The Weedy Garden

Pastor Ed

2012-02-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

I have long admired Ed Dobson. It began during my college days at Liberty University, where he was a frequent speaker. He audaciously believed that if you follow scripture it will work, and that faith moved him to take on some risky business for Jesus' sake. He is also easy on the ears. When I lost all faith in church, it was to the shelter of Calvary Church we ran. I still couldn't sit through a service, but I could stay in the building. I liked feeling that with Pastor Ed putting Jesus first we had half a chance. In the end I just wasn't meant to be a Protestant.
Ed's new project of telling his story about the adventure of dying is his bravest project to date. There is no greater terror than death. I wonder if Jesus tells us not to fear so often because death is such constant worry, or if death is our final exam in obedience and he wants us to be prepared. Ed's writing is clear without cutting into our courage. He offers his honest experience so that we may share his honest hope. He is making meaning out of the dark.
Visit him here.

Resources for Human Anatomy and the Medieval Period for Homeschoolers

2012-01-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

This year is my favorite homeschooling year so far. I've always enjoyed teaching human anatomy for science and the Medieval period is my favorite for history. We've acquired a number of resources and this year I think we're getting the most from them. It's great to have so many things to recommend.

Human Anatomy

I base our work on The Teaching Company's Understanding the Human Body. Dr. Goodman divides the body into systems then use the first lecture for anatomy and the second for physiology. The lectures are fascinating. I provided my kids with My First Human Body Book by Dover and at first they colored away. As the year has gone on the videos take more and more of their attention.

The Body Book
This reproducible book allows you to build a complete model of the human body out of paper. We love this part of our studies sitting around the table coloring, cutting and gluing and all of it coming together in a great model. Very engaging.

Blood and Guts
This is an oldy but a goody. I worked my way through it when I was a kid. The experiments are fun and doable, and the text is interesting.

Gross Anatomy
The book live up to its name, but it's still fun even so. There is a lot of good information tossed into some disgusting illustrations.

Human Anatomy Floor Puzzle
Perfect for those days when kids need a break.

SomeBody
Fun little game with lots of facts and Colorform organs. It's a quiet mellow experience that exposes players to lots of great facts.

DK Human Body
Terrific app. I let the kids use it for reference on their own, or we sit and marvel at a systems organs together. Lots of views and good information about how things work.

Body Walk
Another great app, especially for my smaller ones. The cartoon body can be explored or put together as a puzzle. All my kids have played with it.

Human Body
This is the paper version, and it breaks things down a bit more. It isn't as exciting as watching the heart beat and the lungs breathe, but the extra depth sometimes makes it preferable to the kids.

The Squishy Human Brain
I lucked into this at Sam's Club. We investigated so many parts of the brain that I would have glossed over without this hand's on brain that we could dissect. We loved it so much that I bought The Squishy Human Body. It should be a great surprise when we get to the end.

The Medieval Period

The Story of the World Volume 2
I base all our history work on Susan Wise Bauer's endlessly fun Story of the World curriculum. As always she focuses on the whole world not just Europe, so we are treated to information about Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. Do buy the activity book. The added help and information are quite worth it.

The Medieval World
Turning once again to the Teaching Company, I bought The Medieval World course, and we have greatly enjoyed Professor Dorsey. Not just a march through time, all aspects of medieval life are touched on. This is a great strategy for spicing things up for mom. My kids enjoy it, but I'm the one with renewed interest.

The History of the Medieval World
Around fifth grade it's time to step things up. These older students work their way through a parallel Susan Wise Bauer text. They read the daily chapter, collect important facts and write a summary in a composition book. This is a great way to keep everyone together while challenging older children to go further.

Life in a Medieval Castle and Village Coloring Book
I love Dover Coloring Books. They are a perfect pairing with Teaching Company Videos. This coloring book has terrific illustrations that require sharp colored pencils. We also have Knights and Armor and Medieval Fashions. Beautiful and educational.

How Would You Survive the Middle Ages?
I had to hunt this up second hand, but it' is so engaging that I'm in the process of collection other titles in the series. We have lots of those Eyewitness guides and the similar Barnes and Noble Series, but this is worth stretching for. Grownup aren't the only ones who like the idea of knowing how to survive. Great hook!

The Medieval World Series
This set published by Crabtree Publishing Company, is a great mix of medieval illustrations and the glossy pages kids love. Fascinating and beuatiful, the subjects covered are detailed and intriguing, my favorite being Medieval Medicine and the Plague.

Medieval Castle
We gave them this for Christmas. It's perfect for their Schlech toys. Brings all those books to life

Life as a Viking, A You Choose Book
I bought several You Choose books for the period and they make a nice break when we want to have some fun. They do not spare on the details of living a Viking life, so not for little ones. I'd say 7 and up.

Reading

I do my best to tie the kid's reading practice into whatever we are studying. The younger ones keep practicing with age appropriate reader, but once they reach 5th grade or a readiness for advanced work I try to choose work either from the period or about the period or scientific subject.

Stories of Roland Told To Children
This is a great little chapter book with stories from The Song of Roland retold for kids. I use a bunch of these for those who feel too old for a reader but who are too young to work through translations.

The Rule of St. Benedict
I always wanted to read what real medieval people wrote when I was a kid, so I'm always looking for things of that kind that are manageable. The Rule of St. Benedict is one of those books. The chapters are short and there aren't very many of them. Most of the work is practical and of the kind that still occurs today.

Redwall
This series is set in an abbey, and it is just the ticket to lighten up reading time. Every kid needs a peanut butter and jelly book now and again.

Math

Math is covered by Horizons and we work on it a lesson a day. I do like to pull math in when I can.

Sir Cumference
I found this series and went a little wild. Take for example Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens. So funny and very medieval. Funny and educational, perfect any year, but unbearably awesome on our medieval year.

Cut Sluice

2012-01-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

They wring up the choir
Pour out fire
Flood Stage

For dissent sees sake
Damn the whole thing

Knitting Take 2

2012-01-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I bought a knitting booklet and was all excited about teaching myself to knit. I did fine on my own until I came to the purl stitch. It seemed impossible to do without three hands. If you can't purl your knitting options are limited, so I put it aside and the predictable thing happened--the kids tore it all apart and lost the stuff. The needles made excellent fairy swords, but they were bent and unusable after a particularly challenging duel with Captain Hook. (He must prefer crochet.) It was all alright. I wasn't ready yet.
This Christmas one of our daughters was given a sewing machine with all the attendant notions and we signed her up for a class at our local JoAnn's, which also offered knitting classes. Two for the price of one sweetened the deal. I found myself in the very capable hands of Jo, who can not only purl, she has made her own clothes, not just sweaters, but skirts and dresses. With her help I managed the trifecta of casting on, knit stitch and purl stitch. I forgot them all later that day, but the Internet seems to be swimming in very useful knitting videos.
Stitch by stitch it is coming along. I'll enjoy take two, they're small.

A Christmas to Dye For

2011-12-30T11:09:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the holidays call for a dye job. It started with Mea's red velvet birthday cake which requires an entire bottle of food coloring. It was delicious, so then I wondered if you could make green velvet, and made a sheet cake version for our piano teacher. From there I digressed to sugar cookies, making Red Hot Hearts, Lemon Yellow Stars, Blue Almond Snowflakes, Green Peppermint Christmas Trees, the other flavors got their coloring from ingredients (Gingerbread Men, Chocolate Bears, and Vanilla Snowmen). Anyone have ideas for other flavors and colors?
Finally, it was time for my first Christmas Velvet Cake. I wanted something Dr. Seussian, so instead of splitting the layers I stacked four whole layers, alternating red and green. It was as delicious as it was cheerful. If you decide to try it use the America's Test Kitchen recipe.

4 Followers

2011-12-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

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A Massy Christmas

2011-12-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

Until this year, I've hosted a family Christmas for all our family, both sides, for three days. Everyone but myself and our oldest are Protestant, so finding a way to go to mass without upsetting most of my guests wasn't possible. It was my first item in confession after Christmas, and I always felt sad. The importance of the calendar in the liturgy is one of my favorite things about my faith. It orchestrates us through all the highs and lows in a way that keeps us from taking Christ for granted.
This year it was time to try something new which means I'm free of all that cleaning, cooking, planning and shopping. Taking care of the eight of us feels so light and easy. Best of all my new freedom opens the door to Christ Mass. We've got our fancy clothes laid out. We're looking for a restaurant to cook our seven fishes. (Hallelujah!). We've got our plan in place, and I can't wait to go to mass. I want to know if it's as rich as Easter Vigil or simpler, with children in mind. Whatever it is Jesus will be there, guaranteed.

Mr. Magorium's Shoe Emporium

2011-11-30T08:12:00.000-08:00

These are the shoes that I would order in enough quantity to last my entire life. Wearing them is like going barefoot on your personal piece of floor. They are cute without being flashy. I feel happy every time I put them on. Five years ago, Kurt said it was OK to upgrade to Land's End because I wear my shoes into the ground. I thought they'd be available forever, but I guess you have to turn to L.L. Bean for that kind of persistence of vision.
I'm hoping to be as fortunate with my recent purchase of a leather backpack. Carrying every book, for every class, everywhere during college facilitated a great social life and a good GPA. It also remodeled my shoulders and made carrying anything on one shoulder painful. The addition of the iPad and nook to my life and purse has been great except for the weight. When I realized I was getting a cart to carry the purse, I decided to quit pushing the issue and get a backpack. Le Donne had several good options at fairly reasonable prices. I love the Everything Women's Backpack. Everything together it weighs 8.4 pounds, but split between shoulders and pulling in a slightly different way it feels comparatively light as a feather.
If I felt more certain about the durability of the straps I might stock up. I sure do wish I had with my shoes.

Santa Baby

2011-11-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

I'm a collector. Nothing pleases me more than a complete set. If I let myself everything becomes a collection, which is why I've limited myself to books and cookie cutters--Comfort Grip Cookie Cutters. If I left it as unspecific as "cookie cutters," I'd have a room full of them. I thought I was doing pretty well, buying only the ones I liked not really expecting it all to add up to much, particularly not to rise in value. But they have.
I was searching for the Christmas stocking they offered last year. It was gone, out of stock, so I thought I'd give eBay a try. The price has certainly gone up from the four bucks I typically spend. As I explored eBay's offerings I found all kinds of great Comfort Grip Cookie Cutters I hadn't known existed going for as much as 80 bucks. Wow, is all I can say. I can also say while I'm not ready to spend 80 bucks to complete the set, I'm not letting any more cookie cutters slide. Who knows which one will be the kids college tuition? And Santa, if you're listening, I've got a list of the ones I'm missing. We could start with the Christmas Stocking.

Pre

2011-11-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

Blogger topics are usually constantly perking along on my brain's back burner, but I'm coming to the end of my novel and every spare nerve is wound up in "is this plot viable" thinking. If it were possible I'd swear that my brain has even pulled in my motor neurons leaving me both sedentary and clumsy. My apologies to my readers for the lack of posts. I hope to be finished sometime in the next month and a half. In the meantime, I have a list of topics I drew up before my brain went AWOL. I'll use those to put items together, hopefully at least weekly.
The good news is this draft looks like it will be a viable draft ready for review and massive editing. The climax came first for me and hooking up all those links from the beginning seemed unlikely, but my writer's group was there to help me keep pushing forward four double-spaced pages at a time. Each page made the next possible and here I am with those last "i"s to dot and "t"s to cross. There's nothing to do but pray for the best and keep writing.

My Favorite Bible Character

2011-11-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

David and his mighty men were my favorites growing up. My very favorite is Eleazar, son of Dodai the Ahohite. He and David went on and on about the Lord before a battle with the Philistines. When the battle began the Hebrew line broke and everyone ran--except Eleazar, who fought on alone rather than make a mockery of his boasting about the Lord. The Bible says he fought until the sword froze to his hand, and that the Hebrews returned only to strip the dead. I've always admired that.
Michele Duggar is pregnant again. I'm not really happy for her to tell you the truth, but I don't think she's going for number 20 because it's a round number. We all chase God in our own ways, and fearsome indeed are some of our bargains. As a Catholic I pray that Eleazar walks with them in this challenge and whatever else they feel called to answer to.

