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