We are embarking on a study of Henry V. In these past 2 weeks I have: 1) watched the Lawrence Olivier 1944 version; 2) listened to Arkangel recorded version on audio on my car; 2) watched the Branagh version twice. Now I am about to start reading it out loud with Becky.
I haven't really studied any other Shakespeare play in this depth before, except maybe Macbeth. That I studied in high school and college and I've seen on stage once and maybe a movie version too.
I am trying to think of how many Shakespeare plays I've seen either on stage or in movie form over the years:
Much Ado About Nothing (movie)
Twelfth Night (a long time ago - a play and also a BBC version)
Midsummer Night's Dream - play (perhaps a couple of times)
The Tempest - saw this a few years ago - fabulous production - my favorite Shakespeare comedy.
Taming of the Shrew - I've seen this a couple of times too - not my favorite.
MacBeth - love this one
Julius Caesar - this is a favorite too
Othello - saw a wonderful performance of this. Stunning.
Hamlet - another riveting performance and then I saw a parody of this called Something stinks in Denmark (or something like that - it was a homeschool production - very funny and also the terrible BBC version with Derek Jacobi - he's great but the weird twist is he's in love with his mother, the queen. Creepy and gross interpretation).
Romeo and Juliet - I've never managed to make it through any of the movie versions - but I have seen the play - not my favorite - even though it seems to be everybody else's.
That's all I can remember right now - and then there's Henry V - which ranks up there with one of my favorites.
Just some observations and thoughts:
1. Both movie versions are good. I didn't think I'd like the Olivier version because I find him too stiff and stagey in movies, but this one was really good. It definitely reflects the era it was filmed in, but I thought it was a good interpretation. In some ways it does things better than Branagh's. For instance the whole chorus thing - where the actor is telling us to use our imaginations - that works much better in Olivier's version because he has it set in Elizabethan times at the actual Globe. You can see the 'cockpit' and how lacking it is and why using one's imagination is so critical in order to envision the great battle at Agincourt. In Branagh's version, even though Jacobi is great, it really doesn't make sense. In fact with that movie which has such close up detail and with so much of it (I think of the very long battle scene and then the long pan of everyone walking over the ravaged battlefield) they leave nothing to the imagination - it's all there in brilliant color right in your face.
2. Both movies are abridged and it is interesting to compare the abridgments and how they change the story. In the 1944 one, there is a lot of that slapstick humor throughout the play so that when Henry plays his little trick with the glove after this horrendous battle, it makes sense. In the Branagh one they pretty much leave that out - Henry just hands the glove back to the guy (whatever his name was - and the guy looks kind of puzzled). Because in the 1989 version Henry is very torn about war and feels everything so deeply, it doesn't make sense that suddenly he does this silly, good humored trick on Fluellen and the other can't-remember-his-name guy.
3. For the first time I got the joke from the scene where Pistol, Bardolf, Nim, Boy and the Hostess are sitting around mourning the death of Falstaff and the boy says something like 'he said women were the devil incarnate' and the hostess replies 'well, he never liked the color carnation'.
4. I noticed a lot of irony going on - namely in three ways: 1) betrayal - Falstaff has been abandoned by Prince Hal - because he has become King Henry V, and this has broken his heart and wounded him perhaps mortally in that he soon thereafter he gets sick and dies. Then Henry turns around and tells Sir Grey, one of his close counsellors who has been involved in a plot to assassinate him, how wounded he (Henry) feels at being betrayed by Grey. 2) We have Henry threatening the mayor of Harfleur with every kind of rape and pillage if he doesn't surrender his town, yet he hangs Bardolf for stealing from a church and warns his soldiers they are not to abuse the French in anyway - even with disdainful language. 3) When Henry is walking through the camp at night and gets into that argument about who is responsible if the soldiers don't die well, meaning having repented and been saved, is it the king or is it the soldier themselves, Henry argues well that the son should not be blamed for the father's sin. Yet very soon thereafter he begs the 'God of battles' to remember all the penance he as done to atone for his father's murder of King Richard.
5. It was wonderful to see how the kids loved the movie last night. As I was leaving I could hear them quoting things. I heard at least two kids saying to their parents: "We few. We happy few. We band of brothers." Another funny thing, at one point someone in the play mentions 'disputations' and the kids all suddenly buzzed. They had just learned what disputations were in their lesson about St. Thomas Aquinas.
5. I would like to get what's going on with the frequent references to the Welsh, the Scot and the Irish. It sounds like a joke. The Irish guy, McMorris comes off as stupid. The Scot comes of pretty well and of course the Welshman, Fluellen is an interesting minor character because he has that connection with Henry V who he often reminds is also a Welshman. I think I'll focus on that when I read it through this time. Also, I want to make note of every reference to classical mythology or history. I know Fluellen has studied the war strategies of Pompey and others, as he is often lecturing on these things (to comic effect).
6. I really want to see other Shakespeare history plays, especially Henry IV (there are 2 parts!) and Richard III. It just so happens that the National Shakespeare Theatre will be showing both parts of Henry IV in March and April and the Folger Shakespeare Theatre is now showing Richard III through March 9th. I have to figure out how to go to three plays in the next couple of months.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Visiting Aunt Jackie
Spent most of the day with my Aunt Jackie. She was moved from her rehab center to hospice care in her own apartment in her retirement home. Because of the strain of everything and the move she was so very grouchy. She'd be embarrassed if she knew I were writing this out. She often apologizes when she realizes how she's behaving. She honestly can't help herself. It is just how her anxiety manifests itself. But really she is most wonderfully imperious and absolutely withering in her tart criticisms. I wish I were a playwright, I would create a character who talked that way. I have to hold in a belly laugh the whole time even as I sheepishly go about doing her commands. If I didn't find it so deeply humorous, I would be a puddle on the floor unable to bear up under the stabs of her lightning sharp barbs.
But once she settled into her own bedroom, with her own books about her and her paintings and her beloved radio (where she listens to her beloved NPR) she relaxed. I made her a cup of tea and we had a nice chat. I know she's got everything wrong with her and she is going to fade over the course of the next few weeks (or so it is supposed; but she is tough! Really tough! It might take longer than we all suppose), but I felt really appreciative of having her in my life. She's a wonderful conversationalist. Do they make those any more? And she is such a wealth of history and she loves books so much. She is one of the easiest people in the world to talk to. I am really going to miss her. And now I have gone from laughing heartily to brimming with tears.
But once she settled into her own bedroom, with her own books about her and her paintings and her beloved radio (where she listens to her beloved NPR) she relaxed. I made her a cup of tea and we had a nice chat. I know she's got everything wrong with her and she is going to fade over the course of the next few weeks (or so it is supposed; but she is tough! Really tough! It might take longer than we all suppose), but I felt really appreciative of having her in my life. She's a wonderful conversationalist. Do they make those any more? And she is such a wealth of history and she loves books so much. She is one of the easiest people in the world to talk to. I am really going to miss her. And now I have gone from laughing heartily to brimming with tears.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
An Admission
I am just going to admit that the cold, lead-gray gloom of January, and my aunt slowly dying, and the troubles two of my sons are having with school and growing up, and the state of the world, and my usual ever present sense of being overwhelmed and inadequate and the ample evidence of those two things that surround me in my daily life, all this, is bringing me down. I wish I had a more muscular prayer life. Like my body, it is pretty flabby, because it takes a lot of self-discipline, something I lack. So I'll just make this little admission my prayer. Lord, lift me up! I believe! Help my unbelief!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Food Diary - Sunday 1/26/14
Yesterday was a bit of a mess. I decided I would 'splurge' and let myself eat pancakes since I was planning to eat only two meals and no snacks in between.
In a.m. had coffee (with 2% milk) and a banana.
10:00 Went out to diner and had 2 pancakes, 3 slices of bacon and about half an order of home fries plus coffee with half and half.
Went to visit Aunt Jackie who is not doing well. She's just waiting for death. She couldn't get comfortable and she couldn't really talk. They were talking about upping her pain meds. Hannah came with me. On the way home we were very weepy. Hannah hadn't indulged at breakfast and had stuck to her Weight Watchers so she was getting shaky. At this point it was about 4:30. So we stopped at yet another diner. I had a gyro sandwich and stole a few fries from Hannah's plate.
Didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day.
In a.m. had coffee (with 2% milk) and a banana.
10:00 Went out to diner and had 2 pancakes, 3 slices of bacon and about half an order of home fries plus coffee with half and half.
Went to visit Aunt Jackie who is not doing well. She's just waiting for death. She couldn't get comfortable and she couldn't really talk. They were talking about upping her pain meds. Hannah came with me. On the way home we were very weepy. Hannah hadn't indulged at breakfast and had stuck to her Weight Watchers so she was getting shaky. At this point it was about 4:30. So we stopped at yet another diner. I had a gyro sandwich and stole a few fries from Hannah's plate.
Didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
The Quarter-Acre Farm - Book 6
Because we are in the depths of snowy, bitter cold weather, I felt an urge to read something about gardening. I so enjoy all those back to nature, homesteading type books even though my life in no way reflects that lifestyle. I found this book while browsing titles on my Kindle, I think.
The Quarter-Acre Farm; How I Kept the Patio, Lost the Lawn and Fed my Family for a Year by Spring Warren is her highly amusing and engrossing journal of her first year spent trying to feed her family from her 1/4 acre suburban lot. And it is complete with recipes which sound really good. I really want to try some of them.
Warren is very down to earth and self-deprecating. She openly admits all her missteps and dumb mistakes. Initially, she has to deal with her sons and husband not quite being on board with her experiment to eat 70% of all her food straight from her garden. While I found her modesty and ability to laugh at herself charming, she really isn't a novice at this sort of thing. Unlike me who grew up with parents who had two orange thumbs and couldn't keep a houseplant alive, Warren grew up with gardening parents. And she lives in Northern California where her suburb is surrounded by some of the best farmland in the world. And a place where people think nothing of having a small fruit orchard in their backyard. Warren had been caring for fruit trees and a little vegetable garden for years before she decided to go whole hog and change her lawn into a farm. If this is hard for her to do given the ideal circumstances she lives with, well, it is probably nigh impossible for me to ever dream of!
In spite of the fact that her book made me feel the task of having my own victory garden is well beyond my reach, the book is so well written and so chock full of interesting knowledge, obscure facts, humorous situations and down to earth practical advice, that it is a lovely read. Just the right thing to read on gray, overcast winter days when the temperature doesn't quite rise out of the teens. Spring will come! The farmer's market will open! We will eat luscious fresh tomatoes once again!
I really enjoyed this book. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
The Quarter-Acre Farm; How I Kept the Patio, Lost the Lawn and Fed my Family for a Year by Spring Warren is her highly amusing and engrossing journal of her first year spent trying to feed her family from her 1/4 acre suburban lot. And it is complete with recipes which sound really good. I really want to try some of them.
Warren is very down to earth and self-deprecating. She openly admits all her missteps and dumb mistakes. Initially, she has to deal with her sons and husband not quite being on board with her experiment to eat 70% of all her food straight from her garden. While I found her modesty and ability to laugh at herself charming, she really isn't a novice at this sort of thing. Unlike me who grew up with parents who had two orange thumbs and couldn't keep a houseplant alive, Warren grew up with gardening parents. And she lives in Northern California where her suburb is surrounded by some of the best farmland in the world. And a place where people think nothing of having a small fruit orchard in their backyard. Warren had been caring for fruit trees and a little vegetable garden for years before she decided to go whole hog and change her lawn into a farm. If this is hard for her to do given the ideal circumstances she lives with, well, it is probably nigh impossible for me to ever dream of!
