A Week at the Newspaper - Part 2

Another paper is out, and I have a whole week to get the next edition's batch of stories ready! On top of that, the weather here is gorgeous and our trees are in full bloom, so I'm a particularly happy person. Here's the rest of my week at the newspaper.

Saturday, April 22

Saturday was a beautiful day. I read the whole gospel of Mark in the morning (it only took about one hour).

Such is Life

I suppose it only fair to mention (as otherwise I may confuse you, my dear readers, in future posts): a little over two weeks ago, I started working as news editor for two local newspapers, the Clarksville Star and Butler County Tribune-Journal.  It's a dream come true.  Everything I've always loved doing--interviewing people, visiting neat places, and exploring small-town Iowa--I now do every working day.

Not only am I doing something I love, it seems I'm working for a great company.  My co-workers have all been pleasant and very helpful as I've worked on learning my new duties.  I remember at an interview for another company I applied with, I was asked what kind of people I liked to work with.  "Nice people?!" I replied.  They told me my coworkers would be grumpy.  In retrospect, I am so glad I did not get that job.

eShakti Review

A few long-time readers may remember my debut as a model in March 2015 when I did a review for eShakti, an online women's clothing store based in India.  I haven't done any more modeling since then, preferring to leave fashion blogging to...my favorite fashion blogger, Paige.  

And...you should probably thank me for that, as I am one of the most boring dressers in the world.  When I find an outfit I like, I stick with it; and I still haven't figured out why when a celebrity wears the same outfit twice, it's newsworthy.

Answers: Life & Death

With this final post I'll have my bases covered from the cradle to the grave.  Many thanks to all who participated in making this series happen.  Next week I'll be g̶e̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶e̶n̶g̶e̶  hosting my annual survey!  I hope you'll join in.

Debbie says: I have always wondered how old you are? 

BJ says:  I would be very interested in knowing your age.

I'm 22.

Answers: Music, Chess, Pets, & More

We are nearing the end of my series of answers in response to questions posed by readers.  In this post I will answer all the questions about hobbies, pets, and random topics, before going on to my final post Wednesday.

Martha asks: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? 

Ashley asks: What are your hobbies?

Playing chess, running, blogging, photographing, visiting neat places, hiking, singing and playing instruments, watching Studio C and old tv series, volunteering as an admin on FICS, occasionally doing genealogical research, visiting cemeteries, and creating websites.

Answers: Faith

A few people asked questions about faith in response to my Your Turn post.  Victor Hugo once said, "The greatest happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." 

And that's true.  God loved us so much even in our miserable human condition that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  I've found the greatest happiness in the world in the conviction that Jesus loves me.  I never deserved His love.  I never was good enough to earn it.  But he loved me in spite of myself.  He's changing me, so I can behold the beauty of Himself.  

Answers: A Confession of Humanity

You know, sometimes I may not like to admit it...but the questions asked in response to my Your Turn post have forced me to confess: I too, am human.  I had fun figuring out how to answer these!

Martha asks: What three personality traits do you admire in people? 

#1 Kindness

#2 Intelligence

#3 Diligence/reliability

Answers: Travel

Today I'm back to answering questions asked in response to my Your Turn post.  Our topic?  Travel, one of my favorite things to do--in Iowa!  We'll also cover languages and general knowledge of the world.

Anonymous asks: What do Americans know about Europe? What do you learn at school only geography connected with continent or others, too?

I was homeschooled, and I learned a lot of European history.  The history of Europe is the history of Western Civilization, so it was very important in my studies.  

Answers: My Favorite Things

Thanks to everyone who participated in my Your Turn post and asked me some very interesting questions!  I will be answering in one post a week.  Today I'm covering the bases on all the questions asked about my favorite things.

Martha asked: What is one of your favourite words? Sesquipedalian

Tea Cup Exchange

After reading posts over the past couple years from many bloggers who have participated in Stephanie's tea cup exchange, I finally decided to give it a try.  

After all, why should I spend my life wondering what it would be like to join in, never do it, and then as a wrinkled old lady have to tell the youth of that era that the greatest regret of my life was never joining in a tea cup exchange?

Blogging Love!

I never win giveaways.  That is just one of the facts of life, and I've grown accustomed to it.  But I still enter them every now and then just for fun.  Early this month I entered Kelly-Anne's Celebrating Love giveaway at  Beautiful Girlhood.

A few days later, I was *shocked* to receive an email from Kelly-Anne saying I had won this lovely wall-hanging created by her sister.  If I were not a semi-libertarian I might suggest that bloggers be required to have giveaway insurance liability policies to cover the potential health risk caused by shock to the winners.

