This week my reading involved two books about boys and their pets. My Friend, Flicka completely took me into the world of a Wyoming Ranch and the heart of a young boy. This book Gay-Neck is wonderful in its own way too, but it wasn't the all encompassing absorption that My Friend, Flicka brought.
Gay-Neck won the Newbury Award in 1928. My dad had a copy of this book and read it when he was young. And at some point in my childhood I found that copy and read it too. I had completely forgotten what it was about. It is the fascinating story of a young Indian boy (I think he is 16 at the end of the book) who trains carrier pigeons. His best bird is Gay-Neck or Chitra-givra in Hindu - named for the resplendent feathers around his neck. Gay-Neck is a noble bird who has to face many dangers, including being a messenger on the battlefields of World War I.
The style of writing is very quaint and exotic. It reminded me mildly of the style Kipling adapted for telling the Jungle Book tales or the Just So Stories. He really, in a broad way, captured the quaint, stylized way of storytelling that perhaps is characteristic of Indian lore. The author was a popular children's writer from India who moved to England and later to California.
The setting is very exotic. We go from the rooftops of Calcutta to the Himalayan Mountains; from eagle eyries to lamaseries (monasteries for Buddhists monks) to dangerous nights spent in the jungle and even more dangerous battlefields. The story is very spiritual and there are many references to Hinduism and Buddhism, many prayers of gratitude for the earth and the animals; many reliances on the wisdom of the monks.
This is a very charming book that gives a little peep into the exotic world of India, other faiths and the training of carrier pigeons, as well as a glimpse into the battles of World War I.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
My Friend, Flicka - Book 43
I have reread this book many times. It was a beloved book from my childhood and it hasn't lost a thing now that I am 55. Beautifully written. lush in description, perfect depictions of all the characters, sensitive and emotional. I love this book.
My friend, Flicka is the story of a 10 year old boy's coming of age summer when he gets his own colt, Flicka. It is also the story of ranching in Wyoming in the 1930s, and the story of the marriage between Nell and Rob McLaughlin. It is really wonderfully told and nuanced tale, very poignant and sweet.
I listened to this on cds from the library. It took me a while to get used to the narrator's voice. I didn't initially care for how he made Rob sound. And Ken sounded a little too effeminate to me. But he did pretty good Swedish and Irish accents and sometimes he had to switch back and forth in the same conversation. And after awhile I didn't even notice the voices, I was so caught up in the story even though I've read it many times before.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It would make a great read aloud or audio for a long car ride as well.
I don't know why this isn't a more prominent classic. It really is a well crafted and moving story with a lot of depth.
Two thumbs up! For More book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
My friend, Flicka is the story of a 10 year old boy's coming of age summer when he gets his own colt, Flicka. It is also the story of ranching in Wyoming in the 1930s, and the story of the marriage between Nell and Rob McLaughlin. It is really wonderfully told and nuanced tale, very poignant and sweet.
I listened to this on cds from the library. It took me a while to get used to the narrator's voice. I didn't initially care for how he made Rob sound. And Ken sounded a little too effeminate to me. But he did pretty good Swedish and Irish accents and sometimes he had to switch back and forth in the same conversation. And after awhile I didn't even notice the voices, I was so caught up in the story even though I've read it many times before.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It would make a great read aloud or audio for a long car ride as well.
I don't know why this isn't a more prominent classic. It really is a well crafted and moving story with a lot of depth.
Two thumbs up! For More book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Friday Recap - 9/25/15
This week flew by. What happened?
Well, as I recall Monday and Tuesday were a bit painful. Becky was not in a good mood. We had a lot of history homework to finish up. But it was all successfully done. So that was a small victory.
On Tuesday we had more struggles with our on line classes. Sean is taking computer programming but has gotten off on the wrong foot. Somehow he hadn't sent in the homework for the first week correctly and at first got a 0%. But after many emails it turns out he got an 82% I have no idea what the homework was about or anything at all. It is like he is learning Chinese. Then he neglected to note that all homework is due by midnight the night before the class. And he put off doing it until too late. So I don't know if it gets counted off or what. He is grumbling about it all.
Also on Tuesday the Pope came to town! I taught RE to my 2nd graders, who are a wild bunch. We learned about (now) St. Junipero Serra and made our little Pope Francis ornament and the kids seemed to learn a lot and have fun at it all.
Wednesday - again more struggles. This time with Becky who suddenly couldn't seem to log in to get her homework turned in. More emails. I am sure all this is on our end frankly. The kids just aren't paying attention to the details. Anyway, they sent us her password and user email last night but she has yet to check things out. However, I think they are getting something out of the on line classes. Between the U.S. History where we are reading about the founders and natural law and John Locke, and the Speech class which is focused on the history of rhetoric and Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and our Natural Law video course we are watching, there are a lot of philosophical ideas floating around in the air. Oh, also on Wed. Hannah came over for a visit. She is really loving her teaching job. Poor Peter is very sick with a nasty cold.
Sean went to his math tutor and bass lessons, but again didn't make it to CLC.
Thursday - Becky and I went to Aquinas Learning. She did a little Latin and then spent the afternoon babysitting various kids and earning a little pin money. I mentored Latin 1 and 2. I feel I vacillate between being stern and then overly gregarious. Also the kids really seem half asleep. I find that frustrating. But they are all good kids. I am quite happy that I am studying Latin with them. I feel this will be the year I really get a solid grip on it all. We did talk about the Jesus Natus Est nativity play in Latin that we are hoping to put on as a little charity event. Sean did Driver's Ed and physical training while we were gone. Rick worked from home. Becky went to another rehearsal for A Christmas Carol. Even though she is make-up/hair they had her sub in for one of the characters because the person playing that character couldn't make it in. She thought that was fun. Sean got to watch his Steven Universe episode but then he didn't want to talk about it at all for some reason.
Friday - today has been a good day. Sean got up early to go to math. He again did really well this week. Becky and I are moving slowly along in Geometry. We are learning our postulates and theorems. I think we are getting a little traction in her Latin study. We went to Mass and lunch and then came home and finished up science. We did that little trick with rubbing a plastic on our hair (well it was Sean's hair) and then making a thin stream of water move towards the spoon when it is help next to it. Electrons! Sean read the 1st chapter of The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry.
Our Sonnet this week was Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? We watched David Tennant recite it but we decided he really didn't do a good job. He made it very somber which is not how we interpreted it at all.
We've been trying to catch up on reading Lord of the World. We are really going to have to devote ourselves to it to get it done by next Friday.
Tomorrow I am going to a funeral for a friend's mother. It is downtown in a Dominican church that I would sometimes visit long before I got married and actually returned to the Church. But once in a while on my lunch break I would wander down the street and go in at noon and they had a little Mass going. I first noticed the church when I was doing some research in the Dept. of Transportation library and looked out the window to see a procession of white robed priests (or monks?) walking down the city street! It was such a delightful juxtaposition of the mundane and the divine that it sparked my curiosity. The church is an older very beautiful one built in the late 1800s. They built federal office buildings all around it.
I also hope to go to Confession tomorrow evening. We haven't been in a while. Here I am preparing 2nd graders for their first confession and I have not been for a couple of months myself.
On Sunday, Becky is going on a hike with a bunch of kids from the homeschool teen group. PE!
Well, as I recall Monday and Tuesday were a bit painful. Becky was not in a good mood. We had a lot of history homework to finish up. But it was all successfully done. So that was a small victory.
On Tuesday we had more struggles with our on line classes. Sean is taking computer programming but has gotten off on the wrong foot. Somehow he hadn't sent in the homework for the first week correctly and at first got a 0%. But after many emails it turns out he got an 82% I have no idea what the homework was about or anything at all. It is like he is learning Chinese. Then he neglected to note that all homework is due by midnight the night before the class. And he put off doing it until too late. So I don't know if it gets counted off or what. He is grumbling about it all.
Also on Tuesday the Pope came to town! I taught RE to my 2nd graders, who are a wild bunch. We learned about (now) St. Junipero Serra and made our little Pope Francis ornament and the kids seemed to learn a lot and have fun at it all.
