Book Review: The Sunday Philosophy Club

I enjoy a book that occasionally sends me to the dictionary for a deeper definition of a word, or to a book of poetry to look up an author, so I really dug into this book by Alexander McCall Smith. My mom had introduced me to the joys of his "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series, starring the delightful Mma Precious Ramotwe, and I was eager to begin this series next.

Isabel Dahlousie is a single woman in her late 30's living in Edinburgh. The book begins when she is at the theater, listening to a lackluster performance, and witnesses a young man fall from the "gods" (the upper balcony). Having an inquisitive nature, she cannot let her suspicion go, and begins a convoluted quest to find out the truth.

In hindsight, the reason I connected to this character is because her thought processes seem to work like mine...not the thoughts themselves, since she is a humanist, and a student of philosophy...but the way her mind (and mine) often "rabbittrails" to other subjects, or music, or quotes relating to the issue at hand. And I appreciate the way that she is always looking at the motive for her actions, and for the actions and behaviors of those around her. In short, she's a thinker.

I loved this description of a book sent to her for review and editing: the "article was weighty, but largely unreadable, owing to the author's style. It appeared to be written in English, but it was a variety of English which Isabel felt occuured only in certain corners of academia, wher faux weightiness was a virtue. It was, she thought, as if the English had been translated from German; not that the verbs all migrated to the end, it was just that everything sounded so heavy, so utterly earnest."

I think I have read some books like that myself!

Toss in a housekeeper and friend who is witty enough to send a book entitled "One Hundred Things for a Teenage Boy to Do" to a friend's husband in the throes of a mid-life crisis, and you have a delightful read.

Enjoy!

Quote of the Day: Charles Spurgeon

"The upright shall have good things in possession" (Proverbs 28:10).

We are accustomed to think of our good things as in reversion, but here we are told that we shall have them in possession.

Not all the malice and cunning of our enemies can work our destruction: they shall fall into the pit which they have digged. Our inheritance is so entailed upon us that we shall not be kept out of it, nor so turned out of the way as to miss it.

But what have we now?

• We have a quiet conscience through the precious blood of Jesus.
• We have the love of God set upon us beyond all change.
• We have power with God in prayer in all time of need.
• We have the providence of God to watch over us,
• the angels of God to minister to us,
• and, above all, the Spirit of God to dwell in us.

In fact, all things are ours. "Whether things present or things to come: all are yours." Jesus is ours. Yea, the divine Trinity in unity is ours. Hallelujah. Let us not pine and whine and stint and slave, since we have good things in possession. Let us live on our God and rejoice in Him all the day. Help us, 0 Holy Ghost!

A Small Town 4th

Happy day after the fourth! We enjoyed at day at Roosevelt park, where there was music, a trip into the zoo, and the dedication of a visually unappealling, but otherwise moving memorial to honor North Dakota's Congressional Medal of Honor winners. The governor was there to speak at the dedication, as well as one of the medal recipients, whose acts of courage during the Vietnam war were nothing short of miraculous. Here is the article from the Minot Daily News.

One of the highlights of the day for me was a speech by a Theodore Roosevelt impersonator (below) who did a really great job, and presented one of Roosevelt's moving speeches.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
~Theodore Roosevelt "Citizenship in a Republic,"Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Book Review: Mirror Mirror

Okay, I must say, this book was just strange. Perhaps I am just not deep enough, or not in the right frame of mind. Gregory Maguire writes "twisted fairy tales", retellings of the famous fables that we all grew up with, and this was his take on "Snow White". But they aren't the innocent versions of the stories that we are used to. Instead of Dopey, Sleepy and Grumpy, there are Heartless, MuteMuteMute (who talks), and BlindEye, among others. I was longing for my sweet and bumbling dwarfs.

This retelling cast the infamous Lucrezia Borgia as the wicked and jealous stepmother...and it intrigued me in her story enough that I am going to pick up a biography about her life at the library. So if the purpose of reading is to expand the mind...the book succeeded...but for sheer entertainment value...I'd skip it and move to the Borgia biography. She sounds like the real character study.

