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Author Archive
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Rejoice, Always
Well, where should we begin? Perhaps 2020? Looks like the last letter that *actually* made it out was the end of 2019.
Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice.
Phil 4:42020 Thematic Recap:
Anne: managed …
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The Birthday of the Life
Our Saviour was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality & brings to us the joy of promised eternity. …
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Closure
“Final and irrevocable” were the words she used. Closed doors. An end. That chance was gone.
At last.
I was nauseous that morning eight years ago. Perhaps a combination of vitamins with a powerful antibiotic on an empty stomach? Perhaps …
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Stars In Our Eyes
So, a couple I know (not intimately–we were only ever acquaintances) has been getting a lot of flack recently for an article announcing their marriage. Maybe it was the way the article was written (which is the author’s fault, not …
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Great Lent
I have always believed that if one Feasts properly, one is also ready for the Fast. Naturally, if one fasts well, the Feast is more delicious still.…
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Old Friends
I hadn’t even seen them, except in pictures, for more than three years.…
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Christmastime Is Here
Dear Family and Friends,
Christmas is a time of memory. It seeps in through every aspect of the season and floods our hearts to overflowing.…
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Enough
You know, I used to long for a big family. Twenty-three children was not too many. I saw myself barefoot and pregnant for a majority of my married life. …
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On Material Things
She hadn’t bought me nail polish for years. …
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Boston..
Every year when we were in Boston we watched the marathoners run by.…
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Christ is Risen!
Indeed, He is Risen!…
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On Becoming A Family
I don’t have many words this week. But I want to share this with you. …
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I have to start again somewhere..
And this is how I’m feeling this spring.…
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Things I Miss (and not) about Boston
Snow! (ice)…
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La La La.. List time!
–I took down the rest of the Christmas decorations today. …
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Perspective
I was really run down yesterday. Possibly because we had a day-consuming House Blessing event on Saturday. Possibly because T had been doing Startup Weekend all weekend and I had to do House Blessing and Sunday Liturgy with the Babe …
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Hey Seester..
I miss you.…
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O Christmas Tree!
So, my phone is fritz-y these days, which is why I am now posting the story of how we got our Christmas tree here, and not on Instagram a few weeks ago.…
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Where We Came From
Next door to Macia’s favorite coffee shop is Magpie, a store I could spend all my money in. …
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Wishing You Warmth
for the holidays.…
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Memory Lane
For those of you who know where this is, I’m sure you can understand how awesome it was to show Mace around the place.…
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What Macie Says
Her language is exploding. She went straight from two word sentences (Daddy sit. Mommy eat.) to whole paragraphs. Her first long sentence was (furiously) “NO WADDO READ BOOK!” …
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Processing…
I fully admit that one of the reasons I haven’t been blogging is because–all at the same time–I have nothing and far too many things to write about. …
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Oh, Hello 2013.
It’s nice to meet you. I didn’t expect you so soon. Perhaps I got too carried away at the end, there. …
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Saying Goodbye
I remember, after my grandmother died, my mother went back home to divvy up the inheritance with her siblings, and to clear out Big Mom’s house so that it could be sold.…
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What Are You Peeking At, Macia?
Caidoc, Momma! He was baptized on Sunday.…
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A Cousin for Macie
Two months ago, Macia got her first cousin on her daddy’s side.…
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Blue
berries!
Her words are just exploding, though they are hard to articulate. She has morphed “cracker” into a back-of-the-throat “guh-cawh” and “avocado” is something like “clalala.” But she is talking. She mimics our sounds and the right number of syllables …
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Water, Oil, Fire
Her dress is finished. She has new white shoes. I have enough lace left over to make a headband or a bow for her hair.…
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Two’s Day on Friday
We packed up the diaper bag and headed down to the children’s museum in Fort Point. On Fridays, they have free entry, and it’s so close to Flour Bakery and Barrington Coffee, that there was something for everyone!…
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Monday Thoughts
Today is Monday (ha, Monday, string beans).…
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Almost 20, Brought to You by Instagram
So, I joined Instagram. …
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rose + mary
Sitting in front of the Mary grotto while my Macie Rose played in the sand, I stared blankly at Momma’s huge rosemary bush, following he twisted branches in and out of the center of the bush. It was tough and …
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Mourning, Still
I wasn’t expecting the grief that surfaced when I was alone at Daddy’s house. …
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Apricots and Sunshine Days
Macia and I picked apricots.…
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F. Liszt
Does anyone remember Victor Borge? He did the phonetic punctuation bit? He also did a bit where he plays a piece by Fliszt. It’s not F. Liszt, of course. You don’t say “M. Ozart,” do you?…
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On Leave. I left!
