{bits & pieces}
The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
It’s hot!
But that’s okay, we’ll survive. We’ll survive the thunderstorms, the floods, the tornados, and the earthquakes. If we don’t survive them, it will be because the good God wants to call us home — let’s be prepared — in our souls — for that!
What I personally may not survive is alerts on my phone every ten minutes every time we have a summer storm!
A little lull before the schedule hots up again, with friends’ weddings and our own 40th anniversary celebration, which will be low-key with a beautiful Mass in the Extraordinary Form celebrated by our good friend who just became a priest (see Rosie’s updates on IG for more) and a family vacation (with all my kids and grandkids!).
If I’m not here, you’ll know why!
The chicks are doing well so far, and the garden is growing.
My even more committed no-dig approach has made a huge difference in how much time and effort is needed for weeding. We shall see how it works out for actual harvesting! So far the lettuce has been much better.
These are my Armenian cucumbers. I planted them out a little late because our nights were still cool and to try to fool the beetles. In the past few years I haven’t had any luck at all with cucumbers, so we’ll see! (I’m wearing a black skirt because I went out there right after Mass this morning. Don’t worry, I’ll change now.)
There’s a Canadian crookneck squash in the center along that fence; I’m hedging my bets with the squashes, sticking them in various places in my garden.
Is it really not so photogenic to just use a wire shelf as a support for whatever those are — some cucumber-like volunteers that I plunked there, in front of some tomatoes (which are lined front and back with zinnias and marigolds). “We shall see” is the motto of my gardening adventure!
By the way, in that pic you can see the two extremes of my aesthetic: galvanized watering can (sweet! so country!) and wagon full of milk jugs of water (trashy but necessary, because dragging the hose down can be done, but results in too much water use in this heat).
Pull the garlic yet or no? (If “pull,” say in a couple of days when the heat breaks!)
On to our links!
“The visitor to Bob Jones University campus [to their amazing art museum] who knows only of the school’s unfortunate reputation will be bemused and bewildered. “How is it that a school once known for being racist, rabidly fundamentalist and virulently anti-Catholic could have acquired such an outstanding collection of Catholic art?” The questions continue: “What do the fundamentalist students make of the art collection? How do the anti-Catholic supporters of Bob Jones University feel about the overtly Catholic artwork?” — edited to say that the museum has been closed.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame came closer to being destroyed than we realize. The article has stunning graphics.
Yes, Parents Are Capable of Choosing How Their Children Should Be Educated
Psychiatry, politicized.
Ancient Roman concrete: sometimes older is better!
If you are a baseball fan and a moon landing fan and also have a sense of humor, you’ll enjoy this little, wonderfully written recollection from my husband.
The life-changing magic of making do: “When Prince Charles opens his closet, surely he does not ask if his fine double-breasted suit sparks joy. Instead, he asks: “Does this fine double-breasted suit fulfill my need for today, which is to wear a fine double-breasted suit while pointing at my subjects with two fingers?” It is a profoundly simple question, the spirit of which has been lost entirely today.” I don’t know that I would conclude, as the author does (in an admittedly contrarian vein), that we need to be more materialistic; we certainly need to be more ordered in our consumption, is what I’d say!
Another telling of the amazing (and harrowing) story of the miracle for the canonization of John Henry Newman.
Here is a comprehensive article that is a must read — and must bookmark/save — on transgenderism: The Cracks in the Edifice of Transgender Totalitarianism. This is an article that you can hand to a medical professional, your pediatric practice, your friend who is losing her perspective, or what have you. Is transgenderism a kind of cult or social contagion? I have heard of many medical professionals who self-censure, against their better judgement, and of some who have already lost their jobs for merely questioning a diagnosis (a diagnosis with irreversible consequences). Harm is being done to people and those who resist are being silenced. What would you call that?
“There is not and never has been any scientific basis for Money’s dichotomy between gender and sex, interpreted as the idea that a person can be born into the “wrong” body. (As pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Quentin Van Meter puts it, “There is zero point zero zero” science behind the concept.) Yet Money’s social–political construct now dominates medicine, psychiatry, academia, and the culture at large.”
Dr. John Money — not a medical doctor — is mentioned in the article. I highly recommend that everyone read the excellent account of how Money became the “father” (more like “anti-father”) of the transgender movement: As Nature Made Him (affiliate link). Money exploited a tragic event and vulnerable, ignorant parents to drive his patient to suicide, abusing him and his brother in the process. This side of his “treatment” is never mentioned when his name is brought up, by the way, although evidence that he was a sexual deviant is easily found in a simple search online.
Here is a shorter article on the same subject, from a pediatrician who wants to warn of the corruption of his field by this ideology.
The one factor not mentioned in these articles, but observed anecdotally by me, is the common thread of divorce in the lives of those struggling with their sex. Divorce or the absence of any sort of union at all between mother and father. At some point we have to face what happens when marriage is no longer the defining relationship in a society. Children can survive if most families are intact — even children from broken or never-made families can find their way. But when most children come from what is euphemistically (or mendaciously) called “irregular situations,” you have mass delusion and self-destruction.
From the archives:
Are people (or your own thoughts) making you feel guilty for not working?
If you can afford a housekeeper, go for it. But if you can’t, it’s okay. Here is what you can learn from a housekeeper and all the reasons why you should (instead of just “blessing the mess”).
Some of us don’t have AC because our houses are too old to convert, we live where it’s usually not hot (but then a heat wave comes through, like this week!), and we prefer to have doors and windows open. Here is how it’s done!
Today is the feast of St. Apollinaris!
Follow us everywhere. I have removed the Ravelry link (see my post on IG about why — all the comments are interesting!).
Stay abreast of the posts when they do happen:
Like LMLD on Facebook.
Follow LMLD on Twitter.
I just share pretty pictures (never political until this past week):
Auntie Leila’s Instagram.
If you want politics, rants, and takes on what is going on in the Church:
Auntie Leila’s Twitter.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow — my posts are public — sometimes I share articles here that don’t make it into {bits & pieces})
Pinterest is annoying me right now for many of the same reasons as Ravelry, but if you want to see my boards:
Auntie Leila’s Pinterest.
Or the boards of the others:
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
And the others on IG:
Rosie’s Instagram.
Sukie’s Instagram.
Deirdre’s Instagram.
Bridget’s Instagram.
Habou’s Instagram.
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