Of course... even when I'm not reading...

I'm reading. I always read the newspaper, The Houston Chronicle. How I still miss the long-gone Houston Post. Oh, how I miss the Chronicle from the time when it was a real newspaper instead of a mournful shadow of itself.

The mail periodically brings, well, periodicals: The Economist, Reader's Digest, National Geographic, Consumer Reports, Texas Highways, Texas Parks and Wildlife, a plethora of home decorating mags, and the public relations publications of Adubon Society, Houston Zoo, Houston Museum of Natural Science, Nature Conservancy and para-church pubs.

The latest addition to this list is our Christmas gift from our god-daughter, Holly: Mental Floss where knowledge junkies get their fix, an entertaining, kooky, fun, and thoroughly delightful read which David and I both enjoy and highly recommend:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/

And, of course, I seldom miss my daily devotions.

"Of course," just as my great grandmother, Mama Calahan, said to my sister and me, "Of course, I know you girls completed your morning devotions long ago, but Mrs. M_ and I enjoyed a late start to our morning and hoped you wouldn't mind joining us for ours. It's so nice to have good, young voices to read and sing for us."

Of course, neither of us had given a single thought to ever doing any morning devotions although I think we have often done so since. For me morning devotions are now an "of course" just as they were for my great grandmother. This year my devotional readings are coming from two sources:

1. Jowett, John Henry: My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year. New York Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1924. Project Gutenberg. Kindle. Each day's reading is a short commentary on a scripture reference which I'm incongruously reading in the Amplified Bible, the Lockman Foundation's Kindle edition.
2. For a number of years now, my daily Bible readings have been taken from a lectoinary. This year I'm using the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops with readings from the New American Bible. I'm posting a link to today's reading. http://www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml

Now, that LadyBird is happily jumping up on Cathey's kitchen counters and that Rice Owls Baseball's hiatus was followed by an out-of-town series before returning to Reckling Park and that most of my post-funeral correspondence has been attended to... I had time for a Fiction Binge:

Braeme, Charolotte M.: Dora Thorne. Project Gutenberg. Kindle. Braeme's (1836-1884) last name is correctly spelled "Brame" but often spelled variously including "Braem" and her pseudonym for U.S. published books is Bertha C. Clay. She was the author of Grandma Wieland's "now that's a story" Married in Name Only. Grandma's other book for which I'm still searching was titled, Wed and Parted. I read Dora Thorne because it is the best known book of an author associated with Miss Toosey's Mission as part of evelynwhitakerlibrary.org. I recently had an email from her great great great niece. FICTION ROMANCE 19th Century

Whyte-Melville, G. J.: Kate Coventry. An autobiography. T. Nelson and Sons, 1909. Project Gutenberg. Kindle. I read this book about a year ago but somehow never noted it in my journal so this is a second reading. An amusing story and an excellent depiction of "the new woman." There is a good deal on horsemanship (or horsewomanship) and fox and stag hunting. FICTION ROMANCE 19th Century HORSE HUNTING WOMEN'S FRIENDSHIPS COUSINS FAMILY NOTE CALAHAN WIELAND

Bye-Bye, Birdie

Lady Bird, the border collie puppy, came to visit on Good Friday and went home on April 30th. She grew from a 12-week old puppy (terrible two's in human years) to almost 16-weeks (a tweenager) and was either terribly sweet or horrid most of the time. It was an experience for all of us. Her last couple of days were near perfect. Mandy was willing to play with the pup and it was fun to watch them play herding games but I'm the only one who misses her at all. Mandy's reaction was to show me the kennel and ask if she could have the uneaten puppy chow. Cathey had a lovely trip to Ireland and I can tell I'm going to have to follow in her footsteps one day.

And the gods laugh...

Ever state a firm fact about what you do or don't do and the next thing you know...

The time I best remember is the Christmas card I sent to everyone I know that included this phrase: "No white Christmas for us, instead we'll plant tulips." Well, that year it snowed. In Houston. It snowed a lot in Galveston and on Christmas morning we played on a snowy beach at sunrise.

That's our Mandy, a sheltie, chasing snowballs.

Snow!

And a dog to play with!

What fun!

And now I'm always dreaming of a White Christmas.

Well, it's happened again.

In a previous post "What I'm Reading" I said that nothing ever keeps me from reading. And the gods laugh at my presumption in making "ever" statements. Turns out that a border collie puppy can indeed keep me from reading. I cannot wait for Cathey to get back from Ireland and take LadyBird to her forever home so that Mandy, David and I can enjoy our quiet, peaceful, dull home and life.

