?" Now, this is Alabama. And you do expect some silly things parading around. But this was a cheeky turkey, and if I had visions of a roaster dancing in my head, who'd blame me? Funnier still, the traffic all around me slowed down too. And I could imagine wives calling their hunter-gatherer husbands "Honey, grab your 12-gauge. Dinner's on the highway!" Heh.

*“'This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.'” - Arthur Dent, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"Trifecta" - the coolest thing since liberty!

2010-04-01T14:21:00.004-05:00

OK, that may be an exaggeration ::grin:: but it's still Really Awesome Stuff.

There's a group of conservative bloggers (Scott Ott, Bill Whittle, and Steve Green) who get together every week to discuss, debate, enrage the liberals, enlighten the conservatives, and generally talk about what's going on in our nation. The show is called Trifecta, and they call their segments "minisodes" because they're usually short bits of less than 8 minutes. Their topics can range all over the place, but usually they hit the week's hot button issues. It's a little news, a little humor, a little commentary, and a lot of angst. But they have some wise things to say (and I don't just mean the wisecracks).

Scott Ott once ended a segment with these moving words:

Bastiat wrote “a false principle never has been and never will be carried out to the end.” And if you’re like me you might say there is a sovereign God who superintends in the affairs of man to the extent that even the evil and ignorant actions of fallible men can be turned to the ultimate good in the hands of this loving Governor. All that to say, I don’t know whether this health care calamity will get repealed, overturned, or just orphaned when we throw its parents out into the streets. But I do know that oft times before the song “God Bless America” has erupted from the hearts of forlorn patriots as a lyrical prayer, He has heard and answered and as a result we still live in the most God blessed land on earth. Never give up.

And Steve Green (who "drunkblogs" Presidential speeches and is a very, very funny guy) said this in the same segment:

There's a swell in this country - an undercurrent - and it's real and it's powerful and it's the most hopeful thing I've seen in 30 years. You can see it in the polls and in the tea parties, and you're going to see it on election day. But if - and only if - everybody speaks up without apology, that's the most important part, without apology for liberty, we can win it back.

So if you've been wondering why this blog lately has a bit more of a political undercurrent to it, that's why. I'm working on a post about literature and Alisdair MacIntyre, and I have some interesting observations of the local wildlife that I want to share too. But I also value my liberty, and my freedom, and our Constitution. So you'll be seeing stuff about that too. And I make no apologies for it!

Tracking unemployment and Freedom and Free Will, oh my!

2010-03-22T15:16:00.004-05:00

I have some randomly assorted tidbits for your perusal today.

Perhaps you've heard, but there's a bit of concern about unemployment in America these days. So the brilliant guy over at Political Math came up with this graphic that tracks unemployment since 1979. HERE. Wow.

An perhaps you've also heard that, well, there was an important vote in the House this past weekend, and there's a large percentage of the population who isn't very crazy about it. I'm one of those, and I offer up a couple of well-written essays for your perusal.

The first comes from Doctor Zero, called What Freedom Demands:

Freedom is not a gift. It is not given to you by the government, in a precise dosage that can be adjusted to match a politician’s diagnosis of what ails the body politic. Your forefathers won an impossible Revolution against an invincible foe to declare the self-evident truth that your rights descend from your Creator.

The second is from Bill Whittle who writes "Eject, Eject, Eject" on Pajamas Media, titled Free Will and Destiny...

But it seems to me that they have ... done nothing less than awoken from its long and deep slumbers the American Giant, who in attempting to sit upright discovers the Lilliputian threads that have been staked into the ground with finishing nails and who looks around, blinking and disoriented, fatter and softer and much, much poorer than he was when he last opened his eyes back in 1941, but possessed now as then with a terrible anger and capable still of mighty exertions.

I didn't post this to get into arguments with folks, so please no flames. I posted this because it's something I feel very strongly about. I think we've been openly mislead by what's in the bill, and that terrifies me.

My final offering is House Minority Leader John Boehner's speech to Congress just before the vote.

We have failed to listen to America. And we have failed to reflect the will of our constituents. And when we fail to reflect that will – we fail ourselves and we fail our country.

What we need is an open, honest, transparent Congress. What we need is a bi-partisan Congress working for the people. That's not what we have now. But that's what America needs, if she is to stay "the land of the free and the home of the brave".

It's not a train, I hope....

2010-03-10T14:58:00.002-06:00

This semester has been a tough one. Not only has it been a cold, brutal winter (Really. It's been the fifth coldest winter in recorded history in these here parts!) but it remains a very uncertain time in our house. We're not sure where we're going, or what we're going to do, or even if we're going to plant a garden this spring. (I did get some free trees from the Alabama Forestry Service giveaway, however, so baby river birches and redbuds are growing happily in the yard, and I've got two tiny Japanese maples getting strong in their pots. But I digress...)

Anyway, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. (At least, if it doesn't turn out to be the Atlanta-to-New Orleans AmTrack barreling through...) I'm taking next week off of work, and that should renew my spirits a bit, and give me a chance for some rest and relaxation. I ordered the newly-released DVDs of my Most Favorite TV Show Ever last week,which I will happily indulge in while the philosopher labors to catch up on grading. To make it even better, the *reason* he's trying to catch up is that we're going on a mini-vacation at the end of the week. We're going to Atlanta, staying at a bed and breakfast near Candler Park, and catching King Lear at the American Shakespeare Tavern. We're also hoping to indulge in a great meal at one of the local tapas restaurants - our favorite kind of "fun" dinner!

Oh, and did I mention that it might be a celebration trip, too? I have an interview next Monday as well. ::grin:: Yup. I emailed my packet on Wednesday morning of last week, and by Wednesday afternoon they'd called and set me up for an on-campus interview. I'm not sure what will happen, but I've been praying for God to open a door and make clear a path... and this feels a bit like God's giant wiffle bat at work, getting my attention. I'm listening, God. I'm listening!

My Cat is Trying to Kill Me

2010-03-04T08:16:00.001-06:00

But then again, I wonder if she's trying to kill me, or I'm just picking up the evil vibes she's sending the philosopher. In that case, then I'm probably perfectly safe.

But you never know.....

Snow and Hiking

2010-02-22T10:42:00.008-06:00

No, not at the same time. Two weekends ago, we had snow. This past weekend, it was almost 70 degrees and warm enough for a hike. That's life in the deep south - if you don't like the weather, just wait until tomorrow!

SNOW

We did get a dusting of some snow several weeks ago, but this most recent storm was a little more serious about sticking to the ground.

The day after the snow, the sun came up over the house and I snapped the first pic through the living room window. It was beautiful, but I commented to the philosopher that I was SO READY for spring. (This global warming stuff really stinks, huh?)

SUN

Then this weekend was absolutely glorious - truly an answer to prayers! Highs in the 60s, beautiful blue sky and sunshine. AAAAAHHHhhhhhh.

We decided to head off to the Pinhoti trail once more, this time driving north to the Burns Trailhead and hiking south towards the Choccolocco Watershed and the Choccolocco WMA. We heard a couple of hunters (but since deer season ended in January, we had to wonder what they were shooting at), and met several other couples out on the trail enjoying the day.

The philosopher is standing at the edge of "20 Foot Creek" in the first shot - posing diligently while I tried to get a good picture. The middle photo is Choccolocco Watershed, taken from the dam looking back east. The final one is also at the watershed (taken from the far right corner of the lake if you're looking at the middle pic). The wind was perfectly still, allowing me to get a decent shot of the sky and trees reflecting in the water.

All in all it was a fabulous journey! Many of the plants - especially the oak leaf hydrangeas and the dogwoods - were starting to bud out, and we saw a few stray flowers growing through the leaf debris. So take heart, my friends. Spring is coming!

A True Southerner Knows....

2010-02-15T17:15:00.002-06:00

I received this via email almost a decade ago. But I think it contains enough good Southern wisdom to repeat it here. If you're a Southerner, feel free to laugh out loud. If you're a northerner, well then.... bless your heart! ::GRIN::

(And abject apologies for "all caps" - it just wasn't worth it to retype!)

1.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HISSIE FIT AND A CONNIPTION, AND THAT YOU DON'T "HAVE" THEM, -- YOU "PITCH" THEM.

2.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS HOW MANY FISH, COLLARD GREENS,TURNIP GREENS, PEAS, BEANS, ETC. MAKE UP "A MESS."

3.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER CAN SHOW OR POINT OUT TO YOU THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF "YONDER."

4.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS EXACTLY HOW LONG "DIRECTLY" IS - AS IN:"GOING TO TOWN, BE BACK DIRECTLY."

