Summer doldrums hit and I never got around to publishing my book notes for June or July. And now August is over too. So I’m just going to make one massive Summer Book Notes post and clear the slate for the fall. I read a lot this summer, mostly in series. Finished in June In […]
Now that the kids are older I’m finding that podcasts work really well at hitting that sweet spot for listening to while I cook or on a short drive. Here are some of our current favorites. Do you listen to podcasts with your kids? I’d love to learn about your favorites. Many of my readers […]
We had breakfast on the go— muffins and such from the grocery store— and left Gettysburg. We drove south to Maryland because less than half an hour away is the shrine of a favorite saint, St Elizabeth Ann Seton, who was the first US-born canonized saint. I’ve read a couple books by her and was […]
Ekphrasis: “Description” in Greek. An ekphrastic poem is a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the “action” of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning. A notable example is “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” […]
Little Brother In the late afternoon the blue room fills with languid light. Three little girls stand round while in Mother’s arms the new baby stills his little cries, that new strange squalling sound. Mother gazes down at her well-wrapped son He’s in pink, as is she, warm, strong color of rosy cheeks and cats’ […]
(An off the cuff reflection on Sunday’s Readings.) “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great… that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.” “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered […]
Today I’m thinking about quarantine and cultural memory. On our road trip to Pennsylvania we listened to Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome. In the novel the children we met in Swallows and Amazons, the Walkers and the Blacketts, are enjoying a post-Christmas winter holiday in the Lake District before heading back to their boarding schools. […]
Stumbling Stone Not really a stone. A little bronze plate the size of a cobblestone, flush with the pavement. No one could trip over it except the way the eye catches on something bright and the mind cannot let it go, that idea that stays with you all day long until you go back to […]
On Wednesday we got up and had another camp breakfast of eggs and bacon. Taking time to cook breakfast and do the dishes after did mean that we didn’t hit the road until after 9. So we didn’t much escape the heat. We picked up at Little Round Top and did the second half of […]
Room in Brooklyn High above the world, where the street sounds can’t hardly reach, her window with its lopsided shades looks over the rooftops where the clustered chimneys gaze back at the woman who sits so cozy in her wooden chair, now looking at her book now out at the ranks of windows, the red […]