Seven Quick Takes (4)

1. This morning I wiped down the outsides of the cupboards in the kitchen. I had noticed they needed it a little while ago, but I admit I put it off deliberately, not because I didn't want to do it per se, but because I knew they'd get dirty again so quickly. I kept thinking about my mother-in-law coming to visit over Christmas, and how I'll be deep cleaning the apartment right before she arrives anyway, so why not just wait til then? (I've been putting off cleaning the spots on the carpet because of this. Knowing me, I will drip more coffee on the floor before then. But maybe I'll do that next week.)

2. Yesterday I babysat for a friend while she went to an appointment. Her 2 1/2 year old, Bobby, is my godson, and he loves Michael. It's very sweet. :) As I mashed up an avocado in the kitchen for Michael to eat, I heard Bobby call from the living room: "Hey! My hat fits his head!"

Well I guess it does, technically. 

Bobby also informed me that I was the babysitter, and I was supposed to "sit and watch," not tickle him. 

3. Is anyone else reading the Catechism for the Year of Faith? I usually fall behind and the daily readings pile up in my email for a few days, then I sit and read them all at once, but overall I've been keeping up. I've also been rereading certain sections for a reading group that Keith and I are a part of. I think this is the first time in my life that I've read the Catechism prayerfully, and it's awesome. Also very challenging, on a personal level, because if you read it prayerfully and reflectively then you realize it really needs to make a difference in your life.

4. For example. The section I just (re)read--185-231--ends with "The Implications of Faith in One God." Believing in and loving God "means coming to know God's greatness and majesty ... It means living in thanksgiving ... It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men ... It means making good use of created things ... It means trusting God in every circumstance." (223-227) This really resonated with me, that growing in faith means growing in these things. I know that I need a stronger faith, but have been struggling with knowing how to grow there, how to measure it; and here is a concrete answer I can wrap my mind around.

5. Yesterday I finished my 52nd book of the year. (If you recall, my goal was to read 50.) It was not The Brothers Karamazov. That may end up being the 53rd. Or 54th, if I need (yet another) break. ;)

6. Last night Keith and I ate pumpkin curry for dinner, and I had the leftovers for lunch. It was amazing. Someday I'll have to try making it. I made a korma for dinner a few weeks ago and it was pretty good, if I say so myself. Curry is such a great cold weather food.

7. Well, I should probably fold the laundry before Michael wakes up ... and maybe watch another episode of Call the Midwife, which I am now addicted to and thoroughly love. I highly recommend it. Although the last episode involved someone stealing a mother's baby and let me tell you, I cannot deal with that sort of thing anymore. I couldn't put Michael down for an hour afterwards.


Linking up over at Conversion Diary!

Karamazov and a (finally!) finished shawl!

I have been knitting some secret projects that I'm not going to show you, just yet. But I can show you the Fallberry mitts I've been making for myself. 

The yarn is Road to China Light, in Carnelian, and it is soooo soft. Yum. These knit up very quickly, and I think there's just enough yarn in the skein for the pair of them (and maybe a hexipuff or two). 

We just ordered a Catechism, and while I haven't really cracked it open, I have been reading a bit of it in my email inbox every day for the Year of Faith. And I have finally picked The Brothers Karamazov back up and am making progress once more. (I am sorry, Father Zossima, but your final words were a big roadblock to me.) Funny how Ginny just started reading this too--it seems that it's been popping up all over the places, quotes and references and so on, since I've started reading. Or maybe people are always referring to Dostoyevsky and I'm just now noticing it? 

I also finished a Tilden for Michael, which he doesn't like to wear. I guess it's a bit scratchy on his bald head. He tries to yank it off and pulls it over his eyes instead. And then his mother laughs at him. Poor kid. 

And, after letting it sit around in a crumpled heap for months, I finally blocked my friend's shawl. Yay!

And now, back to Christmas knitting! Go see what other people are making and reading at Ginny's yarn along.