madameblogalot

What are you reading this summer?

I have just finished A Tale of Two Cities. I am reading through the Bible in chronological order (I am in Isaiah) as well as joining in our summer Bible reading club reading through the Gospels (I am just finishing Matthew.) I am in the middle of Les Miserables (still!) and have just started Salt: A World History.

I missed out on reading The Hiding Place for the BBBC last month, but hopefully will one day get to it. I am hopeful that I will be able to join in the reading of Tom Sawyer and/or Huck Finn . It would be great if I could get through them, as one of the local community colleges is performing Big River , an adventure of Huck Finn, at the end of the summer. It would be great to see this after reading one of the books.

What are you reading this summer?

Sunday night after church, I walked out to my car and noticed something up against the windshield. I looked at it, saw what it was, and was unsure who put it there and why. It was a record of a group from the college I went to, only several years before I attended there. I brought it home to my husband, thinking someone had told him to listen to it. Knowing there are a few folks who went to the same school, he narrowed down who had given this to us.

As I was showing it to him, my son looked at it and said, “Oooohhh, I know what this is. It’s a record! I’ve never seen one before! It’s so BIG!”

My husband and I looked at each other and did have to laugh. My son asked his sister if she knew what it was. She said “yeah, a record disc.”

My son is anxious to listen to it. I think we may have my sister’s stereo in the attic, and it has a record player on it. The kids can’t get over the size of the record and how now days that much info can be stored in a space almost the size of the hole in the middle of the record!

Yesterday, we went scuba diving in a lake just north of Huntsville, TX. This lake, or really two lakes, is known as Blue Lagoon. It was made just for divers so there is no need to worry about boaters. We drove up and spent nearly the entire day at Blue Lagoon. When we got there, the attendant said they were nearly full and there were no shelters available. We did not realize you could reserve these ahead of time or we would have (though we are still not 100% clear on if individuals can reserve these or only dive classes.)

We drove around to where our instructor had recommended us to go. It was pretty full but we found a vacant spot. Just as we got everything unloaded, a group came saying they had reserved this spot. (It was not a sheltered area) So, we threw everything in the truck and parked in the shade and started unloading. We decided we would just put everything in the water and leave it at the edge between dives. This worked out pretty well, but luckily, the group in the shelter next to where we were was just finishing up and gave us their shelter!

The water was warm, calm and pretty clear (though as the day wore on, visibility grew less.) Even though they were full, we found it not to be a problem. We never felt too crowded by other divers or swimmers (you can apparently go to just swim.) We were in a really nice spot to play and swim between dives. The kids (and us) had fun swimming, snorkeling and jumping off the rocks.

The lake is really pretty and was a great place for us to get in some good practice and gain some confidence in our new adventure.

*the pictures are too big to post here. if you want to see photos of the lake, please look here…

I just finished reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I had never read this book before, and probably never would have, except that my fifteen year old son read it recently and told me I just had to read it! Well, what good mom could deny that request?

It took me some time to get into the story, and all the way through the book I thought Mr. Dickens a bit too wordy. But I continued, with my son’s encouragement. He assured me it was a good story, one that I was going to appreciate in the end.

I must say that he was right. My son made sure I was “getting” the story by explaining things as I read through the book. The imagery of blood and wine were very strong through the whole story. I was surprised by the graphic nature of the book, for its age. But then, it was a time filled with graphic images. The sacrifice at the end of the story was a surprise for me. One line at the end also caught me and reminded me of Animal Farm (another book my son read this year.) The line alluded to the fact that the oppressed had now become a new kind of oppressor, and I think this falls right in line with the end of Animal Farm, where you cannot tell who is a Man and who is a Pig. I have to say that I do like the story of Two Cities, and think that it could obviously serve as a story of more than just two cities. It is a lesson and warning to all that we need to be aware as we live through the best of times and the worst of times.

As I was debating over and over again about getting a custom domain, I was also playing around with names and “format” ideas. My daughter came up with a great one that I thought would be fun and easy to maintain. So, in my excitement for bloggingalot I decided to get TWO custom domains. It was cheaper and I thought if I was going to set up one, why not set up two at once? (ok, at that time, I did not know that Sire was actually going to be doing much of the setting up!) So, again with much help from Sire, I got the second one up now too. I have had some trouble logging into it, but was finally able to get access tonight. If you get a chance, check out my other new blog . I am hoping that it will one day become my daughter’s.

I stopped by Merry’s place today to see what was new. And I found this great new online quiz. Some of these are pretty cute, but this one is one I thought many of you on my blogroll would enjoy! And I love the result!! I just finished re-reading this book a couple of months ago, watching the movie with my son, and now it is on his required reading list for this summer!

You’re To Kill a Mockingbird!

by Harper Lee

Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have
changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you’ve
also taken a significant amount of flack. But you’ve had the admirable guts to
persevere. There’s a weird guy in the neighborhood using dubious means to protect you,
but you’re pretty sure it’s worth it in the end. In the end, it remains unclear to you
whether finches and mockingbirds get along in real life.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

As for how descriptive of me it is, well, perhaps. I would not really call myself “revolutionary” and I don’t know if I’ve changed many folks minds, but I do question authority sometimes and I have taken my share of flack. I do try to persevere. I am not so sure about the weird guy in the neighborhood, but I do know that it is worth it in the end! As for finches and mockingbirds getting along, I think it is essential!

If you want to play along, just go take the short quiz (six questions with over sixty-four response possibilities) and post what book you are.

I have been struggling to bring this new blog to fruition. I must say that this blog would live forever in anonymity if it were not for the blogmeister Sire. Thanks for all the help and patience with a computer illiterate blogger who may have found herself in over her head!

I am looking forward to what this blog and its new format can bring me. I dedicate this blog to all the wonderful trivia that can be found in this world. I learn so much each day that I have come to find that it is easy to be madameblogalot.