I somehow hauled off and got myself “Freshly Pressed” yesterday, which means more people looked at my blog yesterday than attended this year’s Sword of the Lord conference and my Stats graph looks like a monster pipe organ. Since I now have so many new acquaintances, I’d like to turn y’all into new friends, so I figured I’d better take a minute and tell y’all a bit more about myself so you’ll know what you’ve gotten yourselves into. Besides, truth be told, I’m pretty old-school: I like that whole pipe-organ look, and hope it sticks around for a while.
<Writer stops, eats handful of Cheezits, a few grapes, and resumes typing.>
You can borrow any of the books, but keep your paws off the Jelly Bellies.
I wasn’t sure how best to go about this, aside from directing attention to the About Rodalena page, until I looked at my nightstand. Duh. If you find my nightstand even mildly interesting, then hanging out here could hopefully be pleasant, fun, or thought-provoking, or even just a decent way to waste some time.
<Writer eats more Cheezits. Adds in Jelly Bellies: a cappuccino-flavored one, and a few of the delish fruity ones. Gives handful to cute seven-year old. Wipes hands on pant-leg. Resumes typing.>
As you can see, I’m a bit of a reader, I have a watch but don’t often wear it, I own quite possibly the Coolest Turquoise Statement Ring Ever (Payless. $6.99. Seriously), I have a mild addiction to Arturo Fuente cigars and yummy smelling lotions, I’ve been known to doodle now and then, I may leave a Starburst wrapper lying around, and my daughter has great taste in earrings (those were a gift from her, and they’re my very favorite). It would seem I also can apparently write long and winding sentences that could rival St. Paul for frustrating and confusing the reader completely.
The books...(swoon…) There’s never enough time to read all you want, is there? The stack in the back holds both the stuff I’ve recently finished, and the favorites. “The Sparrow” qualifies as both. It is a spiritually dangerous book, so be careful. It broke my heart completely. Here’s a quote:
“‘Explain this Mass to me!’
‘Consider the Star of David,’ he said quietly. ‘Two triangles, one pointing down, one pointing up. I find this a powerful image-the Divine reaching down, humanity reaching upward. And in the center, an intersection, where the Divine and the human are one. And as a promise, perhaps. That God will reach toward us if we reach toward Him, that we and our most ordinary acts,-like eating bread and drinking wine-can be transformed and made sacred. And that…is the best I can do after three shots of rum at the end of a long day.’”
-from “The Sparrow”, by Mary Doria Russell
After reading “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer, I had to get “Everything is Illuminated” from the library. It was glorious, and I intend on naming the next dog that takes up residence with me Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.. I am about halfway through “The Postmistress”, and so far, it’s marvelous. “The Dark Monk” was just so-so for me, but “The Dovekeepers” was amazing. It’s in my Top Ten, which is a good segue to the movie in the stack. We watched “Swing Kids” with Allyson the other day, and it’s just as good as when I saw it the first time. It was weird, though: Batman and Dr. Wilson were swing dancing with Brett and his big brain from Pulp Fiction spinning the vinyl. Netflix it. It’s a trip.
<Grapes are gone. Fingers are stained with Cheezit crumbs.>
“Man of the Family” is our current read-aloud. I home-school my three punkins, and literature is the foundation of our home-school curriculum. Facts are good to know, but I want them to be exposed to as much of the heart of the world as possible. And Ralph Moody’s wonderful series has tons of heart.
The “Vanity Fair” is there because I’m a hopelessly broke wanna-be fashionista, and I love well-written magazines and beautiful photography. Oh, and there’s the funnies from Sunday, which are what inspired the post that brought many of you here.
The books on my nightstand, my kids, my weird spiritual journey, the occasional recipe, and my odd take on pop culture, politics, education, religion, some *really* amateur poetry, and current events are what you’ll find here. I hope it’s a blessing to you, I hope it inspires you to read and think, and I hope…I do hope, and that’s pretty dangerous these days. Oh, and fair warning: there will be flowers. I like flowers.