The Clownfish and the Blizzard

Growing up in Iowa I am used to blizzards, but that doesn't mean I actually enjoy them. It seems that "Nemo" (couldn't they have picked something a bit more menacing?) is going to be a whopper of a storm.

Bangor 12-20 inches!

The Portland Press Herald picked up my tweet of the picture below and shared it in their story, "What Mainers Have to Say About the Snowstorm."

I have absolutely no idea where this is.  I had simply retweeted from photographer, cook book author, and B&B realtor extraordinaire, Dana Moos. You can find her on Twitter @DanaMoos

So we are all hunkered down for the next couple of days and we'll ride it out with typical Maine chutzpah.

Too many days have passed without me making mention of  "The Hobbit." (I have been just a wee bit preoccupied with Richard III).  The OneRing.net shared this today,  "Nine Mind-Blowing Reasons We Are Able to Enjoy The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Books and Movies" and it contained several interesting tidbits. Sean Connery had been offered to play the role of Gandalf!  Don't get me wrong, I think Sir Connery is a great actor, but as Gandalf?  I don't think so.

Connery turned down the part because he didn’t understand the script. Years later, he reflected upon the story after reading the books and seeing the films: “”I read the book. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it.”  He did add something that we can all agree upon: “Ian McKellen, I believe, is marvelous in it.”

A Gift Broken, Fixed, and Thrifted

Joy Dare: continuing to count 1000 gifts

54. Broken:  "A broken and contrite heart, you will not despise." Psalm 51:17

55. Fixed:     my car

56. Thrifted:  a "new" jacket

Sisters, Sleep, and BBC

My sister Cheryl has been sharing sister quotes with me and our little sister, Georgi.  Two of my favorites thus far:

"We were opposites in every way until we grew up, left home, and discovered we were more alike than we'd thought. Sisters only get to be opposites within the family; separated by the world, they become practically identical." Helen Fremont

"Siblings: children of the same parents, each of whom is perfectly normal until they get together." Sam Levenson

A Gift at 11:30 AM, 2:30 PM and 6:30 PM

Joy Dare: continuing to count 1000 gifts

I was ill today so I stayed home from work. Thus two of my gifts are repetitive.

51. 11:30 AM -- listening to BBC Leicester's interview with Philippa Langley about Richard III

52.  2:30 PM -- blessed sleep

53.  6:30 PM -- blessed sleep

"Sleep is the best medicine."

Gifts Outside and a Bit More Richard

There are some funny memes circulating on the Net regarding Richard III:

On a serious note and the heart of the story, the press conference at the University of Leicester on Monday:

Three Gifts Found Outside

Joy Dare: continuing to count 1000 gifts

47. The large, fluffy snowflakes falling on my way into work this morning.

48. The wonder that is Acadia National Park, only 45 miles away.

49. Glorious Mount Katahdin, only an hour away.

50. Maine: the way life should be.

Stitched, Hammered, and Woven

Just a bit more Richard III:

Gifts Stitched, Hammered, and Woven

Joy Dare: continuing to count 1000 gifts

44.  Stitched -- last Christmas my younger sister gave me a lap robe that she had made out of bits of fabric from our father's old coveralls. That she made it by hand was special. That she used the old work clothes of our daddy -- a treasure. Thank you, Georgi!

45. Hammered -- "On the Anvil: Stories on being shaped in God's Image" by Max Lucado

"The craftsman uses various instruments in shaping his tools - hammers, forges, anvils. Other tools are still on the anvil, being melted down, molten hot, malleable, changeable. They wait on the anvil, being shaped by the craftsman's hammer, becoming in the sometimes painful process what they were meant to be. They become tools of usefulness: sharpened, primed, defined, mobile. They lie ready in the craftman's tool chest, available to their master, ready to fulfill their calling."

"Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?'"  

Isaiah 45:9

46.  Woven -- one of my favorite poems:

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving

between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow

And I, in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper,

And I the underside.

Not til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver's skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

The Super Bowl of History

Last night I set my alarm for 4:55 AM so I could listen to BBC Leicester's coverage of the University of Leicester's announcement this morning regarding the results of the DNA tests on the skeleton unearthed a few months ago.

I still marvel from time to time about the wonders of the internet and did so again this morning as I lay in my darkened bedroom.  Over three thousand miles away history was being made and thanks to the internet, I was a part of it. I have always loved history and none more so than English history.  For me this was a thousand times more exciting than any super bowl ever would or could be.

I am not going to go into any detail or analysis about today's findings. There are scholars far more qualified than me you can look to if you are interested in finding out more.  Suffice it to say, the DNA proves the skeleton is Richard III.  Technology is simply awesome!  Not only were they able to prove it was the last Plantagenet King, they were able to do facial reconstruction based on the skull and give us a glimpse of what he may have looked like.  When I saw the picture, I got shivers up and down my spine.

What a glorious day to be alive and witness this!

On the subject of the Super Bowl, I found this quote from country singer Brad Paisley very endearing:

“Nothing is geekier than skipping the Super Bowl and going to ‘The Hobbit.”

February 3, Joy Dare, 3 gifts found in writing:

38.  The Bible
39.  works of CS Lewis
40.  works of JRR Tolkien

Today's Joy Dare, 3 gifts found when bent down:

41.  the remains of a king
42.  the furry faces of my felines
43.  earrings I thought long gone

Gifts on Paper

35. A note my grandmother wrote to my father upon entering the Marine Corps

36. The signature of my great grandfather, Morton Augustas Teachout 

37. A page from the family bible of my 3rd great grand uncle, Edward Freeman, 

leading me to proof that he and my 3rd great grandfather, Henry Freeman

were born in Barrow, Rutland, England

Keep some souvenirs of your past, 

or how will you ever prove it wasn't all a dream?

Pizza, Pinot Noir, and Robin Hood

What does a single woman who's extremely weary after working six days straight  do on a Friday night?  Why she eats a couple slices of pizza, drinks a couple glasses of wine, and watches a couple episodes of  BBC's Robin Hood  -- with friends from all over the world.

Thanks to the genius of two women and Twitter, several of us are "getting together" on Friday nights to watch and tweet.  For more info check out Armitage Watch.

And if your Saturday nights are free, we are watching Spooks (known as MI5 here in the States), 9 PM EST.

After a couple of carefree hours, I become quite a bit more serious while reading Ann's latest blog post, How to be a Better Lover.  The simple intensity of this woman's writing makes me gasp for breath and the tears fall while I read:  

"Marital love is a demanding and dying thing compared to the stuff of movies and mirages. The love of imagination — it’s a different beast entirely than love made in the image of a Saviour with nails in His hands.
The Farmer writes little with pens. He’s a man who prefers to write his love letters with his life.
There are no standing lovers: the only way to love is to lay down.
Lay down plans.
Lay down agendas.
Lay down self.
Love is always the laying down.
This is how to make love out of a marriage: Love lays down it’s own wants to lift up the will of another.
Love lets go of its plans — to hold on to a person."

And it leaves me yearning to experience this kind of love -- to know and be known.

Today's Joy Dare:  Three Gifts Red

32.Estancia Pinot Noir

33. OPI "A Oui Bit of Red" 

34. the drops of my Saviour's blood