Web Sites and Intelligence

People who can’t do web pages should be punished!

I think I am too old for technology!  At least SOME technology.  A few years ago I took a web page design class and learned rudimentary html and web design.  At that time my site was hosted by my son’s friend, and I had access to a site studio that allowed me to design a page without having to use my newly acquired html knowledge.  My web site was basic but it did exist.  My mother used the conference information to track our travels!

Unbeknownst to me, my domain name was still under the name of my friend who originally talked me into having a domain name five years ago.  When she emailed earlier this year to ask if I wanted it renewed, I was puzzled.  Didn’t my son’s friend transfer it to me?

Nope.  Nor did my son’s friend return my emails with answers to other questions.  Nor did he fix my web site when it disappeared.  And then, a new name began appearing in emails asking me to renew my web account.  My son’s friend seemingly dropped off the face of the earth.   Aha!  Thought I, NOW is the time to CHANGE servers and do a GREAT web site.  Who needs friends of sons who leave clients high and dry?  I CAN DO THIS!  I know html!!!

My FIRST mistake was trying to get my domain name transferred at the same time I switched servers.  YIKES!!!  Domain name transfers are intricate and time-consuming.  It seems each company that issues domain names is loathe to let someone else have it.   Waiting for the domain name to get transferred meant I was unable to do anything with the server.  I could not access my account until it was in MY name, so I couldn’t switch server names.  Add to that our peripatetic existence with irregular internet service time and you may just maybe feel a twinge of my cyberpain.  I FINALLY had time last week to work on the web site when we were stranded in Yreka, California but the hotel internet was slow and kept bumping me off line.  AAUGH!!!

Two and a half months after deciding to TAKE CONTROL, I THINK I have finally returned booksbloom.com to cyberspace.  My web pages are basic, utilitarian, and BORING.  Sure, I found a template with a sunflower on it (must keep with floral motifs with a name like BooksBLOOM!) but it was exasperating to work with the site studio at godaddy.   How is it that there are so many web pages out there that look GOOD???

Our life on the road is so very elemental.  We drive, we do conferences, we occasionally get to rest, and then we continue.  Trying to work in all this modern stuff like email and web pages and blogs is SUCH a contrast to our teeny, tiny life!  We DO have a cell phone that works – we’ve had it longer than usual.  Gary hasn’t yet lost it, flooded it, or sent it sailing over his handlebars biking down a hill!  Technology is great but it can also add great frustration to life.

We are currently in Rancho Cucamonga, surely one of the most oddly named towns in America!  My dear aunt, Elna, lives here and allows us, even WELCOMES us each year when we come to do the California CHEA conference.  WHAT a blessing it is to have a home to relax in, a kitchen to cook in, and a mountain to bike up.  Gary rode 3 hours up Mount Baldy this morning – getting as far as Baldy Village, which is 4,000 feet.  OUCH!!!

Gary under the van somewhere along the way...

Mighty Whitey is, once more, on her way to the mechanic.  This is mechanic number FOUR.  Mechanics 1-3 have each tried their best (and have charged accordingly!) but MW is still having problems.  With all those different hands in her innards maybe a wire was jarred loose or a hose disconnected or a belt bumped.  It seems to be fixed and then, four to six hours of driving later, the same problem shows up.  It took us SIX hours to go the 75 miles from Grants Pass, Oregon to Yreka, California last Thursday.  We got stuck in Yreka for 3 days and missed a conference – the first time in 9 years of traveling.

Gary has a great idea for good gas mileage...

We thought we had her going fine until we began climbing the Grapevine on Interstate 5, north of LA.  She stopped.  STOPPED.  We got going again after an hour or so of waiting, but I believe it was angels blowing, pushing and pulling us up the pass.  We were SO grateful to be at my aunt’s after our arduous climb.

We will be heading to Long Beach Wednesday, so we NEED MW working by then.  Please pray for Raul, the mechanic here.  He is a Christian brother and a very good mechanic.  He needs WISDOM and INSIGHT and TIME!!!

Technology – whether it is a web site or an electrical problem in a van, it impacts us all.  Most of us cannot image life without it yet when it is NOT cooperating don’t we daydream about how much simpler life might be without it?  We are contrary folks, aren’t we??!!!

