A Brief Intermission
"Take a break and give your soul what it needs."
Hello readers! It’s been a while since I published anything here, and while I’ve missed you all, that’s been by design. Although it wasn’t announced, many of you have surely guessed that I’ve been taking the summer off. After my “Ramblings and Longings Regarding Moving,” our family went into limbo, slowly leaving California and moving to Idaho. Though we’re nearly ready to complete our move, it’s been nice to recharge, work on our own projects, read some books, and enjoy our last few weeks down here.
In the past two months, many more of you have subscribed to Further Up & Further In, and I wanted to thank you for your interest in my ramblings here on Substack. This outlet has given me the opportunity to write about interests that I wouldn’t normally get to write about professionally, relating my everyday observations with what I perceive God to be doing in my life. That and I like to write about writing.
Thanks for listening.
But be warned, this brief intermission in my summer break will be a bit abnormal. Yes, I have a few essay ideas already in the queue for this fall (with one currently in the works), but for this edition, I’d like to take a less formal approach. Rather than an essay, here’s what’s been going on with us lately…
Moving Out & Not-Yet-In
Although we’ve officially left our home in Glendale, the Petty family has yet to complete our move to North Idaho. We couldn’t move into our new (and bigger, and cheaper) place in Moscow until August, so we’ve been staying at my in-law’s place in Palm Desert for the summer.
And let me tell you, it’s been hot.
Two weekends ago, we took a day trip to the Idyllwild-Pine Cove area to enjoy the cooler weather (cooler compared to the 115 degrees here anyway), drive through the pine forests, and maybe even hike.
I love hiking, though since moving to LA, I’ve been a lot less active than I had been in Montana. The concrete jungle just isn’t built for good hiking. Needless to say, our move will do wonders for my outdoor activity.
This area was breathtaking. Despite being SoCal, it felt more like Northern California, which was a nice change of pace. The pine-tinted air, the open skies, and the sound of woodland critters scurrying about felt just like home. I was so grateful for the opportunity to get out of the desert (and elated to hike) that I foolishly didn’t consider the heat.
Let’s just say, we didn’t get very far before I nearly passed out (and sadly, that’s not a joke). We had to turn back. Hannah was delighted to escape the heat, and I felt pretty silly trying to hike in 100-degree weather, despite my portable fan. Aside from the healthy blow to my pride, it was still nice to be out in the wild.
Outside of that, we’ve been spending plenty of afternoons in the pool, and occasional weekends visiting our old church family in LA. It’s been a good summer, all things considered, even if we’ve felt unsettled.
The Little Miss Takes Over
In other Petty family news, the Little Miss is growing like wildfire. And the more she grows, the cuter she gets. I’m sure that most parents think that their child is the cutest baby to ever exist, but I’m happy to report that ours actually is. (It’s okay, the contest is over now. Thanks for playing!)
Not only is our little girl learning (and growing) like crazy, but she’s now butt-scooting everywhere. For the uninitiated, butt-scooting is when your baby uses her arms and legs to pull herself forward, backward, and every which way without partaking in the usual hands-and-knees crawling motion. It’s really fun to watch, but also stressful since now she can grab at power cords, outlets, and other non-baby-safe items.
In other news, one of her favorite stuffed animals (besides the opossum we recently bought her; she couldn’t take her eyes off of it) is an old Scooby-Doo doll that once belonged to a very young Michael. It’s already been well-loved, and she’s shown it even more kindness than I did. Anytime I’ve played Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, she instantly recognizes her plushy playmate.
Aside from saying “Dada” pretty consistently, she finally says “Mama,” which is great since I think Hannah was getting a little worried that she never would. Actually, the Little Miss has a lot to say nowadays, from “hi” and “yep” to the unintelligible babbling as she wanders the halls looking for the next crumb or dust bunny to try and put in her mouth before we see.
