Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Twas The Month After Christmas

Twas the month after Christmas,
and all through the house,
Nothing would fit me,

not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled,
the chocolate I'd taste
At the holiday parties
had gone to my waist.


When I got on the scales
there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber),

I'd remember the marvellous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt...
I said to myself, as I only can,
"You can't spend a winter, disguised as a man!"

So, away with the last of the sour cream dip.
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.


I won't have a cookie, not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie.
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.


I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore...
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot:
Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet!


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

If They Had Lived to See This Day

"In order to be successful in any kind of undertaking, I think the main thing is for one to grow to the point where he completely forgets himself; that is, to lose himself in a great cause. In proportion as one loses himself in this way, in the same degree does he get the highest happiness out of his work." - Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery



Slavery in America
It is in the Providence of God that I would be reading these books the week prior to the inauguration of the first black president of the United States of America. Could they have even dreamed of this day?

Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington both rose up out of slavery by hard work and industry and better the black man and woman. Their lives were inspiring.

My children and I watched a video from the Biography of America. You can register for free and watch the important video on "Slavery." I wept through most of the 26 minutes.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

100 Classic Books You Must Read Before You Die


This is based on the Penguin Classic's list of "100 Classic Books You Must Read Before You Die". http://www.listsofbests.com/list/11632. Its for people reading them, wanting to read them or wishing they hadn't read them LOL.

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
2. Diary of a Madman and Other Stories - Nikolai Gogol
3. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
4. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
5. Notes From Underground - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
6. Story of the Eye - Georges Bataille
7. Spy In House Of Love: V4 In Nin'S Continuous Novel - Anais Nin
8. Lady Chatterly's Lover - D.H.Lawrence
9. Venus in Furs - Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
10. The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer
11. The Karamazov Brothers - Fyodor Dostoevsky
12. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
13. Diamonds Are Forever - Ian Fleming
14. The Master and Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov
15. The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad
16. A Room With a View - E. M. Forster
17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
18. Don Juan - Lord George Gordon Byron
19. Love in a Cold Climate- Nancy Mitford
20. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Tennessee Williams
21. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
22. Middlemarch - George Eliot
23. She: A History of Adventure - H. Rider Haggard
24. The Fight - by Norman Mailer
25. No Easy Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela
26. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
27. The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
28. Notre-Dame of Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) - Victor Hugo
29. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
30. The Old Curiosity Shop - Charles Dickens
31. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
32. Bram Stoker's Dracula - Bram Stoker
33. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
34. The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
35. The Turn of the Screw - Henry James
36. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
37. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
38. Baby doll - Tennessee Williams
39. Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
40. Emma - Jane Austen
41. On the Road - Jack Kerouac
42. The Odyssey - Homer
43. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
44. Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome
45. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
46. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
47. Vile Bodies - Evelyn Waugh
48. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
49. The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald
50. Against Nature - Joris-Karl Huysmans
51. The Autobiography of Malcolm X - Malcolm X
52. The Outsider - Albert Camus
53. Animal Farm - George Orwell
54. The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx
55. Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
56. The Time Machine - H. G. Wells
57. The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
58. The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells
59. The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
60. We - Yevgeny Zamyatin
61. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
62. Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga - Hunter S. Thompson
63. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
64. Another Country - James Baldwin
65. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
66. Junky: The Definitive Text of Junk - William S. Burroughs
67. The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins
68. Confessions of an English Opium Eater - Thomas De Quincey
69. Subterraneans - Jack Kerouac
70. Monsieur Monde Vanishes - Georges Simenon
71. Nineteen Eighty-four - George Orwell
72. The Monkey Wrench Gang - Edward Abbey
73. The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli
74. Bound for Glory - Arthur Miller
75. Death of a Salesman - Georges Simenon
76. Maigret and the Ghost - Georges Simenon
77. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
78. The Big Sleep - Raymond Chandler
79. A Study in Scarlet - Arthur Conan, Sir Doyle
80. The Thirty-Nine Steps - John Buchan
81. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
82. Therese Raquin - Ãmile Zola
83. Les Liaisons dangereuses - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
84. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
85. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
86. I, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 - Robert Graves
87. Hangover Square - Patrick Hamilton
88. The Beggar's Opera - John Gay
89. The Twelve Caesars - Suetonius
90. Guys and Dolls - Hal Leonard Corporation
91. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
92. The Iliad of Homer - Homer
93. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
94. From Russia with Love - Ian Fleming
95. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
96. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
97. The Diary of a Nobody - George Grossmith
98. Pickwick Papers - Charles Dickens
99. Scoop - Evelyn Waugh
100. Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis


Friday, January 09, 2009

What Have You Done?

From http://meditativemeanderings.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-have-you-done.html who got it from other people.

