"Watch out for the hole behind you!" Summer adventures in dancing, crafts, and also some novenas!

Hello friends and happy Friday! I've had a lovely week, and I'm definitely feeling perkier and perkier as the summer progresses. I hope for the same for you. *hugging* I'm back to performing, and that has made everything right with my emotional world again. I've had two gigs in the past two weeks, both family parties, and danced with my troupe at a small outdoor festival for the first time in nearly two years. It is just balm to my soul. And butterflies in my stomach. :-0 But it's all so, so wonderful. The troupe performances are always my favorite because of the hijinks that are almost certain to ensue with a group of us dancing in inevitably challenging environs:

"Be careful when you turn around, there's a large sinkhole behind you."

"What's that on the bottom of my shoe? Oh. Goose poo."

(wearing our costume coverups) "Are you all fortune tellers?"

"Oh dear, these hair flipping turns are a bit tricky on an incline, aren't they?"

But I tell you, I wouldn't trade it for the world. We have a few more outdoor performance possibilities in August, and then an actual hafla/showcase in mid-September! It's an amazing feeling to be back to doing this thing that I love.

I've also been praying my July novenas, and am getting closed to the end of Sts. Anne & Joachim. St. Dominic begins July 30th, if you're interested in joining in that one. And I also added in something on the fly: our very own community member Sam is trying to sell her house, so I signed up to start praying the St. Joseph novena for her! Did you know that you can sign up with Pray More Novenas to pray any novena that they have over there at any time on your own schedule? I did not know that! I thought their email reminders only worked for novenas prayed during their traditional date range. So I started St. Joseph today and will for the next eight days. If you'd like to add Sam's house sale into your prayer intentions, I would be most grateful! 🤗

Summer crafting is still ongoing, and has been so lovely lately. I finished a very summery pair of socks for myself!

I'm calling these the Summer Lemonade Socks

I also started a summery cotton top for myself. I just love this pattern, I made one for my mother-in-law last summer in red:

Pattern is the Kelda Tee

Here is the red version from last summer:

I've also been keeping up with the 2021 National Parks Hats collection. June's is based on Denali:

Denali pattern

Hard to see in the light, but there are cute mountain peaks in the design! I'm catching up a bit, as I already have the yarn and pattern for the July hat, but I'm getting there!

Next week, we'll be discussing Part 4 of our Summer Book Club for Set All Afire. We're halfway there! How is everything going for you this summer? Would love to hear about it in the comments!

A crafty June...

Hello all and happy Friday! We're enjoying the start to the summer over here in the home of the Catholic Librarian. The kids are nearly done with school for the year, and we're looking forward to some relaxing summertime activities. 

🌞

For my part, I've been in happy crafting mode, and I'm approaching my annual Christmas in July gift list planning insanity, so you have that to look forward to. ;-) Right now though, I'm making a few thing for myself. As I've mentioned previously, I'm making a hat every single month this year as part of the 2021 National Parks collection, and here is May's edition:

Pattern is Big Bend, by Kristen in Stitches

I am absolutely IN LOVE with the pattern and yarn this month! The pattern is linked above, but here is the link to the yarn if you must also have this lusciousness! The yarn is pooling in the most delightful of fashions as I work, must be my gauge, but I'm just so excited to finish this and wear it this fall!

I've also been working on a cabled messenger style bag, and this one took a bit of time, owing to all of the twisty shenanigans wiht the cable needle. Here she is, I'm planning to use this as a project bag:

Pattern is Quin Cabled Bag, and is available for free!

This was also a fun knit, and it had a few challenges in it for me (provisional cast on, braded icord strap, lots and LOTS of cables) but it was a great opportunity to learn and practice some new skills! I will say that the braided strap was a bit more trouble than it was worth in the end. :-0  Next time, I may experiment with other types of techniques for the strap. It was quite boring knitting that sheer volume of icord, and then they were tangling constantly as I worked to braid them (it's a 4 strand braid, rather than the traditional 3), and it was quite a chore to get all of the cords the same length. In the end, it's done, and I like it!

So my plan is to finish the hat, and then plan out some other fun projects for the summer, yay! Don't forget, we begin our Summer Book Club 2021 in just 7 days! We'll be discussion Section 1, and I can't wait! Just downloaded my Kindle copy of the book today. Check the link for all of the details if you'd like to join us!

Returning to mass, and navigating a heat wave...

Hello all and happy Friday! I've had a week full of actual STUFF, shocking, I know. :-0 And I thought I would fill you in. Grab your coffee!

Yes, I'm still drinking coffee despite it being a thousand degrees here for the past week. OK, maybe not *quite* that hot, but it feels quite close to that. I live in a mostly cold weather climate, and thus a lot of people here do not have centrally air conditioned homes, including us. So heat is very unpleasant. And this week, we've set a record: 7 days in a row so far (today projected to be the 8th) of temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Farenheit, with yesterday topping out the week at 98. Around here, that might as well be the Surface of the Sun. 😂 We are blessed to have window a/c units for our bedrooms, though not for the rest of the house. Taking my dance and fitnes classes in our home office has been occasion of melting for me this week. It's kept things interesting, to be sure. We've actually fared pretty well until yesterday, when everyone just felt lethargic and vaugely ill all day. We've taken the kids out to places that do have a/c: the public library, local coffee shop, and also on a wooded hike to look for birds. It's actually been quite lovely in it's own way. A summer family adventure!

In other big news, I went back to mass for the first time since the pandemic started (nearly 4 months)! I went to the vigil mass, figuring it would be a pretty small turnout to test the waters, and I was right: even counting Father, 2 ushers and the music minister, there were 26 people present. And our church is HUGE. The restrictions were pretty much what I expected, and I think all are prudent at this time. In my personal opinion, I would rather have less tape on the floor and pews (I can ascertain how to stay physically distant from others without it) but I suppose I can see the other side of this, that the parish wants to assure they are doing absolutely everything they can. Everyone was wearing a mask, which is the proper course of things right now, and very doable for an hour.

After I sat down, I excitedly paged through my new missal and got the ribbons all situated. I had heard that some churches were not letting you bring in your own missal (and the paper missalettes are all removed from the pews, I think this is pretty standard everywhere right now), and I was going to be sad if that was the case for me, because I thrive in being able to follow along visually with the readings and prayers. Happily, bringing your own missal was not an issue at my parish.

Isn't it beautiful?! I set up my ribbons for the prayers of the liturgy and the readings of the day, one just to keep track of those wily Prefaces, one for the calendar, and the last one for the Proper of Saints. I was IN LOVE. I've subscribed to magazines like Magnificat and Living with Christ for as long as I can remember, or I've had the small annual St. Joseph's Sunday missal. This is my first daily missal, and it's sheer heft excites me. 😁

So, mass started, and while everything feels a bit awkward with the necessary restrictions, it was very, very beautiful. Receiving the Eucharist again for the first time in nearly 100 days was...emotional. I haven't gone without receiving for that long since I fell away from my faith in graduate school (and that was 2 decades ago!). The only part I didn't love was that we were rushed out of our pews to comply with the one-way markings for dismissal. When it was your pew's turn to leave, you literally had to leave, no lingering to pray for a few extra minutes. :-0 I could have lived without that, but nothing is perfect, and the parish is just doing the best they can to hold public masses while complying with necessary public health precautions.

