We are well into Tom Sawyer but I wanted to post a quote from the last book we finished, the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. We enjoyed the book although neither kids were thrilled with the Claudia character. Let's just say that if she homeschooled in Portland, we would most likely not be seeing her on a regular basis, but she might show up at a museum day or a play we were going to and the like. We'd definitely recognize her, that's for sure.

I really enjoyed the way Konigsburg wrapped up the story and sent the kids home, making their time away seem so much longer than it actually was, and giving us a better understanding of why Claudia had wanted to run away in the first place.

During their time at the museum, the two kids spent time each day learning about different exhibits, a very unschooly thing to do in some ways, in other ways not so much. I love this quote at the end that gives a nod to the time in-between learning, the down time, the transition, the rest. (See yesterday's post winter expansion to follow my flow here about growth and rest...)

"Claudia said, 'But, Mrs. Frankweiler, you should want to learn one new thing every day. We did even at the museum.'

'No,' I answered, 'I don't agree with that. I think you should learn, of course, and some days you must learn a great deal. But you should also have days when you allow what is already in you to swell up inside of you until it touches everything. And you can feel it inside you. If you never take time out to let that happen, then you just accumulate facts, and they begin to rattle around inside of you. You can make noise with them, but never really feel anything with them. It's hollow.'"

Another great quote, this one about authenticity-

"It's not about being good. It's about being in Alignment with your Godself, and that is a very big difference. Being good goes by rules. Alignment with your Godself is felt directly from within and may not make others happy or follow those rules!" ~Lola Jones

(I would personally not use the term Godself and believe you can substitute any term you like for Godself- spiritual Self, Buddha Nature, etc...)

I also recently finished reading the book Loving Frank by Nancy Horan which is a fictional account of the relationship between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney and is as much about their relationship as it is about living an authentic life. There is also quite a bit about the women's movement during the time of the suffragists. It reflects quite a bit on the role of women, particularly during that time in history.

zen and fountains and swifts oh my

This is a great quote from a new book about Zen and surfing I am reading, Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis.

Here he is learning how to surf. This quote is so much about finding our way into flow-

"And that's when it all kind of clicked. There was a way, a method that worked. The walls were not impenetrable. I realized in that moment that all the initial poundings had scarred me, in a way. I had known intellectually that if I did this duckdiving thing right, it was possible to get through even very big waves. But I'd started believing I couldn't do it. And so I couldn't.

And now I had experienced it.

And I knew."

The kids and I went over to check out the swifts the other night after spending a few hours at Jameson Square Fountain with friends. I am imagining that will probably have been our last trip to the fountain this year (with the water on) and I am glad to have gotten Eva over there one last time. It is hard to believe that out of the whole summer we only made it there twice (three times if you count the time we were caught in a downpour there last spring. While that was a fun time, it was not necessarily a fountain time.) The swifts are possibly one of my favorite things to do around Portland and I am hoping to take my dad while he is visiting some time this week as well.



Eva and Orion making a beach. There were penguins and squirrels who will soon be using the slides and swimming in the water...



And there are the penguins, enjoying the beach fun.