February Book Report: As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

I enjoy a well-written mystery book and prefer those that limit the gore.  I can’t recall how I first found the Flavia de Luce mystery series but these books, by Alan Bradley, are keepers.  Most of them take place in England, in the imaginary village of Bishop’s Lacey, circa the 1950s.  The “detective” is 12 year old Flavia, the third daughter in a gentry family.   She lives in her ancestral home, the crumbling Buckshaw.  The de Luce’s are titled but strapped for cash thanks to the disappearance of mom Harriet, who carried title to the family estate but was lost climbing the Himalayans.

Flavia’s family story is bittersweet but not lost in sentimentality, as our nosy 12 year old heroine has a wry sense of humor, an eye for the truth, and a boundless interest in the field of chemistry.  I began reading the series the first year I taught 6th grade and had developed a keen appreciation of the 12-year-old mind.  I eagerly await every book in the series and the latest, As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, finds Flavia starting classes at Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy, a boarding school in Canada.

In previous stories, Flavia has spent hours alone biking the village streets, shopping about, and performing experiments in her Chemistry lab.  She was a happy loner.  Now in a school teaming with girls, Flavia is a bit homesick as she sorts out a new place.  Happily, she’s still a snide observant of the world.  

She describes the head of her new school this way: “Her hawk nose and dark complexion gave her the look of pirate who had given up the sea for a career in education.”

Explaining how she can sleep through class by cupping her chin and tipping her head so that she appears thoughtful, Flavia assures us, “In all of recorded history, a teacher has never been known to question a thoughtful pupil.”

Unhappily silenced at a time when she has something to share, she notes, “…as with so many of my best ideas, I kept it to myself and moved on.”

Alan Bradley’s ability to see the world through the eyes of a 12 year old while writing a story that appeals to adults is clever.  Flavia is just the sort of kid we all would have liked to know and her rich eye for detail makes every book in this series a treat.

Polka Dots

I’ve enjoyed a lifelong love affair with polka dots.  They are cute and cheerful, tidy and matching…..all the things I love in life.  I’ve declared today Polka Dot Day at school and I am wearing my polka dot skirt.  I started the celebration this morning with my polka dot creamer and linen so that even my morning coffee feels cheery.

That’s happy!

Front Yard Flowers on Monday: Week 1

Since late December, I’ve devoted each Tuesday to a post about my amaryllis.  Last wee, in it's ninth week, it bloomed two splendid flowers and so our amaryllis Tuesdays are complete.  

Anticipating flowers is one of those activities that brings me hope and happiness on a daily basis.  There are bulbs peeking a green tip through the cold soil in my front yard flowerbed.  Perhaps they've taken a cue from the amaryllis?  I’ll replace my weekly appreciation of the amaryllis with a weekly appreciation of the daffodil and tulip bulbs in my front yard.

There’s still plenty of waiting to be done, but the signs of Spring flowers are already present amongst the ivy in my front flowerbed.

That’s happy!

On Bedding: An Occasional Celebration

The backstory: I love bedding - sheets, quilts, duvets, and pillows make my heart sing.  Living in a climate with defined seasons is an excuse to add and subtract different kinds of bedding to my nest.   This year, I plan to take pictures of the different seasons of bedding I use to feather my nest.

For Winter, I like a down comforter with a cheery and warm duvet.  I have a flannel duvet and down quilt if crazy cold settles in, but for most of the cold season, this red duvet cover keeps me warm.

That’s happy!

Not a Fan: Congressman

The backstory: On Instagram, I follow a woman named Jen Hatmaker.  She lives in Austin, Texas and writes about her life as a wife, mother, and Christian.  On the face of it, we don’t have much in common, but I like her sensibility and her sense of humor.  From her, I’d adopted the idea of an occasional rant about the small annoyances in life.  She calls her rants “Not a Fan” and that rather sums it up, so my occasional rants will also arrive under that title.

