Out of the house

"Avengers Age of Ultron" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Avengers_Age_of_Ultron.jpg#/media/File:Avengers_Age_of_Ultron.jpg

So it is the girl's birthday and apparently a walk by the harbour followed by jam butties at home in front of the telly isn't good enough so it is off to the flicks followed by an Italian meal. (The young have such sophisticated tastes these days) The price my family pay for an Italian meal out always includes me taking along any vouchers I have and there was one for a second main course for £2.50 which saved us nearly seven quid. Don't look at me like that - I am very subtle about it. No, I am!

Then on to see Avengers - Age of Ultron. I am not what you would call a Marvel aficionado. In fact I take up a seat someone else could use but although I have very little idea what is going on, I did enjoy this.There is a lot of noise - good grief it's noisy. People run on, shout a lot, hit each other with things and then run off. People get to dress in colourful capes and bounce around which was probably not as much fun as it looks. I spent a happy hour trying to decide if Captain America was wearing a wig (On balance I think probably not) FOW1 sent me a text from York complaining that they had got the Red Witch's superpower all wrong. Apparently in the comics she has the power to change probabilities or something. To be fair to the film-makers that doesn't sound as snappy as being able to wave your hands around a lot and make people throw themselves into ponds which was what she was doing a lot of when I saw her.

I think I am alone in the world in finding Robert Downey Jnr a bit annoying in these films but the whole thing overall is good fun and it didn't seem as long as it was (which was nearly three hours)

The best bit though was the trailer for Star Wars - YES STAR WARS EVERYBODY - I love Star Wars . I am too embarrassed to share with you how often I have seen them. (The original three, not George Lucas' attempt to kill off the whole franchise with the next three - although unfortunately, I have seen them quite a few times too) Anyway - a trailer for Star Wars and it looked good as well. It's out at Christmas. Am excited here!

Chasing Francis

Eden

This is a book about a pastor of a mega church who has a crisis of faith. When I first bought it, I thought "Oooh - how honest, there's not many pastors of mega churches who would be brave enough to do that." However, I think I must have misunderstood. It's not a biography - it's a novel i.e.fiction.
I had a bit of a problem with this at first. My own fault I think, having not read the blurb properly. I was a bit shall I /sharn't I? about reading it at all but it had cost me nearly a tenner so away we go.
I am really glad I made the effort. It is a novel and it is excellent. The pastor in question has a crisis of faith, much of which takes place in the pulpit. The elders ask him to leave (asap) and try and get himself together. He goes to Italy, where has an uncle who is a monk. The uncle leads him through the teaching of St Francis. This challenges everything he has every understood about how he lives out his faith in God, about how all his mind based certainties about how a Christ like life should be lived may not be quite what he thinks they are and how people who he would have judged as deficient in some way may be connecting with God's will in a way that may be better than his.
Some parts are very moving as he sort of sees Jesus for the first time. HOH found some of the parts based in his home church quite disturbing, presenting, as they do, people jockeying for position in his absence. 
Of course, this is a novel and some bits can seems a bit too good to be true. Who has a wise monk-uncle living in the most beautiful parts of Italy? (Well I suppose, someone must have - just no-one I have ever heard of) The good people are very good and the bad people are - well - disappointing. However, it is writing with spiritual impact I think. It becomes clear fairly early on that some of the things the pastor has learnt have also affected the writer. In fact, the last part of the book contains instruction on how to take these thoughts further, which is very useful. I enjoyed it a lot and learnt a lot. It has also managed to ask me some important questions about my Christianity. Highly recommended by er...me

Do you ever just get a song in your head?

Wikipedia

 Only because it was in my head all day yesterday - can't remember any of the verses - just this chorus. So, just remembering when you sang a verse and then tucked your hymn book under your arm to clap in the chorus or if you were really, really spiritual you didn't pick up the book at all!   (Freaks)

Just a lovely. lovely song---2,3,4

I can never tell how much I love Him,
I can never tell His love for me,
For it passeth human measure,
Like a deep, unfathomed sea;
’Tis redeeming love in Christ my Savior,
In my soul the heav’nly joys begin;
And I live for Jesus only,
Since the fullness of His love came in.

Eliza E Hewitt 1916

How Old?

Happy Birthday FOW2!!! 19? Really? Shurley some mistake?

Just me and my mum...

driving each other crazy...


(Me)Thought you might like a trip to Dunelm Mill

(Aged Parent) What for?

Dunno, just thought you might fancy a walk round.

Well, I don't really need anything but..

(Later - entering Dunelm Mill.)

We are just passing the bedding - Did you need anything? 

 No. I need some storage. 

It's just that, if you do need bedding, it's best to get it now because we would have to walk all the way back round the warehouse to get back here.

No, just storage.

What sort of storage?

I'll know when I see it. Just storage.

What are you storing - Christmas Decs, Eiderdowns, Cup cakes, assault rifles?

I am ignoring you. It says storage over there

It says Children's storage. There's more round the corner.

(Walk round the corner - no storage there)

I saw storage back there, and I said so but you said no.

Wasn't that Children's storage? 

Nope.

(Walk back in direction of parent's pointy finger. Stand under large sign saying "Children's Storage"). 

There's only children's storage here

Yes, I think I did say so. Did you want children's storage - some of it is quite cute?

Don't be ridiculous.

(We carry on walking round the store, in slow yet sure pursuit of an underbed box for winter sweater storage)

Did that laptop come?

Nope.

Is it lost in the post?

Nope. It's being signed for. It will arrive.

What if someone else signs for it?

They won't.

Will you ring me when it arrives?

Why?

To put my mind at rest. Anyone could sign for it.

Only someone in our house. If someone breaks in at the precise moment the postman is knocking at my letterbox and stands at my front door and signs for it, I will be worried.

You're not funny.

Look, here are some storage boxes. (Stop at huge wall of various boxes)

This is good. I like these.

Brilliant. So you have everything now yes?

Yes - just as soon as I find where the bedding is.