Moonlit Eve, Foggy Morn, & Family History

As I've mentioned before, my family and I enjoy excursions around lakes and on trails in the area.  We have three runners in training  (best time so far: one of my sisters ran a 5K in a little over 24 minutes).  Those of us--including myself--who don't run, like to ride along on bicycles.  Below you can find an assortment of photos from various trips.

The trees above are in Deer Park.  For many years the city kept a herd of real reindeer in this park; the past couple years though, Santa has had to look elsewhere to replenish his herd.  

Thanksgiving 2015

My family and I do not celebrate many holidays, but one we do look forward to every year is Thanksgiving.  Grandma brought her specialty, seven-layer salad.  My sister Charity and my mom made turkey, mashed potatoes, and bread rolls.  My youngest sister (who sells pies) made pecan, apple, pumpkin, and raisin pies, and chocolate chip cookies.

I made my super-fast homemade cranberry sauce and carrot salad, opened a can of green beans, a bag of frozen cream corn, and a can of pineapples, and set the table... This time, I adhered to tradition, resisting my e̶v̶i̶l̶  humanitarian urge to set paper plates in an effort to a̶v̶o̶i̶d̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶h̶e̶s̶  conserve water.

2015 Survey & Giveaway Results

Thank you to the 26 readers who completed my survey, and the 10 who joined the giveaway!  Congratulations to Ashley from Precious Moments!  Ashley is our randomly selected winner #1, and she will receive the 10 greeting cards.  Giveaway winner #2 is Paige from Sunday Best and All the Rest!  Paige will receive the Mini Dinner Triangle.  

Question 1: How did you find my blog?

A Church, Barns, and Fields

The fields have been harvested, and the traffic of combines, tractors, and grain carts has dissipated.  Early November was extraordinarily beautiful.  November 2nd I had my windows open and was outside in shirtsleeves--quite the contrast with two years ago, when it snowed in October.  It has finally cooled down, and we had our first snow yesterday.

There are at least three country churches within reasonable walking distance of my home.  This one, East Friesland Presbyterian Church, recently celebrated its 150th anniversary.  A few miles away there is another church, West Friesland Presbyterian.  West Friesland church is actually northeast of the East Friesland church: they were not named for their locations, but for the part of Friesland [Frisia], Germany each congregation immigrated from.  

Interview with Kathleen Franck

On the campaign trail, you run into many interesting people.  You start to recognize all the news reporters and camera-people, and then there are the familiar faces you see here and there and everywhere, and yet can't seem to place.  

Photos in this post are courtesy of Kathleen Franck.

One of those faces was that of Kathleen Franck.  Eventually she came across some of my photos from events she attended on Facebook and sent me a friend request.  "I know this lady," I thought, "but who is she?!"  It turned out we had both been at the same places to see Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, and Carlee Fiorina!  We finally met after listening to Ted Cruz in Waterloo.

Dubuque Model Railroad Show 2015 - Part 2

One couple I was delighted to see again at the train show was Dave and Sandy Homan of Superior Scenics.  As I noted last year, they create lakes from resin and paint, trees from jute, and grind ballast for rocks under model track.

This past year, they have been working hard on growing their business, which as Dave pointed out, is really a niche market.  A lot of railroad people, he said, don't even have layouts of their own.  So, they market their products to people building fairy gardens, doll houses, terrariums, and aquariums as well as railroad layouts.  

Dubuque Model Railroad Show 2015 - Part 1

Sunday, November 1st, my grandparents (Harry and Colleen Carson), Charity, and I left for Dubuque at 4:00 A.M. We stopped at a convenience store on the way for a quick breakfast (as nothing else seemed open), and arrived at the fairgrounds where the railroad show was held with plenty of time to set up.

After everything was ready, we relaxed, ate donuts, and visited with fellow vendors/friends from last year until the doors opened at 10:00 A.M.

Butler County Fair

A couple years ago, I wrote about visiting the Grundy County Fair.  This year, I went to the Butler County Fair in Allison, Iowa.  I probably missed the most interesting events (There are rumors of concerts, rodeos, races, and demolition derbies), but I'll give you a glimpse of what I did see.

One of the best parts of visiting the fair this year in June was seeing one of my sisters, Charity, win a blue ribbon, plus a grand champion ribbon, on her pencil drawing of a neighbor boy. 

Random Summer Highlights + A Blogger Meetup!

Meet-up with Happy Elf Mom Christine

I had the pleasure of meeting the Happy Elf Mom, Christine, from Homeschool and Etc. at the Iowa Open!  We compared notes and discovered we actually were both at the tournament last year, but had not met each other.  Christine is a lovely lady with an awesome sense of humor.