Our Hearts Are Restless

Little balls of energy and fluff have invaded our apartment.  They have claws, bright (occasionally manic) eyes, perky tails, and Mack-truck-sized purrs. Finnegan Patrick, occasionally referred to (by me) as "Dammit, Finn!", is a beautiful tabby with the type of curiosity that has killed other cats.  Portia's sweet face conceals a wild and crazy Hyde side, and a penchant for being overly affectionate at 5:50 AM. When they aren't learning the word "NO", they are entertaining us with somersaults, sleeping in awkwardly cute positions, and generally being much fun.  My roommate Iris has a video up on her blog of us bringing them home last week - check it out here ! I'm heading down south for the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500 this weekend, so I will be incommunicado for a few days.  Y'all have a great Memorial Day!

If you are currently in college, just flipped your tassel, or - like me - are still struggling with calling a new apartment "home", p lease enjoy this guest post from one of my good friends, Amy Marter.  Amy just graduated as Valedictorian from Christendom College, with a BA in Literature and a minor in Classics.  She is working for Our Sunday Visitor for a second summer, volunteers at the Catholic Writers' Conference, and will attend Catholic University of America this fall for a MA in Literature. CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay A Patron Saint for College Nomads If there is one practical skill that I have gained from my college education, it has been that of packing. After four years of moving into dorms and returning home for breaks, I like to think that I have mastered the art. There is an exhilarating liberation that comes from the decision that all of one’s necessary earthly possessions can fit into the back of the station wagon. It gives rise to freedom to ro...

Hello y'all! My writing schedule may be sporadic this month. Between friends visiting, new kittens coming home, the Indy 500, my parish choir concert, and finishing a major freelance project, I will be lucky if I get time to go grocery shopping!  It is going to be an awesome few weeks.  Who needs food anyway? My lovely roommate and I are just a few days from bringing home our kittens - her grey tabby Finnegan Patrick and my calico Lady Portia.  So far, Finn is a package of Energizer Bunny-esque entertainment; Portia is a fluffy, only slightly more lady-like snuggler.  Both are equally susceptible to the lure of the laser light. IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE! Last week, I spent my Friday night going on an adventure.  I'm frequently busy, but I don't often breach my comfort zone, so this was a good change.  Juventutem Michigan, the local chapter of an international young adult group focused on the Extraordinary Form, held their spring Mass and ...

Hi y'all!  Thought I'd share another recipe over here, although I'm not quite as good in the kitchen as my lovely roommate over at Starving Inspired . If you've met me, you may know that I'm not fond of either wine or beer; I hate the taste of alcohol, so I'll only drink something that cuts the alcohol burn with a strong flavor.  Hence, my propensity for hard ciders and margaritas, which are about the only drinks that don't remind me of cough syrup. A near escape from tipsiness with a glass of rum punch has entrenched my resolution to keep tight control of my alcohol consumption.  I hate feeling like I'm not in control!  With careful parameters, though, I do enjoy the occasional drink with friends.  When I visited Christendom recently , a girlfriend and I made a late-night Walmart run before heading back to her house.  Besides getting myself food for the weekend, we also grabbed ingredients for homemade margaritas.  The recipe  turned out to b...

Welcome back to another round of the Open Book linkup via Carolyn Astfalk !  I'm sorry to say I haven't been reading much this past month - blame it on travel, Netflix, and my current propensity for reading really long novels.  Happily, working a full-time job gives me a nice long lunch break, and I've been using it lately to work through the seventh book in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series . My parents tried for years to get me hooked on these books, so last year I finally picked up most of the set in paperback from the Half Price Books annual clearance sale.  This spring, I spent about two months burning through the first half-dozen. If you're not familiar with Clancy, his novels are typically shelved with "spy thriller" or "military fiction" genres, although the books also take on characteristics of alternative history and political commentary.  Stylistically, Clancy resembles Charles Dickens - he has a remarkable ability to present ...