Plans

I'm on Fall Break.

My roommate and I have a ton of plans- its going to be a great weekend.

One of those plans was for me to read to her while she drove. I was going to read from her favorite seriese. So, today I stopped by the library to check out the book. I've figured out the campus' system for shelving books- quite a bit different from what I'm used to, so I knew exactly where to find the books. But I get to the right section, and the book isn't there. Its already been checked out!

So much for plans.

We ended up making a stop at a store for a gift. Across the isle were a bunch of books for sale. We looked hopefully, and sure enough it was! We bought it, and within a few minutes of the trip I was reading aloud, trying not to stumble over words I had never seen, and trying to read fluently. And, for those of you who don't know, when there are words you don't know, and you've never read the text before, reading fluently can be quite a task.

But I managed. And my roommate was gracious, not getting impatient as I tried to sound out words like a third grader. So far, I've read for two hours to her. And loved it!

I love reading out loud...

Jeremiah 9:23-24

This is what the Lord says:

"let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight"

declares the Lord.

Psalm 66:1-4, 16

Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you, they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." Selah Come and listen, all you who fear God. Let me tell you what he has done for me.

around campus

I am crocheting a blanket- its a greenish color. I tried winding the scans of yarn into balls while I read.

Plant with GIANT leaves

I have NO idea why parts of this shrub are dead, and others parts are fully alive...

Most of the flowers in this section of garden are pink- but a few are blue, and even fewer are purple.  I love that bees polinate flowers the 'wrong' colors :)

A giant crane came and took the pointed roof off our clock tower...

giant pumpkin in my dorm's lobby. Yes, it is real.

Isaiah 40:31

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

does God run?

yeah, I'd say so...

Craft!

I got the idea from Erin, who got it from Julia. And it looks like Julia got it from Jessica.
I adapted the recipe. Jessica mentioned her recipe made entirely too much starch, so I cut it by four.
This is the recipe I used:

1/16 cup corn starch
1/8 cup cold water
1 cup hot/boiling water

Mix cold water and starch together. Add hot/boiling water, stir.

Thats it. I know, really simple!
So, you want to know what my roommate and I did with this recipe?
We coated it onto fabric we had already cut out (with a paintbrush). Then, we put the soaking fabric on the wall, and pressed all the bubbles out. We caught the starchy drips with a papertowl.

And it looks like this:

 

 

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
264 pages; published in 2007; I give it 5 out of 5 stars

Opening sentence:

"Of all the kids in the seventh grade at Camillo Junior High, there was one kid that Mrs. Baker hated with heat whiter than the sun.
Me."

 It is 1976, and Holling Hoodhood is sure that his seventh grade teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him and is out to kill him. He can't complain to anyone, though, because the future of his father's architecture firm just might depend on Holling being on his best behavior. On Wednesday afternoons, all the students go to their place of worship for a ceremony of sorts. Everyone, that is, except Holling.  At first Mrs. Baker has Holling help with chores around the classroom during this time, but then she decides on the ultimate punishment: making Holling read Shakespearean plays!

I liked how Holling would relate what was happening in his life to what happened in the latest Shakespeare play. I have only read one of the plays he mentions, so I am sure there are many allusions I failed to catch. The ones I did catch, however, made me laugh. I have been meaning to read a few of Shakespeare's plays this year, and after reading Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars, I am more motivated than I have been in a while.