On Daniel's birthday we spent the morning at the Jr. Museum. Daniel started trying out our new amazing fancy camera that his parents gave us for Christmas. We're still figuring it out but here's some highlights: In other news, I finished the last 20 pages of my Wendell Berry book and finished the Susanna Clarke book. I just picked up a trilogy I read 12 years ago called Kristin … [Read more...]
January Reads
I'm ashamed to say that I still haven't finished Wendell Berry's The Art of the Commonplace. However, I only have 20 pages left. If you read one book this year, let it be this one. "To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do it knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, greedily, clumsily, destructively, it is … [Read more...]
Various Things Related to Advent
Benjamin and I concocted this Advent wreath from the Christmas Tree trimmings left over at Home Depot. We successfully deposited pine needles all over the house as well. We've been trying to eat mostly soups and fish during this Advent season to remind ourselves that this is a penitential spirit of fasting in the season before Christmas. I've been collecting some Advent resources over the past … [Read more...]
Our House, Part IV: The Library
We're book people and we need lots of shelf space for all our books. We have only just now begun to use our third bedroom. When we moved in it became apparent that the resident of this bedroom had been a smoker and the room just reeked of cigarettes. We painted and cleaned but the smell was still overwhelming. My dad looked into the matter and painted everything with a special paint that … [Read more...]
Eating by Season: Why I Like Having a CSA Share
I've had a few people ask about the CSA we have a share in, so I thought I'd post about it with some background on eating seasonal foods. In the past couple of years I've gained great appreciation for the rhythms of the Christian Year and the way that by observing it, the story of the Gospel unfolds. One way to participate in the Christian Year is to feast and fast according to the traditions of … [Read more...]
October: The Rosary
Each month of the year has a special emphasis in the Church Calendar and October is dedicated to the Rosary. Growing up Protestant, I was taught to be concerned by ‘rote’ prayers which lead to spiritual dryness and to instead use my own words in order to be more ‘authentic’ and ‘genuine.’ Yet, as I have been exposed to ancient prayers, I have found them not rote, but rhythmic, and not dry, but … [Read more...]
Some September Reads…
I'm still plugging away at Wendell Berry's agrarian essays: The Art of the Commonplace. I can't believe it's taken me so long to read them. Each one is brilliant. “We need better government, no doubt about it. But we also need better minds, better friendships, better marriages, better communities. We need persons and households that do not have to wait upon organizations, but can make necessary … [Read more...]
Two Suggestions
1. Katherine sent me the link to this great article by Jessica Snell in Touchstone: The Feast Goes On "As with the food I prepare, all the traditions of the church year turn the ordinary work of my vocation into a daily reminder of the gospel. The life of a stay-at-home mother is derided by many as repetitive and boring, but what those critics do not realize is that the repetition is not rote, … [Read more...]
August Reads
I’m currently enjoying two books. One is Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, a medieval mystery. Eco’s enjoyment of words and language translates beautifully and it is delightful. I love anything medieval, so something so well-written and historically rich is a treat. I’m trying to read a nonfiction for every fiction I read which is proving difficult but I am loving Wendell Berry’s … [Read more...]
Books I Read in 2009, In Which I Make a Confession and Have an Epiphany
After seeing several blog posts titled “Books I Read in 2009,” I tried to think back with my post-baby muddled memory what books I read in 2009. From January 1 through Benjamin’s birth on February 8th I read nothing. Really. NOTHING. I watched many a miniseries and listened to Harry Potter audiobooks. After the birth, I didn’t do much better. This is the sorry, pathetic, shamefully short list … [Read more...]
