The Christmas decorations are up -- along with three of the four Christmas trees and about a zillion feet of garland. This is my favorite holiday, and I'm leaving it with a new skill -- Becky Logsdon (old family friend) taught me how to knit. Now all I need to do is learn how to tat, and maybe how to weave, and there will be nothing textile related that I won't be able to do. Does 't that sound like fun? Making entire outfits that you've had a hand in, start to finish? I'm still thinking a deserted island or a small self-contained farm in the middle of nowhere would be a good place to test out one's resourcefullness. Someday perhaps. Anyway -- the two days of holiday feasting were wonderful. I didn't eat myself sick, but I savored every bite...who knew turkey was so delicious? And shrimp and stuffing. Oh man. Next gourge opportunity is my birthday -- 9 days and counting! I hope you're having a great holiday! I sure am!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Fourth Wise Man

This is the story of the fouth wise man. His name was Artaban. He set out to follow the star and he took with him a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl beyond price as gifts for the King. He was riding hard to meet his three friends, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, at the agreed meeting place. The time was short; they would leave if he was late. Suddenly he saw a dim figure on the ground before him. It was a traveller stricken with fever. If he stayed to help he would be too late. He did stay: he helped and healed the man. But now he was alone. He needed camels and bearers to help him across the desert because he had missed his friends and their caravan. He had to sell his sapphire to get them because he had helped the man. and he was sad that the King would never have his gem. So he journeyed and in due time he came to Palestine and to Bethlehem, but again he was too late. Joseph and Mary and the baby had gone. Then there came the soldiers to carry our Herod's command that the children whoudl be slain. Artaban was lodging in a house where there was a little child he had come to love. The tramp of the soldiers was at the door; the weeping of stricken mothers could be heard. Artaban stood in the doorway, tall and dark. He had the ruby in his hand. When the captain came Artaban bribed him with his roby not to enter. The child was saved, the mother was overjoye; but the ruby was gone; and Artaban was sad for, as he thought, the King would never have his roby now. For years he wandered looking for the King. More than thirty years afterwards he came to Jerusalem. There was a crucifixion that day. And when Artaban heard of this Jesus who was being crucified He sounded woundrous like the King. He was going out fo Calvary. Maybe his pearls, the lovliest pearl in all the world could buy the life of the King. Down the street there came a girl fleeing from a band of soldiers. "My father is in debt, " she cried, "and they are taking me to sell me as a slave to pay the debt. Save me!" Artaban hesitated; then sadly he took out his pearl, gave it to the soldiers, bought the girl's freedom, and she was safe. Then on a sudden the skies were dark; there was an earthquake and a flying tile hit Artaban on the head. He sank half-conscious to the ground. The girl pillowed his head on her lap. Suddenly his lips began to move. "Not so, my Lord. For when saw I Thee anhungered and fed Thee? Or thirsty and gave Thee drink? When saw I Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? Or naked and clothed Thee? WHen saw I Thee sick in prison, and came unto Thee? Thirty and three years have I loked for Thee; but I have nver seen Thy face, nor ministered to Thee, my King." And then like a whiper from very far away, there came a low and sweet voice. "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as thou hast done unto the least of these my brethren, thou hast done it unto me." And Artaban smiled in death because he knew that the King had received his Gifts.

I went shopping today and bought elf shoes. Not really -- but they look like christmas elf shoes. Kind of like clogs with pointy toes and really high heels. I was so inspired by my cute shoes that OBVIOUSLY needed adorable socks to go with them. So I bought four pairs...white wooly, red and black large stripe, winter color small stripe knee socks, and my favorite -- a pair of fuzzy chenile pink socks! They're so comfy. They don't feel quite like socks...more like a footbath...I just agreed to sing at church without resistance -- something I've hardly ever done in my recollection...it must be the socks. Oh, and I bought a new pair of jeans because my other ones all have rips in them..oh dear, I have a listening test tomorrow. Probably should go study! Night!

I went to see Harry Potter II last night. Wow. That was really violent. Sorcery aside, wow. That was a LOT of violence. More than Lord of the Rings. And more spiders, and snakes...Wow. (maybe not this particular upcoming Lord of the Rings which promises to be mainly fight sequences) but still. A children's movie. Wow. It was entertaining, some humor, cute lines...but wow. That's all I have to say about that..