01. Start your own blog — Yes
02. Sleep under the stars — Yes
03. Play in a band — Yes, sang with one, but that is my instrument
04. Visit Hawaii — No
05. Watch a meteor shower — Yes
06. Give more than you can afford to charity — Yes
07. Go to Disneyworld — No
08. Climb a mountain — Yes! Canadian Coastal range in the fog, no view, but life is the journey not the desination!
09. Hold a praying mantis — Yes
10. Sing a solo — Friends think I can sing in their weddings
11. Bungee jump — Nevah!
12. Visit Paris — No
13. Watch a lightning storm at sea — YES, from the coast and airplane
14. Teach yourself an art technique — Yes
15. Adopt a child — No
16. Eat sushi — YES, with Ginny and Lorraine
17. Walk to the top of the Statue of Liberty — No
18. Grow your own vegetables — Yes (mostly George, but we are one)
19. See the Mona Lisa in France — No
20. Sleep on an overnight train — More times than I care to remember. Europe!
21. Have a pillow fight — Yes
22. Hitch hike — Nevah!
23. Look at the rings of Saturn through a telescope — Yes
24. Build a snow fort — Nope
25. Hold a lamb — Nope (do stuffed ones count?)
26. Climb to the top of a lighthouse — Yes (Newport, Oregon)
27. Run a Marathon — Want to walk one
28. Ride in a gondola in Venice — No
29. See a total eclipse — Yes
30. Watch a sunrise or sunset — Yes
31. Hit a home run — YES!
32. Go on a cruise — I am going on May 18th for the first time!
33. See Niagara Falls in person — No
34. Visit the birthplace of your ancestors — Just Sweden. Penn some day
35. Visit an Amish community — No
36. Teach yourself a new language — Yes (Malay)
37. Have enough money to be truly satisfied — Yes
38. See the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person –No
39. Go rock climbing — Just on a wall
40. See Michelangelo’s David — Oh, some day I dream
41. Sing karaoke in public — Sang "Silent Night" and Carpenter's "Close to You" with Nancy Casady. It was piped through the whole shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur! LOL!
42. See Old Faithful geyser erupt in person — No
43. Buy a stranger a meal at a restaurant — Just Starbuck's
44. Visit Africa — No
45. Walk on a beach by moonlight — Yes, Malaysia was the best!
46. Ride in a helicopter — No
47. Have your portrait painted — No
48. Go deep sea fishing — No
49. See the Sistine Chapel in person — Someday
50. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris — Not yet
51. Go scuba diving or snorkeling — Yes, snorkeling
52. Kiss in the rain — Yes
53. Play in the mud — Yes
54. Watch a movie at a drive-in theater — Yes
55. Be in a movie — No, but I was no Channel 7 New in LA once
56. Visit the Great Wall of China — No
57. Start a business — Yes
58. Take a martial arts class — No
59. Visit Russia — No
60. Serve meals at a soup kitchen — At a kids dinner outreach
61. Sell Girl Scout cookies — Ye
s62. Go whale watching — Only from the shore
63. Get or send flowers for no reason — Yes
64. Donate blood, platelets or plasma — Yes
65. Go sky diving — Nevah!
66. Visit a Nazi Concentration Camp — No
67. Adopt a pet from a rescue shelter — No
68. Pilot an airplane — Nevah!
69. Save a favorite childhood toy — Yes
70. Visit the Lincoln Memorial — No
71. Eat Caviar — I think but have blocked it
72. Make a quilt — YES!
73. Stand in Times Square — No
74. Tour the Everglades — No
75. Visit the Viet Nam Memorial — No
76. See the Changing of the Guard in London — No
77. Drive a race car — No
78. Ride on a speeding motorcycle — Yes
79. See the Grand Canyon in person — Yes
80. Publish a book — No
81. Visit the Vatican — No
82. Buy a brand new car — No
83. Walk in Jerusalem — No
84. Have your picture in the newspaper — Yes
85. Read the entire Bible — Yes
86. Visit the White House — No but love the C-SPAN documentary!
87. Kill and prepare an animal for eating — Yes
88. Hike the Appalachian Trail — No
89. Save someone’s life — No
90. Sit on a jury — No
91. Meet someone famous — Michael W. Smith, James Taylor, Elizabeth Eliot, Jo Shetler, Ronald Reagan walked by me
92. Join a book club –Oh, my guilty pleasure - three of them!
93. Own an iPod — Yes
94. Have a Facebook page — Yes
95. See the Alamo in person — No
96. Swim in the Great Salt Lake — No
97. Cross country snow ski — Yes
98. Hold a snake — Yes
99. See DaVinci’s Starry Night in person — No
100. Read an entire book in one day — Yes (many times)

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Job 9:1-13

Job 9 (Amplified Bible)
Job 9:1-13

1THEN JOB answered and said,
2Yes, I know it is true. But how can mortal man be right before God?
3If one should want to contend with Him, he cannot answer one [of His questions] in a thousand.
4[God] is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has [ever] hardened himself against Him and prospered or even been safe?
5[God] Who removes the mountains, and they know it not when He overturns them in His anger;
6Who shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars of it tremble;
7Who commands the sun, and it rises not; Who seals up the stars [from view];
8Who alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the waves and high places of the sea;
9Who made [the constellations] the Bear, Orion, and the [loose cluster] Pleiades, and the [vast starry] spaces of the south;
10Who does great things past finding out, yes, marvelous things without number.
11Behold, He goes by me, and I see Him not; He passes on also, but I perceive Him not.
12Behold, He snatches away; who can hinder or turn Him back? Who will say to Him, What are You doing?
13God will not withdraw His anger; the [proud] helpers of Rahab [arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.

Monday, January 05, 2009

2008 Movies and Documentaries

DECEMBER
72. It's a Wonderful Life
71. A Muppet Christmas Carol
70. Ballykissangel: Season One
69. Can't Buy Me Love
68. Australia (Epic grandeur)
67. Two Weeks Notice
66. Sergeant York (GREAT!)
65. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
64. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
63. Elf
NOVEMBER
62. Kennedy (PBS TV Biopic)
61. A Man for All Seasons
60. Saved!
OCTOBER
59. High School Musical 3
58. Moliere
57. Foyle's War Final Season
56. Flash of Genius
SEPTEMBER
55. John Adams (Best of the Year!)
54. Stand by Me
53. Ever After (A Great Escape!)
52. Nanny McPhee (ADORABLE!)
AUGUST
51. Your Love Broke Through:Keith Green Story
50. Jaws II (Why?)
49. Nim's Island (on plane)
48. Leatherheads (on plane)
JULY
47. Hancock (Mindless Sci Fi Will Smith)
46. Mama Mia (Brosnan cannot sing)
45. The Cherry Orchard (Dench is amazing)
44. The Importance of Being Earnest (Redgrave ROCKS!)
43. A Doll's House (Bloom and Hopkins)
42. Mystic River (edited AMC version)
41. Picture Perfect (edited TV version)
40. Hamlet (Kevin Kline Version)
JUNE
39. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead
38. WALL-E (Pixar Cute!)
37. Hamlet (2/3rd of Olivier version)
36. A Midsummer Night's Dream (Kline, Pfeiffer version)
34. Richard III (Olivier version)
33. Sense and Sensibility (Hilarious Emma Thompson Commentary)
32. Miss Austen Regrets (Masterpiece rewatch)
31. Sense and Sensibility (Masterpiece rewatch)
May
30. Cranford (Masterpiece)
29. Juno
28. Prince Caspian
27. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
26. Pride and Prejudice (Knightly version)
25. Anne Frank Biography
April
24. Northanger Abbey (Rewatch of Masterpiece)
23. My Boy Jack (Masterpiece)
22. Sense and Sensibility (Masterpiece)
21. The Way We Were
March
20. Exodus Revealed (Documentary)
19. Emma (Masterpiece)
18. Barak Obama Biography
17. The Odyssey (Hallmark - good)
16. The Ultimate Gift
15. The Adventures of Oicee Nash
February
14. Oedipus Mayor
13. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
12. Planet Earth:11 part BBC mini-series
11. The Teaching Company: Odyssey
10. Miss Austen Regrets (Masterpiece)
January
9. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
8. Mansfield Park (Masterpiece)
7. The Kite Runner
6. Northanger Abbey (Masterpiece)
5. Atonement
4. Persuasion (Masterpiece)
3. Charlie Wilson's War
2. Luther
1. Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theatre)

