Hard to believe that two weeks is just about up. I only have one more day here.
Lexie and I went to her play group again today. I talked for quite awhile with one of the girls who was running it, a most interesting person. Asked me some interesting questions about homeschooling and informed me that she's apprenticing to be an Anglican priest.
Part of today's plan was that I would go to a lunchtime viola recital at Clare College where Charlie teaches and afterward do some shopping and site-seeing. Promptly at quarter of one, I set off with map (drawn by Karena), money, and camera. I tripped lightly down the road, feeling like a native cuz I knew how to get to teh college, found the college, was impressed by its beauty, and asked the porter wehre the chapel was. There I waited with some other music hungry souls for the violist. He didn't come...someone came and told us he'd canceled. Sad.
However, the extra time was a great advantage. It's an awesome feeling to know where one is, roughly have an idea of where one wants to go, have an even rougher idea of how to get there, and have plenty of time to get there and back. Oh yes, and having a warm house to return to when the exploring is done doubles the awesomeness. And if one has a little money to spend, has a very faint chance of getting lost (just enought for adventure), and speaks the same language as the natives in case of getting lost, one has a perfect afternoon. Add to this a camera with plenty of film, and absolutely amazing architecture (appreciate the alliteration?) to shoot, and one cannot ask for more.
Enough of hypotheticals. I had an incredible afternoon. Went to the outdoor market and bought souvenirs, b-day presents.
Explored Clare, St. John's colleges. Struck on blindly past them, turned down a few promising streets, explored Jesus College, found a pedestrian street that looked promising and returned to my known territory. Along the way shot several rolls of film.
I cannot believe how beautiful some of the buildings here are. some of them I had seen pictures of, but their grandeur can only be appreciated by standing next to them. They are all incredibly tall, and although massive, don't seem ponderous. I can only pray that my pictures turn out well.
All the walking made me sleepy, so good night.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
happy
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AARON
ok...No exclamation points. (see below post) Cara just brought me up to date with the youth weekend I missed. there was a baptism planned, and at the end, when, as usual, they ask if anyone else would like to be baptized, four people came forward. Some of these people have been through really tough times, and it's really exciting to see how God's taken care of them and worked in their hearts. God is good.
Quiet day here. Had a slight sore throat (better now), Karena and the kids were also under the weather, so didn't go to church. Figured out what's wrong with my camera...I was slightly to close to some objects, and it wouldn't focus. Good to know. Can't believe that the two weeks here are almost over. they've gone quickly.
Katie, here is my sonnet, or Elizabeth Barrett Browning's as it were. Did you know that her sonnets are considered the finest after Shakespeare's?
If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
"I love her for her smile....her look...her way
Of speaking gently,...for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day"--
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee,--and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,--
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou may'st love on, through love's eternity.
Nice, huh?
ok...No exclamation points. (see below post) Cara just brought me up to date with the youth weekend I missed. there was a baptism planned, and at the end, when, as usual, they ask if anyone else would like to be baptized, four people came forward. Some of these people have been through really tough times, and it's really exciting to see how God's taken care of them and worked in their hearts. God is good.
Quiet day here. Had a slight sore throat (better now), Karena and the kids were also under the weather, so didn't go to church. Figured out what's wrong with my camera...I was slightly to close to some objects, and it wouldn't focus. Good to know. Can't believe that the two weeks here are almost over. they've gone quickly.
Katie, here is my sonnet, or Elizabeth Barrett Browning's as it were. Did you know that her sonnets are considered the finest after Shakespeare's?
If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
"I love her for her smile....her look...her way
Of speaking gently,...for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day"--
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee,--and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,--
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou may'st love on, through love's eternity.
Nice, huh?
ugh
i hereby decide to abstain from exclamation points and smiley faces on my blog from this point forward.
until i change my mind.
until i change my mind.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Trinity College, Chapel Cafes, and the Sonnet du Jour
Hooray! My camera decided to work again! I shot a whole lot of film on a trip to town today with Karena and Lexie. (We decided to make it a girls day out, so Charlie stayed with Arthur and fed him a bottle. =) ) Much to Karena's and my surprise, Lexie fell asleep in her stroller soon after we set out, so we were able to walk in relative peace at a goodish pace.
