....happens everywhere.


And it's Reason #353,011 why we homeschool:

Politically correct mumbo-jumbo in our schools

Labels: Homeschooling, Social Observation, Theater of the Absurd

God's sovereignty, omniscience and grace know no boundaries...

Teen learns he wasn't abandoned

An exquisitely beautiful story.

Labels: News

Not necessarily a pleasant weekend morning topic, but one we ignore at our peril. As Mohler notes in the end of his post, what we do about stored embryos is only one end of the continuum that may decide what society does about you and me.

For most Americans, the moral status of the human embryo is a question that seems quite remote. Even as hundreds of thousands of "excess" human embryos are now stored in American fertility clinics and laboratories, to most Americans these frozen embryos are out of sight and out of mind. Thus, one of the most important moral challenges of our day remains largely off the screen of our national discourse. The issue cannot remain out of sight or out of mind for long.

Read on.

Labels: Sanctity of Life, Social Observation

Scared yet?

Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

They're not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.

Is there any sector of society that this man won't attempt to seize? And we were worried about abuses of the Patriot Act?

Bill would give president emergency control of Internet

Labels: ObamaNation, Theater of the Absurd

My five-year-old granddaughter Carrie is a true romantic, having emerged from the womb that way. Wednesday night she stayed here with Erin, 4, as she often does. The next morning she picked up a map of Europe that had fallen out of one of the older kids' Tapestry notebooks, and she came in my room whirling around and around with the map, coming to an almost-stop in front of my chair. In her characteristic, sing-songy voice, she croons to me, pointing to a little island on the map, "Granny, sail away with me to Candia! And when we're finished we'll sail to Aladdin!"

Ah....little girls.

Labels: Grandkids

Labels: News, People, Political Observation, Theater of the Absurd

RICHMOND, Va. -An executive for an anti-animal cruelty group says her 16-year-old blind and deaf dog died after she accidentally left him in her hot car for four hours.

Animal "rights" organizations have lobbied for laws to make this sort of thing punishable, believing that dogs should be treated just as children under the law. I wonder whether this woman still feels she should be locked up?

SPCA exec's dog dies after 4 hours in hot car

Labels: Social Observation

You've heard it said that even a broken clock is right twice a day. This one may not be broken but it's never "RIGHT". Very depressing.

The Money Clock

Labels: Money

Our stay-cation is coming to an end. Lyric heads home tomorrow and I will TRY to discipline myself back into a routine containing more than naps and movies and Sonic and long talks. This year we're not starting school full time until after Labor Day, but I need to get myself in gear before I expect my kids to do the same. I had big plans for their summer--regular math and music theory and typing--and it all pretty much went down the you-know-what when I broke my leg. They haven't complained, of course, but we do need to find some equilibrium again. Did I mention, though, that these quiet days have fed my soul?

I'd like to say that physical therapy is still going well, and really all I can say is that it's still going. It often feels that I take one step forward, two steps back. In truth I'm sure it's more like two steps forward and one back, because overall I am getting stronger and slightly more stable. I just want to know where to sign up for the course that teaches me how to banish fear--of crowds, of walking, of falling...

Guy Fieri makes me smile.

Three of the kids start back to college (here in town) tomorrow. Which necessarily means that our checking account is sitting near empty. No, not tuition, BOOKS. There must be a special place reserved in the underworld for the publishers of college textbooks. Really.

Please, go shop at Whole Foods. Just go.

I have to be slightly pleased that current polls have both leading Republicans beating Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada next year. Oh, that would be just too delicious.

Yep, I'm hooked on HGTV's Design Star. I admit it. That's part of how we'll be spending our evening...

And now, I need to dig into my Sonic supper...an almost-guilty pleasure :-)

Labels: Food, Friendship, Fun, Homeschooling, Sundays, TV

Labels: ObamaNation, Political Observation

I have several sites that I check daily or even many times daily for important breaking news stories. Once or twice a day there's something of real importance, and a couple more times a day there are stories that are not urgent or "hot", but that may shed light on an old story or add new bits to an ongoing issue.

When I was young, and even into my early adulthood, news sources were limited to three TV networks and the "also-ran" PBS, the local daily newspaper, and two or three weekly news magazines. The sources from which I received news could be counted on my fingers with one or two to spare.

Now, of course, we have a nearly infinite number of sources for news and commentary. This is good in the sense that news is available any time, anywhere, from any slant, and from sources as varied as bloggers and the New York Times online. What's increasingly obvious, though, is how the prevalence of opportunity to receive news has changed what's thought of as news.

This morning, Lyric and I were sipping coffee and surfing news sites, and we saw this story. We looked at one another and thought, "Seriously? This is a news headline on a major site?"

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Traffic noise could be ruining the sex lives of urban frogs by drowning out the seductive croaks of amorous males, an Australian researcher said Friday.

A well-projected and energetic croak is the male frog's most important asset in the quest to attract mates to his pond, Melbourne University ecologist Kirsten Parris said.

Come on. If this had been "discovered" in 1975, there's no way it would have made the top six headlines of the day. There was hardly enough time and newsprint space to discuss real news, let alone "made up" news. But this story on the misfortunes of amorous frogs comes right under "Poll: Americans losing confidence in Obama," giving it the aura of big news and demanding my attention on the same level.

