3.5 Time Outs: What Works

Thanks once again to our host, Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy, who is the picture of patience with his minions.  (And he prays for them too.  If you’re going to have an overlord, that’s the sort you want.)

Click and be amazed.

1.

My daughter recommends using frozen blueberries instead of ice cubes in your limeade.

We own limeade concentrate because it makes the best margaritas.  Cup of ice, one scoop limeade slush, tequila, jiggle it around, done.  Best ever.

But apparently the blueberries go over big with the under-21 crowd.

2.

Look, the Darwins have school plans.  So do I, but I’m saving my enthusiasm for the first week of September.  We did two weeks of remedial Latin at the beginning of this month, then I cancelled class until I was satisfied I was ready for the conference next week, so that I wouldn’t have terrible nightmares about running to the airport and forgetting my shoes, or trying to give out business cards but I forget to get them printed — you know the drill.

What the Darwins do is what I’d do, if I were the Darwins.  You know what I mean.  They have a good approach.  I like it.

3.

Book department update 1.0: I learned last week how important it is to have a book deadline.  (Mine is 8/27, approximately 28,000 words.)  Because otherwise, I’ll never stop writing.  There’s always one more little thing to say.  I made myself stop before I hit 30,000, and this week [yes, this week, because even last week, new words kept sneaking in despite my resolve to be done adding anything else, forever and ever amen] I’m using the delete key to clean out the dust.

3.5

Book department update 1.5: My half of the contract is signed.  Waiting to get back the copy from the publisher with both signatures on it.  Then we’ll be legal, and I’ll have to resist the urge to post something in ALL CAPS because I’ll be SO EXCITED.  As you knew I would be.  Accountants are never happy until the lines are all properly filled.

***

And with that, I’m back to regular life.  I’ll keep y’all in my prayers, and I’m trying to work through my blogging backlog in addition to doing all the other stuff I need to do, so look for me to pop in with this or that, time permitting.  Have a great week!

(And yes, you can post links.  I am, by the way, reading comments.  Oh, about once a week, but I am.  And trying to reply as well.)

7 Takes: The Ease With Which We Lie

Lighter fare this way. Click as needed.

1.

I would like to thank all of you who have prayed for me.  I’m lousy at praying, but I do pray for my benefactors, and that would be you.  Because your work has been, thus far, very effective.  I would like to double-thank those who have been patient in practical matters as my attendance at this or that has been spotty.

2.

Tuesday  morning I learned a friend had been deceiving me for some time.  Not lying, not outright.  She’d made a (perfectly legitimate) decision that she knew I wouldn’t like.  She put off telling me, presumably in the hopes it would simply never become an issue. That I wouldn’t, in the end, need to know after all.

2468 Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness, sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.

What began as prudence and discretion, looking for the right moment to share the news I needed to know, turned into  a lack of candor as the months dragged out.   Sometimes I worry about doing the same thing.  Is there something I should be saying, and haven’t?  It is easy enough to be misunderstood.  It is possible to deceive without intending to, without any sin at all.

3.

2469 “Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful to one another.”²⁶² The virtue of truth gives another his just due. Truthfulness keeps to the just mean between what ought to be expressed and what ought to be kept secret: it entails honesty and discretion. In justice, “as a matter of honor, one man owes it to another to manifest the truth.”²⁶³

4.

I should note here that my own fault runs more often the other way — I had already strained our relationship by being quite blunt in a matter where I felt absolute candor trumped sparing of feelings.  There are long passages in the catechism about the importance of not saying too much.   I stink at that.

Even when I am trying to be prudent, to actually shut up and think for a change, there’s always the wondering.  Does someone truly need to know this thing I know?  Will I be more guilty for speaking, or for not?

5.

2483 Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead into error someone who has the right to know the truth. By injuring man’s relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord.

So I was composing this post in my head this morning before mass.  After, I had the privilege of being outright lied to, in a mortal-sin kind of way, if my fact-checking turns out to be correct.  (Completely different scenario, different people.)  It was . . . very strange.

But it happens.  People do evil things.  People who are kind and generous and pious sometimes do evil things.

6.

