Previous posts: Introduction , Parts 1-2 , Parts 3-4 and Parts 5-6.
This post is later than usual since half of us had the flu this weekend, myself included. Thankfully I am better today, which is good because I am woefully behind on housework. Since today is laundry day I had tons of washing and folding to do and I was able to catch up on the laundry and my Dickens. What an ending to a fabulous mini-series! It was painful to watch the heartache of some scenes but splendid to relish in the joy of others.
A Four Hankie Episode – There were four times when tears were actually falling from my eyes. First was when Sergeant George was crying in the arms of his reunited mom. (Love that George! And his best bud Phil!) Second was when Esther was crying as she held her dead mother. (Give the poor girl a break, dear Lord.) Third was when Richard was apologizing to Ada just before his last breath left him. Fourth was when Mr. Jarndyce released Esther from her engagement so she could marry her true love. Although, those tears became happy tears as we saw Esther and Mr. Woodcourt finally share that kiss we knew they had been dying to have. (Swoon!)
Mystery Solved – I’ll admit Mr. Bucket grew on me over the last episodes. From his cheekiness to his tenacity to his occasional disguised tenderness. In the end he did get his man, or woman, in this case.
A Fave Scene – I love when Esther tells off Mr. Skimpole, like a lady, and he leaves town (at least temporarily.)
Hard Lesson to Learn – I find it timeless that Ada married Richard with the hope that once they were married his obsession with the Jarndyce and Jarndyce would come to an end, or at least be tempered, but instead it got worse. How many girls still do the same today? Marry a man with serious issues hoping that they’ll change once they are married. More often than not, it does not change and often it gets worse. Not that I blame Ada for marrying Richard in her situation. It’s just sad that he came to his senses too late. On the other hand, at least he was able to make peace before he died.
An Act of Honor or Selfishness? – I am torn in my feelings for Lady Dedlock. I suppose she thought she was doing the honorable thing by leaving Sir Leicester and sparing him the pain of seeing her but I can’t help thinking that she was chickening out. She should have humbled herself and pleaded with Sir Leicester to forgive her or at least faced her punishment and given him the opportunity to have it out with her. Had she stayed and faced the music, so to speak, she’d still be alive and she wouldn’t have caused him a stroke, literally. But that may simply be hindsight talking.
The “You’ve Got A Lot of Nerve” Award – Goes to Mr. Guppy, the Ladies Man, who proposed to Esther again after nearing becoming physically sick at the mere sight of her not too long ago. Yeah. Buh-Bye.
“Best Line of the Night” Award – Goes to Sir Leicester, “Poor Tulkinghorn. What an end. To be shot in the heart by a domestic servant.” A domestic servant? The horror.
Well, that was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoyed the mini-series too. I’m looking forward to next week when Masterpiece begins again. (My DVR is going to be working overtime that night – Great Expectations, Once Upon a Time, Amazing Race and the return of The Killing.) I’ll have a week’s worth of after hours TV recorded in one night. LOL. Have a great day!
Blog Archives
TV Talk Monday: A Date with Dickens – Bleak House, Parts 7-8 (Episodes 12-15)
7 Quick Takes (3/29/12) – Motherhood, Fundraising, & The Hunger Games
Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.
– 1 –
I am sorry to say that I am only half awake this morning. I was up at 3:30 AM with Matthew, who was either teething or feeling sick. Whatever it was, he was not happy and not sleeping. I can’t say that I felt much different at the time. After two hours I was finally able to get him back to sleep so I could catch another 30 minutes before I had to get up with the rest of the kids. It’s times like these I think I should start drinking coffee.
– 2 –
The other day I met an acquaintance I haven’t seen in awhile. She remembered me when I was pregnant with Andrew. When I told her I had four kids now she actually gasped. She stared at me for a minute and said I don’t look like I have four kids, which got me to thinking… What is a mom with four kids supposed to look like?? I don’t know but if she saw me right now she’d be saying, “You look like this and you only have four kids?” Grr. (Okay, let’s think of something more upbeat…)
– 3 –
I am in the last month of our school fundraising and Brian and I were actually able to solicit some nice gifts to be auctioned off. It is surprising that I am on the committee because I am terrible at sales. I like helping people but when it comes to talking them into buying something (or giving me something for free) I can’t bring myself to push it. There is another mom on the committee that has the ability to walk into a business cold turkey and she walks out with a complimentary deluxe package worth $500. I walk into a business and say, “You don’t want to donate something, right? No, I didn’t think so. Okay, thanks anyway.” Every once in awhile I do get a positive response to which I say, “Oh, you do? Are you sure? I’ll understand if you don’t. I know money is tight so don’t worry if you can’t…” Yeah, I’m not a salesman. The other mom said I had a pleasant demeanor so they would donate. “Pleasant”? I don’t know. That sounds an awful lot like the blind date with the “great personality.” Oh, well. I’ll take what I can get.
