Where Have I Been?

Where have I been for the past couple of weeks? I have been in Egypt. Egypt of the 1884 to 1922 era, that is. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I have been reading and listening to the Amelia Peabody Emerson series of novels by Elizabeth Peters. I am now in the final book--number 18. Many series begin to run out of steam if they go on too long--the author seems to have either lost interest or run out of new ideas. They become repetitious; the characters stop developing; the action is just a variation on events in prior books. This, however is not the case for the "Amelias." Egyptian archaeology plays a big part of the plots, and the author has a degree in Egyptology. The main character ages from late 20s to nearly 70 years old across the span of the series. I'm just sorry that the author reached an age where it is unlikely she will write any more books! What will I do when I finish this last book? Well, I may keep my head in Egypt for a little while longer. The author also produced a compendium as a companion to the series. It has non-fiction articles about Egypt of the era covered in the novels; it has articles about ancient Egypt; it has photographs from the period; it has a section giving summaries of characters (both fictional and real-life) who appear in the books.

Where else have I been? I've been plant shopping with my daughter and putting my plants into the pots and planters on the deck. I have two pots yet to plant--they are not on the deck, but by the side entry to the garage. That is a rather blah spot in an otherwise lovely yard (created and cared for by Anne Marie and Chad), so I like to have some flowers blooming there. The last of the petunias will fill in spots in the front yard flower garden that is our memorial to my mother (Grandma Rose to so many). Anne Marie has planted it with rose bushes and perennials, but until some of the perennials mature there are spots to fill with annuals.

Last week the Birdies and I were part of a group of Sunday School teachers who enjoyed a cookout supper at the home of our pastor and his family.

I've already written about our Memorial Day activities; the day after Memorial Day Anne Marie and I made a quick trip to pick up the flowers from the graves, since rain was predicted for the next several days.

Sunday was a special day at church, as our pastor had his formal ordination. He has had something like fourteen years' experience in campus ministry, then went to seminary. While there he ministered to a small South Dakota church, and has been ministering in Gillette for eleven months. This is an American Baptist congregation, and the delay in formal ordination apparently has something to do with that denomination's procedures. It was an excellent service, and the entire congregation was asked to participate in the laying on of hands blessing.

And, yesterday, I went with a group of family and friends to the movie Epic. We all loved it! It was cute, fun, adventurous, imaginative, and beautifully done. I highly recommend it.