 

Of adoptions and adventures

Not many people drive a vehicle past the 300,000 mile mark.  Mighty Whitey is at 387,000.  She is quite ill.  She has something that needs to be fixed that MOST vehicle owners will never know about – her SPIDER.  What, you ask, is a spider?  It is a complicated electronic part that hides under the intake manifold.  YIKES!  We would appreciate prayers on the behalf of Mighty Whitey so we can continue our journey.  God brought us to an amazing mechanic, Jim, who is a car doctor.  He saved our lives and schedule four summers ago when MW broke down here in Portland.  He remembered us!  Do you suppose it’s because we’re the ONLY people who stayed in our van in his parking lot at night???!!!

Last week we were vendors at the Denver Homeschool Convention.  I was able to sit in on the opening address by Voddie Bacham.  He says “I am not a SPEAKER, I am a PREACHER!!!” and preach he did!  It was very insightful and challenging.  His main point (taken from Paul’s second letter to Timothy) was that mentors teach their students how to DIE for the sake of the Gospel.  Riches, Fame, Power – it will ALL disappear.  We have to raise children who choose to give it all for Jesus.

Also at the conference was an amazing man we’ve met at other conferences.  He asked that I share his ministry with my readers, and I am happy to do so.  Here is his information:

Brent Nelson
Family Legacies
615-415-1432 (cell)

Our web site is www.familylegacies.us
Our primary purpose is to provide interest free adoption loans for Christian families. Here is a quick list of bullets about Family Legacies…

*      501 c3 non-profit.

*      All of our board members have adopted.

*      100% of all donations go toward adoptions (our overhead expenses are covered by a private company).

*      We target Christian families for our interest free adoption loans, particularly godly homeschool families.

*      We provide interest free loans usually between $5,000 to $10,000.

*      We are working with local churches to set up adoption fund ministries.

*      Our interest free loans are paid back very quickly because of the US adoption tax credit. We then take 100% of the repaid loan and use it over and over to help other adoptions. For example, a $5,000 loan, using the same money, becomes $40,000 in 10 years, helping 8 orphans become adopted.

*      We offer additional financial help with matching grants.

I was blessed to have my dear friend, Lynn Vanwingerden, help in the booth.  She had a hilarious conversation with Brent, who had never met someone who had adopted ELEVEN children without this kind of assistance.  Lynn and her hubby, Arie, also have 12 biological children.  23 children!!! And she is BEAUTIFUL!!!

We are looking forward to our trip down the coast to Santa Rosa next weekend.  The Pacific Northwest is beautiful but gas prices are REALLY HIGH!!!!

Gary and I both speak this weekend at the Oregon Homeschool Conference.  We are praying that hearts will be touched and families restored/ made stronger through our words.

 

Who Should We Then Read? update

Almost ten years ago I published Who Should We Then Read?  a book that focuses on the lives and the books of more than 150 authors who wrote wonderful books for children, young adults, and grown-ups.  It has been well-received.  Just the other day someone called it “the blue book of books”.  THAT was a fun thing to hear!

About six years ago I began work on a second volume of the book, a NEW collection of authors and their books.  Every year I thought it would be finished by the NEXT year and would tell my customers that.  Oh!  Such misguided speaking! 

I really hoped to have it finished THIS year.  I worked diligently on it last fall when we were home in Minnesota, hoping for a Spring printing.  It didn’t happen.  HOWEVER, it is ALMOST finished.  One friend is editing it, another is doing covers, and I am cleaning up the formating and making it ready to go.  It’s an arduous task!  Self-publishing is tedious!  But we are excited about the book.  Same format as the first book, but SUCH wonderful new authors!  Many I did not even know when I wrote the first book.  Some were suggested by readers of WSWTR, others I learned about as we spent time in books and bookstores. 

We have a projected print date of October, 2008.  Stay tuned to my blog for the announcement.  And please pray for me!  Traveling is not condusive to writing (at least for me) so the finishing touches will have to wait until we get home in September.  We know that the new authors will open doors that will take readers into wonderful territories.  I LOVE my job!

