The Library

[bellamarie]

Annie, I am a wreck!!   Since Irma has turned and is now threatening the hardest hit toward Tampa, that put me in stitches since my daughter and her hubby live in Port Richey, Florida.  I talked her into leaving and not staying since it would hit her area in order to reach Tampa.  They packed up their car and are heading to his family in Georgia this morning.  I will keep in touch with them throughout the day as they travel in the congested highway going North.  They just bought their first home last June after being married for twenty-one years.  I suspect their home will have substantial damage, but at least they will be safe.  I am glued to the television, internet and phone watching the updates and waiting to hear from them as they travel.  I have other family and friends in the direct hit of Irma, who chose to stay in their homes, I can only pray God watches over them and keeps them safe.  My only scripture I have at this time is:

Mark 4:39 ESV

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Please pray for Florida and all those in the path of Irma.  Especially pray for those on the highways to make it to a safe destination.

Jonathan,  I can't imagine reading a book about storms while living through the worry of my daughter & son in law and all the other family and friends in Florida.  I saw the movie The Perfect Storm at the cinamax theaters, and it scared me to the edge of my seat.  That does not compare to the fear I am feeling this morning for my daughter and her hubby's safety. 

[BarbStAubrey]

Bellamarie for what it is worth - I have learned to sit, worry and wait and not be in the middle of what is happening is more stressful and worrisome than those who are handling and tackling the danger -

To send good vibes one thing is get busy yourself - the prayers from action as action prayers sends waves of empowerment that like the proverbial butterfly in Madagascar affecting the weather we are sending good energy rather than the energy of worry and fear -

Scrub floors, hand wax furniture - bake - send Hubby to pick up a chicken and roast a chicken - clean out a closet - pull weeds - wash windows - anything that takes focus and action to accomplish - that way when you are talking on the phone with your daughter you will sound strong and she can then lean into your strength.

[Jonathan]

'...there arose a great storm of wind...and he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow; and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?'

Wonderfully applicable scripture verse, Bellamarie. I've always thought of it as the grandest miracle of all. If in danger, awaken the Lord of the Universe who travels with you. And yet, I've never ceased to wonder why He accuses them of being fearful and without faith. Unless it was to remind them that it was the right thing to do...to awaken him. May the good Lord protect your loved ones in Florida.

I like your advice to keep busy, Barbara...'to scrubl floors, wax furniture - bake'...stop right there. I need some advice on that. I want to stew up some peaches. Which spices could I add to enhance the taste, besides sugar of course. I have a good supply of red plums. Would they do anything for it? Some cinnamon, or nutmeg? Others? At a time like this I really miss my wife. She would have a peach crisp on the table in a jiffy.

[BarbStAubrey]

Lots of ways you can do up peaches Jonathan - I like to stew them in sugar water with as you say cinnamon. I have a really old rasp-grater for spices - I rasp some fresh nutmeg and add a few cloves also, a pinch of allspice or a pinch of ginger. If you use fresh ginger then only a sliver - fresh ginger is strong. A slice of lemon - Sometimes I add a few white peppercorns - other times I poke each peach with a few cloves and at add some cardamon. When I poke each peach with a clove and add the cardamon along with nutmeg instead of lemon slices I squeeze in some lemon juice.

You need some acid - either sliced lemons, lemon juice, some folks use vinegar or you can use a Vouvray or even Champagne. 

Most of the time I put the peaches in boiling water for just a minute - remove them and under cold water remove the skin than in a fresh pot I cook them in water with a bit of sugar and a couple of slices of lemon with a clove stuck in the lemon slice - while they are cooking I make a sugar syrup with spices that cooks till thick and golden color and then in a casserole I scoop in the hot soft peaches and while still hot pour the sugar spice syrup over them and let them sit in a warm oven (not so hot you can't leave your hand in the oven heat for the count of 10) for about 10 minutes to help the peaches stay warm so they will absorb the syrup.

Then the way most of the men in my family prefer is when I boil the water and take the peaches out to skin them - then they go in a pot with a cup of half brown sugar and half white sugar - to 2 cups of half water and half white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, a bit of salt, some ground pepper and some peppercorns, a diced red onion and green pepper and then the pièce de résistance - slices of seeded jalapeno - the seeds are too hot so be sure you get them all off the slices before you add them. Slow cook till peaches are soft than let it sit in a pottery type bowl or a large glass jar or even a flower vase - not in a plastic or metal bowl.

