Categories Books

Top Ten Classics

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I haven’t yet read.

Carrie recently posted a list of ten classics she’s going to get to eventually (following Bluerose’s example).

I figured I might as well throw my hat into the towel. (Oh my, I’m rather tired. State, you know!)

1. Les Miserables

I’ve seen the recent movie, listen to the musical incessantly, and just can’t get myself to open the book. It’s so enormous and absolutely intimidating.

2. War and Peace

I’ve read all of the “little pieces” my library has by Tolstoy. I’ve enjoyed them all. But I have a mental block when it comes to War and Peace and Anna Karenina. They just have to be difficult to get through, right?

3. Don Quixote

It’s in Susan Wise Bauer’s A Well-Trained Mind as an easy book to get through. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a long book to get through. I’ve started half a dozen times and never gotten past the first couple of chapters.

There ends my burning list, the list that immediately pops into my head when I think of classics I intend to read but just haven’t.

After those come a slew of slightly less hefty titles:

4. Institutes of the Christian Religion

Okay, maybe less-hefty wasn’t the best way to describe my tier-two classics.

5. 1984

6. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

7. Walden

8. Of Mice and Men

9. Where the Red Fern Grows

10. Harry Potter

Okay, that last one isn’t for real. IMHO, a decade and a half does not a classic make (no matter how bestselling a book was from the get-go).

So, there’s part of my list. What about yours?

Categories Work

Unknown Unknowns

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“…as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”
~Donald Rumsfeld

Apparently people deride Donald Rumsfeld for his categorization of the world into known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.

I don’t know what they’re smoking.

I feel that those classifications are perfectly apt–and they’re precisely the reason why I’m antsy right now.

I have known knowns: I know certain strengths and weaknesses in my education, in my charting or careplanning ability. I know how I’ve assessed and intervened in various situations.

Then I have known unknowns: I know that certain routes of communication are weaker than others, leaving opportunity for small errors. I know that there are people I have had less contact with than others. I know what people haven’t been looked at in depth for greater amounts of time.

But then there are the unknown unknowns. I have no clue about these.

There are things that I could be missing because I just don’t know–and I could not even know that I don’t know them.

Paul says that the one who does good need not fear the authorities (Romans 13:3); but what of the one who is doing the best she can (or thinks she is doing the best she can) but who simply cannot know everything–or even the finite brand of everything state surveyors might look at?

The tension of this week is whether I can trust God with not only the known knowns and the known unknowns but with the unknown unknowns.

Can I trust Him to provide despite my weakness? Can I trust Him to help me provide the best care possible to my residents? Can I trust Him if I should learn something that crushes my pride as a dietitian?

I don’t know. That’s an unknown unknown.

I’m trying to learn to trust.

And I suppose that’s all I can do.

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (June 2011)

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I raced through the books in the past two weeks–which is probably good since I don’t anticipate getting through many this week.

Hectic doesn’t even begin to describe the life as a dietitian in a nursing home when “state” shows up. (Especially when it’s your first ever survey.)

Something tells me my stack of “in progress” books isn’t getting any smaller this week. (Nor is the baby quilt for my due-any-day nephew or niece going to be finished.)

Oh well, that’s life–and surveyors had to arrive sometime.

June Nightstand-works in progress

This month I read:

1001 Gruesome Facts by Helen Otway
In a fit of what could be called morbid curiosity, I read this book. It’s interesting. Even more interesting is what the author considers gruesome (certain things just sounded like facts of life to me–but, then, I’m a medical person.) As with other books of “facts”, I find myself doubting when I find an error in my area of expertise. This had a couple such errors, which makes me wonder how many of the other gross facts are facts in fact.

Libby’s Story by Judy Baer
Caretaking for parents with Alzheimers. Best childhood friends all grown up. Finding purpose as a single 20 or 30 something. Coming to grips with an accident that changes your life. Great subject matter, not so fantastic execution. This isn’t a light and fluffy book, but it’s too disconnected to be a weighty book. I wish I could recommend it, but instead I have to give it a big “Eh.”

The Mystery of the Mixed Up Zoo created by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Probably the best “created by” so far. At least there was no furtive dishonesty or truly dangerous situations in this one.

Ben and the Sudden Too-Big Family by Colby Rodowsky
When Ben’s dad marries Casey and they decide to adopt a little girl from China, Ben gains a much too-big family. Or so he thinks. Worst of all, instead of going to soccer camp like all the boys at school, Ben has to go to family vacation with Casey’s ginormous family (forty or so). I enjoyed this story, probably because I come from a much larger family than Casey’s and have experienced from the inside what Ben experiences from the outside–the enfolding of a stranger into the “clan”. (Spoiler: Ben discovers that the big family is actually pretty great.)

