Friday Quick Takes

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Some visual interest. Though this will never be a decorating blog, or an organizing blog, sometimes, I see real beauty in my home.

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Last night for dinner, we had meatball sandwiches and hot dogs and sweet potato fries.And a salad. And the leftover cup of chili on the hot dogs. Go ahead and judge.

I read Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief. I got nervous around page 65/66, when one character asks another, "...do they really believe that?" referring to a creation story. Another character responds,

"...No, they don't believe that,...It's just religion. They like to go up to the temple on feast days and pretend that there is some god who wants worthless sacrificial bits of a cow, and people get to eat the rest. It's just an excuse to kill a cow."

But I shouldn't have been nervous. Those characters are in for a rude awakening.

The series is fascinating. Now you know why we had hot dogs for dinner last night.

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Another pretty shot.

I got this wreath at Target. I've been looking for things that will stand out against the brown.

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Most of you know that my husband, The Chef, is not actually a chef. He actually works with this guy.



And he works on this ongoing project.I've been watching it during "Laundry Folding Time," this week, but it's very difficult to keep folding, what with all the gorgeous footage and title screens and art. Lots of beautiful art. Makes me want to do my Rome semester all over again. Caravaggio. sigh.

Look at that bum.

I will be doing a Catholicism DVD Set Giveaway in February.

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Yesterday, Baby J and I went to Babies and Books class at the library. For 30 minutes, we listen to stories, sing songs, clap our hands and play with shaker eggs. Baby J was there for all of five minutes, when she leaned over and yelled very loudly, "BEH!" in the neighboring baby's face. This caused screams followed by tears on the part of the other baby, and smiles and jazz hands on behalf of Baby J. I fear she may be a bully.



She's figuring out the whole crawling thing. She gets stuck under things and gets angry. Yesterday, she got her head stuck under the couch. I should have taken a picture of that.

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Regarding Lucy. She did get a part in the play. A few smaller parts, that may or may not include solo song lines, and she gets to dance. She is a Napkin, in one song, which is wierd because Susan is also a Napkin in her school's production of Beauty and the Beast. I guess my girls are Napkin people. Napkins get to dance a lot too.

Also, regarding Lucy, we are hosting her entire class for a Half Birthday Ice Skating Party. I need prayers that we will have ice, and again, that there are no injuries.

I would never have dreamed of hosting a boy/girl party for Peter or Susan. Their classes were very different. Lucy is lucky that way. All the boys and girls are so nice and well-adjusted, with parents who care. I'm actually looking forward to this party.

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Lastly, a special treat for you!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday

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I got Baby J some super cute legwarmers at American Eagle on clearance. No, American Eagle does not sell baby legwarmers, but they do sell wristlets or fingerless gloves that fit these chunky gams. See that hole in the pic? Technically, that's a thumb hole. I'll sew that shut in my spare time.

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I spent a good part of my week folding laundry and watching Gods and Generals. It's very good. Very long, but very good. Peter will be going on an Civil War History trip this summer, and I think we will be watching lots of Civil War films in preparation. Gettysburg and Glory are on my list. I think we all need some history supplements around here.

Lucy watched Gods and Generals for a few minutes and then asked, "Which World War is this?"

Edmund kept asking, "Which guys are the bad guys?" "Well, they are all Americans." I tried to explain various reasons for secession... states' rights...Northern aggression...all of the things I learned in my "Southern" revisionist history classes in grade school. He kept asking me, "Yes, but who are the bad guys?" I explained that General Stonewall Jackson and General Robert E. Lee were good and prayerful men who desired the abolition of slavery in the Confederacy. I attempted to explain "Brother against brother." "But, Mom, who are the bad guys?"

"Fine! It's the South! I guess you could say the Rebels are the bad guys."

At which point, Lucy asked, "We won this? Didn't we?"

sigh.

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With only one Downton Abbey episode a week now, I am so happy that White Collar is back. Cultured, criminal hottie, Neal Caffrey is one of tv's best dressed characters. But FBI agent, Peter Burke (played by Tim deKay) is the better played role, in my humble opinion. This show is 99% clean and my older three really like it. It's so nice when I can find a program we can watch as a family. The Chef is just not interested in Nineteen Kids and Counting.

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I'm reading The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. I read three fourths of A Conspiracy of Kings, before I realized that it is the fourth in the series. No, this wasn't a "blonde" moment. No where on the book does it say it's the fourth one. I was riveted but very confused. The Thief is the first and a Newbery Honor book. I'm excited to find a new adventure series. This one reminds me of The Ranger's Apprentice books by John Flanagan, which I love.

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The Chef and I are reading The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, aloud to Edmund. I have never read this before. I don't know why, since I adore both Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. I have longed considered the following passage from Stuart Little to be the summation of all that is good in the sensory world.

"Henry Rackmeyer, you tell us what is important." "A shaft of sunlight at the end of a dark afternoon, a note in music, and the way the back of a baby's neck smells if its mother keeps it tidy," answered Henry. "Correct," said Stuart. "Those are the important things. You forgot one thing, though. Mary Bendix, what did Henry Rackmeyer forget?" "He forgot ice cream with chocolate sauce on it," said Mary quickly. "Exactly," said Stuart. "Ice cream is important."

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The Chef and I both grew up with our parents reading aloud to us. The Chef's father read the children chapters of books such as The Hobbit, the Little House book, the Chronicles of Narnia, typically before bedtime, and usually stopping each night at a most exciting point. My mother read to us after dinner. She also read The Hobbit, and The Secret Garden (click here for a free audiobook), The Outlaws of Ravenhurst, and The Trumpeter of Krakow. Fortunately for me, she only stopped when the author ended a chapter.

I can still hear my mother's voice as she described the beautiful garden behind the wall.

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Edmund's skating birthday party was an injury free success, Deo Gratias! And we'll be back on the ice tonight, snowstorm or not. Have a lovely weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!