Blaze has given me another challenge. He enjoyed his airship pirate costume so much for Halloween, that he has now asked for an airship pirate themed birthday.
I decided that for his big gift, I would make him a footboard for his bed ( he currently has neither a footboard nor headboard) and I would make it look like the control panel of a generic steampunk-type vehicle. Blaze has a very small bedroom, so a bed that includes activities is a good way to fit playthings into the space. I want the control panel to be a non-specific vehicle, because that frees up Blaze's imagination to make it whatever he wants ( airship, submarine, rocket ship, boat, something I've never heard of before...).
So far, I have finished only one small part of the footboard, the lamp/vehicle power source.
We started with a fun trip to SkyCraft in Orlando. SkyCraft does have an on-line store at http://skycraftsurplus.com/, but it's not as fun as wandering through the store, finding things you had never thought of, or spending an hour going through boxes of hundreds of gauges.
Here's what we came away with:
The other parts I used for the lamp were a plasma light that was on sale for 25% off at Spencers:
and a kitchen timer that was purchased at Pier One and then repainted. The time will be used to put limits on Blaze's video game playing.
I then built a box:
The wood stain is Minwax Red Mahogany 225, which I really like because of its rich color, especially when matched with the shiny brass and gold.
The colored glass cover over the light bulb was part of a candle holder:
The brass trim, that covers the seams between boards is brass tape found in the scrapbook section of the craft store:
I just found this and thought it sounded like so much fun, I wanted to pass it on:
" Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day!
Dec. 8th, 2009,
You must spend the entire day in costume and character. The only rule is that you cannot actually tell anyone that you are a time traveler. Other than that, anything's game.
- Greet people by referring to things that don't yet exist or haven't existed for a long time. Example: "Have you penetrated the atmosphere lately?" "What spectrum will today's broadcast be in?" and "Your king must be a kindly soul!"
- Show extreme ignorance in operating regular technology. Pay phones should be a complete mystery (try placing the receiver in odd places). Chuckle knowingly at cell phones.
2) Dystopian Future - This one offers a little more flexibility. It can be any kind of future from Terminator to Freejack. The important thing to remember is dress like a crazy person with armor. Black spray painted football pads, high tech visors, torn up trenchcoats and maybe even some dirt here or there. Remember, dystopian future travelers are very startled that they've gone back in time. Some starters:
- If you go the "prisoner who's escaped the future" try shaving your head and putting a barcode on the back of your neck. Then stagger around and stare at the sky, as if you've never seen it before.
- Walk up to random people and say "WHAT YEAR IS THIS?" and when they tell you, get quiet and then say "Then there's still time!" and run off.
- Stand in front of a statue (any statue, really), fall to your knees, and yell "NOOOOOOOOO"
- Stare at newspaper headlines and look astonished.
- Take some trinket with you (it can be anything really), hand it to some stranger, along with a phone number and say "In thirty years dial this number. You'll know what to do after that." Then slip away.
3) The Past - This one is more for beginners. Basically dress in period clothing (preferably Victorian era) and stagger around amazed at everything. Since the culture's set in place already, you have more of a template to work off of. Some pointers:
- Airplanes are terrifying. Also, carry on conversations with televisions for a while.
- Discover and become obsessed with one trivial aspect of technology, like automatic grocery doors. Stay there for hours playing with it.
- Be generally terrified of people who are dressed immodestly compared to your era. Tattoos and shorts on women are especially scary.
And that's it. Remember, the only real rule is staying in character and try to fit in. Never directly admit you're a time traveler, and make really, really bad attempts at keeping a low profile. Naturally, the dystopian future has a little more leeway. And for the record, I've already tried out all of these in real life, in costume. It is so much fun you want to pee yourself.
Thanksgiving caused this to be a short school week, but we did continue our simple machines science unit for the three days that we had school. We read the following two books:
We also watched this cartoon:
Blaze put together and colored a 4 page picture dictionary of simple machines from the book More Read and Understand Stories (Grade 1) from Evan Moor Publishing. He also did two of the accompanying worksheets.
Today, I am thinking about our abundance of food, because the two batches of dough I made last night, have both risen out of the confines of their bowls in the refrigerator, crept across the refrigerator racks, and dripped down to other levels.
We did not actually eat out in any restaurants this past week, but we did order take-out. This was our first time ordering food from the Merlion Restaurant and we were very impressed. The food all arrived hot and delicious. Even Blaze, who is a very picky eater, enjoyed his meal.
