My Entry In the Maud Hart Lovelace Challenge

I think I am too late to officially enter the drawing, but I still want to be part of the Maud Hart Lovelace Reading Challenge sponsored by the blog A Library is a Hospital for the Mind.  (now, that is a cool name for a blog).  I discovered this challenge from one of my favorite blogs, Here in the Bonny Glen by author Melissa Wiley, who wrote the forward to the newly released edition of Carney's House Party/Winona's Pony Cart. I cannot wait to re-read both of those books, as well as probably my favorite Lovelace book, Emily of Deep Valley
see what I'm sure is Melissa's excellent introduction to this classic.

So, here are my answers to the challenge questions:

1. Why I joined the challenge: Our whole family loves Maud Hart Lovelace
2. I will be re-reading Carney's House Party once the new copy arrives. I'd also like to re-read Early Candlelight, a grown-up novel Lovelace wrote that is not my favorite, but maybe needs a re-read.
3. I love everything about MHL's books. I am so glad to introduce my kids to these books at a young age, because in addition to being such great reads, they teach such life lessons in a gentle way that promotes rather than detracts from the growth of virtues.
4. I can't decide which I would hope to win: Emily of Deep Valley, because it is my favorite, or Carney's House Party, because of Melissa' introduction.  I'll have to go with Carney's House Party/Winona's Pony Cart, because it's two books in one!

Post from the Past: The 80-Year-Old 43 Year Old

This post was originally published in 2007 on the first incarnation of this blog--no longer up.  I wanted to repost some good writing from time to time just to remind myself, even in all the busy craziness, that I can do it!  I also wrote this when my parents were not well, but now they have both died, so it makes this post even more poignant to me.  


This post seemed especially appropriate because today's first Mass reading is from Job 1, with all the servants coming to Job and saying, "I alone have escaped to tell you."  That's the title of Ralph McInerny's beautiful memoir, and I write about today here today.


Several weeks ago,  I was at a gathering of moms.  I made a comment about "being older" in some context which escapes me now.  We all laughed about whatever the comment was, but then one mom said, laughingly, something along the lines of, "When you make a comment like that, I always think about it like you think you are some 80-year-old lady."  It was a funny aside, but it gave me pause.  I have noticed myself that I tend to make these "I am getting older" comments and I think my (just a bit) younger friends are a little perplexed, or think I am giving up.  I've been reflecting on this lately and wondering why I do this.


When my mother was 60 years old, I was 25.  I remember her saying, "I'm old," and it seemed to me at the time as a kind of giving up or a hopeless statement.    And I said, "Mom, you are NOT old.  You are 60--that's middle-aged!"  She replied, "60 is not middle-aged.  Nancy, how many 120 year-olds do you know?"  That set me back a little, but I still argued with her and talked about how active she was, how much she did, how much of her life was left to live well.  She agreed with all of that, but persisted in saying that it was "real" that she was old.  Now I think I understand a little of what she meant by the statement.  It's just an acceptance of a reality; a meditation in a way on the end of human life.  What one does with this reality is the important thing. 


I am officially middle-aged now.  I don't really see it as a crisis or a tragedy--oh, no, no more miniskirts! (never me anyway), but as a reality that can be frustrating, funny and frightening, all in the same moment.   Having a preschooler when one is over 40 and very (though happily) gray-haired in a small community where more people have grandchildren than children at this age sometimes makes me feel a bit odd.  My husband and I laugh about it, but we tire of having to say, "No, they are my children, not my grandchildren."   It is kind of funny to have to admit my wounded pride there.  Do I really look or act that old, I think?  I don't feel that I do; I stay active and love having little kids; I know I am a much better parent at this age than I would have been as a younger me (though children earlier would have been good for me in so many ways!) 


There is a sense in which these comments of mine, even internal comments, are my mid-life crisis--really coming to terms with and meditating on what it means to grow older, and yes, to die.  I am so much more aware of it than I was in my 20s and 30s.  The physical signs are only a little bit of what I'm feeling.   While it is true that I don't bounce back from injuries or late nights or overeating as I did in my "younger days,"  I I would say I am in better shape now than many times during my life, and I am much more careful about taking care of myself.


But at the same time, I feel a growing sense of urgency to accomplish goals before... I don't know; it's not exactly getting old, or dying....  Even though I know that decline is decades in the future, decades is not so long anymore.  It is so easy to keep putting things off and putting things off until it really is too late.  Time is just moving too quickly for me these days.


