Laundry

(Sung to the tune of California Dreaming)

All the laundry’s done (all the laundry’s done)
And it’s put away (put away)
Oh domestic dreaming
On such a pretty day . . .

Ok. This is all I have so far, but every time I have the laundry done (or even nearly done) I want to sing. It seems only appropriate that I should sing about the completed task.

TV

Ok. I am not a big fan of all the recent reality shows. When we had a sattelite dish, I liked to watch the decorating type reality shows (ie. Trading Spaces), but apart from that, I am something of a traditionalist when it comes to TV.

So I feel I must comment that I still enjoy ER. Last night, NBC showed the last episode of the 11th season. My mother-in-law has been visiting this week, and she taped the show while Mark and I were out last night. Tonight after the children were in bed, Mom and I watched the taped show. Dr. Carter left, having been the only original character left. (Yes, Dr. Lewis is there now and was an original character, but she was away for several years and doesn’t count.) I thought it was a pretty good episode, and the departure of Carter after so many years was not even sappy.

So, next year is the 12th year. I am expecting it to be the last; I thought this season would have been last though, too. So what do I know? (Don’t think of answering that!)

More on Catholic Baseball

In addition to the beer, playing baseball on the Catholic league has been educational. After her first game, Evangeline said to me, “They don’t pray right.”
I said, “Did they pray to Mary?”
She said, “I don’t know, but it wasn’t right”
The next week, Mark took Evangeline to her game. He heard them say the “Hail Mary.” On the ride home, Mark explained to her that we don’t pray to Mary, but we don’t think it would be right for her to say anything to her teammates about their prayer. He told her to just stand quietly when they were “praying” before the game.
Calvin’s team crosses themselves before each game. So far, we noticed no praying or crossing on Nevin’s team.

Catholic Baseball

Yes. The name of the entry is “Catholic Baseball.” Have I decided to enter the theological discussions of my husband’s world? No. I am just reporting on the newest phenomena in our lives.

The three older children are playing little league ball through the Roman Catholic parish in which we live. So far, we are really pleased with the program. The coaches are very helpful and instructive to the children on the teams, and the parents actually behave themselves like civilized human beings at the games. As if that is not different enough from our experience with small town “public” or “secular” baseball, here’s the kicker. The concession stands at all the catholic ball fields sell beer. I just have been laughing to myself about this for the last couple of weeks. I actually performed my volunteer duty in the concession stand 2 weeks ago and served the beer, and tonight at my 9-year-old’s game, my mother-in-law and I shared a Bud Light. (OK, I said “beer.” I didn’t say “great beer.” This is, after all, St Louis.)

24 — Argh!!!!

Yes. It’s 12:48 am, and I am posting on my blog. Why? Because Mark and I stayed up late to watch the last 2 episodes of season 1 of 24. I just had to tell someone how irritated I was by the ending. Yes, it would have been unrealistic for Nina not to shoot Terry, but we’ve been witnessing miraculous escapes for the all 23 of the previous episodes. Was it too much to ask for us to suspend our belief one more time? I don’t think so.

Books and other stuff

The children and I headed to the library this afternoon for a little homeschool outing. We had been going once every 2 weeks or so for the first part of the year, but we had fallen out of that practice in the last 6 weeks or so. The kids were really happy to be back at the library to play the computer games and pick out some new books and one video each.

I picked up a new book to read called, In the Land of Second Chances. It is about life in a small town in Nebraska. It is sort of light and funny. I guess it appeals to me because of my nearly 4 years in rural OK. I think most midwestern small towns share characteristics, so I feel I can relate to the humor, perhaps more than the average reader–perhaps not.

Our homeschool year is coming to a close at the end of next week. We are all getting cabin fever, so I think our library trip was especially timely. If you think of it, please pray for us as we consider our schooling options for next year. We are considering making a change, but we’re not sure how it will all work out.

For summer, we have signed up for swimming lessons at the gym where the children take gymnastics. We also all have membership cards for using the pool during open swim times. So I think going to the pool will fill up much of our summer days.

Finally, I am the director of VBS at our church. After a late start, we have finally settled on a theme and curriculum. So now the real work must start with zeal. VBS is the last week in July, so I suspect planning for it will fill up a good part of my summer.

In Praise of Gilead

I am joining the throngs of bloggers who have read or are reading Gilead, by Marrilynne Robinson. I finished it last night. I found the expression of the narrator’s feelings about his life, his faith, and his sin very moving. If we would all examine our motives as honestly as Rev. Ames did, we would make some real progress on our spiritual journeys. I hope to write more about it later, but I just wanted to post something today to urge any who have hesitated to read this book because you thought it would be too slow moving or “plotless” to take the plunge. The plot–the story that makes you want to keep on reading–is the life of Rev. Ames and, as the book draws to a close, it is the desire to know how things are resolved with Jack Boughton. Gilead is worth reading on many levels, but at the very least, it will cause you to stop and think about your own spiritual journey and your motives, your thoughts, your actions along the way.