We Have a Date

*throws confetti*

Lord willing, we'll be married on. . . Frodo and Bilbo Baggins' birthday. Kudos to anyone who knows what date that is off the top of your head. When we were looking at possible dates, I was the one who knew that. *proud look* Adrian must allow me to look exultant, since overall he clearly bests me in any and all Lord of the Rings trivia. He's read the books oodles of times, and I've only read the complete trilogy through once (some of the books and the Hobbit more than that).

I will post more wedding plans in the days (or weeks) that follow, as I know that female minds like details for these sorts of things ;-).

Oh, and for those who really don't want to utilize Google or Wikipedia, and just aren't LOTR geeks, our wedding date is set for September 22, 2007. Yay!

A Bibliophile's Idea of a Good Saturday

The owner of this blog is currently gleeful because she picked up 28 George MacDonald books at a yard sale. . . for FREE. She will return to her regular (er, irregular and spotty) posting when she has finished rejoicing :-).

Life, in General

So, my brother is married. Yay! We all had a wonderful time. The wedding last weekend was beautiful, and it was so much fun to see lots of family friends. Of course, I was especially partial to the bearded fellow from Virginia :-D. I finished the quilt two weeks earlier than I needed to, which was a huge relief. Oh, and the wedding cake turned out nicely as well. I'll try to post some pictures of both soon. It is so nice for us all, I think, to now only have to discuss plans for one wedding. My poor mother was getting the two weddings confused ;-).

Next on my projects list is Hannah's maid-of-honor dress. She leaves for Quebec next Saturday (the 30th), and I'm determined that I will have her dress made before she leaves! It shouldn't take long. Then in early July Jessie is going to spend a few days with me and help me sew my dress :-).

I have been pleasantly surprised by a decent number of tutoring slots this summer. Tutoring is scarce during the summer, but I've had 6 tutoring slots each of the last two weeks, and have even more scheduled for next week. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to continue making some money, while giving me a goodly amount of time for sewing projects, etc.

This morning I'm off to smock with a few women from my church. This is our third or fourth meeting, and I'm so excited to be learning to smock, after wanting to all these years :-). It's a slow process, as I haven't been working on it much at home, but it's fun.

So, what is everyone else up to during these summer days?

Frugal Alternative to Registering For Niceties

Registering for china and silver used to be standard practice when a couple married. This has sort of fallen by the wayside of late, as fewer and fewer couples opt for traditional china and silver, instead choosing casual ware or more modern alternatives.

Well, I'm a traditionalist, so I still really like the idea of a household having a good set of china and silver. Adrian and I both hold a rather Puritan view of the Sabbath, but we'd like to celebrate it like a wedding, not a funeral. My mom grew up having a big Sunday noontime meal with china and silver every week, and that's the sort of tradition Adrian and I would like to establish as well.

Well guess what? China is expensive! And silver is more expensive! I would have been open to registering for china, even though about $80 per place setting is a really good price ($135 is a much more common price per setting), but I choked when I saw silver prices. New silver plated flatware easily can cost in excess of $300, per setting. And solid sterling silver is even more. *gulp* So I decided silver was a luxury we would pass by ;-). Multiply by 8, and that's a lot! Plus, considering Adrian and I would (a) like a lot of children and (b) like to be regularly hospitable to both couples and families with children, we figure 8 settings may not be very helpful in the long run.

Well, I'm a thrift store and garage sale nut. Two years ago I found a set of china at a thrift store for $20. It had 8 place settings (missing teacups) and a few serving pieces, and was in very good condition. (I might add here that buying used china and silverware is only really a good deal if it is in good condition! If your china is forming cracks under the glaze of the pattern - I forget what that is called - getting it for cheap is not a deal!) Anyway, so Adrian and I figured we could just find additional pieces of the same china pattern on E-bay or Replacements.com.

In addition, last Saturday I was out garage sale-ing with Mother Dear and Ashley, and I found a set of silver plate flatware, 8 place settings and several serving pieces, for $20! This was Oneida Nobility Plate, which is good stuff! A woman was selling off her grandmother's silver for a song, so I jumped on it. Then I headed to E-bay and Replacements.com to look at adding to the original 8 place settings.

I've discovered, by the way, that Replacements.com may often have a better selection (and it's an invaluable resource for finding the name of your pattern), but usually E-bay is way cheaper. Including my garage sale finds, I've bought (approximately) 16 place settings of my china pattern and 19 place settings of my silver plate flatware pattern for a total of only $300. That is an incredible savings! And that includes shipping and a silver-storing anti-tarnish box.