2008 Books

DECEMBER
84. A Christmas Carol
83. The Jesse Tree
82. Jotham's Journey
81. Voltaire and Rousseau by Charles Sherover
80. Giovanni's Light
79. Ten Powerful Phrases for Positive People
78. The Star Across the Tracks
77. Nature by Emerson
76. The New Nation by Joy Hakim
75. The Importance of Being Earnest by Wilde
74. The Fourth Wise Man by Summers
73. The Story of the Other Wise Man by Van Dyke
72. Esther! Year One Done
NOVEMBER
71. What Ever Happened to the American Dream?
70. Nehemiah
69. Ezra
68. Self-Reliance by Emerson
67. 2 Kings
66. From Colonies to Country by Hakim
65. The Social Contract by Rousseau
64. Meditations by Descartes
63. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
62. A Man for All Seasons by Bolt
61. Utopia by Sir Thomas More
OCTOBER
60. True End of Civil Government by John Locke
59. The Road
58. Personal Narrative of Jonathan Edwards
57. Paradise Lost by John Milton
56. 1 Kings
55. Common Sense by Thomas Paine
54. Permission Evangelism
53. Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson
52. Making Thirteen Colonies by Joy Hakim
SEPTEMBER
51. 2 Samuel
50. The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur
49. Frankenstein (Surprisingly good!)
48. The First Americans by Joy Hakim
47. Brothers Karamazov Cliff Notes
46. 1 Samuel
AUGUST
45. The Shack
44. Ruth
43. Judges
42. A School for Scandal by Sheridan
41. The Way of the World by Congreve
40. She Stoops to Conquer by Goldsmith
JULY
39. Joshua
38. Political Theory: The Classic Texts and Their Continuing Relevance by Joshua Kaplan (audio book)
37. The Republic by Plato
36. The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov
35. A Doll's House by Ibsen
34. The Landmark Thucydides: Peloponnesian War
JUNE
33. Deuteronomy
32. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
31. Hamlet
30. The Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare
29. A Midsummer Night's Dream
28. The Prince by Machiavelli
27. Richard III by Shakespeare
26. Doctor Faustus (Sold his soul to the devil)
25. Everyman (Medieval Morality Play)
24. The Canterbury Tales
MAY
23. Numbers
22. The Odes of Horace (selections)
21. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
20. Sense and Sensibility
APRIL
19. Leviticus
18. Northanger Abbey
MARCH
17. Exodus
16. Landmark Herodotus: Histories
15. A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens
FEBRUARY
14. Birds by Aristophanes (Webb)
13. Medea by Euripides (Morwood)
12: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (Fitzgerald & Fitts)
11. Eumenides (The Good-Minded Ones) by Aeschylus
10. Choephori (The Libation Bearers) by Aeschylus
9. Agamemnon by Aeschylus (Vellacott Trans)
7. Genesis
8. Greek Lyrics (Lattimore Translation)
6. The Holman Old Testament Commentary: Genesis
5. Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer
4. The Odyssey (Lattimore Translation)
JANUARY
3. The Glass Castle
2. Peace Like a River
1. A Thousand Splendid Suns

Friday, January 02, 2009

Quiet Time Notes from Day of Prayer and January 1 & 2

Day of Prayer

You have given me "rest on all sides" (2 Chronicles 20:30). Yahoo! I love the "culture of peace" I am in!

You act on behalf of the one who waits for You (Isaiah 64:4).

Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired
They will walk and not become weary (Isaiah 40:31).

Pray for the "welfare of the city" of Corvallis (Jeremiah 29:7)

These are all books I will be in this year for the Bible Book Club. Interesting.

January 2

You must increase,
I must decrease (John 3:30).

"Satan dines on what we withhold from God." Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlefields

Thursday, January 01, 2009

2008 Slideshow

I spent most of the day working on the BBC 2009 schedule and adding the last photos to my Carol365 blog and my Flickr 365 2008 photo set. So, I am adding it here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!


Friday, December 19, 2008

Bits and Pieces

050

I slept last night from about 10:00 - 12:45. Then, I was up until about 5 a.m. and slept until 10:00 a.m. As I fell asleep the snow was gently falling in the morning darkness. I woke up to a beautiful blanket and had to go and shoot pictures this day. The boys replenished their snowmen while I snapped.

I was behind. I still needed to get Jenna and Hayley's gifts to them, and I just hadn't gotten around to it. I think the loss of my mom has hit me harder this Christmas than last. Last Christmas was a blur since she died on December 7. So, I have struggled more, grieved more deeply, felt less confident. In fact, someone made a joking comment about me to a room full of people, and I was embarrassed, and it hit me hard today. I cried inside as the butt of his joke.

I called my aunt and uncle in Tucson. It was nice. It is a link to my mom. They are the only ones left of my parents' age. Passage of time. So strange. I could not think of a gift for them. I wanted to give to Linn-Benton County Food Share, and I told them I was thinking about doing that in lieu of their gift this year, and they were delighted. They thought this was much better. You know how many years I have wanted to suggest we do that instead of exchanging gifts every year? I have always been too afraid to approach the subject. Silly me.

After this, I got my Christmas cards ready for the family and pictures printed for the Christmas card to Rita in Malaysia. That has been burdening me since I left there in August and promised to send her pictures. George drove me to Starbuck's for Jenna and Hayley's gift, and we got these and the cards in the mail. I love closure.

Still crying in the car with him. I'm grieving. I did lose a brother too. Jean says I get a double pass, right? Hard but also a good year.

Then, we worked out and lifted weights, and I got a hit of FOXNews. I won't pay for it, but it is a nice plus to working out at Timberhill.

I did feel so much better after a workout. Endorphins were released.

Then, we went to Fred Meyer to stock up for our through Christmas food. I also have closure because I bought George's gift. George chatted with all sorts of people in the store, and I ran into Melissa; sweet SCC college gal.

George made me a plate of nachos, and I am going to wrap gifts tonight while the boys have Boys' Group if anyone shows up with this snow.

Book Club and Ginny and Lorraine were canceled for tomorrow because of snow. So, I have another day at home. I need to focus and trust that this grief will wash away someday.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

The One Year Anniversary

Today is the one year anniversary of my mom's passage into heaven. I couldn't sleep last night and was up at the time she passed and prayed. Some people say I have been through a bunch this year, but it doesn't necessarily feel like it has been horrible. Many life changes and stresses, but He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is my rock, and it is to Him I cling.

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

Amen.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A Free Day

I decided to cancel school today. It is the day before Thanksgiving, and the kids are very "on track" school-wise. There are some things they could work on, but it is better to work on them closer to the due date so the material is fresh in their minds. Yes, they could have gotten one more lesson done in math and science, but we are not doing as many plays and field trips this year. So, I am sure they are going to finish their lessons in time. :) They were overjoyed, and I am glad to have a down day after a full fall.

I am amazed at the many answers to prayer these past few weeks. I have asked for confirmations lately, and He has answered and made some things so abundantly clear. I am so grateful.

I have taken a break from Rousseau the last few days. Somehow Rousseau and Thanksgiving just don't seem to go together.

