While I am gone...

...don't forget to send me your reading list. One book, ten books, a hundred books. The History of the English Speaking Peoples, Grisham, People Magazine, Jane Austen...I'm looking for real lists, not pretend. It's not to impress, it's just to inspire. I love lists of books...old friends, future friends, books I just had to agree to disagree with. You never know when a list could include the book that changes your whole life. And I am not kidding when I say that.

I know I haven't heard from all of you, and I would really like to. I'll start compiling the list on June 5th, so email me while you can. The contact information is in the sidebar. You can also send me a link to your blog if you would like me to link to a post that includes your list. I'm happy to do that.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Inspired by friends

"We all know that something is eternal. And it ain’t houses and it ain’t names, and it ain’t earth, and it ain’t even the stars . . . everybody knows in their bones that something is eternal, and that something has to do with human beings. All the greatest people ever lived have been telling us that for five thousand years and yet you’d be surprised how people are always losing hold of it. There’s something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being."

Our Town by Thornton Wilder
via My friend Miz Booshay at Quiet Life

Today's trip to the library might have to include a copy of Our Town. It's been at least two decades since I have visited this play, and the quotes Donna posted are beckoning me to further deviate from my reading list.


And wisdom from dear Tonia at Intent:

Live first.

Blog later.

Sounds like a plan, doesn't it? Our weather is unusually cool for this season, and that is reason enough for me to celebrate. I've survived a root canal (yes, survived; that's the word that seems to fit best) and I am anticipating the return of my brain this Friday. Just in time to cook up a Mexican feast for a family reunion in Bear Valley. With family coming in from Colorado, Minnesota and Washington, things will be extra quiet at this little blip in the blogosphere. It's time to live....then blog. Pictures of the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains and some of my favorite people will be forthcoming.

Homemade Danish

1 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine

To make the crust, combine the above with 2T water in an electric mixer to form a soft ball. Divide dough in half. Roll each half to a 4 x 12-inch long rectangle on an ungreased cookie sheet.

1/2 cup margarine
1t almond extract
1 cup flour
3 eggs
slivered almonds for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water, margarine and almond extract to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and immediately pour in flour. Stir vigorously until flour is completely incorporated.

Add eggs to flour mixture, one at a time. When dough is smooth and shiny, spread over the crust. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Allow to cool.

Drizzle your favorite white icing over the pastry and sprinkle slivered almonds on top. Cut the Danish Pastry into diagonal strips, arrange on a platter and serve.

16 servings.


Some comments are necessary.

1) if you don't have almonds, walnuts work fine.
2) if you have a small family, make this for company or plan on buying new jeans. Did you count up the calories? Probably best not to.

These were made by my daughter last weekend. Yikes, they were GOOD. So good that we gave half to the neighbors and headed for the treadmill. Too good. And beautiful.

Twenty-two years

This evening, if you listen carefully, you will be able hear the hum of Pomp and Circumstance at the local middle school. Eighth graders are celebrating their graduation tonight, and the evening marks the end of my husband's twenty-second year of teaching. Three of those were spent at a high school on the coast, but the last nineteen years have been spent in room six, teaching eighth graders the English language and American history. Change is always the name of the public education game, and it seems to be coming hand-over-fist these days, but he continues to do a job worth celebrating.

So we lift our glasses to celebrate our favorite teacher of the year, toasting twenty-two years of diligent and enthusiastic labor.

Despite all those rumors of teachers having summers off, there will be a lot of work done this summer. Making the calls on the rec. league basketball court, fixing all the broken fences around the property, and being the Merit Badge Monitor for two Boy Scouts in our midst will be part of it, but his expertise is always welcome around the table, too; I look forward to his company as we finish our family school year.

A reminder

I'm requesting, once again, for all of my dear blog readers to send in their reading lists. Please email me by June 4th with your current reading stack. Feel free to include books being read by your husbands or wives, your children, your roommates, or your mother in the granny flat. If you have a reading dog, I'd certainly want to know what he/she is reading as well. You can reach me *here* Thanks to those who have already written; I will look forward to hearing from the rest of you before June 4th.

