Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. French green beans. I forgot to mention these last week, but one of the meals I had at a restaurant in Charleston came with these long, thin green-bean looking vegetables that had a crunch to them and were really good. They weren’t French-cut or julienned — they were whole, but thinner than regular green beans. I asked the waiter what they were, and he rattled off some French name I did not get (Funny, but the restaurant’s online menu I saw later listed them just as “thin green beans.” 🙂 ) Then when we got home, I saw a package of fresh “French beans” in the produce section of the grocery store that looked just like what I’d had. Searching online I saw multitudes of ways to prepare them, and tried sauteing them with a little canola oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and minced onion. They were so good. Jeremy, who is not a green bean fan, loved them, as did Jim. Jesse didn’t like the crunch, though.

2. My TomTom GPS. I got it for Christmas and had my first opportunity to use it yesterday. Most of my driving is within a square that encompasses home, church, school, and Jason and Mittu’s, with grocery stores and W-Mart in-between. But when I do need directions, this beats having to look at printed-out ones while driving or calling Jeremy up to look up online where I need to go.

3. Celebrate magazine, edited by Phyllis Hoffman, who is also the editor of a couple of my favorites, the revived Victoria magazine as well as Southern Lady (busy woman!). Lots of really neat ideas for holidays, themed parties, as well as everyday celebrations. (No, this is not a paid plug. 🙂 )

4. Taking the car to be worked on to four different places and only being out $46 so far. Jeremy ran over something in his car Sunday night and punctured his exhaust pipe. That’s not a favorite. We took it to our mechanics Monday morning: they don’t work on exhausts, but they recommended someone. We took it there, and it only cost $46 to fix. But they saw some other dented things under there they thought our regular mechanic should look at. He did and said those things were ok, but it looked like there was a transmission leak — but they don’t do transmissions. They didn’t charge us for their time and they recommended a transmission place which, it turned out, was owned by a family whose kids graduated from our Christian school. Evidently he just tightened a hose and didn’t charge us, but said a radiator hose was collapsed. So we took it back to our regular mechanics yesterday and they still have it. Don’t know what the charge for that will be, but it didn’t sound major, and they’re usually pretty reasonable.

5. A light week. I had planned to get a lot of stuff done this week — but it didn’t happen. A lot of tiredness at the beginning of the week, not feeling well a day or so, the aforementioned running around, and assorted other things left me not getting much done but the basics. But the good part of that is that it wasn’t a busy, pressured week with things I had to get done. So while I was disappointed on one hand, on the other hand it was a week I could afford it, time-wise.

I am also glad it didn’t snow here today, though the school kids were all disappointed. 🙂

Booking Through Thursday: Gifts

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btt button The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is one I submitted (thanks for using it!):

What books did you get for Christmas (or whichever holiday you may have celebrated last month)?

Do you usually ask for books on gift-giving occasions or do you prefer to buy them yourself?

To answer the last question first, I almost always have books on my “wish list.” I keep a running list of books I might want to read (which has grown exponentially since blogging), and our family likes to work with a list of ideas when a gift-giving occasion comes up, so I peruse that list to see what I might want to add. But when a favorite author has a new book coming out, I don’t usually wait to put it on a wish list — I usually go ahead and get it. I don’t feel too badly about spending the money — it is an investment in entertainment (and we don’t spend much money on entertainment in general), in education and brain stimulation, sometimes in spiritual growth, and I am supporting working artists. 🙂

And though I usually prefer books from my “wish list,” I am not opposed to receiving a book that someone else thinks I might like.

This Christmas I received:

A Novel Idea: Everything You Need to Know About Writing Inspirational Fiction with chapters contributed by Karen Kingsbury, Robin Lee Hatcher, Jerry Jenkins, and others who have been published in this genre. I think about the possibility of writing sometimes, and this looks like a great resource for both inspiration and instruction.

The Tartan Pimpernel, and autobiography of Donald Caskie, “minister of the Scots Kirk in Paris at the time of the German invasion of France in 1940. Although he had several opportunities to flee, Caskie remained there to help establish a network of safe houses and escape routes for Allied soldiers and airmen trapped in occupied territory.” If I remember correctly, I think I saw this recommended by Chris Anderson.

Detour, a non-fiction sequel to Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish by Grace H. Kaiser (my short review of that book is here).  The doctor suffered a spinal cord injury which left her a quadriplegic, resulting in a reversal of roles with the Amish ministering to her.

