A Belated Happy New Year!

I haven't completely abandoned this blog yet, but my posts are by no means prolific.  Maybe I can do a better job in 2026... but that's if I have something to say, haha!

Something I have kept up with is posting the books I've read (click on Reading Lists on the right-hand side).  It contains links to my annual reading lists starting with 2015! I just added the link for 2026, which already has a couple entries.

Peace and joy to you all!

Books and a Movie

Although I haven't made a regular blog post in a couple weeks, I have been keeping my 2025 Reading List page up-to-date. This is something I will continue to do until the end of this year. I will probably follow a similar idea for my 2026 reading. But I'm thinking of doing more actual posts about books, movies, entertainment, etc.  Hmmm... we'll see, won't we?

Ellen, Anne-Marie, and I went to see the Downtown Abbey movie last week. We enjoyed seeing our "old friends" on the big screen. But we missed Maggie Smith. She was the best!

Have a great weekend!

The Book After Titus

We just had a two-week sermon series on the book of Philemon at our church.

How is Philemon pronounced?

During the sermon series, the preacher said it like this: fill-EE-mun. Emphasis on the middle syllable.

A variation that I thought I heard him say a couple times: file-EE-mun.  Fill vs. file.

Either way, emphasis on the middle.

Now we need a series on Habakkuk! 😁

Blogging 2023 Numbers

I did a very poor job writing blog posts last year. There were only 148 posts, and nearly a third of those were written by my father.

However, I did keep my 2023 Reading List current (sort of). I made 90 entries!

I hope to post more regularly in 2024. And, of course, I hope to read just as much.

I feel pretty good about the reading goal.

Time will tell about writing more blot posts....  😁

Read a Book!

Every now and then I write a post about how I love to read.

I own many books that I still haven't read yet. There are piles of physical books sitting on the floor in our guest bedroom. I also have pages and pages and pages and pages of book titles on my Kindle.

Long-term readers of this blog know that I've been keeping track of the books I've read for a few years now. I even list them for your perusal. (See the links on the right-hand side of the page.)

You will notice that I've been reading a lot of books by three authors: Agatha Christie, O. Henry, and George MacDonald. This is because I am trying to read all of the works by these authors. It's taking a while!

Hey! Read a book!

Reading

I posted 95 entries on my 2022 Reading List. I want to average at least a book per week, so goal exceeded for 2022.

Since my 2023 Reading List already has two entries, I'm already ahead of the game for this year.

Go read a book!  😀

Reading

Every now and then I write about my love for reading. I don't recall mentioning it for a while, so I figured it was time to get another blog post out of it.  😁

After I finish reading a book or a short story, I add it to my Reading List page for the current year. My 2022 Reading List page is currently at 68 books/stories.  I hope to add many more by December 31st.

Read a book!

🕮

Bible Reading

I read the Bible to my mother just about every day.

Today I asked her if there was a favorite story she would like me to read.  

Her response was, "All of it."

So we started at the very beginning.  ("A very good place to start" as the Do-Re-Mi song explains.)

Tomorrow we'll move on to Genesis Chapter 2.

Read The Book!  

📖

A/C Units and Books

Lew now has put in all three of the window air conditioner units we use each summer.  They are for our bedroom, our dining room, and Dad's bedroom.  I am pleased to report that the weather actually has warmed up enough to warrant turning them on at times.

Regular readers of this blog know I love to read, and summer is just the time to do more reading. (I say this in fall, winter, and spring, too! Ha ha!)  I currently have about 10 different books going.  I am concentrating on three of them and the others I pick up when I feel like it.  (These "others" are not novels, and they are okay to read slowly and sporadically.)  If you'd like to get a sense of what I like to read, please check out the links to my "Reading List" pages under my photo on the right.

I did not practice my penny whistle yet today, so I better get on that.  😁

Vital Visits and Big Books

The days are blending together. When asked how things are going, my answer is usually, "We're in a holding pattern." And I mean that in a good way.

I continue to visit Mom in the early afternoon each day. (Exceptions are illness or bad road conditions due to weather.) These daily visits consist of her drinking the Ensure I bring, my reading the Bible to her (a Psalm plus a passage from a Gospel), playing the pop-the-bubble game, and a puzzle or two. Several days a week we also video chat with Kim, who is joined quite often by Joe, Kaelen, and Cocoa! The daily visits from me and Dad have really made a difference for Mom. I'm so glad the shut-down is behind us,

I've had some what I call "big books" to read for quite a while. So a couple weeks ago I started setting weekly goals to try to get these books read; usually a chapter a week. I then break it down into daily weekday goals. I reserve the weekends for catching up. I currently am concentrating on two "big books." I just started week three and I'm sticking with it so far.

In addition to the "big books" I am fitting in some regular-length books. Yes, I really like to read!

Two Christmas Pageants

My niece Kelsey directed the children's Christmas pageant/program at her church this year. Her son, Bode, played a donkey. He was cute and squirmy! The program was last Sunday.  Mom and I watched the video of it online that afternoon, and we thought we had identified Bode... but we were wrong. So we watched it again today, eyes glued on the correct donkey this time! Great job, Kelsey! Great job, Bode!

I decided to read "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" to Mom. The book is by Barbara Robinson. We finished reading it yesterday, so today we watched the 1983 made-for-TV special. (I found it on YouTube. It's less than 50 minutes long.) Mom and I enjoyed both the book and the TV special.  If you have a chance to read/watch it, then I encourage you to do so.  Experiencing the Christmas story through the eyes of the Herdman family is a delight.  "Hey! Unto you a child is born!"