5.) ALL TRUE SOUTHERNERS, EVEN BABIES, KNOW THAT "GIMME SOME SUGAR" IS NOT A REQUEST FOR THE WHITE, GRANULAR SWEET SUBSTANCE THAT SITS IN A PRETTY LITTLE BOWL ON THE MIDDLE OF THE TABLE.

6.) ALL TRUE SOUTHERNERS KNOW EXACTLY WHEN "BY AND BY" IS. THEY MIGHT NOT USE THE TERM, BUT THEY KNOW THE CONCEPT WELL.

7.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS INSTINCTIVELY THAT THE BEST GESTURE OF SOLACE FOR A NEIGHBOR WHO'S GOT TROUBLE IS A PLATE OF HOT FRIED CHICKEN AND A BIG BOWL OF COLD POTATO SALAD. (IF THE NEIGHBOR'S TROUBLE IS A REAL CRISIS, THEY ALSO KNOW TO ADD A LARGE BANANA PUDDIN'!)

8.) ONLY TRUE SOUTHERNERS GROW UP KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "RIGHT NEAR" AND "A RIGHT FAR PIECE." THEY ALSO KNOW THAT "JUST DOWN THE ROAD" CAN BE 1 MILE OR 20.

9.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER BOTH KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REDNECK, A GOOD OL' BOY, AND PO' WHITE TRASH.

10.) NO TRUE SOUTHERNER WOULD EVER ASSUME THAT THE CAR WITH THE FLASHING TURN SIGNAL IS ACTUALLY GOING TO MAKE A TURN.

11.) A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS THAT "FIXIN'" CAN BE USED AS A NOUN, A VERB, OR AN ADVERB.

12.) ONLY A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS THAT THE TERM "BOOGER" CAN BE A RESIDENT OF THE NOSE, A DESCRIPTIVE, AS IN "THAT OL' BOOGER," A FIRST NAME OR SOMETHING THAT JUMPS OUT AT YOU IN THE DARK AND SCARES YOU SENSELESS.

13.) ONLY TRUE SOUTHERNERS MAKE FRIENDS WHILE STANDING IN LINES. WE DON'T DO "QUEUES", WE DO "LINES," AND WHEN WE'RE "IN LINE," WE TALK TO EVERYBODY!

14.) PUT 100 TRUE SOUTHERNERS IN A ROOM AND HALF OF THEM WILL DISCOVER THEY'RE RELATED, EVEN IF ONLY BY MARRIAGE.

15.) TRUE SOUTHERNERS NEVER REFER TO ONE PERSON AS "Y'ALL."

16.) TRUE SOUTHERNERS KNOW GRITS COME FROM CORN AND HOW TO EAT THEM.

17.) EVERY TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS TOMATOES WITH EGGS, BACON, GRITS, AND COFFEE ARE PERFECTLY WONDERFUL; THAT REDEYE GRAVY IS ALSO A BREAKFAST FOOD; AND THAT FRIED GREEN TOMATOES ARE NOT A BREAKFAST FOOD.

18.) WHEN YOU HEAR SOMEONE SAY, "WELL, I CAUGHT MYSELF LOOKIN' .. ," YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF A GENUINE SOUTHERNER!

19.) ONLY TRUE SOUTHERNERS SAY "SWEET TEA" AND "SWEET MILK." SWEET TEA INDICATES THE NEED FOR SUGAR AND LOTS OF IT - WE DO NOT LIKE OUR TEA UNSWEETENED. "SWEET MILK" MEANS YOU DON'T WANT BUTTERMILK.

20.) A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS THAT IF YOU ARE WITH A COUPLE OF FRIENDS YOU,YOU COULD BE WITH 2 OR 10. THE NUMBER DOESN'T MATTER.

21.) AND A TRUE SOUTHERNER KNOWS YOU DON'T SCREAM OBSCENITIES AT LITTLE OLD LADIES WHO DRIVE 30 MPH ON THE FREEWAY. YOU JUST SAY, "BLESS HER HEART" AND GO YOUR OWN WAY.

Am I a Luddite?

2010-02-11T15:56:00.003-06:00

This may turn out to be a deep, cranky post. Or not.

I just attended a webinar. (I hate that word.) It was an overview of a presentation at a library conference I couldn't attend, so I suppose I should be glad I could get the content at all. I just wish they'd come up with a better word!

Anyway, it was called Tech Trends 2010... about new and emerging technologies and how libraries can tap into them. There was a lot of talk about iPhone apps, and smart phone apps, and mobile apps, and .... well. Apps. There were phrases like "augmented reality" and "you can annotate the physical world, virtually" and "you can log in to the place where you are." And of course there was talk about ebooks and ereaders and twitter and hulu and netflix and ... yeah.

I was one of about 50 folks participating. We were logged into GoToMeeting with a mike and a headset, watching powerpoint presentations and listening to the speakers and making comments and asking questions in a chat box. All good. Without this technology, I never would've gotten this content.

All four speakers automatically assumed that we all had smart phones, and spent hours a day with our eyes glued to the tiny little screen. They talked about being in the mall and having the ability to look up where the nearest libraries are and search their catalogs and see if they have a book. They talked about this application called Foursquare, where you tell your friends in Foursquare when you go somewhere with your iPhone. And win badges (which I suppose you look at and say, "I have this badge now!"). I think I agree with another participant - sounds like something a stalker would use! There's this other thing where you can take real photographs and add digital content (like a real picture of Abbey Road with a digital pic of the Beatles walking across it).

Here's where they lost me. How do these bits of technology actually improve my life? If I want to go to a library and check out a book, I'll go to the library. And I really don't want my "friends" to know that I've just gone into Piggly Wiggly. If I want to jump rope, I'll get a jumprope and, well, jump rope. I don't need a Wii to do that. I have a nice cell phone where I can call people and talk to them. I think it even has an alarm clock. But if I want to go online, I have a computer at home for that. Someone said recently that cell phone developers are all 20-year-olds. They must be, because they definitely don't take my 40-year-old eyes into account! Sorry.... that almost devolved into a rant. ::ahem::

But since I'm on a roll, I don't get Twitter, either. Though I do have a blog (obviously). Does that mean I just like stuff that gives me more than 140 characters to say what I want to say? And I have some other social media connections, like Facebook , and LibraryThing, and my newest favorite Delicious. But they all serve a practical purpose. I've reconnected with several good friends lost long ago on Facebook (though I draw the line at apps and games). I used LibraryThing to catalog our entire book collection (complete with call numbers). And I use Delicious to create a moveable, usable, portable list of bookmarks so I can log in and use it on any computer. So I embrace technology, at least the stuff that seems sensible and reasonable and practical and, well.... useful.

I spend ten or more hours a day in front of a computer at work. I don't one strapped to my hip the rest of my waking life. I want to be able to unplug on the weekends, and in the evening. So does this schizophrenic attitude towards technology and web 2.0 make me a Luddite?

Notes to Self:

2010-02-10T12:05:00.006-06:00

Things to do this spring...

H/T to The Joneses

Following God's Will

2010-02-04T09:56:00.003-06:00

A priest that I respect deeply (even though we've never met) had some wise words posted on his church's blog recently. I reproduce them here - they were a comfort to me and I hope they will resonate with you as well.

Hearing God's Voice--how do you know what God wants you to do?

Knowing God's will when making a decision is not always easy, but here are some general questions to ask yourself and things to do that I find helpful in discerning what God would have me do.

1. In prayer, share your desire with God, and commit do what he desires first and foremost even if it means not doing what you planned to do.

2. Be sure that what you hope to do is consistent with God's revealed will in scripture. Would changing careers, for example, mean that you forego any higher calling or responsibility God has given you? Would it require you to do or act in a way that is inconsistent with the principles and purposes God sets out for his people in the bible?

3. Ask God to make the matter plain to you by either 1. opening doors in the direction you would like to go or 2. giving you a clear discernable answer in the form of closed doors, impossible progress, or just a very clear sense in your heart that you should not proceed.

4. Listen and attend carefully to the four primary means through which God communicates to his people: Scripture, Prayer, Church (sermons, class, fellowship), Circumstances...to see whether God gives you any guidance through them.

5. If you have asked God to guide you with a willingness to do what he wants you do do, see nothing in scripture contrary to your plans, have listened to and attended the four primary ways God speaks to his people, and circumstances have left the way open to proceed...the do it with joy and peace.

I generally find that even when I make the wrong decision...if I have faithfully sought his will and followed the steps above that God graciously blesses what I have done.

Dante's Inferno - the Game

2010-02-02T14:04:00.003-06:00

I kid you not.

