Ode to a Scoundrel

This morning, I ran across some geeky musings I jotted down last year after I watched Start Wars VII...

The galaxy was a brighter place because Han Solo was in it.  He was full of surprises, and he had most of the best lines.  He was confident to a fault, and got himself into all sorts of ridiculous scrapes, yet somehow he always got back out of them.

But the scene on the catwalk of the Star Killer wasn't a ridiculous scrape.  It was a bridge over a yawning chasm, and in Star Wars, those are serious business, whether it's the epic fight scene with Darth Maul in Episode I, the confrontation between Luke and Vader in Episode V, or their rematch at the end of Episode VI.  Bridges are where Good looks Evil in the eye and tries not to flinch.  Where people choose what side they're really on.  Good usually prevails, but not always.  Fathers, or father figures, often get mortally wounded at those junctures.  Han Solo seemed to sense all of that before he took his first step onto the catwalk in Episode VII, but he did it anyway because he felt his son was worth the gamble.

LEIA:  He certainly has courage.
LUKE:  What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?
(Episode IV: A New Hope)

Voting Good, Electoral College Bad

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . doing research in preparation to vote.  I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to.  I'm not thrilled about either presidential candidate, but as I read about the people running for local offices I was pleased to learn that many of them seem like good people who share my priorities.  And as always, it felt really good to vote, whether my choices win or not.  I'm grateful to live in a country where I'm free to raise my voice.

And another thing . . .

. . . I've spent the last  couple decades voting for Republican presidential candidates in a very blue state, and now that I've moved to a red state, what do I do?  I vote for a Democrat for president for the first time in my life.  It's an amusing irony, but it also sparks my quadrennial rant against the electoral college.  When will we finally abolish that thing?  In the presidential race, at least, I feel like my vote  has never really counted, and the candidates have little incentive to appeal to my home state because they either have no hope of winning it, or no fear of losing it.

Bikes and Badminton

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . playing badminton in the backyard with the kids after school, and watching Joy lead some of her siblings on bike/scooter tours of our neighborhood.  I'm grateful that my kids have safe places to play, and a few toys to play with.

My Guiding Light

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . going to church with my family.  I'm grateful to know why I'm here on Earth, and that my Heavenly Father and my Savior love me; and I'm grateful that I can share those wonderful truths with my children when they have questions or doubts.

The Home Stretch and Thankful Prayers

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . watching Joy gently encouraging her little brother Todd on the last stretch of our hike today.

. . . listening to Anna say her prayers.  She always thinks of so many things to thank God for.  She's an example to me--I tend to do more asking than thanking.

Gratitude, Gifts, and a Chestnut Smoothie

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . my three big kids all preparing birthday gifts for Todd of their own accord.  Daniel and Anna each gave him something from their Halloween stashes, and Joy drew him some pictures of things he likes (i.e. numbers, a train, and his stuffed doggy).  The numbers she drew were among his favorite birthday gifts today.

And another thing . . .

. . . lately I've been feeling that I need to work on being more grateful.  I live a very blessed life, even by American standards, but I appreciate so little of it and am too quick to focus on the little things I wish I could change.  I'm setting a goal to post in this blog daily for the rest of this month (and possibly beyond) to write at least one thing I'm grateful for each day.

. . . when I opened this blog tonight, I realized that I promised a month ago that I would tell you whether I found a chestnut smoothie recipe that was any good, then I never reported back on that.  I know you've all been anxiously awaiting my verdict so let me just say that blending roasted, shelled chestnuts with pears, bananas, and some water makes a pretty good smoothie, but not so great that I'm not going to run out and buy more chestnuts any time soon.

Squirrels and Chestnuts

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . verifying that orange peels really do seem to be deterring the squirrels from digging up parts of my veggie garden.

And another thing . . .

. . . ever wondered whether Google would return any results for the search "chestnut smoothie"?  I can now tell you from personal experience that the answer is yes.  My tai chi teacher gave me a big bag of roasted chestnuts (which I've never tried before today--funny how Americans sing a Christmas carol about roasting chestnuts by the open fire, but few of us have ever tasted one), and I'm not really loving them by themselves.  Phillip suggested I could put them in smoothies, and as it turns out, the good ole internet has lots of suggestions to make that happen.  I'll report back tomorrow.