And Another Week Passes...

Keith observed how vacation goes by so much faster every year. I told him it was the Matrix. They speed the program up a few notches every year. And if you haven't seen the Matrix, then you won't get that, but it's ok. It's not necessary for a well-rounded life. Time's just flying, and it's creeping me out.

Growing up is creeping me out. Life's crazy.

But you know what? God is good. All the time.
And I just read this article, and it really ministered to me. Read it. It's good.
(I wonder how many people actually click all the little linkies I love to include in my posts? lol)

Aaaand, Laura's home! I missed her while she was at camp the last two weeks. She's going back for another week on Monday. Then I'll miss her again. But I'll be busy going to six flags and a preschool conference.

We haven't done anything really awesome and sister-y. Like I said, life has decided to go all haywire on us. But I'm so glad she's home again. Even when we don't do fun stuff and talk a lot, it's just good to have here here. And now I must post a picture in honor of our sisterhood.So, yeah. I'm looking forward to going back to work. Yay! Until then, maybe I can squeeze in the other stuff I meant to do this summer. And maybe not. And if I don't, I won't feel guilty. It's been a nice summer.

And... well, I guess that's all I've got for now. Happy wishes to ya.
Caitlin

Can't stop reading...

You know how I had that great ideal about writing after each book I finish this summer?
Yeah, it's not going so well.

In addition to Romeo & Juliet and Fahrenheit 451, I've read For Women Only, How to be Your Own Selfish Pig, and Wedding Planning for Dummies. All of which were completed during my weekend stay with the Looneys. That makes us sound awfully boring, but there's nothing like being such good friends with someone that you can all sit around doing nothing together and enjoy it just as much as when you're doing fun stuff.

Okay, there are so many things in that one paragraph that I could write another whole paragraph on. Let me expound:

Firstly, I at least need to write a paragraph about each of the books I've read. But I'm not going to do that in this post.

Instead, what I'm going to say is that every woman needs to read For Women Only. Seriously. Ranting about how great it was could be entertaining, but I can just refer you to the above hyperlink where you can read about the book yourself. Now I need to read For Men Only so I can see what it is that men don't know about us. lol

And in case you were wondering why I was reading Wedding Planning for Dummies ... it was just lying around their house, so I picked it up. Fascinating. It made weddings sound like nothing but a long, expensive nightmare. I think maybe I'll just elope and have an elaborate photo shoot.

Now, in case you were wondering why it was lying around their house, I shall tell you.

MY VERY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD IS ENGAGED!!

That's all.

=) But this post is supposed to be about how I can't stop reading, so I'll talk more about that later.

Since we're still talking about reading, I should inform you that I've already started another book.

The Beautiful Fight, by Gary Thomas. (recently retitled "Holy Available: what if holiness is about more than what we don't do") I meant to start reading Middlemarch, but I've been waiting for this book to get to my library forEVER. Or at least it seems like forever, because I was so excited about reading it since the minute I heard about it. I don't know if I've ever been this excited to read a "christian living" type book. Nope, I haven't. But this one's gonna be good. I've read the first couple chapters already... I have paper and a pencil handy while I'm reading it.

So... I guess that's all. Just thought I'd update you on my summer reading.

Life is good. And even when it's not, God is good. Amazing how you can still have joy when your soul is weighed down if Jesus Christ is holding you.

I'll post again soon!
Caitlin

P.S. I went to the post office and the library today. I went to the post office for something trivial just so I could say hey to the people who work there. Small towns are fun. :)

Rapunzel Returns

Time for another hair update!

(Last update: Rapunzel, Rapunzel )

So, my hair's growing slowly but surely. I wish it would grow quicker, but the awkard mid-length part is pretty much over. Aaaand, despite my constant lust for quirky hair, I'm resisting all thoughts of cutting it again. Dying it, too. No more fun hair. I'm going to grow it back out long and natural. And then guess what? I'll chop it off again!! **evil laughter* ... maybe. maybe not.

