Our Hearts Are Restless

Fourth of July weekend with my family means camping.  Over the last few years, we've explored several Indiana state parks, where we hike, hang out, and chill for a few days.  2016 brought a new development, as my parents decided to invest in a tent for my sister and I, so as not to cram four people into an RV meant for two.  The first thing Meredith and I figured out how to do is attach a flashlight to the ceiling so that we can read after the parental units have gone to bed.  It's the important things in life. This tent could only be improved by the addition of a green door with a round knocker and a G-rune. Despite a bit of a cloudy chill over the weekend, it was quiet, peaceful, and refreshing for all of us.  For me, I think the change of scenery was the principal attraction, as I've been in a city for the majority of the last year.  Living simply and unplugged under the trees for a few days was a much-needed change of pace.  Although, when w...

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 ...

I'm still surprised I survived for three months without a library card!  Thankfully, I'm familiar enough with the city that I felt up to exploring the local branch of the Ann Arbor District Library last night. I'll have to poke around more in the daylight, because the building is very interestingly designed.  It's modern-art-y but in a fairly tasteful way; very open and brightly lit with big windows. I only had an hour, and a project to get finished, so unfortunately I didn't get the chance to look at their book selection.  I basically just found a comfy chair and used the wifi!  But happiness and joy, I can check out and return books interchangeably between branches; this location is just ten minutes from work, and there's another one close to my apartment.  So that makes life easier! It seems I'm officially a resident of Ann Arbor - had to show proof of residency to get the card.  And now that I have a library, I feel more at home in...

Christendom's Rome program is set up to include three "free weekends", which are three days with no activities planned, so that students can travel wherever they'd like around Europe.  This weekend, I didn't have plans to leave the country, but I knew I needed a mental health day.  It's been gloomy and wet in Rome, we've been busy, and a day off from the city was imperative.  I'd thought about other plans, but in the end made my decision based on an idea from Madelyn's gift jar.   So, I headed off to the little town of Castel Gandolfo, a 45-minute train journey from Termini, Rome's central transportation hub. This town is the summer residence of the Popes since the 17th century.  It sits above Lake Albano, which was reflecting a beautiful blue sky today.  There's not much in the town itself, except the Apostolic Palace and the church of St. Thomas of Villanova, below.   I also found this little chapel inset into the wall of the palace. ....

I decided that steeple-climbing could be appropriately interpreted as bell-tower climbing, even though this was technically not a church steeple.  It's as close as I can get, since in Rome, no church can be higher than St. Peter's.  This is the Torre del Mangia in Siena, which stands above the piazza in which the Sienese hold their world-famous Palio, the summer horse race.   It was quite a fun little adventure!  I don't think my climb reaches nearly the level of some of Madelyn's, since this tower was only 289 feet tall.  According to Wikipedia, it's one of the top three tallest secular-built towers in medieval Italy, though.   [caption id="attachment_1414" align="alignnone" width="645"] Piazza del Campo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1416" align="alignnone" width="645"] The church in the background is San Francesco, the place where St. Catherine of Siena's head is enshrined.[/caption] [caption id...

[caption id="attachment_1378" align="alignnone" width="645"] Things I have learned about packing for overseas travel. 1. I probably have too much stuff.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1377" align="alignnone" width="645"] 2. My dad is amazing.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1379" align="alignnone" width="645"] 3. My stuff will never fit into my suitcase this way again.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1380" align="alignnone" width="645"] 4. Lugging all this stuff around Rome and Ireland is going to either build muscle or knock me out.  Hey, at least it's pretty much done!  Mostly...[/caption]

I know I haven't gotten the chance to post for a long time.  Life's been crazy these last few weeks, so I thought I would finally synthesize a bunch of pictures that I've taken or stolen from my mutually adopted little brother. First off, the Legion of Mary has begun thriving this semester.  Thanks be to God and Our Lady, who have worked through me very thoroughly!  We've grown from a core of 8 remaining from last year's alumni departures, to 15 new members.  4 years ago, there were about 4 members, so I think we're making good progress.  The role of president is a tough one, but it's been much better than I'd originally expected it to be.  I know that all the progress we've made has not been me, but rather my surrendering myself as a tool to Our Mother's use. [caption id="attachment_1159" align="aligncenter" width="652"] At the club fair, the Legion of Mary table was front and center on the Commons stage![/caption]...