Well, Drew and I decided that we'd have to skip the 24-hour film contest this year. We just didn't learn of it early enough to pray for it, to assemble a team, and the house is still upside down.
We look forward to watching the entries as they roll in and we hope to tackle it next year, when we'll have more time to prepare.
SDG!
29 February 2008
28 February 2008
Book Review: From Homer to Harry Potter
Finally getting around to reviewing this.
I thought most of it was wonderful. To begin, the authors delved deeply into what is fairy tale, whom it's appropriate for, and the lay of the land of Faërie. I appreciated their differentiation between modern fantasy and science fiction, a distinction that is most helpful to me as it deals much with worldview.
Then we traveled to Biblical lands to learn how the Bible is true myth. ('Myth' doesn't mean an untrue story, but a story dealing with gods or, in this case, God and his works and ways.) After the stop in the Middle East, we wended our way through medieval literature. We also stopped at the nineteenth century to visit the Grimm Brothers. The last chapters of the book dealt with more recently-written Faërie stories and authors, including Ursula LeGuin, Phillip Pullman, and Jo Rowling.
I came away with a better appreciation for the stories I love so much and encouragement that I wasn't far off in some of my opinions regarding books I didn't like. I also came away inspired to read more of the stories from the land of Faërie and, maybe, even to try my hand at writing one.
In addition to the delightful exploration of Story, the authors specifically challenged me to think hard regarding the order of the writings of the ancient world. I've always been of the opinion that Moses didn't necessarily write Genesis from scratch, but compiled ancient documents into the book we have now and that those ancient documents had been handed down and added to by the generations from Adam, and was thus older than, for example, The Epic of Gilgamesh. (I think that thought came from Ruth Beechick's Adam and His Kin.) However, given Jesus's assumption regarding Moses' authorship of Genesis, I don't know that this is quite accurate, after all. Dickerson and O'Hara put forth the idea that, even though other creation and flood accounts may be older, that shouldn't cast doubt on Moses' account. (It seems the articles I've read about this always race to prove that Genesis came first.) Moses, being raised in Pharaoh's court, would have had access to all the knowledge that man had gathered to that date, including the ancient creation and flood narratives. I don't find it a stretch to think that he read those contemporary accounts, and then, under inspiration, wrote to set the record straight. An analogy that came to my mind was of two witnesses to the same event, one of whom releases his inaccurate account immediately, while the other releases his more accurate account later. Just because the second witness has the latter-published work, doesn't make his less true.
What I didn't like: while the authors called into question Moses' authorship of Genesis, they ignored the authorship controversy surrounding the Iliad and the Odyssey. Since Christ himself attibuted Genesis to Moses, I'm not comfortable with their stand.
I did find my copy disappearing a few times as Nathan would steal away with it and once it was buried in Benjamin's room. I'm not surprised at Nathan's interest, but Ben can catch me unawares.
I thought most of it was wonderful. To begin, the authors delved deeply into what is fairy tale, whom it's appropriate for, and the lay of the land of Faërie. I appreciated their differentiation between modern fantasy and science fiction, a distinction that is most helpful to me as it deals much with worldview.
Then we traveled to Biblical lands to learn how the Bible is true myth. ('Myth' doesn't mean an untrue story, but a story dealing with gods or, in this case, God and his works and ways.) After the stop in the Middle East, we wended our way through medieval literature. We also stopped at the nineteenth century to visit the Grimm Brothers. The last chapters of the book dealt with more recently-written Faërie stories and authors, including Ursula LeGuin, Phillip Pullman, and Jo Rowling.
I came away with a better appreciation for the stories I love so much and encouragement that I wasn't far off in some of my opinions regarding books I didn't like. I also came away inspired to read more of the stories from the land of Faërie and, maybe, even to try my hand at writing one.
In addition to the delightful exploration of Story, the authors specifically challenged me to think hard regarding the order of the writings of the ancient world. I've always been of the opinion that Moses didn't necessarily write Genesis from scratch, but compiled ancient documents into the book we have now and that those ancient documents had been handed down and added to by the generations from Adam, and was thus older than, for example, The Epic of Gilgamesh. (I think that thought came from Ruth Beechick's Adam and His Kin.) However, given Jesus's assumption regarding Moses' authorship of Genesis, I don't know that this is quite accurate, after all. Dickerson and O'Hara put forth the idea that, even though other creation and flood accounts may be older, that shouldn't cast doubt on Moses' account. (It seems the articles I've read about this always race to prove that Genesis came first.) Moses, being raised in Pharaoh's court, would have had access to all the knowledge that man had gathered to that date, including the ancient creation and flood narratives. I don't find it a stretch to think that he read those contemporary accounts, and then, under inspiration, wrote to set the record straight. An analogy that came to my mind was of two witnesses to the same event, one of whom releases his inaccurate account immediately, while the other releases his more accurate account later. Just because the second witness has the latter-published work, doesn't make his less true.
