Goal for the Day: Keep a Positive Outlook

Even this grim monkey can think
positive thoughts.

I don’t want to sound too much like a Depression-era movie starring Mickey Rooney, but looking on the bright side of life is actually a helpful approach to living.  When we dwell on the negative, all we do is weigh ourselves down.  There’s nothing healthy about that.  And, no, it isn’t easy to always find the positive in situations.  Some situations don’t seem to have any positive side. 

One thing to remember is that even when life is at its worst, the way in which you approach negative situations can still foster a positive outcome.  At the end of the day, when you shut your eyes, you want the images you see to be good ones.  Ultimately, it’s in your control to deal with the negative and create a comfortable life for yourself.  One thing that no one can take away from you is your attitude.

Object of the Day: A Curious Victorian Portrait

I was drawn to this painting when I saw it in a Dallas antique shop. Despite her sour expression, she’s really quite charming. Something about her reminded me a tad of Agnes Moorehead. And, so, she came home.


With her elaborately braided coiffure and her sensible wrap, she strikes us as being a very proper lady. The fact that she was painted with this rather grim expression speaks volumes about her sensibilities. Yet, she’s quite pretty in her own way. Her pale skin and auburn hair tell of a beauty hidden by too much emotion.

I have no idea who she was or, even, who painted her. However, judging by the canvas, the frame and the composition, I would place the painting around 1880. It’s either American or British. The French wouldn’t have painted a woman looking so dour. It’s just a curious portrait. I have a fondness of grim portraits. In many ways, I prefer them to highly idealized representations because they tell a tale of a real life. Life is not always rosy cheeks and perfect drapery. Sometimes, even the best of us looks a little pinched.

Person of the Week: Catherine Tate

I'm a very negative person, maybe a bit manic, but one thing that gets you through even the darkest hour is a tiny voice which puts it through a filter and turns it out as a sketch at the other end. In any situation - awful, good, or average - there's always part of me thinking, 'That would be a good two-shot there.'  --Catherine Tate

The above quote fairly well sums up the attitude of comedienne, actress and writer, Catherine Tate. Miss Tate has survived a variety of struggles and admitted “dark hours” to create one of the most enduring comedy shows in the U.K. and to offer the world a new word which was named by Oxford English Dictionary as “Word of the Year.”

In short, Catherine Tate isn’t “bovvered.”

Tate as Lauren
BBC Television

Tate was born in 1968 in Bloomsbury, Central London. She recounts growing up with an Obsessive Compulsive mother whose disorder took on the form of word association. For example, Catherine could not leave a jumper (a sweater) on the floor because it started with the letter “J” as did her mother’s name. Leaving the sweater on the floor seemingly constituted a threat to her mother’s life. Despite this rather unusual situation, Catherine was able to put her energies into her schoolwork and soon set her sights on an acting career.

She acted in small parts on a variety of television shows and began a successful stand-up act. Fellow comedienne Dawn French was heard saying, “Catherine Tate is far too talented and must be destroyed.” In 2004, Geoffrey Perkins of the BBC encouraged Catherine to develop her characters—one of whom was a rough teenager named Lauren whose response to any perceived slight was an indignant. “Am I bovvered?” Audiences certainly were not bothered. In fact, they were delighted by Lauren and the growing host of characters in Miss Tate’s repertiore. “Am I bovvered” quickly became a phrase repeated throughout the U.K., earning Oxford Dictionary’s distinction mentioned above.



Tate as "Nan"
BBC News



The Catherine Tate Show debuted in 2004 and ran for three seasons to much acclaim and earned numerous awards for both Miss Tate and the program. Throughout, Miss Tate showed enormous versatility playing women and men of many nationalities and personalities. My personal favorite is “The Aga Saga Woman”—a rather posh woman who is easily thrown into a total state of true panic when circumstances are not quite as elegant as she would want.

Throughout the last two seasons of her series, Miss Tate battled severe postpartum depression. Yet, she managed to continue working and, amazingly, making people laugh. She is also known for her work on the extremely long-running Doctor Who in which she played the Doctor’s companion, Donna Noble.

With an impressive resume of both comedy and drama roles (including the recent adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House), Catherine Tate still manages to find time for her family and for the causes in which she most believes. She has donated her efforts to Comic Relief, Children of Courage and the Willow Foundation.

Try though she might to paint herself as a negative person, the effect that Catherine Tate has on the world is certainly a positive one.

Enjoy this clip of Miss Tate in various scenes of the easily-frightened “Aga Saga Woman.”

