Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is reading
My Korean Deli by Ben Ryder Howe

I still have four and a half hours until I can go home and fall asleep.

And when I wake up, it will only be Tuesday.

"This kind of a store is a death tomb," one of the characters says in Bernard Malamud's The Assistant, a novel set in a Brooklyn deli grocery during the 1950s.  "If you stay six months, you'll stay forever."

Which would be worse? I wonder.  Closing tomorrow and having this travesty over our heads for the rest of our lives, or being here forever?  I can't decide, in part because I don't want to make choices, so instead of thinking about it I go back to opening boxes, grateful for something to do with my hands.



Holly is still reading
Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards

Mandy drifted into sleep and wasn't sure if it was minutes or hours later that she felt the familiar, cool hand on her brow.  The woman's soft voice whispered, "Good night, Mandy.  Sleep well.  I'll be here if you need me."








Lily is reading
The Squirrel Wife by Philippa Pearce

Time passed and time passed, and the time came for squirrels to build their nests in the forest.

As he had been told, Jack climbed tree after tree.

He searched for a squirrel to which he might give his ring.  At last he found one -- a female, newborn, tiny as a rat, hairless, and blind as yet.  He slipped the gold ring over her left forepaw, so that it rested just above it like a bracelet.  Then he climbed down the tree and came away.

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

The Brady Bunch (Season Four)

~ Room at the Top ~

It's a sibling skirmish to end all skirmishes when both Greg and Marcia decide that the newly cleaned-out attic would make an ideal -- and private -- new bedroom.  Who will win the battle for the boudoir?

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is still reading
Masquerade by Nancy Moser

A priest came in behind a young boy, both clad in white, their hands held before them in supplication.  Words were said, prayers were prayed, but it took Lottie a few moments to realize the service wasn't being said in English, or even Italian, but Latin.

She glanced at Lucia.  Did she understand Latin?  Did all these people -- most of whom were not educated -- know Latin?

Yet the look of peace upon many of the faces . . . peace and awe.  Perhaps their faith wasn't dependent upon words heard or words said but stemmed from an inner need fulfilled.

She closed her eyes, letting the cadence of the Latin wrap around her as she attempted to open a place in her heart and mind where her faith lived.  God?  Are you here with me?

The priest began to pray.  "Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum: adveniat regnum tuum . . . "

Although Lottie didn't understand the words, she had an odd notion that she did.  The cadence of the prayer seemed familiar.  Was it the Lord's Prayer?  The prayer prayed in her own church, in every church?  No matter what their differences might be in ceremony or language, they had this in common.


Holly is reading
Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards

She went indoors to the shell room and gazed at it for a long time.  It was such a beautiful room.  A peaceful room.  Mandy felt calm and untroubled as she lovingly fingered the pretty shells.  They were very dusty.  She decided she would begin cleaning her house that very afternoon after lunch.









Lily is still reading
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

James's large frightened eyes traveled slowly around the room.

The creatures, some sitting on chairs, others reclining on a sofa, were all watching him intently.

Creatures?

Or were they insects?

An insect is usually something rather small, is it not?  A grasshopper, for example, is an insect.

So what would you call it if you saw a grasshopper as large as a dog?  As large as a large dog.  You could hardly call that an insect, could you?

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus

Princess Annika discovers adventure when she is befriended by Brietta -- a magnificent winged horse -- that flies her to the beautiful Cloud Kingdom.  Annika has only three days to break the spell of Wenlock, an evil wizard who has turned her family to stone.  On her quest to defeat Wenlock, Annika meets new friends and together they travel to forbidden forests, skate through icy caverns and fly above the clouds as they attempt to build a magical wand of light.

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is reading
Masquerade by Nancy Moser

Lottie preferred experiencing life through novels where the characters were always enjoying a lovely ball or romp through the countryside that would lead them to their one true love.  Her copies of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Little Women were threadbare. 







Holly is reading
Between: A Girl's Guide to Life by Vicki Courtney

What causes the "I wish" trap?  Sometimes we compare ourselves to other people.  The crazy thing is that those "other people" are probably also comparing themselves to other people!  Or maybe you compare yourself to girls you see on television or in magazines who look perfect.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  They have perfect hair that is never messed up.  They have perfect skin and perfect legs and perfect everything.  Well, let me tell you a little secret about that.  They are really not as perfect as they look. 




