Fashion on Fridays

Costume parties usually provide more fun than ordinary gatherings and long ago there was one such one for me that did just that and remains very special.

While I'm not fond of the current holiday (or anything scary/horror for that matter), Halloween brings back romantic memories for me. It's the anniversary of our first date.

Flip the calendar back to the Fall of 1976, when I was starting my second year of college. We had a large group of friends that socialized together. (Here's a link to a group photo.) It centered around one of the smaller dorms on campus - Koon Hall - thirty plus fellows with a wide variety of interests (football players to yearbook editors) and activities (keg parties with professors)

On October 30th, they hosted a costume party and I was invited. Earlier in the week (Wednesday breakfast, to be exact) a certain resident of said dorm asked if I would accompany him to the college play at 8p on Saturday followed by the costume party.

It was a magical evening.

I could write lots more about every.single.detail.

But I'm not the Pioneer Woman.

I'll let this photo speak its 1000 words.

Thirty-three years ago today.....





















Costume made by yours truly and fashioned after one of my mother's 1940's party dresses. I needed it for one of my sorority's rush parties.

I was NOT responsible for DH's costume which was a total surprise, by the way.

His sense of humor has been a blessing over all these years.



A few weeks later - more costumes!
















Happy Halloween!!


Dont forget to change your clocks!

Fall Birthday Menu


Pork Roast (crock pot)
with apples, onions, celery & raisins

Fordhook Lima Beans
Steamed Cabbage
Corn Muffins




Cavit Pinot Noir


Pumpkin Cheesecake
(Cheesecake Factory)


Opening presents is fun no matter where you are!

Friday Five

1. How often do you get sick with a cold? The flu?

Rarely do I get sick, although this week I felt crummy on Wednesday and went to bed at 6:30 pm, skipped dinner, and slept straight through 'til morning. I took some Advil for the body aches.

2. Are you the sort of person who goes to work or school no matter how sick you are or are you willing to stay at home when it gets bad?

Yes, I usually carry on with my duties even when I dont feel well. DH noted that in the 35 years he's known me, he's never known me to stay in bed all day. Hope that doesn't jinx my streak :)

3. Will you get a flu shot?

No, not planning to get a seasonal flu shot, nor an H1N1.

4. What do you do to keep from getting sick in the winter?

In addition to making sure that the host (my body) is good at fighting off bad germs and viri by eating healthfully, sleeping adequately, and drinking plenty of water, I will wash my hands more often this winter in order to avoid getting sick.

5. What is your favorite thing to do when you stay home from work or school?

If I'm sick enough to stay home, I will be in bed. That's how I know that I'm really sick: I dont want to read a book, watch TV, or listen to music.

PS: I do like a hot toddy, if I feel something coming on....

My recipe:

6 oz boiling water

juice from fresh lemon
2-3 Tbs local honey

whiskey - one shot?

What's your home remedy?

Twenty-five Years Ago Today


"A daughter brightens up your world and shines forever in your heart."

You're always there
with love to share,
showing kindness everywhere.
You brighten days
with smiles and fun,
giving joy to everyone....


You're always thought
so warmly of...
You're always treasured
and always loved.



















Have a wonderful birthday!!

Leisure: The Basis of Culture
Chapter V

Briefly reviewing chapter four, I remind myself that Pieper listed four movements through which a threatened value (leisure) is seeking to regain strength:

1)Art for art's sake,

2)Traditionalism,

3)Liberal Arts Education,

4)Humanism.

He spends the better part of the chapter debunking secular humanism by pointing out its specious economic value.

None of them are enough.



Now in Chapter V, we are reading the piece de resistance, for which we've all been waiting. Pieper declares that nothing need be founded or arranged.

He reminds us that the ultimate solution lies outside the range of our responsible, voluntary action.

He refers us to divine worship.

Because worship is at the heart of revitalizing the nature of leisure AND leisure must be an upright pillar in the cultural foundation, we must draw on that innermost root that lies outside the range of responsible, voluntary action.

Basically, spiritual revival is Pieper's prescription for curing the ills of a diseased society. I concur.

