Wed, Jun 27 - Ladislaus of Hungary

Today we drove to Alamogordo to take a sunset hike in the White Sands National Monument. We didn't end up actually going on the hike because it got super windy and the sand was blowing everywhere. Not that fun. But we did walk around for a while before it got too windy. It was pretty neat:

This little guy has adapted his color to match the white sand. He was scared of us, but he finally sat still long enough for me to snap a shot of him.

Today is the feast of St. Ladislaus of Hungary. He was king of Hungary in the 11th century. He conquered a lot of then-heathen lands such as Croatia and parts of Romania and converted them to Christianity. There are many Hungarian folksongs about him which praise his chivalry. Here is the image of him on which my outfit is based:

I actually brought a different outfit than I'm wearing in the pictures. I have my red skirt, and I brought a brown woven belt to wear. When I put it on, though, it looked weird. The shapes didn't go together, and my tank top was too long for the belt and I ended up looking like some kind of weird farmer's daughter or something. So, I went with jeans again. Ah, well. At least the tank top matches.

St Anthelm

Today is Carlsbad Caverns Day!

It is also St. Anthelm's Day. I don't have a whole lot of biographical information about him, but he was the abbot of the monastery of the Grand Chartreuse which is a very famous Carthusian monastery in France. It still exists and is still a religious house, so no visitors are allowed. Matthew Arnold, the English poet, wrote a poem titled "Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse" when he stayed there as a guest - I guess that was before the No Visiting policy was put in place.

My outfit is based on the liquor Chartreuse which was once produced at the abbey, but which is now produced in a factory nearby.

Proceeds from the sale of the liquor still benefit the monastery, however. Chartreuse comes in two colors - green and yellow. I am going with green today:

St. Fridolinus

Today is our first day of vacation!!!!!

I have planned saints of the day outfits for everyday, though. It helps me pack!

Today is just a driving day, so I went for comfort. The saint of the day is Fridolinus, and his story involved one of my favorite subjects: zombies! No lie.

He was an Irish monk in the 5th century who travelled around Germany and Switzerland. He converted two brothers named Ursus and Landolph. However, Ursus died and Landolph returned to his wicked ways. Hearing this, Fridolinus re-animated the corpse of Ursus and led him by the hand to go meet his brother. Rather than trying to eat his brother's brains, however, Ursus admonished him for his bad behavior and Landolph repented and returned to following Christ. Fridolinus led Ursus back to his grave, where the corpse rested again peacefully in death.

To remember Fridolinus, I am wearing the colors of the German flag today, plus my memento mori earrings. Please just disregard the wet hair.

ROAD TRIP! Yay!

St. Aethelthryth

Saint of the Day: St. Aethelthryth is known by several names including both Etheldreda and Audrey, but I know her as Aethelthryth since we had to read her Vita in Old English. She was the daughter of the king of East Anglia and although married twice, remained a virgin for her entire life. She became abbess of Ely, and suffered from a giant tumor on her neck. She claimed that the neck tumor was a punishment for having worn very elaborate and expensive necklaces in her youth. Throughout the Middle Ages, there was a three-day feast in her honor at which people would wear cheap lace neck ribbons to commemorate her.

So, today, I am wearing my blue and red choker with my "Game Over" T-shirt that my mother-in-law gave me. We are going to visit her today, so it seems appropriate. I've worn this outfit before, so I won't post a new picture. Although, it's like 100 degrees, so I'm not wearing those long sleeves today.

Reading:
Old English: The Battle of Maldon. Byrhtnoth has just made the horrible blunder of allowing the Vikings to cross over the water so they can fight. The battle begins tomorrow, I guess. Oh, the suspense!

Middle English: Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, Book 1. In which Troilus sees Criseyde for the first time and falls immediately in love. He goes back to his room and faints and sighs for a while until his friend Pandarus - who just happens to be Criseyde's uncle - finds him and offers to talk to her for him.

Contemporary American: Nothing. Still no book. It's kind of been nice having less of a work load, but it's kind of stressing me out, too, since I'm off schedule.

Workout: Maybe when we get back from see the in-laws.

Food:
Breakfast: cheese toast, grapes, coffee
Lunch: pot roast
Dinner: leftover pizza, I think
Snack: yogurt

Paulinus of Nola

Saint of the Day: I don't have an outfit to show, but I do have a youtube video to post that demonstrates the crazy party that is associated with the feast of Paulinus of Nola. Paulinus was the bishop of Nola. He was married to a woman named Theresa whom he credits with his own conversion. They joined a monastery together and had one baby daughter who died just 8 days after her baptism. They were both very wealthy people who gave up their worldly possessions to lead religious lives. It was Paulinus who wrote to St. Augustine of Hippo's friend asking of their conversion. It is widely thought that St. Augustine's Confessions are the answer to Paulinus's inquiry.

On Paulinus of Nola's feast day, there is a huge parade in Nola (and other parts of Italy) which involve a several gigantic towers (gigli) which are carried around town. Here is a short video showing one of the towers and the humongous crowd:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnaVBIDdAvk&feature=related

Reading:
Old English: Today I start The Battle of Maldon which will take several days to get through. So far, the British ruler Bryhtnoth and a Viking ruler are shouting insults at each other. The battle will undoubtedly commence soon.