Wednesday - again more struggles. This time with Becky who suddenly couldn't seem to log in to get her homework turned in. More emails. I am sure all this is on our end frankly. The kids just aren't paying attention to the details. Anyway, they sent us her password and user email last night but she has yet to check things out. However, I think they are getting something out of the on line classes. Between the U.S. History where we are reading about the founders and natural law and John Locke, and the Speech class which is focused on the history of rhetoric and Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and our Natural Law video course we are watching, there are a lot of philosophical ideas floating around in the air. Oh, also on Wed. Hannah came over for a visit. She is really loving her teaching job. Poor Peter is very sick with a nasty cold.
Sean went to his math tutor and bass lessons, but again didn't make it to CLC.
Thursday - Becky and I went to Aquinas Learning. She did a little Latin and then spent the afternoon babysitting various kids and earning a little pin money. I mentored Latin 1 and 2. I feel I vacillate between being stern and then overly gregarious. Also the kids really seem half asleep. I find that frustrating. But they are all good kids. I am quite happy that I am studying Latin with them. I feel this will be the year I really get a solid grip on it all. We did talk about the Jesus Natus Est nativity play in Latin that we are hoping to put on as a little charity event. Sean did Driver's Ed and physical training while we were gone. Rick worked from home. Becky went to another rehearsal for A Christmas Carol. Even though she is make-up/hair they had her sub in for one of the characters because the person playing that character couldn't make it in. She thought that was fun. Sean got to watch his Steven Universe episode but then he didn't want to talk about it at all for some reason.
Friday - today has been a good day. Sean got up early to go to math. He again did really well this week. Becky and I are moving slowly along in Geometry. We are learning our postulates and theorems. I think we are getting a little traction in her Latin study. We went to Mass and lunch and then came home and finished up science. We did that little trick with rubbing a plastic on our hair (well it was Sean's hair) and then making a thin stream of water move towards the spoon when it is help next to it. Electrons! Sean read the 1st chapter of The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry.
Our Sonnet this week was Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? We watched David Tennant recite it but we decided he really didn't do a good job. He made it very somber which is not how we interpreted it at all.
We've been trying to catch up on reading Lord of the World. We are really going to have to devote ourselves to it to get it done by next Friday.
Tomorrow I am going to a funeral for a friend's mother. It is downtown in a Dominican church that I would sometimes visit long before I got married and actually returned to the Church. But once in a while on my lunch break I would wander down the street and go in at noon and they had a little Mass going. I first noticed the church when I was doing some research in the Dept. of Transportation library and looked out the window to see a procession of white robed priests (or monks?) walking down the city street! It was such a delightful juxtaposition of the mundane and the divine that it sparked my curiosity. The church is an older very beautiful one built in the late 1800s. They built federal office buildings all around it.
I also hope to go to Confession tomorrow evening. We haven't been in a while. Here I am preparing 2nd graders for their first confession and I have not been for a couple of months myself.
On Sunday, Becky is going on a hike with a bunch of kids from the homeschool teen group. PE!
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Autumn Reading
I reacquainted myself with the blog Classical Carousel. The post on Autumn reading made me want to compile my own fall to-be-read list. So on this first day of Autumn (and also Yom Kippur), here is my list
St Paul by Benedict XVI: I feel the need for some deeper spiritual non-fiction reading.
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson. I am actually reading this right now. I read it for the first time last year and am now rereading it with my teens.
The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell. I've been curious about this book for a couple years. My aunt had a very old, falling apart edition of it. I've been reading some pretty conservative stuff lately, so I thought I'd give socialist Orwell a try. I kind of have a thing for the socialists back before it had really been tried. They really did do an awful lot of awareness-raising and gave a lot of impetus to good compassionate change in many ways.
The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I have come to appreciate Hawthorne late in life. I read The House of Seven Gables last year or maybe earlier this year and I've had this downloaded on my Kindle since then, just waiting for me.
The Last Resort - Rick has been reading this and talking a lot about it. It sounds fascinating.
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. I loved reading all the Little Women books and I've been meaning to read other Alcott. Maybe this fall!
I took a break from the Poldark series but I'd like to read The Black Moon which is the first in the series after Graham took a 20 year break.
St Paul by Benedict XVI: I feel the need for some deeper spiritual non-fiction reading.
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson. I am actually reading this right now. I read it for the first time last year and am now rereading it with my teens.
The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell. I've been curious about this book for a couple years. My aunt had a very old, falling apart edition of it. I've been reading some pretty conservative stuff lately, so I thought I'd give socialist Orwell a try. I kind of have a thing for the socialists back before it had really been tried. They really did do an awful lot of awareness-raising and gave a lot of impetus to good compassionate change in many ways.
The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I have come to appreciate Hawthorne late in life. I read The House of Seven Gables last year or maybe earlier this year and I've had this downloaded on my Kindle since then, just waiting for me.
The Last Resort - Rick has been reading this and talking a lot about it. It sounds fascinating.
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott. I loved reading all the Little Women books and I've been meaning to read other Alcott. Maybe this fall!
I took a break from the Poldark series but I'd like to read The Black Moon which is the first in the series after Graham took a 20 year break.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Blogging the Day - 9/21/15
Woke up at 7:30. What? An hour late.
Didn't get kids up til 8:15. Sean sat under lamp and surfed the net. Becky went back to sleep.
9:00 Breakfast: gouda and havarti cheese cubes, leftover bread from yesterday, grapes, hot chocolate/chocolate milk.
At breakfast read readings from Mass, listened to saint of the day (St. Matthew), watched next video on oxygen. Read and started copying Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.
Sean worked on Algebra homework; Becky finished up a few geometry questions which we checked. Then we watched a bit more of the video - a bit of algebra and solving for x involved.
Took a break while I planned science for tomorrow.
Went to Staples to get print outs on card stock of papal ornament the 2nd grade RE kids will make in class tomorrow.
At lunch (leftovers which no one ate much of) I read an email from the history teacher reminding the kids to type up and turn in an assignment tomorrow at class. The assignment is an analysis of Patrick Henry's famous speech. Both kids had read the speech and watched a re-enactment of it last Friday thinking that was all that was required. They neglected to read the last paragraph of the assignment which said write a one page analysis (giving specific questions to answer). Becky was so indignant! She was done with that assignment! It was not fair to ask her to write something! Sean pretty much buckled down and did it, not putting much effort into it, but Becky fumed and whined and worried over it; rendering herself helpless to be able to think straight. Finally she, with my help (which she wasn't very nice about receiving, even as she demanded I help her) finished an essay about 3/4's of a page long. Life's little learning lessons are painful.
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Not sure where the afternoon went! I worked on my Latin and on prepping for my RE class some more. I was giving Becky a little breather since she'd gotten so upset.
Becky was supposed to work on some Latin but I haven't seen it yet.
Sean worked out with his trainer. I was going to do things like take a walk (it started raining) and vacuum the upstairs, but didn't do anything.
Becky came down while I was making dinner. She had done a tiny bit of Latin but she really felt out of it and couldn't focus. So we sat down and did a bit together. It was satisfying, not much but some did get done.
Both kids have been in contact with their team mate on another little history assignment this week (they had to pair up with someone and then they were given a particular type of immigrant (I think Becky is an Anglican preacher? And Sean is something else. Anyway, they have to present a short piece on which colony they would choose to immigrate to and why and what their life was like there.
Dinner was broiled cheeseburgers, roasted potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and lots of cut up strips of bell pepper from the farmer's market. Josh ate his own pizza. That guy eats terribly. It will catch up with him one day.
8:00 Read more American history while kids took notes. Didn't quite finish though. Will finish tomorrow, I guess.
