Sibling Assignment #90: " In Sickness and In Health"

I gave Sibling Assignment #90 this week:

As Valentine's Day approaches, think of a specific film, book, poem, or work of art that helped you understand the emotion of love and explain why. You can find Silver Valley Girl's exploration of love in The Sound of Music here and RP's will be posted soon.

My answer is the film Shadowlands.

I have always been drawn to films and books with a theme of " to have and to hold in sickness and health". The emotion of love has been depicted in so ways in film, but when couples have to deal with the sickness of their spouse, I think they have a choice. I am moved by those that show deep devotion while caretaking an ill or suffering loved one. I don't know why I have always been drawn to these kinds of movies, knowing they usually end in sadness. One thing that has always stayed with me is the love that is expressed in so many ways in a film with this theme.Of course I also love movies that make me grab the Kleenex box, but Shadowlands explores love at many different levels. The story is about the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham as they built a relationship that started with letters across the ocean after she had read some of his books, to a meeting in London, followed by a friendship, companionship, and deep love. In this true story Joy brings Lewis out of a comfortable life which included his teaching at Oxford, his friends, and his writing. As the movie unfolds the viewer can observe a quiet relationship in the making and also see the surprise that occurs when love envelopes a person and how completely unaware he can be. That is what happens to C. S. Lewis. Joy gets cancer and Jack is there to caretake for her and her son. As he reads to her while she rests in bed or when they take drives around the countryside you can watch a deep devotion build between the two of them. Love doesn't require loud music, wild dancing, or other adult themes. This building love is quiet and takes the viewer along through the beautiful countryside of England.

The title comes from Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, in which "the world as we know it and other worlds like it are referred to as the 'shadowlands', because they are only a shadow of what is to come." Even after meeting Joy I don't think Jack was ready to step out of the shadowlands. As he was enveloped in friendship and finally in a deep love I believe he was still in the shadowlands. When he stepped out is when he found what was to come. There is pain and suffering that can come with love. As Joy was ill she tried to prepare Jack for what was to come. "We can't have the happiness of yesterday without the pain of today. That's the deal. "

Many couples in love experince much happiness, but sometimes pain. That's the deal. When my dad was surrounded by my mom, the rest of his family and his devoted friends as he was dying everyone gave him the best love and care they could . The same is true of other couples I have known when one is ill or suffering. The questions asked are ," What do you need? How can I help you?" It brings me back to the wedding vows and " to love and to cherish from this day forward , in sickness and in health". JEJ and I just talked about this topic today at lunch. For some it is a real test of their relationship. For others it is another way to express love in a deep, profound way.

"Why love if losing hurts so much? I have no answers any more. Only the life I have lived. Twice in that life I've been given the choice; as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety, man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal." C.S. Lewis quoted these words at the end of the film and he continued to struggle with his pain and loss which can be further explored in his book A Grief Observed — Lewis's own chronicle of his reactions following Joy Gresham's death.

This film showed me how love can build from friendship and also that love can happen at all times in life. Love can surprise is when we least expect it. This is still one of my all-time favorite movies. If you haven't seen it, or haven't in awhile it would be a perfect Valentine's Day choice.

The Sun: A Ribbon at a Time

"I'll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time. " ~Emily Dickinson



A lovely sequence I observed while enjoying my morning coffee today.

Vintage and Victorian, Nonizamboni, and a New Obsession

A few weeks ago I was once again visiting Peacock Blue, a favorite blog created by Nonizamboni. I love the unique artistic things she does on her blog so I just asked her where all the collections came from. She gave me all kinds of ideas for finding pictures, designs, and lettering. You can find her blog here.

This evening I decided to take a little tour through a few of the sites since I wanted to especially find some Victorian valentine clipart. It started with Victorian valentines, and went to dogs, then to vintage valentines and before I knew it I had spent a couple of hours enjoying beautiful art, design, photos, advertisements, old photos, and prints. Here are a few of the favorites I found meandering from site to site. My sidebar is displaying a few also. The expression on this girl's face would capture anybody's attention, whether they wanted to buy Niagara Starch or not!This picture reminds me of a page from a classic fairy tale or storybook.
It's the dogs that just make this picture called "Sick Woman"...what a perfect illustration of devotion.
The nest and eggs are so precise, yet very artistic. This vintage valentine creates a spot that I would like to be right now. I can just smell those blossoms fill the air!

I always love to add another obsession to a list that is already very long. Generally when my life gets too busy and hectic I procrastinate myself into these obsessions. Tomorrow I have a growing list of things I must get done, but I am already yearning for a few hours of seed catalog browsing, a drive to take photos, oh and I must schedule in another Zags game. Now I know why things just don't get done sometimes! Sigh.

