*wanders by the Square for a bit, pleased to find it moving again* Happy belated Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope all of you had a nice holiday.

My apologies for not posting in here for so long - school has been keeping me busy, and I haven't been sleeping well lately either. I hope all of you are doing well, though! It's good to see familiar faces! ....Er.....avatars?

As for my family news.... There hasn't been a lot, but there's been some. My cat, Chico, disappeared last month. It's been hard, but at least we still have Sofie. I went to Bible Camp also, which was a great, learning experience. I grew closer to my friends, and learned more about God in the process. As for my job, I'm still enjoying it for the most part. My boss is the most amazing person I've ever met - it's been such a privilege to work for and get to know him. He also teaches the Bible class that I happen to be in this semester, and that has been a huge blessing. When it comes to religion, I don't listen to very many people - so I don't think it's coincidental that the one teacher I happen to trust and relate to is teaching it. And it's about Romans, of all things... my favorite book of the Bible.

Another piece of news is that my family now has a new favorite game: Clue. We play it every Sunday evening and haven't grown tired of it yet. It's a blast!

Anyhoo, that's a little of what I've been up to lately. I just wanted to drop by and let you know I'm still alive. I miss all of you SquareOnions!

*Bursts surprised into the square shocked at discovering yet another place in this great maze of Narina web and sweeps such a low curtsey that it's a struggle to get up again*

Greetings one and all I just popped in to look around, isn't it lovely here? I suppose you're used to it my now, apologies for the extreme belatedness of my arrival. I've very pleased to see you're familiar...body with it's back to me Miss Rosario! I'm so sorry about your cat, we have two cat's and four dogs and I love them all ... anyway *mumbles embarrassed, curtsies again and skips out again by way of the chocolate tree*

I'm chuckling at the above conversation about Fox in Socks. That was my favorite book to try to read out loud because it was so difficult. And it made for a lot of good laughs. My brother took a forensics class in high school (verbal debate, not the study of dead bodies) and he had to memorize the Beetle Battle at the end and recite it. I never heard how he did.

Miss Rosario over your missing cat. It's always so hard to lose a pet.

Hello Jill, and welcome to the Town Square!! I'm also a great pet lover, we have 2 cats and 1 dog, but our dog (Fiona) is 104 pounds so that counts for a lot.

I have an amusing story from this weekend (my facebook friends may have already heard this one). My husband and I went shopping at a hunting/finishing/outdoors supply store this weekend and as we were walking in, this guy with a dog passed us. We're walking around the store and we keep passing this guy and his dog and I keep looking at it trying to figure out what it is. For a while I was thinking some kind of Alaskan Malamute/German Shephard mix. But as I keep staring at this dog, I'm thinking that it looks awfully primal. We get in line behind this guy and I finally ask him what it is. His reply? An Eastern Canadian Wolf. This wolf was super friendly, very well behaved (much more so than my dog), loads of people were petting it and he just sat their wagging his tail like crazy.
We went home and I decided to check to see if this guy was telling the truth (I figured it must have some wolf blood in it but maybe not purebred) and first I found a picture online that looked exactly like the one we saw in the store....
http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/22 ... -49072.jpg
... and then I looked up to see if it was legal to have them around here and it is! Provided that you have the appropriate license, which I assume he did.

To fantasia kitty: Ahhhh! Now I simply must have a wolf!!! I even have a good excuse to get one; my Labrador is lonely, ever since we had to give away our husky puppy. ( ) And Ms. Rosario, my deepest sympathies for your cat.

In other news, has anyone been able to go skiing this year? I thought I could, but then the warm weather melted all the snow.

Greetings from snowy Silver Bay, Minnesota, in the northeast part of the state along Lake Superior. I'm here visiting relatives. They don't have internet but I'm checking in from the local library.

There was a little snow here (barely enough to cover the ground) but we got about 5 inches of wet, heavy snow today. Great snowball fight weather. I think we'll do that once the kids get home from school.

