So this year I was supposed to hold the extended family Christmas party. I haven't done this in several years. I used to do it regularly and it meant that I would thoroughly clean and declutter my house from Thanksgiving to the Sunday before Christmas. Then for a while there, I would hire my oldest daughter, Hannah and her friend Katie to organize and declutter for the summer. Even with all this, I still had stashes in areas of the house that were terrible, but it kept things going with a surface impression of being fairly organized. Well, the family party moved to my sister Ronnie's house for a couple of years and then to my nephew's house for the last three years (maybe 4).
Anyway, I was gearing up to do a heavy, get-the-junk-out declutter project, but things kept getting delayed because of poor Steve. So the party was moved from Dec. 21st to Jan. 4th. Therefore I have been trying to get things under control but I tell you, it is dreadful! Absolutely horrid. Just the sheer amount of school stuff built up over the last 7 years or so plus all the Aquinas Learning debris. . . . plus we've still got dregs of aunt Jackie stuff, lots of Peter and Hannah stuff and then just stuff-stuff that I and I alone am responsible for. And then there's Rick. I swear we must have hundreds of electronic debris - all kinds of cables and wires and doohickeys. It is truly frightening!
So I did get rid of a few bags of old clothes for the Thanksgiving clothing drive at Church.
I got a couple of big boxes of books that I gave away to the book donation bin.
Neither of the above looked like much had been accomplished though. At all.
I gathered all papers and mail, etc and dumped them in a big box which Rick went through. But somehow I still have several places that have stacks of paper still to go through. . . .
And this is just the main floor!
I gave away two boxes of toys/school supplies back before Thanksgiving.
I cleaned through the basement and got rid of tons of junk. But it still needs going through and there is still tons of stuff to be sorted. It's like I just did the top layer and I need to do a couple more layers of clutter before I truly have accomplished anything. And this isn't even getting to the storage area or the stage/closet!!!!
It is really hard not to lose heart.
But I will not give up!
Today is New Year's Eve. I have cleaned a good amount of the study. Including cleaning up cat messes that must have been under the desk but out of sight for at least a year. Let me tell you how fun that was! And I still don't know what to do with various computer junk and some papers but maybe Rick will go through that tonight while we are trying to keep our eyes open until midnight.
I did clean out the laundry/mud room. Our dryer died, so we are getting a new one on Friday. We've already had this repaired for the same problem before so Rick thinks it is worth it to just get a new one. So I did clean out a huge pile of clothes, etc. I mean we are talking about 8 of those big green trash bags worth of stuff. And I still need to go through old shoes, boots and roller blades. I have two bags of clothes in the back of my van that I need to drop at a donation site. Then I have another big bag to wash and then sort to either give away or keep. I have dozens of mismatched gloves/mitten and scores of mismatched socks. It really is unbelievable to me!
But still, now you can walk through the laundry room!
I have recently cleaned out my pantries and I am trying to keep up on keeping my fridge clean. I do need to desperately clean out both freezers.
New Year's Day - I am going to keep chipping away to making the main level clean and suitable for the party.
Friday - Honeybaked ham, grocery run for table clothes, plates, plastic utensils, napkins, apple cider, ice. Need to rent tables and chairs. Start to deal with messy areas in basement. Get new dryer!!!
Saturday - Finish cleaning basement. Set up tables and chairs. Get last minute stuff ready.
Sunday - mass, breakfast, party!!!!! Then collapse. And then Monday morning hit the new day running with the math tutor coming at 9:00 a.m.
Anyway, I plan to try to do 15 minutes of decluttering a day. I am taking the 365 Declutter challenge on facebook. I feel like since I am frontloading a lot of decluttering now, I will feel like decluttering 15 minutes a day will actually accomplish something. It didn't get this bad overnight so I should realize that it will not be fixed overnight or even in 1 month. Also, we still have junk coming into the house! So I need to monitor that and deal with it accordingly.
Anyway, happy new year! It feels tough now, but I really think I can see a tiny, tiny light at the end of the tunnel!
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
No Wind of Blame - Book 54
Gee, I guess I shouldn't have made that statement about Sylvester being my last Georgette Heyer book of 2014. I didn't realize how much I'd like her mysteries and how much quicker they are for me to read. I just seem to blaze right through them!
No Wind of Blame is the first Inspector Hemingway mystery. I think I have figured out Heyer's modus operandi. She spends the first quarter of the book developing the scenario and introducing all the characters who will be suspects. We see the murder happen. We see the local police try to take on the case only to decide that Scotland Yard must be called. Then enters Inspector Hemingway and his sergeant Yates. And somehow they turn up some surprising twist by realizing the very important significance of a clue otherwise overlooked.
I enjoyed all the characters, the humor, the little romance going on, but I have to say the technical aspects were rather lost on me. Of course I was sleepy and kept nodding off over that part!
But all in all, a very enjoyable quick mystery read, no sex, no grittiness or edginess or what=have=you Just a good ole whodunit.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
No Wind of Blame is the first Inspector Hemingway mystery. I think I have figured out Heyer's modus operandi. She spends the first quarter of the book developing the scenario and introducing all the characters who will be suspects. We see the murder happen. We see the local police try to take on the case only to decide that Scotland Yard must be called. Then enters Inspector Hemingway and his sergeant Yates. And somehow they turn up some surprising twist by realizing the very important significance of a clue otherwise overlooked.
I enjoyed all the characters, the humor, the little romance going on, but I have to say the technical aspects were rather lost on me. Of course I was sleepy and kept nodding off over that part!
But all in all, a very enjoyable quick mystery read, no sex, no grittiness or edginess or what=have=you Just a good ole whodunit.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Envious Casca - Book 53
Never mind that the last book is numbered 51! I miscounted and have two 37s. Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer is a 1930s detective novel featuring her sleuth Inspector Hemingway.
Of course being a British mystery it revolves around a family gathering at their estate for Christmas. The cast of characters: Uncle Nat is the landowner, Uncle Joe is the jovial host of the party, Aunt Maud, Joe's wife, is mysteriously placid and passive, the nephew, Stephen, is rude and uncompromising and brings along his fiancee Valerie, the pretty and obvious gold-digger. Then there's the niece Paula, loud, angry and obsessed with her acting career, with her friend Roydon, the playwright wannabe. They want uncle Nat to back their play but he's too much of a curmudgeon to do so without a nasty confrontation. Then there's the arctic-mannered butler who disdains everything and everybody, and the valet who is fairly new and awfully nervous. We also have a distant cousin Matilda, who everyone seems to get along with. We see much of the family through her eyes when we aren't seeing things through the eyes of Inspector Hemingway or the local policeman.
So who would want to knock off mean old Uncle Nathaniel? And how did they do it when the room was locked and there was no way in?
This story is in a very different style from Heyer's Regency romances. I found it highly engrossing, well written and paced. I look forward to reading more Inspector Hemingway books. Two thumbs up!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Of course being a British mystery it revolves around a family gathering at their estate for Christmas. The cast of characters: Uncle Nat is the landowner, Uncle Joe is the jovial host of the party, Aunt Maud, Joe's wife, is mysteriously placid and passive, the nephew, Stephen, is rude and uncompromising and brings along his fiancee Valerie, the pretty and obvious gold-digger. Then there's the niece Paula, loud, angry and obsessed with her acting career, with her friend Roydon, the playwright wannabe. They want uncle Nat to back their play but he's too much of a curmudgeon to do so without a nasty confrontation. Then there's the arctic-mannered butler who disdains everything and everybody, and the valet who is fairly new and awfully nervous. We also have a distant cousin Matilda, who everyone seems to get along with. We see much of the family through her eyes when we aren't seeing things through the eyes of Inspector Hemingway or the local policeman.
So who would want to knock off mean old Uncle Nathaniel? And how did they do it when the room was locked and there was no way in?
This story is in a very different style from Heyer's Regency romances. I found it highly engrossing, well written and paced. I look forward to reading more Inspector Hemingway books. Two thumbs up!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Sylvester - Book 51
This is my last Georgette Heyer of 2014! Sylvester is another great read. It really reminded me of Pride and Prejudice a lot, since it is based on the heroine's first impression of Sylvester, the Duke of Salford. Phoebe did not get a marriage match her first season out in London. She isn't beautiful and not good at social niceties. Instead she went home and wrote a novel based on the various characters she met in London. And she based the villain of the novel on the character of Sylvester, never knowing that 1) the novel would actually get published and become an instant best seller and 2) the Duke of Salford would actually think about proposing marriage to her!
All kind of scrapes and hilarious situations happen much to the undoing of the arrogant duke. We meet a wonderful cast of characters including the duke's mama, Miss Battery who is Phoebe's governess, Phoebe's childhood friend Tom, Lady Ianthe, Sir Nugent Fotherby, and six year old Edmund, Sylvester's nephew, along with some spirited servants who add to the laughs. It is a rollicking good time, very wittily written, with lots of laugh out loud moments and of course a sweet but understated romantic ending. Thoroughly enjoyable!
NB: With this book, I have actually completed my 52 books this year. My numbering is off though because I forgot to include Surprised by Joy so I actually have two books that are numbered 37! What can I say. I can't count!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
All kind of scrapes and hilarious situations happen much to the undoing of the arrogant duke. We meet a wonderful cast of characters including the duke's mama, Miss Battery who is Phoebe's governess, Phoebe's childhood friend Tom, Lady Ianthe, Sir Nugent Fotherby, and six year old Edmund, Sylvester's nephew, along with some spirited servants who add to the laughs. It is a rollicking good time, very wittily written, with lots of laugh out loud moments and of course a sweet but understated romantic ending. Thoroughly enjoyable!
NB: With this book, I have actually completed my 52 books this year. My numbering is off though because I forgot to include Surprised by Joy so I actually have two books that are numbered 37! What can I say. I can't count!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Strange Gods - Book 50
Read this book!
I read this book in a rush. I am now going back and rereading some chapters more slowly, so I can take in their wisdom more carefully. I already commented on how absolutely perfect it was in delivering a message I needed to hear right at that moment. It now actually has me contemplating changing my life in a radical way (well, a small radical way).
Strange Gods; Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life by Elizabeth Scalia is not a long book but it is a profoundly wise one that speaks to our American modern situation, with its temptations and illusory attempts at control in a very forthright and humane manner. I am so very grateful to the author for her honesty, clarity and compassion. It is a wake up call for me. It is also a dose of good medicine that I hope will begin some healing changes in my life.
I recognized myself and my world in every line of this book. I really thank God for putting this book in hands.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I read this book in a rush. I am now going back and rereading some chapters more slowly, so I can take in their wisdom more carefully. I already commented on how absolutely perfect it was in delivering a message I needed to hear right at that moment. It now actually has me contemplating changing my life in a radical way (well, a small radical way).
Strange Gods; Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life by Elizabeth Scalia is not a long book but it is a profoundly wise one that speaks to our American modern situation, with its temptations and illusory attempts at control in a very forthright and humane manner. I am so very grateful to the author for her honesty, clarity and compassion. It is a wake up call for me. It is also a dose of good medicine that I hope will begin some healing changes in my life.
