Thursday, September 30, 2010

Longitude by Dava Sobel


Harrison's final triumph - the compact chronometer


I am getting back to my stack
of books that is now filled with
other ones! This book was a reread
for me and the first in my literature
class for Am. Literature. Why this
book? They do a project on maps
and this prepared them.

Dava Sobel
always writes a good
biography. This one is on John
Harrison ( my husband says to
remember his name think of
two Beatles: John...and George)
was a clockmaker. He invented the
chromometer . The Longitude Act
of 1714 had a prize which Harrison
did win after he worked all his life
on a clock that would measure longitude.
It took him 4 decades and 4 clocks,
finally getting it down to the above
size.
His ability to work hard at a calling
was amazing.
He changed the world and navigation.
This was one of the largest scientific
endevours in history. Did you know that?


Monday, September 27, 2010

Tut, tut....lots of rain.


"Amma: The Life and Words of Amy Carmichael."

“The Gloriosa superba is native to South India. During the autumn rains you find it shooting in the lane bordered thickly by huge cactus and aloe. Here and there you see it in the open field. In the field it will have a chance, you think; but in the lane, crowded down by cactus and spike, what can a poor lily do but give in and disappear? A few weeks afterwards you can see a patch of colour on the field, you go and gather handfuls of lovely lilies, and you revel in the tangle of colour, a little bewilderment of delight. But the lane, go to the lane. There you see something far more satisfying, not only entangled colour, but all the grace of form, God’s full thought grown to perfection. Eight feet up in the clear air, bright against the luminous blue, unfurling its fire-flowers like banners of triumph, there is the lily victorious. Each little delicate bud and leaf seems as if filled with a separate keen little joy: the joy of just being beautiful and free.

“The Gloriosa will exist in the field, as it will exist in the English hothouse, because it must. But it is not happy there. There is no proper development. Give it life, not just existence. Give it something to conquer. Give it the thorn and the spike. . . ."

holy experience

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Part of a good poem

"Summer ends now;

now, barbarous in beauty,

the Stooks arise

Around; up above,

what wind-walks!

what lovely behavior

Of silk-sack clouds!

Has wilder,willful-waive

Meal-drift molded ever

and melted across skies?"
- Gerard Manly Hopkins, Hurrahing in Harvest, 1918


My brain is weary so I will comment on

Longitude ,Tammy, when it can say

something intelligible!


I finished the biography

on Francis Schaeffer during my test time

today. Excellent. Stay tuned.

AND I can't figure out WHY I am

double-spaced!!! UGH.

Time for dinner.



Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Finished some of the STACK


I had an hour during my
daughter's piano lesson.
Finished ANNE BRADSTREET
to teach her poetry next week.
Now to dig into a book of her
poetry that I have.

Finished FOOD RULES.
It is easy to read as it is written
very simply. Not like Michael
Pollen's other:

The Omnivore's Dilemma

Here are a few very short ones:

If it came from a plant , eat it;
if it was made in a plant, don't.

It's not food if it's called by the same
name in every language: Think BIG
MAC, Cheetos, Pringles.

Buy your snacks at the Farmer's Market.

EAT your colors. ( a paragraph to explain)

I'm thinking this might made good
Christmas presents ~~ shhhh...

AND for my literature class: finished
Longitude: a reread : TEST tomorrow!



Monday, September 20, 2010

Merci beaucoup


The beautiful two words unto
the Lord on this Gratitude Monday:

~~ for my Physical Therapist who is
good at what she does. She is stretching
my muscles that haven't moved in years!
She is gentle and kind . We like each other.

~~my literature students!~ Some are new
and some are old, meaning this is the second
or third year that I've had them. They bless
me!

~~ my stack of books continues to feed me.
I added this one to the list and am almost
finished with it as I teach her poems very
soon. I LOVE this series that Thomas Nelson
is publishing. Several new ones are coming
out in Oct. One will be on St. Nicholas. I can't
wait. They are living books.

More on the stack of books this week.


http://www.inspire4less.com/productimages/9781595551092.jpg


holy experience


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Monday, September 13, 2010

My friend brought flowers!!


I'm thanking the Lord for
my dear friend who has come
to help me get some deep cleaning
done when I can't yet........as I
heal from hip surgery. THERE
she was at the front door with
FLOWERS in her hands and
other surprises. She baked an
apple pie with delicious crumb
topping and dinner while I went
to PT. So you never know how God
will bless you when you see the
details and thank HIM and give HIM
the glory, even in cleaning!

You know she had not read my blog.
That is what amazed me ....read the
blog below!

holy experience

Friday, September 10, 2010

Start with flowers






Cleaning.
That is
what my
friend was
doing after
her call.



"Do you want
to know how I
start?"

" I put a vase of flowers on the kitchen table
and start from there outward!"

That made me want to go help! ( she doesn't
live here )

" What kind do you have now?"

"Gerber daisies and I got some eucalyptus in
anogther vase to add scent. They will last.
I work OUT from the table."

What do you do to start ?

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

A text this morning

Sacrifical Grace

From my friend Jeannette in
Tenn, asking if I had read the
current Tabletalk and an article
by Makoto Fujimura. I don't get
Ligonier's Tabletalk but it is online.
Read The Beauty of Tears.

It brought grace to me this morning.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Back to School

The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling [Book]


Here is a good quote I read
to my students today from John
Stott's recent book .He is 89.
It is his farewell book:

The Radical Disciple:
Some Neglected Aspects
of our Calling


"For there is something
unique about books. Our
favorite books become very
precious to us and we even
develop with them an almost
living and affectionate relation-
ship."