Ahhhh! 11 hours of sleep later I'm feeling "human again." Tonight is the dress rehearsal for opera scenes. It will be nice to have it all over with. Oh yes...the early rise story I promised. So yesterday morning I was rudely awaken by my alarm clock blaring that I only had 10 minutes to leave for class. I checked my watch, and it was at least an hour off (but it's a wind up, so I figured I had forgotten to wind it last night) So I rewound my watch, beat my alarm clock up and pulled myself together in a hurry -- skipping a shower. I got in my car, flipped on the radio for my morning program! But somehow my show wasn't playing....and then I realized...My alarm clock still hasn't been changed over from daylight savings. Every morning before I had been coherent enough to remember to subtract an hour....but this morning I had forgotten....so I went to the coffee shop for a Vanilla Steamer....It was a yummy mistake!

So tired. I can't complain too much about the all-nighter sewing marathon the night before last becasue last night was a late night of my own accord -- Lord of the Rings can't wait you know. And tonight instead of sleeping, I went to Four Feathers. SO GOOD! I loved it! I love the characters, I love the fact that Heath Ledger isn't merely a chic flic actor anymore...I love the fact that he wore a beard. It was all good! Great costumes...just enough violence to enhance the horrors of war without being merely gory (Saving Private Ryan had to be that way. I know that....the opening scene is far too realistic...well done, but aaaahhhhhhh) Anyway -- going to bed now. I'd tell you all about my mistaken early rise this morning when I'm coherent enough to type complete sentences...

The novelty hath worn off. I'm so tired of making costumes, and my director has delivered an ultimatum: Either the costumes are done by rehearsal tomorrow, or we don't use them at all. Well. That cramps my style a bit. I was planning on much more time. Well, more time -- not much sincefinal dress rehearsal is thursday night, and Scenes opens friday. So..looks like an all nighter for me. yay.

In the Immortal Words of Patsy Clairmont:

Jason, our youngest, has two goals in life. One is to have fun, and the other is to rest. He does both quite well. So I shouldn't have been surprised by what happened when I sent him to school on fall day. As Jason headed off for the bus, I imediately busied myself preparing for a full day. The knock on the door was a surpise and disruptive to my morning rhythm, which is not something I have a lot of. I flew to the door, jerked it open, only to find myself looking at Jason.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. "I've quit school," he boldly announced. "Quit school?" I repeated in dispelief and at a decibel too high for human ears. "Why have you quit school?" Without hesitation he proclaimed, "It's too long, it's too hard, and its too boring!"

"Jason," I instantly retorted, "you have just described life. Get on the bus!"

Well, I cannot tell you how many times the Lord has had to echo the counsel back to me - times when I've questioned, "Lord, You say You never give us more than we can bear. You must not be looking. This is hard, very hard! And by the way, Lord, it's been lasting a l-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng time. And if you want to know the truth, it's getting bo-ring!"

About that time, in the recesses of my mind, I hear the refrain, "It's life; get on the bus!"

Find of the day -- a book from 1834. I now own it. Thanks in large part to the "Friends of the Library" fund raiser.

I'm costuming. Forever. And a day. Mr. Aslanian didn't like a scene, but unfortunatly there are no costumes in the theater department to be had....so I'm making them. From scratch...three days from dress rehearsal. So I'm not going to be blogging much. And I have a test on monday. blech. So anyway -- back to the sewing machine. See you guys when the dust settles. My apartment looks like a fabric tornado went through it.

Success!!!! I have survived day one of the book hunt....oh it was a thrilling race -- hundreds of people stood in line eying their maps and picking their gameplan. Upon entering the building I fought off the little kiddies in the children's section, then dashed to the antique books, and made a beeline for the religion section. Somehow people were much politer there -- "Who was looking for latin? I found one!" We had quite a choreographed dance going, with people heading both directions, weaving around each other -- it was an 18th century line dance around a table, with nearly as much small talk. I found myself between a young seminarian and a pastor grappling for the new testament commentaries, and darting in between for Catherine Marshall. C.S. Lewis was not to be found, but I did find "God uses Cracked Pots" by Patsy Clairmont. I won't bore you with a complete total -- actually, yes I will. This is my blog and I want a record before I head back on sunday for the "everything-you-can-stuff-in-a-bag-for-$5" sale.

1. A Wrinkle in Time -- Madeline L'Engle

2. Peter Pan -- J.M. Barry

3. Wolf by the Ears -- Ann Rinaldi

4.Daddy Long Legs -- Jean Webster

5.Saddle Club Book #14 (for my sister)

