Posted by Adrienne on January 25, 2012 under Photos | 
Today is the feast of St. Paul’s conversion. We saw two churches dedicated to Paul last summer. Both were in large cities and had huge domes, but other than that, they were pretty different:
St. Paul’s Cathedral in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a Catholic cathedral. It has a tall dome, but it also does not cover all that much area. This picture was taken on the other side of a highway.
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Posted by Adrienne on January 11, 2012 under Photos |
These two peaks rise up to the north of Vancouver, British Columbia, and are known as “The Lions.”
The west peak is about 200 feet taller than the east peak, and both are climbable with mountaineering equipment. The east peak is part of the watershed that supplies water to the city of Vancouver. We took this picture from Queen Elizabeth Park, south of downtown Vancouver and a great place for views of the city.
Posted by Adrienne on under Photos |
The Statue of Liberty is well-known for the torch she lifts high in the sky. But the torch you see today is not the original. This one is:
This original torch was constructed in 1876. It is lit from inside, and the flame is made of glass and held together with iron. The idea was that the torch could function as a lighthouse and guide ships into New York harbor. However, the torch didn’t give off much light, so the lighthouse idea was scrapped, but the torch stayed.
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Posted by Adrienne on January 4, 2012 under Photos |
We enjoy the work of musical artist “Weird Al” Yankovic. One of his longer songs is a style parody from 1989 called “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota.” The song follows a family as they take their annual road trip vacation to one of America’s roadside tourist traps attractions. As we planned our trip to the Twin Cities, we were a bit surprised to learn that the actual World’s Largest Ball of Twine resides in Darwin, Minnesota, a little more than an hour west of Minneapolis. Of course, we had to make the drive to see it (and listen to the Weird Al song on the way!). Here it is, in all its twiney glory:
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Posted by Adrienne on December 31, 2011 under Books |
Here are the books I read this year:
1. New York, Rutherfurd
2. Behemoth, Westerfeld
3. Willie Mays: the Life, the Legend, Hirsch
4. Ender’s Shadow, Card
5. The Memory of Earth, Card
6. Turtle in Paradise, Holm
7. Heart of a Samurai, Preus
8. The Dragon Knight, Dickson
9. Spacer and Rat, Bechard
10. Assassin’s Apprentice, Hobb
11. The Explosionist, Davidson
12. The Floating Islands, Neumeier
13. The Iron Thorn, Kittredge
14. The Eagle of the Ninth, Sutcliff
15. The Songs of Hollywood, Furia and Patterson
16. Finding Serenity, Espenson
17. The Wise Man’s Fear, Rothfuss
