What a week.

First we had my sister Mary's family and some friends over for a big Easter dinner, after which we did some funky egg coloring.

Then on Monday we had the good news that I do not have a brain tumor. See, my ophthalmologist again saw something on my optic nerve head that he'd seen nine years ago when we had a little brain-tumor scare. So frankly I was not too concerned and didn't lose any sleep over it, because we'd been there before. But he thought he might have seen a change, so he scheduled a sonogram on my eye. Yes, they do such a thing. They stick the transducer right on the eyeball! But for once that meant we had news immediately, and it turned out to be no change after all. I have some protein deposits resting against the optic nerve, and they can make it look like a tumor somewhere is putting pressure on the spinal fluid that then distorts something at the back of my eye. But since nothing has actually changed in nine years, it looks like I have a congenital condition that affects...nothing.

On Thursday I presented my "Artemis of the Ephesians" research to the professors in the Biblical Studies Division at DTS. It took some time to get the lecture organized and the multimedia (DVD, PowerPoint, Internet source) together for that. But I enjoyed the process, and I love the interaction with others who have done historical research. In the past two days, I've received info about three more articles of interest from those who attended. Two of the three I'd not seen, so I have some great new sources of info.

Now I forge ahead on the Evangelical Press Association's national meeting, which I'm coordinating. That's the first week in May with 30 workshops. Time to collect descriptions, compile bios, prep for the 24-page convention info brochure... If you're local and want to attend some free writing workshops by some top-notch writers/editors, contact me to volunteer some hours in exchange.

On the 24th, I head to Oregon for a few days. I promised my sis when she lost her husband in September that I'd try to get back in the spring to help however I can. My mom turned 80-years-young on Thursday, my parents celebrate their 58th anniversary that weekend, and one of my nephews has a birthday the day I arrive. A side benefit: I get to see the rest of the family and Oregon in the spring.

Yesterday I had one of those delicious days with nothing on the schedule, so I did a lot of catch-up on PhD reading. Right now I'm studying the histories of women in antiquity and the women's movement in Europe/US. When I do the latter, I'm always struck by how many religious people were at the heart of it all pushing for justice on a variety of related issues...labor laws and literacy for women (resulting in the Sunday school movement). So often we make it sound like Betty Friedan started it all.

We can now reclaim the dining room table. My hero-hubby finished doing taxes yesterday. So our little family went out for ice cream cones to celebrate last night. Green grass. Birds singing. Wisteria in full bloom. Seventy-five degrees. April in Texas. This is part of how we can endure August.

One more thing, completely unrelated: If you like to keep up on what's happening in the world of books, consider subscribing to the NY Times book review. Did I mention it's free?