From About this Game:
"Inspired by the real Dante Alighieri, but adapted for a new generation and a new medium, the hero of the game is a soldier who defies death and fights for love against impossible odds. The Italian mercenary Dante returns home from the wars to find that his beloved Beatrice has been murdered, and her soul pulled down into Hell by a dark force. He gives chase, and vows to get her back. For weapons, he wields Death's soul-reaping scythe, and commands holy powers of the cross, given to him by Beatrice."

And then it goes on to say:
"At the midpoint on the journey of life, I found myself in a dark forest, for the clear path was lost" (opening line of The Divine Comedy). In the game, Dante goes on a spectacular journey through the afterlife to save his beloved Beatrice from the clutches of evil. But what starts out as a rescue mission quickly changes into a redemption story, where Dante must confront his own dark past and the sins he carries with him into Hell. He faces the epic inhospitable terrain of the underworld, huge monsters and guardians, sinister demons, the people and sins of his past, and the ultimate traitor: Lucifer himself."

OK. So let me get this straight. EA Games has released a video game based on Dante? And apparently Dante fights creatures and kills Lucifer? And they thought it was a good idea? I am appalled on so many levels I just don't know where to begin. He's not there to save Beatrice... here's there to save HIMSELF. And he certainly doesn't wield a scythe.

::she sputters with indignation::

This is a work that is full of political and religious allegory and allusion. It's not an action adventure story like you'd find in Robert Jordan or Tom Clancy or Douglas Preston. The Divine Comedy is a Christian story - a Catholic story - steeped in St. Thomas Aquinas and Augustine. As Dorothy Sayers put it:

We must also be prepared, while we are reading Dante, to accept the Christian and Catholic view of ourselves as responsible rational beings. We must abandon any idea that we are the slaves of chance, or environment, or our subconscious; any vague notion that good and evil are merely relative terms, or that conduct and opinion do not really matter; any comfortable persuasion that, however shiftlessly we muddle through life, it will somehow or other all come right on the night. We must try to believe that man's will is free, that he can consciously exercise choice, and that his choice can be decisive to all eternity. For The Divine Comedy is precisely the drama of the soul's choice. It is not a fairy-story, but a great Christian allegory, deriving its power from the terror and splendour of the Christian revelation. Clear, hard thought went to its making: its beauty is of that solid and indestructible sort that is built upon a framework of nobly proportioned bones. If we ignore the theological structure, and merely browse about in it for detached purple passages and poetic bits and pieces we shall be disappointed, and never see the architectural grandeur of the poem as a whole.*

So the game creators expect us to leave this vast richness behind, and treat Dante like we would any two-bit crappy author, ready for conversion to an action adventure movie and a video game and action figures??!? Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

*From the introduction to her translation of The Divine Comedy.

Read the Printed Word

2010-02-02T12:11:00.003-06:00

There's a group out there that is standing up and saying "We support books! Real printed matter! Ink-and-paper!"

And yeah. So do I.

The G.S.E... redux

2010-01-25T16:28:00.003-06:00

We were sitting in church Sunday-a-week-ago, listening to the sermon. For the second week in a row, the philosopher leaned over and said, "He's talking about the "U" in TULIP." (Now, for those of you who are suddenly worried, no hard drugs or alcohol was involved!) He was talking about the "shorthand" for five-points Calvinism... T.U.L.I.P. Which, if I recall correctly, stands for:

Total depravity
Unconditional election
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints

Now I don't know if I mentioned it in one of my other Great Sociological Experiment posts, but we are not Five Point Calvinists. And up until recently, the philosopher has remained (mostly) silent during the sermons at the PCA church we've been attending. Sure, there have been the occasional wince and frown, but generally he hasn't been too cranky.

So why the change in the professorial demeanor? The church has a new pastor, and if I'm not imagining things, he's a bit... errr.... more stridently Calvinist. And the philosopher also doesn't agree with our lessons on Romans in Sunday School. Thus he's getting very little out of our Sunday visitations these days. And because I'm fretting about how uncomfortable he looks, I'm not getting much either. A friend laughed and told me we were like the couple in the O'Henry story, The Gift of the Magi. He wants us to go to a big local church so I can make friends, and I want us to go to an Anglican church, even if it's small and an hour away, to preserve his sanity! (We are, if you haven't picked up on it, Anglicans, after all!)

This past Sunday, though, we did head off to a small Anglican church about an hour south of us. (What letter am I on? Church F?) There were about 20 folks there on a stormy morning. They meet in a small historic chapel, and have a wonderful guitarist and a LEM with a fabulous voice. And we got to have communion. ::sigh:: It's been three months since we partook in an Anglican communion (longer than that if you go for a 1928 BCP communion). I so missed saying the Prayer of Humble Access!

So, to all of my far-away friends, please continue to keep us in your prayers. We're still so unsettled, and with possible out-of-state jobs in the offing it's hard to find that internal peace. For now, my Bible verse will remain Isaiah 42:16... "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.."

A Winter's Trail

2010-01-19T13:49:00.002-06:00

For my birthday, the philosopher and I went on a hike - a real hike, not a walk in the local park or a stroll around the city lake. It was a glorious day, about 62 degrees and sunny with a brilliant blue sky. Our original plan was to find the Pinhoti parking area near Coleman Lake. We had the directions from the Pinhoti Trail Alliance website, and off we went.

Well, first we packed a lunch - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, and trail mix - and collected our hiking sticks and backpacks and compass and small first aid kit and Pinhoti trail map and chap stick and .... did I ever tell you I'm married to a Boy Scout, by the way?

Anyway, once we got our gear together, we pulled out our trusty Alabama Atlas and Gazetteer and headed down the road. And over the mountain. And through the woods. And... well, we never saw grandma's house which is a good thing, since she lives in the other direction. We did, finally, find the last leg of the journey to the parking area. We made the turn, and immediately realized that "FS 500" meant "Forest Service Road 500." Which meant unpaved. Which meant muddy. And did I mention we own a Ford Focus? We were supposed to go 2 miles to the trail crossing. We went about a 1/2 mile, and saw up ahead deep ruts in the road, angling uphill. At that moment reality hit us. What the HECK were we doing on a Forest Service road the day after a big rain in a Ford Focus?? The philosopher put the car in reverse, and immediately realized that there wasn't enough room to turn around. So we reversed course, literally, and backed back to the paved road we were on. (Thank you God, for taking care of fools. I promise we will never be so foolish again!)

We consulted our map, and discovered that a bit farther down our lovely, paved county road was an acutal Talladega National Forest trailhead. ::doh:: So sheepishly we drove a couple of miles and parked in a nice, gravelled area. Burns Trailhead. Named for a log cabin built on the site almost 100 years ago by Pink E. Burns. (Yes. Pinky Burns. This is Alabama, remember.)

We also discovered that THIS trailhead was outside the Choccolocco Wildlife Management Area, and since deer hunting season runs until the end of the month we'd be much less likely to be taken for wild game. Bonus!

After donning our boots and trussing up our packs, we headed onto the trail. Our path took us north into the Dugger Mountain Wilderness. It's a very different experience hiking in the winter. Things are quite brown and gray, with little color to brighten the woods. Fallen trees lay scattered like dinosaur bones, and there are graveyards of majestic pines lost to the pine beetle many years ago. Boulders lie partially buried in leaf debris as though hibernating, and you hear very few sounds of wildlife. It is desolate. But it is also beautiful - because the trees have lost their leaves you can see the ridges clearly, and follow the folds of earth that form the bones of the mountain. There are groves of ancient rhododendron, holding tight to their shiny leaves, which throw their splash of green into sharp relief against the barren landscape. You hear the merry sound of a running creek and waterfall in a valley below, and see the sun glint off the water through the tree trunks. Peaceful and quiet - the earth is waiting for spring's rebirth.

And there are signs of recent human activity. Many winter treefalls have blocked the trail, and recently someone has come along and cut and cleared the way for future hikers. Some cuts look so new that I keep expecting to come across a solitary hiker with a saw, working hard on a fallen branch.

We talk of theology and philosophy and Anglican history and liberal arts and the future and other such nonsense, and stop occasionally to marvel at something we spot along the way. Someone listening to our conversation would probably think us completely scattered, as we shift and jump from topic to topic followed by long spaces of comfortable silence as we each ponder our own thoughts.

After three miles we stop for lunch partway up a ridge on a convenient outcrop of rocks, where we are investigated closely by a lizard and a yellowjacket. Then we head home for a hot cup of tea and a hot bath, quite content with our day's adventures.

Evening Horrors

2010-01-14T17:34:00.003-06:00

As I've mentioned before, there is a 17-mile-stretch of dark, deserted country road that I travel every day going to and from work. And I've posted on some of the suicidal wildlife I've experienced on my evening sojourns.

