Theme Thusday -- Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

Hosted by Reading Between the Pages

Rules:

*A theme will be posted each week on Thursday
*Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading that features the theme
*Post it and don't forget to mention the author and title of the book
*Event is open for the whole week
*Link back to Reading Between the Pages

This week's theme is male person.

All things are by Him and for Him.  He utters Himself also for His own delight ans sees that He is good.  He is His own begotten and what proceeds from Him is Himself.  Blessed be He!

~page 186, Perelandra by C. S. Lewis

This is the second in Lewis' Space Trilogy.  I'm really glad to be finished with it.  It just dragged on and on for me.  I got bogged down in Lewis' long descriptions -- though I have the feeling that many sci-fi fans probably eat them up.  In addition, the theology that is a big part of the book is simply not where I'm at faith/spirituality-wise these days and I think that probably added to my dissatisfaction with Perelandra.  I'm not going to read the final book in the trilogy.

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 -- Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Simner

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by A Few More Pages. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence, or two, of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading.

The woman who would become my mother backed trembling away from the the man who would save her life, and I did not know why.  

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice. Check out the rules and join in the fun.

Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog. Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

Only there was no fire, not anymore.  Kate looked at Ethan, frowned, and drew the blanket away, spreading it on the ground in front of him.  The boy's chest was blackened as well, and the touch of wool on his burns would hurt him more than the cold.

Faerie Winter by Janni Lee Simner is the sequel to Bones of Faerie.  One of the things I liked about Bones of Faerie was its unique combination of the faerie world with a post-apocalyptic world.  In Faerie Winter, Liza's community is still picking up the pieces after war between the humans and the Faerie.  Now that she's brought her mother back from the land of the Faerie, Liza encounters a new set of problems when a young firestarter seeks refuge in her town.  In the course of trying to get help for him, Liza learns more about the cause of the war and meets the Faerie Queen for the first time.

3.5/5 stars.

Teaser Tuesdays -- Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading. To participate, all you have to do is the following:

• Grab your current/upcoming read
• Open to a random page
• Share 2-3 "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!

A planet no human being has ever been on before.

  

The boy stands up.  He's so tall, it doesn't feel fair to call him a boy, but at the same time, he's got a bit of a baby face, as if he's never seen or done anything to make him grow up, to make the angels of his face sharpen with the harshness of age.

page 88, Across the Universe by Beth Revis 

This one has been making the rounds among YA readers.  Amy is a teenager who, along with her parents, was cryogenically frozen and place upon Godspeed, a spaceship on its three hundred year journey to a new planet.  When she wakes up early, she is quickly thrown into several mysteries -- including the question of who unplugged her, nearly causing her death. 

I was not nearly as captivated with Across the Universe as I expected to be.  In fact, it's one of the few times, when reading a YA book, that I think maybe I understand the reservations of YA-skeptical adults -- I was aware, with Revis' book, that I am older than her target audience -- I felt a disconnect that I seldom experience with YA fiction, but perhaps it happens more often with other adults than it does with me.  Nonetheless, I will want to pick up the sequel when it comes out . . . And it brought some of the same large issues to the surface that Battlestar Galactica does for me.  3.5/5 stars

The Simple Woman's Daybook -- Monday, June 20, 2011

Hosted by Peggy.

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...  a green and wet Colorado morning after a night of rain.

I am thinking... about whether or not I'll be moving again in the near future -- meeting with a potential housemate this evening and feeling nervous about it, for some reason.

I am thankful for... hot water and a body that can move.

From the learning rooms... a bit more solar system knowledge (and some Greek mythology thrown in for good measure -- I never knew the backstory to Paris abducting Helen) due to reading How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown

From the kitchen... Cathe Olson's Blue Corn Cracker recipe 

I am wearing... pink and white striped pajama pants and a black waffle weave long sleeve shirt that makes me happy.

I am creating... a cross-stitch butterfly for Fiona.  I'm going to try to work on it some more after her dad picks her up this afternoon.

