Recently Read

I recently finished Where God Was Born by Bruce Feiler (ISBN 0060574879). Feiler's purpose in this book is to write about people and places in the Bible while in those places. Thus he writes three large sections on David in Jerusalem, Abraham in Iraq, and Esther in Iran. I was drawn the potent mixture of Feiler's writing about matters of the Bible and travel. In a sense he reminded me of the incredible travel books by Robert D. Kaplan, who has traveled and written extensively around the world. While I love the things of Robert D. Kaplan that I have read, Bruce Feiler brings to the table an added dimension. Feiler writes in a manner that clearly conveys he is a spiritual person, while at the same time in a manner which shows him attempting to delve deeper into the history of his faith, and how time and circumstances have molded that faith.

Feiler melds matter of theology, finely wrought descriptions of potently relevant locales, and history and current geo-political events into a very fine first-person narrative. As such, theologians, travel buffs, historians and poli-sci majors will all find the book sadly wanting. I however, was captivated by the subjects, theology and insights. Though he probably does not consider himself a theologian, Feiler articulates some mighty fine points about Christianity, Judaism and Islam; twenty years after giving up my preaching orders, I found several insights that were imminently "preach-able." In focusing on three such enigmatic characters in the Bible, Feiler has put his finger on an important truth: the people most of us embrace as paragons of our faith not only had their faults, but could even be thought of as really poor models for generations of faithful persons. And writing so intimately about people he has met over several years of travel and writing, reminds me that the great cloud of witnesses up in heaven might be better thought of as a enveloping fog in my own Swannanoa valley.

I was able to visit Israel and Jerusalem in the late 1980's so I could appreciate Feiler's writing about that city. Very, very few people have been to Iraq, especially in the aftermath of 9/11 and the US war in that region. So Feiler's writing about Baghdad and Ur were wonderfully eye-opening for me. The fact that he found a committed and articulate Army chaplain to dialogue with was a bonus. Finally, Iran has for nearly two generations been an utterly shrouded place for us all. Feiler made it in (with his wife no less) and reveals vast treasures, and incredibly heart-wrenching losses, in the land of veils and hostages.

I count myself a deeply devoted Christian, but at the same time hold my faith and its sacred book with an odd mixture of adoration and suspicion. I found in this book the writings of a kindred spirit, I think. Feiler seems at once keenly aware of his place in the world and in his faith tradition and at the same time not at all afraid to take it on and ask the big questions. The book had several incredibly poignant moments, but ultimately was full of hope for people journeying toward deeper faith, for those who seek peace, and for those who know there is more to the people in the history of our faith than what we read about them and their homes in the Bible.

Pinewood Derby history

Here is an array of all Eli's past Pinewood Derby cars. The first one in the foreground was also his only winner, coming in 2nd overall when Eli was in first grade. We haven't yet unpacked the box that has the trophy in it! The second year, Eli got most creative design for the pickup truck look. We had to re-create the third year's car: Eli has picked off the Legos that had been attached to it for newer projects! It was an airport firetruck. In the background is this year's car, a police cruiser.

Pinewood Derby 2007

This weekend was Pinewood Derby for Eli's new cub scout pack, #50. They meet at the Montreat Presbyterian Church a couple of miles from home. It's a very well-run pack, with plenty of enthusiastic parents helping to make things happen. I was very impressed with how the races went today. The event was held at the Grovemont Baptist Church in Swannanoa where we had access to an electronic track and scoring system, which made things move right along. Four lanes, electronically timed, with a computerized scoring system that kept easy track of which boy needed to race on which lane all afternoon. They even had a projector for the computer, so we could see the results as they were posted! Very classy. I had heard of this sort of setup, but our pack in Richmond hadn't gone for it yet. All we needed was a video feed of the length of the track to see the race in the rear of the room!

Eli designed his own racer again this year. He wanted a police car. Top left is his preliminary sketch. I did the cutting based on this. Eli did the sanding (top right), and the painting (second row). We were late putting the finishing coats of paint on, so it was not as neat a job as some of out earlier attempts in years gone by. We added some essential Lego pieces to complete the police car look. The car looked fine in the end, but was not very fast. In Richmond the dads had pooled resources on race day and had a pit row set up where everyone could make adjustments to cars. No such thing here. I had counted on that to provide us with some powdered graphite to lubriate the axles. We were sorely missing that as the heats went on. The car was notoriously slow: 3 seconds to as slow as 3.23. We weren't the slowest car in the field, but poor Eli didn't win a single race in his den (Webelos I-II). He had a fine time, though; he was a good sport. He's already thinking ahead to next year: an ambulance!

