That's just disgusting.

"After pasteurization, dead white blood cells and bacteria form a sludge that sinks to the bottom of the milk. Homogenization spreads this unsightly mass throughout the milk and makes it disappear."
from page 76 of Real Food, by Nina Planck

Blog Readability

I wonder how they test something like this?

Are you watching?

I really am a reformed blogger...

See? I'm posting again! And it's been less than a week since my last post!

I'm currently looking over my admission essay requirements. I have to write an essay (500-ish words) on my Christian faith and how it relates to my desire to attend NSA. I wrote a bit a couple of months ago, and now I need to pick it up again and take another stab at it. I'm not really sure what to write; I really just want to quote the Nicene Creed and be done with it. I think, though, that I will focus on the latter part of the question and just skim over the former. If you all are interested, though, here's what I already had written down:

I believe in a sovereign God, one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; Who created the earth and all things in it for man's dominion and pleasure; this was accomplished in six days. The seventh day He rested.
Man fell from God's grace by his own disobedience, but God provided a Saviour, His only Son, Jesus Christ, through Whom we are reconciled to Him. We are received by Him by grace alone through faith alone. His Holy Spirit is poured out upon us to regenerate us and to work out our daily sanctification.
His Holy Word, which is inerrant and inspired by the Holy Spirit, reveals what He requires of us. This includes His command to teach others of God and His world, to His glory. In order to teach, we must ourselves learn about Him, by studying the Scriptures and the creation, as well as all of the gifts of knowledge He has given us in books written by men made in His own image. Because God made the world to fit together as a whole, we must not separate out certain parts, claiming them to be more sacred than others. Instead we must study to discover how these all fit together under God's perfect rule.
...
That's where I ran out of steam and started to dislike what I'd written. I knew that the Divines had a hard time of it, but I never realised how difficult it really was! Anyway, I've got to rehaul it and write in some things about why I want to learn the things they teach, and what I'll do with the knowledge after I leave (teach others).

Knowledge is like a pile of leaves: it makes me want to just jump in feet-first and thrash around for a while. I don't suppose I can put that in my essay?

Cleaning Supplies

I got my recipes from this book (I like this woman for her recipes, not for her philosophy of life). They've worked very well so far, and all you need are a few simple ingredients!

You need:
borax (on the laundry soap aisle)
baking soda (big box is on the same aisle as borax)
vinegar (white distilled)
washing soda (possibly at a pool supply store, or a commercial cleaning-supply store)
vegetable-oil based liquid soap (castile soap, like Dr. Bronner's)

You can also add essential oils to your recipes; they smell good and certain ones have antiseptic properties. I like to use Tea Tree oil. It smells nice and clean, and I can get a fairly good bottle at Wal-Mart for $5. It matches the scent of my Dr. Bronner's, so I don't leave a house with conflicting smells.

Kelly currently has my recipes (she's copying them down), so I'll just give you the ones I remember. There's a good disinfectant scrubber that's just 1 cup baking soda plus 1/4 cup borax. I mixed it up in a mason jar and poked holes in the lid with an ice pick. The jar is reusable and the lid was rusty- perfect for this use. For a better scrub, add some salt (the coarseness saves you some elbow grease). For a soft scrub, add enough castile soap to make a paste. You can also add a bit of an essential oil.

For toilets, I wet the inside of the bowl, then sprinkle about 1/2 cup borax around the bowl and leave it for as long as I can; Annie recommends letting it rest overnight. Then I scrub it out and flush.

If a sink isn't draining as well as it should, I sprinkle some baking soda down the drain and chase it down with vinegar. It's bubbly action will loosen gunk (and it disinfects the drain). I'm not sure how effective it is on super stopped-up sinks.

To mop a floor, I put 1/4 cup vinegar in my bucket, then start to fill it with hot water. While it's filling, I squirt in some castile soap, then add some borax for a bit of stronger disinfectant. My castile soap reacts strangely to vinegar, so I add them separately to reduce the reaction.

To clear the air in a sickroom, or to fix that musty smell, I mix water and Tea Tree oil in a spray bottle and just mist away! I mist it on doorknobs, on our fabric shower curtain, on the window curtains, the computer keyboard, &tc. I also spray it on the toilet about midway between cleanings. I use Lavender oil and water for my mattress and pillows. The ratio is 20 drops per 1 ounce of water.

To remove a bad odor from carpet, sprinkle it all over with baking soda and leave it overnight, then vacuum.

Also, check this out. She's got an article to help you get started.

Ha ha! No more math!

Well, I did it. I took the ACT. I'm so very glad it's over! Now I have to focus on the application and various essays that go with it.

Also, I need to start planning for caroling, a cookie exchange, the Halloween party (this week!), Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas dinner. I love planning parties!