... ever since we had to give away our husky puppy. ( )

How come you had to give away your puppy?

So speaking of puppies, yesterday I enrolled my Fiona in an obedience class again. We're going to focus on her people greeting skills. Fiona is TOO friendly, and as she's 104lbs, not everyone appreciates a giant slobbery dog running up to them and occasionally jumping.

I'm looking forward to it. We haven't done an obedience class since she was a little puppy. And even though I still call her my puppy, she's now 2 and a half.

We start on the 28th. I'm excited.

*waves hi to Gazer* Snow is going to be the furthest thing from my mind today. It's supposed to get up to 70F. I think winter will return next week sometime. It's great for my greenhouse plants though, I must say.

Hey ho on this overcast February day ... a very special day for one of our SquareOnions ... Louise the First/Miss R, but we'll get there in a minute.

Allow me to offer a Dr. Seuss-ized contribution on one of the current topics:
I do not like it outside the house
I do not like with a mouse or grouse
I do not like it here or there
I do not like this lack of winter anywhere!

Amen and Ditto!

I appreciate how my family has taken Valentine's Day and turned it into a celebration of love in the truest sense of the word as opposed to a day to celebrate romance.

An excellent idea, Ruby. It seems that more and more people are leaning towards this on ♥ Day.

Wow, you are one busy gal! All the best with your piano audition. Do let us know how it goes.

It's good to see familiar faces! ....Er.....avatars?

'Tis very true!

Miss R, I'm so sorry to hear about Chico's disappearance. That's really tough.

And how great about your boss being your Bible teacher! It's wonderful when someone we know and trust can become almost a mentor to us.

Ahhh, Clue! A favourite from my childhood, and more recently, we played it at great lengths at DiGoRyKiRkE's house at our Ohio Lion Party for The VotDT. We had individual spread charts and everything. Such fun!

Welcome to the Town Square, Jill. Four dogs, wow! I'm assuming you live on acreage?

My brother took a forensics class in high school (verbal debate, not the study of dead bodies) and he had to memorize the Beetle Battle at the end and recite it. I never heard how he did.

That's great, fk. I wonder if he can still recite it.

We get in line behind this guy and I finally ask him what it is. His reply? An Eastern Canadian Wolf.

Awesome. What a beautiful look creature, wow! I would love a pet like that.

*is a fan of huskies, as well* Dernhelm. I ditto fk's question: why did you have to give away your puppy?

In other news, has anyone been able to go skiing this year? I thought I could, but then the warm weather melted all the snow.

This has been a very disappointing season for skiers here as well, Dernhelm. A couple of hours north of us has had more snow, and that is where most of the great hills are, but around our area, the lack of snow is sad indeed. One of our sons is (hopefully) going snowboarding this Friday in Québec, and we're hoping these above-freezing temperatures drop again so the good amount of snow they have there, remains. However, this Friday a snowstorm is brewing for our area. In fact, we might receive more that day than in all winter put together so far. It'll most likely melt the day after, though. *is very Puddleglum-ish about this*

How was the snowball fight, stargazer? What fun!

*is eager to hear progress reports on Fiona's people-greeting skills* Honestly, she is one of the most likeable dogs I have ever known and I've met a fair number over the course of my life, being a a doggie person, and all.

70°, fk! Wowser! *sweats at the thought* Glad for your wee plants, though.

And now, a cake for Miss Rosario, in honour of her birthday today! Have a wonderful day, dear Louise.

Our boys are home from university this week, and it's been such fun to have them around. One goes to school about six hours away (in Canada's capital city, Ottawa); the other attends a university only a half hour away. He lives in a house with some other guys, but comes home nearly every Monday for mom's home-cooking.

