Today's prompt is: HOME.
Ready..............
Go!
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Home,home, home. So many sayings, so many memories.
I've been going through boxes of pictures. And I means big old honking boxes of pictures. They were Mom's and she just saved EVERYTHING. But I've been most interested in trying to look *into* the photos. To see what my childhood home looked like. See if I could remember what it felt like, smelled like, tasted like. It's almost like peering around the corner of the pictures and stepping into that world again.
I remember my childhood home's kitchen. The push buttons on the stove. The washer and dryer running. The piles of papers everywhere because not one of us ever learned how to clean as we went.
Evaporative air conditioning, so that it was only cool if you sat right under the vent. One telephone with a LOOOOOOOOONG cord that reached into the bedrooms. The piano in the living room that everbody ran their fingers along as they walked out the door. First boyfriends who sat on the couch and watched TV with us and shyly pecked me on the cheek on the porch when they left.
Oh, home. And all that it means.......
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Stop.
What does home mean to you?
]]>Do you ever feel like you're in a reading rut? That you don't read enough variety? That you need to branch out, spread your literary wings and explore other genres, flavors, styles?
Yes. Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. That's why I'm always listening for what other people are enjoying that they are reading. I have a younger friend who is into fantasy in a big way, and it's not a genre that I've ever been particularly drawn to--other than, say, Lord of the Rings or Narnia, if those count as fantasy.
When she put a fantasy novel in my hands and said, "Want to try this? I really liked it." I was tempted to say no. But she is such a dear, and we really share a lot of the same perspectives on things (albeit mine are more staid and OLD!). So I took a flyer on it and completely enjoyed the book.
I still don't read fantasy. But a good book is a good book, and I'm happy that someone opened my eyes to something that was out of my box.
What about YOU? Read anything I should be reading lately???
First, I love me some Earl Scruggs. And banjo!
And Allison Krause sings Molly Ban:
:
Emmylou Harris sings Lambs on the Green Hills:
But we'll end with Cindy by the Chieftains and Ricky Skaggs:
Happy Monday, ya'll!
Mike and Psmith in the City by P.G. Wodehouse. These are the first two books in the Psmith series. Mike is basically a book about the English school experience of two young men, the Mike of the title and Psmith, the "p" being silent in this case. It is about cricket, too, and I had to go read the rules of cricket (and watch some cricket on YouTube--isn't the internet amazing?) to really get into the book, but once I did, it was quite amusing. Mike's father falls upon hard times, so in the second book, he has to go to work at the bank instead of going on to University. Psmith follows and carries things along in his very, um, unique style. You run into evil bosses, socialist soapbox orators, and all kinds of cricket players.
Wodehouse is probably an acquired taste that not everyone has. He once remarked that there were only 2 ways to write: as if everything mattered or as if nothing mattered, and he chose the second. I find him immensely funny and refreshing. I've got two more in the Psmith series on my Nook and I'll be popping into them over the summer.
Besides the widely acclaimed Jeeves novels, Wodehouse also wrote a series about the inhabitants of Blandings Castle with one of his funniest characters--The Efficient Baxter. One of the scenes in the first Blandings book had me laughing so hard I nearly cried. Priceless, and highly recommended.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I am not normally a reader of fantasy literature. I don't know why, it is just a genre that I never read much in, beyond, say, The Lord of the Rings. A young friend of mine gave me this book to read, one she thought was extremely well done. I cracked it open with more than a little trepidation. I really dislike it when someone gives me a book that they loved and I think, "Huh, wonder what the big deal is about this?"
That wasn't the case with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was amazed that it was actually a first novel. It is very long--probably too long--but it is a page turner and keeps you interested in what will happen to the characters.