That reminds me of living books
of this lady: Charlotte Mason.
She called this : Education is a Science
of Relations.
Also thoughts on living ideas
by the wonderful founders of
Ambleside Online.

Stott ends that paragraph with a great
thought:

"So let me urge you to keep reading,
and encourage your relatives and
friends to do the same.
For this is a much
neglected means of grace."


....means of grace!


Monday, September 6, 2010

Being Thankful



I will lift up
my eyes to the
hills....
My help comes
from the Lord.

Psalm 121



Catching up with Ann Voskamp
on her Gratitude MONDAYS:

Being in recovery from hip surgery
has given me lots of time to read
and write and think and heal and
to pray.
I'm so thankful for those who
brought me meals, kind letters,
emails, postcards, and have prayed
for me. My doctors include my baby
brother . I am one of 8 and he is a
PA Orthopaedist. One of the best.
Many of the other health care people
who cared for me commented that
they would not want a family member
"working" on them! I tend to disagree
for who is going to care for you better!
I well with tears as I think how much
this brother cares and loves me in how
he cared for me in the hospital
and at home ON the CELL phone.
I'm thankful for that technology!

I'm on my way to feeling younger.

"Thank you God for Jimmy. I marvel
at that. He is the particular doctor
I needed .
Thank you for giving me a Resurrection
experience in being able to walk without
pain!"

holy experience

photo taken by my son Evan in
Denali National Park, Alaska

Saturday, September 4, 2010

YUM. YUM.



First outing IN to a store this
afternoon ( post-surgery):
Trader Joe's.
We ate these coming home.
Have you ever tried them?!!
We ate the whole package.



photos found here
She liked them too!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

At Home with Friends, Joshua Bell


We watched this PBS special
of Joshua Bell, the Washington
DC subway
violinist ( noone recognized
him and he got 32.17 for 43 minutes of
playing) . This album is one that
he turned a room in his
apt in NYC into a beautiful place to
host a crowd ....of the most renown
singers and players to do one song
with him. ( Chris Botti, Sting, Renee
Fleming, Kristin Chenoweth.
.) It
reminds me of YOYO MA & FRIENDS.

I love COME AGAIN with Sting.
It sounds like it comes from a Jane
Austen film.

Come again:
Sweet love doth now invite,
Thy graces that refrain,
To do me due delight,
To see, to hear, to touch, to kiss, to die,
With thee again in sweetest sympathy.

Come again
That I may cease to mourn,
Through thy unkind disdain:
For now left and forlorn,
I sit, I sigh, I weep, I faint, I die,
In deadly pain and endless misery.

All the day
That sun that lends me shine
By frowns doth cause me pine
And feeds me with delay:
Her smiles, my springs that make my joys to grow,
Her frowns, the winters of my woe.

All the night
My sleep is full of dreams,
My eyes are full of streams,
My heart takes no delight
To see the fruits and joys that some do find,
And mark the storms to me assigned,

Out, alas,
My faith is ever true,
Yet will she never rue,
Nor yield me any grace;
Her eyes of fire, her heart of flint is made,
Whom tears nor truth may once invade.

Gentle Love,
Draw forth thy wounding dart,
Thou canst not pierce her heart,
For I that to approve,
By sighs and tears more hot than are thy shafts,
Did tempt, while she for [mighty]1 triumph laughs.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Last post on Jan Karon


She was having dinner with
her brother!

Esther's Orange Marmalade Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, more for greasing the pans
3 1/4 cups cake flour, more for dusting the pans
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

For the orange syrup
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the filling
1 (12-ounce) jar orange marmalade

For the frosting
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream, chilled

Directions:
The cake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter three 9-inch round cake pans, line them with parchment paper, then lighly butter and flour the paper, shaking out the excess.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Sift a second time into another bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until light in color, about 4 minutes. Add the 2 2/3 cups sugar in a steady stream with the mixer running. Beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Be sure to stop at least once to scrape down the batter from the sides of the bowl. After all the eggs have been added, continue to beat on medium speed for 2 more minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the oil and beat for 1 minute. In a small bowl, combine the orange zest, vanilla, and buttermilk. Using a rubber spatula, fold in half of the dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add half of the buttermilk mixture. Fold in the remaining dry ingredients, scrape down the sides, and add the remaining buttermilk.

Pour the batter among the prepared pans, smooth the surface, rap each pan on the counter to expel any air pockets or bubbles, then place in the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 20 minutes.

The orange syrup. In a small bowl, stir together the orange juice and 1/4 cup sugar until the sugar is dissolved. While the cakes are still in the cake pans, use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes at 1/2-inch intervals in the cake layers. Spoon the syrup over each layer, allowing the syrup to be completely absorbed before adding the remainder. Let the layers cool completely in the pans.

The filling. Heat the marmalade in a small saucepan over medium heat until just melted. Let cool for 5 minutes.

The frosting. In a chilled mixing bowl, using the wire whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream with the 4 tablespoons sugar until stiff peaks form. Add the sour cream, a little at a time, and whisk until the mixture is a spreadable consistency.

To assemble the cake. Invert one of the cake layers on a cake plate and carefully peel off the parchment. Spread one-third of the marmalade over the top, smoothing it into an even layer. Invert the second layer on top of the first, peel off the parchment, and spoon another third of the marmalade on top. Place the third cake layer on top, remove the parchment, and spoon the remaining marmalade onto the center of it, leaving a 1 1/4-inch border around the edges. Frost the sides and the top border with the frosting, leaving the marmalade on top of the cake exposed. Or, if you prefer, frost the entire cake first, adding the marmalade as a garnish on top.

Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.