"Be like the promontory,against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm, and tames the fury of the water around it.
"Remember...on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: that this is not a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune."
(Marcus Antoninus)
"May I reach
That purest heaven, be to other souls
The cup of strength in some great agony,
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,
Be a sweet presence of a good diffused,
And in diffusion ever more intense!
So shall I join the choir invisible
Whose music is the gladness of the world."
(George Eliot)
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Reader's digest(ion)
see more loldogs are funny dog pictures!
Novels and mystery novels that include recipes have been popular for some time. I purchased a few because the recipes sounded good, though I must admit to having been disappointed with the results most of the time. Still, I find it interesting.
Has you ever read anything that made you wish it included recipes or, better still, the food it told of? Have you read something with such rich and luscious descriptions of food that you wished you could dive in and have what you're reading? For me, this desire to eat what I read started with, of all things, blamange in Little Women. For some reason it sounded like the epitome of sweet comfort, and I longed to have it slide down my throat just as I read it did for the invalid for whom it was prepared. I imagined real vanilla richness and warmth even though I'd never heard of a blamange until I read that book as a child, and wasn't exactly sure what it was, at the time.
But sometimes the gap between what I imagined and how the food really tastes was terrific. One mystery novel featured recipes prepared in a low-fat, healthful way. I prepared them carefully according to instructions. But once I tried the dishes, I found myself thinking, "Well, I've had *worse* things in my mouth" - - but not by much.
Since then, I've become much better at tasting things in my mind. That helped me avoid a repeat.
Hmmm, the weather is frightful today. It might just be the time for a blamange...
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
(nearly) Wordless Wednesday
Visit www.solarexpert.com for more gorgeous tied fishing flys such as this camel spider tied fly.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
A good place to visit
see more crazy cat pics
Whether you're looking for a copy of "Little Red Riding Hood" like our feline friend here,or for another great book, be sure to visit www.betterworld.com. Your shipping (within the USA) is free; out-of-country shipping is $2.97. Your purchases support global literacy efforts.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Poetic Monday
RESURRECTION, IMPERFECT.
by John Donne
SLEEP, sleep, old sun, thou canst not have repass'd,
As yet, the wound thou took'st on Friday last ;
Sleep then, and rest ; the world may bear thy stay ;
A better sun rose before thee to-day ;
Who—not content to enlighten all that dwell
On the earth's face, as thou—enlighten'd hell,
And made the dark fires languish in that vale,
As at thy presence here our fires grow pale ;
Whose body, having walk'd on earth, and now
Hasting to heaven, would—that He might allow
Himself unto all stations, and fill all—
For these three days become a mineral.
He was all gold when He lay down, but rose
All tincture, and doth not alone dispose
Leaden and iron wills to good, but is
Of power to make e'en sinful flesh like his.
Had one of those, whose credulous piety
Thought that a soul one might discern and see
Go from a body, at this sepulchre been,
And, issuing from the sheet, this body seen,
He would have justly thought this body a soul,
If not of any man, yet of the whole.
Desunt Caetera
by John Donne
SLEEP, sleep, old sun, thou canst not have repass'd,
As yet, the wound thou took'st on Friday last ;
Sleep then, and rest ; the world may bear thy stay ;
A better sun rose before thee to-day ;
Who—not content to enlighten all that dwell
On the earth's face, as thou—enlighten'd hell,
And made the dark fires languish in that vale,
As at thy presence here our fires grow pale ;
Whose body, having walk'd on earth, and now
Hasting to heaven, would—that He might allow
Himself unto all stations, and fill all—
For these three days become a mineral.
He was all gold when He lay down, but rose
All tincture, and doth not alone dispose
Leaden and iron wills to good, but is
Of power to make e'en sinful flesh like his.
Had one of those, whose credulous piety
Thought that a soul one might discern and see
Go from a body, at this sepulchre been,
And, issuing from the sheet, this body seen,
He would have justly thought this body a soul,
If not of any man, yet of the whole.