There is so much more in my heart, but the things that I had on my heart when I started are best just left to a conversation with My king. Off I go.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Contemplating God Himself

"I should pause here for a brief while to contemplate God himself, to
consider his attributes and to contemplate and adore the beauty of this immense
light insofar as the eye of my darkened mind can tolerate it. Just as we believe
by faith that the greatest happiness of the next life consists simply in the
contemplation of this divine majesty, likewise we experience that we derive the
greatest joy of which we are capable in this life from the same contemplation,
even though it is much less perfect." --
Rene Descartes, Third Mediation on the Existence of God, p. 43

I read this tonight, and it touched me deeply.

Contemplating God himself tonight. If I am going to have insomina, I can't think of a better occupation!

Also thinking of all those friends who have reasoned away their God. That, too, still touches me deeply. I still grieve.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Learning American History


As I type, we are listening to From Colonies to Country in the excellent, award-winning Joy Hakim series, The History of US. Our library has every book of this ten book series on audio cassette except this one, and it must be between publications because used copies are selling on Amazon for $153! My library is so good that they got if for me through Interlibrary Loan from a library in Hennepin Country, MN!
.
I absolutely LOVE this Hakim series. It is supposedly geared toward 9-12 year olds, but this 49 year old is getting so much out of it! It augments my reading John Adams by McCullough and watching the HBO mini-series by the same name.
'
Hakim weaves biographical sketches of characters into the story of American history to make it engaging for readers from "9 - 99" (as the book jacket says).
.
My kids ask for it. We sit on our couches in the living room and follow along in the books that I checked out from the library. Then, we discuss.
.
I love homeschooling. I love that synergy that comes from learning together.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

My sister-in-law sent this to me this morning, and it made me smile. Memories of days gone by. I have been thinking so much of those days lately as Halloween marks the day I went down to be with my mom for the month of November as she made her slide toward heaven. These pictures are wrapped up with warm memories of my mom and dad (My dad LOVED Dean Martin!).

God bless and smile today.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Johns

I just looked at my Library Thing Book tag on the side bar of my blog and realized that the last three books I read were all written by Johns!

Hilarious.

Another trivial thing: the most common name for the signers of the Mayflower Compact were . . .

JOHNS! (11 - Paul just reminded me).

It does not take much to thrill me. Really pathetic, isn't it?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Romans 12 1-2


Romans 12 1-2, originally uploaded by carolfoasia.

Meditation into the early morning.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

A Peace

I have really enjoyed this week. I am no longer involved in a one time event but in the ongoing lives of women and the family I love! So, there is this peace that has flooded over me right now as I sit and compose my thoughts for yet another Bible Book Club post. I/We have had a lovely week of investment as we heard all about Josh's trip on Sunday, met with Laura on Monday, Manal and Kim T. on Tuesday, and Rebekah today. Add to that a great week of homeschooling and time as a family on walks and workouts.

I like what I have settled into these days. It is well with my soul.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Book Babes Books 2008-2009

The alchemist / Paulo Coelho ; translated by Alan R. Clarke.

Author: Coelho, Paulo

Published: [San Francisco] : HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.

A Bess Streeter Aldrich treasury / Bess Streeter Aldrich ; with an introduction by Robert Streeter Aldrich.

Author: Aldrich, Bess Streeter, 1881-1954

Published: Mattituck, N.Y. : Aeonian, 1978, c1959.

The last lecture / Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow.

Author: Pausch, Randy

Published: New York : Hyperion, c2008.

Papa's wife.

Author: Bjorn, Thyra Ferré

Published: New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston [c1955]

River of doubt [CD/book] : [Theodore Roosevelt's darkest journey] / Candice Millard.

Author: Millard, Candice

Published: Santa Ana, CA : Books on Tape, p2005.

The river of doubt : Theodore Roosevelt's darkest journey / Candice Millard.

Author: Millard, CandicePublished: New York : Doubleday, 2005.

The road / Cormac McCarthy.


Author: McCarthy, Cormac, 1933-

Published: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.

The road [cass/book] / Cormac McCarthy.

Author: McCarthy, Cormac, 1933-

Published: Prince Frederick, Md. : Recorded Books, p2006.


Selkirk's Island : the true and strange adventures of the real Robinson Crusoe / Diana Souhami.

Author: Souhami, Diana.

The story of the other wise man / Henry Van Dyke ; [introduction by Leo Buscaglia].

Author: Van Dyke, Henry, 1852-1933.

Published: New York : Ballantine Books, 1984, c1923.

Wesley the owl : the remarkable love story of an owl and his girl / Stacey O'Brien.

Author: O'Brien, Stacey

Published: New York : Free Press, c2008.

The year of fog : a novel / Michelle Richmond.

Author: Richmond, Michelle, 1970-

Published: New York : Delacorte Press, c2007.
The year of fog [downloadable audiobook] / by Michelle Richmond.

Author: Richmond, Michelle, 1970-

Published: [Ashland, Or.] : Blackstone Audio, Inc., 2007.

The year of fog [large print] / Michelle Richmond.

Author: Richmond, Michelle, 1970-

Published: Waterville, Me. : Thorndike Press, 2007.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Sometimes, you just have to have a good laugh . . .

With all the uncertainty in our economy and in the upcoming elections, it helps to have a good laugh . . .

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

A Breather

Seems like the fall is flying by. I had to squeeze in a day of prayer at the library (and other downtown locations), and I felt pretty frazzled going into it and not to rested coming out like I usually do. I am going to chalk that up to not getting a good night's sleep the day before and night sweats from the change of life that are usually no-existent when I am working out really hard, but I am only walking these days.

Once Jubilee is over, I will have a very reasonable schedule. We have made our adjustment to the "fall homeschool line-up" by dropping Biology lab. We are also through the two big Fun Runs: Fall Festival and Alzheimer's walk. My discipleship meetings are all planned on the schedule (that was a major undertaking) and Nourieh and I have our first Bible study on the 28th of October. Also, Paul's braces are on and teeth will all be finished being pulled tomorrow. Then, it will just be follow up appointments every five weeks.

Whew! I will be just right on Saturday. :) Not too busy and not too slow. I like that. Jubilee made me a bit busier than I like, and I am sorry to say that I will not be able to be a part of it next year. I really want to focus on other things, and it takes too much energy away from those things while I am trying to also get the fall off the ground and running.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mary Rowlandson

I am typing as my oldest is reading this out loud to all three of us. I love this American Literature class. I love that many of the books that I have been wanting to read because of The Well-Educated Mind are part of Thelma's Library American Literature class. I love discussing these books with my kids. I love everything about school this year now that I dropped the biology class. Don't get me wrong: I loved that class. I think Sheri is a dedicated teacher and wonderful person, but it was too much for us to have to coordinate our BJU Biology with the Apologia biology. It was apparent within a week of starting the class. Sadly, I had already paid $60 for it, but we will get some supplies even though we had already done two dissections last year and didn't really need to do anymore.