I recognized myself and my world in every line of this book. I really thank God for putting this book in hands.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, December 5, 2014
I am not usually like this
I don't usually see God working directly in my life. I tend to be more abstract and theoretical. I think this makes me feel spiritually dry a lot of times. Anyway, it has been a humbling sort of week for me in several little ways that all combined together to make it upsetting. So last night I was trying to find something to read and feeling restless and unhappy. Sitting on my bedside table for about a year now, unread, was Strange Gods, a book by Elizabeth Scalia. I had bought it on impulse and then decided it wasn't really appealing. But for some reason last night I picked it up, blew the dust off it and started reading. And it was like she was talking directly to me. It was so clear and on point that I started laughing. So I just want to thank Jesus for being there when I really needed him (in my small, First World way) via Scalia's penetrating honesty and good common sense.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Mama Makes Up Her Mind - Book 49
Do you remember Bailey White? She used to be on NPR back in the 1990s. Maybe she still is. I haven't seriously listened to NPR in a long time, but anyway she used to tell stories about her eccentric Mama and life in the the South. (I think I stopped listening when the Clinton-Lewinsky thing was going on and I had young children I didn't really want listening to the news.) Anyway, I found the stories really enjoyable. White has a lovely southern drawl and she told or read the stories well. Mama Makes Up Her Mind and Other Dangers of Southern Living is a collection of stories about Mama and other things. I found this book in a used bookstore in Yorktown, VA while Rick and I were off for our weekend away.
I shouldn't have read this book in such close proximity to the other collection of stories I've read recently, though. These really paled by comparison. I'll grant that they are in a completely different style. The stories by J. Mulrooney were each separate works of fiction, finely tuned and deeply philosophical. Mama Makes Up Her Mind are rather rambling tales about Bailey's Mama and the other eccentric, quirky southerners (including herself) that add flavor to her quiet country life. The stories are funny, sometimes laugh out loud funny, but there is nothing much under the surface here. Just light, charming reminisces.
The stories started out well but I found the book really lagged in the middle. There just didn't seem to quite enough material to be a full book length. I found my inner writing teacher coming out. I kept having flashbacks to when I taught writing last year. I wanted to write in the margin next to several of the final paragraphs, "weak wrap up' or 'conclusion is stilted and rushed.' White is just recounting that one time when cousin so and so did that crazy thing.......and there isn't a conclusion to draw so she just kind of ends them awkwardly.
But then towards the end of the book, the stories picked up. I especially loved her stories about teaching first graders. I loved the story of visiting her favorite used bookstore! And she mentions a writer I had never heard of before, Lafcadio Hearn!
Anyway, this book was a fun, light read. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I shouldn't have read this book in such close proximity to the other collection of stories I've read recently, though. These really paled by comparison. I'll grant that they are in a completely different style. The stories by J. Mulrooney were each separate works of fiction, finely tuned and deeply philosophical. Mama Makes Up Her Mind are rather rambling tales about Bailey's Mama and the other eccentric, quirky southerners (including herself) that add flavor to her quiet country life. The stories are funny, sometimes laugh out loud funny, but there is nothing much under the surface here. Just light, charming reminisces.
The stories started out well but I found the book really lagged in the middle. There just didn't seem to quite enough material to be a full book length. I found my inner writing teacher coming out. I kept having flashbacks to when I taught writing last year. I wanted to write in the margin next to several of the final paragraphs, "weak wrap up' or 'conclusion is stilted and rushed.' White is just recounting that one time when cousin so and so did that crazy thing.......and there isn't a conclusion to draw so she just kind of ends them awkwardly.
But then towards the end of the book, the stories picked up. I especially loved her stories about teaching first graders. I loved the story of visiting her favorite used bookstore! And she mentions a writer I had never heard of before, Lafcadio Hearn!
Anyway, this book was a fun, light read. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Thanksgiving 2014
Thanksgiving this year is weird. Since Grandad's lady friend, Peggy had two recent deaths in her family, she really wanted to spend Thanksgiving with her kin (she's from Georgia so I can say 'kin!'). So we agreed to have the extended family Thanksgiving on Saturday.
Will came home on Wed. First he was going to take a bus all the way from Boston but the weather promised to be very bad all up and down the east coast, so instead Rick somehow got him a plane flight. He got home around one. The snow was pretty but it pretty much melted within 24 hours. Thanksgiving day was nice. Will and I made it to mass and I not only remembered to bring the canned goods to drop off but I also remembered to bring some change collected in an old jar to put in the poor box. Will saw a lot of old friends from CLC. It was a nice mass.
Hannah cooked the whole Thanksgiving dinner with help from Becky. We had stuffed roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, fruit salad and caesar salad. I actually attempted to make homemade cranberry sauce but it hadn't set by the time we were ready to eat. We didn't have dessert because we are all on diets. We had Eileen over, which was nice. I love that my kids and husband are so solicitous to her. Then Hannah, Peter, Will, Josh, Sean and Becky all sat around and played games. I think they played Resistance and the Boggle. Rick played some too, but I sat and sipped decaf tea and watched the Trouble with Angels with Haley Mills.
The pall that is cast over this Thanksgiving is that Steve is so sick. He has been in ICU for two weeks. He only has 20% kidney function and he is in Stage D heart failure. Rick was reading about it today and the article said: 50% of people in Stage D heart failure die within a year. Does that mean the ones that don't die sooner? Or do the other 50% recover? We couldn't tell but it seemed that they meant the former not the latter. So we are having the extended family dinner tomorrow except no Jackie and no Steve. Rick got up early on Thanksgiving morning and drove over to visit Steve for a little while. Seems he is mostly just sleeping. He is on a lot of antibiotics and painkillers. The infection in his leg (which started this whole thing) gives him a lot of pain.
So anyway, I made turkey broth from yesterday's turkey. I plan to use it in making the stuffing for tomorrow. We'll have another turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, salad, fruit salad, rolls and pumpkin pie for dessert. And Susan is bringing homemake cookies too.
Will and I went out for tea this afternoon, just to have a little date together. We delivered 4 bags of giveaway clothes for the Thanksgiving Clothing Drive.
I am very thankful for my husband and kids and all my blessings, but I do feel a bit depressed too. I think it is Steve and the Ferguson unrest and the having two Thanksgivings for poor Peggy that has done it.
Rick and I are trying to eat better and exercise more. We got up early on Monday and took turns on the elliptical. But poor Rick is recovering from the nasty cough so many seem to have right now. Poor guy. Today we went for a walk outside but it was cold so we didn't walk as much as we could have. Rick even said to me: if you want to cook healthy food, I'll try to eat it. I think Steve's collapse is scaring him.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Arabella - Book 47 and The Nonesuch - Book 48
I went on a little Georgette Heyer jag, ok? So don't judge me! Sometimes I crave release from the present and Heyer's world of romance and Regency manners is a nice escape.
Arabella is about a a young, shabby genteel daughter of a very conscientious minister. She doesn't have money but she does have looks and so she gets to have a season in London by dint of her mother's tug on better connections. Hopefully she'll snag a nice wealthy husband who will help her younger sisters marry well. Arabella is game. She is excited to go to London and experience new things. Worrying about so many dresses, manners, etc is heady business. While it is a bit diverting, it isn't really in her heart. That heart is an impetuous one who can't stand to see others suffer.
On her way to London to stay with her Godmother, who will sponsor her debut there, the old carriage they've borrowed breaks down. She and her chaperone wind up taking refuge at the closest estate, which just happens to be the 'hunting box' of the most eligible bachelor in England. He thinks the whole thing is a ruse because women are forever trying to ensnare him. Arabella overhears him and on impulse pretends she is very rich. While she is wonderfully spirited, she also is very naive and basically a country bumpkin. She's never been exposed to the lifestyles of the rich and famous before. Beaumaris sees right through her. Beaumaris' friend Lord Fleetwood, who is also there is more gullible, He gossips about the new and beautiful debutante and word naturally gets around that she is wealthy. Arabella has no idea how to persuade people she isn't. She loves all the social events but she has a growing dread that she will be found out. She begins to think she must flee back home and give this marriage thing up as a failure. She's sitting on a bomb waiting to go off!
But what comes to her rescue is Beaumaris' fascination with her. She forgets to to keep up her poised front she shows society, and instead impetuously reacts when she witnesses people cruelly whip their horses, mistreat dogs or enslave chimney sweep apprentices who are small orphaned boys. Her great heart wins over Beaumaris' cynical one.
It was a very satisfying story.
However, I enjoyed The Nonesuch more. I simply liked the two main characters better. They seemed to me very wonderfully developed. I think I read this one a few years ago but couldn't remember it for the life of me. As I read though, I began to recall it more and more. This time it is the male main character, the Nonesuch himself, who is the one concerned with orphans. The love interest Sir Waldo Hawkridge pursues is Ancilla Trent, a mere governess, whose calm intelligence, sense of humor and natural dignity draw him to her like a moth to a flame. But what is really great about this book is the humor, the entertaining characters, the clever dialogue and the perfectly unfolding plot. I heartily enjoyed it. Heyer was at the height of her craft when she wrote this.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Arabella is about a a young, shabby genteel daughter of a very conscientious minister. She doesn't have money but she does have looks and so she gets to have a season in London by dint of her mother's tug on better connections. Hopefully she'll snag a nice wealthy husband who will help her younger sisters marry well. Arabella is game. She is excited to go to London and experience new things. Worrying about so many dresses, manners, etc is heady business. While it is a bit diverting, it isn't really in her heart. That heart is an impetuous one who can't stand to see others suffer.
On her way to London to stay with her Godmother, who will sponsor her debut there, the old carriage they've borrowed breaks down. She and her chaperone wind up taking refuge at the closest estate, which just happens to be the 'hunting box' of the most eligible bachelor in England. He thinks the whole thing is a ruse because women are forever trying to ensnare him. Arabella overhears him and on impulse pretends she is very rich. While she is wonderfully spirited, she also is very naive and basically a country bumpkin. She's never been exposed to the lifestyles of the rich and famous before. Beaumaris sees right through her. Beaumaris' friend Lord Fleetwood, who is also there is more gullible, He gossips about the new and beautiful debutante and word naturally gets around that she is wealthy. Arabella has no idea how to persuade people she isn't. She loves all the social events but she has a growing dread that she will be found out. She begins to think she must flee back home and give this marriage thing up as a failure. She's sitting on a bomb waiting to go off!
But what comes to her rescue is Beaumaris' fascination with her. She forgets to to keep up her poised front she shows society, and instead impetuously reacts when she witnesses people cruelly whip their horses, mistreat dogs or enslave chimney sweep apprentices who are small orphaned boys. Her great heart wins over Beaumaris' cynical one.
It was a very satisfying story.
However, I enjoyed The Nonesuch more. I simply liked the two main characters better. They seemed to me very wonderfully developed. I think I read this one a few years ago but couldn't remember it for the life of me. As I read though, I began to recall it more and more. This time it is the male main character, the Nonesuch himself, who is the one concerned with orphans. The love interest Sir Waldo Hawkridge pursues is Ancilla Trent, a mere governess, whose calm intelligence, sense of humor and natural dignity draw him to her like a moth to a flame. But what is really great about this book is the humor, the entertaining characters, the clever dialogue and the perfectly unfolding plot. I heartily enjoyed it. Heyer was at the height of her craft when she wrote this.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
The Day Immanuel Kant Was Late - Book 46
I haven't read a collection of short stories in a long time. I think the last two collections in the past few years have been an anthology of Father Brown mysteries and Agatha Christie short stories on audio. I forgot how compact and economical a good short story has to be. It has to create a relatable world right away. These stories by J. Mulrooney blew me away, basically. In The Day Immanuel Kant Was Late; Philosophical Fables, Pious Tales, and Other Stories, the author creates vivid immersive worlds, by turns absurd, funny, provocative, grotesque, ironic, wise, gentle and startling, and maybe all that within the same story!