Desunt Caetera
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Philosophical Saturday
"There is a general stock of evil in the world to which we all contribute, or which, by God's grace, some may diminish; a vast and fertile tract of ungodliness, of low motives, of low aims, of low desires, or low sense of duty or no sense at all. It is the creation of ages, that tradition; but each age does something for it, and each individual in each age does, if he does not advisedly refuse to do, his share in augmenting it...And this general fund or stock of evil touches us all like the common atmosphere in which we breathe. And thus it is that when you or I, even in lesser matters, do or say what our conscience condemns, we do really make a contribution to that general fund of wickedness which, in other circumstances and social conditions than ours, produces flagrant crime. Especially if it should happen that we defend what we do, or make light of it, or make a joke of the misdeeds of others, we do most actively and seriously augment this common fund or tradition of wickedness."
(Henry Parry Liddon)
(Henry Parry Liddon)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
"Spring"
NOTHING is so beautiful as spring --
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
What is all this juice and all this joy?
A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden. -- Have, get, before it cloy,
Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
Most, O maid's child, thy choice and worthy the winning.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
What is all this juice and all this joy?
A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning
In Eden garden. -- Have, get, before it cloy,
Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
Most, O maid's child, thy choice and worthy the winning.
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tagged for a meme
1. What book are you reading right now?
Planters, Containers & Raised Beds, A Gardener's Guide, by Chuck Crandall and Barbara Crandall
2. What was the last book you read on a plane?
I last flew a month before 9/11, but I don't remember the book. It was probably a true-crime book, though.
3. What was the last book you read on a roadtrip?
Driving gets in the way of my reading on road trips. :)
4. What was the most unusual place you found yourself reading?
Oh, let me see....that might be The Petrified Forest. We took a big family vacation when I was a teenager, and I read a lot while we drove cross-country. I recall being scolded by my grandmother for being so lazy as to try viewing The Petrified Forest from inside our car, with my book on my lap. NB, I said "try;" Grandma routed me out of there for at least a little while. No wonder the Forest was petrified - - Grandma was there!
5. What books would you take to keep you occupied on
a two-week vacation to the beach?
I adore the seashore! I'm a leisurely beachcomber who also enjoys just watching the eternal pull and thrust of the ocean. I don't read there, although I tried it once (got sand in my book).
Teabird tagged me for this. I hereby tag all comers.
Planters, Containers & Raised Beds, A Gardener's Guide, by Chuck Crandall and Barbara Crandall
2. What was the last book you read on a plane?
I last flew a month before 9/11, but I don't remember the book. It was probably a true-crime book, though.
3. What was the last book you read on a roadtrip?
Driving gets in the way of my reading on road trips. :)
4. What was the most unusual place you found yourself reading?
Oh, let me see....that might be The Petrified Forest. We took a big family vacation when I was a teenager, and I read a lot while we drove cross-country. I recall being scolded by my grandmother for being so lazy as to try viewing The Petrified Forest from inside our car, with my book on my lap. NB, I said "try;" Grandma routed me out of there for at least a little while. No wonder the Forest was petrified - - Grandma was there!
5. What books would you take to keep you occupied on
a two-week vacation to the beach?
I adore the seashore! I'm a leisurely beachcomber who also enjoys just watching the eternal pull and thrust of the ocean. I don't read there, although I tried it once (got sand in my book).
Teabird tagged me for this. I hereby tag all comers.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!
Still out sick; will post after this cold-flu hybrid is over.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A perfect time to read
"Headcold" is an eye-catching, swollen-looking font. Headcold is not, to my knowledge, the name of a musical group but it should be. Headcold is also not a quaint, little English town near the real town of Mousehole, but, again, it should be. Headcold is what I have. I hate headcolds.
Symptomatic relief is all one can aim for, but not all home remedies are equal. I know many people praise the neti pot, but I can't bring myself to try one. I am much more comfortable with piping tea with honey through the day, and with tea toddies at bedtime. A couple of other remedies I've not tried include (for sore throat) hot milk in which an onion has been simmered, and (all-purpose) milk warmed with black pepper, turmeric and a little sugar. Of course there is always chicken soup, and recipes for it are legion. As a soup lover, I admit to making pots of it for any reason and for no reason, so why not make some to ease a headcold? I am having soup tonight, and I laid in a generous supply of oranges and grapefruit. Have they any particular value when one has a cold? I don't know, but I craved them. I did not crave Haagen Dazs coconut sorbet, but I bought a pint of it. A puzzle magazine and a book are at hand, so I am well-stocked in headcold comfort supplies and in self-pity, so I'm ready for this seige.