Now, the china place settings do not all have teacups and I am missing one soup bowl. But I do have 16 dinner plates, 16 salad plates, and 15 bowls. I would eventually like teacups and saucers (and a tea/coffepot), but it's really not on my list of high priorities. My original set of china came with 8 saucers, and I've since found 2 teacups on E-bay, so to get a true complete 16 settings, I would need 14 more teacups, 8 saucers, and 1 bowl, but as far as strict dinner china is concerned, I have pretty much 16 settings. And Jessie surprised me for Christmas with the sugar bowl and creamer for my pattern :-).

Anyway, that's my frugal rambling for the moment :-). Anyone else like to share thoughts along similar lines?

Atlanta Bridal Fabric Source

Not sure if this will benefit anyone reading this, but I might as well type as not ;-). I've been having a horrible time trying to find the type of bridal fabric I want! I've spent hours online and at major fabric stores (Hancock, JoAnn, etc.) with no success. I want an ivory satin with some sort of a subtle, same-color design, either embroidered or a jacquard fabric.

Anyway, through a chain of sources, someone recommended Gail K. Fabrics to me, reportedly the best selection of bridal fabrics in Atlanta, and now I believe them. I have never seen so many bridal choices, or different trims for that matter. So, I'm a very happy girl today, since I finally found my material. Big load off my mind. If anyone is near the Atlanta area and wants an incredible selection of fabrics, go to Gail K. Fabrics on Cheshire Bridge Rd in Atlanta.

Oh, and a lot of Hancock Fabrics stores are going out of business, and mom and I stopped off at the one near us, while we were in that area, and I found a beautiful tiara for 70% off. It's the same store where I got the maid-of-honor and flower girl fabric for 60% off. *smiles* I love saving money.

Stay-at-Home Economics

Here's an interesting article on the economics of a woman staying at home.

HT: Ashley

Food for Thought

Here is rather an amusing Lewis-like warning to be careful online :-).

HT: John Dekker

An Interesting Effect

Don't anyone have a heart attack that I'm posting only days after my last post ;-).

So, I had an interesting effect while grading one of my students' finals. Let's see if anyone can figure out this paradox. Names and actual grades changed to protect the innocent ;-).

So, I have a student who we will call Sally. Sally was hovering on the C/D range before the final exam (70-79 is a C). She had just less than a 70 before the final exam, but rounded to the nearest whole number, she had a 70 average and was passing with a C.

Enter final exam. Sally's final exam score was higher than her previous course average (so more than a 70), but her final exam made her course average drop below a 70, rounding to a 69 as the nearest whole number. So her final course grade was a D.

So question: how did this happen?

A New Page

. . . And so the pages in my life continue to turn. Yesterday I proctored and graded my final exams for Heritage Classical Study Center, marking a new phase in my life. I'm no longer a mathematics teacher, though I am still a tutor. I'm done with lesson planning, classroom management, writing tests, and grading homework. Hopefully, of course, since I don't know what the future will bring. But I'm moving towards the roles of homemaker, wife, and Lord willing, mother. I'll be tutoring through the summer and probably through the fall as well, but it won't be my main occupation anymore. I loved the opportunity I had to teach at Heritage, but I'm excited about moving into a new role :-).

Adrian and I are hoping to marry this fall, though that is not set in stone yet (what is set in stone in this life?). We will keep everyone updated when we are able to decide anything with more certainty. This summer, besides tutoring, I have two quilts to finish (one by June 16th, for my brother's wedding), a wedding dress and veil to make, a maid-of-honor dress to sew (for Hannah), and some miscellaneous other projects. I think it would perhaps be nice to actually complete a granny square afghan I have that is begging to be sewn together. I love hand-crocheted afghans! And maybe I'll be able to get started on curtains for our apartment. We'll see :-). Once we have a date I'll be sure to share more about our wedding plans and such, since I know many of you are curious!