Natural Cleaning Supplies Are Great

I used my new-and-improved cleaning supplies today, and they work just as well as the commercial stuff. And they don't gas me. Definitely a bonus, no? I like the smell, too: a touch of tea tree oil (essential oil, not fragrance). I don't think I'll ever go back!

Another thing that made cleaning more pleasant: my new Zune. I got it on sale (huge sale! very cheap!) and I've been putting songs on it yesterday and today. It's quite handy, and I feel so stylish and in-the-now.

Being trendy isn't really what I'm going for, but my Zune is brown (a very unpopular colour), so hopefully that makes up for it! Ha!

Books & Other Things

As I said, I've been reading quite a bit more lately than I was able to do this spring. It's been nice to have that time to myself. I've read lots of Terry Pratchett; in fact, the library doesn't have any more of his books- I've read them all! I'll need to use the interlibrary loan system from now on. I don't have many left to read, so I hope he continues to write...

I've also been reading a biography of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs. It's called The Narnian. I think I may have started it before, because it seems awfully familiar. But I don't think I finished it. I was reading Joseph Pearce's bio. of Lewis, but it turned ridiculous. When I left off, Pearce was talking about Lewis' feelings of sadness that he could not be reconciled to the Catholic Church, or reveal his true feelings for it. A little odd, if you ask me. Pearce isn't usually this denominationally dogmatic. Perhaps it's just that this is the first non-Catholic biography of his I've read. I've borrowed his biographies of Solzhenitsyn and Wilde, and I'm beginning to wonder if they'll be any good.

I'm in the middle of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm; it's very entertaining. I like Rebecca, she's a good character. Paige got the book from the library for me to read to the kids, but we're already reading The Railway Children and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Unfortunately, the kids have already seen the movie. It ruins the story a bit.

We've also been looking at some art recently. I got a book of Gustave Dore's engravings through the interlibrary loan system (quite handy, isn't it?). The kids really like his illustrations of the Bible. Caleb's favourite is David, standing on Goliath's body, and holding his head up in the air. In the background, you can see the Philistines on one side (running away, of course), and the Israelites on the other, cheering. I can see why he likes it so much. Some of the flood pictures have incited interesting questions. I haven't shown them the ones with all of the nudes (at Paige's request), but the one they have seen shows some small children and animals clinging to a rock. Caleb and Colin were very concerned, and Caleb said that the children didn't get to choose whether or not they would obey God. I had to remind him that we are born with evil hearts. We've gone over that quite a bit; I've had to, considering their t.v. diet. It's very Disney, and it makes things difficult.

I'll be staying the next two nights over at "school". Paige's mother is having surgery, and Paige is staying with her in the hospital, so I'm staying with the kiddies (Mr. Dad will be out of town). We're going to a pumpkin patch on Wednesday for hay rides and such. It should be fun, but also very tiring. I'll be back home Thursday, but then I'm taking the ACT on Saturday.

I really, really hate algebra. And I really, really hope I don't fail.

Catch-up

Right. Sorry I sort of dropped you and then forgot all about you. I've been very busy, you know. Not too busy to post, but busy enough to try to use it as an excuse! I understand if you don't forgive me. While you're deciding whether or not to accept my apology and renew your hopes that I'll remember to post more often, why don't I tell you what I've been doing and thinking lately?

I've been reading quite a bit. Mark Beauchamp (Moscow, ID) recommended an author to me while I was there: Terry Pratchett. He is hilarious and I have been devouring every one of his books I can get my hands on. I also found some new dystopian fiction that I'm reviewing. I didn't get to do much reading earlier this year, so I'm making up for that lack now.

I went to the library book sale on Friday & Saturday (I'll be going to the $3/bag sale on Monday) and I found some good books. I got David some books on body language (he likes to read people), Paige & Kelly some gardening books, and some hardback classics for me. Also a book on cryptography and two on shorthand. I'm going to learn and it will be such fun! ("'Amusing', or 'quite diverting', dear, but never 'such fun'!")

I've been studying algebra in preparation for taking the ACT this coming Saturday. As in, six days from now. I really hope that I don't fail miserably.

I'm looking into making some natural cleaning solutions for my housecleaning "business". I've had headaches and sinus troubles ever since I started. No wonder, either, what with all those dangerous chemicals I've been inhaling five or six hours a week! I think proper ventilation would help, too, but these houses all have air-conditioning and they feel quite sealed-up.

I found an interesting website (they sell hats!) that I thought Mrs. Badgermum might like to see: www.queenofhats.com. They have a few hats for men, too, but the women's hats are prolific! Actually, you should look at this post on Haute*Nature about millinery. There are a dozen or so links to some very interesting hatmakers.

