The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow

I've been listening with enjoyment to this album here:
http://grooveshark.com/album/Barton+Hollow/5639788
(You have to copy and paste this link for some reason.)
I'm glad someone keeps up with music: http://benhouseblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/civil-wars-barton-hollow.html
What are y'all listening to?

plus potuit, quia plus amavit

Just finished The Privilege of Being a Woman by Alice von Hildebrand and wanted to dash off a few lines in ref. Perhaps, before we go any further, I should just mention that I am not a member of the Catholic church. There is no need to be Catholic to see eye to eye with this lady on not-a-few issues, her book is inspiring and a pleasure to read. Fairly early on in the proceedings von Hildebrand waggles a finger at the modern school of thought (which carelessly talks of the "emancipation" of women, but really means the "masculinization" of women) and I like to stand by and look smug whenever that's being done. Plus, she does sum it up rather well,

Unwittingly, the feminists acknowledge the superiority of the male sex by wishing to become like men. They foolishly want to alter inequality rather than to achieve truth or justice. (p10)

The fashions of the day are all geared toward destroying women's sensitivity for the dignity of their sex. (p90)

This book is refreshing because she upholds womanhood - not because women are the best or that we are strong in ourselves or because we are simply united in an earthly way - but because God holds up women and has given us many graces and privileges. She also reminds us that motherhood isn't a lowly harangue:

...in the light of redemption (which has given a sublime meaning to suffering), to suffer agony to bring another human being into the world is a premonition of the sufferings of Christ whose blood has redeemed us. (p16)

One day, all human accomplishments will be reduced to a pile of ashes. But every single child to whom a woman has given birth will live forever, for he has been given an immortal soul made to God's image and likeness. In this light, the assertion of de Beauvoir that "woman produces nothing" becomes particularly ludicrous. (p33)

Just as Christ has suffered the agonizing pains of the crucifixion in order to reopen for us the gates of heaven, so the woman has received the costly privilege of suffering so that another child made in God's image and likeness can enter into the world... Chesterton writes, "No one staring at the frightful female privilege, can quite believe in the equality of the sexes..." (p87)

The best part of the book, though, is when she touches on weakness or perceived weakness. This "weakness" includes humility, chastity, modesty, self-sacrifice, and service.

 ...Nietzsche's philosophy in a nutshell - the glorification of strength and the denigration of weakness - has become the shallow core of modern thought and feminist belief. (p23)

...secularistic view is the claim that 'service is degrading'... It is humiliating. (p31)

Modern ideology wages war on the Gospel which teaches humility and that those that lower themselves will be exalted. (p32)

Women are more geared to piety because they have a keener awareness of their weakness. This is their true strength. (p66)

And, of course, von Hildebrand brings forth the most excellent example of Mary the Mother of Jesus. She points us to Mary who was a woman who was not passive, but receptive: "be it done to me according to Thy word".

...women are called upon to imitate Mary's virtues: first and foremost, her radiant humility. (p99)

There were, as with any work, statements I would debate. For example, I would disagree with the authoress on the point she made that Mary's womb was too holy after the birth of Jesus to consummate her marriage with Joseph. But there are many gems in this short (small book, 100 pages) read.

Some other authors she quotes:

...if all knees should bend in front of the Saviour, all heads should bow in front of His mother. (Gueranger)

un peuple vaut ce que valent ses femmes (Vinet)
the value of a people is to be gauged by the value of its women

Where the woman is faithful, no evil can befall. The woman is the root and the man the tree. The tree grows only as high as the root is strong. (Confucius)

The artist who no longer gives God the honor, and instead proclaims only himself, must, by excluding the religious element from culture, practically eliminate also its womanly quality. (Gertrud von le Fort, speaking on modern art)

I hate all talk about the emancipation of women...for once [man] has made her believe that she is entirely in his power, at the mercy of his will, she can be nothing for him except a prey to his whims, whereas as woman, she can be everything for him. (Kierkegaard)

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)

plus potuit, quia plus amavit (Saint Gregory)
having the stronger love, she had the stronger power

random reading

Here, in no order at all, are some blog posts I've enjoyed lately:

http://www.armenianbiblechurch.org/food%20corner/saturation%20love.htm

http://www.stacymakescents.com/food-is-not-your-god

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/five-fats-you-must-have-in-your-kitchen/

http://kateelizabethconner.com/ten-things-i-want-to-tell-teenage-girls/

http://www.pinkpeppers.com/2012/03/26/the-magical-technique-to-raising-wonderful-children/

http://frigatetoutopia.blogspot.com/2012/03/first-impressions-of-2011-jane-eyre.html

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/simcha-fisher/prayers-answered-darn-it/

http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol20no1/rogers.html

http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol28no1/emsley.htm

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2010/03/why-i-homeschool-and-what-my-approach-is/

http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol29no1/fuller.html

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/simcha-fisher/ten-reasons-there-are-no-women-in-hell

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/NA31Dj01.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203370604577265471922759502.html

http://www.growinghomeblog.com/2012/03/why-im-not-cut-out-to-be-homeschool-mom.html

What about you? What blogs/posts have you read lately?

