Astute readers will observe that this post is not being published on the eighth of the month, but rather the ninth. I had a good run—eleven months of making my self-imposed deadline. But I’ll have to restart the clock come January. It’s just like I say about the Jets every Sunday: Maybe next year.
Some updates
The semester has ended, and there is so much more work to be done. I ended this course with so much more I want to read, so much more I want to write. An MFA is considered a terminal degree, but with each course I’m learning how much more I want to learn. Thank God for used books!
What I’m reading
On December 1, I started reading a chapter of the Gospel of Luke each morning. There are twenty-four chapters in this Gospel, which makes it a great Advent (or Advent-thereabouts) read. I’m off of grad classes for six weeks—which are filled with Christmas preparations and other family celebrations—so there will be some catching up and some reading just for fun between now and the end of the year.
What my kids are reading
I’ve been able to review some excellent new picture books recently. The Supper of the Lamb by Scott Hahn and Emily Stimpson Chapman is particularly wonderful. Everything I’ve seen come out of Emmaus Road for kids is stunning in both content and form. If you’re still shopping for the Catholic kids in your life, check this publisher out.
I also have a copy of Faithful Friends: Favorite Stories of People in the Bible by Marcy and Michael Kelleher to review. It’s adorable, filled with images of hand-crafted dolls Marcy created to bring the scenes to life for young readers. I’ve admired her work for a long time and to see it come together in a book is a delight.
Something I love
One of the gifts I’m most excited for my kids to open on Christmas morning (consider yourself sworn to secrecy) are their new Woobles. These beginner crochet kids are incredible—everything you need is included; the project is already started and set up so you can pull back to this starting point if you mess up; and the video tutorials are superb. Even better, Justine shows how to do each thing if you’re a righty AND if you’re a lefty (great news for my oldest!). My older boys have done a bunch of these, and have been successful with very little help from me. This year, they’re getting Harry Potter and PacMan kits. I can’t wait!
(Link above and here is the same, an affiliate link that gives you a coupon and me a credit.)
What I’m creating (knitting, lettering, embroidery, etc.)
I finished a scarf I’d been working on for a year and a half, and I’ve been wearing it every chance I get. The pattern is Baubles by Andrea Mowry, and I knit it in a combination of dark blue, deep raspberry, and a flecked creamy white with bits of those colors, neon yellow, and more. Here it is been blocked, or stretched, after its first wash.
I love a pattern that allows me to learn a new stitch, and here I learned two-color brioche (a big step, considering I’d never done any brioche before!).
Where my work is
Word on Fire: Love Those Suffering with the Gift of Listening
Verily: Gift Guide: Editors’ Picks for the Five Love Languages
Solum Journal IV: “Cheers to Fifty Years” (this story was previously published in Ever Eden)
What I’m working on
In February, I’ll be giving a talk at the Catholic Writers Conference Online about critique groups, namely why they’re important and how to make them work. You don’t have to be a member of the Catholic Writers Guild to attend, though members do get discounted admission. Check out the schedule here.
I’m also moderating a children’s literature panel with Catholic Literary Arts in March. Editors from three publishing houses will join us to talk about what matters most to them, what they’re looking for in a submission, and more. This event is only open to CLA members.
A quote to sit and sip with
Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.
—The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
My daughter is learning how to crochet! Check one thing off the Christmas list.