Middle English: CT - The Parson's Tale and Chaucer's Retraction
The Parson's Tale is really a sermon about the nature of contrition, definitions of and remedies for the seven deadly sins, and types of penance. It was OK. It's in prose, so it was a little harder to get through. There was one passage, though, which was really amusing to me. The Middle Ages were a rough time on fashion. The church really thought it was a total waste of time and even downright sinful to think much about or spend money on clothes. Here's a small excerpt from the Parson's Tale on men's fashion:

"On the other hand, to speak of the horrible inordinate scantiness of clothing, let us notice these short-cut smocks or jackets, which, because of their shortness, do not cover the shameful members of man, and even wickedly call attention to them. Alas! Some of them show the very bulge of their penis and the horrible pushed out testicles that look like the malady of a hernia under their hose; and the buttocks of such persons look like the hind parts of a she-monkey in the full of the moon...As to the hind parts of their buttocks, the thing is horrible to see. For, indeed, that part of their body from which they purge their stinking excrement, that foul part they proudly show to the people in despite of decency!"

If he could only see us now! He would disapprove, I'm sure.

Contemporary American: Still no Caramelo. If it comes before vacation, I'll read it then.

Malory: I got an old reading list from one of my colleagues who took a Malory exam, so I'm going to just copy hers until I get an official reading list from my professor. I'm sure there will be some overlap. I will start reading for this exam after vacation!

Workout: No. I got a massage this afternoon instead.

Food:
Breakfast: toast, juice, coffee
Lunch: grilled shrimp tacos at Fuzzy's
Dinner: Beef stew. It's so hot! Why am I making this? Because I have some beef I need to use up before we leave and all the rest of the ingredients, too. It's simmering now and smells delicious!

Untitled

Saint of the Day: None today. I didn't do the research.

Reading:
Old English: The Dream of the Rood. A poem about a man who dreams of Christ's cross. The cross talks to him and tells him how it felt to be the instrument of Christ's death. It's good so far.

Middle English: CT - The Second Nun's Tale, The Canon's Yeoman's Tale, The Manciple's Tale

The Second Nun's Tale is a retelling of the life of St. Cecilia. Cecilia was married to a man named Valerian, but she wanted to keep her chastity, so she told Valerian that she had a guardian angel who would kill him if he tried to sleep with her. He didn't believe her, so she told him to go to the Via Appia and find old Urban who would tell him the truth. Valerian went and was converted to Christianity. When he came home, an angel crown both him and Cecilia with crown of white lilies and red roses. Valerian's brother Tibertius comes over and smells the flowers, but he can't see them. He asks where the smell is coming from, and Valerian sends him to the Via Appia as well where he is also converted to Christianity. Not long afterward, the two brothers were martyred and Cecilia was sent for to defend herself. The judge condemned her to be burned in her own house, so the guards locked her in the bathroom and set the house on fire. Cecilia did not burn, however. The executioner came, then, and tried to cut off Cecilia's head. He hacked three times, but did not succeed in killing her, although he gave her a mortal wound. She survived for three more days before succumbing to her wound.

The Canon's Yeoman's Tale is about a tricksy canon who through his wiles convinces a priest that he can turn base metals into precious metals. The priest pays him 40 pounds to teach him how to do it, then the canon skips town and the priest never sees him again.

The Manciple's Tale is the story of how the crow came to be black. He says crows used to be white and could imitate man's speech. The god Phebus had a pet crow who witnessed Phebus' wife cheating on Phebus. When Phebus came home, the crow revealed his wife's adultery, and Phebus killed his wife in a rage. Then he cursed the crow to have black feathers, to lose his power of speech, and to have an awful caw. The moral of the story, according to the manciple, is if you know your friend's spouse is cheating on your friend, don't say anything because your friend will just hate you for it.

Contemporary American: Still no Caramelo. If it doesn't come this afternoon, I'll just have to read it while I'm on vacation. I've read it before, so it's not that big of a deal, I guess. Or I could just start reading the next book on my list and read Caramelo after vacation. I haven't decided.

Workout: I haven't done it yet, but I have every intention of doing it. 45 mins.

Food: This was not a great weekend for keeping to the low calories. Too many social functions where I didn't have control over the food or where I just made bad choices. It's so hard to eat out and stay healthy. I'm planning on cooking at home this week, but I'm eating the last of the leftover pizza tonight.

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

St. Benno

Saint of the Day: Saint Benno lived in the 11th century, and he was born a Saxon nobleman. He dedicated his life to the church and died as the bishop of Meissen, Germany in 1106 at almost one hundred years old. There is a great story about him that as he was walking and praying near a marsh one day, he heard a frog croaking so loudly that it broke his concentration. He admonished the frog to be quiet, and it was. Benno, then, however, remembered a verse in Daniel which states, "O all ye beasts and cattle, bless ye the Lord," and he thought the frog's croaking must be pleasing to God. He then told the frog to continue his croaking, and the frog and his friends croaked even louder than before.
Finally, an excuse to wear my frog T-shirt!

I haven't worn these shoes in over a year even though I really like them. They are Jessica Simpson shoes which I was hesitant to buy at first just because of the label, but they're really some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned. Every time I wear them, someone says, "But they're so HIGH!" Yeah, they're not that high. And they're wedges, so they have a lot of support and they're made of the softest material in the world. They're fantastic. I should wear them more.
St. Benno also gave me the opportunity to wear my sparkly frog earrings from Anthropologie:

I bought these online without having seen them in person, and I was expecting them to be kind of small and dainty. No. They are not. They are kind of huge. And that's why I have only worn them once before. I'm not really a giant sparkly earrings kind of a girl. But if I can't wear them on St. Benno's day, when can I wear them?

