Author Archives: Amy Jane

In Defense of “Movie” Dates

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When I was in high school it was very common for groups of friends to go to see movies together.

It was also common for my mother to make a remark like, “Why spend your time at a movie? There’s no interaction!”

I only did one or two visits a year to the movie theater back then. Still averaging that now, but in anticipation of my first post-baby visit, (and my first “date” since I-can’t-remember-when) I will list my reasons for watching movies not-alone.

  • Quiet “being” time
    • Yes, I know there are other types, but we enjoy having a variety of ice cream flavors too.
  • A shared “experience”
    • While it is all imaginary, it is, especially if well-told, a Story after all. And the purpose of a story is to understand or experience something by being put into it.
    • It was Nora Whats-her-name (the directer of You’ve Got Mail and other things) who said the appeal (or even thrill) of romantic comedies isn’t in their originality. It’s in their ability to recreate for the viewer an echo of the excitement of her/his own experience, bringing the memory into sharper focus– recreating the emotional potency.

    (I love that. I started paying attention and now think it’s largely true.)

  • Observation
    • When I saw the first Pirates movie, I instantly knew I wanted to be with my dad when he saw Jack Sparrow coming into port at the beginning. I wanted to watch him watching that whole sequence that followed.

    (Knowing him, I guessed he would enjoy it, and I suppose I’ve never outgrown a daughter’s natural delight in her father’s laughter)

    Continue reading »

I don’t mean to sound ungrateful…

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But how did I end up in the “international” list for the prize drawing???

Oh dear.

I signed up for last week’s blog party, and like nearly 1000 other bloggers eagerly scanned the list of cool prizes being offered to partygoers. As many of them did, I dreamed up a “wish list” of my absolute favorites, in case I was drawn. I also mentioned I was in Alaska.

~ ~ ~

Here’s a quick reference chart (though it’s largely irrelevant I almost included it as a “public service announcement” in my intro post):

AK is not Arkansas, its Alaska
AR is not Arizona, its Arkansas
AZ is Arizona.

We’re all America, USPS ships to all three, and while mail can take a little longer to get up here, it is not much more expensive.

~ ~ ~

I hope in the future being non-contiguous won’t exclude the 49th state from the awesome prizes offered for American bloggers. (Another idea would be letting small, mailable things like gift-cards be an option for us “INTL” folk)

*sigh*

I don’t mean it in a nasty way. It’s always fun to hear you’ve won something, but this is a little like having someone offer to buy you their favorite painting…

Anyway, had a lovely time cruising new sites during the party, I think I picked up at least two new reads.

And if there is some sadly disappointed INTL blogger who would like my on-line prize-pack, leave a comment (find me a dog if you’re feeling really generous) and we’ll call it even.

Returning Light

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There is something special about this time of year; the light is bright when we wake up, and lasts long enough for it to be worth reopening the drapes when afternoon nap is over.

This is also the time of year when sunglasses are the most useful (if one remembers to keep them handy), since, in addition to the clear brightness of day we have the reflecting expanse of white everywhere.

I don’t feel myself greatly affected by the diminishing light toward the end of the year (not as some do, anyway) but I am distinctly aware of the growing spring-brightness.

I have more energy, and really do feel hope rising in my spirit– as if I actually felt relief at the promise spring will return again this year.

Getting Un-stuck.

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I absolutely cannot remember where I read/heard this, but here’s how my memory plays it:

I don’t want to.
I don’t even want to want to.
But I do want to want to want to.
And that is a starting place.

I haven’t got any further in the deciding how much my will determines my own doings/ability. But I am being reminded about the faithfulness of God in the midst of our foolish confusions.

Continue reading »

Half a Blanket– a Tuesday Tale

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A young man and his old father worked their farm together with no ill-feeling or complaint.

When the young man took it into his head to marry, life only improved (there finally being a proper cook about the place).

It wasn’t until a full year after the marriage, at the birth of a little baby boy, that the young man began to show a change in character; for now he, full and sudden, felt the heaviness of fatherhood fall on him.

