Notes from the Furnace

1. I was a little alarmed earlier in the week when I heard the weather forecast for Wednesday and Thursday: "Unbearable heat." So, yes, it is a little hot outside. Not Fresno in August hot, mind you, but close. I keep pouring pitcher after pitcher of water on my hydrangea bush and it still looks wilted. I'm a little obsessed with the blue-purple of the hydrangea blooms, which is feeding my watering compulsion. I think a colony of ants have built a swimming pool underneath it and are cheering every time they see me come with more water because they are diverting all that moisture for their own devices instead of letting my poor shrub drink.

I have burnt leaves

And floppy leaves

Of course, I also have beautiful callas just opening

Memo to myself for next summer: find a new flower to fall in love with that doesn't require as much water.

2. This is another Thursday afternoon post and I'm writing it now because it's too hot to clean the kitchen (somehow, I always promise to make Miranda a new batch of chocolate chip banana mini-muffins on the hottest day of the week, and the last ones just came out of the oven) and I don't want to do any of the myriad of other chores on my list of things to do. I'm sure I will spend tomorrow morning running all over town getting enough groceries to survive the weekend (I haven't made my errand list yet, but off the top of my head, I already know I need to stop at the bank, Costco, and JoAnne's) and I need to take Miranda back to the pediatrician tomorrow afternoon to make sure her ear infection has cleared up and have them take another look at her rash, which is making a resurgence and has worried her teacher enough to comment upon it. I plan to stop at Trader Joe's on the way home from there and stock up on Miranda's cookies and Marshall's new favorite salsa. But, I am no longer dreading my life like I was last week because...

3. My mother is coming! The Lord has answered my call for help and encouragement (or, at least, he got tired of the incessant whining) and is sending me the best kind of assistance. She has been invited to attend a creativity retreat at the "Bellfry," a retreat center in the Virginia mountains. So, she is flying here on the 22nd (the FIRST day of summer vacation), will spend June 26-July 1 on retreat, and then come back here to stay until her birthday, July 8.  The Lord is good to me, in spite of my bad attitude and casual parenting and action movie watching. And cross stitching when I should be playing with my children. Speaking of which...

4. I am making great progress. Depending on how difficult the last few pages are, I certainly expect to have this finished by the end of July.

Of course, I'm stitching in the afternoons as well as the evenings, but my children are being very considerate. Miranda will come and sit with me while I work, for a little while, or watch something on the bed with me, like...

5. Gnomeo and Juliet, which was a lot of fun. She enjoyed it for it's adventurousness and I liked it for the excellent (voice) actors and seeing yet another interesting adaptation of Shakespeare. Also, we did enjoy X-Men: First Class last weekend, but not as much as the rapturous critics, apparently. Although if all bad boys are like Michael Fassbender, I'm starting to see the appeal. And keeping with theme of watching the same actors in different roles, I also watched Wanted. Very violent, lots of bad language. But it is entertaining, after a fashion. And I finished Sea of Monsters and am looking forward to starting The Titan's Curse. I tried to watch this new mini-series called The Shadow Line, but I got bored enough after 3 episodes to delete the lot. Somehow, Chiwetel Ejiofor just doesn't have the charisma to hold up a story on his own, like Idris Elba (Luther) or Kenneth Branagh (Wallender). Or maybe it's just bad writing.

Together, Marshall and I made it through the first half of Inglourious Basterds (another film on Michael Fassbender's resume; I don't think I'm going to watch his Jane Eyre, though; I was never a fan of any of the Brontes) and were surprised by all the talking (in a Quentin Tarantino film). In fact, there is almost as much of the dialogue in French and German as there is in English. I'm not a big Tarantino fan (Pulp Fiction is on my list of "Movies I Hate the Most") and I tried to watch Kill Bill, Vol. 1, on Ebert's recommendation, but got bored and turned it off.

I don't know if we're going to try to see Super 8 this weekend. I may try to get a sitter for Saturday night.

6. Our old refrigerator, which has been sitting in the driveway for several weeks, should be picked up by the state's recycling program tomorrow, which will clear the way for us to schedule the paving people to come and dig us out a new driveway (no more weeding the driveway!) which will then clear the way for me to call the nursery nearby to get our regular load of mulch. The flowerbed is in desperate need. Of course, then we'll have a place for our children to ride bikes, so maybe we should buy them some.