Eat Your Supper

2011-10-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

I put it on the table
Get it while it's hot

I could never eat
I'm too hungry

Don't be silly
Everyone eats

Food is too good for me
I worship its memory

It's not a memory
It's food, on the table piping hot
Eat your supper

No

Chew
Swallow
Eat

There is so much to chews from

There is only my supper
Take and eat.

I'm going to Disney World!

2011-10-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

OK, not really, but that's what I've always figured I'd say when the last diaper was changed. It's been sixteen years and I'm almost there. We've made the big move to underwear and two accidents aside, things are moving along. I'm not sure what I'll do without diapers, but I know our budget will be happy. Maybe happy enough to save up for Disney World.

What did they do to my Bug?!?!

2011-10-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

I like to look ahead. Just over the hill is a day where I will only need to drive one person around town. The mini-van will be a thing of the past, maybe not just for me. I will be needing a new ride. Cars matter to me. I like them. I tend to name them. I want something fun but established. This added up to a VW Bug, before the new redesign. It's so ugly now. My dreams, which were extensive and involved grand-children and a specialty paint job are looking for a new home. Perhaps I should go back to my original scheme--a Corvette.

It's not a purse...

2011-09-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

it's a toolbox. Before my first PDA, my purse was a grown up pencil case with a wallet and pens. Recently my purse has been growing. First I added a nook which put almost every book I want to read at my constant beck and call. Then my husband gave me an iPad and all the rest of the world is at my feet. All those terrific apps have taken my compulsive planning to a new level by making it--easy.
The most important app is the most basic and it came with the machine, the Calendar Function. It isn't pretty, but it more than does the job. All my appointments and projects are there whenever I add something new. They come in a few different configurations and I've found them all useful. The information is presented as completely as possible without unnecessary bulk This app plays well with others most importantly with my lesson planning app.
Wikly--alas poor wikly I loved it well. It's color-coding feature is beautiful and practical, but it doesn't work well with other programs. I was hoping to work that one to my advantage by using it for a specific and limited purpose, but the way that Calendar shares some info clutters the screen with unintended items. It's plan to make planning beautiful has left it hampered with too narrow a display. If I could link this app exclusively to my lesson planning app I'd be so happy. It would declutter Calendar and make my school plans beautiful.
iPlan Lessons--if you homeschool, if you teach at all, this is a wonderful thing. All three years I taught professionally I wrote 3 weeks worth of lesson plans, . I always figured I knew what they needed to know. I knew what they didn't, and I knew what resources I had to close the gap. What more do you need? Not so with homeschooling where you are teaching multiple grades and resources can be swallowed up in the general school clutter. Not with iPlan, I've been planning for every day, some subjects a few weeks in advance. Suddenly writing out detailed lesson plans is just a few clicks, gathering information for an easy to execute plan that incorporates all the kids and all the resources, simply. You can organize lessons by date, resource and class. If you teach you will appreciate this and as it is still in development it's only going to get better.
Pepper Plate--this is a dedicated app that amazes me every time I pick it up. I felt the need to get our family menus more organized so I sketched out a crap weekly plan because every work of art needs a beginning. Pepper Plate put it on a calendar and I was thrilled. Then I had some time to enter the fancy Sunday dinner and the ingredient list was just a click away from a shopping list. Adding in other recipes--even "frozen pizza" and adding that recipe to the shopping list means I'm ready to shop whenever or wherever the opportunity presents itself. I can take items off the list by clicking, so a quick spin around the kitchen means I won't be buying a third jug of BBQ sauce. The library of recipes I'm amassing lets me see a day when meal planning for a week is 7 clicks away.
Chore Pad--I have mentioned this before, but it's changed our lives. The kid's responsibilities are all set up on lists and they are rewarded with stars. We assigned a monetary value to stars and a family economy has been born. Stars can be redeemed for rewards or lost for bad behavior. Inspection is simple and instant. We love this.

Happy 4/5 Birthday, Harriet!

2011-09-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

Only 1/5 left to go. Soon, I will proudly announce that harriet is a complete draft. That may be the only adjective a kind person might use to describe her in her current state, but that's all the fun of revising. I don't think it will take me long to write the last 1/5. I know my characters now and I know what they can stand. The last section is dark and weird. Hopefully it will also be true.
What a great adventure this has been.

Moon Queen

2011-09-01T10:59:00.001-07:00

too hot to play
too cold to stay
I wander around
possibilities
unsettled

Ollie Ollie Oxenfree

2011-08-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

I don't know who taught me to yell that at the end of hide and seek, but I imagined some little man answering my call like Elijah at Passover. Each school year I feel like I'm calling out the scholarly side of my children and they keep hoping to stay out of sight. This year, like it or not, they are going to have a good time. Our two eldest are off to public school, which leaves me with two kids worth of extra energy for the remaining four.
Uniforms are getting old. We like to be more casual now. The only thing we really like about uniforms was the price, so I found a compromise, t-shirts. CheapesTees is having a 20% off sale, so I speced out a Monkey Summer solution. Everyone gets 5 teeshirts in their favorite color. Mom gets one of everyone else's color, except for Fridays, I got pink for Friday. Picking up the jeans is easy and cheap making this years uniforms likely to be the best clothes solution ever.
We're back around to Human Anatomy and Phys. I'm so excited. It is my favorite subject. As in year's previous, I'll be relying on Dr. Goodman's course from The Teaching Company for organization and basic facts and then adding in activities and games from books I've collected.
Mpving on to history, we're going medieval so that keeps me happy. I'm struggling with what books to ask our third to read. I want her to read some real medieval literature, but I don't want to overwhelm her. She didn't grow up on the KJV. I'll obviously have her read a Redwall and The Once and Future King, but I was always sad to realize the book I'd read wasn't really ancient. I wanted some authentic experience of the time. I wanted to connect with a medieval person. I don't know what my student will want. Susan Wise Bauer's new series, particularly The History of the Medieval World, will be her giude this year. I'm sure she will miss the coziness of the read aloud history I do with the young ones.
Math we are going Horizons all the way. It may not be the best program, but it's the one my kids like to do. I can live with that.
Writing, spelling, literature, I'm taking a homemade approach based on composition books. I feel most comfortable with this side of things. Horizons will keep my fledgling reader going, but everyone else will be winging it with me.
Phys Ed is new this year. Studying the human body lends itself to a study of health and fitness. We've made stabs at it in the past, but this year I've assigned a time and laid out activities including the pool at the Aquatic Center. I'm hoping we'll get it right for this year and years to come.

Crabbies at Bay

2011-08-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Keeping kids happy and busy is a fine art. Too much guidance and the activity becomes work. Too little and many activities become difficult to do. Sometimes you can turn necessities like eating into great opportunities for learning and bonding. It's all a matter of thinking ahead and keeping your eyes open for good possibilities. Here are some of this years favorites.

The Greatest Puzzles Ever Solved--I picked this up off the bargain table at Barnes and Noble as a homeschooler I find so many great things there and this was one of them. Enjoyed by just about everybody it was a great way to pass time between outings, and a lot of history and logic got sneaked in there.

One Stitch at a Time--This vacation wasn't just our little family, we were accompanied by my parents, my sister's family and my sister-in-law's family. That meant eleven cousins, including a cadre of older girls, needed to get better acquainted. This little kit was something I wasn't sure about. It would either be hit all week long or last for about five minutes. It was a hit they made three different stuffed animals for the youngest cousins. It says that it has everything you need on the box, but there is actually a long list of sewing staples in the book. I solved most of those issues with beginner's sewing kit and Kurt picked up enough felt to keep them busy for a couple months. :) It is a great activity for older kids.

Sticker Books--Terribly old-fashioned, but always a hit. I tried to find ones connected to the ocean, but Winnie the Pooh snuck in there somehow too.

Color Me a Song--My youngest was overlooked a bit last summer so this year I made an extra effort with this little machine that plays music according to the speed he colored. He liked it both in the van and at the house.

The Beach--All of us love the ocean. It's why we're there, but it doesn't get much press. We love the beach.

Barrier Island Eco Tours, Crabbing Expedition--I've been checking into this group for twelve years. Every year my dad and I were down we'd purpose to go crabbing for our supper and every year it wouldn't work out. This year I decided we were going, and it was going to be a success. Barrier Island Eco Tours were all they promised. We had such a good time learning about the native flora and fauna and catching 4 crabs by hand. The feast was wonderful, though I could have done with a little less grit. Blue crabs are so sweet and it's been so long since I'd had any it didn't slow me down. Next year I hope to take everyone.

All but HI, NV, and SD

2011-08-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

Vacation time again. This year, like most years we played the license plate game, but unlike most years there was a twist--we had an ipad and there was an app for that. There were apps of all kinds and they kept the kids busy and happy wherever we went. Here's the run down on our favorites.

License Plate Game HD--It keeps track of both license plates you've seen and the states you've visited. Horizontally, the map with the located states is displayed. Vertically, information about each state is available. It's fun and informative, the best kind of game.

The Monster at the End of this Book--is an old favorite, but the new Ipad version adds a new dimension of funny. The knots untie. The bricks fall down. IN the end, Grover is so embarrassed. The kids pushed play, over and over and over again. Definitely the most used app.

Casey's Contraptions--Everyone got started with this game and enjoyed it, but with so many different experiences it didn't get the kind of play I think it will in the future. It was fun to solve simple engineering problems with Rube Goldberg devices, and my children get a lot of ingenuiity of that kind from their dad.

Star Walk--Is amazing. You point it at the sky and it tells you what constellations and such you are looking at, even if light pollution has wiped them out. Everyone spent some time playing with this one, but it was especially exciting to our fourth. She loves meteorology.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore--Do not miss this one!! It is now my children's favorite bed time story, with a wonderful story and excellent extra activities. What an amazing new dimension for books and children. It is good on every level, something children should exposed to. It's a bit like broccoli with cheese sauce, only better.

Garage Band--let everyone mess around with instruments and music. It was the kind of thing that one kid would be playing while another eagerly looked on and then it would be passed off to the next. Lots of fun that goes beyond a basic keyboard. It's kind of a Wurlitzer organ for your car.

Match Pair--is a classic Memory game, but it was terrific for the younger ones. Even my year old niece could play it, thanks to the fact that the cards could not be muddled by her initially sporadic actions. The longer she played the better she did. This next generation is going to be something else. The animal drawings are cute and the fact that the sounds are corrected was also interesting.

All in all, the iPad truly improved our trip experience. Stay tuned for a run down on the old fashioned apps we loved just as well.

Moving On Up

2011-07-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

Nicole Hill always had that sparkle of a woman to watch, even back in the day when we met and she was preparing for marriage. Seven children later, she's managed to bring her family through the daunting task of getting her husband Matthew through college with style and obvious grace. She's sharing that knowledge on a great blog, particularly if you like make-a-head meals. Give it a look. The recipes and home-won wisdom will repay your glance.Climbing Hills

Congratulations, Jo!

2011-07-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

Your terrifying courage is well repaid.

"If you ask how such things can occur, seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man; darkness not daylight; and look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervor and glowing love. The fire is God, and the furnace is in Jerusalem, fired by Christ in the ardor of his loving passion. Only he understood this who said: My soul chose hanging and my bones death. Anyone who cherishes this kind of death can see God, for it is certainly true that: No man can look upon me and live."
St. Bonaventure

Assignment: Confessions

2011-07-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've decided to drop numbering my forays into the Great Books. It made some sense when I was working from end to end, but now that our group is choosing books in a mostly random fashion, I feel it conveys no meaning.
I truly did enjoy Augustine's Confessions though I felt I didn't get as much out of it as I wanted. I would like it if I had the time to read it two or three more times, but I don't. I can make do with the bits I picked up. Looking at his perspective on time and comparing it with the little I know about modern ideas really reinforced the idea that our knowledge grows cumulatively each generation upon the next. I loved how personable St. Augustine is. Anybody else going on and on like that I'd think "What a windbag!," but because he is confessing not lecturing my heart was much more open to the lessons he had to offer.
Even though I failed to mine every nugget, I was impressed enough to continue with the next book of Augustine's that the Great Books recommend--The City of God. I'm only getting started, but I'm enjoying it. It's more my style of thinking than Confessions. I want to compare it with Jeremiah and Lamentations if I can find the time.
In any case I can say mission accomplished about Confessions and move it along.

