This, That

Book Review -- Troll Valley

2012-01-27T12:30:00.000-06:00

Troll Valley by Lars Walker Kindle Format Epub Format I've never done a book review before, so I'm still figuring out how to do it. First of all, I'll say that I really enjoyed reading "Troll Valley". I'd call it a Christian/American Historical Fiction (turn of the 20th century)/Fantasy book, with a light dusting of horror from time to time (mostly off screen). When I started the book, the

Shout out, you stones!

2012-01-27T11:00:00.000-06:00

Shout out, you stones! Shout out, you rocks! For the Lord is coming again. Cry out, you stones! Cry out, you rocks! In praise sing out until then! Every valley will be raised up, Every mountain brought low. The whole earth will be as a highway For the foot of the Lord to go. Shout out, you stones! Shout out, you rocks! For the Lord is coming again. Cry out, you stones! Cry out, you rocks! In

The dangers of re-reading too quickly

2012-01-26T10:00:00.000-06:00

I have lots of books that I like to read, and re-read frequently. For instance, I'm in the middle of re-reading The Lord of the Rings. That's been one of my favorite books since junior high school, and I've re-read it every couple of years since. We've worn out at least one set of those books. Now I've got it on my Nook, so I shouldn't have to worry about wearing it out any more. But if you

Writing Schedule

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to stick to a schedule that will allow me to write, exercise, and get the house work done. And I've got one that works, if I actually follow it. That's the hard part. It involves me leaving the house at 9, 9:30 at the latest. Monday and Friday, I can go down to the community center, and take some water exercise classes, while Tuesday and Thursday I can work with the weight

Has anyone seen my memory?

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000-06:00

It's funny what sort of tricks the memory can play on you. I was reading Lars Walker's book, Troll Valley (which I'll review later this week), and early on came across a throw-away line about a book called "Mama's Bank Account", later made into a movie called "I Remember Mama". He said that the book almost never mentioned church. My mind came to a full stop, while it processed this, because I

Dominant Eye

2012-01-18T09:52:00.000-06:00

Have you ever taken the dominant eye test? Apparently it consists of holding your arm straight out, and covering up a distant object with your thumb. Then you close your eyes one at a time, and see which eye makes the thumb move. The other eye is then your dominant eye. I think I first heard about this test in high school, but it doesn't work for me. Every time it comes up, I try it, and I get

2012-01-17T09:42:00.000-06:00

We once again had nice weather this weekend, after those cold days we had last week. It looks like that trend is going to continue for a while. It got cold again last night, and is supposed to stay cold these next couple of days, while getting nice again on Saturday and Sunday. At least, though, we stayed in the 30s last night, not those really cold 19° and 14° days we had last week. The wind

Remember When? (Computers)

2012-01-13T09:36:00.000-06:00

It's funny, looking back at things, how much has changed since I was a kid. The changes seem to happen slowly, until you look back, and realize how much has happened. When I was younger, computers were just beginning to enter into private houses. We got a Vic20 when I was in high school, and used it to play games and do word-processing and such. The hard drive hadn't been invented yet, so the

First cold day of the season

2012-01-12T10:45:00.000-06:00

Today's one of the coldest day's we've had so far this season. It was only 19° when we got up this morning, and doesn't really feel much warmer out there now. Plus we got a smattering of snow. It'll probably vanish if we get any sun at all, even as cold as it is, but the sun is hiding today.Rocky and I took a much shorter walk than usual this morning. I bundled up as much as I could, even wore an

Walking on the Ice

2012-01-12T10:30:00.000-06:00

Walking on the ice, Walking in the snow,Cold, cold, cold,As on we go.I'm bundled up As much as can be,But I think the dogLikes it more than me.We'd like to go faster, But on ice I'd slip.He doesn't much care ifOver I'd trip.He stops twiceTo clean his feet,Or bark at those Pesky cats we meet.He doesn't get whyWe soon turn aroundWhen he's not doneSniffing the ground.My glasses are almostFroze to my

Joyeous Pome

2012-01-11T23:29:00.002-06:00

To the tune of "As with Gladness" Easter morning rises fair As the sun now gilds the air. Glorious the Risen King To whom the Church will bow and sing. Holy, Holy, Holy He. The Blessed One, the Blessed Three. The Creator of the sun and light, Maker of all sound and sight Father God, we praise your name Ever glorious, all the same. Holy, Holy, Holy He. Father of the Trinity. And the Spirit,

Bucket List?

