"Seven Stanzas at Easter"

By John Updike Make no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body; if the cells' dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle, the Church will fall. It was not as the flowers, each soft Spring recurrent; it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled eyes of the eleven apostles; it was as His Flesh: ours. The same hinged thumbs and toes, the same valved heart that — pierced — died, withered, paused, and then regathered out of enduring Might new strength to enclose. Let us not mock God with metaphor, analogy, sidestepping transcendence; making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages: let us walk through the door. The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache, not a stone in a story, but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of time will eclipse for each of us the wide light of day. And if we will have an angel at the tomb, make it a real angel, weighty with Max Planck's quanta, vivid with hair, opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen spun on a definite loom. Let us not seek to make it less monstrous, for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty, lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed by the miracle, and crushed by remonstrance. Telephone Poles and Other Poems © 1961 by John Updike

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us;
and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may,
by thy mighty aid,
be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Third Sunday after Trinity
Book of Common Prayer 1928

• worked 50 hours
• ticked off a lady at Hancock's who used the adjective "smart ass" to describe those of us who were helping her
• was called "really pretty" by a little girl at Hancock's
  
• finished reading Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) and fell in love with Gilbert all over again
  
• started reading Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson)
• continued reading Tolkien: a Biography (Michael White)
• finished every bit of nasty paperwork associated with the upcoming school year--including my loan application and financial aid consent form
• finally finally finally sent in my thanks-but-no-thanks letters to University of Kentucky and University of Maryland
• painted my computer cart a disappointing green
  
• used the amazing new copier at the Crisis Pregnancy Center which duplexes, sorts, and staples the wad of papers one shoves in it
• found some fabulous deals at local thrift stores including a tea pot and a large glass canister ($3.19 for both) and a J. Crew sundress ($2.25)
• recovered my dining chairs
  
• am just beginning to understand the attitude of thankfulness
  

O GOD, the strength of all those who put their trust in thee;
Mercifully accept our prayers;
and because through the weakness of our mortal nature,
we can do no good thing without thee,
grant us the help of thy grace,
that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee,
both in will and in deed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

1st Sunday after Trinity
Book of Common Prayer 1928

Modicum: a small amount or tiny bit

Her eyes searched his for one modicum of recognition but found none. He stamped his ticket, placed it neatly within the pockets of his billfold, and thrust himself calmly into the jostling crowd with nothing but 8:01 Bedford on his mind.

This Week I ...

• worked 44 hours
• continued to read Tolkien: A Biography (Michael White)
• started to read Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery)
• finished reading Babbitt (Sinclair Lewis)
• met a lovely girl named Heather at the library
• found an affordable three-shelf rolling cart for my computer!
  
• worked on a little something for my kitchen
• implemented a new tidying system for my terribly cluttered bedroom: every time I enter, I put away three things (no more and no fewer)
• took advantage of Tropical Smoothie Cafe's National Flip-Flop Day giveaway
  
• signed up for the summer reading program at the Central Library
• discovered I was calling a regular patron by the wrong name for months
• ate buttery-smooth cookies-and-cream ice cream at Bergey's with Mom and Kathryn
• witnessed the completion of Mom's book cart (more on that!)
• made progress on my furniture makeovers: prepared my dining chairs for painting and bought upholstery fabric; speared Dad's tire with my scattered upholstery tacks
  

As you can tell, I spend nearly every thinking minute on household touches and decor. I am so excited about settling into my apartment in North Carolina in just a few weeks. Everything is coming together.

This here is a lovely example of using free walls for conversation or reading areas--Leslie Banker of Rhode Island set this space up in her dining room, making use of this space with her classically simple loveseat (it is gorgeous, isn't it?). The paneled walls set off her collection of prints beautifully and the bright red tones enliven the rich neutral scheme. You can find her house tour at Cookie Magazine.

I was reading through one of my favorite design blogs, designsponge, and found this fabulous project for knotted trivets. Please take a peek at their site for instructions!

I think I must be librarianish, but I keep looking at our metal flat files at Regent and thinking what a lovely coffee table one would make--



Anything with drawers and labels catches my eye instantly, and I do think that a bit of this painted metal furniture can compliment a farmhouse-look interior. But perhaps that's just my own opinion.

I spent yesterday evening gushing over the gorgeous dresses from Shabby Apple, a clothing line designed with ease of wearing in mind--no camisoles or cardigans required for comfortable coverage. The classic design is worth every penny, too.

The Madison Ave:



The Broadway:



The Upper East Side:


The Midtown:


Imagine my delight when I saw that one of my favorite inspirational blogs is hosting a Shabby Apple giveaway for the darling Marseilles dress--click on the link below to see what an adorable dress this is!

Marseilles Dress SHABBY APPLE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

and while we're on the subject of charming dresses, look at this dress from one of my favorite blogs, wearinghistory:



Oh the colors! One of the very best combinations, in my opinion.

vintage+wedding+frock

Isn't Kathleen from Grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com inspirational? I love viewing her refashioned projects although goodness knows, I do not need to add anything else to my to-do list for quite some time! But look at her glorious refashioned dress--

Vintage Wedding Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

--its delicate pintucks, lace, buttons, and transparency create an absolutely charming frock.

I love that Denmark resident Tracy Lorna Nors used floorboards to make her coffee-table top. (you can find more pictures of her lovely home via decor8blog here. Isn't this lovely?



If I were to make a coffee table, I would cover the apron with four-by-four inch pressed tin tiles painted in an antique white, perhaps in a single row design like this



or this



But that will all come later. Right now I'm just looking for an inexpensive wooden coffee table with decent proportions. I will keep scanning craigslist or my lovely local thrift stores for that.

I'll also need some sort of desk, but as I don't really like sitting at one (start to get antsy), I've decided to look for a rolling cart instead, something that will hold my printer at the bottom, my various accessories like cd-drive, cords, keyboard in a drawer, and my laptop on the top. When I am done with it, I can just roll it away, out of sight. Now, carts are expensive so I'm toying with the idea of finding an end table with two shelves or a shelf and a drawer (even better) and putting casters on it. It seems like that would suit my needs well. Something along the lines of this, your typical second-hand end table, only with wheels (and painted white, of course)--

a few more needs

My household furnishings are coming together as I get ready for the big move at the end of July. I absolutely cannot wait to put it all together--and put it all together in the appropriate amount of space. My own bedroom here looks like a warehouse, and I've also got pieces scattered throughout my parents' house and in the garage. But I've got the big pieces (sofa, side chairs, dining table, hutch, side table, wall unit, dresser, bed) and really only lack a few more dining chairs and a coffee table. I am so grateful for craigslist.

The kitchen, however, is quite understocked. I wrote out a list of what I'll need and phew! it's overwhelming. But I like finding that sort of thing and so will keep combing the thrift stores. Shall I write it out? Here goes...

*French press (Ikea 12-cup)
*teapot
*tea kettle (K)
*1 airbake cookie sheet
*2 half-sheet pans (K)
*dutch oven (P)
*casserole dishes--square + rectangle, preferably with lids
*4 sets flatware + extra spoons (K?)
*large mixing bowl
*medium mixing bowl
*reusable food containers (jars with lids, flat stacking)
*bucket with lid
*cutting boards--large + small

*measuring cups
*measuring spoons
*bamboo spoons
*ladle
*spatulas
*can opener

*2 square potholders (get batting Friday June 5th at Hancock's)
*dishtowels
*napkins (cloth)
*hand mixer
*food processor (K)
*vacuum
*mop
*mop bucket
*broom
*dustpan (?)
*fly swatter

*soap dispenser for kitchen and bath
*microwave?