A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens

Have you read this book? I am not usually the fiction devourer that I have been lately. But I suppose when excellent classic fiction is laid at your door, one must climb through all the pages to get to the other side.
And when wading through all the pages of a long book is a pleasure, even better!

A Tale of Two Cities is a book I tried to read maybe 6 years ago. I started it, and stopped it after 5-6 chapters. For some reason the story wasn't grabbing me. I am one who believes that sometimes reading a book at the wrong time can affect the enjoyment of a book. Sometimes one is not ready to read a certain book, except at a later date. Due to maturing as a person, reader, or experience. It is a varying thing.

Anyway, this time around I don't want to put this book down! The story is a thrill of spies, secrets, danger, adventure, and history of the French Revolution in the 1790's.

Charles Dickens writes skillfully, keeping that wonderment alive through all the 400+ pages and I did find myself reading "just one more chapter" before bed. I know it's a good book when I am yawning and so tired but stay up wanting to read another chapter. I wanted to see what was going to happen with Charles Darnay and his secret, and Doctor Manette and his daughter Lucie. And the odd characters who are memorable in their oddities. It was a crazy time in history, and I get to see all the insane claims that took place during the French Revolution, the "laws" that took away rights overnight to create more targets of the killings.It is strange how history has a way of leaving echos. More recently in the 20th century to be specific, where a country deemed certain people to be unworthy and created laws to flush them out until they diminish.

As grave as the circumstances sound, it is a very readable book that I am enjoying very much. It is a classic that I think should be on every reading queue.

Weekender

I was away for the weekend, for my soon-to-be-sister-in-law's bridal shower, and now I have returned to my home and getting back to a normal week (attempting, I think) but I realize that Thanksgiving is coming and this is a short week! Why am I even unpacking?

Good question.
But in these few short days before Thanksgiving, I really want to let go of all the obligatory crazy-errands and activities that could consume my time and take a step back to really be thankful.

The thing that I like least about the holiday season is how busy things get. Don't get me wrong, I love having family to see and parties to attend and such, but if that takes away from my inner spirit reflecting on the thankfulness and joy that is the reason for these holidays, I grow weary very quickly. I know it is my own decisions that guide my time to reflect, so therefore, I am going to institute a deletion of non-critical activities when I feel the need. Like this week, for instance. I am clearing my schedule to make plenty of room for my thoughts and musings to wander into thankfulness and stay there for a long while.

Thank you, Lord, for each moment we have to experience the life You have given us.

Sometimes...

Sometimes all you can handle in your day is wearing Dad's cozy, old flannel shirt and trying to eat some noodle soup, all while watching some inspiring You Tube videos. Getting over some food poisoning was the cause for me to be so dreary, and I am so thankful that is over with, but these videos definitely cheered me and kept my attention. I couldn't help but share them:

1. Eric Metaxas talks about Bonhoeffer in his entertaining way. He is such a good speaker with the perfect amount of humor. His book on Bonhoeffer is on my reading queue.
Click HERE

2. The Grand Miracle by C.S. Lewis- A doodle with a reading of this essay
Click HERE

3. Malcolm Guite talking about The Inklings. This talk is mostly about Owen Barfield, who I have been very interested in learning more about and reading more of his writings.
Click HERE

4. C.S. Lewis: Why he matters today
Click HERE

Raining Again

It has started raining again tonight. I sit here listening to the trickles of the gentle rain drops on all the surfaces outside. It is so quiet I feel like I can hear each droplet of rain cascading from the sky. I love this cozy atmosphere inside, especially with this knit blanket over my legs and a cup of tea cooling off. I wish that the temperatures were dropping as the rain continues, but I don't think that is happening this time around. It will though, soon....

Now is the perfect time for reading. Do you have a list of books you want to read? I have a short list of books that I want to read (or have started reading) including:
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (Currently reading. Why have I taken so long to read this? It's so good!)
- The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (I want to re-read this for the fourth time (I think))
- The Divine Comedy by Dante (I have not read any yet, and I want to read all of Dante's poems)

Abundance of Cheer

I cannot help it. The spirit of the holiday season has hit me. I am enthusiastically decorating my home and my office. Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and the leaves have been ever-present. And they are all still there. Autumn's colours are so gorgeous.

