Amber's (scaifea) Thread #6

Hey, everybody!

I'm Amber, a one-time Classics professor, turned stay-at-home parent/lady of leisure, turned part-time library assistant, turned once again Classics professor. I spend my free time sewing, writing, knitting, baking, and, of course, reading.

My reading life is happily governed by lists, which means that I read a healthy variety of things across various genres.

I'm 45 going on 12 and live in Ohio with my husband, Tomm; our son, Charlie, and Mario the Golden Retriever.

Here I am in Dr. Scaife Mode (you can tell that because my hair is, for once, actually combed and not just in a messy bun):



Favorite Books from 2020
The Lumberjanes collected comic volumes
Call Down the Hawk
New Kid
The Wise Man's Fear
The Slow Regard of Silent Things
Pride and Prejudice
Silver in the Wood
A Tale of Two Cities

What I'm Reading Now:
-Lord Foul's Bane (BSF Award)
-Ready Player Two (series read)
-The Goalkeeper's Revenge (1001 Children's Books)
-The Henna Wars (romance list)
-The Moonstone (audiobook)
-Farmer Boy (family bedtime read-aloud)
-Memoirs of a Geisha (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob)
-The King of Elfland's Daughter (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books)

Books on Deck:
-Guard of Honor (Pulitzer list)
-Uncle Silas (books by year - 1864)
-(an unread book from my shelves)
-(a book from my Read Soon! shelves)
-The Experience of Insight (Buddhist reading list)
-A Likely Story (cozy mysteries)
-Henry VI Part 1 (Shakespeare re-read)
-The Ugly American (Banned Books)
-The Worm Ouroboros (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list)

The five-ish or so books I have going at once and the On Deck books nearly all come from the following categories and lists:

1. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).

2. A children's book, for Charlie's library. I'm trying to collect books from various award lists, and I like reading them before reading them to Charlie or deciding to add them to Charlie's shelves. For this category, I’m currently working through three lists:
a. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die
b. The Newbery Honor books
c. Cooperative Children's Book Center list

3. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.

4. A list I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob: The Hugo/Nebula/WFA/Bram Stoker (and other) lists (combined, in chronological order)

5. For this category, I cycle through 9 different stacks:
a. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
b. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
c. John Boyne bibliography (in chronological order, sort of)
d. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
e. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
f. Maggie Stiefvater's bibliography (in chronological order)
g. The NEH Timeless Classics list
h. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
i. The Pulitzer list (in alpha order by author)

6. An unread book from my shelves.

7. A book from my Read Soon! shelves.

8. A book on Buddhism or from the Dalai Lama's bibliography.

9. Book-a-year challenge: Three years ago, along with a few others in this group (*cough* Paul *cough*), I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've since been trying to fill in the gap years.

10. A book from the couple of series that I'm reading together with my mom.

11. A full-on re-read through Shakespeare's stuff.

12. A read-aloud-to-Charlie-at-bedtime book (or two).

13. An audio book, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/drive.

14. A romance novel, using as a guideline an excellent list of authors and works curated by lycomaflower (I know virtually nothing about this genre, but I now work in a library where many, many lovely people come through to check out books of this genre, and I want to know something about it).

15. This slot is reserved for books that just grab me and shout that they need to be read Right Now.

Books Read

JANUARY
1. Spinning Silver (Alex Award) - 10/10 = A+
2. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches (Stiefvater bibliography) - 8/10 = B
3. Manchild in the Promised Land (Banned Books list, AlphaKIT: M) - 9/10 = A-
4. The Wish Giver (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10 = B
5. Silas Marner (audiobook) - 8/10 = B-
6. The Story of Tracy Beaker (1001 Children's Books) - 8/10 = B-
7. Thick as Thieves (series reread) - 10/10 = A+
8. Lumberjanes #16: Mind over Mettle (series read) - 10/10 = A+
9. Pilgrimage (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10 = C
10. Each Tiny Spark (Schneider Honor Book) - 7/10 = C
11. The House on the Borderland (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list) - 6/10 = D
12. Beyond Religion (books on Buddhism) - 9/10 = A
13. Outlander (romance list) - 6/10 = D
14. Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun (Newbery Honor Book) - 7/10 = C
15. Far Away Across the Sea (1001 Children's Books) - 10/10 = A+
16. The Daylight Gate (Read Soon! Shelves) - 8/10 = B-
17. The Queen of Attolia (family bedtime read-aloud) - 10/10 = A+
18. Works and Days & Theogony (Myth course readings) - 9/10 = A-
19. The Book Thief (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob) - 10/10 = A+
20. Return of the Thief (series read) - 10/10 = A+

FEBRUARY
21. The Bacchants (myth course reading) - 9/10 = A
22. Camp (romance) - 8/10 = B+
23. Song of a Whale (Schneider Award) - 8/10 = B-
24. Gardens of the Moon (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list) - 4/10 = F
25. Oedipus Rex (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
26. Antigone (Myth course readings) = 10/10 = A+
27. Agamemnon (Mytho course readings) - 10/10 = A+
27. Upon the Head of a Goat (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10 = B
27. Volcano (Newbery Honor Book) - 7/10 = C
30. A Promised Land (audiobook) - 8/10 = B+
31. The Stone Book Quartet (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10 = C+

Able Baker Charlie:



Mario and her friend, Frencisco:

The next one is yours - come on in!

Happy new one!

>7 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

This weekend's baking efforts, A Valentinesy cake and Pesto Swirl Bread:





The cake decorating is, admittedly, slightly lacking in the fancy and tidy departments, but it tastes pretty darned good (just a plain yellow cake, but lovely nonetheless).

Happy number 6, Amber.

>9 scaifea: Take your word on the tasty cake - the bread looks scrumptious.

Happy new thread, Amber.
Your pictures are very beautiful and appetizing.
That's why I'm leaving. I'm hungry.

>10 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul - I suspect we'll be seeing your #6 soonish.

Are you implying that my cake isn't tasty-looking, sir? How. Dare. (#kidding)

>11 SirThomas: Thanks, Thomas! Aw, stay and have some cake and bread! Calorie-free here in the threads...

Happy new thread, Amber. Cake looks great!

Re: Jessica Jones - it is good and Tennant is amazing as the villain but it's pretty dark (there's a major plot line involving sexual assault). Also it's a Netflix show for grown ups so the sex scenes are on the more graphic end of the spectrum and I know you mentioned Charlie wasn't super comfortable with those.

24. Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list) - 4/10 = F
So, there's a baddie sorceress woman who's made herself Empress, some other unsavory sorcerer-types who want to depose her, a handful of soldiers of various types, a bunch of fighting, and...? Other...stuff? Honestly, I couldn't be arsed to pay the attention needed to sort through all of this business. I like high fantasy. I really, very much do. But this was nuts. Erikson tries to set out his world building all at once in a big brain dump right in the first few pages and it's just too much. Then he seems to realize how unwieldy that is and around page 10 starts trying to lay more of it out in the hint-hint-nudge-nudge way (having characters make off-hand references to geographic and ethnic details and then just leaving them there as foreshadows to be sorted out later), but this is also at best clumsy and unwieldy and at worst just very much more confusing-making. If any of the characters or plot details had grabbed me, I would have tried to shuffle on, but by 50 pages in, nothing had yet seemed worth the massive effort it feels like it would take to sort it all out. And that shouldn't really be my job as the reader, so yeah. I'm jumping ship.

>13 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

And thanks for the heads up about JJ. Tomm has watched it and hasn't said much about content worries with Charlie and I trust his judgement, but I appreciate the thought and I'll definitely keep it in mind.

📚 Booked.

>16 PersephonesLibrary: *big smile* Thanks, Käthe!

Oh, and another myth class meme for Micky and Käthe:

Hiyah! Happy new thread! I have to admit it's fun that I have someone who posts Zeus memes...

Happy new thread and happy Sunday!! Hope it's a good one for you.

Whew. Got here before this thread galloped any farther down the page.

First, the notary was a shit and you had every right to speak up or even leave the room until your physical presence was required, or ask the notary to leave the room until her physical presence was required, or ask to meet in a bigger space (if that would have helped you). You have every right to report this to the bank, on the grounds of regard for those who come after you in this situation. I myself have spoken up to people on the subway (which alas is getting more crowded now, but this was back when it was not crowded), and found that by even-toned insistence I managed to shame people into compliance, at least until I was out of range.

Yesterday on the subway I was uncomfortable even though everyone was wearing masks properly in my vicinity, at least, because occupancy was just at the every-seat-is-filled point. I preferred to stand a little away from the seats. The museum we visited was supposedly monitoring the volume of the crowd, and again, everyone was masked properly, but it was a lot more crowded than I would have thought it would be.

