I'm In Public Discourse! (And a sale!)

I’m very excited to share that an essay of mine has been published in Public Discourse!

This is my first journal piece, and I’m very excited about it. In it I talk about how transplants work, the gift of more time, and (yes, of course) memento mori!

Let me know what you think!

And speaking of the book…

The Ave Maria Press Memorial Day sale is here! Through Monday, use the code REMEMBER23 for 25% off and free shipping. This is a great time to pick up a copy of Living Memento Mori (or get gifts for people!)

I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Putterings

My garden grows!

Long time no write! Time is just slipping by and I realized it’s been awhile since I’ve posted here. So here we go!

My garden, as you can see above, flourishes—I even have my first tomato!

It’s little but it’s there!

**In the garden this year I’m growing lavender, sweet basil, mint, and cherry tomatoes. I’ve never grown any vegetables before but when I saw that this type of cherry tomato grows well in containers I thought I’d give it a whirl. My grandpa grew tomatoes in his backyard, and I loved helping him take care of them and seeing the ripe tomatoes lined up on the kitchen windowsill. I didn’t really think they’d grow, but behold! So today I’m off to the hardware store to get a bigger planter, a tomato cage, and a trowel.

I’m hoping to dry a lot of the basil so I can have it on hand throughout the year. The mint is doing well, and the lavender is too, but I know the lavender is really going to be dependent on our weather. I tried to grow it a few years ago and the summer was so wet that it killed it. So I’m hoping we only have a moderately wet summer so it doesn’t drown. I had to really cut the mint back a few weeks ago because it had gone all leggy, but it’s doing better now.

**I’m going to have an essay published in The Public Discourse, probably at the beginning of June! It’s about transplants, gratitude, and memento mori (because I do think about that!) When the article is up I’ll post a link here and on my social media (you can find the links to all my accounts on the blog sidebar).

**Scotland trip planning continues! We’ve booked our tickets for Britannia, The Palace of Holyrood House, as well as some afternoon teas and meals. Can you tell I’m EXCITED?

Hive mind: Best tips for a long flight? I’ve never taken a trans-Atlantic flight! Tell me what I need to know/pack/do!

**In Knitting, I’m obsessed with the Sophie Scarf and the Sophie Shawl. So easy, so elegant, and so fun.

Here’s a completed Sophie Scarf in La Bien Aimee’s Merino Boucle “There Goes My Yarn Diet”

I’m currently knitting the Sophie Shawl in Quince and Co’s gorgeous Phoebe Yarn in the Orion color way. I’m doing the largest size, so you’d need two skeins of Phoebe to knit this up. These are perfect accessories for adding a little bit of flair to an outfit or for keeping the A/C chill off!

Phoebe in Orion

How’s your May going?

End of July Daybook

It has been so long since I’ve done one of these, but I saw that Elizabeth Foss has re-started them over at her blog and that gave me the impetus to go ahead and write this one! Because I like them and it’s been way too long since we’ve had one!

Outside my window::

It’s a sunny day, the grass and trees are green and thriving (see above photo!). It’s only going to be 81 today so that mens I can sit on my porch and read without frying to a crisp. This is excellent.

I am listening to::

In the car, it’s the Six * soundtrack. It’s so fun. I’ve also been working on learning Scottish Gaelic, so sometimes I tune into the BBC Scotland (Alba) channel and get a mix of Scottish music and talk radio—sometimes in English, sometimes in Gaelic. I’m really good at picking out the word “and”! (which is agus).

I am wearing::

You know, when the world shut down in 2020, it was so easy to get into the “I am not going to get dressed” thing, right? I’ve never been a person to leave the house in my pajamas, and I’m still not. But yes, my favorite leggings and a great t-shirt are sort of my summer uniform, along with a fun lipstick. (One of my New Year’s Resolutions? Wear more lipstick. It sounds really funny and sort of silly, but I love doing it now!) Generally my hair is up. When I’m dressed like this I feel like I can get a lot of things done, which is always a good idea!

Grateful for::

Talking to Maddie and my sister this morning—Maddie is blowing raspberries and it’s so cute.

Good weather

The local farmers’ market, which I remembered to visit yesterday!

A new baby to knit for

a local yarn crawl to attend!

Pondering::

Two big projects—but not writing projects. One of them is a wholesale overhaul of my apartment. The other is about gaining back muscle strength and endurance post COVID lockdowns.

The apartment is something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile, and this has two parts: the really deep clean + organizing, and then the decorating part. The two are sort of dovetailing because as I deep clean/sort/donate/organize things I notice things that need replaced or things I need to get to ensure things are running smoothly around here. The other part is replacing broken things with things that I, in some cases like better, like the lamp below:

This lamp is perfect!

The goal is to have the cleaning and organizing done by Labor Day. I think I can do it! The decorating will take a bit longer as I look for things that are good fits, like the lamp above. There was a lamp there that didn’t really fit the space or my style, but I kept it because I hadn’t found anything else I really liked. As soon as I saw this lamp (from Target) I knew it would be perfect, and it is. So then I was able to get rid of the old, broken lamp!

Another part of housekeeping is having the energy/stamina to do it, because I don’t always. If I get sick, the entire system collapses, so I need a better system, for starters, but that also feeds into the second project—getting my stamina back. Lockdowns did a huge number on my overall fitness, and so I’ve decided that I’m really going to re-focus on that. I’m doing Take Up and Read’s Well and Good summer program, and that’s been really helpful in addressing certain issues I’d been having. I’m not trying to lose weight—at this point, I want to be strong and be able to function on a daily basis, for myself, but also for Patty, Madeleine, and my new niece!

So I’ve been working out three times a week—the goal is to build that up to 5 days. The workouts vary but I can already seem changes in my stamina and strength, which is all for the good. And if I have more strength, I can do more around the house as well! It all works together.

Reading::

The King’s Pearl*, about Henry VIII and his daughter Mary; Mansfield Park*'; Taste: My Life Through Food*, and Theology of Home III: At The Sea. *

Creating::

a shawl—I’m in a yarn club so every quarter members get a special kit with an exclusive pattern, yarn for the pattern, and a knitting notion. I’ve been knitting through kits I have, and this is the one I’m on now—hopefully I’ll have it off the needles by August’s Yarn Along! I’ll have full notes there too.