Reading:
Old English: Still translating the Life of St. George. No dragons yet in this version.

Middle English: CT - The Pardoner's Tale, The Shipman's Tale, The Prioress's Tale, and Sir Thopas.
The Pardoner's Tale is about three drunken guys who like to play dice. One day, they get drunk at a tavern, and a funeral goes by. They get so mad that death is killing off everyone that they decide to go find him and kill him in revenge. They start down the road and meet an old man who says he wants to die, but death will not have him. He tells them they can find death, though, underneath an oak tree up the road. When the three men get to the oak tree, there is a huge pile of gold underneath it. They decide they need to wait until nighttime to move the gold, so one of them goes back into town to get some food and drink for them all while the other two stand guard. While the one is gone, the two guards decided to kill him when he comes back so they don't have to share it three ways. Meanwhile, the one who went back to town buys some poison and poisons their drinks so he can keep the gold all to himself. When he goes back, the two guys kill him, then drink the poisoned drink so they all end up dying.

The Shipman tells a story about a frugal merchant who marries a woman who likes to spend money. He has a good friend who is a monk who often comes to visit. One time, the monk comes and early in the morning as the merchant is in the counting-house, the wife and monk meet in the garden. The wife confesses she has a debt of 100 francs that she wants to keep a secret from the merchant. The monk agrees to lend her the money. That afternoon, the monk tells the merchant he needs a loan of 100 francs, and the merchant gladly loans it to him. The monk then gives the money to the wife in exchange for having sex with him. She agrees, and the monk goes home. The merchant goes to visit the monk and asks about the loan, and the monk tells him he already paid back the loan to his wife. The merchant goes home and asks the wife about it, and she says she should be allowed to keep the money and she will pay the merchant back in sexual favors. He agrees. The end.

The Prioress's Tale gives the story of Little St. Hugh of Lincoln. He was 7-year-old boy who would hear a Latin song about Mary being sung as he walked to and from school. He liked the song so much that he learned it by heart even though he did not understand Latin. His route to school passed through the Jewish quarter, and the Jews did not like that he would sing about Mary as he walked through their neighborhood, so they killed him and threw him in the pit where they threw their waste. When he didn't come home, his mother went out frantically looking for him. As she passed through the Jewish quarter, she heard him singing the Latin song in praise of Mary and found him in the pit. The Jews who murdered the boy were arrested and executed, and Little Hugh was given a good Christian burial.

Sir Thopas is the tale in rhyme that Geoffrey Chaucer the Pilgrim tells as his tale. It's about a knight who decided he wants to marry a fairy queen, but he must battle a giant first. He goes to get his armor, and there is a lengthy description of all the armor he puts on. It's a really terrible poem, and the Host stops Chaucer from finishing it saying, "Thy drasty rhyming is not worth a turd!" And then the Host asks him to please tell them something a little more serious - this time in prose.

Contemporary American: I finished Maus. It was great! I highly recommend it.

Workout: Maybe. I actually did exercise yesterday because when I added my planned dinner into my food diary, I had already maxed out my calories, and I really, really wanted a glass of wine with dinner. So, that's how I got my motivation - exercise just enough that I get a calorie-free glass of wine. Ha! At least it worked to get me on the treadmill.

Food:
Breakfast - cheese toast, peach, coffee
Lunch - fish sandwich
Dinner - Swiss steak, cauliflower, sugar snap peas
Snacks - milk, cherries

St Landelin

Saint of the Day: There were so many interesting saints to choose from today. But I settled on St. Landelin. He was a Belgian who before his conversion was the leader of a band of "brigands." After his conversion, he founded several abbeys. One of them is Crespin Abbey which began brewing "St Landelin Beer" in about 1023. They still make it - although not at the abbey anymore - and the label is very pretty!

Since Landelin was once a brigand, I chose my pirate T-shirt to remember him today. The best part about it is the awesome gold tooth.

Reading:

Old English: Aelfric's metrical Life of St George. This is the super-famous St. George who slew the dragon and is one of the patron saints of England. The English flag is known as St. George's flag:

Middle English: CT - The Merchant's Tale, The Squire's Tale, The Franklin's Tale, and The Physician's Tale.

The Merchant's Tale is about a 60-year-old man who marries a 20-year-old lady. He goes blind and she has an affair with his squire. As she is having sex with the squire right in front of her blind husband, his sight is restored, and she says that she cooked up the whole scheme so that his sight would return, saying, "It worked!" He believes her, and they go back to his palace in peace.

The Squire's Tale is short because the other pilgrims don't let the poor boy finish his story. He tells about a knight who comes to court with all these different magic items - a flying brass horse and a ring that allows people to talk to birds being the two most important ones in the story. The king's daughter wears the ring and meets a little falcon who is crying and plucking at herself with her beak because her bird boyfriend left her for another lady bird. The daughter bandages up the falcon and takes her home to nurse her.

The Franklin's Tale is about a knight named Arviragus and his wife Dorigen. Arviragus goes away on business across the sea, and Dorigen has daily panic attacks that he will be shipwrecked on the rocks when he comes home. She meets Aurelius, a handsome squire who is in love with her, and tells him that if he can make the rocks disappear, she will love him back. Aurelius hires a magician who works up an illusion to make it look like the rocks have disappeared. In the meantime, Arviragus has come home safely. However, when the illusion takes place, Dorigen confesses to him that she promised to love Aurelius, and Arviragus makes her hold to her promise. As she is crying and weeping on her way to meet Aurelius, the squire sees her and realizes he has done the wrong thing by making her cheat on her husband. He releases her of her promise and goes to pay the magician. The magician, when he hears the whole story, forgives Aurelius's debt and leaves.

