What Twitter is Really For

Full Moon Snow

Winter has come. It dusted in under a full moon, lighting the night world aglow. It’s the time of peppermint tea, warm radiators, cold winds on immobile white waves that lap at the narrow tracks made by fragile man across the great wilderness.

This is a land that could eat you alive. And I know it, and I love it for its ferocity. I’ve nearly died in water; I’ve never nearly died in winter, for there’s no such thing as the wrong weather, only the wrong clothing. Inhabitant of the northern byways, I’m outfitted for this unlikely feast.

I would be baptized into the darkness, in the ethereal hallowing of the dying world under a silver that radiates from the ground, swirls in icy breezes, fogs the sharp diamonds and the great round circle which light the black air above. It’s a full moon snow, and sleep and death have fallen. Let it rage; no joy compares to watching it melt away in the dawn of spring.

Image Credits:

Goodnight Moon http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/ / CC BY 2.0

The Best-Laid Plans Of…

WMBC Bonus Session Posted

Sunday morning after WMBC, Dave’s mentor and friend Bob Dunlop preached at the conference’s host church. His subject was “Stronger Together,” and he looked at how doctrine, or the denial of its relevance, influences true Christian fellowship. He brought the church (a former pastorate of his) news about his wife Margie, who mentored me personally for three years.

We miss them. One more reason to look forward to heaven.

With his permission, we’ve added his exhortation to the conference audio as a bonus round. It’s also on the Conference 2009 page, down at the bottom of the lineup.

Sword-Swinging Handmaiden Goes on Bridal Rant

Alright. That’s it. I was going to write something innocuous and personal-journeyish, but I have been pushed over the edge by ChristianBook.com.

If you love Christian romance stories, read no further, or you will be forced to exercise everything you know about forgiving grace. Here I stand; I can do no other.

Around the Hedge and Down the Trail

Heather has created the perfect portrait of my children. Last Monday, I learned my oldest and his wildly inaccurate slingshot skills were responsible for the broken glass globe on the lamp post at my step. You will all be relieved to hear murder did not ensue, but financial discipline certainly will.

Also, Julie wrote about attachment, dysfunction and the wide range of ideas that go with those words. She makes a wise and widely-applicable point that it may be better to treat struggling people according to what they need our help with at a given time, rather than according to a category we put them in.

Grace has posted the opening of a new space adventure. I had the privilege of critiquing it at an early stage–was that a year ago?–and I’m looking forward to the final product.

Next Person to Comment…

…brings it officially to 1,000 witty retorts. (Oh pooky baby blog! I heart you!) I should give out a prize or something for all the sideways genius that shows up around here, but I have to pay for carpet cleaning.

Bohemian Rhapsody, Done Right

This is my FAVE VERSION EVER.

Unusual Thankful Things: It’s Not Thanksgiving Here

Today, it seems wise for me to follow Heather’s example, though we had our turkey idol worshipping festivities back in October.

Unusual things to be thankful for:

1. Ownership of a space heater, a shop vacuum, a fan and a large unfinished space right next to our bedroom–where a leaky radiator sabotaged Dave’s attempts to get the home heating system online and did its best to ruin one of the more costly renovations in the house project. We are currently drying out half the floor, with brand-new carpet lifted and underlay removed. Probably worst is the fact that the uneven old-house construction has allowed water underneath the bottom edge of the drywall on two walls, which soaked it up nicely.
2. The fact that neither of us tends to throw things or hit one another when such things happen.
3. Proactive children who are used to being part of the team, including when things go wrong.
4. Coffee and painkillers.
5. It’s NOT Thanksgiving in Canada, and nobody’s coming over today, and I am not scrambling all over to try and deal with all this plus a bunch of other stuff.

Ancient Technology and Dave

My novel? Yeah. There was just no chemistry.

My husband is a power engineer. Not an engineer, that’s different. Dave’s job is the evolution of the field which worked with steam power in early industrial times. Even today, they must have a “steam ticket” to advance in certification, as high-pressure steam remains a part of industrial processes.

Dave’s job involves math, chemistry and physics in hands-on application to high-pressure and high-temperature manufacturing equipment. He tells me I overestimate his knowledge base and skills. I tell him phooey.