The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
5/31/07
Feline Frivolity
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
5/29/07
The Illusive Snake-Handling Daughter Caught on Film!
The Kids
Yesterday they both went to a rocket launching in the morning with some hockey friends. My daughter and one of the boys there found a milk snake and had to pick it up and hold it and get bitten by it, numerous times of course. It didn't bother her in the least. She was in snake heaven. Last week she found two garter snakes in our lawn and corraled them in a pail to watch, and hold, for a while. Yeah, I think she chose wisely when she decided on science for a degree!
5/27/07
Memorial Day
Have a great Memorial Day tomorrow and while you are picnicing be sure to celebrate those memories!
Here is the history of Memorial Day from the Waterloo, Ny website:
The story of Memorial Day begins in the summer of 1865, when a prominent
local druggist, Henry C. Welles, mentioned to some of his friends at a social
gathering that while praising the living veterans of the Civil War it would be
well to remember the patriotic dead by placing flowers on their graves. Nothing
resulted from this suggestion until he advanced the idea again the following
spring to General John B. Murray. Murray, a civil war hero and intensely
patriotic, supported the idea wholeheartedly and marshalled veterans' support.
Plans were developed for a more complete celebration by a local citizens'
committee headed by Welles and Murray.
On May 5, 1866, the Village was
decorated with flags at half mast, draped with evergreens and mourning black.
Veterans, civic societies and residents, led by General Murray, marched to the
strains of martial music to the three village cemeteries. There impressive
ceremonies were held and soldiers' graves decorated. One year later, on May 5,
1867, the ceremonies were repeated. In 1868, Waterloo joined with other
communities in holding their observance on May 30th, in accordance with General
Logan's orders. It has been held annually ever since.
Waterloo held the first
formal, village wide, annual observance of a day dedicated to honoring the war
dead. On March 7, 1966, the State of New York recognized Waterloo by a
proclamation signed by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. This was followed by
recognition from Congress of the United States when the House of Representatives
and the Senate unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 587 on May 17th
and May 19th, 1966 respectively. This reads in part as follows: "Resolved that
the Congress of the United States, in recognition of the patriotic tradition set
in motion one hundred years ago in the Village of Waterloo, NY, does hereby
officially recognize Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial
Day..."
On May 26, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson, signed a Presidential
Proclamation recognizing Waterloo as the Birthplace of Memorial Day.
5/26/07
In the Garden
Next up will be some tomato plants for the garden. I would like to find an heirloom variety somewhere local, but I’m not sure what I will find. We planted the rest of the veggie garden several days ago. I think the threat of frost has finally passed! I have been faithfully watering the soil daily because it has been so dry. When I went out to check for progress this afternoon I was pleasantly greeted by several lovely radish seedlings sprouting up through the soil. I knew they would be first of course. They take no time at all to grow. I planted about a third of the radish seeds in order to spread out the harvest. I did the same with the lettuce and Swiss chard. The rest of the garden is planted with: Matt’s Wild cherry tomatoes (from Mexico), heirloom yellow crookneck squash, Italian zucchini, bush beans, spinach, and spaghetti squash.
I also have two lovely pepper plants given to me by Erik, a friend from Germany who works with Earle. He was here a week ago and we had him and another associate over for a cookout. He brought the peppers as well as a lovely stainless olive oil decanter. It is a beautiful and well-constructed object as all items made in Germany tend to be. It is beautiful and useful both and makes a lovely addition to my kitchen countertop! The pic to the left is the blossoming pepper plant, I'm just not sure if it is the red or yellow pepper!
5/25/07
My co-op class, Medieval Art, working on their stained glass designs. Today we used a tutorial (http://www.clanbadge.com/tutorial.htm) to draw Celtic knots. They turned out great!
I have really enjoyed teaching this class and have already signed up to teach again in the fall!
Last Co-op For The Spring
For this eight week rotation my son took Medieval Art (taught by me), Shakespeare, and gym. In Medieval art we learned about the time period and the influence it had on the art that was created. We studied the Book of Kells http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Kells, Gothic architecture, stained glass, and Celtic knotwork. Shakespeare class was an exciting read-through of "The Taming of the Shrew"in preparation for a production of the same we will be putting on this September.
Today we submitted a request to use our church as the site for the play. We should find out after Monday night whether it was approved. We also finished casting today. My son is playing Lucentio:
Just as Bianca
is Katherine’s foil—her opposite—the intrepid, lovesick Lucentio
serves as a foil for Petruccio throughout the play. Lucentio reflects the sort
of idyllic, poetical view of love that Petruccio’s pragmatism dismisses:
Lucentio is struck by love for Bianca at first sight, says that he will die if
he cannot win her heart, and subsequently puts into motion a romantic and
fanciful plan to do so. Whereas love in the play is often mitigated by economic
and social concerns, Lucentio is swept up in a vision of courtly love that does
not include the practical considerations of men like Petruccio. Throughout much
of the play, then, Lucentio and Bianca’s relationship appears to be refreshing
and pure in comparison to the -relationship between Petruccio and Katherine.
Petruccio’s decision to marry is based on his self-proclaimed desire to win a
fortune, while Lucentio’s is based on romantic love. Moreover, while Petruccio
devotes himself to taming his bride, Lucentio devotes himself to submitting to
and ingratiating himself with his. While Petruccio stages his wedding as a
public spectacle, Lucentio elopes with Bianca.
The contrast between Lucentio
and Petruccio distinguishes The Taming of the Shrew from other Elizabethan
plays. Through Lucentio and Bianca, the play looks beyond the moment when the
romantic lovers are wed and depicts the consequences of the disguises and
subterfuges they have charmingly employed to facilitate their romance. Once the
practical business of being married begins, Lucentio’s preoccupation with
courtly love seems somewhat outmoded and ridiculous. In the end, it is
Petruccio’s disturbing, flamboyant pragmatism that produces a happy and
functioning marriage, and Lucentio’s poeticized instincts leave him humiliated
when Bianca refuses to answer his summons. Love certainly exists in the world of
The Taming of the Shrew, but Lucentio’s theatrical love, attractive though it
is, appears unable to cope with the full range of problems and considerations
facing married couples in adult life.
5/24/07
First Things First
During the course of the party we were given the usual tour of the available supplies, encouraged with suggestions for faithbook themes, and shown numerous lovely example pages done by the host and the consultant. Then we were given a task. "Write, on this index card sized paper, what you would want to say about your faithbook album and who you would want to read it. Pretend you will not live through this year." Hey, this is tough stuff. I thought this was a "party". Can't we just have the snacks and call it a night? So, we all took up our brand new, cap-never-been-off-before felt tipped pens and composed. I am not a writer, I am a painter, but I liked what poured itself from my pen tip. With a little revising I could actually see using this poem as the intro page to my faithbook, someday. First I have a graduation album to complete for my 18 year old daughter. Then maybe I will have to start sharing my faith through photos and words and art. We'll see.
If you are interested in finding out more about faithbooking check out the Creative Memories website: http://www.creativememories.com/LandingPages/Page?folder=Promo3
Here am I
at the gate
the novel of my life is complete
"the end"
in indelible ink
a finished work
Who will read my story?
my husband
my sister
my children
my friends
The pages are open for all to see
laid bare
the good and the bad
the wicked and the wonderful
all by God's grace
His pen
His ink
His faithfulness
Through it all
for my good
for my life
to tell
His story