A New Interest

Charles Rennie MacIntosh and Frank Lloyd Wright

My new interest that I will now be looking up everything I can find is the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain and the US. The artist/architect Charles Rennie MacIntosh and Frank Lloyd Wright really caught my attention this weekend at the Arts of the Apostles Exhibit at the Art Institute in Chicago.

Now I had a passing interest in the Arts and Crafts movement years ago when I lived in a Craftsman Bungalow in Oklahoma, but now I have an avid interest in researching both MacIntosh and Wright.

I would love to go back to Scotland and see some of the original MacIntosh designs.

For now I will have to settle for finding out all I can in books and on the web.

Saint Vincent De Paul

Yesterday I attended a dinner at my church. Every Tuesday I volunteer at the Saint Vincent De Paul food pantry at our church. My job is to record the names and address of the people who come to get food. The food pantry that we get our food from requires record keeping, to insure that the commodities are not being wasted.

My girls hand out the bags of food to the people. The hungry get a bag of dry goods and a bag of fresh foods which always includes a protein, usually a meat like chicken or turkey. Large families get two bags of the dry goods.

I see the same people every week, or every other week. I feel like they are my friends. It is very humbling to stand and have conversations with these people who are down on their luck and trying to feed their families.

We used to think that if we had 25 people in line it was a lot. Well this last Tuesday we handed out food to 46 families, and that didn't seem so bad as we have had up to 70 families at times in the half hour that we are there to distribute food.

Our church decided to have a dinner for the clients of SVDP and the volunteers. At first I didn't really want to go. I had to work all day then go and be friendly. But, I went and I have to say that it was one of the best experiences ever. There were a lot of volunteers and I didn't have much to do, but sit and talk to the people and eat with them. It was richly rewarding.

So here are a few quotations that I was inspired to read and want to share.

Charity is commendable; everyone should be charitable. But justice aims to create a social order in which, if individuals choose not to be charitable, people still don’t go hungry, unschooled or sick without care. Charity depends on the vicissitudes of whim and personal wealth; justice depends on commitment instead of circumstance. Faith-based charity provides crumbs from the table; faith-based justice offers a place at the table. Bill Moyers

The Seven Social Evils: 
Wealth Without Work 
Pleasure Without Conscience 
Knowledge Without Character 
Commerce Without Morality 
Science Without Humanity 
Worship Without Sacrifice 
Politics Without Principles Ghandi

To a man with an empty stomach food is God Ghandi

There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread. Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 25 (1948)

Can't Help Falling in Love with you

Today Elvis would have been 75 years old. Here's to you Elvis, Happy birthday. Gone too soon.

My favorite song is from my favorite movie, Blue Hawaii. Always think about my friend Ang when I watch and about Steve when I listen. NPR is streaming his greatest hits. It is a great snowy day to work and listen to Elvis.

Can't help falling in love with you.

Snow Satisfied

I have to say I am snow satisfied. The snow began last evening soft and small and light. It snowed all night, 3 inches by the time I woke for work.

My darling daughter Regena shoveled the drive while I prepared our lunch and breakfast to go for the day.

We drove on snow covered streets early in the morning. The car lights on the new fallen snow gave a luster to the beautiful morning. We had no trouble, it was an easy snow on which to drive.

We arrived at work and I opened the window shades, fairly soon the snowflakes were enormous and the scene outside the window was perfection.

So here again is my favorite Christina Rossetti poem (which is also a fabulous song that was done as a solo at church recently by a brilliant singer)

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen,

snow on snow

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, Long ago.

If only i knew how to ski or snowshoe!

Automobiles and random thoughts

"When Solomon said there was a time and a place for everything he had not encountered the problem of parking his automobile. Bob Edwards

"In my case, the listener is often in an automobile driving to work. You can concentrate on the road while still getting an audio message that can be riveting. Bob Edwards

Okay my thoughts are all over the place this morning, but all seem to be connected in some random way.

Firstly, my car is in the shop. My beloved Hero was coughing and spitting on start up, but then rallying and driving beautifully, so I took her to the car doctor to see what's up. Hopefully she will be back with me soon.

Secondly, I was talking to Steve just last night as he was chauffeuring me and my daughter around, about Bob Edwards from NPR and how I used to love waking up to the sound of his voice. It took me a few minutes to come up with his last name, but I had Bob. So what better quote to use about cars, than Bob Edwards. I thought that was pretty awesome to find those quotations, when I am thinking about my car and about Bob Edwards.

Thirdly, If I could afford a new car I might just go for a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid!

Next, oh no! I have totally lost the last thought! Well I have to say at least that I have the best friends in the world and the best man. They rose to the occasion when i was in need and I thank them and love them.

Oh yes, I remember, I looked at the quotes of the day on this blog and saw Howard Nemerov, I actually met him and he spoke in one of my classes so many years ago. I was transported to a previous time with that quote and the love quote of the day

"Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other." Rainer Maria Rilke I love that quote and I find Ranier Maria Rilke very interesting.

I have a great dream post involving a giant Eagle and a stick man and dog, but I will save that one for another day.

Gaily bedight

A gallant knight

In sunshine and in shadow

Had journeyed long

Singing a song

In search of Eldorado

But he grew old-

This knight so bold-

And o'er his heart a shadow

Fell as he found

No spot of ground

That looked like Eldorado

And, as his strength

Failed him at length

He met a pilgrim shadow-

"Shadow," said he,

"Where can it be-

This land of Eldorado?"

Over the Mountains

Of the Moon,

Down the Valley of the Shadow,

Ride, boldly ride,"

The shade replied-

If you see for Eldorado

Edgar Allan Poe

There you have it, an american genius, Edgar Allan Poe. It is a great poem; he was an interesting man.

Had to get the poem out and read it today after wrapping up in a blanket and watching El Dorado. I love John Wayne. I love his movies, most of them anyway, some I like better than others. El Dorado is one of my favorites. Not only do I get to watch The Duke, the movie stars Robert Mitchum and James Caan (whose character, Mississippi, recites the poem throughout the film, so excellently.

It is funny however that I always think the line is "Ride boly Ride" instead of boldly. I don't know if that is because I have always missed the actual word, or if they wrote it that way for the movie. It is absolutey marvelous in any case.

Now I want to watch more John Wayne and get out the collected works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Time for a great movie

"Have you ever loved a woman Razin?" Dr. Zhivago

The new year has begun with bitterly cold weather! A perfect opportunity to build a fire in the fireplace and put a film in the dvd player. What better movie to watch than Dr. Zhivago.

The best time to watch those frozen scenes is when the weather is cold and brisk.

While I have to admit, it is one of the most depressing films ever, I just love to watch it in January. My favorite person in the entire film is Tonya. She is good and kind throughout the entire film, when she was wealthy and when she was very poor. Even when her husband trotted off to Yuriatin to "visit the library".

Now I cannot despise Zhivago. The poet in him is so lovely. I mean he did choose Tonya and was going back, but fate intervened. Not sure that I ever liked Lara. She was weak from the get go.

But I do love the imagery in the film and I love being snuggled up and watching in the cold cold month of January.