The Physician's Tale is about a man named Virginius who had a lovely virgin daughter named Virginia. In their town was a judge named Appius who decided he wanted to take advantage of Virginia, so he gets his friend Claudius to hatch a plan. Claudius brings up a fake lawsuit against Virginius claiming that Virginia is not really Virginius's daughter, but actually Claudius's slave girl that Virginius stole from him. The judge rules in Claudius's favor and commands that Virginia be brought to him. The father then goes home, cuts off Virginia's head, and delivers it to the judge. The townsfolk, when they heard about this, understand that the lawsuit was fake and have Claudius hanged. The judge kills himself and Virginius is exiled from the town.

Contemporary American: Maus, Part 2, Chs. 1-4.

Workout: We'll see. I'm on double work again today.

Food:

Breakfast - oatmeal, juice, coffee

Lunch - open-faced turkey sandwich

Dinner - Indian Chicken with asparagus

Snacks - yogurt, milk

Sts. Valerius and Rufinus

Saints of the Day: Valerius and Rufinus were missionaries to France in the 3rd century. They were martyred in Soissons. Since my husband and I were missionaries to France, I feel a special affinity for these two, although I am grateful we did not suffer the same fate!

Today is laundry day. I will start posting outfits again once I have some clean clothes.

Reading:

Old English: Aelfric's metrical Life of St. Lucy. St. Lucy is one of my favorite saints. Medieval accounts say that as part of her torture, her eyes were gouged out, but then God healed them overnight. In her iconography, she is often depicted holding a plate with her original eyes on them. She is also the patron saint for blind people or people with eye trouble. Strangely, Aelfric's account does not include the eye-gouging as part of her torture. In his version, she is disemboweled, but remains miraculously alive until a priest can come and give her Last Rites. Here is a picture from a medieval manuscript of St. Lucy holding the plate of eyes:

And here is one of the strangest depictions I've ever seen of her. It's from 1473 and it's currently in the National Gallery in Washington, DC. First of all, Lucy does not look like a virtuous young woman in this painting. She looks like a worn-out middle-aged woman. Secondly, her eyes are on that strange contraption that looks like a pair of opera glasses. So weird!

Middle English: CT - Friar's Tale, Summoner's Tale, and Clerk's Tale. The Friar's Tale is about an evil summoner who tries to blackmail an poor old lady and gets dragged off to hell. The Summoner's Tale is about an evil friar who is visiting a sick man who makes him swear that the friar will share with all of his colleagues the gift that the sick man gives him. The friar swears, and the sick man lets out a huge fart. The rest of the tale is spent discussing how a fart can be shared equally among 12 people. Hilarious. The Clerk's Tale is about a nobleman who tests his wife's patience by pretending to have their children killed and then pretending to cast her off so he can marry someone else. Through all of it, she just says, "If that's what you want, then it's what I want, too." And she endures patiently and without complaint. At the end, he brings the children back and says, "Ha! Just kidding! I see you are faithful now and I will keep you as my wife after all." Yikes.

Contemporary American: Maus, by Art Spiegelman, Part 1. I have never read this before. I really enjoyed the first part, and I'm excited about finishing it!

Workout: Yes! 45 mins!

Food:

Breakfast: Toast, peach, coffee

Lunch: open-faced turkey sandwich, grapes

Dinner: baked fish packets with broccoli and squash, rice

Snacks: pudding, fruit

St. Tochumra (both of them) and a rant on Cap'n Crunch

Saint of the Day: There are two different saints named Tochumra who are venerated today in Ireland. Pretty much nothing is known about them except they were both Irish virgins, and one of them is invoked by women in labor. There's quite a bit of irony, I think, that a virgin would be invoked during childbirth (unless it's Mary, the mother of Jesus - that would make more sense).

I'm wearing my green summer dress today. For Ireland.

This picture is a few years old, and I don't even have that cardigan anymore, and I don't think I ever actually wore this outfit in public, but I don't want to take a picture of myself today. Anyway, this is the dress.

Reading: I am doubling up on the reading so that I don't have to do any work at all while we're on vacation. It's kind of making my head explode, but I just keep telling myself it will be worth it to not have to worry about anything and just enjoy myself while we're gone. So, I'm plowing through.

Old English: The Seafarer, a 125-line poem about an old mariner who reminisces about his life spent at sea. I'm about 26 lines in, and so far it's a lot like The Wanderer with lots of cold, freezing images and themes of loss.

Middle English: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I'm not a huge fan of the CT. But, I have to say, after all the super-boring plays I've been reading, I had a little squee at the thought of getting to read some Chaucer. Today, I'm reading the tales of the Knight, the Miller, the Reeve, and the Cook.

Contemporary American: The Road, pp. 150-250

Workout: I don't know yet. The double work is kind of taking over. I might do it late at night or something. We'll see.

Food:

Breakfast - cereal, juice, and coffee. Time for a little rant. So, I bought this "healthy" cereal that's all fiber and whatnot and Jon has a box of Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch in the pantry. So, I noticed that the calories in my cereal are super-high. Like, 240 calories per serving. Huh? I was like, "Well, at least it's probably less than Cap'n Crunch." Then I looked at the Cap'n Crunch, and it's only 110 calories per serving! How can my healthy cereal be more than TWICE as caloric as freakin' Cap'n Crunch?!?!? So, I bought this Kashi cereal now which at 190 calories per serving still has more than Cap'n Crunch and has the added bonus of tasting like cardboard. I'm seriously thinking about just eating Cap'n Crunch. So defeated.

