7 Quick Takes Friday

1

For most of the day yesterday, I shared my office with some of the local wildlife -- a mouse. Much as I promote sharing among my children, when it comes to sharing my living space with rodents -- not so much. Mom-in-law came in while it was peeking out from behind my desk, and commented, "Gee, she looks pregnant." Great. What I need is a family of mice living behind this heavy roll-top desk! I turned on iTunes to cover the sound of scrabbling behind the desk while I worked. Then she started making strange noises. "Don't you go into labor back there!" I yelled at the wall.

The critter was trapped and dispatched by the end of the day. Meanwhile, the cat is fired.

2

It's been one of those weeks. After two weeks of vacation, both kids decided to turn up sick on Monday (and one into Tuesday). There oughta be a law or something. Actually, I think there is one along the lines of Murphy's -- kids will always try to extend vacations, no matter how desperate Mom is for them to go back to school.

3

We've been scootering to school, though I've been finding excuses to drive the car down and pick them up at the end of the day! There's a whole set of muscles that haven't been exercised in my body for quite some time -- try standing on one leg for a couple of minutes and you'll get the idea.

4

Progress report on my first New Year's Resolution -- I visited the Episcopal church nearby last Sunday. Yes, there's definitely something there that my soul is craving. I'm not sure I'm ready to define just what that is, though the liturgy feels substantive and thoughtful in a way that praise songs don't. Now to work out the logistics of splitting time between two places on Sunday morning.

5

A strange memory about cravings: Several years ago, shortly after the birth of Ray if I remember correctly, I found myself at the grocery checkout with a cart full of red and purple produce. I had red grapes, red cabbage, beets, strawberries, eggplant, and probably a handful of others. A dietician friend of mine always used to say, "Eat what sounds good to you," on the theory that your body would tell you what it needed. I guess I needed something red that day. What does it mean if your body tells you it needs chocolate?

6

I've been spending a bit of time checking out the new Missional Tribe site since its launch on Tuesday. Many of the instigators behind it are people I've been reading for the past few years, so I haven't figured out quite what's new for me there. It's a social network space, but I have to say, I haven't quite figured out the benefits of that concept, either. My facebook account sits unnoticed for months at a time, too. Maybe there will be more call to connect around the content at MT.

7

Believe it or not, our CSA starts next week. I know most of the country is buried right now, but our little farm is producing away. I'm going for the small share this year in hopes that we'll start growing some food here. The weeds are thriving after the rain we've had, but we haven't had a chance to sit down and plan where things will go in the yard. Soon, I hope.