I didn't bring the kids. I wanted to scope things out a bit on my own so that I can tell them what to expect. I'm also going to be honest and say that it's not going to be easy to drag them back to mass after not going for all of these months. They are at ages where "church is boring," and I get it, as that's exactly how I felt, too, when I was their age. So I'm working on that. I'm undecided as to whether I'll bring them this Saturday, or wait until next weekend. But we *finally* got word about First Communion, and Anne will be making hers on August 2nd!! I'm SO EXCITED, and so is she. I'm planning to use the weeks leading up to this to share tidbits with her about receiving to try and stoke her hunger to receive Jesus, and hopefully this will lead to a softening about attending mass again.

I've also been trying to keep my spiritual spirits up by delighting in my new St. Dymphna rosary!

Rosaries by Allison on Etsy

Isn't it beautiful? St. Dymphna is the patron saint of those suffering from anxiety and depression. St. Dymphna, please pray for us! In your charity, please keep my kids in your prayers that the Lord will light a fire in their hearts for their faith. Thank you!

Have you returned to in-person mass? If not, how is your experience going with the streaming mass options? How are you holding up in the July heat? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Some graduation related tears...

Hello friends, and welcome back! I'm a little bit emotional this week, and I just need to chat about life in general, so let's settle in for a cup of coffee!

This past Tuesday was Henry's 8th grade graduation from the K-8 Catholic school he's been at since 1st grade (that's quite a trip down memory lane, that link I just posted. I'm going to try not to cry again 😭). I took it HARD. This was surprising even to me: "Tiffany. It's 8th grade. It's not even a real graduation! Get a grip!" But there it is. I had a very difficult time with it.

I went to public school. The longest I was ever at any school was 6 years from kindergarten through 6th grade, and I don't have particularly fond memories from any of the three schools I attended before college. But my kids' school...it's different. It's a family. Everybody knows your name there. Everybody cares. Many of the people working there, as well as parents of other kids, are alumni of the school. The class sizes are small, and a warm and fuzzy sense pervades. A few pertinent anecdotes:

A beloved kindergarten teacher passed away two years ago, after teaching at this school for *37 years*. The Pre-k and kindergarten wing of the school is now named for her, because she was such a fixture there, teaching kindergarten to multiple generations of families. The school was emotionally gutted when she died.

Henry's 8th grade class held a tribute to the Pre-k 4 teacher, who came to the school the year that this particular class started Pre-k. Now those 4 year olds are leaving and going to high school. There wasn't a dry eye in the house for that one.

I never had a school experience like this. And Henry has been there for 8 years. He started there when I was pregnant with Anne, and I had prayed a novena for Mike to be won over to this school, to provide the impetus to move him from where he was to somewhere we'd have to pay tuition for him to attend. And he was. And it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

This school is a place of comfort and solace to me. It's warm and welcoming, and it's a community filled with faith. Anne will still be there for 6 more years, and the alumni certainly seem to keep up with the school, so I'm certain that it will always be in our lives. But my Henry, my first child, my guinea pig, the one I fretted over whenever we had to make a big change like this one due to his shyness and sweet nature, the one who spearheaded our foray into Catholic education...he won't be there anymore. My kids headed off to school, together, for the very last time. When I drive by the building every day on my way to work, and pray a Hail Mary for each of them, he won't be inside anymore. He's headed to a Catholic boys high school that he is SO EXCITED about, and I know that he will be in excellent hands there, but I keep coming back to something that repeatedly makes me cry:

It's the end of an era.

Anne owns a soft spot in my heart because she is my baby, but Henry owns an equally large soft spot because he is my first child, my beloved little boy who changed my life forever when he was born. Now he's heading off to something much larger and in some ways scarier, and certainly something that we have not experienced before with our kids: high school. He's becoming a young man, and while it's exciting to see, I'm also dreading all of these changes and all of the new worries that come along with them. I'm trying very hard, but I've been crying every single day. And my anxiety has been flaring up quite badly. But I keep trying.

Henry has some basketball goings on this summer at his new school, and he's also starting a work study program there to help fund his tuition. He'll ease in, to be sure, and they have an entire freshman welcome program designed to aid the kids in the transition. Most of the boys from his 8th grade class are also attending there, so he will see some familiar faces. And that's a good situation, because they're all really good kids. But it's going to be a BIG change.

I'm trying to hang in there over here, I promise. Mike hasn't started summer term teaching yet, so he's been home in the mornings after the kids go to school, and we've been talking a lot. About all of this and how we're struggling to handle it, each in our own way. It helps to have someone to talk to about it. My crafting has been a happy distraction, as has my dancing. I'll be posting about each of those in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep slogging on and hope that these emotional reactions to every little thing abate. I suppose it's part of the parenting journey, but it sure is cramping my style. :-0

I hope the rest of you are having a good week. I appreciate all virtual hugs and prayers! I guess I'm a little needy right now. 🤗

A summer of reading the classics with my kids...or at least I hope so :0

You know how it goes. You have a picture in your mind of what it will be like to summer with your school aged children:

You will cavort barefoot in the yard while eating popsicles. Baby goats might be involved. You will take adventurous road trips in which the children will never whine that they are bored.You will lounge in bathing suits under the sprinkler. You will grill delicious food, and sit in the garden reading the classics while drinks adorned with fresh mint sit by your side.

Or, well, maybe your vision isn't EXACTLY like mine, but ultimately they all involve your kids being well behaved and great sports about all of the activities you really want to do/will really make you feel like a parent who achieves actual worthwhile parenting goals. But it never turns out  QUITE that way.

We don't have a pool, or even a yard that lends itself to easily playing with balls of any kind. We live on an urban postage stamp and space is at a premium. Although we've had a sprinkler, it does little more than make our uneven backyard a swamp. Balls go over the fence with reckless abandon. Lacking a back deck or easy access to the back yard, grilling only takes place in the kitchen and often involves the smoke detector going off. The kids still want to play video games far too much of the time. All road trips involve whining. And getting them to read over the summer is like pulling teeth.

It's a keeping-it-real kind of post today. 😂

As a librarian, I take the reading thing pretty seriously. Henry has always been a great reader, but this past school year he has not read anything on his own, just things he had to read for school. Anne has struggled a bit with reading, and goes weekly to the school reading specialist. She has improved significantly, but it's especially important for her to keep reading over the summer. She, however, has decided that she only wants to read books that are well below her reading age level, probably because they are easier for her to read.

I read most of the C.S. Lewis Narnia series with Henry when he was Anne's age or a year or two older, and we both loved them. My attempt to start up The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe with Anne at bedtime ended in an attitude-y declaration that she wasn't enjoying the story. I've sent a bunch of samples to her Kindle, and I'm hoping to go through them with her to find something she is enthused by, though I sense that the problem is just her own stubbornness, which is tougher to fix than finding a story that catches her fancy. But at any rate, the selections include (she will be in 3rd grade in the fall):

Harriet the Spy
The Secret Garden (available for free on Kindle if you're a Prime member, fyi)
Charlotte's Web
The Princess and the Goblin
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Ballet Shoes

I remember several of these books from my own childhood, and they are quite nostalgic for me! I don't mind reading the fairy series that she favors, but goodness, I need a break from the monotonous, fixed plotlines you find in those books. :0 I like the summer to have a "theme," if you will, in terms of reading. Harry Potter, summer thrillers, maybe classical mysteries. For Anne, I want her to embark on books of substance, classics or otherwise nostalgic childhood reads from my own lifetime. For Henry, I just want him to read...something. Something that he enjoys, to get him back into reading for pleasure again. He read And Then There Were None with his literature class, and this morning expressed an interest in Murder on the Orient Express, which I immediately jumped on in full enthusiasm. :0

And Agatha Christie -along summer!

*party time!*

What are you planning to read this summer? Do you have suggestions for getting kids interested in reading more classical books? I'm all ears in the comments!

Summer heat waves, and book club conspiracy theories...