Go the F**k to Sleep

2011-07-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

Family movies about bad parental priorities seldom have as charming a vehicle for the retraining camp as Mr. Popper's delightful penguins. I went with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I've loved the story since I was a child and I read it to my kids. The idea of barely referencing the characters I love so much worried me. They did a wonderful job crafting a new story. The new Mr. Popper has six charming penguins to teach him the lessons he seems to have have missed with his own offspring. The penguins allow him to be more emotionally honest than one can be with children. The movie is gentle and funny, and well worth watching. Everyone should have penguins to practice on. You can go right ahead and read them Go The F**k To Sleep without worrying about scarring them for life.

Welcome Henrietta Pussycat

2011-06-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Best birthday present ever has to be my iPad. It's like crutches for my brain. Things that came so easily when I was younger, I now need apps to keep track.
And there are tons of apps! Want to get your kids excited about doing their chores? Chore Pad has everyone working hard to earn stars and open trophies. Want to pray in a deeply meaningful way in community with the church? The Divine Office simplifies all the ribbons and antiphons and allows you to pray at the same time as three to five hundred people. Want to lose weight? Livestrong Calorie Tracker has all the info you need to count calories including those burned by exercise. Want to pick up the pace on your writing project? Write Chain gently nudges you to meet daily goals. And I'm just getting started.
Not to mention that it's just fun. I have games and the Internet at my fingertips. Entertaining children who are worn out or bored is just at the tap of a finger. I've added nook for kids, though I won't be replacing my classic nook--X the Owl. I love how it is as close to a book as an electronic machine can get. All of my Great Books reading will be done on my nook. For picture books you really have to have color, so I don't mind moving that function to my iPad--Henrietta Pussycat. All in all, I foresee those two sharing purse space for years to come.

To Do List

2011-06-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

1. Pray the Divine Office every day.
2. Housework
3. Training the kids in basic life skills.
4. Summer School
5. Finish the first draft of Harriet and polish small sections up to second draft standards for my writer's group.
6. Read the Great Books, specifically The City Of God,and prepare for monthly meeting of the Great Books Group.
7. Take kids to Japanese study group.
8. Maintain blog.
9. Publicize Pregnant Rituals
10. Develop recipe for Pillsbury Bake-off.
11. Exercise

Felix Felicis

2011-06-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Did you ever have one of those days where everything goes better than right? Yesterday was one of those days for me. It started with my terrific kids working together to clean up while I led my second through summer school. Just as we finished, Kurt's love spoon was delivered. Hand crafted in Wales it was the sequel to the one we bought on our honeymoon. None of the ones we browsed were ambitious enough to have six balls in a cage signifying the desire for six children. We purchased the most meaningful spoon instead and have treasured it all these years. Now we were ready for six balls in a cage. The same craftsmen carved both. I was so excited about giving it to Kurt. Next I took kids to the library to work on Japanese in their study group. While I was out I decided to walk through our little village and actually shop the stores I drive by. It was a pleasant distraction until I reached the Love Inc. thrift store. They often have nice things, but I was not expecting to find a complete set of the Great Books with a terrific binding. I needed a copy of the Syntopicon that I could carry around. My husband's parent's set is both revered and the binding is a bit fragile, so I don't take it out of the house. I dickered the already reasonable price down to a guilt free price. I came home and got ready for a mysterious date that ended at the Apple Store where this 40 year old lady was given an iPad. I love it. I love, love it. The portability is amazing. Last stop was El Burrito Loco--my favorite restaurant. They were nearly empty so the chef put some extra shooozz into my burritos. I felt so blessed and enriched. I'm doing the right things with my life. I've finally found my path. That is so worth turning 40 for.

Rango and Redwall

2011-06-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

We finally have the technology to bring Redwall to life. Earlier efforts lacked the power to really bring Gulo or any of the villains to their terrifying life. It was all so warm and cute. Redwall's warfare is not warm and cute and the villains are horrible and crazy. Rango was great fun, but all I could think about how perfect this style of animation was for our abbey. Martin deserves the appropriate gravity his life and legacy have earned.

Mother always said...

2011-06-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was born 35, so I'm coming up on 75. It's a good thing I like younger men as Kurt is officially 40. I'm embracing old age. This is the part in books where it's perfect and you don't want anything to change. The kids are all still home. They are growing and learning and continually amazing me with the things they do. I have a lot of zip and I know what to do with it. Kurt's pretty hot for an old guy. I finally know what I want to do with the second half of my life, and it took me all of the first to get there. Time is just short enough for me to be focused on how precious it is. What a wonderful thing to be 40.

A Young Mycroft Holmes

2011-05-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

Sherlock Holmes lived in our family imagination when I was a child. We read his adventures over and over, and hated it when we came to the end--again. This sparked an interest in the many different versions of Shelockian fiction that offered themselves as fix for our addiction, but nearly always fell flat. I am pleased to say one of my friends has produced an authentic version of a young Sherlock Holmes. He does so by using Mycroft as the point of view character and setting the young Sherlock the terrible task of solving his mother's murder.
Steve Poling's Mycroft is Sherlock's older brother, weighing their respective merits and ultimately loving his brother above all else. The boys' father is available in a rather cryptic manner adding another level of complexity to a difficult case. Better than all of that, the tone and pacing of the story are an accurate recreation of the original stories. The Aristotelian is priced at a very reasonable .99. If you love Sherlock Holmes, you will love this.

poor baby

2011-05-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

Summer, for all intents and purposes, is here which means a lot of things, but my favorite is getting back to my writer's group a.k.a. the West Michigan Writer's Workshop. If you are a fanatical follower of this blog then you might wonder at the name change. Yes, it's the same group, but we've broken away from the UICA. I'll let you know when we have a website.
It is so tasty to sink my teeth into someone else's work for a change. The pink ink was flowing tonight. The unfortunate thing is that I don't seem able to produce work worth critiquing. The first draft is a long way from done and I haven't quite gotten into the mindset for my second draft. All of this has Harriet looking like a barrel of missionary clothes. I have to figure it out. This is summer, my one opportunity to get an outside opinion.

anti apocalypse

2011-05-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

I grew up listening to people talk about the Apocalypse, certain it was coming soon. Any bad weather, the European Union, credit cards, the United Nations, the legalization of abortion etc. could set off a round of excited talk about the rapture--unless you were mid-tribulation or post-tribulation. They tended to be very serious and less likely to see the judgement of God in everything. I suppose it's the difference between being whisked off to a party and being one of those who will complete the number of martyrs.
I don't know the ins and outs of the group that thinks they've finally figured God's puzzle out. I keep my distance from those things now that I can, but I know they are wrong. I have my reasons and they don't matter, because the most obvious one is how much love there is in in the world. Friend's calls, my husband's kisses, my children's warm hugs, there is no way the world is ending tonight.

Pregnant Rituals

2011-05-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

I decided to self-publish a manuscript through Barnes and Noble's PubIt!. The title is Pregnant Rituals, and it's about finding and creating emotional support during pregnancy and the early weeks of parenting. The book is brief and to the point since there are so many other books on the subject. I think mine has it's own unique honesty that makes it stand out. It will be available for nook in 24-72 hours.

Anti Virgin

2011-05-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Diana's innocence has lost it's value and is now sold as regrettable inexperience. Kate's experience as a live in lover is pointed to as wise and helpful. It does seem that Kate will be doing a better job since she's lived the demanding life she has married into, but I can't help regretting the loss of respect for purity.

Assignment 2

2011-05-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

My plans were a little sidetracked when I began meeting with my Great Books Group. It is such a pleasure to share the joys and struggles of reading such important literature. I'll be hopscotching from book to book, leaving behind order and plan for serendipity. Rather than the previously mentioned Freud and Monkey, I will be sharing some of my favorite quotes from Pascal's Pensees. Enjoy.

"The last thing one settles in writing a book is what one should put in first."

"Justice is subject to dispute; might is easily recognized and is not disputed. So we cannot give might to justice because might has gainsaid justice and has declared that it is she herself who is just. And thus, being unable to make what is just strong, we have made what is strong, just."

"Let us, therefore, not look for certainty and stability. Our reason is always deceived by fickle shadows; nothing can fix the finite between the two Infinites, which both enclose and fly from it."

"Between us and heaven or hell there is only life, which is the frailest thing in the world."

"The conduct of God, who disposes all things kindly, is to put religion into the mind by reason and into the heart by grace. But to will to put it into the mind and heart by force and threats is not to put religion there, but terror."

Happy St. Zita's Day!

2011-04-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

For her inspiring story visit HERE.

All I Wanted for Christmas

2011-04-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

was new toilets, but it turns out its more of an Easter thing. One or another of our toilets was clogged at least once a day. All the usual problems with that kind of thing, added to a bunch of leaks, left us with no choice but to call a plumber. Bret Noordoff diagnosed our problem right away. The toilets were of a notorious design, by which he could and did date our home's construction. After living with disfunction all this time, we decided to replace them. I haven't had to plunge a toilet since. I never thought I'd dance the happy dance over bathroom fixtures. Welcome to adulthood at last.

And She Said, "Oh, Its You."

2011-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Knot Not Naught

2011-04-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

tied,woven, macramed
fist in my chest
where God is not
O, Mary, lend me a sword

guidance unity discipline

2011-03-09T12:42:00.000-08:00

One of the stray things I came across when I was thinking about converting was the eager testimonial that Catholics were always celebrating something, and they do celebrate quite a bit. There really is generally speaking, a party on the horizon most of the time. I like that. I don't participate as much as I should, but it's nice to know it's there. Catholics also celebrate some things that don't seem like holidays, at least not at first, but I'm discovering they grow on you.
My favorite example is Lent. As a Christian who studied her Bible I always knew that fasting was to be part of my spiritual practice, but guided practice was nearly non-existent. I worried that I might go too far or do it the wrong way, and the books I picked up worried about that with me. So fasting became an emergency procedure instead of being as reasonable and comfortable as devotional reading and prayer. Then I converted. Lent has clear guidelines, a clear time line and in general all the help you need to get the season right. It is also the kind of thing you grow into. My first year I gave up hot chocolate. This doesn't sound like much unless you know me. The next year I went overboard and gave up more than I was ready to. This year I think I've got it right.
As we all streamed out of church this morning with ashes on our foreheads, I got to thinking about the blessing of going through Lent together. The few fasts I did as a Protestant I did alone and in secret. If you're Catholic it's hard to disguise Lent. It's encouraging to hear other people's ideas for what to give up and to know that you are not alone in your struggles. There is the real beauty of knowing that all around the world today my fellow Catholics are accepting the ashes and watching their meals. Unity is one of the things Christ put prominently on the agenda for Christians. It is one of my favorite things about Catholic life.
This year was the first time I got into the spirit of Fat Tuesday. I'm beginning to see it as a way of celebrating the things that are good before we give them up for something better. Before I'd always thought of those goods as less-thans but there is good in chocolate. It's not as good as Jesus, but the world he created for us still retains some of its charms. I've been gaining weight for a lot of reasons, and I have been too tired to do anything other than note the new number on the scale. It had started to feel impossible until Lent came over the horizon. "Ah, my friend, here is help known and proved." Like a big brother Lent put its arm around me and offered to shoulder some of my burden. A Catholic life is a disciplined life that slowly weaves the strength of Jesus into and around us one small choice at a time.

Happy 3/5 Birthday to Harriet!!!

2011-03-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

I just finished up the third section of Harriet. My mind is beginning to turn to the style and content of the book though I still need to keep trucking with the basic framework of characters and plot. Feels good to be done. I thought I had another couple weeks, but suddenly the last words were being said and the curtain fell. It has potential. I'm really pleased.