 

Happy Hosting

One of the wonderful perqs of being on-the-road gypsies is our opportunity to stay in people’s homes.  The first year and second years we were out we stayed in hotels since we had a Chevy Astro van fully loaded with books.  We also didn’t know anyone.  When we hit the road with Mighty Whitey and carried our home with us (a mattress in the back of the van), we began accepting invitations to stay in the driveways of folks, use the shower, and get to know the families that were hosting us.  It’s been one of the most profoundly enriching and enjoyable things in our lives. 

We have been hosted by families who live in small homes and families who live in large homes.  We have been hosted by large families and by couples who are childless.  We have added name after name to our address book so we can send postcards along the way, letting the families know that we remember their gift of love and want to continue the relationship.

At first it was difficult to feel comfortable in the homes of others.  I did not grow up traveling and visiting in homes.  We rarely stayed overnight at someone’s home.  As parents we camped with our children but also did not take our family to visit other families who lived further than a day’s visit away.  So it was awkward for me.  What is guest etiquitte?  Where does one hang one’s wet towel?

Of course it was totally fine with Gary, Mr Boy Scout, Mr Sleep Anywhere, Eat Anything.  Is it a guy thing?!!!   Gary always rearranges furniture so he has a light next to the bed.  Is that okay?   He BELIEVES it when people say, “help yourself to the refrigerator!”  YIKES!!!

 We’ve discovered that those who welcome us into their homes really don’t care what we do as long as they can serve us.  It is very humbling to be served.  It makes ME want to serve like that when I am home. 

If you are thinking that you do not have what it takes to host someone in your home – for a meal, for a night’s sleep, for a shower – you probably have incorrect ideas about what it really takes.  It doesn’t take a beautiful home, an incredible meal, or superior entertainment.  It takes a servant’s heart, which is free for the asking! 

Consider practicing hospitality: with family members, those you meet at church, and those who are traveling through your area, like missionaries or homeschooling vendors.  Gathering around a table sharing a meal, playing games, talking and laughing, and oftentimes sharing and praying, is a oft-neglected art in our modern age.  But it is a precious gift – both for you and your family, and for those who receive it. 

We are SO thankful for all those who have opened their homes, their hearts, and their lives to us over the years.  We look forward to our return visits.  I, of course, wonder if people REALLY want us back or just are too timid to say “stay away”, but I am learning that MY way of thinking is NOT true!!!   I cannot imagine traveling and staying alone, just the two of us, and enjoying this season of life like we do.  Part of the joy we’ve experienced is the joy of making friends and visiting them again and again. 

I am writing this while sitting at a friend’s computer in her home that is always a bit frantic and messy.  Yet we know that whenever we are coming through we can call and stop and be loved. We are blessed!  We LOVE our job!!!

 

On the road again…

Two days after Easter, with Willie Nelson’s “Back on the Road Again” and a newer song by Fernando Ortega, “Lord, Remember the Traveler” to begin our travels, we settled ourselves into Mighty Whitey and started our conference trek for 2008.  It was an odd beginning this year since we were home only for six days before we set out.  SIX DAYS?  Yup.  Less than a week.  We left home December 12th, 2007 for the Enterprise Tiger Cruise (posted earlier this year), then spent many weeks traveling to the Living Book Retreat, mid-winter conferences, BooksBloom seminars, and a retreat in Colorado. 

We got to spend a day sightseeing in the Florida Keys with Gus and Shirley Solis, from Lifetime Books and Gifts, Randy and Renee Miller, from Miller Pads and Paper, and Steve Clark, from Video Text Interactive.    It’s always fun to spend “regular time” with vendor friends.  It makes the conferences even more fun!

We were blessed to be able to spend a weekend with JJ, our son, in Charlotte, NC.  The three Silander kids loved his gift of sailor hats he could no longer use!  JJ is currently in Rhode Island and we shan’t see him for a long time. 

The retreat in Colorado was a blessing.  It was our second year of being challenged by Harry Schaumburg, who gathered alumni from his counseling sessions (www.stonegateresources.com) at Lost Valley Ranch (www.lostvalleyranch.com) outside Decker, Colorado.  Harry taught from I Peter 3, emphasizing that though grace is TRUE and VITAL, we still have to be serious about our Christian lives – we must never go back to acting like Jesus did not need to suffer -or thinking I’m okay, aren’t I??!!!!  Nope, we are NOT okay but we can grow in glory as we seek to live by Biblical guidelines.    Harry is always ready to defend his position that sin is a choice not a result of brain chemicals or addictions.  God is GOD.  We are commanded to have NO OTHER GODS before Him.  No addictions, no lifelong sins, NOTHING.  Harry has a new blog, www.pureheartspureminds.com along with his second website www.restoringsexualpurity.org.  He is an amazing life saver.

