Classics and the Bible Sunday

Dear Friend,

I have a new post up at my Classics & the Bible blog.  Still working my way through the many biblical references in Anna Karenina.Today I'm exploring some illustrations by French artist Gustave Dore.

Gustave Dore

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Love,

Adriana

P.S. My cast is off but I still can't put weight on my foot for several more days. Physical therapy is going well.

Things to Put on the Fridge Door of Life

Dear Friend,

How are you today?

I'm feeling grateful. My husband has been out of town working on a project for the last two weeks. Yesterday he returned home to five jumping kids, a beaming wife, a tail-wagging dog, a clean house, his favorite dinner, and an apple pie.

Life is good.

The kids and I watched a balloon launch at the park on Saturday.

Lately I've been thinking about a few special links I'd like to share with you. This isn't just random good stuff that I've stumbled upon around the web. These are links to content I'm proud of, content which belongs to friends who have come alongside me in my life journey and blessed me with kindness. These are things to place on life's fridge door, so to speak.

A few weeks ago I met a precious kindred spirit, Emma Teller, for coffee. We talked for four hours. I never do that! But it was amazing. The time went by in a blink, We haven't seen each other in a very long time.Thirteen years ago Emma was my piano student. Now she is an exquisite artist. (I smiled over the smudge of red paint under her forearm.) We talked about faith, the creative life, and the mercy of God. I was blown away by her humility and wisdom.

No matter what you do or who you are there are so many ways we can do this - leave the world more beautiful than we found it - and that is what I hope and try to do with my paintings and with my art.  

Emma has a blog. Though she's not there often, it's a good place to view some of her work. Go here for still lifes and here for portraits. You can also follow Emma on Facebook.

Tim Fall has been called the "Barnabas of the Blogosphere" because he's relentless with encouragement. My whole family has been blessed by his friendship. While fishing in the Rockies recently, my husband used Tim's method for making pan fried trout. My kids have enjoyed listening to some of his cowboy stories that I've read aloud during our evening bonfires. Over the past few years, Tim has taught me to be liberal with encouragement and to pray for opportunities to build others up.

We have a God who is the Comforter -- who comes alongside us with the comfort, so that we can then be the ones to come alongside others with the comfort God has given us.

Tim blogs at Just One Train Wreck After Another. Two of my recent favorite posts are Problems with Unbalanced Grace and I've Never Been on a Road I Haven't Taken. And while you're there I'd be delighted if you'd read my recent guest post, People's Looks and Covers of Books.

Tim was recently interviewed by talk radio host Doug Bursch on "Live From Seattle." You can listen to that interview here. (Tim's segment starts at the 12 minute mark.)

Next, I must give a shout out to my faithful friend Christine. Last week she and I had a rare opportunity to have a day out together without kids. She knew I had been wanting to visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe house with her forever. There are nine kids and two husbands between us, so the stars have to be aligned just so in order for the two of us to be able to take a day trip alone. We realized our special day was set to happen only one day previous. The problem was, our free day (a Thursday) was a day the museum was closed. Christine got on the phone and coordinated a private tour. (They typically only do tours for groups and rarely on short notice!) I can't wait to finish my research so I can tell you all about our experience. Christine no longer blogs, so I don't have a link to give you for her, but I can't talk about things to put on the fridge door of life without mentioning the remarkable gift Christine pursued for me.

And last but certainly not least, I would love to introduce you to my virtual fairy blog mother, Jeannie Prinsen. Jeannie is a deep well of wisdom and intellect, yet she is delightfully approachable. Each Monday she shares a "Monday Morsel" -- a quote which she has come upon in her reading. I always try to square away some quiet time to sip my coffee when I visit Jeannie's Little House on the Circle. It would be wonderful to live near her and savor morsels with her in person.

 Life is not about being fast.  It's about doing what we're called to do and not stressing about the outcome.

I nominated Jeannie for a "Liebster Award" on my birthday this past year. She joined in the fun with this post in response.

Love her tributes to her son: You've Got a Friend in Me and Never Mean.

And this one: Slow: Tortoise Crossing


Recently Jeannie participated Anne Bogel's "literary matchmaking" blog event at the Modern Mrs. Darcy. Jeannie told Anne the types of books she likes/dislikes and Anne made selections for her based on this profile. Readers are invited to join in with the matchmaking and the result is lots of TBR list enrichment!

What are some things you'd like to put on the fridge door of your life today?

Peace & Joy,

Adriana

Anna Karenina's Paper Knife

by Adriana

When it's quiet around the dinner table it usually means the meal is especially satisfying.

And so it's been quiet here on the blog  as I've been mowing through Leo Tolstoy's 923 page gem, Anna Karenina.


I thought I'd peak my head in today to let you in on something new --

I've started a collection!

Ever since I read The Happiness Project last summer, I've been thinking about taking Gretchin Rubin's advice to collect something. But what? (I'm not big on knick-knacks.)

On my Pinterest page you will find a board called "Quotes from my Quest". These are not merely random pithy quotes that I've found while roaming the internet, they are quotes I've found on my own while holding a #2 Ticonderoga pencil in my hand! A couple of the images on the board are pictures I've taken myself.

