My little Kindle mach 1 gave its all in service to a bibliophile.  It served well, and while it may be gone and replaced, it will not be forgotten.  *Turns and salutes the Kindle as Taps plays. *

After reading the book The Chase by Clive Cussler, I realized I knew very little about the San Francisco earthquake.  There are surprisingly few books about one of the greatest natural disasters to befall our country, A Crack in the Edge of the World was one of the few books I could find.  I looked everywhere for this book, no book store carried, and I didn’t want to pay shipping for it.  Finally I swapped for it on Swaptree, and got my grubby little paws on it.  I was excited since I had read Winchester’s other book The Professor and the Madman and enjoyed it thoroughly.  ACitEotW is an entirely different kettle of fish.  Winchester spends half the book on geology, the history of it, and how it led to the great earthquake.  Literally half way into the book he got to the earthquake.  That is where it got good.  I didn’t want a treatise on geology, I wanted to hear about the heroes and villains of the day in 1906 when the earth did its damnedest to buck San Francisco of the face of the earth.  I wanted triumphs of the human spirit, not dry accounts on how the plates shift.  Maybe I’m plebeian but dang it I wanted a story!  The latter half of the book was good until Winchester started prattling about his road trip along the fault.  I don’t care about Mr Winchester, though I’m sure he is a lovely man, I wanted a book about the earthquake not Winchester’s stay on the west coast.

Final judgement- Would I recommend this to anyone?  Only if they mentioned an intrest in earthquake.  Otherwise, nah.

6/10

I’m outlined-ish three books in a series.  (I don’t normally stick to outlines but I wrote down my ideas, so that I had a cohesive storyline throughout)  The first book is set in Estill County Springs and Spa.  I know very little about it, so I hit the internet, and found distressingly little.  Even Wikipedia has failed me.  So I began sending emails.  I sent one to a member of the Estill County Historical and Genealogical Society and he just emailed me back asking for my address to mail me the information I requested.  I also email the Kentucky Historical Society requesting information, and the University of Kentucky librarian requesting information.  I can’t wait to get it, and I hope for a few photographs or at least an effusive description of what the hotel looked like.  At one time it was the largest in the state with 110 rooms and small cabins scattered about.  The book is set the summer before it burned down in 1924.

Book Two follows the main character as she graduates high school and goes to college to get her degree.  I think most of you should have figured out where I’m going with this by now.  That’s right!  She’s going to Montevallo, technically the Alabama College at the time.  I’ve already got who’s going to die figured out along with why.

If I play my cards right I can get book three set right as the great depression hits.  Whoo!

I think I’m even more excited about the history I get to play with than anything else really.

You don’t have to have a facebook account to view these pictures.  Just click the link and admire.

The Dress

 The Ceremony

The Reception

It’s all about cake, baby!

Random

Recently I’ve been playing with a photo editing software online and getting some great shots, so I will probably be posting a follow up later.  Of course the photos I’ve posted aren’t all of my photos I just chose the best of the best.

Bobby- For coming out of retirement to take my photos.  I can’t wait to get the cd with all of those pictures so I can fill up a photo album.

That reminds me, I need to find a photo album big enough to hold all of the good ones… Maybe a small one for pictures of my friends and a big one for me!

livelongandprosper.shutterfly.com

Feel free to go have a look!  There are some that are really terrible (totally my fault) that I wouldn’t mind no one ever seeing.  I just spent $60 getting prints.  I can’t wait to see them.  I need to get a photo album to put them in.

The wedding was beautiful!  It was really hectic trying to get everything set up in the morning.  It made me run behind, which ultimately made the wedding run behind.  Whoops.  Other wise it went off pretty well.  The officiant mispronounced Jeff’s last name (Miles anyone?)  When we met with him I asked him not to do the whole present to you mr and mrs blahdy blah.  Because I was keeping my last name.  he assured me he didn’t do that, which is why there is a photo of me looking kind of annoyed as he announces us that way.  Otherwise it went great.  Everyone laughed when the Star Wars theme came on as our exiting song.  And Kiss the Girl worked great as my song to walk down the aisle too.   I hope everyone enjoyed the food, I only got a nibble off of a chicken salad sandwich, and a sip of punch and cider.

All in all it was a beautiful day to get married, even if it drizzled that morning.  By the end of it though Jeff and I were hungry and tired.  So we went to bed at like 8:30.  Sunday was nice because we slept as late as we wanted and hung out with my parents.  Mom made soup!  It was delicious.  Monday, we slept in again (glorious!) and went to the bank to deposit our money into a savings account to save up for a washer and dryer set.  We are pricing them now and hope to get one in the near future.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank a few people without whom the wedding could not have happened:

Laura - you are not related by blood nor were you forced to come, but nevertheless you showed up bright and early with bells on.  I firmly believe that with out your help the wedding would have completely failed.