Back to Mary.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Reading Goals for the Next Four Months

I'm trying to meld my TWEM goals and my kids' American Literature Class. It is looking great!

October
2 Samuel and 1 Kings
True End of Civil Government by John Locke
Narrative and Capitity of Mary Rowlandson (with kids for Am. Lit)
The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Dafur
Common Sense by Thomas Paine (with kids for Am. Lit.)
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Meditations by Descartes

November
2 Kings
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (with kids for Am. Lit.)
Democracy in America by Toqueville

December
Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther
A Christmas Carol by Dickens (as family)
The New England Mind by Miller

January
Job
Silas Marner by Eliot (for Book Dames)
Up from Slavery by Washington (for SCC Book Club)
Walden by Thoreau (with kids for Am. Lit.)
Life and Times of Frederick Douglas (with kids for Am. Lit.)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The Well-Educated Mind Homeschool Update: History

I am pretty excited about this school year of history. So, I am going to write about what I am doing. I'll do the other subjects on the other days. Someday. LOL!

We are studying

US HISTORY!!!!!!!!!

We are starting off by using this:





A Biography of America





This is a 26 lecture film series put out by the Annenberg Media. Each lecture lasts 30 minutes, and it is FREE Video on Demand. It gives a good visual for what we are studying.


Here is the web address for this:


http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/index.html



We are also listening to Joy Hakim's delightful series A History of US. It is geared toward a younger audience, but we really like the interesting stories, and she isn't TOO politically correct for our sensibilities. She seems pretty fair and balanced compared to some other texts. We are just finishing up The Making of Thirteen Colonies.




We are supplementing this with two high school texts that are used in AP US History classes:









I like A People and a Nation too.







This is all being reinforced by our American Literature course that we are taking through:


She has a 400+ page syllabus where the kids are reading orginal documents like the "Arabella Covenant" and the "Mayflower Compact." It is great reinforcement.

This is all done with the goal of preparing for this:

The College-Level Examination Program




There is a great 150 page general overview of American History that we are using to review what we have learned in our studies of the above texts and American Literature.




Then, there are three computer-generated test to prepare the kids for taking the test at Linn-Benton Community College some time this year.




As we go, we are using the AP United States History Flash Cards.













We also use this website to help in our being ready to take the CLEP:


If we get ambitious, I might also have the kids take the CLEP American Literature exam, but I haven't checked into that yet.


We are continuing with our Timeline Figures from Home School In the Woods too. GREAT thing. In addition, I am using the timelines in The History of US and having the kids paste the wording in the timeline book.


True Forgiveness

Good thought,
Hurt you not.
Gossip never,
Friends forever.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Another Threshold

. . . the starting point for a new state or experience; "on the threshold of manhood"

When I wrote this definition over a month ago about our trip to Southeast Asia, I never thought it would be applicable for our trip home, but it is!

I didn't think about until today, but we are on the starting point of a new state or experience with this job situation. It is not a struggle, but there is much more energy being put into the realm of possibilities that abound for us.

I hit a wall on Monday, and I knew I was edging toward it when I went to the first co-op meeting of the year with a NEW co-op. I really wished that I had stayed home from the meeting. I needed some quiet time to reflect, and I haven't had much of that lately. When we came home from Southeast Asia, we had to do a TON of follow up that took hours and hours (still have one more piece to accomplish). We also needed to get things going with school and outside activities. I was still trying to get into a groove and also into a good sleep pattern.

I also made the MISTAKE of staying up late to watch the closing days of the Olympics. Then, I was watching both the Democratic and Republican Conventions. So, by this week, I was pretty fried.

Should have stayed home. I cried through most of the meeting, and I felt like a fool. I know that they may think it is because George lost his job. People just assume things. They assume we are going to move. They assume we are probably worried and anxious and stressed about it, but we are not. We planned for a rainy day. We never thought this HP gig was forever. In fact, this is the longest George has ever had a job at any one place! We weren't HP lifers. We weren't cozy in the job. We aren't even cozy in Corvallis, but we need to stay here because of the dental issues with our kids. So, we aren't planning on moving.

I will say that we ARE processing the options, and this is taking time and emotional energy. The job has been on "auto-pilot" for years. Now that we are landing the "HP plane" and thinking about our future flight plan, there is MUCH more "pilot to copilot" communication. We are more on our toes, and THAT is exhausting me.

More recently, I stayed up late and poured my heart out and then listened to God. It was so good. I guess He was speaking to me about being open to self-employment. When I told George about this the next morning, he said he had been praying about this for a week and was "easing me" in to the idea. Interesting.

I have always thought we are not self-employment type of people, but George has had a self-employment component since he left HP. So, there is a possibility that he could draw from all his contacts and do contracts with all of them.


We are on the threshold. It is exciting . . . and exhausting.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

A Bend in the Road


I told George today that I am excited about our future with his being let go at HP.

I love bends in the road!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Bill Wardrop's Celebration of Life


Bill_VB_mag_cover, originally uploaded by carolfoasia.

Here is the magazine cover God allowed me to find for his memorial on August 23rd.

April 18, 1945 - July 7, 2008

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

On the Threshold of a Dream

Thresh-hold: the starting point for a new state or experience

We are going to Southeast Asia after seven long years of being away! I am excited. I can't contain it.

I gotta' go.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Ministered to Me Tonight

This really spoke to me after I heard an aching heart tonight.

Sunday Reflections

It has been almost two weeks since I blogged here. I started a new blog to document my fifty celebrations to fifty! (www.fiftycelebrations.blogspot.com).

Oh my, I hear the car with George and Paul. I have to go to church now. Really, I GET to go! I love going to church now. :)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Oregon Shakespeare Festival And Porch Reflections


Oregon Shakespeare Festival, originally uploaded by carolfoasia.

I spent the weekend at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It was a celebration for Laura's (second row on the left) 40th birthday which will be in December. She invited ten friends from different eras of her life. I am the most recent "era" in that, while I have known her (and admired her from afar) for about three or four years, we just started really getting to know each other since last July when we started meeting for accountability. Laura is a deep and kind woman. So, of course, she has attracted deeply spiritual friends over the years. The weekend was overwhelming for me in that I would have loved to connect more deeply with each person, but there was no prior history other than with Laura and Cathi (standing at the top), and I probably won't see any of the rest of them again.

I was a bit lonely and depressed on Saturday night until I realized I could revel in the solitude of my own room even as I listened to the hushed murmurs of midnight conversations in all the rooms around the house. I realized that I have this healthy desire to connect deeply that always seems to be frustrated in large groups of women stuck in the same place for a limited amount of time (women's retreats, Trapdoor/Lamppost getaways, etc). That desire can easily become a demand if I am not careful.