I've been thinking about mimetic desire and scapegoating lately, as Doug Wilson has been posting some interesting things about Rene Girard. I got the Girard Reader from the library, and have started reading. It's very enlightening. I definitely need to read more.

That's all for today; I'll try to post again sometime this week and tell you about the other books I've been reading.

Part Three

Oy, this story is long.

Right. So, I met the Roises, and they are all very nice. I enjoyed the few days I had with them. They had an appointment in Portland for Nelly, so they left Monday morning. They let me stay at their house while they were gone. That first night was not so great; it hit me all at once that I was alone and far away from home. I was tired out from travelling and I didn't know anyone there. And I was hungry. That tends to make everything worse. So I ate some dinner, drank some beer, and went to bed.

Next day I was feeling better, and I had a good time at the conference. The speakers were hilarious and very good. I met a nice lady from Texas and she took me under her wing for the rest of the trip. She's six feet tall, so we got along very well. We ran around all over downtown Moscow; we saw the Kenworthy Theatre, NSA, Mark Beauchamp's bookshop, Bucer's, the local Greek restuarant, West of Paris...it was fun. I met some people from NSA, and they were all very kind. They were genuinely interested in me and my plans. Moscow is a nice little town; I'm really looking forward to living there for a couple of years.

I caught a ride up to the airport in Spokane and flew home on the ninth. It was so nice to have such a short trip. Even my layover was pleasant! I met an NSA student in Virginia (Alexander) who was there for a short visit. I saw him again in Idaho, and he gave me a ride to the airport. His brother, Nate, was on the same flight as I, so we got to hang out a bit. We had dinner and beer together in Colorado and talked about school and the Lord of the Rings. It was nice. It was nice to finally get home, too. I was home in time for my birthday, and I get to sleep in my own bed now, in my own room with my own books.

Quite a journey, eh? I don't know if I'd like to ever do that again, but it was interesting. And it makes for some great stories.

There it is. Questions?

Part Two

Oh, goodness! I didn't realise that I'd left you all hanging for so long! I'm terribly sorry. I know how awful it is to be waiting on the edge of my seat, as it were, for the end of a story. So let's see, then....where was I?

Oh, yes. Lisping Hippie. My train left Havre, Montana at around two o'clock in the afternoon, and was scheduled to arrive in Spokane, Washington at around what-the-devil-am-I-doing-awake o'clock. Spokane at two a.m. What fun! But before I got to Washington, I got to spend hours and hours sitting next to Lisping Hippie. He told me all about Jesse James and how misunderstood he was. He told stories of his bike-riding adventures. He stole my camera and took a picture of me with it-- I kid you not. Thankfully, I didn't have to spend the entire ride with him. God was merciful to me and for a while, I got to sit in two empty seats out of LH's sight. I think he was one of those people, you know, the kind that have your insides shuddering and trying to run away? One of those.

Another one of God's mercies is that trains serve alcohol. It tends to dampen the shuddering-and-running feelings for a while.

When I finally (and forever!) got away from Lisping Hippie, I had a nice long wait in the Spokane bus/train station. It was there that I slept(ish) on a very uncomfortable bench (they try to make it as uncomfortable as possible, you know) for a nine-hour layover. I met a nice(ish) girl there, Girl Who Can't Say Three Words Without Cursing. She had just had a miscarraige. She was a strange person. Sad and apathetic at the same time. It's odd to write this part of the story, after so much of it has been tongue-in-cheek, but there it is.

It was an uneventful (yay!) ride to Moscow from Spokane. I finally got to Moscow at about 11:30 on Saturday morning (the fourth). Claire Roise picked me up and she was a very pleasant person to meet after all of the crazy people I met while using public transportation.

I am going to stop once more, but I promise I will continue tomorrow. I promise. If I remember.

Just kidding! I really will. Really.

Sorry, Mrs. Badgermum!

I'm sorry I haven't finished the story of my trip...I'll try to finish it tonight when I get home from school!

In the Fine Tradition...

...of Miss Valerie, I am expanding a comment into a whole new blog post. Mrs. Badgermum asked how my trip was; I can tell you in one word...but I won't. It wouldn't make a very long post, would it?

