Seven Quick Takes: Volume 12

7 Quick Takes Friday is hosted at Conversion Diary.  See more Quick Takes here.

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Q & A
In Which I Ask Questions and you Answer

The two-year-old has become incredibly clingy lately.  He follows me around the house whining to be picked up.  When I try to sit down to do anything, he climbs into my lap and squirms, getting upset when he falls out or is uncomfortable, and generally getting in the way.

Is this a normal phase for toddlers?  If so, how have you handled it?

I'm looking for a sturdy picture book of the mysteries of the Rosary, for him to follow along when I'm praying.  That way, when I'm saying my Hail Mary's, he'll be able to look at the pictures and understand, to some extent, what's going on.  Any suggestions?

Last, I have these comfy gray sweatpants that are long past wearable.  I couldn't give them to charity.  But there's a lot of quality fabric there that isn't damaged, and it feels wrong just to throw it away.  Do you know of any amateur friendly projects you can do with an old pair of sweatpants?

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My thoughts exactly.

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Speaking of prayer, look at this awesome Flannery O'Connor-inspired book on prayer.  What a thing to have had at the start of Lent!  It's definitely going on my wishlist.

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Courtesy of Mary's Cova, the little library collection at my parish, which is growing strong, I've been able to get a copy of The Quest for Shakespeare by Joseph Pearce!  I devour any book read by this Catholic, English scholar, and The Quest is no exception.  Mr. Pearce's research is thorough, professional  and illuminating, but not dense.  Highly recommended.

The likelihood of William Shakespeare's Catholicism.  That's not something they teach you in school.

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I was introduced to a new saint this week.  Her name is Parascheva of the Balkans, and she is the patroness of embroiderers, needle workers, spinners, weavers, and marriage.  I love it.

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How to master your time.  Courtesy of A Light Inside.  This needs no other introduction.

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Got a lovely little copy of Soul Gardening in the mail last week, an inspirational journal for Catholic mothers, but who anyone would enjoy.  They've got articles, book reviews, poems, recipes, projects, and a page for the kids.  What's more, it's an oasis in the day-to-day hustle and bustle that brings similar-minded people to the font of Christ in the our quest for domestic sanctity.

The illustrations are patterned, black-and-white, and symmetrical, and compliment it perfectly.  It feels so good to connect.

7 Quick Takes: Volume 4

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Tomatoes grow abundantly.  I can't believe there is actually something fruitful living in our garden

(Case in point: my young student gave me a green bean plant she nurtured from a seedling.  Three weeks later, it had to be returned for some emergency treatment.)

Don't they look delicious?  Yum.

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I found this awesome resource for Catholic homeschoolers.  

It's for older children, so if you have middle schoolers or high schoolers, check it out.

Anyone can take them, too, so if the material catches your eye as something you've always wanted to learn, you can take the class as well.  It's a great way to study under Joseph Pearce if you can't afford, you know, grad school.

And look!  Novel writing classes!

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I'm hosting a contest at Spinning Straw into Gold.

I want to spark a community of writers and artists with an interest in fairy tales, people I can gush with.  I want it to be a place where we can give and receive feedback to perfect our skill.

There are a lot of interesting, helpful, and beautifully crafted fairy tale blogs floating around the net, but I have yet to run into one that caters to novices and beginners.  I know it can be kind of threatening trying to break into a small, specialized group of talented people.  And people like me who are just getting started probably don't stand a chance against those who have been publishing in the sophisticated e-magazines for years.  So this is a platform for the rest of us.

Please take a look and join if you feel so inclined.  You could win a $15 Barnes & Noble gift certificate.

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Photobucket's new editing tool is fun to pay with.  It still doesn't make up for that beautiful, nearly $400 dollar lens, though.  And I don't think I'll be getting it any time soon.

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Why have I never heard of this movie?  Now I have to find out how I can rent or order it because we don't have the money to buy.  It reminds me of Pan's Labyrinth, a visually stunning, modernistic take on fairy tales with a tragic ending. 

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I won a free, signed copy of Sarah Reindhard's Catholic Family Fun.  It gives easy, practical ideas for entertaining a large and energetic family.  I'm looking forward to when the baby is old enough to execute some of these activities.

She's got even more about life and motherhood on her blog Snoring Scholar.