To Live the Liturgy::

Today’s the feast of St. Martha!

Around the House::

See above! :) But right now the laundry is going as I write this.

From the Kitchen::

When I visited Diane, she taught me how to make sourdough bread and gave me some of her starter. I am most likely going to bake my first loaf with it within the next week. Fingers crossed!

Patty observes the process!

Plans for the week::

As we head into August my schedule is lovely and clear. August has two medical days—an Echo as part of my yearly transplant testing, as well as the whole day testing/doctor visit extravaganza. But other than that, the month is so clear and I love it.

My Writing Process

I’m currently working on another writing project (Yay! All will be revealed later!)and I thought I’d share my writing process with you.

I generally write in the afternoons but sometimes I change that to the morning. The morning is usually me reading email, perusing the Web while I have breakfast, writing in my journal, and catching up on the news (although not nearly as much news as I used to read—this is a good thing!). This is also usually when I write blog posts.

I work on big writing projects in the afternoon, and I use pomodoros to do this. I usually write for 1-2 hours (that’s 2-4 pomodoros) and then I’m done for the day. I don’t have word goals, I have time goals.

I work on a rough draft until it’s “done”, in the sense that I’ve reached the end of the story I was trying to tell. I do not re-read at all during this stage. I might read the last few lines of what I wrote the day before, in order to get back into the groove of my train of thought, but that’s as much as I’ll do.

The second phase is the LET IT SIT phase. I like to let big projects (like books) sit for at least a month, so I can let it coalesce and I can get appropriate distance from the project. After a month (at least!), I head into the third phase, which is revising. During revising, I’m pretty critical, but I don’t delete anything; I keep a document called “scrap”, where I’ll place sections that I’ve cut. (I don’t delete them because I might want them later!) Revising is generally a slower process than writing because I’m being more critical and I’m trying to shape the document into something cohesive, as opposed to the “word vomit” of the first phase.

After revising, we hit the second Let It Sit phase. This is also about a month. At the end of this phase, I have choices. I can either ask a writer friend to look at what I’ve done so far and offer feedback, or I can do another round of revising before I offer it to someone else to read.

These are my basic steps. What happens after step five is fungible. I might let it sit again, I might think about submitting it somewhere, I might do a lot of things. But the first five stages always happen.

So there you go—my writing process! Questions? Drop them in the comment box below and I’ll answer them.

Writing: The State of the Wicket

“Woman Reading”, Edouard Manet

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about a second book. (Including from my doctor!)

“Are you writing one?”

“What are you writing about now?”

“So you’re writing a second book, right?”

Welllllllllllllll.

(It’s not bad news, don't worry.)

Here’s the deal.

For someone to get to write a second book, the first book has to sell.

Yes, it’s true. It all comes down to money. A publisher has to see sales to think, “Oh, OK, this person has an audience, so it’s worth our outlay of cash to support this person’s writing and give them a book contract.”

So, yes, if you want another book, you have to buy the current book.

I know so many of you have, and I am incredibly, stupendously grateful for your support. Everyone who has left reviews, or written blog posts, or bought copies for friends—I love you. I am so grateful to you.

If you would like to buy a copy, her are all the places you can get it:

Amazon

Ave Maria Press (they often run sales, and I always post about these on the blog and on my social media accounts)

Barnes and Noble

As a NOOK book and on Kindle

Books a Million

Indiebound (you can also order it through your local indy bookstore!)

Wal-mart

Also your local Catholic bookstore or indie bookstore can order it for you. Just ask them! They will do it!

I hate, hate, hate selling things. I hated selling candy bars for school, cookies for Girl Scouts, and cheese and sausage for choir. I HATE it.

But I know that if I want to earn any money writing, I have to ask people to support my writing. Which….I hate doing!

But it’s necessary.

If you already have Living Memento Mori, you can also get Catholic 101, my ebook about the basics of Catholicism, inspired by the years I taught first grade CCD. You can download it, read it on iPad or Kindle, or even print it out! You can gift it!

AND newsletter subscribers get 15% off the $5 price!

Another way is to support my Patreon. It’s more behind the scenes notes on creativity and what I’m working on than here, and it’s somewhat sporadic in posting, but there re goodies you can get and things that I only post there. So if you’re really interested in my inner workings, or just want to support my writing, that’s the way to go. Memberships start a dollar. You can become a patron here!

OK after all that, Patty cleanser!

She has EIGHT teeth now!

OK so on to fun things: projects!

There are a few projects I’m working on.

The first one is Catholicism and Outlander, and I talk a lot more about that over on Patreon. I’m in the research phase of that one right now! (Which means reading and watching TV, POOR ME!)

The other one is a really, really basic knitting series. As in, yes, needles come in packs of two (I seriously did not know this). I know that I wanted something like that when I was starting, and it didn’t exist, and even “beginner” books were not really for beginners! So I’m working on that as well.

And that, my friends, is the state of the wicket!

Weekend Quick Takes!

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Doing something a little different and giving you weekend quick takes! So enjoy!

We’ll start off with a Patticake photo, per usual….

Taking a nap on her mom’s lap in the yard.

(For new folks, Patty is my cousin’s girl and my goddaughter. She is not my child. :) )

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I wrote an essay earlier this week about risk and medicine and…well, things. Sort of COVID related, but it’s more like things I’ve noticed with COVID and….well, thoughts. So take a gander at it if you will. I guess I could call it a “long-form” piece?

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I’ve started working on this Moonwhistle Shawl from Drea Renee Knits and oh my goodness, I adore it.

Ignore all the ends! I’m also fairly sure the bit on wonkiness on the left side will ease up post-blocking.

Here are the yarns I used: Light blue is Wool of the Andes worsted in Whirlpool; Dark blue is Swish Worsted in Marine Heather; and the color change ball is Chroma Worsted in Drawing Room.

This is a pretty easy knit, in that I think I’d great for learning color work, and it’s simple. It’s all knit stitch (garter stitch) and slipped stitches, and one M1L (Make one left), which is explained in the pattern. One of the great things about Andrea’s patterns is that she explains everything, which is so great, and she lists the skills/techniques you need before you buy the pattern, which I WISH all designers did! If you want to check out the pattern for Moonwhistle, here you go.

