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The song “Something Beautiful” by the Newsboys has been one of my favorite songs for a long, long time. It is such a joyous song, I always want to dance when I hear it. Actually, it’s the ring tone on my cell-phone. 🙂 So, enjoy!
28 Sunday Feb 2010
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The song “Something Beautiful” by the Newsboys has been one of my favorite songs for a long, long time. It is such a joyous song, I always want to dance when I hear it. Actually, it’s the ring tone on my cell-phone. 🙂 So, enjoy!
27 Saturday Feb 2010
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inIt’s been a week of crazy, crazy weather here in New England. Monday was balmy, with a tangy hint of spring in the air that made me hope for spring in spite of the forecast for the rest of the week. Tuesday turned chilly and snow was in the air; thankfully, choir rehearsal went on in spite of the snowfall.
And Wednesday? Wednesday was wild – snow, snow, snow! Nestled here in our little valley, we got a mere three to four inches, but on the edges of town and elsewhere, people received the glorious present of at least a foot, if not more, of that white stuff.
Thursday, now that day was interesting. It warmed up overnight and rained, literally POURED buckets, all of Thursday. I walked to work after my lunchbreak and was soaked from the knees down within minutes, in spite of my umbrella and coat.
I also got to use my umbrella on Friday, but this time it was for snow. It snowed fast and furiously, but sporadically throughout the day; an hour’s burst of snow left nearly two inches on my car during my lunchbreak.
And finally, today, the sun is shining. The world is white from snow showers last night, but the sun is bright and the eaves are dripping.
Welcome to New England. They don’t joke when they say, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it’ll change.” As winter transitions into spring, the weather is always fickle. March will be interesting – will it go in like a lion or like a lamb?
27 Saturday Feb 2010
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inAll the secrets of the world are contained in books. Read at your own risk.
– Lemony Snicket
26 Friday Feb 2010
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I don’t remember being overly enthused with this book the first time I read it. Actually, it wasn’t until after reading and falling in love with the sequel, The Queen of Attolia (QoA) and deciding I had to read the first book, that I realized I had already read The Thief. I found it much better on the second try. Still, it remains my least favorite of Megan Whalen Turner’s books so far simply because Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia have to take the cake when it comes to my favorites (we’ll see how A Conspiracy of Kings is once it comes out next month!).
Nevertheless, The Thief is excellently written and quickly catches the reader’s attention. Set in a land that Megan Whalen Turner has based somewhat on ancient Greece, this fantasy novel focuses on the lands of Attolia, Eddis and Sounis. And it finds our hero and main character, the thief Eugenides in prison for stealing the Sounisan king’s seal and bragging about it. “I can steal anything,” he insists and before he knows it, he’s released from prison by the king’s magus himself; his skills in thievery are wanted for a mission, but other than those few details, he is told nothing.
And so begins a journey of unlikelies: the Magus, his two apprentices, Sophos and Ambiades, Pol, a soldier, and our favorite thief, Gen. All to steal the most valuable object that all three countries would go to war for. Is Eugenides up to the task? Is there anyone he can trust? Is anyone exactly who he appears to be?
Eugenides is a character you can’t help but like. In discussions with friends, we’ve decided he reminds us a bit of Lord Peter Wimsey, a bit of Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle, but remains entirely a character of his own. He’s scrappy, ingenius and outright hilarious at times – entirely real and up there on my list of favorite literary characters. Megan Whalen Turner has crafted his character superbly and it gets only better with each of her novels.
25 Thursday Feb 2010
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inI have a problem with the month of March. March hates me and well, I return the sentiment. We don’t get along well. Bad things happen to me in March. I always seem to get sick in March. Bad news at work seems to arrive in March, and the same goes with relationships with friends. Plus, March is just such a fickle month. It’s almost spring, but not quite. The world is thawing out, but we still get a snowstorm or two. Mud, endless mud.
So, okay, I don’t like March. In fact, just thinking about it makes my stomach knot with dread. This year, however, I’m determined to expect better things of March. I’m determined to find the good in March.
With that, I’m beginning plans for Making March Happy. At the expense of sounding like a Pollyanna (especially since I’m much more of an Eeyore than a Glad Game Girl), I’m going to count blessings. For each and every day during the month of March, I’m going to choose one thing that brightened my day or made it happy. And not only am I going to count blessings, but I’m also going to work on finding ways to make March happy for others.
I plan on blogging the journey, so keep an eye out for lots of posts about Making March Happy! Any March-Haters out there that want to join in on the fun? I’m currently working on a list of things to do to brighten the month; if you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment. 🙂 (And no, Dad, no comments about ‘make me coffee’ as an idea for a blessing!)