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.


Bonus 8. We have yet to make it to the pool. I was hoping to go this weekend, but scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast. Ah, dang.


If we don't make it to the pool, there's always the sprinkler, which for my children, means mud:

And here's Jen.

General Malaise (or, Come Whine With Me)

1. I am actually writing this post on Thursday afternoon because I had enough caffeine today that my brain is still fairly functional at almost 4 pm and the children need direct chaperonage in the living room while they're playing the Wii. Alex had a bad ride home from school because one of his schoolmates screamed all the way home (he is a sensitive dude and picks up on the emotional currents flowing around him) and Miranda is in the perfect mood to bug her brother. 


While Alex likes the play the Wii, he seems to spend more time creating Mii's, so many that we have to regularly throw a bunch of his creations away, in order to make more room for new ones. 


2. I have finally identified the source the of my malaise: summer vacation is imminent. Now, it doesn't officially start until June 22nd, but the number of new things we will be introducing to our regular schedule is enough to start my habitual panic. So, in order to distract myself from the incoming tsunami, I have been watching a host of brainless, action-heavy movies, which is a time-honored Boyle tradition. In fact, my favorite date activity with my father is still to watch James Bond movies. We started with The Living Daylights (in the theatre in 1987, which is probably why it's still one of my favorites), and while we haven't watched every single consecutive film together in the theatre, we did manage to see the last two together. Daniel Craig is awesome, although I am still fond of both Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton. 


(As an aside, if you are a Bond fan, you should also see the documentary Bond Girls Are Forever, hosted by Maryam d'Abo. It's excellent.)


On Sunday, I watched I Am Number Four (mostly for Timothy Olyphant, but the chemistry between Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron was impressive). Yesterday, I watched Centurion; unfortunately, the director learned his craft in horror films, so the gore and language is rather over the top, but I wanted to introduce myself to Michael Fassbender and it's supposed to be a good companion piece to The Eagle, which I have all cued up to watch tonight. (Yes, like my weakness for Vin Diesel, I also have a fondness for Channing Tatum.)  I also have Taken to watch as well; I've been a fan of Liam Neeson since Nell. And then, on Saturday night, Marshall and I are going out to celebrate his birthday and see X-Men: First Class, which, so far, has excellent reviews. 


Friday morning update: I actually watched Taken last night instead of The Eagle. Adrenaline filled, yes, but it really strained believability past the breaking point. I liked Neeson much better in The A-Team. 


3. And what, pray tell, am I trying to distract myself from?

• End of the school year: Alex, Miranda and I are all people who love having a regular schedule. Life is just so much happier when we know what to expect from day to day. 
• Joining the local pool: We need to get into the habit of getting ready and driving over there in the afternoons. I need to get Alex tested to swim in the deep end and figure out what flotation device Miranda will tolerate using this year. Since each of them had ear infections last week, I was given a momentary reprieve. But, on Saturday, I should really take them over and start getting familiar with the Ramblewood Pool system.
• VBS: We've never been able to attend it at our church due to scheduling and potty training issues but this year, we are all ready to join in on the fun. Supposedly. 
• Alex starts summer school on July 5th, but Miranda, once again, did not qualify because she made so much progress during the school year. Last summer, Miranda was mad at me for (it seemed) the whole summer because Alex got on the bus every morning and she did not. I'm really hoping she is a happier camper this year.
• And then there's our massive trip to San Diego in August. Long plane trips. Unfamiliar cars and house. Two (sweet) dogs, but Miranda is a little dog-phobic at present. Unusual sleeping arrangements. New food (well, probably not for Alex). I can't wait to spend time with my family and spend my afternoons lying around on my aunt's patio, watching my children enjoy her pool. But so many other things about our trip are uncertain.

I hate change. I hate new things. I hate uncertainty. I hate being the responsible adult. I would rather spend my summer reading, sleeping, and stitching. 


Of course, when I told Alex and Miranda's teachers my plans for the summer, they applauded me. I'm doing all the right Mommy things for my children. Opportunities for therapy and learning life skills. 


Hopefully, my attitude will improve. Or I'll just grit my teeth and move forward, regardless of my feelings. And watch lots of action movies. 