Parting the Waters:Finding Beauty in Brokenness by Jeanne Damoff. I first read Jeanne when someone (Janet? Sherrie? I’m sorry, I forgot to note who) linked to her articles “How fiction can powerfully inform the practical application of truth,” part one and part two. Both her insights and her writing style resonated with me, and I wanted to read her book about the drowning accident that put her fifteen-year old son, Jacob, in a long coma.

Where My Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson, Christian fiction about the struggle the “good daughter” has when her prodigal sister comes home.

Jane Austen’s Little Instruction Book, a “mini-book” compilation of quotes from her books.

Sew Sunny Homestyle by Tone Finnegar. I’ve mentioned others of her books before: I’m delighted to get this one as well.

Sewing In No Time by Emma Hardy. I think I must have seen this recommended while looking at the above book: I don’t remember. But if I am going to do a sewing project, I want a quick one!

I have looked at the last two page by page and seen several projects I want to do, but otherwise I have not read these yet. I am looking forward to them!

How about you? Did you get any books for Christmas?

First random dozen of 2010

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Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday.

1. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being a cranky-baby-hissy-fitter, how much of a complainer are you?

One of my sons used say, “Complaining is a sin” any time anyone so much as said, “It sure is cold.” I told him I didn’t think just making a factual observation was complaining. But  muttering under my breath, “I hate the cold. I hate the cold. I hate the cold” all the way out to the car probably is. I do tend to make a number of negative observations….I guess I’d say maybe a 6-7? An 8 some days?

2. When someone else is talking, do you listen, or are you thinking about what you’re going to say in response?

Sometimes one, sometimes the other. Sometimes if I don’t think about what I’m going to say, I won’t remember it. 😀

3. I just deleted 1062 messages from my email account. Do you have any plans for a clean sweep this month–of anything?

I tend to clean out old messages on my cell phone during waiting times (waiting for my son to come out of basketball practice, etc.) and e-mails here and there as I have time. I guess I do most of my cleaning out while cleaning/organizing/sorting rather than just setting out to clean out something.

And now, here are some brilliant questions from a gal named Angie at Angie’s Ad Lib who graciously offered to let me borrow her brain. Please go over and see Angie because it was so nice of her to help me out. Thank you so much, Angie!

4. Tell us about your perfume. Was it a gift? What does it remind you of? Do you have a signature scent?

I don’t wear perfume. Most of them give me a headache.

5. What is your best organizing tip for the new year?

Just get started.

6. What is your favorite comic strip?

I don’t think I have a favorite.

7. Do you sleep with a fluffy or flat pillow?

Semi-fluffy.

8. What color is your kitchen? Why did you choose that color?

Blue, pink, and white. I love those colors. And no, it doesn’t look like a nursery: at least I don’t think so.

9. What’s the most interesting bumper sticker you’ve seen?

Well, if I could remember half the bumper stickers I’ve seen, I could tell you. My son used to have one that said, “Red meat isn’t bad for you. Fuzzy green meat is bad for you.”

10. Do you prefer an expensive writing tool or whatever is lying around? (Are you a Montblanc or a Papermate?)

I’m not into expensive or designer pens, but I like the kind that click rather than the kind with removable caps. There is a certain Bic kind that I really like. I don’t know the name of it, but I recognize it when I see it.

11. What chore doesn’t feel like a chore – you just enjoy it (at least most of the time)?

Household chores pretty much all feel like chores to me, at least until I get started. I do enjoy seeing the results and often put on music while doing them, so it doesn’t take too long before my attitude changes.

12. If your parents often repeated themselves, what is something one of them said more than once?

How many times have I told you…..? I remember trying to come up with a specific number because I thought my dad was being literal.

Were you raised in a barn? Close the door!

Don’t make me stop this car!

Book Reviews: Shades of Blue and Fit to Be Tied

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Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury is the story of a young dating couple who made a series of bad choices and then went separate ways, but they find the consequences of those choices are still haunting them years later. The man, Brad, believes he has moved on with his life until an ad campaign he is working on for baby blankets a few weeks before his own wedding undoes him, and he realizes he must find Emma and apologize.

Emma has never really moved on: she keeps other relationships at bay and has walked away from God, feeling too dirty and sinful to be worthy of His notice or the love of God or man.

The news comes as a blow to Brad’s fiancee, Laura, who has to deal with her own feelings of fear and betrayal.

This book deals carefully and well with the varied emotions resulting from an abortion (no spoilers there as it is revealed early on). The plot is what should ideally happen for forgiveness to be found and for those involved to move on, though, sadly, I am afraid real life probably doesn’t often happen this way.