One of best parts about the design is what she calls the “tweed” sections—where you work with the color change yarn. Oh my gosh this is so fun. So I am addicted to this and am trying to not knit all day, but it’s hard not to when a pattern is this great.

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Reading: The Hour of the Witch, Drums of Autumn, and the last book in Alison Weir’s Tudor Queens series, Katharine Parr: The Sixth Wife, which then led me to go back and re-read the entire series, so I’ve read Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen, and now I’m on Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession. The great thing about Weir is she’s a historian first, so her books are all informed on the latest scholarship, which in the case of Katherine of Aragon, Ames it pretty clear that she was not lying to the king about her relationship with Prince Arthur. (Yes, I’m a British history nerd, sorry.)

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I don’t really need a reason to re-read any of the Outlander books, but I’m doing it because I’mw working on my new project! Presenting….

There is so much good Catholic stuff in the books and even the TV series, and I’ve wanted to do a deep-dive into it for awhile, so I figure now is the time. So I’m re-reading all the books and making notes. I’m also trying to marshal my thoughts on organization—by book, by theme, by….? But anyway, that’s what’s going right now in my research. Very excited for this.

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No movie reviews this week (did you like that? Because I liked doing it), but I’ve been watching some opera. I do love opera. I sort of wish I would’ve loved it more when I was younger, because my voice teacher is an opera singer who now sings with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. But alas. However, I am classically trained! So I love watching opera—I find it much easier to watch than to listen to, if it’s a new work. Once I know it, then I can listen to it. I have quite a few operas on DVD because of that, as opposed to CD recordings. So I pop them in when I’m knitting (or really any time, I don’t need an excuse.) . This week is was La Fancuilla del West.

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And finally, the Ohio bishops have reinstated the Mass obligation, beginning the weekend of June 5/6. Has your diocese re-instated the obligation yet?

Anddd if you’d like to learn more about the basics of Catholicism, check out my ebook, Catholic 101! :)

Seven Quick Takes--First Friday of Advent

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Hellooooo everyone! :) How are you? How’s your Advent going? We had our first real snow this week!

One of my goals for December is to listen to no news, or read any news, because I don’t need to hear it. So I check a local news station’s website once or twice a day to scan the headlines, and then I click off. Because I do not need to know, you know? I need some peace and quiet.

If “the world is too much with you”, maybe you can try the same thing?

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From the blog this week:

The Find Your Fade Shawl is almost done!

Post-Turkey Quick Takes

Find Your Fade!

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My ebook, Catholic 101, is on sale through today! You can get it for $4, which is a buck less than I normally sell it for. Check it out! These sales give me some extra money which is always nice to have and helps keep the lights on around here. The book is printable, readable on any screen/device, and is also gift-able—just enter the recipient’s email and off it goes! Go get it!

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If you would like a signed copy of Living Memento Mori for the holidays, email me. They’re $20 and that includes shipping and a specially designed bookmark and prayer card! The last day for shipping this holiday season is Dec. 17. So you have some time, but…..order early. :)

If you would like a ‘regular’ copy, you can get them at all sorts of places! Here’s the link to my book at the retailer of your choice! (Scroll down a bit to find it.)

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If you’re still looking for an Advent devotional, I wrote two essays in this one. My friend and fellow Ave Author Elizabeth Tomlin put it together and I think it’s lovely! And it’s free!

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For some reason, Christmas is the time for the Harry Potter Movie Marathon. Not sure why. :) But I’m on the third movie now, Prisoner of Azkaban, and I’m also re-reading the books at the same time, so I’m also on that book.

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If you want to support your local Catholic authors, here’s a big list of Catholic authors and their books that I put together!

A Book Two Update! (And happy birthday, Catholic 101!)

Madame Francois Buron, Jacques-Louis David, 1769

So, I promised you a book two update, and here we go !

I talked to my editor, the fabulously fantastic Jaymie, two weeks ago. There have been some ideas bouncing around about what this book should be but I wanted to really nail it down and get a clear sense of direction, and Jaymie graciously provided me with that. (She’s so awesome.)

The idea is: Saints with challenges, whether they be mental, physical, emotional, financial, whatever, and how they overcame those challenges (or learned to live with them) and became saints. What choices did they make that led them to sainthood? How did they keep going even when it was hard? Things like that. So it’s going to be seven to ten saints—not a huge compendium, but a cultivated collection. So that has steered me in the proper direction and now I’m in the outlining/table of contents/sample chapter stage.

There’s no real timeline yet, which is also good, because it gives me time to do the research I need to do and let ideas brew and bubble up, because you don’t want to rush a good thing! Writing Living Memento Mori on deadline was easy because it was my story, so I knew what I wanted to do with it, and even then there were two chapters I sent to Jaymie and said, “I have no idea, tell me if this is crap.” :) (It was chapters 10 and 11, if you’re curious). When Ave Maria Press said go, I went! With this book, I have to lay the research ground work before we go, so to speak.

Also, happy birthday to my ebook! If you don’t have a copy, it’s $5! You can gift it to people, you can print it out and read it on real pages, or you can read it on your computer or e-reader of choice! Go get it!

Seven Quick Takes--The eye is healed up!

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Hi everyone! We’re back!

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So I saw my eye doctor yesterday and my corneal abrasion has healed, yayyyyy! I can wear contacts again! Double yay! He wants me to use eye drops for the next week which is fine, just to add some extra lubrication to my eye, no big deal. I’m very glad that it has healed up because I need my eyes to function! (As in, more than the average bear, because of the ears not working, ha!)

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If you need a cuteness pick-me-up, presenting….Adso! (AKA, the Outlander cat)

And if you need more cute, here’s Patty:

On her baptism say. She looks…..unsure. :) My godson, however, was baptized while he was having a bottle! :)

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Business: There’s a patreon. Check it out! Trying to build another income stream and I am so grateful for all my readers and patrons! Once you’re a writer that doesn’t mean you’re rolling in dough. I get my royalty checks once a year (September and March), and I do have to pay taxes (25%!!!!) on my royalties. So. More income streams are good! Thanks for considering.

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Pro tip: Don’t try to knit anything when you don’t normally wear glasses and you’re suddenly wearing them all the time. I’ll be so glad to get back to my knitting ASAP!