Many life changes coming this way :-). My brother marries next month, and we are excited to have Stephanie as a sister-in-law :-D. Hannah is gone most of the summer break in foreign countries. Right now she is in Mexico through early June. Then she leaves again in late June to spend several weeks in Quebec for study abroad, back in mid-August to begin her senior year at UGA. My mom will be taking my place at Heritage in the fall, teaching classes there once a week (homework session one other afternoon, as well), instead of teaching home schoolers independently as she has done for years. My dad has the summer off, something he has only done one other time in my memory (usually he teaches summer school or a college summer semester), and I think he'll enjoy the break :-D. It'll give him more freedom for Ben's wedding and travels in the next few months. I'll be sewing, and sewing, and sewing. And planning wedding stuff, and visiting Adrian.

Times are changing, but God is good :-).

I hope to have time for more blogging this summer, though we'll see! For now, I hopped on here briefly while I cooled down from my morning workout, but I better hop in the shower now so I can get started on some more piecing for Ben and Stephanie's quilt!

Ready to Have a Baby?

I really appreciated Sherrin's post on readiness to have children. It struck a definite chord with me :-). I hope you enjoy!

Now off to pack to see Adrian for the weekend :-).

Blogging Buddies and a Cute Baby

Yay! Ashley posted pictures of our meeting with Becky from Saturday :-). It was so much fun to meet Becky in person! She's just like she is online. She also brought along Katherine. *grin* That child is absolutely a doll! I got my baby fill for a little while :-).

Ashley and I drove down to Newnan to meet up with Becky, her mom, and Katherine. We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday's and then hopped over to Starbuck's for a while as well. We had a good time chatting with each other, just about anything that came to mind. Good companionship is a blessing from God :-).

Hehe. I just realized. Jessie, didn't you and I first meet at a Ruby Tuesday's also? I hadn't thought of that. How funny! Anyway, so that makes three blogging friends I've met in person. And Adrian is the only one I didn't first meet at Ruby Tuesday's. He's also the only one I plan to marry. *wink*

Short Update

Okay, I figure I might as well post something, to appease the masses, or at least the remaining three or four who still check my lonely blog. Hehe. Besides, Adrian posted something yesterday, so I feel guilty.

I'm doing fine, just busy. My tutoring will end (except for a few homeschool students who will continue through the summer) on May 22nd, and my class finals are May 23rd. Until then, I'm snowed under. Today I'm trying to finalize my final exams, preparing for a giant trip to the copy place, and writing up keys to the finals, grading papers, planning for next week, etc., in preparation for a quick trip to Louisville with Adrian, to meet his brother Arne and family. Yay!

Oh, and I'm so excited! Ashley and I are going to drive to western Georgia tomorrow, to meet up with Becky for a few hours! Yay! That makes the third blog friend I'll get to meet in person (Jessie and Adrian being the other two).

Okay, now for a quick riddle. It's really not terribly exciting, trust me. I was talking with Adrian last night and said to him that I felt like the nagging wife in the Proverbs. To what was I referring? Amusing and serious answers are welcome. Just be nice.

For those wondering. . .

Praise God, Adrian is fine. We have been fielding numerous e-mails and phone calls today, from concerned people telling us they were praying and hoping Adrian was fine. Please pray for the students and faculty of Virginia Tech, as they deal with this tragedy, and that God will be glorified even in this great sadness.

A Side-by-Side Comparison

The greatest (because it's so awful!) movie proposal in all of cinema, in my opinion, is Darcy's first proposal to Lizzy, a la A&E. That scene is absolutely delightful. Hehe. Here is the approximate text:

In vain I have struggled; it will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. In declaring myself thus, I am fully aware that I will be going expressly against the wishes of my family, my friends, and I hardly need add my own better judgment. The relative situation of our families is such that any alliance between us must be regarded as a highly reprehensible connection. Indeed as a rational man I cannot but regard it as such myself, but it cannot be helped. Almost from the earliest moments of our acquaintance, I have come to feel for you a passionate admiration and regard, which despite all my struggles has overcome every rational objection and I beg you, most fervently, to relieve my suffering and consent to be my wife.

I much prefer this version:

In vain I have struggled; it will not do. My feelings can not be expressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. In declaring myself thus, I am fully aware that I will be going expressly according to the wishes of my family, my friends, and I hardly need add my own better judgment. The relative situation of our familes is such that any alliance between us must be regarded as a highly commendable connection. Indeed as a rational man I cannot but regard it as such myself, but it cannot be helped. Almost from the earliest moments of our meeting, I have come to feel for you a passionate admiration and regard, which despite all my encouragement has only added to all the other rational reasons we should be married; and I beg you, most fervently, to relieve my suffering and consent to be my wife.