It is the story of Kvothe--a hero of some sort--told in his own words to a Chronicler. So we only learn the pieces of his life a little at a time. Kvothe is the son of traveling troupers, used to performing and singing and moving about from place to place. Kvothe's parents, indeed his whole troupe, are killed by mysterious demon-like bad guys--the Chandrian--who are more than the stuff of myths and songs. Kvothe finds his way into the University after some years living alone on the streets. There he begins refining his great intellect, making friends and enemies, and falling in love.
But we don't know much at the end of 800 pages, and that's where I find fault with the author. He is genius for making a world up that we believe in. He has a main character that I care about. But he has meandered through 900 pages, and his hero is 16 or so. We still don't know how he becomes a hero and what terrible things happen to him to put him in the place he is now. Plus, after luxuriating along for hundreds of pages, the ending to this book seems tacked on and abrupt.
But it was good. Good enough to make me want to read the second book. Good enough for me to pick up some different fantasy works and try them out. So I recommend, with a few reservations.
And finally, because it is obviously my nature to be an eclectic reader:
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I don't know how I missed these novels as a girl. Lord knows I read plenty in the same genre. But I picked the first couple of books in the series up at the last used book sale. After the long haul of Lent and Holy Week, I wanted something young, fresh, hopeful to read. The story of the orphan Anne Shirley and her adoption by the old brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla was just the tonic I was looking at. Anne is always falling into trouble, but she has a good heart and an exceedingly good outlook on life. I would have loved this book as a 10 year old, and I love it now as a grownup.
Mega thumbs up on this one. I'm on to Anne of Avonlea next.
How 'bout ya'll?
This book is a discussion of Ignatian spirituality and its application to life--and not just those who decide to become Jesuits! (Thank goodness, since I am not about to become a Jesuit. I think my husband would object.)
Fr. Martin writes clearly and lucidly on the subject, with anecdotes that give examples of what he is talking about. He has a gift for using his personal life to illustrate points that I find very charming and useful. He certainly doesn't hold himself up as a paragon of virtue or the greatest living Jesuit, or anything like that. He just lays out some basic principles and discusses how to use them in various situations.
I found the parts on living simply interesting, since that is an area that tugs at my heart as I contemplate the mass of possessions and STUFF by which I am surrounded. I was also quite taken by his discussion of decision making. And I was smacked down by the insight that (to paraphrase Fr Martin): No decision, even the right one, will come with no downside or faults.
Sounds obvious, no? But it is not ever obvious to ME. In trying to come to a decision, I find myself vacillating, "How can this be the right decision, when I can see that this could happen, or this, or this....."
Anyway, Fr. Martin is doing his level best to redeem the Jesuits in my eyes and in my thinking.
I recommend this book.
]]>In fact, as published on that blog later, the amount really comes to $7 for one person, $12 for 2, $18 for 3, or $22 for 4. And there are some weird restrictions. You can't use anything you already own, except for salt and pepper.
OK, even though I think that "only salt and pepper" thing is stupid, I'll buy the premise for a moment. But then I did some quick math. $7 for one person is $49 a week. It's $210 per month. For two people it is $84 per week, $360 per month. For the four person level, it's $154 a week, $660 per month.
Folks, I know LOTS of people (many, many young couples with kiddos) who are spending far less than that and getting by.
I will grant you that if you have 6 kids (assuming that $22 per day is the max--is it? I don't know) that you would run into trouble. It's expensive to feed those mouths. And if a bunch of them are teenagers? Even more!
But the fact remains that we want to eat at a level far beyond what is necessary. My sister and I have repeated discussions about this. We grew up in homes where basically the same 7-10 dishes were served repeatedly (roasted chicken 2x a month, meatloaf 2x a month, spaghetti 2x a month, etc, etc, etc.). Now we want more variety, more food, more FUN!
I'm not saying that's wrong. But I AM saying that we have strayed from any understanding of what *basic* cooking/living really is. We have added luxuries unknown to even our own mothers' generation and begun to think them necesseties.
