Winky and the Computer

Winky's been spending a great deal of time around the computer lately.  If cats could type, he'd probably be on Facebook and Twitter... and he would definitely have a blog.

The Last Bit of Peanut Butter in The Jar

Yesterday, I had just a little bit of peanut butter in a jar. I decided to try an experiment.  I fixed some ramen noodles... without the flavor packet... and then I put the noodles in jar and stirred them up.

Next, they went into a bowl.

Well... it was surprisingly good, and I plan to make it again, only next time I'll spoon the peanut butter onto the noodles.

And I won't wait for the jar to be almost empty.

One-Member Clubs Revisited

Imagine if one actually did found a single-member club.   I think that what would work best would be a card club.  That club would "meet" once a week, and would be dedicated to one of the many games of solitaire!

A Little Gift?

This may contains spoilers for those who haven't read "Papa's Wife," by Thyra Ferre Bjorn [which I'm reading for the umpteenth time!], so I will skip a few spaces.

The book is a mixture of fiction and nonfiction.  Yes, her father really was a Swedish Baptist minister with eight children, and yes, the family came to America when Thyra [fictional name Charlotte] was a teenager, just as they did in the book.

In the book, she was given the nickname "Button" when she was a newborn baby. I wonder if she was called "Button" in real life; I like to  think that she was.

Now for the spoiler.

In real life, Frans August Ferre [Papa] died and was buried in Massachusetts.  In the book, his fictional counterpart dies while he and Maria [Mama] are visiting Sweden for the first time since coming to America.  Deacon Lund, a character in the book, says: "God never makes a mistake.  Pastor Franzon taught us that.  He will sleep now, where he would have wanted to sleep his last sleep-in Swedish soil"

I like to think that having his fictional counterpart "sleep his last sleep... in Swedish soil" was Thyra Ferre Bjorn's little gift to her late, beloved Papa.

I'm SO Glad I Can Read This Online!

 Did the word "Glad" in the title make you think I was talking about one of the "Pollyanna" books?

"Love and Knishes
An Irrepressible Guide to Jewish Cooking
New Revised Edition"
by Sara Kasdan
[nonfiction, Jewish]
This book was a favorite of mine for years in the original
edition.  Even without the recipes, the anecdotes are worth
the price of the book.
[Excerpt from my "Books Read In The Past Week" post from July 13th, 2013]

This is another book lost when I moved; I've been able to replace some of them, and will replace others in the future.   There are, however, some books  I've had to consider, for now, as "gone but not forgotten," either because they are no longer available, or because they are no longer affordable.  [I say "for now" because they could very well become available and affordable.]  

"Affordable," of course, means different things to different people.

Okay, I've gone off on a tangent. [I think tangents are fun!]  

I hope to replace the new, revised edition someday, but meanwhile I've borrowed the original from openlibrary.org.

Thank God for books that I can read for free online!

Reading an Entire Gospel in One Sitting

In his book, "The Rosary: Chain of Hope," the late Fr. Benedict Groeschel suggested carving out some time when we wouldn't be interrupted, and reading an entire Gospel in one sitting or kneeling.

I've just done this with "The Gospel According to St. Mark."

[I read the Gospels over and over, in order, and I had finished Matthew earlier today.]

I found it absolutely overwhelming, but in a good way.... in a very good way.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Looking for some great Catholic blogs?  Want to share your own? Hop on over to RAnn's blog for Sunday Snippets!

Semper Gaudete! : Addition to my Rosary Art Collection

Semper Gaudete! : Leading Pro-Life Activist’s Wife Scheduled to Terminate Her Pregnancy

Semper Gaudete! : A Piece of Writing I've Loved For Years

Semper Gaudete! : Mary Never REALLY Suffered

Semper Gaudete! : Two Fathers, Two Little Boys

Semper Gaudete! : Single-Member Clubs

Semper Gaudete! : Books Read in the Past Week

Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

Books, (except Sunday books) are grouped by author, and not necessarily in the order read.

"Least of All, Me"
by Sister Anthony Marie, OSF
[fiction about nuns based on fact]

"Love God And Do What You Please"

by St. Alphonsus Liguori

adapted by M. J. Huber

[spiritual reading]
a favorite of mine; thank God it wasn't one of the books
lost when I moved!