I wish *you* a cold-free season.
Symptomatic relief is all one can aim for, but not all home remedies are equal. I know many people praise the neti pot, but I can't bring myself to try one. I am much more comfortable with piping tea with honey through the day, and with tea toddies at bedtime. A couple of other remedies I've not tried include (for sore throat) hot milk in which an onion has been simmered, and (all-purpose) milk warmed with black pepper, turmeric and a little sugar. Of course there is always chicken soup, and recipes for it are legion. As a soup lover, I admit to making pots of it for any reason and for no reason, so why not make some to ease a headcold? I am having soup tonight, and I laid in a generous supply of oranges and grapefruit. Have they any particular value when one has a cold? I don't know, but I craved them. I did not crave Haagen Dazs coconut sorbet, but I bought a pint of it. A puzzle magazine and a book are at hand, so I am well-stocked in headcold comfort supplies and in self-pity, so I'm ready for this seige.
I wish *you* a cold-free season.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
Samuel Adams on virtue
"A general dissolution of principles and manners will more
surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force
of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot
be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be
ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or
internal invader."
-- Samuel Adams (letter to James Warren, 12 February 1779)
surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force
of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot
be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be
ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or
internal invader."
-- Samuel Adams (letter to James Warren, 12 February 1779)
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
"Like the pine trees lining the winding road..."
"...I got a name." (Jim Croce) Here we are, smack-dab in the middle of Celebrate Your Name Week. CYNW began in 1991, though this is the first year I heard of it. Its purpose is obvious, and probably more welcomed by people with uncommon names just because it gives them one week per year to take pride in having to spell their names to everybody every time they use them. I wish it were also the one week per year when we uncommonly-named people don't have to hear things such as, "Wow, where'd you get a mess like that?" If you are one such person, I give you my permission to carry and use an airhorn on everyone who says that to you this week. Then go off to celebrate your lovely moniker.
Some towns have clubs or annual gatherings for people who have the same first name. There is a Lois Club, and a Betty Club. But I suspect those clubs will not exist in the next generation as unique and unusual names grow in popularity. As you know, if you read the newpapers' new baby announcements, names - - like so many things now - -have become customized. People employ different spellings of ordinary names, and they create names, too. Sometimes people are named after things in pop culture. I once lived where there were people named Lexus, Camry and Nautica, not to mention those who aspired to the aristocracy and royalty by naming their children King, Prince, Princess, Queen, Marquise and Marquess.
I know of people named Spider, Uniqua (a very popular name for a while), Stormy, Misty Bay and Karma. And two altogether one-of-a-kind names belong to siblings, YuhHighness and YuhMajesty. But my all-time favorite name has to be Aphrodite Chuckass. What a hard row to hoe she must have had.
Some towns have clubs or annual gatherings for people who have the same first name. There is a Lois Club, and a Betty Club. But I suspect those clubs will not exist in the next generation as unique and unusual names grow in popularity. As you know, if you read the newpapers' new baby announcements, names - - like so many things now - -have become customized. People employ different spellings of ordinary names, and they create names, too. Sometimes people are named after things in pop culture. I once lived where there were people named Lexus, Camry and Nautica, not to mention those who aspired to the aristocracy and royalty by naming their children King, Prince, Princess, Queen, Marquise and Marquess.
I know of people named Spider, Uniqua (a very popular name for a while), Stormy, Misty Bay and Karma. And two altogether one-of-a-kind names belong to siblings, YuhHighness and YuhMajesty. But my all-time favorite name has to be Aphrodite Chuckass. What a hard row to hoe she must have had.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Your secret desire
Many of us who love to read also enjoy writing. Some of us are published authors while others daydream of being published...and successful...and able to write full time, slamming the door behind us as we leave our current day jobs. So, if you had absolute knowledge that you would be succesful, what kind of book would you write? Don't trot out your standard answer that you give at parties and in letters. What is your secret desire for your book?
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!
Dr. Seuss would have been "this many" today: 104 years old!
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