Look, the DH and I really do live on a budget only $40 a month different from the one given in the blog. Our line in the sand budget is $100 per week. And that includes soap, toilet paper, dog food, cleaning supplies--you know, everything you normally buy at the grocery store. Plus I regularly feed extra folks--the grandgirl is here for lunch every day, random people come to eat with us all the time. Eating out goes in there, too. Same budget.
I suspect the people who look at those numbers and cannot believe anyone could eat on a number "as paltry as that" have one of two issues:
1. They never cook at home. Eating out is expensive. Buying steak at the grocery (on sale! I never buy meat unless it is on sale!) is expensive. But nowhere NEAR as expensive as buying a steak at a restaurant. I love to eat out! LOVE IT! But it is spendy. No doubt about it.
2. They live in a big city, either east or west coast. Groceries are probably a lot more expensive in New York or San Francisco. Living here in beautiful Texas, I am sure it is way cheaper to shop for food. While I may wish for a Trader Joe's (please, please, please!), I am lucky to be able to shop at Tom Thumb, Kroger, Aldi, and Wal Mart--all within a 6 block radius of each other. Grocery heaven! With just a little looking at the ads each week, I can shop specials like there is no tomorrow.
Or, note to self, they could live in a really tiny town with nowhere to shop but the IGA. But I don't think, in this case, this is the problem. I don't think the author of the Amazon blog lives in Tuna, Texas with no really good grocery.
And there I think I have hit on the real problem for folks depending on food stamps for groceries: the lack of this same ability to shop the sales. And, frankly, the lack of experience in food and menu planning with a budget.
I live in the largest city without mass transportation in the US. Yep, it's a fact. Am I appalled by that?--well, probably not as appalled as I would be by watching buses with 2 people on them zooming around town. It is a problem, if you are living in the Rising Sun Motel over on Division, and you have no transport to get to the grocery store. What do you do?. You walk across the street to that icky little convenience store where bananas are $1 each, instead of 37 cents a pound over at Kroger. And if you are living over at the Rising Sun, where would you keep your food and what would you cook it on anyway?
THAT's the quandry. How do we fix THOSE problems? And the answer isn't up the $7. 'Cause trust me, the convenience store would just start charging more for those bananas.
It makes me crazy.
]]>Release me from craving to
straighten out everybody's affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody;
helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom,
it seems a pity not to use it all;
but Thou knowest, Lord,
that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains;
they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them
is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for improved memory,
but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person
is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places
and talents in unexpected people;
and give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen.
]]>Looking at the new starts of my son, his friends, and the kids of my dear friends, I think back over 30+ years of marriage and contemplate the lessons that God teaches us over time. I see areas that I wish I had taken better care of over the years. I see big stretches where God's grace alone kept us going (and here we thought it was US!). And I even see lots of things that we did right. Thanks be to God.
The one thing that I have learned--scratch that, that I'm STILL learning--is that it is important to appreciate and care for what you have right now, not when you have a "nicer house" or "better things". In going through some of the pictures that my mom had stored away, I came across some pictures of my Mama Warren and Pop's house. This was a house that radiates peace in my memories. I loved it there. I thought it was beautiful.
When I looked at the pictures, I was taken by how spare it was in reality. They didn't own a lot of stuff. It was so plain. But to my eyes, and soul, as a child, it was beautiful.
And then it hit me what it was about the house. It was clean. It was orderly. It was taken care of. And that order brought peace, calm and restfulness.
That is something that I've never been particularly good at. My mom, as beautiful, talented, gifted and loving as she was, wasn't good at it either. And it is a habit of being that I wish I had cultivated much earlier in my life. I wish that my home had been more of a sanctuary and less of a train station.
Look, I know that some families thrive on movement and chaos and activity. And it bothers them not at all that their home is disorganized and crazy. But it has always bothered me. I don't want to replace my memories with memories of a perfectly cared for home. But I wish I had developed the habits early on that would have made it better.
