A few photos to share, then I have to get back to cleaning for a new year's teen gathering...
Darwiniana 2026
5 days ago
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
The Last Day
Goodbye to another decade! I just realized the kindergartner doesn't understand that the year will change tomorrow as we start a new month, a new year, a new decade. We're still enjoying our Christmas tree and decorations for a few more days and have just returned from a vacation in the Eastern Sierras - the same place we went last year to enjoy snow, mountain air, and family togetherness. Again, we met up with the cousins and stayed in a house with beds for 22, a fire place and hot tub, and access to trails around a glacial lake. It was not a huge house, but cozy and spacious enough to not feel cramped. We played board games, cards, and read. The kids did check their phones, but not as much as they are usually tempted to do. We went into Mammoth for lunch, groceries, a Mass with an excellent Feast of the Holy Family homily, and a trip to the ER for stitches and a broken thumb after the five year old shut her thumb in the car door. I admittedly had more trouble relaxing this time than I did last year, perhaps because of the thumb incident. And one kid is still in a knee brace after ACL surgery and the other is only a month post-op, so both of them were limited in their outdoor play. Somehow the days went by so fast, I never felt like I settled in, although I did love my vigorous hike alone one morning during which I mused on the direction life might take next year and tried to come to peace with some upcoming changes, past disappointments, and future desires. All very new yearish thoughts. It was timely that this morning's Wall Street Journal had an article about how negative events stay with us more than positive ones. I certainly recognize the tendency in myself to dwell more on personal flaws and regrets than successes. (One of my favorite gifts under the Christmas tree: My kids pitched in for a subscription to WSJ - student rate, but still. Second favorite - a new watch. My experiment in watchlessness was frustrating. Kids mostly received clothes this year, half of which I took back, as usual. A couple kids got just what they wanted (the youngers), but the olders have upcoming or just-past travel that they received funding for. Next year I plan to do Merry Thriftsmas gifts...)
Reading Review for December
Despite it being a busy month - or maybe because it has been a busy month - I have done a bit more reading than usual. I've finished five books:
Things As They Are by Paul Horgan
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Practice House by Laura Neal
Joy to the World by Scott Hahn
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
and as a readaloud, I finished an abridged version of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (a reread)
I abandoned The Brothers K, by David James Duncan, which I thought I would love, but didn't and didn't have time to finish before the due date. I also browsed a collection of Richard Wilbur's poems, along with beginning Robert Macfarland's Landmarks, a reflection on and a glossary of words that apply to nature and landscape. One chapter is subtitled "A Counter-Desecration Phrasebook," which gives an idea of what the book is about. So far, I am enjoying his essays on the loss of words that apply to places, a loss which impoverishes our wisdom and imagination. I admit to skipping over the glossary sections, after a brief peruse - for I do not feel compelled, even by his moving argument, to learn Gaelic words for esoteric novelties of peat bogs, for that is what many of the words apply to, at least in the first section. Each section is about a different terrain. Collecting these words is a fascinating and important project, and now I know where to look if I ever were to need a vocabulary for describing these places. Perhaps someone needs to do the same for southern California. For example, I am sure there is a word for the stones that are scattered on the hillsides that ring San Diego and other parts of this region. And perhaps there is a word for snow that falls on normally dessert locations and covers these stones. There must be a word to describe the sandy soil of these hills which grows only sage, cacti, and coreopsis and other coastal shrubs. My own knowledge of the trees and birds and reptiles of this area is sadly lacking, but would require repeated reviews in order for the knowledge to sink in, although I learned to identify maple, birch, oak, and elm without any effort at all when my dad pointed them out when we were young.
Notes on these books: I reread The Color Purple because Alice Walker is coming to speak on campus about her new book in February. I read this years ago in high school and had forgotten most of it. I wonder if I understood everything that was happening when I read it before. The story of a broken family is compelling, as is the healing that takes place within the family. This was one I couldn't put down and read in just a few days - or rather, very late nights.