Lost Valley Ranch is a family owned lodge way, way back in the mountains.  They have an amazing story of God’s kindness:  when the big fires came five summers ago their place was evacuated with the exception of 3 guys who had a bulldozer and a water truck.  They were going to try to save the main lodge.  As they stood, prayed, and watch the fire come, they saw the fire split, circle around the ranch, and rejoin on the other side.  The entire property was safe!  If I could choose to take a young family anywhere for a vacation, Lost Valley would be at the top of the list.  It is such a splendid place!

After being challenged and refreshed by the couples’ retreat, we did a quick conference in Loveland, Colorado and then galloped home.  We finally got to see our “new” house with the siding.  It looks great!  I forgot to take a photograph – but it wouldn’t have looked like much: white house, white trim, white snow!  I’ll wait until the yard is GREEN and then I’ll shoot a picture. 

It was great to see Jenni, Jason, and our two grandsons, Mikey and Charlie.  Charlie started walking a few days after we left and he is still discovering how captivating motion is.  While we were home he began walking backwards.  Life is good for Charlie!  And he is a twirler.  He plants one foot and spins with the other til he falls down.  He gets up and continues spinning all the while humming and singing.  He is a delight!  Mikey loved helping Grandpa do what needed to be done – shoveling snow, snow-blowing snow, and eating snow.

The first conferences of the season are always delightful. Reconnecting with vendor friends is such a pleasure.  I spoke 3 times in Cincinnnati and 3 times this past weekend in Lincoln.  I love teaching about authors, books, and life.  I gave a new talk in Lincoln, “Creating Capacity”.  I was surprised to read somewhere that 50% of a person’s adult capacity is in place by five years of age.  So – the question is, what can be done to make the capacity L-A-R-G-E?  It is a hard concept to grasp – we are used to static forms like house foundations (make it a big foundation for the later house) or containers (if you are going to claim a prize of “as much as you can carry” wouldn’t you bring a HUGE cart instead of a small basket?) yet we are born PERSONS, which means we GROW.  So is creating capacity planting seeds for growth or tilling a garden for the seeds that will come or is it ALL of these things?  The folks that had to listen to my end-of-laryngitis voice were very positive about what I said. 

When we were in Lincoln, our dear friend, Alex Gage, broke his ankle.  Please pray for Alex.  Pray for his ankle to heal and grow together.  He is a 17 year old gentleman who loves being active.  He is cheerfully trusting the Lord for recovery and using his time abed to learn, grow, and listen to God’s voice.  He is an example to us with his faith and his sweet spirit.

Though it is snowing in Minnesota today it is almost Spring where we are in Kansas City.  Cycles, rhythms, seasons – it is such an incredible world!

 

 

New Pages!

I am unsure of this whole blogging scene!  I have recently added 2 new pages – one about the Living Books Retreat, another our Christmas letter for 2007.  They can be found on the page directory.

 

My First Cruise – on a Navy ship!

Gary and I and JJ’s honorary aunt, Judy Starr, were priviledged to join our son, JJ, on his ship, The USS Enterprise, for a 3 day cruise from Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia.  What an experience!  The Enterprise (CVN 65) is the largest aircraft carrier in the world.  The flight deck is 4.5 acres.  It is 20 stories from the top of the conning tower to the bowels of the ship.  There are more than 5,000 sailors on the ship for a regular deployment.    The ship is a floating city.  Indeed, OUR city, Cokato, has less than 3,000 residents. 

 After three days of living on the ship I decided that ship life is an amazing analogy of the body of Christ.   Sure, an orchestra needs all the different instruments playing, and the body needs all the parts working, but sometimes a NEW analogy makes things SO clear!  All the different people in all the different departments on the ship need to be working well in order for the whole ship to function.  JJ, our son, is in IT.  He fixes computers.  Computers are vital nowadays – nothing runs without them.  However, JJ cannot do HIS job if the electricians don’t do THEIR job and provide electricity. The electricians cannot do their job if the service crews don’t bring the equipment on board.  The maintenance workers have to keep “on board” in good condition.  The cooks have to prepare and feed these thousands of sailors with LIMITED storage space, and limited groceries.  (All the sailors were delighted to be getting salad, ice cream, and vegetables after weeks of chicken nugguts, canned stew, and pancakes.)  Everyone on the ship is important.  There are different ranks on the ship, yet they are all working together to achieve something great.  I honestly don’t know how they do it. 

