What I Am Into - June 2013

What I Am Into :: JUNE 2013

May felt like it dragged on, but June - I'm convinced of it - just started a couple of weeks ago. It was a very full month, but here is what I managed to slip into the margins amidst all the activities:

On My Nightstand:

I basically devoured Ami McKay's The Virgin Cure, silently wept that it was over, and consoled myself with a third read-through of her first book, The Birth House. And then I sniffled a bit when that one was over too. Good books, people. Good books.

I started reading Sally and Clay Clarkson's Educating the WholeHearted Child. I've waited a loooong time to read this book, so I was a bit disappointed that the first few chapters, at least, weren't quite what I had hoped for. Still, there's a lot more book to get through and I expect there will be several gems of wisdom throughout.

I set aside the Clarksons' book to read L.R. Knost's Whispers Through Time, which was a lovely little book. I appreciate such books for their ability to refocus my heart when I've fallen into sloppy patterns and bad habits in my parenting.

Once I finished that book, I eagerly started on Gretchen Wolff Pritchard's Offering the Gospel to Children. I am so in love with everything about this book. So in love. And learning so so much. And I have now hit my quota of "so's" for the rest of this post. But seriously. Every chapter has at least one paragraph that makes me think OH MY YES THAT IS IT EXACTLY I LOVE YOU GRETCHEN PRITCHARD THANK YOU. I am about halfway through and quite looking forward to seeing what else she has to offer in the second half.

On the screen:

My husband has been on a bit of a streak as far as recommending awesome movies goes.

First up was Argo, which oh my goodness, I didn't even know this happened. What an amazing story, and the movie did such an excellent job recreating the events. After reading more about it, my only disappointment was the minimization of Canada's role in the rescue, but really, it's neither surprising nor a particularly big deal.

Next was Looper. It took the husband a bit of work to sell me on this one, but in the end it was nothing like either of us expected and we loved it. It was violent and brutal but also thought-provoking and tender. He chooses well, that man of mine.

Last was Silver Linings Playbook, which required that I apologize to my husband for doubting him again. When he first suggested it, I read the summary and said nuh-uh, too heavy, too sensitive, give me something lighter. But then Sarah said it was beautiful and I said hey husband, we gotta watch this movie! and he said what, the one you refused to watch with me last week? and I said oh...yeah. Sorry. Anyway. We watched it and it was indeed beautiful and messy and heavy and funny and I loved it to absolute pieces.

In My Kitchen:

I'm still salivating over some ridiculously good beef sandwiches I made at the start of the month. I put a roast in the crock pot with some sliced onions, diced green pepper, beef stock, and black pepper, then went out for the day. I picked up some Portuguese buns at the bakery on my way home. I sliced the buns, buttered them, sprinkled them with garlic powder, and broiled them in the oven for a couple of minutes. I made a basic cheese sauce and sliced the beef, then served it all as sandwiches with the broth on the side for dipping. They were amazing.

Much of this month was devoted to strawberries. We picked 25 lbs of them from a local u-pick, so there was a lot of strawberry processing going on. The best ones were frozen, some whole, some sliced. The worst ones were turned into several jars of strawberry freezer jam. Many many of them were eaten as is, and the last of them became part of a berry crumble for the husband's birthday. Mmm mmm strawberries.

In My Ears:

Apparently this was the month of the soundtrack. Did you know, for instance, that Call the Midwife has an album? I was thrilled to discover it, and the kids now sing all sorts of glorious 50's songs as we're driving. It also includes several of the nuns' hymns/chants, which my Anglican self absolutely dies over every time. Before the Ending of the Day is one of my new favourites.

The husband, who doesn't appreciate Call the Midwife or 50's music quite the way I do, asked if there were Doctor Who soundtracks, because that was something he could definitely get behind. Turns out, there are! We picked seasons 5 and 6 (because the husband practically bounces in his seat whenever that eleventh Doctor music starts playing). They're very enjoyable to listen to. Not quite the bouncy fun of 50's music, but lovely in a more classical sort of way.

What I'm Looking Forward to in July:

I'll tell you what I'm not necessarily looking forward to: the big 3-0. Yes, I'm turning 30, and I haven't decided how I feel about that yet. But! Since it was the husband's birthday yesterday, I get a full eleven days in which to mock him mercilessly, the old man. Don't worry, he'll repay me when I catch up on my own birthday.

Well, friends, that is What I've Been Into this past month. What about you?

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