Why do Mark Shea and Chris Tollefsen get told off every time they point out lying is wrong?  I think it’s because we’re so used to it.*

We have a cultural fear of the truth.  Faced with a difficult thing to say about even the most trivial matter, we tend to look for away to skirt the truth.  How can I get my girlfriend to purchase a different outfit, without telling her this one she loves makes her look awful / is terribly tacky / is exactly the one I’m wearing to the same event?

We are so used to thinking of deceit as necessary for police work, or some similar situation, that it is unimaginable, truly unthinkable, that it might, possibly, be the wrong thing to do.  We so fear harming innocent children or the frail elderly with difficult facts, that I’ve been accused of great cruelty for suggesting that such people can, in fact, be given difficult but necessary news in some sensitive but honest way.

7.

And it cannot be denied: the moral life is not the easier life.  The freedom truth brings is bought at a cost.  A willingness to risk not nabbing the criminal, of making the little girl cry for the rest of her life, of causing grandma’s heart to fail.  Or a boycott by angry customers.  Or martyrdom.

Mostly, doing what is right is also doing what feels better.  What, in the end, makes like easier.  Our conscience is clear, our friendships are solid, people want to work with and help others they know to be decent, honest folk.  Mostly.

Not always.

Don’t forget to pray for Allie Hathaway, then go read more takes at the home of our lovely hostess Jen F. at ConversionDiary.com. 

*Not telling them off.  Lying.  Though we’re also getting used to telling them off.  Curiously, my Mark Shea link has no negative comments on it, at this writing.

3.5 Time Outs: Unexpected

I almost wasn’t going to post today, but the awesomenity of Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy convinced me.

Click and be amazed.

1.

When someone makes you feel like crawling into a hole?  It’s really nice to have other people for friends.  Thank you, friendly people, for being out there.

2.

We’ve guessed all summer that there was a hummingbird’s nest in our apple tree, because Mrs. Hummingbird has been especially aggressive about chasing off birds that get to close to her portion of the tree.  The little guy has started coming out now, and here’s the funny bit: He sits down to drink.

3.

<insert your item here>.  We’re going to Chik-Fil-A.

3.5

Book department update: Good news, hopefully to be announced this time next week?

***

And with that, I’m back to regular life.  I’ll keep y’all in my prayers, and I’m trying to work through my blogging backlog in addition to doing all the other stuff I need to do, so look for me to pop in with this or that, time permitting.  Have a great week!

(And yes, you can post links.  I am, by the way, reading comments.  Oh, about once a week, but I am.  And trying to reply as well.)

Goofy things bloggers get excited about.

Okay so I was exceedingly flattered when Catholic Lane asked if they could reprint my homeschooling post from CatholicMom.com.  Which they did, today.  I was like, Wow! I’m on Catholic Lane!

(Nothing really to report to you, my faithful readers, who already had heard about it once.  But I was going to tell you anyway.  Because, you know, anything exciting to me = bloggable.)

Ha, but then, the stupendous part: It was picked up by the Pulp.it.

The rest of you who get featured at the Pulp.it all time, just go ahead and have a laugh at my expense.  *I’m* excited.  Happy Friday!

Patron Saint of Dark Humor

Don’t already know the joke? Click and be amused.

Happy feast day to Larry D., Larry L.! And all the other Lawrence-y types, except those of you who’ve taken on one of the dozen or so saints also by that name.  Note that martyrdom seems to be the common theme.  Just sayin’.

3.5 Time Outs: Not Chicken

Thanks once again to our host, Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy, who must have conspired to trick me into posting today.

Click and be amazed.

1.

The reason I’m posting is because in my ten minutes of goofing off, I found this link for you, via Allie’s dad:  This is the Allie Hathaway for whom you’ve been praying. See?  Totally worth it.

2.

Since the arrival of the chickens, I’ve been noticing how much better we understand the English language now that we have two hens in our yard.  So here’s the discovery today:  Our chickens, who are indeed chicken when it comes to many things, managed to scare away the cat.  Because apparently, in addition to being catty (which we knew – ouch), she’s also a fraidy-cat.  I guess that tells you how to rank your insults, when measuring cowardice.

3.

I already knew, before Sunday, that Brandon who writes at Siris is the smartest guy I read.  (I only read him some of the time — he exceeds me mightily more often than I like.)

