BritLit - Stonehenge: If these Stones Could Speak by Marc Aronson

     Everyone knows about Stonehenge - but does anyone REALLY know what it's for?  

     Me neither!  

     Well, Marc Aronson sheds some light on new discoveries, new ways of looking at Stonehenge. They started looking at its surroundings and found that by what's missing, they have a new idea. What's missing is pieces of civilization. So far they are finding artifacts that have nothing to do with living there. No evidence of people living nearby, which to them means that people had to come there for a reason or celebration. They did find a lot of ash buried there - possibly indicating a burial place where people were cremated. 
     They have other ideas too, but mainly this book puts the ideas on the table that they need to look at it in new ways - by comparing how other civilizations used things, what their purposes were. What I liked best about the book is it takes a wide-angle view of the area and its surrounding hilltops and suggests the readers look at it in new ways.

Here's what it looked like to me 

     Unfortunately, we arrived the day before the solstice and it was CLOSED!! They were preparing for a pilgrimage the next day and setting up bleachers and porta-potties. They wouldn't allow us to stop or walk up.

     I have to say, I was extremely disappointed!  We were supposed to sit and reflect and paint what we saw. How can they close Stonehenge???

     It's just one of those "character-building" moments. 

What do you think Stonehenge is for?  I think the aliens from Stephen King's Under The Dome were playing Dominos......

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BritLit - The Secret Garden....

Lanhydrock Estate

...at  Lanhydrock?  Possibly the Secret Garden is a lot like the one we visited here at the Victorian estate Lanhydrock in Cornwall, England.

Have you ever smelled a magnolia on a tree? 


 

Or painted a poppy?

 

Or wandered through a covered path?

Or discovered a hidden gate?

Or explored the estate of a royal family that welcomed the public as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales? 

Regulation gown for
attending the coronation

Playing around in the gatehouse was so fun!

     











    





     If you haven't done those things, you can let your imagination take you there by reading Frances Burnett's The Secret Garden or re-reading it if you read it as a child.

     The Secret Garden is set in England in the late 1800's in a cold, quiet mansion. Mary, whose wealthy family has died of the plague while in India, is sent to live under her Uncle's care, but ends up being cared for by the servants who believe children should play outdoors all day. Once she gets over the shock of being in nature, she meets the stable-boy Colin and all his furry friends. Also, she meets Dicken, her sickly cousin who has been hidden away in his room "dying" from his crooked back. Mary finds out that there's a walled section of the yard she can't access and searches for the entrance. Finally, she discovers a locked door hidden under the vines. She tells Dicken all about her adventures with Colin in their secret garden and he soon becomes jealous enough to come outside. Eventually they get Colin up out of his chair learning to walk and even run. It's a great story about healing and friendship and also about those times when as children, we are free to explore and have adventures.

 Did you have a secret clubhouse? Or climbing tree that served as a pirate's mast? 
Do you remember running free?

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BritLit - Hiking in the Wistman's wood

     

   We thought getting to meet the author of Here Lies Arthur, Philip Reeve was so awesome, even more exciting was spending the whole afternoon with him hiking in the Wistman's Wood and having lunch.. He's such an animated British gent. We loved hearing his stories about creating characters that are the underdogs and later seeing our pictures on HIS blog (click here).

   

 This group of mossy trees has inspired not only Philip Reeve, but according to him, Tolkien hung out there and the set creator for Lord of the Rings, too. There's no telling how many creatures have lurked in these rocks. In the book Here Lies Arthur, the characters Gwynn, Myrddin, and Arthur are often popping out of mossy groves or hiding behind trees. 

    

     Not only did we hike with Philip, he also brought his lively illustrator, Sarah McIntyre. We loved her, too! She stood out like a poppy in the grove with her bright colored clothes and funky red glasses. She really surprised me when I asked her to draw a picture in my journal and she drew me! Not only that, she took pictures of the postcards I painted and posted them on HER blog(click here). (mind you, my skills have not improved since kindergarten)

     We also had lunch with them and were able to ask all kinds of questions. What was so interesting is that Philip talked about how he has to really make an effort to stay connected with the business people in writing and what a challenge it is when you live such a remote place as Dartmoor, England. Whereas, Sarah lives in London and often goes to parties with publishers, writers, and other illustrators. They make such a great team. We got a sneak-peak at their next book - Oliver and the Seawigs and Sara's hilarious "sea-monkey" drawings. You've got to visit their blogs and see their British Comic-Con promotion - Hilariousity! I can't wait until it comes out in the US!

   

  Here Lies Arthur is such a fun book for middle-schoolers on up to adults. Philip Reeve rocks Arthurian legend by portraying Arthur as a tyrant with a "spin-doctor" for a partner - Myrrdin (Welsh for Merlin). Myrrdin has everyone believing Arthur is blessed with magical powers and sets up events that everyone believes are "from the gods". The most fun was when he had Gwynna become "the Lady of the Lake" and present him with his magical sword "Caliburn".  The story is told by Gwynna, Myrddin's adopted servant-girl. A bit of an actor herself, she often switches her dress and personality from Gwynna to Gwyn the servant-boy when it serves her. She's able to join battles and travel and finds she prefers the fun life of Gwyn to the dull girlie-duties expected of her when she's employed by Genevieve. Knowing how Myrrdin works on Arthur's behalf, she sees Arthur for the no-good double-crosser that he is and tries to save the villagers from his staged counter-attack. We asked Philip why he wrote Arthur in such an opposite light and he said it was because he wanted to write about Arthur, but the world didn't need another Arthur-hero story. The different take on the legend, combined with amazing settings like Bath, the lake, and the woods and characters that are a bit off-kilter all work together to make a great adventure.