Soundtrack round-up

If you lived nearby, you would have seen a sage green Sienna van moving in and out and around town over and over the last twenty-four hours. I am sure there is a medical facility in the county that we have not visited, it just doesn't feel like it. No fear -- nothing serious. Just a bit of lab work needed, a couple of appointments for Gram, a few brackets needed on the braces, and a follow-up for the cough that wouldn't end in the eldest child. It all adds up pretty quickly. So, what's a woman to do but listen to music here, there and everywhere. In the spirit of "variety is the spice of life", here's what's been playing on our CD player:


Bruce Springsteen Greatest Hits

Driving all over town makes me feel old. Bruce makes me feel young. Played at high volume, it fits the bill...perfectly.


Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1; Spohr: Violin Concerto No. 8 with Hilary Hahn

A new addition to our music. Beautiful. Calming. Inspiring.


Linus and Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi by George Winston

The only problem is you can't dance like a Peanuts character when you are driving... but cheery and toe-tapping.


Veggie Rocks

Let's just say this was NOT my selection, but how 'bout Bob and Larry Sing the 70s? This CD includes such favs as Jesus is Just Alright, Proud Mary, We are Family and The Lion Sleeps Tonight. No need for a lyric sheet for that CD. Those words are taking up valuable gray matter and can be pulled out of the archives at a moment's notice, even during the brain-weak month of May.

For the evening, you can find me slumped on the couch, margarita in hand, watching Eragon. There's a guy on the other couch with a 101+ fever, and this movie choice is in his honor. I hope it is better than it looks, but anything is better than getting behind the wheel again.

Spring Ball

The Spring Ball for our classical homeschool group was last Thursday. Here are my three dancers in all their finery. The guy in the brown suit has a shiner on his left eye, but that was Scout meeting related and says nothing about his dancing ability. I promise.

And here they are with their chaperone for the evening. We had a great time.

A call for emails and announcing the astore

During the first year of A Circle of Quiet, I took a "What are you reading?" poll and shared all the results in four or five posts. I am ready to do that again. It is a great way to get to hear from all my blog readers, and I find suggestions for my lists of books to be read.

So, please email me by June 4th with your current reading stack. Feel free to include books being read by your husbands or wives, your children, your roommates, or your mother in the granny flat. If you have a reading dog, I'd certainly want to know what he/she is reading as well. You can reach me *here* I will look forward to hearing from ALL OF YOU!

And announcing.....

I've created my own store at Amazon.com. Just another shameless plug to encourage you to support this site with your purchases.

You can use the link above or the button in the sidebar to access it.

Many thanks.

Spring reading challenge update

I have been a very undisciplined reader this spring. I haven't even looked at my list of books I posted in March. Of course I have kept reading, just not necessarily what I put on my list. SO....how have I done? Let's see:

ACTUALLY READ:

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce, John Piper
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce & the Heroic Fight to End Slavery, Eric Metaxas
Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose
Whose Body?, Dorothy Sayers
Clouds of Witness, Dorothy Sayers
Crocodile on the Sandbank, Elizabeth Peters (and two others. Enjoyable, light reading. Funny characters.)

ADDED:
Broken Vessels by Andre Dubus (HT: Wittingshire)
Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare (added since we got to see the play last week-end...a remarkably well-done high school production!
We Shall Not Sleep, Anne Perry (fifth and final volume in her World War I series)

CHANGED TO:
Good Poems for Hard Times, Garrison Keillor (editor)
AND
Given: Poems, Wendell Berry
INSTEAD OF:
The Oxford Book of English Verse Edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch

IN PROCESS (yes, still):
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens (still listening.)
Henry IV, Part One, Shakespeare
Henry IV, Part Two, Shakespeare
Peril and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church, Withrow and Withrow
The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class, David Kidder, Noah Oppenheim

NOT STARTED YET:
Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
Monks and Mystics: Chronicles of the Medieval Church
Courage and Conviction: Chronicles of the Reformation Church (both by Withrow and Withrow)

Just a reminder: it's not about finishing a stack or checking off a list. It's about letting the books soak in and change our lives. I make lists to remind myself to keep reading and to make sure I include books that I might not reach for without thinking.