Quotes from 'Joy in the Morning'

I don't say I've got much of a soul, but, such as it is, I'm perfectly satisfied with the little chap. I don't want people fooling about with it. 'Leave it alone,' I say. 'Don't touch it. I like it the way it is.'


He was a massive bloke, and there was something in his appearance that seemed familiar. Then, as I narrowed my gaze and scanned him more closely, memory did its stuff. That beefy frame. . . That pumpkin-shaped head. . .The face that looked like a slab of pink dough. . .It was none other than my old friend, Stilton Cheeswright.


The appointment to which I had alluded was with the barman at the Bollinger. Seldom, if ever, had I felt in such sore need of a restorative. I headed for my destination like a hart streaking towards cooling streams, when heated in the chase, and was speedily in conference with the dispenser of life savers.


The root of the trouble was that she was one of those intellectual girls, steeped to the gills in serious purpose, who are unable to see a male soul without wanting to get behind it and shove.We had scarcely arranged the preliminaries before she was checking up on my reading, giving the bird to 'Blood on the Banisters', which happened to be what I was studying at the moment, and substituting it for a thing called 'Types of Ethical Theory'.


'Was Nobby alone?'
'No, sir. There was a gentleman with her, who spoke as if he were acquainted with you. Miss Hopwood addressed him as Stilton.'
'Big chap?'
'Noticeably well developed, sir.'
'With a head like a pumpkin?'
'Yes, sir. There was a certain resemblance to the vegetable.'

'Northanger Abbey' Quiz Answers

Well, I see that someone out there has done their homework!  Way to go! Pat yourself on the back - you are the only persons brave enough to answer all 18 questions of the quiz (let alone one). Some of the answers in the book may vary a bit, so here they are. (Taken from So You Think You Know Jane Austen?: A Literary Quizbook by John Sutherland & Deirdre Le Faye.)

1) Q. How many children do the Reverend Mr and Mrs Morland have? How many of their Christian names do we know?
A. The Moreland's have 10 children. At the beginning of the narrative Catherine is 17 (18 when she marries). She has 3 older brothers, James (about 22), Richard (about 20), and a third, unnamed (about 18). Sarah ('Sally') is 16. When Catherine returns to Fullerton and the end of the novel we are briefly introduced to the two youngest of the family, George (6) and Harriet (4). There are 3 unnamed boys between Sally and George (we assume they are boys because they are away at school).

2) Q. Where did Henry go to university?
A. Oxford. But he in no way resembles his fellow Oxonian, Thorpe.

3) Q. What are the 'friends of Henry's solitude' at Woodston?
A. 'A large Newfoundland puppy and 2 or 3 terriers'

4) Q. What aspect of Catherine's walk does General Tilney particularly admire?
A. The elasticity, meaning Catherine's gait is springy, lithe, light-footed.

5) Q. What do we know of Henry's complexion and what does this mean?
A. He has 'brown skin, with dark eyes, and rather dark hair'. Fair and pallid complexions were more fashionable. Henry's color suggests an outdoor life. His brother, Captain Fredrick Tilney, has a florid complexion suggestive of a dissipated mode of life which his brother, Henry, avoids.

6) Q.What color dress (as Mrs Allen's needle-sharp eye notes) does Miss Tilney 'always wear'?
A. White. It means the Tilneys have a full compliment of servants. She need not wear clothes more than once before they are laundered. In Mansfield Park, Mrs Norris believes in turning away maids who presume to wear white - that colour is above their station in life.

7) Q. Who says, 'after all the romancers may say, there is no doing without money'?
A. Isabella Thorpe, gold-digger that she is.

8) Q. For what does the General rebuke Fredrick on the day the rest of the family leave Bath?
A. Being late for breakfast.

9) Q. Why, having just arrived at Bath (to arrange accommodations for himself and his father and his sister) does Henry suddenly leave, and what should we deduce from his departure?
A. He returned to Woodston to take a Sunday service, declining to leave it to his curate. His conscientiousness contrasts with that of the two truanting Oxonians.

