Thrill Ride

I love rollercoasters!  The higher and faster the better.

 

However, now that I'm approaching middle age (WHAT?!?!?!!) and have more than my fair share of gray hair, I have one qualification.  It has to be a smooth ride.

 

Well, we were given 2 free tickets to Hershey Park in August and since my husband wants no part of a rollercoaster, I was free to find a fellow thrill ride enthusiast.

 

I took my younger brother Joe and we started the day off right, with Fahrenheit. 

 

 

After following it with Storm Runner and Great Bear, we went on the Super Dooper Looper for old times sake.  This was the new coaster when I was a high school senior!!!  It had an upside down flip!!!  LOL.

 

We were about to make a Fahrenheit sandwich to end the day but the lines were too long by that point.  But, the lines provided much opportunity to properly catch up on each others lives.

 

Thanks for sharing my love of thrills, Joe!  It's no fun riding coasters by yourself.  Next time we need to go to a park on the West Coast for a sibling trifecta.  Are you game, Ryan?

Book Club Titles for 2014

Last night we had our selection meeting where we nominate and vote on 12 new titles for the upcoming year.  It is always such a lively and laughter-filled evening and I come home jazzed--a slew of "extra" titles to add to my personal reading list. 

I just love how this group gets me to read things I wouldn't ordinarily pick up, they make me think and evaluate more deeply, and though Christians, we are still quite diverse in our backgrounds and perspectives.  And I love that.

I'm listing these by the month in which they will be discussed, along with a brief description.
Let me know if you've read any of these and what you think!  (No spoilers though, please.)

MARCH
The Ditch Digger's Daughters by Yvonne S Thorton
(Memoir; the importance of education, hard work and family values)

APRIL
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
(Classic; 1890's, morality, narcissism, the soul)

MAY
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
(Mystery; British, impostor, inheritance)

JUNE
An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
(Non-fiction; busy sales executive meets 11 yr. old panhandler)

JULY
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
(Young Adult Fiction; German girl and her foster parents, books, hiding Jewish man, surviving WWII)

AUGUST
In The Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
(Autobiographical Fiction; 7 yr. old girl, coming of age, Cambodian civil war)

SEPTEMBER
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
(Fiction; foster care, San Francisco, the meaning of flowers)

OCTOBER
The Girl With No Name: The Incredible Story of a Child Raised by Monkeys by Lynne Barrett-Lee and Marina Chapman
(Biography; child trafficking, human-animal relationships, Colombia)

NOVEMBER
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
(Fiction; college professor, early onset of Alzheimer's)

DECEMBER
Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung
(Christian Living; getting to the root of busyness)

JANUARY
One Light Still Shines: My Life Beyond the Shadow of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting by Maria Monville
(Memoir; wife of Nickle Mines shooter, God's redemptive love)

FEBRUARY
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
(Nonfiction; society and culture, urban poverty, India)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And just because we debated long and hard over this one, (but no one had read it), anyone have anything to say about Watership Down by Richard Adams?  All we know is that it is 520 pages, and an adventure fantasy about rabbits.  :) 
Let's just say some of us were seriously intrigued by that description, and others of us were laughing hysterically!

In The Land of Blue Burqas

I've read a handful of books on the subject of Islam, women, and the Middle East.  And I enjoyed each one for a particular reason.

In INFIDEL, a memoir by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the sheer danger of posing a threat to Islam was reinforced.  Jeanette Windle's Christian fiction, VEILED FREEDOM, brought to my attention the socio-economic windfall that results when a struggling nation is flooded by ex-patriates, security personnel and NGO's that demand certain ammenities--everyday Afghans suddenly can afford less and less and poverty and bribes increase.  Khaled Housseini's THE KITE RUNNER and A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS transported me to the dusty streets of Kabul, and immersed me in a relational landscape unlike any I've ever experienced.

However, after reading all of these, my thoughts would automatically drift to ponder how faith in Christ would sound to an Afghan.  And how would one go about sharing gospel truth in such a place?  IN THE LAND OF BLUE BURQAS by Kate McCord answers these questions in such a simple yet profound way.   

