The first time I played a carillon was when I was 13. I was visiting my grandparents in Kansas, and a member of the ward was a carillonneur for the bell tower at KU, so she invited us to try it out.
Since then, I've been in a few bell towers here and there. I went back to that bell tower when I was 18, took a carillon class at BYU when I was 19 during spring term, and went back to the bell tower in Kansas with my mom, aunt, and 2-year-old Joseph. (That was the time I played lots of Primary songs for Joseph as well as the song "Royals" in honor of the MLB championship that day.)
Interestingly, I never ended up playing either of the bell towers at the University of Michigan even though I had plenty of time to do it. So, when I heard from a member of my ward here that I could request a tour of the Yale bell tower, I knew I had to jump on the opportunity before I let it slip away like I had in Michigan.
The first time I emailed, I never got a response. So instead we went to a park and attempted to fly a kite.
The second time I used Kevin's email address hoping that somehow it would work better. And it did! Friday night he got a response so we planned our Saturday around making it happen.
This, of course, was the Saturday when we went to lots of splash pads that weren't on and Matthew locked us out of the house for almost an hour. But even with those adventures, we still had enough time to give the boys baths, eat dinner, and then head downtown.
Now tomatillo hasn't always been this glam
As we walked, we heard the bells. Kevin told me that they were playing for a wedding. "Apparently they wanted Game of Thrones." Because nothing signifies the start of a healthy relationship like Game of Thrones, I guess. When we got to the college, we found out that the wedding was happening right there, and we weren't allowed in at all. Luckily, once Game of Thrones was done, our tour guide came down from the Harkness Tower and let us and the rest of the group in amidst stern warnings from the security guard to go nowhere near the reception.
Once in, we headed up the stairs. I had been hoping for an elevator like the KU bell tower, but we all managed the stairs okay. Our first stop was a room with an old carillon with only a few chimes and a full practice carillon that Joseph was happy to try out.
I only briefly tested it out by pushing middle C. Out came the sound of a B.
"It's a half step flat!" I cried out in dismay as everyone around me laughed. The KU carillon was a half step flat, which I had adjusted to fine, but I had still hoped for a carillon that matched the same pitches as a piano when we got around to playing the real one.
And then up another set of stairs we went, and I did my best to ignore the Braxton Hicks. After passing another practice carillon and walking up even more steps, we made it to the real carillon! After admiring the bells for a minute,
our tour guide and his friend played a fun duet for us. Joseph danced along, and I was pretty excited. True, there were about 10 other people in the tour who wanted a chance to play the bells, but I was sure I would get a chance too, especially since I had printed of "Come, Come Ye Saints" to pay homage to BYU. However, right as they finished their duet, the tour guide got a text.
"It says, 'Okay, you can stop now.' What do you think that means?" They replied to the text, and while we were waiting to see what it meant we walked around other parts of the bell tower. Did this mean I wouldn't get to play it after all? Raindrops made their way in through the top of the tower and landed on my head, mirroring the despair I felt. All that walking, and I wouldn't even get to play it?
We headed back into the room with the carillon and they confirmed that the reception had its own music so the bells had to stop. We headed back down, stopping on balconies on our way out to see the pretty rooftops of New Haven.
When we got to a practice room, the two carillonneurs played "You've Got a Friend in Me," which my kids appreciated. I liked it too, but I was in no mood to appreciate it. First the splash pads, then getting locked out, and now this? I was too sad to even ask if I could play the practice carillon. When we got to the college courtyard, the reception was still going on but the security guard was gone. That meant we were locked in from the inside. We had gotten enough dire warnings from the security guard that we didn't want to go anywhere near the reception, but it looked like we might have to. Luckily, we found another sidewalk that led to another door, though it was also locked. But the handicapped button opened the gate, so we were finally free. We headed back to the car and went home, receiving discouraging texts on the way to make sure we felt good about life. And then, to finish off the evening, Kevin asked, "Did you know you have a hole in the back of your shorts?"
