Marie Antoinette's Poufs

I have started to prepare for a trip to France this summer by reading a book about Marie Antoinette. The book, To the Scaffold: The Life of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson, is quite fascinating.

Yesterday, I read about Marie's incredible poufs. In 1774, the women of the court were wearing elaborate hats. But, they started styling their hair in elaborate ways instead. The pouf a la circonstance featured "a cypress and black marigolds, a wheat sheaf, and a cornucopia filled with every sort of fruit and white feathers. The allegorical meaning of the Circumstance Pouf was that while mourning Louis XV, France welcomed the bounty certain to be enjoyed under the new King. A medical coiffure came next, the pouf a l'inoculation. Louis had submitted to being inoculated against smallpox about a month after becoming King, and the new hairstyle commermorated this with a rising sun, an olive tree and a serpent entwined around the trunk, a flower club near him." (quote from the above book)

Another amazing pouf was coiffure a 'Independance ou le Triomphe de la Liberte (shown above) which celebrated a naval victory in the American War for independence.

I particularly enjoyed a post I found on the subject at a blog entitled "Dressed in Time: Historical costuming with a special love for the 18th century." The post is called "Wiggery and poufs!"  The author tells all about the poufs: how they were powdered, how they scratched their itchy heads (with a tool called a grattoir), how they slept (with their hair wrapped in a triple bandage), how they protected their hair from the elements, and much, much more! I found it absolutely fascinating!

Japan's Influcence on Western Art (1854-1918)

We are headed to San Antonio this weekend for my 3rd half marathon. (Yeah!) And, I'm hoping to go to the McNay Art Museum while we are there. There is one exhibit, in particular, that I'm interested in seeing. It is called: "The Orient Expressed: Japan's Influence on Western Art 1854-1918."

Alex & I studied some about the influence of Japan on Western art when we studied Mary Cassatt. I read here the following: In 1890, Cassatt visited an exhibition of Japanese woodcuts at the Beaux-Arts Academy in Paris. She was so intrigued by the prints that she decided to do a set of prints in her own personal style. These prints are some of her most well-known works and are considered by many to be her most beautiful creations.

(Alex's print from our study of Cassatt in March 2007)

This exhibit includes a teacher's guide which can be found here. It is 42 pages long and includes a background of Japan's influence starting with Commodore Matthew Perry's arrival and the reopening of Japanese ports after over 250 years of isolation. The guide also shares reproductions of many of the paintings from the exhibit along with the texts from the wall. It is a fascinating read whether you can see the exhibit or not.

What's the Genre?

Alex has to read a lot of books this school year (wow!) and she has to fill in this chart that tells what genre each book is. Well, I was having a little trouble telling the difference between Science Fiction and Fantasty. But, I found this neat site that I found very helpful at the BookNutsReadingClub. I wanted to have it here to look back at and maybe some of you will find it useful, too!

NaNoWriMo

Some people believe in ghosts. Others don't. In a small city in Timberland, called Millstone, where I live, everyone does.

This is the start of Alex's NaNoWriMo novel. I love it! She's writing a novel with NaNoWriMo. Are you familiar with it? It's something I'd seen off & on the past few years, but we've never tried. Now, at school, Alex is writing a novel along with all of the students in 6th grade.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it is an annual project held every November. You can find out more on their website.

Maybe Mr Do should have a will...helping verbs help!

As some of you might have guessed, after 6 years of homeschooling, Alex is now in a private school. We have leaned towards this decision more & more the past 2-3 years and it was time for us. She is enjoying her new school and adjusting well. It is a small, international school. She's in 6th grade and there are two classes with a total of about 35 students. She is on her volleyball team which, besides the homework, keeps her quite busy! In fact, the transition has been pretty dramatic. We were used to finishing school by noon or 1 pm, and now it is not uncommon to be doing homework until 8 pm. In fact, we've been up until 9-10:15 a handful of nights! She is getting great grades, though, and is enjoying her school.

I have been staying very busy with my running & exercising, errands, house repairs, Bible study, and miscellaneous tasks. I have two hobbies I'm really trying to work on: digital scrapbooking (though I'm still arranging my digital albums!) and genealogy. I am even taking on online, graded genealogy course with the thoughts of someday becoming certified. I am also working on scrapbooks to give as Christmas presents for our 3 trips this year: Japan (with my brother), Florida (with my husbands's family), and Yellowstone & Grand Tetons (with my mother).

I do miss teaching, though I'm helping with homework every night. I keep coming across things I want to teach and that is kind of frustrating! I wonder if there isn't some other kind of teaching in my future.

Tonight, Alex was working on Helping Verbs and had a question. I Googled online and found a neat mnemonic to help you remember them! It's a cute story called "Maybe Mr Do should have a will." Check it out if you're studying helping verbs!

I might continue to blog as I come across other things. And, I've thought about continuing to blog about our travels. I'm just not sure at this point. I don't really want to leave the homeschooling community behind! I've even thought about teaching at our co-op again.