In spite of the fact that her book made me feel the task of having my own victory garden is well beyond my reach, the book is so well written and so chock full of interesting knowledge, obscure facts, humorous situations and down to earth practical advice, that it is a lovely read. Just the right thing to read on gray, overcast winter days when the temperature doesn't quite rise out of the teens. Spring will come! The farmer's market will open! We will eat luscious fresh tomatoes once again!
I really enjoyed this book. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare - Book 5
All ye homeschooling mothers, get thee to a bookstore and buy this book.
How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig is simply fantastic! It is clear, succinct, informative, inspiring and joyful. Ken Ludwig is a playwright who has won awards (but I am ignorant and have never heard of him), who loves Shakespeare and know his works well. He also is the father of two children whom he taught to love Shakespeare too. He tells us the simple and wonderful way he did this. He teaches you how to teach memorization, how to recite, read and understand Shakespeare - not in an heavy academic way but still in an intelligent way that makes you feel his sheer amazement at the Bard's genius. He gives you an order in which to introduce the plays and twenty-five passages to memorize over the course of time to really establish a love and depth of knowledge of Shakespeare's works.
I got this book out of the library, but it is so good, I plan to buy it to so I can have my own hard copy. It won't even do to have it on the Kindle because you have to be able to flip easily through the book to different passages from different plays.
Check out his website: www.howtoteachyourchildrenshakespeare.com where you can hear famous actors recite the passages and where he provides you with his quotation sheets, which aid children in memorizing the passages.
This book is truly a gift. Thank you Ken Ludwig for having such a generous heart and for loving both Shakespeare and your kids so much it all overflowed into this lovely gem of a book!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig is simply fantastic! It is clear, succinct, informative, inspiring and joyful. Ken Ludwig is a playwright who has won awards (but I am ignorant and have never heard of him), who loves Shakespeare and know his works well. He also is the father of two children whom he taught to love Shakespeare too. He tells us the simple and wonderful way he did this. He teaches you how to teach memorization, how to recite, read and understand Shakespeare - not in an heavy academic way but still in an intelligent way that makes you feel his sheer amazement at the Bard's genius. He gives you an order in which to introduce the plays and twenty-five passages to memorize over the course of time to really establish a love and depth of knowledge of Shakespeare's works.
I got this book out of the library, but it is so good, I plan to buy it to so I can have my own hard copy. It won't even do to have it on the Kindle because you have to be able to flip easily through the book to different passages from different plays.
Check out his website: www.howtoteachyourchildrenshakespeare.com where you can hear famous actors recite the passages and where he provides you with his quotation sheets, which aid children in memorizing the passages.
This book is truly a gift. Thank you Ken Ludwig for having such a generous heart and for loving both Shakespeare and your kids so much it all overflowed into this lovely gem of a book!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Food Diary - Saturday 1/25/14
Got up around 6:30 or so. Had a cup of black coffee and a pear.
7:30 went out for bagels. Got a hazelnut coffee 2% milk. Came home and completely forgot I was only going to have half a bagel. Had a perfectly delicious everything bagel with veggie cream cheese.
12:30 had left over mushy beef with carrots/parsnips/tomatoes.
1:30 had another cup of coffee with 2% to fortify me to clean up, vacuum and dust Becky's room while she's still at her sleep over.
Started making chicken and rice soup from chicken broth I made on Thursday.
Oops, got interrupted making chicken and rice soup when I got an email asking where I was. Was supposed to be at an Aquinas Learning mentor meeting. Abandoned soup-making and family and went to meeting. Told Rick I would be home early (meeting started at 4:30 but I didn't make it until almost 5:30 and then didn't get home until after 10 p.m.)
I wound up eating chicken curry over rice, some kind of chick pea Indian dish and then a side dish of cantaloupe and honeydew with a little vanilla yogurt dolloped on top. This was from the Wegman's hot food bar.
It has now been a full week since I've started recording what I am eating. I am about three pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of last week. But my weight is like that. I fluctuate about 3 or 4 pounds pretty easily. Writing this down is pretty boring and more time consuming than I thought it would be. BUT I think I should try to keep it up. It did put a brake on my binging. I was at times tempted to be dishonest as in I'd think to myself: I can eat more I just won't record it! Gluttony is truly a vice.
This week though, I am afraid I'll lose my momentum. My dear aunt seems to be dying and I keep thinking that some day very soon, we'll get the news that she has passed away. I feel like Damocles with that sword dangling over his head. It is going to fall, just don't know when. I am kind of numb about it. I plan to go see Aunt Jackie this afternoon; haven't been all week due to business and weather.
So I will try and record everything and I think I'll also try to record anything physical I do too. I am so out of the habit of exercising now that I stopped the physical training. I keep making plans and then not following through. Also, through all this my arm still really hurts. I have to get to the doctor to get a referral to get it x-ray and then to physical therapy.
7:30 went out for bagels. Got a hazelnut coffee 2% milk. Came home and completely forgot I was only going to have half a bagel. Had a perfectly delicious everything bagel with veggie cream cheese.
12:30 had left over mushy beef with carrots/parsnips/tomatoes.
1:30 had another cup of coffee with 2% to fortify me to clean up, vacuum and dust Becky's room while she's still at her sleep over.
Started making chicken and rice soup from chicken broth I made on Thursday.
Oops, got interrupted making chicken and rice soup when I got an email asking where I was. Was supposed to be at an Aquinas Learning mentor meeting. Abandoned soup-making and family and went to meeting. Told Rick I would be home early (meeting started at 4:30 but I didn't make it until almost 5:30 and then didn't get home until after 10 p.m.)
I wound up eating chicken curry over rice, some kind of chick pea Indian dish and then a side dish of cantaloupe and honeydew with a little vanilla yogurt dolloped on top. This was from the Wegman's hot food bar.
It has now been a full week since I've started recording what I am eating. I am about three pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of last week. But my weight is like that. I fluctuate about 3 or 4 pounds pretty easily. Writing this down is pretty boring and more time consuming than I thought it would be. BUT I think I should try to keep it up. It did put a brake on my binging. I was at times tempted to be dishonest as in I'd think to myself: I can eat more I just won't record it! Gluttony is truly a vice.
This week though, I am afraid I'll lose my momentum. My dear aunt seems to be dying and I keep thinking that some day very soon, we'll get the news that she has passed away. I feel like Damocles with that sword dangling over his head. It is going to fall, just don't know when. I am kind of numb about it. I plan to go see Aunt Jackie this afternoon; haven't been all week due to business and weather.
So I will try and record everything and I think I'll also try to record anything physical I do too. I am so out of the habit of exercising now that I stopped the physical training. I keep making plans and then not following through. Also, through all this my arm still really hurts. I have to get to the doctor to get a referral to get it x-ray and then to physical therapy.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Menu Planning for week of 1/25/14 - 2/1/14
Alright, since I want to really focus on eating well and keeping track of what I eat, I have to plan everything out. I am not good at this! Inevitably I fall apart towards the latter end of the week. But here's a try:
Saturday:
Bagels for breakfast, fruit
Leftovers for lunch
Dinner - Italian cold cut subs and homemade chicken and rice soup
Sunday:
Eat late breakfast at diner
Early dinner - Rick grills something? Big tossed salad.
Monday:
B: Finish up bagels, fruit
L: Sean - has early dismissal so no need to pack lunch. Choice are: pbj, sandwich meats, salad, soup, etc
D: since I'll be out until about 5:30 due to AHG meeting, I think I'll use up the Trader Joe's Chinese food I've got in the freezer: vegetable fried rice, frozen orange chicken, stir fry veggies.
Tuesday:
B: Some kind of eggs and toast, fruit
L: leftovers, sandwich fixings, salads, soup, etc. (Early dismissal)
D: slow cooker ribs, potatoes, raw veggies
Wednesday:
B: Slow cooker oatmeal, fruit
L: Leftovers, sandwich fixings, salads, soup, etc (Pack Sean's lunch)
D: fajitas, rice and beans.
Thursday:
B: Cheese, rolls and fruit
L: Lunch out (pack Sean's lunch)
D: Pizza at Aquinas for Becky and me. Rick, Sean and Hannah on their own.
Friday:
B: oatmeal cakes w/syrup and fruit
L: fish sticks and homemade fries (pack Sean's lunch)
D: Homemade mac and cheese, veggies, peaches
Saturday:
B: bagels
L: leftovers, etc.
D: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad
Okay now to clean out the fridge for about 5 minutes and then off to the store!
Saturday:
Bagels for breakfast, fruit
Leftovers for lunch
Dinner - Italian cold cut subs and homemade chicken and rice soup
Sunday:
Eat late breakfast at diner
Early dinner - Rick grills something? Big tossed salad.
Monday:
B: Finish up bagels, fruit
L: Sean - has early dismissal so no need to pack lunch. Choice are: pbj, sandwich meats, salad, soup, etc
D: since I'll be out until about 5:30 due to AHG meeting, I think I'll use up the Trader Joe's Chinese food I've got in the freezer: vegetable fried rice, frozen orange chicken, stir fry veggies.
Tuesday:
B: Some kind of eggs and toast, fruit
L: leftovers, sandwich fixings, salads, soup, etc. (Early dismissal)
D: slow cooker ribs, potatoes, raw veggies
Wednesday:
B: Slow cooker oatmeal, fruit
L: Leftovers, sandwich fixings, salads, soup, etc (Pack Sean's lunch)
D: fajitas, rice and beans.
Thursday:
B: Cheese, rolls and fruit
L: Lunch out (pack Sean's lunch)
D: Pizza at Aquinas for Becky and me. Rick, Sean and Hannah on their own.
Friday:
B: oatmeal cakes w/syrup and fruit
L: fish sticks and homemade fries (pack Sean's lunch)
D: Homemade mac and cheese, veggies, peaches
Saturday:
B: bagels
L: leftovers, etc.
D: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad
Okay now to clean out the fridge for about 5 minutes and then off to the store!
Friday, January 24, 2014
Food Diary - Friday 1/24/14
Got up at 6:00. Sean's school was a 2 hour delay, which mean he had to finally face those two midterm exams.
Had black coffee and the last (and at this point overripe) banana.
Since Sean's school was late and they were not going to serve lunch at school, I offered to buy him a breakfast sandwich at Starbuck's on the way. So he had that and I ate one of those yogurt parfaits and a blueberry scone and a tall latte.
Around noon ate a pear.
2:30 ish - Started to get really hungry and Becky was too. We are really low on supplies here, starting to run out of basics but I am not planning to shop until tomorrow. We did have half a bag of organic tortilla chips and some sharp cheddar cheese, so we made nachos. And it them all up. We didn't quite use up the whole bag.
Becky had her make up voice lesson (which had been previously cancelled due to snow) and then we went shopping for a gift for her to bring to a sleep over birthday party. While out we ate at Subway. Why do my kids love Subway so. Urgh. I had half a tuna sub on whole wheat with some cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a little oil and vinegar. Then I had a peanut butter cookie.
Now i am going to bed because I still feel like eating but I know I've eaten way more than I should have.
Had black coffee and the last (and at this point overripe) banana.
Since Sean's school was late and they were not going to serve lunch at school, I offered to buy him a breakfast sandwich at Starbuck's on the way. So he had that and I ate one of those yogurt parfaits and a blueberry scone and a tall latte.
Around noon ate a pear.
2:30 ish - Started to get really hungry and Becky was too. We are really low on supplies here, starting to run out of basics but I am not planning to shop until tomorrow. We did have half a bag of organic tortilla chips and some sharp cheddar cheese, so we made nachos. And it them all up. We didn't quite use up the whole bag.