Lily is reading
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Aunt Sponge was enormously fat and very short.  She had small piggy eyes, a sunken mouth, and one of those white flabby faces that looked exactly as though it had been boiled.  She was like a great white soggy overboiled cabbage.  Aunt Spiker, on the other hand, was lean and tall and bony, and she wore steel-rimmed spectacles that fixed onto the end of her nose with a clip.

The Reference Shelf: Companion to the Calendar

Companion to the Calendar: A Guide to the Saints and Mysteries of the Christian Calendar
by Mary Ellen Hynes


The Catholic Rural Life Conference requested that St. Isidore's Day be celebrated in mid-May in the United States, during the seedtime of the year and during Eastertime, too.  Perhaps a blessing over our own gardens and vegetable plots would be appropriate today in memory of Maria and Isidore.

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

Ponyo

A young boy named Sosuke rescues a goldfish named Ponyo, and they embark on a fantastic journey of friendship and discovery before Ponyo's father, a powerful sorcerer, forces her to return to her home in the sea.  In her quest to become human and reunite with Sosuke, Ponyo stumbles upon and releases her father's magical Water of Life and triggers a gigantic storm.  Now balance must be restored to the world they all cherish.



Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is still reading
I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson

Petra put the letter in her pocket and went downstairs.  Passing the hall table, she noticed a jug of sweet peas.  The scent was so strong, intoxicating.  On a Post-it note stuck to the wall, she spied Molly's girly, looped handwriting: "I picked them.  Told you!!!"

Petra smiled.  The daughter, unlike her mother, was going to lead a three-exclamation marks kind of life.  She thought of Molly, obeying the request to pick the sweet peas while Petra was in Vegas, to keep the flowers coming, an instruction Molly's mamgu had issued more than thirty years ago to Petra herself, and, who knows, maybe Greta heard it from her own mother in Germany.  Things being passed on; habits, scents, beloved melodies, a heart-shaped chin: motherhood and memory forging a slender handrail to cling on to down the generations.


Holly is still reading
Dragonsdale by Salamanda Drake

When Cara could go no farther, she led Skydancer into a hollow, which gave some shelter from the wind.  Sky lay down, breathing quickly from the unaccustomed exertion, his breath making little clouds of steam in the damp, chilly air.  Cara sat down with her back against his shoulder and wondered what to do next.






Lily is reading
Miss Jaster's Garden by N. M. Bodecker

Down by the toolshed, where Miss Jaster filled her watering can, was a small puddle of clear water, for the tap was worn and kept dripping.  Hedgie used it as his mirror, and down to this mirror he went to have a look at himself.  But when he leaned over the puddle, he stood quite still, curling and uncurling his toes in disbelief: What he saw in the water was not his ordinary, gray-brown, prickly self, but something quite different. 

Peeping out from among his quills were little spikes and shoots of green, ready to climb and bloom and fill with bees and honey.

"Well," he said to himself, "now I'm either a flower bed or a vegetable garden.  I wonder which?"

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

Strega Nona . . .

and more stories about magic

Storybook Treasures:

• Strega Nona
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
• The Stonecutter
• The Amazing Bone
• Teeny-Tiny and the Witch-Woman

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is reading
I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson

"Rose-red city, is it?"

"What?"

"Petra.  Rose-red city, half as old as time."  He spoke the words clearly as if he were an actor reciting a poem.

"Dunno," I said.

Why?  Please God, why?  I'd never said "dunno" in my life before.  Dunno was common.  Dunno was the vocabulary of morons.  My mother could drop down dead in the street if she knew she had a daughter who said "dunno."  The woman who devoured Reader's Digest's "It Pays to Increase Your Word Power" could not have produced a child who said "dunno."

"Remember your manners, Petra, for Gott's sake," my mother would chide.



Holly is reading
Dragonsdale by Salamanda Drake

"But, Da," protested Cara.  "Sky's a Goldenbrow -- that's a very rare breed ..."

"He could be as rare as a mermaid's toenails and he'd still be of no value to me if he won't allow himself to be trained.  We can't afford to keep on stuffing food into useless mouths, that's all."