"Blueberry Muffins"
by Colleen Spiro
[nonfiction]
(Kindle Book)

{Sunday books}

Bible books read this week:

"Judges"

"The Gospel According to Matthew"

"Girls' Clubs
Their Organization and Management" #
by Helen Josephine Ferris
[nonfiction]
(free online book)
{carried over from last week}

"Rowena the Sailor"
by Ruth Langland Holberg
[children's fiction]

"The Persian Pickle Club" #
by Sandra Dallas
[fiction]
(openlibrary.org loan

"Elsie Dinsmore"
"Elsie's Holidays at Roselands"
"Elsie's Girlhood"
{carrying over into next week}
by Martha Finley
[children's fiction, Christian, (Protestant)]
(I recently made two posts about the "Elsie" books)
First Post
Second Post

"The Taste of Spruce Gum" #
by Jacqueline Jackson
[children/YA fiction, historical]
(openlibrary.org loan)
{carrying over into next week}

Single-Member Clubs

Single-member clubs?  Now that sounds like a contradiction in terms, doesn't it?  How can one person be a club?

However, according to the following article, written by Mary Wood-Allen in 1903, it is possible. [I had to copy it because I couldn't make a link this time.]

This is the day of organizations, so I have decided to organize a new society. There are Don't Worry Clubs and Sunshine Clubs and Self- Improvement Clubs and Success Clubs. I will organize Happiness Clubs, with one member in each. Yes, that idea suits me. The organization may never grow beyond the charter society; but there will be at least one Happiness Club, and I its first member. Let me see! An organization must have constitution, by-laws, fees, etc. So we will begin in due order.

CONSTITUTION 

1. This society shall be known as the Happiness Club of __.

2. Its purpose shall be to promote the true happiness of its member, of all members of affiliated societies, and also of all who may not be members of the organization. (I think that is broad enough.) 

3. Its officers shall be president, treasurer, and recording secretary. (There will be no need of a vice-president, for the president will never be off duty.) 

4. These offices shall be hereditary and for life. (Therefore there will be no bother in the election of officers.) 

5. The duties of these officers shall be as follows : The president shall preside over the thoughts, deeds, aspirations, and general conduct of the member.

The treasurer shall carefully guard the treasures of the society, — namely, the honor, purity, and health of the member, — and shall make due report of the same. The recording secretary shall keep a record of the doings of the society, and make reports to the president and the organization, when required. 

6. The executive committee shall consist of all the officers, and their duty shall be to devise methods for carrying out the plans of the society.

7. The society shall remain in continual session, having watchmen appointed for duty even during the hours of the night. 

8. Special meetings of the executive committee may be held at the call of any one member. 

9. The dues of the society shall be in tithes of good deeds according to the ability of the member.

10. Any person may become a member of this organization by forming himself into a Happiness Club, signing the constitution and by-laws, and paying the dues.

 11. Any Happiness Club may add to or otherwise change its constitution by unanimous vote of the executive committee. 

12. (I have concluded to have a grip and password.) The grip shall be the helpful hand extended to all members and to all who may not be members. 

13. (There should be a motto. How will this do?) Motto: "In everything give thanks." 

14. The badge of the Happiness Club shall be a Happy Heart, reflected in a sunny countenance. It must be worn constantly, on all occasions, by night as well as by day.

15. The colors of the club shall be a threefold cord of the warmth of love, the serenity of hope, and the brightness of purity. 

16. Any member who fails to live up to the requirements of his own society shall take a new hold, and try, try again. If the offence is fre quently repeated, a special meeting of the executive committee shall be called to take action on the case, the only restriction on their action being that no member shall ever be expelled from the society.(Once a member, always a mem ber. You see, I believe that one who has really joined a Happiness Club can never really lose the secret of membership. He may grow a little weary, and seem to lose his grip, but a little timely help will enable him to renew his effort with fresh courage. Hence the executive committee must never let go of him.) 

17. Any Happiness Club may affiliate with any other Happiness Club by notification of desire to the same and acceptance of the desire, and such affiliation shall consist in interchange of kindly words and office or by united effort in some kindly deed to assist someone else. 

18. A course of study into the secret of true happiness shall be instituted by each club, and followed conscientiously by the members. 