Anyway, I love Trinity College! We went in through a huge gate with statues of Henry VIII and some of his wives (I think) over it. Inside there is a beautiful grassy courtyard. Remember the race in Chariots of Fire? It actually happened there, as Lisa reminded me, although it was filmed at Eton. What's his name surely was pretty speedy to make it around that courtyard in forty-five seconds!
Trinity has a lovely chapel. In the vestibule there are plaques and statues in memory of some of its greatest scholars, including Tennyson, Newton, and Macaulay. the whole place is full of stained glass and chandaliers and was a truly awesome sight.
Karena treated me to lunch again! =) We went to MichealHouse, which strangely enough is a chapel with a cafe for a vestibule! Kinda weird. I'm guessing that it was going to be torn down, so somebody bought it and turned it into a restaurant. the chapel itself is still intact and is used for "a contemporary worship service Wednesdays and Thursdays." (!) Talk about a truly beautiful place to eat, though! (No, we didn't actually eat in the chapel) And the food wasn't so bad...brie cheese and cranberry wraps, mmmm.
Now for the sonnet as promised. I was going to give you a Browning, but another Wordsworth seems more appropriate, seeing I'm in England. Hmm..maybe I'll give you both. And if you actually read them, read them at least twice, and you should really read them more than that. And to those of you who wonder why I'm writing sonnets here and think it's dreadfully boring, IT'S MY BLOG!!! =)
It is not to be thought of that the Flood
Of British freedom, which, to the open sea
Of the world's praise, from dark antiquity
Hath flowed, "with pomp of waters unwithstood,"
Roused though it be full often to a mood
Which spurns the check of salutary bands,
That this most famous Stream in bogs and sands
Should perish; and to evil and to good
Be lost forever. IN OUR HALLS IS HUNG
ARMORY OF THE INVINCIBLE KNIGHTS OF OLD:
WE MUST BE FREE OR DIE, WHO SPEAK THE TONGUE
THAT SHAKESPEAR SPAKE; THE FAITH AND MORALS HOLD
WHICH MILTON HELD--In everything we are sprung
Of Earth's first blood, have titles manifold.
Wordsworth wrote this when they thought Napoleon was going to invade. Yeah for Shakespeare and Milton!
Sorry folks, but poor Elizabeth's sonnet would take too much space for now. Hate to break your hearts! Until tomorrow!
Anyway, I love Trinity College! We went in through a huge gate with statues of Henry VIII and some of his wives (I think) over it. Inside there is a beautiful grassy courtyard. Remember the race in Chariots of Fire? It actually happened there, as Lisa reminded me, although it was filmed at Eton. What's his name surely was pretty speedy to make it around that courtyard in forty-five seconds!
Trinity has a lovely chapel. In the vestibule there are plaques and statues in memory of some of its greatest scholars, including Tennyson, Newton, and Macaulay. the whole place is full of stained glass and chandaliers and was a truly awesome sight.
Karena treated me to lunch again! =) We went to MichealHouse, which strangely enough is a chapel with a cafe for a vestibule! Kinda weird. I'm guessing that it was going to be torn down, so somebody bought it and turned it into a restaurant. the chapel itself is still intact and is used for "a contemporary worship service Wednesdays and Thursdays." (!) Talk about a truly beautiful place to eat, though! (No, we didn't actually eat in the chapel) And the food wasn't so bad...brie cheese and cranberry wraps, mmmm.
Now for the sonnet as promised. I was going to give you a Browning, but another Wordsworth seems more appropriate, seeing I'm in England. Hmm..maybe I'll give you both. And if you actually read them, read them at least twice, and you should really read them more than that. And to those of you who wonder why I'm writing sonnets here and think it's dreadfully boring, IT'S MY BLOG!!! =)
It is not to be thought of that the Flood
Of British freedom, which, to the open sea
Of the world's praise, from dark antiquity
Hath flowed, "with pomp of waters unwithstood,"
Roused though it be full often to a mood
Which spurns the check of salutary bands,
That this most famous Stream in bogs and sands
Should perish; and to evil and to good
Be lost forever. IN OUR HALLS IS HUNG
ARMORY OF THE INVINCIBLE KNIGHTS OF OLD:
WE MUST BE FREE OR DIE, WHO SPEAK THE TONGUE
THAT SHAKESPEAR SPAKE; THE FAITH AND MORALS HOLD
WHICH MILTON HELD--In everything we are sprung
Of Earth's first blood, have titles manifold.
