Travel with Me: Vatican City

We were at the Vatican during the time between when Pope John Paul died, and when Cardinal Ratzinger was chosen as the new pope. We did not spend a lot of time there, only touring St. Peter's Basilica. It was cram packed with people. It's truly an ostentatious place. It felt like such a self-important place - which was confirmed to me by the behavior of some of the ordained people I saw while we were there. One fellow in a fancy robe and headdress walked through the crowd moving his hand in front of him so the crowd would part and let him through. There was no compassion on his face, only self importance.

In some ways it was beautiful, but so very overdone. I didn't really see an accurate reflection of Jesus there. But, it was interesting.

We had fun rummaging around in the little shops that circle the vatican.

Michigan in the Summer: Roadworks

This is on I-196. Just on the route we take to church, there are three different construction areas. It's summer in Michigan!

The Garage

I spent a little bit of time cleaning the garage today. I was able to get half of it cleaned up pretty quickly. Here's how it looks:















Now, I need to clean the other side:















Honestly, I don't know where to begin.
I think I need a big dumpster!

Travel with Me: Venice

It used to be if I wanted to look through old pictures, I got out a photo album, or more likely a box full of pictures, and flipped through them. Digital cameras have changed how I peruse old pictures. Now, I point and click.

So, this morning I was pointing and clicking my way through some of our pictures from our three weeks in Europe in 2005. I'm itchy to take another trip, especially an overseas one. Since there is nothing on my traveling horizon beyond runs around the US, I thought I might post some of my favorite photos from the Europe trip.

This picture is in Venice, Italy. It rained on us the whole time we were there. My main memories of Venice are first, the conflicting sensory stimulations: visually it is stunning; nasally it's not so good, and secondly, being completely lost most of the time! We did not see all the touristy things one is supposed to see in Venice, but we had a good time wandering around and happening on a few of them.

We were lost as can be when this picture was taken. But isn't it a beautifully charming road?

Mars Hill

This morning the kids and I attended Mars Hill church. As much good stuff as I've been hearing about Rob Bell and the work that Mars Hill is doing, I figured I'd kick myself if I didn't go and visit at least once before we vacate the area.

As we got off of the freeway and into the long line of traffic headed for the parking lot, I knew this was going to be different than our normal Sunday morning routine just by virtue of the fact that there were a lot of people. Once we got inside the building, which used to be a mall, we found our way to the auditorium. (I suppose it was probably the anchor store at some point in history.) At the door we were offered an outline of the sermon and a copy of the bible if we needed it. (A TNIV bible.) The stage is a square in the middle of the room, with chairs on all four side facing towards it. We worked our way in and found a place to sit. They have a band, and it was playing as people were coming in and finding seats. The service started with about 30 minutes of singing. It didn't feel like 30 minutes of singing, though. (No repeating the same lines over and over, thankfully.) And, they sang one of my favorite Fernando Ortega songs! There was a short introduction to the church and it's set up for first time visitors, then Rob Bell spoke. Well, he tag team spoke with another fellow, Don Golden. They did a great job together and the 45 minutes of speaking went by very quickly and there was good food for thought. Rob Bell is getting ready to go on the road this summer and they ended the service by laying hands on him and praying for his ministry and for safety as he and his family travel around.

It's seems like a pretty incredible church. Recordings of the sermons are available online, if you are interested.

Latest Read: Crunchy Cons

a bibliophilist's reading list: Crunch Cons by Rod Dreher

From the book
On Religion:
It needs to be said that even those in the conservative movement who call themselves religious conservatives often do not fully live out the logic of their beliefs. Almost all on the religious right are Christians .... but it's odd how we limit our political concerns to sexual issues. Jesus had as much or more to say about greed as he did about lust. But you will not find most American religious conservatives worrying overmuch about greed.

Gaming Buddies

Teenaged sons number two and three enjoy online gaming. They are part of a clan and play Enemy Territory with the same bunch of people on a regular basis. Today they went to hang out for a couple of hours with two gaming friends who are visiting in the area - one from Chicago, the other from Taiwan.

The internet has added an interesting new dimension to parenting - that of going along with kids who are meeting internet friends for the first time. Because we travel a lot, we often end up near the kid's online friends. Besides today's meeting, we've met an online friend of my son's in Akron, Ohio and one just a little less than an hour down the road in Kalamazoo. We've met up with one in Austin, Texas. And on our last trip to the UK, the boys got to meet up with three gaming friends.