Now don't be mad at me, but I have incorporated just a little bit of Winter decor now as well. Such as paper snowflakes and paper chains. I cannot help it! But there are no bright red or green colours emerging, don't worry. No, just an Autumn scene mixed with the approaching Winter.

Are you feeling the spirit of the seasons?

Word Soup

Let him only find the secret, and there, lying on the page, their printed silence will be green with moss; it will crumble slowly even while it whispers with the thunder of primeval avalanches.
- Poetic Diction, Owen Barfield

My world of words is being turned upside down and shaken (in the best of ways) by Owen Barfield. I feel like his book Poetic Diction is a marvel I am only beginning to understand. It is like discovering a secret of the written world. He published it in 1928. Owen was good friends with C.S. Lewis and was part of The Inklings (the group of literary friends at Oxford). He actually dedicated Poetic Diction to C.S. Lewis, and Lewis regularly referred to it while he wrote, changing many of his passages after realizing he could not keep it that way according to passages in Poetic Diction.

In this book, Barfield writes extensively about how the meaning of a word is already shifting and fading from its origin. A word used as an example, ruin, was used quite differently at its origin which we do not normally use today, and in Shakespeare's writing, he created a new meaning of the word, an imaginative alternative meaning of the word. One that has soul. This is why Shakespeare was a genius.

Barfield refers to that as "unthinking" the original, logical meaning that has no wavering ability and is just simple and solid, into a floaty, wonderful new thing that holds many minds with creative notions and opens new realms of imagination. A word can hold so much more than just a simple meaning, then.

This book is like a manual for writers, mandatory for all who love words. It is opening my whole world of word-love and cracking open a bowl of word soup into me. Barfield discusses detaching from the established meaning of words, and explains how, over the centuries, it has been a huge source of how we view words today. An image that invokes something for us today was not the proper image of that word at one point in the past, but the use of poetic diction (or imagination able to detach from the rules, or thinking outside the box as we would say) allows one to go deeper into the conscious mind and navigate a realm not ruled by logic. This is the realm where The Inklings wrote from.

I have so many inklings of revelations as I read this book. I love how much I am understanding about the history of words and the evolution of their usage. So much to learn about words. This book will definitely be a book to re-read and I will be investigating more books by Owen Barfield.

Ciabatta

The art of making bread. 
It is a lovely thing to behold. A delicious, simple food that takes some skill and a lot of practice to make special. A gifted chef, Emily, is passionate about making bread. She studies books and makes notes and equations for recipes. She practices. And she shares her results.

Her excitement for bread is how we should be about those talents God places inside each of us. He gifts us with something special, something that we are meant to pursue and grow deeper in. Each element of these gifts matter to this world and throughout eternity. We are also meant to share it with others, so they will taste and see that God is good.

Emily's passion for bread is a bit contagious. I find myself watching her flip the dough and forming it, and taking notes, and I ask her questions. She makes a mess of flour in her tiny kitchen, but cleans it up in a flash. The end result is a crunchy, tasty Ciabatta bread, which I enjoy with my corn chowder the next day.

(If you like food, visit Emily's food blog HERE. Just be prepared. It is going to make you hungry!)

Nightly Tea Ritual

Every night I make a cup of tea. It is one of my favourite parts of my evening. If I have a friend over, I gladly make that friend a cup of tea as well. Making tea is so simple, but I have come to realize over the years that a lot of people do not make tea properly (meaning, they heat a cup of water in the microwave and drop a tea bag in. tut-tut.). I warn you now: I am somewhat of a tea snob, and I also require that it be made properly. My English roots definitely show here.

 Take your favourite tea bag and place it into your empty cup. Heat fresh, filtered water either on the stove or in an electric kettle.

Once the water has boiled, pour the hot water over the tea bag.

Let the tea steep for 3-5 minutes, or according to how strong you like your tea. I generally keep mine steeping for longer than that, but it depends on which tea I am drinking.