To talk of more cheerful things, yes! for a group tutorial on The Bacchae or any other of the Greek plays. Yesterday in the middle of something else, I thought 'oh, I can ask Amber', but I don't recall what that was about. (Hm, might be coming back to me - I'll circle back if it does).

>19 drneutron: Ha! Thanks, Jim! My students seem to like 'em, too.

>20 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba!

>21 ffortsa: Thanks, Judy, for the support - I appreciate it. And wow, that subway ride would have been so far beyond possible for me. Just thinking about it is making my heart speed up a bit.

I am definitely here for a group read of a classical text! If enough people are interested, let's do it!

>18 scaifea: LOL, he's such a creep. I wish for a drama where Hera puts him to his place for once. Like there was that book about Odysseus and Penelope.

>24 PersephonesLibrary: Yup, I just showed that Pandora one to my class last week (and we talked about how important it is that it was a *jar* and not a *box*).

Hera is problematic all on her own, too. Taking her frustrations at Zeus out on the poor girls he rapes. And she's not really angry that he's cheating on her; she's angry that he's undermining her power/authority. Fascinating stuff, really.

Happy new thread!

It's good to know that continuing threads is once again a thing!

Boy is it better if the gods don't notice you.

Happy new thread, Amber!

I also enjoy the Zeus memes, keep them coming :-)

>24 PersephonesLibrary: >25 scaifea: Is unjarring a word?

>25 scaifea: I know - we have talked about the box-jar-part. It still made me smile. 😊

>26 quondame: Susan: Yup. Hence the concept in general behind not actually saying a god's name out loud. Best to stay under the radar with them as much as possible. The Greeks didn't have it as much as other cultures, but there were certain gods where that was the case. The Furies, in particular: they would shy away from calling them "furies" (Erinyes) and instead preferred to call them Eumenides, or "The Kindly Ones." Might as well try to flatter them while you're at it, I suppose.

>27 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! And *snork!* I love the idea of "unjarring"!

>28 PersephonesLibrary: I liked it enough to show it to my students, so...

Just catching up on threads and saw that you finished AoS. I thought it was a bittersweet ending.
I have yet to watch JJ - it is in my list of shows to catch up on. I think I mentioned before that Agent Carter was similar to AoS for me. It made me appreciate the carry-over on AoS.
We are watching WandaVision now, and while it is strange, the story arc is beginning to pick up and make sense. And from what I have been reading is opening up many possibilities for Marvel on Disney+.

>15 scaifea: Whatever your next Marvel show is, I look forward to your reactions.

>18 scaifea: *snort* Jokes about Zeus are my fave.

Here's to a week with only considerate and lovely people. :)

>31 jayde1599: Hi, Jess! Bittersweet is the best kind of ending, I think. I loved it, anyway.

Tomm is leaning toward taking a break from Marvel shows and picking the Bourne movies for his picks. *sigh* I'd rather have Agent Carter, to be honest, but, well, it's his pick...

And I just want them to get going on the Loki show. *SIGH*

>32 MickyFine: Aw, thanks, Micky! See above: it may be a little while before we get back to Marvel shows (btw: when I point blank asked Tomm about JJ, he agreed that it may be a bit much for Charlie, so yeah).

And yay for the snort! I'll keep the myth memes coming, then.

>33 PersephonesLibrary: Oh, wow, Käthe, I can't think of a better wish for the start of the week. Thank you! And I'm wishing you the same.

Today's Agenda:
When I woke up this morning, I was actually full-on angry that it's Monday morning. Just...gross.

Anyway.

Prep for classes, grade Latin quizzes and myth assignments, keep and eye on Charlie's schoolwork, office hours, teaching.

On the reading front:
I made progress with Lord Foul's Bane, Upon the Head of a Goat, and A Promised Land yesterday. Not a bad reading day, really, plus I actually made it into the sewing room for a little while.

What We're Watching:
My pick last night, and I was inspired by Katie (? I think it was Katie?) to introduce Charlie to Grumpy Old Men. He LOVED it, as I knew he would. Walter Matthau is comedy gold.

Morning, Amber! Happy New Thread! Love the cozy topper. Good luck getting through this Monday.

>37 msf59: Morning, Mark! And thanks for the Monday luck!

Happy New Thread, Amber!

Thanks so much, Connie!

This one got a *huge* laugh in class:

Yay for Grumpy Old Men! (It was me who watched it recently.) I love Matthau, but also Burgess Meredith. So funny. I think I might pick the sequel when it's my turn to pick next.

Happy new thread!

>42 katiekrug: I was 97% certain it was you, Katie. And YES to Meredith! So hilarious. And those outtakes! I like the sequel a lot, too.

I don't remember much about the sequel, except Sophia Loren is in it.

And yes! to the out-takes. Maybe the best part of the movie :)

>44 katiekrug: Meredith is absolutely WILD in the sequel outtakes, as I recall...

Hi, Amber! The gorgeous and undoubtedly very tasty Southern Buttermilk Biscuits you made exactly three years ago appeared as a memory on my Facebook timeline today, as you used the recipe I previously did, but with much better results. I'll have to give that recipe another try soon, maybe even this week, as I probably won't have to work at all before next Monday.

>34 scaifea: Well, after WandaVison ends next month Falcon and the Winter Soldier starts next (March 19 and the new trailer looks good!) and if IMDb is to be believed, Loki will start right after that with release in May.

>35 scaifea: Sorry to hear about your case of the Mondays. Hang in there!

>41 scaifea: I am calling Pegasus a mareplane from now on.

>45 scaifea: - Well, that settles it. It'll be my next pick.

>9 scaifea: That cake!!! *drool*

>35 scaifea: I hate Mondays. It took me an hour and half for a 25 minute commute. We have icy roads and NO ONE WAS PREPARED. Ugh.

>46 kidzdoc: Hi, Darryl! Yes! The biscuit memory came up for me, too! And it's funny - I made them again just last week to have with our sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich dinner. So good.

>47 MickyFine: Oooh, May seems so far away, but thanks for the info, Micky! I'm interested in the Winter Soldier on, too (he's adorable, as is Falcon).

Ha! I'm glad you like mareplane - it does seem like a lost opportunity, really.

>48 katiekrug: Katie: YES!

>49 leperdbunny: Help yourself to some cake, Tamara! And I'm sorry for the awful commute. Yoicks.

>51 scaifea: My relation to time is always so wonky. At work I'm about to start ordering May titles so it doesn't seem that far away but if I think about it in a personal sense than it does seem like ages.

>53 MickyFine: Ha! That's definitely true.

>41 scaifea: LOL... May I suggest "neighngel"?

I love, love, love Grumpy Old Men - it's one of those movies I have watched since my childhood every two years or so.

>55 PersephonesLibrary: Käthe: *snork!* That one has the added bonus of looking like a Tolkien name! I love it!

And yay for the Grumpy Old Men love!! Such a funny movie.

Hi Amber my dear, happy new thread dear friend.

>57 johnsimpson: Thanks, John!

I think I'm late to the memes party but:



Happy new thread!

Happy new thread Amber.

>59 false-knight: *SNORK!* I shared that one with the class last week! I love that we're all so like-minded!

>60 fairywings: Thanks, Adrienne!

Today's agenda:
The usual: course prep, keeping an eye on Charlie's schoolwork, laundry, plus a trip to the library to pick up holds. French country chicken for dinner tonight, and then Tomm has his class plus a late meeting, so Charlie and I will have our QE watching evening.

On the reading front:
It was DC Night last night, which means that after I was finished teaching, I got to curl up in bed early with a book. I'm not about halfway through Upon the Head of a Goat and it's good, but I'm not exactly in the right headspace for a book about the Holocaust just now. I'll keep going for now, but I've got one foot out the door in case I decide it becomes too much. It's a Newbery Honor Book, so I don't expect it to get too awful, honestly. We'll see.

A Prometheus meme for you this morning:

Good morning, Amber! I don't have to work today — or, at least, not yet — so I'll shelter in place, cook and read.

>63 scaifea: Um. Umm...



ETA: Oh! Wait a minute...I know this one! (duh)

>64 kidzdoc: Hi, Darryl! Woot for the day off - I hope you get lots of good cooking and reading in.

And ha! I'm sorry if my meme befuddled you!

>65 scaifea: It hit me about five minutes after I read it. My knowledge of Greek mythology is rubbish, but I was able to recall Prometheus from the crypts of my memory.

>66 kidzdoc: Sounds like you need to sign up for my course, Darryl...

>67 scaifea: Good idea! I probably should...

>68 kidzdoc: Ooof, now what have I done? I suspect you'd be a Problem Student...

