I feel as though I've discovered a treasure trove. 

Since encountering Elizabeth Goudge, via Lanier's writings, I have been on the lookout for Miss Goudge's books.

http://laniersbooks.com/2010/01/14/precisely-miss-goudge/
http://laniersbooks.com/2010/04/19/bereft/
http://laniersbooks.com/2007/02/23/elizabeth-goudge/


I have to admit that when I first picked up one of her collections of short stories, I only read a few before returning it to the library.  Somehow, it did not capture my imagination nor was I willing to devote the attention required by its beauty.  Beautiful books cannot be skimmed.  They must be absorbed word by word.

During the summer, I was poking about the library and spotted several of her books.  Castle on the Hill had me drawn in on the first page.  I've since devoured two more, A Pedlars Pack and The Golden Skylark.  Each one is filled with beautiful thoughts and word pictures.  She reminds me a bit of L.M. Montgomery in her descriptions of nature.  If I ever make it to Europe, I would like to visit the Channel Islands.  For that is where the Du Frocq's live with their mischievous, good hearted children!  

My summer reading plans never quite materialized.  I didn't finish any of the ones that I had on my reading list.
But, I made a new book friend in Elizabeth Goudge.  I'll be seeking out more treasures by her and looking to add some to my collection!    

Remember way back when?

Ever re-visit something from your childhood?

Last year for my birthday, my parents bought be the complete set of the Gospel Bill Show. It was my absolute favorite show when I was little. It came on right after re-runs of RinTinTin in the afternoons. It was also on Saturday mornings with Quigley's Village and Joy Junction. Along with the childhood standards of Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, I have vivid memories of watching Gospel Bill.

Even though I received the DVDs last year, I didn't get a chance to watch them. I left them at home when I moved and the idea was that we would watch them as a family. Last time I was home, we were celebrating my birthday and I pulled them out with the intention of watching them.  We went swimming instead. I brought the first dvd back with me.

I curled up on my bed and braced myself for disillusionment.

Nothing

It such a pleasant surprise to have something be as good as I remembered it.  It was something that I think I could show to kids now (depends on the kids) and they might (hopefully?) enjoy them.   The live action stories, the puppet storyline, and the music made me smile.  I'm looking forward to working through the whole set.  Silly of me? Maybe. But definitely very enjoyable.  

Do you have a favorite childhood program that you like to revisit?

I'll leave you with one of my favorite bits.

I write down little sentences each day... ideas for a post... yet I can never get the full idea onto the page. I'd love to write something contemplative or pithy.  I'd even settle for humorous.  Instead, I have word snapshots of the last couple weeks floating through my head.

My dad using the word loamy in a sentence...  "Wow, this soil is loamy"  To which I expressed my approval and surprise that mom's green thumbness was rubbing off on him.

Working on a building project that initially made our high school built homes in Mexico look like they were built to code.

Yellow sticky insect traps in trees as reminders of God's faithfulness.  Even as careful as I was about saving enough money for school, if I hadn't worked at the county agriculture department, school would have been a lot more challenging.

Learning about home birth in my human development course.  It was intriguing to hear the differences between home and hospital, and reasons why someone would choose to have her baby at home.

Having an awesome kick off for the Christian club on campus.  We packed out the room and had standing room only!

I tried something new this semester.  I love it now.  I just wish that I would let myself learn.  I tend to want to do something right the first time which makes learning a new skill difficult.

Joking with friends before class about the abysmal lack of men in our classes, only to have a guy walk in later (looking for another class) and remark (while looking at the 30 girls), "Wow, I really like this class. Really like this class!"  The teacher asked what class he was looking for.... "Human sexuality."  Yeah guys, looking for girls?  Try Liberal Studies... We average 10 girls to every guy.  With odds like that... ;)

Taking time to hang out with a friend, meet new people, relax and watch rugby.  I have to say, rugby is way more fun than football.

I wish I had something more cohesive but I'd rather have an updated blog for my friends and family than leave you all wondering what's happening...   Not that I'm sure anyone outside of my family checks regularly but I've got to keep up appearances, you know
 

Hair Story

Ducking under tree branches, my hair was adorned with bits and pieces of plant material.  It had been a delightful day working on a building project, but I needed to check for ticks before heading back to the university.  My mom pulled out a hairbrush.  A hairbrush!

