A Week in Review

Here's a review of things I've seen/read/heard/experienced this week. I learned long ago at the bookstore that you really can't make recommendations to people. Turns out they'll hate it, or look at you like you've got to be kidding, or just quietly and slowly put the book back on the shelf and walk away. So I don't recommend. I simply offer opinions. If your likes and dislikes are exactly like mine, then you might agree.

Wall E
Zac, Jonah and I saw this movie last night and really liked it. Visually it's fantastic, and the music is beautiful. The interesting thing to me is that there's not much dialogue, but those little robots still tell a full story with a lot of heart. The boys are from different age groups, Zac is 13 and Jonah is 6, but both enjoyed it. All the way home Jonah kept saying, "That was a good show!" 4 stars.

Zac and Jonah
1000 stars each. Love them.

These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E. Turner
This is a novel I'm reading. I've known of it and avoided it for some time, mostly because of the title. These is? I can't read that. But enough people told me that they loved it to make me decide to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. It's a great story and well written. Sarah Prine is a likable character. I find that I really care about what happens to her, which is a strong point in a book in my opinion. There are some sad and difficult scenes, but they are told with taste, not with the melo-drama that too many authors use. I haven't finished it yet, but so far it's great.


Outlook
The Church Office Building has switched from GroupWise to Outlook starting this week. I guess it's an upgrade. I'm doing pretty well, but some of my co-workers are having a hard time. The median age of the staff here is about 68, and it really is hard for some to use the computer, and once comfortable they really don't want anything to change. It makes me wonder about "upgrades" in general. There are some who really like to have the newest of everything and use every feature on their gadgets. I'm not one of them, and I don't think I'm a minority. I think most people, when they get something new like Outlook, simply try to figure out how to do what they did on their old system and stick with that. I haven't switched up my cell phone for years. The one I have will make and receive phone calls, and that's all I need it to do. If I had one that could beam my mother into the room so that I could talk to her face-to-face would I use it? Probably not. That would really freak her out.


Temperatures reaching 100 degrees
It's ironic that Zion is hotter than hell. I'm not ok with it. And why does the weather man always say, "The temperature today was about 10 (or 15 or 20) degrees above normal"? Where does this "normal" temperature come from? I can't remember a 4th of July that wasn't 100 degrees. Maybe it stayed in the 80s thirty years ago, but should we really still consider that the norm? Listen up weatherman, I'm putting you on notice. Stop telling me that it should be 15 degrees cooler than it is. You're not helping.

Viva La Vida from Coldplay
Let's get back to something good. I love this cd - love it! It's been all I've listened to since I bought it a couple of weeks ago. Viva La Vida is now my favorite song, and Violet Hill is a close second. Great, great cd.


Dad
It's my dad's birthday today, and he is 70 years old. I can't believe it. Neither can he! Over the last year or two, he has started sending me cards with short letters in them. I just love it. He's very smart and witty in his writing, and always remembers to tell me what the weather is like in Minnesota, and how the garden is doing. My dad can remember the weather from every year of his life. Go ahead, ask him what the summer of 1953 was like. He'll tell you. Happy Birthday Dad! I love you.

I think that's a wrap.

Happy 4th of July!