Recipe: Bacon Cauliflower Salad

This is a delicious cold salad: perfect (and easy) for potlucks, etc. Thanks to my mom, who introduced me to it!

Bacon Cauliflower Salad

Creamy Dressing (recipe follows)
1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 ¼ lbs)
½ small red onion, finely chopped (or less)
1 pound bacon, crisply cooked, drained & crumbled
Pepper
3 cups shredded or torn iceberg lettuce

Prepare Creamy Dressing. Break cauliflower into flowerets and slice thinly. Place in a large bowl; add dressing, onion, and half bacon. Season to taste with pepper. At this point you may cover and refrigerate until next day. Mound lettuce in bowl. Top with cauliflower mixture; sprinkle with remaining bacon. Makes 4-6 servings.

Creamy Dressing: In a blow, stir together 1 c. mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon each prepared mustard and dry basil, and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

From Sunset Vegetable cookbook, 1983

My personal notes: I think the salad is even better if you let the cauliflower and dressing refrigerate overnight. If you don't plan on using the whole salad in one setting, just use what you need and mix seperately with the lettuce, because once you add the lettuce, you have about 24 hours of "freshness".

Introducing...

Well, I wouldn't be silly enough to actually name my new guitar...yet. Any suggestions?

Finally, after saving tips and the last couple of checks from my part time barista position, I purchased a new, much-needed, guitar. I have had my old Yamaha since I started playing about 12 years ago, and while I knew it was time to move up a notch or two on the quality scale, I didn't realize how much it needed a replacement. So I am very happy and my friends will be happy to know that I have rediscovered some of the joy in playing and am learning a few new things.

Mount St Helens, May 18, 1980

When I was 8, it seemed that the entire year was filled with news from Mount St Helens. All spring we heard that the mountain was going to erupt, that there were rumblings and shakings and that the beast was awakening. And on Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, it woke with a vengance. Even 150 miles to the north we felt the eruption...our first thought was that it was a larger than normal sonic boom from the local Boeing plant. But my dad flipped on his police scanner and it was announced on the air.

Below is a shot of the mountain the day before the eruption, and a view from the same location, weeks later. The two things I remember most were the man (Harry Truman) who wouldn't leave his home on the mountain that he shared with his precious kitties, and that I was pretty disappointed that the ash headed every direction but north. And I thought ash would be cool. In hindsight, we were spared a lot of damage and work.





There is a creation museum by the mountain that is operated by my childhood pastor and his lovely wife, Lloyd and Doris Anderson. Check out their 7 Wonders website for some great resources on creation, geology and how what happened at Mount St Helens in a very short period of time blows some evolutionary theories out of the water.

And here is an amazing video of the eruption.

On the Air!

We are on the air locally in Minot!

A lightbulb has just gone on in my head regarding the spiritual attacks of last week!

Praise the Lord!

Sigh...

See above for this week's update...

However...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And, I suppose if I really believe the previous post, then I have some repenting to do...

Quote of the Day: Charles Spurgeon

The Bible's Supreme Place

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. (Psalm 119:165)
Yes, a true love for the great Book will bring us great peace from the great God and be a great protection to us. Let us live constantly in the society of the law of the Lord, and it will breed in our hearts a restfulness such as nothing else can.
The Holy Spirit acts as a Comforter through the Word and sheds abroad those benign influences which calm the tempests of the soul.
Nothing is a stumbling block to the man who has the Word of God dwelling in him richly. He takes up his daily cross, and it becomes a delight. For the fiery trial he is prepared and counts it not strange, so as to be utterly cast down by it. He is neither stumbled by prosperity -- as so many are -- nor crushed by adversity -- as others have been -- for he lives beyond the changing circumstances of external life.
When his Lord puts before him some great mystery of the faith which makes others cry, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" the believer accepts it without question; for his intellectual difficulties are overcome by his reverent awe of the law of the Lord, which is to him the supreme authority to which he joyfully bows. Lord, work in us this love, this peace, this rest, this day.