Wins all around.
After a few days of mourning, I figured that there was nothing really stopping me from trying again. And since we didn't have any plans for the next Saturday (I know, these are probably the weekends we should go to beaches or New Hampshire or Maine before the baby comes, but I am tired) we tried again!
This time, we were the only people on the tour, and it went much quicker. I got to spend as much time on the practice carillon as I liked, until I felt confident playing "Come Come Ye Saints" in A flat despite it sounding like the key of G (because, of course, it had to be in the right key).
Several stairs later, we were again at the real carillon. I sat down and grinned. Every day, every hour, the bell tower at BYU had played "Come, Come Ye Saints." Now was my chance to play it at Yale!
. . . And, I messed up. Just a little. So I had to do it again!
. . . And, I started before the phone camera was ready. But, that's okay. It's mostly there.
After letting the boys and Kevin try the bells,
I considered playing something else I had learned 8 years ago in my class. But I felt like I had lost a lot of technique in those 8 years, and we hadn't quite put enough quarters in the parking meter to feel comfortable staying forever. So we headed back down, stopping at different balconies to admire the view again (and to imagine our children falling through the unprotected gaps since these balconies didn't have the netting that the balconies the week before had had).
There were 216 steps to the very, very top, but probably only around 100 to the carillon. Still plenty.
Since there was no reception this week, we were able to stop in the courtyard long enough to get a few pictures while Matthew ran in circles.
And that is the story of how I finally got to play my third carillon. I think it was worth it.
Even though I've been posting regularly, it's been a little while since I posted specifically on what we've been up to. So, here's a quick recap of the past few months.
1. We went to visit the Paulsons in New Jersey. February was really getting to me, as you might have noticed on the blog. In some ways it's worse than January, and I'm pretty sure President Packer has some quote to seminary teachers about "beware of February" that I cannot find anywhere but will quote anyway. "Beware of February," President Packer said, and he was right. It's when everyone is sick and people have babies and snowstorms shut cities and churches down and you go crazy because everything is canceled and then you cry about lots of things (mostly Cub Scouts related).
So, it was wonderful to go see family for a few days (minus me having a bout of morning sickness that lasted the whole weekend). We decorated cookies, saw Lego Batman, visited parks, walked around Morristown, ate ice cream, and partied it up at the Paulsons' stake dance.
2. At the end of February, I finally snapped out of my sad spell, just in time for Kevin's conferences! He had one in Long Island, one in New York City, one in New Orleans, and one in Chicago, all over the course of two weeks. Whew! Luckily, he was able to be home on the weekends, and luckily he lived even after he went on a few sketchy streets in Chicago (his phone didn't tell him to walk on the upper level, which is a lot safer than the lower level of the city. so weird). And the kids were pretty good, except that Matthew was teething again so he didn't eat or sleep or handle things well, but it was all fine. Kaylie came and spent a day with us, and that definitely helped.
3. Matthew spent a few days here and there not teething, because he finally has all his molars and a canine or two, and he was back to normal! Hooray! Right now I don't know if he's teething or what but he has boycotted all fruit for the past few days. But he will at least try celery, carrots, and broccoli. Honestly, I kind of prefer vegetables too.
He would prefer, of course, to subsist on crackers.
4. Most of March was cold, and that was especially true during the middle of March. So we found things to celebrate. For Pi Day we walked in an ice storm over to our friends' house to bake some pies with them. For the Ides of March the boys wore togas for about a minute and we looked at Facebook albums of cool people who've been to Italy. For Square Root of Ten Day I made German Pancakes in an 8x8 glass dish and talked about math with Joseph. For St. Patrick's Day we talked about Ireland, but I can't remember any foods we ate that day. I don't even think we used green food coloring. Oh well.
