Month: April 2007

  • Pray Without Ceasing

    I read the final installment of a Wendell Berry short story to my husband last night.  The story, Pray Without Ceasing, is a story of friendship, violence, sorrow, mercy and forgiveness.  It is a coming of age story, when a defining moment transforms Mat Feltner from a boy to a man. As we approached the last three pages I started crying, tears trickling down into my ears, in anticipation of what was ahead.  My tears didn't quite make sense with the text, but my husband is a patient man and he held his peace. 

    What I love about Wendell Berry's stories is the presence of strong men, decent men who lead those around them with confidence, dignity and humility.   Tol Proudfoot, Ben Feltner, Jack Beechum -- these are men I'd love to have lived in my neighborhood.  These are men that built strong friendships, men who honored commitments.

    From the time Jack was eight years old, Ben had simply been his friend-- had encouraged, instructed, corrected, helped, and stood by him; had placed a kindly, humorous, forbearing expectation upon him that he could not shed or shirk and had at last lived up to.

    Yesterday in church we prayed for a local family who suddenly lost their 40-something husband/father.  Several prayed for the high-school aged son, that God would provide men to counsel and befriend this young man in the gaping absence of his father. 

    Pray Without Ceasing is a fictional picture of the answer to those very real prayers.  It describes one older man walking next to a young man whose life has just come undone.

    Jack watched Mat as he would have watched a newborn colt weak on its legs that he had helped to stand, that might continue to stand or might not.  All afternoon Jack did not sit down because Mat did not.  Sometimes there were things to do, and they were busy... But, busy or not, Mat was almost constantly moving, as if seeking his place in a world newly made that day, a world still shaking and doubtful underfoot.  And Jack both moved with him and stayed apart from him, watching. 

  • Dutch Baroque

    Interior with a Mother Attending her Children,  1728
    Willem van Mieris
    Dutch Baroque Era Painter

    You know what I like about this painting? 

    1.  The sharp contrast between light and dark.  I've been reading about this characteristic of late medieval times.

    2.  The shoe that is off and the foot raised on the box.  Do those shoes look comfortable to you?

    3.  The general untidyness of the room.  This place looks lived in.

    4.  The comfort of the dog sleeping.

    Questions:

    1.  How old is the child in the cradle?  It strikes me that he is about 41/2. 

    2.  What is particular about this child?  He is the focal point of the painting.  The light and the lines are oriented towards him. 

    3.  What is the back story?  There seems to be a considerable age difference between the older boy and the younger?  Has the mother lost other children in between? 

    I wish I could see the plates that are on the shelf. I bet they are Delft.  I'm certain they are beautiful.

  • A Lonely Distant Shout

    This from Johan Huizinga (pronounced HOY-zeen-guh)
    in The Autumn of the Middle Ages p.4

    Just as the contrast
    between the summer and winter
    was stronger then than in our present lives,
    so was the difference
    between light and dark,
    quiet and noise.
    The modern city hardly knows
    pure darkness
    or true silence anymore,
    nor does it know
    the effect of a single small light
    or that of a lonely distant shout.

     

  • Eric Bibb and the Blues

     

    (waving my hands frantically up and down) 
    People! Pay attention!! A new discovery!

    We have two queues in our life:  Netflix and yourmusic.com.  I try to keep the three occupants of our home happy with what comes in the mail from these queues.  In truth, the choices are stacked about 3:1 in my favor (i.e. the guys are exceedingly weary with medieval period films).  The point is that I occasionally attempt to get what they'd like.

    In the music department, my husband wanted a little less of Vaughn Williams and a little more of Stevie Ray Vaughn.  So I was checking out the Blues when this album cover caught my eye.  The blurb snagged my interest like a shirt on a barbed-wire fence.