10) Q. On the trip to Northanger Abbey we are informed that Catherine has a 'new writing desk'. What may we deduce from it?
A. She is dutifully thinking of writing letters, and, needless to say, this is a good quality in Austen's fictional world. Catherine must have bought it with money given her for clothes. Isabella, doubtless, would have not wasted her substance on a writing desk.

11) Q. Why does Catherine not, as she plans, steal out at midnight to investigate the 'mysterious apartments' in which, she is convinced, the General's poor wife is secretly incarcerated?
A. She falls asleep.

12) Q. Why does Jane Austen specifically tell us that Catherine has a 'charming game of play with a litter of puppies just able to roll about' in Henry's stable-yard at Woodston?
A. Catherine is an instinctively affectionate country-bred girl, without any squeamish fears of getting her hands or dress dirty, and Henry observes her kindheartedness.

13) Q. In the company of Henry and Eleanor, General Tilney clearly seems to think that Catherine is the Allens' heiress (basing this on John Thorpe's misinformation). Are Eleanor and Henry similarly deceived as to Catherine's wealth and handsome prospects?
A. Surely not. Eleanor would have noted Catherine's lack of valuable jewels and modest wardrobe.

14) Q. Catherine thinks Isabella is now engages to Captain Tilney and that the Captain will gallop back to his father (as James rushed back to Fullerton) for paternal permission. Henry's guess is that his brother's marrying Isabella is 'not probable'. Has he know this from the first?
A. Yes.

15) Q. Why has Catherine, even before the General's wrathful return, suggested that she should, perhaps, leave?
A. She will be intruding, she says, and intruding on the privileges of a guest. One presumes the Morlands have brought their children up to be well mannered.

16) Q. Why is Henry not at Northanger Abbey when Catherine is summarily banished?
A. It is Sunday and he is taking the service at Woodston.

17) Q. How long is it before Henry appears at Fullerton to propose?
A. Three days. He has taken a whole day to consider his rebellious action. It is a rational decision, he has, of course, his ('very considerable') personal fortune from his mother's 'settlements'.

18) Q. How long do Henry and Catherine have to wait for parental consent?
A. One year.

ginger cake

This has become one of our family's favorites. The fresh ginger makes you wanna slap yo mama! & the cake is so moist. This cake achieves the perfect hue being neither too dark nor too light.

Ginger Cake

ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (You could sub. some olive oil if you wish.)
  
• 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup any combination of the following: brown sugar, honey, +/or molasses
  
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated fresh ginger root (After peeling, I use my food processor to do the grating.)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
• 1 cup milk (I like to use some plain yogurt.)
  
• 2 1/2 cups any combination of the following: all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, ground flax, wheat bran, wheat germ, or whatever you like
  
  
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (decrease some if using salted butter)
  
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar for dusting
  

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan. Mix together the flours, etc., baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar, etc. until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the grated ginger root and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan. 
3. 
   Bake in the preheated oven (If your Bundt pan is dark-coated you may want to place it on a cookie sheet while baking so that the top - which is on the bottom - doesn't over-brown.) for 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar before serving; This makes it feel really pretty.

A Quiz

I am of the opinion that is is time for a quiz. 'You will be quizzed  famously!' (...sorry, John Thorpe there for a minute) Are you up for a contest? Do you have sporting blood in your veins? Answer that question in the affirmative and then answer as many of the below questions as you can, and feel free you use your book.

Yes, this is an open book test. Boy, I am a nice teacher. All of these q. s pertain to Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey which some of you just read, so perhaps it's still fresh? We shall see... The contest will be open for at least a week so everyone has time to put down their most profound and scholarly answers... or whatever you've got.

All of these questions are taken from So You Think You Know Jane Austen?: A Literary Quizbook by John Sutherland & Deirdre Le Faye. And I have it, so I already know all of the answers. Yes, I looked at the back of the book. I'm sorry. Not really.


Questions:

1) How many children do the Reverend Mr and Mrs Morland have? How many of their Christian names do we know?

2) Where did Henry go to university?

3) What are the 'friends of Henry's solitude' at Woodston?

4) What aspect of Catherine's walk does General Tilney particularly admire?

5) What do we know of Henry's complexion and what does this mean?

6) What color dress (as Mrs Allen's needle-sharp eye notes) does Miss Tilney 'always wear'?

7) Who says, 'after all the romancers may say, there is no doing without money'?

8) For what does the General rebuke Fredrick on the day the rest of the family leave Bath?

9) Why, having just arrived at Bath (to arrange accommodations for himself and his father and his sister) does Henry suddenly leave, and what should we deduce from his departure?