I woke up very early Sunday morning really THANKFUL that I didn't have a roommate that I would disturb! I stole away to the deserted porch and had a long and wonderful time with God where I started out with this verse from Face to Face by Kenneth Boa:

"Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed,
Save me, and I will be saved,
For You are the One I praise" (Jeremiah 17:14).

So funny that this has been my healing verse since 2006, yet I never realized it is in the context of a teaching about a deceitful heart - something that God has been speaking to me about all summer!

_________________
"Cursed is the [woman] who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh her strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD" (17:5).

I wrote:



Oh Lord - my deceitful heart has turned away from you this
morning. Yesterday, I was making FLESH my strength. Deceitful heart - when will
you learn!?

What is my end if I am like that?

"For [s]he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness
A land of salt without inhabitant"(17:6).

Lord, a heart set on people will always be a heart dry and
longing for water because people were never meant to be my
lifespring even though my deceitful heart longs for it to be
so!

"Blessed is the [woman] who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD" (17:7).

Lord, help me to trust in You. Become my trust. Wretched woman.
When will I learn to not make flesh my strength?

What is the biproduct of this blessed life?

"For she will be like a tree (then I drew a picture with my meditations)planted by the water,
that extends its roots by a stream.
And will not fear when the heat comes.
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought.
Nor cease to yield fruit"(17:8).

"The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desparately sick;
Who can understand it?" (17:9)

Lord, I am only beginning to really understand my deceitful heart.

"Lord, you search my heart
You test my mind" (17:10).

Lord, don't give to me according to my ways,
According to the results of my deeds
but remember mercy and Jesus,
and Holy Spirit, transform me.

LORD, our sanctuary is a glorious throne.
LORD, my hope.
LORD, help me not to forsake you, the fountain of living water.

Hope. Now the verse I started with:

"Heal me, O LORD, And I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved
For, You are my praise."

Lord, you have commanded Your lovingkindness
this morning. THANK YOU. You ALONE do wonderful things. Fill today with your
glory, LORD.



It ended up being a very glorious end to a wonderful weekend. I ended up loving it. My perspective was right once again. Praise God for course corrections in midstream.

I am a little down today, but again, I am having to learn the longing I have to connect is not always met in some friendships, and that was quite clear to me as I went out with two friends last night. So, today I am a bit empty again, but it has been good to be rereminded of what God taught me one Sunday morning on a porch in Ashland. Another course correction for my deceitful heart.

There is more to say about the plays, but I will stop for now.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Double Pass


234 - Brother Bill, originally uploaded by carolfoasia.

This is the last picture of my brother Bill. He died last Monday at the age of 63. What a lovely time of sitting on the lawn outside of Balboa Park near San Diego last August. We talked of him moving to Oregon. I wanted to help him. Here is my post from last August 22.

Today, it all caught up with me, and I need to breath and grieve. I went for a walk/hike with Rosemary and enjoyed the view from up above toward Chip Ross hill. I need a higher view right now in everything.

I made a mistake in a rendezvous point for lunch with friends today. It meant Jean driving all the way to Corvallis only to to drive all the way back to Salem when she couldn't find LeAnne and me. I realized I had topped out in trying to prepare to go overseas, doing a writing class with my kids, meeting with friends, discipling women, having Bible study. Jean (who had two hours of driving) was so gracious when I told her I was an idiot. She said . . .

"Carol, you get a pass on this one. You have so much going on right now. In fact, you get a double pass. I enjoyed my drive down and trip to Jamocha Jo's (friend Nancy's coffee shop) and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was a great drive back up. Double pass, Carol."

So, I am NOT going berry picking tomorrow. I am slowing down in the writing class. I canceled something someone wanted me to do right after I get back from Southeast Asia. I canceled a time meeting with someone close to the time that I was leaving. I am going to give myself a double pass and grieve.

Carol out

Friday, July 04, 2008

Happy 4th of July

I am so happy this 4th.

The Cowdens cancelled their annual party, and the Stews had to back out of a get-together tonight because Jake has a game.

So, we didn't know what we would do. Felt sort of lonely, but NOT for long.

I took a walk and told George that I needed a hammock! So, we went to five different stores and found one at RiteAid. We set it up. I read Plato. George watched Wimbledon and baked an apple pie. I took a nap. We went to Applebees. We took a bike ride to the river and watched the band. We came back, invited Eva for a apple pie and fireworks. We also asked Marg who said, "Do you like cherries?"

Do I like cherries!?

We picked a whole bag! Now, we are starting the fireworks in our driveway and will bring pie to Eva and Marg.

Life is grand. I love my life more than anyone will ever know.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Peaceful Middle of the Night Reflections


I just finished Thucydides, and I am too excited to sleep. This was a huge hurdle, but "little by little gets the job done." What a bear! I liked Herodotus much better because he had more observations about the peoples throughout Persia and their social customs; some things were even hilariously funny! But Herodutus was just called Histories while Thucydides was called The History of the Peloponnesian War. So, there was very little commentary and 21 years worth of battles! UGH! Susan Wise-Bauer suggested we just skim the battle scenes, and I took her up on her advice.


