In due time we shall reap . . .

Here, at last are the fruits of several people's labors, namely, the produce of our garden. Papa says they are the best-tasting tomatoes he has had for a while. If only it wasn't so hot and there was more water available and the weeds wouldn't grow so much better than the vegetables . . . Still, it's doing fairly well. Come on over, and I'll make you a salad!

take a picture of somethin' you see . . .

Mexican chocolate, old and new.

...and we note our place with bookmarkers...

Just wanted to let y'all in on a great book I just read-- I signed up for the reading club at the library the other day, and since have been trying to finish five books so as to qualify for the prize . . . I didn't think it would be hard, but it's amazing how full summer days can be of other things besides reading, and how sleepy one feels when there finally is time to sit down with a nice cup of coffee and attend to such things. But this was my third, and I still have ten days, so I should be successful in the end.

Anyway, it was very good. As you can see by the picture, it was 1776 by David McCullough. I read his John Adams several years ago, and enjoyed it, but this one is better. It begins with sentiment in England at the time, (who ever thinks about what the British were thinking about the war? They all hated Americans, right?) and continues through the end of 1776, describing the movements of the armies, the battles, the political climate, and all. But the best part of all is that he really paints a picture of the people involved, especially the officers, but also of the soldiers and even of their wives back home. And he does it all with constant quotation from their letters and their diaries, showing exactly what they were thinking and feeling at the moment. This is the kind of history that I love. On top of all that, it's well-written and interesting to read, even to a mind all too used to fiction. I learned many things about the war from this book which, (I am ashamed to say, being an American and a History major), I had forgotten or never knew before. Check it out, it's very enjoyable.

not all treasure is silver and gold . . .

We studied this passage in church this morning, and I was struck for the first time with how beautiful it is. I don't think I had ever noticed it before. No commentary, except-- notice the extensive work involved in digging out treasures of precious metals, and how much effort do we expend in getting the greater treasure of wisdom?

Job 28

1 "Surely there is a mine for silver,
and a place for gold that they refine.
2 Iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper is smelted from the ore.
3 Man puts an end to darkness
and searches out to the farthest limit
the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4 He opens shafts in a valley
away from where anyone lives;
they are forgotten by travelers;
they hang in the air,
far away from mankind;
they swing to and fro.
5 As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6 Its stones are the place of sapphires,
and it has dust of gold.
7 "That path no bird of prey knows,
and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
8 The proud beasts have not trodden it;
the lion has not passed over it.
9 "Man puts his hand to the flinty rock
and overturns mountains by the roots.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eye sees every precious thing.
11 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

12 "But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its worth,
and it is not found in the land of the living.
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It cannot be bought for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 "From where, then, does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

23 "God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned the waters by measure,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it, and searched it out.
28 And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.’"

little things

Here are a few more pictures to join the red trash can --

. . . standin' in the doorway, lookin' like the Jack of Hearts . . .