Well, fantasia kitty and johobbit, I'm the eldest of six children, and of those six, two are toddlers. Not that Siku (our husky) was ever rough or mean - he was the sweetest thing ever, with his white-red fur and blue eyes. He was a little big for them, and he kept pulling their shoes off to chew on them. But the real reason we had to give him away was because my mom was so allergic to him, she started to get bronchitis. And he was her dog, too; she cried and cried about it.

Enough of that depressing subject!

Aw, just as I get ready for spring, it snows! What is wrong with this winter? *chuckles evilly* Maybe it's global warming.

A pet wolf? That is awesome, and not just because I can imagine the looks on the faces of strangers (and burglars) who see the "Beware of Wolf" sign on the fence.

Pet allergies are annoying, and depressing if you otherwise like the pet you are allergic to. I myself like cats, but am allergic to them...

Needless to say, the time when I spent my at-home time at my former psuedo-stepfather*'s house, which had a cat that lived in the basement where I slept, was... well, interesting.

*Don't ask.

While reading Proverbs 9:7-8, I was thinking about fictional relationships, and wondering the following question:

Which fictional male-female relationships, which are either romantic, eventually become romantic, or can be reasonably assumed to become romantic, satisfy the following 3 conditions?:

1. At least once, one person tells the other that he/she is acting out of line (and he/she really is acting out of line).
2. The other person actually listens, and corrects him/herself, showing some sign of improvement in themselves.
3. At least once, the above two also goes the other way. In other words, this is not just the guy or just the girl making the other change; they are making each other change.

Right off the bat, I can think of some Jane Austen examples: Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are a clear example, and I would say Emma and Mr. Knightley counts, too.

Obviously, the above is a good way to measure your own, real-life relationships.

*falls from the sky thinking of some last words before landing in the middle of the Square, but the ground approaches faster than he predicted and....* Wow! Whoever put those mattresses there has my deepest thanks! Glad I'm still alive and still have the maker of the universe's Spirit dwelling in me! (Romans 8:11)

And since I am alive and can talk;

Hello Square Onions!
Tis' been a hop, skip and a jump (and fall) before I got back around by the Square but here I am.

Well new things in my life? One is that I have a new niece! My brother and wife just had a little girl who they named Eisley. She is a pretty cute baby if I do say myself! Going to be great watching her grow.
And my sister Hannah is now 6 months pregnant! And my other sister as well and my sister-in-law, with my family there is almost always a new life on the way, it is so great!

And another thing is I have recently gotten some chicks and have built them a coop and am hoping that they will start laying before I leave for Peru, which is unlikely. But seeing as how I'll only be there for a month I should have fresh eggs upon arriving home. It is just fun to have animals, I'm hoping that we will be moving into a house with some land so we can do more farming, tis' fun.

Oh oh and seeing as how it's been over a month since I have been in here I have not told you that I went and have returned from the Passion conference 2012! It was an amazing time! it was a four day event up in Atlanta GA with Chris Tomlin, Matt Redmon, Hillsong, David Crowder Band, Lecrae and other worship leaders. Louie Giglio, John Piper, Beth Moore, Christene Cane, and Francis Chan as speakers. Just a great time of worship and gathering together to hear God's name lifted higher! And also taking a stand against human slavery! Great time!

And that's it for me for now.

May the LORD bless you all abundantly!

--Benjamin

*slowly steps into the Square*
I haven't been here in a long time. Well, not a long time, but... I forgot what the thread was called if that amounts to anything.
How is everyone? Is is a glorious spring yet, or is it still a cold winter?

March already! I can hardly believe it. It'll be a blink and we'll already be in November! I... hope not.
Well, it feels a little strange, almost like its a monologue or someone talking to themselves, so I'll post this post.

~CSLN

(Wow! There's a huge selection of smilies! Some look like they'd be used in pretty funny situations. Others.... well, they look a little menacing.)

CSLN! Wow, it's great to see you in the Square again. *offers CS some of the most decadent chocolate from the Tree (the Royal Lady gave her permission, of course)* How are you doing?