10) On the trip to Northanger Abbey we are informed that Catherine has a 'new writing desk'. What may we deduce from it?

11) Why does Catherine not, as she plans, steal out at midnight to investigate the 'mysterious apartments' in which, she is convinced, the General's poor wife is secretly incarcerated?

12) Why does Jane Austen specifically tell us that Catherine has a 'charming game of play with a litter of puppies just able to roll about' in Henry's stable-yard at Woodston?

13) In the company of Henry and Eleanor, General Tilney clearly seems to think that Catherine is the Allens' heiress (basing this on John Thorpe's misinformation). Are Eleanor and Henry similarly deceived as to Catherine's wealth and handsome prospects?

14) Catherine thinks Isabella is now engages to Captain Tilney and that the Captain will gallop back to his father (as James rushed back to Fullerton) for paternal permission. Henry's guess is that his brother's marrying Isabella is 'not probable'. Has he know this from the first?

15) Why has Catherine, even before the General's wrathful return, suggested that she should, perhaps, leave?

16) Why is Henry not at Northanger Abbey when Catherine is summarily banished?

17) How long is it before Henry appears at Fullerton to propose?

18) How long do Henry and Catherine have to wait for parental consent?

John Sutherland & Deirdre Le Faye suggest that if you score over 15, good for you! If you scored over 10 but under 15, skim the novel again. Over 5 but under 10, reread the novel. Under 5, throw the book away and watch TV.

(aerial view of Bath)

Quotes from 'Psmith in the City'

'Me! Dash it all, how old do you think I am? I'm only nineteen,'
'I had suspected as much from the alabaster clearness of your unwrinkled brow.'



'What rot it all is!' went on Mike, sitting down again. 'What's the good of it all? You go and sweat all day at a desk, day after day, for about twopence a year. And when you're about eighty-five, you retire. It isn't living at all. It's simply being a bally vegetable.'



If one looks closely into the actions which are apparently due to sudden impulse, one generally finds that  the sudden impulse was merely the last of a long series of events which led up to the action. Alone, it could not have been powerful enough to effect anything. But, coming after the way has been paved for it, it is irresistible.



Mr Bickersdyke shifted uneasily on his sofa. He glared at the floor. Then he eyed the ceiling as if it were a personal enemy of his...Addressed thus directly, the manager allowed his gaze to wander from the ceiling. He eyed Psmith for a moment like an elderly basilisk, then looked back at the ceiling.



Young Mr Richards was sitting on the sofa, moodily turning the leaves of a photograph album, which contained portraits of Master Edward Waller in geometrically progressing degrees of repulsiveness - here, in frocks, looking like a gargoyle; there, in sailor suit, looking like nothing on earth. The inspection of these was obviously deepening Mr Richards' gloom, but he proceeded doggedly with it.



Comrade Prebble beamed and took the floor. Mike began to realize that, till now, he had never known what boredom meant. There had been moments in his life which had been less interesting than other moments, but nothing to touch this for agony. Comrade Prebble's address streamed on like water rushing over a weir.



'Women,' said Psmith, helping himself to trifle, and speaking with the air of one launched upon his special subject, 'are, one must recollect, like - like - er, well, in fact, just so. Passing on lightly from that conclusion...'



It would have been plain to the most casual observer that Mr Waller was fond and proud of his son. The cashier was a widower, and after five minutes' acquaintance with Edward, Mike felt strongly that Mrs Waller was the lucky one.



They had been audible all the time, very much so, but now they grew in volume. Comrade Wotherspoon was a tall, thin man with side-whiskers and a high voice. He scattered his aitches as a fountain its sprays in a strong wind. He was in earnest.



'Comrad Bristow sneaks off and buys a sort of woolen sunset. I saw the thing unexpectedly. I tell you I was shaken. It is the suddenness of that waistcoat which hits you. It's discouraging, this sort of thing. I try always to think well of my fellow man. As an energetic Socialist, I do my best to see the good that is in him, but it's hard. Comrade Bristow's the most striking argument against the equality of man I've ever come across.'



'You are Agesilaus,' he said. 'I am the petulant Pterodactyl. You, if I may say so, butted in of your own free will, and took me from a happy home, simply in order that you might get me into this place under you, and give me beans. But, curiously enough, the major portion of that vegetable seems to be coming to you.'



I can rough it. We are old campaigners, we Psmiths. Give us a roof, a few comfortable chairs, a sofa or two, half a dozen cushions, and decent meals, and we do not repine.



