5/31/07

Feline Frivolity


Our three little hoodlums, oops I mean cats (Ahem* clears throat), keep us entertained most days with their antics. Their names seem to fit their personalities. Percy, is quiet, anxious, and likes to eat way too much. Each morning he throws up near, or in, his food bowl because he has over-eaten. He is the prettiest one, but is also not the sharpest tool in the shed. Doesn't the name Percy just seem to do him justice? His nickname is pelt. He has a lovely pelt and would look great as a stuffed cat someday on a fireplace mantle. Ok, I know what you're thinking. I wouldn't really....Then there is Truffle, aka: Truffle-buffle or little pisser. He's our bad boy. Let's just say there is a good reason for that second nickname. Last year we bought him a leatherette bomber jacket for Christmas. His given name is descriptive of his color, that of a chocolate truffle candy, but his other names fit his personality much better. Daisey Mae rounds out our little family of felines. She is my son's cat and is spoiled rotten. She is a precious ball of soft grey fur with tan markings around her little muzzle and spots on her belly. With her tiny little fox-shaped head and her extra wide seal-shaped body, she is just too precious for words. It is no wonder she is a spoiled brat! I call her Daisey-cakes. You just want to eat her up in all her sweetness.


What are some of your cats' names? How did they come by them? What do you suppose is their secret name only they know?


The Naming Of Cats

by T. S. Eliot



The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,

It isn't just one of your holiday games;

You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter

When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,

Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,

Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--

All of them sensible everyday names.

There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,

Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:

Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--

But all of them sensible everyday names.

But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,

A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,

Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,

Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?

Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,

Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,

Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-

Names that never belong to more than one cat.

But above and beyond there's still one name left over,

And that is the name that you never will guess;

The name that no human research can discover--

But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.

When you notice a cat in profound meditation,

The reason, I tell you, is always the same:

His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation

Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:

His ineffable effable

Effanineffable

Deep and inscrutable singular Name.


5/29/07

The Illusive Snake-Handling Daughter Caught on Film!

My son took this picture of my daughter and I as we were on a nature walk last fall. Notice our soon to be full-time science major turning over every rock in search of lizards, snakes, spiders, insects, anything that moves really. Read the post below for more info about "snake girl."

The Kids

" So, what are the kids up to these days?", you ask.
My son is trying to finish up his schoolwork for the year. To the right you see him working his way through an end of the year free reading choice, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with his reading partner, Daisey Mae. He is finished with math for now and tomorrow he wraps up world history. Over the next two weeks he will complete economics, health, English, and biology. We have already decided on some of his curriculum for next year. I can't believe he will be in 11th grade! He is my baby.


Other than his schoolwork, he is working on a walking stick for one of his hockey buddies and a connecting series of nine fantasy maps in the style of the maps in the Lord of the Rings books. The neighbors have hired him to maintain lawns and rebuild stone walls that have fallen over. He was my garden rototiller this year because my husband was still on crutches from his knee surgery. Whatever free-time he has left is usually devoted to talking to friends online, playing games online, and learning to drive.


My daughter is finished with her community college classes for the semester. She ended up with an A in English, an A- in chem II, and an A- in Calc. Yes, I know it isn't polite to brag, but I am going to do some shameless bragging anyway! She tutored a girl in chem this year and her professor recommended her as a tutor again next year. The math lab wants her as a tutor too, but she is not so interested in that. Then there is the English professor who sat down next to her one day after class to say, "Julia, I know you are a science major, but have you considered majoring in English?" Sheesh, must be nice to have so many gifts and choices! This summer she is taking calc II and this fall she is signed up for bio I, gym (because she will be full-time then), calcIII, computer art, and an elective that escapes me now (perhaps philosophy?).


She continues to work at Kohl's and volunteer at a handicap riding program but, the biggest news to her is that her boyfriend is coming home from school this Friday. The other big event in her life is her new 20 gallon fish tank. She has been keeping fish for a while now, but this new tank opens up a world of possibilities!

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!
The kids, yeah they're keepers. And I am a shameless braggart of a mom!

5/27/07

Memorial Day

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a time to look back in memorium to those veterans who gave their lives for our country. It has also become a day to remember those departed loved ones who were not veterans of war. But, how many of us know where Memorial Day started? Who was responsible for this holiday, this time of honored reflection? My mother, who has not been with us now for several years, knew the answers to these questions. She grew up in the birthplace of Memorial Day, Waterloo, NY. As I remember her today I recall with fond memory the tales she used to tell of the grand Memorial Day parades down the main street in Waterloo. It was a joyful time in her life and a memory making experience as well. She was the drum majorette for the marching band, a medal winning, baton twirler extraordinaire! Yep, my mom, living out the history of our country and its celebration of our freedoms and valor right there in a small town in NY forever memorialized as the birthplace of a federal holiday.

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


Today was an outside workday. The weather was fantastic, not too hot or cold. Earle and I braved the crowds at Lowe’s to scoop up some wave petunias for our deck planter boxes.

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!
Things in the yard are coming along nicely now, but we did have some damage and losses over the winter this year. One of our low evergreen shrubs had to come out. It was completely brown and past being revived. Also, some of our holly bushes died back and lost a lot of dead leaves. I'm not sure what happened to them. Maybe it is part of their cycle. I have never had holly before. They all blossomed abundantly and are showing a lot of new growth. I'll just have to wait and see.

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

Today was the last Friday of our homeschool Co-op until fall. The ending is bittersweet. We are that much nearer to the end of the school year, but we won't see some of these friends again until fall. We moved to this area two and a half years ago and attended the co-op then, but the group of kids and the course offerings did not click with my kids. Then we took a year off to focus on academics only and to give ourselves time to let go of the old life and to embrace the changes that brought us to this new home and town. I hesitated to jump back into the co-op. After all, it hadn't worked before. This time was different and I am pleased we joined. I only wish my daughter had been able to participate. Being a senior this year she has spent her time taking classes at the community college. She has already moved beyond co-op age, emotionally.

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

Recently I was invited to attend a Creative Memories party. Years ago, at least ten, I put together an album for my family. My kids are now young adults of 16 and 18. Looking back at that album is a delight and I am glad I made the effort, but I had not really intended to make another one. But this party intrigued me. Faithbooking: a record of my spiritual life and God's faithfulness. This I might have to make time for in my life.

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