Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Heading out and about

I'll sit in the car this afternoon
while Ken and Emma do a Trader
Joe's run. The sun is out and it's a bit
brisk. It calls for a chocolate mocha
from the famous coffee shop.
My cane and I are still a pair, but each
day brings more mobility.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas Day

We slept in some, opened presents,
and have eaten lots of good food.
I don't know why this Christmas
dinner of lamb and roast beef tasted
so good. Maybe it was Emma's mashed
potatoes! She's really mastering them.
I'm on my cane! Walking is still a slow
process, but each day has amazing
improvements. I know it is prayer.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

It's very Christmasy

Here at my house, while I'm recuperating.
Food, gifts, and visits from so many friends.
I may be on a cane next week.
That certainly is Christmasy!

The image “http://www.originalcandyco.com/images/products/lg_candycanes.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Being Lifted UP



Thank YOU for prayers
as I go into surgery. This
time tom. night I'll have a
new hip! Praise God.
Come take a walk with me
in a few months!

Off for the holidays.......
from blogging and recuperation.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Letter Writing hour


I read about this blogger
across the ocean and when
she write letters. She wrote
about the art of Christmas
cards! I've gotten some in
the mail , mainly because
of my surgery on Monday.
I'm usually not this early.
So when do you write letters?
Mine are written in the morning,
after reading God's word. It brings
me something to say! I
always have my journal
there because I love quotes. If
I'm pressed to get a note out,
I will do it when time opens up
anytime of the day. Sometimes
Sunday afternoon is quiet and
that makes me feel creative.
I love magazine envelopes !
Just don't know how to keep
all of it sorted so there are piles
in nooks and crannies in my home!
Nurse Helga ( my sister ) is coming
next weekend . Those good works
God has ordained in Eph. 2:10!

The Blue Hills


by Elizabeth Goudge.
I read two chapters this
morning to my Emma. I've
read it before and want to
be taken to England at the turn
of the last century.

" For the period of this story is
at the beginning of the present
century, and in those days the
world was often silent and sleepy,
and not he bustling noisy place
that it is today."

"In the Cathedral city of Torminster
life was regulated by the feasts and
fasts of the Churc......Deep inside
him he felt that it was good to come
back to a place where the passing of
time was marked by the chiming
of bells and the singing of psalms."

This is Henrietta, age 10, who is the
main character. She'll reappear in
other Goudge books. Absolutely
gives you the sense of jumping into
that dear English village , a bit like
Cranford!

Hard to find.....79.00 was the lowest
price I just found. Keep yours if you
own it! Read it again too.


Thursday, December 4, 2008

Like this one



for now.
Its' called Evening Meal
by Carl Larsson.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Halfway through the week


I'm not sure if I will keep
Carl Larsson's painting on
the headliner. I may need
something more Christmas-y
or need an angel! Need a bit
more time to seek something
for this season.

I've been thinking much upon
Eph. 2:10

For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them.

It is when people turn up in places
unexpectedly or an idea strikes you
to do something for someone within
a few hours AND ..... thinking upon
deeds as an outworking of a calling.
I was amazed to find my oldest brother
(he just turned 64 and I'm one of 8)
from Texas ( although he was in NC
for a funeral) AT my sister's house
Sat. night as we came through after
the memorial service for the week old
baby. That baby certainly in one week
had the effectual work of the hope of the
Gospel. They were saying it was holy ground
at the hospital. God be praised. And I was
blessed to see my brother this year. It
was the first time this year and the year
is almost over. My sister providing for
us in a day's notice.....those good works
ordained, surrounding two deaths.


Monday, December 1, 2008

And speaking of the eldest


Ours is engaged!

Keller's new book


Was amazing and has lots to
think upon from the Parable
of the Two Lost Sons. He has
renamed it because we have to
look at the elder brother too.
We have to see the Gospel in
both the younger and elder
brother and what each has to
repent of: bad and good.
Read it on the way to the coast
for the Memorial Service of that
new born who is now with the Lord.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Tasting this tomorrow

      
THE ULTIMATE PUMPKIN PIE




Crust:
1 1/4 c All-purpose flour
1/2 c Powdered sugar
1/2 c Butter; cut in pieces
3 tb Whipping cream
Filling:
3/4 c Sugar
1 tb Light brown sugar
1 tb Cornstarch
2 ts Ground cinnamon
3/4 ts Ground ginger
1/4 ts (generous) salt
1 cn Pumpkin; large can
3/4 c Whipping cream
1/2 c Sour cream
3 lg Eggs; beaten
1/4 c Apricot preserves

. For crust: Preheat oven to 350
degrees. Blend first 3 ingredients
in processor until mixture resembles
coarse meal. Add cream and process
until moist clumps form. Gather dough
into ball; flatten into disk.
Wrap in plastic; chill for 15 minutes.
Roll out dough on floured surface to
14-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch
glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 inch.
Fold overhang under. Make cut in
crust edge at 1/2- inch intervals.
Bend alternate edge pieces inward.
Freeze 15 minutes. Line crust with foil,
pressing firmly. Bake until sides
are set, about 10 minutes. Remove foil.
Bake crust until pale brown, about
10 minutes more. Reduce oven temperature
to 325.