Becky had her make up voice lesson (which had been previously cancelled due to snow) and then we went shopping for a gift for her to bring to a sleep over birthday party. While out we ate at Subway. Why do my kids love Subway so. Urgh. I had half a tuna sub on whole wheat with some cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a little oil and vinegar. Then I had a peanut butter cookie.
Now i am going to bed because I still feel like eating but I know I've eaten way more than I should have.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Food Diary - Thursday 1/23/14
Well both Sean's high school and our homeschooling co-op got cancelled today because of winter weather. I know yesterday I got around just fine in the afternoon and somehow the youth group managed to drive the kids at 7:30 a.m. to GMU and then into town at 11:00. Yet somehow it is deemed unsafe. Anyway, they were happy!
Woke at 5:30 and had my usual coffee and banana. Later another cup and 1 slice of toast with a little butter.
10:00 made breakfast for sleepyheads sleeping in yet again. This time I fried up some hash browns from Trader Joes (I didn't have any) and made leftover oatmeal pancakes (added an egg and then browned the patties gently in some butter - topped with maple syrup). They were good and I am sure fattening! I had three small cakes. Also had a small dish of 2% plain Greek yogurt with a squeeze or two of honey and a very small handful of trail mix to make a little parfait. And a pear.
12 ish - made Sean some tuna (yellowfin in olive oil from TJs). I rinsed the olive oil off (somewhat) and then stirred in some of the Greek yogurt in lieu of mayo. Had 5 multigrain crackers with a scoop of tuna on each. I guess I had about 1/3 of the can and Sean ate the rest.
1:30 hungry again. Guess that lunch was too small. Had 2 slices of lunch ham (99% fat free!) and another pear. We have lots of pears and they are all ripe at the same time.
@3:30 I put some cubed beef (I had meant to get a pot roast out of the freezer but I got cubed beef out instead), cut up the rest of the parsnips, some carrots and a can of tomatoes and put it all into in my dutch oven. I was out of regular onions so I chopped up a couple of big green onions, then I threw in some water, a little bit of cane sugar (I was afraid the parsnips would be bitter) and a couple of bay leafs. I cooked it at 325 until about 6:30. It was good except the cubed beef was kind of mushy. I looked up recipes for cubed beef and they all seem to feature quick cooking like frying, and I can see why, while a pot roast would be falling apart tender and delicious, it was just. . . mushy. But the gravy and veggies were good. Cooked up some basmati rice. That's what we had for dinner. Of course I forgot that Will and Josh are now back at school and that Hannah had a class and Peter was working. Rick wound up working late (still not home and it is 10:20 p.m.). So I had this big meal with only Sean and Becky. Sean ate some, Becky just picked at hers. Unfortunately I ate pretty heartily. I have a ton of leftovers and tomorrow is Friday and I try (though often fail) to not eat meat on Fridays. Well, I guess it can be lunch for Saturday.
I did not snack at all from my second lunch until dinner so that was good. I tried to remember to drink lots of water.
I also finally put the chicken carcass from the roast chicken we had earlier this week in the big slow cooker to make broth. Just covered it with water and put some carrots and celery in there to flavor it a long with a little salt and a splash of apple cider vinegar. It always makes a delicious broth.
Woke at 5:30 and had my usual coffee and banana. Later another cup and 1 slice of toast with a little butter.
10:00 made breakfast for sleepyheads sleeping in yet again. This time I fried up some hash browns from Trader Joes (I didn't have any) and made leftover oatmeal pancakes (added an egg and then browned the patties gently in some butter - topped with maple syrup). They were good and I am sure fattening! I had three small cakes. Also had a small dish of 2% plain Greek yogurt with a squeeze or two of honey and a very small handful of trail mix to make a little parfait. And a pear.
12 ish - made Sean some tuna (yellowfin in olive oil from TJs). I rinsed the olive oil off (somewhat) and then stirred in some of the Greek yogurt in lieu of mayo. Had 5 multigrain crackers with a scoop of tuna on each. I guess I had about 1/3 of the can and Sean ate the rest.
1:30 hungry again. Guess that lunch was too small. Had 2 slices of lunch ham (99% fat free!) and another pear. We have lots of pears and they are all ripe at the same time.
@3:30 I put some cubed beef (I had meant to get a pot roast out of the freezer but I got cubed beef out instead), cut up the rest of the parsnips, some carrots and a can of tomatoes and put it all into in my dutch oven. I was out of regular onions so I chopped up a couple of big green onions, then I threw in some water, a little bit of cane sugar (I was afraid the parsnips would be bitter) and a couple of bay leafs. I cooked it at 325 until about 6:30. It was good except the cubed beef was kind of mushy. I looked up recipes for cubed beef and they all seem to feature quick cooking like frying, and I can see why, while a pot roast would be falling apart tender and delicious, it was just. . . mushy. But the gravy and veggies were good. Cooked up some basmati rice. That's what we had for dinner. Of course I forgot that Will and Josh are now back at school and that Hannah had a class and Peter was working. Rick wound up working late (still not home and it is 10:20 p.m.). So I had this big meal with only Sean and Becky. Sean ate some, Becky just picked at hers. Unfortunately I ate pretty heartily. I have a ton of leftovers and tomorrow is Friday and I try (though often fail) to not eat meat on Fridays. Well, I guess it can be lunch for Saturday.
I did not snack at all from my second lunch until dinner so that was good. I tried to remember to drink lots of water.
I also finally put the chicken carcass from the roast chicken we had earlier this week in the big slow cooker to make broth. Just covered it with water and put some carrots and celery in there to flavor it a long with a little salt and a splash of apple cider vinegar. It always makes a delicious broth.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Food Diary - Wednesday - 1/22/14
Got up at 5:30 and had a couple of cups of black coffee. I have to stop drinking so much coffee though for three reasons: 1) It makes my stomach roil and rumble which makes me think I'm hungry when I probably am not. 2) I have been sleeping badly 3) too acidic - I think that is why I am having eczema outbreaks.
Breakfast - made overnight slow cooker oatmeal. All my life I hated oatmeal until I tried slow cooker oatmeal a few years ago. It is so delicious! I made it so my kids going to the March for Life could eat something warm and hearty before heading out. Alas, they had to get up so early, they were really grumpy and not hungry at all. Rick made them all eat a couple of spoonfuls. Will actually ate a whole bowl.
I had one bowlful of oatmeal with some cane sugar sprinkled on and a little packet of breakfast trail mix on top too. The breakfast trail mix probably isn't the best thing to put on. It's got natural flavoring (MSG?) and lots of other ingredients. 210 calories, 90g from fat with 2g fiber. Next time I'll just put dried fruit and some nuts on.
Bad food day or so it seems. I should have put the trail mix away. Instead I sat working at the table and realized after a while that I had been mindlessly snacking away. But somehow I was so hungry. Around noon had two smallish bowls of potato cheese soup and then scolded myself severely and said I should not eat anything until dinner.
I went out in the afternoon to run errands. I was so hungry. I almost bought a candy bar but then didn't. I almost pulled into MacDonald's but then didn't. I was going to be strong and go home and eat something healthy like a pear or baby carrots. But on my way home got a call from the kids. They were back at the parish an hour earlier than planned (they'd been at the March for Life). So I turned around and went to pick them up. They got in the car and said they were famished. Will noted that he had to eat early because of his flight back to Boston and that he was craving a cup of coffee (son after my own heart!). So we wound up stopping at the diner we usually eat Sunday breakfast. I was so hungry by this time and surrounded by hungry offspring. I got a reuben sandwich platter and ate most of the fries too (but not quite all!). It was a delicious reuben sandwich. . . . hmmm.
Breakfast - made overnight slow cooker oatmeal. All my life I hated oatmeal until I tried slow cooker oatmeal a few years ago. It is so delicious! I made it so my kids going to the March for Life could eat something warm and hearty before heading out. Alas, they had to get up so early, they were really grumpy and not hungry at all. Rick made them all eat a couple of spoonfuls. Will actually ate a whole bowl.
I had one bowlful of oatmeal with some cane sugar sprinkled on and a little packet of breakfast trail mix on top too. The breakfast trail mix probably isn't the best thing to put on. It's got natural flavoring (MSG?) and lots of other ingredients. 210 calories, 90g from fat with 2g fiber. Next time I'll just put dried fruit and some nuts on.
Bad food day or so it seems. I should have put the trail mix away. Instead I sat working at the table and realized after a while that I had been mindlessly snacking away. But somehow I was so hungry. Around noon had two smallish bowls of potato cheese soup and then scolded myself severely and said I should not eat anything until dinner.
I went out in the afternoon to run errands. I was so hungry. I almost bought a candy bar but then didn't. I almost pulled into MacDonald's but then didn't. I was going to be strong and go home and eat something healthy like a pear or baby carrots. But on my way home got a call from the kids. They were back at the parish an hour earlier than planned (they'd been at the March for Life). So I turned around and went to pick them up. They got in the car and said they were famished. Will noted that he had to eat early because of his flight back to Boston and that he was craving a cup of coffee (son after my own heart!). So we wound up stopping at the diner we usually eat Sunday breakfast. I was so hungry by this time and surrounded by hungry offspring. I got a reuben sandwich platter and ate most of the fries too (but not quite all!). It was a delicious reuben sandwich. . . . hmmm.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Food Diary - Tuesday 1/21/14
7:00 or so Breakfast - black coffee, 1/2 bagel with a little bit of butter. toasted. Fage 0% fat cherry yogurt and a banana.
Around 9:30 or 10 - I started making breakfast for the all the sleepy heads who were sleeping because of the snow day.
I cooked up a package of bacon and made bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, but I snitched at least 4 slices of bacon. However, they were the smallest slices, kind of like the broken crumbly half slices. Still I did eat 4 of them. . . .
Lunch around 1:00 or so - a bowl of lentil veggie soup (small can from TJs) with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on it. Two slider rolls with some brie smeared on them. Two oatmeal-cranberry cookies. Another cup of black coffee. I seem to be a coffee drinking machine lately!
Didn't snack at all between lunch and dinner.
Made yummy potato cheese soup, cornbread and tossed green salad for dinner. Very hearty. I had one bowl of soup, two pieces of cornbread and a big serving of salad. Salad had only a smidgen of dressing on it.
I bet if I could cut out bread, I would lose weight a lot quicker. Gotta work on cutting down on that.
Around 9:30 or 10 - I started making breakfast for the all the sleepy heads who were sleeping because of the snow day.
I cooked up a package of bacon and made bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, but I snitched at least 4 slices of bacon. However, they were the smallest slices, kind of like the broken crumbly half slices. Still I did eat 4 of them. . . .
Lunch around 1:00 or so - a bowl of lentil veggie soup (small can from TJs) with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on it. Two slider rolls with some brie smeared on them. Two oatmeal-cranberry cookies. Another cup of black coffee. I seem to be a coffee drinking machine lately!
Didn't snack at all between lunch and dinner.
Made yummy potato cheese soup, cornbread and tossed green salad for dinner. Very hearty. I had one bowl of soup, two pieces of cornbread and a big serving of salad. Salad had only a smidgen of dressing on it.
I bet if I could cut out bread, I would lose weight a lot quicker. Gotta work on cutting down on that.
Thoughts on a Possible Homeschooled 10th Grade
We have mixed feelings about Sean's high school he is attending. The faculty have all been nice and the structure is great for him. He's doing pretty well academically, but there are issues. For one thing I am struck by how high school subjects are taught an inch deep and a mile wide. I don't think much depth happens in high school which is a shame. This is the age when kids really start thinking and questioning. Secondly, your freedom is really curtailed and the stress level is enormous and as far as I can tell almost completely artificially generated by the many little rigidities and details one is burdened with. Thirdly, Sean has a really hard time with the callow, ignorant and insensitive kids he's with every day. Some are okay, but it is a lot of really immature people with dubious characters to have to rub elbows with every day, 7 hours a day. It's depressing. And this is a kid who struggles with depression and anxiety anyway. We are finding that his depression goes with him everywhere. At home or at school, but at home at least you can be depressed in comfort.....
