The Library

[BarbStAubrey]

wow Alice Austen does sound like someone you just have to read...

Goodness has Pope Benedict's book challenged me - years ago I learned that as adults we retain what we learn because unlike children who can learn by rote adults compare what appears new to something we already know - thank God Benedict is a teacher in his writing because he is into thought patterns that are new to me and only on the strength of his reputation have I kept going - which keeping on is working as he is what I call making sense but I realize all he is doing it hitting on aspects of thinking I do have a knowledge of and so or course I can piece this together with that reference point.

Haha reminds me of the poster for the day that I will share... I should explain that I have gone through bouts of what you are saying Ginny where my first reaction is negative and not seeing a happy outcome so my attitude for the day is often grumpy - thank goodness I live alone to be such a bore but more, I become upset with myself.

P.S. my comparisons are often to the past - how we did it - or the manners I learned and I think are missing - or change being brought into modern life rather than just the old standby of seeing comparisons in how this one or that one is living or thinking in a way I think is shocking.

[BarbStAubrey]

Post for the day...

[BarbStAubrey]

Here we go...

[BarbStAubrey]

Wow - cannot believe this - I'm gobsmacked - Been reading the Daniel Plan written by 3 authors and the middle author a Dr. Daniel Amen is all about the brain and how what we think affects what we eat because all action starts with a thought - well he really gets into the study of the brain and how behavior is regulated - not in this book but in many others - and so I start reading the freebee chapters to a couple of his books because his approach is we can change what our brain thinks by what we eat...

Well this starts a journey - for me per usual - anyhow he really goes into more about the function of each section of the brain and does give one example that was right on between me and my daughter - seems those who have more activity in I think he said the front of the brain, he did name the parts but I'm not going to attempt to retrace my steps that started a couple of hours ago just to get the correct named part of the brain - anyhow they are the kind of person who can't function unless everything is cleaned up and in its place - they also don't plan far ahead however they do deal with a lifetime reaction to life in the form of stress tra la... where as the other he gave in comparison was a perfect description of my daughter who can live with clutter and is forever looking for simple things like car keys however they are looking for and excel at the next 'people' event and forever being helpful to people - they are great planners for the day, events, years in the future so much so they cannot function without a plan insured in place.

I swear Katha has her life and just about every possible downfall that could happen planned for with all sorts on insurance policies in place till she turns 100 while I'm lucky if I have the remainder of the week thought through.  My philosophy is if a butterfly in Madagascar can affect our weather to the point of creating the disturbance that turns into a hurricane God knows what flea or something larger like a tree falling or, like last night when my temporary partial bridge disintegrated while eating of all things a salad, will alter my life and you want me to plan for a year from now.  However, these approaches I would never have dreamed are typical to people whose brain in one section or the other is more active.

The books he writes seem to be full of photos of the brain and how a brain looks under many many situations and conditions. He does say food can make a difference along with listing various nutrients - someplace along the line following one book after another the concept is given with many books on the subject that our gut, emotions and brain are tied together - one book actually going into various thought patterns and emotions and how the brain is processing and the food that will help.

Who Knew!!??!!

And so I downloaded one book on my kindle - Feed Your Calm: Anti-Anxiety Anti-Stress Diet and Supplement Tips for Stress Resilience and ordered a copy of another since it was not uploading on this older Word 7 - Calm Your Mind with Food: A Revolutionary Guide to Controlling Your Anxiety I chose these because for me Anxiety and Stress is and has been a constant however, from what I gathered and did not follow that line of curiosity, there are many other ways of thinking and ultimately handling life that can be strengthened or actually changed with an eating plan - one book talked about a 30 day eating plan - I never do well with these planned diets - I'm better off knowing what they are trying to accomplish and the foods that would accomplish the outcome so that I can make my own food choices and changes. I did brush over something I learned a couple of years ago - I knew if I was having a down day I could trace that for me depression sneaks in if I forget to double up on Vitamin B.

For now I feel uplifted knowing that some of life's challenges are as simple as eating the foods or taking the supplements that affect our brain and how we think - this is fabulous... looks like my afternoon is carved out as I read online my downloaded Feed Your Calm....

