From Mitford to Father Tim, and the Influence of Books

Having read the last of the Mitford books, I delved into the last Jan Karon book which I had at home, In the Company of Others. This book is the second of the Father Tim novels. I 'fess that I tossed it into the fireplace after finishing it. I did not like the way the Catholic Church and the sacrament of confession were presented in the story. First, instead of confiding in their own priest, the Catholics in the story turned to Father Tim for counsel and solace. Second, at the end of the story when a Catholic character was on her deathbed, the sacramental confession which she made was done in  public and in a very vague and incomplete fashion. Last I heard, confessions have not been public for almost 2,000 years, never mind the seal of confession for which a priest is excommunicated if he breaks it. The seal extends to anyone who accidentally overhears a confession. The character had not gone to church for years, and the only thing she could think of confessing was how she had hurt people with her anger. Nothing about the offenses she committed against God by refusing to attend mass or make her annual Easter duty of confession and reception of Holy Communion. I get that it is just a book, but I doubt that anyone who really believes what the Church teaches would describe a confession in such a manner. As a Protestant, Jan Karon showed her ignorance as to what confession really is.

That off  my chest, later in the summer I found a second hand copy of the first Father Tim novel, Home to Holly Springs. This was a quick and easy read, but not nearly as enjoyable as the Mitford books. It did have a few twists  and turns unveiling Father Tim's past and his relationship with his father, but as I read the story was so incredible that I felt like I was watching episodes of 24 or NCIS. It got tiresome.

Of both series of books, I must say that I liked the Mitford books the best. The Mitford characters have a certain warmth and realness about them, and I like the way that faith and prayer are presented in their lives. They have been good examples of what a prayer life can be.

The Karon books have also piqued my interest in certain foods. I can do without Cynthia's lemon bars, and my husband would not like Fr. Tim's baked ham because of the sauce on top, but Esther's Orange Marmalade Cake sounds interesting. I also had to clip a recipe for pimento cheese out of the St. Cloud Times when I saw it last week. It'll surely add pounds to my hips, but  I have to try it. It will be my lunch today.

My little reader and I started the complete Winnie the Pooh book this summer. I have never read the book before, only seen parts of it on television. Rabbit is a gentler, kinder character in the book when Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit's hole.

My little listener and I have been reading Beatrix Potter, which I like far better than Pooh. I love the personifications, from Hunca Munca's feeling the need to make restitution, to the foxy gentleman, and to Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's complaining about not being able to get the smell of onions out of   Mrs. Rabbit's "handkersniff". Lucie's "pocket handkins" and "pinny" remind me so much of Miss Maria and her "mantis". Delightful.

Vsion Therapy continues. I am suddenly not feeling dizzy anymore. I am feeling eye twitches which seem to mimic the alternate wink muscles. No more "Drunk Lady" exercies, a.k.a. Doll's Eye Finger Touches this week. We had loads of fun with those last week.     

Another Use for Basic H

Another three weeks left to go on the heart monitor. I think it is a waste, but the cardiovascular department insists upon it before I have the tilt table test. And so the vertigo diagnostic saga continues. The adhesives from the electrode pads have left my skin red and raw. (If I am not mistaken, Shakespeare used those very words in his poem about winter!) I have even passed on the band-aid like patches which I am supposed to use over the electrodes and wires, to reduce the break-down, but it has helped  very little. The hospital put some Med Sol wipes in my pouch for wiping off the adhesive when I change pads, but the little 1.5"x 2" wipes do not do much, and smell like Goo-Be-Gone. This morning in desperation I whipped out my bottle of Basic H to use after the wipe. I know that the Shaklee Corporation says Basic H is not tested for use on skin, but hey, I am from the generation that used dish detergent for bubble bath. I am sure that Basic H is safer than Ivory Liquid, Dove, or Dawn! I have to say that Basic H is easier to use in the bathtub than as a wash in the shower, since it does not suds well. I shall have to use it on a wash cloth next time. Anything to get the goo off.

I finished the next three books in the Little House early years series by Melissa Wiley, the Charlotte years. I was disappointed that the books did not give more of the story of how Martha came to live in the United States, and how Charlotte's family moved to upper Michigan. However, in looking up the titles of the books before sitting down to type, (I have already passed the books on to my daughter), I see that there is one more book in each of the two series which I do not have. Those two books may give me more clues as to why Martha's family left Europe, and why Charlotte's family left Massachusetts. I will be looking for them on Friday at Barnes and Noble  as we attend the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School fundraiser.

I finished Jan Karon's Shepherds Abiding. I checked for the next book in the Mitford series when I was at Savers on Friday. No cigar. However, this morning as I was picking up in the girls' bedroom, I realized that I had the next volume on the shelf. Cool! Now I can take it with when I go to my Mom's today.

I am back to sewing fleece mittens and hats again. I wanted solid colors for the girls, and had seen nothing at the stores. I also wanted heavy mittens for Maja, but nothing in that category in the stores, either. I decided that I will simply have to make my own. It took an evening to dig through my patterns to find the ones I wanted. Then, after cutting out two hats, a headband and two pairs of mittens, I had to remember how my mitten pattern got put together. Then after sewing the first hat I saw that the size was too small for Maja, and I had intended that color for Ari. I am suspecting that the next size given in my book will be too large for Maja,, so it is time to get out the compass and draw a new pattern. My thought was to make two hats and two pairs or more of mittens for each girl, so that they would have some to lose. I figured that sizing would be an issue, which is no big deal, since I figured that anything not fitting them would go to Catholic Charities. While I am at it, I will cut out mittens or whatever fits out of the fleece I have left over from baby blankets. That has been sitting here for four years waiting for me to use it up.

Then one of these winter days I will have to start quilting again.

More Gourmet du Village Recipes

Summer Recreation

Ari and I completed our first Vacation Bible School at Holy Spirit this year. She started the week shyly, clinging to Grandma the first day. On the second day she said, "Grandma, you do not have to be with my class today." On the third day she was a bit more emphatic: "Grandma, don't stay with me today." She made a new friend, and was bugging me about play dates the second day. I also met some new people from our cluster. Loads of grandparents dropping their grand kids off for the day, and then picking them up again at the end. About half of the adults helping were grandparents, some with grandchildren attending like myself, others not, but all seeing the need to pass on the faith. Oh, but now I have the SonWest Roundup songs stuck in my head. "We're gonna ride, we're gonna ride, we're gonna ride with Jesus Christ."

On Saturday I stopped at Saver's to look for the next two Jan Karon books, Out to Canaan, and A New Song. No luck. I checked out a few garage sales, but no luck there, either. That means I will have to go dig through books at the Treasure Chest some day. Instead, when I was not able to sleep last night, I crawled into Ari's bed with Little House in the Highlands (Melissa Wiley, Harper Collins, New York, 1999).  This is the first of the series of children's books about Laura Ingalls Wilder's ascendants. My sister had given me a collection of the series several years ago, but I had never gotten around to reading them. This one has captured my attention and kept me interested.

One more session of physical therapy to go for my neck. The therapist strongly recommends that I do the MRI scheduled by my family practitioner, and do follow-up with a neurologist, and then a neuro ophthalmologist. There is concern that numerous concussions have taken their toll over the years, but also some hope that a neuro ophthalmologist can put a prism in my eye, or at least order eye exercises for the nystagmus I have had since childhood. I am reticent about so much treatment. On the other hand, I am all for anything which will help my eye sight, given our family history of macular degeneration. I do not know what I would do should my eagle eye fail, since my right eye is almost useless as it is now.