What a wonderful day!

Now that spring break has truly begun, I decided to have a day off, and recreate. I don't normally recreate, unless it is planned well in advance, studied to death, and napped over. Even then, I may change my mind. So the last time I went into Athens (The Big City!) for purely recreational reasons (or any other reason) was several years ago.

I live 17 miles from The Big City so it's not like I live in Echo Canyon and have to strap on a pack mule or something. But I simply enjoy home, and routine and doing the same things Over and over. And over.

The weekend isn't really the start of spring break because we always have weekends. I don't always have a Monday off, though. So today was the day. I got Bessie the Pack Mule loaded up and took off to do three specific things. (See, even in recreating, I have a list).

First I visited a friend who has an extensive theological and Christian library. He'd offered me the use of his personal library, so I took advantage immediately. I borrowed four books and plan to get through at least three of them this week.

First up was Nonie Darwish, "Now They Call Me Infidel", about Muslim woman who converted to Christianity. Oswald Chambers in a slim tome "Studies on the Sermon on the Mount." I do have pretty extensive knowledge of prophecy for being a newbie Christian but there are gaps in my knowledge of the basics, like the major sermon of the bible, lol. Grant Jeffrey's "Apocalypse" which is right up my alley, and RC Sproul's The Last Days According To Jesus. That one will take me a while to read. Sproul is pretty intense, like John MacArthur and CS Lewis, there are some authors you just need to ponder after each paragraph. Last was a little book called "Humility." I borrowed that because I sense that even though I am so great, there may be times occasionally when I am not so great. I need tips for how to handle those times. Few as they are.

[sarcasm, OK?]

I guess I'll have to put Seabiscuit aside for a few weeks. Then I hied mysel' down to the Thrift Store. I had a mission. Some very specific garments were on the list, as well as curtains. The sheers aren't going to cut it now that I have neighbors who live closer than 200 feet. I found some heavier white ones so the room won't feel smaller and I won't feel so closed in. I wanted to find some summer-weight pants (no luck), and a few tank tops. I plan to use tanks as an undershirt because all garment makers these days assume all women, no matter what the age, size, or modesty level, want to show of their cleavage crack. Well, I don't. Tank tops worn under the offending low cut shirt do the necessary covering up. I wanted to find a lightweight summer sweater to use as a blazer for church and a jacket at night, and I did find one. It's bright sunshine yellow. When you see me coming your future will be so bright you'll need shades. I found a couple of summer shirts and a couple of teddy bears for the classroom for 18 cents apiece. The total was $25. Three sets of curtains and halfway to a new summer wardrobe, can't beat that price with a stick.

Above, the living room. You can see the sheerness of the drapes, which was OK when no one lived nearby. Now I have neighbors. No one should have to see Bert & Luke in the morning, so sparing the neighbors that vision, I'll put some drapes up. Sigh.

And since it was nearly dinner time I went to Jason's Deli for a deli sandwich on good bread, chips, and a warm cookie just out of the oven. MMM. The coup de grace for the day was the plan to see The King's Speech. It has been in one movie theater or another in Athens ever since it was released last winter, which is great. I attended the 4pm matinee, and was shocked to discover that first-run movies during the day do not cost a nickel any more. Well, at least they don't cost $2.50, which was the price the last time I went to a matinee.

The King's Speech is a wonderful story, made all the better for being true. The second in line to the throne, King Albert, has a devastating speech impediment: a stammer and a very bad stutter. He seeks the help of an unconventional speech therapist when all others, over the years, have failed. He makes improvements but after a couple of years it becomes apparent that his elder brother will abdicate the throne in favor of marrying Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American. Albert will have to speak at his coronation, as well as address the people over the radio in the Kingdom's 65 colonies when Britain declares war on Germany.

The movie at once weaves in threads about the crushing weight of living a royal life, about duty, love, friendship, and most importantly, the need to have your voice heard. His voice was to be used as an instrument of comfort, encouragement and resistance to Hitler's evil throughout the war. How things might have been different for the Britons if their King had not been able to speak to them during that dark time.

I left the theatre happy and energized by such wondrous acting and hot to learn more about the royals, Churchill during WWII, and Wallis Simpson.

I had a pleasant drive home and was pleased to see that my newly bought drapes will work out nicely. Tomorrow I'll get a few more curtain rods, and hang them. All in all, a great day. Recreation has a lot going for it. You should try it sometime.