amo

I highly recommend the movie Miss Potter. We saw it on DVD last week. It is, of course, about Beatrix Potter (author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and many other books), but Jefferson and I barely knew anything about her before we saw the movie.

It’s a very pretty movie with a compelling plot and a touch of whimsy (not too much, in my opinion). Unlike many “family” movies, the tension is enough for an adult to find interesting and get involved in. Unlike many other movies, there’s nothing in the way of inappropriate content. (Neither Jefferson nor I could remember the language that this movie was supposed to have gotten a PG rating over.) However, it moves too slowly for very young children to appreciate, probably, and it is sad in places.

While I’m sure this film would be even more enjoyable for someone who truly grew up reading about Peter Rabbit and Squirrel Nutkin and the rest, I still found it delightful!

Angie over at Bloggin-Dazs tagged me to answer a series of questions about my years in high school. Eeek!

The picture above says most of it, but I’ll try to answer the questions. Just for background, I attended Mount Carmel Christian School and then Avondale High School, graduating in 1988.

1. Who was your best friend? I didn’t have a BFF, and I’m afraid I’ll leave someone out if I try to name all the people who were close, but . . . I do wonder what happened to Jami, Carolyn, Lisa, Faith, Eddie, Barry, Julie, Srae, T.J., and would love to hear from you (and anyone I forgot)!
2. Did you play any sports? Like Angie, I tried out for basketball. I’m not even sure I got to the part where they let me dribble a ball. I remember having a terrible time running to half court and touching the line and running back. Being around 5′ 2″ at the time didn’t help me much, either. (I’m not a nimble short person who can jump several feet straight up without a running start; I’m a short person who is nailed to the ground.)
3. It’s Friday night–where were you? Umm. Anywhere but home. Where depended on which year, spending the night at a friend’s, at the movies, at a teen dance club . . . .
4. Were you a party animal? Yes.
5. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? I helped out with children’s choir at my church. No band or orchestra, but I played guitar and piano.
6. Were you a nerd? Not only was I a nerd, most of the time I LOVED being one! There weren’t too many girl nerds in the 80s . . .
7. Who was your favorite teacher? I was blessed with a great many good teachers who were either tolerant or ignorant of my “rebel without a clue” status.
8. Did you go to the prom? I didn’t go to my own, but I went to someone else’s prom my junior year.
9. If you could go back, would you? No way. But if I could, I’d contact a lot of people and apologize.
10. What do you remember most about graduation? My grandfather and some other family members came all the way from California to Georgia to see me graduate.
11. Have you gained weight since then? I was doing pretty well until I quit smoking a year ago, then I turned into a human balloon.
12. What did you do after graduation? Spent many years continuing my tradition of making bad decisions and the last few trying to let God guide my decisions instead.

I guess I’m supposed to tag someone else now, is that it? Okay, I tag Chelsea over at Subjects are Silly, but don’t do it if you don’t want to!

Remember that there are only three kinds of things anyone need ever do. (1) Things we ought to do. (2) Things we’ve got to do. (3) Things we like doing. I say this because some people seem to spend so much of their time doing things for none of the three reasons, things like reading books they don’t like because other people read them.

From C. S. Lewis’ Letters to Children.

“Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”
— Alexis de Tocqueville

So you want to play.
Will I claw at dancing string?
Your ankle’s closer.

Read more here.

Sleeping Beauty
Maxfield Parrish
1912
oil on canvas

. . . but I quit smoking 1 year ago (1 year, 0 minutes and 5 seconds. 13140 cigarettes not smoked, according to my “quit counter”; I never look at it any more).

I couldn’t have done it without God and Jefferson. Thank you.

(clip from Firefly, 2002, 1:06, with Summer Glau as River, Ron Glass as Shepherd Book, and Gina Torres as Zoe)

Eternal God, creator and preserver of all life, author of
salvation, and giver of all grace: Look with favor upon the
world you have made, and for which your Son gave his life,
and especially upon this man and this woman whom you
make one flesh in Holy Matrimony. Amen.

Give them wisdom and devotion in the ordering of their
common life, that each may be to the other a strength in need, a
counselor in perplexity, a comfort in sorrow, and a companion
in joy. Amen.

Grant that their wills may be so knit together in your will,
and their spirits in your Spirit, that they may grow in love
and peace with you and one another all the days of their life.
Amen.

Give them grace, when they hurt each other, to recognize and
acknowledge their fault, and to seek each other’s forgiveness
and yours. Amen.

Make their life together a sign of Christ’s love to this sinful
and broken world, that unity may overcome estrangement,
forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair. Amen.

Bestow on them, if it is your will, the gift and heritage of
children, and the grace to bring them up to know you, to love you,
and to serve you. Amen.

Give them such fulfillment of their mutual affection that they
may reach out in love and concern for others. Amen.

(from The Book of Common Prayer, Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage)

(Alison Krauss and Union Station, “A Living Prayer”, 4:02)

Official web site here (with more music; click on media, then jukebox).