St. Moling

Saint of the Day: St. Moling was an Irish monk who built several monasteries in Ireland during the 7th century. There are tons of stories about him, but the one I'm focusing on today is the one where the wife of the head builder who was constructing one of the churches asked Moling for some cows. Moling gave the woman two cows, but that night one of the cows was stolen. The wright's wife thought Moling had hired the thief himself and accused him of doing so. Moling knew where the thief was, and said that he could burn him in a fire if she wished. She said no. Moling offered to have him drowned. She said no. Finally, he said that she could go kill him herself, but wanted nothing to do with it. The wife found the thief right where Moling said he would be, and the thief was so startled that he fell into the fire, then jumped in the river and drowned. The cow was dead and already half cooked, but the wife brought it back to Moling who brought it back to life. Its color had changed, however, so that the part that had been cooked was brown while the rest of it was white.

So, my outfit is half brown-half white. I really love this white shirt from Anthropologie. It's soft and comfortable, and I love to wear it. It think this is its last summer, though. It's getting worn and I don't think it will take many more washings - even super delicate hand washings! And, as I said I would, I'm wearing the Jessica Simpson wedges. So comfortable!

Reading:

Old English: Finished the life of St. George. There was never a dragon in it. And the Lucy story didn't have the eyes being poked out. Those are the most well-known parts of those saints' legends, so I wonder why they weren't in this version. Strange.

Middle English: CT - Tale of Melibee, Monk's Tale, Nun's Priest's Tale

The Tale of Melibee is actually in prose, and it's this really long, didactic tale about a guy whose daughter is mortally wounded by home-invaders. The guy - Melibee - wants to have his revenge on them, but his wife Prudence convinces him to calm down, think it through, and forgive them in the end. It's really long and boring which is part of what makes it funny since it's the tale Chaucer the Pilgrim tells after they won't let him tell his other tale. It's like he's punishing them. Funny, I guess.

The Monk's Tale is just a list of famous tragedies used to explain how man cannot escape his fate. He lists Satan, Adam, Samson, Nero, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and others as examples. He is also interrupted and not allowed to finish his tale.

The Nun's Priest's Tale is a kind of fable about rooster named Chanticleer who dreams that a fox sneaks into the henhouse and eats them all. His chicken-wife Pertelote tells him to ignore the dream. Of course, a fox attacks Chanticleer soon after which shows how seriously you should take the advice of women (!?!). Chanticleer, however, tricks the fox into opening his mouth and dropping him so he can escape.

Contemporary American: Caramelo, by Sandra Cisneros, pp. 1-100. I lost my copy of this book (or sold it back and don't remember), so I had to order another copy, and it hasn't arrived yet. Boo. That is putting me behind!

Workout: Not today. I went grocery shopping. That's good enough for me.

Food:

Breakfast: Lean Pocket, Sausage, Egg, and Cheese

Lunch: Amy's Low-Fat Minestrone Soup, Wheat Thins

Dinner: Cassie's birthday dinner