Also, I am much more sensitive in a number of ways to mortality, and old age, and weakness.  It is not just my own, far away as that may be (or as close as it may be; the fragility of life is painfully close sometimes).   Emotionally I am much more aware.  Funerals affect me much more deeply than in the past; I feel more a sense of being closer to the person dying than  I ever have in the past.   I feel this partially because my mother is somewhere along the path to death.  The idea of losing my mom, either of my parents, is just overwhelming at times.  I know intellectually this is the normal scope of things, but it still feels scary.


Ralph McInerny, one of my personal heroes and author of the excellent memoir ,I Alone Have Escaped to Tell You talks about "standing on the precipice separating time and eternity" when the people he most admires begin to die.  He says it much more eloquently, but I would describe it is as a fundamental vulnerability--there is no more layer of protection between me and the wide world.  That sounds strange; I have been independent of my parents for many years in so many ways, and I act very grown-up, but actually being that grown-up person...wow.


And yet I can remind myself that we are all surrounded by "so great a cloud of witnesses" in the communion of saints.  There is a layer there; we are all connected; perhaps this is God's way of helping me understand some of these theological concepts in a real way.


So I tend to comment on my age a bit lately, and I will continue to comment on my age.  For me, it is not an excuse, or a complaint, or a giving up.  It is a continuing meditation about what it means to grow older, to have life and have it abundantly, at the same time to always keep in mind the last things.    It is not because I feel like an 80-year-old, I promise you, even if I do complain about the aches and pains and grandmother comments.  I am just standing on the precipice of time and eternity, trying to embrace the view.

Mother-Daughter Book Group: The Shadow of the Bear thoughts and discussion notes

The Shadow of the Bear by Regina Doman is the first of the (currently, five) Fairy Tale Series of Novels by Regina Doman.  Shadow is a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red by the Brothers Grimm.  Each chapter begins with a quote from the original fairy tale, and the events of the chapter relate to each.

Some important points:  even though the novel takes place in “reality” (relatively recent NYC), it has fairy tale elements that make it not strictly “realistic.”  Some of the specifics (young people trying to solve mysteries on their own, people getting out of dangerous situations improbably) are more in the fairy tale mode than realistic mode.

We need to be clear here, both in our reading and in our discussions, about what plot elements are meant to be an interesting, page-turning part of the story, and what could be edifying or useful to us in our lives.

We’re not meant to think through how we would handle the situation if a group of surly teenagers kidnap us, or how to foil an evil treasure-crazed man in an abandoned church, because those events from The Shadow of the Bear are not likely to happen to us.

But we can take away a number of points about how to behave from, for instance, what Rose does right (and what she could have done differently) on prom night, because while we won’t be in the specific situation described, situations like it are very likely to come up during one’s high school and college years.

Also, we’re not meant to emulate the specific actions of the characters (trying to solve capital crimes on our own, putting ourselves and others in dangerous situations), but rather learn from their virtues (thought they are not perfect) and their ability to view situations in the light of their Catholic faith.  Most of all, we’re also meant to enjoy this fantastically written and engaging story as the great story just as it is!

Here is an annotated version of an early version of the Snow White and Rose Red fairy tale.

Here’s a link  from author Regina Doman’s website, of pages on The Shadow of the Bear.

Following are the Catechism connections we will make/discuss with this book at the Mother-Daughter Book Group.  Please bring your Catechism with you, but if you want to look these up online, I love this searchable Catechism of the Catholic Church.

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Chapter 1:, p. 30:  Mrs. Brier:  “After all, we were sheltering the stranger and tending the sick, weren’t we?  That wasn’t wrong no matter what may happen from hereafter.”

CCC Connection:  2447, 2448

Chapter 2:  Blanche overhears Mr. Freet, brother of the principal (also Mr. Freet), saying, “Art isn’t about truth, it’s about form,…That’s why the absence of a beautiful, structured form destroys music.    Yes, and art, too.”

Blanche consider this and wants to discuss it with her family and Bear.  Is this true? (they conclude in a later chapter that it is not true, truth and beauty are one, and that even evil that appears as beauty just steals beauty away from truth)

CCC Connection:  2500, 2501, 2502 (339)

Chapter 4:  Bear takes the girls to St. Lawrence Church, a now closed church next to their high school where he was an altar boy.  It is dark and a little scary, since they all know the former pastor, Fr. Raymond, was murdered there.

p.82:  Bear:  “Um, you know, since it is my secret place, you wouldn’t tell any of your friends that I took you there, would you?”  Bear suddenly seemed a bit flustered.

“Oh, we don’t have any friends to tell,” Rose assured him.  “Just Mom.”

“Oh, I don’t care if your Mother knows.  She’s as solid as a brick.”