You could put all that together with a splash of vinegar added to a little over a cup of water rather the as much as the above - after the peaches are cooked till nearly soft remove from the heat and add a cucumber cut into hunks - I usually skin it like skinning a potato - put it all in a blender and then after it is blended pour in tequila  - or you could use a Rosé but not a red - a red would fight with the sugar and sweetness in the peaches - maybe add a sprig of cilantro while blending the peach mixture- not much because cilantro too is strong - some folks add mashed garlic - a change from tomato gazpacho   

Have fun - so many things to do with peaches - another favorite that I have Americanized a version of Kuchen - cut up the peaches in a bowl adding brown sugar and cinnamon enough to coat the peaches. 

I bet you can buy packets of muffin mix that are very inexpensive - here they are 99 cents and the small Martha White boxes are only 59 cents - they most often have various dehydrated berries - seldom just plain but so get a berry - just do not get the cornmeal.

The instructions on the outside of the sack or box calls for adding milk that I never use - instead mix with a slightly beaten egg and a good table spoon of soft butter and about half the amount of water that it suggested for the milk - cover a cake pan thick with butter - use your fingers and then shake sliced almonds thickly all over the butter and space the sliced coated peaches with the almonds - then pour the batter over the whole thing - does not take long to bake -

When it turns golden and looks like it is pulling away from the pan - it should be done - stick a toothpick or a thin twig from a tree in to see if any batter adheres - if so put it back in the oven for a another minute or 2 the most - the baking is only about 10 or 12 minutes but then I do not know your atmosphere to it could be 14 to 16 minutes - anyhow when you take it out put a plate over the cake pan while warm and turn the whole thing upside down so the cake falls onto the plate - if some gets stuck - it should not if you really slathered on the butter but if so, get a spatula under the stuck piece and press the piece into the cake on the plate while it is all still warm -

You can really make it special by heating half brown sugar and half water till th sugar melts and  thickens - pour it over the cake while warm - in other words make the brown sugar syrup before you start the cake and keep it warm on the stove - you may want to add a drop or so of vanilla flavoring to the sugar syrup after you pull it off the heat - wonderful for breakfast or as a snack or when you need to top off a meal with a sweat.

Some folks mess around in boats and others mess around in the kitchen - best thing is you can mess around in the kitchen all winter long. Worst thing - it turns out un-eat-able - so feed it to the birds...   

[bellamarie]

Well, here I am up at 1:30 a.m. watching the minutes tick off the clock.  My daughter and her hubby left at 9:30 a.m. after she called to tell me they were leaving and we said we would keep in touch throughout the day to make sure they were doing okay.  Sixteen hours later, I have had NO contact what so ever with them since they left.  I have called both cells, left messages, posted on their Facebook pages and nothing.  What is usually a 5 hour drive to his family's in Georgia, has apparently become over a sixteen hour drive and still counting.  My sister decided to leave her home in New Port Richey, Florida later in the day, and was able to call and say it took her four hours to drive what is usually a one hour drive to Tampa.  She said it is bumper to bumper and no one is going more than 30 miles.  So by her information and my estimation, my daughter should be in Georgia in twenty hours.  So, hopefully by day break I will hear from them once they reach cell service.  I have complete faith God is watching over her, her hubby, my sister and niece as they travel.  They have plenty of time to get to safety before Irma pounds their area they left from. 

Barb, Thank you for giving me some ideas on how to spend this difficult day.  I tried to busy myself, I managed to get a load of laundry washed and put in the dryer, but to be honest.....busy was not for me today.  I could not stay away from the tv, internet, phone or any means that could give me more information on traffic and weather.  I did manage to watch my favorite football team Michigan Wolverines beat Cincinnati, and my rival Ohio lose to Oklahoma, in between messaging and phone calls inquiring about news of Julie & Rick.  I have no phone numbers for his family in Georgia, but I did manage to find a sister of his on Facebook and send her a message.  I hope she sees it in the morning and responds to me with any news if they have heard from Julie or Rick.  So.... I'll sign off, say more prayers for all traveling away from Irma, and for all in the path of this horrific hurricane. 