19. Any number of clubs may unite in the pursuance of this study, either by personal association or by correspondence. The study may be pursued either with or without books. The chief text-book recommended is the Bible.

Do I agree with this article?  I like the points the author makes, and I believe that her tongue was at least partly in her cheek when she wrote it.

I wonder what she would think of all the online clubs in existence these days which consist of just one member!

Two Fathers, Two Little Boys

Two incidents have remained in my mind for years.  I'll take the later one, which happened when I was in my early twenties, first.

I saw a little boy, who couldn't have been more than six [if he was that old], walking with his father. The child looked up and said, "I love you, Daddy."

But did his father hug him the way a normal father would?

No.

He shook his finger in the boy's face and said in a tough, hard, completely unfatherly voice, "MEN don't say I love you to other MEN!"

I felt so bad... so sorry... for both of them.  And I remember thinking, "I hope I never marry a man like that."

Now for the earlier incident.. which is a good memory. I was only a little girl, not even eight years old but I've never forgotten.

I was sitting on a bench on Ocean Parkway with my Baba and her sister, my Aunt Lily.  On the bench across from ours sat a little boy and his father.  They were looking at a picture book.

And then the father said, "Let's go home now and fix dinner and surprise Mommy when she gets home from her club meeting."

I hope that boy grew up to be like his father.

Mary Never REALLY Suffered

Did that heading grab your attention?  Did it shock you?

Years ago... not long after I'd become a Catholic, a woman said to me, "They shouldn't call Mary Queen of Martyrs, because she never really suffered."

"Oh?" I responded.  "Well, you just close your eyes and imagine yourself watching [I said her son's name] die the way Mary watched Jesus die... and then tell me Mary never suffered!"

A Piece of Writing I've Loved For Years

I've loved the following essay since I came across a condensed version of it over thirty years ago.

"A person can never get true greatness by trying for it. You get it when you're not looking for it. 

It's nice to have good clothes—it makes it a lot easier to act decent—but it is a sign of true greatness to act when

 you haven't got them just as good as if you had. One time when Ma was a little girl they had a bird at their house, 

called Bill, that broke his leg. They thought they would have to kill him, but next morning they found him

 propped up sort of sideways on his good leg, singing! That was true greatness. 

One time there was a woman that had done a big washing and hung it on the line. 

The line broke and let it all down in the mud, but she didn't say a word, only did it over again; 

and this time she spread it on the grass, where it couldn't fall. But that night a dog with dirty feet ran 

over it. When she saw what was done, she sat down and didn't cry a bit. All she said was: 'Ain't it queer that he didn't miss nothing!' 

That was true greatness, but it's only people who have done washings that know it! Once there was a woman that lived near a pig-pen, 

and when the wind blew that way it was very smelly, indeed; and at first when she went there to live she couldn't smell anything but 

straight pig, but when she lived there a while she learned to smell the clover blossoms through it. That was true greatness."

This gem has been attributed to several different people, two of whom are not named.

Nellie L. McClung presents it as a composition written by a little girl named Pearl, a character in her novel "The Second Chance."

Several people have given credit for it to an English girl from an underprivileged home. H. Allen Smith, on the other hand, wrote in his collection of children's writings, "Don't Get Perconel With A Chicken," [which is where  I first read the essay]:

I have saved one of the finest items for the end of 
this little book. It is a little essay written by a twelve- 
year-old girl in Perry County, Alabama. Helen Essary 
came into possession of it about twenty years ago, 
checked it for its authenticity, and then sent it to the 
Reader's Digest and they checked it, so it must be 
genuine. It was published in 1939

 I wonder who the real author is.  Did Nellie L. McClung write it, or did she use it by permission of the the actual writer?  (I haven't found any acknowledgements, so I'm inclined to think that she did write it.  But... did she write it as an adult, or did she incorporate a piece of writing from her childhood into the novel?

 In either case, I'm glad... I'm thankful that this essay was written and published, and that I've had the joy of reading it.

Leading Pro-Life Activist’s Wife Scheduled to Terminate Her Pregnancy

I'm all for it! To find out why I thoroughly approve, click here.

Addition to my Rosary Art Collection

Here is the latest image in my Rosary Art Collection.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Time to hop over to RAnn's blog for Sunday Snippets, a place where Catholic bloggers can share their posts.  I've found some wonderful blogs here.  How about sharing yours?