5. We were finally able to take Kevin with us to the Natural History Museum. Sometime it'd be nice to go alone with him since there is nothing in the world more boring than diamonds and sapphires and crystals according to Joseph, so I never get to spend as much time there as we want. Then, we walked over to a creperie. It's been funny seeing so many articles lately about restaurants where kids are banned because ours were not super great there. Then again, it's pretty hard to wait upwards of a half hour for a crepe when you know you could make your own at home in less time (albeit without all the fancy ingredients). After a few trips out of the restaurant Matthew finally calmed down enough to even try his. So, definitely not bringing him to the next restaurant we patronize.
6. Kevin finally got his big cool paper up, which has been really exciting. Of course, he's just as busy as ever because he's had a backlog of other stuff to catch up on. He spends much of his evenings coding, chatting about figures, and asking me which scatterplot looks better (I pick the one that looks most like a bird). He is also good at dashing the dreams of young men who want to be in the NBA when they grow up.
Not this young man. He has a few football dreams here and there but we think he will lose those naturally.
7. Joseph discovered the DVD section of the library. Since we can only check out DVDs for one week with no renewals (oh how I miss thee, Ann Arbor District Library and the 36 weeks you let us keep Alpha Oops) he tries to watch them as many times as he can in the week. It ends up being a bit less than once a day. One time I asked him what his favorite thing to do is and he said "watch stuff." Not play with friends or build with Legos or read books (sometimes by himself!!!) or color or ride his bike or go to the playground, which are all things he does a lot more. It reminded me of this depressing commercial.
But then again, did those grandparents and parents have Super Why or Paw Patrol to watch instead of planting blueberries? I didn't think so.
8. Matthew also loves to watch whatever Joseph's watching, and he has also picked up his habit of eating baby carrots while watching. Although, I don't even have to have anything playing for him to eat the carrots -- he just needs to be sitting there in front of the laptop.
When Joseph sings, "Paw patrol, paw patrol, be there on the double," Matthew echoes "Paw Troll Paw Troll W. W. W." If I ask him to count to 10 he usually gets stuck on W. I don't know what comes next either, baby. When we go to the library he makes a beeline for the puzzles, and usually doesn't leave without some flailing, kicking, and screaming.
Oh he loves his puzzles.
He still likes to scowl at people, except for men we see when we go on walks (he calls them all Grandpa). So I try to document his smiles as much as possible, since they are usually plentiful.
He always wants to "see it? see it?" when I take pictures or make movies, but this selfie movie turned out okay.
9. Oh, and speaking of kicking . . . this little baby in me loves to kick! I can even see him move now, which is always so fun. My ultrasound was in the middle of all of Kevin's conferences, but luckily Kevin was able to make it back to see it. Just like we had been expecting, it's another boy!!!!!!!!! So fun! It'll be so fun to have another boy to read Little House and Betsy Tacy books to, at least when we're not reading more superhero books.
Joseph took this after my 20 week appointment. 4 weeks later, I am quite a bit bigger. I guess my tummy knows that it's supposed to be big now!
10. And that's what we've been up to! Throw in a few play dates, sunny days at playgrounds, rainy days inside, snowstorms, Google docs for Primary everything, mice that hang out next to traps but don't go in them (at least that's what we've heard the past few nights), temple trips, last-minute organ playing, family walks, family movies, games, songs, and chores, and that's life!
We like it pretty well. We are still eager for real spring though.
Obviously.
Okay, these pictures are two weeks old, so there's no snow on the ground now. But we're ready for blossoms and leaves!
Last year, we decided to go to Alabama to have Thanksgiving with the Paulsons. We had a good time, so we decided to repeat last year's success and have it with them again, except this time they would visit us!
Granted, the drive from New Jersey to Connecticut is less harrowing than the drive from Michigan to the very very bottom of Alabama. But it's no cakewalk either, so we were glad they were brave enough to make the trek!
Here are some highlights.
Not driving on I-95 the day before Thanksgiving. Or any road anywhere near I-95. They eventually made it though!
Not setting the house on fire after leaving the range fan on probably a little longer than we should have. (I don't think it was anywhere near fire stage, but it was smelling a little funny.)
