What, you were expecting Mrs. P or something?  The Pastorfam's still on vacation, you know.  Let the good times roll!

And boy are the times good:

(Bumped by brillig 'cause Coffee Hour belongs on the front page. Thanks, Thirst!!)

I am filling in for Deb Brown--she and her family were lucky to get tickets to see Sen. Obama--can you imagine her leaving us for that?  Yup, me too.  I worked and then Mom and I went to Marshall's where I scored some really great looking lamps and end tables for the living room.  The end tables I have right now are about as old as I am--so they are pretty close to being antiques!  I have a pink lamp and 2 off white ones that look like pottery--very 1990s--time for a change!  I can hardly wait to get this all together.  

Some college presidents are calling for the drinking age to be lowered again.  It seems silly to consider at 18 you are an adult in every other way--and sometimes earlier.  The drinking age was 18 when I was that age--although the states could decide for themselves, so there was a patchwork of often odd laws across the country.  New Jersey allowed 18 year olds to vote, Pennsylvania stayed at 21.  I went to college in Pennsylvania!  Ohio allowed drinking over 20 and from 18-20 they could drink 3-2 beer as it was called--3.2% alcohol.  That was a difficult law to watch.  Drunk driving deaths increased, but some of that was due to the need to drive to neighboring states to drink.  It made it easier for younger kids to get alcohol since they were more likely to know an 18 year old rather than a 21 year old.  We drank our lunches during High School a few times--we got served at 17..... I wish we didn't make drinking such a forbidden fruit.  If it wasn't a big deal, I don't think we would see so much binge drinking.  It is a nightmare to deal with under-aged drinking in colleges across the country.  Students have no idea just how stupid they act and look when they drink too much.  There seem to be so many more predators today--we had great guy friends who took care of us, who would never take advantage.  

So, what are you up to?  What are you eating and drinking and thinking about?  Pull up a chair and chat for a while.

Welcome to Coffee Hour. Grab a glass of lemonade or iced tea (sweet or unsweetened, check the pitcher label!). If you're looking for a bit harder, there's margarita and mojito makings over on the side table. I've got some amazing roasted corn/jalapeno salsa left over this weekend, and Mr. Brillig whipped up a batch of guacamole, so grab some chips and a chair and tell us what's going on in your world today.

On Saturday Casa Brillig took our annual trip up to my friend Peter's house. His family's cabin on the lake, to be exact. He's been throwing a party there for 20+ years for his college friends. I met him at a friend's wedding in 1990 and thus get invited even though my undergrad was elsewhere. Over the years it's evolved from a weekend blowout with much alcohol, gaming and a trek into Boston to dance, to a heavy-on-the-bottled-water day party because the kids have to be in bed at a decent hour :-). We missed last year's because some conference was happening in Chicago and we decided to go :-),  so it was great to see all these people we never see otherwise.

I'm determined to be better about keeping contact with everyone during the year; I was reminded on Saturday just how nice they are. Finding smart, caring, sane, interesting friends with similar values is not easy, and to have them and not deepen those friendships, now that's just a waste. I have another interested party in this... Kid Brillig made friends with another of the Next Generation, and it would be nice to let them be in touch.

Do any of the friends of your youth have any sort of similar gathering? Can friendships be meaningful even if the contact is infrequent? And most importantly, what do you eat and drink at these sorts of things?!

Yup, it's an Open Thread, so feel free to chat about anything!

This one just makes me giggle!  I am just about to leave for my 6th day in a row of work--I'm tired!!!  I worked last night, so I only watched a bit of the forum last night--I didn't get to watch Obama at all.  I mostly heard the flap about how well McSame did...well--he should have.  I was put off by the quick, simplistic answers--haven't we all had enough?  We have had eight long years of over simplistic answers that simply do not work.  I am so tired of the lies about Obama's tax policies--Tony Perkins should ashamed of his lies last night on CNN.  Very interesting definitions of Christianity these people have.  Anyway....doesn't anyone believe we have to PAY for this war and all this spending one of these days?  Sheesh.  

Have you seen the lies against Unions?  Groups like Unionfacts.org are running anti-union ads constantly around here.  McSame spouted their rhetoric.  Somehow, I just can't imagine these groups, funded by the likes of Wal-mart REALLY have the worker's best interests at heart!  They don't want to lose the ability to harass workers themselves. Americans are just so dumb--we have fallen for the management arguments hook, line and sinker throughout our history--unlike Europeans.  Why do we protect the wealthy--are we really stupid enough to believe the "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" myth?  Maybe it's the "I'm gonna win the Lottery" myth.

As I type, I sit wedged between Zanzibar and Maggie May--they were groomed on Friday and look glorious.  I woke up yesterday morning with Zanz, lying on her back in the crook of my arm (all 50 pounds of her).  Her paws were draped across my body and her face was on mine.  No one has dared to tell these two that they are actually dogs.  They bring such joy and laughs.  