Bebo and Cindy- you two helped keep things going when there was no one else to do it.

Cathy - For the beautiful and delicious cakes.

Tracey - for the beautiful pictures

Jessica - for holding up the black cloth so I could get dressed.

Becka - for handling the things I could not.

Mother - for being my boots on the ground as it were while planning this shindig

And last but not least Daniel and Kate - for driving all that way just to watch Jeff and I walk a few yards and talk.  That really meant a lot to me and made my day really special.

So thanks to you all.  I honestly don’t know where I’d be without you.

Tracey and Jessica -

Exit 14A from Interstate 565

·         Enter by gate 9 off of Research Park Blvd.

·         Go South on Rideout Rd 3.3 miles.

·         Turn left (east) on Martin Rd 2.3 miles.

·         Turn right (south) on Patton Rd 4.0.

·         (Pass a fire station on the right)

·         Cross Buxton Rd.  Go 0.7 miles and turn

·         Right (east) on Rayford Rd. travel 0.9 turn right on Beech ST.   Follow the signs.  If you miss the turn you will come to the boat ramp and ballfields.

Make sure you have a valid license, registration, and proof of insurance.  If you have a rental car you must be able to show your rental contract.

By the way, we aren’t kidding about that part.  Valid license, registration, and proof of insurance are REQUIREMENTS to get on post.  So please try your best to make sure that you have them with you.  Also please leave your illicit drugs and weapons behind.  MPs might search your car and they don’t like those things.

Honestly though, things  are coming together.  We finally have a finalized menu.  We have most of the centerpeices, we have all of the flowers, we have most of the other decorations.  WE are actually ready for this.  Everytime someone finds out that my wedding is this weekend people ask me one of two questions “Are you nervous?” and “How are you so calm?”  Mom and I have a philosophy.  If it gets done GREAT! if not then clearly we didn’t need it anyway.  I refuse to get to stressed out over this.  It’s too late to say that I won’t stress out at all but I refuse to freak out and melt down.

Alright back to work I must get.  The next post after this will be the directions and map for any of you who might have lost yours.

Today I had a bridal shower/brunch.  It wasn’t a big deal just a few of us getting together to celebrate.  I wasn’t really going to do anything to celebrate before the wedding but Mrs Niles insisted.  So we were all meeting at the IHOP in town.  Last night Mrs. Niles drove into town and stayed in a hotel (why I don’t know) when she called to tell me she had arrived I heard another woman in the car.  At first I thought she had brought her daughter along which was a pleasant surprise.  But when I asked she said no that she had brought one of her friends along.  I was kind of miffed because who brings someone that the bride doesn’t know to a bridal shower?   But I’m glad now that she did, because … WOW.

They arrive a little late and i see this short woman with bright red curly hair and this protruding nose ring.   She had a small gorgeous tattoo curling out around her ear out of her hari line at her sideburns.  Very cute actually.  Writing it won’t do her justice so I’ll write what I can but trust me she was a HOOT.  I think I’ll do a list to wet your appetite.

Her parents were missionaires.

She grew up on the Marshall Islands.

She introduced the hair style of sticking a pencil through your bun to hold it in place.

The thing in her nose was a dirty peice of metal that she found in a corner to keep the hole open.

While she was in jail she used a peice of a plastic comb to do the same job.

She was there under false charges.

She has two possible husbands.

She has a court date in b-ham soonish.

She has a real flesh and blood Uncle Sam.

That’s not his real name, but that’s what he goes by since his name was hard to pronounce.

She only had sixty dollars.

She wanted to go to New York to her parents.

She needed a winter coat.

She wants pakistani clothes from our pakistani waiter’s family in Pakistan.

She wanted candy from the owner of the IHOP.

She stopped and talked to almost everyone in the restauraunt.

She taught herself to draw a seven pointed star.

She likes to facebook.

She is probably not welcome at that IHOP ever again.

She thinks the owners wife should go back to her own country.

She likes to shove people.

She considers a lack of onions a miracle.

She thinks the IHOP teapots look like genie lamps.

Mom’s picture of Zoey spoke to her.

She’s been spit on.

She’s had rocks thrown at her.

She can see peoples past lives.

In Laura’s past life she was an actress.

Possibly Rita Hayworth’s sister.

In my past life I was possibly a french prostitute.

I speak with a french accent.

Bob Jones university was founded by my husband.

My kindness inspired him to found the school.

In her past life she was Jesus.

Don’t you wish you were there?