Our House (We Hope!) in One Week

Our House

is a 1915 brick construction in an old neighborhood in Kansas City. The house is on a quiet street with a children’s park at the end of it. There is a running trail a block away that runs for miles along the old trolley track. It is 0.5 miles to Brookside village where there is a farmer’s market, restaurants, a grocery store, post office, coffee shop, laundry, florist, independent (children’s) bookstore, dime store and elementary school. From our front porch we can walk to the gorgeous Loose Park with its rose garden, playground, trees, and an old Civil War canon. We are within 10 minutes of our new parish, Our Lady of Good Counsel.

The house is full of old wood paneling. I usually don’t like wood paneling, but this is amazing. Totally unique. And the house is also filled with light, with huge windows all along the south face. The house is old—and feels old—but everything was renovated this year. I usually don’t like rehabs, but the previous owner kept all the important features intact. So I will enjoy the huge fireplace, hardwood floors, built in hutch, 1920s tile—while also enjoying a brand new kitchen with granite, new bathrooms and—wonder of wonders!—a walk in closet!

May God bless our new house, new baby, new life.

Kansas Country

Last weekend TM, Inside Child and I met the parental-in-laws and our brother and sister-in-law at the family's place in Hesston, KS. Sister-in-law and I enjoyed being pregnant while floating in the pool (she's due in November), while the men attempted to play golf in the back pasture--despite the oppressive Kansas heat.

Though my ever-growing body is made even heavier and more unwieldy by said heat, I love it. Summer is glorious. The summer sounds and smells are different here--in the heat--on the prairie--than they are in Scotland. Next summer I will probably long for the sounds/smells of the Scottish summer (sea-gulls crying at dawn, the salt sea, the barley turning colors and the beech trees green), but now I am happy to be home. Cicadas loud, dry grass (its sound, its smell), the burr oak, the maple, the sycamore, the horse-apple.

Below I include picture of:

My Child

Strong City, KS

St Anthony Catholic Church

Iced Tea

Funny Sunhats

Mr. Mclewer's (who is dead) Abandoned Farm

John Deer Green

and

Retro Family Photos

Kansas City in July

Hot here: the sun is like iron weights. Bright and heavy.

I love

drinking iced coffee in Broadway Coffee. Sun through the huge panes. Sun and shadow wavering in the heat on the white tile. Clatter of mugs and voices. Steamed milk. Outside there are dogs, bikes, and a row of guys sitting on chairs in the heat.

I love

the farmers' market on Saturday morning. Huge tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant. A five-year-old sold me espresso cookies. A woman sold me bread. There are flowers in buckets, babies in slings. Morning murmur amongst fruit, potted plants, tents flapping in the hot wind.

I love

cicadas in the evening as we eat ice cream. Ice cream melting. Cold and heat. Heat heat--even into the night. Ceiling fans at night. My pregnant body sweating.

I love the skyline. I love the sun blinding. I love the huge trees in Hyde Park. I love the brick streets in Westport. I love the smell of grass.

I love

I love

A Pregnant Pause

We have come to our last week in Scotland. My emotions are mixed. Going home (home!) means full weight of responsibility, reality--the reality of a child--the end of the nurturing bubble of the university. Going back to Kansas City means going back to my own childhood, haunts and heavens, false memories and hidden memories.

Tonight in Anstruther it is raining, the flat is nearly empty, the last meal has been cooked and eaten. We have said goodbye to our friends, our favorite places. Strange--leaving, arriving.

This past month has been slow: slow writing, slow thinking, slow moving body. The seasonal warmth has come slowly to Fife. Summer is tentative--chill winds, fast moving clouds, roses as big as plates, gone in a day in the sea air. Heat comes slowly, if at all. I am slow in all things, have a difficult time being present, committing to the days as they pass. I am slow to wake up in the morning. Slower to fall asleep. I worry about the future. I don't even know what things I should worry about (as a parent) so my worry is spread thinly over everything, seeping into strange crevices. Peace. Peace. I learn peace slowly.

Lord carry me. Show me your days.

Mugshots!

Here are some still shots of the Wee Winterling!

Baby Winter, 28 Weeks

Today TM and I went into Edinburgh to get a 3d-4d ultrasound. Baby Winter was relatively reluctant to show her face, though we were able to get these short video shots:

Stay tuned--I will post the still images when I receive them in the mail!

Utter-ly Lovely

A couple of weeks ago, our dear Friends Ben and Brandy Utter came to visit us here in the Kingdom of Fife. Their presence provided a much appreciated break from my daily routine of procrastination and Thomas More's daily routine of...leisure. Highlights of the trip include: a day-trip to Edinburgh, 1920s style "hickory" golf, highland games at Blair Castle, Loch Ness, and the Isle of Skye (!!).

***Note on the format of this post: recently I have been inspired by my oh-so-talented little brother, who has a blog entirely dedicated to that ancient form of verse, the haiku (see: Haikus by Reeder). I found his blog so hilarious and weird that I decided to write some haiku myself as captions for the following photos... However, I am not blessed with little bro's hilariousness, so the haikus fizzled... If you think of any appropriate 5-7-5 captions feel free to post them in response below. I claim writer's block.***

Welcome to Scotland.

Please avoid falling off cliffs

as this could cause death.

Behold his highness

full regal in his courtroom.

Hail, laird of haggis.

hiyah alls you's there!

Look at us we're i' the box!

Are you embarrassed?

Jet-lag hath no power

over Utters strong and good.

Smile, you Utters, smile!

My mashie niblick

Is bigger than your mashie.

Real men play "the golf."

Don't be envious.

My cologne improves my swing:

the Smell of Success.

This is a big dog.

This is a really big dog.

This is one big dog.