Jonathan I really did like that verse rather than one of the end of times.  As I recall God promised not to let the world perish by water again, so I'm taking all this as a warning we need to get our act together. 

"And yet, I've never ceased to wonder why He accuses them of being fearful and without faith."

My take on it, was if they trusted in the presence of the Lord, they would not have awakened him.  They would have known he would let no harm come to them.  And yet, we do let fear weaken our faith, and so this miracle was necessary, not only to show how much power God has over even mother nature, but also how God will protect his people whom he loves.  As I know he will my family.  Doesn't it always astound you to hear how few ever die in these type of disasters?  Not that the few aren't a terrible loss, but with the magnitude of these disasters, I have to say God is watching over His people in the worst of times as these.

Thank you for your kind prayers, and giving me something more to think about, taking my mind off of worrying.
Buona notte!
 

[BarbStAubrey]

Bellamarie the power may be out in the locations you are attempting to contact - if your daughter is in a vehicle they too would be concerned the phone looses power and so they may have shut it off in case they need it for an emergency.

I understand the Governor is finally going to open all but I bet one lane on the south bound highway to reverse the traffic flow so there will be more lanes for vehicles going north - that should move the grid lock along - we saw this when Rita hit a few years ago and they tried to evacuate Houston - usually a 3 to the most a 4 hour trip and it took folks minimum 18 hours with many taking over 24 hours to reach Austin. Folks ran out of gas and were taken in by families living in the very sparsely populated communities along the way or they climbed in with another family on the road. If your daughter's vehicle runs out of gas who knows what choice they will make - going that slow with all the stops and starts uses up gas faster than zipping along at even 40 miles an hour - It will all shake out but the concern is there while we can hear about or see on TV the storm.   

[PatH]

Cell phone towers may be out in places too.  That's happened here.

[Frybabe]

In addition to my cousin in Jenson Beach, I've been wondering about our Steph and her Corgies are okay.

[ANNIE]

I think Stef is probably still up in NC.  She usually stays there until it's cooling off there. 

PatH,  what's going on with the fire and ashes out your way?

Bellamarie, you and your family are included in my prayers for all who are trying to withstand this horrible storm. 🤓🙏🙏🙏🙏

[PatH]

I flew back to Bethesda yesterday, but the air in Portland got back to normal Friday.  The fires aren't out yet, though.  The one good thing is that at least so far no lives have been lost.

[Jonathan]

'Have fun - so many things to do with peaches.'

Barb, your advice is priceless. I was salivating after the first paragraph, going mad with desire by the time I got to the Americanized Kuchen. I can flip burgers so I should be able to flip the kuchen. Is that a twig from any old tree? You should submit your culinary audacity for publication in some gourmet mag. I'm going to frame a printout. What a mess of variable ingredients. All my favorites.

And now I notice my supply of peaches is dwindling. I asked my son, who lives with me, about it. Oh, he replied, they make the greatest shakes. When I showed him what you're suggesting...WOW!... how many of those things do we have in the house, he wanted to know.

Oh, the fun of messing around in the kitchen.

[Jonathan]

I seem to remember Steph posting that she would no longer be summering in NC. Don't we all miss her. She was so dependable in opening our 'Library' every morning.

[bellamarie]

UPDATE.....  Finally heard from my daughter and her hubby.  They made it to Georgia to his family's home.  Their cell phones quit working almost immediately as they began their drive.  He said,  "I think we need to switch to Verizon!"  Anyway, they are in Georgia and expecting to get hit with a tropical storm tonight and tomorrow.  We don't know if their home in Florida has had any damage.  My sister and her daughter left Florida late Saturday, and made it to Georgia, but is going on to Tennessee.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Jonathan, I so miss Steph's morning posts of walking her corgi.  I often think of her when I open this Library section. 
Annie, If you have any means of contacting Steph, please tell her how much she is missed.

Pat, Wouldn't it be nice if this weather, and natural disaster situations, could get their acts together and the hurricanes could bring at least enough rain your way to put out all the fires?  I guess that would be too simple a solution.  Life.....aint it grand? 