It is that time again. The time of year when I get to slather Blaze's left hand with fabric paint and add a new hand-turkey to our Thanksgiving table cloth.
Here is this year's turkey:
This is our 7th year for this tradition, so we have a nice little parade of hand-turkeys running along the edge of the table cloth, each turkey just a little bigger than the one before it.
It's always fun to look at how much Blaze has grown:
When we started the tablecloth, in 2003, I also made a Thanksgiving T-shirt for myself with DH and I adding our handprints to Blaze's.
Yesterday, we did a little Thanksgiving preparation. I baked pumpkin cookies, using the wonderful recipe at Mountain Pulse.
The only thing I did differently with the cookies, was to substitute dried cranberries for the raisins.
We also decorated a little for Thanksgiving:
I'm not doing as much cooking for Thanksgiving as I have in past years, because we have been invited to the home of some friends, and all I need to make is dinner rolls. This is the recipe I will be using for those:
Refrigerator Roll Dough
1 package ( 1 Tablespoon ) active dry yeast 1 1/2 Cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees) 1 Cup unseasoned lukewarm mashed potatoes 2/3 Cup vegetable oil 1/3 Cup honey 1 1/2 salt 5 to 6 cups unbleached white flour
This is a good recipe to make on a night when you are making mashed potatoes for dinner. Before seasoning the potatoes, reserve 1 1/2 cups of the potato water and 1 cup of the plain mashed potatoes. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and water. Then add everything else, first mix with a spoon and then kneed by hand. Add flour as necessary, until it becomes a good pliable dough. Form the dough into a large ball and oil the outside of the ball, so it won't dry out while rising. Cover and place in the refrigerator over night. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The dough does not have to be baked all at once. You can bake just what you need for each meal. Punch down dough before using. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.
I use this dough for everything. It makes great cinnamon rolls. If a little nutmeg is added, it is perfect for hot cross buns. Fillings can be added to turn it into sweet rolls and it can be rolled around hot dogs or sausages to make "pigs in a blanket".
Here is a link to some of the recipes I used last year:
After months of feeling trapped by temporary fencing and having to listen to heavy construction equipment all day every day, the workmen have finally moved their center of operation to another part of the apartment complex. They have left behind a lot of dirt with nothing left growing on it, but the boys think that's fine. They are outside digging for treasure. So far, they have found a piece of clay pipe, which they tell me is ancient pottery, and many rocks, which they tell me is gold. The youngest boy also dug up a stick and declared that it was a fossil.
I find it amusing how hard children will work when they are playing.
Before I show you what Blaze has been doing for science this week, I want to show you Blaze's new hair cut. He had physical therapy in the pool this afternoon, and his hair had become so long and bushy that he couldn't keep it out of his face when it got wet, so before he went swimming, DH took him to get a hair cut. Gone are all the curls, for now, but it won't take them long to grow back.
This week, Blaze has been learning about inclined planes by listening to the following books:
And watching the following videos:
Today, we took a walk around our apartment complex to see what inclined planes we could find.
Ramps and stairs are inclined planes:
The pavement, hidden under all these leaves, is slanted, so that the rain water will run into the storm-drain. That makes this an inclined plane.
Slanted roofs are inclined planes (Blaze has been pointing them out all over town).
Blaze and I spent Monday afternoon at the Orlando Science Center. It was the first time we had ever been there, but Blaze is already saying he wants to go there again. It is full of great hands-on activities for elementary school children.
This went along perfectly with our current science unit about simple machines:
There were several activities about sound, which Blaze had fun with, because he loves to make noise.
This is a laser harp. It reminds me of everything they play on that late night music program on NPR, "Music from the Hearts of Space"
Blaze spent quite a bit of time pretending to fix my car in an area called "Kids Town"
and building a water maze for toy boats to travel through.
There were a few live animals there to watch and we went to see a movie about sharks.
We played with this model of the brain for awhile. I was fascinated, because it reminded me of Blaze's MRI, but it was in color, while the MRI is black and white. Blaze wanted to fix the person by re-stacking all the pieces.
There was a room full of dinosaurs, but Blaze wasn't that interested in them this time
his biggest interest was in the things about electricity, and the driving and flight simulators.
There were quite a few interactive displays about the work of Tesla and how electric current is generated.
