According to Their Deeds

I visited Grandma for a couple of hours this afternoon. If nothing has changed, I'll go back around eight or nine tonight to spend the night with her again. Jeff stayed last night, and he said that the nurse who had been so rude to me was wonderful. Apparently someone talked to her about it. Grandma is running a fever of almost 104, but the hospice nurse said that's normal at the end of life. I am so impressed by all of the hospice staff from Unity. They are unfailingly polite and supportive.

Grandma has deteriorated so that she isn't talking or moving at all, just breathing quickly but peacefully and occasionally opening her eyes. She's been a huge Packer fan for most of her life, in the last couple of years she's even had a bit of a crush on A.J. Hawk. When he came on the TV screen, she'd say, "There's my guy." When I came in today, I talked to her about different things: the kids, the weather, flowers. Then I leaned in close and told her about Brett Favre's possible defection to the Minnesota Vikings. A brief smiled flitted across her face, and Grandma chuckled, she actually chuckled! That was such a blessing for me and Jeff. She's still there, and she can hear us just fine, AND she agrees with the rest of us Packer fans that Favre is being ridiculous!

According to Their Deeds by Paul Robertson is an unexpected delight disguised as a political thriller/mysterious book quest. Charles Beale is quite content with his life as a rare book store owner in Alexandria, Virginia. Married to his soulmate, Dorothy, and buying and selling books that inspire his soul, life has settled into a comfortable rhythm, even with the addition of a part-time worker named Angelo who is doing his probation working at the store. After the death of Charles' friend, Derek, he purchases back the antique books on philosophy that Derek had purchased over the years. He discovers Derek had a hidden life built on profiting from the secrets of others, and Charles determines what to do with this knowledge as well as discover who really murdered Derek and why. Most books with this plot as a set-up would quickly spiral into car chases, gunfights, and treks across the world. Robertson instead turns the entire genre on its head with this quiet and incredibly intelligent mystery. Charles' method of investigation involves enigmatic conversations with the many suspects, and much of the book is simply conversations. Charles is polite, and the definition of a good man. The secrets he discovers weigh heavily on his heart as he tries to determine whether to administer justice or mercy. As a reader, I fell in love with the subtle rhythm of the book, along with discerning the truth. It's a rare gem in a cluttered genre, and I hope that Robertson isn't finished with Charles and Dorothy. I would love a sequel.

Mia's acquired a recent love of Magic School Bus dvds. I've been ordering them from the library, and we've been on a steady diet of them for the last two days. She's already changed her dream job from veterinarian to marine biologist from yesterday's episode about the ocean!

Goodbye to Brett Favre

I couldn't end the week without a tribute to Brett Favre's retirement. Here's a few things I came across throughout the week that I thought were too interesting not to share.

Here's an article about a couple from Florida who gave birth to twins days before the retirement announcement. The boys' names: Brett and Favre.

TIME Magazine paid homage to the King of the Cheeseheads.

It was Favre who made me love football and especially the Green Bay Packers. His exuberant love for the game was contagious, and it made those of us from Wisconsin feel like he was one of us. When I told Mia that #4 wouldn't be playing for the Packers any more, her mournful cry echoed that of Packer fans everywhere "We'll never score any points again! I'm gonna miss him!" Amen!

Other People's Love Letters

The Packers are going to the NFC Championship game! Hopefully, the Cowboys will lose today, and the Giants will have to come here next week to play. The game was fantastic to watch, probably the most exciting of the year. If you watched the game, you saw them get over 2" of snow after kick-off. We didn't get any snow up here (45 minutes north) until after the game, so it was surreal watching them shovel off the 10 yard lines every few minutes. I haven't jumped up and down in so long, I forgot I knew how until I realized I was airborne. We even spotted the Seahawks 14 points, and they still couldn't take down Favre. There was a great article in yesterday's Green Bay Press Gazette about the honorary team captain yesterday: it was a nun. Only in Green Bay!

Other People's Love Letters by Bill Shapiro is a fascinating peek into love: its beginnings and endings, and the twisted path between. Shapiro, whose website has many more of these letters, asked his friends and exs for old love letters. They, in turn, asked others giving Shapiro a huge range of letters to choose from in making this book. From sweet text messages, to post divorce rants, these letters are enjoyable and insightful. It's amazing how similar letters written in the first throes of love are: you're amazing; I can't live without you. But Shapiro tried to pick letters that said something deeper and love and the human condition. It's not a book you want to read in one sitting; reading too many back to back makes them lose their potency. But taken in small doses, it's a great way to remember how good love feels in the beginning and how sweet it can be after many years. Some of my favorite letters were the ones written by married couples several years in. Shapiro includes a short epilogue with brief stories about some of the couples who wrote the letters. Reading these made the letters even more powerful, especially the one from a husband serving in Vietnam in 1969. A great read, perfect as a Valentine's Day gift; give it with your own love letter!

Snow is still coming down here. It's a beautiful sight, as long as I don't have to drive in it! Have a great weekend!

