ICE

The buzz of chain saws provided the background music for Minco today, as people began cleaning up the damage from the latest weather assault. Yesterday was full day of freezing rain and sleet that covered trees and power lines all over OK (and Kansas and Missouri, from what we hear). The result of the worst ice storm in OK history was thousands of homes without power and fallen trees everywhere you turn. Our home was among those without power last night. And, until this afternoon when our power was restored, we were hearing that it could be 7 – 10 days until the electricity would be back on. Of course, it may very well be that long for lots of people. The town has a Red Cross shelter set up for the many people still without power or any heat source as the temps dip into the mid-teens tonight. We are thankful for that development, as we weren’t sure there would be any place available to those who have no family nearby.

But the amazing thing about this was that ice on trees could pull them down as they did. Some were split right down the middle. Yesterday afternoon and evening when we would go outside, we would hear what sounded like faint gunshots. It was the sounds of trees being crushed under the weight of the ice. We took some photos that we hope to have up on either my blog or Mark’s in the next couple of days.

We are thankful for our electricity being restored so quickly. Please pray for those of our neighbors who are still without it.

Painting flowers

Well, I finished stamping the green flowers on to the walls of Evangeline’s room this afternoon. Overall, I like the effect. Specifically, anyone who sees it will notice that the flowers go up and down all over the room. If perfection were my norm, I would have used tape or something to make a straight line on which to stamp the flowers. However, I didn’t think of that until it was too late. So hopefully it won’t be too noticeable once the furniture is in the room. The important thing was Evangeline’s reaction. She said, “Ohhhhh, flowers!” I said, “Do you like the flowers, Evangeline?” She said, “Yes. I want to touch them.” Of course, they were still wet, so she couldn’t. My problem now is that Calvin and Nevin want me to paint their room next. They want it to be “Cool–like outerspace.” I’ll have to see what I can arrange on that front. For now, I will bask in the sense of accomplishment of finishing the painting of one room. I still have to finish curtains for one set of windows in Evangeline’s room though.

painting

Since Mark’s parents were visiting, we had Evangeline sleeping in the boys’ room. Since all of her things are currently out of the room, I thought after Mark’s parents left would be a good time to paint. Yesterday, I thought it would be unlikely. But today I feel much better. I still have cold symptoms, but the achiness and completely wiped out feelings are gone. So I bit the bullet and headed to Wal Mart to buy paint. I took the kids along, and that made the trip longer than it might have been. By the time I was heading home, I thought I might not actually paint. The wimpy feelings were beginning to come over me. However, I took some generic version of Dayquil that worked remarkably well. I was thankful that I felt well enough to take on the painting job.

Now I am done. The paint has dried, and I’ve removed the tape from the baseboard and window trim. I am pleased with the results. The paint was a brighter shade of yellow than I thought I had picked, but I still like it. I have plans to add a stamp of a little flower at waist level around the room. Hopefully, I’ll get that done on Monday so Evangeline can move back in to her room.

I relate this because it is somewhat significant for me to be doing this project. Up until now, we have rented every house we have lived in, so I have never felt like I wanted to invest the time in adding personal touches to our homes. Where we are now is a manse, so it is not really ours either. And, of course, I have no idea how long we’ll be here. However, I have been convicted in the last year about the need to settle down, no matter where we are. One source of this conviction came in the form of a conversation a couple of years back that I haven’t been able to forget. An older woman friend, whose husband had been in the military in the early part of their marriage, told me that you have to make every place you go home–never look at it as temporary. I couldn’t forget the conversation, but I never took the advice to heart or put it into practice. Then last summer, I heard a speaker who talked about her life as a seminary wife when she and a friend there prayed the words of Psalm 37:3b “Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” She then went on to explain that she looked for ways to cultivate faithfulness wherever the Lord took her. So I began to pray that God would help me to “dwell in the land” and to “cultivate faithfulness” in Minco, OK. I feel like the Lord has answered that prayer by giving me more of a sense of peace about Mark’s call here than I had in his former church. I have also really made an effort to be settled here–to dwell in the land. I think that can go a long way with the people of our community if they don’t feel like Mark and I are always wondering where our next church will be. I know painting a bedroom is not that significant of an action, but I do feel like it is symbolic of the change of attitude the Lord has given me.

sick, vacation, etc

I am sick. Thus, it seems like a time to blog. I won’t whine about it though. I’ll just wanted to state that I am sick from the start. We had a good week-long visit with Mark’s parents that ended today. It is good to have great in-laws. They, too, suffered sickness in our presence. I hate that this happens, and it seems to happen close to every time they visit. But with little kids in the house, it is to be expected I guess.

The up side of the visit was Mark’s parents’ willingness to stay with the kids while we went for an overnight stay at a bed and breakfast in OKC. It was a lovely place, and I would recommend it to anyone who wanted a beautiful place to stay while visiting west-central OK (should one be inclined to do such a thing). Mark’s parents also watched the kids on another evening for us to go see Lord of the Rings. It was enjoyable–although I wasn’t fond of the monsters. I haven’t (audible gasp) read the trilogy, so I have no great statements to make about the movie. I had read the Hobbit, so I wasn’t completely new to the Tolkien world.

I hope to feel better soon and to be able to blog again. For now, I must lay down again.

Christian fiction, etc

I am starting to do some free lance editorial work again. I just started a proofing job for my old employer, and, out of nowhere, I was contacted by an author who would like me to edit her manuscript. She was referred to me by a former client. This is background as to why I have been looking at websites about literary agents and Christian fiction. At some point in my future, I would love to be a literary agent. But I don’t expect it will ever become reality because of my limited experience. But I digress. . . I came across this while surfing. I found it very interesting, especially in light of my husband’s and my own interest in liturgy. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Anne of Avonlea

First, I should say that the videos I rented were Anne of Avonlea, not Anne of Green Gables. Regardless, I finished watching them today, and I did like them. The overall essence of the books were captured in the production. The scenery and settings of the movie were much like what I imagined as I read the books. Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla Cuthbert was probably the best casting I have seen in a movie in a long time. However, the movie was really a conflation of many of the characters and many of the particulars of the scenes from the books. So if you are looking for a comprehensive production of the Anne books, this is not the one for you. All that said, I would like to own these video, and I will be looking for an opportunity to watch the Green Gables story asap.

Knight’s Tale/More on Anne

We rented and watched A Knight’s Tale on Tuesday night. I really enjoyed it. I loved the eighties music–who would have ever dreamed Queen could/would be used as background music for a medieval story line. I think what made the movie really enjoyable was the effective blend of the times. Obviously, the costumes were medieval, and the story of a commoner aspiring to be a knight has medieval origins. But, the actors portrayed their roles as moderns. They weren’t trying to act how they thought people of the medieval period would act. And, I think that made the characters better and more likeable.

On to Anne of Green Gables . . . I rented the 2-volume Disney movie today. After I watch that, I promise to post my review of the whole Anne book series and my thoughts on the movie. Hmmm . . . I write such things as if someone really reads this stuff.