Paul Horgan's book was a little less absorbing. This is the story of a young boy's coming of age in a well to do family in New England. He is an only child and doted upon, but doesn't seem too spoiled. He comes to terms with his own sinfulness at a very young child when he drowns a cat and then immediately feels shame, and maybe this keeps him humble. Each chapter is an episode that removes the veil of human perfection - imperfect parents, predatory adults, parents who fail to love their disabled child, adults who fail to keep their vows - but a few chapters focus on a happier theme - a boy who finds courage, friendship lost and found, a discovery of the joy of learning. Since each chapter was a discreet episode, it was easier to set it down in between chapters and didn't keep me up until one or two.
Delia Owens' bestseller Where the Crawdads Sing I read out of curiosity because it has gotten such rave reviews - and because it was the topic of a trivia night question the other night (How old was the author when she wrote this, her first book? Answer: in her seventies. There is hope!) It read like a bestseller - fast-paced, beginning with descriptions of a broken marriage and an abusive husband, leading to the abandonment of little Kya by everyone in her family. She learns to survive with the help of the black owner of a gas station on the lagoon and a couple of other sympathetic characters in the town. Her friends are the birds of the marsh. For years she lives alone and then has two romantic affairs, one of which leads to her being accused of murder. The plot is a bit far-fetched, but rolls along. As my sister-in-law commented, the first half of the book is better developed than the second half, and courtroom dramas often seems to drag for me. So while it was entertaining - an easy read to make a roadtrip fly by - it wasn't a life changer. I can see why it is a best seller, though.
Scott Hahn's Joy to the World was my book club read this month. It was a nice read for Advent, but covered a lot of familiar territory. Most of the book club members enjoyed it - a few who haven't read as much of his work loved it, and one person didn't like it because of Hahn's somewhat pedantic tone.
The Practice House is by a local Coronado author, Laura Neal, and was the "One Read" for the city. I enjoyed it more than I anticipated, although it is mostly a sad story. The plot follows the losses of a dustbowl family in Kansas that eventually moves to California. The family has taken in a Scottish school teacher who disrupts their barely contented family life. They are on the verge of losing everything, and the father is a dreamer who loves his Kansas farm more than anything, while the mother is the daughter of a successful businessman who feels like she has been duped into farm life. Eventually, of course, all the seams fall apart. What interested me perhaps most was the father's obsession with his homeland and his inability to acclimate to life in California. Perhaps I felt some sympathy for him, although he failed his family. How deeply do ancestral roots hold our identities? Was the father too stubborn to adjust or too innately connected to his farm? Or does the author simply romanticize this aspect?
Of course Black Beauty was a fun read to share with the kindergartner. As a former lover of horse stories, I was glad she enjoyed it and wanted to hear it. I read a short illustrated version that was mine as a little girl. Maybe we'll revisit some Margeurite Henry books before long. We just started The Secret Garden on our road trip. Forgot how despicable Mary is at the beginning and how politically incorrect some of the language is, but enjoying seeing Mary grow healthy in the English air. More to come...
Things As They Are by Paul Horgan
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Practice House by Laura Neal
Joy to the World by Scott Hahn
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
and as a readaloud, I finished an abridged version of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (a reread)
I abandoned The Brothers K, by David James Duncan, which I thought I would love, but didn't and didn't have time to finish before the due date. I also browsed a collection of Richard Wilbur's poems, along with beginning Robert Macfarland's Landmarks, a reflection on and a glossary of words that apply to nature and landscape. One chapter is subtitled "A Counter-Desecration Phrasebook," which gives an idea of what the book is about. So far, I am enjoying his essays on the loss of words that apply to places, a loss which impoverishes our wisdom and imagination. I admit to skipping over the glossary sections, after a brief peruse - for I do not feel compelled, even by his moving argument, to learn Gaelic words for esoteric novelties of peat bogs, for that is what many of the words apply to, at least in the first section. Each section is about a different terrain. Collecting these words is a fascinating and important project, and now I know where to look if I ever were to need a vocabulary for describing these places. Perhaps someone needs to do the same for southern California. For example, I am sure there is a word for the stones that are scattered on the hillsides that ring San Diego and other parts of this region. And perhaps there is a word for snow that falls on normally dessert locations and covers these stones. There must be a word to describe the sandy soil of these hills which grows only sage, cacti, and coreopsis and other coastal shrubs. My own knowledge of the trees and birds and reptiles of this area is sadly lacking, but would require repeated reviews in order for the knowledge to sink in, although I learned to identify maple, birch, oak, and elm without any effort at all when my dad pointed them out when we were young.