It's the little things

2011-03-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

I always wanted an electric toothbrush. To my eyes it was the height of luxury to have the toothbrush brush your teeth for you. Most Christmases I buy the kids one of those cute cartoon character versions, but I never bought one for me, until a month ago, when Kurt went with me to Sam's. A joint trip allows me to run ideas and non-budgeted purchases by him. I jokingly pointed out the adult motorized toothbrushes and he put it in the cart. Sometimes these things are better in one's imagination than they are in reality--not so the toothbrush. I love the luxury taking my time to allow each tooth their spin. What other stuff did I want as a kid?

My mother called wanting to know what I wanted for Christmas. I knew exactly what I wanted, right down to the personalization. There are certain splurges I struggle to fit into the budget and a fancy pen is one of them. A Christmas or two ago Mom and Dad bought me an ivory Levenger Truewriter. I asked that it be inscribed, Truth Alone, because I intended to (and still do) use it to do my creative writing. It's a great reminder to stick with what I know and what I know is true. I wanted another pen to use for my reading. I'm filling a commonplace book with all the great stuff I'm pulling out of the Great Books. That's a lot of writing and while I do my best to write "Truth Alone," I know that most of the time it's just my best guess. I think it's fair to assume that that was truth for these others who pushed us forward one idea at a time, so I asked for an obsidian, true wrtier engraved "Best Guess."

I'm not a big music person. I enjoy it, but I don't spend money on it--etc, so when Kurt passed down his ipod I couldn't find a purpose for it. I put some German tapes on it for the trip to Munich, but mostly it laid around looking for a reason to exist. Now, I've found it. Dance music is one of my loves, so I've put all my favorite songs that cause spontaneous dancing on that little white stick. It should be great for my workouts at the Aquatic Center, but it doesn't matter it lifts my mood and makes chores into workouts.

would've, should've

2011-02-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

He could have come to Martha's with a generous save the date.
He could have come to Eden before it was too late.

He could have come to Westboro Baptist, the ultimate picket sign.
He could have rewound Sarah, wiping away the grime.

He could have replaced Bono as the leader of the band.
He could have floated down the Nile and skipped the Promised Land

He came between beginnings, our own Babe Truth.
He comes in the here and now to be our Eternal Proof.
He will come in glory, the great Judge Ruth

Would have? Should have? I dare not judge thee.
Praise the truncated trinity.

Postcard from the Center

2011-02-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

See Chest

2011-02-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

be not a Freud of kill her poetry
poets play Dickinson's lute
constructing an Eye Full Tower

In an Iliad frame of mind

2011-02-07T18:54:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went out to see Sanctum. I was giving James Cameron an opportunity to redeem himself after Avatar. Redeem himself after an amazingly creative blockbuster hit? Yeah, you heard right. Put Myst and Halo in a blender and there you go. Terrific success--not much of a surprise really.
I was beginning to be beautifully bored, tearing apart the plot he wrote backwards, when Achilles murdered Patroclus. The hero character kept up the killing people for their own good right up to himself, though his son had to help him speed things up toward the end. The plot came from ancient literature but to call it derivative would sink all of us. It was interesting to hear ancient perspectives given full credence, but the longing for the "heroic" masculine "virtues" would have been more interesting if they were off to Mars. Now that's a great place to suffocate for exploration. Haven't we spent enough time in the cave?
And that's another thing. I've been trying to work some Freud in to my reading here and there. He livened up my beautiful boredom with many interesting ideas of his own. I'm still a little too fundamentalist to speak them out loud, but let's say I've never spent such a long time contemplating how intimidating, mysterious, and somewhat deadly women are to men or at least to James Cameron.
As always the film is beautiful and isn't that enough? maybe.

2 dollar cheat sheet

2011-02-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

I set aside my Christian Prayer because I became frustrated that I just don't understand its internal logic. Completely dependent on the St. Joseph's Guide, I enjoyed the experience much the way I suppose a first-time skydiver enjoys the ride with his mentor strapped to his back. I was there. I did it, but I didn't really do that much. There was also the sneaky suspicion that the Guide, thorough as it is, took for granted that I knew a lot more than I do. It didn't help that the book I bought to explain Christian Prayer added still other procedures I didn't know. All that frustration stopped me from remembering why I was praying like this in the first place.
I was praying the hours because I loved it. The prayers and scriptures weave themselves into my day and slowly into my life. My life felt rejuvenated and healed. I should have known all my mounting pride was the real problem with Christian Prayer/Liturgy of the Hours. It's hard for me to be the newby. As a Baptist I not only had the theology down, I knew people. I'm used to being the smarty-pants. Now I stumble over the alternative Easter and Advent and Lent stuff. I'm still learning when I add these items in and when I leave them out. In any case the trail had gone so cold that I was surprised when Father Dan said I should get back to work on Christian Prayer. He showed me an amazing app that would do all the work for me if I had an ipad or an iphone. Who knew liturgical prayer would stir up such covetousness? There is no room in the budget for that at the moment, so I humbled myself and sent off for my old instructor--St. Joseph's Guide. It's only 2 bucks and it's changing my life--one sort of successful attempt at a time.

Read at your own risk.

2011-01-24T08:38:00.001-08:00

Making the journey from evangelical/fundamentalist to Catholic was an amazing and intrinsically unique experience. Mostly I sit in my pew and wonder that I made it here at all. I wonder how I lived before this. Occasionally, it's nice to listen to the journey of others. This book is one of those books. David Currie is the real deal with all the important bona fides, just to hit the highlights, both of his parents taught at Moody Bible Institute. His journey isn't my journey, but for those who can't imagine how a well-trained evangelical can be led to the Catholic church, this might be a good start to understanding. Be warned though this isn't like Catholic and Christian. This is an evangelical speaking evangelical it has the potential to shake your beliefs.

Disney Princesses

2011-01-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

Not exactly what I had in mind.

The Want Adds

2011-01-11T09:52:00.000-08:00

Lilliputian cares
"So us"
To the Ground

C'est tres European, sort of.

2011-01-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

Helping my kids succeed at their chores means making those chores as simple as possible. The more jobs that are no-brainers, the more we all live happily ever after. Making a twin bed can be a job for little bodies with short arms. Until now I've accepted any haphazard attempt at straightening, but I wished that the first chore on the list could be an easy winner. During our visit to Munich we stayed in a wonderful hotel and their bedding arrangements were so simple. You get pillows and each person has their own heavy duvet to arrange as they like. Making the bed was a simple matter of pulling the duvet's straight and fluffing the pillows. It was wonderful for sleeping and I imagine wonderful for the hotel staff.
I wanted to bring it home, but I got hung up on the duvet. The buttoned on cover would be terrific for tent building and other activities not related to sleep or good order. Never give children a giant bag that is, as far as they are concerned, a great place to stuff things. It wasn't until this Christmas that I finally figured out how to make it work for us--sleeping bags. Every kid has a fitted sheet, a pillow, and a sleeping bag. In the morning it's a simple matter of putting the pillow at the top and spreading out the sleeping bag. Everyone can do that and the bonus is that the sleeping bags are better suited to insulate the kids on cold Michigan nights.
We found the bags at Amazon for 25 dollars. The pillows were on special at Sam's and they worked out to 3 dollars a pillow and then I found a sheet set at Target for 12. That's 40 dollars a bed and well worth it.

Blinding

2011-01-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

I'm still not sure why paintings and painters supply so much inspiration and ways of understanding the work I've set before myself. Without this crutch, I would struggle, perhaps to the point of giving up. Fellow writers, for the most part, cannot do more than overwhelm and confuse me. For Harriet I am somewhat on my own. Recently Harriet's pacing has been on my mind. I've known all along that I will be lucky to get a few good scenes and a solid understanding of my main characters out of this draft. On the one hand, there is just too much of the book, period, but a diet seems impossible. Faithful readers have said that my work is too minimalist and hard to follow. They are right, but I have struggled to think of a solution until I remembered Giorgione
I want my next draft to crackle like a lightening storm. I want to know my characters and plot so well that I can confidently convey the most important parts of the story in brief, strange leaps from one stroke of lightening to the next. Who knows if I can do it, but I'd rather be blinded by the light rather than feel along in the dark.

Accepto Patronum

2010-12-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about being human is the ability to plan and carry it out. Christmas is the best opportunity for that kind of thing, the only drawback being my tendency to over-plan. Lists have lists until only Santa's naughty and nice list is longer. Our everyday projects crash into Christmas requiring contingency plans. I get overwhelmed, but I'm slow to ask for help. This year I got told.
"Accept help or quit" wasn't the exact message, but it felt that way.
At first I was upset and quitting looked like the better option. As time went by I began to see how good and necessary the help really was. Long term I am certain that my kids will get good at doing their chores, but Christmas won't wait for that to happen. Christmas requires order, so when the elves showed up with buckets and pails and made the impossible possible we rejoiced. When the last few sparkly bits needed to be finished while a bunch of other things required attention it was such a relief to call my sister and ask for help. She has a gift for sparkly bits.
The lesson seems to be that expecto patronum isn't rude, and that accepto patronum is imperative. It has been a very happy holiday.

Christmastide

2010-12-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

The older the kids get the more pressure there is before Christmas. They have to be at so many different celebrations and activities and they have more sophisticated taste in presents. Gone are the days when Grandma's house was the big party and Little People sent them into ecstasy. It feels like every single moment is all ready taken up and there is no room for any spiritual spontaneity. If God has something to say, he'll have to wait for Christmas. Then Christmas comes and just like that it's all over. The presence of the tree enters the decaying orbit where it moves from beacon to clutter. There is nothing to do but take it down--unless your Catholic. I'm beginning to get the hang of the differences with the way I was raised to do things and the way I've adopted of doing things and at St. Mary's Christmas doesn't stop until Epiphany. I have all that time after Christmas to reflect on Christmas without any checklist or deadline, a fridge full of leftovers and a clean house. What a blessing!

A Tale of Four Journals

2010-12-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

It started with Larry Crab's PAPA prayer. For me it's a good discipline for both seeing and expressing myself as I am. I filled up four or five journals before I realized that they were all puny and over-priced. On top of that, there was no continuity. Every journal was an interesting and useful design, but I disliked the way the changes intruded on my purpose. I wanted to get in a groove and stay with it. Enter the Levenger Infinity Journal. The paper is nicely ruled. It's quite fat, and there is no bleed through. The best part though is the refills. When I come to the end I remove the current journal and put a new one in the leather cover. It's seamless which is what you want when you are focusing on an important task.

One Journal leads to another. I'm reading through the Great Books and other stimulating intellectual volumes, and I wanted a place to record all the new insights and such I was gleaning. My first thought was to get another Infinity Journal in a different color, but they've stopped selling it. Casting about for alternatives, I used a gift card to Barnes and Noble to select a gorgeous red leather journal with an amazing owl on the cover. Since I'm playfully enrolled in the Owl Correspondence School, it was a perfect fit.

Harriet is set in the sixties. Anytime I see a display of materials devoted to the period I take a look to see what might work for the plot. A table at B&N was set up like a shrine to Woodstock. I'd begun to scribble down ideas on whatever was in my purse and it was a mess. The peace sign journal was too perfect. All my scraps found a home and these days I pull it out for anything that inspires me no matter which project it belongs to. I've even gone so far as to get multi-colored pens so that the inside matches the outside--lots of fun.

The last journal isn't as much fun, but it's important. I'm going on a diet. The journal lets you record tons of data so that you can focus on other aspects of your attempt to get healthy when this or that strategy has gone stale. I like that.

Write it down. As a writer I should have known what magic that strategy can hold, but I didn't.

It's On!

2010-12-05T18:44:00.001-08:00

Today we had the first successful meeting of the Great Books Group, 3:00 o'clock at Barnes and Noble. It was decided that we'll use the guide to the Great Books written by Anthony O'Hear because it is a reasonably sized selection from the books that is also heavy on narrative--a good place for beginners to start. No one needs to buy the book. It is not too late to join. We are reading The Iliad first and would love to have you at our next meeting, the first Sunday in January at 3:00.

