Noonan

One of my favorite columnists, Peggy Noonan, gets it right again with an analysis of why John McCain is closing in on Barack Obama in the polls. Here's one choice excerpt:

The Rick Warren debate mattered. Why? It took place at exactly the moment America was starting to pay attention. This is what it looked like by the end of the night: Mr. McCain, normal. Mr. Obama, not normal. You've seen this discussed elsewhere. Mr. McCain was direct and clear, Mr. Obama both more careful and more scattered. But on abortion in particular, Mr. McCain seemed old-time conservative, which is something we all understand, whether we like such a stance or not, and Mr. Obama seemed either radical or dodgy. He wouldn't vote to ban partial-birth abortions because we must contemplate a rigorous legal parsing of any and all possible implications regarding emanations and of the viability of Roe v. Wade?

As I watched I thought: How about "Let the baby live"? Don't parse it. Just "Let the baby live."

As to the question when human life begins, the answer to which is above Mr. Obama's pay grade, let's go on a little tear. You know why they call it birth control? Because it's meant to stop a birth from happening nine months later. We know when life begins. Everyone who ever bought a pack of condoms knows when life begins.

To put it another way, with conception something begins. What do you think it is? A car? A 1948 Buick?

And here's another:

I suspect everyone has the convention speeches wrong. Everyone expects Mr. Obama to rouse, but the speech I'd watch is Mr. McCain's.

He's the one with the real opportunity, because no one expects anything. He's never been especially good at making speeches. (The number of men who've made it to the top of the GOP who don't particularly like making speeches, both Bushes and Mr. McCain, is astonishing, and at odds with the presumed requirements of the media age. The first Bush saw speeches as show biz, part of the weary requirement of leadership, and the second's approach reflects a sense that words, though interesting, were not his friend.)

But Mr. McCain provided, in 2004, one of the most exciting and certainly the most charged moment of the Republican Convention, when he looked up at Michael Moore in the press stands and said, "Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war, it was between war and a greater threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. . . . And certainly not a disingenuous filmmaker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace." It blew the roof off. And the smile he gave Mr. Moore was one of pure, delighted malice. When Mr. McCain comes to play, he comes to play.

You can read the whole thing here.

Institute Photos

The LCMS Commission on Worship has now posted photos from last month's Institute on its website. You can see them here. Be sure you check out page seven for a couple of pics of my favorite Cantor giving his keynote address. (If you want to do a bit more looking you can also find shots of Cantor at the organ and Cantor & the Mrs. having lunch on page three, as well as several scattered choir shots with the Cantor's kids.)

Popcorn, Anyone?

We rarely go to the movies, electing instead to wait until they come out on video (oops, I mean DVD). It's just too darned expensive anymore, and there's the difficulty of finding a babysitter, not to mention the time and energy. It's so much easier to just open up the Netflix queue. I can probably count on my two hands all the movies we have seen in the theater in the last 5 years: The Passion of the Christ, the first two Narnia installments, The Nativity Story, Expelled, Wall-E . . . (family, what am I leaving out?).

But here's one I'd be willing to lay down money for. It's called An American Carol, and according to the Internet Movie Database, it's about an "anti-American filmmaker [hmmm, I wonder who that could possibly be?] . . . out to abolish the July Fourth holiday . . . [he] is visited by three ghosts who try to show him the country's good sides."

The movie stars Kevin Farley (brother of comedian Chris Farley, who died last year), Kelsey Grammer, and Trace Adkins, to name a few. It was written and directed by David Zucker, who is already paying the price for having gone off the liberal Hollywood reservation. You can read more about it here.

What Kind of Shopper Are You?

At the end of last night's broadcast of Hannity & Colmes, I heard an interesting factoid. A recent survey of voters' shopping preferences indicated that McCain voters prefer doing business at Wal-Mart, Kohl's and J C Penny, while Obama voters favor Target and Macy's. I am one voter who fits that profile completely. (Even though I wrote about shopping at Target last week, it is not my store of first choice but a place that I go when I can't find things elsewhere.) And I couldn't help noticing that McCain voters are shopping at more middle-class retailers, while Obama voters are patronizing higher-priced ones (I know Target is a discount store, but it's an upscale discount store). So much for the theory that the Republicans are the party of the rich and Democrats are the party of the common man. When it comes to shopping habits, at least, it appears to be the other way around.

Addendum: Here's a link to the Zogby poll that was referenced on Hannity & Colmes.

We Made It!

I think it says something about this past year that when my husband suggested sitting down to watch the Olympics last night after supper my reaction was one of surprise. It is not an overstatement to say that both of us are having to relearn how to relax, because the events and circumstances of the last year basically took that away from us. But we need to remember how to get it back, because last night, for the first time in a very long time my husband and I found ourselves at home together on a night that he had no class to study for, no speech to write, no Liturgy Solutions music or website content to edit (well, nothing that couldn't wait, anyway!), no catechism songs to compose, and nothing else to do that couldn't wait until today. Wow! Freedom from the tyranny of the urgent! I had forgotten what it felt like to be able to procrastinate! Welcome back, honey. It's nice to see you again. And it looks like by the grace of God we muddled through and that maybe, just maybe, things are finally going to get a little bit easier.

New School Year

For my homeschooling friends who might be interested, here's what we'll be studying at Philip Nicolai Lutheran Academy this year:

Trevor

Apologia Physics

Teaching Textbooks Pre-Calculus

Barron's SAT vocabulary and writing prep

Chess (of course)

Voice lessons

Church choir

Life Skills - bank account and checkbook management

Caitlin

Apologia General Science

Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra

Art and Choir at the Day School

Confirmation class at church

Both

Catechism (Daily devotions and catechism instruction are handled by my husband, the principal of our school, and he draws from a variety of sources, but I feel pretty confident we'll be using the second item listed here.)

French in Action (we're on Lesson 16 of a 52 lesson course; the entire course is equivalent to 2 years of college French, so I guess we're in second semester now!)

World history with the Teaching Company (the Fertile Crescent to the American Revolution) supplemented by Streams of Civilization and various other history books and encyclopedias lying around the house

World literature - teacher-crafted by yours truly (meaning we'll read whatever I feel like reading), but utilizing this text to provide a loose framework and source of background information

Grammar - My English teacher status notwithstanding, I have never done a lot of grammar work with my children, and although they don't write dangling modifiers I'm not sure they could tell you what one is, so this year we are going to do some formal grammar study using Jensen's Grammar.

Piano & organ (of course)

P.E. - We've decided to take the plunge and join our neighborhood fitness center. Heck, our taxes are already financing the place in part; we might as well get some use out of it.

Manners and conversation skills

Home "Ec" - I've got to get these kids cooking more!

Handwriting improvement (sorry to break it to you here, my dears, but we could use a little more work on this)


I think that about covers it! What do you think? Too ambitious? Not ambitious enough? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. (By the way, my youngest is not included here because we're farming out his education this year to our church's preschool.)

