§ Mr. Dickens and His Carol

This is a pre-scheduled post while I'm on a short holiday break, celebrating with Erik.  As I promised to make a critique of this book when I completely read it all...

Reviewing this book I recently finished....I feel compelled to give it the MOST accolades possible. It is one of the BEST books I've EVER read! Of course, it must be mentioned that Charles Dickens' short story, A Christmas Carol, is one my favorite seasonal stories. I've read it several times, and watched most all movies made from the work. And plays, and musicals performed by professionals and amateur artists in local theaters. But coming back to the book...the author brings Mr. Dickens to life! I giggled, I bawled, I found myself short of breath at the ending. I didn't want it to end...and a little spoiler here, the ending has a very unexpected twist. Certainly, I can't say enough good of this piece of literature. I'm sure, for me and for those others that have read it will read it over and over again; making it a modern classic. Charles Dickens would be proud to be memorialized in this work of fiction [tho a lot is from real characters from the era and his story].  Ms. Silva brings the London author of the 1800s, as aforementioned, to life... with zing and such special energy.

My recommendation:

Buy it! Read it! Save it!

If you're a fanatic of his works or the true meaning of Christmas, this will well become part of your private library!!!

Mr. Dickens and His Carol
READ about SAMANTHA SILVA ...the author

§ It was the best of times....

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MAN OF WAR
Jellyfish Sting is very excruciating, but not lethal

This one was washed ashore, soon to perish
since it has no means of propulsion, it glides
along the currents and oftentimes found on
the beaches.

I thought its air bladder created a great shadow.





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First off, I and Bud broke down and succumbed to the 21st century. We've only had camera phones, and cellphones only...no land lines. Now for our New Year's gift to each other we went and done it!! Yep, we got'er done!!! Bought two smart phones, and I tellya, learning all this stuff and being able to peruse the internet with a cellphone is making me giddy with delight. LOL...but I must admit, so far the 'back key' on the keyboard is my favorite! [insert a snort here] Summarizing the year 2010 this week....I think of the opening lines of Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities" ...It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

I've tried to be the optimist....well, I've LEARNED to be more optimistic, let me put it that way. Oh ya, I used to catastrophize all the time, wondering about this and about that and the what if this happened to us...even before it happened, or had a chance to happen. I must admit it really put a lot of stress on my life, living with myself and my eternal/internal thoughts and fright of things I could not foresee. So, now, many years later, I think I've finally come to terms that I can't keep life from happening and the whys and ifs are no longer a burden. Personally, it has helped me a lot to accept things I cannot change. I also must admit I do not see why others are always so negative when all around us, there are others who are worse off than we are. So, for 2010, I feel there were no 'worst times'. And I thank my lucky stars. Granted, I don't like some things [like opening my mailbox this past week to find a jury summons! LOL], but I deal or have dealt with it to my best ability. Of course, I have also learned to find a silver lining...to look at the bright side of things I don't like. For instance, sure, I can be unhappy about many things that have happened to us in the past, and as you know, I oftentimes rant about politics and certain political strifes, be it local or country or world wide in the past year, but for me personally, I've had a most contented year. Both of my adult kids are doing well and getting a chance for their dreams...Erik has dropped away from the financial system of his career and has become a full-time professor at a college in Houston while Irene, our daughter, is furthering her ministry and religious counselorship for abusive lifestyles of others; of those inflicted... she had first hand experience in that kind of situation and now she will commit her life to helping others. On Christmas Day, when Irene called us, I talked to both the boys also. Our oldest grandson became a "man" this year; he's now 21 and still has a love interest, the same sweet gal, Shawna. Dillon, our youngest grandson, is in high school and doing well. Oh he let me in on a secret, just between the two of us; he likes dark haired girls and big boobs...hehehehe!! But, his main interest today is Civil War in school. He loves the history. I guess that comes along with the territory...his grandfather, uncles, mother and distant relation were all 'into history'. We, as a family, have been blessed having jobs and steady means of financial stability. Healthwise, we have been only inflicted with flu, everything with my heart seems 'healed', tho I realize I have a heart condition. I don't dwell on it. Bud is stubborn enough to stay healthy. LOL...I'm thankful. As for the rest of my 'immediate family'...nieces, nephews, brothers and sister, they all seem well and happy. I've also learned to keep my interests low key. I've found that I like to drive around the many miles of coast and go birdwatching...just to find species of the feathered friends I never knew existed. I'm more or less a contented 'home body'. I just don't feel the need to go far across the continent to find happiness. 2010 has been a quiet, very peaceful year and I hope 2011 is the same. I've learned that Scarlett O'Hara had the right idea...."Tomorrow IS another day".