Mr Waller ordered lunch with the care of one to whom lunch is no slight matter. Few workers in the City do regard lunch as a trivial affair. It is the keynote of their day. It is an oasis in a dessert of ink and ledgers. Conversation in City offices deals, in the morning, with what one is going to have for lunch, and in the afternoon with what one had for lunch.



'It's a nice room,' said the pantomime dame. Which was a black lie. It was not a nice room. It had never been a nice room. And it did not seem at all probable that it ever would be a nice room. But it looked cheap. That was the great thing. Nobody could have the assurance to charge much for a room like that. A land lady with a conscience might even have gone to the length of paying people some small sum by way of compensation to them for sleeping in it.



Psmith's attitude towards the slings and arrows of outrageous Fortune was to regard them with a bland smile, as if they were part of an entertainment got up for his express benefit.



Sunday supper, unless done on a large and informal scale, is probably the most depressing meal in existence. There is a chill discomfort in the round of beef, an icy severity about the open jam tart. The blancmange shivers miserably. Spirituous liquor helps to counteract the influence of these things, and so does exhilarating conversation.

this time of year reminds me of Vienna

Five years ago my husband and I visited Vienna and Hallstatt. Everyone else should too. Hallstatt is backed up to the Austrian Alps and to get to the village you take a boat. Our boat driver bore an uncanny resemblance to Cliff on Cheers.

But we didn't go when it was all summer-ish like in the above picture. The below picture is more like it.

We stayed at the inn below - Gasthof Simony. Our window balcony looked over the water and swans: it was pretty much perfect.

                      And the street view:

I'm ready to go back.

Ann Voskamp's 'One Thousand Gifts' - a review, of sorts

My sisters and I wanted to read a book together, but since half of us live in the North West and half of us live in the South, we used a Google document to keep the conversation going. Of the sisters, R writes in purple, B writes in blue, L writes in green, and E writes in red. The book that was chosen was Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, and here is the conversation that my sisters had no idea I was going to put on the blog. Do you dare read the full thing? It is lengthy, I'll admit...

7/3/11 - So BOOK CLUB!!!! I’m assuming everyone has their book now so we can begin. My thoughts are to start this Google document, and everyone can write their thoughts as we read through it. You can catch up on reading what everyone else wrote when you post your own thoughts.

You are supposed to write down 1,000 gifts before it’s all over with. I thought using the journals mom gave us would be nice - carry it around with you and write as things strike you. Write thoughts about reading here (does not need to be a tome) and post SOME of your 1000 gifts - maybe the best or most interesting ones.

7/7/11 - Chapter One
I could have written this book if I had the talent so a lot of my thoughts from the first chapter reflect the author’s. The author has a candid honesty about struggles in her life and has found the right answers. She talks about keeping the body moving to keep the soul from atrophying. Busyness keeps us from focusing on the hard things, things we don’t want to confront. “How do I fully live when life is full of hurt?” “No, God, we won’t take what you give.”  There are things I don’t have to say. "Like all beliefs, you simply live them." Why does God not give me what I want, need, the desires of my heart? Why is my life not always happy?  He has a secret purpose to fill me with glory. He is making me into His image. Since the fall, our sin has been ingratitude with what God gives. I do not give thanks in ALL things. I wonder why I should give thanks for things that don’t make me happy, things I think need to change. It is a choice to open our hands to freely receive whatever God gives. The choice to not only take His grace offered at the cross, but also to live life filling with His grace everyday. Grace in the hard things.God’s grace is a mystery. I don’t know why things happen, but do I have to? “Maybe you don’t want to change the story, because you don’t know what a different ending holds.” Like the author, I have found myself groping along, famished for more, and I have refused to let the mysteries nourish me. The holes in our life can become places to see, see through to God. “How do I give up resentment for gratitude, gnawing anger for spilling joy? Self-focus for God-communion?”

7/9/11 - Chapter Two

p. 32 - Eucharisteo - he gave thanks - comes from the root word Charis meaning grace. Charis - a gift for which I give thanks.  The author doesn’t start listing gifts until Chapter 3, but I’ve read part of this book before so in Chapter 2, I’ll list my first gift.

1. Sisters

7/9/11 - pp 9-41

At the top of page 15 when she says, 'Doesn't God want me to be happy?', she hits the nail on the head because I think this is a common misconception. Now, Joy can be yours, but the sooner we stop trying to make ourselves happy the better- only then can we seek God's Joy.

She has so much fear and there's nothing she can do with it. One must give it to God, it's the only way to live. This book can only get more cheerful; it's started out so mournful.

Struck w/ the thought that B. will cringe at all the sentence fragments in the book.

