Bits & Pieces

I am going to try the brownie recipe Anna gave us at Pleasant View Schoolhouse. After seeing her tea party, I am inspired. There are a few people I've been wanting to have over for tea. It just seems life happens before I know it and months have gone bye without asking. I keep telling myself that I'm not going to wait for perfect circumstances or I'll never have anyone over.

I sent my daughter this site today and told her this is who I want to be when I grow up. I have been inspired and educated by Nancy Pearcey's books. She makes me think. Having been taught by Francis Schaeffer, I guess it is no wonder that I agree with much that she has to say. I have yet to agree 100% with anyone except perhaps St. Paul. I really do need to keep at least one "complex book that makes me think" on my coffee table each week.

I had a wonderful time teaching my Literature & Critical Thinking class again this week. My students are all in the twelve to fourteen year old age group. This is an age where many are beginning to read some of the deeper books of our culture. They are beginning to realize what I mean when I teach them everyone has a world view and to be critical thinking readers, we need to understand where an author's worldview is coming from. My son gave me the idea for next week's homework. I'm going to photocopy three or four magazine articles and have them attempt to tell me the worldview of each author (a couple of articles from World Magazine and two from more liberal news magazines). We begin reading A Christmas Carol at the end of this month.

This morning, as I waited on my son to finish his class, I sat in a chair with my feet propped on a footstool in the corner of the campus library, reading and enjoying the view out of the large windows. It is remarkable to see the difference in the trees. Our commute is only 30-40 minutes going south but there remains a great deal of green in that area. The trees nearer our home have already begun to turn beautiful colors and many bushes are a deep gold or red.

We've noticed the squirrels in the area are very busy. Having a walnut tree in our backyard, we get a lot of visitors with fluffy tails and stuffed cheeks these days.

I spent the time at the library reading two Amish cookbooks, both of which I checked out as I was leaving. They both have some interesting recipes that I haven't seen before. I'm looking forward to trying some new recipes this week now that I'm feeling (almost) alive again. My son asked me again this morning to "do something interesting" with pasta. Back to the cookbooks...