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The gallbladder is healing very well, my surgeon is quite pleased. :) I see my transplant clinic folk onMonday so let’s hope all is well there….I will update you when I get back.

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One of my favorite Marian devotions is the Seven Sorrows Chaplet. Have you heard of it? Read about it and pray it, especially since September is devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows!

If you would like a seven sorrows chaplet, this is where I got mine (she’s a local lady who does beautiful work!)

We're BACK!

Sam guards the books

Hi everyone! I’m back! :)

So the surgery went well. I had my follow-up yesterday with my surgeon and he’s happy. Apparently my gallbladder was very inflamed and angry, so I am glad it is gone! And I’m also betting that the prednisone I take sort of took the edge off the pain of an angry, inflamed gallbladder, so thank you, prednisone! :)

The plan was to stay one night at my parents and then come home, but then, in the middle of the night on Thursday, I managed to scratch my cornea.

While I was sleeping.

And I have no nails. I’m a chronic nail biter. So how I managed to gouge my eye is….a mystery of life!

So the next day I woke up and had lots of pain in my left eye. Which meant we went to the local ER! And lo and behold, I had a corneal abrasion! Not fun!

So I had Cipro eye drops for a week. (I’ve had Cipro orally, but never this way, so, new frontiers in medicine….) That ended last Friday. My eye is much better but I still have to wear my glasses and no makeup until I see the eye doctor this Thursday (as in, in two days).

WHEW.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that things went well surgically and that I’m recovering nicely. The last two episodes of the Living Memento Mori book club will be next Tuesday and the following Tuesday (September 22 and September 29) at 3:00 PM EST on my Facebook page.

And in the last piece of news, I wrote a quick piece on Flannery O’Connor and put it up on my Patreon page. If you want to read it, join Orchard House Studios! Monthly memberships start at one dollar! There’s a bunch of other patron-only content up to!

And I’m featured on the new Spoken Women Site!

So, I’m back, and so is football—Steelers won and Pitt won, so I’m happy to have both teams at 1-0 after week one!

How are you doing?

Movie Review: Fatima

I wrote a review of the new Fatima movie for the local Catholic paper! Yay!

Here’s the beginning:

There are almost as many film versions of the story of Our Lady of Fatima as there were appearances by the Virgin. With so many versions, do we need another account of the apparitions of Mary that occurred more than 100 years ago? Yes, because this version brings the story of the three visionaries and their world to realistic life. 
 
Other tellings of the story have focused on the three seers – 10-year-old Lucia dos Santos and her cousins, Francisco, 9, and Jacinta Marto, 7 – and what they beheld in a two-dimensional way. The current film gives depth and realism to the apparitions with its vivid storytelling….

Read the rest at the Columbus Catholic Times!

Seven Quick Takes--My Book's First Picture, Gallbladder test, and more!

linking up with Kelly!

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Look at my beautiful baby’s first picture! Thank you Ave Maria Design Department!

Isn’t she pretty?!

So yeah, I love this a lot. They also made me new graphics for Facebook and Twitter so if you follow me there, you’ll see those lovelies!

THANK YOU to everyone who has pre-ordered! If you want to, go here. (It makes a good Christmas present!!!! It’ll just come later, which extends Christmas joy!)

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So on Monday I had a HIDA scan at OSU East hospital. The test wasn’t terrible. Well, at the time. But it did require an IV—to stay in for a few hours.

Well, that was a lovely piece of information….

It’s also a two part test, which I didn’t know.

So, the first part is: Put in IV (poor guy who had to do it…I was laying on the gurney [which was supremely comfortable! Really!] thinking, if we don’t get access, we can’t do this test….) We got access. It wasn’t very comfortable. I have bruises all over my arms right now, so my veins need a break for like, two weeks, minimum.

Anyway!

So we got the IV in. The contrast was pushed in. Then I went out to waiting room for an hour while the contrast worked. OK .

Came back into the room, took the pictures, took about four minutes. Great.

Then we went to part two: AKA, nap time. (I had woken up at 6 AM for this test. I was ready for a nap.)

This part is the “stress test”. They take was is basically the fat content of an Ensure drink and drip it very very slowly —as in it takes an hour—through the IV. This stresses the gallbladder. Then pictures are taken to see how it is moving through.

So I took a nap, then woke up an hour later when the IV beeped. A nurse came, rolled me back to the scan room, took the photos, took out the IV, and I was free.

I was insanely thirsty because I couldn’t drink anything, so I got some Sprite Zeros from the cafeteria, and Dad and I went to lunch. (He had to drive me, per their rules.)

Fortunately I had some phenergan left over from my previous hospital adventures….

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because over the next few days, my stomach was not happy with the stuff that had been forced into me. So I felt nauseated, tired, and just weird for two days. Sigh. But I feel better now, so I hope that I don’t need to darken a medical doorway for the next few months!

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With the newfound energy, I have written out all my Christmas cards and begun mailing Christmas gifts. I want to mail them early. I also live right down the street from the post office so it makes mailing things and getting more stamps insanely convenient.

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I take Christmas so seriously that I have a gift and card spreadsheet.

Yup. I’m weird.

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If you missed it: my post on how girls need a plan!

And: The Real Lucy Pevensie (whose feast day was last week!)

It’s also St. Cecilia’s Day, so here’s some music! And the poem by Dryden!

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Still looking for an Advent journal? You can get Take Up & Read’s!!!! And it’s on sale RIGHT NOW! (as of this writing, Thursday night. I hope it still is when this goes live!)

Seven Quick Takes--St. Francis, Forgiveness, and Fear

linking up with Kelly!

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Why yes, I am alliterating my titles.

To start with St. Francis—it’s his feast day! Dominicans celebrate the feast days of Franciscans (and vice versa!), because we just love each other that much. :) Well, we do, but here’s the story.

St. Francis and St. Dominic, Fra Angelico

So, happy Feast Day, Franciscans! We celebrate with you!

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Might be a good time to remind everyone that St. Francis didn’t really give us the “Prayer of St. Francis” (it was written in the 60s) and that he did more than just like animals. St. Francis was a pretty bad-ass saint. The Word on Fire documentary about him in The Pivotal Players is eye-opening, if you’ve only ever thought of him that way. This piece is a good overview.