For filling: Using whisk,
mix first 6 ingredients in bowl until no
lumps remain. Blend in pumpkin,
whipping cream, sour cream and eggs.
Spread preserves over crust; pour in
filling. Bake until filling puffs at
edges and center is almost set, about
55 minutes. Cool on rack. Cover;
chill until cold.

( I didn't do the jam on the crust)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Evening with Book Club


My dear friend has the photos
of our Evening discussing
The Guernsey Literary and Potato
Pie Peel Society.

I hope to get the photo off the camera
and onto this blog of the lovely
basket of gifts given to me ~~ for
my upcoming surgery. I was well
loved and surrounded in prayer.
Pretty soon I'll be running around
the block !

New Book



Our library has it and I have it coming from
another branch! I'm excited.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Charlotte Mason



"Let a child have the meat he requires
in his history readings, and in the literature which naturally gathers around this history, and imagination will bestir itself without any help of ours; the child will live out in detail a thousand scenes of which he only gets the merest hint."
Charlotte Mason

Prayers today


Very cold out this morning and
there's ice about it patches. Just
so cold! Praying for a dear friend's
premature baby born on Tuesday
that he will make it. I have those
angels camped around him from
Pslam 34:7

The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and
delivers them.

AND a line from a poem we worked
on knowing last week by Gerald Manley
Hopkins, a poet-priest in the Victorian
Age:

From God's Grandeur:


Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and
with ah! bright wings.


BROODS:

  1. To sit on or hatch (eggs).
  2. To protect (young) by or as if by
  3. covering with the wings.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/75736085_16bfa415c6.jpg?v=0











Friday, November 21, 2008

A Letter from My Third Son


In our discussion of our Book Club
last night on The Guernsey Literary
and Potato Pie Peel Society , we wondered
if men wrote letters. The book is written in
letters. My third son does and he's up in the
mountains to come home for pumpkin pie
and that turkey next week. He addressed it
to : MOM......and then our address with this
quote on the back:

" I not only use all the brains I have,
but all that I can borrow."
Woodrow Wilson

And ends his letter with " Always praying
for me~!"

Of course! Knee pads are getting worn!

Love, MOM

Thursday, November 20, 2008

the way it is


"I dream of an art of balance, purity,
tranquility, devoid of disturbing or
disquieting subject matter~something
akin to a good armchair."--Henri Matisse

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Coffee at the library!!!


I had not been in this larger
branch of our city's library
in over a year! So to my
surprise when we went to do
some research ( 15 students),
there is self-checkout of books
and opposite that area is a
Coffee Cafe! No kidding. It has
the feel of the big bookstore
which is down the street . You
can take your cup of latte or
a regular cup or a hot choc.
and even buy a cookie or muffin,
go snuggle up with a book
or research! Lovely misty day
to have coffee at the library!

Monday, November 10, 2008

W. Heath Robinson

A World War I cartoon by W. Heath Robinson
A World War I cartoon by W. Heath Robinson

The Return of the BLUE Vans


The return of the blue Vans,
those sleek sneakers for my 22
year old, took me to the PO once,
the UPS once, and now to return to
the UPS store again tomorrow. The
return prepaid label was inside the
shoebox under the tissue. No one
told us that in the directions so we
had the wrong label on the outside.
Inside of me was a storm brewing!
But when I called Vans in CA the young
girl walked me through everything and
now the package is ready to return. I
told her she made my day. She returned
YOU did mine just saying that.

Do that for a stranger today or this week!

http://shop.vans.com/wcsstore/Vans/images/products/5013099B.JPG
and the crazy 19 year old has these in BLUE

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/67/197674890_a96f415a10.jpg

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Billy Collin's poem


Collin's was Poet Laureate in 2001- 2003 and his
new book Ballistic is out. This is from The Apple that
Astonished Paris:



Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

Billy Collins

Friday, November 7, 2008

God's goodness....Holocaust survivor


We heard a 93 year old
survivor of the Holocaust
Frieda Roos-van Hessen

who seemed to be 20 years
younger. Quite a story teller,
escaped the Nazis 8 times,
an opera singer, and converted
after the War. Riveting testimony!
She read Psalm 22 and said "Why
did the Bible steal from Bach?!"
( St. Matthew's Passion) and then
read on to read verse 16:

a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.

And believed.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The next day.....GKC


The sun came out today and
the skies turned Carolina blue.
The world is different and will
be.


“We do not need to get good laws
to restrain bad people. We need
to get good people to restrain
bad laws.” G.K. Chesterton

There are two kinds of people: those
who say to God, "Thy will be done,"
and those to whom God says,
"All right, then, have it your way
C.S. Lewis



Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Bright colors for Election Day


NO lines when I went with
Brad ( 22) to vote today.(2:00)
Everyone else is my family who can vote
already did. I was thankful to go
in and out and no problem parking!
Then to Starbucks for a free coffee
for voters and the drive was glorious!
The leaves are in their gay scarves as
Emily Dickinson said!