Notes on these books: I reread The Color Purple because Alice Walker is coming to speak on campus about her new book in February. I read this years ago in high school and had forgotten most of it. I wonder if I understood everything that was happening when I read it before. The story of a broken family is compelling, as is the healing that takes place within the family. This was one I couldn't put down and read in just a few days - or rather, very late nights.
Paul Horgan's book was a little less absorbing. This is the story of a young boy's coming of age in a well to do family in New England. He is an only child and doted upon, but doesn't seem too spoiled. He comes to terms with his own sinfulness at a very young child when he drowns a cat and then immediately feels shame, and maybe this keeps him humble. Each chapter is an episode that removes the veil of human perfection - imperfect parents, predatory adults, parents who fail to love their disabled child, adults who fail to keep their vows - but a few chapters focus on a happier theme - a boy who finds courage, friendship lost and found, a discovery of the joy of learning. Since each chapter was a discreet episode, it was easier to set it down in between chapters and didn't keep me up until one or two.
Delia Owens' bestseller Where the Crawdads Sing I read out of curiosity because it has gotten such rave reviews - and because it was the topic of a trivia night question the other night (How old was the author when she wrote this, her first book? Answer: in her seventies. There is hope!) It read like a bestseller - fast-paced, beginning with descriptions of a broken marriage and an abusive husband, leading to the abandonment of little Kya by everyone in her family. She learns to survive with the help of the black owner of a gas station on the lagoon and a couple of other sympathetic characters in the town. Her friends are the birds of the marsh. For years she lives alone and then has two romantic affairs, one of which leads to her being accused of murder. The plot is a bit far-fetched, but rolls along. As my sister-in-law commented, the first half of the book is better developed than the second half, and courtroom dramas often seems to drag for me. So while it was entertaining - an easy read to make a roadtrip fly by - it wasn't a life changer. I can see why it is a best seller, though.
Scott Hahn's Joy to the World was my book club read this month. It was a nice read for Advent, but covered a lot of familiar territory. Most of the book club members enjoyed it - a few who haven't read as much of his work loved it, and one person didn't like it because of Hahn's somewhat pedantic tone.
The Practice House is by a local Coronado author, Laura Neal, and was the "One Read" for the city. I enjoyed it more than I anticipated, although it is mostly a sad story. The plot follows the losses of a dustbowl family in Kansas that eventually moves to California. The family has taken in a Scottish school teacher who disrupts their barely contented family life. They are on the verge of losing everything, and the father is a dreamer who loves his Kansas farm more than anything, while the mother is the daughter of a successful businessman who feels like she has been duped into farm life. Eventually, of course, all the seams fall apart. What interested me perhaps most was the father's obsession with his homeland and his inability to acclimate to life in California. Perhaps I felt some sympathy for him, although he failed his family. How deeply do ancestral roots hold our identities? Was the father too stubborn to adjust or too innately connected to his farm? Or does the author simply romanticize this aspect?
Of course Black Beauty was a fun read to share with the kindergartner. As a former lover of horse stories, I was glad she enjoyed it and wanted to hear it. I read a short illustrated version that was mine as a little girl. Maybe we'll revisit some Margeurite Henry books before long. We just started The Secret Garden on our road trip. Forgot how despicable Mary is at the beginning and how politically incorrect some of the language is, but enjoying seeing Mary grow healthy in the English air. More to come...