    Steve Leggett in All Music Guide says: 

     It features his fine acoustic guitar playingand his soothing, nuanced singing, and it shows an increasinglyimproving songwriter as well, and the whole affair is all wrapped upwith a patient, quietly joyous, and ultimately positive vibe. Bibb'sversion of the blues has always been like that, patient and positive,and it serves as a reminder that the blues isn't necessarily alwaysabout despair, darkness, and ominous guitar riffs but is also built onthe concept of survival and moving forward, on the idea of gettingthrough tough times and reaching brighter days. In Bibb's hands theblues becomes sustaining, moving closer to the spiritual uplift ofgospel, and the often shaky division between Saturday night blues andSunday morning praise drops away here.

    patient and positive - I like that

    The Amazon.com product description:

    Time and again over the past three decades and beyond, Bibb hasdemonstrated his ability to not only capture those singular momentswhen the spiritual and the everyday come together, but also extract thepriceless nuggets of truth and wisdom that emerge from those moments.Diamond Days is filled with just such gems.

    the spiritual and the everyday come together - yes!
    Take some time, when you can, to listen to the selections here or here.  The music is quiet, acoustical guitar with a dose of funky blues cadences or rhythms added in.  When my CD arrives it will get a lot of play time.

    [Edit: we've discontinued our Yourmusic subscription.] If yourmusic.com interests you (one CD a month at $6.99 + free shipping and handling), consider involving me in the process of subscribing [I get a free CD when a friend subscribes][message me and I'll email you].  We sure enjoy yourmusic; it's a monthly taste of Christmas, a little touch of frugal, and a small bit of splurge -- all wrapped in one package a month.

    I'm always late to the party - has anyone else  heard of Eric Bibb?  Any fans out there?

  • Trollope, Again

    Today is the birthday of Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope (pronounced TRALL-up).  Does he look gruff and scary to you?  That's some hair, eh?  I'm surprised his eyebrows aren't more dense and textured.  If you've hung around Magistra Mater for a while you'll recollect my pleasure in Trollope, whom I just discovered last year. 

    When his name was mentioned in the same sentence as Jane Austen by a dear and respected friend, I determined to make myself acquainted with him.  He is my light reading, my Juicy Fruit, my slug-on-the-sofa all day read.  This is my sixth post about Trollope (he has his own tag on this blog) and I can assure you that I hope to add many more.  I have a few of his books on my shelf patiently waiting for me to get through the Medieval/King Arthur/Dante business so I can read them.  Hold on, dear books, summer is coming!

    Quotes is what we want.  The first one is such a good reminder to keep up the drip drip of our daily work.  Thank you, Mr. Trollope.  Thank you very much, sir. 

    A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labors of a spasmodic Hercules.

    The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy;
    it lasts when all other pleasures fade.

    There is no royal road to learning;
    no short cut to the acquirement of any art.

  • Random Thoughts

    First things first: 

    The winner of the book giveaway is ....... Janie!  She guessed $54 and I spent $53.63.  Is it the Cullum you'd like, my friend?  I'm headed to the post office this afternoon.  I'm delighted to have found something for which you've long been looking.  [Addendum: How fun!  The book she was excited about was Shake Hands with Shakespeare by Albert Cullum. Today is Shakespeare's birthday and deathday. Have you ever thought about dying on your birthday? Yeah, I'm weird.]

    When the price was 50¢/inch I usually spent $35 at the sale.  So it makes sense to me ($35 * 1.5 = $52.50) that  when the price rose to 75¢/inch I spent $53.  Happily, my husband just bought new arrows for his bow so we are both indulged.  For incredible bargains, check out what Carrie got at her library sale for a total of  $1.75!!  Woo hoo indeed!

    ☼     ☼     ☼     ☼     ☼

    Here's a sample quote from the book Conversation  by Theodore Zeldin.  I'm not impressed with the book, but I liked this quote (emphasis mine):

    Shopping for food is a game of hide-and-seek, with packagers concealing their secrets in small print.  The time will come, I hope, when those who influence our ideas on food, the writers of newspaper articles about restaurants, and the makers of TV cooking shows, will begin to discuss the quality of the conversation which their delicious meals induce, and not concentrate only on the decor of restaurants, or the technicalities of recipes.