The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gay
er scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned, I'll put a trinket on.

Emily Dickinson
Nature XXVII, Autumn.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Mitford on Election Eve


Just checking out Jan Karon's
site on Election Eve to take in a bit
of small village life! There are new
pictures and gentle music that soothe
your tired soul! You'll want to snuggle
back up into Mitford where they know
each other and life is simple. At least,
from my perspective. Maybe not to some
of her characters!

John Q. Adams said " Men will forget
policies but they will sing poetry!"




Saturday, November 1, 2008

Acedia and Me



I did finish Kathleen Norris'
new book yesterday. It was very
good to know what happened in
her life since her last book. I think
of her differently now. I love auto-
biographies and this is partly one.
She seems to dissect words down
to their root and take them into
the light to see them. All aglow with
God's Spirit.


Reformation Day Soda



Mix Cherry or Cranberry soda
with vanilla iced cream ....sing
A Mighty Fortress is our God!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Humor in Scott's book


One of the best scenes is a Post
Office scene. Picture Mrs. Mailsetter
( yes, she handles the mail in 1816)
and Mrs. Sweetgoods ( the wife of the
baker) being the source of gossip for
the little town as they know everyone
who gets mail and even reading the
ones that the wax seal has opened.
Today as my students read this chapter
out loud, I pictured a Masterpiece Theatre
with Judi Dench and Maggie Smith!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sir Walter.....Scott!-


I'm just about done teaching
and reading part of The Antiquary
by Sir Walter Scott. It was his
favorite book that he wrote. He
wrote to preserve history and heritage
and thought to the future generations
of what would be lost. Tales were being
lost and history forgotten. He wrote about
a longing for things that last and matter.
The main character is Jonathan
Oldbuck who loves old things and history.
Scott gets better as you read into the books.
Charlotte Mason went to bed every night
with a Waverly Novel. A dear friend says
Scott brings peace to her soul. Here's
today's quote: ( for knitters or crocheters)

"The sheep , which, during the ardent heat
of the day, had sheltered in the breaches ,
and hollows of the gravelly bank, or under
the roots of the aged and stunted trees, had
now spread themselves upon the face of
the hill to enjoy their evening's pasture, and
bleated to each other with that melancholy
sound which at once gives life to a landscape
and marks its solitude."






Saturday, October 25, 2008

Kathleen Norris' new book




Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life


Search inside this book


I started this last night and was sadden to read her husband died in 2003. I knew he had cancer. Acedia is the spiritual side of sloth. OH.......
She thought of the book
30 years ago. Now she writes it.

Go to this site and hit
links to listen to her
in short and long
interviews,


Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Dick and Jane Quilt


This is
the baby
quilt for
my nephew's
new baby:
Jackson.
So what
is Jackson
to me?
My great-
nephew?

Out at "A Barnful of Quilts" two
weekends ago.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Fall Break is Over


Our two in college are back to
school after Fall Break.
So good to see the one who is
up in the mts. I sent him back
with a pile of blankets and was
glad to have put one on each bed
here at home. It was very winter
like this morning. The other college
son lives in town with his older
brother, who is out in the finance
world. That one is doing a half-
triathalon in Florida on Saturday.
He did a trial this past weekend and
finished in just over 8 hours. He'll
have a crew to cheer him on as part
of the family travels down with him.
Me ~~~ I'll stay here to have some
solitude.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Autumn's chill in the air


Chilly Sabbath morn with
brillant blue skies. Potato
soup on the stove simmering
for this evening. Sermon was
on How to Vote for the President.
Excellent biblical teaching from
I Peter 2: 1-4. I'm still simmering
on it.

Above is another Winslow Homer!

Friday, October 17, 2008

soup and soup and soup


Laughter , soup, salad and
a special friend( birthday girl)
and other friends whose lives
are in the tapestry of my life.
Hosted by my dear friend:
Soup Serenade!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

HOME



I finished HOME by Marilyne
Robinson last night. The end
was not what I expected and since
I haven't finished Gilead , I was
so surprised. Sort of the same ending
of the recent Mitford book.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

GKC



"The great intellectual tradition that comes

down to us from the past was never

interrupted or lost through such trifles

as the sack of Rome, the triumph

of Attila, or all the barbarian invasions

of the Dark Ages. It was lost after the

introduction of printing, the discovery

of America, the coming of the marvels of

technology, the establishment of universal

education, and all the enlightenment of the

modern world.It was there, if anywhere,

that there was lost or impatiently snapped

the long thin delicate thread that had

descended from distant antiquity;

the thread of that unusual human hobby:

the habit of thinking."

Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Barnful of Quilts



A friend who quilts came with
down to Waxhaw, south of Charlotte
to a horse farm ( with llama's ) for
this Quilting show. Just driving
down the long driveway to the farm
was worth the drive. The highlight
was Ellen Guerrant's quilts and I
was inspired by the two knitting
stores represented in the horse
stalls! It's wonderful to come
home and feel nourished with
peacefulness AND to want to make
something besides dinner! I do like
that too, but that is everyday and
creating with your hands is a different
kind of nourishment. Sort of like
getting a letter in the mail. It's from
the heart.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Pop ART



New exhibit at the Mint Museum
here in town : Andy Warhol. It was
interesting to see what he thought
was important in life. He made lots
of money with it. Lots. That was one
of the quotes up on the wall. Art is
about money. It's about business.
He made it into one. Great to examine
in the history we are studying:
Modernity. He included himself in a
series of 10 Myths: Icons of Culture.
So alongside Mickey Mouse, Superman,
the Wicked Witch of the West, Santa
Claus, ....was his shadow. I chuckled.



http://www.artknowledgenews.com/files2007/AndyWarholFourFootFlowers.jpg

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Poets


Caught Billie Collins and Donald
Hall , two poets and Poet Laureates,
this morning on Diane Rhem. ( NPR)
I have Hall's book "Unpacking the Boxes"
on hold at the library.
Collins new book in 3 years ....hmmm.......
need to see what that is about. Ballistics.
Just put that on HOLD.
Not sure what I think of the title.

Who is the Poet Laureate today?

Charles Simic, the fifteenth Poet Laureate
of the United States (2007-2008), was born
in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1938, and immigrated
to the United States in 1953, at the age of 15.


Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Just 10 minutes



What do you do when you
have 10 minutes for literature
class? You hand back papers,
give out syllabus ( starting
Sir Walter Scott~~ The Antiquary)
and go over
how to read this book full of
Scottish brogue! READ it out
loud. Maybe a field trip would
be better. To Melrose to Abbotsford
AH.....to do those things
would be lovely, but everyday
I come home with thoughts not
in the stock market.
Knees. A good place to be. ON THEM.
Living in quite historical times.


picture of Sir Walter Scott and his literary friends at Abbotsford
view larger picture of Sir Walter Scott and his literary friends at Abbotsford in new browser window


Sir Walter Scott and His Literary Friends at Abbotsford, by Thomas Faed

A photographic reproduction of the original, which was painted in 1849 working from pre-existing portraits.

Portrayed from left to right are:

Seated: Thomas Thomson, James Ballantyne, Archibald Constable, Thomas Campbell, Tom Moore, Sir Adam Fergusson, Francis Jeffrey, William Wordsworth, John Gibson Lockhart, George Crabbe, Henry Mackenzie, Scott, and (on footstool) James Hogg.

Standing: Sir Humphrey Davy, Sir David Wilkie, Sir William Allan, Prof. John Wilson.





Monday, October 6, 2008

A good swim today



Emma and I went to the Y
early this afternoon and caught
the lull at the pool. Only a few
older ladies and two avid swimmers
in the lanes. I got all my joints
limber and had fun tagging along
behind Emma as we did laps!
We'll have to keep it up. Certainly
with a warm October day , it was
easy to go, get wet and come home.
Not so in the cold! We'll see if we
can make this a routine.




http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1017/542060952_586f5fe661.jpg?v=0

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Home



I started HOME by Marilynne
Robinson a few days ago , along
with The Antiquary by Sir Walter
Scott that I will teach in a few weeks.
Home today with new screen and glass
doors being put up by my husband
and neighbor. So nice to have a good
neighbor! Good friends too. Emma
adores their 18 year old and they
are like sisters. Leann adores her too:
her "little sister!"


Welcoming Autumn every morning!


Nature XXVII, Autumn

by Emily Dickinson

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

New Poet



A Doxology of Barns


Oh standing tall you split the sky
in red, white, weathered by and by.
Such praises from these boards you bring.
Is such a witness worth the King?

Of human hands that toil below
for corn and cows and blessings flow.
All livestock, grain, and hay within
trust not in human hands therein.

For sheltered barn and weathered board
trust goodness from your hand afford.
In keeping, guiding, tending care
farmer and old red barn doth share.

Now certainly such care and keep
do weathered, failing boards now speak.
Raise praises to come-coming King.
"Lord, gardener come soon!" they sing.

Come raise our boards and paint our doors.
Fill granary, use our hay mow floors.
Give light, restore the failing beam
cupola, roof above redeem.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

by Phillip Jensen



Barns by Wolf Kahn

http://www.weberfineart.com/images/Thumbs/WK.DeepPurpleBarn.9273.jpg



http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Wolf-Kahn/Barn-in-a-Soft-Light-2002-Print-I11888877.jpeg
http://melindaschwakhofer.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/saltboxbarn.jpg


http://ebayimages.goantiques.com/dbimages/KZZ9157/KZZ9157LC1103.jpg

The First Spy Novel


The Thirty-Nine Steps.
John Buchan wrote it in 1915. A
new genre is birthed. I read this
book in 3 nights. Brillant literary
style and my heart pounded, the
pages turned and I couldn't wait
to find out if Richard Hannay would
be found! Reading the sequel which
is in WWI in Jan. with my students.
The end of the first page says:
"I was the best bored man in the United
Kingdom." Brillant to what happens to
him. Buchan must have chuckled
as he wrote this.