That weight of responsibility caused him to become more and more critical of his own father, who was only growing less strong and able to help with necessary work.

Finally, the young man ordered his sweet wife to fetch a blanket and send it with the old man to the poorhouse.

In those days, blankets were often woven double long, in order that they might be doubled on the bed for extra warmth.

When the young man saw the good work that his wife had made, it went to his heart to send the whole thing off with a worthless old man, and he ordered her to cut it in half.

“Half a blanket will be enough for him.”

Young Mary, who disapproved of the whole event began to argue,

When up from the cradle by the fire piped the voice of the tiny infant.

“Mother,” he chirruped, “You do as Father says. And lay that other half safely by, so I know where it is when the time comes to pack my father off to the poorhouse.”

You can imagine that changed the young father’s outlook pretty quickly, and he realized the old man still had at least one job left to his old age.

He would help his grandson learn to care for his elders.

~ ~ ~

One other submission today:

A tale from Hindu mythology called The Wasted Sermon

100 Things About Me

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Hmmm— So, I just found-out what all these 100-things lists are that I’ve seen on a bunch of blogs.

Apparently the list is supposed to coincide with one’s 100th post. So I’m quite late.

It is, I think, the ultimate vanity. But as that is largely the purpose of blogs anyway, I see that fact being constantly forgiven/indulged.

So, craving the same patience of my readers (and largely because Jay has asked me to make an annual habit of self-description–!– as a reference, I suppose) I present my 100 things.

  • Beginning with a thank you Prov 31 for the idea of organizing the 100 (some categories I borrowed, some modified), without which I wouldn’t have attempted this.

A. The things I pray most frequently:

  1. No-bad-dreams for my girls each night
  2. Safety for my family
  3. Wisdom for me and my husband
  4. Wholeness for my future sons- and daughter-in-law

B. Four Things I miss about growing up:

  1. Having rabbits, and their greenhouse as my “secret” place to get away
  2. Wrassling with Dad and my sibs
  3. Only one room to keep clean
  4. Hours of time to spend creating stories with my toys

C. Five things about my family:

  1. Jay and I complement each other perfectly
  2. I used to think I wanted four kids, but now three seems the perfect fit.
  3. My three kids were born in less-than 3 1/2 years
  4. Kids this close together fit my personality better than I could possibly have guessed
  5. We plan to homeschool once our children are older. Currently I am most intrigued by Charlotte Mason’s ideas.

D. Ten things I like to do (in no particular order):

  1. Read
  2. Write
  3. Explore (in every way– museums, woods, new–or old– houses, libraries, the internet)
  4. Sing
  5. Guitar
  6. Tell stories
  7. Listen to stories
  8. Learn new things
  9. Watching a T.V. series on DVD that I enjoy (Currently: Monk and House, M.D.)
  10. Watch good movies

E. Ten favorite movies:

  1. Undercover Blues
  2. Kate and Leopold
  3. Sabrina
  4. Oklahoma! (London version– there’s irony for you)
  5. Sahara
  6. Sense & Sensibility
  7. Stargate
  8. Singin’ in the Rain
  9. Bewitched
  10. Hitch

F. Ten favorite books, or, The minimum I’d want to start over with after a fire:

  1. A durably-bound bible (along with a good bookmark and a number of colored pens)
  2. The Perilous Gard
  3. Jane Eyre
  4. Professionalizing Motherhood
  5. Taking Charge of Your Fertility
  6. Good Poems
  7. Enchantment
  8. Favorite Folktales From Around the World
  9. Sea Wolf
  10. Devotional Classics

G. Nine Favorites:

  1. My Best Friend (Jay)
  2. Homemade Ice Cream!
  3. “Jewel” tones: saphire, ruby, emerald and amethyst
  4. Having the right answer at the right time
  5. Soft clothes
  6. iPod-accessibility and mixability of Music!!!
  7. Rose: Sterling Silver
  8. Wildflower: Iris
  9. Drink: Milk (1%)

