Thursday's List

READING: Where is That in the Bible? and Why is That in Tradition? both edited and compiled by Patrick Madrid. I've actually had these two slim little companion volumes for about five years or so, but I get them off the shelf and re-read them fairly frequently. They contain a lot of useful knowledge about Catholic dogma and doctrine. I bought the first book long before I became Catholic and devoured it with my Bible by my side, reading and flipping pages and making notes and then going to the internet to read further. The second book followed the first very closely. Despite their small size, they provided what I needed to know about concepts such as purgatory, Mary's perpetual virginity and other areas of Catholic belief that were making me say, "Huh?"

POOLSIDE READING: Second Honeymoon by British author Joanna Trollope. I really like the way this woman writes. It is a departure from my regular summer fare of chick lit, but she's sooo good. This one is about a mother learning to let go and embrace the empty nest; her husband's bid to get his wife back after twenty-two years of child rearing; and the grown children's propensity to coming back home after leaving. It is a very thoughtful book, very moving.

LISTENING TO: Hannah Montana on the television, heaven help me.

THINKING ABOUT: eating a bowl of refrigerator-chilled tangerine sections with a banana cut up in them. Also about the Shakespeare Workshop coming up in late August - I am elbow deep in lesson plans and am alternately delighted and worried that I may have TOO MUCH MATERIAL for five three hour classes. It's better to have too much than not enough, obviously, but I don't want to leave anything out.

FAVORITE NEW FIND: Aisling's and Meelyn's new frames for their glasses -- they are just too cute, also their new swimsuits

FAVORITE THING TODAY: looking forward to sitting out on the front porch this evening with my husband, just talking over the day's events and drinking iced tea

WISH I HAD: that cute knock-off Coach bag I saw at Target this morning - just adorable

PRAYING FOR: people, places and things - lots of suffering out there