Ah yes, I remember The Song of Bernadette - playing the part of Bernadette marked Jennifer Jones so that the audiences expected her to only play good girl and noble parts, which she pretty much did - I remember my parents taking us and then the church reserved the entire movie theater for the entire school to attend one afternoon along with the nuns and a few parents who were mostly moms who cleaned up and decorated the alter - we all walked up to the movie house, by class two by two - of course no talking till we got into our seats and then we had to be quiet - but it was expected and these expectations gave us a feeling of security. Seeing the movie was the first realization there would be all the bloody bandages and diseased garbage from a hospital in a dump. I guess sometime, along the way of 'progress' all that goes into an incinerator.
If I remember there was supposed to be a message from the Virgin Mary told to us 50 years later - heard briefly the message was opened or maybe, one of the three was still alive but I have no recollection what was in the message. Does anyone remember all that.
I am so tired of being cold - battening down the house means drawing drapes and anything to block the cold plus the shorter days I am growing weary of gray skies and lights on in the house all day - talk about cabin fever - I sure have it and I am eating all the wrong food so my disposition is going down - not even a hot cup of coffee helps. Hope the roads are ice free tomorrow - like it or not I have to get out and drive up to Georgetown, about 40 minutes north of Austin...
I could go a Brontë as long as it is NOT Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights - been done to death and cranky today or not - please not again.
MaryZ thanks for that tip - I like it - tie a loose knot and then go back and untie and weave it in - last few, what I was doing was for one row alternating every other stitch with the new color which gave a battlement or pinked look to blocks of color changes. I thought a book on stranded knitting would be helpful but no information on starting new colors, only how to carry them along.
Another book suggestion Pat - my sister thoroughly enjoyed A Gentleman in Moscow - it was a top seller so I would think libraries would have it and the initial rush to read it seems to have died down - has anyone looked into it and what did you think? Since he is in his apartment for years my thinking is it will have the same affect as reading about someone's interior life - evidently there is humor and intrigue woven into the story.
Another I thought fascinating that was popular a year or so ago - Threads of Silk by Amanda Roberts - not sure if libraries still have it or not, but Amazon's write up sounds great - and it is on Kindle for 3.99
"When I was a child, I thought my destiny was to live and die on the banks of the Xiangjiang River as my family had done for generations. I never imagined that my life would lead me to the Forbidden City and the court of China’s last Empress.
Born in the middle of nowhere, Yaqian, a little embroidery girl from Hunan Province, finds her way to the imperial court, a place of intrigue, desire, and treachery. From the bed of an Emperor, the heart of a Prince, and the right side of an Empress, Yaqian weaves her way through the most turbulent decades of China’s history and witnesses the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
Fans of Amy Tan, Lisa See, Anchee Min, and Pearl S. Buck are sure to love this debut novel by Amanda Roberts. This richly descriptive and painstakingly researched novel brings the opulence of the Qing Court to life as Yaqian and Empress Cixi's lives intertwine over six decades."
And one more that my neighbor is championing - The House by the River by Lena Manta - about five young women who with all their life experiences realize their only constant is home. The mother lives in this house near Mount Olympus, that is their home, their safety, their touchstone filled with a mother's love. I do not think we have ever read a book that centers in modern Greece. I can see lots of connections already that Greece is the symbolic mother's home for the western world.
The love of bird watching Pat and Bellamarie, reminds me of the Book we read here that I loved and want to read again for myself - For Love of Lakes - and then another, of birds faring through this cold reminds me of an old Kentucky favorite that most school kids read in the seventh grade - I wonder if they still read it - A Kentucky Cardinal by James Lane Allen, a nineteenth century and early twentieth century Kentucky author that schools were named in his memory. There is a chapter all about how the Cardinal survives during a bitter snow storm. Been years since I read it but was classroom reading for my two older children - we moved here when my youngest was in second grade and so his school reading experience was instead, more about Stephen F. Austin or Jim Bowie, with schools bearing their name.
Think I'll switch to tea - a nice pot of tea - see if that does anything to lift the gloom in this house... yes, and new music - I think I have some Strauss - or maybe my DVD of Garu - he brings a party with his music. A glass of wine would probably go better with his music but tea it is...
