Step to the right, step to the left, turn a single

I have always been interested in learning historic dance, and recently we found a wonderful opportunity to do so. After an article in the newspaper about a Viennese style ball, we looked for a person who could teach us English Country Dance (i.e. the sort of dancing in Jane Austen movies), and amazingly found one who was so happy to teach again that she only charged us for gas money. So for the past four weeks, we and many other families have met after church on Sunday to learn how to dance like Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet. While the idea of dancing did not at first appeal to the men and boys we invited, they quickly came to enjoy it as much as the women.

English Country Dance is different from many forms of dance, because it is a social action rather than a performance. You not only interact with your partner, but also with every other partner in the dance as well, because of something called progression. The dances are usually performed in lines, a row of men facing a row of women, and almost everyone does the same thing together in a very symmetrical manner. (The dance figures in many ways resemble the knot gardens that were common in the time period.) I say almost everyone, because the way it works is that every other couple (i.e., couples 1, 3, 5, 7, in the line, etc.) does one figure of the dance, while the other couples (couples 2, 4, 6, 8, in the line, etc.) dance a different figure. Because of the way the dance works, the couples move up and down the line, performing the same figure each time, making it so that every couple eventually dances with every other couple in the dance. While this sounds complicated, it is actually a very simple idea, and the dances are easy to carry out. Because the dances simply repeat the main figure over and over in this manner, and because every step is some form of walking or turning in some direction, this leaves plenty of time for the long conversations that can be found in Jane Austen's novels.

Of course, the hardest part of any new skill is learning the terms and vocabulary. After watching Jane Austen movies and drooling over the lovely dancing therein, I first searched for a website that might offer instructions. I found one, but though there were explanations of the terms, they were not clear enough for me to imagine (you can see the instructions here, with the music, if you are interested). But after only a couple classes, I was able to revisit this site and understand all the steps.

If it is possible, English Country Dance is a wonderful thing to learn, for not only is it enjoyable and a form of dance that anyone can easily learn (the students range from 7 to 50 years), you also learn the deportment and manners that go along with it, which is a valuable thing for everyone.

Twisted marketing

While shopping for seed-starting supplies, I noticed children's starter kits in the gardening center. While most of them were just cute little pots with seeds and instructions, some of them had a Veggie Tales theme. The reasoning behind this marketing completely escapes me. Is the reaction from kids supposed to be: "Look, Mom! Bob and Larry! Let's grow them and eat them!" *shakes head in disbelief*

A New Breed of Homeschooler

The Headmistress was addressing some comments from a new homeschooler and I was reminded that I had written this months ago and never posted it. I guess it is time.

We decided to homeschool just after our first child was born, about 17 years ago and I have been involved with our local support group for much of that time. My dear friend and mentor used to invite me on field trips with other homeschooling families when my children were infants and toddlers. I started going to monthly support meetings when my oldest was a pre-schooler. As a result I had a slow, easy introduction to homeschooling and I was very, very blessed.

Some of the wonderful moms that I met early in my homeschooling career were part of the vanguard in my state, some of them homeschooling before it was even legal. They were not afraid to stand against the tide, holding their ground in a world that mostly had never heard of homeschooling, and once they did hear of it, they were usually against it. These moms didn't have much curriculum to choose from, often just workbooks sold at Safeway or curriculum caste offs from schools. Yet these moms did whatever they needed to do to give their children a wonderful education. They were creative and many were strong willed, and they supported each other, because there was very little support from anyone else. I am blessed to know many of these women. The forerunners of my calling.

For years now, the homeschooling community has been changing. With public school sponsored programs, internet learning, co-ops, and a plethora of opportunities, the face of homeschooling has changed. Now before I get too far into this hear me out...I am thankful that so many children are getting out of the public school system. I am thankful that there are choices now that make it so more parents choose homeschooling. And I am thankful that more families are able to find a way to school their children outside of the public school arena. I support the freedom of each family to choose the educational choice that best fits their own values, even if it differs from the one I choose.

I have noticed a surprising trend in the new homeschoolers I come in contact with in person and on the internet. Many are choosing to homeschool the way someone chooses to try a new flavor of coffee. We'll buy a jar, try if for a couple months and see if we like it. This lack of commitment (and lack of conviction) is troubling to me. What often happens is that people try a certain flavor of homeschooling for a short time, think that is what homeschooling is all about, quit when it doesn't work for them, and then go on telling folks, "We tried homeschooling and it didn't work for us." They often carry other negatives with them when they leave. Since they laid out a chunk of change for some curriculum they tell others how expensive homeschooling is. They may meet some families once at a support group or field trip and think they are "weird" or their children are "unsocialized" and draw sweeping conclusions about all homeschooling families.