Friday, December 20, 2019
This is December
I'm only a little or a LOT behind the power curve on Christmas - sorry, godchildren and grandparents, you are getting Epiphany presents this year... unless I hit a Christmas miracle sale, I'll be shopping on Christmas Eve, most likely.
Today instead of shopping, I cleaned house for my college kids coming home, and then took son number 4 to the hospital for ACL repair on his knee. This is the third ACL surgery our family has had THIS YEAR. And our oldest had his repaired summer 2018, too. Weak Anterior Cruciate Ligaments must run in our family. It is something of an elective surgery - nonathletes can carry on in life quite well without one, but young, athletic boys will only destabilize their knees and cause worse damage without repair. They will probably all need knee replacement surgery in the future.
At any rate, it is a fairly routine surgery, although each of the three this year have been different (with different doctors). One used the patellar tendon to repair, one used the hamstring tendon, and this doctor used the quadriceps tendon. This doctor, who used to work with the US Olympic Ski Team, gave me a good explanation for the differences. He has been quite reassuring and came highly recommended. My only concern is that my son's surgery was scheduled for 3:20 this afternoon, and took place at 4:30 or so. The recovery room nurse told me the unit had had 100 surgeries that day (this is at a large Children's Hospital). So I'm a little worried about the fatigue of our service providers. But here's hoping all that practice pays off in the form of a well-done repair that holds up to the beating I'm sure it will receive in a few months, when Son #4, the most rough and tumble of them all since Day 1, is cleared for activity. (if not before)
And now for your viewing pleasure, while I go finish grading papers... and browsing Amazon aimlessly:
Today instead of shopping, I cleaned house for my college kids coming home, and then took son number 4 to the hospital for ACL repair on his knee. This is the third ACL surgery our family has had THIS YEAR. And our oldest had his repaired summer 2018, too. Weak Anterior Cruciate Ligaments must run in our family. It is something of an elective surgery - nonathletes can carry on in life quite well without one, but young, athletic boys will only destabilize their knees and cause worse damage without repair. They will probably all need knee replacement surgery in the future.
At any rate, it is a fairly routine surgery, although each of the three this year have been different (with different doctors). One used the patellar tendon to repair, one used the hamstring tendon, and this doctor used the quadriceps tendon. This doctor, who used to work with the US Olympic Ski Team, gave me a good explanation for the differences. He has been quite reassuring and came highly recommended. My only concern is that my son's surgery was scheduled for 3:20 this afternoon, and took place at 4:30 or so. The recovery room nurse told me the unit had had 100 surgeries that day (this is at a large Children's Hospital). So I'm a little worried about the fatigue of our service providers. But here's hoping all that practice pays off in the form of a well-done repair that holds up to the beating I'm sure it will receive in a few months, when Son #4, the most rough and tumble of them all since Day 1, is cleared for activity. (if not before)
And now for your viewing pleasure, while I go finish grading papers... and browsing Amazon aimlessly:
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| Warm enough to swim ... for a minute |
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| Hydrangeas blooming in ombre coloring |
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| Getting ready for Favorite Things first ballet performance - a new era in our house... |
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| Ride the lights - You can't really tell from this photo how many bikers were out for this annual event |
Work Christmas party #2
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| Snow in Southern California? Thanks, Navy base! |
Monday, December 9, 2019
Another photo review...
