7 Quick Takes

1. Okay, I'm doing this. It'll keep me accountable to posting at least weekly, though I'll of course try for more. Liz and Susanna have both discussed with me how we want to get back to the blogging we once did regularly. And they both have adorable children who do hilarious things, as well as keen minds; what more can a girl ask from her old blogging buddies?

2. This past weekend, a few of us were supposed to go peach picking, but all the orchards were suddenly picked out, so we went on a multi-location adventure in the North Georgia mountains instead. Possibly one of the most memorable random places I've ever visited: Goats on the Roof. It's a country store and ice creamery that actually has goats living on the roof.

I believe this was just after we fed them.

Be warned: their ice cream is delicious, but oh my goodness, what portions! Biggest ice cream cone of my life. Seriously, I think it was a quarter pound of ice cream, for $4. Now, I don't know exactly why or how they have goats on their roof, but their Legend of the Goats gives some idea, albeit more absurdity than anything...

3. On said adventure, we also stopped at Babyland General Hospital (aka Cabbage Patch HQ), which looks from the outside like an old Southern plantation. I was never a huge fan of CPK as a kid, so I wasn't quite as enthralled as the other gal in our party, but it was fascinating to see how fully they've developed their mythology and the schtick surrounding it.

There were so many patches like this! Very thorough, they were.

Their employees all wear scrubs, and every 15m or so a "Licensed Patch Nurse" gathers everyone around the Magic Tree to watch as she delivers one of the babies from its cabbage--complete with punny names of cabbage-related birthing procedures, and followed by what looked like all the postnatal tests hospitals give to human babies. Each doll's name is chosen by the people in the audience while it's being born, which was sweet. I expected the thoroughness with which they treated their dolls like real children to be creepy, but it was actually endearingly thorough, especially when watching the children's excitement, and seeing them learn about real babies by carefully holding the newly born CPK.

4. Four clicks to a less annoying YouTube. Thank you, Lifehacker, for making the internet a better place.

5. Tim O'Malley strikes again with this arresting piece on the violence inherent to the American political system, and how we as Catholics are called to more. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his work, I highly recommend his reflection on infertility. Possibly the single most heartbreakingly beautiful piece of prose I have ever read.

6. This morning, as I was praying Morning Prayer in the customary spot on my porch, albeit earlier than usual, I noticed that the spider whose web sits just a few inches away was still spinning. Note: I love spiders. I got to watch her while reciting psalms from memory, and to reflect upon the beauty in the simultaneous strength and fragility of her web, even as a metaphor for our own lives...

7. I saved the best for last. My awesome, beautiful (absurdly tall) sister is moving into college today, and I am sooooooooooo proud of her!

Pretty sure I'm wearing a low wedge heel, and she's barefoot.

Love you, T! ♥ I can't wait to see what wonderful things the world learns from you as you continue to grow into the beautiful, talented woman you've become. (And what do you mean, of course I'm not crying at all right now...)

Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, / quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis suae...