We had a mother come to our local support group and ask if there was some easy way to get teach her children to read and write...maybe a tutor or something. We misunderstood and thought she needed ideas on how to teach these subjects while still having a busy schedule or maybe she needed encouragement that moms are capable of teaching their own children and don't need outside help. When we pressed her for specifics, she said she didn't want to bother teaching her children boring subjects like reading, writing and math...she just wanted to do the fun stuff with them, like field trips and science experiments. We stared at her in amazement and kind of umed and awed. What do you say to that?

There is a concern that "old fashioned" homeschooling will become a thing of the past. More and more homeschoolers turn to school district programs, tutors, internet academies or others to teach their children for them...they just do it from home instead of at a school building. The homeschool advocacy group in our state is very concerned that the government will look at all these families who call themselves homeschoolers but are actually enrolled in school district programs, and they will wonder about all those non-conformist families who won't enroll and be accountable to the school district. The fear is that legislators will ultimately declare that families in those programs are true homeschoolers and the rest of us are renegades that need to be reformed.

Lord of the Rings quiz

To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?

Elvish
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*blinks* That was slightly surprising. And, since I love to play with the answers of these sorts of quizzes, it seems that the one question that decided Elvish vs. Numenorean was which leader I should follow. Sorry Faramir: you may be my favorite character, but I'd rather have as my leader an elf who has been fighting for 20,000 years.

Don't share the germs!

It looks like most of our church family is sick, from what I hear...church was cancelled last night. The entire Clan is sick, except for Emma Darcy, who is strolling around *commanding* others to get her food and drink, and then smiling a most charming grin! Boy, have we spoiled her. It is kind of nice to have everyone sick at once so that the illness doesn't drag out over weeks while different waves of people get it. Plus I don't really have to feed anyone much since no one really wants to eat, they just sleep all day and night.

Aragorn passed out in the kitchen when he came up to get food yesterday morning before any of us were awake. From the dried blood and bruise, it appears he hit his cheek and ear on something. Adaon was sleeping on the living room couch and saw him "trip" and fall onto the floor of the dining room. Thankfully, except for not being able to sleep on one side of his face, he appears to be fine.

Locally, a high school closed for the remainder of the week because 300 of their students were sick, but public officials claim this is just normal for flu season. At least some of us are able to function minimally, for which I thank God profusely. I've been able to make gelatin and pudding and serve up vitamin-C and fluids to all. Prayers would be greatly appreciated, especially for Clankeeper whose immune system is much weaker than ours.

And if you don't know your patriotic duty concerning the spread of germs...take the time to go HERE and enjoy this educational (and humorous!) public service announcement.

Sometimes, being literal goes too far

Purring Piggy: Last year—
Aragorn: That would be a month ago?
Purring Piggy: No, last fall.
Aragorn: Three months?
Purring Piggy: A year plus three month ago.
Aragorn: Then why didn't you say fifteen months?
The Queen: Yes, Mr. Smarty Pants.
Aragorn: I don't see any Smarties on my pants.

Engineering minds...you have to learn to live with them.

Say hello to Mr. Bingley

Here is my favorite item purchased with my Christmas money, my own personal penguin:



He is about two feet tall, and the perfect size for cuddling. His name is Mr. Bingley, because whatever you do to him, he will always have that slightly goofy smile that is so adorable. Already beloved by our entire family, I have to keep a close eye on him, or he is penguin-napped by sibling who want a turn to snuggle with him.

Matchmaker, I need a pet

We watched Fiddler on the Roof recently, and apparently Martin the Warrior and The Queen thought it catchy, even if they didn't quite grasp what the songs meant, for today they were doing their chores singing:

"Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match
Find me a fish
Catch me a cat"

Ponytail's meme

from Dewey's Treehouse

How much snow is there on the ground where you live?
-- Strangely, about four inches. This is the most snow we've had in years.

How do you make a snowbear?
-- I don't?

Do you know the song "The Minstrel Boy?"
-- I do.

Do you like the song "The Minstrel Boy?"
--Rather.

What do you put in baked peanut butter cookies?
--Since I don't bake peanut butter cookies, I wouldn't know.