I am going... to celebrate 2 years of not being hit by a car with a party at Angela's on Thursday night.  Everyone invited!  :)

I am reading... Perelandra by C.S. Lewis


I am hoping... to get a bus pass for July -- just not sure I can cough up the dough.

I am hearing...  cars driving on the wet road outside.  I <3 rain.

Around the house...Josie and Kellan, our two young current housemates, both have birthdays this week.

One of my favorite things... sitting in a coffee shop -- I'm really really enjoying that these days.

A few plans for the rest of the week: doctor's appointment and 2 year anniversary party on Thursday -- as well as a job interview in the afternoon, hopefully, getting to the bank to deposit a check, and diving back into craigslist job postings again.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Fiona took this picture this morning from the front window of our friends' house, where we moved to a week ago.

Our time at the courthouse

July 16, 2001

Wednesday, June 8th 2011 1:00 p.m. -- my husband and I had our final orders at the courthouse.  We separated on August 3rd, 2010 and filed for divorce on March 4th, 2011.

We waited outside the courtroom until a woman came to tell us we could go in.  She told us that the petitioner (which in this case was me) sits next to the jury.  After she walked away I said to Jeremy, "There's not really a jury, is there?  She's just giving that as a geographic location, right?  I didn't think there was going to be a jury . . . "  :)  And yes, she was giving it as a location --- the jury box, not the jury as a group of people.

When we entered the courtroom, I was surprised at how much it felt like a scene in Perry Mason (I found myself looking for Paul Drake and Della Street.).  Jeremy and I each had our own giant wooden table.  The only other people in the room were a couple of women -- I believe that perhaps one was a paralegal and one was a ... gosh, stenographer doesn't seem right at all ... clearly my mind is still in the Perry Mason era. 

When Judge John W. Madden IV entered, we were told to "All Rise" and after he was seated he asked us to both swear under oath that everything we said in the courtroom that day would be the truth.  Then he reviewed some of the divorce paperwork with us, mostly, it seemed, to be sure we both understood what we'd agreed to -- he focused on the parenting plan and the separation agreement.

Jeremy and I want to work at joint decision-making when it comes to our daughter, and Judge Madden said that he feels that is the best thing for the child whenever the parents can make that happen.  We told him that our parenting time schedule has changed frequently since we separated due to both Fiona's and Jeremy's school schedules.  He said as long as we can continue to be flexible with each other that is a good thing but that he recommends that we put down on paper any schedule that we expect to last for more than a few days and sign it, in order to make things as clear cut as possible.  This is something we should probably do soon, get our summer schedule down on paper (and be thinking about what the fall schedule will look like) as well as check in with Fiona about how she feels with regard to the new schedule (which gives her shorter but more frequent time with each of us).

Toward the end came something I wasn't expecting.  The judge asked us two questions, each in turn, like wedding vows -- "Do you feel that this marriage is irretrievably broken?" and "Do you feel there is any reasonable chance that you will reconcile?"  While I'd already answered these questions (yes and no, respectively) on paper, it was heart-rending to answer them aloud, in the presence of other people.  Just so very sad, that those answers are true and that we never wanted them to be true.  If I'd been even slightly shakier emotionally, I would probably have cried right there in the courtroom.

As the judge began to wrap things up, I asked him if he'd seen the paperwork for Fiona's name change.  He hadn't, so he found them and took a look.  He clarified the spelling (and  lack of a hyphen, and he asked Jeremy if he was okay with the name change (he is).  At which point he said with a grin, "I am 90% certain that this is within my jurisdiction," which I thought was very funny and lightened the mood.  He glanced at one of the women and. when she nodded, he said, "I am being told that that is within my jurisdiction."  :)  I was appreciative of Judge Madden throughout our time with him and felt he made it all go as smoothly as possible.

We left the courthouse with the divorce, Fiona's name change, and my name change all  finalized. 

And so I keep walking forward on this journey.  I still have moments where I'm overcome with grief or anxiety.  I continue to believe that life is short and life is long and when I hold those two ideas in tension it gives me hope that life will come together, that I can make the choice for joy and love and contentment, and that Jeremy and I will find a new way of life where we can be kind to each other and care well for Fiona.