This past year's reading

I went to Willa's blog only to see a link to my own New Year's 2008 To Read list. Wow, I'd forgotten all about that list of books. So I thought it would be interesting to see what books I did actually read. Maybe I can remember the other books not on the list that I also read. My brain is fuzzy right now though and a Muppet Christmas movie is playing loudly . . . .



An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor (Mommy Brain) Nope!
Austenland by somebody???? (Pemberley; Mommy Brain) Nope!
Holiness for Housewives by???? (Can’t remember! Re-reading it off and on over the last couple of weeks) Nope! Or maybe I read bits of it. I tend to take it off the shelf, read a few pages, get inspired and then put it down again.
The Love that Satisfies by Christopher West (started this around Thanksgiving, stalled out about 1/2 through but really want to finish it.) Nope!
The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis (Brit Lit) Yes!
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (Brit. Lit) Yes!
Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell (re-read for Brit. Lit – loved this book the first time) Yes!
The Scarlet Pimpernel (recommended by everybody including my friend Carol) Nope!
A Thousand Suns by the guy who wrote The Kite Runner (gathering dust on bedside table) Nope!
In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden (just finished An Episode of Sparrows; I want to read all her stuff! I think I actually read this book back when I was a teenager but I only have the haziest memory of it) Nope!
Mariette in Ecstasy by Ron Hansen (contemporary Catholic novelist; been intrigued by him for a while) Nope!
A Philadelphia Catholic in King Arthur’s Court by Martin de Porres Kennedy (Will got this for Christmas.) Nope!
Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel (Willa mentioned this one a while ago) Read parts.
Black as Night by Regina Doman (I love her House Art site. The book looks wonderful; she’s got a whole series of fairy tales retold for young adults.) Yes. This was wonderful!
Quo Vadis by ????? (A classic I’ve never gotten around to reading.) Nope!
Silence by Shusaku Endo - (I keep seeing this book come up on various Catholic booklists) Nope!
Sophie’s World - (reading this currently to teens) Only got through 1/2 much to my sorrow.
Tale of Two Cities by Dickens (Brit Lit) Yes!
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (and other books by Goudge; love her writing; currently reading this aloud to anyone who’ll listen.) Yes! Lovely, lovely story.
Children of Men by P.D. James (this is my before-bed, current read; I’d like to read other books by her) Yes! Made a great impression on me. Very thought-provoking.
Animal Farm by George Orwell (Brit Lit.)Yes! Clever book.
The Last Gentleman by Walker Percy (been curious about him for a while now) Nope!
Georgette Heyer - (want to read more of her work; just finished Royal Escape about Charles II’s escape fromEngland; lovely!) I have become a Heyer fan! I have now read five or six of her novels, several of them more than once!
Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher (in prep for Economics next year) Nope!
Small is Still Beautiful by Joseph Pearce (his take on the above book, plus I just want to read all of Pearce’s stuff) Nope!
Introduction to Christianity by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict VI (this is my current theological read. It is a very clear but very deep and scholarly explanation of the Creed.) I gave up on this. I am now reading his Jesus of Nazareth with other homeschooling moms in my TORCH group.
Language of God by Collins (audio) - We’ve had this gathering dust for a while. Yes! Listened to this with great admiration. Very illuminating!
Priestblock 25487; A Memoir of Dachau by Jean Bernard (Will’s) Yes! Extremely interesting.
To The Ends of the Earth by William Golding (I gave this to Rick for Christmas, with the ulterior motive of reading it myself!) Yes! Loved it! Made me want to try classical schooling again!
Dante’s Divine Comedy (summer study) Nope!
C.S. Lewis’ Perelanda series (summer study) - My goal this summer to read Dante’s Divine Comedy, though realistically I might just get through the first book. I’m going to watch a Teaching Co. lecture series on Dante. Then I plan to read C. S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy which is based on the Divine Comedy or so Joseph Pearce says. Nope! Plans moved to this coming summer!
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (this will be in prep for the American Humanities course I’m planning for teens next year) Yes! It was wonderful! Read a lot of Hawthorne over the summer and really enjoyed him.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (ditto) Yes!
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (ditto again!) Nope and I took it out of my reading plans.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (a reread for next year’s American Humanities) I'll read this spring 2009 for our American Lit class
My Antonia by Willa Cather (ditto)
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (ditto)



I really went on a Georgette Heyer jag. After reading Royal Escape, I read Cotillion, then The Spanish Bride, then Regency Buck (which I have reread an embarrassing number of times as I fell completely in love with Lord Worth), then An Infamous Army, then Friday's Child. I have Frederica sitting on my bedside table waiting for me to finish up two others books. Heyer writes two types of books: historical novels about famous battles or people or lovely, fluffy, Pride and Prejudice type romances. I enjoy them both!