– 4 –
At least the soliciting of donations has put my “mommy cards” to good use. What’s a mommy card? It’s like a business card but geared towards my business – mommyhood. It’s great for when I need to give people my contact info quickly. Above is the one I use, although my personal info like my last name and phone numbers are edited out. They have a lot of cute ones at Vista Print.com. They have an offer for 250 free cards but the selection is limited. You can also choose the $10 special (with the $5 off savings) and have a large selection. Just search “mommy card.”
– 5 –
Last Friday I was going to tell you about a book I read – Stealing Jenny by Ellen Gable – but I was so preoccupied with the my vomit shower and Matthew’s near death experience (how’s that for an upbeat topic?) that I never got to it. Here’s the summary, “After three heartbreaking miscarriages, Tom and Jenny Callahan are happily anticipating the birth of their sixth child. Their neighbor, however, is secretly hatching a sinister plot which will find Jenny and her unborn baby fighting for their lives.” The story is well written and although the kidnapping is a harrowing tale, the book is also touching as it explores the topics of love, courage, forgiveness and trust in God, both in the main plotline and the flashbacks of Jenny and Tom’s beginning friendship. I may not recommend this book if you are a pregnant woman prone to worry (especially if like me, you recently saw a documentary about real life women who were in similar situations. Scary!) However, to the others, I wholeheartedly recommend the book. You can get it in paperback or download it to your kindle for only $2.99.
– 6 –
After the suspense of that story I was looking for something else that would keep my interest. A number of people I know have been taking about The Hunger Games and there has been so much hype about the movie that I downloaded a free sample chapter onto my kindle. Let’s just say that I read the first chapter and was drawn in immediately and downloaded the rest of the book. That whole day I was sneaking my iPhone out and trying to read pages in between whatever I was doing. Finally after everyone was in bed I read well into the night and breathlessly finished the last page. There is a great Book Review and Parents’ Guide of The Hunger Games Trilogy from a Catholic perspective over at Catholic Lane.com. It begins:
“The Hunger Games is a futuristic, sci-fi series that draws heavily on themes of violence, war and power. It is set in the dystopia created by the Capitol, the ruling class that satiates its own pleasures at the expense and oppression of the 12 Districts. The Districts, which are made up of the working class, provide the Capitol population with everything it needs to continue its own survival and remain in power.
The story commences with Panem, the country that emerged from the civil war ruins of what was once North America, preparing for the annual Hunger Games. The Games are televised live and are mandatory viewing for every citizen in the nation. They were instituted as a punishment for the Districts’ attempted rebellion against the Capitol years ago. Every year each of the 12 Districts must provide one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen who will fight to the death on live television until only one child is still alive. The Games exist to remind the people in the Districts that not even children are beyond the reach of the Capitol’s power…” (Continue reading.)
The guide reviews all three books so Spoiler Alert if you haven’t read them already. There is also a list of topics and discussion starters for those parents with older children who will want to read these books.
– 7 –
To show you how much I loved reading The Hunger Games, Brian suggested that he watch the kids and I take an afternoon off since I’ve been so busy with household stuff and the school fundraiser ect. I told him I’d like to see the Hunger Games movie this weekend. He was surprised since I’ve never gone to the movies alone but he was more that happy to give me some time off. So I’ve bought my ticket and have my handkerchief and a bag of peanut M&M’s in my purse. Tomorrow afternoon this mama will be ready for 2 1/2 hours of action and drama. After that I’ll be ready to come home and kiss my husband and kids and hold them close!
In the meantime, have a great weekend and may the odds ever be in your favor.
{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 26: The Blue Skies Edition
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
{pretty}
After taking my walk on countless grey and drizzly days we finally had some sun. Welcome spring!
{happy}
This photo is really fuzzy because it was taken with my iphone in a dimly lit movie theater but Bella and I were very happy to have a girls’ afternoon out. We went to see The Secret World of Arrietty.
{funny}
Andrew asked if he could play with the playdo and I said yes. However, I did not realize he was going to open every container we had and recreate the Cars scene were Lightning made the bumpy road.
{real}
This is the view of the blue sky from our deck. To the right the fog is rolling in from the ocean.
Slowly the fog moves over the hills.