>69 scaifea: Undoubtedly. My phone would be pinging or ringing every 2-3 minutes, and I would be talking nearly as often to nurses, subspecialists, or ER doctors calling with admissions, and running out of the room every 10 minutes or so to see a patient or go to a Code Blue.

Where can I sign up?

>70 kidzdoc: *snork!*

You know, when I was teaching in an actual classroom, I had a cell phone policy: Anytime a cell phone went off in my class, EVERYONE immediately had to take a pop quiz. The beauty of it was that the students didn't get angry at me about it, but at the student whose phone rang. And in each class, if only ever happened once, if ever. Public shaming at its best.

These days I am blissfully unaware if a cell phone goes off, since the students are generally zoom-muted unless they're volunteering something during discussion or translating in the Latin class. And honestly, I'm okay with that.

>71 scaifea: Good policy!

Years ago I gave two 90 minute lectures a year to the first year physician assistant students at Emory University, where I completed my residency in Pediatrics, on Pediatric ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) and GU (Genitourinary) Disorders. I entered from the back of the class, facing the person who was giving the lecture before mine, and I could see what the students were doing. Originally it was a traditional lecture, with students taking notes onto their course books, which consisted of handouts the lecturers had compiled and submitted to the department, and practically all the students were paying attention to the lecturer. However, the last two years those course books were made available in digital format, and the students followed along on their laptops or tablets — or, at least, they were supposed to. The last year that I lectured I noticed that a significant minority if not the majority of students were watching ESPN, CNN or something other than their course books as the preceding lecturer spoke, and when it came time for me to lecture most of the students were largely disengaged and disinterested, especially those sitting in the back of the classroom, and it became significantly less enjoyable to appear in front of them, especially since there were far fewer questions asked during my lectures, which I encouraged and enjoyed answering. I stopped lecturing once my work schedule shifted and I was on vacation for the entire month of June, when these lectures were held, but I also lost interest in taking the time out of my busy schedule to talk at discourteous students who weren't paying attention to me or the other lecturers.

"French country chicken"

>72 kidzdoc: Darryl: Yeah. Back in the day, that was my worst fear: students with their laptops open and not paying attention to me at all. Now? Well, they *have* to have their laptops open because, well, Zoom. And now, even though my syllabus clearly states that participation grades depend upon their cameras being on, I still have some students who log into class and rarely turn those cameras on. Those are the students I call on most frequently and I sometimes catch them not paying attention or not responding at all. I take that opportunity to crack a joke or two with the other students about them and the embarrassment seems to be working (or that in combo with the fact that their participation grades are very low right now), because I have fewer and fewer camera-off boxes as the year goes on.

>73 katiekrug: Katie: *snork!* It's a recipe from my Gilmore Girls cookbook, so it can't be *that* fancy.

Now I want to watch 'Better Off Dead.'

*grin*

>75 katiekrug: *SNORK!!*

YES!

>77 katiekrug: *high five*

Hello Amber. Happy new thread!

>2 scaifea: I read The 1st and 2nd Chronicles of Thomas Covenant many years ago. I greatly enjoyed Lord foul's Bane. I especially enjoyed the character of the giant, Saltheart Foamfollower. Thomas Covenant himself was harder to like. I am sure that was purposeful. He is more of an anti-hero. I hope you are enjoying the book.

>79 brodiew2: Brodie: I'm hesitantly enjoying the Donaldson so far, and the hesitancy is all in Covenant's character because, as you say, he's not very likable. Donaldson seems to favor unsavory protagonists (I've read his Gap series and so am well versed), but his writing is fabulous, so I'm hanging in there for now.

>80 scaifea: My favorite Donaldson is Mordant's Need with likable protagonists. But he sure can get a story going without them. The Last Chronicles avoid the negative protagonist, but the invention seems strained.

I've tried several Donaldsons and have decided he's not for me. I can't stand any of his protagonists - too negative (to themselves). I won't comment about why I don't read Covenant (because it would be a spoiler) but the second one I tried was A Man Rides Through - which features an incompetent magic apprentice _who believes he's incompetent_, unlike the standard trope of "if you'll give me just one more chance I'm sure I'll get it right!" (and generally they do, eventually, someway); and a woman who hangs mirrors all through her house...to remind herself that she does exist. Eww. No. I admit I didn't finish the book, so I don't know if they improve any - but previous experience with Donaldson says they don't.

>81 quondame: >82 jjmcgaffey: Clearly with Donaldson, the problem is at least somewhat the point and he does it *very* well, which is why I haven't abandoned this one just yet. I did absolutely love the Gap Cycle when I read it, but that was absolute yonks ago and I've become less tolerant for that sort of thing over the years. We'll see how it goes.

>82 jjmcgaffey: But those two losers developed in spite of the abuse that had set them up to fail and did a tearing job of it. You were convinced of their self-accepted worthlessness but given the slim chances they were offered in the story they were not, but were persistent and managed to maintain their integrity. The climax of the duology is one of the best.

I'm not doing a very good job with keeping up with your threads this year.

OK, maybe I should try again. I do utterly love his concepts - the magic systems he thinks up are amazing.

>84 quondame: >86 jjmcgaffey: *waves*

>85 thornton37814: No worries, Lori.

Today's agenda:
Course prep, a bit of grading, office hours, helping Charlie if he needs it, teaching.

On the reading front:
I started The King of Elfland's Daughter yesterday and so far so good. I also made some progress with Upon the Head of a Goat and I'm still listening to A Promised Land in tiny bits here and there.

What We're Watching:
QE for Charlie and me last night. So good. So many tears.

Morning, Amber! That's it. That's the post. :)

>89 katiekrug: Morning, Katie! (That's it. That's the response.)

Ugh. Add "deal with Charlie's math teacher, yet again" to today's list. Yoicks. *grumblegrumble*

THIS time, she's returned his latest math exam back with only the auto-graded parts graded. The bits that SHE needs to grade herself are all marked incorrect (Tomm and I both have checked them and they're not wrong), which is the default setting until they are actually graded. So, she's clearly just...not graded it. I try to have patience with people and try to give them doubt-benefits. But. This is just the latest in a string of incompetencies with her. I am...annoyed.

>91 scaifea: what the ... ?! If this were the first issue I, too, would cut slack. But. oof.

Happy New Thread, Amber! (If it's less than 100, I guess I can call it new?)

I was going to ask you how Gardens of the Moon was going. I jumped ship on that one, too, and I'm not sure I made it as far as 50 pages. It's part of a series, IIRC, that has some fans, but honestly, I don't know how they do it.

Thanks again for your offer to make Frog and Toad. Over on my thread I posted a photo of what my cousin came up with - Debbi was a thrilled birthday girl.

>91 scaifea: Well, that's just unacceptable. I hope the parents of other kiddos in Charlie's class are paying as much attention as you are.

Also, what the hell with making the default grade "incorrect"? That's some poor software design, if you ask me.

>91 scaifea: Well, at least she didn't mark every blank answer on a workbook page with a big red check mark before sending the book home to a sick child who hadn't had a CHANCE to do the work yet...my sixth grade teacher did that to me. I wish I could refer you to my Mom for the rant that followed that bit of nonsense. 'Course I expect you are pretty good at that kind of thing yourself...

>92 lauralkeet: Laura: Yeah, this is just a latest in a long string of ridiculousness from her. I am approaching Fed Up City.

>93 jnwelch: Hi, Joe! (If it's new to you, it works for me!)

Gardens of the Moon: I chatted with someone who is a fan of the series, and he said that the second half of the first book gets *really* good, but I just didn't have the stamina to get there. I'm happy for Erikson that he's got fans; he doesn't need me among them, I think.

And yay for Frog and Toad! I saw the photo over on your thread and on FB. I'm so happy that she loves them, and it's a good thing you didn't take me up on the offer if you wanted them that quickly. My knitting skills are pretty good, I think, but they're much more snail-like than that!

Morning Amber! Sorry to hear about the issues with Charlie's math teacher. Hopefully everything else today has way less drama. Unless you're covering more Zeus hijinks in your teaching today. ;)

>94 rosalita: Julia: Agreed. I hope other parents are paying attention, too. I sort of suspect that this is her first year teaching, at least for this school, and I wonder if she'll last beyond it. I've already had one conversation with the principal - in the kindest terms I could muster - about her, and I bet I'm not the only one.

And I also agree about that default setting. I must be disconcerting to the kiddos when they hit the submit button on the exam and get a 58% spit back out at them, just because half the test hasn't been graded yet! It would have worried me sick as a kid. Charlie seems zen about it, at least.