Now I just have to come up with some sort of schedule for making this all happen! Wish me luck--I'll report back when that gets done!

Thank You, Kobe

I seem to be in a video mood these days!

Did you see this one? It's Chris Collingsworth of NBC news interviewing Kobe Bryant for one of those background pieces on the Olympic athletes. In one set of questions, he offers Kobe several America-bashing opportunities. Not only does Kobe not bite, but he gives an answer to make all Americans proud, an answer that models patriotic love of country for the many young people who were undoubtedly watching.

The video is from Fox News--the actual interview excerpt starts about one minute in and is only a minute or two long. It's worth a look.

Home

One of my blogging friends (I can't remember who--if you're out there, raise your hand!) recently asked for song suggestions to upload onto her new iPod. Here's one I would recommend--"Last Train Home" by the Pat Metheny Group. The song itself is beautiful, but the video is even more so. This is what music videos should be, and what many of them used to be when I was in college: artists simply standing and playing their instruments as cameras record their music-making. One of my favorite things about this video is the obvious pleasure the musicians are taking in the conversation they are engaging in. One gets the feeling that they knew they were creating something unique.

If you have four minutes, please, please, please turn up your speakers, click on "full screen" and soak this one in. You won't regret it. Rarely has a piece of music so completely captured the longing we all have for a place we can call "home"--a place of utter welcome and security and rest. Even my 4-year-old "gets" it. This is not a religious song (it has no words), but when I hear it and watch the video I think of Heaven.

(I am disappointed, though, that this version of the video cuts off before the very end, leaving out the final train whistle as the train disappears in the distance.)

Moderation Mode

I've switched to moderated comments for the time being. I wish I didn't have to, because I prefer the immediate dialogue afforded by comments that are posted in real time. I also don't care for the extra work of having to approve comments for publication. But a few days ago I had a visitor whose comment accomplished nothing beyond making me uncomfortable with his presence on my site. So for now, moderation is in order.

We Shall Overcome?

Yesterday while driving through Chicagoland my children and I passed by this church:

World Overcomers Church: Where Dreams Come True (Since the second part of the name is a permanent element on both the church's building and its sign, it seems to be an actual part of the name, not just a descriptive phrase.)

When I pointed the building out to my daughter, she expressed surprise, asking, "That's a church?" Indeed, there was nothing I could see on the building's exterior (beyond the sign itself) that would identify it as a church.

I honestly don't understand what draws people to a place like this. I am a poor, miserable sinner who can hardly manage the details of my own daily life and now you want me to be a "world overcomer"? The thought makes me tired. Thanks be to God that I belong to a church that preaches Christ crucified. Because He has already done it all, conquering sin, death and the grave, there is nothing more that needs overcoming.

The Presidential Candidates and Abortion: A Study in Contrast

This YouTube video juxtaposes the comments of Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain from their respective interviews with Rick Warren on August 16, 2008 (they did not debate each other but sat with him for individual question-and-answer segments, sharing the stage only briefly). Obama's response is first. I couldn't help noticing that he took a lot more time to be far less clear. I did not get to watch the entire program (I hope to in replay), but from what I have so far heard about it from others, what you see here is representative of the interviews overall, reflecting a directness and precision from McCain that suggests he is far more comfortable with his views and his ability to articulate them than is his opponent.

Just listen to the applause of the crowd when he answers the question about when a human being should be afforded the protection of law. This man is ardently pro-life and not afraid to say so.

New Sign

My church recently hung this banner on the road next to our campus. I think it's really cool. No trendy sermon series or practical living tips here! Just Christ and His sacrificial love, brought to you through the liturgy, offering new life through the forgiveness of sins.

I'm not sure who is responsible for the sign, but whoever you are, nicely done!

Look What I Found!

It's for my daughter and it looks adorable on her. I stumbled on it yesterday in the junior department at Target. My photo doesn't really do it justice. Here's a better one:

If you are a mother of a pre-teen or teenage girl, you know that finding modest, pretty, feminine clothing for your daughter is not easy these days. My daughter is only 12 but is tall for her age and is already making the transition from girls' to junior sizes. It is frustrating trying to shop for her in the current fashion climate, because these days the young women's dress racks seem littered with things like this . . .

. . . and this.

They are either too revealing or downright ugly. So I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to discover what I would describe as simply a pretty, classic dress. It is from the Isaac Mizrahi line and only cost $34.99.

Thank you, Target!

Parents in Name Only

This is sad.

HT: Barbara Frank

A Masterpiece in Progress

This is my daughter's book Riversong, completed earlier this year. It is still in the editing phase (her editor is a little slow!) but once that is completed she hopes to self-publish on Lulu. The cover art and binding shown here were provided by my daughter's friend. Didn't she do an amazing job?



Here's a peek at the first page. The books is 18 chapters long, not counting prologue and epilogue. I wrote stories when I was younger, but never anything like this. I am awed by anyone who can write fiction at all, much less something of this scope. Not only am I amazed by the ability to even conceive of things like plot and character, but I am completey impressed by the commitment to seeing that conception through from start to finish. This work took much in the way of time, effort and dedication.

Hats off to you, sweetheart. I can't wait to see your creation bound and printed. I better get busy finishing my part of the process!

VBS

No, this is not a post about Vacation Bible School, but about Visible Bra Straps. One the one hand they seem to be the fashion statement of the moment for females of all ages. In fact, you can now just buy the straps, all by themselves. Yet a web search can pull up plenty of people who, like me, don't get it.

I did some more thinking about this yesterday when one of my piano students--a teenage girl--showed up for her lesson displaying no less than three different bra straps under her tank top. I found myself thinking that she must be very uncomfortable wearing three bras under there! But having done a little more research, I now wonder if she was not wearing three bras at all but simply attaching extra straps for the sake of adornment. By the way, the student in question is a lovely and beautiful young lady with a great fashion sense, and seeing her sport this style makes me wonder if I am just being a fuddy-duddy. Because she is just one of a number of young ladies I know being raised in Christian homes with wholesome values and standards of behavior who nevertheless make this same fashion choice.

I was led to think about this some more yesterday when another of my piano students, a much younger one (age 7), showed up wearing a tank top with adjustable spaghetti straps. Looking at her shirt, it struck me that due to the adjustable feature, her straps looked a lot like bra straps. So then it occurred to me that maybe what my older student was wearing under her tank top was not multiple bras but multiple shirts with bra-like straps.

