NaBloPoMo #6

NaBloPoMo #6 - Talk about the opening of your favourite book.

I have so many wonderful books that I could write about today.  Several years ago (actually I just looked inside the front cover and it was in 2000!),  the mother of one of my students gave me Ken Follet's first book, The Pillars of the Earth, as a Christmas gift.  She was a former English teacher who loved historical fiction - we were kindred spirits in that way.  All of this was long before the book became wildly popular.  I read it over the Christmas holidays that year and enjoyed every page!

The book is set in medieval England and opens with a prologue where in 1123 AD a hanging happens in the village square.  As a young man hangs, a teenaged pregnant woman places a curse on a knight, a monk and a priest, who were at the court when the young thief was convicted.  From this scene, the book jumps to 1135 and begins to trace the career of Tom, a builder and his son, Alfred.   Tom has a dream to work on a cathedral but suddenly finds himself out of work.   Moving on with his family, while travelling through the woods, they are attacked by thieves who steal the family's pig.  It's in the woods that they meet Ellen, the young woman who had delivered the curses earlier, now has a son and is considered a witch.

The novel continues to follow the paths of these first characters and the author skillfully interweaves their stories to give us a glimpse into the people who lived and worked in England at this time.  The  first theme we see is how the power of nobility and church resulted in much social inequality and hardship for common classes.  Another theme that the author creates is the development of trade guilds and the creative thinking of builders, using new ideas and ways of building.  The use of the arch revolutionized building techniques, especially in cathedrals being built at this time.   The story has several strong women characters and they are developed in ways quite contrary to the social norms of the day ( a theme that I always enjoy).

Follett is an excellent storyteller and always holds my attention, in this case through 983 paperback pages.  The word pictures he paints are vivid and full of rich imagery.  He brings his characters right to life and continually surprises readers with the interconnected weavings of people, events and buildings. To paraphrase the back cover, intrigue, power, passion and romance form the outline of the story.

I loved it 12 years ago - and I still love it!

NaBloPoMo - #3

Halloween 2012 

I was so surprised to run and open the door after the doorbell rang and see 7 - yes, seven! - trick or treaters standing there!  We never get that many kids at one time ever!  They crowded into the entryway and I started to recognize faces from my days of subbing at the local school. 

Little Miss S was surprised to see me - “Mrs. K, I didn’t know you lived here!” 

As I dropped bags of chips, boxes of Smarties, and bars of KitKats into their pillowcases, one bigger boy piped up with “It smells like chicken in here.”  

“Yes,” I said, “if I had known you were coming, I would have made some for you.”  

“Hey, can I trade candy for chicken?” was his immediate response!

I’m sure I will remember that response each and every Halloween from now on because it was so spontaneous and so unique.  Candy for chicken - imagine!!  Who would have thought I’d hear that on Halloween night?  It was probably his stomach screaming for protein after a long day of sugary treats!

(Using an idea from Write.Click.Scrapbook)

NaBloPoMo #2

National Blogging Post Month

Prompt #2 - If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

W - e - l - l - --- it would have to be somewhere close to most of my family!  I would not be happy if I lived far away from all of them and could only see them once a year.  I'm so blessed to be able to drive to my parents, my sisters and brothers, and three of our four children (sorry, M!).  I like being able to celebrate birthdays, to watch the milestones as they grow up, to cheer at games and sporting events, to bake pies and watch flowers grow together.   I am content living on our farm with its wide open spaces, beautiful views and tall trees.

One of the things I like best about living in a cold climate is the definite change in seasons - the leaves greening up the bare limbs of trees in springtime, the long evenings of summer, the gorgeous coloured leaves of autumn and the hoarfrost and snowflakes of winter.  I'll take short trips to here and there and everywhere over leaving our home and our province to move somewhere far away.  There are so many wonderful places that we've visited and I know there are many more just waiting for us to explore!

But the old adage that there's no place like home really does ring true for me.  I'm always happy to travel and then I'm happy to come home again.  I'll be calling this place home for many years to come, I hope.

National Blog Posting Month

Over at BlogHer, November has the distinction of being National Blog Posting Month (otherwise known as NaBloPoMo).  The idea is to write and share something every single day for the month.  I'm in!  After the busy-ness of summer and fall, I'm ready to focus on writing and sharing more.  Plus I love the idea of recording some thoughts and memories of this time in my life.  Feel free to check it out and join in - I'd love to visit you and read your posts so let me know where to find you :)

The prompt for November 1is "what's your favourite quote and why".

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to Words and different ones speak to me on different days depending on my mood, what season it is and the things about which I'm praying.  I went back and looked at everything I'd collected on my board.  What a pleasant surprise to read some that I'd tucked away and forgotten about!

Many of my favourite words come from the Bible.  There are promises in Isaiah, comfort in the Psalms, words from Jesus in the gospels, and wisdom from Paul in his writings.  This quote isn't a scripture but the words speak straight to my heart.  God is always there, He loves me more than I can understand and He promises all that I need as He looks after it all.

And I also love these words.  I've always been interested in women's issues and in helping women around the world.  It's fascinating to see how women survive, work hard to support their families and what they do to make life better - all the while smiling and encouraging each other.  Perhaps it's because I have three daughters and now four granddaughters that I love so much and of whom I've so very proud that these words speak so clearly to me.