 

[BarbStAubrey]

[BarbStAubrey]

  love the cartoon for the Ides if March Jane - had to look at it several times - fun, fun, fun

[BarbStAubrey]

Daily message

On the spiritual path, one should not seek anything extraordinary.
The extraordinary lies in the depths of the ordinary.

[BarbStAubrey]

Here we go...

[BarbStAubrey]

Maybe more than one today - cannot sleep and looked out at the night sky which reminded me of this one I have in my collection. Means a lot to me and hope it is meaningful to y'all...

[Frybabe]

That last post reminds me of one of my favorite long-running SciFi series by Jack Campbell where they believed that their ancestors, on passing away, became stars. The battleship was equipped with a little worship room where they could light a candle and talk to and ask for guidance from their predecessors. It is one of a very few, if not the only, Scifi series/books I have read that regularly included a moment of religious worship that was a part of everyday life aboard a battleship.

On that note, yesterday I downloaded the NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Bible Study: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture which is published by Zondervan and includes the New International Version of the Bible. Both of my bibles are King James versions, so this should be interesting, not only because of the new translations (I gather from original, or nearly so, texts) but because it includes historical and cultural background along with plenty of maps, charts, photos, and  related ancient texts among other things. Zondervan also has the NKJV (New King James Version) too.  Since the hardcover book is printed in 8.5pt type, I choose to download the e-book version. I also expect it to be easier to flip back and forth between references and the main text than with the hardcover.

[bellamarie]

Good afternoon to y'all!  I've been away for a bit with dealing with some health issues but am doing much better. 

It's nice to return and see so many interesting posts.  I can't believe Spring is just days away and we are now into the Lenten Season.  I must say reading each of your posts on the meaning of Lent was enlightening.  Oh, how strict Lenten season was years ago, don't eat meat on Fridays, give up your favorite foods, pray more, etc., etc.  At our last Bible study on Ash Wednesday Fr. Jim was talking about Lent and how today the attitude is more about focusing on repentance, renewal, and reformation spiritually.  He said that even though the practices of the doctrine remain, we are to be more aware of becoming more intimate with our own personal growth and relationship with God/Jesus.  The Catholic church is slowly changing in its teachings in that they recognize the Baltimore Catechism was a lot of "Don'ts" and today the church is more about "Do's".  For me the don'ts seems to be rigid and scolding, where the dos seem to be more acceptable and loving.  So, in teaching my students in CCD class about what is expected during the Lenten season I could see they were much more wanting to give up something or do more for others as a way of spiritual growth.  I always used the acronym WWJD, (What would Jesus do?)  In following the example of Jesus, we become more like him, and Lent is all about the beginning of Jesus' journey to the ultimate sacrifice crucifixion to show God's love for us, and the ultimate reward to have forgiveness and everlasting life. 

I'll never forget years ago when my dear friend Sr. Myra, who was also my principal and mentor asked me out to lunch on a Friday during Lent.  She ordered mac n cheese and a vegetable.  I looked in total surprise and asked her aren't we supposed to eat fish on Fridays of Lent.  She laughed and said, "Marie, we are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays of Lent, but you most certainly do NOT have to replace it with fish, you can have pizza with cheese if you want."  All these years I raised my kids eating fish on Fridays and here we could have been having mac n cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, PIZZA with cheese!!!!  Oh, that was the best surprise and laugh I can remember in all the years she was by my side mentoring me.  Just to remind you I was baptized Catholic, but my father was killed when I was 3 yrs. old leaving my mother a widow with 7 small children to raise ages 1-12.  We rarely attended church, but the parish priest Fr. Vanadia would come to our house to make sure my mother was teaching us our prayers and faith.  After I was married my husband's cousin Fr. Bob instructed me personally so I could make my First Communion and Confirmation.  The first time I looked through an old Baltimore catechism book I was shocked to see how much the catechism teaching had changed from then to now.  We talk at our Bible study with Fr. Jim and discuss how the church realizes how it must stay with the doctrine but must also reach the people through the imitation and compassion of Jesus' life.  So, yes, you can give up something to sacrifice during Lent, but doing good acts for others just may fill you up spiritually more so than missing your favorite candy, cookies, or playing on your devices.  Phew... don't know where all this came from, and I hope I did not bore any of you.  I do tend to get over excited when speaking of my faith.  lol

