Interesting little game
from Gideon Strauss

1. Take a book from your shelves with more than 200 pages.
2. Find some real person's name there.
3. Find out his or her date of birth.
4. Find someone else born on the same day.
5. State a connection between this person and yourself.

The Hidden Treasure of Glaston, by Eleanore M. Jewett. I wanted to do Thomas Becket, but couldn't find his exact birthdate. King Henry II was born on the Fifth of March in the year of our Lord 1133. Born on that date in the year 1853 was author and illustrator Howard Pyle. My maiden name was Pyle.

“Sleepers, wake!” the watch cry pealeth,
While slumber deep each eyelid sealeth:
Awake, Jerusalem, awake!
Midnight’s solemn hour is tolling,
And seraph-notes are onward rolling;
They call on us our part to take.
Come forth, ye virgins wise:
The Bridegroom comes, arise!
Alleluia! Each lamp be bright with ready light
To grace the marriage feast tonight.

Zion hears the voice that singeth
With sudden joy her glad heart springeth,
At once she wakes, she stands arrayed:
Her Light is come, her Star ascending,
Lo, girt with truth, with mercy blending,
Her Bridegroom there, so long delayed.
All hail! God’s glorious Son,
All hail! our joy and crown,
Alleluia! The joyful call we answer all,
And follow to the bridal hall.

Praise to Him Who goes before us!
Let men and angels join in chorus,
Let harp and cymbal add their sound.
Twelve the gates, a pearl each portal:
We haste to join the choir immortal
Within the Holy City’s bound.
Ear ne’er heard aught like this,
Nor heart conceived such bliss.
Alleluia! We raise the song, we swell the throng,
To praise Thee ages all along.

Words: Phil­ipp Ni­co­lai, 1599; tr. by Fran­ces E. Cox, 1864
Music: “Wach­et Auf,” Phil­ipp Ni­co­lai, 1599; har­mo­ny by Jo­hann S. Bach, 1731

Yesterday's weather report
The movers brought the rest of our household goods Monday - it took three trips in a 15-foot truck since the semi wouldn't fit in our tree-lined driveway.

Bummer
"There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
W. Somerset Maugham

Thankful Thursday
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life... (Psalm 23)

Fall leaves
Fall colors
Fall smells

Fall fall fall!

Well...


I've written two thousand two hundred sixty-two words so far.

Thankful Thursday
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

Our house in Texas finally sold, daylight saving time has come to an end, and cool weather has arrived in earnest.

What are y'all thankful for?

Retraction
I'm pretty sure it wasn't done by my 10 year old after all. I just found my two year exiting the laundry room and heard the dryer running and clunking. Now I had put this load in myself and knew it shouldn't be clunking, so I checked it and found a used coffee filter, the contents of the used coffee filter, some macaroni, pebbles, and an empty pineapple can! Thankfully, the clothes were already dry, so they don't have to be rewashed. I took all the stuff out, cleaned out the dryer, then shook out the clothes and put them back in to run on no heat for a little while to be sure all the coffee grounds are removed.
=%^(

Medley
This week we've had an... I hate to call an "infestation" because that sounds like it's really gross, but it's not... an amazing amount of ladybugs hanging about our house. There were probably hundreds all around the porch and some came into the house, too. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. It had been quite cool for several days and then on Monday it was back in the 60s, so maybe that had something to do with it.

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I'm teaching my girls how to walk like a lady. We have a nice long gravel driveway, so we go out there and walk together for a few minutes and then I watch them and offer critique: "Point your toes straight ahead," or "Don't move your rear end so much," or "Keep your shoulders back and relax your arms." We have to work on posture, too. Up until now I've only done this two or three times, just whenever I've noticed a problem, but I think we really need to be doing this every day so it can become habit with them.

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Yesterday I encouraged Elai to join National Novel Writing Month. She has tons of ideas for stories and writes well, but she never finishes anything, so I thought the challenge to complete something would be good for her. I have no doubt she'll succeed. Unfortunately, while I was at it, I also joined up and began writing, and true to form, as soon as I set pen to paper- er rather, fingers to keyboard, the story in the back of my mind evaporated. In the spirit of writing what you know I was intending to write my own Cheaper By the Dozen, only with fictional names so I could add, subtract, rearrange, and otherwise modify things without feeling like I was lying about our family.

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The rest of our household goods haven't been delivered yet, but we should find out this week when it will come. I may have to make a new Advent wreath if it doesn't come soon enough.

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What I'm listening to: my three little ones pretending to be animals
What's cooking: chicken and veggies in the crockpot
What's on the agenda: get to piano lessons on time
What I'm buying: winter clothes for my husband
What I'm wearing: green cotton sweater, denim skirt (no shoes until time to go out!)

Hodgepodge
Today I took a load of laundry out of the dryer. I found an aluminum pie pan, some pebbles, a zip-lock bag, what appears to have been a fig in a previous life, and the lid to a tin can. Oh, and some clothes. Boys clothes, obviously. My ten year old son is learning to do the laundry.