This is what I started to write the first day of my adoption leave, way back on May 1:…
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Six Years
Six years ago today, I had been married for just a day. …
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16ish Months
You may have been looking for an update on the Babers on Good Friday. I’m sorry if you were disappointed. Maybe this will make up for it. Let’s do it in list form. #yaylists!…
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Happy Birthday, Momma
I love you so much.…
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Sweet Leaf
You saw one happy peek at our Sunday visit to Sweet Leaf on Long Island during our NY trip. …
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26.2
I was a runner in high school. Yes, I was a proud member of the group that said things like “my sport is your sport’s punishment” (don’t ask me why that was cool–did it make us tough?)…
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Climb Every.. Chair
Today we’re heading up to Macia’s 16 month check up. Yes, the kid is 16 months old.. is that crazy to anyone else? …
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Abundance
We have lots of carrots. ‘Tis the season, apparently, for our CSA produce share, but I made the mistake of asking Taylor to get “some carrots” at the store…
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A Little Bit West Back East
Stumptown. Started in Portland (taking its name from the city’s nickname), the only location in New York. Fabulous coffee.…
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Grumpy McGrumpy Pants
After Gimme! we went to Cafe Grumpy. I didn’t take any pictures because (TMI warning) Macia had a stinky diaper and we needed to find some place to change her and I was thirsty but didn’t want any more …
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Gimme!
I think Macia, by far, had the most fun at Gimme! coffee. The inside of the cafe was so small that, with a wiggly toddler, it only made sense to drink our coffee outside. A bit chilly, but there was …
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Bowery
Bowery Coffee, across the street from the Houston-Bowery Mural Wall, won my vote for “best ambiance.”…
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New York
We had several objectives in visiting New York. …
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Time Passeth
I am bad at multi-tasking. Just ask Taylor. If I start a sewing project or a baking endeavor, all else gets put on hold until. it’s. finished. …
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Up To?
Up to? What is she up to these days?…
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She’s So Beautiful!
Yes, we hear that a lot. I am not ashamed to brag about it either, since we had nothing to do with her genetics.…
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It’s A Girl!
Becoming parents has been a funny process for us. Not least because the getting of the Babe has been so unusual and drawn out. …
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Fourteen Angels
I remember Momma’s voice. As time goes on after her death, much fades, but I will always remember so much of her voice. [Also, I thank God for all those cheesy home videos we have. It is such a blessing …
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Babe-isms
When she wants to get down (from her high chair or from the mei tai) she points down and growls: dooooooww…
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Lost. And Found
The great irony of our journey to parenthood, to me, is the bottle brush that hangs by our sink. We use it almost daily to wash out the Babe’s bottles, but we didn’t buy it for her. We didn’t even …
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Everything In Its Place
“You shouldn’t hang knit ties, Wifey, because they stretch out. You have to roll them and store them that way,” he says.…
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Rompin’
If this Summer is anything like this Winter (being abnormally warm), the Babe will be prepared. …
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Quilted Pink (and Green and Orange and Turquoise and Yellow and a Little Bit Red)
I once said I’d never make a quilt. Which was from the beginning a complete lie because I had, in fact, already made one quilt. A crazy quilt. From a huge box of bitty vintage scraps my grandmother had saved. …
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danceFIT, pants fit
I don’t think I would have signed up without Viv doing it, too. I’d never done ballet (or any traditional dance, really) and the closest I come to graceful is when I’m on a crowded dance floor …
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Back!
Ah, that’s better.
I think the best way to get back into the swing of things is in list-form.
[I will make a rule: I won’t post more than one list a week. I can handle that.]
- We had a
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A Break
I am going to take a break this week. At least from writing. …
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Babers Update
Yesterday, we bought the Babe a new car seat. ‘Cuz seriously you guys, that kid is getting huge. And don’t tell me, “oh, but you’re just missing her bitty-baby days,” because we weren’t able to be there for …
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Dreaming
I am restless.
The future is a big mish-mash of mostly-certain and less-certain and not-certain-at-all.…
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Randoms
I want to write today, but I can’t form an organized enough thought to do anything other than a list. Still, lists are fun sometimes, too.
–Taylor loves quilts. And kilts. And woolens. And anything knit or crocheted. I knit. …
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Cloud 9
“Oh, Anne–congratulations! You must just be on cloud nine. How exciting–it’s finally over.”