One other big thing is that Sean will have to take a summer class in PE to keep up with the high school schedule. Can you imagine having to take an intensive gym class all during the month of July? Sounds like hell. Especially for someone like Sean who is decidedly unathletic. For some reason they won't accept that he has a physical trainer that comes twice a week as credit for PE. I guess there are some state regs they must meet about health and such. Am I going to trust a high school to teach health that boasts of having healthy cafeteria food because they only serve diet soda but then serve french fries, potato chips and donuts every single day?
So here are thoughts (and questions) about how we'd do 10th grade next year for Sean, if that is the way we go:
Math - this one is easy in that he'd just go back to working with our math tutor. Probably he'll just go into Saxon Algebra 2. He did about 3/4's of Algebra 1 but for some strange reason they put him in basic Algebra at the school. He has yet to learn anything new in his Algebra class. I think he'll just be able to move right into Saxon Algebra 2. That way we won't have to take a separate year for Geometry, since Saxon incorporates that subject into its Algebra textbooks.
Science - This one is a toughie. If I am calculating correctly, Sean is out of sync with the excellent and very local homeschool science classes that all three older kids took. Sean is doing Biology this year and that means, if he does the usual sequence, he'd be ready for Chemistry next year. But alas, I don't think that is being offered. So my back up is to maybe try Kolbe's on line Chemistry class. I know someone who is doing Kolbe on line for her son this year and she really, really likes it. And Kolbe uses secular science textbooks. I just can't bring myself to sign Sean up for a Creationist type course, though those seem to abound in the homeschool community. I checked out Kolbe's schedule for this year and the Chemistry class is held on Tuesdays and Thursday at 9:15 California time, which is 12:15 here, so that would work.
English - I am thinking of signing Sean up for an English 10 class that is held at a Christian home school high school 2 day a week program. This though, would just meet on Wednesday afternoons. It is good 35 to 40 minutes away, so I hope I can sign Becky up for something as well. It seems far to go for just one class. However, the class seems like it would be a very good fit for Sean, it would give him that much more structure and he'd have some time in a classroom with others. He's getting a lot of that now, of course, but I don't think it is a good idea to entirely abandon that experience either.
History - I am thinking I'd just fold Sean into the same American/Modern history course I am planning for Becky.
Latin - this is another tricky one. Sean is using Cambridge Latin at his school. He really likes it. It is a reading method of learning Latin. You follow the story of a Roman family, learning your vocabulary and grammar as you go along. Not many people use this program in the homeschool world. I am wondering if he couldn't muddle through book 3 of the program (Books 1 and 2 are consider first year Latin and all of book 3 is considered Latin 2) on his own at home with my help. We'd use taking the National Latin Exam and being involved in Certamen as the structure that would help us get it done. Even if Becky doesn't participate in Aquinas next year, I promised to teach Latin there. So maybe I can somehow fold Becky and Sean into that without actually doing the whole program? Don't know quite how that would work. . . .
PE - he'd continue with the trainer and hopefully run a few 5Ks.
Religion - attending CLC every week does a lot for formation and learning about the faith.
I was thinking his extracurriculars could be - CLC, Certamen (this will look great on his transcript), volunteering at place for the handicapped. He did this for Junior High Workcamp and wants to go back and volunteer on a regular basis. If we homeschooled we could pick one day where he'd do this regularly.
One other big thing is that Sean will have to take a summer class in PE to keep up with the high school schedule. Can you imagine having to take an intensive gym class all during the month of July? Sounds like hell. Especially for someone like Sean who is decidedly unathletic. For some reason they won't accept that he has a physical trainer that comes twice a week as credit for PE. I guess there are some state regs they must meet about health and such. Am I going to trust a high school to teach health that boasts of having healthy cafeteria food because they only serve diet soda but then serve french fries, potato chips and donuts every single day?
So here are thoughts (and questions) about how we'd do 10th grade next year for Sean, if that is the way we go:
Math - this one is easy in that he'd just go back to working with our math tutor. Probably he'll just go into Saxon Algebra 2. He did about 3/4's of Algebra 1 but for some strange reason they put him in basic Algebra at the school. He has yet to learn anything new in his Algebra class. I think he'll just be able to move right into Saxon Algebra 2. That way we won't have to take a separate year for Geometry, since Saxon incorporates that subject into its Algebra textbooks.
Science - This one is a toughie. If I am calculating correctly, Sean is out of sync with the excellent and very local homeschool science classes that all three older kids took. Sean is doing Biology this year and that means, if he does the usual sequence, he'd be ready for Chemistry next year. But alas, I don't think that is being offered. So my back up is to maybe try Kolbe's on line Chemistry class. I know someone who is doing Kolbe on line for her son this year and she really, really likes it. And Kolbe uses secular science textbooks. I just can't bring myself to sign Sean up for a Creationist type course, though those seem to abound in the homeschool community. I checked out Kolbe's schedule for this year and the Chemistry class is held on Tuesdays and Thursday at 9:15 California time, which is 12:15 here, so that would work.
English - I am thinking of signing Sean up for an English 10 class that is held at a Christian home school high school 2 day a week program. This though, would just meet on Wednesday afternoons. It is good 35 to 40 minutes away, so I hope I can sign Becky up for something as well. It seems far to go for just one class. However, the class seems like it would be a very good fit for Sean, it would give him that much more structure and he'd have some time in a classroom with others. He's getting a lot of that now, of course, but I don't think it is a good idea to entirely abandon that experience either.
History - I am thinking I'd just fold Sean into the same American/Modern history course I am planning for Becky.
Latin - this is another tricky one. Sean is using Cambridge Latin at his school. He really likes it. It is a reading method of learning Latin. You follow the story of a Roman family, learning your vocabulary and grammar as you go along. Not many people use this program in the homeschool world. I am wondering if he couldn't muddle through book 3 of the program (Books 1 and 2 are consider first year Latin and all of book 3 is considered Latin 2) on his own at home with my help. We'd use taking the National Latin Exam and being involved in Certamen as the structure that would help us get it done. Even if Becky doesn't participate in Aquinas next year, I promised to teach Latin there. So maybe I can somehow fold Becky and Sean into that without actually doing the whole program? Don't know quite how that would work. . . .
PE - he'd continue with the trainer and hopefully run a few 5Ks.
Religion - attending CLC every week does a lot for formation and learning about the faith.
I was thinking his extracurriculars could be - CLC, Certamen (this will look great on his transcript), volunteering at place for the handicapped. He did this for Junior High Workcamp and wants to go back and volunteer on a regular basis. If we homeschooled we could pick one day where he'd do this regularly.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Food Diary - Monday 1/20/14
Had migraine starting about 3:00 a.m. Couldn't find Advil. Slept badly until 7 when the bulldozers and construction crew started up with their obnoxious beeping. Felt really queasy so ate a banana. Something gentle on the stomach (of course I eat a banana almost every morning). Still felt sick so ate 4 multigrain crackers. After a bit attempted to sip black coffee. After a while still felt too queasy to take medicine so ate one of those slider rolls from last night. Took 2 Advil (Rick had some in his briefcase). Around 10:30 still had headache so took 1 tylenol and had 1 half cup black coffee.
Around 11:30 headache left. Hooray! Had a Fage 0% raspberry yogurt.
Had a couple of glasses of water in a.m.
Around 12:30 had a slider roll with 1 small slice of swiss cheese, 1 slice of roast turkey, 1 slice of tomato. Also a big apple.
3ish started getting really snacky feeling - stupidly ate 2 oatmeal-cranberry cookies, then ate a single serving of breakfast trail mix. Suddenly realized Sean has no boots for March for Life on Wed. so we ran to get some from Payless. Sean was starving so I let him get a burrito at CA Tortilla. Took a single tortilla chip. Thought I was being so strong. Got home just a few minutes before Phys. Trainer. While Sean was exercising, I ate two more chips with queso (?) and the very last little bit of his black bean burrito. It was a small bite.
Realizing that I better make a good dinner or I would start pigging out on everything - I roasted a chicken and cut up lots of veggies to roast too; turnips, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions and tomato. Served some sliced cucumbers and some applesauce alongside it all. I probably ate too much but at least it was fairly low cal/low fat healthy stuff.
Around 11:30 headache left. Hooray! Had a Fage 0% raspberry yogurt.
Had a couple of glasses of water in a.m.
Around 12:30 had a slider roll with 1 small slice of swiss cheese, 1 slice of roast turkey, 1 slice of tomato. Also a big apple.
3ish started getting really snacky feeling - stupidly ate 2 oatmeal-cranberry cookies, then ate a single serving of breakfast trail mix. Suddenly realized Sean has no boots for March for Life on Wed. so we ran to get some from Payless. Sean was starving so I let him get a burrito at CA Tortilla. Took a single tortilla chip. Thought I was being so strong. Got home just a few minutes before Phys. Trainer. While Sean was exercising, I ate two more chips with queso (?) and the very last little bit of his black bean burrito. It was a small bite.
Realizing that I better make a good dinner or I would start pigging out on everything - I roasted a chicken and cut up lots of veggies to roast too; turnips, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions and tomato. Served some sliced cucumbers and some applesauce alongside it all. I probably ate too much but at least it was fairly low cal/low fat healthy stuff.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Food Diary - Sunday, 1/19/14
I've decided to try and journal everything I eat for a week. Hopefully, this will shame me into eating less, if I semi-publicly admit to everything that passes my lips.
Early A.M. Had two cups of coffee with a splash of 2% milk. Later, ate a banana. I got up before 7 and we went to 10:00 a.m. Mass so I got hungry. I knew I would never make it through Mass without my stomach growling embarrassing loudly!
I think I had at least one tall glass of water.
After Mass, resisted eating the donuts the Knights of Columbus were serving. Everyone else was munching away on their chewy goodness, so I went and sat in the car. I could feel myself weakening. Then we went to our usual diner and ate a late breakfast. I had what was supposed to be a 2 egg omelet but looked more 3 egg to me. It was a western one with tiny cubes of ham, pepper and onion. I also had a fresh fruit cup and some whole wheat toast with a little bit of butter. Drank another cup of coffee with half and half. Drank a glass of water with the meal as well. We left the restaurant around 12:30.
Started getting peckish around 5 and knew that we weren't going to eat dinner until about 7, so I made a cup of plain tea and had about 4 small multigrain crackers. But a little bit later was still hungry, so I had another banana with a spoonful of organic peanut butter.
Dinner - Rick grilled so we had steak, hamburger and hot dogs. I had one Hebrew Nat'l without bun. I had a small cheeseburger (Rick makes his hamburgers small so they fit on slider buns). I had it on a bun with a slice of tomato. I had the equivalent of a small steak, probably the size of my palm. I steamed up a bunch of kale in a little bit of olive oil and water, seasoned with garlic salt and some sea salt (I like it salty). The I made a sauce of a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt and some honey. Rick and I ate out Friday night and that was a side dish I got. It was delicious. Yum. My new favorite way to eat kale. I also sliced up a cucumber and had some of those.
Every Sunday I eat too much meat because Rick grills up a ton of food and it is all delicious.
Now I am stuffed. I had a glass of water with dinner, but I can see I did not drink enough today.