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OK, Forgiveness.

This is just a reflection—a thought—on something I’ve been pondering this week.

I’m 37. That means in three years, I’ll be 40 (God willing and the creek don’t rise). That’s a good chunk of time living on planet earth. That’s two score of years!

But one thing I have noticed in those almost 40 years is how vital forgiveness is, how terrible it is for a person who doesn’t forgive past things to be weighed down by that anger and resentment and pain.

Holding on to that anger does nothing to the person who wronged you. It hurts you.

Some things aren’t possible to forgive easily. That’s true. They require work and prayer and maybe sessions with therapists or other professionals.

But after seeing a teenager forgive the woman who murdered his brother—he hugged her, for pete’s sake!—it just brought home to me how vital this call of Christ is.

We’re called to forgive the way we want to be forgiven.

I honestly don’t know how this young man did this. Christ works strongly in his life, is all I can say. If someone killed my brother, I’d be….full of rage. I’d be absolutely incapable of this kind of grace, at least at this point.

This teenager puts me to shame.

And in a way, this ties into St. Francis and his story about perfect joy (I excerpted this from a longer piece that you can read here.)

“One day, on the road home, Francis was walking with Br. Leo. Francis said to Br. Leo; ‘If the Order of Friars became world famous for doing good works, and spreading the Gospel, this would not be perfect joy. Br. Leo asked, ‘Father Francis, what then would be perfect joy?’ Francis responded, ‘If all the most famous and powerful people in the land entered the Order of Friars, and worked with us proclaiming the Gospel, healing the sick, caring for the poor, and converting many souls to Christ, this would not be perfect joy!’ Br. Leo then says, ‘Please Father Francis, tell me what is perfect joy!’ Francis said; ‘Brother Leo, if we come to our friary, after this long journey, tired, wet, cold, and hungry, longing for a meal, and a warm dry place to sleep, and we knock on the door, and hear from within our brothers who ask, ‘Who are You?’ We respond that we are your brothers coming home from a long journey, and we wish for you to let us in. But instead of the welcome we long for, we hear a response from inside, go away; we do not know who you are. We are expecting no one, you must be liars and thieves, intending to harm us! If, Brother Leo, after that, we can still have peace in our heart, that is Perfect Joy!’”

Man. I have such a long way to go to achieve perfect joy.

But back to forgiveness—run of the mill forgiveness—in the words of Into the Woods, “People make mistakes!” And they do. We’re hurt in all sorts of little ways that the other person might not even notice. But we have a choice. We can either hold on to that hurt and let it poison us (because it doesn’t poison the other person), or we can forgive and stop poisoning ourselves.

This isn’t new ground. But it’s something I’ve been thinking about this week.

-4-

And that leads us to fear! (And then we’ll do some fun things, I promise, so this isn’t all heavy.)

Satan loves fear. He loves to play on our sense of inadequacy and comparison and uncertainty. He love, love, loves it.

Christ does not call us to fear. He calls us to trust and joy and hope.

So, if you’re feeling a lot of fear or doubt or inadequacy—tell Satan to get behind you and that Mary is crushing his head. :) And so is St. Michael.

(Do you say the St. Michael prayer daily? I recommend it!)

-V-

On the blog this week:

Yarn Along

St. Therese!

-VI-

BOOK STUFF!

The cover is 99% done. I love it and can’t wait to show it to you.

I’ve read the forward for the book and I love it. Can’t wait to tell you who’s writing it.

Basically it’s a lot of I love what’s happening but I can’t tell you yet! :)

(If you want to be the first to know, sign up for the newsletter…..)

-VII-

So glad to be going on retreat. If you have prayer requests, hit me up!

Seven Quick Takes--the 60th of September

Linking up with Kelly!

-1-

In case you missed it, here’s what’s been going down around these parts this week:

Simplicity Series #1—Reset Day!

Stitch Fix Box #8!

-2-

The reason this post is entitled the 60th of September is because this month has seemed insanely long. Isn’t there a song called “Wake Me Up When September Ends?” That’s how I feel right now. It’s just been so long. And sort of crazy.

One of the big crazy-making things is that I’m in the middle of Doctor Roulette, which I really haven’t written about here, so I probably need to catch you up.

-3-

(If you’re not interested in medical stuff, skip this and go to point four, where I talk about BOOK THINGS!)

So, being post-transplant, and being fourteen years out, is….interesting. Obviously, I am INSANELY GRATEFUL to be at that marker. I am. Never think I’m not. But at the same time, it’s a Brave New World of Medical Stuff, because it’s rare. So when things happen, there’s not a lot of research to go on. There’s just…..talking. And guessing. And seeing what works.

Essentially, all summer we have been messing with insulin, because my blood glucose levels have been off. (I”m trying to keep this as medical jargon free, but when I say this, what I mean is my A1c, not my BGLs. If you’re confused, I can explain in another post, so let me know if you want that much detail into my life!)

So my team decided to put me on some long-acting insulin.

But……that didn’t work. First, it didn’t lower my BGLs, which I was testing twice a day, and second, insulin is a hormone. That means it can affect lots of parts of your body.

For me, that meant—headaches. Not sleeping. Weight gain (DAMN IT), and insanely inappropriate mood reactions. If Big Ben threw an interception I wanted to break things. If someone parked next to me at the supermarket, I became incandescently angry.

This is not appropriate.

And the scariest part for me? Forgetting things. Words. Ideas. What I was doing. This is not good. I rely on my brain, and words are my trade. I can’t be forgetting them! I need to be mentally sharp.

(But you’re never mentally sharp, Emily, says the peanut gallery….)

I did some digging and found out that when you have too much insulin—as in, you have WAY too much, and your body doesn’t need it—this is what happens.

And this is the problem. My body is weird. Not just the transplant weird, but weird for a CF person. I’m what’s called “pancreatically sufficient”, which is rare. It means my pancreas works like a normal person’s, not like a CF person’s. I don’t need to take enzymes to help digest my food, because my pancreas does it. I never had CF related diabetes.

And my A1c starting rising once I hit menopause—so there’s probably a connection there as well.