4. I finished listening to The Lightning Thief and have moved onto Sea of Monsters. I'm still not crazy about the narrator, but I will endure him to enjoy, once again, the adventures of Percy Jackson. I haven't gone back to Harry Potter, though, even though I really enjoyed listening to the first two books. The details of those novels seem to be burned into the pathways of my brain so well that even though it's been years since I read them and only read them all once, I don't seem to have forgotten much. So I should be fairly well prepared for the new movie in July, even if I haven't finished my survey.


And, Julia Quinn's new book came out on Tuesday, Just Like Heaven. I am off to Borders tomorrow morning to pick up my copy!


5. My DVR is rather full and I've only myself to blame. As I mentioned here, I have difficulty finishing things. Since I've been distressed about upcoming events, I haven't felt up to watching any of the following:

• the season finale of Castle, even though I know what happens since I haven't been able to completely avoid spoilers;
• the last 2 episodes of Hawaii-Five-0, which I was enjoying in a rather brainless fashion;
• the last 2 episodes of Lie To Me, still, which has been canceled. To be fair, this last season was rather all over the place. When compared to something like Justified, which had an amazingly well-planned arc over all 13 episodes this year, Lie To Me was terribly uneven;
•  the season finale of NCIS: LA, which I know is going to end in a cliff-hanger, and I hate cliff-hangers;
• the last 6 episodes of Nikita, which I'm sure is also going to end in a cliff-hanger;
• 30 episodes of Stargate: Universe. I liked the first 10 but then had to wait for the next ones and never got back to watching it;
• the last 3 episodes of The Chicago Code, which was also canceled. And Jason Clarke is amazing in this. Oh, well;
• the last 4 episodes of The Mentalist. Yes, I know what happens at the end; it's just going to be painful to watch.
• and, finally, all of the new season of Doctor Who except for the opening episode, which, after Saturday night, will be 6 episodes. Part of the problem is finding a time when Marshall and I can watch these together. It may wait until vacation, like it did last year. And the year before. 

Perhaps a DVR with hundred of gigs of storage isn't the best thing for me. My hoarding impulses take over.


6.  I didn't get as much stitching done this week as I wanted, but here is the progress picture, nonetheless:

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.

And here's Jen.

7 Plagues

1. I am in a foul mood because I'm currently in a contest of wills with Miranda who is refusing to chew and swallow the antibiotics prescribed by our pediatrician yesterday for her nasty ear infection. For her first dose before bed last night, she also refused, so we tried crushing it in applesauce and feeding it to her. She refused to swallow it. She kept it in her mouth for more than 10 minutes and finally spit it into a towel. Needless to say, she went to bed crying and I went to bed angry. This morning, I made the offer calmly, allowed her to have a cup of milk, and then forbade any other activities or food until she eats the medicine. Eventually, she'll get hungry or bored enough to eat the medicine. I am the original Strong Willed Child. I can outlast her.

Let's call this the plague of pestilence.

Alex was out of school 3 days last week for a nasty ear infection, and now she has done the same.

2. Miranda also has a nasty rash of red dots all over her body that look like tiny, broken blood vessels that disturbed our doctor enough to order a blood test for this afternoon. Taking my children for blood work is one of my favorite things in the world to do, NOT. From their perspective, I am holding them down so other people can torture them with needles. Fun, fun, fun.

Let's call this the plague of blood.

I was planning to follow the trip from the blood-draw with a trip to Friendly's, but not if she hasn't taken her antibiotics by then. Or may I'll go and get ice cream for just myself. And eat it in front of her.

3. The sale of the Super Beetle went smoothly on Saturday, thank God. Marshall spent 3 hours with the buyer, making sure he explained everything, turned over all the manuals, they took a long, celebratory drive together, the works. However, while this was happening, our refrigerator failed.

Let's call this the plague of darkness.

By the time he was done with the buyer, the children were in bed and I was completely spent. So, my darling husband tipped everything that could be frozen into the outside freezer, filled our cooler with ice and put all the milk products in that, and unplugged the fridge. He hoped, perhaps, it had iced over in some crucial places and a rapid defrost would solve the problem. Alas, no such luck.

So Sunday night, he went to Best Buy and ordered a new fridge to be delivered Wednesday. And we lived in the cooler until then.

