ex(PR)essed

It’s raining…again. For the past two days, it has rained and rained. Normally, I don’t mind a rainy day. But, it’s rainy AND cold. And, I’m wearing a skirt. And my legs and feet have been wet off and on all day, and I’m weary of this chilly, soggy sensation.

So today, as I was running a few college-related errands at lunchtime, I couldn’t help but notice the irony of my grumpiness about the rain and the book on CD I’m currently listening to: “Johnstown Flood” by David McCullough.

I’m not entirely sure why this book captured my attention. I don’t read (or listen) to much non-fiction. I don’t have much of an inclination towards history. But, I am from western Pennsylvania, and my grandfather grew up just miles north of Johnstown. I visited Johnstown several times when I worked for the PA League of Cities and Municipalities and cheered on their revitalization as they attempted to recover from some very lean, depressing years. So, I guess, for those reasons, I found myself plucking this eight CD historical perspective off the shelf for my holiday listening enjoyment! (I’m traveling to Jamie’s tomorrow, and I like to make the most of my six hours in the car by listening to books on CD…)

I just popped CD #4 in, and, so far, I’m enjoying the book very much. At this point in the story, the dam has broken and the water is raging towards Johnstown. There are several train cars full of people sitting on tracks bound to be swallowed up by the flood waters, and few people in the city have evacuated their homes, so I’m now fully immersed in the drama of this tale. And, given the torrent of water that washed away a whole city, I guess I shouldn’t be too bitter about the steady rain that simply makes for less pleasurable errand-running!

What a great Thanksgiving holiday! On Tuesday night, Jeff and I hosted his parents and brother Tim overnight. Then, my parents arrived Thursday afternoon for the Thanksgiving festivities. It was great to see both sets of parents without having to travel at all. Love that!

I really like hosting my parents for Thanksgiving. Before I got married, it was our tradition to have Thanksgiving in central Pennsylvania and then go antiquing on Black Friday. It was nice to re-visit that tradition this year.

When my parents come for Thanksgiving, the day ends up being very relaxing. This year, I got up around 9 a.m., leisurely drank my coffee and read the newspaper, puttered in the kitchen, and spent some time in Clifford (our big red chair) admiring all of Martha Stewart’s holiday wonderfulness.

The meal all came together wonderfully, and we enjoyed every bite! After dinner, mom and I jetted off to Michael’s — they were open from 6-9 p.m. Thanksgiving night. It really wasn’t terribly crowded, and we enjoyed shopping around and gathering bargains. We also bought some necessary supplies for our button trees (more to come on that later).

On Friday, we enjoyed our annual Thanksgiving antiquing trip with Jim and Amy VanZandt.

We met them in New Oxford where we spent the better part of the day shopping for bargains. Somehow, we managed to leave without this beauty, although we all agreed it would look fabulous over my mantle. I mean, who doesn’t love a bull painted on velvet?

The other disturbing sight from our day of shopping? (Book lovers…brace yourselves.)

In our group was a librarian, retired elementary school teacher, and six avid readers. It pained us to see these books so carelessly strewn outside. It was clear that some had been wet and most were horribly abused. It was almost too much for us to take, and we purposefully looked away when passing by the second time.

Saturday was comprised of more antiquing and shopping…and making a button tree! I had seen these adorable button trees on my favorite non-family-member’s blog: Ali Edwards. Mom and I decided to take a try at making our own button trees. Now…it wasn’t the easiest or the least frustrating craft that I’ve ever embarked on, but I coudln’t be happier with the result! I was so button-happy that I attempted a second one yesterday, so I now have a pair. Too cute.

Now another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it’s onward to Christmas. Hard to believe that today is December 1! In the next 24 days, I have cards to write, cookies to bake, gifts to purchase and wrap, and a house to decorate. Whoa. I think we should all be given a mandatory sabbatical in the month of December…

Well, the alarm clock was a rude reminder this morning that vacation is over! Jeff and I had a wonderful week — lots of reading, sleeping, and just general lounging around. Here are just 10 things I want to tell you about my week.

1. I got to eat pumpkin ice cream twice. Love that.

2. I did a lot of sleeping, and I really like to sleep. For six days, I didn’t set an alarm clock or worry about what time to get up. As a matter of fact, for the portion of our vacation spent at Keuka Lake, it was warmer (by far!) to just stay under the covers. So I did.

3. I got reacquainted with my mountain bike. My Army green Trek mountain bike used to be my baby. Then Jeff came along. And then a red, faster, sleeker Trek came along, and, well, I’m afraid of mountain biking really. Jeff and I rode a bit in the woods behind my parent’s house. And, my mom and I used our mountain bikes to stalk, er…I mean encourage, Jeff during the marathon. We probably pedaled a total of 20 miles that Sunday morning, which allowed me the opportunity take these photos:

4. I like to read. Alot. I finished one good book on vacation, “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck, and started another, “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett. One of my favorite moments was being spread out on the bench of a picnic table in the warm Friday sun drinking tea, reading, and dozing.

5. Hurricane Ike made a stop in Meadville. On Sunday night, we lost electricty around 8:30. Jeff and I laid in our room with flashlights balanced on our chest reading while the wind howled outside. I thought it was a bit creepy. Forced everyone to enjoy an early bedtime though. (Please see #2 for more on this topic.)

