tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58956687432633625172009-11-10T17:42:43.927-06:00Welcome to our estate ... where we discuss books, ideas, music, education, recipes, crafts, games, projects, relationships, dreams ...The Correspondenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386483138002796447the.barchester.correspondent@gmail.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-61080929493633282972009-11-09T00:00:00.003-06:002009-11-09T00:00:02.422-06:00

The Correspondent Even though it might not sound like much, I'm happy to have gotten four books read last month.  One book a week is my general goal. The Best Things in Life: A Contemporary Socrates Looks at Power, Pleasure, Truth & the Good Life by Peter Kreeft I noticed this book while salivating over the Veritas Press catalog and was immediately interested in it.  The blurb advertised: A

The Correspondenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386483138002796447the.barchester.correspondent@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-63804395332663512982009-11-06T00:00:00.004-06:002009-11-06T11:35:53.908-06:00

The Correspondent Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe -- Hebrews 12:28 If all we had in this life was the kingdom that cannot be shaken, that alone would be worth our continual thanks and worship during these remaining days on earth.  How blessed I am to be receiving that ... and all this,

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The Correspondent I wanted to post October's Book List today, but as it happens, life's been comin' at me fast, and I need a bit of a break from something. Yesterday I discovered that every single weekend in November already has an event scheduled, and I'm tired just thinking about it. Maybe I can return on the fifth for Amy's Read-Aloud Thursday, but I'll have to play that by ear. Have a

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The Correspondent Colossians 4:2 says, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." There's that Greek word grēgoreō again.  Watchfulness and thankfulness go hand-in-hand, for if we are watching, we will surely find things to be thankful for.  Here's a smattering of what I found this week ... 1.  Cruisin' -- We enjoyed a family outing Saturday morning as we drove

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The Correspondent I am enjoying participating in Amy's Read-Aloud Thursdays at Hope is the Word. I am still focusing on some of our favorite Thanksgiving picture books, but the titles I am highlighting today are not specifically Thanksgiving-themed.  We always read them around this time of year, however, because they depict an average day in the life of the Pilgrims.   Sarah

The Correspondenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386483138002796447the.barchester.correspondent@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-64676605566795563052009-10-28T09:58:00.004-05:002009-10-28T10:05:22.166-05:00

Mockingbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504840277925907327noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-32451078203115454982009-10-26T00:00:00.004-05:002009-10-26T00:30:20.461-05:00

The Correspondent I saw this meme several weeks ago on Janet's blog, and it looked like fun, so here goes ... 1. Tell me the absolute best way to watch a movie. It depends on the movie. I occasionally enjoy the whole theater experience, so on the rare occasion when something worthy is showing, I like watching stuff on the big screen. I dig Brit flicks and Bananas comedy DVDs at home

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The Correspondent Here are some happy highlights from the past week. 1.  It's a Marshmallow World in the Autumn -- We had our first autumn fire (I wish I'd taken a picture of it blazing in the fireplace), and we roasted marshmallows as well.  Oh, how I love this season! 2.  Seasonal Music -- I took time to rip the bulk of our Christmas CDs to my laptop and then sync the music to my iPod.  I

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The Correspondent I finally got my ducks in enough of a row to participate in Amy's Read-Aloud Thursday over at Hope is the Word! Since I'm already thinking, planning, listing, plotting, and buying for the Thanksgiving holidays, I decided to focus on some of our favorite Thanksgiving books between now and that wonderful holiday which is only five weeks away. At the top of our list of faves

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The Correspondent The Honorable Judge loves to hold up his chubby toddler arms in my direction and plead, "Sit me! Sit me!" This means he wants to sit with me and usually have me read or play or [GULP] draw.  He'll sweetly ask, "Mommy dwaw Thomas [the Tank Engine]?  Mommy dwaw Thomas?"  When I don't start sketching, his voice rises an octave and his bottom lip begins to quiver. Then my bottom

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The Correspondent This week there were blessings, fun, and humor.  Here's a peek: 1.  They're Baaaaack -- A friend from church recovered the documents, pictures, and music from my crashed hard drive.  He's officially the best computer fix-it guy ever, and we've written him into our will.  2.  Techno Tip -- Our friend (the best computer fix-it guy ever) recommended backing up data with flash

The Correspondenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16386483138002796447the.barchester.correspondent@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-45346311122434627102009-10-13T20:24:00.007-05:002009-10-14T08:41:06.204-05:00

Here are some more pictures of Elinor Jane’s flowers. This time I have put special effects in with Photoshop. <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:

Mockingbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504840277925907327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-79048987777077848592009-10-12T00:00:00.004-05:002009-10-12T00:00:01.917-05:00

The Correspondent Several Saturdays ago, I felt a little down. Do any of y’all get this way sometimes? I couldn’t even pinpoint a cause. I think it was probably the cumulative effect of a myriad of things, including the rain. On this particular Saturday, it had been raining for seventeen days in a row. I’m not kidding. I had a free morning, and the house was quiet, so I decided to clean

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The Correspondent Another week, another set of blessings.  Here are a handful of mine: 1. Mellow with Age -- I'm thankful that when I first noticed this on our closet door, my immediate thought was, "At least he stayed in the lines for the most part." Age can really chill you out. 2.  It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Autumn -- Well, sort of.  But when it hits full force, we'll be ready!

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Mockingbird Hello! <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:

Mockingbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504840277925907327noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-45489160053266406292009-10-05T00:00:00.002-05:002009-10-05T00:00:01.430-05:00

The Correspondent <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in;

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The Correspondent Sometimes God rains down blessings so bountifully that we're catching them in a bucket.  This was one of those weeks. Yuck Job – When I worked for an electric corporation 22 years ago, one of my co-workers and I referred to certain unpleasant office tasks as “yuck jobs.” I have found, however, that “yuck jobs” extend to every aspect of life, even homemaking. For me, one of

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Elinor Jane Mom asked me to post some of the cakes I have made in the past few months, so here are a few ... This was Mockingbird's birthday cake. It looks very spring-y doesn't it? I really enjoyed decorating this one! For his 7th birthday this year, Rocko asked for a football cake, so I had fun making this for him. Actually he asked for a space cake, since he is wild about astronomy

Elinor Janehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872342789441239822noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-30738829102515818432009-09-28T00:00:00.001-05:002009-09-28T00:00:04.032-05:00

The Correspondent When Elinor Jane was hospitalized in August, I found myself in a predicament.  Odd things tend to happen to me, but this one took the cake.  For a little back story, there were many people in transit at all hours in the four-hospital complex in which we stayed, and the same phenomenon occurred here that I’ve come to expect on a regular basis – someone thinks they know me. 

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The Correspondent It’s time to reflect on the week and count one’s blessings. Here are just a handful of mine … 1. I’m thankful I checked on The Honorable Judge (our two-year-old) in time to discover that he was sitting in the computer chair, cheerfully playing with the mouse, and clicking random icons. I was able to cancel the uninstall function on our virus protection software which he had

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The Correspondent I first heard of this book from Janet at Across the Page. Janet is a reading cognoscente, and her booklists and reviews are always intriguing. I was just about to give up on contemporary fiction.  The Mysterious Benedict Society was my last ditch effort, and it proved to be a jewel amongst the gravel. It’s marketed as a children’s book, but it’s for anyone who loves an

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Last week, I posted a picture of the roses from the beautiful vase of flowers Gramimi and Grandad sent Elinor Jane during her August hospitalization. I had a lot of photographic fun with the flowers when Elinor Jane brought them home.Enjoy!That's all for now, but I can assure you there is more to come.<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false

Mockingbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504840277925907327noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-62908357097173395942009-09-18T10:39:00.000-05:002009-09-18T10:39:37.590-05:00

The Correspondent It's that time of the week when I share some random highlights from the previous seven days.  There are numerous blessings every week, and they really aren’t hard to find if one simply turns one’s attention to the effort. 1.  Rocko Turned 7! – We had lots of fun celebrating Rocko’s seventh birthday this week.  He is all-boy and enjoys running, getting sweaty, working

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Mockingbirdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504840277925907327noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5895668743263362517.post-33229570470263014642009-09-14T18:41:00.003-05:002009-09-14T20:13:51.328-05:00

Today was indeed Monday.We began our 2009-2010 school schedule.Christiana had hives.I had an infection.The Honorable Judge had an attitude.Mockingbird had an orthodontist appointment.My health food store friend can’t get the special items I requested last week.The wind blew my grocery receipt across the parking lot, and I chased it for several spaces, eventually having to get on my hands and

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