One of the most exciting things we saw, though, was the space shuttle launch. The museum opened up their 4th floor terrace to people wishing to view the launch. The Kennedy Space Center is about a 45 minute drive from Orlando, so it's not super close, but I was excited, because I had never seen a Space Shuttle launch except on television.
Here is my poor attempt at taking a movie of it:
Entering the building again after the launch, this was one of the first things we saw:
This week's Corner View theme is "cellphone madness", which was described as a group of 5 pictures, taken with a cellphone camera at the time when the phone rang. My cellphone only rang once this week and that was when my husband called to say he was on his way to pick Blaze and me up from the Orlando Science Center. This is what was happening at that time:
I did make Blaze a cellphone related gift, though.
Blaze woke up one morning, really upset because he has misplaced the note card he had been using as a play cellphone. He was crying inconsolably until I promised to make him a new toy cellphone.
This is what I made:
It's not perfect, because it was my first time using a wood burning tool, but Blaze was happy.
To see more Cellphone Madness, visit Spain Daily and all of the links on the side bar there. I'm sure most of the other people make better use of their cellphones than I do.
If you are starting to think about what your children can make to give as holiday gifts, these are very easy to make and are pretty gifts to give teachers and grandparents.
Materials Needed: one glass bowl (found at Dollar tree, price $1) one string of 35 white Christmas lights ( our were from the after Christmas sales at Target last year, price around $.85) your choice of potpourri (found at Dollar Tree, price $1) one crocheted doily (found at Jo-Ann Fabrics, price $1.79) fabric ribbon of your choice
1. Start by feeding a few of the lights into the bottom of the bowl.
2. pour in a little of the potpourri and then feed in a few more lights. Keep alternating until all the lights are in the bowl and it is full of potpourri ( one bag of potpourri should fill about 3 bowls).
3. place doily over the mouth of the bowl and tie in place with a pretty ribbon.
large mason jars can also be used for this, just leave off the lid.
I have no fun projects or pictures to post today. I'm sitting in a hotel room in Orlando and I'm the only one awake. I'm awake, only because my stomach hurts so bad. I started feeling sick around 1 a.m. and I'm blaming it on the lobster bisque DH and I had for dinner, although he's not sick (the soup was from one of those "help yourself" pots at the grocery store). We are in Orlando because DH is attending the funeral of his oldest nephew, who died from the flu a few days ago. The nephew was in his thirties (DH is the youngest of 6 kids, so there is a big age difference between him and his oldest sister) and Blaze and I never met him, so our plan is to go to the Orlando Science Museum, while DH is at the funeral.
For many years now, I have been sewing full skirts with elastic waist bands, without using a pattern. They have three tiers of fabric, each twice as much as the one before. They also last for many years. This skirt, which was hand-sewn back in the days of living in a van while tree planting in North Carolina, has held up remarkably well. The elastic now needs to be replaced, but that will be about a 20 minute repair job. The fabric is still perfect.
Here is a picture of the skirt, taken just yesterday:
Here is a picture of me wearing the skirt on the Winter Solstice in 1994, while holding the rope attached to the sun shaped pinata the girls and I had made, while little 3 year old Nika took her turn trying to hit it:
Not all of the skirts were made with just one fabric. This one has a different, complimentary print for each layer:
The instructions to make these are really quite easy. The top layer is two yards of fabric, 15 1/4 inches wide. The second layer is then 4 yards of fabric, 12 inches wide, and the third layer is 8 yards of fabric, 12 inches wide. The second and third layers are both hand-basted at the top edge in order to gather them and the pinned onto the bottom edge of the previous layer (right sides together) before sewing. The extra material in the top layer is because of the waistband. The top edge is first ironed down a 1/4 inch and then ironed down an additional 3 inches. The elastic casing is formed by sewing around the casing one inch from the top edge, leaving a gap of a couple inches. Next, sew another row of stitched 2 inches from the top, leaving the same gap, and sew a third row of stitches along the bottom edge of the folded material.
Cut three pieces of 1/4 inch elastic the same size as your waist. Start with the casing closest to the top of the waistband. Thread the elastic through the casing using a safety pin attached to the end of the elastic to help guide and pull it through the casing. Over-lap the ends of the elastic by an inch or inch and a half and sew the ends together. Pull out on the waistband to be sure that the elastic is properly in place. Then, sew up the 2 inch gap in the row of stitches that form each section of the casing.