The Art of Basketball : Following the Gonzaga Bulldogs

I haven't written a post yet this season about my favorite college basketball team. Following the Gonzaga Bulldogs is one of my winter rituals. Gonzaga is located in Spokane, Washington close to home and from the time I was small we drove up Hamilton Street past the campus many times a year to visit my Grandma Woolum on Bridgeport. Who would have known I would start this love affair with a college basketball team? When I was younger Grandma spoke of Gonzaga in connection to Bing Crosby. My dad also followed the Zags and loved spending time at Jack and Dan's discussing the career of John Stockton, a Gonzaga grad that went on the the NBA. I have a student named Austin who loves, you guessed it, Austin Daye!The Zags are undefeated in their conference and pulled off a big victory tonight against the Portland Pilots. They are ranked 18th in the nation and make basketball fun to watch. Everyone knows where to find us when Gonzaga is playing a game. I've been know to adjust a few scheduled events to fit in a game! It is impossible to get tickets to watch them play at their home court, so we rely on the next best thing....the television in the living room.
I understand the art of basketball, but I don't understand the science of basketball . I couldn't explain why the defense works or how the offense switches up, but I know a masterpiece when I watch Micah Downs reaching the basket at just the right moment as Austin Daye passes the ball and he stuffs it in. I understand form when I am glued to the television set as Steven Gray does a fast break in a solo run down the court. I study still life when the people in the bleachers stand frozen as a ball gracefully arches over the opponents' heads and falls into the basket for a three-pointer at the buzzer. I appreciate balance as I watched Matt Bouldin do just about everything right tonight. That is the art of basketball. It is what keeps me watching this team. Go Zags!

Stories From the Kitchen: A Delicious Meme

My growing collection of cobalt blue glassware in my kitchen window.


What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?

This was hard for me because it seemed like I was always helping in the kitchen instead of doing it all by myself. One year for Christmas I got the pans that made a tiered cake (in fact I still have them). I am going to say I was twelve. I loved little black and white illustrations in the Betty Crocker cookbook and on page 147 in showed how to use these pans with a Silver White Cake. I think that is what I made.

Who had the most influence on your cooking?

If I would have spent more time with my two grandmothers they would both be on this list because each them had their own style, but both their cooking styles revolved around garden fresh vegetables, hearty desserts, homemade dill pickles, and delicious fruit desserts and cookies. I spent more time in the kitchen with my mom. She made homemade bread many Sundays, simple comfort meals like pork chops and meatloaf during the week, and great desserts like Lemon Fluff and brownies in her "spare time"! From my mom I learned how to explore cookbooks for unique recipes, clip recipes by Dorothy Dean from the Spokesman Review, and the art of putting a nutritious meal on the table within sixty minutes.

Do you have an old photo as "evidence" of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?

The picture above shows me between my parents cleaning up after dinner at my grandma's house in Spokane. I don't even remember Dad ever doing dishes, but I love this picture of all of us together. We probably enjoyed dessert after the kitchen was cleaned up.

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?

Making candy and using a candy thermometer. Whenever I see words like soft ball and hard ball stage I shudder. I tried to make fudge once, but it was humid and I guess that changes the life of fudge. It was a disaster. I let other people make homemade candy.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?

Valued appliance: My dark blue Kitchen Aid mixer.
Biggest letdown: nutmeg grater.... where do you find the nutmeg to grate and how do you do it without shedding some skin?

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!

When I was younger it was always a pack of Fisher's sunflower seeds with a can of Pepsi while reading a book. I don't think it is funny or weird, but I have always loved applesauce with any pork dish, particularly pork roast. I think it would be weird not to have the following combinations: potato salad with cold fried chicken, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, baked ham with scalloped potatoes. (notice a little potato theme beginning...it will show up again below!)

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don't want to live without?

pasta with other additions, good cheese, and a warm,fresh loaf of bread

Your favorite ice-cream?

Butter Pecan

You will probably never eat...

liver and onions

Your own signature dish...

Mitford Orange Marmalade Cake

Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one! Here are mine:

Which meal is your favorite to prepare?

I really like to create breakfast for a group because we don't have fancy breakfast very often when it is just the two of us. I love trying egg dishes, overnight roll recipes and pastries.

What vegetable is your favorite to prepare?

Perhaps it is because I am from the "Famous Potato"state of Idaho that I love to collect and prepare potato dishes.

Which cookbooks are the favorites on your shelf?

The Barefoot Contessa series, the original Betty Crocker Picture cookbook, The Habitat for Humanity Partners in the Kitchen series, Fix-It and Forget-It Recipes for Entertaining, and Pacific Northwest, The Beautiful Cookbook.

If you decide to do this meme, let me know so I can come and savor your answers.

Potential: Good News Inside

I have been reading a book called Half Full: Meditations on Hope, Optimism, and the Things That Matter by Mina Parker. It is one of these books that you can read a page a day and it gives you something to think about. On each page she combines her thoughts with a quote and a photograph by Daniel Talbott. This was on the page I read today:

" Everyone has inside him a piece of good news. The good news in that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!" Anne Frank the view from my study on a recent sunny day

'Potential is a funny thing. In one way, it's just an idea-not real yet-just a maybe. Yet it can inspire you or stymie you, just the same. But the truth is that potential can never be taken away from you. There is always a possibility, always a maybe.
You don't know what the future holds, but instead of letting worry you, get stirred up by what is possible. When I'm struggling, it's great comfort to read through the trials that someone before me has overcome. And when I'm floating, the stories of others' achievements are an exciting inspiration. "-excerpt from Half Full by Mina Parker

I had a day today that had changes in routine, ups and downs, and some difficult sessions with students. I am glad I focused on this page when I returned home. I think this will be a quote I will post on the white board tomorrow in my classroom.