So, long story short, my team is sort of confused, and I’m seeing an endocrinologist the day before Halloween. That’s one reason I haven’t been writing as much this month, because things have just been crazy, but also my body has been through a lot, and I’m trying to be nice to it. Which means, chilling out, after all the non chilling out. :-P

There are some other issues, too, mainly that I don’t have a great track record when seeing endos, because they look at me and go, you’re really messed up, what do you want me to do about it?

But anyway, that’s at the end of October. Yay.

-4-

in the meantime!

BOOK THINGS!

People are starting to ask for interviews, which is….weird. I mean, good, but weird.

The cover is 99% done. I’ve seen it. I can’t show you yet. If you want to be the first to see it, subscribe to the blog!

It’s really pretty, I like it. :)

-5-

Hockey season starts soon and this makes me very happy!

-6-

I am going on retreat next week, so if you have prayer requests, I am honored to take them with me! Drop them in the combox, or use the contact page.

-7-

If you haven’t seen the Word on Fire team’s newest entries in their Pivotal Players series—Fulton Sheen and Flannery O’Connor—I highly recommend them! They’re great! Flannery is a really important influence for me, in how to live as a Catholic and a writer, and I write this quote from her at the beginning of all my journals:

I feel that if I were not a Catholic, I would have no reason to write, no reason to see, no reason ever to feel horrified or even enjoy anything. I am a born Catholic, went to Catholic school in my early years, and have never left or wanted to leave the Church. I have never had the sense that being a Catholic is a limit to the freedom of the writer, but just the reverse. … I feel myself that being a Catholic has saved me a couple of thousand years in learning to write. (The Habit of Being *)

So I love the Flannery film. It was also nice to learn more about soon to be Blessed Fulton Sheen—I had read some of his books, and I knew of him, but the film does a great job fleshing out what I knew.

(Also, in a nice twist, a college friend of mine composed the music for both films. Go Sean!)

And I really don’t think we can improve on Fulton and Flannery, do you? :) Have a great weekend!

*==Amazon Affiliate Link

Seven Quick Takes--Writing Updates, Birthdays, A Wedding....

Linking up with Kelly!

-I-

If you missed it, my sister got married last week!

It was a beautiful day! I’ll have more about travel logistics up soon, as well as the second part of my April trip…..bad me, I know! I’m being a slacker blogger!

-II-

But I have a reason to be slacker blogger—it’s time for edits! Which means:

via GIPHY

I got edits up to Chapter 11 (there are 15 main chapters, plus the prayer section, and the intro and preface, so 17 chapters and prayers) from my editor yesterday, so now it’s time to DIVE IN. So if it’s quiet around here, that’s why. Amuse yourselves by looking through the archives!

(Or buy Catholic 101! $5!)

-III-

So yes, I’ll be in the office, by Corgi corner, writing. :)

What is Corgi Corner?

This. :)

It’s a Corgi Calendar that my friend Sarah sent me for my birthday, a card with a leaping corgi on the cover, and my Susan Branch Royal Corgi mug, because hello it’s THE BEST.

I fill the mug with tea, and I write. Corgi corner keeps me going!

-IV-

Happy First Day of Summer! It’s been so rainy here that when the sun is out I feel like Gollum:

via GIPHY

It’s only going to be 75 today so not quite warm enough to swim, but warm enough to get outside and squint at the bright thing in the sky!

-v-

We’re hitting the big Birthday Stride in our family: Dad’s birthday was on Wednesday, my new brother in law’s is today, my mom’s is tomorrow, mom and dad’s anniversary (their fortieth!) is on the 30th, and that’s also my grandma’s 89th birthday.

WHEW!

-VI-

The trip to CO was our big trip of the summer so the rest of the summer is delightfully free. Of course I’m working on edits because they’re due before the Fourth of July, but after that, who knows what’s going to happen? Well, other than clinic in July—the big yearly testing date, with CTs and bone density scans—and then my fourteenth transplant anniversary on the 11th!

-VII-

I also need to update you about books I’m reading but we’ll do that later…..I’ll add it to my blog list. In the meantime, tell me what you’re reading! I’m always looking for new titles to pick up!

Seven Quick Takes--the book has a title, the Jane Re-Read, and summer kicks off!

Linking up with Kelly!

-I-

Hi everyone! Happy Memorial Day Weekend (if you’re in the U.S.)! It’s sort of the unofficial kick off to summer, so there will be barbecues and parties all over the place, and I begin the Great Jane Re-Read, where I re-read Jane Austen’s novels every summer. Want to join me? I’m starting with Sense and Sensibility.

-II-

In case you missed it, my book has a title! It’s a great one! I’m really excited! (Can you tell?) As soon as pre-orders open I will share it here. And, again, as a reminder: If you want book news first, before anyone else, sign up for the mailing list.

-III-

In other book-y news….

Better Together is Take Up & Read’s new summer study! I just got my copy yesterday and she’s beautiful!

This book is all about Biblical Hospitality. Sometimes we get scared of hospitality, because we think we need to have the perfect house and the perfect food and the perfect playlist. That’s not what God calls us to do at all. Hospitality is simply sharing and gathering with people. We aren’t meant to do Christianity alone. Let’s get over the idea that hospitality has to be perfect!

This book would make a great summer study—I do hope you’ll join us!

-IV-

The big event of the summer is that my sister is getting married in Estes Park, CO, in June. So we’re all in the midst of preparing for that. I’ve got my packing list written but I haven’t actually started packing yet. And yes, I know I owe you a Denver travelogue, so that is coming, I promise!

-V-

This California bill is a terrible idea, on multiple fronts—if you live in California, email your reps about this?

The confessional has to be a place of absolute confidentiality. It just does. The state can’t mess with this, or it puts priests in a horrible position—they will either go to jail, or be excommunicated. And it put us, the laity, in a terrible position, because how can you be totally open in confession if you know the priest can repeat what you say? (Not that any priest worth his ordination would.)

No bueno, California! Stop it!

(article version of the video above here)

-VI-

Final edits for the book are being done! Well, not final final. Final as in, for the first draft. My editor will be getting me notes and I imagine next week will be a flurry of back and forth sending. :)

-VII-

And while Memorial Day is the kick off of summer in the U.S., let’s remember what it’s really about.

Seven Quick Takes--The First Draft Exists!

