Our God is an awesome God ...
Sep. 20th, 2013 09:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prunesquallormdAs I type I have pictures from Scotland uploading to Photobucket. I honestly don't think I'll be bothered to post them tonight but I definitely will do at some point in the not too distant future. It was a lovely week and Scotland is beautiful (though, of course, somewhat soggy. You don't really go to Scotland in autumn (or Britain in autumn generally) and expect it not to be soggy). The house was amazing. A 4 storey Georgian mansion built around a 16th century tower. It was like no house I've ever been in, and I'll probably never stay anywhere quite like that ever again (though there is talk of next year staying in the gloriously named Fort Clonque, which is unique in a very different way).
As usual, the company was lovely, despite the presence of a couple of obnoxious omnivores (the vegetarians among you will know the type: they waste no opportunity to remind you how great meat is; to point out that a diet that doesn't contain meat almost certainly lacks many necessary nutrients; and that (I kid you not) not eating meat probably results in a lower IQ. All done jokingly, of course. Because, gosh, it's all so funny, and all so original, and, hey, I've been vegetarian for 20 years, I've never heard any of that before, ever). It's a shame. Generally they're good people, but they just have that courtesy-fail that makes them think it's ok to criticise a fairly basic lifestyle choice. Which, yeah, no, not so much.
It stopped near the end of the week, but it did require me to say that, 'yes, I know your opinion on vegetarianism, you really don't have to tell me at every single meal'.
But that was the only downside of a lovely week.
I'm afraid I was rather less sociable than I could have been, but that's kind of normal for me. Classic introvert. I find too much company exhausting.
It's something that used to really worry me, like it was something wrong with me and I should make more of an effort (a worry greatly assisted by my ever-sympathetic mother), but friends accept you for how you are, I guess :)
Fave game of the week was Plaid Hat Games' "Mice and Mystics", even though I only managed to play one full session (the other two ones I played went well past my bedtime XD), one of those plotty, story heavy, cooperative games that I've always loved. Shall definitely have to see if I can track down a copy.
The Spartacus game was awesome too. And there were so many others that I just didn't get a chance to play (Dungeon Lords, Mage Knight, and Firefly among them). But there's always next year.
Huge thanks toalobear for organising it all and everyone else for being lovely and awesome ♥ ♥ ♥
Reading material this year was provided courtesy of The Bible, which I've never read before. I'm actually very much enjoying it, though it took me almost two weeks to read the 4 Gospels, and I calculated that at that rate it'll take me almost 6 months to get through the whole lot. Random fact that I was never aware of: everybody knows about the feeding of the 5000. Hardly anyone ever mentions the feeding of the 4000 though. I guess it just seems a little repetitive.
Talking of which, the four takes on the same story are fascinating, and the way the personalities of the four writers show through (John's my favourite, he's rather fabulous. (He has the most poetic and beautiful verses. Very much the mystic was John, I suspect.) Matthew seems rather violent for my liking. Luke seems most keen to provide a clear narrative); and the 3 different accounts of Jesus's last words on the Cross are intriguing ('Why hast though forsaken me?'; 'Father forgive them, they know not what they do'; and John's 'It is finished').
And then this evening I read The Song of Songs, which is wonderful (most famous for the line "terrible as an army with banners". Not an obvious way to describe the woman you love, I know).
All in all (so far), it strikes me as an extraordinary and beautiful book, though no one's every going to tell you that it's not pretty hard going. I think I'd actually recommend it (which surprises me) even if you're not of the believing temperament (which, generally speaking, I am).
Hmmm, it's taken me an hour or so to write this and about 20 of my 133 photos have uploaded. The rest have failed. The pictures will have to wait for another time, I think.
Have a song instead. I'm not even sure if I've posted this before. I just kind of love it.
Oodles of love and hugs to you all <3 <3 <3
As usual, the company was lovely, despite the presence of a couple of obnoxious omnivores (the vegetarians among you will know the type: they waste no opportunity to remind you how great meat is; to point out that a diet that doesn't contain meat almost certainly lacks many necessary nutrients; and that (I kid you not) not eating meat probably results in a lower IQ. All done jokingly, of course. Because, gosh, it's all so funny, and all so original, and, hey, I've been vegetarian for 20 years, I've never heard any of that before, ever). It's a shame. Generally they're good people, but they just have that courtesy-fail that makes them think it's ok to criticise a fairly basic lifestyle choice. Which, yeah, no, not so much.
It stopped near the end of the week, but it did require me to say that, 'yes, I know your opinion on vegetarianism, you really don't have to tell me at every single meal'.
But that was the only downside of a lovely week.
I'm afraid I was rather less sociable than I could have been, but that's kind of normal for me. Classic introvert. I find too much company exhausting.
It's something that used to really worry me, like it was something wrong with me and I should make more of an effort (a worry greatly assisted by my ever-sympathetic mother), but friends accept you for how you are, I guess :)
Fave game of the week was Plaid Hat Games' "Mice and Mystics", even though I only managed to play one full session (the other two ones I played went well past my bedtime XD), one of those plotty, story heavy, cooperative games that I've always loved. Shall definitely have to see if I can track down a copy.
The Spartacus game was awesome too. And there were so many others that I just didn't get a chance to play (Dungeon Lords, Mage Knight, and Firefly among them). But there's always next year.
Huge thanks to
alobear for organising it all and everyone else for being lovely and awesome ♥ ♥ ♥Reading material this year was provided courtesy of The Bible, which I've never read before. I'm actually very much enjoying it, though it took me almost two weeks to read the 4 Gospels, and I calculated that at that rate it'll take me almost 6 months to get through the whole lot. Random fact that I was never aware of: everybody knows about the feeding of the 5000. Hardly anyone ever mentions the feeding of the 4000 though. I guess it just seems a little repetitive.
Talking of which, the four takes on the same story are fascinating, and the way the personalities of the four writers show through (John's my favourite, he's rather fabulous. (He has the most poetic and beautiful verses. Very much the mystic was John, I suspect.) Matthew seems rather violent for my liking. Luke seems most keen to provide a clear narrative); and the 3 different accounts of Jesus's last words on the Cross are intriguing ('Why hast though forsaken me?'; 'Father forgive them, they know not what they do'; and John's 'It is finished').
And then this evening I read The Song of Songs, which is wonderful (most famous for the line "terrible as an army with banners". Not an obvious way to describe the woman you love, I know).
All in all (so far), it strikes me as an extraordinary and beautiful book, though no one's every going to tell you that it's not pretty hard going. I think I'd actually recommend it (which surprises me) even if you're not of the believing temperament (which, generally speaking, I am).
Hmmm, it's taken me an hour or so to write this and about 20 of my 133 photos have uploaded. The rest have failed. The pictures will have to wait for another time, I think.
Have a song instead. I'm not even sure if I've posted this before. I just kind of love it.
Oodles of love and hugs to you all <3 <3 <3