I did like his observations of human nature; that we are basically bent toward our own gain, that human nature is always rebelling against the law, that the Athenians didn't respond to initiations of peace because they were always grasping for MORE. That was interesting.
It got me thinking about peace. As I was reading that the Athenians refused Sparta's offer of peace and alliance, and instead "grasped for something more," I had an epiphany. I realized that I love peace! It made me grateful for a culture of peace at my church, in my immediate and extended family, in all relationships. It is cultivated everywhere I go, and I LOVE the peace that I now enjoy in every area of my life. Why wouldn't Athens want that? Well, Thucydides answered that by explaining the essence of human nature: we are bent toward always "grasping for more."
.
James 4:1 says:
.
"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren't they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you?" GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
.
Selfish desires always get in the way of true peace.
.
It grieves me. Once, I was in a culture that didn't allow for that. The culture said, "We will make you the bad guy." That is how that culture has always dealt with conflict. I saw employee after employee be forced to resign, and it was always the employees problem, never the cultures. After about the sixth "forced resignation," you start to wonder if it isn't always the employees fault.
.
There were no fair negotations of a peace treaty where both parties came to the table and discussed terms of peace because the culture doesn't really want to have peace: they want to be right. They hold out until, years later, the other party says they are sorry. Then, they graciously "forgive" and never admit their part in the conflict. In the middle of the apology is character assasination, gossip, slander. (All attack responses even though they aren't directly to the person's face). I saw it over and over again throughout the 28 years of being in that culture until one day I woke up and smelled the coffee (and I don't even like coffee). Before that, I heard the rumors and chose to keep my head in the sand because I didn't want to gossip. Others tried to convince me in hushed whispers of the "just cause" for the "war" with that person who had now become the "enemy." Of course, the former employees weren't called the "enemy" because we are all Christians, right?
.
It is also interesting to note the same person was the person trying to convince me of the "just cause." In fact, they were behind almost every forced resignation when they "shared their concerns" with those who "needed to know." This person never had an official role either, but they had the leaders' ears. My experience with that person was that they look at situations through their own lens, and it is often a very distorted picture of what really has happened, but the culture doesn't allow for the other person to come and tell their story. That distortion become reality, and the employees goose is cooked.
.
It still grieves me to know how many wonderful people have been hurt by that culture. They are wonderful because they go on to other places and do great and wonderful things! It grieves me that my former culture is so arrogant that they can't take a long, hard, objective look at their culture and change it. People who have tried become labeled "the problem." Most people in the culture don't stand up and say "That is wrong!" for fear of judgment and character assasination being directed at them because of what has happened in the past.
.
Some of the Athenian people did not stand up to the murderous oligarchy when they started murdering those who oppossed them:
.
"The People remained motionless, being so thoroughly cowed that men thought themselves lucky to escape violence, even when they held their tongues" (p. 518)
.
No, there is no physical murder in the culture; but there ARE attack responses in their gossip and slander. Yet, the people in the culture all breath a sigh of relief and say, "I'm glad it is not me." It made me think of a friend who sat on my couch and told me she was forbidden from talking to another friend who had expertise in a certain ministry because that friend had "left." That person regrets not speaking up and defending. She was afraid. What right do the leaders of that culture have to stand in the way of a friendship and helping make a ministry better by picking the former members brain? It seems like a no brainer to me, but that is where the whole jelousy and selfish ambition thing comes in.
.
I had the same thing happen to me when I was there. I had a friend whom I knew to be an expert in team-building exercises who used to be an employee there. I was going to do some of those with a group I was leading, and I want her to come and run the games. That was very much FROWNED upon. Fraternizing with the enemy, you know?
.
It really makes me sad. It grieves my heart. So sad to think that people would control other people in such a way, but I was controlled by it at one time too.
But I am free now! Just people "always grasping for more" for a multitude of unhealthy reasons. It honestly doesn't make me mad, but it makes me very sad. I grieve because the war still rages in muffled tones, and I feel guilty that I am free, and they are not.
.
I am grateful for the culture of peace in which I reside now that has mechanisms to negotiate "terms of peace" in case of hostilities (that are normal and natural when you have selfish people trying to work together). There is no fear of standing up when people need to be accountable for their actions there either. There is no fear to stand up and disagree. Everyone has a story - no one is the "enemy" there. We all know we have that basic human natural bent of selfishness that causes fights and quarrels, but there is a mechanism of grace in place. I love it. The only thing that is not allowed is to not forgive. I love that too.
.
It make me glad that my 28 year (got you beat by 7 years, Athens and Sparta!) war is over. AWWWWWW


Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Summer Reading Goals Update

MOM'S WELL- EDUCATED MIND SUMMER READING LIST:

H=History, D=Drama, P=Poetry, A=Autobiography

H - Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (Done 7/2 - I will shout this from the rooftops!)
H - Plato's Republic (Done 7/22)

H - Plutarch's Lives (2 Volumes: Roman and Greek )
H - City of God by Augustine
H - Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede
D - Everyman (Done 6/19 - contrast with Dr. Faustus - loved this play!)
H - Prince by Machiavelli (Done 6/24 - Richard III blew it)
H - Utopia by Sir Thomas More
P - Sonnets of Shakespeare (Done 6/26)
A - Essays of Montaigne
A - Life of Teresa of Avila
D - Doctor Faustus by Marlowe (Done 6/21 - Heavy and great for discussion!)
D - Richard III by Shakespeare (Done 6/21 - Shakespeare ROCKS!)
D - Midsummer Nights Dream by Shakespeare (Done 6/24)
D- Hamlet by Shakespeare (Done 6/28)


Beyond Goals:

D - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Done June 29)
D - Tartuffe by Moliere (Done July 2)
D - A Doll's House (Done July 14)
D - The Cherry Orchard (Done July 14)

Amazing Grace: Stories of Newton, Wilberforce, and Equiano (audio)

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Saturday, Sunday Shakespeare


Any way you slice it, Shakespeare rocks in my book. I really enjoyed this Saturday flight through the 108 pages of this classic English play, Richard III.

Susan Wise-Bauer gave a good visual for me of the family tree of Richard III in her excellent book, The Well-Educated Mind. I transferred it to the inside cover of my book sot that I could refer to it throughout the reading.
Richard was a villain who killed his brother, George Clarence, and the two sons of Edward IV (his other brother), Edward and Richard, so that he could become king of England. It is character study in evil.
Famous lines like "Now is the winter of our discontent" and "My horse, my horse, my kingdom for a horse" come from this famous historical drama. I highly recommend it. I do hear that the Folger Shakespeare Library Edition will make Shakespeare more accessible to neophytes because it has facing pages with explanations. I did just fine with this one, but Shakespeare doesn't scare me like it might scare some people.



In order to add to my enjoyment and understanding, I watched the 1956 Lawrence Olivier movie version while I was reading. I would read a few scenes. Then, I would watch those scenes in the movie. This is the Criterion Collection version with amazing commentary by playright and stage director, Russell Lees, which opened my world to understand Shakespeare and Olivier. He also inserts a commentary done by John Wilders who was the former governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company. I am someone who loves movie commentaries, and this is the absolute BEST commentary I have ever heard. If you want to understand more of Shakespeare, check this out from your local library and watch the movie with Russell. You will be the better for it!




After Richard III (finished the play last night and the movie this morning), I went on to read The Complete Sonnets of Shakespeare. Now, this was a bit tougher for me. I downloaded them from the Oregon Digital Library Consortium Library2Go and read along as I listened. It was tough until I found the "No Fear Shakespeare" section of SparkNotes with original text and modern text in parallel form! So, if I don't get it, I can read this. I am through about 35 of them.



I anticipate tackling A Midsummer Night's Dream next. I have seen two different movie versions of this, and I will see the play this summer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland in July for Laura's 40th birthday extravaganza with nine other women (along with Othello and A Comedy of Errors). AMND is also being performed in the OSU Quad this summer! I may wait to read it in mid-July. Then, I can read The Prince by Machiavelli because apparently Shakespeare's Richard III is a Machiavellian character!
It was a good and restful weekend for me with Shakespeare!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Blood Clots and School Year Next Year

It appears I have a blood clot in my right leg above my right knee. So, I am going in for an angiogram/angioplasty on Friday. Stay tuned. :(

So, to totally keep my mind off of this, I am writing out the plan for next school year:

2008-2009 School Year

US HISTORY using:

A People and a Nation
The American Pageant
The Story of US by Hakim
CLEP Exam Study Site with links to the
Annenburg Foundation A Biography of America with Video on Demand
Critical Thinking in US History: From Colonies to Constitution (Led by Linda H. in Thurs. Coop)
American History Timelines Figures from: Homeschool in the Woods

US CIVICS & GOVERNMENT

Led by Linda H. in Thursday coop - presentations and group projects around the election in the fall.

