So that's the benefit to reading fiction . . . better memory!

According to Scientific American, reading fiction may help your memory. I'm going to guess that I have read , on average, at least 500 works of fiction per year for the past decade or more (although I have read vastly fewer this year, due to doing more work and studying).

I took the test mentioned at the bottom of the article and did slightly (but just slightly) above average. Over factors could be at work, though; I also do not watch a whole lot of television (just like with fiction, less than I used to) and I don't drink much. I do eat tuna fish a couple times a week, if that counts.

Reading, Watching, Listening

With all due respect to Manolo's Tuesday (I think) list, here is my similar effort:

Reading: I have a bunch of books that I have bookmarks stuck in (including How to Read a Book); the ones that I am most actively reading are the Bible, Furniture of Olden Time, and one on Colonial and Early Federal interior design. The last fiction book I read (about a week and a half ago) was the newest book by Lori Wick (the last of the Mill something series), which a local library had just gotten in.

Watching: I saw parts of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!.

Listening to: I listened to Michael W. Smith's Worship Again on CD, and part of a Proms concert (featuring a modern work and something by Mendelsonn) on BBC Classical radio.

Emmy Awards

I didn't take time to watch the Emmy's tonight (I got some reading done, caught up a little on correspondence, and did some work), but I did go through a few of the 1000 plus pictures that Yahoo! had up. Here are some quick comments and impressions:

White dresses seem to be in. (Is this the last hurrah for white before summer's end, or a trend that will continue?)

White dresses that resemble wedding cakes also seem to be in.

Women of a certain bust size might need to consider wearing supportive undergarments.

Women who have spent a lot of time in the past sun-bathing in the past might need to consider not showing so much skin.

Like many award shows, the Emmy's seemingly feature a walk up a red carpet. Stars should consider that they are going to be photographed on said carpet, and try not to have their dresses clash with the carpet. (Photographic evidence suggests that orange and shades of burgundy and wine do not go well with red.)

I could make a lot of other comments, but fear that the lateness of the hour would perhaps cause me to be more snarky than I should be. So, I will end at this point.

Mountain-Dew-colored mouthwash

As part of my efforts to use up things before I buy new things (I've been reading a lot of blogs that talk about living simply, being frugal, etc., plus I skim-read through the book Not Buying It after checking out from the library), I am finally getting around to using some yellow mouthwash. I was making good progress on the little bottle, but then found another bottle on my sewing table (of course!) this evening.


I know I did not buy that yellow mouthwash -- it was something passed along from someone else who didn't like it or didn't need it. Anyway, the yellow mouthwash tastes about the same as green, but for some reason (prejudice?) I prefer green or blue-colored mouthwash. (I'm not a big fan of the taste of the light brown/champagne type, or of the red.)

Bible Reading

I've read since the start of the summer the New Testament (a few books of it twice); Ezekiel-Malachi; Proverbs; between 1/3 and 1/2 of Psalms; and Hezekiah. Wow! I'm deciding whether to continue with Psalms and start on Lamentations, or just the Psalms, or start on another book.

Know when to toss, Know when to keep

That's something I'm trying to learn. I tend to hold onto things, but in the last few months I have been trying to spend some time every weekend cleaning and straightening up some area of my office or living quarters. One weekend it was trying to match up stray earrings. Another weekend I attacked my bathroom area.

This weekend I (with a lot of help) was moving some furniture in my room. Which led me to open a cabinet that I have not cleaned out in quite a while. I found some pepper spray that I think is at least six years old (it was a gift with the purchase of a canvas briefcase or t-shirts or something); I wonder if it is still any good? I'm not planning to test it, but I don't think I'll throw it away right now. I did toss some almost-empty and expired lotion and hydrocortisone cream. I gave away some the medicine that I'm hoping to never need again. And I found a cache of pecans and peanuts (all in the shell) which went to the compost heap (what was I thinking to keep them around?).

I did rediscover a pen from the Millenium Hotel in New York City. I had decided to save it for two reasons: my Grandmother got the pen on one of her last visits to NYC, and the Millenium Hotel is located right near Ground Zero (in fact, I think it was damaged on 9/11). So, even though it is a reminder of two rather sad things, it's a keeper for now.