To hem the shirt, iron the bottom edge over by a half inch and then fold that half inch over and iron again. Sew in place.
Two days ago I finished a new variation on this skirt. I made a patchwork skirt out of flannel for winter. It's a bit different. The patches in the first row are 9 inches by 13 1/4 inches. The patches in all the other rows are 9 inches by 10 inches. There are two rows that are 10 patches long, but the second row is covered by a 20 patch ruffle. Then there are two more rows that are 20 patches each, sewn to the second 10 patch piece. I also added tea-dyed cotton lace to the bottom edge of the ruffle and the hem. I had perfect timing, because cooler weather arrived yesterday.
Here are two very different recipes for peanut butter fudge. Both are recipes from my Mother. The first one is the recipe for the peanut butter fudge she makes for Christmas every year. The second recipe is the one she used in the microwave cooking classes she used to teach.
Stove Top Peanut Butter Fudge
2 Cups white sugar dash of salt 1 Tablespoon flour 2/3 Cup cream ( half and half) 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup 1/2 Cup peanut butter 1/2 Cup coarsely chopped peanuts
Combine sugar, salt and flour. Add cream and syrup . Cook until soft ball forms in cold water (234 degrees F.) . Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and beat until creamy. Stir in nuts. Pour into greased square pan and cut into squares before cool.
Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge
3 Cups white sugar 1 (5 1/3 oz.) can evaporated milk (equals 2/3 cup) 1/4 Cup butter or margarine 1 (7, 9, or 10 oz.) jar of marshmallow creme (fluff) 1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix sugar, milk, and butter in a large glass, microwave safe, bowl. Microwave 4 to 5 minutes on "high" or until mixture boils, stirring 2 or 3 tomes. Microwave 3 minutes longer, stirring once. Stir in marshmallow creme, peanut butter, and vanilla. Beat until well blended. Spread mixture in buttered 13X9X2 inch pan. Cool, then refrigerate. Cut into squares when firm.
Chocolate Fudge: 2 Cups of sugar 2/3 Cup milk 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate or 1/3 Cup cocoa powder 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 Tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla
Butter a glass loaf dish and set aside. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a heavy sauce pan and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until it reaches 234 degrees F. Remove from heat and add butter. Cool without stirring for 15-20 minutes. Add vanilla and stir for 5-10 minutes, until it thickens. Pour into the loaf dish and spread it smooth. Cover and cool in the refrigerator. Cut into square to serve.
Don't forget to check out the other Corner View participants at Spain Daily.
When I was making the crazy quilt choker, just before Halloween, I wanted to keep all the colors muted and Earth-tone, so I tea dyed some natural colored cotton lace. A couple days ago I found a beautiful light-weight cotton blouse on a clearance rack at Old Navy and decided that I wanted to make it match the choker.
I have terrible luck with white clothing anyway. It always ends up stained. By dying the shirt with tea, I have, for once, chosen to stain my shirt.
Here is what the shirt looked like when I first brought it home:
The dye bath was 14 cups of water, brought to a boil in a large sauce pan, to which was added 28 teabags (the cheapest black tea I could find), 2 tea bags for every 1 cup of water. I also added 1 cup of white vinegar to the boiling water to help the dye to be color-fast. Once the water was boiling, the heat was turned off and the tea was left to steep for the next 10-15 minutes.
Next, the shirt was rinsed in clear water and wrung out well, to make sure it was clean and damp, but would not dilute the tea with more water.
Then, the shirt was added to the tea/dye bath. I used a large wooded spoon to stir it around and make sure all the cloth was completely submerged in the tea.
The shirt, then spent about 45 minutes soaking in the hot tea, being stirred and poked at occasionally. At the end of the 45 minutes, the shirt was removed from the tea and rinsed several times in clear, cool water.
To further help the setting of the color, the shirt can be placed in a hot dryer or ironed dry.
The shirt is now a perfect match for the tea dyed lace on my choker.
I'm thinking about replacing the little plastic buttons on the shirt, as well, but I haven't found any I like yet.
Once Blaze had a good understanding of what made something a simple machine, we started focusing on each kind of simple machine separately. We started this past week with the lever.
We read the following books:
I really like the series of books that Levers to the Rescue comes from. The way the book is worded makes it more exciting than most of the books about simple machines that we found. To add a little audience participation, I told Blaze to shout out "Levers to the Rescue" whenever he saw it on the page.