What do you think? I rather think the second proposal is a great improvement, and terribly romantic. Especially if delivered on both knees, at sunset, by a duck pond, in a circle of stones under a cluster of trees. Now really, what girl could ask for a sweeter proposal? :-D And of course, really the more important detail is who is doing the asking. To complete the lovely scene, one must assume that the man doing the asking is the woman's man of her dreams. Just imagine in your mind's eye that he's sweet, sensitive, godly, handsome, intelligent, well-read, full of God-given grace, and wonderful in uncountable other ways, perfectly suited for the woman in question. Now that would be a romantic proposal. Why didn't Austen think of that?

Hi there from Sister Dear!

Hello, Blogger World!

Mother Dear and I just thought an update would be nice. :-) So, Susan is very nice to let me take over her blog and post a short update, pictures, and a poem from yours truly. We had a lovely visit with Adrian. For part of his visit, we had to take him to Stone Mountain. We spent a lot of time there growing up, so it's a memory-filled place for us, plus anyone visiting down here has got to see Stone Mountain if you ask me. It's just cool! We hiked up and showed him around a bit and had a picnic. And, can you believe it, he hadn't ever eaten at Chick-fil-A! Down here, that's a real oddity, like not having e-mail or something. So, we stopped by there on our way back from Stone Mountain. It worked out quite nicely.

I was so struck with the wonderfulness and beauty of friction while we were walking up Stone Mountain (with some rather steep parts) that I just had to write an Ode to Friction. Here you have it! And then pictures below that. :-)

An Ode to Friction

Away we look up the great big rock
Our destination is the very top!
We march away with firm determination
To get to our great destination

Though the first part up is rather un-steep
Still Friction must assist and guide our feet
As we travel further and the going gets rougher
Keeping a sure foot-hold gets even tougher

Friction, my friend, my ever-present helper!
What a blessing you get the further upper
That we trod upon this great big rock
For you keep me from many falls and unpleasant shock

I place my foot with confidence and trust
I know you won’t let me fall to the dust
My feet are set on an incline so great
And your God-given powers keep me standing straight

Friction, friction, what wonders you bear!
What this world would be without you there
We’d have slipping and sliding and all things colliding
Thank God for you, our companion, ever-abiding

1. Playing Apples to Apples. Ashley, Paul, and Amy (Ashley's sister) came over for a fun evening of food, chess, comic books, and sewing!

2. Resting while hiking up. (Friction is even hard at work here, while we're sitting!!)

3. At the top, holding hands (everyone say, "aw!"), looking at the amazing view, and pointing out certain landmarks to Adrian.

4. I think they're kind of happy.

5. In front of the carving! Sadly the carving isn't all that clear in this picture.

6. In front of my dream house. ;-)

7. I think Adrian likes Susan's hair a little too much. He took this picture.

That's all for now, folks!

--Hannah, aka Sister Dear

To keep him or not to keep him?

Sooooo . . . I haven't visited the Garrisons' home in years. It's not that I don't love them, I've just been busy, I suppose. However, this strange guy decided to come into Susan's life and since he's here on a visit, well, someone had to make sure he's okay. With guys these days, you just never know.

He's a friendly sort of fellow. His beard is passable, I suppose. At least Susan likes it. Or at least that's what she claims. Not much she could do about it unless she decided to shave it off when he falls asleep sometime - now that would be a grand idea!

He talks about math as if he was in love with it - that kind of scares me. You'd think it was his life or something. I've always said that anyone who loves math is crazy, so...he's officially CRAZY! Once I get home, I'll see if there's a medical description for this symptom, and if so, I guess he'll be admitted to a hospital for crazies. Then poor Susan will be without a man. Or she could go along with him because she just might be crazy herself for liking him.

Which brings me to something else. Who needs a man anyway?! Come on, all they do is require attention, time, food...and all sorts of work. If a girl wants flowers, she only need move into a cottage covered with roses and then she can have roses anytime she wants...without the hassle of a man.

But to each her own. If she likes him, I suppose he'll do. I've always thought they were perfect for each other, so there's really no way for me to stand in the way of PREDESTINED love. Since there's no way she can resist it, how can I fault her? Or him for that matter. Of course, he's obviously the blessed one here. Any guy who gets a girl is beyond lucky - well, actually he's just out of his element because he does not in any way deserve such a wonderful, amazing, intelligent, beautiful, better-than-him lady! (Adrian just received a bonus point for saying AMEN to the last comment!) I mean, I don't mean to sound cocky, but after God created Adam, he, I assume, realized he could do better. It's well known that before every masterpiece you always produce a rough draft!