Now, as for books I have been reading...For Christmas I was given the most gorgeous coffee table book from my granddaughter Kenzie, titled Downton Abbey -A New Era- The Official Film Companion by Emma Marriott.  The full-page pictures are spectacular! I so miss the TV series, but now that Dame Maggie Smith who played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham has passed, I'm not sure the show would ever be the same without her.  She was truly the matriarch of the family.  Here is a very nice article on her.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a40109287/downton-abbey-maggie-smith-violet-crawley-tribute-ode/

Okay, well, I need to be getting outside to enjoy this beautiful sunny day with temps expected to hit 70s.  Y'all have a great day!

Ciao~

[BarbStAubrey]

frybabe your Bible Study with its reference to history sounds like a winner - between you and my sister, you are both reading these wonders - she just finished the behemoth size book Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline by Paul Cooper and now as a sequel with pencil in hand she is pouring over Memoirs of Hadrian

In the dentist office the other day, the nurse technician had no clue when I said the Ides of March and then I said, 'you know when the group of senators came in and Brutus stabbed Caesar to death' - still no recognition on her face or in her eyes - explained the story and passed it off as how today you can graduate from High School without having taken Latin and so many do not know these things - only after I got home and had a minute did I shake my head that tons of younger people have no clue about history much less Greek or Roman culture. No wonder we do not see any longer high school kids dressing up in sheets trying to make them look like toga's with a branch from some bush around their heads laughing up a storm on the ides of march. Which makes me wonder if the Bible you have downloaded is introducing what was happening in Rome with what was happening in the land of Jesus and later Paul. Usually that information is offered as one sided but it would be interesting to see it from an even or both sides since they each had a different focus and different life's purpose and therefore logically how they would clash.

Bellamarie so glad you are doing better and it sounds like from what I read from your post in Seniors and Friends you are at peace with handling the revelation of your health issue.  Tried to call you a couple of times but the phone numbers, one for your husband, kept saying they were not working numbers - I was just anxious and wanted to hear from you how you were doing - nice to hear your upbeat posts.

Ahh the Baltimore Catechism - remember memorizing that in second grade a small bit each night was committed to memory so we could receive our first holy communion the end of the 2nd grade. Your experience as becoming a Catholic sounds like mostly my Grandmother but also my mother - My Grandmother converted when her girls were young - my mother was the youngest and she was only 5 at the time where as her sisters were each a bit older - not sure but it may have been my Grandmother's father who was Catholic in that he came from the part of Germany that today is Alsace in France where as her mother came from Bavaria and as my father's family from Northern Germany they were all German Lutheran - my father was always German Lutheran but was strict that we could not go out of the house unless we attended Mass no matter if we felt ill or not during the morning hours and he attended all our church centered events. Later as we grew into young women my sister just younger than I am became a Dominican Nun. She and I are the only two left who are Catholic in the family for a variety of reasons - our kid brother was murdered and my kid sister although, she taught for years in a parochial school, had her own painful life experiences and is no longer religious. As to my children the same - although Paul did not have the trauma experienced by my daughter or my oldest son, who died 20 years ago, Paul followed Sally who was a strong Episcopalian whose family were close friends to the Bishop in Austin - they do attend services and brought their boys up Episcopalian.

And yes, agree, the loss of Dame Maggie Smith is part of the passing of a culture not being renewed for a variety of reasons - technology seems to have altered more than the convenient devices we use but an entire cultural change is taking place. Seems incredible that behavior and cultural mores of only 50 and 60 years ago are dated and no longer held in esteem.

[BarbStAubrey]

On the cusp of midnight so this may be a second for the day or tomorrow's bit of wisdom...