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BritLit - Here Lies Arthur's Birthplace

   

 Still visiting the setting for Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve, we spent the afternoon at the breathtaking Tintagel Castle or if you're Cornish "Kastel Dintagel". 
     Legend has it that King Arthur was born here. Parts of the castle are still standing and "Merlin's cave" makes an appearance between tides. 300 or so steps up take you up the castle's foundations which have been marked by historians so that you can know what the rooms are used for. One room has an altar, another was decorated with flowers and used for ladies to enjoy poetry readings - "Where for art thou Lancelot?" - count me in! 

This scene is so remarkable and unique, I have to include a bunch of pictures...

Looking out of Merlin's Cave

 

Merlin's cave

Just your average day at the castle!

Top of the world poetry room

The Island Courtyard

The cove from above the cave

Out the castle "window"

Steps in the Great Hall

Entrance to the Great hall

   The view from up top was unbelievable! You could see the deep-blue ocean below curving around the peak at about a 300 degree turn. To the East which is now the Cornwall, there's a peninsula connecting to a huge, walled courtyard and  the other way leads through the great hall where you can look out their windows and walk up their steps.

     Even if Arthur was ever proven to be only legend, someone lived here and traded in the port and that someone was a BOSS. Sitting atop the mainland, painting the cove below with nothing man-made in view except the castle walls was magical! No trip to Disneyland could even compare to the feeling of being transported to another time and place as being in Tintagel. It made me feel like I could hear the clink of armor or I needed to watch out for Vikking ships in the west or the blue-faced Braveheart running up from the East crying "FREEDOM!"

Ain't nothin' corny about Cornwall!

Mom Monday - finding ways to bond with your teenage sons

     I admit it, I've been at a loss this summer with how to bond with my teenage sons. Mostly we

Biking with the younger ones

just sit and chat late into the night. But, I can't get them to join me hiking or biking because they know I'll be taking a "less-extreme" path with their younger brothers in tow. Anymore, they won't even consider an outing if their younger brothers are going because they know they can't resist picking fights.



     So, it just fell into my lap. I had some tire work done on my VW Bug and decided to change the oil at home. I figured if I could just get it up on the ramps, I could get a look at the access under the rear-engine. It doesn't even have a filter, so you only have to drain it and wipe down the screen.  I convinced my 14-year-old that it was as simple as the picture in the manual......"See, just six bolts to get the panel off"

     Okayyyy, so it took us all day!  We didn't have the right socket, the parts kept falling into the oil drain pan, and putting it back together was more challenging than getting it off. Without him noticing, the grease was running up to his elbow! I ended up having to suit up and get under there to finish it off. Who knew that some foreign cars have bolts go in at a slight angle? 

     Even so,  it was a great afternoon spent learning about cars with my partner-in-oil, Dustin. It gave me a chance treat him like a man and appreciate him for his efforts, regardless of the outcome. I was able to show him how to deal with a problem without losing my cool. We'll always have that mutual frustration with the bolts.

     I can't wait until it needs changing again!!

How do you bond with your teenagers?  Play XBOX? Listen to amped-up Dubstep in the car with the windows rattling and your fillings shaking loose?

BritLit - How to vacation like a Roman

 

 
   Pack your toga and ride your chariot to Aquae Sulis (or rather Bath, England). Be sure to say Bath with a "short o" like "box" or everyone will know you are a tourist! 

Relaxing in the city

     Here you get a double whammy - Roman Baths AND the modern city of Bath. People have been drawn there for the climate. If every you want your skin to feel 10 years younger, this is the place. There's just a general steamy feeling to the air and the city is so quiet and relaxing. The buildings are pretty much the same, but each owner adds their own planters with geraniums or favorite flower. The shops aren't crowded and the people are so nice. 





     We met this handsome gent at the Jane Austen center.....oh and this one, too. He says he wants them to make an "I love Lizzy" pin!
Like many others, Jane Austen moved to Bath when she became ill later in life. 

     To the Roman Bath's. This place feels like you are traveling back in time. They built an elaborate spa-complex over this natural hot spring - with plumbing even. There was a steam room with an elevated floor where they pumped the steam in to the stacks of hot rocks. They even had an exercise room and an altar. The main attraction was the big rectangular pool, but you could go to the circular indoor cold pool too. We have hot springs in Montana, and I kept wondering why it didn't smell like sulfur? I mean it is bright green and all. Oh, an in case you are wondering - no, you cannot touch the water. There's some killer amoeba in there since it's been out of use for so long!

Steamroom floor

     Believe it or not, they even filtered some of the fresh hot spring water and hooked it up to a fountain. Let me tell you, it tastes like you are drinking out of a copper cup - yuk! 

Oh, and for those inquiring minds....THIS is how they kept those toga's on.......



    

      In the young adult novel by Philip Reeve, Here Lies Arthur, the character Bedwyr (Lancelot) has an affair with Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), stealing away to the old Bath complex. Philip Reeve sets the scene as a smelly, abandoned, vine-covered building, but when Arthur discovers them hiding - he loses it!  

We'll visit the settings for Here Lies Arthur a few more times next week.

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I did it!! Make that 90+2

Remember this??? School Dayz - Bring it on!

    I just verified my transcript and it's official - I'm a Senior!!!
WOOHOOO!
        No matter how long you

are in college, the university only considers you a senior when you reach 90 credits. I thought I was at 89 credits after my study abroad, but I forgot the extra course in teaching grammar put me over the top at 92!!!!

     Two more semesters of courses, a brief in-class observation course and a semester of student teaching and I will be graduating!!!! I will have done everything necessary to get out of the customer service rut - I will be hire-able!!