Seven Quick Takes

~*~ One ~*~
The roof is on. The walls are up. Our chicken coop is almost done!

I wondered why it was taking so long, so I went out to the farm to "help." I say "help" because my carpentry skills are barely better than those of an overripe radish.

Good gravy, my husband isn't building a chicken coop; the man is constructing the Taj Mahal! It's huge!! I could easily see this building turning into a guest house. Sadly it's going to be inhabited by 26 ungrateful hens and a rooster with a pompadour.

This is kind of what Howard, our crazy Polish Crested rooster, looks like. (image courtesy of Laughing Orca Ranch)

  ~*~ Two ~*~
I made a fatal error last week. I commented within earshot of a sick child that, "Hm; I haven't been sick in a year and a half."

The unnamed keeper of the cold heard this and came over and hugged me. Then she sat on my lap. Then she sneezed on me. I'm almost positive she wiped her nose on my arm, but perhaps I'm just being dramatic.

Anyway, I fell shortly thereafter. I might buy stock in Kleenex.

~*~ Three ~*~
Each night this week, my husband and I have said, "Okay, let's go to the grocery tonight." We enjoy grocery shopping together, even though we stick to a carefully made list. It's a date of sorts.

We were sabotaged by Netflix the first two nights. Then we spent a late evening working on the chicken coop. Then we found an unfinished crossword puzzle that was calling out to us. Now we're going to eat pickles with BBQ sauce for dinner; except we're out of pickles.

~*~ Four ~*~
I bought plane tickets to go home for Christmas. I'm on a euphoric high right now, that may or may not be caused by a double dose of NyQuil. No... it's definitely the joy of going home!!!

~*~ Five ~*~
We were working on proper nouns this week, and I asked my 3rd grade niece to write a proper noun for "song."

"Lift I the Cross." (If you're unfamiliar with the song, it's "Lift High the Cross").

That reminded me of praying the Angelus, growing up. When I was ten, or so, a friend asked me to teach it to her. With unabashed confidence, I slowly walked her through it. But it was the first time I'd ever thought of the words without just rattling it off so I could eat lunch. I was a bit stumped, but muscled through to the end.

"The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she could see (conceived) by the Holy Spirit.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh, and dweft (dwelt) among us.

Pray for us, oh Holy Mother of God, that we may remain (be made) worthy of the promises of Christ.

Pour forth, we besiege (beseech) thee, Oh Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we cocoon (to whom) the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel. Made by (May by) His Passion and Cross, be dropped (be brought) to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ, Our Lord, Amen."

~*~ Six ~*~
Can I take this moment to highlight some of my favorite blogs, just because? I highly recommend that you take a look at these lovely ladies' sites.

1. Patch O' Dirt Farm. Nadja blogs about her six kids, crafting projects (she's recently been featured three times on The Crafty Crow! Congrats, Nadja!), her homemaking/homesteading adventures (making yogurt, churning butter, trading roosters for a pig at the local Amish market), and has some beautiful photography to record it all.

2. The Italian Dish. Elaine has stunning photography and consistently amazing recipes. They're not usually "everyday foods," so much, but I've made several of her dishes for company or special occasions and have always been delighted with the results. She's a true culinary artist. Try the Recipe Index first.

3. Centsational Girl. Kate shows off her mad home designing, furniture refurbishing, and decorating skillz. Her "on the cheap" projects inspire me to do my own, and her light and colorful photography style is visually quite appealing. I enjoy visiting her site immensely, and would recommend a new visitor to browse through her Tutorials, first.

4. Mexico in My Kitchen. You don't get much more authentic than this. Mely's recipes are real and delicious. When I want to make authentic Mexican food, hers is the first site I visit. The site is not extremely easy to navigate, but the first time you peruse the site I recommend using the keyword cloud on the right side of her page... especially "Main Dishes."

I have a lot of other favorites, but these are just a few I find most inspirational and beautiful.

~*~ Seven ~*~ Courtesy of my 3rd grade niece: "Why did Silly Milly think that hot is faster than cold?"

"Because she could catch cold!"

Amen.

Seven Quick Takes is hosted each Friday by Jen at Conversion Diary.