What I didn't like: while the authors called into question Moses' authorship of Genesis, they ignored the authorship controversy surrounding the Iliad and the Odyssey. Since Christ himself attibuted Genesis to Moses, I'm not comfortable with their stand.
I did find my copy disappearing a few times as Nathan would steal away with it and once it was buried in Benjamin's room. I'm not surprised at Nathan's interest, but Ben can catch me unawares.
Kitchen Progress, VI? VII?
Oh, well, I've lost count!
Started grouting last night. The desk just needs the corners and it'll be ready to be sealed. The backsplash behind the stove is newly grouted, as is the island; they're drying now.
Drew began installing the facia pieces last night and they look wonderful!
Been too busy to post pictures, but I'll try when I have time.
Started grouting last night. The desk just needs the corners and it'll be ready to be sealed. The backsplash behind the stove is newly grouted, as is the island; they're drying now.
Drew began installing the facia pieces last night and they look wonderful!
Been too busy to post pictures, but I'll try when I have time.
27 February 2008
Progress…Finally
At about 8:30 last night, the saw decided to work again. At that point, we cut everything we needed to complete the desk, the island, the backsplash, and the window sill. We were able to cut a few more strips for the counter fronts, but the saw started pulling to the right again, so we gave it up.
Drew and I stayed up until 11:30 working on the island. We had only two pieces of tile left to lay and … we ran out of thinset!
I'll pick up another bag today - we'll need it for the fronts anyway.
It's also time to start grouting. This afternoon, I'll finish cleaning the grout lines in the desk and start the grout there. I also want to work on the backsplash behind the stove. As soon as that section is grouted and sealed, we can move the stove back into place permanently.
I'll keep working to post pictures as I have time around school and the work itself.
SDG!
p.s. We've been told that the tile saw will be retired once we return it to World of Tile, so I'm glad to report that no one else will have to try to cope with this persnickety piece of machinery.
Drew and I stayed up until 11:30 working on the island. We had only two pieces of tile left to lay and … we ran out of thinset!
I'll pick up another bag today - we'll need it for the fronts anyway.
It's also time to start grouting. This afternoon, I'll finish cleaning the grout lines in the desk and start the grout there. I also want to work on the backsplash behind the stove. As soon as that section is grouted and sealed, we can move the stove back into place permanently.
I'll keep working to post pictures as I have time around school and the work itself.
SDG!
p.s. We've been told that the tile saw will be retired once we return it to World of Tile, so I'm glad to report that no one else will have to try to cope with this persnickety piece of machinery.
26 February 2008
Stalled…Again
Nathan and I worked this afternoon and finished the desk {and the people rejoiced!}. We got all of the backsplash done {and the people rejoiced!}, except one little tile next to the fridge that needs to be trimmed. We got the window sill done {and the people rejoiced!}, except the last three tiles that still need to be cut.
And why didn't we finish those last few cuts? Well, I'll tell you. The saw stopped working this afternoon. {sigh} We haven't been able to get it turned on since about 4:30.
We were hoping to lay the tile on the island tonight and got all the inside pieces cut and laid out last night {and the people rejoiced, some more}. We couldn't lay that tile last night because we'd run out of edge tiles. {'nother sigh}
If it wasn't for technology, we'd be done by now!
SDG!
And why didn't we finish those last few cuts? Well, I'll tell you. The saw stopped working this afternoon. {sigh} We haven't been able to get it turned on since about 4:30.
We were hoping to lay the tile on the island tonight and got all the inside pieces cut and laid out last night {and the people rejoiced, some more}. We couldn't lay that tile last night because we'd run out of edge tiles. {'nother sigh}
If it wasn't for technology, we'd be done by now!
SDG!
25 February 2008
Backsplash, V
I'm not sure why, but that bottom tile doesn't really look nearly as out of place as it does in the pictures.
We're tackling the island tonight, and we'll finish the backsplash (just a little more to do on that, but I'm not sure which tiles go where, so we have to wait for Drew to get home from work. We also need to put on the vertical front pieces and the window sill pieces. Then the tile saw goes back and I start grouting and sealing. {whew!}
SDG!
24 February 2008
Backsplash, IV
I've been trying to upload progress pictures all afternoon, but sunspots are interfering. We're making great progress, but we're done for tonight as it's now too late to use the saw. I'll keep trying to post pictures. It's turning out just beautifully!
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