Early A.M. Had two cups of coffee with a splash of 2% milk. Later, ate a banana. I got up before 7 and we went to 10:00 a.m. Mass so I got hungry. I knew I would never make it through Mass without my stomach growling embarrassing loudly!
I think I had at least one tall glass of water.
After Mass, resisted eating the donuts the Knights of Columbus were serving. Everyone else was munching away on their chewy goodness, so I went and sat in the car. I could feel myself weakening. Then we went to our usual diner and ate a late breakfast. I had what was supposed to be a 2 egg omelet but looked more 3 egg to me. It was a western one with tiny cubes of ham, pepper and onion. I also had a fresh fruit cup and some whole wheat toast with a little bit of butter. Drank another cup of coffee with half and half. Drank a glass of water with the meal as well. We left the restaurant around 12:30.
Started getting peckish around 5 and knew that we weren't going to eat dinner until about 7, so I made a cup of plain tea and had about 4 small multigrain crackers. But a little bit later was still hungry, so I had another banana with a spoonful of organic peanut butter.
Dinner - Rick grilled so we had steak, hamburger and hot dogs. I had one Hebrew Nat'l without bun. I had a small cheeseburger (Rick makes his hamburgers small so they fit on slider buns). I had it on a bun with a slice of tomato. I had the equivalent of a small steak, probably the size of my palm. I steamed up a bunch of kale in a little bit of olive oil and water, seasoned with garlic salt and some sea salt (I like it salty). The I made a sauce of a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt and some honey. Rick and I ate out Friday night and that was a side dish I got. It was delicious. Yum. My new favorite way to eat kale. I also sliced up a cucumber and had some of those.
Every Sunday I eat too much meat because Rick grills up a ton of food and it is all delicious.
Now I am stuffed. I had a glass of water with dinner, but I can see I did not drink enough today.
The Prudence of the Flesh - Book 4
The Prudence of the Flesh is a Father Dowling Mystery written by the late, great Ralph McInerny. Dr. McInerny was a beloved professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and a prolific writer. I had never read any of his mysteries before, though I have tried to read a couple of his philsoophy books, have a dvd lecture series on Thomas Aquinas that I have only ever just started and some essays published in magazines. I was supposed to save this for my Mystery a Month challenge, but so far I seem to be in the need for fairly light reads as I get back in the saddle of teaching at home and at our co-op. I also am trying to read a very hefty autobiography by Samuel Gompers, so I just want easy reads for bedtime.
This book was really interesting. I was put in mind of the Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy L. Sayers simply because the references made in the book are so erudite. There's lots of Latin and discussion of great literature as well as some exposition of Catholic theology. However, this book is thoroughly American and modern as well. This is among the last of the mysteries Dr. McInerny wrote in the series before his death. It deals with the scandals in the Roman Catholic Church that have erupted in the last decade or so.
Father Roger Dowling is a successful and long time priest who is pastor at St. Hilary's parish. Even though the mystery series is written around him as the main character, he really isn't present very much in this book. He does come into the investigation a bit more in the end and guesses who the murderer is. I have to say that though I enjoyed this book, I did not buy the ending at all and found it a bit disappointing.
Father Dowling went to seminary and was good friends with another priest, Gregory Barrett. Barrett, however, left the priesthood during that great time of exodus in the 1970s, married a former nun and carved out a career as a book commentator on NPR. But then a woman comes forth with an accusation that he abused her and fathered her child back when she was only 16. He knows this never happened, but it takes a long time and many twists and turns to clear his name. There are many characters here, rather lowlife, though churchgoing Catholics, who aren't especially intelligent, a bishop, a couple of attorneys for the diocese as well as an ambulance-chaser bumbling lawyer. A lot goes on in this book and it is all pretty interesting, but again, the end just didn't do it for me. Also, there must be an ongoing bantering relationship between Father Dowling and his housekeeper that I just didn't quite get. But perhaps if I wasn't reading the series so out of order, I might have a better take on that.
All in all, I enjoyed this read and I'll probably pick up another Father Dowling mystery soon. Maybe one that was written a couple of decades ago, to see how different it might be from this later book. But McInerny wrote so much! It is kind of nice to know that when I am floundering around for a good read, I now have so many to choose from and explore! Thank you, Dr. McInerny, for your contribution to Catholic intellectual life and your many novels and mysteries! I hope you are resting in peace, the peace that passeth all understanding.
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
This book was really interesting. I was put in mind of the Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy L. Sayers simply because the references made in the book are so erudite. There's lots of Latin and discussion of great literature as well as some exposition of Catholic theology. However, this book is thoroughly American and modern as well. This is among the last of the mysteries Dr. McInerny wrote in the series before his death. It deals with the scandals in the Roman Catholic Church that have erupted in the last decade or so.
Father Roger Dowling is a successful and long time priest who is pastor at St. Hilary's parish. Even though the mystery series is written around him as the main character, he really isn't present very much in this book. He does come into the investigation a bit more in the end and guesses who the murderer is. I have to say that though I enjoyed this book, I did not buy the ending at all and found it a bit disappointing.
Father Dowling went to seminary and was good friends with another priest, Gregory Barrett. Barrett, however, left the priesthood during that great time of exodus in the 1970s, married a former nun and carved out a career as a book commentator on NPR. But then a woman comes forth with an accusation that he abused her and fathered her child back when she was only 16. He knows this never happened, but it takes a long time and many twists and turns to clear his name. There are many characters here, rather lowlife, though churchgoing Catholics, who aren't especially intelligent, a bishop, a couple of attorneys for the diocese as well as an ambulance-chaser bumbling lawyer. A lot goes on in this book and it is all pretty interesting, but again, the end just didn't do it for me. Also, there must be an ongoing bantering relationship between Father Dowling and his housekeeper that I just didn't quite get. But perhaps if I wasn't reading the series so out of order, I might have a better take on that.
All in all, I enjoyed this read and I'll probably pick up another Father Dowling mystery soon. Maybe one that was written a couple of decades ago, to see how different it might be from this later book. But McInerny wrote so much! It is kind of nice to know that when I am floundering around for a good read, I now have so many to choose from and explore! Thank you, Dr. McInerny, for your contribution to Catholic intellectual life and your many novels and mysteries! I hope you are resting in peace, the peace that passeth all understanding.
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Notebooking
There's lots to do today, so what am I doing? Planning a modern history course for 8th grade next year. The problem with this is: 1) I don't know if I'll need to if we decide to stick with Aquinas Learning. I think Becky will truly miss it, so we might very well not go out on our own again. But since we are kind of torn about staying with it or not, my homeschooling/planning obsessed imagination is running wild. 2) This is next year and I still really need to get through this year, but as usual, the future always looks brighter than the nitty gritty of right now.
I've been enjoying myself though. One thing I'd like to do is use the many resources that we already have, some of which never got used with the older kids.
The spines for our study would be two resources that I'd read aloud: Famous Men of Modern Times (that's for European history) and Christ and the Americas - for American history, obviously. I was thinking that we would have two blocks a week to work on history. I'd read Famous Men on one day and from Christ and the Americas on another. After the reading, we'd either work on something to put in the notebook, or maybe just read on our own or watch a movie. I am looking forward to field trips as well.
I plan to have lots of independent-read books placed in order together on a couple of shelves in the study. Becky could choose from those to read various biographies, historical fiction or non-fiction books pertaining to what we are studying and what interests her the most.
I also have a list of movies that will go along with our study.
So I was thinking the way to pull all this together might be notebooking.
I've never really done notebooking before. I've been researching around the internet and trying to get some ideas. I think I am more inclined to use an actual binder, but bindering sounds painful, so I guess the better word is notebooking.
I am thinking that the binder would have several sections:
1) Copy work - famous quotes, poetry, speeches, opening lines of books she's reading, etc.
2) Timeline - Becky could build a timeline for the period we'll be studying - I'd make this simple.
3) Maps - need to get a good source for this
4) Book and movie reviews. Maybe field trip reviews too.
5) Visuals - perhaps sketches/imitations of famous paintings/pictures of famous buildings or landmarks/famous photos, etc
I think it sounds fun, is loosely structured enough that Becky can make a lot of her own choices and be creative when she wants to be, and at the same time will be a vehicle for a satisfying study.
I've been enjoying myself though. One thing I'd like to do is use the many resources that we already have, some of which never got used with the older kids.
The spines for our study would be two resources that I'd read aloud: Famous Men of Modern Times (that's for European history) and Christ and the Americas - for American history, obviously. I was thinking that we would have two blocks a week to work on history. I'd read Famous Men on one day and from Christ and the Americas on another. After the reading, we'd either work on something to put in the notebook, or maybe just read on our own or watch a movie. I am looking forward to field trips as well.
I plan to have lots of independent-read books placed in order together on a couple of shelves in the study. Becky could choose from those to read various biographies, historical fiction or non-fiction books pertaining to what we are studying and what interests her the most.
I also have a list of movies that will go along with our study.
So I was thinking the way to pull all this together might be notebooking.
I've never really done notebooking before. I've been researching around the internet and trying to get some ideas. I think I am more inclined to use an actual binder, but bindering sounds painful, so I guess the better word is notebooking.
I am thinking that the binder would have several sections:
1) Copy work - famous quotes, poetry, speeches, opening lines of books she's reading, etc.
2) Timeline - Becky could build a timeline for the period we'll be studying - I'd make this simple.
3) Maps - need to get a good source for this
4) Book and movie reviews. Maybe field trip reviews too.
5) Visuals - perhaps sketches/imitations of famous paintings/pictures of famous buildings or landmarks/famous photos, etc
I think it sounds fun, is loosely structured enough that Becky can make a lot of her own choices and be creative when she wants to be, and at the same time will be a vehicle for a satisfying study.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Midweek musings
Just recounting the week. I feel rushed and overwhelmed. Journaling often helps tame that monster!
Saturday was great - winning second place at our certamen meet. Euge!
But that took all of Saturday and I didn't get my usual done on that day.
Sunday felt so rushed - I needed to grocery shop. I was determined that I'd plan meals better than the week before - which was non existent and it showed it how much junk we ate. So I got that done but then we missed all the morning masses and instead went to an evening one.
I had been so good about keeping up with 31 Days to Get Organized but I have completely fallen off the wagon there. I hope today I can do something!
Monday was focused on deciding whether Josh would go back to Christendom (he didn't do so well first semester grade wise). We had a nice consultation with someone there but that took time and emotional energy. He is going back though. That's good. Then I had to do stuff to prep for our AHG meeting and plan RE class. Both those events went well, but again took time away from studies and household things. So tired Monday night.
With all this going on I also was dealing with Aunt Jackie being critically ill in the hospital. That happened on Saturday. I finally got to visit her yesterday. Poor thing, she is in bad shape. I spent all day at the hospital and then picked up Sean and took him his counselor's meeting (regular Tues. event). But that meant I wasn't home and even though I left explicit instructions nothing got done. I was so mad last night. I just feel so out of control with everything.
So today I plan to only leave the house to take Sean to and from school. Then will hunker down with Becky to prep for Aquinas tomorrow, plan my classes, and clean the house.
So I need to let prayer be my center today and then proceed calmly through out the day getting things done.
Putting this down I see that none of it is a big deal. I think all the stress and the gloomy weather have gotten me down. Okay, ready to take on the day.
Lord bless me in all I do today!
Saturday was great - winning second place at our certamen meet. Euge!
But that took all of Saturday and I didn't get my usual done on that day.
Sunday felt so rushed - I needed to grocery shop. I was determined that I'd plan meals better than the week before - which was non existent and it showed it how much junk we ate. So I got that done but then we missed all the morning masses and instead went to an evening one.
I had been so good about keeping up with 31 Days to Get Organized but I have completely fallen off the wagon there. I hope today I can do something!
