I opened my barber shop Christmas evening and fixed up these handsome brothers. Too bad I didn't get to them before the family photo. Oh well. Better late than never...
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Monday, January 6, 2020
2019 Bookshelf
In addition to keeping up with my favorite podcasts-- Freakonomics, the The Moth (story-telling), Planet Money, and... Car Talk (for some classic Saturday chuckles)-- throughout 2019, I was tickled to branch out into using the library's Libby app to select and listen to audio books. Easy browsing, one-tap downloads, and auto returns all from the comfort and convenience of my very own phone! What's not to love?!
During the first part of the year, my audio reading stalled out 30 or 40 hours into the Winston Churchill book Defender of the Realm. I took a break, and still haven't finished...
Instead, I lightened the mood by following up on Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's original Freakonomics via Superfreakonomics (a light and easy read). I moved along to Benjamin Mee's interesting account of buying an English zoo with his extended family (We Bought a Zoo).
A Slave in the White House painted a historical picture of Paul Jennings' service in the White House under the Madison administration. Unfortunately, this read was a bit of a disappointment as I was hoping the book would be written mostly from Jennings' personal journals. Instead, the author (Elizabeth Dowling Taylor) expressed many "might have been," "could have looked like," "may have said," moments throughout the text, which made the story feel quite crafted from a modern perspective.
Although not the same as the movie, Margo Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures was excellent and a book I would highly recommend (I also highly recommend the film). It was sad to learn of realities brave black women faced in their professional careers not so long ago, but the book is written with a sense of victory over (rather than bondage to) the past.
I closed out the year on an FBI kick: Enemies (Tim Weiner) follows the fascinating political history of the FBI, including generous portions of J. Edgar Hoover's decades of dominance; Killers of the Flower Moon (David Grann) details the historic Osage murders of Oklahoma-- which played a part in the birth of the FBI; and James Comey's A Higher Loyalty (read by the author himself) relates Comey's personal perspectives on leadership, reflecting on decisions he made in various leadership positions he's held in our country over the past number of decades, as well as his growth through and response to circumstances beyond his control.
During the first part of the year, my audio reading stalled out 30 or 40 hours into the Winston Churchill book Defender of the Realm. I took a break, and still haven't finished...
Instead, I lightened the mood by following up on Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's original Freakonomics via Superfreakonomics (a light and easy read). I moved along to Benjamin Mee's interesting account of buying an English zoo with his extended family (We Bought a Zoo).
A Slave in the White House painted a historical picture of Paul Jennings' service in the White House under the Madison administration. Unfortunately, this read was a bit of a disappointment as I was hoping the book would be written mostly from Jennings' personal journals. Instead, the author (Elizabeth Dowling Taylor) expressed many "might have been," "could have looked like," "may have said," moments throughout the text, which made the story feel quite crafted from a modern perspective.
Although not the same as the movie, Margo Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures was excellent and a book I would highly recommend (I also highly recommend the film). It was sad to learn of realities brave black women faced in their professional careers not so long ago, but the book is written with a sense of victory over (rather than bondage to) the past.
I closed out the year on an FBI kick: Enemies (Tim Weiner) follows the fascinating political history of the FBI, including generous portions of J. Edgar Hoover's decades of dominance; Killers of the Flower Moon (David Grann) details the historic Osage murders of Oklahoma-- which played a part in the birth of the FBI; and James Comey's A Higher Loyalty (read by the author himself) relates Comey's personal perspectives on leadership, reflecting on decisions he made in various leadership positions he's held in our country over the past number of decades, as well as his growth through and response to circumstances beyond his control.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Grove Tea Lounge, Midland
The Grove Tea Lounge is the new place to meet and hang out in Midland.
Not only are you served your own pot of well-steeped specialty tea, the lounge offers a naturally-lit meeting room perfect for catching up with friends over the Christmas season.
Monday, December 30, 2019
Saturday, December 21, 2019
birthday brunch
Last Saturday, in honor of my recent palindrome birthday,
Sara came for brunch with Sharon and me.
I am richly blessed with sweet friends.
the Reason
This Christmas season I've been reflecting on the beautiful words Zechariah used to describe the reason for Jesus as recorded in the song he prophesied over his miracle baby John:
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people...
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us...
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and
to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
-excerpts from Luke 1:68-79-
God, in His tender mercy sent Jesus, who provided redemption to broken humanity:
a way to serve God without fear, and the only path of true peace.
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
elephant cheer
A coworker recently returned from Thailand where she purchased little elephants to bring back to the office. This cute and cheery fellow reminds me of Elmer :).
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