Musing over all this, then, I found myself wondering if my problem with the VBS style is not so much that it is revealing--my student was wearing a tank top, after all--but that the straps look like bra straps, which in my mind are not supposed to be shown. But what is it that makes them look like bra straps? Is it just that they have that adjustable slider feature? Well, what's so wrong with that? Would I have the same reaction if someone wore a tank top with a spaghetti-strap t-shirt (and no adjustable feature) underneath it? If my 7-year-old student's shirt has the adjustable feature, it is clearly not something that is limited only to bra strap use, right? And what's wrong with it anyway? Isn't it there just to assure a good fit, whether it's on a bra or a shirt?

I'm probably overthinking this. But as I look at the females out there who wear this style, it does strike me that it is possible to wear it in an aesthetically pleasing way and possible to wear it in a trashy way, and my piano student was definitely modeling the former. It's not a style I would choose for myself, nor would I allow my daughter to wear it (I am quite sure she wouldn't want to anyway). But maybe those of us who don't care for the style should simply count our blessings: after all, an easy alternative to VBS would be no B at all!

U. S. Open

Last week, August 2-10, the U. S. Open Chess Championship was held in Dallas, Texas. Because of the length of the tournament and the fact that it changes location year to year, this is not a tournament that my son always gets to compete in. Nine days of hotel and restaurant bills? I think not. And that doesn't even take into account the cost of getting there. But as it happens, I have a sister who lives in McKinney, Texas, a north suburb of Dallas, and her house is less than a half hour from where this tournament took place. So last Sunday, Trevor and his dad loaded up the car, and two days after returning from a family road trip to Nebraska they set out again, this time for Texas. (Thanks, Sis, for being such a willing and gracious hostess!)

The traditional schedule for this tournament is one round per day for 9 days. But because not everyone can take that much time out of life to play in a chess tournament, several shorter schedules are offered. My son played on the 6-day schedule, beginning on Tuesday and playing two games for the first three days and finishing out with one game each of the last three days. Because these games can go as long as 6 hours, that means potentially sitting at a chess board for 12 hours those first three days. Can you imagine thinking--hard--for 6 hours, and then having less than an hour to grab a meal and start the whole process again?

I can't (heck, I can hardly think at all anymore, much less for 12 hours). But my son can. In fact, he actually enjoys it! And he especially enjoys it when he gets an outcome like he did this weekend. Of 9 games played, he won 7, defeating Masters rated at least 150 points higher than him in four of them. As a result of this performance, his rating has rocketed from 2052 to 2118, putting him only 82 points shy of reaching the title of Master himself and placing him unofficially at number 11 in the USCF list of highest-rated 15-year-olds in the country. He also played several FIDE (internationally) rated players in this tournament, moving him a little closer to achieving his own FIDE rating.

Click here to see the final standings in the tournament and here to see the list of prizewinners. Prizes are awarded both for the best performances overall as well as the best performances in each rating class. Trevor did well enough that he could have received an overall prize, but it was more financially rewarding for him to split the first place Expert prize than the fifth place Open prize, so that's why his position on the prize winners list is a little lower than on the standings list. (Sorry if I am getting a little too technical for some of you, but a few of my readers may actually be interested in these details!)

When Trevor called last Sunday night to tell me he had won his last round, I must admit I was surprised. As well as I know my son and the talent and hard study that have brought him to this point, I did not expect this. How I wanted to throw my arms around him and squeeze him tight! But that's kind of hard to do when you're separated by almost 1000 miles. Sunday night after the tournament ended Trevor and his dad drove from Dallas to Houston to visit my husband's parents, extending the distance between us to over 1100 miles. So I will have to wait a little longer for that hug. I think that when I do finally get one both Trevor and his dad are going to have a hard time making me let go.

It is worth noting that Trevor's coach Yury Shulman won first place two years ago in the 2006 U. S. Open in Chicago, finishing with 8 out of 9 points. At the same tournament Trevor finished with 5-1/2 out of 9 points--not strong enough to win a prize. He's come a long way in two years, hasn't he? And that is due in no small part to Yury's excellent teaching and always positive approach to motivating his students. But I fear what this means is that the day is coming when Trevor may very well have to face off against his teacher. To Trevor and Yury I say, I guess that's what you both get for being so darned good at what you do!

Play Date

Some of my Lutheran homeschooling friends came over to play this weekend. We had a great time. Friday afternoon I picked up Lora at the train and we came home to a supper of spaghetti with pesto sauce, tabouli salad, and cantaloupe. The basil for the pesto and parsley & tomatoes for the tabouli salad were grown in my very own garden!

Later the rest of our group arrived: Melody & her daughter Mary, Barb K., and Jenny J. It was my first time to meet Barb! What a treat--she was just like I imagined her to be. We stayed up well past everyone's usual bedtime, enjoying brilliant and witty conversation (these are some of the smartest women I know) as well as chocolate and a little Riesling.

Saturday included knitting,

more knitting,

yet more knitting,

a trip to the Farmer's Market (or is that Farmers' Market?),

browsing in the bookstore,

Mongolian barbecue (the big blur in the middle is the cook's knives flying through the air),

and trips to Hobby Lobby and Michael's along with some Monty Python DVD's and yes, more talking. We also did some singing around the piano. It wouldn't be a Lutheran gathering without a little hymn singing, right?

It also wouldn't be a Lutheran gathering without everyone bringing food. And what great food it was: Jenny had the same idea as I did and brought some of her homemade pesto as well, along with homemade preserves and Greek salad; Barb contributed homemade hummus; and Melody brought BBQ brisket and homemade bread-and-butter pickles. We gave Lora a pass on bringing food since she had to ride the train! (She earned her "keep" by being the resident knitting coach.)

Sunday morning was Southwestern style crock pot eggs (with farm fresh eggs from Melody's hens and peppers from my garden) followed by church, lunch back at home, a little more knitting, and finally, goodbyes. Here's a photo of our whole group taken by our waitress on Saturday. Pictured from left to right are Lora, Barb, Cheryl, Evan, Mary, Caitlin, Melody and Jenny. My guess is that in the very near future some of those pictured here will be posting their own write-ups and photos.
You know, our pet name for this gathering is "Mamapalooza" because it is a gathering of "Mamas." But we could have called it a "Blogapalooza" since everyone pictured below has his or her own blog (including the four-year-old, although he does get a little help from his mom)!

It was a weekend to remember, and I can't wait for the next one!

Yury

This is my son's chess teacher, the reigning U. S. Champion, featured on the cover of the August issue of Chess Life magazine. He's every bit as charming in person as the photos make him appear. And he's a dream of a teacher: demanding but kind, empathetic, enthusiastic about his craft and about sharing it with others, constantly supportive, and willing to go beyond mere teaching to being a friend and mentor. And as you can see, he knows his stuff!

Quote of the Day

"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. "

- C.S. Lewis, "The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment"

Happiness is . . .

. . . listening to the Wicked soundtrack over and over again with your 12-almost-13-year-old daughter--the one that same daughter got you for your birthday-- and remembering . . .

. . . dusting the house together while you listen.