2012-01-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

It's funny how certain words and phrases come into vogue, when you've never heard them before, but suddenly everyone is talking about them. For instance, a couple years ago the musical "Momma Mia" came to Star Light Theater. It was a fun little show, but definitely not the "Feel-good show of the summer" as it was advertised. That title belonged to "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." Any way, there were a

Rocky vs. Santa

2012-01-09T10:30:00.000-06:00

When Rocky and I go on our long walks in the mornings, we tend to go the same route, but I sometimes vary it, especially if I got us walking late that morning. Not Rocky's fault, of course, he keeps telling me that we need to get going from about half an hour before we normally get ready to go. Apparently when Jonathan and the kids get ready to go, it somehow means that he needs to go, too. Even

Walking Rocky

2011-09-09T21:56:00.001-05:00

I took the car out this morning and determined that the "good long walk" I've been taking Rocky on nearly every morning is about 1.8 miles. I'd been hoping that it was closer to 3 miles. I'm going to have to see if I can walk it faster. I've been getting through it in a little less than an hour. I'm really slowing down by the time we get back. Rocky at least has been enjoying these walks, lots of

Psalm 1 Pome

2011-09-09T21:42:00.000-05:00

I've decided to try to go through this year and "versify" Psalms, as a devotional exercise. My goal is to complete one psalm a week, but considering that it took me three weeks to get through Psalm 1, that may be pushing things somewhat. Or you could say that it only took me one hour, after I switched the tune I was trying to write to. Based on Psalm 1 To the tune of "O Worship the King." The

Rainy Days and Mondays

2011-06-27T21:53:00.002-05:00

It really rained last night. I woke up about 5:00 to hear the rain pounding on the roof, and knowing that it had been doing so for quite some time, even though I woke out of a weird dream. And the power was off. Jonathan said that the power had been off since at least 3:30, when he had woken up. We slept some more, and got up about 6:00. By then, the rain had tapered off a bit, though it was

Senior Tax Day at the Library

2011-03-29T14:38:00.000-05:00

It appears to be Senior Tax Day at the library today. They've taken up most of the tables, and I hear people talking about taxes, both Missouri and Federal. Unfortunately, they took my usual spot, so I'm having to sit at a table that's much left comfortable. The one I'm usually at is really a booth seat, like at a fast foot place. Neither the seats nor the table are fastened down, so I can move

Spring Snow, and Non-Escaping Dog

2011-03-28T15:24:00.000-05:00

Funny, last week, it was so warm we had all the windows open and were wearing shorts. Now, as soon as the weekend came, it turned cold, and even snowed. It snowed all afternoon yesterday, and didn't stop until sometime late last night. Of course, for most of the afternoon, it didn't stick at all, just turned everything wet and yucky. Overnight, it did start to stick though. Just enough to cover

Tree comes down

2011-03-24T15:13:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks back we noticed that there was a downed tree on one of the empty lots down the hill from us. I don't think it was dead, just falling over, and still partially connected to its roots. The tree was being completely supported by the streetlight electric wire (not the main power lines, they go behind the houses). The streetlight wire was really being stretched, and you could see the

Missouri Weather

2010-02-02T14:57:00.001-06:00

It has been closer to "normal" weather this week. The three storms that hit over Christmas break weren't really that unusual, except that they all hit in such a short period of time, without any time in between for the snow to melt. And that it was so cold, too.The snow is all gone now, and has been for a few weeks, except, of course, for the piles in various parking lots. Those'll probably be

Christmas Bells

2009-12-24T08:23:00.000-06:00

by Henry W. LongfellowI heard the bells on Christmas dayTheir old familiar carols play,And wild and sweet the words repeatOf peace on earth, good will to men.I thought how as the day had come,The belfries of all ChristendomHad rolled along the unbroken songOf peace on earth, good will to men.And in despair I bowed my head:"There is no peace on earth," I said."For hate is strong, and mocks the

Our new dog, Rocky

2009-09-25T11:50:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday (Sept 12), we went down to Wayside Waifs and got a dog. We'd been wanting to get a dog for a long time, and have been seriously considering that the time was getting close for about a year. Wayside Waifs was having a promotion that weekend, half-off the adoption fee, so it seemed a good time to go down and look at the dogs, and see if the dog we were looking for was there.I'd been

Accident

2008-12-23T14:40:00.000-06:00

There's been some sort of accident right in front of my house. Check my Twitter for further details.

2008-10-31T16:33:00.001-05:00

26 miles per gallonCreated by The Car Connection

October Curves Smart Report Card

2008-10-29T14:16:00.002-05:00

Well, I got my second Curves Smart report card, and I can say I'm less than thrilled.My weight stayed the same as last time time, but my measurements all stayed the same or decreased, so that's all right.I had rather hoped the Workout Results time lines would gain dots as you had more reports, maybe showing the last four or five results, instead you just have the beginning and ending points.