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Pray for Jen, who usually hosts 7 Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary.  She witnessed a traumatizing motorcycle accident and lost someone with whom she was close.  Close enough to affect her deeply.  So keep that in mind this week, whenever you get a moment.

7 Quick Takes: Volume 3

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Did you hear?  Angelina Jolee and Brad Pitt are getting married.

I'm not an avid follower of pop culture, but I admire them as a refreshingly non-materialistic version of the Hollywood couple.  They do a ton of charity work, give millions of dollars, and have six kids--the last scores very highly in my book.

When previously asked why they didn't marry, they admitted that they already lived like a married couple and that they had decided not to marry until all people had the "right" to legally wed.

But their children, in the clear-sightedness typical of that mysterious young species, recognized that acting like they were married is not a satisfying substitute for actually being married.  Their innocence profoundly affected their parents, who now are admitting that they believe marriage will be a beautiful commitment to add to their stores of devotion for each other.

Wouldn't it be something if this huge, Hollywood family became Catholic?

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We finally bought the baby some shoes!  Sandals, to be precise.  They have two straps on them that both velcro so that they are virtually adjustable, which is just what we need.  His little feet are shaped like very steep wedges of cheese.  It's a wonder how he manages to balance on them!

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I started a supplemental blog to this one.  It's more to house my nonexistent writing career literary endeavors with a focus on fairy tales and by extension, myths and legends.  I'm excited about it.

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Maybe you've heard of this, or maybe you haven't.  Joseph Pearce, a prolific non-fiction writer who taught me to better appreciate Oscar Wilde, has published two books now showing the evidence for William Shakespeare's Catholicism, through what we know of his biography and through his plays.  Professor Pearce is incredibly clear-headed, erudite, and professional.  Pair that with a profound faith, and you find me kicking myself that I didn't transfer to Ave Maria University when I considered it in my sophomore year of college.

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The title image for Spinning Straw into Gold is taken from a painting of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary "Spinning for the Poor" tweaked in Photobucket, by Marianne Stokes.  Beautiful, isn't it?

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This song never fails to move me.

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It's officially summer.  I swelter the minute I step outside, no matter what time of day or night.  And you know what that means--beach days!  Look for adorable baby-in-the-sand pictures in the following weeks and months.

You know you want to.

To Who Be What, Now?

Shakespeare is the best author who ever lived, and Hamlet is the best play ever written. 

If you're not impressed, imagine it this way: Hamlet is the rough literary equivalent of homemade coconut ice cream; just when you thought it couldn't get any better, it is served to you on a Gigantic.  Fudge.  Brownie.

Photograph (c) Oli Scarff/Getty.

If you are at risk of being abandoned on a dessert island with only one option for edifying, entertaining, and inspiring literature, choose Hamlet.

If you had one day left to live and have yet to put a dent in that reading list, do nothing until you've read Hamlet.

While you're at it, why not catch a play or a movie?  (Hamlet, Hamlet, Hamlet.)

At the risk of repeating myself, did I mention I like Hamlet?

How many great things about Hamlet are there? 

Well, too many to list on one post, but one of them is that we think we know the meaning of something until our Elizabethan host from Merrie Olde England winks and pulls the phrase right out from under us.

In the play, there is a comedic character named Polonius.  

After his impressive display of idiocy (knavery, in Shakespearean) so far, he surprises by giving his son . . . well, sound advice.  Among these is the famous line,

"To thine own self be true."

It sounds good, right?  Be true to yourself.  Don't change who you are for anyone.  If it feels right, do it.

That's what I was taught and assumed it meant.  Then Joseph Pearce, professor and author of insightful biographies including C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church and Tolkien: Man and Myth, cast this famous quote in a new light.

In summary he says, Polonius is an idiot.  Polonius's advice is in fact relativist error.

What is really important is that we be true to the Truth beyond ourselves.  It is a hard lesson that the Danish prince has to learn throughout the course of the play.

If I have to choose between being true to myself or to The Truth, I would be silly not to choose The Truth every time.

Look at it this way.  Do I really want to be true to me, when I fail and when I hurt those around me?  When I am too stubborn to let go of a bad habit or sin that is hurting me?

Shouldn't I be more than happy to let God in to change me and, through the sacraments and prayer, to let him make me a better person?

I don't know if I should necessarily trust myself.  I'd rather listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

So let's change this advice into a prayer:

Lord, to thyself (let me be) true.  Amen.






Hamlet!  Let's just throw that in to make ten.