Time… & Family visit
I sit here at my desk, fighting sleep, and watching the clock… this is one time that I am wishing for 50 minutes to speed by. I have had so little to do today that it has made the time seem to crawl. I have wanted to be at home so badly; having so much there that I would have liked to do today. I don’t usually wish for time to speed up; it goes so fast that I won’t allow myself to wish any of it away. but only for 50 minutes! (Friday)
This past weekend I went to visit my mom and sisters. I was surely not wishing for time to speed up then! The visit before this one was sad because Mom had been in such poor condition. This time was such a contrast; she was so much better. It was a great weekend:
mom back to her “old self”
all my sisters were there;
Sam and Lindsey were at home (instead of at their dad’s). Many times when I am there, they are gone so I really enjoy the time we had together. We took lots of photos and I visited with each one as we wandered around the place taking photos here and there.
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Tags: family, nephews, nieces, time
twenty two years ago
Twenty two years ago – yesterday – February 1st, Chase was born and has made my life richer for having him in it.
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Tags: Chase, son
about Books
” My problem with series books isn’t without reason, though to be fair, a good book is a good book, regardless of where it fits into a writer’s body of work. What I don’t like are the series books in which you have to be following along from the first book or you can’t understand the story. Or the ones that conveniently end with a cliffhanger so that you’ll have to pick up the next one to see what happens.
Let me just say to the writers of such books that if you can’t give your readers a satisfying story in one volume, you should be looking for another job, because you’re not doing this one properly. I don’t care who you are. No story you write is so big and so important that it needs multiple volumes in which to be told.
That doesn’t mean there can’t be an overall arc connecting the books—a bigger story of which each volume is a self-contained part. Or that there can’t be character growth so that when certain things happen in one volume, they’re reflected in the characters’ lives in subsequent ones. However, each book should stand on its own. A reader should be able to pick up any title in a series and enjoy it. Having missed earlier volumes, they might not get the full resonance, but they should be able to follow the story readily and be given a satisfying conclusion.” Charles De Lint writing in his column for Fantasy and Science Fiction, September/October 2010.
I like what he says – probably because I agree with it (: I don’t like to pick up a book that I think I will like, get involved in it, and then find out it is in the middle of a set of 4 or 8 or 20. I think, hmmm, well, I want to read this now – not go back and read a slew of others first. Now, daughter, I know … you can’t do this. It just doesn’ t fit with your sense of order. I have ready many books in series (and it order because of her insistance. *smiling fondly here*) I have also ready many out of order! and I do think Mr. De Lint said it well – ” it doesn’t mean there can’t be an overall arc connecting the books,” in fact, I do like that. But I also want to enjoy each story as a stand alone – just in case I can’t find the other dozen in order or cannot afford to buy them all to get to the one I hold in my hand!
I have made to myself some goals (which I will NOT list) for 2011. I do not call them resolutions, as those are always broken. But, goals, or even guidlines… it is the kind of thing that you want to do better on, but know yourself too well to promise. A small, tiny part of that is reading some new and interesting books. New to me. Not my usual list of well-loved authors and books (series even). So, I am making a new book list for 2011.
In no particular order:
Freedom by Franzen; Skippy Dies by Murray; Lord of MisRule by Gordon; The Passage by Justin Cronin; Green Angel and Green Witch by Alice Hoffman; Among Others by Jo Walton; The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer; Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey; Blockade Billy by Stephen King.
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Tags: books, Charles De Lint, resolutions
After being in the sun and water
most of the day yesterday, we decided today would be a good time to look around some. Give our bodies a little rest from the sun. So we took a ride up to the Southern Cape Fear Coast. It was a beautiful day, spent leisurely wandering around some beautiful places! We stopped first in Southport (North Carolina) which is a wonderful town. What I really like about Southport is that it is a “real” town (not one that is just built or built up for tourists). Southport is obviously a town where people are busy working and living and making a living… people who welcome visitors to their “homeplace”. It does not have the feel of a “tourist place”. The ladies at the Chamber of Commerce were friendly and helpful, and offered me a map for a “walking tour.” She said, “but you can drive it too.” So we started out, following the map, driving. It took us 30 minutes or so. driving. Don’t know how long it would have take us walking. (:
We also enjoying going over to Oak Island to see the lighthouse….