. . . going back and replaying your favorite tracks again.

. . . telling your daughter how the Act I finale of Wicked ("Defying Gravity"), an anthem of independence sung by Elphabah the misfit, reminds you of Fanny Brice's similar declaration ("Don't Rain On My Parade") at the end of Act I in Funny Girl.

. . . listening together to Barbra Streisand sing "Don't Rain On My Parade" on my original Broadway cast album recording.

. . . discovering a musical allusion to "Don't Rain On My Parade" in Wicked's "One Short Day to the Emerald City" (it was my daughter who figured out that the allusion occurs when Glinda mentions seeing a show--"Wizomania"--upon their arrival in the city).

. . . deciding that next week we will watch some movies together: one that my daughter wants me to see (the first Harry Potter) and one that I want her to see (Funny Girl).

. . . squishing up next to one another so that we can both read the lyrics in the CD liner notes, and discovering that when Elphaba and Glinda sing simultaneously at the end of "For Good" the normally mezzo Elphaba sings the high part while soprano Glinda sings the low part (reflecting the lyrics "because I knew you, I have been changed for good").

. . . watching a YouTube video of scenes from Harry Potter movies effectively and movingly set to the Wicked soundtrack!



Parents, myself included, often look at the children growing up before their eyes and mourn the disappearance of the various stages of that growth--infancy, toddlerhood, the preschool years--but at times like this I rejoice in the stunning people my children are becoming as they journey towards adulthood and the many yet to be revealed joys and blessings those years are going to bring. My daughter will always be my daughter and I will always be her mother, but how amazing it is to experience her more and more each day as a friend.

P.S. to Wicked fans: here are a couple of bits of trivia for you. Did you know that "Elphaba" (the name of the wicked witch in the story) was created by author Gregory Maguire by morphing the initials F. L. B. (for Frank L. Baum) into a name? And did you also know that Idina Menzell, the originator of the role of Elphaba on Broadway, played Patrick Dempsey's girlfriend in Enchanted? (She said she didn't mind that it was a minor role because she was thrilled to be hired for only her acting and not her singing talent.)

Double Standard

While the mainstream press was careful to keep Americans informed about Barack Obama's recent European trip, they somehow can't find time to tell us about President Bush's arrival in South Korea to a massive pro-Bush and pro-America demonstration. You can read more about it (and see pictures and video) at Gateway Pundit.

Institute Photo Diary

As probably most of my readers know, our family recently attended the third triennial LCMS Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music. As a workshop presenter, plenary speaker, conference musician and vendor, my husband wore multiple hats, but the rest of the family contributed as well, from singing in a choir (my two oldest children) to playing piano for worship (myself) to serving as a model for a workshop (my youngest). Below are a few of the photos I managed to take during the conference that were decent enough to post; it seems more of my pics than usual were blurred (and several of the ones seen below are slightly so). Hmmm, guess I need to cut down on the coffee drinking.

Here's the totally awesome Kantor Jan Muth of Memorial Lutheran (Houston) preparing her young models for a workshop on teaching music to children. The little king in the middle is mine--in his hand is a baton, um, I mean scepter. You can see how much he is enjoying the role--believe me, getting that crown off his head wasn't easy.


Here's the real deal, with workshop attendees watching. Yay--another chance to wear that crown!

Phil practicing organ in the balcony of St. John's-Seward. I think this was at about 10:00 at night. We also had one 7:00 a.m. rehearsal. Ouch! It was tricky getting all those musicians adequate rehearsal time.

Some very cute members of the Select Children's Choir in the Concordia bookstore (I'm particularly fond of the young lady in the middle):

Composer Phil Magness and Deaconess Pam Nielsen giving one of two presentations on the Sing the Faith catechism songs:



The Sing the Faith songbook itself on sale at the CPH booth!


Evan (the regal one) manning the table for Liturgy Solutions and Brothers of John the Steadfast:

And finally . . . Loopers! From left to right are Cheryl, Evan, Bethany L., Andrea W., Felice, and Holly G. (I also got to see Charity, but neglected to get a photo.) By the way, can you tell that Bethany and Holly are sisters?

What a wonderful week it was. There are so many stories I could share, and in time I hope to post a few of them, but for now I hope you have enjoyed this pictorial retrospective on a week I will long remember!

Silly Signs

Pics from our recent road trip, shot somewhere on the way from Illinois to Nebraska and back again (location details are withheld to preserve some dignity for the offenders).

It would appear that "fun" is all a matter of one's perspective:


What else would it be for, do you think?

I don't know whether to submit this one to the Blog of Unnecessary Quotation Marks or Apostrophe Abuse:

Kyrie Eleison

Unplugged

What do you do when you find yourself without television, radio, internet, telephone (both land-based and cellular) or even a few family board games for five days?

You read. A lot. Last Friday my children and I landed in just this situation as we settled in for a stay at Camp Luther in Schuyler, Nebraska. During the same time my husband was lodging at the decidedly more luxurious Benedictine Monastery in the same town, serving as musician for a Lutheran pastors' retreat. When we realized that his work at the retreat would come right on the heels of our trip to Seward, Nebraska for our church body's national worship conference and that it would be necessary for us to stay in Nebraska with him unless we wanted to fly home or take separate cars, I went looking for cheap accommodations. I stumbled on Camp Luther by doing a web search for camping in Schuyler (thinking it would be cheaper for us to camp than stay in a hotel). And boy, did I hit pay dirt. When I contacted the director of of the camp, we were offered a place to stay on a donation-only basis--in other words, whatever we wanted to pay. Of course, we leaped at the offer, and the accommodations far exceeded my hopes. We had a kitchen, two bathrooms (the cabin we stayed in used to be a duplex but has been converted to one unit), a living area, and a bedroom with a double bed and a set of bunk beds. If we had chosen, we could have eaten in the camp cafeteria, but with the available kitchen facilities I just ended up cooking all week.

My husband stayed with us the first night, and after we had checked in and unpacked the car he invited me to come outside with him and enjoy the night. We stood there listening to the night, hearing nothing but the bugs--no cars passing by, not even in the distance; no voices; no radios blaring; not even any dogs barking. And no lights to speak of either, just the blackness and the stars. That utter quiet and dark is something I remember experiencing during the several years I lived out in the country in my childhood but as a Chicago burb dweller it is now unknown to me. I wish I could bottle some of that and take it home.