I’ve been getting that a lot lately.…
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My Golden Hour
Babes and I have spent some time at the park this week. …
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Looking Back
A friend reminded me of when we first met the Babe.…
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Walking Along
Yep, the Babe is walking.…
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Sunday Thoughts
Today I was thinking about clothes.…
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And Joy, Again
We are laying low today. Babe and I are enjoying a quiet recovery day while Taylor studies au cafe.…
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Joy
Most of you have seen the news on twitter or facebook already. That the Babe can stay with us.…
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Thursday Things I Love
pat-a-pat-pat (telling me she wants to be picked up)
foo-foo-foo (whispered when she’s hungry)…
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Tuesday Three’s-Day
No, I won’t ever be ready. I think part of being an eternal being is that we are never ready to say goodbye. We weren’t meant to.…
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Today Is Monday, Again
The days just keep coming. One by one they tick away.…
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Babers McMoany Pants
This week, there’s been a lot of moaning. We suspect it’s mostly teething–kid is working on her left molar, poor thing. But that cranky tooth apparently makes it less comfortable to communicate. …
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Still..
Eight days.…
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Let’s Get Cozy
I have another blogger crush. These are the crushes where I look through a blog and drool over every picture, every idea, every made-thing and want it to be my home, my life, my crafts, too.…
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I Dunno!
We took Christmas down this weekend.. Poor Babe. “Where’s the tree?”…
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Babe Update
How would you all like to have Fridays be the “update on what the Babe of Cutness has been doing this week” days?…
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Lucky
People have been telling me how lucky the Babe is to be with Taylor and me right now. We’ve been told how noble and selfless we are to open our hearts and home to her, and how wonderful we are …
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And She Shall Be Called…
Y’know, some people long for nicknames. And others naturally evoke an abundance. …
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The Obligatory Resolutions Post
Do these make sense to you? I think I mostly know what I mean as I list them here. We shall see.…
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Sunday, Ice Cream!
Saturday, chicken.…
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… Saturday Chicken
Friday, fresh fish. …
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Friday, Fresh Fish
Thursday, roast beef. …
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What I Have Learned
I have been “momma” for two months. I have been changing diapers and filling bottles and washing clothes and wiping boogers and kissing fingers and toes for a wonderful nine weeks.…
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We Will Keep Hope
Beautiful words from a dear friend…
“I look forward to the day when the 3 of you come to the ranch on a beautiful summer’s day filled with sunshine…
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Haunted House
All houses wherein men have lived and died
Are haunted houses. … -
It Takes A Village
On Saturday, I went through some pictures with the Babe’s foster mother. Many pictures that, surprisingly, I have never seen before. Moments we were not present for. Smiles we never saw, laughter we never heard.…
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Autumn
My mother died in March. On the eleventh. Two and a half years ago.…
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That Moving Day?
We are still waiting.…
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Moving
Last weekend was good. It was great and very full. And here is another one looming, just down the road–how quickly time moves on..
Friday, after running a few errands, we headed out to see the Babe. It was a …
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Seasonal
Ecclesiastes said it best: to everything there is a season. A time to live and to die; a time to grieve and to rejoice. A time to eat asparagus and a time to eat squash. There is a proper season …
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Engaged
One week ago, my younger sister’s boyfriend asked her to marry him. She may, perhaps, have been furious with me, even in her ecstatic joy, when I admitted that I knew about it (well) ahead of time. …
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On Waiting..
Timely advice, just when I was wishing things would move more quickly..
The Slow Work of God…
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A Home for Baby
In many ways, simply fostering an infant seems easier to me. If one takes the infant home, as a foster parent, one knows that the infant will only be with you for a time, that he won’t stay in your …
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Take on Hope
My mother always told me: “Praise the Lord! Even through gritted teeth.” And no one describes better than Tolkien the grim resolution to continue on the way…
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You’ll Always Be..
I wake up to this song most mornings. Lilting and a bit mournful, it reminds me of being so far from our baby girl, but still treasuring the time we’ve had with her. We’ll always have that.
Happy 9-month birthday, …
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5 Months?
A veritable eternity in the life of a nine-month old. Or for the waiting, hopeful-parents of a nine-month old.…
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Waiting…
Two more hours and I will cycle home from work.
Two hours and 10 minutes and I will call the foster mother…
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Flowers for Mary
On August 15, the Church celebrated the feast of the Assumption and Dormition of Mary, God-bearer. Tradition tells us that when it was Mary’s time to die, the apostles were mystically transported to her side, with the exception of Thomas …
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Anticipation
Sitting in the sunny window seat of a cafe last week, glancing outside between sips of my cappuccino and notes to my husband on chat, I saw a young man hanging around in front of the cafe. …
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Mood
I am in a mood. And this song about sums it up. This last week without my husband is already one of the hardest weeks of the summer. And it’s only Monday.…
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Hold on Hope
A dear friend shared this song with me tonight. She told me it reminds her of her brother, who was killed several years ago…
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CS Lewis on Prayer
M: “I know how hard you’ve been praying, and God’s answering your prayers.”