Seeing cousins play and dance together.
Actually I think they were watching Tarzan right then. I wasn't the best at taking pictures, to be honest.
Playing Codenames, even if it went really badly.
Not peeling the potatoes, even though I was afraid everyone would judge us for leaving the peels in the mashed potatoes.
Using uneaten bread crusts to make stuffing. Turns out picky kids help you save money! (And the germs got cooked away, of course.)
Making a pretty good pumpkin pie. Not that pumpkin pie is that good to start with, but at least it wasn't gross.
Getting so much quality time from little 1-year-olds who never ever ever wanted to nap the day of Thanksgiving. Either of them.
Being reintroduced to real hairdos and foundation by my beautiful sister. I think she inherited a few genes there that I didn't.
Eating Thanksgiving food!!!
Meeting lots of people from different countries.
Eating turkey cooked by a really good cook.
Not telling people that the Paulsons were actually siblings of the Palssons (since that would have been lying), but a few people assuming that anyway even without knowing their last name.
Thoroughly enjoying my first plate of Thanksgiving food.
Somewhat enjoying what I could eat of my second helping.
Enjoying the two slivers of pie I managed to barely fit in.
Having room in my tummy an hour later to enjoy pie at a different pie party.
Singing songs from the Reader's Digest Christmas songbook, including the never-before-sung "The Boy Who Santa Claus Forgot." Talk about a tear jerker.
Singing with opera singers. (And Matthew.)
Watching Derek read a cookbook the night after Thanksgiving. Howwwww did anything sound good???
Walking around the prettier parts of New Haven to get to the art museum.
Here's the Yale it never fails it makes me wanna wag my tail when I come I want to wail YAAAAAAAAALE! #bluesclues
Not breaking a stroller on the teeny tiny elevator at the museum.
Being outnumbered by security guards at the museum.
Being followed around by grumpy security guards at the museum from room to room.
Appreciating that security guards are the same everywhere across the world and cannot handle any part of a toddler touching the ground other than the toddler's shoes. (No sitting on the ground, for example.)
For example, right after this picture, K. happened to sit down for two seconds, and the security guard was immediately motioning for her to stand up again. Because . . . slivers. On her pants. I guess.
Seeing art at the museum. Actually I think I was so preoccupied with the security guards I don't even remember much art beyond the armless Greek statue women. Ha! (Wait. There was Monet and Degas too.)
Not being in the museum anymore so we could eat.
Eating tacos.
Playing.
Eating Kevin's birthday cheesecake because somehow nobody felt like they got enough pie the day before. (Everyone was too full to eat much pie, but still.) We broke one of our cardinal rules and shared it with the Paulsons. Derek got the most interesting bites.
Say what you want about the photography skills, it tasted really good.
Dominating Dominion.
He wanted to watch us play, but I think it got a little boring.
not too shabby
Only having to listen to snippets of Gilmore Girls.
Making the top 3 favorite people list for my niece K., which meant that I got to hold her sometimes. (Yay!)
Eating New Haven pizza for lunch on Saturday because you only live once, especially when you're eating a lot of pies and cheesecakes and tacos and pizzas.
Eating apples to balance the junk food out.
Almost seeing Michigan beat Ohio State after the Paulsons left.
The Ohio State and Michigan robots.
Overall, it was a fun, laid back weekend with family and we are so grateful we got to see them!
Crazy times this month! I feel like the world I was used to has gone upside-down, at least politically. Utah has become a unexpected battleground where people dear to me get phone calls from people worried that their souls are at stake if they don't vote for Trump. Strange alliances are made and familiar ones have been severed.
Meanwhile in Connecticut, I happened to talk to librarians who bemoan the state of affairs and wish they could just write someone in (cue mention of Evan McMullin). Definitely wasn't expecting that in one of the bluest states in the nation!
I think I'll just get the political stuff out of the way first.
Political
First off . . . here is my confession.