[Frybabe]

Bellamarie, not just Catholics followed the fish on Friday "rule". We often had fish on Friday, if not every Friday, during the year. I think my sisters and I knew not eating meat on Fridays. Fish was a good substitute. Mom's tuna fish casserole especially, was a treat.  Don't know what the Salvation Army services taught, but Mom credited them as life-savers for her family during WWII. She never failed to donate to them when she could. They have faded away somewhat here. They still have a presence in the area, but we rarely see the bell-ringers at Christmas now and almost never hear about them.

Barb, both books look interesting. I recognized the cover of Paul Cooper's book from somewhere, not sure if I heard any of his podcasts though. You would think I would like podcasts, but I could never stick with any of them for more than a few sessions, even the short ones.

It is alarming that the younger set of today don't know (or care) about things we knew and were taught when we were young. But, while I bemoan the loss of historical knowledge by many of the younger set, they know, understand, and are involved in things most of us would never have conceived of when we were young. But there must be enough young people who learn from the past (albeit the recent past), otherwise we would keep reinventing the wheel or stagnate.

[Frybabe]

I almost forgot about this. In Chapter VIII of the book about Magellan's voyage around the world, the author asserts that Shakespeare read an English translation of the diary written by Pigafetta who, among other duties, was tasked with keeping a diary of the voyage. The diary inspired Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, especially Pigafetta's account of the encounter with the "Patagonian giant" aka: Caliban. The Tempest is one of my favorites. Now I guess I will have to see if I can find Richard Eden's translation.

I am off to see if I can post to SeniorsandFriends now. Earlier, I was able to log in move around the site and read the posts just fine, but it would not let me post any messages.

[bellamarie]

Barb,

Your experience as becoming a Catholic sound like mostly my Grandmother but also my mother - My Grandmother converted when her girls were young - my mother was the youngest and she was only 5 at the time where as her sisters were each a bit older

I may not have been clear in my post, but I am not a converted Catholic, I was baptized into the Catholic faith when I was an infant, I just did not attend Catholic school or Catechism classes to make my sacraments until after I was married.  My mother converted before marrying my father whose family came from Italy and were all Catholics including him.  My two sons have remained Catholic raising their children in the faith as well.  My one daughter in law converted to becoming a Catholic because she said her mother changed religions so many times that she had no personal ties to any faith and because she could see in our family the love of our faith, and she wanted that for herself and children. My daughter followed her husband's faith which I believe is Pentecostal. 

Frybabe, oh, yes, you are correct about NO meat on all Fridays. I wasn't aware other religions did it as well. I always made a tuna noodle casserole during Lenten season and to this day my youngest son still raves about how much he loved it.  I also have a recipe of tuna, hard boiled eggs in a white sauce poured over homemade biscuits that I look forward to during Lent.  The past two Fridays we have gotten the to go from our church's Fish Fry which is Alaskan Cod

Up until 1966 Church law prohibited meat on all Fridays throughout the entire year. The new law was promulgated in 1983 in the revised Code of Canon Law which states, “Abstinence [is] to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Canon 1251).  For centuries, Catholics were bound to abstain from meat on Fridays, the day that Christ was crucified and the fifth day of creation when God made the animals. Then, in 1966, the Second Vatican Council relaxed the law to the point where Catholics were virtually freed from the obligation. Everyone 14 years of age or older is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, all the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday.

Frybabe,

On that note, yesterday I downloaded the NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Bible Study: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture which is published by Zondervan and includes the New International Version of the Bible. Both of my bibles are King James versions, so this should be interesting, not only because of the new translations (I gather from original, or nearly so, texts) but because it includes historical and cultural background along with plenty of maps, charts, photos, and  related ancient texts among other things.

This sounds like it would be very interesting.  I recently began a Bible study with my church on Wednesday mornings that includes a video of Steven Ray taking us to all the places throughout the Holy lands showing artifacts, tombs, churches, burial spots etc. from the beginning of Abraham to Moses, David and Solomon, Mary, Jesus, Peter, Paul and the Apostolic Fathers.  It is as if we are right there traveling with him. Each video is about an hour long and then we have a discussion about it.  It's so exciting!

https://watch.formed.org/footprints-of-god-with-stephen-ray

Barb, I shudder just thinking of how these young people have NO historical knowledge.  I had to giggle when you shared the conversation with the technician at the dentist's office about

the Ides of March and then I said, 'you know when the group of senators came in and Brutus stabbed Caesar to death' - still no recognition on her face or in her eyes

  I must say my youngest grandson who attends St. Francis De Sales all boys Catholic high school amazes me when I mention biblical history and he knows exactly what I am talking about.  We have such great conversations, and he follows right along. 

