yarn along:: june 2023, bullet point edition

Projects Finished:

• Vanilla socks in Opal KFS 106 Sakura, painstakingly knitted to match as closely as possible. (second picture)

• Bias Granny Stripe Afghan, using scraps for the stripes and Cloudborn Highland Fingering for the taupe middle section.  Finished, it measures about 60" x 45".

Projects in progress:

• Harvest socks using Pirika 75/25 in Shabby Chic (top picture).  Finished with one sock, but will need to rip out the toe and re-knit it so the sock fits better.

• More Viola yarn socks, vanilla pattern with sublty contrasting cuffs, heels, and toes.  (third picture)

Finished:

• Road to Emmaus Journal:  Number 63 and Number 73.  Both were phenomenal, but I'd especially like to order more of Protopriest Artemy Vladimirov's writing and reflections.  A carrot for finishing preparation for our first term of the 23-24 homeschool year, represented by the packed bookshelves in the last picture?  Possibly.  

In-progress:

Pre-reading for the school year is, as always, more delight than drudgery.  Many of the books are old friends, and the coming school year will be my last visit (school) with some of them.  Bittersweet, for sure.  This work will occupy my mornings while I sit poolside, waiting for the kids to finish swim practice.  I am thrilled that the four still at home are all on the team this year.

The second to last picture shows a few of the books on my personal summer reading list.  

•  A little of this course daily, and How to Read a Book is next. 

•   The Minister's Wife is for my clergy wife book group, although I've finished it already. 

•   Do You Know Yourself? and The Arena are some spiritual reading for when I finish The Ethics of Beauty.  

• For pleasure, I'm listening to Real Tigers, the third installment of the Slow Horses series, which was free on Audible.  I'm watching season 2 of the show on Apple TV, too.  It's dark comedy.  While the plot twists are clever and the characters vivid and memorable—Gary Oldman is positively repulsive—there's some graphic violence and spicy language; it's nothing that's kept me awake at night, but ymmv.

I leave you with a quotation from Fr. Artemy Vladimirov, who is referring to a specific confession, but has broader application to raising children, in my opinion.

Yes, when a person's will is paralyzed we should find a way to help them express their decision through our own inner conviction.  We do not overwhelm them or violate their personality, but we fill their heart with the courage to assert their own will.