Daylight Saving Time
I'm denying myself for Lent, so I'll forgo my semi-annual rant. :-D

Heh, heh.
Y'all better be careful how you talk around me. ;-)

You are a GRAMMAR GOD!


If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!


How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

(Found at Emily's blog.)

...I thought unaccountably of fairy tales...
I recently read for the first time Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, which is a really strange book. I had to keep remembering C.S. Lewis's exhortation not to judge the book while you're reading it, but to give yourself to it.

This must be the kind of book that Anne Shirley was fond of reading. It was so fantastic* - poor clergyman marries wealthy young lady, who is disinherited as a result of her marriage; he contracts typhus while caring for the poor and dies of it, soon followed by his young bride, leaving behind a baby who is rescued by her mother's wealthy brother, who dies shortly thereafter, but while on his deathbed makes his wife promise to raise the baby as one of their own; the baby's aunt promises, but neglects the child and eventually sends her to an orphanage where she is befriended by a lovely young girl who dies of consumption; the orphan grows up to become a governess and falls in love with her employer who has a sordid past...

Oh, yes, Anne loved this kind of story, but it drives me crazy. That mean old aunt, locking young Jane up in the frightening Red Room to teach her a lesson! That hypocritical old Mr. Brocklehurst, a clergyman no less!, making the orphans go without breakfast and cut off their braids in order to teach them humility!

Finally I realized that the book is a fairy tale, and keeping in mind Mr. Lewis's exhortation, I read the book that way, and then the fantastic events didn't bother me so much.

Or it could be an extended parable. In the author's preface, Miss Bronte says, "Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion.... appearance should not be mistaken for truth; narrow human doctrines, that only tend to elate and magnify a few, should not be substituted for the world-redeeming creed of Christ." In Jane Eyre appearances quite often are deceiving, and it is vitally important to be so familiar with and commited to Christian principles that one is able to keep them in spite of one's violently conflicting feelings.

Anyway, I hope I'm reading it right. I would like to have read it in school with a teacher and a classroom full of students with whom to discuss it!

*I'm using definition 2a: Fantastic 1. Quaint or strange in form, conception, or appearance. 2a. Unrestrainedly fanciful; extravagant: fantastic hopes. b. Bizarre, as in form or appearance; strange: fantastic attire; fantastic behavior. c. Based on or existing only in fantasy; unreal: fantastic ideas about her own superiority. 3. Wonderful or superb; remarkable: a fantastic trip to Europe.

Things to do when your ISP is down for a week
- read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
- plant 50 freesia bulbs
- direct planting of plum tree
- put alyssum and lobelia seeds around base of plum tree
- take naps
- prune 10 -12 foot high suckers out of old crape myrtle
- have son build teepee out of crape myrtle branches
- plant honeysuckle near teepee
- read Dorothy Sayer's Unnatural Death
- direct the planting of two boxwoods, replacing two dead shrubs in hedge
- put out delphinium seeds
- wait impatiently for Easter so vegetables can be planted

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Dorothy Sayers is so funny and is really good at describing personalities:

Miss Climpson was one of those people who say: "I am not the kind of person who reads other people's postcards." This is clear notice to all and sundry that they are, precisely, that kind of person. They are not untruthful; the delusion is real to them. It is merely that Providence has provided them with a warning rattle, like that of the rattlesnake. After that, if you are so foolish as to leave your correspondence in their way, it is your own affair.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Gotta go now. John is asking whether crabs and fishes are good or bad and whether they can talk, because he thought he heard a good crab talking to him - "it was a Dwacie-twab*," says John, "a yiddle gel** one, a dood*** one."