CCC Connection:  2488, 2489, 2491, 2492

Chapter 8:  Rose and Blanche go shopping for a prom dress and other items as a thrift store, and  Rose finds and buys two dresses, and the girls buy a few other items.

p. 110:  discussion of  relative modesty of dresses

CCC Connection: 2521, 2524, 2525

Chapter 11:  after-prom party Rose attends; be prepared for discussion about what she did right, and what she might have done differently

CCC Connection:  CCC 1806 (prudence), 1807 (justice), 1808 (fortitude), 1809 (temperance)

Chapter 14:  Blanche goes to talk to old Sister Geraldine to get information about Bear, and he tells her about how he and his brother Ben converted to Catholicism with the help of Father Raymond. Fr. Raymond collected and had quite a storehouse of unused church vessels that had been in flea markets, etc. 

Sister Blanche:  “Most people thought he was crazy.  After all, most of them weren’t worth very much.  But Father believed, “holy things for the holy,’ and he kept them safe and in good condition.  He wasn’t a reactionary or anything of that sort.  He simply believed in showing reverence for all things connected with the Holy Mass.”

CCC Connection:  CCC 948

Chapter 17 & 18:  When Bear parts from Blanche to “go to his fate,’” he tells her:

"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well"  (a quote from St. Julian of Norwich, afterwards used in a poem by T.S. Eliot.)  What do you think that Bear means?

CCC Connection:  313, 314

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard

I read  Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard  last month, and have wished for time to write about it nearly every day.

I found the book transformative in so many ways.  I do enjoy reading books about personal productivity; but it is rare when I can take away more than a few nuggets of good information to apply to family life and running a busy household.

Switch really goes beyond the typical business-y productivity book.  Almost every page brings new ways of looking at situations and relationships.  Wow!

Greatest take-away points:

            *small changes can  make a huge difference

*self-control is finite

*the notion of “pre-deciding” to do something makes it far more likelier to happen

The three sections of the book correspond to different elements of decision-making:  Directing the The Rider (or self-control), Motivating the Elephant (the emotions or passions), and Shaping the Path (or controlling the environment so good outcomes are easier).

I can think of so many ways I want to implement this in so many areas:

Direct the Rider (self-control, which is finite, the authors point out again and again):

Find the bright spots:  this is about finding positives and focusing on them instead of dwelling on the negative.  I think this has particularly powerful applications in relationships.  A good example of this is trying to distract from or ignore most negative behavior, not as a cop-out but as a way to “starve” them of attention.  Then, pointing out the positive behavior in myself (I ran 10 miles!) and others (you brought the books in from the van without anyone asking you! I like that!) promotes a better family culture.  This is hard for me because I am so verbal, so not only does the positive get highlighted but the negative.  I find it easier as I get older to be quiet for the negative.

Script the critical moves:  As a planner, I LOVE this concept, but the way they describe it as “pre-deciding” to do something is powerful, and really a new way to look at it, especially for the non-planners among us.  For instance, I can say, oh, I want to clean out my closet, but scheduling it (even in my head) for Saturday morning before going out makes it much more likely to happen.  It takes the decision point away from the moment of, “Oh, it’s Saturday morning, what should I do?”

Point to the Destination:  I also love this concept.  The authors point out people should provide big goals for ourselves and those around us, helping to set a tone for excellence.  In the book, the authors describe a teacher who kept telling her low-performing first grade students, “at the end of the year, you’ll be second-graders.”  Then she provided specific  ways to help turn them into second-graders, and she succeeded.

Motivate the Elephant: (the emotions and passions)

Find the feeling: This is using emotions to motivate the elephant to get started on a project or change goal.  Instead of a powerpoint or a  technical article, a visual of the impact of a bad decision can be much more powerful.

Shrink the Change: Breaking things into baby steps makes the bigger jobs more likely to be completed.  I loved that they quoted Flylady’s mantra of “you can do anything for 15 minutes (I think they actually used the five minute rule, but her timers say, “Just 15 minutes” and I’m amazed at how that has changed so many of my projects.

Grow Your People: this is providing time and space for people to daydream and brainstorm solutions to challenges.  I think home education is well-suited to this, providing ample opportunity to come up with good ideas to challenges or new ways of doing things. The problem for me sometimes is holding (kids in this case) accountable for putting the good ideas into practice, even temporarily.

Shape the Path: (controlling the environment to make good outcomes more likely)

Tweak the Environment: The classic example given in the book is that people eat less when eating off smaller plates or out of smaller containers.  It doesn’t seem possible something so small can have such a big difference, but it can in a range of circumstances.  I am mulling ways I can change our environment to make it easier for kids to keep tidy and pick up after themselves without mom extremely verbal voice! Hmm.