H. Ten verses/passages underlined in my bible:

  1. Hosea 2:19-20
  2. 1 Corinthians 15:58
  3. Exodus 33:13-16
  4. Deuteronomy 4:29
  5. Ephesians 4:29
  6. Hebrews 12:11
  7. Psalm 139:14
  8. Phillipians 2:3-4
  9. Phillipians 4: 4-7
  10. Isaiah 43:1-2

I. Ten things I don’t like:

  1. Being misunderstood or misconstrued
  2. Being startled/caught off-guard
  3. Forgetting
  4. Thinking of something too late
  5. Saying something unkind
  6. Being tired
  7. Mashed potatoes
  8. Watermelon
  9. Dr Pepper (Whenever my Dad or husband don’t want to share their soda, this is what they get. I don’t like that either.)
  10. Wearing tennis shoes/sneakers with dresses or skirts

J. Ten random things about me:

  1. I’ve never dyed my hair. (One acquaintance from childhood adds, “You never needed to.” It’s blond.)
  2. I “collect” information: phone numbers, addresses, middle names and birthdays. Gift ideas too. It all goes into my palm. I love it when a friend says, “But how did you know?” and I can say,”You told me.”
  3. Music is in my blood. I can’t not-listen or not-make it. I *always* listen to the words.
  4. I don’t buy something because it fits a theme, I buy it because I like it. As a result my surroundings have always been… eclectic.
  5. I memorize relatively easily.
  6. I have vivid dreams. If I had time to write them down on first-waking, I’d have a lot more story seeds.
  7. I have pierced ears, but only occasionally remember to wear earrings.
  8. I understand the strength of my glasses prescription means I’m legally blind (without them, of course). I’m never up without them, even in the middle of the night. Continue reading »

I’m Stuck.

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I declaim frequently that we (as free human beings) really do do what it is we want to.

As in, I really wanted to write a novel in a month. This I did.

A friend I greatly admire (who has a B.S. in Engineering) wanted to stay home once her first child was born. Her husband (degree in Wildlife Management) chose not to work in his field of study because it meant too much time away from his family. They now live (contentedly) in a dry cabin with two children under age 5.

They really wanted to have a homebody lifestyle, and have found a way to do it on their income.

My grandmother (just like me, or I just like her, as you like it) had 3 children in less than four years. Unlike me she didn’t get much help from her husband who always worked more than one job, all physically demanding. This while living in a small house under construction for years.

She stayed up late after the children were sleeping in order to clean and have a tidy home.

What you really want to do, you will find a way to do.

Since this is the thought I subscribe to, I have to admit when I “can’t” do something I want to do, that it is because I don’t want it enough.

(Following so far?)

This creates a lot of pressure on me. But it is legitimate pressure most of the time. I think we cut ourselves way too much slack generally when it comes to stuff we don’t do. Continue reading »

Juggling Villains

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My current problem with organizing my story is that I have two villains. And they are by no means equal. There is this hope, once the protagonist vanquishes the larger foe, that the lesser one will hold no more terror.

What is a Lizard compared with a stallion?

But this would then mean the terrifically poetic ending I have found for the lesser would be something like overkill.

~ ~ ~

I think there is a tendency in some genres to consider lesser foes as nothing, once larger obstacles (or evils) have been overcome… but this isn’t very true-to-life, is it?

Unless one was very confused or dishonest to begin with, a mere revelation or lucky streak at the climax isn’t going to remove previously insurmountable difficulties.

Writing is good for me. I’m beginning to know what to do with this.

~ ~ ~

(And on a side note, I may be posting less than in the last month or two– I’ve been doing nearly daily posts– as I knuckle down to ironing this project. I have a real opportunity coming up in September, and I think I’d be a poor steward if I didn’t do what I can to make the most of it.)

Just put me in Bloglines or something, if you’re afraid of wasting your time. I thought I was going to swear off blogging in November too– and it’s obvious that didn’t happen.

What I’ve Learned in a Year of Blogging (pt. 2)

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Some highlights (October 2006 to January 2007):