Living conditions are a challenge.  My bed (berth) was in one of the women’s berthing sections.   There are three beds in a stack, called “racks.”  I was on the bottom.  I had to roll into it from the floor!   I could not sit up and could hardly turn over to change positions.  The bed in the photo is open – “the coffin” is the storage space under the bed, one of two spaces to put stuff.  The other was a small locker.  I packed for 3 days and could hardly fit all I thought necessary into these two spaces.  How DO these gals fit in 6 months worth of clothing and stuff??  The bathroom in my unit had 4 toilets, 4 showers, and 3 sinks.  There were maybe 100 women in this unit. 

The food was also a challenge.  The lines were LONG.  The cooks do a good job but the food is calories/fuel, not something to be enjoyed.  The tables are like those in elementary school, with skinny benches.  OUCH!  You have to eat and get out so others can eat.  No long lunches here!  This is a photo of me and Judy eating in the First Class Mess.  

Judy’s presence on the Tiger Cruise was special.  Judy and her husband, Stottler, serve with Campus Crusade for Christ.  Stottler has been with them for 35 years, Judy for 20.  Judy is Gary’s sister Cindy’s husband’s sister.  (Whew!)  She is writing a series of children’s books and was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview a number of people on the ship for background to one of the books.  JJ introduced her to SEALS, Search and Rescue guys, officers, and others who were always so willing to talk about what a young girl rescued in a foreign country would experience aboard the Enterprise.  When the book is out, I’ll let you know!

THE PEOPLE ARE EVERYWHERE.  There is little or no privacy on board ship.  No cushy chairs or comfy couches.  No quiet cubicles in which to read.  Being from a small town I had to look each person I passed in the eye and give a greeting.  TIRING!!! However, each sailor I greeted always responded cheerfully.  Even when I asked directions, which I did every time I tried to find someplace.  (I asked JJ if he knew how many ladder stairs were on the ship – he didn’t know – I would guess thousands…) The sailors invariably would stop and show me how to get somewhere – maybe they liked doing something different but it certainly was impressive to have such helpful people everywhere! 

  It was a delight to meet JJ’s fan club.  So many stopped him to be introduced to us.  We heard over and over again how helpful, cheerful, and intelligent he was.  Makes a parent blush!  We are SO proud of him.  He recently was promoted to First Class Petty Officer, an unusual feat for someone in the Navy less than 5 years.  Officers and enlisted alike love that boy!  Even the ADMIRAL stopped to chat with him and be introduced to us.  Whooeeee! 

All the sailors were so excited to be going home.  Many of them (like JJ) had been home only 6 months after the last deployment before they went out again for another 6 months.  Though they were tired, they were still working hard these last few days.  The feeling in the hanger deck was electric as we watched the shore slip past on the way to the pier where we would be docking in Norfolk.  The Navy works really hard to welcome ships home – the new dads get off first in order to see their children that were born during this deployment.  They get a tent of their own for a homecoming - the rest of the sailors have to find their loved ones in the mass of thousands that are pier side to greet the returning heroes.  Bands, balloons, signs, food, helicopters – WHAT an amazing time homecoming is!  We’ve seen it from both sides now – we’ve been pierside at two homecomings and now we’ve been shipside.  I think the sailors win for being the MOST excited – even tho’ their families and loved ones act mighty excited too!

JJ was able to see his 4 year old son, Blaizen, already – Blaizen’s step-aunt brought him to the homecoming.   JJ’s pastor, Angus, is also in the photo – he and a few church members also came to the homecoming.  There just isn’t anything to compare to the joy of a homecoming. 