We welcomed Autumn today with
it's bright blue skies and cool air.
Makes you want to put on a sweater
and have a cup of tea and grab a
book. Or knit. Makes you forget
the troubles in the world at the
moment. Shhhh......it can be so
quiet that you can escape from
the lack of gas, financial woes,
and even an election. Pray in that
quiet. Pray fervently.

http://www.securenet.net/tbcl/27188.jpg

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Adieu to Jane Austen


My students took their exam
of essays today. What is your
favorite scene? Then later we
sketched Campbell soup cans
and looked at part of a DVD
on Andy Warhol, pop-artist
who made millions with those
cans. Austen and Warhol on the
same day ? An exhibit comes into
town next week and we will go
on a field trip to the Mint Museum.
Interesting as they
both comment on culture!

AND we filled both cars with
gas. Thank you Lord.

Pemberley%20from%20Peaks.jpg






Monday, September 29, 2008

A Day in History



Today. The world seemed
be full of history: no gas at
stations, Wachovia being bought
out ( that means for this city
great despair for jobs and the
economy), and the bailout of
the financial crisis didn't pass
in the House of Rep. I fasted this
morning and prayed. Psalm 72,
parts of Romans 13 and I Tim 2:1-4.
Jehovah Jirah.
We are to come to
HIM, COME ye sinner, poor and wretched....

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Autumn by Winslow Homer

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/american/E10672_20.jpg

Gratitude














Photo taken by my sister last weekend.
As she did the last blueberry picking ,
she also got pumpkins. Good harvesting,
especially the blueberries!

My husband reminded us of
the prayers for rain as we have
another rainy day. "Remember
we had a drought!"

Gas coming into town, slowly.
Thankful we cancelled a trip to
see Evan in Boone today.

Melissa emailed me directions
for a photo on Facebook! Thank
YOU my blogging friend.


"Gratitude bestows reverence,
allowing us to encounter everyday
epiphanies, those transcendent
moments of awe that change forever
how we experience life and the world."

~John Milton
~




Friday, September 26, 2008

They seem to know more


My children do about this computer!
My youngest does not have an email
nor a Facebook, but she can put an
attachment onto an email to a friend
from my account AND in the most
beautiful script AND found a flower
on Images to send! Quite a pretty
letter in the mail through machines
and delivered when you click on.
Now why can't I figure out how
to put a face on Facebook?!!!
On to the debates...........

Still gas lines and rain today.
Stayed in. Cozy. Lamb stew
tonight with Tasha Tudor's
cornbread!



Thursday, September 25, 2008

All is WELL after.....


Very breezy and storm approaching
from the East that is coming up the
coast. It blew down a dead tree across
the street over an electric wire and was
smoking and flamed a bit. The fire
engine came and watched , the electric
company needed to take down the tree!
Thankfully, all is well late this afternoon.
All thanks to a late leaving student
and her family who wanted Emma to come
see an extraordinary mushroom in our
front yard. Emma saw the smoke as
she came up the driveway.

And fairies underneath?
Have to keep those sharp eyes
looking out for them!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Much better



It seems to be leaving. The cold
that is trying to get all of us to
feel lousy! I am ok. Emma is almost
and now Brad, the second son, is
taking vit. c, green tea, etc....


Very good work of my students
recently . Wish I could post two
very good descriptive paragraphs
of my Seniors. One used a theme
of a Fall leaf that withers for Miss
Anne de Bourgh and the other
said at the end of Elizabeth's visit
to Netherfield when Jane is sick,
that envy wrapped itself around
Miss Bingley's heart. One of those
girls is doing a major thesis paper
on Austen. The other remarked the
same as I had in this reading.
This time the reading
went deeper! The second to the last
chapter is still my favorite. Such good
lines of Austen's:

Elizabeth's spirits soon rising to
playfulness again, she wanted Mr. Darcy
to account for his having ever
fallen in love with her. "How could you begin?"
said she. "I can comprehend your going
on charmingly, when you had once made
a beginning; but what could set you off
in the first place?"

"I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot,
or the look, or the words, which laid
the foundation. It is too long ago.
I was in the middle before I knew
that I had begun."

"My beauty you had early withstood, and as for
my manners ~
my behaviour to you was at least always
bordering on the uncivil,
and I never spoke to you without rather
wishing to give you pain
than not. Now be sincere; did you admire
me for my impertinence?"

"For the liveliness of your mind, I did."


and


The joy which Miss Darcy expressed on receiving
similar information, was as sincere as her brother'
in sending it. Four sides of paper were insufficient
to contain all her delight, and all her earnest desire
of being loved by her sister
.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Slaying the cold germs



Seems like the girls in the house
are the ones fighting the cold germs
today. We're drinking green tea, taking
Vit. C and antioxidants,even homemade
vegetable soup at lunch. Such glorious
days do not need cold germs. AMEN.

Finishing up Pride and Prejudice as
a reread and to keep up where my students
are. It gets richer each time. I highly
rec. a reread if you haven't read it in years.
It has made me ponder Jane Austen's
incredible eye for character and the lack
of!