It is hard to review this book because there are so many stories of so many different styles. Every single one of them is memorable in its own way. There isn't one clunker among the bunch! I never knew what direction one would go in and I was amazed at the deftness of Mulrooney's writing. Some of the stories are fanciful in a disturbing way, but the lovely thing was that they never left me despairing. I avoid much of modern writing because I can not stand the existential hopelessness and tawdriness that is so oppressively alway lurking there. Here, the stories were both told gracefully (even when talking about shocking things) and had a sense of grace about them.
Two different stories both had the theme of young, privileged men who use others, especially sexually and haven't got a clue about anything deeper. They go around hurting and causing pain and yet are successful in a worldly way. In fact many of the stories are about sin and how much damage it does. One of the most gripping stories, which I thought was just brilliant, was The Devil's Confession. It's a stand off between a good but very human priest and the devil. Another story recounts how two people lose the person they have come to solely rely on in a mysterious and incomprehensible way and how each one copes. In another, a manipulative reporter manages to do the right thing by a child kidnapped in a custody battle, but only because she still has some very dim memory of what decency is and because her cameraman chances to point it out so bluntly. And the one entitled Michael's Pillow - Oh my God! That one cuts deep. And that's only a small sampling.
I could write an in depth analysis of each story. There is much here to explore. I was amazed by and appreciated each tale. They are worthy of many rereads.
Dappled Things did a review of this book and an interview with the author.
I highly recommend The Day Immanuel Kant Was Late by J. Mulrooney. I plan to pass this on to my 22 year old son, who I know will love them. This book is an early Christmas gift.
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
It is hard to review this book because there are so many stories of so many different styles. Every single one of them is memorable in its own way. There isn't one clunker among the bunch! I never knew what direction one would go in and I was amazed at the deftness of Mulrooney's writing. Some of the stories are fanciful in a disturbing way, but the lovely thing was that they never left me despairing. I avoid much of modern writing because I can not stand the existential hopelessness and tawdriness that is so oppressively alway lurking there. Here, the stories were both told gracefully (even when talking about shocking things) and had a sense of grace about them.
Two different stories both had the theme of young, privileged men who use others, especially sexually and haven't got a clue about anything deeper. They go around hurting and causing pain and yet are successful in a worldly way. In fact many of the stories are about sin and how much damage it does. One of the most gripping stories, which I thought was just brilliant, was The Devil's Confession. It's a stand off between a good but very human priest and the devil. Another story recounts how two people lose the person they have come to solely rely on in a mysterious and incomprehensible way and how each one copes. In another, a manipulative reporter manages to do the right thing by a child kidnapped in a custody battle, but only because she still has some very dim memory of what decency is and because her cameraman chances to point it out so bluntly. And the one entitled Michael's Pillow - Oh my God! That one cuts deep. And that's only a small sampling.
I could write an in depth analysis of each story. There is much here to explore. I was amazed by and appreciated each tale. They are worthy of many rereads.
Dappled Things did a review of this book and an interview with the author.
I highly recommend The Day Immanuel Kant Was Late by J. Mulrooney. I plan to pass this on to my 22 year old son, who I know will love them. This book is an early Christmas gift.
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Advent School 2014
I miss when my kids were younger. We used to change things up for Advent and do things like focus on art and poetry, read a new read aloud and do some activity or activities that reflected the season. We stopped much of any academic work we were doing and just did what seemed right for Advent, which often included shopping, preparing for Christmas, cleaning the house and watching movies.
This year though with one in 10th grade and one in 8th, they both have to muscle through with outside classes during Advent. Well, Becky has math and science with her tutor. Sean has math with the same tutor, Physics class and American Literature class.
But I'd still like to switch things up a little for Advent:
This year though with one in 10th grade and one in 8th, they both have to muscle through with outside classes during Advent. Well, Becky has math and science with her tutor. Sean has math with the same tutor, Physics class and American Literature class.
But I'd still like to switch things up a little for Advent:
- Make the O Antiphons our copy work
- Do my own Jesse tree and include the kids in on it (if they want).
- Read Christmas poetry
- Read The Man Born to be King by Dorothy L. Sayers through Advent and Christmas
- Focus on learning prayers in Latin
- Bake cookies
- Help out with the Giving Tree at church
- Help out the needy in some other way
- Start the new RE dvd program I got for Becky (and for Sean as her sponsor)
- Learn Advent hymns
- Make gifts/shop for gifts
- Deep clean the house - straighten study and basement for Christmas party
- And finally this isn't for Advent but I have been thinking of having an open house brunch type thing for New Years Day. I haven't done anything neighborly for years. Maybe it's time. We are getting new next door neighbors; in fact, I am not even sure if they have moved in or not.
- Almost forgot! I'd like to watch our annual viewing of It's a Wonderful Life, but I'd also like to see Amahl and the Night Visitors and watch the movie Joyeux Noel, though I suppose the movies could be watched during the Christmas season and not necessarily Advent.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
A Climate of Crisis - Book 45
A Climate of Crisis; America in the Age of Environmentalism is by Patrick Allitt, one of my favorite professors from The Great Courses company. He is a professor of American history at Emory University even though he is originally from England. I really like just about everything he does so when I somehow found out he had written a history of the environmental movement in America, I knew I wanted to read it.
The book was like a trip down memory lane for me! As I was growing up the environmental movement was taking off. Allitt actually starts before I was born at the dropping of the atomic bombs when people realized just what radiation poisoning does to the survivors of the actual bomb. From concern about nuclear fall out, other issues involving the environment moved into the limelight. Air and water pollution had become a real and terrible problem. I remember hearing about Love Canal and Three Mile Island and the like as I was becoming more politically aware. I remember when my sister joined the Ecology club in high school and used to have passionate debates with my father over the proposal to build a new highway from DC out to Dulles airport. That must have been back in 1975 or 76. My friends and I were all No Nukes because all the rocks stars we loved were anti-nuke. So I came of age under the influence of very pro-environmental ideas. And I still consider myself an environmentalist. As a Catholic I take seriously our role as stewards of the earth. I like the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Conservation Center. While I am sympathetic to environmental concerns and feel we have a duty to protect the earth, I always thought there were some folks who took it too far. There is an awful lot of the-sky-is-falling emotionalism. And now it has gotten to a weird level where people hate their own species and take very radical and to me often ridiculous views that they want to enforce on others.
I found Allitt's recounting of the developments in environmentalism pretty objective. He states up front that his point of view is that while there certainly have been environmental problems, some of great proportion, American's initiative and political will have dealt very well with them so far. And so he is optimistic that this will continue to happen. He thinks that the freedom in the west - where there is both freedom of ideas and of the marketplace, and a responsive government that allows people to deal with whatever issues arise, is far better equipped to find answers than totalitarian regimes. This is striking when he contrasts what happened in the Soviet Union and what happened in the U.S. environmentally speaking during the same period of time. And I think he gently chides the pro-global warming folks who want to repress those who are skeptical. Again, it is the exchange of ideas in public discourse that creates the political will. You need that messy interchange between people of reasonable but conflicting opinions to get to the heart of the matter and come up with a solution.
In the 1960s and 70s, there was a lot of bipartisan cooperation between conservatives and liberals on the environment. Everybody worked together to clean up rivers and the air. Nobody on either side of the aisle thought it was right to build housing developments on toxic waste dumps! While there were always extremists on either side, most people worked together. However, this changed with Ronald Reagan. Allitt calls Reagan's environmental policy foolish. He, James Watt and Ann Gorsuch really polarized things and the environmental movement has never really recovered from it. This is unfortunate.
Allitt's major thesis is that only countries that have elevated their standard of living through industrialization can actually afford to care about their environment. Once people are no longer starving and have the basic necessities of life and a certain quality of living, can they turn their attention to cleaning up the environment, saving endangered species and worrying about global warming. You have to have money to attend to the environment and if you don't have the money, feeding and educating your people and developing a functional economy is de facto first priority. Allitt says that the environmentalists who want to dial back time, and force people to return to a simpler, lower level economy are going about it all wrong. The countries that are like that simply don't have the wherewithal to deal with environmental crises. On the contrary, in the U.S. we have endangered species like the wolf, for example, making a comeback. We have cleaner air and cleaner water than ever before. We have MORE parks and trees than we had earlier in our history. So he really feels it is reasonable to be optimistic. He advises studying the issues historically to get a better balanced view of how things have played out.
Allitt covers many issues in a systematic and highly readable way. Almost every sentence is footnoted. In my kindle edition, the text takes up 69% of book while footnotes take up the rest! That is a well documented book! I really appreciated Allitt taking so much information and making it comprehensible and even a pleasure to read. If you are a die hard environmentalist who is 100% certain that globe warming is a looming disaster for the world, you might be irritated with Allitt because while he is pretty objective, he is perhaps a bit sympathetic to the skeptics. I found his very reasonable voice and his optimism refreshing. The world is not full of people who care vs. stupid evil people who want to ruin the earth. The world is full of people who see things differently, disagree about the interpretation of scientific studies, have biases, different focuses, etc. Solving environmental issues is necessarily complex, messy, imperfect and always in process, so it can be hard to maintain perspective. For instance, you can get things like the National Audubon Society suing a wind farm. The wind farm is focused on trying to come up with a viable, renewable energy resource; the Audubon society is concerned with saving birds. So conflict happens even within the environmentalist movement, let alone between loggers and those who want to protect spotted owls.
Allitt is more supportive of GMO's than I am. I kept wishing he'd talk about the disappearance of honeybees, but he never did address that. And while he mentions recycling, he doesn't address the problem of plastic pollution which is something I am particularly concerned with. Really, environmental issues are so myriad, it is hard to address everything in this one book, which is really meant to be an historical overview of the movement.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed this book. You can read it here.
If you are interested in recent U.S. political history and especially if you want to read an attempt at an objective presentation on environmental issues, this book will suit your purposes. I thought it was an interesting and informative history, well organized and well told.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
The book was like a trip down memory lane for me! As I was growing up the environmental movement was taking off. Allitt actually starts before I was born at the dropping of the atomic bombs when people realized just what radiation poisoning does to the survivors of the actual bomb. From concern about nuclear fall out, other issues involving the environment moved into the limelight. Air and water pollution had become a real and terrible problem. I remember hearing about Love Canal and Three Mile Island and the like as I was becoming more politically aware. I remember when my sister joined the Ecology club in high school and used to have passionate debates with my father over the proposal to build a new highway from DC out to Dulles airport. That must have been back in 1975 or 76. My friends and I were all No Nukes because all the rocks stars we loved were anti-nuke. So I came of age under the influence of very pro-environmental ideas. And I still consider myself an environmentalist. As a Catholic I take seriously our role as stewards of the earth. I like the St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Conservation Center. While I am sympathetic to environmental concerns and feel we have a duty to protect the earth, I always thought there were some folks who took it too far. There is an awful lot of the-sky-is-falling emotionalism. And now it has gotten to a weird level where people hate their own species and take very radical and to me often ridiculous views that they want to enforce on others.
