August Wrap-Up!

Hello, wonderful people! I haven't done a real monthly wrap-up since January, and I've been feeling nostalgic for them! So, I'm here to officially wrap up August! 

There were quite a few things that happened...

• My birthday! That was when I was in Rome, and it turned out that on said birthday, I got to see the bones of St. Peter, attend Mass and Confession (not in that order) in St. Peter's and go to the Colosseum! (It was a beautiful day.)

• I got back to the US finally! I mean, I loved Europe, but it really did feel like finally when I got back! I spent three weeks with my family & friends in the PNW before coming back to UIUC, and definitely enjoyed those weeks to the full. 

• We celebrated the Feast of St. Dominic at our parish with a choral Mass, and it was incredibly beautiful! (I love the Feast of St. Dominic.)

• A friend of mine had a baby! A tiny lil peanut, who is adorable. And I got to take my friends' firstborn to the park so that my friend could rest, which she was very appreciative of, but which I'm pretty sure was more fun for me. :D (The park we went to was right next to the library, and we ended up spending more time reading books than playing on the playground. I approve.) 

• I saw cougars in the wild! Three of them! And far too close for comfort, i.e. about fifteen feet away. 

• We sent Legolas off to college, which involved a lot of emotions and quite a bit of stress baking. 

• My cousin and I took our annual urban hike! We didn't go quite as far this year as we have in years past (which was just as well, because it started raining pretty hard as we got to the end of said hike) but we ended up at several bookstores, ate local burgers, and drank plenty of coffee. :)

• Our music director got married, and I didn't even have to coordinate the wedding (although I was still invited)! It was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever had the priviledge of attending, and as you can probably imagine, the music was superlative. 

• I got back to school! As I'm writing this post, I'm trying to figure out a work-life balance for the first few weeks of classes! (Harder than one would expect.) But I'm enjoying all my classes so far, including (especially) my Horse Management class, which will involved training 4-6 month old foals...

Fun Quotes

Guest priest reading a wedding gospel: "What God has joined, let no one celebrate." 
[it's supposed to be "separate" XD]

Eomer: "If you give Sam an exorcism, will it make her sandal tan go away?"

Anonymous: "I don't really think your butt is Australia."

2yo: *in a scolding tone* "Eomer, that's so silly!"

Eomer: "Be! Reclusive! B! E! Reclusive!"

Nutrition prof: "Some of you may want to go to vet school. *pause* That's okay. We won't hold that against you."

Other Nutrition prof: "If you wash your hands, you clean all of human history off."

Horse prof: "By the time the foals get to you, they should be less gremlin-like." 

Nutrition prof: "I know you guys pay a lot to come to this university. The least we can do is give you paper handouts." 

Studio prof: "I have yet to bite a person. I can't promise I won't. But I haven't yet."

Other Nutrition prof: "Plants are very easy to catch. You don't even have to chase them."

Mary: "Don't take someone else's onesie."

Studio prof: "My fourth career will be curmudgeon. I'm really looking forward to that."

Other Nutrition prof: "This class is not dinosaur nutrition." 

Worth Reading If...

...you like Madeleine L'Engle, or similar authors

Certain Women by Madeleine L'Engle
One of the things I really enjoy about Madeleine L'Engle is her ability to look at deeply flawed people with compassionate eyes that don't shy away from their flaws, but also see the good in them. Another thing I enjoy about her is the way that she includes references to other art in her books (really, any book that does that is something I like). This book does both. The character who the book is "about" is modelled (in a way) on King David, but the story is mostly told through the eyes of one of his daughters, and it's an interesting tension that L'Engle manages, showing the flaws and goodness of this man through his daughter, who obviously has very complicated feelings about him. 
It definitely has some mature themes, but if you're in a place where you'd be okay with that, I'd highly recommend it. 

And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle

Certain Women is a little heavy, but this one is much lighter! It's about a girl named Flip (really Philippa) and her 'coming of age', in a way, but at a more surface level her journey of adapting to being in boarding school. Woven in with that is her mentorship by one of the boarding school's teachers, and her budding friendship with a mysterious boy. It's not a complex story, but it's sweet and has more depth to it than many school stories do. One of my (surprising) favorite things about it is that L'Engle has the boy, Paul, acknowledge that his feelings for Flip are mysterious in that she doesn't feel like his sister--something that I can't recall ever seeing in a book before. 

