duties and joys

I liked this scripture/picture combo. I think this is especially true because got tea sets for two of our nieces for Christmas and was able to enjoy some very refreshing tea time over the holidays. (Deborah would tell us that her tea was full of spices. Very cute.)

Recent reads:

I've had plenty of reading time with the holiday/sick time combo. I'd really recommend The End of the Affair (serious) and I Capture the Castle (not so serious) if you haven't read them. They're both seemed very British, and if you don't like them right away, I wouldn't keep reading because they don't really change. I liked the first because it was about a man who wanted to run away from God but kept bumping into him. I liked the second one because of the way it ended, and as I think I mentioned before, I like the way the girl writes and feel like I could related, in some respects, to her. I'd also recommend Love Must Be Tough, which I had heard referenced a lot and so finally decided to read. I think it's applicable to a lot of relationships, not just marriage, so if you are interested in relationships you'd probably like it. And no matter your feelings about James Dobson's political messages, he is so good in giving relationship advice. I tried to read Vanity Fair, but yuck, it's just too detailed, and I couldn't get into it. No recommendation there. I'm now reading The 101 Dalmatians, which is light and fun, even if you know the story from the cartoon.

Recent Movies:

I can't even begin to count movies I've seen at home recently. But here is something interesting to me about movies. I saw a couple that I saw in high school and that I pretty much hated in high school, but this time I liked them. They were Out of Africa and Gone with the Wind. I think that when I first saw them, I just thought the characters weren't admirable people and so I wouldn't like their stories. Also, Out of Africa is really slow going. I think anyone would admit that. But now I guess I can actually relate to the characters, probably just partly from being their age, and now I thought both of these films were so sad and also good. In the first one, it's so easy to see that the main character wanted to have a good and loving life, but suffered such loneliness and loss in spite of her efforts. And in the second film, it was sad to see people lose absolutely everything. Of course I'm glad that way of life did pass away, but people had some serious suffering during the transition. Scarlet is still something of a Jezebel, but I feel sorry for her, too. This may also be because I watched the a documentary bout Viven Leigh and her sad life. (Why is everyone's life so sad if you look at it as a whole? She needed Jesus. ) Have you ever seen the same movie or read the same book for a second time and come away with a totally different feeling about it?

That's about all I can tell you now since I haven't done much else for awhile. I'm thankful for my job and sick leave, and that I'm slowly getting back in the swing of things.