We don't have any crabs about, to my knowledge, so this bears investigation.
Cheerio! :-D

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
*Gracie-crab
**little girl
***good

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, be leaving, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Words by Katharina A. von Schlegel, tr. by Jane L. Borthwick
Music by Jean Sibelius

Headship, submission, and P.G. Wodehouse

The housekeeper's room at Blandings Castle, G.H.Q. of the domestic staff that ministered to the needs of the Earl of Emsworth, was in normal circumstances a pleasant and cheerful apartment. It caught the afternoon sun; and the paper which covered its walls had been conceived in a jovial spirit by someone who held that the human eye, resting upon ninety-seven simultaneous pink birds perched upon ninety-seven blue rose-bushes, could not but be agreeably stimulated and refreshed. Yet, with the entry of Beach, the butler, it was as though there had crept into its atmosphere a chill dreariness; and Mrs. Twemlow, the housekeeper, laying down her knitting, gazed at him in alarm.

"Whatever is the matter, Mr. Beach?"

The butler stared moodily out of the window. His face was drawn and he breathed heavily, as a man will who is suffereing from a combination of strong emotion and adenoids. A ray of sunshine, which had been advancing jauntily along the carpet, caught sight of his face and slunk out, abashed.

"I have come to a decision, Mrs. Twemlow."

"What about?"

"Ever since his lordship started to grow it, I have seen the writing on the wall plainer and plainer, and now I have made up my mind. The moment his lordship returns from London, I tender my resignation. Eighteen years have I served in his lordship's household, commencing as under-footman and rising to my present position, but now the end has come."

"You don't mean you're going just because his lordship has grown a beard?"

"It is the only way, Mrs. Twemlow. That beard is weakening his lordship's position throught the entire country-side. Are you aware that at the recent Sunday school treat I heard cries of 'Beaver!'?"

"No!"

"Yes! And this spirit of mockery and disrespect will spread. And, what is more, that beard is alienating the best elements in the County. I saw Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe look very sharp at it when he dined with us last Friday."

"It is not a handsome beard," admitted the housekeeper.

"It is not. And his lordship must be informed. As long as I remain in his lordship's service, it is impossible for me to speak. So I shall tender my resignation. Once that is done, my lips will no longer be sealed. Is that buttered toast under that dish, Mrs. Twemlow?"

"Yes, Mr. Beach. Take a slice. It will cheer you up."

"Cheer me up!" said the butler, with a hollow laugh that sounded like a knell.

I've been increasingly coming to the conviction that owing to my husband's position I need to be careful what I say in public regarding politics in general, and the military in particular. Those of you who know me in person, or who saw some of my online discussions on certain current events several months ago, know how passionately I can argue my political convictions, and it has been a struggle for me to learn when to keep my mouth shut. And as long as my husband is content to serve in the military, I must be content to be a military wife, trusting in God's sovereignty.

This is why you'll find very little political blogging at The BadgerMum.

South Dakota abortion ban defeated
"I guess it was too good to be true," says Samantha in NY. "After some political maneuvering South Dakota's proposed abortion ban was defeated in the senate by a vote of 18-17."

I don't have anything to add to what Samantha said, except that I'm glad they tried, and I hate backboneless politicians.

Learning by osmosis
As much as I want my kids to have some formal music instruction I've never had the resources to do it, but we do sing a lot, and listen to lots of music and talk about it. This morning, my mom, who has been visiting, put on something by Handel. My three year old listened for a little while and remarked, "This sounds like German music."

!!!

My favorite hymns in the Trinity are the German ones from the 16th and 17th centuries, but I hadn't realized how much John had picked up just from hearing us talk about what we love.

A little surprise?
A copy of Lois Lensky's Strawberry Girl, which my Mosey has been wanting to read, the first three of the Horatio Hornblower series, hardback 1930s editions no less, a video set of Pride and Prejudice to replace my poor worn out taped-off-the-TV-and-always-had-bad-sound video, and a letter in her own hand, and she calls it a little surprise!?!

It got here just a few minutes ago. Thanks, Jennifer! It's a queenly gift! ;-)

Help a student
Michelle is surveying Christian bloggers as her project for her master's degree. It's a two part survey - after you complete the first part, she'll send you an email with a link to the second part.

Even if you're not interested in the survey, check out her site - it's snowing there!