Lunch - open-faced turkey sandwich, cherries

Dinner - a hamburger and some sugar-free pudding

Margaret of Scotland

Saint of the Day: Margaret of Scotland. One of my colleagues at SMU wrote her Master's thesis and is now writing her dissertation on Margaret of Scotland, so I feel some affection for her since I know she's well documented. Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot about her. I know her father was an exiled English nobleman, so she was raised in Hungary. Her family did return to England, but she herself wound up in Scotland where she married King Malcolm III around 1070. They by nearly all accounts were really in love and had several children.

The most popular story I know about Margaret is that she had a gospel book which was her very favorite, and it somehow fell into a river. Now, medieval books were extremely expensive and were all made by hand. No printing presses, no machines of any kind. Just some monks copying text out by hand and hand-painting illustrations. It could take an entire year to make just one book and cost the equivalent of a fancy car nowadays. So, basically, Margaret's limited edition Ferrari fell in a river. Oops! But, miraculously, the book was recovered with no damage! It is now in the Bodleian Library in London. Here is a lovely picture of two of the pages from the book - the beginning of the Gospel of Mark:



I don't have an outfit today. I've started using the pool finally, so I'm just laying around in a swimsuit coverup. Not so exciting and not that cute, really. But comfortable!

Reading:
Old English: The Wanderer, a very sad poem about a man whose lord has died and now he sails the seas looking for a new lord to serve. It's full of imagery of chains and fetters and being constrained by things. It also mentions how good warriors will shut up their grief inside their "breast-chamber" and not let it show so they can gain more glory. Oh, my gosh. Has this "men can't express their feelings" stuff been around for literally more than 1000 years?

Middle English: finishing up the Towneley plays today with "The Ascension," "The Judgment," "Lazarus," and "Judas." I'm trying to get some extra work done before we go to New Mexico, too, so I think I'm also going to read "Everyman" and "Mankynde" today as well. We'll see if that actually happens.

Contemporary American: The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, pp. 100-150

Workout: Yes! 45 mins! I bought seasons 2 and 3 of True Blood, so I'm pretty motivated. Season 4 starts in 3 weeks!

Food:
Breakfast - cheese toast, grapefruit juice, coffee
Lunch - left over oven-fried chicken tender, squash, and snap peas from last night
Dinner - grilled shrimp taco salad
Snacks - cherries and grapes

No Saint Today

Saint of the Day: I didn't do any research on this! I am behind! I did have a strange dream, though, that I will share. I was looking out a floor-to-ceiling window, and there was a sort of pile of logs outside the window. There was another log that formed a bridge across a very small ditch. A turtle crawled out of the log-pile and crossed the log bridge. A snake followed after it, obviously hoping to eat it. When the snake got across the log bridge, the turtle turned around and snapped at it, and the snake slithered away. The End. I described it to J, and he said, "That sounds like a biblical dream." Yeah, it kind of does.

Then the next night, I dreamed that my preliminary exams consisted of me playing some kind of Star Wars video game in which I accidentally chose the Dark Side. But I did get to shake hands with Darth Vader, so that was cool. It switched very quickly to being a Tron video game, and I was about to go in to the light cycle ring when Jonathan woke me up. I was like, "Hey! I was just about to pass my prelims on the light cycle! Why did you wake me up?"

Reading: I am also behind on my reading. I had jury duty on Tuesday, and it totally threw me off. I have caught up on my contemporary American lit and my Old English, but I am still a day behind on my Middle English.
Old English: The Husband's Message. A 54-line poem about a guy who has been exiled from his homeland and had to leave his wife behind. He carves her a rune-stick with instructions to follow him into exile. The poem is told from the perspective of the rune-stick. And the poem actually contains runes which is kind of awesome.
Middle English: The Towneley Plays - "The Offering of the Magi", "The Flight to Egypt", "The Purification of Mary", "The Doctors", and "John the Baptist." Sooooo boring. I hate these plays.
Contemporary American: Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson, pp. 149-200.

Workout: No. I planned our trip to New Mexico instead. Probably not the best choice.

Food:
I am proud of myself for sticking so well to my plan! I've even eaten out several times and been happy with the choices I've been making and the portion control.
Breakfast: Cereal, coffee
Lunch: Turkey sandwich, watermelon
Dinner: Ham and Acorn Squash Skillet
Snacks: watermelon and yogurt

Eutropius of Orange

Saint of the Day: Eutropius of Orange was a bishop in France in the 5th century. That's pretty much all I could find about him except Wikipedia says his diocese was destroyed by the Visigoths. So, I researched a little bit about Visigoths, and found this amazing votive crown which was part of a treasure hoard discovered in 1858:

Obviously, I don't own anything like this, so I settled for an orange-ish tank top for Eutropius (of Orange, get it?) and some blue and gold jewelry. And the cutest dog in the world.

Reading:

Old English: "The Battle of Brunanburh," lines 1-25. This poem records the victory of the English king Aethelstan and his brother over those nasty Irish and Scotsmen around 937.

Middle English: Sir Orfeo and Sir Launfal. Sir Orfeo is a re-telling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but instead of dying, Eurydice is kidnapped by fairies. And it has a much happier ending. Sir Launfal is about a poverty-stricken knight who is cast out of Arthur's court after being unable to afford a wedding present for Arthur and Guinevere. He meets up with two ladies who introduce to a fairy woman who agrees to help him and be his lover as long as he never tells anyone about her. His fortunes improve, but then he tells someone about her, and she abandons him, and he luck turns yet again. Guinevere, who hates him, trumps up some charges against him, and just as he is about to be executed, the fairy woman shows up, blinds Guinevere, and whisks Launfal off to fairyland to live happily ever after.

Contemporary American: The Things They Carried, pp. 117-161

Workout: Yes! 45 mins!

Food:

Breakfast: Cereal and fruit

Lunch: open-faced PBJ and fruit

Dinner: a blessed hamburger. Yes! V-8

Snacks: graham crackers and fruit

Augustine of Canterbury

Saint of the Day: Augustine of Canterbury, not to be confused with Augustine of Hippo. Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope Gregory I to evangelize England. Augustine landed in Kent, and luckily the queen there was a Germanic princess who was also already a Christian. Although her husband was a pagan at the time, out of courtesy to his wife's faith, he allowed Augustine to start a mission in Canterbury. He had great success in converting the English, but the Celts didn't like him because they accused him of being a suck-up to the pope. In any case, Augustine founded the abbey which eventually became Canterbury Cathedral. The seal of Canterbury Cathedral looks like this:

So, my outfit looks like this:

And my toes just happen to be painted to match!

Household Chores: My absolute failure to do the chores I've set for myself has resulted in me giving this goal up entirely. I think I'm going to have to dedicate a weekend day to doing all the chores I meant to do during the week. But right now, it's just my absolute last priority.

Reading:

Old English: Wulf and Eadwacer, a poem of 19 lines which has caused much confusion and argument among scholars of Anglo-Saxon. Basically it's a about a woman who is lamenting the absence of her husband or lover, or possibly both. The woman is anonymous. Her husband name is Wulf, and her lover's name is Eadwacer. Or maybe the other way around - it's not clear. Or it's possible that Eadwacer isn't actually anyone's name, but is a sarcastic term describing Wulf, so there's no second man. And they probably have a kid, but maybe not. Yeah. So, it might take me a while to translate this one due to the 1500 years or so of confusion it has caused.

Middle English: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Books 3 and 4.

Contemporary American: The Things They Carried, pp. 62-116.

Workout: Yes! 45 mins!

Food:

Breakfast: toast and cherries, coffee

Lunch: open-faced salami sandwich (aka a "Kolya" sandwich) and milk

Dinner: eating out with Erin! Looking forward to it!

Snack: kiwis

Aldhelm

Saint of the Day: Aldhelm. He was a prolific Anglo-Saxon writer. Although all of his extant works are in Latin, we know he wrote a significant amount in Old English. He is most famous for two works: "In praise of Virginity" and a compilation of 100 riddles, some of which are pretty ribald and form a nice irony with his other work.

To remember Anselm, I have these new earrings that I got from etsy. They are curly question marks with a pretty little stone at the bottom. The seller named them the "Everlasting Why" earrings which is a reference to the book/movie "A Room With a View" which is one of my all-time favorites. As soon as I saw the quote in the description, I pressed the "buy" button. How can I not support such a kindred spirit? They haven't arrived yet, so they're not in the outfit picture. I'm just pretending they are. There is a Toad in the outfit picture, though!

Just for fun, I'm including an English translation of one of Aldhelm's riddles:

The earth was my mother - I was raised

From her cold, wet womb. I know in my mind

I was not woven from hair or wool

By skillful hands. I have no winding

Weft or warp, no thread to sing

Its rushing song; no whirring shuttle

Slides through me, no weaver's sley

Strikes belly or back. No silkworms spin

With inborn skill their subtle gold

For my sides, yet warriors call me

A coat of joy. I do not fear

The quiver's gift, the deadly arrow flight.

If you are clever and quick with words,

Say what this strange coat is called.

Any guesses?

Chores: Straighten guest bedroom and change sheets

Reading:

Old English: Bede's account of the conversion of King Edwin, sentences 20-end; in which the king finally converts and burns all of the pagan altars to the ground

Middle English: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, books 1 and 2. In which the Green Knight ruins everyone's Christmas by beheading some folks and Gawain wanders around aimlessly for a while until he stumbles upon the Green Knight's castle.

Contemporary American: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, pp. 1-61

Workout: Yes! 35 mins

Food:

Breakfast: cheese toast and V-8

Lunch: fish sandwich

Dinner: Chicken Sorrentino with cauliflower and green beans

Snacks: blackberries and cherries

Donatian and Rogatian

Saints of the Day: Donatian and Rogatian. They were brothers from Nantes who were martyred together. I took my outfit idea from the coat of arms of the city of Nantes which is really pretty:

I took the red and green and made this:

I also wore my anchor necklace as a nod to the nautical theme. I've been wanting a higher quality nautically-themed necklace for while, and I was looking for them online this week when I saw a bunch of astrolabes for sale. Astrolabes are medieval navigational instruments for determining the positions of the heavenly bodies. They are usually pretty big and not suitable for making jewelry out of, but then I found this:

http://www.pocketsundials.com/miniatures-and-keychains/astrolabe-keychain-5-cm

WANT! I could totally make a necklace out of it. I wish it weren't so European and so expensive.

I've also discovered the timer button on my camera and my husband bought me a little tripod a while back, so I am experimenting with taking my own pictures. Here's me not quite making it in time:

Household Chore: I unloaded the dishwasher. Yay for me. It's pretty sad that I consider that a victory, but really I do.

