Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien

Last night I read The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien; I loved it, though it was a slow starter.

I dutifully read the introduction which was supposed to be a helpful aid, but was instead a mind-numbing litany of linages and alliances, none of which stuck in my head. With relief I finally started Chapter One and was bored to death for the first 50-60 pages, reading on only because I had spent my husband's hard-earned money on the book.

Then the story started, and it was a right good one. I fell asleep with visions of dragons and orcs and ill-fated maidens and valiant-but-flawed heroes. It was a grand adventure and I do indeed recommend it. Just skip the intro, slog through the first bit, and brace yourself for the Shakespearian ending.

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Faroe Islands

Quick! Where are the Faroe Islands?

Local legend even claims the ring of power is hidden here.

I didn't have any idea either. According to the Everything about the Faroe Islands blog, "they are situated in the heart of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic at 62°00'N, the Faroe Islands lie northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway." And according to Karl Ritter of The Associated Press via the St. Petersburg Times (hi Kate) . . .

[ . . . ] a wild ocean launches ferocious swells against the Giant and the Witch, two spectacular rock pillars that protrude from the surf like craggy teeth.

All that's missing from the storybook setting is a band of orcs or goblins crawling out from behind a rock, or a pipe-smoking Hobbit emerging from one of the turf-roofed houses.

The Lord of the Rings analogy is never far away in the Faroe Islands, a barren and wind-swept archipelago whose volcanic peaks shoot out of the Atlantic Ocean halfway between Iceland and Norway. Local legend even claims the ring of power is hidden here.

Photographer Frantisek Staud had the good fortune to travel to the Faroe Islands and took hundreds of gorgeous photos which he shares at his website, which you really ought to go visit to see them all. Here is one, just to whet your appetite.


What to see what it looks like there right this very minute? Visit the Faroe webcam.

Friday Poetry: Elsa Beskow

August

August -- the time of ripeness,
the corn flowing,
the berries all ripening.

The magpie stands guard,
watching
the bilberries,
the raspberries,
blackberries,
cranberries,
and gooseberries,
and red and black currants,
and whortleberries,
cloudberries and more.

They dance in a ring,
the Berry Queen smiling,
clad in her August array.

And the magpie --
he just watches.

For he is not interested
in August.

He's hungry.

~ Elsa Beskow

Here is the coding if you want a button with a link to this week's round-up.

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:: this post is part of the Friday Poetry roundup hosted at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

my kind of art

Evangelist Dandy

Today at the park, Chickadee puppy-dog-eyed some other person into pushing her on the swing (I was enjoying a chat with my Dad who had joined us there). Dandy was on the swing next to them and we could hear snippets of their conversation. The young woman pushing -- and her friend -- used awful words, most of which my kids have never heard before but a few they knew about. Here is what we overheard (sorta -- I missed a few bits and Dandy filled me in later).

Dandy: You shouldn't say "shut up". It is disrespectful to each other and it makes God sad. And I think some of those other words are bad too.
Young Woman: Who cares?
Dandy: God cares.
Young Woman: So.
Dandy: He wants you to use nice words and have happy friendships.
Young Woman: My mom talks like this and my Dad is in jail. No one cares how I talk.
Dandy: God does. He loves you.
Young Woman: What do you know?
Dandy: God loved me when I was a lonely baby in the detsky dom uhm, children's home, so I know. (Remember this is the child who told us about snuggly Jesus.)

An other mother, who had been hovering a bit nearer, came over after to say how amazed she was to hear this little boy share his faith. I was, at first whiff of bad language, tempted to run over and whisk the kids away; I'm so glad that I didn't.

Later we all (well not Dad) jumped into the lake. Dandy splashed right over to where a bunch of big guys (upper teenage/early 20s) were tossing the football. "Would it be okay if I played with you?" As Chickadee and I paddled about nearby, they tossed and splashed and goofed off with him. He's such a cool little guy.

Nothing at All by Wanda Gag

I have found a marvelous book. Nothing At All by Wanda Gag (of Millions of Cats fame) is about three little puppies who need a home. Alas, one of the puppies in invisible; he just looks like nothing at all. When a nice boy and girl come to take the other puppies home, they can't see him and he gets left behind. He has to do a special magical project to get visible and get to go home with his brothers.

Cute story. Check.
Awesome Wanda Gag artwork. Check.
Really wholesome and matter-of-fact adoption talk. Check.

The book is not about adoption; it's about getting visible if you are invisible. Adoption happens and it is lovely.