Thanks, Einstein!

2010-11-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

The other day a glass landed on our tile floors and exploded, like always. For me this is generally a time of mourning and wishing I was more coordinated or something. I feel bad no matter how small the loss. Part of it is growing up with a feeling of scarcity and part of it is reading how Gandhi made his grandson crawl over the ground to find the stub of a pencil so as to honor the work of the man who made the pencil.
The particular glasses we are breaking at the moment are thick and when they break there is a sparkly pile of generally non-threatening shards, and as I started to sweep them up, I heard a voice inside saying "e=mc2." I immediately relaxed. I know it's not an exact application, but in general principle it's true. Somehow the entropy that my clumsy choice unleashed is not final. In a mysterious, grand theme of the universe kind of way, my glass isn't lost--it's just transformed. I'd never thought of it that way, and it backed up and illumined the ways I'd considered loss before.
The last year has been a shower of death and loss and it looks like there are at least two more coming. All of them were/are men that I expected to live much longer. I lost Uncle Ed who always provided a sort of quiet bass to my father's tenor. He was the sort of person who was comfortable with a kid watching him fix a stone wall for hours. I lost Uncle Tom who introduced me to the joys of rare meat. My favorite memory of him is the pride he took in getting a grant for RIF. I lost my biological Uncle Bob. He was funny and he took my side against Mother. He helped me to have faith that brainy genes really were in there somewhere. On our wedding day, he prayed over Kurt and I just as he had prayed over Mother and Dad.
"All things work together for good..." is sometimes as hard to see as the usefulness of a pile of broken glass, but that doesn't make it any less true.

S.H.E again!

2010-11-01T13:45:00.001-07:00

Mother had this book lying around the house. I have always been a reading omnivore, so if it was there... I liked the logic of delineating each task on a card and setting them aside was almost as good as ticking things off a list without the trouble of drawing up a list every day. I didn't put it to work though until we were expecting our third and all warnings were that this was when it got tough, so I wanted to be ready. I bought my own and a bunch of 3x5 cards and Attila the Hun was born. (I name nearly everything I use frequently including my 3x5 card file.) After a while my natural need to complete all remaining tasks took over and Attila was overkill. I respectfully put her away and then the slow slide into slovenly got worse with each new baby. After a move and three more children I'm not sure I really know how to make it work anymore, so I remembered Attila and all those 3x5 cards. The number of tasks is simply overwhelming, but I've been meeting with the kids and parceling out responsibilities. Everyone but Kurt will have their own card box. I'm hoping it's a success not just for me, but for all of us.
If you are looking for a good system to help you master whatever is going on in your house, I recommend Sidetracked Home Executives. Even if you're not a slob it helps you picture what needs done and how to accomplish it.

Mariah Came Home

2010-10-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

I just found out. Best wishes and happy thoughts.

The end (for now)

2010-10-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

I've finally cobbled together enough time to finish my guide to purchasing the Great Books on the nook. I need to clarify that I'm working from the original collection. I will eventually work in the books and authors who were added in the revision, but for now what I have seems plenty to keep me busy. I have also elected that with only three exceptions I will skip the scientists. They seem like they would be interesting, but science is only a side interest for me. If they are important to you, well, you're on your own. Once again all these items are available for free, but I've found the little perks that come with purchasing an upgraded version are often valuable. This half could set you back 72.69, if you buy the versions that offer extras, bringing our grand total to 137.08. That is absolutely amazing when you consider that that is 56 authors and many times that number of complete texts.

Great Books on a nook/the last half

Cervantes 1.99 Barnes and Noble
Bacon 3.99 Mobile Reference
Descartes (Could not find complete set) .99 Golgotha Press
Spinoza 1.99 B&N
Milton 3.99 MR
Pascal (Could not find complete set) 2.99 eBooksLib
.95 MR
Locke 2.99 MR
Berkeley .95 B&R Samizedat Express
Hume 3.19 MR
Swift 1.99 B&N
Sterne .95 MR
Fielding 1.99 B&N
Montesquieu .95 MR
Rousseau 4.79 MR
Adam Smith 1.99 B&N
Gibbon .95 MR (Abridged)
44.46 for 3 book set
Kant 4.79 MR
Federalist Papers .95 MR
J.S. Mill 2.99 Neeland Media LLC
Boswell 1.99 B&N
Hegel (could not find complete set) 1.99 B&N
Goethe 4.79 MR
Melville 1.99 B&N
Darwin 3.99 Archiebooks
Marx 4.79 MR
Tolstoy 4.79 MR
Dostoevesky .99 Douglas Editions
William James .00
Freud .00

On the Cheap

2010-10-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Things are looking up for the Great Books Group. I've found a few like-minded travelers, and I can't wait to begin. I promised a guide to purchasing the Great Books on the nook but first I need to clarify that we won't all be buying the Great Books set from Brittanica, even secondhand that's worth it but pricey. I recommend writing a list of authors and works and start checking the used tags on the internet (The Brittanica set goes from 995 down to 475) and second hand book stores and library sale rooms. Even new the Great Books can still be bought for around five dollars a book because they are public domain and the only cost to the publisher is ink and paper. I've scored Herodutus and Plutarch for a quarter each.

I've gone shopping on my nook for the first 27 books in the set. Sometimes they had multiple authors in one book, or I couldn't find the titles I needed in one download. The one thing I found every time is that everything I needed for this half was available for free. So far that's my favorite excuse for purchasing a nook--"Honey, I saved us 800 dollars by purchasing the nook." Of course it didn't work for me, since we had already inherited a set--might work for you. Following is my guide to getting the Great Books on the nook. You can just buy what's free, but I found that splurging for the perks offered by publishers like Mobile Reference are sometimes worth it. The total cost for buying what I'm calling "the plus package" is 64.39 cents for 26 authors and an amazing collection of texts.

Homer 4.79 Mobile Reference
Aeschylus 2.99 MR
Sophocles 5.59 Bantam
Euripedes 6.99 Penguin
Aristophanes .99 MR
Herodutus 1.99 Barnes and Noble
Thucydides .99 B&R Samizdat Express
Plato 4.79 MR (Dialogues)
.95 MR (Republic)
Aristotle 4.79 MR (Works of...)
.95 MR (Physics)
Lucretius .00 Take your pick he doesn't come in a plus version.
Epictetus .99 B&N
Marcus Aurelius .95 MR
Virgil .95 MR (Aeniad)
.95 MR (Georgics)
Plutarch 4.79 MR
Tacitus 3.99 MR
Plotinus 3.19 Neeland Media
Augustine 2.99 MR
Aquinas .95 MR
Dante .95 MR
Chaucer 3.99 MR
Machiavelli .95 MR
Hobbes .95 MR
Rabelais 1.99 B&N
Montaigne .95 MR
Shakespeare .99 Baxter Street

See, a great self-education on the cheap. I'll do the other half later. This turned out to be a much bigger project than I expected.

Seeking Fellow Travelers

2010-09-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

Do you like to do the difficult? Is intellectual adventure your middle name? Are you a thief looking to steal enlightenment and brave ancient darkness? Do you like to drink coffee and eat baked goods while discussing the important stuff in life? Then here's the deal, I'm looking to set up a Great Books reading group that meets once a month around 3 o'clock, on the first Sunday afternoon at the Barnes and Noble in Muskegon. We'll set up our own reading plan or borrow the original version or a friendly neighborhood list off the internet(see two versions below). Once that's decided we'll do our reading and discuss it over the aforementioned coffee.
A side note, Gandalf would have carried a nook with him I'm pretty sure. Think of all the obscure lore he could fill it with and in many cases for free. I'm working on laying out a guide to collecting the Great Books on a nook. I'll post it later. If you're interested I'm on facebook and you can send me a message there. If geography makes your participation impossible, perhaps we could set up some kind of internet meeting.

ten year reading plan
four year reading plan

It's Electric!

2010-09-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Dan is a talented man. He first wowed me with a sci fi/fantasy piece which he found difficult to sell, so he wrote something else entirely, a historical mystery written at the time when the automobile was new and rapidly transforming American society. The characters of The Detroit Electric Scheme are fascinating and carefully drawn and nothing about this book is typical. True history and imagination are carefully blended to thicken the soup. The book was only launched a few days ago and a second edition is already on order. Get your first edition quick so you can say you were there from the beginning of this excellent series. (I've read bits and pieces of the second and I can say that it only gets better as you go along.)
It's also available as an ebook for you nook, but I can't ask Dan to sign those.

Every Day Gift

2010-09-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit death
Life pulses through my ear
everyday fades

the Rustle I didn't make
Soprano Voices waking
Mechanical Humming of slaves
Collective Sigh of the well-fed
Peaceful Silence

it's hard to hear
the stop watch in my ear

Nothing Fancy

2010-09-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons we chose this house was that the basement would make a perfect classroom and it was for a year or two. I decorated it to the nines and we had everything from bulletin boards to computers to used school furniture. I loved it, except I didn't. Going down to the basement was always a tad discouraging. I couldn't figure it out, but I finally brought school up to the main living level and enjoyed it's windows and squishy furniture.
It was a reasonable solution, but that whole year I walked by the basement and wondered why the school mess was upstairs. After a year of thinking, I've solved the riddle. I hadn't made any place for me. Granted, I had my rocking chair--the first piece of furniture I bought myself--but that was more about the babies than it was about me. This year I took over a corner and set up an office. If there actually is a minute when they are doing their own work, I'm ready to work on my reading, my children's stories, or my novel. All the pens and stickers and stuff that I use to motivate them and check their work are in special boxes in Mom's corner where they hopefully won't get spread around and lost.
I'm enjoying a workspace that isn't tucked in with the water heater and furnace. I feel like I've brought my special interests out of a closet and made them a home. It's nothing fancy, but it's mine.

Happy 2/5 Birthday to Harriet!

2010-09-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

It has been a long journey. Section One is an inch or so thick. Section Two is a solid three inches, maybe more when I finish typing things up. The discoveries along the way were worth every frustrating delay to the plot. The relationship between two of the main characters has been radically intensified. Another character invented himself and is shouldering some of the darkest and brightest days in the novel. A third voted himself off of this section and onto the next. Some plot points literally caught fire. It is an awful mess, but a mess with potential. The temptation to sit down and tidy up the obvious problems is nibbling away at my inner ear, but I worry if I do there will be so many other obvious problems, I'll never move on. I've promised myself to have a complete draft that I would consider at least "good" by the time our third graduates from high-school. Eight years is probably generous, but then again my real priorities do slow down my work significantly.
Section Three feels like it will be easier to write with only four important events and fewer characters. One can always hope.

Assignment 1

2010-08-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

The Great Books and I are getting acquainted, but I decided that rather than read only books on the list I would allow myself to mix in other books to help me past tough patches. Variety is the spice of life, and I need help growing as a writer as well as a thinker.

I've taken the first step on my Great Books journey by finishing The Iliad. It was the kind of book where I immediately wanted to run around to the beginning and read it again. I still have the Odyssey, but I'm putting it off in case Freud is a bother and I need extra incentive. I've made up my mind to handle the Great Idea of honor by combining the judgment of Paris with stuff I'm yanking out of Episodes 1 and 23. Should be fun if I can ever find the time to pull it together. In any case one book down.

My freshman year of college I read Ordering Your Private World, a book that emphasized the importance of character development over talent. Ironically, the author himself had an affair on his book tour. In any case, I've been trying to develop into a person of heroic virtue ever since with little hope of success. The Life You Save May Be Your Own reminded me that talent matters too. While heroic virtue certainly helps (see Dorothy Day) it isn't required for me to begin using my talents. Each of the four authors really spoke to me as I grow. Flannery's assertion that grace can repulse us was right where I'm living. Walker Percy as a self-taught philosopher encouraged me to keep going. Thomas Merton taught me not to reject the good things when you're unhappy about the bad. Dorothy Day helped me to stop feeling bad about being a convert. Converts do good work too.

