{bits & pieces}
The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
The front bedroom on the third floor has a lofty view of things.
You can see my garden, and now it’s respectably weeded, in the paths especially, which is such a load of work, but so satisfying when it’s done! (I didn’t do it all, full disclosure. I have had to resort to hiring enterprising young people to fill in the gaps previously manned by my own children, who have flown the coop.)
Some things I have to just be patient about, short- or long-term: The plan is to erect a rabbit-proof fence (you can sort of see its beginnings there), and the poor Chief just has a lot of chores right now. On the other hand, the green beans are being decimated. Then, going to the right, the horizontals on my drying line got pulled down (“got pulled down” — I was mowing and somehow the dangling end of the clothesline caught on the mower and although I did notice, it was too late; where the bolts went in was a bit rotted, so they just fell out, ugh!). And then just to the right of that, my asparagus bed, which is terribly out of control. I have to wait until later in the summer to take care of it. I think I will try to burn off the weeds and begin again. I may or may not have bought a propane torch…
But other than that, we’re in good shape. The raspberries further on to the right are doing fine, and then I have some even further beds that hold the kale, brussels sprouts, and pole beans (hence the white shelving there that I have repurposed into “poles” for them).
I mean, other than the vast brush in the beyond… someday when I can hire a Caterpillar to knock it all back… sigh…
On to our links!
Are you familiar with materialism as an explanation for reality? Basically, that matter is the only thing that exists. So, for instance, that the mind is in the brain. A neurosurgeon goes to St. Thomas Aquinas to explain what he encounters regularly on the operating table, that the mind is something apart from the brain. A good one for the high schoolers too.
Materialism, the view that matter is all that exists, is the premise of much contemporary thinking about what a human being is. Yet evidence from the laboratory, operating room, and clinical experience points to a less fashionable conclusion: Human beings straddle the material and immaterial realms.
Twenty-three dangerous things to let your kids do. (Of course, as I do not tire of saying, the modern family with its relentless pace and two working parents will simply not have time to let children play as they ought, and no amount of articles encouraging freedom for them will have any effect. For children to develop with the right amount of “danger” and exploration, there must be the leisure afforded by having the mother devoted to making the home.
You can’t do better than reading Fr. James Schall — and I think this essay would be particularly good to read with your older children — if they have any idea who Bob Dylan is! His deceptively simple way of unfolding an argument carries you along. Here he examines Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize speech, and uncovers truths about education and song, and transcendence.
The Quiet Joy of Watching Other People Knit (I haven’t been knitting now that the weather is amazing and the garden calls, but these pictures are delightful — especially the last one of Doris Day, for whom I have a special fondness).
This reminds me of my all-time favorite knitting photo, of Jacques Plante, Canadian hockey goalie. “A fellow’s got to have something to do when he’s not tending the nets.”
Sometimes the best response to ridiculous PC culture is simply to stay close to the saints. Today’s feast is for St. Junipero Serra, missionary to the Americas. The beauty of the culture he inspired will inspire us as well! Traditionally, it’s also the feast of The Most Precious Blood of Jesus (just scroll further down that link), to which the month of July is dedicated. I love how our faith helps us to contemplate, little by little, all the various truths and beauties of God’s goodness.
From the archives:
Did you know that I have a bajillion posts about discipline? Here’s one:
Some musings on living one’s own life: This part of the island is where you are now.
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