My gang, enjoying today’s beautiful weather. Is it February or April?
1. So our Valentines Day was very nice, though low key. Dom brought me flowers and chocolates and a card…. and BBQ take-out because I totally lost it over figuring out what to do for dinner. The kids and I made Valentines cards. Or I tried to make one. When Dom came home mine was still unfinished. Not that he minded at all.
Paper dolls, Bella style.
2. After a while though Bella got bored with pasting hearts on paper and began to make her own creations. She brought me an “outfit” that she had made.
A beautiful bride!
A tall yellow dress form with arms and blue shoes. She told me it was a wedding dress. Later she added a blue head and a blue veil that was longer than the dress. Then she drew a face on it and added a heart sticker.
Bride doll with veil
She also made a black bridesmaid with green high heels. And a family, mom, dad, and children that never got heads.
Bridesmaid with green high heels
Sophie’s children
Sophie made some people too, figures cobbled together with little scraps of red paper.
3. Have I mentioned that Anthony is walking now? He’s been making strides for weeks and now he’s probably at about 75-80% walking to about 25-20% crawling. He’s slimmed down considerably, just as everyone said he would, though he’s still a pretty chubby guy. And he’s going to be one on Monday!
4. Today Ben had me reading Curious George backward. He likes to open books to the back. This time he was turning the pages for me while I nursed Anthony. I think he knew it was funny to read it backward. When we got to the title page he made me read it to him twice. And he laughed. At least reading backwards is a nice change of pace.
5. Bella doesn’t just play with beads, she becomes a jeweler making fine jewelry and selling it to support her family. I just love her imagination.
Bella at Ikea
Yet another reason to homeschool. I would be so sad to miss all the Bella stories if she weren’t here all day. I’d be sad not to see her playing so sweetly with her sister. Oh of course they fight; but they really are the best of friends and I love the way they work together.
Sophie at Ikea
Anthony at Ikea
6. This weekend we went to Ikea and bought some more shelves to deal with the overflowing clutter of the school books and art supplies in the dining room and the mess of the pantry. Then on Sunday we moved the furniture. The futon went from the living room to the office and two bookcases went from the office to the living room. How is it possible that both rooms feel bigger and more open? The kids all seem to be enjoying the change. We should probably rearrange the furniture every February.
Dom and Ben at Ikea
7. Today the weather was lovely and after naps we all went to play outside. I pulled Anthony around in the wagon, first with Ben and then with Sophie. Then Ben pulled Anthony. The weather has been so very mild this winter, a nice change from last winter when we were buried for months under feet of snow.
Ben pulls Anthony in the wagon. I couldn’t believe he could actually do it.
This week’s Quick Takes are being hosted by the lovely Betty Beguiles.
I have rather seen the Bates/Anna situation as being impossible to judge with current available Catholic venues re: the right to annulment procedures since that is simply not in the mix of the times involved. Yet, it is obvious that there would be grounds for such in the Bates’ marriage due to the obvious mental/psychological dualism of Mrs. Bates making it from the beginning an impossible capability on her part to be honest or even mature about such vows taken. Sooo, rather than sit back and worry over the lack of venue at the time for such pleading with a religious court that simply did not exist nor even the familiarity with such moreal legalities I would then judge according to the efforts put forth, even under the duress of human nature and the heroic sacrifice given nonetheless by only one side of that “union”, that such conditions did still exist in the eyes of the One Who would judge “as if” such a procedure did exist for the parties involved. If pronouncements under such conditions, arising from tried human nature of the feminine emotions under such irresolvable choices I don’t recoil from them as if they result from simple lust or personal selfishness which has been demonstrated to simply not be the case here where hopes for a legitimate course of action to morally be taken are instead the case.
Rose, I’m not so sure annulment would be obvious. I mean, we have no idea if she was mentally ill when they got married. If she wasn’t, then it is simply a matter of “in sickness and in health” and, while maybe she should be committed, it doesn’t necessarily follow that there would be grounds for annulment. Perhaps she was not able to make her vows but perhaps she was.
This is Betsy, Karen Edmisten’s daughter. I, too, have been watching Once Upon A Time, and really enjoying it.
I want Mary Margaret and David to be together, but there’s the problem of Kathryn. My consolation is that in their fairy tale lives, he wasn’t married. My family also talks about suspending disbelief, because in real life we would never cheer for such a thing to happen.
I’m very worried about the whole thing with Kathryn disappearing, because both David and Mary Margaret are going to be suspected.
—Betsy
Katherine,
Well, to my mind it was pretty obviously given that the woman’s psychological makeup was one of the devious from the beginning of the history of the marriage….there was never the honest overt equal intentions between the two when entering upon the “agreement”. I think there was also the implied selfish intention re: future children.