The Publisher’s Weekly Review says, “Kingsbury tackles a touchy, difficult topic, yet in her characteristic style, her gentle approach wins the day. It will also overcome any reader resistance, no matter what position one takes on this volatile issue.” I agree.

Fit to Be Tied is the second of Robin Lee Hatcher’s Sisters of Bethlehem series. Gwen and Cleo are fraternal twins, separated at the age of two when their mother left their father, taking Gwen with her and leaving Cleo with their father at the ranch in Idaho. Gwen came back to ID to live and renew her relationship with her father and sister, and though they love each other dearly, Gwen and Cleo are as different as night and day. Gwen is every bit the refined lady; Cleo is the chief wrangler of her father’s ranch, more comfortable in trousers and with the animals, in 1916 Idaho where this was highly unconventional for women.

Into their midst comes an English aristocrat, Sherwood Stratham, who has been sent to America as punishment by his father in hopes that he will mend his ways. He ends up as a hand on the ranch with Cleo as his reluctant supervisor. They have to deal with their differences and prejudices against each other until they begin to discover the good qualities in each other.

It wouldn’t take much to guess that the couple falls in love, but how they get there is a lot of fun and free from many of the cliches that westerns or an opposites-attracting storyline can fall into. I liked how the plot progressed and I like the real depth of their relationship.

Thanks to Zondervan for providing a copy of Fit to Be Tied for review.

Book challenges

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I’ve been a little reluctant to join any book challenges because I have so many books to be read on my shelf, and many more on a list. But these two are calling to me.

The folks at 5 Minutes For Books have revamped their Classics Bookclub: instead of choosing one classic for everyone to read and discuss, now anyone can read any classic, and instead of meeting and linking up once a month, they will meet once a quarter. You can list what book(s) you read and wrote about and then peruse the list to see what others read, clicking on the ones that interest you.

I do want to keep the classics in my regular reading, but I don’t often reach for them unless there is a specific challenge or goal like this. I mentioned earlier that I had read most of the classics I had a burning desire to, and perhaps it was time to revisit some old favorites.

L. M. Montgomery Reading ChallengeAlong those lines, Carrie at Reading to Know is hosting an L. M. Montgomery Reading Challenge: basically we’re to pick any book(s) of L. M. Montgomery, write a post stating we’re joining the challenge and leave a comment on this post, read the book some time during January, then on Jan. 31 leave a comment with a link back to whatever Montgomery books we read and posted about during the month.

I think these two will dovetail nicely!

So my tentative goals for the Classics Bookclub are:

1. Read Anne of Green Gables for this and the Montgomery challenge. This will probably make me want to reread all the books and watch the film series again, but I’ll just have to deal with that. 🙂

2. Read something from Agatha Christie. I’ve been saying I want to for ages: now is the time to do it!

3. Carrie is also hosting a Chronicles of Narnia reading challenge in July. I am still thinking about that and may do it: I’d love to revisit the series.

I think the fourth option I will leave open for now and see what develops and what I am in the mood for later, since nothing in particular is coming to mind just now.

Oh, and there are prizes associated with each challenge. The Classics Bookclub will enter anyone who signs up with their goals by Jan. 31 into a drawing for Invitation to the Classics: A Guide to Books You’ve Always Wanted to Read and a copy of Jane Eyre from the Readable Classics series. Carrie is offering a locket from Emma Parker & Co. as a prize.

Back to the ol’ routine…

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…at least, that’s what I thought today would be. Everyone is back at work or school, and I have plenty of things to do, but nothing pressing. So I was going to compute for a while and then dig into some project or another.

I had several threads of ideas for blog posts, but nothing really came together…and I just seemed to have some strange sort of malaise. I got more and more sleepy and couldn’t seem to think straight. I ended up taking a nap. That did help some.

Though the past 2-3 weeks have had pockets of relaxation and a lot of fun, I have had something pressing to do just about every day. So maybe it all just caught up with me. I hope I am not catching something.

I’ve always said I don’t work best under deadlines or pressure, but I do get more done then. Part of that has to do with having a limited amount of time, but part of it, I just realized today, is that a deadline helps you focus on just the thing that needs work and helps you prioritize. With many projects needing to be done but no real time constraint on any of them, I tend to just float around indecisively and not make headway. I need to just pick one and get started.