I woke up today after sleeping a solid twelve hours, after being up til the wee hours in the morning the other night, worrying about my daughter.  I have been watching the coverage of 9-11.  President Trump gave an eloquent speech, and then I listened to Vice President Mike Pence speak in Pa.,  which moved me to tears.  He shared with us that had it not been for the brave passengers on flight 93, he would probably not be alive today, because he was at the Capitol building, which would have been hit by that very plane.  It gave me chill bumps to think how those passengers saved the life of the future Vice President, without them knowing.  Pence as he shared that with the world today, could barely speak holding back tears.  I have read the book written by the wife of one of those American heroes on that flight, Todd Beamer.  The book is Let's Roll by Lisa Beamer.  I recommend for everyone to read.  It will astound you, as you read how Todd knew at an early age God had destined him to do something great in his life, but he just never knew what it would be.  The day he uttered the words on that plane to his fellow passengers to attempt to save thousands of others lives, was what God intended for him to do..... "Let's Roll" were the last words Todd ever spoke. 

[ANNIE]

PatH, my daughter just told me that fires have started up in Montana too! I have a cousin there who lives on the Bitterroot river. I will call her tonight.

[BarbStAubrey]

So glad Bellamarie that your daughter and her family are together - looks like everyone has come through the storm and now the cleanup -

Pat hopefully your breathing is less constricted by the smoke from the fires - we still are not getting news about the fires as we have for either of these hurricanes - I wonder why - could it simply come down to the photos showing the destruction are easier to get and so there is more press - it is difficult to put in perspective the size of the destruction from the fires and maybe that is another part of it - a hurricane comes and goes within a couple of days where as the fires go on and on for weeks. But then, we do not even hear Congress allocating money or if FEMA is doing anything - we just do not hear anything but a nod to the fact and the number of acres that really have no meaning unless attached to something we do recognize.

Hopefully you can get some relief - too bad it is so difficult to get a tank of oxygen - just sleeping with fresh oxygen I would think would be helpful.

Heard from my daughter this evening and lo and behold the storm was up into their part of the world and school was closed for the day - had no idea the storm was that far north - I wonder how Ginny handled the outer reaches of the storm since she is in South Carolina where as my daughter is further north in NC an further west closer to Hendersonville south of Asheville. Still no word from my sister who lives on the outer banks but then I expect they lost power and she is conserving her phone battery. The news is not talking about huge ocean surge and that was her only concern.

Well I was not going to buy a copy of The Warden and read from the on line copies but finally decided to spring for the Oxford publication based on what Amazon shows as extra information included in the book. Package in the mail that I bet is my used copy - that and the Brit Coms on our PBS channel tonight along with all my windows open, allowing the lovely breeze to chase away the AC air trapped in the house all summer, will help make my evening one of those nights we dream about. 

[bellamarie]

Yes, Barb Irma did indeed reach that far, I saw on the news Charleston got hit pretty hard.
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2017/09/12/charleston-s.c.-submerged-irma-flooding/105529454/

My daughter and hubby are headed back home today to Port Richey, Florida.  They just called, they were able to speak to their neighbor and he reassured them that their home is intact, and has no apparent damage.  Like I told my son in law,  I kept praying

Mark 4:39  "Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence! He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm."

But for by the grace of God, the storm surge did not occur as expected. Reporters are saying due to the eye of the hurricane weakening, it spared the damages it would have caused on the west gulf coast of Florida, the east coast, the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama.  I'll keep all your family in my prayers, and hope you hear from your sister once the cell reception is up and running.  It is very spotty as reported, with lines down all over the states.  Your book may be delayed with shipping after Irma, but I am sure you will receive it before discussion begins in Oct.

Pat,  I am praying for those fires to cease, and better air quality for the states dealing with the ashes and smoke.  I have seen news coverage of the fires, and it is so scary.  The weather man said our sunrise had added reds and yellow to it today, due to the effects of the fires.  Imagine that! 

[PatH]

I'm back in Bethesda now, but the smoke in Portland itself had mostly cleared up before I left on Saturday.  At the height, the full moon was a bloody orange ball, and the rising sun was red, later turning to a dim, dull orange spot in a dusty yellow-grey sky.  If I ventured out from air conditioned enclosed spaces, it took only minutes to start feeling really sick.

