OKC Trip 2019

We were already going to Oklahoma City for the annual Friends of the Metropolitan Library book sale, so Amos took Friday off and we made a weekend of it!

Off we go!  Amos being silly.

Had to stop for provisions...

Turnpike construction

Time for surgery...

Amos gave me this Bible a few days before we got engaged (we added the Ralston later, haha!).  I dropped it a few times over the years, and the spine finally came off, so it was time to get it rebound.

Very large press...

Super Cao Nguyen!  The biggest Asian grocery store I've been in!

I went here a few times when we lived in Oklahoma City.

More provisions...

We have our pho and ramen supplies! :D

Amos was excited about these seaweed snacks.  They tasted like shrimp...or the ocean.

A T-Rex and a good sign...

Hello, poor cow, carved into the concrete

Waffle Champion in Midtown, recommended by Beau and Chrissie

Amos had chicken and waffles and I had the Florentine (tomatoes, eggs, spinach, goat cheese, etc.).

When in town for a book sale, one must also visit Half-Price Books. :D

WinCo!

The bulk section!

More provisions!

[Not pictured: A stop at Duluth Trading Company.  Ooops.]

I love the Loft Outlet store!

City Bites!  I get the California Club sandwich, and Amos gets a sandwich or a baked potato.

We've had a $10.00 gift card for Coldstone for about five years, but there aren't any stores in Tulsa...finally used it up!

Our hotel had a very nice breakfast!  The thing with whipped cream is actually a waffle boat!

We're here, we're here!

Friends!

Amos, me, Tasha, Rachelle, Amelia (belonging to Tasha), and Brittany

Lots of people, even more books

Parked in (why?!?)

Our finds! CDs

Science fiction

Misc.

Kids' books

More kids' books and audiobooks

Don't judge a book by its silly movie cover.  Take it off and see what's underneath!

Wow!

Everyman's Library!  For $1.00!

We went to Earl's.  The internet was down, so they couldn't run cards and they couldn't open the cash register.  Employees were running back and forth from the back room with cash and handwritten orders.  Amos had already gotten a drink, but they gave it to him for free when we decided to go somewhere else...

...like a different City Bites! :D

Last stop: Dunkin' Donuts!

Thirty-four

Well.  Here I am again.

Year eight of book lists, 2017.

I'm rather embarrassed by the dwindling number of books read over the last few years, but I can either dwell on that, or I can move on.

Moving on...


- - - - - - - - - - -
Past book lists are linked below and are also accessible on the bar below the blog header.  Thanks for reading.
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

* fun
# favorite
AB audiobook
GN graphic novel

Jennica-Ayelet's 2017 Reading List

Children's Books/Young Adult
The Secret Keepers, Trenton Lee Stewart
A lonely boy finds a secret device that can actually make you invisible.  A bad guy is out to get it, and the boy meets the family who is sworn to protect its secret. By the author of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

A Maze Me, Naomi Shihab Nye
A poetry collection written for girls by one of my favorite poets.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room, Lemony Snicket
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny lose their parents in a house fire.  That is just the beginning of their troubles with Count Olaf.
I don't remember much about these books, except that Klaus likes words and Sunny likes biting (out of self-defense).  The writing was fun, but I lost interest while reading book three out of thirteen when Amos said, "They didn't catch the bad guy yet?  I think I'd be bored by those books."

*# GN Snow White, Matt Phelan
A graphic novel retelling of Snow White, set in the Great Depression.  One of my favorite books of the year.  The "witch's" downfall is epic, haha!

The seven dwarves; from YouTube

GN The Storm in the Barn, Matt Phelan
A graphic novel set during the Dust Bowl.

Emily's Quest, L.M. Montgomery
I read the other Emily books back in 2015. In this final book, Emily decides to stay home with her family, continue her writing, and make terrible choices regarding the men in her life. ("Okay, I'll marry you, even though you are terrible, and can be cruel, and are an atheist, and don't appreciate me, and..." [insert eye roll]).  In the end, she marries the right one.  It was a good wrap-up to the trilogy, but as my roommate Kat and I agreed, you just want to shake Emily.

