I've just returned from Africa

In this age of video it is possible to travel to distant lands without leaving your seat. That's what I have been doing in my spare time for the last few days. One of my favourite book series is "The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith. A friend put me on to the fact that there is a TV series based on the books. I've been devouring the DVDs and have been captivated by the scenery and customs of Botswana, Africa at the same time. You can get the flavour of the people through the printed word, but for the beauty of the countryside you need to have visual. Highly recommended! (and available at my local library to boot!)

My last pair of socks turned out so "me" that they stayed in my sock drawer rather than become gifts. The yarn is a mystery since I've lost the ball band, but it's a wool/nylon blend of some sort, knitted in my standard plain sock pattern. It's almost too warm to be wearing wool socks now, though. Time for cotton.

End of the year juggling act...

Egyptian jugglers

Every year at this time it's the same story. Many balls in the air and they're going faster and faster. My arms are getting tired and my head is spinning. Added to the regular routines of house and schooling and children's ministry, is the demands of the yard and planning for NEXT year's schooling. Everything in and of itself is interesting and good, but when combined it makes for a situation pushing overload. No wonder I haven't had much time to read for JUST pleasure!

I did discover a new author. Frederick Beuchner (pronounced Beekner). "The Wizard's Tide" was a delightful story of a few years in the life of a young boy living in Winnipeg. It's the story of a family and their struggles through the depression. Beuchner says that it's "mostly a true story". I wonder if it's HIS story. In any case, the depth of emotion and clarity of recall is amazing. I just wanted to scoop up the main character, Teddy, and give him a big hug. The library has several of Buechner's books and I have reserved them. He has been compared to C.S. Lewis (although on the cover of one of his books of sermons he looks more like Anthony Hopkins to me!). The forward to "Secrets in the Dark" is by Brian McLaren, so that tells you something. I look forward to gleaning some life wisdom from this man.

Another author that was recommended (from a CBC radio program) is Carol Shields. On the program her husband was talking about the book "Larry's Party". So I promptly ordered it from the library. Well!! This book was SO intriguing. I moved from chapter to chapter really wanting to know what was going to happen next to Larry. However... I finally couldn't get past the bad language and the crudeness. I made it to almost half way. Nope, sorry, can't do it. I skipped to the last section and kind of got the drift of what had happened to Larry in the intervening years. It was really a sad story in a way. The story of a man who just missed the mark it seems to me. So much potential, but pushed about by the tides with no intentional directing of his life. Shields has written a number of other books, as well. I'll give one more a try before abandoning her.

A quick read for me these last few weeks was The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway. I bought it at the homeschool convention with thoughts of it being for the kids. I have a fascination with Vikings so I read it myself before passing it over to them. It's a Landmark Book which is supposed to be a mark of excellence. And this WAS a good book. It's the story of Eric the Red and his son Leif. Well researched and substantiated. I learned a lot about the Vikings from this book. My 12 year old son, however, got about half way through and abandoned it for Bone Dry by Kathleen Karr. Oh well, maybe he'll pick it up again another time.

Can you see me as a Viking maiden???

Travel

A friend and I have plans to travel to Europe in 5 years, so I have been giving serious thought to what I would like to see there. As I ran through all the places to visit it occurred to me...maybe we should be thinking of this in a new way. Are we just planning this as a one time event? Or will this be the first of many trips? Because that can make a difference to where you want to go. If it's once in a lifetime, we may want to see many places quickly. But if more than one trip is going to happen you can spend more time in one spot. My interests have always tended towards the historical, in particular Elizabethan England. So the more I thought about it, the more I thought I would like to see the historical spots in England. To that end I bought a book at Chapters showing all the historical spots to see and do in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Egypt and Greece are high on my list too. (Does Egypt count as Europe?) I've studied ancient Egypt a number of times with my kids and find it fascinating and the pyramids would be fantastic to actually touch. CAN you touch them, I wonder? Probably half the fun of the trip will be in the planning!