Love once upon a time and person of interest. I have a theory about once upon a time. Since the prince isn’t married to kathryn in the fairy tale world, I think he isn’t in the real world either. We know that he and snow were probably a legitimate marriage in the fairy tale world and that he has been unconscious since the switch. I think the modern marriage is part of the regina/kathryn crafted lie. J’accuse!!
The only TV shows we’re currently watching are on DVD, since we just cancelled our DISH service. Boy, did that feel good! I am loving Foyle’s War, a mystery series set in WWII-era Britain. It’s brilliant.
I also enjoyed watching Jeeves and Wooster, but honestly I’m not a huge fan of Stephen Fry in general, so I prefer to read the Wodehouse books.
Battlestar Galactica is always a favorite here. As for adultery, I always hate it when a character I really like ends up having an affair. It just ruins it for me.
Aaaahhhh!!! Did I forget to mention I’m two weeks behind on Downton Abbey? Katherine, I just started to read your comment and realized I was going to get spoilers. I’m obviously going to have to wait to read this thread until I’ve caught up. So that will explain why I”m not responding to these posts right away. Hopefully, I’ll get some time during the boys’ naps.
We watch very few TV shows (we’re pretty picky), but Person on Interest and Downton Abbey are our current favorites. I completely agree with you on the Bates-Anna storyline—I have never heard anyone else mention it, but my husband and I have really been bothered by it! Several times this season, Anna said something along the lines of “I would live in sin with you” to Bates—such a terrible thing to say, and definitely not the mark of a wholesome relationship. I will say that Bates and Anna did not develop their relationship physically before they were legally able to get married, and for that I am thankful. I would have liked to be able to root for them in that they are otherwise likeable and honorable characters, and I suppose now that Mrs. Bates is dead, it isn’t really an issue anymore, but I’m annoyed at the writers’ attitude toward the whole thing. Other than that, though, I do love Downton Abbey. I am a sucker for costume dramas. Thankfully, my husband likes period films as much as I do.
We also started watching Once Upon a Time at the beginning of the season after reading good reviews, but we stopped the episode after Prince Charming almost ran away with Snow White. Once again: the whole adultery thing. And the same episode, if I’m remembering right, Snow White had a fling with another man…really disappointing. My husband and I both have trouble watching shows in which we can’t root for the main characters. (I told you—we’re picky!
) So we stopped watching. It actually did have an interesting premise, though, and I liked all the flashbacks and whatnot—I think they’re an interesting device for character development and they mix things up in terms of plot too. I did enjoy Lost but was unsatisfied with the ending—I felt like the writers were not able to handle all the twists and turns they threw in to make the show entertaining. So I hope this show doesn’t go in a similar direction.
The other show we have been watching this season is The Firm, which has been really good so far. Unfortunately, it’s scheduled to be cancelled after this run. But that has some interesting characters and time-twists in storytelling. And no complaints about Person of Interest yet.
Downton Abbey is the only show I’ve been watching. There are things I love about it and things I hate. The Bates/Anna line is one thing that has and continues to bother me. Although they are now legitimately married, it seems like her character began one way – principled, upright, kind, etc. – and then went the way of the dodo over a married man with secrets without any thought of what those secrets are or could be or could say about him. The other thing that really gets under my skin is O’Brien. Yes, she is a villain, but she is the only one in the film who has committed murder. I’m sorry, but unborn still counts and I cannot get past the bathtub/soap scene that they seem to like to forget about until convenient and still try to make her possibly penitential, etc. She committed murder, premeditated at that, and I’d like the show to treat it that way. That said, I love Maggie Smith and enjoy the period aspects of the show. In terms of principled, upright, admirable characters though…. more and more seem to be falling and if they wind up with a show of a bunch of people I don’t like, I’m not sure I’ll keep watching just for Maggie Smith.
I have limited time and access to American TV shows, so I only watch a few dependable favorites.
Downton Abbey is on my must-list. I even pre-purchase the entire season on iTunes so I don’t miss it. Each episode takes so long to download, though. There is so much in the story lines that is rooted in historical events. I wondered if the Branson-Sybil story had any similar roots.
Castle fortunately has a following in China. I can watch it on the Chinese version of Youtube. It’s all about Nathan Fillion, even as the stories get formulaic and they seem to jump the shark.
30 Rock. This has been harder to keep up with this year.
And, speaking of adultery, I am looking forward to the new season of Mad Men. I will also buy the season on iTunes. My husband can’t stand it (“Do they do anything else besides drink and screw around?”) but I can’t stop watching. There aren’t many characters to “root for,” that’s for sure.