Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
-Robert Frost
I tried to snap some pictures of animals enjoying the spring weather around my house. These aren't all fuzzy animals--but my pictures are all pretty fuzzy! Guess I need a better zoom. See if you can make them out...
bunny (through the screen)
squirrels
lizard
deer
bunny (through the screen)
squirrels (upstairs neighbors)
Last year I visited a slave castle in Ghana--where slave traders forced captives onto boats headed for the Americas.
This week, I saw the place in Charleston Harbor where around 40% of the slaves brought to the US entered the country. It was a sobering experience. (Sorry, I don't have a picture.)
I also visited the only remaining "slave mart" in Charleston (now a museum):
Slave traders used to sell humans here, just like cattle. Here's an old advertisement for a sale:
I also visited a plantation and saw old slave houses:
These were actually some of the nicer slave houses--the wooden ones fell down years ago.
This week, I saw the place in Charleston Harbor where around 40% of the slaves brought to the US entered the country. It was a sobering experience. (Sorry, I don't have a picture.)
I also visited the only remaining "slave mart" in Charleston (now a museum):
Slave traders used to sell humans here, just like cattle. Here's an old advertisement for a sale:
I also visited a plantation and saw old slave houses:
These were actually some of the nicer slave houses--the wooden ones fell down years ago.
History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.
-Maya Angelou
I'm posting lots of pictures from my trip on Facebook. Friend me there so you can see them! Or email me and I'll send them your way.
Did you know that Spanish moss is the only species of the pineapple family indigenous to the United States?Strange but (supposedly) true.
Did you know that pineapples are traditional symbols of hospitality? People in places like Charleston and Savannah would put pineapples on their fence posts if they wanted guests to visit. If they wanted some time to themselves, they took the pineapples down.I'm learning all sorts of useless information on this trip! :)
1,500 year old tree in Johns Island, South Carolina
(if you look hard you can see a tiny person in the background near second 25 of the video)
Yes, I'm enjoying my time in beautiful Savannah, Georgia (and heading to Charleston soon).
Pictures are coming!
Pictures are coming!
Some of my friends have become obsessed with geocaching.
Basically, you spend hours driving around everywhere looking in random places for hidden containers
like this
and this
and the tiny little black thing in this picture.
Then you sign the paper inside and mark your find online.Sometimes you even see interesting sights along the way.
Altogether, I find geocaching mildly interesting, but I think I prefer hiking or playing on the internet. :)
Most of you know that in my other life (when I'm not blogging, traveling, or researching), I'm an editor. I work on resources that help kids and their leaders learn about ministries taking place around the world.
Today I learned that one (or two?) of our magazines has won a design contest!
We don't know yet which magazine won, or what ranking it received. We'll find all that out in another month or so.
But I do know that we won!
Yeah! :)
Today I learned that one (or two?) of our magazines has won a design contest!
We don't know yet which magazine won, or what ranking it received. We'll find all that out in another month or so.
But I do know that we won!
Yeah! :)
Here are a few pictures from another amazing place in Vienna--Schloss Schönbrunn, a former imperial palace.
I seriously felt like I was in a movie.
Umm, they didn't exactly encourage picture taking inside this place, so check out this video to see more.
It was breathtaking!
I seriously felt like I was in a movie.
Umm, they didn't exactly encourage picture taking inside this place, so check out this video to see more.
6:45 drive
7:30 work
10:00 meeting
12:00 lunch
1:00 meeting
2:00 meeting
3:00 meeting
4:30 drive
5:00 supper
5:15 handbells
5:45 meeting
6:15 GA
7:00 choir
8:30 drive
9:15 home
7:30 work
10:00 meeting
12:00 lunch
1:00 meeting
2:00 meeting
3:00 meeting
4:30 drive
5:00 supper
5:15 handbells
5:45 meeting
6:15 GA
7:00 choir
8:30 drive
9:15 home
No, I'm not going back to Vienna...I wish! I just realized that I still haven't posted several of my pictures from that trip. Oops! Here are a few from an amazing church there:
You could go up into the top. So of course, I did!
I passed amazing murals on the way up.
It was incredible to be so close!
This was the painting in the very top.
Looking down--can you see the person in the bottom left?
Sources consulted: 597
Words written: 54,080
Chapters written: ~4.25
Pages written: 231
Fun experienced: immeasurable...
Words written: 54,080
Chapters written: ~4.25
Pages written: 231
Fun experienced: immeasurable...
Leader: I want you to draw a picture in this house of everything you think you couldn't live without.
Girl 1 (to girl 2): What's that picture you're drawing?
Girl 2: A toilet.
Girl 1: You can live without a toilet!
Girl 2: Eeeww! No you can't!
Girl 1: Yes you can! Well, umm....if you're a dog!
Girl 1 (to girl 2): What's that picture you're drawing?
Girl 2: A toilet.
Girl 1: You can live without a toilet!
Girl 2: Eeeww! No you can't!
Girl 1: Yes you can! Well, umm....if you're a dog!
Do you know what the inside of a dishwasher looks like?
How about a thermostat?
Or maybe a washing machine?
A month ago, I had never seen or cared about any of these. But now I have, since everything in my house apparently decided to fall apart at once. Also unfortunate is the fact that my repair skills are extremely rudimentary--or perhaps I should say non-existent. I can dash out a paper on church history or any number of arcane topics, but put a broken dishwasher in front of me, and I'm pretty much hopeless.
The only redeeming factor in this situation is my kind neighbors who are helping me try (in vain?) to repair these items. Anyway, if you know anyone who's selling a portable dishwasher, programmable thermostat, or washing machine for a good price, send them my way.
It snowed an inch and a half today. Exciting!! This is the biggest snowfall I've seen since I've lived here. The first picture shows what it looked like when it was still snowing.
Yay for snow!!
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