Sometimes I think that we won't get those better things we long for until we prove that we can take care of what we've got. What's the point of nicer things, if you don't develop the habit of taking care of what you have now? When the nicer things come, you'll be tempted to either not use them (and keep them "for nice") or you'll treat them the same way that you treated everything you had before, and they'll soon be not so nice.
My grandmother's stuff was not expensive, but it was all taken care of well. She owned nothing that wasn't used.
Still all these years into a common life, I struggle with this. I am still in the process of sanctuary making.
I just wish I had started earlier. Because by now, maybe even a few of my grandmother's habits would have been established in me. And I want to (only when asked, only when asked!) encourage that in my young friends.
]]>But, it was over and time to move on to the next thing. Until this school year, when my sisterfriend asked me if I would halp her with Algebra and my nephew. Sure.
And that turned into more. Three days a week of helping homeschool my niece and nephew. Putting together ideas and curriculum (my favorite hobby!).
Then McKid's mom started thinking about adding the McKid to the mix, and I was more than willing. So, after six weeks or so in 3rd grade public school, McKid came home, too.
So now, 5 days a week with a 3rd/4th grader, 3 days a week adding in 7th and 9th graders. It's different--the Zman was an only child and my only full time student (though I did tutor others through the years).
Whew. It's more work than I remembered. But it's so very wonderful. At the moment I have 3 kids in my backyard, screaming over a lizard they found, trying to decide what to do with it. LET IT GO! says the aunt/grandma/teacher. Lord knows all I need is a lizard to add to 2 barking dogs, pile of books, math sheets and a potato growing on top of my water dispenser (don't ask).
But to have kids running and screaming again in the backyard, after discussing simple machines and Lao Tzu?
Priceless.
]]>As a part of my commitment to eating healthier, I have decided to begin the process of giving up diet Cokes. I'm not foolish enough to try this cold turkey. I tried that last time, and my husband did NOT thank me for it.
So, my goal is this for the month of January:
Week 1 of month (which began today): No diet coke until after McKid goes home. That ieaves relatively little time for ingestion!
Week 2 of month: The dreaded substance only 4 days per week.
Week 3 of month: The golden nectar only 3 days per week.
Week 4 of month: A treat once a week.
I'm not aiming for complete abstinence. I will fool around with it once a week and call that good enough.
And why?
Because I think it is most definitely NOT helping in my weight loss/maintenance efforts. I'm not even sure there's a good chemical reason for it, though you can certainly read plenty of bad stuff about artificial sweetners and weight loss if you look around for, oh say, 5 minutes.
But mine is more a psychological thing - I think having the sweet taste in my mouth all the time makes me want moreandmoreandmoreandmore to eat.
But don't let anyone tell you this stuff isn't physically addicting. My whole body aches. My head hurts. And I am SLEEPY from lack of caffeine.
Yeah, an addict. For sure.
Happy (oh, really, are we so very sure about that?) Monday, ya'll!
]]>And I say, yeah, right. How's that working for you?
I tend to think that New Year's Resolutions, when honestly thought about are an interesting discipline. You know, kinda like the discipline Holy Mother Church imposes on us by making every Sunday a Holy Day of Obligation. She knows that, left to my own devices, I would say things like, "Oh, I can worship God just as well in a park as in a church." (Which can be true, certainly.) BUT, and here is the big BUT: Do you?
I don't. If I didn't get myself up, dressed and off to Mass on Sunday mornings, pretty soon I'd be drinking diet coke and eating toast and not thinking about God at all. Oh, I'd think, I'll get around to my prayer time (drumroll, here) pretty soon.
Yeah.
What I know is that for me, and I suspect millions of people like me (I'm not prideful enough to think I'm all that different), no discipline, no set time, no "arbitrary date", no review, no introspection, no change.
