In honor of St. Francis' Day, a throwback: pictures from Assisi, Italy |
Suki and I traveled to Assisi as part of a backpacking trip in 2007. |
- Here's an account of some lovely reflections given by Pope Francis yesterday, as he celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi in the saint's own city. He encouraged young people about vocations, telling them (us) not to be afraid “of taking definitive steps, like that of getting married.”
- Ever wonder why linen is expensive? Ever want to watch a video about flax harvesting, narrated by a man with a pleasing Irish accent? You're in luck.
- Waltzing Matilda has great, free print-outs of Saints for your kiddos' coloring purposes. I used to fill in coloring books with Habou, and I learned a lot just from watching her fill in her pages and see how she controlled her strokes, paid attention to the variations of color, etc. (When we were a little older, we used nice coloring pencils – after a certain age, crayons are just frustrating. When you want the end product to be beautiful, crayons just don't cut it.)
- And of course what the children are up to should be beautiful, even if primitive – since we're aiming for everything in the home to be lovely. Here's a reflection from Bishop James D. Conley about how Beauty is Necessary to Restore Culture. “Bishop Conley said, ‘clearly, beauty has a major role to play in the New Evangelization' and enumerated three ways in which this can be done: through liturgy; appreciation of historic Christian culture; and openness to beauty in all its forms….”
- From the Archives:
Building the Culture with Furniture
Rosie's Dresser Makeover
Decorating Mistakes Real People Make by Taking Design Ideas Seriously
Vespers, or, Building the Culture of Love
- But what is beauty? Here's an excellent introduction, worthy of a sit-down watch on some free evening with the mature members of your family: Roger Scruton's Why Beauty Matters. Scruton examines philosophical approaches to beauty in art, with stunning visuals and an excellent soundtrack. The Artist and I watched it last Sunday evening along with my friend who was visiting; it led to great conversation!
Again, the content is mature and would be boring, anyway, to most children. Running time is an hour. If anyone knows of a more direct way to access this documentary, please let me know in the comments! (I have no investment in the website where it is embedded and I'm not savvy enough to have simply embedded it here.) Thanks, Maggie, for the recommendation!
- Do you encounter the “overpopulation” argument and ever feel stumped? There are several good resources, but this article gives a synopsis of some ways to approach the conversation. Helpful to have those distinctions (overpopulation vs. overcrowding; policy problems vs. reproductive issues, etc.) handy. How to Debunk the Myth of Overpopulation in Three Easy Steps.
- Finally, Say it in Llama. Because you can. (Discovered through a super fun blog that always has stuff like this, How About Orange.)
- Happy Memorial of St. Faustina! Since it's the beginning of the month, I just want to let you know that you can look ahead at all upcoming liturgical year events on the This Month Overview feature at Catholic Culture (click here for October!). This includes a look-ahead at Gospel readings for this month, ideas for celebrating in the season, and more! Super handy.
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Auntie Leila's Pinterest.
Rosie's Pinterest.
Sukie's Pinterest.
Deirdre's Pinterest.
Habou's Pinterest.
Auntie Leila's Ravelry
Kathy@9peas says
I really appreciate the links on beauty, it is something I've really been chewing on lately and I appreciate getting to read something you ladies at LMLD find valuable.
Charlotte's coloring pages are my kids favorites, we love them!
Carrie says
Just wanted to say that yesterday evening when the children were in bed I made the cookie recipe from last week's Bits and Pieces. My husband (a doctor) came in from the hospital sometime after 11pm and is working all weekend so I wanted to do something little to acknowledge how hard he works and how I appreciate him. I converted the measurements for the UK and added a bit of extra flour and made 2 ENORMOUS cookies. Husband declared them delicious. I was thinking it would make a splendid recipe for small children to have a go at. I'm going to let my 3 year-old make them for her older siblings ( dividing the mixture into smaller balls!). Also…on the subject of colouring, we love the Usborne Things to Find and Colour books.
DeirdreLMLD says
How fun! Yes, when I made them they came out very huge as well. I also had the butter too melted, so they were pretty darned flat… but still tasty!
Barbara says
Interesting link to the article on overpopulation. The last fact on that page is chilling and no accident that the writer chose Nigeria, as it is a Muslim country where Christians are being martyred.
Ngofamilyfarm says
Such wonderful links! Thank you for taking the time to share all of them.
-Jaime
Terri says
Thank you for sharing another round of links to interesting stories and helpful information. Speaking of beauty, those photos of Assisi are stunning.
Betsy M says
I just finally had a chance to sit down and check out your bit and pieces. I especially appreciate the Catholic Culture month's overview link. I never realized they had that on there and it is exactly what I was needing.
We also love Charlotte's coloring pages in our house. It really has encouraged the kids to draw as well as color.
Lenie says
I have a question about one of the articles from the archives. Would it make Auntie Leila dreadfully angry if I painted my nursery baby blue? Because in my first time mother/homeowner naivete I was planning to and then I read her article and now I am wondering if I am about to make a terrible mistake. I thought it would be soothing but with my cold climate maybe not?
_Leila says
Haha, Lenie — do what you want! My thoughts would be the following:
I do think using a stronger color, especially blue, works best in a small room.
Have you looked online (I would search Pinterest) at nurseries to see which blue achieves the effect you are looking for? My feeling is that people go get the blue they like on a plate and put it on a wall, not taking into account the light in the room and the fact that color all over works differently from color in one spot. Also, a straight-up baby blue might not be as versatile as a blue-green with a gray-ish white undertone, which would work with lots of other colors… Of course, I don't know what blue you have in mind! But a very saturated blue will restrict you in bedding choices, for instance, and I don't know about you, but I find sheets the hardest to get in the colors I have in mind!
Have you considered painting the room a nice neutral color like Calming Cream (one of my fave BM colors) and then doing all the accessories — curtains, bedding, pillows, rug — in varying shades of blue? That way, in two years, when you have a girl 🙂 you don't have to repaint!!!
Having said all that, if you want blue — get blue!!
Lenie says
Hehe, I just read your post and I'd never heard anything against blue walls before so I was having visions of PPD! It gives a whole new meaning to the term, “baby blues.”
I have painted enough to know that colors do NOT look the same on the paint chip as they do on the wall! I was going for a Beatrix Potter theme which in my opinion would work for a boy or girl–no way I am repainting the nursery eleven times! The blue would be “Peter Rabbit's jacket” blue. My house gets no light though. 🙁 A man must have designed it. On further consideration perhaps I will go for a creamy light brown instead! Think “Peter Rabbit's fur.” Thanks for your enlightening article! I had never heard The Dangers of Blue exposed.
Meghan says
I thought you all might be interested in this article about the imprtance of motherhood. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-walsh/youre-a-…
_Leila says
Meghan, I really enjoyed that piece! It's great.