The author writes under a pseudonym and changes non-essential details to protect herself and the identity of her Afghan friends.  A native of Pennsylvania, she lived in Afghanistan for over 5 years as an NGO worker, and her example was exemplary.  Her choice of living arrangements, the manner in which she conducted her organization and employed local Afghans, the respect she showed for their culture in her dress and conduct--all were remarkable.  Not only that, but she learned the Dari language (in 1 year) and was intentional about sharing the truth of Jesus in her everyday conversations, aware of the constant threat to her safety, but with cultural sensitivity and great discernment. 

I found it a very uplifting book.  One that achieved that fine balance of relaying hard truth, asking difficult questions, maintaining an attitude of respect, and showcasing precious glimmers of hope and faith.  The gospel of grace and love evident on every page.

Here are a few quotes from the conclusion chapter to whet your appetite.  (The earlier chapters chronicle conversations centered around a particular scriptural truth.)

"Many Afghans are hungry for change.  They've seen the outcomes of their faith and the practices that define them.  They've wondered how such a religious, God-obeying nation could decend into more than thirty years of war and self-destruction.  They long for something better.  The problem is that even Afghans don't know where to start.  Even Afghans struggle to find the way of peace for their suffering families, communities, and nation...
The way of hope is the way of Jesus.  His teachings show us the path.  His stories make sense of the senseless.  I've watched Afghans listen to the stories and words of Jesus and find wisdom, beauty, and truth in them.  I've watched some Afghans appropriate those teachings into their own lives and reframe their own stories with beautiful outcomes.  The barrier, of course, is that the way of Jesus is not the way of Afghanistan.  The teachings of Jesus challenge virtually every aspect of the culture, and many Afghans object vehemently to that kind of influence, regardless of its benefits."

"We read of the struggles of Afghan women and shudder.  We pray for their deliverance and give money for programs to help them.  There are laws designed to protect women in Afghanistan, but they're not enforced.  Afghans don't accept those laws, regardless of the government's insistence.  Until men and women view one another as precious children of the God they worship, there will be little improvement.  Until men learn to love their wives as Christ loves His church--to walk with them and talk with them, to sacrifice themselves for them--there cannot be health in that most fundamental human relationship.
As long as Afghans understand God as a judge who only loves the obedient, they will never genuinely love one another.  They'll never free one another to become the unique individuals God has created them to be.  They'll certainly never love the unrelated neighbor or the non-Muslim stranger.
As long as Afghans hero-worship a warrior king who defined submission and required it at the edge of a sword, there cannot be peace in their country.  As long as Afghans understand forgiveness as an option and retribution as a norm, the escalation of violence will continue."

"[The Afghans] helped me understand the teachings of Jesus more completely.  The culture of Afghanistan today is much more similar to the first-century Judea of Jesus' day than my own Western culture is.  The teachings and stories of the New Testament map almost exactly.  The mullahs of today are more like the ancient Scribes and Pharisees than our pastors or priests.  Sharia law is closer to the Law of Moses than the guiding principles Jesus taught us to understand and apply in the context of our ever-evolving culture.  The agrarian society of Afghanistan, with its farmers and shepherds, grasps the stories of lost sheep and scattered seed far better than out post-industrial world."

The only critique I will offer about this book is that at times it had a staccato feel, was repetitious, and would have benefitted from some editing.  All in all, it is a book not to be missed.  Its insights are brave and profound, and extremely relevant today. 

Book Club 2013: My Reviews

I haven't read much besides our book club selections this year, so I thought I'd just review those for now.  The others will get their review at the end of the year.

 

MY RATING SCALE:

* Ehh. Didn't like it at all.

** Just okay.

*** Good. Borrow it from the library.

**** Really good. Well-written.

***** Excellent. One for your personal library. 

 

MARCH: The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani    (3 stars)

(Historical fiction, Italian immigrants)

I led the discussion on this one, and while it was an engaging story, it didn't naturally provoke a lot of questions for me.  So I found it hard to know what to ask the group.  Personally I found the heroine admirable, but sometimes hard to identify with because she was such a go-getter and rarely revealed her faults.   

 

APRIL: Peace Like A River by Leif Enger    (4 stars)

(American Midwest fiction, family searching for outlaw son)

I LOVED this book!  While the plot was somewhat interesting, the excellent writing and sheer wit made this book a thorough delight.  Enger captures the simple delights of family life, the imagination and innocence of childhood, and the powerful love story between parent and child. 