Happy long holiday weekend (?!) to my fellow American readers! Independence Day falls oddly this year, does it not? It fell on a Wednesday, and can we agree that this is the absolute worst possible day for July 4th to land on? You either have a day off right in the middle of the week, making your work week all choppy and awkward, or you use up more vacation days than you really wanted to just to make your week not completely ridiculous:

Monday - work. Next day - ugh, work. Should I just take this day off? Next day - holiday, woo hoo! Next day -  I should take a vacation day, right? Right! Staying home, woo hoo! Next day - wait. I have to go into work? What the heck day of the week is it anyway?!

Mike and I both went for option (2), and so here we are, sweating our booties off at home with both kids during a heat wave in our un-airconditioned house.

yyyaaaayyyyyyy.

Togetherness. And lots of it. ;-)

You'll also be happy to know that I have continued misting our bedroom with anti-mosquito oils at night, AND I have an order in for Avon Skin So Soft. :-0 Thus, I have not had any new mosquito bites since last week, and my old ones are healing.

*trumpet blare!*

Despite the heat, I have been knitting, and making progress on my Great Crafting Obstacles List, and I will post an update to that towards the end of July. *halo*

So, next week we are scheduled for our first Summer Book Club discussion on How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church. Apologetics, I love it. I have to be honest and admit that I find the title of this book incredibly awkward, but I suppose they were going for the dramatic impact. ;-)

At any rate, I did not find this book in any of the library collections I have access to, so I requested that it be purchased as an ebook via my local public library. I've been trying to be a good girl and not spend so much money on Kindle books. I have a bit of a habit, and it's become addicting. ;-) The library wrote back to me later that day saying that they were purchasing the ebook, and that it would appear in the catalog within 48 hours. Grand.

Granted, ebooks usually appear way sooner than they say, and I should have headed over the very next morning to investigate and check it out. This was mistake #1. :0 I didn't, and 2 days later, I innocently logged into my account at the public library to check on the ebook. It was checked out. To somebody else.

d'oh!

I will admit, I figured: how big of a market IS there for Catholic conversion stories? No need to be rushy, right?! I was banking on the niche market theory, to be sure. It was still mid-June, so I didn't panic. I figured, closer to the book club, I'll come back, it'll be available, and I'll check it out then. This was mistake #2.

😱

Last week, I logged back in, and it WAS STILL CHECKED OUT. Not only that, but now there was also a person on the waiting list. What is this blasphemy?!

The only reason the library even HAS the book is because of me, and now there's all of these other apologetics fans swarming. I did finally place myself on the waiting list, but that was last week, and I'm still quite impatiently in the queue awaiting my turn.

All of this is to say the following: do you mind bumping the first discussion post for the book another week? That would make it July 19th and 26th, instead of starting on the 12th. I mean, I could just buy the book. Is God telling me to just buy the book? He obviously had me request this book from the library so that other people could read it and become Catholic, so maybe I'm supposed to be grateful to be part of God's plan for the universe and fork over the $10 to support the author?

It's a quandary, to be sure.

If you all don't mind, it would be fabulous to wait/read for an additional week, and chat slightly later in the month. Now that I've requested the book and it was purchased, I feel stubborn that I want to read that particular copy. 😂 Thoughts?

In the meantime, I carry on with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I will update you all next week! What are you plans for this summer weekend? :)

Summer routines, and adventures with odious insects...

Summer means a few things for me, though really, for everybody. Thing #1 is that routines change. The mornings with the kids bear no resemblance to what they do during the school year, and weekends often get packed with family parties and other celebrations. And this particular summer, for me personally, it means that a nefarious family of insects are eating me alive IN THE PRIVACY OF MY OWN HOME.

😡

See, this is one of the reasons I like living in a climate that is frozen over for part of the year. Horrible little creatures who bite and sting cannot survive in the tundra. :0

The past 5-6 mornings, I have woken up with red bumps on my arms that quickly escalate to puffy, itchy things of misery. Being the paranoid person that I am, I immediately Googled:

"bed bug images."

Good and gentle reader, unless it is a true apocalyptic emergency, NEVER DO THIS. You're welcome.

Their bite marks are innocuous enough to look like so many other insect bites (this is part of their powerful evil empire, to be sure) however, the other signs of bed bugs in one's house were lacking in ours (thank you Jesus), so I felt fairly confident that my bites were not from them. But I was puzzled, because I haven't been outdoors very much, I'm discovering the new bites in the mornings even when I wear long sleeved nightgowns, and I have not seen nary an infiltrating insect, winged or otherwise, in our house.

I was dropping the kids off at my in-laws' on my way to work yesterday morning, and I showed them to my mother-in-law, a former nurse. She gently told me that they were mosquito bites.

Well, that was anti-climactic. I was lodging a full fledged conspiracy theory of the insect kingdom.

I don't often get mosquito bites, so that's why I didn't immediately jump to that logical conclusion. I'm not much of an outdoors gal, truth be told. I have hyper sensitive skin that reacts if a dandelion looks at me sideways, and the sun and I have a decidedly love/hate relationship. And I live in western New York, where no living insect can dwell for 5ish months out of the year. In other words, I'm not often exposed to mosquitoes. But that is what has been biting me.

Given the fact that I scour my arms each morning upon waking up, and find 1-2 new bites, I know for a fact the following:

(1) he or she has taken up residence in my house;

(2) he or she is going hog wild overnight and biting me as I sleep;

(3) he or she is clandestinely hiding during the day, as I glimpse no flying objects nor hear any buzzing during waking hours; and

(4) he or she MUST BE ERADICATED WITH RUTHLESS EFFICIENCY.

I'm not normally speaking such virulent hatred towards other living beings, but this one (and it's family too, I have no shame) have got to go. My arms are a mess. The previous bites are healing only very slowly, and my poor arms have these unattractive red puffy bumps all over them. I'm itching and rubbing lavender oil on them like crazy.

Last night, I did have a victory. I diffused lemon and peppermint (I don't have any Citronella oil, though some is currently on order; fly little Citronella oil, fly!) which I read that mosquitoes hate (*snort* did they poll the mosquitoes?) and I did not have any new bites this morning. Just an escalating one from the morning before that is at peak itch form and growing redder.

😠

And you know what unfair thing is? My husband, sleeping contentedly *right beside me* in our double bed, has nary a bite on him. Apparently, MOSQUITOES DO NOT LIKE HIM. What is this nonsensical crazy talk? Mosquitoes have *preferences* as to which people they bite? Whenever I've mentioned this little problem I've been having to others, this has been bandied about *multiple times*:

"Oh yes. Mosquitoes love certain people and never bite others."

Well, how do I get to be one of these vaulted OTHER people? Is this like that second group on the island on "Lost?" I mean, what the heck?

I'll be on mosquito patrol for the short term foreseeable future. My diffuser will be misting off anti-mosquito propaganda each night, and Mike is spraying something my mother-in-law claims will work around the doors and windows. We'll see.

But I got off track, didn't I? :0 I was going to talk about summer routines, because ours is all loosey goosey, like I imagine yours are too. I'm taking way longer than I should to get me and the kids out of the house in the mornings because there isn't the rushy impetus that there is during the fall and spring semesters, and Mike is teaching summer classes with his hours kind of wonky as well. I suppose that's the way summer is supposed to be though, yes?

The kids LOVE being off from school, though to me, the lack of structure is problematic for them. Sure, they can amuse themselves, but they need to be encouraged to move off the couch and away from video games. And by "encouraged," I mean "directly told that their game time is up and that they are duty bound to play outside for the rest of the afternoon." I'm not the best at coming up with crafts and summer activity ideas (because those usually involve going outside) but I do what I can. So my summer routine means coming up with ideas for my kids' summer routine.

