The Sun across the wall

I was going to write yesterday, and it was the observation of the Sun and the first day of spring that inspired me. However, you see THAT didn't happen. And today there's no sunshine. Well, as in streaming across the floor and up the wall. It IS daylight!!! Gloomy, though.
I love noticing how the Sun moves across the wall as the seasons change. Yesterday being the first day of spring, it came straight into the east window and shone brightly on the west wall. Right on the happy hibiscus bush, which is getting a bud by the way. In midwinter in shines way in the northwest corner of the room when it rises. I'm glad I live where the sunshine can come into the house and it's not blocked by buildings! Another harbinger of spring, the robin, has arrived. I saw my first ones on March 8th. The next day as I walked along the bike path I saw nine of them in the field. I love the way they sound. I left the sliding door slightly ajar the other morning during my devotions so I could listen to their chirping. I'm hearing red-winged blackbirds, too, but I couldn't see where it was. They have a lovely chirp, too. The SOUNDS of spring are just as uplifting as the WARMTH of spring. Now I just need to get some energy....

He's reading my blog!

Obama in his live speech this morning is reading the part of Dreams of My Father that I wrote about in my blog the other day! Cool! I knew it was a great part of that book.

Wedding Feast

Perry and Kelsey's wedding was beautiful. What a celebration. The music was great; the service was inspiring. Weddings are good for old married couples, too. They sort of recharge our batteries. Committed once again to love and to cherish till death do us part!
Go here for the slide show. It will take you to Flickr and then click on "slide show".

Let the feast begin!

This is the weekend we've been counting down to, Perry and Kelsey's wedding. Perry is the "farmer boy" in those early photos I took on the combine. He feels like one of our kids even though we have known him only about five years. What a comfortable person to be with! And his bride is just as sweet, although maybe more fiesty! *smile* And a lovely soprano with whom I LOVE to sing!
I have the privilege of singing with a group of their friends and relatives during the wedding. Boy, I feel like I'm in the big league now. They are a bunch of very talented people! The two songs we're singing alone-and a capella-are the Gloria Patri and Be Still My Soul.
Last night we enjoyed the relaxed rehearsal dinner at Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs. It was fun to meet Perry's family and to catch up with
friends that we don't seem to sit down and talk to much, as well as get to know new people. I looked around and thought some people looked familiar, but then I thought maybe I just saw them at Ellen's wedding.
We look forward to the big celebration today! Weddings are so fun!!

Relativism, the new virtue

I've been reading Boom! by Tom Brokaw. It is mainly a series of interviews that he does with several people from the Sixties. Some are very liberal, some are conservative. Some say the Sixties were great and we made progress, some recognize the beginning of a crumbling culture.
Shelby Steele, an African-American from the Midwest who went to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (yeah!), is one of the critics. He says on p. 325, "Relativism became a virtue, and that's when the culture war began." Tom Brokaw describes Steele as one who, "has established himself as one of American's leading black critics of what he describes as the vacuum of moral authority generated by white ambivalence on race. That ambivalence....has led to what Steele describes as a cancer of moral relativism."

It's been interesting to read about other cultural conservatives who are not part of my "group" who feel the same way I do about the cultural decline. Another interesting person is Dorothy Rabinowitz who works for The Wall Street Journal. When he asks her about the Sixties she responds:
For an intellectual, the Sixties were the end of all standards, all history. The most infuriating part of it was the denigration of all that came before.
It was the seed of a culture of no authority.
Before the Sixties, parents had respect.
I had to listen to so much foolishness about women. I don't remember little girls being too intimidated in class to raise their hands. (p.503)

The rest of her interview is very interesting, too. Of course, there are many with differing views, but I think she hits the nail on the head.

I'm working half day today and all the rest of the week. Big wedding this weekend!! So it's a busy week.

Patches

Last night after dinner-ah, in all that daylight!- I finally got down to fixing Andrew's jeans. He does not want to go out and buy new work jeans, so I patch and patch. First it was patches around the corner tabs of the back pockets. They get pulled and eventually they pull off the back. So I've patched those. Last night I had to zigzap all over those patches. Then I had to sew up the back bottom of the legs. They rip up once the seam in worn off by dragging on the ground. Finally, and this was the worst/hardest, I had to sew a patch over the knees. Now, someone tell me how this is possible. The pants are worn nearly paper thin and have torn already on one knee. But how do I get inside there without sewing the leg shut? So I stuffed the pant leg under the sewing needle and can do fairly well going from side to side since my machine can fit a pant leg under there, but how do I go up and down? I managed to get it, but I must've worked on that patch for an hour. Whew. The other leg I found some iron on stuff and just put that on. It doesn't last long at all, but it saved some blood (poked fingers), sweat and tears!

Really, this kid just needs to go shopping!

More biting cold

I know, blogging about the weather isn't too original, but I couldn't think of a clever title. Winter does have a grip on NE that won't let go and we're all getting pretty tired of it. It was 0 degrees F this morning with a half inch of fresh snow on the ground. You'd think it was January. It's always winter and never Christmas. Sometimes I think Christmas needs to come sometime around mid-February. That's about the time when we really need a holiday!

I feel like I've been very brain sluggish lately. I read and think about interesting stuff, but I make stupid mistakes or forget important things. Like paying the gas bill (forgot) and not adding up income tax correctly and sending it in (stupid mistakes). The income tax was Will's and I didn't catch the mistake until we sat down to do the state one. Now we have to figure out what to do. It won't make a difference to the end result, but it will look like we're really stupid. sigh. I attribute my deadness (a) the long winter (b) the cold (c)lack of exercise, a result of the long, cold winter. I keep dreaming about being back in Italy. I think I get "homesick" every March!

I should have gone to the commissary after school yesterday. It was a lovely 40 degrees and no wind, but I thought Will might want company or the car. So I went in the freezing cold this morning. Thankfully, I didn't have to haul them in alone, and we didn't have to leave the doors open too long. The north wind was blowing, too, to make it worse. However, I DID take a good walk yesterday afternoon giving me energy and a more cheerful disposition.

I'm thinking about walking the half-marathon when Den runs the whole thing next fall. Running sounds awful, but walking 13 miles might be rather fun. Now I just need a friend who would do it with me, and it could be a blast. I read about sisters training from different parts of the country and then calling each other.

A quick family note since I've talked so much about this, I don't want to make an issue of it, and several people know already, Andrew broke up with his girlfriend. I was surprised and sad, but it will be OK.