Wordsworth wrote this when they thought Napoleon was going to invade. Yeah for Shakespeare and Milton!
Sorry folks, but poor Elizabeth's sonnet would take too much space for now. Hate to break your hearts! Until tomorrow!
Friday, February 25, 2005
A Sonnet a Day
I've been reading Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnets in British Lit, and they've renewed in me a love for sonnets. I think it's so cool that something as expressive as poetry can fit into such a strict mold (fourteen lines in iambic pentameter, with one of two different rhyme schemes, Shakespearean or Petrarchan.). Wordsworth wrote the following sonnet on the subject of sonnets:
Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room;
And hermits are contented with their cells;
And students with their pensive citadels;
Maids at the wheel, the weaver at this loom,
Sit blithe and happy;bees that soar for bloom,
High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells,
Will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells:
In truth the prison, unto which we doom
Ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me,
In sundry moods, 'twas pastime to be bound
Within the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground;
Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be)
Who have felt the weight of too much liberty,
Should find brief solace there, as I have found.
Just got back from going out to lunch with Karena and the kids. We went to the Burwash Tea Room. It's on a farmish sort of place and was very nice. Very clean, very homey, and very good food. Lexie ate her chicken and french fries while Karena and I ate the best quiche I've ever had and Arthur slept.
On the way home, we passed a street sign that said "Beware of Cyclists." Hahahaha.... :-)
Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room;
And hermits are contented with their cells;
And students with their pensive citadels;
Maids at the wheel, the weaver at this loom,
Sit blithe and happy;bees that soar for bloom,
High as the highest Peak of Furness-fells,
Will murmur by the hour in foxglove bells:
In truth the prison, unto which we doom
Ourselves, no prison is: and hence for me,
In sundry moods, 'twas pastime to be bound
Within the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground;
Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be)
Who have felt the weight of too much liberty,
Should find brief solace there, as I have found.
Just got back from going out to lunch with Karena and the kids. We went to the Burwash Tea Room. It's on a farmish sort of place and was very nice. Very clean, very homey, and very good food. Lexie ate her chicken and french fries while Karena and I ate the best quiche I've ever had and Arthur slept.
On the way home, we passed a street sign that said "Beware of Cyclists." Hahahaha.... :-)
Thursday, February 24, 2005
So much to say...
Between being in England and having a lot of time for reading and surfing the Internet, I have a lot to say...
It's cold here. Even though the temperature is in the forties, it feels colder than home. I think the reason is that everything is damp here. Every day, it seems, it snows or rains. (The snow doesn't stick.) Somehow the wet cold just sinks into the bones....oh for some dry sub-zero Farenheit weather!
Lexie and I went to St. Mark's, the local Anglican church, today. The church runs a play group for young mothers and their children in the area. Karena and Arthur stayed home to catch up on sleep....poor Arthur has a cold, too. Lexie played play-do, and I talked to English mothers for about an hour. For the last half hour, everyone sits in a circle and sings songs like "Old MacDonald," "If You're Happy and You Know It." Lexie was a doll, and we had great fun. :-)
I've been skimming "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks. It's amazingly interesting and sometimes disturbing. Sacks is a neurologist and writes about all sorts of different cases of mental disorders. One poor woman involuntarily mimicked everyone she saw. One man would, as you see from the title, grab his wife's head and try to lift it up to place it on its head! An old man would walk on a twenty degree tilt and think he was upright! And so on. Makes one appreciate the complexity of the brain...you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone!!
When we went for a walk yesterday, we walked by all the colleges. They are really amazing. Huge, old, and beautiful. If only my stupid camera starts working again, I can get some more pics. I might walk into town by myself. It'll be easier to get pictures that way than trying to frame King's Chapel and keep up with Alexandra Lois at the same time!