Reviewed elsewhere on bekahcubed:

Not Reviewed:

  • Bones and the Dinosaur Mystery by David Adler
  • Bones and the Dog Gone Mystery by David Adler
  • Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones by David Adler
  • Do the Doors Open by Magic? by Catherine Ripley
  • The Holocaust Overview by Ann Byers
  • I’ll Mature When I’m dead by Dave Barry
  • Love Finds You in Last Chance California by Miralee Ferrel
  • Return to Harmony by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn
  • Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
  • The Secret of the Lost Tunnel by Franklin Dixon
  • A Wodehouse Bestiary by P.G. Wodehouse
  • Yo! I know: Brain Building Quizzes by Times for Kids

Additionally, I read somewhere around 50 children’s picture books–among them at least 2 dozen Berenstain Bears books (My thoughts here)

Survey week should be ending (assuming they finish in four days like they say they will) with a nice long weekend for 4th of July–so maybe I’ll have a chance to get some reading done next week.

Heaven knows I have plenty of books waiting in the wings:

June Nightstand-waiting in the wings

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories Everyday Life

Snapshot: Kissing Toads

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Something was moving along my peripheral vision as I mowed the stretch beside the garage. Was it a mouse? I wondered.

I stopped mowing (easy to do with an old-fashioned mower where you don’t have to worry about stopping and starting a mower) and investigated further.

Silly me. That was no mouse. That was clearly a toad hopping along.

Toad

Why did I decide to leave my camera inside?

Oh right, because I almost lost my lens cap the last time I tried the “mow with a camera around my neck” routine.

Still, it was clearly a poor decision.

I repented my camera-leaving sin and returned, certain that the toad would be gone.

I was wrong.

I took shot after shot, struggling to focus on the toad amidst the bramble of weeds and hailed-out daffodils.

Toad

Mr. Toad mustn’t have liked my flash, because he hopped right out to where the lighting was more agreeable.

He posed happily against the garage for several shots, before coming out into the center of the patio to sunbathe a bit.

Toad

I was broken from my toad-fancying reverie by the whir of a boat on the lake.

What a sight I must have been to the boaters! Tush in the air, head to the ground, abandoned lawnmower in the yard.

But I got some good pictures of the princely toad.

Unfortunately, he isn’t likely to be in my age range.

Toad

**The life expectancy of the American toad (according to this source) is around 5-10 years. Definitely too young for me. **

Categories Book Notes

Nah-nia Time: Take 3

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Chronicles of Narnia Reading ChallengeI’ve participated in Carrie’s Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge since it began two years ago–and I’m excited to jump on board again this year.

In year one, I read The Magician’s Nephew, mining it for “greatness”.

I came up with the following:

Last year, I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and James Stewart Bell’s Inside “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe”. I was reading John Stott’s The Cross of Christ at the same time and found some interesting thoughts in there that I connected to Lion/Witch/Wardrobe:

Last year, I had a couple of biographies of Lewis that I didn’t finish in time for the wrap-up post, but that I did eventually get finished:

This year, I’m planning to continue on with my reading of The Chronicles with The Horse and His Boy. I also picked up a children’s picture book version of one of the Narnia tales and another biography of Lewis. (I’m not sure whether I’ll finish the biography. I’ve already started it and it’s dreadfully dull. But even if I don’t end up finishing it, I’m sure I’ll give you my thoughts!)

In addition, since I think of 2nd Chapter of Acts’ “The Roar of Love” album every time I think of the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge, I figured I’d share a couple of songs with you:

Have a great weekend–and don’t forget to drop by Carrie’s to sign up for this year’s Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge.

Categories Everyday Life, Technology

Marriagable Age Calculator

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Do you have trouble trying to figure out what age range to enter in your e-Harmony match preferences?

Maybe you have trouble figuring out how low you can go without being a “cougar” (Rahr!)

Then again, perhaps you’re a friend of a single man and a single woman–but you’re not sure whether you can set them up because of the age difference between them.

Well, I have just the thing for you.

This handy calculator can tell you exactly what age range you (or one of your single friends) can marry within.

Just enter your age (or your friend’s age) and click submit.

Your Age:
Youngest:
Oldest:

Voila–no more guesswork, no more wondering whether your decision is appropriate. Either he (she) is within the range or he (she) isn’t.