>95 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: Wow. That's horrible! Well, I come from solid stock when it comes to holding teachers accountable. My mom has a history of leaving teachers in tears, once when one kept my brother after school for detention on the same day he got into trouble without notifying my parents, so the school bus came and went and he didn't get off (they were all for him serving detention if he deserved it, but it should have been with plenty of notice sent home first!), and once when my sister was sent home for wearing a too-short skirt - that time Mom marched into the principal's office wearing and even shorter skirt....

>97 MickyFine: The Zeus hijinks are secondary today, Micky - we're talking about Demeter and Persephone, initiation rites and mystery cults. Here's one of the memes they'll get this afternoon:

>99 scaifea: - Snork!

>98 scaifea: Excellent stories about your Mom.

>99 scaifea: Lol. Perfection.

" that time Mom marched into the principal's office wearing and even shorter skirt...." Oooh....very "Harper Valley PTA" worthy!

>99 scaifea: Love that!

>100 katiekrug: >103 justchris: Right? Too funny. I would watch the *hell* out of a movie with Keanu as Hades (pun absolutely intended).

>101 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! My mom is the best. You do NOT hurt her kiddos and escape her wrath.

>102 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: YES!

Mom in short skirt -- that's brilliant!

>105 lauralkeet: Right?! The absolute best.

>93 jnwelch:, >96 scaifea:, I love the Malazan Series and am up to book four in the series but they are serious Chunksters, my speciality, lol.

^Not technically a meme per se but I can't stop thinking about it.

Ugh, good luck with that math teacher. I had one who gave out extra credit points based on how many pull-ups you could do on the doorframe.

>107 johnsimpson: John: Ha! See, I *knew* there were fans out there! I'm glad you like them, John. If I just had a bit more patience, I might have fallen for them, too.

>108 false-knight: HAAAAHAHAHAHA!! I just showed the original artwork today in class! If only I'd known about this one... *sigh*

Still haven't heard back from Math Teacher. She's also not great at responding to emails in a timely fashion. *eye roll*

>109 scaifea: I think complaining to maths teacher’s boss would be appropriate by now if you’ve had problems in the past. Is it normal for maths for Charlie’s age to be auto-graded? How do they review their workings? I remember trying to drum it into Jacob’s head that ‘you must show the workings because you get marks for those’ until I was blue in the face.
On the opposite side of the fence, as Mr SandDune is now teaching all his lessons online I get to listen to him teach, which is quite interesting. He’s doing history as per normal, but also geography, PSHE (personal, social, health education) and business studies. As he stepped down from a senior role after Christmas they had to find him additional classes to make up for his management time, which is why he’s got a bit of a mismatch.

>110 SandDune: Rhian: I have talked with the principal once before about this teacher and I may have to do so again, especially since I *still* haven't received a response from her.
The exams are part multiple choice (work out the problem on your own and choose the correct answer) and part do-a-problem-and-show-your-work questions. Those last need to be hand graded, and she clearly just...didn't.

I've had to change the way I assess my students because of the Zoom Factor, but I'm honestly loving the new way, especially changing my Latin exams from written ones to one-on-one oral translation exams. Assessment as a conversation is so much more helpful all around.

Today's Agenda:
Class prepwork (tidying up from yesterday's teaching - recording attendance and participation notes - and then hunkering down with the Iliad readings for the myth class), keeping an eye on Charlie's course work, menu planning and grocery ordering.

Charlie has a meeting of his Author's Corner school club this afternoon, and they're going to read one of his stories today! The club is made up of kiddos in his online school from around the state, so he's excited that they'll be reading and discussing his work. He has a huge pile of notebooks full of stories and a second, virtual pile of stories saved on his laptop. Whenever he has finished his schoolwork for the day but needs to fill in more time (he must be doing school-related work for 5.5 hours a day to meet state requirements), he spends that time reading or writing, and really enjoys it. (If you haven't picked it up over that last 12 years, I'm a little bit proud that that kid.)

On the reading front:
Only a few non-work-related pages to report, all in Upon the Head of a Goat, although I do need to report on my myth class reading (I'll try to do that today).

What We're Watching:
Charlie's pick last night, so we watched a couple more Gilmore Girls episodes. We've officially entered the April Episodes. Ew.

Morning, Amber!

Good morning! Just what is French country chicken? It sounds yummy.

>114 katiekrug: Morning, Katie!

>115 leperdbunny: Morning, Tamara! It's essentially breaded and fried chicken breast, with some seasoning in the bread crumbs. Then, just as you take the chicken off the heat, you put a slice of cheese on top (the recipe I used called for muenster but I used smoked provolone instead because, well, ew).

Morning Amber. Which translation of the Iliad do you have your students reading?

>113 scaifea: Snort.

>117 MickyFine: Micky: The Stanley Lombardo one. Always. It is The Best.

>113 scaifea: LOL!

Oh my, I don't think I could stay polite with such a math teacher. As if the situation isn't difficult for everyone anyway...

But hurray to the story reading - you CAN be proud of him! I hope he will get valuable feedback!

>118 scaifea: Hey, that's the one I read in school! It is a really great translation. Do you have a favorite / recommended translation of the Aeneid?

>119 PersephonesLibrary: Yeah, the math teacher finally returned my email and it was not helpful at all (I'm shocked), so now I have to craft an email back that will relay my not-pleased-ness but also not be too mean (unlike my mom, I don't really want to make her cry). We'll see how that goes.

And Charlie got great feedback on his story! He was very excited and pleased.

>120 false-knight: Woot! Lombardo has a translation of the Aeneid, too, which is, again, my favorite. And his Odyssey. And his Hesiod (Works and Days & Theogony). I've met him a few times over the years, and he's a lovely person. He gives readings from his translations, and they're just amazing experiences because he's *very* good at it (I think you can find some examples on youtube). He's also, believe it or not, a zen master. Very cool guy.

Today's Agenda:
Weekly bill sorting, grocery pickup, some baking, some course prep, office hours, and more dealing with this Math teacher, apparently.

As I mentioned to Käthe, I heard back from the math teacher and her response was in no way helpful. So, must now respond with a probably passive-aggressive query as to exactly what the point of multi-point, show-you-work questions even are on an exam if partial credit isn't actually on offer and no feedback is left for the student to understand where he went wrong in the work he was requiRED TO SHOW?! *grumble* Just maybe...do your flipping job, woman. Gah.

But, on a happier, much less crazy-making note: the Author's Corner club *loved* Charlie's story! He said he received really good comments and he's definitely chuffed. And that makes me happy.

On the reading front:
I started Memoirs of a Geisha yesterday (and by "started" I mean I read two (TWO!) pages). And I'm nearly finished with Upon the Head of a Goat, plus I'm still plugging along with Obama's book. (It's good, but so LONG. I could do without some of the finer details about the economic crisis, I think.)

What We're Watching:
Thursday night, so GBBS. Next week will be the final for whatever series has Brendan and James in. Tomm and I are on opposing sides here, so that should be fun. We also watched about an episode and a half of Arrow before switching over the Britain's Best Home Cook, which is Charlie's favorite of the bunch.

Morning, Amber! Happy Friday. I really enjoyed Consider the Lobster. I remember liking Memoirs of a Geisha when I read it many years ago.

>123 msf59: Morning, Mark! I'm so happy that you liked the Wallace. I do love him tons and need to get round to Lobster soon. Memoirs has been on my radar for years, so it's good finally to be reading it!

Morning, Amber! I'd start off the message to the math teacher with "Dear Useless" and just go from there... :)

>125 katiekrug: Morning, Katie! *SNORK!* It's tempting, but in the end I went with something slightly less harsh. And then agonized over it for 20 minutes before hitting send. Because hello have you met me.

I'm sure your approach will work, too.

>127 katiekrug: Ha! Well, we'll see.

Good luck with your email to the teacher. Charlie is lucky that you and Tomm are able to help with his math. Nate is going to have to be the math man in our house as I am hopeless.

>129 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle. I'm not fabulous at math (although I can handle basic algebra, which is what he's doing now), but Tomm, as a physicist, is pretty well equipped there.

Happy Friday, Amber! What's baking today?

>131 MickyFine: Happy Friday, Micky! I just finished making Oaty Cereal Treats, which are like Rice Krispies Treats, but with Cheerios instead of RK, and with peanut butter and m&m's mixed in. Technically not baking, I suppose, since no ovens were involved, but that's this week's after-school snack. I love that the m&m's I ordered are Valentine-themed, plus the Cheerios are heart-shaped!

Those sound so cute and festive!

Hi Amber. Just doing my rounds on the threads I've starred. Happy Weekend!