Do you like writing stories?
-- I do indeed! Right now, in fact, I have twelve that I am in the middle of writing, and eighteen ideas that need to be written. Do I have an overactive imagination, you ask? Why, of course!

Book stats, 2006

Well, 2006 is over, and is the first year I have kept track of exactly how many books I read. I was aiming for 180, but though I was on a role in the beginning of the year, last few months I only read a couple books. Still, I read 174 overall, which averages to 14 1/2 books a month. I read the most in April (26 books), and the least in December (3 books). My good book to twaddle ratio was 4 to 1, something I was really working for.

Top Ten Rereads
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer
Cotillion by Georgette Heyer
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Lieutenant Hornblower by C. S. Forester

Top Ten Wonderful New Books I Discovered
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Longitude by Dava Sobel
The Eyre Affair/Lost in a Good Book/The Well of Lost Plots/Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
John Adams by David McCullough
Lord Cochrane by Christopher Lloyd
A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Mister Monday/Grim Tuesday/Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix

Part of a family

Some days I make the mistake of thinking that my relationship with my family is like any other, that they are merely friends with whom I am 24/7. And then something extraordinary will occur, and I will laugh at my folly.

One such occurance was as we were driving home from Christmas dinner at a friend's house. Emma Darcy started singing You Are My Sunshine, and soon we were all singing along. And when the song ended, we continued with others, singing all the way home. And what was amazing was that, though only two people were in the same key and carrying the same tune, it was the most beautiful sound on earth. Because they were my family.

We are One in a Million!

Over a million homes lost power in our area this week because of a wind
storm...and we were one in a million!

The storm hit on Thursday evening and took out our power around midnight.
We got our power back Saturday evening. There are still hundreds of
thousands still without power.

Thursday afternoon (before the storm started) part of our family went with
another family from church to see "The Lights of Christmas", which is a at
Christian camp that puts out over a million lights in beautiful displays
with Bible messages, carolers, train rides, horse rides, fresh donuts and a
ton of other fun. The rain started gushing while we were driving
there...just buckets of rain...and it took 3 hours to get there (normally it
would only take 1.5 hours)! There was a foot of water on the interstate
highway which slowed traffic to a crawl as 4 lanes of traffic narrowed down
to 2 lanes and then cars took turns fording the water.

We decided to keep going, since we were past the worst traffic by then, and
the ride was fun, regardless of whether we would see lights when we got
where we were going! It turned out that nobody else decided to go that
night, with a storm threatening, so there were no lines for any of the
attractions and we had a great time! The rain had stopped by the time we
arrived at the camp but whenever we would go inside a tent (like the animal
petting area) it would pour down rain, and then by the time we were done and
washed our hands, it had stopped raining! That happened 3 times! Then
around 9pm we loaded up to leave, and as we were leaving the parking lot the
electricity went out and those million lights were dark! There were downed
trees along the road home, including one that caused us to be detoured. The
winds nearly blew us off the highway a few times but we made it home safely.
What an adventure!

Once we got home we shared tales of the storm with those who stayed behind
(they had some great stories, too!)...and then the power went out! The wind
blew hard through out the night, keeping me awake for most of it. The next
morning we found one of our roof vents on the front driveway, a large
section of our fence blown over, tons of branches down in the woods and
shingles from our neighbors roof in our yard! We faired quite well compared
to others in our area.

Friday and Saturday we enjoyed the peace and quiet of life without
electricity, although we never stopped trying to turn on the lights whenever
we entered a dark room! ;) We had a space heater in our living room, so we
were warm enough. We used our camping stove to cook on, and since we have a
gas water heater, we had hot water for dishes and showers. We have a second
refrigerator in our carport, so we just moved items out there (or left them
on the porch) and they kept well since the outside temp was not above 40
anyway, and near freezing at night. We did have to empty and wash out the
fridge, but it needed a good cleaning and fresh paper towel on the
shelves/drawers anyway! Our deep freezer was fine, as was the freezer in
the kitchen. Our pantry was stocked, we had gas in the van (gas lines were
hours long) and some neighborhoods near us had power so we were able to go
to a movie on Saturday, which was a nice break and a special treat for us.

Clankeeper took the older children to see "Eragon" while I took the little
girls to see "Charlotte's Web." I was sad not to get to see "Eragon" but I
must admit that I really enjoyed "Charlotte's Web." After the movie they
had parrots for the children to hold, free treats, a beautiful ice
sculpture, huge furry mascots, coloring pages, a rat, a magician, and all
kinds of fun stuff for children. It kept the Queen and Emma Darcy busy
while we waited for "Eragon" to finish.