Lewis: “That’s not why I pray. I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and …
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Red
I remember very clearly how I felt, walking along a sunny side-street in Ravenna, Italy, when I felt the first mild cramping that signaled the beginning of my period.…
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Come
Peter called out: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come out to You on the water.”
And the Lord said: “Come.” …
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Marry for Love
“Very few people ever state properly the strong argument in favour of marrying for love or against marrying for money.…
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a word from Balthasar:
It is possible for us to hear the word of God because God’s world is open to us. Most Christians do not realize that this is by no means a matter of course, but a miracle of the Father’s utterly …
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by anne black
So I have an announcement. Of sorts.
One of the items I’d like to make available in my Etsy shop is prints of my photographs. But I’m having a hard time choosing which pictures I should include.
Could you do …
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Unfailing
Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.…
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On Edge
She is 8 months old today. 34 weeks. 243 days.
I have seen her less than 30 times in her whole life.…
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on t-shirts (fitted)
I am not usually a t-shirt person.
I’ve known women who rarely wear anything other than jeans or jean shorts and an assortment of tees. There is nothing wrong with that, of course–t-shirts are very comfortable, modest, and relatively cool …
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Newly Wed
So many smiles. Clapping. Tear-wiping. Even a little whooping and hollering. Mr. & Mrs. for the first time.…
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the golden hour: welcome
inspired by Miss Perry…
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Emerald City
Cyclists whizzing by, odd-shaped packages tethered to backs and bikes.
Cafes of all quality and variety on so many corners.…
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Toilet Seats
Growing up, we had a lot of rules that our parents set down for our betterment and the general upkeep of the house. Always wash your hands before playing the piano; close the lid and push the bench back in …
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Two as One
Being apart from Taylor has made me realize how much a part of me he is. I am more than just Anne with him; my identity seems prone to shifting without his anchoring presence near me.
It’s not that I …
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Not As the World Gives
Mass this Sunday was my first of the summer without Taylor. Last week we were in California together. The week before, Seattle. It was a strange feeling, surrounded by people but sitting by myself. …
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Everybody
Oh, Pandora. You slay me with your Pink Martini station. Have a listen with me this evening:
Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson…
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To Tear
You can read “tear” two ways. One, those salty-secretions from your eyes–in joy or sorrow or laughter or allergies. Two, as in things-torn, the act of ripping…
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Goodnight, Baby
We love to sing to our Little Girl.. and when I get to put her to sleep, I have a special song I like to sing. You’ve probably heard it before. Here are the words.…
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Envoy
Clear was the night: the moon was young:
The larkspurs in the plots
Mingled their orange with the gold
Of the forget-me-nots.… -
Kindred
When I first discovered Ashley Rodriguez through her blog, her then-current post was a recipe for bacon caramels. I instantly fell in love. …
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An Invitation
Welcome.
For renidemus is, first and foremost, an invitation. An invitation to sit down with me, to read what I can offer you, and to offer your thoughts in return.…
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In This House of Brede
“Even at Vespers in these days Abbess Catherine, as if echoing the abbot’s words, thought, as the antiphon to the Magnificat was sung, of the Visitation, when the Virgin Mary, with the angel’s announcement beating in her heart, had gone …
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God has created…
a world big enough for all the lives He wishes to be born. It is only our hearts that are not big enough to want them and accept them……
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Traveling
Today I am flying to California to see my family. My WHOLE family. [Except for baby girl.. She has to stay on this coast.] My flight was delayed 15 minutes, …
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More Than Goodbye
It was so much more than simply saying goodbye to my husband for a few days, or a week, or several. It was more than knowing I would be facing an empty house coming home from work, or going to …
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One Thousand
With my head perched on the sill of my bedroom window, I hear birds in neighboring trees through my wire-grid screen. When I focus closely, every part of the world fits into neat little boxes. …
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The Golden Key
…“You must not mind my asking you questions, for you may ask me the same questions, every one of them, and any others that you like. How old are you?”
“Ten,” answered Tangle.
“You don’t look like it,” said the
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A Wind Sprang High in the West
…like a wave of unreasonable happiness, and tore eastward across England, trailing with it the frosty scent of forests and the cold intoxication of the sea. …
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Enough
I am in limbo. Hovering, or perhaps falling, in an empty space I didn’t even know existed in the realm of “becoming mother.” …
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Some Sewing..
Oh dear, I haven’t been nearly as good at keeping up on my sewing lately as I should. And I haven’t even been good about sharing the things I have done with you. …
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on recipes
“I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.”
– Madame Benoit…
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Hungry for More?
Before I moved in here, I had cozy little digs at blogspot, which served me well for several years. But things change, husbands get in to web development, and new spaces are created.
If you’re looking for more to …