>133 MickyFine: They are! And really easy, which makes me happy.
The recipe if anyone is interested:

Oaty Cereal Treats
Ingredients:
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 10 oz. mini marshmallows
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 5 cups Cheerios
• 1 cup M&M’s

1. Place butter and marshmallows in a large bowl and microwave 1-2 minutes or until puffed.
2. Stir in peanut butter until well blended.
3. Add cereal and M&Ms; mix well.
4. Spoon into greased 13X9-inch pan; press down gently.
5. Cool slightly before cutting.

>134 connie53: Hi, Connie!

Today's agenda:
I slept in this morning until 8:45 and I *never* do that! Crazy. I must have needed the rest, I guess, although I now have Sleeping In Guilt. Anyway. I've got a Dutch Spice Loaf in the oven now for this week's breakfasts, and I think I'll divide the rest of my day between sewing and reading. Tomm's in charge of dinner tonight; he's making Italian Sausage.

On the reading front:
I finally started Ready Player Two yesterday and so far so good; like the first one, the writing isn't super-inspiring, but the plot pulls you in right away. So it should be a fun ride, I think.

What We're Watching:
Fridays are Family Game Night and it was my pick, so I chose to whup some Scaife Boys butt in Mario Kart before we settled in for a couple of Graham Norton episodes.

>136 scaifea: Enjoy the Ready Player Two ride!

I wish I could sleep in! I think I might have guilted Nate enough to let me sleep in tomorrow. I'll still hear the loudest family on earth while I'm laying in bed though

>137 ChelleBearss: Morning, Chelle! Ha! I think I have the quietest boy child in the world, which helps with the sleeping in, I suppose. I hope you get your extra sleep tomorrow!

Glad you had a nice sleep in morning, Amber. Enjoy your quiet Saturday!

>139 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

>138 scaifea: You are very lucky! I love mine like crazy but they are truly very very loud.
Ellie is in a "zooming" stage which involves running from one end of the house to the other while yelling "zoom" and pretending to be a super hero. This happens frequently. *sigh*

>141 ChelleBearss: Hahahaha! Oh, but I love that! Adorable.

25. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
A story of hubris and nemesis, fate vs. free will, stubbornness vs. yielding to wisdom, and the dangers of being hellbent on pursuing knowledge without listening to that wisdom. Freud loved it, and so do I.

26. Antigone by Sophocles (Myth course readings) = 10/10 = A+
Antigone was one of Oedipus' daughters, doomed by birth to follow in her father's stubborn footsteps. This play is another study in the dangers of rigid pride, blind faith in one's ingrained beliefs, and the disastrous pointlessness of clinging to those beliefs despite everyone around you trying to help you see the logic you're refusing to understand. Timely in a super-sad way, really, but Antigone is one of my favorite characters from Greek mythology, for her tragic and very human shortcomings, but also for her stubborn courage. I both love her to bits and want to shake some sense into her, which means, I think, that Sophocles has done his job well here.



26. Agamemnon by Aeschylus (Mytho course readings) - 10/10 = A+
The first play in the only full trilogy we have extant of the ancient Greek tragedies, and hoo boy, it's a doozie. Agamemnon's violently tragic homecoming from the Trojan War becomes the template from which all other homecomings are measured. And for good reason. Lots of amazing scenes in here, from Clytemnestra cajoling Agamemnon to step on the red carpet she's laid out for him (and therefore essentially forcing him to commit hubris), to the big reveal of her bloody deeds inside the house, to Cassandra's incredibly emotional and delightfully creepy dialogue with the chorus about knowing what's going to happen in the house - and to her - all while knowing no one will believe her (and still she bravely enters the house, knowing she's walking to her death). Toward the beginning of this play there's a passage that made me cry for the first time while reading the Greek not because it was so difficult to translate (and it is, actually, some of the most difficult Greek we have extant (also, before this I had most definitely shed tears of frustration while trying to read Greek (I'm looking at you, Thucydides)), but because of the beauty of the language.

>143 scaifea: I loved both plays by Sophocles - Oedipus Rex and Antigone. But having that said... I don't think there is anything Classic Greek I don't like...

>136 scaifea: *perks up* Dutch Spice Loaf? Sounds good!

I bake a lot of different spice breads, I'd be interested in the recipe you use. I see a lot of different ones online, but I'd rather have one with references...

>144 PersephonesLibrary: I'm so glad to hear it, Käthe! Oedipus at Colonus is also an excellent one and is usually lumped in with the other two, but I have to make the hard choices when curating my syllabus, and this one generally doesn't make the cut, at least not for my myth course.

>145 jjmcgaffey: Here you go, Jennifer:

Pennsylvania Dutch Spice Loaf

Ingredients:
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 8 oz. buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Coat two loaf pans with baking spray.
3. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.
4. Cream butter and sugar about 4 minutes.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each.
6. Stir in buttermilk.
7. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring only until flour just disappears.
8. Transfer batter into pans.
9. Bake 50-60 minutes or until browned and a small knife comes out clean from center.
10. Let cool 15 minutes before turning it out to cool completely.

Yum, sounds good!

>146 scaifea: Well, you can't let them read everything during the semester. But you wake the hunger for more so they'll continue on their own. :)

That spice loaf sounds great. I'm saving that recipe. I have brown bananas to use up, so I'll be making either banana bread or banana chocolate chip cookies later today or tomorrow...

>147 jjmcgaffey: You're welcome, Jennifer - I hope you like it!

>148 PersephonesLibrary: Very true, Käthe. I certainly hope I'm a good enough professor to inspire them!

>149 katiekrug: It's very good, Katie - Charlie and I love it. (I'd recommend adding the chocolate chips to the banana bread...)

27. Upon the Head of a Goat by Aranka Siegal (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10 = B
This memoir follows Piri, a young girl in a mid-to-lower class Jewish family living in Hungary during WWII, through hearing rumors of mistreatment of Jews in other areas, to being evacuated from their home and moved into a ghetto, and ends with them being packed into the train headed for Auschwitz. It's sad and moving and terrifying, and, I think, one of the more mature picks for the Newbery Honor list I've read (which are generally books aimed at middle grade readers - I'd put this one firmly in the YA category). Guardedly recommended - it's certainly not a happy read, but fairly well done for what it is.

>149 katiekrug: >150 scaifea: seconding the addition of chocolate chips to banana bread. This was a relatively recent discovery for me, to my SIL's astonishment, as she's never made it any other way. My new fave banana bread recipe is this one from the New York Times: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. I just made it this week, as a matter of fact.

>152 lauralkeet: Laura: Yep. Chocolate chips in banana bread is The Way here at Scaife Manor.

>136 scaifea: I am glad to hear that Ready Player 2 is off to a good start. I enjoyed Wil Wheaton's narration on the first one. I need to add that to my library list.

(chanting, banging on table) LOAF LOAF LOAF LOAF

>154 brodiew2: I've heard mixed reviews, but I have faith.

>155 false-knight: *SNORK!!*

>141 ChelleBearss: Ha! That stage is the best. At other people's houses. Sounds delightfully adorable.

>146 scaifea: Thanks! I was going to ask the same thing!

>152 lauralkeet: I dunno. I'm more of a walnut banana bread person.

>143 scaifea: and >151 scaifea: Lovely reviews!

>157 justchris: Walnuts for me too! I love nut breads and chocolate chip cookies (also with nuts), but am not a fan of chocolate bits in cakes.

>151 scaifea: I must look for that one, Amber. Just my bag; I think Holocaust fiction is vitally important.

Good morning, Amber. Have a nice Sunday!

>157 justchris: >158 quondame: Oh, absolutely no nuts allowed in baked goods here at Scaife Manor.

>159 PaulCranswick: It *is* important, Paul, I definitely agree. I just think I've read enough of it for now and for the headspace I'm in right now it's not the best choice. But definitely do seek it out if you're interested - it's a different perspective than you sometimes get since it focuses on what life was like leading up to the camps instead of having the focus on life *in* the camps.

>160 connie53: Thanks, Connie! I hope you have a lovely Sunday, too.

Today's Agenda:
Happy Anna Howard Shaw Day, everyone! Charlie's already opened his Valentine (a box of dark chocolates (his favorite) and a Legend of Zelda t-shirt) and that's pretty much the extent of our celebrations. We'll all do our house cleaning chores this morning and then I'm going to try to divide the rest of the day between sewing and reading again. I think I only have five more quilt squares to piece before I can start sorting out how I want to put it all together. Dinner tonight: Chicken Tikka Masala, with Pear & Apple Crisp for dessert.

On the reading front:
After finished up Upon the Head of a Goat yesterday, I read a bit of Lord Foul's Bane and then read through another Newbery Honor Book, Volcano (mini-review to come).