Was thinking that I didn’t understand these poetic types writin’! :-)

So she touches on the joy concept... (Questioning whether I do nonfiction....except of course Boethius, and for someone more modern, perhaps Sarah Baxter Emsley. Thinking I need to get R and her kids back on fiction.) Perhaps I will try the style of the author:

Today.

I wake.

Am tired.

Pot of coffee.

And another.

And another.

Full bladder.

This is how I would try to write after 3 beers. (That is a joke, btw.:)) I like what she writes at very top of page 39, that the whole life is possible when we are thankful. Thinks she must have hidden depths to be quoting Schmemann. Page 40 is also a gem.

I should never try to write a book review.

7/13/11 - pp. 36-54

Jesus gives thanks the night He was betrayed. I’ve been pondering what to give thanks for. I don’t think you have to give thanks for bad things or evil in the world. Hitting closer to home, I’m not thankful for mom’s death. I am thankful for things related to her death (lessons learned, opportunities to share gospel with others, love from family). Should I be thankful for something “bad”? Can I have an attitude of thanksgiving without being thankful for every detail?

p. 37 - I like the analogy of the wheat dying and rising again in the loaf of communion bread.

One habit must be replaced by another habit. It’s not good enough to just will to stop being discontent. You must cultivate thankfulness to drive it out.  Turning our focus to the good, pure, beautiful...gifts I’m thankful for...

2. hot showers

3. deep sleep on a comfy bed

4. long talks with friends

5. Coffee - need I say more?...

6. ...Yes, I do - Chocolate :-)

I like your poetry? haiku? How’s the ol’ bladder today? Bring on the beer...

Chapter 1&2 (pages 1-41)

First of all, thank you R for the book, the idea, and the opportunity. I love this during the summer and at this season in my life. Tonight (Wed.) I heard the testimony of Linda. The end was where she is now and what God is teaching her with her daughter having a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. She said 3 things she has learned, 1. to thank Him, 2. to trust, and 3. to praise. My small study group after the main group includes Linda and her daughter and it has been such a blessing for me these past few weeks. They are a living example of what this book is teaching. Now to the book...The middle of page 12 says, “We live with our hands clenched tight.” I’ve always liked the analogy of clenched fists being unable to receive (or see) God’s blessings. The bottom of page 13 says, “Like all beliefs, you simply live them.” What a great reminder. My view of God, of my circumstances, of my reaction to hardships and trials will be evident in how I live my life. Do I want it to be one of clenched fists or one of thankfulness, trust, and praise?

Page 14 - “That forked tongue darts and daily I live the doubt.” and page 15 talks about the sin of ingratitude. It’s so easy to look and think about what we don’t have rather than give thanks for what we do have. I do want an easy life, but I have one of the most blessed lives on earth! Instead of letting my blood pressure get awry when yet another piece of the interior of my van falls off, down, or stops working, I can thank God that I do have a vehicle to drive and that it has A/C in 103 degree weather! The list goes on. I cast sidelong glances when things aren’t easy for me.

Trust - page 17, 1 Cor. 2:7. His purpose in all that takes place in our lives is to mold us, shape us, bring us to our full glory, even the hardest trials. Amazing. Us writing the story would be a disaster (p. 21). We don’t know His purpose but we do have His promise, so we can fully trust His plan.

Seeing God - page 22 When our souls are torn open, we can react in such a way that opens our sight of God, of His heart-aching beauty and grow. We can wither and close our eyes or grow seeing God clearer than ever.

How do we live fully so we are fully ready to die? (p.29) See the wonder all around us. (Reminded me of Nate’s Tilt-a-Whirl book and DVD which I loved R,Thank you!) The goal is JOY (p. 32). Give thanks in everything. “Eucharisteo-thanksgiving-always precedes the miracle.” Thanksgiving allows us to see. (Ps.50:23 - page 39.) Seeing leads to living fully so that we are fully ready to die.

finished!

Painting the piano was a fun project, and it's always nice to get through a task without any mishaps; I once tried to dip my paintbrush in my coffee cup, but that's just me attempting to multitask. Something that immediately struck me is that my piano now looks smaller! Weird, but I like that. Also, I've never admired my piano's legs before now (was that awkward?).

Having never used glaze, I was apprehensive. Something I learned along the way is, you need way, way less than you think. I used about 1/4 - 1/2 cup for the whole piano, so a quart will be plenty for several projects. I used 3 parts glaze to 1 part paint (about). Another handy tip: work in a small area - you will have better control over the look you want. I just brushed on with one hand, and wiped it off with the other (it dries quickly) - pretty simple.