All in all, a wonderful set of family memories! My favorite memory was
singing songs on Friday night...all the ones we could think of with 'light'
or 'lamp' in them!

Amazing snowflakes

If you haven't been here yet, you must go and check out some amazing pictures of real snowflakes! I was stunned to learn about some of the unusual shapes! The site goes into great details about how they are made, as well as activities you can try at home, tours of places with really cool snow, history of snowflakes, physics, and a whole lot more. Go and see it!

Psuedoscientific technobabble

"Thursday, that's not possible!"
"Anything is possible right now. We're in the middle of an isolated high-coincidental localized entropic field decreasement."
"We're in a what?"
"We're in a psuedoscientific technobabble."
"Ah!" replied Wilbur, having witnessed quiet a few at Mycro-Tech Development. "One of those."

—Jasper Fforde, Lost in a Good Book

[and yes, that would make sense if you had read the book]

Books read in October and November

Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman by Anne Ortlund

The Gospel According to Tolkien by Ralph Wood

Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
It's easy to see why this one was the book that vaulted him to Victorian fame.

The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin

Lord Cochrane by Christopher Lloyd
One of the best biographies I've read.

Mister Monday by Garth Nix

Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix

The Fellowship of the Ring (reread) by J. R. R. Tolkien

At Home in Mitford (reread) by Jan Karon
I liked this one much better the second time around.

The Penguin Classic Baby Name Book by Carol Wallace
A very interesting read.

Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix

The Case For Christ (reread) by Lee Strobel



The Two Towers (reread) by J. R. R. Tolkien

Robert E Lee: The Christian by William Johnson

Michael Faraday by Charles Ludwig

The Return of the King (reread) by J. R. R. Tolkien

Lost in a Good Book (reread) by Jasper Fforde

My feet were happy, but my heart was not

Recently, I went to a friend's birthday party, which consisted mainly of going to see the movie Happy Feet in the Imax.

I came out of it with opinions stronger than I had ever felt for a children's movie before. And perhaps that was right, because Happy Feet was not a children's movie. Yes, the penguins were cute, and the dancing and songs would probably appeal to children, but the movie was intense and scary almost all the way through, contained mature and sometimes disturbing themes, and was depressing up till the end. The anti-Christian and anti-human messages were so obvious, it felt as if they were slamming you in the head with them. The pro-homosexual message was more subtle, but still there, and the only redeeming quality of the movie was the tap dancing.

Yes, the tap dancing is great, and certainly made everyone in our group want to go take tap dancing lessons. The movie, though animated, accurately caught the movements of the feet, according to my tap dancer friend, and was very well done. There was also a good supply of humor, especially with the Argentinian penguins, which made the movie a real mixed bag. I wouldn't watch it all the way through again, and definitely wouldn't take children to see it (even I was nervous in some parts) but I would love to watch the good parts again when it comes to DVD.

Women get high by talking?

I read this Daily Mail article about how women talk about 3 times more that men. Through my experince (mainly through my dear wife and oldest daughter), the article sounds accurate, thought I believe the ratio should be closer to 4 or 5 times more ;) That being said, the following sentence jumped out at me:

And, if that wasn't enough, the simple act of talking triggers a flood of brain chemicals which give women a rush similar to that felt by heroin addicts when they get a high.

I had always thought that some people like to hear themselves talk, but I never thought that they were getting high doing it!

ABCs of Authors

Because the hymns were just too much fun...

A - Austen, Jane; Alexander, Lloyd
B - Bronte, Charlotte
C - Cooper, Susan
D - Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan
E - Eliot, George
F - Fforde, Jasper; Forester, C. S.
G - Gaskell, Elizabeth
H -Heyer, Georgette
I - Irving, Washington
J - Jacques, Brian
K - King-Smith, Dick
L - Lewis, C. S.
M - McCullough, David; McKingley, Robin
N - Norton, Mary
O - O'Brian, Patrick
P - Potok, Chaim
Q - Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur
R - Ransome, Arthur
S - Sayers, Dorothy; Sutcliff, Rosemary; Snicket, Lemony; Sobel, Dava
T - Trollope, Anthony; Tolkien, J.R.R.; Thurber, James
V - Veith, Gene Edward
W - White, John; White, T. H.
Y - Yolen, Jane