6.Matilda -- Roald Dahl

7. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle -- Betty MacDonald

8. Hello, Mrs. Piggle-WIggle -- Betty MacDonald

9 The bells of Heaven, the story of Joan of Arc -- Bick

10. Something More -- Catherine Marshall

11. Adventures in Prayer -- Catherine Marshall

12. To live again -- Catherine Marshall

13. The Helper -- Catherine Marshall

14. Beyond Ourselves -- Catherine Marshall

15. God Uses Cracked Pots/ Normal is just a setting on your dryer/Under his wings -- Patsy Clairmont

16. Navpress bible study on 1,2,3 John

17. Navpress study on Colossians and Philemon

18.Navpress study on Proverbs

19. Navpress study on Joshua

20. Emily Post's book on Etiquette

21. Is there life after Housecleaning -- Don Aslett (hoping to be inspired)

22. Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew

23,24., Commentary on the Gospel of Mark 1&2

25. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke

26,27., Commentary on the Gospel of John 1&2

28. Do-it-yourself needlepoint

29. Making Sunday Special -- Karen Mains

30. A Present Day Challenge to Prayer -- copyright 1922

31. Kept for the Masters Use -- Havergal, copyright 1908

32. Jubilate Deo -- Hymnbook copyright 1900

So that's it -- that's all. Now I just need to go find room on my shelves for them all

Thank goodness its thursday. In the middle of weekday madness, only having one class, and at 2 at that, is such a relief. Today there is a book fair fundraiser for the local library. Every book except a few is a dollar apiece. HEAVEN!! $5 to get in as well. I think I'll take 20. Surely I won't need more than 15 books to add to my collection. I'd take 40...maybe I'll take 40 -- maybe I should go rearrange my bookcases and figure out exactly how much room I have to put them. There's always room for more. I'll just build some wall shelves or something! More news on this when I get back from the hunt!

I really do not want to go to class today. Why should I...I'm having a perfectly wonderful time reading sappy love stories. Not romances -- those are rediculous. But Pride and Prejudice will suffice, and Jane Eyre, and Emma, and Little Women. What is wrong with a book that imposes a moral? Some consider it Victorian and old-fashioned. OH well...There's something refreshing about a method of entertainment that takes its influence and responsiblility seriously. One of my favorites (I keep trying to spell it with an "ou" -- too many british novels) is "An Old Fashioned Girl" by Louisa May Alcott. It goes to great pains to instill the idea that values and morals are much more important than being fashionable. All of her children's books have a second half that shows them making adult decisions, and all of her later characters are my age. I think C.S. Lewis was wise when he said that any book that is good for children should be equally applicable to an adult. What is wrong with morals and values and sacrifice and virtue being good and proper. I turned on my television last evening, something I rarely do anymore, and I was reminded WHY I don't watch television -- the majority of it isn't worth watching. Anyway -- I must get off my soapbox and into the shower. More on this subject later..

I'm very tired. Why? No clue. I'm sleeping...taking evening naps and everything. I've become the smoothie goddess. I bought a new blender -- give me anything and I'll puree it. It's very fun. My current favorite recipe? Take 5 icecubes, 6 frozen strawberries, one banana and a healthy splash of banana/strawberry/orange/pineapple juice. Blend until creamy -- enjoy! Very good. Once I get tired of strawberries, I'll experiment with the raspberries and berry blends in my freezer. Oh, and who knew how many varieties of "cream of" soup they have. I had "cream of shrimp" the other day. Very tasty -- even little bits of pureed shrimp in there. I highly recommend -- don't leave it warming on the stove though -- it develops a personality and subculture of its own in remarkably short time (like 20 minutes and it was shrimp gelatin). Makes you wonder what its doing in your stomach...

Term Paper Madness

I wrote my term paper, handed it in on time and everything, It's official title: Claudio Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria. What was it really about? Not so sure anymore. It was a case of -- I checked out all of my resources weeks ago, and they proceeded to sit around my apartment so that I felt like I was actually doing something. Wednesday I finally went and checked out some scores (ie: printed copies of music for the full opera), recordings and videos -- in the hopes that they would help narrow the topic down. Thursday: my class is cancelled, which leaves all day to write paper. Time spent watching video - 2 hours. Time spent putting clever little post it notes all over book to use as quotes: 3 hours. Time I actually started working on the research project now due in less than 24 hours? 9:00pm. Procrastination works for me. At 1:00am I decided that I was too tired to type anymore, and that I just needed to lay down for a sec....which turned into about 7 hours. Amazingly I spent the whole night curled up on my couch -- which for those of you who know my couch, not such an easy proposition. So I woke up, skipped a class and finished my term paper at 12:35 -- jumped in the shower while it was printing, and got it to class on time....yay me. Now I can have my weekend. I'm glad that's over. Now all I have to do is get ready for finals...ooh and study for one more blasted italian vocabulary quiz.....