# AB Bomb: The Race To Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, Steve Sheinkin
Did you know that Americans traitors gave the secret of the atom bomb to the Russians?  Neither did I, until this book.  This book is historical nonfiction, but it was very well-written and moved at a good pace.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, Jonathan Auxier
Peter Nimble is an eyeless orphan (his eyes were pecked out; ow).  Using miscellaneous magical eyes, Peter is taken on a journey to free a kingdom from its evil ruler and to learn his true identity.

Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White, Melissa Sweet
A biography of E.B. White, complete with pictures and scrapbook-style artwork!  E.B. White was the author of Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan, and innumerable excellent essays, many of them written for The New Yorker.

from Jewish Standard

* GN The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wit and Wisdom in the Wild West, Steve Sheinkin
* GN Rabbi Harvey Rides Again: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Folktales Let Loose in the Wild West, 
* GN Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid: A Graphic Novel of Dueling Jewish Folktales in the Wild West
Rabbi Harvey is a rabbi living out in Colorado during the Wild West days.  He is also the sheriff. He dispenses wisdom and outsmarts bad guys, including the Bad Bubbe and the Wisdom Kid.

Strider, Beverly Cleary
This is a follow-up story to Dear Mr. Henshaw.  Leigh (a boy) gains a dog and makes friends at his new school.  He also learns to deal with his troubled family life (divorced parents with his dad on the road) and finds out that no one's family is perfect.


Etc.
# AB Dracula, Bram Stoker
One of my favorite books of 2017.  I listened to it as an audiobook as well as read it as a regular book.  It is written as a series of letters from several main characters.  It is very well-done and extremely suspenseful!
Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to complete a business deal with Count Dracula.  Jonathan soon determines that not all is right with this mysterious, strange man...

GN The Professor's Daughter, Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert
I didn't like this graphic novel very much; it was a bit creepy.  I think a mummy falls in love with an Egyptologist's daughter.

# AB The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins
Look-alike ladies.  An artist-tutor.  An ugly woman.  A church fire.  An Italian anarchist.  A bastard baron. A hypochondriac.  A dastardly plan.
I really liked this one.

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, Michael Finkel
Non-fiction about Christopher Knight, a man who lived as a hermit in rural Maine for twenty-seven years and was discovered in 2013.  He survived by stealing food, bedding, books, fuel, etc. from nearby homes and a summer camp.  He only talked to people twice during that time.
It was rather interesting to read about how and why Christopher Knight chose to live this way and what his burglary victims thought about him.
(Michael Finkel wrote an article for GQ that he later stretched into this book.)

# Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems, Billy Collins
Picnic, Lightning
Ahhh, Billy Collins.  Billy Collins' poetry is about everyday objects or happenings, usually with a surprising or delightful twist at the end.

from amazon

# GN The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir, Thi Bui
Thi Bui's illustrated memoir, recounting her memories, her parents' memories, and her relationship to family.
I also wrote about it here.


ReReads
In My Uncle's House, Julie Nye
A set of siblings lose their parents and go live with their non-Christian family.  This is especially hard on the boy, who has to learn that he doesn't have it all together, either.

AB Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

AB Anne of Avonlea, L.M. Montgomery

AB Anne of the Island, L.M. Montgomery

AB Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling

AB Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling

AB The Four-Story Mistake, Elizabeth Enright

Happy Valentine's Day!

AB Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling

AB Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling

AB Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling

AB Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling

AB Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling

Four years later

Four years, one week, and two days ago.  Our departure from California.

Last Saturday, March 31st...
Me: Guess what?  Four years ago today, we left California.
Amos: I know! Should we go out to dinner? ...I guess we don't want to commemorate leaving, really.
Me: No, we don't want to commemorate leaving.

The past three years we have gone out to eat on or around April 3rd, the day we arrived in Oklahoma in 2014.

