Avatar-- a critique

I just watched this movie-- at home-- on my computer. I'm sure it was much better at the theatre-- in 3D. 'Cause without the full effect of the awesome special effects, this movie didn't have much to go on. The premise was interesting... using an avatar to infiltrate a native population... but that was just about the only original idea in the whole movie. Yeah, I know the creators of this earth spirit worshiping alien species probably thought people like me would ooh and ahh over the fictitious dinosaur-like creatures and plant life, and some of it was quite interesting. But there it stops. The plot was soooo predictable, the dialogue lacking, and the story elements stolen from other films! If you have seen Disney's Pocahontas, Star Wars Return of the Jedi, and Dinotopia, then you pretty much have already seen Avatar. If you are reading this and you are one of the people responsible for this movie, please don't make a sequel. That's already been done. -wink-

Kit's New Dress

Ella Mae made a friend this Christmas. Her name is Kit. Here is her first custom-made dress. It is a medieval style gown with a separate top that snaps in the back.

Wordless Wednesday

More Flooding

Here's a peek at how high the water rose in our pond. The dock would have floated away had my quick-thinking husband not secured it with fencing posts. At least the fish are biting well...

Flooding

We had record rainfall this weekend in western KY and TN. And all the rivers and creeks are overflowing. You see, our soil is mostly clay on top of rock, giving way to caves and sink holes underneath. There's not much absorbing power there. And once the ground is saturated, the water must go somewhere. Thankfully, our house is on high ground, but I pity all the people who have lost their homes, cars, and crops-- and some have even lost their lives. This video was taken of the flooding Little River about 200 yards from our property. As I am filming, I'm standing on the edge of the original bridge (which would have been demolished by the water by now). The "new" bridge is much higher and stronger. We had to drive into Clarksville yesterday evening, and just as we crossed into Tennessee we saw a full rainbow. God knew that we needed a reminder that there will never be a second worldwide flood. (Genesis 9:11-17)

A Farm Day

This is supposed to be a "hobby" farm, but some days it just takes over. Like yesterday we awoke to a phone call from a neighbor saying that our animals had escaped from our field into his. It turned out to only be one animal, Bunny. But it took a good chunk of the morning to retrieve her, and then fix the spot in the fence that failed to restrain her. (Bunny is the gray llama on the right.)
Then, way behind schedule, I went to the barn to milk the goat, and found a visitor in our sycamore tree.

Of course everyone had to come and see, including Summer and Sunshine, our "twin" cats.

A little while later, we went to an Amish dairy farm nearby and purchased some Jersey/Holstein bull calves. We will bottle feed them twice a day until they are weaned, then they will become steers raised for their meat. The thing about bottle-fed calves is that they will mob you if they can and slobber all over you looking for food. Farm Days can be fun!

Doing it God's Way

It really irks me whenever I see the title of something that claims to be "God's Way", like "Raising Kids God's Way" or "Managing Your Money God's Way" or "Sweeping the Floor God's Way", or whatever. This immediately implies that if the reader does not implement the methods contained within, they are doing contrary to God's will. If you have created a method based on Bible-harvested principles, then say so, and please share it with the world. But to say that your method is God's Way is presumptuous and egoistic. Because, in actuality, God's ways are shockingly different from our own. He draws straight lines with crooked sticks, creates beauty out of garbage, and slays his only true son in order that worms like us can be his adopted children. God's ways blow our minds.