AMERICAN LITERATURE - http://www.thelmaslibrary.com/

Here is our list of books and ones that I will read with them because they are on my Well-Educated Mind List (TWEM):

Anna Bradstreet - To My Husband and Other Poems
Thomas Paine- Common Sense (TWEM)
Benjamin Franklin – Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (TWEM)
Ralph Waldo Emerson- Self-Reliance and Other Essays
Henry David Thoreau – Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
Henry David Thoreau – Walden; or, Life in the Woods (TWEM)
Frederick Douglas – Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas (TWEM)
Louisa May Alcott- Short Stories
Mark Twain- (Samuel Clemens) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (TWEM - Read already)
Mark Twain- Humorous Stories and Sketches
Great American Short Stories (Poe, Melville, Harte, London, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Hawthorne, others)
101 Great American Poems (Poe, Whitman, Robinson, Melville, Holmes, Frost, Dickinson, Pound, Eliot, Stevens, others) (TWEM - Dickinson, Frost)
O’Henry- (W.S.Porter) The Gift of the Magi
Harriet Beecher Stowe- Uncle Tom’s Cabin (TWEM - Read already)

Other authors in syllabus reading include William Bradford, Cotton Mather, Michael Wigglesworth, Mary Rowlandson (TWEM), Jonathon Edwards, Phyllis Wheatley, various Founding documents, letters, and covenants.

It should compliment our American History studies nicely. We hope to have this class with about eight other kids from 8th-12th grade in our home on Thursday afternoons after coop.

MATH

I have all the textbooks for next year, but I am seriously considering purchasing Teaching Textbooks Geometry or Algebra II for Michael. I will stick with BJU Pre-Algebra for Paul.

SCIENCE

I had every intention of moving Michael on to Chemistry next year, but I am going to wait until Paul can do it with him, and that will require Paul being through Algebra I. So, I will wait until Paul's sophomore year and Michael's senior year in high school. So, Paul will start a two year study through the BJU Biology Text, and Michael will review his biology and study for the CLEP Biology Exam.

In addition, they will be doing Biology Lab with Sheri P. at the Thursday homes chool coop.

Once Michael reviews his biology and takes the CLEP (hopefully by Christmas). I will have him start the Cornell Bird Biology Course or physics or earth science or marine biology. This will be his choice, but I bet he chooses the bird biology! He can continue this into his junior year in high school since this course is like a college course.

WRITING/GRAMMAR

I am setting up a writing class with a friend this summer, and we will continue the things we learn from there. Nikki also mentioned an excellent writing course that she has had Alita take that I want to look into.

I am hoping to go through Nitty Gritty Grammar with Michael and pick Katrina's brain for how she has used it. Paul will continue with Daily Grams.

PLAYS and FIELD TRIPS

We haven't gotten the new schedule, but I want to do less of these this year, maybe only once or twice a quarter for a total of 3-6. This years we did about seven plays and five field trips. That was a ton! In addition, we are going to be involved in a play through our coop this year. I think Michael will act. I don't think that Paul will though.

PE

The Timberhill Athletic Club has been a sound investment for keeping the boys physically active. They are also playing badminton and hiking with dad now that the sun is out. Good movement around this household

MUSIC

Paul is reducing to six lessons for the summer term. I may continue this through the school year too since we will be busier with coop and American Literature.

BIBLE

Paul finished the New Testament this year, and Michael did many Old Testament books and Acts in connection with Classical Literature. Michael has already started in Genesis, and I think I will have Paul do the same.

They are also continuing with their prayer and Bible lessons with the Boys' Group every other Friday night.

DRIVER's EDUCATION

Michael needs to take that test! We need to get him driving with us. I don't think he needs to take the course, but it depends on what our insurance wants us to do. He is in no hurry though.

MOM'S WELL- EDUCATED MIND SUMMER READING LIST:
H=History, D=Drama, P=Poetry, A=Autobiography

H - Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (Done July)
H - Plato's Republic (Done July 22)

H - Plutarch's Lives (2 Volumes: Roman and Greek )
H - City of God by Augustine
H - Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede
D - Everyman (Done 6/19 - contrast with Dr. Faustus - loved this play!)
H - Prince by Machiavelli (Done 6/24 - Richard III blew it)

H - Utopia by Sir Thomas More
P - Sonnets of Shakespeare (Done in June)
P - Poems of Donne
A - Essays of Montaigne
A - Life of Teresa of Avila
D - Doctor Faustus by Marlowe (Done 6/21 - Heavy and great for discussion!)
D - Richard III by Shakespeare (Done 6/21 - Shakespeare ROCKS!)

D - Midsummer Nights Dream by Shakespeare (Done in June)
D- Hamlet by Shakespeare (Done in June)


I may just skip the history/autobiographies and just do the drama and poetry books and come back around to the ones I skipped in the future. They are LONG books. I want to be up to the 1600's so I can read along with the American Literature books. :)

MOM'S MISC. GOALS:

Tidy up all closets (done with Master and Office)

Tidy up all drawers (done with Master)

Tidy up kitchen cupboards and drawers

Digital Scrapbooking for 365, Michael and Paul's books








Friday, June 06, 2008

Out of the Mouth of My Babe

Paul has been saying such neat things lately. I know that I will forget them if I don't write it down, and I used to type these sorts of things on my word processor. Then, I change computer a few years later, and I can't find it on my old one.

We came back from a delightful dinner in Jefferson, Oregon with the family of a young man who is going to SEA this summer. Paul's comment on the way home in the car. I wish I could remember it just right.

"I am realizing that people are not just 'things.' They are not strangers either. They are people with a story. They all have unique backgrounds that make them who they are. There is a reason why they do what they do because of that background. I am just seeing that I see people on the street and they may seem like strangers, but they have a story." (Paul - 13 years 6 1/2 months)

I may edit this after I talk more with him this morning about he said. We had such a nice discussion in the car as a result of it which ended in insane and hysterical laughter about something or other.

I love our family time. Car time is always so precious.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Barocha

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord make His face shine upon you
And give you peace
And give you peace
And give you peace, forever . . .

We closed our Bible Book Club tonight with this song and prayer. Anna shared how her mother would pray this over her every night when she was growing up. How absolutely precious.

I sensed God's presence there tonight. I was so blessed.

The Nightingale

From Wikipedia: The Nightingale (2015) is a historical fiction novel by American author Kristin Hannah published by St. Martin's Pres...