Little House of Harrison: July 2013

July 31, 2013

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

"The Wise Man's Fear" by Patrick Rothfuss is the second book of The Kingkiller Chronicles. I would highly recommend reading the first book of the series "The Name of the Wind" before reading "The Wise Man's Fear." In "The Name of the Wind" readers are introduced to Kvothe, a talented arcanist, musician and a redhead. When the novel starts, Kvothe is currently living in hiding and is the owner of the Waystone Inn. At his Inn, Kvothe encounters the Chronicler, a man who records histories and stories. Kvothe agrees to share his life story with the Chronicler under the condition that it will take three days...no more and no less. Thus providing Patrick Rothfuss a clever way for a trilogy.

Each book is one day. "The Wise Man's Fear" is day two.

At the beginning of "The Wise Man's Fear," Kvothe is forced to leave the University. He travels abroad, and encounters more than his share of deadly adventures, romantic entanglements and mystical creatures. While traveling, Kvothe continues his search for information on the Chandrian and the orgins of the Amyr. After being away from home for almost a year, a wiser and possibly older Kvothe returns to the University. Rothfuss ends the novel on a high note, but leaves the reader with the impression that things are about to go sour.

Rothfuss uses a duel timeline as a framing device. The book is framed as tale, with some of the story taking place in the third person, while the bulk of it is narrated from a first-person perspective. This allows for the audience hear about the life of present day Kvothe, careworn and ready to embraced the third silence - as a man waiting to die; in addition readers can hear Kvothe's tale from the man himself. Having a duel time line, gives readers a better understanding of Kvothe. We see who he was, and see who he has become.

Magic plays a huge role in this story. Magic is described as a transfer of energies, a combination of modern physics and chemistry.

At the end of the book I was left wondering how Rothfuss planned to tie up all the loose ends? I was left with so many unanswered questions! Who are the Chandrian? What happened to the Amyr? Who exactly is Bast? What's up with the door of stone and what is behind it? Where did Bast come from? How old is Kvothe as the inn keeper? What role is Denna playing in the overall story? What started the War?

I would defiantly recommend this book. And I am looking forward to the final book of the series.

July 16, 2013

"Dig, Dig, Digging" by Margaret Mayo

My son son loves this book. I've read "Dig, Dig, Digging" so many times that I have it committed to memory. In fact, this morning while I folded the laundry Lucas sat next to me and turned the pages while I recited the story.

This book is a must for children who love large vehicles. From dump trucks to tractors, this book has it all.

The text is brief. I enjoy the colorful adjectives and descriptive language the story uses to capture the noises and jobs the vehicles do. It is a great way to teach children about the different types of heavy machinery.

The illustrations are bright and provide plenty of details for children to enjoy. One thing that I did noticed (not a big issue for me, but some parents may take offense) is that all of the characters are male. It does not have any female workers portrayed in the book.

This book is excellent and I highly recommend it for young readers.

July 15, 2013

our trip to psr

On Sabbath, our family packed up the car and drove up the mountain to Pine Springs Ranch. This will be the first summer in years where both my husband and I are not working at camp. PSR will always have a special place in my heart. For those of you who don't know, I met my husband at PSR. I was sixteen years old, working as a horseback riding instructor and wrangler. My husband worked full time in the kitchen and part time in the horse department. We briefly met during the first week of staff training when he walked down with some other girl to the horse department.

Did I know at sixteen that this was the man I was going to marry??? Nope. In fact, my first impression of him wasn't a good one. I remember that I was sitting outside under the porch cleaning saddles. I was with my best friend and sisters. I introduced myself to my husband and his friend. We exchanged small talk, I learned that we attending the same church and had sat in the same Sabbath school program. After that I honestly don't remember him very well.

About half way through the summer, I was assigned to gate duty (a boring assignment where a staff member will check in and out guests at the front gate). That morning, my husband was late to work (he overslept), which annoyed his coworkers. After breakfast, he needed to get away for a while and agreed to join me for gate duty. We spent the entire morning talking and getting to know each other. After my shift was over, we went our separate ways....or so I thought. About a week before camp was over, my husband and I started talking again and spending our free time together...and well..

Nine years later we were married.

After that Lucas joined our family.

And now we get to enjoy PSR as a family with our friends.

A little about our day...

On the way up the mountain, I got a text reminding me that we needed to have an L-team 2010 photo shoot. That summer was a good summer. I made some great friends, amazing memories and learned a lot. I'm so thankful for this group of people and I'm looking forward to creating many new memories with them.