After we looked over the town, following the historic places, having a picnic lunch under a huge oak tree, walking on the fishing pier… then we took the ferry to Fort Fisher. A nice little trip by boat.
We traveled through Kure Beach and Carolina Beach and on to Wilmington. This town has a beautiful waterfront district. There is a boardwalk along the Cape Fear River with lots of interesting shops and eateries. It is a coast guard town and also has a battleship on display there. Another interesting feature is that One Tree Hill was filmed there.
I told Larry that Wilmington is a photographer’s dream … there were so many awesome places to take portraits … so many wonderful backgrounds!
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Tags: Cape Fear, Ferry, Oak Island lighthouse, Southport, Wilmington
The 2nd day
I was very tired and slept a little late this morning. When I woke up the sun had already arose.
I still managed to get a few photos in the early morning. I saw some dolphins but was unable to catch them in photographs.
After the morning walk on the beach, and breakfast, we went to the Boardwalk and enjoyed a stroll on this beachfront Boardwalk.
One thing I did find amusing was this sign as I looked to the beach from the boardwalk:
“In case of Tsunami, Evacuate the Beaches” —- hardly seemed necessary. LoL. In case of tsunami, we will leave the beach and head west!
After strolling along the Boardwalk, we headed back to our hotel and “our” section of the beach. I took off by myself straight for the beach. I waded out in the ocean a bit and enjoyed the waves for about 30 minutes, then came back to the sand and lay in the sun awhile. Larry decided to join me by then. After the beach, we decided to float in our hotel’s float pool. That was cool. There is a track like pool, 3 ft deep with jets along the way to keep the water moving, and large tubes stacked on the side. It is just to float in, and it keeps you moving around the pool.
After a late lunch, I went back to the beach 
Yeah, I like being on the beach! Then after a short nap, to bible study, and now finishing up the evening ready for bed with the alarm set for 6:30 so I won’t sleep past the sunrise!
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Tags: Myrtle Beach
The first day
We left home yesterday afternoon to get a head start on our trip. After a stop in Cookeville to borrow a camera from Zac and Kristin, we went on to fight traffic, road construction, and stand-still traffic all the way into North Carolina! I read and napped while Larry handled the driving. We came to Hendersonville, NC, and stopped at the Red Roof Inn where we expected to have a room. We found out that Orbitz had booked us in the wrong hotel! After 41 minutes on the phone, Larry had to give up that they would not cancel/refund that room and give us the one where we were. He was NOT a happy camper… actually he was calm and did not lose his temper. He was frustrated but continued to be a gentleman! Finally we were in our room in the Days Inn with a promise from Orbitz of a $50.00 coupon for our return trip.
This morning, he took me through Bat Cave, NC, to Chimney Rock, NC. He had decided he couldn’t go on vacation without a hike through the mountains! There is an elevator straight up through a mountain – 26 stories in about 30 seconds. I thought, yeah, this is the way to go up a mountain! But … this was not all of it! I should have known I wouldn’t get off that easy!! There was a short walk along a bridgeway to a steep flight of stairs up to the top of the Chimney Rock,
but that was just the beginning. We decided we should hike up to the Exclamation Point – the highest point in the park that one could hike to. This was about 20 minutes straight up a mountain where someone had built many many steep stairs! Can you imagine? oh, my aching back. knees. calves.
The view was magnificent! The trip back down was better than the trip to the top, but still tiring. I made it!!
Finally we arrived at Myrtle Beach, SC about 5:30 p.m. As on previous trips, I was eagerly watching for the first glimpses of the ocean. I always love to come to the beach, and I am particularly fond of the eastern most edge of our country!
