wednesday

boy, it's tough blogging when you have to squeeze it into the morning or evening, and not when the idea of what you want to say hits you...becauase that idea is never there when you need it again! :)

some of you who know me, and know my voracious appetite for books, may be wondering why i've not already posted my book review here... but guess what? it's a hard book to read! i am having to go slow, and so it's admittedly taking me a while...but i'm more than half done, and it's worthwhile, so give me a couple more days...

happy wednesday!

i wanna be spry!

Last night we saw the 5 blind boys from Alabama, and mavis staples (who I did not know was in the rock n’ roll hall of fame, nor did I know that she was such a part of dr. kings movement – it was fascinating). But get this – there are still two original members of the blind boys performing – one is their lead singer – and they began in 1939!! THIRTY-NINE. Even if he was only 5, that makes him in his 70’s, and he was SPRY! First of all, he sang his guts out, and then at one point he was hopping and they have 2 sighted players, one of whom came to stand behind him to spot him while he spun like james brown! It was astonishing to see these old men, (the non-original members were old, too, but not that old), so full of passion and ability – they were so fantastic. I was wiped out from clapping and smiling & chair dancing before mavis staples even started. J frankly, I preferred the blind boys to her, which was the opposite of what I was expecting. (unsurprisingly, I’m a fan of the diva.) at the end of the blind boys set, andrew leaned over and asked me, laughing, “as the resident victory expert, do you think they have the victory?” (since I tend to listen to the gospel radio stations for their ability to encourage my heart. there is something vibrant and real and dependent in much of that music that speaks to my soul like little else.) it was interesting to watch the crowd, for whom old, seriously old, school gospel/grassroots soul is an intellectual & musical historical note (we were on campus at duke, I’m sure you can imagine the demographic of the crowd)… because for the old men up on the stage, it definitely was not. the clearly meant every single wavering note with every fiber of their beings. It was a highlight of my year so far! thanks, Andrew & Shanna!

lent

in the immortal words of one of the funniest people i know - josh hall - "top o' the lent, to ya!"

and for lent, i am trying to find some balance in my life, which includes limiting the time i lose to my (glorious) laptop. i can miss whole chunks of time surfing & emailing & blogging! so today was the first day, and i found it strangely peaceful, actually. until the hour came when i could turn my laptop on and indulge in a little of the technological wonder that is my dear aretha. imagine my horror when not only would she not boot, but rather than booting a message came up that said, "operating system not found". OPERATING SYSTEM NOT FOUND!! what!??! how can that be?!?! i had to restart FOUR TIMES before she miraculously booted properly, and i prayed an honest prayer of thanks to God. could you imagine!?! i would not have coped well with that, trust me.

tomorrow we are going with friends to see 'the five blind boys from alabama' & mavis staples - should be so fun! we're going with fabulous people, and i am very much looking forward to a little escape from life.

catalog of early spring

• merry songbirds are back
• a cacophony of frogs croaking in the neighborhood creek
• the front porch in a tank top for an hour reading
• hot while i walked the dog
• windows wide open
• fat, pink buds on the flowering trees
• daffodils poking 3 inches up from the dirt
• bluebirds & goldfinches
• driving with the windows down
• loving every minute outside, even the ones from the car to the grocery store.
  

this is definitely worth 5 minutes of your time...

it's a collection of 20 of the best nature photographs of the last decade. they are in turn stunning, amusing & breathtaking. enjoy!

for your amusement...

...i will humiliate myself. :) due to a dearth of blogworthy events, i share one of my lowest moments as a grown up!

one day, when kyra was in preschool many years ago, i had an industrious day. she came home and eventually wandered upstairs to play. after about half an hour of being up there by herself, i heard the toilet flush, followed by her soft, thumping footfalls on the landing. her rosy, cherubic face poked around the corner to where she could see me and she said, "mommy? why is the bathroom clean?"

maybe it's a bowling alley!

it came! after a small mistake - being shipped the very wrong-est book you could imagine - my book to review in this forum arrived yesterday evening! i read the forward last night before i dozed off, and i think i will have plenty to say ... so stay tuned, faithful readers! :)

in other news, not much to report but hardcore being a parent stuff, which is sort of boring, so never mind.

have a lovely weekend! :)