This weekend was the first rush of holiday events. Friday was the kick-off to the local events - "Snow Mountain" and the Christmas parade down main street. Then Saturday was packed: The first four hours I spent at the home school mothers' retreat, which was preached by a Nashville Dominican who is teaching in Phoenix. She gave a wonderful talk, delivered with humor and wisdom, about the parable of the talents, reminding us that the talents are not just our gifts that we must use, but our burdens that can also bear fruit. She led off the talk with an anecdote about the bishop of Phoenix sharing his prayer of the week: "Lord, deliver me from the temptation of wishing things were otherwise." I am frequently guilty of giving in to this temptation, as you may have noticed if you read this blog... In fact, I had stayed up late the night before wishing for our situation to be otherwise. One of the kids had said something cutting deep that made me wish I were, yet again, a better mother - at the same time an email about school issues made me wish I were a better teacher - something that would come at the cost of being a better mother. The point was to find ways to be grateful for where we are, and to form our intellect and will to see the good of our situation. In some ways, I chafe against the idea that we should always embrace the "now" because frequently I wonder if change, even drastic change, might sometimes be a good thing - motivated by a desire for a greater good. But maybe that is wishing for things to be otherwise. And I wish I had taken notes because now some of her other insights escape me. The morning retreat and time for fellowship did make me think again about home schooling next year, although I have mixed emotions about it - mainly because I feel I don't do a good job. Back in the day, I thought, "If I only had fewer kids, I"d do a better job." Now it's "If I only had more kids... "
After the retreat, I changed into outfit number 2 for a "Twelve Star" reception on base. This meant it was hosted by the admirals, whose stars add up to 12. I can't remember the exact configuration now. We shook hands with a lot of flag officers, but I think there were 4 three-star admirals who were the official hosts. This was the kind of event where you make small talk for a couple hours and nibble on delicious snacks that you want to gorge on, but no one else is really eating because you don't want to have food in your teeth or eat up all your lipstick before you greet someone else. It actually wasn't as stiff as I anticipated, and we ran into a few friendly acquaintances we have seen for a while, so it was worthwhile.
When that ended, we dashed by the commissary, grabbed stuff for me to make a salad for our next event, and headed home. Got the five-year-old ready for a friend's pig-themed birthday party and sent her off with her sister, while I left in outfit number 3 (or 4 if you count my running clothes from the morning) for the spouses' Christmas potluck and ornament exchange, a slightly awkward event, but still again, an opportunity to connect with friends we haven't seen for a bit. I was so happy when I finally got into outfit number 4, comfy jammies to watch an Office Christmas special with the older teens on the couch.
With so many events crammed into the last weekend, we should have a fairly relaxing Advent. I'm reading Scott Hahn's Joy To the World for book club, perfect for the season - helping me stay focused.
Below are a few of the events that were photographed last month.
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| Recent morning run: "Penelope" watching over the bay |
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| Christmas parade! Santa on the fire engine with a cute elf we know... |
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| "Snow" in Socal. Mountain of hay bales.. |
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| Another pic of our daughter as the friendly elf - a perk of working for the rec. center |
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| Grantham the sloth dressed for the holidays |
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| From Dad's work - reconfiguring the dunes |
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| A funny on the theology professor's door |
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| Skateboard artist |
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| At the library with my workout clothes on, whom should we meet by Immaculee Ilabigiza |
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| My running partner |
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| A view of turkeys on the hill in Julian, CA |
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| Getting up close and personal with the heron at Living Coast |
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| Cross country season's last race |
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| Flashback to Day of the Dead altar at church |
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| I found this on my phone after LK and I had coffee with a friend - artistic posing of Halloween gift, getting real with my chin |
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| Bob and Minnie came for a Halloween visit. Our friend at church, Miss Ginny, made the dress |
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| Scout awards... almost Eagle...just some paperwork left |
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| Mother-daughter bowling date |
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| First college admission, plus an invitation to apply to their Honors program. |
Thanksgiving Review
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| Trying out hairstyles |
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| Red-eye over San Diego |
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| Meeting Jese |
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| November morn |
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| Tree Trimming |
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| Sisters in the wind - photos I can't post on social media... |
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| Calves on the loose |
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| Porch puppy |
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| Siblings before the storm |
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| Cousins in the Polaris - a bit young to drive |
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| The Beltie Herd |
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| Wild boys |
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| Constructing the fort |
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| Marriage blessing from Rome |
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| Twirly skirts |
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| Set for the feast - big kids table |
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| A blessing |
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| Another blessing |
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| Brotherly love |
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| Beginning the party |
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| Celebrating 23 and a half years of marriage... |
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