It’s finally spring/almost-summer in the Mid-West, and can I just tell you how happy that makes me? It has been warm and sunny for almost a week, and it’s like something within me that I didn’t even know had been wound so tightly is just slowly unwinding and relaxing. I know we need the rain, too, but oh! how glad I’ve been to see the sun these past few days!
© 2014 Simple Felicity
I’ve been on a semi-vacation for a couple of days, visiting family up in Berlin, WI. Yesterday I went for a walk through town, and wandered around in the park across the street from the church we used to visit when I was a kid, and came across Historical Marker #362, describing in brief the accomplishments of Lucy Smith Morris, who was a strong supporter of women’s suffrage and personally hosted Julia Ward Howe, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony in her home, which is still standing (and in my opinion, absolutely beautiful). I was telling my mom about how cool I found all this (I’ve become more and more intrigued by the history of the women’s movement in America over the past year), and she informed me that it’s the only house in town with an elevator. The things you learn…
I saw a really great foreign film this week: Le Concert. (I would link to it for you, but imho IMBb didn’t do it justice, and the wikipedia article contains spoilers. Which you don’t want.) It’s a French film, but there are English versions of it kicking around in the United States, and subtitled versions as well. If you love music, World War II history, comedy or French films – this one is for you. Enjoy!
In case you missed the link on Facebook earlier this week, I am thrilled to tell you that I had the incredible privilege of guest-posting on Dan Brennan’s blog last week. Please check out my post – Beyond Rules To Freedom: 5 Things We’ve Learned About Cross-Gender Friendship – on Dan’s blog, and give a shout-out to the Jedi Pastor, who was awesome enough to let me share the story of our friendship and how it’s changed (for the better!) over the past few years. Be sure to check out the rest of the series Dan is running this month on cross-gender friendships as well. This conversation is so necessary for the Church!
On the way back home from Wisconsin today, I stopped at a little specialty wine shop that I’ve been meaning to visit for eight years, and just hadn’t gotten around to yet. I met a guy from Italy who works for a vineyard there, and is incredibly passionate about his work. He explained a lot about how the location of the vineyards and the weather impact the quality of the wines produced by the vineyards, and how ultimately it all hinges on balance.
The wine was amazing – as was the reminder: sometimes (in life, as well as in wine-making) it really does just all hinge on balance.
There is a lot of good music out there, but every now and again, there’s just a song you get hooked on. I love this song for so many reasons, including about half the lyrics – but mostly, the instrumentation. Fellow music geeks, check it out:
Thank you so much to all of you who have taken the time to fill out Simple Felicity’s brief survey. It will be open for one more week – through May 31st! – so if you would still like to vote for which e-book I should write this summer, please do! You can take the survey here.
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