However, this has not dampened my enthusiasm for Portland.  I shall return.

[Jonathan]

I'm so happy for you, Bellamarie, after so many anxious hours. Happy that your loved ones are on their way back, knowing that their home is still intact. Praise be to God. Mark 4:39 is truly an awesome aspect of nature suspended by a higher power.

Happy too, of course, for everyone caught up and making it through the batterering that the country is taking. Amazing Grace.

[Jonathan]

May you all enjoy peace in your lives and peace in your hearts. Amen.

[bellamarie]

Thank you Jonathan, I think life has returned to as normal as can be expected for my daughter and son in law.  I am watching the Michigan Wolverines play Air Force and our freshman returned an 87 yd punt for a TD!!!  Go Blue!!!

My library said The Warden should be in on Tuesday, so I am anxious to get it.  When do we open the pre-discussion?

Pat, I am glad to hear you still are excited about moving to Portland.  When do you make your final move?

I finally finished reading Summerland by Hilderbrand.  I just can not recommend her type of writing, so much repetition and dragged out chapters.  I feel this story would have been so much better had she shortened it, and not included every single detail of every area of the places in the book.  I though Jane Austin was wordy....Hildrebrand may have her beaten.

[Frybabe]

Some interesting finds in Project Gutenberg today.

The first is the writings/translations of Ludwig Tieck in and from German in the early 1800s. http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/t#a48107 for the list.

The second is George Ticknor's first two volumes of the history of Spanish literature. http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/t#a48107 Cervantes is the only name I recognize offhand.

You may have to scroll down to the names, if you are interested in early Spanish or German literature.

[bellamarie]

I finally got my book The Warden from my library.  It is a VERY old copy, and I worry the pages are so dry and yellow they may fall out while I am reading it.  Anyway, it's the only copy in the city as far as our local library could find, so I will be very careful turning pages. 

Any idea if we will still do an early pre-discussion?  It's been pretty quiet in here the past couple of weeks, you all must be enjoying these last lazy, hazy, crazy hot days of summer.  It is officially Fall, but we have been in the mid to upper 90s for almost a week now, and will not cool down til Thursday.  I'm going to welcome the cooler temps.  This heat has been great for all my flowers they are multiplying in size, my Mums are huge!!!

Frybabe,  Thank you for the link.

[Jonathan]

What a pleasure to find some posts to read. Frybabe, you do find the most interesting things on Gutenberg. Likewise for you, Bellamarie, finding The Warden in your library system. I've already had to renew my copy. And once more before we even begin the discussion? So yesterday I went looking for a copy I could call my own. And I got lucky at my favorite used-bookstore. She had a whole shelf of Trollope. At 50% off! So, of course, I bought several, including The Eustace Diamonds. The bookseller's exclamation made it sound like it was the best book she had ever read. But they're all good, she assured me. I'm getting the impression that Trollope is addictive. Did you know that he wrote fifty books? Does that make him wordier than Jane Austen who wrote only six?

[FlaJean]

You can get The Warden for free in iBooks if you don’t mind reading it on your iPad.  I’m reading most books (that are available) on my iPad nowadays.

[CallieOK]

Just discovered that I can get The Warden in an e-book from my library.  So I hope to at least look in and read along with the discussion in October.  Is there a discussion open for indicating interest, yet?

Jonathan,  I had decided that everyone had gone to the Latin class and would not be reading anything else.  Good to see a few posting here.

I've been browsing the BookPage web site and then seeing if my library has the e-book for any I find interesting.   They do - but there is a Wait List for almost all of them.  I'm limited to 10 on Hold but can have as many as I want on a Wish List.  It's growing!

 "Trains and Lovers" by Alexander McCall Smith,  "Legacy" by James Michener, "Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule" by Jennifer Chiaverini are currently on my Active List.  "Against All Odds" by Danielle Steele has just been put there from the Wait List.   I think I need to read longer and faster!
Unfortunately, I tend to doze off  (I'm sure no one else has that problem  ).