But now there's something more sinister afoot. Animals no longer seek to hurl themselves in front of my car (which is good). Instead, they lurk on the edges of the road with their red eyes reflecting wickedly in my headlight beams. And it's not just the deer and the cows, oh no. The smaller creatures are getting in on the act. Raccoons, dogs, cats, possums... they sit and watch as I drive past. Quietly. Like they're waiting for something to ... happen.

I fear for my soul, I tell you. One of these days I'm going to be cruising home, minding my own business and my car will break down. In the dark. In the woods. And the creatures will come.

Snow and Legos

2010-01-12T14:24:00.008-06:00

We had some snow last week.

Not much, but enough to close schools and freeze roads and basically force everyone to stay home and entertain themselves. So I pulled out my jumbo box of Legos and decided to create the Smiths' dream house, a 1 1/2 story craftsman bungalow! (Well, ok. We might opt for a different color scheme!)
It may not be a masterpiece like this or this, or even as good as my rendition of Notre Dame Cathedral some years ago (and yes, I even made flying buttresses), but I'm proud of it. And it even has a grill for the philosopher!

Happy 2010! My resolution for the year...

2010-01-06T09:39:00.003-06:00

(Wow - it's been a while since I've posted anything. But maybe that's because I was on vacation and almost never turned on the computer? Naaaaaah.... couldn't've been that!)

...is not to make a resolution! ::grin::

I'm not a big fan of New Year's Resolutions, actually. Mainly because, well, I can never keep them. I'd rather commit to something achievable, and do it with the help, participation, and encouragement of my better half. Last year we started reading through the Bible together every night, and that is a Good Thing we still continue to do.

This year is a bit more nebulous. It's all about Healthier Eating. Now, I call this nebulous because we've been changing our diet slowly for the last few years - really since we joined a CSA farm when we lived in Virginia. When you get local, in-season produce delivered to your home every week, it becomes a motivation to actually EAT it. You don't want to waste the money you've invested in the farm share, and more importantly, the fresh produce is darned tasty!

We've been members of Grow Alabama now for a while, and we feel the same way about this CSA too. (Heck, we haven't bought produce in the grocery store for months!) So that certainly increases the quick access to produce. But we're also big meat eaters. And bread/rice eaters. And I must admit (in my opinion) that chocolate really should be a fifth food group. So this year, I want to increase my good foods, and decrease those things we really like but really shouldn't have.

For those of you who are fan of Good Eats, the host Alton Brown lost a lot of weight over the last year, not by dieting as we understand the term, but reorganizing how he ate. In a recent episode he made some food group lists, which I'll copy here:

Daily
- Fruits
- Whole Grains
- Leafy Greens
- Nuts
- Carrots
- Green Tea

3 times a week
- Oily Fish
- Yogurt
- Broccoli
- Sweet Potato
- Avocado

Once a week
- Red meat
- Pasta
- Dessert
- Alcohol

NEVER!
- Fast Food
- Soda
- Processed meals/frozen dinners
- Canned soup
- "Diet" anything

That's pretty basic, and straightforward. I'm pretty good on the "Never" list, because I don't consume the first three anyway. I use canned soup in recipes sometimes, but I'm much more fond of making my own. It's the final one that I have problems with. I'm a diabetic. And I keep sugar-free cookies and such because it keeps me from eating things even worse for me. So I'm not sure how much impact one sugar free cookie or one small piece of sugar free candy a day would be, but I also think that if I cut ALL sweets out completely I'd go 'round the twist and start hurting people. ::heh::

So this year, I think we're going to work towards a more balanced way of eating. Less meat. More fish (the flash-frozen salmon you get at Sams is quite tasty, and easy to cook with). More greens - and hey! - the spring season for dark leafy greens like kale and mustard/turnip greens is right around the corner. More whole grains and fewer processed starches like white bread and white rice. I'm not like Alton, I don't need to lose 50 pounds. (More like five...) But I also want to maintain my healthy-ish weight and help keep my diabetes in control.

So I may write blog posts about foods we discover, or recipes we find especially tasty. (There's this mushroom lentil casserole we made over the holidays that was absolutely fantabulous....!) This isn't going to become a food blog. It will still have a completely random theme of "whatever is on the librarian's mind at the moment", but expect more foodie bits. 8-D

Anyway, to all my friends in blog-land, have a blessed 2010!

Bloggy Goodness....

2009-12-16T09:19:00.003-06:00

So, there are lots of great blogs about food out there. Great recipes, pictures of things so tasty-looking that I'd eat them through the computer screen if I could (oh, when, oh when will they invent "scratch and sniff" electronics??) But I wanted to list two that were more than just yummy recipes and tantalizing photos. There are a couple of food-based blogs that just make me laugh out loud, and I wanted to share those with my readers (both of you!)

1. Cake Wrecks.
As her tagline says "Where professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong." Her commentary is side-splittingly funny, and the cakes are, well, side-splittingly bad.

2. Not So Humble Pie.
She's a biological anthropologist who makes extraordinary desserts. Like fruit fly cookies. And periodic table cookies. And gel electrophoresis cookies. (Not to mention some delicious regular stuff too.)

So there you go. Spend some time poking around, laugh and smile and be amazed.

Martha Stewart, maybe not so much

2009-12-07T15:15:00.006-06:00

So this weekend I pulled out my trusty nippers and headed for the big juniper bush on our property. I obtained a number of fragrant branches, and then I snipped a few from our holly tree. I took these prized possessions and carefully affixed them to a styrofoam ring. Voila! Instant Christmas wreath! I even had enough to spruce up our Advent wreath too.

OK, so I don't have Martha Stewart's talent (or budget for supplies). But I think they look pretty darn good! Plus - they're 100% recyclable. Well, I got the styrofoam ring three years ago, and I'll continue to use it. So that counts too, doesn't it?

Mr. Brown, I respectfully disagree.

2009-12-02T11:31:00.003-06:00

This week on Good Eats (my new favorite Food Network show) Alton Brown discusses the perfect, quintessentially American Apple Pie. (You can see the 7 minute condensed version HERE.) Good Eats is a fun show, and I think Alton Brown is a great teacher and has lots of wisdom to share about all kinds of cooking-related tidbits. BUT... about his apple pie....

He makes several claims as to what might constitute a perfect apple pie and I found myself, for the first time, completely disagreeing with him. He's from Atlanta - he should know how an apple pie is made. But this recipe was the most fiddly, full of random ingredients, complicated, and strangest compilation I've ever seen.

OK, I must first admit - he's got the *perfect* pie crust recipe. Though I disagree that Applejack should be the moistening ingredient, his crust looks fantabulous. I only dream of making pie crusts that good! ::sigh::

So here, in no particular order, are my beefs (if you can have a beef with an apple pie?)

1) He thinks it's necessary to have four or five different kinds of apples. I think two are quite sufficient - a tart version and a sturdy crisp and sweet version. And using a golden or red delicious apple just adds an apple's worth of mush at the end. They're really too mealy for a pie.

2) He drains the apples. Why waste all that lovely juice (only to add liquid to the apples later in the form of lime juice and ::gag:: apple jelly!) His concern is that it will make the crust mushy. But if you proportion the sugar and cornstarch properly, the juice will jell perfectly before it leaks all over the place!

3) He eschews cinnamon, saying it overpowers the apples. Well any spice, if you use too much, will overpower a dish. I use a teaspoon of cinnamon, and I've never masked the flavor of the apples. Instead he favors something called "Grains of Paradise". What the heck? I've never even heard of such a thing! If you're going to make a quintessential American pie, then be considerate and use common spices found in everyone's kitchen!

4) He recommends tapioca flour instead of cornstarch or all purpose flour as the thickening agent. Again - pick ingredients that everyone has! I've never even seen tapioca flour for sale here in north Alabama.

5) He strongly recommends using a pie bird. Huh? What the HECK is a pie bird, you ask? Yeah - it's THAT. I have all sorts of issues with this. He thinks a lattice or slits in the crust might allow the juices to spill over. Well, I think sticking a silly piece of ceramic into my pie is tacky and makes the pie harder to cut. So there. And I've slitted my crusts for years - no burned bits on the oven floor yet! Alton Brown purports to be a big "kitchen gadget multitasker" (all kitchen gadgets should serve more than one function) but he recommends this esoteric doo-hickey? Give me a break. Take a knife, cut a series of slits in a lovely star shape at the top of the pie, and you're set!

6) Finally, he recommends using a tart pan with a removable bottom instead of the traditional pie plate. Says it makes the pie easier to cut and remove because you take the pie out of the pan. Hmph. So how do you store the pie after you've pulled it out? Might not the crust sag over a day or two and fall apart without the plate to keep it's shape? And if you lightly grease the plate, the crust won't stick anyway.

