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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Let it Snow?

Last year, Terry took Nathan on an overnight backpacking trip. This past weekend, it was Caleb's turn, and they had an unexpected surprise for Oct. 1st- SNOW!

From Backpacking


From Backpacking


They hiked up on the Appalachian Trail near Unicoi. They stayed in the Cherry Gap Shelter (the haze in this picture is from their fire):

From Backpacking


They got pretty cold, but they must have had a good time because Caleb came back totally enthused about backpacking - planning his next trip and hoping to get a new backpack for his birthday (so far they've mostly been borrowing equipment). As you can see from the photos, the leaves haven't really even turned yet - that's why the snow was so unusual.

From Backpacking


From Backpacking


From Backpacking


From Backpacking


From Backpacking


From Backpacking

Stained Glass Hearts



The subtitle of the book "Stained Glass Hearts" by Patsy Clairmont is Seeing Life from a Broken Perspective. I expected a book about what it is like to be broken, which has been a subject of discussion in our house since Terry was laid off a few years ago.

Instead, the "broken" subtitle of this book was more about the idea of a mosaic. With chapters like "Stained Glass Prayer","Stained Glass Books", and "Stained Glass Nature," Patsy explains how all these aspects in her life contribute to the themes of light and redemption.

I enjoyed the book, but like a mosaic, it did seem to be sort of random and rambly. She used the "stained glass theme" to tie together a lot of otherwise unconnected thoughts. It didn't really bother me, though, because she shared a lot of wisdom. Conversations are often quite random like this and can still be very inspirational.

I liked the way that she included recommendations at the end of each chapter for books to read, art to look at, and music to listen to. I'm going to add several of her literature recommendations to my book list.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”