I think today I’ll declutter. That doesn’t take a lot of mental effort. We got the Christmas decorations put away Saturday and a lot of the house in order then, but I see some stacks of stuff that need sorting through.

Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll be back with something more interesting to read. 🙂

More odds and ends…

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I like to change my blog header seasonally but this year I just did not want to put anything cold or snowy there, and I couldn’t find a fireplace photo I liked. This design was given to me free by Everyday Mommy years ago, and it just fits me perfectly! I like to put it in when I don’t have a seasonal photo there. She does great work.

There were a couple of photos from our fireworks New Year’s Eve that I wanted to share. I can’t remember whether this was something  Jim got Jeremy for Christmas or something one of them got “just because” or what, but it’s a clip-on thing for a cap that has little flashlights in it:

Without the flash he looks like a cyborg or something:

Sure, it might look a little geeky — but it is great when you need light but want to keep your hands free. 🙂

Last night we went to one of those places where you drive through and look at all the lights. These were the only pictures of the lights that didn’t come out too

blurry:

They had one area where the animals were roaming around freely, and this emu came over to say hi.

For a few minutes Jim had his hand shaped like a bird’s head and moved his fingers like a bird’s bill, talking to the emu, and the emu kept cocking his head looking at Jim’s hand, wondering, I guess, what this creature was and what language it was speaking. I was trying to get a picture of that but missed it. It was so funny.

But the funniest thing of the night occurred with this creature that looked part zebra and part donkey. It and another zebra were visiting the car in front of us (the place sold bags of food we could feed to the animals, but we didn’t get any this year). We watched for a while, but then it seemed it had been an inordinately long time. We were ready to move and were wondering why the car in front of us wasn’t moving. Then we became aware that the zebra/donkey had positioned himself in front of the car with it’s nose on the hood and was not moving:

I don’t know what it was doing — trying to warm it’s nose or what. And the other zebra was just looking on the whole time. As we were finally able to get past them, we were making up lines for it (“Hey, baby, come here often?” etc.)

The area had a place at the end with a petting zoo and a little shop and place to get hot chocolate, but it was way cold and seemed later than it was, and we just didn’t feel like stopping. Well, Jason did, but he acquiesced for the rest of us. It was a fun outing though I enjoy it more before Christmas, but there just didn’t seem to be a good time beforehand.

Christmas decorations come down today. I’m ready, but it does seem like it all went so fast!

I got the ladies’ booklet done yesterday and have to restock the missions closet today — one of our missionaries is in the area for just a few weeks, and I don’t know exactly when he might be at our church, but I want to be ready. We might have Grandma over for dinner and Scrabble tonight depending on how the rest of the day goes. It’s pretty slow going when she plays, but it is one of her favorite things to do.

Tomorrow will be a regular Sunday, then Monday, it’s back to the ol’ routine. I’m missing a lot of the specialness of the Christmas season already, but a part of me is looking forward to the start of a new year and gearing up to get some things done.

I don’t usually do “resolutions,” but the New Year does provide a good time to look back, reflect, and evaluate things and maybe set some goals. Things have been going pretty constantly for the past 2-3 weeks, and there hasn’t been a lot of time to think about it yet, but so far my mindset is just to continue on with what I’ve been doing. A lot of the goals I set last New Year’s are not done yet, to my shame, so I’ll just work on those.

Hope your New Year is going swimmingly so far!

Prayer for the New Year

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O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in Thy presence,
in Thy service, to Thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from Thee,
but may rely on Thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth Thy praise;
testify Thy love,
advance Thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with Thee, O Father as my harbour,
Thee, O Son, at my helm,
Thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to Thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.

Give me Thy grace to sanctify me,
Thy comforts to cheer,
Thy wisdom to teach,
Thy right hand to guide,
Thy counsel to instruct,
Thy law to judge,
Thy presence to stabilize.
May Thy fear by my awe,
Thy triumphs my joy.

From The Valley of Vision

Seen at Challies.

First Friday’s Fave Five of 2010!

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

Since it has been two weeks since we’ve done a Fave Five, I hope it’s ok to go back two weeks!

1. Celebrating our 30th anniversary with a trip to Charleston and our kids surprising us with a little celebration when we came home.

2. All involved with Christmas. It was a nice, quiet, restful day with all the immediate family here. My favorite present: a cedar chest from my husband:

Photobucket

When I was growing up it was common for women to gave these at the foot of their beds to store keepsakes. I always wanted one but never mentioned it because we never had the space for one. But moving the sewing desk out of our bedroom into the new sewing room created space! I can’t wait to go through some things to put in here.