After getting the black glaze on, I liked how it toned down the bright blue, but now I felt like I needed something to tone down the black glaze! Do I have an obsessive problem? I applied a mixture of cream paint, grey paint, and glaze and, voila!, I've toned down the black. But now I felt I needed to blend the whole look a bit (I do have a problem), so I made Aquarium-tinted glaze and did a light application on the large areas only. All of this sounds like a lot of work, but it's not. I used disposable cups to blend glaze and paint, and you use so little, and it dries so quickly that it doesn't take much time. It's easier to deal with than paint. I really do love how it turned out!

I like the end result best, but my stinky camera just doesn't do it justice! My 4 year old tells me "it looks soft and grand".

Thanks for holding my hand along the way! What are your thoughts on how it has turned out?

I'm feeling inspired to start another project....Are you up for it? This proposed project will cost me nothing. That's the type that really appeals to me.

Here's the cost break down, if you're nerdy:
Kilz: $17
Aquarium Paint: $55
wooden scroll: $7
faux glaze: $15
favorite painting jeans: priceless (cheesy, I know)

(First post on the subj. HERE , second post HERE, third post HERE, and you're on the fourth.)

glaze?

I tallied the vote and Aquarium won first place with Surfer and Biscay in second.

I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed in the accuracy of my paint swatch which shows a smidgen more grey than the paint in reality possesses thus rendering the color a bit louder than I had anticipated. But we press on. My bff assures me that it looks great so I'm going with that.

I wood glued on a little scroll woodwork to the center that I bought at Lowe's for $7, and I am quite happy about it. Lit~Lass's comment about her piano's embellishments had me wishing for something of the sort but, come on, I can't draw anything, so I went with this instead and am pleased with the result.

The votes were evenly cast on whether to do the black-tinted glaze or to not do the black-tinted glaze, so I'm showing you the picture of the state of the piano as it is now, after 3 coats of Aquarium (semi-gloss Acrylic Latex), in its pre-glaze attire. (I thought about showing what it looked like wearing only the Kilz primer, but it was a bit immodest.)

Wait...one more thing. My camera stinks. The color you see below isn't as accurate as I would like. The real color is something between Aquarium and Synergy.

This is really not a great picture, but here ya go:

So, is everyone sticking with their former opinion on the glaze? I'm inclined toward it as the color is a bit brighter than the swatch I had to go on, but what do you say?

Read the previous post HERE.

blue it is

This is a continuation of this post. I got quite a few opinions (thanks everybody!) via emails and fb comments, as well as some comments here, and BLUE has won hands down! Also, the trim being a different color was met with boos and hisses. So, now comes the nerve-racking time of choosing just the right shade, which I, of course, will rely on you to tell me what in the world that is. So here's the first one, Biscay:

Nice, isn't it? And here's the second one, Aquarium:

And the third, Nifty Turquoise:

Or four, Surfer:

Or am I going all wrong? And for my next question: should I paint it and just let that be it, or should I do a black glaze over the blue like in the pictures below?

http://europaintfinishes.blogspot.com/2010/07/turquoiseteal-cream-bedroom-set.html

http://www.faceliftfurniture.com/2011/09/turquoise-black-glazed-dresserflat.html

paint the piano?

Okay, folks, so I'm thinking of painting my piano. What at first sounded like a crazy idea is now sounding rather snazzy. So here is a picture of what my piano looks like now:

Notice the color of the room as this plays into the whole decor thing, and vote for your favorite color/picture or suggest something all your own. I need help!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

And this is just a great picture:

I've also played with the idea of doing the trim in a contrasting color. Good idea? Bad idea? (The post is continued here.)

'A Jane Austen Education' book

 

A Jane Austen Education (how six novels taught me about love, friendship, and the things that really matter) by William Dereciewicz, while not necessarily a cheerful book in and of itself, gives me hope for the post-moderns. Dereciewicz, a book critic and former associate professor at Yale, professes in his new book that of Jane Austen's six novels Mansfield Park and Sense & Sensibility were the hardest for him to swallow; this is by no means surprising as these specifically focus on social virtue which is completely foreign to the post-modern mind. Things like inner-knowledge and self-awareness - which both Fanny and Elinor practice - is elusive for most of us. In her book, Jane Austen's Philosophy of the Virtues, Emsley suggests that Fanny does not only consider what is best for herself, but what is best universally. "Part of Fanny's wisdom involves not just the strength of her own mind and the rightness of her own judgment but also the ways in which she thinks in the context of tradition and authority..." Tradition and authority....hmmmm....these grate on the modern ear as well, but I was encouraged by Dereciewicz's allowing Jane Austen to teach him, and through his book, me. He resembled many who have made so many assumptions about Austen that are based on the movie adaptations at best (or would that be worst?), but as he reads her books his assumptions melt away to be replaced by revelations about himself. He states, 

