Life's Simple Joys

Yesterday was a good day. Excepting the blinding headache. Church had Happy Music, always a plus, especially since Sad Music and What The Heck Was That Music always throw me off.

Then I got out a few old books and a few new ones. I am still deeply in love with Gillian Bradshaw's "The Wolf Hunt", a retelling of the French medieval ballad of Bisclavret (aka a story about a nobleman/noble-hearted werewolf who gets stuck in wolf form thanks to his faithless wife and has to figure out how to get his liege lord to help him). This whole "Underworld" movie thing is renewing my interest in the unmonstrous monster.

And I discovered a new series. Well, a new book which is the start of a series. But Christopher Stasheff's "Her Majesty's Wizard" is so good, I have faith that the sequels will be equally interesting.

Ouch, this is becoming Kirala's Book Review... well, I'll wrap it up by expressing my shock and amazement that a certain friend had not before college read the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I know I already said this, Matt, but how could you?!?!?! The remaining Narnia books are next on your reading list, I don't care how good Ender is. And I know he's good.

So, after having the pleasure of discovering a good new book all on my own, I went to my grandmother's for dinner and had homemade key lime pie for dessert.

Key lime pie.

If they don't have key lime pie in heaven, there ain't no earthly food gonna make the list. Key lime pie is by far and away the best dessert known to mankind. I'm thinking about asking my mother to run the remains of the pie over here for my lunch. Remains! How could there be leftovers! Simple: My sisters, for some reason beyond comprehension, have such appalling taste that they actually dislike key lime pie!!! Ordinarily, I would try to correct this hideous flaw, but an insidious little voice grows louder and louder until I feel like saying it out loud: "Oh, well, more for me!!!!" Oh, sweet key lime pie...

Ode to Key Lime Pie

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath;
Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Okay, maybe a little over the top, but not much. *looks over her very own sonnet and notices a striking-yet-entirely-coincidental resemblance to Elizabeth Barrett Browning's work, but with one whole dash omitted, which of course makes it entirely original*

I could love no dessert more. What? You have Breyer's mint chocolate chip ice cream tonight?!

Ode to Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways....