Mama

Ginger Wauweese Buie Moore, Christmas Day 2009

Today is my mother's birthday, and I can't say enough good things about her. First, she has an amazing name. Growing up she stayed home rather than work, and each day we were greeted coming home from school with her smile and on espeically lucky days, her home made sour dough bread. She spent countless hours driving us to and from school and soccer practices and was completely selfless in her desire to give us everything she could. Every evening we would have a family meal, and I swear, she is one of the best cooks on earth. She dedicatedly woke up early to cook us hearty breakfasts before school and each morning was something different: my favorites were blueberry muffins or waffles with fruit.

But far from being a stay-at-home mama, she has raised us in different countries, packing the whole familiy up, on more than one occassion and moving (twice) to South East Asia where she faced problems of geckos in the refrigerator, cockroaches in the kitchen, buying groceries without a car, and making sure we took the correct bus to go to school. She was always our number one fan, and after nearly every game we played she'd ask, 'Did you hear me from the sidelines?'

First Sunday I'm back from my semester Abroad, July 2009

My particularly favorite memories of her are on Christmas day. She loves watching us wake up and stumble down the stairs and open "santa's" stockings, so excited to give us things we've been wanting. After presents, she'll have cooked a better than usual breakfast. I love this photo of mama, because it utterly captures her on Christmas.

Early on she instilled in us a love for reading. Bedtime was the highlight of the day and I remember dancing on edge to find out what happened in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. She continues to read great books now, her particular favorites being Austen and Dickens. She loves country music and one of my favorite memories was singing along to her record player to this song.




She passed on to us her strong sense of justice. Few things can bring tears to my mother's eyes, but injustice is one of them. Right and wrong were no laughing matters to her, and from very early on, she took it very seriously when any of us behaved badly. Mama is not one to pick her battles: anytime anything is wrong she can't afford to look the other way. A little older now, matters I see other parents pass over or deem as unimportant were non-negotiables for her. As I am most like my mother in temperment, she would spend lots of time with me, working through my frustrations and pouncing on my judgemental moments.

Most importantly, mama passed on to all of us, her deep love for the Word of God. If we happened to come down early, we would often catch her holding a cup of coffee while reading over the Bible as this was the first thing she did every morning. She prays for all of us zealously and she knows Scriptures like the back of her hand. The choices I made in college and the choices I've made for a career are deeply shaped by her humble tremor, and I could not think of a better or more brave mother. Love.

Tintin Trailer

Fran and I went to see this last night, and all I can say is that it is utterly amazing!!!!!! I found Tin Tin when I was 18 and have fallen in love with him ever since. When I was in Paris, I remember walking around the stalls outside the Notre Dame, asking the sellers: 'Jay Voo day Tin tin, see voo play?' The graphics were unbelievably good. I generally hate 3-D films, but loved this. The story was excellent and though it was a merge of several books, was brilliant and well told. It definitely captures the essence of TinTin which I just love. I want to see it again. Go- go see it now!!

23 October 2011

Highlights of today: 1. church at Holyrood Abbey, always centers my soul, with the baptism of the adorable Elspeth Scott. Kyle and Chloe, I want to know you better. My favorite chat was with Anne McTaggart. 2. Watching Fran get excited over a new pair of shoes. Quote: 'Darn you for dragging me into manhood!' 3. Fran bought me a cookbook I had eyed!!! 'One Pot And Casseroles'. Britain, watch out, I will learn to cook like you yet! [Question of the day: 'You deep fry everything... Do you deep fry crab?"] 4. The Sunday roast with a hint of curry. So good. Not fried. 5. Letting the bunnies run about in the garden, while playing hide and seek with Essie, and finding Fran had hid in a tree.

Spilled Milk

St. Anthony, Abbot: source

Currently, for my course, I'm reading through the lives of the Saints in The Golden Legend. Its rather exciting as I've learned so much about early church stories. Did you know Martha (Mary and Lazarius's sister) defeated a dragon? Or that Peter was known for always crying, especially when he heard the cock crow? Or my favorite, that St. Anthony, Abbot, is the first recorded person to say, 'don't cry over spilled milk?'

St Chads Matriculation: Real Life Harry Potter

At Durham, we have to apply to be in colleges. The University consists of about 20 or so. I'm in St. Chad's which is really old, but small and beautiful college. Read more about its fabulous self here. St. Chad's is situated on the Old Bailey, which is the bit of the city surrounded by the river, on which is the Castle and Cathedral.

This is a picture of the Old Bailey.

As a postgraduate at St. Chads, we are apart of the Middle Common Room or MCR. The undergraduates are apart of the Junior Common Room, and the Tutors are apart of the Senior Common Room. We have our own common room in the college.

To Matriculate, we all wore our robes and walked into St Chads Chapel where the Principal spoke and then called our names, rose, and signed the registry. We pledged to uphold the rules and honor of St Chads and then proceeded into the courtyard for drinks.

Here is the 2011 Matriculating MCR.

This is Theodora. She is from Austria, and studies Religious Studies. As a part of this, she's in the theology department, and we joke that the American theological students have a 'church clique' meaning that they assume you're a Christian and ask what church you go to. [Three boys are from Alabama, and I know two from Georgia.]

A special part of the evening meant we were allowed to buy wine from our very own wine cellar. Can you believe we have our own wine cellar?! And its dirt cheap. So after buying those, we all trooped in to the dining hall for a formal dinner.

Here's a brief picture of the SCR at their 'high table' at the top of the hall.

Because I had to leave early to catch a train, I had to go up to the Principal, who sat in the center of the table, and bow to him, where he granted me approval to leave the hall.

