Snapshots

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Have you noticed that whenever I say I'm going to be very busy and probably won't be able to post, I inevitably find the time to post something. In this case, I shouldn't have been too surprised, since I usually have spare time in the evenings when I'm traveling for work.

~~~2~~~

I was reading through a commentary/Bible study on the book of Acts this weekend, and one of the footnotes discussed the word "witness." The origin of the Christian usage of the word comes from a transliteration of the Greek word "martyr." Our current use of "martyr" was also derived from the same Greek word. That really puts a new spin on the concept of "witnessing" to our faith and what we believe.

~~~3~~~

I think we got all of the wedding invitations mailed out. Hopefully they all found their way to their intended destination. (We've only had one returned so far, but it took quite awhile for it to find its way back.) Now we are on to tallying up RSVPs and figuring out some of the other last minute details. Like decorations for the reception. Music selection. Other minor details. Hopefully most of those things will get ironed out in the next couple weeks.

~~~4~~~

24 will be back on Sunday!!! It's been a long time since there's been a new episode of 24 (and this is really just a 2 hour made-for-TV movie to bridge the seasons). Thank you screenwriter's guild strike! Anyway, without getting into all of that, it will be interesting to see where the show goes in the new season, because last season wasn't very excellent. After all, there is only so much abuse that one man (Jack Bauer) can take without experiencing total mental collapse. Not that the show is supposed to be realistic, but it seems to gradually become less believable with every season, and everything that Jack is subjected to by the writers of the show.

~~~5~~~

New (2009) seed catalogs have started to arrive! I love this time of year. The only bad thing is all the drooling over plants that I don't have space to grow. Exciting new things for this year:

• 'Purple Rain' Carrot from Johnny's Selected Seeds
• 'Padron' Pepper from Johnny's and Thompson-Morgan. Padron Peppers are a cultural curiosity from Spain. The story is actually pretty interesting.
• 'Waterfall' Pansy from Thompson-Morgan. This is a small-flowered pansy that is specially bred for hanging baskets.
• There are several 'spineless' varieties of summer squash on the market this year. Good to know that gene trait finally made its way to commercial varieties. The plants lack the tiny spines common to most squash stems. These spines frequently scratch the fruit when they are harvested, reducing the shelf life. So the varieties aren't that exciting for the average gardener, but commercial growers should appreciate it.
• 'Summer Ball' is a mini pumpkin variety that is bred for growing in containers. From Johnny's; Thompson & Morgan.