I am kind of looking forward to this week. As a good Catholic I should be happy that Pope Francis is coming. And I am. I don't feel a compulsion to go see him though as I did with Pope Benedict. I felt like Pope Benedict needed my support, but Pope Francis won't miss me if I just watch him on TV. I don't like crowds anyway. But what I am very grateful to Pope Francis for is that Rick plans to work from home for the next three days because traffic is going to be horrible downtown with so much security and so many road closings. He is working late tonight so that everything is done that needs to be done in the office and he can be nice and organized about what he can do at home.
Didn't get kids up til 8:15. Sean sat under lamp and surfed the net. Becky went back to sleep.
9:00 Breakfast: gouda and havarti cheese cubes, leftover bread from yesterday, grapes, hot chocolate/chocolate milk.
At breakfast read readings from Mass, listened to saint of the day (St. Matthew), watched next video on oxygen. Read and started copying Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.
Sean worked on Algebra homework; Becky finished up a few geometry questions which we checked. Then we watched a bit more of the video - a bit of algebra and solving for x involved.
Took a break while I planned science for tomorrow.
Went to Staples to get print outs on card stock of papal ornament the 2nd grade RE kids will make in class tomorrow.
At lunch (leftovers which no one ate much of) I read an email from the history teacher reminding the kids to type up and turn in an assignment tomorrow at class. The assignment is an analysis of Patrick Henry's famous speech. Both kids had read the speech and watched a re-enactment of it last Friday thinking that was all that was required. They neglected to read the last paragraph of the assignment which said write a one page analysis (giving specific questions to answer). Becky was so indignant! She was done with that assignment! It was not fair to ask her to write something! Sean pretty much buckled down and did it, not putting much effort into it, but Becky fumed and whined and worried over it; rendering herself helpless to be able to think straight. Finally she, with my help (which she wasn't very nice about receiving, even as she demanded I help her) finished an essay about 3/4's of a page long. Life's little learning lessons are painful.
----------------------
Not sure where the afternoon went! I worked on my Latin and on prepping for my RE class some more. I was giving Becky a little breather since she'd gotten so upset.
Becky was supposed to work on some Latin but I haven't seen it yet.
Sean worked out with his trainer. I was going to do things like take a walk (it started raining) and vacuum the upstairs, but didn't do anything.
Becky came down while I was making dinner. She had done a tiny bit of Latin but she really felt out of it and couldn't focus. So we sat down and did a bit together. It was satisfying, not much but some did get done.
Both kids have been in contact with their team mate on another little history assignment this week (they had to pair up with someone and then they were given a particular type of immigrant (I think Becky is an Anglican preacher? And Sean is something else. Anyway, they have to present a short piece on which colony they would choose to immigrate to and why and what their life was like there.
Dinner was broiled cheeseburgers, roasted potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and lots of cut up strips of bell pepper from the farmer's market. Josh ate his own pizza. That guy eats terribly. It will catch up with him one day.
8:00 Read more American history while kids took notes. Didn't quite finish though. Will finish tomorrow, I guess.
I am kind of looking forward to this week. As a good Catholic I should be happy that Pope Francis is coming. And I am. I don't feel a compulsion to go see him though as I did with Pope Benedict. I felt like Pope Benedict needed my support, but Pope Francis won't miss me if I just watch him on TV. I don't like crowds anyway. But what I am very grateful to Pope Francis for is that Rick plans to work from home for the next three days because traffic is going to be horrible downtown with so much security and so many road closings. He is working late tonight so that everything is done that needs to be done in the office and he can be nice and organized about what he can do at home.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
The Conservative Heart - Book 42
Somehow this book showed up in my kindle cloud. I guess Rick must have downloaded it. The Conservative Heart is by Arthur C. Brooks, the head of the American Enterprise Institute. He's a nice guy. He writes a level headed, charitable, and wise book about how he came to his conservative principles, why he thinks conservatives are right and where he thinks conservatives get it wrong when professing their beliefs in the public square. Being a positive guy he spells out in clear language how to go about changing things up so that faith, family, community and work - the four conservative principles that are needed for any national stability, can prosper and how the main message should be about freedom; freedom which allows for upward mobility and gives dignity and opportunity to the less fortunate.
I had no idea who Brooks was when I started the book. I grew to really admire him. He came to embrace conservatism later in life. He was pretty apolitical. He dropped out of college and wound up touring with a classical quartet (he plays the french horn). He took what his parents termed a 'gap decade' where he traveled all over the world, playing music and seeing the sights and not earning very much money. He fell in love with a girl from Spain, married her and in his late 20's came back to the U.S. He decided he needed to get that college degree but he couldn't afford it so he took a correspondence course from Thomas Edison State College. He had to take an economics course and this is where, surprisingly, he found his calling. Economics fascinated him. So he went on to earn a masters and then a PhD. He taught at Syracuse University for almost a decade. During the whole time in graduate school he found himself becoming more and more conservative in outlook, though he didn't quite want to admit it.
He's the guy who did the research on charitable giving that showed that conservatives give more to charity and volunteer more hours than liberals do. Even conservatives who earn less give more of their income. This surprised him! He did not expect that outcome. Brooks is ecstatic at being president of the AEI. He is a man who loves his job. He also is a principled person who thinks trash talking about liberals or getting red-faced angry and sputtering vituperitudes (is that a word?) isn't going to win anyone over. He's the antidote to Rush Limbaugh and Anne Coulter.
Brooks draws from all sort of sources to make his point. Lots of political and economic studies and something that I found intriguing, neuroscience studies on happiness. He also talks to such diverse people as the Dalai Lama, villagers in India who are thriving on entrepreneurial opportunities, people who run an organization for the homeless in New York City, and an African immigrant who wanted to start her own hair braiding business are among the most prominently featured.
He gives very reasonable advice to his fellow conservatives on how to win the rhetorical war. Conservatives do care about the poor, they do understand that there does need to be a safety net for those who can not work or who are going through a bad period, but it is unconscionable to keep expanding the safety net so that it drives people into a depressed state of joblessness while driving the debt up. Too much debt leads to national crisis - and he gives Greece and Spain as examples. Conservatives believe a thriving economy gives the most people the best chance to improve their lot in life. Things like a minimum wage hike, in their view, actually hurt the most vulnerable by driving down the number of jobs available to them. Instead Brooks says talk about how the Earned Income Tax Credit would put more money in the hands of the poor, so that they can help themselves.
The whole time I was reading this book though, the image of Trump kept lifting its ugly head. As long as the public dialogue is controlled by people like Trump, Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity and others, I don't think Brooks will be heard over the noise. Brooks might want to have an intelligent conversation with those of different points of view, looking for things to admire and for common ground, but who is going to hear him over the shrill outrage and outlandish cries for attention these shills are constantly doling out? I fear conservatives are their own worst enemy.
It was comforting to read a gracious, intelligent, insightful and practical book on how conservatives might do things better. I hope someone hears him.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I had no idea who Brooks was when I started the book. I grew to really admire him. He came to embrace conservatism later in life. He was pretty apolitical. He dropped out of college and wound up touring with a classical quartet (he plays the french horn). He took what his parents termed a 'gap decade' where he traveled all over the world, playing music and seeing the sights and not earning very much money. He fell in love with a girl from Spain, married her and in his late 20's came back to the U.S. He decided he needed to get that college degree but he couldn't afford it so he took a correspondence course from Thomas Edison State College. He had to take an economics course and this is where, surprisingly, he found his calling. Economics fascinated him. So he went on to earn a masters and then a PhD. He taught at Syracuse University for almost a decade. During the whole time in graduate school he found himself becoming more and more conservative in outlook, though he didn't quite want to admit it.
He's the guy who did the research on charitable giving that showed that conservatives give more to charity and volunteer more hours than liberals do. Even conservatives who earn less give more of their income. This surprised him! He did not expect that outcome. Brooks is ecstatic at being president of the AEI. He is a man who loves his job. He also is a principled person who thinks trash talking about liberals or getting red-faced angry and sputtering vituperitudes (is that a word?) isn't going to win anyone over. He's the antidote to Rush Limbaugh and Anne Coulter.