A cold hand seemed to clutch at Cara's heart.  "Da!"  She had asked the question many times before and knew it was hopeless, but she plowed on.  "Why won't you let me ride Sky?  I know I can do it!  I know I can train him!  Please...."



Lily is reading
Happy Birthday from Carolyn Haywood by Carolyn Haywood

When Betsy's birthday arrived, nothing had come from her grandfather.  Her mother gave her a book written by Betsy's favorite author, and her father gave her a new game that looked like fun.  When she opened the little parcel that had come in the mail, Betsy found a gold bracelet, with small gold letters dangling from it.  The letters spelled "Betsy."  It was from her grandmother, with a loving message.  Betsy thought it was beautiful.

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls -- start your engines.  You're about to take an incredible ride with one of the most wonderful family films of all time!

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is reading
Happy Birthday, Everywhere! by Arlene Erlbach

Chinese people believe a baby is one year old when it's born.  A Chinese child's second birthday (which would be your first) is an important event.  Some families tell the baby's fortunes at this party.  Actually the baby tells his or her own fortune!  The parents seat the baby among a collection of objects, such as coins, a doll, or a book, and watch to see what object the baby grabs.  A baby that grabs a coin might become rich.  A baby that reaches for a book might become a teacher.  A baby that grabs a doll might have many children.



Holly is reading
Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter

As a writer, you have to be your readers' eyes.  When they first pick up your story, your readers are totally blind and helpless.  They don't know if they are standing in a grimy Laundromat or the pink-walled office of the pink-faced principal or on the surface of a wind-swept planet with bubbling, mucouslike puddles underfoot.  If you don't bother to describe your fictional world to your readers, or you rush through your descriptions quickly and carelessly, it's likely that your readers will stumble around in this strange, shadowy place until they finally say, "Oh, forget it!  I can't see a thing in this story!  I'm going outside to have a look at that smooshed toad on the sidewalk."




Lily is reading
Gabby & Grandma Go Green by Monica Wellington

At the supermarket they recycle their bottles and shop for some groceries.  The clerk at the checkout counter asks, "Paper or plastic?"


"Not for us.  We brought our own bags!" says Gabby.

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

Jesus of Nazareth

Beginning before the Nativity and extending through the Crucifixion and Resurrection, Jesus of Nazareth brings to life all the majesty and sweeping drama of the life of Jesus (portrayed here by Robert Powell) as told in the Gospels.

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is still reading
Journey to the Well by Diana Wallis Taylor

There was a knock at the door announcing that Hannah and several neighbor women had arrived along with two of Marah's friends, Timnah and Atarah.  Behind them came other women of the neighborhood.  They all looked over Reba's preparations with a practiced eye.  Gathering the wedding garments, they exclaimed over them in animated whispers.  One woman counted the coins in the bridal headband.  Marah unbound her hair as they began to dress her.  Since her wedding feast was the only time she would appear in public with her hair down, her friend Atarah carefully combed the rich tresses that tumbled down.

"Such a bride, may this day be the greatest of all days, may she have many sons!"  The women mouthed the expected phrases.



Holly is still reading
The Wicked Enchantment by Margot Benary-Isbert

The weather had turned colder again.  A bitter wind was coming down from the mountains and it seemed almost as if there might be another snowstorm.  At any rate it did not look like the beginning of spring, and the town's oldest people, who had experienced all kinds of weather in their long lives, said that there had never been a March like this one.  And then they looked timidly around to see that there were no eavesdroppers, and whispered that lots of things were happening these days that they never had known to happen before.

From the beehive in Aunt Gundula's bedroom came a low, mournful humming, and the pigeons in the gable of the sexton's house didn't seem to want to fly out at all.  Most of the day they sat on their perches, feathers puffed out disconsolately, and emerged only when Anemone came out to feed the chickens on the roof garden.  Even they stayed inside their coop most of the time.  Only the cathedral pigeons continued to circle above the square, as though they no longer felt safe in their nooks and crannies among the gothic stonework.



Lily is reading
Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel

Owl began to cry.  A large tear rolled down and dropped into the kettle.

