Castle in the Clouds

There are three time-sucking, energy-consuming, blog-interfering things going on right now. School Wrestling Basketball Three little words that seem rather unassuming on the page. Yet, believe me when I say, these three things are pretty much in control of my life at the moment. First, there's school. I'm only registered for one class this semester, but, like any other graduate course I've taken, it's reading-intensive. If we're not plowing through a novel in a week, we're reading and commenting on a collection of articles. On the upside, the topic of the course, which is multi-cultural American literature, is very interesting. If I only had to worry about my schoolwork, I might not be quite so high strung. But, I also have to worry about my boys' schoolwork. Their report cards left much to be desired, so we're really cracking down on them this marking period. No computers. No video games. We're also going to attempt bribery by assigning mon...

According to Blogger, I began writing this post on 12/29/2010. Apparently, I was distracted. And then I forgot about it. I must be honest and admit I considered deleting it and writing about something a little more current, but then I realized I really want to document my holiday break. Did I mention that I had 2 and 1/2 weeks off work? It was heavenly. Well, most of it was heavenly. The first couple of days weren't really all that fun as they were set aside for writing, and not the fun, creative writing I prefer. Oh, no. I had to write a 16-page paper on Dickens. In the middle of writing the paper I took a day off to go Christmas shopping. This is a recent tradition. It started when my in-laws got tired of trying to figure out what we would want for Christmas and decided it would be easier to just take us to the store so we could pick it out for ourselves. So, for the last few years, I join my mother- and sister-in-law for a day of shopping. While we're finishing up ...

That's where I'm at right now: I've got three out of four assignments completed. Just one more and the semester is officially over! Last night I finished reading the fourth and final Dickens book. While I must admit I have some issues with his treatment of the feminine, he's an amazing writer. Relatively easy to read for a Victorian author. As I read David Copperfield, Hard Times , Little Dorrit , and Our Mutual Friend it was easy to understand how he could be considered the father of the modern novel. In all truth, and at the risk of getting rotten tomatoes thrown at me, I can't tell you the number of times I thought his stories had been retold in so many of the historical romance books I've read over the years. In other words, I'm positive I've read these stories as genre fiction, which I'm sure many view as the antithesis of great Literature. Now, don't get me wrong. Dickens as a Victorian writer could never get away with going where ...

It's too late to put much effort into this right now. In fact, I'm about twenty minutes past my bedtime. So, in brief, I miss writing. I'm so ready for school to be done. Not just this semester, but altogether done. I want to graduate and get my life back. Get my creative groove back. Okay. That's the end of the pity party.

I can tell it's nearing the end of the semester. Homework is a struggle. While I've been pretty good about staying on top of my reading, I'm starting to daydream about all the books waiting for me on my to-be-read shelf. Not that I haven't been able to squeeze in a couple of fun reads over the last few weeks. I have. A few weeks ago I read A Wrinkle in Time and, a week or so later, The Sea of Monsters in the Percy Jackson series. This weekend I not only finished my weekly reading assignment in Our Mutual Friend and a few scholarly articles on Dickens's treatment of the feminine, but I also managed to finish off Seduced by Sin . Those three books were easy, quick reads. I purposely picked them because I know that I can't afford to get drawn into any of the more complex novels sitting on my TBR shelf. Young adult novels don't require a lot of brain power or thoughtful reflection. The same goes for historical romances. Not that I'm knocking them...

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for the husband who cooks and cleans, who helps with homework, who takes my boys hunting and fishing, who lets me soak in the tub and enjoy a good book, who bites his tongue when he'd rather not, and who loves me despite all my faults. I am thankful for my oldest boy who plays the same games his brother wants to play, who doesn't argue with us when we remind him to do his homework, who is content to be alone or can enjoy a good friend's company, and who still asks me to tuck him at night. I am thankful for my littlest boy who gives me hugs and kisses whenever and wherever, who cleans his room even when he doesn't want to, who idolizes his big brother, and who writes love letters and leaves them lying around the house for Mom and Dad to find. I am so thankful for each of them. I am also thankful that the recent scare with my brother didn't have anything to do with the heart problems he had as an infant. I'm thankful the...

Disclaimer: I did not write this story. As I did not write this story, it does not belong to me. All credit is due to my Great-Grandfather, Arthur E. Spencer. “Doc” J. C. Johnson, P.T. I got into a very tough scrape with the same bug that killed my mother’s father, Harvey Farrar, out in the Dakota Territory in the spring of 1888 and my grandmother’s second husband, Henry Rextrew in February of 1924, while they were living on the farm across from the Spring Hill School – pneumonia. There being no penicillin, Dr. Chapin’s only treatment was lots of liquids and mustard plasters. These were prepared by making a paste with lots of mustard. Take two tablespoons to a cup of flour, enough water to moisten and then spread this on a piece of cotton sheeting and cover with two or more thicknesses of cotton flannel to retain the heat. The plasters were heated by placing a pan of hot water on the “sandwich” and then placing the plaster on the back or front of the chest successive...