But so, here’s the thing, and I’m not sure how bloggable this is, because I don’t want to embarrass too many philosophers in one day, or alienate real-life friends . . . I had a different philosopher tell me this, and I paraphrase:  “I noticed sometimes you link to Brandon’s blog.  He’s the smartest guy I know.  He teaches at this community college, and he doesn’t publish except on his blog . . . and he’s the smartest philosopher out there.”

Plus, he’s 238 in dog years.

3.5

Book department update: I’m editing like a crazy person trying to make my book deadline AND be happy with the final product.  Meanwhile, this morning at Mass the reading was about Peter walking on water, and not walking on water, and yeah, just what I needed.  Pleasantly surprised later this afternoon when good things happened exactly where I was afraid everything was going to fall through.

(Um — even though it didn’t matter? I have special nervousness powers. But you know, the thought of trying something and failing? It’s daunting.  It is.)

In defense of Peter: Neither chickens nor cats would’ve gotten out of the boat to begin with.

***

And with that, I’m back to regular life.  I’ll keep y’all in my prayers, and I’m trying to work through my blogging backlog in addition to doing all the other stuff I need to do, so look for me to pop in with this or that, time permitting.  Have a great week!

(And yes, you can post links.  I am, by the way, reading comments.  Oh, about once a week, but I am.  And trying to reply as well.)

3.5 Time Outs: Prayer Requests

Thanks once again to our host, Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy, who has not kicked me off his minion-list despite my poor attendance.

Click and be amazed.

1.

Please keep Sandra L. of this combox in your prayers today.  She has a super-miserable tough day today, and it won’t be an easy week either.

2.

Please pray for the strength and consolation for a friend’s sister-in-law, who is very close to death, and for all her family.  They’ve moved up a planned wedding of one of the children to this weekend, in the hopes the mom will be able to attend before she dies.

3.

<Insert your intention here.>  I know there are plenty of other needs out there.

3.5

Still need prayers on the writing front.  Whatever God wants is AOK with me.  But knowing what that is and being sure it happens?  Pray!  Thank you.

 

***

And with that, I’m back to regular life.  I’ll keep y’all in my prayers, and I’m trying to work through my blogging backlog in addition to doing all the other stuff I need to do, so look for me to pop in with this or that, time permitting.  Have a great week!

(And yes, you can post links.  I am, by the way, reading comments.  Oh, about once a week, but I am.  And trying to reply as well.)

3.5 Time Outs: Real Things

Thanks once again to our host, the very patient Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy.

Click and be amazed.

1.

Really Real:

I was going to continue my slacker non-blogging, but Potty Race pushed me over the edge.  I had no idea video games could be so . . . realistic. First time I’ve ever said that about something Barbie.

2.

Really useful:

Chickens eat fire ants and highway grass.  So basically, as long as they keep that up, the new arrivals have a home for life.

Dogs eat chicken feed.  Luckily, there’s plenty of highway grass and fire ants, so the chickens won’t starve.

3.

Really cool:

Grayson Highlands State Park is air-conditioned.  The entire mountain.   Truly wonderful — so pleasant I didn’t mind camping in the rain, because at least it wasn’t hot.   The ductwork must run underneath North Carolina, because I’m pretty sure the actual air-conditioning unit is located here in central SC, where it’s pumping a reliable jet of hot air, especially during peak hours.  It would be pretty easy to disguise a giant heat pump as an office building.  They look about the same.

3.5

Really interested in the will of God:

Please pray for a special intention, writing edition.  You’ll get the other half of this take as soon as I have good news to report.  Which there will be, the big question your prayers are directed towards are the who and the when.  Thanks!

***

And with that, I’m back to regular life.  Have a great week!

(And yes, you can post links.  I am, by the way, reading comments.  Oh, about once a week, but I am.  And trying to reply as well.)

4 Takes, 2.5 Time-Outs . . .

Most weeks, I really like the Tuesday / Friday method of staying on track.  It helps me remember to post stuff.  This is not that week.  I say that during the Wed-Thurs interregnum, Jen F. and Larry D. can split the difference.  In castle news this week:

1.  Child Vomits At Church.

Thank you Mrs. S. for cleaning the front pew while one parent whisked sick child home and the other disinfected the sacristy bathroom.  Thank you, Lord, that:

1. The other two altar servers had already left the pew to go do whatever it is they do during the offering.
2. Mrs. S, veteran mom, had chosen to sit next to Mt. Splashmore.
3. Mr. O., who himself had blessed the altar-area in the same manner during his days as an altar boy, was sitting behind us and volunteered to watch two little girls while parents did more pressing parent jobs.
4. No one else has gotten sick.

