The regular “little of this, little of that” feature from Like Mother, Like Daughter!
A friend was giving away this little hutch, and it has just the right dimensions to go in this space. Nothing can stick out too far in this house, or you will bump into it when you walk by!
It replaces this little arrangement that I had going here (photo from Thanksgiving, obviously), which I really liked. However, I think the hutch works better overall.
I was thinking that maybe the black shelf should go here instead, where this painting is (don't worry, I'll find a good place for it!):
What do you think?
I really have nowhere else for the black shelf, I think. And I do like it a lot.
Onto our links:
- I enjoy Alexandra's Kitchen and I really want to make her version of this chocolate Babka!
- Rosie's Captain Pepper, who happens to be an artillary instructor in the Marines, suggests this video of a demonstration of a howitzer in the Indian army. Eight minutes of soldiers who are good at what they do and “it's all about the gun.” Maybe he can explain why their parade formation includes the sort of movements they make!
- I think somewhere I told you that if your voracious adolescent boy reader needs books that take a long time to read, he could, among other things, read James Fenimore Cooper. Sometimes you just need lots of words and you've outgrown The Hardy Boys. But over against that suggestion is this essay by Mark Twain, pretty much giving Cooper the heave-ho, literarily speaking. A little taste: ” [The rules of literature] require that when the personages of a tale deal in conversation, the talk shall sound like human talk, and be talk such as human beings would be likely to talk in the given circumstances, and have a discoverable meaning, also a discoverable purpose, and a show of relevancy, and remain in the neighborhood of the subject at hand, and be interesting to the reader, and help out the tale, and stop when the people cannot think of anything more to say. But this requirement has been ignored from the beginning of the “Deerslayer” tale to the end of it.”
- A good take on the most emailed article in the New York Times last weekend and why it subverts the real war on women.
- A while ago I was listening to NPR while on the road. Some scholar was being interviewed — can't remember the topic — only a shocking statement: “That was before women had the vote and didn't exist.” Clearly he had a sort of syllogism in mind: The political world is what matters; Politics happen by means of voting; If you don't have the vote, you don't matter — therefore, women didn't exist before they had the vote. Even leaving aside the assumption (that the only way to participate politically is to vote), that way of stating it jars loose a desire to find out more about how women managed existence before the got the vote, doesn't it? Especially when you realize that the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was not ratified until 1920. I highly recommend this interesting look at a political movement no one cares to consider — Anti-Suffragists: A Cause, Lost and Forgotten. Maybe there are some lessons to be learned.
- We just have it so drummed into us that the only worthwhile thing to do is, well, what men do. I did appreciate this sweet post that Rosie pointed me to: The Cost of Motherhood. Might make a good discussion starter at your St. Greg's Pocket!
- Would you call 911 on another parent? Such calls are on the rise. I like this article — her conclusion, that the real issue is that we don't have neighbors to rely on for help, is actually perhaps not quite the real one, which I think is rather that there are just not enough children out and about. As I said on Twitter, to remedy this sad dearth takes time — best get going.
- Please let us pray for those held captive in Syria, facing martyrdom.
- From the archives: Are you starting to think about wedding planning? Here are some posts that might help, and get excited, because Deirdre is planning a great series for you! And how I solved (sort of) the clutter-in-the-den problem.
Woman of the House says
That hutch is marvelous! Do you know I am always envious of your chairs when you post pictures of them? lol I say that not make you stop posting pictures, but just to let you know how great they are.
A book that goes a fairly long way to debunking the “women didn’t exist before they got the vote/feminism/sexual revolution, etc. myth” is When Fathers Ruled by Steven Ozment of Harvard. There is a subtitle something like “Family Life in Reformation Europe,” but Ozment uses the Reformation as a time frame only. There is much about Catholic and Protestant family life. He shows how vital women were in the economic well-being of the family and how valued they were for their important roles as wife and mother. It’s really very interesting. Of course, it wasn’t all peaches and cream for women, but it was not the dreary life of slavery feminists like to portray it as today.
Melissa Diskin says
THIS: “Now they are swallowing pills that will keep them emotionally reconciled to the type of consumerist, work-dominated world the pill has created. Feminists and psychiatrists alike have largely failed to address this.”
…It’s not just for those who work outside the home, either. I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood where families are pretty grounded — but sometimes it seems as if the constant round of after-school activities, career volunteerism, and massive birthday party planning is just a way to amp up SAHM duties to the fatiguing grind of “real” work. I have to fight for rest for my family, for the margins and home-focused traditions that keep life sane. I can see how women would want to find an equilibrium inside that they can never find in their communities. (And of course those of us who are lifelong depressives do need meds to keep from falling off the cliff; it’s the medication of *natural* response that is troublesome!)
I’m lucky that I come from a family who always bucked trends — but it’s still hard to keep the busy-ness of the world from nipping at our heels. (Or hearts.)