Added a link to a previous post

I've added a link to a YouTube video posted by niece BK of my mother singing to her great-granddaughter. The original post was dated 10 March.

What I'm Reading...

A trip out of town and the IRS have kept me from posting in a timely manner but nothing ever keeps me from reading. This post is just the update to my reading list.

I'm reading a lot of material on how to raise and train a puppy since I'll be baby sitting a border collie puppy while Cathey goes to Ireland in search of Celtic spirituality.

I'm reading a bit about estates and probate and checklists for dealing with death.

Fiction Binge:

Hill, Grace Livingston: The Girl form Montana. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1922 by J.B. Lippincott Company. Project Gutenberg. Kindle. A fleeing girl, a lady by instinct, a true gentleman, and a long journey on horseback to Philadelphia. What becomes of all the girls/ladies who are not heiresses? This book has a comprehensive listing of titles by Grace Livinston Hill and several titles by Ruth Livingston Hill. FICTION ROMANCE 20th Century

Hill Lutz, Grace Livingston: The Witness. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, copyright 1917 by Harper Brothers. Project Gutenberg. Kindle. Dedicated to her mother: Marcia Macdonald Livingston. A men's college story based on the bibilical account of the stoning of Stephen in Acts. The far-reaching influence of a faithful life, faithful parents, and the calling of a preacher. Two constrasting women, good and evil.. FICTION ROMANCE RELIGION 20th Century

Hill Lutz, Grace Livingston: The Mystery of Mary. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, copyright 1910 by J.B. Lippincott Company. Project Gutenberg. Kindle. A fleeing lady, a true gentleman, and a lot of bother about hats. FICTION ROMANCE 20th Century

Bedside Book:

Mariani, Paul L.: Gerard Manley Hopkins: A life. New York: Viking, the Penguin Group, 2008. 496 p. includes index BIOGRAPHY POETS CATHOLIC OXFORD 19th Century 21st Century Hopkins has been my favorite poet since I discovered him during my freshman year at Rice University. I like Marianni's writing very much; superb shaping of excerpts from poems, journals, letters into a very readable text. Not "one of the best," without doubt the best account of Hopkins life I have read. A gift from David on my 60th birthday.

Chairside Nibbles:

Yonge, Charolotte M. (ed.): Gold Dust: a collection of golden counsels for the sanctification of daily life. New York: Thomas Whittkaer n.d.. 165 p. DEVOTION 19th Century



Patten, Robert L.: George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art. Volume1: 1792-1835. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1992. Kindle. BIOGRAPHY ARTIST ILLUSTRATOR 18th Century 19th Century 20th Century This award winning biography by one of my English literature professors from Rice University is proving a most enjoyable re-read. One of Patten's strong points as a professor was rooting the literature in the history, the sociology, and the culture of the time, He offers rich details in a very readable frame. With my new interest in book illustration it is even more interesting to me now than it was on my first reading some years ago.


SEASONS:

Linn, Dennis; Linn, Sheila Fabricant; Linn, Matthew: Good Goats: healing our image of God. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1994. vi, 101 p. FEMINITY OF GOD JUDGEMENT DAY HELL DOCTRINE 20th Century

Poetry in life and death

Charles David Pipes, my dear father-in-law, died Saturday 28 March. The link below will take you to a tribute page at my domain where you may read the obituary that Steve Sandifer presented at his funeral and download a .pdf slide show, the tribute to his life that was on view at the visitation.

http://evelynwhitakerlibrary.org/id52.html

What I'm thinking about today is the comfort that poetry brings to our lives. At the service we were comforted by some biblical poetry--Psalm 42,Psalm 121, Psalm 127, Psalm--and by some hymns, which are really poetry set to music--Take Time to Be Holy, Whispering Hope, and Rock of Ages--and by two poems which had been a part of Charles' life.

The first, Thanatopsis, by William Cullen Bryant, Charles had learned as a school boy. {David and I remember learning it also. I wonder, do students still memorize poetry? Do they still memorize this poem?} David was surprised to find his father already knew the poem and could quote it by memory. The last nine verses were a sort of motto for Charles and he often quoted them. In fact he had quoted them at least once during that last week of his life. The words were a comfort to him as he faced death with the faith he had lived:

So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan which moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon; but, sustain'd and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/thanatopsis.html

The second, High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., Charles had framed on his office wall and, after his retirement, in the guest bedroom where some of his other Air Force souvenirs were displayed.

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

I took an Alumni College course at Rice once that was titled How Poetry Saved My Life. I know it has certainly more than once saved mine.