Okay, must run this has been a bit lengthy.  Have a wonderful weekend and a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

[Frybabe]

Bellamarie, I don't know where Mom got the idea, but she probably like it. Could have also been a grocery saving thing. Mostly I remember the Tuna and Flounder. Oh, and the one time a neighbor gave Mom some fresh water fish for us. I don't know about the others, but I didn't like it. The fish I buy most often these days is Tilapia which supplanted Catfish after Katrina wiped out a lot of the fishing and fish farms down south. When I worked at Fry eons ago, one of the local fish marketers had a big tank up on his second floor where he kept them live until needed.  Once in a while he would come over to our building at Rodale to host a luncheon featuring seafood. I remember him saying that he liked Tilapia because it went well with any kind of sauce and such. My sister is very fond of Trout and Salmon.

I've bookmarked the page. Thanks so much. I think I will have a look-see on You Tube to see if it is posted there too.

[BarbStAubrey]

aha and now I understand - thanks for clarifying bellamarie - yes, Friday fish - my sister was more the fishermen than I was but, we usually fished off the pier 3 streets away and our catch was Friday night's supper - first we caught tiny minnows with a piece of screening we salvaged from my fathers workbench that we tied the corners with string and lowered in rather shallow water bringing up a bunch that we put in an old tin can and then up on the pier we went using them as bait and catching what we could. There was a hose at the start of the pier so we usually cleaned and gutted the fish before we brought them home. Mom always covered them in cornmeal and fried them in her big black iron frypan.

Interesting and thinking on it all those ocean adventures would have been a big deal still when Shakespeare was writing his plays - I remember it was 6th grade when we learned the various sailings, the year and the route they each took. What always confused me as a kid was how Sir Walter Raleigh was responsible for the Virginia Colony and yet, seemed to be a courtier to Elizabeth with the story we used to remember his name of his throwing his cape across the puddle for Queen Elizabeth to walk on - it wasn't till years later that it all fell in place - he did not actually sail to American but sponsored the trip - that was not how I remembered it in 6th grade 

Bellamarie have you read any of Malachi Martin's books - I always need to read from both sides of an issue and so I'm reading his book The Jesuits - of which he was one before he left - I always knew there was a rift between the Jesuits and the Vatican that goes back hundreds of years but this is showing a side of the Jesuits I had not known.

What I probably should be watching on TV and reading is some fun, light, happy type stories - not sure what because I am not a fan of romance stories - I do like to read but not watch stories about seniors doing improbable things - the more I'm reading how food affects our physical systems and more how stress is tearing into us causing in some high cortisol and others low cortisol which they are discovering those with PTSD or prolonged exposure to stress are more inclined to have low cortisol and therefore their adrenal glands are fatigued as they are doing all the work - Among professionals they are saying Adrenal Fatigue is the commonality in this 21st century causing what many experience, physical fatigue, difficulty thinking, increased inflammation that is basic to flareups of autoimmune diseases like Arthritis, Asthma, Psoriasis, Celiac and Crhon's dusease - on and on - almost sounds like the run down of Ads on TV - I'm seeing the constant news written to bring about the greatest emotional impact so that we become hooked and they make their profit is where so much of this stress that is leading to Adrenal fatigue originates along with the speed of change that is everyday life we or rather I need to do a better job of shutting off and enjoying my home and all that I enjoy that is within my home. 

I remember all those years I was a Real Estate Broker and on edge trying to help others with, for most was, the most valuable asset they owned or were purchasing with calls coming in as early as 6: in the morning and buyer anxiety kicking in so I was called as late as midnight and often, writing up offers on either my car hood or a coffee shop as late as midnight and still had to deliver the offer that night getting home at 2: in the morning - it was constant and I think when I retired my body never re-aligned to a life without all that stress and so I fed it with constant news updates. Now that my body is aging I can see how I'd be more comfortable with a calmer mindset and a fulfillment of simple, actually more controllable activities filling my day.

