I can post subject line from dashboard, but not body!

Seeing if this works from my iTouch

I finished The Life and Times
of Frederick Douglass! That
wasy last BIG book at 650 pages. I am officially 80% of the way through!

Goblin Market

"For there is no friend like a sister,
In calm or stormy weather,
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands."

The Three Enemies by Christina Rossetti

Love her. Ordered her complete poems!

The Three Enemies

by Christina Georgina Rossetti
(1830-1894)

---

THE FLESH

"Sweet, thou art pale."
"More pale to see,
Christ hung upon the cruel tree
And bore His Father's wrath for me."

"Sweet, thou art sad."
"Beneath a rod
More heavy, Christ for my sake trod
The winepress of the wrath of God."

"Sweet, thou art weary."
"Not so Christ:
Whose mighty love of me suffic'd
For Strength, Salvation, Eucharist."

"Sweet, thou art footsore."
"If I bleed,
His feet have bled; yea in my need
His Heart once bled for mine indeed."

THE WORLD

"Sweet, thou art young."
"So He was young
Who for my sake in silence hung
Upon the Cross with Passion wrung."

"Look, thou art fair."
"He was more fair
Than men, Who deign'd for me to wear
A visage marr'd beyond compare."

"And thou hast riches."
"Daily bread:
All else is His: Who, living, dead,
For me lack'd where to lay His Head."

"And life is sweet."
"It was not so
To Him, Whose Cup did overflow
With mine unutterable woe."

THE DEVIL

"Thou drinkest deep."
"When Christ would sup
He drain'd the dregs from out my cup:
So how should I be lifted up?"

"Thou shalt win Glory."
"In the skies,
Lord Jesus, cover up mine eyes
Lest they should look on vanities."

"Thou shalt have Knowledge."
"Helpless dust!
In Thee, O Lord, I put my trust:
Answer Thou for me, Wise and Just."

"And Might."--
"Get thee behind me. Lord,
Who hast redeem'd and not abhorr'd
My soul, oh keep it by Thy Word."

Christina Rossetti

My friend, Kim, told me I would love Rossetti, and I certainly do so far!

A BETTER RESURRECTION
by: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

 HAVE no wit, no words, no tears;

My heart within me like a stone

Is numb'd too much for hopes or fears;

Look right, look left, I dwell alone;

I lift mine eyes, but dimm'd with grief

No everlasting hills I see;

My life is in the falling leaf:

O Jesus, quicken me.

 

My life is like a faded leaf,

My harvest dwindled to a husk:

Truly my life is void and brief

And tedious in the barren dusk;

My life is like a frozen thing,

No bud nor greenness can I see:

Yet rise it shall--the sap of Spring;

O Jesus, rise in me.

 

My life is like a broken bowl,

A broken bowl that cannot hold

One drop of water for my soul

Or cordial in the searching cold;

Cast in the fire the perish'd thing;

Melt and remould it, till it be

A royal cup for Him, my King:

O Jesus, drink of me.

"A Better Resurrection" is reprinted from Goblin Market and other Poems. Christina Rossetti. Cambridge: Macmillan, 1862.

A BIRTHDAY
by: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Y heart is like a singing bird

Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;

My heart is like an apple-tree

Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;

My heart is like a rainbow shell

That paddles in a halcyon sea;

My heart is gladder than all these,

Because my love is come to me.

 

Raise me a daïs of silk and down;

Hang it with vair and purple dyes;

Carve it in doves and pomegranates,

And peacocks with a hundred eyes;

Work it in gold and silver grapes,

In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;

Because the birthday of my life

Is come, my love is come to me.

"A Birthday" is reprinted from Macmillan's Magazine (April 1861).

The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

I feel like I am walking with a great man. I had almost put this book aside being that I had already read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, but I totally see why Susan Wise-Bauer recommends one read this one over the Narrative. It tells much more of his story. The Narrative was written in 1845 and The Life and Times was published in 1881. There is so much that occurred in those almost 40 years, including the Civil War, his meeting with Lincoln, and the death of Abraham. Such a good read. An amazing read, really.

Wordsworth Makes It Into May: French Revolution

"Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!"  (From "The Friend")

This was Wordsworth's attitude at the beginning of the French Revolution. He was enthusiastic about it.  I am currently reading Book X of "The Prelude," and his attitude changed quite a bit:

Domestic carnage now filled the whole year
          With feast-days; old men from the chimney-nook,
          The maiden from the bosom of her love,
          The mother from the cradle of her babe,
          The warrior from the field--all perished, all--            360
          Friends, enemies, of all parties, ages, ranks,
          Head after head, and never heads enough
          For those that bade them fall. They found their joy,
          They made it proudly, eager as a child,
          (If like desires of innocent little ones
          May with such heinous appetites be compared),

Some people like "The Prelude" only in the first few books where he lauds

the sublime of Nature in his childhood years, but I find this much more

compelling. 
An Englishman observes the depravity of man when his idealistic

romanticism 
would want to believe in an inherent goodness.

I was moved as I sat in front of the fire as the rain pounded down on my cozy

home. 

Here is an interesting essay on the French Revolution where I found the 

above quotes by Wordsworth:

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

William Wordsworth - Daffodils and Tintern Abbey

Haven't Posted for a While

I always forget to post to this blog. :)  It has the least amount of posts, and I have had it the longest. Well, I guess I had that other one. I really need to write down where that old blog is so that I don't lose it.

Yesterday was a fulfilling day. I got up early and did my first 1 Corinthians post for the Bible Book Club and caught up on a walk with Michelle. Then, I  had my last British Literature class of the year. They turned out to be a very nice and polite group of young people. I really appreciated them so very much. They made me a nice card, and they all brought things for a great meal. It ended peacefully, and I will never regret asking some of the girls who were causing trouble (really only one) to leave. It made for a much better dynamic in the class! I got a good talk with Alicia in too while the kids watched a movie.

