Our First B&B Experience

Last weekend was October Break and we had Thursday and Friday off. Rusty and I decided to take a quick trip to southern Arizona before I got too big and didn't want to travel anywhere. We vascillated between staying at a resort we like in Tucson, or trying out a bed and breakfast somewhere. Rusty's always wanted to check out some abandoned mining towns down south, and we knew if we stayed at the resort we'd never leave. So the B&B it was.

We researched a few in the area we wanted to go and decided on one called the Dusquesne House. It was a gamble because it didn't have a website and only a couple of pictures. But it turned out to be a great pick. Found in Patagonia, Arizona, this adobe house was built in 1898 by the founder of the town. It was built as a bording house, so it was nice because we had our own suite. There was a front room with 2 day beds that we did our reading in, connected to the bedroom with a private bathroom off the back. It was only $125 a night and included a full gourmet breakfast in the morning.

The B&B was also only a couple blocks away from the main street, so we just walked to the restaurants and arts festival that was going on that weekend. It was really relaxing, and we did spend a day driving around checking out the old mining towns.

There's a couple reasons I'm putting this on my "Reading" blog. First, we met some really neat people over breakfast in the morning. Friday morning we met the owners of Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe. They were there for a relaxing few days as well. We started talking to them because their license plate said "BOOKS", so Rusty thought one of them was a librarian. Turns out they own one of the last privately owned bookstores in the valley. We learned a lot about the publishing industry and Rusty came away with 2 books that Gayle gave him. She insisted he take them because of some of the things we talked about that morning. Anyway, that was really neat. I think staying at a B&B is so much better than a resort because you actually meet people in an intimate setting.

Second, for book club this month we are reading "These is my words", set in southern Arizona from 1881 to 1910 or something like that. Driving around these old mining towns and reading about the people who lived there really gave me a feel for the setting of this book. I have read the book before, but it's nice to read it again with a fresh perspective on it!

If you're ever looking for a relaxing weekend getaway, let me know and I'll give you the info for this B&B--I highly recommend it!

Galileo's Daughter

For book club this month, we are reading Galileo's Daughter. It's a very good book, but I'm only about 1/2 way done and the meeting is a week from today. I'm in here blogging because the Presidential Debate is on right now and I get too emotional and charged about it, so I needed a break.

But I do have some comments I'd like to post about the book, even though I haven't finished it. For those of you who really know me and Rusty, you know that the only TV we watch is pretty much on Channel 8 (PBS). We actually became "Friends of 8" just to support the only quality TV left. Anyway, on Tuesday nights at 8 (most of the time) is a show called Nova. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out. This last Tuesday night it was a fascinating show about how there is a black hole in the center of our galaxy and they have found a black hole at the center of about every major galaxy known. I may have heard this before, but didn't really know what a black hole was or why it was significant that it was at the center of the galaxy.

Anyway, it got me thinking about Galileo. First of all, I think he was a brilliant man, but he was also a very faithful man. His discoveries in science did not negate his belief in God. He could reconcile the two very easily. In fact, he worried that there would be a division between science and religion that didn't need to occur (which in fact, for the most part, has). But I can't imagine how amazed Galileo would be to look through the telescopes and other technologies we have today. Isn't it amazing that we can see GALAXIES? I really can't wrap my brain around it, any more than I can wrap my brain around black holes. And to think, sometimes we think we know it all!

There is so much out there we are unaware of or don't understand. I do believe in God and it amazes me that He understands everything. I suppose it takes an eternity to do, but still it's amazing. And when I think of the infiniteness (is that a word?) of the cosmos, to imagine that God actually cares about me, it's pretty amazing. Not only does God care about me, but I believe He cares about all his creations, which are innumerable!

I don't feel like my feelings are being articulated very well in this blog, but I am enjoying the book and it is causing me to look at the broader picture of life and the world. So yeah, I may get upset at the current politics of our country, but it sure is amazing just to be alive, isn't it!?

UPDATES ON THE BABY

Ok, so I'm really not going to put much about the baby on this blog, I promise. But Friday I went and got an ultrasound (12 weeks). It was so cool and there were some really cute pictures, so I thought I'd post them for your enjoyment.

On the first one you can kind of see the baby with his hands up by his face. (I'm saying "his" but we still don't know what it is yet).

This one is a shot of the legs. Can you see that the feet are crossed?

Here's a close up of the feet crossed.

Here's baby Pitney! It was crazy to see him/her moving around, kicking, etc. It was like a real humanoid! The ultrasound at 8 weeks just looked like a peanut. For all of you who have done this before, I know it's old hat! But it was pretty exciting for Rusty and me, being the first time around!

Empress Orchid

I actually started reading this book before I read Water for Elephants, but I stopped in the middle of it. I finished it a couple weeks ago, but just haven't gotten around to writing about it.

It's a historical fiction set in China around 1860. Empress Orchid's father is a governor of a part of China, but his title is stripped and he eventually dies leaving her family homeless and poor. They carry his body in a coffin to Peking (now Beijing) to bury him. While in Peking, she gets chosen to be a concubine for the Emperor, who is in his early twenties. She moves to the Forbidden City and settles in living there. Life in the Forbidden City is not all it's cracked up to be. She definitely has more than she would of had she not, but she's lonely and spends most of the time by herself with her eunich (servant). Eventually, she woos the Emporer into her bed, which is what all the concubines want and fight over each other for. She does get pregnant and bears him his only son. She also gets involved in the politics of the country, which is totally taboo for the women to do, but is instrumental in helping the Emperor.

There are a lot more details, but what I found was interesting was the history of China during this time. I know I learned some history of China in school, but I really had no idea how it worked. This was after the Opium Wars and European forces were trying to open trade with China, especially for Opium. They fought for ports on the seaside and essentially got them because the Emperor was so out of touch in the Forbidden City. He really had no idea how the common people (peasants) lived or how to have foreign relations. China's dynasties had existed for thousands of years under the same system, that they just couldn't change with the times. Eventually, the Forbidden City fell to the occupiers and the Emperor fled and died.

Like I said, the story was interesting, but it took me a long time to get through. I just felt like it wasn't very gripping. I think it lacked a serious conflict. I have the sequel, and really wanted to read it when I got it, but I think it'll be a while before I pick it up. I guess I'm just lazy and want a quick, easy read most of the time!

Water for Elephants

I just finished reading the first book club book of this year, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I thought it was an excellent book. I couldn't put it down. I was trying to read it during the commercial breaks of the Olympics. It was that good! And it was a pretty quick read too, which is always nice.

It's a historical fiction set in the time of the Great Depression. Because the setting is a train circus, they go from place to place. The story begins with the main character, Jacob, when he's 93 living in a nursing home. He has flashbacks to the days when he worked in the circus. He was at Cornell studying to become a veteranarian when his parents both die in a car accident and leave him penniless (remember, it was The Depression). He doesn't know what to do with himself and hops onto a train in the middle of the night. Unbeknownst to him, it's a circus train and the wheels of fate begin turning.

There's so much of the plot to tell, that I won't bore you here. I will tell you I loved the fact that Gruen goes back and forth between the old Jacob and the young Jacob. The old Jacob is just crochety and stubborn, but he's sweet at the same time. I have spent some time with older people in nursing homes and assisted living places (mostly on my mission), but I really came to love talking to them. I think they're really special. And the young Jacob is also sweet, but in a different way. I picture him looking somewhat like Rusty, because he's described as a red head!

Anyway, to those of you already not reading this book for book club, I highly recommend it. It was a great story and had a good twist at the end! Thanks Erin for the recommendation!