Moving to Louisville

Thursday ~
After several days of packing (and invaluable help from my family), Jeff and I pulled out of DC (and into morning traffic) around 9am. Jeff drove the U-Haul, while I followed in our car. We drove for about 8 hours, which actually went by fairly quickly for me -- I'm reading Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, and I had the second one (The Subtle Knife) playing in the car as I drove. We arrived around 7pm at Jeff's parents' house in Ohio, where we had a great dinner and spent the night. It was lovely to not have to unpack after driving all day.

Friday ~
We left Ohio around 9am, arriving in Louisville at 12:45pm. We had a walk-through of our apartment at 1pm, and then we unloaded the truck in two phases (we had a generous break in between) with lots of help from Jeff's sister Emily and her husband Scott (we now live in the same apartment complex) and some other Louisville friends. We had another great dinner that night with those friends, and then we headed home to sleep among our boxes!

Saturday ~
We dug around in our boxes for our coffee maker and skillet, and then had a breakfast of fried eggs. We headed out to return the U-Haul, and then decided to head to Home Depot for little odds and ends we need to set up house (we got a little turned around while looking for it, and so we decided to take a coffee break at Heine Brothers' Coffee before continuing our search). And then (just one day after unloading over 20 boxes of books), we decided to check out the local library! Jeff came out with one book, and I came out with about 7 plus a CD. What can I say? I like to have choices! We spent the rest of the afternoon unloading some boxes and organizing a few things like our kitchen pantry. Then we spent the evening playing poker (my first time!) with several friends.

Sunday~
This morning we attended Immanuel Baptist Church, where Scott and Emily are members. After church, we had lunch at a small gumbo restaurant -- quite good! And now I'm posting this after a lovely Sunday nap. :-)

After living in a small basement apartment in DC, we feel like we have room to rattle around in! Our apartment has a living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, and a 2nd bedroom that we're turning into an office/study. We're hoping to paint a few of the rooms in the coming days, and then we'll try to post a few pictures. Right now you can just imagine lots of boxes in various states of being unpacked, and you'll have a great image of our place! :-)

Book Thoughts: The Diana Chronicles

When I was about ten years old, I became fascinated with British royalty and with Princess Diana in particular. And though I've outgrown many aspects of my fascination, I still can't resist an occasional biography of her. About three years ago, I read Paul Burrell's book A Royal Duty while I was on vacation with my family and loved it. And so when I read favorable reviews of Tina Brown's new book The Diana Chronicles, I had to get it.

While Burrell's book was highly complimentary of the Princess of Wales, Tina Brown's tone is far more complex. I feel that in many ways she is sympathetic toward Diana (which some reviews have questioned), but she certainly doesn't shy away from laying a hearty portion of the blame for Diana's struggles upon Diana herself. And I felt that Brown handled most of the characters (and I do mean characters!) in a similar fashion -- Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Camilla Parker Bowles, Fergie, Diana's family, and even the Queen. Each of them is on the receiving end of Brown's love-hate tone, some more than others. (And some certainly get just the "hate" portion, notably Dodi Fayed and his father Muhammed.)

Throughout the biography, usually expressed after an account of some off-the-wall action of Diana's, Brown takes a position that many others have taken on Diana: that she was a woman who might have led a happier, quieter--though, most certainly, far more dull--life had she not married into the Royal Family. Much of the conflict seems to come down to "she didn't understand them, they didn't understand her." Brown addresses and dismisses any suggestion that the monarchy is in danger of not surviving. But she does trace the transformative affects that Diana has had on the Royal Family. If you're interested in Princess Diana, I think this book is worth a read.

Back in Business

So I haven't posted in . . . a really long time. That delay was due primarily to the fact that I couldn't access my blog for quite a while (and with the busyness of the end of the school year, I wasn't motivated to solve the problem). Since I know so little about how these things work, I won't attempt to muddle through an explanation, but I think I've solved the problem (or at least sidestepped it) by creating a Gmail account. All that really matters to me is that I can post again! :-)

I'm also not going to attempt a recap of the last three months. Suffice it to say that the school year ended (my fourth at Ad Fontes Academy). The students I taught as a first year teacher (9th grade English) graduated from high school this year, so there was a sense of having come full circle. Because Jeff and I are moving soon, I won't be returning to Ad Fontes next year.


Jeff and I are moving (in 10 days!) to Louisville, Kentucky, so that Jeff can begin the Master of Divinity program at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary this fall. We'll be there for (at least) the next 3-4 years. And that move is prompting a change of sorts in my blogging purpose. I didn't originally intend this blog to be "diary-like," but I am going do more of those sorts of posts (hopefully accompanied by photos) as a way of keeping in touch with family and friends. I also intend to continue to post about books, literature, movies, etc.; but there will be a somewhat stronger emphasis on details of our life in Louisville.

So that's a quick update! I'm glad to be back!

Wedding Photo