- To whom it may concern:
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1)
butterbobbin- April 13th, 2019
If you want to be considered for an add, ask me, and please tell me how you know me or found me. Otherwise, don't be surprised if I don't add you back - I need to know who's reading my stuff.
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- butterbobbin
- February 5th, 20:57
The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of His love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14.18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not His enemies but His gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God Himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognisable, and almost incurable. - John Piper, "Hunger for God", p. 14.
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- butterbobbin
- January 11th, 10:42
- December's List and Bookie Awards!
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- butterbobbin
- December 31st, 2011
50. The Barber Who Wanted to Pray, RC Sproul. 40pp
This was really sweet. The pictures border on being a little too cartoony for my usual taste but I still like them: very detailed, very rich colours. I like that this is a true story and that it has such a positive lesson, making a richer prayer life something to be grasped. It even got me thinking as an adult and I look forward to incorporating these lessons into my own prayer life as well.
51. William and His Twenty-Two, Mabel R Miller. 159pp
This is a small piece of Adventist history, written for children about 9-13ish. A LOT of names to try to keep straight (the 22 refers to the 22 children of this William, not a gun). Very interesting and fun stories.
52. Moses the Kitten, James Herriot. 32pp
Haven't read this for years, but Carpenters had it and so I revisited it. *squish*
53. Only One Woof, James Herriot. 32pp
I'm sure I probably read this as a child, but it sparks only very vague memories.
54. Hergé, Son of Tintin, Benoit Peeters, 424pp
A fascinating look into the life of the man behind Tintin. Not a particularly admirable man, I must say, in most regards, although his talent is undeniable. It was interesting to read Peeters' analyses of the various Tintin adventures and get some insights into what inspired them. I had no idea that so many of the earlier ones especially were triggered by real world events at the time - you kind of lose that immediacy when you don't read it when it's written, I guess. There are a number of Tintin adventures I'm just not comfortable with and never really have been, but thankfully there are still some good ones too.
55. Depression, the Way Out, Neil Nedley. 265pp
A most helpful and encouraging read, with solid science and common sense teaching one how to deal with anxiety and depression by implementing lifestyle changes. I would recommend this as a read for anybody who deals with depression either in oneself or a loved one, because it's practical and the method targets the causes of the disease rather than just masking symptoms.
<lj-cut text="And now for the Awards">
Month with most pages read:
May, with 1862 pages
Most Helpful Self-Help Book:
Depression, the Way Out
Book I Read Yet Again, Totalling 4 Times in 4 Years:
The Great Controversy
Best non-marathon reread:
A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
Most Intriguing Non-Fiction:
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things
Book I Was Sure I'd Hate and Ended Up Loving:
All Creatures Great and Small, James Herriot
Best Fiction:
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Best Children's Book Previously Unread:
Cornelli, Johanna Spyri
Stupidest Book:
I Am What I Ate...and I'm Frightened!!!
Most Egotistical Piece of Egotism:
Labour of Love
Best Book About China:
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze
Best Memoir:
Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey
Book Most Likely To Provoke Controversy When Read In a Public Space:
The Great Controversy? (And yes, Marie, I stole that award title from you)
Best Book Chosen Randomly Because the Title Made Me Snort:
The Good Old Days, They Were Terrible! Otto L Bettman
Most Fascinating Excursion Into the Past:
At Home, Bill Bryson
Author I Read Most:
Ellen G White (GC plus Testimonies 1-5)</lj-cut>
Year-to-date totals:
Page count for December: 952
Total page count for 2011: 13,111
Nonfiction: 29
Fiction: 5
Juvenile fiction: 13
Juvenile nonfiction: 8
Rereads: 4
- PSA
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- butterbobbin
- December 13th, 2011
I have never longed to hibernate so much in my entire life.
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- butterbobbin
- December 5th, 2011
I am making lentils for lunch. Molly is prancing about the house in my church shoes. I can't wait to eat. I was going to do laundry this morning but the hose was frozen. I don't know if it's thawed out yet or not.
