Hannah's Scribblings

Coffee seems to be most people’s drink of choice. While I have always enjoyed the smell, the actual taste of coffee doesn’t quite suit my taste buds…despite the sugar.

My true weakness is for smoothies. I love them. In particular, Graeter’s and Orange Julius have an interesing way of finding themselves in my hands whether I intended to buy them or not.

I have also learned to really apreciate Spiru-Tein, a non-GMO protein drink. It is an aquired taste (something Mom found out one day, much to my amusement), but once aquired it stays with you.  At any rate, it’s much better than the protein smoothies I used to make…because the protein I had to use was peanut butter.

Jake

Dad can’t walk Jake because Jake pulls his back. Mom can’t walk Jake because he pulls her shoulders, elbows, hips and knees out of place. MA is at work when Jake wants (and we need) a walk. That leaves me to handle our over grown puppy.

Jake is an odd German Shepherd Dog. When Max, who was the height of German Shepherdom on Earth (at least for me), was Jake’s age he was quite content to go outside and run all by himself when he needed to burn off energy. Jake on the other hand seems incapable of doing anything by himself; or of letting others do anything by themselves. Consequently, when he needs to burn off energy, that dog is an unruly force of nature who drives us into distraction, irritation and downright crankiness. I generally take him for about three or four 1.2 mile walks a day.

I don’t ask much of a dog on a walk; just that they stay on the right side of the road, walk at the pace I choose, don’t jerk me off my feet and be polite to other people on the road (whether they are walking or in vehicles). Staying on the right side of the road isn’t so much off a problem for Jake. The jerking and pulling I can control without hurting myself; and, while exuberant, Jake is polite when greeting the other lady who walks down the little country road. Walks have become a pleasant affair…until a car is sighted. Miss Opal (half Jack Russell, half Australian cattle dog) has taught Jake that cars are mighty fun to lunge at. It’s a cute mannerism in a 30 pound dog who balances on her back paws and yaps at passing vehicles. In a dog who’s around a hundred pounds of mostly muscle, lunging is a bad habit we can’t seem to break him of. Of course, being human and made in the image of God, I have an incredible advantage over my contrary canine companion: the ability to think rationally and logically. But…the truth of the matter is…that when push comes to shove, I’m more stubborn than smart. Oh, I take him over to the grass on the side of the road, sit him down and loop the leash around his shoulders when I see a car approaching, but what keeps us there is sheer stubborn force of stubborn willpower–mine.

These walks have had an unexpected consequence: Jake is now under the impression that he is mine. Guess who’s called to deal with him when he’s being annoying.

Apparently I’ve been bitten by the reviewing bug. Odd, considering I just named a category “The Rare Review”! I assure you, they usually are. Rare, that is.

I’m actually a pretty big Star Wars fan. More precisely, I’m a big Original Trilogy fan. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Prequel Trilogy; I even love parts of it. But for me, Star Wars is and will always be the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia. The simple good vs. evil fairy tale-esque story is so refreshing to be swept away in.

Any rate, as a self-confessed Star Wars fan, I like to visit this Star Wars site. There  are a lot of intelligent, well-articulated people on there whose thoughts and observations often leave me doing some hard thinking.

Today I found a really good entry, discussing the subtle difference between kids wanting to be Luke Skywalker and kids wanting to be Anakin Skywalker. Here’s the link. It reminds of something Mom said back in ‘99 after The Phantom Menace came out.

You’ll have to forgive me if I myself am not so well articulated today. I have spent the day helping Dad put in my floor and the only thing that is preventing me from face-planting on my keyboard is the elbow I have propped between the two.

The genius did set in. Here’s what it looks like:

This coming Saturday Dad and I are securing it to the sub-floor, and this week I’ll be busy sanding and (hopefully) staining it. After the floor is completely done, we can gather my furniture from the various corners of the house and put them where they belong–in my room!

I first became aware of Regina Doman and her Fairy Tale Novels through fellow blogger Elenatintil, whom I found on NarniaWeb.

Authored by Catholic home-schooling mother Regina Doman, the Fairy Tale Novels are a series of books that take classic fairy tales and retell them in a modern setting. Currently there are 4: The Shadow of the Bear (Snow White and Rose Red), Black As Night (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Waking Rose (Sleeping Beauty) and The Midnight Dancers (the Twelve Dancing Princesses). The latter has yet to make it to my bookshelf, by the way. 

The Shadow of the Bear, Black As Night and Waking Rose follow the lives of two sisters, Blanche and Rose Brier. The first book splits the focus pretty evenly between the two sisters; however Black As Night is solely Blanche’s story as Waking Rose is Rose’s.

Pros

I enjoyed these books. While not absolutely astounding pieces of literature, they were enjoyable, good reads; definitely worth the money spent on them. Doman has a good grasp of character and a talent for making situations feel real. In particular, I loved Fish/Benedict Denniston. Now there is a character after my own heart: a slightly sarcastic fellow with a quick-fire wit and a tongue to express it.

One of the greatest things about these books is the wholesome worldview they present. The characters and author insist upon the beauty of living your life for God. Morality isn’t stifling and holiness isn’t drab.

Cons

While I enjoyed these books, I did find a few areas where I thought they were lacking.

1. Important parts of the fairy tales skipped over
2. “Catholic”, not “Christian”

1. The fairy tale “Snow White and Rose Red”, has many themes. One is compatibility in companionship: a theme that is very well expressed in The Shadow of the Bear. But there are other themes, themes that got left behind. In the fairy tale, the girls live in the forest where they know every creature, every flower. They are comfortable in their environment; they wander where they please, taking no thought for their safety, because they know nothing will harm them. Even Snow White, the shy and quiet sister has no fear of the forest or the inhabitants.

In The Shadow of the Bear, the girls are new arrivals to the city. They have few or no friends, and Blanche is anything but comfortable with her environment.

There are, of course, many lessons to be learned from those who are adjusting to their environment. But they are not the lessons of this fairy tale.

Also, the encounters with the “dwarf” (a major part of the original fairy tale) felt like it was squeezed in.

I had the same trouble with Waking Rose. It just didn’t feel like Sleeping Beauty.

One of the reasons Black As Night was my favorite out of the three was that it truly was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs retold in the modern world. All the major points of the fairy tale were represented, and several quiet nods to the source material peppered the background.

2. The biggest trouble I had with the fairy tale novels is that the characters and worldview are defined as “Catholic”. Not once in the first three books is the word “Christian” used. It’s always “Catholic”. Is the wholesome outlook Doman presents Catholic, or is it Christian?

Oh, I call myself Presbyterian, and I am, fiercely and completely. But Presbyterian comes after and only after Christian. The “Christian” part defines my life, and is my worldview. “Presbyterian” is for those little details, which sometimes give more trouble than the big, important ones. To me, acknowledging our unity in the redeeming blood of Christ seems like it ought to come first, before we proclaim our allegiance to a particular branch of the visible church. 

 I am planning on getting The Midnight Dancers when I get a spare $25, and Alex O’Donnell and the 40 Hackers when it comes out. And I would love to see Doman write something in a different genre, outside of her comfort zone.