But the point of this post is so that you can admire my constancy and determination.
Also so you can tell me my hair looks great. Which means you need to see a picture.

Lucky for you, I have four.
I was feeling snap-happy.

Obviously, I straightened it. It looks longer when it's straight. Which means it looks shorter than this when it's curly. (don't you love my redundancy?) I have to straighten it every now and then to help me remember that it's growing.

After church, I ran around looking for batteries for the camera. "You guys, I have to find batteries!! I have to get a picture of my hair or all that time spent fixing it will be WASTED!"

Obviously, I found some batteries. And now you have this lovely post.

You're welcome.
:)

Oh hello!

I hope you've all been having a nice life. My blog subscriptions are all backed up. I have no idea what's going on with anybody except for the Looneys and my "church people." Which really isn't all that bad, actually. It's kinda like things used to be before the internet took up 75 percent of my life.
haha...

During my prolonged absence I've been doing more reading. I feel like I need to apologize for the impersonal nature of my last post (The Remains of the Day). Summer reading, I decided, would be a little more fruitful if I wrote something about each book after I finished it. And so I did. However, since the completion of The Remains of the Day, I've also finished Fahrenheit 451 (which was fantastic), and Romeo and Juliet (I've never read Shakespeare before). I've not written about those yet.

Etsy sales have picked up some! Three or four sales in one week! Yeah!

Yesterday I went and had some fun with my friends and didn't exactly keep good track of my money... I almost spent more than I had, but fortunately I made a sale and got paid during the day, so nothing bad happened. Thank you, God!

Today's plans : Go pick up "The Beautiful Fight" from the library. Make some slippers. Ship some orders. Go to church. Oh wait. The things that require driving to town might have to wait til tomorrow...

So, anyways, now you know what's going on with my life.

Enjoy the rest of your week!
Caitlin

The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day
-Kazuo Ishiguro
　
What makes a great butler?

Stevens ponders the question afresh as he travels.
"Dignity," undoubtedly, is his reply. It is the hallmark of every great butler. Still, dignity alone is not a satisfactory answer. Further thought begs the question: What is dignity? Many long hours have been spent before, meditating on the question of dignity, but it presents itself to him again as he drives.

It is his first vacation from Darlington Hall, where he has served faithfully for thirty years. Presumably to document the English countryside he’s so pleased to finally see for himself, he makes the trip with a journal close at hand. No sooner is his journey underway than he finds himself preoccupied with reflections on his career.　

Taking advantage of the opportunity to rest and collect his thoughts, Stevens begins to write. Pause between thought is necessary when keeping a journal, in order so the pencil may keep up with the mind. Somewhere in those quiet spaces when the mind is still and fingers busied, new thoughts take the opportunity to arise, presenting angles never considered before. Stevens reiterates ideas apparently long held, as if subconsciously trying to persuade himself of something, or keep himself from thinking deeper on matters already decided. Not quite defensively, he repeats statements which would deny himself as an individual, instead assigning all areas of his life to the jurisdiction of himself as a butler.

Very little is mentioned of the splendid scenery. Instead, we find his journal dominated by reminiscence of the past, and solemn consideration of his present situation. His written thoughts show little emotion; he analyzes past and present with an impersonal sort of impartiality, almost as though he were no person of his own, and solely Lord Darlington’s butler.

But somewhere under what, casually observed, would be read as indifference, an undertone vulnerably human comes through. The lines are calm and collected, strictly professional, but read between them and perhaps there can be found whispers of creeping doubt, and faint echoes of something that might once have been love.

Allowing new thoughts to arise could shed a new light on all he has known. What if he were to see things differently? It might prove things to be something other than he’s believed. A man told Stevens that one cannot have dignity without freedom, and the ability to think and choose for one‘s self. His life was dedicated in it’s entirety to the service of Lord Darlington. Now, since His Lordship’s death, what has Stevens left to show of his own?