- November's List
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- butterbobbin
- December 1st, 2011
I feel like I just posted October's book list!
44. Still More Stories from Grandma's Attic, Arleta Richardson. 157pp
I was asked to do children's story at church at the end of November, so this was the beginning of my quest to find a story I could tell. I didn't end up using any of the stories from it, but it was fun to revisit this favourite from childhood.
45. The Secret Church, Louise A Vernon. 128pp
This was my favourite book as a child for many years. Again read hoping maybe for children's story fodder, but the story was too complex to condense down to five minutes.
46. For Time and Eternity, Allison K Pittman. 384ppruthette was reading this (free on Kindle). I really don't read much fiction any more, especially Christian fiction, which I have a general personal vendetta against - but because it was free and about a topic I'm intrigued with at the moment (Mormonism), I gave it a read.
It was interesting. In fact, I liked it more than I thought I would - it wasn't well-written, but made a lot of interesting points. I think the part that stood out to me most was the part where Kimana (the Native American maid) makes the point to the main character that, had Jesus really come to the US as the Mormons teach, her people would have passed such a monumental story down through the generations.
I think I'd read the next books if the library would have them, but would never go out and buy them. Am mildly curious to know how she plans to wrap it all up.
Also really liked the author's little "interview" thing at the end of the book. It was nice to see her call Mormonism by its right name and not try to be all ecumenical about it. :-)
47. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë. 576pp
Wow.
So, as I said, it is true that I have for the most part lost my taste for fiction, but I really enjoyed this (balanced with making sure I was keeping up with my devotional reading alongside). It was movingly written and full of quite sound Scriptural principles, barring the interesting interpretation of "hellfire burning for aeons=purgatory", which obviously I found objectionable. Man's choice for God or against Him is sealed by death; if flames could purify the soul, then Christ need not have died. But I digress.
I admired Helen's sturdy devotion to morals: like Jane Eyre, she is willing to sacrifice what might be perceived as making one happy for the satisfaction of a clear conscience before God.
I did not expect the ending it had; quite honestly it was building up in my mind as hopelessly tragic, and I was relieved to find out I was wrong. Is that a spoiler? Sorry.
48. My Bible Friends Vol. 4, Etta B Degering. 120pp
This is something I read to Molly for bedtime over the course of several weeks. I love "My Bible Friends". They're so colourful and simple and bright, but thoroughly classic.
49. Say Hello to the Snowy Animals, Ian Whybrow. 20pp
Very cute. Molly loves the fuzzy animals on all the pages and laughs at the noises they make (or, more specifically, all the silly gestures and noises I make imitating them).
Year-to-date totals:
Page count for November: 1385
Total page count for 2011: 12,159
Nonfiction: 27
Fiction: 5
Juvenile fiction: 13
Juvenile nonfiction: 4
Rereads: 4
- Wish List Thingie
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- butterbobbin
- November 29th, 2011
I haven't done this for a couple years, but it was always fun.
Step One - Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ so that the holiday joy will spread.
Step Two - Surf around your friendslist (or friends' friends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list.
And now here's the important part:
- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.
You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out; it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.
There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish and it might come true. Give and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.
1. Isa Chandra Moskowitz cookbooks - I have none, but oh how I would love to have them all.
2. iTunes or Amazon gift cards.
3. Altar of Praise CDs.
4. Boxes of cold cereal. Rice chex, granolas, stuff with nuts and dried fruit preferred, but I also love things with cinnamon. I just... adore cold cereal lately.
5. Cast-iron trivets (here's an example) for my wood cookstove.
6. I would love to have a small, elegant sailing ship type ship for my new house. Maybe even in a bottle. I'm not actually even too sure exactly what I want, but maybe someone else choosing for me would remove the agony... lol. I don't want it to look overtly piratey.
7. Vintage maps.
8. Chocolate. Omnomnom.
...I can't think of ten things.