The new fridge is beautiful and spacious and exactly what I wanted. And it fits aesthetically in the color scheme of the kitchen, which is what Marshall wanted. The children, however, are still adjusting to having the fridge compartment on top and the freezer on the bottom. We may have to move the string cheese to a lower shelf.

As soon as the delivery guys had moved it into place, Miranda "replaced" all the magnets. It doesn't usually look so cluttered.

4. In the midst of all the aforementioned excitement this week, I've been trying to plan for end of the school year gifts for all of the staff who work with my children, both at school and at church. And get all the end of the year stuff done for Youth Ministry. And help plan a double baby shower for two of the Youth Ministry Leaders. And Marshall's birthday is on the 7th, and I'm usually too busy to do anything nice so this year I wanted to do something nice so we have sitters coming tonight to play with the kids so we can go out and enjoy each other's company and a nice dinner together.

Let's call this the plague of flies.

I have too much to do without having Miranda underfoot for 3 days when she is supposed to be at school instead of fighting me about taking her medicine! (She came out of her room a few minutes ago, claiming she was ready to eat it. Nope. She was then ushered back to her room.) At least I managed to clean the house on Sunday and Monday, before all the new excitement started.

5. To comfort myself and try to keep my anxiety levels from hitting 11, I re-read The Red Pyramid and read for the first time The Throne of Fire and while I've been stitching in the evenings, I'm listening to The Lightning Thief. Nothing like juvenile fiction from Rick Riordan to take my mind off of my troubles. At least, for a little while.

Made some good progress on the cross stitch, so I'm not sure if this counts as another plague.

All finished, through page 14.

6. Okay, so maybe we haven't been struck by the 10 Plagues of Egypt, or even 7 of them, but the four I listed above have been seriously wearing me down. And I know my bad attitude is not helping matters at all. And I miss talking to my mother who is enjoying her long holiday in Ireland with my father and her sister. My mother is one of those people who can make things better even from a distance. Lord, have mercy on us.


7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.


And here's Jen. 

Soggy Friday

1. It has not been the most fun week ever. It really has rained every day for the last 7 days. My plants outside are green and verdant but I feel all moldy and grungy. Both Alex and I spent most of the week feeling ill (he had a nasty ear infection that kept him out of school Monday-Wednesday and not sleeping well for the rest of it, which I am sure contributed to my general malaise). The house looks trashed and not like it was spotless and clean a week ago, so much so that I spent yesterday afternoon outside weeding, between rainstorms, just so I could be doing something useful without having to cope with the mess inside. I was all set to tackle it this morning when Alex woke up about 3 am and never went back to sleep, which meant I spent the morning while both children were at school trying to catch up on sleep instead of cleaning. Some days, it seems pointless to make plans when my circumstances and just going to swoop in and spoil everything. Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine, whine, whine!

2. The good thing about feeling generally blah but not awful is that you get a lot of stitching done:

3. My parents are enjoying an early 40th anniversary trip in Ireland and having a wonderful time, according to the few texts and Facebook posts they've sent. Of course, earlier in the week, when they were in Dublin, so was Queen Elizabeth II and they all wanted to go the same places at the same time. And she had more staff so she got right of way. Now they are driving leisurely about the countryside, stopping when something looks interesting. Waterford, Kilkenny and Cork so far. :)

4. So I was surfing around CafePress yesterday after doing some graduation gift shopping and found they have a huge collection of shirts for Autism families. These are some of my favorites:

• "I am raising a child with Autism. What's your superpower?"
• "If at first you don't succeed, perseverate"
• "Will de-escalate for deep pressure"
• "Sensory Processing Disorder just means I learn a little different. My cuteness is NOT affected!"
• "Autism Sucks"
• "Autism Airlines: Expecting Turbulence on Most Flights! Our flights might be rough, but they're necessary."

Can you just see the four of us approaching the security checkpoint at the Philadelphia Airport (in August for our trip to San Diego) wearing 4 of these shirts (I get the first one, Miranda the 4th, Marshall the 5th and the last one for Alex) all together? I expect we would scare off any but the most confident observers. Although any other parents of special needs kids would get a good laugh.

5. The new printer arrived this week, all fancy and beautiful. It faxes and scans as well, and works with our wifi network so it doesn't have to sit connected to the computer in Alex's room like the old one. Since we have spent most of our marriage making do with dinky or trash-picked or free printers, this is an unexpected luxury. It means I have left-over toner from the old one, though. If anyone needs HP cartridges #92 or 93, let me know.

6. Our beautiful 1972 VW Super Beetle is set to be sold on Sunday afternoon. Marshall assured me last night that since he began the grieving process 18 months ago, when he decided to sell it, he shouldn't be too grief-stricken at the actual event. He will wash and vacuum it tomorrow (the rain is supposed to be finally done by then, which is good because Miranda has her last soccer practice) and then sign over the title after church on Sunday. I'm just praying everything goes smoothly. 


7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.


And here's Jen. 

Hazy Friday

1. Last weekend was so full of activities that I feel like I've gone through this week in a daze, my brain never quite waking up, no matter how much caffeine or sleep I feed it. Or maybe the scent of all my blooming irises wafting through the air are acting like a drug. They are seriously gorgeous:

You can see more of their beauty here. Also, so many of them have had more than 3 buds per stalk that I've had to cut them and bring them inside to keep them from falling over. A good problem to have, yes. I love my tulips, I love my callas, but these irises (new to the house in the last two years) are really moving up in my affections.

2. We did our back-to-back IEP meetings on Wednesday, and they went well, but I was wiped out for the rest of the day. Both children have excellent teachers and teams built around them (9 people each if you include all the aides and therapists and such) and made good progress this year. Both children are keeping their teachers for next year (Woohoo!), although Miranda will be in the afternoon class instead of the morning one, which will turn my schedule upside down, but I'm sure we can adjust. And the plans for next year look awesome and full of great new challenges.

It is an incredible blessing to have my children so well cared for in our school system. But it is still a grief that we carry that we expect to have yearly IEP meetings for the foreseeable future. I love my children but it is so hard to see them struggle in ways neurotypical children do not. Parenting is not for the faint of heart.

3. When I wasn't moping about being a special needs parent this week, I was stitching feverishly, which is how I finished page 13 and started 14, which should go quickly. I love getting to this point in the project when I can see the end and can't wait to get there!

I really love how the shadows on the vase are turning out; they're just a pain to stich.

4. Thor was a lot of fun! Although I liked Chris Hemsworth as our hero, I was more impressed by Tom Hiddleston (who I recognize from Wallander). His Loki was interesting and easy to be fascinated by. And Branagh did a great job, which I'm sure comes as a relief to him after working on a production as large as the population of some small countries.

After seeing the trailers before the movie started, Marshall wants to add Super 8 to our list. Man, it's going to be a busy summer!

5. Part of the reason for my haziness this week is that when he was out for a drive last Saturday in his beautiful 1972 VW SuperBeetle, Marshall encountered someone who had a friend who wanted to buy a car like ours. Now, we've been planning to sell it for a year and Marshall has been working on it in preparation for that event. This encounter, however, threw him into a flurry of activity so as to be ready to show the car to the prospective buyer last night. The meeting went well and if they can agree on a price, we will probably sell it in the next few days.

Here's our beauty:

However, this also meant the only time I really saw him this week was when he was with me in our IEP meetings Wednesday morning. I hate being husband-less. It really throws off my groove.

6. My parents leave tomorrow to spend almost two weeks in Ireland to celebrate (a little early) their 40th wedding anniversary. I hope they have an amazing time and take lots of cool pictures. And bring home a Guinness shirt for my husband. :)

7. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.


Bonus 8. The woman who cleans my house came yesterday, so everything is wonderfully, sparkly clean. That's the way to start the weekend right!


And here's Jen. 

Happy Mother's Day to Me! (or, My Husband is Wonderful!)

This is what the bookshelves looked like at noon today:

And then Miranda and I spent about an hour moving books from the piles in the front room onto the shelves and now they look like this:

Don't they look fabulous?!

Now, this is only about half of the books we own (and by "we" I mean Marshall and I; this does not include the piles of children's books located in Alex's and Miranda's rooms), so there are still 3 bins full in the corner in the living room as well as a few smaller piles in our bedroom. Which, of course, is why he's building a matching set of shelves on the other side of the room. 