I also remember reading Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe during the summer. It is a long book but a very interesting glimpse into the time period before the Civil War. I also read not too long ago The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith which I found to be delightful.



I am currently just finishing up reading two books: The Motivation Breakthrough by Richard Lavoie and The Water-babies by Charles Kingsley.



For American Lit we read The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass which was fascinating. What a truly admirable man!



With the kids we read Nacar, The White Deer by Elizabeth Borton Trevino. Lovely! We also read The Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne, D'Auliere's Greek Myths and Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliffe.



Trying to remember other books I read. . . . .I'm the Teacher, You're the Student by Patrick Allitt, Daniel Boone by William O Steele (this is a kid's book and I am quite sure I read this same book as a child, as I read it I remember passages distinctly. I loved the Dan'l Boone show on tv starring Wes Parker!), a book about Blessed Miguel Pro (is he now a saint?).



I have beens slowly reading through Paul Johnson's A History of the American People.



I know there are other books but I can't remember! I probably read at least 30 books or maybe a few more than that, not counting read alouds for the kids.



I think that starting in 2009, on this blog, I'll keep a record of books I read as the year goes along.

Goings On

• Rick got himself a blu ray dvd player for Christmas so we've been feasting, visually, on that. He got Planet Earth dvd series which absolutely incredible! Astounding beauty! We've watched the first three I think. The kids just kind of wandered in and out while we watched. They are too busy playing with their Christmas gifts. But I'm thinking I'll use this to cover geography/science. Because I am learning amazing new stuff.
• We went and saw the Nutcracker Suite yesterday. It was very enjoyable. Becky, Sean and Josh seemed to really enjoy it (though Josh said he dozed off at one point!). Will good naturedly went along with it. Hannah left after the first act. She's seen the Nutcracker many times before and was bored. Rick was tired and just wanted to stay home and watch football. But anyway, we were in the front row so Becky had to sit up high in order to actually see the dancers' feet. We got the dry ice or whatever it is they use to make fog, drifting into our faces. It was a local production put on by a ballet school but it was quite good.
• I've been teaching myself Bach's Menuet in G Major. Of course it is a simplified version for beginners. I'm trying to practice in 15 or 20 minute periods. I've been doing this several time a day for 3 days and I still stumble terribly over where to place my fingers or in my note reading. And I'm only practicing the first page of the Menuet. Haven't even ventured to the next. I must be patient with myself!
• Sean likes his The Tale of Despereaux in graphic novel form. He's been reading that off and on today. Becky is enjoying her Spy Fox on the Wii. Josh is reading Salamandastron, continuing his reading of the Redwall series.
• We played one of our new games; Blokus. Rick, Josh, Sean and Becky. We enjoyed it seems like a good game.
• Becky and Sean have been playing together a lot, making up skits and songs.
• Today we cleaned up the house a lot in order to host a games meeting. The kids played games; Mousetrap and Blokus, then played outside. Then the girls went up to play in Becky's room and the boys went downstairs to play pool.
• We moms discussed chapter 1 of Jesus of Nazareth.
• Rick started a new chapter book for Sean and Becky: Hans Brinker
• I am finishing up a really interesting but schoolish book on motivation, entitled The Motivation Breakthrough. It was recommended to me by our math tutor. Even though the author is obviously writing for teachers in public schools or parents of kids in public schools, I thought a lot of what he said was very insightful and extremely honest and respectful towards children. I think it will get its own blog post.
• Becky has been listening to her Glory Story cds and enjoying them.
• Well, it looks like I'm getting carry out for dinner again. Must do full grocery shopping tomorrow!!!!!

New Years Resolution

I have been pondering these in my head for the last couple of weeks. I have a love/hate relationship with New Year's Resolutions. I can't seem to help trying to make them but they often overwhelm me because I want to fix everything that is wrong with me(and there is a lot wrong) but of course I can't. So I fail and then get defeatist and gloomy about everything. It is a trap!