My favorite poet is John Donne. His major themes are sex and sanctity and sometimes he gets his chocolate on his peanut butter and vice versa. It's all good and very clever. I needed to read him again. The first poem I heard is still my favorite--"Batter My Heart Three Person God." It always rings true, and impresses me all the more as I think of it as a smart inversion of Jeremiah's complaint.

Coming Attractions

nookIE needs

2010-08-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

Kurt is my dealer when it comes to technology. Buying our first computer blew my mind and ever since I've needed more, more, more. My latest tech addiction is the nook from Barnes and Noble. No matter where I am, my reading goes with me. Making notes is simple and I don't feel like I'm defacing the book. The unit is comfortable even after hours of reading. Bold and graphic, my Jonathan Adler cover protects my investment in style. Perfection has been achieved.
Not! How is it that the more you love something the more you expect from it? The longer I use the nook, the longer my list of fantasy upgrades becomes.
So, what is more perfect than perfection?
1. Crossword puzzle mode with the opportunity to subscribe to the NY Times puzzle.
2. Nearest B&N detector--When we were on vacation I really would have appreciated a homing beacon.
3. An absolute must is a more comprehensive dictionary. My reading list is more challenging than most, but only being able to define one out of four requests is disappointing.
4. The power of technology harnessed to enhance and simplify the reading experience should be a natural fit for religious reading. A breviary is a complicated book to use. A nook version that did the work of figuring out what goes where and when automatically would be a great help to devotion. A static version produced periodically that I could subscribe to would work also.
5. More of the foundational Catholic books would be nice. Specifically, the Catechism and The Catholic Bible my RCIA instructor gave me.
6. Lastly, the almost holy grail--the Great Books with a digital Syntopicon. For the uninitiated, the syntopicon organizes all the great ideas and every reference to the great ideas in the Great Books. Digitally enhancing the Syntopicon means whatever interests you you can simply click directly to anything written about it.
All of That is to say, nook happily leaves me wanting more.

mad method

2010-07-27T05:28:00.000-07:00

Every year my need to mimic traditional schools decreases leaving me greater freedom to experiment. Last year's great experiment was using composition books for our history and language arts. We did some science in composition books, but it came late to the party and never developed the way I hoped. This year is going to be different.
Usually I choose a branch of science such as biology and we work on learning the facts. This year we are going to learn the scientific method.
Composition books are frequently used in science labs as a way of recording data and such. My goal is that my kids will be able to draft and complete their own experiments. I plan to have a workshop at the beginning where we will work through an experiment together, then I intend to move them on by providing them with kits that they can do without help. (Check out Meijer's Kid's Science section or Toys R Us' Imaginarium.) Once they work successfully with the kits I'll restrict them to books. (Janice Van Cleave, Blood and Guts, that sort of thing.) When they are doing well with the books I'm going to ask them to design their own experiment to develop a better understanding of something they've already done. Hopefully they'll still learn a lot of facts, though my only contribution to that will be to make sure the experiment kits and books come from a variety of disciplines. I'll probably go back to my normal method next year, but I hope we will always do a lot of hands-on learning.

Surprise Vacation

2010-07-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

I'd given up on a vacation this summer when Kurt called to tell me he'd reserved a house on the Isle of Palms. My family has been vacationing on the Isle of Palms since my dad was young enough to trip over John Glen and not know who it was. What a lovely and unexpected surprise. I didn't have time to get into my normal pre-vacation lather with endless lists and optimization. We washed. We threw it into a suitcase. We left. The love bug bag and the nook were both helpful on the drive. Everyone was in a good mood when we arrived at the perfect little rental duplex. It is in my nature to come up with a list of things to accomplish. I've found that even if the vacation has its struggles you can still point to the items you knocked off your list. This year my list felt superfluous as we all enjoyed ourselves. Nevertheless I did get a lovely sea shell ornament and a practical piece of art to enhance our home and remind us of Charleston, I read 80 pages of Freud and all of Mansfield Park, I ate at Chick Fil A and Waffle House, I had special moments with everyone in my family. We went above and beyond seeing The Last Air Bender and Despicable Me. Listening to the kids critique the two movies was priceless. All we can say about Air-Bender is "Show Me the Funny." We hit the Aquarium and the Market, but most of all we lived on the beach. It was a much needed and perfect get-away.

a little nookIE

2010-06-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, wedding anniversary, and general good behavior my husband bought me a nook. For a person with 15 book cases and a serious intent to do some serious reading the idea of 1500 books on one tiny little device was irresistible. I did consider the Kindle and the Sony Reader, but a friend recommended against the Sony and the Kindle's selection was significantly smaller than the nook. Barnes and Noble also offers me a real store, that I visit once a week anyway, where I can get help if I need it. I'm going to need some help getting the pre-loaded samples I don't want out of my library. That kind of clutter drives me crazy.
I am already seeing fiscal advantages in that many of the books I want to read are available for free or as little as 3 dollars. It helps that I love old books. (Do get Fagles' translation for the Illiad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid. He is so worth it.) John Donne comes in multiple flavors and all interesting. Jane Austen and Dostoevsky came in a special ereader version with all their work in one place easily accessed. I believe other authors are similarly available at very attractive prices. I couldn't work out how to get a similar version of the Chronicles of Narnia, so I'm just going to get the latest Redwall book to read to the kids on our way to the beach. I don't even have to worry about packing books as anything I decide I'd like to read I can shop for in the car, at the house, on the beach. I love my nook! That is to say, I love my niche.

Meet the Love Bug Bag!

2010-06-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

I will admit to being a softie whose modus operandi is more oriented toward praise than consequences. I also find it hard to pass up neat gizmos the kids might like. I shop the bargain bins at every store looking for cool stuff at a good price. In the past I didn't manage that very well, handing things out because they were there. It led to spoiled kids who gave me a shopping list when I went out and it wasn't for carrots or broccoli.
Combining both tendencies into one program I've been doing better at connecting achievement to reward. Walmart had a cute and cheap bag covered with hearts, and I was instantly inspired. I bought it and we call it "the love bug bag." I put all my finds in the bag and kids who do well get to choose something special. We will soon be going on a trip and normally I'd be scrounging up things to keep the kids busy on the road. This time everything is already in the bag, literally--what a blessing on several levels.

Nifty Galifty

2010-05-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

I'm having one of those precious moments when life makes sense. Things I've always wanted but was afraid to reach for or say are now de rigeur. I have the kids. I have my writing, and I have my studies. I'm going to read my way through the Great Books starting by alternating ancient and modern until they meet at medieval, hopefully Shakespeare. The medieval is my favorite period, so I wanted to save it for a reward at the end. I'm going to skip the scientists with the possible exception of Darwin. Instead I'll be working in masterworks of literature and philosophy from the East. For back up I have way too many Teaching Company Videos. I'll only need one on Eastern thinking to be confident I can meet whatever challenges I may face. Final exams will be children's stories based on one of the Great Ideas. I'm making it all up as I go along, but I needed something pseudo-official to hold it together. I consider myself enrolled in the Owl Correspondence School. I even have our little X puppet up in my room to inspire me.
Reach for the things that matter, even if you have to do it yourself.

Nothing's As Cute As a Button. :)

2010-05-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

What might have been. Just after number four came along I got all excited about aprons. I wanted my grandmother's housecoat and I couldn't find it anywhere except on specialty websites. My longing was so strong that I contracted to pay quite a bit for an apron of my own made from scratch. I like to sew, but I'm not terribly good at it. The apron, when it arrived was a marvel, and I knew I would want more. Vintage or new, I didn't care. It stood to reason that there were more women like me. I worked up a business plan with the creator of my apron where I would sell and she would sew. It didn't work out, so I went to work developing a business of my own--Button Aprons. My inexperience got in the way and I sank my initial capital into an unsellable design. We paid off the loan and went back to our regular life and a new baby.
Yesterday, walking through Meijer I came across one the apron styles that were hot back then. The price was 13 dollars. How can anyone compete with that? I ran my fingers over the fabric and wondered what might have been.

Why I Love Oprah

2010-05-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

I knew about Oprah before almost all of you. I grew up in Maryland and my grandmother loved her show out of Baltimore. We watched it because it was so obvious that Oprah was better than her co-host and she was just great tv. I don't think that alone would have made me a permanent fan. It was the way she was so concerned about the person in front of her. The moment I decided to back Oprah came the day a bridal store was giving away free formal wear to a couple the station had chosen. I can't remember the details. What I remember is that someone who hated Oprah put her in the ugliest ruched dress I've ever seen. If there could be a worse dress that that one especially on Oprah's body at that time, I don't know what it would be. You could see the discomfort in her face. She was doing everything she could to get off camera. When she succeeded, her co-host began to point out flaws in the wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses. He was having such an off day and the bride began to freak out. She was on the verge of tears when Oprah came charging back forgetful of that horrid dress and busy trying to rescue the bride from a total tv meltdown. That's when I became a life-long Oprah fan. She cares about the person in front of her.

Mariah, Come Home!

2010-05-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

As a child, I was a huge Strawberry Shortcake fan. It was one of the few things my sister and I could enjoy together despite the five year age gap. To be perfectly candid I was more of a Blueberry Muffin fan. She has long blond hair and blue eyes like me, and she wore a very cool muffin paper for a hat. Marked on the calendar was a Strawberry Shortcake TV special that Karen and I couldn't wait to see. I knew Strawberry would steal the show as always, but Blueberry would get some time in. The day arrived and I don't remember if Blueberry Muffin was in it at all as a new friend was been introduced--Orange Blossom. She was smart and beautiful and Strawberry Shortcake would have been in the soup without her. She was also African-American. There were no Orange Blossoms in my life.
My daughter has had better luck. Right around the corner lives a smart and beautiful girl who's been a wonderful friend. When all the Blueberry Muffins were too busy, Mariah filled in. Recently she ran away. My daughter is wearing her hand-me-downs as we wait and hope together that Mariah will hurry home.

A New Conversation

2010-05-04T17:11:00.001-07:00

Anyone who has known me at all is usually pretty clear on how much I hate typing. It didn't matter so much until I started writing a novel, and now I struggle to keep up. You wouldn't think so, but I had a terrific typing teacher. She was a local secretary who volunteered to teach typing at the church school I attended. It meant freshmen would be offered an elective, previously that age had a mandatory study hall. I was not the most well-behaved study hall student (remind me to tell you about the Dead Lady's Coffin), so everyone was glad that there was an alternative. I liked typing. We were working on old-fashioned typewriters and rather old ones at that, but I earned a solid "B," and I was sure I'd do better the next quarter. The next quarter my performance remained the same, but the standards went up. I earned a "C." We were all certain I'd get it next time. Next time, my performance still hadn't improved--at all--earning me an ego flattening "D." My very kind typing teacher quit rather than give me the inevitable "F" in the final quarter.
It still isn't better. I've been typing for years, but I bet if I sat down to the old exercises and tests I'd come out right where I was at 13. It's even worse in some ways because this is my creative work and I decide what goes where. The more I monitored my internal complaining, the more I wanted to start exploring other possibilities. I considered the Fly Pentop, but it didn't seem to be well-established. I hate getting into a rhythm and then discovering they aren't making or supporting the product anymore. Dragon voice-recognition software has been around and will be around, so I gave it a shot. I like it. I need to make a lot of corrections, but that's much easier for me. My speed has doubled and may get even faster as the software and I get "trained." It's a good thing.

Behind Hand

2010-04-27T10:37:00.001-07:00

I just finished downloading 268 emails. I didn't think I'd been absent so long. Events and requests have slid by and I'm actually grateful because I was already feeling stressed. There were a few things I did wish I'd been there for and the first is my friend Vic's book launch. Naked in the Stream captivated me for a couple years at the UICA Writer's Workshop. The best part is Vic's voice, safe and adventuresome in equal parts. Please pick it up and pass it along. You will be glad you did.

useful things

2010-04-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

For Christmas I'm a pretty practical person and I like practical gifts, so I requested a hot pot this year. We'd been using a coffee maker to heat water for tea and instant oatmeal and I was getting tired of cleaning it out. A dedicated hot pot would provide all the functionality without all the steps. Fill, heat, pour--my kind of morning routine. I didn't anticipate how much use I would get out of it. I like tea, but I'm too impatient to wait for the kettle so I didn't make it very often. Now I make it all the time. It's a nice little product. I didn't choose it, but it does everything I need and does it well. You can find it HERE.