Reading:

Old English: Bede's account of the Conversion of King Edwin, sentences 11-19, in which the king's advisors use a lot of strange similes to say they don't really have a problem with converting to Christianity

Middle English: Pearl. People love this poem. It's nice. I just really don't enjoy the super-religious subject matter.

Contemporary American: Beloved, pp. 210-end. So good, but sooooo sad.

Workout: Yes! 45 mins.

Food:

Breakfast: Oatmeal and fruit

Lunch: Amy's Non-Dairy Vegetable Pot Pie

Dinner: Creole Steak with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus

Snack: Cheddar bunnies and a glass of milk

Julia of Corsica

Saint of the Day: Julia of Corsica. She was a native of North Africa who was captured and enslaved. She was brought to Corsica where the pagans were throwing a big festival, but Julia refused to participate. As punishment, her hair was torn out of her head and she was crucified. Yikes. My outfit today is based on the Corsican flag which looks like this:
So, I'm wearing black sweatpants and a white tank top. So classy! And a black and white headband for flair.

Workout: Nope.

Writing: 30 mins

Household Chore: Clear off surface areas in living room and kitchen. I did this yesterday!

Reading:
Old English: Sentences 1-9 of Bede's account of the Conversion of King Edwin.

Middle English: Piers Plowman, Passus XVIII-XX. And it's over! Yay! No more Piers Plowman!

Contemporary American: Beloved, pp. 156-209

Criticism: Still no reading list

Food:
Breakfast: Cheese toast and coffee
Lunch: open-faced salami sandwich. We just watched the movie "Kolya" which is about Czech people in the 1980's. They ate a lot of open-faced salami sandwiches in that movie, and they looked so delicious. Mine was not as good as that, but it was good.
Dinner: Fish Curry and acorn squash
Snacks: Strawberries and 1 glass of milk

It's Been So Long

So, I didn't really blog this semester. It was a rough few months, and I didn't take pictures beforehand, so I fell behind. Then I was just too stressed out and unhappy to even think about posting anything. But, that's over. It's summer now, and I'm ready to write for fun again.

Since it's summer, I don't have quite the stock of outfits planned that I do during the semester. I mostly just sit around the house in sweatpants and T-shirts unless I have something planned. And since everyone I know works, I rarely have anything planned. I have, however, planned a bunch of outfits for the summer and I'll post them when I wear them.

I'm mostly going to use this blog as a place to keep myself accountable for my work schedule this summer. Kind of Bridget Jones style. I actually just gave up my summer vacations plans (2 weeks in Ireland) so that I'll have time to study for my preliminary exams in September. So, I'm going to be posting my reading list for every day, my Healthy Summer Diet plans, and my workout schedule so that I'll be embarrassed when the handful of people who read this blog actually ask me about it. Or not be embarrassed because I will have actually done the things I said I was going to do. And so I won't feel bad about not taking a vacation this summer because I'm doing so many productive things with my time.

That reminds me of a Billy Collins poem: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/consolation/

The basic outline is as follows: I plan an outfit around a saint's life, do one household chore or other menial task, workout, eat healthy meals, read for prelims, and write for 30 mins a day. So far, I have been on this schedule for three days. I have not done any household chores, and I have only written once. Overall, I think I'm doing pretty good, though.

So, here's today's schedule:

Saint of the Day: Bernardino of Siena - he lived in the 14th century. The story I planned my outfit around is that when the plague hit Siena in 1400, he volunteered at the hospital. He contracted the plague himself, but survived although he had a weak constitution for the rest of his life. So, I'm wearing my skull and crossbones shirt with my "Memento Mori" earrings.

My friend Erin has these, and I LOVED them, so I bought a pair for myself. They are on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/74118475/memento-mori-earrings?ref=sr_list_14&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=memento+mori+earrings&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

Household Chore: Take unwanted books to 1/2 price books. Not going to happen. Maybe Monday?

Workout: 45 mins; I'm not allowed to watch my "True Blood" DVDs unless I'm exercising, so that's pretty good incentive for me. I watch an episode a day.

Reading:

Old English: Translate sentences 32-45 of "The Story of Caedmon." I forgot how much I like old English! Fantastic!

Middle English: Piers Plowman, Passus XIII-XVII. Ugh. Piers Plowman is the total pits. I haven't read it since I was in undergrad, and I hated it then. Now I remember why.

Contemporary American: Beloved by Toni Morrison, pp. 100-155. This book breaks my heart every time I read it. I know it's supposed to, but seriously...

Criticism: Read one article or book chapter a day. I don't actually have this reading list yet. My professor is on vacation until June 1. Will update later.

Food:

Breakfast: Cereal, juice, coffee

Lunch: McDonald's Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with grilled chicken (no dressing)

Dinner: Tuna Kebabs

Snacks: Fruit, graham crackers, popsicle

Writing:

Nope.

St. Julian of Le Mans

This post is actually a week late! It was so nice and sunny last week, and I had planned this outfit which turned out to be so hot. Then, the arctic front came through and froze the entire city, and the outfit I had planned for this Tuesday was not adequate for the weather at all. Of course, I adjusted by adding tights, a warmer coat, etc., but that's one of the drawbacks of planning so far in advance. However, the lowered stress levels that come from not having to plan outfits day by day because I've already planned them in advance far outweigh the minor inconveniences of weather.