The first portion of my trip was spent in Virginia, with R & C, and it was very enjoyable. While I was there, I met a young man who goes to NSA. He was visiting one of his friends for the summer. I was able to talk to him and ask him some questions about the school, and everything sounded peachy. I was there for two-ish weeks, at the end of which time I got on a bus and stayed there for four days. Cross-country bus trips are....eventful. I spent as much time sitting in the station(s) on layover(s) as I did on a moving bus. It was quite a relief to reach Denver, where I had some obscure relative named Vera, who picked me up from the station and took me away. She took me out to eat (twice) and to a bookstore and she let me take a shower and a nap and everything. I was exhausted.
When I left Denver, I only had a short trip up to Montana. I was very glad to leave the bus station for good. I met such interesting people, though. For instance: Marijuana Man Who Got Arrested at Two O'clock in the Morning Somewhere Between Knoxville and Nashville, Truck Driver Who Wants to Buy Me Food, Charismatic Christian Who Converses By Yelling from the Front of the Bus, Mr. Moocher (he has no money), Girl Who Can't Say Three Words Without Cursing, Nice Old Ladies, Miss Moocher (she has no money and hasn't eaten in three days), Hick Going to the City for a Job, and so many more. Quite an Adventure, you know.
I spent a week in Montana, cooking and cleaning and watching small children. They are very entertaining. I left Montana on the train, which is better than the bus. Don't worry, though! It has Interesting People, too. I met Lisping Hippie on the train. He was reading Love Comes Softly and he kept delicately brushing back his bangs from his forehead. He had some interesting social theories. He was...what's the word? Oh, yes. Creepy. And weird.

Anyway, I'm hungry, so I'll finish my Saga of Travellingness later. (oh, the suspense!)

“Let us blow trumpets”

Ritualism will always attract much of healthy humanity, merely because ritualism is emphatically wearing your heart upon your sleeve; that excellent practice. It says in essence, “Wear your heart upon your sleeve; wear it blazoned in crimson and embroidered in gold. Break out into songs and colours as lovers do. Let others pretend to an inhuman delicacy and a quite sophisticated silence. Let us cry out as children do when they have really found something. Let us blow trumpets and light candles before the thing that we have, to show at least that we have it. And let them keep a decorous silence and a moderate behaviour, let them raise a wall of stone and draw a veil of mystery across something that they have not got at all.”
- G. K. Chesterton, The Illustrated London News, 28 July 1906.

I'm back!

Howdy.

So long, farewell....

This will be my last post for a month or so. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning at 4 am to go to Virginia. I'll be there for a while before moving on to Montana and Idaho for short visits, then I'll be coming home. I'll be home again around the second week-end in August.

I'll be sure to keep some paper handy, so I can write up some posts about my trip when I get back. I leave you now with one of my favourite poems:

Resolution

Love, You have struck me straight, my Lord!
Past innocence, past guilt,
I carry in my soul the sword
You buried to the hilt.

And though to eyes in terrible pain
Heaven and earth may reel,
For fear You may not strike again
I will not draw the steel.

:Charles L. O'Donnell (1884-1934)

We will drain our dearest veins, but we shall be free!

George Grant writes on the victory of the Scottish over the English at Bannockburn, on the 24 June, 1314. (See the two posts written on 24 June)

Justification and Baptism

Rev. Peter Leithart has been writing on justification and baptism recently. I enjoy reading what he posts, but sometimes I can barely understand what he's saying! It takes too much brain power to muddle through all of that scholarly language. I'm glad he's posting these now; they're more easy to read and understand than usual. I recommend reading them; they clear up a few issues that people seem to be debating lately.
____________

What's this I hear about the Anglican Communion giving the Episcopalians a deadline for straightening up before they're excommunicated?

Too late!

One thing she prays for every day: "I pray not to cause scandal or bring shame upon either of my traditions."

This part in particular made me laugh: "I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I'm both an American of African descent and a woman. I'm 100 percent both."

I don't even know what to say to that. It is such a preposterous statement that it doesn't deserve an argument.

Epiphany Ahead!

An epiphany not unlike my last one ("God is better than humans!").

From WilburBlog, a quote from Robert Capon's Bed and Board:

“The reason the headship of the husband is so violently objected to is that it is misunderstood…the Bible does not say that men and women are unequal. Neither does the Church. There are no second-class citizens in the New Jerusalem. It is husbands and wives that are unequal. It is precisely in marriage…that they enter into a relationship of superior to inferior—of head to body. And the difference there is not one of worth, ability or intelligence, but of role. It is functional, not organic. It is based on the exigencies of the Dance, not on a judgment as to talent. In the ballet, in any intricate dance, one dancer leads, the other follows. Not because one is better (he may or may not be), but because that is his part. Our mistake, here as elsewhere, is to think the equality and diversity are unreconcilable. The common notion of equality is based on the image of the march. In a parade, really unequal beings are dressed alike, given guns of identical length, trained to hold them at the same angle, and ordered to keep step with a fixed beat. But it is not the parade that is true to life; it is the dance. There you have real equals assigned unequal roles in order that each may achieve his individual perfection in the whole. Nothing is less personal than a parade; nothing more so than a dance. It is the choice image of fulfillment through function, and it comes very close to the heart of the Trinity. Marriage is a hierarchical game played by co-equal persons. Keep that paradox and you move in the freedom of the Dance; alter it, and you grow weary with marching (53-54).”