Kate says
I have to admit that when you mentioned James Fenimore Cooper, I groaned. My husband tried to read the “Last of the Mohicans’ as a read aloud and he and the older kids started laughing after a few pages and could not continue with the book (although the boys have read an abridged version since) . They love Sir Walter Scott, but Cooper’s “inhuman” language was way too much. Cooper definitely needed a good editor. Couldn’t agree more with Twain’s assessment. Bethlehem Books publishes many good books for boys that are a step up from Hardy Boys and the Redwall series was a favorite of our adolescent boys.
That new-to-you little hutch is beautiful. What a lovely dinning room!
Mrs. B. says
Twain is priceless… Rule “13. Use the right word, not its second cousin.” Ah! Or: “Every time a Cooper person is in peril, and absolute silence is worth four dollars a minute, he is sure to step on a dry twig. There may be a hundred other handier things to step on, but that wouldn’t satisfy Cooper. Cooper requires him to turn out and find a dry twig; and if he can’t do it, go and borrow one. ”
Unfortunately for him, he makes one awfully curious to go and read some Cooper… By the way, will the kids REALLY get over the Hardy Boys??? It seems impossible for now 🙂
*************
My husband the other day joked that maybe we’d have the police at the door soon, because the kids were playing in the street down the driveway in the big piles of snow. I don’t think the article’s conclusion (we don’t know our neighbors) and yours (there aren’t enough kids around) are mutually exclusive. They both sound right to me, and are probably just different facets of the same problem, that is, modern life in big cities. Kids are becoming an unknown in big cities because too many families find big cities too expensive. Where did I read recently someone describing big cities as essentially amusement parks for rich singles? The busybodies calling 911 because they spotted children alone only happen in big cities, both because there it’s less likely you interact much with neighbors, and because a child alone becomes very much like that package left on the metro seat you are requested to report: the sight of something suspiciously unfamiliar.
That said, I will confess: I can talk (or type…) boldly, but I’m not that bold with my kids (yet.) I grew up with much more freedom myself, but we were in a tiny place… where everyone knew everyone and scores of kids roamed about. We knew well not only the other kids, but the adults as well. The place felt so much more integrated and organic, for lack of a better word, than things are today. Today I simply do not trust the place where we live enough to let my kids go freely around… Is it prudence? Is it a feeling I should overcome? I dunno!
Paula says
I like the new hutch. I say if you don’t have a place for the black shelf, give it to one of your kids. They’ll like it. I have a similar one from my mom (not black but similar). Just my opinon. Pretty hutch!
charla says
That article about the anti-suffragists was a REALLY read. I almost didn’t click on it but I’m glad I did. Very thought-provoking.
charla says
that should say: a really GOOD read
charla says
This idea of community and neighborhood (or lack of) is one that really resonates with me. I grew up in a very small town where I knew everyone and everyone knew me. I had a remarkable amount of freedom to roam and took advantage of it. Now I have my own children and we live in a city. What we long for is a bigger yard (we have about 1/3 acre), but we’ve realized the trade-off is that we happen to have a very unique neighborhood where the neighbors know each other, look out for each other and where the kids play together. It’s not perfect, but I can’t imagine finding another situation better than this anywhere else in the city, so we are staying here for the long term–because we know how valuable that sense of community is. That, and we have a pond and a creek running through our neighborhood–that doesn’t hurt, either. 🙂
charla says
And staying here means a short commute for my husband, who works downtown,…he is home for breakfast and dinner almost every day. That, to me, is worth its weight in gold. I’ve decided I don’t want to trade that for a bigger yard.
Anne-Marie says
Your archives link is timely! The originals came out as we were planning the double wedding of our oldest (twins), and now daughter #3 has just got engaged.
I always suggest the Hornblower series for boys who’ve outgrown the Hardy Boys. It’s been a big hit with my now-15yo, for the adventure and for the serious discussions it’s sparked about some of the moral choices Hornblower makes. (Plus, it enabled him to impress my ladies’ book club by explaining how Captain Wentworth made his money!)
Jenny says
The killer line: ““Now they are swallowing pills that will keep them emotionally reconciled to the type of consumerist, work-dominated world the pill has created.”
Yes, indeed.
Elizabeth says
I LOVE your new hutch! Our house is very small so I’m all about using vertical space.
Love bits and pieces. One of my favorite things to savor on a Sunday:)
Lisa G. says
The hutch is a perfect find – lovely! I’m sure the black shelf will go nicely over the sideboard or whatever it is. You know what you’re doing. 🙂 The Cost of Motherhood piece is wonderful.
briana says
I have spent untold hours on Alexandra’s Kitchen. Very happy hours, mind you. Thanks for the hat tip, and you’re right, that Chocolate Babka looks like it should be on my Easter Breakfast menu.
Bethany says
Thanks for the Twain essay. I sort of forgot how much I love Twain–despite the fact that he had a low opinion of some of my favorite authors. Cooper is definitely not one my favorites and I laughed all the way through Twain’s critique. I’m going to adapt some of his “rules” for my college students. Hah! The right word’s second cousin! I’m still laughing.