Books!

I think I have talked enough about books for you to know that I love to read.  If I am in the middle of a good book and it is time to fix a meal, the book goes into the kitchen with me and I read a paragraph as I am stirring.  Once the dish goes into the oven, I have the joy of sitting in my kitchen rocker to read several paragraphs.  Just in case you are wondering, no, I have never burned a dish because I was reading while it was cooking.  At least, I don't remember ever having burned a dish for that reason. 

I have just finished, am in the middle of, or am about to start several different books this month.  I decided in December that I would add some non-fiction to my reading this year (some crazy idea of having a more balanced mental diet).  Here is what is on my shelf right now.

My Bible readings right now are in the New Testament as I work through my Names project.  I have just finished the Gospel of Matthew this week and am moving on to the Gospel of Mark.  I am also reading through Acts, as that is where our Pastor is (still) preaching (I love when a Pastor takes his time through a book!).

I am in a Wednesday Evening Ladies' Bible study class that is working through this study by Kelly Minter.  I do not like a lot of the Bible study books that are currently available for women.  This one is exceptional.  This young lady is very careful with what she writes and how she writes it.  Her studies come from the Bible, rather than from a personal agenda.  She is thoughtful, she is well-grounded in the Bible, and she writes well.  Working through this book with my Wednesday evening class has been convicting, encouraging, and motivating.


A couple of years ago, Mr. Marvelous suggested that I read these two books by Richard Foster.  I finally got around to Celebration of Discipline (and I am embarrassed by how long it took me to get to it).  No, I do not agree with everything he writes; however, there are some good nuggets in here.  Read this one carefully and ~ like the Bereans ~ judge what he says against Scripture.  I will be reading through his Freedom of Simplicity this month or next.

Killing Lions was recommended to us by our good friends and neighbors.  This is the stage of life where we find ourselves as a family right now.  I bought a copy for both Mr. Marvelous and Mr. Marvelous Jr. for Christmas.  They were surprised (I don't pull that off very often).  Mr. Marvelous started reading it and couldn't put it down.  In between garden planning, he spent his evenings reading this ~ often aloud to me.  He asked me to read it when he finished and I did.  I probably do not appreciate it the same way that men do, but I did appreciate a lot of what he said. 

As we approach Lent, I picked up my Dad's book, Killing Jesus of Nazareth and will be reading it through again this year in preparation for Easter.  You may also find copies of it by contacting me directly.

I am also trying to read what I refer to as "Smart Books" to improve my intellectual mind a little bit (it could use some improvement these days).  This is at the top of my "Smart Book" list, written by one of the smartest people I know:

This book is written for those of us who do not have advanced degrees in Geology or other sciences, but want to know how to respond to the Academic Intellegentsia who tell us that we are ignorant because of our faith.  I have enjoyed working through this book and am pleasantly surprised by how understandable it is.  Yes, the author is my brother and yes, I think he is almost as wonderful as Mr. Marvelous.

Next on the list are two practical guides for the home.

Mary Englebreit + the garden = happy!

This was a gift from my parents. We discovered it at their house and Mr. Marvelous and I both fell in love with it.  I'll be working through this one.  As Mr. Marvelous is working to get the garden ready, he'll need some extra nutrition.  Right?

Of course there are some novels in the mix.

I am eclectic in my reading taste!

I found a copy of James Michener's Poland.  It has been several years since I read that and I will be revisiting this month.  It's an old, good friend.

The Nancys have re-introduced me to Nero Wolfe and we are all reading through his stories as written by Rex Stout.  Good mysteries and lots of fun.

The Library director in nearby Leeds introduced me to Jasper Fforde.  His Thursday Next books are almost as quirky as I am with a lovely mix of classical literature and Sci-Fi fantasy. 

Elizabeth Musser is one of my all-time favorite Christian Authors.  I will be writing more about her soon and about the opportunity I recently had to meet her.  The best way I can describe her books is to say that she writes with excellence.  Sadly, that is not something that I can say about too many Christian authors these days.  It is obvious as you read her books that she took time to work through the plot and the character development.  Writing is a calling for her, and it is something at which she works in order to bring glory to God.  I purchased a new copy of The Swan House which I will be re-reading (another old friend), and a copy of Waiting For Peter.  Warning:  if you get a copy of Waiting For Peter, have the Kleenex handy!  You have been warned.

I am not the Ted Dekker fan that Mr. Marvelous is.  I tried to read his color books and could not finish the first one.  When we were at the library recently, Hacker was on the shelf and I picked it up on a whim for Mr. Marvelous (since he is a Dekker fan).  Mr. Marvelous never did get to it, being busy with the garden planning.  After a couple of weeks (and having to renew it), I picked it up and started reading.  I could not put it down.  It was a fascinating story and there were some lessons in the book that I needed to hear.  It is not for everyone, and I don't know that I will even read the other books in the series, but this one was well-worth my time.

