Christmas nesting

Christmas break is here and I have been deep cleaning the house. . . and getting a lot of satisfaction out of it.  I've got much more to do of course - it's like shoveling in a snowstorm, but I am enjoying making my house cozy and tidy.  So far:

• Cleaned out the pantry
• washed all my wood floors on the main level
• brushed and cleaned the carpet on our stairs
• decluttered the kitchen island and counters
• signed up with a composting company.  I put the stuff in their special bin and they collect it once a week.
• Forced offspring to clean their rooms

Today I need to further declutter paper, etc from the dining room.  And I also plan to vacuum the upstairs.

Tuesday is Sean's birthday.  So I am not sure what I'll get to then, but I hope to vacuum and tidy the basement.  And certainly, we'll get our tree and decorate for Christmas.

I want to keep this cleaning mood up!  I plan to really deep clean my bedroom and master bathroom after Christmas because. . . we are renovating the bathroom starting in January!

I have been very busy looking at houzz and getting ideas for our new bathroom.

Have a blessed last week of Advent!

I wrote a poem! (It's sad).

I haven't written poetry in decades!  I don't know where this came from.  I was sitting in my car waiting for S to get out from his tutoring session and suddenly this memory flashed through my head.  Years and years ago I remember seeing seagulls flying over a building.  I remember thinking, wow, why are seagulls here?  There's no water nearby!  And then I looked down and realized the building was an abortion clinic.

(Don't scoff at my writing abilities!  This might be a really bad poem!)

Seagulls circle above the abortuary.

They are miles and miles from the sea.

The woman entering the building is miles and miles from anything lovely.

She sits in a plastic chair, waiting.

Desolation makes her queasy.

She bites her lips in defense against the violence and humiliation.

Seagulls can look like doves 

As they swoop and soar above the surf,

But here they are dirty gray, and rat-like, they scatter litter from the rusty dumpster.

The woman walks slowly from the building.

She is a little hunched.

She leans on the man out of weakness, not love.

He has cost her this.

The man opens the passenger side door and helps her in.

He rounds the front of the car and stands there fiddling with his keys for a moment.  

His eyes are full of doom.

The woman's face is pale and drawn.

She looks up at the seagulls wheeling in the sky.

The engine starts.

The car passes out of the parking lot.  

It waddles over a speed bump and then turns into the street.

The seagulls shriek.

Green Ribbon for Unity

A friend of mine, among others, is trying to show solidarity with the Muslims in our country in the face of the backlash against them due to the recent terrorist tragedies and Trump's ignorant ravings.  We went to a tour tonight of a local mosque (actually, not a mosque, but a Muslim community center) and she was giving out ribbons to any of the visitors.  I am wearing mine proudly.

She and her friends are hoping it goes viral.  I quit facebook, but apparently it is gaining strength there.  So if you are so inclined, please don a green ribbon and wear it so the world can see that you do not lump all Muslims into the same extremist group.  Let us support our good, law-abiding Muslim neighbors and show them that we do believe in the the right to religious freedom and we will stand by them.  They need our love and support.  They have a terrible demon amidst them that is driving some into the arms of ISIS and other brutal extremists.  They need our friendship, not our fear or rejection.

I know that persecution against Christians is at an all time high around the globe and most of the time this means Islamic groups terrorizing, torturing, raping and beheading Christians.

I know that there has been a more radical, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam gaining ground for the last 40 years or so and influencing our own Muslim citizens.

I know that some of these radicalized Muslims could slip in with refugees.

But honestly, I think we don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  We can tighten up our immigration and refugee procedures without shutting down altogether.

We can try to help those Christians in lands that are experiencing genocide.

We can encourage and support our Muslim citizens in their struggle against factions of fundamentalist jihadism.

For hundreds and hundreds of years Christian communities lived in Iraq and Syria and other predominantly Muslim countries and they are just now being forced from those Muslim societies.  The fact that the Christian societies lived there for so long is a beacon of hope.  Classical Islam is not fundamentalist, extremist Islam.  We can't declare war on 1.6 billion people who follow Islam.  We must be good brothers to the Muslims who believe in American values and who reject extremism and violence.  We must not alienate them.  We need open communication and dialogue.

That is why the Catholic Church calls for genocide to be called genocide but also refuses to reject Syrian refugees.  As a Catholic, I take the words of Matthew 5: 43-48 to heart.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Earlier in Matthew 5, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes where he says:  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. " That's me!  My greatest ambition is to be a true child of God and that's why I will wear this green ribbon.  One little way to be a peacemaker.

The Great Divorce - Book 55

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis was our teen book club read for December.  This was a re-read for me.  It might be my second favorite C. S. Lewis book after Til We Have Faces.  What was really great about this book club selection is that S. read the book in three days.  This is amazing for him as he doesn't enjoy fiction and reads very slowly, so he does most of his 'reading' via audio books.  But this time he really read it and enjoyed it very much.