He was a little big for them ... But the real reason we had to give him away was because my mom was so allergic to him, she started to get bronchitis. And he was her dog, too; she cried and cried about it.

Awww, Dernhelm, that is so sad about your mom.

Speaking of "being too big", our dog, Twister (who passed away 2 & 1/2 years ago now at the good ol' age of 15 & 1/2) was as big as our youngest son when we first brought him home (the dog, not the son ). So, we laid out boundaries where Twitty could and could not go, allowing Steven some space where he knew the dog would not be. We kept that up all through the years, for some visitors are apprehensive of dogs, and this gave them a safe space too. He was not allowed to go in our living room at all, nor upstairs to the bedrooms, and he was very diligent at obeying.

Mmm, thoughtful words on relationships there, stardf.

Hey, Ben! Sounds like you have some exciting things happening in your family. And how fun about the chicks! When do you leave for Peru, btw?

Ah yes, I've read that Passion 2012 was simply awesome. How great you were able to go!

Well, winter is coming to an end, although we could see some good snow yet, which would be amazing for this winter season, as we've hardly had any. The winds are terrific today: blustery, buffeting, although not nearly as severe as the terrible storms that tore through some of the States yesterday.

So, is anyone eager for the upcoming Hunger Games movie? It will be one intense film, that's for sure. I've read all three books in the series, but really only liked the first one. It's such a fascinatingly disturbing tale. I can't say I'm eager for it, but I am quite curious about the adaptation.

*leaves a plate of warm brownies for all to enjoy* (I am sure that Lady Amalthea will save some for the rest of us. )

Re: Pet allergies. Considering I grew up outdoors more than indoors and surrounded by animals, I suspect that's why I don't have allergies at all really. Thank goodness cause I love the outdoors and animals of all types. But I met my match the other day when decided all of the pet laundry in the house needed to be cleaned. (Towels, blankets, pet bedding, etc) My cats have a perch up above my husband's computer that has a blanket on it. I was quite horrified when I pulled it off and saw probably a good half inch of fur and dander and dirt covering it. I grabbed Fiona's furminator and went to town removing it. That did kick my allergies in a little bit.

Continuing on the subject of animals, Fiona and I have gone back to school! We're enrolled in the Beginner Obedience Class at the local PetSmart and I'm loving it! Fiona's an incredibly smart dog (I know this cause she's my first dog ever and I had no idea what I was doing and she learned how to sit, stay, etc anyways LOL) so she's picking up everything really well. Honestly the class is more for dog owners cause it teaches the owners how to teach and train their dogs correctly. First week was Watch Me (making eye contact when you say their name), Sit, and Leave it. Fiona already knows all that stuff so we breezed through it. But this past Tuesday we worked on Loose Leash Walking (good one for Fiona, she's 100+lbs) and proper greeting (which is why I took the class in the first place because Fiona will jump on occasion... which is bad cause she's 100+lbs ). So I'm excited! On Friday I'm gonna go in again and do some more work one-on-one with the teacher so definitely looking forward to that.

Is is a glorious spring yet, or is it still a cold winter?

Up until last night and this morning it's been a glorious spring. I've been doing a lot of gardening (which I've been posting about in the Gardening thread) and I even planted a second row of peas yesterday. It was 70F, I couldn't help it, I HAD to plant something. But when I woke up this morning there was a layer of sleet over the ground, it looked like snow (picture posted in the weather thread). The weather is very fickle in Kansas in the spring and fall. But even with this last minute cold, it's still not as cold as it could be this time of year.