Blaze made two kinds of levers this week. The first one, he came up with on his own after we finished reading How can I experiment with a Lever?
For this next one, Blaze demonstrated how to make a plastic spoon catapult for the little neighbor boy. All the straw that the workmen have spread on our barren backyard was getting in the way, but the project did work in the end.
We also watched this short video that explained levers:
This was also partly inspired by my purchase of a khaki colored pith helmet, that was delivered yesterday and sparked a fun session of DH and I playing dress-up and taking pictures of each other.
DH's picture turned out particularly well.
I wasn't happy with the lighting in the original color copy of this picture (taken in the apartment, but without flash), but it looks good as an antiqued picture.
I've also discovered that light colors work best with this process. Light colored clothes show details better and light colored backgrounds show off the subject better.
Everything was too dark in color in this picture and there was too much going on visually.
I was much happier with the results in this simple face shot.
We have started a new science unit, learning about simple machines. A simple machine is defined as anything used to make work easier, that has one working part or no working parts. We started the unit by reading a couple books just on the general subject of simple machines, so Blaze could have a basic understanding of what the term means.
Then we watched this episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy, which was split into 3 parts on YouTube, which explains simple machines.
Thinking about simple machines, made me think of some complicated machines that are made from a series of simple machines. I guess this can be counted as an art history lesson of sorts, I introduced Blaze to the work of cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who drew very detailed, ridiculously complex machines, that preformed very simple tasks.
I found this great little film from 1940 that not only shows cartoonist Rube Goldberg drawing some of his marvelously complex machines, but also shows how power comes from gasoline ( back in the days when gas supplies were described as being "almost limitless" ).
Classic Sesame Street Rube Goldberg Alphabet
When I explained what Rube Goldberg machines were to one of the 7th graders at school, he told me about this on-line game with Tom and Jerry. It's an animated version of the classic board game Mouse Trap.
I didn't make this garden project, one of the other people at the student gardens made it, but I thought it was pure genius and thought that other people might want to try it.
Each upside-down soda bottle has the bottom cut off and the lid removed. Each is filled with potting soil and a plant is planted in it. This way, when you water the top plant, any extra water run-off will drain into the next plant down.
It was getting down to the wire. Five O'clock on Tuesday and I still had no ideas for this week's corner view theme, "contrasts", so I took my camera with as my son and I went for a walk on the short nature trail behind the Magnolia Parke shopping and office plaza.
It turned out to be the perfect settling for finding contrasts.
To start with, it is a little pocket of nature in very urban surroundings.
This is the busy 4 lane street that runs past Magnolia Parke:
This is the path behind the building where Blaze has his physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech (the reason we were at Magnolia Parke):
To the left of the path is swamp with trees growing out of the slimy green water.
To the right of the path is a pond with a family of ducks swimming on the clear water.
Along the path we saw both flowers and brightly colored Autumn leaves, although there were more flowers than changing leaves.
The trail ends at a large group of fairly new condos. Looking over the weathered old wooden fence next to the trail, blaze and I saw this family of deer eating the nicely manicured lawn behind one of the condos.
To read more corner view posts about contrasts, click on any of the links posted on the side bar of our host's wonderful blog, Spain Daily
Recently, I called my husband away from whatever he was doing in another room, to listen to a song I had just discovered. The song was "Shalott" by Emilie Autumn, which is a beautiful retelling of the story of "The Lady of Shalott", by Lord Alfred Tennyson. The poem had been a favorite of mine after we read it in English Literature class in High School, so a lot of my enthusiasm for the song came from knowing how closely it followed the original poem, without simply being the poem put to music. DH didn't "get it". It turns out that he had never taken English Lit. in High School, because it wasn't a required course, and he had never been exposed to the poem outside the classroom. This post is my response to that conversation.
Water Color book illustration by Walter Crane ( done between 1858-1859)
The Lady Of Shalott
by Lord Alfred Tennyson
Part I
On either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road runs by To many-tower'd Camelot; And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below, The island of Shalott.
Willows whiten, aspens quiver, Little breezes dusk and shiver Thro' the wave that runs for ever By the island in the river Flowing down to Camelot. Four gray walls, and four gray towers, Overlook a space of flowers, And the silent isle imbowers The Lady of Shalott.