The books aren't in any fixed order, although I did manage to put all the Milton together and my Norton Anthologies, and Laura Ingalls Wilder is next to L.M. Montgomery and Janette Oke, as they should be, but everything else is shoved in according to size and space. Some of the most amusing titles hanging out together are these:

And these:

Percy Jackson next to Still Harping on Daughters is almost as amusing as St. Augustine next to Heinlein's Number of the Beast. We have wide tastes, as you can tell.

Compliment my husband the next time you see him. These shelves are gorgeous!

The Friday before Mother's Day, and I am living it up!

1. For example, I took a long, luxurious bath last night before the children were asleep! Or even really in bed! Miranda was officially ready for bed but had begun her regular half hour of whining before she falls asleep and I just left her in my husband's capable care.

2. I have been reading real books this week.

• On Sunday night, (with a stack of Borders' coupons) I bought myself a copy of The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh, who is continuing to write Lord Peter Wimsey stories, with the blessing of Dorothy Sayers' estate. And I stayed up until 1 am reading the whole thing!
• The new Rick Riordan book Throne of Fire arrived yesterday (because I'm a Borders' Rewards program member, they offered it to me on pre-order for more than 50% off, which is too hard to resist, especially when my library isn't able to buy new books like they used to) but I need to reread The Red Pyramid first so I'm not too confused. I did fine with the Percy Jackson books (which are awesome, by the way) because I am familiar with Greek mythology. Egyptian legends are a different matter and I'm going to need a refresher before I dive into the new book.
• I read another amazing book review by Walter Russel Mead about The Armada by Garrett Mattingly and had to order myself a copy. It came on Wednesday and I'm already 150 pages in. Mead is the one who turned me onto that massive tome on the Napoleaonic Wars I read last summer, War of Wars by Robert Harvey. Perhaps, if my life had gone in a different direction, I might have been a professional historian, because I find these kinds of books so much fun to read. Scary, I know.

3. I have been working outside a great deal, weeding and mowing and planning new plantings. In fact, when I told Miranda she couldn't help me in the garden on Monday because she didn't have gloves, she helpfully stole Alex's Halloween costume gloves and got "ready" to "help," wearing my hat, no less:

4. All of this explains why I am terribly behind on household chores and I think we've had one real dinner this week. Ah, well, I'll get all caught up by next week when my cleaning lady is scheduled to come through again, especially since....

5. Marshall is making so much progress on the bookshelves that I am planning to actually start shelving this weekend. Which would be wonderful since we have dispensed with all 6 of the bookshelves we are replacing with the built-in bookshelves to their new residences so my front room, instead of being crowded by furniture, now has stacks and stacks of books and photos and dvd's all over the floor. Nice, orderly stacks, but books need real shelves to live on and be rearranged on and be appreciated and drooled over. We love our books!

6. I finally made it to an easier portion of the cross stitch pattern this week so made some decent progress:

I'm starting to wonder, if I can keep up this pace, if I might have it finished in time to take with us on our California vacation in mid-August to present it in person to my sister-in-law, for whom I am stitching, and take it with her to the framer's so she can pick out the mattes and frame. Wishful thinking? Perhaps. Still, it would be very convenient.

7. I did go to see Fast Five on Saturday night and it was a lot of fun! Happy, brainless movie with Vin and the Rock, and it made enough money last weekend that they are going to make another sequel. Woohoo! Also, our sitter is coming tomorrow at 5:30 so we can go see Thor, which is also opening to good reviews. I love the summer movie season!

Bonus 8. My mother's book, Bathsheba's Lament, continues to earn praises and recognition from among a growing number of readers. There is a great review of it on the International Christian Fiction Writers' blog that you must read! There is another awesome review of Bathsheba's Lament on LeAnne Hardy's blog. Read it here. Remember, if you haven't already ordered a copy, you will find it available here, or, if you are a local fan, you can purchase my last remaining copy of the book.


Extra Bonus 9. A few fun links I felt like sharing:

• May the Fourth Be With You which has posters of Star Wars puns. Very funny. 
• Existential Star Wars in French, from Jen Fulwiler's blog (see below).
• This is the shirt I want to buy (just not in pink!) to wear on the airplane when we travel to San Diego in August, all four of us together. We have not been on an airplane with both children since Miranda was 14 months old, for good reasons. But we miss our California family and decided to be brave this year. And take Valium. And pray, a lot.

And here's Jen.