Today is leap day. As you know, nearly every four years, we add an extra day to the calendar in the form of February 29. These additional 24 hours are built into the calendar to ensure that it stays in line with the Earth’s movement around the sun. While the modern calendar contains 365 days, the actual time it takes for Earth to orbit its star is slightly longer—roughly 365.2421 days.
Meanwhile the temperature dropped 60 degrees yesterday–from a record high of 86 on Tuesday to lows in the 20s. Wind chills in the 10s. The weathermen are loving it–getting to say things like “weather whiplash” etc. But we’ll be back in the 70s by the weekend, so no apocalypse yet. I am just glad we didn’t experience any tornadoes because of the “fast changing air masses”. Weather is endlessly fascinating because we cannot control it, despite our Power Dopplar radar scanning the skies.
This is a good one by Darryl Dash. “Big dreams impress, but ordinary faithfulness delivers. We tend to overestimate what can be done through large initiatives, and underestimate what can be done through ordinary obedience, persistent prayer, and sacrificial love.” The author also quotes Wendell Berry and that got me reading some Berry poetry. He is a favorite of mine. Here’s another good one:
He wrote this poem in 1967, but it sure resonates today.
Yesterday I had a little adventure when I accompanied daughter #1 on a work-related trip to Dugger, Indiana.
Dugger is the location of the Dugger Coal Museum.
We checked out the museum and then selected some items to borrow for an exhibit she is putting together back at headquarters.
You know we love history and appreciate people who care about it. And these guys sure do. Plus, I finally figured out what a dragline* is!
From Dugger we headed over to the Bear Run Mine and picked up a few more artifacts. Then we headed home after stopping at the gas station for some Diet Cokes and snacks. (There is really nowhere to dine thereabouts and it was a seven hour round trip.) It was good to be driving through Flyover Country and, as little Katie says, “I love the fields of Illinois!”
*P.S. What fictional character is nicknamed “Dragline”? Which actor won an Academy Award for playing him?
Today is the 217th birthday of the great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Like most of our mid-19th century poets, Longfellow is not much appreciated these days. Eric Metaxas writes in his book If You Can Keep It that part of this is due to the fact that since roughly the 1960s “public expressions of the heroic, whether in stories or other artworks have effectively disappeared. America decided that it made more sense to be suspicious of heroes than to venerate them.” So we don’t want to read about Paul Revere or the like anymore. This is a shame.
Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to go on reading Longfellow.
Here’s a poem, “The Ladder of Saint Augustine”, which was adapted into a hymn.
And here’s a really good sermon on Revelation 14:6-7 by Kevin DeYoung that offers some more brimstone. “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” Read the whole thing: it’s long–like all PCA sermons–but it’s worth it.
We had a warm, sunny weekend–quite a contrast with last weekend’s snowstorm. Everyone was out and about.
The Kirkwood Historical Society, on whose board I serve–note the official KHS quarter-zip–had their Trivia Night on Friday. It was a packed house at our old church and very festive. My team only had 5 players (compared to eight) but we managed to tie for first place. But we lost the tie breaker. Quel dommage.
Saturday I got up early to do the flowers at church. I think they turned out all right.
Then daughter #1 and I went to an estate sale and to the antique mall. We exhausted ourselves–well, I did–browsing, so we had a margarita in downtown Kirkwood and shared a quesadilla. Good times.
After watching golf/napping, the OM and I watched Night at the Museum (2006), because, after writing the Pop Quiz on U.S. Presidents in the movies last week, I wanted to see Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt again. He plays it very straight and with dignity.
I enjoyed the movie, mostly because it has no political agenda beyond emphasizing that history is, indeed, interesting. Also Mickey Rooney is truly hilarious. (“Are you crackin’ wise? I oughta punch you in the nose, Hopscotch.”) Of course, it’s ironic that since then they have removed the iconic equestrian statue of T.R. that stood for so long in front of the Museum of Natural History in NYC. I will spare you my thoughts on this.
In Sunday School we are starting a new session on the Westminster Confession of Faith, which I love. In our first class we got through one paragraph of Chapter One. Systematic theology! ❤️❤️❤️ The twins are great in church. They can say the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and most of the Corporate Confession of Sin. They know the Doxology. This makes me very happy and I know the boy is proud of them. Lottie asked if she could bring her bulletin home.
After church we headed over to daughter #1’s house for brunch with Presbyterian Souffle. It was warm enough to frolic in the back yard with Mr. Smith and then walk up to Jackson Park and play on the playground.
Mr. Smith was living his best life.
Later that evening I ventured back to church for the Westminster Christian Academy touring ensemble concert. During spring break they are taking their show on the road–to Eastern Europe!–so this was practice for them. It brought me back to those days of yore when I sang in my high school choir and the boy sang in his high school choir. They sang at daughter #1’s church Sunday morning and she warned me that everyone was reaching for their Kleenex, but, verily, by the end of the concert I was a puddle of tears. What can I say?
And here’s Ida trying to decide which of my vintage Golden Books to read…
I can tell she’s leaning toward Sal Mineo in Tonka, but I know The Brave Little Tailor is a super fun and action-packed read. I read it to Katie when she was here a few weeks ago.