I wish all summer days were like this past Sunday, wherein a gentle rain fell outside as I knitted and drank tea in my leggings and comfy top. What is this that you say? That I am delusional? Indeed. 😂

What does your summer routine look like? I need ideas, people! :0

Summertime planning, including fun with yarny crafts...

Hey all! Happy End of May to all of you. I'm pretty sad to see May go, frankly, it's one of my favorite months of the entire year, certainly my favorite month of the spring/summertime. So I'm mourning it's end a bit, but I am indeed excited by what is to come this summer!

A few blog housekeeping things, and then I thought we could have some crafty time together. 🤗I posted last week about the Tea Time podcast, looking for ideas on where to take that project this summer. I heard from a few of you, and so far I'm still very undecided on themes for the summer! These would be super short episodes, less than 10 minutes. I was thinking that I would start up next week, but I just don't have my act together yet, :0 so I'll keep you posted! I want it to feel inspired, like all of the pieces fall into place. Otherwise, maybe the timing isn't quite right, you know? So we'll see. I shall keep you apprised!

Summer Book Club time is definitely approaching! This year we have chosen How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church, by Kevin Lowry. In that sense, our theme this summer is apologetics, hurray! So, I'm thinking July. That gives us plenty of time to procure the book from your local library or bookstore. I'd like your opinion on how we should section off and discuss the content. This is a fairly short book for nonfiction, at 160 pages, divided into 15 chapters. Would you rather:

(1) Take the month of July to discuss it in weekly posts, so a 4 week time period, reading 3-4 chapters per week, or

(2) Read it in a more condensed time frame, say 2-3 weeks in mid-July after the holiday, discussing 5 or more short chapters at a time?

Vote in the comments, please!

In other news, springtime crafting has hit me with an inspired vengeance. I do tend to do this as June approaches, and ultimately I go into full fledged Christmas in July mode. I plan out all my holiday gifts and other fall/winter accessories I'd like to make, and then go hog wild with the summer yarn sale at Knit Picks. Granted, I'm on a yarn fast this year. Yes, this is actually a thing. I have a LOT OF YARN. A LOT. So I'm trying to use what I have. *halo* We'll see, because occasionally a pattern will call for something that I do not already have in my yarn stash, because *sometimes miracles really do happen*, and then I am completely justified in ordering what I need. Or so I tell myself.

Right now, I'm in the baby knitting zone. My sister recently had a baby, and my good friend Allison is due in June. I finished up 2 bear cub hats, one for each little head:

Pattern is Itty Bitty Bear Cubs, and is available for free!

And now I want to make each of them a sweater. Allison lives in the Pacific Northwest, so I decided to knit her baby a cotton vest that will be a nice layering piece for the late summer and fall:

Pattern is Little Shoreline Vest, from "Swoon Maine"

Right now, it looks like a ribbed amoeba, I know, but eventually it will look like a baby vest. ;-) The pattern called for a technique that was new to me, called Sunday Short Rows, and I really enjoyed learning a new skill!

For my nephew, who lives in Maine, I will make a full fledged wool cardigan. He will need it, hee! I think I'm going to go with the Little Shore Cardigan, also from "Swoon Maine." If you couldn't already tell, I absolutely love that book! I also have my eye on the Little Lighthouse Pullover for Anne.

I now have a full queue over at Ravelry of sweaters, wraps, accessories and socks. Check out the featured patterns in "New Directions in Sock Knitting" which a friend gave me for Christmas. Those crazy zig zag ones in the upper left corner? I MUST MAKE THEM!! I just ordered a new yarn winder, and I'm all set to go for my summer project goals!

*virtual fist bump*

Are you crafting anything this summer? What is your vote for the Summer Book Club - all of July or a shorter 2-3 week span? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Tea Time with Tiffany #56 - Summer novenas, holiday knitting, birds & blogging: What do all these things have in common?!

Hello all, and welcome to a jam packed edition of:

Today I talk about July novenas, my summer knit-along progress and holiday crafting list, some drama at our backyard bird feeder, and why I started (and keep on) blogging. Join me!




**To subscribe to the audio version of Tea Time with Tiffany, just search for it in iTunes or use this link to subscribe via Feedburner in your podcatcher of choice. Intro music is "Tea Ceremony" from PlayonLoop.com

Items mentioned in this episode:

July novena page.
Pray More Novenas, for monthly novena emails.
Busy, crafty plans - The 0fficial Christmas in July 2016 post!
The Sibley Guide to Birds

Are you praying any summer novenas? Planning your Christmas crafting list, or otherwise crafting anything new this summer? Do you have bird feeder advice, please, I beg you. :0 And do you enjoy writing? What is your motivation in doing so? I'd love to hear from you!

New seasonal reads & summer fitness...

Another odd combination, to be sure, but you're used to that around here. ;-) Part of the issue is that I'm so heavily enmeshed in search committee tasks at work, and family stuff at home, that free time to work on anything cohesive is at a premium. I HAVE been reading though, so come prepared to talk about chapters 1-5 of Church of Spies next Wednesday!

I'm also excited about a few upcoming books in my queue. One is a new book about Mother Angelica that came out TODAY, authored by Ramond Arroyo:

I pre-ordered this, so it downloaded to my Kindle this morning. *happy sigh* I'd love to dig right in, but I have book club obligations ;-) so I'll likely wait til June. I do intend to read it this summer though!


The other thing I have been squeezing in priority-wise is fitness. I feel so much better in every possible way when I make time to stay active. What I have come to discover is that "staying active" means different things to different people. My philosophy is: do whatever you know that you will stick to doing. If you hate doing something (for me, this means running :0) there is no way in tarnation you're going to continue with it past some short, miserable, self-imposed stretch of time. We're going for healthy lifestyle changes, the long haul, right peeps?! So you should do what you enjoy. For me, this is:

(a) walking. Not running. *shudder* Just walking while listening to podcasts or loud, Middle Eastern music, and making my goal 10,000 steps per day.

(b) 1-2 fitness classes per week. I don't know what it is about being in a group, but I LOVE taking classes. I find it very motivating. I will not (1) workout to videos, I get lonely, or (2) go to the gym to attempt a bonding ritual with a treadmill or lift weights. Also lonely. And...I just hate doing those things. :0

But some people love them! So if you do, keep at it!

Since the New Year, I've been both walking and keeping to my goal of trying new fitness classes. I took Zumba and PiYo during the spring semester, but those are both now done til the fall. So, I have started taking a belly dance-inspired workout class on Monday nights at my studio called HipFit, and I LOVE IT. This is my summer workout plan, along with trying to fit in another class per week once the group fitness classes start up here on campus for the summer semester next month. Looks like there is a Pilates and a Barre class that I could potentially make on my lunch hour. So I'll take one of those when I can.

Nothing major, but I've lost about 5 pounds (that I've wanted to lose since I delivered Anne ;-)) and gained some muscle. I feel stronger and happier.

How about you? Do you have any summer fitness goals? I like talking about this with other people, it keeps us accountable and motivated, right? So do chime in, I'd love for us to encourage each other!

Summer book club news, & exciting new projects!

Happy Monday everybody! Despite it being a Monday morning, I am in an inordinately good mood. Why is that, you ask? Well, I've been doing a lot of project planning, both personal and professional (and even a mixture thereof!) and I'm very excited about everything. Isn't it a wonderful feeling to experience a creative boost of energy? I just love when that happens.