A Live Coal in the Sea by Madeleine L'Engle
This one is heavy again (her 'adult'--i.e. in tone, not inappropriate content novels do tend to be) but again, I like it a lot. It really digs into "the sins of the parents" and how they affect their children and how generational trauma is passed down, but also how people can allow grace to invade their lives in a way that brings healing to more than just themselves. It's a really sad story--certainly sadder than either of the other two L'Engle books on this list--but not without hope. And there are certain parts of it that are very beautiful. 
Again, there are some mature themes, but they're handled with grace and aplomb. 

...you want to know more about Catholic women authors

Women of the Catholic Imagination, edited by Haley Stewart
This was a favorite read of August, for sure! It's a collection of twelve 'profiles' of Catholic women authors, written by Catholic scholars! Each profile talks about the author's life, Catholicism, and work, and ends with reading recommendations. I learned about several authors I either didn't know about or didn't know were Catholic, and enjoyed the process very much. Warning: it will expand your reading list exponentially. ;)

...you like more horror-y books

The Garden by Clare Beams

Definitely horror-y! It's a bit like something like Dracula (I haven't read Dracula, so I don't know exactly--but think horror) meets The Secret Garden meets What To Expect When You're Expecting, which was a vibe that had me glued to the book for the day-and-a-half it took me to read it. It's set during the...1940s? I believe? and follows a woman who's undergoing an experimental treatment for helping women who have experienced multiple miscarriages carry a baby to term. But it's just that--experimental--and the experiment is being conducted in a house that holds its own generational secrets. This mysterious house is crammed chock-full of women who are desperate to grow life within them, but horribly scared that they never will be able to. And it's fascinating. And kind of scary. But I liked it a lot. :)

Music
(all the song titles are linked to Spotify)

What Is This Feeling? from Wicked: what is this feeling, so sudden and new?/I felt the moment I laid eyes on you/my pulse is rushing/my head is reeling/my face is flushing/what is this feeling?/fervid as a flame/does it have a name?/yes.../loathing/unadulterated loathing

Sparrow by The Arcadian Wild: take a look at my heart/and you'll see that my broken hands/weren't the only thing torn apart

Heaven When We're Home by The Wailin' Jennys: there's no such thing as perfect/and if there is we'll find it when we're good and dead/trust me I've been looking/but tonight I think I'll go and take a bath instead

Goose and Common by The Askew Sisters: the law condemns the man or woman/who steals the goose from off the common/but leaves the greater villain loose/who steals the common from off the goose

The Gambler by Home Free: you've got to know when to hold em/know when to fold em/know when to walk away/and know when to run/you never count your money/when you're sitting at the table/there'll be time enough for counting/when the dealing's done

Fireflies by Owl City: it's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep/cause everything is never as it seems

Flying by Stan Rogers: and every kid over the boards listens for the sound/the roar of the crowd is their ticket for finally leaving this town

The Captain's Daughter by Alison Krauss & Union Station: my daddy owns a clipper ship/he brings me pearls on every trip/pink champagne for me to sip/and you're the poorest boy I know/know, know, know

Forty-Five Years by Stan Rogers: there's God in the trees/I'm weak in the knees/and the sky is a painful blue/I'd like to look around/but Honey, all I see is you

Think Of Me from The Phantom of the Opera: think of me, think of me waking/silent and resigned/imagine me trying too hard/to put you from my mind

Crazy Life by Home Free: but that's alright, I don't feel sad/look outside, the weather's not bad/I know these times are the best I've ever had/and I think I'm gonna be alright/yes, I think I'm gonna do just fine

Bonnie Light Horseman by Matthew Byrne: when Bony commanded/his armies to stand/he levelled his cannon right over the land/he levelled his cannon his victory to gain/he slew my light horseman on his way coming hame

Christ Has A Garden by The Hillbilly Thomists: Christ has a garden walled around/a paradise of fruitful ground/chosen by love and grace/from out the wilderness/like trees of spice His servants stand/there planted by His mighty hand

Rolling Along by The Longest Johns: for heart and for home, I hear calling me on/and there's naught like a clipper just rollin' along

How was your August? Did you get to spend time with family? Any favorite songs from this list?