I have been so happy with my choices this season. Each and every one is a keeper!

This week-end, the scouts are heading to Big Sur for a three-day backpacking trip, which means I'll have some free time. I've got some household projects desperately begging me to give them much-needed attention (think decluttering on steroids and vacuuming as an extreme sport), but I plan to listen to Great Expectations as I work, and to curl up with Henry IV when I collapse at night. I'm glad I reviewed my list before the week-end came. It makes me look forward to the hard work rather than dreading it.

Calling

In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

A few words on the difficulty of adjusting to a calling:

"The worst time was twilight. As the days grew longer and lighter and dusk came later, melancholy would descend, longings, a sinking and an infinite loneliness as if she were estranged, not only from all she had left, but from everyone in the abbey - except perhaps the abbess - And I cannot go bothering her with my colors.

Dame Ursula and Dame Clare had seen the melancholy and had learned - odd though it seemed to Dame Ursula's way of thinking - that Sister Philippa was better if left to fight it out alone. 'Go down to the bottom of the garden,' said Dame Ursula, 'and turn and see the lights and think of the warmth of interest and companionship we have here - and everything we need. Then think of those who have nothing, the truly lonely, the sick, the refugees. That will make you feel better.'

'Go down to the bottom of the garden,' said Dame Claire, 'and look back and see our buildings against the sky, particularly if there is a gale and the weathercock is spinning. You will see the abbey riding with the church cross at its prow - the light from the west wing just strikes it. The abbey is like a ship under its flag and makes you proud to be in it.'"

These words jumped off the page at me. Sister Philippa was adjusting to life as a newly cloistered nun, and, yes, my calling is not new and not cloistered from the world. I am, however, immersed in a community, and the rhythms of my day are a liturgy of sorts. And though my calling is not new, I still need some perspective at times. When I am overwhelmed or edgy, I will often go down to the garden and look back up at our house. At night, I can see lights shining out of windows upstairs and down. I might hear muffled voices, but no questions or demands.

When I look at the advice of the two nuns, though, Dame Claire's wins my vote. I am not motivated by what others do not have. That might motivate activism of some sort, but I don't find it reassuring; comparing to others is not a good source of encouragement. I prefer a vision of purpose, be it a ship in the seas, a bulwark for defense, a refuge in the storm, a sanctuary in which to grow, etc.

We have no weather vane on top of the house to show the strength of the wind, but the lights coming out of the windows, and the echoes of voices barely heard from the bottom of the garden, do remind me that we are doing good work in our corner of the world. Small things, done well on a daily basis, matter. All it took was five minutes in the garden at night to remember.

Overheard at my house

We were having to discuss the broken ceiling fan globe that was discovered in the master bedroom. The eight-year-old was in the hot seat, being questioned on how it all happened.

"Well, I was trying to get the flies out of your room."

"With a shoe," clarified the fourteen-year-old.

"And.....?" added the Dad, trying to get to the bottom of the issue.

"Well, apparently I missed the fly, Dad."

Watching and Reading

Rough Riders

"Will you be so kind, Mr Crane, with your camera, to take a picture of this regiment on this glorious hill, for we will always live in its shadow."

I have a lot to learn about this piece of history; let the reading begin:




Rough Riders by Theodore Roosevelt



Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography

...more later...

Five reasons to celebrate

Today, and always, these children are reason enough for my heart to celebrate.

Mother's Day is coming

But thanks to the fact that we are happy Costco shoppers, we've got the Mom (as in moi) present thing covered:

AND

House: Seasons One and Two

No breakfast in bed, thanks. Just this:

and the sun streaming in the window. A good book or some good company will be plenty of nourishment.

For the other mom on the property:

1) a front yard in beautimous order
2) a bouquet of flowers
3) a date for lunch at the restaurant down the road

What do you have planned for the mom in your life?

Articles

Mom gave me a ditty from Good Housekeeping last night - a short article from the blogger at Notes from the Trenches and In the Trenches of Motherhood.