So that's my apple pie rant. I still recommend Good Eats, and I still deeply respect Alton Brown for all the joy he obviously puts into his show - you can tell he loves to cook and he knows a tremendous amount about it, and he's also amazingly good at sharing that knowledge with us amateurs. So despite my disagreement with his apple pie, I have dozens of other recipes, facts, tips, and tricks that I tucked into my cookbook after watching his show. Bon appetit, Mr. Brown - keep cooking!

Giving Thanks...

2009-11-30T10:11:00.002-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything - nothing new to report, I suppose. But I did want to take a moment and reflect on the Thanksgiving holidays, and to give thanks.

1) I give thanks to God every day for the philosopher in my life. He keeps me on my toes mentally, challenges me to be honest in the way I think about life, and keeps me warm. I don't know what I did to deserve him, but I am blessed every day to be his wife.

2) I give thanks for family - we spent Thanksgiving day at a family reunion (on the philosopher's side) and got to catch up with lots of folks we hadn't seen in years. A good time (and a full tummy) was had by all!

3) My dad and I watched the Alabama/Auburn game together on Friday, and the FSU/FL game on Saturday. The final scores were a mixed bag, but I give thanks that I live close enough to spend fall Saturdays watching football with my dad.

4) Sunday we went to church - I give thanks that we live in a country that allows freedom of religion! We also had lunch with my mom and grandmom Sunday afternoon - I'm thankful to be close enough to be able to see them on a regular basis, too.

5) And finally I'm deeply thankful for far-away friends - my life would be considerably more boring without y'all!

Free Speech?

2009-11-12T10:32:00.004-06:00

I'd like to call your attention to two interesting articles posted at American Thinker today. AT is a conservative website, but I think the two articles should be of interest to anyone, especially those who value free speech in our society.

The first is about Tea Parties. It's called Tea Parties: Misunderstood and Vastly Underrated. The philosopher and I went to the Atlanta rally on November 9 - the first protest rally for both of us. We didn't go because of any social justice issues, but because we're worried about big government, higher taxes, and no longer being represented in Congress. We met a lot of really nice folks: grandmas and grandpas, moms and dads (and their kids), college students and teachers, veterans, folks who work for a living and folks who *want* to work for a living. Basically just your ordinary, everyday Americans. We sang some patriotic songs, we listened to speakers encouraging us to pay attention to what was happening and to make wise, thoughtful decisions when we go to the polls. We're just decent people who are not happy. And we're exercising our free speech right to protest in a calm, peaceful, respectful way. But the way we're represented in the media is appalling. We're called "extremists" and distasteful names. If the progressive folks can gather and protest policies, why can't we?

OK, the second article is called Academic Freedom for Thee But Not for Me. It details a problem that gets press over and over - liberal or progressive speakers on campuses are able to exercise their rights to free speech when invited, but conservative speakers are shut down or shut out.

Regardless of whether you "lean left" or "lean right" - don't you see s disparity here? The right to free speech - peaceful free speech - is a right EVERYONE has, not just those to the left of the political spectrum. Michael Douglas had a great line in the movie The American President:

"America is advanced citizenship... You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing at center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."

You have to be able to hear *both sides* of any argument - to shut down one side of the debate is to go down a terrible road. It's a frightening thought, and I hope and pray that reason and rationality return to this country. We're a diverse nation, but we should always be able to have discussion and free speech about the issues we care about.

And today, I've exercised mine!

What in the Blue Blazes??

2009-11-09T09:49:00.008-06:00

OK, sorry. It's Monday. ::grin:: Blazes are used on hiking trails to mark the path - usually paint on trees and rocks. Our favorite trail - the Pinhoti - is marked with blue blazes for most of its course, though it does use metal "turkey foot" badges sometimes too. ("Pinhoti" is an Indian word meaning "turkey home", thus it's not so completely random as it seems at first glance!)

This weekend we hiked from the Cheaha trailhead south to McDill Point, and back. It's a trip of about 5 miles, and absolutely gorgeous. The trees had almost completely lost their leaves, so it gave us some beautiful vistas of the valleys.

The first is from McDill Point, at about 2100 feet. We're looking back towards Mount Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. The second is just below the summit of Hernandez Peak, which is 60 feet shy of Mount Cheaha. The final one is at the top of Hernandez Peak.

It was a fabulous day, with highs in the upper 60s. The trail was much busier than we'd ever seen, but I think it was for two reasons: 1) it's deer season, and you can't hunt in state parks so it's safer to be there, and 2) well, heck - it was an absolutely glorious day for a hike!

We discovered the new plaque that commemorates the Pinhoti officially being connected to the Appalachian Trail (and I actually posed for a photo - scary!)

The rock formations at the top of the mountains were astounding. There were boulders stacked on boulders, looking like toy blocks for giants or - maybe - bones of ancient beasts.

We've also decided that we're going to build up our hiking muscles this winter (you can do that in Alabama!) and next spring we're finally going to tackle the Walls of Jericho. Really. This time I mean it!

The Batman Lunchbox

2009-11-03T13:20:00.002-06:00

We've been attending Sunday School at a local church recently. We've been studying the parables, but this past week we veered off a bit to talk about John 6 (Jesus feeding the 5000). The teacher - let's call him Bob - told the story in a very different way, with a different emphasis than I've ever heard before. I wanted to share his lesson with you (both of you!), and here's my plan - I'm going to tell it as close to the way he told it as possible, using his turns of phrase. (I'm convinced he was a teacher in another life!) So here it is....

OK, so we're going to talk about John 6. And as I always do, I ask my favorite question: "Yeah... so what?" So why this this story important? What does it teach us? Well, let's look at it. We've got Jesus, and he's testing the disciples, namely Phillip and Andrew. He goes to Phillip - who's from around here and knows the good places to get a quick bite to eat - and asks him how they can feed all these people. Phillip knows the local Kmart closed down, and he also knows it's a heck of a hike to the nearest big town where they can get some cheap Big Macs. And even if they can catch a donkey and a wagon, they don't have enough. Say a Big Mac costs a denari. Then they could buy 200, and maybe cut them in half, or even in quarters. But that's still only 800! So Phillip says, "No way, man. It can't be done!" So, does Phillip pass the test? I'd say no - he gets a big goose egg!

Andrew was standing nearby, and heard Jesus' question. He's been hanging out with the crowd, chatting with people and talking about Jesus. And you gotta remember - to this crowd Jesus is a Big Deal. He's like a rock star! Everybody wants to hear what he's got to say! Anyway, Andrew has been milling around, and he saw Jakob's son. Now this kid *really* wanted to hear Jesus. So he begged, and his Dad finally gave him permission. But he also encouraged the boy to pack a lunch. "Son, it's going to be a long, hot day. Make sure you take something to eat!" So the kid grabs a few biscuits and some small bits of dried fish, puts them in his Batman lunchbox, and rushes out the door. So Andrew saw that this kid had a lunchbox. It's not much, that's for sure. But it's more than anyone else has. And maybe, somewhere in the back of his mind, he's remembering the events at Cana. So he points out the kid to Jesus, and says "that boy has some food, but it's not enough to feed everyone!" Now, does Andrew pass the test? Well, maybe not with flying colors, since he's still doubtful it will make a difference, but yeah - give him a C for effort.

Now, here's the last person Jesus tests - Jakob's son! What would you do if you were a kid in a sea of adults, and you see two of the guys that hang out with Jesus start pointing at you and walking your way? What would you do if they ask you to bring your lunchbox and come with them? I know what I would do - I'd turn and run the other way. No way you're getting MY lunch. But instead, Jakob's son gives up his lunchbox to Jesus... and look what happens! Can you imagine the amazement, the wonder, as the baskets gets passed around? Instead of being greedy with his five loaves, this boy gives them to Jesus and takes part in one of the greatest miracles of all time. Imagine the tales he had to share with his dad when he got home. Yeah, I'd say he passes Jesus's test with flying colors!

Yeah... so what?

So we've got Jesus demonstrating his power. And we've got the faith and trust of a child. And maybe what we should take away from that is don't be afraid to dream big. If Jesus calls, give what you've got, even if it's not much. And sit back and watch what Jesus can do with that gift!

New Technology To Rival Kindle!

2009-10-28T09:33:00.002-05:00

Check it out!

The Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device!

Man, I gotta get me one of these!

A.I.N.O. ?

2009-10-27T10:54:00.002-05:00

Anglican in Name Only?

So, Pope Benedict has offered a free trip across the Tiber to Anglicans. It's an astounding thing. But as I've said before, I'm Anglican, not Catholic. (Boy, I sound like a broken record, don't I?)