Build Habits: By having a habit of virtue and of doing the good, it makes it easier to keep doing it.  This is also shows the importance of family rituals that become second nature, like family dinners and certain traditions. 

Rally the Herd:  Group psychology can help people do the good better than one-on-one.  Here’s something of a disadvantage to home education.

Me & My Iphone, Updated: A Moment of Grace Thanks to Technology

There is a lot of chatter lately about how the Vatican has approved priests to use an iPad to use an iPad to say Mass.

Cay has a great post about this, terrifically named, "The Weight of an Ipad," a rift on the The Weight of a Mass book.

I have to say, that I don't think it is appropriate to use an iPhone at Mass.   I think people multi-task too much on their mobile devices to make it worthwhile.  I don't really have a problem with priests using an iPad to say Mass, because it's rarely the priest whose mind wanders at Mass, but those of us in the congregation.

I would not consider an iPhone in Mass, for two reasons: one, I don't want people to think that I am checking Facebook, the New York Times, the Weather Channel, or playing Bejeweled Blitz (some of my other heavily used apps), and second, I don't want to be tempted to check Facebook, the NY Times, the Weather Channel or play Bejeweled Blitz.  One doesn't need to read along with the Mass readings to participate in Mass, so it's not really necessary in any way.

However, as I've written before, one of my most-used "apps" on my iPhone is Universalis, which has the Liturgy of the Hours, Mass readings and other information, for each day.  I consider it indispensable.  Several weeks back, my husband and I were out to dinner with a visiting priest, and I found it difficult to make my case that I could actually pray with my iPhone.  Yes, it's better to be able to pray with a prayer book or Scripture itself, but why can you not pray as well with an electronic device?

I have used Universalis on occasion during some quiet prayer time in a mostly empty church.  And this past week I discovered the Divine Mercy Chaplet App and downloaded it.  You can actually click on the beads as you say the prayers.  But I hadn't had the chance to use it yet.

Yesterday, my oldest daughter and I bicycled up to our parish for confession time.  After a few minutes in line, (we were the only ones in line at that point), I remembered that I had promised to say a Divine Mercy Chaplet for a friend's intention.  Then I noticed my daughter seemed a little nervous, remembered I had my phone with me, and opened up the App.  (Many people, myself among them, help distract the inevitable pre-confession nerves with saying a decade of the rosary or some other calming prayer, but I hadn't remembered telling her about this.)  So I showed her how it worked, and together we prayed through the beginning couple of "decades" (are they called that in the chaplet?) before it was her time.  There were a few people starting to come in for Saturday night Mass, and I had a moment, what if they think I'm showing her some fun website or game?  But I had to assume those people would not automatically think the worst of me.

So for the two of us, a moment of grace made possible by technology.

A Biologist's Mother's Day Song, for Father's Day

I just found this extremely funny.  I'm still grateful for the contribution of dads, of course, and so grateful for my dear husband on this Father's Day.  But who knew moms give slightly more than half?

How a 15K Leaves Me Laughing....

I finished the Steamboat Classic, a local 15K race today.  The question I'm wondering, even now, hours after the race, is why do I feel better--in everyway-- after running long distances than before?  I started the race kind of tired, and finished strong (more about that) and then couldn't stop smiling. There must be something about those endorphins.

It was a funny race, so I had many opportunities to laugh and smile.  There was a much bigger 4-mile race that started the same time and course as the 15 K for the first 2 miles.  

 The 4-mile was pretty much flat, and the 15K had a brutal hill portion through Glen Oak Park.  I don't like hills and hills don't like me. I usually silently pray a Rosary and a Divine Mercy Chaplet to start off longer runs (and races, though this is only my second long race this year), and I was just finishing up the Fatima prayer for one of the decades while heading up the first hill, and heard myself in my head saying, "save us from the fire of hills" and then laughing out loud.  Strange looks from the runners around me.

During the Glen Oak Park portion--two loops of the same hills and flats-- I walked through the gatorade station to rehydrate and rest a little.  On my second time through, I asked one of the gatorade distributor volunteers (what are they called?) to take a snap with my iPhone.  I asked him to be sure he got my headband since my 9-year-old made it by sewing on little silk flowers to one side of it.  He said, "Don't you want me in the photo, too?"  because this station was manned almost entirely by beefy high school boys--perhaps a football team.  Probably not the best idea to ask them for help.  No, Mr. High School Boy, I don't want you in my photo!   But thanks for making me smile again.