6. I climbed 800 stairs so that I could enjoy the wonder that is Watkins Glen. It was a cool, sunny day, and we enjoyed our climb up the gorge. The lighting made photography difficult, but I got a few shots worth sharing:

7. I can’t talk about visiting Meadville without talking about going to Pymantuning to feed the fish. This time the fish were all too deep, and the geese and ducks ate all our bread. Jeff was even brave enough to feed the seagulls by throwing bread into the air and watching them pluck it out of the sky. Mom and I just squealed and covered our heads in fear of an awful, unfortunate seagull accident that would leave one us with an unwanted present in our hair!

8. Ben. Ben who I babysit when he was only months old and is now a first-year student at Penn State. Ben and his brother and sister are like grandchildren to my parents. So, we were all so pleased that Ben was home for the weekend. Then, Jeff and I took a little State College detour on our way home yesterday so that we could take Ben his bike. In exchange, Ben took us to the Creamery! More ice cream…mmmmmmmmmm!

9. On Saturday, Jeff and I went to his cousin Angie’s wedding. First of all, kudos to the couple for chosing to get married in the Chautauqua Institution. That is one of my very favorite places, so I was thrilled to be on the grounds again, especially for such a happy occassion. Angie was a stunning bride. Truly. She was gracious and kind. And, sometime ask me about the special father-daugther dance. (Bring a tissue.)

10. Sadly, in the stack of the mail that was waiting for us was a note from the county. I’ve been summoned for jury duty. It’s official. I’m totally an adult. And, it’s definitely back to real life.

I want to share two gems of wisdom from the book I’m reading, “The Emperor of Ocean Park” by Stephen Carter. It’s a work of fiction, a murder-mystery of sorts, written very much like a Grisham novel. However, within the suspenseful storyline is a healthy dose of social commentary. I’m enjoying the book very much.

I was stopped in my tracks when I stumbled upon these two passages:

“Although every believing Christian understands that God guides our steps, fewer and fewer emphasize the point. A God working actively in the world makes us uneasy. We tend to like our God distant and a bit malleable, ready to bend to every new human idea. A God with a will of his own is too scary, and, besides, he might get in the way of our satisfaction of immediate desire.” (pg. 300, spoken by the main character, Talcott)

Then, 46 pages later:

“Satan never changes. That is his great weakness. That is where the believer has the advantage over him, praise God. Satan is a creature of habit. He is clever, but not intelligent. Satan is always the same, and his subjects, those souls who are lost to him, always behave the same…Satan is stupid. Clever, you see, but not intelligent, praise God. This is God’s gift to us, requiring Satan to remain stupid. Why is Satan stupid? So that, if we are alert, we can recognize him. By his signs we shall know him! For Satan, stupid Satan, always attacks us in the same ways. If the old methods fail, he can think of nothing new, praise God. So he just goes on to attack somebody else. He attacks us with sexual desire and other temptations that distract the body. He attacks us with drink and drugs and other temptations that addle the brain. He attacks us with racial hatred and love of money and other temptations to distort the soul.

“You see, then, what Satan does. He attacks the body. He attacks the brain. He attacks the soul. Body, mind, and soul–those are the only parts of the human being that Satan understands how to attack, praise God. If you guard them from Satan, you are safe. If you guard your body, you are guarding the temple of the Lord, for you are made in God’s image. If you guard your mind, you are guarding the toolhouse of the Lord, for God works his will here on earth through mortal human beings. And if you guard your spirit, you are guarding the storehouse of the Lord, for God fills our souls with his power to help us to do his work on earth.” (spoken the character Reverand Doctor Morris Young)

Ok…I can’t take it any more and I must make a confession. I’m saddened to share this news. I’m disappointed in myself. I’m questioning if I have failed English majors everywhere. Prepare thyself: the Lorows have abandoned “War and Peace.” I made it not quite halfway, and realized that book was slowly causing me to lose my love of reading. I was searching for other things to read at night (magazines, puzzle books) to avoid the book. I’m not sure why. I didn’t dislike reading it. Rather, I didn’t eagerly anticipate picking it up at night, and, therefore, I practically stopped reading it. I love to read too much, and there are too many good books out there to risk spending the next seven years plowing through “War and Peace.” Confession over.

I practically skipped to Murray Library here on campus last Friday to check out a few summer reading books. Since I’m flying to Florida next week, I was looking for a page turner, something that would help me pass the time during the flight. I got two books, and I’m just getting started with “The Emperor of Ocean Park.” I’ll keep you posted.

I’m reading a second book though now too (very much not my style, by the way, to date more than one book at a time). It’s a little page-turned called “Messiah College: A History.”

You see, the College is celebrating its Centennial in 2009-2010, and my colleague Christina and I are leading the communication committee for this event. My major responsibility this summer is to research, write, and populate the Centennial website. It’s a mammoth endeavor, but a fun project. And, it gives me reason to read at work!

Once you’ve read “Messiah College: A History,” you might be looking for some additional summer reading. Allow me to recommend “Peace Like a River” by Leif Enger; “Prodigal Summer” by Barbara Kingsolver; and both of Donna Tartt’s books.

Now, time for Chapter 5: “Grantham and a New Home.”