At 11 months now, the Little Miss is as curious as George, and is either incredibly self-reliant or completely co-dependent depending on the moment. It’s been a rollercoaster, but one we love to ride. Nothing puts a smile on our faces quite like our little baby girl.
What I’ve Been Working On
For those curious as to the progress of my long-anticipated short story/novella, The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain, I’ve got some good news for you: I think we’re almost there. I’d originally intended on publishing it now-ish, but after the stress of the move and some solid advice from Hannah to sit back, relax, and enjoy the summer (I don’t have a legit deadline, after all), I’ve decided to do just that. But I haven’t stopped working.
Now rounding out my final draft, the story is progressing better than I imagined. The characters feel more three-dimensional, the plot is nearly air-tight, and I’m trimming down my prose so that I don’t ramble on and on.
Reading and listening to more books has been paramount, as has some solid advice from my beta readers, such as Elicia Johnson, to whom I’m incredibly grateful. (By the way, you should be following her Substack.)
Though I’m not ready to share a preview with you all just yet (soon, I promise), I will share my cover art. I’m usually adamantly against A.I. art, but I’ll admit that I had some robotic help with the design. Although this started with MidJourney, I ended up using my own graphic design skills to carefully and meticulously craft the image into something more my own.
You can judge the final result yourself...
Hopefully, that whets your appetite for what’s to come. Who knows? Maybe by the end of my summer hiatus, The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain will be available for public consumption!
A Book A Day Keeps The Mind-Killers Away
As I mentioned before, this year has been one for the books. Literally. I finally started using my Goodreads account to help track the books I’ve been reading and listening to this year, and in doing that have already surpassed and extended my original 2023 reading goals.
Originally, I’d decided to read a book a month this year, a task I was admittedly unsure I’d complete. However, since January, I’ve completed 23 books (yes, including audiobooks) and extended my goal from 12 to 30. Who knows, maybe I’ll extend it again before the year is through!
One of the biggest highlights was listening to the first two The Lord of the Rings books on Audible. We took two extended road trips this year, and listened to one book each drive. It was wonderful. We were shocked to discover just how different the Peter Jackson films are from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novels (I know, I know, but this is our first time working through them), and were equally as surprised that some of the scenes that didn’t make it to the movies were among our favorites. When we hit the road next month, we’ll embark on the final chapter of Tolkien’s fantasy epic.
Additionally, I’ve read three of Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire Mysteries this year, with my favorite so far being The Western Star. Though the novels are quite different from the Netflix series, Johnson is a proven master at his craft. He knows how to write a compelling and investing mystery that sucks you in. So when The Western Star ended with a cliffhanger, I just had to jump right into Depth of Winter…
In a similar vein, I also tackled C.J. Box’s Blue Heaven upon recommendation from my Dad, and it did not disappoint. Coincidently, it takes place about an hour or two north of where we’re moving to in North Idaho, and it was fun reading a book set there now being somewhat familiar with the terrain. Additionally, Box includes a number of characters from Los Angeles, so it felt familiar in more ways than one.
C.S. Lewis has been a recurring friend this year, though I’ve mainly been visiting his Ransom Trilogy (alt. Space Trilogy). Each installment is unique on its own, and though That Hideous Strength is usually people’s favorite, I preferred Perelandra. The commentary on what God’s perfect Eden might’ve looked like was thoughtful and exciting, and Ransom’s conclusion that predestination and free will are actually one-in-the-same (a sentiment I personally share) was mighty well done. I have one more Lewis book on my docket this year, and I look forward to exploring his fantastical mind again.
Lastly, I wanted to take a moment to highlight Josh Robinson’s Re-Enchanting Time: A Primer on How Christ’s Lordship Re-Enchants Time-Keeping. I’ve promoted Josh’s work before, but since I’m talking about my reading plan, diving into Re-Enchanting Time has been an excellent and timely reminder of how, as Christians, we’re called to redeem the time. It’s intellectual, informative, practical, and even convicting. For more of Josh’s work, check out his Substack, The Narnian.