May I clarify that I am NOT holding a beer cup here.  Why, you might be thinking, would I need to clarify that?  Because on the front of the race bibs are two "beer ticket" tickets.  When I attached it to my shirt that morning I was thinking, "Beer ticket?  Why is it not a Starbucks ticket? Cause that and a lot of fruit is what I'm going to want after this race."  I assumed the beer tickets was to get runners to come back for the Steamboat Festival going on all weekend, and offering a couple of free beers might help them come back later.

But no!  After the race, as I was milling around looking for water and fruit, people are drinking beer! At 9 a.m. in the morning.   And keep in mind probably about 70 percent of the people had finished before 8 a.m., since they were doing the 4-mile.  Yikes!  I told a friend I ran into there that I want a beer tonight, not 9 a.m.  Hmm.  Fortunately, there was still a little fruit left and water of course.  

The course was very hot but very shady because it went through older downtown neighborhoods that were once grand but now a bit faded.  I was grateful for the shade.   On the last mile the course passed our local Cathedral.  It was beautiful to see it while running past:

Finishing the race was also funny.  Other than a little walking on some of the hills, I kept a fairly steady pace.  For the last 3 miles of the race, however, several runners around me kept passing me and then walking or slowing down so I would pass them.  And I kept thinking, I'm pretty sure I'm not varying my pace here, especially since I'm not walking.  There was one 20something girl, very cute, who kept passing me and then having to walk.  She was probably thinking, I can't believe I can't run faster than a gray haired lady (Remember, though, I'm going for the "cute LL Bean/Lands End gray-haired model" look, not "your grandmother" look.  Perhaps she was confused).  I wanted to say, honey, I've been there, but don't worry, you're running and that's fantastic!  Do not compare yourself to the people around you.   I remember when I was about 19 or 20, on a family vacation on Martha's Vineyard, and while runnig one afternoon being passed by a man way older than my dad (who was in his 50s at the time).  I was so sad and told all my sisters when I got back, and they happily laughed at me, but my mom said, "Oh honey, at least you were running."

Anyway, we were nearing the finish, and the 20-year-old girl was passing me and falling back, etc., I was coming up on an older man.

I remember this vey funny article from Runner's World magazine about a runner blowing past an older man at a race finish, and the embarrassment that ensued, I thought, that won't be me.  But I really felt about 100 meters from the finish that I could sprint (for me).  So I kind of started but then held back, and the announcer (who was announcing all our names as we passed near the finish), said, "Go for it! You can go faster!" And I thought, oh, what the heck.  So I did it, and I finished ahead of both the older man and the 20 year old.  Not that I'm keeping score or anything.  Then there was the beer, and more laughing and smiling.  I still have my beer tickets, by the way.

I finished in I think about 1:57, which puts me at well under 13 minute mile pace.  Yay me!  To me, slow, slow runner, I am amazed and awed, because of the hills and the heat.  I think the crowd helped me to run faster and I so enjoyed it.   I had thought I would come in about 2:10, perhaps later; the course was open for

I would really like to do more long races, because it gives me such a boost.

Venerable Matt Talbot | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

Venerable Matt Talbot | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

I get the saint of the day email from this site, and was pleased to see Matt Talbot listed for today.  What an inspiring man!  I look forward to the day when he is beatified.  Truly, he is a saint for our times and so many, many people.  Even for those who do not struggle with addiction, the message to take life "one day at a time" is so important and healing.

David Mitchell Writes - Dear America...

I had to share this.  There is not a day when I don't need  great laugh, and fortunately I did have this one, today.

Archery

Yesterday was a bad mom day.   Kids were bickering, etc., and I was not able to get much done of "my list."   I'm sure many moms can relate.

For a moment, I thought there was hope.  Some days ago I ordered what I thought were three suction-cup bow and arrow sets for the kids. My middle daughter has really been after me about doing archery (I think it's all the Ranger's Apprentice books that we love, love, love here), but we haven't been able to find anything locally.  I actually just discovered several days ago that our local 4-H started archery this year, so we will do this next year.  So I thought the suction cup ones would at least be fun to play around with; the archery-interested daughter keeps leaving the web browser up with the suction cup set listed.

They arrived yesterday afternoon and I was so, so glad when I saw the box because I thought, wow, I can just send them outside and get some writing done, finally.  When we opened the box it was real bow and arrows.  

In fact, 

this youth archery set.  It says 4-7 years old (I think that was my confusion ordering it), but let me assure you the arrows are really real looking and they go "thunk" when they sink into the target (for now, several cardboard boxes).

So instead of writing, I spent yesterday afternoon 

1.  Writing a contract with my oldest daughter's help (who took archery at LL Bean when we were in Maine several summers back--archery is an abiding interest here-).  She is really concerned about safety, because the archery instructor was really adamant about that.

