What wound'rous life is this I lead!
Ripe apples drop about my head;
The luscious clusters of the vine
Upon my mouth do crush their wine;
The nectarine and curious peach
Into my hands themselves do reach;
Stumbling on melons as I pass,
Ensnar'd with flow'rs, I fall on grass.
Meanwhile the mind, from pleasure less,
Withdraws into it's happiness;
The mind, that ocean where each kind
Does straight its own resemblance find,
Yet it creates, transcending these,
Far other words, and other seas;
Annihilating all that's made
To a green thought in a green shade.
~Andrew Marvell, (1621-1678) from The Garden
Thoughts . . . I'll have whatever he's smoking, lol. Seriously though what an interestingly fanciful perception of what is obviously a garden filled with a variety of fruit trees and other delights. I think to myself, what an interesting man. I want to get to know him more . . .
A fanciful portrait of a fanciful man
He is known as a pivotal figure in English Literature. Thought to be the single most compelling embodiment of the change that came over English society and letters in the course of the 17th century. In an era that makes a better claim than most upon the familiar term transitional, Marvell wrote a varied array of exquisite lyrics that blend Cavalier grace with Metaphysical wit and complexity. He first turned into a panegyrist for the Lord Protector and his regime and then into an increasingly bitter satirist and polemicist, attacking the royal court and the established church in both prose and verse. It is as if the most delicate and elusive of butterflies somehow metamorphosed into a caterpillar.
He was the son of a clergyman, attending Trinity College at 13 and gaining a BA degree from Cambridge, and travelled extensively in Europe throughout his lifetime. Really he led quite a fascinating life which you can read about
here. His political writings, particularly those against the royal court of the day and established church have earned him a reputation as an ardent patriot and defender of religious and political liberty, with a significant influence on English Literature.
I think were I to hold a dinner party with a variety of guests plucked from history, I might consider inviting him. He would be a very interesting man to hold a conversation with I think.
I fell asleep to the deep rumbles of thunder last evening reverberating through this valley I live in. Deep and low they made the windows shake, although I did not see any lightening flash. Just the rumbles of thunder and then the drumming of rain on the rooftop as it fell. Indeed this morning the street in front of the house holds puddles that have not yet dried so I know that my petunias and geraniums got a good dousing. A good thing as I felt too tired to water them when I got back from my sister's.
It was a somewhat busy day yesterday. I did my work in the morning and then drove over to see to our father and make sure he got his lunch. Cindy had left a sandwich for him in the refrigerator and I brought him a cookie to enjoy for afters. We spent a bit of time visiting before my sister and Dan returned from picking up our brother and his wife at the airport.
I don't often get to spend time with dad on his own. His world has become very narrow now. His mobility difficulties and lack of hearing really hamper him. You need to shout to be heard and you need to speak very slowly, which makes conversation difficult. Many times you need to repeat your words more than once and even then there is no guarantee he has actually heard you. My brother is very soft spoken. Even I have difficulty hearing him sometimes. It will be interesting.
I did not stay long as I had a few things to do at home, but I went back over around supper time. I did not eat but did enjoy several hours visit with everyone. It was nice to see my sister-in-law as we had not seen her for a few years. They were going to go to the shore today and then we are all meeting at the Big Scoop for dinner later on. Eileen is pretty excited about that. She loves her Uncle David and Aunt Christine. She spent a week or so visiting them on her own once. It was a while before she got married so a long time ago now. I think David's girls were all still living at home at the time. They are all grown up now.
I've been watching The Chosen, in the Wild with Bear Grylls on Amazon. Well, I've watched two episodes. One where Luke Dimyan who plays Judas in the Chosen was with him and the other one with Elizabeth Tabish (Mary). All I can say is those are some very brave people. The things they end up doing in the Wild. I doubt I could ever do them. For one, you could not pay me enough to eat a scorpion or a tarantula. Or jump out of a helicopter, slide across a deep ravine on a pully, etc. Nope, nope, nope.
Brave people.
The Chosen is probably one of my all time favorite television series. I think it has been done so very well, with all of the characters in it being portrayed so very realistically. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched it from beginning to end at this point and I am watching it again in anticipation for the release of the next series on November 15th. Prime will probably crash from the weight of people tuning in on that date.
Series six will be very hard to watch as it will follow the day of Jesus Crucifixion, from the time of his arrest in Gethsemane to his death on the cross. All along, right from series one, my emotions have been very keenly involved and invested in this show as I watch it. I have cried so many times and been able to really feel the characters. I cannot imagine how I am going to feel watching this next series. It is going to be gut wrenching, but necessary.
And then we have season 7 to look forward to . . . the resurrection.
If you have never watched the Chosen I can't tell you how much you are missing out on in not doing so. You do not have to be a believer to enjoy it. It is excellent. Jonathan Roumie plays the best Jesus ever. He is very convincing in the role. Very.
I woke up at 5:30 this morning needing to use the loo so I did and then went back to bed, thinking I would just lay there until 6 but ended up sleeping right through until 6:30. Most unusual for me. Usually I go to bed at 9 pm. pray, listen to some talks and music and read until 10:30. Go to sleep while listening to the evening liturgy. Sleep for about an hour, wake up. Go to the loo and then fall back asleep, where I will wake up literally every 2 hours throughout the night. Without fail. I know because I will look at the clock. Then I wake up at 6 a.m. and that's when my day starts. I cannot remember a time when I have slept straight the night through without having to get up several times at the very least. Not since before my kidney stones. I don't know if this is normal. Usually I end up having a nap mid afternoon these days. Sometimes mid morning. All depending on what I have going on. I never used to nap. Obviously I need to nap now. I dream very vivid dreams when I am asleep. Usually they go on all night long. Just one long continuous dream. Last night I was dreaming about maggots.
I know . . . ugh . . . this was probably because I went to put something in the compost late yesterday afternoon and noticed maggots in the bin. Usually my compost is run through my countertop composter. It turns the compost into soil. I could probably just dump it in my back garden, but I put it into the bin. I compost most of my food waste that way, however it doesn't compost bones, hard stones and pits, large amounts of fat or cooked potato. I did some ham in it once and it got stuck. Took me forever to get that out of there so I learned my lesson with that one. So you still do end up with some things that you need to put into the bin regardless. I love my composter though.
I got myself a small masticating juicer. I haven't used it yet. I need to go and buy some fresh fruits/veg to juice. I used to have one in the U.K. It was much larger than this one. This one is the perfect size for me. And I can put the masticated stuff into the composter. I love fresh juices. You can make all kinds of interesting combinations. I love pineapple, mango and ginger. I also love carrot and beetroot with spinach. Very healthy.
We are all meeting up later today to have dinner together at the restaurant we usually go to. I will pick up Eileen. We have a reservation for 8 people which will be a large crew of us. I hope it all goes well. My dad will be happy to have all of his children there with him I am sure. Eileen just loves going out to dinner and to be honest so do I. It will be fun to all be together like that. I am looking forward to it, and with that I best leave you with a thought for the day as it is a quarter of 10 and I have a lot to do. I am really running later today!
☾ ° ★° * 。
• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★*Interest is the most important
thing in life; Happiness is temporary,
But interest is continuous.
~Georgia O'Keefe
In The English Kitchen today . . .
Small Batch Corn Muffins. This recipe makes only four tasty cornbread style muffins. They are moist and tender and sweet. Delicious served warm, split and spread with butter. Yummy!
I hope that you have a lovely day. Whatever you get up to, I hope it brings you joy. Don't forget along the way of your day!
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And I do too!