By the margin, willow veil'd, Slide the heavy barges trail'd By slow horses; and unhail'd The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd Skimming down to Camelot: But who hath seen her wave her hand? Or at the casement seen her stand? Or is she known in all the land, The Lady of Shalott?
Only reapers, reaping early In among the bearded barley, Hear a song that echoes cheerly From the river winding clearly, Down to tower'd Camelot: And by the moon the reaper weary, Piling sheaves in uplands airy, Listening, whispers " 'Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott."
Part II
There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colours gay. She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. She knows not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, And little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott.
And moving thro' a mirror clear That hangs before her all the year, Shadows of the world appear. There she sees the highway near Winding down to Camelot: There the river eddy whirls, And there the surly village-churls, And the red cloaks of market girls, Pass onward from Shalott.
Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, An abbot on an ambling pad, Sometimes a curly shepherd-lad, Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad, Goes by to tower'd Camelot; And sometimes thro' the mirror blue The knights come riding two and two: She hath no loyal knight and true, The Lady of Shalott.
But in her web she still delights To weave the mirror's magic sights, For often thro' the silent nights A funeral, with plumes and lights And music, went to Camelot: Or when the moon was overhead, Came two young lovers lately wed: "I am half sick of shadows," said The Lady of Shalott.
Part III
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves, He rode between the barley-sheaves, The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves, And flamed upon the brazen greaves Of bold Sir Lancelot. A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd To a lady in his shield, That sparkled on the yellow field, Beside remote Shalott.
The gemmy bridle glitter'd free, Like to some branch of stars we see Hung in the golden Galaxy. The bridle bells rang merrily As he rode down to Camelot: And from his blazon'd baldric slung A mighty silver bugle hung, And as he rode his armour rung, Beside remote Shalott.
All in the blue unclouded weather Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather, The helmet and the helmet-feather Burn'd like one burning flame together, As he rode down to Camelot. As often thro' the purple night, Below the starry clusters bright, Some bearded meteor, trailing light, Moves over still Shalott.
His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd; On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode; From underneath his helmet flow'd His coal-black curls as on he rode, As he rode down to Camelot. From the bank and from the river He flash'd into the crystal mirror, "Tirra lirra," by the river Sang Sir Lancelot.
She left the web, she left the loom, She made three paces thro' the room, She saw the water-lily bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume, She look'd down to Camelot. Out flew the web and floated wide; The mirror crack'd from side to side; "The curse is come upon me," cried The Lady of Shalott.
Part IV
In the stormy east-wind straining, The pale yellow woods were waning, The broad stream in his banks complaining, Heavily the low sky raining Over tower'd Camelot; Down she came and found a boat Beneath a willow left afloat, And round about the prow she wrote The Lady of Shalott.
And down the river's dim expanse Like some bold seer in a trance, Seeing all his own mischance-- With a glassy countenance Did she look to Camelot. And at the closing of the day She loosed the chain, and down she lay; The broad stream bore her far away, The Lady of Shalott.
Lying, robed in snowy white That loosely flew to left and right-- The leaves upon her falling light-- Thro' the noises of the night She floated down to Camelot: And as the boat-head wound along The willowy hills and fields among, They heard her singing her last song, The Lady of Shalott.
Heard a carol, mournful, holy, Chanted loudly, chanted lowly, Till her blood was frozen slowly, And her eyes were darken'd wholly, Turn'd to tower'd Camelot. For ere she reach'd upon the tide The first house by the water-side, Singing in her song she died, The Lady of Shalott.
Under tower and balcony, By garden-wall and gallery, A gleaming shape she floated by, Dead-pale between the houses high, Silent into Camelot. Out upon the wharfs they came, Knight and burgher, lord and dame, And round the prow they read her name, The Lady of Shalott.
Who is this? and what is here? And in the lighted palace near Died the sound of royal cheer; And they cross'd themselves for fear, All the knights at Camelot: But Lancelot mused a little space; He said, "She has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace, The Lady of Shalott."
The Lady of Shalott, oil painting by John William Waterhouse, 1888
Here is an animated reading of the poem, made in 1976
I think this poem can be viewed in more than one way. It is sad that the Lady dies before she can see her dreams fulfilled, but I also think it's a story of empowerment. She has never truly lived until the moment she falls in love with Lancelot and chooses to face the curse in order to follow him. She dies singing.
Me: I am the mother of three vastly different people, a part-time tutor and teacher's aid at a small private school, and a homeschool teacher to my youngest child.
