RGBP Friday Five: Books, books and more books!

As long as I have a book to read I'm happy. There is always one "emergency book" stashed in my car and my purse. Just in case I'm ever stuck in a snow storm, or in an emergency room. I got caught without reading material twice in such circumstances, and it was so painful each time that I learned that I need this more than I need lipstick in my bag. The first time was in the ER with a two-year old who had an open fracture of his hand. On Christmas Eve. The hand surgeon was (where else) in surgery, so we had to "hang out" in the ER until Crash could be evaluated, and the hand repaired. The only kids book (or any book for that matter) they could scrounge up for us was the classic (and apparently it is a classic, but not one I'd known or would come to love) Scuffy the Tugboat. I read it over and over and over again to my drugged pre-schooler. I was ready to scream by the end, or demand the same drugs they were giving him!

1. Fiction what kind, detective novels, historical stuff, thrillers, romance????

Truth? Science fiction and period mysteries. A favorite SF series is about Miles Vorkosigan, who is short and smart. I can relate.

2. When you get a really good book do you read it all in one chunk or savour it slowly?

I used to down it in one go, but of late have enjoyed savoring them.

3. Is there a book you keep returning to and why?

Not so much any one, but I do know that when I'm stressed I tend to re-read fiction that I've enjoyed in the past.

4. Apart from the Bible which non-fiction book has influenced you the most?

Two? One fiction, one not. In This House of Brede, by Rumer Goden and Lady with a Spear, the biography of marine biologist Eugenie Clark.

5. Describe a perfect place to read. ( could be anywhere!!!)
Up a tree! My favorite reading tree is in the photo. It's an enormous beech tree that has a cleft shaped like an easy chair. I bring a book, a thermos of iced tea and a towel (to pad the branch), and climb up into the cool, rustling branches for an afternoon's read. Last time I took my camera up with me. Alas the tree is too far from my home base to be a regular reading spot, but it is downright perfect. Particularly since no one can find me once I'm up there!

8 Things or What Sherlock Holmes could not have known

Both Cathy and MaryBeth have tagged me with two version of a meme...7/8 random facts. So here are the rules for the 8 Things version.

Rules:

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3.At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

My mother gave me the complete Sherlock Holmes to read one summer when I was recovering from a serious inner ear infection. I had lost all sense of balance, I couldn't even walk across the room without help. So while everyone tumbled outside to play in the summer heat, I lounged on a sofa and read. The biography of Marie Curie, The Good Earth, and...all of Conan Doyle's tales of Holmes and Watson. My favorite scenes had Holmes astonishing Watson with what he could deduce from examining a person's hat or hands. Here are 8 Things that I think Holmes could not have read from my hands:

1. I lived for a summer on a small farm outside Oaxaca, Mexico.
2. I can order breakfast in Swahili.
3. I used to race sailboats.
4. I use my first husband's last name, rather than my maiden name.
5. I can knit, but not crotchet.
6. I've prayed the Office daily for 25 years.
7. I can't golf. I've tried.
8. I hate wet socks.

If you aren't utterly fascinated by these 8 Things about me, you can try this randomly generated list.

Tagged: Kathryn, Scrivenings, Rev. Sharon, Meg, Mother Laura

Irrelevant, repetitive or nonsensical?

I posted on my other blog this afternoon (find out what mangos and poison ivy have in common) to discover that I have to use the word identification feature (and thereby prove that I am human) to post as my blog has been flagged as a "spam blog". A spam blog contains (according to blogspot): irrelevant, repetitive, or nonsensical text, along with a large number of links, usually to a single site. Having read my teaching evaluations for last semester, I have some students who might agree with the first part of that analysis!

Into Great Silence

With the middle school chorus' rendition of the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann ringing in my ears, I got in the car last night to drive up to the former Jesuit novitiate north of Reading. It was so dark when I arrived that I nearly missed the gates. I wound down the long drive to find the parking lot brimming with cars, a sure sign that a retreat is in full swing. I offered up a quick prayer that this group had a better grasp on the concept of silence than those in the house on my last visit, grabbed my bag and headed up the walk to the cloisters. I heaved a sigh of relief - great (as in really terrific or profound, take your pick) silence reigned within.

I can see from the bulletin board that the retreat is in its sixth full day. The stillness is tangible, and I slip into it, drafting on everyone else's work of the week. I'm seriously undeserving of this - having not worked a full day, but getting a full day's wages nonetheless. Thankfully no one is comparing graces.

I've been here twelve hours, spoken to no one, soaking in the grace, slowly stilling body and soul. What a change from last time. No ringing phones tearing at the quiet, no lawnmowers savaging the lawn and the peace, no cell phone conversations crawling in through the windows, not even an organ ripples through the stillness.

At dawn, I stole into the kitchens for a cup of tea, and took it and my breviary out into the east cloister garden. At the moment I can't bear the thought of going to lunch -- even the dishes clattering seems too much. Time to dig into my stash of fruit and cheese...

Fifty Fewer Gifts

Barnacle Boy turned 11 today. He was born just after 11, a synergy not lost on him. When he came home from school today I asked him how he was. "Eleven!" he replied firmly. Yesterday he enjoyed a celebration with his friends and Crash. All week long he wanted to know when we were going to the local dollar store to get the stuff for the goodie bags. Three weeks into "fifty fewer" I could not bear to send fifty-odd pieces of "stuff" into other peoples' homes. Instead I suggested we hit our local children's book store and buy a paperback book for each kid. The Boy worried about transgressing the unspoken compact: you will come home from a birthday party with a bag of small plastic things that a parent will soon step on and break (undoubtedly muttering some imprecation under her/his breath) and CANDY. In the end he was game to give it a try.

We traipsed off with a list of names, and Crash (in case we needed a second opinion). It turned out to be a great deal of fun for the Boy to select books for his friends - Game Guy likes dark humor, while Bead Girl would definitely not want something too girly. It wasn't any cheaper to buy a dozen paperbacks, but it wasn't any more expensive either (we bought enough that the store gave me 10% off on the whole bill - yet another reason to shop local!).

The Boy held his breath at the end of the party. The first kid out the door was presented with his book, and crowed, "I haven't read this one yet. Cool!" Whew.