The book is a thought provoking fantasy.  The main character  (I don't think we ever know his name - it is probably Lewis himself.) finds himself wandering in a strange town and then waiting in a queue for a bus.  It's all very dreamlike.  The story is all about the people he encounters; slowly you realize that they all must be dead and this is happening in the after life.  As the narrator wanders through this strange world, he encounters George MacDonald, who serves as his Vergil, to explain and guide him.

Lots of exploration of sin, human nature, the nature of good and evil.  The characterizations of the people he meets are almost satirical and reminded me a bit of Jane Austen in her depiction of nasty, petty people.

The kids had a great discussion about based on this study guide.  They were in turns hysterically funny and at other times very insightful during the discussion.  Unlike Lord of the World, which was really over the kids' heads, this one was a perfect teen book club pick.

This book is a short novel written in Lewis' inimitable style, packed with theological insight.  Two thumbs up!

For more book reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Friday Recap - 12/11/15

I can't recap this week systematically.  The approaching holidays, stupid migraines and the news have got me off my game here.

I do know that we didn't do enough math, Latin or science.  We did no science!  How did that happen???

Instead we did history and read The Great Divorce for book club.  S worked Sunday, Tuesday and then got called in to work for someone who was sick last night at the last minute.

J has actually begun the process of enrolling at the community college.  Hooray!  He was dual enrolled before which didn't count because now he's 20 and a high school graduate, so he had to do a different process.  He took the math placement exam yesterday.  He will take the English placement exam next Wednesday and then he goes to an orientation the following Friday I believe.  He's trying to enroll in an Intro to Business class (a particular one with a particular teacher who gets rave reviews and who teaches at the satellite campus only ten minutes from our house) and Principles of Accounting course which probably will have to be at the campus nearest his job.

I did not get S enrolled yet.  He is changing his mind.  He's thinking now he really doesn't want to go for animation but music recording and producing.  So he now thinks he'd rather take a music theory course.  Hopefully, he'll get enrolled next Monday.

Had a good RE class on Tuesday.  Working with 2nd graders makes my heart ache for little kids.  I love my kids, of course, but I miss the adorableness of little kids.  There really is an emptiness in life when you don't have little kids in it.

I did lots of Latin prep.  I had a weird ocular migraine on Wednesday night and I couldn't correct any of the online quizzes for my Latin 1 class.  So that's on my to do list.

Biggest thing is getting the house ready for the in laws again.  We are celebrating Chanukah tomorrow.  I am looking forward to seeing Hannah and Peter!  We won't see them at Christmas.  Boo hoo.

Happy St. Nick's Day! And links too.

And Hannukah starts tonight too!    In honor of the holiday season and because I've been watching too much CNN and fighting migraines (and therefore am feeling a wee bit gloomy) here are some links that have lifted my spirit.  I thought I would just collect them in one spot.

Gorgeous Japanese-American Catholic artwork.  And check out his website for coloring pages!

Woman rescues ferry:  God bless this woman and her quick thinking.  I like the remark the firefighter made in the article.

Brave Muslims trying to speak the truth.  God bless these people.  One thing that I think the press needs to do is focus more on Muslims who are peaceful because they are out there.  I've met them, yet it seems to be they don't get any media coverage at all.

Military action frees 900 captives from Boko Haram.  Thank God!

Since my NaNoWriMo novel had a lot about bluegrass in it, I was happy to stumble on this video.

I caught most of the first movie in this trilogy (on TCM) and was captivated by its poetic beauty telling a very simple story of a boy growing up in India.  It's in black and white and made back in the 1950s.  Here's a link to a trailer.  It's been restored after a fire.  Now I want all three movies for Christmas.

Wonderful and beautiful blog by Father Dwight Longnecker:  The Suburban Hermit

Can't You Hear Me Callin'? - Book 54

Can't You Hear Me Callin'? by Richard Smith is a biography of Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music.  I read it as part of my research for my NaNoWriMo novel which involved the Bluegrass revival of the 1970s in this area.

Smith wrote a pretty good biography.   It's a little clunky in parts, but Smith did his research.  The book is chock full of footnotes, not just to articles and past interviews but interviews the author conducted himself for this book.  Smith was very thorough and conscientious, so I trust him as an author.

Monroe was a character.  He was a musical genius and a hard, hard working man, but he was also a compulsive womanizer and a poor business man.  These latter two things often undermined the former two.  In spite of his difficult nature, he truly inspired loyalty, his ex wives and lovers would come back to help him out, people he spurned for years because of some imagined slight, would forgive and forget simply so they could work with him again.  Smith gets rather Freudian about it all and blames Monroe's quirks on his childhood.

If you are interested in Americana music in the 20th century, this is a good resource.  Here's a link to the song the book is named after.

For more book reviews, go to 52 Books in 52 Weeks.