It's cold here. Even though the temperature is in the forties, it feels colder than home. I think the reason is that everything is damp here. Every day, it seems, it snows or rains. (The snow doesn't stick.) Somehow the wet cold just sinks into the bones....oh for some dry sub-zero Farenheit weather!
Lexie and I went to St. Mark's, the local Anglican church, today. The church runs a play group for young mothers and their children in the area. Karena and Arthur stayed home to catch up on sleep....poor Arthur has a cold, too. Lexie played play-do, and I talked to English mothers for about an hour. For the last half hour, everyone sits in a circle and sings songs like "Old MacDonald," "If You're Happy and You Know It." Lexie was a doll, and we had great fun. :-)
I've been skimming "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks. It's amazingly interesting and sometimes disturbing. Sacks is a neurologist and writes about all sorts of different cases of mental disorders. One poor woman involuntarily mimicked everyone she saw. One man would, as you see from the title, grab his wife's head and try to lift it up to place it on its head! An old man would walk on a twenty degree tilt and think he was upright! And so on. Makes one appreciate the complexity of the brain...you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone!!
When we went for a walk yesterday, we walked by all the colleges. They are really amazing. Huge, old, and beautiful. If only my stupid camera starts working again, I can get some more pics. I might walk into town by myself. It'll be easier to get pictures that way than trying to frame King's Chapel and keep up with Alexandra Lois at the same time!
Ma Armastan Sind!
Happy Estonian Independence Day!
I used to be, like all you poor uneducated souls, unaware of this great holiday. My dear friend Kerlin kindly enlightened me with an email yesterday. (Kerlin, if you read this, I hope my Estonian grammar was ok!) Estonia declared its independence in 1918, and although it has since been subject to the USSR, it has been free again for some years.
I've grown up learning a few Estonian phrases from Mum and Grandma. "Ilus" means beautiful. Something sounding like "vagg-i-ee-uh" means "very good". (I don't really know how to spell some of these phrases.) "Ma armastan sind" means "I love you."
I get my blonde hair from Estonia, I think.
Seebergs forever!! :-)
I used to be, like all you poor uneducated souls, unaware of this great holiday. My dear friend Kerlin kindly enlightened me with an email yesterday. (Kerlin, if you read this, I hope my Estonian grammar was ok!) Estonia declared its independence in 1918, and although it has since been subject to the USSR, it has been free again for some years.
I've grown up learning a few Estonian phrases from Mum and Grandma. "Ilus" means beautiful. Something sounding like "vagg-i-ee-uh" means "very good". (I don't really know how to spell some of these phrases.) "Ma armastan sind" means "I love you."
I get my blonde hair from Estonia, I think.
Seebergs forever!! :-)
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Attack of the Mad Swan
Today, toward the end of our walk, Lexie was disintegrating. She didn't want to ride in her stroller or walk, didn't really want to do anything. It was snowy and damp and getting cold, so I didn't really blame her. However, I was anxious to distract her. We were walking along the Cam (the river Cambridge is on. Cam-Bridge, get it?) and there were some ducks swimming in it. Sure I had found a lucky diversion, I pointed out a big brown swan to her. As we walked by it, the thing got up and started quickly for us at a rather hasty pace. My heart leaped into my mouth, or something like that. Swans do attack, you know, and they aren't really pleasant. And this was a very tall swan, and it seemed to be getting into an attackish sort of position. Karena, who was kneeling down replacing Lexie's mitten, looked up. "Uh-oh." I began figuring out how to posture the stroller between the swan and myself so that both Arthur and I would be safe. Then the swan suddenly changed its mind and ran off, much to our relief. Very exciting, huh?
I guess one of the reasons I have for starting this post is to keep "my people" informed as to my doings while I'm in England. It's going to take way too much time and patience to give a full report, so here are just some random observations. :-)
The bathroom sinks here all have two faucets, one for hot and one for cold. You would enjoy watching me trying to wash my face. To prevent alternately freezing and scalding myself, I try to mix hot in cold in my hand and to splash my lukewarm concoction in my face before it drains out. It's great fun!