Linking up with Kelly!

I.

The FIRST DRAFT EXISTS!

Yay!

When I first got the contract information, the fact that Ave Maria wanted a first draft by June 1 was daunting to some people I talked to. “Can you do it in two months?”

HELL YES I CAN.

via GIPHY

II.

Why was I so confident?

Because I have journalism training. And political training.

And when you have both of those, you learn to write quickly, on ridiculous deadlines.

Deadlines? WHAT DEADLINES.

So, thank you to Professor Kelly Messinger in college for all the Chimes Wednesday nights where we ate Chipotle and wrote into the wee hours! And edited! And wrote! And edited!

III.

Now, that doesn’t mean it’s always easy, because sometimes….

via GIPHY

But then I apply my Maxim: You cannot edit a blank page.

Get anything on the page. Anything. Let it sit there and then come back later and edit it. You never know what can happen.

Chapter 10, for example? WENT OFF THE RAILS. I had no idea where I was going with that one, and we went somewhere I had not anticipated. But there it is!

(It might not stay the way it is. LOL.)

IV.

Speaking of writing—my ebook, Catholic 101, is now $5!

That’s it. Five bucks, y’all.

Go get it!

via GIPHY

V.

I also promise to have the Denver travel posts up next week. This week was just nuts, with getting the first draft done….oh, and getting a new CI processor!!!!!!!

VI.

So, if you want more on the CI, you can visit my series here. Basically I was glad to have hearing, but the processor I had had shortcomings. I couldn’t use the phone.

Now….I might be able to use the phone! I mean, what?!

via GIPHY

I can listen to my voicemails and understand them!

So far, this new processor is a game changer.

VII.

Oh, one more thing about the draft—a question I’ve been getting a lot is, “Well, didn’t you have to write the book before you submitted it?”

Short answer: No. Most places, for non-fiction, want a proposal, with a chapter sample, but not the whole book. I’ll talk more about the parts of the process later (especially in my newsletter!). But, no. I had to write the book to the proposal specs.

Seven Quick Takes--Colorado, Mother's Day, and Mammograms

Linking up with Kelly!

-1-

I was in Colorado last week (hence why no blog posting!) for my sister’s bachelorette weekend. I’d never been to Colorado before!

One of the floral butterflies in Downtown Denver

The Collegiate Peaks in Buena Vista

Mel and I at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.

—II—

I’ll write more about Denver next week, but here’s what I learned, in short, about going to altitude:

Drink a lot of water. Like, insane amounts.
Bring saline nasal spray. My nose was SO dry!
Bring a portable charger, because altitude seems to drain phone batteries faster
SUNSCREEN. ALL THE SUNSCREEN.

—III—

Our trip included Denver (my sister lives in Littleton) and Buena Vista, where the cabin weekend was held. I didn’t realize it was sort of desert-y down there. I should’ve expected it, but some how, I didn’t. I had never been in that sort of environment before, so it was definitely a new experience. I learned that I like green!

—IV—
Anyway, more on CO next week. It’s been awhile since I’ve done some travel posts, so it’ll be fun!

—V—

Amy Welborn wrote a great piece about Mother’s Day and parishes, and I’d encourage you to read it.
Mother’s Day is, to put it nicely, fraught. I really don’t think it should be celebrated as part of the Mass. Mass is for the worship of God, not for the worship of ourselves. If parishes want to do something for mothers (or graduates, or whatever), then they can do it after Mass. Blessings, etc.? After Mass.

I know so many people who are struggling with infertility. I, myself, will never have children. Let’s also think about people who have lost their mothers, or have not-great relationships with their mothers, or have other issues with their moms. Let’s realize this. Sure, mothers are important! (Love you, Mom! :) )

But do we need to make it such a big part of the Mass?

Same thing with Father’s Day. And also, I don’t think we do Father’s day nearly as much as we do mother’s day.

Celebrate your mom, but parishes, please do this after Mass.

And for the love of the Lord, do not make people hug their mothers at Mass! (see the comments in the article for that one.)

(And yes, I love my mother. :) This isn’t about not loving Mom!)

—V—

And because it’s my blog, I’ll expound a little more. One of the comments at the bottom of Amy’s post was all about “celebrating” at Mass. Having visitors stand up, or graduates be recognized, or birthday people be recognized.

I got one word for this:

NOPE.

via GIPHY

People. Mass is not the time for this.

Mass is for THE WORSHIP OF GOD.

If you want to recognize birthdays, do it in a bulletin.

You want to recognize the grads? Have a reception in June after a Mass.

I CRINGE at the thought of making visitors stand up. I hate this. Why do you think a visitor would want to be recognized?! And what does that have to do with Mass? (This visitor never wants to be recognized. Ever. Just let me come to Mass.)

Yes, I realize I’m an old and cranky person here.

But I think it was Benedict XVI who said something like, if we’re applauding during Mass, we’ve completely lost the plot. (I’m paraphrasing, obviously)

Mass is not about us.

If you want to celebrate community things, that’s great. Do it after Mass.

—VI—

Well, that felt good. LOL. .

Writing of the book is going well. My next newsletter for subscribers should be sent out next week, so if you’re not a subscriber, do it now!

I’m 2/3 of the way done with the manuscript. This week has been some hard sledding but you know, the important thing is to get words on a page. So that’s been happening. You can edit words on a page. You can’t edit a blank one.

—VII—

I also had my first mammogram this week. My mom had breast cancer at age 47, so I had to get my baseline done 10 years before her diagnosis—hence, at 37. Since I turned 37 last month, it was time.

I was nervous about it—I’d heard horror stories about it hurting, especially with transplant scars (this might be TMI, but—for my transplant, the incisions are about where a bra underwire is).

But I had a great, careful tech, who made sure that nothing was pinching, and it wasn’t really bad at all. Yeah, the skin is being squished, but that didn’t really hurt.

Ladies—you need to get a mammogram at age 40. You might have to do it earlier, if you’re like me and have family history. Please, please, please check your own screening requirements and set this up.

(And finally, if you missed it, there was a yarn along on Wednesday!)

An Old School Easter Daybook

Remember how we used to do these all the time? Bringing it back. :) At least for this week.

“Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb”, Fra Angelico

Outside my window:

The tree outside my porch. Isn’t she pretty?