We were in such a remote location--several miles of dirt road separating us from the nearest highway and nothing but farms and cornfields in every direction--that as mentioned we found ourselves completely unplugged from all our electronic tethers. And because I did not have room to pack games and recreational equipment, we didn't have a lot to do except enjoy the camp facilities and our books. So other than eating and sleeping and hiking (there was a small lake with a sand beach but the water did not invite these city slickers to swim in it), we buried our noses in books. Here is some of what I read over our five days at Camp Luther:

The last 10 or so chapters of Hakim's History of US, Book 9 (catching up with my kids)
Stories of the Second World War by Paul Dowsell (again, catching up with my kids)
The first few chapters of How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer
Several issues of National Review and World magazines
Reading the Psalms with Luther (in part)
About half of The Secret Life of Bees (still working on that one--it is a stunningly good read so far)
And . . . drum roll, please . . . I finally read my first Harry Potter book! So now I can talk knowingly about all kinds of things like invisibility cloaks and Muggles and Quidditch and You-Know-Who! (But I've only read the first one, so don't spill any plot beans because at this rate--one per summer--I'll not be finishing the series until my 50th birthday.)

I will admit that unplugging was a bit of a shock to the system, because all of us are used to internet access 24/7. But after about a day of withdrawal, I was glad for the deprivation, knowing that without it I probably would have not spent as much time in my books. I used to be an avid reader, but now find myself going many months without reading anything (except blogs) for pure pleasure. Considering all the great books out there, I find that quite dismaying. So it was a treat to rediscover my passion for reading this past week. I hope come fall I can manage to set aside a little time each day to continue pursuing it.

It was a great five days, clouded only by a summer cold that started with my youngest and has now made its way through the whole family, hitting me much harder than anyone else (why is that?--does the fact that I got way sicker than the others say something about my general degree of healthiness?). Yesterday we left Schuyler and drove to St. Peter, Minnesota (what a gorgeous town) to stop in at the worship conference being held there by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and to make an early college visit to Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, which we are considering for my 15-year-old son in a few years. (Glenda, lack of time and colds ruled out a stop by your place this time--please forgive me, but I would not have wanted to make your family sick!) Today we're driving home. I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight! Tomorrow it's a marathon of laundry as my son and husband prepare to leave for another road trip on Sunday--this time it's to the U.S. Open (chess) in Dallas, Texas followed by a stopoff to see my husband's parents in Houston.

That's the report from the last few weeks. Stay tuned for more road stories!

Winding Down

Can you believe it's almost over? It seems this presidential race has been going on for years (and in truth it has!), but finally the end is in sight. As Election Day nears, I am hopeful that conservatives and Republicans will continue coming together behind John McCain, even if he wasn't (and isn't) their ideal candidate. I think this is happening, as I am continually coming across people who several months ago said they would never vote for McCain but now say they will, even if reluctantly. I applaud anyone who has come to that conclusion for realizing what is at stake and making a difficult decision. Personally, while I never found a candidate that truly motivated me, I am comfortable with McCain and think he was ultimately the smartest choice for Republicans this election year. I still have differences with him and have more than once found myself wanting to shake him and ask, "What are you thinking, John, what on earth are you thinking?" but I respect his character and integrity and think he has a proper understanding of what makes America the unique place it is. I am sorry I can't say the same about Mr. Obama.

If you are a less-than-thrilled conservative voter who is still struggling with voting for John McCain, or if you are a McCain voter who needs some good ammunition for winning over more people to the cause, here is an article for you. It is an excellent summary of why one can and should vote for McCain and be completely at peace with that vote. It also effectively refutes the argument that we might as well go ahead and let Obama have his turn at the White House now because in doing so we will reveal the emperor's lack of clothes and open the door for a comeback in 2012. The problem with that thinking is that although I expect an Obama presidency would be a failure and would likely lead to Republicans retaking the White House in four years, serious and irreparable damage would be done in the meantime. Read and see why.

Forget Train Wreck: Obama is a Jet Crash - by Kyle-Anne Shiver

Vegetables

My friend Susan recently wrote about vegetables, citing a source that states that most Americans limit themselves to only about twelve different kinds. She and her daughter made a game of coming up with a list of what those might be as well as of all the options too many people neglect. So I decided to follow suit and take stock of our vegetable intake. Which ones do we eat and not eat? Of those we don't eat, what might I try to include in our diet more often?


What we eat a lot or fairly often

Green beans
Spinach
Collard greens
Peas
Carrots
Lettuce - iceberg, romaine, red-leaf
Peppers
Tomatoes (I know they're not technically vegetables, but I'm including them anyway)
Onions
Cabbage
Asparagus
Sugar snap peas

What we eat sometimes or rarely

Sweet potatoes
Zucchini squash
Corn (only the kids and I--my husband can't digest it)
Lima beans (husband loves them but the rest of us don't share his enthusiasm)
White potatoes (Husband is a low-carb eater, so I don't make them very much)
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cucumber (only my daughter and I like them)
Butternut squash
Beets
Snow peas
Mushrooms (are these considered to be vegetables?)

What we don't eat but should

Okra--I am a Southern-born girl who grew up eating okra. I'm not sure why I don't ever cook it because I do like it!

What we don't eat but ought to try

Turnips
Eggplant

What we don't eat and probably never will

Yellow squash--I just like zucchini so much more
Brussel sprouts--I don't have a clear memory of ever eating them, but for some reason I have a very bad feeling about them

What I have gleaned from this exercise is that there are certain things I don't make very often because a few people in the family don't like or eat them, and that ends up limiting the scope of our diet. I think I really need to start making some of those less popular items in smaller quantities. Just because a few people don't like them doesn't mean the others shouldn't enjoy them! It does mean a bit more work and dishes to clean. But I think the result would be worth it.

On the Road

Since I am currently on a road trip with my family and am not sure whether either the schedule or logistics will allow me to do much blogging, I decided to take advantage of Blogger's new post-dating feature so that my faithful readers' visits to A Round Unvarnish'd Tale will not go unrewarded. After all, I can't have you all start falling away due to lack of regular posting! So here is a little light reading for you. The list below surfaced during my husband's summer office cleaning. I have no idea where it came from--it was typed without attribution on a single sheet of paper--but it is hilarious. So kick back, enjoy, and for a few minutes at least, don't think quite so much.

"Zen Thoughts"

A day without sunshine is like . . . night.

On the other hand, you have different fingers.

42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Remember, half the people you know are below average.

He who laughts last thinks slowest.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.

More on Worship

As a follow-up to my recent post on worship, I thought I would share this statement about the philosophy of worship at my own parish. It was written by my husband and is printed in the congregational newsletter every Sunday.

"Does Bethany offer contemporary worship? Does Bethany have traditional services? Worship at Bethany is both--and neither. Like many parishes, Bethany seeks to unite God's family in worship that rises above stylistic preferences.

Christian worship begins with the crucified Christ, who comes to us in Word and Sacrament. he brings to the people of God forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. We in turn extol these gifts with joyful thanksgiving and praise, proclaiming the story of God's love through His Word. This celebration is done in concert with the Church throughout the world, and finds its expression in the liturgy. Lutheran worship is therefore traditional in that it is part of the timeless culture of the Church, and contemporary in that it communicates the Gospel in ways that are appropriate to a given place and time. Since worship is the vocation of all bapitzed Christians, Lutheran liturgy calls for all individuals to do their parts, that faith may be increased among all who worship, and that Christ may be most strongly confessed before the world.