Lexie has a lovely British accent! Not every word sounds English, but certain phrases and intonations do. I'm trying my best to pick it up.
Some time this last week I saw a weather forecast for subzero weather. I was pretty impressed, because so far the temperature hadn't sunk much below freezing and mostly stayed in the forties. This would be a pretty big jump!! Then i remembered that they use Celsius here, the cheaters, and they were merely talking about weather below the freezing point. The funny thing is, the forecasters sounded as excited as if they were expecting a deep freeze. They aren't used to cold weather here.
Everybody around here rides a bicycle. Today when I walked into town with Karena and the kids, bike after bike passed us. Old ladies carrying umbrellas rode by, plaid wool skirts bunch around them. A student rode by in her mini skirt (!) and tights. Karena said that she sees girls riding in heels! Because bikes are THE transportation, i guess one just has to do what one has to do.....
I need to sit down and learn all the coins sometime. I've bought a few things, and each time I have to turn each coin over and read it to figure out which ones I needed. At the post office (yes, some of you will be receiving post cards!), the Indian postmaster wearing a huge white turban pointed out which coins to use. Rather embarrassing. Shouldn't take me long to learn though. The currency system here isn't nearly as confusing as I expected it to be, fortunately. The pound (which right now is worth about two dollars) is the basic unit and is divided into one hundred pence. Quite simple, really.
Anyway, I'm having a marvelous time here. Lexie is great fun to play with, Arthur is an incredibly smiley baby, and Charlie and Karena have made me feel quite at home. I can hardly believe my time here is already half gone!!
The bathroom sinks here all have two faucets, one for hot and one for cold. You would enjoy watching me trying to wash my face. To prevent alternately freezing and scalding myself, I try to mix hot in cold in my hand and to splash my lukewarm concoction in my face before it drains out. It's great fun!
Lexie has a lovely British accent! Not every word sounds English, but certain phrases and intonations do. I'm trying my best to pick it up.
Some time this last week I saw a weather forecast for subzero weather. I was pretty impressed, because so far the temperature hadn't sunk much below freezing and mostly stayed in the forties. This would be a pretty big jump!! Then i remembered that they use Celsius here, the cheaters, and they were merely talking about weather below the freezing point. The funny thing is, the forecasters sounded as excited as if they were expecting a deep freeze. They aren't used to cold weather here.
Everybody around here rides a bicycle. Today when I walked into town with Karena and the kids, bike after bike passed us. Old ladies carrying umbrellas rode by, plaid wool skirts bunch around them. A student rode by in her mini skirt (!) and tights. Karena said that she sees girls riding in heels! Because bikes are THE transportation, i guess one just has to do what one has to do.....
I need to sit down and learn all the coins sometime. I've bought a few things, and each time I have to turn each coin over and read it to figure out which ones I needed. At the post office (yes, some of you will be receiving post cards!), the Indian postmaster wearing a huge white turban pointed out which coins to use. Rather embarrassing. Shouldn't take me long to learn though. The currency system here isn't nearly as confusing as I expected it to be, fortunately. The pound (which right now is worth about two dollars) is the basic unit and is divided into one hundred pence. Quite simple, really.
Anyway, I'm having a marvelous time here. Lexie is great fun to play with, Arthur is an incredibly smiley baby, and Charlie and Karena have made me feel quite at home. I can hardly believe my time here is already half gone!!
By popular demand...
Here at long last is my blog....
Took me forever to come up with a name. Everything I might possibly want was taken. Eventually I came up with the bright idea of looking for words containing "bria." "Briary" (adj. having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae, etc.) seemed appropriate; I can certainly be prickly, and briary is a form of a common mispronunciation of my name.
Anyway, here I am.
Interesting stuff to follow.
Took me forever to come up with a name. Everything I might possibly want was taken. Eventually I came up with the bright idea of looking for words containing "bria." "Briary" (adj. having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae, etc.) seemed appropriate; I can certainly be prickly, and briary is a form of a common mispronunciation of my name.
Anyway, here I am.
Interesting stuff to follow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)