Now, you can call me overprotective if you want, but we don't just drop the kids off to meet their friends. We tag along. Not surprisingly, the parents of the internet friends are also along. Which is good. But, it usually leaves us sitting somewhere with a set of people that we don't know trying to make polite chit chat -- thankfully we can always start with how strange it is to be taking the kids to meet their internet friends.

World Cup

Well, America has said good-bye to their chance to advance in the World Cup. I'm routing for England, anyway. That's where I learned to like football (soccer in US speak). In any case, with as few people as care about soccer here in the US it would be a shame for America to win the World Cup.

Sunshine and Gardens

It's been a bit of a weather ride these last few days. We've gone from thunderstorms to sunshine and back again several times. My son has been very pleased because it has allowed him to put off mowing the lawn. I've been feeling very pleased because during a sunny spell today I was able to spend a little while reading on the back deck. The sun was shining and the temperature was about 80F. I had a glass of iced tea, a good book, and a view of my newly planted container garden. Very nice.

"Bellini" Iced Tea

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having lunch at the Olive Garden restaurant with several of my friends from church. Along with the good company and conversation, I had soup, salad and breadsticks, with OG's Bellini Raspberry Peach Iced Tea.

I have a thing for flavored iced teas, and having had good luck previously hunting down Paradise Tea after enjoying it in a CA restaurant, I decided to see what info I could find on the Bellini Raspberry Peach Iced Tea. So, with the help of Google, I was able to locate a web site called Tea Chat where there was a discussion going on about Bellini Iced Tea. Based on the info on the site, Bellini is not a name brand but a type of drink, champagne and peach juice (or possibly schnapps), from Italy (apparently a favorite of Hemingway). OG just uses that name for a mixture of tea, raspberry and peach syrup that they concoct.

So, I've ordered some raspberry and peach syrup and will be trying to make my own Raspberry Peach Iced Tea. Come to think of it, the Bellini favored by Hemingway sounds tempting, too.

I Hate Michigan Lefts

That's not a political statement, by the way. That is a statement about driving.

Driving in America, when one comes to an intersection and wants to turn left, one does so. Usually there are different options for the turn - including turn lanes, flashing lights and so on - but you are allowed to do so. Here in Michigan, the land of the traffic engineer from Hell, we have Michigan lefts. Forget just waiting for your green or a break in traffic. Depending on the intersection you must either go straight through the light, do a U turn in the special U turn lane, cut across all the lanes of traffic then make a right turn at the light from the other side of the intersection you started at or turn right and do basically the same thing. So, rather than having to go through one light you go through two (sometimes three) lights just to make a left. In an effort to be fair, I will stipulate that not every left turn has to be done in this way, but there are enough of them to make a person spend time re-plotting driving routes just to avoid them. Now, if they could put in roundabouts, I'd be a happy camper.

Movie: 84 Charing Cross Road

This is a movie that I enjoy. It's not a fast paced thriller or even a romantic love story. Though books feature prominently in the story, I think it's really a story about friendship. Be warned though, the movie is like a lazy afternoon. It's very slow paced.

From the back cover:
A story about love and the love of books, 84 Charing Cross Road features Academy Award winners Ann Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins in stellar performances. Helen Hanff (Bancroft), a feisty New York writer, mails a letter to a small London bookshop requesting some rare English classics. Frank Doel (Hopkins), the reserved English bookseller, answers her request, beginning a touching and humorous correspondence that spans two continents and two decades. Hanff's acerbic wit starkly contrasts Doel's aloof British demeanor, but their mutual love of books forms a bond that deepens with each passing year. Their intimate, richly detailed letters draw us into their lives as Helen and Frank share their dreams, hopes, sorrows and joys -- and in doing so develop a lasting and extraordinary relationship.

How Long Ago?

I can't sleep. The computer isn't really helping, either. Clicking through blogs and web sites is about as bad as flipping channels. Sigh.

So, since I'm busy not sleeping I'll ask: how old is your profile photo? I guess mine is three years old now (and photoshopped come to think of it). How often must it be updated to be, for lack of a better word, honest?