*happy sigh*

Ok, so! Thing #1 is that I was thinking about summer reading and the Catholic Book Club. Next week is our scheduled June installment, which is Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis by Cardinal Timothy Dolan. This is a quick and light read, and at $1.99 for Kindle, you can't go wrong. I read this before my trip, and have all my notes ready to go for the review post on June 24th. Definitely join me then! After that, I have two more books scheduled in the Book Club queue, but then do you want to know what happened?

Of course you do, that's why you're still reading my excited gibberish. ;-) Ok, so, a happy God thing happened. Godincidence? Is that what such a phenomena is called? If it's not, that's what it *should* be called. At any rate, I saw a summer book club announcement over at CatholicMom.com. I mean, doesn't that just have a lovely ring to it, summer book club? I think it's my deep seated librarian sensibilities. I adore seasonal projects, and plus, it's the summer, so YOU SHOULD BE READING.

*the librarian adjusts her bun*

By the beach or pool, if you'd like, but the summer is a FANTASTIC time to start a new book. The pace is slower, you have longer evening light, go sit on your porch with a book. ;-) But I digress, as I am so wont to do. Catholic Mom, summer book club, Godincidence, back on track, check! So I saw that announcement, and it immediately perked my interest because not only do I love book clubs, but I own the book already. In fact, I was randomly drawn to win a copy from the darling Deacon Tom and his lovely wife Dee over at the Catholic Vitamins podcast.

Random? Well sure, but God is always behind such things. When I received the book, I thought to myself:

"I really need to read this, I could benefit from some deeper spiritual reading right now."

Then I admired the cover and tucked it onto my book shelf, with full intentions to read it. At some point. But you know how those things go.

So when I saw the Unleashed Book Club announcement, I slipped my copy off the shelf. And you see the subtitle there? "How to Receive Everything the Holy Spirit Wants to Give You." Remember my joyfully teary video from last week following the CNMC? When I talked about the Holy Spirit? Yep, it all comes together right here.

So I'm going to be reading this book and participating in the book club over at CatholicMom.com. With books like this, I sometimes don't include them in my own Catholic Book Club because it's too much for me to get through in a single month. The setup over at Catholic Mom is perfect. A chapter a week for eight weeks, and week 1 was just posted. That gives a participant time to savor each chapter and reflect on it fully. I can see that the comments section is hopping, and I'm looking forward to learning from everybody else who is interacting with these posts.

I'm super excited about this, and thus Unleashed is going to be my spiritual reading for the rest of June and July. You'll see that I have this noted in the Catholic Book Club Reading List sidebar on the right side of the blog. When the Unleashed Book Club is complete, I may post my own review over here, we'll see. But in August, we'll pick back up with traditional Catholic Book Club posts over here on a Catholic YA title that I'm anxiously anticipating.

So, do you want to jump on board? I'd love it if you would, and please let me know if you decide to participate by leaving a comment. Unleashed is available for instant download via Kindle, or in paperback form both from Amazon (so if you have Prime, 2 day shipping!) and Ave Maria Press (if you read the initial announcement post and author interview over at Catholic Mom, there is a coupon code!).

That is what is most on my heart this morning, and I have my copy of Unleashed by my side ready to crack open tonight. In other new project news, my new web cam arrived this weekend, and...

*angels harmonize!*

I love it. :) It took some time for me to get it all figured out and get the software installed, but it's all a go and the quality is VASTLY superior to what I have been getting with my phone. Plus, I have so much more space and options with it. I plan to record my next Tea Time post with it later this week, so you can all check it out. One of the impetuses (spelling? impeti? ;-)) for me getting this is that I'm going to be participating in a weekly Google Hangout session with some new CNMC friends, in which we're going to brainstorm with each other about new project ideas, and help critique each others' work. I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot lately in this regard, but you know, I'm EXCITED about this. :)

In regards to aforementioned new projects...there are several, and they all involve writing. A few are work related (translation: boring ;-)) but a few are of extreme personal meaning to me and are tied into my writing responsibilities as a faculty librarian. Or at least, I'm hoping to make a case that they are in fact tied together. :) At any rate, I love to write. And for the first time in a long time, I feel inspired to try new venues for my writing. I'm being a little vague, yes I know, but that is by design. ;-) I will keep you posted when I have concrete things to report. Right now, everything is still in the planning stages and still very much a dream. You will know as soon as I know anything for realz!

All right, I have rambled long enough for today, but I do so enjoy doing that with you all. Are any of you interested in the Unleashed Book Club? What are your summer project plans, anything new and exciting that you'd like to report? Please do chime in and let me know!

Praying on summer inspiration, as I brainstorm in organized librarian mode...

Good afternoon to you all! It's an absolutely gorgeous day here. I was once again able to walk out of the house wearing only a cardigan over my sleeveless shell, and no jacket. Shazzam! And open toe shoes too?

*swoons*

Spring is here to stay, it seems. And thank God for that.

Speaking of Him, ;-) I've been doing a lot of thinking this week about...stuff. As in: what am I going to do with the rest of my life? Is this a mid-life crisis? :0

I mean, there are major things that will remain unchanged. I am a wife and mother, that is my vocation. I am a librarian, that is my job, and I have a tenured position with outstanding benefits. Hence, that too will remain the same. Not only are those constants, I am happy in all of those respects. But in terms of my time outside of those roles, what would I like to do?

Man. I don't know. :0 See, that's the problem right there. The first things that come to my mind are these:

(1) I need to pray about this. Well, I have prayed, but have I listened? I don't think so. Which is to say NO. So I need to do that, and then await what happens. Because something will happen, I need to trust in that.

(2)  Writing. I love to write, that's why I started this blog. And this actually applies in my job as well, because writing for professional publication is highly encouraged here. The summer is a perfect time to tackle such projects, since I don't have any teaching responsibilities until the fall. So I think that's a yes, I should try and write an article. Check, will try to get started on that. But back to...

(3) Fun writing. :) Outside of work, what would I like to write? Well, I enjoy this blog. I don't think it's going anywhere, anytime soon. But could I write somewhere else? I'd like to, on life and faith-related topics. But where? Online? A book? No clue. Awaiting inspiration!

(4) Dance. I love Middle Eastern dance, I 'm sure you can tell. If I'm being honest, I don't write about it as much on this blog as I'd like to, because I'm not always sure how people will react. And perhaps, given the title of my blog, this type of content is unexpected and not appealing to all readers. So maybe I should have somewhere else that I can feel free to write about dance to my heart's content. Another blog? That sounds fun, but rather exhausting to maintain two. Maybe I could write a short ebook of my dance experiences over the past seven years? Is that of interest to anybody? I would really love your feedback on this one. This is definitely what I consider a "life blog," so pretty much anything that goes on in my life is fair game, you've been warned. ;-) But maybe I would enjoy a different model, I'm not sure.

(5) Podcasting and/or video blog posts. The podcasting thing...I just need to learn how to do it. :) Hopefully, soon. And my interest in that lies in faith topics. Video blog posts, I think this is actually doable, like, right away. :) I've always wanted to try that. And I know how to do it, technology-wise. Will they be any good? Don't know. :) But I should try. The only problem with both of these ideas is that it involves hearing my own voice, which I really don't like, but there you have it.

That's all I got so far. ;-) I'm in brainstorm mode, which I genuinely enjoy. I love coming up with new, fresh and creative ideas. I feel a little bit adrift right now, as if I'm not so certain anymore of where my energies should lie creatively, and even whether or not what I am doing is the perfect fit for both me and anybody who reads my work.

So, I really, really mean it: Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts. :) I value that you read what I write, and I want what I write to be meaningful to both you and to me.

Reflections on the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time with small children in tow...