"Spoons that have fallen behind the stove and are never seen again," said Owl.

More tears dropped down into the kettle.

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

Image from WHOLESALEDISNEYDVD



Whisper of the Heart

A schoolgirl named Shizuku, who longs to discover her true talents, meets the mysterious Seiji, a boy who is determined to follow his dreams, and The Baron, a magical cat who helps her listen to the whispers in her heart.

The Reference Shelf: A Continual Feast

A Continual Feast:
A cookbook to celebrate the joys of family and faith throughout the Christian year
by Evelyn Birge Vitz
illustrated by Parker Leighton


Easter is a moment of rejoicing.  To some degree, in some places, this rejoicing bears a mark of deep solemnity.  This has been especially true of Eastern Europe.  But the theme of Easter joy is clear in many humorous old customs and superstitions.  It was long traditional that preachers should at some point in their sermons on that day make their listeners laugh: this was "Pascal laughter."  In the highlands of Scotland they used to say (maybe some still do) that on Easter morning the sun dances for joy.

With Easter rejoicing goes Easter feasting.  There are dozens of beautiful traditional dishes from all over the world for this great feast.

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is reading
Journey to the Well by Diana Wallis Taylor

Hannah paused, studying Marah's face for a moment.  "It is in the hands of God."

Marah looked up at Mount Ebal.  The hands of God.  Were they like her father Jared's hands, gentle and loving, yet firm when she misbehaved?  Her father had always said, "Doesn't the God of all the earth know His way?"  What was God's way for her?






Holly is reading
The Wicked Enchantment by Margot Benary-Isbert

"Is that so?" Gundula said with her nose in the air.  "Now suppose you take yourself off to bed, Miss Florus.  Little girls have a way of getting pert when their elders let them stay up too late."

Whereupon she opened the door to the adjoining room, which Anemone had never yet seen because she had only come on daytime visits.

There stood a huge bed with pillows piled high, and enclosed with billowing hangings which Aunt Gundula had covered with needlework.  These curtains were more beautiful than the loveliest picture book.  All along the lower hem there were fish, shellfish and all kinds of strange-looking deep-sea creatures swimming about among gardens of coral and green seaweed.  The mid-section was devoted to the solid world of stones and the lively world of plants and animals.  Here gems flashed sparkling colors, flowers of every description budded and blossomed, animals of many kinds leaped or crouched, while above their heads flew glinting birds, butterflies and beetles.  Way up at the top was the sun, flanked by planets and the signs of the zodiac.  It was all so entertaining that Anemone completely forgot how tired she was.  But the strangest part of it all was that high up, at the very mid-point of the canopy, was perched Gundula's beehive, humming incessantly on a deep note.

"The humming puts you to sleep faster than anything," Gundula said.  "And now let's find you a nightgown."



Lily is reading
If Jesus Came to My House by Joan Gale Thomas

And then we'd play with all my toys,
my nicest toys of course,
and He should have the longest ride
upon my rocking horse.

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

Image from MOVIEPOSTERSFORSALE

The Princess and the Frog

New Orleans. Arrogant, carefree Prince Naveen and hardworking waitress Tiana cross paths. Prince Naveen is transformed into a frog by a conniving voodoo magician. Tiana follows suit when she decides to kiss the amphibian royalty. With the help of a trumpet-playing alligator, a Cajun firefly, and an old blind lady who lives in a boat in a tree, Naveen and Tiana must race to break the spell and fulfill their dreams.

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is still reading
Unfinished Desires by Gail Godwin


Mother Ravenel was intently studying her.  "I'll tell you what, Maud.  I'm going to offer a suggestion.  I want you to go to the chapel now and pray about this talk we have had.  Don't try to figure anything out; now is not the time for figuring.  Just make an offering of it to God and leave it there with Him.  Then go on with your usual activities and trust Him to start working on it.  Then go back to the chapel before you go to bed and stay there until the nuns' Compline at nine.  You may be excused from evening study hall."

"And -- what do I do in chapel the second time?"

"Just kneel in an atitude of prayer, and listen.  See what comes.  Prayer is not always talk, talk, talk.  I want you to get used to being alone with God.  This is an ideal time, the middle of Holy Week.  The whole communion of Christ is in mourning, but we're preparing for his Resurrection.  I will be praying over this, too.  Let's call it your intention.  And we'll keep it between ourselves, shall we, Maud?"