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ME...happy new year to all!! And as Tiny Tim from another Dickens' character said...."God Bless us, everyone".

edition #64




[click to play a short 'tribal beat' for ambiance!]




She's ba-a-ck!!! I love humor, I love joking, I love laughter. Hope you will too. My thirteen this week comes from a wise ol' lady named Jefé [pronounced HEH fay in Spanish slang - meaning 'boss or chief', being in this case, a "chieftress" but I like Jefé - you guessed it, I really DO have chin whiskers'] These are thirteen tried and true living experiences from the aged one with her keen perception on life-------




1] When you have a package that has "Open Here", STOP! Opening somewhere else, in any other room, may be hazardous.

2] Never sleep with a drip! Call the plumber!

3] I suggested there be two horns on a vehicle; that talk! One would say "Get off the road you S O B!!" --The other one: "Oops, sorry!"

4] It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats.
[insert tribal talk "ratatooie boomagoobaloo" here]

5] The severity of the itch is proportional to inability to the reach it.

6] The early bird gets the worm. But it's a fact that the 2nd mouse gets the cheese!!

7] I tried it already -You can't set your laser printer on 'stun'!!!

8] A see-through nightie is popular 'cause love ISN'T blind like people say it is!!

9] Sniffing Coke with ice cubes is not kosher!

10] Drink white wine with fish. And if you must...white grapes with sushi!!

11] Trust me...gaining weight is not caused by jogging backwards.
[insert tribal talk "backawardz nogotumstepazzulu" here]

12] Latest survey shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the world's population.

13] Don't just stand there doing nothing! You won't know when you're finished.

~end Thursday 13
[scroll down for comment link]



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Weekly, we go to the Half Price Book Store in town. It's like a thrift shop, they're putting out different books every day, almost all day long. So we try to go at least once a week. And I have a list of books/and or subjects that I always take with me. And search the shelves for those particular ones.

And with me, when I do find something of interest, I take it home. And no matter if I have a book on my nightstand that is being read, I have to stop reading that one and open the ones I had found that day. Of course, it was just that way this week.

I'm in the middle of reading:


"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by H. Jacobs; it's an excellent book. It was on my list of books to search for at the HPBooks. Mary, at Mary's Writing Nook, suggested it some time ago. Of course, it's a troubled life of a slave girl, and I'm, like I said, about half way through it. While I'm reading this, I have had so many questions regarding her being hidden for years, and why she wanted so desperately to become free after her children were given their freedom. Yes, I know ---it's slavery! But she was never mistreated, physically, but still had a strong distaste for her 'owner'. Still, while reading this memoir, I'm thinking...being cooped up in her grandmother's attic that is only three feet high at its highest, for years, becoming more or less a cripple because of it....why not go back and enjoy the last few years of her life being his daughter's mistress? I'm just not sure my own pride would allow me to become so diligent to accept days, months, years being in darkness and losing so much of my own life to not choke down my dignity and live a bit more 'normal' [although still in slavery of course] --with food on the table, clothing, daylight, comfortable sleep, the little bit of luxuries of living I would think more needed. Of course, I've only lived a lifestyle OF FREEDOM, so it's probably best I didn't live back then, right? I guess I have to read the rest of the book to find the answers to my quandary.

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Okay, so I found this other book on the 'clearance shelf' for $1.00 this week!! And as usual, I had to pick this one up and begin perusing the pages. It is of another favorite subject of mine. And it's a biography [one of my favorite kinds of literature!] This one is on:

A British Library selection of "writers' lives'....CHARLES DICKENS. I read from his early childhood years 1812 through to when he arrived in American in 1842 so far. I just love reading these written works. I read about how he came about writing the "Pickwick Papers" and his pay. Fighting for the rights of copyrighted work. His marriage, his father's inability to stay out of debt, his children and his long hours of working to make ends meet.
...of how he met and fell in love with Catherine. Marrying her and having children with her. [I also read about his first real 'true love', Maria Beadnell....tho, because of his stature and position in England because of his father's debt, he was finally snubbed by Maria by her father's insistence. The photo to the left, taken from the book, is of Dickens's wife Catherine in 1852; just after giving birth to their tenth child, Plorn.
I look forward to completing this book. I can then go back and re-read several of Dickens's works like Great Expectations, Pickwick Papers, Nicholas Nickleby, A Tale of Two Cities, and have a lot more background in mind; knowing just who the characters are and who they really represent from his own life's story. It amazes me how so many of the characters so well known from his writing is now a bit more clear on just how the people evolved in his mind and his work; taking them from his own life!! This photo is of Charles Dickens and his family at Gad's Hill.