Recommended Reading: Unfolding Pictures: Fans in the Royal Collection

I’m not the only one who collects painted hand fans, the British Royal Family has been collecting them for centuries. Dozens of gorgeous fans are housed in The Royal Collection and have been documented in the book, Unfolding Pictures: Fans in the Royal Collection.


Her majesty’s collection of hand fans is truly unrivaled. The eighty fans in the collection represent the finest works of fan makers from all over the world with examples dating to as early as 1600.

Many of the fans in the collection were used by members of the Royal Family. Others were given as gifts from the rulers of other lands. With intricately carved sticks of ivory, gold, silver and other precious materials, and richly painted scenes and motifs, these fans are undoubtedly functional works of art. A great deal of the items in the collection came from Queen Mary who received a huge amount of fans as gifts for her wedding. Mary took great care with all of them. Consequently, they are all in pristine condition. Her mind-set reminds us to take good care of the things we use every day. Who knows? One day, they, too might end up in a collection somewhere.

Treat of the Week: A Mountain of Muffins

Blueberry muffins—the very thought is pleasing.  There’s just something about a good blueberry muffin that’s very satisfying.  I mean real blueberry muffins—not the ones that have those hard little fake blueberries and come wrapped in plastic. 

This week’s treat from my mother’s kitchen is a basket of lovely muffins.  Literally bursting with fresh blueberries, these muffins have been baked to golden perfection—their tops happily glimmering with cinnamon and sugar. 

Muffins are fascinating little things.  They’re bread, yes, but they’re also cake in a way.  A muffin is an appropriate thing to eat at any time of the day.  One can’t really make that same statement about many other foods.  For that, muffins deserve our respect—right before we devour them.

Punch's Cousin, Chapter 55

Naasir staggered up the back staircase in the main house, clutching the railing in his hand as he went. His head throbbed and he felt quite dizzy.


“This is how the Great Man of the Rocks must feel,” Naasir thought to himself.

He hurried down the corridor, watching his feet as he walked—his shoes shined in the amber light of the morning sun which lazily flooded through the oval-shaped window at the end of the passage. Gently, he knocked on Julian’s bedroom door, and, then, he entered to find the room empty.

Next, Naasir went to Robert’s room and knocked.

“Enter.” Robert said from within.

“Good morning, Dr. Halifax.” Naasir said politely.

“Naasir,” Robert rose from the chair where he’d been reading. “Whatever are you doing? We told you to take a day of rest today.”

“I know, Sir, however I must continue with my duties. Without that, I have nothing.”

“Nonsense, man.” Robert smiled. “Without your health, you have nothing. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal. If you’ll recall when we found you on the red hill, we insisted that you stay abed today.”

“I feel quite fine, Sir.” Naasir nodded. “I would like to continue with my duties.”

“You don’t look fine, Naasir.” Robert responded. “You look tired. You’ve been very badly beaten. I do wish you’d return to the cabin and let Gamilla and Gros Chidi look after you.”

“I cannot.” Naasir answered, “If you’ll pardon me.”

“What’s troubling you?” Robert asked. “Has there been more sign of the men who carried you off?”

“No, Dr. Halifax.” Naasir took a deep breath. “In my slumber, I dreamed awful dreams. I dreamed that The Great Man…Lord Fallbridge, I mean…was in danger. I dreamed that he’d been taken like I was. This morning I find him not in his room.”

“Lord Fallbridge is in the nursery with Mr. and Mrs. Halifax and the baby.” Robert smiled, “Or, to be more accurate, Mr. Punch is in the nursery. I haven’t really seen Lord Fallbridge since we arrived in Marionneaux.”

“Oh.” Naasir sighed. “So, he’s quite safe?”

“As safe as any of us are.” Robert nodded.

Naasir nodded slowly.

“You wish to see it for yourself, don’t you?” Robert grinned. “You do care for His Lordship.”

“I do, Sir.” Naasir bowed his head.

“I can understand that.” Robert chuckled softly, stifling a cough. “Come with me.”

Naasir followed Robert through the corridor and up a short flight of stairs to the nursery in the house’s round turret. They paused outside of the open door to see Julian seated cross-legged on the floor with the child in his lap. Though the body was Julian’s, the voice was distinctly that of Mr. Punch.

“Here, Nephew Chum, you got yourself some bright eyes, don’t ya?” Punch cooed at the baby who looked up at him adoringly.