But since I can't help making them and to some extent there is an element of fun in making them, I think I'll just go ahead and make them anyway.

1. God first. The basis for everything is putting God first. So that's number one. Ways to do this are: a)read and discuss lots of things about God and his Church. This really feeds me. b)attend Mass more often c) I've gotten out of the habit of going to holy hour, so I'd like try to start that up again. d) continue to try to say the rosary as many mornings a week as I can muster. Will says he wants to do this too so maybe we can support each other in this endeavor.

2. Housekeeping. Work out systems for getting housekeeping done more efficiently around the house. Especially, decluttering, laundry, cooking and tidying up. Teach systems to my children. I feel I have really failed in this regard and with Hannah about ready to fly the nest (or so it seems) I think focusing on organization and neatness is important, just to give her some frame of reference for when she goes out on her own.

3. Eating better. If I do #2 in re cooking, I'll eat better. I do want to try to eat less bread. I think I might have trouble with wheat. When I cut down on bread, I have far less trouble when it comes to IBS. So I want to focus on joyfully preparing meals that are dominated by vegetables and fruit and protein. Also, Sean keeps saying he wants to learn to cook, so I really must incorporate him and the other kids into my cooking time. I keep trying to do this, but it never lasts very long.

4. Physical activity. I need to get up off the couch or my chair here and exercise. I know I'll feel better once I do. So I need to do it. This is always a struggle during the months of January and February especially. But I have many options. I can walk the dog, workout on the treadmill downstairs. We now have Wii fit, I can do my walking dvd. So 4 times a week, I need to do one of these in any combination!

5. Learning. I want to continue to study Latin. I'll be taking the National Latin Exam in either Feb or March. That will mean lots of studying! My poor brain! I also want to practice piano and learn to sight read much better than the clumsy way I do this now! Also, the kids have expressed a desire to study art. I, too, would like to do this and have wonderful resources for this, so I need to figure out how to get this going for us all.

6. Enjoy my blessed life. If I manage to do even a little bit of #1-5, and it is an achievement to accomplish even just a little improvement in each of these areas, I will enjoy the blessed life I am living even more. If I put God first, I will grow in faith and be calmer and more patient because the Holy Spirit will be able to work through me. If I focus on simple housekeeping systems, I will keep at bay the minor and major irritations that so often make me feel defeated and ruin any sense of coziness or serenity I might have. If I eat better my stomach will trouble me less and I will feel better and that too will contribute to feeling calmer and more peaceful. If I am more physically active, I will also feel stronger and have more stamina and think more clearly. And if I fill my life with learning, I will be energized and challenged and feel the fullness and richness of life.

And that will make it a blessed year. So here's to trying over again, keeping things in perspective and never giving up hope of change!

Wonderful Christmas!

Well, I have to say that this Christmas has been pretty good! I think not hosting the big family party really kept me from the usual exhaustion I feel on Christmas day. Instead I just feel nice and relaxed! Lots of great gifts were exchanged. Hannah gave me some nicely scently hand soaps. Will gave me a little book, Nuns Having Fun - which is hysterical. Josh gave me a very nice cookbook, Sean gave me a lovely teacup and some cinnamon apple tea and Becky gave me two little wooden bracelets and a handmade card.

Rick took the cake though. He is the best present-giver ever! Not only did he give me the set of knives I've been wanting for ages, he also gave me cute little opera glasses and a Jane Austen calendar. And then to top it all off he completely surprised me by comissioning my friend who paints ikons to paint an original ikon for us. It is gorgeous! It has the Theotokos holding the Christchild but then all around her are characters from the Old and New Testaments. Since each of the kids has an Old Testament name she has all those: Joshua, Elijah, Rebecca, Hannah, Jacob. She also included Moses and Abraham, St. John the Baptist and others too. I have to go look. The funny thing is she was over the other day and talking about how she loves the colors in our living room. I never suspected a thing but she made the colors in the painting to match; all rose and green! I was completely shocked as I never suspected a thing! It is only 70% finished; she didn't get it done quite in time but that's okay. She plans to finish it up soon. It is gorgeous and I will always treasure it, and her friendship and dear, sweet Rick who is quite possibly the best husband in the world!