    ☼     ☼     ☼     ☼     ☼

    If you like choral music, I'd recommend Morten Lauridsen's setting of O Magnum Mysterium.  The Lauridsen is  number 5 on this CD. The first sentence would be a good lesson for a young Latin student (with help given on the hard words).  The music is perfectly paired to the text.  We heard this at a concert last night and the tears just rolled down my cheeks.  It was so beautiful that it hurt.

    O magnum mysterium,
    et admirabile sacramentum,
    ut animalia viderent Dominum
    natum jacentem in praesepio.

    O great wonder, miraculous sacrament:
    the beasts of the field have seen the Lord,
    new-born and lying in a manger.

  • Boys Are For Climbing

        


    Gavin the Grandson, helping Nana weed the garden

  • God Be At Mine End

    One of my octogenarian friends, a dear friend's mom, has been sick this week.  Yesterday brought news that her body is shutting down and her time left is measured in days and hours.  I drove out to see her, to tell her one last time that I loved her, and to say goodbye.  She was awake and even told me about The Mapmaker's Wife, the book she's in the middle of reading.

    I chose selected music of John Rutter's Gloria CD to bathe me during the twenty minute car drive. The  last four selections are superlative, beyond-the-beyonds-good.  If you click on the link you can hear all but the last line of this lovely blending of words and music.

    God Be In My Head

    God be in my head and in my understanding.
    God be in mine eyes and in my looking.
    God be in my mouth and in my speaking.
    God be in my heart and in my thinking.
    God be at mine end and in my departing.

                        from the Sarum Primer, 1545

  • Happy Helps on a Hopeful Day

    I only have minutes before my piano students arrive.  Here are three things I've learned which also may be helpful to you:

    Alt Codes:  I have a young friend named Änna (pronounced AH-na); the umlaut is essential to her name.  If you press down (hold it down) on the Alt key and then type 142 -  voilà! - you get Ä. Yesterday, when I was typing Søren Kierkegaard's name my handy little chart didn't have ø.  So I went here and found it.  Here is a chart (it's a good idea to print it out and have it handy), but it's not as cool as the one my sweet Katie gave me.

    Cache:  This is so basic, but if it was new to me, maybe there is someone else it might help.  Do you ever conduct a google search, click on the page, and scroll into next Tuesday looking for your word or phrase?  On the last line each search result, you see the site address highlighted, the size, and sometimes the date.  Next to the date or size (i.e. 67k) is Cached.  If you click on that instead of the site address you will see your phrase highlighted on the page.  It's very clever, and I never knew.... 

    Frozen Sugar Snap Peas:  Safeway sells sugar snap peas in the frozen veggie section.  They keep until you need them (does anyone else end up discarding rotten produce from the bin in the fridge?) and they are the ingredient that makes a difference in stir-fries.  This week I've become addicted to a mixture:  sliced red onions, red bell peppers, garlic, sugar snap peas, broccoli and artichoke hearts.  The bold colors are as scrumptious as the fragrant aroma and the delicious flavor.

     

  • High Holy Day

    I just returned with two large boxes full of books purchased from the annual book sale.  I went to the preview session along with all the book buyers (aka booksellers) in the region.  We chatted amiably in the hallway, but when the doors opened it was serious business. Exclamations of excitement punctuated the silence along with chuckles.  The funniest book title I saw was "The Meaning of Life, The Hallmark Edition." 

    The best part -- The Best Part -- of the book sale is arriving home, making a cup of tea, and relaxing as I examine the booty.  Would you care to join me?  Here are my treasures, listed in the order of excitement upon acquisition. 

