Bastille Day

Jul14

Do French people wish each other a Joyeaux Bastille Day? I don’t know, but today is that day, the day that Parisian citizens stormed the Bastille, a prison and a fortress, captured the weapons stored there, and began the French Revolution. Ever since a few days before the Fourth of July, I have been reading several books that illuminate the French/American connection and the revolutions that made those two countries what they are today.

1. Great Improvisations: Franklin, France, and Birth of America by Stacy Schiff. I’m still not through with this one. Although it won a Pulkitzer Prize, I find the level of detail in this book a little more than I can take except in small doses. Still, it’s fascinating to see how human Benjamin Franklin and the other American revolutionaries were, how it was only by God’s grace that we were able to gain our independence from England. It was just as touch and go as Iraq is today. We could easily have been forced to make peace with the British on their terms–or been forced into an unfavorable alliance with France that made us practically French vassals. Although Schiff never mentions the hand of God in all the diplomacy that Franklin and John Adams carried on in France, I see it clearly. The founding of this country truly was a miracle, due to God’s mercy and the prayers of many Christians who lived in the colonies at the time. I do not believe in the demonstrably false idea that all our Founding Fathers were Christians (Franklin was certainly unorthodox, to say the least), but many were committed Christians and praying men.

2. Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. Sabatini tells a good story set during the French Revolution; it reminds me of Star Wars, the “Luke, I am your father” motif. Why are young adventurers in swashbucklers always looking for their missing fathers?

3. The Glorious Cause: A Novel of the American Revolution by Jeff Shaara. I’m starting this one tonight. It’s fiction that covers the same time period as Great Improvisations.

Read, White and Blue: Books and Links for the Fourth of July

Jul1

Calling all U.S. citizens, how will you celebrate the Fourth of July? We always have a full day: parade in the morning, home to cool off, and then the community get together and fireworks in the afternoon/evening. This year our church is handing out bottles of water for parade-goers and cards of encouragement to send to soldiers overseas at the parade. What will you be doing? How does your church family celebrate our nation’s founding? Should churches have patriotic music and special celebrations to mark the birthdate of our country? Or is this combination of patriotism and worship dishonoring to God?

As for me, I plan to attend a July 3rd Freedom Concert with (blast from the past) Dallas Holm at a local Methodist church. I remember Dallas Holm and Praise from way back when, and I would love to hear him sing Rise Again.

Some picture books for July 4th:
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere’s Ride.Illustrated by Ted Rand. Dutton, 1990.
Dalgliesh, Alice.The 4th of July Story. Alladin, 1995. (reprint edition)
Spier, Peter. The Star-Spangled Banner. Dragonfly Books, 1992.
Bates, Katharine Lee. America the Beautiful. Illustrated by Neil Waldman. Atheneum, 1993.
Devlin, Wende. Cranberry Summer.

Also on July 4th:
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born July 4, 1804. Advice from Nathaniel Hawthorne on Blogging.
Stephen Foster was born on July 4, 1826. The PBS series American Experience has an episode on the life of Stephen Foster, author of songs such as Beautiful Dreamer and Oh! Susanna.
Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872.
The poem “America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates was first published on July 4, 1895.
On July 4, 1970 Casey Kasem hosted “American Top 40” on radio for the first time. I cannot tell a lie; in high school I spent every Sunday afternoon listening to Casey Kasem count down the Top 40.

James M. Kushner at Mere Comments recommends David McCullough’s book 1776 for Fourth of July reading. I haven’t read it yet, but I’ll probably add it to The List. I plan a six month update on The List very soon, for those who are interested.

Last but not least, via Ivy’s Coloring Page Search Engine, I found this page of free coloring sheets for the 4th of July. We liked the fireworks page.

Go celebrate with your own fireworks–or watch some—or something. Happy Independence Day!

National Rose Month

Jun1

A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. –Gertrude Stein

God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December.–J.M. Barrie

Gather the rose of love whilst yet is time.–Edmund Spenser

I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.–Emma Goldman

Take time to stop and smell the roses, but not if you are being followed by an angry Samurai.–J. Collins

Some people are always complaining because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses. –Alphonse Karr

Won’t you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you. –Richard B. Sheridan

The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple’s a rose. –Robert Frost

Oh, my luve’s like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June;
Oh, my luve’s like the melodie
That’s sweetly played in tune.–Robert Burns

O, how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odour which doth in it live.
The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the roses,
Hang on such thorns and play as wantonly
When summer’s breath their masked buds discloses:
But, for their virtue only is their show,
They live unwoo’d and unrespected fade,
Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;
Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made:
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth. –Shakespeare’s Sonnet LIV (What, may I ask, is a canker-bloom? It must not smell like a rose.):