The article was a hilarious list of nine rules for throwing out the garbage. My husband sat with his jaw dropped as I read it aloud; he had that creepy, someone has been listening at the door, feeling as I read. It was way too familiar. My favorite was one suggestion I had yet to think of: "If you throw garbage into the empty can because you 'can't find' the bags, I will make you wash out the can...with your toothbrush." If you want to know the garbage scenarios at our house, grab the Good Housekeeping with Princess Diana on the cover. Page 189 will have the dialogue ready for your amusement.

I traveled over to the blogs linked above and was delighted to find beautiful photography, humorous reflections on the homeschooling life, and plenty of practical ideas for living and learning. I'm adding these to the destinations list in my sidebar.

We've also received the May issue of Touchstone Magazine.



My favorite article is, once again, not linked on the website, so you'll just have to order a subscription to read Reduced to Tears: on Taking the Body Too Seriously by Annegret Hunter. But, you should subscribe anyway. You won't be sorry.

Another article worth the cost is Pilgrim's Illness: on the Spiritual Journeys of the Sick & the Dying by Jim Forest.

Every May....

I think I have Alzheimer's. I realized it two years ago at the library. We were all piling in the van, bags of books spilling into the back and in between the seats. It was a warm day, so I was uncomfortable and feeling rushed to get somewhere cool. I started the van and then heard my third child say, "Mom. You forgot Z; I'll go get him." No light bulb flashed over the top of my head; no "aha!" moment. I thought child number three was wrong, and I told him to stay in the car. "We're leaving" I said with authority. "Nope. I am going to get Z," he said with a voice that was so stubborn it should have sounded really familiar. I followed him inside with a frown the size of the Grand Canyon, and I marched up and down aisles with the confidence of someone who Is Right. I kept that confident march up until the very last aisle where we found Z in a comfy chair with a good book. "Oh, is it time to leave?" he asked in that sleepy, no idea what time it is voice. I guess we did bring him to the library.

The fact that I forgot Z was not the problem. I have enough other people in the van to keep the numbers straight. The problem was that I was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was not in the library. I was SURE we had not brought him. It's a funny story now, but it scared me then.

So, I went to the doctor. He spent an hour with me, which in our current medical climate is a shockingly large amount of time, and he asked me a lot of questions. I thought maybe I was losing my mind. Maybe it was depression? I didn't know what depression was like, but I knew I was forgetting lots of stuff and I had very little energy. The doctor was patient, asked me questions like, "Do you ever drive down the road and forget where you are?" and "Do you ever hate your life so much that you just drive away and plan on never coming back?"

After our hour together, he was convinced I was not depressed and not losing my mind. BUT, it was obvious I had a lot of responsibilities and stress. No surprise there. He recommended walking as a great source of exercise, a time to relax and refresh myself and as a natural mood booster. He also suggested some vitamins, and I have found those to be very helpful. Even with those recommendations, though, I still find May to be Losing My Mind Month. This year I am remembering my library patrons, but I keep losing my keys. So, I took a proactive step today: I had three extra sets of keys made. The guy looked at me a little funny when I asked for three sets; I just muttered something about losing my mind and it being cheaper than hiring him to make a new key for the van when I couldn't find any.

Maybe my brain has family it needs to visit every spring, or a timeshare in Hawaii that is only available in May. Well, June is coming, and I hope my brain will be happy to be home again. I sure miss it when it is gone.

College bound?

Then I suggest reading this:

"Students and loans: 'Til death do us part"
Chicago Sun Times, May 6, 2007

They are former students trapped under the weight of student loans. The same vehicle that allowed them to get a college education has left many graduates buried in debt with no reasonable way to climb out.

We will not be paying for our children's college educations, so this is a topic worthy of dinner time discourse. There are two colleges our oldest is looking at, but one costs approximately $26,000 without housing and food costs, and the other costs approximately $16,000 including it all. I cannot see how it could be worth $10,000 x 4 = $40,000 + housing/food = ??? more in potential debt to go to college "A" rather than college "B".

Fortunately, we have two more years of talking before someone has to write a check to the college of their choice.