So this is kind of a selfish post as I'm gloating over the gifts I got! But let me remember the homily that Monsignor Tom gave last night. His message was to live Christmas all year and that means to live life temperately, justly and devoutly. That really reasonated with me. I think that is going to be my motto for the new year; live temperately, justly and devoutly.

Eve of Christmas Eve

Will's band, the Hypotheticals, is practicing in our basement. It is really loud!!!!! In between numbers they lament the fact that the singer couldn't make it. His cousins are visiting for Christmas and he couldn't get out.

Yesterday was Sean's 10th birthday. I think he had a good day. I made him a lemon cake. He had a few friends over. Rick took them to see The Tale of Despereaux then they came back here for pizza, cake and ice cream. He got a lot of books for his birthday: a big collection of Garfield, Diary of a Wimpy Kids (two of that series), a book called Nicholas, which is looks very quaint and charming. He also got a neat pen knife/all in one tool.

My house is clean! The tree looks very nice. I do have to catch up on laundry though. Hmmm. I should be doing that right now. I am very sleepy but I need to start dinner, though I think I have to take the drummer and his drumset home at some point. Probably right in the middle of making dinner.

My head is in a dither, so I can't even think about all the loose ends that need to be tied up tomorrow morning so that all presents are accounted for and wrapped. For one thing the floor is vibrating underneath me. Makes me think of that They Might Be Giants song: Baby, check it out! I've got something to say. Man, it's so loud in here. When they stop the drum machine and I can think again. . . .I'll remember what it was!!!!!!

Happy Chrismanukkah!

We are decorating the house for Christmas and making latkes! Rick, Grandad and Uncle Steve, all Jews, went out and got our Christmas tree. We've had fun putting up our stocking and Christmas Creches. Hannah is making latkes now. Smells wonderful!

My favorite Chrismakkah or Chrismanukkah (or whatever) memory will be Sean regaling granddad with the story of Christmas, the story of old Befana and the story of St. Christopher carrying the Christ child. The versions he told all came from our Advent read aloud, Christmas and the Saints. However, Sean has been acting like it was an ordeal for him to sit and listen to this book, though at times I'd catch him being really attentive, but for some reason he feels a need to put on this act of disdain or disinterest in things. So anytime I would pause while reading he'd suddenly chirp in, "is that it? Are you finished? Can we go??" As if he was just impatiently bearing with me while I read aloud. I found this attitude very exasperating. But there he was today, telling Grandad in detail stories from this book. So Sean-o, caughtya!!! You actually were listening and, nay, I would even say, enjoying, the stories! Hah, hah, hah!

Journal 12/18

• Unfortunately, Becky and Sean spent the vast portion of the day in front of a video game of one sort or another
• Sean did read some more of The Last Little Cat. He's already finished The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer!
• Sean practiced piano a bit too.
• Becky decided to make stocking for the cats and Tillie the puppy. She found old socks and wrote their names on the socks. She's put them up on the mantle in preparation for Christmas Eve. I guess I better hit a pet store and get some stocking stuffers.
• Becky helped me make a cereal-box constellation in prep for our co-op tomorrow. I did one side as the little dipper and the other as the big dipper. Looks cool!
• Rick taught a long Economics class to Josh, Will, Hannah and David. Then Josh went off to read Redwall and play computer games.
• Will, Hannah, David and I watched Professor Allit lectures on Ralph Waldo Emerson and Frederick Douglass. Very interesting. We discussed Self-reliance. None of us were great Emerson fans.
• Had to take Hannah for a short voice lesson and to get her libretto for her Christmas solo. Do You Know? I think is the name of the song she's singing.
• Hannah didn't finish her timeline so I've grounded her from the car so I had to drive her around so much. I didn't get so draconian with Will though.
• After Hannah's voice lesson we went shopping at the darling toy store in our little town.
• Came home in time to take Will to his guitar lesson.
• Got Living Memory book by Andrew Campbell. Looks great.
• Rick worked all day in the dining room. Usually he works upstairs in our room.
• Hannah tried to finish her timeline but didn't quite get it done before she had to go to work. Dropped her off and picked up Will.
• Had a come and get it/leftovers dinner. I got tired of cooking meals that nobody ate!
• Read the next chapter of Christmas and the Saints. Read about the Feast Day of St. Nicholas in Bari, Italy and about St. Francis of Assisi.
• Will is working on his timeline. I told him to finish it tonight or else!