Providing worship that achieves these noble ends is the responsibility of any Christian congregation. Continuing in the the tradition of the evangelical Lutheran communion, the Divine Service at Bethany seeks therefore to involve all who gather in the name of the Lord in the proclaiming, confessing, singing, and praying of God's Word."

44 . . .

is how old I am today. According to this table, having made it this far means I stand a good chance of making it to at least age 82.

Sigh. That still means I'm over half done. Excuse me while I go live a little.

Reintroducing Liturgy Solutions

Several years ago a couple of like-minded Lutheran cantors asked the question, "Is there a market for an online sacred music company that publishes downloadable and reproducible liturgical music?"

They decided to find out, and the result was Liturgy Solutions, Inc. Three years later, they have an answer to their question: "Yes!" Liturgy Solutions is still around, and while their customer base is still small, it is growing, as is their inventory and the range of services which they offer. This week Liturgy Solutions is thrilled to announce its newly redesigned website. If you ever visited the old site, I think you'll be impressed by the changes. Content is daily being added and minor changes being made, so be patient as things continue to get tweaked. But do pay them a visit: a little poking around will be rewarded by the discovery of a brand new blog, Fine Tuning, which will serve as a forum for discussing all things musical and liturgical. And if you do drop by the blog, consider leaving Stephen and Phil a note of encouragement. And be sure to check back all this week as the LCMS Institute on Preaching and the Liturgy gets underway. It should be quite a ride!

Timeless

We did contemporary worship at Bethany last Sunday.

Now, while all my confessional Lutheran friends are picking their jaws up off the floor, let me explain. By contemporary I don't mean that we had projection screens or rock music or dancing girls or heavily amplified and emotive songleaders or any of the things with which the word "contemporary" has come to be associated when speaking of worship.

What I mean instead is "happening, existing, living or coming into being during the same period of time" (source). And by that definition, all worship is inherently contemporary, happening at a given moment in time when a community comes together to hear the Word of God and receive His sacraments.

Now it just so happens that we did do some contemporary music last week. A lot of it. But contemporary music and "contemporary" worship (again, according to the common use of the term) are two different things. While the Church does well to draw from the great treasury of music that has been handed down to us in the form of historic hymns and settings of the liturgy, it also does well to avail itself of the excellent work being created by gifted hymnists and composers of our own time. And that is what we did--extensively--at my parish last week.

Of the six hymns sung during the two communion services offered last week, three were written--both text and tune--in the 20th century. Here are the hymns we sang last Sunday; numbers 1, 2, and 6 on the list pre-date the 20th century, while numbers 3, 4, and 5 were all published within the last 30 years.

"Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty" (LSB 901)

"Almighty God, Your Word is Cast" (LSB 577)

"The Tree of Life" (LSB 561)

"Your Kingdom, O God, Is My Glorious Treasure" (LSB 654)

"You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" (LSB 641)

"Father, We Thank Thee" (LSB 652)

In addition to the above hymns, we sang a recently completed setting of the Divine Service by my husband, the Cantor at our congregation. Much of it was composed several years ago when our church body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, was putting together a new hymnal. At that time composers were invited to submit new settings of the liturgy, and although none was ultimately chosen for inclusion in the hymnal, our congregation served as something of a "guinea pig" for my husband's work and as a result learned much of the mass he had composed. Last year while taking a class in composing for the liturgy, he fine-tuned and added to what he had previously written, including not only ordinaries but propers for a selected day of the church year. So when that day rolled around this year, it seemed fitting for our congregation to sing his mass in its entirety. You can hear the result here. If you are able to listen to even a little, you will observe singing that is joyful and robust, in spite of the congregation's unfamiliarity with certain parts of this liturgy. That, in my opinion, is a testament to their strength as a singing body, their love for the liturgy, and their trust in the Cantor who has led them in song for over 8 years now. It was a special Sunday for everyone who took part.

Reflecting on the service, however, it occurs to me that a visitor might have felt a little off balance. Even if that visitor were a strong singing and music-reading Lutheran, he would have found himself singing a setting of the liturgy which he had never heard before. As a Lutheran who finds myself on occasion worshipping in another parish, I know how much I appreciate (and expect) a degree of familiarity with the worship at a sister congregation. After all, we are members of the same church body, right? And we share a hymnal, right? And a love for the historic liturgy?

Unfortunately, such is not always the case, and over the years I have too often found myself in a "Lutheran" church that seems to have very little about it that seems Lutheran. So if one of my Lutheran friends had been at Bethany last Sunday, I probably would have worried a little about the possibility of their not feeling completely at home. At the same time, as I think about the services where I have felt like a fish out of water, they have involved not a different setting of the liturgy, but a wholesale tossing of that liturgy and a replacing of it with something altogether different, including pastor-written creeds and confessions and contemporary Christian praise choruses instead of the words of the historic liturgy and theologically rich hymnody.

We had none of that last Sunday. We did have 20th and 21st-century hymns, and we did have some new music in the form of unfamiliar melodies. But those melodies were composed to accompany the Word of God as it is found in the liturgy, not the subjective thoughts and feelings of a Christian radio artist. So while visitors might have found themselves uncertain of some of the notes they were supposed to sing, they would have still been able to feast on the Word, soaking it in throughout the service as it was sung with gusto by the choir and congregation and with that strong leadership, even joining in themselves.

When it comes to music for the liturgy, cantors and pastors have a fine line to walk between the two extremes of "old" and "new." In that which is "old" there is familiarity and security and time-tested excellence. In the "new" there is the potential for fresh musical expressions of the faith that speak with particular effectiveness to the saints of God in a certain time and place. At Bethany last week we had both: the oldness of the historic liturgical texts combined with the newness of music written by Bethany's Cantor. And the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. I think we're going to sing this music again.

Speaking of "old" and "new," I think it is instructive to share this story: after one of the services last weekend, our pastor was approached by an older gentleman of the congregation. As any pastors or musicians reading well know, having a parishioner come up after the service can be good, or it can be bad. My husband has over the years had both, believe me, and is thus always prepared for either possibility. As it happens, this was by far in the category of "good." For this gentleman proceeded to tell the pastor that the liturgy he had just sung was the best one he had ever heard in his 70-plus years of attending Lutheran worship. It is an understatement to say that my husband was honored.

So yes, we did contemporary worship last week. But in the liturgy we also worshiped with the whole company of Heaven and all the saints who have gone before, and in so doing we experienced eternity.

No Time to Post

The fingers are itching and the brain cells firing, but the schedule is not cooperating with my desire to blog, so here's quick update to tide me over until I have a bit more time (ROFLOL) . . .