I don't normally discuss personal products, but I bought these accidentally and I don't think I could ever go back. I'll spare you the details, but after six kids a revolution like this is a necessity. You can find them HERE.

These are not the exact bins. I found ours at Bed, Bath and Beyond for five bucks. They were in the seasonal area. Ours have two handles and are just right for children to carry around. They come in five colors so everybody but Jimmy has one. They are making a real difference in how we clean the house. Each child fills the bin from the floor then empties it by putting the findings away. We have bin wars to see who can earn the most X's by filling and emptying the most times. We've used them for other things too, and everyone likes having their own special tool.
And now for something completely different, I DVR'd One Wonderful Sunday, and it was delightful and thoughtful. If you're looking for a beautiful meditation on young love this is it. Be prepared to clap.

All the Best People Are

2010-03-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Kurt's home again, so I could finally go to see Alice. I will not say I have always loved Alice because I haven't, but I have read Alice a kajillion times because it was the only book I had that was as weird and inscrutable as the Bible. I thought if I could make sense of Alice, I could make sense of anything. It is the inscrutable character of Alice that seems missing in this beautiful film. For me the transitions in the book were always weak like badly applied staples. You barely knew how you got from here to there. This Alice has a series of comparatively strong bonds that march along, and not just the hares. A less predictable score would have been nice too. Visually, this movie is Alice. Auditoraly, it could be any film, which is a shame given the uniqueness of this piece of literature.
I honestly prefer the Alice from the SyFy channel. Short on mass market appeal, it does a grand job of using Alice to stir up thinking about the great ideas and experiences of life. Every moment was packed with larger idea enshrined in an engaging narrative. It is not a version of Alice in Wonderland so much as it is clay wrapped around the literary armature wire. Visually it is beautiful. I intend to purchase it for my home library.
Disney's classic animated Alice snored on the Disney Channel frequently. It was always billed as one of their major features, but it was all vanilla sweetness. Faults didn't matter though as we could only enjoy films at home either on TV or after the invention of VHS on tape. Whatever was on was watched. I wouldn't want to watch it again. The only thing I liked was the Cheshire Cat. He is nearly impossible to mess up.

Egad!

2010-03-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

I finally put all of my novel in one folder. I'm not even halfway through and I have--drum roll please--267 pages, 94,670 words, and 3,996 paragraphs. Wow! I knew I was obsessed, but that's a lot of work. My friend, Albert Bell, says he tries to have about 90,000 words in his finished manuscripts. Looks like there's a lot of revisions in my future. Please don't throw me in that briar patch. :)

Keep Talking

2010-03-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

A timer running rapidly was a new addition to the news broadcast last night. It certainly carried the point that's been worrying me. We're at the place where universal health care is almost certain to happen within at least a decade if not by the time the clock runs out. I don't see that universal health care has to be a bad thing by default, but right now it is likely to be a bad thing. I'm sure that the people pushing for now, now, now are thinking that once the mess is in place then they can sort out the problems. That could happen, but it isn't the ordinary person's experience. On the other hand, I wish when we thought about universal health care we were thinking about all those people who will starve to death this year. Fortunately for us most of them don't live here dragging our premiums down. We can expect to have enough food to feed each other.
I think the thing that is most absent is consensus about such important issues as what is a fair death and what is a fair life? When I have a treat to distribute or a consequence to meet out, my children are pretty satisfied if everyone agrees the division is fair. Philosophy and politics may seem miles apart, but in this case a philosophical discussion is of the utmost importance. No one will like this system for long, unless everyone agrees that it is just. We don't have anything in any segment like that. We need to set aside numbers and start talking about those core issues and not just in think tanks, but in internet chatrooms, libraries and churches. When we all agree about what is fair we'll find we know how to make the money to pay the bills. All I'm saying is, just keep talking and listening. We Americans know how to get this kind of thing right, but we're going to need everyone to make it work.

Must See QVC

2010-03-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

I do not as a rule watch QVC. Ok, Jim Shore with his quaint knick-nacks may lure me in for a moment, or I'll use the perpetual commercial to fill in ad space during family films on non-family channels. Otherwise, no, I do not watch home shopping channels--except for St. Patrick's Day.
I was ill a few years ago when we had basic, basic cable and there was nothing on. In desperation I turned on QVC and was mesmerized. Authentic Irish business people were hawking authentic Irish wares and all with that lovely accent. I watched hours of the stuff, but I didn't buy anything after all it was just QVC. The next year I found myself looking forward to St. Pat's for the sale. I hoped they'd have the things I almost bought and other things I might like even better. Long story short, I love St. Patrick's Day on QVC. You should check it out.

1% of a kind

2010-03-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

The day after one of our births a nurse came by to explain the importance of teaching children to donate blood when they are grown. I don't think that's standard procedure that particular baby had a very rare blood type. I used to be a regular donor, but all those pregnancies had gotten in the way. Lucky for me my church has a regular Sunday blood drive, and this week I was able to get signed up. It's a simple procedure. Answer a few questions. Get poked twice. Enjoy some carbohydrates. Almost anyone can do it, and the more that do the better it is for everyone.
So, get out there and donate. You'll be a rare one percenter--no matter what your blood type.

Typing is Medieval

2010-02-28T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have a full inch of handwritten pages that must be typed into my manuscript. It's like a good 12 sections, and I am dreading it. I may break several personal rules and haul all the stuff up to my room and type there, but then I wouldn't be able to print things out as I finished which is my major reward for clearing out a big backlog. What I need is a tablet PC with handwriting recognition software. I will stop complaining about the handwriting course I was required to take in college if it means I will be able to write my work into my computer rather than type it.

Teaching Writing by Writing

2010-02-25T12:27:00.001-08:00

This year I decided to take a more low key approach and not have a curriculum for each and every subject I hoped they'd make progress in. Composition books have been the work horse for this year's school with the exception of math. My favorite innovation that has come from that is our History essays. Previously we'd used the questions that come in the activity book to review and we ended up eating a lot of M&Ms that way. This year the more writing I could get them to do, the happier I would be, so I started by having them write a summary as soon as I finished reading the daily section from our history book. (We use the Story of the World series and I highly recommend it.) This resulted in spotty essays that usually only involved the last third of our reading. I changed tactics and stopped periodically in the reading and required them to write a sentence. The result was much improved comprehension, sentence structure and paragraphs. Our third has even begun to push herself to write a full page every day. I then check the work and have them make corrections. Writing skills are improving, while the exciting subjects--history and science inspire them and are more thoroughly remembered. I have even seen them consult their books in order to remember some part of history they were thinking over. They have two other composition books. One is for summarizing their daily reading. As the history ideas unfolded, they began to apply what they learned there to this book as well. Taking notes as they read has become common. Science is our other notebook and we use to record our experiments the way professional labs do. We haven't done as many experiments as I'd hoped, but I can see that getting better with time. This has been a very positive change in our writing program. I will probably go back to reviewing the rules of grammar, but for everything else, these real essays are doing a better job.

The Joys of Lent

2010-02-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

Planning is one of my joys in life. I suspect if someone asked me to plan my death I'd get right to work not noticing the punch line. I'd lie back in the bed--"Put the lilies over there"-- then I'd graciously expire. It'd be the next thing on my list. Then again there's Jimmy's birth, maybe I wouldn't be so calm after all.
I've got to watch my planning for Lent. I'm a recent convert and I don't have the blessing of practiced discipline. The first year I gave up Starbucks hot chocolate. This sounds small, but only if you are unaware of the scope of my addiction. Last year I gave up sweets in general making a planned exception for a birthday cake. This year I'm.banking on those experiences to help me through a broader program including non-food fasting. I still intend to fast from sweets, but I also want to lessen my use of ready-made food. I may even take a stab at baking my own whole wheat bread. I'm also giving up cable tv. Masterpiece, Ugly Betty, Cake Boss, Project Runway, Eureka, Dr. Who, they will all be replaced with books or The Teaching Company videos. I might make an exception for PBS. If I can get my hands on a St. Joseph's Guide for my breviary I'll do thatfor prayer. I really enjoy it. If the guide is hard to get I might give the rosary another go. Almsgiving the kids and I have found to be a good time to get rid of the unnecessary stuff in our lives. Donating to the food pantry at church is another good thing we do.
It's going to be a great Lent. Less is more.

Precious

2010-02-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

I have loved this mosaic since my first visit to St. Mary's. Nowadays when I think of Jesus, this is the image that comes to mind. My oldest made a video of the church and its grounds because she felt it was one of the most beautiful places in Spring Lake. I can't get it to upload, so everyone can see for themselves. One of the saddest parts of Lent is that we give up our mosaic and have to wait for Easter to enjoy it again. I'm so slow at learning all the traditions and procedures, but each one gives me joy. Churches ought to be inspiring.

Big Fat Flirt

2010-02-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Was that you, winking from the flannelgraph?

Yeah, that was me.

Were you the one making every word in that book live for me?

Yeah, didn't think you caught that one.

Did you really make that sunset so lovely that every feeling, every thought begged for you and you alone?

Me alone, eh. Yeah, that was me.

Then where were you when a Horror of darkness came, when the Way contracted squeezing my last breath, when the Water was over my head?
Where were you then!

Knees to my ears, pushing and screaming.

Book Reports

2010-01-24T13:48:00.000-08:00

After 7 months of dragging the poor thing everywhere and filling it with rather hideous lime green drylighter notations, I can cross The Philosophy of History off my list. I will probably reread the introduction, but I have read the whole thing with much pleasure. I was swept away with the Grand Idea trying to manifest throughout history. I still like the general idea, but as I read through the specifics I quite disagreed and the case Hegel was making rapidly lost credence. He was too eager to back up his own pet definitions and causes. I may read The Phenomenology of the Spirit in order to consider if a more objective pair of eyes were to examine the evidence if better evidence might not be found. There is also the question of whether or not the Grand Idea is a good one. I'd like to think some more on that too. All and all I recommend it.

As if to reassure myself that I can read a book in less than 7 months I blasted through Tunnels in three days. Tunnels drags the reader into a completely unique sub-world with vivid characters and settings. The delicious grittiness is occasionally broken by flowery, floating language, and there are moments when everything feels like a non-sequitur. There is no real story arc or resolution unless you narrow your focus to Will and Chester. Will's commitment to rescue Chester is the only thing that gives the story continence. Not that it needs it. I really didn't care about flaws as I explored such a thrilling world. It was a great return to casual fiction.

Coming Attractions

The day I converted Jane, my sponsor, gave me this book as a gift. I love it too much to read it. I start it over and over, always quitting because it is too delicious. It's time to give in and read it. Hopefully it won't take 7 months.

An Arm Around My Children

2010-01-19T17:19:00.001-08:00

This year we put our oldest in school. Schools here are highly respected having been placed in the top 2% of the country by US News and World Report. Putting one into school opened the door to putting the rest in school. Every teacher has impressed us and the resources available are unusually good for such a small school district. There are also two excellent charter schools one offering a Montessori approach and the other an emphasis on the arts. The Protestant schools are not highly regarded, but the Catholic schools have students in Ivy League and other excellent institutions. If we could do whatever we wanted I'd put them all in Catholic schools, but that's not fair to the Protestant half of the family and it's very expensive.
Homeschooling means that my house is always a bit messy. There is always a shortage of clean laundry, and I seldom have time to read something more serious than our history lesson for the day. Sometimes the messy house and lack of personal time become very discouraging. Sending everyone to school is a tempting solution to those problems. I finally just put it on my prayer list where all my most difficult challenges end up. Waiting to hear what God wanted, I kept looking around for what we as a family need.
And the thing we need most? To love and demonstrate love. We can live without clean laundry; we've been doing it for years. The kitchen floor can be a mosaic of spills; it's more interesting that way. But my children can't feel my arm around their shoulders unless I put it there, and as the Lord answered my prayers I became more comfortable with our life and the blessed imperfections it sustains. School is a great idea. I'm all for it, but it isn't the right fit for my younger ones, not yet.