Brooks draws from all sort of sources to make his point. Lots of political and economic studies and something that I found intriguing, neuroscience studies on happiness. He also talks to such diverse people as the Dalai Lama, villagers in India who are thriving on entrepreneurial opportunities, people who run an organization for the homeless in New York City, and an African immigrant who wanted to start her own hair braiding business are among the most prominently featured.
He gives very reasonable advice to his fellow conservatives on how to win the rhetorical war. Conservatives do care about the poor, they do understand that there does need to be a safety net for those who can not work or who are going through a bad period, but it is unconscionable to keep expanding the safety net so that it drives people into a depressed state of joblessness while driving the debt up. Too much debt leads to national crisis - and he gives Greece and Spain as examples. Conservatives believe a thriving economy gives the most people the best chance to improve their lot in life. Things like a minimum wage hike, in their view, actually hurt the most vulnerable by driving down the number of jobs available to them. Instead Brooks says talk about how the Earned Income Tax Credit would put more money in the hands of the poor, so that they can help themselves.
The whole time I was reading this book though, the image of Trump kept lifting its ugly head. As long as the public dialogue is controlled by people like Trump, Limbaugh, Coulter, Hannity and others, I don't think Brooks will be heard over the noise. Brooks might want to have an intelligent conversation with those of different points of view, looking for things to admire and for common ground, but who is going to hear him over the shrill outrage and outlandish cries for attention these shills are constantly doling out? I fear conservatives are their own worst enemy.
It was comforting to read a gracious, intelligent, insightful and practical book on how conservatives might do things better. I hope someone hears him.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - Book 41
I decided to take a break from Poldark, you know a story set in England by the sea, to read The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, set in England by the sea. I love, love, love the 1947 movies with Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. There are some movies I love just for the architecture and atmosphere. So I was surprised to read in the book that Gull Cottage really was just a little cottage and not a huge mansion, as in the movie.
This is a light novella, very enjoyable. They did change things in the movie. In the book Mrs. Muir has two children, a son and a daughter. She does fall in love with Miles but meets him in a different way than in the movie. The captain never goes off and leaves her to grow old for decades. Occasionally he'll think it best to disappear (ha!) for a while but he comes back and helps her in all stages of life. Martha doesn't come to work for her until the children have grown and moved out.
One thing I noticed was a mistake on the author's part. They mention the book Cranford and say that it was written by Mitford instead of Gaskell!
Anyway, this is a sweet, easy read. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
This is a light novella, very enjoyable. They did change things in the movie. In the book Mrs. Muir has two children, a son and a daughter. She does fall in love with Miles but meets him in a different way than in the movie. The captain never goes off and leaves her to grow old for decades. Occasionally he'll think it best to disappear (ha!) for a while but he comes back and helps her in all stages of life. Martha doesn't come to work for her until the children have grown and moved out.
One thing I noticed was a mistake on the author's part. They mention the book Cranford and say that it was written by Mitford instead of Gaskell!
Anyway, this is a sweet, easy read. For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Friday Recap - 9/18/15
Well, it has been a blessed week so far, in spite of the fact that I had a killer migraine on Wednesday that left me feeling shaky and nauseated most of the day. I perked up that night though.
Monday we had our first AHG meeting of the year which went really well due to the fact that my new co-leader is the most organized person I've ever met. She's great! The girls chose different positions of leadership which will rotate quarterly so everyone gets a chance to partake in one of the positions. It was a fun meeting and Becky was very happy. Also the girls voted on the theme for the father-daughter dance in January and Becky's idea won: A Night on Broadway. So that should be a fun one to decorate for.
It was a good math week. Becky still seems to be enjoying the geometry program. We are going at a relaxed pace but she's working short but steady sessions with the video and textbook, working through the problems pretty well. I lowered the boom with Sean and said if he didn't do his math homework during the week, he'd get no computer privileges over the weekend. Suddenly, he could sit and concentrate and do all his math. The tutor is impressed at the change. I hate to get punitive but it worked this time and Sean is happy with himself. He said: I feel on top of things, Mom! Another good math thing.: I was reading a book on chemistry to him on Tuesday and it talked about 'gas laws' something I have no idea about and he perked up and said: I know the formula for that and he then explained it to me. Apparently, something he learned from the Algebra II text. So it was nice to see a connection between different subjects.
Tuesday Becky watched some Physics videos and then wrote down definitions for speed, velocity and acceleration. Sean watched the next Kahn video in chemistry on atoms and molecules and then I read some from the Intro to Chem Primer. They also went to their U.S. History class which they seem to enjoy. The have a lot of homework for it due next week however and we have a busy weekend ahead of us.
Tuesday I also taught my first RE class to second graders. My goodness, I had forgotten how much energy little kids have. And how off topic they get so easily. They were all very cute. 1.5 hours is a long time though for them. I tried to keep it lively because if I wasn't fully engaging them, things soon turned to chaos. The kids liked the songs with hand motions though at first they acted insulted and said that stuff like that was for Kindergarteners. My co-teacher/assistant (not sure of her exact role) is very nice and helpful.
Wednesday I felt so sick most of the day. I can hardly remember it except that I kept trying to prep for my Latin classes. I planned too much for the Latin 2 kids and not enough for the Latin 1 kids. In spite of feeling ill I got Becky to her voice lesson. She's going to start learning songs in Italian because her teacher says it will be good for her vowel enunciation. Sean went to his bass lessons. Lately, he's been more into bass.
Sean has been obsessing/binge watching Steven Universe all week.
Thursday - Latin 2 kids only did 1/2 their homework and are basically struggling to keep awake in class. The Latin 1 kids are all very good kids who work hard and are eager and earnest. Sean did his first hour of online Driver's Ed, something I've been after him to do all summer. He has to take the full course which is 30 hours long, so that means twice a week (if he is to get it done in 15 weeks) he has to subject himself to this most soul-deadening, life sucking course ever devised by a governmental committee. It's enough to make one want to be a Libertarian. Or maybe an anarchist. Also on Thursday Becky went to her first rehearsal for A Christmas Carol. She's not in the cast this time but is a hair and make up person. She's really excited about it and has been watching youtube tutorials to educate herself. She's also been spending a lot of time on her ukulele. In fact, she's playing it right now as I type.
Friday - today has been great. Got Sean to his math tutor by 8 a.m. He didn't want to go but it turned out to be a good session. Becky did some of her math too. Then we did a little history homework and watched our natural law video which was hard, abstract, interesting and thought-provoking. Then we went to Mass and then to lunch at Chipotle. Then we stopped at the store to get things to donate to Catholic Charities as well as ingredients for our science experiments. We came home and made a bottle rocket with baking soda and vinegar (chemical reaction) and oobleck (physical change, not chemical reaction). We also tried to time the velocity of a marble falling through shampoo in a beaker we have. That one turned out to be more about displacement and less about graphing velocity. But, oh well, we tried!
Tonight Becky is going mini-golfing with the teen group but Sean curmudgeonly refuses to go with her. Tomorrow early Becky and I are going to the Honor Flight with her AHG troop. And tomorrow evening we go English Country Dancing! I've always wanted to go, but now Becky's troop is working on their dance badge, I've got a legitimate reason! So we've got about 3 or 5 other girls planning to meet up there. Then on Sunday Rick and I were invited to go with my brother in law and his company to see a Nationals game. I am counting stuff like mini-golfing, hiking and dances as PE for Becky.
The copy work for this week was Edmund Spenser's Sonnet 68. Becky especially thought learning about sonnets was interesting.
A couple of not so bright spots. Sean thought he had sent in his homework for the programming class but then he got an email saying he'd gotten a zero for the work. Apparently something went awry. He's been emailing the teacher so hopefully that will be resolved. Both kids are so-so about the Speech and Communications course online. When I asked them about it, it wasn't so much the teacher, who they are fine with but the chat function that allows the kids to talk among themselves without the knowledge of the teacher. Apparently, Becky and Sean didn't appreciate the other kids and what they were saying. I never got out of them whether they just thought the other kids were kinda stupid or if they weren't nice. Anyway, we'll see how that goes.