Discipline and Pets

I have a cat that complains bitterly about being groomed. I sometimes try to talk soothingly to him as he hollers, hisses, etc. and explain to him that he will feel better if I get the knot out, and that he will look so much more handsome when his fur is all nice. Of course, this does very little good because (a) he can't understand much (or perhaps any) of what I am saying (he can usually understand "no," even if he chooses not to heed the command) and (b) he can't think ahead to the future positive effects of the current discomfort.

I had been reading in the book of Hebrews in about chapter 12 (or maybe 13) about how God disciplines his children and I had a lightbulb moment. Often when I'm going through less than comfortable circumstances, I fuss, I complain, I throw hissy fits (sometimes just to friends and family, sometimes actually directed toward God). And I really should be remembering that this may be God's discipline, and He could be working toward something good in my life that I can't currently see any better than my cat can see that getting tangles out of his fur will somehow improve his life.

So, that's my little sermon for myself today.

Bryn Terfel's Simple Things

The Anchoress's ravings about the music of Bryn Terfel finally convinced me to pick one of his CD's as my $5.99 monthly selection from Your Music. (Your Music's sound clips usually sound less than stellar on my computer so I didn't even try to listen before purchase, but I did watch some clips on You Tube that featured him singing and read some reviews.)

After slightly more than one listen, I'll say that I like the album and Terfel's singing -- although I wouldn't say that as I am as enthusiastic as The Anchoress. I picked this album because I'm not generally a huge fan of opera, and I thought this CD, with a lot of the songs in English and familiar to me, would be a nice way to get to know his voice. Only time will tell if the album becomes an enduring favorite.

(This is my first try at posting links on the blog. I hope it works!)

Update: It didn't work, so I'm trying again.

I've been too busy living to write about it.

I promised myself when I started blogging that I wouldn't let the blogging get in the way of work or current obligations. I had a lot of work piled up when I returned from my trip (how can three days away make so much difference?), and then some fun activities came up, and then some not-quite-as-fun activities. All of which meant not much time for blogging. I was composing blog entries in my head, though, even when I didn't take time to actually post them. I'll try to put up some of those musings soon.

Oh, the idea behind the title for this post came from a Doug Stone song. The character in the song is telling his sweetie that he could have written a wonderful love song to her, used their story as a basis for a movie, etc. but he was too busy being in love. It's a melt-the-heart song.

Rolling Rooms

I was away on a trip (had a good time, too!) for a few days. I came back to tons of work, which is why blogging has been light (or nonexistent).

An Accidental Anglophile?

Genetically I should probably be predisposed toward things that are German-related. According to the traditional preferences of my family, I should be a Francophile. (A love of French food, the French language, etc. exists in my family.) But I think I may be an Anglophile, based on the following observations about my life.

One of the two libraries that I frequent gets in a lot of British fiction, and the other one has a lot of BBC and other English TV shows and movies. I've checked out my fair share of both. (Persuasion and The Railway Children are favorites; I've seen the BBC version of The Chronicles of Narnia, Mr. Bean, and several episodes of various crime dramas.)

When I listen to online radio stations, I almost always listen to the BBC classical station. I also have at least one CD that features the London Symphony Orchestra.

One of my favorite humourous writers is British, and I've also enjoyed quite a few English romance novels.

I've also read a number of books on English architecture.

I like tea (but with no milk and only rarely sugar).

I've even been eating English candy recently -- toffee and Turkish Delight!

The Minor Prophets

I finished reading the Minor Prophets, plus Daniel (I was thinking Daniel was included in the list of Minor Prophets, but evidently that book isn't).

Now, I'm hop-scotching through the New Testament again and working on Psalms. I was working on reading Milton's re-telling of some of the Psalms and the story of Samson, but haven't been making much progress the last few days.

Making a List

I have a family member who LOVES to make lists (to-do lists, lists of items that are necessary for a trip, etc.). Me, well, I can do a really great grocery shopping list and I have to do lists in order to remember what records I have done research in. Otherwise, I don't usually bother.

However, I was feeling a little down about not having accomplished more in the last few days today, and so I made a list of things I had worked on. And then I read the list and felt so great about all the work I had done, I took time off for part of the afternoon and evening!

A Good Time

I had a very good time at the university on Monday. I got to visit two libraries and a museum exhibit. I had a picnic lunch at "my" garden (one that I particularly like) on the grounds. I also took a few minutes to look at architecture on the campus.

An unexpected storm came up, and so I ended up spending more time than I intended in the library. I didn't get to spend that much more time doing research, though, as the best areas to watch for the rain to end were the lobby and an adjacent hallway -- which didn't contain many books.