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The Governess

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Everything posted by The Governess

  1. I have the ability to view an issue from multiple perspectives and see the pros and cons of each side Strong research, planning, and editing skills Good at close reading and analysis Good at breaking big concepts down into manageable chunks (years of teaching will do this….)
  2. I’ve been thinking about long Covid lately. I’ve had Covid one time (last September) and thankfully did not have any lingering symptoms. However, I have had lingering symptoms after other (often unidentified) viruses. These have included arthritis, fatigue, post-exertional malaise, chronic hives, brain fog…. Do we know how common this phenomenon is in general? I’m also wondering if symptoms that we’ve blamed on immune system “overreactions” in the past (this is what I always blamed my symptoms on) are actually long-lasting viral infections that go undetected. Anyway, perhaps all of these long Covid studies will give us better insight into the long-term behavior of viruses in general.
  3. I haven’t read anything by Anne yet; she’s languishing in my TBR pile at the moment. Maybe this summer….
  4. Currently reading Shakespeare’s Othello, and watching the play as I go - there’s a free version from the 90s on YouTube with Ian McKellen as Iago. He’s excellent in the role. It’s fascinating reading this book after Dante’s Inferno - sooooo many parallels. I’m also reading Mariner, Malcolm Guite’s biography of Coleridge. He includes many excerpts from Coleridge’s letters that give a lot of insight into his poetry. I’m enjoying this one and reading it slowly. I’m also working through a collection of Yeats’ poetry and some of his essays. It’s interesting to read Yeats after studying Blake - you can see Blake’s influence popping up in his work.
  5. I finished reading Dante’s Inferno. Wow, what a poem!! Haunting and funny and beautiful. It’s a true microcosm of medieval Christian thought. So much fun. Now I want to read the rest of the Divine Comedy.
  6. Some still mask regularly at my dd’s large high school. They are a minority, but I don’t get the impression that it’s considered abnormal.
  7. There is a very good modern version of Hamlet played by Andrew Scott that can be watched for free on YouTube:
  8. I finished Mansfield’s short stories. Other than The Garden Party I hadn’t read any of her work. She focuses a lot on the idea that we have multiple “selves” and that these selves often have competing desires. Many interesting stories and characters. Also reread Gawain and the Green Knight with my 10th graders. The temptation scenes with the lady make them sooooo uncomfortable! I’m currently slogging through Ulysses… so many allusions and I only catch a small fraction of them. Some chapters are easy to track and others are very muddy. I have a separate text with notes but there are so many and it’s cumbersome drudgery to read that way. I have SO much reading to do in February. I must finish: -Ulysses - for my class -Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse - for my class - Malcolm Guite’s Mariner - biography of Samuel Coleridge - for book club. Malcolm is a new favorite - I joined an online discussion with him a couple weeks ago and he charmed me! - Dante’s Inferno - for work - Animal Farm - for work I’m sure I’m missing something….. Hopefully I’ll get it all done!
  9. I read Jekyll & Hyde this week. It was actually my first time reading it! Short and fun with some interesting ideas about human nature to ponder. Still working through Mansfield - read a short story today called Psychology that will resonate with anyone who has left things unsaid and regretted it.
  10. I finished 12 Years a Slave. Such a brutal narrative. I’ve heard the movie is well done but might give myself a break before watching. Currently partway through Mansfield’s short stories. I’m enjoying some of them and others not as much. I need to start Ulysses this week and am slightly dreading it 😂
  11. Thanks - this sounds right up my alley!
  12. Strange and Norrell is one of my top five books of all time!! It’s so well written Clarke’s prose is gorgeous but also so witty.
  13. Anxiety flashes?? Just great 😂
  14. This made me snort 😂 What a fun concept! Looking forward to your review.
  15. Last week I reread Lewis’ Screwtape Letters. Always fun (and sometimes convicting). Just finished the Routledge History of English for an essay I have to write on how the English language changed from Middle English to Early Modern English. Riveting stuff. 😂 I’m partway into Dante’s Divine Comedy - teaching this to a class of 16 year olds soon. Reading Baxter’s A Beginner’s Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy alongside which is proving very helpful for coming up with discussion questions and context. Next up: Katherine Mansfield’s short stories (for school) and Northup’s 12 Years a Slave (for a seminar I’m co-teaching).
  16. I don’t have any advice, just sympathy. As I’ve gotten older my symptoms have started becoming more diverse as well. One symptom is that I become very easily overwhelmed even after the headache is gone. For example, I recently had to go to a school assembly the morning after a migraine and ended up standing in the back by the door because the crowd, noise, and lights were overwhelming and I felt as if I would burst into tears at any moment.
  17. My first book of the year is a textbook. 😂 Medieval Europe: A Short History by Hollister and Bennett. It was actually a pretty enjoyable read. Only about 400 pages, a nice pace, and interesting anecdotes. I’m teaching medieval history this year and this will serve as a nice spine to base my lessons around.
  18. Love seeing everyone’s highlights! My goal was 52 books, but I only hit 42. To be fair, most of my reading was pretty intense and either required for classes I’m taking or classes I’m teaching. So a lot of annotating and deep thinking and diving down rabbit holes occurred alongside the reading. 😂 My top five: 1. John Donne’s poetical works. Oh my. I literally sobbed while reading some of his later sacred poems. They were read aloud through tears while I was home alone. Donne is a true poetic genius. 2. George Herbert’s The Temple (yes, another metaphysical poet). You’re probably familiar with some of Herbert’s poems, but if you haven’t read through this work as a literary whole… well, it was truly a beautiful experience. 3. Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy. I loved this little medieval work so much! I’ve also discovered that I have a soft spot for Neoplatonism…. 4. 2000 Years of Christ’s Power - this is a series, and I’ve only read the first two volumes (which take you up to the reformation), but it’s very well done and highly engaging. A great dive into the history of the Christian church for the layperson. 5. Fearful Symmetry by Frye - this is a book about the work of William Blake, but even if you don’t know Blake’s work that well (I don’t), it’s worth reading for Frye’s thoughts on literature and art in general. He has some amazing things to say about the power of imagination and the human as maker/creator. I’m not quite finished with this one yet, but it makes the list based on the first half alone.
  19. I hibernated in bed all day with a stack of books and several mugs of tea while listening to the rain. Does that count? 😂
  20. I started wearing uggs around the house (used to go barefoot a lot). They really keep my feet toasty.
  21. You probably have an adenovirus. My dd had that once and it came with a double ear and double eye infection. Her eyes were basically sealed shut every morning until we got the gunk loosened up with warm washcloths. The eye drops should help. I second trying Flonase, although it will take a few days to kick in. And if you don’t want to use a neti pot you could also try saline nasal spray.
  22. At dd’s university we looked into this before accepting an offer because she wanted to double major and was bringing in about 40 DE credits. They were very accommodating and let us know how each course would transfer (even the ones not in their transfer system yet), and reached out to the department heads who also chimed in on her double major plans and how they would work. So, it definitely doesn’t hurt to ask!
  23. That happened to me when I had Covid a couple months ago. I never threw up but I had extreme nausea and cold sweats a few times just like you described.
  24. Yes. My mom (early onset dementia) had a falling out with a good friend that was similar and seemed so bizarre. She couldn’t be reasoned with. She was diagnosed with dementia within a year or two of all of that happening.
  25. I had the exact same experience. My doctor had no idea what it was and sent me to a rheumatologist. I was tested for rubella because the glands at the base of my skull were so enlarged. Couldn’t figure it out until the kids got it. The arthritis in my hands and feet lasted for months!!
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