Beauty

Each person I see

Is a work of art

A masterpiece in making

Within their skin

A fragile heart

Before the Artist's eyes

Okay, I'm Back

Well friends, I have finally returned from the intriguing if fictional land of Roshar. The Way of Kings was masterfully done. Size-wise, I was expecting a novel of similar proportions to his previous fictional works. Granted, I should have expected a larger hardcover given that it is a new release, but still, it was a massive book, as demonstrated here:

Yes, there are two copies there. We picked it up from the library on Saturday morning, and we both delved in. In the interest of supporting our favorite author and preventing marital disputes over whose turn it was to read the book, we bought our own copy the next day. Not to mention the library put their stickers all over the beautiful maps. (Seriously? I thought librarians respected books.) 

And yet, in spite of it's great length of over 1000 pages, it is only the beginning. Now to wait over a year for the sequel...(as anticipationspren gather around me.)

We had a pretty low-key week--we spent a lot of time reading. Tiernan is beginning to attempt communicating with real words, although he has to use gesticulation to make up for his lack of enunciation. To our ears, the same sound apparently means 'juice', 'fish', 'shoe', 'teeth', 'cheese', and 'blueberry', depending on where he's pointing. And then there's another that can either be 'nurse', 'banana', or 'no no'. He's beginning to sign for more and sign and say 'all done'. I also love this new little gesture:

We're gearing up for an exciting few weeks with my family coming to visit. They will probably arrive Saturday evening, so don't expect much in the way of posts for the next two weeks while they are here. Our list of activities to do with them includes Six Flags Fiesta Texas, camping in Corpus Christi, and the Texas Renaissance Festival, among other things. Should be fun!

Personal Opinion of Various Authors

As I was cleaning the kitchen this morning, I started thinking about books I have read recently. Why? Mostly because my current favorite author's latest book is on hold for me at the library...except it's Friday, which means they are closed, so I can't go pick it up.

Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy fiction genius. Elantris, his debut novel, was good. His Mistborn Triology was freaking amazing. Warbreaker was also excellent, and his kids' series, Alcatraz vs. ____, was imaginative, humorous, easy enough for kids, and interesting enough for adults. And to make it better, so far everything I've read by him has been clean enough that I would recommend them to my little sister.

Cliché fantasy fiction is easy to find. However, if you want non-cliché fantasy fiction, go to Sanderson. He is a master of complex plots and surprise twists.  His magic systems are intricate, well-thought out, and original, and his characters are diverse, complex, and realistic. Part of what I love about his writing is that he leaves enough subtle clues--and many of them are quite subtle--that if you're paying attention, you can figure out the twists, because they do make sense. His writing is more dense than others, taking longer to read and requiring more intellectual involvement, but that's how I tend to like my books.

I have not been as impressed by the other authors I've experienced in the last few months. Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga was among the novels I read. I found her writing to be a fast, easy read--I have to say, she was very good at keeping the pace going, and with the lack of mental involvement the story required, I was able to average a book a day. However, several of the characters annoyed me, the plot was thin, and the explanation and use of supernatural abilities was weak.

I also listened to Christopher Paolini's Brisingr audio book. It's not horrible, but I find his writing rather tedious, actually. Eragon has enough emotional angst to be a teenage girl, and the story rambles a lot without getting anywhere. It takes forever for anything to happen, and the plot does not seem to have been well thought-out. Granted, I haven't finished the series so I could be proven wrong, but I'm not impressed.

I haven't read any of her works recently--in spite of her prolificness I have run out of novels owned by the library--but I feel the need to mention Agatha Christie. Her writing is dense and intellectual...it's not about fast-paced action, but thought and response. Very, very good mysteries.

And so, I wait for tomorrow to pick up Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. I don't actually need to be productive this weekend, do I?

Random Update

We're still alive, it's just been a bit of a rough week. Have you ever gotten a pinched nerve in your neck that hurt like someone with an anger issue was taking a pair of pliers to a sensitive spot? Yeah...I got one of those on Monday, except it stayed. It is slowly improving, but I still can't tilt my head all the way to the left. Needless to say, keeping up with a rambunctious little hooligan is not easy if you're not in peak condition. Pain is draining, so just getting through each day has been a challenge on my emotional stamina.

We had a quiet weekend--mostly stayed at home and relaxed. We attempted to have a neighborhood game night at the Rhineharts, but travel, previous plans, and football fever prevented anyone else from coming. We're also preparing for my folks and two sisters to visit for a couple weeks beginning next Friday. I'm so excited to see them all again!

Don't have time for an in-depth post, so we'll stop here and close with a picture.

Delighting in the Deluge

I love playing in the rain.

Not very surprisingly, my son does, too.