Saturday, September 20, 2008

Under the Greenwood Tree



Emma and I watched a Masterpiece
Theater on You Tube
of Thomas Hardy's book "Under the
Greenwood Tree." We went to look up
the main actor and actress to find
Keeley Hawes married to Matthew
McFayden in real life. Mr. DARCY!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Who would you have to dinner



Today was about Jane Austen
and Sir Walter Scott, so I invited
my dear friend Cass to come
talk to my students about her
love for this man and his writings.
Recently we found The Waverly Novels,
about 4 volumes, and jumped up and
down in the used bookstore. It was
what she was looking for: Rob Roy,
Anne of Geierstein, and others. Each
volume has 3 or 4 books in it. My Austen
book is like that ~~ three of her best in
one volume. I asked the students WHAT
author would they like to sit next
to at a dinner. Many did Lewis and
Tolkein, but some had some interesting
ones that together would make a lively
evening. Cass, of course , would have
Sir Walter and prob. Jane on the other
side. I hope I would be in the next seat.

This Latin phrase was said of Christopher
Wren and his St. Paul's Cathedral. It
is applicable to Scott and his Abbotsford.
"Si monumentum requiris circumspice"
"If you are looking for a monument,
look around you." He lived out a biblical
worldview in the home that he built from
a small farmhouse to a grand house.
Everything in it preserves history. Even
his desk in his study was made from wood
from the Spanish Armada. He had a longing
for things that last and matter.
His descendants still live in part of the house.
His longing is being realized!

The image “http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/stu/images/scott-450.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.



Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Soup, Singing, and soft rain ( shhh....)


Emma is singing to Indelible
Grace's CD and doing her math.
Two soups are on: Potato and
Red Pepper. Hymns , sweet smelling
kitchen and soft rain outside.
Tea cup is empty! Must fill it
and enjoy the quiet. Good day
today with "The Quality of Mercy is
not strain'd, it droppeth as the gentle
rain of heaven...." Recitations. Students
did well, well, almost all did. I was
proud of them. There's something
about the line "when mercy seasons
justice " that hits deep in my soul.
Our country needs a bit of that , don't
you think!

By the way, the audio of The Guernsey
Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
is absolutely delightful. Great British
readers of the letters. I'm in for another
treat and I already know the story!
Makes the day feels more British....rain,
tea, accents, hymns!


Sunday, September 14, 2008

Sabbath gifts



Heard Indelible Grace tonight.
We'll learn some new hymns
and many ones we already sing
on a CD we got.

Got the Hymn Book from Metropolitan
Tabernacle. Charles Spurgeon's church
in London. Just the words, mind you,
of over 1000 hymns. Indelible Grace
had it on their table.

Emma and I picked out an 8 year
old girl in Rwanda to support monthly.
( ministry opportunity at the concert)
She is one of 5. Emma is one of 5.
Something we'll do together saving
our pennies and praying and hopefully
writing letters to her.


Saturday, September 13, 2008

Staying IN


I've stayed at home for the
second day, as I try to conserve
gas. Sent my husband on one
errand during his errands this morning.
( by the library...........)
A stack of audio books! Now to
find the time out of the car to
listen to them! ( Thimble Summer
for Emma, The Guernsey Literary...
and Gilead for me) I have a very old
copy of Thimble Summer but
Emma was asking for another
audio. Fourth son is quite a reader too.
He just finished Ron Paul's book which
had to go back to the library. Two of
his older brothers came in and out ,
looked at it and wanted to read it. Guess
I'll put another HOLD on it!

Good day for getting several pages
of a Scrapbook done. Not really my
thing but I like the finished product
to look at. I prefer making altered things ~
cards or a book. Got several sermons
downloaded and partly put on CD's .
Need another lesson from the 4th son.
Maybe he's reading! He was outside
a bit ago............... Sermons by:

http://missional.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/keller.jpg

Friday, September 12, 2008

The Bright Day is done....


I finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato
Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
and Annie Barrows. ( aunt and niece)
I smiled when it ended because the
way it got to the end was delightful.
Don't let the title puzzle you. You find
out shortly into the story of letters
why it has that name. It is based
on the German occupation WWII.
Here's a snippet:


"I don't know much about children
as I would like to. I am godmother to
a wonderful 3 year old boy named
Dominic , the son of my friend Sophie.
They live in Scotland, near Oban, and
I don't get to see him often. I am always
astonished , when I do , at his increasing
personhood -- no sooner had I gotten
used to carrying about a warm lump of
baby than he stopped being one and
started scurrying around on his own. I
missed six months , and lo and behold,
he learned to talk! Now he talks to him-
self , which I find terribly endearing
since I do, too." ( Juliet)

AND a letter from Eben Ramsey to Juliet:

"It was called 'Selections from Shakespeare.'
Later, I came to see that Mr. Dickens and Mr.
Wordsworth were thinking of men like me
when they wrote their words. But most of
all, I believe William Shakespeare was. Mind
you, I cannot always make sense of what he
says, but it will come.

It seems to me the less he said , the more
beauty he made. Do you know what
sentence of his I admire the most? It is
'The bright day is done, and we are for
the dark.'