Our first heavy snowfall of the year is happening right now.  ❄❅❆

Chess Challenge

I finished reading "The Queen's Gambit" for the second time recently. I wanted to watch the series on Netflix before I forgot the details, so Lew and I watched all seven episodes this past weekend.

The series stays pretty true to the book, although there are a few differences. Nothing major, though.

There are some bad words in the show and in the book, so I wouldn't recommend either to children. 

The story itself is mesmerizing. I do enjoy a good story!

Little Notes

Dad uses yellow paper to hand-write his Derf post each week. Then I get it entered into the blog, making some editorial changes along the way. Dad wrote a little note to me regarding yesterday's offering:

"Do your magic Tracy!"

A couple weekends ago I was sorting through some books and came across an older edition of Streams in the Desert that my grandfather had given my grandmother in the 1940s. I have read an updated version of this devotional book, so I decided to read through this older edition. Look at the note I saw on today's entry:

"Fred, Jr. had appendix out 1948"

Two observations:

My father has been appendix-free for 73 years.

The practice of writing little notes in the upper left-hand corner is hereditary.

Dusting Doesn't Have To Be A Chore

I've been reading a book of essays about books. One of the essays is about how to care for your books. The suggestion is to not dust books on your bookshelves. Instead carefully dust a single book only when you remove it from the shelf to read or look at.

I have always applied this same suggestion to everything. The dust is just going to come back anyway, so why even bother!

😉😏

A Sticky Subject

Lew suggested that we buy some green stickers and some red stickers.

If one of us thinks we should get rid of a household item, then we can put a green sticker on it. If the other wants to keep the item, then a red sticker can be applied to negate the green sticker.

I "red stickered" the sticker idea because I don't want to get things sticky from the stickers.

My counter-suggestion: Let's talk about what we would like to get rid of. I asked Lew to name something. He said he didn't have an idea yet, although he keeps mentioning how many books we have around the house....

Don't touch my books!

Seriously, though, we do have way too much stuff.  Past efforts at decluttering, although initially successful, didn't stick (pun intended).

Reading

I'm not sure how many of my blog readers pay attention to my Reading List links (see right-hand side of page). I keep updating the Reading List because it gives me a sense of how well I'm getting through my piles of books. By "piles" I mean both physical books and electronic books.

I recently read an article suggesting the best way to get through a lot of books is to be reading several different types at the same time. For example, a heavy-duty non-fiction book for when you can concentrate and a cozy mystery for late-night reading. (I certainly can't read a "heavy-duty" book at the end of the day!) This article didn't change my reading habits, because I already do this.

I am currently reading five books: a novel, a memoir, a book of essays, a theology book, and a book on the history of codes and ciphers. These books are in addition to my daily Bible reading and devotionals.

I will not finish all five of these books at the same time, of course. Novels tend to go quickly, as do memoirs. Theology books take a little longer. The book of essays is when I want to fit it in. The codes/ciphers book may take me years (not really, but it is quite long and "heavy-duty").

When I finish the novel, I'll find another one to begin reading. Same for the memoir, the theology book, and so on.

My encouragement to you for 2020: Read some books! 

📚🔖📖🔖📕🔖📘🔖📙🔖📗🔖📖🔖📚

Update: A Lofty Goal

In mid-March I wrote a post about how I had 58 books on my "to read" list. (Click HERE to see that post.)

I am happy to report that my list is down to 51! That's pretty good progress in under two months.

Disclaimer: There are more books I want to add to my list. Many, many more....

Christmas Eve Eve

After a night of snow and a morning of sleet, today was the perfect day to stay home.

I read a novel, Flags Out Front by Douglas Wilson.

I ellipticalized while starting to read said novel.

Lew and I worked on getting through my Christmas Movie Checklist. (After tonight we will have only one left — It's A Wonderful Life — which we will watch tomorrow.)

Dad made a Pat's Pizza run for supper, and I tried a new item (new for me, anyway): the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad pizza. It was delicious!

And now I am off to watch Emmett Otter's Jug-Band Christmas!

Sanctity of Human Life

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday could be recognized on either January 15th or January 22nd this year (it's usually the third Sunday in January). Our church chose to recognize it on the 22nd, the 44th anniversary of the fateful Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade.

Because of my involvement with our local crisis pregnancy center, I was asked to give a short talk toward the beginning of the service. By "short" my pastor meant 10 minutes! Fortunately I was asked ahead of time, so I was able to prepare.

I was quite nervous on Sunday morning, but when I started to speak I felt a great peace.... God's peace!

My talk was well-received by my church family. They particularly liked that I ended with a one-page excerpt from Dr. Seuss' classic, Horton Hears a Who. Horton is carrying the speck of dust on a clover, and his jungle-mates are becoming aware of what he's up to:

Through the high jungle tree tops, the news quickly spread:
"He talks to a dust speck! He's out of his head!
Just look at him walk with that speck on that flower!"
And Horton walked, worrying, almost an hour.
"Should I put this speck down?..." Horton thought with alarm.
"If I do, these small persons may come to great harm.
I can't put it down. And I won't! After all
A person's a person. No matter how small."

If there is a life-affirming crisis pregnancy center in your area, I encourage you to support it with your prayers and financial gifts. Thank you!

A Book a Week Is What I Seek

I try to read a book a week on average, so I am happy to report that I just added the 52nd book to my "2016 Reading List" page!

I'll probably add at least three more to the list before the year is over.  I usually have several going at once, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

I enjoy keeping track of the books I've read.  It gives me a sense of accomplishment. It also makes me feel more studious than I really am — ha ha!

My advice for y'all today:  Read a book!  :)