Today's "Not a Fan" rant is about the gender neutral titles.  Are you using the phrase Congressman? Cut that shit out.

I have spent my adult life teaching about American government and I have always made sure to use gender neutral descriptions of elective office.  it’s an important distinction that signals to girls and boys that these are positions that can be occupied by both women and men.  Some titles are gender neutral on their own: President, Senator, Supreme Court Judge, Governor.  They have an association with men, of course, whether because men have exclusively served in the positions (looking at you, President) or because men have most often occupied the roles (looking at you, every other office in America).

Women have made the greatest progress in elective office is positions in the state legislatures and the House of Representatives and we need to reflect that progress by being sure to use gender-free descriptions of those positions.  It’s not a Congressman; it’s a member of Congress and the title is Representative.  If your state legislature has an Assembly, don’t call a representative an Assemblyman.  Go for Representative or member of the Assembly.

Train yourself to be inclusive by default and imagine all the little girls (and boys!) who grow up to believe that there is no limit to their political aspirations.  Then, when we elect our first woman president (and that had damn well better be in my lifetime), you’ll know that you played a part in the achievement.

February, Why Are You This Way?

The structure of this blog means that there is a running tally of the number of posts I generate each month.  I’ve often wondered why February’s totals are lower than average but, by the time I think about it, February has long passed.  This February, as I struggled to find even a few minutes to sit down and collect my thoughts, it’s been clear to me that this month is a crazy busy one, punctuated by evening events at school, an abundance of wrestling tournaments, and the usual busy chaos of life.  

It’s been so busy that I wrote a draft of a post for JT’s birthday and only realized today, a week later, that I never converted the draft to publish status.  The birthday message is up now and the delay is yet another reminder of how quickly time passes.  The days fly by and bit by bit we head toward the longer days and sunlight of March.  Something tells me that time has no plans to slow down and so I remind myself to enjoy it all and embrace the chaos.

Amaryllis Tuesday: Week 9, February 21

Perhaps the weekend sunlight and warmth inspired the amaryllis as much as it inspired me.  I think so because the flowers are here and they are splendid.

That’s happy!

Birthday Boy

JT turns 17 today.  When he was first born, a friend told me, “the days are long, but the years are fast.”  At the time, I wasn’t sure what she meant.  But today, it’s abundantly clear.  On Monday night, as he sat at the table making a Valentine for his sweetheart, he reflected that he’s changed a lot this year.  These sorts of conversations, with a son who is self-aware and thoughtful, are the rewards of being the mama of a teenager.

It makes up for the piles of laundry, the occasional bad moods, and the messy bedroom.

This past year has seen JT challenge himself both athletically and academically.  It’s given me the satisfaction of hearing my son say that he enjoyed writing a History paper.  I’v cheered him across finish lines, both real and figurative.  The past year has shown me how well he knows himself, a happy development.

A few weeks ago, I had the same dream a few nights in a row.  In the dream, I was looking after a friend’s baby, bringing the baby outside to return him to his family.  In my dream, the baby was familiar and lovely with dark hair and even darker eyes.  I handed him over to his family and then woke up to realize that the familiar baby was my baby; JT as an infant.  It doesn’t take Freud to interpret the thoughts of my subconscious.  I’ve known for a while now that I’m getting ready to send my bird from his nest and into the world to make his own way.

If I’m being honest, I’m not sure that I am ready for him to leave the nest.  But with each day that passes, I can see that step-by-step, he’s closer to launch.  I am as proud of him as I can be.  Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Tulips!

T got me tulips on Sunday.  They are beautiful and make for a cheerful greeting when I sit down for my morning coffee.

I’m spoiled.

Amaryllis Tuesday: Week 8, February 14

When I first come downstairs in the morning darkness, I give the amaryllis a little pep talk.  At the start of this week, there are four weeks between me and Spring Break.  My amaryllis bloom looks to be even closer than that.

Spring is on its way and I’m practically giddy about it!