2. Making everyone sign the safety contract.

3.  Sitting outside supervising real archers.  At least they had fun and we were outside, even if it didn't stop the bickering.  I didn't get any writing done, nor did I attempt it.  I was trying to read a little bit, but kept having to stop every couple of words and say, "Remember, we shoot all our arrows and then all go and retrieve all our arrows."   Rules had to be made about retrieving arrows, righting the boxes when they fall over without other archers continuing to shoot, and changing the direction of the target so we don't shoot arrows into the alleyway behind our house, injuring any people or vehicles that might be passing by. Whew.

We did another hour and a half of archery this morning, but I'm finished for now.  Robin Hood, watch out!

What We've Got Planned for Queen Victoria Day tomorrow....

We want to see this movie!

Now If They Only Had a Jane Austen Set....

Of course, the Jane Austen doll would single-handedly beat the Bronte sisters, but that's another commercial.

Momopoly: Momopoly Book Club: The Handbook for Catholic Moms

Momopoly: Momopoly Book Club: The Handbook for Catholic Moms

Kate Wicker is also discussing The Handbook for Catholic Moms at her blog Momopoly, as we are at the Catholic Post Book Group. It's great to see discussions around about this good book.

Poetry Friday: A Poem for Two Catherines

This poem, I learned this morning when I picked up my Magnificat, is first published in English by Magnificat this month.  It was translated by Dr. Lisa M Vitale, assistant professor of Italian at Southern Connecticut State University.

I have two Catherines dear to me,  a sister and a goddaughter.  So this is for both of them, in honor of St. Catherine's feast day yesterday. 

I looked up the word "brigata" because I thought it might have a special meaning, but from what I can find it means "group," more or less.  Perhaps in this context "the church"?

Lord for Whose Love by St. Catherine of Siena

Lord for whose love

     We are disposed to die

     Give us strength and power

     To acquire your honor with victory.

Your honor almost lost

     Give us strength to be able to acquire it

     That among people you are not known

     Make your holy name renew

     And everyone cry out

     Long live blessed Christ

     Who makes each one saved

     Who believes in you, highest Lord.

Highest Lord, you are Jesus Christ

     Who gave victory to your saints

    Give it to us so that with fixed heart

     We are all constant martyrs for you

     And make each and all

     Following your voice

     Each pick up his cross

     Following you above all banner.

It is you, Lord, we want to follow

     Who so much love you have shown us

     For us you wanted to die on the cross

     So dear the vile commodity cost you

    The soul rebought

     Out of your mercy

     And yet in agreement

    The brigata wants to die for your love.

To all magnanimous, and great zeal

    Give us, oh, our Lord and strengthen genius

     On us send the great zeal

     Oh, our Lord, make each one worthy

     To enter into your kingdom

     After your passion

     And so the crowns

     Of the holy martyr we wear for your love.

Oh, our Lord, may the whole brigata

     By you guided be in every way

     May you be the way, the guide and conductor

     To keep the promises made to us

     We have the documents of paradise

     Done by Saint Matthew

     To possess heaven

     And you who are the gift of it, the giver.

Ho Chi Minh's 12 Recommendations Meme

Our history this year (in addition to Classical Conversations) is Story of the World Volume 4.  We love this as a history source; it's our fourth year doing it and first year doing alone.  I love the Activity Book, the Audio CD narrated by Jim Weiss, and all the corresponding literature suggestions in the Activity books.   Last chapter, about Mao gaining control of China, we saw "Red Scarf Girl" listed as a corresponding literature suggestion.  That is a great book, but definitely for12 year old on up, about a girl's true story of living through the Cultural Revolution in China during the 1950s and 1960s.

Today, we had a chapter about Communism in Asia, primarily Vietnam and Korea.  We learned that Ho Chi Minh, eventual communist leader of N. Vietnam, proposed these 12 Recommendations (6 dos, and 6 donts) to help his Resistance gain power.  I liked a lot of them just as general good guidelines.  Okay, maybe not the ones about the hens, but most of them.   Our 12-year-old got really mad when I told her I liked them (I think she secretly didn't want to play the memory game we had set up for them), because "they are Communist suggestions and we believe in Democracy!"  Yes, that's true, but as I told her, even Communists can have some good ideas.

So here there are, and I have added my comments to make it a meme--as I look through it it is really a mommy meme.  Enjoy and let me know if you do it as a meme!

1.  Do teach people basic hygiene.

Brush your teeth, wash your hands after using the bathroom, drink plenty of water, etc.

