BOOK REVIEW - SOUTH RIDING - by Winifred Holtby

I will admit that I am a Masterpiece Theater junkie.  So when I discovered that they were going to have a production of “South Riding” this year I got on line and ordered a used copy.  It was published in 1936. (The picture here is a new release)  I was not disappointed. 

Two things gave me pause before I began.  The introduction said the story moved around English local government.  Could that be interesting, I wondered? And then there was a list of characters 6 pages long at the beginning of the book.  Wow!  How will I ever keep that many straight.  But neither issue was detracting.  Holtby was a spinster and lived in the era she was writing about and her mother was involved in local government so she knew of what she wrote.  The seaside village life of her story was vividly portrayed with every sort of character that might have lived there.

Winifred Holtby’s writing is crisp and quick moving.  I was never bored or bogged down.   She says a lot with an economy of words.  Her character descriptions and dialogue are insightful with sparkle, humor and pathos.  She didn’t judge her characters.  Even the badly flawed in the story had redeeming qualities. 

Sarah Burton is a 38 year old spinster, small, plain, red headed and spunky.  She is the new head mistress of the South Riding High School.  All of the characters have chapters in the book that unfold as they relate to Sarah or to the local government.   Life is changing in this era.  The landed aristocracy is losing its grip and urbanization and industrialization are altering every day life.  Progressive ideas and opportunities for women are shifting the family and society.

Can you be optimistic to a fault?  I like these thoughts of Sarah when she first arrives at the school.  If she is wrong she is beautifully wrong.  

“There was all the more reason why she must fortify her children, equip them with knowledge and confidence and ambition, arm them with weapons to fight the deadening monotony of life, arm them with joy, with memories, with passion.  She would challenge them to make something better of their lives than their parents had done.  She would inoculate their minds with her own gospel of resolution and intelligence.  ‘Go therefore, and do that which is within you to do.  Take no heed of gestures that beckon you aside.  Ask of no man permission to perform’—that was the motto she gave to the girls who left her care to become housewives, typists, children’s nurse, shop assistants.  She laughed at her extravagance of vision.  Oh, but that wasn’t what she meant.  It was something unexpected and spontaneous—an afternoon snatched from the fixed routine of time-tables, a chance of joy, a burst of music, an insistence upon beauty or pleasure of daring.  Something positive and wild and lovely—like driving out before the dawn of Greenwich and watching the ships sail up the silver Thames.”

The book made me think about women and their need to love a man.  All my wallflower friends in High School picked out a guy to have a crush on.  He didn’t know we existed but we would carry on our fantasy and it got us through our need for romance.   Even though Sarah was a progressive, liberated 38-year-old she still wanted to love someone and becomes infatuated with Robert Carne, a Mr. Rochester like character, with an insane wife who is living in a care center.  His story dominates a lot of the book.  This is not a satisfying love story but Sarah’s unrequited love is sweet and you long for her to find a happy place, which she does, as all upbeat ambitious people like her are bound to do.

I am excited to see how Masterpiece portrays the book.   5 stars – loved it!

MOVIE REVIEW - THE KING'S SPEECH

Once in awhile it is a tragedy that they make a movie R rated..."The King's Speech," is such a movie.  It is based on the very severe stutter of the would be King George VI on the brink of WWII.  Colin Firth is superb in the part looking regal but masterfully showing the stress and pain of his impediment. Jeffery Rush plays Lionel Louge, the last resort, unorthodox speech therapist.  The part was made for Rush.  He may have even out shined Firth.  Louge's family is a delight to watch.  Helna Bonham Carter is perfect as Elizabeth and the royal family life looks idyllic.  The whole situation with Bertie's older brother David, who was intended to be King, plays out as his playboy life is revealed and his intention to marry Wallace Simpson prevents that from happening.  And for me (Pride and Prejudice aficionado that I am) it was fun to see Mr. Collins from the A&E production have a cameo part.  And Jennifer Ehle who was Lizzie as Lional's wife. 

So why the R rating?  As part of his therapy Linoel is trying to shock Bertie into relaxing and throwing off his internal stress so he has him repeat the "f" word and the "s" word repeatedly.  Something about swear words with an English accent--they don't sound quite so bad.  It really isn't offensive as you see the therapeutic value.  These are situations where the rating system is very flawed--where you can  justify seeing  a PG 13 movie with promiscuous sex and miss something as worth while and uplifting as this.  I do believe personal discretion  should play a part in our movie choices.   
.

BIRTHDAY CAKE FROSTING

When I was a kid my mother had a frosting that she only made when it was someone's birthday.  It is basically a 7 minute fluffy frosting but it has a cup of Karo syrup in it so it never goes to sugar like some similar recipes. Now I make it often because it is well loved in my house, especially by my husband who requests it as his favorite cake--a white cake with fudge filling and mounds of the fluffy stuff.  The pictures here are from his December birthday cake.  I have made multiple recipes and frosted several wedding cakes.  It makes a lovely cake if you are covering it with flowers.   It is very much no fail.   It is heavenly on my favorite from scratch Chocolate Cake

For the chocolate drizzle add 2 tsp. oil to 1/2 C chocolate chips and microwave on low power until melted. 

HEAVENLY FROSTING 

1 C. Corn syrup
2 Egg whites
1/3 C. Sugar
pinch of Salt
¼ tsp. Cream of tarter
3 drops of vanilla
Beat over boiling water (double boiler) 7 min.
Cool to room temperature – beat for 3 minutes - frost

BOOK REVIEW - RELUCTANT SAINT - The Life of Francis of Assisi

Reluctant Saint
The Life of Francis of Assisi by Donald Spoto

The last uttered words of Francis of Assisi, minutes before his death, to his long time companions Bernard and Giles was this:  “I have done what is mine.  May Christ teach you what is yours to do.”  (p. 215)

All who are attempting to follow Christ must decide what our discipleship will look like.  Perhaps too often we don’t decide.  We just follow the flow of those around us, not realizing that we have unique choices.  This book was a look at Francis’s life, his conversion and the facets of his faith as they evolved over the years.  It made me look at my own evolution of faith.  It made me want to make some choices about what is mine “to do.”   What can I take from Francis of Assisi in my own spiritual journey?

Francis was a rich self-indulged young man when he found God in the crucifix in an old church.

“....this immense and unimaginably good God, Who addressed Francis in the image of the poor, crucified one, also brought him to life, gave him purpose, rescued him from chaos....Francis had not only been lifted from the depths of depression, he had been lifted out of the prison of self.” (p.46)

To commemorate this day Francis composed a short prayer:  “Most High, glorious God: enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me true faith, certain hope and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, Lord—that I may carry out Your holy and true command.”   He lived this prayer every day for the next 22 years of his life.

These are the tenants of Francis’s Christian commitments:

- God is the absolute good and must have priority in our lives
- Our lives themselves manifest the praise of God.
- We give thanks for the beauty of the world.
- We long to believe fully in the triune God, Who created, redeemed and will finally act in love to save us forever.
- We long to desire nothing but God, on Whom we depend and in Whom we hope.
- We want to love God because He has first loved us.
- Doing penance means constantly turning to God.
- We are poor because God alone is rich, and everything good belongs to Him Who gives us everything.  He is not unfeeling or indifferent, but He constantly draws near to us, speaks to us, saves us.
- For all these reasons, we are also concerned for the well-being and salvation of all mankind.
- We prefer the celebration and the living out of faith rather than disputing about it—hence we go among unbelievers and preach to others mostly by example. (p. 185)

Francis reiterated these beliefs 5 years before his death when his followers had grown large and the basic elements of his teachings were threatened to fall into the pot of other mainstream religious fraternities. 

Francis’ fraternal order took root as many were drawn to his simple upbeat sermons and his service to the poor.  He started with the lepers:

“The Lord gave me, Brother Francis, thus to begin doing penance in this way: for when I was in sin, it seemed too bitter for me to see lepers.  And the Lord Himself led me among them, and I showed mercy to them.  And when I left them, what had seemed bitter to me was turned into sweetness of soul and body.” ( p.210)

I couldn’t help but judge some of Francis’ decisions.  He had bad health most of his life.  It was shocking he lived to 44, considering all of his ailments.  Did he fast too much?  Did his desire for poverty limit good food choices?  Did his work with the lepers and the sick put his health at risk?  He most likely had leprosy when he died.  At one point , after a failed attempt to travel to Spain by ship he decided he would walk – barefoot from Italy.  He had a desire to preach to the Muslims in Spain, even though he knew they would kill him.  He always hoped he could be a martyr for Christ.  His health kept him from completing the journey and his health worsened after.  He said of his martyrdom:  “To suffer this illness, even for three days, is harder for me than any martyrdom would be.”   (p.199) But, he did what he did for his spiritual health, which was more important than his life or bodily health. 

