It's Bastille Day!

I wonder if our passionate U.S. patriots realize what a debt we owe to other nations for their contributions to the cause of freedom. It is true that we had already declared our independence and fought the Revolutionary War before the French stormed the Bastille, but the spirit and yearnings of good people around the world have joined with ours in these last 150 years to make a huge difference in the lives of our fellow man. I was reading an article today about Jan Hus (Libby and I saw the monument to him in Prague) who was a forerunner to Martin Luther by a hundred years or so, and of course the martyrs who prepared the world for the restoration of the gospel are heroes, as well. Our Heavenly Father has worked with all nations and people throughout history to bring them the measure of light that they are prepared to receive. I love this country and the Church, but I am very aware that these did not magically appear out of a vacuum, but are connected to deep and strong historical threads that wove the fabric of our foundations.

Well, I don't know why I got started on that, but I guess as a francophile I have to give the French their due somehow!! Vive la France!

Libby mentioned "Foyle's War" in her blog. I may be mistaken, but I think I'm the one who introduced her to it. I really like books and movies that show the multi-dimensional nature of human beings, and of events, and of conflicting historical perspectives. Libby and I watched several episodes when I was at her house, and I've been getting more since then. I must confess a crush on Michael Kitchen (is anybody surprised? But at least he's closer to my age!!) The stories remind me that in every historical event there are opposing perspectives. We see the conflict and opposition among us today and because the past is the past, we tend to think it was all very simple back then. There were the good guys and the bad guys, easy to identify, clearly in the right or the wrong. I love that life is much more complicated than that and I appreciate characters and stories that honor that truth.

What to have for dinner when nothing sounds good??? Any suggestions?

Oh, one more thing. I saw a delightful documentary today that I had DVRd from last week or sometime. David Suchet on the Orient Express. It was wonderful!! Watch it if they replay it on your PBS station. They did a new version of the book, then the documentary afterwards. Yummy stuff!

Fun Times with Grandchildren

I made a fun trip to Tucson and brought back Reed's boys Christian, Jens, and Miles. We had a good time for a week or so. Their brother Kai drove up and stayed for a few days, then drove them all home. I hope we can make this an annual event!

I had Andy's kids over for a couple of sleep-overs, since they were moving to Arizona. Andy got a great job there and they packed up and left here on Saturday. I will miss them a lot, but it's a wonderful new chapter in their lives, living in Tempe. I hope they can get together with Reed's family from time to time and build that relationship.

My class is going OK. I'm not as stressed now as I was, but there are still lots of details to work out and lessons to plan, exams to write, etc. So far so good! With a LOT of help from Libby, I'm surviving! I will teach only 2 days in the fall, T and Th, which will be a bit easier than the 3 days I'm doing now. Classes will be the same length but go for more weeks. Today I used the classroom computer for the first time to do a Powerpoint review for the exam.

I'm looking forward to my trip to Montana for the Shadoan reunion. July 30. Then just 2 weeks and I'll have a 2-week break between semesters. I am feeling very tied down, but I don't know where I'd be going or what I would be doing, anyway, so I might as well be productive!