I found Allitt's recounting of the developments in environmentalism pretty objective. He states up front that his point of view is that while there certainly have been environmental problems, some of great proportion, American's initiative and political will have dealt very well with them so far. And so he is optimistic that this will continue to happen. He thinks that the freedom in the west - where there is both freedom of ideas and of the marketplace, and a responsive government that allows people to deal with whatever issues arise, is far better equipped to find answers than totalitarian regimes. This is striking when he contrasts what happened in the Soviet Union and what happened in the U.S. environmentally speaking during the same period of time. And I think he gently chides the pro-global warming folks who want to repress those who are skeptical. Again, it is the exchange of ideas in public discourse that creates the political will. You need that messy interchange between people of reasonable but conflicting opinions to get to the heart of the matter and come up with a solution.
In the 1960s and 70s, there was a lot of bipartisan cooperation between conservatives and liberals on the environment. Everybody worked together to clean up rivers and the air. Nobody on either side of the aisle thought it was right to build housing developments on toxic waste dumps! While there were always extremists on either side, most people worked together. However, this changed with Ronald Reagan. Allitt calls Reagan's environmental policy foolish. He, James Watt and Ann Gorsuch really polarized things and the environmental movement has never really recovered from it. This is unfortunate.
Allitt's major thesis is that only countries that have elevated their standard of living through industrialization can actually afford to care about their environment. Once people are no longer starving and have the basic necessities of life and a certain quality of living, can they turn their attention to cleaning up the environment, saving endangered species and worrying about global warming. You have to have money to attend to the environment and if you don't have the money, feeding and educating your people and developing a functional economy is de facto first priority. Allitt says that the environmentalists who want to dial back time, and force people to return to a simpler, lower level economy are going about it all wrong. The countries that are like that simply don't have the wherewithal to deal with environmental crises. On the contrary, in the U.S. we have endangered species like the wolf, for example, making a comeback. We have cleaner air and cleaner water than ever before. We have MORE parks and trees than we had earlier in our history. So he really feels it is reasonable to be optimistic. He advises studying the issues historically to get a better balanced view of how things have played out.
Allitt covers many issues in a systematic and highly readable way. Almost every sentence is footnoted. In my kindle edition, the text takes up 69% of book while footnotes take up the rest! That is a well documented book! I really appreciated Allitt taking so much information and making it comprehensible and even a pleasure to read. If you are a die hard environmentalist who is 100% certain that globe warming is a looming disaster for the world, you might be irritated with Allitt because while he is pretty objective, he is perhaps a bit sympathetic to the skeptics. I found his very reasonable voice and his optimism refreshing. The world is not full of people who care vs. stupid evil people who want to ruin the earth. The world is full of people who see things differently, disagree about the interpretation of scientific studies, have biases, different focuses, etc. Solving environmental issues is necessarily complex, messy, imperfect and always in process, so it can be hard to maintain perspective. For instance, you can get things like the National Audubon Society suing a wind farm. The wind farm is focused on trying to come up with a viable, renewable energy resource; the Audubon society is concerned with saving birds. So conflict happens even within the environmentalist movement, let alone between loggers and those who want to protect spotted owls.
Allitt is more supportive of GMO's than I am. I kept wishing he'd talk about the disappearance of honeybees, but he never did address that. And while he mentions recycling, he doesn't address the problem of plastic pollution which is something I am particularly concerned with. Really, environmental issues are so myriad, it is hard to address everything in this one book, which is really meant to be an historical overview of the movement.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed this book. You can read it here.
If you are interested in recent U.S. political history and especially if you want to read an attempt at an objective presentation on environmental issues, this book will suit your purposes. I thought it was an interesting and informative history, well organized and well told.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
A Wizard of Earthsea - Book 44
I never would have chosen this book except that I joined the Wall Street Journal Book Club on Facebook and this was the book they were starting. So I gave it a go. I had a hard time getting started with it and for some reason I had a hard time finishing it, but I would say it is a very good book! I wound up enjoying it and being pleasantly surprised by it. I think Becky would really like it, so I am planning on giving her a copy for Christmas. It is of the coming-of-age, young adult fantasy genre.
Duny is a poor peasant, rather unlikable son of a not very nice bronze-smith in a little village in the medievalesque world of Earthsea. He discovers early on that he has special magical powers. After he saves his village from a Viking-like attack, the word gets around and a kind old Gandalf-like wizard appears to take him and teach him how to be a wizard. Because Duny, now Ged, that's his secret real name (he's also known as Sparrowhawk), is so powerful, Ogion, his mentor sends him off to wizard school (40 years before Hogwarts!) where Ged learns a lot but still is bubbling with a longing for power. He gives into temptation and unleashes a terrible evil. And now he must find it and conquer it even though he doesn't know how.
Duny/Ged/Sparrowhawk slowly grows into the person/wizard he should be through many trials and errors. The story has a lot of suspense and all the themes seem familiar except you don't quite know which way things will turn. The others at the WSJ book club got lots of stuff out of this book and unfortunately because I read it in such a distracted way, I think I would have to go back and reread to really analyze it. But there is a lot more to this book then just a simple fairy tale.
At first Le Guin's writing style seemed stilted and almost claustrophobic to me but as I read I began to appreciate her writing more and more. She really creates a mood and a world. I think if I had read this book in a more immersive way, I wouldn't have gotten so confused by all the strange geographical names (and people names).
I would recommend this book to those interested in fantasy. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Duny is a poor peasant, rather unlikable son of a not very nice bronze-smith in a little village in the medievalesque world of Earthsea. He discovers early on that he has special magical powers. After he saves his village from a Viking-like attack, the word gets around and a kind old Gandalf-like wizard appears to take him and teach him how to be a wizard. Because Duny, now Ged, that's his secret real name (he's also known as Sparrowhawk), is so powerful, Ogion, his mentor sends him off to wizard school (40 years before Hogwarts!) where Ged learns a lot but still is bubbling with a longing for power. He gives into temptation and unleashes a terrible evil. And now he must find it and conquer it even though he doesn't know how.
Duny/Ged/Sparrowhawk slowly grows into the person/wizard he should be through many trials and errors. The story has a lot of suspense and all the themes seem familiar except you don't quite know which way things will turn. The others at the WSJ book club got lots of stuff out of this book and unfortunately because I read it in such a distracted way, I think I would have to go back and reread to really analyze it. But there is a lot more to this book then just a simple fairy tale.
At first Le Guin's writing style seemed stilted and almost claustrophobic to me but as I read I began to appreciate her writing more and more. She really creates a mood and a world. I think if I had read this book in a more immersive way, I wouldn't have gotten so confused by all the strange geographical names (and people names).
I would recommend this book to those interested in fantasy. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Journaling the Day 10/31/14 - Halloween!
Well, once again I slept late. I realize I have not worked on my Latin blog all week. Oh dear. It is because it was something I'd do early in the a.m.
Anyway, got up, fed pets, got coffee, finished journal entry for yesterday, got kids up, prayed, ate cheese and crackers for breakfast, kids did copy work - quote from Churchill speech.
Escaped and finished up last little bit of Wizard of Earthsea - good book! Took quick shower. Math tutor came. Talked about atomic numbers, etc Becky knew more about it than Sean. Hmm. Sean worked on his physics test while B was doing math with tutor.
Read B the rest of Shadows on the Rock while S was with tutor. Yea! So that's two books finished today. Then B wanted to read a Georgette Heyer book so she selected one from my collection. I think she took Frederica.
S got a call from Ben Carson's campaign while he was in with tutor. He may do data entry stuff for them.
On Monday when talking to the tutor, we said that B could get high school credit for the course since it is considered either 8th or 9th grade by Kolbe Academy. So now she is getting really into science because she loves the whole idea of it being high school level. That kind of thing really motivates her. She asked if she could do high school in 3 years and I said yes. She thought that sounded really neat. She keeps her room neat now because we let her put a loveseat in it and now she thinks of it as her 'apartment.'' LOL. Why is it my girls want to grow up so fast but my boys are not like that?
While B was in science, S listened to Walden some more. Lunch was come and get what you want.
I read the chapter from This Country of Ours out loud. The French and the Spanish are fighting it out in Florida. Spanish founder of St. Augustine really had it in for those Huguenots. Not a high moment for Catholicism there.
B started doing my hair, got out her curling iron and we had some nice mother-daughter bonding. Then I took B to her friend's house. Bought Halloween candy on the way home.
Came home, hung out for a bit. Since it was just S and me, we got carry out from Chipotle. We put up all our Halloween lights (ceramic ghosts and little teas light; jack-o-lantern and our cauldron that smokes). S spent a long time trying to find a good movie to watch. We finally decided on Lifeboat by Hitchcock. It was great, but S went off soon after it started. We only got 2 trick or treaters! So depressing. This neighborhood never had a ton of children but now. . . . sad. I'm glad it happened when my kids were too old to really care.
Anyway, got up, fed pets, got coffee, finished journal entry for yesterday, got kids up, prayed, ate cheese and crackers for breakfast, kids did copy work - quote from Churchill speech.
Escaped and finished up last little bit of Wizard of Earthsea - good book! Took quick shower. Math tutor came. Talked about atomic numbers, etc Becky knew more about it than Sean. Hmm. Sean worked on his physics test while B was doing math with tutor.
Read B the rest of Shadows on the Rock while S was with tutor. Yea! So that's two books finished today. Then B wanted to read a Georgette Heyer book so she selected one from my collection. I think she took Frederica.
S got a call from Ben Carson's campaign while he was in with tutor. He may do data entry stuff for them.
On Monday when talking to the tutor, we said that B could get high school credit for the course since it is considered either 8th or 9th grade by Kolbe Academy. So now she is getting really into science because she loves the whole idea of it being high school level. That kind of thing really motivates her. She asked if she could do high school in 3 years and I said yes. She thought that sounded really neat. She keeps her room neat now because we let her put a loveseat in it and now she thinks of it as her 'apartment.'' LOL. Why is it my girls want to grow up so fast but my boys are not like that?
While B was in science, S listened to Walden some more. Lunch was come and get what you want.
I read the chapter from This Country of Ours out loud. The French and the Spanish are fighting it out in Florida. Spanish founder of St. Augustine really had it in for those Huguenots. Not a high moment for Catholicism there.
B started doing my hair, got out her curling iron and we had some nice mother-daughter bonding. Then I took B to her friend's house. Bought Halloween candy on the way home.
Came home, hung out for a bit. Since it was just S and me, we got carry out from Chipotle. We put up all our Halloween lights (ceramic ghosts and little teas light; jack-o-lantern and our cauldron that smokes). S spent a long time trying to find a good movie to watch. We finally decided on Lifeboat by Hitchcock. It was great, but S went off soon after it started. We only got 2 trick or treaters! So depressing. This neighborhood never had a ton of children but now. . . . sad. I'm glad it happened when my kids were too old to really care.
Journaling the Day - Thursday, 10/30/14
I woke up at 7:45. That is late for me but it has been happening more and more lately. I did stay up late last night stupidly being on line and then playing scrabble until my eyes were killing me. So I didn't get to bed until 11:30. And then I was so tired, I couldn't read my book which I had ambitiously wanted to finish. Blah. Then R called at 12:30 to tell me he had safely landed in Portland.
So anyway, got up, fed pets, got coffee, woke kids, said morning prayers, gave them their copy work. B was supposed to come with me to drop S off at his lit class but the washer is acting up and hadn't finished draining. So we had to deal with that and then get her clothes in to the dryer. Not enough time. So I drove S to class and then came back, by which time she was dressed (the class is 30 minutes away).
Chatted with J who had to go out to get black pants to wear to his new job tonight working at Indigo Landing Restaurant. I hope he drives home safely. He won't get out until near midnight.
Anyway, @ 11:15 B and I hopped in the car and went back to pick up S.