 

MAY: An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks    (2 stars)

(Case Studies, Neurology, Psychology, ie: Temple Grandin)

I wanted to like this one more, but I struggled to finish it.  Thankfully, my favorite chapter was the last one--Temple Grandin--and I was already familiar with her story due to the fabulous biographical film made in recent years starring Claire Danes.  The case studies were interesting, but the chapters were too long and detailed for my tastes...and I am a fan of detail.  I found the surgeon with Tourette's and the young man with Asberger's and a photographic memory that could draw a whole cityscape the most fascinating of the remaining cases.

JUNE: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien    (5 stars)

(Classic, young adult, adventure fiction)

I do not read sci-fi or fantasy, and steer clear of most young adult fiction.  However, I completely enjoyed this book!  I doubt I'll read The Lord of the Rings...I haven't completely been converted to the genre, but because this one was written for a younger audience I found it's scary/weird factor to be tame enough.  I won't be introducing it to my kiddos until they are at least tweens, but it will definitely find a home in our personal library.

 

JULY: What Is The What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers         (3 stars)

(Lost Boys of Sudan)

This was a long one, and a sobering story at that.  Eggers chronicles the story of Valentino, just one of many Sudanese boys who were torn from family and village by the terrors of civil war.  Their struggle to survive the long walk to a place of refuge, facing hungry lions, rebel groups, and death all around, was simply overwhelming.  The book also described the challenges of acclimating to the United States for those that were able to get refugee status and gain sponsorship here.  This one provoked a lot of discussion among our group.  The main critiques were that certain parts could have been condensed, and the lack of emotion/introspection from the main character.  Personally, I felt the latter criticism was due to a survival mindset that continued even after he left Africa...too much pain and he probably dissociated. 

 

AUGUST: My Antonia by Willa Cather    (3.5 stars)

(Classic American literature, Nebraska pioneers)

Slow-moving plot, but a rich, coming-of-age story of a young boy and his childhood friend.  An interesting look into the Mid-western immigrant experience.  Cather's writing is vibrant and descriptive and should be handled like a rich meal...slowly, bite by bite.  I now want to read "O Pioneers".

 

SEPTEMBER: The Testament by John Grisham    (3 stars)

(Legal thriller, inheritance, Brazilian missionary)

I've read this book at least 3 times already and it is an enjoyable ride.  I appreciate that of the Grisham titles I've read, this one has an obvious faith element and is cleaner than most.  While there are a few seedy characters, they are portrayed in a bad light and the language is very minimal.  (So much so that I had trouble remembering if there was any.)  All in all, it is a read that makes you think about wealth and how it influences your attitudes and choices, as well as faith and how it changes everything.
 

OCTOBER: The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher F. Chabris and Daniel Simons    (4 stars)

(Cognitive Psychology, Memory, Perception)
I continue to think about the everyday illusions it turned upside down weeks and even months later.  Do you use a cell phone in the car?  Do you fancy that you are good at remembering details?  How confident are you and how much stock do we place in other's confidence?  There are 6 illusions the book addresses, and I must say that not only did it spur a great amount of conversation in our group, but it begged some serious questions.  If you aren't familiar with the basic premise of the book and want to try the experiment, check out this link.

NOVEMBER: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali    (4 stars)

(Memoir, Africa, Women, Islam)

This was another sobering memoir, much like WHAT IS THE WHAT, but more enjoyable for me personally.  Not only was the writing great, but Hirsi Ali chronicles her life in a very purposeful way.  At times I wondered why she included a certain section, but afterward I understood.  She paints a compelling portrait of what it means to be a woman within a Muslim culture, and how we in the West are vastly ignorant of those implications.  While it is just one woman's testimony, you can't help but ask what she would gain from making any false claims--she's already sought asylum more than once due to attempted death threats.  A very relevant book and one I'd highly recommend.

Still to come...

 

DECEMBER: The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

(Young adult fiction, mystery, autism, humor)

JANUARY (2014): Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement by Kay Wills Wyma

(Christian living, parenting, organization, humor)

FEBRUARY: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

(Historical fiction, American Civil War, Gettysburg)

New Book Club Titles

Last night we had our selection meeting for book club, and I must say that it is one of my favorite meetings.  I get to come home and add a boatload of titles to my "to read" list.    :-)

I know, I know...I'm alittle nutty.  But reading always has (and likely will be) my go-to hobby and what I do to both rejuvenate and unwind.

