" 'Oh I can't describe my home. It is home, 

and I can't put its charm into words.' " 

~Margaret in North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with thing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." ~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

" 'Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!" It was not the last time that he wished that!" ~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

"So ended the adventures of the Misty Mountains. Soon Bilbo's stomach was feeling full and comfortable again, and he felt he could sleep contentedly, though really he would have liked a loaf and butter better than bits of meat toasted on sticks. He slept curled up on the hard rock more soundly than ever he had done on his feather-bed in his own little hole at home. But all night he dreamed of his own house and wandered in his sleep into all his different rooms looking for something that he could not find nor remember what it looked like." ~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 

"Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway." ~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

glimpse of the gospel

"Redemption, transformation-- . . . how she wanted these things. Every day, every minute. Didn't everyone?" ~Jennifer Egan, A Visit From the Good Squad

"Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who will never allow us to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness." ~ John Calvin

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though." ~J.D. Salinger

" . . . And I will find my strength

In the shadow of Your wings . . . " 

~Third Day, "Your Love Oh Lord"

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. . . ." 

~Psalm 37: 3-7a

Here are my spring "textbooks" (except for the two that haven't made it to my mailbox yet). 

It's going to be a crazy term :) 

"The Christian concept [of 'hope'] isn't very well served by our English word 'hope' because the English word 'hope' connotes uncertainty, but the Biblical understanding of 'hope' is the life-shaping joyous certainty that your future is the eternal love and glory of God." 

~Tim Keller

"I think sometimes we think that happiness is the most important thing in life. But it’s not. You see, happiness… is just an emotion. Joy is a state of being. Even in hard times." 

 ~Rachel Hatcher

another beautiful ballerina

Olga Smirnova in La Bayadere

note on life

When your university's Campus Ministry quotes Walt Disney . . . 

. . . and you have just one more reason to justify your lack of direct involvement within the "ministry". 

Okay, so I generally don't post about this kind-of thing . . . but my boyfriend is so incredibly sweet and thoughtful :) :) :) :) :)

It's been beyond cold in Erie and, for a while, I couldn't get the heat to work in my room so he sent me a lovely warm and fuzzy blanket and one of his super warm jackets and a book of German folk tales all accompanied by a lovely little card :) :) :)

*Disclaimer in response to various text messages: The heat in my apartment works wonderfully and the apartment is generally quite toasty. The knob for the heat in my bedroom just got stuck. I think, in general, the gift was more a response to the temperatures outside in Erie (and Boston). In short, my heat is just fine :) . . . and the blanket and jacket are quite warm :)

a letter without postmark

Dear producers of The Hobbit and other concerned parties, 

There are innumerable reasons why I have a strong disliking for your artistic representation of the beloved story originally compiled by Mr. Tolkien. However, there is really no need to list all of them as it will not change anything for you (plural) or me. 

I really just have one simple request. 

Would you please record the rest of the Misty Mountains song?

I really loved your composition and arrangement (and lots of other musical terms I don't quite understand), but when I make some tea and find a warm blanket and play the version from the soundtrack, it is over before my tea is even cool enough to start drinking which is hardly helpful when trying to set a mood for an evening (or afternoon or morning for that matter).

I would be willing to reconcile a few of my differences (I can't promise all of them) if you would just record the rest of song (i.e. all of the verses written by Mr. Tolkien in the actual story with the title "The Hobbit").

that's all,

Rachel

generations

"Generations are amazing measures of time -- overlapping, merging, each new one dependent on the past ones for very existence; affecting each other, passing genes to the next ones, influencing coming one both during a lifetime and after a lifetime is over. There is a terrific responsibility we have during our lifetime: 'The living, the living -- they praise you as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness' (Isaiah 38: 19, NIV). How many generations are being talked about? Children become fathers for century following century: 'He is the Lord our God . . . He remembers his covenant forever, the world he commanded, for a thousand generations . . .' (Psalm 105:7-8, NIV). With which generation will the responsibility stop? Certainly not the one we are in today . . . unless 'today' is the day Jesus will return. Until that moment, until that 'twinkling of an eye,' we are to 'walk around the reality of God's Word and His Works' in a way which seems to me to described in Psalm:12-14 (NIV): 'Walk around Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.' "

~Edith Schaeffer, The Tapestry (pg. 101) 

College students have a great tendency towards getting caught up in their own lives (which is only further fueled by the culture). 

What will happen to me in the few years? What will my career be? Will my life be "successful"?

In this though, we start to become oblivious to the beauty of generations.

Our lives are most beautiful as we interact with and enrich other lives. Our lives are most beautiful as we learn from those who have gone before us and pass along to those who follow after us. Our lives were never meant to be independent.

"Not every great moment needs to be shared. In fact, some of the best times are most enjoyed privately. If we suspend the present in an attempt to capture its beauty in 140 characters or less, we sacrifice our experience of the moment itself." ~Cara Joyner

I know this blog is turning into a Tumblr (or maybe a Pinterest board) and I know I need to return to posting thoughts sometimes, but sometimes I don't have any new or interesting thoughts to post and sometimes I have thoughts that are too personal to post or thoughts that I'm still trying to work through and, so, in the meantime, I post pictures. 

Also, I really like this clock :)

(And, the first sentence is a bit of a mess in terms of format, but that's okay.) 

source: The Dancer Project

another beautiful ballerina

Sylvie Guillem onstage during a Sleeping Beauty rehearsal 

source: Pointe Magazine 

photographer: Gilles Tapie

on your toes

Did you know that walking on your toes requires 83% more energy than walking "normally"? 

The study that determined this was actually comparing toe-to-heel walking to heel-to-toe walking to "prancing on ones' toes", but it still totally relates to ballet because, even in flat shoes, 

dancers have to walk toe-to-heel and prance. 

*Also, these are the feet of my lovely roommate Kathryn Tokar 

and this is the photography of Rodolfo Claros

heritage

Today in 21st Century Literature we discussed Graphic Novels. We were then given a short amount of time to create our own panel in the style of a graphic novel that portrayed our personal ethnic heritage. For the most part I am a product of the Great American Melting Pot. However, some small aspects of my parents' heritage still color their behaviors and preferences. So . . . this is what I drew :)

I chose to make the setting the kitchen because this where such encounters occurred, but also because much of family life and many of my childhood memories took place in the kitchen. My mom has quite a bit of Italian in her and she is always telling my siblings and me that you can put garlic in almost any dish :P My dad has quite a bit of Scottish in him and he doesn't talk nearly as much as my mom, but he often plays music that includes bagpipes. In past couple of years, he has played it on his smart phone, but, in our old house, we used to have a boom box in the kitchen for playing music :)

a letter without postmark

Dear Erie,

You need to work on your hospitality/welcoming skills.
I am not excited to walk to class tomorrow.

 You should be very thankful that I'm excited about the class.

That is all,
Rachel

Sometimes at Thanksgiving . . . 

. . . and Christmas . . . 

Miriam tries to take pictures of Caleb and me  . . . and I protest by making faces . . .

. . . but sometimes Caleb does too.