He spotted Naasir and Robert. “Good morning, Chums! Only what’s Naasir doin’ outta bed?”

“He wanted to make sure that you’re safe,” Robert winked.

“Ah, right then. Quite fine, I am. Dressed meself and all, this mornin’.” Punch nodded. “Just playin’ with the little one. Talkin’ to him and such. Havin’ a nice time, we are. Wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, Mr. Punch, I would say that we are,” Cecil laughed.

Adrienne nodded her head. “That we are.” She turned to Naasir, “I’m so glad you’ve been returned to us. I was quite overjoyed when Robert and Mr. Punch returned with you. How fortunate they were to find you on La Colline Cramoisie. My husband’s brother is quite correct, however, you do need to rest. We will wish to speak with you about what happened, but first, you must take care.”

“I will, Madame.” Nassir bowed his head. “I am most humbled by your concern.”

“We all must look after one another in this life, mustn’t we?” Adrienne smiled.

“Yes, my dear, we must.” Cecil put his arm around his wife.

“Come here, Naasir and look at me nephew!” Punch whooped. The baby giggled happily. “He’s a fine little chap!”

“He is that, Sir.” Naasir smiled, feeling relieved that all was as it should be—at least for a moment.

“He don’t do much though do he?” Punch laughed.

“He does what he should,” Adrienne chuckled. “He is still a baby, dear Mr. Punch.”

“Right.” Punch nodded. “Only he’ll be a big man one day like his father and like me chum. He’ll be a big fine man what can sing and do good works. Here, why don’t we sing?”

Punch smiled at the baby. “You want to sing with me? I like to sing. Naasir sang with me once. Didn’t ya?”

Naasir nodded.

“What shall we sing, then?” Punch asked, tickling the infant’s stomach. The baby gurgled with joy. “Shall we sing the song what me master sung to his sister when she were a little one? Only she didn’t ‘preciate it, what with her bein’…” Punch paused. “Only I won’t be sharin’ me opinions ‘bout that one with the likes of you, little chum. No. That sorta thing ain’t for little ears.”

Cecil guffawed. Adrienne blushed.

“Right then,” Punch tickled the baby again. “Let’s sing. Robert?”

“I shall just listen, if you don’t mind.” Robert smiled.

Punch frowned—just for a brief second—and grunted, “Sometimes, Chum, I wonder if you’re any fun at all.” He looked at baby Fuller. “Here, what do ya think o’ yer Uncle Robert?”

Fuller reached for Julian’s finger and tugged on it.

“That’s me boy.” Punch hooted. He began to sing. “In Scarlet Town, where I was born, there was a fair maid, dwellin’. Made every youth sigh well-a-day. Her name was Barbara Allen!”

The baby cooed.

Naasir moaned.

Robert quickly grabbed the man’s arm to keep him from falling over.

“Oh dear!” Adrienne rushed to Naasir’s side. “This is why you should be in bed, Naasir. Cecil, help Robert bring the man back to Chidi’s cabin. I’ll have Gamilla bring you some broth.”

“No, Madame.” Naasir shook his head. “If you’ll pardon me. I’m so sorry.”

Tears welled in Naasir’s eyes.

“What is it, Naasir?” Robert asked.

“Did me song upset you?” Mr. Punch asked, still sitting on the floor with the baby. “It’s not a bad song. Sure, it’s about a cruel lady, but in the end, the red rose and the briar entwine. It’s pretty, it is.”

“That was the name of the beauty who helped me last night.” Naasir answered, still shaking. “Her name was Barbara Allen.”

“She told you that?” Cecil asked. “She told you her name was ‘Barbara Allen’?”

“Yes, Mr. Halifax.” Naasir said softly.

“What did this beauty look like?” Robert asked.

Naasir pointed to Julian. “Like His Lordship. She had his eyes.”



Did you miss Chapters 1-54? If so, you can read them here.

Goal for the Day: Prioritize

Some days, all of us feel as though we might go mad trying to figure out how to accomplish everything we think we need to do.  However, is everything on the “list” so terribly important?  To avoid becoming overwhelmed, we should all remember to take a minute to pause and prioritize.  There are some things that must be done on a schedule in order to ensure our survival—meals, paying bills, etc.  Still, other things are really not as urgent. 

Decide what’s most important and tackle those items first.  The others will fall into place as they can.  Becoming anxious about it won’t do you any good.  Always know that you’re doing the best you can.  Remembering your priorities will keep you calmer and, in turn, free up a lot of time you would have wasted worrying.