What We're Watching:
Tomm's pick last night; he decided it was time to introduce Charlie to Happy Gilmore.

Mario sends her Valentine's wishes to everyone:

Happy Valentine's Day, Mario! (And the rest of the Scaifes, of course.) So, Charlie prefers dark chocolate? Clearly a young man of taste and refinement. ;-)

Morning, Amber! Happy Sunday. I am glad to hear that you are enjoying Ready Player Two. I loved the first one, but have been on the fence on reading the second but my LT pals seem to like the sequel.

>164 rosalita: Thanks, Julia! Yep, Charlie prefers the dark stuff. So very refined, he is. At least, much more than I am...

>165 msf59: Morning, Mark! That first one was great, wasn't it? Even if this one doesn't reach that level, it seems like it's still going to be a fun ride.

Aw, how sweet of Mario! Also your spice loaf recipe sounds incredible... ugh, makes me wish I had a working oven. Oh well. Someday.

Intrigued by your enjoyment of Ready Player Two! I... have not heard positive things, so I'll keep watching for your final thoughts.

>167 dk_phoenix: Isn't she the sweetest?

Not working oven? If I could, I'd send you some bread, Faith!

Ready Player Two: I'm not very far in at all, and I'm also willing to give it a lot of doubt-benefit because I loved the first one so much. We'll see how it goes, because I know others have been disappointed.

Happy Valentine's Day to all the Scaifes but particularly to Mario who can definitely be my Valentine.

Dinner tonight sounds really good. If I didn't have a date, I'd drop by. ;)

>169 MickyFine: Ha! Mario is definitely a charmer. And thanks for the Valentine wishes!

I do love Chicken Tikka Masala. If only I could make a good Kheer to go with it (I haven't found a recipe I love yet), but I'm also looking forward to the crisp.

28. Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber (Newbery Honor Book) - 7/10 = C
A non-fiction Newbery Honor Book about the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 and the area's subsequent regrowth. Eh. Clearly meant for kids, but it accomplishes this in simplistic language only. I mean, come on, this is a cool topic, so a book for kids about it should be more interesting than this one is. Also, the photos included were weirdly hard to figure out; for example, some of them were meant to focus on something that was *way* in the background of the actual photo, and a couple had blurbs that talked about features of the mountain that I could not find in the photo at all. Some sort of arrow pointing out said feature would have been great and seems like an obvious necessity to me. Anyway. I'll file this one in the Could Have Been Cool But Missed the Boat box.

Happy Sunday, Amber! Sorry your last book wasn't great and hope the next is better.

>172 bell7: Meh. S'okay, Mary. I don't mind reading a dud now and then, especially if it's one that I still get to cross off a list.

I finished this one up this morning while sewing, after jacking the audio speed up to 2X the normal. I have to say that it's kind of hilarious to listen to President Obama talk that fast.



29. A Promised Land by Barak Obama (audiobook) - 8/10 = B+
Look, I love Barak Obama to bits. To absolute bits. But. I think he needed a slightly more aggressive editor here. This is sooooo looooong. And while I am happy to have learned the behind-the-scenes deets on issues like the economic crisis, the difficulties in presenting a universal healthcare plan, and the logistics involved in bringing our troops home from abroad, I really didn't need quite *that* much minutiae. So he's still my favorite president, but I firmly believe that Michelle is a much better memoirist.

I went with banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I don't actually like chocolate chips in banana bread. I'm not really sure why. And definitely NO NUTS. Or raisins. In anything. (Though The Wayne bought me some Irish soda bread, which I love, even though it has raisins...)

Mario can definitely be my Valentine. Any day, good girl.

And your dinner sounds great! We are doing bits and pieces of this and that - some cheese and sausage and crackers, some pretzel bites, some boneless wings, etc. And as a treat for himself, I went to a great local bakery and bought a chocolate peanut butter pound cake...

>162 scaifea: Chicken Tikka Masala -- a newly discovered favorite of mine. I tried to make it myself once, though, and it wasn't a success but I do like Trader Joe's frozen one so I don't have to make it myself.

In San Diego there was a vendor of wonderful Chicken Masala Samosa's at the farmer's market. That's a thing I miss.

>163 scaifea: Please give Mario a Valentine's Day hug for me. What a sweetie!!

>175 katiekrug: Fair enough, Katie. I do love a good banana chocolate chip cookie, too. And I love the sound of your dinner tonight, too!

>176 RebaRelishesReading: Hi, Reba! I have two or three different CTM recipes that I like and cycle through. This one is an Instant Pot one and so is pretty fast and easy. Those samosas, though, sound amazing! I've made my own a couple of times and they came out pretty great, but they're more work than I generally want to put in, to be honest.

I will definitely pass on the hugs to Mario!

You can put Katie's nuts into my banana bread and/or chocolate chip cookies :)

>179 RebaRelishesReading: Ha! Go for it, Reba! I have a slight allergy, I think, to a fair amount of nuts (they make my mouth very sore), so that's why I don't like them in stuff. I have been known to put actual peanuts in some things, but still only rarely. My mom used to put black walnuts in everything but also keep separate batches for me, since black walnuts are one of the biggest sore-mouth culprits for me (which stinks, because they're sooo delicious).

We had an English walnut tree in our yard when I was growing up so we ate them in many forms -- I love them. I'm a big fan of all true nuts (but not peanuts which aren't really nuts).

>176 RebaRelishesReading: A small hole in the wall Indian place in Torrance introduced me to using a split open samosa as a base for chana masala topped with tamarind and mint chutneys. They were selling for $1.50 and made a good lunch. I do something like with Trader Joe's Aloo Chat when I have chutneys left over from delivery.

>14 scaifea: I've tried several times to get into Erikson but always bounce off early and tell myself I'll come back when I can give Malazan more time & attention. It's weirdly comforting to know that there is a massive series waiting for me when I run out of all the other books.

>174 scaifea: Well, rats. I was looking forward to that one ... you know, when I had the time and attention, cause it is thick. The news that it could have been thinner is unwelcome.

>181 RebaRelishesReading: Ours were black walnuts, which are very different from English ones.

>183 swynn: Hi, Steve! I hope Erikson works out for you if you eventually get back to him, and please don't let me keep you from Obama's book - I just don't have much patience right now for...things, I think.

>151 scaifea: I hadn't heard of that one, like the title and will look out for it. There are some excellent Dutch Holocaust books for children by Ida Vos.

>174 scaifea: Thank you for the objective and succinct review, Amber. My favourite President too but - there are literally hundreds of copies in the major bookstores here - it does look like a long-winded one.

Michelle Obama's Becoming has not yet surfaced over here in paperback format which is disappointing.

>174 scaifea: If you've read any of his previous biographies does this one, like, talk about any changes in perspective he might have had about things that he talked about in previous ones? Which is maybe an overly broad question, but I am curious.

>174 scaifea: 2x speed for an audio book!??? Om goodness. I can barely process audio at 'normal' speed. Colour me impressed!

>185 avatiakh: Hi, Kerry! I *think* I've read Vos before, but I'll have to check to be certain. I hope you find a copy of the Siegal.

>186 PaulCranswick: You're welcome, Paul. I really don't want to push people away from it, though, because there are some great nuggets in there. And I'm sorry you can't get your hands on Becoming yet - now *that's* a fantastic read. (Charlie's currently *re*-reading it!)

>187 false-knight: I haven't read any of his other books yet, but I *do* want to, and have at least one of them on my shelves already. This one is mostly about his presidency, so I do suspect there are perspective changes in it. He does hint in several spots at how the presidency holds many surprises.

>188 LovingLit: Megan: *snork!* Well, that's the first time I've jacked the speed up that far and I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon - I had a nasty headache for the rest of the day and honestly, I blame Obama's too-fast talking. (Thanks, Obama.)

On the agenda for today:
Welp, I'm the only person in this house who does *not* have the day off. So that's awesome. I'll be prepping for today's classes, grading Latin quizzes, grading Myth reader responses, and then trying to get more ahead with the myth readings. I also have a department meeting this afternoon and we'll be discussing the CAP proposal for the myth class, so fingers crossed that goes well. And I'll be doing all this while happily watching the snow coming down - it's already snowing pretty heavily and we're supposed to get hit hard throughout today and into tomorrow. We're all supplied up and settled in, so I'm happy to watch it accumulate.

On the reading front:
I read bits of The King of Elfland's Daughter and started The Stone Book Quartet (in print) and The Moonstone (on audio) yesterday.

What We're Watching:
My pick last night, so we watched Mannequin, an old favorite for me, and it's been on my mind since teaching the Pygmalion story in the myth class recently. Ah, young Andrew McCarthy. So dreamy. And Kim Catrall - also extremely dream-worthy.

