Seven Quick Takes: Volume 23

Joining Jen at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

-- 1 --

Happy America Day, ya'll.  Hope you had a nice one.  We did.

We bid farewell to the man of the house as he departed on an airplane back to Cymru, to continue pursuing our immigration progression and prepare the way for us to join him (I pray sooner rather than later).

After an early afternoon nap, the Squirt and I joined my folks at the annual part hosted by a prominent family.  People show up each year in the hundreds, each bringing a side dish or dessert.  Beverages, beer, and barbecue are provided by the hosts.  It's nice to see old acquaintances and to indulge in the intimacy only large parties can provide, to quote Jordan Baker from The Great Gatsby.  It really is rather like our Gatsby party . . . the small town version.

-- 2 --

We finished the night with a bloom of fireworks.  About ten minutes, which is a long running time for a private affair.  The Squirt was tired and cranky, but when the lights sparkled, he was quite and paid attention.  It wasn't until the grand finale that he made that slow, deep frown that signified he'd had enough.

Firework-gazing on soft blanket over crunchy summer grass is among my fondest childhood memories.

-- 3 --

The meal-planning initiative is only one part of a greater attempt at honing my life to holy domesticity and liturgical rhythm.  I enjoyed immensely the Byzantine fast this past Lent (as much as one can enjoy a fast--taking pleasure in a worthy sacrifice is more accurate), and I've been looking for ways to incorporate other medieval Church traditions.  I missed Saint John's Day and the fern flower, I'm afraid.  I believe I was working!

Anyway, a Google search retrieved this book, which has apparently been around for a while.  Anyone recommend it?  Is it cutesy crafts or more permeating practices?  I'm open to recommendations.

-- 4 --

You know what is great for keeping the liturgical seasons, though?  Feasts and Seasons, which is aired sometimes on EWTN.  I'm all over these Saint Bartholomew's Day Honey Apples.  And the Saint James grotto might catch the Squirt's attention for a good fifteen minutes (he likes dirt, playing in dirt, rolling in dirt, eating dirt, and rocks).

-- 5 --

Another practice I'm integrating is (almost) daily walks, with the little heathen in toe, strapped into his stroller.  There's a pretty trail in the midst of the city-town, not far from our apartment building, a mile in length.  Getting there, walking down, turning back, and returning home, I'm guessing, adds up to about 2 and 1/2 miles.

Exercising used to be incredibly hard for me; I mean, my body had a physical aversion to breaking down energy, which, in all my twenty-eight years of suffering through it, I have yet to find a modern medically approved term for it (though I meet all the criteria here, modern medicine doesn't recognize this a medical condition).  Now I drink daily all-natural energy drinks, and I'm like a different person.  I enjoy the brisk walk, sweating is not synonymous with slow death, and I don't feel faint and nauseated during and after.  When we get home after the walk, I feel better, not worse.  And I believe that starting the day off with vigorous exercise energizes me for the rest of the day.  And we all know that it helps us sleep better and eat less.

Still not quite ready to jump on the running bandwagon, however.

-- 6 --

I'm looking to purchase candles in bulk because the cheapest votives available around here are $1 minimum, and they only burn for a few days.  I also like to burn candles for recreation and comfort, and as often as I do, they get expensive.  I'm guessing a parish supply store would have affordable deals.

-- 7 --

Congrats to Ms. Hannah!  She was the only person who put a bid in for my copy of the 2012 Tuscany Prize for Catholic Fiction: Collect Short Stories, so she wins by default!  Hannah, please e-mail me your mailing address and let me know if you would like me to write anything special in the in-sleeve when I sign it.