Went to mass at St. Tim's at noon. Nice short but good homily. Then we ate lunch at Silver Diner. I had my usual Baja fish tacos. I had the roasted Brussel sprouts. My kids can't believe I think the Brussel sprouts are delicious.
Stopped by Michaels to buy a few Halloween things.
Came home and goofed around for a bit. At some point I took a 15 minute walk. S started listening to Walden. As I walked through the family room, S who can't stand this book, said "Now he's complaining that nobody reads anymore!" This book was written back in the 1830s or something. Nothing new under the sun! B decided to carve the pumpkin today since tomorrow she's spending the afternoon at some friends house and then the night at Stephanie's. So she did that which is always more of a production than you think it will be. Then B and S started working on math homework. The tutor is coming tomorrow because she can't come on Monday. Her kids have a school holiday.
Speaking of school! H got a long term sub job teaching special ed classes at a nearby middle school!
Made omelets for dinner. After dinner took B to rehearsal. I really can't see at night to drive. I was a nervous wreck going and coming. Then instead of sitting and reading my book nicely until it was time to go pick her up again, I watched stupid HGTV. S was immersed in something on the computer. Picked B up at 9:30, drove back home carefully. Said night prayers, meant to go to bed but then B decided she was hungry and started making food, got a weird phone call from the police - it was a robocall asking us to be on the lookout for a 77 year old Asian lady with dementia who had gone missing from her home a couple miles away from us. Poor thing! The temperature is dropping! I hope they find her! Then J came home a bit early so we had to hear all about his training and what life is like in the back of the restaurant. Then went to bed. Read some of my book but fell asleep before I got too far. Darn. I was very slow to warm up to this book but I don't understand why I keep putting off reading it. It is quite good! But it has a lot of foreboding in it. It is weird and scary and I am not into weird and scary books usually. Even if the writing is good. Maybe that is it. Plus my neighbors house is empty, R is gone and there is a 77 yo lady freezing in the dark somewhere in my area. Plus I can't read the news without hearing about somebody getting beheaded. It is the fashionable way to murder people now. The world is giving me the creeps.
So anyway, got up, fed pets, got coffee, woke kids, said morning prayers, gave them their copy work. B was supposed to come with me to drop S off at his lit class but the washer is acting up and hadn't finished draining. So we had to deal with that and then get her clothes in to the dryer. Not enough time. So I drove S to class and then came back, by which time she was dressed (the class is 30 minutes away).
Chatted with J who had to go out to get black pants to wear to his new job tonight working at Indigo Landing Restaurant. I hope he drives home safely. He won't get out until near midnight.
Anyway, @ 11:15 B and I hopped in the car and went back to pick up S.
Went to mass at St. Tim's at noon. Nice short but good homily. Then we ate lunch at Silver Diner. I had my usual Baja fish tacos. I had the roasted Brussel sprouts. My kids can't believe I think the Brussel sprouts are delicious.
Stopped by Michaels to buy a few Halloween things.
Came home and goofed around for a bit. At some point I took a 15 minute walk. S started listening to Walden. As I walked through the family room, S who can't stand this book, said "Now he's complaining that nobody reads anymore!" This book was written back in the 1830s or something. Nothing new under the sun! B decided to carve the pumpkin today since tomorrow she's spending the afternoon at some friends house and then the night at Stephanie's. So she did that which is always more of a production than you think it will be. Then B and S started working on math homework. The tutor is coming tomorrow because she can't come on Monday. Her kids have a school holiday.
Speaking of school! H got a long term sub job teaching special ed classes at a nearby middle school!
Made omelets for dinner. After dinner took B to rehearsal. I really can't see at night to drive. I was a nervous wreck going and coming. Then instead of sitting and reading my book nicely until it was time to go pick her up again, I watched stupid HGTV. S was immersed in something on the computer. Picked B up at 9:30, drove back home carefully. Said night prayers, meant to go to bed but then B decided she was hungry and started making food, got a weird phone call from the police - it was a robocall asking us to be on the lookout for a 77 year old Asian lady with dementia who had gone missing from her home a couple miles away from us. Poor thing! The temperature is dropping! I hope they find her! Then J came home a bit early so we had to hear all about his training and what life is like in the back of the restaurant. Then went to bed. Read some of my book but fell asleep before I got too far. Darn. I was very slow to warm up to this book but I don't understand why I keep putting off reading it. It is quite good! But it has a lot of foreboding in it. It is weird and scary and I am not into weird and scary books usually. Even if the writing is good. Maybe that is it. Plus my neighbors house is empty, R is gone and there is a 77 yo lady freezing in the dark somewhere in my area. Plus I can't read the news without hearing about somebody getting beheaded. It is the fashionable way to murder people now. The world is giving me the creeps.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Journaling the Day, Wednesday, 11/29/14
Woke up too early again. Got up, fed pets, made coffee, got on the computer for a while, cleaned powder room, shined up my kitchen sink, tidied up kitchen, ran dishwasher (oops - hadn't put it on last night)
Got kids up. Said morning prayers, made those crescent rolls in a can for breakfast.
Copy work was definition of simploce (combination of anaphora and epistrophe - rhetorical devices).
Math tutor came. B went first from 9-10; S and I read Ralph Waldo Emerson poetry. I just don't get his poetry. Too erudite and obscure for me! We also did some Latin. We read an entire page of Latin and then translated it orally.
S did math from 10-11. I read B some more of Shadows on the Rock - we'll finish it tomorrow finally. It took a month longer to read than I anticipated!
R is working from home today since he had a 9 a.m. conference call and then has to be at the airport by 3:30. He is going to a conference in Portland OR.
Put on a load of laundry so Rick will have enough clean clothes to last him through Saturday.
Did a little bit of Bible Basics with B while we ate lunch. Tried to do some Latin but for some reason she really couldn't focus so we gave up and decided to try another time.
Finished up laundry, R packed up and went on his way. Boo hoo. I think this is the first time he won't be home for Halloween!
Took B to her voice lessons/mother's helper job.
Came home and helped S with his poetry essay he had to write for his lit class.
Went back to pick up B. Came home. J had gotten home. He took B to Chick fil a which is on the way to her play rehearsal. I took S to get pizza. Totally forget that the town Halloween parade was tonight. Crowded. Came home again. S quickly put finishes touches on essay and sent it to his teacher. Took him to CLC. Came home again. Writing this now. J came home in the meantime and then went out again to pick up B. I am leaving in about 1/2 hour (probably just as he is getting back. Lot of driving and going hither and yon on Wednesday.
Can't wait to curl up in bed with my book. I just joined the WSJ book club and the book is The Wizard of Earthsea. Margaret Atwood picked it and she is asking the discussion questions. I don't even really like Margaret Atwood but I think the whole is really cool. I never would have picked this book to read, so it kind of gets me out of my comfort zone.
Got kids up. Said morning prayers, made those crescent rolls in a can for breakfast.
Copy work was definition of simploce (combination of anaphora and epistrophe - rhetorical devices).
Math tutor came. B went first from 9-10; S and I read Ralph Waldo Emerson poetry. I just don't get his poetry. Too erudite and obscure for me! We also did some Latin. We read an entire page of Latin and then translated it orally.
S did math from 10-11. I read B some more of Shadows on the Rock - we'll finish it tomorrow finally. It took a month longer to read than I anticipated!
R is working from home today since he had a 9 a.m. conference call and then has to be at the airport by 3:30. He is going to a conference in Portland OR.
Put on a load of laundry so Rick will have enough clean clothes to last him through Saturday.
Did a little bit of Bible Basics with B while we ate lunch. Tried to do some Latin but for some reason she really couldn't focus so we gave up and decided to try another time.
Finished up laundry, R packed up and went on his way. Boo hoo. I think this is the first time he won't be home for Halloween!
Took B to her voice lessons/mother's helper job.
Came home and helped S with his poetry essay he had to write for his lit class.
Went back to pick up B. Came home. J had gotten home. He took B to Chick fil a which is on the way to her play rehearsal. I took S to get pizza. Totally forget that the town Halloween parade was tonight. Crowded. Came home again. S quickly put finishes touches on essay and sent it to his teacher. Took him to CLC. Came home again. Writing this now. J came home in the meantime and then went out again to pick up B. I am leaving in about 1/2 hour (probably just as he is getting back. Lot of driving and going hither and yon on Wednesday.
Can't wait to curl up in bed with my book. I just joined the WSJ book club and the book is The Wizard of Earthsea. Margaret Atwood picked it and she is asking the discussion questions. I don't even really like Margaret Atwood but I think the whole is really cool. I never would have picked this book to read, so it kind of gets me out of my comfort zone.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Journaling the day 10/28/14
Woke up with headache @ 5 or so. Took advil, ate a banana, drank some coffee. Waited a while. Headache did not turn into a migraine! Alleluia!
Took care of some stuff on email. Drove to drugstore to get Sean's med. Not there! The dr. had not called it in. Came home, called doctor, left message.
Got kids up and had morning prayer. We had donut holes for breakfast. Copy work was quote from Fulton Sheen.
I had to go meet with one of my sisters to check out family graves at cemetery. I told B and S to work on their science while I was gone. Usually S has a physics class this a.m. but he didn't today for some reason, but he has a big old take-home, multi-chapter test he is supposed to be studying for and then taking. Becky also has a multi-chapter test she needed to take.
I took a quick shower and then headed over to the cemetery. We've been trying to pick out a gravestone for my aunt. While doing this we realized there are three more family members buried in the cemetery that had unmarked graves. So we had the guy managing the cemetery out there trying to find them. Two of them share a grave: my sister Jacqueline who died before I was born at the age of 6 and a little brother who died as a newborn named Philip. Then there is another that just says infant. We don't even know if this infant was a boy or girl. Anyway, we didn't find any actual signs that these graves were ours except that the old records (which aren't always reliable say that they are located in those spots). It was such a gorgeous day out that after the guy left, my sister and I spent a good 30 minutes just walking from grave to grave. This is the parish graveyard where many of our parents' friends are buried as well people we knew from school or their relatives. It sounds very gloomy but actually it was kind of peaceful to be in an old graveyard in the beautiful weather going down memory lane.
I came home and B and S had done nothing science at all. Bah!
I finally talked to the doctor, made an appt for next Tuesday and he called in the prescription.
I was really hungry and the day was so nice - we decided to go get lunch and then come home and work on science. So we went off to the little neighborhood subs and custard place. Yummy!
We walked over to the drugstore and then walked back and drove home. B took her science test and S studied for his. I was trying to help S study but I kept dozing off in the chair. He said he was really worried about me being so tired all the time. I said: 1) I have always been an afternoon napper, all my life 2) I got up at 5 with a headache 3) I went to sleep soon after midnight last night 4) I find physics deadly dull.
Finally, I gave up and went to bed. Read some of my book and drifted off for a bit.
Not sure what happened the rest of the afternoon. Day kind of fell apart. Hmmm. I know at some point S listened to more of Walden. B was probably reading, either the last Artemis Fowl book or Gregor the Overlander.
Josh came home from work. He is winding up his job at the marina. Thursday he starts his new job at the restaurant at the marina! But he'll be working nights initially, 4 p.m. to closing.
Anyway, had lasagna for dinner. After dinner B and S worked on math homework for tutor. S and I read a little Ralph Waldo Emerson for his lit class.
B made Halloween plans with her friend. She's going to spend the night over there. Josh will be working, Rick will be out of town, so S and I are going to watch spooky movies and hand out candy.
