We Got Married in a Fever

Good mothers teach their children to sing the song Jesus Loves Me while I apparently teach my two-year-old country music songs about failed marriages. Yes, Cate's favorite song right now is Johnny Cash's Jackson (from Walk the Line):
We got married in a fever/hotter than a pepper sprout/We've been talking about Jackson/Ever since the fire went out/I'm going to Jackson/Look out Jackson town/Going to loosen my coat/Going to Jackson/That's all she wrote. 

And notice that I bribe her with the promise of a treat so she'll sing me the song. Nice work all around. 

One Year Ago

One year ago today I had already spent my first night in the hospital. First of many! Whew, what a year we have had…I am so thankful I am home with these healthy sweeties (and Telfer) instead.

reading in bed!

It was not an easy summer by any means but I see so many good things that came out of that time — not the least a healthy baby. God is good all the time. And there have not been many times in my life when I had the time to read the New York Times thoroughly every morning. Small mercies, right? 

Weeks 24 & 25: Worthwhile Classics

If you're looking for a summer book, I can recommend both The Remains of the Day and In Cold Blood – you'll know if they are your bag. Both are somewhat heartbreaking psychological portraits although their subjects could not be more different – an English butler and two murderers.

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Week 24/52: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Remains of the Day is heartbreaking. Stevens is a real butler and has devoted his life and all of his energy to a social order that is fast disappearing in a post WWII England. He is reserved, humorless, and utterly gripped by his sense of duty. The former Lord of the great manor that he has served has died and an American has taken over the house. Stevens decides to visit the old housekeeper of the house and the novel is both travelogue and reminiscences of a former time. A fine psychological piece, a class novel but also a heartbreaking account of what could have been. 

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Week 25/52: In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences by Truman Capote.

In 1959, the brutal murder of a wealthy Kansas farmer, his wife, and their teenage daughter and son gripped the nation. The killers had no real motive beyond money (and their haul was around $40). In Cold Blood is both a true crime "nonfiction novel" and a psychological study of the killers. It's certainly gripping. Now I want to watch Capote again and lock my doors (as I am sitting here with one door open and the other unlocked!).

First Day of Summer

will the birds come?

I literally missed the entire summer last year so I am particularly anticipating the joys of summer this year. Sunset tonight: 9:11 PM. We will definitely be doing a little grilling tonight after the girls are in bed. It seems so wrong to put them to bed in full on daylight. But then I picture the inevitable meltdowns and kiss them both good night. Yes to grilling and sunlight and nectarines and goat-cheese stuffed zucchini (thank you Missy!) and lamb burgers and swimming and my weird farmer's tan. So much better than the hospital!