Vacation Bible School is in full swing and going better than I could have imagined (if you discount yesterday's hysterical display from a certain Cantor's child). Unter Cantor and I are leading the preschool music, and we make a great team, if I do say so myself. The Cantor's older two children are cheerfully helping out, too, which is good, because we have about 75 preschoolers in four rotating groups coming to see us for 20 minutes each morning. We are learning some liturgy and singing some classic preschool favorites as well. And I dare say we have the easiest and most fun job at VBS, sailing in and out as the cool "music people" each day while the teachers do the real work of preparing lessons and managing their young charges.

Along with VBS, we are working hard on the soon-to-be-revealed new and improved Liturgy Solutions website (complete with blogging cantors--yay!). Actually, I have not contributed nearly as much to this project as Phil, Trevor and Caitlin (Trevor especially has taken the task to heart and has spent hours and hours loading up new product for the site). But I think they are giving me a pass since while they work on the site I am taking care of the decidedly unglamorous yet important tasks of keeping people fed and clothed.

Finally, we are busily preparing to depart in a few days for our denomination's national worship conference to be held in Seward, Nebraska. The whole family will be involved in some way--myself as an accompanist, Trevor and Caitlin as choristers, and Evan as one of the young models in a workshop on singing with children. And of course our main reason for attending is that ny husband is a keynote speaker and presenter, so he has been working hard on his speech (which is awesome, by the way--I hope if you will not be in attendance that you will eventually be able to read it here or elsewhere) while the rest of us are trying to get the house cleaned up for our housesitters (the aforementioned Unter Cantor and her husband). Don't want them thinking we live like this (even though we do)!

More later (I hope)!

Evanescence

In case you didn't notice, there's a new feature in my sidebar. It's a widget linking to "Evan Essence"--a vehicle for sharing the words and actions of my youngest (age 4). The title is a play on the word "evanescence," which refers to the act of "disappearing gradually," "vanishing," or "fading away," as in the evanescence of "vapor, of a dream, or of earthly plans or hopes" (Source: Dictionary.com). And while Evan is not evanescing (far from it--he makes sure that he is daily front and center in my world!), his childhood most certainly is, too quickly for my liking. So I'm hoping that this little journal will better enable me to hold on to the only part of his childhood I can: my memories.

I also hope Evan Essence brings the occasional smile or chuckle to your day. And thanks to Elephant's Child, from whom I stole this idea.

Friendship Bread Failure

My husband, children and I spent the Fourth of July weekend with several other homeschooling Lutheran families. It was a great, relaxing and fun time and I so appreciate our hosts' hospitality in opening their home to us. When we left at weekend's end, the lady of the house gave me and the other mom in attendance a bag of starter for Amish Friendship Bread (she had been given several bags by a friend at church). Neophyte that I am, I enthusiastically returned home for my first Friendship Bread baking experience.

In case you are unfamiliar with Amish Friendship Bread (you can read more at the link above), it involves a 10-day fermenting process from the day that the starter is received. On Days 1-5 the recipient is simply supposed to "mush the bag"; on Day 6, flour, sugar and milk are added; Days 7-9 require more mushing; and Day 10 calls for separating out new starter to save and/or share before adding the final round of ingredients and baking. I received my starter on Day 6 after the mid-point ingredients had already been added, so all that was left for me was some waiting and mushing and then baking on Day 10.

Well, I am here to state for the record that I am now an official Amish Friendship Bread Failure. Day 10 came and went; then Day 11; then Day 12, and still no bread baked. This morning as I gazed upon my lonely, little neglected bag of starter and pondered the week before me (a week that includes Vacation Bible School, a chess tournament, housecleaning, and mad preparations for an upcoming two-week road trip), I had to come to grips with the reality that Amish Friendship Bread and I were never meant to be--at least not at this time in my life--and it was time to say good-bye. So down the drain it went with--I am sad to say--very little ceremony or fanfare. My only consolation is that I am not the only Starter Killer walking around. (I guess we can just add this to that growing list of things we have in common, Elephant's Child. By the way, I think it's time for you to put that poetic bent to work and write an "Ode to Friendship Bread Starter." Let me know when you're finished and I'll provide free editing. It's the least we can do, don't you think? We'll give the finished product to Melody to make up for our shameful handling of her good faith gift.)

Out of Step

I guess I'm just an Old Fogey. I see it everywhere and have for years now, but I still don't get it.

I'm talking about the intentional display of bra straps by many of my gender. When I was younger, a peek-a-boo bra strip was a fashion faux pas, one that I did everything possible to avoid, from wearing strapless bras (ouch) to pinning my bra straps to the inside of my tank tops. But now it seems we have shifted 180 degrees in the other direction, turning bra straps into a fashion accessory, so much so that many of the bras I see worn these days are designed with coordinated colors and decorative accents that are obviously intended to be seen. In addition, the revealing of straps seems to be a completely respectable fashion choice by girls and women of all ages in any setting, because I see them everywhere, including in church on Sunday morning.

Am I missing something here? Because to me there is just something inappropriate about intentionally revealing what is basically a piece of underwear. I don't like it when I see young men walking around with their underwear poking out above their pants; why is it any more proper for a girl to show her bra? It's one thing to have it slip out accidentally; it's another to make a conscious choice to do so. To me there will always be an element of titillation involved in such a display, and while it is a natural part of femininity to take steps to enhance one's appearance, it is another thing to overtly tempt or tease. And while I realize that the bra strap fashion might not even reveal as much skin as some other things that could be worn, I still think the style has its root in an effort to be "naughty" by showing a part of one's attire that historically was not intended to be shown.

Just call me Queen Victoria.

"He'll Keep Things the Same"

One of my young piano students has been spending some time at our house this summer, as my daughter was hired to babysit her one day per week. The young lady in question is 7 years old and entering the second grade. Today as we were in the car returning from an outing, my student suddenly asked me, "So who are you rooting for?"

I wasn't sure what she meant and said so.

"For president. I like John McCain. If I could vote, I would vote for him. Who do you like?"

I told her that I, too, liked John McCain and was planning on voting for him, and I went on to ask why he was her favorite.

"Because he will keep things the same. And I like the way things are. I don't want them to change. Also, he looks kind of like President Bush, and I like President Bush."

It would seem that--at least with this young future voter--two of Barack Obama's primary themes are actually reasons to vote against him: namely, that he wants to change what America is all about and that he would repudiate the policies of President Bush while John McCain would sustain and continue them.

Now, I understand that my piano student is probably reflecting the views of her parents. But I think her 7-year-old spin on the election is also profoundly revealing, distilling the choice before us quite effectively. At his core, Barack Obama wants to remake America, finding little to love about it, whereas McCain as a conservative (and yes, I believe he is one) finds much worth preserving. It is for this reason that I think my husband hit the nail on the head when he told me, some months ago, that if the United States elects Barack Obama we will have our first European president. The Anchoress argues similarly in this post (if you have time, follow her link to the Gateway Pundit for some additional perspective).