Roses in literature:

In Beauty and the Beast, Beauty’s father picks a single rose from the Beast’s garden, an act of ingratitude which marks the beginning of all their subsequent troubles.
Snow White and Rose Red is also by The Brothers Grimm.
In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, the not-so-bright gardeners painted white roses red to please the Queen of Hearts.
The Rose by Christina Rossetti
The Rose in the Deeps of His Heart by William Butler Yeats
Short story: The Rose of Dixie by O Henry
A Rose for Emily is a short story by William Faulkner with a gruesome ending.
The Nightingale and the Rose by Oscar Wilde
The Rose in My Garden by Arnold and Anita Lobel
Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner
The Children of Primrose Lane by Noel Streatfield (What exactly is a primrose?)
O the Red Rose Tree by Patricia Beatty
Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott Eight Cousins is my favorite LMA book, and this one is its sequel. Wonderful books., they’re not really about roses, but rather about a girl named Rose and her eight boy cousins.
The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses by Robert Louis Stevenson, set during the War of the Roses in England.

Songs about roses:

Rose of Tralee
The Last Rose of Summer
Red Roses for a Blue Lady The lyrics page cites Vaughan Monroe as the artist who had a hit with this song in 1949, but I’m pretty sure I remember Andy Williams singing it.
Everything’s Comin’ Up Roses Anybody else remember the musical Gypsy about Gypsy Rose Lee?
Ramblin’ Rose I think this is one of my daddy’s favorite Nat King Cole tunes.
Moonlight and Roses
Primrose Lane
My Wild Irish Rose
Only a Rose
Yellow Rose of Texas
San Antonio Rose
Second Hand Rose
Rose of Washington Square From the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Days of Wine and Roses From the very sad movie of the same title with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick.
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Mexicalli Rose A cowboy song recorded by Gene Autrey and by Bing Crosby.

Coloring Pages, Crafts, and Recipes:
Painting the Roses Red
Rosa Eglanteria by Pierre Joseph Redout.

National Day of Prayer, 2005

May4

iprayed
Today is the National Day of Prayer, observed annually on the first Thursday in May. At the official website organizers suggest prayer for these centers of influence and power: government, the media, education, families, and churches. I just spent a few seconds in prayer, and I plan to remind myself to do so throughout the day. Won’t you join me?

Mother Goose Day

May1

Hear What Ma’am Goose Says!

“My dear little blossoms, there are now in this world, and always will be, a great many grannies besides myself, both in petticoats and pantaloons, some a deal younger to be sure; but all monstrous wise, and of my own family name. These old women, who never had a chick nor child of their own, but who always know how to bring up other people’s children, will tell you with very long faces, that my enchanting, quieting, soothing volume, my all-sufficient anodyne for cross, peevish, won’t-be-comforted little bairns, ought to be laid aside for more learned books, such as they could select and publish. Fudge! I tell you that all their banterings can’t deface my beauties, nor their wise pratings equal my wiser prattlings; and all imitators of my refreshing songs might as well write a new Billy Shakespeare as another Mother Goose; we two great poets were born together, and we shall go out of the world together. No, no, my Melodies will never die, While nurses sing or babies cry. “– From the preface to The Only True Mother Goose Melodies (1843)

And you thought we were through with poetry for a while. My favorite nursery rhyme is one that Organizer Daughter altered when she was little:

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and taco shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

The Mary in the rhyme was either Mary, Queen of Scots or Bloody Mary (Elizabeth I’s half-sister) or Mary Magdalene. And the silver bells and cockle shells are either decorations on a dress or instruments of torture. The pretty maids? Mary’s ladies in waiting or the guillotine. Take your pick. Admit it. Don’t you like our version better than the original? Taco shells are so harmless, and they have no hidden meaning as far as I know.

For more information on how to celebrate Mother Goose Day, go to the Mother Goose Society website.

Arbor Day–April 29th

Apr29

Plant a Tree by Lucy Larcom

He who plants a tree
Plants a hope.
Rootlets up through fibres blindly grope;
Leaves unfold into horizons free.
So man’s life must climb
From the clods of time
Unto heavens sublime.
Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree,
What the glory of thy boughs shall be?

The poet goes on to say that you also plant joy, peace, youth, and love when you plant a tree. You can read the entire poem by clicking on the title above. Those seem like five good reasons to plant a tree on this Arbor Day. Unfortunately, my yard is full of trees, mostly pine trees, and I don’t think I have a place to plant a tree. Maybe I’ll plant a flower or two instead.
Arbor Day is celebrated in most states the first Friday in April.