An Anglican scholar, Roberta Bayer (who serves on the Prayer Book Society) has written a very straightforward response to the proceedings. She makes several good points. The first and foremost (to me) is her statement "To move to Rome with this ordinariate may be to remain Anglican in name only." To a layperson, Anglican and Catholic worship may seem quite similar. To this Anglican, they are very, very different. And while I may not agree with much going on in the Anglican Communion these days, to move to Rome would be to abandon the spiritual practices I hold dear.

Signage, or a sign of the end of the world?

2009-10-22T15:08:00.003-05:00

Well, this may be a first. No, I take that back. It IS a first. The philosopher and I may actually be planning to attend a protest rally. (I'll wait until you reclaim your jaw from the floor...) It's not official yet, but it's probable. Atlanta, November 9. The Tea Party Express II.

Now, I know my readers (all three of you) may not agree with my politics, or my preference in cats over dogs, or my decision to wear fluffy pink socks on the weekends. But setting that aside ::grin:: wouldn't you agree that it's our right as American citizens to be able to stand up peaceably and say "I PROTEST"?

Well, I protest. I protest the Republicans and Democrats in Congress who are heck-bent on increasing our taxes. I protest the Republicans and Democrats in Congress who have forgotten that THEY work for US, not the other way around. And I protest the Republicans and Democrats in Congress who have forgotten that we have a Constitution, and that it actually means something.

So, if I attend this protest next month, will I carry a sign? Perhaps. If I do, it will say either "Spread my work ethic, not my wealth!" or simply "We the People". And I will no longer ignore my duty as a citizen to be informed and make wise decisions when I step into the voting booth. Because America is a precious thing, and we who live here are blessed to be part of it.

Literary Oddities

2009-10-21T16:39:00.003-05:00

For all my bibliophile friends out there, you probably know about ABE Books, an excellent source for used and out-of-print tomes. Their slogan is "A Passion for Books" and I thoroughly approve of their mission to sell those many dusty volumes to people who can give them loving homes.

Anyway, they have recently instituted a special room of books (if you can follow my imagination as I consider their website to be an old Victorian house converted to a used bookstore) most likely tucked away in their dusty attic. But isn't that where you always find the best stuff, when you're perusing through a used bookstore or a "junque-store" or a funky antique mall? If there's an upstairs, THAT'S where you go to find the oddities!

Anyway, their attic room is called the Weird Book Room, and it most definitely full of, well, weird books. Books you would find in an attic, in other words! Indeed, when you peruse some of the off-beat titles, you wonder How On Earth someone ever A) came up with that idea, and B) sold that idea to a publisher! You've got titles like Toilet Paper Origami, 50 Sad Chairs, The Great Pantyhose Craft Book, and my personal favorite The Pop-Up Book of Phobias. So hie thee hence, check out their attic room, and ponder the absurdities that our presses have conjured up.

Salubrious Perambulation

2009-10-12T14:52:00.007-05:00

Healthy Walking.

Yup, that's what we did on Sunday. We went for a five-mile hike on the Pinhoti Trail, this time from the Cheaha Trailhead to the Blue Mountain shelter (PT mile 79.1 to 81.2 and back). The Cheaha Trailhead is absolutely astounding...

Most trailheads are gravelly parking areas with a slightly wider spot at the start of the trail, and maybe a covered map-and-announcement board. This one... a beautiful stone and iron construction, with imprints of local flora and fauna in the rock, as well as numerous hiking boot and turkey footprints. If I remember correctly, it was a project done by several local groups in honor of Alabama's many hiking opportunities. This trailhead actually connects to a number of trails: the Pinhoti, Cave Creek Trail, Odum Scout Trail, and Nubbin Creek Trail. We've been on parts of each, but have not yet explored their myriad creeks and waterfalls, ridges and valleys.

We traversed the main ridge of Horseblock Mountain, and skirted just below the summit of Mount Cheaha which at 2400 feet is the highest point in Alabama. (Can you say "thigh-burner"? I knew you could!) Cheaha State Park is nestled inside the Talladega National Forest, and the Pinhoti Trail follows a wandering north-south path through both areas.

This is a view from one of the ridges about a mile or so north of the trailhead, looking roughly east. It being October and all, the leaves are just starting to change. We've had such a rainy fall that I hope we have some beautiful foliage in the coming weeks. We haven't seen any color in our neck of the woods, but at this elevation the oranges and reds are starting to peep through the green.

The philosopher is looking very... philosophical... as he catches his breath. We'd just ascended an unpleasantly steep part of the trail, leaning heavily on our hiking poles! You can see it drop off dramatically in the background - it looks like the ground just swallowed it up.

All in all, it was an excellent afternoon. We were able to escape and clear our heads, and get some great exercise to boot. Yay, God, for beautiful places and natural wonders!

On Friendship

2009-10-08T08:49:00.009-05:00

I have a dear friend (let's call her "J") who lives far away... we only see each other rarely, and that is a Sad Thing. But fortunately, the wonders of modern technology allow us to keep in touch through email and chat software (and yes, Facebook too). We were chatting one afternoon about friendship. How on earth did we become friends in the first place? I love college football... she, not so much. She's a scientist. I'm an English major-librarian. And the list goes on. We became friends because of the Farm - the philosopher and I bought a share in a community-supported-agriculture farm and we split the share with J. So every weekend we'd go to the farm to pick the produce of the week, and we talked. She and I would talk about things light and deep, and she and the philosopher would talk about... well... philosophy and education and the nature of Man. (And I gotta say I admire her because who else do I know that is a brilliant scientist and likes to read Augustine??) So not only are she and I good friends, she is also friends with my husband - and that makes it doubly wonderful!

She recently moved to a new city, and we are both (still) struggling with the notion of making "local friends." We're both introverted, which only makes the process that much more daunting. How do you develop friendships? How do you connect with those with whom you have a common interest? Being a librarian, I decided to do some research. (Heh.) Here are some thoughts I've gleaned...

C. S. Lewis, in The Four Loves, says: "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one!" He goes on: "The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends... There would be nothing for the Friendship to be about; and Friendship must be about something, even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice."

Aristotle (my philosopher's favorite philosopher - he will be so proud!) says this in the Nichomachean Ethics of "Perfect Friendship": "That such friendships are rare is natural, because men of this kind are few. And in addition they need time and intimacy; for as the saying goes, you cannot get to know each other until you have eaten the proverbial quantity of salt together. Nor can one man accept another, or the two become friends, until each has proved to the other that he is worthy of love, and so won his trust. Those who are quick to make friendly advances to each other have the desire to be friends, but they are not unless they are worthy of love and know it. The wish for friendship develops rapidly, but friendship does not."

Ah, that last is the key, I think, for me. "The wish for friendship develops rapidly, but the friendship does not." Just because you seek friendship, doesn't mean it will happen overnight. You can't "force" a friendship. As I said to J during our conversation: "Friendship is an art, not a science." There's not a magic formula you can follow, like the book title says, to "win friends and influence people". There's a lot of commentary out there about what friendship is, but not a lot about how to develop friendships. And that's because it is by its nature different for every person.

This is why the G.S.E. has been so important. We, the philosopher and I, need to find a church where we can meet people and get to know them. (That's why small groups are near the top of the list of things we hope to find.) You can't walk into a room and think "I'll be friends with that person over there" and then go over and introduce yourself. You meet people, you talk, you get to know each other, and finally you find that person and say, like C.S. Lewis, "I thought I was the only one!"

So for you, my far-away friends, I give thanks to God every day. Your friendship continues to sustain me as the philosopher and I seek the path God has planned for us. So I offer up two prayers from the Book of Common Prayer:

One for guidance

O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And one for our far-away friends

O God, whose fatherly care reacheth to the uttermost parts of the earth: We humbly beseech thee graciously to behold and bless those whom we love, now absent from us. Defend them from all dangers of soul and body; and grant that both they and we, drawing nearer to thee, may be bound together by thy love in the communion of thy Holy Spirit, and in the fellowship of thy saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The G.S.E.: Church E

2009-09-29T14:00:00.003-05:00

This past Sunday we visited friends in another state. One of our friends (*not* an Anglican!) suggested we go to the local Anglican church on Sunday morning before meeting up with the rest of the crowd for lunch. We hadn't been to an Anglican eucharist in quite a while, so we jumped at the chance. The congregation apparently bought an old Presbyterian church some time ago, so unlike many Anglican groups, this one had its own facilities. The priest and assistant priest greeted us at the door, as well as a couple of ushers.