Oy. :) This was a bit of a long weekend. Why, you reasonably ask? Well, there's a lot going on right now between work getting busier for me with classes starting next week, prep work heating up for Mike since he will start teaching (a record 6 classes) again next week, and a minor health crisis with my father-in-law. And the children. Well, let me correct that. Henry really isn't the problem. :0 It's *our daughter*, but we'll come back to that in a moment.

Friday and Saturday were just really long days, chock full of summer activities. While fun, I was feeling a bit drained by Sunday. So, let's talk about Sunday. I feel like we're at a bit of a crucial point in this long stretch of Ordinary Time. We just passed the Feast of the Assumption, always a high point of late summer for me. Once September begins, tons of good saint feast days come upon us, and it seems like Advent is right around the corner. Right now, we're at this point wherein most of the church musicians are off rotation until after Labor Day and parish activities are still in slow mode with Vacation Bible School wrapped up, but transition back to the hectic nature of the fall is in the air. We should enjoy these last quiet moments.

And so I brought the children to Mass on Sunday longing for that spiritual respite. For the most part, I received it. It's hard to hear the readings when every week I'm inevitably in the bathroom assisting Anne on the potty (I know all you parents of toddlers feel my pain :0) but my kids really are pretty good during Mass and I get to hear and enjoy a lot of it. Anne started to throw a fit when we arrived because I denied her permission to abscond with free, blessed plastic rosary #3,587 in the side vestibule, but a stern talking to before entering the sanctuary seemed to do the trick. Henry whined a bit on the ride over about "having to go to church AGAIN!! Weren't we just here?!" but he piped down and was well-behaved, especially with the promise that he could light a candle after Mass. Poor Henry also was low on clean laundry when we left the house and was horrified by the pants I made him wear - which is to say a pant-item made of something other than denim. These were DRESSY PANTS, dredged from the back of his closet in desperation, and he wasn't happy.

"Mommy. These pants...don't fit me real good."

I turn with a squirming Anne tucked under my arm to survey Henry walking rather oddly.

"What do you mean, Honey?"

"Well. They kind of...hurt. I think they're, ouch! Too tight."

"Oh. Well, it's too late to turn back, Honey. We're already running late. Can you just unbutton them?"

*Henry looks scandalized*

"I can't *unbutton* them!"

"Your shirt will cover it up, Honey, and at least that way you'll be more comfortable."

He wasn't happy, but he acquiesced. And Anne was pretty good, although she has started trying to hoard the collection envelope and requires intervention at that time to make sure the envelope actually gets into the basket. She always seems just on the very edge of a tantrum when I do this, but so far no meltdowns, for which we should all kneel down and thank God.

All went well, and the kids did team up to light a candle at the conclusion of Mass ("I want to hold the candle!" "Anne, give it to me." "NO!" "Well, I'll put the money in, but you have to give it to me when we get out by the altar." "NO!" "Anne! Mommy, make her give me the candle!"), and after praying by the side of the altar near the candle stand, I felt at peace. That lasted well into the day, through my afternoon of working on re-wrapping my nephew Andrew's birthday rosary (pictured above) since the wire wraps in my first attempt weren't lookin' so good, cooking a big dinner for us and my parents, and readying the kids for bed while Mike went to visit his dad at the hospital (aforementioned minor health crisis).

Until it ended. *INSERT LARGE SIGH HERE* We had:

(1) Anne refusing to fall asleep. This required 3 hours of tag team intervention by Mike and I.

(2) An alarm blaring at midnight from the vicinity of the downstairs. Some little fingers had obviously turned it on in the guest room during the day at some point. Any guess as to who that could have been?! I was in a stupor and incorporated the noise into my dream, so Mike fielded this one.

(3) 1:30 am: *Anne is crying* Given that Mike handled the alarm, I stumble into Anne's room to see what the what is. Sometimes she just needs an extra cuddle or a diaper change. Not that time, my friends.

"Anne, what's wrong, Honey?"

*Anne looks mutinous*

"Mommy. I AM NOT SLEEPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Heretofore began a battle which entailed a full out temper tantrum (mostly by Anne :0) with lots of sobbing and throwing of body on the floor. Mike came in to try and relieve me, which went as predictably poorly as any reasonable measure could have at that point ("NO DADDY! NO DADDY!"). Eventually, I just left her in there and went back to bed, feeling like a terrible mother. I don't think a person ever feels like a good mother when they are exhausted, it's 3 am, and your toddler appears possessed, you know?  When Mike went in a second time, she was too exhausted to put up much of a fight, and things were fine after that. But by that point it was nearly 4 am and we were wide awake. When it was time to get up for work near 7 am, I felt like death warmed over. So, so not fun, gentle reader.

When I finally managed to drag myself into work, I cracked open my Magnificat at my desk in an effort to perk myself up. I just renewed my subscription by the way, love this thing. :) And the reflection for yesterday's Gospel included this:

"...We are now beginning in very earnest to experience the contemplation which consists in suffering with Christ, and the way to sanctify it is not so much to suffer with him as to ask him to let us realize that he it is who suffers in us. For, this understood, we cannot help abandoning our will to his completely, and letting him suffer in us in his way, and his way is the way of love. Complete though it is, in his grief there is no bitterness; and what seems to be frustration and waste is not, it is fruitful; this is because every moment of his Passion is informed by love."

And yep, made me feel so much better. Sublime. I feel strengthened for the evening and have hope that things will get a little easier. I know it's a small thing, this Terrible Two's universe I'm living in right now, but emotionally it can take it's toll over a long stretch, especially when combined with a bunch of other anxieties.

But, with faith, I'm getting there, and I hope to have an amusing and non-sleep deprived anecdote to share tomorrow. Hope springs eternal. :)

How was your weekend?

Wait, what was I supposed to be writing about?!

The summer is quiet on the reference desk, and so I thought to myself as I was preparing to go down for a shift:

"What do I need to bring with me? It's just an hour, maybe I'll have time to get a blog post started if I don't get interrupted too much."

Our office walls around here are pretty thin, so I try to have these conversations with myself as quietly as possible. :0

"Right. I need my glasses. Should I bring my phone? It's fun to keep up on Twitter and texts when I'm down there, but...nah, shouldn't bring it, too much of a distraction. Do I need a pen? I'm not going to bring my planner, so I don't need the pen. MY TEA! Yes, bring the tea cup, check."

I sort of move things around on my desk as I decide what to bring and not bring.

"Good God, my keys. If I lock myself out again I'm going to have to take our facilities manager out to dinner. Keys in pocket, ok whew!!! What else did I need?!"

I see my tea mug. I grab it. I check my pocket again to assure that the keys are in there, and I leave my office and shut the door. It's only halfway down the stairs that I remember: my glasses.

For the love of all that is holy, WHERE HAVE ALL MY BRAIN CELLS GONE?! That sensation of something having been in your mind one moment, and gone the next, is not a comfortable one, my friends. #sendhelp

So, I got down to the reference desk and then gabbed with the other librarian whom I was relieving, then gabbed a bit on gmail chat, then actually answered a patron chat question (international court cases, I certainly earned my keep on that one), and only THEN opened up a new blog post. And do I even need to mention that I couldn't remember what I was going to write about?

It's just one of those days. :0 However, there are a couple fun posts planned for this week, which are Catholic Book Club on Wednesday, and the Church Triumphant on Thursday, so stay tuned for those. It's major festival season this weekend, so a week from today you will be treated (snort!) to a Belly Dance Monday post which will feature me attempting to dance while balancing stuff on my head and hopefully not battling high winds. Here's hoping!