Which, of course, brings me to another analogy – HEAVEN!  If a homecoming of 6 months’ absence can be THIS thrilling, what WILL our homecoming in heaven be like?  WOW!!!  Just like we had to be the sponsor of a sailor to be on the Tiger Cruise, we need to have Jesus as our sponsor as we journey to heaven.  Simplistic ? yes!  Easy? no!   We had to do quite a few things in order to be on the ship – clearance, both security and medical, money (our tax dollars do NOT cover Tiger Cruises!), and time.  I had to be at the right place at the right time to board the ship.  I had to obey the rules OF the ship.  I had to be ready to disembark.  Again, ALL of life tells us so much about truth! 

We’re spending Christmas with JJ in Norfolk.  He doesn’t have leave so we’re hanging out here.  We are the grateful recipients of the gracious hospitality of JJ’s pastor and church members who were SO supportive and loving to JJ during his time in Norfolk before this last deployment.  We are constantly being challenged by the life lessons God puts before us: the importance of loving the stranger and orphan becomes real when you give your child to the military or the ministry and trust that God will bring people into his life to encourage and pray for him.  

 

On the process of remodeling…

What is it about major decisions that get made unexpectedly? 

Suddenly we decided to do new windows, insulation, and new siding.  And then Gary decided to do some other things, like rip off the back porch.  So while I’ve been up in my garrett in the garage, typing merrily away with my space heater on “high”, Gary has been braving single-digit temperatures working outside.  This is NOT the best time to do all this work on the house, but for us, because of our travel schedule, it is the ONLY time. 

The main part of our house was built in 1897.  Two bumps (a new living room and a new kitchen) were added in the 1930’s, at which time the owner also resided the house.   When we bought the house it was painted a very dull orangey-taupe with rust trim.  U-G-L-Y!!!  Seven years ago I power sprayed the wood siding, primed it, and painted it with 30 year paint.  Our house looked great for a short time.  However ,we had absolutely NO insulation in the walls.  I’m not sure WHY the extreme temperature changes in Minnesota  make such a difference but since it can go from 30 below zero to above 100 degrees, it is hard on roads, people, and houses.   Within 5 years the paint was blistered and peeling and the house once again looked very ugly and I’m sure created the impression that we were careless homeowners.  Actually we were absentee homeowners who didn’t have to look at the house very often!  Luckily we live on a street that is only two blocks long so not many people pass our house.

When Gary ripped off the wood siding, he exposed all kinds of odd boards that showed other changes that had occurred over the years which had been hidden by the siding.   

 

 We’ve had insulation blown in the walls and it is SO obvious that things have changed inside.  Today I looked at the thermostat, thinking my daughter had turned it up.  Nope, it was still at 64, but the 64 felt warmer than before when the wind was whistling through the house.  Gary boarded up two windows, which look really ugly inside but those spaces will be covered up outside and only a memory.  

At this point in time BOTH the outside and the inside look quite, quite ugly!  But soon, hopefully by early next week, the outside will look great!  The inside will FEEL great but will still have a few places that will need finishing. 

Inside/outside-outside/inside – scars on the outside revealed when the outer layer is removed, ugliness on the inside that will one day be covered up…there are some powerful spiritual images here!  All of life tells us about God – even remodeling!  I’ve thought about so many analogies – how God patches us up from our mistakes and wounds and then covers us with His grace; or how vulnerability uncovers those patches and people see the “real me”; or how remodeling is a process and anytime during the process you wonder, “is this worth it?” which is similar to times we decide to change or God is taking us through some trial and life looks REALLY ugly yet if we wait it out and let the process continue, beauty comes forth!

We have relied on the help of others for this process.  Gary could not get this done himself.  He needs the physical help, the experience of others, and the tools and equipment of professionals.  Again – like life!  We need each other because we each have learned things that can benefit one another or we may have just the tool someone else needs.  

Francis Schaeffer once said that Christianity is true because it is the only belief system that lines up with reality.  But also the converse is true: reality lines up with Christian truth, as my insightful examples clearly illustrate!

 

Who Should We Then Read? Volume 2

I’m still not used to thinking in blogs.  My Minnesota Chronic Insecurity whispers, nay shouts, “Who in the world is going to be reading ANYTHING you write??!!”  But write I shall! 