2.  Do not say anything that would make a person believe you do not like him or her.

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

3. Do help people with daily tasks (plant crops, fetch water, mend clothes, and so forth).

Pitch in with chores, without complaining.

4. Do not do anything that would offend a person's beliefs or customs.

Don't make fun of your siblings love of Star Wars, or Jane Austen, or Ranger's Apprentice, or whatever they love.

5.  Do act well-behaved, hard-working and disciplined.

Always do your best.

6. Do not bring living hens into the homes of those people who live in the mountains.

No matter how hungry you are, no food in the bedrooms.

7. Do tell interesting and amusing stories that put the Resistance (the Viet Minh) in a good light--just be sure you don't share any secrets!

Funny and interesting stories about the family are good; talking about the dust and clutter behind the schoolroom door, not so much.

8. Do not damage the land, homes or property of any people.

Keep your hands to yourself.

9.  Do learn the customs of each region so the people will trust you; THEN you can gradually teach them not to be superstitious.

If your little brother loves Star Wars, maybe you can try to enjoy it too, before introducing him to Jane Austen.  Or you can both love Ranger's Apprentice books together, if you can't love each other's loves.

10. Do not force anyone to sell or lend you anything.

If your sibling doesn't want to share, he/she doesn't have to share.

11. Do buy useful items like pens, paper, needles and thread for those people who live far from the market.

This is for DH, a recommendation he never breaks, I might add:  When you go to Chicago, always stop at Trader Joe's and give me a call to see if I want anything.

12. Do not break your promises.

Do not break your promises.

Me & My Iphone

Inspired by the always-inspiring Melissa Wiley, who wrote here about A Day in the Life of Her IPod Touch, I've been planning for some time to write about how I use my Iphone because it is just such a wonderful timesaving, fun-making, useful tool for me.

Just for some perspective, I had only had it about 5 months when we went to Canada last summer, and in fear of huge data charges, I turned off most of the features of my Iphone, and used it very sparingly for calls and texts.  When we drove back onto US soil, I was not yet one mile into Michigan, turned it back on, and told my husband, only half-jokingly, "I feel so much better now that I've got my superpowers back."

Since that time, I've expanded my use of the Iphone dramatically. Back before there was an Iphone, I used to talk up my Ipod to friends as my number one home education tool--audio books, etc., but the Iphone goes way beyond that.

I think I'm just going to list a top 10 ways I use my Iphone, other than for phone calls and texting.  I could probably do a number of these posts, but just for a start.....

1.  Universalis is the Liturgy of the Hours online.  The awesome Martin Kochanski is developer of this great website developed an Iphone app that is more than $20, seemingly exhorbitant for an app,, but worth every. single. penny.  I use this one if I'm up early--I don't have to turn on the light and wake anyone else up, and I can read night prayer to my kids in a darkened room.   I use this app multiple times per day, just about every day.   It has Mass readings, too, but I don't use that at Mass, for fear all the people around me think I'm checking email.  I'm not!

2.  Camera.  I love that I can snap a photo and instantly text it or, more commonly because I don't have unlimited texting (such a sadness to my near-teenager), e-mail it to one of my family members in other places.  The newest Iphones, such as that owned by one of my sisters, can take video, but I can just be jealous of her for now until it's my turn to get a new iPhone, some years down the road.

3.  Ipod/music.  I have many, many podcasts and lots of music on my Iphone, so when I'm out on a run I can choose what I want to motivate me or just keep me occupied.  I love that the Iphone has an external speaker, so I don't have to use headphones and can just listen to it straight and still be alert to traffic and other things around me.  It sometimes startles people if I'm at the track and pass them with either music or interview blaring, but I try to keep it low around others.  Podcasts I love should be another post; that's such a great way for me to get information while I'm out and about.

4. The New York Times is great to catch up on world news.  Many moons ago, pre-Internet and blogs, when I worked in DC,  early mornings I would read the NY Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, and for many years it was a treat for me when we traveled back East to buy those newspapers and have the luxury of reading them.  I don't really need to do this anymore, and that saves a lot of travel $$$!  I can get all the articles I'm interested in, and instantly email them to family & friends, or save for future reading. (much like my parents used to cut out and mail me interesting or funny articles from their local paper).

5.  Google maps.  Truly, I don't know what I'd do without this one.  Blinking blue dot tells me where I am, so I can see where I'm going.

6.  Email.  It is hard to respond to messages, so this is actually somewhat of a deficit. I might have a chance to check my email, but it's more time consuming to respond, so it's hard to remember when I get back to the computer what messages I need to send back, because they show up as "read."  I wish there were an easier way to respond quickly to emails.