Wearing:

Jeans and a navy blue and white stripped shirt that I’ve had forever and probably need to stop wearing outside the house, LOL.

Reading

I’m on a Laura Ingalls Wilder kick so I’m re-reading the series; I’m on By The Shores of Silver Lake. I’m also reading The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I’ve got Cranford in my bag for the trip I’m taking this week.

Plans for the week:

I’m going to visit my sister in Denver for her bachelorette party! Yay! So that’ll be fun. I’ve never been to Colorado.

Celebrating:

Easter! It’s an octave, so that means that it’s EIGHT DAYS OF EASTER. So be sure to keep celebrating! The Easter season is actually fifty days long, culminating in Pentecost. So get your celebration on. We fast and abstain and do penance for forty days of Lent, but then we have fun for fifty days! So have fun!

(But don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.)

If you normally give up meat on Friday, you don’t have to this coming Friday, because of the Easter octave. Yay! Woo woo!

I don’t pray the Glorious mysteries at all during Lent, but for the next seven days they’ll be all I pray when I say my rosary. Gotta fill up on the good stuff.

Around the house:

I’m putting up some wall art over at Orchard House. My couch has STILL not arrived and that’s holding up a lot of the art work because I want to see what works when the couch is here. But I have up two Rose Harrington prints in my office:

Aren’t they pretty?

Speaking of the office….

Writing:

I’m doing pretty well on the book! I’m really excited about this. I’m almost 2/3 of the way done! Some of the chapters have been pretty substantially re-written from my first draft, but that’s ok because now they’re better. My editor is great. (She’s also patient, which is nice. Sometimes I get all rabbity in my thinking, meaning I’m all over the place. She helps. :) ) I want to have a draft of chapter 10 (Jesus is Stripped of His Garments) before I leave on Wednesday.

Listening to:

The “hallelujah!” chorus from Messiah and the studio cast recording of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (not the Disney movie. The musical that’s derived from the Disney movie. It’s good stuff.)

Sharing Contemplation:

In the Gospel of Matthew, the women at the tomb left quickly with fear and great joy.

Fear and joy go together a lot of the time, don’t they? I got the book contract and then I had to write the thing and I’m afraid I’ll write crap. :-P You get pregnant and you want a baby, but then….labor! Right? I’d never noticed that sentence before. Fear and joy, co-existing all the time.

Getting the transplant call—-fear and joy.

Bet you can think of your own examples.

Maybe I’ll put this in the book? :)

Other good things:

BLUE JACKETS!!!! Their second-round series will be with either Boston or Toronto and will start this week (most likely). That series is going to game seven, so whoever will play will be tired, to say the least—but the Jackets can’t let up. Hope they don’t! Very excited about this series!

A Little Catholic 101 on Easter and Pentecost

And I’ve started a monthly newsletter-y thingy JUST for blog subscribers. They will find out all the book news first, they get special behind-the-scenes glances of things, I might even do book giveaways, WHO KNOWS. Anyway, you don’t want to miss this, so SIGN UP.

Please and thank you!

Seven Quick Takes In a Deluge

Linking up with Kelly!

I.

OK, so, first, I’m thrilled to tell you that the talk I recorded for Kelly’s conference has been accepted! Yay! I’m part of the speaker’s library that attendees will have access to!

What is this conference, you might ask? Kelly has created a conference for Catholic parents of kids with special needs, called “Accepting the Gift.” You can attend in person, OR (and I love this part), you can attend virtually! How cool is that? So if you can’t make it to New Jersey, you can still attend!

Here is the conference page, so check it out! And do attend!

II.

This is also the first talk I’ve done as an adult—I did a witness talk at my parish mission when I was sixteen—but I really do like my talk, all things considered. :) It’s called “Joy Anyway”, and it’s about living life with a chronic illness, because, a lot of the time, we hear from the parents of people like me, but not the actual people who have the illness, and so I’m thrilled that Kelly asked me to contribute my thoughts, because I do care about this quite passionately, as you all know. :)

And of course I love the parents! Parents are awesome! But it’s important to get the perspective from the person with “the thing” as well, in my book. So, thanks Kelly for asking me! (And accepting the talk!)

III.

OK so yeah, it’s deluging here right now. Lots and lots and lots of rain being dumped on Orchard House at the moment. I overslept this morning and this is probably why, because it’s really dark outside. Not that I mind—I generally like rainy days.

IV.

Today is part of the editing process in the writing of the book. My editor has sent me chapters back, and now I go through and play with them and see what I can do to make them better. Some of the changes I just accepted on the first go round because they were easy (like, adapting to the press’s style guide) or just made sense. Bigger changes require more thought and distance, so that’s what I’m doing today.

V.

My birthday was on Tuesday, so I’m thirty-seven now! And it was a gorgeous day, which is rare in central Ohio in early April—it snowed on my birthday (as in the day I was born). But yesterday it was 82 and kids were in the pool, which made me shiver just seeing them in there, because that water was going to be cold!

ANYWAY (digression over!), it was a good birthday with sun and good food.

No, Emily did not eat all this cake. Emily did not come close to eating all this cake. We shared it. :)

VI.

I also think that everyone should like their birthday. Because birthdays mean you survived another trip around the sun! Yay!!!!!! Birthdays are great! I mean, yeah, I’m thirty-seven, but to me, that’s sort of awesome. I wasn’t supposed to hit thirty-three. I wouldn’t have seen twenty-seven without Suzanne, my donor. So, yeah. Birthdays rock.

VII.

It’s hockey playoff time, and Dad and I are going to see the Jackets play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday! This has been a bucket list item for me for awhile—seeing an NHL playoff game. The nice thing is that since the Jackets are playing Tampa, I can unreservedly root for them. When they play the Penguins in the playoffs (as they’ve done before), I can’t do that, I’m torn! But now, I can root for them all the way. It’s going to be great! The Jackets have all sorts of things planned—there’s a big plaza in front of the arena so there will be activities, and the arena opens up earlier than usual so people can head in and start the party. I hope the Jackets win! (They won the first game on Wednesday in Tampa in an amazing comeback. They play tonight. Pens are down one game to none against the Islanders. If you don’t care about hockey, I’m sorry this take was all hockey. :) )