[bellamarie]

Jonathan,  Since my library does not charge me late fees, since I am now a "Senior" I can renew The Warden as many times as I need to, and if I forget to renew, and do not return it on time, I will not be charged.  I suppose the library decided to give the forgetful seniors a break on eliminating late fees.  YEA for seniors!!!  I have never read Trollpe so I will see how I like this book, and decide if I'll try his other 49 books.  Wow!  50 books, now that is an accomplishment.  Not sure if that makes him wordier than Austen.  Austen has a knack of using fifty words just to describe a gown.  I'm teasing you my friend.

Callie, there was suppose to be a pre discussion the middle of September, but for some unknown reason it did not take place.  I do hope everyone is well, and a health issues has not prevented it from taking place.  I have not heard from Barb who I thought was going to begin it.

FlaJean,  Yes, you can read The Warden online or ipad for free.  My eyes tend to tire more from the light of my computer or ipad, so I tracked down the book at my library.  It is a very old copy with yellow dried out pages.  I hope they do not fall out when I turn them.

We are just days away from Oct 1st, I do hope we hear from someone soon about starting The Warden.

On a side note, it is a sad day watching all the responses online about the NFL controversy with their players disrespecting the American flag and National anthem by taking a knee while it is being sung.  I see where Dallas Cowboy owner said any of his players who choose to act in such disrespect will immediately be fired!  Good for him.  I think the overpaid athletes and celebrities don't realize how the American people pay for their success, without us they would not be as famous as they are.  They use the awards podium for a political press to chastise those who don't agree with them, and the athletes are using the stadiums before games to make their voices be heard.  The ratings are down and people are fed up.  My stance is this....You kneel at the Cross and the grave of the fallen soldiers, you stand for the flag and the national anthem.  Tearing down monuments, statues and disrespecting our country will only divide and cause more negativity in this world.  We just saw devastating damage done to millions of homes and businesses through the hurricanes and fires, and here we are watching athletes using their time to disrespect our country.  They should be out helping rebuild America instead of tearing it down even more.  Okay.....I'm done with my rant. 

[jane]

Callie, there was suppose to be a pre discussion the middle of September, but for some unknown reason it did not take place.  I do hope everyone is well, and a health issues has not prevented it from taking place.  I have not heard from Barb who I thought was going to begin it.

I don't think there was a prediscussion of the Warden scheduled, BellaMarie, since Barbara had the weather problems and work to handle in mid Sept. I believe The Warden is scheduled for Oct. 4, so I'm sure Barbara will be ready then.

[PatH]

At one point there was a timetable posted in a header somewhere, and the first few October days were listed as a kind of prediscussion/strategizing session.  There is a lot of background about the Anglican Church that's worth spending a day or so on for anyone not familiar with it.

[PatH]

Bellamarie

It's been pretty quiet in here the past couple of weeks, you all must be enjoying these last lazy, hazy, crazy hot days of summer.

More crazy than lazy for most of us.  You're right about Latin--the startup is always a busy time for those involved.  And some of us are drying out our houses, or clearing them out.  I like to think things will get livelier now that fall is here.

[PatH]

Frybabe, thanks for the Spanish literature reference.  You are the queen of mining Project Gutenberg.

I have a modest interest in early Spanish literature.  When we discussed Don Quijote here over a decade ago, I got it in Spanish too, just to see what it's like.  It was written in Shakespeare's time, but to my surprise it's no harder to read than modern Spanish.  The language had already settled down, whereas English was still in a huge state of flux.  Just imagine reading Shakespeare as a non-English speaker with one year of English under your belt.

A bit later, early Spanish literature was part of my efforts to resuscitate my Spanish (two high school years, plus, in 2000, a refresher of Spanish 101 at a local junior college, free to seniors).  This was in two parts: something really easy to refresh vocabulary and grammar (translations of Harry Potter) and something literary and challenging to get a feel for the soul of the language.  I started with Sister Juana Inez de la Cruz (1651-1695) a Mexican nun.  Her poetry is remarkable, but it takes me at least a day to translate a 14 line sonnet.  I put one in the poetry discussion a while back (not my pitiful translation).  Now I'm working on a Spanish play, published 1635, Life is a Dream (La Vida es Sueno) by Pedro Calderon de la Barca.  It's wonderful, and poetic, and takes me more than a day to do a page.  I'll no doubt get through it eventually.