As we close, it looks like Adrian just might get to stay because he agreed that women were better! What a somewhat good guy! ;-)

So rest assured, everyone, Adrian is allowed to *drumroll please* stay. He's not being kicked out of the Garrisons' home...and he's not being told that he doesn't make the cut. I've always wanted to tell some guy that he wasn't good enough for my friend, but...what can we say except he gets to stay. And yes, he's paying me good money for this endorsement - or maybe that's just me wishing. To require money, I'd need good blackmail on him. If anyone has some (Lane??), please submit ASAP.

With all the love of a happily single, concerned friend,

Esther, Inc.
Helping Boys Mature Into Men since 1984

Sabbatical

In need of some R&R. I've really been unable to thoroughly read or cogently comment to blog posts of late. I've been busy. . . and distracted ;-). I'll have a very pleasant distraction for the next week and a half, with an additional person in the house. Then only a week after Adrian leaves, my friend Emily comes for a few days. Then I go on two weeks of Spring Break and hope to be traveling some during that time. All in all, I think it would best for my time, sanity, and productivity if I disappear until early April, perhaps the second week.

I'll still be on e-mail, undoubtedly, so I welcome links to blog posts that you think would particularly interest me; I just don't plan on keeping up with blogs in general, though I will probably be making guest appearances on Cucumberland Island, as the opportunity presents itself :-). And I'd love to hear from anyone by e-mail, unrelated to blogs :-). My e-mail is in my profile.

Ta-ta for now :-).

Narcissism

Join the conversation on Ashley's blog.

Picture from my VA visit

I admit that I didn't have my camera readily available for snapping pictures when Jessie and I posed in NC (it may or may not have been locked in my car. . . ), so to see a picture from my visit with Jessie, you'll have to go to her blog :-).

Meanwhile, here is one from my visit with Adrian:



I've given up on getting Blogger to load a picture to my profile, by the way. I'm not trying to be visually elusive; I'm just at my wit's end with Blogger picture profiles!

Abundance

Just over a year ago, on Valentine's Day, I posted a Valentine's Day Prayer from a Maiden-in-Waiting. I meant every word of it. I felt so incredibly blessed with love last year on Valentine's Day, and the Lord truly did allow me to count abundance, not drought. I was more content in my singleness probably than I ever had been. God had just recently opened my eyes to the vastness of His grace, and I was overwhelmed with His love. There was not lack in my life, but abundance. And Adrian agreed with my sentiment by commenting with a simple "Amen." Hehe. Little did we know. . . :-)

Why does God give good gifts to His children? And why does He not stop after a few token gifts, instead of continuing to pour them upon me? Or a better question, why did He not stop after giving me the greatest gift possible? No words nor sentiments can ever truly express my thankfulness for Christ's sacrifice for me on the cross. He paid the debt I could not pay and gifted me the righteousness I could not earn. That is love. God owes me nothing, yet He offers me righteousness, eternal life, a place at His table, co-inheritance with Christ. Why? Then I remember: He loves me, and more importantly, He does it for His glory. The only being in the universe who deserves to be given glory chooses to use me, a broken sinner, to bring Him glory. Wow.

But God doesn't stop with salvation, though such a gift would alone be enough to leave my cup overflowing. He gives me family, friends, food, shelter, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. And He even chooses to fulfill so many of my little girl dreams by sending me a man I do not deserve. Adrian's love for me astonishes me, and it gives me a human picture of Christ's love for me. Adrian accepts me for who I am. He loved me first, when I did not love him. He loves me in spite of the fact that he knows I'm not perfect. He overlooks the imperfections I have of which he is aware, and he genuinely does not remember them. He stands not only willing, but eager, to forgive my sins - past, present, future, and to help me turn from them, to Christ. His assurance of his readiness to forgive makes me even more secure in his love and therefore more able to love him in return. It's a picture of the Gospel, a beautiful weaving of law and grace.

Why has God chosen to bless me beyond measure? I'll never quite be able to answer that. God delights to give good gifts to His children, though they don't deserve them. He uses them to show His children a visible representation of the Gospel. And He does it for His glory. Sometimes, rather than trying to figure out the "why" of God's actions, all I can do is whisper "thank you," and then fall on my face in front of His throne.