Nice usher guy was helpful, too.  He showed us the plastic toolbox in the usher’s closet labeled “Vomit Kit” — apparently this is all part of the life of an usher.  Though by that time I’d already snagged disinfectant and paper towels from the kitchen, and begged extra trash bags from the nursery.  Mothers don’t think the way ushers think.

2. Sandra’s Married!

And she told me I should wedding-blog. Which I will.  A different day.   Teaser:

• Lovely, lovely ceremony.
• Historic location + period dress = coolest combo ever.
• Halloween-themed reception . . . oh I know you crabby apples are raising an eyebrow at that, ’cause I did too.  But it was just perfect for the couple, and not at all like you think.

More later.

3. Exciting writing news, almost ready to be announced.  If I seem like I’ve wandered off the edge of the earth, um, yes, I have.

3.5.  McKissick Museum.  For all your glow-in-the-dark geology needs.

4.  Check out the Catholic Writers’ Guild blog this coming Sunday, Christian LeBlanc has a cool post scheduled.  And Julie Davis writes on Saturday, I think, and she’s no slouch either.  It’s a good CWG weekend.

5.  Latin.  I think we’ve found a solution.  I’ll let you know in two months.

6.  And with that, I’m going to sneak back into hiding, and leave the internet to you.  If I’m lucky I might get a backlog of assorted posts run, but I’m not placing any bets. Have a great weekend.

3.5 Time Outs: Surprisingly Good

Thanks once again to our host, Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy, always good, sometimes surprising.

Click and be amazed.

1.

My niece is here this week, so the topic ought to be Teenage Girls, but there’s not much to say.  Other than: They’re fun and interesting and get along great with younger cousins, and also they sleep late.  Which I don’t mind.

2.

But look, two good magazines:

One is the magazine of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, and this was a pleasant surprise – sort of a Catholic National Geographic with a bit of the best of The Economist mixed in.  The articles are substantial, and cover the history and contemporary issues in the regions CENWA serves.  Not a light read — one of the articles this month is a history of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, starting in the middle ages and detailing, regime by regime, the power plays and organizational shifts ever since.

PG warning: Though there are no graphic descriptions of the horrendous things that go on in these lands far away, difficult topics are named by name, no glossing over or glamorizing.

Highly recommended.*

Liguorian is the other end, intellectually, of Center-Catholic reading spectrum.  Like Reader’s Digest for Catholics, only without the edge.  Good all-purpose, inoffensive but unapologetically Catholic magazine, targeted towards your average man in the pew.  Encouraging and inspiring without being too in-your-face.   Gentle.  For your parishioners who aren’t quite ready for The Register or Catholic Answers.

3.

We brought home from the library the season one DVD’s of the HBO-BBC series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.  I haven’t read the books.  But hey, what a cool show!  Yes it runs sappy, and yes, I think you ought to watch along with your kids and provide a little parental guidance on the moral issues.   But here’s what I love: Africa seen through the lense of the African middle class.  How refreshing to see AIDS, or the ivory trade, or child sacrifice and witchcraft, or polygamy, or marital infidelity — through the eyes of someone other than PBS, NPR, Bill Gates or George Bush.  And religion! Ha!  People who can be overtly Christian on TV!  Love it.

Moral note: The No. 1 Detective does not always resort to the police and the law for resolution to crimes uncovered.  The Anglo-Saxon concept of Weregild comes in handy.

3.5

Glow in the dark rocks. I’m not sure whether I’m succeeding as hostess to the 17-year-old.  I tried to explain that we don’t really do anything fun here, so it’s hard to think up activities.  But listen, no visit to the inferno is complete without a trip to the third floor of the

***

Well that’s all for today.  Tuesday is Link Day for all topics, help yourself if you are so inclined.  Limit yourself to one link per comment in order to avoid the spam dragon.  Have a great week!

*FYI – CENWA itself is a bit of a disaster to deal with for the small-time donor.  Nothing egregious, just your normal incompetence in the administrative offices in New York; the flurry of solicitations, set aside and kept dry for use in the paper-stove, could keep a small house warm all winter.  But the magazine is great.