Busy Fall Days and Hobbit Birthdays

Yikes! Another month has gone by. I'm just not very good at this regular posting stuff. Husband's school year is well under-way and is very intense, so his computer use needs have sky-rocketed. So about once a month may be what I can manage. Somehow I can't seem to make myself post at work. When I spend all day seated in front of the computer, the last thing I want to do when I'm finally off the clock is stay there and keep typing.

First of all, happy birthday to two of the best hobbits ever, Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, both of whom were born on this day long, long ago, in a Shire far, far away. Happy birthday, boys! Let's all raise our glasses of ale in tribute to the Baggins lads.

Today is also the 4th(!) birthday of young TH, one of our dear Tallahassee friends. Have a great day, little guy, and many happy returns! Tomorrow, OA, another young cutie, turns 2! Wow! How fast these youngins grow! Have a happy birthday, O, and many happy returns!

Also, on a sad note, on the sixth of September, we lost a great American author, and one of my very favorites: the incomperable Madeleine L'Engle. She was 88 years old. If you have never read her work, do yourself a favor and start with the Time Trilogy (3 books): A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Though ostensibly children's books, they are immensely enjoyable for adult readers also. Then move on to Many Waters and An Acceptable Time, two of my favorite books in the world. She also wrote excellent fiction for adult readers: A Small Rain, A Severed Wasp, Certain Women, and many, many more. Additionally, she published journals and musings on life, family, and theology. She was very prolific, and all of her books are beautifully crafted and worth reading; a few are masterpieces. I only regret that there will be no more. Godspeed, Madeleine, and thank you for the gifts you left this world.

Thankfully, something good also happened on Sept 6, and that was the birthday of AH. Hope you had a wonderful day, dear friend, and many happy returns!

Has anyone else seen the film Stardust? I thought it was really fun. Claire Danes and Charlie Cox (male lead) were very cute together. Sweet movie. If you like fantasy-type-stuff, take an afternoon off and go see it. :-)

Anyway, happy fall to everyone! This is my happy time of year...my energy level increases, the light outside falls in such beautiful angles across the land and trees, and even the warm days don't pack the heat punch that they did in August. The nights are getting cooler, which means that sleep is even more delightful than usual. And the trees around Brandy Hall are beginning to be touched with that autumn palette of colors as the green of summer does a slow fade.

We are back in the full-speed-ahead schedule here. Husband's classes are going at full-throttle, and his assistantship work at the Sousa Archives, his volunteer work with the Conservation Lab, and his music librarian position with our local professional orchestra, are also keeping him hopping. He continues to love school, which is so gratifying to see.

My day job is going wonderfully! Ever since we hired a campus minister this summer, the pace has picked up dramatically. He's a great guy, and he's full of energy and good ideas to build our formerly non-existent campus ministry from the ground up. Since I am interested in campus ministry as a possible future career pursuit, it has been awesome to work with him and just watch him do his thing. I've also become a member of the ecumenical and faith-diverse Religious Workers Association at the U of IL, and I'm enjoying my involvement with that organization.

My church choir must have taken their vitamins over the summer because they came back pumped up and ready to sing! It was great! We're having a good year so far. They're growing, both musically and in numbers, which is very exciting to see. Now, if I could just find some time to do some long-range planning! I need to get the Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter seasons figured out. Last year we did a large work during Lent, so I need to decide what to do this year.

I don't know when I'll have the opportunity to write more about our amazing trip this summer. The days just keep getting away from me. But at the very least, I can get up some pictures of Copenhagen, which I already wrote about in my last post. So I'll leave you with images of Copenhagen in July. First you see one of the painted cows that were all over the city. Next is a view along the Strøget, the wonderful pedestrian street that we walked along so many times. Third is a view of the area around the royal palace. Finally, Rosenburg Palace, historically a summer home for the royal family.

I hope you are happy and well this lovely September Saturday. Peace and blessings, friends.