Welcome new readers – and I do hope I have some, sticking around from the little Dreherlanche of this past weekend. I blog every day about a variety of topics – simply things that interest me and can get my brain awakened in the morning. Several times a week I make things easy on myself by doing a digest. Here’s one.
Writing: Well, not much except blogging , but here’s the fruit of some writing work I did last year:
I’ll have more on this in a couple of months, but just know – it’s out. I mean – it’s out at my house, at least. Online sources still give a lengthy delivery window, but you might be able to get it from Loyola directly right now. I’d think you would.
And you can certainly get it from me! If you’d like one – or any of the other books I have for sale here – go to the bookstore page. If there are any problems with the ordering process, just email me at amywelborn60 AT gmail.
In brief: the book begins with Advent 2019 and goes to December 31, 2020. As I understand it, Loyola primarily sells them in bulk to parishes and schools that give them to employees and volunteers. So – if you’re in that category, of being in charge of such a thing, please take a look and consider gifting your staff with these. There are no royalties to be made – it’s a for-hire/stipend kind of job – but it does get my name and other work out there, and it’s amazing to know that every day for 13 months, I’ll have the privilege of sharing thoughts and prayers with thousands.
Oh, and I wrote some draft text for a local historical marker. There’s that.
Watching: Me? Nothing. Because of one kid being at a camp for most of the week and the other working and being social, there’s not been summer movie-watching this week for us as a group. When #5 returned home, he decided, though, that he’d revisit the Lord of the Rings both in film and in book form. So that’s what’s been onscreen.
A lot of folks are watching Big Little Lies on HBO, which finished up last night. I had watched about 2/3 of the first season. I hadn’t intended to, having read part of the novel and not being impressed with it, but then I ended up with some free HBO for some reason, so I dove in – watched, as I said, some of it, but just didn’t really dig it, as I explained here. Laura Dern is the Queen, Nicole Kidman was excellent, but other than that – meh.
When I saw the trailer for this season, my interest perked up just a bit – Meryl Streep joins the cast as the dead man’s mother, and while I am not a Streep fan (I find her mannered), she looked like she was doing some delicious scene-chewing here, so maybe? Eh – I thought, “I’m not paying for HBO just for that. No way.” And from the reviews I’ve read, it seems to have been the right choice – it’s getting decidedly mixed reviews.
I’ll just wait for 2020 when Better Call Saul and Fargo return.
Listening: Poulenc mostly, the past week. Aside from the Spanish-language music that always seems to be put on in the car.
Reading:
Three Flannery O’Connor stories with my Squad – “Revelation,” “A Temple of the Holy Ghost” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” – trip prep for a jaunt we’re taking this week, in between bagging shifts and music lessons.
A short memoir of an early 20th century Wesleyan childhood – The Long Sunday. More here.
And for the next novel? Well, I happened upon another religious-themed novel, Do Lord, Remember Me – a mid-century American work from George Garrett. Got about forty pages in and was not engaged, so I set that aside.
Then I thought, Hey, I’ve been meaning to read North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell even since I listened to this In Our Time episode on it.
Okay. Started reading a Gutenburg edition. Couldn’t get into it.
Eh.
Oh yes – I had started Framley Parsonage by Trollope ages ago, and then some life things interfered, I suppose. The other plus? I have a print copy of it, and I’m tired of reading on screens – two books in a row on a screen, and I need some print. So I picked that back up last night – and I think that will be the Book of the Week.
Cooking: It’s summer and hardly anyone is home for extended periods. I did make this cake yesterday. I’ve blogged about it before – if you want a quick chocolate cake, this is one of the best – the recipe reflecting a time in which eggs and butter (and milk – it’s optional) were rationed during WWII. Advice: splurge for Dutch cocoa. It makes a huge difference in cooking – the fat content is higher, and so the taste is much fuller.
Going on the road soon for a couple of days. Keep up with us on Instagram, particularly stories.