Signs of spring

We did not get any snow last weekend, apparently because it is spring already. My rose bush also has new growth. At least the grass isn't growing yet.

Saints by Orson Scott Card

Saints tells the story of a fictional early Mormon convert. Dinah is portrayed as a woman of extraordinarily strong character who becomes a prominent figure in the Mormon church.

The book was engaging, but it ultimately came off as an attempt to justify polygamy.

The author was adept at setting a scene and bringing his characters to life, but he often ended up talking down to the reader by spelling out the obvious instead of just letting the action show it. I also found the comical subtitles for each book out of touch with the overall tone. For example: "Book Two: In which Providence acts to provide a grown man's trade for Robert, an education for Charlie, and a husband for Dinah. As usual, Providence gets mixed reviews."

I enjoyed it enough to look for more by Card, but I'll probably try to avoid anything of his with a Mormon theme.

Scottish Oat Scones

3/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs bran

Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix melted butter, milk, and egg. Add to dry mixture and stir until combined. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into a round on a baking stone. Score each round into eighths. Bake 12-15 minutes at 375.

Scrabulous

Michael and I play a lot of games together when he's at home. We have quite a collection of card and board games, from pinochle to Axis and Allies to more obscure favorites like The Farming Game.

Thanks to Melissa Wiley, we discovered Scrabulous and have been playing Scrabble via email for a month or two. Not only can we enjoy playing together, but I can take as long as I want for my turn without him getting impatient (sometimes a problem in real life). We won't be turning in our game board and wooden tiles anytime soon as Hasbro fears, but this has been a wonderful way to connect during his deployment.

Maybe it will snow here after all.

We enjoyed the snow that we saw in Washington all the more because we didn't expect to see any here. But the forecast for Saturday evening says there is a possibility of snow! I'll be looking out the window all day tomorrow in eager anticipation.

We have a return window!

I'm not going to tell you when it is.

Michael tells me we are more than 2/3rds of the way done! He does the countdown on the calendar and analyzes the dates. I prefer to think of things the way I present them to Hannah: First such and such holiday, then that important date, after a certain milestone...

Our trip home really helped the time to go by. We got back from Washington and all of a sudden we have less than 3 months left.

Puppy update: Michael says they are going to try to get her home, but not to our house. If she gets over here one of his guys will keep her.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss

Please don't complain about my use of punctuation just because I read this book! I often spot mistakes in print, but I'm sure I miss my own often enough.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a hilarious treatment of punctuation and its misuse.

One area that I've often hesitated over in my own writing is where to place the terminal punctuation for a sentence that ends in quotation marks. I'm now considering adopting the British usage, which allows one to put the period (or "full stop," as the British refer to it) outside the quotation marks in certain situations. American usage dictates that terminal punctuation always goes inside of quotation marks. Truss's example is:

Sophia asked Lord Fellamar if he was "out of his senses". (British)
Sophia asked Lord Fellamar if he was "out of his senses." (American)

Another British vs. American usage issue is referred to as "the Oxford comma." (I never knew it had a name!) This is the comma that immediately precedes the "and" in a list of several items. I was taught that this comma was optional, but my preference is generally to use it, which Truss says is standard in America. I'm not sure how accurate that is, though, as it seems I see it left out more often than not.

The section on extraneous quotation marks brings to mind The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks, which is always good for a laugh.

If you've ever read Strunk and White's The Elements of Style for fun, then you are certainly one of Truss's grammatical sticklers and will love her book. If you only found The Elements of Style tolerable, you'll still love Eats, Shoots & Leaves. If you couldn't stand The Elements of Style, there is still a good chance you'll enjoy Truss's book because of gems like this:

In the meantime, what can be done by those of us sickened by the state of apostrophe abuse? First, we must refute the label 'dinosaurs' (I really hate that). And second, we must take up arms. Here are the weapons required in the apostrophe war (stop when you start to feel uncomfortable):
correction fluid
big pens
stickers cut in a variety of sizes, both plain (for sticking over unwanted apostrophes) and coloured (for inserting where apostrophes are needed)
tin of paint with big brush
guerrilla-style clothing
strong medication for personality disorder
loudhailer
gun

But then, if you aren't offended by the misuse of apostrophes, the book probably won't have much appeal.

Leadership

"A national leader may accumulate a spectacular chain of temporary chain of temporary results, but unless his character has been forged in the fires of integrity and his actions in the crucible of hard-edged reason, history will refuse to stamp him with the seal of greatness."
-James A. Michener, The Eagle and the Raven

Nora and Grandpa Larry

I admit there is a resemblance. What do you think?

Look what Michael found!

One of Michael's guys found this cutie on their doorstep Christmas Eve. They named her "Eve" because they found her Christmas Eve in the cradle of life.

It looks like there is a slight possiblity he may be able to bring her home.

We found snow!

We are home visiting family, hence the sad lack of posting.

Yesterday my dad drove us up to seek snow. Hannah has been pining for snow for a month. There isn't much hope of seeing any in coastal NC, so we wanted to make sure we got to some while we were here. She was disappointed that it wouldn't pack to make a snowman. It didn't keep the kids from having a snow (not ball) fight, though. They just picked up loose snow and heaved it at each other at close range.

It was Nora's first experience with snow, and she loved it! Kristen pulled her fast in the sled, and was rewarded with big smiles. What, can't you tell she's smiling under that coat? She was frustrated to find she couldn't really pick the snow up with her mittens on. I gave her a taste of it, and she liked it so much she flopped on her belly and stuck her face right in it to get more.

Ok, so there wasn't much snow, but isn't it pretty up in the hills?

It's Potato!

Nora has been doing a mystery sign. She would tap the open palm of one hand with one finger of the other, and look at me like I was supposed to know what she was saying, but I just couldn't figure it out. I asked Hannah, but she didn't know either.

Yesterday, Nora was looking at a farm book and she pointed to the picture of a potato and said, "Potato." Or some approximation of the word, her enunciation isn't the greatest. And then she tapped her palm. Ah... I asked Hannah (yes, she is our resident ASL expert) what the sign for potato is. She showed me one closed fist with the first two fingers of the other hand tapping the back of the fist, "Like you're sticking a fork in it."

I still haven't figured out where Nora picked up the sign. Maybe I showed her in a moment now lost in the fog of my memory. Maybe she learned it from Signing Time. Hannah insists that she did not teach her.

I love this language acquisition stage.

Menu Plan Monday 11/5/07

Monday: Garlic & Herb Chicken w/Roasted White & Sweet Potatoes
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: Hamburger and Onion Stuffed Bread*
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: Salmon Fillets w/Rice
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Lasagna

* Hannah can help.

Visit Laura for more menus!

Ice Cream Truck

There's something very wrong about an ice cream truck in November. Playing Christmas songs, no less.

Cross Country State Meet

My little brother C is running in the state cross country meet tomorrow.

I'm so very jealous. It's been 10 years since my last state xc meet. I can feel the excitement. The adrenalin. The pressure.

I still have that course committed to memory, although it's changed a bit over the years. C is in lane 2, so he has to get out as fast as he can so he can make it around that first corner without getting caught in the crush. Oh, and I can hear the clicking of all the spikes as they cross the paved path there.

C is a senior this year, and he's considering not doing track in the spring. He's relieved that this is his last cross country race. He doesn't know how lucky he is! Oh to have a team to run with again. . . . The camaraderie, the time to work out for hours daily. . . .

Run fast tomorrow C! Enjoy it.

And I will strive to see take a larger view of the place I'm at in my life. I'll cherish the children in the stroller as I steal a few moments for a morning run.