I wish I'd known those words on the day
I watched those German troops land,
plane-load after plane-load of them--
and come off ships down in the harbor!
All I could think of was 'damn them,
damn them,' over and over. If I could have
thought the words 'the bright days is done
and we are for the dark,' I'd have been
consoled somehow and ready to go out
and contend with circumstance--instead
of my heart sinking to my shoes.

They came here Sunday, 30th June, 1940,
after bombing us for two days...."

AND THIS:

RSS

0619632ws.jpg

Guernsey looks to join the movie set

HOLLYWOOD could come to Guernsey now the film

rights of a best-selling book about the island have been sold.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Some knew it



Some of my students knew the
first line of P&P. I keep telling
them I'm helping them memorize
it! Great fun as the young boys look
at me with such a look that means
REALLY? HOW? The girls get it ,
the guys don't. Seems to be a theme
here that I hope they see too!
It's fun to see them transform from
now until the end of the year. It's one
reason I do this class and I do love
books. We're studying Aesthetics too
in my class. Studied Kandinsky today
as we ready for a trip to the museum
in October to see the tomato soup
can painter: Andy Warhol. Modern
Times!


For several reasons , I like this painting.
This artist looked at Monet's haystack
paintings 20 years before and loved the
color. Thus, he got the courage to paint
Abstract Art in the early 1900's. Looks
more modern, doesn't it. This is before
Picasso. Also, he teaches at Bauhaus, the
architectural school in Munich, You can
see the influence into our modern buildings
if you look at the art.

Vassily Kandinsdy, 1923


The image “http://star.physics.yale.edu/RHIGphotos/kadinsky.jpeg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The first line



Some of my students knew
the first line of Pride and
Prejudice yesterday. All
were girls. It is worthy to be
a listener. We'll see tomorrow
if the boys were listening! @ !

A poem



Most days come pre-sliced
but sometimes if you're lucky
you get the uncut loaf --
warm and full and fragrant,
all your own.
Think twice before you touch the knife
and mind how you butter your hours!

Anne Lindbergh

Sunday, September 7, 2008

A new book



I'm halfway through with this book.
If I had written a book, it would be
like this! Written by using letters
and all about books, history and
very relational. The lost art of letter
writing may be revived from this book!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

The first line in



I tried to see who knew it
by heart: the first line to
Pride and Prejudice. None of
the 15 knew it by heart. I'll try
again, maybe at the beginning
of every class, until they get the
hint.

\


http://dustyloft.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/pride_and_prejudice1.jpg

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen designed by Hugh Thomson

\

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Yum



Last night was a delicious birthday
dinner for a dear friend at this
friend's house. Tonight I made the
other soup that I was going to make
for that dinner. It was excellent.
It is a sweet pepper-squash soup.
Two of my children had two bowls.
Last night was a Zucchini-Spinach
Soup. Very good too. All make me
think of Autumn coming. My sister
called me today at lunch. We talked
a bit about foods changing as the season
changes. Mine started Monday with
a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Barnes and
Noble! It's my Fall drink.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Labor Day


A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess,
not absence, of life. Because children have abounding
vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free,
therefore they want things repeated and unchanged.
They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up
person does it again until he is nearly dead. For
grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in
monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough...
It is possible that God says every morning,
"Do it again," to the sun; and every evening,
"Do it again," to the moon. It may not be automatic
necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that
God makes every daisy separately, but has never got
tired of making them. It may be that He has the
eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned
and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
Orthodoxy ~~ G. K. Chesterton


Robin Street-Morris. Daisies II. 2004.

daisies

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Hebrews 12:2



Looking away from all the earth

unto Jesus.
Great translation.
Fix your eyes on Jesus
is another.

Amy Carmichael quotes Wescott:
" Not only at the first moment,
but constantly through the whole
struggle...Christ is always near and
in sight." I like those last two words.
In Sight.




Thursday, August 28, 2008

Working on ...


The Fall Semester Syllabus
for my high school literature
class. We start with Pride and
Prejudice! I don't like to assign
pages to read , you know, just read
and read. But it doesn't work that
way when you have some who are
learning to read this kind of literature.
So the type A in me rises out of
slumber when I have to organize
and plan. Thus was this week!
I love ideas though. So ideas are
popping about the syllabus!

Chawton, Jane's home

Window



There have been or will
be 7 birthdays of friends or
family, this week and last week.
None being any of my
children. None born in the fall.
Although the oldest missed
Christmas by a day! So I've
been making cards and thinking
of gifts. Type A is asleep when I'm
like this. I have to have my Type B
rise up and fly. Francis Schaeffer
said in Art and the Bible:

"The Christian is one whose imagination
should fly beyond the stars."

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Soaked


The creeks are running after
last night's rain. There are two
long narrow boards from my
neighbor's campfire pit that
were moved into our yard.
Evidence that the creek over-
flowed last night. The ground
is squishy too. Checked the
garden and it's drenched. No
new plants planted so the old
ones from summer may bear a
bit more fruit. Thankful for the
rain. Very.