So, what are you up to?  What are your plans for the week?  We are going to head up north to Polly's Pancake Parlor on Wednesday morning for the annual pilgrimage.  I really need to start painting--I'm tired of my wall colors!!!!  Will post photos when done!

Help yourself to coffee or whatever--grab some danish or a strawberry cheese croissant and a chair and chat with us for a while!

Some shows that were perhaps ahead of their time are finding new life on cable and satellite channels.  I’m discovering some for the first time and am finding strong spiritual elements in them.

I don’t know how I ever missed Joan of Arcadia but I am glad it is being replayed now.  The show is about a young woman, played by Amber Tamblyn, who receives instructions from God speaking in the guise of ordinary people.  The reasons for the instructions are never clear to Joan at first – and she balks at following them.  But when she does follow them, it turns out to be to her benefit.  This show is now marked for recording at my house – I don’t want to miss a bit of Joan’s journey.  She gets more explicit instructions than most of us – but we all follow clues without really knowing where they will lead, don’t we?  And if we look closely enough, we can see God working through everyone we meet.  I think so, anyway.

Happy Hour has begun!  Hope your day is going well.  I need to run off to work.  It is the BIG sale weekend.  I took Mom this morning and we spent way too much money, but got some great stuff.  I got some sweaters and a great jacket which will all work for my real job!!  The Poodles got groomed--they look so gorgeous!  They are exhausted...it's hard work to look so good!  Other than that, not much happening at this end--how about you?  Any plans for the weekend?  What are you eating and drinking?  Grab a libation and pull up a chair and chat for a while!  

I don't know if there's a formal substitute plan in place during the Pastor Family's vacay, but I figure if it's 8 pm EST and no Coffee Hour's up yet, it's anyone's gig. :)

[Bumped by brillig, who isn't sure who was supposed to set out the coffee, but agrees that coffee should be set out :-)]

Don't worry, it's cool . . . they left me the keys, we're supposed to go in!

John Edwards is in my classroom.

Oh, not literally, of course, although we are just a county away from his North Carolina home.  Instead, each one of my classes has brought up the current scandal, all in the context of the literature we’ve been studying.  One of my American Lit classes is in the middle of The Crucible, with its motifs of cheating spouses, personal attacks, cover ups, and mob hysteria. The other section is about to start The Scarlet Letter, with its emphasis on private vs. public sin & punishment. And my British Lit classes are finishing up Beowulf, looking at how the Anglo-Saxons placed such high value on loyalty and oath-keeping.  

Each period several students have made the connections between the literary themes and today’s headlines, and we’ve had some insightful conversations on what it means to make a promise and what it means to break a promise.  What is the balance between personal integrity and public performance? What role does trust play in our personal relationships, in our workplaces, in our churches, governments, and all institutions?  These are good kids, with some pretty impressive critical thinking going on.  Hope for the future, I’m telling you.

So what earns your loyalty these days?  What promises do you struggle to keep?  And what did you talk about in your high school classes?  And as always, what are you drinking, and what’s for dinner?  This is an open thread.

Welcome to Coffee Hour, the Street's place to relax and unwind for a few minutes. Grab a beverage, a snack, and tell us a bit about your day!

The snacks today are yogurt, ice cream (soft-serve only) and soup. Why, you ask? Well, Kid Brillig had a dentist appointment this morning and they pulled her two upper baby canines to make room for adult teeth. As a result, that's her diet for the next day, so I didn't want her to feel left out.

So, next Thursday Casa Brillig heads off for a very impromptu vacation. We never do this kind of thing, but... late last week my sister called to tell me she was marrying her fiance, and they were eloping. I said "hey, we should meet you and then KB can see her cousins..." and out of that, a whirlwind 5 day trip to Orlando was born. We fly on the 21st, spend two days at Disney, two at Sea World, then fly back. Pray* for us :-).

We'll be having soup tonite for dinner, obviously... what are you eating and drinking?

This just makes me giggle--hope it brings a smile to your face!  Mom and I are headed north to a Crafts Fair in Lincoln.  There are so many talented people around here.  We are under a flash flood watch again.....deep sigh.  I hope I can get home!  we are getting ready for the big sale weekend at work--three days of mayhem--oh my.  Everything in the store is on sale.  They bring in things it is so big.  This should be ummm...interesting??  The women who own the store have another store down the street--can you imagine getting 2 stores ready for something like that?

Well, gotta run--help yourself to brunch goodies!  Coffee is on all day--let us know what you have planned for the week and what you are eating and drinking!  See you later!

Who recommended Assassination Vacation to me (on the heels of my reading Manhunt: The Twelve-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer)?  It’s great!  I am really enjoying the beads of history she strings on threads of quirky humor.  The book is highly entertaining and oddly informative.

I love the fact that the author loves historical plaques as much as I do.  Having lived in Washington for some time, I always looked around for them -- and really, almost everywhere you look in the Nation's Capitol, "something" happened.

Somehow, I think Vagrarian would like this book.

What books are on your bedside table presently?  Any special plans this weekend?

Come right in, take a cup, make yourself comfortable, and have a chat.