Rick and came home and we watched some recorded Jeopardy episodes. I was rocking! LOL.
Took care of some stuff on email. Drove to drugstore to get Sean's med. Not there! The dr. had not called it in. Came home, called doctor, left message.
Got kids up and had morning prayer. We had donut holes for breakfast. Copy work was quote from Fulton Sheen.
I had to go meet with one of my sisters to check out family graves at cemetery. I told B and S to work on their science while I was gone. Usually S has a physics class this a.m. but he didn't today for some reason, but he has a big old take-home, multi-chapter test he is supposed to be studying for and then taking. Becky also has a multi-chapter test she needed to take.
I took a quick shower and then headed over to the cemetery. We've been trying to pick out a gravestone for my aunt. While doing this we realized there are three more family members buried in the cemetery that had unmarked graves. So we had the guy managing the cemetery out there trying to find them. Two of them share a grave: my sister Jacqueline who died before I was born at the age of 6 and a little brother who died as a newborn named Philip. Then there is another that just says infant. We don't even know if this infant was a boy or girl. Anyway, we didn't find any actual signs that these graves were ours except that the old records (which aren't always reliable say that they are located in those spots). It was such a gorgeous day out that after the guy left, my sister and I spent a good 30 minutes just walking from grave to grave. This is the parish graveyard where many of our parents' friends are buried as well people we knew from school or their relatives. It sounds very gloomy but actually it was kind of peaceful to be in an old graveyard in the beautiful weather going down memory lane.
I came home and B and S had done nothing science at all. Bah!
I finally talked to the doctor, made an appt for next Tuesday and he called in the prescription.
I was really hungry and the day was so nice - we decided to go get lunch and then come home and work on science. So we went off to the little neighborhood subs and custard place. Yummy!
We walked over to the drugstore and then walked back and drove home. B took her science test and S studied for his. I was trying to help S study but I kept dozing off in the chair. He said he was really worried about me being so tired all the time. I said: 1) I have always been an afternoon napper, all my life 2) I got up at 5 with a headache 3) I went to sleep soon after midnight last night 4) I find physics deadly dull.
Finally, I gave up and went to bed. Read some of my book and drifted off for a bit.
Not sure what happened the rest of the afternoon. Day kind of fell apart. Hmmm. I know at some point S listened to more of Walden. B was probably reading, either the last Artemis Fowl book or Gregor the Overlander.
Josh came home from work. He is winding up his job at the marina. Thursday he starts his new job at the restaurant at the marina! But he'll be working nights initially, 4 p.m. to closing.
Anyway, had lasagna for dinner. After dinner B and S worked on math homework for tutor. S and I read a little Ralph Waldo Emerson for his lit class.
B made Halloween plans with her friend. She's going to spend the night over there. Josh will be working, Rick will be out of town, so S and I are going to watch spooky movies and hand out candy.
Rick and came home and we watched some recorded Jeopardy episodes. I was rocking! LOL.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Journaling the day - 10/27/14
Mondays are so nice. I used to hate Mondays but I don't this year. This is because 1) I am only homeschooling two children, both of whom are in much, much smoother emotional states than ever before! Hooray! 2) I have a math/science tutor who comes on Monday mornings.
Got the kids up at 8:00
Said our morning prayers. This week we are trying to get the Hail, Holy Queen down, which they both only know partially. We just never say a full rosary enough. . . . Catholic mother fail!
The kids ate eggs and toast for breakfast (but not much of either).
Copywork was the second verse of Dickinson's I'm nobody poem.
Tutor came at 9.
Becky had Algebra 1 from 9 - 10
During that time Sean and I hung out and did some Latin in a very relaxed manner. Cambridge Latin is really enjoyable.
Sean had Algebra 2 from 10-11
Becky chilled out for a while and then did some Latin with me. She is really enjoying Latin.
Becky had science from 11 - 12.
I put laundry away, showered and hung out on the internet.
We all ate leftover quiche for lunch. Sean listened to some more Walden.
I went grocery shopping, came home, put away food. Becky was in shower. Sean playing on computer.
Becky and I went to AHG meeting. Sean listened to more Walden. It is a lllooooonnnngggg book. Or so it feels, anyway.
Came home from AHG meeting and Sean was working with his physical trainer.
So Sean did math, Latin and lots of literature and PE
Becky did math, science, Latin and in AHG we learned about the Star Spangle Banner so history!
Becky has to leave for play rehearsal in a half hour. That runs from 7:00 to 9:30.
A good and busy day.
Got the kids up at 8:00
Said our morning prayers. This week we are trying to get the Hail, Holy Queen down, which they both only know partially. We just never say a full rosary enough. . . . Catholic mother fail!
The kids ate eggs and toast for breakfast (but not much of either).
Copywork was the second verse of Dickinson's I'm nobody poem.
Tutor came at 9.
Becky had Algebra 1 from 9 - 10
During that time Sean and I hung out and did some Latin in a very relaxed manner. Cambridge Latin is really enjoyable.
Sean had Algebra 2 from 10-11
Becky chilled out for a while and then did some Latin with me. She is really enjoying Latin.
Becky had science from 11 - 12.
I put laundry away, showered and hung out on the internet.
We all ate leftover quiche for lunch. Sean listened to some more Walden.
I went grocery shopping, came home, put away food. Becky was in shower. Sean playing on computer.
Becky and I went to AHG meeting. Sean listened to more Walden. It is a lllooooonnnngggg book. Or so it feels, anyway.
Came home from AHG meeting and Sean was working with his physical trainer.
So Sean did math, Latin and lots of literature and PE
Becky did math, science, Latin and in AHG we learned about the Star Spangle Banner so history!
Becky has to leave for play rehearsal in a half hour. That runs from 7:00 to 9:30.
A good and busy day.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Friday's Child - Book 43
I read this Georgette Heyer novel several years ago and thought I'd revisit it. It is up there in my top 5 of her novels - a very cute and funny romp. Lord "Sherry" as he is known, is in debt and in trouble, but he can't get his inheritance which is locked up in a trust unless he marries, so he asks Isabella, the Beauty or Incomparable, someone he has known from childhood, to marry him. But she turns him down. She's got a thing for Lord Wrotham, his friend. Piqued by this rejection Sherry announces he will marry the first woman he sees and that turns out to be Hero, or Kitten, as he calls her. She is also a childhood playfellow, but she is the penniless, orphaned cousin of the family on the estate next to his. She has just turned 17 and he finds her sobbing because she is to become a governess, something she dreads.
So Sherry whisks her off to London to contrive a quick wedding. He is helped by his buddies, Gil, Ferdy and George (Lord Wrotham). They all love Hero right away, for she is sweet, artless and fun-loving. She has no idea how to handle the intricate unwritten social rules of London high society and she is forever getting into scrapes. Lord Sherry saw this as a marriage of convenience and fully expected to continue his life as before, full of gambling, drinking and chasing bits of muslin. But Hero turns out to be a handful. Things get impossibly tangled and poor Sherry has a lot of growing up to do. This book has some truly, truly funny scenes. Just as in the Unknown Ajax, the last part of the book reads like a play, a Shakespearean comedy, where everybody is getting married, or at least winding up with the one they should wind up with.
There is a little of a problem with this book in that Sherry sometimes 'boxes' Hero's ears and once he slaps her. This is presented as two people who revert to being childhood playmates getting into a tizzy over something, but nowadays, you could not write this sort of thing into a novel at all.
One thing that really impressed me in this book is just how well developed Sherry and Hero and the other characters are. They are full blown human personalities who are growing and changing and yet they are also who they are. They just don't write characters with this kind of precision anymore. It is really delightful.
A really fun read. For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
So Sherry whisks her off to London to contrive a quick wedding. He is helped by his buddies, Gil, Ferdy and George (Lord Wrotham). They all love Hero right away, for she is sweet, artless and fun-loving. She has no idea how to handle the intricate unwritten social rules of London high society and she is forever getting into scrapes. Lord Sherry saw this as a marriage of convenience and fully expected to continue his life as before, full of gambling, drinking and chasing bits of muslin. But Hero turns out to be a handful. Things get impossibly tangled and poor Sherry has a lot of growing up to do. This book has some truly, truly funny scenes. Just as in the Unknown Ajax, the last part of the book reads like a play, a Shakespearean comedy, where everybody is getting married, or at least winding up with the one they should wind up with.
There is a little of a problem with this book in that Sherry sometimes 'boxes' Hero's ears and once he slaps her. This is presented as two people who revert to being childhood playmates getting into a tizzy over something, but nowadays, you could not write this sort of thing into a novel at all.
One thing that really impressed me in this book is just how well developed Sherry and Hero and the other characters are. They are full blown human personalities who are growing and changing and yet they are also who they are. They just don't write characters with this kind of precision anymore. It is really delightful.
A really fun read. For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Some Inspiring, Relaxed Homeschooling Blogs
Stories from an Unschooling Family - Sue Elvis writes about her family of many who unschool in Australia (Catholic).
Karen Edmisten - Karen writes about Catholic issues, poetry and writing, and her own take on relaxed homeschooling. (Catholic)
Take Up and Read - this is a joint venture between Willa Ryan and Chari Goldman Bryan who are veteran homeschoolers and good friends. Their blog posts have been spotty lately but there is much wisdom and many links to follow. (Catholic)
Melissa Wiley's blog - children's author and Catholic homeschooling mother of six. Vivacious, fun and smart
In The Heart of My Home - Elizabeth Foss is a longtime force in the Catholic homeschooling world.
Unschooling Catholics - this was a blog maintained by Leonie Westenberg, a long time unschooler of 7 sons. She's graduated them all into university (as they put it in Australia!). It hasn't got any recent posts on it, but it has some good material to read through to get a sense of how it's done!
Christian Unschoolers - this blog's last entry is in November 2013 but, again, there is a wealth of information and food for thought here.
Almost Unschoolers - This is a great blog with many inspiring posts.
Like Mother, Like Daughter - this is a wonderful blog full of beauty and wisdom, not just homeschooling, but everything! (Catholic)
Simple Homeschool - Lots of inspiration here!
Seven Times the Fun - Catholic blog that chronicles the adventures of homeschooling with joy and seven kids.
Michele Quigley - Mother of ten and creator of the Catholic Family Planner as well as co-creator of Mater Amabilis - she's pretty amazing!
Schole Sisters - a new blog that combines the talents of 4 great bloggers in the homeschool world. I love them because they are fans of the Circe Institute.
Brave Writer - a great blog with lots of wisdom, even if you don't use the writing curriculum.
Brave Writer - a great blog with lots of wisdom, even if you don't use the writing curriculum.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
My Own Relaxed Posts
I am just gathering all my relaxed homeschooling posts into one spot. I probably should make a page but for some reason I did it this way instead!
Some Resources for Gentle Parenting
These are resources that focus more on bonding and relationship, rather than punishment as a way to discipline your children.
St John Bosco's Preventative Method for Discipline (Catholic)
Parenting with Grace by Dr. Greg Popcak (Catholic)
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League (Founders were Catholic)
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne and Lisa Ross (secular; vaguely Waldorf)
Biblical Parenting - this is not to be confused with supposedly Biblical methods like Babywise or Ezzo. Polar opposite! The folks at Biblical Parenting kind of sidestep the spanking vs. no spanking issue by focusing on ways to positively encourage virtue in your children, starting with learning to treat each other with honor. (Christian)
Hold On To Your Kids by Neufield and Gabor - these two doctors make an excellent argument for attachment parenting. (secular)
Dr. Sears' website is full of useful information.