It's like Reconciliation. When we don't make it a REGULAR part of our lives, it gets away from us and we turn around a POOF! it's been 6 months and we haven't been. Not 'cause we don't need to go. Because we haven't sat down and set up an unchangeable, fixed time to do it.
So, too, New Year's Resolutions. When I get out my new calendar, I spend a little time reviewing my old calendar. Seeing what went on. In the past, I've also reviewed my blog entries--looking at what caught my attention, things I wanted to remember, books I've read. And I think about what I wish I had done differently. It's not a time that I beat myself up. But it IS a time for honest introspection.
And then I think about what I need to change, and try to figure out how to implement them. If I don't, then my wishes just stay that, wishes and never turn into anything more.
Oh, and by the way, I don't just make resolutions on Jan 1. I usually do a check in at the beginning of Lent. Then again at the beginning of the long, green tunnel of ordinary time after Eastertide. Then a mini-look at the beginning of Advent.
Some years I have had great success. Others, not so much. But at least I am still trying. I guess that's the point--the effort. It's hard to change, and not much fun. (Ask me next week when I am in the throes of Diet Coke withdrawal syndrome--they ARE addictive, you know!) And I know that's why I have to make the resolutions. Without 'em, I'd be the same next year, or worse, than I am now.
And I can't afford that.
So, what are the first resolutions of 2011? They're pretty tiny. I hope I can have 'em under control by the beginning of Lent, 65 days hence. Then I'll add on. Here they are:
1. Get up 15 minutes earlier for morning prayer.
2. No computer 'til after #1.
3. Kitchen bar cleaned off every evening before bed.
4. Dishwasher loaded, extras washed every evening before bed.
5. Bed made every morning before leaving or before the McKid gets here.
That's it, to start. I think it will begin bringing an order to my life that I have sorely lacked the past year or so. Once small order is put into place, then it'll be time for bigger projects.
So, how 'bout you? Any resolutions in mind?
Happy Sunday, ya'll!
]]>Anyway, that went off in a strange direction. Ahem. Back to the main thrust of the post. I'm coming back to blogging on a regular basis. I need a place to write about the things in my life: the books I've read, the movies I've seen, the things I create, the things that make me happy and sad. I'm not a prolific picture taker or journaler or scrapbooker, so I need somewhere to jot down my life. To preserve little bits of it--so that I don't forget. And if you want to peep in and see, then I'm happy for you to do that.
Lots of changes in my life over the last few years. I've lost both my parents. I've moved. My beloved son has married (a wonderful girl!). I've rejoined the homeschooling fray with my nephew, my niece and the McKid. And now, as the cherry on top of the "my how things have changed" sundae, the Zman and TBC (his wife) are going to have a baby. Yep. Coming in May. Color me EXCITED!
Half a year of not-blogging has meant that I had to rethink the whole blogging idea. And I'm still rethinking that. One of the changes is that you will probably see very little of the other SummaMamas. We're still here. We're still close friends. But the Smock has 7 little 'uns, spread out over 3 schools. Oldest in high school all the way down to 2 in kindergarten. One at home full time. She doesn't have much time to think, much less blog regularly!
And LaMamacita is expecting baby #4 in March. She also homeschools the other 3, so between that and carrying around an increasingly large chiquita-to-be, energy levels don't leave much extra for blogging. And when the 4th baby hits the ground, all bets are off!
That said, both of the other Summas will still be encouraged to post, but we can't expect it. It's not a time in their lives where daily writing, or even *weekly* writing can be expected. So when they pop in, we'll be THRILLED. But we won't *expect* anything in particular. Then it'll be like a happy gift when It happens.
So, what you'll have, mostly, is just me. And I'd say that's a drawback for you. But I'll report on the other Summas doings and fill you in where I can. And otherwise? Let's start looking to make 2011 a year of love, peace, grace, repentance, forgiveness, work, and play. And let's talk about it a little. Shall we?
Happy New Year, ya'll.
]]>-------------------Philo of Alexandria
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