Columbus Avenue, Rainy Day
1885
Childe Hassam

The image “http://www.classicartrepro.com/data/large/Hassam/Hassam_Columbus_Ave_Rainy_Day_1885.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A Gentle Rain


We've had a gentle rain most
of the day, giving it an English
atmosphere! Tonight is an Evening
Reading of The Merchant of
Venice. It is how my students
get to know each other!!!
Their first Recitation and
to honor the day of rain:

Portia:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes
.
..........

Monday, August 25, 2008

"Q"




Just had to post this
gorgeous old book
so that I can see it again.
For booklovers:

http://www.davidbrassrarebooks.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-shopping-cart/books_img/00152/main.jpg

Lewis


"We live, in fact, in a world starved
for solitude, silence, and private:
and therefore starved for meditation
and true friendship."

--The Weight of Glory

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Anonymous Quote



Found this quote while
decluttering yesterday on
a 4 by 6 card in my hand
writing:

Pragmatism and an industrial-
sized busyness denigrate every-
thing that can't squeeze out of a
calculator. The first thing to die
under such circumstances is
a passion for beauty.

School starts in a week for us.
The busyness gears back up
but I've tried to keep empty
space in my days. It gets dark
earlier now. We all were a bit
sad tonight
as Autumn approaches
and summer says THE END.


The First Lesson, Carl Larsson


The First Lesson, 1903 Giclee Print by Carl Larsson

Friday, August 22, 2008

Three Houses



Angela Thurkell writes in
her autobiography about
her first three houses. Her
grandfather is Pre-Raphaelite
painter Edward Burne-Jones.
She writes:

" In this studio there was a very high
set of steps with a higher and lower
platform on which the artist
worked at the upper portions of
his picture. I remember sitting on
these steps , my head wrapped
in a many coloured piece of silk
and bound with a coronet, while
my grandfather made studies of
crown and drapery for one of the
mourning queens in the great
unfinished picture of Arthur of
Avalon which is now in the Tate
Gallery."

Second house is in London too.
North End House. Nephew of her
grandmother lives across the
street. Rudyard Kipling and his
family. That's where I am in the
book today.


Burne-Jones's studio, The Grange, Fulham, London


click for a full screen image

Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR
Reference Number: DD54/00139


http://faculty.smu.edu/bwheeler/kinga/avalon.jpg



Thursday, August 21, 2008

Good day at the library



I love going to the library
to pick up my books on
hold. I had a stack. I came
home reading and will tonight!
Here's a bit:

book cover of   Three Houses   by  Angela Thirkell


Several books by A.L. Rowse, author of 100 books. I got

A Cornish Childhood
A Cornishman at Oxford


He was encouraged in his pursuit of an academic career by fellow Cornish man of letters Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944) who recognised his ability from an early age.

Still reading Tarte Tatin. Love
being in Normandy , France
as Susan Loomis begins her
cooking school in the 300 year
old convent they turned into
their home! I'm ready to go.



Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Ahhh..........


Victoria Magazine came today!
I read it in two sittings.
What comes over me is a
wave of beauty and I go to
places I long to see. I feel
better!


http://www.victoriamag.com/

In front of Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, Quebec City

In front of Fairmont Le Château

Frontenac, Quebec City

The Mercy of God ...Ps. 52:8


Bathing in the words of
Spurgeon from August 17th
"Morning":

There is nothing little in God;
His mercy is like himself ~~~
it is infinite.

It is rich mercy. ...this mercy is
a cordial to your drooping spirits,
a golden ointment to your bleeding
wounds, a heavenly bandage to your
broken bones, a royal chariot for
your weary feet, a bosom of love for
your trembling heart.

It is manifold mercy. As Bunyan
says, "All the flowers in God's garden
are double." There is no single mercy.

It is unfailing. It will never leave thee.

AMEN. Shakespeare wrote in
The Merchant of Venice:

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from
heaven
Upon the place beneath:
it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives
and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest....

It is an attribute to God himself..


Strong words. Strengthening
the soul.


Monday, August 18, 2008

This came in the Mail today



Tarte Tatin



Book Two continuing at the
300 year old convent that
Michael and Susan Loomis
bought in Normandy , France.
Read the first chapter in the after-
noon sun. It's the start of her
cooking school. She always has
recipes at the end of each chapter.
The first one had an Olive cookie
and Orange Wine. Oh my.....!

Packing up


Our third son is packing
up to go back to the mountains
tomorrow as college begins.
Moving into a house with 3 other
guys. We've been back to the
eye glasses store for the 4th time
with glasses that pinch his nose
after he lost his on a jet ski!
Ah~~~ Lord , help them to work
this time! Never know why such
little things happen and cause
such real frustration, but they
were really nice at the store.
That helps! That really helps.
He needed a 19 in the bridge.
No wonder the 15 didn't work.


Tommy Hilfiger TH3043

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Growth



Grandam, one night as we did sit
at supper,
My uncle talked how I did grow,
more than my brothers,
"Ay" quoth my uncle Gloucester,
"Small herbs have grace;
great weeds do grow apace."
And since me thinks I would not
grow so fast
Because sweet flowers are slow
and weeds make haste."

King Richard III , Shakespeare