Have a good week! Embrace the simple pleasures in your life and be grateful for them. The blue sky, old movies, smart kids, small dogs, music, and Golden Books.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight; Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight; Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower: Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Happy Friday, readers. I hope you had a nice week. I took Monday off to help at my DAR chapter’s President’s Day event–a wreath laying at the George Washington statute in Lafayette Park. I was tasked with handling PR for the event and was pleased to get both Channel 2 and Channel 5 to send cameras to cover the event. In the St. Louis market, that is a win.
As you can see, the SAR served as the color guard–in historical dress. It was a very nice event and I was pleased to participate. I then went to lunch with my mother, talked to my sister on the phone, and got a pedicure. I just love not going to work.
Today, Mr. Smith went to the groomer and after we enjoyed happy hour at my mother’s house. On the drive home I received this text message.
Screenshot
Naturally, I curled up on the couch with Mr. Smith and we both enjoyed the movie. He was into it.
I love She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and watching it tonight it really struck me that you either get John Wayne or you don’t. And if you don’t, poor you.
On that note, you either get this joke or you don’t.
A few nights ago I watched the movie Pygmalion (1938) which I had not seen in many years. It is based on the play by George Bernard Shaw.
It was really good! The screenplay is by Shaw himself (he won the Oscar for writing that year) and stars Leslie Howard as Henry Higgins, a part he was born to play. Wendy Hiller plays Eliza Doolittle and the wonderful Wilfrid Lawson plays her father Alfred Dolittle. Here’s a clip that shows both of Lawson’s big scenes.
It’s readily available on Youtube and I highly recommend it.
I could launch into a vent on why no one can write a screenplay like this today, one that even includes a good amount of social commentary, but I will not. What’s the point? Instead I will repeat my old mantra: watch an old movie, read an old book, look up from your phone, step into the sun, step into the light!
As for going outside, yesterday afternoon, the boy and the wee bud came over after school while Lottie was in dance class. The bud said, “Can we have some driveway sittin’ time, Mamu?” and I, of course, said YES. Since it was in the high 60s, it seemed right–the first day of driveway sittin’!
He tuned up the Raptor and drove around the yard, waving at all the neighbors and every dog that walked by. The boy and I sat on the driveway and talked. When the OM came home from work, he joined us. Lovely.
Signs of spring are everywhere. Soon it will be time to clean up the Florida room and move all my plants. Some of them are getting to be rather large.
But we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. We’re bound to have some more cold temperatures and maybe some more snow. One thing I have managed to learn over the years is to take one day at a time and enjoy its blessings.
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
Genesis 8:22
We haven’t heard from Anne for awhile, so here’s this. She reads all the things and is on X, formerly twitter, so I don’t have to be. She is brilliant and I am grateful. “[Madi is] screwed because she was born into a world where breakdancing was a thing, and worse, people following their hearts was the highest and best good. Her wretched father should have been a plowman with no better options. Madi herself should have been allowed to have servants and write a hefty amount of poetry. And all the people who walk across my parking lot should have been allowed to go to a store that figured out the through line between the self-checkout line and the bottom line.”
We haven’t had a pop quiz in a while, so I thought, it being the day after Presidents Day, we would have a quiz about U.S. Presidents in the movies.
Not surprisingly, Abraham Lincoln appears as a character in the most number of movies. Which presidents appear the second and third most times?
Henry Fonda played Abraham Lincoln in Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). Which President’s son did he play in The Longest Day (1962)?
What President did Harry Carey, Jr., Tom Selleck and Robin Williams all play?
Character actor Sidney Blackmer played this President five times, most notably in Buffalo Bill (1944).
Who played Andrew Jackson twice?
In how many movies does Shirley Temple sit on President Lincoln’s lap?
Did Ronald Reagan ever “play” a President before he retired from acting and went into politics?
Raymond Massey played President Lincoln twice in the movies and several times on television. The photo at the top shows him in what movie?
How did you do? I’ll post the answers in the Comments section later today.
Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure conduct. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom, in thy Name, we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Friday we got several inches of snow. Plans were canceled.
But the sun came out on Saturday and we were back in action, venturing to an estate sale and even Costco with daughter #1.
On Sunday we went to church and during the adult ed hour heard from two of our missionaries, one in Mexico and one in Connecticut. I find it fascinating that Connecticut (and New England in general) is a mission field. But with 5% of people attending church, it really is.
I made a new breakfast casserole which incorporated bagels, eggs, bacon, cheese. The consensus was positive, so I will make it again. The twins had fun frolicking with Mr. Smith, whom they had not seen in several weeks. “Smitty!”
Happy Friday, readers! As usual, it’s the end of a long week and I don’t have much for you. Of course, I do have Mr. Smith content. My sweet valentine got two new chew toys and was very pleased with them.
I worked from home today, and the sun was out and it was above 50 degrees, so we took a nice long walk. I like my little neighborhood and enjoy walking Mr. Smith so much. I always feel very thankful that by some miracle I ended up where I did.
In other fascinating news, my Apple Music has been on a real good bender. If you play a song on Apple Music, it will make selections that are similar. I played a Suzy Boggus song and so for several days it has been churning out hits and deep cuts from other early 90s greats like Patty, Hal Ketchum, Mary Chapin Carpenter and others. It’s a real treat.
I mean, who doesn’t want to listen to Hal yodel while stuck in traffic on Highway 40?
dual personalities 