John Rutter’s arrangement is my favorite version of this lovely Irish carol – his harmonization is just exquisite. This video seems to be quite recent, as it was only posted a few days ago and the choir is arranged to be “socially distant”. It makes me sad that they have to do that, but happy… Continue Reading
Favorite Christmas Carols: Ding! Dong! Merrily on High
I will post something a bit more contemplative tomorrow, but I can’t resist one more carol from the wonderful King’s College choir. According to my research, the tune is from the 1500s and the words from the early 1900s, but somehow this song has a timeless feel. It’s a simple call for the whole community,… Continue Reading
Favorite Christmas Carols: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
There are many lovely arrangements of this carol, both instrumental and choral. Pentatonix has done a fun one, and I love The Piano Guys’ mashup with Carol of the Bells. But for sheer power and beauty, I don’t think you can beat this arrangement by David Willcocks, especially that descant on the last verse. Christ… Continue Reading
Favorite Christmas Carols: Shepherd’s Pipe Carol
We found out yesterday that due to new restrictions, we will be spending another Christmas at home instead of with family in Canada. That has left me feeling rather blue, and so I thought as one way to cheer myself up, I would share some of my favorite carols on the blog this week. James… Continue Reading
Book Notes: Existential Richness
I am currently reading Josef Pieper’s In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity. This book echoes ideas from his Leisure, the Basis of Culture and the Love section of Faith, Hope, Love, while offering wonderful insights into the deeper meanings behind human festivals, particularly Christian ones. A festival is essentially a phenomenon of… Continue Reading
The Simple Woman’s Daybook for December 13, 2021
For Today Looking out my window…lots of lovely Christmas lights around the neighborhood. 🙂 I am thinking…about all the things that need to be done before Christmas! I am thankful…it’s the last week of Term 1 – Christmas break starts next week! One of my favorite things…Wildlights at the zoo. I am creating…well, I made… Continue Reading
The Simple Woman’s Daybook for October 25, 2021
For Today Looking out my window…gray and windy and a bit chilly. I am thinking…about love, thanks to Josef Pieper (see quote below). ♥ I am thankful…our sickness scare over the weekend wasn’t what we were afraid it was, and we didn’t expose our friends to it. God answered prayer! One of my favorite things…getting… Continue Reading
2021 Meet the Students
This recent post at Living Unabridged reminded me that I haven’t done one of these for a few years. So here’s a little bit about each of my students. 🙂 Mr. D Favorite home subject: Literature (mostly taken from AmblesideOnline Year 11) Favorite outside subject: Jr. ROTC (Air Force) early on most weekday mornings at our… Continue Reading
Book Notes: Loving Identification
I thought I needed some more Josef Pieper in my life, and I was right. 😉 I picked up his Faith, Hope, Love as a sort of birthday gift to myself, and it is satisfyingly mind-stretching. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, but I’m definitely pondering the concepts of belief and faith in… Continue Reading
Book Notes: The Freedom of Fellowship
For the last six weeks, I have been blessed to be able to participate in Cindy Rollins’ summer course, Morning Time for Moms. Two of the books that we read together were The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom and Live Not by Lies by Rod Dreher. Both are difficult and thought-provoking reads, but they… Continue Reading