Chain Lakes Hike

Is it still considered backpacking if you carry all your gear several miles but don't actually camp? That's what my hubby, my dad, and I did last week at Chain Lakes by Mt. Baker. For a variety of factors, we decided not to camp, but we still had a nice hike. We got soaking wet at the end, but we dried off in our nice, warm truck and then ate never-ending pasta bowls at Olive Garden. 

Even with clouds hiding some of the mountains, it was still beautiful:

God did a good job of making the Pacific Northwest a beautiful place. 

Reading: "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess"

On a whim, I checked out a kindle version of "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess" from the library. Jen Hatmaker's book is about how she challenged herself to reduce and live simply in seven areas of her life - food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending, and stress. Because I've been interested in waste reduction, saving money, "green" ideas, etc, I thought it sounded interesting. I was wrong, though. It was more than just "interesting" - it was engrossing and fascinating. From the beginning I was hooked. 

Jen Hatmaker is a writer, pastor's wife, and mother in Austin, Texas. Within the last several years, God has increased her family's heart for others, specifically the poor. She wrote another book, "Interrupted", which apparently chronicles their change in perspective (I'll need to read that, too). Jen realized that her family has more than enough, much more than most of the world. So she decided to try 7, which set limits on her consumption in various areas of life. For example, in the month she focused on food, she only ate seven different things: apples, sweet potatoes, chicken, eggs, spinach, whole wheat bread, and avocados. Another month had her honoring a Sabbath every week and stopping to pray several times throughout each day (and in the middle of the night). Another month she fasted from seven types of media. It may seem extreme, but as she puts it, "I am an extremist. I don't learn lessons easily, subtly, or delicately. I can't be trusted with loose boundaries." 

Her story is written like a blog. It's what she was thinking and feeling while going through the process, not some cleaned-up, prettified retrospective version. She also interjects relevant information about topics like eating local/organic, poverty, adoption, and the sabbath. She's funny and real and sincere. She said so many things that resonated with me or convicted me or encouraged me. It tied together many of the things I've been thinking about over the past year. It reminded me of why I'm interested in reducing and living simply - to free myself up to do things with my time and resources that God wants me to do. 

I highly recommend "7". Go read it now. 

Summer Reading - Jane Austen

My parents recently went on a trip to England. For some reason they did not take me with them. But they did bring me back a souvenir - the book "What Matters in Jane Austen?" by John Mullan. 

My appreciation of Jane Austen has grown over the years. It started with "Emma" - the movie starring Gwenyth Paltrow and the not-quite-so-true-to-the-original-story movie Clueless. Both of these were in my tween years (although I don't think we used the word "tween" back in those old days). Somewhere in those next few years I read both "Emma" and "Pride and Prejudice". I also re-read both of them sometime in my early 20s/college days. They made much more sense that time, due to both my increased familiarity with the plot and my increased ability to identify with adult characters. 

I thought I had read other Jane Austen novels, but reading the "What Matters In Jane Austen?" book made me realize that I hadn't. I didn't recognize most of the plots described. With the exception of "Mansfield Park" because I had read a modern re-telling of it called "Central Park" (part of a series by Debra White Smith, it was a fun, quick read). So I wasn't quite as familiar with Jane Austen as I thought. But the "What Matters in Jane Austen?" book was still fairly easy to follow in spite of my lack of plot knowledge. It covered questions like "What do the characters call each other?" and "What are the right and wrong ways to propose marriage?" Proper behavior has changed in the 200 years since Jane Austen's writings, so Mullan's book sought to show readers the perspective of Austen's original audience. 

In addition, he also called attention to her skill as a novelist. He pointed out the techniques she used that were new in her day. I found it quite interesting, because when I read I don't tend to look at things from a literary perspective. I get caught up in the plot, but I don't really think about the tricks the author uses. But when they are pointed out to me, I notice them in the future and appreciate the skill of the author. 

One piece of advice - the chapter "Is there any sex in Jane Austen?" is quite skip-able. Most of us already know why Lydia's actions with Wickham made Elizabeth and Jane blush. In my opinion, direct discussion of that topic in Austen's work is unnecessary (wasn't she deliberately being delicate to maintain propriety?). If you skip the chapter, you'll also skip the only profanity in Mullan's book. 

"What Matters in Jane Austen?" was certainly interesting, but its primary impact on me was, not surprisingly, a desire to read Jane Austen. I started with "Emma" (familiar territory), then branched out into "Persuasion". Now I'm starting "Mansfield Park". 

Jane Austen's books have been an enjoyable reading marathon so far - good, clean fun. And, because classics are free on my Kindle, free!