"Yes, Mother."

"I will just say one further thing.  If we both conclude that God wants you to stay at Mount St. Gabriel's, a way will be found."




Holly is reading
Glenda Glinka, Witch-At-Large by Janice May Udry

Glenda thought.  "I haven't made purple ones for a long time.  How about two batches, one purple and one green?"

"That ought to do it," said Kazbo.  "Are you going to put in those little crunchy beetles this time?"

"Of course," said Glenda.  "I want these to be the best P.T.A. cookies there!"







Lily is reading
Crepes by Suzette by Monica Wellington

From the gardens close by come the laughter and chatter of children just dismissed from school.  They all want crepes filled with chocolate.  C'est bon!

Friday Night at the Movies

What we're watching this week.

Image from IMPAWARDS

The Shaggy Dog

Wilby Daniels was just an ordinary teenager until a magical ring accidentally transforms him into a sheepdog ... whose owner is the leader of a plot to destroy the Space Program!

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading. 
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!


Anne is reading
Unfinished Desires by Gail Godwin

"Best friends have been known to do hurtful things to each other," said Tildy with a less enthusiastic poke at the dying fire, making Chloe feel sad in advance at the possibility that she and Tildy might one day hurt each other and cover their hurts with guarded commonplaces.







Holly is reading
Astronomy: Out of This World! Created by Basher, Written by Dan Green

Passing by Earth so often, I'm known as a short-period comet.  I've witnessed a lot of Earth's history.  I showed up just before William the Conqueror met King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 -- Willy viewed me as a sign of good fortune (he won the battle, by the way).  I graced the skies in 1986 and will visit again in 2061.  Most people will see me only once in their lifetime, so make sure you get a good look.






Lily is reading
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

"Silly old Fox!  Doesn't he know?
There's no such thing as a gruffalo!"

March 25: The Feast of the Annunciation



The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner



In some parts of the world it is customary to celebrate this feast day by eating waffles. 

Waffles?

If ever there were a day set aside to celebrate the courage of a young girl who did not waffle when called by God to do the extraordinary, today is it. 

We celebrated with angel food cake and the Magnificat.  We also added a package of diapers to our Lenten alms basket in a small effort to help some other young mother. 

We need to be angels for each other.

Tuesday Tales

A weekly peek at what we're reading.
Post your peek in the comments and share your favorite books!



Anne is still reading
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

It was ironic to think that nearly all of the women I knew now were direct benefactors of the suffragette work my mother did decades ago, right in our own parlor, while I curled up with a book and tried to be invisible.  It was possible that I was never going to catch up with the truly modern woman, but did I have to hide my head so willfully?  Couldn't I experiment just a little to see what else might feel right, especially when I had good friends who loved me, as Pauline had pointed out, and wanted me to succeed?





Holly is reading
Think About It, You Might Learn Something by Robyn Supraner

The first thing I want to say is that it wasn't my fault.  The whole thing happened because Charles, my baby brother (you can tell I'm mad when I call him Charles) decided to be cute.

Anyway, Charles had this little green snake that looked and felt exactly like a real snake.





Lily is reading
365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental

"Give them away," Mommy suggested.

Daddy had a better idea:
"We should
organize them!"

March 20, 2011: The Vernal Equinox

And it's Spring!

Did you know that Native Americans had different names for each full moon of the year?  March 19 was the Worm Moon.  (Isn't that great??)  We celebrated by going for a moonlit walk and eating gummy worms.  We also played a game called Squiggly Worms that was more fun than we expected.

Spring came indoors, too.  We replaced the white and wintry elements of our nature tray with green leaves, pastel flowers, and an image of Paris from Moncia Wellington's Crepes by Suzette, a favorite book.

And we wistfully wrapped Our Lady of the Snows and hung the flowery Queen of the Universe in her place.



And of course, we had food and books.  We feasted on our customary "equinox cookies" -- large black and white cookies from the bakery.

We also enjoyed reading In This Night by Irmgard Lucht, a lyrical way to end the day and begin a new season.

And it's Spring.