Here is the bit I got all excited about.

"Don't cry, little pointy-eared dog," said the girl. "We won't hurt you. We'll adopt you both and give you milk to drink, and bones to nibble."

And the boy said, "Don't cry, little curley-eared dog. We'll be kind to you. We won't ever hit you or kick you, or pick you up by your neck or your tail, or with your legs dangling down."

When Pointy and Curly heard this, they knew they would be safe and happy, so they snuggled into the children's arms and went back to sleep.

Yes, there are some that dislike the word adoption used for animals. I puzzle over this because, at least at our house, adopting an animal is a forever relationship. But even folks whose language persnicketiness exceeds my own may appreciate this book, as it is a child's book and most children do indeed see their pets as furry siblings.

I very much appreciate that the book is not all about adoption - those books seem to force the point too much. I very much like that the children so thoroughly describe how safe the puppies will be, that the children are mindful that the puppies may be apprehensive about being adopted. I love that the book launches lots of talking points if we want to talk and tells a cute story if my children don't want to talk.

Wanda Gag (rhymes with blog) lived from 1893-1946; Nothing At All was a 1942 Caldecott Honor Book. She wrote and/or illustrated eleven books:

• A Child’s Book of Folk-Lore, Mechanics of Written English; A Drill in the Use of Caps and Points through the Rimes of Mother Goose, 1917.
• Millions of Cats, Coward, McCann, 1928.
• The Funny Thing, Coward, McCann, 1929.
• Snippy and Snappy, Coward-McCann, 1931.
• Wanda Gag’s Storybook (contains Millions of Cats, The Funny Thing, and Snippy and Snappy), Coward-McCann, 1932.
• The ABC Bunny, Coward-McCann, 1933.
• Gone Is Gone; or, The Story of a Man Who Wanted to Do Housework, Coward-McCann, 1935.
• Brothers Grimm, Tales from Grimm, Coward-McCann, 1936.
• Brothers Grimm, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Coward-McCann, 1938.
• Nothing at All, Coward-McCann, 1941.
• Brothers Grimm, Three Gay Tales from Grimm, Coward-McCann, 1943.
• Brothers Grimm, More Tales from Grimm, Coward-McCann, 1947.

You can learn more about her at Women Children's Book Illustrator site.






:: this post is part of the Children's Picture Book carnival hosted at Mentor Texts.

works for me: organic blueberries

Blueberry season has started here, so I'd like to share with you the Joys of Blueberrying.


1. locate an organic blueberry farm near you
2. pick a mild day or go early in the morning
3. don't bother feeding your kids before you go
4. pick zillions of berries
5. watch kids stuff berries into their mouths.
6. be happy that you don't have to wash the berries first as they don't have nasty sprays on them.
7. go home
8. put berries in bag (do NOT wash them first)
9. freeze bags

(time passes)

(snow falls)

10. open a bag of berries
11. notice with admiration and glee that they are still individual berries, not a frozen mushy clump (this is why you didn't wash the berries before bagging them).
12. put berries on breakfast cereal, in muffins, etc.



Did you know that blueberries are the fountain of youth? Yes indeed. In August of 2006 CNN reported that

Wild blueberries rank Number One in antioxidants for fruit, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with a score of more than 13,000 for total antioxidant capacity per. Cultivated blueberries are the second highest, with about 9,000 (for comparison, Gala apples score around 3,900).
There's no official recommendation for daily antioxidant consumption, but they are known to be important for fighting off free radicals in our body and from the environment. Free radicals cause damage to cells, disrupting the DNA and potentially setting up the body for disease. And the cell damage may be at the root of a host of health issues, from aging to macular degeneration to cancer to Alzheimer's disease. But antioxidants scavenge those free radicals in the body, neutralizing their effects. According to the National Cancer Institute, considerable research suggests that antioxidants may slow or possibly prevent cancer. They also fight inflammation, now known as one of the main causes of diseases like arthritis and cancer.

They are just plain good. Good tasting and good for you, whether applied internally or externally.

In your blender or food processor, combine about 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, a dollop of honey, 1 Tb cornstarch, and 1 Tb rolled oats.
Whirl until it is smooth. Let rest a bit so the oatmeal and cornstarch can absorb the excess liquid.
Apply to your face.
Sneak up on your kids and say boo! (optional).

After about 20-30 minutes, rinse off with warm water.

If you have very fair skin, you should do a test patch, as blueberries make a great dye. My skin is olive colored and I'm tan, so it works fine for me.





:: this post is part of Works for Me Wednesday