7 quick takes: call me Roz, little libraries, good links, chandelier trees and more!

Leo on patrol in the kitchen

This week I took more hours at my part-time office assistant job, about 35.  A good reminder how exhausting it is to work full time, come home to make dinner, take care of the house and more.  I give a standing ovation to all you dear women who work full-time.  God bless you.

 For my part I took a new role model:  


I'm pretty sure that at one time or another I've mentioned putting up some photos of our new house.  Here's the thing:  the day I unpacked our last box -- well, not that exact day, but a few days later -- our eldest son moved out of his house and had no where to store his stuff until he could get into his new house.  So we're back to boxes stacked willy-nilly and a variety of children sleeping in a variety of places and more toothbrushes in the bathroom than people in the house (how does THAT happen?).  Some day I'll get around to taking some photos, though.  Unless Brian and I become Cliff and Claire Huxtable.
I did manage to get a picture of one of our neighbor's front yards during a morning walk last week.  And, yes, I did borrow a book.  Best motivation for taking a walk ever.


Speaking of library books, I've been loving my book pile lately.  This is what I read last month.  Also, I'm grateful to Laurel Rudd for the suggestions she left me in the comment box on that post.  See, Laurel?

I'm happy I picked up War of the Worlds for the book cover alone.
I was pleasantly surprised by all the encouraging notes I received from the Upon 2 years in Austin post yesterday.  I felt like I might have been a bit too angsty about a subject that might seem trivial to so many who are used to moving a lot and living far away from family.  I underestimated the level of empathy and shared experience out there.

 A friend of a friend from the same hometown moved here with her family the same month we did in 2011.  Her analogy (shared on Facebook) for the two year time span is pretty spot on:
"August marks two years in Texas. I liken it to an arranged marriage. The first few months I had a pit in my stomach; certain the move was the biggest mistake of our lives. Slowly, the place, or perhaps our life here, has wooed me."  
Yes ma'am.
Good stuff I've seen online lately:

  • The Trauma of Being Alive by Mark Epstein at the NY Times: "Trauma is not just the result of major disasters. It does not happen to only some people. An undercurrent of trauma runs through ordinary life, shot through as it is with the poignancy of impermanence."
Also, remember my friend Sharon who wrote a guest post for the mourning stories series during Holy Week?  She shared transparently about her family's experience as she battled cancer.  I'm thrilled to share her most recent update from her blog, Sustain Me: Notes on Cancer.

We are grateful with you and for you, Sharon!


We have the perfect tree to borrow this idea for our front yard.  Now if someone in our house could just become an electrician so we could make it work.


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A beauty and grace-filled weekend for us all, dear ones.

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Tamara Hill Murphy7 quick takes, books, links, video1 Comment