A blurry sign

We talk about what we miss about California:
-Crossroads Community Church
-In N' Out animal-style
-Luke and Danielle and the little girls
-My family
-Our friends
-Green winters
-Hills
-Mountains
-Better drivers
-Stonefire
-Fairly predictable weather
-Being comfortable in the culture
-Mountains


We talk about what has been hard in Oklahoma:
-Bad drivers
-Grey winters
-Racism in surprising contexts
-Weather that is not conducive to exercise
-Missing friends
-Feeling rootless
-Flat landscapes
-The bug house experience


We talk about what has been good in Oklahoma:
-Friends at Covenant Community Church in Yukon
-Severe weather experiences
-Not living in Oklahoma City any more ;)

-Moving to Tulsa
-New job at Ford Audio/Video
-Visits from friends and family
-Close friends at Tulsa Bible Church in Tulsa
-Lots of trees
-Hills
-Opportunities to serve at TBC
-Being closer to Amos' family
-Green summers

This year's verse comes from John 21:21-22:
When Peter saw him [John], he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus said to him, "If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!"

A lot has happened in the past year, not least of which is upheaval in our church.  There is uncertaintly in our personal lives, in the lives of our families, and in the life of our church.  But Jesus says, "...what is that to you?  You follow Me!"

I don't think I would have responded well if God had given me this verse back in 2014.  I probably would have found it too hard to bear.

The Lord is kind; He knows when to teach lessons.

I am not responsible for others and their actions.  I am not responsible for solving everyone's problems.  I am not even responsible for figuring out what those problems might or might not be (i.e., I am not to be a busybody).

I am responsible to live my life, to follow Him, and to do as He says, or, as Pastor Todd at Crossroads says, to be FAT: faithful, available, and teachable.

The inimitable Pastor Todd

May I be faithful, available, and teachable in year five as I follow Him, and may Amos and I encourage and challenge others by our example "in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." (I Timothy 4:12)

2014: OKC
2015: A year later
2016: Two years later
2017: Three years later

Sunny with a high of 75

When you want to go on a nice walk because it is 70 degrees outside and spring might just be starting, but...

you have to put the frozen food away (oops)
you have to make muffins
you have to wrap a gift for a friend
you have to call the insurance adjuster
you have to fill out insurance forms
you have to make dinner
you have to make lunch
you have to clean the kitchen
you have to get the stain out of your shirt
you have to pack up your stuff for Awana
you have to make a few lists

and then you remember...
you have strawberry lemonade in the fridge and Harry Potter on audio.

Maybe it won't be too bad of an afternoon after all...

Heck no! Not today!

There I am, driving along, minding my own business, listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, eating a few Skittles (a present from Amos), when *WHAM* a grey SUV appears out of no where, scraping down the driver's side of my car.

I gasp.  I slow down.

The other car does not.

Me, in my mind: "HECK NO!!!"

I've heard too many stories about hit-and-run accidents.  The victim is left to deal with a broken car while the perpetrator zooms off, taking any chances of filing a claim with them.

Not me. Not today.

I shift gears and chase that car down.

I hear wind whistling through my closed window and realize that my rearview mirror is gone.

No matter.

I zip after the grey SUV, holding down the horn.  A maroon pickup truck races next to me.  I am irritated: "Can't you see I'm trying to catch the guy who hit me?!?!"

About half a mile down the road, a police car comes screeching up the suicide line. I make sure that this officer is actually after the grey SUV, and we all turn into the parking lot of a small credit union.

By this time, it is me, the maroon pickup, the grey SUV, and three police cars.

I am impressed. This is a very quick response, especially since I hadn't called anyone.

I grab my phone and insurance info and jump out of the car, ready to take on the world!

Mr. Maroon Truck rolls down his window: "I'm a retired police officer, and I saw what happened!  I'll be your witness!  Just stay over here."

Me: "Okay!"

Mr. Maroon Truck: "Bless your heart."

It turns out that Mr. Maroon Truck has been following this guy down the freeway onto one of the main roads in Tulsa, and he was just about to call the police to report reckless driving.  When he saw me get hit ("Bless your heart!"), he called in a hit-and-run, and police cars materialized (five of them, by the end of the incident).