Robert Lake Park, Montreat

Briggs and I had a nice afternoon together a couple of weeks ago. We went to the park in Montreat. It's right on Flat Creek, which runs through our section of Black Mountain. Montreat is build around a small-ish Lake Susan. Just a couple hundred yards down from the dam is this park. Lots for little climbers to do and touch. It's a popular town-y place in the off-season. It was blustery for us, but Briggs didn't seem to mind. There on the left he's fixing a broken hinge on a door!

Clingman's Dome (or not)

Just so you know we're not totally obsessed with the house, we do have lives here in NC. Last Sunday we took off for Clingman's Dome near Cherokee, based on an article in a local paper. The drive was very nice. But when we got there, the area was closed still for the season (closed 1 December - 31 March). Would have been nice if the article mentioned something about the off-season closure. Luckily all was not lost: we went just a little further and found New Found Gap. There is a nice area to walk around here, and it was right on the NC-TN border. The whole trip we told Briggs were "going to Tennessee." When we got here and showed him a sign placed on the border, we pointed across the valley (to the TN side) and said, "there's Tennessee." Briggs said, "where's the tennis?" Honest to God! The picture of the valley above is looking back into NC at US 441. We also stopped at Mingus Mill on the way down, and the period farm, all located on US 441 near Cherokee. They were nice, but a visit during late spring and or summer will also be nice.

Here's the kitchen

This was one of the pluses for us in buying this place. The kitchen is nice and roomy. We've repainted with three shades of green, and added green glass pulls for the cabinets and drawers. Most of our stuff is in, and there's still space! I was able to use the bread machine (thanks bro') and put it away in a cabinet, instead of having to retrieve it and replace it in the attic in Richmond! There is a laminate floor that's seen better days, but it will serve us for the time being.

Dining Room

I've managed to get about half the dining room painted. What slowed me down is that there is a flight of stairs from here to the basement, and painting that corner meant getting the ladder positioned just so. The other big job in here is replacing a window. The sash for the lower portion is shattered. Nothing to do but replace it (on our budget). A replacement (stored in the shed) came with the house! Libby used a tablecloth from India (cut in half and hemmed; bought from Ten Thousand Villages) for the lower windows and a bamboo shade for the uppers.

The Back Forty

Our home in Richmond was on about a quarter acre. We've moved up to 4/10 acre here. It seems to stretch forever. The back part of the lawn is really overgrown and we plan to bushhog it soon. But before we can even do that, we have to pull down some unsightly fencing. I worked on that one afternoon this week. I had to pull some of it out with the truck: it had fallen over and had grass and weeds and small trees growing through it! But we found some pretty lilies also; we'll know in a couple of weeks what they are. My efforst with the truck drew a crowd of one from across the street. He reported that amongst the weeds are blackberries. That may be, but they'll probably have to be sacrificed for aesthetics. In time they may grow back in a more manageable way, but for now they'll soon be history. There are some shots from around the back of the yard.

Doors

The front door to the place is okay, but we really want to replace it. There is a side door to a large crawl space, under what was the porch and what is now the entry hall and study. Water had done some damage to the framing there, but the door was in nice shape, aside from the paint job. I have spent most of this month stripping and sanding it to get it ready to re-install. This weekend I'm putting 4-5 coats of urethane on the back side, the last step. I think it's turned out pretty nicely. We purchased a custom door from Lowes for the entry. I'll be starting on painting it next. There is a sliding door to what we call the shed (above, to the right), the front portion of the barn. There is a door that operates on a rail system on the back of the barn (in the middle, ). Whatever else happens to the barn, we're salvaging the door system: it's a classic.

Boys' Room

This is the dynamic duo on their beds in their room. The wall of painted bricks for the fire house look came out nicely. Eli was not sure about sharing a room with Briggs, but so far it's worked out okay. The "This End Up" furniture works well for them; just as rugged as they are! They have the largest closet in the house!

Upstairs Bath: Finished

We finally got the upstairs bath done, shortly after the first post about it. Sam Phillips did a great job installing the shower conversion. It works fine and looks wonderful. We may hang a picture on one of the back walls, but for now it's done.