I love to hear and see the waves pounding the beach. the rhythmic pull of the tides. feel the sand under my feet and the water rolling in around my ankles. feel the tug of the sand as it tries to follow the water back out to the ocean. see the little birds darting in and out catching their supper in the wake of the receding water. it all just soothes my soul. did I mention that I love going to the beach??
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Tags: Chimeny Rock, Myrtle Beach, North Carolina, sand, South Carolina, tides, vacation, water
they found a baby snake
in one of the girls cabins tonight. They didn’t find the momma or its siblings… The girls called for Zac and Riley and Phil to come be the snake hunters. Larry, Olivia, Zac, Kristin, and Riley are working at Hillbrook Teenage Christian Camp this week as they do every year. This is Lindsey and Sam’s first year to go. (niece and nephew). Everybody is wondering how they are doing. Last night they had a bad storm in the area, so they gathered all the kids in the dining hall and showed a movie (UP). I asked if Lindz and Sam freaked out because their mom is very afraid of storms – but no, they didn’t show it if they were afraid. He said several others were falling apart tho. Tonight was their “field day” and bonfire. They played various games and roasted marshmellows. He had to ban Sam from the marshmellows because he only wanted to watch them burn – not eat any! ha ha – speaking of banning things, Olivia wants to ban the game of gaga. Olivia is the camp nurse, and she has had lots of minor injuries from the gaga game. It is a game played in an enclosure (almost like a pen, where the walls are about a foot and half high) where a person rolls a ball at the legs of the others. If they are hit with the ball, then they are out of the game. Naturally the ball isn’t rolled very gently, and the persons are frantically trying to dodge or jump over the ball. So accidents do occur! Lindsey started the week off very quietly, but I think she is loosening up a bit. I do hope they enjoy their first week at Christian Camp.
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Tags: church camp, Hillbrook Christian Camp, Lindsey, Sam, snakes
… well, what’s to say about graduation?? LOL – I’ll tell you about the weekend. On Friday, we drove out to Henderson to meet Gail and Larry. They h ad gotten us a room in Jackson, and had gone out to eat super with Riley. So when we got there, it was a little late, and we just went on to the room. We all visited awile before Riley went back to his dorm. Saturday morning, we went to his graduation. He has finished his 4 years at FHU with very good grades and a dual major – Bible Missions and Psychology. Of course, we are all very proud of him. The auditorium was full and overflowing – all seats taken and people standing or sitting around the walls. It was like most college graduations and went a little long (in my opinion), and at the end of it we all stood around outside taking pictures and watching Riley’s friends come and hug him and talk to him and take more pictures.
Riley was scheduled to fly out from Nashville to Belo Hoirzonte, Brazil, Saturday evening. We had understood that the flight would leave at 5:00, so by the time 1:00 o’clock came and went, we were getting a little worried about the making the 5:00 flight from Nashville. I finally got on the road ahead of them about 1:30 or so. Eventually Larry and Larry got their vehickles on the road. We drove through rain and storms and I called back to tell them how the roads were and how the weather was, and eventually Larry and Gail got Riley to the airport about 4:45…. yes, 4:45. But the flight was not until 6:00, and the plane left with Riley on it!
He flew to Miami and then to Belo Horizonte, arriving Sunday morning somewhere around 7:00 (give or take a little bit).
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Tags: Brazil, graduation, Riley
Lying here in bed
listening to my hubby snore. yes, dear, you do snore! and thinking we need the air conditioner to run all night! we are in Jackson, TN, with Gail and Larry. We came out here for Riley’s graduation from Freed-Hardeman University. Congratulations to Riley! After graduation tomorrow, he flys to Brazil for a two-week Bible teaching campaign. It was good to see him tonight. okay. I am yawning my head off, so I will go to bed. I’ll tell you about gradation tomorrow!
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Tags: graduation, Riley
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