…and within the hour we are completely blanketed in fog. So much for the sunny sky!
St. Joseph: Ready to Do God’s Will
(Since today is the feast of St. Joseph I thought I would post a past article Brian wrote for RoL.)
St. Joseph: Ready to Do God’s Will
by Brian
by Brian
The ideal saint for any husband and father is St. Joseph. Why? Because St. Joseph did what every husband and father is capable of doing – God’s Will.
Since God never placed a money tree in the back yard of the Holy Family’s home, St. Joseph had to provide for his family by earning his living as a carpenter. I’m sure he experienced good days and bad days and months when work was slow. Yet I can picture him, no matter what kind of day or month he had, as working hard and offering his labors to God.
St. Joseph not only provided for his family by keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table, but also by loving them, respecting them and being part of their everyday lives. Just as he was faithful to his temporal duties within the home, St. Joseph was also faithful to his spiritual duties. In Scripture we are told that he listened to and obeyed God. He followed the Law of Moses, this is evident when he and Mary took the infant Jesus to the temple to be circumcised. I am also quite certain that St. Joseph said his daily prayers, faithfully went to the Synagogue, and celebrated the Jewish feasts. He was a man who practiced and lived his faith.
Since becoming a husband and father my relationship with St. Joseph has grown. I not only find myself learning more about him, but also seeking his help and guidance. I have heard many say and write that the saints are worthy of imitation. I totally agree. However after reading the lives of many saints I have often felt discouraged because they lived such extraordinary lives and did so many amazing and holy things. Yet, when I turn to St. Joseph I see someone who humbly followed the law of Moses, faithfully fulfilled his temporal and spiritual duties, obeyed God and loved his family. In my opinion St. Joseph was ordinary, but the ordinariness that surrounded his life as head of the Holy Family is precisely what makes him so great and so holy.
I encourage all of you, especially husbands and fathers, to turn to St. Joseph and seek his intercession and help. He knows exactly what you are going through in providing for the temporal welfare of your families while at the same time being its spiritual head.
St. Joseph, protector of the Holy Family, pray for us!
TV Talk Monday: A Date with Dickens – Bleak House, Parts 5-6 (Episodes 8-11)
Previous posts: Introduction , Parts 1-2 and Parts 3-4.
Time for A Good Cry – Maybe I was feeling a bit PMS…maybe I was missing my own mom… but the scene between Lady Dedlock and Esther had me nearly sobbing. (This can easily be done when all the house is asleep, lights are off and I allow myself to emotionally enter into the story.) When Esther begs to be a part of her mother’s life and concludes that she is the curse of the family and should never have been born it is almost too much to bear.
Weird Love Triangle – I don’t know what to feel about Mr. John Jardyce. Part of me sympathizes with his love for Esther and feels that it is genuine. However, I can’t get over the “ew” factor since he has always been portrayed in a fatherly light, not as an older but distinguished suitor. You can feel the awkwardness as he and Esther try to be romantic. (Even the notion of it makes me queasy.) Perhaps time would slowly have changed her (and my) mind but when Mr. Woodcourt comes back on the scene you know her heart still pines for him. When you see his looks and those puppy dog eyes, you know he couldn’t possibly be as cruel as his mother and he does not care if she was or was not of noble birth. Rather, he sees himself as the unsuitable suitor since he does not have enough money to make her a declaration of love.
Speaking of Cruel – Mr. Guppy was sort of growing on me with his unintentionally comedic ways and his Muppet-like mouth but the scene where he nearly loses his lunch at the sight of Esther’s scars makes me loath his behavior more than Mr. Skimpole. My only consolation is that he will be entrapped in the presence in the company of his bizarre interesting mother.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. – One good thing about Mr. Guppy’s behavior is that it was a turning point for Esther in dealing with her illness and scars. She was finally able to take off her veil and face the world without hiding. However, it has not hardened her tender heart as we see when she comforts and prayers for Joe on his deathbed.
Love is Blind – I haven’t spoken of Ada yet. I feel for her and her plight in watching the slow ruin of her beloved Richard. Who has not watched a loved one make wrong choices, bad decisions or influenced by bad company and has also been helpless to stop it. Unfortunately, the giving of Ada’s inheritance to Richard seems like it will not help him but push him further into his obsession.
Three Strikes, You’re Out – I was a bit surprised that Mr. Tulkinghorn (likened to “the Old Enemy himself” by Sergeant George – I love that guy) was actually shot. He seemed like the cockroach type – the ones you can’t get rid of. I guess it was only a matter of time until one of his victims struck back.
I am looking forward to the final episodes!