Francis embarked on and interesting (but crazy) journey to Egypt during the Fifth Crusade.   His desire was to bear Christianity to the Muslin sultan.  His wish was granted with amazing results:

“But the sultan was a man who appreciated true faith wherever he found it, he also admired Francis’s character, his wholehearted commitment to his faith and his clear contempt for the luxuries of the world.  ‘I am going to act against this advice,’ al-Kamil said to Francis when they were alone.  ‘I will never condemn you to death—for that would indeed be an evil reward to bestow on you, who conscientiously risked death in order to save my life before God, as you believe.’ “ (p.161)

This trip further depleted Francis’s health as he attempted to help the many disease-ridden poor and dying victims of the atrocities of the Crusades.  On the trip home his eyes became infected and he lost most of his vision as a result. 

What most impressed me about Francis was his commitment to a cheery upbeat ministry.  He never preached the gospel of fear, which was popular at the time.  He believed in being an example of joy, peace, love and happiness, despite his poverty and suffering.  He was a troubadour of happy songs of faith and a preacher of good will.   I believe it was the secret to his success.  His desire was for the “fraternity to remain ...a lay movement without the bonds of institutional and clerical structures.” (p.149)  But as it became larger and the church became more involved things began to change and this is the one time when Francis became discouraged, depressed, and feeling he had failed.

Two years before his death Francis had a dream that helped him to understand his faith, which was based on his desire to imitate the life of Jesus and not on any perceived mortal successes or failures.   Like Francis we all have many opportunities for conversion as life hands us trials and experiences that teach and change us.

Perhaps I am a kindred spirit to Francis of Assissi because of my love of birds.  About 20 years ago I had a spiritual experience involving hawks on my morning walk.  See Wings of Hope  Birds have become a symbol of my hope for my family.  Now in our new home Mike and I feed the birds from the trees visible from our living area.  It brings us a lot of joy.

“...throughout the Middle Ages, birds were often used to represent souls, because they can fly up to God.  They were also potent symbols of freedom.  In the feudal system, the majority of people were tied to the land, and almost no one was mobile.  But birds were unfettered, cheerful, singing, hopeful—everything workers aspired to be.”  ( p. 103)

Francis had more success with the lowest level of society—the poor and manual workers, poetically symbolized by birds.  In describing his last moments, Francis’s friends never forgot one detail:  “Many birds, called larks, flew low above the roof of the house where he lay, wheeling in a circle and singing.”
(p. 215)

Thanks to Rebecca Bateman for recommending this book and her great review that enticed me to read it.  It has caused me to take a serious look at what is mine to do and I do believe that Christ will teach me if I seek him in faith.

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

 I love winter squash.  This is a very nice festive dish that could be a vegetarian main dish.  I like to pick through the acorns in the grocery story and get the smaller ones so that each person has their own half otherwise it is too much for one person, especially as a side dish.  It would be fine as a main dish.  If you have smaller squash this stuffing will make 4 halves. 

1 whole Acorn Squash, Cut In Half Lengthwise
or 2 smaller squash
 2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
 2 teaspoons Butter
Stuffing
 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
 ½ cup Celery, Diced
2 T. grated onion
1 whole Tart Apple, Peeled, Cored, And Diced
 ½ teaspoons Dried Thyme
 1/4 -1/2 teaspoons Curry Powder as per your curry taste
 ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ cup Dried Cranberries
1/4 C. chopped toasted pecans or walnuts (optional)
 ½ cup Chicken Stock
2 slices of sturdy bread (Artisan Type)
Salt To Taste
 Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

Preparation Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Scrape seeds and stringy flesh from squash. Place squash in a baking dish, cut sides up. Pour 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the dish. Put one teaspoon butter and one teaspoon brown sugar in each half.
3. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until it is almost fork tender.
4. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet and add the celery, onion, apples, thyme, curry, and cinnamon. Cook until softened. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
5. Place cubed bread on a baking sheet and set next to the squash in the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes..
6. Add cranberries, nuts and the toasted bread to the skillet mixture and gently stir to combine. While stirring, slowly add the chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Fill the squash with stuffing and place back into oven for 15 more minutes or until the squash is tender.