3. Finally making Harvest Loaf Cake yesterday! I usually make it earlier in December, but we love it any time.

4. Fireworks on New Year’s Eve!! I love fireworks anyway, and I grew up having them, but we haven’t been able to have them at home in the last ten years or so because our city doesn’t allow them. But my son and new daughter-in-law live outside the city limits! So we went to their house for New Year’s Eve and brought some fireworks.

It’s funny, it wasn’t raining at the time, or even misting, though it had done both earlier in the day, yet my camera was picking up the water droplets in the air. This is one of about five “big ones” we shot off.

Some little tanks that sent off sparkler-type fireworks.

5. A couple of get-togethers at Jason and Mittu’s house with another family from church whose daughters, one a teacher in CA and one a student in FL, both of whom worked with Jason and Mittu at camp, were visiting. Good food and fellowship and fun playing games. We don’t do that as often as we should.

My favorite clue from Taboo (a game where you’re trying to get your teammates to guess what you’re describing, but you’re not allowed to say certain key words in the clues you give them) was when Jim gave the clue, “Six minus 1 small things that come out of ladies.” All of us on his team thought, “What??!!” Then it hit a couple of us that the answer was “quintuplets.” We laughed about that the rest of the night.

Then at midnight Jason was chasing Mittu to get a New Year’s kiss, and this family’s six-year-old son asked, “Can I play kissing tag?” 🙂

I hope your New Year is off to a good start, and I wish you all the best in 2010!

Favorite books read in 2009

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I just posted my list of books read in 2009. I was surprised the total ended up at only 42 (though I’d say the 1400+ pages of Les Mis has to count for at least five books, dontcha think? 🙂 ) Some people think I read a lot, but I’m nowhere near Carrie’s 132!

I’ve read as Semicolon has posted her top ten books from different genres the past several days. I haven’t read enough or from enough different genres to do that, but these are my overall favorite books read in 2009, in no particular order:

1. Les Miserables (unabridged) by Victor Hugo, reviewed here. I had read different abridged versions before, and it had been my goal for a long time to read the  whole unabridged version. I am glad I did: I enjoyed it, but I don’t know that I would do it again! I do think I’ll revisit the story in the future, but I’ll feel free to skip over some of the longer side trails in the book.

2. Becoming God’s True Woman edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I read it twice this year but have yet to review it: there is just so much to it, it’s hard to know how to condense anything I might say about it other than that I highly recommend it. But this is a review I agreed to do, so I need to get on that right away! Reviewed here.

3. Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, a compilation by Nancy Guthrie of 22 Christmas related essays from authors varying from Augustine and Luther to Piper and MacArthur. I just finished this and haven’t had a chance to review it yet, either, but I loved it. I am already planning on using it again next December: it may become an annual tradition.

4. To The Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson, reviewed here. A detailed biography of America’s first missionary, Adoniram Judson. Depth of character, faithfulness in any circumstance, even the severest hardships, a brilliant mind yielded totally to God.

5. Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer and Daily Light on the Daily Path. I’ll put the two devotional books together. I’ve been using Daily Light for years and feel a little funny listing it as a favorite — but it is. Meyer’s book is new to me this year, and it was my introduction to his writing (that’s the main reason I picked it up: I’d heard much of him and wanted to read directly from him. I did enjoy the book and plan to use it again this year.

6. How Do I Love Thee? by Nancy Moser about the relationship between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning, reviewed here.

7. The Centurion’s Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke, reviewed here, about the time just after Christ’s death. I don’t usually like fictional books based on Biblical accounts, but this one kept true to the Bible while employing imagination about what certain situations and people might have been like.

8. Fatal Illusion by Adam Blumer, reviewed here. Very suspenseful! If you like mystery and suspense, put this on your list.

9. Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn. I have enjoyed this whole series, but something about this one just especially spoke to me.

10. Sometimes a Light Surprises by Jamie Langston Turner, reviewed here, my favorite of Turner’s books.

I did not read as many classics this year, I think partly because Les Mis took so much time, partly because I had a big stack of books from a clearance table at the Christian bookstore that I still haven’t read through, and partly because since starting a blog I’ve read most of the ones I had in mind. I still want to read something by Agatha Christie, but this may be a year to revisit some old favorites.

I had planned to do this post anyway, but today’s Booking Through Thursday prompt also asks us what our favorite books of the year were, so I’ll link this post there as well.