7.  Game apps.  These keep kids or their mom busy killing time when said kids or mom need a little break.  Word Freak is like "Lingo," the strangely addictive Game Show Channel show (we discovered months ago when someone was sick and couldn't do much but watch tv) for the Iphone.  PopMath is a fun math facts app, Chess and Checkers and IDoodle Lite are also fun.  Days Until is a hugely popular app, with people checking frequently in the weeks before their birthday how many "days until."

8.  The Weather Channel because we are weather-involved at our house.  Someone is always checking this.

9.  E-books.  I have the complete Jane Austen, of course, and that is really handy for read-alouds or quote-checking when the Jane Austen book group meets.  My oldest is reading Pride & Prejudice to me and it is so easy for her to find her place, and we never need to remember to bring the book along.  I also have Homer and a a few others.  I did download the free Kindle app and a few free books for it from Amazon, but I don't find I read them as much.  I much prefer real books for reading things, but it's pretty nice to have this ability.

10.  My newest app is Instapaper, discovered via Melissa Wiley's post.  I didn't catch on to how useful it could be until recently.  Now instead of spending valuable time on my computer catching up on blogs, as much as I love to do, I can "save them for later."  They are instantly synced with my iPhone, and I can catch up whenever I have a free minute here and there, and I don't need to be at my computer.  I anticipate using this one a lot.

One thing I wish there were an app for, (I'm sure I could come up with more, but this just seems a need) is the new Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).  It's not on Ipieta, even thought it seems like every other Church document ever printed is on here, along with the Bible in multiple languages.  A searchable app of the CCC would be so worth it, but it is not available as far as I can tell.

Does this mean I'm hankering after an Ipad?  Not quite yet.  I am tech-y, but tend to be a second-generation getter.  I'm sure there's a better way to put that.  I consider myself tech support at our house, and yet it has been my husband who gave me my first Ipod back in the day (thank you for the thousandth time), after months of talking to me about it, literally sent me out the door to get myself an Iphone during Christmastime a year back (a million times thank you), and is talking up the Ipad, but I'm not quite ready for it.

We've Got Issues

My Holy Week reading was meant to be finishing my re-read of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Lewis can be very powerful during Lent for me, especially when I re-read every couple of years my favorite, "Till We Have Faces. So imagine my surprise when We've Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication by NY Times reporter Judith Warner, arrived from the library. I started to page through it, then couldn't put it down and spent my Holy Week late nights reading it and having a dramatic spiritual and emotional reaction to it. I still haven't finished The Screwtape Letters, but I'm sure this was meant to be my Lenten reading.

I don't think I am able to write about it, but let me just say, "What she said." I was her at the beginning of this book, in the middle and at the end of the book. An honest and complicated book, deserving of the issues she tackles.

A Poem in Honor of National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, I've been seeing around.

I really do enjoy poetry, and wish I would take the time to memorize more or get the kids to memorize more.  It's always really satisfying to have a poem "down." For now, just reading lots of good poetry.

I bring this one out every March 25--the Annunciation.

Mary's Girlhood by Dante Gabriel Rossetti


This is that blessed Mary, pre-elect
God's Virgin. Gone is a great while, and she
Dwelt young in Nazareth of Galilee.
Unto God's will she brought devout respect,
Profound simplicity of intellect,
And supreme patience. From her mother's knee
Faithful and hopeful; wise in charity;
Strong in grave peace; in pity circumspect.

So held she through her girlhood; as it were
An angel-water'd lily, that near God
Grows and is quiet. Till, one dawn at home,
She woke in her white bed, and had no fear
At all,--yet wept till sunshine, and felt aw'd:
Because the fulness of the time was come.

A Fresh Start

I intend this blog to be a way to jot notes about books, keep book lists, and organize all my reading and other interests a little better.  I also may republish some of the writing from my older blogs when the mood strikes, or when the topic is pertinent.  I think mostly I'll be pretty sketchy about writing here, when I can, but I love a place to bookmark writing, humor, etc. I love around the Internet, so there will be that as well.

I've set up the pages for the various books groups (or at least, I plan to) so that my Amazon account is credited--I'm sure for "millions and millions of dollars" as my youngest would put it--but I want to be transparent about the fact that if you are ordering for one of the groups and go through my link, I may get a little something at Amazon.

Also, I'm giving notice here that I receive review copies of books and other media from publishers that I will be reviewing here as well as at The Catholic Post Book Group.  I would be happy to review any kind of dark chocolate (Trader Joe's, are you listening?), running shoes or running gear (Zappos, you're my BFF! really!), or travel destinations (US and European destinations preferred), as well, in case anyone wants to send me some "review copies" of those! LOL.