National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month

Apr3

April is such a great month–poetry and grilled cheese sandwiches. How do you make yours? We melt butter in a skillet and then put the bread in to soak up the melted butter and toast. Then put the cheese on top of one piece of bread and put the other piece on top. Cook until browned and the cheese is melted.

Did you know that the most common ingredient people add to a grilled cheese sandwich is tomato?

April 2, 2005

Apr2

Today is the 200th anniversary of Denmark’s greatest storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen. What’s your favorite Andersen tale?

I like The Ugly Duckling, partly because Z-baby does such a plaintive rendition of the ugly duckling song from Timeless Tales from Hallmark: The Ugly Duckling. The words go like this:

I’m all alone, on my own,
With no one beside me,
No one to guide me,
On my own and all alone.

Unfortunately, you can’t get the full effect without Z-baby’s sweet little ducky voice. You can watch the video, which I recommend. I also recommend the 1952 movie, Hans Christian Andersen, with Danny Kaye. It’s got lots of good songs, too: Inchworm, I’m Hans Christian Andersen, Thumbelina, Wonderful Copenhagen. You and your urchins will enjoy the movie although it has only a tenuous connection to Andersen’s real life.

As for books, there are all sorts of editions, collections, illustrations, and other versions of Andersen’s fairy tales. I like this version of The Snow Queen by Amy Ehrlich, illustrated by one of my favorite artists, Susan Jeffers. To read the stories in English, you can go to this Andersen website.

Hans Christian Andersen had an interesting, if somewhat sad, life. He travelled extensively, and he met many famous authors including Victor Hugo, Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, and Charles Dickens. He fell in love with Jenny Lind, the famous soprano nicknamed “The Swedish Nightingale,” and he wrote his story “The Nightingale” as a tribute to her. Soren Kierkegaard, the philosopher, made fun of Andersen in a book, and Andersen retaliated by writing a play with a foolish philosopher as one of the characters.
The Hans Christian Andersen Center has Victor Borge playing Andersen’s ode to Denmark, Denmark, My Native Land.
Andersen Fairy Tales has animated versions of some of HCA’s tales on the web.
The Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center is in Central Park, NYC, and storytelling takes place there, rain or shine, from June until September. The storytelling center is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year along with HCA’s 200th birthday.
Hans Christian Andersen also enjoyed making paper cut-outs and silhouettes. He id said to have always carried a pair of scissors with him, and he often cut out characters and objects of paper to accompany his storytelling.

So have you had time to figure out your favorite HCA fairy tale? I think my favorite is “The Emperor’s New Clothes” because it seems to be applicable to so many situations in modern life. The innocent, but wise, person sees the truth while everyone else is pretending to believe a lie. The emperor truly does have no clothes. Don’t leave until you’ve told me what your favorite is and why you like it. (By the way, I think “The Little Fir Tree” is a terribly depressing Christmas story.)

Limericks for April Fool’s Day

Apr1

Poetry is like making a joke. If you get one word wrong at the end of a joke, you’ve lost the whole thing.–W.S. Merwin

Amanda at Wittingshire posted this (broken) limerick a few weeks ago.I don’t know the author, but it sounds like my poetical attempts, only more clever.

There was an old man from Milan,
Whose limericks never would scan.
When told this was so,
He said, “Yes, I know.
But I always try to get as many syllables into the last line as I possibly can.

April is National Poetry Month, and I intend to give you a gift this month: a poem a day. If I miss a day, forgive me. If my poetical selections displease you, again forgive. If you enjoy deceptively simple poetry and light verse that’s not always so light and meaning cloaked in the language of poetry, you might have a good time celebrating Poetry Month with me.

He Is Risen!

Mar27

cross on sunday

In addition to the Resurrection Sunday traditions I wrote about last year, we also:

Have our own Easter sunrise (sort of) worship. We eat breakfast outside, weather permitting, a breakfast made up of homemade cinnamon rolls, deviled eggs, and orange juice. This morning we had cranberry-orange juice inside because it was too wet and windy to eat outdoors.
We read the story of Jesus’s Resurrection from one of the gospels, and we usually sing a hymn. But we forgot to sing this morning.
We listen to Easter music, a motley collection of favorite CCM (Don Francisco, John Michael Talbot, 2nd Chapter of Acts) from the 70’s and Handel and whatever else seems appropriate and celebratory.
We hang our Easter flag out in front, and we enjoy worshipping the Risen Lord with our church family.
We’ll also have ham, green beans, and sweet potatoes for dinner.

Semicolon

Books we must have though we lack bread.

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