So I'm with you, Evelyn. I like our country, too, and concur that change is overrated. Let's hope the majority of Americans agree with us.

Banana Bread

How Many Congressmen Does It Take To Make a Really Dumb Law?

This past December the Clean Energy Act of 2007 was signed into law in the United States. One of its provisions was the banning of most incandescent light bulbs in favor of CFL's (compact fluorescent lamps) by 2014. (The incandescent bulb is the Thomas Edison bulb--in other words, what most of us still think of when we think of light bulbs.)

Below is the best summary I have ever seen of why this law is not only a bad idea but is ultimately unconstitutional. If you can, please take five minutes and listen to Representative Ted Poe (Texas) on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as he outlines reasons for the Congress to reconsider this flagrant abuse of power. (His remarks were made in May of this year.)

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Tag, I'm "It"

Angie and Kim tagged me for this one (or maybe I'm just flattering myself that I'm the Cheryl they had in mind). Whatever the case may be, here goes.

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Let's see, that would be 1998. At the time I had been married for 11 years and had two children ages 6 and 3. We were living in Peoria, Illinois, where my husband was serving as Cantor at the downtown Lutheran church. I was teaching freshman English Composition at Illinois Central College and accompanying the Peoria Area Youth Chorus, which my husband directed. We lived in a nice 3-bedroom split foyer home in West Peoria with an awesome back yard, and I didn't appreciate the simplicity of our life at the time.

What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

Catch up on the laundry, email and blog reading after a weekend away from home.
Read through and give feedback on the speech my husband is writing.
Do some planning for Vacation Bible School.
Get allergy shots.
Go grocery shopping.

Snacks I enjoy:

My favorite snack is a cup of coffee and something sweet.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Pay off all debt and invest enough money to live on without having to work.
Establish trusts for the charities of my choice.
Send the kids to college.
Fix/update everything in our house that needs it and then sell it and buy my dream house.
Hire a maid.

Places I have lived:

Texas: Austin & surrounding area; Denton; Houston & surrounding area
Illinois: Peoria & Chicagoland

Jobs I have had:

Grocery store cashier.
Drug store cashier.
Health clinic receptionist.
Nanny/housekeeper.
Substitute teacher.
Marketing research interviewer.
Secretary to an insurance salesman.
Piano teacher.
Piano accompanist.
Junior high, high school, and college English teacher.
Academic advisor.
Proofreader.

6 peeps I would like to know more about

I need to get to work on that task list mentioned above, so I'm going to leave it at three:

Michelle D. (I already know a lot about her, but she hasn't blogged in a while, so I'm hoping this will encourage her.)
Michelle P.
Supermom

Show Your Support

On this Independence Day, 2008, take a few moments from the barbecue and watermelon and fireworks and apple-bobbing to pray for our troops both at home and abroad and to remember and give thanks for our founding fathers as well as all who have worked since the birth of our nation to keep us safe and protect our freedom.

And if you have a moment, pay a visit to the Department of Defense site Show Your Support to see all the ways we at home can express our appreciation to those who daily sacrifice of themselves for the benefit of us all.

A Day to Remember

Sometimes I long for a quieter existence than the one we find ourselves living here in the Chicago suburbs. I've imagined us in a variety of locales--a cabin on the side of a tree-covered mountain, a farmhouse in the middle of a wind-swept prairie, or a stately old Victorian mansion in a quiet little town--but they all share the common traits of far fewer people and a more natural setting than our current environment. Family of introverts that we are (with the possible exception of one, but it is still a little too soon to tell about him), each of us is drained by lengthy interaction with others and refreshed by time alone. How lovely it would be to enjoy some of that time alone by stepping outside in the dark of night to actually see the stars or hear the sounds of nature all around rather than being bombarded by the lights and noise of city life.

Yet I must say that I have come to appreciate city life, especially as it is manifested here in Chicago, my home now of more than 8 years. Chicago summers are like nothing else, much preferable to the oppressive heat (whether sticky or dry) that I grew up with in Texas. I love taking a walk in sixty degrees on a July morning and then having it warm up to a tolerable eighty-two as the day progresses. I know--we have dog days of summer here, too--but they don't last nearly as long as down south! (The winters, of course, are another story . . . but we won't think about that right now.)

Aside from the climate, the other best aspect of Chicago is, well . . . Chicago, and all that it has to offer. Eight years and counting and there is still so much that we have not done. We have made it to the Art Institute, the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, and the Sears Tower (family, am I forgetting anything?). And we have taken in some top-rung entertainment, attending concerts by the likes of James Taylor, Elvis Costello, Bruce Hornsby, the Police, and Chicago A Cappella, as well as hearing Handel's Messiah at Symphony Center. And we have seen a couple of great shows. A few years back it was Monty Python's Spamalot with my husband; this past weekend it was Wicked with my daughter.

Here we are preparing to leave for our excellent Chicago adventure:

The show played at the Ford Center Oriental Theater (a gorgeous venue) on Randolph: here's a shot of the marquee.

Here's my beautiful daughter in the lobby after the show (all you Lutheran moms, you are excused momentarily to call your young gentlemen to the computer):

And here she is again on the sidewalk outside.

The show was fabulous--even better than I imagined--and the production top-knotch. I have never been to a Broadway production, but my guess is they have nothing on Chicago. Much of the current Chicago cast has at other times played their role on Broadway. The show has been playing here since 2005 and will finally end its run in January of 2009.

Click here to read more about the history of Wicked. And if you get a chance to see it, go. It truly is a great story, one that made me laugh and cry, and there is not a weak song in the bunch. (You know how in some shows you wait through the mediocre songs to get to the good ones? Not here.)

Caitlin and I wrapped up our day by meeting up for supper with a friend who was in town on business. And guess what? I drove downtown and back without incident! There are those reading who will scratch their heads in wonder at this revelation, having ridden with me in Chicago on other occasions (let's not talk about it, okay?). The Sunday afternoon train schedule is rather limited, so rather than get into town over two hours early, I elected to drive. With the help of my husband's directions (and one short phone call home after the parking garage exit turned out to be on a different street than I came in on), I managed to get us downtown and home no worse for the wear.

It was the kind of day of which memories are made, and I am so thankful for a husband that understands (better than I sometimes) the value of that and is willing to occasionally sacrifice practicality for the sake of something that will outlast any thing we could have purchased instead.

Ronald Wilson Reagan

My husband sent this to me with the following words: "Didn't realize just how much he's missed, until I read and remembered some of the stuff he said . . . and stood for."

Take a few moments and remember the wisdom of Ronald Reagan. We sure could use him now.

Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.

Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.

I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.

The taxpayer: that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.

Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.

It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.

No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.

If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.