Once the strength of the tea is to your liking, discard the tea bag and carry that little cup of goodness to your sofa or cozy chair and enjoy. Breathe deep and taste the varying flavours of the tea. Happy tea time!

He Holds the Wind

I would hurry to find shelter from the raging wind and tempest. - Psalm 55.8

He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind - Psalm 78.26

Isn't it interesting how the wind can make everything feel unsettled? I woke up at 3 AM and couldn't fall back to sleep, and it took me a few minutes to realize that what probably woke me up was a tree limb outside my window, which was scraping against my a/c unit, which amplified the noise in my otherwise silent bedroom. And my mind started going and when that happens at 3 AM and I am tired but cannot fall back to sleep, fears start creeping in. Fears that have never been there before. That somehow, the unsettled nature of the wind provides ample fodder for growth in the dark hours of the morning.

The wind scatters leaves and causes tree limbs to stretch beyond their norm. The sound of wind is a whistle or howl, or a combination of both, which is reminiscent of an alert sound that causes us to rise. But as unsettled as the blustery wind makes us, I take comfort in knowing that God created all the wind and has power over it. Wind is there for a reason, and nothing is too big, or too invisible for God. He holds the winds in the palm of His hands. And that proves to be a great comfort at 3 AM when sleep doesn't come back easily. But when I did recall this, it shed light on the situation, and soon I was talking to God with thanks and found myself quickly falling asleep....

A Cup of Rest

For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light
do we see light.
- Psalm 36.9

Tea.
It forces me to sit down and stop other things to relax.
Forced relaxation. I am okay with that.
I cannot enjoy a cup of tea if I am running errands, cleaning, or doing laundry.
It is only when I slow down and rest. Let the tea do what it was made for.
Rose petal. Valerian root. Honeybush. Lavender.
Promoting rest through the liquid in my little mug.

Not just a cup of tea, but a delicate balance of leaves and hot water. A scent alluring. Steam rising as I breathe deep the moments of calm.

Long days full of busy times leave me wanting a little bit of a break.It's not that I am in a noisy or stressful environment, but unrest can come in many forms. It can all be in my own head sometimes, too.

What helps you unwind? It is usually something that forces you to stop and relax to enjoy it, isn't it? Shouldn't we all make sure we make time for resting and being in a thankful mindset for all the good that is taking place in our lives?

Coming home to a cup of tea to rest and let the day become deep night is that, for me.

Emotive Fancy

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.
- Psalm 39.7

We are shaped by moments of varying emotive fancies, aren't we? Like Autumn leaves we change colours and change our desires. Where one moment we want this and the next moment we want that. It is almost like we seek the world to tell us what we want sometimes. Whether a physical thing or a relational thing. Free will dominates and so we have that freedom to ignore the desires that God wants to give us.

When I am in-tune with the Lord who loves me so dearly and unconditionally, my own desires come to me without effort, and they may be quite different from some previous selfish desires. God desires are what I want to have. And when those are my desires, the path that God sets out for me is more easily followed since He is the one who set them in my heart! When I let go of that feeling of control, I am free! I am joyful! I laugh more with that feeling of abandon! And I know that everything is according to God's will and not my current emotive fancy. That fades away like the colour of Autumn leaves as Winter approaches.

Praise God!

Weekend Views

I have a to-do list that is a few miles long, and I knew I had to get a bunch of it accomplished this weekend. Gladly, I got a lot done this weekend, but I also spent a little bit of time doing what I love most. Writing. 

I made some s'mores, because it is the season for it, right? I just don't have a camp fire to make them. They just seem like a necessary Autumn dessert choice. Plus, they had them at Chancie's wedding over a fire, and I didn't get to eat any, so I have been craving them ever since.

 My niece, Ellie, was full of glee at lunch after church. She is such a happy girl! She doesn't want to miss anything fun.

Then she came to visit my home, and showed me how she crawls on my slippery wood floor. She had her first piano lesson with me, too. 

Finding Rest in the Quiet

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.- Psalm 25.4

I love being around people, especially those close to me. I love talking with people who have similar interests as me. I love spending time with family and friends. I don't mind being busy and on the go with special events. But after that is over, I dearly need time alone. To decompress. To have "me" time, and I know that sounds so selfish. But it is a time to really focus on God and give thanks and be more prayerful. And to hear the words that have been swirling around in my head.