     Laugh Out Loud Thrilled
    The Prime Minister, Anthony Trollope
    A Pianist's Landscape, Carol Montparker (watercolor art on cover is stunning)
    A Jonathan Edwards Reader (a Yale Nota Bene book)
    Original Sin, P.D. James
    Clouds of Witness, Dorothy Sayers (my son is happy)
    Blue Shoe, Anne Lamott (Donna, I thought of you when I got it)
    Penrod, Booth Tarkington (read a George Grant review of this just yesterday)
    Methods of Teaching, Albert Raub (an 1883 treasure, oh I love old books)
    Grace Abounding To The Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan (Penguin classic, too!)
    The Church of Our Fathers, Roland Bainton (great author, book looks good)
    Looks Good to Me
    Quiet Places, Jane Rubietta (I opened to Luci Shaw quote)
    How Much Is Enough?, Hungering for God In An Affluent Culture, Art Simon         (hey, I get the irony of this title in this list)
    A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain (lovely book)
    Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory (Oxford World Classic series)
    The Audubon Book of True Nature Stories (lovely pen and ink illustrations)
    Rick Steves' Ireland 2005 (I can dream, right?)
    Shroud For A Nightingale, P.D. James
    Sister Age, M.F.K Fisher (I've never read M.F.K., I have high expectations)
    Chivalry, James Branch Cabell (a 1909 book)
    The Penitent, Isaac Bashevis Singer (if you like Potok, I think you'd like Singer)
    The NPR Guide to Building A Classical CD Collection (neat looking book)
    Beethoven Or Bust, A Practical Guide to Understanding and Listening to Great     Music, David Hurwitz
    Prose of the Romantic Period (Coleridge, Hazlitt, Lamb among others)
    Prose of the Victorian Period (Macaulay on Milton grabbed my attention)
    Early American Women Writers (Anne Bradstreet to Louisa May Alcott)
    On Women Turning 50, Cathleen Rountree (don't ask why)
    Smart Exercise, Covert Bailey (I need motivation)
    The Marquis' Secret, George MacDonald
    Humility, Andrew Murray
    The Mark of the Christian, Francis Schaeffer
    To America, Personal Reflections of an Historian, Stephen E. Ambrose
    Autobiography, John Stuart Mill (I collect Penguin Classics)
    Standard Book of British and American Verse, (nice, old hardback)
    Introduction to the Great Books Series (an anthology in 12 paperbacks)
    Stories by English Authors (7 volume set printed in 1899 by Scribners)
    I've Vaguely Heard of This Book and/or Author
    A Walk in the Woods,  Bill Bryson
    The Virgin Blue, Tracy Chevalier (I read Girl with the Pearl Earring)
    Hole in the Sky, A Memoir, William Kittredge (I'm a sucker for memoirs)
    Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death, Søren Kierkegaard (I'm         deluded if I think I'll read this, but it's a happy thought)
    Amsterdam, Ian McEwan (a favorite author of Susan Wise Bauer)
    Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris
    Beloved, Toni Morrison
    Night, Elie Wiesel
    Books To Give Away
    Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis
    Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis
    The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis
    Galileo's Daughter, Dava Sobel (I heart this book)
    Tales from Shakespeare, Charles & Mary Lamb
    Shake Hands with Shakespeare, Albert Cullum
    Undaunted Courage, Stephen E. Ambrose
    Quentins, Maeve Binchy (about a restaurant in Dublin)
    Book of Horses, Glenn Balch (this one's for my grandson, you can't win it)
    True Spirituality, Francis Schaeffer
    I Know Nothing, But Something Captured Me

    Death Be Not Proud, A Memoir, John Gunther (about a 17 yr old who died of a brain tumor.  Donne's phrase in the title made it a must buy.)
    Out of My Life and Thought, Albert Schweitzer
    The Piano Man's Daughter, Timothy Findley (nice cover)
    Plainsong, Kent Haruf (nice title, nice cover)
    The Secret Supper, Javier Sierra (intriguing cover)
    Conversation, How Talk Can Change Our Lives Theodore Zeldin (tiny book)
    Herbal Breads, A Fresh from the Garden Cookbook, Ruth Bass
      

    Book Giveaway:  The books cost 75¢ an inch, measuring along the spine.  They fit into two paper (10 reams of copy paper fit in) boxes. Free book, your
    choice from the give away list, to the commenter whose guess is the closest to the amount I spent.  Contest ends midnight 4/22/07.