I wonder though, if we must hope for something like America's Great Awakening, or if a minority (remnant) will carry the harmony. I'm not really sure to which signs of reawakening Pieper is referring in his essay, but clearly fifty years later, his countrymen did not take his advice.


Europe does not know God.

Pieper himself was the product of a rigorous, classical education, having attended the most prestigious school in his country. So, he recognizes that that type of education is not the true answer; nor the type of university education that is career training. He even derides the propaganda promoted by the secular humanists who want to establish holidays without the gods, recreating society according to man.

Sticking to his thesis, Pieper continues to direct us to the worship of the living God as the source of leisure. He even describes it economically when he explains that every aspect of the leisured person's daily living is sacrificial and creative of a capital wealth that can support and sustain community.

Pieper's language speaks to me.

I understand only because the Lord has regenerated my heart, giving me spiritual eyes and ears.

By way of application I can examine my activities in light of Pieper's definition of leisure. Broadly dividing my 24 hours into three categories: work (school), sleep, and discretionary, I understand how to measure them with leisure's yardstick. Completing each day brings me closer to the highlight of days, that recurring feast day called the Sabbath. Providentially, this week's sermon addressed laziness (sloth/acedia).

The Lord gives me refreshing sleep. He's teaching me how to be a helpmeet. He's giving me confidence to rear our children in His nurture and admonition. He governs my discretionary hours even when it may appear to others that I am wasting time.

With loving care, I repeat my days with holy persistence.

I'm cultivating through the seasons.

I'm shepherding with hope.

I'm acting philosophically.


My prayer is that you can, too.

Leisure and Education in America

George Roche had a powerful influence in my life and in the life of the institution he lead for 28 years.

It was not until after I had completed my Hillsdale career that I felt the need to study his book, Education in America.

My copy is autographed - To Dana - who knows that a better way exists to educate our young - George Roche.

First published in 1969 and acquired by me in 1977, I didnt re-read it until 1990, when we began making serious choices for the schooling of our four charges. I bring it to your attention today because I continue to enjoy this topic and think his book sheds bright light on the questions arising from my current book club.

Cindy, at Dominion Family, is a fun mother of nine who thinks. I like her blog posts because she has knack for illustrating problems and providing a friendly forum for discussions. Currently the term *classical* is bothering her, especially as it applies to education.

That's why I went to my shelf in search of Dr Roche's excellent volume. He TWICE references the esteemed Josef Pieper, whose book Leisure: The Basis of Culture is our book club selection.

Because I think most readers skip/skim through lengthy quotes, I'm going to post links only to these two references. The first is from Roche's chapter three entitled *Scientism and the Collapse of Standards*. The second is from chapter eight, *Multiversity*.

In the comment section of Cindy's query about the definition of *classical* education, I noted that discernment is required. We must be ever vigilant of the words used by those we trust.

While many parents complained about attending Parents Nights (at our children's schools) and listening to the same old rhetoric, I didnt. Not only was I there to show my support, but also I was making sure that those in charge were staying true to stated vision (definitions) that we had used to make our school choices.

In conclusion, without a link, the last two paragraphs of Dr Roche's Education in America, entitled *Ultimate Solutions*.

Educational reform must begin with parents as individuals, with the recognition that better upbringing for their children lies in their hands, not in the hands of the state. If and when enough parents begin living their lives self-responsibly and apply such principles to their children who are an extension of self, a new educational day will have dawned. The answer, then is not to "throw the rascals out," substituting good men for bad in the political control of collectivized education. Instead, let each act in his own small orbit, with his own children, with those who he influences directly. If one's example and understanding are of high enough quality, the education pciture will begin to change no matter what course politicalized education might take.

Those who effect great revolutions are always small in number. Such people need not wait to become a majority. No one else can do the job except those who understand what needs to be done. The disruptive influence of political centralization in education will continue until it has been overshadowed and rendered meaningless by a moral force of sufficient intensity, a force generated by individuals who understand what is at stake and who serve notice by their own example that a better way exists to educate our young.


If you're reading this, then that means you're already overshadowing and on the path to rendering meaningless statist education.

We are a moral force of sufficient intensity.

Dont lose heart!