**Please be aware that this calculator was created using the highly scientific process of… well, either I read the formula somewhere or I imagined it up myself. One of those two. Then, of course, I turned it into a javascript calculator using this handy calculator tutorial from About.com**

***You will note that this calculator does not allow you to enter an age below 18 or above 120. This is because the formula does not allow marriage below age 18 (an element that definitely suggests that the formula is an invention of my own mind rather than someone else’s)–and because one has to cut off the calculator somewhere!***

****For those interested in setting me up–I am most certainly interested. I have a nice wide range. To see it, enter “26” in the above calculator :-)****

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: Parts of speech

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I’ve always been something of a grammar nerd (not that you can tell by the lazy way I write now.)

Punctuation, capitalization, diagramming sentences.

Parts of speech.

Some of my favorite things.

Thankful Thursday banner

This week I’m thankful for…

…nouns

I’m thankful for Ruth, for Beth, and for Anna; for Kathy and Jon; for Mom and Dad, Joshua, Daniel and Debbie, John, Timothy, and Grace. I’m thankful for the people I love.

I’m thankful for the House of Dreams, for a yard with a firepit, for Columbus, for a backyard with a pool, for Highway 30. I’m thankful for the places in which I live my life.

I’m thankful for my still new camera, for a sewing machine, and a car that works. I’m thankful for a 1920’s slip pattern and fabric to make it into a nightie. I’m thankful for a chair in which to sit and a computer at which to type. I’m thankful for the things that enrich my life.

I’m thankful for freedom, liberty to live as I please. I’m thankful for hope, anticipation of what is to come. I’m thankful for peace, rest in the midst of life’s trials. I’m thankful for grace, riches far beyond me. I’m thankful for the ideas that change my life.

…verbs

I’m thankful for sewing, for cooking, for cleaning. I’m thankful for calculating, for typing, for meeting. I’m thankful for driving, for singing, for praying. I’m thankful for the actions I am blessed to perform.

I’m thankful that God is faithful. I’m thankful that I am His. I’m thankful that my sins were wiped away. I’m thankful that my life is still being transformed. States of being. What is what. I’m grateful things are as they are.

…conjunctions

I’m thankful most of all for the conjunctions of life–

Thankful that for every “I am”, there’s a “but God is”. Thankful that for every “I do”, there’s a much great “and God does”. Thankful that for every “Rebekah does” there’s a “yet God still”.

I’m thankful that the story doesn’t end with a single me-centered clause. There’s always a conjunction, always a reminder that whatever I do, God is at work.

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “Firegirl” by Tony Abbott

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Tom is a rather ordinary seventh grade boy.

He hangs out with his best friend Jeff, reads comic books, drools over red Cobras, and dreams of having “ordinary” superpowers that enable him to save the life of his secret crush, Courtney.

Enter Jessica Feeney.

“It’s odd now to think of how I almost missed what Mrs. Tracy said next. I almost missed it, thinking about Courtney, but I looked up just in time and now I can never forget it.

‘There is…,’ Mrs. Tracy was saying quietly, ‘there is something you need to know about Jessica…'”

Jessica was burned. Badly.

She’s undergoing skin graft treatments at a nearby hospital, which is why she’s going to be joining their classroom partway through the semester.

She looks… awful.

Weird.

Scary.

No one knows what to do or say or think when Jessica’s around.

Firegirl cover

What do you do when “firegirl” walks into your classroom?

I picked this title up because the author “Abbott” just happens to be the very first author in Eiseley library’s alphabetically-by-author-last-name-listed juvenile fiction section. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the almost-YA-looking cover with its string of paper people holding hands–all except the one girl who is singed and burnt.

Turns out, once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.

Firegirl is a snapshot in Tom’s life–just the record of the month or so that Jessica was in his junior high classroom.

But it’s a month that shaped his outlook. It’s a month where he had to make decisions about following the crowd or doing what’s right. It’s a month where he had to decide whether to base his actions on his feelings or on what’s right.

Here, faced with the melted exterior of Jessica Feeney, he has to decide whether the outside or the inside was more important.

I was glad to find that Firegirl was not misclassified in the juvenile fiction section (as opposed to the YA fiction.) This book has none of the graphic violence or gratuitous sex so common in YA fiction–nor does it have the blatant rebellion that is generally in ready supply in that genre. Instead, this is a not-at-all-saccharine story that deals with real-life issues in what I believe is a thoroughly appropriate manner. Tom’s crush is just that–a crush–with no accompanying sexual fantasies or even middle school dating (which I abhor). Jessica’s burns and the circumstances of her burns are not described in an overly sensational way (although they are described realistically). And Tom comes from a relatively functional family that he appreciates (although we see that his friend Jeff comes from a broken family–with some definite consequences to Jeff’s outlook and actions.)