This is the table with whom I dined. They are all doing Masters courses. Clockwise they study philosophy, religious studies, business management, and biology. Quite a diverse group. For dinner we had liver pate (not my favorite) for first course, steak with vegetables for the second, and chocolate mousse for the third. It was all so nice and inviting and was so sad to have to catch the train home.

I feel a bit split right now with half my life in Durham and half in Edinburgh, but am enjoying it all so very much.

Girls: Don't do this to boys

This first photo is from ages ago, but it shows the bunnies semi-spooning, and its so adorable when they just flop happily like that.







The bunnies are well and I think they love living outside. Their coats are getting slightly coarser due to the cold weather, and I imagine will be v. snug in their hutch.

Outside they live in a hutch at the back of a stone-walled garden. Since I don't have a run (yet-- Fran is building me one!!), I put red leads on them and let them hop about the garden, using the leads to catch them when play-time is up. I have ideas for insulating the hutch which involves a card-board box and straw or newspaper, and is a pretty ingenius idea that I took from a rabbit blog.

I think they are getting along ok, though Indy does occasionally do this to Felix, even outside:

No, they are not making babies. This is a sign of dominance where the dominant rabbit will straddle the lesser rabbit. I feel so badly for Felix as he IS the male and if he wasn't so darn tiny, the male usually takes that position. Indy however, was mine first, and is much larger, so she takes the dominant role here. I'm a bit disappointed becaues the girl promised me a Lionhead, not a dwarf lionhead, and Felix is definitely a dwarf Lionhead, so size here is rather an issue. Fingers crossed that this odd symbiotic relationship will work.

Mice

Source: imgfave.com

In real life, mice are not this cute.

We have mice in our flat. It's not an infestation, but a lowly fact of life living in a tenement connected to other buildings with miles of space between the walls, unstopped, unchecked, for mice to burrow in. Our flat is unable to be properly sealed off due to the brilliant work of the builders, and thus from time to time, while we are watching a movie, we'll see a head peep out from under the oven. There is something incredibly shocking about such a live rodent alive in your presence.

We've tried all sorts of traps, but the only ones that work are the glue traps. We used to put these traps out for lizards in Singapore, but mostly, the lizards escaped and all that would be left was a tail. With mice, these work, but don't kill the mouse for you, so from time to time, we come down to make breakfast only to find our visitor caught on the glue pad.

It's really horrendous to seem them still alive. It'd be much easier to just not look, but thats even more cruel. We realize we have to kill the mice otherwise we'd be overrun and unsafe for us to live in. None of us like it, but we've devised a method of killing them. I think I personally realized it was essential when after a long day, I ran up our four flights of stairs and was desperate to pee. I raced into the bathroom and was halfway through before I realized that in a trap set out in the bathroom were not one, but two mice stuck on a trap just inches away from my feet! I think it was all I could do to get out of there without wetting myself.

Today I killed my first mouse. Here is how it goes:

1. Large box filled with heavy things, usually books.
2. Wrap box in garbage bag.
3. Put on wellies.
4. Pick up box.
5. Either throw box on mouse, or stand on top and drop. I personally can't do the stand and drop, so I throw and hope I aimed well.
6. Remove box, leaving garbage bag down.
7. Wrap remains in garbage bag and bring downstairs to dumpster.

The good thing is its instantaneous and the mouse is no longer in pain or frightened. The bad thing is you actually have to do the killing, which is not fun. I wish they weren't so smart as to evade the ready-set-kill traps that would allow my soul not to be so tarnished. However, today I could only go so as far as to kill the mouse and not clean it up. Both take an emotional expenditure that I just couldn't muster.

Oct. 6, 2011

Today:

1. I made cookies with Thing 1 and Thing 2. The best bit was their delight when I told them they could lick the bowl and subsequently getting chocolate on every bit of their faces and clothes, and Ms. Emma walking in that precise moment I told them to wash up.
2. I got caught in a freezing-rain storm with a dress, flats, and no tights! My new ambition is to buy black dress shoes I won't freeze in.
3. I made cream of chicken and celery soup and beer bread for diner tonight. Not as good as mama's but its a bit of home.
4. I bought a biography on Agatha Christie for 50 p. and it is surprisingly interesting.
5. The weather in Edinburgh has taken a drastic plunge, and currently I'm wearing two pairs of socks, leggings and jeans, three shirts and am still cold.

Inductions

I still can't find my camera card- usb cord, so apologies for no new pictures!

Durham is a beautiful city on a hill or bailey. In the bailey sits the castle and cathedral, and fortunately, my college, St. Chads. Around the hill (bailey) is a moat and to orient myself around Durham I have to figure out which side of the river I'm on.

My college is lovely. It has lots of little libraries to go and study in, a dining hall (set up like Harry Potter), and a Middle Common Room (MCR) for the postgraduate students. There's a chapel and a lawn, a Junior Common Room (JCR) with a tv and pool table. Its kind of like a dormitory but better.

My Induction into the University was wonderfully inspiring. My induction into the English Department couldn't have been worse. The man just stood there reading off a sheet, as dead pan as ever. The other students seem lively enough though every single person I've met is focusing on modern literature. [grimace] Poor dears.

I go down tomorrow for my University Matriculation. We all wear our black robes (again Harry Potter) and march about the town, walk in a procession to the Cathedral, and there, we are matriculated into the University. In a few weeks time, I'll have my college matriculation, which is a formal dinner, again with the black gown and high table, where we'll formally meet our tutors. Our tutors are persons within the college to whom we go to for any sort of support.

I also meet my advisor tomorrow. This will be the make-or-break point-- in deciding if this is what I really want or not. I think it is, but its all coming on so very fast.