THE CHILDREN WILL WELCOME KELP DAY!!

One short year ago, ruthette, dedicated and loving teacher that she is, brought joy to the lives of children worldwide when she went on a heroic, early-morning hunt for specimens of kelp, only to be rebuffed by icy waves.

But icy waves cannot stop Kelp Day or quench the noble motive that drove her to the sea that morning. The children will never forget.

Happy Kelp Day, everyone.

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see Sarah Palin pictures

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Book 18: Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, 180pp

This was one of my very favourite books when I was twelve. I'm not sure if that's just because that's when I got the book or because Betsy and her friends are also twelve in the book - I liked reading books about children who were my own age. I adored the theatrical thread running throughout the book, the section on Christmas that seemed to bottle up all I felt about Christmas so beautifully, and most of all Winona.

I have no idea what it is about Winona that I like so much, except that perhaps she reminds me of myself. I've been a manipulator, have been known to love messing with people's heads, and have a strange sense of humour. I'm a pretty good blend of Betsy and Winona, and I was sad on glancing through later books at the library back in the day that Winona seems to mostly fade out of the picture after this book.

I'm thinking this book influenced me a good deal too in my own writing. Betsy's tendency toward DRAMA and using things she's fangirling over in her stories sounds ridiculously familiar. Just the other day I found an entry in an old diary where I described a story within another story I was writing, involving a whole myriad of drama and crime. It wasn't a good or healthy thing to be obsessing over, by any means. I guess the part in this book about sticking to GOOD books rather than dime novels was over my head?

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You know, I'm really just ready for this week to be over. I'm glad that in four minutes I can go down and light the Sabbath candle and usher in my favourite time of week.

There is just something really beautiful to me to think that God set us aside a day so He can be with us, if we choose to let Him share our time.

When things are out of order, I get disturbed. I'm bothered that my washing machine is gone and my wet laundry has to sit in a tub until the machine gets repaired. I'm bothered that my emotions get all out of whack at inconvenient times. I'm tired of thinking about fifty things at once and trying to follow through doing all fifty things at once, as I've been the last couple days.

I'm ready to put that stress and burden all aside now as the new day begins and clears the slate, as it were, for the week to come. I can just give it to God and say, "Here. You take it. I don't want it anymore." And He will. And as long as I don't try to snatch it back again, I can have peace.

I like peace.