We walked in and found our seats. The pianist was playing a beautiful prelude and... there were KNEELERS! The processional began and the choir came in, following the cross. The service was Rite I from the '79 prayer book. We sang the traditional Gloria, and I almost wept, because it has been years since I had the opportunity to sing that. The cantor did a glorious job with the psalm. The sermon was actually about sin and hell. (You don't get that very often from an Anglican pulpit!) And Origen was even mentioned!! After the recessional, the pianist played an amazing rendition of "A Mighty Fortress". I refused to leave until he'd finished, so we stood near the back for a bit.

That was a mistake, because apparently several folks in the congregation had spotted us as visitors, and came to say hello. What was the first thing many said? "Y'all are Anglican, aren't you?" "Well, yes, we are." "OOOhhh! Are you new to the area?" "No, we're from out of town. and just visiting our friend." ::disappointed look:: "Well, we are SO glad you came today!" If we lived in our friend's town, we would not be on this Great Sociological Experiment, because we would have found our new church this past Sunday. ::sigh::

I have to keep telling myself that God has us where we are for a reason. Otherwise I would just weep.

Duck and cover - it's raining liberals and conservatives!

2009-09-24T09:55:00.004-05:00

All right. I'm about to post something inordinately controversial. Not because I'm trying to stir up a hornet's nest, but because I'm honestly trying to understand something about America. With that caveat, please don't harangue me in the comments! ::grin::

Everyone will agree that there are "liberals" and "conservatives" out there. And that often they are completely in opposition to one another on a whole host of issues. So what I'm endeavoring to do is come up with some broad definitions of various types of liberals and conservatives. It won't be comprehensive, but hopefully it will help me see the differences - and similarities - that the differing ideologies hold. I've tried to be fair, as well. Regardless of my own position, I want to be respectful of what others believe even though I may disagree. I added a few citations, but I also referred to Wikipedia a lot for individual designations and to clarify/condense particular positions. So here it goes:

TYPES of CONSERVATIVES

Fiscal Conservative: Advocates a reduction in overall government spending, deficit and national debt reduction, and balancing the federal budget. Free trade, deregulation of the economy, and lower taxes are also key points.

Neoconservative: Focuses on a robust national security, an aggressive foreign policy, stimulating economic growth by lowering taxes, and finding alternative ways to deliver public welfare services.

Paleoconservative: Concerned with preserving the American culture. Also emphasizes a connection with the past, and tend to be family-oriented, religious-minded and opposed to the vulgarity permeating modern culture.

Social Conservative: Adheres strictly to a moral ideology based on family-values and religious traditions. US social conservatives are mostly right-wing and hold firmly to a pro-life, pro-family and pro-religion agenda.

Crunchy Conservative: Tends to focus more on family-oriented, culturally conservative concepts such as being good stewards of the natural world and avoiding materialism in everyday life. Often as mistrustful of big business as they are of big government.

Citations
1. U. S. Conservatives (from About.com)
2. Mark Levin, Liberty and Tyranny

TYPES of LIBERALS

Socio-economic Liberal: Does not believe in the fairness of market outcomes and sees a legitimate government role in promoting efficiency and more equitable wealth distribution. Not concerned about civil issues over much, but are quite interested in government regulation of the economy.

Statist Liberal: Believes in a strong centralized government, which includes a major role in the direction of the economy, both directly through state-owned enterprises and indirectly through the state-directed economic planning of the overall economy. Also sees the Constitution as an evolving contract, and sees the need of government to modulate 'mob rule'.

Minority Rights Liberal: Focuses on the civil issues, ranging from implementing a safety net for the needy to the extreme of a totally managed economy. Seek to assist the poor/minorities through taxation policy, government welfare policies, nationalization of portions of the American economy, and strong government regulations.

Environmentalist Liberal: Focuses on environmental conservation and improvement of the state of the environment. Also seeks to influence the political process by lobbying, activism, and education in order to protect natural resources and ecosystems.

Civil Libertarian Liberal: Believe in the supremacy of individual rights. Believe that the government should not pass laws that restrict, oppress, or selectively fail to protect people in their day-to-day lives, whether the issue is pornography, gay marriage, drug legalization, or prostitution.

Anti-Authoritarian Liberal: Concerned with the moral legitimacy of governance and seek democratic reforms to government and corporations. They applaud appeasement, reparations, and apologies for past injustices. Often they hold the philosophical idea that people are not bound to any non-human authority.

Citations
1. Liberalism and Conservatism
2. Democratic Underground
3. Progressive Policy Institute

Best Comment EVER!

2009-09-17T18:09:00.001-05:00

"I really wish these people like [Nancy Pelosi] would make up their minds! First, those who opposed socialized healthcare and Death Panels were Nazis, so I had to buy an armband. Then we were angry members of a mob, so I had to go make a sign. Then we were tools of sinister insurance corporations, so I spent all of one day looking for where I could pick up my tool paycheck. Then after that we were mindless, toothless, uneducated rubes controlled by Rush and Beck, and now we are assassins, so I gotta go take off my seedcorn cap and overalls and see if my Black Ops uniform still fits. Sheesh!"

From here.

Defending Myself

2009-09-10T10:51:00.005-05:00

I really shouldn't have to do this. But with all the newsprint (and internet bandwidth) given over to the "Health Care Debate," I feel I should say something in my defense. "What!" you say? Well, it's obvious.... haven't you heard? Chronic illness is preventable. It's all chalked up to lifestyle choices. And I have three chronic illnesses, so I must be responsible - through my terrible choices - to the high cost of medical care and insurance. (/sarcasm)

It's true. I have three chronic illnesses. But none were related to "lifestyle choices." I don't drink. I don't smoke. I eat healthily and I exercise regularly. But if you read nearly any article about the health debate written recently, there's little differentiation between folks like me, and folks who really have lived a life of debauchery and decadent living (or at least didn't do a good job maintaining a healthy lifestyle.) I did a quick Google search, and found several prime examples.

“Unfortunately, largely avoidable chronic illness- things like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease- are a national epidemic. They account for 75 cents of every health care dollar spent. And they're driving up the cost of health care and insurance.” (Blue Cross, Blue Shield, North Dakota)

“These recession-related repercussions could not come at a worse time in the state’s battle against rising health care costs and preventable chronic disease,” said Valerie Fleishman, executive director of NEHI. “Through unhealthy behaviors, people are becoming unnecessarily ill at a time when we can least afford it.” (New England Healthcare Institute)

"Lifestyle choices contribute to chronic illness -- and ultimately higher health insurance costs,"…

“Today chronic illness accounts for two-thirds of a company's health care expenditure, yet 80 percent of all chronic disease is the result of three preventable health behaviors -- physical inactivity, poor nutrition and overeating, and smoking.” (Even During Financial Crisis, Investing in Wellness is Good Business Oct. 21, 2008)

“As a medical student and briefly as an intern physician, I've seen many patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. … What's more amazing is how these three conditions are fairly preventable with diet, exercise, and weight control.” (Dr. Anthony Lee, Jan 12, 2008 )

“Less than 1% of chronic illness is truly genetic in nature. Essentially, this means that chronic illness is preventable.” (How our lifestyle choices are causing us to sink into chronic illness, Colleen Trombley)

"On May 12, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on health care reform. …They gave the reasons that experts -- on right or left -- always give for supporting this idea [ending the tax exemption on employer-provided health benefits]. …It drives up health care costs by encouraging luxurious plans and by separating people from the consequences of their decisions." Brooks, David. "Something for nothing.(Editorial)." The New York Times 158.54715 (June 23, 2009)

“Most chronic illness is preventable through simple behavior changes, like avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol -- and engaging in healthy behaviors such as regular exercise, more sleep and a balanced diet.” If You Ask Me (column) by Don Riegle | Flint Journal Sunday March 22, 2009

“A core truth about chronic conditions is that most are preventable.” Preventing Chronic Illness Health Affairs, 28, no. 1 (2009): 36

Granted, I didn't vet these comments carefully. But I do quote a doctor, the New York Times, Health Affairs, and an insurance website, among others. It's not a kooky idea dreamed up in someone's basement. It's being said over and over and over again. Another thing these articles rarely do is make that distinction between preventable illness and those that are not. Or if they do make a distinction, it's something like "Less than 1% of chronic illness is genetic." (Which doesn't mean that the other 99% IS preventable, but I'm not going to argue that point here.)

Anyway, to you, my two faithful readers, I beg you... When someone tells you that chronic illnesses are preventable, rise to the defense of those of us who had no control over our diseases. We may share in the blame of higher costs, but it is not due to negligence on our part. And for me, that's a big distinction.

Laborious Labor Day

2009-09-08T11:53:00.002-05:00

(Unfortunately, without pictures)

The Philosopher and I had a very successful Labor Day weekend, replete with many labors! He re-wired our front porch light and added a second light on the front edge of the house. Now if you visit us after dark you can see the porch from the driveway! It was a 2-Lowes effort, so not too bad at all. He's getting very good at figuring out knotty electrical wiring solutions without either electrocuting himself or setting something on fire. Yay!