This Summer’s Petty Picks
Lastly, I have half-a-summers’ worth of Petty Picks to deliver on. Aside from the movies I’ve seen in theaters (Mission: Impossible - Dead Recknoning, Part One and Sound of Freedom1 are my biggest highlights there) and the books I’ve been reading, here are some of my favorite things from this summer.
Dave’s Hot Chicken is one of our favorite places. What started as an LA joint has gone national and is slowly spreading like wildfire around the country. If you’re in the mood for some great hot chicken sandwiches, look no further.
Us Pettys are trying to enjoy Dave’s as much as we can before leaving California (the nearest one to our soon-to-be-Idahome is just under 6 hours away), but maybe there’s one nearer to you! Check out their locations here.
Insomnia was Christopher Nolan’s first studio film, and if you haven’t seen it, it’s really worth the watch. Not only does he consider it his most underrated feature, but it’s the most anti-Nolan-ish Nolan film out there.
A product of its time (late ‘90s-early ’00s cop thrillers), Insomnia is a thriller with a stellar cast, clear direction, and compelling themes that all roll together. Plus, it’s set in small-town Alaska, which gives it an extra edge.
Frank Peretti is one of my favorite supernatural-thriller writers out there, and his book The Oath is a particular favorite. There’s mystery, legend, danger, and dragons all within the pages of this PNW-set thriller. It’s a good time, but, in hoping to avoid spoilers, I’ll say no more.
The Visitation is a fascinating critique of the charismatic/pentecostal community as well as how cults start and operate. Admittedly, I’m not quite finished with this one, but it’s already loads better than the B-movie based on the novel that came out back in ‘06.
Wizard is also loads of fun. If you’re looking for a new card game to play with the whole family, then this is it. No, I’m not sponsored by Wizard (or anyone for that matter), but it’s been a great game to revisit this summer with friends.
I don’t have much else to say about this game other than it’s just a lot of fun. To win takes both chance and skill, and though it can get fairly competitive, nothing’s high-stakes.
Last but not least, The Dark Knight Trilogy is another Christopher Nolan epic, but this time centered around Batman (Christian Bale). As one of the best on-screen versions of Batman, Bale shines brightest in these three films.
Batman Begins is a near-perfect origin story, while The Dark Knight is just one of the best movies ever made. The Dark Knight Rises isn’t perfect, but its a great conclusion to an epic saga. If you haven’t watched them lately, revisit them today!
Since these are still in theaters, I figured I’d wait until they came out (and more people have seen them) to talk about them. Originally, I wrote a whole section within this piece about the different movies I’ve seen this summer, but I decided to scrap it in favor of the books I’ve been reading. But, if you like my quick thoughts on the movies I’ve caught in the past few months, here they are…
Mission: Impossible - Dead Recknoning, Part One: Incredible action flick. Tom Cruise is great as always. Can’t wait for Part Two.
Sound of Freedom: Everyone should see it. Folks calling it “QAnon” are morons. It’s success as an independent film should scare Hollywood (in a good way).
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Part One: The animation is breathtaking. The differing art styles blend seamlessly. Not as good as the first, but still great.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3: Best MCU movie since Avengers: Endgame. Some great character arcs. Excellent finale to James Gunn’s trilogy.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: The de-aging sequence was the best part (and looks decent). Not the worst Indiana Jones, but nowhere near the best.
The Flash: Actually pretty good. A little overcrammed, and the ending gag with Batman was dumb, but otherwise alright. The CGI, however, was terrible.
Dude! Thanks so much for the shout out! It means a bunch to this word aid affirmation hoarder. Also, so many great reads on your list. It’s high time I refreshed my memory on Beowulf.
Of course! It was my first time with Beowulf and I’ve decided I’m going to have to read it again since I felt like so much of it went over my head.