Current address:
Jael Baldwin
40845 McQueen Dr
Sweet Home, OR 97386
- Because I'm a total copycat, this is my Thankfulness Photoessay.
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- butterbobbin
- November 23rd, 2011
- October's List
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- butterbobbin
- November 1st, 2011
41. Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks, Juliet Eilperin. 270pp
This had a slow start for me, and then it picked up. It bogged down again at one point about halfway through (political stuff) and if I hadn't been determined to finish it THIS WEEK (because I've been reading it since JUNE) I probably would have set it aside again.
There was a lot that was really interesting about sharks in this book that I did not know previously, and I feel I learned a lot. I didn't care so much for the overwhelming amount of text devoted to the political and activism sides of Saving Sharks. Not because I don't appreciate their efforts, but because that's just not interesting reading for me.
For more concision, I would have given it 4 stars.
42. Testimonies for the Church Volume 5, Ellen White. 894pp
What a very, very long book. NINETY-ONE CHAPTERS. I really enjoyed it, though. I have Volumes 6-9 left to finish now, but I'll take those up later: I have time to get The Great Controversy in this year and it's really important to me to make sure I read that every year.
43. The Connected Family, Paul and Carolyn Rayne. 159pp
This is the book that accompanies the video series that we're watching on our Wednesday night parenting class at church. I decided to go ahead and finish the book now to get my pathetic book count up by one. Very, very down-to-earth, practical information and methods of becoming close with your children so that you can effectively lead them to God. I recommend it highly for anyone who has children or is thinking of having them.
Year-to-date totals:
Page count for September: 1323
Total page count for 2011: 10,774
Nonfiction: 27
Fiction: 3
Juvenile fiction: 11
Juvenile nonfiction: 2
Rereads: 2
- Things
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- butterbobbin
- October 25th, 2011
exhausted
My new blog: Too Cheap for Pine Nuts
I'm crazy.
Anyway. My entire afternoon got slurped up by said blog, so I better go do dishes.
This has been a very blah day. If I had more energy I would elaborate.
- Cookie recipes to try
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- butterbobbin
- October 11th, 2011
Vegan
COCONUT, OATMEAL, CHOCOLATE CHIP
COOKIES
Chococonut Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Chocolate Cocoanut Chewy
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/yockelsons-large-and-luscious-two-chip-oatme al-cookies And this is the one I'm thinking of trying today.
- September's Booklist
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- butterbobbin
- September 29th, 2011
It's a few days early, but I will not have time to read much more before it'll be October, so here's this month's list.
36. Beekeeping for Dummies, Howland Blackiston. 333pp
A great overview of beekeeping with plenty of illustrations and so forth. I must be destined for beekeeping, because his description of the love and attachment one develops for one's bees fit me to a tee.
37. The Bible Story, Vol. 1: The Book of Beginnings, Arthur Maxwell. 190pp
Started going through these for Molly's bedtime/our evening worship reading. Not very consistent about it, but it has been fun.
38. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Peter Hessler. 402pp
I'm not sure even where to begin with this one, because the topic of China is so vast and as always, books about China leave my mind swimming - in a good way. So much to process, and so much fascination. I really enjoyed his perspective as a teacher, because the excerpts from his students' papers are so telling and evocative.
39. My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George. 177pp
For about the first half of this book, I was not all that impressed. It's written in a very spare narrative that left me rather indifferent to the story. It picked up a bit somewhere around the middle.
I wouldn't say I disliked it - I just would have enjoyed a little more emotional punch to go with the character development, which was the more interesting part for me.
Or maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind.
40. Cornelli, Johanna Spyri. 275pp
I always enjoy a good Spyri read, and this did not disappoint. It follows more or less the usual Spyri formula, and therefore the ending wasn't too hard to predict (although it wasn't QUITE what I predicted, it was about right).
***
12 books to go to complete my goal of 52 books this year - I'm barely keeping up, and hope I can do it!
