Friday, March 6, 2015

7 Quick Takes {Take 72} A Lenten update, and a new gadget! edition...


It's nearing the end of the second week of Lent already, holy smokes! Everything is happening so quickly. Hence, I thought I'd write about that a bit, and see how Lenten things are going with you. :) Plus there's a few other new tidbits going on with me right now, including an exciting electronics purchase! Do read on, dear ones!

-1- "Wait. Was that water dripping?!" *rampant paranoia*

As I mentioned earlier in the week, our Lent has been full of ice damming, roof leaks, and ceiling damage. The roofing company did come and remove ice from our roof yesterday, so we're hoping we're going to be all set for the thaw that is to come. Of course, we're also worried about our basement flooding, but one can only worry about so many things, yes? I'm dying for the snow to melt, but at the same time, whenever I hear water dripping I panic, thinking it's bad, insidious water, out to destroy our home. Doing my best not to fret. ;-)

-2- Daily rosary, going pretty well, mostly because of the sheer volume of rosaries that I own...

One of my Lenten goals was to pray a full rosary each day, and so far that's going really well. My weak day seems to be Saturday. I pray in the car on my commute during the week, and on Sundays I squeeze it in on my way to and from Mass, and while I pray after Communion, but Saturdays slip my mind a lot. I do love praying the rosary though, and I like having the goal of getting through an entire set of mysteries before I fall asleep at night. This one is a win.

-3- That little Magnificat Lenten Companion? So adorable.

And the Lenten Companion? Could this thing be any cuter? I am really enjoying it this year, especially the daily prayers based upon the reflection, and the suggested penance each day. I'm not always able to follow through with the penances (usually for logistical/scheduling reasons) but every day they challenge me to think of small things I can do to grow in my faith. I have it by my bedside and read the day's selection upon waking each day. Fab.

-4- Fasting? Well, partial credit counts, right?

And here we get to the not so fabulous. :) At the start of Lent, I was doing *really* well, fasting from food between meals, especially a sweet after lunch, which is a huge source of joy for me. I tried giving that up, and it worked great. For a week.

Then this roofing crisis hit, and well... Having a piece of chocolate after lunch soothes my frayed nerves. :0 I'm trying to get back into it, but some days just go better than others. But I'm trying! And I'm very aware of why I'm trying to do this and the benefits it has. I'm taking that as a positive.

-5- Marian consecration delayed due to lapse in brain cells #adventuresinaging

As is so often the case an embarrassing amount of the time, I FORGOT. I was supposed to start the daily readings and prayers on February 20th, and right out of my mind that little thought flew. Instead of trying to play catch up, I decided to start on the next cycle, which falls during the Easter season this year. I thought that would be lovely, since I have other things I'm doing for Lent anyway. So, the new start date is Friday April 10th, with a consecration date of May 13th, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. If you'd like to join in, please let me know! It's always nice to know that someone is praying along with me. The book I use is 33 Days to Morning Glory, by Fr. Michael Gaitley (available both as a print and ebook):


-6- Fun Lenten reading

Being the Catholic librarian nerd that I am, I am of course reading a Lenten murder mystery. :0 That would be Up From the Grave: A Berdie Elliott Lenten Mystery, by Marilyn Leach:

I read the first book in the series, set during Advent, several months back, and then I discovered this one. I immediately downloaded it (only 99 cents, scoop it up!) and queued it up to read during Lent. The time is nigh! This is a lovely light read, set in an English village featuring a vicar and his mystery-solving wife. I just started, and it seems we're gearing up for a new church garden at the parish, and something mysterious is about to be discovered during the sod turning ceremony. Love. The third book is set during the feast of the Ascension, and is my book club selection for May!

-7- New Lenten device to read on! *heart*

My beloved Kindle, at several years old, is finally starting to act a bit glitchy. I just love her to pieces though, this was my very first ereader, and I will never forget her! She introduced me to the wonderful world of ebooks, and I can never go back. This Kindle is the old 5-way controller style. I never minded that, though it was a bit awkward to search for books in the Kindle store (to put it mildly). But I usually just purchase books from my computer or phone and simply send them to the device, easy peasy.

Well, earlier this year, when Kindle started refusing to turn off sometimes, and I'd have to do a hard restart, I thought I should keep my eye open for an upgrade. I'm not really interested in the very popular Kindle Paperwhite, because I don't need the back lighting. When I read in bed, I use my bedside lamp, which doesn't bother Mike's sleep at all. So when the basic Kindle model, now equipped with a handy touch screen and other improvements, went on sale this week, well. :)

My new Kindle is now on his way to me, and I am simmering with excitement. I keep tracking him and anticipating his arrival. It's this model here (cutie, yes?!), and like I mentioned, is on sale until tomorrow night for $59 (!) in honor of National Reading Month. If you end up getting one too, leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts. :) I'll review it here next week.

*beams*

Well, that's my Lent so far. How is yours going, dear reader? Do check in with us in the comments, and take a look at other 7 Quick Takes over at This Ain't the Lyceum!

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