Quick Takes of the Tall Corn Variety

Look! Two weeks in a row!

Well, don’t get tooooo used to that… 🙂

— 1 —

I’m trying to be more weekly about my giveaways. I mean, I can’t read all these books, so I might as well share them, right?

If you haven’t entered, today’s the last day for this one:

— 2 —

OK, so the corn isn’t exactly knee-high.

It’s almost Bob-high.

(This is where I would post a picture if it hadn’t been raining and I hadn’t been an unorganized blogger.)

Last year, a drought. This year, rain. As someone whose middle name is almost farmer (I almost typed farter, but that’s the topic for a different post), I can’t help but be endlessly fascinated.

— 3 —

Little known fact (at least in these Catholic circles I’ve been running in): I have a degree in agricultural education and a minor in production agriculture from a great university program.

Widely known fact among people who know me well: I have learned more in the almost-20 years I’ve been around my husband and the real people around me than I ever learned in college.

I used to think that meant that my degree was wasted. I’ve learned, especially in the last year or two, that it was not.

Thanks to my degrees (I also have one in marketing and communication, but that’s a different take and not so quick), I have mastered reading and understanding multiple books at once, keeping track of many projects and children, and rising early to get things done before the chaos of laundry, dishes, and phone calls begins.

Who says a college education is pointless?

And if I didn’t have that degree in education, I wouldn’t be a catechist now. Funny thing: when I got that degree, I was pretty convinced God and Christianity were stupid, pointless, and outdated.

Laugh much, God?

— 4 —

My flower garden is exploding with blooms right now.

Daisies always make me smile.

I have a lot of day lilies and I think they’re my favorite. They can’t really be picked and enjoyed inside, but oh, they are so big and beautiful and tenacious.

Come to think of it, most of the perennials I plant have those qualities…

— 5 —

This is for those of you who love coffee and for my brother, who was fascinated by how I make my morning coffee:

It’s an AeroPress. No, not a French press. An AeroPress. I have a kettle (this one, actually) and I heat up water and then I use this handy dandy gadget to make my coffee. You can make a pot (I brew into a carafe) or a single cup.

It’s awesome. Everyone raves about my coffee. (And I don’t buy really fancy schmancy coffee, though I do have some standards there.)

I got it as a gift from an uncle who knows how I love my coffee (and his lattes) and I’ll never go back.

— 6 —

Once a week, I get horse therapy. I don’t usually realize how much I need it until I smell that equiney fragrance and feel the weight of the breeze and the saddle and the squeals of my children. (Every week, squealing. For years. It rocks.)

My eight-year-old has become quite an equestrian and this summer, she’s been really working on cantering. I think driving will be NO PROBLEM for this kid. If you can pay attention to the horse and the surroundings and your saddle and your hands and all the other things required to not fall off a 1000-pound, over 5-foot-tall animal, driving will be easy-peasy.

My five-year-old, on the other hand, while insisting on Big Horses (as opposed to ponies), usually doesn’t make it through the whole lesson in the saddle. She gets down and leads the horse around while her sister finishes up. She’s quite a good rider, but the paying attention thing? Definitely a skill she’s still mastering

— 7 —

And then there’s my two-year-old destructoboy mancub, whose love of dirt is almost equal to his love of popsicles.

“No, I will NOT smile. I’m BUSY.”

“Look, it’s Poppa’s truck!” (With dirt in the bed, of course!)

Go on over to Conversion Diary for more of the Quick Takes fun we’ve all come to know and love!