Year-to-date totals:
Page count for September: 1377
Total page count for 2011: 9451
Nonfiction: 24
Fiction: 3
Juvenile fiction: 11
Juvenile nonfiction: 2
Rereads: 1
- In which I speak of icky creepy crawly things.
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- butterbobbin
- September 18th, 2011
I have encountered two spiders so far in this canning episode. One was very black and very dead in the canner itself. No sooner had Dan rescued me from that one than a very alive one was on a jar I picked up. It was small and I freaked out and Dan thought I was silly.
It has eight legs. It is TERRIFYING.
That is all.
Eventually, maybe, we'll actually get to the storage shed. Now that I've started the applesauce process I kinda have to finish it.
...Also, the applesauce is PINK.
- Bad Day.
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- butterbobbin
- September 6th, 2011
I am just not, in any shape, form, or manner, having a good day today. So I guesseattheolives can add me to her grumpy list.
Goodbye.
- August's Book List
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- butterbobbin
- September 1st, 2011
I wonder if I can pass 10,000 pages this year. I did over 11,000 last year... would be nice to at least maintain that. I don't anticipate passing up the well-over 16,000 pages I read in 2009.
That being said, here are the whopping two books I completed in August.
34. Testimonies for the Church Vol. 4, Ellen White. 657pp
The series started to pick up for me again in this volume: back to more practical pointers that apply to all, not just select groups (e.g., ministers and other church leaders). I enjoyed. Going to hold off on volume 5 temporarily, to give me a chance to get caught up on the other 4 books I'm embroiled in currently.
35. The Call of the Wild, Jack London. 208pp
This did not have a sad ending, although there were sad moments in it. I enjoyed it quite a lot, although there were times when I felt like there was some Deep Socially Relevant Message for that time that I couldn't quite grasp - my mind is too tired to try to process any Deep Socially Relevant Messages at this time.
Also, I read this as a free download on GoodReads, so it's harder for me to grasp deep and elusive concepts in what I'm reading when it's not on the printed paper page.
Year-to-date totals:
Page count for August: 865
Total page count for 2011: 8074
Nonfiction: 22
Fiction: 3
Juvenile fiction: 9
Juvenile nonfiction: 1
Rereads: 1
- In which I am sad and regretful
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- butterbobbin
- August 18th, 2011
melancholy
I'm really upset because I went to check on the bees this morning and when I opened the hive there was not a single bee there. Just silence and an empty comb and a few old dead bees along the edges of the bottom of the box.
The only bee I saw around was one solitary little trooper going from squash blossom to squash blossom in the garden, but she never went to the hive. I watched her for a while until I lost track of her.
What happened yesterday? Up until day before yesterday the bees had pretty much maintained status quo despite the yellow jackets.
I left them alone yesterday. Maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe I should have checked on them.
- My Life
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- butterbobbin
- August 14th, 2011
*Last night Spot stalked and pounced upon a creature I could not see whilst we were walking about the property. I finally saw the creature and forced him to release it. He was not happy with me.
*This morning I made pancake mix, transplanted my cosmos (again), checked on the bees twice, watered the garden, and am on load 2 of 3 of laundry.
*Later Dan wants me to help him with layer two of garden fence.
*I guess I need to come up with a lunch idea. It's eleven already. Wow.
*BUT IT IS A GOOD DAY.
- June and July Books
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- butterbobbin
- August 7th, 2011
30. I Am What I Ate... And I'm Frightened!!! Bill Cosby, 184pp
This was a pathetic reading month, particularly because this was the only book I completed. And it was annoying.
Year-to-date totals:
Page count for June: 184
Total page count: 6655
Nonfiction: 20
Fiction: 1
Juvenile fiction: 8
Juvenile nonfiction: 1
Rereads: 1
31. AdventureCat Goes to School, Susan Clymer. 72pp
A friend of mine found this at a garage sale, and since we have an orange cat, she picked it up for me. Truly, the story is NSG, but I LOVE the artwork and would give that a much higher star rating - such fuzzy feline adorableness. This book is worth it just for the cute drawings of cats.
