Daybook for First Week in July

For Today....

Outside my window...

it's blazingly hot! How on earth did we ever manage before air conditioning became common practice? I don't remember being particularly uncomfortable except on road trips in our unairconditioned cars way back in the dark ages when I was growing up.

I am thinking...

about the upcoming month and the things I'd like to do.

I am thankful...

for Boo's recovery from a minor infection. He's not completely well yet, but he's definitely better.

In the kitchen...

are enough leftovers from last night so that no cooking has to be done today. Maybe I should consider once-a-week cooking. I'm not sure that would be feasible with Boo's erratic appetite, but still something to consider.

I am wearing...

a white t-shirt, green knit pants and no shoes. It's summer and I want to go barefoot! Mom used to tease me about going barefoot in the summer. Now, I'll go barefoot in our bedroom and that's about it. Elsewhere in the house, I tend to step on little things that shouldn't be on the floor at all, like Boudreaux's fishing pole toy or his numerous jingle balls. I have to do a cat toy pick up first thing in the morning before Boo is up and about. I certainly don't want him to trip and fall.

I am creating...

digital scrapbook pages for Mom's birthday. I'm also working on a photo DVD for her of all the old family photos that I've scanned.

I am going...

with a friend to Adoration, confession and a Mass Wednesday evening. Boo will be staying home with a friend because he just can't manage the four hours away from home that time of day. (Any time of day would be pushing it!)

I am reading...

Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton. Actually, I'm reviewing it which is really not my favorite way to read a book. I really like Chesterton's writings (and C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkein and Madeleine L'Engle). I thought this review would be a piece of cake. Not so. I've gotten mired down separating the important from the most important, discerning what audience this book would most appeal to today and whether young adults can grasp and use the truths Chesterton presents. I plan to reread this book slowly and savor it this fall.

I am hoping...

to contact some of my cousins and start planning a family recipe book, among other things, for our upcoming family reunion next summer. We have the place already and we're planning a pot luck, though it might be wise to cater part of the meal. I know now why some families plan these events several years in advance.

Around the house...

all is quiet. I can hear the quiet chatter of a young relative on the phone. Are phones permanently attached to the young like umbilical cords?

I am pondering...

the first chapter of An Island Story. It's a children's storybook of English history and early English myths that Boo and I are slowly reading again. As soon as we finished the chapter, Boo said, “That's what history's all about isn't it? Love. Love that makes you want the best for your family, for your faith, for your nation.” He went on to elaborate linking different historical events as actions of love, at least in the minds of the people at that time. Funny, that's not what I gathered from that chapter, but I can see his point. I don't fully agree with it, but he's thinking and making sense of the world in his own mind. That's an important step and one that has been a long time coming. (After Boo's second stroke, he was busy relearning to function on a daily basis. We were told that that level of reasoning was all that could be expected for the rest of his life. Not entirely true, as it turns out.)

A favorite quote for today...

“You need to know your faith. You cannot give what you do not have.”

Fr. John Corapi

I know there's all kinds of controversy surrounding Fr. Corapi and I'm not interested in getting into all that. That's between Fr. Corapi and the Church officials, not me. This particular quote really means a lot to me. I cannot share what I don't know and I have a responsibility to learn.

One of my favorite things...

is looking at family photographs. So many things that I'd forgotten are suddenly remembered again. I'm really enjoying the memories.

A peek into my day...

The Sinple Woman's Daybook