Semper Gaudete! : Painting Added to Collection

Semper Gaudete! : I'm Not Letting My Cat See This

Semper Gaudete! : Still More Word Play

Semper Gaudete! : Stretching a Drink; Free Online Books, "Coffee Soup"

Semper Gaudete! : All Kinds of Clubs

Semper Gaudete! : Online Books/Physical Copies

Semper Gaudete! : The Club Book Book Club

Semper Gaudete! : This Week's Fan Fiction

Semper Gaudete! : Books Read In The Past Week

Books Read In The Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

Books are grouped by author,
and not necessarily in the order read.

"Between Heaven and Mirth"#

by James Martin, SJ

[non-fiction]

(Kindle book)

"The Story of a Soul"

by St. Therese of Lisieux

"In This House Of Brede"

by Rumer Godden

[fiction]

(a great favorite of mine)

{Sunday books}

Bible books read this week:

"Joshua"
"Jude"
"Judges"

"The Gospel According to Matthew"

"Mildred at Roselands"
{carried over from last week}

"Mildred and Elsie"

by Martha Finley

[children's fiction, Christian (Protestant)]

(free online books)

"The American Frugal Housewife"
by Mrs. Child (Lydia Maria  Child) 
Twelfth Edition, Enlarged and
corrected by the author 
She had to add the word "American" to
the title because there was a book by the 
same name published in England.
 {carried over from last week}

"Make Way For Peggy O'Brien!"
by Alice P. Miller
[children's fiction]

"Jack and Jill"
by Louisa May Alcott
[fiction]

"Rowena Carey"
"Tomboy Row"
by Ruth Langland Holberg
[children's fiction]


"Girls' Clubs
Their Organization and Management" #
by Helen Josephine Ferris
[nonfiction]
(free online book)
{carrying over into next week}

This Week's Fan Fiction

23rd Precinct

new chapter added.

Revealed Relationships
revised and reposted

The Club Book Book Club

Blogging about clubs as I did this week made me decide, despite former flops, to make another online book club.

The club is called The Club Book Book Club and focuses on books, both fiction and nonfiction, about clubs.  This includes children's and YA books.

There are no set monthly readings.

Online Books/Physical Copies

I love getting books online.   For one thing, they usually cost much less (and, quite often, they are free.)  For another thing, I almost always get them immediately?   Why do I say almost  always?  Well, right now I have a book pre-ordered;  it will be delivered to my Kindle when it is published.

On the other hand, I also like to order physical copies of books.  I enjoy looking forward to receiving them.  

To quote a chapter title from one of my favorite books...

The Delights of Anticipation!

   

All Kinds of Clubs

Those of you who've been following this blog know that I like clubs, and I enjoy reading about clubs.

There are so many different kinds of clubs.
There are religious clubs.
There are book clubs; many, many book clubs, some official, and some unofficial.  Many of these clubs are dedicated to a particular genre, time period, series, or author.  These are the book clubs I, myself, belong to, listed alphabetically.
Awestruck BOOK Club
The Betsy-Tacy Society
Friends of the Chalet School
Richie Rich Comics Fan Club
There are clubs whose member share a common heritage.
There are clubs for people who collect certain items.
There are clubs dedicated to certain crafts; for example, knitting.
There are clubs dedicated to a particular place.
There are clubs dedicated to a particular time period.
There are theater clubs.
There are clubs dedicated to charitable works.
There are fan clubs.
There are garden clubs.
There are study clubs.
There are clubs for animal lovers.
There are environmental clubs.
There are singing clubs.
There are travel clubs.
There are clubs whose members simply get together for a meal and some friendly conversation.
And so on.
(Or course, there are also clubs that combine two or more purposes.)

There are several ways in which the individuals can keep in touch with each other.  It all depends on the size of the particular club.
There are intimate clubs, consisting of just a few members, close friends who meet at set times, and who see each other quite often outside of the club.
There are clubs, national and international, with local chapters.
It is, of course, not possible for all of the members of such widespread organizations to know each other personally, although they can correspond on their computers.  And speaking of corresponding, there are correspondence clubs,
whose members keep in touch by letter and, nowadays, by e-mail.
There are clubs whose members "meet" regularly in chat rooms.