I miss you all! I know I didn't blog much last year - it was kind of my way of breaking away as I knew we wouldn't be homeschooling any more. It was a hard decision, but it is the best one for our family at this time.

I hope you are all off to the start of a great year!

It's Getting So HOT Out!

This has been a HOT week to workout! Right now, my daughter has swimming practice from 7-8 pm 3 days a week. Then, on Fridays, here practice is 4:45-5:45. So, this is my main workout time.

So, this week I did the following:
Sunday - ran 6 miles at 7:00 am in hills at lakehouse.
Monday - ran 2 miles at 6:30 am.
Tuesday - ran 3.5 miles of intervals at 7 pm...temp in lower 90's.
Wednesday - did 30 minute Pilates video workout. Planned on bike ride, but dd's friend called & she was in a musical that night, so we did that instead.
Thursday - did 30 minute cardio/sculpting video in morning & 3.5 mile run (working on 'mile repeats') at 7 pm...temp about 94.
Friday - rode bike about 11 miles in 50 minutes....temp about 95.
Saturday - REST DAY as we spend 6:45 am - 2 pm at swim meet. Then drive to lake house!

These workouts are HARD in this heat!!! I need to be carrying water, but haven't been. Thankfully, we just have one more week on this schedule & then we switch to mornings (since school will be out). Practice will be from 7:30-8:30 am, and the temps will hopefully be closer to 80. Yeah!!!

Oh, and today was our last day of homeschooling...truly! We have been doing it for 6 years and my dd will be going to private school next year. It's kind of sad to leave this behind, but we are both ready for a new adventure!!!

Freedom Riders

Watch the full episode. See more American Experience.

I know I rarely post any more, but this opportunity sounds too good to pass up. American Experience will be airing an episode called Freedom Riders on May 16th. In honor of the 50th anniversary of this historic civil rights event, 40 college students will be boarding a bus today and following the route of these civil rights activists.

From the website: FREEDOM RIDERS is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism.

You can follow the present day riders and learn more about this time in history!

My 1st Sprint Triathlon! (w/photos!)

I did it! Yesterday I competed in my first sprint triathlon. Wow!!!

So, how was it? It was great! It was hard! It was WINDY! But, I did it! And, I AM a triathlete.
MORNING: I woke up a little before 5 am and went through my bag one more time. I grabbed my breakfast (I was too nervous to eat) and loaded my bike on the back of my car. And, I headed towards the community center.

CHECKING IN and SETTING UP: I had been there the day before for a first timers event. (More on that later.) So, I knew pretty much what would be happening and where everything was set up. I brought my flashlight (great idea as I had to pump up my tires in the dark parking lot!) and went over to get my markings. The guy marking my leg heard me say "31" instead of "41" so he had to rewrite it. It was really messy and unreadable. Oh, well! I got my area set up according to everything I'd read and the Saturday class. I ate my banana and went and got my ankle chip. Then, I walked the exit & entrance to the bike & run several times to make sure I could find my bike. I was 2nd from the end, and got really good at finding it.

Minutes before my start... the guys behind me must have been some of those who passed me.

SWIM: There were about 600 participants and I was number 487. I was told they'd put someone in the water every 5 seconds, which should have put me around 7:25. But, I didn't get in the water until 7:45. It was a LONG wait, and I was wishing I had more 'fuel' to eat. I stood around talking to one of the ladies I'd me Saturday and the guy who was next to me on the rack. He actually trains some triathletes, so he was a great person to ask questions! (Oh, and I learned that they close the transition area -something I hadn't read - so you have to get whatever you need out of there!)

Taking a quick breath.

It was finally my turn to start & I jumped in. I'd predicted my swim team, for the 275 yards in the pool, would be 7:30. I hadn't practiced jumping in and was afraid my goggles would fill up with water, but they were fine. I hadn't warmed up at all since I knew there'd be a long wait until I started swimming. But, I immediately felt at ease in the water. That is, until the guys behind me caught up to me on the 2nd lane. For about 5 laps, they passed me one after another. And, they were bumping into me, pulling my legs under, and just messing with me! I was proud of myself for staying calm. I flipped over on my back twice, but just for a couple of seconds. I ended up swimming slightly faster than expected with a time of 7:24! And, I realize now that I actually probably swam 300 yards instead of 275 since you are also swimming the entire length of the pool. So, I was swimming faster than ever! Yeah!

Shoes are on... now for a quick snack...

T1: My first transition went well. I really had trouble 'running' from the swimming pool and it was a slight jog instead. My plan was to stand up and put my socks & shoes on, but my socks weren't going on easily. So, I sat down and got them on. I also grabbed a few Honey Stingers. I had a good time at just 2:41.

BIKE: I'd rode one loop of the 2 loop bike route the day before with the first timers group. And, Saturday had been kind of windy. But, race day was VERY windy! And, the path was hilly! (At least compared to the flat lands I ride on!) I am very proud of how hard I worked on the ride. I pushed & pushed and gave 100%. There were times we were riding directly into the wind and we were barely moving. And, we didn't get the benefit of the wind because we were behind some buildings when it should have been at our back. Overall, I'm very happy with my bike leg, especially since I haven't been riding very long. My time for 13 miles (which I showed as about 13.5 miles) was 59:21.