This was a surprisingly good story, and definitely one that I’d recommend. (Although I’d encourage parents to preview it or read it along with their child–while I feel that the subject is dealt with in a very appropriate manner, it’s still a pretty weighty topic, especially given the context of Jessica’s burns.)

Rating: 5 stars
Category:Middle Grade Fiction
Synopsis:Tom learns about compassion and about judging by appearances when a badly burned Jessica Feeney enters his middle school classroom.
Recommendation: For lack of a better term, I can only say that this is probably the most appropriate book I’ve ever read. It deals with tough topics in a realistic yet non-sensational manner. I highly recommend it.

Categories The Week in Words

WiW: Singles and Dating

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The Week in Words

Jared Wilson’s post about relationships arrested me:

“I’m sure there’s a few people who really do only want someone who loves Jesus and will compromise on the rest. But the reason why the vast majority of the people who say this are lying liars is because I’ve watched these same young people date nonChristians, get into unhealthy sexual relationships, basically live like God ain’t watching, and/or ignore the young people in their relational spheres who actually love Jesus.

In fact, I notice that the young men and women who do just love Jesus tend to stay single quite a while. “

Why is this? Why do young men and women who do “just love Jesus” tend to stay single for so long?

Why doesn’t anybody seem to see what I see in so many of my wonderful single Christian girl friends?

Why do so many great, godly women get passed over in the dating/marriage field?

A semi-related article I also read this week talked about another dilemma in the Christian romance scene:

“TKC student Catherine Ratcliffe says I Kissed Dating Goodbye shows well that “sexual purity is important,” but it also led many of her classmates to “think we should never hang out unless we want to marry. In the 1990s, casual dating was the culprit. [Now] Christian couples will rush into relationships, saying, ‘we intend to marry,’ because they think they are not allowed to date unless they intend to marry.”

Pressure, pressure, pressure. Ratcliffe says, “If girls do get asked out they think, ‘We have to make this work. I might not get asked out for another 10 years.'” The “if” is big: Christian student after student in four states generalized to me: “Women don’t get asked out.”…”

I think this assessment is pretty accurate.

While I certainly am not all for casual dating (with casual intimacy assumed), I think one can go too far in the opposite direction. In fact, I think many have gone too far in the opposite direction by thinking they shouldn’t date anyone unless they already know they’re going to marry that someone.

These things frustrate me for personal reasons, yes, but my frustration is not just for me. I get frustrated when I see so many wonderful godly young women (I say young women because that’s my sphere, not that this doesn’t happen to men) marginalized when it comes to dating and marriage.

But I am so very glad that God does not marginalize the single person.

“Neither marriage nor children is a fundamental marker of being blessed of God in the new covenant, as all spiritual blessings come through Christ (Eph 1:3). Nor are marriage and procreation necessary to maintain one’s covenantal inheritance, for those in Christ have an imperishable inheritance in heaven….

…One’s singleness can be a powerful testimony to the sufficiency of Christ for all things…”

~Barry Danylak, Redeeming Singleness

Don’t forget to take a look at Barbara H’s meme “The Week in Words”, where bloggers collect quotes they’ve read throughout the week.

Categories Family & Friends

Snapshot: Dog Stabbers

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My family has a long history of weenie-roasts (bonfires with hot-dogs, for those who don’t know.)

We had a weenie roast every 4th of July at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. And every 4th of July we’d carefully select our homemade, wire-twisted roasting stick from the dozens hanging on Grandma and Grandpa’s tree.

I’m not sure exactly when we started calling the weenie-roasting sticks “dog-stabbers”, but I do know who sparked the trend: Aunt Martha (of course).

Since that fateful (undated) day, they have been called nothing else.

Dog Stabber

Friday night, a group of us girls invited ourselves over to a friend’s house for a bonfire–and I realized that, for once, I would have a dog-stabber and a dog in close proximity.

Thus, the picture.

For the record, Jersey (the dog) was not hurt in the making of that photo. In fact, no dogs except the already dead Verdigree weenies or Wimmers Natural Casing Weiners ever are.

Jersey, the dog

A great thank you to Jon for preparing a bonfire and (relatively) skeeter free yard for us–and for joining us for conversation around the bonfire (despite an early morning the next day.) And to Kathy, for welcoming our impromptu suggestion of a bonfire (and providing a dog to be stabbed!)