Becky's Latin hasn't really taken off. I think part of it is my fault. I didn't order a new workbook. Sean had done about the 1st 14 pages in it and I was too lazy to erase and too stingy to buy another. I just thought Becky could work around that, but it means she doesn't really have anything definitive to do. She's just been doing vocab flashcards online but I can't tell how much she's actually paying attention. So I ordered her her own workbook today. I should have done that a couple of weeks ago.
The weather has been nicer this week than last. And I am still happy about Thumbelina not being dead! She's fattening right up again.
Monday we had our first AHG meeting of the year which went really well due to the fact that my new co-leader is the most organized person I've ever met. She's great! The girls chose different positions of leadership which will rotate quarterly so everyone gets a chance to partake in one of the positions. It was a fun meeting and Becky was very happy. Also the girls voted on the theme for the father-daughter dance in January and Becky's idea won: A Night on Broadway. So that should be a fun one to decorate for.
It was a good math week. Becky still seems to be enjoying the geometry program. We are going at a relaxed pace but she's working short but steady sessions with the video and textbook, working through the problems pretty well. I lowered the boom with Sean and said if he didn't do his math homework during the week, he'd get no computer privileges over the weekend. Suddenly, he could sit and concentrate and do all his math. The tutor is impressed at the change. I hate to get punitive but it worked this time and Sean is happy with himself. He said: I feel on top of things, Mom! Another good math thing.: I was reading a book on chemistry to him on Tuesday and it talked about 'gas laws' something I have no idea about and he perked up and said: I know the formula for that and he then explained it to me. Apparently, something he learned from the Algebra II text. So it was nice to see a connection between different subjects.
Tuesday Becky watched some Physics videos and then wrote down definitions for speed, velocity and acceleration. Sean watched the next Kahn video in chemistry on atoms and molecules and then I read some from the Intro to Chem Primer. They also went to their U.S. History class which they seem to enjoy. The have a lot of homework for it due next week however and we have a busy weekend ahead of us.
Tuesday I also taught my first RE class to second graders. My goodness, I had forgotten how much energy little kids have. And how off topic they get so easily. They were all very cute. 1.5 hours is a long time though for them. I tried to keep it lively because if I wasn't fully engaging them, things soon turned to chaos. The kids liked the songs with hand motions though at first they acted insulted and said that stuff like that was for Kindergarteners. My co-teacher/assistant (not sure of her exact role) is very nice and helpful.
Wednesday I felt so sick most of the day. I can hardly remember it except that I kept trying to prep for my Latin classes. I planned too much for the Latin 2 kids and not enough for the Latin 1 kids. In spite of feeling ill I got Becky to her voice lesson. She's going to start learning songs in Italian because her teacher says it will be good for her vowel enunciation. Sean went to his bass lessons. Lately, he's been more into bass.
Sean has been obsessing/binge watching Steven Universe all week.
Thursday - Latin 2 kids only did 1/2 their homework and are basically struggling to keep awake in class. The Latin 1 kids are all very good kids who work hard and are eager and earnest. Sean did his first hour of online Driver's Ed, something I've been after him to do all summer. He has to take the full course which is 30 hours long, so that means twice a week (if he is to get it done in 15 weeks) he has to subject himself to this most soul-deadening, life sucking course ever devised by a governmental committee. It's enough to make one want to be a Libertarian. Or maybe an anarchist. Also on Thursday Becky went to her first rehearsal for A Christmas Carol. She's not in the cast this time but is a hair and make up person. She's really excited about it and has been watching youtube tutorials to educate herself. She's also been spending a lot of time on her ukulele. In fact, she's playing it right now as I type.
Friday - today has been great. Got Sean to his math tutor by 8 a.m. He didn't want to go but it turned out to be a good session. Becky did some of her math too. Then we did a little history homework and watched our natural law video which was hard, abstract, interesting and thought-provoking. Then we went to Mass and then to lunch at Chipotle. Then we stopped at the store to get things to donate to Catholic Charities as well as ingredients for our science experiments. We came home and made a bottle rocket with baking soda and vinegar (chemical reaction) and oobleck (physical change, not chemical reaction). We also tried to time the velocity of a marble falling through shampoo in a beaker we have. That one turned out to be more about displacement and less about graphing velocity. But, oh well, we tried!
Tonight Becky is going mini-golfing with the teen group but Sean curmudgeonly refuses to go with her. Tomorrow early Becky and I are going to the Honor Flight with her AHG troop. And tomorrow evening we go English Country Dancing! I've always wanted to go, but now Becky's troop is working on their dance badge, I've got a legitimate reason! So we've got about 3 or 5 other girls planning to meet up there. Then on Sunday Rick and I were invited to go with my brother in law and his company to see a Nationals game. I am counting stuff like mini-golfing, hiking and dances as PE for Becky.
The copy work for this week was Edmund Spenser's Sonnet 68. Becky especially thought learning about sonnets was interesting.
A couple of not so bright spots. Sean thought he had sent in his homework for the programming class but then he got an email saying he'd gotten a zero for the work. Apparently something went awry. He's been emailing the teacher so hopefully that will be resolved. Both kids are so-so about the Speech and Communications course online. When I asked them about it, it wasn't so much the teacher, who they are fine with but the chat function that allows the kids to talk among themselves without the knowledge of the teacher. Apparently, Becky and Sean didn't appreciate the other kids and what they were saying. I never got out of them whether they just thought the other kids were kinda stupid or if they weren't nice. Anyway, we'll see how that goes.
Becky's Latin hasn't really taken off. I think part of it is my fault. I didn't order a new workbook. Sean had done about the 1st 14 pages in it and I was too lazy to erase and too stingy to buy another. I just thought Becky could work around that, but it means she doesn't really have anything definitive to do. She's just been doing vocab flashcards online but I can't tell how much she's actually paying attention. So I ordered her her own workbook today. I should have done that a couple of weeks ago.
The weather has been nicer this week than last. And I am still happy about Thumbelina not being dead! She's fattening right up again.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Little Organizational Attempts
I am a woefully unorganized person. I do have certain habits or systems that keep me going but they are pretty much outdone by all the chaos that surrounds those meager attempts. All summer I thought I was getting my act together in terms of my own paperwork, books, schedules, etc. I was going to use the study as my home base because I don't like the little desk in the kitchen. It gets way too cluttered by everybody else's junk and it is right in the thick of things in terms of where people hang out. I need a more private spot to function in. It really should be the family control center But then I would have my own place for things not family (like mentoring Latin, RE, etc). Well, my lovely husband (and I mean that because he usually is very lovely) for some reason really resented the idea of of me taking the study. A long time ago it was supposed to be his room but then he moved up to our bedroom and has a desk up there. I can't remember why but it might have been because I wanted to use the room for the kids. Anyway, he really didn't like the idea. He wants me to be happy with my little desk in the kitchen. For years now I have actually been taking my laptop and sitting in the dining room just to get away from the TV and the traffic in the kitchen. So my stuff is all over the place. I've got some in the dining room, some in the kitchen, some in the study. It's a mess.
So I capitulated because for some reason he didn't want me to use the study. Well, we all have our little foibles, including yours truly. It wasn't the hill to die, if you know what I mean. So I thought, ok, I'll set up in the dining room. I moved my standing file folders in there (an earlier attempt to get organized which never quite worked). But I've renewed this and reorganized the files. I keep trying to clean up the junk that isn't needed and tidy up the cubbies (really shelves of the credenza) but I keep not getting very far. Here's the thing. One end of the dining room table is used for Sean and/or Becky to do homework for their outside classes. The other end was mine. Except now that is where the constant jigsaw puzzle building is going on. I thought that the last puzzle was going to be it, but no, they are now working on two more puzzles. I love the father-daughter stuff going on, but really??