After the Glass Slipper

I broke down a few weeks ago and started watching the Packers on TV rather than listening on the radio. Last night's game against the Cowboys was a wild ride. At first Mia wanted to cheer for the Cowboys because she like their uniforms better, but I threatened to call Bumpa (her grandpa) and tell him that she was against the Packers, so she quickly changed her tune. Watching the Packers in our home involves a great deal of yelling and sound effects (from me, Jesse doesn't watch football). Mia got caught up in the spirit of the game and was soon booing the Cowboys and giving raspberries to the referees (who definitely deserved them last night). She'll make a great Packer fan someday. Midway through the first quarter I was forced to do something I've never done before: I muted the TV and listened to the play by play on the radio. The CBS announcers were awful! Do you think they deliberately set out to find two smug, condescending announcers? It was an absolute sin that the NFL limited viewing of the game to about 10% of the country, and then to add insult to injury, they put on Greg Gumbel who makes my hackles rise. And the coverage by the cameramen verged on offensive. I've never watched a game where they nearly follow the team into the locker room and peek in until someone closes the door in their face. They followed Favre after his injury up and down the tunnel. It felt like the players were being stalked by paparazzi. Overall, CBS failed to provide good commentary with enjoyable coverage. I'll avoid them for future games.

Although the Pack lost last night, I'm proud (for the most part) of how they played. It was almost a blessing when Favre went out in the first half. Every time he aired out that ball, my heart caught in my throat, and I knew it was going to end badly. Aaron Rodgers acquitted himself well, earning us two touchdowns including his first ever NFL touchdown pass. There was a poignant moment when the camera focused on Favre shortly after when you could see in his eyes that the torch was being passed. I wonder if Don Majkowski had that look in his eyes 15 years ago.

After the Glass Slipper by Jon & Beverly Meyerson is a marriage guide cleverly disguised as a sequel to Cinderella. The Meyersons, who have years of marriage counseling experience, have written what happened after Cinderella and her Prince were married. During their honeymoon, they fell even more in love with each other, but when they returned home to their castle, they quickly discover that living with another person can be difficult at times. In the midst of each struggle, either the Fairy Godmother of Caring Godfather arrives with good advice hidden in a poem that teaches the couple how to have a happier marriage. The advice is excellent: compliment each other, accept each other's feelings, support each other's interests, etc. Yes, the advice is for the most part common sense, but it's written in a way that's enjoyable to read. Because the book is written as fiction, it's likely to reach a wider audience than it might as simply a self-help book. It's a great book for newly weds (and those of us who aren't!).

Molly's big choir concert is tomorrow, and of course we're supposed to get 8-12 inches of snow, maybe even thundersnow! Thank goodness they've postponed the night concert until Sunday. Praise God!

Today is your last chance to sign up to win one of two copies of For Parents Only by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa A. Rice. Just drop an email to clockstein@centurytel.net to enter by midnight tonight! The winners will be announced Monday.

Interred With Their Bones

I am a huge Green Bay Packer fan, which isn't too unusual for someone from Northeastern Wisconsin; it's almost bred into our DNA. I'm one of those Sunday afternoon watchers who yells at the TV and occasionally jumps up and down. Lord help you if you step in front of the screen during a play! I've been feeling crummy the last few weeks, so I haven't watched any games yet this year; AND THEY'RE 4-0! And so to do my part as a fan, I won't be watching any games this year. As much as I would have liked to see Brett Favre's record breaking touchdown yesterday, I'm just superstitious enough to listen to it on the radio instead. If not watching the game is the price I have to pay for them to win, I love them enough to do it.

I've been giving updates on Mia, but today it's Molly's turn. Molly has gone into high school with a new poise. She stands up straighter and smiles more. She won the female lead in the school play (performing Nov 9 & 10 for those of you in the area) and is in vocal jazz choir. She broke up with Ian the first week of school and quickly started flirting with a sophomore football player named Andrew. She asked him to homecoming, where does she get the courage, certainly not from her mother! Now that they are officially a couple, she went out with his family to supper and a movie on Saturday. It's all a little odd to me and lacks the comfort level of a distance of 1500 miles, but he seems very sweet. I've invited him over for supper and a movie later this month. I know it's annoying to get those Christmas letters packed with parents bragging about their children, but I'm truly proud of my girl and the woman she's becoming. Today's pic is her in her homecoming dress.

Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell is the story of the quest for a lost Shakespearean manuscript and the danger that hides around every corner. Kate Stanley is an expert in occult (knowledge hidden within the texts, not supernatural) Shakespeare who is about to direct Hamlet at the newly built Globe Theater in London. But things quickly take a twist for the strange when her mentor, Roz, shows up with a gift and mysterious message for Kate, then turns up dead at the theater, killed in the manner of Hamlet's father. Kate opens the gift to find a brooch and a message alluding to a lost work of Shakespeare. As she traces Roz's steps to find it, she's hunted and betrayed at every turn. I love books like this! Carrell packs in action, suspense, a hint of romance, and a lot of Shakespeare and Elizabethan trivia making the book a joy to read with every turn of the page. Kate can't quite figure out who to trust and neither can the reader as she flies from England to the US to Spain and back. Carrell's love for The Bard shines through on every page while bringing up questions as to the authorship of the works he's been given credit for. She throws in political machinations from Elizabeth's court and a few scandals, and she weaves fact and fiction so cleverly together, it's nearly impossible to sort them out. But God bless her, Carrell also takes the time in length author's notes to separate fact from fiction while still leaving plenty of mystery. The writing and characters are solid. I've read comparisons of this to The DaVinci Code; Dan Brown only wishes his books were this good!

Good news and bad news about being on methotrexate. Good news: the pain is less severe and I'm better able to function through it. Bad news: I feel like I had morning sickness 24/7. I can't eat foods I used to love, sometimes even water is too strong for my stomach. I'm also having dizzy spells. Back to good news: I've dropped over 7 pounds in the last 2-1/2 weeks because of it.