flotsam & jetsam

I thought I’d add a new regular feature here at ladydusk thinking through the things that have come to the surface over the past week (or so). I’ve often enjoyed those amalgamation posts where small thoughts are gathered and smooshed. I almost called the feature ‘small thoughts,’ but decided to go with flotsam and jetsam – all the ideas floating about in my mind and banging into one another. We’ll see how it goes 🙂

Last week I finished The Aeneid by Virgil. I didn’t like it, so I asked the fine folk in the Literary Life Facebook Group how to like it. Someone recommended the Elizabeth Vandiver lectures. We enjoyed her Mythology lectures, so I decided to give it a try. The first few lectures were about the Aeneid and background, but then she starts explicating book-by-book. I listen to a lecture and then to the book and that is going so.much.better. In my challenge, I’ve been glad to have some background information for all of the Epics (except the Iliad, maybe I should find one).

I am changing post email services. If you would like to get posts from ladydusk in your email, there’s a form in the sidebar. Add your name and email address. (If you are getting this by email already, I’ve had your address moved and you shouldn’t have to resubscribe. Hopefully, it’ll be more readable!)

We had stunningly beautiful weather here this week. Kids enjoyed being outside some and I enjoyed opening the windows to air out the house some. I also enjoyed walking outside and listening a lot. The neighbor’s crocuses bloomed.

I found this passage in A Book of Faith by Elizabeth Goudge. It fits with my Word for the Year: Seek.

I had been on the Oliver Twist struggle bus. I really wanted to read it, but the beginning was so downtrodding that I was avoiding it instead of picking it up to read. The Audible version finally caught my attention and I think I listened to more than half of it on Thursday. I ran my bluetooth earbuds out of battery! It still feels like cheating, but I really loved it by the end. Switching format made a difference, but I don’t want that always to have to happen. I brought down Hard Times for my next 5×5 challenge Dickens book. We’ll see; the title doesn’t bring much hope.

I’ve been reading Charlotte Mason’s Volume 5 (Formation of Character); Dr Gamble’s The Great Tradition; and Calvin’s Institutes. Thinking about Will, Reason, and Understanding from all of those sources. It’s a little bumpy. From my post in Schole Sistership: