May 3, 2007 @ 1:14 pm | Filed under:
Geography There’s a new project underway here in the Lilting House, and Jane and I are very excited about it. I suppose it was natural that we should yearn for something fun to replace the happy hours we’ve been spending on the Journey North Mystery Class, now that (sob!) that project is over for another year. (Although Jane and her pal E. do plan to have one last hurrah with it, finishing off their graphs and discussing the big reveal.)
We’ve been hanging on the adventures-around-the-globe of our beloved friend Keri, who (thanks to a great wireless connection) was able to email us a long, juicy letter about her travels in China and is now in Tibet. Tibet! We flew over there on Google Earth, but she doesn’t show up on the satellite photos. Yet.
Keri’s voyage inspired us to look up a copy of early-20th-century traveler Richard Halliburton‘s book, The Royal Road to Romance
. When it first arrived, we couldn’t resist jumping right to the Thailand chapter, since that’s where Keri was at the time. But this week we started it properly, from the beginning.
Halliburton is a funny guy, writing in a rather purple style to make fun of his own overblown romantic notions of adventure—and yet, though he mocks himself, he’s serious, too. For this young Princeton grad, the lands across the sea beckon with a siren song full of promise and mystery and adventure. His writing reminds me of L.M. Montgomery. By the time he and his college roommate finally land jobs as entry-level seamen (having first been forced to grow out their sharp Ivy League haircuts and lay hold of some scruffy clothes, salting their speech so as to pass for actual sailors—albeit with a "hire these kids" letter from the president of the shipping co in their pockets, just in case the disguise fails), the girls and I were hooked. This is going to be a mighty fun read.
And to pile on the fun, we discovered a nifty Google Maps feature that lets you plot a course on a map, with annotations. Thus our new project, the Romantic Journey of Richard Halliburton, a Work in Progress! Ain’t the internets swell?
Today, at Alice’s suggestion, many of us around the blogosphere are lighting a virtual candle in prayer as Heather undergoes surgery to remove her brain tumor.
Heather, our hearts are with you today and in the days to come.
May 2, 2007 @ 1:06 pm | Filed under:
Bloggity Subtitle: Sometimes It Pays to Procrastinate
I started this post two three weeks ago, honest I did. In that span of time, three six more people have tagged me for the Thinking Blogger meme. Meredith, Dawn, Kathryn, KC, Jane, and Alice C.: thank you for the compliment. Wow. Gosh.
I’m pretty sure the people I named Thinking Bloggers have already been recognized by someone else. I know Theresa* beat me to it with #5…I must commend her excellent taste! I’m sticking with my original picks anyway. These are the people who most often make make me think until the smoke starts coming out of my ears.
*And also KC! I swear, I’m even prouder of Scott’s talents being recognized than of my own.
~~~
I’m a little embarrassed to write this. I have been quadruply honored. In the past couple of weeks, four people have given me a Thinking Blogger award. Jenny, Monica, Loni, and Chocolachillie: thank you very much!
Here’s how this award works:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).
So it’s my turn to name some bloggers who make me think. It’s so hard to pick only five. But here goes:
1. Becky at Farm School. Becky writes smart, period. Her posts about children’s literature dig deep. I like how she invariably looks beyond the surface to get at the meaty questions.
**Edited to fix broken link! Thanks, Jeanne.**
2. Seems like every day, Willa gives me something new to ponder. Take this post, one example of many.
3. What Willa does for education, Gail Gauthier does for children’s literature. Original Content makes my daily short list.
4. Moreena probably makes me cry more than any other blogger, but she makes me think, too. She writes with brisk honesty about some pretty raw issues, and the thing that impresses me so much about her work is that while her posts about her daughter’s illness are by definition emotionally charged, they are also smart and sane and insightful. I learn something from her every single day.
5. And last, but most certainly not least, is the
person who constantly, daily, on blog and off, challenges to me to
really think an issue through before weighing in on it. Readers of my
husband’s blog will not be surprised to hear me name Scott
as a Thinking Blogger extraordinaire. Even if you don’t agree with him
on every issue, you can’t deny that the
guy makes you think. And having a window behind the scenes as I do, I can attest to how hard he works, doing his homework. He reads a staggering number of blogs, books, and periodicals. (In our old hometown, the librarians used to take turns passing around all the books on Scott’s hold list, because they knew they could count on him for a good read.) He is a ponderer, is my husband, and even having the tremendous home court advantage of living with him, I STILL always come away from his blog with new ideas to chew on. I am still congratulating myself on having given the blog to him for a Valentine’s Day present two years ago. Well done, me. Hee.
Okay!! I am posting this now! Finally! And thanks again to everyone who tagged me. It really does make my day to know you’ve gotten something out of this site.
May 2, 2007 @ 9:54 am | Filed under:
Family (1 stomach virus)(3 children so far) – 1 toilet = ARRRRRGH.
May 1, 2007 @ 4:16 pm | Filed under:
Math Christine of the lovely blog The Simple and the Ordinary wrote me a little while ago to ask for suggestions for good math resources that might appeal to her daughter. I recommended some books by Marilyn Burns which Jane has read to tatters:
(reprinted from Here in the Bonny Glen, October 2005)
Math for Smarty Pants
by Marilyn Burns
Oh how my Jane adores this book, and others in the Brown Paper School Books series! Other favorites are:
I Hate Mathematics!
The Book of Think : Or How to Solve a Problem Twice Your Size
This Book Is About Time
I find her curled up in bed with these books at night. On long car
trips, it’s a sure bet that at least one of them makes the cut for her
travel bag. Once we loaned Math for Smarty Pants to a friend, and I
thought Jane was going to explode with impatience during the week or so
this precious book was out of her possession. She is constantly
regaling me with Fascinating Tidbits About Math and Other Stuff she has
picked up from one of the Brown Paper School books. The cartoony,
chatty style is what first roped her in, but it’s the wealth of
puzzles, tricks, and "really cool facts" that keeps drawing her back.
So how did Christine’s kids like them? You can find out in this post.