HT: Mental multivitamin

Book meme

From my lovely cyber-friend Kathie comes a book meme. These are simple questions, but we made them more complicated by the family conversations we kept having. My husband declared that he didn't want to be anyone but himself, as did my fifteen-year-old son. That's probably a good sign of their self-esteem, but I refuse to think the opposite of myself for having to choose from a long list to get three. As for people one would want to meet? Said fifteen-year-old thinks fictional characters are best in books, and he probably has a point. But, once again, I had to whittle the list down to three. How about characters that scare? I had a hard time with that one, but probably because I hate being scared and block those parts of books out of my mind when I am done reading.

Three characters you wish were real so you could meet them:


1. Charlotte Pitt from Anne Perry's mystery novels. Spunky, adventurous, and living in England in the late 19th century. That's three good reasons to meet and visit.

2. I have to agree with Kathie -- meeting my hobbit friends Frodo and Sam would be delightful. But I'd go ahead and have a pint with them (-:

3. Adam Dalgliesh from P.D. James's mystery stories. Poet and Scotland Yard detective, he sounds fascinating.

Three characters you would like to be.


1. The mother from The Hawk and the Dove. She is able to stand on her own as a slightly eccentric, very wise, kind but not sappy mother.

2. Brother Cadfael from the mystery series bearing his name by Ellis Peters. My husband thought I should request to be him after he survives the Crusades to become a monk, but it seems I would need to take the whole package to get the end result. We all agreed that what is attractive about his character is his contentment. I love the vocation of working the herb gardens and creating herbal remedies for people. All of that and solving mysteries, too.

3. Molly Gibson from Wives and Daughters. She is kind and loyal, interested in the natural world, forthright when needed. And she gets Roger in the end. Perfect.



Three characters who scare you.

1. St. John Rivers from Jane Eyre

2. Inspector Jauvert from Les Miserables

3. I am sure there is a Dickens character that scares me...but I can't think of one right now.

I realize now that what scares me are self-righteous folks with a passion for what is right and little or no concern for the feelings of others. Heavy on the justice, utterly lacking in mercy. Weird sci-fi creatures don't scare me, but probably because I don't have the imaginative abilities to see them as real.

Later conversations with my daughter and husband revealed some P.G. Wodehouse options. Husband would love to meet Jeeves; my daughter would love to meet Freddie Widgeon. Jeeves could solve all our problems and Freddie is always good for some laughs. Daughter also thought she'd like to meet Tom from The Hawk and The Dove, but only if he decided not to be a monk (-:

Anyone want to play? Let me know if you do.

Gerontology practicum meets the B. Q.

Boundary Queen, that is. Yes, the idyllic Gram next door in the granny flat scenario has been on the fritz lately. There are several reasons for the emotional dip. One is that my wonderful nephew is returning home from Air Force service in Japan. I love my nephew...but...I don't want him living in my granny flat. It's hard to explain, and my mother certainly doesn't understand my reasoning, but I am holding firm on this one. Mom is very, very unhappy with me.

I know, though, that it's not just that. When you are older, suddenly all sorts of things start fading away. Mom doesn't drive, so sometimes she gets lonely. She has plenty of friends, but she will not ask for a ride, and so she gets even lonelier. I am happy to take her around as often as is possible for me, and even a little more some weeks, but I can't provide a social life for Mom.

Add to that the fact that Mom's hearing is greatly diminished. Last November, she experienced sudden hearing loss in one ear; all the hearing in that ear gone OVERNIGHT. It drives Mom crazy that she doesn't know what happened, and I know she lives in fear of losing more hearing in her good ear. She loved going to a book group at church last month, but she didn't manage to hear the right title for this month's choice. It's hard for her to just get up the guts and call someone to ask.

I think most elderly folks know that they won't have the same energy, they might need to deal with some serious illness, they might have to give up a favorite sport or hobby...but it is hard to look ahead to the little ways that chip away at independence and vanity. The hair that starts falling out too quickly. The handing over of the car keys. The quiet afternoons in the kitchen with no visitors and all you have to listen to are your own thoughts about stressful things like hearing loss and your daughter's firm boundaries.

Sometimes being loving and kind means doing the hard things. But just because it's loving doesn't make it any less difficult to put down the boundary. Boundary Queen is wishing she could hand the crown to a substitute for a few weeks. Alas, no such luck.