32. Rule Britannia, Daphne du Maurier. 352pp
This one was... well, odd is really the best word for it. At first it was a little boring, then it picked up, then it got so disgusting I almost couldn't keep reading, then it started to get really good, and then it... ended. And it ended in a way that seemed a bit anticlimactic. I was expecting Mr Willis to end up being something more than he was, or the US to kill everyone, or something absolutely bizarre that I couldn't dream up happening at the end, a la "House on the Strand".
All in all, an entertaining read, but Daphne must have just been past her author-ian prime by this time - most of the books I like best by her had already been written. This one almost didn't feel like it was even written by her. There were things that proved it was, but it was just not as powerful.
Also, USUK was a very unfortunate acronym.
33. Jungle Stories, Eric B Hare. 130pp
A thoroughly enjoyable read about mission work in Burma in the earlier half of the 20th century.
Year-to-date totals:
Page count for July: 554
Total page count: 7209
Nonfiction: 21
Fiction: 2
Juvenile fiction: 9
Juvenile nonfiction: 1
Rereads: 1
- Spam spam spam spam SPAM spam spam spam
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- butterbobbin
- July 20th, 2011
From james <kgyjutoqid@parasolgarden.com>:
Hey man..
Remember all those long distance phone calls we made.
Well I got my telephone bill and WOW.
Please help me and look at the bill see which calls where yours ok..
Also:
- May Books
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- butterbobbin
- June 1st, 2011
25. Majestie: The King Behind the King James Bible, David Teems. 261pp.
This was an pretty easy read and a look into history to a man I previously knew nothing about. The author's style is a little stilted, in my opinion: incomplete sentences abound, and he has a casual and almost flippant way of relating history at times. That being said, I found it very educational and interesting to learn more about the world that gave us the KJV.
26. Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey, Patricia Harman. 286pp
I enjoyed this book a lot. I resonated with the author's longing for getting back to basics and being good stewards of our planet, and, of course, her desire to restore natural childbirth as an option for today's women. It was written in an almost conversational style, a series of snapshots from the author's life that string together into a beautiful whole. I liked this style - the shortness of each section made it easy to read the book in fits and starts and not lose track of anything. (I have a very busy toddler and am interrupted constantly...) The writing was concise, elegant, eloquent. It brought tears to my eyes and made me laugh too. I would read this again and plan to read more from this author.
27. At Home, Bill Bryson. 452pp
I learned what a mudlark is. I learned that 1/10 of a six-year-old pillow's weight is "sloughed skin, living and dead mites, and mite dung" (and consequently have decided, at the soonest possible opportunity, to replace one of my own pillows which is, oh, 25 years old or more). I learned so much, in fact, that my brain couldn't take it all in and I'll have to read this one again.
28. I'm a Stranger Here Myself, Bill Bryson. 288pp
This was grand. There were a few slow spots for me, but almost every chapter got a smile or a laugh, and the income tax chapter had me laughing so hard I had to keep putting the book down to collect myself. The Highway Diversions chapter also had me going. The billboards he describes... Wall Drug, anyone?
"These [attractions] were always disappointing, but that wasn't the point. You weren't paying seventy-five cents for the experience. You were paying seventy-five cents as a kind of tribute, a thanks to the imaginative person who had helped you to pass 127 miles of uneventful highway in a state of genuine excitement."
29. Testimonies for the Church Vol. 3, Ellen White. 575pp
I fiiiiiiiiiinally finished this one. It just seemed more tedious than the previous two, though there was still a lot of really soul-searching stuff in it that I benefitted from. I've set myself a goal to finish Vol. 4 in June, because I still would really like to read all 9 this year.
Year-to-date totals:
Page count for May: 1862
Total page count: 6471
Nonfiction: 19
Fiction: 1
Juvenile fiction: 8
Juvenile nonfiction: 1
Rereads: 1
***
Because I'm ahead so far, I decided to up my goal to 52.