How to Talk so Kids Listen & Listen So Kids Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Siblings Without Rivalry by Faber and Mazlish
Teaching your Children Values by Linda and Richard Eyre
Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurchinka
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman (Christian - excellent book!)
How to Really Love your Child by D. Ross Campbell (another Christian and excellent book!)
St John Bosco's Preventative Method for Discipline (Catholic)
Parenting with Grace by Dr. Greg Popcak (Catholic)
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League (Founders were Catholic)
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne and Lisa Ross (secular; vaguely Waldorf)
Biblical Parenting - this is not to be confused with supposedly Biblical methods like Babywise or Ezzo. Polar opposite! The folks at Biblical Parenting kind of sidestep the spanking vs. no spanking issue by focusing on ways to positively encourage virtue in your children, starting with learning to treat each other with honor. (Christian)
Hold On To Your Kids by Neufield and Gabor - these two doctors make an excellent argument for attachment parenting. (secular)
Dr. Sears' website is full of useful information.
How to Talk so Kids Listen & Listen So Kids Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Siblings Without Rivalry by Faber and Mazlish
Teaching your Children Values by Linda and Richard Eyre
Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurchinka
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman (Christian - excellent book!)
How to Really Love your Child by D. Ross Campbell (another Christian and excellent book!)
Some resources for Catholic Relaxed Homeschoolers
Some Suggested Books to Read for Relaxed Homeschoolers (there are many more books on this topic out there, but these are the ones some of the homeschoolers on the Catholic Relaxed Homeschoolers group found helpful):
Homeschooling with Gentleness by Suzie Andres (Catholic)
A Little Way of Homeschooling by Suzie Andres (Catholic)
Teach Your Own by John Holt (secular)
Better Than School by Nancy Wallace (secular, written by
parent)
Homeschooling Our Children, Unschooling Ourselves by Allison
McKee (secular, written by parent)
A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola (Christian)
Dumbing Us Down by John Gatto (secular)
Real Learning: Education in the Heart of My Home by Elizabeth Foss (Catholic)
Some suggested methods of homeschooling which are more relaxed than your typical school at home approach:
Saturday, October 18, 2014
55 Questions Concerning My Book Habits
One of my very favorite book blogs is Howling Frog books. I found this list of 55 questions there. It was fun reading her answers and thinking about my own. So it is a Friday night and I've nothing else to do (well, I could be actually reading) so I thought I'd give my own answers.
1. Favorite Childhood Book:
This is very tough. I think I have to go with the Little House series.
2. What are you reading right now?
Right now I am reading The Scarlet Letter with my 15 yo and Shadows on the Rock with my 13 year old. These are both rereads for me. I just started reading Georgette Heyer's Regency World and also a long essay on a failed homesteaders attempt called Farm Flop.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
This is terrible but I have pretty much stopped going to the library. I only ever have overdue books where I wind up paying enormous fees. I used to go to the library all the time. I grew up going almost weekly and I took my kids all the time. But now my kids are older and we either buy reals books or download on our kindles. So, zero books on request.
4. Bad book habit?
Starting books and never finishing them. I went through a period a few years ago where I couldn't seem to finish a book. I could finish books that I was reading out loud to my kids, but not my own. But then I started blogging about the books I read and that made me more disciplined.
5. What books do you have currently checked out from the library?
Nada
6. Do you have an e-reader?
Yes and I love it. I resisted for a long time because I couldn't stand the idea of electronic books. I love books. I love bookcases filled with books. I love antique books. I collect them! But I have too many books and I keep needing to sift through them and give them away. And like I said above, I waste so much money in library fines, plus lots of times the library doesn't have the books I want to read. So I got a Kindle. Actually, Rick gave me one. And I really liked it. And now I rely on it so much. I only buy real books if I really want to own them. My eyes have gotten so bad. I love that I can adjust the print size on my Kindle. I love the soft backlight that allows me to read in bed without turning on the bedside lamp. I love that I can carry a virtual library around in my purse.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?
If I have too many books going I am sure to not finish them. I find I can handle four. I usually have two books going at once, one is either religious or historical in nature and then I usually something lighter, like a novel or memoir. I tend to read the 'harder' book during the day, for instance if I am waiting to pick up one of the kids or if I get a chance in the afternoon before I take a little nap. I read the lighter one at night. Then usually I can have two read alouds going for our home school at a given time. Anymore than that and I get overwhelmed.
8. Have your reading habits changed since you started a blog?
Well, they really changed when I started participating in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge. I've been doing that for several years. It made me more intentional in taking reading as a serious hobby.
9. Least favorite book you've read this year:
I usually don't finish books I don't like. Hmmm. I really didn't care for Curriculum Vitae by Muriel Spark, which disappointed me. I like her novels but I found I didn't really care for her as a person.
10. Favorite book you've read this year:
This is hard. I've read a lot of good books this year. I would say the one that completely transported me to an exotic place was The Old Patagonian Express. I was completely absorbed in it.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I think, as I get older, I read less outside of my comfort zone. There is so much crap out there. I am kind of tired of it. I want books that tell me about history, heal my soul, help me connect with others, delight my imagination. I don't really want anything dark or edgy or nihilistic.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
Not sure what this means. I don't like a lot of modern books because I think they are poorly written, predictable and try too hard to shock by resorting to prurient themes.
13. Can you read on the bus?
Oh yes. I can pretty much read anywhere.
14. Favorite place to read:
My bed would be first, but also in the car waiting for kids, or on my screen porch when the weather is lovely.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I don't have a policy. I tend to be very generous with my books. Often I loan them out and then don't get them back. So be it!
16. Do you dog-ear your books?
Depends. If it is a cheap paperback, yeah. If it is a nice hardback edition that I want to keep for a long time? Nope.
17. Do you write notes in the margins of your books?
Only if I am conscientiously studying the book. I tend to do this with spiritual books.
18. Do you crack the spine?
Only by accident!
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
Alas, I am only fluent in English.
20. What makes you love a book?
Great writing and great humanity.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
I recommend a book for many reasons. Maybe it is about a subject that someone is interested in. Maybe I think it will inspire them. Maybe I thought the writer was brilliant. Maybe I thought the book was hysterically funny or told a compelling story. Many reasons.
22. Favorite genre
Don't have a single favorite genre. I do love historical fiction, regency type romances, memoirs, travel books, books that explore theology, practical advice books, biographies, humorous books. classics, mysteries and lately I've really loved reading those back to the land type books.
23. Genre you rarely read but wish you did:
Unfortunately, I don't really care for fantasy or sci-fi. I am trying to like more fantasy. I think I'll never really get into sci-fi.
24. Favorite Biography:
Well, I recently read Mornings on Horseback about Teddy Roosevelt's youth. It was excellent!
25. Have you ever read a self-help book (and did it actually help?)
I have read some good books on raising children and also on organizing your life/house if you are ADD. They didn't make me perfect or anything, but I think they helped clarify my thinking and changed my approach a bit.
26. Favorite cookbook:
I have two but I seldom cook from them! I have a cookbook my aunt gave me called Almost Vegetarian. It has lovely recipes in it that feature far too many vegetables so I could never make them for my family! But I like to read it sometimes. I also have a Tasha Tudor cookbook which has recipes for dutch ovens cooked on an open hearth and the like. I don't use these receipts (as she calls them) either, but I like to thumb through the book when I am in the mood.
27. Most inspirational book you've read this year?
This one is easy! 33 Days to Morning Glory, a wonderfully down to earth, profound, and easy to read book about consecrating one's life to Jesus through Mary. Beautiful!
28. Favorite reading snack
Maybe ice cream? But that is too sticky. . . . I think I just like a cup of tea or a glass of cold water to sip while I read.
29. Name a case where hype ruined your reading experience.
Gee, I really can't think of an answer to this.
30. How often do you agree or disagree with a critic about a book.
I don't read a lot of new stuff. So usually I am reading literary criticism and not reviews. That said, I hate modern criticism which is always seen through the eyes of feminism or some other ism. There is a lot of anachronisms (ha!) in their view point. I find modern thinking pretty soul crushing because it is so based in materialism, deconstructionism, etc. I am really picky about my literary critics. My favorite favorite is Peter Liethart who I think wrote the single best analysis of Jane Austen ever.
31. I don't like to give negative reviews. Once I gave a negative review about a book and then deleted it later. But I don't usually have to give a negative review because I seldom finish a book if it is that painful.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?
Latin for sure. I would love to be able to read all that history in the language it was first expressed in.
33. Most intimidating book you have read.
I found Dante's Inferno very hard. If I hadn't been watching lectures about it and hadn't been reading it in a group, I don't I would have stuck with it. I can't just sit down and read Shakespeare. I have to actively be studying it with someone else.
34. Most intimidating book you are too nervous to read.
I have never gotten more than a couple chapters into War and Peace. For some reason I don't get some Russian novels, though I have read a good number of the lesser known ones. And I did read Anna Karenina, but Dostoyevsky's novels and Tolstoy's War and Peace are too much for me.
35. Favorite Poet
Probably Gerard Manley Hopkins.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out from the library at any given time?
Well, it used to be 5 to 15 but lately it has been 0.
37. How many times do you return books to the library unread.
Back when I was a regular, there were usually two or three books I never got to.
38. Favorite fictional character:
I can't decide among Scout Finch, Francie Nolan or Elizabeth Bennett.
39. Favorite fictional villian:
I'll say Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility because I was just reminded recently of the scene between him and Elinor where Elinor learns to forgive him.
40. Books are you most likely to take on vacation:
I think it would be anything I felt like reading next. I don't think it would matter except whether it was too bulky or not. A few years ago when we visited France and Spain, I really wanted to bring the big fat paperback of The Song of Bernadette but I couldn't because it wouldn't fit in my carry on!
41. The longest you have gone without reading:
I have never gone a long time without reading, however, when I was busy having children and nursing, I grew to prefer reading shorter books and articles instead of long books. I just didn't have the attention span to settle into a long Victorian novel or read anything that was really deep.
42. Name a book you could not finish.
There are so many! I am ashamed to admit how many. But my biggest failure is Moby Dick. I have read it twice halfway through, only to give up. Then last year I got it on audio and I still couldn't get through it. But I loved the recent movie adaptation someone did. Maybe it was made for cable? I watched it with my kids and we all really enjoyed it.
43. What distracts you easily when you are reading?
My children. LOL.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel:
The 1995 A&E Pride and Prejudice; The BBC's North and South. I also really loved Mr. Magoo's A Christmas Carol.
45. Most disappointing adaptation:
The Great Gatsby. They can never capture the powerful moral message of the book.
46. Most money I have ever spent in a bookstore:
I am sure I have spent hundreds of dollars in bookstores, especially at Christmas time, but it was never as much as the overdue fines I had to pay for library books!
47. How often do you skim a book before reading:
I think I usually do with real books but you can't really do that with Kindle books.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through:
Well, sometimes I simply don't have the concentration span to finish it. This was often true when I had many young children. Other times, it is because I've misplaced it. But currently, most often it is because I simply don't care for it.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I would like to keep them organized. In the past at certain shining moments in my history, my books have been organized, but mostly they are not. Mostly they are a mess, I am afraid.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or to give them away once they have been read?
I prefer to keep books. Sadly I have been giving away picture books because my youngest is now 13, though I am saving some of the most beloved ones in case of grandchildren. Every once in a while I do go through and give away the junkier books.