The difficulty comes in weeding out the important things when they're all given the same prominence. We could all spend 24 hours a day reading stories that some source thinks everyone should read. One of the skills we must cultivate in this age of information overload is developing our own sense of the substantial and not someone else's. It's not easy. It requires focus and thoughtful decision-making, and the willingness to say "no" to what may feel like a trusted source. Half the world may be interested in whether a wrestler did or did not use steroids before his meet, but it's not something on which I need to be informed. Whether I am interested is different than whether the information is important or useful to me, and some days my tolerance of and appreciation for the trivial and the obscure is greater than others.

I often blog here and link to the silly or mundane or absurd. That doesn't obligate me to do it every day, and it certainly doesn't obligate you to follow every link or get wrapped up in every issue that's important to me. Only you can draw your own lines; the important thing is that you draw them.

The frogs will thank you. Really, they need their privacy.

Traffic noise could be ruining sex lives of frogs

Labels: News, Theater of the Absurd

I'm baaaaaack!

Our little spa getaway was everything I'd hoped for and a nice end to the summer. Massages, pedicures, a few good movies (DO see The Kite Runner!), a hot tub, a pool overlooking the Guadalupe River with a view of the horses on the other side...well, it provided not only a relaxing couple of days but also enough memories to sustain me through these next months of routine!

A few photos...

Labels: Friendship, Fun, Vacations

Setbacks aren't fun. Especially when it's a setback from a setback. It's been disconcerting enough to lose the majority of my summer after my June 5 fall...but after being as "good" as I could and following the doctor's and therapist's instructions pretty much to the letter and making what I thought was good progress, I pulled a muscle DURING a therapy session. That put put me back on non-weight bearing status again and has halted much of the progress I'd experienced up until now.

At least the newest injury came at a time when I didn't so much mind just sitting in a chair. Lyric (my cousin/best friend) arrived here from California on Wednesday and, still nursing both foot and shoulder injuries, isn't exactly wanting to go rock climbing either. So we're enjoying TV, movies, long talks, a little bit of work, and online shopping for Christmas cards and gifts. Tomorrow the Papa is going to drop these two grandmothers off at a spa/resort to relax and be pampered (since what we've been doing is so strenuous). Just what I need before diving into another year of homeschooling!

You may have heard the ruckus lately over whether AARP will support Obamacare. They have pretended to be independent and still mulling over whether to get behind it, but it now appears that with the president dropping the so-called "public option" (as if it won't be brought back next year), AARP will quickly scramble on board the moving train. Why do I care? Well, in addition to the fact that the AARP is arguably the most powerful lobby in the country, Granny, at 55, is now old enough to join the organization. And I get nice little mailings all the time inviting me to do what every other respectable senior citizen does and send in my dues. But the Papa and I will be joining one of the alternative organizations, thank you very much.

Our personal contractor (son-in-law Dave) will be starting in the next week or so to resurface and enlarge our deck. The Papa has this fantasy of having a deck that goes pretty much all the way around the house, and though this phase won't get us there, it will certainly get us closer...

Daughter Beth, 19, is upstairs wretching from a stomach virus. Her sisters check her Facebook status every few minutes to see if she needs anything. ARE WE A CRAZY FAMILY OR WHAT?

Today our Miracle Sam turned 5. Grandson Samuel had a rather unpromising start in life (humanly speaking) and has probably undergone more hospitalizations than I have. Nevertheless, he's the family firecracker, a little tiny bolt of lightning that darts from pillar to post sporting the cutest grin you've ever seen. We are so grateful for Sam; for his parents who have taken such good care of him that he's reached this birthday looking none the worse for the wear; and for the God who obviously has big plans for Sam! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAM!

Most of our fall schedule has "fall"-en into place: piano lessons, online literature classes, local science classes, the older kids' college classes, church activities, jobs...it's a regular Rubik's cube trying to figure out the logistics of times, available vehicles and drivers, and fees for this and that. But as I said last week, the routine brings a certain amount of comfort and predictability that I'm looking forward to. And all the mad dashes make Sundays even more welcome, don't they?

Have a great week!

Labels: Grandkids, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Political Observation

If you're willing to stretch your brain this morning and read on a topic that is generally "taboo"...take a look at Mark Steyn. Just don't let the wrong people know this one's in your browser's history.

We can’t talk about immigration

Labels: Social Observation

Labels: ObamaNation, Political Observation

I'm still not getting around much, but a Granny has to have some fun now and then! So I planned a fancy little tea party for my three youngest granddaughters, right here in my room. I sent the girls the following invitations. Please note that many of the fonts and spacing ended up goofy here and not like the original invitation, but I'm not going to fool with the html to correct it all here...you'll get the idea :-)

Granny Warren

invites

Miss Abigail Russell

Miss Carrie Slaughter

Miss Erin Welty

to a very special

Tea Party

on Friday, the 7th of August

at 2:00 in the afternoon

at Granny's House

Dress: Fancy

A car will arrive for Misses Russell and Slaughter

at approximately 1:30 pm

RSVP Thursday

Annie, CJ, Nathan (yes, Nathan!) and Shelley helped me by baking treats and rounding up lovely things for the table. Here are some shots of the kids getting the goodies ready:


Table's all ready, just with things we found in our pantry and cupboards:






The little ladies are dressed and ready:


Eagerly waiting...



And the fun begins:














Judging from the buzz over the weekend, our tea party was just what I'd hoped: a real memory maker for three precious little girls and their Granny :-)

Labels: Family, Fun, Grandkids, Grandparenting