Monday, January 23, 2012

Daybook --1/23/12



Outside my window... Warm and wet and squishy. OK, 45 degrees isn't WARM warm. But it is for January in Michigan. Yesterday there was more than an inch of snow on the ground. Tomorrow ... who knows? This IS Michigan.

I am thankful for... our upcoming long weekend in Stratford. We weren't sure the budget would go there this year, but it did, so we are. Four days of pure relaxation!

From the kitchen... Pork Sausage Casserole. Tomorrow will be leftovers, and Wednesday tacos. I am going for easy for our dinners, because for most of those two days Roger and I will be in a large church kitchen making 300+ servings of chili for the local Pregnancy Care Center fundraiser in February. He's the chili chef; I just chop whatever he tells me to.

I am wearing... tan cotton pants, an amethyst-colored ribbed cotton sweater with more-or-less-matching cotton socks, black loafers, and a fuzzy rabbit-angora shawl to keep my shoulders warm. Inside our house, the only difference between a 45 degree day and a zero degree day is how often the furnace runs. The thermostat stays at 70 in the daytime and 55 at night.

I am creating... Christmas presents for Miriel and Tirienne. I didn't have time to knit ahead before Christmas, so I gave them each a certificate good for one item, with a trip to the yarn shop for pattern and yarn. Tirienne's beret is done. Next is Miriel's scarf.

I am going... well, aside from the previously mentioned chili-making, this week I have knitting group and choir practice. I thought I was going to need to read for another Quiz Bowl meet, but the organizing teacher found enough readers closer to home (about 45 min. from here.) In this case, I really don't mind not "getting" to go and read.

I am reading... Twelve Drummers Drumming, by C.C. Benison -- a pen name of Douglas Whiteway. This is a mystery featuring British Anglican vicar Tom Christmas. It's not a bad read, at least so far, but it's fairly obvious that the author chose his character's profession so that he could be called "Father Christmas."
The book is full of similarly punnish ideas and names, and apparently is the projected first volume in a series (Eleven Pipers Piping, and so on.) But although the protagonist is likeable as a detective and a man, he's not very believable as an Anglican priest. Jan Karon fans shouldn't bother.

I am hoping... to finish this post fairly quickly, since I have a couple of other things to do before bedtime. Which needs to be relatively early, since the chili-cooking begins at 8:30AM.

I am hearing... Bruce Springsteen singing Glory Days. Kelson has discovered the joys of vinyl recordings, and Born in the USA is spinning away on the newly dusted turntable.

Around the house... my weekly schedule is all jumbled up, because the church kitchen is only available to us for two days, and which two days they are has changed a couple of times. My day planner is full of scratchouts and arrows, but with any luck all the laundry and cleaning will get done at some point.

A few plans for the rest of the week... um, I think I've mentioned them all.

Words I'm pondering : "Sanctity of Human Life is about trusting God." This quote is from a blog I read regularly, and really sparked me to think more deeply about the root causes and solutions of this country's romance with killing our unborn children.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... Not a picture this time, but a link. You won't see this on the news, but go here to see Twitter's photo gallery with the hashtag #marchforlife. I went two years ago, and will go back as soon as I can afford something more than the red-eye bus. I can do the bus or the March, but not both.


Friday, January 20, 2012

Seven Quick Takes Friday : Yes, I'm still alive. Shocker.



--- 1 ---

Number of times I have thought about blogging in the past month: at least a dozen.
Number of times I have actually blogged in the past month: zero.
(I don't count that naggy little thing about Word and Question, which I probably needn't have bothered with...)

--- 2 ---

Topics I have considered for blog posts in the last month : Seven Quick Takes, Daybook,
Seven Quick Takes, Daybook, Seven Quick Takes, Daybook,.........
Lather, rinse, repeat. As you can see, Quick Takes finally won. Because I don't even have to answer any questions.

--- 3 ---

Oh, wait. I lied in the last take. Because I also considered doing the "2011 in recap" meme. For about 17 seconds.

--- 4 ---

I am very tired today. On Wednesday we drove 5 hours each way to a family funeral (RIP, Dick...) Yesterday I changed beds and cleaned bathrooms, drove to a not-so-nearby town to serve as a reader for a Quiz Bowl meet, and went to choir practice. Today it all caught up with me.

--- 5 ---

Fortunately, I can say "Nine!" Which is counting down days until our Stratford visit. I intend to alternate reading in the jacuzzi with sitting in a booth sipping Strongbow. Bliss.

--- 6 ---

In preparation for Stratford, I just requested eight books from the library. I suspect that if they all come in, that might have been a little over-ambitious. But I couldn't whittle the 20+ books on my list down to a readable-in-a-long-weekend number. I'll just have to renew some of them.

--- 7 ---

Since I have now put together a (very rudimentary) semblance of a post, I think I'll go and take a nap. See you!