Ah, but before I go, I finished a rosary this weekend, this time for Anne:

Guardian Angel centerpiece, blue bead mix for the Aves, lavender pearls for the Paters

This will go in her Christmas stocking, and Henry will receive this:

This is a St. Dominic Savio chaplet, and I will devote a whole post in the Catholic Nook to it, maybe next week. So I've been busy! I've also been knitting like a very busy bee, working on my fall/winter/Christmas list, because I'm Type A like that.

#BigSurprise

How was everyone's weekend? If you're so inclined, leave me a comment! I always love to read them. :)

"Mommy, what's wrong with your pants?!" A tale of why the Catholic Librarian doesn't love pools...

I used to love the pool, I really did. When I was a kid, I loved swimming, and going underwater especially. I swam as frequently as I was able.

As an adult? Not so much. As someone who camouflages gray hair with dye, I worry about what the chemicals will do to that whole situation. I do enjoy sitting in a jacuzzi. And if I pin my hair up, I *can* enjoy lounging in a pool for a short spell on a very hot day. But it's not really something I aspire to.

As a parent? Pools are exhausting. There's the dressing and the undressing, the application of sunscreen to wiggly bodies, keeping a very careful eye on everyone while in or near the water, inevitably dragging a kicking and screaming body *out* of the pool once swim time is over, the drying off, the difficult re-dressing of damp, unhappy bodies. The kids love pools, I think they are genetically predisposed for this to be the case. And so of course I let them swim when the opportunity presents itself, but I don't exactly seek pools out.

And so yesterday, when my mom (who owns a home with an in-ground pool) invited us over to visit with some out-of-town relatives and enjoy pizza by the pool, I got tired even having that conversation. It was a week night, so I'd be coming after work, and my parents live about 25 minutes away from me. So packing pool and pizza time into that short evening slot wasn't exactly appealing, although I certainly wanted to visit with my cousins whom I don't get to see that often. But the kids were all excited, so I sucked it up.

We arrive. Before we can even get our shoes off there are demands to get into the water. I get Anne changed into her swimsuit (so adorable you can hardly stand it, by the way) while Henry changes and I contemplate my options. I *really* don't feel like going in the pool. I haven't bought a new swim suit in something like 20 years. I make do with the ancient tankinis of my early 20's. They still fit, but you know...things aren't exactly the SAME as when I was in my early 20's. ;) Every time I put one on I wonder why in tarnation I haven't just gone to Target and bought a new one, but these are age old questions, are they not? At this point in our journey, it was 5:30 pm, and I was pretty tired. Putting on a tankini with elastic that isn't as stretchy as it used to be in the backside region and going into a pool with splash happy children wasn't really on my list of Fun Things To Do.

So I improvised. And let's just say that sometimes improvisation works out really well, and sometimes it doesn't. :) I got Anne all ready and headed out to the pool with her. I settled her in the pool stair area with some water toys and sat on the ground right beside her. She could play and I was right there but I didn't have to get wet. Great, right?

My cousin arrived, and her kids got into the pool too. They are 6 and 4, so close in age to my kids. This is how gender appears to be summed up in pool situations:

Boys: Every millimeter of our bodies is saturated with water. But I still think that...WE CAN GET *WETTER*! And to do that, why stay IN the pool, when we can get OUT and jump BACK IN!!

I'm surprised there was any water left in the pool by the time we departed.

Girls: Don't mind getting wet, but please don't splash my face. If you do, I will squirt you relentlessly with a water gun the instant you're not looking and/or hide something that you really want.

Anne was super thrilled to have another little girl to play with, and naturally she soon didn't want to stay solely on the stairs. I stayed right by her as she crept along the edge of the pool, but of course, if she went underwater, what would happen? I would go in after her, that's what, because the boys certainly weren't going to be of much help, lost in their water-filled delirium of happiness.  I tried to coax everyone out of the pool so that I could relax and eat, since I was starving:

"Kids, do you want pizza?" *beams*

"NO!"

Well, that was predictable. Pretty soon, Anne left my side to venture out into the shallow end, and I immediately called her back.

"Anne! Come back honey, you don't know how to swim."

"No."

"Anne! Henry, could you..."

But the inevitable happened. Anne started to head back to me, but changed her mind and decided to be bold. In an instant, she was underwater, and I was in the pool. In my clothes.

Can I just tell you, dear reader, in case you were wondering, going into a pool in *corduroy pants* is not a pleasant experience, not at all. I walked down 2 or 3 steps and was able to grab her, soaking my pant legs to about mid-calf. As I soothed Anne back at poolside, my pants feeling like they were now weighed down with concrete, I thought to myself how much I hate pools. :0

Granted, this was sort of my own fault. I should have just put my bathing suit on and went in. Apparently I have a very hard head.

I got Anne inside and changed back into her regular clothes, sniffling. I brought her back outside to get set up with a slice of pizza and finally settled in to eat myself, moving uncomfortably the whole way. As I sat down, I noticed that the wetness on my pants appeared to be spreading upward, like some sort of evil flesh-eating fungus that is featured in a horror movie. My pants were now soaked all the way up to mid-thigh.

*long suffering sigh*

I looked up to realize that the entire backyard was staring at my pants in concern.

"Do you want a pair of my pants to wear?"

My mother, who is a good 6 inches shorter than I am, looks dubious, but wants to be helpful. She comes back with a pair of casual cotton pants. So this is how I found myself in my parents' basement on a Wednesday night in my underwear tossing my pants into the dryer.

Glamour. All glamour.

I came upstairs donned in polka dotted pajama pants, but at least I was dry. Henry was still in the pool and had to dry off and eat. As he did that, Anne tried to sneak into the jacuzzi with her cousin and got HER clothes wet, necessitating another trip to the basement and the clothes dryer. Soon, Anne was in her underwear, but she can get away with just wearing those in public.

By the time all of the clothes were dry, I was dying to go home. I did have fun visiting with my cousin, but my exhaustion meter was letting me know that it was getting impatient. Meanwhile, Mike had texted me to see how things were going, and I filled him in. His horror assured me that he would be taking care of bedtime duties and that I could relax upon my return home. Score. :)

As is always the case with small children, the extraction process from the backyard was painful and took 20 minutes longer than it should have. By the time we got home, I had a headache and Anne could hardly walk straight, she was so tired.

Pools. I do not love you. I'm glad to have survived this one and to have an evening of knitting and wine to look forward to tonight instead of swimming.

Glory.

Gearing up for the 4th of July...

...and feeling very patriotic about the whole thing. *beams* Traditionally, summer isn't my favorite time of year, because I just don't enjoy the heat. However, this year I have resolved to see summer for the good qualities that it has, which are many, and appreciate it more. Fusion Beads was having a big 4th of July promotion, with lovely red, white & blue jewelery, and I bought beads to make a patriotic rosary bracelet. My goal was to finish it prior to the 4th, and I did! Unfortunately, I left it at home and forgot to take a photo, lame! But it turned out very pretty. :) Planning to wear it this weekend.

We're also planning to attend a fireworks display for the first time in pretty much our entire married life. :0 When Henry was little, we never wanted to keep him up that late to bring him, since it gets so late before it is fully dark at this time of year. Now, we have that same concern with Anne, but my in-laws now live close enough to us that babysitting isn't an issue. So we're going to bring Henry and enjoy our town fireworks display.

We're also planning a cook out with my parents, and swimming will be involved, which of course the kids love. Me? I'm not much of a pool person these days, but the kids love it. The weather is supposed to cool down a bit, which will actually make it easier (in my opinion ;)) to be outside. Wine by the pool for everybody!