I feel on the brink if I am not able to take some quiet time. To read and reflect, and write in my journal. As a lover of writing, it is a precarious position because writing is a solo venture. You cannot do it in groups. It is something that is done alone, so I need that time.

At the same time, I do not want to miss the fun events and fun times that go on in the lives of family and friends. As long as I have time to get away from it all and be alone, I'm good.

This week, after my trip to North Carolina I need that especially because I have a huge To-Do list looming. I had the best time away, and now I need to allow myself time to reflect and refresh my soul with rest, and let all those words floating around in my head tumble out onto paper. Otherwise they may just spill out everywhere and not make sense at all! I am hoping this weekend will provide such a time.

On a Walk

Leaves fallen, in colour still
and on the trees by glorious will -
Adorning nature, bursting galore
Displays of the colour wheel
surrounded by caramel, mustard, apple -
shades in the form of leaves -
stepping aside for what lay beneath -
my boots and cords on this walk -
the wind picks up speed as the sky clears
sunlight gleaming on this blessed day

Chancie & Jordan

The purpose of my trip to North Carolina was for my good friend Chancie's wedding. It was the most beautiful wedding I have been to, with so many ideas and elements that I would someday want in my own wedding. It was held in Old Fort, NC at a large home (they call it a lodge) where all of Chancie's family stayed. The tables were all decorated with lovely linens, with the centerpieces being stacks of books, vases of roses, and pretty little trinkets. I loved the tables. Some vintage pieces were included (family heirlooms and pieces made by her grandma).

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. We arrived early to help set-up and organize, and before we knew it, the ceremony was about to begin. I decorated the dry sink according to Chancie's specifications and greeted all the guests, handing them a program and chatting with those people I knew. Chancie was calm and relaxed. I hope she enjoyed everything about the day, because it all went beautifully.

The ceremony was held down by the river that encircled the property at 1:30 PM. We were out in the middle of nowhere, so there was no home or road anywhere nearby. Just the sounds of the river and the leaves rustling in the breeze. Some of us joked about the possibility of bears showing up for the wedding.

The air grew colder as the afternoon went on. Everyone gathered on the huge deck that circled the lodge. The catered food was absolutely delicious. My favourites included the butternut squash apple soup, the guacamole with grapes, the biscuit bar, the mashed potato bar, and the pulled pork.
We were exhausted after the full day of events, but it was close to 9 PM before we all left. It was such a lovely day, and I am full of happiness for my dear friend Chancie and her new husband Jordan. 

Autumn Wonderland

My first morning in Black Mountain, North Carolina, I woke up in an Autumn wonderland, and I didn't want to leave it or miss a moment. Every glance in every scene was full of colour and gorgeous mountains lining the horizon. Sitting on top the mountain, perched up high, following the valley all the way to Asheville, NC with my line of sight is my vantage point. This morning the clouds are up here with us in the mountains dropping a gentle rain.

I am sitting just outside the kitchen drinking coffee from my french press and looking out from the edge of our mountain by way of the porch just outside the sliding glass door that is open, letting the cool mountain air come inside. And the sounds of silence enter in. I breath deep the clear mountain air and drink coffee in the quiet.

The gentle drips of a light rain drizzle echoes in this space, through the leaves on the trees. Yellow leaves drape over the porch. Orange leaves rest just beyond. Red leaves are down below. The array of colour is so beautiful! God's creative nature is incredible!
I am so thankful for these moments of quiet and beauty, and the sky is beginning to clear up....so it's time for a walk....

Glories of Autumn

Don't let me leave this place
It is full of wonder
and my soul is rejoicing
in the glories of Autumn -
I think I was made for this -
The colour- scattered mountains
and dappled leaves full of hues
on the trees, clinging to hills,
as winds cascade through the valley, the leaves
dance gracefully down from heights,
the glories of God are in this place -
every leaf has signs and in each
breeze are the gentle kisses
of Autumn.