The officers, which include a sergeant, have me fill out a statement, give me a copy of Mr. Maroon Truck's witness statement, and tell me that the other guy is being arrested for a suspected DUI.  Off to the pokey!

And then the run-around begins...

Sergeant, rolling his eyes: "Tulsa PD said they wouldn't come this far south, so you have to drive back to the Braum's and call them, and they will come take your statement."

Me: "Uhhhh, okay."

I thank Mr. Maroon Truck again ("Bless your heart, call me if you have any questions, bless your heart.") and drive the one mile back to Tulsa.

I call 911, tell them it is a police non-emergency, and wait. This is how it goes:
Tulsa PD: "Where are you?  Oh, you're there?  Oh wait, you're there?  That is the highway patrol."
-transfer-
OHP: "Where are you? Please hold. *one minute* Hello ma'am? Please hold. *three minutes* Here is the Tulsa PD."
-transfer-
Tulsa PD: "Hello, where are you? Let me look at the map."

I call Amos and tell him what happened.

Thirty minutes later, I am still waiting for the Tulsa PD.

Tulsa PD shows up, seems confused, asks some rather disjointed questions, takes Mr. Maroon Truck's witness statement, and gives me an incident number.

I then toodle off to Walmart to buy groceries, where I call my mom and proudly tell her that I just ran down a bad guy, who is now on his way to jail.

Mom: "I'm glad you're okay!  You need to go to the hospital."

*sigh*

So I'm off to the hospital, just to make sure that I'm okay.

I sit in the emergency room waiting area with my back to the daytime tv program, talking to my old roommates on chat, and giving Irene chills over the phone as I relay my adventure of the day.  In my peripheral vision, a rather limp-looking lady sits in a wheelchair, occasionally barfing into a bag.

After waiting about an hour, I am taken into the back, inspected, and told that I am fine, no x-rays required, take some ibuprofen, here is your bill for $250.00.

Lessons learned:
Don't get in a hit-and-run with Jennica and expect to get away with it
Don't jump out of the car and try to confront the person who hit you
Always have a retired police officer in the car next to you, ready to make a call
Thank the Lord that you are okay and that it isn't any worse

Book Journal

My 2017 book list is not up yet, but I do have another post about books to share.  Ever thought of having a book journal?  One of my college friends expressed an interest in keeping a centralized book list, but she wasn't sure how.  Here's how I do it; maybe it will be of interest to one of you!

In 2010, I decided to start keeping track of all of the books that I read in a given year.  I bought an ugly journal at Target and made some decorative covers for it. Much better.

How do I use this journal?

I make a list for every year.  I write down the books as I finish them and add a few labels, if applicable.  My current labels are:
AB: audiobook
GN: graphic novel
PB: picture book
RR: reread

I count audiobooks, graphic novels, and rereads in my list because I try to read or listen to every word and thus can say that I read the whole book.  I add, but don't count, picture books when I find a really fun picture book that I want to remember, either for my annual book list, for myself, or for a friend.

At the end of the year/beginning of the next year, I write a long post of reviews of all that year's books.  These annual reviews are linked at the top of my blog, right under my blog banner (Twenty-Six, Fifteen, Forty-Seven, etc.).  After I've written, proof-read, edited, and published my list, I still find typos...I mean, I print out my list and glue it into my book journal.  That way, I can see my lists and my reviews all in one place.

My journal only has my book lists in it; no losing lists in another journal or on random scraps of paper or in a planner. I keep my book journal in the same spot at all times (on my nightstand).  I do write down quotes and notes in a separate spiral notebook. (I want things to be organized and simple; nothing jumbled up together.)

So, there you go!  My book journal. :)

One more note:
Sarah Mackenzie at Read-Aloud Revival has her kids fill out their own simple reading journals (you can watch a free master class on how they do this).  I like my current method of separate notebooks, but I do think it would be really cool to start reading journals when you are very young so that you can look back on all of the books you read as a kid, especially if you want to find those books (which may be rare or out of print) as an adult.