I think he is trying to drive me back to the little desk in the kitchen. I can't use the study and I can't use the dining room. So now I have decided there is a plot afoot. Am I going to engage in this? No, I am not. Again, not the hill to die on. So now I usually do any computer work in the living room, sitting on the couch. I have one end of the couch where I keep my prayer books and my rosary. I sit there in the morning to pray and to collect myself for the day. The living room is right next to the dining room so I will keep my files, books, etc in there. It isn't too bad or cumbersome. I will therefore continue to tidy the dining room (because it is awful!) and I will still have the following components:
1. On top of the file cabinet in the dining room I will keep my file stand. I have files labelled: Aquinas Learning General, Aquinas Learning - Latin, American Heritage Girls, RE (for RE class), Family PASS. When I start my Master's I'll also have files there as well. Behind those files, tucked in the rack are three clipboards.
2. Clipboards have checklists for Becky, Sean and me. Becky and Sean each have a daily checklist specific to each day of the week, that they can look through to get oriented. My checklist is one I am going to make up each weekend so I can see the lay of the land for the next week. Other things that can go on the clipboards. Any printouts or papers specific to each of the kids; kind of like action items.
3. My google calendar - I have been trying to get into the habit of immediately putting things in so I don't forget.
4. I moved all my TMs and answer keys, etc to the end cubby. Sean has the next one and Becky the one on the other end of the credenza.
5. All our read alouds, copybooks, etc are either tucked in the bookcase above the little kitchen desk or just kept on top of it.
So I have to streamline the above a bit and then get rid of all the other stuff cluttering up the dining room and kitchen desk.
The other thing I am trying to do is to clean up the mudroom bit by bit and then use the nice shelf in there to keep all our tote bags.
Becky has the following tote bags:
So I capitulated because for some reason he didn't want me to use the study. Well, we all have our little foibles, including yours truly. It wasn't the hill to die, if you know what I mean. So I thought, ok, I'll set up in the dining room. I moved my standing file folders in there (an earlier attempt to get organized which never quite worked). But I've renewed this and reorganized the files. I keep trying to clean up the junk that isn't needed and tidy up the cubbies (really shelves of the credenza) but I keep not getting very far. Here's the thing. One end of the dining room table is used for Sean and/or Becky to do homework for their outside classes. The other end was mine. Except now that is where the constant jigsaw puzzle building is going on. I thought that the last puzzle was going to be it, but no, they are now working on two more puzzles. I love the father-daughter stuff going on, but really??
I think he is trying to drive me back to the little desk in the kitchen. I can't use the study and I can't use the dining room. So now I have decided there is a plot afoot. Am I going to engage in this? No, I am not. Again, not the hill to die on. So now I usually do any computer work in the living room, sitting on the couch. I have one end of the couch where I keep my prayer books and my rosary. I sit there in the morning to pray and to collect myself for the day. The living room is right next to the dining room so I will keep my files, books, etc in there. It isn't too bad or cumbersome. I will therefore continue to tidy the dining room (because it is awful!) and I will still have the following components:
1. On top of the file cabinet in the dining room I will keep my file stand. I have files labelled: Aquinas Learning General, Aquinas Learning - Latin, American Heritage Girls, RE (for RE class), Family PASS. When I start my Master's I'll also have files there as well. Behind those files, tucked in the rack are three clipboards.
2. Clipboards have checklists for Becky, Sean and me. Becky and Sean each have a daily checklist specific to each day of the week, that they can look through to get oriented. My checklist is one I am going to make up each weekend so I can see the lay of the land for the next week. Other things that can go on the clipboards. Any printouts or papers specific to each of the kids; kind of like action items.
3. My google calendar - I have been trying to get into the habit of immediately putting things in so I don't forget.
4. I moved all my TMs and answer keys, etc to the end cubby. Sean has the next one and Becky the one on the other end of the credenza.
5. All our read alouds, copybooks, etc are either tucked in the bookcase above the little kitchen desk or just kept on top of it.
So I have to streamline the above a bit and then get rid of all the other stuff cluttering up the dining room and kitchen desk.
The other thing I am trying to do is to clean up the mudroom bit by bit and then use the nice shelf in there to keep all our tote bags.
Becky has the following tote bags:
- voice lessons
- Playmakers material (for when she's in a production)
- babysitting tote (stuff she brings with her to help like board books, little games)
- backpack for her history class (books get taken in and out of this one)
- AHG bag (handbook and any other thing she might need)
I have the following:
- RE bag
- Latin bag
- library book bag
- grocery bags
- Miscellaneous bags for when need arises
Sean only has his backpack which he takes back and forth to math lessons and history as of now. He never uses a bag for his bass stuff. The bass cover actually has a spot to keep music books.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Demelza, Jeremy Poldark, Warleggen (Books 38,39,40)
I decided to put all these reviews together since in this series there really is a continuing storyline that flows one from the other pretty seamlessly.
Spoiler alerts!
The book Demelza covers the second half of the material in the latest miniseries. Wheal Leisure is floundering so Ross is facing financial ruin. George Warleggen and his family are working behind the scenes to crush the Poldarks. Even though Francis has quarreled horribly with Ross and Demelza over Demelza's part in helping Verity run away with Captain Blamey, Demelza goes over when the whole household at Trenwith is sick with the putrid sore throat. She contracts it too and gives it to Julia. Demelza survives but Julia dies. Ross is numbed with grief. He sees a ship, which happens to belong to his arch-enemy Warleggen, about to wreck on his coastline. He alerts Jud Paynter and thus begins a wild and violent night of plundering. Another ship is also cast ashore during the same storm. Later, while Ross and Demelza are struggling with their grief over the death of Julia, Ross is arrested for inciting the plundering. I am relating the barest plot line here. A lot goes on in this book and it gets fairly complicated.
The next book, Jeremy Poldark opens with Ross on trial. He's torn between his duty to Demelza and standing up to the court (much as he chose to do with Jim Carter and then realized that was not the way to get the optimum results) but his foolish pride and his bitter recklessness cloud his judgment (which is always pretty arrogant and impulsive when it isn't being spectacularly kind and generous). I loved the whole trial scene; so well written. Jud Paynter and Dr. Dwight Enys basically save the day. I thought the character of the judge was exceptionally well drawn and very true to life in terms of how judges are supposed to operate. I think Graham did a lot of research into the law, mining conditions and medicine of the time in these books. It all really rings true.
Ross, though, really alienates and hurts Demelza a lot. He's pretty darn insufferable, actually. He tells her her he doesn't want anymore children. She is at that moment pregnant with their child. He stupidly doesn't notice this for months? I think the assumption is he really isn't that interested in her sexually anymore. Instead he throws himself into business which is never successful and he is always a few months away from debtor's prison. In spite of this, there are some very funny parts in this book. Dr. Dwight starts on a new romance though I just couldn't get interested in it. It didn't ring very true to me.
Warleggen - ok, I am starting to see why Graham took a 20 year break after writing this book in the series. My heart just broke for Demelza. Ross is a reckless, selfish bastard with barely any remorse, it seems. Demelza is a better person than he is. I think maybe Graham didn't give things from Ross' point of view enough. Ross ought to be racked with regret at what he has done, but instead he can very cooly explain it all. I think this maybe is supposed to show his maturity, but I thought he took way too much for granted with Demelza. I kind of stopped liking Ross in this book. Oh, I know he's got his good side, but he just stopped being the sympathetic heart throb he started out being. Also, I started to care even less about the romance between Dr Dwight and Caroline. And I thought the part where Ross brings them back together just contrived feeling or something.
I will say that a particular very important person to the story's death is harrowing! I got goosebumps reading it. (Sorry for the not-quite-spoiler.)
I got tired of all the young girls whose beauty is always talked about and the lecherous men who go after them. We know Elizabeth is beautiful. Do we have to hear about it for the 50th time? It seemed to me the plot stopped being so subtle too. For instance in the plundering riot description you could see reflections of the French revolution and the tinderbox that existed in society that could start such a violent movement. Mark Daniel's anger at his wife's betrayal mirrored Ross's when Demelza reveals she is secretly helping Verity and Captain Blamey. In the earlier books there is more to chew on. But in this one I think I got a little too exasperated with Ross to enjoy it as much as I did the three preceding books in the series.
