Did you know you can fit 54 books in one of those large Rubbermaid containers?

I've been trying to clear some space in our little basement suite by packing some of my "haven't read this one for a while" books into boxes. Well, a box... So far I've only gotten one. The only problem with packing books into boxes is that they are less accessible in a box than they are on a shelf - conversely, the only problem with having books on a shelf is that they take up so much wall-space!

Anyhow, not wanting to lose track of these "books I haven't read for a while" that are packed away in Box 1, I've just entered them all into LibraryThing (at www.librarything.com). And, since it's so sad that these books have to languish away in a box, and simultaneously so cool to be able to list a random selection using a LibraryThing widget, I offer here a random selection of the books now stowed away in Box 1 (at least those that have cover pictures in LibraryThing):

4 Things

I'm not sure where this chain "4 Things" thing started, but it has produced some interesting responses... Here's my response:

4 Jobs
1. Grape-vine gardener
2. Data-entry operator for Elections BC
3. Substitute receptionist at St. Vladimir's Seminary
4. In-office Tech Support, Web-master, Grad-coordinator, and Online English/SS Specialist for Traditional Learning Academy's Distributed Learning Program (quite a job title, eh?)

4 Movies
1. The Princess Bride
2. Seven Samurai
3. The Matrix
4. The Incredibles
(Not quite a movie, but worthy of mention: Masterpiece Theatre's Pride and Predjudice, which got me into Jane Austen.)

4 Places I've Lived
1. HewlettHill, Surrey (27 years now and counting!)
2. Shukugawa, Japan (1 year)
3. Crestwood, New York (3 years - also known as St. Vlad's)
4. New Westminister (first place I lived!)

4 Albums
1. Pop Goes the World (Men Without Hats)
2. Vivaldi's "Four Seasons"
3. Naxos' "Introduction to Classical Music" Collection
4. Songs (Rich Mullins)

4 Writers (only 4?!?)
1. C.S. Lewis (fiction)
2. J.R.R. Tolkein
3. C.S. Lewis (non-fiction)
4. St. John the Theologian
(Did I mention C.S. Lewis?)

4 Vacations
1. family trip to Britain when I was 13
2. lots of family trips to Manitoba - about once every 3 years when I was growing up
3. church youth group camping trips to Lake Erroch (now, unfortunately, a nudist colony!)
4. honeymoon to Cortes, Quadra, and Vancouver Islands
(a number of trips to Deception Pass and other parts of Whidby Island were also great!)

4 Foods
1. pizza (preferably just meat and cheese)
2. sushi and sashimi
3. homemade strawberry milkshakes
4. "glums", a cottage-cheese veraniki (sort of Mennonite perogi)

4 Places I'd Rather Be
1. at home with my family
2. St. Herman's
3. Lower Mainland, BC
4. Great Britain and Europe

4 Sites (only 4?!?)
1. Christian Classics Etherial Library - Church Fathers Collection
2. St. Pachomius Library
3. Pocket PC Thoughts
4. Spruce Island: The Unofficial St. Herman's Blog
(Engadget, Slashdot, Wired, and Google News should also get an honourable mention - as should many others!)

4 bloggers to whom I'm passing on this heavy burden...
Sorry, I don't do the "chain letter" thing! (Not that this one wasn't fun!)

In Kelowna

I'm in Kelowna, at a training session for CoolPortfolio today, and then in Westbank for the very first Hewlett Family Reunion I've ever been to! Should be fun, although I wish it didn't have to mean missing church. It's especially sad to be missing Jesse's induction into the catechumenate. You are in our prayers, Jesse!

In Toronto

Well, I'm in Toronto, for the first time in my life, for the 14th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America (the first one to be held in Canada since 1977). I do have some internet access (as you can see) at the home where I am staying, and I do have my cell phone on me (for making/receiving short calls), but I'll be a little less accessible for a little while.

Update (July 23, 2005): I'm back! Photos of the AAC can be found in the July 2005 photo galleries of OCA.org.

And another new site...

And another new site opens at ehewlett.net, this one (lance.ehewlett.net), unfortunately, because we need to sell our beloved horse, Lancelot du Lac.

M.Div. Thesis In Progress...

Working on my thesis. Here are some of my notes. Anyone have any comments they'd like to contribute?


These notes are an attempt at outlining how I'd like the argument of my thesis to flow. Wrote them on a metal closet in our recroom...


The conclusion of my thesis notes, so far. This is the bottom of the metal closet - the circular scribbles in the middle are in permanent marker, courtesy of one of my two sons.