June Wrap-Up

June has been a whirlwind! After last summer's sedate pace that made me want time to speed up, this summer is making me want time to slow down! (Although I wouldn't mind time speeding up these next couple of days, until I get over this awful cold my younger brother gave me...I spent most of yesterday on the couch. Blech.) 

So, here are some of the things that contributed to the whirlwind:

-I went back to Illinois for the first weekend of June--one of my friends graduated, and his graduation party was having 12 or 13 of us up at his family's house near Lake Michigan for the weekend! It was a very joyful, goofy, and fun-filled time. We cooked meals, ate together, took a rhubarb crisp to the beach (hence the header image), played with sparklers, set off fireworks in the street, built a campfire, swam in the lake (so weird that it's so big, yet not salty), were messed with by the time zone (the house was so close to the time zone border that depending on where you were in the house, your phone would switch time zones), kayaked down rivers where the floating cottonwood seeds made it feel like a fantasy novel, watched many movies including Jaws (after we swam, not before), hiked, chatted until very late, watched the sun set, filled an entire pew at Mass, and made a human pyramid. 
It was a very beautiful weekend. The one flaw in it was that my flight to Illinois was delayed seven hours, and my flight back was delayed 12 hours...from 9:15 pm to 9:15 am. One of my friends very, very kindly let me stay with his family, but the delay on the way back was still quite stressful. 
(This trip is why you have some quotes from the Usual Newman Suspects in the quotes section. ;))

-I've had a wedding to coordinate every single other weekend in June. They all went incredibly smoothly (which I attribute entirely to God, because there were SO many moving parts), including the last one, at which there were 9 bridesmaids and 9 groomsmen! That was...a lot. But it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding, and I actually knew some of the groom's sisters (he has ten siblings), and the couple invited me to their reception, and it was all in all, a grand ol' time, even if I was at either the church or their reception venue for a solid twelve hours that day. 

-Galadriel and I have been having a great time beekeeping--she's a natural-born beekeeper! Our bees definitely have a varroa mite problem, but we're working on figuring out solutions to that. In the meanwhile, I've also started beekeeping with no suit, only a bee veil, which is really freeing! And since I've started that, I've only been stung once.

-I've been doing some yardwork and babysitting for some friends of ours, as part of my summer work, aside from wedding coordination, and that's been really fun. (Several of the quotes in the quotes section are from one of the kids I've been babysitting.)

-We rescued a tiny wild rabbit from one of our cats--he'd been carrying it, preparatory to killing it--and took it to a wildlife rescue. (After naming it Sophos. XD) We've since seen quite a few tiny rabbits, so our theory is that there was a litter that's just leaving the nest right now...but so far, our cats haven't gotten their paws on any more of them. 

-I'm working on a quilt! I've finished the actual quilting part (I hand-quilted it, so it took a bit) and now I just need to finish the edges. It's a lap-quilt, so not huge, but big enough to curl up under to watch a movie or something, and it's made of many of my old t-shirts from high school!

-I've gotten to chat with friends quite frequently this month, which has been a big blessing! It's easy to feel isolated, living so far away from people all the time, but that hasn't really hit yet this summer...

-Since our church choir (which is veryveryvery serious) has started their summer schedule, I've gotten to sing with them! So far, only one Sunday, but it was really fun, and I'm looking forward to getting to sing with Legolas (who regularly sings in the choir, because she's awesome like that) on upcoming weekends. (She was away the Sunday that I sang with them.)

Quotes

George: "Plato was like 'woooooooooooo foooooooooooorms'."

George: "Have you guys heard of a wet willie?"
George's girlfriend: *covers her ears*
Thomas: "She doesn't want to hear about it."

George: "My pee is bubbly, if that is my pee."

Mary: "Why are elephants hot?"
Ed: "Because there's more to love!"

George: "What, does the road think it's God or something?"

Frodo: "Astra, if you lick Rosie's face, she gets to play with your tail."

Eomer: "You wanted my body? You get the Body of Christ! Boosh!"

Three-year-old Ezra: "Which one do you like?"
Me: "I like the fox!"
Ezra: "Foxes are not cool."

Eomer: "Taser cane? You mean, a cattle prod?"

Legolas: "I win the vulgarity contest! I win all the prizes!"
Eomer: "Congratulations, you get a restraining order."

Legolas: "Legolas cried herself to sleep."
Eomer: "It got kind of irritating at 2 am."
Legolas: "Legolas had a bit of insomnia."

Mom: "It's like putting candy on the floor of Eomer's room."
Eomer: "Hey! What are you saying about my underwear?"

Ezra: "I don't want to be a cheetah. Cheetahs are girls. I will be a cow."

Pippin: "I'd like a skinny vanilla latte, no chai, no porcupines."

Eomer: "In secret, Plato forged a sixth solid."
Mom: "One solid to rule them all..."

Me: "Where is Latin America?"
Galadriel: "In the basement. Don't tell anyone."

Eomer: "When will my life begin?"
Galadriel: "Never."

Eomer: "I'm basically farting rainbows at this point."

Galadriel: "What are we doing this evening? Are you going to sell us into slavery??"

Gimli: "We need to put the 'suit' back in 'swimsuit'."

Mr. Cam: "You know, sometimes people just come into your life for a short time..."
Mrs. Heather: "And then you grab them, and you don't let them leave until they give you their brownie recipe!"

This was a great reading month, and I definitely did a lot more rereading than usual! That said, the books I'm choosing to feature are some of the new books that I read...because the rereads were The Usual Suspects, i.e. The Queen's Thief, The Ball and the Cross, etcetera. 