I read the Scott Adams blog. Have for about a year now. He's the kind of rational atheist man that believes that humans are just moist robots (that is, no free will) who never evolved enough to really come to terms with reality. Thus, we can be easily hypnotized and persuaded, and that's what this election is all about. (He's gone back and forth between endorsing Clinton and Trump but I think he wants Trump to win so his predictions will be right.)
Sometimes some of those arguments about humans not having free will are intellectually seductive, but I've come up with lots of rebuttals.
-People really do have free will. The reason we don't seem to see it much is because we are pretty good at handing our agency over to Satan. In The Peacegiver by James Ferrell he describes people as just walking like zombies wherever Satan wants because he's got them subtly wrapped up in flaxen cords. So yeah, people can be easily manipulated, but that's because of sin, not because of their innate nature.
-He attributes most feelings to our brain convincing ourselves of whatever rather than actual spiritual truth. That's frightening, isn't it -- that every time you "felt good" about something it wasn't the Spirit as much as it was just some deep recesses of your brain using confirmation bias or whatever. (And, honestly, when people get way into things like the "Shemitah" apocalyptic stuff last September or convincing themselves that God really approves of Trump's antics, it does make me shift uncomfortably in my seat, wondering how much inspiration is real inspiration from God).
But the great thing about revelation is that it rarely involves just yourself. You can trick yourself into thinking most anything -- but can you trick Sidney Rigdon into seeing the visions of glory with you? You can randomly start thinking about loved ones who passed away, but if other family members think about them the exact same time with the exact same imagery, how is that just self-hypnosis? If you spend all day thinking about someone you rarely think about and feeling really sad and then find out at the end of the day they just had yet another miscarriage, what explanation is there but the Holy Ghost?
No matter how hard it is for someone to believe in God because of a world that gets messed up by evil people and good-intentioned people who trick themselves into evil actions . . . there is still so much evidence for a loving God who cares about us and has us bump into each other so we can see His face more clearly.
Okay, that didn't end up all that political, but I feel like it's important to remember that God is at the helm . . . because it might not feel like He is as things get worse and worse. (at least polio is getting eradicated lots of places. They always bring that up when people say things are getting worse.)
Speaking of God being at the helm, this is a good video. Faith Trumps Fear
Was a Trump Server Communicating with Russia To be fair, sometimes I think my server is communicating with Russia. I mean, sometimes I have blog stats there (before my friends moved to Moldova, even), and something's been pinging my block for the past 5 months giving me 1000 new views every day.
But I don't think Donald Trump keeps a blog. Let's be serious -- he is proud that he doesn't read books. Why would he read blog posts longer than 140 characters?
At any rate, when people like to remind me that there is a 50% chance he appoints conservative judges (based on Reagan's, Bush's, and Bush's track record), I think . . . isn't that just what Trump is so great at? Making people gamble? And goodness sakes . . . if this article is true then he sure puts the Russian in Russian Roulette.
Utah is 2016's Strangest Swing State -- Regardless of what happens on election night, I will feel so much love for my home state if it doesn't go to Trump.
The Religious Right -- A Eulogy -- I definitely know some evangelicals who are just going to do a protest vote this year, and I think that's great. Generally, it looks like church-going evangelicals have been more likely to reject Trump from the beginning. But there are many different kinds of evangelicals in the country, and perhaps the ones who have made it into politics have drawn near to God with their mouths but have removed their hearts far from Him (see Isaiah 29:13). Hence this eulogy.
The Section Dedicated to J. D. Vance
Can I tell you another confession?
I've read a book by Charles Murray.
I didn't realize that was a bad thing until some friends started sharing the "are you in a bubble" quiz that he made. Their friends commented with all these articles quoting him saying some rather white supremacist things (the ties to eugenics bother me). It was kind of like, "oh. oops." The book I read(Coming Apart) didn't have any of that, but I understand a bit better why, for example, students at Yale complained about him coming. I mean, really, Yale students complain about everything. But I honestly do find him more problematic than I used to.