20 Saturday Feb 2010
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inMy eight year old brother informed us today that if we were to ever change his name, he would like it to be “Mordecai.”
Something tells me Purim is coming.
17 Wednesday Feb 2010
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inOne of the most certain things about large families is the noise. I’ve grown up in a house that’s a constant cacaphony of noise and the only times to escape it are late at night, when the littlests are in bed and early in the morning when everyone else is asleep. I’m not sure how I’ll ever adjust to a quiet house one day – I’ll probably resort to turning on the radio for company, just because I’m not used to the stillness.
Choir rehearsal was canceled tonight, due to the snow, and I’m home with just about everyone in the family. If we were a story-book family, we’d be all jolly and snug together here at home tonight. We’d be enjoying popcorn (home-made and not microwave, of course) while playing board games or listening to Mom read aloud a favorite book. Or all crowded around the piano singing.
Story-book families don’t exist though and even if they did, my crazy family wouldn’t fit into their mold. Tonight finds a brother sick with the flu and I’m still trying to lose the headache I’ve had off and on for the last two days. Half of us are congregated in the living room, some of us on computers, while the rest are scattered all over the house, trying to quell boredom. And we’re loud, loud, loud tonight. Someone is listening to praise and worship music. Two are fighting over a card game. Another keeps complaining of boredom. And the youngest is reveling in asserting her independence over her bigger siblings – which, they are protesting, of course.
Over-stimulation, indeed.
But…there’s a weird sort of hominess to it all. It’s our home, it’s how our family is. Dad wouldn’t be the dad he is without blaring his music on his laptop. The baby wouldn’t be the baby without being slightly spoiled by her many big brothers and sisters. And we wouldn’t be us without arguing now and then. Noise, yes, that means home. Our family wouldn’t be the same without the noise – even if my introverted self does try to hide from it in her room now and then.
We’re loud and crazy and, well, we’re family.
And now, I’m going to hide in a good book. Ten Circles Upon the Pond arrived today and I’m already engrossed in it. 🙂
16 Tuesday Feb 2010
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A Crooked Kind of Perfect‘s cheery cover caught my eye at the library the other day. I read the front flap, saw it was about a girl who wants to learn to play the piano and become a prodigy, but somehow ends up with a wheezy-bag organ (!!!), and promptly stuck it in the stack of books in my arms. And so, it came home with me, along with altogether too many new books.
Zoe is almost eleven years old and knows that if she just got a baby grand piano, she’ll turn out to be a tiara wearing prodigy who will someday play in Carnegie Hall. But when her dad gets her a Perfectone D-60 – a “wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ” – and six months of lessons in learning Greatest Hits from the ’60s! and ’70s! well, who ever played a Perfectone D-60 in Carnegie Hall? Talk about dreams going splat, a Performe-O-Rama nonewithstanding.
Her best friend announces that she has a new best friend. Her mom is a workaholic who works late nights. And the toughest boy in school starts hanging out and baking cookies – cookies! – with her dad, who hardly ever leaves the house for fear of getting lost or having to deal with busy places. Can life get any weirder or farther from the perfect picture in her mind? And what about all her dreams?
Zoe is a spunky heroine that you can’t help but love. Linda Urban creates a fantastic story, phrased and written almost like poetry. It’s full of heart and humor. I will admit that several parts made me giggle like a lunatic – including a Star Wars reference and a little glimpse of the television show “Monk.” And I will admit that I was tickled by Zoe’s big dreams, the dramatic details she dreams up.
Favorite quotes:
When you play the piano, you have to get the heart right. Which is harder than getting the notes right.
Each note can only be right in one way. A B-flat is a B-flat is a B-flat. A robot can get a B-flat right.
But getting the heart right is something only a person can do. And the ways to do it are as many and as different as there are people in the world.
14 Sunday Feb 2010
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in13 Saturday Feb 2010
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inI woke up early this sabbath morning and if it weren’t February, I’d wonder if spring weren’t just around the corner. Here in this small New England town, most of the snow has melted and patches of grass are showing everywhere. The birds are chirping outside my cracked-open window; I wouldn’t be surprised if a robin happened to join them today.
I like mornings like these, where the house is all quiet and clean at the very beginning of a sabbath day – both states being a rarity in a house that holds more than ten people on a given day. I think I’ll slip downstairs with my siddur and curl up on the couch with it and and a cup of coffee.
Happy shabbat. 🙂