Y'all CAN read the "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" online here.

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April 15:
HEADS - Tip
*OR*
TAILS - Anything that rhymes with Tip

I did this category in error a couple of weeks ago when Skittles changed the theme to something else unbeknown by me. I think this was when the Heads Or Tails got fame....got its own blog. Anyway, I'll work again and come up with something new.

Besides, I like a challenge. Y'all know that by now.

So.......tip or rhyming with tip, huh? Okie Dokie!!

Trip, sip, dip, flip, grip, hip [my hip is aching yes indeedy! Sitting at the computer desk for eons right now...I've become glued...joints ache.], now where was I? Oh yes...hip. Gyp [is that how it's spelled? G Y P? Like as in disappointing? What a gyp. Guess so...the spell checker isn't correcting me anyway. Lip, nip, pip, as in pip squeek. LOL Quip, rip, snip, whip, yip, and zip!!

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Pip, and the character Mrs. Havisham
[courtesy of Charles Dickens Museum]




Out of those mentioned above, I'm going to choose "PIP". Another kind of pip; not pip squeek. Ever hear of the classic novel by Charles Dickens? "Great Expectations"? I have always had a 'thing' for Literature and I loved reading this story. It was an assigned read for me in Junior High School and the story was so well written that even today I can remember it precisely. It's about a boy named Pip....


I would have to say that the story, Great Expectations, is one of the most important novels of its time, and still can follow through today's footsteps of a boy growing and learning. It follows the life of young Pip, from his 'awakening' to life. This first chapter is worth memorizing for you or to impress your friends; the very first line is great in itself: "My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip". Great literature! It goes on to tell the story of a young working class lad in England, who inherits a fortune from an unknown source and becomes a true gentleman in the sense of the era in which Pip lives. In this process, he meets the beautiful Estelle and falls in love. The fact that he feels unworthy and the truth about his benefactor, loom large in his mind. It is the answers to these questions that leave us thinking about this tale, the characters, and what it means to have status [even today]. The phenomenal author, Dickens, wrote this such a long time ago, yet it still could hold true today; though I wonder how many self-made men can call themselves gentlemen today? I can't think of any myself, but maybe a few - and they're not wealthy in terms of money, but the CAN carry themselves with pride and dignity. I'm sure there are some wealthy, dignified men out there....somewhere. I just don't know any personally except for my reading Great Expectations...only in fiction.

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Speaking of 'tip' ---Being April 15th, U S A tax deadline day.....I would be certain to NOT claim any TIP money.

Have you ever noticed that on our tax form ---at least on my income tax [Form] 1040 it says "Check this box if you are blind". [think about it]

If the chance of getting a tax audit is 1000 to 1, why is it 50/50 that it will be you?
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There was a man who computed his taxes for 1997 and found that he owed $3407. He packaged up his payment and included this letter:
Dear IRS: Enclosed is my 1997 Tax Return & payment. Please take note of the attached article from the USA Today newspaper. In the article, you will see that the Pentagon is paying $171.50 for hammers and NASA has paid $600.00 for a toilet seat.Please find enclosed four toilet seats (value $2400) and six hammers (value $1029). This brings my total payment to $3429.00. Please note the overpayment of $22.00 and apply it to the 'Presidential Election Fund', as noted on my return. Might I suggest you the send the above mentioned fund a '1.5 inch screw'. (See attached article - HUD paid $22.00 for a 1.5 inch Phillips Head Screw.) It has been a pleasure to pay my tax bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year. I just saw an article about the Pentagon and 'screwdrivers'.

Sincerely,

I. Getscrewed Everyear

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While taking a short lunch break this Monday from my housework, and before I did that four letter chore...yes, it's a four letter word I just hate to hear spoken...but it had to be done ---- I R O N--I visited a few of my blogging friends while eating my turkey sandwich. And when I arrived at Mary's she surprised me with this most beautiful award! She says:

Anni at Hootin' Anni's - Thank you for helping me with things you are knowledgeable about whenever I ask.

I say to her, Mary, I'm speechless again. What a loving thing to pass on. And I just LOVE the words...and the song recorded by Bette Middler. It always makes me tearful the words are so touching....and this award did the very same!! Thanks again.