Deogratias

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

In honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception I have begun reading this book which reflects on modern miracles at Lourdes, Knock and Fatima among many others. 

So far I can tell you that it is very well-written by a devout Catholic.  The first miracle discussed is the healing of a woman at Lourdes.

In addition, sometime this weekend we'll watch Bernadette which is a superb family movie.

Looking for an Author

What is a girl to do when she has read all of the books by all of her favorite authors?  I just completed a last in a series last night and I have one book pre-ordered prior to its December 26th release date!  I keep searching through Amazon, the library and Barnes and Noble to no avail.  If I can't find another author to fit my bill I guess I'll have to start re-reading some old favorites.

I have my mom to thank for teaching me to love fiction.  I started reading adult-level books back before high school I think, and since then I always have a couple of good novels on my nightstand.  As a teenager I used to read lots of sappy romance novel, and then I moved on to bestsellers.

It wasn't until I reached my late 20's or early 30's that I developed a long-term love for British detective novels.  Well, I say British, but most of my favorites were actually written by Americans but they take place in Britain. 

It all started with Detective Lynley in Elzabeth George's A Great Deliverance.  It looks like it has been re-released, but I read it in the early 90's.  Slowly I went through her series, trying out different authors of the same genre along the way.   During my journey I  found PD James' Adam Dalgleish series and the Meredith and Marky series by Ann Granger.  Most recently I discovered Charles Todd and his Inspector Rutledge series. The Charles Todd books are exceptional and it is his most recent novel which I'm expecting on the 26th.  The only American series I have in my favorite list is the Sharyn McCrumb's balland novels. which tke place in the mountains near where I grew up.

Reading is an escape for me and I prefer to escape to a world with nice people and good descriptive language.  I don't like to read a lot of slang and foul language, sexual details and and I despise reading about what's going on inside the head of the villain. (Elizabeth George does this some, but I can overlook it because her books are just so good.)  Too much conversation is also not preferred.  I like reading about the detective's thoughts and seeing the world through his/her eyes.  Of course it is imperative that the main character(s) be of good morals character. 

On occasion I challenge myself by reading some classics, and most recently I read Great Expectations by Dickens and before that Jane Eyre by Bronte.  I also read a biography of Vincent Van Gogh by Irving Stone as well. 

I have Those Who Love by Stone downstairs on the shelf and I suppose I'll go pick it up if I can't find something else.  I guess I'm just longing to escape to the British Isles right now and not to early America.  Maybe I'll go to the library to search for something.

If anyone out there has any suggestions for good reading, please let me know.  I'm always open to suggestions.

My First E-bay Purchase

Although I have participated in the purchase and sale of items on e-bay, I had never actually been the one pushing all the buttons until last night.  And let me tell you, it was exhilerating!  I can see how someone can get caught up in the moment and buy something for way more than you want to pay, even more than its worth. 

The item I bought was something I have looking around for for a while and had seen on e-bay before.  The previous day I had actually bid on one only to be outbid at the last minute.  Feeling defeated, I immediately asked my husband's advice.  He told me:   Don't bid on it at all until the last 30 seconds.  Then type in the maximum you are wiling to pay.   

That's what I did.  I sat in front of the computer for the last 20 minutes of the sale refreshing every minute or so.  As it got down to 5 minutes I felt my hands shaking a bit.  I wondered if I could actually pull it off.   My neighbor came over and offered to push the buttons for me, but I declined.  I wanted to do this myself. 

After 56 seconds left I couldn't wait any longer.  The high bidder was $55, and one the day before went for $87.  I typed in $87 and placed bid.  Of course I had forgotten to sign in to e-bay, so it was a good thing I didn't wait any longer or I might of missed out.  I signed into e-bay and clicked on Place Bid.

The suspense was killing me.  Until I saw the note saying something like this:  Congratulations, you were the high bidder and won the item for $56.00.  So even though it was way overpriced, I did get it for $31 less than it sold for on the previous day.  It was also $31 less than it was selling for on Amazon. 

I felt guilty about slipping in to the auction at the last minute.  I swiped this item away from an algebra teacher from Minnesota (according to her nickname).  I'm really not that kind of person who could be so sneaky.  But I guess I was then..  Hopefully the algebra teacher learned what I learned the day before - if you really want something, don't bid on it until the very last minute.  I guess that's what e-bay is all about.

After I sent my payment, I received a very nice e-mail from the seller thanking me for my purchase.  She even  included a link to her blog, which  I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind if I link it  here.

Things I've Been Doing

My posts have been more sporatic lately because every night I have haven't been able to put this book down.  It provides fascinating insight into the life and times of Vincent Van Gogh.

During the day between lessons, The Big Book of Books and Activities by Dinah Zike has been keeping me busy  Today we put together a couple of tab books about the seven capital sins, and I have some ideas for history and geography.  I have to be careful not to read this at night because it keeps me up all night, mind racing  The book is so full of gread ideas for homemade books that I can't stop thinking about them.

 

A Really Good Book

Today we read the best book we have read thus far this school year.  It chronicled a life full of adventure,  perserverance, courage and defeat.  It kept all our students and teacher enthralled, and we couldn't put it down until the very end.  After completing the book, it was time for pulling out the atlas and learning about where the adventures  took place.

It is called Henry Hudson: Arctic Explorer, North American Adventurer by Isaac Asimov.  We picked it up at the library, but it looks like Amazon has it for 27 cents.