It's obvious that we're not going to have much of a winter here this year. Yes, we've had a few nights down in the 30's but they've all been followed by days in the high 70's and low 80's, mixed in with a few days that have been a bit cooler. Not exactly sweater and boot weather here in south Texas. 'Course we never get a long or truly hard winter, but sometimes we get a few weeks that stay consistently cold in December and January. Guess it won't be this year...

Yesterday I finished my first book of the year, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. I liked it, but I can understand why kids forced to read it in high school might be tempted to abandon literature altogether. I can't see that it would hold much appeal for high school students, and it's really one that I think appeals to a more feminine audience. It's concise and compelling, in my opinion, but if you choose to read it, DON'T get audible.com's audio version. The narrator stinks.

So all the Christmas stuff is put away and the living areas swept free of pine needles by our sassy new little Roomba. Its humorous tracks in the carpet attest to its thoroughness and bring a big smile to my face. Now if we could just get it to do stairs...

If I never see another piece of Christmas candy it will be too soon. Until after Thanksgiving.

The Papa referred in yesterday's comments to Huntington's 2004 book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Few serious authors have been as reviled as Huntington in the past decade, but many are taking a second look at the way he attempted to tell us what was "in front of our collective nose and to describe it to people who didn't want to hear." Read this opinion piece and then consider reading the book...Sam Huntington was plainly correct.

Sometime tomorrow, my new Bible should arrive. I feel like it's still Christmas :-) (Now we'll see if there's life after NASB...)

And...it's too early in the year for me to have accumulated any more snippets. Enjoy your first full week of 2009!

Labels: Books, Holidays, Political Observation, Social Observation, Weather