I was used to thinking about growing up in terms of going to school and getting a job...If I had been asked to consider what kinds of personal qualities it might involve -- which I doubt I ever was -- I would have spoken of things like self-confidence and self-esteem. As for anything like character conduct, who even used such words anymore? (p.51)

This book is by and large autobiographical. Yes, it is about Jane Austen, but it is more about Deresiewicz and how he was changed by reading her books. If read as an autobiography his book is rewarding. If read as a definitive work on Austen...not so much. I enjoyed traveling along with him through Austen's books, learning along with him, being reminded of why they are important to life. But I can't help but know that there is still a piece of the puzzle missing for him. The 'why' of it all. Why do we care? Why do we need to practice the social virtues? God is the implicit missing link in this chain of social virtue - it is the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, & Love which provide the soil for the classical virtues (Prudence, Justice, Wisdom, etc.) and the social virtues which then arise from them both. I still felt that he was missing these key things, although it is absolutely encouraging to see an iron-clad post-modern mind willing to really listen to Austen's works and let it speak to them, rather than re-interpreting her to fit their ideology. Even a modern mindset is no proof of invulnerability against the art & the thought of Austen - what an encouraging thought.

However, there is a great deal more to say, and much farther to go. When, for example, he tells us that Henry was trying to show Catherine how absurd the social conventions of her day were (p.88), or when he tells us that Anne's "family simply didn't matter to her anymore" (p.183), he is translating her books with a post-modern eye; misrepresenting Austen's essential elements. Austen's practicing of the virtues is not to avoid pain or increase pleasure (i.e. to be 'happy'), but rather the change of self which involves wisdom and leads to true and lasting joy. He writes, however, that Emma changed his whole way of thinking about life. "I still loved modernism, I just no longer believed it was the only way to make art, and I certainly didn't think it was the way to live." (p.34) The fact that he was willing to be changed by Austen gives me hope that the virtues of which she wrote will someday find a way into his soul.

Quotes from 'The Inimitable Jeeves'

You always were a fat-headed worm without any soul, weren't you?


Young Bingo dived in like a homing rabbit.


He smirked in the most gruesome manner.


The old lemon is slightly clouded.


The good old persp. was bedewing my forehead by this time in a pretty lavish manner. I don't know when I've been so rattled.


I was feeling about as cheerio as possible under the circs.


He was one of those supercilious striplings, who give you the impression that you went to the wrong school and that your clothes don't fit.


She had a penetrating sort of laugh. Rather like a train going into a tunnel.


I flung open the door. I got a momentary flash of about a hundred and fifteen cats of all sizes and colours scrapping in the middle of the room, and then they all shot past me with a rush and out of the front door; and all that was left of the mob scene was the head of a whacking big fish, lying on the carpet and staring up at me in a rather austere sort of way, as if it wanted a written explanation and apology.

A roll and butter and a small coffee seemed the only things on the list that hadn't been specially prepared by the nastier-minded members of the Borgia family for people they had a particular grudge against, so I chose them.


He chuckled like the last bit of water going down the waste-pipe in a bath.

(Don't you wish you could include some of these one-liners in your everyday conversation?)

Christmas songs, of course!

I am sure that you all would be much deprived if I didn't re-post two of my best-loved Christmas songs:

• O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

• In the Bleak Mid-Winter

Enjoy!

happy Advent!

Luini, Bernardino
Le sommeil de l'enfant Jesus - the sleep of the Child Jesus
Louvre, Departement des Peintures, Paris, France

happy Advent!

The Virgin and Child Embracing, Francesco de' Rossi (Sassoferrato)

from 'Sleep and Poetry'

This is a favorite excerpt from the poem Sleep and Poetry by John Keats. These lines inspire me out of everyday doldrums to see life accurately - with all the magic it possesses.

But off Despondence! miserable bane!
They should now know thee, who athirst to gain
A noble end, are thirsty every hour.
What though I am not wealthy in the dower
Of spanning wisdom; though I do not know
The shiftings of the mighty winds that blow
Hither and thither all the changing thoughts
Of man: though no great minist'ring reason sorts
Out the dark mysteries of human souls
To clear conceiving: yet there ever rolls
A vast idea before me, and I glean
Therefrom my liberty; thence too I've seen
The end and aim of Poesy.
~John Keats