I'm hoping to get in lots of reading and crafting when Anne is sleeping. I have a few more gift rosaries in the wings to make, as well as a St. Dominic Savio chaplet for Henry and some earrings for myself. I'm currently knitting a summer scarf and a baby cardigan, I will post in-progress photos of those next week. :) I'm currently reading on my Kindle:

Book 1 in the Big Sky Centennial series, which focuses on the 4th of July weekend kickoff to the town centennial celebrations. I love it when I read seasonal books that synch up perfectly to the current season, it's the book nerd in me. There will be a book in this series published each month through a Christmas story in December, so excited! For whatever reason, I love books centered around farms and ranches. I don't know that I would actually like to live on a farm or a ranch, but reading about them thrills me. I also love cowboy heroes, despite the fact that I've never actually *seen* a cowboy in real life, and this whole "Western" thing is a bit of a mystery to me. Hey, reading is escapism, right? :)


So, it should be a fun one. Do you have any 4th of July plans? Leave me a comment!

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend! I won't be blogging again until Monday the 7th, since I'll be very busy wrangling my children at home. :) But I will update you all on the weekend revelries then!

This is my kind of weather, and ponderings on Church weddings...

Ah, the past few days have been overcast and breezy. I love this kind of weather. Clearly, I should be living in the Pacific Northwest.

There has also been some "rain activity" but I wouldn't actually classify it as "RAIN," unfortunately. I mean, little drops have come down, but they never pick up their pace nor last for longer than 10 minutes at a stretch, so total accumulation is something like .000567 %. This is not going to make the grass green again, people. Maybe if it kept doing this for 3 weeks straight, but I'm doubting that will be the case. At any rate, I'm grateful for the break in the heat and the hope of rain, so I'll take it.

On a totally unrelated note, I read an article last week about Katie Holmes coming back to her Catholic faith. Did anybody else see this? It was from a reliable source like Yahoo News *rolls eyes* so I take it with a grain of salt, but it piqued my interest because I had always wondered about this.

I knew that Katie Holmes had been raised Catholic, and that when she married Tom Cruise, they were married in a Scientology ceremony. These are the only two facts that I'm certain of, you see. Thus, everything else that I'm about to say is pure conjecture, but that's what blogs are for, no?

When they married, I remember thinking to myself, "her parents must be heartbroken that she's leaving her faith." I don't know the Holmeses, so I have no earthly idea how they felt about their daughter's marriage, but this is how *I* would have felt. I'm also presuming here that Katie did not pursue and receive a dispensation from canonical form, because if she had, then her marriage would have been valid in the Church. So, I'm making a lot of assumptions here, but bear with me.

My whole point is that the situation got me to thinking about our children retaining their faith as adults. I pray for this intention weekly at Mass, that my children always stay close to Jesus and His Church. Do I think that in order to do that, my children need to marry other Catholics? No, I don't think that, actually. Would it help if they did marry other Catholics? Yes. But is such a marriage *necessary* for them to remain Catholic or even grow deeper in their faith? No, I don't think that it is.

But presuming that Katie here didn't seek out her parish priest prior to her wedding to receive Catholic marriage preparation and a dispensation to marry outside of a Catholic ceremony, this is what I'm getting at. When a Catholic person does not seek out the Church for their marriage, and marries outside of Her authority, that makes me sad. Because that's often the impetus to them leaving their faith entirely. In that state, they cannot receive the sacraments, and without the sacraments, their faith will suffer. Plus, the fact that the person didn't care enough to go through the Church for the dispensation demonstrates (at least in my opinion) that they don't feel very attached to their faith to begin with. And as a parent, this would break my heart.

Many times, it seems to me that the people I see not pursuing a Church wedding lose interest in religious faith altogether. This would bother me the most. It would bother me considerably less if my child became a member of another church. And even that has degrees. I would rather they stayed Catholic, but if my child became a very devout Anglican or Methodist, I would be ok with that. (But I'll just admit that I'd always still pray they would return to their Catholic roots :)). I would struggle, however, if they became a member of a non-Christian faith, probably nearly as much as if they lost all faith in God entirely.

In the end, all we can do is pray. Once they become adults, it's their choice, and we have to hope that something we did as parents acts a springboard to them making their faith their own and growing in their relationship with God.

This is all a bit rambling, but back to Katie. According to Yahoo News, she is now a registered parishoner at a local Catholic Church. If true, I think this is good, and I'm sure her parents are thrilled. :)

So, our thought-provoking question for the weekend: what in your childhood (if anything) caused you to remain attracted to religious faith as an adult? Or alternatively, what in your childhood acted as a spark to reignite your religious faith after leaving it for a time?

DROUGHT

I know that much of the country has been experiencing drought conditions this summer, and western New York is no exception.

"It looks like we're growing wheat out in the front yard."

...was Mike's comment the other day, as he narrowed his eyes. We're not really big "grass people." Did that come out right? I mean, we don't have a sprinkler system nor pamper our grass. But it would be nice if the grass were green, I don't think that's too much to ask.

The grass everywhere here is almost totally brown. The campus really looks abysmal. They are clearly trying to keep the main entrance with the sign and flowers looking nice and are watering everything. But the rest is too vast to water and is brown, brown, brown.

I think when it finally does rain I'll go outside and turn my face right into it. I like rain. It's cozy. And the living things outside need it in order to grow. Rain gets a bad rap, but we need to be honest:

Rain is good. I miss rain.

Rain, rain, how I long to see your face...

Heat, nativity sets, and knitting abound

Bet you missed me. ;-) And so I return from my long weekend home. And doing so makes me appreciate my wonderful husband all the more. Our children are a handful, and he has them all day every day. Add to that the fact that we're finally experiencing some summer weather, and being home during the day can be a bit of a challenge.

It doesn't matter how hot Anne is, she does NOT slow down. She has *so* much hair, and she gets totally sweaty because she does nothing but run around and get into things. She also climbs on things. opens drawers and cupboards, and throws her baby dolls around when she's mad. Those long suffering baby dolls. But we're hanging in there.

Despite the heat, I've been knitting like an old lady with a lot of time on her hands. My sister is having twins, and this has sent my knitting into overdrive. It's hard to keep up with this demand! :) But I finally finished the baby knitting (well, almost) and so I moved onto some gift dishcloths. Dishcloths are wonderful summer knits. The cotton doesn't get all sticky when your hands sweat (I know, lovely) and it doesn't stick to my wood needles. I whipped out two this weekend, and am moving on to some new ones for our kitchen. Some of our old dishcloths have seen better days:

"Sweetie, I think there's something terribly wrong with that dishcloth you made."

"What do you mean?"

"Well. Just go into the kitchen."

"Oh, oh my."

Granted, it's the summer, so even the more heroic of dishcloths will start to stink after a time. But this is that the dishcloth is pressed into service for a mere 12 hours and the kitchen smells like someone died in there. Good Lord. I've switched yarn, and the yarn that I use now is much superior in this regard: Knit Picks Dishie. I'm currently knitting this lovely set of reversible dishcloths, and the designer has a free pattern available from this collection. They turn out very pretty and scrubby.

Anyway, I did take Henry to the Christian gift store last week, and we ogled the nativity sets. Naturally, his favorite was the lighted stable with 5" nativity figurines. At the store it was $175, but I see on the Fontanini site that it's $135 (and it includes 2 sheep!). At any rate, expensive. :) I did have a fun time shopping with him in there. He picked out a few of those little St. Joseph booklets and a St. Michael prayer card and we left the $175 nativity set in the store. I would like to explore getting him a set for Christmas. We'll see...

Oh, lol. Poking around on the Fontanini site is very cute and fun. "5" Three Kings Accessories Set: Camels not included."

*snort*