So last night I was working on my letters for my job, and I was addressing a whole bunch of people that live in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. That made me wonder what on earth it was like living in those places so I got google maps and started looking at pictures that people had posted from there. The locations, particularly on the VI looked very near paradise.
So then that got me wondering how much it cost to live there so I looked up real estate websites to see if only the Warren Buffets and Bill Gates type people could afford it. I was stunned to see that living inland in about the same size as the house I live in now (2bed, 2bath) are only a tiny bit more expensive than the house I own now.
So then I was wondering what the catch was, cause if it's so inexpensive to live there why doesn't everybody live there? I could really only think of two things, one being that there probably aren't a lot of high paying jobs there. Mostly tourism stuff. And also I suspect that hurricanes burying the islands in water probably scares a fair number of permanent residents off.
Anyways... random thought there, and I'm not sure why I'm mentioning it cause probably the majority people on here are too young to own a house and the ones that are old enough (Jo, Gazer) wouldn't ever consider living somewhere that hot.

Anyhoo... *disappears and takes her random ramblings with her*

*waves to all present and nonpresent, lurking and non-lurking*

That is so fascinating, FK, with regards to Belize. I'd highly bet that the hurricane problem is the case -- though that does have a minor catch in that there's just as much risk of hurricanes in the USA if you live on the coast. I wonder if hurricanes are more intense out in the deep blue sea? I really have no idea what I'm talking about here.

Lately I've been reading up a storm. I just finished The Hunger Games trilogy last month and really liked it. I thought it was ironic because directly after finishing Mockingjay, I picked up To Kill a Mockingbird. Both books were very good, and I specifically enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird a lot more than I thought I would. It's a delightful and insightful classic. I loved the brilliance of Scout's character, and also how wise Atticus was. Overall, I really enjoyed it, though the ending wasn't quite what I was expecting.

Anyway, now that I've finished up that book, I have no idea what to read. I may end up going on a spree of reading through all of my childhood classic stories. Any book recommendations would be nice, though I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for. I do know that lately I've realized that historical romances are not my cup of tea. No offense to anyone who does enjoy them. I've just realized that I prefer more of adventure stories and such. (This shouldn't surprise me, actually; I've been a fan of fantasy and adventure ever since I was little.) I've specifically been wondering about Attolia. A lot of NWebbers like it and I'd love to hear a little more about the series, if any of you are willing to enlighten me.

I also watched my first episode of Doctor Who two days ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. (Some of you may know this already since I've mentioned it on Facebook.) If you're curious, though, I watched Season 5, Episode 1 -- The Eleventh Hour. It was so much more brilliant than I expected it to be and I see now why it's such a popular subject on the forum.

I specifically loved the British, dry humor on DW. And, speaking of which, I've had a couple of interesting words pop up in my vocabulary lately. One of them is "blast" -- I've no idea why I started saying it aside from the fact that my friend uses it quite often. And earlier this morning, I told my mom that I had a "beastly headache." Some of you who actually are British may correct me and say that these aren't British words at all; I'm American so I can't pretend to know. But they do remind me of something that British people would say. At any rate, I've had a lot of fun allowing myself to be a lot more eloquent in my speech lately and letting all the big words I know slip out, whether I want them to or not. The other day I said "sequestering" and then did a mental facepalm, because, honestly, who uses that word in daily conversation?

Anyway, I think I'll stop rambling now. I'm looking forward to seeing if any of you can make sense of this lengthy post.

...and the ones that are old enough (Jo, Gazer) wouldn't ever consider living somewhere that hot.

That's for sure! Minnesota is too hot in the summer for me (though it's the humidity here, mostly).

Pet allergies: I think my allergy to cats may have subsided somewhat over the past couple years, but I'm not sure. I do know it varies greatly from cat to cat. At least I'm not allergic to dogs. (No PMs- I do like cats too!).

I grew up with cats and dogs and didn't get allergies until much later. Go figure. Maybe that exposure eventually reached a tipping point and set them off?

The furminator. I like it.

Glad you're enjoying Doctor Who, Mountie! When I first starting watching it, a long time ago, it took a few episodes to get used to the accents. Something similar happened recently when I began watching Torchwood; to my untrained ear the accents seemed stronger in that show.

It's supposed to reach 70F here next week; time to dust off the tent and sleeping bag perhaps - or at least the campfire equipment!