THE HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN TURNING via the Internet

 My mother and birth father

My mother's brother Dee when the children were babies

 

The Graves and Marvell Cousins with Uncle Jack

I have come to believe that Miracles and happy surprises abound when the children turn their hearts to their fathers in an attempt to chronicle their family history.  It was so for me this year.  After taking a 6-week genealogy class, during Sunday School, I committed to finally get into it.  I decided that I would dedicate Thursdays to family history endeavors. 

I stood in my office closet staring at the boxes that held years of pictures and other family memorabilia  from my maternal grandmother, my mother and my own.  “Every Thursday, a box at a time.”   I told myself . “You can do it.”  I sorted and filed feeling happy, every Thursday, that I was making progress. 

As I sorted my grandmother’s pictures I had an overwhelming realization that I was the last one who would know many of the people in the photos.   If I handed these photographs, in their scrambled form, to my children they would not know what to do with them.  Then I thought of the other grandchildren, and cousins  who might want copies of these pictures, so I proceeded to scan hundreds of pictures making several family Web albums.  I labeled each picture with the names and dates as I could.  I made the files public and sent a link to all the family members that I have e-mail for.  They have the option to peruse the pictures and download any or all. 

One of the web files had two pictures of my birth father that I never knew.  He and my mother were divorced before I was born.  He moved to a distant state and we had no contact with him.   When I was 30 and he was 55 he died of a heart attack and my aunt , who lived in the hometown of his youth, gave me a copy of his obituary.   I knew from this that he had a daughter.

Two months ago this daughter googled her father’s name and discovered the photos.  She didn’t know I existed and we are now e-mailing.    She lives across the country from me and I am not sure what will become of our connection but I feel there is a reason for us finding each other. 

Two weeks later I received another surprise contact from two cousins, who had disappeared from our lives, many years earlier.  My mother had a younger brother who was killed in a mining accident when he was 29 years old.  His wife,  took their boy and 2 small girls and moved away to be closer to her parents several states away.  Sadly, eventually they lost contact with the family and the years moved on.  The two girls are in their late 40’s now.  They had no pictures of their father, except a small obituary picture, until the day they googled his name and came up with dozens of pictures on my web files.  They knew very little about him personally. 

This connection has thrilled me.  I have written family stories for years.  I have been able to give these cousins a piece of their Dad and lost grandparents, aunts and uncles.  They are crying with joy at finally having some connection to their father.

My mother and her sister died in their 60’s, less than a year apart, more than 20 years ago.  I have not had contact with my aunt’s children all these 20 years until this week.  I decided that these 3 cousins needed to have access to the web albums if they desired them.  There are many pictures of their mother as a child and young woman and some of the cousins when they were young and our families spent time together.  So, I called information looking for someone that would give me a phone number or contact information.  The person who answered wondered how I got their number, as it is unlisted...a little miracle?   Before the next day I had phone numbers and e-mails of all 3 cousins.  Now they have the grandparent stories, histories, other family stories and access to the pictures.  And we have promised to get together. One of these cousins has scanned their family pictures and offered to send me a copy.  I am excited to see what they have. 

The last little blessing of my Thursday commitment happened when I handed my husband a box of his “stuff” that I had sorted out of the mass.  I said,  “When you die your children will throw this box of memorabilia away.  But if you put it in a book chronologically, with notes, it will mean something.”  I gave him a large loose-leaf binder, some clear page protectors, A pile of colored cardstock and he went at it.  He copied all the newspaper clippings and highlighted stories about himself.  He wrote some little vignettes about his life and put it all together, with pictures, to make something worth going through.

I have felt strongly the hand of the Lord in all of this.  Angel Moroni told Joseph...”and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.  If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.”   (JS History 1:39)  Utterly wasted!  No wonder there are so many miracles that happen in this endeavor.