Finally, Mr. Marvelous Jr. came home last night with this little treasure for his dear Mama:

 You tell her, Vader; I'm with you on that outfit!

Geek love!

Jack South And The Pinecone Harvest

One of our pine trees has the biggest pine cones I have ever seen this side of the Rocky Mountains.  The cones began to fall this past weekend, so Jack and I decided to take a hike over to the back hill and see what we could find.

We collected one or two or three...

...baskets full.

I have no idea what I am going to do with them yet.

 

 

However I am sure Pinterest will help me think of something.

 

In the meantime, if you suddenly find that you must do some weekend pinecone crafting,

you know who to call!

Friday

Let's close out the week with some baby bunnies, shall we?

This is Wooly Bugger who lives next door to the babies.

Looks like she's a little jealous of all the attention!

I'll get back to my regular schedule of writing next week.

Enjoy your weekend!

More Bunny Pictures!

Mondays are usually my memory day, but I have promised pictures of the baby bunnies while they are cute. 

Baby bunnies grow quickly.  These pictures were taken on day seven.  In seven days baby bunnies grow fur.  Their ears at birth look as though they are a part of the head; by day seven they are clearly bunny ears.  The eyes are still not opened, but they are beginning to crawl around the kindling box a little bit.  They are curious about anything new, such as human hands.  Mama is quite calm about me handling them, although she gets a bit agitated when others come to visit.  She does want to sniff my hands after I have handled the babies. 

Enjoy the pictures!

  Did I mention that they love to snuggle? 

And they have gone from being barely the size of my thumb to this big!

Friday

I hope you have a weekend that is filled with the blessing of the work that God has for you; whether that is indoor cleaning,

or outdoor yard work,

 

or guarding the house from intruders coming in through the fireplace (!),

or just taking time to sit and enjoy what God is doing around you.

May you be filled with the delight of doing His will.

His peace to your homes.

Bunnies

Even though we have raised several batches of bunnies, I am still surprised by how quickly they grow. 

George was quite happy to show them off.

The sun was out and the temperatures were a little warmer, so she had uncovered them a bit.

They are starting to move around a little more

I try to handle them daily to get them used to being held.

They are fun to hold!

I call this their pig-snout phase.

I think George does too.

I love their little bitty ears.

Ah, country life!

Jack South and (Southern) Winter Weather

Jack South is not a big fan of cold weather.  Hence his name.  He says it gets into his (ceramic) bones and he can not warm up.  I am sympathetic.  He says I can not be truly empathetic since my bones are not ceramic.  Whatever.

We have had our fair share of gloomy, cloudy, cold weather so far this winter.  My sister in law and I have been hibernating with craft projects and good books on these days (more about the books tomorrow).  Jack has been too lethargic and gloomy on these days to even consider crafts or books, even though I assure him this would help him warm up (he just goes back to muttering about how I don't have ceramic bones). 

What does Jack do on these days?

One day I found him here.

Another day I found him back in the bedroom on a heating pad sharing the cats blanket.

Apparently he forgot that he is supposed to intimidate them.

Some days when I am cooking and baking in the kitchen and warming it up, he comes and keeps me company in there, wrapped up in a kitchen towel.

Then come the sunny days. 

He ambles into the kitchen and patiently waits by the door in the sunbeam.

After I finish making the bed, tidying the back part of the house and feeding the animals,

I find him waiting and I open the door.

 

On sunny days, we have lunch on the porch

We take turns enjoying the swinging chair.

And we text Mr. Marvelous and thank him for making us a place where our bones,

ceramic or otherwise,

can finally get warm!

Weekend Morning Excitement

Yesterday morning was a typical Sunday morning; I was busy in the kitchen getting breakfast ready and lunch in the crockpot, getting myself ready and getting to church on time.  I asked Mr. Marvelous to please go take care of the outdoor animals.  He came back in as I was finishing and I did my usual litany of "Is everyone alright?"  Yes, he assured me that all the chickens were fine (we lost one Saturday morning).  "How is George?"  I asked, "Is she pulling fur yet?"  Yes, she had and there seemed to be babies too!

Rabbits prefer ~ and need ~ to be left alone after giving birth (and we were cutting it close to get to church on time), so we headed out the door and left her alone.

After coming home and having lunch, I went out with the camera.

That's George on the right.  Doesn't she look smug?

Notice how far she is parked from the kindling box.  That is to divert the interest of potential predators away from her babies.

Wooly Bugger over on the left looks a little confused!

She makes a little hole in the straw, lines it with fur, puts the babies in, and then covers them up with the rest of the fur.

That tiny little pink blob in the middle is one of the babies.

I'll get out there today when it warms up a little and do a count and make sure everyone is alright.  I think she had about 8.  I hope she did not have more than 10; she is not able to care for more than that and we don't have another doe who could foster the extras right now (which means me trying to bottle feed if there are more than 10).

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!