Don't Plath Out

2010-01-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

Have the A pox o' lisps narrowed your options to f or F?
Been dancing the Bee Gee Zus too long?
Tired of negotiating foe heaven?
To Ur is human.
Come Hope with me.

Highlights

2009-11-19T01:01:00.000-08:00

Pardon the neck bends. I thought I'd fixed them all last night. Facebook won't let me post anymore, so here is a digest version of the last two days.
Christmas is here and the windows are amazing!
This clocktower is sort of a giant cuckoo clock reenacting scenes from Munich's history
The is the Theatenkirche. I didn't get to see inside, but the outside is lovely.
This pillar was raised to praise God for delivering the city from invaders and the plague.
Here's where I ate my lunch.
Giant scuplture supporting authority and right doing and all that jazz. It sits just outside a tunnel entrance into the Residenz, the home of the Bavarian royalty.
At the other end of the tunnel sit two fawns, human scale and ready to play.
This is the Antiquarium. Sculpture from the Greek and Roman period as well as pieces inspired by that time are amassed in an overwhelming display of the right to rule. Each niche represents the territory loyal to the Bavarian crown and the effect can be a tad overwhelming.
At this point I'd been through a good chunk of the house and I realized that very costly decorations were everywhere. This is ornamentation on a scale I can't quite process.
This is the Frauenkirche. It is the seat of the Archbishop. I dropped in for Mass, which was an amazing multicultural experience. Some kneeled, some bowed, some curtseyed, some genuflected, and it was all good.
The devil's footprint. He was angry because the architect had built a church without windows. It's an illusion most clearly visible at this point.
Yesterday I devoted to the Neue Pinakothek. I skipped most the art that dated from the same period as the Resdenz as I was still a bit overwhelmed.
This was painting of Christ that has me intrigued. I may have found a new painter I'd like to study. My notes are buried in my bag, or I'd add the details.

A Strange and Sinister Business

2009-11-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

The Pinakothek der Modern is the newest museum in Munich. The building's design has all the beautiful practicality that is expected. There are also touches of whimsey that allow the museum to take risks and grow. At the moment one of the big risks is the basement full of every day objects whose design elevates them to art. Currently this area is underfunded and almost all items on display have been donated second-hand.
This is my only real criticism. This museum still has plenty of time to stretch and grow, and there is already so much to love. I marched around until I had seen everything, and I'm glad I did. The biggest lesson I learned is that art is growing project. Over and over I met artist's at early and later moments in their lives and it was not just how they grown, but it was also what they had decided to say that inspired me to keep going. I may not be turning out prose worthy of the canon, but I'm learning and growing and deciding just what it is I need to say. I highly recommend a visit to the Pinakothek der Moderne.

Karl Schmidt Rottluff's self portrait grabbed me. He is determined to paint what he sees no matter what the fall out. I like that kind of courage and understand that kind of fear. The museum has a sizeable collection of Franz Marc. I do not love him as I ought, but I do love his use of color it is always strong, but in a harmonious way.
Humor is important for me in art. It's the fart that makes us all human. George Grosz tickled my funny bone with his perspective on married life. Men. What can you do with them? What can you do without them?This painting by Karl Hofer (Grosser Karneval) didn't interest me at first, but the longer I stayed in the room the more I was drawn to it. I still feel like a student of this painting, but perhaps you are a faster study.The collection has a good amount of Max Beckmann and I found studying the paintings chronologically interesting. At first he's like any other beginner, he's trying to find his voice and his subject, but then the dates are for dark and perilous times and his painting feels more out of control. It almost screams.
I could go on, but other things need doing. The collection is in many ways conservative, and I'll admit to a fondness for figures. Some of the experimental video exhibits were fun. There was a display of two pink strings strung from floor to ceiling entitiled Pink Flamingo--I loved it. There was some de Kooning that I liked though I liked it best when he kept the colors all distinct instead of adding a mixed blob. My favorite sculpture was made out of flourescent light tubes. It takes an ordinary object and turns it into a powerful symbol of mourning.

Magic!

2009-11-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a full day. I tackled the S-bahn/U-bahn on my own. It's not that difficult I'm just a tad slow with those things. The Alte Pinakothek is still a two block walk after the subway ride and I nearly ran it. The folks at the front desk could not have been nicer. One took my monkey picture for the kids and then explained that I'd need to leave my backpack in a locker while I toured the galleries. The locker required a 2 Euro coin, but gave it right back when I picked my things up.
They have a handy little device like most museums that takes you on an audio tour. It featured a broad sampling of the paintings that was cleverly chosen to give you a sense of each artist and period you were looking at even if they didn't refer to the particular painting that interested you. I only saw one gallery, but I will definitely go back.

Highlight paintings for me: Francis Boucher's Madame de Pompadour. I've not been a big fan of Boucher. He's a bit of an ass man, but this is charming. I could see it as inspiration for redecorating my office. It doesn't hurt that Madame was featured in one of my favorite Dr. Who episodes.Rembrandt's Sacrafice of Isaac. This one is in my parent's family Bible. The day I committed my life to Christ I was looking at this picture. It was startling to see how powerful the old masters had been in my life. My community rejected modern art as meaningless, so ye old masters were what was available. I guess it's like Shakespeare and Sophocles. Time had blunted the edges. They weren't controversial any more. Instead they'd been embraced. Ruben's Last Judgement. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but this one was floating about on the web. The whole gallery was laid out around this painting. I wanted you to get a feeling for the size. The apocolpyse has always worried me. I watched the news for signs of the times and I spent a good chunk of daydreaming time trying to figure out how to stop it. I approached the apocolyptic paintings with caution. Various travel shows and art shows were quick to hint that the paintings were meant to terrify, but to me they were comforting. Good is always triumphing in spades. The power and the energy make the end of the world a terrific subject, and as long as good is winning what is there to fear?Titian's Adam and Eve and Ruben's copy of Adam and Eve. This was part of the Ruben's exhibit and I was so impressed. Here is the undisputed master Titian giving us his perspective on the rather important story of the Fall. Then here comes Ruben copying all the life of the original and then making it his own. I would say he improved it but the Titian is still so strong that even hanging next to Ruben's lively version it holds its own. They had two other pairs in the exhibit with equally impressive results. Maybe I should try rewriting War and Peace and giving it my own flavor--just kidding. :)

I'm having a grand time, and I wish you all were here. Auf Wiedersehen

Mom and Dad's Excellent Adventure

2009-11-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

The monkey hats are back. Last summer we simplified everything in order to enjoy our new baby. This summer I thought the hats were gone for good until...I thought about taking pictures for the kids in our monkey hats. We're still working out the routine, but I hope to have a slew of pictures featuring our signature look.

Weight Gain

2009-11-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

Before

and After
I really hate typing. I was backed up by 70-80 pages. This represents a rough draft for 3/10 of my novel. I didn' t want to haul that all over the place. Now I have room for blank paper. Harriet is an awful lot of work.

Packing My Library

2009-10-24T10:17:00.001-07:00

The battle for book space in my luggage has been raging as I pack for my trip with Kurt. I woke up this morning to the happy thought that I could use the outer pockets of my suitcase for books if I need to. Otherwise I'm restricted to the pockets in the purse I bought and whatever little nooks and crannies are left in my technology backpack. I can hear packing experts beginning the lecture now, and I agree less is often more. The thing is we'll be in one hotel for the entire stay, so I'll only be lugging stuff onto a plane and then off a plane.

Anyway, down to the inventory. I read a little saying from this book every night before I go to bed. She was so compassionate and good.

I've gotten behind on the Liturgy of the Hours, but I'm ready to get back to it. One of my goals is to attend mass everyday I'm gone, and this might be just the thing for waiting for the liturgy to start.
I want to use this time to pay attention to German authors, so I'm finishing up Hegel's Philosophy of History. Enthusiastic optimism is nice in a philosophical work.

I'll be reading Goethe's Faust. I read it at some point in my college career, but I find that I'm missing a lot of the details. It's also a play, and I love reading plays.
Finally, a selection of material from Hildegard of Bingen. I read her biography for the Medieval Women class I taught. She still amazes me. I'm looking forward to hearing her speak in her own voice.
The obligatory guides I'm taking along are a general guide to Germany--Fodor's See It. It's very informative. Boris Becker lives in Munich. Worth the money right there. I like all the pictures. It moves it from a cram fest to a pleasurable, magazine-like browsing experience.

I also got a smaller book dedicated to Munich. I'll be sticking to Munich most of the time Kurt will be working and he will be working most of the time. I've been enjoying it and it's newsprint interior removes all concern about underlining and scribbling in the book. I went with Frommers in hopes of getting a different perspective. It's a good size for dragging around.
I decided I needed a phrase book. Kurt's picked up some German, but I'll be on my own a good bit. This book comes with an audio disk. Kurt's promised to teach me how to load all that on his old I-pod. The I-pod will also allow me to pack the Teaching Company classes I didn't think I could take. You've got to love technology.
Now we get down to the iffier stuff. Harriet research, poetry, and fun reading--not that all of the above aren't fun. I'm reading The Souls of Black Folk. I think the more enlightened characters in this chunk would be familiar with W.E.B. Dubois and he is a strong model for the character of William.
I have several anthologies of poetry, but only the "pleasant" poetry is in a portable form. I tend to buy the complete anthology even though that isn't recommended because I like to read the garbage too. For a place holder until I find time to do better, I'm putting in the way too heavy Norton Anthology of Poetry.
Finally, as a distraction while in flight, I'll be trying my hand at new rhyme schemes. It's a tiny little book, but it might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. You never know.

Chores Galore

2009-10-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

For years our family has struggled to find a good method for training the kids in the basics. Countless ideas have been tried and have either quickly or slowly fallen apart. My sister is a crazed fan of Melissa and Doug, so when there is a display of their toys I always check to see if there is something she'd like. Barnes and Noble has started carrying them, so I looked it over and found a magnetic chore chart. Being me, I set it aside and thought about it for three or four weeks. Burned by other systems, I bought one and let Kurt look it over. He liked it, so I let the sample sit for another three or four weeks while I thought about it some more. In the end, Amazon had the best price and I bought one for everybody.
The kids love it. We love it, and best of all things are going better. The feature I was least enthusiastic about--the white board--has become one of it's best assets allowing us to penalize negative behavior and the kids an opportunity to express themselves. Since we bought six boards there are enough disks for each child to have their favorite color, which allows us to use the currently unused disks to reward random acts of goodness and full completion of all required tasks.
Discipline is now much more uniform. It's negative one for disobedience; negative two for physical violence; and negative three for protracted disobedience aka laziness. Everybody knows the deal. Kurt's natural flair for statistics has turned what was a bogged down emotional conflict into a simple set of numbers earning rewards and punishments in a very even-handed way.
Things I like about the board. The magnets dress things up and are more permanent that stickers or check-off write and wipe boards. The white board as I've described above, and it is easy to keep clean and organized. The list of chores includes things my older children do as well as simple jobs for the little ones. There are blank tags for adding your own chores. The price is good value for money. It's available at Amazon, Here.

forget the can

2009-09-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

I'll open my worms by the pound! This year we're studying early modern history and zoology as well as the usual language arts and mathematics. Zoology is bound to be the most fun, as I studied it in college and I love anything related to biology. We already have two little frogs in a largely self-contained eco-system named Tom and Fred. I'm sure that we'll have lots more fun, but next up is vermicomposting. I've done it on a small scale before, but this time we hope to bury most of our vegetable scraps--and not just on the nights we eat brussels sprouts. I had a beautiful set of instructions in a copy of Make magazine, but I can't find them so we'll just have to do the best we can with other instructions I found on the web and that came with our worms. I have to hurry up, the worms are escaping their wrappings.