>190 scaifea: - (Thanks, Obama.)

This made me laugh out loud.

I am also the only person in the house working today. *fist bump of solidarity*

Ooh, Mannequin! I haven't thought about that movie in ages...

>192 katiekrug: Ha! I'm glad you got a laugh out of that! I admit that I cracked myself up with it, too. I'm very easily amused.

*awkward return fist bump*

Mannequin is not exactly Oscar-level stuff, but I love it so much.

>190 scaifea: >192 katiekrug: I am also the only person working* in my house today.

* I mean, I'm the only person in my house, period. But still ... can I get a fist-bump anyway?

>194 rosalita: - *fist bump of solidarity*!

>194 rosalita: *snork!*

>195 katiekrug:

Hooray!

>198 rosalita: *snork!* Good one!

As a nonfiction selector, what gets me about Barack Obama's memoir is that it's only volume 1. So prepare for another chunkster in a year or two.

Hope the work day doesn't drag too badly and the proposal is successful!

This one ties together past, present, and Amber's reading:

>200 MickyFine: Right?! TWO VOLUMES. Yoicks.

And thanks!

>201 lauralkeet: Ha! I love it!!

I haven't listened to this yet, and maybe it will be a hohum-coulda-done-better-myself kinda thing for you, but on the other hand, if it's good and I didn't share it, I'd feel terrible. An Odyssey Through the Classics podcast.

>203 laytonwoman3rd: As, thanks, Linda! I appreciate you thinking of me. I probably won't have a listen though because, as you say, it's already my bread and butter so I don't need it? Others may be interested, though.

Evening classes were canceled yesterday, so I taught Latin but not myth - Snow Night! I much appreciated the break because I'm starting to get bogged down in trying to stay ahead of that class. Yoicks.

Anyway.

Today's agenda:
Mostly I'll be trying to use the extra prep time today and tomorrow to jump as far ahead in the myth class as I can. Midterm exams are coming up in a couple of weeks and since I now do those as 1-on-1 meetings for the Latin cherubs, I need to be sure I'm fully pre-prepped for myth for that week because I'll be spending all my time in exam sessions. Again I say Yoicks. Charlie's back in school today, so I've got school work supervision on the list today, too, and taking down the Valentine's Day decorations. Oh, and I need to call the library and have them hold onto my holds at least another day - I don't want to wade out in the snow today, I think. African Peanut Soup for dinner tonight, I think.

On the reading front:
I managed a few pages each in Memoirs of a Geisha and The Stone Book Quartet, and listened to a bit more of The Moonstone.

What We're Watching:
It was Charlie's pick last night and he decided we should check out The Watch, the BBC's (loose) adaptation of The Discworld's Night Watch stories. It's not super-faithful to the books, really, but it's still a hoot and we're enjoying it. Charlie and I agree that Cheery is the best character so far.

Homer as Dungeon Master:

>206 scaifea: Haaaaahahahaha

>207 lycomayflower: It...makes sense, though. I mean, the dude fights the actual river, and WINS.

>206 scaifea: Beautiful. I'm not all that up on my classics, nor do I know diddly-much about D&D, but I get all of that, and it is marvelous.

>208 scaifea: Well, it was clogged with bodies, so at a disadvantage...

>209 laytonwoman3rd: Right? So hilarious. Clever classics students make me happy.

But who is largely responsible for the bodies being there in the first place...?

>206 scaifea: 😂😂😂

>211 drneutron: Ha! I'm glad you like it, Jim!

>205 scaifea: I remember being surprised how drawn in at was to Wilkie Collins' writing in The Moonstone. When I read it, it was one of the first from that time that I had fully engaged outside of school.

Morning Amber! I'm disappointed :o(. We didn't get the 12 inches of snow as predicted. Maybe 6, if that. We're getting lake effect right now so another few inches could be on the way. Nice and fluffy now, last night it was ice snow. Not pretty
I think Moonstone is one of the unread books on my shelf I've owned the longest. It's just not calling me.

>213 brodiew2: I'm glad you enjoyed it, Brodie.

>214 Carmenere: Oh, me, too, Lynda. I mean, we've got a significant amount of snow, I suppose, but I kind of wanted to be Really Snowed In. *sigh* Oh well.

I'm not very far into Moonstone so I haven't settling into it yet. We'll see how it goes.

>206 scaifea: Wonderful! :D

>216 PersephonesLibrary: *grins*

Hi, Amber.

>96 scaifea: Frog and Toad: yes, I was amazed at my cousin's alacrity. She ordered the materials from different places, had to wait for them, and then completed what you saw in two weeks. Debbi's birthday is early February. Nancy keeps telling me she had an "absolute blast", and that I was too generous in paying her, but that seemed above and beyond to me.

>99 scaifea: Kylie and Keanu: love that description. I don't know about Kylie, but Keanu supposedly is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

>112 scaifea: I love hearing how much Charlie enjoys writing. How did it go with sharing his story? (Maybe I missed that).

I wrote stories all the time as a kid, and even got together with three others and wrote a sci-fi book by alternating chapters. I've occasionally wondered who the heck has it, or whether it just got lost over the years. The teacher would let us go on the fire escape to work on it when there was free time - this was third or fourth grade. Very cool.

>122 scaifea: What a frustration that must be re Charlie's math. When son Jesse was a middle-grader, his math teacher was old and didn't connect well with her students. Every night Jesse would come home not understanding the homework, and I'd teach him. I wasn't the only parent who did that! He also would do the math in his head and "not show his work" - he'd get it right, but the teacher didn't like that. We reached a compromise where he at least showed some of his work. :-) He and others in the class did really well in math competitions. So when we and other parents went to the principal to complain about this teacher, he said, what am I supposed to do? Her students do well on standard tests and go out and do well in citywide competitions! We told him it sure wasn't thanks to her, but we got nowhere.

>193 scaifea: Good reviews of the Greek plays. I'm still amazed you read them (and so much else) in Greek. We read those in high school; I now wish I'd read them later in college. I got a lot out of them, but I also got distracted by being a teenager.

Becoming: Debbi passed Michelle's book on to me, so I'll be reading it soon. Then we both plan to read Barack's, although I've certainly seen other people comment on its somewhat excessive detail.

>218 jnwelch: Hi, Joe!

I'm definitely amazed that your cousin is such a fast knitter. I just always seem to have too many other things going on to get much progress made on my craft projects.

Yes, Keanu is, by all accounts, one of the good ones. He seems like such a sweetheart.

What is it with middle grade math teachers?! I still haven't heard back from Charlie's since my second email to her, asking her, in what I hope was friendly-or-at-least-very-civil terms, to explain her grading methodology. I'm giving her until tomorrow morning before I forward the email conversation to the principal. So frustrating. Charlie will be fine and his math skills will certainly survive this year, but as a teacher myself I would like to see her held accountable to the job she's supposed to be doing.

Well, I'm not reading the plays in Greek *this* time around, but yep, I have in the past. The life of a classicist and all that. I do pick out small passages in the Greek (and the Latin for the Roman texts) from time to time to read aloud to my myth students when I think it's a particularly important passage that loses too much in the translation. There's a bit we'll be talking about in The Agamemnon (the part that made me cry happy word tears), where the chorus describes Iphigenia getting sacrificed to Artemis by her own father and her dress "drips" off her as they carry her to the altar. She's dressed in wedding garb (she was tricked into going down to the shore with a lie about being married off to Achilles), which for the Greeks would have been red, and so the dress foreshadows what's about to happen to her, although with pointing out the absolute injustice of it all... It's just gorgeous imagery and that scene in particular is one that doesn't get translated to satisfaction normally.

I've mentioned here that if there is enough interest I'd be willing to lead group reads for some of these plays. So far I'm not sure if the interest is there and I won't push the matter, but I would of course be happy to do so - it would be a good time, I think.

And yeah, Barak's memoir is long, but there's also a lot of good stuff amongst the minutiae. I'd hate to put anyone off it.

>219 scaifea: Ooh, I might be interested in a group read. My recent reading of the Iliad reminded me that I do better with guided readings of these kinds of texts.

>206 scaifea: Posts like this are why I hang onto my Tumblr account and dip in occasionally. Gave me a good giggle this afternoon.

Hope you're feeling more on top of your prep work!

>220 curioussquared: Aw, yay! We'll see if we get any other takers, then!

>221 MickyFine: I follow a handful of FB pages that are essentially curating specific kinds of posts from tumblr for me, since I can't seem to get the hang of tumblr itself.

And thanks! Not really, but sure.

>222 scaifea: I feel you. As soon as I have more than one meeting in a day, I feel like I lose all my productivity. :P

>223 MickyFine: I just...didn't want to do my own reading assignments? It's a problem.