[Frybabe]

I've taken a bit on an interest in International authors and their literary history just kind of follows. Don Quixote is something I never read, but I did see Richard Kiley in Man from La Mancha, one of the very, very few plays I've attended.

You know I just love looking through Project Gutenberg every morning to see what strange and wonderful works they have posted. Looking stuff up on the internet is something I enjoy. Right now I am trying to identify a military plane I saw on approach to HIA a little more than a week ago. I suspect it was a drop ship, and I did find a similar plane on YouTube, but not quite the same. At any rate, it is not one I have noticed in the area before. Too bad I was driving and had to pay attention to the road.

[bellamarie]

Okay I found it..... according to this we should be starting the pre discussion tomorrow the 27th, although it is not on a Sunday.  Oct 1st would be this Sunday. 

Barb StAubrey 
Reply #18217 on: August 31, 2017, 05:13:59 PM,   

Later in September we may do a pre-discussion with this one - let's look at the last weekend in September so that the history of what was happening at that time both in England and here to sorta center us and any tidbits about the author - yes, let's plan on a pre-discussion starting say about Sunday the 27th and then we will start the actually read on October 4. 

PatH.,

There is a lot of background about the Anglican Church that's worth spending a day or so on for anyone not familiar with it.

Thank you for the heads up, I may browse around and see what I can learn about this, and refresh my memory on this.


I just went to my library last week to pick up The Warden and while browsing I decided to check out three other books:

The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarty
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Has anyone read either of these books, if so what did you think?  I have been so busy with the grandkids sports since school began I have no idea when I plan to read all  these books.  Mon, Tues, Thurs at 4:00 it's volleyball, we have to travel 30 minutes to get there.  Saturday mornings it's Cross Country at 9:00 a.m., we have to travel at least 40 minutes to get there, and then Wed. is my evening CCD class I teach.  My Tues. morning 10:00 Bible study has begun, and I have missed two weeks.  I can't seem to get myself up and going in the morning.  Who said being retired is a time for kicking back and relaxing? 

[CallieOK]

Bellamarie,  I've read "Truly Madly Guilty" and "The Summer Before The War".   I really liked ".....Summer....".    Not the usual "war story".
"Truly Madly Guilty" was not one of my favorite Liane Moriarty books but it was interesting.

Your situation with your grandkids sounds familiar.  I'm at the other end. 
With both granddaughters out of college and now living out-of-state and grandson in second year of college, in a fraternity, and with a steady girlfriend...........Well!  Who knew grandmothers could have Empty Nest Syndrome? 

[Jonathan]

Let me tell you something else about grandmothers. My dear, departed wife was always a beauty in my eyes, but it's true loveliness in several photos I have of her in which she's cuddling an infant grandchild.

So good to hear from all of you, and to a good friend I would like to reply that I can enjoy being puzzled by a tease and bewildered by a rant. I'm impressed by the prayerful patriotism demonstrated by the athletes on bended knee.

Are Nicola and Liane sisters?

[BarbStAubrey]

Sorry been out of pocket for over a week - busy with a new listing and then ate something that more than disagreed - affected my entire system and in bed for 3 days -

The Warden - we start pre-discussion for the first week in October and I have some topics for us to look into during the pre-discussion week

ALERT - BE CAREFUL - ALL THE ONLINE VERSIONS OF THE WARDEN ARE A SHORTENED VERSION OF THE BOOK. Including Gutenberg...!

THE BOOK HAS 53 CHAPTERS NOT TWENTY ONE AS EVEN I THOUGHT BY REFERRING TO AN ONLINE VERSION

If your book starts with the chapter Hiram's Hospital accrording to Act of Parliament it is the shortened version

We still have almost 2 weeks to get the complete copy at your library in case you ended up with the short version. The full Novel by Trollope begins with the chapter, Who Will be the New Bishop?

With the storms my delivery was very delayed and then I was so busy as the saying goes, 'busy like a one armed bandit' so that I only looked at my copy over this past weekend. I did get the Oxford World's Classic copy from Amazon.

OK need to read all the posts that I have missed -

[BarbStAubrey]

Yes, with all 53 chapters we will still be comfortable using our schedule - we can always make it one week longer if we must and still not be into the week of thanksgiving in the US. Sorry Jonathan we will be in the thick of reading during Canada's Thanksgiving in October.