I'm so happy that I voted. Apparently Texas was one of those states that decided whether the republicans control the Legislature or not. Woohoo -- like one vote in a sea of republican votes is going to count. But I'm glad I did anyway. Sorry Daryl...but I'm really hoping that if the congress gets their act together they can pass the partial birth abortion ban. Maybe they can do something about human cloning, and keep the institution of marriage and family a priority. On the downside, we do have a greater chance of going to war now -- and we can forget about the environment. (The prevailing attitude here in George Dubleya's state is "Air Pollution? What air pollution? sniff...sniff..Smells fine to me -- besides the wind currents blow it all to Mexico anyway.") Oh well...the ups and downs of politics. And best of all...now that the elections are over, we can go back to tv without "Rick Perry SAYS he supports gun control.....but last term, instead of voting....he was out SHOOTING ANIMALS AT THE ZOO WITH A MISSILE LAUNCHER! Rick Perry. Not as good as he seems. (paid for by the committee to elect Tony Sanchez)" I hate political commercials. By the end of the last few months I didn't want to vote for either of them. I would have voted for a ficus tree had one been running this election. But, c'est la vie. Thank heavens we'll go back to car commercials. The volume is slightly lower than that of political ads

I'm tired. I really have nothing profound. I did vote. That took bloody forever -- I went 4 different places to figure out which precinct I'm now in (I've moved three times since I registered here). When I finally did vote I got a sticker. I want 3 stickers. One for each polling facility I visited.

Hi everyone again. Isn't November a wonderful month? It means that school is within sight of being out! Christmas is coming, going home for Thanksgiving...and I've actually studied some for my polisci test tomorrow. Not enough, mind you -- but some. I hate that class. If I pass, I'll be happy. Actually so far I have a B. No problem. In fact...I have a B in everything. Except Choir and Voice -- but that's 5 credits there. Should be more than enough to keep my GPA up. I hope. I just want this semester to be over with so I can get on with my easy semester and graduate. I have senioritus, can you tell?

I went to see "THE RING" last night. It was after all, Halloween, and one must see a nerve thrilling, spine tingling, hair-standing-on-end movie for kicks now that we're all to grown up for trick-or-treat. (Or at least we like to tell ourselves that). It was not bad. I'm more of a 6th Sense, or The Gift kind of scary movie fan...this one was borderline -- not enough gore to be a slasher, but not enough plot to be a suspense in the above sense. But it was fun to be all screamy, and having a full house of shreaking Baylorites didn't hurt the mood at all. I did find a few nits with it. (I won't put any spoilers in for those that havne't seen more than a trailer). How exactly does the lady falling off the cliff come into the "dream" images, when the lady was clearly alive when...oh wait, I cant' tell you that. Ok...so how exactly does the psychotic dream get on tape in the first place. And thirdly....my biggest problem with the movie...(Ok, people who are planning on seeing the movie had better stop reading right now, because what I'm about to say will clearly ruin the ending for you. So you are now properly warned. I'm not kidding....stop reading....no really stop...ok, if you insist) What ever happened to clear cut horror movies where the main character figures out how to ward off evil, fight off the bad guys, seal the mummies back in the crypts, the ghosts back in the tombs, kill the murderer, lock up the psycho, and throw the chalice down a chasm, thereby saving the world no matter what the sacrifice? Apparently we aren't doing that anymore, because the main point of this movie seems to be "oh well, who cares how many people end up dying from this thing -- as long as we're still safe."Huh? So much for archtypal heros. In a previous life, the heroine would have gone -- oh my gosh this thing is killing off everyone I love...I"M GOING TO STOP IT SO NO ONE ELSE GETS HURT. Nope. Not here. Uh-uh. In fact they're going to make darn sure to keep the evil spirit thing happy so they don't end up in the same boat as everyone else. Actually, that pretty much fits into our current thought process. One might get into an interesting discussion about this -- the "every man for himself" trend. Anyway -- no preaching...no preaching. But anyway -- go see it. Tell me what you think. Leave a comment (you read that? what's with all the non-commenting these days? -- not you Daryl...I saw yours :-) Anyway -- Going to take a hot bath and try not to dream of being trapped in a well. Oh dear....my tv just went static.....

Amazingly enough, a stuffed animal may be my biggest seller of anything I've sold on ebay to date. It's up to 10.50, and there's still half a day to go yet. Is that exciting or what? I need to list more stuff. Seriously. But Taz? Why is he so popular all of a sudden? Anyway...

TGIF! Which means tomorrow I get to sleep in....no wait, King's Club at Mission Waco. But then I get to come home and ..... write a research paper! But sunday I can .... get up and go to church, study for a Political Science test, Go to youth group and then.......in all my free time between 8 and 12 I can....write a research paper! Wow -- my weekend is suddenly very depressing. I was really looking forward to it..ah well