51. Are there any books you have been avoiding?
I tend to avoid books that are bleak with no redeeming theme. I also don't like racy, vulgar, violent books. So often I'll hear about a new book and think: well, that is one I'll never read!
52. Name a book that made you angry.
I can't remember the name but it was the Iliad told from Patroclus' point of view. He and Achilles were gay lovers and all the characters were twisted into flat, sissified, modern two dimensional metrosexuals. It was awful, awful, awful, awful. I will never forgive that writer, whoever she was!
53. A book you didn't expect to like but did:
Don Quixote. I loved it! I laughed out loud reading it. I was amazed at its cleverness. It was a far easier read than I anticipated.
54. A book you expected to like but didn't:
I am going to echo Howling Frog and say that I did not care for the Sherlock Holmes stories. I was reading them the same time as my husband and he loved them and I thought Sherlock was cold and weird. I couldn't warm up to him and so I didn't really care about the mysteries. The one exception to this is The Hound of the Baskervilles.
55. Favorite guilt-free, guilty pleasure reading:
I love Georgette Heyer. In fact I am in a Georgette Heyer phase right now as I have just reread Faro's Daughter and then read for the first time the Unknown Ajax. And now I am reading a history of the Regency era just because of her.
1. Favorite Childhood Book:
This is very tough. I think I have to go with the Little House series.
2. What are you reading right now?
Right now I am reading The Scarlet Letter with my 15 yo and Shadows on the Rock with my 13 year old. These are both rereads for me. I just started reading Georgette Heyer's Regency World and also a long essay on a failed homesteaders attempt called Farm Flop.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
This is terrible but I have pretty much stopped going to the library. I only ever have overdue books where I wind up paying enormous fees. I used to go to the library all the time. I grew up going almost weekly and I took my kids all the time. But now my kids are older and we either buy reals books or download on our kindles. So, zero books on request.
4. Bad book habit?
Starting books and never finishing them. I went through a period a few years ago where I couldn't seem to finish a book. I could finish books that I was reading out loud to my kids, but not my own. But then I started blogging about the books I read and that made me more disciplined.
5. What books do you have currently checked out from the library?
Nada
6. Do you have an e-reader?
Yes and I love it. I resisted for a long time because I couldn't stand the idea of electronic books. I love books. I love bookcases filled with books. I love antique books. I collect them! But I have too many books and I keep needing to sift through them and give them away. And like I said above, I waste so much money in library fines, plus lots of times the library doesn't have the books I want to read. So I got a Kindle. Actually, Rick gave me one. And I really liked it. And now I rely on it so much. I only buy real books if I really want to own them. My eyes have gotten so bad. I love that I can adjust the print size on my Kindle. I love the soft backlight that allows me to read in bed without turning on the bedside lamp. I love that I can carry a virtual library around in my purse.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?
If I have too many books going I am sure to not finish them. I find I can handle four. I usually have two books going at once, one is either religious or historical in nature and then I usually something lighter, like a novel or memoir. I tend to read the 'harder' book during the day, for instance if I am waiting to pick up one of the kids or if I get a chance in the afternoon before I take a little nap. I read the lighter one at night. Then usually I can have two read alouds going for our home school at a given time. Anymore than that and I get overwhelmed.
8. Have your reading habits changed since you started a blog?
Well, they really changed when I started participating in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge. I've been doing that for several years. It made me more intentional in taking reading as a serious hobby.
9. Least favorite book you've read this year:
I usually don't finish books I don't like. Hmmm. I really didn't care for Curriculum Vitae by Muriel Spark, which disappointed me. I like her novels but I found I didn't really care for her as a person.
10. Favorite book you've read this year:
This is hard. I've read a lot of good books this year. I would say the one that completely transported me to an exotic place was The Old Patagonian Express. I was completely absorbed in it.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I think, as I get older, I read less outside of my comfort zone. There is so much crap out there. I am kind of tired of it. I want books that tell me about history, heal my soul, help me connect with others, delight my imagination. I don't really want anything dark or edgy or nihilistic.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
Not sure what this means. I don't like a lot of modern books because I think they are poorly written, predictable and try too hard to shock by resorting to prurient themes.
13. Can you read on the bus?
Oh yes. I can pretty much read anywhere.
14. Favorite place to read:
My bed would be first, but also in the car waiting for kids, or on my screen porch when the weather is lovely.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I don't have a policy. I tend to be very generous with my books. Often I loan them out and then don't get them back. So be it!
16. Do you dog-ear your books?
Depends. If it is a cheap paperback, yeah. If it is a nice hardback edition that I want to keep for a long time? Nope.
17. Do you write notes in the margins of your books?
Only if I am conscientiously studying the book. I tend to do this with spiritual books.
18. Do you crack the spine?
Only by accident!
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
Alas, I am only fluent in English.
20. What makes you love a book?
Great writing and great humanity.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
I recommend a book for many reasons. Maybe it is about a subject that someone is interested in. Maybe I think it will inspire them. Maybe I thought the writer was brilliant. Maybe I thought the book was hysterically funny or told a compelling story. Many reasons.
22. Favorite genre
Don't have a single favorite genre. I do love historical fiction, regency type romances, memoirs, travel books, books that explore theology, practical advice books, biographies, humorous books. classics, mysteries and lately I've really loved reading those back to the land type books.
23. Genre you rarely read but wish you did:
Unfortunately, I don't really care for fantasy or sci-fi. I am trying to like more fantasy. I think I'll never really get into sci-fi.
24. Favorite Biography:
Well, I recently read Mornings on Horseback about Teddy Roosevelt's youth. It was excellent!
25. Have you ever read a self-help book (and did it actually help?)
I have read some good books on raising children and also on organizing your life/house if you are ADD. They didn't make me perfect or anything, but I think they helped clarify my thinking and changed my approach a bit.
26. Favorite cookbook:
I have two but I seldom cook from them! I have a cookbook my aunt gave me called Almost Vegetarian. It has lovely recipes in it that feature far too many vegetables so I could never make them for my family! But I like to read it sometimes. I also have a Tasha Tudor cookbook which has recipes for dutch ovens cooked on an open hearth and the like. I don't use these receipts (as she calls them) either, but I like to thumb through the book when I am in the mood.
27. Most inspirational book you've read this year?
This one is easy! 33 Days to Morning Glory, a wonderfully down to earth, profound, and easy to read book about consecrating one's life to Jesus through Mary. Beautiful!
28. Favorite reading snack
Maybe ice cream? But that is too sticky. . . . I think I just like a cup of tea or a glass of cold water to sip while I read.
29. Name a case where hype ruined your reading experience.
Gee, I really can't think of an answer to this.
30. How often do you agree or disagree with a critic about a book.
I don't read a lot of new stuff. So usually I am reading literary criticism and not reviews. That said, I hate modern criticism which is always seen through the eyes of feminism or some other ism. There is a lot of anachronisms (ha!) in their view point. I find modern thinking pretty soul crushing because it is so based in materialism, deconstructionism, etc. I am really picky about my literary critics. My favorite favorite is Peter Liethart who I think wrote the single best analysis of Jane Austen ever.
31. I don't like to give negative reviews. Once I gave a negative review about a book and then deleted it later. But I don't usually have to give a negative review because I seldom finish a book if it is that painful.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?
Latin for sure. I would love to be able to read all that history in the language it was first expressed in.
33. Most intimidating book you have read.
I found Dante's Inferno very hard. If I hadn't been watching lectures about it and hadn't been reading it in a group, I don't I would have stuck with it. I can't just sit down and read Shakespeare. I have to actively be studying it with someone else.
34. Most intimidating book you are too nervous to read.
I have never gotten more than a couple chapters into War and Peace. For some reason I don't get some Russian novels, though I have read a good number of the lesser known ones. And I did read Anna Karenina, but Dostoyevsky's novels and Tolstoy's War and Peace are too much for me.
35. Favorite Poet
Probably Gerard Manley Hopkins.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out from the library at any given time?
Well, it used to be 5 to 15 but lately it has been 0.
37. How many times do you return books to the library unread.
Back when I was a regular, there were usually two or three books I never got to.
38. Favorite fictional character:
I can't decide among Scout Finch, Francie Nolan or Elizabeth Bennett.
39. Favorite fictional villian:
I'll say Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility because I was just reminded recently of the scene between him and Elinor where Elinor learns to forgive him.
40. Books are you most likely to take on vacation:
I think it would be anything I felt like reading next. I don't think it would matter except whether it was too bulky or not. A few years ago when we visited France and Spain, I really wanted to bring the big fat paperback of The Song of Bernadette but I couldn't because it wouldn't fit in my carry on!
41. The longest you have gone without reading:
I have never gone a long time without reading, however, when I was busy having children and nursing, I grew to prefer reading shorter books and articles instead of long books. I just didn't have the attention span to settle into a long Victorian novel or read anything that was really deep.
42. Name a book you could not finish.
There are so many! I am ashamed to admit how many. But my biggest failure is Moby Dick. I have read it twice halfway through, only to give up. Then last year I got it on audio and I still couldn't get through it. But I loved the recent movie adaptation someone did. Maybe it was made for cable? I watched it with my kids and we all really enjoyed it.
43. What distracts you easily when you are reading?
My children. LOL.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel:
The 1995 A&E Pride and Prejudice; The BBC's North and South. I also really loved Mr. Magoo's A Christmas Carol.
45. Most disappointing adaptation:
The Great Gatsby. They can never capture the powerful moral message of the book.
46. Most money I have ever spent in a bookstore:
I am sure I have spent hundreds of dollars in bookstores, especially at Christmas time, but it was never as much as the overdue fines I had to pay for library books!
47. How often do you skim a book before reading:
I think I usually do with real books but you can't really do that with Kindle books.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book halfway through:
Well, sometimes I simply don't have the concentration span to finish it. This was often true when I had many young children. Other times, it is because I've misplaced it. But currently, most often it is because I simply don't care for it.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I would like to keep them organized. In the past at certain shining moments in my history, my books have been organized, but mostly they are not. Mostly they are a mess, I am afraid.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or to give them away once they have been read?
I prefer to keep books. Sadly I have been giving away picture books because my youngest is now 13, though I am saving some of the most beloved ones in case of grandchildren. Every once in a while I do go through and give away the junkier books.
51. Are there any books you have been avoiding?
I tend to avoid books that are bleak with no redeeming theme. I also don't like racy, vulgar, violent books. So often I'll hear about a new book and think: well, that is one I'll never read!
52. Name a book that made you angry.
I can't remember the name but it was the Iliad told from Patroclus' point of view. He and Achilles were gay lovers and all the characters were twisted into flat, sissified, modern two dimensional metrosexuals. It was awful, awful, awful, awful. I will never forgive that writer, whoever she was!
53. A book you didn't expect to like but did:
Don Quixote. I loved it! I laughed out loud reading it. I was amazed at its cleverness. It was a far easier read than I anticipated.
54. A book you expected to like but didn't:
I am going to echo Howling Frog and say that I did not care for the Sherlock Holmes stories. I was reading them the same time as my husband and he loved them and I thought Sherlock was cold and weird. I couldn't warm up to him and so I didn't really care about the mysteries. The one exception to this is The Hound of the Baskervilles.
55. Favorite guilt-free, guilty pleasure reading:
I love Georgette Heyer. In fact I am in a Georgette Heyer phase right now as I have just reread Faro's Daughter and then read for the first time the Unknown Ajax. And now I am reading a history of the Regency era just because of her.
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