In the bleak mid-winter

Well, in one of my last posts, I told of the possible untimely demise of my trusty laptop.
Yes, it seems that it will no longer be my constant companion, my guide, my link to Facebook!
It is a bummer, to say the least. And I was just getting geared up to blog, blog, blog again.
But on the bright side, I am getting a lot of reading done.
In the spirit of simultaneous reading (I am, I confess, a simultaneous reader, meaning, I read multiple books at a time -- no, no, not literally at one time, but at the same time. I mean, I am in the process of reading several books at once . . . Oh, never mind!) I am currently devouring several tasty books (Did I mention we are cable free, and thus, t.v. free these days as well? It is a veritable media-free zone where we live lately; well, except for the two Blue's Clues DVDs we play over and over in turn for Mr. Daniel).
One book I am reading is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (of Poisonwood Bible fame). It is not light reading, but rather a look into the author's personal decision to move her family to a farm in Eastern America and pursue an eating lifestyle that included only fresh, local foods. There are lots of personal stories, some gaunt looks into the food industry, some recipes and lots of inspiration for an aspiring "back-yard farmer."
I am also reading Sea Glass, by Anita Shreve. It is a quick read and doesn't take much thought, but I am enjoying it.

And, I have been managing to read my Bible regularly these past few weeks-- imagine that!!
I am enjoying a daily devotional called Secrets of the Faith Life, by Andrew Murray, and, in my spare moments, I am beginning a book called Standing on the Promises by Douglas Wilson, about Biblical child raising. This one takes the most time to digest and is the most convicting.
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I am also teaching my children to be simultaneous readers, because why not pass on the mania?! The boys and I are in the middle of reading both Mossflower, by Brian Jacques and Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, aloud.

And so, it is in this bleak mid-winter, bereft of laptop and cable t.v., that I have found again the pleasures of reading. I wonder, why was I letting my life be sucked away by Top Chef and House Hunters and . . . well, God only knows what now. In the first few t.v.less days, I must admit, I was a little lost without the glowing light of the tube, but I have found the little light bulb over my head just fine, thank you, with a little help from a few of my closest old books, and some newcomers, too. I do not miss the t.v., and when Joe ponders if we should try satellite in a few months, I whine back, "ahhhh, do we have to?"
I do miss my connection to the outside world via the Internet. I was so looking forward to blogging on a more regular basis again, and it is a pain when I want to look up a recipe, a fact, a name, a disease, and remember I cannot because 1) my computer is dead, (may it rest in peace) and 2) we don't have the Internet at our house anyway, so what good would it be to me even if it were miraculously resurrected?
I can get Internet access at school, but I have been housebound for the past two weeks with pneumoniatic children. (They are recovering quite well, and barring relapses, will be back in action next week!!)
When I get back to school, I will be plugged in once again. I will try to blog from there (tehehe!).
And speaking of plugs, here's a little nod to my good friends Micah and Sarah (like that segway?), who were here and are gone again. It was so good to see you, my friends, though we did not see you enough, for my tastes.
It is cold, and grandpa has a warm fire blazing in the other room, where my children are gathered. I will leave this light behind me now, for one more beautiful and more warm.