I haven't used a hairbrush in years.

Curls just don't respond well to "The Brush."   Since I couldn't come up with an alternative so I wouldn't go home with a new "friend,"  I submitted to the brush. 

My brother saw me afterwards and declared that I looked like Hermione (from the early Harry Potter films) and the Princess Diaries' Princess Mia (before the makeover).   Flattery will get you everywhere... 
Personally, I was going to say I looked like the female triangle hair Dilbert cartoon character.

The whole incident made me think back to my childhood... the good years with de-tangler, the bad years of the hair dryer and funky bangs and the years of braids and buns in an attempt to keep the friz down.  Dad blowing drying my hair upside down after bath time when I was six.  I think my hair was horizontal until Mom came in to fix it.  And then, I discovered conditioner.  The most vital thing for a curly girl: conditioner.  The brush became a fixture in the back of the drawer.  The hairdryer was left behind.  My hair slowly morphed into something manageable.  I even liked it.  And now, I love it.  

Stay back brushes and hairdryers, this head is all natural and naturally curly.

Senior Year???

It's almost the end of the week, and I just realized that I started the first part of my senior year of college! Crazy! The end is in sight! I have a three semester senior year, though.

This also has been the slowest start to a semester. No major projects due next week! I'm relaxed about school and ready to go. No tears, no pulling of hair or panicked calls home, am I sure it's the first week of school?

I'm taking second year, first semester Spanish, multicultural children's literature, adolescent development, infancy, elementary physical education and an activity class.

My Spanish professor is from Germany originally. I'm totally jealous of her multilingual ability. She's got me excited about Spanish again! She only uses English if someone is totally lost or for detailed grammar instructions. She makes us try to explain definitions in Spanish. She's awesome. My last Spanish professor used mostly English and didn't teach. We were expected to teach ourselves, and class was mostly busy work. She had a great sense of humor, though.

My adolescence professor is ok. I know I'll like the class content; however, he has an off sense of humor that I really don't appreciate. I do appreciate: no major research papers!!!

Multicultural children's literature will be a challenge. I'm going to have to really think differently about books, society and what I want to stand for as a teacher. Biggest pet peeve in the class: Dr.L using the "words" gooder, goodest, and badder. Umm.... you have a doctorate???


P.E seems straight forward, read, make lesson plans, teach and take exams.

Infancy is on Fridays so we'll see how that goes.

Someone asked me what clubs I was going to be in... outside of the Christian club, I have no clue. I'm still waiting for the full load of work to drop but until then I'm enjoying my first week of school.

My heart is a bit heavy...

I want to step into a messy situation and make things right. I want to rescue the child caught in the middle. I want people to act like reasonable adults. I want to make everything better.

My heart breaks because there is no easy way to fix things. It breaks because even with the good intentions, I cannot make everything better. And I can only help those who want to be helped.

Instead, I cannot stay. The situation is transient and in a few weeks, the people involved will be in distant places. I must return to complete the work I've been given by the Lord. So I'm left to pray and encourage people to act in the best interests of the child. I'm reminding myself to trust that God has a plan and he can make the impossible into the possible. My heart is so very heavy.

Please pray for the situation. It's difficult and heartbreaking but the child is safe and loved.

Integrity

–noun

1.

adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2.

the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3.

a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.

(dictionary.com)

I've been watching Zen, a new mystery series on pbs, this week. The whole point of the show is that Detective Zen is a man of integrity on a police force known for its corruption. I've always thought of integrity as doing what's right regardless of the cost. Yet, for a man with a reputation for integrity, Zen bends the rules when he needs/wants to. He has a double standard when it comes to relationships. He uses his pull to get his rival reassigned.

Still sound like a man of integrity?

Maybe compared to the rest of his department.

When did integrity become a relative matter? By the end of the show, I wasn't sure that I liked him very much. It was a well done show and enjoyable but I couldn't get past the integrity issue. Even according to the dictionary.com definition, he wasn't acting with integrity as he violated his own moral code. At least, he never claimed to be a man of integrity. I'll give him that.