My collection is currently small, but you can be sure I'm keeping it in mind as I read. I love to make connections between great quotes and great images!

Here's a tip: My main source for images on this board is Wiki Paintings the Visual Arts Encyclopedia. I discovered it very recently and I'm enthralled. It is vast, well organized and the image quality is good. You can view many paintings by pretty much any famous artist. You can also choose to view an artist's work chronologically or alphabetically.

Currently I've been intrigued by Russian artist, Konstantin Makovsky. Born in Moscow; died in Saint Petersburg -- he painted a lot of portraits of Russian aristocracy during the time Tolstoy was writing his novels.

Would you like to know what led me to Makovsky?

It was Anna Karenina's paper knife.

I came upon this while pinning images --

At first glance, a scene from Anna Karenina came to mind.

Remember the part where Anna had just boarded the train to Saint Petersburg?

Still in the same anxious frame of mind as she had been all day...she took from her bag a paper knife and an English novel.. twisting the smooth paper knife in her little hands, she forced herself to read.

Of course I had to find out who painted this. I did not expect to find it was one of Tolstoy's contemporaries!

Here's a few more of my favorites by Makovsky --

 

This is how I imagine Dolly Oblonskaya.

                                   

source

So now that I've told you all about my fun new hobby, I want to encourage you to try it for yourself. If you come across a great image that makes you think of a classic quote you've read, I would love for you to share both the image and the quote with me!

First, be sure to link your source.

Second, put your image/quote combo somewhere where I can see it! It really doesn't matter where --  the Classical Quest Facebook page, your blog or your own Pinterest board (just leave your link in the comment box).

Third, keep it clean.  I'll delete anything I consider inappropriate.

If I get enough feedback, I'll eventually start a new board on Pinterest called "Quotes from YOUR Quest".

I expect this will take a while because reading through the classics and making connections is a long process, but I'm not going anywhere in a hurry. You know where to find me!

Happy collecting!

Madame Bovary: What If? (A Guest Post)

A couple months ago I read Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert. Since it was my first example of Realism in fiction, I felt I had entered into a closer relationship with the characters than I had experienced with previous novels from the WEM list.  I watched with angst as Emma Bovary wrecked herself through the folly of her selfish decisions. 

Flaubert painted his controversial novel objectively -- with equal doses of both ethereal landscape descriptions and earthy characterization. He gave no moral judgments; I was left to examine the themes for myself, to strain each tragic scenario through my own sieve. I think it's pretty much impossible to close the book on Madame Bovary and not wonder -- at least for a moment -- "What if?"

Several weeks ago, my friend Sandy Bramhill sent me an email which contained her response to Madame Bovary. She has generously agreed to let me use it as the first guest post on Classical Quest. The images of paintings by Mary Cassatt and Claude Monet can also be found on my new Pinterest boards.
What if….

by Sandy Bramhill

...Emma's mother had lived to raise her? She had a loving father, but what if she had experienced the love of a mama as well? What if she had witnessed a healthy, loving marriage when she was growing up?

 

...the old woman who came by the convent from time to time had not loaned Emma romance novels? What if Emma had read good literature? What if the heroines of her books had been examples of faithfulness?

 

…Emma had been taught the Word of God rather than being raised with only the mystical and emotional aspects of religion? What if she had read the Bible for herself?

 

…when Emma tried to share her deep inner struggles with the priest, he had actually listened to what she was saying?  What if he had given her good counsel?

Rouen Cathedral, by Claude Monet -- depicted in a scene in Madame Bovary.

…Emma had had a group of female friends?  Or even one true, faithful female friend?

 

…Emma had had to work? What if she didn’t have the luxury of sitting around fantasizing and wallowing in her discontentment?  Would keeping busy have staved off some of the self-pity?  (The elder Madame Bovary thought so.)

 

…had had a son?  Would she actually have taken to being a mother? (I certainly don’t think so – boys spit up, too! But Emma may have thought so.)

 

…women in her time nursed their own babies instead of sending them away? Would Emma have bonded with Berthe and found meaning in motherhood?

Images Courtesy Wikipaintings

...[Emma] was not happy, and never had been. Why was life so unsatisfying? Why did everything she leaned on instantly crumble into dust? […] nothing was worth seeking – everything was a lie! Each smile hid a yawn of boredom, each joy a curse, each pleasure its own disgust; and the sweetest kisses only left on one’s lips a hopeless longing for a higher ecstasy. (III.6.29-30)

Sandy lives with her husband and two teenage sons in Tucson, AZ.  She loves reading, cycling, and befriending people from other countries.  She discovered Classical Quest through  "The Book That Changed My Life" post.  Soon after, she joined me and the ladies at A Classic Case of Madness on our journey through the classics. 

Leonardo?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Girl_in_Profile_in_Renaissance_Dress

She graces the center of my new copy of National Geographic. I love this article and can't stop gawking at this image. (Notice how you can make out the shape of her ear beneath her hair. Such detail!)