What I Learned in November

1. .I loved the book Christy by Catherine Marshall... and apparently Annie Downs does, too.  I was reading Let's All Be Brave (I  highly recommend it) and she talked about the book and subsequent TV series Christy... and apparently it's not just us that relate.  There's a whole festival honoring the book and the series, Christyfest. 

2.  Ok... I feel really dumb.  and also really old.  ICYMI means "In case you missed it..." And there you have it.  Why I need a dictionary or some other such tool as I'm scrolling down my Twitter newsfeed.

3. Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam cleans up pretty well.  If you've ever saw him in concert (which you know I have, if you've followed this blog at all), you'll expect to see him in his in 1990s grunge wear.... but as a board member for the EB Research Partnership, he can be serious, too.  My friend that I met through Proverbs 31 Online Bible Studies, Debbie Williams, has a grandson with EB... For more info, visit http://ebresearch.org/

4. There's a festival for everything.  I was researching Wallace's family tree and came across the Giant Fest in Seville, Ohio... in honor of Captain Martin van Buren Bates.  It's a day dedicated to Bates, who was the world's tallest man married to the world's tallest woman.  He's also a distant relative of Wallace. 

5. Always check the volume on your ringer before going to bed.  Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way, as I overslept because my alarm clock had been going off for an hour but I didn't hear it. I'm not sure how Wallace's cell phone didn't go off... but we made a mad rush for school and Caleb just barely made it in not tardy.

6. Ghiradelli's Peppermint Bark is definitely worth trying.  I don't even like dark chocolate normally but it is more than tolerable with the peppermint flavoring.

7. I could never be a referee.  Apparently, there are not many other people who actually know enough to be a referee, either, if you look at the games that I've attended in the past few weeks. And also, Pop Warner football is classified by weight.  And in leagues that are not necessarily pop warner, but may go by age and weight, you can't carry the ball if you weigh over a certain weight.  They indicate this by placing a red "x" on your helmet. (Which makes you like a target, right?) Also, according to some coaches, and referees who may or may not make the rules up as they go along, those with red "x"s on their helmets have to line up on the line... on the inside of the line, which basically means that all the little, fast guys can just cut the corner and sprint downfield for a touchdown. But... the game was a learning experience.