If you're interested in some new titles, maybe check one of these out.  I've only read the ones starred, and I'd highly recommend both.  I'm including a brief description to pique your interest.  Though I probably would have never picked up half of these titles, I love that through book club my reading horizons are being expanded.  And having a group of Christian women to discuss them with makes it even more enriching.

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MARCH: The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

(Historical fiction, Italian immigrants)

APRIL: Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

(American midwest fiction, family searching for outlaw son)

MAY: An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks

(Case Studies, Neurology, Psychology, ie: Temple Grandin)

JUNE: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

(Classic, young adult, adventure fiction)

JULY: What Is The What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers

(Lost Boys of Sudan)

AUGUST: My Antonia by Willa Cather

(Classic American literature, Nebraska pioneers)

SEPTEMBER: The Testament by John Grisham *

(Legal thriller, inheritance, Brazilian missionary)

OCTOBER: The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher F. Chabris and Daniel Simons

(Cognitive Psychology, Memory, Perception)

NOVEMBER: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

(Memoir, Africa, Women, Islam)

DECEMBER: The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon

(Young adult fiction, mystery, autism, humor)

JANUARY (2014): Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement by Kay Wills Wyma *

(Christian living, parenting, organization, humor)

FEBRUARY: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

(Historical fiction, American Civil War, Gettysburg)

Lots o' Birthdays

Our birthday marathon began on the 20th with Adam turning 4 (WHAT!?!?!?!!), Natalia officially hitting 7 (MIND BOGGLING!!!) and is concluding today with me.  Statistically I'm now closer to 40 than 30.  I don't care much for statistics.

As many of you know we celebrate 1/2 birthdays in this house, for reasons of significance, economy, and, let's face it--sanity.  Not wanting the kids to feel slighted, we've adopted a tradition that works well for us.  Except for when someone hits a milestone birthday, we celebrate their REAL birthday with a family night at home and reserve the 1/2 birthday summertime picnic for the grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins...and their gifts.  It spreads things out nicely for everyone.

Each year I let the kids decide how they want their cake decorated and I make one of their favorite meals for dinner.  This year Adam wanted baked chicken wings, carrots and celery, applesauce, and "bear" cupcakes.  He had seen a picture on our computer from his 1st birthday when I had made these.  (Of course he was too little to remember having them the first time when a blizzard interrupted our party with the family.)  I made a few adjustments to my earlier design: malted milk balls for the nose, halved peanut butter cups for the ears, and left off the sprinkles.



And is it a surprise to anyone that Natalia wanted "horse" cupcakes?!?!?!  I think not.
I think they look alittle donkey-ish but she loved them and that's what counts!  :-)

A picture tutorial for making them if anyone's interested.

I used lollipop-making sticks (cut in half), chocolate icing piped out of a ziplock for mouth and mane, halved peanut butter cups for ears, and chocolate chips (trimmed the edges for the nostrils) for the eyes and nose.  Oh, and peanut butter icing on top of white cupcakes.  You can find the cake and icing recipes by clicking on the link for the bears toward the beginning of this post.  (I stirred together some peanut butter, milk, powdered sugar and vanilla until I got the consistency I wanted for icing--sorry, no specific recipe for that.)



POLAND, Part 7: Wieliczka Salt Mine

Our guide book estimates that salt was excavated here as early as the 11th century.  !!!



Located 30 minutes by bus east of Krakow, Wieliczka has a beautiful hotel with fine dining, outdoor eating area and visitor center, and a museum housed 400 feet underground.  It was a great way to spend our last day in Poland. 

You may be wondering what happened to our plans (my personal goal) to hike to Morskie Oko, the twin glacial lakes in the Tatra Mountains, in the southern border town of Zakopane. 



Well...blame it on the heat wave.  At first I didn't want to abandon our plans, but as the week went on, the daily highs were still reaching the upper 80's and low 90's and we were tiring from our travels (we must be getting old!).  Spending our last day in the natural AC of Wieliczka just sounded more inviting than a 2 hour hike, and Zakopane is very touristy and crowded at this time of year.

Someday, Morskie Oko...(sigh)...someday.

Again we arrived early, which was definately to our benefit!  We realized this after our tour of the mines concluded around 10am and we came up out of the elevator shaft to incredibly long lines--gobs of people waiting to buy a timed entrance ticket.

We started by climbing down 40+ sets of stairs (an elevator would take us back up at the end) and walking through salt-encrusted corridors with carved salt figures and models showcasing the old mining methods and tools.





Immediately we noticed the dry coolness of the mine.  There wasn't that damp feeling that you'd expect underground.  Sometimes the wooden supports were painted, but mostly they were unfinished.





An enormous network of underground galleries and chambers was created here over the centuries. Salt was also used as a building material in the carving of underground chapels and altars in front of which miners prayed for God's providence and protection against accidents.

Then came the chapel of all chapels!  (Again my pictures completely minimizes how huge it was.)
Left side:



Right side:



These murals carved into the chapel walls were amazing.  The one of the Last Supper is supposedly only 4 inches deep.



Some shots along our meandering tour.  I kind of like the ones I took without flash, even if they are alittle blurry.
Looking way down into a corkscrew chamber.



And looking back up at where we'd just been...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that, dear friends, is the last of the pictures from our trip.  However, check back tomorrow for one more related post.  :-)

POLAND, Part 6: Wawel Castle and Kazimierz

From Krakow's Old Town Market Square, we walked southeast a few blocks to get to Wawel Castle, where Kazimierz the Great and kings before him resided. 

The numerous buildings, courtyards and cathedrals date back to at least the early part of the 16th century and showcase beautiful examples of Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque architecture.

It was a hike just to reach the entrance!

We circled the outside before heading inward.  And we chose not to visit any of the interior exhibits, you had to pay for those.  There was plenty to delight the eye outside.

The Vistula River winds back and forth along the south side of Krakow.
(These 3 pictures show the view to the south, from left to right) 

Behind the tree on the far left of this picture lies Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter.  Across the river and directly ahead is the former Jewish Ghetto and Oskar Schindler's factory.

 Straight ahead and to the right in this picture is the direction of Krakow's airport and the road to Oswiecim (westward).

Lends new meaning to Psalm 59:16~

But I will sing of your strength;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been to me a fortress

and a refuge in the day of my distress.

This gives you alittle bit of an idea of how you kept climbing, the further you went into the castle.

 One of the interior garden courtyards.

From there we walked through a long arched tunnel...

...and into this breathtaking courtyard.  (left to right)

 

I loved all the cobblestone.  (I just wasn't as brave as the local women who wore heels everywhere!)

 Back out into the garden courtyard to enjoy the other side.

 As were were leaving Wawel Castle, we happened to see one of our friends from the wedding!!!  Eduard (the South African/Australian, working in Romainia) was about to tour the castle himself but decided he'd rather join us for a venture into Kazimierz.  What a small world, huh?!

So we walked a number of blocks further south into the Jewish Quarter.

 This is a primary school.

We crossed the Vistula River bridge in search of Oskar Schindler's factory, and eventually found it, though we only looked around the lobby.  It was getting close to noon, and we had decided to hike back up to the Old Town Market Quarter for lunch at a restaurant Pete's brother had told us about.

Tucked away in a basement accessed through a corridor and interior courtyard, we have no idea how Tek had found the place to begin with, but it was really interesting!  Lots of Polish handiwork and photos adorned the walls, which were wooden boards mounted on top of straw matting.  (Picture wooden planks instead of stone or brick, with straw in the place of mortar.)  Lanterns hung from either end of cattle yokes, suspended from the ceiling.  An authentic Polish kitchen and bedstead/cradle stood in one corner, and a taxidermied wild boar in another! 

My picture doesn't come close to capturing how delightfully different this place was.

Pete ordered kotlety (which is a pork cutlet pounded really thin and breaded before browned in a pan) served with potatoes and dill.  I went for the minced pork perogies with sour cream that Tek had recommended.  They were delicious!  You could tell they were homemade because the dough was super thin.  My apologies to those of you that like Mrs. T's--but you don't know what you're missing until you have the real thing!

I have no idea how many miles (or kilometers) we walked that day, but we were on our feet all day, and I got a nice little sunburn.

We said goodbye to Eduard after lunch, then spent the afternoon in the Old Town Square shopping for Polish pottery, T-shirts for the kids, a new wallet for Pete, and earrings for me.  (Poland is known for it's abundance of amber.  It exists naturally in shades of yellow, orange, brown, and green.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow's post: POLAND, Part 7: Wieliczka Salt Mine