Well, I’m sorry. That month just flew by! I knew I had been slacking, but a whole month?
I guess The Unhurried Chase is due for an update! Here’s what I’ve been up to:
I finished my semester! Phew. I wrote my final paper on Pacifism, particularly the thoughts of Thomas Merton — a Catholic monk who lived in Kentucky. He believed that the Just War, while in line with biblical teaching and Catholic tradition, was out-dated and impossible with the advent of nuclear weapons. It was an interesting paper, and I found myself leaning closer to pacifism than I expected.
We are working on potty training! Yikes. It’s been about two weeks, and there have been moments of great triumph and days of discouragement. Let’s just say we’ve done loads of laundry every day for these weeks. She was doing wonderfully before the long weekend, but long days of graduation, wedding, visiting grandparents, strange sleep schedules, etc. just really threw us off the groove! But back at it this week.
Summer is here! We got a wading pool for our sweet girl, and she loves it. And just being outside in general. I planted a garden! I’ve been raising little baby tomatoes and peppers in our window for weeks, and it feels so good to plop them in the ground. I have my fingers crossed for them — we’ve typically had really bad luck with a garden because we have a very shady yard and a black walnut tree. But this year I’m determined. Maybe I’ll show you some pictures — gardening has been quite the creative process this year.
I’ve been reading — so much! Two weeks ago I finished Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Spiritual Life and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (audio). Last week I finished No Little Women by Aimee Byrd. This week I finished Out of a Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (audio). I’ve also started the graphic novel The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, by Sydney Padua, and I’m also listening to The Light Between Oceans. I’m nearly half-way finished with my Challies challenge (woohoo!), and I think I may be over half-way on my Goodreads goal. I really needed to get ahead during break — who knows what these few months will hold!
I called the exterminator. I think we have mice (but not in our food, thankfully!).
I found a new favorite bread recipe: Cranberry Pecan Rye Bread. I skip the caraway, and it is amazing. My daughter doesn’t like it, but we aren’t complaining!
What’s Next?
My summer class begins in two weeks, as I mentioned before. I’m eager to dive in because it’s an entire class devoted to Augustine’s City of God, but to be honest, I’m a bit nervous because the summer semester is pretty intense. Also, I really love break.
As far as extra-curricular reading, next up after my current books is Understood Betsy. I’ve heard it’s excellent.
So there’s the update. I hope that I’ll be able to get back into a regular rhythm here soon. Thanks for your patience!
The Unhurried Chase 