And, of course, there are online clubs (without chat rooms) whose members keep in touch by posting, and responding to, messages. New online clubs pop up every day. Some succeed, and some flop, as I have learned by personal experience!
It took me awhile, but I finally put together a successful club which is still active!
The Share-Care-Prayer Club

And thus, with that shameless plug, endeth this post!

Stretching a Drink; Free Online Books, "Coffee Soup"

I recently discovered this raspberry-flavored drink.  The flavor is strong enough for me to be able to add water to it TWICE when

it gets down to the words "with vitamins," and still have a nice raspberry drink.  This is great for me, because, being on a limited income, I have to save money where I can.

That's also why I get, or read, books for free online whenever possible.  That's another way to save money.  In fact, if the money I save this way could somehow be automatically added to my bank account, I'd probably be wealthy by now.

A third way in which I save money is this:  After I've had my morning coffee, I don't throw the grounds away.   I leave them in my electric coffee-maker and, later in the morning, I break either bread, crackers, or half of a package of ramen noodles into a plastic bowl which originally contained a pint of won-ton soup from the local Chinese restaurant.  I then place that bowl where the cup usually goes, and add water to the reservoir, as if I were making a second cup of coffee. This gives me a pleasant dish that I've named "coffee soup."

Still More Word Play

NOTABLE

It is notable

That some folks are not able

To eat where there's no table.

I'm Not Letting My Cat See This

I am definitely NOT letting my cat, Winky, see this video.  It might corrupt his morals! LOL!!!

Painting Added to Collection

I've just added another painting to my Rosary Art Collection.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

It's time for Sunday Snippets  over at RAnn's blog!  I've found some wonderful Catholic blogs here. How about sharing yours?

Semper Gaudete! : New Image in Rosary Art Collection

Semper Gaudete! : Judging Others

Semper Gaudete! : Elsie Books, Original and Updated Versions

Semper Gaudete! : Praying for Child Abusers

Semper Gaudete! : I DETEST This Commercial!

Semper Gaudete! : Once Again, Some Word Play

Semper Gaudete! : Sad Picture

Semper Gaudete! : Books Read in the Past Week

Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

Books are grouped by author,
and not necessarily in the order read.

"Between Heaven and Mirth"#

by James Martin, SJ

[non-fiction]

(Kindle book)

"Travelers Along the Way"
by Fr. Benedict Groeschel (RIP)
[collective biography]

"The Story of a Soul"

by St. Therese of Lisieux

"In This House Of Brede"

by Rumer Godden

[fiction]

(a great favorite of mine)

{Sunday books}

Bible books read this week:

"Joshua"

"The Gospel According to Matthew"

"Then There Were Five"
{carried over from last week}
by Elizabeth Enright
[children's fiction]
in The Melendy Family
three books in one volume
(openlibrary.org loan)

"The Alpine Path

The Story of my Career" #

by L. M. Montgomery

[autobiography]

{carried over from last week}

"The Sun is Shining on the Other Side"
by Margaret Jensen
[Christian (Protestant) nonfiction]
(stories from her earlier books)
{carried over from last week}

"Self-Denial,

or Alice Wood and Her Missionary Society" #

by American Sunday School Union

[children's fiction, Christian (Protestant)]

(free Kindle book)

I would have liked this better if there had

been more "story" to it; if the author had

actually SHOWN the girls working to earn

money, struggling with temptation, and so on.

"Mildred Keith"
"Mildred at Roselands"
 {carrying over into next week}

by Martha Finley
[children's fiction, Christian (Protestant)]

(free online books)

"Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story"
by Paul Aurandt
[nonfiction]

"Screwball"
by Alberta Armer
[children's fiction]


"Russell Sprouts" #
by Johanna Hurwitz
[children's fiction]
(quick read)

"The American Frugal Housewife"
by Mrs. Child (Lydia Maria  Child) 
Twelfth Edition, Enlarged and
corrected by the author 
She had to add the word "American" to
the title because there was a book by the 
same name published in England.
 {carrying over into next week}

Sad Picture

This is the saddest picture I've ever seen. 

Once Again, Some Word Play

Here's another silly little "poem" I wrote awhile back. (I'm never quite sure how to write "awhile back."  Perhaps it should be elihwa.)