Monday was focused on deciding whether Josh would go back to Christendom (he didn't do so well first semester grade wise). We had a nice consultation with someone there but that took time and emotional energy. He is going back though. That's good. Then I had to do stuff to prep for our AHG meeting and plan RE class. Both those events went well, but again took time away from studies and household things. So tired Monday night.
With all this going on I also was dealing with Aunt Jackie being critically ill in the hospital. That happened on Saturday. I finally got to visit her yesterday. Poor thing, she is in bad shape. I spent all day at the hospital and then picked up Sean and took him his counselor's meeting (regular Tues. event). But that meant I wasn't home and even though I left explicit instructions nothing got done. I was so mad last night. I just feel so out of control with everything.
So today I plan to only leave the house to take Sean to and from school. Then will hunker down with Becky to prep for Aquinas tomorrow, plan my classes, and clean the house.
So I need to let prayer be my center today and then proceed calmly through out the day getting things done.
Putting this down I see that none of it is a big deal. I think all the stress and the gloomy weather have gotten me down. Okay, ready to take on the day.
Lord bless me in all I do today!
Monday, January 13, 2014
Tagged!
Take Up and Read tagged me in a meme. I haven't done one of these in years! It was fun! Thank you, Willa and Chari. Go visit them and see who else they tagged!
The Rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random facts about you.
3. Answer the questions given to you in the tagger’s post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag new people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and let them know they have been tagged.
Willa and Chari's Eleven Questions:
1. How would you describe the biome in which you live?
I think the biome I live in is considered temperate deciduous forest. I live in area known as piedmont, or rolling foot hills, not far from the Potomac river. If I drive for 10 minutes west, I can begin to see the outline of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which in truth are about an hour's drive away. It is a lovely area, but very heavily populated. Virginia is lushly green, the way Ireland is because we get so much rain (more than Seattle!). It gets hot and sticky here in the summer and can get pretty cold in the winter, but the weather is very changeable; the joke is - if you don't like the weather just wait 15 minutes.
2. If you could move to a different country, what would be your choice and why?
I am always torn between wanting to go somewhere wild and barren like an island off the coast of Scotland or Ireland (I'd live in a cozy, thatched cottage warmed with a peat fire) or to settle down in Tuscany, Italy where I'll have my own ancient villa with olive groves and a vineyard. Tough decision.
3. What would you consider your most favored book in your childhood?
The Little House books. I can't narrow it to just one.
4. What book would you say has had the most influence in your life?
Very hard question! I think maybe Better than School by Nancy Wallace. That started me off on homeschooling 18 years ago. So a major change in life's course happened because of that book.
5. If you could meet one fictional character, who would it be and why?
Lately, I've been reading people's reviews of Catcher in the Rye. I remember that book so vividly because I really loved it and related so strongly to Holden's despair and alienation. Now I am older and a mother to boys that age, and now that I've encountered depression in one of my sons, I have this motherly urge to take Holden into my home and mother him up good so he can feel some genuine human connection.
6. Can you name one area of your life that has been influenced by Charlotte Mason; how?
Much of my homeschooling is flavored by her attitudes, though I don't think her practices got put into action much here. I wrote a post recently about this.
7. Do you grow any of your own food, and if yes, what do you grow?
Occasionally, I attempt to garden and have grown my own tomatoes and zucchini, mostly. But gardening is physically uncomfortable to me. I can't understand old people who love to do it. My wrists hurt, my back and knees hurt. I seem to attract mosquitoes and other biting bugs whenever I go out to weed. And I fear always at some point during the summer, I simply forget about the garden. It then becomes an eyesore in the yard and something that hangs over me and causes a good deal of guilty feelings. This is a regret I have in life, that I am not a very good gardener.
8. Cradle-Catholic or Convert?
Cradle Catholic, who left the Church for about a decade, though the lines are blurry as to exactly when. I did a slow reversion and now am fully and joyfully back in the fold.
9. What saint would you most like to meet?
St. Teresa of Avila, for sure! But I also really love St. John Bosco.
10. What would you list as your top three favorite spiritual reads?
These change. Right now, I think I would say that The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur is at the top; St. Francis de Sales' An Introduction to the Devout Life and Chesterton's Orthodoxy would be my top three.
11. What is your favorite "go-to" prayer?
A Hail Mary or a quick decade of the rosary. Sometimes the St. Michael the Archangel prayer. Often just a heartfelt: Oh Lord, help me!
My 11 questions for anyone who wants to be tagged after reading these:
1. Name and tell about your most beloved pet.
2. Name the last book or movie that made you cry.
3. Who, currently, is your favorite author?
4. Word the theme of a dominant day dream in your life along the lines of: boy meets girl, boys loses girl, boy wins girl back. It doesn't have to have that plot, just be reduced to the barest characterization.
5. Tell of a time when you absolutely knew God was near.
6. What was your best Christmas ever?
7. What was your worst Christmas ever?
8. Which season is your favorite? Why?
9. Describe your favorite article of clothing.
10. What book would you like to be able to read in its original language? Or if you already can read in a different language, what is your favorite book you've read in a language other than English?
11. What new hobby would you like to start?
The Rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random facts about you.
3. Answer the questions given to you in the tagger’s post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag new people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and let them know they have been tagged.
 |
| This is from 3 years ago! |
Willa and Chari's Eleven Questions:
1. How would you describe the biome in which you live?
I think the biome I live in is considered temperate deciduous forest. I live in area known as piedmont, or rolling foot hills, not far from the Potomac river. If I drive for 10 minutes west, I can begin to see the outline of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which in truth are about an hour's drive away. It is a lovely area, but very heavily populated. Virginia is lushly green, the way Ireland is because we get so much rain (more than Seattle!). It gets hot and sticky here in the summer and can get pretty cold in the winter, but the weather is very changeable; the joke is - if you don't like the weather just wait 15 minutes.
2. If you could move to a different country, what would be your choice and why?
I am always torn between wanting to go somewhere wild and barren like an island off the coast of Scotland or Ireland (I'd live in a cozy, thatched cottage warmed with a peat fire) or to settle down in Tuscany, Italy where I'll have my own ancient villa with olive groves and a vineyard. Tough decision.
3. What would you consider your most favored book in your childhood?
The Little House books. I can't narrow it to just one.
4. What book would you say has had the most influence in your life?
Very hard question! I think maybe Better than School by Nancy Wallace. That started me off on homeschooling 18 years ago. So a major change in life's course happened because of that book.
5. If you could meet one fictional character, who would it be and why?
Lately, I've been reading people's reviews of Catcher in the Rye. I remember that book so vividly because I really loved it and related so strongly to Holden's despair and alienation. Now I am older and a mother to boys that age, and now that I've encountered depression in one of my sons, I have this motherly urge to take Holden into my home and mother him up good so he can feel some genuine human connection.
6. Can you name one area of your life that has been influenced by Charlotte Mason; how?
Much of my homeschooling is flavored by her attitudes, though I don't think her practices got put into action much here. I wrote a post recently about this.
7. Do you grow any of your own food, and if yes, what do you grow?
Occasionally, I attempt to garden and have grown my own tomatoes and zucchini, mostly. But gardening is physically uncomfortable to me. I can't understand old people who love to do it. My wrists hurt, my back and knees hurt. I seem to attract mosquitoes and other biting bugs whenever I go out to weed. And I fear always at some point during the summer, I simply forget about the garden. It then becomes an eyesore in the yard and something that hangs over me and causes a good deal of guilty feelings. This is a regret I have in life, that I am not a very good gardener.
8. Cradle-Catholic or Convert?
Cradle Catholic, who left the Church for about a decade, though the lines are blurry as to exactly when. I did a slow reversion and now am fully and joyfully back in the fold.
9. What saint would you most like to meet?
St. Teresa of Avila, for sure! But I also really love St. John Bosco.
10. What would you list as your top three favorite spiritual reads?
These change. Right now, I think I would say that The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur is at the top; St. Francis de Sales' An Introduction to the Devout Life and Chesterton's Orthodoxy would be my top three.
11. What is your favorite "go-to" prayer?
A Hail Mary or a quick decade of the rosary. Sometimes the St. Michael the Archangel prayer. Often just a heartfelt: Oh Lord, help me!
My 11 questions for anyone who wants to be tagged after reading these:
1. Name and tell about your most beloved pet.
2. Name the last book or movie that made you cry.
3. Who, currently, is your favorite author?
4. Word the theme of a dominant day dream in your life along the lines of: boy meets girl, boys loses girl, boy wins girl back. It doesn't have to have that plot, just be reduced to the barest characterization.
5. Tell of a time when you absolutely knew God was near.
6. What was your best Christmas ever?
7. What was your worst Christmas ever?
8. Which season is your favorite? Why?
9. Describe your favorite article of clothing.
10. What book would you like to be able to read in its original language? Or if you already can read in a different language, what is your favorite book you've read in a language other than English?
11. What new hobby would you like to start?
Sunday, January 12, 2014
The Bat - Book 3 - 2014
So much has been going on this first week after Christmas break. I had so much planning to do for my literature/writing class and then in Latin we were preparing for our first Certamen competition. (We got 2nd place out of 27 teams! We even beat out the elite public high school that all the smart kids go to!) I was very tense about it all. The weather was crazy this week, so Sean got a day off and a couple 2 hour delays which messed up carpooling. Then there are other things going on as well. . . . so the week felt chaotic.
I was going to be a good girl and read my first book that I had selected for my Mystery of the Month challenge, The Name of the Rose. But, alas, it is very similar in tone and length to Joan of Arc, a book I just finished reading, so even though the Name of the Rose seemed intriguing, I just wasn't up for another long, detailed book, written in the style of forgotten Medieval manuscript. So after a couple days I gave up and instead I turned to my old friend, Mary Rinehart Roberts and I downloaded The Bat on my Kindle. I can not read her books slowly and I wound up consuming it in a couple days.
The Bat has a lot of the same conventions that Roberts' many other mysteries have: an old spinster rents a house for the summer. She brings with her her personal maid of many years. Their relationship brings a lot of humor into an otherwise hair-raising story. There is also a beloved niece who is staying with her. And there's something about a bank heist and a falsely accused bank employee. These features have all been in other mysteries I've read by Roberts. This one though has the mastermind criminal The Bat in it. He seems almost supernatural and all sorts of legends have cropped up. There is always some sign of a bat at the site of his crimes, even sometimes, a dead bat nailed to a wall. The police have been stymied by the Bat's elusiveness and no one ever knows where he will appear next.
Our heroine, the old lady spinster (I can't even recall her name right now!) is of a plucky nature. She's always wanted an adventure, but her quiet life has always prevented it. Now's her chance. When she begins to receive death threats that apparently are meant to drive her away from her newly rented home, she determines to get to the bottom of things. She begins to practice shooting a revolver, she has locks installed on the french windows, and she calls a detective to come help her out. One scary, surprising thing happens after another and it is all crowded into one harrowing night with many twists and turns and unexpected happenings. Really, it seemed to me Roberts was having fun seeing how much she could stuff into one night without becoming entirely ludicrous. I bet she had lots of fun writing these.
This story was a fun romp. The final twist at the very end was quite satisfying. I heartily enjoyed reading The Bat.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I was going to be a good girl and read my first book that I had selected for my Mystery of the Month challenge, The Name of the Rose. But, alas, it is very similar in tone and length to Joan of Arc, a book I just finished reading, so even though the Name of the Rose seemed intriguing, I just wasn't up for another long, detailed book, written in the style of forgotten Medieval manuscript. So after a couple days I gave up and instead I turned to my old friend, Mary Rinehart Roberts and I downloaded The Bat on my Kindle. I can not read her books slowly and I wound up consuming it in a couple days.