Adventure 9.10 :: Caprock Canyons

For Labor Day, we went camping at Caprock Canyons State Park. We're the spontaneous sort, and didn't think about the fact that Robert had a three day weekend that coincided with a week in which we have no responsibilities at church until the week before.  By that time, most state parks around Austin were pretty full. The website said that the canyons still had 109 campsites left, and besides, it wasn't something we could do on a normal weekend. 

(The 109 campsites left must have been an error. I don't think they had 108 sites total.)

I spent part of Thursday and most of Friday preparing. I made simple, easy, healthy meals, packed clothes and necessities, and loaded the car. So, I love loading cars, especially when there's a lot of stuff. I would like to draw your attention to this particularly marvelous job:

Believe it or not, that is everything. Everything included a six-man tent, tarp, large bedroll, sleeping bag, two duffle bags, camp bag, diaper bag, body pillow, 5-gal water cooler, small ice-chest, food tote, Tiernan's big green wagon, a guitar, a recording device, two camp chairs, and various smaller items of snacks, toys, etc. Oh, and don't forget the three passengers, one of which rode in a bulky carseat. Our car can hold a lot. The beautiful thing? I could still use the rear-view mirror. Alright, I'm done bragging.

We woke up at 4:00 AM, dressed, breakfasted, packed the cooler, and were on the road by 5:00. I love road trips. Way out in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but us, the land, the sky, and the open road...I felt alive.

We arrived shortly after noon. The park was a bit fuller than we expected, so we decided--without much forethought--to try the hike-in primitive tent camping. The site was deep into the canyon, and the setting was beautiful.

The view just out the tent door was awesome. And Tiernan, obviously, was having a blast.

However...it was rough getting there. Remember that long list of stuff I fit in the car? Yeah. We did not prepare for primitive camping. The site was a little over a mile from the parking lot, and as Robert said, "If I'd known a mile was so far, we would not have done this." More than once on that trail to the campsite did my melodramatic self have similar thoughts to the Israelites in Exodus 14:11...have we come out to this desert to die? Moral of the story? If you're not prepared to hike a mile with all your gear, don't. We couldn't get everything in one trip, so Robert, the great manly man that he is, did the second loads in and out by himself. The wagon was helpful, but unless properly stacked and bungeed--which we didn't figure out until after the hardest load was there--it had a tendency to topple over on the rough trail. It was significantly more like work than I prefer my vacations to be, but I'm sure it was good for our character.

Anyway, once we set up camp, we went exploring. I carried Tiernan in the Moby Wrap, and Robert carried our CamelBak and other supplies.

I like to think of us as an 'all-terrain family'.

Once we got to a reasonably safe place, we let Tiernan get down to play.

I watched TK while Robert climbed around on the rocks.

Then Robert played with him while I climbed up. You can sort of see them playing down below if you look closely.

My two favorite men!

I'm one for artsy shots on occasion. This is a favorite.

We ate our supper of chicken salad sandwiches, and turned in for the night. The stars were really, really amazing. I wish our camera could capture the beauty of the desert night sky. We left the rain fly off the tent so that we could see the sky through the screen top.

I woke up early, as I usually do when camping. I absolutely adore the quiet stillness of dawn. I sat by a rock and listened to the land and trees, journaled, and watched the sun rise. 

After breakfast, we packed up to hike the couple miles to the ridge before it got too hot. The map said that the trail was "Extremely steep and rugged" and, well, they weren't kidding. Here we are taking a quick breather about halfway up the mountainside. Tucked snugly in the Moby, Tiernan took a quick snooze on the way up.

I love my man! I feel so blessed to have a hubby who likes to do this sort of thing with me. Not to mention he is dashingly handsome.

Once we got to the top of the ridge, we ate a snack.

We let Tiernan run around for a while, since there weren't any drop-offs nearby. It was insanely windy, though.

We followed the ridge trail for a while longer, and Tiernan even marched along by himself for a ways.

The view from the top was stunning.

I loved the red cliffs. Here's Robert standing in front of one to give you some perspective on how tall these were...if you can see him. We estimate that this bluff was 150 feet or so.

By the time we got back to camp and lunched, it was starting to heat up...a lot. It ended up getting into the 100s, which was significantly hotter than the weather report warned us it would. Since there was precious little shade out in the canyon, we explored the Children's Discovery Center at the park (air-conditioned) and went for a scenic drive in the area while Tiernan napped. Once it was late enough in the day for the UV Index to be lower than "fry-you-to-a-crisp-in-10-minutes-flat", we played in Lake Theo, which was also in the park. 

The water was actually a little cold for staying in for long, so we sat on the shore, introduced Tiernan to the time-honored tradition of throwing rocks in the water, and played in the sand.

Tiernan liked his big stick.

One the way back to camp, Tiernan decided he didn't want to be carried, so we let him hike some himself. In fact, he even offered to carry the water jug. Well, drag it, at any rate.

The next morning, Tiernan woke up early with me and we hung out with this old tree and watched the world wake up together.

After Robert woke up, packed out and drove home, getting back around 7:00.