EDIT 3/27: I think this response by Murray is fair.
However, I am still grateful that I read his book because it opened my eyes to divisions in classes that I had never seen before. I suddenly cared about things that I hadn't before, and I was able to make my own conclusions. So, yay for free speech after all.
Where was I going with this? Well, there's a new guy in town saying similar stuff (without the objectionable parts, as far as I've seen). His name is J. D. Vance and he recently graduated from Yale Law. And I have no idea what the J. and the D. stand for. Maybe someone in the ward knows.
Anyway, he has a lot of interesting articles about the evangelicals who don't really go to church and who just have a rough life all around. All of them are worth a read!
And, that last article even has its own SNL skit! (mild language.)
Social
Faculty Gender Inbalance at BYU -- Okay, the comments are where the real value of the article is.
I had a big long blog post I wrote about this the day I read it, but it's just been sitting in drafts (ending with the phrase "But above all" and I don't know remember I was going with that haha). Here's a snippet:
One of the hardest parts of being a female engineering student was feeling like I got special treatment. There would be times after arguing back points on a test where I would wonder, did I get those points back because I made a convincing case or because I smiled a lot? Did people suggest I become a professor at BYU someday because of my brilliant and innovative contributions to research or because they (really really) wanted a woman on the faculty? In retrospect, perhaps people made comments like this in hopes of giving me confidence on a historically unequal playing field. But I felt like it mostly cheapened my accomplishments, and worse, it gave others permission to assume I had achieved what I had due to my gender.
Perhaps I'm unique in this, but any sort of brushes I had with sexism only fired me up. When I randomly decided to major in engineering and started hanging out in the Clyde Building, I was the subject of a few derogatory remarks from someone who thought I was only majoring in it for attention from the boys (and another who suggested I major in math ed instead). I responded by getting 100% on the first test. When a professor mocked my handwriting in front of the class (how could a girl have worse handwriting than the 3 other guys in the class, all of whom wrote in size 7 Courier font?), I had fire in my bones as I completed the next homework in exaggerated first-grade-teacher handwriting. When I heard awkward comments about my pregnancy, I spent the next four years making fun of those comments. (Okay. Maybe that wasn't the best response.) I absolutely think sexism is entirely inappropriate, but I could handle that a lot better than the feeling of special treatment.
There is something to be said for "seeing yourself" in your major, especially early on. It is a lot easier to feel like you belong somewhere when you have at least a few other people the same gender/race/religion/etc. as you. I am grateful that I usually had 1-3 other girls in my classes during undergrad. But, by the time I was the only girl in every single class during my masters, I didn't care anymore. I belonged on my own merits.
Anyway. Those are a few of my thoughts about obstacles to getting more women on the faculty at BYU. That article is more than a month old now so probably no one is that interested anymore.
But speaking of sexism, it sure has been getting lots of attention lately! That tape about Donald Trump unleashed all sorts of accusations. It's just like the mice hiding in our walls -- the more you look the more you find. ugh ugh ugh.
What Shouldn't Be Normal -- my wonderful cousin wrote about sexual harassment, including some of her experiences on her mission. It is mind boggling that so many women around the world deal with harassment and assault every day.
And, while we're on the topic . . . I am glad that the concept of consent is becoming more important, especially on college campuses, but I think there are still some situations where consent on its own is insufficient, where perhaps it's strange to even use the word.
Let me give an example. Here is a true story: there was an aspiring young actress back in the day who had the chance to land a major role in one of Hollywood's biggest films. All she had to do, according to those in the know, was sleep with the producer.
"I don't do that," she said.
"100 girls would feel lucky to have that opportunity," was the reply.
"Well I'm not one of them," is what she said in essence, and so she left Hollywood forever.
Let's think for a minute about those 100 girls. Suppose they did have and take the opportunity to sleep with the producer. Was there consent?