The Bat has a lot of the same conventions that Roberts' many other mysteries have: an old spinster rents a house for the summer. She brings with her her personal maid of many years. Their relationship brings a lot of humor into an otherwise hair-raising story. There is also a beloved niece who is staying with her. And there's something about a bank heist and a falsely accused bank employee. These features have all been in other mysteries I've read by Roberts. This one though has the mastermind criminal The Bat in it. He seems almost supernatural and all sorts of legends have cropped up. There is always some sign of a bat at the site of his crimes, even sometimes, a dead bat nailed to a wall. The police have been stymied by the Bat's elusiveness and no one ever knows where he will appear next.
Our heroine, the old lady spinster (I can't even recall her name right now!) is of a plucky nature. She's always wanted an adventure, but her quiet life has always prevented it. Now's her chance. When she begins to receive death threats that apparently are meant to drive her away from her newly rented home, she determines to get to the bottom of things. She begins to practice shooting a revolver, she has locks installed on the french windows, and she calls a detective to come help her out. One scary, surprising thing happens after another and it is all crowded into one harrowing night with many twists and turns and unexpected happenings. Really, it seemed to me Roberts was having fun seeing how much she could stuff into one night without becoming entirely ludicrous. I bet she had lots of fun writing these.
This story was a fun romp. The final twist at the very end was quite satisfying. I heartily enjoyed reading The Bat.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Joan of Arc - revisited - Book 2 in 2014
I read this book back in 2011 and have just finished re-reading it as a read aloud to Becky. I am way behind. We were supposed to have finished before Christmas break, but for some reason this book is a really slow read for me, as you can see from this post I made back in June of 2011.
Again, I think it is a wonderful book and well worth persevering through until the end. Bravo, Mark Twain!
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Again, I think it is a wonderful book and well worth persevering through until the end. Bravo, Mark Twain!
For more book reviews, go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Stories from Dante - Book 1 of 2014!
Stories from Dante is a children's retelling of Dante's Divine Comedy by Mary MacGregor. I got it for $1.99 (or some very low price; maybe only .99) on my kindle but you can even read it for free at The Baldwin Project. Mary MacGregor was a Canadian children's author who lived from 1871 to 1961. In this book, which was published in 1906, she writes in a lovely, poetic way using old fashioned language. I have only dipped briefly into Purgatorio and Paradisio so I can't really speak to how good her retelling of these two books are, but I have studied the Inferno (though a while ago so my memory may be a bit rusty) and I thought she did an impressive job of giving a strong sense of the mood and progression of the journey, while leaving out a lot of the detail that would go over a child's head or be too adult.
I plan to use this book to introduce my 7th and 8th graders at our co-op to Dante's masterpiece, so that they have an understanding and frame of reference for when they study this in high school or college.
Two thumbs up!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I plan to use this book to introduce my 7th and 8th graders at our co-op to Dante's masterpiece, so that they have an understanding and frame of reference for when they study this in high school or college.
Two thumbs up!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Do Something Every Day
I grew up in a family that came from a long history of working in the labor movement. We voted Democrat, always. FDR and JFK were my parents' heroes. However, that started to change and they started to get frustrated with the Democratic party when abortion became an issue and the Democrats made it a plank in their platform. But they would talk about not being a 'one issue' voter. The logic went: abortion was just one issue among many and you had to weigh all the different issues and then decide. One issue voters were stupid and ignorant. Except what happened was that you as the voter could never vote on that one issue because it turns out, if you are a Democrat, that it always got swept aside as not being important enough; all other issues always, always outweighed the significance of that one. Because ultimately, what might be bad for you personally (having an abortion), might not be bad for another person in a different circumstance. This is how relativism creeps in. It is the taking of an innocent life if you do it, but if someone else does it, it might not be. WHAT? Doesn't compute! Or, I think some people see it as, the taking of a lesser or potential life, except, then you start making judgments about who is really alive and who isn't. Eugenics, anyone? This is exactly how aborting Down Syndrome babies or those with spina bifida, etc or euthanasia of the sick or elderly (cuz quality of life is the only thing that matters) becomes part of the keep-abortion-legal mentality.
Of course the Republicans were just as bad. Some Republicans are pro-choice anyway (which I think shows that the Republicans have become the big tent party in many ways, as it allows different approaches, whereas Democrats pretty much all have to spout the same party line to get elected.). But then other conservatives were kind of the flip side of the abortion issue, saying it was the ONLY issue that mattered even though the candidate had horrible views on other issues that were also morally repugnant, and even though one might doubt that abortion was going to be abolished in the way most pro-lifers seemed to think, by stacking the Supreme Court with pro-life judges.
It took me a long time to start changing my vote and seeing myself more as an Independent than a Democrat. I could not bring myself to vote Republican until George W. Bush and that was only because I simply couldn't stand Al Gore (and I tend to be pro-environment! But there was just something about him that bothered me to no end - how's that for being rational, LOL) and I knew Virginia was going to go with Bush, so I voted for him so that for the first time in my life, ever, I could vote for a pro-life candidate that actually had a chance of winning. When Clinton was running, I cast protest votes. Before that, I always voted Democrat. When Obama came along, I voted for McCain and Romney. From the very first time I ever saw Obama, which was on a c-span program about his book and I happened upon the show when he was talking his interpretation of the Gospels and he was appalling wrong about it, that I shuddered and thought what a self-aggrandizing nincompoop! How very unimpressive. LOL. Little did I know. . . .
I didn't mean to make this a confessional about my past voting record, my point is that I am tired of reading all the crap on either side that is forever and ever demonizing each other! I have family members and friends who are liberals and family members and friends who are conservative. I don't think the liberals are stupid and lazy and I don't think the conservatives are ignorant and stingy. What they do have is different approaches with different emphases on problems and how to solve them.
Since I've been giving myself an education on how conservative's think, I have been puzzled by exactly how they approach the issue of the poor. I've found these two things lately on the internet.
This Onion piece is hysterically funny (though it really is atheist vs. believer rather than liberal vs. conservative).
This post I found explains how conservatives approach helping the poor, which is very different from how liberals do. It is a completely different mindset which I think liberals have a hard time wrapping their minds around (I know I did!) I think this piece is written in a very measured and clear way.
I also, at this time, am in the middle of reading my great, great grandfather's autobiography, Seventy Years of Life and Labor. You would have thought I would have read this a long time ago, but no, I didn't, I am ashamed to say. However, now I am and of course he is coming up through the tough times of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1800s. He was part of a swelling group of citizens who wanted to do something to right the terrible injustices perpetuated on the working class in the name of capitalism. I think conservatives can downplay this suffering, which is where they get their reputation as coldhearted. I think there is just a difference in world view. Most conservatives don't expect a paradise here on earth. If you want something you need the freedom to go out and get it yourself. And it is up to you personally to help alleviate the suffering of those less fortunate around you. Most liberals want to come up with a system that rights this injustice, they talk of the common good and how the government is the best way to deal with these issues. And frankly, they've been right in many, many cases! What country came out of the industrial revolution with a better overall quality of live without government regulations and programs? None that I know of.
I guess what is emerging in my own mind with maybe some clarity, is the idea that at one time expanding government and passing regulations was a good and just thing, but it always involves a downside too. And the more government expands and grows more powerful, the greater the dangers this downside becomes. As I said before, I think we've reached the tipping point. What aggressive secularists mean by 'common good' is not necessarily what was meant by 'common good' in the traditional sense. In the name of the common good, as defined by whoever gets to define it, we've had extermination camps in Nazi Germany, gulags in the Soviet Union and the Cultural Revolution in China, among many other atrocities. If the state becomes a tyrant, then the common good gets defined as anyone who opposes or might oppose that tyrant's goals.
Right now, Obama's DOJ is trying to tell the Little Sisters of the Poor that they have to get a 'permission slip' from the government in order to bypass being required to fund free contraceptives, etc to their employees, something that flies directly in the face of what they believe in. Obama is chipping away at religious liberty; a very founding principle of our country. He really spoiled his chances. After the hoopla of his speech at Notre Dame, he was poised to prove all those angry nay-sayers wrong, he had after all the U.S. Bishops wanting very much to support the Affordable Health Care Act. Instead, he alienated them all, because religious liberty is less important to his definition of the common good, than allowing for free conception-free sex.
And not only is the problem with power-hungry people trying to force their own agenda, but there is also corruption and incompetency. I had a little taste of this when my aunt was in a nursing home. First of all, right off the bat, because she had had a leg amputated, she was entitled, through Medicare to either a free walker or free wheelchair, paid for by the government (our taxes). There was no asking her if she could afford to buy them herself (she could) or there was no asking if she knew of someone who already had a walker or a wheelchair she could use; there was no mention of an exchange where people donated old walkers and wheelchairs to people in her situation. Nope. It was automatic, you got to get either a walker or a wheelchair. But of course wheelchairs are much more expensive than walkers, so the social worker advised us to choose the wheelchair (no brainer there!) and just pick up a walker for $20 to $30 bucks at a drug store. Okay, that's just wastefulness via incompetency. No one is paying attention here to money! But the nursing home she got sent to was always trying to jack up the services our aunt would need that would get covered via medicare. They gave her too much medication and then said she needed cognitive therapy in dealing with the side effects of the meds. It was crazy! It was like they had a list of all the services Medicare would cover and they were trying their best to see how many they could get, whether she truly needed it or not. This was a 'nice' nursing home in an expensive part of the city. I can imagine what goes on in poorer ones! God help us! And that's just one tiny example that I happen to have experience with.
So anyway, I do think we've hit the tipping point. Now is the time in history to ratchet back on government control as a solution to our problems. When the government gets too big, freedom is imperiled and the economy goes south.
But now I finally get to my point! If this is the case, then I think there should be a groundswell of those who think the same, doing something every day to help those less fortunate. It has to be part of the fabric of our daily lives to always be compassionately helping others.
I am trying to come up with practical things I can do in my life right now to help others. Here's what I've come up with so far. This is a work in progress and will no doubt change as time goes by.
1. Remember to take loose change with me every time I go to church, so I can put some in the poor box.
2. Remember every Sunday to donate canned/dry goods to our church, who in turn take it all to the local food pantry.
3. Budget my groceries better so that money left over can be donated to the poor.
4. Remember to stay politically active through this group, so I can be involved on a state level in supporting laws that help the poor, fight abortion, etc.
5. We do already regularly give to our church, which tithes and also has special collections for various needy groups.
6. We do have a foster child in Kenya who we give money to monthly (well, to the group that runs the school and clinic in her village -she benefits by these).
7. Remember to donate clothing, furniture, books, etc to Good Will or Purple Heart
8. To try to participate in as many service projects as we can via our church or the American Heritage Girls or other opportunities that might come up.
9. Prayer - real prayer devoted to others.
10. Keep informed about issues that affect the poor, the disabled, the needy.
I have spent far too long typing this up and not moving my family towards getting to our regular 10:00 Mass. I guess it is the 11:45 for us today. Oh dear. This type of stuff is so time sucking. Who really can deal with it all and think it through clearly and live their life at the same time? Not me!
Of course the Republicans were just as bad. Some Republicans are pro-choice anyway (which I think shows that the Republicans have become the big tent party in many ways, as it allows different approaches, whereas Democrats pretty much all have to spout the same party line to get elected.). But then other conservatives were kind of the flip side of the abortion issue, saying it was the ONLY issue that mattered even though the candidate had horrible views on other issues that were also morally repugnant, and even though one might doubt that abortion was going to be abolished in the way most pro-lifers seemed to think, by stacking the Supreme Court with pro-life judges.