Actually I have BEEN writing busily for 2 weeks.  Gary partitioned off a room on the second floor of our garage, sheetrocked it, put in a heating vent, gave me a space heater, put a door on 2 file cabinets and locked me in.  Well, the lock part is not true, but the rest is!  I have worked on the authors through K, plus M – O when I didn’t have the first bin of research with me.  That’s a lot of authors – at least 100 so far! 

It is mind boggling what I am learning about these great authors.  Can you imagine how difficult it is to read fascinating biographical information in order to write a biography and NOT have time to read the great books I am reading about?  Today I wrote on Evelyn Sibley Lampman.  Her grandparents came to Oregon in a covered wagon.  Her father, an attorney, represented Native Americans in court and befriended many of them.  Evelyn grew up playing with the children of these people and fell in love with different ways of life.  Her books were some of the first written about other cultures.  I want to read them all!  They sound wonderful! 

Yesterday I did W.H.G. Kingston, a British author who, along with G.A. Henty and R. M. Ballantyne (why did these 3 all use their initials??!), were the top selling authors of the last half of the 19th century.  He was one of C. S. Lewis’ favorite authors as a boy.  His books sound wonderful, too! 

And then there is Eleanore Jewett, and Deborah Avery, and Leonard Everett Fisher… so many amazing people I’ve learned about and have come to admire. 

I still have (maybe) 45  or 50 authors left to do.  It is tedious to type in book titles, and it is a mental stretch to condense pages of information into a few paragraphs highlighting the interesting facets of a person’s background.  I feel like a broken record – I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve written, ” this author was highly  regarded” , or “this author wrote very well”, or “this author is excellent”.  OF COURSE they all are excellent!  I would not have chosen them to be included had they NOT been great!

Which authors of today will be written about 4o, 5o, or even 100 years from now?  Whose books will last?  Whose books will be among those labeled “classic”?  And will the classics of today still be classics?  I think so – classics, as I have learned, are books that speak to the human condition and reflect lasting values.  These values may LOOK different at different times in history, but they are the same: the importance of love, the need to belong to a group, the agony of betrayal, the joy of a happy family life, the wonder of birth, the questions of our existence, the indifference or goodness of a Supreme Being…the list goes on.  

I’m excited that I have an opportunity to reacquaint people with these great authors who have been largely forgotten.  Gems are gems whether or not they are buried deep or displayed in a setting worthy of their beauty.  I am hoping that my work allows some of these gems to see the light of day once again and astound us with the way they reflect the light of truth.

 

Book lovers’ conference in Abingdon, VA

Wow!  Gary and I just finished the best seminar we’ve ever done!  It was great because the people who came had already been convinced that living books were GREAT and needed to be in their home libraries. 

The convincers were the Cottrills, owners and librarians of The Living Books Library in Abingdon.  They are an astonishing family!  Liz, the mom, is quite the honest homeschooler.  When someone tells her, “I can’t homeschool, it’s too hard!”, Liz retorts, “I taught four children to read and I’m BLIND!”  If you want to see amazing, sit next to Liz and her Braille Scrabble board while she keeps up with the other sighted people playing Fast Scrabble with regular Scrabble letters.  She is an inspiration. 

Emily, the oldest daughter of the family, is a Wheaton College art major graduate and the chief librarian and book buyer.  She is a beautiful, intelligent, well-spoken bibliophile and fiesty sister to five siblings.  She came back home to be under her father’s guidance, though she says she did it, “kicking and screaming.”   Gary and I were so impressed by the impact she is having on the children who look to her for guidance on what to read.  She is touching lives for eternity and it is awesome to see.

Grace is the piano player of the family.  What a joy to sing along with her hymn playing.  The family did a song that had four parts.  Whew!  I couldn’t even figure out where the music went after that first split line of music!

Isaac and Lucas are more recent additions to this special family.  Isaac is East Asian, Lucas is, as he says it, “chocolate”.  Who loves more, the adoptees or the adopters?  Isaac (8 or 9 years old) is learning to read.  In the meantime he draws amazingly accurate World War I airplanes.  Lucas, age 4, is a love bug and the only boy I’ve ever seen who looks good in mini-dreadlocks!

Two of the older children, Jonny and Lydia, are married but live close by.  What a treat to eat share a Sunday dinner with this wild crew of book lovers!  Our dining table conversation was bright, witty, and quite, quite erudite.   And to play games surrounded by thousands of incredible books…what a day, what a day!!!