Today's Agenda:
A bit of prepping for today's classes (which won't take long because the myth class is ready (since class was canceled on Monday) and Latin never takes me very long to prep), keeping an eye on Charlie's school work, more advanced prepping for myth, office hours, teaching, plus a quick trip to the library to pick up my holds.

On the reading front:
I didn't get much non-work-related reading in at all yesterday, beyond a few pages of The Stone Book Quartet. I did, however, reread through The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides, and three books of The Odyssey. I'm hoping to get through three more books of Homer today, too.

What We're Watching:
Charlie and I finished up the Philadelphia season of QE while Tomm was in his class, and then we all started watching The Bourne Identity. (Tomm's pick. Not my favorite movie series, but he *loves* 'em.)

Today, a PSA:

Morning, Amber! Happy Wednesday. We visited Mt. St. Helens many years ago. They have an excellent visitor's center. A fascinating place to visit. My family was living in Salem, OR at that time and recalled their cars being covered in ash.

>227 msf59: Morning, Mark! Oh, I've *love* to visit that visitor's center! Very cool.

>226 scaifea: - Snork!

Morning, Amber!

>229 katiekrug: Morning, Katie!

Good morning, Amber! I was digging out some old albums I haven't listened to in forever, and came across Dar Williams' In the Time of Gods. I went to her Iowa City concert on that tour and she talked about how the songs were inspired by her love for Greek mythology. I'm not sure a doofus like me can see the connections, but you might. I think it's available to stream on Spotify (and Apple Music, if you have that).

Amusingly, I found this video interview she did with the Wall Street Journal, of all places, where she talks about her two childhood crushes: Hermes and Encyclopedia Brown. What a pair!
Dar Williams: In the Time of Gods

>231 rosalita: Oooh, thanks for the links, Julia! I'll treat myself to those if I get enough work done today. If she had a crush on Hermes, I love her already!

ETA: My favorite classics-themed song is Calypso by Suzanne Vega: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhJIZZcNQPA

I'm with Tomm on the Bourne movies - fortunately, mrsdrneutron likes 'em too, so we watch them together. Except that last one with somebody else, and not even Jason Bourne.

>232 scaifea: Hi, Jim! I think I've only seen the first two Bourne movies? Tomm likes them all, I think? Anyway, I think Charlie and I are in for the series on Tomm's pick nights...

Dar Williams is one of my absolute favorite singer-songwriters. She's great. If you end up liking her, look up her song "The Christians and the Pagans." It's my favorite holiday tune...

>226 scaifea: Ha!

Good morning, Amber.

I'm tempted by the idea of a guided reading with you of some of the Greek plays. I've really enjoyed tutored readings on LT. I think right now I've got too much on my plate - I'm still working my way through Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled, one on "Show, Don't Tell" in your writing, and bi-weekly Jane Austen seminars.

Are you reading Lombardo's The Odyssey?

I hope you have something good happen with Charlie's math teacher.

>235 katiekrug: Oh, excellent! How have I never heard of her before?!

>236 jnwelch: Morning, Joe!

I'd really prefer to wait a bit before starting any tutored group read, too, at least until I've made my way through my (re)readings for the myth class.

Are you reading Lombardo's The Odyssey? But of course.

And thanks for the good wishes for the math thing. *Still* haven't received a response, so I'll probably be emailing the principal today. Ugh. I so very much dislike confrontation, even over email.

>235 katiekrug: "The Christians and the Pagans" is one of my favorites, too. She also wrote a song called "Iowa" which isn't really about Iowa but is so good:

Tonight I went running through the screen doors of discretion
For I woke up from a nightmare that I could not stand to see
You were a-wandering out on the hills of Iowa
And you were not thinking of me

>239 rosalita: - YES! My best friend and I listened to 3 of her albums over and over while driving from DC to TX when I moved there. 'Iowa' was one of our favorites to belt out :)

Have you listened to the album 'Cry Cry Cry' she recorded with two other folk-y singers? There a lot of good stuff on there, too.

>239 rosalita: >240 katiekrug:

Sounds like another full day for you, Amber.

I love SparkNotes literature memes. They posted this Great Gatsby gem on Instagram yesterday.

>242 MickyFine: Yep. You know, in general I feel like my day-to-day life must seem boring to some people, but I never seem to find time to be bored myself. Weird.

And yes! Whoever runs SM for SparkNotes is a genius. But...*whispers* I haven't read GG yet...

>240 katiekrug: I don’t own Cry Cry Cry but it occurs to me that now that I have a free trial of Apple Music I should see if it’s on there ..

>244 rosalita: - Oh, do!

I just put on 'Mortal City' :)

Hi Amber! Sorry for the hijack...

>244 rosalita: >245 katiekrug: Nah, it's cool...

>246 scaifea: - Maybe you should just cancel class and listen to some Dar.

>247 katiekrug: *snork!* Don't tempt me...

>226 scaifea: LOL. Whoever runs the SparkNotes social media accounts is hilarious; their Instagram makes me laugh out loud on a regular basis.

>249 curioussquared: YES!! So, so funny.

>243 scaifea: Your secret is safe with me. I've always been fond of it since studying it in high school. Doesn't hurt that in my head Gatsby is a young Robert Redford.

>251 MickyFine: I keep meaning to get to it, but other books get in the way. I will get there eventually!

It's funny you should mention Gatsby as Redford - I was just telling my students today that I've always - and for no logical reason that I can think of - thought of Odysseus as Sting. Ha!

>235 katiekrug: My church when I was growing up, being Unitarian Universalists, had a Winter Solstice service and "The Christians and the Pagans" was a mainstay. (Beats the hell out of "Moonlight Whispers", I'll say that!)

I'd be on board if you were organizing a group read…

You've probably heard it, and it's probably too old to be a meme, but Tom Lehrer's Oedipus Rex song is always worth bringing up. Underrated is also Peter Schickele/"P.D.Q. Bach"'s cantata Oedipus Tex ("You may have heard of my brother Rex…")

>253 false-knight: Oh, yay! I'm glad that you're interested in the group read! And thanks for the links! I've not heard either of those.

Today's Agenda:
Same, same: work, looking over Charlie's shoulder occasionally at *his* work, menu planning and putting in my grocery order for tomorrow, maybe some reading this afternoon? Baked potatoes and cooked carrots for dinner tonight, I think. And it's Thursday, which means it's GBBS night. Woot!

Tomm had to go in to his old office to pack up his stuff (they're transitioning to almost-completely work-from-home and so they're shifting office spaces toward using only conference room spaces for occasionally meetings, or something like that), and he discovered that his car won't start. Annoying. So we've got that to sort out at some point. We're hoping that ice just got in somewhere and once things warm up and bit it'll start right up, but we'll see.

In better news, our new pots and pans finally came! Tomm did a bunch of consumer research (that's his MO always) and we went with a stainless steel All-Clad set. So heavy and fancy and I can't wait to try them out! This is not my kitchen (we're not that put together around here), but this is the set we have:



On the reading front:
It was DC Night last night so I had some free reading time and finished up The Stone Book Quartet, plus I made some progress with Ready Player Two. The Moonstone is coming along nicely on audio, too.

ooh, new cookware! I eagerly await your "review".
Sorry to hear about the car though. I hope it bounces back automagically.

>255 scaifea: NICE! We got the All-Clad D5 cookware set when we got married and it has proven its worth many times over. Be prepared to make some fancy stuff!

>256 lauralkeet: Laura: They're so nice and heavy, and I' really excited finally to have pans that can go in the oven! I'll definitely report back.

And thanks for the good car wishes. "Automagically" - *snork!*

Morning, Amber!

We have some All Clad pieces. Good stuff!

>259 katiekrug: Morning, Katie! Oh, I'm glad to hear a good review!

31. The Stone Book Quartet by Alan Garner (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10 = C+
This middle grade book is a collection of four stories, each following a day in the life of a child living in Cheshire, England, and spanning four generations in the same family. There are clues in each story that link it to the next and/or previous ones and the connections are subtle and fairly clever. And so I feel that I should like this one more than I did. The idea is a good one, but sometimes it felt like I had to work much harder to figure out the linking clues than I really wanted to, which leads me to believe that some kiddos would miss them entirely and quickly would be lost. The Cheshire dialect was in parts a bit of a challenge as well. In the end, it falls into the largish bin of Books with Good Ideas but What Should Have Been Written By Neil Gaiman.

>2 scaifea: I just added Uncle Silas to my reading list. I've had a copy for almost ten years; it's about time I read it.

>262 ocgreg34: Oh, yay! I hope to get to it soon...ish...

The new thread is up:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/329880