It took me a long time to start changing my vote and seeing myself more as an Independent than a Democrat. I could not bring myself to vote Republican until George W. Bush and that was only because I simply couldn't stand Al Gore (and I tend to be pro-environment! But there was just something about him that bothered me to no end - how's that for being rational, LOL) and I knew Virginia was going to go with Bush, so I voted for him so that for the first time in my life, ever, I could vote for a pro-life candidate that actually had a chance of winning. When Clinton was running, I cast protest votes. Before that, I always voted Democrat. When Obama came along, I voted for McCain and Romney. From the very first time I ever saw Obama, which was on a c-span program about his book and I happened upon the show when he was talking his interpretation of the Gospels and he was appalling wrong about it, that I shuddered and thought what a self-aggrandizing nincompoop! How very unimpressive. LOL. Little did I know. . . .
I didn't mean to make this a confessional about my past voting record, my point is that I am tired of reading all the crap on either side that is forever and ever demonizing each other! I have family members and friends who are liberals and family members and friends who are conservative. I don't think the liberals are stupid and lazy and I don't think the conservatives are ignorant and stingy. What they do have is different approaches with different emphases on problems and how to solve them.
Since I've been giving myself an education on how conservative's think, I have been puzzled by exactly how they approach the issue of the poor. I've found these two things lately on the internet.
This Onion piece is hysterically funny (though it really is atheist vs. believer rather than liberal vs. conservative).
This post I found explains how conservatives approach helping the poor, which is very different from how liberals do. It is a completely different mindset which I think liberals have a hard time wrapping their minds around (I know I did!) I think this piece is written in a very measured and clear way.
I also, at this time, am in the middle of reading my great, great grandfather's autobiography, Seventy Years of Life and Labor. You would have thought I would have read this a long time ago, but no, I didn't, I am ashamed to say. However, now I am and of course he is coming up through the tough times of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1800s. He was part of a swelling group of citizens who wanted to do something to right the terrible injustices perpetuated on the working class in the name of capitalism. I think conservatives can downplay this suffering, which is where they get their reputation as coldhearted. I think there is just a difference in world view. Most conservatives don't expect a paradise here on earth. If you want something you need the freedom to go out and get it yourself. And it is up to you personally to help alleviate the suffering of those less fortunate around you. Most liberals want to come up with a system that rights this injustice, they talk of the common good and how the government is the best way to deal with these issues. And frankly, they've been right in many, many cases! What country came out of the industrial revolution with a better overall quality of live without government regulations and programs? None that I know of.
I guess what is emerging in my own mind with maybe some clarity, is the idea that at one time expanding government and passing regulations was a good and just thing, but it always involves a downside too. And the more government expands and grows more powerful, the greater the dangers this downside becomes. As I said before, I think we've reached the tipping point. What aggressive secularists mean by 'common good' is not necessarily what was meant by 'common good' in the traditional sense. In the name of the common good, as defined by whoever gets to define it, we've had extermination camps in Nazi Germany, gulags in the Soviet Union and the Cultural Revolution in China, among many other atrocities. If the state becomes a tyrant, then the common good gets defined as anyone who opposes or might oppose that tyrant's goals.
Right now, Obama's DOJ is trying to tell the Little Sisters of the Poor that they have to get a 'permission slip' from the government in order to bypass being required to fund free contraceptives, etc to their employees, something that flies directly in the face of what they believe in. Obama is chipping away at religious liberty; a very founding principle of our country. He really spoiled his chances. After the hoopla of his speech at Notre Dame, he was poised to prove all those angry nay-sayers wrong, he had after all the U.S. Bishops wanting very much to support the Affordable Health Care Act. Instead, he alienated them all, because religious liberty is less important to his definition of the common good, than allowing for free conception-free sex.
And not only is the problem with power-hungry people trying to force their own agenda, but there is also corruption and incompetency. I had a little taste of this when my aunt was in a nursing home. First of all, right off the bat, because she had had a leg amputated, she was entitled, through Medicare to either a free walker or free wheelchair, paid for by the government (our taxes). There was no asking her if she could afford to buy them herself (she could) or there was no asking if she knew of someone who already had a walker or a wheelchair she could use; there was no mention of an exchange where people donated old walkers and wheelchairs to people in her situation. Nope. It was automatic, you got to get either a walker or a wheelchair. But of course wheelchairs are much more expensive than walkers, so the social worker advised us to choose the wheelchair (no brainer there!) and just pick up a walker for $20 to $30 bucks at a drug store. Okay, that's just wastefulness via incompetency. No one is paying attention here to money! But the nursing home she got sent to was always trying to jack up the services our aunt would need that would get covered via medicare. They gave her too much medication and then said she needed cognitive therapy in dealing with the side effects of the meds. It was crazy! It was like they had a list of all the services Medicare would cover and they were trying their best to see how many they could get, whether she truly needed it or not. This was a 'nice' nursing home in an expensive part of the city. I can imagine what goes on in poorer ones! God help us! And that's just one tiny example that I happen to have experience with.
So anyway, I do think we've hit the tipping point. Now is the time in history to ratchet back on government control as a solution to our problems. When the government gets too big, freedom is imperiled and the economy goes south.
But now I finally get to my point! If this is the case, then I think there should be a groundswell of those who think the same, doing something every day to help those less fortunate. It has to be part of the fabric of our daily lives to always be compassionately helping others.
I am trying to come up with practical things I can do in my life right now to help others. Here's what I've come up with so far. This is a work in progress and will no doubt change as time goes by.
1. Remember to take loose change with me every time I go to church, so I can put some in the poor box.
2. Remember every Sunday to donate canned/dry goods to our church, who in turn take it all to the local food pantry.
3. Budget my groceries better so that money left over can be donated to the poor.
4. Remember to stay politically active through this group, so I can be involved on a state level in supporting laws that help the poor, fight abortion, etc.
5. We do already regularly give to our church, which tithes and also has special collections for various needy groups.
6. We do have a foster child in Kenya who we give money to monthly (well, to the group that runs the school and clinic in her village -she benefits by these).
7. Remember to donate clothing, furniture, books, etc to Good Will or Purple Heart
8. To try to participate in as many service projects as we can via our church or the American Heritage Girls or other opportunities that might come up.
9. Prayer - real prayer devoted to others.
10. Keep informed about issues that affect the poor, the disabled, the needy.
I have spent far too long typing this up and not moving my family towards getting to our regular 10:00 Mass. I guess it is the 11:45 for us today. Oh dear. This type of stuff is so time sucking. Who really can deal with it all and think it through clearly and live their life at the same time? Not me!
Friday, January 3, 2014
Housekeeping in 2014
Well, I never give up! That's for sure! I've got my new housekeeping schedule I am going to attempt. Just as soon as I get to it.
Here's the plan. I read this on some blog somewhere and I regret that I can not credit it to anyone, as I don't remember where precisely I got the idea, but some mom said that she simplified housekeeping by having a ten day plan. She divided up her house into 10 zones and 5 days a week she worked through it. So I came up with my own version. I've also included the daily stuff too. I am putting an asteriks at the tasks I already do regularly.
Daily:
Feed pets*
Unload dishwasher*
Put pots and pans away
Make bed*
load dishwasher during course of day*
Soak or clean any pans used*
Prep dinner*
Feed pets*
After dinner kitchen clean up (this is where I fall apart)
1) clear and wipe table
2) load dishwasher*
3) scrub pots and pans
4) wipe down stove/counters and sweep floor
5) trash out*
6) run dishwasher before bed*
The things I really need to work on is getting those pots and pans scrubbed and neatening up the kitchen each night. I always leave it half done because I've run out of steam or got involved helping someone with homework or reading or watching something with my husband.
Weekly:
Laundry (as needs basis)*
Clean out fridge and pantry
Grocery shopping (currently doing this either Friday or Saturday)*
10 Day room cycle (this starts on a Saturday, two days off are Thursdays and Sundays):
1) All bathrooms (divvy up the jobs among those living here)
2) Family room and front hall (Monday)
3) Living room and dining room (Tuesday)
4) Mud room (a disaster!)(Wednesday)
5) Study (another disaster!)Friday)
6) Upstairs bedrooms (each person cleans their own room) (Saturday)
7) Stairs (both sets) (Monday)
8) basement (Tuesday)
9) Car/porch/garage or anything in yard (Wednesday)
10) Deep clean kitchen (wash floor, clean microwave/toaster oven, etc) (Friday)
Official start date for this new policy is tomorrow! However, we will be also cleaning on this particular Sunday because we are probably going to take down the Christmas tree and put away all the Christmas decorations.
Another thing that I'm doing is participating in Peter Walsh's 31 Days to Get Organized. Every day in January he tells you to do some household task that should take only 10 or 15 minutes. I've been doing it now for 3 days and so far so good! Day 1 was clean out a drawer. I cleaned out two kitchen drawers. Day 2 was get rid of any unwanted sweaters (so I've got five now in a give away bag). Today, Day 3, was clean under your bed. It was nasty but I did it. It took me way longer than 10 minutes though. But I hadn't cleaned under there in a long, long while.
Anyway, right now I'm feeling pretty good about these plans. Lord, grant me the will power to stick to them! At least through January!
Here's the plan. I read this on some blog somewhere and I regret that I can not credit it to anyone, as I don't remember where precisely I got the idea, but some mom said that she simplified housekeeping by having a ten day plan. She divided up her house into 10 zones and 5 days a week she worked through it. So I came up with my own version. I've also included the daily stuff too. I am putting an asteriks at the tasks I already do regularly.
Daily:
Feed pets*
Unload dishwasher*
Put pots and pans away
Make bed*
load dishwasher during course of day*
Soak or clean any pans used*
Prep dinner*
Feed pets*
After dinner kitchen clean up (this is where I fall apart)
1) clear and wipe table
2) load dishwasher*
3) scrub pots and pans
4) wipe down stove/counters and sweep floor
5) trash out*
6) run dishwasher before bed*
The things I really need to work on is getting those pots and pans scrubbed and neatening up the kitchen each night. I always leave it half done because I've run out of steam or got involved helping someone with homework or reading or watching something with my husband.
Weekly:
Laundry (as needs basis)*
Clean out fridge and pantry
Grocery shopping (currently doing this either Friday or Saturday)*
10 Day room cycle (this starts on a Saturday, two days off are Thursdays and Sundays):
1) All bathrooms (divvy up the jobs among those living here)
2) Family room and front hall (Monday)
3) Living room and dining room (Tuesday)
4) Mud room (a disaster!)(Wednesday)
5) Study (another disaster!)Friday)
6) Upstairs bedrooms (each person cleans their own room) (Saturday)
7) Stairs (both sets) (Monday)
8) basement (Tuesday)
9) Car/porch/garage or anything in yard (Wednesday)
10) Deep clean kitchen (wash floor, clean microwave/toaster oven, etc) (Friday)
Official start date for this new policy is tomorrow! However, we will be also cleaning on this particular Sunday because we are probably going to take down the Christmas tree and put away all the Christmas decorations.
Another thing that I'm doing is participating in Peter Walsh's 31 Days to Get Organized. Every day in January he tells you to do some household task that should take only 10 or 15 minutes. I've been doing it now for 3 days and so far so good! Day 1 was clean out a drawer. I cleaned out two kitchen drawers. Day 2 was get rid of any unwanted sweaters (so I've got five now in a give away bag). Today, Day 3, was clean under your bed. It was nasty but I did it. It took me way longer than 10 minutes though. But I hadn't cleaned under there in a long, long while.
Anyway, right now I'm feeling pretty good about these plans. Lord, grant me the will power to stick to them! At least through January!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)