I cannot believe that it has been over 2 years since I posted an entry here. Many things have happened in my life and in the lives of my family, but by the grace of a good and loving God, we have been made into stronger people, and, I think, a stronger family. However, I really missed the writing, as well as some of the interaction I was experiencing here. I wonder what happened to some of my internet acquaintances, and hope their lives are productive and peaceful.

I am still reading, and will share books from time to time. I still make quilts, and have learned a lot and will post pictures. But, I think that I have found a purpose for this blog, and I intend to rant. So, to get a better feel for me, here is a bit of history: I was born in North Carolina into a typical (read prejudiced) family. I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church, where I was surrounded by good and loving people.  I went to a fundamentalist Christian high school, where I learned more about how to be a bad Christian than I did how to be a Christlike disciple. I always felt disliked, or at least overlooked, by my extended family, other than one set of grandparents. Because my immediate family rooted for NCSU and Norm Sloan, I (again, praise God!) followed Dean Smith and the Tar Heels, and eventually matriculated there and finally graduated from that esteemed institution. No one in my family, except Uncle Marlin, congratulated me for getting into Carolina. My mother cried. I was baptized as a young teenager, and while there have been years that I didn't attend church, I have never not believed in a loving God and a Savior full of grace I don't deserve. I met my husband in Germany, and finally he agreed to marry me, and I moved to his home state, Kansas. He is Catholic, so we attend the Catholic Church. Churches/institutions in my life might change, but it is the same God over me, and I am comfortable with that. My parents were Republican bigwigs, and their political cronies showed me what a terrible, terrible waste of energy and money this nation's political machine can be. After being disenchanted there, and seeing things occur in the White House over the past 20 years, I have become apolitical. I will talk more about that later. My father says I am a Liberal now, but I disagree. My college friends will definitely disagree! Because I feel bad about being apolitical, I rarely read the news in any depth. It depresses me and makes me sad for my country.

So, when I rant, and you say "Where did that come from?!", look at my history, and see if you can find a place where something makes sense. I have a hard time doing it.