Beowolf

 A long, long time ago, after my two older sisters' graduations from Archbishop Murry Memorial High School (AMMHS), I inherited a copy of their English textbook, England in Literature. It was a wonderful book, leading me to knowledge of Old English, Roman and medieval England, and the tale of Beowulf. I kept that book for many years, using it occasionally for reference and for pleasure. I eventually sold it when my days as a homeschooling mom came to an end. But I still regret it. 

Fast forward to the present. I have had a few sleepless nights, curtesy of MSG in my food, and thoughts of my kitchen cabinet project. (As I lay in bed I am re-arranging  the contents of cupboards to figure out what will work best where.) My usual recourse to insomnia, besides praying the rosary or Divine Mercy chaplet, is to read. I move to the little bedroom, crawl under my down comforter, and grab a book. My current read is one of my homeschool juvenile collection books, The King's Thane, by Charles A. Brady (Clarion Books, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, NY 1961). It is the tale of Beorn, a lame lad who serves under the great hunter, Bjarki, later known as Beowulf. It is a difficult read in terms of medieval linguistics. But it is also written in a rather poetic style with lots of alliteration. I would call it sing-song. I have resorted to the computer to look up words such as Geat, scop and Gautland. But it is grwoing on me. I am almost half way done. Beorn is a descendant of King Arthur, and mention is made of Augustine of Canterbury and others whom I have met in my reading. What it all boils down to is that after I finish this book, I will have to read my copy of Beowulf the Warrior (Ian Serraillier, Bethlehm Books/Ignatius Press, 1994), along with some of my other books from that time period. 

I got a new estimate and some kitchen designs with and without an island on Friday. I will stick with the original design proposed by Steve from MHI. I will have to buy a smaller dish washer than originally planned, but that will be no problem. I am sure the next people who buy our house in the future will not have ten children. If they do, they will just have to run the dishwasher three times a day instead of one. I am going to be my own contractor. I have the time to make phone calls and get estimates. It looks like I will be able to stay within our budget and still be able to purchase the dining room table that I have picked out. It is a fun project. This is the first time we have made an real changes in our house on the interior, besides flooring and paint.