[BarbStAubrey]

The schedule I have on my ToDo notes is prediscussion starts on October 4th -

Yes, I believe there was discussion about September but counting the weeks we were fine on October 4 only I messed up looking at September when the first Monday was on the 4th - so we have pre-discussion starting on the 2nd - Monday October 2.

As Pat says lots we need to know about the Anglican church - its organization - the Oxford Movement - how science was creating a Crisis of Faith - we have the status of Women to look into - we have the newspapers available in Britain at the time - we have a look at Trollope to consider - on and on - then we start reading the Novel the 2nd week of October - We will use Monday as our weekly division day to start a new group of chapters

The weeks of reading the Novel will proceed October 9 - 16 - 23 - 30 - November 6 - 13 - If we would like a few more days past the 19th, the week of the 20th is the week of Thanksgiving and so we may leave the discussion open without discussion questions for a few days but for sure we will close the discussion Wednesday November 22.

[BarbStAubrey]

Chapters each week are:

Week I  ---- Chapter 1, Who will be the new Bishop? -  to - Chapter 9, The Stanhope Family - according to the book you are reading - however, in the Oxford World's Classic edition that is 60 pages.

Week II --- Chapter 10, Mrs Proudie's Receptions - Commenced - to - Chapter 19, Barchester by Moonlight - number of pages 78

Week III --- Chapter 20, Mr Arabin - to Chapter 27, A Love Scene - number of pages 74

Week IV --- Chapter 28, Mr. Bold is entertained by Dr and Mrs Grantly at Plumstead - to Chapter 35,  Miss Thorne's Fête Champêtre - number of pages 70

Week V --- Chapter 36, Ullathorne Sports --- Act I - to - Chapter 43, Mr and Mrs  Quiverful are made happy Mr. Slope is encouraged by the Press - number of pages 73

Week VI --- Chapter 44, Mrs Bold at Home - to - Chapter 53, Conclusion - number of pages 64

[BarbStAubrey]

Oh lordy now I am confused - Pat brought up a difference that I think matters - here is the deal

According to the online versions of The Warden there are only the 21 chapters however, my book shows 53 chapters and the chapters from The Warden that I see online are among some of those in the 53 versions - and the biggie, yes, I can see that the book called Barchester Towers is the 53 chapter version -

The benefit to reading the 53 chapter version - it is telling the entire story which is like 3 stories in one - One is about the Warden and his youngest daughter, his affiliation with the pensioners home and the News paper's exposé showing the Warden, Mr. Harding as a good and kind man up against church authority and a relentless press that Harding is pitted as the scapegoat - Second, the story of the eldest daughter who is married to the archdeacon and the new Bishop who are part of the hierarchy that the Warden must confront, along with the Bishop's wife and Slope who are playing social politics with those affected and then third, the almost sideline additional story, filled with humor that highlights the pomposity of church figures through Slope, with the new Vicar Arabin and Hardings younger daughter as a counter to the story of Slope and La Signora Madeline Vesey Neroni and her contingent of followers.

My thinking is the humor is lost without all three aspects of the story - just looking at the Warden's role with his younger daughter, the press and the editor of the newspaper is a delightful tale, both sad and heartwarming but does not show much humor - And so this full story is more than the story of The Warden and is actually called Barchester Towers.

Is this version of the full story going to cause a problem - how many have the short version that is available online called The Warden and how many have the entire story that is called Barchester Towers - i understand from Pat that Barchester Towers is online.

Talk about mix up - between having mixed up dates and now the actual book - I guess there is a first time for everything on Senior Learn - let's turn a Senior Moment into what will work best for an enjoyable read - frankly I am ready for humor even if it will include a lot of irony.

The full story is on film - a 1982 version filmed in and around Peterborough Cathedral, with the wonderful, now deceased, Alan Rickman as Obadiah Slope and Geraldine McEwan as Mrs Proudie, the Bishop's wife. Both are priceless as they play their characters.

[Frybabe]

I have both The Warden with it's 21 chapters in a Dover Thrift Edition. But, I also have Barchester Towers in an old hardcover volume I found somewhere so I should be covered.