I had a different project: a new flower bed. Rather, an herb bed. Inside the pool fence. About 18 inches wide and spanning about half the length of the fence. I plan to fill it with rosemary and lavender (and maybe some chocolate mint) which will make that area smell fantabulous! Our pool area is covered with about three inches of pea gravel, so first I had to rake all that aside and redistribute it to low-lying areas. (Pea gravel is heavy, even with a wheelbarrow!) Then I had to peel the weed barrier back (slimy!) Finally I had to bring all the large stones from the front so I could line the edge of the bed with them. (And if you didn't know, large stones are even heavier than pea gravel!)

It took me about 6 hours, but the work is done. Well, we still have to get 1/2 a cubic yard of soil/leaf grow to fill the bed. (Drat this Alabama red clay!) And some mulch. But...I've got the rosemary cuttings in pots, so they'll establish a good root system in a month or so. And the lavender is layered in the front bed, so theoretically the shoots will set their roots before it gets too cold to transplant. But I have some guilt here... what on earth do you do with the extra plants you propagate? I only need about 4 of each, but you want to root more in case any don't take. I hate to just toss them in the compost...hmmm. If you need some lavender or rosemary, I may have some extras. ::grin::

Anyway, by early summer next year, we should have a fragrant bed filling the evenings with sweet and savory smells. Ahhhhhhh.

The G.S.E.: a reprisal and a musing

2009-09-01T15:02:00.004-05:00

So last Sunday we re-visited Church B, the PCA church. This time we stayed a bit after the service, talked to the pastor briefly and actually filled out a visitor's card. While we were chatting with the pastor, *she* came walking up. Crazy church-lady. You know who I'm talking about. That one person in every church who has a radar for visitors, and swoops upon them cackling madly. She usually has that air of dottiness, arms full of papers and choir robes, filled with tons of helpful and completely useless information which she doles out at random, and with auctioneer speed. She's tenacious, convinced that she has Just The Place for you to fit in (and Just The Thing to tell you about which you *should* be deeply interested).

"Hi!! Are you visitors? Oh, we are SO HAPPY you are here! Tell me your names!"
"Hello. I'm Bob* and this is my wife Sue*."
"I'm GEORGETTE*! You look like really smart kids. What do you do?"
"I'm a librarian, and he teaches at the Local University."
"OOOH. What do you TEACH?"
"Philosophy" (Surprisingly, this doesn't phase her one bit.)
"Ah-Ha! Well, I'm like a honey bee, I know where all the good things are, and I hop around from place to place. If you want to talk about philosophy, you should meet Ben*. And YOU should know that we have a library AND a bookstore here. Have you seen them?"
"Um, no."
(We start looking for a way to escape, but folks seem to have disappeared into the woodwork. Unsurprisingly, it appears that everyone is avoiding this little area of the foyer now. That's when we KNEW we'd met the Crazy Church-lady.)
"If you're a teacher, you would be interested in my project about the Bible in sign language so everyone in the world can read it regardless of whether you can read!"
(She rambles on about this for several minutes, both of us looking a bit dazed and bewildered, casting sideways glances at one another asking mentally "did YOU say anything about sign language??!?)
The philospher tries to be polite, and says "I'm sure it will be successful... I think it's time..."
She cuts him off. "Do you have a pen? Write this website down. Go to it when you get home and tell me what you think!" (He dutifully writes down a long, complicated email address on a scrap of paper she handed him.)
"You know, all teachers are honey bees, don't you? So I bet you're a honey bee too, likes a little bit of everything?"
(At this point I'm actively looking for a way to run for the door, and laughing hysterically at the philosopher being compared to a honey bee. ::snort::)
She looks at me.. "I see your eyes glazing over!" (I smile.) She rambles on for another five minutes or so anyway, and we finally escape, only barely.

(*Names have been changed to protect the innocent.)

Now, I know there's not much anyone can do about folks like this. And we certainly won't hold it against this particular congregation, because there's one in EVERY church anyway. But as visitors, how do you escape without hurting feelings of complete strangers who are just trying to be friendly in the only way they know how (but are usually only succeeding in scaring the visitors half to death or offending them in some way)? We're not angry or upset, just amused. Honey bee. Wahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Phone Book Church-anomics

2009-08-27T16:15:00.002-05:00

(Or how to define criteria to help you choose a church, which is more helpful than looking at phone book ads.)

I really wish I could remember how the conversation got started. Old dead philosophers were involved, and complex philosophical and theological terms too. (Oddly enough, we were driving down to see the philosopher's sister when this came up. Most of these types of deep conversations occur when we're hiking, so that in and of itself is unusual.) I think maybe Augustine was involved (he usually is) and perhaps some Macintyre too. But don't hold me to that.

Anyway, what stuck with me after the conversation what what we were talking about towards the end - what aspects of a church are "necessary" to us, and what aspects are merely "important"? In other words, if you had to choose from among less-than-ideal churches, how do you organize the criteria?

What showed up on my lists? (I'm a librarian, of COURSE I make lists!) I'll list what I can remember. There was much more, I know. But it's nearly the weekend after a very long week, and my brain is mushy to the point of running out my ears. So I'll hit the high points and make weak promises to post more at some vague future time!

In the 'Necessary' Column
Preaching Christ Crucified
Trinitarian
Protestant
Biblically sound

In the 'Important' Column
Follows the church year
Good music (more traditional than contemporary)
Liturgically based
Vibrant small groups & Sunday school

I feel like I at least have some of my priorities in the right order; that the preaching and teaching is more important than the music, for example. But I also realized that there are some "extraneous" things that really are important to me, and fall closer to the "necessary" category than perhaps they should. So it's been a good exercise, and I'm sure it will come up again in our musings together.

The philosopher's lists were decidedly more.... philosophical. And theological. And granular. Which is why I won't try to reproduce them here. But if we end up on the Pinhoti one of these days and this topic comes up again, I plan to pull out my steno pad and take some notes!

The G.S.E.: Church D

2009-08-20T14:16:00.003-05:00

The Great Sociological Experiment churns onward! The philosopher and I crossed the Tiber last Sunday and visited a local Catholic church. Now, I must preface this with a qualifier: We Are Not Catholic. We don't want to *be* Catholic. We both believe that one must agree with a church's teachngs on all the first order issues. And we have some disagreements with the Catholic Church. At our core, we are Protestant. Conservatively Protestant, even. Heck, we are ANGLICAN! But we also know that, if we can't go to an Anglican church locally, then we need to find another place to worship with a body of believers. (And you've read all this before, because I've said it more than once. Sorry for the repetition!)

Anyway, the closest thing to Anglican liturgy is Catholic liturgy. So off we went. This is the "parish church" of the county, so the sanctuary was completely full. Which was good, because there were no bulletins and no way to really follow the service. So we relied on watching the folks next to us to do the whole sit-stand-kneel thing. The music was uninspired, and we did get a couple of the bad 60s Catholic folk hymns. I don't claim they're any worse than some of the vapid modern praise choruses, but I also don't claim they're any better either. There also wasn't much in the way of Sunday school or small group offerings.

Another interesting observation: there also wasn't much in the way of welcoming visitors. We were far-to-overwhelmed with welcome at Church A, what with special visitor parking and golf cart transportation. Church C had the deacons point out the visitors to the pastor during the "passing of the peace" and the pastor came to say hello. And the other churches we visited had greeters at the door and encouraged us to fill out a visitor card (both so they could know we visited and so we could get more information if we wanted it). Here? Neither. So to me that was a bit odd too. Of course, none of this is a deal breaker. Not being able to take communion unless you're a Catholic, that's a bit more prickly. I'm not an advocate of open communion - I believe you need to profess Christ before taking of His body and blood. But I also have issue with the Catholics not accepting most other forms of Christianity.

The Anglican Catholic Church, our former church in Virginia, is in an interesting position in regard to the Catholic Church along those lines. There's a Catholic canon law that allows communion for non-Catholics of certain other churches with the permission of the Bishop. And the ACC is potentially one of them. Since we're still a member of the ACC (we never transferred our membership) we could conceivably ask for special dispensation to receive communion.

So our Experiment continues. We may go back to Church B this weekend, unless the philosopher has something else in mind. He was saying something about finding a Greek Orthodox congregation, but I'm hoping he was just kidding. ::weak grin::

As an aside, we had a nice long talk about what is "important" or "necessary" or just "nice to have" in a church home. If I can remember all the philosophical terms he used, that might just become another post.