I think I'll take a little break from Poldark for now. The next book in the series, The Black Moon, is on my to read list, but maybe I'll read a couple of other books first.
Two thumbs up for all three books, even if I was feeling I'd overdosed a bit by the time I got to Warleggen.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Spoiler alerts!
The book Demelza covers the second half of the material in the latest miniseries. Wheal Leisure is floundering so Ross is facing financial ruin. George Warleggen and his family are working behind the scenes to crush the Poldarks. Even though Francis has quarreled horribly with Ross and Demelza over Demelza's part in helping Verity run away with Captain Blamey, Demelza goes over when the whole household at Trenwith is sick with the putrid sore throat. She contracts it too and gives it to Julia. Demelza survives but Julia dies. Ross is numbed with grief. He sees a ship, which happens to belong to his arch-enemy Warleggen, about to wreck on his coastline. He alerts Jud Paynter and thus begins a wild and violent night of plundering. Another ship is also cast ashore during the same storm. Later, while Ross and Demelza are struggling with their grief over the death of Julia, Ross is arrested for inciting the plundering. I am relating the barest plot line here. A lot goes on in this book and it gets fairly complicated.
The next book, Jeremy Poldark opens with Ross on trial. He's torn between his duty to Demelza and standing up to the court (much as he chose to do with Jim Carter and then realized that was not the way to get the optimum results) but his foolish pride and his bitter recklessness cloud his judgment (which is always pretty arrogant and impulsive when it isn't being spectacularly kind and generous). I loved the whole trial scene; so well written. Jud Paynter and Dr. Dwight Enys basically save the day. I thought the character of the judge was exceptionally well drawn and very true to life in terms of how judges are supposed to operate. I think Graham did a lot of research into the law, mining conditions and medicine of the time in these books. It all really rings true.
Ross, though, really alienates and hurts Demelza a lot. He's pretty darn insufferable, actually. He tells her her he doesn't want anymore children. She is at that moment pregnant with their child. He stupidly doesn't notice this for months? I think the assumption is he really isn't that interested in her sexually anymore. Instead he throws himself into business which is never successful and he is always a few months away from debtor's prison. In spite of this, there are some very funny parts in this book. Dr. Dwight starts on a new romance though I just couldn't get interested in it. It didn't ring very true to me.
Warleggen - ok, I am starting to see why Graham took a 20 year break after writing this book in the series. My heart just broke for Demelza. Ross is a reckless, selfish bastard with barely any remorse, it seems. Demelza is a better person than he is. I think maybe Graham didn't give things from Ross' point of view enough. Ross ought to be racked with regret at what he has done, but instead he can very cooly explain it all. I think this maybe is supposed to show his maturity, but I thought he took way too much for granted with Demelza. I kind of stopped liking Ross in this book. Oh, I know he's got his good side, but he just stopped being the sympathetic heart throb he started out being. Also, I started to care even less about the romance between Dr Dwight and Caroline. And I thought the part where Ross brings them back together just contrived feeling or something.
I will say that a particular very important person to the story's death is harrowing! I got goosebumps reading it. (Sorry for the not-quite-spoiler.)
I got tired of all the young girls whose beauty is always talked about and the lecherous men who go after them. We know Elizabeth is beautiful. Do we have to hear about it for the 50th time? It seemed to me the plot stopped being so subtle too. For instance in the plundering riot description you could see reflections of the French revolution and the tinderbox that existed in society that could start such a violent movement. Mark Daniel's anger at his wife's betrayal mirrored Ross's when Demelza reveals she is secretly helping Verity and Captain Blamey. In the earlier books there is more to chew on. But in this one I think I got a little too exasperated with Ross to enjoy it as much as I did the three preceding books in the series.
I think I'll take a little break from Poldark for now. The next book in the series, The Black Moon, is on my to read list, but maybe I'll read a couple of other books first.
Two thumbs up for all three books, even if I was feeling I'd overdosed a bit by the time I got to Warleggen.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Friday Recap 9/11/15
I can not type the date 9/11 without shivering.
Random recollections of this week:
Random recollections of this week:
- Becky and Sean started their Homeschool Connections online classes this week. Sean had a 1.5 hour class on computer programming. I think he said he had some homework. Both kids are in the Speech and Communications class taught by Kevin O'Brien. I would like to check and see what they have to do but I can't remember the username/password to get into the site. I just have a feeling that we are all going to forget to check until right before the next class. That is just the way we roll.
- I mentored my first Latin 1 and 2 classes. I didn't even know if I was going to have Latin 1. I have all 8th graders and this really is a solidly 9th grade level course. So I don't know how long they will last because they all know they have the option to go back down a step and repeat the Intro to Latin course. So we'll see about that. For Latin 2 even though I thought I had prepared I found myself really disoriented and second guessing myself while teaching. Plus the three kids were barely awake because it was right after lunch. They'd been outside which was really warm and humid and the A/C wasn't working so it was really uncomfortably warm and stuffy in the classroom as well. One girl started to nod off so I told her to go splash her face in the rest room. Another boy besides seeming pretty sleepy, drew pictures (quite a good artist!) and the one other girl though obviously flagging a bit from the heat and time of day, was sweet and engaged so she made all things better by having such a good attitude.
- We actually started Geometry this week. We had watched the first video just to see if Becky liked it last week. I kept thinking she wouldn't and suggesting other more fun options, but she said, no she did like it and she just wanted to go ahead with the Chalkdust video and textbook. So we re-watched the very first lesson and she worked on the exercises quite docilely, so there ya go! I think she already has it in her head that she is going to like Geometry more than Algebra.
- The kids also had their first history class. Getting all the homework done for the first class was quite onerous. Becky was in such a terrible mood about it all. But we pushed through. Rick helped a lot by sitting in while I was reading it out loud. I can not find it on audio anywhere so I was reading it to Sean but Becky wanted to do it on her own. But she misjudged just how much there was to do and how long it would take her. So in the end she capitulated and the two kids did it together. So that became our nightly read aloud. Rick is such an American history buff that he made it more fun and interesting by listening in and making comments. The kids really liked their class though. They came back pretty enthusiastic about it all.
- Oh my heavens! Just now the pest management guy came by on his regular visit. He was checking the exterior of the house and he heard meowing. And he said there was a brown cat trapped in the window cell to the basement window! He let the cat out and the cat ran away. But that's Thumbelina! She's alive still! How did she survive for two weeks trapped in the window cell??? I just put a bowl of water and some of her favorite food out near the tree where I think she might be hiding right now. It is a big fir tree with branches close to the ground. I can't see in it to see her. Anyway, I hope she isn't too weak to struggle out and drink some water and eat some food. She was trapped for two solid weeks!!!
- We decided that the workload was too much for Sean at present so we have dropped chemistry. He's still going to study it but slowly and in a relaxed way using Kahn Academy, The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry and the book I myself am really interested in, The Joy of Chemistry.
- Unschoolish things - Becky has really been working on playing the ukelele a lot and writing her own tunes, figuring out how to play songs. She's been practicing her voice a lot too. She and Rick finished her 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle she got her for birthday. Then they worked together to glue the puzzles together and mount them. Now they are hanging on the study walls. That was a fun father-daughter project.
- Sean had his friend Tim over yesterday and today we met with their friends Lulu and Jack for our book club (reading Lord of the World). The book discussion lasted about 10 minutes but then they wanted to hang out. Sean and Jack regularly talk over the internet (they play dungeon and dragons on Friday nights usually) but Becky and Lulu haven't really been in touch for a while. So it looks like they are having a nice visit.