Worth Reading If...

...apocalypse/utopian/dystopian literature is your jam

Father Elijah by Michael D. O'Brien
This book was basically Lord of the World meets I Am Margaret, and I loved it SO MUCH. When I'd gotten to a certain point, I sat down on the couch and didn't get up until I finished. It was absolutely gripping. 
It's a truly Catholic apocalyptic novel in all of the details--somewhat unbelievably good. I'm feeling extremely inadequate in trying to describe why--I want to tell you to just go read the book, but I'm going to do my best to get at what I mean. 
The world of the book feels like something that could happen very soon, unlike in Lord of the World, where the setting feels fairly advanced. The setting is real, and could happen without too much more downhill progress of the world. And the whole book is very...human. It's written on the human level.
The main character is a man, Father Elijah, who is truly humble. Humble enough that he's an unreliable narrator. (I think the book is in 3rd person limited? So he can unreliably narrate.) As the reader, you can see his holiness, and why the Pope called him out of his Carmelite monastery for his missionary. But you can only see glimpses, because Elijah doesn't tell you that. Which reminds me a lot of the best priests that I've known.
The Pope himself is also a very holy man, who is trying to do the best for the Church, which I loved. Yes people, no vilifying the Pope. 
Elijah is given a mission to actually preach to the anti-Christ, or the person who they think is the anti-Christ. And it's...oh gosh. It is an apocalypse--and it gets terrifying. There are several pseudo-exorcism scenes, and many scenes that are just...really dark. But dark in such a good way, if that makes sense? God has a plan, even when the devil is attacking. (I will say that I don't think I could have read this book, and those parts specifically, before I got to the point that I'm at in my spiritual life, where I've come out a bit from my perfectionism and scrupulosity. A small warning.) 
But despite the fact that the world is ending, there are so many things that are still good and true and beautiful--Elijah himself, the stigmatist, the one (spoilery) conversion, Pawel, Elijah's friendship with Anna. I LOVED Elijah's friendship with Anna. I think it's one of the best examples of male/female friendship--and only friendship--that I've ever read in fiction. The balance of having those good/true/beautiful things in the story was...oh, it was perfect. 
So...if you're in a stable place in your spiritual life, and don't mind things that are dark but also beautiful, I would HIGHLY recommend this book. 

...you enjoyed A Man Called Ove

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
I read this whole book in one day during the worst of the aforementioned cold that my brother gave me, and it was just what the doctor ordered. It's a bit like Ove in that there is an old man involved, but unlike Ove, Arthur is the Most Wholesome Old Man ever--he visits his wife's grave every day, and during one of those visits meets a young woman who also loves the cemetery, and is having a hard time in her life, which contains a shocking lack of love. Also involved is an old woman who thinks that she has gotten too old for love. And basically, the book was a found-family-type book wherein people discover that others are actually capable of loving them. But lest that sound simplistic, let me assure you: there's plenty of conflict, and it's quite well-written, too! (I especially loved the parts where Arthur is 'listening' to other graves than his wife's.)
I'm doing a very bad job of describing it but rest assured: even though I didn't think it was quite as good as Ove, it's adorable and sweet, and very much worth reading. 
Asterisk: There were two scenes that I needed to skip because of mature content. 

...some scifi is just what you need

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
Technically the two books of the Vorkosigan Saga that I've read this summer are Borders of Infinity and Brothers in Arms, BUT while I definitely enjoyed them enough to include in my wrap-up for the month, they are most emphatically NOT the books that a novice should start with when reading the Vorkosigan Saga. Instead, you should read Shards of Honor, and then Barrayar. For the record.
But why should you read The Vorkosigan Saga? You should read the Vorkosigan Saga for the banter, the comedy of manners, the humor, the serious philosophical questions about the value of human life, the Dendarii Mercenaries, the double agents, the secret identities, the spaceships, the varieties of different planets and planetary residents. 
But mostly, you should read The Vorkosigan Saga because of Miles, the protagonist. Miles, who has Issues With Authority rather like Jamie in Code Name Verity and The Enigma Game--not so much that he doesn't respect it, but that those in authority don't always know what's going on. Miles, who constantly bites off more than he can chew, and then has to deal with the fallout. Miles, who has the best relationship with his cousin Ivan (the COUSIN CONTENT IN THESE BOOKS).  Miles, who is disabled, but none the less capable. Miles, who is very much the Young Man, and makes both wonderful and horrible romantic decisions. Miles, who must Live Up To His Father. Miles. He's great. You should read about Miles. 
(I will admit that I originally started reading the series for Cordelia and Aral, Miles's parents, and was a bit disappointed that there are only two books about them, but hey. Miles is also awesome. If you'd rather get started with Miles, rather than getting attached to Cordelia and Aral to start with, perhaps start with The Warrior's Apprentice. But do hang out with Cordelia and Aral at some point. They're worth it.) 
Anyway: Borders of Infinity was a wonderful but also heartbreaking short story collection, and Brothers In Arms was a BAD MEAN BOOK, by which I mean there was a lot of mistaken identity, and several twists, but I enjoyed it anyway. Even if the mistaken identity stuff made me want to hide under the table. 
Another asterisk: I will note that several of the books do have some mature content--nothing graphic, but nothing that a young teen should be reading. 

How was your June? Have you ever rescued a wild animal? Which was your favorite quote? Do you have a favorite scifi series?