FAN DANG OH

A fan dancer,

a fancy dancer,

a fandango dancer.

Oh, dang! A fancy

fandago dancer!

I DETEST This Commercial!

I hate, detest, despise, CANNOT STAND this commercial.  It is probably meant to be humorous, but I don't find it the least bit amusing. To me, it seems as if they are trying to GUILT

people into playing the lottery.

Besides, I can see another outcome for "Future You." "Future You" is now broke because "Present You" spent so much money on lottery tickets and never won a big prize.

Praying for Child Abusers

I pray for the victims of child abuse... especially for children who have been and are being molested.  I pray that they will

be rescued, and that they will heal.

I also pray for the molesters and other abusers.  I pray that they will repent and reform... in prison.

Elsie Books, Original and Updated Versions

I recently blogged about the "Elsie Dinsmore" series. This post is what could be called a sequel.

I've already mentioned a couple of differences between the original series and the updated books.

The anti-Catholic element is removed.

Elsie reads a more modern Bible (not even PUBLISHED

when the books take place!)

Here are a few other differences:

Some characters are fleshed out a bit more.

The stereotypical language of the African-Americans is eliminated.

On a Sunday in "Elsie's Holidays", Elsie won't read "a fictitious moral tale, without a particle of religious truth in it, and Elsie’s conscience told her, entirely unfit for Sabbath reading." 

This, even though her father is very ill.

In the modern, "Elsie's Impossible Choice," the book is changed

into a newspaper.  And, more importantly, the author points out that Elsie may have been mistaken in this instance, for we are permitted to do good on Sunday, and reading a newspaper to her sick father may be considered doing good.  This, to me, is

a great improvement over the original!

In "Elsie's Girlhood," Elsie reads "The Wide, Wide World," which had just been published.  In the new version, (whose name escapes me) she reads "David Copperfield."

I see most of these changes as an improvement, but there is one that I regret.

In "Elsie Dinsmore," Elsie is unjustly punished because of the governess, Miss Day's, misrepresentation of her behavior by being made to stay in her father's study and have only bread and water for dinner.  The servant, Pompey, brings it and offers to get something better before her father finishes his meal. Elsie thanks him, but says that she can't deceive her father, and that she is not at all hungry.

He lingered a moment, seeming loath to leave her to dine upon such fare.

"You had better go now, Pompey," she said gently; "I am afraid you will be wanted."

He turned and left the room muttering something about "disagreeable, good-for-nothing Miss Day!"

In the updated version, the words "disagreeable, good-for-nothing Miss Day!" are eliminated.  That is what I regret.

I think I mentioned that I had the updated books, but lost them when I moved.  Someday I will replace them.

Judging Others

I'd like to share a conversation I once had. A friend of mine said

about someone we both knew, "The trouble with her is she is so

judgmental."

I responded, as gently as I could, "When you call her judgmental, aren't you judging her?"

New Image in Rosary Art Collection

I've just added this woodcut to my Rosary Art Collection.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

It's time for Sunday Snippets over at RAnn's blog!  I've found some wonderful Catholic blogs here. How about sharing yours?

Semper Gaudete! : Sad News (Moved to top of list)

Semper Gaudete! : Special Sunday Foods (Post Expanded)

Semper Gaudete! : More Word Play

Semper Gaudete! : Old (Okay, not THAT old!) Forgotten Blog

Semper Gaudete! : Little Things

Semper Gaudete! : Internet Giving

Semper Gaudete! : Mystery Object

Semper Gaudete! : The "Elsie" Books: Mixed Feelings

Semper Gaudete! : This Week's Fan Fiction

Semper Gaudete! : Books Read in the Past week

Books Read in the Past week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

Books are grouped by author,
and not necessarily in the order read.