After that, I really just goofed off by watching the rest of Road to Avonlea and a little bit of the Tea Party book. I think I will go and drink some tea. I have a volunteer breakfast at the library today. That will be crowded!  After that, I have tea with Kim at Coffee Culture. Then, I will go and exercise since I didn't get to this morning because of the volunteer breakfast.

Tomorrow is lunch with Teala. :)  Great week. My back is still a bit wonky from either overdoing it in Pilates on Friday or not stretching after bike riding on Saturday.

There is Something Sacred About the Early Morning

I fell asleep at 9:30 and slept until 11 pm only to wake myself up to see how Michael progressed on his paper. It woke me right up, and I have not been able to sleep since. 


I'm not frustrated. There is something sacred about the middle of the night in the early watch of the morning. 3 am is the "middle watch" of the night. I have meditated a bit on Romans and prayed about fear. Very good.


Now I am finally feeling sleepy. So, I will gather myself together and lay down for at least five hours. :)  

Friday Freewrite

I try to take at least a 24 hour Sabbath rest every week. It is usually from 3:00 pm - 3:00 Friday to Saturday, but it looks like today is free. I am a little back wonky and stuffed up from all the walking in the pollen yesterday. So, it is a free fasting Friday.  


I hope to really pray through some things, soak deeply in Romans 3 & 4, read poetry and the Quran and maybe Falling Leaves, make some yummy Banana Bread JUST for my family, take a walk, and straighten up some papers.


That is all I want to do today. We will see if I can contain myself to JUST those things. :)

British Lit Blitz

Early Modern (1600-1850)

1757 Songs Innocence Experience Blake Poetry (CHECK - March 22)

1770-1850 (1798) Wordsworth (Brit) Poetry (just need to finish "The Prelude")

1772-1834 Coleridge (Brit) Poetry  (CHECK - May 4)

1795-1821 Keats (Brit) Poetry

1809-1883 Tennyson (Brit) Poetry

Modern History (1850 to present)

1830-1894(1862) Rossetti Brit Poetry

1844-1889(1918) Hopkins Brit Poetry

1865-1939 (1928) Yeats (Irish) Poetry

1907-1973 (1922) Auden (Brit/American) Poetry

1922-1985 (1955) Larkin (Brit) Poetry

1939- Heany (British) Poetry

Monday Morning Musing for Fifteen

I went and worked out on the elliptical and did weights for 1 1/2 hours this morning. Now, I have eaten my breakfast and some Chai.

Michael just came home and has passed his driving test with a 95%! Great celebration erupted in the W household as we lauded Michael for a job well done. Now, I must call the insurance guy and see how much it is going to cost us to have him on the roads!  I would like to do it by tomorrow so that he can drive himself to his Writing and Art classes. :)

Before this great celebration I had begun typing as I helped Paul write his 650 word plot analysis of Ivanhoe. It is somewhat difficult to write since it really has three parts to it, each with its rising action and climax. Paul's issue is always writing more than he needs to with much detail. His character analysis of the role of Satan in Paradise Lost ended up being 1100 words rather than 650.  So, I am encouraging him to be brief. While sitting with him because he was anxious about it last night so I resolved to sit by his side in the basement so that he knows that I am available for dialogue, and that is what we have done since 9:30 this morning. Great fun. Paul gets excited about books, and I am so proud of him for reading a 500 page novel from the Romantic time period. No small feat. The dialogue has been so fun. I love his enthusiasm.

He is on a break for lunch with his dad and newly licensed brother talking men stuff. So, I am still in the dark and quiet basement. I don't get down in this neck of the woods very often because this is definitely "their" domain. I usually come down only to see how they are progressing in their studies. Funny that Sheri was shocked that I don't come down and "supervise" because she knows that her son would not be studying if not supervised. I trust these guys. I really do. Maybe that is stupid, but I think I know their character well enough that they wouldn't lie to me about doing their work.

Michael is doing great in his new writing class. This teacher is MUCH better. He is clear in his instructions. Michael knows exactly what his expected of him for each writing assignment. The teacher uses diagrams to explain the essays. Something Natalie Daly never did in her writing class. If you are reading this, and you are considering this class. DON'T DO IT! She is a very bad teacher (who is, THANKFULLY, retiring very soon).. This new teacher is available if Michael is confused and is actually helpful. Michael is doing really well at the halfway point in the class. He is also loving his art class and got a 90% on his first quiz. His midterm is on Thursday, but he has been doing all the reading prior to class. So, that shouldn't be a problem. His assignment with pastel art in the Van Gogh style is quite beautiful. I will have to scan and post some for this blog.

As for me, I am reading through the Quran in order to understand our friends better. I am about 1/3 of the way through, and it has been very interesting for me to see that it is really quite simple: be devoted in prayer to God and perform acts of charity. It also says pay attention to the prophets that are from the "Book" (Old Testament and New Testament). We have many overlapping messengers with their top five being Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jesus, and Mohammed. I am not sure where all the other stuff came from. Is it from the Hadith? Maybe that should be my next major reading project. I don't know. I don't even know how long it is. Research awaits on this more laid-back Monday morning.

I am also reading the poetry of Wordsworth. The only thing I have left to finish is "The Prelude." It is his long autobiographical poem that I am finding interesting. It gives me an insight into his soul.  He started the whole Romantic movement that turn the hierarchy of God on its head.  Still pondering all of this.

Well, I see I have 17 seconds on the clock. So, I will close without a proofread!