I don't think so. Sure, they said yes, and they might have enjoyed it, since there can be something very attractive about someone powerful paying attention to you. But that's the problem -- there was a power imbalance in the relationship. There was still the threat of losing one's job if she didn't do that. There was still coercion. Therefore, I really don't think there was consent, for if there are strings attached then it isn't a proper choice.
I guess what I'm saying is that, yes, if you have college kids getting drunk, absolutely they need to understand consent. But chastity and fidelity are ultimately the only concepts that will keep everyone safe.
And speaking of college . . .
My Halloween Email Led to a Campus Firestorm -- Good old Yale again. I have read several articles about this, including a recent one from the university president where he talked about the wonderful things that came from last year's controversy.
While he had some good points . . . I still side with Erika Christakis on this. This went far beyond a healthy dialogue. "Nearly a thousand students, faculty and deans called for my and my husband’s immediate removal from our jobs and campus home. Some demanded not only apologies for any unintended racial insensitivity (which we gladly offered) but also a complete disavowal of my ideas (which we did not) — as well as advance warning of my appearances in the dining hall so that students accusing me of fostering violence wouldn’t be disturbed by the sight of me."
I hate to say it, but situations like this are why so many people are fans of Trump. Sure, he's a bully who can't handle criticism, but at least he's a different kind of bully than the ones we're used to making every conservative keep their head down at work. A breath of fresh air, so to speak. (Manure air.)
The Power in Not Knowing -- this was a really interesting article in the BYU Magazine that I think was ultimately about humility.
Other saints have done what she did – found a religious order, work with the poor, lead a life of outstanding holiness. Many, many saints have done that. None of them, however, have done that without the benefit of a rich interior prayer life, which is what she had to confront in the last 50 years of her life.
So many good people say they never feel the Spirit, at least not directing their paths at all. To which I say, you are in good company!
Bound by Loving Ties -- Elder Holland talks about the importance of religion. He is so great.
The Hartford Temple -- It is such a beautiful temple! I'm so glad so many people got to visit it!
And lots of great conference talks and Ensign articles. And you should just go through the Mormon Newsroom news page -- I confess there's lots I have only seen news about, not perused myself (such as the new Mormon and Gay website, or the commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the dedication of Israel), but I will soon.
Berenstain Bears and the Parallel Universe -- I always wondered about those strange people who called them the BerenSTANE bears instead of BerenSTEEN. Clearly they were just living in an alternate universe. The right one. I guess. I'm still not sure.
Pete the Cat -- In case you're wondering why some of the books say "Eric Litwin" and others do not, here is the story of the author and illustrator.
On Drive and Contentment in Hamilton -- another nice article from James Goldberg. I think I identify most with Aaron Burr (minus when he acts like a villain) but I definitely feel the struggle to make "something that will outlive me" while at the same time just being present and loving the people closest to me the way I should.
And speaking of Hamilton . . .
I know, I know, the kid playing Hamilton is like 13. But Hamilton really was just 19 when this song was set, and Lin Manuel Miranda is in his 30s, so technically it makes more sense to cast him. You know you want to watch it. And the Schuyler Sisters one, too.
As for what I've been reading . . . I read Paco by Nathan Thatcher, and that was fun and fascinating. I reread a bit of Enchantment by Orson Scott Card until my dad borrowed it. Reread Yearning for the Living God which is always amazing. (Someday I will live in a place where I can borrow LDS books from the library. Until then our 4 or so LDS books will get lots of traction.) Read Letters of a Woman Homesteader for book club and it was delightful. Just read I am Malala and it was inspiring. I have been trying so so so hard to get a copy of Hamilton but the links were weird on the library website (seriously Michigan friends, you have no idea how good you have it with AADL), and now I have this book about the House of Morgan. I'm about 4 paragraphs through the prologue and haven't found any material yet to write a smash musical about, but there are more than 700 pages of material that might have potential. If I finish it. Which I probably won't.
(side note -- doesn't look like I read much about parenting or science lately. Maybe I did and just forgot. I guess this sort of fits both categories.)