With that in mind I remember how much I looked forward to reading as a kid and some of those children's stories are quite satisfying - many that are popular were written way after I was a kid and so, with this new emphasis I'm going to keep a book going at least one children's book or a light weight story along with, no I cannot give up reading things like this book on the affect food has on our mental attitude or books on the governing  part of the Church or other human clashes - found a free copy online of Charlotte's Web and there I start - wasn't written till the '50s - did not realize Charlotte is the spider not the little girl who is most often featured on the cover illustration. Although, for all my wanting calm and little to no stress the idea of saving a pig from slaughter is not exactly calm and genteel is it...   

[BarbStAubrey]

The post-it for the day... haha after my decision this is perfect - hope it is a lift for y'all...

[Frybabe]

Barb, I saw a brief mention of cortisol, a week or two ago, about how cortisol levels that are too low can make a person feel dull and sluggish when you wake in the morning. When I get around to my yearly exam and get my yearly lab work done, it is one of the things I want to check on.

Sounds like you get the same kind of history education as I did. Lots of isolated bits from here and there (names and dates kind of stuff), but never connected to what was going on in the in other parts of the world at the same time. Well, now here is something, two of the colleges/universities near me have Richard Eden's translation, Bloomsburg has it via e-Book to borrow threw WorldCat (I keep forgetting about how handy that site is).If I so choose, I can borrow it from there, or I can get my hands on the much easier to find translation by Paula Spurlin Paige which is modern English rather than the harder read Eden translation. But, oh, wouldn't it be nice to read the journal as Shakespeare would have seen it.

When looking up Memoirs of Hadrien I came across Marguerite Yourcenar's Hadrian: Writing the Life of a Roman Emperor.

[ginny]

Wow, lots going on here! Wonderful posts!

Love the "Unfollow the chaos," Barbara. I wish I could! It's kind of hard to avoid lately.

Just dropping in to say I finished Neither Here Nor  There and I enjoyed it because especially at the end he is talking about what travel really is. He had been to these cities before and really enjoyed it, but it, now, is not  the same as something he (in every case) remembered.  And that's so true, isn't it? How many times have we seen that in our own lives?

Now that  The Mirror and the Light is going to be on PBS in the US,  and soon!!! Is it really the Sunday after tomorrow!?!  The 23rd?  I can't WAIT to see it, but I know it's going to be terribly sad. I think because of Mark Rylance's Cromwell. You just can't imagine HIM in the role of a villain.

I thought I might try to read (and I know it's running day and night on PBS, I've seen Wolf Hall so much I can mouth some of the parts) but I thought I might read the second of the two books on Wolf Hall (not The Mirror and the Light, though I've read that, too, it's book #3, ..and this is #2,  Bring up the Bodies, and I got it out and lo and behold there is another of my pretty leather bookmarks which I thought were long gone..and not so far in the book, either... Hmmmm. And it's a big book for a paperback....Not sure I can read two books before  next  Sunday so will try to read the second one and see how far I can get before the show comes on.

AND they filmed this one IN Hampton Court, at least one scene in the  Great Hall is it?  I think they had Wolsey's Closet in the first one, or so I read somewhere. I love Hampton Court and never go to London without seeing it. Again.

Ella (remember her?) and I were there when they were filming a movie and we had a ball running from window to window watching them. Darned if I can recall what it was? A period piece about a woman....now that will drive me nuts till I find out. But it was amazing to watch them filming on a sunny day and producing a cloudy dark London street  scene when they said Action! It looked to ME like a LOT of work. Gave me a new appreciation for acting and film.

But what WILL they do with Cromwell!?! We know it's historical  fiction of real events, and Rylance is soooo gentle! Fascinating.

Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!

[ginny]

And AI has just identified for me it was Vanity Fair (I had said I thought it was Reece Witherspoon) but it wasn't filmed at Hampton Court and then it retracted that and said that scenes WERE filmed there  just the same time I wrote it WAS there or at least one scene was I was there!

I am talking to a robot but this one is very clever.