- I wasn't going to mention anything yet, but, what the heck! I have lost 5 lbs so far since the end of vacation. I came home and weighed myself and I was the most I have ever weighed in my life. This keeps happening to me. I am just slowly getting fatter and fatter. So I have been really watching my eating. I have cut down drastically on bread and sugar. I am still eating whole fat dairy but my motto is "a little dab with do ya!" So I have cut down quite a bit. Also I have been eating lots of salads, baby carrots and apples. I ate an entire bag of baby carrots myself this week and I have eaten at least half of a big bag of apples also. Veggies, veggies, veggies! I would like to lose a pound a week but maybe sometimes it will be 1/2 lb. So far so good. I wasn't going to say anything unless I'd lost 10 lbs. God willing I'll be able to say I've lost 10 lbs at some point mid to late October. I want to try and do this slowly and steadily.
- I keep going out to see if I can find Thumbelina. Poor kitty!
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| Some puzzles on the study wall. |
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Poldark - Book 37
I was inspired to start reading Poldark after seeing the new BBC miniseries earlier this summer. I had read some of the books back during my late high school/college days; again inspired by the first BBC miniseries based on the books.
I can barely remember the first miniseries except the steamy passion between Demelza and Ross Poldark. I remember thinking that the actress who played Demelza was so adorable.
Anyway, as good as the miniseries are (the first and the most recent which is beautifully filmed and stars a very sexy Ross) neither are as good as the books. And that is because Winston Graham could really write! This book was an immersing, lovely experience. It is not just about the complicated love story between Ross and Demelza but about the Cornish countryside and the people who inhabit it. The miniseries does capture some of that but the book is better! I felt completely transported back to that time and place. The book isn't hard to read or especially long. I started on Thursday night and finished it Saturday evening. I had a big block of time to read on Saturday though. It was thankfully a quiet day at home after a very busy week. Due to the wonders of my Kindle I was able to start reading the next book in the series, entitled Demelza, right away. The latest miniseries is also based on this book too.
And while the latest mini-series gets most of the flavor of the book right, it changes some things up, I think, unnecessarily.
Anyway, I highly recommend this lovely romance, so gracefully written, far more subtle than the latest miniseries and lyrical in its obvious love of the characters and the countryside of Cornwall.
A hearty two thumbs up! I see a pleasant autumn ahead of me as I gobble up this wonderful series of books.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I can barely remember the first miniseries except the steamy passion between Demelza and Ross Poldark. I remember thinking that the actress who played Demelza was so adorable.
Anyway, as good as the miniseries are (the first and the most recent which is beautifully filmed and stars a very sexy Ross) neither are as good as the books. And that is because Winston Graham could really write! This book was an immersing, lovely experience. It is not just about the complicated love story between Ross and Demelza but about the Cornish countryside and the people who inhabit it. The miniseries does capture some of that but the book is better! I felt completely transported back to that time and place. The book isn't hard to read or especially long. I started on Thursday night and finished it Saturday evening. I had a big block of time to read on Saturday though. It was thankfully a quiet day at home after a very busy week. Due to the wonders of my Kindle I was able to start reading the next book in the series, entitled Demelza, right away. The latest miniseries is also based on this book too.
And while the latest mini-series gets most of the flavor of the book right, it changes some things up, I think, unnecessarily.
Anyway, I highly recommend this lovely romance, so gracefully written, far more subtle than the latest miniseries and lyrical in its obvious love of the characters and the countryside of Cornwall.
A hearty two thumbs up! I see a pleasant autumn ahead of me as I gobble up this wonderful series of books.
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Nightbirds of Nantucket - Book 36
Nightbirds of Nantucket by Joan Aiken is partly a whaling tale and obviously a take off on Moby Dick. Captain Casket is obsessed with finding a great pink whale, affectionately dubbed "Rosie' by some. The book also has elements of other sea stories plus a mystery and a political plot with a made up British rebel group determined to assassinate James III. I have heard Joan Aiken's Wolves Chronicles described as set in an alternative 19th century history. The Wolves series is a very long one. I've read the first, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. The next in the series is Black Hearts in Battersea. I skipped that one and read Nightbirds. instead. I think I'll go back and read Black Hearts so I'll understand how the heroine of the story, Dido Twite, winds up rescued by the whaling ship the Sarah Casket.
Dido is a plucky young girl of 11 who speaks cockney English and longs to go home to London, but alas she finds herself aboard the Sarah Casket, waking up after ten months of unconsciousness. They are up in arctic waters hunting whale. Once she's recovered a bit, the Captain asks her to help him with his daughter, the hilariously named Dutiful Penitence Casket, who has hidden herself away in a cupboard after the death of her mother; too frightened of everything to come out.
Dido befriends Pen, and the two girls take on life on the ship and then have to take on living with Aunt Tribulation, Captain Casket's fearsome sister, who lives on a farm in Nantucket while the Captain continues his search for the whale.
This is a clever novel, meant really for middle schoolers, and is great fun! Two thumbs up!
For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Friday Recap
It has been a busy week. My emotions have been so up and down all week. I have been trying to be steady and detached. Can't say I've achieved that! Last night I went to bed disgusted with everyone, especially myself.
This week was unusual in that some extra things had been added and some things that we will be doing haven't started yet.
Today I need to call CDU and figure out my account. For all I know I have homework to do all weekend.
I still have not be able to get the history text on audio. Much frustration there. That's another phone call today.
I still have not gotten the kids set up for their online classes. So that's the third thing on my checklist.
Added in today are things like: getting Sean to the math tutor by 8 this a.m. First time we are going to her at that meeting time. Chimney sweep is coming to repair chimney, we'll see how messy and intrusive that is! That might interrupt Becky's math and/or watching Natural Law video, which is supposed to take place on Friday a.m. I wanted to try to get to Mass at noon, but now that I think of it, I don't think that noon mass starts up until after Labor Day. So I guess that's out. Maybe we'll go to Adoration instead. I had been planning to go anyway. Perhaps, I'll bring the kids. Then I think I am volunteering this afternoon at Family Pass, but I have not got the confirmation back from the lady there. On Wednesday Becky, Sean and I went in and they worked on mailings and I worked on data entry which I felt quite klutzy at, moving from one spread sheet to another. However, I was getting the hang of it by the end of the session, so I'd like to go in and do more while I still remember how to do it.
I really must get my eyes checked. I definitely need new glasses.
The other things to do this weekend is shop and plan meals and also figure out how to do Latin at the co-op. I was apparently making assumptions about things that proved to be wrong, so I haven't gotten my bearings there at all. That was pretty upsetting.
Anyway, I know all this shall pass and we'll get into the groove eventually. It is just forming the grooves that is painful!
Lord, I put it all into your hands!
This week was unusual in that some extra things had been added and some things that we will be doing haven't started yet.
Today I need to call CDU and figure out my account. For all I know I have homework to do all weekend.
I still have not be able to get the history text on audio. Much frustration there. That's another phone call today.
I still have not gotten the kids set up for their online classes. So that's the third thing on my checklist.
Added in today are things like: getting Sean to the math tutor by 8 this a.m. First time we are going to her at that meeting time. Chimney sweep is coming to repair chimney, we'll see how messy and intrusive that is! That might interrupt Becky's math and/or watching Natural Law video, which is supposed to take place on Friday a.m. I wanted to try to get to Mass at noon, but now that I think of it, I don't think that noon mass starts up until after Labor Day. So I guess that's out. Maybe we'll go to Adoration instead. I had been planning to go anyway. Perhaps, I'll bring the kids. Then I think I am volunteering this afternoon at Family Pass, but I have not got the confirmation back from the lady there. On Wednesday Becky, Sean and I went in and they worked on mailings and I worked on data entry which I felt quite klutzy at, moving from one spread sheet to another. However, I was getting the hang of it by the end of the session, so I'd like to go in and do more while I still remember how to do it.
I really must get my eyes checked. I definitely need new glasses.
The other things to do this weekend is shop and plan meals and also figure out how to do Latin at the co-op. I was apparently making assumptions about things that proved to be wrong, so I haven't gotten my bearings there at all. That was pretty upsetting.
Anyway, I know all this shall pass and we'll get into the groove eventually. It is just forming the grooves that is painful!
Lord, I put it all into your hands!
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