Recently we did a pictorial directory for our church. One of the members took photos and we put them together in a directory. One couple had their photo made, but decided that they'd rather have us put in a picture that was taken when they went to Hawaii a couple of years ago. That seemed a bit dishonest to me. So, then maybe my three year old profile picture is "dishonest", too?

From the Bookshelf:

a bibliophilist's reading list: From the Bookshelf: Latin for the Illiterati by Jon R. Stone

From the book -

"...I began keeping lists of the Latin words I continually encountered in my reading. These lists began to grow over my several years of graduate study to the point that they filled a section of the weather-worn notebook I had used during my college days. It was at that point that I decided to type these lists into a handy reference book, not simply for my use but for the use of others likewise haunted."
--Jon R. Stone in the introduction

Peter at 20

Today, our son Peter would have turned 20. For the first few years after he died, I didn't really have much trouble imagining who he would be then - after all, the changes are only slight during the younger years. But, as time passed and birthdays came and went, it became harder and harder to imagine what type of person he would have been or how he would have looked. I'll have to admit that I really have no idea what he would look like now. Many changes take place in the years between six years old and 20. Who would he be? How would he like spending his time? It's amazing how little things can yank the grief right back up to the surface.

There is so much I could say about this darling kiddo of ours who we miss very much. But, I'll save that for another day. For now, Happy Birthday Pete.

Words: inveigle

inveigle: transitive verb

1 : to win over by wiles : ENTICE
2 : to acquire by ingenuity or flattery

Etymology: Anglo-French enveegler, alteration of Middle French aveugler to blind, hoodwink, from Old French avogler, from avogle blind, from Medieval Latin ab oculis, literally, lacking eyes

Inveigle showed up in my son's spelling list the other day. The words in his spelling list are usually words that I recognize and know how to pronounce. This one took me by surprise. Does anyone actually use this word anymore?

I like it, though.

Dr. Pepper

Dr. Pepper, is, of course, the breakfast of champions. I learned to like DP in Texas, and have always been thrilled to find it in other parts of the US, though it has not always been easy. Lately, Dr. Pepper has been growing in popularity, and is showing up in many restaurants here in Michigan where it was previously no where to be found. This is a good thing.

Strangely, however, many folks around here seem to think Dr. Pepper is like root beer. If I ask for DP and they don't have it, they'll often say "but we have root beer" like that is some sort of acceptable substitution. I don't even like root beer and don't think it tastes anything like DP. I will say that lately my DP has been tasting like root beer, though. I think many of the fast food places now offering DP are serving it through the fountain that used to do dispense the root beer. That's something they need to work on around here. Because those two drinks do not go together well at all.

I may need to start a campaign called Dr. Pepper Fans for Purity!

Latest Read:

a bibliophilist's reading list: Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

From the book
On the ministry of "Holding One's Tongue":

"I can never know beforehand how God's image should appear in others."

[meme] Ten Things I Have Done That You Probably Haven't

Now this is a tough one. I can't imagine that I've done that many things that others have not (other than things like marry my husband or give birth to my children, which isn't really the point of the exercise) but I'll give it a try.

1.) Lived on three different continents by the time I was 13. (Australia counts as a continent, right? I never can remember.)

2.) Been to 48 of the 50 states, most of them in the same car. (Still need Alaska and North Dakota.)

3.) Was born in the Harvard Medical School Hospital.

4.) All our kiddos were born at home, the fourth one assisted only by my husband. Been chewed out by a doctor for having a baby at home with no medical assistance.

5.) Helped one of my kids battle cancer for two years only to lose the fight when he was six years old. (I hope you never have to do this one.)

6.) Went to Stonehenge as a child before they put the barriers up around the stones. (I also went to Stonehenge seven times during our time in England.)

7.) Didn't get mad at my husband when he took a weekend backpacking trip that ended up costing over $1300.

8.) Lived on the East Coast, West Coast, in the Midwest and in the South of the USA.

9.) Watched the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice so many times I finally remember how to spell "prejudice" now.

10.) Had my artwork in a Dutch newspaper when I was seven years old.

Just for the Record....

I really don't like house-hunting.

Latest Read:

a bibliophilist's reading list: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

From the book:

"...doctrine is not belief, it is only one way of talking about belief." (p 239)