"Between Heaven and Mirth"#

by James Martin, SJ

[non-fiction]

(Kindle book)

"Travelers Along the Way"
by Fr. Benedict Groeschel (RIP)
[collective biography]

"The Story of a Soul"

by St. Therese of Lisieux

"In This House Of Brede"

by Rumer Godden

[fiction]

(a great favorite of mine)

{Sunday books}

Bible books read this week:

"Isaiah"
"Joshua"

"The Gospel According to Matthew"

"The Four-Story Mistake"

{carried over from last week}
"Then There Were Five"
{carrying over into next week}
by Elizabeth Enright
[children's fiction]
in The Melendy Family
three books in one volume
(openlibrary.org loan)


"The Alpine Path

The Story of my Career" #

by L. M. Montgomery

[autobiography]
{carried over from last week}
(Kindle book) 

"The Sun is Shining on the Other Side"
by Margaret Jensen
[Christian (Protestant) nonfiction]
(stories from her earlier books)
{carried over from last week}

This Week's Fan Fiction

Unsuited to Each Other

Chapter 4 is now up.

Sad News

Fr. Anthony gave us some sad news at the start of today's Mass.  Fr. Benedict Groeschel passed away last night.
God rest his soul.

The "Elsie" Books: Mixed Feelings

I'm about to start re-reading Martha Finley's "Elsie Dinsmore"

series, and I must admit that I have mixed feelings about

the books.

Many of the incidents are really interesting; some would even

fit into a non-religious book, if the religious elements were omitted.
I like the fact that Elsie loves her Bible.  Of course, in those days many books written for a Protestant audience depicted
characters reading the Bible, a hymn book, and Pilgrim's Progress.
 Now for the things I find annoying about the books.
Of course, I have to mention the anti-Catholic element.
"Poor darling!" murmured Adelaide,
 clasping the little form more closely,
and pressing her lips to the fair brow;
"I wish I could save you from it. He
 says that if you continue obdurate, he
 has quite determined to send you to a convent to be educated."

"As Adelaide made this announcement,
she pitied the child from the bottom of
her heart; for she knew that much of
Elsie's reading had been on the subject
of Popery and Papal institutions; that she
had pored overhistories of the terrible
tortures of the Inquisition and stories of martyrs and captive nuns, until she had imbibed an intense horror and dread of everything connected with that form of
error and superstition."

I wonder if one of the books Elsie read was 

Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk, or, The Hidden Secrets of a Nun’s Life in a Convent Exposed
I'm almost sure that Martha Finley, the author of the "Elsie" books, read it!
I thought for a long time that "Maria Monk" was a pseudonym, chosen to
mock Catholic beliefs; it certainly sounds like one! However, I've recently 
found out that it was her real name.

In "Elsie's Children," one of Elsie's young cousins becomes a Catholic.  Her conversion is referred to as her perversion.

[In the revised, modernized version of the "Elsie" series, "Elsie Dinsmore: A Life of Faith," the anti-Catholicism is removed.  The revision, however, is a bit anachronistic, because although it is set at the same time as the original series,
the Bible Elsie uses is the "New International Version", which was first published in the 1970s!  I had the updated books, but I lost them when I moved.] 

There are other things in the "Elsie" books that I find annoying, but they'll have to wait for another post.

So, how do I feel about the books, all in all?  Well, as I said when I started this post, I must admit that I have mixed feelings about

the books.  There are some things I really dislike, and some
things I really enjoy.

Mystery Object

I was going through some boxes, and I found something that had once been part of a larger object. I haven't been able to identify the parent object yet, but I've already added the item, whatever it came from, to my Break-Off collection.

Searching for the source through online images should be interesting, and probably challenging!

Internet Giving

One of my favorite books is "Try Giving Yourself Away," by the late David Dunn.  The author expanded the book twice; the third edition had twelve more chapters than the first.

I really wish that somebody, perhaps one of David Dunn's descendants, would write a new edition, incorporating ways of self-giving on the Internet.

I can think of a few ways myself.

1: Typing a kind, encouraging response to someone who posts about a problem he or she is having.  The words "You are in my prayers" can be very encouraging.

2: Speaking up for, and saying a few kind words to, someone who is being attacked online. 

3: Sharing/Retweeting good posts/Tweets.

4: Sharing links to good websites.

5: Being kind in an unseen way by not pointing out somebody's mistakes in grammar and/or spelling.

Little Things

[Old post, reposted]

I love this quote from my Patron Saint, Therese of Lisieux, whose feast we celebrate today:
"Pick up a pin for the love of God, and you may save a soul."
How right, how wise! We may not be called to do great things, but we can do the little, everyday tasks for the love of God, and then how great, how valuable those little tasks become.
No work is menial if it is done for the love of God.