T2: I had a quick transition. I know I could have been a few seconds quicker by putting my cap on while running, but I was so tired and wanted a few seconds break. I also grabbed a big drink of water off of my bike and a couple more Honey Stingers. I had one of the fastest T2s in my age bracket at 1:14. (But, I didn't have to change shoes since I ride in my tennis shoes.)
 

At the start of the run... I was walking soon after this photo.

RUN: I was so tired by my run. It was hard to get going. I walked a lot more than I expected. I think I walked 5 times and they were pretty long walks. I had just given almost all of what I had to give! My run time was the 2nd slowest in my age group at 40:16. But, my fastest 5K to date is only 37 something, so this was actually pretty decent for me.
 

The FINISH!!! A triathlete is born!

So, my total time was 1:50:38. I placed 26 of 28 in my age group. I placed 150 of 175 out of the women. As in every other race, I came in at the back of the pack. Yes, that is frustrating for me. But, I think I did an incredible job and I know I gave it my all. (Well, I might have held back a little during the run.) I need to keep working on all 3 sports and I will get better! Right now I'm a little frustrated that I have a half marathon I'm training for, too, so it'll be harder to work on speed, but I'll do my best!

That's it! That's the story of my first triahtlon! I hope, if you are considering doing one, that you'll get out there and give it a try. It is an incredible feeling of accomplishment.

Friends, I Need Prayer

I got an email this morning saying one of my friends has passed away. She is now in heaven praising God. But, she left behind her husband, 5 children, family and friends. We are heartsick.

The hard part for us is she was the mom of one of my daughter's best friends. They were in co-op about 4 years ago. After we left co-op (about 3 years ago), we didn't see this family again until this year at AHG (American Heritage Girls - like Girl Scouts). They quickly renewed their friendship and were best buddies at AHG. We went skating once a month with them. I remember having several conversations in the parking lot with the mom (the dad took the kids skating as she has little ones). She was full of life and joy and love for Her Savior.

To make this harder on my family, one of my daughter's other best friend's mom (this time from co-op) passed away in November. There were 3 little girls that were like the 3 amigos twice a week when we met. Her mom died during her 3rd battle with cancer. This family, the dad and 2 daughters (the other daughter was one of my students), moved away in March to be closer to family.

Alex is still asleep. I pray that she understands that God IS good! And, that even in our grief over the 2nd mom's death, that there is little chance that I will die. Please pray for her, and me, and this precious family as they grieve. Thanks. Dana

Our First Evening in Tokyo

We left Houston at 6:30 am on Wednesday and got to Japan at 3:30 pm on Thursday. There is a 15 hour time difference. The main airport is in Narita, so we had to take a train into Tokyo. We had to change to a local train once reaching Tokyo. The train system in Tokyo is amazingly efficient. You usually only have to wait 2-4 minutes to go in either direction. It's amazing. Anyway, by the time we took the trains and got to our hotel room, we were really tired. Alex hadn't slept at all and I'd only had two 30 minute naps. We checked in and then got back on the train to go explore a little bit and eat some dinner. We were trying to stay up until at least 9 pm.

We went back one train station to Ueno. We decided to walk around a bit. This was our first 'taste' of Japan and my first shock was that we were the only non-Japanese people we saw! The train station is kind of like a plane station - there are a few restaurants and small shops inside. We headed outside to check out the main streets.

This isn't a very good photo, but we stopped and listened to this street performer.

Besides the train system, bicycling is the primary form of transportation. We got used to seeing bikes parked everywhere - and dodging them while we walked! We even watched official 'bike parkers' (my term) who would repark the bikes by picking them up & placing them closer together! It took us awhile, but we finally figured out they are locked around the back wheel so no one else can ride them.

We'd read about these "Capsule Hotels" before we left, and Alex really wanted to stay in one. The closest we got, though, is this photo. The 'rooms' are actually just little cubbies, usually stacked 3 high, where you can sleep. It sounds kind of claustrophobic to me! Most of them are for men only and are used by workers who miss the last long train ride home.

Here's my brother getting us train tickets. You have to look at what stop you are at and where you are going and pay that amount per person. Children's fares are less than adult's. My brother would push a photo that showed 2 adults & 1 child, and then buy another ticket for 1 adult. (His girlfriend traveled with us the first 3 days.) This was much easier after we figured out how to switch the machines to English!

Here's a photo of the complicated train routes. My brother did most of the planning, though I was figuring it out in the end.This sign doesn't show the stops in English, but most of the signs were bilingual.

I think this photo is actually from the next morning. It is kind of funny that my camera didn't know I was in a different time zone, so the photos aren't actually sorted by my Japanese days! Anyway, I liked that some train cars were for "Women Only" during the morning rush hour. We had to watch for these signs as my brother wouldn't have been allowed!