shrove tuesday

Ant and I had a little pancake picnic after dinner today. I used a recipe I have been saving for several weeks from the NY Times blog, Bitten, by Mark Bittman. They were the tastiest pancakes I have ever eaten. A bit fussy, though, with egg whites to be beaten separately and three dirty bowls in the end. But they were so yummy!

We ate them with fresh lemon juice, whipped cream, and maple syrup. So decadent. I told Ant this was my one big treat this week!

women's breakfast

Last Saturday we had the women's breakfast at church. The food there is always fantastic. We ate eggs, bacon, sausages, fruit, fried plantains, rolls, croissants, etc, etc. Actually I ate a subset of these because there was so much food! After breakfast we were discussing what to wear, and how we pick our clothes and what we and others think of them. We started with a dress up activity in two groups. In the above picture Kathleen is dressed in the new fashion, with a nod to the roaring twenties. Helen is describing it and trying to convince us of how desirable it is. In the shot below, I have been dressed by my team in a tight skirt, bodice, belt, and leggings while Dawn was giving the sales pitch.


The discussion about looking attractive was quite interesting. We were focusing on 1 Timothy 2:9-10 and talking about how we look.

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

It was a good, honest discussion with the other church ladies. Judith was telling us that braided hair and gold and pearls were signs of a hooker in Paul's day. So I want to avoid looking trashy. I want to be a more beautiful woman in the way I dress (appropriately) and in the things that I do. I need to clothe myself with love (Colossians 3:14) above all, and a smile for others.

religious studies question

There's a religious studies class that meets in my classroom once a fortnight. When I returned recently I found a handout on the floor that interested me.

Well done! You have now covered enough work to be able to answer a GCSE RS question.

Here is the question: What reasons might a Christian give for the existence of God?

There are at least _____ reasons a Christian might give for the existence of God. Firstly, there is the ____ theory. William _____ said that just like a _____ has to have a designer, so does the earth. The earth must have a creator and that creator was _____.

Secondly we all have a _____ which tells us the difference between right and _____ when we are faced with a _____ dilemma. Christians believe that our conscience is the voice of _____ speaking to us.

Some people believe they have met _____ through religious experiences such as _____ and _____.

Finally many Christians believe in God because this is what they have been _____ up to believe. their family and friends are Christian and so they do not question their belief.


Here are some words to help you (some may be used more than once):
God, four, miracles, brought, Paley, conscience, prayer, watch, moral, wrong

I thought this was interesting because it is a simple answer to the question of the existence of God, written by someone looking in on Christianity from the outside. And I find it to contain some truths. I believe I have met with God through my experiences as well: Jesus has become real to me and someone I talk to day by day. What would you say? What reasons do you give for the existence of God when you are asked?

books I want to read

Here are two food books I want to read at some point. Or maybe I'll start with one of them.

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating, Mark Bittman
The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan

Here are some maths books I want to read at some point. They are taken from a list that is given to incoming Oxford maths undergraduates as things they could choose from to read over the summer before they enter the university.

The Music of the Primes, Marcus Du Sautoy
How to Solve It, George Polya
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, Paul Hoffman (the story of Paul Erdos, which I think might be in the flat somewhere)
1089 and All That: A Journey into Mathematics, David Acheson

cooking and relaxing

Since we both stayed home from work today, we kept ourselves busy with the internet, books, a movie (Michael Clayton), a bit of TV, some organising, and cooking. I made these zucchini/courgette muffins to eat with tea as we curled up under the duvet on the couch. They were a bit dry and I ate mine with Greek yoghurt.

For supper we had some slow-cooked beef and a coleslaw (recipe from Sarah's gift of How to Cook Everything). Mum and I managed to talk with the webcam again and she used her new headset and did some ironing at the same time while I was filing in the study--very productive for us both and we got to chat about more "random" things. It was more relaxing that some of our busier chats.


I finished my book club book (for February), Then We Came to the End, the first book I have ever read narrated in the first person plural. It's set at work in an advertising agency and I found it a bit depressing from time to time with the ennui and drudgery. And I started a book I picked up at the little second hand book store near the station: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It's a family story, which is more my style. Our next book club book (for March) is the new Sebold read, The Almost Moon.

snow!

A snow day in London. Who would have thought it? This is the most snow London has had in eighteen years, apparently. As the sun came up we could see that a thick blanket had landed. There are no snow plows here and no winter tires, so London has come to a standstill. The trains are severely disrupted with some lines closed. After about 45 minutes of calling and internet checking I found that school had been cancelled. Now Ant and I are both doing a bit of work (there is always marking to do!) and drinking tea, warm inside with no desire to go out.

Out our back window we can see that there is even snow balanced on next door's washing line. It is very still outside and flakes are falling intermittently.