Anyway, last Thursday's outfit was inspired by St. Julian of Le Mans. The Golden Legend does not identify any of the St. Julians as being bishop of Le Mans, but it just kind of lists all the St. Julians and their miracles. So, I'm not sure if the St. Julian I modeled my outfit on is actually Julian of Le Mans, but the story goes that he was a missionary to Gaul. When he arrived to his post, the land was suffering from a water shortage. He placed his staff in the ground and prayed, then water came out of the ground.

Because the Golden Legend is so confusing about which St. Julian is which, I also took some inspiration from one of my favorite movie stars: Steve McQueen. He was in a movie called "Le Mans" which is about the famous car race. The girl in the movie is Elga Andersen, a very pretty German actress in a turtleneck:

So, I'm wearing a blue turtleneck - blue for the water miracle, and a turtleneck for Steve McQueen:

Conversion of St. Paul

When I was fielding all the comments about my equestrian outfit today, I was like, "It's the conversion of St. Paul. He was on horseback when it happened." And, then, when I actually read the part of the Bible that describes it, no horse is mentioned at all. For all we know, he could have been walking. Chagrin :(. Then, I found this picture from a 15th century manuscript, and St. Paul is totally on horseback. Aha! In fact, in most of the art depicting his conversion, Paul is on horseback which must be how I got that idea.

The story is that before he converted to Christianity, Paul (then called Saul) was a huge persecutor of Christians and even participated in martyring them. Then, as he was traveling to Damascus, a great light appeared and blinded him, and he heard a voice asking, "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Paul fell to the ground and asked what he should do. The voice told him to go into the city, which he did. He remained blind for several days until he met a Christian man who healed him. Paul remained there a while, converted to Christianity and changed his name from Saul to Paul, then went on to become one of the most influential people in Christianity.

So, here's the outfit:

St. Timothy

The entry for St. Timothy in the Golden Legend is very short. It basically just says that under the Emperor Nero he was martyred by having quicklime poured down his throat. Yikes. Ouch. The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions that he had a pious grandmother named Lois who was praised by the apostle Paul.

So, I had those two elements in mind when I put together this outfit. I only have office hours on Mondays, so I am going more casual than usual. I decided jeans were OK if I was just in the office and not teaching. So, jeans at work! Plus a choker to call attention to the throat. Also, while Timothy had a pious grandmother named Lois, I have a pious mother-in-law named Lois, and she gave me this T-shirt as a present. So, there you go:

St. Sebastian

St. Sebastian is easily one of the most recognizable saints because he is almost always depicted with arrows sticking out of him, like so:



It is actually a misconception that he died being shot by those arrows. A widow found him - still alive - and nursed him back to health. When Emperor Diocletian found out Sebastian was still around, he had him arrested and beaten to death in prison. For good, this time.

Sebastian was a high-ranking soldier in the Roman army before his Christianity was discovered. He is credited with strengthening the faith of many others and several instances of healing the sick. His martyrdom is supposed to have occurred in 287.

So, today I am dressed for Sebastian. Polka dots for arrow holes and, when I was explaining it to someone today, I said, "In the pictures, he's always wearing a sort of...miniskirt." I realize it's not a miniskirt, but I can't think of a good word for it - Loincloth? No, that sounds like cavemen or something. Diaper isn't a word I want to use either, although that's what it looks like. I mean, it's basically just a piece of cloth there so the painter doesn't have to paint him naked, I think. A modesty cloth? I'm sure there's an actual word for it, but it's simply not coming to mind. So, anyway, I wore a miniskirt:

Chair of St. Peter

So, when I was doing research for this day, I was very surprised to learn that Jan 18 is the feast of the "Chairing of St. Peter at Rome." What on earth? So, I looked into it, and it's basically a celebration of the office of pope. The chair is actually the chair on which the Pope used to sit in St. Peter's cathedral. Here's a picture:

I'm studying for a Latin exam that I have to take this semester, and to prepare I'm translating the Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend) which is a collection of saints' lives from the 13th century. So, I'm basing my outfits around the saints in that book and the stories it tells about them. The Golden Legend doesn't include a section on St. Peter's chair in Rome, but it does have an entry for St. Peter's chair in Antioch. That feast day is usually Feb. 22, but I'm using it today.

As you can see, the chair of St. Peter in Rome is a rather elaborate affair. It's actually kind of a plain wooden chair, but in the 17th century, a baroque reliquary was built for it made of bronze.

So, I took that ornate decoration as my inspiration:

I'm actually wearing two pairs of tights. The undertights are shiny and gold. The overtights are patterned netting. This was a fun outfit to wear and very comfortable!

St. Hilaire de Poiters

The semester has just started, and I'm already behind! And unhappy with my pictures so far. But, anyway, this is from last Thursday.

St. Hilaire de Poitiers was bishop of Poitiers in the 4th century. He was known as a very pious man who despised heresy. The story about him in the "Golden Legend" is that the pope, named Leo, had been corrupted by heresy and he summoned all the bishops together to discuss church doctrine. Hilaire was not invited to this meeting, but he found out about it and showed up anyway. The pope began to ridicule him, but Hilaire stood up for himself and accused the pope of heresy right to his face. When the pope excused himself to obey nature's call, he was stricken with dysentery, pooped out all of his intestines, and died. Hilaire then took control of the assembly of bishops and the heresy was stopped.

The Golden Legend claims this story is true despite the absolute lack of any documentation of the incident and the fact that there was no pope named Leo in the fourth century. Hmm.

So, rather than taking inspiration from the pooping incident as entertaining as that might have been, I went with the French theme. I don't really have any real Frenchified accessories like a beret or cute little neck scarf, but I do have a striped sweater. So, here goes: